text
stringlengths 198
630k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| metadata
dict |
|---|---|---|
Nature, Nurture and Early Brain Development
State Extension Specialist, Human Development
For some time, we have known that development results from the dynamic interplay of nature and nurture. From birth on, we grow and learn because our biology is programmed to do so and because our social and physical environment provides stimulation.
New research on early brain development provides a wonderful opportunity to examine how nature and nurture work together to shape human development. Through the use of sophisticated technology, scientists have discovered how early brain development and caregiver-child relationships interact to create a foundation for future growing and learning.
For this guide, the word caregiver includes anyone who cares for young children, such as parents, grandparents, child care providers or preschool teachers.
The nature of early brain development
At birth, the human brain is still preparing for full operation. The brain's neurons exist mostly apart from one another. The brain's task for the first 3 years is to establish and reinforce connections with other neurons. These connections are formed when impulses are sent and received between neurons. Axons send messages and dendrites receive them. These connections form synapses. (Figure 1.)
Neurons mature when axons send mesages and dendrites receive them to form synapses.
As a child develops, the synapses become more complex, like a tree with more branches and limbs growing. During the first 3 years of life, the number of neurons stays the same and the number of synapses increases. After age 3, the creation of synapses slows until about age 10.
Between birth and age 3, the brain creates more synapses than it needs. The synapses that are used a lot become a permanent part of the brain. The synapses that are not used frequently are eliminated. This is where experience plays an important role in wiring a young child's brain. Because we want children to succeed, we need to provide many positive social and learning opportunities so that the synapses associated with these experiences become permanent.
How the social and physical environments respond to infants and toddlers plays a big part in the creation of synapses. The child's experiences are the stimulation that sparks the activity between axons and dendrites and creates synapses.
The nurture of early brain development
Infants and toddlers learn about themselves and their world during interactions with others. Brain connections that lead to later success grow out of nurturant, supportive and predictable care. This type of caregiving fosters child curiosity, creativity and self-confidence. Young children need safety, love, conversation and a stimulating environment to develop and keep important synapses in the brain.
Caring for infants and toddlers is mostly about building relationships and making the most of everyday routines and experiences. The Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers (Dombro, Colker and Dodge, 1997) says that during the first 3 years of life, infants and toddlers look to caregivers for answers to these questions:
- Do people respond to me?
- Can I depend on other people when I need them?
- Am I important to others?
- Am I competent?
- How should I behave?
- Do people enjoy being with me?
- What should I be afraid of?
- Is it safe for me to show how I feel?
- What things interest me?
Learning with all five senses
During the first 3 years of life, children experience the world in a more complete way than children of any other age. The brain takes in the external world through its system of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. This means that infant social, emotional, cognitive, physical and language development are stimulated during multisensory experiences. Infants and toddlers need the opportunity to participate in a world filled with stimulating sights, sounds and people.
Create a multi-sensory environment
- Experiment with different smells in the classroom. Try scents like peppermint and cinnamon to keep children alert and lavender to calm them down.
- Remember that lighting affect alertness and responsiveness. Bright lights keep infants and toddlers alert; soft lights help infants and toddlers to calm down.
- Expose infants and toddlers to colors that stimulate the brain. Use colors like pale yellow, beige, and off-white to create a calm learning environment; use bright colors such as red, orange, and yellow to encourage creativity and excitement.
- Use quiet and soft music to calm infants and toddlers and rhythmic music to get them excited about moving.
- Create a texture book or board that includes swatches of different fabrics for infants and toddlers to feel.
- Describe the foods and drinks that you serve infants and toddlers and use words that are associated with flavor and texture ("oranges are sweet and juicy;" "lemon yogurt is a little sour and creamy").
Thinking and feeling
Before children are able to talk, emotional expressions are the language of relationships. Research shows that infants' positive and negative emotions, and caregivers' sensitive responsiveness to them, can help early brain development. For example, shared positive emotion between a caregiver and an infant, such as laughter and smiling, engages brain activity in good ways and promotes feelings of security. Also, when interactions are accompanied by lots of emotion, they are more readily remembered and recalled.
Early brain development: when things go wrong
Early development does not always proceed in a way that encourages child curiosity, creativity and self-confidence. For some children, early experiences are neither supportive nor predictable. The synapses that develop in the brain are created in response to chronic stress, or other types of abuse and neglect. And, when children are vulnerable to these risks, problematic early experiences can lead to poor outcomes.
For example, some children are born with the tendency to be irritable, impulsive and insensitive to emotions in others. When these child characteristics combine with adult caregiving that is withdrawn and neglectful, children's brains can wire in ways that may result in unsympathetic child behavior. When these child characteristics combine with adult caregiving that is angry and abusive, children's brains can wire in ways that result in violent and overly aggressive child behavior. If the home environment teaches children to expect danger instead of security, then poor outcomes may occur.
In these cases, how do nature and nurture contribute to early brain development? Research tells us that early exposure to violence and other forms of unpredictable stress can cause the brain to operate on a fast track. Such overactivity of the connections between axons and dendrites, combined with child vulnerability, can increase the risk of later problems with self-control. Some adults who are violent and overly aggressive experienced erratic and unresponsive care early in life.
Adult depression can also interfere with infant brain activity. When caregivers suffer from untreated depression, they may fail to respond sensitively to infant cries or smiles. Adult emotional unavailability is linked with poor infant emotional expression. Infants with depressed caregivers do not receive the type of cognitive and emotional stimulation that encourages positive early brain development.
Programs that work
When children have less-than-optimal experiences early in life, there is hope for the future. Understanding how brain development is affected by negative experiences gives us the opportunity to intervene and to prevent future difficulties. And, because we know about healthy early brain development and the experiences that infants and toddlers need, programs have been designed to help children develop the necessary skills that they may not have developed earlier.
In Missouri, the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program provides information about child development to parents whose children are between birth and age 5. The information is delivered by well-prepared parent educators during home visits and parenting classes, and through referrals to other agencies. An evaluation of the program showed that PAT children scored higher on measures of intellectual and language ability than children whose parents did not participate in PAT. PAT is available to all families in Missouri and is a good example of how caregiver education about child development can help children throughout their lives.
Advocating for children
Early brain development research reinforces an important message about children: From birth on, children are ready and eager to learn and grow. Taking advantage of this situation means that all caregivers need to understand the importance of the early years and to recognize appropriate methods for stimulating children's learning and growth. Providing educational opportunities to parents, grandparents, child care providers and other caregivers is a step in the right direction to guarantee productive early years. Sharing this message with policy makers is another strategy for ensuring that infants, toddlers, and young children and their caregivers receive the necessary education and support.
Early brain development and child care providers
Here are some tips for how to effectively establish relationships with infants and toddlers and to promote early brain development:
- Learn to read the physical and emotional cues of the infants and toddlers in your care. Recognize the individuality of each child and sensitively respond to these differences.
- Assign a primary caregiver to each infant and toddler in your program to work with the child and his/her family.
- Observe and record the infant and toddler behaviors that are indicative of early brain development. Share these observations with other caregivers who play an important role in the children's lives.
- Accept infants' and toddlers' strong emotions as signs of their desire to communicate with you and the world. Respond quickly and appropriately to these communications; give meaning to these emotional communications.
- Find a balance between being overinvolved and being underinvolved; recognize the child's current developmental status and create opportunities for each child to reach beyond his/her abilities.
Caregivers and infants together
Early brain development research reinforces the importance of caregiver sensitivity and responsiveness to infant behaviors and needs. What do insensitive and unresponsive caregiver-infant interactions look like? What do sensitive and responsive caregiver-infant interactions look like?
Below are some real-life examples of caregivers interacting with their 4-month-old babies. Although these are only brief examples of caregiver-infant interactions, consider what is happening to the baby's development if most interactions are like these ones. As you read each example, put yourself in the baby's position and "See the world through the eyes of the child." Ask yourself:
- How sensitive is the caregiver to the baby's needs and abilities?
- How responsive is the caregiver to the baby's behaviors and communications?
- How does the caregiver stimulate the baby's senses?
In this example, the caregiver is generally out of touch with the baby. The caregiver's words are mostly discouraging; the caregiver leaves the baby with the toys out of the baby's reach; the caregiver does not recognize the baby's frustration or try to help the baby calm herself down; and, the caregiver does little that stimulates the baby's five senses. Imagine daily life for this baby if most of her interactions are like this one. How are her senses being stimulated? What connections are being wired in her brain?
In this example, the caregiver enthusiastically greets the baby after she returns to the room; the caregiver stimulates the baby's senses with her tickling and toy rattle; and, she encourages the baby's physical development when she leaves the rattle for the baby to hold. When the rattle falls and hits the baby, the caregiver sensitively responds, gives meaning to the baby's cries and shares physical affection in an effort to soothe the baby. Consider how these experiences help an infant develop trust in the world.
Observations from Isabella, Russell A. 1993. Origins of attachment: Maternal interactive behavior across the first year. Child Development, 64, 605-621.
- Caldwell, Bettye. May 1998. "Early experiences shape social development." Child Care Information Exchange: 53-59.
- Dombro, Amy Laura, Laura J. Colker and Diane Trister Dodge. 1997. The Creative Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers. Washington, DC: Teaching Strategies, Inc.
- Gilkerson, Linda. May 1998. "Brain care: Supporting healthy emotional development." Child Care Information Exchange: 66-68.
- Healthy Child Care America. January 1999. Early brain development and child care. American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Healy, Jane M. 1994. Your child's growing mind: A practical guide to brain development and learning from birth to adolescence. New York: Doubleday.
- Isabella, Russell A. 1993. "Origins of attachment: Maternal interactive behavior across the first year." Child Development, 64: 605-621.
- Karr-Morse, Robin, and Meredith S. Wiley. 1997. Ghosts from the nursery: Tracing the roots of violence. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.
- Kotulak, Ronald. 1997. Inside the brain: Revolutionary discoveries of how the mind works. Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews McMeel Publishing
- Lally, J. Ronald. May 1998. "Brain Research, Infant Learning, and Child Care Curriculum." Child Care Information Exchange: 46-48.
- Rogers, Adam, Pat Wingert, and Thomas Hayden. May 3, 1999. "Why the Young Kill." Newsweek: 32-35.
- O'Donnell, Nina Sazer. March 1999. "Using early childhood brain development research." Child Care Information Exchange: 58-62.
- Schiller, Pam. May 1998. "The thinking brain." Child Care Information Exchange: 49-52.
- Shore, Rima. 1997. Rethinking the brain: New insights into early development. New York: Families and Work Institute.
- University of Pittsburgh, Office of Child Development. Spring, 1998. "Brain development: The role experience plays in shaping the lives of children." Children, Youth, and Family Background, Report 12. Pittsburgh: University Center for Social and Urban Research.
- Weikert, Phyllis S. May 1998. "Facing the challenge of motor development." Child Care Information Exchange: 60-62.
- Willis, Clarissa. May 1998. "Language development: A key to lifelong learning." Child Care Information Exchange: 63-65. | <urn:uuid:a9882ccc-c354-4bd8-9d99-f06e1460811c> | {
"date": "2015-07-05T04:09:29",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-27",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375097199.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031817-00146-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9205358028411865,
"score": 3.5,
"token_count": 2900,
"url": "https://extension.missouri.edu/p/GH6115"
} |
Seedling growth response to changing climates
I simulate present and future climates in plant growth chambers, where large numbers of seedlots can be tested quickly and affordably. This has been done with interior lodgepole pine, interior spruce, western larch and western redcedar. The growth chamber approach allows us to test climate conditions which are not or not yet present in the BC landscape, avoiding the risk associated with extrapolating too far from field data. While seedling response is very plastic, genetic differences are apparent and tend to correspond to those we find in long term wide range provenance trials. Plants respond positively to increased average temperatures even in already-warm climates. It is extremes in temperature and drought, combined with competition, which are responsible for the mortality that causes the downward trend in growth response curves at higher temperatures. The impact of extremes in turn depends on the background of the averages. The effect of CO2 concentration on growth is similar for different seed sources: even under drought, no rank order change among seed sources has been revealed. While midwinter conditions and disease occurrence cannot be included in these tests, seedling weakness caused by a misfit with climate regime will predispose plants to further damage. Presently, simulated climate regimes are being used in the AdapTree project, where the usual growth traits are combined with phenology and heat-, drought- and cold tolerance observations to yield an overall phenotype that will be linked to the genotype for each individual.
Funding: Forest Genetics Council of BC | <urn:uuid:b2f15239-c210-48d7-b2af-5fc3546c364f> | {
"date": "2019-07-21T06:48:16",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195526931.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20190721061720-20190721083720-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9474311470985413,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 306,
"url": "https://cfcg.forestry.ubc.ca/projects/adaptation-to-climate/seedling-growth-response-to-changing-climates/"
} |
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an aerogel film made of DuPont Kevlar fibers that makes objects invisible to infrared detectors. A successful method for hiding objects from heat-sensing cameras could be useful in research or in military and technology applications.
Novel film overcomes obstacles of alternative technologies
“We have fabricated a Kevlar nanofiber aerogel film and its phase-change composite,” says Xuetong Zhang from the Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Previous approaches to making objects invisible to heat-sensing cameras each had weaknesses — from the need for a power supply to impractical rigid materials. “The aerogel film is flexible and foldable with high porosity, large specific surface area and outstanding thermal insulation property,” notes the scientist. The phase-change composite film exhibits high thermal management capability thanks to its high phase change enthalpy, with ultralow infrared transmittance and an infrared emissivity of 0.94.
Zhang points out that compared with previous emissivity control methods, this is an adaptive IR stealth technology but without energy consumption. Compared with alternative temperature control methods, the combined structure is thin and light, and will not cause heat build-up, due to the layer structure.
Combining thermal insulation layers with IR absorption surface layer
This new stealth film does not only prove effective but it is also inexpensive and easy to fabricate. The aerogel by itself is a thermal insulator. However, the researchers coated the film’s fibers with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and a protective waterproof layer. PEG stores heat when it melts and releases heat when it solidifies. “We have proposed a unique combined structure constituted of thermal insulation layers and an IR absorption surface layer,” Zhang says.
Generally, target objects have higher thermal radiation than their backgrounds. Traditional thermal stealth materials applied as low thermal emissivity coatings are static, meaning they only work at certain temperatures. On the other hand, IR stealth materials with dynamic temperature adjustment are high in energy consumption, have low tunability, are slow to response and are typically on rigid substrates, according to the scientist. Zhang says modulating temperature, such as through thermal insulation, has been proposed as a solution for hiding infrared radiation in the past. However, thermal insulators such as blankets are generally thick and heavy, which can cause heat build-up. However, the solution proposed by the team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences seems to overcome these issues: “Our phase-change composite film can solve the problems mentioned above and demonstrates adaptive thermal stealth in outdoor environments without energy consumption.”
How it works
When simulated sunlight is shone on an object covered in the composite film, the film absorbs the heat yet only slowly increased in temperature, much like the surroundings. This quality is what makes the object invisible to a thermal camera. When the light is turned off — i.e., simulating nighttime conditions — the coating gradually gives off the stored heat until it levels with the temperature of the surroundings.
Such films that successfully hide objects from infrared detectors can potentially find a multitude of applications in real life: “We believe these IR stealth films can be incorporated with traditional textile to fabricate clothes or helmets for personal IR stealth,” Zhang reveals.
Developing this film, nevertheless, did not move along without challenges for Zhang and his colleagues. He explains that while the most popular dry method to obtain aerogel from hydrogel is supercritical CO2 drying, that method is complex, energy costly and not suitable for scale-up. “We found that using tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA)-water co-solvents to replace water in Kevlar hydrogel followed up by freeze-drying can obtain high quality aerogels. Thus, all the procedures are simple, efficient and convenient; no special equipment is needed.”
Speaking about the course and the results of the research work that went into the nanofibrous Kevlar aerogel film, the researcher emphasizes that the Kevlar aerogel film is flexible and robust with outstanding thermal insulation and thermal stability. “But the most surprising property is that the aerogel film can take as high of an PEG loading as about 95%, without any leakage, which is much higher than previously PCM composites,” Zhang says. “Also, this phase-change composite film exhibits an ultralow IR transmittance.”
The research breakthrough could indeed impact the design of future generations of infrared technologies: “We provide an adaptive IR stealth technology from phase-change composite films with no energy consumption,” Zhang confirms. “Therefore, the future generation of IR stealth technology should be simple, low-cost, energy-saving and highly efficient.”
Moving forward with their research work on the novel aerogel film, Zhang and his team are now planning to scale up these products for real applications.
The results of the research are detailed in the paper “Nanofibrous Kevlar Aerogel Films and Their Phase-Change Composites for Highly Efficient Infrared Stealth,” published in ACS Nano.
Written by Sandra Henderson, Research Editor, Novus Light Technologies Today | <urn:uuid:474b94dc-98be-48d5-a258-a024b18ff031> | {
"date": "2019-05-23T07:18:03",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257156.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20190523063645-20190523085645-00176.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9298887848854065,
"score": 3.03125,
"token_count": 1095,
"url": "https://www.novuslight.com/thin-film-hides-objects-from-infrared-detectors_N9061.html"
} |
Jul 29, 2017
New surgical strategy offers hope for repairing spinal injuries
The brain and the neurons (nerve cells) in the rest of our body are connected in the spine. Here, motor neurons, which control muscle movement, and sensory neurons, which relay sensory information such as pain, temperature and touch, connect with the spinal cord.
Where the neurons connect with the cord, motor neurons bundle together to form a structure called the motor root, while sensory neurons form a sensory root. In patients with traumatic injuries, these roots can be torn, causing areas of the body to lose neural control.
Surgeons can implant motor roots at the area from which they are torn, and they will usually successfully reconnect, as motor neurons can regrow out of the spinal cord and into the motor root. However, this does not apply to the more troublesome sensory root, which surgeons couldn't reconnect properly until recently. "Doctors previously considered this type of spinal cord injury impossible to repair," says Nicholas James, a researcher at King's College London. "These torn root injuries can cause serious disability and excruciating pain."
Happily, Thomas Carlstedt, also at King's College London, recently helped to develop a new surgical technique to reconnect the sensory root. It involves cutting the original sensory nerve cells out of the root and implanting the remaining root directly into a deeper structure in the spinal cord. This area is called the dorsal horn, and it contains secondary sensory neurons that don't normally directly connect to sensory roots. When the team tried the technique in patients, certain spinal reflexes returned, indicating that the implanted neuron had integrated with the spine to form a functional neural circuit.
In a new study recently published in Frontiers in Neurology, James, Carlstedt and other collaborators set out to understand how the implanted sensory root was connecting with the spinal cord in the dorsal horn. By understanding the mechanism, they hope to develop new treatments for patients with other types of spinal injuries.
The scientists used a rat model of spinal injury to study the process at a cellular level. During surgery, they produced a similar spinal injury in the rats and then reattached the sensory root using the new technique. At 12-16 weeks after surgery, the researchers assessed the spinal repair by passing electricity along the neurons to see if they formed a complete neural circuit. They then sacrificed the rats and analyzed the neural tissue under a microscope.
The electrical tests showed that the neural circuit was complete, and that the root had successfully integrated with the spinal cord. When they examined the tissue, they found that small neural offshoots had grown from structures called dendrites (branched projections at the end of neurons) in the dorsal horn. These thin offshoots had extended all the way into the implanted sensory root to create a functional neural circuit.
Read more at Science Daily | <urn:uuid:72536400-548b-4462-9b04-6c8cd4aaf025> | {
"date": "2017-08-18T16:23:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-34",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886104704.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818160227-20170818180227-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9463687539100647,
"score": 3.734375,
"token_count": 577,
"url": "http://dannyboston.blogspot.com/2017/07/new-surgical-strategy-offers-hope-for.html"
} |
Climate change and innovation
Mitigating and adapting to climate change will
require the development of new and
innovative low carbon emission solutions and
technologies for lighting, vehicles, heating and
cooling systems, office and ICT equipment and
Examples of innovative technologies with reduced energy usage or reduced carbon emissions are listed below:
Light Emitting Diodes (LED's)
LED's are a lighting technology that can reduce energy consumption by 50-90%. They are now commonplace in traffic lighting and there are also potential applications in office, park, carpark and street lighting. The next generation of LED is expected to even further widen the range of applications and providing considerably more light intensity per Watt spend. Future potential (within 2-3 years) regarding energy efficiency and applications is seen in Organic-LED’s (OLED’s).
Electric and hybrid vehicles operate on an electric motor or a combination of an electric motor and conventional combustion engine. These technologies can deliver fuel savings of up to 25% compared to standard vehicles. Several manufacturers are currently developing plug-in hybrids with lithium-ion batteries and stronger electric engines, which can be recharged with electricity from the grid or from “solar filling stations”.
Heating and Cooling
Innovative heating and cooling options include renewable energy systems (RES) such as woodpellets or solar energy. Research and development activities are ongoing especially for RES cooling appliances as the energy consumption used for cooling in certain Southern European regions increases rapidly. | <urn:uuid:c47f1cf1-fe26-412c-860c-40005d1e4cae> | {
"date": "2020-01-19T04:44:24",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2020-05",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250594209.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20200119035851-20200119063851-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9234634637832642,
"score": 3.25,
"token_count": 308,
"url": "https://smart-spp.eu/index.php?id=7022"
} |
1. 3-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-propanol has a certain degree of regulation of plant growth and development.
Succinic acid is a crystalline organic acid which occurs in living tissue as an intermediate in glucose metabolism.
Betaine hydrochloride is a natural compound found in many foods and also an active methyl-donor which can maintain normal DNA methylation patterns, which has anti-hypoxic, hepatoprotective, sedative, antipyretic and analgesic effects. Betaine hydrochloride can increase the secreting of thyroxine (T3) and insulin and regulate the metabolism of organism by the hormones, thus it prompts fish growth and also improves intestine figuration.
1. Cinnamamide, a non-lethal repellent, deters feeding by a wide range of avian species;cinnamamide has the potential for use against the commensal rodent Mus musculus in situations where use of lethal control methods could be hazardous (e.g. food stores).
2. Cinnamamide is an antitumor agent with low cytotoxicity acting on matrix metalloproteinase, and may serve as a lead compound in the development of antitumor drugs.
3. Cinnamamide and betaine cinnamamide have growth-regulating activity on wheat.
Gibberellins are growth-promoting phytohormones that were crucial in breeding improved semi-dwarf varieties during the green revolution. Gibberellin shows inhibitory effect on treatment on adventitious rooting, which appears to act by perturbing polar auxin transport, in particular auxin efflux in hybrid aspen, and both efflux and influx in Arabidopsis. | <urn:uuid:d7f4c567-b0df-4432-b712-92ad63321669> | {
"date": "2019-05-24T04:47:43",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257514.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20190524044320-20190524070320-00016.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.893511950969696,
"score": 2.765625,
"token_count": 366,
"url": "http://www.chemfaces.com/bioactive/Growth-promoting-effects/A9/"
} |
What o'clock is it?
The contraction of the word “of” to o’ is considered highly informal, but the phrase “o’clock” is somehow different.
This week on That’s What They Say, host Rina Miller and University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan discuss how we talk about time.
The expression “o’clock” comes from “of clock” as in “according to the clock,” says Curzan.
It might seem like an antiquated phrase, but "o'clock" is still used quite a lot. But, there is something else on the rise and that is the use of a.m. and p.m.
The abbreviations are shortened from Latin phrases. P.M. comes from post meridian or after midday. It comes into English in 1666, according to the Oxford English dictionary. And then a.m. comes from anti-meridian for before midday.
Curzan found that many years ago there was an interesting use of “o’clock” that might sound strange to us today. “In earlier times instead of saying ‘what is the time’ you could say ‘what is o’clock?’ or you could say ‘what o’clock is it?’”
Today begins daylight savings time, which means we “spring forward” one hour. And since we are talking about a.m. and p.m. here's a questions for you. Is 5 p.m. in the evening or afternoon? You decide. | <urn:uuid:28ee6cac-9cf8-47f1-911a-6c99c1ab702a> | {
"date": "2015-01-30T18:37:41",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-06",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115926735.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161206-00068-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9711467623710632,
"score": 3.609375,
"token_count": 343,
"url": "http://michiganradio.org/post/what-oclock-it"
} |
Asked in Conditions and DiseasesDog BehaviorFarm Crops
What is the external part of the ear called?
November 08, 2010 7:24PM
I am not sure which part of the ear you are talking about specifically but the flap on the side of your head by the opening of the ear canal is called a Tragus. Then you have a lobe where the common ear piercing is done. The curve at the top is called a helix. I am not sure what you are looking for here so I gave you as much information on the outer ear that I can. | <urn:uuid:8e4a0d5e-6fa0-425b-97f5-053b4d01ddc5> | {
"date": "2019-12-06T20:32:25",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-51",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540490972.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20191206200121-20191206224121-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9706483483314514,
"score": 2.734375,
"token_count": 116,
"url": "https://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_external_part_of_the_ear_called"
} |
How can NASA physicist and climatologist James E. Hansen, writing in the New York Times today, “say with high confidence” that recent heat waves in Texas and Russia “were not natural events” but actually “caused by human-induced climate change”?
It wasn’t all that long ago that respected MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel flatly refuted the notion that you can pinpoint global warming as the cause of an extreme weather event. “It’s statistical nonsense,” he told PBS.
In 2005, Emanuel reported that hurricane intensity, which is fed by warmth, had increased some 80 percent during the previous 50 years, a period during which temperatures had increased more dramatically than any time in at least 500 years. Nonetheless, he asserted, that didn’t mean Hurricane Katrina, the sixth strongest Atlantic storm on record, had been brought on by climate change.
Even with a multitude of extreme weather events in recent years — tornadoes in New York City, blizzards in Washington, D.C., 15,000 warm-temperature records shattered across the U.S. in March — each consistent with computer models of a warming world, Emanuel and many other noted scientists have been unwilling to attribute any one event to global warming. There’s just too much variability in the weather, these experts say, and their dedication to data has helped prop open the door for “denialists” to sow doubt about the reality of our warming world.
But Hansen’s shot across the bow this morning indicates that the unwillingness to point fingers may be changing. According to a peer-reviewed paper Hansen has submitted to a leading scientific journal and made available to Time.com prior to publication, scientists can now state “with a high degree of confidence” that some extremely high temperatures are in fact caused by global warming, simply because they occur much more frequently than they used to. (A preliminary draft of the article is available here.)
Hansen’s reasoning has to do with math. Statisticians employ standard deviation to measure variability; it’s the calculation pollsters use to determine margin of error, and it’s especially valuable when looking at the weather. Perfect distribution of standard deviation is graphed as the familiar bell curve; about two-thirds of the time, data points fall in the middle of the bell — or within one standard deviation of the mean.
Hansen, with co-authors Reto Ruedy, also of NASA, and Makiko Sato, of Columbia University, has crunched decades’ worth of readings from more than 1,000 weather stations around the world as well as satellite observations and measurements from Antarctic research stations. The aim: to figure out how often temperatures varied from the mean — and how far they varied — during two periods.
In the paper, which Time.com confirmed has been peer-reviewed, the authors show that extreme outliers of more than three standard deviations above the mean temperature covered between six and thirteen percent of the globe during the years 2003 to 2008. If they were normally distributed and similar to the climactic record, that should have been just a 0.1-to-0.2 percent frequency of an extreme heat event. (That’s about exactly as often as a perfect bell curve predicts they would occur.) Hansen dubs this difference a “three-sigma anomaly,” for the Greek-letter symbol for standard deviation. And in the world of statistics, these anomalies represent a stunning 10-fold increase in extreme weather events.
Hansen says the heat wave that struck Texas and Oklahoma last summer and the Moscow heat wave of 2010 (which caused 11,000 deaths in the city) are examples of three-sigma anomalies. In a paper published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Stefan Rahmstorf and Dim Coumou of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, in Germany, wrote that it was 80 percent probable that the Moscow heat wave had been caused by global warming.
“These three-sigma anomalies,” Hansen says, “we can now say are due to global warming.” But what about the extreme cold snaps climate-change deniers keep pointing to? Even with global warming, Hansen told Time.com in an email, there “is still a broad bell curve. In fact, it has become broader, which means there will still be times when a season is colder than average. When that happens [people] should not say, ‘What happened to global warming?’ It will still be there — they are just looking at natural variability.”
Back in 1988, when Hansen was among the first and most credible scientists to sound the alarm about global warming, he, Ruedy and several co-authors came up with the concept of “climate dice.” Imagine dice with two sides red (for hot), two sides blue (for cold) and two sides white (average temperatures). If you roll the dice, you’re equally likely to get any result. With continued emissions of greenhouse gas, however, the authors predicted that by the early 21st century, four of the sides would be red.
“The climate dice are loaded now, just as we said back in the 1980s that they would be,” Hansen wrote to Time.com. “People should be able to recognize the change, especially the increasingly extreme events. Don’t be surprised if there are more examples this summer.” | <urn:uuid:aa22eb1d-ed05-469b-91ad-eee27c0135a0> | {
"date": "2014-07-24T19:21:26",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-23",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997890773.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025810-00096-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9573879241943359,
"score": 2.859375,
"token_count": 1146,
"url": "http://science.time.com/2012/05/10/global-warming-an-exclusive-look-at-james-hansens-scary-new-math/"
} |
Puppy vaccinations are one of the best and most loving investments you can make for your puppy. Think of puppy shots as insurance against disease that prevents illness and saves you money—and potential heartbreak.
Not too long ago, 50 percent or more of dogs died of canine distemper or parvovirus before their first birthday. These little victims suffer through painful vomiting and diarrhea and too often must be humanely euthanized to end their suffering.
These diseases today are entirely preventable.
Understanding Puppy Vaccinations
Vaccinations help “program” the specialized cells of the puppy’s immune system to act like smart missiles to seek and destroy problems before they cause disease. Once programmed, these cells recognize, find, and destroy viruses, bacteria or other pathogens both in the bloodstream or at the cellular level—in the nose or eyes—before they cause disease.
A puppy’s immune system won’t be mature enough to protect itself until she’s about 8 weeks old. Passive immunity fills this gap when the puppies nurse from the vaccinated mother's milk. This antibody-rich “first milk” is called colostrum and protects against viruses that might threaten the puppy’s health.
However, the antibodies in mom’s milk also neutralize most vaccinations. The exceptions are some newer vaccinations made with recombinant DNA technology such as the recombinant distemper vaccination.
But in general, puppy shots won’t be protective until the puppy's own immune system matures enough to take over. That’s why a series of boosters are recommended during the period when the maternal protection fades while puppy’s matures.
Vaccinations and Schedules
A variety of vaccinations are available for several conditions.
But not all puppies need every vaccination. The shots your puppy needs is based on exposure risk. If he’s a high-rise living puppy in New York and never exposed to ticks, he’ll likely not require a Lyme vaccination. Your veterinarian offers you the best advice on the right protection for your furry babies and adults.
Distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis (adenovirus), and rabies are designated “core” vaccinations. All puppies should receive these, and often there are combination vaccines for all but rabies. “Noncore” vaccinations are recommended for puppies at specific risk for those conditions, such as Lyme disease, Bordatella (kennel cough), and leptospirosis. Sometimes these are including as part of the core combination shot.
Your veterinarian determines when to start and how many boosters your pup should receive based on health status and exposure. Usually, puppies receive a series of either three or four boosters three weeks apart, starting at either six weeks (6, 9, 12, 16 weeks of age) or starting at nine weeks (9, 12 and 16 weeks). Rabies is given at 16 weeks, and all of the core vaccinations are repeated a year later.
Puppy Vaccination Schedule
6 to 8 weeks
Bordetella (kennel cough)
9 to 11 weeks
Coronavirus, leptospirosis, Bordetella, Lyme disease
Rabies (varies by state)
12 to 14 weeks
Coronavirus, Lyme disease, leptospirosis
12 to 16 months
Rabies, core vaccination
Coronavirus, leptotspirosis, Bordetella, Lyme disease
|Every one to two years||Core vaccination||Coronavirus, leptotspirosis, Bordetella, Lyme disease|
|Every one to three years||Rabies (as required by law in your jurisdiction)|
How Long Do Vaccines Last?
Most of the “core” vaccinations have been shown to provide protection for about five to seven years. Your puppy will need to see the vet more frequently as it grows anyway if only for well-dog exams. Veterinarians may recommend giving distemper vaccination one year, parvovirus the next, and so on. Usually either an annual or every three years revaccination provides the best insurance on the core vaccines.
The noncore vaccinations are best given more frequently prior to expected exposure. That’s because most bacteria-protective vaccines give only about six months protection, which means the leptospirosis, bordetella/kennel cough and Lyme vaccines for your dog are not suited for a three-year protocol. Because rabies is a zoonosis—disease that affects people—local laws dictate how often your dog needs revaccination.
That’s usually either every year or every three years.
Protect your new puppies and dogs by budgeting for these vital vaccinations. It’s much easier, safer, and cheaper to prevent illness than to diagnose and treat once your furry love becomes sick.
Of course, taking your dog to the vet can be easier said than done, but with training for gentle handling and restraint, your life (and your dog's life) will be much easier. | <urn:uuid:cb7acdc7-1c42-4758-8135-d5b4badc5d9f> | {
"date": "2018-08-18T12:05:03",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-34",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213666.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818114957-20180818134957-00096.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9192901849746704,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 1058,
"url": "https://www.thesprucepets.com/what-to-know-about-puppy-vaccinations-2804982"
} |
Krotite mineral is shown as the darker veins running through the egg-shaped grain (called "cracked egg") in the ancient meteorite.
Credit: Chi Ma.
A 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite from northwest Africa has yielded one of the earliest minerals of the solar system.
Officially called krotite, the mineral had never been found in nature before, though it is a man-made constituent of some high-temperature concrete, according to study researcher Anthony Kampf, curator of Mineral Sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM). [Image of new mineral]
"This is one that simply was not known in nature until we found it here," Kampf told LiveScience. "That's pretty dramatic."
The meteorite containing krotite is called NWA 1934 CV3 carbonaceous chondrite. Chondrites are primitive meteorites that scientists think were remnants shed from the original building blocks of planets. Most meteorites found on Earth fit into this group.
The mineral, a compound of calcium, aluminum and oxygen, needs temperatures of 2,732 degrees F (1,500 degrees C) to form, supporting the idea that it was created as the solar nebula condensed and the planets, including Earth, were formed, the researchers say.
The tiny mineral sample – just 0.2 inches (4 millimeters) long – came from a grain in the meteorite dubbed "cracked egg" for its appearance. In addition to krotite, the cracked egg grain contains at least eight other minerals, one of which is new to science, the researchers say.
Studying this mineral and other components of the ancient meteorite are essential for understanding the origins of the solar system, the scientists say.
When meteors hit the ground they are called meteorites. Most are fragments of asteroids (space rocks that travel through the solar system), and others are mere cosmic dust shed by comets. Rare meteorites are impact debris from the surfaces of the moon and Mars.
"This meteorite likely came from an asteroid in the asteroid belt," leader researcher Chi Ma of Caltech told LiveScience.
Another ancient meteorite, this one discovered in Antarctica, also recently yielded a new mineral called Wassonite.
The fact that krotite forms at such high temperatures and low pressure make it likely it is one of the first minerals formed in the solar system.
The mineral is named after Alexander N. Krot, a cosmochemist at the University of Hawaii, in recognition of his significant contributions to the understanding of early solar-system processes.
The finding is detailed in the May-June issue of the journal American Mineralogist. | <urn:uuid:34d40e47-18a7-447c-a50f-500224269459> | {
"date": "2015-11-25T02:14:53",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-48",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398444139.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205404-00342-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9474465250968933,
"score": 3.78125,
"token_count": 556,
"url": "http://www.livescience.com/14060-4-5-billion-year-meteorite-yields-mineral.html"
} |
By Kasanya Chavula
It is ironic how the world that we are so vested in stereotypes based in colour, religion and or the financial status that one acquires in life. The typical man has to silence the noise that is headed towards him on a daily basis and this hinders the basic growth of humanity in general. This noise is brought forth by any number of groupings that we are in communication with, be it family, friends, church, tribes but to mention a few. This has led to divisions which are mostly caused by shallow minded people who with no knowledge or big picture have wanted to bring people down to the same level as them. The people with knowledge are the victims are silenced by the vast majority of people who bring forth a fabricated truth all in a quest to push forth an agenda that neither benefits the people who speak the fabricated truth and those who act on the fabricated truth.
People are prone to act upon what they hear those with influence say. It must be noted that the fastest wild fires come from gossip and hatred towards people of a certain status. (https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-social-issues/stigma-discrimination)
“Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS
The fear surrounding the emerging HIV epidemic in the 1980s largely persists today. At that time, very little was known about how HIV is transmitted, which made people scared of those infected due to fear of contagion.
This fear, coupled with many other reasons, means that lots of people falsely believe:
- HIV and AIDS are always associated with death
- HIV is associated with behaviours that some people disapprove of (such as homosexuality, drug use, sex work or infidelity)
- HIV is only transmitted through sex, which is a taboo subject in some cultures
- HIV infection is the result of personal irresponsibility or moral fault (such as infidelity) that deserves to be punished
- inaccurate information about how HIV is transmitted, which creates irrational behaviour and misperceptions of personal risk.”
Though some of these may be true some are simple unsubstantiated and this has led to many people refusing to open up about the status. Some were children born that way and have been placed in the same state as though it was there choice? Even though some may have been careless it still shows the heart of the people that discriminate, that they do not really care about the neighbour.
It is understandable that one may not fully understand the virus and people may feel it necessary to protect themselves but this type of protection is causing more harm than good. As such people that might want to come out and speak about the virus and help people fail for fear of being treated less than human. It must follow one saying that was coined some time back, “if you are not infected, you are affected” this also true of another quotation “Whenever AIDS has won, stigma, shame, distrust, discrimination and apathy was on its side. Every time AIDS has been defeated, it has been because of trust, openness, dialogue between individuals and communities, family support, human solidarity, and the human perseverance to find new paths and solutions”.
This remains on which side of the fence are you, are you the ones that are making HIV win or are you going to take a stance and be the ones that fight against HIV. The fight must be directed at the virus and not at the people; the people regardless of how one came to have it are affected. And you too though you are not infected are affected. | <urn:uuid:c687dd71-9e26-4b2a-8f53-c6f069a1aed5> | {
"date": "2019-09-17T04:40:31",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-39",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514573052.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20190917040727-20190917062727-00176.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9817579984664917,
"score": 2.890625,
"token_count": 732,
"url": "https://infinityworldchanger.online/people-are-prone-to-act-upon-what-they-hear-those-with-influence-say/"
} |
Academic Lecture & Worksheet
A Call for Stricter Gun Control in the U.S.
What is this blog / lesson about?
This lesson is an academic lecture that looks at the differences between countries that have and don’t have gun laws. It examines statistical evidence related to gun related deaths and mass shootings. It also investigates the barriers to stricter gun control (The 2nd Amendment, NRA, Gun manufacturing) and calls for more control on semi-automatic rifles.
This is an extremely controversial topic and the lecture is designed primarily as a lecture listening and note-taking activity. However, the content offers a great source of material for debate / seminar.
Key quotes from the lecture:
In 2018, America had 39,773 gun related deaths BUT in Australia and the UK there were approximately 160.
Examining the data relating to mass shootings reveals that there is one mass shooting nearly every day in the US.
2018 was the worst year on record for U.S school shootings with 113 students killed.
In 2016, the gun industry contributed $51bn directly and indirectly to the US economy. In fact, according to the US Government firearms department, gun manufacturing is increasing exponentially with sales doubling from 5.4 million in 2016 to 11 million in 2017.
How many more gun related deaths will it take before America will acknowledge it has a serious problem?
Video: A Call for Stricter Gun Control in the U.S.
This listening lecture comes with accompanying PPT and listening test worksheet.
U.S. Gun Culture – Lecture Listening Lesson
This lecture focuses on the rise of gun related deaths and mass shootings in the U.S. It investigates the barriers that prevent stricter gun controls and calls for a ban on semi-automatic weapons. It includes a video, test questions, tapescript and PPT (see example). Level ***** [B2/C1] / Power Point / Video [11.31] / MEMBERSHIP
Speaking Lesson- seminar
Discussion: in small groups highlight the key arguments in the lecture.
Critical thinking: Decide if you agree or disagree with each argument the lecturer has made.
Critical thinking: Discuss what is the opposite argument of the lecturer’s key arguments.
Critical thinking: Is there anything in the lecture you disagree with or question? | <urn:uuid:8745d92e-59d6-44ae-a6a2-f84b2f9804c7> | {
"date": "2019-08-19T07:45:10",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314696.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819073232-20190819095232-00296.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9301767349243164,
"score": 3.109375,
"token_count": 486,
"url": "https://www.academic-englishuk.com/a-call-for-stricter-gun-culture-in-the-u-s"
} |
Harper's Weekly Editorials by Carl Schurz/Wanted — A Republican Form of Government
The Constitution of the United States, Article IV., Section 4, provides that “the United States shall guarantee to very State in this Union a republican form of government.” On this subject the Federalist, No. XLIII., says: “In a confederacy founded on republican principles, and composed of republican members, the superintending government ought clearly to possess authority to defend the system against aristocratic or monarchical innovations. The more intimate the nature of such an union may be, the greater interest have the members in the political institutions of each other; and the greater right to insist that the forms of the government under which the compact was entered into should be substantially maintained.” George Ticknor Curtis, the historian of the Constitution, in discussing what the makers of the Constitution may have had in their minds when framing the clause mentioned, observes that “history shows what is meant, in the American sense, by a republican government. History establishes the fact that in the American system of government the people are regarded as the sole original source of authority; that all legitimate government must rest upon their will.”
It is a highly interesting question what, from this point of view, the fathers of the Constitution would have thought of the present government of the State of New York, if they could have anticipated the possibility of the growth of anything like it in this country. And as the Federalist pertinently remarks, the character of our State government is a matter of serious concern not only to the inhabitants of the State itself, but also to “the other members of the confederacy.”
The present government of the State of New York is not easily classified. It has a Governor as the chief executive officer. It has a Legislature supposed to consist of representatives of the people, and to make the laws for the State. But above these there stands a power of which the Constitution and the laws know nothing, but which exercises supreme control. This power is embodied in a person called the “boss.” The now reigning boss, Mr. Thomas C. Platt, was until recently in so far a mere private individual as he held no official position or title in the accepted sense of the term. A few months ago, however, it pleased him to have himself elected to the Senate of the United States. But that office is merely auxiliary to his State bossship.
He makes no secret of the supreme power he wields in our State affairs. Of late years he has had the leaders of the ruling party in the Legislature regularly appear before him every Sunday, in a hotel parlor in the city of New York, to receive his orders for the coming week as to what bills should or should not pass, what measures should be introduced, or reported, or smothered in committee, and so on. And every Monday morning the legislative programme for the week has been published in the newspapers, very much like an official bulletin. Whatever legislation the boss opposes is defeated, and whatever he approves is sure to be put through, no matter who opposes it. This is so well known and recognized a rule that citizens who have business with the Legislature frequently deem it far less needful to present that business, with proper argument, to the law-makers, than to propitiate the boss in favor of it. That done, the rest will take care of itself. There could hardly be a more striking illustration of the supreme power exercised by the boss than the recent passage through the Legislature of the Greater New York charter — an immense piece of legislation, essentially affecting for good or evil the character and welfare of the greatest commercial city in this country, and one of the greatest in the world, with a population of over 3,000,000 souls, and a probable annual budget of expenditure of over $70,000,000. This charter, hurriedly drafted, and remonstrated against in whole or in part by the most important civic organizations of the city, went through the Legislature with lightning speed, without amendment, virtually without debate, certainly without serious consideration, simply because the boss had so ordered it. The history of constitutional government has no parallel to so high-handed a proceeding. In the matter of appointments to office, too, so far as the power of the party reaches, the dictation of the boss rules. Whenever he interferes, his favorite gets the place, and there is no hope for the man objected to by him.
How did the boss obtain this power? The uncontradicted story is that he levies upon the business corporations of New York large sums of money, under the name of campaign contributions, for which he is to protect their interests in the way of legislation; that these sums, of the use of which he renders no account whatever, are in part employed by him in supporting party newspapers, in securing the nomination and election of friendly politicians, and in rendering harmless such as are unfriendly; and that in this way he keeps in subjection to his will a large part of the country press and a host of active political workers throughout the State, some of whom he puts into influential places — all bound to him either by favors received or favors hoped for, and all fearing his disfavor as a sort of political death-warrant. Thus exercising an almost unlimited power in his party to reward or to punish, he has become the autocrat of that party, and through it the autocrat of the Legislature and of the State. The use he makes of his power is characteristic of its origin. Every attempt at reform, every movement to secure good government in State or municipality, finds him as an inveterate, unscrupulous, and potent enemy in its way. His first aim is always to fortify and extend his own power.
By whatever name we may call a government like this, it certainly is not “substantially” republican. On the contrary, it possesses in striking completeness the attributes of monarchical absolutism. There is no monarch in Europe, except the Emperor of Russia and the Sultan of Turkey, who controls the law-making power with so unlimited an authority, who levies and spends his revenues with so little responsibility, and who feels himself so free to defy public opinion, as does the boss of the ruling party in the State of New York. The State still has the outward forms of republican government, but the vital essence of republicanism is gone.
The struggle of the friends of good government against boss rule in New York is beset with extraordinary difficulties. The sums obtained by levying upon the corporations put at the disposal of the boss ample resources of blackmail and bribery. His control of a large part of the country press and of a vast and well-drilled party machine, thorough which he directs nominating caucuses and conventions, enables him to wield a most effective system of political terrorism. An army of spoils-hunters clings to him as the power that can open to them rich opportunities for preying upon the people. This is a formidable combination of forces. Those who combat it strive not only to protect the State and its municipalities against maladministration, corruption, and robbery, but to restore to the people that republican government which, according to the Federal Constitution, “the United States shall guarantee to very State in the Union.” They are not foolish enough to expect that the national authority will actively interfere to deliver this State from boss rule. But they have a right to expect that the national authority will at least do nothing to strengthen that boss rule, and thus to render the restoration of true republican government in this State still more difficult.
Boss Platt, as a Senator of the United States, is now seeking to secure the Federal offices in New York for men who are his tools. Every office so filled would be a new stronghold of the boss power. President McKinley cannot make such an appointment without taking upon himself the responsibility of re-enforcing a usurpation utterly subversive of that republican government which the Constitution binds the United States to guarantee to every State in the Union. | <urn:uuid:376e7cef-112a-4f78-9766-a87db89ac84f> | {
"date": "2017-06-23T22:42:09",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320201.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20170623220935-20170624000935-00537.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9736395478248596,
"score": 3.109375,
"token_count": 1663,
"url": "https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Harper's_Weekly_Editorials_by_Carl_Schurz/Wanted_%E2%80%94_A_Republican_Form_of_Government"
} |
HPV and Men - Fact Sheet
What is Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV)?
Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus. Most sexually active people in the United States (U.S.) will have HPV at some time in their lives. There are more than 40 types of HPV that are passed on through sexual contact. These types can infect the genital areas of men, including the skin on and around the penis or anus. They can also infect the mouth and throat.
How do Men get HPV?
HPV is passed on through genital contact—most often during vaginal and anal sex. HPV may also be passed on during oral sex. Since HPV usually causes no symptoms, most men and women can get HPV—and pass it on—without realizing it. People can have HPV even if years have passed since they had sex. Even men with only one lifetime sex partner can get HPV.
What are the health problems caused by HPV in men?
Most men who get HPV (of any type) never develop any symptoms or health problems. But some types of HPV can cause genital warts. Other types can cause cancers of the penis, anus, or oropharynx (back of the throat, including base of the tongue and tonsils.) The types of HPV that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types that can cause cancer.
Note: Anal cancer is not the same as colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is more common than anal cancer, and is not caused by HPV.
How common are HPV-related health problems in men?
- About 1% of sexually active men in the U.S. have genital warts at any one time.
Cancers of the penis, anus and oropharynx are uncommon, and only a subset of these cancers are actually related to HPV. Each year in the U.S. there are about:
- 400 men who get HPV-related cancer of the penis
- 1,500 men who get HPV-related cancer of the anus
- 5,600 men who get cancers of the oropharynx (back of throat), but many of these cancers are related to tobacco and alcohol use, not HPV.
Some men are more likely to develop HPV-related diseases than others:
Gay and bisexual men (who have sex with other men) are about 17 times more likely to develop anal cancer than men who only have sex with women.
Men with weakened immune systems, including those who have HIV, are more likely than other men to develop anal cancer. Men with HIV are also more likely to get severe cases of genital warts that are harder to treat.
What are the signs and symptoms?
Most men who get HPV never develop any symptoms or health problems. But for those who do develop health problems, these are some of the signs and symptoms:
- One or more growths on the penis, testicles, groin, thighs, or in/around the anus.
- Warts may be single, grouped, raised, flat, or cauliflower-shaped. They usually do not hurt.
- Warts may appear within weeks or months after sexual contact with an infected person.
- Sometimes there are no signs or symptoms.
- Anal bleeding, pain, itching, or discharge.
- Swollen lymph nodes in the anal or groin area.
- Changes in bowel habits or the shape of your stool.
- First signs: changes in color, skin thickening, or a build-up of tissue on the penis.
- Later signs: a growth or sore on the penis. It is usually painless, but in some cases, the sore may be painful and bleed.
Cancers of the oropharynx:
- Sore throat or ear pain that doesn't go away
- Constant coughing
- Pain or trouble swallowing or breathing
- Weight loss
- Hoarseness or voice changes that last more than 2 weeks
- Lump or mass in the neck
Is there a test for HPV in men?
Currently, there is no HPV test recommended for men. The only approved HPV tests on the market are for screening women for cervical cancer. They are not useful for screening for HPV-related cancers or genital warts in men.
Screening for anal cancer is not routinely recommended for men. This is because more research is needed to find out if it can actually prevent anal cancer. However, some experts do recommend yearly anal cancer screening (anal Pap tests) for gay, bisexual, and HIV-positive men – since anal cancer is more common in these men.
- There is no approved test to find genital warts for men or women. However, most of the time, you can see genital warts. If you think you may have genital warts, you should see a health care provider.
- There is no test for men to check one’s overall “HPV status.” But HPV usually goes away on its own, without causing health problems. So an HPV infection that is found today will most likely not be there a year or two from now.
- Screening tests are not available for penile cancer.
You can check for any abnormalities on your penis, scrotum, or around the anus. See your doctor if you find warts, blisters, sores, ulcers, white patches, or other abnormal areas on your penis—even if they do not hurt.
Is there a treatment or cure for HPV?
There is no treatment or cure for HPV. But there are ways to treat the health problems caused by HPV in men.
Genital warts can be treated with medicine, removed (surgery), or frozen off. Some of these treatments involve a visit to the doctor. Others can be done at home by the patient himself. No one treatment is better than another. But warts often come back within a few months after treatment—so several treatments may be needed. Treating genital warts may not necessarily lower a man’s chances of passing HPV on to his sex partner. If warts are not treated, they may go away on their own, stay the same, or grow (in size or number). They will not turn into cancer.
Cancers of the penis, anus, and oropharynx can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Often, two or more of these treatments are used together. Patients should decide with their doctors which treatments are best for them.
Are there ways to lower my chances of getting HPV?
A safe and effective HPV vaccine (Gardasil) can protect boys and men against the HPV types that cause most genital warts and anal cancers. It is given in three shots over six months. [See vaccine recommendations below.]
Condoms (if used with every sex act, from start to finish) may lower your chances of passing HPV to a partner or developing HPV-related diseases. But HPV can infect areas that are not covered by a condom—so condoms may not fully protect against HPV.
Because HPV is so common and usually invisible, the only sure way to prevent it is not to have sexual contact. Even people with only one lifetime sex partner can get HPV, if their partner was infected with HPV.
I heard about a new HPV vaccine – can it help me?
If you are 26 or younger, there is an HPV vaccine that can help protect you against the types of HPV that most commonly cause problems in men. The HPV vaccine (Gardasil) works by preventing four common HPV types, two that cause most genital warts and two that cause cancers, including anal cancer. It protects against new HPV infections; it does not cure existing HPV infections or disease (like genital warts). It is most effective when given before a person’s first sexual contact (i.e., when s/he may be exposed to HPV).
CDC recommends the HPV vaccine for all boys ages 11 or 12, and for males through age 21, who have not already received all three doses. The vaccine is also recommended for gay and bisexual men (or any man who has sex with men), and men with compromised immune systems (including HIV) through age 26, if they did not get fully vaccinated when they were younger. The vaccine is safe for all men through age 26, but it is most effective when given at younger ages.
The HPV vaccine is very safe and effective, with no serious side effects. The most common side effect is soreness in the arm. Studies show that the vaccine can protect men against genital warts and anal cancers. It is likely that this vaccine also protects men from other HPV-related cancers, like cancers of the penis and oropharynx (back of throat, including base of tongue and tonsils), but there are no vaccine studies that have evaluated these outcomes.
I just found out that my partner has HPV …
What does it mean for my health?
Partners usually share HPV. If you have been with your partner for a long time, you probably have HPV already. Most sexually active adults will have HPV at some time in their lives. Although HPV is common, the health problems caused by HPV are much less common.
Condoms may lower your chances of getting HPV or developing HPV-related diseases, if used with every sex act, from start to finish. You may want to consider talking to your doctor about being vaccinated against HPV if you are 26 years or younger. But not having sex is the only sure way to avoid HPV.
If your partner has genital warts, you should avoid having sex until the warts are gone or removed. You can check for any abnormalities on your penis, such as genital warts. Also, you may want to get checked by a health care provider for genital warts and other sexually transmitted disease (STDs).
What does it mean for our relationship?
A person can have HPV for many years before it is found or causes health problems. So there is no way to know if your partner gave you HPV, or if you gave HPV to your partner. HPV should not be seen as a sign that you or your partner is having sex outside of your relationship.
I just found out I have genital warts …
What does it mean for me and my partner?
Having genital warts may be hard to cope with, but they are not a threat to your health. People with genital warts can still lead normal, healthy lives.
Because genital warts may be easily passed on to sex partners, you should inform them about having genital warts and avoid sexual activity until the warts are gone or removed. There are ways to protect your partner (see above).
You and your partner may benefit from getting screened for other STDs.
If used with every sex act, male latex condoms may lower your chances of passing genital warts. But HPV can infect areas that are not covered by a condom—so condoms may not fully protect against HPV.
It is important that sex partners discuss their health and risk for STIs. However, it is not clear if there is any health benefit to informing future sex partners about a past diagnosis of genital warts because it is not known how long a person remains contagious after warts are gone.
Where can I get more information?
CDC-INFO Contact Center
TTY: (888) 232-6348
CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN)
P.O. Box 6003
Rockville, MD 20849-6003
American Sexual Health Association (ASHA)
P. O. Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3827 | <urn:uuid:5ac3542a-0c9f-4b44-9789-edcbea6a843b> | {
"date": "2014-07-24T09:34:43",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-23",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997888216.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025808-00128-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9518565535545349,
"score": 2.6875,
"token_count": 2406,
"url": "http://www.cdc.gov/STD/hpv/STDFact-HPV-and-men.htm"
} |
Choose any three by three square of dates on a calendar page.
Circle any number on the top row, put a line through the other
numbers that are in the same row and column as your circled number.
Repeat this for a number of your choice from the second row. You
should now have just one number left on the bottom row, circle it.
Find the total for the three numbers circled. Compare this total
with the number in the centre of the square. What do you find? Can
you explain why this happens?
Make a set of numbers that use all the digits from 1 to 9, once and
once only. Add them up. The result is divisible by 9. Add each of
the digits in the new number. What is their sum? Now try some other
possibilities for yourself!
What happens to the perimeter of triangle ABC as the two smaller
circles change size and roll around inside the bigger circle?
Well done to Maulik aged 11 who sent in some
nice work on this problem. Neil's solution is given below.
For a 2 by 2 square with column headings of x
and x+1, and row headings of y and y+1, Neil says that:
So the diagonal from top right to bottom left is:
$(x+1)y+x(y+1) = xy+y+xy+x = 2xy+x+y$
Lets call that Z.
The diagonal from top left to bottom right is:
$xy+(x+1)(y+1) = xy+xy+x+y+1 = 2xy+x+y+1$
So the first diagonal is Z and the second Z+1 so the diagonal
from top left to bottom right is always 1 more than the diagonal
from top right to bottom left.
For a 3 by 3 square with column headings of x,
x+1 and x+2, and row headings of y, y+1 and y+2, Neil says
The 3 by 3 square looks like this:
The diagonal from top right to bottom left is:
Let's say that $3xy+3x+3y = W$
The diagonal from top right to bottom left is W+1. | <urn:uuid:265c8b5d-4b5b-4fbd-8eff-f2e1210f8bb5> | {
"date": "2015-05-22T08:42:03",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207924799.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113204-00054-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8988689184188843,
"score": 3.171875,
"token_count": 486,
"url": "https://nrich.maths.org/2821/solution"
} |
The tuatara is the last member of an order of reptiles that lived, along with the dinosaurs, 225 million years ago. The order is rhynchocephalia
, which comes from Greek and means "beak head." The tuatara is called a "living fossil," but in some ways this is the wrong name for it. Although in some respects it seems a little more primitive than some of the more modern reptiles, scientific experiments have proven that its rate of molecular evolution* is quicker than that of any animal yet tested.
The Maori word "tuatara" has been translated in many different ways, but the most common meaning is that tua
means 'back,' and tara
, 'spine.' Both the males and the females have spines (actually just flaps of skin), but the males' are larger and can be stiffened in order to attract a mate or fight another male.
There are two types of tuataras. For a long time, the Cook Strait tuatara (also called the common tuatara) was the only kind known to exist. Then, a second one, the far rarer and slightly smaller Brothers Island tuatara, was discovered. Today, the classification of tuataras is controversial, with some people arguing that there are two species, while others hold that it's one species, just slightly adapted to its environment. One way to distinguish the two types is that the Brothers Island species is olive-green with yellow speckles, while
the Cook Strait tuatara, which is usually mottled and always has white
spots, varies from green to grey, dark pink, or brick red. It can also
change color throughout its lifetime. Additionally, when caught by a predator, a tuatara can drop its tail which continues to wriggle, allowing time for escape. Their tails do
grow back, but they are often a different color plus shorter. They also can lose spines and regrow them and will shed their skin annually.
The adult tuataras are nocturnal and as a result eat mainly insects that are active at night. Beetles are their favorite food, but they sometimes eat lizards, birds, and bird eggs. They do not have real teeth as humans do. Instead, their teeth are sharp protrusions of their jaw bones. Tuataras have two rows on their upper jaws and one row on bottom. The lower teeth fit between the top teeth when the tuatara's mouth is closed and are useful for eating hard insects. Tuataras are the only animal with this kind of dental arrangement. Unfortunately, having built-in teeth means that they can't replace them as they wear down. Older tuataras have to switch to soft food, like larvae, slugs, and earthworms, and eventually make do with smooth jaw bones.
Adult tuataras can go for an hour without breathing if they need to -- even if they don't need to, a resting adult may take only one breath an
hour. Although they are cold-blooded, tuataras prefer cool weather
to hot. They stay active in 50° weather, while many lizards don't. Like many other reptiles, tuatara eggs are very sensitive to temperature. If the eggs are incubated at 70° F, they have an equal chance of being male or female. At 64°, they are guaranteed to be female and above 72°, they are almost always be male. One threat from global warming is that the weather will be too hot for female eggs to incubate and the remaining males will not be able to find mates. Even if the eggs are laid, that's no guarantee that they're going to hatch because many predators enjoy eating them. If a theoretical tuatara had just laid a fresh clutch of eggs today, and no one was going to eat them, it would still take more than a year for them to hatch (incubation takes 13 to 16 months because they stop developing when they get too cold).
At 13 to 20, they reach maturity, but
they don't stop growing until they're thirty. That is a long childhood, but it is not exactly an ideal one. Tuatara moms are not very attentive. They lay their eggs once every four years and then leave. The hatchlings must hunt in the day to avoid being eaten by adult tuataras at
night. Then, they have to dig their burrow for protection. Burrowing is much easier for an adult tuatara, because they do not mind staying in 'hotels.' Whenever they sense danger,
they dart into the nearest burrow, which is often inhabited by
nesting seabirds. The birds go fishing during the day, and the tuatara
goes hunting at night. The birds do not seem to mind this arrangement --
except in the occasional case where a tuatara eats one of their chicks.
One feature visible in tuatara hatchlings is their "third eye," also called a "parietal eye." This comes with its own lens, cornea, retina, and non-functional connection to the brain, which makes scientists think that it evolved from a real eye. This can be seen through the skin on top of the tuatara's head until it is a few months old, when scales and pigment will have covered it. One possible use is to tell the time of day or the season. Interestingly, tuataras also have three eyelids. The first closes from the top, the second from the bottom, and the third horizontally. This last is a clear one, called a nictitating membrane, which protects and moistens the eye while still allowing the tuatara to see. Their eyes also focus independently.
The chief reason tuataras are endangered is that introduced species, such as the rats and dogs first brought by the early Polynesian settlers, prey on tuatara eggs and hatchlings. The Europeans brought more of these pests, as well as cats and ferrets. In 1895, New Zealand's government fully protected the tuataras, but their population continued to plummet as rats reached one island after another. Even as late as 1984, they killed all of the tuataras on a 25-acre island. For a long time, tuataras lived only on 32 remote islands. On the mainland, where captive release programs have been operating, one nest and one hatchling have been discovered in the wild. Many fenced preserves also keep tuataras, which also benefits other endangered species, such as kiwis, other birds, lizards, and the giant weta, a flightless insect. More than 60,000 tuataras are estimated to live worldwide, which means that this remarkable reptile can resurge in the wild.
Sources:WikipediaKiwi Conservation ClubSan Diego Zoo
*Molecular evolution means that the DNA is changing over time,
which is, simplified, the same thing as evolution, only on a tiny scale. | <urn:uuid:400649d7-349f-4050-9eb6-61eb908b241a> | {
"date": "2016-07-30T11:08:15",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257836397.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071036-00307-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9750568866729736,
"score": 3.578125,
"token_count": 1443,
"url": "http://www.planetgreen.org/reptiles/"
} |
Plywood The Manufacturing Production Process
Plywood is a wood-based panel product comprised of a collection of veneers that are glued together with a resin. To sum up the production process; logs are peeled into veneers, the veneers are lathered in glue, laid up so that the grain direction of each veneer is perpendicular to its adjacent veneer, pressed together, trimmed and sanded.
But there is more to the production process than just that…
Step 1: The Forest
It’s important to us that all raw logs used in our plywood are sourced from legal and sustainable forest concessions. We only use mills who use the Timber Trade Federation’s Responsible Purchasing Policy to ensure this.
Once trees reach an acceptable level of maturity, they are felled by trained harvesters. Depending on the operation of the mill, vehicles like those in the image above can be used to select and fell trees using satellite imagery.
Step 2: Transport to the Mill
Logs are transported from the forest concession to the mill to be processed.
Transportation comes with its own environmental issues in some instances, as forest areas are cleared to make room for roads and therefore new trees cannot grow.
Step 3: The Log Pond
On arrival at the mill, logs are stored in the Log Yard. Mills will use various methods to retain the moisture in the logs, many opting for sprinkler systems.
Logs will then eventually make their way to the Log Pond. Logs are submerged in water for an extended period of time so that they are easier to cut down to size and easier to peel. Some mills in colder climates have heated log ponds as the heat also improves the quality of the peeling; they refer to this as hydro-thermal processing.
Step 4: De-barking the Logs
Before the logs are cut and peeled, the bark must be removed. Mills use industrial machines such as this to de-bark logs as they continue along the production line.
Step 5: Cutting the Logs
De-barked logs then move on to be cut to size. The size that the logs are cut to is usually dependent on the production at the time of cutting; finished panel size & grain direction play a part in the cutting of logs.
Step 6: Peeling the Logs
Logs are peeled using a rotary lathe. This peels the log in a manner similar to that of a pencil sharpener except the blade is completely parallel to the log at the time of cutting. You can see this process in action in the video above, and see them coming out of the back of the peeling machine straight onto a conveyor in the video below.
Step 7: Sizing and Grading
Once they’ve been peeled the resultant sheets are fed to the next step on a conveyor, as in the image below.
Following peeling, the veneers are moved along the production line in long streams. They need to be cut to size and go through an initial grading process. Grading is especially important in regards to Birch Plywood so the majority of mills use scanning technology to check for defects in the veneers, cutting to the required sizes and then separating potential face veneers from core veneers.
Unlike mills from Eastern Europe and the Baltics, countries like China will peel the veneers in smaller squares and then stitch them to the appropriate size as a more cost effective (but quality reducing) method.
Step 8: Drying the Veneers
At this point, the veneers are still wet from being soaked in the log pond. The veneers must be dried for a variety of reasons; from protecting the wood from fungal decay to increasing the mechanical properties of the finished board.
Most mills use large, industrial dryers, often connecting to the log peeler via conveyor belt; however, more frugal methods can also be used. For example, some log peelers in China leave the veneers out in the open to dry throughout the day.
Step 9: Repairing Defects
Once dry, veneers need to be repaired where defects exist. In the case of Birch Plywood for example, open knots (where branches used to be) can be ‘plugged’ in. Splits in veneers on plywood can also be filled in and mis-sized veneers can be finger-jointed together (see above).
Some mills have a machine that scans the veneers and automatically plugs open holes or knots. (See below).
Step 10: Application of Glue and Lay-Up
Veneers are run through a gluing machine which essentially rolls the glue onto the face and back of the veneer. They are then placed on top of an unglued veneer so that the stack alternates; Glued, Unglued, Glued, Unglued and so on.
Step 11: Cold Pressing
Cold Pressing occurs after glue has been applied in order to prepare the veneers for Hot Pressing. This works to flatten out the veneers and ensure the glue is distributed across the veneers evenly.
Step 12: Hot Pressing (Daylight Press)
This part of the production process is where the actual panels begin to take shape. Multiple panels are loaded into the daylight press. The Daylight Press then compresses and maintains heated pressure on the boards for a long period of time. This creates and maintains required contact between the glue and veneers. It also decreases tension in the glue line and the thickness of glue layer.
Step 13: Trimming, Sanding and Finishing
Following Hot Pressing, the board is left to stabilise and cool down before further processing. Then it is a case of trimming down any excess veneer so the board has square edges, then the boards are most commonly sanded using a large, industrial sander.
Step 14: Quality Control
The final product has to be assessed for quality but it wouldn’t be very efficient just to wait until the end of the process to find a large problem with production. For this reason, mills control their production by carrying out a number of tests on different sections of the production process e.g. testing moisture levels, formaldehyde release, durability, etc.
Many mills have what is called a Factory Production Control certificate which means they have been audited by a third party and had their production process approved to relevant European standards.
Step 15: Packaging
Finished products are then stacked up and banded together. Any relevant CE marks are printed on the packaging.
Step 16: Delivery | <urn:uuid:4749685d-c3d2-4d54-9d88-b5c309bb4386> | {
"date": "2019-06-17T11:45:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998473.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20190617103006-20190617125006-00416.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9389805197715759,
"score": 3.65625,
"token_count": 1389,
"url": "http://www.plywoodinspection.com/plywood-the-manufacturing-production-process/"
} |
(b Antwerp, 1582/3; d Haarlem, 29 Aug. 1666).
Dutch painter. He was Flemish by birth; his parents left Antwerp after the city was captured by the Spaniards in 1585 and moved to Holland. They had settled in Haarlem by 1591 and Hals spent the rest of his long life there. He was twice married, had at least ten children, and was constantly in financial trouble. Houbraken says he was ‘filled to the gills every evening’, but there is no real foundation for the popular image of him as a drunken wife-beater. His second wife, however, was more than once in trouble for brawling. During his last years he was destitute and the municipal authorities of Haarlem awarded him a small annual stipend four years before his death.
Hals was the first great artist of the 17th-century Dutch School and is regarded as one of the most brilliant of all portraitists. Almost all his works are portraits and even those that are not (some genre scenes, and an occasional religious picture) are portrait-like in character. He is said to have been taught in Haarlem by Karel van Mander, but there is no discernible influence from him in Hals's early works, which are not numerous or well documented. The earliest dated picture associated with him is Jacobus Zaffius (1611, Hals Mus., Haarlem; perhaps a copy), and on stylistic evidence a few other paintings can be dated around the same time. Nothing he did before 1616 anticipated the way he shattered well-established traditions that year with his life-size group portrait of the Banquet of the Officers of the St George Militia Company (Hals Mus.). There is no real precedent in either his own work or that of his predecessors for the vigorous composition and characterization of this picture, which has become a symbol of the strength and healthy optimism of the men who established the new Dutch Republic. It demonstrates to the full his remarkable ability—his greatest gift as a portraitist—to capture a sense of fleeting movement and expression and thereby convey a compelling feeling of life.
From 1616 onwards there are numerous dated or documented works by Hals and his artistic development is clear. He was at the height of his popularity in the 1620s and 1630s. During these decades he made five large group portraits of civic guards: one (finished by Pieter Codde) is in the Rijksmuseum and the others are in the museum named after Hals in Haarlem, the only place where one can get a comprehensive view of his range and power. In the 1630s his compositions became simpler and monochromatic effects took the place of the bright colours of the earlier paintings (Lucas de Clercq and Feyntje van Steenkiste, 1635, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). The group portrait of the Regents of the St Elizabeth Hospital (1641, Hals Mus.) sets the key for the sober restraint of the late period, when his pictures became darker and his brushstrokes more economical. His career culminated in his group portraits of the Regents and the Regentesses of the Old Men's Alms House (c.1664, Hals Mus.), which rank among the most moving portraits ever painted. By this time Hals was using in his commissioned portraits the bold brushwork and the alla prima technique that early in his career he reserved for genre pictures. No drawings by him are known and he presumably worked straight on to the canvas. | <urn:uuid:8ad5404b-eb34-46aa-9e36-9f6f99252fcb> | {
"date": "2015-07-02T23:09:43",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-27",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375095677.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031815-00206-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9864063262939453,
"score": 2.75,
"token_count": 746,
"url": "http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095916212"
} |
"...the Imagination (or love, or sympathy, or any other sentiment) induces knowledge, and knowledge of an 'object' which is proper to it..."
Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was a scholar, philosopher and theologian. He was a champion of the transformative power of the Imagination and of the transcendent reality of the individual in a world threatened by totalitarianisms of all kinds. One of the 20th century’s most prolific scholars of Islamic mysticism, Corbin was Professor of Islam & Islamic Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Teheran. He was a major figure at the Eranos Conferences in Switzerland. He introduced the concept of the mundus imaginalis into contemporary thought. His work has provided a foundation for archetypal psychology as developed by James Hillman and influenced countless poets and artists worldwide. But Corbin’s central project was to provide a framework for understanding the unity of the religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His great work Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi is a classic initiatory text of visionary spirituality that transcends the tragic divisions among the three great monotheisms. Corbin’s life was devoted to the struggle to free the religious imagination from fundamentalisms of every kind. His work marks a watershed in our understanding of the religions of the West and makes a profound contribution to the study of the place of the imagination in human life.
PRESS RELEASE Freer and Sackler Galleries to Release Complete Digitized Collection Jan. 1, 2015
More Than 40,000 Masterpieces of Asian and American Art Available for
Free Public Use
Dec. 15, 2014
The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art, will
release their entire collections online Jan. 1, 2015, providing unprecedented access to one of the
world’s most important holdings of Asian and American art. The vast majority of the 40,000 artworks
have never before been seen by the public, and more than 90 percent of the images will be in high
resolution and without copyright restrictions for noncommercial use.
The Freer and Sackler galleries are the first Smithsonian and the only Asian art museums to digitize
and release their entire collections, and in so doing join just a handful of museums in the U.S.
“We’re poised at a digital tipping point, and the nature of what it means to be a museum is
changing,” said Julian Raby, the Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and
Freer Gallery of Art. “We strive to promote the love and study of Asian art, and the best way we can
do so is to free our unmatched resources to inspire appreciation, academic study and artistic
In the initial release, each work will be represented by one or more stunningly detailed images at the
highest possible resolution, with complex items such as albums and manuscripts showing the most
important pages. In addition, some of the most popular images will also be available for download
as free computer, smartphone and social media backgrounds. Future iterations plan to offer
additional functionality like sharing, curation and community-based research.
“The depth of the data we’re releasing illuminates each object’s unique history, from its original
creator to how it arrived at the Smithsonian,” said Courtney O’Callaghan, director of digital media
and technology at the Freer and Sackler galleries. “Now, a new generation can not only appreciate
these works on their own terms, but remix this content in ways we have yet to imagine.”
"There is a relentless generosity to Joseph Donahue’s newest collection, as seemingly everything can find its place among the contours of his poetry. By turns worldy and visionary, Red Flash on a Black Field accommodates Charles Olson and David Lynch, Nietzsche and a theology bursting from pure, luminous words of radical intent. In the hands of this consummate craftsman “consciousness is a continual fire” and the world of words is ablaze." - Susan Howe
There is a good interview with Joe about this book and other things in The Conversant. He says,
"In the last few years I have been drawn to the literature of esoteric Islam, certainly for its extravagance of devotional expression and its exploration of visionary states of being, but also to help me fathom a simple and yet difficult ambition of lyric poetry, the ecstatic cry. Why is such a little mouthful of air so hard to get right? Perhaps this is so only to the ecstatically challenged, such as myself. But it seems to me the simple exclamation of joy or despair, both to utter and interpret, demands a thinking out the nature of the world: what forces large and small have brought these syllables to be?"
I want to rectify some omissions that I meant to get to long ago and I have realized that I never did. When I was first exploring the relationship between Corbin and poetry I was in touch with several different poets who gave me invaluable information and assistance. One of them was George Quasha whose work with and about Robert Kelly on ta'wil and related matters is absolutely central to understanding how Corbin's work made it's way into the poetry of the 60s and 70s. Early on Quasha mentioned three poets who were foremost among those influenced by Corbin: Gerrit Lansing, Kenneth Irby and Theodore Enslin. I never followed this lead and I have I think never posted anything about any member of this fascinating trio and this is an important hole in the account I have provided sporadically on this blog. I here officially acknowledge this lack and add their names to the list.
On his PennSound page "Lansing talks with Charles Bernstein, and guest Susan Howe, at Lansing’s house in Gloucester, Mass. Lansing, a close friend of Charles Olson, discusses the wild of Gloucester, the relation of the magic (and the magical) and the occult to poetic practice, Nerval, queer politics and the poetics identity, New York in the immediate postwar period, parapsychology at Harvard in the late 1940s, Gnosticism versus neo-Platonism, Jewish mysticism, and his connections with Henry Murray, Harry Smith, Alan Watts, Aleister Crowley, Carl Jung, and John Ashbery.
Kenneth Irby is Associate Professor at the University of Kansas and his collected poems was published in 2009 as The Intent On.
Theodore Enslin died in 2011 in Milbridge, Maine where he had lived since 1960. To my mind he was the most fascinating character of all. If I had been paying attention I might well have been able to meet him as Milbridge is scarcely 2 hours from my own homestead in rural Maine. This brief appreciation provides a sense of the man: With Great Respect. Though he lived in relative isolation far outside the mainstream he was extremely prolific, publishing roughly 60 books of poetry including a selected poems Then and Nowin 1999. And here is a fascinating interview with Enslin and Robert Bertholf on music and poetry.
[The dated heading for this post acknowledges the fact that I long ago lost track of how many entries there have been in this "series" & I should have dated each entry from the beginning.]
As I've mentioned before, Robert Kelly is one of the most important poets to have put Corbin's work to use. This new collection of essays is very much worth your attention. Though there is no explicit mention of Corbin in these 800 pages, there are three occurrences of ta'wil. On p 284 is the justly famous comment that "A poem is the ta'wil of the first word written down." Perhaps more striking to me is the commentary on Charles Olson and the Angel, which begins on 171 - Olson was, Kelly says, particularly in the late, post-Maximus work, a man in search of his Angel. [I have written about the Olson/Corbin connection many times, and Maud's excellent Charles Olson At the Harbor - see here for instance.] There is so much of interest in this immense volume that it seems to me indispensable.
A companion book, forthcoming [this Fall?] from Contra Mundum, A City Full of Voices, will include the full text of the seminal 1974 collaboration Ta'wil, Or How to Read which I have pointed to several times here. And I will whet the appetite of all with an interest by mentioning that this volume will also contain an essay by George Quasha, "Uncertainties," which discusses Kelly's poetics and the entire complex of issues involved with the poetics of ta'wil, the visionary recital, initiation, creative imagination and alchemy. It is, it seems to me, quite wonderful and utterly essential reading for anyone interested in these matters.
Thanks to Pierre Joris for co-editing these books and for drawing our attention to them. | <urn:uuid:f08fe5cc-d5d7-4c58-81ca-7da1eb5ef4f1> | {
"date": "2014-12-19T21:01:44",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-52",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802768957.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075248-00059-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9517759084701538,
"score": 2.984375,
"token_count": 1886,
"url": "http://henrycorbinproject.blogspot.com/"
} |
The Dwarf El Primo
El Primo, named Diego de Acedo, was a dwarf in the service of the Spanish Royal Court during the 17th century. The books and documents around him indicate his intellectual occupation working in the Royal Printing office, but their size also highlights his dwarfism.
Goya made this print more than a hundred years after Velázquez painted El Primo’s portrait. At the beginning of his career Goya made a whole series of prints after the work of Velázquez, his greatest artistic influence. Like his hero, Goya worked for many years under royal patronage, though he is now mostly remembered for his two print series Caprichos and The Disasters of War that often express satirical, violent and disturbing concepts.
Purchased 1958 (No. 58.6) | <urn:uuid:e5c0c105-fafc-4316-8706-220a035f9144> | {
"date": "2015-10-08T21:56:45",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-40",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737904854.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221824-00116-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9784095883369446,
"score": 3.015625,
"token_count": 169,
"url": "http://barber.org.uk/francisco-de-goya-1746-1828-diego-velazquez/"
} |
Thankfully, you can choose both.
After all, the tomb is empty and our Savior is alive! If ever there were a reason to laugh and cry, this is it. You can make the most of Easter weekend by including your kids in the celebration. Share with them the story of the first Easter. Don’t be afraid to get personal—explain why this holiday means so much to you.
Then head to the kitchen for a fun activity that drives home the lesson.
- Large marshmallows, one per child
- 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls, divided into pre-cut triangles
- Melted butter
- Cinnamon and sugar, mixed to taste
Preheat your oven as directed on crescent-roll packaging. Give each child a marshmallow. Explain that the marshmallow represents Jesus’ body. Read Mark 15:1–39 out loud. We recommend the New International Reader’s Version for kids. If your children are of reading age, have them take turns reading the story.
Next, talk about what Jesus went through as he was mocked, beaten, and hung on a cross. Give each child a crescent roll triangle. Explain that the crescent roll represents the tomb. Read John 19:38–42 out loud.
Now instruct your children to roll the marshmallows in the butter and the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Explain that this process represents the spices and linen used to prepare Jesus’ body for the burial. Then have each child place the marshmallow in the crescent roll. Wrap crescent roll around the marshmallow and seal completely, symbolizing Jesus’ body being closed up in the tomb.
Place the crescent rolls in the oven and bake as directed. Read Matthew 28:1–20 out loud.
While the crescent rolls are baking, ask your children to imagine what it was like for the women who went to visit Jesus’ body in the tomb. Talk about the earthquake, the angel who rolled away the stone, the fact that the tomb was empty, and how Jesus met them on the road.
When the crescent rolls are lightly browned, remove them from the oven. Remind your children that the rolls represent the tomb and the marshmallows they placed inside represent Jesus body. As your kids bite into the roll, they’ll find that the marshmallow is missing!
Use this surprise as a reminder that the tomb is empty too. Jesus is alive! Because He lives, we are offered the gift of salvation and the opportunity to live abundantly here on earth. He calls us to spread the good news of His resurrection with the entire world! | <urn:uuid:b01df790-0087-4d81-ab29-584c5ed3c46e> | {
"date": "2018-06-20T18:36:15",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267863834.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20180620182802-20180620202802-00016.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9448302388191223,
"score": 2.96875,
"token_count": 543,
"url": "http://www.wgts.org/node/6825"
} |
What is Domestic Abuse/Violence?
Domestic abuse/violence is physical, verbal, sexual, psychological or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and which forms a pattern of controlling behaviour.
Domestic violence is about power and control. The abuser wants to dominate their partner and wants all the power in the relationship. They use violence in order to establish and maintain this authority and power. Perpetrators of domestic abuse/violence are usually not sick or deranged, but have learned abusive, manipulative techniques and behaviours that allow them to dominate and control others and obtain the responses they desire.
An abuser will often restrict a person’s outlets, preventing them from maintaining employment, friends, and family ties. This isolates the partner, leaving them with no support systems, and creating dependency. Abusers also limit a person’s options by not allowing access to bank accounts, credit cards or other sources of money or financial independence.
Perpetrators of domestic abuse/violence may constantly criticize, belittle and humiliate their partners. This results in their feelings of worthlessness, of feeling ugly and stupid. This affects a partner's perception of themselves. Low self-esteem may contribute to partners feeling that they deserve the abuse and feeling unworthy of better treatment.
How common is Domestic Abuse/Violence
At least 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men experience domestic abuse/violence in their lifetime.
Less than half of all incidents are reported to the police, but they still receive one domestic violence call every minute in the UK.
Who are the victims?
Domestic abuse/violence occurs in a range of relationships including heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender relationships, and also within extended families.
The majority of victims of domestic abuse/violence reporting the abuse are women and children, and women are also considerably more likely to experience repeated and severe forms of violence, and sexual abuse.
People may experience domestic abuse/violence regardless of ethnicity, religion, class, age, sexuality, gender, disability or lifestyle
Who are the perpetrators?
While the public may think of domestic violence abusers as out of control, unhinged, and unpredictable, the contrary is most often true. Use of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse intermingled with periods of respite, love, and happiness are deliberate coercive tools used to generate submission.
Abusers come from all walks of life, from any ethnic group, religion, class or neighbourhood, and of any age.
Abusers choose to behave violently to get what they want and gain control. Their behaviour may originate from a sense of entitlement which is often supported by sexist, racist, homophobic and other discriminatory attitudes.
Whilst the risks involved in remaining in an abusive relationship may be very high, simply leaving the relationship does not necessarily mean that the violence will stop. In fact, the period when a victim is planning or making their exit, is often the most dangerous time for them and any children involved.
Abusers may violently assault, and then minutes later offer words of regret. Many will buy gifts of flowers, chocolates and other presents in order to win favour and forgiveness. This creates a very confusing environment for the partner. Abusers may say they will never harm their partners again, and promise to obtain help or counselling. Often, these promises are only made to prevent victims from leaving. Without getting help, the violence will most likely recur.
*If you are considering or would like to leave an abusive relationship, please consider contacting ARCH North Staffs for more information and help (see Links section)
Domestic violence affects not only those abused, but witnesses, family members, co-workers, friends, and the wider community. Children who witness domestic violence are victims themselves and growing up witnessing violence predisposes them to social and physical problems. Constant exposure to violence at home and abusive role models teaches these children that violence is a normal way of life and places them at risk of becoming society's next generation of victims and abusers.
When there are children in the household, the majority witness the violence that is occurring, and in 80% of cases, they are in the same or the next room. In about half of all domestic violence situations, the children are also being directly abused themselves.
Sexual ‘Violence’ within Domestic Abuse
Sexual violence includes a range of different behaviours, many of which, such as sexual assault or rape, are crimes.
Sexual abuse is usually a component of domestic violence - for example, partners and former partners may use force, threats or intimidation to engage in sexual activity. They may taunt or use degrading treatment related to sexuality, force the use of pornography, or force their partners to have sex with other people. Rape and sexual assault are crimes, whether or not they occur within marriage, between partners or ex-partners. Sometimes abusers will refuse to engage sexually to intimidate and humiliate their partner, or will use loving and tender behaviours to ‘make up’ after violence or aggression.
All of these aspects come under the definition of ‘Sexual Control’, and Savana counsellors are all trained around the issues of Domestic Abuse/Violence. This means that someone wishing to access counselling for these issues will be made welcome at Savana
Who else can I speak to?
ARCH North Staffs specialise in working with victims/survivors of Domestic Violence, and they house Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVA) so if you think that you might be a victim, then their web address and telephone number can be found on the Links section of our website. | <urn:uuid:a4b49e5a-c1b1-4468-8000-ff76076d5cf5> | {
"date": "2013-12-06T11:27:07",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2013-48",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163051476/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131731-00002-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9532206058502197,
"score": 3.359375,
"token_count": 1146,
"url": "http://www.savana.org.uk/Domestic-Violence-Abuse"
} |
The well-documented decline of the Pinus palustris ecosystem has resulted from several anthropogenic influences, such as forest clearing (e.g. pine plantation forestry, agriculture) and urban development, both of which are closely related to increases in human populations. Other impacts have arisen from alterations in disturbance regimes responsible for maintaining the structure and function of these ecosystems. Restoration and management of degraded pine savanna ecosystems is critical. Identification of ecological processes that determine the structure and function of the intact system are important because successful restoration efforts should be based on sound scientific understanding. In this paper, we introduce this special issue on the ecology, conservation, and restoration of the Pinus palustris ecosystem. Some global climate change scenarios have suggested that future changes may occur that alter frequency and severity of disturbances such as fires and hurricanes. Such changes may have large effects on pine stands, and ultimately entire Pinus palustris savanna ecosystems, thus presenting further challenges to their sustainable management.
Gilliam FS and WJ Platt. 2006. Conservation and restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem. Applied Vegetation Science 9:7-10. | <urn:uuid:417c5142-cb5b-4713-9728-8c0dd1159bd7> | {
"date": "2018-04-26T22:55:34",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948617.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180426222608-20180427002608-00576.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.903083860874176,
"score": 3.453125,
"token_count": 227,
"url": "http://mds.marshall.edu/bio_sciences_faculty/12/"
} |
A family of catalysts developed in the 1950s for the mass production of polyethylene and polypropylene.
Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta recieved the Nobel Prize in 1963 for the discovery of these chemicals and their applications. Initially, Ziegler was only able to make wax like low molecular weight polyethylene. Natta experimented with many further formulations of the catalysts and became aware that they could polymerize propylene. Along with Earl Tupper, Wallace Carothers, Paul Flory, and Leo Bakeland, they are the most famous polymer chemists of all time.
All of the catalysts are made from a mixture of titanium tetrachloride and an alkylated metal like triethyl aluminum.
Metallocene catalysts have emerged as a fierce rival because they operate with a single active site and thus can produce polymers with a lower polydispersity and higher molecular weight which result in better properties. They can also be used to make fancy copolymers.
Another competitor are Phillips catalysts. They are composed of chromium oxide on a high surface area silica substrate. Less branching occurs in the polyethylene formed by this catalyst. The solid silica substrate makes recovery of the catalyst easier, and thus using it makes for a cheaper process.
Ziegler would charge exhorbitant fees to demonstrate the use of his catalysts without explaining how they worked. He would charge even more to give an explanation or to help set up a manufacturing plant. | <urn:uuid:7f0fa620-959b-4f2e-b016-7ec0bb9045ed> | {
"date": "2015-03-06T02:38:16",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-11",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465456.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00110-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9547450542449951,
"score": 3.203125,
"token_count": 309,
"url": "http://everything2.com/title/Ziegler-Natta+catalyst"
} |
CLEP Social Sciences and History Exam
CLEP Social Sciences and History Examination Description
The Social Sciences and History examination covers an extensive variety of points from the sociologies and history disciplines. While the exam is in view of no particular course, its substance is drawn from initial school courses that cover United States history, Western human progress, world history, government/political science, geology, social science, financial matters, brain science, and human studies.
The essential goal of the exam is to give competitors the chance to exhibit that they have the level of learning and comprehension expected of understudies who meet a dispersion or general instruction necessity in the sociologies/history zones.
The Social Sciences and History examination contains pretty nearly 120 inquiries to be replied in an hour and a half. Some of them are pretest inquiries that won't be scored. At whatever time hopefuls spend on instructional exercises and giving individual data is notwithstanding the genuine testing time.
Note: This examination utilizes the sequential assignments b.c.e. (before the common era) and c.e. (common era). These marks relate to b.c. (before Christ) and a.d. (anno Domini), which are utilized as a part of a few course books.
Knowledge and Skills Required for Taking CLEP Social Sciences and History Exam
The Social Sciences and History examination requires candidates to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities.
• Ability to understand, interpret, and analyze graphic, pictorial, and written material
• Ability to apply abstractions to particulars and to apply hypotheses, concepts, theories, and principles to given data
• Familiarity with terminology, facts, conventions, methodology, concepts, principles, generalizations, and theories
The content of the exam is drawn from the following disciplines. The percentages next to the main disciplines indicate the approximate percentage of exam questions on that topic. | <urn:uuid:618198fe-2430-4fa6-8db2-df81b3a9a8ef> | {
"date": "2017-08-20T17:27:27",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-34",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886106865.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20170820170023-20170820190023-00616.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8976718187332153,
"score": 3.203125,
"token_count": 388,
"url": "http://studyguide.net/clep-social-sciences-and-history-exam-description"
} |
New Heroin Addiction Treament Might Replace Methadone By 'Blocking' Addiction In The Body
A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide and the University of Colorado has discovered a way to block mechanisms in the body that are receptive to morphine and heroin addiction. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, have profound implications for heroin addicts worldwide. The scientists studied the effects of the drug (+)-naloxone and discovered it can selectively block the immune-addiction response. It could possibly replace methadone as a treatment, or be used to supplement existing programs, but more research is needed. They also noticed that in addition to blocking heroin addiction the drug provides a certain degree of pain relief, potentially leading to a new type of painkiller.
Like Us on Facebook
"The drug (+)-naloxone automatically shuts down the addiction. It shuts down the need to take opioids, it cuts out behaviors associated with addiction, and the neurochemistry in the brain changes - dopamine, which is the chemical important for providing that sense of 'reward' from the drug, is no longer produced," Dr. Mark Hutchinson, lead author of the study, said in a statement on the University of Adelaide's website. "Our studies have shown conclusively that we can block addiction via the immune system of the brain, without targeting the brain's wiring. Both the central nervous system and the immune system play important roles in creating addiction, but our studies have shown we only need to block the immune response in the brain to prevent cravings for opioid drugs."
An immune receptor called TLR4 proved to be the key to the new treatment. Heroin binds to TLR4 in a manner that simulates the immune response to bacteria. The presence of the heroin in TLR4 then acts as an "amplifier" for addiction. Professor Linda Watkins, a co-author of the study, said in the release that "this work fundamentally changes what we understand about opioids, reward and addiction. We've suspected for some years that TLR4 may be the key to blocking opioid addiction, but now we have the proof."
The next step for the treatment is clinical trials, which could take up to 18 months. After that, the researchers hope it can lead to the development of a new type of morphine-based painkiller.
"The drug that we've used to block addiction, (+)-naloxone, is a non-opioid mirror image drug that was created by Dr. Kenner Rice in the 1970s. We believe this will prove extremely useful as a co-formulated drug with morphine, so that patients who require relief for severe pain will not become addicted but still receive pain relief. This has the potential to lead to major advances in patient and palliative care," Watkins said.
© 2012 iScience Times All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. | <urn:uuid:0ffaa232-5bff-4bfb-9d3f-2874563faea8> | {
"date": "2017-02-23T14:20:32",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171171.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00020-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9408208727836609,
"score": 2.796875,
"token_count": 591,
"url": "http://www.isciencetimes.com/articles/3682/20120815/new-heroin-addiction-treament-replace-methadone-blocking.htm"
} |
In recent years the red squirrel has been forced from much of its original habitat since the introduction of its larger grey cousin from North America. More difficult to observe than greys, these woodland characters can be found in native Scots pine and oak woodland areas across Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway, the central Highlands and the Cairngorms National Park.
Come October barnacle geese, whooper swans and other wintering birds arrive in tens of thousands at Scottish nature reserves. In the salt marshes and mud flats of the Solway Coast in Dumfries & Galloway, the population of barnacle geese numbers up to 25,000 congregate. Look out for Icelandic whooper swans and pink-footed geese at nature reserves in Caerlaverock and Mersehead.
When common seals (also known as harbour seals) come to land they are found in shallow inland waters, hauled up on sandbanks or out on rocky outcrops on the west coast. Most pups are born in October and November, so look out for the fur-coated seal pups that nestle beside the adults. | <urn:uuid:eaac8648-cd37-4e06-87a1-766846426de3> | {
"date": "2014-03-13T14:49:51",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-10",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394678677514/warc/CC-MAIN-20140313024437-00006-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.94407719373703,
"score": 3.234375,
"token_count": 235,
"url": "http://www.visitscotland.com/en-au/see-do/seasonal-calendar/october/flora/"
} |
The telecentric is often confused with a barlow. Both can be used to magnify the focal length. “Telecentric” is not a synonym for parallel beam. Telecentrics are designed so that the exit pupil lies at infinity, which means that the center ray from any point in the field appears to come from infinity and is therefore perpendicular to the image plane and parallel to the optic axis. This means that the off axis beam arrive at the image plane with the same angular geometry as the axial rays. All field elements look as if they where like they are on axis, across the image plane and unlike a barlow, the edge field rays are not tipped bundles.
Because all the principal rays across the image plane are perpendicular to the image plane. The rays at the edge of the field will pass through an etalon just in front of the focal plane with exactly the same geometry as the rays on axis. So in a f/30 telecentric refractor the etalon sees the exact same 2.5degree geometry clear across the field, and the spectral bandpass does not shift the wavelength across the field.[Download not found] | <urn:uuid:ff923c4f-7a93-44b6-86b7-f93979dae842> | {
"date": "2019-04-24T08:44:16",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-18",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578636101.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20190424074540-20190424100540-00296.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9267313480377197,
"score": 3.046875,
"token_count": 233,
"url": "https://astrosolar.com/en/products/halpha/baader-telezentrisches-linsensystem-tzs/"
} |
- A Dubai-based engineering firm wants to tow icebergs from Antarctica to Dubai in order to provide the city with a reserve of fresh drinking water.
- The firm will use satellite imagery to select candidate icebergs. It’s eyeing icebergs that are between 2,000 and 7,000 feet long, and weigh around 100 million tons.
- But the plan is short on details: the firm doesn’t know exactly how it will get the icebergs to Dubai, or how the icebergs will be stored.
What do you do if you’re a fast-growing city in the desert with lots of thirsty people and little freshwater reserves? Park an iceberg off the coast.
That’s one Dubai-based engineering firm’s plan to provide fresh drinking water to the city’s rapidly-expanding population.
The National Advisor Bureau (NABL), a private engineering firm, wants to schlep a glacial iceberg from Antarctica – weighing approximately 100 million tons – to Dubai, via an intermediate stop in either Perth, Australia, or Cape Town, South Africa.
If the iceberg doesn’t melt along the way, the firm will sell the water to Dubai’s government.
“If we succeed with this project, it could solve one of the world’s biggest problems,” Abdulla Alshehi, NABL’s founder told NBC News. “So if we can show this is viable, it could ultimately help not only the UAE, but all humanity.”
Dubai, which is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, is growing so rapidly that a solution to the city’s looming water crisis must be found, according to the city’s largest English-language newspaper, The Khaleej Times.
To put Dubai’s population growth in perspective, the desert-bound city is set to house over 3.4 million people within by 2030, up from just over 2.5 million in 2016. That’s a lot of thirst to quench in a city that’s built in one of the driest regions in the world.
The problem is greater than just Dubai. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, an estimated 4 billion people around the world face difficulty accessing safe drinking water.
Other methods, like processing Dubai’s salty groundwater into freshwater, or deploying water harvesters – which produce freshwater from atmospheric moisture – are still too costly and inefficient to produce enough water for the city.
- Mario Tama/Getty Images
How to get a 100 million ton iceberg to Dubai without melting is a monumental challenge
The company is beginning a pilot study in November to examine the feasibility of the iceberg-towing project. According to Alshehi, the firm will use satellite imagery to look for a suitable iceberg – which he says should be between 2,000 and 7,000 feet long – and then try and tow it to either Australia or South Africa.
Once the iceberg gets to its first stop, it’ll be towed the rest of the way. Because icebergs are so heavy, the company will need multiple ships to assist with towing, and it will use the ocean’s prevailing currents to their advantage.
Alshehi told NBC that even if 30% of the iceberg melts on the journey, it’ll still be able to provide between 100 million and 200 million cubic meters of fresh water – enough for 1 million people to stay hydrated for five years.
Private investors have bankrolled the project to the tune of $60 million, according to NBC.
But there are still some unanswered questions, like how the firm plans to store the iceberg, and how it will sell the fresh water to the government.
That isn’t stopping Alshehi from trying. If he’s successful, he hopes to bring icebergs to freshwater-starved regions throughout the world.
“The entire world is in need of water, but initially we would be looking at countries such as India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia,” he told NBC. | <urn:uuid:65d3ab38-ccf5-4e94-b79d-a3726388486f> | {
"date": "2019-02-19T08:41:45",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247489729.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190219081639-20190219103639-00176.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9376246929168701,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 858,
"url": "https://www.businessinsider.my/engineering-firm-tow-icebergs-antarctica-for-water/"
} |
Setting an example for young athletes: Rob Valentino’s story
Last month, many were shocked to hear of the death of a 16-year old high school student from New York who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while playing on his school’s football team. While it may serve as an extreme example of what can happen, this tragic story highlights the importance of education, awareness and treatment in preventing TBI deaths, particularly among young athletes.
Approximately 1.7 million traumatic brain injuries occur in the United States every year, with concussions accounting for roughly 75% of them. A concussion is a type of TBI caused by any form of injury, such as a jolt to the head or a fall, which jars the brain inside the skull. Concussions do not necessarily lead to a loss of consciousness, and can include a wide range of side effects including headache, memory problems, nausea/vomiting, double or fuzzy vision, ringing in the ears and more.
In 2012, to emphasize the importance of proper concussion treatment, Florida passed a Youth Concussion Law stating that parents must sign a concussion information form before their child can participate in school sports. Additionally, the law states that student athletes are required to be immediately removed from play if suspected of a concussion, and concussed student athletes must obtain medical clearance before returning to play.
Of course forcing an adrenaline-filled student athlete to sit on the sidelines when a concussion is present is challenging, but vital and potentially life saving. Just ask Rob Valentino, defender, Orlando City Soccer Lions. He’s been in that situation before and understands how hard it can be to put your health first when a game is on the line.
“When Dr. Albright took me out of the game, I wasn’t happy,” he laughs. “I wasn’t thinking clearly because of the injury and also the emotions I was feeling being in a playoff game. Looking back, I’m glad he was there and I know that he did it for my own safety.”
Last year, Rob suffered a concussion during an important playoff game and was forced out of play for health reasons. Dr. Jay Albright, former orthopedic surgeon for both the Arnold Palmer Hospital and Orlando Health Sports Medicine programs, treated Rob on and off the field.
“I went up for a header and I don’t remember anything after that,” Rob says of receiving the injury. “The next thing I remember is being on the ground and the trainer already being at my feet. I also remember having a terrible, terrible ringing in my head near both of my temples.”
Rob was prohibited from engaging in physical activity for four weeks after his concussion. Though not experiencing a tremendous amount of pain, he did have ongoing headaches and was encouraged to avoid things like texting or playing video games that might place too much strain on him. He was given an impact test, which is a series of questions designed to measure memory and focus, and once his results were back to normal, he was able to engage in activity again. In hindsight, Rob is grateful that he followed his doctor’s advice because he avoided potentially worse complications.
Though sidelined during the playoffs last year, Rob was able to play through until the very last game this year, becoming a 2013 USL PRO champion with the rest of the Lions. Even in playoffs with the game on the line, Rob still understands one thing for sure: your brain is what’s most important.
“Your brain isn’t something to mess with,” he says, offering advice to young athletes. “Bones heal if you break them. Muscles heal if you tear them. But your brain is different. It can be frustrating because everyone heals differently and there’s no timetable for recovery when it comes to your brain. You just have to be patient and trust that everything will be okay in the long run.”
If your child is exhibiting any signs of a concussion, it is important to seek professional help immediately.
At Arnold Palmer Hospital, we know the importance of providing quality care for children and adolescents with concussions. That’s why our Sports Medicine team offers a Comprehensive Concussion Program including pediatricians, orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists, as well as access to rehabilitation and vestibular therapists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons and athletic trainers. This multidisciplinary approach to treatment allows us to quickly evaluate and diagnose every child we see to provide the most effective treatment plan available.
“Concussions can affect anyone of any age, from professional athletes like Rob to kids playing on the playground at school,” says Dr. Elizabeth Davis, Sports Medicine physician. “What is most important is that a brain injury is recognized sooner rather than later. The more quickly a concussion can be identified and treated, the sooner that child or athlete can return to their activities.” | <urn:uuid:3c8f3c7d-e0b2-4336-8bb4-2952b141d1b7> | {
"date": "2018-04-27T08:23:37",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524127095762.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20180427075937-20180427095937-00376.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.970829963684082,
"score": 2.703125,
"token_count": 1027,
"url": "https://www.arnoldpalmerhospital.com/blog/setting-an-example-for-young-athletes-rob-valentinos-story"
} |
A large, complex sunspot group designated Active Region 1944 has rotated onto the Earth-facing side of the solar disk.All of 2013, supposedly the peak in Cycle 24, left solar observers feeling cheated: few sunspots, even fewer auroras, and no real solar storms to speak of.
January 1st was also when one of the largest sunspot groups of this solar cycle rotated around the limb and into view. Designated AR (Active Region) 1944, this giant is roughly 100,000 miles across. Earlier today my wife (blessed with keen vision) glimpsed it by eye through a glass solar filter without much trouble; it was more of a struggle for me.This isn't a single sunspot but rather a group of many clustered together. "It's impressively complex," notes Tom Fleming, a veteran solar observer. "I got a count of 26 yesterday but I could only rate the conditions as 'fair' . . . too much turbulence. The actual count is probably closer to 45." Fleming notes this was already a mature group when it rounded into view, so at its peak the count was likely higher.
This group should reach the center of the solar disk in about 3 days. Because it's located near the solar equator, space-weather watchers will be on the alert for flares, which might direct a blast of relativistic energy Earth's way.In the meantime, it's an excellent grouping to view through a telescope equipped with a safe solar filter. If you don't have the right filter, set up binoculars on a tripod, uncover one side, and point toward Sun. Don't look through the binoculars, but instead project the Sun's image onto a white card placed behind the eyepiece. | <urn:uuid:69f64951-a818-48cd-9be0-d0a94c498296> | {
"date": "2014-11-26T02:47:10",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-49",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931005028.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155645-00244-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9637817740440369,
"score": 2.765625,
"token_count": 359,
"url": "http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/huge-sunspot-group-nowobservable/"
} |
Last modified: 2002-12-28 by rob raeside
Keywords: england | united kingdom | cross: saint george | leopard | hastings |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors
by Vincent Morley
The cross of St George is the flag of England, not the Union Jack. It is a red cross on a white field. The Church of England uses the cross of Saint George with the shield of arms of its diocese in the canton, although in practice many, when they fly the flag at all, fly the plain cross.
Roy Stilling, 21 November 1995
As far as I know, the St George's Cross flag as the national flag of England has no official proportions, as it is not used officially by government bodies etc. Public buildings in England are supposed to fly the Union Jack on St George's Day (April 23rd) and can only fly St George if they have more than one flagpole. I presume the St. George's Cross as a Royal Navy rank flag has official proportions though, which I'd guess as being 2:3. Most flag books show the English flag as being 2:3 or 3:5 - certainly shorter than 1:2. I personally would regard a 1:2 St George's Cross as "wrong". I have no real reason for saying this - it just wouldn't look right to me.
Roy Stilling, 20 February 1998
The official proportions for the national flag of England is 3:5, with the cross being 1/5 of the height of the flag wide. The same ratio is used for Scotland and Wales. The saltire on Scotland's flag is also 1/5 of the height of the flag wide. It was chosen as being the closest 'standard' shape to the golden rectangle.
Rectangular naval rank flags are actually 2:3, with the cross being 1/6 of the height of the flag.
Graham Bartram, 5 April 1999
Although St. George was known in England in the 5th Century and his legend
was brought back to England by stories from the 1st crusade, there is no mention
of the 'Cross of St. George'. If, as I am led to believe, Richard the Lionheart
(1189-1199) saw a vision of St. George with a red cross banner, I can only
assume that Richard brought back the red cross. This seems to be at odds with
the history of the Genoa flag where Filipo Nocetti
gives information that English ships bore the cross so as to have safe passage
into the port of Genoa, subsequently paying the King for this safe passage.
Filipo gives the year 1190 some 9 years before Richard returned, so if our
Italian correspondent is correct then the 'Cross of St. George' would have been
seen in England before the second
Barry Hamblin, 1 July 2002
There is a chapter on this subject in British Flags by
W.G.Perrin (1922) who was Admiralty Librarian
in the early 1900's. He wrote that although St George was popular among
crusaders there was no particular connection with England at that time. St
George was a foreign saint and it was many years before he came to be regarded
as similar in importance to the English saints Edward and Edmund.
Briefly he wrote that;
England as a nation state did not exist until the reign of Edward I (1272), all previous kings having been Norman or Anglo-Norman.
The earliest reference to the cross of St George as an English emblem (not flag) was in a roll of account relating to the Welsh War of 1277.
Although the banner of St George was flown when the castle of Caerlaverock was taken in 1300, it was in company with those of St Edward and St Edmund.
Edward the Confessor was "patron saint" of England until 1348 when the greater importance of St George was promoted by the establishment of the Chapel of St George at Windsor. It was not until 1415 that the festival of St George was raised to the position of a "double major feast" and ordered to be observed throughout the Province of the Archbishop of Canterbury with as much solemnity as Christmas Day.
St George's cross did not achieve any sort of status as the national flag until the 16th century, when all other saints' banners were abandoned during the Reformation. The earliest record of St George's flag at sea, as an English flag in conjunction with royal banners but no other saintly flags, was 1545.
David Prothero, 1 July 2002
Were there other saints' banners in the 16th Century?
Zeljko Heimer, 2 July 2002
To quote Perrin, page 40.
"When the Prayer Book was revised under Edward VI (1547-1553), the festival of St George was abolished, with many others. Under the influence of the
Reformation the banners of his former rivals, St Edward and St Edmund, together with all other religious flags in public use, except that of St George, entirely disappeared, and their place was taken by banners containing royal badges."
In connection with flags ordered for ships in the 15th century he mentions, the gittons of Holy Trinity, Holy Ghost, St Mary, St Edward, St George; the streamers of Holy Ghost, St Katherine, St Nicholas; banners of St Peter, St Katherine, St George, St Edward, St Anne; standards of St Mary, St George, Holy Ghost, St Edward; plus non-religious flags in various forms bearing, royal arms, ostrich feather, swan, antelope, pomegranate and rose, rose of white and green, dragon, lion, greyhound, portcullis and red lion.
David Prothero, 3 July 2002
Mike Oettle, 14 January 2002
The question of the correct flag to fly from a flag staff on an English church was raised in February 1907, when Sir A.Scott-Gatty, Garter King of Arms, wrote that, "churches should not fly the national flag. It should be the cross of St. George impaling the arms of the See (arms in the hoist and cross in the fly ?), but until the sovereign has spoken on this matter by a Royal Warrant, there is no flag that can be flown with propriety." [HO 45/10287/109071]
The matter came up again after the coronation of George VI when according to a letter published in The Times newspaper on 18 January 1938; "Herald's College referred to this in 1911 at Coronation of George V. Cross of St George impaled with the arms of the diocese is the flag." A note in the file added that the flag did not exist and that the plain St.George's Flag was correct. [HO 144/22962]
Later in 1938 the Earl Marshall issued a warrant declaring the proper flag on churches to be St George's cross with the arms of the See in the canton. Some English churches fly, or have flown, the White Ensign of the Royal Navy. Details in a separate page.
David Prothero, 17 January 2002
As example: the proper flag to be flown in the diocese of Rochester is the flag of St George with, in the canton, a shield of the arms: Argent on a saltire gules an escallop or."
Mike Oettle, 17 January 2002
by Vincent Morley
In the book by Crampton [cra90], there is shown at the beginning a banner of England. Is this still in use or an historical banner? The arms of England are gules three leopards or.
Pascal Vagnat, 7 May 1996
I suspect it remains a royal flag, like the Scots one, and can only be used by the Queen.
Originally the arms were supported by two gold lions rampant guardant, the sinister was changed by the Tudors to a gold dragon rampant to symbolise the union of England and Wales (the Tudors were a Welsh dynasty).
Roy Stilling, 7 May 1996
Henry VII's supporters were a greyhound and a red dragon (to be seen above the entrance to Brasenose College in Oxford). I suspect it was Henry VIII who showed the greyhound the door and it was definitely Elizabeth I who turned the dragon gold. The dragon vanished with the arrival of the Stuarts. I've always lamented its passing as it would be nice to have a Welsh aspect to the royal arms, though I'm aware that as a principality it has no right to be there.
Andy T. Fear, 7 May 1996
Heraldry hit Europe during a thirty-year period in the mid-12th century. How the rules became so rapidly codified and so widely accepted still has historians baffled. Lions were among the earliest and most frequent charges - probably due to their Christian allegorical significance. Lions passant guardant (the most common pose) were originally called leopards (lupars in early Norman English), and the lions of England are still occasionally called leopards. In early iconography they lack manes and look a lot more like leopards. By the 14th century the leopards had definitely evolved into lions (at least in art if not in heraldic terminology). A two-lion shield was retrospectively (during the 13th century) assigned to the early Norman kings of England, but there is no evidence that William I and his immediate heirs knew anything about this.
The earliest solid evidence for the English heraldic lion is both textual and iconographic. Henry I knighted his son-in-law Geoffrey of Anjou in 1127 on the occasion of the latter's wedding, and bestowed on him a blue shield painted with gold lions (according to the chronicler Jean de Marmentier). The shield can be seen on Geoffrey's tomb (now in a museum in Le Mans), and the lions are also found on the shield of Geoffrey's grandson William Longespee - one of the earliest evidences that these heraldic devices had become hereditary. The earliest known example of a heraldic shield depicted on a seal is 1136, and there is some speculation that battlefield heraldry evolved from seals (rather than the conventional wisdom that heraldry was a military invention).
Henry I (1100-1135) was known as the 'Lion of Justice' and started a royal menagerie at Woodstock, which included lions (allegedly the first seen in England - at least since Roman times). His seal had no lions, but his shield may have borne one and later two. Some have conjectured that the second lion came from his marriage to the daughter of Godfrey of Louvaine, whose seal had a lion. The theory that the third lion came from Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Henry II (1154-1189) is now somewhat discredited, but her seal certainly is known to have had three lions on a shield. (The joining of devices through marriage is called 'marshalling'.) Matthew Paris, the earliest chronicler of a Roll of Arms, credits Henry II's eldest son Henry with three lions on his shield. Henry II's son John had two lions, and the three lions as royal arms first definitely appear in the second royal seal of Richard I late in his reign (1198). That this redesign of the seal came after Richard's crusading escapades may be significant. (Richard's shield during the crusades is conjectured to have been red with two gold lions, like his father's. All artistic portrayals of Richard with three lions are derived from the royal seal at the end of his reign, but there is no solid evidence of Richard's lions prior to the second royal seal.) The lions remained thereafter a symbol of England (soon quartered with the French fleur de lis, 1340-1801, to represent England's claim to the French throne).
Sources: Stephen Friar and John Ferguson, Basic Heraldry (1993), Thomas Woodcock and John Martin Robinson, The Oxford Guide to Heraldry (1988), Heather Child, Heraldic Design (1965), C.W. Scott-Giles, Boutell's Heraldry (1966).
T.F. Mills, 3 August 1998Within heraldic circles (on the Net at any rate) there is considerable debate on the subject, and François Velde's site Heraldica (regarded as authoritative on many aspects of heraldry) takes the view that there can be no debate on this subject: suddenly, over a 30-year period between the First and Second Crusades, all the knights across Western Europe suddenly became armigerous (my abstraction of his argument, not his words).
On the other hand there has been considerable attention devoted in recent years to the theory that it is in fact much older – some two centuries older, in fact. The theory is clearly stated in The Oxford Guide to Heraldry by Thomas Woodcock, Somerset Herald, and John Martin Robinson, Maltravers Herald Extraordinary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990). It is also referred to frequently in The Baronage Press, and I make mention of it on my site.
The theory, broadly stated, is that heraldic devices – probably in origin banners rather than shield devices – were in use among a group of families in Flanders for some two centuries before the First Crusade. (The reference to banners could in fact bring this debate back to vexillology, but that's another matter.) Most of these families, it seems, were descended from Charlemagne, but no direct claim is made for Charlemagne himself having borne arms.
The use of such devices spread initially as aristocratic Flemings spread into other areas, particularly in the role of castle builders. William of Normandy's invading army of 1066 included many knights from other parts of France than simply Normandy, and certainly included some Flemings – some from Flanders, but also at least two from families that had settled (as castle-builders) in Normandy. The use of heraldic devices among the "Normans" of England and the parts of Wales, Scotland and Ireland that fell under Norman influence spread gradually as the usefulness of these devices became apparent, and also became associated with the new ruling class in the British Isles. Contacts with family on the Continent were maintained, and heraldic usage re-crossed the Channel in this fashion.
The phenomenon of the Crusades may or may not have originated among armigerous families, but service in the Holy Land appears to have been an incentive towards the adoption of coat-armour. The preponderance of heraldic lions in countries far from the natural range of these beasts is almost certainly a product of personal experience (or at least the telling of tales about) real lions, which were still to be found in certain parts of the Levant. Their symbolic significance no doubt hastened their adoption in heraldic devices.
A number of changes in European society seem to have accompanied the Crusades, and styles of artistic expression conducive to the preservation of heraldic evidence appear to have coincided with these. Thus it is seen that seals incorporating coat-armour become common, and many experts have argued from this premiss that because coats of arms only appear on seals from this period, they did not exist before.
Mike Oettle, 13 January 2002
From a booklet by J P Brooke-Little, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms (1981) entitled "Royal Heraldry: Beasts and Badges of Britain", and published by Pilgrim Press.
"During the second half of the 15th century artists and seal engravers began to augment coats of arms by placing two
creatures on either side of the shield. At first these seem to have been chosen capriciously and were not regarded as an integral part of the coat of arms. However, as they increased in popularity and as they literally supported the shield, the heralds began to take notice of them and eventually formulated rules for their control and inheritance.
"It is both difficult and dangerous to make sweeping generalisations about the use of supporters, but it is fair to say that during the 15th century they were sometimes used but not taken too seriously. They consisted of favourite beasts and badges put to a new and attractive use. It was left to the Tudor heralds, emancipated from the blood bath of civil strife, peacefully to rationalise their use and bring them within the confines of strict armorial practice.
"It must here be appreciated that quite apart from formal armorial bearings, that is shield of arms, crest and later supporters, the greater nobility freely used armorial devices as motifs in decoration and as badges with which they marked their property and retainers. Such use was often free and fantastical, but it was as much part of the mediæval scene as the masque, miracle play, fair or tournament. It is therefore difficult to draw the line between an artistic embellishment and a truly armorial supporter.
"An heraldic antelope and a swan have been attributed to Henry IV and an antelope and a lion to him and his son Henry V. Antelopes, lions and panthers have all been associated with Henry VI. To Edward IV are accorded two white lions, a lion and a hart and a lion and a black bull. Richard III has two white boars, and a lion and a boar. It is not until the reign of Henry VII that there is good contemporary evidence for the more or less consistent use of supporters by the sovereign, although the actual beasts vary. Henry VII's grandfather, Owen Tudor, used a red dragon garnished with gold as a badge, claiming descent from Cadwalader, the last native ruler of Britain, to whom a dragon was attributed. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that Henry greatly favoured this beast. He used it as a badge and also as a supporter to his arms: he even created a new pursuivant (the junior rank of herald) whom he named Rouge Dragon. Henry used the dragon as his dexter supporter in conjunction with a greyhound. He also used two greyhounds, witness the representation of his arms at the Bishop's Palace, Exeter.
"The greyhound was a popular badge of the Lancastrian kings and when Henry VI created his half-brother Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, he also assigned him a white greyhound badge as a supporter. It is not surprising that Henry should have attached especial importance to this royal beast, which he would have inherited from his father, for it symbolised, and perhaps in his eyes made more substantial, his tenuous links with the house of Lancaster.
"King Henry VIII, like his father, did not just use two supporters. He rang the changes but generally favoured the crowned golden lion as his dexter and the red dragon as his sinister supporter, which is probably why King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I, who made the dragon gold, all used these supporters: except that Mary, when her arms conjoined to those of King Philip gave her husband his black eagle in place of her dragon.
"In 1603 James VI of Scotland came to the throne as James I of England. As king of Scots his arms were supported by two silver unicorns with golden horns, manes, beards, tufts and hooves. About the neck of each was a golden circlet like that in the royal crown and attached to this was a gold chain reflexed over the monster's back. King James kept the English lion supporter but banished the red dragon in favour of one of his Scottish unicorns. The lion and the unicorn have been the royal supporters ever since."
Mike Oettle, 29 June 2002 | <urn:uuid:0d6b8592-d623-43d6-88ec-f7dbf51c2599> | {
"date": "2017-11-24T20:39:15",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934808935.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20171124195442-20171124215442-00256.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9733885526657104,
"score": 2.828125,
"token_count": 4097,
"url": "http://www.1uptravel.com/flag/flags/gb-eng.html"
} |
Summary: Learn how to do different paint effects, apply glaze, apply ragging technique, apply rag-rolling technique, apply sponging technique, apply stippling technique, apply dragging technique, apply graining technique, apply distressing technique, apply colourwash technique and use a stencil on a wall.
There are a number of paint effects that can transform a bland wall - trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye) effects create the illusion of depth or imitate the surface of other materials such as stone, wood or marble, and distressing woodwork can transform an ordinary piece of furniture by creating an antique or a rustic look.
Usually a translucent glaze (also known as scumble glaze) is used as the topcoat to create textured effects, but for a more dramatic look, apply the effect directly onto emulsion.
If this is your first attempt at creating a paint effect, first practice on a small section of wall. You will have to work quickly to apply the desired effect before the glaze dries. Working in sections, apply an even layer of glaze to the wall with a paintbrush, softening any harsh brushstrokes with a softening brush.
Roll up a twisted rag and drag it down the wall to create an effect that looks like creased fabric. Change rags whenever it becomes saturated.
Sponging is an excellent technique for getting into corners and other awkward areas with minimal difficulty. Use natural sponge for a rustic look or synthetic sponge cut to an irregular shape for a finer covering. For a speckled finish sweep a damp sponge over glaze, dabbing lightly or hard depending on how subtle you want the effect to be.
Avoid too regular a pattern by dabbing randomly. To sponge a colour onto pale walls, soak up a little paint with a dry sponge and dab randomly on the walls. Start with a sparse layer of sponged paint and increase the vibrancy of the colour by adding more layers.
This is one of the simplest techniques to follow. All you need to do is drag the tip of a dry paintbrush down the glazed wall in vertical or horizontal stripes. For lighter stripes, reduce the angle between the brush and the wall. This is a useful method for using on doors to suggest a wood grain effect.
To prevent paint bonding evenly on a surface, apply Petroleum jelly in patches beforehand. Alternatively, sand off paint from around moulding to give an ageing effect. Using a small hammer, paint can be chipped away or the surface can be dented for an authentic look.
To imitate the craquelure effect - a tracery of fine cracks - found on antique furniture or cornices, use crackle glaze. To make crackle glaze, apply a layer of oil-based varnish followed by a layer of water-based varnish when varnish is still tacky. As the varnish dries, cracks will appear. Rub some oil into the cracks and re-varnish the surface after a week or so.
Stencils can be repeated to create a boarder frieze around a room or used instead of wallpaper. They are an effective means of brightening up children's rooms or can be used with glaze instead of paint for a faintly patterned look. You don't even need to buy a stencilling kit - just cut out your chosen shape from a piece of card and stick it to the wall with masking tape.
Join an existing conversation or create a new thread related to Painting and decorating in our DIY forum.
lets do diy LTD (Company No. 6629028) BA2 2PA.
© lets do diy LTD 2008 - 2015 | <urn:uuid:784e32f6-6b0f-4311-a664-f0a348b46086> | {
"date": "2015-07-01T19:12:31",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-27",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375095184.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031815-00236-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9023544788360596,
"score": 2.5625,
"token_count": 772,
"url": "http://www.lets-do-diy.com/Projects-and-advice/Painting-and-Decorating/Paint-effects.aspx"
} |
Title: Controls of streamflow generation in small catchments across the snow-rain transition in the southern Sierra Nevada, California
Author: Liu, Fengjing; Hunsaker, Carolyn; Bales, Roger C.
Source: Hydrological Processes. 14 p. [Published online]
Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
Description: Processes controlling streamflow generation were determined using geochemical tracers for water years 2004–2007 at eight headwater catchments at the Kings River Experimental Watersheds in southern Sierra Nevada. Four catchments are snowdominated, and four receive a mix of rain and snow. Results of diagnostic tools of mixing models indicate that Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Cl- behaved conservatively in the streamflow at all catchments, reflecting mixing of three endmembers. Using endmember mixing analysis, the endmembers were determined to be snowmelt runoff (including rain on snow), subsurface flow and fall storm runoff. In seven of the eight catchments, streamflow was dominated by subsurface flow, with an average relative contribution (% of streamflow discharge) greater than 60%. Snowmelt runoff contributed less than 40%, and fall storm runoff less than 7% on average. Streamflow peaked 2–4 weeks earlier at mixed rain–snow than snow-dominated catchments, but relative endmember contributions were not significantly different between the two groups of catchments. Both soil water in the unsaturated zone and regional groundwater were not significant contributors to streamflow. The contributions of snowmelt runoff and subsurface flow, when expressed as discharge, were linearly correlated with streamflow discharge (R2 of 0.85–0.99). These results suggest that subsurface flow is generated from the soil–bedrock interface through preferential pathways and is not very sensitive to snow–rain proportions. Thus, a declining of the snow–rain ratio under a warming climate should not systematically affect the processes controlling the streamflow generation at these catchments.
Keywords: streamflow generation, snow-rain transition, endmember mixing analysis, Sierra Nevada
- We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
- This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
XML: View XML
Liu, Fengjing; Hunsaker, Carolyn; Bales, Roger C. 2012. Controls of streamflow generation in small catchments across the snow-rain transition in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. Hydrological Processes. 14 p. [Published online]
Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility | <urn:uuid:804b8486-0551-4d26-9770-ded7e73b9978> | {
"date": "2015-01-28T09:11:10",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-06",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422122691893.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124180451-00153-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9292786717414856,
"score": 2.53125,
"token_count": 570,
"url": "http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/41233"
} |
One benefit of living in the developed world is access to clean soil and water, which means the absence of parasites if everything is running smoothly. Children in developing countries like Tanzania, however, aren’t so lucky. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one billion people worldwide suffered from worm infections in 2002.
Ascaris lumbricoides, or hookworm, and Trichuris trichiura, or whipworm, eggs can enter the body if a person eats or drinks contaminated food or water. They cause disruption in the gastrointestinal tract and infections.
For children, an infection can impact more than just day-to-day life. For some, it can severely stunt growth.
“Children infected are physically, nutritionally, and cognitively impaired,” said Benjamin Speich, a researcher at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. “This means they…grow slower, have difficulties [paying] attention in school, and with higher infection intensities they might suffer from anemia.”
Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends annual de-worming treatments for children and at-risk groups. But in the face of whipworm, these treatments aren’t enough. A better course, Speich's research shows, is oxantel pamoate, a drug more commonly used by veterinarians.
Scientists from the Swiss institute have found that oxantel pamoate combined with the standard treatment, Albendazole, rids 31 percent of children of worm infections and decreases eggs in children’s stools by 96 percent after just one treatment.
For researchers, these findings were not surprising—the drug has been a known treatment for whipworm since the 1970s. And after testing it thoroughly in the lab, researchers found that it performed much better than the standard drugs like mebendazole.
“We therefore hoped that these promising results would also be observed in humans,” said study author Jennifer Keiser, Ph.D., an assistant professor of medical parasitology and infection biology at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.
Researchers collected data from 458 children ages 6 to 14 on Pemba Island in Tanzania, of whom 450 were infected with whipworm, 443 with hookworm, and 293 with A. lumbricoides. Children were given a 20 mg dose of oxantel pamoate per kilogram of body weight, plus 400 mg of albendazole on consecutive days.
Researchers found that the cure rate for whipworm was significantly higher with the combined treatment than with mebendazole—nearly three times higher. Unfortunately, oxantel pamoate did not effectively treat the other two types of parasite infection.
Keiser and her team are not the first to suggest that oxantel pamoate is a good supplement to the current standard of care. “[A] number of small-scale studies in the 1970s showed that oxantel pamoate is also a safe and effective way of tackling whipworm infections in humans,” Speich said. Getting the drug for people however, turned out to be harder than they expected.
“Access...to it is extremely difficult,” Keiser said. Researchers tried to reach out to veterinary companies that produce the drug, but some of the companies did not want to provide it.
“We solved [the] problem with colleagues from the pharmaceutical department at the University of Basel, who produced tablets for us,” Keiser said.
Before oxantel pamoate is readily available for more than just animals, safety and dosing studies will need to be conducted to find a fixed dose that works no matter how much a patient weighs. That will be crucial for mass drug administration programs, Speich said.
Garnering the support of the WHO will also be crucial, Keiser said, because they choose first-line treatments for worm infections. | <urn:uuid:4dc346bc-b6ec-464a-8c66-d2fb0880ca7c> | {
"date": "2015-03-31T20:51:11",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-14",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131301015.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172141-00146-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9531871676445007,
"score": 3.625,
"token_count": 815,
"url": "http://www.healthline.com/health-news/children-veterinary-drug-cures-whipworm-infection-in-children-021314"
} |
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas is responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. After a ratification process, the Convention entered formally into force in 1969.
About 30 species are of direct concern to ICCAT: Atlantic bluefin, skipjack, yellowfin, albacore and bigeye tuna; swordfish, billfishes such as white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish and spearfish; mackerels such as spotted Spanish mackerel and king mackerel; and, small tunas like black skipjack, frigate tuna and Atlantic bonito.
Through the Convention, it is established that ICCAT is the only fisheries organization that can undertake the range of work required for the study and management of tunas and tuna-like fishes in the Atlantic. Such studies include research on biometry, ecology, and oceanography, with a principal focus on the effects of fishing on stock abundance. .
The Commission has 50 contracting parties and 3 Cooperating Non-Contracting Parties (Bolivia, Suriname and Guyana).
ICCAT’s website can be found here.
Standing Committee on Research and Statistics (SCRS)
The SCRS is essentially the “scientific arm” of ICCAT. The SCRS, on which each member of the Commission may be represented, is responsible for developing and recommending to the Commission all policy and procedures for the collection, compilation, analysis and dissemination of fishery statistics. A working group of scientists for each species meets regularly to review new scientific literature, compile data and conduct periodic stock assessments. The list of international scientists who sit on these working groups represent some of the best minds in marine science in the species under study. NOAA scientists and distinguished U.S. scientists from academia actively participate in these meetings.
It is the SCRS’ task to ensure that the Commission has available at all times the most complete and up-to-date statistics concerning fishing activities in the Convention area as well as current biological information on the stocks that are fished. The SCRS also coordinates various national research activities, develops plans for special international cooperative research programs, carries out stock assessments, and advises the Commission on the need for specific conservation and management measures.
Further information on the SCRS can be found here.
ICCAT Advisory Committee (IAC)
The IAC is comprised of members of the U.S. domestic commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental groups, academic scientists, representatives of the U.S. Department of State, NOAA's Office of International Affairs, NOAA's Sustainable Fisheries Division and NOAA’s Highly Migratory Species Management Division and act in an advisory capacity to the U.S. Delegation to ICCAT. Committee members are appointed to a two-year term and serve on a voluntary basis. The IAC meets twice yearly in Silver Spring MD and information relating to past meetings can be found here. | <urn:uuid:79cf02fa-0024-4163-b39d-bed17fe273e3> | {
"date": "2017-06-25T03:34:24",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320395.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20170625032210-20170625052210-00297.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9240847229957581,
"score": 2.796875,
"token_count": 624,
"url": "http://www.theabta.com/international"
} |
Typical computer output devices are printers, display screens and speakers. All are types of devices that produce computer output, which is computer-generated information converted into a form people can understand.Continue Reading
Printers accept electronic instructions from a computer to generate a printed copy of information, also called a hard copy. The most common types of printers for personal use in 2014 are inkjet and laser printers. Inkjet printers spray liquid ink onto paper, while laser printers use heat to seal a powdered form of ink, called toner, onto paper.
A display screen shows text, graphics and video output. This information is sometimes called a soft copy. Display screens are available in many sizes and types, ranging from wall screens designed for displaying information to many people to 15-inch screens in laptop computers and smaller screens in smartphones. Before a computer can produce images on a display screen, it must translate numerical graphics data into images, which usually takes place in an internal component called a graphics card or graphics adapter.
Computers primarily produce audio output by sending data to a sound card, which translates the data to sound and transfers it to speakers. The speakers can be installed internally or attached externally, either as separate devices or in a set of headphones.Learn more about Computers & Hardware | <urn:uuid:8f73b0af-9651-46a4-a901-bfe77d646ae7> | {
"date": "2018-04-21T14:21:00",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125945222.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20180421125711-20180421145711-00456.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.907150149345398,
"score": 3.796875,
"token_count": 256,
"url": "https://www.reference.com/technology/examples-output-devices-9985da14a4c41ed4"
} |
We don’t really know what it is like to live in a kingdom ruled by a king or queen, living here in the United States. We live in a democratic state where there is independence of ownership and no state governments rule by a king or queen with everyone else being subjects of the kingdom.
Unlike what we know in America, in a kingdom, you own nothing.Everything is owned by the ruler of the kingdom. You may have land and a house, but it is owned by the lord of the land, the king or queen.
Everyone works, contributes taxes and buys food for themselves, but they really own nothing of value. This is a common practice in some countries even today.
There are African nations ruled by kings and some smaller islands in the Pacific are ruled by kings. However, back in the day when the scriptures were written, kingdoms were a typical type of rulership.
There was only one ruler who decided on all things. That was the king or queen of the kingdom.
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” he was talking about a lordship over all things in the heavens and on the Earth under one king, his Father. He was talking about a single ruler over all things with the power to contain all things under that rulership.
So, thinking in terms of what our faith tells us, there is only one true God and he alone will rule over all the Earth one day; it’s as though he is telling us through his word, not only will he rule over all the heavens and Earth one day, but, in actuality, he is already ruler over all the Earth.
In order for his perfect will to be done on Earth, however, until a time which he has already selected comes, he is allowing other forces to come into play that seem to rule until that given time when he will take over rule of all the Earth.
We believe almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jacob, King David and all the prophets, is the only true God of this world. If we believe this, then we believe that God is truly Lord over his kingdom as a king is lord over a kingdom here on Earth where everyone and everything belong to the king.
The land, the animals on the land, the people, the rivers, the mountains, the seas and the cattle on 1,000 hillsides they all belong to the King of the heavens and the Earth.
Everything is subject to submission to the King in the end, even if some don’t know or want to believe the King is really in control.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.”
This is saying: Thy will will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.
That is a very direct claim of power. May we ask who controls the rains and snow that fall on the Earth from heaven? Who determines how much moisture will fall on one part of the Earth and how much will fall on another? Who controls the sun and the moon and the stars in the heavens?
Science will explain some of the things like what the temperature of the Earth would be if we were closer to the sun, or if the Earth’s rotation were slower, but what explains who rules the heavens and the other aspects of the universe?
It would be childish to say man could answer all these questions.
The word of God says in Isaiah 55: 8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
This is all the explanation I need to understand that the kingdom of heaven is ruled by a power much greater than you or I can
ever know while we are living in these mortal bodies.
“What you see is what you get,” is as easy an explanation for me. The rest is faith in God’s word.
The power of God is not a power I can reckon with other than to know that the Lord almighty is in control of all things through his perfect will, and all things are subject to him whether we know it or not.
“Thy will be done,” is almost a fatalistic way of looking at things, but, in a sense it is very true.
Jesus said, “Abba Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will be done,” Mark 14:36.
Many Christians today believe Jesus is coming soon. If one were to look at the daily news and what these Christian prophets are saying and study the scriptures that speak of the coming of the Lord, one could see that the world seems to be at a crossroads where something should be happening soon from God that will convince mankind that he is the Lord of the heavens and the Earth. And what a great day that will be ... a day of redemption from the mess the world has gotten into.
I believe God has allowed man to be as he is today, just as the prodigal son of the scriptures was allowed to go wayward.
God has never given up his love for us nor lost control of the Earth’s situation, but he has allowed things to happen as they have so we would turn to him and see his great love for us and to find hope for us in an everlasting life that God has promised for us through Jesus Christ the Lord.
With the gift of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ can be a gift to us to help us get through the times we are in now while we wait in great expectation for the coming of the Lord Jesus, just as the scriptures tell us.
Then, other things will happen suddenly and God himself will restore a new Earth for his kingdom to come. Then, there will be no suffering, no dying, no pain and we will be under God’s protection for ever and ever from sin and wickedness that causes so much pain and suffering in the world as we know it today.
Our hope is renewed each day when we pray this simple prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.”
All praise and glory to our king and Lord, Jesus Christ, the Lord of the heavens and the Earth.
Mark Conway is a Christian evangelist living in Seward. He can be reached through e-mail at akmark5 [email protected].
Peninsula Clarion © 2015. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us | <urn:uuid:df8ff7d6-d69b-43d0-8a2b-03c7d226aebb> | {
"date": "2015-03-28T05:45:49",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-14",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131297281.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172137-00206-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9715001583099365,
"score": 2.59375,
"token_count": 1415,
"url": "http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/012607/religion_0126rel001.shtml"
} |
"The fate of Africa's rarest apes hinges on
battles over their territory as well as their taxonomy"
Gorilla Warfare, Craig B. Stanford, The Sciences, Jul/Aug 1999, pp.18-23.
Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, three of the most incendiary nations in Africa, are also home to some of Africa's rarest apes. Living high in the Virunga volcanoes is the last surviving population of mountain gorillas, or as they are officially known, Gorilla gorilla beringei. Only 600 of these easygoing, extremely shy herbivores remain. Craig Stanford, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles examines the factors which will ultimately decide the fate of these magnificent creatures. (Stanford studies gorillas and chimpanzees at a camp in Bwindi-Impenetrable Park.)
Made famous by the 1988 movie Gorillas in the Mist, the mountain gorilla became a major tourist attraction, a fact which was not ignored by the Ugandan government.
Soon, gorilla tourism in the Virunga volcanoes was that country's second highest source of revenue, after coffee. Stanford goes on to explain how the governments of these countries were interested in preserving the gorillas because they were such an important source of revenue. When guerilla soldiers kidnapped and killed several tourists, however, the gorilla tourism obviously took a devastating blow. Without the revenue, the governments do not feel as strongly about protecting the great apes.
It is of particular interest to Albertan's to read of the involvement of Stanford's colleague, Mitch. Mitch is from Three Hills, Alberta, and was one of the six tourists to survive the kidnapping of fourteen tourists in Buhoma. Mitch has since returned to Uganda, working for the International Gorilla Conservation Programme in Kabale.
Stanford reports that, although their political troubles run very deep, representatives from... | <urn:uuid:9a64f765-0b08-4402-8126-b304f2371768> | {
"date": "2016-10-28T16:07:00",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-44",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988722951.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183842-00191-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.951889157295227,
"score": 3.15625,
"token_count": 394,
"url": "http://www.writework.com/essay/gorilla-warfare-craig-b-stanford-sciences-jul-aug-1999-pp"
} |
It’s the future. It’s the 21st century. I always imagined that by this time, there would be the requisite flying cars and Moon colonies. So one of the biggest disappointments of my adult life has been the realization that our species is almost 100% Earth-bound and that there has been no real progress made in leaving low Earth orbit for as long as I’ve been alive. In the 80s, it seemed like we were on an uphill trajectory. The books I read as a kid promised the whole solar system as our playground. Or at the very least, the Moon and Mars, if we want to be reasonable, I suppose. But thirty years later, it seems we have been stagnant for decades. So this year has been fairly exciting, space-wise. With the first successful commercial launch and space station docking mission by Space X and NASA Curiosity’s successful touchdown on Mars by what can only be described as an insane landing mechanism, there has been much to celebrate. But it seems that the celebrations are confined to a rather small circle. Beyond that, the interest wanes rather quickly, dissolving into inane banter about how it’s been done before, that the endeavor was useless because there are no instantaneous applications, or that the money could have been better spent on a thousand and one other projects that only receive attention when science spends the money instead.
Our world is amazingly short-sighted, not that that should be surprising. It has to do with our monkey brains. I can see it in my classroom, where students fuss and panic about how to get the answer to this question because it’s due right now, but often fail to see the bigger picture that will give them all the answers to all similar types questions in the future. I’m always flabbergasted that our investments and financial systems, which we entrust all our treasure to, behave in a similar fashion … fussing about quarterly returns and transient events that affect these commodities this much right now, but pay no heed to any long-term trends and often actively ignore them. This short-term thinking has gutted our innovative corporate labs, with most companies focusing on how to siphon more money out of what they already have instead of building something new that no one knew they needed. And when something truly innovative comes along, it’s often met with derision and a chorus of “I can’t imagine how that could be useful”.
I remember one time having a discussion with my PhD adviser. I don’t remember what it was about, but I do remember at some point blurting out in exasperation “Well, I can’t imagine how that would work!” To which he replied, “Imagine harder.” I didn’t have an answer to that. That phrase continues to motivate me as I have moved on to more challenging projects in online education (which is often derided because no one can imagine how it could work well). This spring was especially exciting, with Space X and Planetary Resources basically laying out through their actions and in their press releases their plans for colonizing the solar system. This was, of course, met with the “I can’t imagine …” line. But imagine harder. While people laugh at rich space tourists flying around in zero gravity for thirty seconds, I imagine vibrant space resorts, zero-G manufacturing, asteroid mining, and easy access to the rest of the solar system’s untapped treasures. That’s a multi-trillion dollar economy waiting right there for the right people to come along. Can’t imagine how mining an asteroid could be useful? I imagine rare-earths so cheap that computers become as cheap and ubiquitous as plastics. Can’t imagine why Curiosity is useful? I imagine now-proven technology for lowering increasingly massive payloads to planet surfaces paving the way for human settling, answers to our biggest questions about life, and a triumph of human cooperation and ingenuity (especially in light of the daily reports of increasingly horrific human-inflicted suffering). You can’t imagine? I can’t imagine how a baby could be useful. It makes a lot of noise and craps itself all the time. And it could grow up to be a drug addict. Why bother?
Everyone has their strengths and everyone has their weaknesses. There is wisdom in not commenting on something that you don’t know much about, or acknowledging that your comment shouldn’t be given much weight because you don’t know much about the subject (reading a Wikipedia entry doesn’t count!). My above comments about economics would fall into that category. Often times we don’t know very much about endeavors that we aren’t engaged in, which is why we tend to say “I can’t imagine …” But the entire world shouldn’t be limited by your imagination. These types of arguments are very common in the “debates” about evolution and climate change. If you really drill down far enough into the arguments, they always end with “Well, I can’t imagine how that would work!” That’s fine, but that doesn’t mean that no one else can. Imagine harder. And if you can’t, step aside and let someone else do it. Because we all benefit when they do. | <urn:uuid:4c136976-334d-48d8-a631-f516bcfcb953> | {
"date": "2014-10-23T21:17:04",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-42",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413558067648.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017150107-00263-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9633544683456421,
"score": 2.5625,
"token_count": 1119,
"url": "http://www.astrobio.net/paleblueblog/imagine-harder/"
} |
- Buddhist Tibet: 7th - 8th century AD
- Tibet and China: 7th - 13th century AD
- Dalai Lamas: from the 14th century
- Spiritual rulers of Tibet: 1642-1912 AD
- Panchen Lamas: from the 17th century
- Manchu protection: 1720-1911 AD
- Tibet Subject to Western Aggression
- Communist Invasion
- Chinese Aggression in Tibet
Panchen Lamas: from the 17th century
The theme of appointment by reincarnation, introduced for the Dalai Lamas, is soon copied by many other Tibetan monasteries and sects. There are eventually several hundred who find their leaders in this way, but only one line of succession enjoys a prestige approaching that of the Dalai Lama. This is the line of the Panchen Lama (or more properly Pan-chen Rinpo-che, meaning 'Great Precious Sage').
The first Panchen Lama is the teacher of the fifth Dalai Lama. In about 1650 the grateful pupil declares (by means of a fortunately discovered text, revealing the truth) that his teacher is, like himself, an incarnation of a known Bodhisattva or future Buddha.
At the start the Panchen Lamas are merely abbots of a particularly important monastery, but they gradually become provincial governors on behalf of the Dalai Lama. This position brings wealth and political prestige, until in later centuries they are often seen as rivals of the Dalai Lama.
For each of these two sacred roles, and for many others of less importance, a search is rigorously conducted after each death to find the reincarnated infant. The selected boy is removed from his family and taken into a Buddhist monastery to be trained for the new chapter in his ongoing story, while a regent (an inevitable feature of the Tibetan system) carries out interim duties. | <urn:uuid:b6c21e07-44a1-4fe5-80d3-fd93af80138f> | {
"date": "2016-10-01T10:38:47",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-40",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662705.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00082-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9467732310295105,
"score": 3.28125,
"token_count": 378,
"url": "http://indohistory.com/pancham_lamas_from_the_17th_century.html"
} |
This is a very high-difficulty problem!
This is a Numeric Entry question, so no answer choices– you’ll have to just type in your answer.
Give yourself 2 minutes to do this question, and let me know how it goes! 🙂
Parallelogram PQRS has a perimeter of 24. PQ = 2QR and Angle PQR = 120 degrees. Parallelogram TQUV is formed by cutting out part of parallelogram PQRS so that angle TQU and PQR share the same angle. If TQUV is half the area of PRQS and TQ = 2QU, what is the perimeter of TQUV to nearest 0.1?
This question can be solved relatively quickly if you remember that since the parallelograms are similar and one is twice the area of the other that any side of the large parallelogram is x√2 the length of the corresponding side of the small parallelogram (√2 x √2 = 2; which results in the twice the area).
Since we know that the sides of the large parallelogram are 4 and 8, we can derive the sides of the small parallelogram by √2, giving us 4/√2 = 2√2 and 8/√2 = 4√2. Therefore the perimeter of the small parallelogram (TQUV) is (4√2 + 2√2)2 = 16.97. Since the answer has to be rounded to the nearest .1, the answer is 17.0. | <urn:uuid:b46c44bf-2f0e-4dd2-9fcf-ac9d0ab9d5f6> | {
"date": "2016-08-29T21:34:10",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-36",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982967784.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200927-00216-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9310662746429443,
"score": 3.703125,
"token_count": 334,
"url": "http://magoosh.com/gre/2014/gre-parallelogram-challenge-question/"
} |
Every person, group, company, organisation or any other entity needs to keep working on itself and improve for further benefits and overall satisfaction. Feedback is the best possible method to know what another person or other people think about us or about our products or services. Feedback is a direct opinion or point of view which is honest and transparent in nature. It helps us to grow and work on the negatives and turn them into positives. Without a feedback, no one can get a response about an existing procedure, method, product or service. Thus one cannot improve and satisfy the targeted audience.
A feedback survey is a written questionnaire consisting of multiple questions which are all aimed at getting a feedback from the respondent. The feedback could be on an event, person, program, product or a number of varied entities. These feedback surveys are commonly used by many companies, organisations and manufacturers so as to know what the common public thinks about the products or services produced by them. Through a feedback survey, one can have opinions of many different varied people and hence conclude the negatives and positives and thus work towards betterment.
A feedback survey is an important kind of a survey as the positive reviews or feedbacks really help to life the morale of the organisation which has conducted the survey. Any good response definitely encourages the company to do even better and this could result in overall improvement of profit figures. Feedback surveys can also put in ideas and suggestions into the mind of the surveys conducting organisations which they can use for their benefit.
There are many different types of feedback surveys. The following are a few examples:
- Product feedback survey
- Service feedback survey
- Company feedback survey
- Event feedback survey | <urn:uuid:45203f43-4a3a-4614-ad5f-c28a4f623982> | {
"date": "2017-04-28T08:14:13",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917122886.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031202-00295-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.952255368232727,
"score": 2.90625,
"token_count": 335,
"url": "http://www.samplesurvey.org/what-is-a-feedback-survey.html"
} |
Better control of red flour beetles and other costly, stored-product insect pests could be on hand, thanks to a new pitfall trap designed by Agricultural Research Service scientists.
Commercial traps now used are typically dome-shaped devices baited with pheromones or other attractants that lure the beetles into pits or onto glue strips. The new design, dubbed the “Terrestrial Arthropod Trap” and patented in October 2012 by ARS on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, takes this “fatal attraction” to a new level.
In addition to a pheromone dispenser, the pyramid-shaped trap sports three slender fins along each edge of its base to coax inquisitive beetles into crawling towards the opening of a central pit, where they can be captured, counted, and discarded. The new trap also features light-emitting diodes (LEDs), set to wavelengths of 390 nanometers. The LEDs attract beetles from long distances, ensuring that they get a whiff of pheromone the closer they approach. This can be especially useful in well-ventilated warehouse areas, where the ubiquitous odor of food can dilute or mask the scent of pheromone emanating from a trap.
“Once the beetles are close enough for a lure to be effective, there is a further need for a trap designed specifically to appeal to the tactile and behavioral traits of the targeted pests,” write the inventors in a patent description of their new trap design. Peter Teal leads the ARS Chemistry Research Unit in Gainesville, Florida. Lee Cohnstaedt is in ARS’s Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit in Manhattan, Kansas. Adrian Duehl and Richard Arbogast were both formerly with ARS in Gainesville.
In timed laboratory trials, red flour beetles visited LED traps set to 390 nanometers 16 times versus 2 to 5 times for traps set to other wavelengths. Positioning the LEDs at the trap’s top captured more beetles (55 total) than placing the diodes at the bottom (12 captured). Combining the LEDs with an attractant made the pyramid design even more effective, capturing 70 beetles versus 4 using a standard dome design.
The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is a primary target of the team’s research because it eats both raw and processed cereal grains. It commonly infests flour mills but can also be found in warehouses, storage bins, and household food pantries, causing millions of dollars in losses annually.
The pyramid trap’s success in laboratory trials is a testament to the researchers’ efforts to study and exploit the beetle’s natural behaviors and tendencies—from identifying optimal wavelengths that cue it visually to creating a crawl space between the trap’s lid and base that appeals to the furtive pest’s instincts, luring it to enter and fall into the pit inside.
Small hive beetles, which can weaken honey bee colonies, were also attracted to the trap. In tests, researchers observed a 10- to 20-fold increase in captures of hive beetles compared to conventional traps used against the pest. Changes to the trap’s design and to the combination of attractants and LED wavelengths can also be made to effectively target fleas, ticks, bed bugs, and mosquitoes.—By Jan Suszkiw, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.
This research is part of Crop Protection and Quarantine, an ARS national program (#304) described at www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
Peter Teal is in the USDA-ARS Chemistry Research Unit, Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, 1600-1700 S.W. 23rd Dr., Gainesville, FL 32608; (352) 374-5730.
"Patented New Trap Irresistible to Insect Pests" was published in the October 2013 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. | <urn:uuid:802bd842-14d0-4073-b462-5d8b26cdf15b> | {
"date": "2014-08-27T08:57:20",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500828050.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021348-00216-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9159509539604187,
"score": 3.34375,
"token_count": 816,
"url": "http://[email protected]/is/AR/archive/oct13/pests1013.htm"
} |
Validation simply means ensuring through a test program that your web site is written in valid code, or error free if you prefer. You call up a program, usually the W3C Validator (1 page at a time) or the WDG Validator (Multiple pages) and point it at a or multiple pages and you tell it to validate your code. It then says your good to go or you have "X"-many errors that need to be fixed. It tells you how many, where they are and what the error is with a cryptic hint as to what the problem is. You then fix it, test again and when it is error free you publish the web site or post a critique request.
You want to do this because:
- You should be professional and trying to create error free pages for your customers.
Errors do cause coding problems and a problem you have visually may be tied to a simple code error much earlier in the source code. You can often have 20 errors that vanish when you correct one thing earlier in the page. A gap in the visual elements of a page you can not figure out may be connected by a error in your code 200 lines before. The error in itself is not visible, but it effects elements later in the design.
- We must design for "User Agents," anything that can be used by the user to visit a web page, browsers are just one section of user agents, others are screen readers, cell phones, PDAs and Gaming Consoles like PSP or Nintendo Wii. Browsers may ignore mistakes in the code, but we can never know what software on what user agent may completely break due to an error. Error free code will work best across user agents.
- You should want your web site to work across user agnets, and not just to days user agents but tomorrows as well. Many misguided web designers thought designing for IE6 was enough as not enough people use Firefox, now more people do and IE7 actually supports standards so they discovered their designs for IE6 broke in IE7. We want to design for today and tomorrow.
You may also wish to read:
OK, we get allot of requests here for critiques. Far to often it is new members with their first posts... then they do not understand what we are telling them. One case in point is validation.
Web sites can be critiqued in three forms
- Code - the hard rules of creating web sites, the code behind them, rules to follow and test against..
- Usability/Accessibility - if the site can be used successfully by users and those with disabilities, again there are rules and ways of doing things you can test against.
- Look & Feel - whether or not a web site looks good/professional. This is a matter of personal taste with little true guidelines to test against, what one person likes others may hate and more indifferent. It is not clear cut.
So back to the code, we get a request to critique it and we validate it and it shows dozens of silly errors that should not be there and should have been easily repaired before publishing or asking for a review, that is why we say to validate first as we are tired of masses of errors. But many reply "what do you mean validation?"
If you stop to think about it, it is clear that we mean test your code to see if it is valid. The problem lies in two forms:
- Designers who do not think validation is needed as long as IE shows the site the way they want it and like to think web design is like the Wild West, with no rules and anyone can do anything they like.
- Beginners who do not know better and think web design is like the Wild West, with no rules and anyone can do anything they like.
Well it is not. Web design is a structured way of creativity and has rules and guidelines. You can write novels or poems... but you still have to use correct grammar and spelling right? Web design is no different, only we use other languages, rather than English or German with their different rules and spellings, we use (X)HTML and CSS and co. with their rules and grammar. Just as you would not publish a novel with poor grammar or spelling, you should not publish web sites built with poor grammar in HTML.
This is where validation comes in. It is about testing your code for errors and bad habits, missing tags and deprecated tags. Validating your code is about ensuring that your code is valid and error free, that it is written per norms and standards set forth and that the code is written the way it is supposed to be.
These rules are set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) who defined what the tags in say HTML do and it is these standards and definitions of tags that tell the browser what to do with that tag when it finds it. Standards state the a tag that looks like
is a paragraph and so space shall be added between these blocks of text. It also states that in HTML a closing tag may be left out, but should be added and that in XHTML closing tags MUST be used.
In your HTML you are supposed to start the page with a tag that starts with DOCTYPE, this defines what language is being tested against. Just like you have to tell a spell or grammar checker that you are checking German and not English, you must tell the validator that you are testing HTML or XHTML so it knows if a closing
This is where the two groups above miss the point, they look at the web site in IE and it looks like the way they want it so all is fine. Well I could give my published novel to a drunk or a pot head and they would likely not care either about grammar or spelling. But should I not be publishing a quality product?
Hence validation is very important, it finds those stupid little errors that we all make. The IE argument is a cop out by lazy people (if they know validation and choose not to, not if you do not know it.) who only want to do the minimal work and call it finished. IE was developed to be idiot proof and assumes you do not know what you are doing. It is programed to more or less note that there are errors but to ignore them as you do not know what you are doing and just act like the error was not there.
For the most part all other browsers now expect you to know what you are doing and do not ignore mistakes, they show what you wrote. IE may be the majority browser, but it in not the only browser and is not guaranteed to always be the majority browser. So is it logical to design just for it?
That is the point, not all the users use IE even if it is the majority browser. Even more important, browsers are not even the only issue anymore. Browsers are just a sub-section of the larger term "User Agent", specifically graphic browsers may be the majority of user agents, but we also now have to design for Cell Phones, PDAs, screen readers, text browsers and even game consoles like Nintendo's Wii and PlayStation Portable. User Agents are anything a user can choose or need to use to access the internet and that will one day include refrigerators to oder groceries and maybe coffee machines.
Will IE ignore validation mistakes? Yes for the most part. Will a cell phone? You do not know do you. Well the fact is there are some PDAs running windows that have IE, but for the most part mobile devices run software developed by that company, there is no telling what a mistake will do to a web site. Opera has a mobile version that is good, Firefox is being developed for Mobile as well and their is a 3rd party browser that is good... but the vast majority of mobile units do not use these products so we cannot know what will break our site in the proprietary software used.
That leads us back to validation. If we create a site that is error free and uses standards... then you can feel more secure that your web site will work over all possible user agents than a poorly written site full of errors.
Lastly, like in programming, errors do not always show themselves where they lay. More often they appear quite far away from where the mistake was made so can be a bugger to find. One small unimportant mistake above can aggravate another mistake farther below in the code and snowball into a major issue. Correct that one small mistake at the beginning and "POOF!" all the others disappear.
But all the good arguments aside, should you not simply take pride in your work and make it error free for the sake of doing it right? | <urn:uuid:ea06ad39-c796-4414-902c-88adf9c3ded6> | {
"date": "2015-08-01T13:50:49",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-32",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042988718.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002308-00220-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9493626356124878,
"score": 2.90625,
"token_count": 1783,
"url": "http://www.killersites.com/community/index.php?/topic/83-what-do-you-mean-with-validation/?pid=194"
} |
Are pomegranates good for dogs? Many people wonder if it is safe to feed their dogs fruits and vegetables. The answer is yes and no. Yes, there are several vegetables and fruits that are perfectly healthy to add to a dog’s diet. But, there are also many that are unhealthy for dogs to eat, even though they are healthy for us. One of the fruits that you should never give to your dog is pomegranate.
Why Are Pomegranates Unhealthy For Dogs?
One of the main reasons why you should never give pomegranate to your dog is because it is mainly eaten in seed form. Dogs don’t particularly digest any type of seeds well, and they will tend to swallow them whole. This can wreak havoc on their digestive system, and the seeds are actually toxic to dogs. When a dog eats pomegranate, the acid can cause stomach pains because dogs’ stomachs are much more sensitive to high acidity levels in foods than the human stomach.
Another reason to avoid giving pomegranate to your dog is that it is high in tannins, which are antioxidants. These antioxidants can actually be toxic to dogs, especially when they are in such high concentration as they are in pomegranate. There are many other fruits that are perfectly safe for dogs to eat, so give them those fruits instead.
Do You Grow Pomegranates In Your Garden?
Some people like to grow their own fruit, and you can easily grow your own pomegranates right in your backyard garden. If you do have these plants, make sure that there is no way that your dog can get into them and eat the fruit by accident. Fence the plants in to make sure that they are not accessible to your dog, or to other dogs that may wander onto your property.
What To Do If Your Dog Eats Pomegranate
If you discover that your dog has eaten pomegranate, it is important to contact your vet right away. They will likely tell you that you will have to induce vomiting, and give you instructions on how to do this. They must vomit before the fruit becomes toxic in their systems.
No, Dogs Can’t Eat Pomegranates
It is a good idea to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your dog’s diet, but they need to be the right types of fruits and vegetables. Pomegranate is one to steer clear of. If you have any questions about your dog’s diet, and are wondering which fruits and vegetables to add to his diet, talk to your vet, as they know your pet’s history. | <urn:uuid:47f5548f-3b20-46ff-86a8-86f69bee2235> | {
"date": "2019-08-19T00:21:06",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314353.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818231019-20190819013019-00536.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9667483568191528,
"score": 2.578125,
"token_count": 549,
"url": "https://www.dogfoodgenius.com/can-dogs-eat-pomegranate/"
} |
Why do women cease fertility rather abruptly through menopause at an age well before generalized senescence renders child rearing biologically impossible? The two main evolutionary hypotheses are that menopause serves either (i) to protect mothers from rising age-specific maternal mortality risks, thereby protecting their highly dependent younger children from death if the mother dies or (ii) to provide postreproductive grandmothers who enhance their inclusive fitness by helping to care and provide for their daughters’ children. Recent theoretical work indicates that both factors together are necessary if menopause is to provide an evolutionary advantage. However, these ideas need to be tested using detailed data from actual human life histories lived under reasonably ‘natural’ conditions; for obvious reasons, such data are extremely scarce. We here describe a study based on a remarkably complete dataset from The Gambia. The data provided quantitative estimates for key parameters for the theoretical model, which were then used to assess the actual effects on fitness. Empirically based numerical analysis of this nature is essential if the enigma of menopause is to be explained satisfactorily in evolutionary terms. Our results point to the distinctive (and perhaps unique) role of menopause in human evolution and provide important support for the hypothesized evolutionary significance of grandmothers
To submit an update or takedown request for this paper, please submit an Update/Correction/Removal Request. | <urn:uuid:0b1f224e-2506-43c4-a3a8-b6e204219a4f> | {
"date": "2018-11-19T00:16:57",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039744750.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20181118221818-20181119003818-00536.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9159737825393677,
"score": 2.609375,
"token_count": 278,
"url": "https://core.ac.uk/display/209912"
} |
RT Web Page DB /z-wcorg/ DS http://worldcat.org ID 237116101 LA English UL http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/B-0010/menu.html T1 Oral history interview with Igal Roodenko, April 11, 1974 interview B-0010, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007). A1 Roodenko, Igal., Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd., Adams, Charlotte,, Felmet, Joseph,, Wingate, Jerry., Southern Oral History Program., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill., Documenting the American South (Project), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill., Library., PB University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill PP [Chapel Hill, N.C.] YR 2007 AB Igal Roodenko was born to first-generation immigrants in New York City in 1917. Throughout the 1930s, Roodenko was drawn to leftist politics and pacifism. He describes the internal dilemma that he and other pacifists faced as they sought to reconcile their ideals of non-violence with their belief that Hitler's regime warranted opposition. Ultimately, Roodenko became a conscientious objector during the conflict. Rather than facing a prison sentence for his refusal to bear arms, Roodenko spent most of World War II in a camp for conscientious objectors. Increasingly involved in leftist politics during the war, Roodenko participated in hunger strikes while at the camp and eventually did serve time in prison. Following the war, he utilized his experiences with peace groups and Ghandian non-violence to become a leader in the burgeoning civil rights movement. Roodenko speaks at length about his participation in the Journey of Reconciliation (1947). Already a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Roodenko helped to organize the Journey, an interracial endeavor to test the Supreme Court's ruling in the Irene Morgan case (1946) as it applied to public transportation in the South. Roodenko describes the strategies CORE employed as they tested segregation policies on buses for Trailways and Greyhound. In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Roodenko and fellow activists were arrested for refusing to abide by the bus driver's demand that black and white passengers not sit together. He recalls the threat of mob violence against the activists and the role of Chapel Hill minister Charles Jones in helping them escape town safely. Roodenko and the other CORE activists lost their court appeal and he spent 30 days working on a segregated chain gang in North Carolina. His recollections in this interview help to illuminate activist strategies, interracial cooperation, and reasons for limited success as the civil rights movement began to build momentum in the late 1940s. | <urn:uuid:e02d6609-77bd-4cf6-80df-34ce3c89f2c6> | {
"date": "2013-12-09T03:13:14",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2013-48",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163857566/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204133057-00002-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9411000609397888,
"score": 2.53125,
"token_count": 553,
"url": "http://www.worldcat.org/title/oral-history-interview-with-igal-roodenko-april-11-1974-interview-b-0010-southern-oral-history-program-collection-4007/oclc/237116101?client=worldcat.org-detailed_record&page=refworks"
} |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
20 Suggestions for Teaching in the Block
8. Role dice to decide if homework is to be collected on certain assignments--1 or 2, collect it----3 or 4, quiz over it----5 or 6 you're home free, nothing happens. If this is considered gambling, just write the numbers on separate pieces of paper and have a student choose one--also use this to decide which problem(s) to grade on homework.
19. Role play situations for better understanding and teaching others--have students pick a topic and create their own mini-play about it to present to the class--(The drama teacher might do a short in service for the staff on improvisation to aid in this technique.)
20. Arrange for part of your class to be in the library working on a specific task while you work with an even smaller group in your classroom--switch every 30 or 45 minutes depending on the group size you want and the tasks students are working on. | <urn:uuid:d96d2411-1c31-43b6-a8d1-ea2969b3a0b0> | {
"date": "2017-05-24T11:48:36",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607813.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20170524112717-20170524132717-00359.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.924846887588501,
"score": 3.15625,
"token_count": 203,
"url": "http://smarterteacher.blogspot.com/2011/03/20-suggestions-for-teaching-in-block.html"
} |
While the first meaning of "design paradigm" refers to exemplary design solutions that create "design trends", the second meaning refers to what a group of people expects from a type of design solutions.
The term "design paradigm" is used within the "design professions, including "architecture, "industrial design and "engineering design, to indicate an archetypal solution. Thus a "Swiss Army Knife is a design "paradigm illustrating the concept of a single object that changes configuration to address a number of problems.
Design paradigms have been introduced in a number of books including Design Paradigms: A Sourcebook for Creative Visualization by Warren Wake, and discussed in Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering but never defined by "Henry Petroski. This concept is close to "design pattern coined by "Christopher Alexander in "A Pattern Language.
Design paradigms can be used either to describe a design solution, or as an approach to design problem solving. Problem solving occurs through a process of abstraction and characterization of design solutions, with subsequent categorization into problem solving types. The approach is akin to the use of metaphor in language; metaphors are used to help explain concepts that are new or unfamiliar, and to bridge between a problem we understand and a problem we don't. Design paradigms then can be seen as higher order metaphors; as the often three-dimensional distillation of a working relationship between parts, between groups of things, between the known and the unknown. In this sense, a bridge is a paradigm of the connection between the known and the unknown, and the functional equivalent of a physical bridge is consequently used in many fields from computer hardware to musical composition.
The design paradigms concept has proven so powerful in traditional fields of design, that it has inspired a branch of "computer science, where computational analogies to design paradigms are commonly called "software design patterns. Importantly however, in design professions the term "design pattern" usually describes a 2-dimensional structure, whereas the term "design paradigm" (or model) usually implies a higher order, having 3 or more dimensions.["citation needed] | <urn:uuid:303be211-4b42-4796-8458-f9f464edbc18> | {
"date": "2017-09-23T12:37:13",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-39",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818689661.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170923123156-20170923143156-00176.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9536877274513245,
"score": 2.90625,
"token_count": 443,
"url": "http://wikipediaaudio.com/Design_paradigm"
} |
Two "typical" Fermi questions are posed and solved in this section.
WARNING: Fermi questions are not really typical and Fermi questions do not have single solutions. These two examples are provided simply for illustrative purposes.
- How many piano tuners are there in New York City?
- How many jelly beans fill a one-liter jar?
Example 1:How might one figure out such a thing?? Surely the number of piano tuners in some way depends on the number of pianos. The number of pianos must connect in some way to the number of people in the area.
HOW MANY PIANO TUNERS ARE IN NEW YORK CITY?
Approximately how many people are in New York City?
Does every individual own a piano?
Would it be reasonable to assert that "individuals don't tend to own pianos; families do?
About how many families are there in a city of 10 million people?
Perhaps there are 2,000,000 families in NYC.
Does every family own a piano?
Perhaps one out of every five does.
That would mean there are about 400,000 pianos in NYC.
How many piano tuners are needed for 400,000 pianos?
Some people never get around to tuning their piano; some people tune their piano every month. If we assume that "on the average" every piano gets tuned once a year, then there are 400,000 "piano tunings" every year.
How many piano tunings can one piano tuner do?
Let's assume that the average piano tuner can tune four pianos a day. Also assume that there are 200 working days per year. That means that every tuner can tune about 800 pianos per year.
How many piano tuners are needed in NYC?Try it yourself.
The number of tuners is approximately 400,000/800 or 500 piano tuners.
Use different assumptions for various factors. It is unlikely that you can justify an answer greater than a factor of 10 or smaller than a factor of 10 from the number originally obtained; that is to say, there are probably not more than 5000 tuners and surely no less than 50. Thus the answer obtained is good to within an "order of magnitude".
Example 2:As with any Fermi question, there are multiple directions from which the problem can be approached. Solution 1 illustrates a more algorithmic approach; solution 2 is more intuitive. In both solutions, it is understood that one liter is equal to 1000 cubic centimeters.
HOW MANY JELLY BEANS FILL A ONE-LITER BOTTLE?
Solution 1What is the approximate size a jelly bean?
An examination of a jelly bean reveals that is approximately the size of a small cylinder that measures about 2 cm long by about 1.5 cm in diameter.
Do jelly beans "completely fill the liter bottle"?
The irregular shape of jelly beans result in them not being tightly packet; approximately 80% of the volume of the bottle is filled
The number of jelly beans is the occupied volume of the jar divided by the volume of a single jelly bean
Number of beans = (Occupied Volume of Jar)/(Volume of 1 Bean)
The volume of one jelly bean is approximated by the volume of a small cylincer 2 cm long and 1.5 cm in diameter
Volume of 1 Jelly Bean = h(pi)(d/2)^2 = 2cm x 3 (1.5cm/2)^2 = 27/8 cubic centimersThus the approximate number of beans in the jar is
Number of beans = (.80 x 1000 cubic centimeters)/(27/8 cubic centimeters) = approx 240 jelly beans
Solution 2Construct or visualize a paper cube that measures 1 cubic inch.
How many jelly beans will fit in the cube?
How many cubic inches are there in 1 liter?
1 inch = approx 2.54 centimeters. Therefore 1 cubic inch = approx. 16 cubic centimeters
1000 cubic centimeters/16 cubic centimeters = approx 62 cubic inches in one liter.
How many jelly beans are there in the one liter container?
62 x 4 = approximately 248 jellybeans
Fermi Questions - General Collection
- The mass of how many Ford Mustangs is equal to the mass of the water in the Atlantic Ocean?
- How many jelly beans fill a one-liter jar?
- What is the mass in kilograms of the student body in your school?
- How many golf balls will fit in a suitcase?
- How many gallons of gasoline are used by cars each year in the United States?
- How high would the stack reach if you piled on trillion dollar bills in a single stack?
- Approximately what fraction of the area of the continental United States is covered by automobiles?
- How many hairs are on your head?
- What is the weight of solid garbage thrown away by American families every year?
- If your life earnings were doled out to you at a certain rate per hour for every hour of your life, how much is your time worth?
- How many cells are there in the human body?
- How many individual frames of film are needed for a feature-length film? How long is such a film?
- How many water balloons will it take to fill the school gymnasium?
- How many flat toothpicks would fit on the surface of a sheet of poster board?
- How many hot dogs will be eaten at major league baseball games during a one year season?
- How many revolutions will a wheel on the bus make during our seventh grade trip from Baton Rouge, LA to Washington, D.C.?
- How many minutes will be spent on the phone by middle school students in the United States?
- How many pizzas will be ordered in your state this year? | <urn:uuid:61480930-ee84-4684-b3de-6721da9c6d7b> | {
"date": "2015-11-28T09:26:37",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-48",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398451872.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205411-00277-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9398569464683533,
"score": 3.671875,
"token_count": 1214,
"url": "http://iws.collin.edu/mbrooks/demos/fermi_questions.htm"
} |
Since we live and work in an environmentally sensitive area, it’s important to be aware of how to reduce stormwater pollution. Here are a few ways to protect the water where you swim and fish.
Make changes in your yard.
Plant a yard that includes low maintenance plants that adapt to Florida’s climate. These plants will require less water, fertilizer and pesticides and therefore can reduce harmful runoff. Be sure to plant ground covers to prevent soil erosion.
Use a commercial car wash or wash your car over a grassy area to prevent detergents from running into the street where they can get into our sensitive water system.
Prevent pollution from getting into the water
Keep litter, leaves and pet wastes out of street gutters and storm drains
Properly dispose of hazardous materials
Recycle used motor oil. Take paints, antifreeze and other toxic products to a household chemical collection center. For information call: Pinellas County – 727.464.4623
Report Illicit Discharges
Be sure to call the Public Services Department at 727.363.9243 if you see anyone:
- Pouring motor oil, paints, chemicals or cleaning fluids down storm drains or gutters
- Putting grass clippings in a storm drain, swale or canal
- Letting chlorinated pool water run into a gutter, storm drain or canal
- Letting anything other than rainwater go into a storm drain.
Brochures and more information are available at City Hall | <urn:uuid:c2bd65c0-8c83-4670-b984-1c0b6fbaeb06> | {
"date": "2019-11-15T23:31:55",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-47",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496668716.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20191115222436-20191116010436-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.885461688041687,
"score": 2.9375,
"token_count": 313,
"url": "http://www.stpetebeach.org/public-works/save-our-waters.html"
} |
Oregon doesn't make the grade for top 12 solar states
Solar energy production in Oregon grew by 39 percent in 2012, but Oregon still ranks only 13th-highest among the states on a per-capita basis. Thats according to a report by Environment America Research & Policy Center released Jan. 7 by its state affiliate, Environment Oregon.
The report highlighted the nations top 12 solar-producing states, because they account for 85 percent of the nations solar energy production and only 28 percent of the U.S. population.
The progress of other states should give us the confidence that we can do much more, says Sarah Higginbotham, state director of Environment Oregon. States like Arizona and New Jersey have more than 14 as many solar installations per capita as Oregon has, the report found.
Solar accounts for less than 1 percent of Oregons energy production.
The 12 leading states are not necessarily those with the most sunshine: Arizona, California, Colorado,
Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina and Vermont.
The report, called Lighting the Way: What We Can Learn from Americas Top 12 Solar States, was completed several months ago so it doesnt include data for 2013.
Nationally, solar production tripled from 2010 to 2012, and grew more than 10-fold since 2007, according to the report. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the U.S. installed more solar power than the nation had installed in its entire history up to 2010.
With the price of solar panels falling by 26 percent in 2012, theres ample opportunity for more solar here.
The read the report: environmentoregon.org/sites/environment/files/reports/Lighting_the_way_OR_scrn.pdf.
Follow Sustainable Life on Facebook at www.facebook.com/portland.sustainable.life .
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/SteveLawTrib | <urn:uuid:cc93f4e2-6ea4-4277-8e02-fb099553c3f6> | {
"date": "2016-12-08T15:42:57",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-50",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698541529.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170901-00208-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9111501574516296,
"score": 2.640625,
"token_count": 400,
"url": "http://portlandtribune.com/sl/206809-63771-oregon-doesnt-make-the-grade-for-top-12-solar-states-"
} |
INVISIBLE TOOTH PATCH TO COMBAT DECAY IN TEETH
by Hungarian Dental Travel
Hundreds of thousands of people travel to Hungary every year seeking lower priced dental care. Aside from the patients coming for cosmetic dental treatment or restoration after an accident, the bulk of patients coming to Hungary are seeking a solution after decay has set in and teeth are lost. These solutions often involve dental implants, crowns and bridges.
Decay is a disease caused by bacteria eating food deposits left on your teeth. Acid is then produced as a by-product and the acid eats into the enamel causing cavities. The only way to combat this at present is by controlling your diet, regaular cleaning or when things get bad your dentist can extract the decayed tooth and replace with a dental implant or dental bridge unit.
There is some hope! Although still in development Japanese scientists have discovered a way to protect your teeth from bacteria and make them look whiter at the same time. The invention is a microscopically thin film “a tooth patch” made from hydroxyapatite which is the main mineral found in tooth enamel which is applied to individual teeth using lasers within a vacuum.
Once this very flexible and durable ultra thin film has been applied to your teeth the patch becomes invisible and will protect your teeth from harmful bacteria as well as repair already damaged enamel. The film is initially breathable to allow air and moisture to escape during the application process but candidates for this type of treatment will have to wait a full day after application before the patch has fullt bonded with the tooth.
Researchers say that it could be as long as five years before the product becomes available but surely it will be worth the wait. We hope that it is sooner!
If you are interested in travelling to Hungary for lower priced dental care including dental implants without compromising on the high quality that you expect then:
0845 612 1988
020 7193 1384
Article Original Source: SMH | <urn:uuid:3dca8619-43fb-4967-9619-6afc0ac990ad> | {
"date": "2017-12-12T10:31:42",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-51",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948515313.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20171212095356-20171212115356-00656.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9496141076087952,
"score": 2.671875,
"token_count": 405,
"url": "http://hungariandentaltravel.co.uk/invisible-tooth-patch-could-be-the-end-for-decay/"
} |
TODAY | December 06, 2010
>> reporter: while many mothers want to breast feed their babies, not all are able to. but an increasing number of women are turning to the internet for breast milk . they're connecting with other moms who are milk to spare and are deciding to sell it or in some cases give it away for free. megan quickly realized her body was making enough milk to feed her own child and then some.
>> we started freezing it and pretty soon we ran out of freezer space.
>> reporter: not wanting to waste the milk, megan turned to the internet. organizations that screen, pasteurize and market the breast milk .
>> i was a little bit saddened by that because i thought maybe there were babies out there who need it but couldn't afford to buy it.
>> reporter: many worry unregulated sharing could pass bacteria or even drugs from the donor mom to a baby.
>> you wouldn't choose to give your child blood that you agreed to get from some person online without going through the proper screening process and the proper assessment of the blood. why would you do that for breast milk ?
>> but moms argues these arrangements are not only safe, they're best for the baby.
>> it's a very natural thing, women have been doing it for thousands of years. the fda does not regulate breast milk banks or sharing. | <urn:uuid:09c52fa9-34dd-4cb2-b635-be01d60a2c1c> | {
"date": "2015-03-02T12:57:38",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-11",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462762.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00287-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9844096302986145,
"score": 2.515625,
"token_count": 282,
"url": "http://www.today.com/video/today/40528952/"
} |
The O’Neill family was
quite prevalent in Irish history for almost 700 years, until the end
of the 17th century. By the 14th century, it is thought that Ulster
O’Neills numbered 29,000.
They are descendants of
Niall of the Nine Hostages. After the death of King Niall Glúin Dubh (BlackKnee)
in 919 AD, his grandson Domnall became the first to use and adopt the
The surname Niáll means champion. The surname O'Neill is derived from
two Gaelic words, Uá Niáll, which means grandson of Niáll. It is also
the surname of one of the three most important Gaelic families, the
other two being, O’Brien and O’Conor.
The nickname creagh, derived from the Gaelic word craobh, meaning
branch, was one by which earlier O’Neills were known. This nickname
was given to them because they camouflaged themselves with greenery
when battling against the Norsemen near Limerick.
Ulster O’Neills divided into two main branches . The senior branch was
known as the Tyrone O’Neills and the newly formed branch was known as
Clan Aedh Buidhe (Clan of the Yellow haired Hugh) or Clanaboy. Each
branch had it’s own chieftain. "The O’Neill Mor" was head of the
Tyrone Clan and the Clanaboy Clan chieftain was known as "The O’Neill
Other lesser clans of O’Neills were also formed. They were the
O’Neills of the Fews, the O’Neills of Feevah, the O’Neills of Mayo
(who were actually descended from the Fews) , the O’Neills of Leinster,
the Cor O’Neills, the Leitrum O’Neills, the Meath O’Neills and the | <urn:uuid:fc0d29d4-7cd4-418b-9684-0f7a9af472a4> | {
"date": "2018-08-16T22:02:29",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-34",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211185.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816211126-20180816231126-00496.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9688215851783752,
"score": 3.4375,
"token_count": 440,
"url": "https://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/scotsirish/oneill.htm"
} |
Hairdressers, pet groomers, sheep shearers and fabric and carpet manufactures have access to something that could help with oil spills– hair and fibre.
Hair booms were invented by Phil McCrory, a hair stylist. McCrory thought of the idea while watching footage of the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989. He made the connection between the oil collected in the fur of otters and our own hair. McCrory began by stuffing old nylon tights with hair and testing them with oil floating on water. The booms worked, and since then he has developed the idea into a highly engineered product which is essentially a hairmat, produced by his company OttiMat. They source hair in China and produce these hairmat booms for sale to companies and governments.
The original idea of stuffing nylons with hair and fibre is still alive at a grassroots level. Matter of Trust is a not for profit company that accepts an unusual form of donation – hair. Donated hair and fibre would normally have no further value and end up in landfill. Using hair that would otherwise be rubbish adds further to their environmental creditability.
Matter of Trust was fully mobilized in reaction to the gulf oil spill in 2010. Hundreds of people volunteered to make fibre booms while over 45,000 businesses donated hair, fibre, goods, or money in aid of cleanup efforts by Matter of Trust. The success of collecting hair and fibre has led Matter of Trust on to now help facilitate the reuse of all sorts of materials, from machinery to eye glasses. Hairmatts are proof that new technology to help the planet can come from common materials that surround us every day. So take inspiration and start thinking of new uses for things we view as waste! | <urn:uuid:56c72e2f-c6bc-4366-90e5-9420abd729fc> | {
"date": "2018-10-18T16:55:42",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583511889.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20181018152212-20181018173712-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9743403792381287,
"score": 2.578125,
"token_count": 359,
"url": "http://hkcleanup.org/hairy-situation/"
} |
Chronic Lyme prevention Education in Elementary schools
0 have signed. Let’s get to 200!
To prevent our children from developing chronic lyme disease, years of disability, and death. Our children are most like to get bit by a tick that carries Lyme disease and co infections yet least likely to get diagnosis and treatment. We need to educate our children on what a tick is and what to do if they are bitten to prevent Lyme disease. Most children don't know what a tick looks like let alone the danger of not quickly and correctly removing it. Prevention education before going into the woods but also your own back yard, and local city parks. Ticks take rides on bird and have migrated with them everywhere. No where is it safe without prevention education.
Today: Linda is counting on you
Linda Lane needs your help with “President of the United States: Chronic Lyme prevention Education in Elementary schools”. Join Linda and 118 supporters today. | <urn:uuid:e0532247-cf18-40c6-bf65-d0ff38cbb3b9> | {
"date": "2018-07-21T21:38:20",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676592778.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20180721203722-20180721223722-00416.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9623826742172241,
"score": 3.1875,
"token_count": 195,
"url": "https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-chronic-lyme-prevention-education-in-elementary-schools"
} |
The Origin of “Excimer”
The name “excimer laser” is derived from the terms “excited” and “dimers,” molecules composed of two atoms that only bind together in an excited electronic state.
A modern medical breakthrough that has touched millions of people started with some turkey left over from Thanksgiving Day dinner, November 26, 1981.
Three researchers at the IBM ® Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, New York—Samuel Blum, Rangaswamy Srinivasan and James J. Wynne—had been exploring new ways to use the excimer laser that had been recently acquired by their laser physics and chemistry group. Blum was an expert in materials science; Srinivasan was a photochemist with 21 US patents to his name; and Wynne was a physicist, who was the manager of the group at IBM.
The excimer laser uses reactive gases, such as chlorine and fluorine, mixed with inert gases, such as argon, krypton and xenon. When electrically excited, the gas mixture emits energetic pulses of ultraviolet light, which can make very precise, minute changes to irradiated material, such as polymers.
“We wondered if the excimer laser could so cleanly etch polymeric material, what would happen if we tried it on human or animal tissue?” remembers Wynne. “What really broke things open, after all the talk of what kind of tissue we would use, was that Sri brought his Thanksgiving turkey leftovers into the lab the day after Thanksgiving in 1981,” said Wynne. “He used the excimer laser at 193nm to etch a pattern in whatever bone, cartilage or meat was on the tissue sample … I had this moment of eureka, we have a new form of surgery! By using the ultraviolet light of the excimer laser, we were getting an extremely clean cut, with no evidence of damage to the surrounding tissue.”
Instead of burning living matter, each laser pulse disrupted the molecular bonds in a very thin layer on the surface of the tissue, effectively disintegrating it, leaving no observable collateral damage to the underlying or adjacent tissue. To demonstrate this effect to the medical technology field in a dramatic way, the team produced a highly magnified electron micrographic image of a highly magnified single human hair, etched by the laser. This image was published around the world.
Srinivasan, Blum and Wynne had many exploratory discussions about how this “clean excision” could be used for brain surgery, dentistry, orthopedics and dermatology.
At the time, eye surgeons were searching for an alternative to using “cold steel” or a scalpel for the surgery procedure used to correct nearsightedness. A scalpel was not very precise, could leave the cornea permanently weakened and required a long recovery time.
Upon learning of the IBM work, ophthalmologist Stephen Trokel, affiliated with Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, came to the Watson Research Center in the summer of 1983 to collaborate on experiments with Srinivasan and researcher Bodil Braren. Trokel, Srinivasan, and Braren wrote a paper introducing the idea of using the laser to reshape or sculpt the cornea (the clear covering on the front of the eye) in order to correct refractive errors, such as myopia or hyperopia. Their paper, published in a major ophthalmology journal in December 1983, launched a worldwide program of research to develop excimer laser-based refractive surgery. Years of experimentation and clinical trials followed. In 1995, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first commercial excimer laser-based refractive surgery system, almost 14 years after the team’s initial experimentation.
Today LASIK (laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis) eye surgery is the most popular vision correction surgery performed worldwide, due to its rapid healing cycle and minimal pain. The procedure permanently changes the shape of the cornea in order to improve vision and reduce or potentially eliminate nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Millions around the world have had the procedure, and more than 90 percent of patients achieve 20/20 to 20/40 vision and are able to perform all or most of their daily activities without glasses or contact lenses. Modern improvements to the procedure enable many patients to achieve 20/15, and even 20/10, “superhuman” vision, something not achievable with eyeglasses or contact lenses. | <urn:uuid:ccb7a787-305d-4824-a808-f497984d780a> | {
"date": "2016-08-26T14:18:42",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-36",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982295854.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823195815-00030-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9509770274162292,
"score": 3.65625,
"token_count": 946,
"url": "http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/excimer/"
} |
An apple a day, may actually keep the doctor away! Some studies have shown that apples are good for the heart! Add it to your lunch, as a snack, in a delicious salad or in a meal. Apples are wonderfully versatile so its easy to add them to your daily menu.
We often take apples for granted and gravitate towards more glamorous foods. But sometimes simple is best. There is a wide variety of apples in any grocery store, so making them a part of your diet is as easy as going to a store.
So why are apples good for you?
They may have the ability to keep your heart healthy. Apples can help lower bad cholesterol which affects the health of our heart in a negative way. Elevated levels of LDL (low density lipoprotein) put your body at risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease. Over time the build up of cholesterol plaque might thicken the artery and decreases blood flow through the narrowed area. Apples may have the ability to block cholesterol absorption and encourages the body to use it instead of store it.
Eating apples may also help regulate your blood sugar, protect against cancer, safeguard the lungs and even control appetite.
Remember, consult a doctor or health practitioner if you have any concerns about adding this fruit to your diet. | <urn:uuid:1d13f32b-63eb-4b4c-bc7a-e8dd761e0294> | {
"date": "2016-10-25T08:25:36",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-44",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720000.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00005-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9523760676383972,
"score": 2.9375,
"token_count": 267,
"url": "http://bestfan.com/blog/2011/08/weekly-fruit-fix-%E2%80%93-apples/"
} |
From Our 2010 Archives
Many Unaware of Local Stroke Centers
Latest Neurology News
TUESDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States, yet a new survey of 1,000 Americans finds that nearly 60% don't known if their local hospitals offer specialized treatment for stroke.
Despite awareness efforts, "the public seems less aware of stroke-certified hospitals," Dr. Ralph Sacco, president-elect of the American Heart Association, said in a news release from the American Stoke Association. "The survey results show the need for continuous reinforcement of public education to maintain awareness of the stroke warning signs and symptoms as well as the importance of stroke specialty hospitals. This issue must be at the top of everyone's minds."
More than 640 primary stroke centers have been certified in the United States by the Joint Commission, a private, nonprofit organization, and others have been certified by other agencies.
Researchers found that few people in the Southeast and the Mississippi Valley know about local hospitals that specialize in stroke care. Those areas form what is known as the Stroke Belt because of a high stroke rate.
"Everyone should know the stroke warning signs, call 911 if you or your loved one is having a stroke and know which hospitals are better equipped to handle strokes," Sacco said. "If certification is not feasible for rural or other underserved area hospitals, then we will explore linking them with primary stroke centers through telemedicine to increase patient access to stroke specialists and eliminate disparities in access to acute stroke care."
The survey was commissioned by the American Stroke Association, a division of the Heart Association.
-- Randy Dotinga
Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
SOURCE: American Stroke Association, news release, May 3, 2010 | <urn:uuid:3453abbc-d8e6-4773-b1a9-faa8f134b2af> | {
"date": "2016-07-01T14:48:58",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9532575607299805,
"score": 2.546875,
"token_count": 370,
"url": "http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=115956"
} |
Early Oil Lamps
To illuminate their work in a totally dark environment, miners fastened oil lamps such as these to their helmets. The large lamp on the left held lard oil which was poured into the smaller individual lamps on the right. The miner would then attached the smaller lamp to his helmet. After World War I, oil lamps were replaced by carbide and then by electric lamps.
Photo courtesy: Eileen Mountjoy Cooper, The Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company: The First
One Hundred Years (Indiana, Pennsylvania: Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company, 1982), 26. | <urn:uuid:5c6cc5a0-2119-429c-9787-b68ea4defa7b> | {
"date": "2014-10-01T05:57:05",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-41",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663365.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00272-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9631083607673645,
"score": 2.734375,
"token_count": 117,
"url": "http://www.mcintyrepa.com/oillamps.htm"
} |
In 1855, developer George Higgins bought a plot of land at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, across the street from the Croton Distributing Reservoir. He hired American architect Alexander J. Davis to design a new building, and the result was this 11 unit luxury residential complex with crenelated parapets (like a castle!). Completed in 1856 and advertised as the House of Mansions, the housing complex promised residents views of "the water of the Croton, like an artificial pool, or lake . . . from the upper floors."
|Fifth Avenue looking south from 42nd Street. Image : NYPL or LOC|
As history blogger Daytonian in Manhattan writes, Higgins' plan did not work -- Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street was still considered too rural for most New Yorkers. (The Samuel P. "Sasparilla" Townsend residence had only recently been built at 34th and Fifth, and that's eight blocks south.) The property was bought and sold a few more times, and eventually the Rutgers Female Institute (later, Rutgers Female College) relocated here. A formal dedication ceremony was held on October 24, 1860. The school soon outgrew this location as well, and the property passed through a few more owners.
|Fifth Avenue looking north from 41st Street, .|
By 1884 the Pottier & Stymus Manufacturing Company had purchased the land, demolished the structures, and built a new building on the site. The New York Times called it "extensive and elegant," and described the building as having a brownstone frontage on Fifth Avenue as well as a side entrance on 42nd Street. (I think it's the building in the photo below with the wall sign that reads "American Safe Deposit Bank.")
|Fifth Avenue, looking north toward 42nd Street [1900-1910]. Image: LOC|
The next ten years brought more changes and taller buildings to Fifth Avenue. In 1915 the Oceanic Investment Company announced the construction of a new building to be named after the building's primary tenant, the Astor Trust Company. The Astor Trust Company was set to move from their existing offices on Fifth Avenue and 36th Street and into this building, occupying a 21-year lease upon the building's completion in 1917.
|Astor Trust Company building, NE corner of Fifth Ave. and 42nd Street, 1917. Image: LOC|
The Fifth Avenue Association. Fifty Years on Fifth, 1907-1957.
Lockwood, Charles. Manhattan Moves Uptown: An Illustrated History. | <urn:uuid:42305bba-b780-42f5-8a33-ad164d5b0680> | {
"date": "2014-08-31T04:31:11",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500836106.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021356-00308-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9625082612037659,
"score": 2.578125,
"token_count": 523,
"url": "http://blog.bryantpark.org/2013/03/from-archives-house-of-mansions-to.html"
} |
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in honor of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick's birth name was Maewyn Succat and was born in Britain to wealthy parents in the late 300's. He died on March 17, 461 A.D. When Maewyn was 16 years old, he was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were after his family's property. They took to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. While a prisoner, he worked as a shepherd alone in the countryside. He turned to Christianity for solace and became a devout Christian. He dreamed of being an evangelist while guiding the sheep.
Maewyn escaped and walked almost 200 miles to the Irish coast and then returned to Britain. An angel appeared to him in a dream and told him to return to Ireland as a missionary. He than began religious training and was ordained as a Catholic priest in Gaul. It was at this time he took on the name, Patrick. While in the monastery, he developed a passion to convert the pagans of Ireland to Catholicism. At around the age of 60, he then returned to Ireland to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and began to convert many Irish over to Catholicism. He used the shamrock in picture stories to describe the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
St. Patrick believed in incorporating existing traditions into his lessons on Catholicism. He used bonfires to celebrate Easter because they used bonfires to honor their pagan gods at the time. He placed the symbol of the sun onto a cross to create the Celtic cross (see photo above left) so that the cross wouldn't seem so foreign to them. His ministry lasted 30 years until he retired to County Down.
Following St. Patrick's death, the Irish celebrated the anniversary of his death beginning in the fifth century with a feast. Because the date falls on the Catholic season of Lent, Irish families usually attended church in the morning and celebrated in the afternoon. Because Lent forbids the consumption of meat, the Catholic church in Ireland waived the rule so that people could drink, dance, and feast on Irish bacon and cabbage.
Believe it or not, but the first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in New York City on March 17, 1762. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in the parade. The parade helped the soldiers to reconnect with their Irish roots. As Irish immigrants increased, Irish associations began forming. Societies like the Hibernian Society and the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick would all hold parades in various cities. These parades featured bagpipes and drums. Most Irish immigrants at this time were Protestants until the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845. One million poor, uneducated Catholic Irishmen began to pour into America to escape starvation.
Both Protestant and Catholic Irishmen began to organize to give them more political power. They formed a voting block called the "green machine." Irish music groups and sports teams today call themselves the "green machine." Ireland is associated with the color green because it is identical to the greens of Ireland that gave it the name, "The Emerald Isle." These associations united both Protestant and Catholic Irish and St. Patrick's Day parades suddenly became big events. In 1948, President Truman was the first president who attended New York's St. Patty's Day parade.
Today, St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in countries with Irish populations. Today, in Ireland St. Patrick's Day is a religious celebration. Up until the 1970's Irish laws forbid the sale of alcohol on this day. In 1995, Ireland began using the holiday to promote the country to tourists. One million people took part in Dublin's St. Patrick's Festival. The festival included concerts, theater, parades, and fireworks. These parades are big events in major cities around the world.
The celebration now also includes the symbol of the shamrock and the Leprechaun. The Leprechaun is an Irish fairy. According to legend, they are unfriendly, live alone and make shoes as a hobby. All of them possess a pot of gold. Legend has it that if you hear the sounds of a shoemaker's hammer, you can often track down a leprechaun. when caught, he can be forced to tell you where he hides his gold. However, his captors must keep a watchful eye because he will vanish if they even look away a second. There is a well known Irish Blessing that speaks of leprechauns:
Near a misty stream in Ireland in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns who are clever as can be
With their pointed ears, and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes and try hard not to be seen.
Only those who really believe have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves.
The number three is significant in Irish tradition. The number three is the number of leaves on a shamrock; the Crone goddess (a pagan god whose name was Hecate), Mother and virgin; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and Faith, Hope and Charity. The number three is an important Celtic number that is considered sacred and magical.
To be lucky on St. Patrick's Day, tradition says to wear green (you may get pinched if you don't), kiss the Blarney Stone, and catch a leprechaun.
The name leprechaun (also called lurachmain, leipreachán, lurican, and lurgadhan) is a character from Irish folklore who came from an Irish word for shoemaker, "leath brogan." The leprechaun is traditionally a short man and has its origins in another Irish word, "luacharma'n," which is Irish for pygmy. The folklore is thought to have been started by the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group of people who inhabited Ireland before the Celts.
Because home-brews are an important part of life in Ireland, the old, short men are frequently shown in an intoxicated state. Originally they were shown frequently to carry around and hold a shoemaker's hammer. Leprechauns are said to be guardians of ancient treasure left by the Danes when they robbed and pillaged people around Ireland). They bury their treasure in crocks or pots. Their treasure is said to be found at the end of a rainbow. Because they are are distrustful of everyone, they try to avoid human contact. They are absolutely petrified of being captured by a human and if captured, will try to bribe the human with their treasure on the condition they are set free. Some legends say that the leprechaun has the power of hypnotism and can confuse their targets.
Before the 20th century, leprechauns wore red clothing. They wore red square-cut coats laced in gold and with seven rows of buttons, and red crooked pointy hats, shoes, and buckles. Leprechauns carry two leather pouches. One is for a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns to the purse each time it is paid out. In the other pouch he carries a gold coin which he uses to bribe his way out of captivity. This coin later turns to dirt or leaves. Because of this, a human is wise to demand the treasure rather than be tricked with the gold coin. In order to gain any treasure, a human must keep his eye on a leprechaun at all times because they will vanish quickly if the gaze is turned.
The image we see of the green leprechaun today is largely a figment of the imagination of television and movie studios. In the Leprechaun horror film series, the character is even evil and murderous. The image of the leprechaun has become nothing like the character in Irish mythology. Some in Ireland are even resentful at the stereotype of their nation.
A cousin of the leprechaun is the cluricaun. Cluricauns steal or borrow almost anything and create chaos in homes during the hours of darkness. Their favorite hobby is to raid wine cellars and larders. They also keep sheep, goats, dogs and chickens and ride some of them through the countryside at night.
Some of the lessons below incorporate art with other subject areas. These lessons are for all subject areas. | <urn:uuid:96263dc7-a419-445e-a4e1-ef8023174733> | {
"date": "2014-10-20T21:11:31",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-42",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507443438.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005723-00361-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.972374677658081,
"score": 3.46875,
"token_count": 1742,
"url": "http://www.incredibleart.org/links/stpatricks.html"
} |
- Grants &
- Ways to
Specialty crops are fruits and tree nuts, vegetables, herbs and spices, nursery, floriculture, and horticulture crops. They're the commodities that are not considered staple foods. California produces more than 400 different commodities, many of which are specialty crops. They're all around us!
This 16-page newspaper highlights the many agricultural products of California. Activities, trivia, readings, and graphics are sprinkled throughout providing a connection for every learner. Many activites are aligned to the Content Standards for California Public Schools.
This teacher resource offers extensions to activities related to the content of What's Growin' On? newspaper supplement.
Get the facts to help prevent the damage caused by invasive species to California's Specialty Crops.
In this guide, you will discover the many ways we use specialty crops and learn how to use them in the classroom to make a lasting connection between our everyday lives and the world of agriculture.
The California Grows map shows the top three commodities in all of California's counties. Specialty crops in each county are highlighted.
Ag-Bites are bite-sized activities for bringing agriculture into your classroom. These three Ag-Bite activities feature California specialty crops.
The purpose of the WE Garden activity sheets is to educate and inspire Californians about the important lessons gardens teach to students, children and people of all ages—lessons rooted in nutrition, healthy living, agriculture, science, history and service. These five WE Garden activities teach lessons related to California specialty crops.
This page was brought to you from a Specialty Crop Block Grant offered by California Department of Food and Agriculture. | <urn:uuid:191a02fa-cd09-4084-a91c-a65ce9e65eed> | {
"date": "2019-06-24T09:21:00",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627999298.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20190624084256-20190624110256-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9318687319755554,
"score": 3.484375,
"token_count": 339,
"url": "https://learnaboutag.org/resources/learn_crops.cfm"
} |
After more than a decade of decline, Maine’s teen smoking rate is on the rise. That is cause for concern — and more investigation to find out what’s behind the upswing and what is the most effective way to reverse it. These efforts will be helped by a $750,000 federal grant that the state received earlier this month.
In 1997, Maine had one of the highest teen smoking rates in the country when 39 percent of high school students said they were smokers. Through a variety of steps — including increases in the state’s tobacco tax, millions spent on anti-smoking education and tougher laws against selling cigarettes to minors — the rate dropped by 14 percent in 2007.
Then it jumped to 18 percent, according to data from the Maine Youth Behavioral Risk Survey. The survey was changed to include a larger sample in 2008. The survey that year included more high schools, including in more rural areas, so this could explain some of the jump in smoking rates.
State officials also say a new generation of teens may be more accepting of higher cigarette prices because they didn’t experience a time when a pack sold for less before taxes were raised. Maine last increased its tax — from $1 to $2 a pack — in 2005. Between 2001 and 2007, when the average price of a pack of cigarettes went from $3.53 to $5.28, Maine’s teen smoking rate dropped from 25 percent to 14 percent.
On the other hand, others speculate that the economic hard times — and the accompanying stress — could account for more teen smoking.
It would be good to know the reason behind the rise in smoking rates so that anti-smoking efforts carry the most effective message. Maine currently spends about $11 million a year in federal and state money on smoking prevention and cessation. Unlike many other states that have used the money — much of it from tobacco companies as part of a national settlement — to balance their budgets or to fund other programs, Maine has remained committed to earmarking funds for tobacco-related work.
Reducing youth smoking is important for health and economic reasons.
Eighty-five percent of people who begin smoking before the age of 19 become lifelong smokers, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Maine, more than $600 million is spent annually on health care expenditures to treat tobacco-related illnesses and more than $530 million is lost in productivity because of smoking, according to the national Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
Maine is one of the first states to receive a competitive grant from the Food and Drug Administration to increase the enforcement of state and federal tobacco laws. Under the contract administered by the Maine Office of the Attorney General, the state Department of Health and Human Services will receive more than $750,000 to increase enforcement of federal and state tobacco laws.
This, and a closer look at which prevention efforts work, could help reverse this troubling trend. | <urn:uuid:6db0dd38-2288-4742-8fb4-50b268f5e5a3> | {
"date": "2017-02-25T10:13:35",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171706.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00632-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9676671624183655,
"score": 2.859375,
"token_count": 598,
"url": "http://bangordailynews.com/2010/06/24/opinion/too-many-teen-smokers/"
} |
The picture of a 10 µm by 10 µm sample made with a magnetic force microscope shows the labyrinth-like structure of the magnetic domains. Image: Bastian Pfau
Scientists from TU Berlin, DESY and the University of Paris discovered a surprising effect in the demagnetization of ferromagnetic materials at DESY’s free-electron laser FLASH. The team of researchers headed by Professor Stefan Eisebitt from Technische Universität Berlin is part of an international collaboration. The scientists found that electrons can move very quickly between areas with different magnetization and thereby influence the demagnetization of the material. The effect could play a decisive role in reducing the size of magnetic memories.
“Optical demagnetization is by far the quickest process to change magnetization locally, and this in turn is the basis of magnetic storage,” Eisebitt explains. “Therefore, optical processes could help make magnetic memories faster in the future.” The scientists published the results of their study in the current issue of the journal Nature Communications.
The scientists discovered this effect while studying a phenomenon that has been a hot research topic for 20 years, ever since it was known that ferromagnets, for example magnetised iron, can be demagnetised extremely quickly when they are radiated with laser light pulses. In a few hundred femtoseconds (one femtosecond, 10-15 s, is a billionth of a millionth of a second) magnetization breaks down and the ferromagnet loses its magnetic properties. After a while, magnetisation builds up again. When investigating this process at the X-ray laser FLASH, the scientists detected another mechanism that causes demagnetization. It occurs when the material is divided into magnetic domains, which is often the case.
“When bombarded with laser light, released electrons that speed through the material will break through the domain walls, thereby virtually changing sides. This way, they go from one domain into another domain with a different magnetic polarization, causing the destruction of the local magnetization,” explains junior scientist and lead author Bastian Pfau from TU Berlin. “Materials with nanometre-sized domains can this way develop another possibility of demagnetisation as soon as electrons become more mobile through the laser bombardment.”
Such an interaction between two magnetic domains had already been assumed in theory, but has never before been observed.
The prerequisite of this kind of demagnetization is that the basic material is divided into domains, which is usually the case with ferromagnets. Therefore, an unmagnetised iron bar consists of many microscopically small areas. Within these areas, the magnetization has the same direction, but there is a random magnetization of these miniature areas towards each other. When the iron bar is magnetized, for example when a magnetic field is applied from outside, the magnetic fields of the individual domains align in parallel and the whole iron bar becomes magnetic.
“The magnetic moment is substantially supported through the spin, the angular momentum, of electrons,” explains Dr. Leonard Müller, one of the DESY scientists participating in this investigation. “Thus, the moving electrons will transport part of the magnetisation through the sample and cause modifications, especially at the domain walls.”
With the irradiation of a laser pulse, the excited electrons (violet and pink with different spin orientations) will change into a domain with different magnetization (green-red), thus contributing to the demagnetization of the material. Moreover, electron-electron collisions increase the number of the so-called “hot” electrons.
Scientists from TU Berlin, DESY, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, the universities of Hamburg and Paris and from six additional research centres carried out these experiments at DESY’s free-electron laser FLASH in Hamburg. They investigated samples of a cobalt-platinum layer system containing tiny labyrinth-like magnetic domains. First, the working group induced the demagnetization of the sample with an extremely short infrared laser pulse. After a “wait” of some hundred femtoseconds, the actual magnetization of the sample was analysed with the help of FLASH X-ray laser light. “With the ultra-short X-ray flashes of less than 100 femtoseconds, FLASH is able to simultaneously determine the smallest modifications in size and properties of the magnetic domains,” said Dr. Christian Gutt from DESY.
These so-called pump-probe experiments, at which a system is first pumped and then probed after a certain period of time, are able to record extremely fast time lapses of chemical or physical modifications of a sample. However, it requires the exact synchronization of two pulsed femtosecond lasers and the focusing of both at exactly the same spot of a tiny sample.
“Ultra-short X-ray pulses as those of FLASH with their short waves are able to detect modifications in structures with the size of only a few nanometers,” said Professor Jan Lüning from the University of Pierre und Marie Curie in Paris.
The investigation of the scientists’ team showed that the initially sharp walls between the different domains became “blurred”, i.e. fuzzy, shortly after the infrared laser pulse – the limits became wider because the electrons broke through the domain walls. This became visible when, shortly after pumping, the probe X-ray pulses of the FLASH accelerator hitting the sample met a weaker deflection of their flight direction than before. Extensive simulations of the electron movement verified that this observation can be explained with a theoretically predicted demagnetization mechanism through a change of domain by electrons.
“Our research shows that location and density of magnetic domain walls may influence the demagnetization behavior,” explained Stefan Eisebitt. “This provides a new approach for the future to develop faster and smaller magnetic memories with a specific arrangement of magnetic nanostructures.” | <urn:uuid:868868bf-8692-493f-b59f-8936cbe0859a> | {
"date": "2017-01-21T10:44:49",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-04",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00110-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9176393747329712,
"score": 3.5625,
"token_count": 1260,
"url": "http://www.rdmag.com/news/2012/10/x-ray-laser-reveals-fast-demagnetization-ferromagnets"
} |
Machine learning is a bit of a buzz term that describes the way artificial intelligence (AI) can begin to make sense of the world around it by being exposed to massive amount amounts of data.
But a new algorithm developed by researchers in the US has dramatically cut down the amount of learning time required for AI to teach itself new things, with a machine capable of recognising and drawing visual symbols that are largely indistinguishable from those drawn by people.
The research highlights how, for all our imperfections, people are actually pretty good at learning things. Whether we're learning a written character, how to operate a tool, or how to perform a dance move, humans only need a few examples before we can replicate what we've been shown.
In comparison, pattern-recognition in most machines – such as computers learning to identify particular faces, or recognise typed characters on a cheque or coupon – usually involves an extensive learning curve, which may amount to hundreds or thousands of drip-fed examples before the AI becomes accurate.
Not any more though. Using what's called a Bayesian program learning framework, the researchers created an algorithm that effectively programs itself by constructing code to reproduce particular visual symbols.
And rather than simply re-pasting the same learned character each time, the probabilistic algorithm draws the symbol slightly differently in every instance, based on a 'generative model' of how to create the character. In this respect, the AI is much like a human. We never write a letter exactly the same way, as we've only learned what it's supposed to look like, not how to reproduce an identical facsimile.
The researchers exposed their algorithm to 1,600 types of handwritten characters from 50 of the world's writing systems, including Sanskrit and Tibetan, and even invented symbols featured in the TV show Futurama.
Once the machine had learned the characters and could draw them independently, the researchers conducted a 'visual Turing test' to see if human judges could tell machine-drawn characters from ones written by human hands.
Ultimately, the machine's handwriting proved indistinguishable from human renderings of the characters, with fewer than 25 percent of judges performing much better than pure chance in telling the drawings apart. The findings are reported in Science.
"Before they get to kindergarten, children learn to recognise new concepts from just a single example, and can even imagine new examples they haven't seen," said Joshua Tenenbaum, a researcher in cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
"We are still far from building machines as smart as a human child, but this is the first time we have had a machine able to learn and use a large class of real-world concepts – even simple visual concepts such as handwritten characters – in ways that are hard to tell apart from humans."
A machine that fools you with its handwriting may not sound like it will change the world, but the potential applications for such a 'fast study' algorithm are pretty exciting.
"Imagine if your smartphone could do this. You use a word, and your smartphone asks you what it means and is able recognise the next time you are saying that to build its repertoire," Tenenbaum told Sarah Knapton at The Telegraph.
"Improving machines' ability to quickly acquire new concepts will have a huge impact on many different artificial-intelligence-related tasks including image processing, speech recognition, facial recognition, natural language understanding and information retrieval." | <urn:uuid:3b86a1b0-cc1b-4cb7-8b0c-0bbc7faa9057> | {
"date": "2019-02-21T20:01:36",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247508363.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20190221193026-20190221215026-00616.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9573668241500854,
"score": 3.921875,
"token_count": 695,
"url": "https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-developed-an-algorithm-that-learns-as-quickly-as-humans"
} |
- what someone wants to happen i.e. crave, desire, lust for
- used to express desire, choice, willingness, consent, or in negative constructions refusal
- used to express frequent, customary, or habitual action or natural tendency
- someone’s determination to do what is necessary to achieve what they want
- used to express capability or sufficiency
- the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion**
- the capacity to freely make conscious use of will power
"Ekousion" and "ouk ekousion" fall under 'free will,' denoted by the activity of volunteering or not-volunteering / non-willing which are, themselves, willful actions. "Akousion" falls under 'will'. This is contrary to the classical consideration of will, in that there ought not be the desire for something bad to happen. Did the person who was blown away by the wind desire it to be so? I answer, yes, even though it was likely not a conscious desire. This issue is addressed later in the Early-modern philosophical era.Wikipedia wrote:The classical treatment of the ethical importance of will is to be found in the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle, in Books III (chapters 1-5), and Book VII (chapters 1-10). These discussions have been a major influence in the development of ethical and legal thinking in western civilization.
In Book III Aristotle divided actions into three categories instead of two:
- Voluntary (ekousion) acts.
- Involuntary or unwilling (akousion) acts, which are in the simplest case where people do not praise or blame. In such cases a person does not choose the wrong thing, for example if the wind carries a person off, or if a person has a wrong understanding of the particular facts of a situation. Note that ignorance of what aims are good and bad, such as people of bad character always have, is not something people typically excuse as ignorance in this sense. "Acting on account of ignorance seems different from acting while being ignorant".
- "Non-voluntary" or "non willing" actions (ouk ekousion) which are bad actions done by choice, or more generally (as in the case of animals and children when desire or spirit causes an action) whenever "the source of the moving of the parts that are instrumental in such actions is in oneself" and anything "up to oneself either to do or not". However, these actions are not taken because they are preferred in their own right, but rather because all options available are worse.
This leads us into the conversation about predestination where manipulation of the collective is concerned as there was a willful decision to allow circumstances to become and lead to where they are. Because of the willful, unconscious decision of the collective human consciousness to engage in/ accept interaction with the gods as well as the macrobe, (this coming from a top-down non-physical-->physical perspective) the free will decisions/directives of the NWO types supersedes the free will choices made by those within the collective until the free will decisions/actions of the individual earns a higher priority/value by its direction towards conscious evolution. This is part of the Breaking Out process as apprehended in the 70s science-fiction show, "The Tomorrow People". Until the individual begins to break out and move along a y-axis of development, even though it is thought by the individual that "I am exercising my free will", what is really occurring is they are being lead by the nose. The "growth" experienced at this level is a circling around on the x-axis of the first tier of Spiral Dynamics. What should be spiral action indicating movement along both an x and y axis has instead become a hypnotist's wheel.
From Medieval-European philosophy:
Here we encounter the idea that the will is more basic than intellect. Systems that place will as a function equivalent to thinking and feeling are attempting to find a place for an active principle, but I've found that will underlies those functions as well. Appetitive as an adjective for will is synonymous with the concept of desire or craving.Inspired by Islamic philosophers Avicenna and Averroes, Aristotelian philosophy became part of a standard approach to all legal and ethical discussion in Europe by the time of Thomas Aquinas. His philosophy can be seen as a synthesis of Aristotle and early Christian doctrine as formulated by Boethius and Augustine of Hippo, although sources such as Maimonides and Plato and the aforementioned Muslim scholars are also cited.
With the use of Scholasticism, Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica makes a structured treatment of the concept of will. A very simple representation of this treatment may look like this:
This is related to the following points on free will:
- Does the will desire nothing? (No.)
- Does it desire all things of necessity, whatever it desires? (No.)
- Is it a higher power than the intellect? (No.)
- Does the will move the intellect? (Yes.)
- Is the will divided into irascible and concupiscible? (No.)
- Does man have free-will? (Yes.)
- What is free-will—a power, an act, or a habit? (A power.)
- If it is a power, is it appetitive or cognitive? (Appetitive.)
- If it is appetitive, is it the same power as the will, or distinct? (The same, with contingencies).
Here we find reconciliation of the issue mentioned before in the Classical era, of negative circumstances also being a product of will.The use of English in philosophical publications began in the early modern period, and therefore the English word "will" became a term used in philosophical discussion. During this same period, Scholasticism, which had largely been a Latin language movement, was heavily criticized. Both Francis Bacon and René Descartes described the human intellect or understanding as something which needed to be considered limited, and needing the help of a methodical and skeptical approach to learning about nature. Bacon emphasized the importance analyzing experience in an organized way, for example experimentation, while Descartes, seeing the success of Galileo in using mathematics in physics, emphasized the role of methodical reasoning as in mathematics and geometry. Descartes specifically said that error comes about because the will is not limited to judging things which the understanding is limited to, and described the possibility of such judging or choosing things ignorantly, without understanding them, as free will. Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, considered the freedom of human will is to work toward individual salvation and constrictions occur due to the work of passion that a person holds. Augustine calls will as “the mother and guardian of all virtues”.
Under the influence of Bacon and Descartes, Thomas Hobbes made one of the first attempts to systematically analyze ethical and political matters in a modern way. He defined will in his Leviathan Chapter VI, in words which explicitly criticize the medieval scholastic definitions:
"In deliberation, the last appetite, or aversion, immediately adhering to the action, or to the omission thereof, is that we call the will; the act, not the faculty, of willing. And beasts that have deliberation, must necessarily also have will. The definition of the will, given commonly by the Schools, that it is a rational appetite, is not good. For if it were, then could there be no voluntary act against reason. For a voluntary act is that, which proceedeth from the will, and no other. But if instead of a rational appetite, we shall say an appetite resulting from a precedent deliberation, then the definition is the same that I have given here. Will therefore is the last appetite in deliberating. And though we say in common discourse, a man had a will once to do a thing, that nevertheless he forbore to do; yet that is properly but an inclination, which makes no action voluntary; because the action depends not of it, but of the last inclination, or appetite. For if the intervenient appetites, make any action voluntary; then by the same reason all intervenient aversions, should make the same action involuntary; and so one and the same action, should be both voluntary and involuntary.
By this it is manifest, that not only actions that have their beginning from covetousness, ambition, lust, or other appetites to the thing propounded; but also those that have their beginning from aversion, or fear of those consequences that follow the omission, are voluntary actions."
I remain in agreement with those early modern philosophers, including Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke and Hume who believed that the term "free will" is still frequently used in a wrong or illogical sense, and that the philosophical problems concerning any difference between "will" and "free will" are due to verbal confusion.Concerning "free will", most early modern philosophers, including Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke and Hume believed that the term was frequently used in a wrong or illogical sense, and that the philosophical problems concerning any difference between "will" and "free will" are due to verbal confusion (because all will is free):
"a FREEMAN, is he, that in those things, which by his strength and wit he is able to do, is not hindered to do what he has a will to. But when the words free, and liberty, are applied to any thing but bodies, they are abused; for that which is not subject to motion, is not subject to impediment: and therefore, when it is said, for example, the way is free, no liberty of the way is signified, but of those that walk in it without stop. And when we say a gift is free, there is not meant any liberty of the gift, but of the giver, that was not bound by any law or covenant to give it. So when we speak freely, it is not the liberty of voice, or pronunciation, but of the man, whom no law hath obliged to speak otherwise than he did. Lastly, from the use of the word free-will, no liberty can be inferred of the will, desire, or inclination, but the liberty of the man; which consisteth in this, that he finds no stop, in doing what he has the will, desire, or inclination to do.."
Spinoza argues that seemingly "free" actions aren't actually free, or that the entire concept is a chimera because "internal" beliefs are necessarily caused by earlier external events. The appearance of the internal is a mistake rooted in ignorance of causes, not in an actual volition, and therefore the will is always determined. Spinoza also rejects teleology, and suggests that the causal nature along with an originary orientation of the universe is everything we encounter.
Some generations later, David Hume made a very similar point to Hobbes in other words:
"But to proceed in this reconciling project with regard to the question of liberty and necessity; the most contentious question of metaphysics, the most contentious science; it will not require many words to prove, that all mankind have ever agreed in the doctrine of liberty as well as in that of necessity, and that the whole dispute, in this respect also, has been hitherto merely verbal. For what is meant by liberty, when applied to voluntary actions? We cannot surely mean that actions have so little connexion with motives, inclinations, and circumstances, that one does not follow with a certain degree of uniformity from the other, and that one affords no inference by which we can conclude the existence of the other. For these are plain and acknowledged matters of fact. By liberty, then, we can only mean a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will; that is, if we choose to remain at rest, we may; if we choose to move, we also may. Now this hypothetical liberty is universally allowed to belong to every one who is not a prisoner and in chains. Here, then, is no subject of dispute."
I find it interesting to note the propositions made by Hobbes and Hume about the illogical nature of calling "free will" - "free" in relation to the period in time which they were engaged in their philosophical ponderings. This shift in the rhetoric occurred, not surprisingly, after the 16th century after Dee had his interaction with the macrobe. When I consider the term "free will", I find it simpler to consider that it is the capacity to direct the will, freely, as a conscious decision/act. The semantics behind the use of the word "free" and its connotation to liberty are applicable, and it is in these regards that I find it most interesting, this shift that occurred in philosophical thought post 16th century.
This follows from my previous statements about the willfulness of societies' agreement to be in the situation that it is.Jean-Jacques Rousseau added a new type of will to those discussed by philosophers, which he called the "General will" (volonté générale). This concept developed from Rousseau's considerations on the social contract theory of Hobbes, and describes the shared will of a whole citizenry, whose agreement is understood to exist in discussions about the legitimacy of governments and laws.
I came to these same conclusions that Schopenhauer did before I even ventured to take a look at the development of the philosophy of will. I do, however, depart from his philosophy to the extent that he took it, in that upon discovering that we are not free, the only escape from the situation is "not-wanting" (which is willful) which leads to apathy, which leads to boredom, which leads to desire, which starts the cycle over again. I don't share his same desire to free myself from will through strict asceticism. I am free to direct will as I will, but I am not free from will, itself. And that doesn't drive me to the same extremes that it did for Schopenhauer. In regards to his statement in his On the Freedom of Will, I contest that he is describing the active principle that for so long has been attached to will. I see will as separate from action. You can have will to action, but the concepts are distinct and separate.Kant's Transcendental Idealism claimed that "all objects are mere appearances [phenomena]." He asserted that "nothing whatsoever can ever be said about the thing in itself that may be the basis of these appearances." Kant's critics responded by saying that Kant had no right, therefore, to assume the existence of a thing in itself.
Schopenhauer disagreed with Kant's critics and stated that it is absurd to assume that phenomena have no basis. Schopenhauer proposed that we cannot know the thing in itself as though it is a cause of phenomena. Instead, he said that we can know it by knowing our own body, which is the only thing that we can know at the same time as both a phenomenon and a thing in itself.
When we become conscious of ourself, we realize that our essential qualities are endless urging, craving, striving, wanting, and desiring. These are characteristics of that which we call our will. Schopenhauer affirmed that we can legitimately think that all other phenomena are also essentially and basically will. According to him, will "is the innermost essence, the kernel, of every particular thing and also of the whole. It appears in every blindly acting force of nature, and also in the deliberate conduct of man…." Schopenhauer said that his predecessors mistakenly thought that the will depends on knowledge. According to him, though, the will is primary and uses knowledge in order to find an object that will satisfy its craving. That which, in us, we call will is Kant's "thing in itself", according to Schopenhauer.
Arthur Schopenhauer put the puzzle of free will and moral responsibility in these terms:
"Everyone believes himself a priori to be perfectly free, even in his individual actions, and thinks that at every moment he can commence another manner of life ... But a posteriori, through experience, he finds to his astonishment that he is not free, but subjected to necessity, that in spite of all his resolutions and reflections he does not change his conduct, and that from the beginning of his life to the end of it, he must carry out the very character which he himself condemns..."
In his On the Freedom of the Will, Schopenhauer stated, "You can do what you will, but in any given moment of your life you can will only one definite thing and absolutely nothing other than that one thing."
Nietzche's contribution to the philosophical dialogue stands arm in arm with what is presented in The Celestine Prophecy as the human drive to obtain power. It is currently, primarily an external affair because man has forgotten how to derive it from his own inner essence. This is the foundation for control dramas employed to obtain energy which is--to my eyes--the current strongest craving/desire of will at the collective level and is likely compensation for being a species whose existence is founded upon having its energy taken and used for purposes other than what it would do for itself given the opportunity/freedom.Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was influenced by Schopenhauer when younger, but later felt him to be wrong. However, he maintained a modified focus upon will, making the term "will to power" famous as an explanation of human aims and actions.
In related disciplines:
I have been able to develop my philosophy of will because I willfully engaged in being weak willed for a very long portion of this life. I also engaged, as a matter of free will, in Akrasia last year and started smoking again. I've stopped smoking again and it was this free will action that put my complexes in close enough coherence for LB to be able to help me across the bridge and consciously experience Unity for the first time in this incarnation. There is something to be said for the amount of energy that we give to our vices and in shifting the direction of focus for that energy, if done properly, we can launch ourselves away from where we just were at warp speed.Psychologists also deal with issues of will and "willpower" the ability to affect will in behavior; some people are highly intrinsically motivated and do whatever seems best to them, while others are "weak-willed" and easily suggestible (extrinsically motivated) by society or outward inducement. Apparent failures of the will and volition have also been reported associated with a number of mental and neurological disorders. They also study the phenomenon of Akrasia, wherein people seemingly act against their best interests and know that they are doing so (for instance, restarting cigarette smoking after having intellectually decided to quit). Advocates of Sigmund Freud's psychology stress the importance of the influence of the unconscious mind upon the apparent conscious exercise of will. Abraham Low, a critic of psychoanalysis, stressed the importance of will, the ability to control thoughts and impulses, as fundamental for achieving mental health.
**This definition is usually attributed to free will, but for my purposes fits more closely with my concept of will power
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/ ... can/will_2 | <urn:uuid:5fa3dee8-b4b0-4225-ac0d-f7b293d25108> | {
"date": "2019-12-16T02:46:23",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-51",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575541315293.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20191216013805-20191216041805-00296.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9633151292800903,
"score": 3.515625,
"token_count": 4018,
"url": "https://forum.antiquatis.org/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2037"
} |
A report called The Development of the Attitudes to Chocolate Questionnaire, published in 1998, tells how three researchers at the University of Wales, Swansea, cooked up a new analytic tool.
Psychologists had long craved a way to assess someone's craving for chocolate. Why chocolate? Because "chocolate is by far the most commonly craved food". It tempts chocoholics, and also academics who hunger for knowledge and perhaps recognition.
The desired goal - the perhaps impossible dream - is to measure and compare any two people's chocolate cravings as reliably as one can measure and compare the heights of two tables. But cravings are often intertwined with emotions, and table heights are not. This explains why table heights are easier to measure.
All prior attempts to measure cravings, say the study's co-authors, David Benton, Karen Greenfield and Michael Morgan, were "unreliable". They devised a tool that, they say, "provides a quantitative estimate of the fundamental attitudes to chocolate". It measures the magnitude of the craving; it also measures the guilt feelings.
The tool - called the Attitudes To Chocolate Questionnaire - is a simple list of 24 statements. Some are strictly about craving:
• The thought of chocolate often distracts me from what I am doing.
• My desire for chocolate often seems overpowering.
Some are about guilt:
• I feel guilty after eating chocolate.
• After eating chocolate I often wish I hadn't.
To measure an individual's chocolate craving, have the person read each statement and then indicate, by marking on a little ruled line, whether the statement is "not at all like me" or "very much like me" or somewhere in between.
A bit of statistical manipulation, and hey presto! out pops a set of numbers that describe the craving.
Benton, Greenfield and Morgan tested and calibrated their new tool on some student volunteers. In addition to answering the questionnaire, the volunteers played a sort of mechanical game. By pressing a lever, they could obtain a reward - a little button made of chocolate. As the game progressed, they had to press the bar more and more times (twice, then four times, then eight, then 16, etc) before another chocolate would pop out. The point at which someone refused to keep playing this game indicated the strength of their craving.
Afterwards, the researchers compared people's scores on the Attitudes to Chocolate Questionnaire with their craving strength as measured in the press-the-lever-and-get-a-treat game.
The questionnaire results accorded well with what happened in the game. In most cases, if the questionnaire said someone had a high craving for chocolate, that person was also persistent at making the frustrating machine deliver up chocolates.
Thus, the little questionnaire is a cheap, fairly accurate way to measure chocolate craving and also to measure guilt.
In their report, the researchers announce that, using their new tool, they made an exciting new psychological discovery: that "craving but not guilt was associated with the eating of chocolate bars".
• Marc Abrahams is editor of the bimonthly Annals of Improbable Research and organiser of the Ig Nobel prize | <urn:uuid:1f0bb650-41b1-4396-b7f7-ae37b59ff029> | {
"date": "2014-04-25T02:08:58",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-15",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1398223207046.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20140423032007-00187-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9653559327125549,
"score": 2.765625,
"token_count": 664,
"url": "http://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/feb/24/improbable-research"
} |
Philosophy of Science
According to Albert Einstein, the study of philosophy marks the difference between a technician and a "real seeker after truth." Einstein's point is especially true in the sciences. This course introduces students to fundamental philosophical concepts that are necessary for good scientific practice. Classical and contemporary readings reveal the importance of philosophy in the history and progress of science.
- Defining "science"
- Verification and falsification
- Research design norms
- Measures of theoretical progress
- Categorical vs. statistical reasoning | <urn:uuid:99fe8912-231d-430a-9c68-f8d633b5cffc> | {
"date": "2019-07-16T19:21:20",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195524685.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20190716180842-20190716202842-00336.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8703862428665161,
"score": 3.265625,
"token_count": 106,
"url": "http://www.dinosaurphilosophy.org/philsci/"
} |
Drug ReferencesPenicillin G
Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease that causes a rash. It is associated with an infection by streptococci, the same kind of bacteria that causes strep throat. It may also be associated with wounds or burns that become infected. The rash of scarlet fever is typically a fine, "sandpaper-like" rash that consists of small, red bumps.
Scarlet fever most commonly occurs in children between 5 and 12 years old. It is spread from direct contact with a person who is infected, usually through secretions from the mouth or nose.
Scarlet fever is caused by toxins that are produced by bacteria called group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS). These bacteria release a toxin that travels through your child's bloodstream and causes a rash.
The following are the most common initial (before the rash develops) symptoms of scarlet fever. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
Coated white tongue
Strawberry-like appearance of the tongue
The rash begins approximately one to two days after the initial infection. The red, fine, sandpaper-like rash typically is noted on the neck, forehead, cheeks, and chest and then may spread to the arms and back. The rash usually begins to fade after two to seven days.
The symptoms of scarlet fever may resemble other skin conditions or medical problems. Always consult your child's doctor for a diagnosis.
Your child's doctor will make the diagnosis based on a complete medical history and physical exam. The rash of scarlet fever is unique and may be easily recognized by your child's doctor. In addition, your child's doctor may order a throat swab to confirm the diagnosis of strep throat as the source of the scarlet fever. A quick test, called a rapid strep test, may be performed. This may immediately test positive for GABHS. However, if it is negative, part of the throat swab may be sent for a throat culture to further identify if there is any GABHS present.
Treatment for scarlet fever is the same as for strep throat. Your child's doctor will often prescribe an appropriate antibiotic to treat the infection. Untreated strep throat or scarlet fever can lead to several serious conditions involving the heart, kidneys, and liver. When the heart is involved, it is called rheumatic fever, so it is very important to finish the full course of antibiotics. Other treatment options may include:
Warm saline mouth gargles (to relieve the sore throat)
Acetaminophen or ibuprofen (for fever or throat pain). Never give aspirin to a child, it can cause a dangerous condition called Reye Syndrome.
Increased fluid intake
It is important to not send your child back to school or day care until he or she has been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours. Also, be sure to notify others who may have been exposed. | <urn:uuid:68b44ac8-fc2a-44d4-8c1f-ee5d996b41a9> | {
"date": "2014-03-07T03:41:33",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-10",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999635677/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060715-00006-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9521059989929199,
"score": 3.78125,
"token_count": 617,
"url": "http://www.lnrmc.com/health-education/90,P02544"
} |
Use Databases to Find and Get Articles Right Away
Search databases using keywords and subjects (also called descriptors) to identify articles that will be useful for your research. Use databases to clearly identify and get the article you want if you already know something specific about it: the title or author, for example.
The Get Text icon (above) can lead you to copies of the articles or journals cited in a databases. It also provides a link to the University of Kentucky Libraries' catalog, InfoKat, which lists, by the title of the journal, magazine or newspaper, all of the publications we have available in paper.
To find a journal that contains the article you want, search the E-Journals Database, which lists, by the title of the journal, magazine or newspaper, the publications for which we provide electronic full-text of articles. Note that many of these electronic titles have limits to the dates for which they can provide the full-text. | <urn:uuid:02e306a3-d660-462a-82ab-10efcf25476e> | {
"date": "2014-10-20T04:33:48",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-42",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507441801.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005721-00028-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9098825454711914,
"score": 3.015625,
"token_count": 195,
"url": "http://libraries.uky.edu/SRS"
} |
Access workshops and bespoke support from the National STEM Learning Network.
Share expertise and resources with other schools implementing triple science.
A wide range of materials to support your implementation of triple science.
Providing advice and guidance on the teaching of the more rigorous mathematics content of the new separate science GCSEs.
A wealth of resources and ideas which provide information and practical suggestions to support and develop enhancement and enrichment opportunities.
Look at issues such as progression, tracking progress and how best to structure learning so students gain a deep, long term understanding of the science.
How can I access triple science resources online?
STEM Learning offers advice and guidance on the introduction, implementation and further development of triple science. This support includes: reviewing the support needs of your staff; overcoming barriers to implementation of triple science; and getting the most out of triple science for your school and pupils. We also offer a range of CPD workshops to meet your school's needs.
Where can I get support with triple science?
You can also access resources and discussions via the online groups on the website. | <urn:uuid:0f9d5658-fadc-49bd-adc1-d4501f205c35> | {
"date": "2017-04-30T03:14:32",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-17",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917124297.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031204-00061-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9084556698799133,
"score": 2.859375,
"token_count": 219,
"url": "https://www.stem.org.uk/triplescience"
} |
- freely available
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2012, 9(1), 244-271; doi:10.3390/ijerph9010244
Published: 18 January 2012
Abstract: The contamination of groundwater sources by pathogenic bacteria poses a public health concern to communities who depend totally on this water supply. In the present study, potentially low-cost filter materials coated with silver nanoparticles were developed for the disinfection of groundwater. Silver nanoparticles were deposited on zeolite, sand, fibreglass, anion and cation resin substrates in various concentrations (0.01 mM, 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM) of AgNO3. These substrates were characterised by SEM, EDS, TEM, particle size distribution and XRD analyses. In the first phase, the five substrates coated with various concentrations of AgNO3 were tested against E. coli spiked in synthetic water to determine the best loading concentration that could remove pathogenic bacteria completely from test water. The results revealed that all filters were able to decrease the concentration of E. coli from synthetic water, with a higher removal efficiency achieved at 0.1 mM (21–100%) and a lower efficiency at 0.01 mM (7–50%) concentrations. The cation resin-silver nanoparticle filter was found to remove this pathogenic bacterium at the highest rate, namely 100%. In the second phase, only the best performing concentration of 0.1 mM was considered and tested against presumptive E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae from groundwater. The results revealed the highest bacteria removal efficiency by the Ag/cation resin filter with complete (100%) removal of all targeted bacteria and the lowest by the Ag/zeolite filter with an 8% to 67% removal rate. This study therefore suggests that the filter system with Ag/cation resin substrate can be used as a potential alternative cost-effective filter for the disinfection of groundwater and production of safe drinking water.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated that approximately 1.8 million deaths and 61.9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide are attributable to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene. An estimated 99.8% of such deaths occur in developing countries, with children ranking (90%) as the first victims . Consumption of groundwater and surface water sources contaminated with pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella dysenteriae and Vibrio cholera continues to be one the major causes of diarrheal diseases and gastrointestinal infections [2,3,4,5,6]. This implies that safe drinking water plays a significant role in human health and well-being.
In 2002, the United Nation Millennium Development Goals (MDG) firmly established the issue of water and sanitation on the global agenda. The vision of the MDG is to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015 . Although tremendous progress has been made to date, the 2010 updated report by the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has indicated that 884 million people in the world still lack access to drinking water from improved sources.
The provision of safe drinking water is currently a high priority for the South African government, one of the signatories of the MDG. The percentage of households with access to water infrastructure above or equal to the Reconstruction and Development Programme standard increased from 61.7% in 1994 to 91.8% in March 2009. Based on these data, it is estimated that 93% of the population had access to an improved drinking-water supply in 2010 . In most of the cases, non-improved drinking water supplies are currently found in rural communities that are widely dispersed and informal peri-urban communities that are continuously expanding. It is therefore difficult to implement centralised systems such as piped systems, which not only require substantial financial support, but also highly skilled personnel to manage and maintain them. The implementation of decentralised systems is therefore needed to provide these rural communities with safe drinking-water sources.
Cost-effective filter materials coated with silver nanoparticles is an alternative technology that could assist the developing countries in meeting the MDG, and South Africa, in particular, in providing a safe drinking-water supply to all scatted rural areas and informal settlements. Silver ion (Ag+) has long been known as a potential antimicrobial agent and is used in wound dressings to prevent infections in burn patients, to blindness in newborns, for severe chronic osteomyelitis and urinary infection, to control Legionella bacteria in hospitals and to improve the performance of drinking-water filters [9,10,11,12]. It can bind to bacterial cells and enzymes (proteins) at multiple sites, damaging them and preventing them from performing their functions and result, to cells death through penetration at specific bacterial DNA and RNA [9,13,14].
Silver in the form of nanoparticles that release silver ions more effectively has a better bactericidal activity due to its high surface-area-to-volume ratio [15,16]. Recent studies have shown that distinctively prepared silver nanoparticles display good antibacterial activity [17,18]. As a result, researchers have considered silver nanoparticles for drinking-water treatment due to its strong and broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities [19,20,21]. With the advancement of material development, silver nanoparticles can be easily deposited on solid materials for the deactivation of microorganisms in water treatment . In the case of drinking-water treatment, various forms of silver nanoparticles coated on materials/substrates have been used. These include Ag/sand , Ag/zeolite and Ag/fibreglass . Sand filtrations have been used in water purification to control microbiological contamination for over 150 years . Sand filters are a less expensive, more effective method of water treatment, can be self-constructed and may be constructed by using local skills. Natural zeolites as cation exchangers in water treatment have increased due to their availability, low cost, high surface area and sorptive capacity, negative surface charge, chemical inertness and low or null toxicity for human [26,27]. Most kinds of fibreglass are used for thermal and acoustic insulation in building construction, shipbuilding and filtration applications. Fibreglass-reinforced plastics (FRPs) have been used for various types of process equipment in the chemical industry, pulp and paper industry, power and mining industries, municipal sewer treatment and water treatment, as well as many other associated industries handling corrosive equipment . A number of investigations have been carried out on the use of resins containing silver/silver nanoparticles for oral and dental applications [29,30]. Resins are used in ion exchange and constitute a very powerful technology for removing impurities from water and other solutions. There is no health risk with resins, as many industries use resins for multiple purposes (nuclear and thermal power stations, semiconductors, computers), including dental and pharmaceutical applications and drinking-water treatment for the removal of toxic contaminants [31,32].
Even though a number of studies have been conducted on bacterial removal with Ag/zeolite, Ag/sand, Ag/fibreglass and Ag/resin nanoparticle substrates, there is no information on comparative studies related to the use of these technologies for the removal of pathogenic bacteria from drinking-water sources. This study therefore concentrated on the development of these substrates modified with silver nanoparticles and compared their effectiveness in removing pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, Shigella dysenterae and Salmonella typhimurium) from polluted groundwater sources. Our main intention was to find the alternative cost-effective technology with the best concentration of silver nanoparticles loaded on the substrates, which could completely remove pathogenic bacteria from test water and result in the production of safe drinking water for rural communities.
2. Experimental Methodology
2.1. Preparation of Substrates
Locally available materials for silver deposition were utilised in the present study. Silver was coated on natural zeolite, sand, fibreglass, anion resin and cation resin. Natural clinoptilolite zeolite purchased from Ajax Industries CC (Cape Town, South Africa) was conditioned in a 500 mL solution of 2 M NaCl (Merck, South Africa), followed by stirring at room temperature (between 20 and 25 °C) for 36 h. The solid-liquid mixture was separated by centrifugation at 3,000 rpm for 15 min. Liquids were discarded and the solids were washed with deionised water three times, and then oven dried at 105 °C for 8 h. Silica sand purchased from Eggo Sand (Pty) Ltd (Pretoria, South Africa) was submitted to a cleaning process by stirring 200 g of sand in a litre of 30% nitric acid (Merck, South Africa) solution with a reciprocating shaker at 210 rpm at room temperature for 24 h. The sand was allowed to settle and separated from the solution by decantation, and thereafter rinsed three times with deionised water and oven dried at 105 °C for 24 h. Fibreglass chopped-strand mat was purchased from Collins Fibreglass Plastics (Johannesburg, South Africa) and cleaned by immersion in an ultrasonic bath containing isopropanol (Sigma, South Africa) for 2 h. The substrate was rinsed three times with deionised water and oven dried at 105 °C for 24 h.
2.2. Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticle-Coated Substrates
2.2.1. Coating of Zeolite, Sand and Fibreglass Substrates
Silver nitrate (AgNO3) (Merck, South Africa) stock solution (1 mM) was prepared by adding 169.87 mg of silver nitrate to a litre of deionised water. Thereafter concentrations of 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.1 mM silver nitrate (250 mL) were prepared by diluting silver stock solution. The substrates (20 g) were separately immersed in aqueous solution containing concentrations of 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.1 mM silver nitrate for 24 h. They were incubated in a thermostatic shaker at a speed of 250 rpm in the dark at room temperature for 24 h. Substrates containing silver were separated from the mixture by centrifugation at 3,000 rpm for 15 min and washed with deionised water, and then oven dried for 24 h at 105 °C. For the reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles, the substrates containing silver were heated in an N2 furnace (Lenntech, South Africa) at a flow rate of 400 mL/min for 1 h at 120 °C and the furnace was ramped up to 350 °C for 3 h.
2.2.2. Coating of Anion Resin Beads Substrate
Amberlite-IRA-458 anion exchange resin (in chloride form) was purchased from Lenntech (Johannesburg, South Africa). Silver was coated on the anion resin beads using the method previously described by . Briefly, the silver nanoparticle-resins were prepared following a two-step procedure. A known amount (20 g) of anion exchange resin was used. Firstly, 30 mL of 1 M HCl (Merck, South Africa) solution were added dropwise to 200 mL stirred, freshly prepared aqueous solution of concentrations of 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.1 mM AgNO3 to form white precipitates of silver chloride. The precipitates were washed three times with deionised water to remove HNO3 and dried in a water bath at 65 °C for 2 h. The silver precursor [AgCl2]¯ complex was prepared by dissolving 0.3 g of solid AgCl in a concentrated HCl solution and the mixture was placed in an ultrasonic bath for dissolution. Secondly, the silver precursor ions were allowed to exchange with Cl¯ ions of the neat chloride form of anion-exchange resin beads (R+Cl¯) and the mixture was kept overnight. The resin beads, on which silver precursor ions were immobilised, were washed three times with water to drain out the liberated HCl and un-exchanged [AgCl2]¯ and then reduced with a freshly prepared ice-cold aqueous solution of 0.01 M sodium borohydride. The prepared shining reddish-black silver-coated beads [R(Ag)0]+Cl¯ were washed thoroughly with deionised water and dried at room temperature in a vacuum.
2.2.3. Coating of Cation Resin Beads Substrate
The methods described by were also used for the coating of cation resin. The silver amine complex, [Ag(NH3)2]+, was prepared by adding 10 mL of 25% ammonia solution dropwise to each of 200 mL aqueous solution of concentrations of 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.1 mM AgNO3. A known amount (20 g) of cation exchange resin (R–H+) was added to each of these mixtures, followed by a mixing process for 3 h using a magnetic stirrer. The resin silver amine moiety [R–Ag(NH3)2] was washed three times with deionised water and heated in an oven at 150 °C for 1 h. The yellow colour of the resin beads was transformed to black due to the formation of resin silver oxide composite [R(Ag2O)]¯H+. Then, this complex was reduced with an aqueous solution of freshly prepared 0.01 M sodium borohydride to form silver nanoparticle-coated resin beads [R(Ag0)]¯H+, with a white colour. The silver nanoparticle-resin beads were washed three times with deionised water and finally dried on a water bath at 65 °C for 2 h to obtain dry silver-coated resin beads.
2.3. Characterisation of Substrates Coated with Silver Nanoparticles
The surface morphology of the silver nanoparticles-coated substrates was examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) (JEOL JSM-5800LV, JEOL Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to confirm the chemical content on the substrates. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis was performed with a JEOL 2100F (JEOL Ltd, Tokyo, Japan) that operated at 100 kV to examine the morphology and particle size distribution of the silver nanoparticle substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine the crystal phase of the substrates. The patterns of the silver nanoparticles were recorded with a Bruker D8 Advance using Cu Kα radiation with 1.5416 Å wavelengths. The structure of the silver on the substrates was studied by scanning the media in 2θ ranges from 30 to 80 °C in a continuous scan mode. The crystallite size of the silver substrates was determined from X-ray line broadening using the Debye-Scherrer equation as follows:
where D = Crystallite size, A (Angstroms), K = Crystallite-shape factor = 0.9, λ = X-ray wavelength, 1.5416 Å for CuKα, θ = Observed peak angle, degree, β = X-ray diffraction broadening, radian.
2.4. Production of Combined Substrate-Silver Nanoparticle Filter Systems
The filter systems consisted of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) column of 2 cm diameter and 20 cm length (Figure 1). Each column was packed with one type of the substrate coated with silver nanoparticles at a depth of 10 cm. With reference to various substrates (sand, zeolite, fibreglass, anion resin and cation resin), five filters were used during the study period. Glass beads (2 cm) and glass wool (2 cm) were placed in the upper and bottom ends of each column. Glass beads were positioned to prevent the substrates from pilling up at one end. A 10 L bucket served as storage container for contaminated influent water, which was fed into the filter system with a 1 m length of 8 mm diameter latex tubing connected to a Rainin Dynamax peristaltic pump (Rainin Instrument Co., Woburn, MA, USA). The effluent sample (treated water) was collected at the top of the filter with a 1 m length of 8 mm diameter latex tubing into a 10 L bucket container. Figure 1 illustrates the schematic diagram of a laboratory-scale setup with an example of a combined substrate-Ag nanoparticle filter system.
2.5. Testing the Efficiency of Filter Systems in Removing Pathogenic Bacteria
The performance of the combined substrates-silver nanoparticle filter systems in removing pathogenic bacteria was studied in two phases. In the first phase, the five substrates coated with various concentrations of AgNO3 were tested against Escherichia coli (ATCC 43895) spiked in synthetic water samples. The main objective of this part of the study was to determine the best loading concentration of AgNO3 that could result in the total removal of pathogenic bacteria from a test water source. In the second phase, the performance of the five combined substrates-silver nanoparticle filter systems was tested using groundwater, and only the best concentration of silver nanoparticles loaded on the substrates was investigated against the four different pathogenic bacteria-E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae. In cases where these pathogens were not present in the intake groundwater source, the water was spiked with the pathogens. This was mainly done to evaluate the efficiency of each filter in reaching the allowable recommended limits set by the South African National Standards for domestic use [35,36]. The bacterial removal efficiency was obtained by comparing the concentrations (Log10 cfu/100 mL) of target organisms before and after treatment. In each series of the experimental study, a control filter constituted of the substrate without silver nanoparticles was included. The experimental study for each combined substrates-silver nanoparticle filter system was performed in three different trials.
2.5.1. Preparation of Bacterial Stock Suspensions
The microbial strains used in the experimental study included Escherichia coli (ATCC 43895) and Salmonella typhimurium (ATCC 14028) obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, MD, USA), Vibrio cholera and Shigella dysenteriae obtained from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa) bacterial stock cultures. Prior to use, these bacterial strains were confirmed by cultural tests using selective agar medium (Chromocult agar for E. coli, XLD agar for S. typhimurium and S. dysenteriae, TCBS agar for V. cholera) according to the Standard Method . One loop full of each bacterial culture was separately inoculated in 100 mL sterile nutrient broth (Merck, South Africa) medium and incubated aerobically at 37 °C in a shaking incubator (Scientific Model 353, Lasec, South Africa) at 120 rpm for 24 h. The bacteria were harvested by centrifugation at 4,000 rpm for 10 min and the pellet was washed twice with 50 mL of sterile 0.01 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.2).
The stock suspensions of E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholera were prepared by re-suspending the final pellets in 10 mL of 0.01 M PBS solution. The initial concentrations of bacterial cells harvested were determined with the spread-plate technique, after serial dilution of each culture in sterile saline solution (0.9% w/v NaCl). The plates were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h. The resulting colonies were counted and expressed as cfu/mL.
2.5.2. Preparation of Synthetic Contaminated Water
For each filter system, an aliquot of the stock suspension of E. coli (ATCC 43895) corresponding to 6 log cfu/100 mL was inoculated into 10 L final volumes of sterile saline water (8.5% NaCl). The spiked water samples were shaken vigorously several times and 1 mL of this water source was used to determine the initial concentration of the target organism before passing the remaining contaminated water through the filter systems.
2.5.3. Collection and Analysis of the Quality of Groundwater Samples
Groundwater samples were collected from a borehole at Delmas (A7) in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. The study was conducted between June and July 2010 and the water samples were collected three times during this period. It is important to note that, during the study period, this groundwater supply was used by the community without prior treatment. The water samples were collected in sterile 50 L plastic buckets. Samples were also collected in sterile 1 L glass bottles in order to detect and enumerate the initial concentrations of the target bacteria and selected physicochemical parameters before treatment. The samples were transported to the laboratory and the quality of the water was determined for microbiological contamination and selected physicochemical parameters within 6 h .
Escherichia coli, S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae were detected and enumerated from groundwater samples according to Standard Methods . As mentioned above, in cases where these organisms were not detected in groundwater samples, they were spiked with 102 cfu/mL stock suspension in these test water sources using the same method as described for synthetic water samples. All the tests were conducted in aseptic conditions.
The pH and the turbidity were measured on site using a pH meter (Metrohm Co. Model 713) and a microprocessor turbidity meter (Eutech Instrument Turbidimeter TN-100), respectively. Nitrates and fluoride concentrations were determined in the laboratory using the Spectroquant Nova 400 manual water analyser (Merck) and photometric test kits (Merck), while the concentrations of magnesium, calcium in the water sample were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (SpectrAA 220FS), according to Standard Methods .
2.5.4. Operating Conditions and Testing the Performance of the Filter Systems
Before the start of each run, the packed columns were pumped upward with sterile deionised water to adjust and achieve a steady-state flow condition. Thereafter, each type of test water source contaminated with enteric pathogenic bacteria was pumped continuously through the column in the up-flow mode with a Rainin Dynamax peristaltic pump (Rainin Instrument Co.) that operated at a flow rate of 0.12 L/h. Treated water samples were collected in sterile conical flasks at 10-minute intervals at a volume of 50 mL. Prior to use, 1 mL 15% sodium thiosulphate was added to the flasks to stop further disinfection of drinking water before determining the bacterial concentrations. The bacterial concentrations were determined by serial dilution in sterile saline solution and plated on selective medium by using the spread-plate technique according to Standard Methods .
2.5.5. Elution of Silver Ions from Silver Nanoparticles Substrates Filter Systems
The degree of elution of silver from each combined substrates-silver nanoparticle filter system used in the first phase with spiked synthetic water was measured. The silver content in the treated water samples was determined with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) by using a Spectra AA-220FFS (Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA).
2.6. Statistical Analysis
All data were analysed statistically using the SPSS computer software version 11.0. Testing of significance was carried out using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a 95% confidence interval. Comparisons were made between the treatment means of each filter system to determine if there were significant differences in treatments.
3.1. Characterisation of Silver Nanoparticles Coated on Substrates
Figure 2 shows the morphologies and the elemental composition of the silver nanoparticles coated on substrates (Ag/zeolite, Ag/sand, Ag/fibreglass, Ag/anion resin, Ag/cation resin) examined with SEM micrograph and EDS analyses. The silver nanoparticles were noticed as small white spherical particles on the surface of the sand, fibreglass and anion resin. In cation resin, the silver nanoparticle coating completely covered the resin bead and the film revealed a homogeneous rough surface. The structure of the silver nanoparticles in zeolite was complex due to sample charging. Zeolite sample charging could indicate a low electrical conductivity of the medium even though carbon coating had been applied to avoid charging. The EDS spectra also confirmed the elemental composition of silver nanoparticles by the presence of Ag peaks in the synthesised substrates. In the spectra, two peaks of Ag located between 3.0 kV and 3.5 kV were observed in zeolite, four peaks for sand located between 2.5 kV and 3.5, four peaks for fibreglass between 1.0 kV and 4.0, five peaks for anion resin between 2.0 kV and 4.0 and six peaks for cation resin between 1.0 kV and 4.0. The EDS spectra also showed the presence of other major elements found in zeolite (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, K, Ti), sand (C, Fe, Al, Si), fibreglass (Al, Si, Ca), anion resin (C, N, O, Al, Cl) and cation resin (C, O, Al, S). The carbon and oxygen peaks of the EDS analyses could be due to the carbon tape used for SEM stub preparation.
Figure 3 shows the results of the TEM image and particle size distribution histogram of silver nanoparticle substrates (zeolite, sand, fibreglass, anion and cation resin beads). The morphology of silver nanoparticles deposited onto substrates exhibited spherical-shaped particles that aggregate to each other. According to the particle-size distribution histogram, the silver nanoparticles have shown a majority particle sizes distributed from 40 to 90 nm for zeolite and sand, and 5 to 30 nm for fibreglass and resin beads.
The diffraction pattern of the synthesised silver nanoparticle substrates shown in Figure 4 matched the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure of silver observed at 2θ angle 37.7°, 44.0°, 64.2° and 77.1°. These corresponded to the four diffraction peaks above 30° (111), (200), (220) and (311) crystal planes, respectively, clearly indicating that the silver nanoparticles are crystalline in nature. The XRD patterns were analysed to determine the average crystallite size obtained by classical Scherrer equation indicated in Section 2.3. The typical XRD pattern estimated average nanocrystallite sizes of 85 nm for zeolite, 80 nm for sand, 28 nm for fibreglass, 20 nm for anion resin and 13 nm for cation resin derived from full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of peak corresponding to 111 plane with cubic shape. The zeolite substrate (Figure 4(a)) did not show any well-defined peaks which indicated an amorphous nature of the sample. All the substrates showed low-intensity peaks of silver at 2θ = 77.1°. As seen in Figure 4(a–c), in addition to the four peaks of the crystal plane, other unidentified peaks also appeared in the XRD pattern.
3.2. Characteristics of Test Water Sources Before Treatment
3.2.1. Microbiological Quality of Test Water Sources
Table 1 illustrates the initial concentrations of E. coli spiked in sterile synthetic water and groundwater with targeted bacteria before treatment. The initial count of the suspension for E. coli spiked in synthetic water was approximately 6 log cfu/100 mL. Therefore, after mixing thoroughly, the average count of E. coli was found to be 7 log cfu/100 mL. Initial presumptive E. coli in groundwater had an average count of 3 log cfu/100 mL. Salmonella typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae were not originally detected in the test groundwater samples. Consequently, these water source samples were spiked with initial concentrations of approximately 3 log cfu/100 mL for each target organisms. However, after thoroughly mixing the spiked groundwater samples, the average counts for S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae as shown in Table 1 were approximately 3 log cfu/100 mL.
|Table 1. Microbiological quality of spiked water sources before treatment.|
|Bacterial concentrations (cfu/100 mL) before filtration|
|Water sources||Presumtive E. coli||S. typhimurium||S. dystenteriae||V. cholerae|
|Synthetic water||3.21 × 107||ND||ND||ND|
|Groundwater||3.15 × 103||1.20 × 103||2.71 × 103||2.01 × 103|
3.2.2. Physicochemical and Microbiological Quality of Groundwater Source
The characteristics of groundwater samples collected from a Delmas borehole (A7) are illustrated in Table 2. The average physicochemical values of groundwater were 7.22 for pH; 1.59 NTU for turbidity; 0.46 mg/L for fluorides; 1.59 mg/L for nitrates; 98.25 mg/L as Ca for calcium and 26.36 mg/L as Mg for magnesium, respectively. Regarding the microbiological quality, only presumptive E. coli (average count: 2.99 × 103 cfu/100 mL) was present in groundwater samples.
|Table 2. Characteristics of groundwater sample.|
|pH||-||7.22 ± 0.14||5–9.5|
|Turbidity||NTU||1.59 ± 0.11||<1|
|Fluorides||mg/L||0.46 ± 0.18||<1|
|Nitrates||mg/L as N||1.59 ± 0.02||<10|
|Calcium||mg/L as Ca||98.25 ± 1.12||<150|
|Magnesium||mg/L as Mg||26.36 ± 7.18||<70|
|E. coli||cfu/100 mL||2.99 × 103||0|
3.3. Performance of Combined Substrates-Silver Nanoparticles in Removing Pathogenic Bacteria from Synthetic Water
Figure 5 illustrates the effect of different concentrations of AgNO3 (0.01 mM, 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM) deposited on substrates for the deactivation of E. coli. As seen in Figure 5(a), the filter system with uncoated zeolite (control) did not have any antibactericidal effect on E. coli.However, Ag/zeolite nanoparticle filter systems with 0.01 mM and 0.03 mM concentrations showed a 0.5 log cfu/100 mL reduction of E. coli, while 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations showed a removal of l.0 log and 1.5 log cfu/100 mL for the first 30 min, respectively, and then an increase of bacterial counts resulting in a survival of more than 6 log cfu/100 mL occurred in the filtered water after 90 min trial. The results showed a significant difference in the reduction of the E. coli count with 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations (P < 0.05), as compared to the control.
As shown in Figure 5(b), the uncoated sand (control) filter system did not have any antibacterial effect on E. coli. Filter systems with Ag/sand nanoparticles reduced the E. coli count by 1.0 log cfu/100 mL with a 0.01 mM concentration in the first 10 min and with 0.03 mM in the first 30 min and there was an increase in the E. coli count of more than 7 log cfu/100 mL in the filtered water after 90 min trial. However, with 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations, a 2 log and 2.5 log cfu/100 mL reduction of the E. coli count was observed in the first 10 min, and subsequently the E. coli counts increased again in filtered water. The results showed a significant difference in the reduction of the E. coli count with filters containing 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations (P < 0.05), as compared to the control.
Figure 5(c) shows that no E. coli deactivation was observed with uncoated fibreglass (control). The filter systems with Ag/fibreglass nanoparticles indicated a reduction of 1.2 log cfu/100 mL E. coli in the first 10 min with a 0.01 mM concentration and 2.5 log cfu/100 mL with a 0.03 mM concentration during the same period. Thereafter, the growth of E. coli increased between 6 and 7 cfu/100 mL in the filtered water after 90 min trial. A high performance of the Ag/fibreglass nanoparticle filter system was observed when 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations were used. The results showed that 3.5 log cfu/ 100 mL E. coli was removed within the first 10 min with a 0.05 mM concentration and 4.3 log cfu/100 mL within the first 30 min with a 0.1 mM concentration, respectively. Thereafter, growth of E .coli in filtered water was noticed. There was a significant difference in the reduction of E. coli counts with these filter systems containing 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations (P < 0.05), as compared to the control.
As illustrated in Figure 5(d), the uncoated anion resin (control) filter system did not have any antibacterial effect against E. coli. Filter systems with Ag/anion nanoparticles reduced the E. coli count by 2.0 log cfu/100 mL with a 0.01 mM concentration in the first 10 min and there was an increase in the E. coli count in the filtered water. However, with 0.03 and 0.05 mM concentrations, a 4 log cfu/100 mL reduction of E. coli count was observed in the first 60 min, while with a 0.1 mM concentration a 4.5 log cfu/100 mL reduction of E. coli was also observed in the same period.Thereafter, the growth of E. coli increased between 3 and 5.6 cfu/100 mL in filtered water after 90 min trial. The results showed a significant difference in the reduction of the E. coli count with filters containing 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations (P < 0.05), as compared to the control.
The results of Ag/cation resin filter systems and uncoated cation resin (control) are shown in Figure 5(e). The results indicate that the uncoated resin filter did not have any antibacterial activity against E. coli. The filter systems with Ag/cation resin reduced E. coli by 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 logs cfu/100 mL with 0.01 mM, 0.03 mM and 0.05 mM concentrations in the first 60 min of the filter run, respectively. Thereafter, a growth of between 2.5 and 4.8 cfu/100 mL E. coli in filtered water was noticed after 90 min trial. A complete removal (>7 log cfu/100 mL) of E. coli was achieved with 0.1 mM concentrations during the entire filter run (90 minutes) without a further regrowth in the treated water. There was a significant difference in the reduction of E. coli between filter systems containing 0.01 mM, 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM concentrations (P < 0.05), as compared to the control. However, the antibacterial efficiency of the substrates with different concentrations were found not be significantly different from one another (P > 0.05), except for the 0.1 mM concentration of Ag/cation resin (P < 0.05).
3.4. Performance of Combined Substrates-Silver (0.1 mM) Nanoparticles in Removing Pathogenic Bacteria from Groundwater
Silver nanoparticle-coated substrates with 0.1 mM AgNO3 were selected for further investigation because of their performance efficiency. In general, the bactericidal activity of Ag nanoparticle substrates depended on the individual microorganism. For this reason, the test was carried out with Ag nanoparticle substrates against four bacterial strains by using groundwater containing presumptive E. coli with 3 log cfu/100 mL and seeded with 3 log cfu/mL of S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae.
Figure 6 indicates the reduction of pathogenic bacteria in the treated water by five combined substrate-silver nanoparticle filter systems. The filter systems containing Ag/zeolite nanoparticles (Figure 6(a)) completely removed presumptive E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae within the first 10 minutes of the filter run. Thereafter, these pathogenic bacteria reappeared in the treated water samples with counts ranging between 0.25 and 2 log removal. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the regrowth of these pathogenic bacteria, except for the regrowth of E. coli and S. typhimurium, where a significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed with the Ag/zeolite nanoparticle filter system in the treated water.
The combined sand-silver nanoparticles filter system (Figure 6(b)) showed a complete removal (3 log) of presumptive E. coli and S. dysenteriae during the first 10 min of the filter run, while S. typhimurium and V. cholerae were completely removed within the first 20 min. Thereafter, E. coli and S. dysenteriae reappeared in the treated water samples for the rest of the study period and their counts ranged between 0.25 and 2.4 log cfu/100 mL, respectively. Salmonella typhimurium and V. cholerae reappeared in the treated water for the last 100 min of the filter run and their counts ranged between 0.25 and 2.5 log cfu/100 mL. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the regrowth of these pathogenic bacteria with the Ag/sand nanoparticle filter system in the treated water.
The filter system with Ag/fibreglass nanoparticles (Figure 6(c)) completely removed (3 log cfu/100 mL) presumptive E. coli in the first 10 min, S. dysenteriae in the first 20 min, S. typhimurium in the first 30 min and V. cholerae in the first 60 min of the filter run. Subsequently, they reappeared in the treated water for the remaining time of the filter run and their counts ranged between 0.3 and 2.5 log cfu/100 mL. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the regrowth of E. coli, S. typhimurium and S. dysenteriae with the Ag/fibreglass nanoparticle filter system, except for E. coli and V. cholerae, where there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the treated water.
The combined anion resin-silver nanoparticle filter system completely removed 3 log cfu/100 mL of presumptive E. coli in the first 20 min, S. dysenteriae in the first 30 min, and S. typhimurium and V. cholerae in the first 60 min of the filter run. Subsequently, these organisms progressively reappeared in the treated water with counts ranging between 1 and 2.8 log cfu/100 mL. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in the regrowth of these pathogenic bacteria with the Ag/anion resin nanoparticle filter system in the treated water.
The use of the cation resin-silver nanoparticle filter system (Figure 6(e)) resulted in a complete removal (3 log cfu/100 mL) of the target pathogenic bacteria and there was no bacterial regrowth during the entire 120 min of the filter run. Statistically, the performance of Ag/cation resin nanoparticles in removing all targeted pathogenic bacteria from groundwater was found to be significantly higher compared to the other filters when considering the phenomenon of bacterial regrowth that characterised the latter filters.
3.5. Elution of Silver Ions from Silver Nanoparticle Substrates
Figure 7 shows the Ag+ ions eluted from filter materials coated with silver nanoparticles. A high concentration of silver was eluted from Ag/zeolite, Ag/sand, Ag/fiberglass and Ag/anion resin substrates within the first 10 minutes of the filter run.
The content of silver released from these filters ranged between 1.0 and 1.8 mg/L for 0.1 mM Ag, between 0.7 and 0.8 mg/L for 0.05 mM Ag, between 0.5 and 0.6 mg/L for 0.03 mM Ag, and between 0.1 and 0.2 mg/L for 0.01 mM Ag. Consequently, after 90 min trial there was no silver ion detected in the filtered water from zeolite, sand fiberglass and anion resin substrates. However, the amount of the silver released from the Ag/cation resin was below 0.1 mg/L for all four the different concentrations investigated during the study period.
The increasing demand for access to safe drinking water and the problems associated with centralised systems in developing countries have made decentralised systems vital for the development of new technologies to address these challenges, especially in scattered communities depending totally on groundwater supplies. Therefore, this study explored the use of nanosized silver impregnated onto cost-effective materials locally available in South Africa for possible use in drinking water disinfection. Using hydrothermal and chemical methods, it was revealed that silver nanoparticles were successfully deposited onto sand, zeolite, fibreglass, anion and cation resin substrates. However, in the case of the silver coatings, the antibacterial effect was found to reduce with time and the coatings had minimal antibacterial properties at 30 min. The ion elution studies (Figure 7) indicated that between 60 and 90% of silver loaded on the Ag/zeolite, Ag/sand, Ag/fibreglass and Ag/anion resin substrates eluted into the treated samples. Consequently the low level of Ag ions remaining in the surface substrates after 30 min elution is responsible for the decrease of bacterial removal at this time point. It was also discovered by that silver eluted into water when using Ag-zeolite. The elution of silver from the substrates might be due to the weak attachment of silver nanoparticles to the surface substrates. High concentrations of silver ions eluted in water can be toxic to human cells and potentially cause adverse effects in the case of long-term implants. The amount of silver ions eluted from Ag/zeolite, Ag/sand, Ag/fibreglass and Ag/anion resin exceeded by far the recommended limit set by the World Health Organisation and US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), which is less than 0.10 mg/l in drinking water used for human consumption. The amount of silver ions eluted from Ag/cation resin complied with the WHO and USEPA limits [39,40]. Conversely, the high levels of ions (95%) still present in the Ag/cation resin surface after 30 min would explain the retention of the antimicrobial properties of that surface over the 90 min of the trial. Scanning electron microsope images revealed that the Ag nanoparticles on the substrates were predominantly small and spherical with EDS confirming the presences of silver peaks, as shown in Figure 2. The TEM images also revealed spherical-shaped particles that aggregated to each other on the silver nanoparticle substrates, which indicated a particle size distribution ranging between 5 and 90 nm. This result was in accordance with the results obtained from the XRD pattern lattice measurement corresponding to the (111) silver plane (Figure 4). The crystalline nature of Ag nanoparticles was confirmed by the XRD experimental study. The diffraction pattern observed from the XRD matches the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure of silver as described by previous investigators [41,42]. It was reported by that the two broad reflection peaks corresponding to (111) and (200) planes indicate that the silver particles are nanocrystals with cubic symmetry. A similar observation was reported by . According to these authors, both the nanoscale size and the presence of a (111) plane of Ag nanoparticles promote the biocidal property of E. coli [33,43].
The physicochemical analyses of the tested groundwater source were within the recommended limits of no risk for drinking except for turbidity which was above the SANS 241 limit . High turbidity levels are associated with poor water quality and promote the survival of microorganisms . Turbidity can also protect microorganisms from the effects of disinfection, stimulate the growth of bacteria and give rise to a significant disinfection demand .
Escherichia coli was found to be present at the highest concentration of 3 log cfu/100 mL in groundwater samples collected from Delmas, while the limit recommended by SANS 241 is 0 cfu/100 mL for drinking water that is meant for human consumption. Although S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae were not detected in the groundwater samples, these pathogenic bacteria were seeded into the groundwater samples at a concentration of approximately 3 log cfu/100 mL in order to determine the removal efficiency of the filters. In the first part of this study, the antibacterial efficiency of the combined substrates-silver nanoparticle filter systems were determined, using various concentrations of silver nitrate against E. coli as the test organism. The aim of this part of the study was to determine the concentration of silver that would have the most effective antibacterial property against the E. coli. The results indicated that all the filter systems containing uncoated substrates (Figure 5(a–e)) were unable to deactivate E. coli from synthetic water when compared to the combined substrates-silver nanoparticles filter systems. The bactericidal effect of silver nanoparticle substrates depended on the concentrations of the silver nitrate as well as on the type of substrates. The higher the concentration of Ag added to modify the substrates, the greater was the removal of E. coli. In analyses regarding the effect of silver nanoparticles in a size range of 5–90 nm, significant reductions in the E. coli population were noted when using filter materials coated with 0.01 mM, 0.03 mM, 0.05 mM and 0.1 mM silver concentrations as compared to the control (P < 0.05). The overall results indicated a significantly higher bactericidal efficiency with 0.1 mM AgNO3 (P < 0.05) compared to other silver concentrations, despite the phenomenon of bacterial regrowth that resulted in a progressive increase of bacterial counts in the treated water during the subsequent operation of all the filters, except for the Ag/cation resin filter (Figure 5(a–e)). This filter showed the best performance, which resulted in the complete removal of E. coli from synthetic water without the occurrence of bacterial regrowth when the cation resin was loaded with 0.1 mM silver (Figure 5(e)). The particle sizes of silver ranging between 1 and 100 nm have been reported to have an effect on the antibacterial properties of nanoparticles . Silver nanoparticles cause irreversible damage to the cellular membrane [18,43,44], which enables the accumulation of nanoparticles in the cytoplasm. The action of silver nanoparticles is due to this damage and not to its toxicity . Previous investigators have pointed out that Ag nanoparticles bind to the outer membrane of E. coli, causing the inhibition of active transport, dehydrogenase and periplasmic enzyme activity and eventually the inhibition of RNA, DNA and a decrease in the cell permeability, which finally results in cell lysis [18,45,46,47]. While microorganisms carry a negative charge, the Ag ions carry a positive charge, which is crucial for its antimicrobial activity through the electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged cell membrane of microorganisms and positively charged nanoparticles [48,49,50]. [51,52] indicated that the higher the concentration, the better the antibacterial activity will be. The percentage removal of E. coli from synthetic water was also in accordance with findings by previous investigations using a silver-coated ceramic water filter and silver-coated cylindrical polypropylene filters [53,54].
In the second part of the study, the antibacterial activities of combined substrates-silver nanoparticle filter systems prepared from 0.1 mM AgNO3 were investigated against E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. dysenteriae and V. cholerae found or spiked in groundwater samples. The results of this part of the study also showed a decrease in bacterial concentrations from groundwater samples by all filters (Figure 6). While the regrowth of targeted pathogenic bacteria occurred in water treated by Ag/zeolite, Ag/sand, Ag/fibreglass and Ag/anion resin, this phenomenon did not occur in drinking water treated with the Ag/cation resin nanoparticle filter system. This filter produced drinking water that complied with the limit of E. coli 0 cfu /100 mL as set by the South African guidelines [35,36]. The silver cation resin nanoparticle filter system achieved a 100% removal of all the targeted pathogenic bacteria during the entire 120 min of the filter operation. This performance of the Ag/cation resin nanoparticle filter system, namely removing 100% E. coli, was also reported by other researchers who used silver nanoparticle filters [55,56]. The results achieved in the first 10 min of the filter operation with a Ag/fibreglass nanoparticle filter system in removing E. coli confirmed those reported by when these authors used a similar filter system for the purification of drinking water. Taking into account the performance of resin-silver nanoparticle filters in removing pathogenic bacteria and their level of silver ion elution in the drinking water, this suggests the use of this type of filter system as an alternative decentralisation technology for the production of safe drinking water for communities depending on groundwater supplies.
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
Silver nanoparticle-coated substrates were prepared successfully by the chemical reduction and hydrothermal synthesis method. Detailed characterisation of the nanoparticles was carried out using SEM, EDS, TEM, Particle Size Distribution and XRD analyses, which confirmed the presences of silver loading on the substrates. The performance of the substrates as antibacterial water filter system was checked and no bacterium was detected in the output water when the Ag/cation resin substrate was used as a filter system. Low bacterial removal by Ag/zeolite, Ag/sand, Ag/fibrelass and Ag/anion resin filter systems was observed, which led to the conclusion that these systems are not ideal systems for the disinfection of drinking water. Consequently, a combined cation-resin silver nanoparticle system is the sole drinking-water purification system suggested by this study. This technology can offer complete anti-microbial solutions to rural communities. Further studies will be conducted on the lifespan of the combined cation-resin silver nanoparticle filter system and the communities will be informed of the period for which they can use this filter system
We thank the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and the Tshwane University of Technology for funding this study.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- World Health Organization (WHO). Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Links to Health; WHO: Geneva, Switzerland, 2004.
- Momba, M.N.B.; Kaleni, P. Regrowth and survival of indicator microorganisms on the surfaces of household containers used for the storage of drinking water in rural communities of South Africa. Water Res. 2002, 36, 3023–3028. [Google Scholar]
- Edberg, S.C.; Rice, E.W.; Karlin, R.J.; Allen, M.J. Escherichia coli: The best biological drinking water indicator for public health protection. Symp. Ser. Sco. Appl. Microbiol. 2000, 88, S106–S116. [Google Scholar]
- Enriquez, C.; Nwachuku, N.; Gerba, C.P. Direct exposure to animal enteric pathogens. Rev. Environ. Health 2001, 16, 117–131. [Google Scholar]
- Momba, M.N.B.; Notshe, T.L. The microbiological quality of groundwater-derived drinking water after long storage in household containers in a rural community of South Africa. J. Water Sup. Res. Tech. 2003, 52, 67–77. [Google Scholar]
- Momba, M.N.B.; Malakate, V.K.; Theron, J. Abundance of phathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Vibrio cholerae in Nkonkobe drinking water sources. J. Water Health 2006, 4, 289–296. [Google Scholar] [PubMed]
- WHO and UNICEF. Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water; World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund: Geneva, Switzerland, 2010.
- Statistics South Africa. Millennium Development Goals Country Report. Republic of South Africa, 2010. Available online: http://www.statssa.gov.za/news_archive/Docs/MDGR_2010.pdf. (accessed on 18 September 2011).
- Klasen, H.J. A historical review of the use of silver in the treatment of burns. II. Renewed interest for silver. J. Burns 2000, 26, 131–138. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bosetti, M.; Masse, A.; Tobin, E.; Cannas, M. Silver coated materials for external fixation devices: In vitro biocompatibility and genotoxicity. Biomaterials 2002, 23, 887–892. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Richard, J.W.; Spencer, B.A.; McCoy, L.F.; Carina, E.; Washington, J.; Edgar, P. Acticoat versus silverlon: The truth. J. Burns Surg. Wound Care 2002, 1, 11–20. [Google Scholar]
- Niven, R. Investigation of Silver Electrochemistry Water Disinfection Application. M.S. Thesis, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, 2005. [Google Scholar]
- Ovington, L.G. The truth about silver. Ostomy Wound Manage 2004, 50, S1–S10. [Google Scholar]
- Rai, M.; Yadav, A.; Gade, A. Silver nanoparticles as a new generation of antimicrobials. Biotech. Adv. 2009, 27, 76–83. [Google Scholar]
- Kumar, A.; Vemula, P.K.; Ajayan, P.M.; John, G. Silver-nanoparticle-embedded antimicrobial paints based on vegetable oil. Nat. Mater. 2008, 7, 236–241. [Google Scholar]
- Duran, N.; Marcato, P.D.; De Conti, R.; Alves, O.L.; Costa, F.T.M.; Brocchi, M. Potential use of silver nanoparticles on pathogenic bacteria, their toxicity and possible mechanisms of action. J. Brazil Chem. Soc. 2010, 21, 949–959. [Google Scholar]
- Matsumura, Y.; Yoshikata, K.; Kunisaki, S.I.; Tsuchido, T. Mode of bactericidal action of silver zeolite and its comparison with that of silver nitrate. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2003, 69, 4278–4281. [Google Scholar]
- Sondi, I.; Salopek-Sondi, B. Silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agent: A case study on E. coli as a model for Gram-negative bacteria. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2004, 275, 177–182. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Stoimenov, P.K.; Klinger, R.L.; Marchin, G.L.; Klabunde, K.J. Metal oxide nanoparticles as antibacterial agents. Langmuir 2002, 18, 6679–6686. [Google Scholar]
- Cho, K.H.; Park, J.E.; Osaka, T.; Park, S.G. The study of antimicrobial activity and preservative effects of nanosilver ingredient. Electrochim. Acta 2005, 51, 956–960. [Google Scholar]
- Jain, P.; Pradeep, T. Potential of silver nanoparticle-coated polyurethane form as an antibacterial water filter. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2005, 90, 59–63. [Google Scholar]
- Nair, A.S.; Pradeep, T. Extraction of chlorpyrifos and malathion from water by metal nanoparticles. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 2007, 7, 1871–1877. [Google Scholar]
- Mahmood, S.N.; Naeem, S.; Basit, N.; Usmani, T.H. Microbial evaluation of silver coated/ impregnated sand for purification of contaminated water. Environ. Technol. 1993, 14, 151–157. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nangmenyi, G.; Yue, Z.; Mehrabi, S.; Mintz, E.; Economy, J. Synthesis and characterization of Ag nanoparticle impregnated fiberglass and utility in water disinfection. Nanotechnology 2009, 20, 495–505. [Google Scholar]
- Logsdon, G.S.; Kohne, R.; Abel, A.; LaBonde, S. Slow sand filtration for small water systems. J. Environ. Eng. Sci. 2002, 1, 339–348. [Google Scholar]
- Rivera-Garza, M.; Olguín, M.T.; García-Sosa, I.; Alcántara, D.; Rodríguez-Fuentes, G. Silver supported on natural Mexican zeolite as an antibacterial material. Micropor. Mesopor. Mat. 2000, 39, 431–444. [Google Scholar]
- Top, A.; Ülkü, S. Silver, zinc, and copper exchange in a naclinoptilolite and resulting effect on antibacterial activity. Appl. Clay Sci. 2004, 27, 13–19. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA). Current Safety and Health Issues in Fiberglass; SMACNA: Chantilly, VA, USA, 1997; pp. 2903–2980.
- Bürgers, R.; Eidt, A.; Frankenberger, R.; Rosentritt, M.; Schweikl, H.; Handel, G.; Hahnel, S. The anti-adherence activity and bactericidal effect of microparticulate silver additives in composite resin materials. Arch. Oral Biol. 2009, 54, 595–601. [Google Scholar]
- Fan, C.; Chu, L.; Rawls, H.R.; Norling, B.K.; Cardenas, H.L.; Whang, K. Development of an antimicrobial resin—A pilot study. Dent. Mater. 2011, 27, 322–328. [Google Scholar]
- Purolite International Ltd. Purolite Ion Exchange Resins, Purolite International Ltd. Bala Cynwyd, PA, USA.
- Rohm and Haas. Ion Exchange Introduction; Lenntech BV: Delft, The Netherlands, 2008. Available online: http://www.lenntech.com/Data-sheets/Ion-Exchange-for-Dummies-RH.pdf. (accessed on 3 October 2011).
- Jana, S.; Ghosh, S.K.; Nath, S.; Pande, S.; Praharaj, S.; Panigrahi, S.; Basu, S.; Endo, T.; Pal, T. Synthesis of silver nanoshell-coated cationic polystyrene beads: A solid phase catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Appl. Catal. A Gen. 2006, 313, 41–48. [Google Scholar]
- Nath, S.; Ghosh, S.K.; Kundu, S.; Praharaj, S.; Panigrahi, S.; Basu, S.; Pal, T. A convenient approach to synthesize silver nanoshell covered functionalized polystyrene beads: A substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering. Mater. Lett. 2005, 59, 3986–3989. [Google Scholar]
- SANS 241. South African National Standard: Drinking water; Standards South Africa: Pretoria, South Africa, 2006.
- Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF). South African Water Quality Guidelines. Vol 1: Domestic Use, 2nd; DWAF: Pretoria, South Africa, 1996.
- American Public Health Association (APHA). Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater, 20th; APHA: Washington, DC, USA, 1998.
- Inoue, Y.; Hoshino, M.; Takahashi, H.; Noguchi, T.; Murata, T.; Kanzaki, Y.; Hamashima, H.; Sasatsu, M. Bactericidal activity of Ag-zeolite mediated by reactive oxygen species under aerated conditions. J. Inorg. Biochem. 2002, 92, 37–42. [Google Scholar]
- World Health Organization (WHO). Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, 3rd; WHO: Geneva. Switzerland, 2006; 1.
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Edition of the Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisories; EPA 822-R-06-013. Office of Water U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Washington, DC, USA, 2006.
- Dong, A.G.; Wang, Y.J.; Tang, Y.; Ren, N.; Yang, W.L.; Gao, Z. Fabrication of compact silver nanoshells on polystyrene spheres through electrostatic attraction. Chem. Commun. 2002, 4, 350–351. [Google Scholar]
- Jiang, G.H.; Wang, L.; Chen, T.; Yu, H.J.; Wang, J.J. Preparation and characterization of dendritic silver nanoparticles. J. Mat. Sci. 2005, 40, 1681–1683. [Google Scholar]
- Pal, S.; Tak, Y.K.; Song, J.M. Does the antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles depend on the shape of the nanoparticle? A study of the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2007, 73, 1712–1720. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Gorgoi, S.K.; Gopinanth, P.; Paul, A.; Ramesh, A.; Ghosh, S.S.; Chattopadhyay, A. Green fluorescent protein-expressing Escherichia coli as a model system for investigating the antimicrobial activities of silver nanoparticles. Langmuir 2006, 22, 9322–9328. [Google Scholar] [PubMed]
- Russell, A.D.; Hugo, W.B. Antimicrobial activity and action of silver. Prog. Med. Chem. 1994, 31, 351–370. [Google Scholar]
- Morones, J.R.; Elechiguerra, J.L.; Camacho, A.; Holt, K.; Kouri, J.B.; Ramirez, J.T.; Yacaman, M.J. The bactericidal effect of silver nanoparticles. Nanotechnology 2005, 16, 2346–2353. [Google Scholar]
- Zhang, H.; Chen, G. Potent antibacterial activities of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite powders synthesized by a one-pot sol-gel method. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 2905–2910. [Google Scholar]
- Dragieva, I.; Stoeva, S.; Stoimenov, P.; Pavlikianov, E.; Klabunde, K. Complex formation in solutions for chemical synthesis of nanoscaled particles prepared by borohydride reduction process. Nanostruct. Mater. 1999, 12, 267–270. [Google Scholar]
- Hamouda, T.; Myc, A.; Donovan, B.; Shih, A.; Reuter, J.D.; Baker, J.R. A novel surfactant nanoemulsion with a unique non-irritant topical antimicrobial activity against bacteria, enveloped viruses and fungi. Microbiol. Res. 2000, 156, 1–7. [Google Scholar]
- Dibrov, P.; Dzioba, J.; Gosink, K.K.; H7se, C.C. Chemiosmotic mechanism of antimicrobial activity of Ag (+) in Vibrio cholerae. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 2002, 46, 2668–2670. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Yamamoto, O.; Sawai, J.; Sasamoto, T. Change in antibacterial characteristics with doping amount of ZnO. Inter. J. Inorg. Mater. 2000, 2, 451–454. [Google Scholar]
- Jung, W.K.; Koo, H.C.; Kim, K.W.; Shin, S.; Kim, S.H.; Park, Y.H. Antibacterial activity and mechanism action of the silver ion in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2008, 74, 2171–2178. [Google Scholar] [PubMed]
- Oyanedel, C.V.A.; Smith, J.A. Sustainable colloidal silver impregnated ceramic filter for point-of-use water treatment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 927–933. [Google Scholar]
- Heidarpour, F.; Wan Ab Karim Ghani, W.; Fakhru’l-Razi, A.; Sobri, S.; Heydarpour, V.; Zargar, M.; Mozafari, M. Complete removal of pathogenic bacteria from drinking water using nano silver-coated cylindrical polypropylene filters. Clean Technol. Environ. Pol. 2010, 13, 1–9. [Google Scholar]
- Phong, N.T.P.; Thanh, N.V.K.; Phuong, P.H. Fabrication of antibacterial water filter by coating silver nanoparticles on flexible polyurethane foams. J. Phys. 2009, 187. [Google Scholar]
- Heidarpour, F.; Ghani, W.A.W.A.K.; Fakhru’L-Razi, A.; Sobri, S.; Torabian, A.; Heydarpour, V.; Zargar, M. New trends in microbiological water treatment. DJNB 2011, 6, 791–802. [Google Scholar]
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). | <urn:uuid:953087aa-a9fd-454e-80f8-61ee20073222> | {
"date": "2015-12-02T05:23:45",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-48",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448399326483.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124210846-00070-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9028015732765198,
"score": 2.765625,
"token_count": 14630,
"url": "http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/1/244/htm"
} |
Sleep hygiene is a term used to include just about anything related to your sleep habits. It has nothing to do with cleanliness or taking a shower before you go to bed – unless that helps you sleep better.
Ranging from your activities before bedtime... to where you sleep at night... to the time you wake up each day, sleep hygiene includes:
Life vs. Sleep
Society as a whole doesn't put enough emphasis on the importance of a good night's sleep. Today's hectic, high-tech lifestyle is not geared towards allowing people to get enough healthy, restful sleep. Grueling 60-hour work weeks, 24 hour shopping and exercise facilities, and continual access to television and the internet make getting ample sleep a challenge.
Physical and emotional illness, relationship difficulties, loss of work-based productivity, accidents, drug and/or alcohol dependence are often linked to sleep deprivation.
Although everyone is different, research shows that most adults need between seven and nine hours sleep every night. Children and teens need more.
Of course, there are those rare individuals who exuded energy and can effectively function on as little as four or five hours of shut-eye a night. Yet, the vast majority of people will suffer physically, mentally and emotionally with such a minimal amount of sleep on a regular basis.
How to Determine Your Sleep Needs
You can identify how much sleep you need each night by thinking about how you feel when you wake up after a specified number of hours asleep.
You know you have benefited from the right amount of sleep when you can easily awaken feeling alert and ready to get out of bed. You will also feel energized and ready to start your day.
Duration and quality of sleep are directly related to the quality of your sleep hygiene.
If you can benefit from improved sleep, begin by evaluating your bedtime and sleep habits. Then, take an objective look at your sleep environment. Consider the comfort of your bed, how effectively your blinds or curtains block out the light, and the temperature of your room.
Even the quality of linens and cleanliness of your bedroom contribute to better sleep. Once you have determined what needs to be addressed, commit to making those changes that will promote healthier sleep patterns.
Acquiring Better Sleep Habits
The following links provide valuable information to help you improve your sleep hygiene.
Importance of Sleep
What are Healthy Sleep Habits
Establishing a Sleep Schedule
7 Ways to Free Your Mind for Restful Sleep
Sleep Inducing Foods
Getting Rid of Bed Bugs
Establishing a Healthy Bedtime Routine
How to Sleep Better
Sleep Position - Does it Matter?
Tips for Falling Asleep and Staying Asleep
Copyright 2008-2017 - Sowder Group LLC - Content and images may NOT be reproduced.
Better-Sleep-Better-Life.com is for informational purposes and does not serve as medical/health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The site publisher/owner is not liable for your use of site information. Always consult your physician for all sleep and health concerns.
Published by Jules Sowder | <urn:uuid:1fc1e915-8fde-49ae-95b7-03221c978e4d> | {
"date": "2017-02-23T02:27:39",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171070.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00280-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9208265542984009,
"score": 2.9375,
"token_count": 637,
"url": "http://www.better-sleep-better-life.com/sleep-hygiene.html"
} |
In this stirring audiobook, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence -- when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper. Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known. But it is the American commander-in-chief who stands foremost -- Washington, who had never before led an army in battle. The darkest hours of that tumultuous year were as dark as any Americans have known. Especially in our own tumultuous time, 1776 is powerful testimony to how much is owed to a rare few in that brave founding epoch, and what a miracle it was that things turned out as they did. Written as a companion work to his celebrated biography of John Adams, David McCullough's 1776 is another landmark in the literature of American history. | <urn:uuid:6f5d28d2-d300-4c75-a86d-0f2d64126bfd> | {
"date": "2017-09-24T22:20:45",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-39",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818690211.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170924205308-20170924225308-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9744290709495544,
"score": 2.546875,
"token_count": 273,
"url": "https://tunein.com/audio-books/1776-p856085/"
} |
Signals from global positioning system (GPS) satellites are now being used for more than just location and navigation information. By looking at the radio waves from GPS satellites, a technology developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) not only precisely calculates its position, but can also use a technique known as radio occultation to help scientists study the Earth’s atmosphere and gravity field to improve weather forecasts, monitor climate change, and enhance space weather research.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a nonprofit group of universities in Boulder, Colorado, compares radio occultation to the appearance of a pencil when viewed though a glass of water. The water molecules change the path of visible light waves so that the pencil appears bent, just like molecules in the air bend GPS radio signals as they pass through (or are occulted by) the atmosphere. Through measurements of the amount of bending in the signals, scientists can construct detailed images of the ionosphere (the energetic upper part of the atmosphere) and also gather information about atmospheric density, pressure, temperature, and moisture. Once collected, this data can be input into weather forecasting and climate models for weather prediction and climate studies. Traditionally, such information is obtained through the use of weather balloons.
In 1998, JPL started developing a new class of GPS space science receivers, called Black Jack, that could take precise measurements of how GPS signals are distorted or delayed along their way to the receiver. By 2006, the first demonstration of a GPS radio occultation constellation was launched through a collaboration among Taiwan’s National Science Council and National Space Organization, the U.S. National Science Foundation, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other Federal entities. Called the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC), JPL was responsible for designing COSMIC’s primary instrument—based on its revolutionary Black Jack receiver.
To produce the Black Jack GPS radio occultation receivers required for COSMIC, JPL turned to Tempe, Arizona-based Broad Reach Engineering Company (BRE). BRE made enhancements to JPL’s existing technology, including the addition of an internal redundancy feature and internal mass memory. BRE built the new receivers, and while delivering the flight hardware for the COSMIC program, entered into a license agreement for the technology that extends to 2017.
As a result of the license agreement, BRE commercialized a new product called the Integrated GPS Occultation Receiver (IGOR) based on NASA’s Black Jack device. “After the successful transfer of commercial technology to BRE, the company further improved it—allowing for increased parts reliability and the ability to modify the digital signal processing algorithms while on orbit,” says Garth Franklin, supervisor of the advanced radiometric and gravity sensing instruments group at JPL.
With one of the company’s main products being an integrated avionics unit (IAU) that provides all satellite command and data handling, electrical power system, and payload interface capability from a single box, BRE now offers an additional option, based on the NASA receiver, as a standalone GPS receiver or as part of the IAU. “We can handle power inputs, switching and distribution, uplink and downlink, and payload interfaces—it’s a tightly integrated solution for satellites. The Black Jack technology provides us with another product line of avionics to offer to our customers,” says Dan Smith, a project manager at Broad Reach Engineering.
As a dual-frequency (frequencies L1 and L2) receiver, IGOR is available in two versions for low-Earth orbit: as a receiver for precision orbit determination (POD) only, or as a receiver for both POD and radio occultation. “IGOR provides orbit determination, which is similar to other GPS receivers on the market. However, the unique feature is that IGOR has the radio occultation science capability,” says Smith.
IGOR also features a solid state recorder that allows the recording of extra data in case there are problems with the downlink at ground stations, and a payload controller that can control additional instruments on the satellite. “We repackaged it a little bit, but we didn’t touch any of the JPL items such as the signal acquisition and tracking algorithms. We focused on the hardware,” says Smith.
Designed to meet all of the requirements of occultation science experiments, IGOR is currently being used by NASA, as well as by German, Korean, and Brazilian organizations. To date, nine IGOR receivers have been deployed on orbit: six flight units for COSMIC, one flight unit for the German TerraSAR-X, one flight unit for the German Tandem-X, and one flight unit for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s TACSAT-2 (which is no longer operational). Two additional flight units have been delivered, including one to Korea for KOMPSAT-5, and one to Brazil for LATTES. While BRE is currently working on a flight build for the Spanish PAZ, company personnel are also in discussions with Japanese customers.
“Some of the international agencies collaborate with NOAA or UCAR, and they are basically building the global dataset for radio occultation,” says Smith. “As they input the radio occultation data into the operational NOAA weather models, the severe weather forecasting has improved significantly. The data is indicating that hurricane tracking predictions are improving.”
According to UCAR, data from COSMIC has proven valuable for weather forecasting, hurricane forecasting, and investigation of the atmospheric boundary layer (the lowest part of the atmosphere). The data has also proven useful for testing ionospheric models, is being used for space weather models, and can potentially benefit climate studies, due to its high precision and global and daily sampling coverage. As Franklin describes, “Temperature, pressure, water vapor, and electron content can be retrieved in a widely distributed way as each of the 31 GPS spacecraft signals are observed by the six COSMIC spacecraft, cutting though Earth’s atmosphere on average of 1,500 times per day.” This is the first time such large amounts of data have been obtained on a global scale.
After introducing the benefits of IGOR to the satellite industry, BRE licensed additional technology from Goddard Space Flight Center in 2011. Called Navigator, the NASA-derived GPS receiver can acquire and track the weaker signals broadcast by GPS satellites to enable navigation in geosynchronous orbits (GEO) and highly elliptical orbits (HEO), where typical GPS receivers fail to pick up a signal. “Goddard provided the software, algorithms, and Kalman filtering. Again, we repackaged the hardware and coordinated initial bench-top performance testing with Goddard. This effort allowed us to make it part of our IAU, creating another hardware option for satellites considering these type of missions,” says Smith.
The first use of BRE’s version of Navigator will fly on the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Nanosatellite Guardian for Evaluating Local Space (ANGELS) mission, planned for 2012.
While Smith looks forward to continued collaborations with NASA to make the next generation of GPS receivers for tracking additional frequencies, in the meantime, he says, “As we continually look for options in the best interest of flight hardware, we have a good product line based on NASA technology. | <urn:uuid:74d7fe9d-879d-455e-8615-202b390e008b> | {
"date": "2015-08-29T20:55:20",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440644064538.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827025424-00290-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9269859194755554,
"score": 3.859375,
"token_count": 1538,
"url": "http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2011/er_4.html"
} |
DistributionRead full entry
Clark’s nutcracker has a wide distribution in zones of coniferous vegetation from the coastal ranges in Canada throughout the mountainous areas of the western United States. It is a native, permanent resident of the mountainous regions of western North America. Migration is only altitudinal with a shift to lower elevations beginning in late September (Burleigh, 1972; Coues, 1874; Tomback, 1998).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ) | <urn:uuid:3c1af7ae-20b6-424f-997b-d9a9dfc6fea5> | {
"date": "2016-05-31T14:39:01",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-22",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464051342447.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524005542-00006-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8945786952972412,
"score": 3.390625,
"token_count": 100,
"url": "http://www.eol.org/pages/1177487/overview/"
} |
Learn about acne with this multiple-choice quiz. You'll learn, for example, which factors promote blackheads.
Ready to start exercising, but don't know where to start? This quiz from the AARP can get you off on the right foot.
Addiction to drugs or alcohol can happen to anyone of any age, social status, race, or income level. Find out more by taking this quiz.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder, affecting more than 4 million kids.
True or false: Polio vaccines should be kept up-to-date throughout your lifetime.
How important is it to draw up a living will? Take this quiz and find out.
Millions of Americans are affected by age-related macular degeneration, a disease that damages the eye's central vision. To learn more about macular degeneration, take this quiz.
Misusing alcohol can lead to serious problems. Learn more about the effects of abusing alcohol by taking this quiz.
Allergies are nothing to sneeze at. Learn how to better deal with this condition.
Many people swear by alternative and complementary therapies. Find out more about these treatments by taking this quiz.
True or false: Meditation appears to benefit the immune system and may affect the nervous and vascular systems, which in turn affect joint health.
Gazing down on the spectacular view from a mountaintop can take your breath away. That breathlessness is oftentimes more than just an awestruck reaction to the sights. It can be a symptom of altitude sickness, an illness that can strike hikers, mountain climbers, skiers and anyone who hits the 8,000-foot mark on a mountain.
Find out more about this degenerative disease of the brain by taking this quiz.
Answer this one: What is the most common cause of anemia?
Anthrax is a serious disease that can affect the skin, lungs, and digestive tract. Learn more about this disease by taking this quiz.
Antibiotics have been called "wonder drugs," because of their ability to treat bacterial infections that were once deadly. Antibiotics have saved countless lives since they were first introduced 60 years ago. But over use of these drugs has allowed some bacteria to become resistant to them.
Aplastic anemia is a rare blood disorder that affects the growth of blood cells. "Aplastic" means "lack of growth."
The human appendix is a 3- to 6-inch narrow tube located where the small and large intestines join. It's mostly known for becoming inflamed, affecting thousands of Americans each year. To learn more about the appendix, take this quiz.
True or False: Arthritis affects only the wrist, ankle, and knee joints.
Each year, more than a million Americans die of heart attacks and other forms of heart disease. Low-dose aspirin therapy is one weapon in the arsenal against heart disease that also includes healthy dieting, adequate exercise, and not smoking. Learn more about aspirin's role in combating heart disease by taking this quiz
Assess your knowledge of the asthma basics with this quiz.
Are you a parent of a child with asthma? Take this quiz and stop feeling guilty.
Do you know tobacco smoke's effect on asthma? What about asthma's effect on pregnancy? Find out the answers to these and other questions by taking this quiz.
The itching caused by athlete's foot can be intense. Named for the active people who seem most prone to this condition, athlete's foot can affect even couch potatoes. Find out more by taking this multiple-choice quiz.
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, inherited skin condition that affects millions of Americans. The following quiz offers helpful facts about the condition. | <urn:uuid:e29c2668-5b22-4324-89a8-e7e014dadd4c> | {
"date": "2015-07-31T13:23:53",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-32",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042988305.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002308-00336-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9522841572761536,
"score": 2.578125,
"token_count": 770,
"url": "http://www2.ukhealthcare.uky.edu/GetCollections.aspx?subtopicid=8186"
} |
Click here for submission guidelines.
September 2012: Local Literacies in a Global World
Literacy teaching and learning occur in the local classroom within individual, personal relationships. Yet, at the same time, rapid changes at the global level are impacting local classrooms at increasing rates. Groups of people from distant geographical areas now share the same classroom spaces. For this issue of Language Arts, we seek manuscripts that address the relationship between global and local languages and literacies. What responses have occurred in school literacy programs and/or practices as local demographics change due to (im)migrations? In what ways do population shifts prompt us to think about the interrelatedness of language and literacy? What do the changes mean for local classroom discourses? When multiple Englishes bump up against each other, does it change the way we think of English? What does literacy teaching and learning look like in this new world for students who are bior multiliterate? Are new literacies facilitating new and different collaborations for those who now live transnationally? (Submission deadline: May 15, 2011)
November 2012: Development
Innovative practices are often presented as one-sizefits-all for elementary grades. But teachers know that a practice like reading workshop in Kindergarten is so different from reading workshop in fourth grade.This is at least partly because Kindergarteners are different from their older peers. In fact, elementary years are some of the most important years in human development. Language Arts seeks manuscripts that uncover developmental differences among children that infl uence their literacy learning across the elementary years and how teachers are responding to those differences. What are the developmental differences among children that might affect literacy (and literary) learning? How do theories of human development, which are usually individually focused, merge with what we know about social and sociocultural theories to present a complex picture of literacy development? What adjustments do teachers make to programs and practices to accommodate developmental needs? How does knowledge of child development affect language arts teachers’ decision making and practice? (Submission deadline: July 15, 2011)
January 2013: Inquiries and Insights
In this unthemed issue, we feature your current questions and transformations as educators, community members, students, and researchers. Many directions are possible in this issue. What tensions do you see in literacy education today? What do readers of Language Arts need to notice and think about? What inquiry work have you done that can stretch the field of literacy and language arts? Describe your process of learning about literature, literacy, culture, social justice, and language. What new literacy practices do you see in communities, after-school programs, and classrooms? What supports these practices? What is getting in the way of change? What connections are adults and children making as they engage in the art of language? Join us in creating a collection of inquiries and insights. (Submission deadline: September 15, 2011)
March 2013: Literate Lunch
As attention to sustainable living has grown, local schools and districts have responded with both classroom gardens and larger district gardens to supply cafeteria food. Farm-to-school programs now exist in places as different as the large urban centers of Detroit and D.C. and the border areas of Texas’s Rio Grande Valley. But, at this point, it’s difficult to differentiate between superficial changes and those that ask students to think deeply about the far-reaching impact of local, individual decisions. For this issue of Language Arts, we seek manuscripts related to ecoliteracy. How has the greening of schools affected critical literacy and ecoliteracy practices? In what ways has the nation’s growing attention to children’s health and food issues impacted literacy teaching and learning? What sorts of texts and/or collaborations have been undertaken to examine these global issues? What opportunities for integrated/interdisciplinary units of study have been taken up? How have students been prompted to explore and reflect on specific places? Have classrooms and/or districts tackled the related social justice and globalization issues? (Submission deadline: November 15, 2011)
May 2013: Community Literacy/ies
Guest Editors: Rebecca Rogers and Inda Schaenen.
Literacy/ies as sociocultural activities cannot be separated from the communities in which they are practiced. With literacy a continuing focus of educational policy, collaborations—between schools, families, universities, businesses, and cultural institutions—have been created to cultivate literacy development between and within communities. This issue of Language Arts explores how literacy-related collaborations
influence and serve various communities. How have teachers, coaches, administrators, teaching artists, university faculty, parents, and children leveraged school-based literacy teaching and learning to serve community needs? How have community literacy practices been used to facilitate schoolbased literacy learning? What have we learned about literacy learning and development from educational interactions across communities? (Submission deadline: January 15, 2012) | <urn:uuid:981c8acc-6dce-4b3f-b337-694dc6a70617> | {
"date": "2014-03-12T06:48:54",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-10",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394021429299/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305121029-00006-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9485634565353394,
"score": 2.5625,
"token_count": 1004,
"url": "http://www.ncte.org/journals/la/call/contenthistory/2011421/26755/14/6/770"
} |
Article Summary: "If you really want to understand just how vast a role geometry
makes in everyday life there is a fun little game that you can play. Simply
look around a room (your room at home, your classroom, the interior of a
common store) and write down the various items you see and the corresponding
geometric shape associated with them."
Geometry is literally everywhere, but many people do not recognize geometric shapes even when they are commonplace. If you were to ask people to close their eyes and imagine geometric shapes the images that come to their mind will probably be something along the lines of the various illustrations found in geometry textbooks. While this would not be an inaccurate image it is a limited one. Geometric shapes often do not look in real life exactly like what they appear in the textbooks. They are, however, there and if you stop and pay attention you will be surprised at the sheer volume of them that are there.
For example, riding in a car will bring you in contact with a ton of geometric shapes. When you are in car riding down the street you come across a number of geometric shapes. In fact, geometry plays a significant role in maintaining traffic safety. A stop sign is critical to preventing cars from hitting one another when they come to a corner. Upon closer examination, you can see a stop sign is simply a hexagon colored white and red with the bold proclamation of the word STOP imprinted on it. While stop signs are clearly noticeable traffic lights may be a little trickier to decipher as stop lights combine geometric shapes. The red, yellow and green lights are, of course, circles and they are encased either horizontally or vertically in what is obviously a rectangle. Oh, and by the way, those wheels on the car are circles too!
Now, if you look out the window of the car you will see a lot of buildings. Rectangles and squares are pretty difficult to avoid if you are looking at real estate. Homes and skyscrapers and buildings are collectives of squares and rectangles even pentagonal shapes. Of course, within these structures are a number of angles that create various triangle shapes. Some of the roofs on people's homes are triangular in shape and you probably have noticed that a doorway is commonly a rectangle.
Then again, you don't have to wonder outside your own home to see geometric shapes. Your own room is made up of geometric shapes. The ceiling and the floor are often obviously squares or rectangles or similar structures. If you look at the corners of your room you will probably notice the triangle created out of the angles these corners make. The truly astute among you probably also notice that the crease in the corners is obviously a straight line. Yes, geometric shapes are pretty much everywhere!
Yes, you can often recognize that virtually every object in the world is a geometric shape but we sometimes do not realize how it is next to impossible not to see geometric shapes. So why is it people seem somewhat surprised when this is pointed out to them? While people can often recognize shapes they have a tendency to not make the clear correlation. After all, no one while walk up and down the aisles of a grocery store and say "Oh look! Cereal boxes look like rectangles!" But you can play a game designed to increase your awareness
If you really want to understand just how vast a role geometry makes in everyday life there is a fun little game that you can play. Simply look around a room (your room at home, your classroom, the interior of a common store) and write down the various items you see and the corresponding geometric shape associated with them. An example would be "Clock = Circle." When you undergo this little exercise it will become somewhat surprising how just how many geometric shapes are present that you may have not otherwise realized before. | <urn:uuid:e385f98b-f8fc-4269-8eed-999660149f77> | {
"date": "2015-01-25T18:16:42",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-06",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115861305.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161101-00140-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9664905667304993,
"score": 3.078125,
"token_count": 776,
"url": "http://www.mathworksheetscenter.com/mathtips/geometricshapes.html"
} |
Every second, trillions of particles are passing through your body.
These “ghost particles” are called neutrinos and we know almost nothing about them other than they exist.
All we know is that they are a fundamental part of our universe, we just have absolutely no idea which part that is.
New measurements of these mysterious particles however could not only help shed light on their role in the universe but also help us fill some of the blanks in our Standard Model of how the universe functions.
“While the Standard Model is an accurate theory, it leaves gaping holes, like the nature of dark matter and how a universe filled with matter, rather than anti-matter, arose from the Big Bang. We don’t know how to fill them yet,” said Tyce DeYoung, Michigan State University associate professor of physics and astronomy.
Well by measuring the ‘ghost particle’ we should be able to fill some of those holes. What they found was that neutrinos have a variety of guises.
“Neutrinos have a habit of changing, or oscillating, between three types, we call them ‘flavors,’” said Joshua Hignight, the MSU research associate who presented the new results at the meeting. “So, if one neutrino is a precisely equal mix of two flavors, it could be a surprising coincidence or there might be a deeper reason for it coming from the physics beyond the Standard Model.”
Making these measurements is the incredible IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole.
It’s the largest neutrino detector in the world, using a billion tonnes of the Antarctic ice cap beneath the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to observe neutrinos.
The IceCube detector is one cubic kilometer of ice—that would be enough water to fill one million swimming pools.
About 100 trillion neutrinos pass through your body each second.
IceCube is designed to detect particles from cataclysmic events that have energies a million times greater than nuclear reactions.
IceCube detects 275 atmospheric neutrinos daily and about 100,000 per year.
About 300 scientists at 48 institutions in 12 countries conduct IceCube science.
One terabyte of unfiltered data is collected daily and about 100 gigabytes are sent over satellite for analysis. | <urn:uuid:f3b25854-0dbd-4416-a190-2b2913a79c23> | {
"date": "2019-02-20T07:46:21",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247494485.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20190220065052-20190220091052-00136.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9223247170448303,
"score": 3.796875,
"token_count": 494,
"url": "https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/mysterious-ghost-particles-could-help-us-understand-the-universe-better_uk_5891c960e4b03ab749ddefde"
} |
U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis
Today in Energy
A new component of EIA's Energy Mapping System allows users to view critical energy infrastructure that may be vulnerable to coastal and inland flooding. These new map layers enable the public to see existing energy facilities that could potentially be affected by flooding caused by hurricanes, overflowing rivers, flash floods, and other wet-weather events.
The mapping tool combines flood hazard information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with EIA's existing U.S. Energy Mapping System that shows power plants, oil refineries, crude oil rail terminals, and other critical energy infrastructure. The maps can help readers understand what energy infrastructure assets are currently exposed to flood risk.
The maps show areas that have a 1% and 0.2% annual chance of flooding (essentially a 1-in-100 and 1-in-500 chance, respectively). The tool also contains regulatory floodways, levees, areas with levees (and therefore reduced flood risk), and areas with conditions that might be identified in the future as having a 1% annual flood hazard. To determine if a specific area is vulnerable to flooding, users can input an address, town, or county name and see street-level results. They also can zoom in on areas of the United States highlighted with flood hazard information.
Note: See the interactive map.
Principal contributors: Tom Doggett, John Krohn | <urn:uuid:3026a535-64df-46c2-9e7d-a5089dc5d375> | {
"date": "2015-03-02T01:13:29",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-11",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462577.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00261-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8870317935943604,
"score": 2.921875,
"token_count": 299,
"url": "http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=17431"
} |
William Seward Burroughs
(28 Jan 1855 - 15 Sep 1898)
THE BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINE
from The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922 (1922)
[p.557] There is no story in American industrial history more absorbing, more replete with human interest, than the story of the inventor of the adding machine and his years of disheartening labor to perfect his creation. The immense manufactory known as the Burroughs Adding Machine Company, with its 12,000 employes, its vast organization, and its yearly output of over 125,000 calculating machines, is built upon the dreams, the ambitions, the creative genius and the struggles of one man, whose name is now perpetuated in the title of the company.
William Seward Burroughs was the son of a mechanic and was born in Rochester, N. Y., January 28, 1857. While he was still a small lad, his parents moved to Auburn, N. Y., where he and his brothers were educated in the public schools. According to the father's desire that his youngest son should choose a “gentleman's” vocation, young Burroughs, after his graduation from high school, entered the Cayuga County National Bank of Auburn as a clerk. This was not in accordance with the young man's wishes, for he had a natural love and talent for mechanics and the boredom and monotony of clerical life weighed heavily upon him. Seven years in the bank caused his health to break and he was forced to resign.
During the time he was employed in the bank, Burroughs had recognized the need of some system or device to relieve the tiresome duties of a bank clerk. A mechanism for this purpose did not at first assume form in his mind, but the germ of the idea was created. In 1882, when he was in his twenty-fifth year, Burroughs went to St. Louis, Mo., where he obtained a job in a machine shop. These new surroundings, which appealed to him more, hastened the development of the idea he had in mind and the tools of his new craft gave him the opportunity to put into tangible form the first conception of the adding machine. Accuracy was the foundation of his work. No ordinary materials were good enough for his creation. His drawings were made on metal plates which could not stretch or shrink by the smallest fraction of an inch. He worked with hardened tools, sharpened to finest points, and when he struck a center or drew a line, it was done under a microscope. His drawings are today a marvel of accuracy.
Burroughs gave up his regular employment and looked around for a small, well-equipped shop where he could rent bench space and obtain an assistant to carry on his work. He finally located the shop of Joseph Boyer, at 244 Dickson Street, where he set up his tools and started out to make the adding machine commercially practical. His funds soon disappeared, but the development of the idea did not lag, the chief reason being that Burroughs had met Joseph Boyer, who, next to the inventor himself, was the greatest factor in making the present industry a possibility.
Seldom has an inventor with a great idea been compelled to struggle under such conditions as faced Burroughs during the time he was developing his ideas for the first practical adding machine. With every penny of his own money and all he could borrow spent, he still fought on. He set out himself to raise [p.558] money by the sale of stock in the projected enterprise. With this money he would then begin his experiments again, but about the time he was well under way, the bottom would drop out of the treasury. However, at the Boyer shop, activities continued unabated in spite of these obstacles. A small organization was built up, which made in brass the adding machine parts which the inventor desired. Finally, in the latter part of 1884, the first model of the machine was displayed and was the basis for the Burroughs patents, which were secured in 1885.
There now came a protracted period of new discouragements. The first machines proved unsatisfactory, principally because the human equation had not been taken into account. One person would operate with a heavier touch than another, consequently the results obtained on the machine varied. The stockholders complained and the general opinion was formed that the new machine was a failure. But the setback was only a whip to Burrough's determination. He began work again notwithstanding the fact that he was upon the verge of a physical breakdown. In fact, he did all of his earlier work under the handicap of gradually declining health. He knew himself and his endurance as well as he knew the ultimate value of his brain-child, so in feverish desperation he set about to remedy the defect in his first model. At his bench he toiled for hours, without food or sleep, and on the morning of the third day he had eliminated the one great defect by an automatic controller, or dashpot, substantially the same as is used today on all adding machines. With this addition, the machine became practical, in that it could be operated by even a novice.
Then came the problem of manufacturing and selling the machines. In January, 1888, there was organized at St. Louis the American Arithmometer Company, which was incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000. The original officers were: Thomas Metcalfe, president; William S. Burroughs, vice president; Richard M. Scruggs, treasurer; and A. H. B. Oliver, secretary. William R. Pye was also one of the original stockholders. A contract was entered into with the Boyer Machine Company for the manufacture of the device, the selling operations were established and from time to time different models were put out, the beginning of the long line of models now manufactured. Twice, while in St. Louis, the company was compelled to enlarge its floor space, in order to fill the increasing number of orders for the machines.
In 1904 conditions seemed to favor the removal of the plant from St. Louis. Trade union domination in that city was a restriction upon the proper development of the concern, also Joseph Boyer used his influence to accomplish this removal to a more advantageous location. Special trains brought the machinery, together with 253 families, to Detroit, arriving here in the afternoon. By means of arrangements made through the real estate committee of the board of commerce, most of the people were comfortably housed the same night, many of them in places which they afterwards bought. This was one of the most remarkable “hegiras” in manufacturing history.
The Burroughs Adding Machine Company, organized in Detroit, was incorporated in January, 1905, and succeeded the American Arithmometer Company. The first buildings in Detroit, located at Second Avenue and Amsterdam Street, contained 70,304 square feet of floor space, but the increase in production and sales has been such that these quarters have been enlarged from time to time until now there are 894,895 square feet of floor space in the Detroit [p.561] factory alone. The first officers of the new company were: Joseph Boyer, President; Henry Wood, of St. Louis, Vice President; Benjamin G. Chapman, Secretary and Treasurer; Alvan Macauley, General Manager. New models were continually added. Conspicuous among these were the electric drive, developed in 1905; the Duplex machine, put on the market in 1910; automatic carriages, introduced to meet the demand for cross tabulating of numbers and amounts, and a long line of subtracting, bookkeeping and calculating machines. Burroughs himself did not live to see the wonderful development of his invention and its tremendous popularity, but he did live to see hundreds of practical machines of the early model used in the banks of the country, and to reap a substantial reward from his original holdings in the company. His death occurred September 14, 1898.
Joseph Boyer became president of the old company in 1902 and of the new company upon its organization, and so continued until 1920. Alvan Macauley became general manager of the business in 1902 and was actively in charge of it until 1910 when he became associated with the Packard Motor Car Company, of which he is now President and General Manager. He was succeeded by Andrew J. Lauver. Benjamin G. Chapman, a1so in 1902, became a director and was elected Secretary and Treasurer, serving the old and the new companies successively in that capacity until his retirement from business in 1920. In 1913 Claiborne W. Gooch, formerly European Manager, became a director and the active Vice President, in which capacity he was in charge of the business until 1920. In January, 1920, Standish Backus, a prominent attorney of Detroit, who had for several years been a Vice President and a member of the Board, was elected President and became active in the business, while Joseph Boyer became Chairman of the Board, retaining, however, his active interest in the business.
The Company now has an issued capital stock amounting to $24,750,000 par value, and an authorized capital stock of $30,000,000. It controls the following subsidiary companies: Burroughs Adding Machine Limited, a. British Corporation which conducts the manufacturing and selling activities of the Company in Great Britain and under whose supervision its European operations are directed; Burroughs Machines Limited and Burroughs Adding Machine of Canada Limited, two Canadian Corporations which supply the Canadian and part of the foreign demand; Societe Anonyme Burroughs which operates with headquarters at Paris, France; Societa Italiana Addizionatrice Burroughs, with headquarters at Milan, Italy; Sociedad Anonima Burroughs with headquarters at Barcelona, Spain; the General Adding Machine Exchange, Inc., and the Moon-Hopkins Company. The business of the Moon-Hopkins Billing Machine Company, of St. Louis, Mo., was acquired in 1921 and its product added to the long line of Burroughs models.
Besides its Detroit factory the Company owns and operates manufacturing plants in Windsor, Ontario, and Nottingham, England. In normal times the Company affords employment to upwards of 10,000 persons. The selling organization reaches into nearly all civilized countries with agencies in some 400 important business centers of the world, of which more than half are in the United States.
At the January Meeting in 1921 the fol1owing officers were elected: Joseph Boyer, Chairman of the Board of Directors; Standish Backus, President; C. W. [p.562] Gooch, First Vice-President; B.G. Chapman, Vice President; F.H. Dodge, Vice President and General Manager; A.J. Lauver, Treasurer; G.W. Evans, Secretary, and L.A. Farquhar, Comptroller. | <urn:uuid:ab5d24a3-2d82-4662-928e-3fe7b2f19da1> | {
"date": "2019-10-23T02:58:13",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987828425.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20191023015841-20191023043341-00216.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9829621315002441,
"score": 2.84375,
"token_count": 2250,
"url": "https://todayinsci.com/B/Burroughs_William/BurroughsAddingMachine.htm"
} |
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act Signed into Law
June 22, 2016 – President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act which updates the current Toxic Substances Control Act. Learn more.
New EPA Flyer for Parents on Flame Retardant Chemicals
Flame retardant chemicals, used to decrease the ability of materials to ignite, are often found in baby products, upholstered furniture, carpet and draperies. Children may be more vulnerable these chemicals because their bodies grow at a faster rate than adults. EPA recently developed a flyer to help parents reduce their children’s exposure to flame retardant chemicals.
March 3, 2016 – EPA released a draft risk assessment for 1-Bromopropane (1-BP) that indicates risks to workers and consumers. EPA is seeking public comment and peer review of the assessment of this chemical which is used in spray adhesives, dry cleaning (including spot cleaners) applications, and degreasing operations. Learn more. | <urn:uuid:ab92ac6f-5662-4495-adbf-df4391388f6b> | {
"date": "2016-07-25T14:23:59",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2016-30",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824230.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00227-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9360010623931885,
"score": 2.671875,
"token_count": 218,
"url": "https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca"
} |
1 Mar 2013
I told a friend recently about my mom being sick and that she is still in the hospital. I told her how I felt. I feel really sad for my mom going through this hardship. And, I am feeling really down at this time in my life.
My friend shared with me about her experience in the past few years and she tried to help me by suggesting that I read about the molting process of eagles. In the month of March, as we approach springtime, a time of new beginnings and renewal, I wanted to share with you what I have learned.
In the CornellLab of Ornithology website (ref. www.birds.cornell.edu/allaboutbirds/studying/feathers/molting/document_view): A feather is a 'dead' structure, somewhat analogous to hair or nails in humans. The hardness of a feather is caused by the formation of the protein keratin. Since feathers cannot heal themselves when damaged, they have to be completely replaced. The replacement of all or part of the feathers is called a molt. Molts produce feathers that match the age and sex of the bird, and sometimes the season.
Some species of birds acquire their adult plumage once a year. Other species (i.e. eagles) require up to five years to acquire their adult plumage. All feathers are not lost all at once during the molt.
A Christian perspective, describing the eagles' molting process, can seem very dramatic. Molting is not simply acquiring the adult plumage, it is a journey that brings eagles through great depression and wilderness. Eagles will lose their feathers and their beaks and claws will also change. Eagles will walk like a turkeys, as they lose their strength to fly. They will lose their vision. As calcium builds up on their beaks, eagles cannot hold its head up to fly. They lose their desire to eat and lose their strength to hunt. When they reach that last stage, they may peck on each other, occasionally pecking another molting eagle to death. At this time, molting eagles will find a place on the mountains and bathe in the sun. When other eagles see the molting eagles, they will drop food for them. The older eagles who have survived the experience will know what the molting eagles are going through. If they do not renew, they will die. [Ref. http://eaglez4worth.tripod.com/id89.html]
The Christian perspective described above is comparable to the Christian life. We may go through valleys and wilderness of life. We may lose our desire to eat - to feed on the Word of God. The pains in life and people can hurt us which can effect our vision in God. If we look up towards the Lord, our lives can be renewed. Those who have gone through the same valleys we're going through can provide us with inspiration and words of encouragement and hope. Without hope, we may perish.
Isaiah 40:31 is one of my favourite verses in the Bible. It has become so much more meaningful when I was going through the valleys and desert times in life. I have only seen an eagle once in flight. It was unforgettable. My friends and I were climbing up the escarpment. I could not believe it when I saw a bird which looked like an eagle. As I watched its huge wing span, soaring through the skies, I thought this bird was like the king of the skies. If we could fly like eagles, we are free! We are free to defeat every obstacle which comes across our paths. We are free from anyone who may try to bring us down. We are free from things which may obstruct our dreams. We are free to fly closer to God and literally, the sky's the limit!
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
I admit, I feel like I am going through a molting process. Ironically, it seems like once in every 5 years, I undergo some changes. I learn new things, I re-learn things which I may have forgotten along the way, but, each time, I am grateful to have other "eagle friends" who help me soar again. I hope that I can also help other "molting eagles".
I wish every one of you eagles all the best in the month of March, as you renew your spirits, renew your strength, renew your minds, renew your goals, and renew your relationships which may have been strained. Winter is coming to an end soon and I hope we can all enjoy a lot more SUN!!!
Thanks for joining me for another episode of KaTsZoNe! Will check back in April!
Calendar of Events: www.katszone.com/page/page/6673173.htm
Comments Anyone?: www.katszone.com/comments.html or send an email to [email protected] | <urn:uuid:01070362-66f2-4093-b904-3c4b1c6818d1> | {
"date": "2019-02-17T08:13:51",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247481766.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20190217071448-20190217093448-00536.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9708377718925476,
"score": 2.609375,
"token_count": 1057,
"url": "http://www.katszone.com/articles/article/2707847/170359.htm"
} |
Birthday celebration aboard 'Bowdoin,' 1947
The crew of the Bowdoin gathers belowdecks to offer a birthday toast to a crew member.
In 1947, the schooner Bowdoin carried scientists and students north as far as Cape Sabine on Ellesmere Island, almost falling victim to the ice pack there.
Cape Sabine was the site of Adolphus Greely's retreat during the 1881-1884 U.S. Army expedition that went tragically awry, resulting in many deaths by starvation before the survivors were rescued.
Please post your comment below to share with others. If you'd like to privately share a comment or correction with MMN staff, please use this form. | <urn:uuid:6493421b-1726-4a9c-b0af-4744f0a98f13> | {
"date": "2017-09-26T01:58:38",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-39",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818693940.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170926013935-20170926033935-00696.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9489723443984985,
"score": 2.59375,
"token_count": 148,
"url": "http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/55117/enlarge"
} |
Yellow Bowel Movements
The digestive system is designed to absorb vital nutrients and minerals to maintain the health of the entire body, and then efficiently remove toxins threatening that well-being. The timely removal of these wastes is vital for the easy absorption of nutrients to maintain the body’s internal harmony.
Function of the Liver
The liver is a vital organ that acts as the purifier of all of the tainted blood and toxic substances entering the body. When the liver becomes overwhelmed with poisons, frequently disease ensues. This explains why heavy drinkers frequently develop liver diseases. After many years of filtering poisons, the resilience of the liver begins to fade. Most people do not have a serious liver problem, but sometimes liver strength may become compromised due to stress, the chemical-intensive environments in which we live, and definitely from poor eating habits. When this happens, the bile salt the liver uses to break down toxins and nutrients becomes depleted.
Bile salts from the liver are one of the components of a healthy bowel movement, coloring it a light or dark brown. This color signifies bacterial balance, sufficient amounts of fiber, and that the bile is being produced by the body in sufficient amounts.
Reasons for Yellow Bowel Movements
When the color of a bowel movement shifts from this healthy brown color, to yellow, or green, or gray, something may be amiss. For example, yellow bowel movements mean the bile isn’t breaking down the materials moving through the body. In this situation, additional enzymes may be necessary to accomplish the digestive process. If your waste matter is tinged yellow, it’s probably lacking a sufficient amount of bile salt.
Yellow bowel movements could be a sign your liver is compromised, and that it could benefit from a liver cleanse or herbal supplementation (such as digestive enzymes or hydrochloric acid) to aid in breaking down food. These supplements will support the liver so it can function as it should.
Harmful organisms in the digestive tract are another possible cause for yellow bowel movements. Frequently, the real problem is that your intestines do not contain enough beneficial bacteria to combat the invading microorganisms. The yellow bowel movements may simply indicate the presence of the bacteria in your digestive tract. Stools can also become discolored when an infection is at work. You can increase the population of beneficial bacteria to promote digestive health through ingestion of Probiotics—special supplements such as Latero-Flora™ that replenish the body’s natural flora.
Another possible reason for yellow bowel movements may be that waste is moving too quickly through the gastrointestinal tract (thus causing a rush in nutrient breakdown) so undigested organic matter remains in the waste. If waste moves out of the body without going through all of its normal processes, a color change may be rendered in the final product.
When performing a colon cleanse, bowel color can be altered somewhat as the toxin-laden waste is being evacuated from the body quickly. This accumulated, old waste matter can be formed into yellow bowel movements as well. If constipation pain or abdominal cramping is associated with your bowel movements, it is wise to consult a healthcare practitioner to ensure something more serious isn’t the underlying cause. | <urn:uuid:3b0d3f66-c83a-4100-b772-14a79646fd19> | {
"date": "2014-11-01T09:22:57",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-42",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414637905189.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20141030025825-00083-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9180513024330139,
"score": 2.921875,
"token_count": 659,
"url": "http://www.colon-cleanse-constipation.com/yellow-bowel-movements.html"
} |
The presence of life in outer space was known for decades, but very less information was available on its existence.
The fast and shot cosmic rays have amazed the astronomers as their existence was discovered a decade ago. Some astronomers think that these radio bursts coming from outer space could shed light on alien life.
The latest study supports this fact and confirms the existence of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) that are striking the Earth from an outer space.
What Are FRBs?
FRBs are highly energized, an astrophysical phenomenon without any origin or specific pattern seen as a radio pulse that lasts only for milliseconds.
These small, bright, unresolved flashes of FRBs lasts only for few milliseconds which makes them difficult for study.
The first radio burst was noticed by Parkes Observatory in the year 2007. This first radio burst was named as the Lorimer Burst FRB 010724. It was observed using a radio telescope.
The discovery of first FRBs
Manisha Caleb, a student at the Australia National University, the ARC Center of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, or CAASTRO and Swinburne University of Technology conducted a study to find out the origin of these FRBs.
The Caleb and her team were able to discover three FRBs with the help of Molonglo radio telescope. The telescope is situated at 25 miles away from Canberra. It was earlier believed that FRBs were nothing but local interferences jutting into the line of detection.
In the year 2013, CAASTRO scientists have noticed that Molonglo radio telescope was able to observe these FRBs from a close distance due to the exceptionally good focal length of the telescope.
Chris Flynn from Swinburne University has said: “The traditional single dish radio telescopes have trouble in estimating that radio bursts that originate from outer space.”
The Molonglo telescope has large focal length, hence providing a huge data collection and large viewing field. Thus, the Molonglo telescope was able to give the best result for discovering FRB.
The main aim of researchers was to design a software that could store a massive amount of data up to 1000 TB.
The research study was published on March 29 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. | <urn:uuid:ada12c00-3cad-416b-b35a-8379b59677dd> | {
"date": "2018-10-16T04:15:21",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2018-43",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583509996.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20181016030831-20181016052331-00016.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9640200138092041,
"score": 3.75,
"token_count": 465,
"url": "http://heraldanalyst.com/the-fast-radio-bursts-are-coming-from-outer-space-says-astronomers/"
} |
Science Lessons Changing For K-12
Monday, April 15, 2013
Aired 4/15/13 on KPBS Midday Edition.
John Spiegel, Science Coordinator, San Diego County Office of Education
Nancy Taylor, Executive Director, San Diego Science Alliance
For the first time in 15 years, education leaders are transforming the way science is taught in the classroom. The proposed Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), unveiled last week, aim to prepare K-12 students to be better decision makers about scientific and technical issues and to apply science to their daily lives.
The standards are designed to delve deeper into fewer concepts, identify climate change as a core concept and include engineering practices.
"The standards will mirror what is actually happening in science right now, where the fields of science naturally intersect with engineering and technology," said Nancy Taylor, executive director of the San Diego Science Alliance.
Taylor got to review the standards during her time as science coordinator at the San Diego County Office of Education.
NGSS were developed by a coalition of science experts, educators and 26 states, including California throughout the last two years.
“In the next decade, the number of jobs requiring highly technical skills is expected to outpace other occupations,” said state California Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “These Next Generation Science Standards will help students achieve real-world practical skills so they can help maintain California’s economic and technological leadership in the world.”
A series of public hearings will be held throughout the state before the California State Board of Education approves the standards in November.
Taylor said she expects NGSS to be implemented 18 months after they're approved.
Please stay on topic and be as concise as possible. Leaving a comment means you agree to our Community Discussion Rules. We like civilized discourse. We don't like spam, lying, profanity, harassment or personal attacks. | <urn:uuid:87e1b4db-3e6a-4d3e-8c2c-5b72ab1a7925> | {
"date": "2014-12-20T22:16:08",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-52",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802770403.126/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075250-00075-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9408730268478394,
"score": 2.953125,
"token_count": 390,
"url": "http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/apr/15/science-standards-K-12/"
} |
If you are completely new to the world of proper nutrition, then you are probably thinking that some tips on how to improve the quality of your diet will help you immensely so that you can begin eating healthier. Listed below are some tips to get you started with improving your diet plan.
Include more vegetables in your diet for proper nutrition. Vegetables are low in fat and have many important vitamins and minerals. They are also high in fiber, which is important in regulating your digestive system and preventing constipation. Another benefit is that many vegetables require a lot of energy to digest, which means you can burn a lot of calories by just eating more vegetables.
In order to have a healthy body, it is important to eat breakfast every day. It is the most important meal of the day because it improves your cognitive skills and provides the necessary energy needed throughout the day. Studies show that people who eat breakfast, tend to eat less during the day.
When considering a diet that provides an adequate nutrition level, it is important to know what your daily calorie intake should be and to adjust your portions accordingly. The range of calories that you need depends on your sex, age, weight, and level of activity on a normal day. Many nutritional sites will provide this information for you after plugging in your information.
Plan ahead for healthy nutrition. Keep healthy snacks on hand so that you don’t make a poor choice, on the spur of the moment when you get hungry. If the healthy and nutritional choice is the easier one, it becomes a habit to pick that option instead of putting forth the effort to locate an unhealthy item.
If you are concerned about healthy nutrition, you will want to look into the growing movement for locally grown food. By buying produce from local small farms you get a fresher product. It hasn’t been shipped across country in refrigerated cars! If organically grown, it won’t be laden with pesticides.
It is important to start good nutrition early on in life. Children will develop their tastes around what you feed them when they are young. For this reason, make sure to offer your child a wide range of tastes and textures, as well as introducing them to whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
Include two servings of oily fish in your meals each week. The fish contains DHA, which may reduce Alzheimer’s and other memory related diseases. Usually people with high levels of DHA do better on memory related tasks and vocabulary tests, even as they age. Look for tuna, salmon, mackerel, herring, and trout. Two 6 oz servings of fish are recommended for optimal nutrition.
As you can see from the above list of tips, proper nutrition can be very useful in making you a happier and healthier person. It can also prevent many illnesses and diseases. After following these tips, you will no longer be new to proper nutrition, but you can become an expert on it. | <urn:uuid:d6c45d82-1679-4ea6-bcfa-2043bc0169f8> | {
"date": "2019-06-24T20:37:35",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2019-26",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627999709.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190624191239-20190624213239-00536.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9592956304550171,
"score": 3.125,
"token_count": 599,
"url": "http://cerfodes.net/choosing-the-right-canned-fruit-for-your-family.html"
} |
American Maritime Documents, 1776-1860 - Stein, Douglas L.
Page 1 of 4 Next >>
Printed document of various sizes and formats, bearing the signatures of one or more customs officials, i.e. collector, deputy collector, and naval officer. Many display the name of the district and/or port of clearance as a heading. "Clearance" or "General Clearance" is often found, as is the statement, "hath entered and cleared his said vessel according to law". A typical form indicates the names of the vessel and master, registered tonnage, guns mounted (if any), number of crew members, country in which the vessel was built, and the destination of that particular voyage. A general description of the cargo might be included, and the date of issue is usually found near the bottom of this one-page document. Some examples may contain small engravings or have relevant information printed on the backside. Customs stamps or seals are often present.
Any vessel that departed for a foreign port without obtaining a Clearance Certificate was subject to a heavy fine. To obtain clearance papers the master would present a Manifest to the customs collector and swear to the accuracy of the information contained in the papers. Vessels licensed for coastwise trade were not required to formally enter and clear if they were proceeding to another domestic port. However, they had to produce Manifests, or duplicate Manifests if their cargo included foreign goods, before they received permission to proceed. Beginning in 1803 American vessels arriving in foreign ports were required to deliver their papers to the U.S. Consul at that port within 48 hours, or pay a fine that could range from $50.00 to $5,000. The Consul would issue the master a receipt for the papers. Upon leaving, the master obtained a Clearance Certificate from the port authorities. He then took it to the U.S. Consul, who returned the ship's papers, authorizing the vessel to continue its voyage. | <urn:uuid:45a2ed5b-5f17-48ca-ba8e-2d489d4db232> | {
"date": "2015-01-28T06:41:14",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-06",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115862207.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161102-00128-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9706661701202393,
"score": 2.5625,
"token_count": 408,
"url": "http://library.mysticseaport.org/initiative/ImText.cfm?BibID=6405&ChapterID=12"
} |
Australia–Russia relations (Russian: Российско-австралийские отношения) date back to 1807, when the Russian warship Neva arrived in Sydney as part of its circumnavigation of the globe. Consular relations between Australia and the Russian Empire were established in 1857. Diplomatic relations between Australia and the Soviet Union were established in 1942, and the first Australian embassy opened in 1943. At present, relations between the two countries are strained over Russia's involvement in Ukraine.
- 1 History and Background
- 2 Russian Federation relations
- 3 See also
- 4 References
- 5 Bibliography
- 6 External links
History and Background
Contacts between Russia and Australia date back to 1803, when Secretary of State for the Colonies Lord Hobart wrote to Governor of New South Wales Philip Gidley King in relation to the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe by Adam Johann von Krusenstern and Yuri Lisyansky. As the Russian and British empires were allies in the war against Napoleon, the Russian warship Neva, with Captain Ludwig von Hagemeister at the helm, was able to sail into Port Jackson on 16 June 1807. Hagemeister and the ship's officers were extended the utmost courtesy by Governor William Bligh, with the Governor inviting the Russians to Government House for dinner and a ball. This was the beginning of personal contacts between Russians and Australians, and Russian ships would continue to visit Australian shores, particularly as a stop on their way to supplying the Empire's North American colonies. The Suvorov commanded by Captain Mikhail Lazarev spent twenty-two days in New South Wales in 1814, when it brought news of Napoleon's defeat, and this was followed up by the 1820 visit of the Otkrytiye and Blagonamerenny. In 1820, Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Vasilyev arrived in New South Wales, on board Antarctic research ships Vostok and Mirny, under the command of Mikhail Lazarev. Bellingshausen returned to Sydney after discovering Antarctica, spending the winter at the invitation of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. Macquarie played the greatest role in the expression of Russophilia in the Colony, ensuring that the Russian visitors were made to feel welcome. While in Sydney, Bellingshausen collected information on the colony, which he published in Russia as Short Notes on the Colony of New South Wales. He wrote that Schmidt, a naturalist who was attached to the Lazarev expedition, discovered gold near Hartley, making him the first person to discover gold in Australia. While in Sydney, on 27 March 1820, officials from the colony were invited on board the Vostok to celebrate Orthodox Easter, marking the first time that a Russian Orthodox service was held in the Australian Colonies.
Although Russia and Britain were allies against Napoleon, the taking of Paris in 1814 by the Imperial Russian Army caused consternation with the British in relation to Tsar Alexander's intention of expanding Russian influence which would compete with Britain's own imperialistic ambitions. Further visits to the New South Wales colony in 1823 by the Rurik and the Apollon, along with the 1824 visits by the Ladoga and Kreiser, caused concern with the colony authorities, who reported their concerns to London. In 1825 and 1828, the Elena visited Australia followed by the Krotky in 1829, the Amerika in 1831 and 1835. Visits by Russian ships became so common in Sydney Cove that their place of mooring near Neutral Bay became known as Russian Point, which added to the sense of alarm in the Colonies. By the late 1830s, relations between Russia and Britain had deteriorated, and in 1841 the Government of New South Wales decided to establish fortification at Pinchgut in order to repel a feared Russian invasion. Fortifications at Queenscliff, Portsea, and Mud Islands in Melbourne's Port Philip Bay followed, as did similar structures on the Tamar River near Launceston and on the banks of the Derwent River at Sandy Bay and Hobart. As Australia was engaged in a gold rush in the 1840s and 1850s, in conjunction with the Crimean War between the UK and Russia, paranoia of a Russian invasion gripped the Colony, and Russophobia increased. In 1855, the Colony built fortifications around Admiralty House and completed Fort Denison on Pinchgut Island, as the emergence of the Pacific Ocean Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy furthered the fear of a Russian invasion of the Colonies, and rumours spread that the Russians had invaded the Port of Melbourne. Inflows of Russians and Russian-speaking immigrants which began to increase in the 1850s, and the nature of friendly relations between Russian and Australian representatives, led to the appointment of two Russian honorary consuls in 1857; James Damyon in Melbourne and EM Paul in Sydney.
Seven years after the conclusion of the Crimean War, the Russian corvette, and flagship of the Russian Pacific squadron, Bogatyr visited Melbourne and Sydney in 1863. The corvette visited the cities on a navigational drill under the Commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet Rear Admiral Andrey Alexandrovich Popov, and the ship and crew were welcomed with warmth. Popov paid Governor of Victoria Henry Barkly and Governor of New South Wales John Young protocol visits, and they in turn visited the Russian ship. The Russians opened the ship for public visitation in Melbourne, and more than 8,000 Australians visited the ship over a period of several days. The goodwill visit was a success, but the Bogatyr's appearance in Melbourne did put the city on a war footing, as noted in The Argus which reported that the ship managed to approach Melbourne unnoticed, ostensibly due to the lack of naval forces in Port Phillip Bay. After the Bogatyr had left the Colony, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on 7 April 1863 that the crew of the ship had engaged in topographical surveys of the Port Jackson and Botany Bay areas, which included investigating coastal fortifications, but this did not raise any eyebrows at the time.
Anti-Russian sentiment began to take hold in the Australian media in November 1864 after the publication by The Times in London of an article which asserted that the Colonies were on the edge of a Russian invasion. The article, published on 17 September 1864, stated that Rear Admiral Popov received instructions from the Russian Naval Minister to raid Melbourne in the event there was a Russo-English war, but noted that such a plan was unlikely due to its perception of the Russian forces being inadequate for such an attack. Australian newspapers, including The Age and Argus, took The Times' claims more seriously and began to write on the need to increase defence capabilities to protect against the threat of a Russian invasion. On 11 May 1870, the corvette Boyarin appeared at the Derwent River and rumours spread in Hobart that a Russian invasion was almost a certainty. The reason for the appearance of the Russian warship was humanitarian in nature; the ship's purser was ill and Captain Serkov gained permission to hospitalise Grigory Belavin and remain in port for two weeks to replenish supplies and give the crew opportunity for some shore leave. The ship's officers were guests at the Governor's Ball held in honour of the birthday of Queen Victoria, and The Mercury noted that the officers were gallant and spoke three languages including English and French. The following day a parade was held, and the crew of the Boyarin raised the Union Jack on its mast and fired a 21-gun salute in honour to the British queen. This was reciprocated by the town garrison which raised the Russian Naval flag of Saint Andrew and fired a salute in honour of Tsar Alexander II. After the death of Belavin, permission was given to bury him on shore, and his funeral saw the attendance of thousands of Hobart residents, and the locals donated funds to provide for a headstone on his grave. In gratitude of the welcome and care given by the Hobart citizenry, Captain Serkov presented the city with two mortars from the ship, which still stand at the entrance to the Anglesea Barracks. When the Boyarin left Hobart on 12 June, a military band onshore played God Save the Tsar, and the ship's crew replied by playing God Save the Queen.
Although the visits of Russian ships were of a friendly nature, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 was seen by Britain as part of a potential expansion plan by the Russian Empire into India, and the Australian colonies were advised to upgrade their defence capabilities. The inadequacy of defences in the colony was seen in 1862, when the Svetlana sailed into Port Phillip Bay and the fort built had no gunpowder for its cannons to use to return a salute. William Jervois, a Royal Engineer, was commissioned to determine the defence capabilities of all colonies, with the exception of Western Australia. In his report, he was convinced that the Russian Empire would to attack South Australian shipping in an attempt to destroy the local economy. As a result of Jervois' report, Fort Glanville and Fort Largs were built to protect Port Adelaide. The "Russian threat" and Russophobia continued to permeate in Australian society, and were instrumental in the decision to build Australia's first true warships, the HMS Acheron and HMS Avernus, in 1879.
The Melbourne-based Epoch re-ignited fears of a Russia invasion when three Russian ships—the Afrika, Vestnik, and Platon—were sighted near Port Philip in January 1882. Despite the hysteria generated by the media in Melbourne, no invasion ensued. David Syme, the proprietor of The Age, wrote in a series of editorials that the visit of the three ships was associated with a war that was threatening to engulf Britain and Russia, and that the squadron under the command of Avraamy Aslanbegov was in the Pacific in order to raid British commerce. Newspapers wrote that Admiral Aslanbegov behaved like a varnished barbarian due to his non-acceptance of invitations, and because he preferred to stay at the Menzies Hotel, rather than the Melbourne Club or the Australian Club. Aslanbegov was accused of spying and fraud, leading to the Admiral complaining to the Premier of Victoria Bryan O'Loghlen and threatening legal action against the newspaper. John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, defused the situation when he sent a telegraph to the government stating that relations with Russia are of a friendly character, and such newspaper reports are rendered incredible. Due to the fears of an invasion, Fort Scratchley in Newcastle was completed by 1885.
Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai after conducting ethnographic research in New Guinea since 1871 moved to the Australian Colonies in 1878, where he worked on William John Macleay's zoological collection in Sydney and set up Australia's first marine biological station in 1881. Since 1883 he advocated setting up a Russian protectorate on the Maclay Coast in New Guinea, and noted his ideas of Russian expansionism in letters to those in power in Saint Petersburg. In a letter he wrote to N. V. Kopylov in 1883, he noted there was a mood of expansionism in Australia, particularly towards New Guinea and the islands in Oceania. He also wrote to Tsar Alexander III in December 1883 that due to the lack of a Russian sphere of influence in the South Pacific and English domination in the region, there was a threat to Russian supremacy in the North Pacific. This view was mirrored in a letter to Konstantin Pobedonostsev, and he expressed his willingness to provide assistance in pursuing Russian interests in the region. Nicholas de Giers, the Russian Foreign Minister, suggested in reports to the Tsar that relations with Miklukho-Maklai should be maintained because of his familiarity with political and military issues in the region, while not advising him of any plans on the Government's plans for the region. This opinion was mirrored by the Naval Ministry. In total, three reports were sent to Russia by Miklukho-Maklai, containing information on the growth of anti-Russian sentiment and the buildup of the military in Australia, which correlated with the worsening of Anglo-Russian relations. Noting the establishment of coal bunkers and the fortifying of ports in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, he advocated taking over Port Darwin, Thursday Island, Newcastle, and Albany, noting their insufficient fortification. The Foreign Ministry considered a Russian colony in the Pacific as unlikely and military notes of the reports were only partially utilised by the Naval Ministry. The authorities in Russia appraised his reports, and in December 1886 de Giers officially advised Miklukho-Maklai that his request for the establishment of a Russian colony had been declined.
Paranoia of a Russian invasion subsided in 1888, when Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich arrived in the Colony on board the corvette Rynda as part of celebrations of the Colonial centenary. The Rynda pulled into Newcastle in the afternoon of 19 January 1888 to replenish coal supplies, becoming the first Russian naval visitor to the city. The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate reported on 20 January 1888 that given the uncertain state of diplomatic relations between the European powers many people fled fearing that the Russian warship was present in Newcastle to start a war; however, those fears were quickly allayed when the goodwill nature of the visit became known. From Newcastle, the Rynda sailed to Sydney. The day after arrival Lord Carrington, the Governor of New South Wales, sent a coach to bring the Grand Duke to Government House. He was unable to attend due to laws of the Russian Empire which prohibited participation in State ceremonies of foreign states. The Russian officers attended Government House on 24 January as the guest of Lady Carrington. The HMS Nelson was late arriving in Sydney and on 26 January, the day of celebrations, the Rynda orchestra was invited to entertain the public, and the Australian media made the Grand Duke the central focus of the events. On 30 January the Russian officers were present at the ceremony of the foundation of the new parliament building. One hundred seamen from the Rynda were invited to a festival organised by the citizens of Sydney on 31 January, and the Russian and French flags were given prominence next to the Australian flag, whilst those of other nations were along the walls. Denoting the goodwill nature of the visit, Lord Carrington in a speech said, "We welcome into the waters of Port Jackson the gallant ship Rynda, we welcome the gallant sailors who sail under the blue cross of Saint Andrew, and we especially welcome — though we are not permitted to do so in official manner – that distinguished officer who is on board, a close blood-relation of his Majesty the Tsar. Though not permitted to offer him an official welcome, we offer him a right royal welcome with all our hearts." The Rynda left Sydney on 9 February and arrived in Melbourne on 12 February. The visit was initially reported positively in the press, but after a few days The Age began to campaign for restricting the entry of foreign naval ships into Melbourne, and other articles described the expected war between "semi-barbarous and despotic Russia" and England. The public, however, continued to view the presence of the Russians positively, and on 22 February the Mayor of Melbourne Benjamin Benjamin visited the ships. After staying for nearly a month, the Rynda left Melbourne on 6 March for New Zealand. The Grand Duke supported expanding trade ties with Australia, noting that it was desirable for the Russians to expand their ties with Australia, outside of their relationship with Britain, and stated his belief that such relations were long overdue.
In 1890, the Government in Saint Petersburg concluded Anglo-Russian relations in the Pacific to have become important enough to appoint a career diplomat to represent Russian interests in the Australian Colonies. When John Jamison, the Russian honorary consul in Melbourne, went bankrupt and was no longer able to represent Russia's interests, the Russian government appointed Alexey Poutyata as the first Imperial Russian Consul to the Colonies on 14 July 1893, and he arrived with his family in Melbourne on 13 December 1893. Poutyata was an effective Consul and his reports were well read in Saint Petersburg. His efforts at encouraging Australian manufacturers and merchants to attend the All-Russia Exhibition 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod were instrumental in the signing of commercial contracts between Tasmanian merchants and manufacturers in Russia. Poutyata died of kidney failure following complications from pneumonia a little over a year after his arrival in Australia on 16 December 1894, which saw Robert Ungern von Sternberg being appointed to replace him at the end of 1895. Nikolai Matyunin, who replaced Sternberg as Consul in 1898, signed an agreement with Dalgety Australia Ltd, which enabled Russian cargo ships to carry the company's pastoral products back to Europe.
In 1900, the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs was advised that the Duke and Duchess of York (later George V and Queen Mary) would be visiting Australia for the opening of the Australian Federal Parliament in 1901, whereupon it was viewed as necessary to send a Russian naval vessel, and the Gromoboi, captained by Karl Jessen, was ordered to divert to Melbourne on 24 February [O.S. 12 February] 1901. On 1 March [O.S. 19 February] 1901, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Lambsdorff wrote to the Naval Minister, advising him that sending a ship was not a political act but one of diplomatic etiquette. Tsar Nicholas II viewed that "[i]t is desirable to send a cruiser". The Gromoboi arrived in Melbourne, after a call in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, on 30 April 1901. The Russian Empire was represented at the opening of the first Australian Parliament on 1 May 1901 by Russian consul Nicolai Passek, who was based in Melbourne since the approval of his appointment by Queen Victoria on 24 March 1900. The Duke of York visited the Gromoboi and was impressed by the cruiser, and he sent a request to Tsar Nicholas II asking that Jessen and the Gromoboi be allowed to accompany him to Sydney as an honour escort; a request which was approved.
British financial and political support for the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904–1905 caused disagreement with the British foreign policy in Australia. The authorities in Australia were concerned that the Japanese military posed a threat to the national security of the country, and the fear existed even when Japan was an ally of the Entente Powers in World War I. During the war, as a member of the British Empire, Australia was allied with Russia.
After the February Revolution of 1917 in Russia, which led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the Consul-General of Russia for the Commonwealth of Australia and for the Dominion of New Zealand, Alexander Abaza, expressed his support for the Russian Provisional Government and was instrumental in raising funds to repatriate Russians in Australia back to Russia after 500 expatriates petitioned Alexander Kerensky. Abaza wrote to Prime Minister William Hughes on 24 December 1917: "During whatever time I may act here nominally as Consul-General for Russia I shall only represent those of my people who are absolutely faithful to the Allies." Australia saw the Bolshevik signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany after the October Revolution to be an act of treachery towards the Allies, and put a halt to migration from Australia to Russia. With the onset of the Russian Civil War, British intervention in the war saw many Australians serving in the British army in the Russian North and Central Asia in support of the White Army. On Australia Day (26 January) in 1918, Abaza wrote to the Prime Minister, advising him conditions made his commission in Melbourne untenable, and that he would be resigning as Consul-General as of the following day. His resignation was followed by the resignation of Vice-Consuls in Hobart, Perth, Darwin, Newcastle, Port Pirie and Melbourne.
In March 1918, after the resignation of Abaza, Peter Simonov presented himself to the Australian government as the representative of the Bolshevik government in Australia, and asked for recognition as the new Russian Consul. Given the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, he was advised that the Australian government did not recognise the Bolsheviks, and would not recognise him as Consul. Aware of Simonov's connections with Australian left-wing revolutionary groups, the Australian government repeatedly rejected calls for his recognition as the representative of the Soviet Union in Australia, and barred Simonov from teaching Bolshevism politics in Australia; an act for which he was later imprisoned for six months. Michael Considine, Member of the House of Representatives for Barrier assumed the unrecognised role of representative of the Soviets. Anti-Russian sentiment became stronger during this period, and was exemplified by the March 1919 anti-Russian pogroms in Brisbane, which were dubbed the Red Flag Riots, and until the United Kingdom's recognition of the Soviet Union in 1924, bilateral relations between Australia and the Soviet Union continued to be de jure non-existent.
On 8 August 1924, the United Kingdom signed the General Treaty with the Soviet Union which extended British diplomatic recognition to the USSR, and was also considered applicable to the British dominions of Canada, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, and Australia. The Nationalist Prime Minister Stanley Bruce disputed the nature of the Treaty, saying that self-governing parts of the Empire were not consulted, it did not take into account Australia's rights to sign treaties with foreign countries and it ignored Australia's trade interests. Bruce was also concerned that allegations of the Soviet Union spreading propaganda in Australia, which regarded communism as a menace, were not addressed. The Treaty was not entered into as a treaty of George V on behalf of the Empire, but between two governments, and according to Bruce, Australia was in no way bound by the Treaty, and the Australian Press Association stated that there was initially an unsympathetic view in Australia towards restoring diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Izvestia reported Ramsay MacDonald had campaigned for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on a platform which included restoring ties with the Soviet Union and hence the Soviet Union should seize upon this and "advance conditions and demand guarantees". In July 1929, Bruce sent a communication to MacDonald, acquiescing to the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, provided that Soviet propaganda ceased. It was the opinion of the Australian government that the Soviet Union had been spreading propaganda in Australia, but it was unable to provide specific evidence of this being the case. On 20 and 21 December 1929, notes were exchanged in Moscow and London which saw the resumption of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom and its Dominions, including Australia. The notes included a pledge by the Soviet Union to refrain from hostile propaganda, which was part of the unratified 1924 Treaty.
After the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 during World War II, the Labor government of John Curtin began to discuss sending a diplomatic delegation to the Soviet Union. The Congress of Friendship and Aid to the Soviet urged the posting of Australian diplomats in the Soviet Union, and also pushed for exchanging military, air and naval missions between the two countries. HMAS Norman in October 1941 visited Arkhangelsk bringing a British trade delegation from Iceland; marking the beginning of the Lend-Lease program in support of the Soviet Union. H.V. Evatt, the Australian Minister for External Affairs on 4 November 1941 wrote in a secret submission to the war cabinet that the Government had received a large number of representations from interested parties since the outbreak of the Russo-German War, and that the major views in support of sending a diplomatic delegation to the Soviet Union included the necessity to provide material and moral support to the Soviet Union and to encourage its resistance against the Germans, the sharing of a common interest in policy towards Japan and the Middle East, and the potential for Australian-Soviet trade, and its importance to the Australian economy.
Whilst Australia's reasons for the exchange of diplomatic missions were known, it was also understood that the Soviet government believed at first that the exchange would serve no great purpose, due to the minimal ties between the two countries, commercial or otherwise. Both countries acknowledged that if relations, particularly trade relations, were to become a reality that diplomatic relations would be required as a formality. Evatt began negotiations with Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov in London in May 1942, and the 10 October 1942 agreement between the two countries to exchange diplomatic representatives was regarded in Australia as a diplomatic coup; given the Soviet Union's position as a great power in the Pacific region. The first diplomatic representatives were Andrey Vlasov for the Soviet Union, and William Slater for Australia. Between August and November/December 1942, Handley Page Hampdens of the 455th Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force were based near Murmansk in the Soviet North, where they were involved in protecting convoys bringing supplies to the Soviet Union against attacks by Nazi Germany. Slater opened the Australian Legation in Kuybyshev, the temporary seat of the Soviet government, on 2 January 1943, and moved to Moscow on 12 August 1943. Vlasov arrived in Canberra on 5 March 1943 to head the Soviet Legation, and presented his Letters of Credence to Governor-General Lord Gowrie on 10 March 1943 at Government House. The Soviet Legation in Canberra was upgraded to Embassy status on 12 July 1945 and the Australian Legation in Moscow was upgraded on 16 February 1948.
By the 1950s Australia was gripped in a red scare similar to that which led to McCarthyism in the United States. Attempts by the Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies to outlaw the Communist Party of Australia were overturned in the High Court of Australia (see Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth) and defeated at a referendum in 1951. Members on both sides of the Australian House of Representatives advocated severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Relations between Australia and the Soviet Union hit a low point when Vladimir Petrov, the Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra, an associate and appointee of Lavrentiy Beria who feared execution if he returned to the Soviet Union, defected at the end of his three-year assignment on 3 April 1954 with the help of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and was given political asylum. The defection, which became known as the Petrov Affair, was disclosed by Menzies on 13 April 1954, the eve of the last day of Parliament before the May federal election. In his notice to Parliament Menzies disclosed that Petrov was an agent of the MVD and turned over to the Australian authorities details of Soviet intelligence operations in Australia, and announced intention for a Royal Commission to investigate Petrov's information, which included allegations of a Soviet fifth column being created in Australia. The revelations shocked the Australian public, which was more attuned to such things happening overseas. It was also reported that Evdokia Petrova, Petrov's wife and fellow MVD agent, had decided to stay with the Soviet Embassy in Canberra, and on 14 April, Petrova and Nikolai Generalov, the Soviet ambassador, accused Australian security services of kidnapping Petrov. On 19 April, the affair took another twist when Petrova was being escorted onto a waiting BOAC Constellation at Kingsford Smith Airport by Soviet diplomatic couriers for a flight back to the Soviet Union. William Wentworth took statutory declarations from Russian and Czechoslovakian anti-communists in the crowd who had stormed the tarmac to prevent Petrova from leaving, that they had heard her say Petrova calling out in Russian "I do not want to go. Save me", and asked Menzies to make the aircraft stop at Darwin in order to ask Petrova whether she wanted to leave Australia. Contrary to reports, Petrova did not cry out for help at Sydney Airport, but the aircraft did stop at Darwin Airport on a scheduled fuel-stop, enabling Australian security services to interview Petrova. After talking to Reginald Sylvester Leydin, the Government secretary, and to her husband on the phone, Petrova accepted the Australian government's offer of asylum and defected. The Soviets accused the Menzies government of manufacturing the defection of Petrov as an election stunt, ostensibly to boost his support in the upcoming elections, and on 21 April they also levelled against Petrov charges that he had misappropriated Embassy funds. Menzies dismissed the allegations, stating that he was waiting for such charges to be levelled as they were in the Gouzenko case in Canada, and also went on to say he believed the charges contradicted the Soviets' initial allegation that Petrov was kidnapped. The Australian government refused to hand over Petrov, who was deemed by the Soviets to be a criminal, and the Soviet government responded on 23 April 1954 by severing diplomatic relations with Australia, which saw the Soviet Embassy in Canberra being recalled and the Australian Embassy in Moscow being expelled. The Soviet decision was not unexpected, as it was thought by the Australian government to have been one possible response, but the swiftness of the decision was said to have shocked government advisers. The severance of diplomatic relations led to rumours that the Soviet Olympic team would not compete at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. In the absence of diplomatic relations, the Soviet Union's interests in Australia were represented by Sweden, and Australia's interests in the Soviet Union were represented by the United Kingdom.
In aid of Soviet preparations for its commitments to the International Geophysical Year on 29 August 1955 and in the absence of diplomatic relations, Australia sent the Soviets a note, via the British Embassy in Moscow, offering facilities in Australia for the use of the Soviets in the instance they were required. Australia wanted to keep the Soviets out of the Antarctic but wanted to avoid international condemnation for going against the spirit of the IGY. The Australians also used the note as a ruse, albeit an unsuccessful one, to force the Soviets to recognise the Australian Antarctic Territory and hence, Australian claims over parts of the Antarctic. The Lena arrived in Port Adelaide on 28 March 1956 after its journey to the Antarctic. The Soviets gave free public access to the ship during its stay, and among the first people to visit the ship and meet with the crew was Douglas Mawson. Australian naval intelligence exploited the situation and sent two civilian agents on board the ship while it was open to the public. It is unknown what information they would have obtained as the scientists on the ship openly shared their knowledge and demonstrated equipment to anybody who was interested, and allowed the public to wander around without obstruction. The Ob arrived in Adelaide on 21 April 1956 and was also visited by Mawson and others within the scientific community in Adelaide. The Ob was invited by the Australia–USSR Friendship Society and the Building Workers' Industrial Union to visit Melbourne and Sydney, respectively, and Mawson lobbied to have the visits go ahead, but permission was denied by Minister of External Affairs Richard Casey. The decision was criticised by Mawson, and he made note of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation losing an opportunity to view the latest oceanographic research technology.
The two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations on 13 March 1959 and it was reported that Australia insisted on screening Soviet diplomatic personnel. The Soviet Embassy in Canberra reopened on 2 June 1959, but the Soviet Union did not have a permanent ambassador until mid-1962. On 7 February 1963 the Australian government declared First Secretary at the Soviet Embassy in Canberra Ivan Skripov persona non grata after he was accused by ASIO of being a spy. According to ASIO, Skripov recruited Kay Marshall, an ASIO agent, firstly by giving her small tasks to gauge her suitability as an agent. In December 1962 Skripov gave Marshall a package which she was to give to a contact in Adelaide, but the contact did not meet Marshall as planned. The package, which had already been inspected by ASIO, contained coded transmission timetables for a Soviet radio station, along with a high-speed message sender which could be attached to a radio transmitter. Two months later the Australian government produced photos of meetings between Skripov and Marshall, and sent the embassy a note declaring Skripov persona non grata for "elaborate preparations for espionage" and gave him seven days to leave the country. The Australian government did not divulge what secrets Skripov may have been seeking, but it was reported that workers at the Woomera missile range underwent interrogation. The Soviets responded by stating that the materials released by ASIO proved nothing and were produced to hinder the development of friendly relations between the Soviet Union and Australia, and declared that Ambassador Ivan Kurdyukov, who was on sick leave in Moscow, would not return to Australia.
During the period of Cold War détente, relations between Australia and the Soviet Union were seen as stronger during the Whitlam government. On 3 July 1974, then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, as Acting Foreign Minister, took the decision to grant de jure recognition of the incorporation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the USSR. The Australian ambassador to Moscow visited Tallinn, Estonia, on 28–30 July 1974, effectively according de jure recognition. Soviet authorities subsequently leaked this information on 3 August 1974, confirmed by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a day later. Whitlam had neither informed nor consulted with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Willesee, who had been absent abroad, the Cabinet, Caucus, nor Parliament. In taking this controversial decision Whitlam also reneged on pre-election commitments made in correspondences to organizations representing emigrees from all three Baltic nations. Willesee, who upon his return supported Whitlam's decision and subsequently confirmed Whitlam's decision as "unilateral," was eventually censured by the Australian Parliament on 18 September 1974 for his part: "That the Minister for Foreign Affairs is deserving of censure and ought to resign because: in breach of a clear undertaking to the contrary given by the Prime Minister the Government shamefully and furtively extended recognition to the incorporation of the Baltic States in the U.S.S.R., the Minister withholding any announcement or explanation of the decision." During Question Time in October 1974, Whitlam explained his decision to recognise the de jure incorporation the Baltic states into the Soviet Union was one which did not imply approval of the way in which former states were incorporated, but an acknowledgement of existing realities at the time. Whitlam, ascribed by his political opposition as "want[ing] a good response when he visits Russia", became the first Australian Prime Minister to visit Moscow in January 1975. Whitlam was not received by General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev, who for "reasons of health" was unable to meet him, but instead by Alexei Kosygin, the Chairman of the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR. During Whitlam's visit to the USSR, two agreements were signed between the two countries on 15 January 1975: the Agreement on scientific-technical cooperation between the USSR and Australia and the Agreement on cultural cooperation between the USSR and Australia. Following the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 and the resultant election which saw the installation of a conservative Liberal-Country Party coalition government under the leadership of Malcolm Fraser, recognition of the incorporation of the three Baltic states by the Soviet Union was rescinded by Australia in December 1975, and relations became more pragmatic.
In April 1983, ASIO provided information to the Australian government concerning First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Canberra Valery Ivanov. According to ASIO, Ivanov had formed a friendship with former national secretary of the Australian Labor Party David Combe. Bill Hayden, the Australian Foreign Minister, stated that he hoped Ivanov's expulsion would serve as an example to those who were to "work against Australia's interests". The Soviet Embassy responded by denying all charges and called the allegations "far-fetched". The Combe–Ivanov Affair was subject to a Royal Commission presided over by Robert Marsden Hope, which saw Prime Minister Bob Hawke giving evidence for 20 consecutive sitting days.
Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke arrived in Leningrad on 30 November 1987 for discussion on economics, trade and foreign policy with Mikhail Gorbachev. During the visit, Hawke gave the names of Soviet Jews who wished to leave the Soviet Union to Gorbachev, and on 4 December 1987, 60 to 75 Jews were given permission to leave the country.
Russian Federation relations
On 26 December 1991, Australia recognised Russia as the successor state of the Soviet Union after the dissolution of the latter. Russia has an embassy in Canberra and a consulate-general in Sydney, and Australia has an embassy in Moscow. The current Ambassador of Russia to Australia is Vladimir Nikolayevich Morozov, who was appointed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 26 August 2010. The current Ambassador of Australia to Russia is Margaret Twomey, who presented her credentials to President Dmitry Medvedev on 18 September 2008.
The Russian government accepted an offer of Rosaviakosmos on 10 March 2001 to co-operate with the Asia-Pacific Space Centre in developing a spaceport on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. The project also saw the involvement of S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, TsSKB-Progress and the Barmin General Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau. In aid of the project, the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Field of the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes was signed in Canberra on 23 May 2001, replacing the Agreement between the Government of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics and the Government of Australia on Cooperation in the Field of Exploration and the Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes of 1 December 1987, and import tax and other concessions were made by the Australian government. Co-operation in space was on the agenda when Alexander Downer met in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in February 2002, where the Australian side pressed the Russians to complete work on two technical agreements which were needed in order for the Christmas Island spaceport project to proceed. In June 2002 it was reported that the Russian Federal Space Agency had pulled out of the deal, to instead develop a relationship with ArianeSpace with the view to using the Guiana Space Centre near Kourou in French Guiana.
In September 2007 President Vladimir Putin became the first incumbent Russian leader to visit Australia for the APEC summit in Sydney. On 7 September 2007, head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko and Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer, in the presence of Prime Minister John Howard and President Putin, signed the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes, superseding the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy which was concluded on 15 February 1990. The 1990 Agreement only allowed Russia to enrich uranium on behalf of third countries and the 2007 Agreement allowed for enriching of uranium for use in Russia's civilian nuclear power industry. Putin dismissed suggestions that Russia would use Australia-supplied uranium for nuclear weapons or military purposes, and explained that Russia has an "excessive supply" of weapons-grade uranium and the State has plans to build 30 nuclear power stations by 2022, and that the Agreement with Australia was purely one of economics. Under the deal, Australia could supply Russia with US$1 billion worth of uranium, and Kiriyenko stated that Russia is ready to process 4,000 tonnes of Australian uranium.
The agreement was put into doubt after the August 2008 war in South Ossetia and Russia's subsequent recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Stephen Smith, the Australian Foreign Minister, told Sky News Australia in November 2008 that ratification of the agreement would see Australia reviewing Russia's involvement in Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and also by taking into account the state of bilateral relations between the two countries. After Russia recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 26 August 2008, Stephen Smith summoned the Russian ambassador, Alexander Blokhin, to inform him that Russia's recognition was not helpful for the situation in the region, while Blokhin informed the Australian Foreign Minister that Russia was left with no choice but to recognise the independence of the two regions. Blaming Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for the conflict, Blokhin told The Age that the Russians were not the aggressors, but rather the peacekeepers. Rory Medcalft, a strategic analyst with the Lowy Institute, stated that Australia could use the uranium deal to apply pressure on Moscow, but in doing so it risked sending messages to countries such as China that it is an unreliable supplier, which would in turn hurt Australian interests.
Australia and Russia are both members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Simon Crean, the Australian Minister for Trade stated in October 2008 that Australia supports Russia's application to join the World Trade Organization. Russia applied for entry into the organisation in 1993, and says that the United States and European Union have placed unreasonable demands for it to accede to the organisation, although the United States and the European Union blame Russia for delays in its entry.
In September 2007, at the Russia–Australia Business Forum in Brisbane, Ian Macfarlane, the Australian Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, estimated that Russian investment in Australia was worth between A$5 and 6 billion. The acquisition by RusAl of a 20% stake in Queensland Alumina was approved by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board in February 2005. RusAl purchased the stake from Kaiser Aluminum in October 2004, in a deal which was valued at US$461 million. The investment by RusAl was the first large-scale Russian investment in the Australian economy. Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, headed by Viktor Rashnikov, increased its stake in iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group from 4.71 percent to 5.37 in August 2007, and the following month advised the Australian Government it wished to increase its stake, with a potential value of A$1.5 billion. It is expected by the 2050, the 2.7 billion people of the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India and People's Republic of China—will treble consumption of steel, which will require steel production to double from 2007 limits. Alan Carpenter, the Premier of Western Australia, welcomed Russian investment in his state's economy, telling Lateline Business, "[t]he more we can get from international investment to deliberate the potential of Western Australia's economy, the better". In April 2008, Carpenter became the first Western Australian Premier to visit Russia, when he headed a trade delegation for a five-day trip to the country to court more Russian investment in the state.
In 2008, Australian-Russian bilateral trade exceeded US$1 billion for the first time. Russia imported US$1.029 billion worth of goods and services from Australia in 2008, while its exports to Australia were valued at US$82 million, bringing the total to US$1.111 billion. According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, trade with Australia accounted for 0.2% of all Russian foreign trade in 2008.
|Total Australian exports to Russia (A$ '000)||151,380||185,537||335,601||654,235||661,392||1,115,051||584,541|
|Total Russian exports to Australia (A$ '000)||38,829||58,881||100,833||63,832||126,514||599,727||357,582|
- 2013 World Service Poll BBC
- "60th Anniversary of the Russian-Australian diplomatic relations". Embassy of Russia to Australia. Retrieved 2009-04-06. Archived at WebCite
- "13 June 2002". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) (New South Wales Legislative Council): 3153.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 1
- Govor, Elena (1999). "Губернатор Лаклан Макуори и русские (Governor Lachlan Macquarie and Russians)". Avstraliada (9): 1–4. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 2
- Scanlon, Mike (19 July 2008). "Unorthodox Russians". The Newcastle Herald.
- Kroupnik, Vladimir. "Russia and Australia — Two Centuries". Russia–Australia Historical Military Connections. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- Govor, Elena (1988). Graeme Davison, ed. Oxford Companion to Australian History. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 567–568. ISBN 0-19-553597-9.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 3
- Massov, Alexander. "The Russian corvette "Bogatyr" in Melbourne and Sydney in 1863.". Russia–Australia Historical Military Connections. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 7
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 8
- Kroupnik, Vladimir. "The frigate "Svetlana" in Australia in 1862". Russia–Australia Historical Military Connections. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- Gillett, Ross. "Australia’s First Warship — The Torpedo Boat Acheron". Naval Historical Society of Australia. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- Massov, Alexander. "Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay at the service of his Motherland". Russia–Australia Historical Military Connections. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
- "The Russian Corvette Rynda". Brisbane Courier. 27 January 1888. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- Other, A. N.. "HIRMS Rynda Arrives". Naval Historical Society of Australia. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- Govor, Elena; Massov, Alexander (1988). ""Rynda" v gostiakh u avstraliitsev (k 110-letiyu vizita v Avstraliyu)". Avstraliada. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 10
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 15
- (Russian) Govor, Elena. "Австралия в русском зеркале". Австралийская мозаика. Retrieved 2009-04-10.[dead link]
- Massov, Alexander. "Diplomatic mission of the "Gromoboy" cruiser". Russia–Australia Historical Military Connections. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- "Foreign Office, March 24, 1900.". The London Gazette. 6 April 1900. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 20
- "Foreign Office, October 10, 1910". The London Gazette. 14 October 1910. p. 7249. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- "The New Russia". The Argus. 2 April 1917. p. 9. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, p. 21
- "Salary and Letters Seized". The Argus. 13 September 1920. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- "Allies and Russia". The Argus. 6 August 1918. p. 5. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
- Evans, Raymond (1992). "Agitation, ceaseless agitation": Russian radicals in Australia and the Red flag riots". In McNair, John; Poole, Thomas Ray. Russia and the fifth continent. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. pp. 126–171. ISBN 0-7022-2420-0.
- Slusser, A calendar of Soviet treaties, 1917–1957, pp.73
- "Treaties with Russia". The Argus. 20 August 1924. p. 19. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Imperial Mission". The Argus. 28 March 1924. p. 6. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Menace of Communism". The Argus. 13 May 1924. p. 11. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Questions by members". The Argus. 14 August 1924. p. 11. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Australia unsymphathetic". The Argus. 6 July 1929. p. 25. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Britain and Soviet resuming relations". The Argus. 10 July 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Relations with Soviet". The Canberra Times. 23 July 1929. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Closer Ties". The Canberra Times. 1 September 1941. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- "HMAS Norman (I)". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- Kroupnik, Vladimir. "Interview with George Ramsay". Russia-Australia historical military connections. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "War Cabinet Submission by Dr H. V. Evatt, Minister for External Affairs". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia). 4 November 1941. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- "Relations with Soviet". The Canberra Times. 12 March 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Trade with Soviet". Melbourne: The Canberra Times. 10 September 1941. p. 5. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- "Soviet trade". The Canberra Times. 22 September 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- "Australian Minister appointed to Russia". The Canberra Times. 13 October 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- Slusser, A calendar of Soviet treaties, 1917–1957, pp.152
- Kroupnik, Vladimir. "RAAF in Russia". Russia-Australia historical military connections. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
- "Russian Minister in Australia". The Canberra Times. 6 March 1943. p. 3. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- "Russian Minister presents credentials". The Canberra Times. 11 March 1943. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- "International Relations". Year Book Australia (83 ed.). Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2001. p. 112. ISSN 0312-4746. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- "Referendum Beaten; 3 States, Majority Of Voters Opposed". Sydney: The Canberra Times. 24 September 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- "Soviet Embassy is criticised; debate on Moscow embassy". The Canberra Times. 30 November 1950. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- Laurence W., Maher (4–6 July 2007). "H.V. Evatt and the Petrov Defection: A Lawyer's Interpretation". Labour Traditions: The tenth national labour history conference. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- "Royal Commission to follow disclosures of Soviet Secretary to security service". The Canberra Times. 14 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- "The Petrov Affair". Old Parliament House. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- "Petrov reveals Soviet orders to recruit 5th column". Melbourne: The Canberra Times. 7 July 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- "Petrov Now in Secret Hiding-place". The Canberra Times. 14 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- "Soviet Ambassador claims Petrov was kidnapped". The Canberra Times. 15 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- "Riot breaks out at aerodrome". The Age. 20 April 1954. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Demonstrators try to pull Mrs. Petrov from airliner". Sydney: The Canberra Times. 20 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Mrs. Petrov Did Not Cry For Help". The Canberra Times. 23 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Mrs. Petrov's last-minute decision to seek asylum". The Canberra Times. 21 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Soviet couriers say Petrov Affair was "election stunt"". Jakarta: The Canberra Times. 22 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- "Russian embassy now says Petrov stole State funds". Canberra: The Canberra Times. 22 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- "Refusal To Hand Petrov To Russian Embassy". The Canberra Times. 24 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Russ Demand Australia Return Petrov". Sydney: The Deseret News. 21 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Russia cuts diplomatic relations with Australia". Moscow: The Daily Collegian (Penn State). 24 April 1954. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- "Russian decision was not unexpected". The Canberra Times. 26 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- Whitney, Thomas P. (27 April 1954). "Soviets may withdraw from Olympics". New York: St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- Cain, The Australian Security Intelligence Organization, pp.197
- Gan, The reluctant hosts: Soviet Antarctic expedition ships visit Australia and New Zealand in 1956, pp. 40
- Gan, The reluctant hosts: Soviet Antarctic expedition ships visit Australia and New Zealand in 1956, pp.42
- Gan, The reluctant hosts: Soviet Antarctic expedition ships visit Australia and New Zealand in 1956, pp.45
- Gan, The reluctant hosts: Soviet Antarctic expedition ships visit Australia and New Zealand in 1956, pp.46
- Gan, The reluctant hosts: Soviet Antarctic expedition ships visit Australia and New Zealand in 1956, pp.47
- Triska, Jan F.; Slusser, Robert M. (1962). Theory, Law and Policy of Soviet Treaties. Stanford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 0-8047-0122-9. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- Millar, Thomas Bruce (1978). Australia in peace and war: external relations, 1788–1977. Australian National University Press. p. 348. ISBN 0-7081-0480-0.
- Protopopov, A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia, pp.189
- Trahair, Richard C. S. (2004). Encyclopedia of Cold War espionage, spies, and secret operations. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 183–184. ISBN 0-313-31955-3. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- "Theresa & Miss X". Time. 15 February 1963. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
- Cain, The Australian Security Intelligence Organization, pp.198–199
- "1974-09-18". Ivor Greenwood, Senator. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) (Commonwealth of Australia: House of Representatives): pages 1166–1167.
- Dunsdorfs, Edgars (1975). The Baltic Dilemma, The Case of the De Jure Recognition of Incorporation of the Baltic States Into the Soviet Union by Australia. Robert Speller & Sons.
- Cassese, Antonio (1995). "The Baltic Republics". Self-Determination of Peoples: A Legal Reappraisal. Cambridge University Press. pp. 258–259. ISBN 0-521-63752-X. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- "A Serious But Not Fatal Blow to Détente". Time. 27 January 1975. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- Ginsburg, A calendar of Soviet treaties, 1974–1980, pp.64
- Andelman, David A. (18 December 1975). "Australia Is Expected to Protest on Baltic States". Canberra: New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- "Another Soviet diplomat is expelled". Canberra: Evening Independent. 23 April 1983. pp. 3–A. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
- "Insiders Transcript — Broadcast: 02/04/2006". Insiders (TV program). 2 April 2006. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- "Australian Visits Soviets". Los Angeles Times. 30 November 1987. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- Barringer, Felicity (4 December 1987). "60 to 75 Soviet Citizens Get Permission to Leave Country". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- "Nations recognize Russia as U.S.S.R. successor". Bonn: Spokane Chronicle. 26 December 1991. pp. A4. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- (Russian) "Посольство в Канберре". Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- (Russian) "Генконсульство в Сиднее". Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- "About the Australian Embassy in Russia". Embassy of Australia in Moscow. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №1290 от 10 November 2005 «О назначении Блохина А.В. Чрезвычайным и Полномочным Послом Российской Федерации в Австралии». (President of Russia. Ukaz #1290 of 10 November 2005 On the appointment of A.V. Blokhin as the Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Australia. ).
- "Dmitry Medvedev accepted the letters of credentials of 12 foreign ambassadors.". The Kremlin, Moscow: Presidential Press and Information Office. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- "О проведении совместных работ Росавиакосмоса с австралийской компанией АТКЦ". Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 10 March 2001. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- "Space Activities Amendment (Bilateral Agreement) Bill 2001 (Bills Digest, no. 152, 2000–01)". Parliament of Australia. 6 June 2001. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- Helmer, John (6 February 2002). "Australia courts Russian trade, security". Moscow: Asia Times. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- "Russia To Dump Aussie Launch Center In Favor Of Kourou Deal". Space Daily. 30 June 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-24.[dead link]
- "Vladimir Putin lands in Australia". The Age. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- "Australia strikes nuclear deal with Russia −2". Sydney: RIA Novosti. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
- "Australia-Russia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- "Russia in Australia uranium deal". BBC News. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
- "Interview with Kieran Gilbert, Sky News AM Agenda". Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia). 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "Smith, Russian ambassador meet over rebel provinces". ABC News (Australia). 28 August 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- Hammer, Chris (11 August 2008). "Moscow forces have been conflict's 'peacekeepers'". WAtoday. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- Flitton, Daniel; Nicholson, Brendan (2 September 2008). "Putin's ultimatum to Rudd over uranium deal". The Age. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- "Russian-Australian trade to grow 30% in 2008". Moscow: RIA Novosti. 30 October 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "U.S., EU Reject Russian Accusations Over WTO Bid". Paris: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "Speech to the Russia-Australia Business Forum". Ian Macfarlane. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "RUSAL Sanctioned to Acquire Queensland". Kommersant. 21 February 2005. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "RUSAL welcomes Foreign Investment Review Board approval of the QAL deal". RusAl. 21 February 2005. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "Russian Federation Country Brief". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia). 5 March 2009. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "MMK to boost stake in Australian mining company". Magnitogorsk: RosBusinessConsulting. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- McCullough, James (6 September 2007). "Russian giant to expand". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- Stevens, Matthew (8 September 2007). "Ex-communists are aggressive capitalists". The Australian. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "WA Govt welcomes Russian investment". Lateline Business. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- "Carpenter first WA Premier to visit Russia". ABC News (Australia). 21 April 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- (Russian) "Внешняя торговля Российской Федерации по основным странам за январь-декабрь 2008 г.". Federal Customs Service. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
- Composition of Trade Australia 2007. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. May 2008. pp. 253–254. ISBN 978-1-921244-67-4. ISSN 1320-7547. Archived from the original on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- Composition of Trade Australia 2009. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. June 2009. pp. 278–279. ISBN 978-1-921612-30-5. ISSN 1320-7547. Archived from the original on 2011-04-09. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- Cain, Frank (1994). The Australian Security Intelligence Organization. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-3477-8.
- Gan, Irina. "The reluctant hosts: Soviet Antarctic expedition ships visit Australia and New Zealand in 1956". Polar Record (Hobart: Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania). 45 (232) (37–50 (2009)). doi:10.1017/S0032247408007675.
- Ginsburgs, George (1987). A calendar of Soviet treaties, 1974–1980. BRILL. ISBN 90-247-3628-5.
- Ginsburgs, George; Slusser, Robert M. (1981). A calendar of Soviet treaties, 1958–1973. BRILL. ISBN 90-286-0609-2.
- Protopopov, Michael (2006). A Russian Presence: A History of the Russian Church in Australia. Gorgias Press LLC. ISBN 1-59333-321-8.
- Slusser, Robert M.; Triska, Jan F. (1959). A calendar of Soviet treaties, 1917–1957. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0587-9.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Relations of Australia and Russia.|
- Publications of Dr Elena Govor on Australia-Russia relations
- Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about the relation with Russia
- (Russian) Documents on the Australia-Russia relationship from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs | <urn:uuid:2d0f08d7-4fe2-427e-a070-deec0487015d> | {
"date": "2014-08-01T03:13:01",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-23",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510273874.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011753-00414-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9410739541053772,
"score": 3.1875,
"token_count": 13824,
"url": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%e2%80%93Russia_relations"
} |
The word Hosanna has many meanings: "help", "save, I pray", "Save, now!" or Praising etc.
If the people shouted "Hosanna" in order to praise Jesus merely as a great Prophet, it would be easier to shout "Crucify him!" later when they were disappointed by his acts.
If the intention of the people of Jerusalem was to say "Save us from the hands of Rome", it means they accepted Jesus as the Messiah after seeing all the miracles he performed. But in less than a week they became impatient and shouted "Crucify him!", thereby rushing to a conclusion that Jesus was actually not the Messiah.
What was the intention of the people of Jerusalem when they shouted Hosanna? | <urn:uuid:2c4a4007-205a-4c1e-bdf9-04e2540cee9e> | {
"date": "2015-07-06T13:34:29",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2015-27",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375098464.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031818-00256-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.986343264579773,
"score": 2.53125,
"token_count": 152,
"url": "http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/15422/what-is-the-significance-of-shouting-hosanna-by-the-people-of-jerusalem/15426"
} |
Register of Sasines
- Set up in 1617 - is the register of heritable Property in Scotland
- If a disposition is in your favour on the Sasines it is said to be recorded. On the Land Register is is said to be registered. This is because sasines is a record of dispositions. It is a mere record as it makes no difference to the validity of title.
- Keeper of Register must check requiremnts are in place before recording a deed. i.e. if it has been properly excuted - signed and witnessed by 2 people prior to 1991 act now it is 1.
- MacDonald v Keeper of Sasines 1914 - argument over if keeper had discreation over whether or not he recorded a deed. Held keeper did and he refused this deed in particular as it was a Will and not Disposition
- Once dispostion is granted, solicitor will send it to Sasines, MUST be done within 3 weeks of excecution of disposition. When arrives at Sasines it is stamped and this is whn purchaser gains a real right. Requirements are all checked and then recorded if met.
1 of 5
Problems with Sasines
Problems with system;
- Identification - Difficult to see who owned what at times i.e. overlapping land
- Conditions of Tenure - hard to see if all conditions such as servitudes
- Heritable Securites
- Proof of Ownership - just becasue name is in Sasines doesnt mean you are protected, still vulnerable for 10 years to be challanged
2 of 5
Land Register (S) Act 1979
- Modeleld on English System
- Keeper has active role, onyl if he is satisfied then he will certify individual to become proprietor. Then rendered unchallangable if Keeper registeres you, even if the title was a vulnerable one
- Properties are to move from Sasines to LR on a county v county basis. This is so Sasines can be shut down entirely.
- Certificate of Title - keeper must ensure title is valid adn then grant certificate
- Overriding Interest - interests to ill-defined i.e. servitudes, rights of way
- Rectafication - if a loss is caused under the rectification then perosn can get indemnification from keeper
- Effect of Registration - to give proprietor a real rights in property
- Mechanics of Registration - presentation of formal deed, with correct exceution etc
- Title Sheet - shows who owns property, what it is, description etc
3 of 5
- s9 of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979
- Which states where there has been error or fraud or carelessness on part of the proprietor in possession or its something related to the Keeper which has declined indemnity.
- Shorts Trs v The Keeper 1996 - case concerns gratuitous alienation - when someone goes bankrupt and trustee gets your assets, tries to sell them for creditors. Case demonstartes if a disposition is registered in your favour in Land Register you are immune from challenges.
- Indemnity - s12 1979 Act - compensation will be paid by Keeper to someone who has suffered a loss on account of either rectification of the register or as a result of the Keeper refusing to rectify the register or by error made by the Keeper
4 of 5
- Known as the Register of Inhibitions and Adjudications - stores info about an individual i.e. if they have ever been bankrupt
- Inhibitions (places ban on an individual from selling or disposing of property - formerly common law now dealt by Bankrupt and Diligence (S) Act 2007
- Must ensure that there is no obstacle to the seller personally i.e. inhibitions
- Karl Construction v Palisade Properties 2002 case - rules were put in place to stop bullying and protect HR because of this case.
- Adjudications - gave possibility of inhibating creditor to take ownership over property - abolished by 2007 Act
- This register is computerised, doesnt make it infalable
5 of 5 | <urn:uuid:558d9b76-9116-45f0-96cf-1e9a7b25f414> | {
"date": "2017-02-22T13:02:05",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501170992.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104610-00192-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9392550587654114,
"score": 2.53125,
"token_count": 843,
"url": "https://getrevising.co.uk/revision-cards/property-registers"
} |
The thousands of miles of wiring frantically being strung throughout America's schools this summer may look like everyday Internet cables. They're actually lifelines of high-speed learning.
They are part of a more than $2 billion nationwide investment to close the gap between public school haves and have-nots, both of which are increasingly dependent on high-speed Internet to teach students.
The bandwidth gap has become the new equality measurement plaguing schools, national and local education experts warn.
Stu Johnson, executive director of Connect Ohio, which advocates and monitors Internet accessibility in schools, says school technology will determine school success.
"It's a situation that makes the use of new, digitally enabled learning technologies a huge challenge and consequently the broadband gap is rapidly becoming the education achievement gap," said Johnson.
Adding to the urgency are the Common Core standards being rolled out in many states, including Ohio, in the upcoming school year. Those standards come with online testing – which caused some problems among states, like Kentucky, that adopted the standards early.
Your school may be overflowing with laptops, tablets, e-books, smartphones and old-fashioned desktop computers. But they are useless if too many students and educators choke the building's online capabilities.
And federal officials and education experts warn that while the bandwidth gap is narrowing, it will still be too wide even after the latest rounds of new school wiring is done.
"Far too many schools have no Wi-Fi at all. For those that are lucky enough to be connected wirelessly, such networks often don't meet the capacity needs of students and teachers," Federal Communications Commissioner Tom Wheeler said in June.
That could release billions more federal dollars to help U.S. schools catch up.
This month, FCC officials announced a nationwide plan to expand Wi-Fi to nearly 44 million more students nationwide with another $2 billion investment, pending an FCC vote July 11.
An estimated 1.7 million Ohio students – and some 465,000 of their Kentucky counterparts – would benefit from the additional $2 billion FCC program.
According to the most recent 2012 analysis by the Management Council of Ohio Education Computer Network K-12 Network Upgrade, school districts with "severely restricted and restricted (bandwidth) capacity buildings represent 6 percent and 14 percent of all K-12 buildings statewide respectively and 4 percent and 12 percent of K-12 students."
Both "severely restricted" bandwidth capacity and "restricted" capacity categories are below the proposed 100 megabits standard.
Council officials estimate it will take $50 million to $80 million to upgrade those school buildings, which are largely found in Ohio's rural regions.
Charlie Marshall, technology coordinator for Felicity Franklin Schools in rural Clermont County, recalls just two years ago when students and teachers had wireless access only in school hallways.
"Our wireless bandwidth wasn't strong enough to be used in classrooms," said Marshall, whose 1,000-student district just expanded bandwidth wiring.
"We were one of the worst school districts in the county and we realized that tech was going to make us or break us," he said.
But expanding school bandwidth is neither a uniform nor smooth transition.
Like most school districts nationwide, each of the 63 districts in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky controls its own Internet bandwidth capabilities. So available dollars, emphasis and time frame vary for each district's Internet access.
But most agree: Internet bandwidth has to be expanded now. Not later.
If it doesn't, said Chris Edwards, assistant dean for Information Technology and Communications at the University of Cincinnati, "it will certainly be a barrier to learning."
"We are right on the edge of technology that would have impact and lead to a transformation in learning," said Edwards, who is also director of UC's Center for Academic Technology and Educational Resources.
Lakota parent Kathy Cook worries about the quality of her teen's education if Internet bandwidth isn't expanded in schools.
"It's imperative to good education," said Cook, whose Butler County district has embarked on its largest wireless expansion project, spending $10 million in the next three years on wiring and electronic learning equipment.
"This is the 21st century and in the real working world, they will need these kids to be able to find information," said Cook. "And if we don't have it, we are going to fall so far behind."
Nationwide, public and private sector money is becoming available to help close the gap:
• AT&T has pledged $100 million to provide 50,000 middle- and high-school students in Title 1 schools free Internet connectivity for educational devices.
• Sprint pledged $100 million for free wireless service for up to 50,000 low-income high school students.
• Verizon pledged $100 million in cash and in-kind commitments.
• Rural schools will get more than $10 million in distance-learning grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
STATES AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS FENDING FOR THEMSELVES
Every school in the country has basic access to the Internet as a result of federal requirements of more than a decade ago. But while they may have minimal wired and wireless coverage, many lack the capacity to handle too many students working online simultaneously.
"It's becoming very critical in terms of student success and we have to ... do what we have to do to level the playing field," said Johnson, whose Connect Ohio group pushes for school broadband access in 13 states including Kentucky.
In general, Kentucky's K-12 schools lead Ohio's schools in broadband connections, ranking 17th nationally compared with Ohio's 20th.
"We're still moving to upgrade our bandwidth over the next few years," says David Couch, associate commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Education.
But, he adds, "there are very few states that have a statewide network."
"States are sort of fending for themselves and they can't tell you what every school district has going out to the Internet," says Couch.
The region's largest school system – Cincinnati Public Schools – is largely where officials want to be.
Jennifer Wagner, CPS' chief information officer, said by the end of July the district will have exceeded what the testing companies recommend for bandwidth. In the last five years they've added basic wireless service to all their buildings.
"We've invested $2 million in the last couple of years," said Wagner. "We're well on the way. It's more the logistics of getting everything set up."
Todd Wesley, director of technology for Lakota Schools, Southwest Ohio's second largest school system, said "infrastructure is no long a separate conversation from instruction because it is part of the instructional delivery."
Greg Finke, principal of Lakota's Independence Elementary, is no less than thrilled with the installation of higher speed bandwidth.
"It's going to be phenomenal for my students. Most of my kids bring their own technology, so they are used to high-speed bandwidth at home. But when they come to school it's been a little bit slower and they get more frustrated," said Finke.
"But now, with high-speed coming in, they are going to be doing some phenomenal things they haven't been able to do before," he said. ■
Jessica Brown contributed.
OPTIONS FOR SCHOOL PARENTSWITHOUT HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
Connect Ohio officials estimate that nearly 87 percent of Ohio households have access to high-speed Internet, far better than the national average of 79 percent.
But many low-income homes, especially those in rural areas, only have access to slower broadband networks.
School parents who lack high-speed Internet access for their children's homework do have options, said officials:
• Many schools offer study hall and after-school access to computers for students who need online instructional work.
• Local libraries offer high-speed Internet for student learning.
• Students can use high-speed wireless access at many restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores or municipal buildings.
• School families can organize to share or split the expense of high-speed Internet for students.
See how Lakota Schools are scrambling to wire their school buildings for expanded internet bandwidth. | <urn:uuid:cb288ba4-d123-4742-9538-838e928439a6> | {
"date": "2014-09-02T02:09:53",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2014-35",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535921318.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909055359-00495-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9638093113899231,
"score": 2.8125,
"token_count": 1677,
"url": "http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/education/2014/07/03/schools-rewiring-close-digital-gap/12206139/?from=global&autologin="
} |
Transmission of any material in violation of any Federal, Provincial
or local regulation is prohibited within The United States, Canada
and The United Kingdom.
It is well known that spamming (sending junk email) generates a
very negative response from most of its recipients. Since it is
in everyone's best interest to avoid this, we enforce a strict Anti-Spamming
We appreciate your cooperation.
E-mail is generally considered the most important service provided
by the Internet, which makes servers that move and store mail a
crucial piece of software.
Today, most people think of mail servers in terms of the Internet.
Mail servers, however, were originally developed for corporate networks
(LANs and WANs).
For Internet mail servers, a very important factor is the support
The major protocols are:
- SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for outgoing mail
- POP3 (Post Office Protocol) for incoming mail.
A more recent protocol, which has yet to make the inroads expected
of it, is:
- IMAP4 (Internet Messaging Access Protocol). IMAP offers a number
of important features, including user management of mail on the
Other Internet protocols include:
- ESMTP (Extended Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
- APOP (Authenticated Post Office Protocol)
- MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)
- Ph (Directory Access protocol)
Many mail servers are also adding:
- S/MIME, SSL, or RSA support for message encryption
- LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) support to access
operating system directory information about mail users.
In general, the more standards a server supports, the better. | <urn:uuid:76093645-c843-48fe-969e-a045fed822be> | {
"date": "2017-01-20T09:44:14",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-04",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00046-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 3,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.8687648773193359,
"score": 2.75,
"token_count": 360,
"url": "http://carrierzone.com/abuse.html"
} |
Tinnitus is not a disease itself; it is a symptom that something is wrong in the auditory system, including the ear, the auditory nerve, and the areas of the brain that process sound.
Hearing loss occurs with roughly 90 percent of tinnitus cases.
Noise-induced hearing loss and age-related hearing loss are some more common causes of tinnitus.
About one in five U.S. adults (nearly 50 million people) report some degree of hearing loss.
Tinnitus is sometimes the first sign of hearing loss.
Tinnitus is prevalent: 25 million to 50 million people in the United States experience it to some degree.
In the past year, about 22.7 million adults in the U.S. experienced tinnitus for more than three months, or about 10 percent of the adult population of the United States.
Approximately 16 million people seek medical attention for their tinnitus, and for up to two million patients, debilitating tinnitus interferes with their daily lives.
More than 200 drugs are known to cause tinnitus as a side effect when you start or stop taking them.
Among U.S. adults ages 65 and older, more than 12 percent of men and almost 14 percent of women are affected by tinnitus.
Tinnitus and hearing loss are the top service-related disabilities among veterans; 60 percent of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan return home with hearing loss.
Sources: The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Tinnitus Association. | <urn:uuid:97ef62dd-da49-4e98-9422-76b74a015517> | {
"date": "2017-02-27T11:21:46",
"dump": "CC-MAIN-2017-09",
"file_path": "s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501172783.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104612-00288-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz",
"int_score": 4,
"language": "en",
"language_score": 0.9468504786491394,
"score": 3.578125,
"token_count": 333,
"url": "http://hearinghealthfoundation.org/index.php?pg=tinnitus_statistics"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.