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Military members, injured in Afghanistan or Iraq, have returned home with multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections. The source of these infections is unknown.
Retrospective study of all Canadian soldiers who were injured in Afghanistan and who required mechanical ventilation from January 1 2006 to September 1 2006. Patients who developed A. baumannii ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) were identified. All A. baumannii isolates were retrieved for study patients and compared with A. baumannii isolates from environmental sources from the Kandahar military hospital using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
During the study period, six Canadian Forces (CF) soldiers were injured in Afghanistan, required mechanical ventilation and were repatriated to Canadian hospitals. Four of these patients developed A. baumannii VAP. A. baumannii was also isolated from one environmental source in Kandahar – a ventilator air intake filter. Patient isolates were genetically indistinguishable from each other and from the isolates cultured from the ventilator filter. These isolates were resistant to numerous classes of antimicrobials including the carbapenems.
These results suggest that the source of A. baumannii infection for these four patients was an environmental source in the military field hospital in Kandahar. A causal linkage, however, was not established with the ventilator. This study suggests that infection control efforts and further research should be focused on the military field hospital environment to prevent further multi-drug resistant A. baumannii infections in injured soldiers.
Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative bacterium that can cause infectious outbreaks in critically-ill patients, often with limited treatment options due to antibiotic resistance [1-3]. In November, 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an increasing number of multi-drug resistant (MDR) A. baumannii bloodstream infections in United States military personnel returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan . The source of these infections is unknown. We report the results of an infection control investigation of four Canadian Forces members who developed ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) from MDR A. baumannii after injury in Afghanistan.
In November 2005, Canadian Forces (CF) members deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Surgical support was provided by the 248th Combat Support Hospital, a US medical unit. However, a Canadian-led medical unit (Role Three Multinational Medical Unit (R3MMU)) assumed command of the facility on February 7, 2006. Two of the authors (HCT and AB) were part of the first Canadian medical contingent to arrive at this facility in Kandahar. Three mechanical ventilators (iVent201, Versamed Inc, Pearl River, NY) were purchased from the departing US organization, and were left in the facility for use by the R3MMU. At the time of the hand-over, this facility had 11 beds in a small, common room. The intensive care unit consisted of three of these beds which were equipped with the iVent ventilators. The R3MMU has basic laboratory support, but does not have any microbiological testing capability.
While working at this hospital, the authors (HT and AB) treated a Canadian soldier (patient one) who suffered a severe head injury and required mechanical ventilation. After this patient was evacuated back to Canada, they were informed that he developed MDR A. baumannii VAP. As a result, they took environmental samples from inside and around the hospital. These included numerous soil samples from around the operating room, ICU and resuscitation bay. Because the hospital did not have microbiological testing capabilities, they collected all samples using sterile forceps or sterile basins, and placed them into sterile specimen containers. Also, they dismantled the patient's (patient one) mechanical ventilator, and collected samples (including the air intake filter) from it using sterile forceps and specimen containers. These were all couriered to microbiology laboratories in Canadian hospitals for testing. The samples arrived in Canada approximately 72 hours after collection.
Several months after returning to Canada, the authors(HCT & AB) then identified all CF members who were injured in Kandahar and who required mechanical ventilation using aeromedical evacuation records (obtained through the Canadian Forces Health Services) from 1 January 2006 to 1 September 2007. In general, injured CF members are evacuated by US Air Force medical teams to a US army hospital in Germany (Landstuhl Regional Medical Center or LRMC). Canadian medical teams then bring casualties from LRMC to civilian Canadian hospitals. During the study period time, CF members were repatriated to five different civilian tertiary care centers in Canada.
We reviewed the medical records of these patients from Kandahar, LRMC and their respective Canadian hospitals, if available. We also contacted the attending physicians responsible for each patient in Canada to discuss each patient's clinical course in hospital. We also contacted the microbiology department of LRMC and all involved Canadian hospitals to obtain the microbiological record for each patient. Our primary outcome of interest was the development of A. baumannii ventilator associated pneumonia, as defined by the CDC's National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system . A. baumannii respiratory isolates were then retrieved, if available, for all patients who developed A. baumannii VAP. Patient isolates were then compared to each other, and to any positive environmental isolates from the hospital in Kandahar.
Organisms were identified using standard laboratory methods, including Gram stain appearance, colonial morphology, negative oxidase reaction, and the VITEK-2 ID-GNB card (bioMérieux, Hazelwood, MO). Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using the VITEK-2 AST-N019 card according to the manufacturer's instructions (bioMérieux). Genomic DNA from all A. baumannii isolates was digested with ApaI for molecular typing by PFGE . Interpretation of DNA profiles generated by PFGE was done visually. Isolates were considered to be genetically related if their PFGE patterns differed by three of fewer bands .
Institutional review ethics approval was obtained to conduct this study. However, individual consent was not obtained from each patient as some had been already discharged from hospital. As the number of critically wounded CF casualties was small during the study period, we only present aggregate demographic data (means ± standard deviation), as individual information may identify specific patients. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS version 8.02 (SAS Institute, Carey, NC).
During the study period, six CF members required mechanical ventilation and were evacuated through LRMC to five different Canadian hospitals. Four of these patients developed multi-drug resistant A. baumannii VAP. Their mean age was 26.5 years (± 8.5). Three sustained multiple injuries from improvised explosive devices; one received a severe head injury. On average, they required 68 days of mechanical ventilation (± 70 days).
During this same period of time, a total of 42 injured CF members were evacuated from Kandahar to Canadian hospitals, through Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre. On review of the A. baumannii screening results from LRMC (which was performed shortly after admission), there were skin culture reports found for 25 of these patients; reports were not found for 17. Only two patients had positive screening tests that were positive for A. baumannii (preliminary, non-published results). One of the positive screening tests was from one of the four study patients (patient one). Unfortunately, the isolate was not available for testing by PFGE.
The A. baumannii respiratory isolates retrieved from Canadian hospitals and from LRMC for these four patients were molecularly identical based on the PFGE (See Figure 1). For patient one, a multi-drug resistant strain of A. baumannii was cultured from a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimen obtained five days post injury at LRMC. The BAL was done for signs and symptoms suggesting VAP, including a fever and an infiltrate on chest radiography. This strain of A. baumannii persisted in respiratory samples isolated from the Canadian hospital. The A. baumannii isolates for patients two and three, obtained from LRMC on post-injury days ten and twelve respectively were multi-drug resistant and identical to the multi-drug resistant strain from patient one (Figure 1). Both patients were showing signs of VAP (fever and infiltrates on chest radiography) at the time of these positive cultures. These same strains were also cultured from respiratory samples from patients two and three in their respective Canadian hospitals. A. baumannii respiratory isolates from patient four, cultured two weeks post injury in Canada were also identical to this multi-drug resistant strain (Figure 1). Patient four also had clinical and radiological signs of VAP, at the time of this positive result. Respiratory isolates from LRMC for patient four were negative for A. baumannii.
Figure 1. DNA fingerprint profiles of Acinetobacter baumannii after ApaI-digested pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Lanes 1 and 12: Lambda DNA ladder (New England Biolabs, Mississauga, ON) Lanes 2 and 11: Unrelated A. baumannii strains Lane 3: Patient 1 (bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from LRMC) Lane 4: Patient 1 (Tracheal aspirate, Canada) Lane 5: Patient 2 (Tracheal aspirate, LRMC) Lane 6: Patient 2 (Tracheal aspirate, Canada) Lane 7: Patient 3 (Tracheal aspirate, LRMC) Lane 8: Patient 3 (BAL, Canada) Lane 9: Patient 4 (BAL, Canada) Lane 10: A. baumannii isolate from air intake filter, Kandahar.
A. baumannii was not isolated from any environmental samples, except from one ventilator air intake filter sample from Kandahar. This filter isolate was also multi-drug resistant, and identical to the MDR strain obtained from all four patients in LRMC and Canada. The antibiogram for the A. baumannii strains isolated from all four patients at their various hospitals showed identical antibiotic susceptibilities (See Table 1).
Table 1. Antibiogram of MDR A. baumanni isolates
We report four cases of multi-drug resistant A. baumannii infections in CF members injured in Afghanistan. MDR A. baumannii VAP was first diagnosed in three of these four patients at the US army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany and continued to be an issue for them in Canada. Patient four developed A. baumannii VAP while hospitalized in Canada. Originally, we suspected that the source of these infections was LRMC, as all four patients had molecularly identical strains of MDR A. baumannii VAP, and all four had been treated at LRMC where MDR A. baumannii infections are prevalent. However, the filter isolate was also identical to the MDR A. baumannii isolated from these four patients, suggesting that the field hospital was the original source of infection.
We were only able to demonstrate A. baumannii in one environmental sample – the ventilator filter isolate. If the field hospital were contaminated, we would expect fairly widespread contamination and therefore, would have expected multiple environmental samples to have been positive for A. baumannii. However, as mentioned previously, the R3MMU field hospital does not have microbiological testing capability; therefore, all samples were couriered to Canada for culture. This resulted in a delay of at least 72 hours prior to processing; this delay may be responsible for the low yield of positive cultures in our environmental samples.
The origin of the A. baumannii infections in soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq is still unknown. These infections may have been acquired from environmental sources in the field, during treatment at military field hospitals, during evacuation from the theatre of operations, or during treatment at hospitals outside of the conflict area. During the Vietnam War, A. baumannii was recovered from traumatic injuries to extremities . More recent reports have also identified A. baumannii infections in patients who suffered traumatic injuries, suggesting environmental contamination of wounds as a potential source . Our report also suggests that these MDR A. baumannii organisms originated from an environmental source in the theatre of operations. All MDR A. baumannii isolates from these four patients were molecularly identical to the ventilator filter isolate from Kandahar.
A. baumannii has often been linked to infectious outbreaks involving the mechanical ventilation circuit [10-12]. However, this study does not definitively establish a causal link between the contaminated ventilator in Kandahar and the subsequent four cases of MDR A. baumannii VAP. A. baumannii is a ubiquitous micro-organism that colonizes inanimate surfaces and medical equipment. Our patients may have just as easily acquired the MDR A. baumannii through lack of hand hygiene in health workers, microaspiration or even hematogenous spread from an infected IV site. Once acquired, the ventilator may have been secondarily contaminated.
Unfortunately, because of limitations of the field environment, we were unable to trace contact exposures of infected patients back to specific health care workers. Because of limitations in personnel, patients were not assigned to specific health care workers; instead, two to three nurses were on duty for each shift, and collectively cared for all patients in the facility. As a result, all patients were exposed to all health care workers because of the small numbers of hospital staff. Likewise, we were unable to screen the hands of hospital health care workers, as the facility did not have microbiological testing capability.
Even so, the results of this report suggest that the field hospital environment is the source of MDR A. baumannii infections and that increased infection control measures are required at the field hospital level in military theatre of operations. For example, regular ventilator cleaning and maintenance is difficult in the field setting, and outgoing staff from the 248th CSH reported that air-intake filters and antibacterial circuit filters were difficult to obtain. As a result, antibacterial circuit filters were not routinely used, and the air-intake filters were not routinely changed. Based on our findings, the ventilators are now regularly maintained, and air-intake filters are changed as recommended by the manufacturer. Anti-bacterial circuit filters are also now used (Intersurgical Filta-Therm Filter, Intersurgical Ltd, Wokingham Berkshire UK). As well, hospital cleaners have been hired and hand-washing stations have been established in patient care areas.
Our findings are likely applicable to US and British military field hospitals as well. Our ventilators were previously used by the 248th CSH. As well, the environmental and logistical problems that faced both the 248th CSH and the R3MMU are common across field hospitals in Afghanistan and Iraq [13,14]. Other contributory factors may have included non-restrictive antibiotic use at the field hospitals to compensate for poor environmental conditions .
Identifying the etiology of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter infection in returning soldiers is important for preventing nosocomial transmission to other vulnerable patients. Zapor reported 53 cases of nosocomial transmission of MDR Acinetobacter that have directly resulted in four fatalities in US military hospitals . Jones has also reported on one British service member who may have imported an MDR A. baumannii strain from Iraq that caused a large outbreak in National Health Service hospitals in the UK .
Ongoing surveillance remains critical for monitoring the efficacy of infection control measures. In Canada, critically injured service members are cared for in the civilian health care system. As a result, the Canadian Forces Health Services is collaborating with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to implement a national surveillance strategy for MDR Acinetobacter infections in injured soldiers. The multinational nature of military coalitions and medical care, however, highlight the need for health care providers to also communicate across national borders.
We conclude that the military field hospital was the source of multi-drug resistant A. baumannii that later lead to the development of ventilator associated pneumonia in four CF members who were injured in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Further research and infection control efforts should be focused on the field hospital environment to prevent future A. baumannii infections.
HCNT, AB, RB, JD are serving medical officers in the Canadian Forces Health Services.
HCNT and AB gathered all environmental samples in Kandahar. AS, JF, EAB and JD provided patient isolates from Canadian hospitals. HCNT and JD facilitated the ethics review process for this project. HCNT, RB and JD obtained clinical information concerning the clinical course of each patient. The labs of MM and AS performed PFGE on environmental samples from Kandahar. The lab of AS performed PFGE on all patient isolates from all hospitals. MM, KB, AS, RB, SR provided methodological advice and background information on this project. HCNT wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
This study was funded by the Canadian Forces Health Services.
Simor AE, Lee M, Vearncombe M, Jones-Paul L, Barry C, Gomez M, Fish JS, Cartotto RC, Palmer R, Louie M: An outbreak due to multi-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a burn unit: risk factors form acquisition and management.
Horan TC, Gaynes RP: Surveillance of nosocomial infections. In Hospital epidemiology and infection control. 3rd edition. Edited by Mayhall CG. Philadelphia, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004:1659-702.
Tenover FC, Arbeit RD, Goering RV, Mickelsen PA, Murray BE, Persing DH, Swaminathan B: Interpreting chromosomal DNA restriction patterns produced by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis: criteria for bacterial strain typing.
Mil Med 1998, 163(6):389-91. PubMed Abstract
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Ear Now …
An incredible design in a tiny fly is inspiring engineers
The main reason we can tell from which direction a sound is coming is that there is a slight time difference between the sound waves’ arrival at each ear (inter-aural time difference, ITD), as well as a slightly greater intensity at the nearer ear. But a tiny female fly, Ormia ochracea, can track a male cricket’s chirping so she can lay her eggs on him—even though the fly’s ears are only 0.5 mm apart, meaning that the ITD is only 1½ µs (microseconds = millionths of a second), and the intensity difference is almost nil.
How does she do it? The fly’s eardrums are coupled together by a bridge like a flexible lever. The resulting resonance means that the time difference is, in effect, increased about 40 times, and the eardrum nearest the sound vibrates about 10 decibels more strongly.
Also, the nerves from each of the fly’s ears respond in a type of code so that their time difference is about five times greater still. Finally, the fly’s flight programming is linked to its ears’ signals, so it can tell directions to within 2°, as well as humans can.
This fly’s mechanical and signal-processing technology is being used to improve hearing aids, which normally can’t tell direction, and could be used to design miniature directional microphones.
Once more, the Master Designer has taught the best of human designers some lessons. Sadly, the main research paper called the fly’s ear an ‘evolutionary innovation’, without the slightest explanation of how the mechanical structure and nervous coding system could arise by small mutations and natural selection.
Where does this design, which is going to hasten the demise of the cricket being tracked, fit in with the Fall and no death before sin? As discussed in The Answers Book, ch. 6, insects are probably not nephesh life, so their ‘death’ is Biblically different from that of humans or vertebrate animals. Alternatively, God, who foreknew the Fall, could have designed the machinery and switched it on at the Fall. See also Q&A: Genesis: The Curse.
Mason, A.C., Oshinsky, M.L. and Hoy, R.R., Hyperacute directional hearing in a microscale auditory system, Nature 410(6829):686–690, 5 April 2001; Narins, P.M., In a fly’s ear, same issue, pp. 644–645; Cricket pitch, p. ix.
Wising up to design
The fly in the main article is not the only creature with an amazingly high-tech mechanism in its nerves of hearing to help it to determine the direction of sound.
An owl’s fine directional hearing is also largely due to the way the nerves process the aural time and intensity differences.
Most neurons (nerve cells) ‘fire’ when the incoming signals add up to a threshold, and act ‘like a transistor in an electronic circuit’.
But ‘neurons in the owl’s auditory map multiply’, so each ‘is more like a little processor; computationally it’s much more powerful’.
Peña, J.L. and Konishi, M., Auditory spatial receptive fields created by multiplication, Science 292(5515):249–252, 13 April 2001; Helmuth, L., Location neurons do advanced math, same issue, p. 185. | <urn:uuid:9039811c-2ecb-4c33-8735-4b7b6c8cc613> | {
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What Is a ‘Supermoon’ and Why Should You Care It’s Coming Out This Weekend? [VIDEO]
Amateur astronomers may want to dust off their telescopes, because a massive full moon — aka a “supermoon” — will arrive this weekend and it’ll be the year’s biggest.
The moon will become full on Saturday at 11:35 pm EDT and orbit the Earth at a distance of only 221,802 miles, giving amazing views of a gigantic, extra-bright moon. In fact, skywatchers can look forward to a moon that’s about 16 percent brighter than usual.
But despite its extra-large appearance in the sky, there’s no need to worry about the moon causing disaster here on terra firma, according to experts. Scientists don’t expect earthquakes or catastrophic tidal forces as a result.
To get the best view, check out the supermoon when it’s close to the horizon. View the moon either just after it rises or before it sets with an object (a tree or building, for example) in the foreground. The resulting optical illusion will make it seem even larger. | <urn:uuid:98c6d1ff-7bb5-4d86-b12f-e285fa4121c5> | {
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Gem of Baroque Landscape Architecture
The Belvederes garden is one of Europes most significant historical gardens in French style and, even in its pared down form today, is still a fine example of late Baroque garden design. In front of the Upper Belvederes outdoor steps, a large pool mirrors and duplicates the buildings façade. At the opposite end of the grounds, closest to the city on Rennweg, a cour dhonneur abuts the Lower Belvedere. The Kammergarten (Privy Garden) adjoins the Lower Belvedere to the right and continues to the Orangery at its northern end. This narrow strip on the west of the plot of land was for the sole use of the prince. Next to the Upper Belvedere, up until 1726 the grounds extended eastward to encompass a semi-circular menagerie. To the south, a geometrical kitchen garden was located in the area now occupied by Viennas Botanical Gardens.
The Belvedere gardens are a gem of Baroque landscape design. Together with the two palaces they form a harmonious whole that has been listed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although in the eighteenth century the park was primarily a stage for strolls, perambulation and conversation, it was also a striking presentation of the respective owners power, wisdom, and wealth. Linking the Lower and Upper Belvedere, the main garden is divided into three large terraces and comprises all the fundamental components of a Baroque park, such as symmetrical parterres of flowers, basins, tiers, steps, clipped hedges, and much more besides. The Palace Gardens were planned by the Bavarian Electorates garden designer Dominique Girard.
A particularly secluded ambiance can be found in Prince Eugene of Savoys private garden, known as the Kammergarten (Privy Garden), tucked away to the west of the Lower Belvedere. This two-terraced garden was once bounded by an orangery to the north originally with a removable roof and a façade of sculptures and an aviary to the south. In between there were fountains, elaborately embellished pavilions with pergolas and magnificent parterres ablaze with flowers, all reserved exclusively for Prince Eugene and his closest companions.
The Alpine Garden in the Belvederes park is the oldest of its kind in Europe and houses the Federal Gardens valuable historical collection of Alpine plants. Archdukes Johann, Rainer and Anton established this collection in 1803 at Schönbrunn Palace park and it was transferred to the Belvedere gardens in 1865. It is open to the public during the peak flowering seasons. Special attractions are the rhododendrons that start blooming in April and the collection of Sempervivum with roughly 300 varieties. You can also appreciate more than 100 Japanese Bonsai. | <urn:uuid:90ee6d78-5461-4462-847e-61b1ca9d1441> | {
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What would you take if you were suddenly forced to move? In this activity, students will make this decision after reading and responding to a quote by a woman who was forced to move to a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. It is included in an OurStory module entitled Life in a WWII Japanese American Internment Camp. OurStory is a series of modules designed to help children and adults enjoy exploring history together through the use of objects from the Museum's vast collections, quality children's literature, and engaging hands-on activities. Ideal for afterschool use, OurStory resources allow students to think critically, to be creative, and to achieve academic standards both in and out of the classroom.
Not Rated Yet. | <urn:uuid:3487d6fa-6397-4895-a43c-e982e5267423> | {
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You probably think of your nervous system as a kind of computer network, or some kind of electrical system that passes nerve impulses around. But in reality, the miraculous journey of a signal thorough your nervous system is a story that involves cell biology, chemistry and physics. Your brain contains 30 billion neurons, and each of them is a staggering achievement.
Here are the secrets of how your nervous system passes messages with amazing speed and accuracy.
Top image: Case Western Reserve University
Neurons are unique-looking little cells. Like all animal cells, a neuron has a cell body, called a soma, where the DNA-carrying nucleus sits, providing directions for the cell to make various proteins. In a neuron, however, this is just the beginning of the cell structure. On one end, the soma sprouts branch-like dendrites for receiving signals, while a long –- up to a meter long –- axon stretches away in the other direction, branching out into multiple axon terminals for sending signals.
These axon terminals are often located close to the dendrites of another neuron, forming a connection known as a synapse — despite the fact that the axon terminals do not physically touch the other neuron's dendrites. Any given neuron will have about a thousand synapses with neighboring neurons, connecting the cells and allowing them to send messages from neuron to neuron. The synapses in a single human brain outnumber the stars in the Milky Way.
But if the synapses are empty space, with no direct connection between one neuron's axon terminals and another's dendrites, then how does the message travel? The cells must send chemical signals across the gap. Within each axon terminal are sacs, known as vesicles, filled with one of 50 different chemicals called neurotransmitters. Each neurotransmitter sends a different type of message to the next neuron, which recognizes the neurotransmitters with specialized receptors on the surface of the dendrites.
These receptor sites are like locks that can only be open by specific neurotransmitter keys. Once these keys have opened the lock, they drift back into the space between neurons, where they are either destroyed by enzymes or pumped back into their original neuron's axon terminal by transporters. Back inside the cell, the neurotransmitters are again either destroyed or returned to a vesicle where they can be reused. Different neurotransmitters serve different functions, and they are also recycled differently.
When the neurotransmitters fill the receptors of the receiving neuron's dendrites, they can either be excitatory (encouraging the receiver to pass the signal on), or inhibitory (preventing the receiver from continuing the message.) Any individual neuron's dendrites might receive neurotransmitter signals from one of many other neurons — and if the excitatory signal is strong enough and then inhibitory signal is not, it triggers the receiving neuron to fire, passing the message on.
Although chemicals are required to send a message from neuron to neuron, it takes a different medium to transmit that message from the receiving neuron's dendrites to its own axon terminals: electricity. When the neurotransmitters trigger the receiving neuron to fire, it sends an electrical "action potential" along its length the way that an electrical pulse flows down a metal wire. Like wires, some axons even have an insulating coating, the fatty myelin sheath, to make the signal travel faster.
So how does a clearly non-metallic human cell manage to conduct an electrical signal? The neuron has to alter its own charge relative to the outside of the cell. In order to change its charge, a neuron manipulates the charged ions on the inside and the outside of the cell membrane. When the neuron is at rest, with no signal in the pipeline, the ions are distributed so that the inside of the cell is more negatively charged than the outside, which creates an electrical potential, called the resting membrane potential, across the cell membrane. Sodium and potassium channels in the cell membrane control the flow of positively charged sodium and potassium ions into and out of the cell, maintaining that negative rest charge.
But when certain neurotransmitters have entered the receptor sites, it changes the makeup of the axon's cell membrane: In the section of the axon closest to the soma, the cell membrane becomes more permeable. This allows positive sodium ions to enter the cell and give the inside of that section of axon a positive charge relative to the outside. Although the sodium pumps work to move these positive charges out of the neuron and restore the resting state, the influx has already triggered the same behavior in the neighboring section of the cell. Gradually, this positive charge on the inside of the cell moves down the length of the axon to the axon terminals.
When the signal reaches the axon terminals, the electrical charge changes once more: instead of sodium ions, it is the positively charged calcium ions that enter the extra-permeable cell membrane. In the axon terminal, the arrival of calcium triggers the vesicles filled with neurotransmitter to drift to the cell membrane, fuse with it, and then release the appropriate neurotransmitters outside the cell. Although this process seems lengthy, an action potential moves incredibly quickly. If you had an axon the length of a football field, a fast action potential could traverse it in one second flat.
And then the next neuron in the chain has to repeat the whole process.
In depth overviews from the University of Florida and the National Institutes of Health
More details on neurotransmitters from the University of Texas at Austin
More details on the action potential from the University of Washington and the University at Buffalo
A history of our knowledge of neurons firing by Francisco Bezanilla of the University of Chicago, published in the journal Neuron | <urn:uuid:6ed7cb92-54b7-40f1-aa79-bd44d55395b8> | {
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ANJUM SHAIKH ’22 knows if you’re paying attention.
As part of the Connecticut College Summer Science Research Institute, Shaikh spent eight weeks conducting funded neuroscience research and developing an alert system that is capable of monitoring neurons in the brains of test subjects to detect when their minds begin to wander.
For those of us who are notorious daydreamers, this technology, which uses a process called electroencephalography, may not seem especially appealing at first. But the potential impact on a wide range of specific occupations could actually save lives.
“This type of research is incredibly important when it comes to any task requiring sustained attention that can be a bit boring, such as an everyday activity like driving,” Shaikh explains. “But it can also apply to people who have jobs that are typically quite repetitive, like TSA agents who screen luggage for weapons, or radiologists who examine X-rays for signs of abnormalities. It’s crucial for these types of professionals to remain focused, as slip-ups could be dangerous.”
The system works by tracking the brain’s neural activity in real time and then sounding an audio alert the moment somebody’s attention begins to falter, snapping them back into focus.
This is the second year in a row Shaikh has participated in the Summer Science program, which provides campus housing and a $4,000 stipend, and involves an eight-week intensive research project overseen by faculty. This summer, 42 students were accepted to participate in a variety of projects with 20 different professors from across the math and science departments.
The students present updates on their research throughout the eight-week period in weekly colloquia with their fellow summer science participants, and the program culminates with a poster symposium in the fall during which students share their work with the entire College community.
“This is a way to give students a significant head start compared to their peers from other schools,” said Emily Tarsis, a lecturer in chemistry who is coordinating the 2019 Summer Science Research Institute.
“We see this as an important tool for science students to immerse themselves in the language of science the way world language students study abroad for their immersive experience,” she added.
Grace Kovic ’21, who has participated in the Summer Science program the past two years, worked with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jacob Stewart on his current research analyzing the gas Isoprene using Infrared Laser Spectroscopy. Isoprene is a key gas found in the Earth’s atmosphere and plays an important role in the production of ozone and other gases related to climate warming. Levels of the gas in a person’s breath may be linked to medical conditions as well, such as lung cancer.
“I’ve learned more than I ever imagined I would during these few short weeks, but I also had a lot of fun,” Kovic said. “Spending summer days with a group of students and professors who share my scientific interests has been great.”
The Connecticut College Science Leaders program was awarded a 2019 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. | <urn:uuid:4598b4cb-1aac-4502-80e1-9d209f5ae7ee> | {
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Discovering Shi'i Islam
Discovering Shi’i Islam is a brief introduction to main issues related to Islam in general and Shi’i Islam in particular. Though simply and clearly written, it is an outcome of more than twenty years of involvement in Islamic studies. The text studies the origins of Shi’i Islam and its sources, i.e. the Qur.an, the Sunnah, the reason and consensus. It also studies fundamental doctrines and main practices of Islam. It ends with a brief account of the latest statistics about the present Muslim population of the world along with a breakdown of religious affiliations of some countries with a long history of Shi’i presence therein. Discovering Shi’i Islam represents a sincere commitment to Islamic unity and is hoped to serve as a modest step towards Muslim brotherhood. Indeed, this book echoes the Qur’anic call for unity which extends to all people of faith to unify their efforts and concentrate on their common ground. | <urn:uuid:41562564-416a-4c44-b654-ef94dfaed931> | {
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ROS Group 产品服务
Product Service 开源代码库
Official website 技术交流
Technological exchanges 激光雷达
ROS Tourials 深度学习
Deep Learning 机器视觉
How Ubuntu sets static IP
weijiz last edited by
When searching for “Set Static IP” on the network, the results appear are set by modifying the file. This way it is easy to make the computer’s network unusable. It is recommended to use the following method to modify.
The basic way of IP allocation
The way IP is allocated is generally determined by the router. The router has two modes: DHCP mode and static IP. DHCP is a dynamic way of assigning IP. The default router is this mode. In this mode, the computer can also set its own static IP. Of course, there is no guarantee that it will succeed. For example, the IP set by yourself may be occupied by others. It is also possible that the router will not assign you the IP you set because of the confusion. Let’s talk about the various methods of setting static IP.
Several ways to set static IP
- For router settings, setting up a static IP through a router is the easiest way. However, the premise is that you must have the management rights of the router, and the router should also support this setting function. First enter the address of the route in the browser and enter the management interface of the router.
There are IP and MAC binding options in application management. Different router settings interface is different, you can find the specific location of this function.
Here you can set up a static IP.
- Make settings on the computer After the computer is connected to the network, open the computer’s network manager and select your current network link, select Edit.
Click on IPv4 settings
Set up as shown below
192.168.0.199 is the local IP you want to set, so you can’t repeat it with other IPs on the LAN. 192.168.0.1 is the address of the router. This should be adjusted according to your own network conditions. After the setting is completed, click Save to open, then disconnect the network and reconnect. It will take effect only after reconnecting.
Enter ifconfig to view the current network information, you can find that my wireless network has been set to the IP just now. | <urn:uuid:984f56b8-da51-4a1a-a299-03c150c2c2d3> | {
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Will New Horizons have a mission after Pluto? Ground-based searches have failed to turn up anything that New Horizons can reach. Now Hubble is joining the search, but time is running out: a discovery must be made within the next two months.
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2014/05/08 01:17 CDT
Discover the Universe including the Big Bang, dark matter, dark energy, galaxies, life and more in this video of class 13 of Bruce Betts' Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy class.
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2014/05/01 05:31 CDT
Explore the physical characteristics and inner workings of the Sun and then learn all about Stars and Stellar Evolution in this video of class 12 of Bruce Betts' Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy class.
Posted by Bruce Betts on 2014/04/25 04:30 CDT
Learn about the formation and origin of the Solar System and go beyond our neighborhood to investigate exoplanets (planets around other stars) in this video of class 11 of Bruce Betts' Introduction to Planetary Science and Astronomy class.
Posted by ESA Mars Express Team on 2014/03/31 05:46 CDT
Hubble has taken some great new images of our 'friend,' Comet Siding Spring, due to pass by Mars at less than 136,000 km on October 19 – less than half the distance between Earth and our moon.
The astronomy world is all a-twitter this morning over the discovery of a new supernova in M82, a galaxy that's in our astronomical backyard, "only" 12 million light-years away. And early word is that it appears to be a Type Ia supernova, the kind that's used as a standard candle to measure the expansion of the universe.
It's time to reassess Europa exploration, past, present and future. The Destination Europa! session at AGU, inspired by the eponymous website and movement, didn't take exactly that message as its theme, but it's what I got from the presentations. What an ELECTRIFYING meeting this has been for Europa exploration!
Can features on Neptune be observed by amateur astronomers? For years, the Hubble Space Telescope and some professional terrestrial observatories have been revealing incomplete belts and spots on the surface of Neptune. Now, spots have been imaged by amateurs.
It’s been a long time since anyone paid Uranus a visit. The Uranus system is, however, fascinating, as evidenced by the wealth of topics covered by the diverse group of planetary scientists who gathered to discuss it last week at the Paris Observatory.
Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/09/05 11:14 CDT
In an enthralling article for Esquire magazine, astronaut Mike Massimino writes about nearly failing to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and how the people of Earth came to his rescue.
Despite the fact that Voyager 2 returned relatively few high-resolution images from either Uranus or Neptune, there are many more photos in the archives than regularly make it to public view.
Astronomy Enters a New Era
Join us for a live webcast about thrilling new tools that will come online in the next decade.
A live conversation about just a few of the powerful new instruments that will revolutionize our knowledge of the cosmos once again.
My guest this was Planetary Society Board vice president Heidi Hammel. We discussed two planets near and dear to our hearts, Neptune and Uranus. What's new on these icy worlds since Voyager 2 passed by, and what are the prospects for their future exploration?
Last week, I posted an explainer on why Hubble's images of galaxies show so much more detail than its images of Pluto. Then I set you all a homework problem: when will New Horizons be able to see Pluto better than Hubble does? Here's the answer.
How come Hubble's pictures of galaxies billions of light years away are so beautifully detailed, yet the pictures of Pluto, which is so much closer, are just little blobs? I get asked this question, or variations of it, a lot. Here's an explainer. | <urn:uuid:8241e09b-2349-4794-810b-1205b1d73549> | {
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If it’s true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, then Omar Badr* wants nothing to do with apples. For him, his illness is his only source of income.
At almost 65, Badr has never had any stable work. He acquired some handiwork skills, allowing him to fix people’s various wares, but has otherwise only worked irregular jobs.
Residing with his family in Cairo, he lives day to day, doing his best to feed his four sons and 15 grandchildren, whose fathers have been unable to find work.
In his old age, and due to over-exertion, Badr has developed various illnesses, including diabetes, renal failure, as well as an auto-immune illness.
While seeking free-of-cost treatment in public hospitals, he discovered an opportunity to make a little money from his illness.
Mutually Beneficial Trade-Offs
At teaching and university hospitals, patients place themselves at the disposal of university students, allowing them to study their cases and diagnose them. In doing so, the patients discovered an opportunity, exploiting the desperation of students who would do anything to pass their examinations, including pay in cash.
The examinations in Egyptian medical schools include testing students on their ability to correctly diagnose patients based on the volunteering patient’s description.
Over time, the patients acquire a degree of expertise with regards to their scientific diagnoses, after hearing them scores of times from the doctors and students. In turn, they begin bargaining with the new students to give them the correct diagnosis, in exchange for some cash.
At the beginning, the students would give them small amounts of cash out of pity, but eventually, they began paying the patients off if they were unable to arrive at the correct diagnoses.
For these down-and-out patients in Egypt, illness is their most prized treasure.
Medical students who want to pass their exams in Egypt are often at the mercy of patients.
In more recent days, Badr has the ultimate power to decide how much he would like to charge for the correct diagnosis, along with many others like him.
Mona*, a fifth-year medical student at Ain Shams University, says the phenomenon of underprivileged patients charging students is just business as usual.
“We need them in all the practical departments, whether those associated with the university or the ones we learn about in private tuitions,” she tells Raseef22.
She further affirms that students require the patients’ “assistance” in examinations, saying: “They have learned the scientific diagnoses for their conditions better than any student, given the number of times they have heard them from professors.”
According to her own experience, Mona divides these patients into two camps; the full-time patients, who have the time to stay at the hospital 24/7, and those who live outside of Cairo, and therefore cannot dedicate all their time to this “profession”.
In many cases, treating such patients requires only a simple, straightforward procedure, but the patients refuse the treatment, hoping to squeeze the source of income for as long as possible.
Patients earn about 500 Egyptian pounds ($27) per week—the equivalent of an average public servant’s salary—fluctuating in accordance with the rates they set.
In reality, the 500 pounds are just enough to meet Badr’s family’s basic requirements for food and other needs. Yet, nonetheless, such patients think of the income as an indispensable blessing.
After teaching hours, once these patients leave the hospitals, finding no more students to bargain with, they move on to private training circuits, in which professors charge students for training.
In these circuits, the patients’ payment is almost doubled, charging 30 Egyptian pounds from 30 students in each tuition. Given that the patient’s presence is crucial, the professor must ensure that his/her payment is worthwhile.
No Haggling Allowed
Heba*, a medical student at Helwan University, says that during practical examinations, patients do not only help by providing the correct diagnoses—at times, the patients will undertake the examinations for the students themselves.
Having acquired the expertise to describe their conditions with a great deal of precision, Heba notes that “we are no longer surprised to find a smattering of English words in the patient’s answers to questions, having heard these words from the professors previously, as well as medical terms that we as students find to be complicated”.
During the practical examinations, the professor leaves the room, allowing the student and the patient some alone time. Should a student insist that they do not wish for the patients’ assistance, the latter may retaliate by providing them with incorrect symptoms, to ensure that the student cannot properly diagnose him/her alone.
However, in Badr’s case, he is sensitive toward the students’ socio-economic status, and given that some of them also come from low-income families, he provides a discount, asking for 50 to 100 Egyptian pounds to help them.
However, other patients refuse to bargain or haggle over prices. Another medical student, Hoda, learned this the hard way, when she bargained with a patient who asked her for 100 pounds to answer her questions. Hoda later learned that the patient had agreed to a lower price, but then gave her wrong answers, seeking to knock off the same percentage off her overall grade that Hoda had knocked off the price.
Moreover, Mahmoud Salah, a student at Helwan University, recalls that one patient asked a student for the gold ring she was wearing. She threatened to give her incorrect information about her condition if she refused, ensuring that the student couldn’t even rely on her own skills to arrive at the correct conclusion.
The student was forced to accept, but henceforth, students ensured that they wouldn’t attend examinations with jewelry.
In a country where the medical profession continues to be the most esteemed traditionally, about 12,000 medical students graduate every year.
It is nearly impossible to discern the students passed on their own skills from those who received the patients’ assistance, and in turn whether they are truly capable of diagnosing illnesses.
Salah and his colleagues know that this exchange system between students and patients is educationally counterproductive, but patients have imposed their dominance, making it nearly impossible to escape their demands.
Moreover, he notes that the overwhelming majority are more concerned with the short-term target of passing their exams, preferring to worry about the repercussions later.
As for the patients, the majority of them are destitute, crushed by untenable economic conditions, amid skyrocketing prices and overwhelmingly low wages. Thus, they are left bargaining with their health as a last resort to earn some cash.
“Nobody would sanction this kind of work,” Badr tells Raseef22, however noting that he has no choice. He has no wish to recover, noting that the only true comfort would be in a quiet death that would absolve him of his suffering and responsibilities. | <urn:uuid:1ff2926d-d129-4e9e-9dd8-c6c9fb555b72> | {
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The NEH-funded film by Stephen Ives, Reporting America at War, explores the role of American journalists from San Juan Hill to the Persian Gulf in a three-hour documentary that tells the dramatic and often surprising stories of the reporters who wrote the news from the battlefield.
The Project is an on-going oral history project from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, dedicated to collecting and preserving the experiences of thousands of American veterans. It also includes the stories of U.S. citizen civilians actively involved in supporting the war effort.
David Grubin’s landmark documentary series explores 350 years of Jewish American history. This quintessentially American story chronicles the struggle of a tiny minority who make their way into the American mainstream while, at the same time, maintaining a sense of their own identity as Jews. It includes essays on Jewish life in America, video clips, and resources for educators.
David Grubin’s landmark documentary series explores 350 years of Jewish American history. This story chronicles the struggle of a tiny minority who make their way into the American mainstream while, at the same time, maintaining a sense of their own identity as Jews. It includes essays on Jewish Life in America, video clips, and resources for educators.
A resource developed from NEH Summer Institutes held at Salem State University that explore early American art and culture. The website assists teachers of American history, literature, art, geography, social studies, American studies, and other fields who wish to incorporate American art into their classrooms. It includes podcasts, unit plans, and print and electronic bibliographies.
Since 2005, the National Endowment for the Humanities has made National Digital Newspaper (NDNP) awards to enhance the study of American history. These awards enable cultural heritage institutions to join the NDNP for the purpose of selecting, digitizing, and delivering approximately 100,000 newspaper pages per award to the Library of Congress. The National Endowment for the Humanities has solicited proposals for both initial awards to new institutions as well as continuing awards to returning partners annually since 2005.
National History Day makes history come alive for America's youth by engaging them in the discovery of the historic, cultural and social experiences of the past. Through hands-on experiences and presentations, today's youth are better able to inform the present and shape the future. NHD inspires children through exciting competitions and transforms teaching through project-based curriculum and instruction.
Chronicling America provides free access to millions of historic American newspaper pages. Listed at these links are topics widely covered in the American press of the time. Chronicling America will be adding more topics on a regular basis. To find out what's new, sign up for Chronicling America’s weekly notification service, that highlights interesting content on the site and lets you know when new newspapers and topics are added. | <urn:uuid:f02d4880-8023-4baa-9694-046f5243fd12> | {
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The Wizard of Oz as An Economic Parable: A Short Introduction
This might be common knowledge or it might not be. Some economics textbook claim this is a wonderfully esoteric nugget: The story of Oz was an economic parable. Take that, all you who said economics can’t be fun.
Redistributions of wealth caused by unexpected changes in the price level are often a source of political turmoil. From 1880 to 1896 the price level in the United States fell 23 percent. This deflation was good for Haves (creditors – primarily the bankers of the Northeast), but it was bad for Have-Nots (debtors – primarily the farmers of the South and West). The deflation was blamed almost exclusively on the now notorious Gold Standard and a proposed move towards Silver was instead the craved for alternative.
The Silver issue dominated the presidential election of 1896. William McKinley, the Republican nominee, campaigned on a platform of preserving the gold standard.
William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee, ranged boldly against Gold and for Silver. In a famous speech, Bryan proclaimed, “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.’’
Not surprisingly, McKinley was the candidate of the conservative eastern establishment, whereas Bryan was the candidate of the southern and western populists.
Then came The Wizard of Oz.
The midwestern journalist, L. Frank Baum tells the story of Dorothy, a girl lost in a strange land far from her home in Kansas. Dorothy (representing traditional American values) makes three friends: a scarecrow (the farmer), a tin woodman (the industrial worker), and a lion whose roar exceeds his might (William Jennings Bryan). Together, the four of them make their way along a perilous yellow brick road (the gold standard), hoping to find the Wizard who will help Dorothy return home.
Eventually they arrive in Oz (Washington), where everyone sees the world through green glasses (money). The Wizard (William McKinley) tries to be all things to all people but turns out to be a fraud.
Dorothy’s problem is solved only when she learns about the magical power of her (otherwise ordinary) silver slippers. (Unfortunately the movie forgot the parable and omitted the silver slippers – thus depriving the majority of the audience of the real delight in the victory!)
The Republicans (The Wizard) won the election of 1896, and the United States stayed on a gold standard, but the Free Silver advocates got the inflation that they wanted after gold was discovered in Alaska, Australia, and South Africa. Even later, Gold was abandoned altogether and the fraudster wizards was never heard from again. Dorothy and Baum had the last laugh over the unwanted magical oppression of the Yellow Brick Road and the green-tinted world. Well, at least from the road.
- Follow the Yellow Brick Road- Resources on L. Frank Baum (costumesupercenter.com)
- Populism, Politics, and Oz (kc2167blog.wordpress.com)
- Comparisons Between the Wizard of Oz and Oz the Great and Powerful (wholesalecostumeclub.com)
- How Many Silver Stackers Will Turn The Tide? (silveristhenew.com) | <urn:uuid:a01fb892-d831-46b3-b271-b9cf88e15ed1> | {
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Our Covenantal Responsibilities
This week's parashah reminds us of our sacred obligations to those who are still languishing in oppression.
This commentary is provided by special arrangement with American Jewish World Service. To learn more, visit www.ajws.org.
As slaves living under Pharaoh's law, the Israelites existed in a society which neither recognized the value of their beliefs, nor honored their inherent dignity as human beings. Though they received food and shelter, these were given in the most meager amounts.
In Parshat B'ha'alotkha, just a weeks after their liberation from slavery, the Israelites prepare to offer their Passover sacrifice to God. Representing a unique moment in the history of the Jews, this sacrifice commemorates both our people's liberation from slavery, as well as our communal redemption by God.
Standing at Sinai, amidst peels of thunder, the Israelites entered into a covenant with God and agreed to accept God's laws. Now in a covenantal relationship with God, their new obligations and responsibilities became central to their existence and identity as Israelites.
By the very definition of "covenant," the Israelites at that moment became partners with God. As a people living in a sacred covenant, they assumed numerous responsibilities and obligations both as individuals and as a community. The Israelites were individually accountable for their actions and their failures to act, for their words and their deeds.
Like our ancestors, we as modern Jews are personally and communally accountable for what we say and what we do. Above all else, this is the sacred inheritance that is passed from generation to generation.
Oppression Still Remains
In Egypt, the Israelites were oppressed and enslaved by Pharaoh. Although the world has changed immensely since that time, the existence of oppression and strife remains. "Pharaohs," oppressive forces, abound in today's world. Leaders, such as Sudan's General Omar Al Bashir, are one modern form of oppressor.
Despite international pressure, Al Bashir continues to perpetrate genocide against the people of Darfur.The Janjaweed, militias supported by Bashir's government, visit violence, destruction, and rape upon the civilian population. They have slaughtered hundreds of thousands and left millions of refugees faced with depravation, poverty, and despair.
Other modern forces of oppression take a less tangible shape. Around the globe, trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) continue to rob farmers of their livelihood. Due to these agreements, some families are pushed out of subsistence farming and reduced to poverty.
All of these forms of oppression remain in existence in part due to public apathy. In some ways the most difficult challenge to overcome, apathy legitimates the other modern "pharaohs" by helping them reign unchallenged.
Did you like this article? MyJewishLearning is a not-for-profit organization. | <urn:uuid:50f62aea-f9ba-4e07-8eeb-a7295a727c64> | {
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Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline)
- Vomeronasal receptor Template:InterPro are located in the Vemeronasal organ.The vomeronasal sensory cells form in the olfactory placode along with other sensory olfaction neurons. The vomeronasal sensory neurons communicate with the hypothalamus to change neuroendocrine function. These sensory receptors are often referred to as pheromone receptors since vomeronasal receptors have been tied to detecting pheromones. Five such receptors have been identified.
The receptor cells are G-protein-coupled receptors which detect the pheromones, which are frequently referred to as pheromone receptors. The receptor neurons possess apical microvilli whose axons merge together to form VN nerves which move from the paired olfactory bulbs to the main olfactory bulb, entering the posterior dorsal aspect through the AOB. There have been two different G-protein-coupled receptors identified in the VNO, each found in distinct regions. These are V1 and V2. V1 and V2 are seven transmembrane receptors which are not closely related to the main olfactory receptors.
- V1 receptors, V1Rs, are linked to the G protein, Gαi2. V1Rs are located on the apical compartment of the VNO. They have a relatively short NH2 terminal and have a great sequence diversity in their transmembrane domains.
- V2 receptors, V2Rs, are linked to the G-protein, Gαo. These have long extracellular NH2 terminals which are thought to be the binding domain for pheomonal molecules. V2Rs make up a large family of around 140 different genes that are known for this long extracellular amino terminus. V2Rs are located on the basal compartment of the VNO. V2R genes can be grouped in to four separate families, termed A, B, C (also known as V2R2), and D. Family C V2Rs are quite distinct from the other families and they are expressed in all basal neurons of the VNO.
The vomeronasal organ’s sensory neurons act on a different signaling pathway than that of the main olfactory system’s sensory neurons.
- The main olfactory system signals using G protein-coupled receptors that activate adenylyl cyclase which opens cyclic nucleotide gated ion channels (CNGs).
- The vomeronasal organ’s sensory neurons, however, activates 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) signaling upon stimulation by pheromones.
Upon stimulation activated by pheromones, IP3 production has been shown to increase in VNO membranes in many animals, while adenylyl cyclase and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) remain unaltered. This trend has been shown in many animals, such as the hamster, the pig, the rat, and the garter snake upon introduction of vaginal or seminal secretions into the environment.
V1Rs and V2Rs are suggested to be activated by distinct ligands or pheromones. The evidence that Gi and Go proteins are activated upon stimulation via different pheromones supports this. | <urn:uuid:1c6ea633-4087-426d-8fd9-e71911ea2612> | {
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Just why are viruses harmful? Because they cause damage to your computer components just the way biological viruses are harmful to humans.
Some viruses can be harmless but annoying when they send silly messages or when they crash your computer system. But there are many viruses that can do great harm such as deleting the files that you need to run certain programs or to perform OS tasks. And some viruses pave the way for future attacks by opening up your computer and administrative functions.
Fighting viruses is simple: you need to install software that is called “antivirus” software. You’ll need to keep this software up to date and always running on your computer. As well, never open up email attachments from sources you don’t know.
Still, the odds are that one day your computer system will become virus infected. You’ll lose crucial data and programs. Files on your operating system will become zapped. So now what do you do?
The first thing to remember is not to panic. You might not even have a virus. Before you find a cure you need to find out if you have a virus and just what virus it is.
If your computer is still functioning, and you can access the Internet, you’ll need to look for known and current viruses. Do a manual scan on your system and look for infected files and virus programs in your computer file system. Remember to search the computer memory as well since viruses can hide there.
Take the time to test several operating functions and programs. Something can go wrong with just one component. This method isn’t fool proof but the virus might just have attacked certain functions and programs.
If your computer isn’t functioning you’ll have to reboot with the use of an antivirus CD or disk. Did you prepare a boot disk? If not you need to go back to step 0 – before the attack – and do the following: (1) create an antivirus CD and disk to boot your computer, (2) make copies of any software you have on your computer or organize the original versions, and (3) backup all your important files and data.
Scan your computer system once you’ve rebooted using the CD or disk. Search for the infected files or virus. If you find that you really have a virus infection then you’re on to the next phase.
If you’re using Windows there is a boot option that you can use called “Last Known Good Configuration”. This option usually doesn’t help but you may be lucky. Once you reboot your computer again you won’t be able to use this option.
If you’re using Windows you can check the dates of some of your main operating system files if they exist. The list is too long to mention here. Look at Microsoft’s website for something called “Operating System Files”. Or you can make a list on your own by using the WINNT directory and System32 subdirectory that can be found on a different computer. The dates need to match the other files so that you get the same service pack level.
You need to particularly check the lsass.exe and kernel32.exe. This is because hackers like to mess with them. You might find Microsoft updates but they usually are available in bunches. Anyone that has a different date should be under suspicion. No one ever said that this would be easy. To some degree Windows has some self protection functions and the ability to self-heal but this is nowhere near ideal. You need to replace damaged files with new ones.
If you’re a Windows user you may have a Registry that has been corrupted. There are some tools that you can use to fix this. Do an Internet search on “Windows Registry repair utilities” for results. Then choose a utility for your Windows version. There will be no recommendation mentioned here since in six months it will out of date. Internet forums can be useful for finding opinions on updating versions.
If the virus has infected a program – such as software for word processing, the browser, or your email – you can uninstall the program and reinstall it. This can be annoying but is easy to do. Most programs will avoid deleting any data files that you have created by prompting you first.
The worst thing that can happen is that you lose data that you haven’t backed up. There are some Data Recovery services that you can hire to try to get this data back again. These services can cost a lot but your data might be worth the cost. You might be able to get some of your data back even if it seems gone forever.
Best of luck with viruses…since we’ve all had one at one time or another. | <urn:uuid:5b702b36-67da-484b-a513-cf3f8902c93c> | {
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"English poetic education should, really, begin not with Canterbury Tales, not with the Odyssey, not even with Genesis, but with the Song of Amergin." - Robert Graves
It is true that Lady Gregory's translation of the Song of Amergin, provided to us by Cyrus, is probably the most common version and the most widely accepted. Unfortunately, while technically accurate, her version of this beautiful lay is perhaps too literal, and leaves out many of the verse's subtleties of imagery and of meaning.
Because the original verse expressed itself largely through kennings (poetical metaphors or idioms), there is quite a bit of room for interpretation. While we can conjecture on the meaning of these devices, it is likely that there are hidden meanings which we cannot fully understand. Below follows the original Celtic text, with literal and poetic translations of each line, and some ideas as to their deeper meaning.
It is important to keep in mind throughout the reading of this verse that, while Amergin refers to himself in each line, he is only referring to himself as an individual in the most superficial sense. He is really emphasizing his role, that of poet and bard, and even beyond that, the poet in each of us. The non-rational, inspirational being in us, the part where spontaneous creation of ideas from nothing takes place, the voice of the god in everyone that makes us human.
Am gaeth i nmuiv | I am wind on the sea | I am the wind that blows over the Sea
Am tond trethan | I am an ocean wave | I am the Wave of the Ocean
Am fuaim mara | I am the roar of the sea | I am the thundering Roar of the Deep
This first triad of lines dwells on the ocean. The ocean was obviously an integral part of life for the Milesians, and had been for the entire life of their people. They sailed from land to land, and wandered on the sea for years. The sea brought them to their home in Iberia, and most importantly, to their true home of Ireland. By these lines, Amergin is saying that it is the poet that brought them to Ireland. The wind on the sea and the waves of the ocean are what physically moved their ships. The roar of the deep is the sea's voice, the inspiration for the journey. The poet's calling.
Am dam secht | I am the bull of seven | I am the Bull of seven battles
ndirend | battles |
Amergin switches now to animal metaphors, as they convey a greater sense of life, vitality and immediacy than the vast, immortal ocean. The bull or ox is a symbol of the male aspect of creation, it gives the seed which the fertile female receives and uses to make new life. It is also a symbol of stamina and endurance, which is strengthened further by seven battles. This is used to show trials which have been endured by the poet and his people, through which they have emerged victorious. The poet suffers, the poet endures, the poet triumphs.
Am seig i naill | I am a bird of prey on | I am a Hawk upon the cliffside
| the rocks |
The bird of prey, sometimes translated as hawk, eagle or vulture, waits and watches. The image is of the bird on the rocks, looking out over the ocean, patiently waiting for an opportunity. This refers partially to Ith's original vision of Ireland from a tower overlooking the sea. Here, Amergin speaks again of inspiration, claiming it as the source of their journey: Inspiration brought us here. The poet waits, the poet watches for inspiration every moment, and when it reveals itself, the poet swoops down upon it swiftly before it escapes.
Am der greine | I am a drop of the sun | I am a Tear the sun lets fall
The sun is also a giver of life. It gives life by giving light, by enlightening. The sun reveals things that would otherwise remain cloaked in darkness. So also does the poet. The poetic side of us sees things that the practical side does not, it finds beauty in the most mundane and common objects and events. This line is about vision. It tells us to listen to the poet in us, as it will show us things we would never see otherwise. The poet sees, the poet reveals, the poet enlightens.
Am cain luboi | I am a law of union | I am a Flower among a sea of grass
This is an interesting line. Taken literally, it is quite incongruous and makes very little sense. However, linguistics suggest double meanings for the words chosen here, and imply connections with plants. This is strengthened by the previous line about a drop of the sun, which uses elements of both water and light, the two primary things plants need to live. The literal translation stresses the poet's role of unifying his people, inspiring them all to believe in a shared vision. At the same time, the idiomatic translation of a flower among plants stresses individuality and sameness simultaneously. A flower is a plant, and in that sense connected or related to the plants and grasses around it, but yet it is still different and unique. Here, Amergin means to convey that, while we all have traits which set us apart, we are all the same on some level. The poet lives in each of us.
Am torc ar gail | I am a wild boar in valor | I am a Wild Boar in valor
The wild boar is the quintessential Irish symbol of life and raw power. Hunting deer was a sport, but hunting wild boar was a trial, a battle from which you were not guaranteed to return. The boar was dangerous not only because of its size and strength, but because of its sheer unpredictability. A boar which fled into the underbrush one moment might turn and charge you the next. This unpredictability was part of the poetic spirit as well. When inspiration strikes, there is no way of knowing what form it will take, or how it will manifest itself. The poet must recognize inspiration and utilize it.
Am he i llind | I am a salmon in water | I am a Salmon in the deep river
In the Irish folk tradition, the salmon represented wisdom and knowledge. Finn mac Cumhail ate of a salmon to gain his gift of foresight and prophesy. The salmon also bore the connotation of great age and ancient connections, as in the story of Tuan mac Cairill, who survived from Partholonian to Christian times by reincarnating into many forms, the last of which was a salmon. The implication in this line is not simply that the poet or bard himself was wise in his own right, but more that he was wise because of his connection to ancient wisdom and knowledge, passed down among bards from generation to generation. The poet's relationship to this communal well of knowledge is what made him wise. As people, we must ensure that the poet in each of us maintains this connection. The poet brings the past into the present.
Am loch i nmaig | I am a lake in the plain | I am a Lake in the emerald plain
This line complements the previous. While it is important to compile and remember ancient knowledge, it is equally important to continue acquiring new knowledge, making new observations, learning new things. A lake is a repository into which water flows from many sources. Rivers, streams, rain, all of these contribute to the whole of the lake. This communal pool of knowledge then nourishes a diverse community of life. So must the poet remain open to all sources of inspiration and learning, that he or she may share them with others, nourishing them and helping them to grow. The poet brings the present into the future.
Am bri a ndai | I am the word of man | I am the Craft of the artisan
The words "the word of man" in this line are sometimes interpreted as "the strength of art" or "the work of the artist". Regardless, what Amergin is saying here is that poetry isn't just about words. If you are a sculptor, or a weaponsmith, or a vintner, what you create, be it statues, swords or wine, is your own poetry, your own means of expression. We are all poets, we all have creative visions inside of us, we simply realize them in our own ways. The poet speaks through all of us in our own unique language.
Am bri danai | I am the word of creation | I am the Voice of science
When considering this line, it is important to remember that in this point in prehistory, science was still in its infancy. It was about simple machines, wheels, gears, screws, planes, levers. The forces which governed these devices were not understood. People knew they worked, but they really didn't know why. As such, science was a lot more mysterious and, in a sense, godlike. In fact, the word "danai" is very close to "Danu", the name of the Celtic mother goddess. Those who had some grasp of the forces at work, who understood them enough to find ways to apply them, were considered to be divinely inspired. Here, Amergin says that this, too, is the work of the poet, that even science is a kind of poetry. Most of the true great leaps in science are a result of inspiration rather than deduction, and as Amergin has already shown us, inspiration is the demesne of the poet in us. Respect the poet; the poet creates something from nothing.
Am gai i fodb | I am the point of a spear | I am a Spear-point in the fury of battle
feras feochtu | in battle |
Poetry can be a weapon. As the cliché states, "the pen is mightier than the sword". In Celtic society, history was preserved orally. And as events both current and historical have taught us, a person is often remembered more for his or her one big blunder than for any number of great deeds. Bardic satire was one of the most feared weapons in these times. A moment of fear in battle could have someone remembered forever as a coward, no matter how many other battles he had won. In this sense, the pen clearly does outmatch the sword, one satirized failure outweighing a dozen hard-fought victories. Respect the poet; the poet creates nothing from something.
Am De delbas do | I am the God who makes | I am the God that kindles the fire of
chind codnu | fire in the mind | thought in the minds of men
This line brings closure, binding together the rest of the ideas that have been presented. The poet is a god not in the individual sense, but in a communal sense. Poetry is divine, it is inspiration, the creation of original thought from nothing, and it speaks to each of us in its own way. It kindles the fire of thought in our minds. In today's world, we speak of AI as Artificial Intelligence, computers that can learn. While this is being achieved, there is no talk of AI as Artificial Inspiration, computers that can make the divine leap from nothing to something. A computer can compose a poem, but no computer can create poetry. This is what sets us apart from everything else in our world - not technology and deduction, but poetry and inspiration.
Unfortunately, I do not have the original Celtic version of the last three lines in the Song of Amergin. If anyone does have them, I would be delighted if you would share them with me. Nonetheless, we can examine these lines and their meaning relative to the rest of the lay.
In Lady Gregory's translation, the first line is "Who spreads light in the gathering on the hills?" Other translations express it as "Who knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen, if not I?" These are two very different lines, and they puzzled me until I came upon the translation "Who clears the stone-place of the mountain, if not I?" This version makes a connection, and basically asks what makes men gather on the hills to create the dolmens, if not poetic inspiration? This gives poetry a connection to religion as well, as dolmens were the ritual-places of the druids, the standing stones still seen across Ireland. What made the first druids think to erect these dolmens? Amergin suggests that it was their own inner poet, that religion is an expression of the same divine inspiration that creates song and art in our minds.
The next line is most often translated as "Who can tell the ages of the moon, if not I?" This is a clear reference to the bard's role as historian and preserver. Today we have written records of everything, and we don't need to rely on the oral preservation of history. However, the Celts would not begin to employ the written word for well over 1500 years after Amergin's landing. The ability to craft more memorable tales and verses from dry accounts and facts is truly an art, and one which requires poetic inspiration.
The final line returns to the poetic element in science: "Who reveals the sun's secret resting-place, if not I?" Revealing something which was once secret is learning, and thus Amergin reinforces the role of inspiration in science and learning. These three final lines reiterate what was spoken previously, and act as a sort of challenge to anyone thinking to refute his assertions. If divine inspiration is not the basis of religion, then what is? If it is not the basis of history, song and poetry (which were intimately connected in Celtic society), then what is? If it is not the basis of science and learning, then what is?
d'Arbois de Jubainville, a renowned turn of the century (19th to 20th, that is) scholar of Irish folk history, gives the following elaboration in his "Irish Mythological Cycle":
"There is a lack of order in this composition. The ideas, fundamental and subordinate, are jumbled together without method, but there is no doubt as to the meaning: the filé [poet] is the Word of Science, he is the god who gives to man the fire of thought; and as science is not distinct from its object, as God and Nature are but one, the being of the filé is mingled with the winds and the waves, with the wild animals and the warrior's arms."
In conclusion, a brief note about the end of Cyrus' previous write-up. He calls Amergin a druid and says that the poem is about what it means to be a druid. While the first is true, that Amergin was a druid, it was only true in part. The bards were an order of the druids charged with preservation of history through music and verse. These verses were also entertaining, and so bards served a dual role. However, the druidic "profession" (for lack of a better word) was much larger than this, containing a variety of other orders as well, including judges, diviners, sacrificers and more. The Song of Amergin is not really about what it means to be a druid, but rather what it means to be a poet. Since it has established that the poet lives in varying forms in all of us, it is applicable to druids, but is also applicable to everyone.
In other words, it's not about being a druid, it's about being human. | <urn:uuid:5f13a4ba-94a7-43cd-bc72-fbbf49fcc474> | {
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Confidence is the ability to trust or have faith in someone or something, including oneself. Parents hope to raise a confident child who will launch into becoming an independently functioning adult. Less confident children have higher rates of failure-to-launch.
In early stages of life, it is the responsibility of the parents to take a very directive approach to help shape the child’s understanding of right and wrong, and safe versus unsafe situations. If your toddler is carrying around a knife, you don’t have the time to stop them and reason with them about why this might be dangerous. You take the knife, and say something like, “Running with a knife can kill you! What the heck were you thinking? You can hurt yourself or someone else!”
With an adolescent, in order to provide confidence, you have to start taking more time than taking the quickest exit out of the discssuion. You have to reach inside of yourself and find more patience. A patient parent breeds a confident child. Use the skill of appreciative inquiry. You would need to ask the child what his or her thinking is, what is their strategy, so they get their feet wet in learning to think for themselves. Spending 10 minutes querying a child about how they came to a conclusion or why they are choosing to act in a particular way gives them the skill of brainstorming options and opens for them, one or more ways he/she could approach a situation differently.
Here are some tips to help you raise a confident child:
- Be directive with young children and inquiring with adolescents.
- Use Appreciative Inquiry: a gentle form of questioning that slowly “teases” out important information about your adolescent child.
- Have faith that you have done your job well, and give your child the chance to build his or her own confidence through trial and error. As a parent, you know when any error might present grave danger: in which case it is your duty to step in as a parent.
- Refrain from over-praising a child. They will not learn coping skills or resilience if they never have to face adversity.
- Be aware of when your child is demonstrating a false sense of confidence and ask more questions to help the child think more clearly.
- Support your child in exploring numerous resources about any challenge he or she is facing, rather than directly giving them the answers.
Confident children are not perfect children. They are children who know their limits, who are not afraid to fail, and learn from their mistakes. | <urn:uuid:ff270e56-5e56-4b85-948c-e3b95250ea5e> | {
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How much do you really know about William Shakespeare and his life?
He was a poet and a playwright, and is considered the greatest writer in the English language. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, in central England, in 1564 and he died in 1616.
His surviving work consists of 38 plays, 154 sonnets (a special type of poem with 14 lines) and some other poems.
He is best known for his plays, which have been translated into every major language and are performed more than those of any other playwright in the world.
When he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway, and they had 03 children. Shakespeare went to London to work as an actor and a writer. In 1599 the Globe Theatre was built there and it was in this theatre that some of Shakespeare's plays were first performed. In 1613 the theatre was destroyed by a fire. However, a modern reconstruction of the theatre was built near the original site in 1997 so even today you can go there to see one of his plays.
Shakespeare’s work is still very popular today. But why do we like these old plays? Possibly because they all contain fantastic stories. His characters suffer, die, have family fights, problems between brothers and sisters, or between parents and children ... The plays are also full of parties, weddings and funerals.
Here is a selection of Shakespeare’s plays.
1.-THE MERCHANT OF VENICE:
This play is about the idea that people usually get what they deserve in the end, good or bad. Antonio, a businessman, borrows money from Shylock, a money lender. If he doesn’t pay back in time, Shylock will cut off a piece of his body. Antonio loses all his business and must pay this terrible price … but is saved by love.
This play is about revenge and also about how difficult it is to take action sometimes. Hamlet’s father is murdered by another man, who then marries Hamlet’s mother. Everybody wants to see Hamlet dead. Hamlet must take revenge, but will he be able to? The famous quotation ‘To be or not to be, that is the question’ comes from this play.
3.-AS YOU LIKE IT
This play is a comedy about romantic love. There is a battle between two evil brothers and two good brothers. People hide in a beautiful forest. They fall in love, women disguise themselves as men, and there are many jokes, songs and games.
This is a history play about a famous English king, and a famous battle, Agincourt. We watch the preparations for the battle, the fighting and the results. There are questions in this play: Why do men fight? What are wars? Are they glorious or terrible?
WHICH PLAY WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? | <urn:uuid:c6812373-d882-4a77-8563-8472ff775d45> | {
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An African wild dog in the exhibit at Binder Park Zoo.
At the same time they were napping in the morning sun Thursday, Binder Park Zoo's African wild dogs were helping protect their species from extinction.
Researchers from James Cook University of Queensland, Australia, are working with multiple organizations to observe African wild dogs in zoos, collect biological samples and prepare a breeding program.
Dr. Femke Van den Berghe and Alex Vergara-Lansdell are spending 10 days at Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, and will return in August for another 10 days of study. ... | <urn:uuid:657f7c9c-d2bf-48a0-adfc-80fcf10d9e13> | {
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iii. DEFINING THE PERSIANS
E´thnos “people.” In the Histories the Persians are sometimes not exactly distinguishable from other peoples of their empire, especially when the Greeks’ opponents are simply qualified as “Persians.” The Persians generally are run together with the Medes, as can be recognized by Herodotus’s use of the terms mēdízein and mēdismós (Myres, 1936; Graf, 1984; Tuplin, 1994, 1997; Rollinger, 2003). He also states that the Persians have adopted Median attire (1.35; Armayor, 1978c, p. 5). Both Medes and Persians are qualified by Herodotus as an éthnos, and he lists six génea for each, respectively. (The génea may be understood as a descent group. For the use of éthnos and génea in Herodotus, see Jones, 1996; Tanck, 1997). The Median génea are: Boûsai, Parētakēnoí, Stroúxates, Arizantoí, Boúdioi, Mágoi (1.101). The Persian are Pasargádai, Maráphioi, Máspioi, Panthialaîoi, Dērousiaîoi, Germánioi (1.125.3-4; cf. Briant, 1984, pp. 102-18; Erbse, 1992, pp. 181-89; Schmitt, 1996). The first three Persian génea are the leading ones, of whom the Pasargádai are said to be the most noble (áristoi). Only for them Herodotus adduces a clan lineage group (phrḗtrē), which is called Axaimenídai (Schmitt, 1987), a distinctive part of whom are the Perseídai, the Persian kings (Rollinger, 1998 , p. 188). Herodotus does not provide a direct genealogical line leading from this dim and distant era into the historically clearer past. These Persian génea are qualified as farmers (arotḗres), but he also lists four nomadic ones: Dáoi, Márdoi, Dropikoí, Sagártioi. Later the Sagártioi are described as being Persian in speech but only half-Persian in respect to their war equipment (7.85.1). Thus Herodotus draws the picture of a stratified éthnos with different economic and social levels (Bichler, 2000b, p. 218).
History. According to Herodotus it was not until the appearance of Cyrus the Great that the Persians acquired a visible profile and emerged from the shadows of history. They thus came forth as actors in some of the monumental events in the history of Asia, involving several opposing and alternating imperial power factions, which were finally to merge within the imperium of Cyrus and his successors. (For the succession of [three] empires in history as an idea of Herodotus, see Wiesehöfer, 2003.) For these events the separation between an upper and a lower Asia, divided by the Halys River, plays an important part in the Histories. These territories had been occupied by Lydians and Assyrians in the past; with the decline of the Assyrians, the dominion was divided across upper Asia, with the Medes acting as the decisive force. A territory of the Babylonians remains shadowy (Bichler, 2000b, pp. 228-55; Liverani, 2003; Rollinger, 2003). Herodotus presents Persian history as primarily the history of the Persian kings from Cyrus to Xerxes with some glimpses also of the time of Artaxerxes I (Bichler, 2000b, pp. 366-77).
Mythical origins. In the Histories we catch a glimpse of a Greek tradition of myths, in the presentation of which Herdodotus must have played an essential part. There the great actors of Asia’s history are all connected with one another through relationships going back to legendary times. Just as Hesiod (F 35; R. Merkelbach and M. L. West, eds., Fragmenta Hesiodea, Oxford, 1967) pretended that Cepheus was the son-in-law of Perseus (Fehling, 1989, pp. 36 f.), so we sense that Herodotus believes in a connection based on folk etymology between Persians and Perseus, according to which the Persians were once called Kephenes by the Greeks, while they referred to themselves as Artaeans. Cepheus was presented as the father of Andromeda and father-in-law of Perseus. From the marriage of the latter, Perseus, the progenitor of the Persians, was said to have been born; and he was brought up by his maternal grandfather. Herodotus offers this mythical-genealogical reconstruction comparatively late, in the context of Xerxes’ military review (7.61.2-3; Bichler 2000b, pp. 255 f.; see also Vannicelli, 2001).
Customs. The nomoi of the Persians are treated in a minor logos (Histories 1.131-40).Herodotus’s description starts with the religious beliefs. The Persians have neither images of gods (ágalma; concerning the terminology, cf. Scheer, 2000, pp. 8-34) nor temples or altars. They deny anthropomorphism, and they pay homage to the elements—sun, moon, earth, fire, water, and wind. The only god they know from the beginning is Zeus, who is equated with the “firmament” (ho kýklos pâs toû ouranoû) and is worshipped on the tops of the mountains. Later also Aphrodite Urania received sacrifices, a practice which could have been adopted from the Assyrians and Arabs. Herodotus says the Persians call this female goddess Mitra (1.131). He stresses the differences from Greek religious behavior, with the Persians exhibiting a natural and primeval form of religion. It has long been noticed that, besides firmament, sun, and moon, Herodotus’s Persians adore the four fundamental elements of early Greek natural philosophy (cf. Wolff, 1934/1982, pp. 406-7; Burkert, 1990b, p. 21). The alleged denial of anthropomorphism has been questioned (Jacobs, 2001; see also Schnapp, 2000). The female Mitra has caused debate regarding Herodotus’s knowledge of Persian customs (cf. Rollinger and Hämeen-Anttila, 2001, pp. 93 f.; on the question of a confusion between Mitra and Anahita, see Corsten, 1991).
The sacrifices are in every respect opposite to Greek customs: no altars, no burnt offerings, no libations, no pipe music, no garlands, no sacrifical barleycorn (oulaí). The sacrificer takes the animal to a ritually pure place (xôros katharós), usually with myrtle branches on his tiara. He prays, not only for himself, but for all Persians and the king. The animal’s flesh is cut, boiled, and put on fresh grass, often clover. The Magus sings a theogony. Thereafter the sacrificer takes the flesh with him and does as he likes with it (1.132; cf. Dandamayev, 1985, p. 97; Briant, 1996, pp. 256-58; Bichler, 2000b, p. 219). Herodotus describes the rites that preceded Xerxes’ crossing of the Hellespont: The Persians wait for the rising sun. Then they burn incense (thymiḗmata) and strew myrtle branches on the road. Xerxes pours a libation from a golden drinking bowl (phiāˊle) and prays to the sun. Afterwards he throws the drinking bowl as well as a large bowl (kretḗr) and a Persian sword (akinákēs) into theHellespont (7.54).
Birthdays are celebrated with a special meal; on such occasions the richer people eat cow, horse, camel, and donkey meat. The Persians do not know many different kinds of main courses but have a lot of desserts (epiphorḗmata). Again the difference in comparison with Greek customs is underlined. Wine they like very much. To vomit or to urinate in the presence of others is prohibited. They are used to negotiating while in a drunken condition, but the decision is confirmed when they are sober, and vice versa (1.133; cf. Wolff, 1934/1982, p. 407; Bichler 2000b, p. 220; Mauritsch-Bein, 2002, pp. 80-93). In 3.22.4 Herodotus has the Ichthyophagi report to the king of the Ethiopians that the Persian king is used to eating bread (ártos) baked from wheat (pyrós). They also explain that in Persia no one becomes more than eighty years old.
When two individuals meet, the greeting formula expresses their equal or inequal status. They do not speak; rather, equals kiss each other on the mouth, inequals on the cheek; and they even practice obeisance (proskýnēsis). The closest neighboring peoples are the ones they most honor, for they take themselves to be the best (áristos) of all men and believe that excellence (aretḗ) diminishes with the distance from their homeland (1.134; cf. Bichler, 2000b, p. 226, who recognizes a projection of Greek ethnocentrism). Herodotus underscores the differences in status among the Persians in various parts of his work. For instance, noble Persians ride in litters (diphrophoreúmenoi [3.146.3]; Briant, 1996, pp. 235, 346-48; Bichler, 2000b, p. 220). In contrast to such luxury, Herodotus has already had Sandanis introduce the Persians’ homeland as a rough and barren one, where men wear leathern trousers and do not drink wine but water, where they do not eat as much as they want but as much as they have, and delicacies are practically unknown (1.71; cf. Bichler, 2000b, p. 222).
The Persians are very willingly to adopt foreign customs. They wear Median dress, and in war they use Egyptian breastplates (thṓrēx). They eagerly adopt all enjoy-ments and pleasures they get acquainted with. From the Greeks they learned paidophilia (1.135). They have many wedded wives (kouridíē gynḗ),as well as concubines (pallakḗ). While they regard fighting well in battle as the highest manly virtue, next to that, it is highy esteemed to have many children. Every year the king rewards the man who has the most children with a gift. Between the age of five and twenty the sons (paídes) are specially educated in three subjects: horsemanship, archery, and telling the truth. The younger boys have no contact with their fathers; they grow up with their mothers (1.136).
With the topic of legitimate polygamy Herodotus touches upon an allegedly characteristic aspect of Persian life; it is ubiquitous in the Histories and has a vivid Wirkungsgeschichte (Sancisi-Weerdenburg, 1983; Briant, 1989; Brosius, 1996). Delicate affairs are reported many times as being discussed in the king’s harem (cf. 3.68-69, 3.84.2, 3.130.4-5, 9.108-13). This is also true for the motif of the castration of young boys (cf. 3.92.1, 8.105.2), as well as for that of the presence of eunuchs at the king’s court (3.77.2). (Concerning the historical background of the eunuchs, cf. the different standpoints achieved by using classical or indigenous sources: Grayson, 1995 versus Deller, 1999. See further Briant, 1996, pp. 347-48; Hutzfeldt, 1999, pp. 99-100; Bichler, 2000b, pp. 220-21.)
The king is not allowed to have a Persian executed, and no Persian is allowed to do harm to his subjects. Each criminal case has to be checked accurately; and then punishment may be carried out only if the merits of a subject are considered to be less than his offences. Such an alleged usage (nomos), indicating the king’s limited rights in relation to his subjects, presents a vivid contrast to the behavior of later Persian kings such as Cambyses and Xerxes (Bichler, 2000b, pp. 224-25). Compare the Persians’ own statement that they do not know a single case of murdering father or mother (1.137); this may be considered as a critique of Greek tradition, in which Oedipus and Orestes appear as tragic heroes (Bichler, 2000b, p. 219).
The Persians are not allowed to even talk about matters which are forbidden. Lying (pseúdesthai) carries the highest blame, followed by indebtednesss (tò opheileîn xréos), because a debtor is forced to lie. If someone suffers from any kind of leprosy (léprēn ḕleúkēn), he is forbidden to enter the town or even to come into contact with other people. Illness is considered as resulting from a crime against the sun. They do not urinate or spit into rivers, and even washing one’s hands in rivers is regarded as a sacrilege, because rivers are worshipped (1.138; cf. Briant, 1996, pp. 277-78). In addition to the prohibition against debts, Herodotus later reports that the Persians are not even acquainted with buying and selling in markets (1.153.2; cf. Dandamayev, 1985, p. 96).
Herodotus mentions (1.139) an alleged Persian pecularity recognized by the Greeks but not by the Persians themselves. All proper names relating to the body or to nobility end on a sigma. This statement has long been taken as an indication of not very good knowledge about the Persian language. Herodotus’s popular etymologies of the names of the Persian kings Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes are similarly regarded (6.98.2; Schmitt, 1967, 1971; Schmeja, 1974, 1975; Harrison, 1998). Hegyi (1973) even concluded that Herodotus got most of his information on Persia and the Persians from a linguistically uniform source originating in western Anatolia.
Lastly, Herodotus reports the Persians’ burial customs, which they are said to keep secret. However, he at least could obtain the information that they expose their dead to dogs and birds before they are buried. All this is done by the Magi. Afterwards they cover the corpse in wax, and it is buried. The Magi are characterized by specific modes of behavior different from all other men. They are allowed to kill all living beings, except for dog and man, with their own hands. They vie in eating ants, snakes, all creeping things, and fowls of the air (1.140). (Cf. Briant, 1996, pp. 106-7, 538-39. Concerning the Magi see Schmitt, 1990; de Jong, 1997; Bremmer, 1999; Piras, 1999; Burkert, 2003, pp. 107-33.)
Besides these concentrated chapters on Persian nomoi, Herodotus also treats Persian customs in other parts of his work. In 3.2.2 he reports the importance of royal geneology. A bastard (nóthos) cannot become a Persian king (cf. Briant, 1996, p. 797). This point is to some degree supported later, where Herodotus notes that the Persians hold a royal lineage in esteem and thus prefer to appoint members of subjugated dynasties as satraps (3.15). When the Persian king goes to war, he first has to appoint another king according to the Persian nomos.The custom of marriage between brothers and sisters is described as having been introduced by Cambyses (3.31). Royal judges are selected Persians, who are appointed for their lifetime and who maintain the ancestral laws (thesmoì pátrioi). Their special function is to advise the king. The rotation of wives in the bedchamber seems a widely practiced custom (3.69.6). Women usually take part at meals, even when strangers are present (5.18.2). Every year the Persians commemorate their victory over the Medes by celebrating the feast of Magophonia (magophónia [3.79.3]; cf. Briant, 2001, p. 115). The Persians do not have to pay tribute (3.97.1; cf. Gschnitzer, 1988; Wiesehöfer, 1989). During wartime, a special council of war seems to have some importance (8.69). The Persian dress for war and the military equipment are described in 7.61. The elite troops are called the Ten Thousand (myríoi) or Immortals (athánatoi; 7.83). The orosángai constitute a circle of highly esteemed persons to whom the king presents special grants (3.85.3; Wiesehöfer, 1980). The king’s birthday is celebrated every year in a feast called tyktá (9.110-11; cf. Briant, 1996, pp. 330, 984). The Persian courier system, which the Persians called angarḗïon (8.98), is described in 8.98. (See also 3.126.2, where the courier is denoted angarḗïos. For the Persian road system, cf. Müller, 1987, 1997; Graf, 1994.)
Besides these minor “Persian Logoi” the Histories as a whole form a kind of major Persian Logos structured according to the Persian kings and certain important magnates.
Bibliography: See HERODOTUS xi. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Originally Published: December 15, 2003
Last Updated: March 22, 2012
This article is available in print.
Vol. XII, Fasc. 3, pp. 257-260 | <urn:uuid:ac7f0237-716d-4b1c-b6d7-089063c03e99> | {
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Posted by Jeff Edmondson
For some, growing a garden in the backyard is a challenge, but imagine growing one on your roof.
In this week's "Your Green Life" Meteorologist Jeff Edmondson checks up on a green roof that was planted just over a year ago.
What a difference a year can make...this green roof on the Yellow Jacket Student Union Building at the University of Wisconsin–Superior began with several different layers of material before the Sedum was planted.
"It has got a nice base layer; a lot of the other sedum plants are starting to sprout up and starting to propagate," said Tom Fennessey at UWS.
Besides some occasional irrigation, the UWS Green Roof has held up well.
"The roof has been performing excellently; it's the first year of the growing season, within a couple of years it is going to be fully matured, said Tom"
The staff says with full maturity the roof–top garden will be able to eliminate storm water runoff and even cut down on some of the energy used to heat and cool the interior.
"Its such a thick layer with soil and plantings it creates an excellent blanket for heating and cooling, it reduces our heating loads it reduces our cooling loads during the summer," said Tom.
Since the Student Union center opened in January, the staff has been gathering results to see how the energy usage matches up with that of other buildings on campus.
In Superior, Meteorologist Jeff Edmondson, the Northlands NewsCenter.
UWS staff says the reddish plants that are visible now will, by next summer, mature into tall green plants with four colors of blossoms. | <urn:uuid:7bac2327-bfb4-4b8c-9baa-8901ed7152b3> | {
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A studio is traditionally a place where apprentices learn under the tutelage of a professional artist or craftsperson. It is a workspace where one can practice and refine artistic techniques. Studios are typically messy and busy places. Indeed, Loris Malaguzzi, the philosophical founder of the Reggio approach, was adamant that “schools should be made of spaces where the hands of children could be active for messing about. With no possibility of boredom, hands and minds would engage each other with great liberating merriment in a way ordained by biology and evolution (Malaguzzi, 1998, pp. 73–74).
A Reggio-inspired studio is first and foremost a learning environment. It is not a curriculum, a technique, nor a sequence for building skills toward desired and pre-established outcomes. In a Reggio-inspired music studio, acquiring such skills as pitch matching, beat acquisition, rhythmic ability, and melodic accuracy are important, but these abilities are not the goal of studio activities. The music studio is based on the philosophical assumption that all children have a natural capacity to develop musical skills and abilities therefore these talents can be developed naturally while practicing and refining the art.
In Reggio terms, the studio is where children build an artistic vocabulary. This vocabulary is built by introducing key elements and processes of a particular art. As children become comfortable and familiar with the elements and processes, they begin to gain the ability to express ideas more fluently through the medium of that artistic language. In addition, aesthetics are particularly important for studio learning. Art studios, referred to in Italian as “ateliers,” are carefully set up to look inviting and pleasing to the eye, because in Reggio terms, the “environment is the third teacher.”
Malaguzzi, L. (1998). History, ideas, and basic philosophy. In C. P. Edwards, L. Gandani, & G. Forman (Eds.), The one hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia approach—Advanced reflections (pp. 49–97). Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing. | <urn:uuid:0c4cc8c6-2606-4271-a721-78d6728f5284> | {
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Pulitzer Prize Winners
Famous Canton Journalists
Canton has seen its share of successful writers and artists. Few have even been fortunate enough to win Pulitzer Prizes for their efforts in journalism and political cartooning.
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Don Mellett was born on September 26, 1891 in Elwood, Indiana to a family of which his father and five siblings all became journalists. After graduation from high school, he entered Indiana University where he edited The Daily Student. As editor he began a reform campaign to improve the water system of Bloomington and succeeded. After a stint with the Indianapolis News, and The National Enquirer, a prohibition newspaper, he moved his family to Akron, serving with the Akron Press. There he met James Cox, former Governor of Ohio and Democratic candidate for President. Cox persuaded him to come to the Canton Daily News. In several articles he called for reform in education, reform in hospitals, and reform in government. His attacks on underworld activity led to threats upon his life. On July 16, 1926, he was shot while putting his car in the garage. The ensuing reform led to the awarding of the Pulitzer Prize to the Canton Daily News in 1927. He is honored in the cornerstone of the Canton Daily News Building now housing the Canton Repository. He was entered into the Indiana Journalist Hall of Fame in 1969.
Charles R. Macauley
Charles Macauley was born in Canton, Ohio in 1871 and attended the public schools here. In 1890 he won an award for best cartoon in the Cleveland Press. He began his journalistic career with the Canton Repository, publishing cartoons in 1893 while he was working at the Hampden Watch Company in Canton. Hired by the Cleveland World he moved to Cleveland publishing cartoons in the Cleveland Press, and in 1894 and 1895 he published several cartoons in the Repository. He published cartoons for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1899, and 1900. In 1904 he moved to New York and published numerous articles for the New York Times, and cartoons for Judge Magazine and for the old Life. That year Macauley published his illustrated novel, Fantasmaland, a work similar to Alice in Wonderland. From 1906 to 1916 he was creating daily political cartoons for the New York World. He illustrated books for Joseph Conrad and Arthur Conan Doyle. He published another novel, Red Tavern, in 1914. Five years later he created a company, Charles R. Macauley Photoplays, which produced movies. One of his films, When Bearcat Went Dry, is one of the two oldest films surviving, now at the American Film Institute. And in 1929 while working with the Brooklyn Eagle, he cartooned a criticism of the Treaty of Versailles for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1930. He died in November of 1934.
Dale Raymond Wright
Born in Monongahela, Pa. Dale moved with his family to Canton and graduated from McKinley High School in 1941. After serving as a Marine in World War II, he returned to the United States and with the G.I. Bill attended Howard University and in 1950 graduated from Ohio State's School of Journalism. After stints as associated editor of Jet Magazine and Ebony Magazine, he pursued graduate courses in communication and business at NYU, Columbia University and the State University of New York. He wrote for the New York World Telegram ten articles on migrant work which led to reform in New York and New Jersey, and which led to a finalist for the Pulitzer in 1962. The articles were published later in the book, They Harvest Despair: The Migrant Farm Worker. He served as director of public relations for Mayor Koch, Senator Javits and Governor Nelson Rockefeller and while director of his own firm, Dale Wright Associates, he provided support for minority business in New York. He provided leadership for New York Commissions of Abuse Control, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity. Although he did not receive the Pulitzer, he was given Columbia's other prestigious award, the Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, the Society of the Silurian's Award and the Gentry Award for news writing.
All information contained on this page is believed to be accurate at the time of publication. The City of Canton is not responsible for its accuracy and does not guarantee the usability of the information contained on this page for any purpose. All feedback regarding this content, including content that is believed to be inaccurate or in violation of copyright law, should be directed to . All content is licensed for reproduction and duplication under Creative Commons license by content author: John A. Swartz, PhD. | <urn:uuid:75746b98-0338-4cee-907c-a1b291ccdee9> | {
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The Monumental Impulse
In The Monumental Impulse, art historian George Hersey investigates many ties between the biological sciences and the building arts. Hersey draws striking analogies between building types and animal species. He examines the relationship between physical structures and living organisms, from bridges to mosques, from molecules to mammals. Insects, mollusks, and birds are given separate chapters, and three final chapters focus on architectural form and biological reproduction. Hersey also discusses architecture in connection with the body's interior processes and shows how buildings may be said to reproduce, adapt, and evolve, like other inanimate or "nonbiotic" entities such as computer programs and robots.
About the Author
George Hersey is Emeritus Professor of Art History at Yale University. He is the author of numerous books, including The Evolution of Allure: Sexual Selection from the Medici Venus to the Incredible Hulk (MIT Press, 1996) and The Lost Meaning of Classical Architecture: Speculations on Ornament from Vitruvius to Venturi (MIT Press, 1988). | <urn:uuid:b82b7d90-f76c-44df-a406-259901849eb9> | {
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Why Do We Toast to Celebrate?
Humans have been giving toasts for as long as there’s been alcohol and an excuse to party with it. The Egyptians, Persians, and Huns did it. In the Odyssey—which was written over 2500 years ago—Ulysses toasted to the health of Achilles. But why did we start clinking glasses after a few good words?
There are plenty of theories. Some speculate that a toast drove away evil spirits. Others say it was strictly a paranoid habit, a way of making sure your drink wasn’t poisoned. (A hard “clink” would slosh the liquid around, contaminating everyone’s glass.) Neither is likely true. Although many of our traditions today were yesteryear’s way of warding off evil spirits, there’s no evidence that our ancestors toasted to drive away ghouls. And the poison theory is bunk because people have only been clinking glasses for 300 years—long after toasting was born
More likely, the tradition probably originated from ancient communal rituals, back when people drank from the same vessel called a “loving cup.” Over the centuries, people ditched the idea of drinking out of the same bowl in favor of drinking from individual glasses. It certainly improved everyone’s hygiene, but it dampened that unified feeling that came along with drinking from the same cup. So, to bring everything back together, people started raising their glasses and giving them a good tap. Bringing everyone’s glass together symbolized camaraderie, reuniting the drink as one.
Why Call it a Toast?
Starting in the 17th century, a piece of spiced bread was added to drinks to boost flavor. Unsurprisingly, that little piece of bread was called toast, although anything thrown into a glass was given the moniker. | <urn:uuid:148f9f6f-ebab-497c-8ed4-fdc614ab6cc5> | {
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Part 4 - Darwinists' Methods of Deception of the World - 5
10. Darwinists Try to Use the Similarities between Monkeys and Humans
We have already mentioned that Darwinism is based on a most simplistic logic and tends to account for life in a most superficial and facile way. As a result, one of Darwinists' most important propaganda tools are monkeys. Due to various aspects of their anatomical characteristics, monkeys really are created to be similar to be humans. These similarities are something that deceive most Darwinists, and thus lead them to mislead others.
In order to be able to make use of the similarity between humans and monkeys, Darwinists look at a monkey and emphasize various aspects of its behavior, such as use of tools or ability to learn. The aim is to supposedly legitimize the famous Darwinist deception that humans are descended from apes and cause people to form that impression. Once some people have been exposed to such conditioning, and go to the zoo or watch a documentary about monkeys, they develop a specific opinion along those lines. So influenced do they become by this Darwinist deception that they are easily able to believe that a living thing they see could easily turn into human being "if it grew a bit, shaved off its fur and ate better food." A few technical similarities laid the foundation for successful Darwinist conditioning. Programs about monkeys that have learned various primitive forms of behavior similar to those in human beings appear again and again on Darwinist TV stations and internet sites. Some viewers who see what a monkey can do when trained, and who have little knowledge of Darwinism, come to possess a completely erroneous perspective because of the Darwinist conditioning they are subjected to. Intelligent behavior exhibited by monkeys is shown over and over again in order to strengthen the propaganda regarding these creatures being man's supposed earliest forebears.
Yet this is just another Darwinist deception.
It is true that monkeys do have some characteristics that resemble those in humans. But this does not alter the fact that humans and monkeys are two completely different entities. By Allah's leave, so long as there are monkeys in this world they will never be anything other than monkeys. No matter how much they are trained they will never turn into humans with characteristics such as the ability to think, perceive, interpret, foresee, behave intelligently, make judgments, act in a planned and conscious manner or speak. No matter how much they repeat their efforts, monkeys will never be able to design airplanes, build skyscrapers, write poems or study human beings in the laboratory. No matter how much training they receive, they will never be able to design a project, or produce a superior civilization through reflection and planning. This is because a monkey is an entity with the anatomical features specially bestowed on it by Allah, but bereft of the ability to speak and, most importantly, bereft of the human consciousness, of mind and soul. The fact it has a few abilities is definitely not proof of the claim that it is the ancestor of man.
In making these claims, Darwinists try to make forget the main difference between humans and monkeys. Man is an entity capable of saying "I am," who is aware of his own existence and why he is created, who is capable of reflecting on the reason for his existence and of making judgments. For that reason, man is a totally different entity to other life forms. Compared with this, anatomical similarities and abilities have only a minor differential capacity. A conscious entity, aware of its own existence and capable of saying "this is me," cannot be accounted for in any materialist terms. No materialist account can explain a supposed transition from a life form unconscious and unaware of its own existence into one with a soul and aware of its existence. Darwinists can produce as much false evidence for this unscientific account as they wish (and all the fossils so far produced have been fraud), but they will never be able to account for the human soul and consciousness. That is what Darwinists do not wish to speak of and that inflicts total despair on them as they speak of the co-called evolution of man and try to impose a whole series of false skulls as evidence for this.
In addition to all this, there are other living things that display far more intelligent characteristics than monkeys, whose abilities Darwinists imagine are the greatest form of evidence. Crows, bees, beavers and termites sometimes behave far more intelligently than monkeys, and behave in a way that requires far more ability. For that reason, this claim based on ability and skills is totally misleading.
First and foremost, Darwinists need to account for what makes human beings human; how they are affected by what they see and hear, how they think about these, use reason, possess feelings such as respect, love and loyalty, and possess a soul that enables them to make decisions and judgments. This mindset, that believes in the absolute existence of matter and that regards human consciousness as simply a collection of neurons, is totally speechless in the face of the existence of the soul. For a long time now, Darwinists have been working on the origin of consciousness and on imaginary evolution; or, to put it another way, they have been producing propaganda methods on the subject. But since it is impossible for them to account for matter with a concept that has no material existence, or even to produce an alternative interpretation, they make no claims on that subject at all. Indeed, the origin of consciousness, the soul that makes human beings human, belongs to Allah. Allah has bestowed this as a blessing from Himself, and in this way has made humans different to other life forms. The Darwinist deception is speechless and baffled on this matter.
Allah reveals in the Qur'an that He creates man from His own Spirit:
He Who has created all things in the best possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay; then produced his seed from an extract of base fluid; then formed him and breathed His Spirit into him and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show! (Surat as-Sajda, 7-9)
An Intelligent Crow
Crows from the species Corvus moneduloides living on New Caledonia in the Pacific Islands are far superior to chimpanzees when it comes to making tools. Researchers investigating crows in their natural habitat on the island of New Caledonia in 2003 concluded that the knowledge of tools these animals employed revealed a "technological progress" handed down between generations and individuals. The final example of this miraculous behavior is the behavior of a crow called Betty studied in a laboratory in Oxford University.
Betty turned a metal rod into a tool by bending it, with no outside intervention. When her beak was unable to reach food at the bottle of a deep bowl, she found a metal rod for herself in the laboratory and bent the end, turning it into a hook. She was then easily able to extract the food. There is one very important point here that really amazed scientists; Betty was able to realize how the length and flexibility of a material she had never encountered before would be of use to her. She managed to bend that flexible material in a manner entirely appropriate to her needs. When scientists wishing to establish whether this achievement of Betty's was the work of coincidence tested the crow, she achieved the same success 9 times out of 10. The scientists stated that despite tiny Betty's brain she exhibited a level of intelligence far higher than that of chimpanzees. The BBC, which maintains its Darwinist prejudices, commented that "Betty has put our closest relatives to shame."
Betty is just one of many birds capable of "intelligent" behavior. Much research into this is going on is the scientific world. (For details see, The Miracle of Talking Birds by Harun Yahya) These all reveal that evolutionist claims about chimpanzee behavior are largely for propaganda purposes. All comments based on the intelligence of chimpanzees, and claims of a family link between human beings and chimpanzees, are obviously false.
11. Darwinists Try To Spread Their Visual Conditioning and Bewitchment
You have probably seen this in all Darwinist publications. For years, they attempted to portray Nebraska Man as the most important evidence for evolution. A familiar picture accompanies the articles written about this fictitious creature. An ape-man with a slight stoop, with his wife, habitat, the weapons he used for hunting etc. etc. So detailed is the picture that people have developed a sufficient mental image of this mythical entity. The Darwinist aim has been achieved for readers with little opportunity to do their own research and with little knowledge of the subject. Readers unaware of the Darwinist deception have easily been convinced of the existence of an ape-man living with his family in a primitive environment.
But this is not true.
The fictitious entity known as Nebraska Man was based on a single tooth. As we have already described in detail, the tooth in question belonged to a wild pig. In other words, a conviction formed by conditioning people with visual stimuli was produced on the basis of a molar tooth belonging to a wild pig. Images of the mythical family of Nebraska Man were then produced in some way from this pig tooth. To put it another way, enormous cheating went on, and people were blatantly lied to.
This method of conditioning is still going on. Pictures of fish starting to move from the sea onto dry land and whose fins are gradually turning into legs are total figments of the imagination. Darwinists use the same methods in order to make people believe in such a passage, which is devoid of any evidence. Placing a series of monkeys gradually becoming more and more erect and turning into humans alongside such reports in scientific journals or web sites carrying this deception makes it possible for the issue to be equated with evolution. Shown this report and accompanying visual indoctrination, any reader may perceive this as part of, or even evidence for evolution. Most of the time they do not even read the words in the reports, but these pictures reminiscent of evolution remain in their memories. The same people are subjected to the same conditioning from pictures of evolution placed alongside reports about cloning or the Human Genome Project, but which actually have nothing to do with it. The impression is given that any scientific progress in the Human Genome Project is actually scientific proof of evolution.
This fraudulent visual conditioning is a typical element of Darwinist propaganda. It is one of the most frequently employed psychological conditioning techniques. The fact remains, however, that elaborate reconstructions based on a fossil skull are just works of art that if nothing else, certainly reflect the imaginative powers of different artists. Just as in the example of Nebraska Man.
This had absolutely nothing to do with science. Not anything to do with evolution. All that is happening is fraudulent indoctrination rather than the production of any scientific evidence.
Jonathan Wells summarized this Darwinist fraud:
This remarkable set of drawings shows clearly how a single set of fossil bones can be reconstructed in a variety of ways. Someone looking for an intermediate form to plug into ape-to-human sequence could pick whichever drawing seems to fit best.
The reason why Darwinists can perpetrate such fraud so easily is that they can take fossils of extinct life forms, shape them as they wish, and give them whatever appearance they so choose. Darwinists use these reconstructions they manufacture so intensively that a book about evolution many volumes in size could be filled with these false pictures alone. Indeed, these reconstructions may be the only materials in the possession of a museum of natural history. They show people these false pictures and models over many years and give the impressions that the subject really once existed. Of course, many people who visit such museums may not admit to the possibility that everything exhibited in a museum of natural history, with official backing and supervised by professors and scientists, is actually a lie and a fraud. They may be affected in this way by what they see and form the opinion that such a mythical life form, with a tiny head, a huge jaw, a stooped gait and a body covered in hair must indeed once have existed. Many people there will not know, and will never investigate, that the subjects of these false statues and pictures never lived at all, that they are completely fraudulent, that not a single fossil remain exists to corroborate them and that, on the contrary, the fossil record totally refutes them. The conditioning they are subjected to is so powerful, and the people supporting it so eminent, that even questioning its veracity may seem utterly illogical to them. But in this way, they are constantly deceived, and a mendacious environment is created.
When people go to museums of natural history, they are generally shown such false models or drawings rather than the fossils themselves. Darwinists cannot produce fossils, because all fossils belong to perfectly formed entities. All fossils show that life forms millions of years ago were perfectly and fully formed. Moreover, fossils also show that present-day life forms were around millions of years ago, and have never changed since. This is why fossils, which should be a paleontology museums' sole reference material, are left out of the equation. Since all fossils prove the fact of Creation, Darwinists kept all the 300 million-plus fossils that had been found hidden away. They never put them on show or displayed them for people.
Darwinists also use various scientific magazines as tools for visual conditioning. Since Darwinist journals cannot provide any scientific evidence, they concentrate on propaganda instead. As a requirement of this propaganda, they regard it as sufficient to use striking cover designs, the colors used on the cover and inside pages, the photographs chosen and the language employed in order to send the desired message to the reader. The spell concealed under this mask ensures that the person reading the magazine will be influenced by its visual appearance and the photos within it, and hugely impressed by the strange, almost mystical Latin terminology employed in it.
Every opportunity, from advertising to movies, from music clips to song lyrics, cartoons, books and newspaper and magazine articles are used to prevent this spell from being broken. The aim is for people to memorize certain words and clichéd sentences and be familiarized with certain images. Every moment of people's lives are filled with the fictitious transitional stages between monkeys and man, mendacious images of transitional fossils, and fraudulent reconstructions of primitive humans. There is huge concentration on this in newspapers and magazines, great or small, in the form of a single word of much more comprehension. The aim is to prevent the effect of the Darwinist spell on people being broken.
The language deliberately developed against Creation, and what they foolishly imagine to be a mocking attitude, are also intended to complete the effect of this spell. The reason for all the jokes, articles, talk and cartoons about belief in Allah (surely Allah is beyond that) is to familiarize people with Darwinist indoctrination. This unpleasant spectacle, intended to eliminate any tendency in people towards belief in Allah and to lay the foundation for Darwinism in their minds, is part of the dajjal's stratagem.
But this spell has at last been broken. The supporters of the dajjal fail to understand the position in which they find themselves. There can be no question of people continuing to believe in the theory of evolution once they have been told, just one time, of all the evidence that disproves Darwinism. That is why, as in all their propaganda techniques, Darwinists resort to complicated verbiage, Latin terminology and visual conditioning. But all it takes is to tell the true facts just one time, using a very simple form of language, to reveal the evidence that demonstrates the invalidity of Darwinism. Even someone who has been exposed to a lifetime of Darwinist conditioning can never continue to believe in the lie that is Darwinism in the face of these irrefutable facts, because he now knows the truth. All it takes is for someone in a pitch dark room to see the Sun behind the drapes for just a second. No matter how dark the room he is in, it will no longer be possible to convince that person that it is nighttime outside. The current state of affairs is no different. The Darwinist conditioning imagined to be so successful over the years has now been eliminated and lost all its influence by the exposition of the facts, one time, and with full supporting scientific evidence.
Our Lord describes this position of the followers of the dajjal in a verse thus:
Those are the people who have lost their own selves. What they invented has abandoned them. (Surah Hud, 21)
12. Darwinists Condition People with the Idea of "Irresponsibility"
The greatest aim of materialism throughout the course of history has been to turn people away from belief in the existence of a Creator and to indoctrinate them with the lie that there is nothing else but matter. The aim here is to condition people to the idea of irresponsibility and convince them they are nothing more than a highly evolved animal. Since Darwinism is an extension of materialist thinking, such conditioning draws people closer to Darwinism because feeling oneself to be irresponsible may be very attractive to people in whose hearts there is no fully established faith in Allah. With the idea of irresponsibility, people fall into the error that it will be easier for them to live by their earthly desires. Throughout their lives, they behave as if they were unaware of the responsibilities they have to fulfill toward Allah. They believe that they can turn away from responsibilities imposed by the Qur'an, such as worshiping Allah, living with the idea of the Hereafter and being virtuous and eschewing evils that belong to earthly passions, and they foolishly imagine that they can thus live at ease. But the fact is that this system, which they imagine to be a very easy one, is in fact a source of enormous trouble. Someone who thinks he can be comfortable by rejecting moral virtues lives in a constantly troubled state, the spiritual emptiness resulting from not living virtuously. Someone who thinks that by being selfish they can be strong, and that behaving unjustly can benefit him, will constantly suffer the pains of these unpleasant misconceptions. The moral vice he exhibits rebounds against him. The physical and psychological damage inflicted by living in an environment where nobody loves anybody else, where nobody makes sacrifices for anyone else, where nobody protects or watches over anybody else and where there is no justice, love or compassion wears his life away. In short, the Darwinist inculcation of irresponsibility is not, as some people imagine, something that makes their lives easier, but rather and on the contrary makes their lives ugly and unpleasant and inflicts material and spiritual suffering. This can be better realized when one considers the social collapse going on in many Western countries.
Believing in Darwinism may seem rather more acceptable for some people who prefer not to think about all this. Because some people may have a predisposition to take things easy, imagining this will "simplify" their lives. Most people see nothing wrong in thinking of themselves as irresponsible beings descended from animals. And that is what Darwinism does, literally equating human beings with flies or insects.
The evolutionist and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould summarizes this way of thinking:
Humans represent just one tiny, largely, fortuitous, and late- arising twig on the enormously arborescent bush of life.179
The bus posters supported by the atheist Richard Dawkins in various countries are a clear and explicit instance of the ugly propaganda in question. The posters backed by Dawkins indoctrinate people with atheism and thus foolishly advise people to "enjoy life free of any responsibilities." This call may seem quite realistic to someone who does not think too deeply, and he will quickly receive the Darwinist conditioning in question. Everything is set out so simplistically that such a person will be unaware of the error he has fallen into and how he has been deceived.
The fact is that these posters constitute a great fraud and a grave error. Even if one does not believe, one still sees the proofs of Allah's sublime existence all the time and one still lives the destiny appointed by Allah, whether one wishes to or not. The proofs of faith are everywhere – for people who can truly see and think. People can only achieve happiness and enjoy what they experience through faith and love of Allah. Of course Allah, who creates the delights of this world as a blessing, will bestow most of the beauty and joy of these blessings on those who love Him most and who are closest to Him. Since unbelievers forget that it is Allah who bestows blessings and pleasures, they imagine they can attain happiness by living irresponsibly and without restraint. But the fact is that living heedless of Allah, in an unrestrained and irresponsible manner, always inflicts stress, troubles and sorrows on them. Blessings have always turned into afflictions and pleasures to be enjoyed have always ended in disappointment. Since these people are unable to reflect on the beauty of being close to, and believing in, Allah and since they fail to comprehend that Allah bestows all blessings, they imagine they can succeed by the use of such false propaganda techniques. But the fact is that they cannot live pleasant and peaceful lives, and neither can they influence the people around them. (The bus posters espoused by Dawkins attracted a great deal of criticism in many countries. Bus drivers in European countries such as Finland boycotted them because of the extreme reactions they attracted, bus companies decided not to use the posters, and they were also torn up by members of the public.) As a result, the posters in question were banned in many places.180)
Another place where this conditioning is carried out on an intensive basis is schools. Biology, a university text book, teaches students that in learning about the "nature of life" they must always bear in mind that "Evolution is random and not designed ".181 Students reading the university text book Life: The Science of Biology encounter the following passage: " Darwinian world view "means accepting not only the processes of evolution, but also the view that... evolutionary change is not directed toward a final goal or state."182 There can be no doubt that an education system that teaches the lie that man came into being by chance, as the result of blind and unconscious coincidences means regarding the poisoning of young minds by ideas that encourage anarchy, conflict, slaughter and selfishness as legitimate, and people receiving such indoctrination can be directed as desired. For example, the error taught to students in Douglas Futuyma's text book Evolutionary Biology is this:
Futuyma's unscientific statement continues:
But this is all a deception.
Human beings are not freed from their responsibilities by regarding everything as simple and unconscious. And it is impossible for a feeling of avoiding one's responsibilities to make people happy. Once people cast off this feeling, they will not suddenly enjoy earthly pleasures or at once be freed from all their worries. There is a very important truth that atheists and Darwinists either do not know, or refuse to admit: Allah creates all things. It is also Allah Who creates blessings and pleasures in this world. And it is therefore Allah who bestows the sensation of enjoying earthly pleasures and a pleasant life.
If Allah so wishes He can make a person suffer the worst unhappiness and torment in the midst of all blessings and in great plenty and abundance. No matter how much a person may strive to have unlimited enjoyment of all delights, it is still Allah who bestows pleasure and happiness on him. One of atheists' and Darwinists' gravest errors is that they ignore this reality.
Everyone who thinks he has no responsibilities is also searching for love, comfort and security, just like everyone else. But he will possess none of these in a society made up of individuals like himself. Throughout his life, the irresponsible person tries to forget that he will one day die. But he is in fact constantly in the shadow of death. He sees the deaths of people around him and constantly witnesses sickness and accidents. Even the death of an insect will remind him of the death he is trying to get away from. No matter how much he tries to deny the fact of death, the fear of it will eventually enfold his entire body. He grieves for people around him who die and, according to his own beliefs, just cease to exist . He begins to find it impossible to deny that his own body cannot withstand the ravages of time, and that death is drawing closer all the time. Far from comforting him, denying the fact of death will bring with it fear, stress and worry.
Living irresponsibly in fact opens the door to all troubles and difficulties. A person who fails to properly appreciate that everything is under Allah's control will be terrified of the future. A person who fails to appreciate that all profit and loss lies with Allah will greedily pursue his own profit throughout his life, thus ruining almost that entire life. Someone who does not know that Allah has created a matchless life in the Hereafter in which a person can enjoy all delights will expect to see true love, friendship and loyalty in the system in which he believes. But the fact is he will only possess true love in this world if Allah so ordains. That expectation will never be met as long as he does not live for Allah. He will realize that his life is passing swiftly by without his attaining true love and devotion. But there can be no going back. He waits in terror for what lies in the future.
In his own eyes, he only has a few decades in this world. Since he has no belief in the Hereafter, he thinks he will "cease to exist" in a few decades' time. How can spending a few decades in this world believing that one will then cease to exist impart any happiness, pleasure or peace? It cannot, of course. That is why no atheists enjoy life in the way they claim to, and spend their time worrying about and fearing what the future will bring.
When they come to the end of their lives, such people will realize they have spent it all in empty and pointless pursuits and expectations. That is what irresponsibility brings with it. If someone has no hope of the Hereafter and wants to live unfettered and devoid of any values, then sooner or later he must face the consequences of that. Suicide, fighting, murder, slaughter, theft, rape and corruption are all consequences of an irresponsible life.
Yet as Allah reveals in the verse, "Does man reckon he will be left to go on unchecked?" (Surat al-Qiyama, 36), human beings are not created without responsibilities. It is only fear and love of Allah that can bestow peace and that leads a person to live a true and pleasant life with no fear and troubles. Someone who fears Allah knows he will have to account for himself to Him and cannot live in violation of his conscience. Nobody who fears Allah can harm anyone else, display poor moral values, or regard human beings as random entities. Someone who trusts Allah knows that it is Allah who creates him, preserves him and gives him his daily bread, health and strength and knows he can ask these things from Him alone. Someone who fears Allah knows that he is subject to an auspicious destiny created by Allah, that he is solely tested in this world, and that his real life will be the one appointed for him by Allah in the Hereafter. For that reason, they constantly strive in this world. They know that are responsible to Allah, that they must render account to Him, and that Allah does not create them to be unfettered and irresponsible.
For them, blessings are means for rejoicing, and it is only believers who can properly appreciate and enjoy blessings. People imagine that they will achieve satisfaction when they enjoy unlimited pleasures. But this lack of restraint leads people to become tired of, and even disgusted with, blessings. The delights they expected to enjoy suddenly turn into afflictions and burdens. But the state of mind that loves blessings from Allah and enjoys them because Allah created them is very different. Someone who lives in that way enjoys extraordinary delight. And by Allah's leave, the reward for living in that awareness is a pleasant life in this world and the Hereafter. Allah reveals in verses that:
Yes, the friends of Allah will feel no fear and will know no sorrow: those who believe and show piety, there is good news for them in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. There is no changing the words of Allah. That is the great victory! (Surah Yunus, 62-64)
13. Darwinists Inculcate the Lie That "Darwinism Does Not Conflict with Belief in Allah"
Materialism represents the basis of Darwinism. According to the error of materialism, matter is eternal and there is no power greater than matter. To put it another way, materialism denies the existence of a sublime Creator above matter who rules the entire universe and keeps it under His constant control. (Surely Allah is beyond that.) The sole reason for the endeavor to prop up Darwinism, put forth with the assumption that matter is the only absolute reality, and for all the deceptions and frauds perpetrated for that purpose, is to try to prevent acceptance of the fact that an almighty and sublime Creator brought all things into being. Darwinists have pursued that objective for the last 150 years and struggle hard to retain it. And that is the only reason for the adoption of Darwinism as a false religion.
But this fact is generally kept concealed, because for people to know it would prevent large masses of people from feeling any sympathy for Darwinism. In particular, it will have a negative impact on people who believe in and respect Allah. The fact that Darwinism is a theory opposed to belief in Allah attracted criticism from religious circles in Darwin's time, and the theory was not easily adopted by people of the day. It began being adopted as a result of Darwinist conditioning and propaganda. People who are currently taught in schools that human beings are descended from apes, and that dinosaurs grew wings and took to the air, generally imagine the theory of evolution to be a harmless one. They are unaware of the true face of the theory. They do not know that it is this perverse theory, devoid of any scientific foundation, that lies at the root of irreligion, dictatorial regimes, degeneration, terror and the martyrdom of so many troops in Turkey.
Darwinists also try to conceal the true face of the theory they espouse. That is why they propagate the lie that Darwinism is not incompatible with religion, in order to mislead the masses of people who believe in Allah, to supposedly portray Darwinism as harmless and to gain support from those people, as well. They believe that by these means they can win supporters and weaken the intellectual struggle against the theory of evolution. Despite being exceedingly illogical and inconsistent, the lie of "evolutionary creation" they propagate to that end is secretly supported and raised by Darwinists at every available opportunity. To that end they even resort to the deception that Darwin was himself a devout religious believer. The atheist and Darwinist Richard Dawkins admits the existence of a Darwinist lobby serving that very purpose as follows:
But the fact is that evolution is in no way compatible with religion. Even though Darwinists do not themselves believe in Allah, and make a god out of chance (surely Allah is beyond that), are totally opposed to the fact of creation and are engaged in a struggle against it, they suddenly become the greatest exponents of the false concept that Allah created the universe through evolution. Yet because of their blind devotion to materialism, Darwinists never accept belief in Allah. Being a Darwinist means rejecting belief in Allah. The only reason why someone supports this pagan religion, devoid of any scientific evidence, that deifies chance, is to be able to deny the existence of Allah (surely Allah is beyond that). And there is nothing that Darwinists will not do to turn people away from belief in Allah.
That is why people must always be on their guard against this deception!
In his documentary Expelled: "No Intelligence Allowed," which explains how Darwinism is a false religion based on indoctrination, the journalist Larry Witham makes the following statement:
So even though Darwinists definitively oppose belief in Allah, they still play this unpleasant trick on people. But the people who believe in this nasty deception fail to consider the fact that Almighty Allah is certainly powerful enough to create all things by a variety of means. Had He wished, our Lord could have created living things by way of evolution. But He did not. All living things came into being on Earth in a single moment, created from nothing.
Not a single verse of the Qur'an points to evolution. According to the Qur'an, the universe and all living things were created by Allah commanding them to "Be!" Allah has revealed, with all the divine religions He has sent to man, that He created the entire universe, that He created it with a single command and that he creates in the form He wishes. Indeed, when we look at the evidence on Earth, we see that creation took place just as described in the Qur'an. The fossils of all life forms are perfect. They emerged suddenly, with perfect appearances, and never changed thereafter. Living things never changed over millions of years. There is no chance of life emerging from inanimate matter. It is impossible for even a single protein to form spontaneously. The idea of extraordinarily complex life forms turning into one another is totally unscientific. There is no mechanism that can endow a life form with new, beneficial information. Science has revealed with incontrovertible and certain evidence that all living things possess a glorious complexity, right down to their proteins and even atoms, that they appeared in a single moment and that they never turned into one another. Therefore, the idea that Allah created through evolution is a monstrous lie, and part of the Darwinist deception. (For detailed information on the subject, see, Harun Yahya, Why Darwinism is Imcompatible with the Qur'an)
Everything created is evidence of Allah's infinite might. Allah tells us of this sublime creation in many verses of the Qur'an:
[Allah is] the Originator of the heavens and earth. When He decides on something, He just says to it, 'Be!' and it is. (Surat al-Baqara, 117)
The likeness of 'Isa in Allah's sight is the same as Adam. He created him from earth and then He said to him, 'Be!' and he was. (Surat al-'Imran, 59)
It is He Who created the heavens and the earth with truth. The day He says 'Be!' it is. His speech is Truth. The Kingdom will be His on the Day the Trumpet is blown, the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible. He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware. (Surat al-An'am, 73)
Our Word to a thing when We desire it is just to say to it 'Be!' and it is. (Surat al-Nahl, 40)
Does He who created the heavens and earth not have the power to create the same again? Yes indeed! He is the Creator, the All-Knowing. His command when He desires a thing is just to say to it, 'Be!' and it is. (Surah Ya Sin, 81-82)
Modern-day science shows the invalidity of the materialist-evolutionist claim. Contrary to what the theory of evolution maintains, the evidence of every piece of creation that surrounds us proves that there is no room for chance in the universe. If any evidence were found on Earth that Allah uses evolution as His instrument in creating, and if Allah had revealed such a thing in the Qur'an, then people would of course at once sign up to and espouse the idea that "Our Lord created through evolution." But Allah reveals in the Qur'an that He creates with the command "Be!" and there are no verses suggestive of creation through evolution. Moreover, there is most definitely not a single piece of scientific evidence for evolution. The facts are therefore clear. Every detail emerging from an investigation of the Earth and sky, and all living things, is proof of the great might and power of Allah. All living things came into being from nothing at our Almighty Lord Allah's command. Allah certainly has no need of natural causes in order to create. (Surely Allah is beyond that.) This is the most important point that Darwinists need to grasp. Allah reveals in one verse that:
What about the one who argued with Ibrahim about his Lord, on the basis that Allah had given him sovereignty? Ibrahim said, 'My Lord is He who gives life and causes to die.' He said, 'I too give life and cause to die.' Ibrahim said, 'Allah makes the sun come from the East. Make it come from the West.' And the one who was an unbeliever was dumbfounded. Allah does not guide wrongdoing people. (Surat al-Baqara, 258)
Those who seek to suggest that Allah creates through evolution also have to account for how the djinn and angels were created. These people are silent when the issue of the creation of the djinn and angels is raised. Allah reveals the creation of djinn and angels in verses:
We created mankind out of dried clay formed from fetid black mud. We created the jinn before out of the fire of a searing wind. (Surat al-Hijr, 26-27)
Praise be to Allah, the Bringer into Being of the heavens and earth, He who made the angels messengers, with wings – two, three or four. He adds to creation in any way He wills. Allah has power over all things. (Surah Fatir, 1)
Those who maintain that man and living things came into being through evolution are of course unable to account for angels, created from light, and djinn, created from fire, in terms of evolution. For people who fail to appreciate the might of Allah, who do not realize that Allah is unfettered by any natural causes, and who deny that our Lord creates all things by telling them to "Be!" the existence of angels and djinn does away with all their false claims. Because the existence of djinn and angels reveals this reality; since djinn and angels were not created through evolution, neither was man.
Those people who blindly espouse Darwinism can never account for the staff of the Prophet Moses (pbuh) turning into a snake, as described in the Qur'an, or a bird fashioned from a piece of clay by the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) coming to life. Almighty Allah describes how the Prophet Moses'' (pbuh) staff turned into a snake in these verses:
He said, 'It is my staff. I lean on it and beat down leaves for my sheep with it and have other uses for it.' He said, 'Throw it down, Moses.' He threw it down and suddenly it was a slithering snake. (Surah Ta Ha, 18-20)
We revealed to Moses, 'Throw down your staff.' And it immediately swallowed up what they had forged. (Surat al-A'raf, 117)
At Allah's command, the wooden staff the Prophet Moses (pbuh) used to lean on suddenly turned into a living, multiplying, feeding and fully formed snake. By Allah's choosing, a piece of wood instantaneously turned into a snake. This totally eradicates the claim that the Qur'an contains evidence for evolution. Our Lord reveals in this verse how, by His choosing, the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) turned a bird he fashioned from a piece of clay into a living bird:
Remember when Allah said, ''Jesus, son of Mary, remember My blessing to you and to your mother when I reinforced you with the Purest Spirit so that you could speak to people in the cradle and when you were fully grown; and when I taught you the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel ; and when you created a bird-shape out of clay by My permission, and then breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission; and healed the blind and the leper by My permission; and when you brought forth the dead by My permission; and when I held back the tribe of Israel from you..." (Surat al-Ma'ida, 110)
The bird made from clay by the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) suddenly, by Allah's leave and at His choosing, turned into a living, fully formed and flawless bird with wings, capable of flying, reproducing and feeding. This creation from nothing is a great miracle that Darwinists can never account. And it is also proof that all living things on Earth are created.
All this reveals a manifest reality. Darwinists, who claim that evolution does not conflict with belief in Allah, are trying to inflict a huge deception on devout believers and are seeking to take improper advantage of their faith. Darwinism is one of the greatest dangers to, and opponents of, belief in Allah today. Darwinism is the most wide-ranging and effective snare of the dajjal, who is engaged in a direct campaign against faith in Allah. True believers in Allah must realize this danger and engage in intensive intellectual activities against it. Supporting this danger by regarding it as harmless merely strengthens it and supports a perilous movement engaged in a struggle against belief in Allah. It must not be forgotten that Darwinism is a false and perverse pagan religion whose sole aim is to lead people to irreligion.
177 Michael J.Behe, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Free Press, p. 233
178 Jonathan Wells, The Icons of Evolution, January 2003, p. 202
179 Ibid., p. 209
181 Miller and Levine, Biology
182 Pirves, Orians, Heller ve Sadava, Life: The Science of Biology
183 Jonathan Wells, The Icons of Evolution, January 2003, pp. 190-191
184 Ben Stein, Expelled "No Intelligence Allowed", 2008 | <urn:uuid:917eef2a-e09b-4323-8e12-06de7a676279> | {
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Adaptive Traits of the
Throughout life's long history evolution has been demonstrated over and over again. Competition for resources and geographic and climatic changes have lead to natural selection, which since the beginning of time has molded our world into what it is. The polar bear, Ursus maritimus, is an excellent example of a natural survivor. Since divergence from their most closely related extant ancestor during the mid-Pleistocene Epoch (300 400 TYA), the brown bear (Ursus arctos), (Talbot and Shields, 1996) polar bears have acquired several adaptive traits. By what is believed to be 100,000 years ago the polar bear came into existence. They finally had diverged enough from brown bears to be classified as there own species, although in captivity the two currently produce fertile offspring (Rosing, N., 1996). It has even been stated that polar bears have "been shown to possess the most advanced evolutionary adaptation of any previously studied hibernating mammal to conditions of no food or water" (Talbot and Shields, 1996). These adaptive traits not only include unique hibernation patterns, but also physiological and morphological advantages, and behavioral radiation. Unfortunately, not all adaptive traits remain beneficial throughout the course of life's history, and as the biosphere changes an organism must continuously adapt as well. Whether prior adaptations can be reversed or continue to be modified is a question not easily answered (I. B. Weiner., et al., 2003). For instance, will global warming lead to the end of the polar bear?
An inference made from the study of mitochondrial DNA strongly implies that polar bears have diverged from the same linage as brown bears currently living on the islands of southeast Alaska. Both extant groups are believed to have descended from brown bears in the proximity of Siberia that had expanded into North America (Talbot and Shields, 1996). Since their initial divergence they have come to inhabit such areas as Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the USA (Howell-Skalla, L. A., et al., 2002). Despite geographical differences experiments have shown little genetic variation among these populations indicating minute independent adaptations (Paetkau, D., et al., 1999), which can be complimented with the fact that polar bears are a relatively new species; the last descendant of the Ursine evolutionary linage (Struzek, Ed, 2003, Rosing, N., 1996). Since other bears, especially modern brown bears most likely share a common ancestor with that of polar bears, brown bears are a great model to use in comparison due to their similarities. Many traits unique to polar bears may be due to the initial adaptations that were gradually introduced by their ancestors as their habitat shifted closer and closer to that which polar bears now occupy. Modern brown bears have proven to be capable of living very close to the harsh environment of the winter arctic, which basically means that the first generations of the evolving white bears started with the same good genes.
As top carnivore of the arctic it is no surprise that polar bears are the largest living, some are estimated to weigh as much as 800 kg, and are even known as the "King of the Arctic", and globally hold the record as largest terrestrial carnivore. They can easily kill a 450 pound walrus with a single blow of its paw. These great white bears may also be considered a keystone species as they help reduce the population of seals, and provide carcass remains for arctic foxes, ravens, and glaucous gulls who also call the arctic their home. The males live an average of 25 years, where as females live slightly longer (Struzek, Ed, 2003; Rosing, N., 1996).
Their physical appearance is similar to a brown bear, but polar bears lack a shoulder hump, have a longer neck, smaller ears and a short tail to reduce heat loss (Demaster and Stirling, 1981; Kolenosky, G. B., et al., 1992; Gunderson, A., 2007). The polar bears specialized ears contain a network of blood vessels selected to bring extra heat to one of their only exposed regions where they experience heat loss (Rosing, N., 1996 ). They also have larger and sharper teeth allowing them to tear up seals efficiently (Struzek, Ed, 2003). Polar bears are the only bear that is primarily carnivorous with a digestive system more adapted to processing meat than plant matter, although they are still omnivores. Measuring isotopes of a polar bears breathe has proven that they actually eat berries, which happen to be high in fat. In Canada during the months of August and September they have also been observed consuming berries as they start their journey northward along the coast until the Hudson Bay freezes over; an example of their intelligence and survival skills in the absence of prey.
Another adaptive trait is their large thickly furred, webbed feet with rough foot pads, and short claws that are immune to frostbite. These features allow them to travel on ice and swim much more efficiently then other bears (Struzek, Ed, 2003; Rosing, N., 1996). Only visible around the eyes and nose a polar bears skin color is black, and their fur usually appears white due to a refraction of sunlight, but the hairs are actually clear. Colors such as yellow, brown, and gray have also been observed in a polar bears fur, associated with light conditions dependent upon the season. (Gunderson, A., 2007). Short insulating fur, and long, hollow, oily and water repellent guard hairs combined with large stores of fat, aka blubber, anabolized (created) during hyperphagia (a state of increased appetite and consumption) act as an insulation that is vital to the endothermic regulation of this great white viviparous (give birth to live young) mammal. This insulation is so efficient that aerial photographers are unable to use infrared technology to spot polar bears in the wild. The only heat emissions observable came from their breathe. They release so little heat that the snow on their back does not even melt! (Rosing, N., 1996).
Daniel Koon conducted an experiment to determine if the clear, hollow hairs on a polar bear conducted ultraviolet light fiber optically. The test disproved this widely accepted theory. Instead, it is the keratin protein of the hair that is absorbing the energy into the bears dark skin (Ned Rozell, 1998), and has led scientists to understand just how well polar bears have become adapted to the harsh and volatile arctic. This is good news for these endothermic mammals as they can utilize energy emitted from the sun to supplement their efforts of obtaining and conserving energy as a secondary consumer in order to maintain their internal temperatures during the day, but it does not necessarily help them at night when there is no sunlight providing any means of heat energy. Experiments using Kirchoff's laws, and Beer's law, both being methods to test the transmittance and absorptivity of energy, have shown that polar bear hair is a also a good absorber of infrared light, which helps greatly in obtaining heat energy in the dark when temperatures are significantly lower (Preciado, J. A., et al., 2002). Amazingly, moonlight supplies a steady transmission of the infrared light wavelength. A physics term labeled as "black body radiation" is used to describe the effects of the sun's energy being absorbed and reflected off of the moon, therefore supplying earth with relatively long wavelengths of infrared light. In places such as Alaska it is dark during some of the coldest winter months, and the full spectrum of light is unavailable to be absorbed through the bears dark skin making the animals ultraviolet and infrared absorbing abilities more useful than just at night. Human hair also possesses this amazing trait, however, polar bear hair absorbs 4 % more infrared than human hair. If you multiply that by the much larger amount of hairs per square centimeter a polar bear has it is at a much greater advantage (Preciado, J. A., et al., 2002).
Ironically, in addition to the success of a polar bears hair composition it's white appearance may have increased it's success at catching prey. Seals which are their main food source have monochromatic vision, meaning they see only black and white. Even though white bears appear camouflage even in trichromatic vision (full color), it may be even more difficult for a seal to detect a predator. These large, white creatures display a good deal of intelligence in their methods of hunting for food. They have been observed taking advantage of their camouflage to sneak up on unsuspecting seals in their dens. The bears would actually scratch away the snow slowly as they lay right on top of the lair imitating the ice and snow above the lair. In addition, the bears will lay quietly on a sheet of ice with only their head projecting (resembling a protrusion of the platform) until a seal came close enough to snatch up with a single paw (Matthews, D., 1993).
Ursus maritimus have become known as "walking hibernators" due to their unique physiology allowing them to survive through long periods of starvation. This is accomplished much like hibernation seen in black bears (Ursus americanus) and brown bears, however, polar bears stay motile in search for food while urea nitrogen is converted into plasma proteins to avoid build up of toxic wastes and aid in the reutilization of nutrients (Lennox, A. R. and A. E. Goodship, 2008). This is made possible by the re-absorption of urea through the bladder wall into the blood stream, where it is metabolized into useful proteins resulting in no net increase in toxic waste (Nelson, R. A., et al., 1980). Only pregnant polar bears den like their sister species in order to provide shelter for their under-developed newborns (Rosing, N., 1996). Their ability to roam during a hibernative state may be due to the very low temperatures in the arctic region, limiting and slowing down the life processes that call for more energy. During hibernation most bear temperatures decrease a few degrees, which in turn slows their metabolism. This process is called torpor. Torpor patterns are not predictable in sea bears like they have been noted in black bears most likely due to the unpredictable availability of food sources (Palmer, S. S., et al., 1988) . As food sources can be few and far between, it is no surprise that polar bears have adopted random torpor patterns, which can be complimented with random sleep patterns. Based on their necessity to survive the bears have been known to take many short naps throughout the day in between their almost never ending search for food (Matthews, D., 1993).
Great white bears have hearing comparable to that of humans, a great sense of smell, and good vision which tends to be farsighted. It's olfactory senses are so good, "It can detect young seals hiding in a snow cave buried under three feet of snow nearly a mile away" (Rosing, N., 1996). It has also been said that they can smell only a few molecules at distances as great 20 miles away (Matthews, D., 1993). Dichromatic vision enables them to see blue and green colors in addition to black and white, which can put them at an advantage when hunting in their monochrome world.
Polar bears sexually mature at the age of four or five, but males don't breed until 8 years old (Struzek, Ed, 2003). Like other bears, females are induced ovulators (W. Boone, 2003.; Rosing, N., 1996) and are usually fertilized in early spring when seal pups are plentiful. The following egg implantation is delayed for about 6 months until the fall when the mother begins to dig out a den where she will stay for as long as 9 months. From the time she enters the den it only takes from one to two months before she gives birth (Drew, L., and M. Hoshino, 1996/1997) to 2 or 3 cubs no larger than a 2 pound tree squirrel (Rosing, N., 1996). The young are completely helpless at birth and may require the care of mother for approximately another 6 months, however, the new family usually remains together as the cubs continue to nurse from1-1/2 to 2-1/2 years. The cubs will usually stay together until the females mature enough to start their own families around the age of 5. At birth the cubs are not able to see, but they do have long, pointed claws useful in reaching nipples hidden in their mothers thick fur. Unique to polar bears, the mother's milk contains 40% fat providing more essential fat than any other bear helping them to develop more quickly (Rosing, N., 1996). Interestingly, 50% of female polar bears den in offshore glaciers. A Russian biologist by the name of Nikita Ovsyanikov believes that this is done purposely due to a mothers need to find food for her young when she digs out of the den in spring. By drifting on glaciers the bears can travel several hundred kilometers possibly increasing their chances of finding a plentiful food supply (Drew, L., and M. Hoshino, 1996/1997).
Polar bears, called Nanook by the Inuit, are excellent swimmers spending as much as 2 hours in water traveling lengths as great as 60 miles. However, this is unusual and usually a sign of the negative affects of global warming. A temperature increase of only 2-3 degrees during the summer, since 1950, has been enough to melt ice so dramatically that people have been finding an increased amount of bear carcasses due to drowning (Iredale, W., 2005). Some polar bears will actually walk entirely across the Hudson Bay from Manitoba to Quebec (500 miles) in a single winter (Rosing, N., 1996) showing the dangers they may face during the warming months of spring. If rates of global warming continue to proceed it is quite apparent that these sea bears just may not make it back to shore on time.
Polar bears have also been known to be social and playfully interactive (Drew, L., and M. Hoshino, 1996/1997; Rosing, N., 1996) and even express their love of play throughout adult-hood. Photographer Norbert Rosing was actually a witness to an adult bear in Manitoba, Canada playing with an old tire, and was able to snap some really amazing pictures. Some have suggested these behaviors are to refine social behavior, although most bear species typically live solitary lifestyles. For the younger bears, these play sessions will aid in the development of skills that will increase their chances for success as they get older. Intelligence is an important aspect in the survival of these bears, and walking on ice is a great example of this. Walking on melting ice can be risky business if one is not careful. Polar bears run the chance of falling through the ice and never surfacing again, and it is clear they know this if you ever have the chance to watch one. They walk very carefully making great use of their giant paws and spreading their legs far apart, and if they sense the ice is going to break they actually may drop to the ground, limbs spread wide, in an attempt to slide forward (Rosing, N., 1996).
Even though polar bears received little impact from human development as of 1984 and currently hold the highest proportion of their original range compared to other large carnivores (Derocher, A. E., et al., 2004) they are still in danger from global warming and pollution. One population, in particular, located on the southwestern Hudson Bay coast is used commonly as an example of the loss of an ice habitat due to global warming. This specific population happens to be among the southern-most where the affect of global warming would be most visible (Dyck, M. G., et al., 2007). Bears may drown in the ocean when ice thaws out and cannot find refuge, or over heat on shore during the warm months. Usually migration during climatic changes can aid in the survival of this species, but if the current rates of global warming remain steady the positive effects of migration will not be feasible. Possibly due to global warming, grizzly bears may even replace polar bears in the arctic as they have already been seen on the ice tundra. On the other hand, both bears produce fertile hybrids which may be the key to positive gene flow enabling the genetic variation needed to aid in the polar bears survival. Despite the fact that this intermingling has yet to be seen in nature, you never know how these animals may react when put into an actual life or death situation.
In one unfortunate case in 1991, Biologist Mitch Taylor observed the remains of several polar bear pups that had been eaten by a grizzly bear in Viscount Melville Sound. Grizzly bears had never before been seen as far as 600 km's from the main land, but since then have been spotted more and more. Experiments are underway to find out exactly what these grizzlies are doing there, and if this is something they have always done, but is most likely for the same reasons the polar bears first entered the arctic a new, more abundant food source with limited competition. The brown bears habitat is also decreasing in size as the human population pushes them to their limits, and forces them to find a new place to live. A government wildlife officer of Nunavut, Joe Niego, says, "...a lot of animals are moving east toward Hudson Bay because of global warming....we've seen marten, which are never found this far east, a few river otters, and a lot more grizzlies than usual....I saw a pack of wolverines just west of Baker Lake. I've never seen that before." (Struzek, Ed, 2003).
Environmental pollution resulting in high levels of organochlorine contaminants becoming stored in the adipose cells of sea bears during hyperphagia is of large concern to scientists as well, because these pollutants found largely in pesticides can later become antagonistic to hormone-dependent processes (C. Sonne et al., 2005). This pollution is inescapable and affects all animals in the arctic regions with polar bears on top of the food chain pyramid experiencing the effects 100 fold compared to fish, for example, at the bottom of the food chain. Canadian scientists have observed that present-day polar bears are smaller in size, and produce less offspring then they did just 25 years ago. High PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls another pollutant) levels have been observed in North American populations and sadly the concentration in populations of sea bears in Norway and Russia have reached dangerously high levels. Fewer polar bears are being recorded in these areas with over 50 % of the metapopulation residing in Canadian Territory! In addition, current laws have relaxed the polar bears protection policies and nearly all countries serving as their home now allow hunting (Rosing, N., 1996; worsleyschool.net, 2001). Interestingly, polar bears living in captivity appear to live as much as 1.6 times longer than in the wild with captive bears recorded to live as old as 40 years! This may be due to the absence of pollutants in their new habitat.
Despite all of the adaptive traits that have, so far, put Ursus maritimus on the top of the Arctic food chain there are no adaptive traits that seem to help against humans and their negative effects on the environment and these massively, wondrous mammals. Only time will tell if polar bears will survive and/or adapt to the increasing threats of the modern world. It is really up to us, the only extant humanid species, to preserve our environment and to attempt to reverse the negative affects of our actions in order to increase the probability of success for all species in the only inhabitable world, thus far, we know.
1) Talbot, S. L., and G. F. Shields. 1996. A Phylogeny of the Bears (Ursidae) Inferred from Complete Sequences of Three Mitochondrial Genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution., 5-3: 567-575.
2) Sonne, C., Leifsson, P. S., Dietz, R., Born, E. W., et al. 2005. Enlarged clitoris in wild polar bears (Ursus maritimus) can be misdiagnosed as pseudohermaphroditism. Science of the total environment., 337: 45-58.
3) Gunderson, A. 2007. "Ursus maritimus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 15, 2008 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ursus_maritimus.html.
4) DeMaster, D. P., and I. Stirling. 1981. Ursus maritimus. Polar bear. Mammalian Species., 145: 1-7.
5) Lennox, A. R. and A. E. Goodship. 2008. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus), the most evolutionary advanced hibernators, avoid significant bone loss during hibernation. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology., Part A-149(2008): 203-208
6) Nelson, R. A., Folk Jr., G. E., Pfeiffer, E. W., Craighead, J. J., et al. 1980. Behavior, Biochemistry, and Hibernation in Black, Grizzly, and Polar Bears. Bears: Their Biology and Management, 5:284-290.
7) Kolenosky, G. B., K. F. Abraham, and C. J. Greenwood. 1992. Polar bears of southern Hudson Bay. In: Polar Bear Project, 1984-88, final report. Unpublished report. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Maple, Ontario, Canada.
8) Howell-Skalla, L. A., M. R. L. Cattet, M. A. Ramsay, and J. M. Bahr. 2002. Seasonal changes in testicular size ans serum LH, prolactin, and testosterone concentrations in male polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Reproduction, 123: 729-733.
9) Palmer, S. S., R. A. Nelson, M.A. Ramsay, I. Stirling, and J.M. Bahr. 1988. Annual Changes in Serum Sex Steroids in Male and Female Black (Ursuse americanus) and Polar (Ursus maritimus) Bears. Biology of Reproduction, 38: 1044-1050.
10) Derocher, A. E., N. J. Lunn, and I. Sterling. 2004. Polar Bears in a Warming Climate. Integr. Comp. Biol., 44: 163-176.
11) Dyck , M. G., W. Soon, R. K. Baydack, D. R. Legates, et al. Polar bears of western Hudson Bay and climate change. Accessed March 15, 2008 at http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/images/stories/papers/reprint/polar_bear_sppi_word.pdf
12) Paetka, D., S. C. Amstrup, E. W. Born, W. Calvert, et al. 1999. Genetic structure of the world's polar bear populations. Molecular Ecology, 8: 1571-1584.
13) Preciado, J. A., B. Rubinsky, D. Otten, B. Nelson, et al. 2002. RADIATIVE PROPERTIES OF POLAR BEAR HAIR. Advances in Bioengineering, 53.
14) Peichl, L., R. R. Dubielzig, A. KbberHeiss, C. Schubert, and P. K. Ahnelt. 2005. Retinal Cone Types in Brown Bears and the Polar Bear Indicate Dichromatic Color Vision. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 46: E-Abstract 4539.
15) Ned Rozell. 1998. Debunking the Myth of Polar Bear Hair. Alaska Science Forum, Article 1390. Accessed on March 20, 2008 at http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF13/1390.html.
16) Drew, L., and M. Hoshino. 1996/1997. Close Encounters: Tales of the Great White Bear. National Wildlife, Vol. 35: Issue 1, pg. 16.
17) I. B., Weiner, D. K. Freedheim, W. F. Velicer, et al. 2003. Handbook of Psychology. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ
18) Struzik, Ed. 2003. Grizzlies on Ice. Canadian Geographic. Vol. 123: Issue 6, pg. 38.
19) Rosing, N. 1996. The World of the Polar Bear. Firefly Books, Ltd., Buffalo, NY.
20) Iredale, W. 2005. "Polar bears drown as ice shelf melts" (On-line), Times Online Web. Accessed on March 25, 2008 at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article767459.ece.
21) W. Boone. 2003. Evidence that bears are induced ovulators. Theriogenology, Vol. 61: Issue 6, pg. 1163 1169.
22) "Solar bear technology - polar bear research applied to designing efficient solar collectors". Science News. May 31, 1986. FindArticles.com. 19 Apr. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_v129/ai_4164418
23) worsleyschool.net. 2001. "Polar Bears: Ursus maritimus"
Accessed April 18, 2008 .
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What is Z-Wave
What is Z-Wave
Z-Wave is the wireless protocol or language that all the Fibaro products use to communicate with each other. It uses a very low power radio frequency signal to send messages up to an average of 30 metres away.
The Z-Wave network is a mesh network. This means that the signal received by one listening device or node is relayed to neighbouring nodes up to four nodes away from the original sender. This extends the range of the network and provides stability.
Any device which speaks Z-Wave can be controlled by your Home Center 2. There are over 900 products produced by almost 300 manufacturers in the Z-Wave Alliance.
Types of Z-Wave nodes
One of the strengths of Z-Wave devices is that many of them are completely wireless and battery powered. To save power, most of these battery powered devices ‘sleep’ or turn them selves off until they are required to send a message. For example, a door/window sensor will sleep until the door opens or closes and only then will it turn on and transmit its new state. This type of device is called a sleeping node.
Since they are normally turned off, sleeping nodes do not relay messages as part of the mesh network. They will not extend the signal strength of the network and will need to be woken in order for your Home Center 2 to configure them if any changes are made to them (more on configuring devices later).
Devices that have a constant power supply, such as dimmers, relays, wall plugs, and most “wired in” devices do not sleep. They are constantly listening to the Z-Wave network and if they receive a message they immediately transmit the message again to relay it on to other devices.
Listening nodes do not have to be woken up and will react to configuration changes made on your Home Center 2 immediately.
The two main differences between listening nodes and sleeping nodes are:
- Listening nodes extend the range and stability of the Z-Wave network.
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If we take a look at long distance running, I will have to introduce you to a legendary coach: Arthur Lydiard. He invented the term ‘jogging’ and got famous for his strategies to achieve peak performance in long distance running events.
When the runners started to run longer distances, they got more efficient and achieved a better endurance.
LSD (Long Slow Distance) improves your peripheral adaptations, which means increased capillary density, more myoglobin, more mitochondrias, better use of free fatty acids as fuel and larger glycogen stores.
Also there are probably some neural adaptations that make running more efficient. Training at slow speeds has only very little effect on VO2 maximum.
Arthur Lydiard advocates for more Long Slow Distance training
In an interview with Chicago Athlete Arthur Lydiard advocates for much more long steady state running: “LSD has its place. Long slow distance of three, four or five hours certainly will enhance your capillary development well because you are engaging the exercise for a very, very long period of time.
But the point is it takes longer to obtain the same result as if you were to do your aerobic training at higher aerobic speed.
If you are a professional runner and all you have to do is to train all day long, you can afford to run five hours, but we couldn’t afford to do that in our days.
We had to obtain the best possible result in the limited time that we had and the best way to develop aerobic capacity was to train at higher aerobic speed.
My runners did a very hilly 22-mile course, with one hill of three miles, somewhere around 2:10 and 2:15. We used to do our Monday 10-mile run in about 55 minutes. They were all aerobic running, but we weren’t mucking around at all.”
When you read his comment, please remember that bike rides typically are much longer than running sessions, therefore a 3 hours run is a very, very long training session. 5 hours of running is extremely long…
It takes time to build endurance
Arthur Lydiard believes that these peripheral adaptations explain why the best marathon runners are above 30 years old. We see the same thing happening in road cycling where the best riders are between 30 to 35 years old.
“Your aerobic development is a gradual thing. It takes years and years of marathon-type training to develop your aerobic capacity to the fullest. That is why, when in 1984 Carlos Lopes was running a marathon for the Olympics, people said that he was too old. I said that it would be to his advantage because he had developed a fine aerobic base through years and years of training. Another good example is Lorraine Moller.
In 1992, people thought she was too old. In fact, her shoe company dropped her contract. She won the bronze medal. Now, that does not mean you should wait till the very last moment to run a marathon. I found out years ago, and this is the fundamental concept of my training program, that when I started to train for the marathon, my track time got better. This is because of all the long running I started to do.
Barry Magee was a bronze medallist in the Olympic marathon in 1960 and he ran a couple of seconds off the world record for the three-mile run in 1961. In fact, he became a better track runner after he started running marathons.
You see the same thing with the English girl who set the world record for the marathon (Paula Radcliffe). She started running marathons last spring and she had the best track season of her life this past summer. It’s just a matter of balancing your training.” he said.
Training principles are the same for cycling
So how can we use the experiences Arthur Lydiard made in running? Well, basically the central and peripheral adaptations are exactly the same in road cycling as in long distance running.
Thus, if we convert his principles to a cycling training program it would result in similar progress. There are many examples of professional riders that have used similar training principles with great success. Training rides with a length of 6 to 8 hours are not uncommon among riders on the Pro Tour.
As cycling coaches are approaching a more scientific view of cycling training, there are still riders believing in the old principles of LSD training with long rides at a steady, aerobically pace. Even with the introduction of power metres, there are still riders believing in ‘riding on the feeling’ among professionals.
Does training programs matter at all?
Why are these rider professionals even if they use these old training principles? Dedication to their training program could be the answer.
Motivation plays a major role at elite levels and if a rider can’t find the motivation for wattage based training programs, then it is probably much better for him to stick to his old school cycling program. But that doesn’t mean that there is no difference in outcome between these training programs.
The better and more optimized your training program gets, the better results you will achieve.
Long Slow Distance anno 2006
My version of LSD training is not just a walk in the park. It is a hard aerobic effort at a steady pace. Actually it is not a long slow ride but rather a fast ride with a steady speed. The last two seasons I have introduced my riders to longer rides (5 to 7 hours) and their experiences are good, so I will continue mixing these long rides up with more modern training methods.
LSD training is a time-expensive way to train but often it is one of the most secure ways to success. If you use LSD training sessions like I explained them, there is a good chance that you will be very strong in the coming season. | <urn:uuid:16efb7bd-c75f-4e2a-a6ec-b7b80b23d5c9> | {
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New Film Now Available Documenting Plight of Endangered Hawaiian Birds
Contact: Robert Johns, 202-234-7181 ext.210,
|I'iwi by Michael Walther
(Washington, D.C. , August 22, 2012) American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC) new 30-minute film titled Endangered Hawai’i, narrated by actor Richard Chamberlain, is now available for purchase on DVD. The film explores the on-going bird extinction crisis in Hawaiʻi that has led to about 70 percent of all endemic bird species in the state becoming extinct. ABC produced the film with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. DVDs are available for $9.95 plus shipping.
With beautiful footage of many of Hawaiʻi’s stunning birds and their habitats, the film showcases the unique biodiversity of our 50th state and explains the environmental crisis that has caused Hawaiʻi to become known as the “Bird Extinction Capital of the World.” It describes the nature of the crisis, its causes, and current efforts to implement solutions for species remaining on the brink.
“It is shocking to many people to learn that there is no place else on Earth that has witnessed the levels of bird extinctions that we have seen in our 50th state, a place that normally conjures up images of lush vegetation, sun, beaches and a refreshing tropical climate. It is our aim with this film to make not only Hawaiʻi’s past and present problems known to a wider audience, but to also demonstrate that with the full commitment of the state and federal governments and non-governmental organizations, we have the ability to turn the situation around and prevent further bird extinctions,” said Dr. George Wallace, Vice President for Oceans and Islands for ABC and the lead collaborator on the film.
Since the arrival of Europeans to the Hawaiian Islands, 71 endemic bird species have become extinct out of a total of 113 that existed just prior to human colonization. Of the remaining 42, 32 are federally listed, and ten of those have not even been seen for up to 40 years.
A key species of concern is the Kiwikiu, or Maui Parrotbill, a honeycreeper that was once widespread on Maui and Molokaʻi, but which is now limited to approximately 500 individuals high on the windward slopes of Haleakalā volcano. Another honeycreeper, the Palila, was once found throughout the Hawaiian Islands, but now clings to less than five percent of its original range on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Meanwhile, the Nihoa Millerbird, endemic to the small, rocky island of Nihoa, is down to as few as 700 individuals, and the ʻAkikiki and ʻAkekeʻe of Kauaʻi are in steep decline.
The film points out that the primary threats to Hawaiian birds are exotic species: predators such as feral cats and rats; herbivores such as goats and pigs that degrade native habitat; diseases such as avian malaria and pox transmitted by non-native mosquitoes; and plants that displace native species and reduce habitat quality for native birds. Climate change may further reduce or eliminate mosquito-free – and hence disease-free – upland habitat as temperatures rise.
An encouraging note highlighted in the film is that in areas where there has been aggressive conservation action to reduce these threats, Hawaiian birds have stable or increasing populations, and new projects underway by state, federal, and NGO partners such as the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of Hawaiʻi’s Department of Lands and Natural Resources, and ABC are also making a difference. For example, a predator-proof fence – the first of its kind in the United States – has been constructed to keep non-native feral cats and dogs, small Indian mongooses, and rats out of seabird nesting habitat at Kaʻena Point on Oʻahu; a 52 mile fence to exclude mouflon sheep and goats from Palila critical habitat on Mauna Kea is under construction; and a new initiative to create a second population of the endangered Millerbird on Laysan Island as insurance against the species’ extinction is showing encouraging early signs of success.
The film says that significant federal funding is key to reversing the current negative trends in Hawaiian bird populations. Unfortunately, the resources directed to Hawaiʻi’s environmental problems are alarmingly low in proportion to their need. While Hawaiian birds comprise one third of all U.S. bird species listed under the Endangered Species Act, only 4.1% of funding for recovery of listed bird species is directed their way.
American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC acts by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats, while building capacity in the bird conservation movement. | <urn:uuid:f038e9ff-d467-40b1-8528-78386a252adf> | {
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ฝรั่ง มีคำเรียกประเภทนี้มากมาย มีการรวบรวมไว้ในวิกิพีเดีย ( List of ethnic slurs) ที่เกี่ยวกับคนจีน หรือคนผิวเหลือง เช่น
(U.S. & Canada) A person of perceived Chinese descent. A very offensive term, equivalent to Chink, or nigger.
(U.S.) used to refer to people of perceived Chinese descent. Considered extremely derogatory, .
(India and UK) used to refer to people of perceived Chinese descent. Considered derogatory, although not as derogatory as Chink, or Ching Chong
(U.S. military slang) A misunderstood word thought to be derogatory by American troops in the Korean War that was derived from the words hangook and migook. Hangook refers to Koreaand migook is the common word for America. American troops misinterpreted "migook" (sounds like "me gook") as an assertion of "I am a gook". During the Vietnam War, it was mistakenly labeled to the Vietnamese people who also have a similar word han quoc which means country. Popularized to include any `Mongoloid' Asian after its widespread use during the War. Like chink, extremely offensive.
21 พ.ย. 49 10:03:50 | <urn:uuid:86bd4b59-819b-4f36-9ab1-dd06c0a1dcfa> | {
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Scientists have figured out how plants called “living stones” get enough sunlight even though they grow partially underground.
The little succulents survive in the blazing deserts and rocky ground of southern Africa by blending in with surrounding pebbles to avoid being eaten and by burying themselves underground.
The study shows that Lithops combine a top surface with “windows” of translucent tissue that allows light through to photosynthetic tissues deep in the underground portion of the leaf, with a biochemical sunscreen to block out harmful UV light.
To offset damage associated with too much sunlight, the plants also use a protective mechanism known as non-photochemical quenching in the above-ground parts of the leaves.
The below-ground parts of the leaves are adapted more towards a shaded way of life, with highly specialized cell shapes, tissue chemistry, and crystalline deposits to help maximize limited light levels.
“This work highlights the incredible adaptations that have evolved in ‘living stones’ in response to the blazing sunshine they experience in their desert habitat,” says Katie Field, who carried out the research with Rachel George at the University of Sheffield and Matthew Davey at the University of Cambridge. Their findings appear in PLOS ONE.
“Unlike most members of the plant kingdom, these amazing little plants photosynthesize underground. We’ve discovered that by using a sunscreen and moving their photosynthetic machinery beneath the soil, “living stones” manage to avoid the effects of too much sun yet simultaneously maximize photosynthesis through previously unrecorded mechanisms. This suits them for life both in full sun and in full shade, at the same time.
“This research helps us to understand how plants cope with extreme environments on Earth and may play a part in future development of efficient crop plants.”
Source: University of Sheffield | <urn:uuid:373a14a7-fe2b-4fad-9a68-83da46e13251> | {
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Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales, born Frederick Louis; (1 February 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the son of George II And Queen Caroline of Ansbach. He was the father of King George III. He and his parents had arguments often. He died in 1751 after a lung injury. His son was his heir.
Issue[change | change source]
|Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick||31 August 1737||31 March 1813||married, 1764, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick; had issue|
|George III||4 June 1738||29 January 1820||married, 1761, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; had issue|
|Prince Edward, Duke of York||14 March 1739||17 September 1767|
|Princess Elizabeth||30 December 1740||4 September 1759|
|Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester||14 November 1743||25 August 1805||married, 1766, Maria Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave; had issue|
|Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland||27 November 1745||18 September 1790||married, 1771, Anne Horton; no issue|
|Princess Louisa||8 March 1749||13 May 1768|
|Prince Frederick||13 May 1750||29 December 1765|
|Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark and Norway||11 July 1751||10 May 1775||married, 1766, Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway; had issue|
Other websites[change | change source]
- History of the Monarchy - The Official Website of the British Monarchy
- Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales
- Unusual royal deaths at Ward's Book of Days
- "From Lads to Lord's; The History of Cricket: 1300 – 1787". Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. http://archive.is/nUBq.
- Henry Churchyard "Royal Genealogies, Part 9"
- Sam Sloan "Big Combined Family Trees (pafg744)"
Bibliography[change | change source]
- F S Ashley-Cooper, At the Sign of the Wicket: Cricket 1742-1751, Cricket Magazine, 1900
- G B Buckley, Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket, Cotterell, 1935
- Timothy J McCann, Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century, Sussex Record Society, 2004
- Thomson, Arthur Alexander: Odd Men In: A Gallery of Cricket Eccentics (The Pavilion Library, 1985).
- H T Waghorn, Cricket Scores, Notes, etc. (1730-1773), Blackwood, 1899
- H T Waghorn, The Dawn of Cricket, Electric Press, 1906
- Michael De-la-Noy, The King Who Never Was: The Story of Frederick, Prince of Wales, London; Chester Springs, PA: Peter Owen, 1996.
- John Walters, The Royal Griffin: Frederick, Prince of Wales, 1707-51, London: Jarrolds, 1972. | <urn:uuid:c0e89b63-2e4d-48f5-93f6-70fcee727ec5> | {
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Video cameras installed in the Sumatran jungle have captured close-up footage of a tiger and two cubs. This is the first time that WWF has recorded evidence of tiger breeding in central Sumatra in what should be prime tiger habitat. While a "camera trap" might sound menacing, it actually does not harm wildlife. The name is derived from the manner in which it "captures" wildlife on film. Camera traps are not the intricate and elaborate devices you might imagine. These innovative conservation tools are in fact nothing more than everyday cameras, armed with infrared sensors that take a picture or a video whenever they sense movement in the forest. | <urn:uuid:537d499d-a787-4bb7-b865-d022d23caee6> | {
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Let's face it - insurance can be complicated.
When you're trying to choose health coverage, wading through insurance terminology and definitions can be like learning a foreign language.
The following are definitions of common health insurance terms – in plain English.
- Deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance: Even though you might be paying a hefty monthly premium for health insurance, plans rarely cover 100 percent of your health care costs. There are almost always three types of out-of-pocket expenses involved:
- Deductible: The amount you have to pay on your own before your insurance benefits kick in.
- Copay: The amount you pay directly to the health care provider (doctor, hospital, etc.) at every visit, usually a set dollar amount.
- Coinsurance: Copays generally won’t cover all of the health care provider’s fees. Your insurance company covers a large percentage of the remaining fee (usually 60-90 percent, depending on the plan), and the patient is responsible for the remaining percentage, called coinsurance.
- Flexible spending accounts (FSA): Accounts offered and administered by an employer that gives the employees a way to set aside pre-tax dollars out of a paycheck to help pay for the employee’s share of insurance premiums or medical expenses not covered by the employer’s health plan. The employer can also make contributions to a FSA.
- Insurance marketplace: Under the new health law, called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you’ll be able to shop for health care insurance through an online marketplace, which allows you compare providers, plans, and prices to find coverage that fits your needs.
- Networks: A network is a group of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers contracted to provide services to your insurance company’s customers for discounted fees. You’ll generally pay less for using an in-network provider. Depending on your health insurance plan, you may not be covered at all for services provided by physicians, hospitals, or other providers outside the network. When choosing a health plan, it is extremely important to understand whether the plan’s network will meet your needs.
Out-of-pocket maximum: A predetermined amount you’ll pay out of pocket before your insurance will cover 100 percent of your health care expenses.
- Subsidies and tax credits: There are two types of subsidies available to individuals, but only if the plan is purchased on theindividual marketplace:
- Advance premium tax credits, available to people whose household incomes fall between 100% and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). These tax credits can be claimed monthly, in advance of the end of the tax year, and are paid to the insurer at the time when premiums are due.
Cost-sharing subsidies, available to people whose household incomes fall between 100%-250% of FPL. This subsidy helps households who earn less income afford the out of pocket costs of obtaining health care.
- The FPL calculation (and therefore subsidies) factor in household size. Here’s an easy-to-read FPL chart which outlines the income levels at which households of different sizes qualify for ACA-related health insurance subsidies.
Eligibility for both types of subsidies is also dependent on whether or not one qualifies for Medicaid or Medicare.
- Usual, customary, and reasonable fees: Similar types of health care providers within a geographical area generally charge the same average fees, often used by medical plans as a benchmark for the amount they’ll approve for a specific test or procedure. If you receive health care and incur fees that are higher than these approved “usual, customary, and reasonable” fees, you’ll be responsible for paying the difference. However, you can sometimes get the provider to lower the fees to an amount the insurance company deems reasonable and customary simply by questioning the physician about the fees.
Originally posted by MI Healthy Answers | <urn:uuid:5bea6044-1416-462f-8e8f-fbf45897924b> | {
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Playing a video game helps protect against the natural decline in cognitive skills that begins in middle age, University of Iowa researchers reported this week in PLOS ONE.
In a study of 681 generally healthy medical patients ages 50 and older, training for just 10 hours on a video game designed to prime visual speed of processing delayed declines in not only visual speed of processing but in a range of other cognitive skills as well.
"We stopped this decline and actually restore[d] cognitive processing speed to people," lead author Fredric Wolinsky, PhD, a professor in the University's College of Public Health, said in a statement.
"It's fairly easy, and older folks can go get the training game and play it [at home]," he said.
"Cognitive declines are well-documented as early as age 30 in cross-sequential data and as early as age 45 in longitudinal data. Because parts of these declines reflect negative brain plasticity, cognitive abilities may be strengthened somewhat by interventions that promote positive brain plasticity," the authors wrote.
The 681 subjects were randomized to one of four interventions and then further stratified by age with results analyzed for those 50 to 64 years of age versus and 65 or older.
Three of the groups were assigned to computerized visual speed of processing training of varying intensity: 10 hours on site, 10 hours on site plus 4 hours of booster training at 11 months, or 10 hours at home. A fourth group was assigned to attention training onsite using computerized crossword puzzles for 10 hours.
The video game, called "Road Tour," asks users to identify a vehicle displayed fleetingly on a license plate and then re-identify the vehicle type and match it with a road sign displayed from a circular array of eight possibilities, all but one of them false icons. The player must succeed at least three out of every four tries to advance to the next level, which speeds up the vehicle identification and adds more distractions, up to 47 in all.
"The game starts off with an assessment to determine your current speed of processing. Whatever it is, the training can help you get about 70% faster," said Wolinsky, who has no financial stake in the game.
The primary outcome was the Useful Field of View (UFOV) test, and secondary outcomes were the Trail Making (Trails) A and B Tests, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Stroop Color and Word Tests, Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), and the Digit Vigilance Test (DVT), which were assessed at baseline and at 1 year.
A total of 620 participants (91%) completed the study and were included in the analyses.
Results showed that compared to the attention control group, all three intervention groups had small to medium standardized effect size improvements on UFOV, Trails A and B Tests, SDMT, and the Stroop Word Test (P<0.05).
Converted to years of protection against age-related cognitive declines, these effects reflect 3.0 to 4.1 years on UFOV, 2.2 to 3.5 years on Trails A, 1.5 to 2.0 years on Trails B, 5.4 to 6.6 years on SDMT, and 2.3 to 2.7 years on the Stroop Word Test.
While the improvements on the Stroop Color and Word, COWAT, and DVT tests were not statistically significant, they were all in the expected direction, the researchers reported.
"That said, it is especially important to note here that several of these neuropsychological tests are more direct and commonly used measures of executive function than the primary outcome -- UFOV. Therefore, these effects on the secondary outcomes suggest the potential for having beneficial cascading effects of as little as 10 hours of visual speed of processing training in many domains of everyday life that are highly affected by executive decline," they wrote.
The on-site booster training group had the greatest improvement, which was expected, Wolinsky and colleagues reported.
The study was designed to address the main limitations of the landmark National Institutes of Health-funded ACTIVE study, which showed that mental exercises for high-functioning seniors slowed the expected decline in their thinking ability, even after 5 years, said Wolinsky, who was involved in the trial.
Among ACTIVE's limitations were that only older Medicare-age persons were included, the control group didn't get any training, and it was not designed to determine if other cognitive outcomes would be affected, he said.
The new study was, therefore, the first randomized controlled trial to show that visual speed of processing training works equally well for older and middle-age adults, the authors wrote.
The study also broke new ground in terms of showing visual speed of processing's ability to affect other important neuropsychological outcomes, they said.
Limitations of the current trial included a mostly white, college-educated cohort and participants that were generally cognitively preserved, with a mean UFOV at baseline that was considerably higher than the mean at baseline in ACTIVE.
Huntington Potter, PhD, director of Alzheimer's disease programs at the University of Colorado, Denver, said he was "very impressed with the effect size and the long-term improvement."
"People improved not only in speed of visual processing, which is what would be expected to improve if the intervention was working, but also in visual field and cognition," he said.
"Even if only the visual field is improved, it could have a major impact on functionality and safety. Parents of teenagers (like myself) will be distressed to hear of a benefit of video games, but that is research," Potter said.
A great next step, he said, would be to test the intervention in patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
I wonder how many of us think of using Wii or Xbox as a means of mental exercise? What kinds of interventions are you recommending to keep our aging brains nimble? Share your experience with a comment by clicking the Add Your Knowledge link at the bottom of this article. -- Sanjay Gupta, MD
The NIH funded the work.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Potter has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
- Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD Emeritus Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner | <urn:uuid:1b3ffa2f-86dd-482c-8d91-2ed125316740> | {
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From the Publisher:
When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. As a baby, she was silent and unresponsive; as a toddler, she threw violent temper tantrums but never spoke a word. It wasn’t until years later that she was diagnosed with autism, a brain disorder that makes communication difficult. Temple’s father wanted to put her in a mental institution. But her mother believed in her, so Temple went to school instead.
Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a brilliant scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Her world-changing career has revolutionized the livestock industry—each year, half the cattle in the United States are handled in cruelty-free facilities she has designed. She is also a passionate advocate for autism, using her experience to prove that people with this disorder can have great lives.
To achieve this unprecedented success, Temple used one of the strengths of autism: she thinks visually, the same way most animals do. Because she thinks in pictures, she can see the world as a cow, or a dog, or a pig might see it. And so she knows that animals raised for food deserve good lives and should be treated with respect. Now she gives them a voice. Temple has earned respect for herself, too, but things weren’t always so easy…
In this compelling biography, the author Sy Montgomery takes us inside Temple Grandin’s extraordinary mind and opens the door to a broader understanding of autism. | <urn:uuid:28c197f5-3b70-43d1-93b0-b5ae889816f2> | {
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The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive was one of the bloodiest military battles in history. On the first day alone, the British suffered more than 57,000 casualties (greater than the total combined British casualties in the Crimean, Boer, and Korean wars), and by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers would lose more than 1.5 million men. Some 150,000 Commonwealth servicemen lie buried in 250 military and 150 civilian cemeteries on the Somme. Six memorials to the missing commemorate by name more than 100,000 whose graves are not known
The Somme offensive lasted a total of 141 days - and men from every part of Britain and across the Empire took part.
Later today some 2,000+ guests are due to gather for a service of Remembrance to mark the 100th anniversary of the final day of the Battle of the Somme at the Thiepval Memorial in France which holds the names of more than seventy two thousand men who died on the Somme and have no known grave. The final centenary service will be led by Bishop James Newcome, the Royal British Legion's national chaplain, and guests will be welcomed by Britain's ambassador to France, Lord Llewellyn of Steep.
- The battle lasted 141 days, from July 1st to November 18th 1916.
- The battle was preceded by a seven day bombardment firing 1.7m shells at the German trenches.
- The goal of the battle was for the Allied forces to take control of the 24 km stretch of the River Somme from the Germans
- The British captured just three square miles of territory on the first day
- 19,240 British soldiers died on the first day - the bloodiest day in the history of the British army. Officers below Major died at a much higher rate on the Somme than private soldiers did, with 60% of British officers who were involved on the first day losing their lives.
- The Royal Flying Corps, the air army of the British Army, lost 782 aircraft and 576 pilots during the battle.
- The Battle of the Somme was the first battle in WW1 to use tanks, with varied results, many broke down
- The average British fighter carried at least 30kg of equipment with him while going over the trenches in the initial phases of the battle
- Wilfred Owen, Adolph Hitler and JRR Tolkien all took part in the Battle of the Somme.
- At the end of hostilities, the British had advanced just seven miles
- The Battle of the Somme marked the end of the “Pals Battalion” due to the enormous losses. During the first day of battle 584 of the 720 serving in the Accrington Pals were killed or wounded, along with 500 out of 600 who served in the Grimsby Chums.
- In 1916, more than 20 million Britons, nearly half the country’s population, flocked to cinemas to watch “The Battle of the Somme,” the first feature-length war documentary. Incorporating both staged footage and real battle scenes captured between June 25th and July 9th.
- 51 Victoria Crosses were won by British soldiers. 31 won by NCO’s and 20 by officers. Of these 51 medals, 17 were awarded posthumously – 10 to NCO’s and 7 to officers.
Do you know enough about your WWI military ancestors?
War touches many people’s lives. Is your family’s military history waiting to be discovered? Is there a war hero in your family waiting to be remembered? Did any members of your family get awarded medals for their actions in war?
Perhaps they did, but you just haven’t found out about it yet…Why not search the Forces War Records site and take a look at the wealth of records and historic documents the company holds. Let us help you start, or continue your family history quest…
Please post a message of Remembrance for your military ancestor on our NEW Dedication wall. | <urn:uuid:463e539c-e945-4cea-b47f-c63876fa9cb7> | {
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June 30, 2014
Obesity, epidemic in the U.S. and worldwide, is one of the important modifiable risk factors for breast cancer, especially a particularly aggressive subtype called basal-like breast cancer (BBC). Population studies have suggested that lifestyle interventions, including weight loss, could prevent a large proportion of this type of cancer; however, data on the effect of weight loss on BBC risk are limited and the mechanisms involved uncertain.
Because BBC is so closely linked to obesity, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill wondered whether changes in mammary gland tissue, called the micro-environment, were drivers of this aggressive subtype cancer.
Liza Makowski, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and UNC School of Medicine, co-authored the study, “Weight loss reversed obesity-induced HGF/c-Met pathway and basal-like breast cancer progression,” published in Frontiers in Oncology as part of a research feature on “Obesity: An important driving force behind inflammation, altered immunity and cellular metabolism.”
Makowski also is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In previous work, using a unique, genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of basil-like breast cancer, Makowski’s lab induced obesity in adult mice by feeding them a high-fat diet or allowed them to remain lean on control diets.
They found that obesity led to early onset of tumors and increases in a cancer-causing growth factor pathway called HGF/c-Met. Interestingly, the apparent effects of obesity were very strong in normal unaffected mammary glands, more so than in the tumors. Hence, the current study, funded by the Mary Kay Foundation, intended to determine the effect of modification of risk by weight loss on BBC development.
Sneha Sundaram, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Makowski lab and lead study author, and colleagues used the same BBC GEMMs. Sundaram caused one group of mice to be obese from an early age and maintained their obesity throughout life, and induced another group to lose weight by switching from the obesogenic diet back to the control diet.
“Because we saw more dramatic effects of obesity in the normal mammary gland compared to the tumor,” Makowski said, “we wanted to see if weight loss before tumors appeared would decrease tumor burden. We couldn’t predict whether the effects of obesity were reversible or not.”
Makowski and colleagues found that mice who lost weight displayed significantly reduced tumor growth compared to mice that remained obese. Formerly obese mice had the same characteristics as lean mice – including potential obesity-related, cancer-causing mediators such as insulin, a high leptin/adiponectin ratio, and HGF/c-Met pathway – thus demonstrating that oncogenic effects of obesity in this mouse model of BBC are reversible if weight loss occurs prior to overt tumor onset.
The Makowsky lab, with funding from the Mary Kay Foundation and a National Cancer Institute Provocative Question R21 grant, is at work now on future studies to elucidate the efficacy of inhibiting the c-Met pathway using novel small molecule therapeutics to reduce obesity-driven BBC. Taken together, this unique study is important to the field of breast cancer by being the first to examine the role of weight loss prior to tumor onset in protecting BBC mice from the accelerated tumorigenesis observed with obesity.
Co-authors of the study in Makowski’s lab, in addition to Makowski and Sundaram, are Trinh L. Le, master’s student, Luma Essaid, Bachelor of Science in Public Health student, Alex J. Freemerman, PhD, and Ms. Megan J. Huang. Other co-authors include Melissa A. Troester, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology at the Gillings School; Joseph A. Galanko, PhD, research assistant professor of medicine, and Kirk K. McNaughton, BS, research analyst in cell biology and physiology, in the UNC School of Medicine; and Katharine M. Bendt, research associate, and David B. Darr, MS, operations director of the Mouse Phase 1 Unit of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Care Center.
The article was made available online June 22. | <urn:uuid:b7632cca-3007-4c0b-8af5-e8e27c37ae73> | {
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Research Drives Innovation
Published: December 10, 2012
Apple has attained universal recognition as one of the most innovative companies in the technology industry. The products that they have introduced, from the Mac to iPhone to Apple TV, have mainstreamed user experience concepts and interaction models, shifting the entire industry. There’s a common misperception that Apple doesn’t do research. That these ideas sprang full formed from the cranium of the late Steve Jobs like a technological Athena. The media have mentioned a number of times that Apple builds products their own employees would want, which translates nicely to the consumer population as a whole. This does not mean that Apple is not conducting research. It just means they’re doing research internally—and for Apple that just works.
But all of the companies that don’t have a workforce that represents its users so nicely need to pursue other research strategies.
This month, we’ll take a look at the role that research plays in innovation—from generating ideas to refining them throughout the development process to smoothing the transition to mainstream success.
Inspiration and the Birth of Ideas
Sometimes we feel like we have the best job in the world. It’s true that we spend much of our time determining the best research approach to solve unique problems or pouring over data to identify trends, but we also spend a lot of time out in the field with people, learning about their lives and challenges in hopes of discovering ways to help them through the introduction of new and innovative products.
It’s through our research process that we gain a full understanding of users and, thus, are able to see opportunities for introducing new products into their lives. Whenever we see elaborate workarounds, simple processes that just take way too long, or users’ shoulders slumped in exhaustion or stress, we know that we’ve identified an opportunity.
Leonardo da Vinci also drew inspiration from the world around him. Da Vinci studied animals to understand how fish swam and birds flew. The insights he gained through research helped him to create early concepts for flying machines, parachutes, floatation belts, swim fins, and many other inventions. The Wright brothers would later duplicate Da Vinci’s early attempts at biomimicry in creating their own flying machine.
As much as many of us might hope that we could just sit at our desk and wrack our brain until we come up with the next great idea, the truth is that inspiration tends to come from the world around us. The camera grew from ideas garnered from watching light pass through a pinhole or the leaves on a tree. Thorns and living fences inspired barbed wire. The earliest form of the bicycle was called the dandy horse, recognizing the animal that inspired it.
Beyond biomimicry, there are numerous examples of technology drawing inspiration from the world. Every popular computer operating system uses a desktop metaphor to support user interaction. Craigslist mimics the newspaper classifieds that it’s currently overtaking. The shopping cart, which has become an ecommerce mainstay, takes its name from the physical carts that inspired their virtual counterparts. And social networks are modeled after—well, actual social networks. It’s easy to see how, over and over again, experience of the real world has inspired the technology that has reshaped our lives. But inspiration is only one part of invention. It’s not enough to have an idea, you have to execute it.
Growing an Idea
Over the years, we’ve seen a variety of concepts evolve from ideas to products to mainstream market conventions. In each case, a product matured thanks to the concerted effort of a team of people with different capabilities. A good product team almost always includes a UX designer who is responsible for designing the product, a developer to build it, a business person to create strategies for monetization, and a user researcher to support all other efforts. Research plays an important role in generating and developing concepts into products because of the information it provides. Whether market data or user data, information nourishes inspiration and helps us to evolve our ideas into fully realized products.
Research provides guidance and validation throughout the entire design and development process—all the way through to the release of a product and beyond. During the definition phase, research can help to determine a product’s feature set and differentiate between core features and added value. During the design phase, research results enable you to tell a story about who your users are and how they will tend to use your product.
Data from research helps to inform usage considerations such as the environment or conditions under which people will use a product. For example, if research indicates that the main users for a product would be working mothers, it should also indicate the design considerations for that group of users. That could include the need for quick engagement and multitasking, because a working mother is often juggling multiple demands on her time and attention.
Research can also help to validate a design as it develops through early mockups and concept testing. Acquiring user feedback on early designs before you begin spending time and money on development can save a tremendous amount of both.
Once you reach the development phase, user data on likely product usage can inform key platform and development decisions. Knowing where and how people might use your product can make the difference between, for example, your deciding to use Flash or PHP for the front end of a Web application. Making the wrong choice and starting down the wrong path, then having to reverse course could result in a very costly change in direction. Knowing a great deal about likely usage also allows you to set your development priorities. For example, knowing that working mothers tend to like using tablets, because they enable quick engagement, can help you to prioritize mobile over Web or desktop applications.
As you get close to completing product development, research can guide your marketing, distribution, and sales strategy. Knowing where your users consume content can help you to determine what your marketing content and ad placement should be. For example, you might find that working mothers like to visit celebrity news sites. Therefore, celebrity endorsements and ad placements on People magazine’s Web site might be a key element of your strategy to build awareness of your product among working mothers.
Like other aspects of product strategy, missteps with your marketing and advertising approach can be extremely detrimental to the health of your product and company. Throwing away valuable advertising money by pursuing avenues of marketing that don’t effectively build awareness of your product could leave you stranded, with empty coffers and lagging product adoption. For a startup, this could mean challenging attempts to recapitalize without demonstrating traction in the marketplace.
Research is an extremely important aspect of innovation—both in generating ideas for new and innovative products and in guiding the development of products from their inception to their release. Relying on research to generate ideas, inform decision making, and verify design and development directions is absolutely key to maximizing your chance of releasing a successful product. For startups, spending scarce funds on research to support critical design and development phases may seem like an expensive luxury. But we’ve encountered companies that were able to achieve success by partnering in equity relationships with freelance researchers or small research firms like ours. Establishing such partnerships can be an effective way of getting the guidance and validation that a successful product requires, without devoting a great deal of seed capital in research during the early stages of a startup. | <urn:uuid:dda87efc-a0f2-4d93-a246-eb504a8b1fec> | {
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The 10th year of an operation to help protect two of New Zealand's rare and endemic birds begins in September in Ashburton District with the co-operation of landowners.
Environment Canterbury’s control operation targeting animal predators in two sections of the Ashburton River/Hakatere will help the populations of wrybill and black fronted tern.
Both birds are thought to number less than 5000 nationally with numbers continuing to decline due to disturbance, predation and loss of habitat.
Environment Canterbury’s Southern Biosecurity Team Leader, Brent Glentworth says while expectations of bird population recovery are high, operations are not a quick fix.
"It takes many years to allow breeding birds to boost numbers naturally and encourage other birds back into area where they have been largely absent. But bird survey results were encouraging."
Currently over 1800 possums, 242 feral cats 247 mustelids (ferrets/stoats/weasels) and 345 hedgehogs and multitudes of rats and mice have been removed from the control sites since 2003.
Mr Glentworth says the work beginning in September is critical to ensure there are fewer predators on the ground when the birds are nesting in late spring/early summer.
“Unfortunately we can’t eradicate these predators totally or fund sustained control, but by helping to protect these birds when they are most vulnerable we hope to make a difference.
“While the wrybill and tern are the target species, all birds, invertebrates and lizards in the Ashburton Riverbed will benefit from the control work,” says Mr Glentworth.
The contractor engaged by Environment Canterbury Excell Ltd, using local operator Mr Jock Quinn will focus on predator control within two sections of the river.
The lower Ashburton riverbed site of approximately 920 hectares runs downstream from the State Highway 1 Bridge to a point 9.5km down river. The upper site located at Hakatere on the south branch of the Ashburton River between Blowing Point and Maori Lakes contains around 760 hectares in area and covers around 7.5km of river bed.
This work contributes to the targets of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) which takes an ecosystem-based approach to protecting our native biodiversity. Protection of braided river ecology and natural character is a key target of the CWMS and in particular implementing actions that increase useable habitat for braided river birds and protecting the breeding populations from threats such as predators.
Signs will be placed at control locations advising the public of what is taking place, and people are reminded to keep dogs under control in these areas. | <urn:uuid:06196fb5-9c71-492c-8447-c4de02b2a9c0> | {
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Apple may use the new USB protocol in future product lines to prevent users from using low quality cables
In the near future, USB-C data lines will likely have built-in security certification measures. This will be achieved by using a new standard for USB Type-C certification, which will use a special password to identify the charging device that authenticates the connection. Not only does it ensure that the equipment used is certified, it also increases safety.
The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has been working on the development of new protocols. This new protocol will verify that the connected hardware and cables used are secure and support the same standards. Once the cable is connected to the device, the verification process begins, and the verification process is performed by 128-bit cryptography. If the charging device is not verified, the device will not be granted access.
Such an authentication can protect users from malware and inexpensive inferior chargers, as these chargers may not provide the correct voltage and resistance and may damage the appliance. Especially when using a USB centralized charging station in some restaurants or stations, you need to pay attention to this. For enterprise users, this standard will limit the interconnection between devices to improve the security of private data. For users, such a new agreement would prevent them from using low-quality non-MFi certification (a third-party charger that Apple licenses for an external accessory made by its authorized accessory manufacturer), or limit these Charging speed of inferior charging equipment.
In fact, long ago, Apple has been able to identify whether some charging equipment is a reliable product. When the user connects to a wire that is not certified by MFi, the user's Apple device will pop up. "This cable or accessory has not passed yet." Authentication, so it may not work with this iPhone to work reliably." Users must pay attention to this, because if you use such charging cable for a long time, it may cause accidents such as battery drums and so on, and will be implemented in the future. The new standard will greatly reduce these risks. | <urn:uuid:826dc16e-ec1a-442a-8584-05f612a666a0> | {
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A fossilized baby reptile emerging from its mother's body during a live birth has been discovered in China.
The fossils, belonging to dolphin-like marine reptiles with huge eyes called Chaohusaurus, date back to 248 million years ago, during the Mesozoic era, before the rise of the dinosaurs.
That makes this the oldest live birth of a vertebrate — an animal with a backbone — known in the fossil record.
The mother appears to have been in the process of giving birth to triplets. The one that died while being born had two siblings nearby — one still inside the mother, and one that had already been born, lying near the mother.
The fossils were described by University of California Davis paleontologist Ryosuke Motani, and American, Italian and Chinese colleagues in a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE this week.
Chaohusaurus is the oldest of a group of marine reptiles called Ichthyosaurs. Ichthyosaurs were already known to give birth to live young, unlike many present day reptiles that lay eggs. Later ichthyosaurs have been found being born tail first, like whales, thought to be an adaptation to prevent suffocation during underwater births.
The fact that the Chaohusaurus baby was being born head first suggests that its ancestors were live-bearing land animals, the researchers said. That implies that reptiles on land evolved the ability to give birth to live young much earlier than thought. | <urn:uuid:49e7ac83-66d7-400f-920b-97cc74b4f54f> | {
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Parshas Ki Savo
Next Year in a Fully Rebuilt Jerusalem
The main part of the parsha is concerned with the description of the woes
that will befall the Jewish people in their long years of exile and
persecution. The Torah sees this as being a form of redemptive punishment
for the Chosen People who chose to imitate the idolatrous and immoral ways
of the general society.
However, as the exile of Israel stretched into centuries and then into
millennia, the Jews began to feel that somehow the punishment was rather
excessive relative to the crime. Therefore other explanations for the length
and bitterness of the exile of Israel were advanced.
The Talmud itself, hundreds of years after the destruction of the Second
Temple, offered that the scattering of the Jewish people throughout the
world was to allow non-Jews who wished to convert to Judaism be afforded the
opportunity to do so. Others suggested that the dispersal of the Jewish
Diaspora was to allow Judaic values and attitudes to penetrate the
non-Jewish world as well.
It was through the bitter exile itself that the Jewish people would fulfill
its mission of being a light unto the nations of the world. The survival of
the Jewish people under the oppressive conditions of its exile also raised
questions and problems for the Christian world. The concept of the “Witness
People” gained currency in the Christian world – that somehow Jews had to
survive to “witness” the eventual reappearance of the Christian savior and
finally convert to Christianity.
Thus the Church established the institution of the “Pope’s Jews” who were
protected from harm since they had to survive to be the “Witness People.” Be
all of this as it may, what is clear is that every word of the Torah
regarding the fate of the Jews in exile has come true – true literally and
not allegorically. As the Ramban phrased it, it is astounding that a book
written thousands of years before the events occurred should record those
events so truthfully and faithfully.
It is of comfort that since the tragedies recited in the parsha that would
befall Israel have all come true literally that we can be certain that the
blessings and redemption similarly told to us in the parsha shall also
undoubtedly be fulfilled literally. Some of them have already been realized
in our time with the ingathering of the exiles of Israel to the nascent
Jewish state. Others are still developing and coming.
The Torah never placed any time limits either on Jewish exile or redemption.
The Lord has His own reckoning that no human can be privy to. The rabbis,
therefore, strongly discouraged prognostications of dates for the arrival of
the redemption and the messianic era.
Over the many centuries of Jewish exile, many dates were forecast to be the
ones of redemption, but all of them have come and gone and the redemption is
yet unfulfilled in actuality or completeness. Yet our hope and belief in our
eventual redemption has never waned. “Next year in Jerusalem” has been
fulfilled. Next year in a fully rebuilt and peaceful Jerusalem is in the
wings of the drama that unfolds now before our very eyes.
Rabbi Berel Wein | <urn:uuid:9e441e69-2550-463a-b1ea-252308e915ba> | {
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8. The Bible: Understanding Its Message
The Psalmist, affirming the Old Testament as God’s Word, wrote, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). Later in this same Psalm he wrote, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple” (vs. 130). Solomon wrote, “For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life” (Prov. 6:23). So David wrote, “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Obviously God has revealed Himself to us in His inspired Word that it might give light to our innate blindness. However, for the Scripture to give us light, it must be understood properly, then believed and applied in faith. But for man to understand the Bible properly, he must have two things: (a) he needs the illuminating work of the Spirit of God, and (b) he needs the proper method of interpretation for without the right method of interpretation, one is left on a sea of uncertainty.
The Need for Illumination
Though the Bible is a pure light that can direct our paths and bring us into an understanding of God and His salvation in Christ, man needs special enablement from God due to the Bible’s spiritual dimension that raises it above man’s natural abilities. “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11). Furthermore, Adam’s fall into sin and his consequent spiritual death rendered man incapable of comprehending the truth of Scripture. Simply put, the “natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14). This means a special work of God is needed to make the Scripture understandable to both the natural man (unsaved) and to the saved. As seen in the way Jesus opened the eyes of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the work of illumination is necessary to enable us to comprehend the Word of God (cf. Luke 24:44-45).
Definition of Illumination
Illumination can be defined as “the special ministry of the Holy Spirit whereby He enlightens men so they can comprehend the written Word of God.” Illumination begins with the pre-salvation work of the Spirit to bring demonstrable proof of the claims of the gospel that people might trust in Christ (cf. John 1:9; 16:8-11; 2 Tim. 1:10; Heb. 6:4). Generally, illumination is used in reference to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in enabling believers to understand the Scripture (Eph. 1:18; 3:9).
Explanation of Illumination76
The doctrine of illumination must not be confused with revelation and inspiration. The following differences need to be understood:
(1) Revelation refers to the content of God’s truth as it was revealed to the Old Testament and New Testament authors of Scripture.
(2) Inspiration refers to the accurate transmission of that content to men, first verbally (as with the prophets) and then in written form.
(3) Canonization refers to the recognition and collection of those inspired books into a canon, the Bible.
(4) Illumination refers to understanding of the Bible’s message to believers. Unbelievers can only experience this work as it pertains to His convicting ministry in relation to the gospel message (John 16:8-11).
As the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit is the believer’s means of spiritual illumination. Four New Testament passages focus on this ministry of the Spirit; these are John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:9-3:3; Ephesians 3:16-19; and 1 John 2:20 and 27. The essence of these passages is as follows:
(1) As the Spirit of truth and God’s special anointing, He is our Teacher. This is not a privilege for a select few, but is available to all believers since He indwells all believers. The teaching ministry of the Spirit is thus guaranteed to all believers.
(2) Since indwelling is limited to believers, unbelievers can only experience the illuminating ministry of the Spirit in the matter of convicting and convincing them of the truth of the gospel message (John 16:8-11). This does not mean they cannot achieve a high level of understanding of the Bible, but its truth remains foolishness and they do not welcome it.
(3) As the extent of the Spirit’s illumination, it encompasses the whole council of the Bible, Genesis to Revelation and salvation to things to come.
(4) Several things can hamper the Spirit’s ministry of illumination. Carnality (1 Cor. 2:1-3), indifference (cf. Heb. 5:1f with 1 Pet. 2:2), tradition and preconceived ideas (Mark 7:7-13), ignorance (Mark 12:24; Luke 24:25-32; “foolish” in vs. 25 is the Greek, anohtos, “not understanding”), and poor methods of Bible study or interpretation (cf. Paul’s exhortation in 2 Tim. 3:15).
(5) The purpose of the Spirit’s ministry is not to focus on Himself, but to disclose to us the glories and sufficiency of Christ and, as a result, to glorify Him (Eph. 3:16f; John 16:12-15).
(6) The Spirit uses those whom He has gifted with the gift of teaching in His ministry of illuminating others (Rom. 12:7; 1 John 2:27). 1 John 2:27 does not mean we do not need teachers. Otherwise, why would the Spirit give this gift? In the context, John was speaking of discerning truth from error.
Ryrie adds an important note about illumination and revelation.
The experience of illumination is not by “direct revelation.” The canon is closed. The Spirit illumines the meaning of that closed canon, and He does so through study and meditation. Study employs all the proper tools for ascertaining the meaning of the text. Meditation thinks about the true facts of the text, putting them together into a harmonious whole and applying them to one’s own life. The end result of the illumination ministry of the Spirit is to glorify Christ in the life, or to promote healthy doctrine—teaching that brings spiritual health and wholeness to the believer’s life. Illumination is not concerned merely with understanding facts but with using those facts to promote Christlikeness.77
Historically, Protestant evangelicalism has affirmed that the Bible is the canon of Scripture, that it is our supreme authority in matters of faith and practice, and that the canon is now closed, but that God is still speaking today and that He does so by means of the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit through this completed canon. But a new proposition is being promoted today which states that God also speaks to His people today apart from the Bible. Most within the evangelical community would also add that, though He speaks apart from the Bible, He never contradicts what is in the Scriptures. But doesn’t this new position threaten the sufficiency and finality of the Scripture? Many conservative scholars believe that it does.78
If you will note, in the outline used here, interpretation has been placed on a level with illumination under the heading “Understanding the Bible.” This is because the illuminating work of the Spirit goes hand-in-hand with the interpretation of Scripture. Although illumination is assured for believers, it does not always guarantee accurate interpretation. And if the interpretation is wrong, so will be the understanding of the passage in question. Many people approach the Bible with a false mysticism. Their attitude is, “The Holy Spirit will show what this means.” But then they proceed to butcher the text and come up with some off-the-wall idea that completely misses what the Spirit is saying based on solid principles of Bible study or exegesis. The word that comes to mind here is abuse. In a chapter entitled, “Handling the Scriptures Accurately,” Swindoll writes:
Ours is a day of abuse; sexual abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse. But what about biblical abuse? By that I mean being deceived by the improper use of Scripture. Who of us has not witnessed someone twisting Scripture, forcing it to mean something it does not mean?79 Those who don’t know better start believing it with all their heart, only to discover later on that both the interpretation and the application were fallacious … perhaps dangerous to their spiritual health and growth.80
It is because of this very problem that the Apostle Paul, in a section where he was warning Timothy against false teaching that can lead to the ruin of the hearers, said, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (emphasis mine). Paul had in mind the important principle that we must correctly handle the Word of God in both its analysis (exegesis) and in its presentation (exposition) since Timothy was faced with the foolish interpretations of false teachers (as we often are). But the main emphasis is on the study and interpretation of the Word of God. What’s involved here? Is this a matter of sincerity or of theology?
Now this has nothing to do with sincerity. Many, perhaps most, people who mishandle the Word are very sincere. And it really has little to do with theology. Some who have their theology fairly well in place can still mishandle Scripture. It also has nothing to do with personality. There are gifted teachers dripping with charisma who can sway an audience and hold them in the palm of their hand, yet be guilty of mishandling Scripture. It certainly has nothing to do with popularity. Famous, highly visible personalities in Christian circles who can draw large listening audiences can (and often do) mishandle Scripture. So let’s put to bed, once for all, the idea that if a person just “loves the Lord,” he or she will be preserved from mishandling Scripture. No, even those of us who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture and affirm the importance of sound doctrine can be guilty of biblical abuse.81
Christians need to learn the basics of sound Bible study. Sound Bible study is that which is based on the fundamental principles of interpretation that will protect the student from Scripture abuse and that will provide a check on his or her own wild imagination. The following lists several important principles that are basic to the interpretation of Scripture.
The Plain or Normal Method of Interpretation
The word literal is avoided here since it often leads to wrong ideas that must be later corrected. Rather, I am using the terms plain or normal to express the proper method of interpretation. By plain or normal we mean the words of Scripture are to be understood in their normal meaning just as we normally understand words in our normal, everyday communication. When we read the newspaper or a recipe in a cookbook, how do we read those words? We understand them according to their literal or normal meaning. If the recipe says two cups of flower, you don’t symbolize that to mean, a great quantity to be chosen at your discretion. If, however, it calls for a pinch of salt, you understand it to be somewhat symbolical of a very small amount.
Justification for the Plain, Normal Method of Interpretation
(1) The very purpose and nature of language supports this method. This is how we communicate in everyday life. God gave us language for the purpose of communicating with each other and with Him. Ryrie writes:
Two ramifications flow from this idea. First, if God originated language for the purpose of communication, and if God is all-wise, then we may believe that He saw to it that the means (language) was sufficient to sustain the purpose (communication). Second, it follows that God would Himself use and expect man to use language in its normal sense. The Scriptures do not call for some special use of language, implying that they communicate on some “deeper” or special level unknown to other avenues of communication.82
(2) The need of control and objectivity. Only the plain method of interpretation provides a check on the minds of men. The allegorical or spiritualizing method of interpretation leads to all kinds of abuse with one person seeing one kind of hidden meaning and another person seeing something entirely different. When interpreters disregard the normal meaning of words and look for supposedly hidden meanings, the true meaning of the Bible is lost; the Bible is abused; imagination and speculation go wild as the interpreter arbitrarily assigns this meaning and then that meaning to the text without any solid historical, grammatical, or lexical foundation for his interpretation.
(3) The example of the Bible itself. A precedence for interpreting the Bible in this manner can be seen in the way Old Testament prophecies like Psalm 22, Isaiah 7:14; 53:1-12; Micah 5:2 have all been fulfilled literally or according to their plain meaning. To this someone might argue, “Aren’t some prophecies of the Old Testament fulfilled in a spiritual or typical sense in the New Testament?” To this question Ryrie says:
To be sure some prophecies of the Old Testament are given a typical fulfillment, only seven are cited as examples of a nonliteral hermeneutic. However, of the approximately twenty-four prophecies to which the New Testament gives a typical fulfillment, only seven are cited as examples of a nonliteral hermeneutic (and, of course, not all agree that these seven prove this). The seven are Matthew 2:15, 18, 23; 11:10; Acts 2:17-21; Romans 9:24-26; and Galatians 4:21-31. Remember, however, that we are not just comparing seven out of a total of twenty-four, but seven out of a total of hundreds, for almost all Old Testament prophecies are clearly fulfilled literally in the New Testament. To be sure, the New Testament may use the Old Testament in ways other than fulfillment, but I am here speaking of prophecies and their fulfillments. This is a strong support for the literal hermeneutics.83
Principles of the Plain, Normal Method of Interpretation
(1) We must interpret the Bible grammatically. This is in keeping with the fact of verbal (words) plenary (full) inspiration. Every word of the Bible is important and though some words will hold more importance than others, all the words and sentences are a part of God’s communication to us. “Only grammatical interpretation fully honors the verbal inspiration of Scripture.”84 Grammatical relationships are vital to sound interpretation because thoughts are expressed in words which stand in relationship to each other to express complete thoughts.
If we neglect the meanings of words and how they are used, we have no way of knowing whose interpretations are correct. The assertion, “You can make the Bible mean anything you want it to mean,” is true only if grammatical interpretation is ignored.85
The hallmark of the Reformation was a return to the historical, grammatical interpretation of Scripture. This was in direct opposition to the approach to the Bible that had been in vogue for hundreds of years—the view that ignored the normal meaning of words in their grammatical sense and let words and sentences mean whatever the readers wanted them to mean.86
So, what is grammatical interpretation? Grammatical interpretation is the process that studies the text of Scripture (exegesis, the critical analysis of the text) to determine four important things: (a) the meaning of words (lexicology), (b) the form of words (morphology), (c) the function of words (parts of speech), and (d) the relationship of words (syntax). This means it is necessary to study the tenses of verbs, nouns and pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and the ways these words are structured.
(2) We must study the Bible historically. As Enns points out, “The historical context is important as a framework from which to interpret the Scriptures. Every book of Scripture was written in a historical context that should be understood in order to help interpret the book accurately.”87
(3) We must study the Bible contextually. Every passage and all the words and sentences in that passage have a context. Take the passage out of the context, and you will miss its meaning and you may abuse the passage. “Words and sentences do not stand in isolation; therefore, the context must be studied in order to see the relation that each verse sustains to that which precedes and to that which follows. Involved are the immediate context and the theme and scope of the whole book.”88
(4) We must interpret according to the analogy of Scripture. This simply means, while always keeping in mind the context, etc., we also need to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. If an interpretation of a passage contradicts other plain passages of the Bible, then something is wrong with the interpretation. Included here is a recognition of the dual authorship of the Bible.
The dual authorship of the Bible makes it necessary not only to know the human author’s meaning but also God’s. God’s meaning may not be fully revealed in the original human author’s writing but is revealed when Scripture is compared with Scripture. We must allow for a sensus plenior which allows for a fuller (though directly related) meaning in the mind of the divine Author of Scripture. We cannot say that the human authors of Scripture always understood the full implications of their own words. When we compare Scripture with Scripture, we can discover the fuller intention of the divine Author.89
(5) We need to recognize the progressive nature of God’s revelation. God did not reveal Himself or His plan all at once. The promise of salvation is revealed in seed form in Genesis 3:15, but it is expanded and developed throughout the Old Testament until we come to its fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ and its full explanation in the New Testament. Once more let me quote Dr. Ryrie:
To be able to interpret plainly and consistently, it is imperative to recognize that revelation was given progressively. This means that in the process of revealing His message to man, God may add or even change in one era what He had given in another. Obviously the New Testament adds much that was not revealed in the Old. What God revealed as obligatory at one time may be rescinded at another (as the prohibition of eating pork, once binding on God’s people, now rescinded, 1 Tim. 4:3).
To fail to recognize this progressiveness in revelation will raise unresolvable contradictions between passages if taken literally. Notice the following pairs of passages which will contradict if understood plainly unless one recognizes changes due to the progress of revelation: Matthew 10:5-7 and 28:18-20, Luke 9:3 and 22:36, Genesis 17:10 and Galatians 5:2; Exodus 20:8 and Acts 20:7. Notice too the crucial changes indicated in John 1:17; 16:24; 2 Corinthians 3:7-11. Those who will not consistently apply this principle of progressive revelation in interpretation are forced to resort to figurative interpretation or sometimes simply to ignore the evidence.90
Since the whole area of biblical interpretation is such an important subject and so determinative on properly understanding the Word of God, a short bibliography is attached to encourage further study in this area.91
76 See article by Dan Wallace, “The Holy Spirit and Hermeneutics,” on The Biblical Studies web site, under Theology/Bibliology. Though this article pertains to the issue of the role of the Spirit in interpretation, it obviously applies to His ministry of illumination as well.
78 For an excellent treatment of this issue and what the church is facing today, see The Coming Evangelical Crisis, General editor, John H. Armstrong, published by Moody Press, 1996. Particularly important for the issue here is chapter 4, “Does God Speak Today Apart From the Bible” by R. Fowler White.
91 Roy B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation, Victor Books, 1991, Wheaton; Robert A. Traina, Methodical Bible Study, Bookroom, The Biblical Seminary, New York (this is a great classic), 1952; Howard G. Hendricks, William D. Hendricks, Living By The Book, Moody Press, Chicago, 1991; Irving L. Jensen, Independent Bible Study, Moody, Chicago, 1963; Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, erd ed., Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1963; Oletta Wald, The Joy of Discovery in Bible Study, rev. ed., Augsburg, Minneapolis, 1975. | <urn:uuid:48c98020-02c3-4b2b-8720-5358542615c5> | {
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|Thompson, Maxine - ARS COLLABORATOR|
Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: December 1, 1995
Publication Date: N/A
Interpretive Summary: The USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository-Corvallis, OR holds the national collection of blackberries and raspberries (genus Rubus). One aspect of evaluation of plants is determining the chromosome number. Because of possible sterility problems associated with unbalanced chromosome numbers in progeny, this trait is important for breeders when choosing parental materials for making crosses. Also, since there is such a wide range in numbers in species and cultivars, this trait is useful in verifying the identity of plants. The basic number is universally x=7 and counts presented here range from 2n=14 to 2n=84. Counts are reported for 124 species/varieties, 42 of which are new and 72 confirmations of previous reports.
Technical Abstract: The USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, OR has the responsibility to maintain Rubus germplasm which represents worldwide diversity of this genus. Chromosome numbers are reported for a total of 201 plants representing 124 accessions of species/varieties. There are new reports for 42 taxa, confirmation for 72 of those previously reported, and ten counts for plants unidentified to species. The basic number is un versally x=7, and counts ranged from 2x to 12x. | <urn:uuid:d0aec827-967a-409a-8770-2d35c6ef86b2> | {
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Up and At 'Em
You’ve probably already been propping up your baby in a sitting position for pictures, at least. Within the next three or four months, she’ll be able to sit up all on her own, although she’ll likely take quite a few tumbles along the way.
Help your baby learn to sit
The best way to help your baby master this important milestone is to give her lots of opportunities to practice. At the same time, keep up the tummy time routine, as this helps strengthen her neck and other muscles necessary for sitting.
- Make lots of time for “free-range” playing. Babies need to be free and unrestricted to develop the movements and balance they need for all the milestones to come. Swings, bouncy seats and other handy baby holders have their place, but they shouldn’t make up the bulk of baby’s day.
- Sit your baby up between your legs on the floor, with her back against your tummy. The two of you can read or play games, and baby can learn balance and positioning with your support.
- Once she starts to get the hang of it, set her in a seated position and get her balanced before you let go. Stay very close, but give her a chance to try to use her hands to keep herself up in a tripod position.
- When she can stay upright a little longer, sit her on the floor with lots of pillows around her. Marvel at her little wobbles, because every wobble sends messages to her brain about her position, while teaching every muscle how to balance.
While you and your baby work on this amazing new skill, be extra cautious about where you practice. Don’t prop your baby on the couch or the bed without having a hand on her. And never ever place her in a bouncy seat or other baby seat on an elevated surface, such as a table or regular chair.
Don’t be worried if your baby shows no motivation or ability to sit yet. It’s still early, and the average baby doesn’t sit without support until around eight months or so—chubbier babies often take longer, because they tend to roll right over instead of remaining upright. If you have any concerns at all about your baby’s development, talk with your pediatrician. | <urn:uuid:252b45ce-e592-4437-9d47-c24843ce1a41> | {
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Appealing to Latino voters will be crucial come November. That's been well publicized. Hispanics account for 16 percent of the population, and every month an estimated 18,000 Latinos in the US are turning 18.
But it's a dormant group: Latinos are less likely to vote than any other ethnic group. Take the case of Nevada.
Latinos make up 26 percent of the population in Nevada, but they accounted for less than 12 percent of voters during the last presidential election.
One reason more Latinos aren't voting: Many aren't citizens. They may be eligible, but haven't bothered to go thru the citizenship process. A lawful permanent resident can apply for citizenship after five years of residency, or three years if married to a US citizen.
In a small trailer in downtown Las Vegas, about 20 people are bothering with the process thru the organization, "The Citizenship Project." Students are quizzing each other on American history, geography, and civics to prepare for the citizenship exam. They tackle questions like, "Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?" and "Name two of the longest rivers in the US."
To become citizens, they'll also have to demonstrate a basic mastery of English.
At one table, teacher Martha Mynatt is working with student Alvaro Martinez on his English. Mynatt has Martinez read sentences such as, "The capital of the United States is Washington DC."
Martinez is originally from Guatemala. He's been eligible to become a citizen for five years, but hasn't taken the final steps.
"I was nervous," he says.
I asked him, if he was nervous about the language requirement or the history questions?
"Probably the language," he responds.
Why Lawful Permanent Residents Don't Become Citizens
There are tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas like Martinez. Local Hispanic organizations estimate that perhaps 72,000 Latinos in southern Nevada are eligible to become citizens, also called becoming naturalized.
I asked political scientist John Tuman, chair of UNLV's Department of Political Science, why there isn't more urgency for legal residents to take the last step toward becoming US citizens?
"Well, that's a good question," said Tuman. "A lot of advocates in the community here have talked about the fact that there hidden costs associated with naturalization. And many immigrants, including people who have lived here for a long time, are under the impression that they need legal assistance in order to apply for US citizenship. And the fees associated with that legal assistance can be anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000."
Latino organizations here are trying to counteract the misinformation out there. They're staging so-called "citizenship workshops" throughout several western states. The events are non-partisan.
I attended one all-day Saturday event held in a vast ballroom at the Rio hotel and casino.
At about a hundred small tables, volunteers are paired up with would-be citizens helping them fill out the citizenship application. Volunteers ask background questions such as, "Have you ever been arrested, cited or detained by law enforcement?" The applicants also answer questions about their marriage situation, and employment and immigration history.
Maria, from Peru, is applying to become a citizen. She's been a legal resident since 1990. I asked her what's taken her so long to apply for citizenship?
"Before, I don't have time because I was working, working, working," she said. "I have three children, I was myself taking care of my children."
As to what benefits she sees in becoming a citizen now?
"I don't know what kind of benefits I'll have. I don't know. I don't know yet," she said with nervous laughter.
Many in the room were similarly vague. (Maybe because they were uncomfortable speaking in English to a reporter.) Still, their inability to articulate the benefits of citizenship makes sense. After all, John Tuman at UNLV said that research shows that citizens, in many jobs — such as union jobs, which Vegas has plenty — don't earn higher salaries than legal residents.
So it's often not worth the time, effort and cost to become a citizen. The application process alone costs $680.
"Now in these current times, $680 is the mortgage or the rent for some families," said Hergit Llenas, with the Human Rights Campaign, one of the groups organizing this workshop. Llenas is trying to show people that there are benefits to taking the last step to citizenship.
"Well I've been there so I know exactly what the difference is. For me, (there are) three key things. One is the ability to vote. Two, is the ability to apply for jobs that are only applicable for citizens," she said, referring primarily to many government jobs. "And then, in my case, being a young Latina traveling, I was always treated like a mule or a young prostitute, when I was trying to just, like, backpack thru Europe, and being capable and able to travel with a US passport, it was day and night."
Event organizers are stressing the importance of point #1 — voting. Artie Blanco with the group Mi Familia Vota spoke to a room of people arriving at the workshop.
In Spanish, she said, "Latinos have power here in Nevada, Las Vegas, the United States. This is where we have a voice." She later told me, "We're not going anywhere and we must participate in civic engagement."
Fernando Romero isn't convinced speeches like this are enough to motivate Latinos to vote. He runs Nevada's oldest Latino political organization, Hispanics in Politics. I asked him why more Latinos here aren't becoming citizens, and why more Latino citizens aren't voting?
Romero says Latinos care foremost about the economy, education and healthcare, like everyone in America. But they also care deeply about immigration reform. Latinos in western states voted in large numbers for President Obama in 2008, and Romero says they feel let down.
"People are just not to enticed to come out and vote," said Romero. "However, the more that the Republican primary goes, the harsher that the candidates are speaking out against the Latinos — and in fact making us the focal point of their ire, of their concern, of their ills of this country — it's beginning to inspire many to just come out and vote. But not so much in favor of someone — in this case the re-election President Obama — but against whomever will be the Republican candidate."
The Democrats know this. And they're trying to let Latinos know, that the Republican Party is no friend of theirs. | <urn:uuid:f48db8c1-b882-4191-b998-540f70041f29> | {
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The United States was once proclaimed as the land of the free. Now we are more often reminded that it has been the profitable home of an acquisitive society. Greed and 'lust for money,' we are told, determined the course of development of even the first years of the republic.
Yet, as early as 1800 a potent but silent ferment was at work which had nothing to do with the almighty dollar. In describing conditions at the beginning of Jefferson's administration, Henry Adams writes as follows: 'European travelers who passed through America noticed that everywhere, in the White house at Washington and in log cabins beyond the Alleghenies, except for a few Federalists every American, from Jefferson and Gallatin down to the poorest squatter seemed to nourish an idea that he was doing what he could to overthrow the tyranny which the past had fastened on the human mind.' This idea so widely disseminated among the citizens of the raw republic of sixteen states seems to me one of the most essential and continuing elements in the development of American education. I have ventured to associate with this passion for freedom of the mind two other closely allied elements—namely, a belief in careers open to all through higher education, and a faith in universal schooling. I have labeled the whole with Jefferson's name. I trust that neither his shade nor American historians will be unduly offended by my terminology.
In his brief autobiographical sketch Jefferson wrote that he deemed it essential to a well-ordered republic to annul hereditary privilege. He proposed 'instead of an aristocracy of wealth, of more harm and danger, than benefit, to society, to make an opening for the aristocracy of virtue and talent, which nature has wisely provided for the direction of the interests of society, and scattered with equal hand through all its conditions....' Elsewhere, in describing his new educational scheme for Virginia, he speaks of that part of his plan which called for 'the selection of the youths of genius from among the classes of the poor.' He declared, 'We hope to avail the State of those talents which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as the rich, but which perish without use, if not sought for and cultivated.' These quotations sum up for me the second component in the Jeffersonian tradition in education—a sincere belief in the paramount importance of careers freely open to all the talented.
Most important for its effect on the development of American educational practice was the third element of the tradition—Jefferson's devotion to the principle of universal schooling. This doctrine naturally has had more general popular appeal throughout the years than either concern for freedom of the mind or desire for opportunity through higher education. For here was a proposition which directly affected every family in the land. To quote from the proposal for Virginia, 'The ultimate result of the whole scheme of education would be the teaching of all the children of the State reading, writing and common arithmetic...' These words of Jefferson may now seem to us to describe a degree of general education so small as to be negligible. But when they were written they expressed a revolutionary doctrine—a belief that every potential citizen in a democratic republic should receive at least a minimum of formal instruction. The campaign against illiteracy had begun in earnest.
As a recent biographer has said, Jefferson believed that any boy or girl was capable of benefiting from the rudiments of education and would be made a better citizen by acquiring them. He believed in keeping open the door of further opportunity to the extent that a poor boy of ability should not be debarred from continuing his education. 'To have gone farther and made a higher education compulsory on all,' suggests this biographer, 'would have seemed as absurd to him as to have decreed that every crop on his farm, whether tobacco, potatoes, rye, corn, or what not, must be treated and cultivated in precisely the same way as every other....In terms of the citizen, he believed in the maximum of equality of opportunity. In terms of the state, he believed in the minimum of compulsion and interference compatible with the training of all its citizens as citizens to the maximum of the capacity of each.'
To understand the bearing of Jefferson's ideas on the development of American schools and colleges we must realize, of course, that they represented only one aspect of a wider social philosophy. As this philosophy was understood by large numbers of the citizens of the young republic, it included the following points: a belligerent belief in individual freedom; complete confidence in the powers of man's intelligence to overcome all obstacles; the assumption of a society without hereditary classes, without an aristocracy; a differentiation of labors with a corresponding differentiation in the types of education (but no ruling caste, no hereditary educational privileges, everyone to be 'as good as everyone else'); widespread education for all citizens so that political decisions might be 'rational.' Dominating all was the doctrine of the maximum independence of the individual, the minimum of social control by organized society.
Some such set of ideas as I have grouped together under Jefferson's name would have been widely recognized, I believe, as 'American ideals,' in every period of our national history. To understand their significance for the future let us examine one by one the three components of the Jeffersonian tradition in American education.
Hatred of tyranny in general and a desire to overthrow the tyranny which the past had fastened on the human mind went hand in hand in the early years of the nineteenth century, for the intellectual leaders of the Jeffersonian tradition were steeped in eighteenth-century rationalism. The liberal faith of the Age of Reason was a product of a cultural evolution intimately associated with economic and political change, on the one hand, and the great triumphs of late seventeenth-century science on the other. Newton was one of its heroes, and John Locke a major prophet. The bill of rights and the laws of celestial mechanics are lasting monuments to its glory. All who live in a land of free institutions and enjoy the benefits of applied science have reason to be grateful to the liberal leaders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Our gratitude cannot blind us to the fact, however, that these rationalists greatly overestimated the role of reason in human affairs. They were much too optimistic in their expectation of the practical consequences which would follow the liberation of the human mind from the tyrannies they so despised. Can anyone doubt that if Jefferson and Franklin should return today they would be amazed and disappointed? Science, to be sure, has developed far beyond their expectations; the material conquest of an untamed continent has exceeded their wildest dreams. But the tyrannies which control our minds remain defiant and largely unsubdued. We can imagine how shocked these eighteenth-century statesmen would be to find after one hundred and fifty years the survival of emotional reactions which they fondly supposed were founded only on ignorance or superstition. Inanimate nature has proved more yielding than they imagined, human nature more stubborn and barbarous than they supposed.
Today we live in a period of reaction. The optimistic tide has ebbed. To many the failure of the 'war to end war' and the terrifying international scene may be sufficient reason for discouragement. But I believe the cause lies deeper. Are we not to a large measure suffering from the consequences which must result whenever human beings base their hopes on fallacious premises? Our intellectual ancestors were wrong on many fundamental points. The complexities of both the inanimate and the animate world were greater than they dreamed. Their errors, however, in physics, chemistry, and biology do not trouble us. The impossibility of perpetual motion, of navigation to the moon, of the manufacture of an elixir of life, we accept as a matter of course. But the contrast between their hopes concerning the behavior of human beings and the realities of the present has shattered many a modern soul.
The contemporaries of Jefferson idolized freedom of the mind. They placed one ideal upon a pedestal and depicted a new era when humanity would bow down before this shrine. In so doing they passed on to their descendants a bondage to the hopes their prophecies engendered—utopian hopes of reforming man as a social animal. In reality, a belief in a new form of magic came upon the scene. The goddess Reason was to wave a wand and all mankind would be prosperous and at peace. In the twentieth century we find the spell has failed. Or so I read the past. And if I am right, then widespread enthusiasm for intellectual freedom can be rekindled only when a sufficient number of men and women readjust their expectations. Only then will the whole country strain to unleash once more the potentialities of the human mind. When that time comes a new sense of humility will reflect an altered mood. No easy faith in the inevitability of progress will cheer us on. Instead, courage will flow from a determination to face the problem of evil, not from a skill in hiding it.
Scientists appear to agree that we must now modify even those modes of thought which concern inanimate nature. The scientific point of view of the late nineteenth century is already out of date. This is but another step in the progress of a healthy skepticism. It is a recognition that we cannot settle many questions we once thought solvable. It is a recognition that our scientific theories are only models—models that help us formulate those empirical observations which we generalize into scientific laws. It may be necessary, as in the case of light, to employ two theories which once appeared to be mutually contradictory. The physicist has learned to like this situation, perhaps even to love the apparent contradiction involved in employing a wave theory for explaining one set of optical phenomena, a corpuscular theory for another. Parenthetically one may remark that those who teach the elements of the subject have not had their task made easier!
The impact of these new modes of thinking about the sciences will eventually have repercussions on all our ways of thought. In the annual report of the Rockefeller Foundation for 1938 the President writes as follows: 'The physical sciences have centuries of experimentation behind them; the social sciences are just emerging from a priori and deductive methods. Even today a good deal that masquerades under the name of social science is metaphysics, as obsolete in its approach as was Francesco Sizzi's logic against Galileo's discovery of the satellites of Jupiter. "The satellites are invisible to the naked eye," he said, "and therefore can have no influence on the earth, and therefore would be useless, and therefore do not exist." This same logical method, long outmoded in the physical sciences, is traceable in some weighty books on economics and political science written as late as 1938.'
This statement of Dr. Raymond B. Fosdick is indicative of a new critical approach to vital problems. A reassessment of the realities of individual behavior and the nature of society is in progress along several lines. Some look to a fruitful combination of the work of the social anthropologist and psychologist. Some believe that the new line of march should parallel that followed so successfully in the development of modern experimental medicine by clinicians. From many quarters come reports that a new strategy is now developing. Once this is formulated and accepted there will be a rush of able pioneers to exploit the field. Confidence in our intellectual leaders will again surge upward. The Jeffersonian tradition will move forward; American thought will change its orientation and American education will feel a quickening of the pace.
I venture, then, to look forward to a renaissance of the vitality of the first element in the Jeffersonian tradition in education—freedom of the mind. I am equally optimistic about the second—equality of opportunity. I plead guilty at once to wishful thinking. Furthermore, I admit cheerfully that I propose to indulge in dangerous prophecy. But can anyone discuss the future with a neutral mind?
Until fairly recently it was taken for granted that the American republic could be described as classless. For a century and a half Americans have been saying with pride, 'This is a free country. There are no classes in the United States.' Note these words carefully, for the denial of classes in America is the denial of hereditary classes, not the denial of temporary groupings based on economic differences. 'Caste' and 'class' are equated by the average American, and I shall follow this usage. 'This is a free country. There are no classes in the United States.' The number of times these two sentences have been sincerely spoken could be recorded only by a figure of astronomical magnitude. Were they ever an approximately accurate description of typical American society? My answer would be yes. Have they today sufficient vitality and validity to be the basis for a continuation of Jefferson's educational program? A crystal gazer alone could tell. But I think the chance is good enough to demand our careful consideration of the possibility. For my own part, I risk with enthusiasm an affirmative answer and stand on the hope of our reconstituting a free and classless nation.
Phrases descriptive of a free, casteless, or classless society have not only represented an American belief of great potency in the past, but have described actual conditions in many sections of this republic. As compared with the situation in even such free countries as England and France, this country was unique in being without hereditary classes. The importance of this fact, I believe, has not been fully emphasized. But, I hasten to add, the social changes which have altered the situation during the last fifty years have all too often been ignored.
American society in some localities has always been organized on definite class lines; money and power have been passed on from father to son. The different strata have been relatively rigid and impenetrable But until recently such situations were the exception rather than the rule. Now we see in progress the rapid extension of such stratification over the whole land. We see throughout the country the development of a hereditary aristocracy of wealth. The coming of modern industrialism and the passing of the frontier with cheap lands mark the change. Ruthless and greedy exploitation of both natural and human resources by a small privileged class founded on recently acquired ownership of property has hardened the social strata and threatens to provide explosive material beneath.
Let us not shut our eyes to the realities. The vanishing of free lands, the spread of large-scale manufacturing units, the growth of cities and their slums, the multiplication of tenant farmers and despairing migratory laborers, are signs of the passage from one type of social order to another. The existence of vast unemployment only emphasizes the evil significance of an unwelcome change. Have we reached a point where the ideal of a peculiar American society, classless and free, must be regarded as of only historical significance?
Our friends on the Left will, I imagine, say yes. A class struggle is inevitable, they declare. Forget the dreams of a pioneer civilization, the early American town or farm, and face the modern capitalistic world, they urge. From their viewpoint no discussion of present problems which refuses to fit every fact into the framework of a class struggle can be realistic. The extremists will add, at least to themselves, that the outcome of the struggle is also inevitable—a classless society, not of the early American type, but on the Russian model.
On the extreme Right we may find an equally clear renunciation of the ideal—equally clear, but not, as a rule, equally outspoken, for the underlying assumptions here are often entirely unconscious. Throughout the history of this republic there has been among a small group undue admiration for the educational system of England, a system built largely on class lines. Among such people Jefferson's idea of careers open to all the talented has evoked little enthusiasm. There has been little concern with recruiting the professions from every economic level. The ideal has been education of a ruling caste rather than a selective system of training leaders.
Yet the unique character of the American way of life has been repeatedly emphasized since Jefferson's time. Lincoln in his first message to Congress declared that 'the leading object of the Government for those whose existence we contend' is 'to elevate the condition of men; to lift artificial weights from all shoulders; to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all; to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life.' The historian, F. J. Turner, writing at the beginning of the present century, summed up the case as follows: 'Western democracy through the whole of its earlier period tended to the production of a society of which the most distinctive fact was freedom of the individual to rise under conditions of social mobility....'
Let me pause a moment to examine the phrase 'social mobility,' for this is the heart of my argument. A high degree of social mobility is the essence of the American ideal of a classless society. If large numbers of young people can develop their own capacities irrespective of the economic status of their parents, then social mobility is high. If, on the other hand, the future of a young man or woman is determined almost entirely by inherited privilege or the lack of it, social mobility is nonexistent. You are all familiar with the old American adage, 'Three generations from shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves.' This implies a high degree of social mobility, both up and down. It implies that sons and daughters must and can seek their own level, obtain their own economic rewards, engage in any occupation irrespective of what their parents might have done.
Contrast this adage with a statement of the aristocratic tradition—namely, that it takes three generations to educate a gentleman. Fifty years ago the contrast between these two statements would have been proclaimed by many intelligent Americans as the epitome of the difference between the New World and the Old. The possibility that each generation may start life afresh and that hard work and ability would find their just rewards was once an exciting new doctrine. Is it outworn? In short, has the second component of the Jeffersonian tradition in education still vitality? Can a relatively high degree of social mobility be realized in this modern world?
The distinction between a stratified class system and one with a high degree of social mobility is apparent only when at least two generations are passed in review. A class, as I am using the word, is perpetuated by virtue of inherited position. For one generation, at least and perhaps two, considerable differences in economic status as well as extreme differentiation of employment may exist without the formation of classes. Uniform distribution of the world's goods is not necessary for a classless society. If anyone doubts this statement, let him examine the social situation of many small communities in different parts of this country during the early stages of their development. Continuous perpetuation from generation to generation of even small differences, however, soon produces class consciousness. Extremes of wealth or poverty accelerate the process.
It is not within my province to consider what political measures should be taken if we reject the idea of an inevitable stratification of society. It is not for me to say what legislation is in order if we desire to implement the ideal of a free classless society. My unwillingness to discuss this important aspect of the problem is not to be taken as a measure of my dissatisfaction with the rapidly growing social and economic differentiation of the United States. On the contrary, if the American ideal is not to be an illusion, the citizens of this republic must not shrink from drastic action. The requirement, however, is not a radical equalization of wealth at any given moment; it is rather a continuous process by which power and privilege may be automatically redistributed at the end of each generation. The aim is a more equitable distribution of opportunity for all the children of the land. The reality of our national life must be made a sufficiently close approximation to our ideal to vitalize a belief in the possibility of the envisaged goal.
I am wary of definitions—even in expounding the exact sciences to an elementary class. It is often more profitable to explain the nature of a concept by illustration than to attempt a definition. Both the words 'free' and 'classless,' as I am employing them, have a relative, not an absolute, meaning. They are useful, I believe, even in a rough quantitative sense, in contrasting different types of social organizations which have existed in the last few centuries in the Western World. It is easy to imagine a small segment of any country where one would be hard put to it to say whether the society in question was free and classless, or the contrary. To pass a judgment on larger social units is even more difficult, but I should not hesitate to say that Russia today is classless, but not free; England, free, but not classless; Germany neither free nor classless.
To contrast the social history of the United States and that of even so closely related a country as Great Britain is illuminating. If we examine, for example, the recent history by G. D. H. Cole entitled The British Common People, 1746-1938, we shall see portrayed the evolution of one type of political democracy within a highly stratified caste system. Compare this picture with the history of the growth of this republic by expansion through the frontier in the last one hundred years—a history in which social castes can be ignored; a history where, by and large, opportunity awaited the able and daring youths of each new generation.
This fundamental difference between the United States and England has been blurred by similarities in our political and legal systems and by our common literary culture. Failure to give due weight to the differences between a casteless society and a stratified society has had unfortunate consequences for our thinking. I have already suggested that many of our friends on the Right have had their educational views distorted by too ardent contemplation of the English public schools (so-called) and English universities. Similarly, I believe that in the last few decades our friends on the left, who look towards a collectivist society, have suffered from overexposure to British views—views emanating in this case not from the ruling class but from the left-wing intellectuals of the Labor party. It seems to me that in this century, as in a much earlier period of our history, an imported social philosophy has strongly influenced radical thought. I am not referring to orthodox Marxism, but rather to the general slant of mind inevitable among English and Continental reformers whose basis of reference is a society organized on hard-and-fast class lines. The original American radical tradition has been given a twist by the impact of these alien ideas. As far as the role of government is concerned, the political reformer has swung completely round the circle. On this issue, Jefferson with his almost anarchistic views would find difficulty, indeed, in comprehending his modern political heirs.
Native American radicalism has all but disappeared. Our young people now seem forced to choose between potential Bourbons and latent Bolsheviks. But without a restoration of the earlier type of radical the Jeffersonian tradition in education will soon die. Obviously it cannot long survive a victory of the socialistic Left—there is no place for such ideas in a classless society on the Russian model. And it will likewise disappear automatically unless a high degree of social mobility is once again restored. To keep society fluid, the honest and sincere radical is an all-important element. Those in positions of power and privilege (including college presidents) need to be under constant vigilant scrutiny and from time to time must be the objects of attack. Tyrannies of ownership and management spring up all too readily. In order to ensure that the malignant growths of the body politic will be destroyed by radiations from the Left, much abuse of healthy and sound tissue must be endured. Reformers and even fanatical radicals we must have. But if the unique type of American society is to continue, those who would better conditions must look in the direction of the progressive or liberal movements of an earlier period. The Left must consider returning to the aim of checking tyranny and restoring social mobility. Reformers must examine every action lest they end by placing in power the greatest tyrant of all—organized society.
There are probably some who feel that I am indulging in nostalgic fancy when I hope for the evolution of a less stratified and more fluid society. You may say that the modern world of large cities, vast industries, and scientific methods of communication has made the America of a hundred years ago as irrelevant as the Middle Ages. You may argue that a way of life which was possible in the 1840s is impossible in the 1940s; that in the near future we shall all of us have to move in a quite contrary direction. You may contend that soon we shall have to take sides in a bitter class struggle and choose between an American brand of Fascism and an American brand of Socialism.
I know that many believe this to be inevitable. I venture to disagree. And here is the reason for my rash dissent. In my opinion, our newly erected system of public education has potentialities of which we little dream. In this century we have erected a new type of social instrument. Our secondary-school system is a vast engine which we are only beginning to understand. We are learning only slowly how to operate it for the public good. But I have hope that it will aid us in recapturing social flexibility, in regaining that great gift to each succeeding generation—opportunity, a gift that once was the promise of the frontier.
Let me explain. Today some six million boys and girls attend our secondary schools, ten times the number enrolled a half century ago. Today nearly three quarters of those of high-school age are enrolled as pupils; fifty years ago schooling at this level was a privilege of less than ten per cent of those who might attend. Opportunity can be evaluated only in terms of personal capacity. What is opportunity for one young man is a blind alley for another. In rapidly expanding pioneer communities, openings for capabilities of all sorts automatically appeared. Only doctors, lawyers, and ministers needed an extensive education. Opportunities were ready at hand for all other types of talent. In our highly industrialized, relatively static society, the situation is otherwise. The personal problem of each boy or girl is much more difficult. Abilities must be assessed, talents must be developed, ambitions guided. This is the task for our public schools. All the future citizens pass through these institutions. They must be educated as members of a political democracy, but, more important still, they must be equipped to step on to the first rung of whatever ladder of opportunity seems most appropriate. And an appropriate ladder must be found for each one of a diverse groups of students. This may seem an overwhelming burden to put upon our educational system. But is it not possible that our public schools, particularly our high schools, can be reconstructed for this specific purpose?
Jefferson thought of universal schooling of younger children chiefly in terms of educating potential voters. His selective process for higher studies was conceived in terms of intellectual pursuits—of preparation for the learned professions such as law and medicine. To continue the tradition he started, we must expand both of his ideas today. The roads which lead to those careers which depend on aptitude for 'book learning' still run through the universities. We must fight to keep them open. State-supported universities have blazed the way. But the task is far from done. In many localities the opportunities for the children of the really poor are lamentable indeed. Outside of metropolitan areas and college towns, the privileges of a professional training are hard to win. An expanded scholarship policy in our privately endowed universities is imperative. Wisely administered student aid will go far to right the balance. Perhaps this device merits more attention even by institutions supported by the state.
The changes required to provide adequately for the intellectually gifted are relatively slight. The real problems of reconstruction of our schools and colleges do not lie in this area. The real difficulties are with the careers of a different sort. Our schools must be concerned not only with the able scholar, but with the artist and the craftsman. They must nourish those whose eye or ear or manual dexterity is their greatest asset. They must educate others whose gifts lie in an ability to understand and lead their fellow men. The school curricula must include programs for developing the capacities of many who possess intuitive judgment on practical affairs but have little or no aptitude for learning through the printed page.
It has been a natural consequence of our history that many false values now permeate the entire educational system. 'Book learning' is placed too high in the scale of social ratings by some; too low by others who profess to scoff at 'brains.' That type of ability which can handle easily the old-fashioned subjects of the curriculum is often glorified by being equated with intelligence' by educational snobs. On the other hand, the same ability often suffers from lack of stimulation when there is failure to maintain high standards. As a result, we have a great deal of make-believe in our schools and colleges—too many feeble attempts at tasks which are proper only for a restricted type of individual; too many failures to explore talents which fall outside orthodox academic bounds. Jefferson in the simpler society of his day naturally thought of only a few avenues of opportunity open through education. Today we must recognize the existence of many and strive for the social equality of all.
Parents who expect miracles worked upon their children must be reminded of the limitations imposed by nature. In athletics, at least, the coaches are expected to develop only promising material. No one complains if his undersized son with awkward legs does not become a football hero. Some fathers, however, seem to demand the intellectual equivalent of such a miracle. We expect our college health departments to direct each student into that form of sport which is suited to his physique and power. We need a parallel form of educational guidance in both schools and colleges to assist the development of the skills of brain and hands.
But again I venture to be optimistic. I see signs everywhere of enormous strides forward in such matters. Our educational pattern is becoming daily more diversified; a recognition of the need for a radically different type of education is growing. We look forward to the opening of many channels which lead to a variety of attractive goals; we can envisage the building up of more than one 'elite.'
Of course, in any realistic discussion of these problems we cannot neglect the social and economic factors. As long as the shadow of unemployment is upon the land, some method of providing food and clothing for the children of many families must be found. For even free schools offer little real opportunity to famished youngsters; public education is only theoretically available to those in rags. Providing food and clothing for those to whom assistance is essential is clearly necessary for a satisfactory functioning of the entire educational system. Many a talented youth is lost by dropping out of the competition, for financial reasons, during the high-school years. In short we must explore every method of developing the individual capacity of each future citizen for useful labor based on individual initiative.
Political and economic changes must go hand in hand with educational innovations—the revision of methods of perpetuating control of many large industries, the overthrow of nepotism and patronage wherever possible, the stimulation of small enterprises, the spreading of private ownership. All this and more is needed if a free classless society is to become once again an ideal which affects our lives.
Freedom of the mind, social mobility through education, universal schooling—these, let me repeat, are the three fundamentals of the Jeffersonian tradition. They have represented the aspirations and desires of a free people embarked on a new experiment, the perpetuation of a casteless nation. Popular enthusiasm for enlightenment, for overturning dogmas, for intellectual exploration, has temporarily waned. I have given my reasons for hoping that the black reaction of these years is only a passing phase. The ideal of a free republic without classes has likewise suffered an eclipse. To many of the present college generation the phrase 'equality of opportunity' seems a mockery, a trite collection of idle words. In this I see the major challenge to our educational system, a challenge which can be met only by a radical reconstruction. If the nation wants to bend its efforts to have as free and classless a society as possible, then for those of us concerned with schools and colleges our course is clearly plotted.
So it seems to me. If we as educators accept the American ideal, then this acceptance must be the major premise for all our thinking. Without neglecting the older roads designed for those of academic brilliance, we must construct many new approaches to adult life, and we must do so very soon. Extreme differentiation of school programs seems essential—differentiation of instruction, but not necessarily a division into separate schools. From this it follows that rapid improvement in our testing methods must be forthcoming; a much more conscientious and discriminating form of educational guidance must be developed soon if we are not to fail. In short, a horde of heterogenous students has descended on our secondary schools; on our ability to handle all types intelligently depends in large measure the future of this country.
Is it too late—too late for our schools to revitalize the idea of a classless nation? Can we complete the necessary major readjustments in our educational system in time to prevent the extinction of the Jeffersonian tradition? I believe we can, if we make haste. I predict at least another century of vigor for the American ideal. I envisage a further trial on this continent for many generations of our unique type of social order. I look forward to a future American society in which social mobility is sufficient to keep the nation in essence casteless—a society in which the ideals of both personal liberty and social justice can be maintained—a society which through a system of public education resists the distorting pressures of urbanized, industrialized life. I have faith in the continuation of a republic composed of citizens each prepared to shoulder the responsibility for his own destiny. And if at each step in the educational journey opportunity truly beckons, will not each student rejoice in the struggle to develop his own capacities? Will he not be proud of the continuing American tradition and find in contemplation of our national history ample courage to face those risks and hazards that come to all who would be free? | <urn:uuid:0c25880e-c74a-405c-a008-72be1f510a39> | {
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This program was originally written in Fortran in 1989 by David R. Brown and the American Public Power Association.
The following sources provided data on the electrical properties of different conductors:
IF SHIELDS ARE SEGMENTED (INSULATED) TO PREVENT 60 HZ SHIELD WIRE CURRENTS, SHIELD WIRE CURRENTS SHOULD BE SET TO ZERO.
THE SWITCHING SURGE PROGRAM SIMULATES LINE RECLOSING ASSUMING TRAPPED CHARGE ON THE LINE. THE SYSTEM TO WHICH THE LINE WILL BE CONNECTED IS MODELLED ON THE BASIS OF THE SYSTEM THREE-PHASE FAULT CURRENT.
Omit insertion resistance and resistor insertion time if you chose to omit resistors
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© 2018 Salah Ahmed | <urn:uuid:a11e8d5a-f231-4b0a-9b85-936bf9b7d139> | {
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Sleep Related Breathing Disorders – Condition and Symptoms
Sleep related breathing disorders, the most common of which is sleep apnea, are disorders which cause breathing problems while a person is sleeping. In the case of sleep apnea, a person can actually stop breathing for as long as a minute or two, hundreds of times per night. This results in broken sleep and all of the side effects associated with lack of sleep. More importantly, especially in the most severe cases, it can lead to hypoxemia, the lack of oxygen in the arterial blood.
Lack of oxygen in the blood can, in turn, affect many of the body’s functions. Most notably, lung function and heart function are affected, though virtually all bodily (and most mental) functions rely on the transfer of oxygen from the blood stream, causing conditions like sleep related breathing disorders to have far reaching consequences.
Some of the more common work-related symptoms and effects of sleep related breathing disorders include:
- Lack of memory
- Negative effects on personality
- Daytime sleepiness
- Disturbance of cognitive abilities due to fatigue
Sleep disorders are typically caused by an actual physical blockage of the airflow. Other cases of sleep related disorders are caused by the body’s not attempting to breathe, which is believed to have psychological roots. In some cases, both types of sleep disturbances affect the same individual.
Often, sleep related breathing disorders can be treated. The results are mixed, but the more effective treatment methods include surgery and the use of constant positive air pressure (CPAP) masks for sleeping. Surgery is designed to remove obstructing tissue in order to ensure that the airway remains clear and open. The use of CPAP is designed to keep the airway open by using a constant stream of positive air pressure blown into the airway (usually through the nose).
Filing for Social Security Disability Benefits with a Sleep Related Breathing Disorders Diagnosis
Sleep related breathing disorders are listed in the Social Security Administration’s Listing of Impairments Manual (The Blue Book) in Section 3.10 Sleep-related breathing disorders. While they are given their own listing, however, the condition is evaluated based on one or two other related conditions, depending on the circumstances, including:
- Chronic Cor Pulmonate. Chronic Cor Pulmonate has to do with the obstruction of blood flow from the right side of the heart into the lungs. It is a common, medically verifiable and measurable effect of sleep related breathing disorders, caused by the lack of oxygenation in the blood. The specifications for evaluating Chronic Cor Pulmonate are found in Section 3.09 of the Blue Book.
- Organic Mental Disorders. When the cause of breathing cessation during sleep is deemed to be entirely or partially due to psychological issues, or when the psychological effects of sleep apnea are believed to be behind behavioral issues causing inability to function on the job, sleep related breathing disorders can be evaluated using Section 12.02 of the Blue Book.
Regardless of the cause of your sleep related breathing disorders, it is important that you follow all treatment regimens prescribed for you. You will need thorough documentation of all attempts to treat your sleep related breathing disorders, along with the results, in order to qualify for Social Security disability benefits.
In most cases, to qualify for disability benefits based on sleep related breathing disorders, your medical records will need to show that cor pulmonate has occurred and is irreversible. This can be shown using a number of medical imaging tests, spyrograph tests (which measures lung capacity and breathing), or a heart catheterization. The more medical evidence of the effects of your disabling condition, the better you will be able to make a case for disability benefits.
To qualify for disability based on the mental effects (or causes) of sleep related breathing disorders, you must show that you have been undergoing treatment for over a year without the situation improving enough to allow you to return to working. Again, it is imperative that you continue under your mental heath professional’s care and follow all treatments prescribed.
Your Sleep Related Breathing Disorder Disability Case
The process of applying for disability benefits can be a long one. All too often, after spending several months waiting, claimants are denied and faced with the choice of whether or not to pursue the matter through an even longer appeals process. While some claims will need to go to appeals to be successful despite representation, many of the claims which are denied would have been approved if they had been filed using the best practices.
A Social Security Disability lawyer knows how to present your claim in a manner which gives the SSA everything they need to give you an approval. Often, the difference between approval and denial is in the way medical documentation is phrased rather than in the actual substance of medical reports. Your disability attorney knows what the SSA is looking for and can do what it takes to give your claim a fighting chance.
To have your Social Security disability claim examined by an experienced disability lawyer, fill out the request for a free evaluation today. | <urn:uuid:dd159a09-0e16-48e9-95dc-c3d7e2fb6eff> | {
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Productive Paper A Pressing Matter
Lesson 3 of 5
Objective: Students will compare different ways to create a smoother form of paper.
I ring my chime to get the class’s attention and ask them to return to the carpet squares and ‘Show Five’. Once seated, I announce that we are about to begin the third Science lesson in our unit about paper. To engage the students, I often start the lesson with some connection to themselves because it provides quick engagement and allows students to experience material through a variety of modalities. I ask them to put their fingers on their cheek. “How does this feel?” Knowing that nothing is as smooth as a child’s cheek, they answer... “Soft!” “Now I’ll ask you to put your fingers on the carpet. How would you describe that?” “It’s more rough.” This compare and contrast piece is important because it give them an opportunity to get some sensory input that will help them better integrate this lesson. “So you noticed the difference between smooth (or soft) and rough. We’re going to explore this texture more and apply it to paper with this lesson.” Activities like this, as simple as they are, are valuable focusing tools. When this step is complete, we are ready to move on.
Whole Group Instruction
For this lesson, I introduce a book titled Amazing Ben Franklin Inventions You Can Build Yourself. I found this book in a used bookstore and became fascinated by the ways Benjamin Franklin's ideas can be applied to NGSS. While it is not a Kindergarten level about paper per se, it does a great job introducing the amazing mind of this man, along with the reasons his inventions came to be (in fact, I liked the book so much, I bought the same book on Leonardo Da Vinci. Stay tuned!). Pages 36-43 focus on the printing press came to exist. While the printing press does have a connection more to 'printing' than to 'pressing', it is a great way to help students see creative thinking.
I review these pages, highlighting the 'why'. “Remember in one of our last lessons, we learned about ways we could make paper?” “Yes!” “Today, we’re going to look at how we can change the form of paper to make it easier to use as a paper for writing. Who can tell a way they use paper for writing?” “Drawing..Work..Folding..” We brainstorm these items to help with retention and application. “Today, we’re going to practice how to create a smoother form of paper.”
“More than two hundred years ago, there was a famous person in America named Benjamin Franklin. He was very, very smart and had lots of great ideas to make things better.” To help give the children a visual, I hold up a picture of him. When possible, I like to pull up famous people related to the subject we are studying to help the students understand that everyone starts learning about subjects at an elementary level. “When he was a teenager, he worked in a print shop. He didn’t like the ways that people had to do things there, so he tried to figure out better ways. One thing he wondered about was how to make paper easier to write on. Who would like to be Ben Franklin and think of a better way to use the paper we made for writing?” I plan to do a few other paper activities in upcoming lessons, so this is a great way to bridge the study of ways it’s form can be used and changed.
Small Group Instruction
• Paper Sample (1/small group)
• Collection of round implements (e.g. pencil, dowel) for rolling
Prior to this lesson, I collected some of the paper we used in the previous lesson, specifically the ones that had the most texture. This will give the students a better opportunity to see a dramatic difference in their techniques.
I take a minute to explain the process:
• First, lay the paper flat on the table.
• Next, collect at least two items you think you can use to flatten the paper.
• Then, start pressing! Note your results. Which one worked better?
• Last, evaluate results and make changes if necessary. Note a solution that worked best.
This last instruction echoes one of the Design Challenge's steps. It’s always a good idea to overlap material and instructions form previous lessons to better cement the learning and provide new ways to apply it. The students look around the room for a minute and collect things like markers, bottles..and my coffee mug (good thing it was empty!).
On their own, they discover that round things roll better and made good 'pressers'. As I wander around, I stop to ask questions the why part of the lesson to help them think through their choices and process the reasons behind them. This is a difficult yet, important step for some as they move forward because it helps them make better choices with their learning. The paper experiment takes about ten minutes, although I allow groups to go on if the activity is purposeful and moves their product forward. As the activity winds down, I give them a one-minute warning with a hand clap pattern. I ask the students to take their papers and return back to their carpet squares.
Once we are gathered, I ask, “What are some of the ways we found to make the paper smoother and easier to use for writing?” “We pressed it with our hands.” “What made you do that?” “There were bumpy parts and we wanted to push them down.” “Sounds like you discovered something based on your goals. What way did you find made the smoothest paper?” “We used the roller from the Play Kitchen!” “Why did you choose that?" "Because the roller rolled smoother and pressed the paper down better." "So you were flexible about the methods you used and looked around for solutions.” I take a second to gently clarify the vocabulary, while supporting the process. This step is short by design because the intent is to give the students an additional opportunity to process and share their results, thus making the material more concrete. Once this step was complete, I again rang the chime and asked the students to stand up and again stretch themselves out and return to their carpets when they were finished. | <urn:uuid:10dc61ae-6ffc-4aee-9d03-1d19194a85a6> | {
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For generations, Emerald has been one of the three most highly esteemed gems in the world, alongside Ruby and Sapphire. The name itself comes from the ancient Greek word for green, “smargdus.” In the first century AD, Pliny the Elder said, “nothing greens greener” than Emerald. The saturated green color of the finest Emeralds surpasses any other green found in nature.
Emerald requires a combination of unusual conditions to form. The conditions that make Emerald possible, and Chromium, Iron, and Vanadium, the elements that cause Emerald’s green color, cause fissures, fractures, and inclusions inside, which is why it is very rare to find an Emerald that has both fine color and fine clarity.
The most prized color of Emerald comes from its famous historical source: Colombia. Colombian emeralds are slightly bluish green and usually strongly saturated. When 16th century Spanish explorers discovered the New World, they found the Emerald mines of Colombia at the same time. When they brought Emeralds back to Europe, where precious metals were prized far more than any gem, they found a hearty welcome and desire for Emeralds rose majestically. | <urn:uuid:ff06ee39-7b2e-47d4-bf02-ca9247174ee8> | {
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Search By Standards
Read the first section of Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat,” and then look at the following images. How do they compare to Crane’s description?
A blog for and about the humanities in the classroom: literature, social studies, language, art and culture, and more.Take Me There!
Get updates on new lesson plans and other resources.
EDSITEment! is a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities | <urn:uuid:d6b75cdd-1e85-4c27-a41c-6ba42c0c5827> | {
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Definition of xenon
n. - A very heavy, inert gaseous element occurring in the atmosphere in the proportion of one volume is about 20 millions. It was discovered by Ramsay and Travers in 1898. It can be condensed to a liquid boiling at -109? C., and to a solid which volatilizes without melting. Symbol Xe or X; atomic weight 130.2. 2
The word "xenon" uses 5 letters: E N N O X.
No direct anagrams for xenon found in this word list.
List shorter words within xenon, sorted by length
All words formed from xenon by changing one letter
Browse words starting with xenon by next letter | <urn:uuid:82766874-874b-4f16-824e-0da7593bc1be> | {
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Saving Money with Sustainable Landscapes
By Michael Chaplinksy, Turf Feeding Systems
Plants need less water than you think when they live in harmony with soil biology.
The segment of the green industry that maintains turfgrass, sports fields and large greenscapes has seen many really significant changes over the past 20 years. Even so, for the most part, we’re doing the same thing, applying chemical fertilizers and overwatering, over and over again, but expecting different results. This is the definition of insanity, according to Albert Einstein.
However, there is a simple, cost-effective method that landscape professionals on the cutting edge are starting to use. It’s called sustainable landscaping, and it doesn’t take a genius to do it.
What is sustainable landscaping? Definitions vary, but in general, it means landscape practices that are in harmony with nature and the local climate, requiring minimal inputs. Sustainable landscape practices can reduce water use by up to 50 percent. They can cut labor costs and the need for chemical fertilizers. The end result is better soils and healthier, more disease-resistant plant material.
Turfgrass managers who have instituted sustainable practices are noting significant results. Focusing on soil and plant health, this method is an efficient management program for any facility or landscape. Maintaining soil nutrition is just as important as any other turfgrass maintenance task, such as mowing or aeration.
The first thing a facility turf manager or maintenance contractor who wants to begin a sustainable landscaping program should do is a bioassay of the soil. This test will evaluate its overall health, its biology and biodiversity. It will also find any pathogens that might be in it. If amendments are needed, they can then be applied by fertigation. This is simply the process of applying quality liquid nutrients through the irrigation system.
But that’s not the goal, that’s just the start. What we’re seeking is a relatively self-sustaining biosphere in the soil that replicates what nature does by itself.
Soil feeds plants. Dying plants feed soil, which in turn feeds plants. This cyclical, symbiotic process has been enacted by nature for millions of years. In jungles, grasslands, forests and other native areas untouched by humans, plants are sustained by this relationship between the soil, the plants and the trees. No one feeds the plants chemical fertilizers out in nature, yet somehow they thrive. Nature does a better job of nourishing plants than we ever could.
Grasses turn over their roots every two to three years, leaving the soil with thousands of pounds of dead roots to decompose. In a soil rich in biodiversity, the dead roots and other organic matter will be converted to organic humus particles. Leaving the roots there to decay naturally, instead of removing them, is like tilling in rich potting soil, only cheaper and more effective.
As soil health improves, it becomes more nutrient-efficient and needs less fertilizer and water. Organic humus particles have great storage capacity. Humus-rich soil becomes a very efficient biological dynamo that will attract, hold and release water and nutrients at a rate ten times higher than clay soil. It increases the efficiency of any mineral or synthetic fertilizers that may then be applied.
This process also frees up nutrients such as phosphorus, iron and boron that are trapped in the soil but unavailable to the plants. They only need to be released so the plants can uptake them.
Roots are where a plant stores water and nutrients. The healthier the soil, the deeper and denser the roots will be. A plant with a good root system is a more efficient plant, one that needs less water— up to 30 percent less in some cases.
The result is higher quality turfgrass.
Plants in soil rich in probiotics will not be stressed by the growth process. They’ll have thicker cell walls and be more disease-resistant, reducing the need for chemicals. Although sustainable practices may not eliminate the need for chemicals entirely, it can reduce their usage to a much lower level, saving money.
Of course, even with sustainable practices, other factors may interfere with soil health. There are many landscapes that have a very high pH, because of bicarbonates in the water or soil. If the pH is too high, nutrients will be unavailable to the grass and will go to waste. Applying sulfur or gypsum as a buffering agent is a simple, low-cost solution to this problem.
Sodium is another concern. Landscapes and sports fields located in coastal areas can suffer a buildup of sodium, especially in clay soils. Too much salt is toxic to plants. Unfortunately, it can’t be flushed by rain and the more it’s irrigated, the more damage is done. Once grass is poisoned with sodium, it’s like irrigating with seawater.
Fortunately, fertigation with organic additives like humic acid and organic enzymes has had great success on many sodium-tainted landscapes. This method should be applied first as a treatment and continued as a maintenance practice.
The overuse of chemicals has made many soils sterile. Beneficial bacteria is killed along with the bad. Some groundskeepers want to keep their soils that way so they don’t have to worry about disease. But when soils are brought back to life and made biologically active, the plants they feed are naturally resistant to disease. If you need evidence of this, take a look at the native areas around your sports field or landscape. Do you see any diseased plants there?
By bringing nature into your management practices, you’re starting up a biological engine that will never stop running. This engine will create stronger, better, more disease-resistant plants and grasses that use water and nutrients more efficiently. Your landscapes and fields will look better, be healthier and cost less to keep that way.
A new market is being created to promote and support sustainable landscapes. Across diverse parts of the country, experienced professionals are leaving the traditional landscape maintenance business and creating a new service industry.
This natural cycle is the agronomic engine that feeds plants all over our planet, and it depends on healthy soil.
The future of agriculture and all areas of agronomy rely on growing and managing healthy plants. Just as physicians promote a healthy, disease-resistant body for their patients, healthy soil is the important foundation for a healthy plant. | <urn:uuid:d7ba072e-e59b-406e-a0eb-ebc025184d69> | {
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Natural Resources, Groundworks & The Environment
NRDB is a free database and mapping application for developing and distributing environmental databases. It was designed to provide people in developing countries with a powerful yet simple tool to assist in the managing of their own resources.
The software should run on most Windows-based computers and requires only standard desktop peripherals such as a scanner and a printer.
NRDB software can assist with the following sorts of building , construction and groundworks projects:
- Monitoring the effect of management and impacts on environmental resources.
- Collating information on environmental management and organisations, so as to coordinate effort more effectively.
- Storing socio-economic information spatially, so as to relate services to need.
- Planning for small to large scale building developments, homes, parks, using naturally derived building materials for gardens and more.
- Production of thematic maps of environmental concerns to assist in advocacy work.
- As a tool for training in environmental management and spatial mapping.
The Raster Analyser tool enables you to rapidly calculate area intersects between two or more GIS vector files containing complex polygons
For example you can calculate the:
Total area of polygons from one layer intersecting individual polygons in a second layer. Combined area of polygons (with overlaps removed) from multiple layers intersecting polygons in a second layer.Features:
Input files can be in ESRI shapefile format or MapInfo table format.Supports multiple input or intersect layers.Input layers may be combined, intersected or processed individually.Intersect layer polygons may be grouped by attribute values
Raster processing is performed on a grid of 10m x 10m pixels by default.Intersect areas are calculated in hectares and output to a text file | <urn:uuid:83ad9d8e-4eae-4668-8eab-87024b4a9757> | {
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Americans may not eat the healthiest diets, but most get adequate levels of essential vitamins and nutrients, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For most nutrients, less than 10 percent of the population is deficient, the report showed.
However, deficiency rates vary by age, gender and ethnicity, and close to a third of African-Americans were deficient in vitamin D, the report said.
These higher deficiency rates are a concern and need more attention, said study researcher Christine Pfeiffer, of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health.
The report gave the results of an analysis of blood and urine samples collected from people between 2003 and 2006, measuring levels of 58 nutrient markers.
For the U.S. as a whole, 10.5 percent of people were deficient in vitamin B6, 8.1 percent were deficient in vitamin D, 6.7 percent were deficient in iron, 6 percent were deficient in vitamin C, 2 percent were deficient in Vitamin B12, and less than 1 percent were deficient in vitamin A, E and folate.
Vitamin D deficiency was 31 percent among African-Americans, 12 percent among Mexican-Americans and 3 percent among whites. Further research is needed to explain why non-Hispanic blacks have better bone health but yet have a higher rate of vitamin D deficiency, the report noted.
Iodine levels among women ages 20 to 39 years may need improvement. This age group had iodine levels that were, on average, just above iodine insufficiency, the report said.
Iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormones, which regulate growth and development. Iodine is especially important in women during childbearing years to ensure proper brain development of the fetus during pregnancy.
The report found higher rates of iron deficiency among Mexican-American children ages 1 to 5 (11 percent), blacks (16 percent), and Mexican-American women of childbearing age (13 percent) when compared with other race/ethnic groups.
One particular public health success story has been increases in folate levels in recent years. Blood folate levels in are 50 percent higher in all ethnic groups since the country began fortifying cereal-grain products with folic acid in 1998, the report said.
The CDC plans to further analyze the data to identify the influence of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors on levels of nutrient levels, the agency said.
Pass it on: Most Americans get adequate levels of vitamins and nutrients. | <urn:uuid:ca8fbc3a-487c-49cc-9efe-206454e4a41d> | {
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A common problem when 3D printing with ABS is the wrapping that occurs when printing larger objects. Wrapping is the bending of the outsides of the printed object due to shrinkage of the ABS when it cools down. There are already plenty solutions around (ie this instructables where Kapton tape is used) but I found this one working particularly well without any Kapton tape.
I found it works best to dissolve left over pieces of ABS in acetone and let is dissolve for about an hour (preferably use a glass jar since acetone dissolves several common plastics). The resulting solution becomes pitch black and is a bit viscous. Next heat up the glass bed (110 °C) of the printer and apply a thin layer of ABS around the outline of your print. Watch out for the fumes of acetone, since acetone is a very very flammable liquid! Use a ventilated room.
When the first layer of the brim is printed, add drops of the ABS solution on the corners of the brim. This will partly dissolve the brim but makes is stick even better to the plate.
Note that this ONLY works with ABS and not with PLA because PLA does not dissolve in acetone. | <urn:uuid:5ec4390d-8c97-4438-b1d9-1c4af51e3b40> | {
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We face an oncoming avalanche of sugar ingestion these next weeks which contributes to belly bloat, OMG what happened to the scale, my pants don’t fit so good and I feel like sleeping a lot. “I guess I need to resolve in 2015 to lose weight, but…… oh I said that last year.”
The complex carbohydrates found in vegetables, grains, and fruits are good for you; the simple sugars found in sodas, candies, icings, packaged treats, moms almost famous pecan pie and those so yummy thumb print cookies and assorted Holiday treats can do harm, at least when eaten in excess. It’s as simple as that, and if you are not mindful of a pending SUGAR OD you might just have one.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day is: Men: 150 calories per day (37.5 grams or 9 teaspoons). Women: 100 calories per day (25 grams or 6 teaspoons). It has been suggested that Americans consume 355 calories, or 22 teaspoons, of added sugar a day—much of that comes from soda and packaged foods. You can see the dilemma.
Excess sugar depresses immunity, PERIOD. Studies have shown that downing 75 to 100 grams of a sugar solution (about 20 teaspoons of sugar, or the amount that is contained in two average 12-ounce sodas) can suppress the body’s immune responses. Simple sugars, including glucose, table sugar, fructose, and honey caused a fifty- percent drop in the ability of white blood cells to engulf bacteria. In contrast, ingesting a complex carbohydrate solution (starch) did not lower the ability of these white blood cells to engulf bacteria. Sugar neutralizes the action of essential fatty acids, thus making cells more permeable to invasion by allergens and microorganism. It reduces the production of antibodies; proteins that combine with and inactivate foreign invaders in the body. It interferes with the transport of vitamin C, one of the most important nutrients for all facets of immune function. It causes mineral imbalances and sometimes allergic reactions, both of which weaken the immune system. The immune-suppressing effect of sugar starts less than thirty minutes after ingestion and may last for five hours. In contrast, the ingestion of complex carbohydrates, or starches, has no effect on the immune system. Do you ever wonder why you get sick as each New Year rolls around? Could it be……….the Sugar OD?
Sugar OD Symptoms:
When we are stressed the first thing we usually think of is “fast fix” which does not usually equate to preparing a healthful snack or meal. It usually means we hop on the Sugar Train Roller Coaster which becomes a series of highs and lows with resultant cravings for more sugar. Since you will always have stress, plan ahead. Have some “go to” stash pre made, ready for the stress onslaught, so when it comes, you make a mindful choice, not a “what can I grab and jam in” reaction.
This is your brain on sugar. Dopamine—the so-called reward chemical—spikes and reinforces the desire to have more. Taste sugar, the brain lights up in the same regions as it would in an alcoholic drinking a bottle of bourbon. Sugar promotes cravings. The more sugar you eat, the more sugar you want. Welcome, you are now on the Sugar Train Roller Coaster.
Too much sugar jams the skin repair mechanism and, over time, leaves you with prematurely old-looking skin. Just like excess sun impacts the skin, so does sugar. Want to look young? Wear sun screen and read your nutrition labels paying attention to sugars. How we look is largely a function of what we ingest and how we move.
Eventually you have to face the sugar crash. What comes up MUST come down. A high sugar meal raises the blood glucose level, which triggers the outpouring of insulin. This excess insulin lingers in the system, triggering a craving for more sugar. Sugar, promotes sugar highs…………and sugar lows. It’s in these lows that we have to recognize what we are ingesting is the culprit of this low and get off the train. At some point if we stay on the train too long our body can not deal with the insulin rush. Got DIABETES?
Why am I Acting this Way?
Sugar sours behavior, attention, and learning. “I feel good”……“I feel bad”. Studies of the effects of sugar on behavior conclude a general consensus that some children and some adults are sugar-sensitive, meaning their behavior, attention span, and learning ability deteriorate in proportion to the amount of junk sugar they consume.
Knowledge and mindfulness are key ingredients to looking young, feeling great and having a long healthy life. Your fitness, physical and mental healths are a product of you recognizing and prioritizing where you will cheat nutritionally, with what, and why, you are willing to cheat. Life is not about abstinence, especially during the Holiday’s when we get to indulge A BIT…..not A LOT……..A BIT. Sample the fares of the season, enjoy the times, and just be mindful of your tradeoffs and more than likely, you’ll be fine. OR, if not, you need to be gearing up NOW for a bigger weight loss fitness hill to climb as we roll into 2015. You are the owner of your very own Health Care Franchise and as the boss; you get to decide how to invest.
Fitness Together Mission Hills offers personal training with qualified professionals by regular appointment in private suites. Exercise and nutritional programs are custom designed to fit your needs and abilities. Call 619-794-0014 for more information or to schedule a free fitness diagnostic and private training session. See what others are saying about us on Yelp and San Diego City Search. | <urn:uuid:3c4474b9-5695-467a-8fdb-3ce1fd807413> | {
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Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Philosophy Index: Aesthetics · Epistemology · Ethics · Logic · Metaphysics · Consciousness · Philosophy of Language · Philosophy of Mind · Philosophy of Science · Social and Political philosophy · Philosophies · Philosophers · List of lists
The term philosophy comes from the ancient Greek word "Φιλοσοφία" (philo-sophia), which means "love of wisdom". In a modern context, it is used to refer to debates concerning topics such as what exists, what knowledge is and whether it is possible, and how one should live. Philosophical literature is typically characterized by its use of reasoning in order to advance cogent arguments about these topics. Typically, these arguments involve consideration of competing views and their perceived inadequencies.
Since antiquity, questions that are now treated within psychology were subsumed within philosophy and it is only relatively recently that the relationship between psychology and philosophy has been redrawn.While the scientific study of psychology has dominated discussion of much of modern philosophy, particularly with the evidence derived form cognitive neuroscience, the work of philosophers in such fields as ethics and epistemology has a great deal of relavence for psychologists.
A number of psychologists have written substantial textbooks on the main philosophical subjects areas. These writers include Dewey, Fechner, Helmholtz, James, Kulpe, McDougall, Stumpf, Ward and Wundt
Branches of philosophy Edit
There is no universal agreement about which subjects are the main branches of philosophy. The Aristotelian division was as follows:
- First philosophy (metaphysics), of which the main area is ontology (the study of kinds of existence or being).
- Cosmology. It is the study of the origin and nature of the universe.
- Psychology. This is a much wider and more "philosophical" subject than the modern subject of the same name, encompassing the philosophy of perception, the theory of knowledge, and the nature of the soul (now similar to what is called "philosophy of mind").
Aristotle regarded ethics and politics not as parts of theoretical philosophy at all, but as practical disciplines. Logic he regarded as theoretical, but not as a science in its own right, since it is a necessary preliminary to all knowledge.
The modern classification, which originates with Christian Wolff, is into four main branches:
- Logic: What is truth? How or why do we identify a statement as true or false? And, how do we reason?
- Epistemology: Is knowledge possible? How do we know what we know? How do we take what is "known" to extrapolate what is "unknown"?
- Ethics: Is there a difference between morally right and wrong actions (or values, or institutions)? If so, what is that difference? Which actions are right and which wrong? Are values absolute, or relative? In general or particular terms, how should I live? How is right and wrong defined? Is there an ultimate "ought"? Is there a normative value or objective that supersedes all others? Are values 'in' the world like tables and chairs and if not how should we understand their ontological status?
- Metaphysics: What is reality, and what exists? What is the nature of those things? Do some things exist independently of our perception? What is the nature of space and time? What is the nature of thought and thinking? What is it to be a person?
- Aesthetics: What is it to be beautiful? How do beautiful things differ from the everyday? What is Art? Does true beauty exist? It is often considered as a fifth branch, though it is also sometimes included with ethics as "value theory" in modern philosophy departments.
There are many overlapping issues between the categories.
These five broad categories are not the only areas of philosophical inquiry. Politics (seen by Aristotle as part of ethics), physics, geology, biology, meteorology, astronomy, etc., were all originally part of philosophy. The Greeks, through the influence of Socrates and his method, developed a tradition of analysis that divided a subject into its components in order better to understand it. Use of this method is what made those subjects philosophical; and since many subjects made use of that method, the scope of philosophical material was wide. In addition, a number of subfields of philosophy have enjoyed contemporary focus and research (see the applied philosophy section).
History of philosophy Edit
Traditionally, the history of western philosophy is divided into three areas: Ancient Greek, Medieval, and Modern. There is also now focus being put on the post-modern period, especially existentialism. Étienne Gilson, in his book The Unity of Philosophic Experience, attempts to show important connections between the ideas of the medieval period and their development in the modern period; this is contrary to traditional interpretations of modern philosophy as a new era unconcerned with the past.
Ancient Greek philosophy is typically divided into the pre-Socratic Period, the philosophy of Plato, and the philosophy of Aristotle. Important pre-Socratic philosophers include Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Parmenides, and Heraclitus. Socrates and his pupil Plato revolutionized philosophy. While Socrates wrote nothing, his influence survives through that of his pupil. Plato defined the issues with which philosophy still wrestles.
One of the greatest synthesizers of Christian and Aristotelian thought was Thomas Aquinas. His synthesis of Aristotelian metaphysics and practical reasoning with Christian teaching became characteristic of medieval philosophy.
Descartes, who is often called the father of modern philosophy, proposed that philosophy should begin with a radical skepticism about the possibility of obtaining reliable knowledge. In his Meditations, he systematically destroys all the foundations of knowledge except one (I am thinking, therefore I am), and then uses this single indubitable fact to rebuild a system of knowledge.
The British Empiricists, John Locke and the Anglo-Irish George Berkeley and David Hume, developed a form of Scepticism and naturalism on roughly scientific principles. Hume was heavily influenced by empiricists John Locke, George Berkeley, Isaac Newton, and Samuel Clarke.
Immanuel Kant wrote his Critique of Pure Reason in an attempt to reconcile the conflicting views and establish a new groundwork for studying metaphysics rooted in the analysis of the conditions for the possibility of knowledge.
By the late 19th Century, however, several important philosophers argued against the Kantians' skeptical attitude. One of the most influential was Edmund Husserl, who founded the philosophical mode known as phenomenology.
The modern period in philosophy, beginning in the late nineteenth century to the 1950's, was marked by a developing schism in philosophy between 'Continental' tradition, which is mainly Franco-German, and the English and American 'Analytic' tradition.
Both traditions appear radically different, yet they have a common root, namely a rejection of the Cartesian and empiricist tradition that dominated philosophy since the early modern period, and particularly of the psychologism that pervaded the logic and method of Idealist philosophy.
What underlies the analytic tradition is the view (originally defended by Ockham) that philosophical error arises from misunderstandings generated by language. We imagine that to every word (e.g. 'baldness', 'existence') there corresponds something in reality. According to analytic philosophers, the true meaning of ordinary language sentences is, somewhat misleadingly, concealed by their grammatical form, and we must translate them into their true form (known as logical form) in order to clarify them. The difficulty, as yet unresolved, is to determine what the correct logical form must be. Some philosophers (beginning with Frege and Bertrand Russell), have argued that first order logic shows us the true logical form of ordinary language sentences. Russell's The Philosophy of Logical Atomism is an outline of such a project, Wittgenstein's Tractatus is a more detailed attempt, although famously obscure and aphoristic.
Continental philosophy, in the hands of the phenomenologists such as Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, took a different turn, in its preoccupation with consciousness. A fundamental assumption of this school is that mental phenomena have intentionality, they have objects, external to and independent of the mind itself. Thus an important theme of phenomenology is an attack on the subject-object dualism of Cartesianism.
Yet this is an assumption shared by analytic philosophers. A similar idea (though developed from a somewhat different starting point) is the view known as externalism defended recently by philosophers such as John McDowell and Gareth Evans. This is that proper names ('Socrates', 'George Bush') refer directly to their bearers, and that their meaning is not mediated by any 'sense' or subjective meaning. Thus the thought 'Socrates is wise' has Socrates himself as a component, and thus there can be no question of our being radically mistaken as to the nature or existence of an external world. Such a mistake would make no sense – literally so, for if the question of whether the Eiffel Tower, London exists, were intelligible, we would have to admit the possibility that those names have no meaning, and thus that the question was not intelligible in the first place. This is strikingly similar to themes found in 'Continental' writers such as Heidegger, who argues that the 'scandal of philosophy' is not that the proof of the existence of an external world has yet to be given, but that such proofs are expected and attempted again and again. To have faith in the reality of the "external world", presupposes a subject which is worldless. But we are embedded in the world.
Other traditions Edit
Members of many societies have considered philosophical questions and built philosophic traditions based upon each other's works. Eastern and Middle Eastern philosophical traditions have influenced western philosophers. Russian, Jewish, Islamic and recently Latin American philosophical traditions have contributed to, or been derivative of western philosophy, yet retain a distinctive identity.
The differences between traditions are often based on their favored historical philosophers, or emphases on ideas, styles or language of writing. The subject matter and dialogues of each can be studied using methods derived from the others, and there have been significant commonalities and exchanges between them.
Other philosophical traditions, such as African, are rarely considered by foreign academia. On account of the widespread emphasis on western philosophy as a reference point, the study, preservation and dissemination of valuable but not widely known non-western philosophical works faces many obstacles.
Languages can either be a barrier or a vehicle for ideas. The question of which specific languages can be considered essential to philosophizing is a theme in the works of many recent philosophers.
Western and Eastern philosophy Edit
Philosophical thinking also developed elsewhere, and can be seen in many ancient texts. In China, the Tao Te Ching of Laozi and the Analects of Confucius both appeared around 600 BCE, about the same time as the Greek pre-Socratics were writing. In India, major philosophical texts include the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, from circa 500 BCE (see Hindu philosophy). In Persia, Zarathustra's teachings which were a new basis for the Iranian branch of Indo-Iranian philosophy appeared around 900 BC. Islamic civilization also produced many philosophical geniuses such as, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Rushd (Averroës), and Al-Ghazali (see Islamic philosophy).
At least since the publication of Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy the most prominent division of philosophy has been between the philosophies of the "West" and the "East". The western philosophical tradition began with the Greeks, while that of Asia originated, largely, in China and the Indian subcontinent.
Though often seen as a wholly abstract field, philosophy is not without practical applications. The most obvious applications are those in ethics – applied ethics in particular – and in political philosophy. The political philosophies of Confucius, Kautilya, Sun Tzu, Immanuel Kant, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Niccolo Machiavelli, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Mahatma Gandhi, Robert Nozick, and John Rawls have shaped and been used to justify governments and their actions.
Other important applications can be found in epistemology, which might help one to regulate one's notions of what knowledge, evidence, and justified belief are. Philosophy of science discusses the underpinnings of the scientific method. Aesthetics can help to interpret discussions of art. Even ontology, surely the most abstract and least practical-seeming branch of philosophy, has had important consequences for logic and computer science.
In general, the various "philosophies of," such as philosophy of law, can provide workers in their respective fields with a deeper understanding of the theoretical or conceptual underpinnings of their fields.
Often, philosophy is seen as an investigation into an area not understood well enough to be its own branch of knowledge. What were once philosophical pursuits have evolved into the modern day fields of psychology, sociology, linguistics, and economics (among others). Computer science, cognitive science and artificial intelligence are modern areas of research that philosophy has played a role in developing.
General philosophy topics Edit
General philosophy lists Edit
History of philosophy Edit
Philosophy of ... Edit
- Philosophy of education
- Philosophy of history
- Philosophy of language
- Philosophy of law
- Philosophy of mathematics
- Philosophy of mind
- Philosophy of perception
- Philosophy of philosophy (Metaphilosophy)
- Philosophy of politics
- Philosophy of psychology
- Philosophy of religion
- Philosophy of science
- Philosophy of social sciences
- ↑ O'Donohue, W. and Kitchener, R.F. (1996). The Philosophy of Psychology. London:Sage.
- ↑ Boring E.G.(1950). A History of Experimental Psychology. New York:Appleton-Century-Croft
For beginners Edit
- Blumenau, Ralph. Philosophy and Living ISBN 0907845339
- Craig, Edward. Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction. ISBN 0192854216
- Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World. ISBN 0425152251
- Higgins, Kathleen M. and Solomon, Robert C. A Short History of Philosophy. ISBN 0195101960
- Russell, Bertrand. The Problems of Philosophy. ISBN 019511552X
- Sober, E. (2001). Core Questions in Philosophy: A Text with Readings. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall. ISBN 0131898698
- Solomon, Robert C. Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy. ISBN 053416708X
- Stevenson, Jay. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy (2nd Edition). ISBN 0028643380
- Warburton, Nigel. Philosophy: The Basics. ISBN 0415146941
- What Philosophy Is.
- Philosophy Now.
- The Philosophy Manuscripts.
Topical introductions Edit
- Copleston, Frederick. Philosophy in Russia: From Herzen to Lenin and Berdyaev. ISBN 0268015694
- Critchley, Simon. Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction. ISBN 0192853597
- Hamilton, Sue. Indian Philosophy: a Very Short Introduction. ISBN 0192853740
- Imbo, Samuel Oluoch. An Introduction to African Philosophy. ISBN 0847688410
- Kupperman, Joel J. Classic Asian Philosophy: A Guide to the Essential Texts. ISBN 0195133358
- Leaman, Oliver. A Brief Introduction to Islamic Philosophy. ISBN 0745619606
- Lee, Joe and Powell, Jim. Eastern Philosophy For Beginners. ISBN 0863162827
- Nagel, Thomas. What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy. ISBN 0195052927
- Scruton, Roger. A Short History of Modern Philosophy. ISBN 0415267633
- Smart, Ninian. World Philosophies. ISBN 0415228522
- Stevenson, Jay. Complete Idiot's Guide to Eastern Philosophy. ISBN 0028638204
- Tarnas, Richard. The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View. ISBN 0345368096
- The Branches of Philosophy
- A Glossary of Terms
- Philosophic Classics: From Plato to Derrida (4th Edition) by Forrest E. Baird
- The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
- Classics of Philosophy (Vols. 1 & 2, 2nd edition) by Louis P. Pojman
- Classics of Philosophy: The 20th Century (Vol. 3) by Louis P. Pojman
- The English Philosophers from Bacon to Mill by Edwin Arthur Burtt
- European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche by Monroe Beardsley
- Contemporary Analytic Philosophy: Core Readings by James Baillie
- Existentialism: Basic Writings (Second Edition) by Charles Guignon, Derk Pereboom
- The Phenomenology Reader by Dermot Moran, Timothy Mooney
- Medieval Islamic Philosophical Writings edited by Muhammad Ali Khalidi
- A Source Book in Indian Philosophy by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Charles A. Moore
- A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy by Wing-tsit Chan
- Kim, J. and Ernest Sosa, Ed. (1999). Metaphysics: An Anthology. Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
- The Oxford Handbook of Free Will (2004) edited by Robert Kane
Reference works Edit
- The Oxford Companion to Philosophy edited by Ted Honderich
- The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy by Robert Audi
- The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (10 vols.) edited by Edward Craig, Luciano Floridi (also available online by subscription); or
- The Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy edited by Edward Craig (an abridgement)
- Routledge History of Philosophy (10 vols.) edited by John Marenbon
- History of Philosophy (9 vols.) by Frederick Copleston
- A History of Western Philosophy (5 vols.) by W. T. Jones
- Encyclopaedia of Indian Philosophies (8 vols.), edited by Karl H. Potter et al (first 6 volumes out of print)
- Indian Philosophy (2 vols.) by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- A History of Indian Philosophy (5 vols.) by Surendranath Dasgupta
- History of Chinese Philosophy (2 vols.) by Fung Yu-lan, Derk Bodde
- Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy edited by Antonio S. Cua
- Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion by Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber, Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Kurt Friedrichs
- Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy by Brian Carr, Indira Mahalingam
- A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English by John A. Grimes
- History of Islamic Philosophy edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Oliver Leaman
- History of Jewish Philosophy edited by Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman
- A History of Russian Philosophy: From the Tenth to the Twentieth Centuries by Valerii Aleksandrovich Kuvakin
- Ayer, A. J. et al. Ed. (1994) A Dictionary of Philosophical Quotations. Blackwell Reference Oxford. Oxford, Basil Blackwell Ltd.
- Blackburn, S., Ed. (1996)The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
- Mauter, T., Ed. The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy. London, Penguin Books.
- Runes, D., ED. (1942). The Dictionary of Philosophy. New York, The Philosophical Library, Inc.
- Angeles, P. A., Ed. (1992). The Harper Collins Dictionary of Philosophy. New York, Harper Perennial.
- Bunnin, N. et. al.,Ed.(1996) The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy. Blackwell Companions to Philosophy. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
- Popkin, R. H. (1999). The Columbia History of Western Philosophy. New York, Columbia University Press.
- An historical time line.
Some of these websites contain links to online texts of philosophy, as do many related articles on Wikipedia.
- Philosophy on wePapers.com An online library of philosophy books, class notes and articles
- Cultural And Ethinicity In Philosophy A sampling of philosophies in certain geographical areas. Warning: some links are not updated.
- Philosophical Society.com Offers an exhaustive reference library and passages from philosophical works.
- Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names
- Philosophies and Philosophers
- EpistemeLinks.com : philosophy resources on the internet
- Erratic Impact: The Philosophy Research Base
- Guide to Philosophy on the Internet
- The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Introducing Philosophy Series by Paul Newall, aimed at beginners.
- Introduction to Philosophy (abridgement of other sources) (currently unavailable)
- Plato's Heaven An introductory guide to major philosophical topics and debates.
- Melbourne Philosophy: Philosophy in Melbourne, Australia (noncommercial, variety of resources, wiki)
- Philosophy around the Web
- Philosophy @ large, A webguide for the philosophy community provided by Liverpool University
- Philosophy in Cyberspace
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Signpost articles free, others require subscription
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Philosophy Talk A radio program that questions everything except your intelligence
- Ephilosopher Online philosophy forum for philosophers, philosophy students, and anyone interested in philosophy.
- The Academy A place to discuss philosophy from basic to advanced levels, with a library of introductory essays for beginners
- Blueskyboris' Love Of Wisdom Debates Ongoing debate on the veracity of the words of the greats
- BUPS-DIS Discussion list of the British Undergraduate Philosophy Society
- Groves of Academe A discussion board covering philosophy, logic/mathematics, culture, literature, the arts, and technology.
- I Love Philosophy Large philosophy forum with areas for experts and novices.
- Internet Infidels Philosophical Forums Debate about atheist/theist issues, philosophy of science, ethics and morals, and general philosophy.
- LifeTheory.com Online community for philosophers, spiritual gurus, and big intellects.
- The Philosophy Forum maintained by David Thunder from the University of Notre Dame
- Philosophy Forums A place to discuss Philosophy, with a discursive library on Philosophical topics.
- PhiloWiki The complete Wiki-site for the development of multiple points of view on a range of philosophical topics
- Philter Philosophy's Forum Page A resource for learning and discussing philosophy
- Seekers of Truth Forums A place to discuss philosophies of religion, and other such topics
- Sicetnon.org eJournal for philosophy and culture. Discussion-board and journal.
- Talk Philosophy Place to discuss topics in all areas of philosophy from ethics to aesthetics
- WikiCity of Philosophy A WikiCity dedicated to philosophy, set up to collect and discuss any & everything about philosophy
- FrostCloud.com General Philosophy Thought-provoking, philosophical discussions.
- Mforums.org A forum aimed at solving world problems with philosophy and science.
- humanproblems.org Online community of philosophers and scientists discussing real world problems, for the purpose of inplementing real world solutions backed by the capital of millenniumparty.
- forumsphilosophy Online community of newbie to expert philosophers.
Organizations, websites, and associations Edit
|General: Philosophy: Eastern - Western | History of philosophy: Ancient - Medieval - Modern | Portal|
|Lists: Basic topics | Topic list | Philosophers | Philosophies | Glossary of philosophical "isms" | Philosophical movements | Publications | Category listings ...more lists|
|Branches: Aesthetics | Ethics | Epistemology | Logic | Metaphysics | Philosophy of: Education, History, Language, Law, Mathematics, Mind, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Religion, Science, Social philosophy, Social Sciences|
|Schools: Agnosticism | Analytic philosophy | Atheism | Critical theory | Determinism | Dialectics | Empiricism | Existentialism | Humanism | Idealism | Logical positivism | Materialism | Nihilism | Postmodernism | Rationalism | Relativism | Skepticism | Theism|
|References: Philosophy primer | Internet Encyclo. of Philosophy | Philosophical dictionary | Stanford Encyclo. of Philosophy | Internet philosophy guide|
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As a new report shows an estimated 650 million of the world's poorest people still lack access to water that is safe to consume and 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation, warriors from the frontlines of this global crisis—many of them women and girls—are gathering in New York on Tuesday to affirm that water is a human right.
The World Water Day event is being billed as an alternative "People's Summit" to the invite-only White House Water Summit also taking place Tuesday, and will "ensure the voices of those directly impacted and working on the ground as advocates on the human rights to water and sanitation are heard," according to organizers. Scheduled to coincide with the the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, sponsors of the panel include Food & Water Watch, the U.S. Human Rights Network (USHRN), Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise, and WaterAid.
The latter group, an international non-profit headquartered in New York, released a report Tuesday entitled, Water: At What Cost? The State of the World's Water 2016. It finds that in 16 countries, more than 40 percent of the population does not even have access to a basic water facility like a protected well.
In turn, "[p]eople from impoverished, marginalized communities have no choice but to collect dirty water from open ponds and rivers," the report reads, "or spend large chunks of their income buying water from vendors"—in some cases, more than half their family's daily income.
"The price paid by these communities—in wasted income, ill-health, and lost productivity—is extremely high, and has a devastating impact from the family to the national level," WaterAid declares.
"Women and girls in many cases bear the brunt of this global water and sanitation crisis," the USHRN said in a call-to-action. "It often falls to them to collect water from further and further away, or to provide care to family members who fall ill from poor water or sanitation conditions. Open [defecation] can increase risks of sexual violence. Inability to manage menstruation with dignity can create barriers to education or to work. Water shut-offs also place mothers at risk of losing custody of their children, and contaminated water has particularly serious risks for pregnant and nursing women."
The USHRN statement continues: "The global North as well as the global South is being impacted by deprivation of these rights—high water rates and growing poverty, leads to water cut-offs and the criminalization of people, especially women, due to lack of access to water and sanitation."
As Amanda Hooper, deputy director of engagement and mobilization for the National Women's Law Center, wrote earlier this year, "the Flint water crisis is undeniably a feminist issue."
With 42 percent of Flint residents living below the poverty line—and data showing that women of color, single mothers, and elderly women living alone are disproportionately poor—"Low-income women of color, as well as undocumented immigrants, and their families are the ones who are hardest hit by this crisis," Hooper said at the time.
To that end, Flint representatives will be present for the People's Summit in New York, while organizers and advocates with Michigan's People's Water Board are also holding a rally and lobby day at the Michigan state legislature on Tuesday morning to encourage state lawmakers to pass a collection of bills known as the Water is a Human Right Bill Package (pdf). Among other things, the bills in the package would institute water shut-off protections for some residents; enact a water rate structure based on household income; and increase transparency on the part of water providers.
"Water shut-offs have severe economic consequences for women, particularly those who are head of household," said Sylvia Orduño of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization. "Women are more likely to be caretakers of children so lack of water access has a greater impact. Single-female headed households that are no longer eligible for government assistance for needy children are disproportionately impacted by residential water shut-offs and unaffordable water bills."
For more on the scope of the crisis in the U.S., USHRN has created the following infographic:
— USHR Network (@USHRN) March 22, 2016 | <urn:uuid:022fc296-8b91-4a3a-958b-dc1b067380db> | {
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Assam rocked by claims Kaziranga poaching is an insider job; Nepal celebrates two poaching-free years
Kaziranga National Park, in India’s North-eastern state of Assam, holds the world’s highest concentration of rhinos. Numbering some 2,000 individuals, the pachyderm population gives the 430 square mile World Heritage Site its status as the historic home of India’s efforts to save the Greater one-horned rhino; a species once prevalent across much of the sub-continent.
Over the last month, the Park has been the location of one of the most high-profile and daring poaching incidents reported since the current poaching crisis began in 2008. During a ministerial visit to assess anti-poaching strategies, a rhino was killed and dehorned just miles away – the second animal killed within the space of a week. The shocking incident precipitated the suspension of the National Park Director, and has raised questions over the security of the government’s rhino horn stockpile and the implementation of the country’s on-going rhino conservation programme.
In recent years poaching has picked up pace in Assam. The province, perhaps best-known for the eponymous tea, is based in the far northeast and shares international boundaries with Bhutan and Bangladesh. The porous border with Myanmar is not far from Kaziranga and provides a transit route for smuggled rhino horn to the key markets of South East Asia; including China and Viet Nam.
In Assam, one of the key manifestos of the recently elected regional Government, headed up by the Bharakiya Janata Party (BJP), was to stop rhino poaching. A central tenet of this vision is to increase viable populations in areas that have previously been hit by poaching, once other regions were secured. At the end of March 2016, a rhino cow and her calf were translocated, seemingly successfully, from the Baguri range in Kaziranga to Burachapori Wildlife Conservancy in Sonipur District. Just under two months later, the team received a huge blow when, after settling in well, the cow died unexpectedly. Preliminary reports suggest that the death was related to pneumonia.
The IRV 2020 coalition is a joint project led by the International Rhino Foundation (a partner of Save the Rhino International), the Assam Forest Department, World Wildlife Fund-India, the Bodoland Territorial Council and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Now, there is an urgent need to plan a way forward for the orphaned calf. Moves are being made to transport a hand-reared young calf from a rehabilitation centre near Kaziranga, to keep the little one company.
Losing the adult rhino was a huge blow to the team, who await the results of the full autopsy to see if lessons can be learnt. Translocation, whilst usually successful, carries risks and places animals under stress which, in certain circumstances, can exacerbate underlying illnesses or undetected issues.
Assam officials under the spotlight
Throughout 2016, so far Kaziranga National Park has foiled several poaching attempts, with 17 arrests made by officials by 19 June, and a further four poacher fatalities. Two high-profile poaching incidents have, however, created most of the headlines.
On 7 June it was reported that a rhino had been killed and dehorned and, furthermore, the incident had occurred during a high-profile ministerial visit to the Park to check on rhino monitoring procedures and anti-poaching strategies. Within a week, another rhino was dead. Only a few months earlier, a rhino had been poached shortly after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited in April.
The incidents caused huge embarrassment to the government and outrage on behalf of the local community and activists. Within days, the Assam Forest Department announced that the Park’s highest ranking official, Park Director Nufakkar Ali had been suspended on the charge that he had been “negligent in his duties pertaining to protection of rhino.” In a formally issued statement, the government later claimed that he was “liable to have tampered with evidence related to the incident of rhino poaching on 7 June by misleading the authorities.”
Assam’s Forest Minister, Pramila Rani Brahma, sent a clear message: “Our government is committed to protecting the rhinos and will take all necessary steps to guard our state animal. Any negligence of duty by our officials will be taken very seriously.” Since then, a serial poacher, Tilak Bora, has been arrested and immediately confessed that he sold the rhino horn poached on the day of the ministerial visit to a customer from neighbouring province Nagaland. Bora is the fifth poacher arrested in connection with the incident, including forest guards. According to press reports, Bora has been arrested and released several times over the years before being released on bail. He was reportedly held by the authorities near the Burmese border in possession of four .303 rifles, one silencer, 24 rounds of bullets, one magazine and one bolt.
Now, as the government looks to uncover the extent of corruption, attention has turned to the security of its stockpile of rhino horn. The local government’s treasury, based in Golaghat, houses more than a thousand rhino horns from natural deaths. On 23 June it was reported that the Forest Minister had formed a team including forensic experts to find out whether the rhino horn strong room is safe and, once confirmed, decide what to do with the stockpile, with public burning of the horn touted as a possibility by local media.
Vulnerable – but not Critically Endangered
Despite intense media speculation and the shocking timings of Assam’s spate of poaching attacks, Kaziranga is still a conservation success story and, although it ended in tragedy, the attempted translocation exemplifies the huge gains made by conservationists working with this species of rhino.
In 1905 the Park had just 75 rhinos and 300 by the 1960s. In 2016, there are more than 2,000. In total, there are around 3,500 animals across their remaining range in India and Nepal, meaning the species is classed as “Vulnerable”; the only one of the three Asian rhino species not labelled as “Critically Endangered” by the IUCN. In a recent interview, Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, a wildlife biologist and Asia Coordinator of International Rhino Foundation, put current events in context:
“Failures and successes are part of any fight against illegal activities. Often failures are highlighted in media, while the successes are not often reflected. I think the greatest success of the Assam Government is the steady increase in rhino population from mere 20 or 30 in the beginning of 19th century to about 2650 rhinos currently…One of the greatest strengths in rhino conservation in Assam is the growing awareness and protective feeling amongst the common people of Assam. Without their support, rhinos would have become extinct long back.”
Nepal, which also is home to the Greater one-horned rhino species, has won plaudits in rhino conservation and rapidly established itself as conservation and anti-poaching leader. In May 2016, the country celebrated its second year in a row with zero rhino poaching. Three years out of the last five have achieved this feat. This announcement was just in time to coincide with the issuing of the country’s new bank note; featuring a rhino and its calf on one side.
TB – A new threat?
Nepal, like India, is pursuing translocations for some of its rhino population. Translocation is not without its controversies, but the process is vital in ensuring genetic diversity, repopulating traditional rhino ranges, and utilising better-suited habitats. The last translocations attempted between the two saw 70+ rhinos relocated between 1985-2003. As of 2015, only 29 survived in Bardia, with media reports and campaigners identifying security issues during the Maoist regime, regional flooding, and limited ranger resource, as likely factors.
This time round, although some activists attempted to block a plan to move up to 30 rhinos from Chitwan National Park to Bardia National Park, around 150 miles away, the translocations went ahead successfully, with no deaths incurred during the move itself. Investment in the training of park staff in rhino monitoring and anti-poaching patrols has assuaged many concerns. However, another threat has now come to light. Shortly after the first of the current wave of translocations in February 2016, it was reported that one of the animals, a female rhino, had been displaying signs of illness. In early March she died, with the cause of death identified as tuberculosis (TB). This is the first-ever case of TB found in a rhino. How and where the disease was transferred is being investigated – with a range of implications for future translocations.
All in all, a mixed picture for the Greater one-horned rhino. | <urn:uuid:ab50312c-2b24-46d7-9b43-694d404a5965> | {
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Robots and science fiction fantasy have gone hand in hand throughout the years, with most of our connections to robots coming from a classic movie or TV show. An aspiration of man since ancient times, robots did not become a rudimentary reality until the Industrial Revolution when it became possible to equip machines with small motors. While we may still have a vision of the humanoid robot that communicates with us and performs both menial and major tasks, they have evolved for use in multiple industries for use as precision tools, they are sometimes manipulated by remote control, and artificial intelligence has been in the works since the ’60s.
With 3D printing technology, robotics are just an idea and a design away, as the technology presents makers with the ability to create parts on whim. Randy from Instructables created a design demonstrating just how easy it is to 3D print a robotic pal of your own.
Randy runs the Instructables Design Studio and has hundreds of Instructable designs under his belt. He is also the author of Simple Bots and 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer. Randy has been making robots for a while, but he wanted to try his hand at making one via 3D printing. This walkerbot is quite the charming little guy, lurching along on his pencil legs.
“The nice thing about 3D printing is that it makes building robots easy. You can design whatever configuration of parts that you can dream up and have them in your hand virtually right away,” states Randy. “This allows for rapid prototyping and experimentation. This particular 3D printed robot is an example of that.”
Mulling over the idea for this particular style of robot for a number of years, Randy had not found a way to make his concept a reality until he discovered the limitless capability provided by 3D printing. Within two days he was able to bring his idea to fruition in producing a type of 3D printed robot called a ‘walkerbot’ that could shift its balance forward. He recommends this as a fun weekend project. Hmm…that’s surely a sign of the times when all you need is an elementary knowledge of electronics and soldering to build your own robot in a couple of days!
The complete list of materials is provided here, but Randy basically put it together using his 3D printer, two servos, an Arduino Micro, some pencils, the battery, and a few other items; most of the materials are either household or can be picked up at Radio Shack. He points out that you could even sharpen the pencils and transform this guy into a drawing robot.
Going to Randy’s Instructable, you can download and 3D print the files according to your specific printer. He then offers 15 easy steps to build the walkerbot, which consists of making the robot by assembling the servos, programming the Arduino Micro (he supplies the code), building the circuit, putting the other limited amount of pieces together, connecting the battery, and watching the robot go.
Have you built anything like this? Tell us about it in the 3D Printed Walkerbot forum at 3DPB.com. You can also check out this video of Randy explaining his walkerbot and demonstrating its movements: | <urn:uuid:63af59e6-9a05-4b36-b679-c4103a787fc3> | {
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Brief life of a pioneering naturalist: 1786-1859
In 1808, a day after landing in Philadelphia, Yorkshireman Thomas Nuttall found a common greenbrier, a plant new to him. The apprentice printer and aspiring naturalist took it to Benjamin Smith Barton of the University of Pennsylvania, who—struck by this fervor for botany—became Nuttall’s mentor, and in 1810 sent him on a major collecting expedition: to the Great Lakes, northwest to Winnipeg, and down the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Nuttall, realizing he’d be welcome neither to the British in Canada nor the Plains Indians, eventually joined one of John Jacob Astor’s fur-trading parties. In prairies and woodlands he found plants new to science and collected species that had been discovered, but lost in transit, by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Washington Irving’s historical account Astoria describes him as a “zealous botanist…groping and stumbling along a wilderness of sweets, forgetful of everything but his immediate pursuit.” In other first-hand stories, his use of his rifle to store seeds illustrates his obliviousness to peril in his single-minded quest to further science.
At journey’s end in 1812, with war looming, Nuttall sailed from New Orleans to London, but soon returned to Philadelphia. In 1816, he undertook a second major journey: down the Ohio River, to walk alone through Kentucky and Tennessee to the Carolinas. On his return he published The Genera of North American Plants and a Catalogue of the Species, to the Year 1817, which, American botanist John Torrey declared, “contributed more than any other work to the advance of accurate knowledge of the plants of this country.”
Next he financed his own expedition of some 5,000 miles down the Ohio and Mississippi into what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma, and published A Journal of Travels into the Arkansas Territory in 1821, partly to share “the wisdom and beauty of creation.” The book blends many discoveries of new plants with vivid accounts of his trials in finding them: drunken boatmen, river pirates, treacherous sandbars, and unmapped, mosquito-infested swamps. At his lowest, in “miseries of sickness, delirium, and despondence,” he had to flee through a stormy night, into quicksand and across a frigid river, from Indians trying to steal his horse. Yet he also told of Indians who rescued him when lost, and tried to arouse compassion for “the unfortunate aborigines…so rapidly dwindling into oblivion.” Three appendices, with linguistic notes on Southwestern tribes, would, he hoped, rectify the dismissal of Indian languages as “barbaric” and “create a new era in the history of primitive language.”
Nuttall was invited to Harvard in 1822 as a lecturer in natural history and curator of the botanical garden. He was popular with students, guiding them on woodland “rambles,” and the College allowed him botanizing absences, yet he grew restless, feeling that he was “vegetating” in Cambridge. “In that era,” writes historian Wayne Hanley, “Harvard was a veritable desert for a biologist.”
In 1832 he published a pioneering guide: a two-volume Manual of the Ornithology of the United States and Canada. Despite some errors, it was accurate enough that readers often assumed he was a trained ornithologist.Birds, he wrote, “play around us like fairy spirits”; he believed them capable of conjugal fidelity, education, and even “reflection.” His call to end their “wanton destruction” has been echoed by American conservationists ever since.
He left Harvard in 1833, and in 1834 joined the Wyeth Expedition to the Columbia River, which entered lands “no naturalist had ever traversed.” Ornithologist John Kirk Townsend marveled at his older colleague’s energetic collecting (though he once found Nuttall eating an owl he had saved as a specimen). They sent “bird skins” to the Academy of Natural Sciences and their friend John James Audubon, who used them as models for Birds of America. “Such beauties!” Audubon exclaimed. “Such rarities! Such Novelties!”
Nuttall continued on from Fort Vancouver to Hawaii and then to the virgin scientific territory of California. In 1836 a young sailor, Richard Henry Dana ’37, was amazed to find his old professor barefoot on a San Diego beach, gathering shells. To transport his barrels of specimens east, Nuttall had gained passage on Dana’s vessel, which was carrying hides to Boston. (The crew, bemused by Nuttall’s “zeal for curiosities,” called him “Old Curious.”) During the harrowing gales around Cape Horn, Dana wrote in Two Years before the Mast, Nuttall stayed below, but once past Tierra del Fuego he came on deck “hopping around as bright as a bird.” He begged the captain to let him explore an island “which probably no human being had ever set foot upon,” but the ship sailed on.
In Philadelphia he learned that an uncle had left him an estate in England, provided he stay there nine months each year. He lived out his days in Lancashire, but wrote, “I prefer the wilds of America a thousand times over” and returned once, for six months in 1847-48. The preeminent naturalist of his adopted country remained proud of the work he’d done “not in the closet but in the field.”
That work lives on through the common and scientific names of Western shrubs and trees like the Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii), 44 marine genera and species, and three birds, including Nuttall’s woodpecker. And the first U.S. ornithological society, founded in 1873, bears his name. Members of the Nuttall Ornithological Club have included Theodore Roosevelt, Ernst Mayr, and Roger Tory Peterson. “Nuttall” still publishes ornithological research, building on its namesake’s groundwork, and meets monthly for lectures at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. | <urn:uuid:90a9c241-61a2-4463-a9d5-ee7437f33176> | {
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Public Water Supplies
Water Quality Testing and Compliance
Public water systems, typically defined as serving over 25 people, are required to maintain certain water quality standards. Testing and analysis are conducted at regular intervals to ensure that the water delivered to a system's customers is up to the appropriate standards. Below are links to compliance reports for water systems in Delaware and resources that provide information on the standards for these systems.
Fluoride in Your Drinking Water
The addition of fluoride to public water supplies is considered one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The addition of fluoride significantly reduces the occurrence of tooth decay in the population served by public water systems. The information below can answer questions related to fluoride in drinking water and help determine if it’s added by your water supplier.
Please note: Some of the files available on this page are in Adobe PDF format which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. A free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded directly from Adobe . If you are using an assistive technology unable to read Adobe PDF, please either view the corresponding text only version (if available) or visit Adobe's Accessibility Tools page. | <urn:uuid:fe31e976-d5de-4e62-8284-d71206c5e212> | {
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Fascinating rhythm: The brain’s ‘slow waves’
New findings clarify where and how the brain’s “slow waves” originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep at the rate of about one cycle per second, are assumed to play a role in processes such as consolidation of memory.
For the first time, researchers have shown conclusively that slow waves start in the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for cognitive functions. They also found that such a wave can be set in motion by a tiny cluster of neurons. “The brain is a rhythm machine, producing all kinds of rhythms all the time,” says Prof. Arthur Konnerth of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM). “These are clocks that help to keep many parts of the brain on the same page.”
One such timekeeper produces the so-called slow waves of deep sleep, which are thought to be involved in transmuting fragments of a day’s experience and learning into lasting memory. They can be observed in very early stages of development, and they may be disrupted in diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Previous studies, relying mainly on electrical measurements, have lacked the spatial resolution to map the initiation and propagation of slow waves precisely. But using light, Konnerth’s Munich-based team – in collaboration with researchers at Stanford and the University of Mainz – could both stimulate slow waves and observe them in unprecedented detail. One key result confirmed that the slow waves originate only in the cortex, ruling out other long-standing hypotheses.
Call or Text us for an Introductory NeuroFeedback Session in Our Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC Location – and Eliminate Your Anxiety This Year. 604-785-1709 www.no-stress-success.com
“The second major finding,” Konnerth says, “was that out of the billions of cells in the brain, it takes not more than a local cluster of fifty to one hundred neurons in a deep layer of the cortex, called layer 5, to make a wave that extends over the entire brain.” New light on a fundamental neural mechanism Despite considerable investigation of the brain’s slow waves, definitive answers about the underlying circuit mechanism have remained elusive. Where is the pacemaker for this rhythm? Where do the waves start, and where do they stop? This study – based on optical probing of intact brains of live mice under anesthesia – now provides the basis for a detailed, comprehensive view. “We implemented an optogenetic approach combined with optical detection of neuronal activity to explore causal features of these slow oscillations, or Up-Down state transitions, that represent the dominating network rhythm in sleep,” explains Prof.
Albrecht Stroh of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Optogenetics is a novel technique that enabled the researchers to insert light-sensitive channels into specific kinds of neurons, to make them responsive to light stimulation. This allowed for selective and spatially defined stimulation of small numbers of cortical and thalamic neurons. Access to the brain via optical fibers allowed for both microscopic recording and direct stimulation of neurons. Flashes of light near the mouse’s eyes were also used to stimulate neurons in the visual cortex. By recording the flux of calcium ions, a chemical signal that can serve as a more spatially precise readout of the electric activity, the researchers made the slow waves visible.
They also correlated optical recordings with more conventional electrical measurements. As a result, it was possible to watch individual wave fronts spread – like ripples from a rock thrown into a quiet lake – first through the cortex and then through other brain structures. A new picture begins to emerge: Not only is it possible for a tiny local cluster of neurons to initiate a slow wave that will spread far and wide, recruiting multiple regions of the brain into a single event – this appears to be typical. “In spontaneous conditions,” Konnerth says, “as it happens with you and me and everyone else every night in deep sleep, every part of the cortex can be an initiation site.”
Furthermore, a surprisingly simple communication protocol can be seen in the slow wave rhythm. During each one-second cycle a single neuron cluster sends its signal and all others are silenced, as if they are taking turns bathing the brain in fragments of experience or learning, building blocks of memory.
The researchers view these findings as a step toward a better understanding of learning and memory formation, a topic Konnerth’s group is investigating with funding from the European Research Council. They also are testing how the slow waves behave during disease. | <urn:uuid:e36e2d51-adbb-40d6-9aa9-7d32fa90a315> | {
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Origins of Howison:
According to the early recordings of the name, this interesting and unique name listed as Howie, Howey, and the patronymics Howieson, Howison, Howisone, and Huison, this famous Scottish name is perhaps geographical from "The lands of How," a now lost estate in the division of Ayrshire. If so the surname is a member of the ever growing list of surnames of the British Islands that start from old sites which are either no longer around or have probably changed their name. Either way, the advancement is from the old British-Strathclyde word hoh, which pre-dates written history. It shows a clear or deep valley, and from which also advanced the surnames How and Howe. As Howie or Howey, it is a little meaning Little How, the addition of -ie or -y being a famous Scottish and North of England attachment, while Howi(e)son is the patronymic to give the son of Howie. Early examples of the surname records contain as John Howison, a burgess of Edinburgh in 1450, John Howy, a servant of the Lord of Cassilis, who in 1526 was involved in murder. Somewhat less dramatically in 1590, Robert Howie was noted as being the Principal of Marischal College, Aberdeen, while in the year of 1680, Thomas Howieson was the minister of Boleskin in Lanark and was also known as Robert Huison and Robert Houston. Interestingly there is a long culture that name ancestors originally settled from Flemish then to Scotland in the 14th century.
More common variations are: Howieson, Howeison, Howisson, Howson, Hewison, Howeson, Houison, Howisen, Hawison, Howisin.
The origins of the surname Howison appeared in Modlothian where people held a family seat from old times. Someone say better before the success of Normans and the entrance of Duke William at Hastings 1066 A.D.
Many of the people with surname Howison had moved to Ireland during the 17th century.
United States of America:
Individuals with the surname Howison landed in the United States in two different centuries respectively in the 18th, and 20th. Some of the people with the name Howison who arrived in the United States in the 17th century included John Howison, who came to Maryland in the year 1703.
The following century saw more Howison surnames arrive. Some of the people with the surname Howison who arrived in the United States in the 19th century included Morris James Howison at the age of 36, who moved to the United States, in the year 1903. Rudolph M Howison at the age of 44, who landed in America, in the year 1906. Rudolph Meier Howison at the age of 44, who moved to America from Finchley, England, in 1908. Allen M. Howison, who emigrated to America, in 1909. Mary Scott Howison at the age of 32, who settled in America, in the year 1911.
Here is the population distribution of the last name Howison: United States 484; Australia 228; Canada 114; England 113; New Zealand 47; United Arab Emirates 38; Scotland 33; Singapore 2; Netherlands 2; South Africa 2.
Del Howison (born 1953), is an American horror writer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan but moved to Los Angeles to pursue a job in acting; with his distinctive long white hair, he was a natural for low-budget horror films, and has since played the character "Renfield" in four separate seasons (making him the actor who has played this iconic character from Dracula more than any other).
George Holmes Howison (1834–1916) was an American scholar who taught in the philosophy department at the University of California, Berkeley.
John Howison (c.1530–1618), was a Scottish minister.
Ryan Howison (born 1966), is an American golf player. | <urn:uuid:09187782-c1f0-46ef-a15d-1e03efc054fe> | {
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Studies have shown that the people of the Mediterranean region are some of the healthiest; their diets are high in vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, and fish.
This style of eating has come to be known as "The Mediterranean diet" although technically we should think of it as an eating pattern or way of life instead of short-term changes in the way you eat, which is a diet.
The Mediterranean diet is very well-known for its protective effects against heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. In addition, it has also been linked to a reduced risk for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression.
Recently, a large study was published that suggested the Mediterranean diet could be a good alternative to a low-fat diet for reducing one's risk for diabetes. So, if you have prediabetes, this may be a good option for you.
Weight loss is an important part of diabetes care for many people since it can help lower blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Research suggests that the Mediterranean diet can also help with weight loss and weight management.
As you can see, there are many potential benefits of following a Mediterranean eating plan.
Interested in learning the basics of this diet? Read on to find out!
September's meal plan features traditional foods from the Mediterranean region that are heart-healthy and delicious.See Meal Plan
A list of tips to help you stick to healthy eating - even when time is short.Read More
See all of our featured recipes from this month and past months.Browse | <urn:uuid:fbdc48f8-240e-4c67-a408-88daf6660cf8> | {
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Have you heard that dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants, and in small doses, it can be beneficial to your health? If you’re a chocolate lover, this is probably music to your ears! Dark chocolate contains iron, magnesium, copper and manganese. Studies have shown that it can even help lower blood pressure and prevent oxidative damage.
There’s only one problem with getting your daily dose of dark chocolate: you might not actually be eating real chocolate.
Cocoa Vs. Cacao
If you’re giving in to your sweet tooth, it’s important to make sure that the chocolate you’re eating is actually providing you with health benefits. That candy bar you grabbed at the checkout line probably isn’t cutting it. There’s a difference between the cocoa in an average chocolate bar and real cacao. Cocoa is processed cacao that’s been roasted at high temperatures, while cacao is made by cold-pressing un-roasted cacao beans. The process of making cacao preserves all of the antioxidants in the chocolate. Roasting the cacao to make cocoa actually destroys the antioxidants in the chocolate.
Hershey’s and other popular chocolate brands sell products that aren’t really chocolate. During the manufacturing process, cocoa butter is mixed with vegetable oils. This is a cheaper way to make the chocolate, but the final product often ends up containing sugar, high fructose corn syrup or soy lecithin, which can be dangerous to your health.
Soy lecithin contains genetically modified soy, along with soy phytoestrogens that may promote an increased risk of breast cancer in adult women. Soy lecithin also contains a compound called feinstein that can have negative effects on fertility and reproduction. Studies have shown that soy lecithin can affect immature brain cells, leading to impeded brain development. While the Hershey’s bars in the candy isle might look tempting, eating them can put your body at risk for many health issues.
Health Benefits Of Raw Cacao
Pure cacao contains more antioxidants than blueberries and acai. It’s also rich in minerals! It contains iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper and manganese. Cacao also contains flavonoids that are believed to have cancer-fighting properties. If you’re eating processed chocolate, you aren’t reaping the same health benefits. Cacao contains nearly four times the antioxidant contentof regular processed dark chocolate. Processed chocolate also contains dairy, which blocks the absorption of antioxidants.
Health benefits of raw cacao include:
- It may help prevent cancer
- It can improve memory loss
- It can improve your vision
- It can boost your mood
- It reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke
- It protects your nervous system
- It lowers blood pressure
DIY Real Chocolate Recipe
All dark chocolate is not created equal! In order to reap the health benefits, you have to ensure that you’re eating real chocolate. To make your own at home, you only need three ingredients!
- 1/2 cup of organic cacao powder
- 1/2 cup of virgin coconut oil
- 4-6 tablespoons of raw honey
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Use more honey for sweeter chocolate. You can also swap out coconut oil for cacao butter for creamier chocolate.
- Put the mixture into molds and place in the freezer for about one hour.
- Take your chocolate out of the freezer a few minutes before serving and enjoy!
Check out the video below for a raw white chocolate recipe using cocao butter! | <urn:uuid:1aba0080-6b06-4aa1-823f-728cf72cd12a> | {
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Impedance Boundary Conditions Help in Modeling Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
Phil Kinnane | July 23, 2012
How do you simplify a 3D geometry to reduce the computational resources required to model it? Do it in 2D. What if the phenomenon can only be properly simulated in 3D? Find the planes of symmetry and reduce the size, most engineering objects are symmetric in some way. What if there is no symmetry, such as the propagation of random cracks through a steel pipe? Well, as this story from COMSOL News shows, there are other methods, such as using impedance boundary conditions to simulate non-destructive testing (NDT).
Oliver Nemitz works at the Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung (SZMF) company, which, among other R&D projects, provides and develops non-destructive testing methods for the Salzgitter Group. Salzgitter is one of the biggest steel manufacturers in Europe with over 100 subsidiaries and associated companies and revenues close to 10 billion euros. One of their divisions is tubing, where quality is assured through large magnets identifying cracks and flaws. Signals indicate “magnetic flux leakage”, and a need to act.
But what if the flaw was insignificant or within acceptable qualitative limits? Why stop the assembly line and go investigate the crack with other methods? Oliver is part of the push to utilize the existing NDT method to provide more information than just the presence of a flaw. To do this, he simulated the process and the returned signals on some standard samples with representative flaws. With this type of information, signals on the factory floor can be better analyzed to understand the extent, size and relevance of the flaw to the tubing.
Resulting x-component of the magnetic flux density in different notch widths.
Providing a reference framework was the easy part. The modeling was difficult because flaws are not often symmetric and a full-scale 3D model of a large magnet, the large tube, and a tiny notch or crack was required. But Oliver used the built-in impedance boundary condition user interface in the AC/DC Module to model just the skin effect. Seeing as the tube’s thickness was an order of magnitude or so greater than the skin depth, this approximation was warranted. This cut the required degrees of freedom (DOFs) by a third. Read about it in COMSOL News. | <urn:uuid:f06d0441-2247-4dd6-914f-6f1b364ec295> | {
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Looking back at Picatinny: Observing National Preparedness Month
September 26, 2008
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- September is National Preparedness Month.
Picatinnyans find nothing novel in preparing for disaster nor have they necessarily limited it to any specific month. Here is a photo dated Oct. 21, 1952, which shows employees who staffed the communications center during a New Jersey-wide air raid drill as part of a First Army exercise code named Watchdog. The location is probably the basement of building 173, which was then home to the Picatinny Police Department and the telephone exchange.
This was the installation's second such drill during the year. The first ran from April 27 to May 2.
These were the first statewide exercises since World War II, but Picatinny had held drills on its own, including one by the Picatinny Transportation Department on March 8, which put the arsenal in a better state of readiness for the later ones.
Activities during the drill included shutting down all but critical operations, preparing the post infirmary to receive casualties, and distributing firefighting equipment according to previously prepared plans. | <urn:uuid:1054234f-63e0-4977-a377-e293ccd52bfc> | {
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The greatest threat to democracy in Latin America is Latin Americans themselves.
The military coup d'état in Honduras in late June that ousted President Manuel Zelaya sent shivers down Latin America's collective spine. Remembering a dark past, when armed forces routinely ousted unpopular presidents, all the region's leaders, from Cuba's left-wing Raúl Castro to Colombia's right-wing Álvaro Uribe, swiftly condemned the move. Everyone sided with the deposed Zelaya. Everyone, that is, except a large swath of Honduras's population that, despite the military's undemocratic move, were generally happy to see him go.
For America-watchers the world over, Hondurans' approval of this coup should be more frightening than the military's involvement, the media shutdown, or even the president's ousting itself. In Honduras and across Latin America, support for undemocratic activity is pervasive -- and rising. Although coups are uncommon, other, more subtle breaks with democracy are often greeted with applause. So, just decades after Latin America welcomed the democracy wave, public opinion -- not autocratic government -- is now the greatest threat to freedom in the region.
Latin Americans remain disturbingly ambivalent about democracy. Half of them say they would not mind a nondemocratic government if it solved economic problems, according to the latest Latinobarómetro poll. Vanderbilt University's Latin American Public Opinion Project finds a lack of support for the essential values on which democracy depends, such as the right to protest and the right to compete against the ruling government in elections. Perhaps Latin Americans cannot be blamed for their skepticism; democracy has brought rising crime and entrenched corruption, combined with stubbornly high poverty. The region's people have little confidence in their public institutions or political parties; only 20 percent of them think democracy has helped decrease inequality.
Yet even if support for democracy at home is disappointing, help from overseas has been equally deficient. A broad consensus is emerging that, though the international community was right to condemn the Honduran coup, it was amiss in not speaking up when Zelaya overstepped Congress and the courts. In fact, the international community - and particularly the Organization of American States -- has turned a blind eye as power-grabbing presidents across the region have moved to destroy democratic institutions. Only when the executive branch is threatened has the international community stepped in -- and far too often, it has only been to condemn the move.
Without public backing at home and abroad, democracy has hence fallen victim to the deep-rooted tradition of caudillos, or strongmen, in the region. Just take Venezuela, where former coup-plotter Hugo Chávez was elected in 1998 with the largest margin of victory in four decades. After drafting a new constitution to his favor, packing the courts with his supporters, and limiting journalistic freedom, he was reelected in 2006. In the past four years, the Bolivian, Colombian, Ecuadoran, and Venezuelan governments have amended -- and at times entirely redrafted -- constitutions to allow their current presidents to extend their time in office, and they have done so with popular support.
It's worth investigating why Latin America's authoritarian temperament is so hard to shake. In the meantime, we have enough evidence by now to conclude that democracy in the region will not be salvaged by the international community standing against governments and populations bent on disrupting it. In fact, there is a very real danger that foreign support for Zelaya in Honduras will make democracy seem like an idea imposed from abroad instead of borne of the people's will.
For democracy to survive, Latin Americans must regain confidence in their public institutions and political parties, feel confident in the rule of law, and trust that positive change can come through democratic means. The solution may lay closer to classrooms and dining tables in the region than to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. Until then, Latin Americans might be stuck with the undemocratic leaders they seem to want.
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AI and GIS: Finally Delivering on the promise
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t new, and neither are its grand promises. AI as an academic pursuit has its roots in the 1950s. Early AI researchers were filled with optimism, but—despite some initial work that appeared groundbreaking, such as the first artificial neural networks—the field saw slow progress over the next several decades. By the mid-1970s, the field had hit a bit of a roadblock—there was a loss in interest largely due to inflated expectations as well as the failure to deliver on the promise of AI. This period is known as the first AI winter.
Following the first AI winter, advances in the field saw AI once again, albeit slowly, gaining momentum and funding, but only for a brief time. By the early-1990s, AI had again failed to live up to expectations. While AI had been tightly integrated into people’s everyday lives, it still largely failed on problems that most humans deem simple, such as recognizing features in images or understanding speech. With a 40-year history and a failure to live up to the hype, things appeared bleak for AI.
Then something happened. In the last decade, due to the advent of massive volumes of data gathered from the Internet and powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) capable of supercomputer-like performance on certain tasks, a particular type of AI algorithm has seen massive resurgence. These algorithms are known as artificial neural networks because they loosely resemble biological neural networks such as those in the human brain. Since 2010, these algorithms have experienced exponential increases in performance on numerous benchmarks, including some that were thought to be out of reach by many. Neural networks have even achieved superhuman performance in a few domains. Though still not quite reaching the level of promise visualized during the 1950s, AI is at the point where it is already making a massive impact everywhere. This includes in geographic information system (GIS) technology.
The types of data that we look at in the geospatial realm can be broadly categorized into two types: structured and unstructured. Structured data includes vector data—parcel boundaries, roads, GPS bread crumbs, and so on. Unstructured data refers to raster data, voice, and text, which—while typically very usable by humans—is difficult for machines to extract actionable information from.
This is changing rapidly; major advances in AI have made it possible to unlock the potential of unstructured data, and to do so at scale. Deep learning—so called because it applies “deep” artificial neural networks that often are composed of hundreds of connected layers of calculation—has enabled a new revolution in the processing of unstructured data. For those of us working in GIS, this means massive increases in productivity.
Deep learning has created the ability to very accurately detect objects and classify pixels at scale. Exploitation of aerial, satellite, and street-view images and videos are some of the common uses that we see at Esri. Deep learning enables endeavors such as large-scale high-resolution land cover mapping, the detection and digitization of buildings and roads, and rapid exploitation of drone imagery to detect asset damage, to name a few. Recent advances in processing voice and text by using deep learning allow geospatial analysis without manual extraction of geospatial entities. A fascinating new class of algorithms, called Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN), can generate realistic—but fake—data, including photographs! At Esri, we’ve been investigating numerous applications of GAN, ranging from generating 3D models to simulating spatiotemporal data and even performing automatic cartographic map styling, as shown at right.
AI can also add value to structured data for tasks, including predicting geospatial events such as car crashes or crime, estimating drive times, or helping businesses determine where to construct the next new store. The list goes on—we are nowhere close to tapping all the potential of machine learning.
The thing is, the GIS community has been using AI for a very long time. Performing regression, kriging, clustering, hot-spot analysis—these capabilities have been adopted into a subfield of AI called machine learning. Machine learning, at its core, is composed of approaches that learn from data rather than being explicitly programmed. Machine learning has been changing the world for decades, though it’s only recently that the public has started to become aware. This is mostly due to the emergence of deep learning.
Adoption of newer machine learning approaches into geospatial workflows has been slow. But why? As GIS practitioners know very well, GIS is hard—often, subtly so. While massive advances have been made in machine learning, very little thought has gone into making these approaches spatial. This leaves geographers shaking their heads in disapproval when geospatial processing is not only excluded from machine learning algorithms but may be flat-out ignored! Machine learning researchers and data scientists typically don’t understand the significant challenges that something as ubiquitous as terrain brings to the table when estimating the travel time between two locations. Furthermore, the appropriate distance between objects is often ignored or handled poorly. If close things are more related than distant things, machine learning often doesn’t treat this with any rigor.
To overcome these challenges, GeoAI—the combination of AI and GIS—is beginning to take off. Applying AI within a spatial context requires a new approach, but organizations are beginning to recognize the power that geography brings to the table. Sometimes this may mean preparing data differently to account for spatial challenges, and other times this may require a whole new approach. The AI team at Esri has been actively bringing these two fascinating fields together, but it’s in global action that there will be change.
AI hasn’t yet lived up to the original mission—to produce human-level intelligent machines—but it doesn’t have to! We don’t need human-level intelligence to make a human-level impact. AI is here, and it’s not going away this time. | <urn:uuid:e8937ecf-4723-4d40-860b-34b9a1d9f8c4> | {
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Medieval Sourcebook: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle on Alfred the Great
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is one of the few literary sources we have for England during the time period following the Roman presence and preceding the Norman invasion. Written by different monastic houses, the various versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle offer us a unique picture of the Anglo-Saxons and their world. Although written by monks, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is relatively unbiased in its portrayal of events. This particular variant chronicles the events Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, experienced during the Viking invasions of the ninth century.
878. In this year, at Midwinter, after Twelfthnight, the army stole itselfaway to Chippenham, and harried the West Saxons' land, and settled there, anddrove many of the people over sea, and of the remainder the greater portionthey harried, and the people submitted to them, save the king, Alfred, and he,with a little band, withdrew to the woods and moor-fastnesses. And in the samewinter the brother of Inwar and Halfdene was in Wessex, in Devonshire, withtwenty-three ships, and he was there slain, and with him eight hundred andforty men of his force. And there was the standard taken which they call theRaven. And the Easter after, Alfred, with a little band, wrought a fortress atAthelney, and from that work warred on the army, with that portion of the menof Somerset that was nearest. Then in the seventh week after Easter he rode toEgbert's stone, on the east of Selwood, and there came to meet him all theSomersetshire men, and the Wiltshire men, and that part of Hampshire whichremained of it on this side of the sea; after, he went from the campt toAeglea, and one night after that to Edington, and there fought against all thearmy, and put it to flight, and rode after it, as far as the works, and theresat fourteen nights. And then the army gave him hostages with great oaths thatthey would depart from his kingdom; and also promised him that their king wouldreceive baptism; and that they so fulfilled; and three weeks after, KingGuthrum came to him, with thirty of the men who were most honorable in thearmy, at Aller, which is opposite to Athelney; and the king received him thereat baptism; and his chrism-loosing was at Wedmore; and he was twelve nightswith the king; and he largely gifted him and his companions with money.
879. In this year the army went to Cirencester from Chippenham, and sat thereone year. And in that year a body of vikings assembled, and sat down at Fulhamon the Thames. And that same year the sun was eclipsed one hour of the day.
880. In this year the army went from Cirencester to East Anglia, and occupiedand divided the land. And in the same year the army, which had sat down atFulham, went over sea to Ghent in France, and sat there one year.
881. In this year the army went up into France, and the French fought againstthem; and there was the army horsed after the fight.
882. In this year the army went up along the Meuse far into France, and theresat one year. And that same year King Alfred went out to sea with ships, andfought against four ship-crews of Danish men, and took two of the ships, andthe men were slain that were therein; and the two ship-crews surrendered tohim; and they were sorely fatigued and wounded before they surrendered.
883. In this year the army went up the Scheldt to Conde, and there sat oneyear. And Marinus the pope then sent lignum domini [of Christ's cross] to KingAlfred. And in the same year Sighelm and Athelstan conveyed to Rome the almswhich the king had vowed [to send] thither, and also to India, to St. Thomas,and to St. Bartholomew, when they sat down against the army at London; andthere, God be thanked, their prayer was very successful after that vow.
884. In this year the army went up the Somme to Amiens, and there sat oneyear. In this year died the benvolent Bishop Aethelwold. [Evidently acopyist's error; Aethelwold died in 984.]
885. In this year the fore-mentioned army separated into two; one part [went]east, the other part to Rochester, and besieged the city, and wrought anotherfastness about themselves; but they, nevertheless, defended the city until KingAlfred came without with his force. Then the army went to their ships, andabandoned the fastness; and they were there deprived of their horses, andforthwith, in the same summer, withdrew over sea. And the same year KingAlfred sent a naval force from Kent to East Anglia. As soon as they came tothe mouth of the Stour, then met them sixteen ships of vikings, and they foughtagainst them, and captured all the ships, and slew the men. When they werereturning homeward with the booty, a great naval force of vikings met them, andthen fought against them on the same day, and the Danish gained the victory. In the same year, before midwinter, Carloman, king of the Franks, died, and awild boar killed him; and one year before his brother died; he also had thewestern kingdom;and they were both sons of Lewis, who also had the westernkingdom, and died in the year when the sun was eclipsed, who was the son ofCharles, whose daughter Ethelwulf, king of the West Saxons, had for his queen. And in the same year a larger naval force assembled among the Old Saxons; andthere was a great fight twice in that year, and the Saxons had the victory; andthere were Frisians with them. In that same year Charles succeeded to thewestern kingdom, and to all the kingdom on this side of the Mediterranean Sea,and beyond this sea, as his great-grandfather had it, excepting the Lidwiccas[Brittany]. Charles was the son of Lewis, Lewis was brother of Charles, whowas father of Judith, whom King Ethelwulf had; and they were sons of Lewis;Lewis was son of the old Charles; Charles was the son of Pepin. And in thesame year the good Pope Marinus died, who freed the Angle race's school, at theprayer of Alfred, king of the West Saxons; and he sent him great gifts, andpart of the rood on which Christ suffered. And in the same year the army inEast Anglia brake peace with King Alfred.
886. In this year the army again went west, which had before landed in theeast, and then up the Seine, and there took winter quarters at the city ofParis. In the same year King Alfred restored London; and all the Angle raceturned to him that were not in the bondage of the Danish men; and he thencommitted the burgh to the keeping of the ealdorman Ethered.
translated in Albert Beebe White and Wallce Notestein, eds., Source Problems in English History (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1915).
Other works referred to in preparartion:
Elton, Geoffrey, The English (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1992).
Maitland, F. W., The Constitutional History of England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965).
Smith, Lacey Baldwin and Jean Reeder Smith, eds., The Past Speaks: Sources and Problems in English History, vol. 1 (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1993).
Text prepared by Seth Seyfried of the University of Utah.
This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.
(c)Paul Halsall Feb 1996 | <urn:uuid:39e744d9-df1c-46a8-a812-2ce9214335ab> | {
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This post courtesy of Explore Brooklyn, an all-inclusive guide to the businesses, neighborhoods, and attractions that make Brooklyn great.
While Brooklyn is a place of constant flux, the savvy Brooklynite knows where to find remnants of its historical past. Here are five historic Brooklyn buildings that are still standing, despite the incredible changes that are happening all around them.
Brooklyn Borough Hall
Opened in 1851, Brooklyn Borough Hall was originally the City Hall of the former City of Brooklyn, before it was a part of New York City. In 1898, the consolidation went into effect, and this impressive Greek Revival structure became known as Borough Hall. It still houses the offices of the Borough President today and is protected as a New York City landmark.
Read more about Brooklyn Borough Hall here.
Photo by Wally Gobetz via Flickr.
The Wyckoff House by Wikipedia
The Wyckoff House
The Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House in East Flatbush is another remnant of the Dutch settlement in Brooklyn. Pieter Claesen built this home in 1652 on a farm settled by him and his family. The restored home now operates as a house museum that educates visitors on the people and lifestyles of Brooklyn’s colonial farms.
Read more about The Wyckoff House here.
The Commandant’s House by the Brooklyn Public Library
The Commandant’s House
Unfortunately you cannot go inside The Commandant’s House, but it remains an important piece of history from Brooklyn’s days as a shipping and naval hub. The white mansion is viewable through a gate on Evans Street in Vinegar Hill. It dates back to 1805 when it was part of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and used as the home for the Naval Yard Commandant.
The Navy Yard sold the property to a private owner in 1968, which is why it remains in such good shape today. The majority of historic buildings still at the Navy Yard are crumbling, only making this mansion more significant. To learn more of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s history, be sure to visit the nearby museum BLDG 92.
Read more about the Commandant’s House here.
Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead by Dmadeo
This Dutch Colonial farmhouse at 1669 E. 22nd Street is believed to have been built by Hendrick Wyckoff, a descendent of Dutch immigrants, in 1766. During the Revolutionary War, two Hessian soldiers who were quartered at the house carved their names into the windows. There’s a barn on the property, still used for horses through the 1930s by the Bennett family.
Owner Stuart Mont and his late wife Annette bought the house for $160,000 in 1983. Plans for the building to be acquired by the city, with the Monts as live-in caretakers, fell through in 2009 — but only after the property was rezoned as a park.
Read more about the Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead here.
Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church by shari h.
Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church
The Flatbush Reformed Church’s website once boasted that they’ve been “doin’ good in the ‘hood since 1654.” This Federal church, landmarked by the city and on the National Register of Historic Places, is built on the oldest site continuously used for religious purposes in New York City. The original building that stood on the site, though was a wooden church, authorized by Governor Peter Stuyvesant himself, in the town of “Midwout” (Midwood), or “Vlaake Bos” (Flatbush).
The current Federal-style church was built between 1793 and 1798, on a design by Thomas Fardon. It features 19th-century stained glass windows from Tiffany, and its cemetery is the final resting place for many of the original denizens of the town that was Flatbush long before it was part of either Brooklyn or New York.
Read more about the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church here. | <urn:uuid:55b28c26-a6d4-42c4-876d-60c31e259263> | {
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Rhythm and Irony
Eighteenth century Neapolitan cello concertos
fascinate GIUSEPPE PENNISI
In the eighteenth century, Naples was one of Europe's most important capitals. With a population reaching a million (including the suburbs), it was larger and more densely populated than Paris, London or Berlin. According to the travel diary of French intellectual Charles de Brosses, in 1739 'Naples was the cultural capital of Europe'. The city featured two state-owned theatres (San Carlo and Il Fondo), several commercial theatres, many small theatres and especially concert halls within aristocratic palaces...
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China can now explore the seabed for up to three valuable minerals but it faces a major challenge to close the mining technology gap with the West
With China recently achieving its long-held desire to exploit untapped underwater resources, a new method of sustaining its rapid economic development appeared to be secure.
The award of exploration contracts last month for valuable minerals by the 165-member International Seabed Authority, which regulates deep-sea mining activities, approved exploration plans for cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts by both China and Japan.
China can now legally poke around on a Western Pacific seamount, while Japan can venture beneath international waters off the isolated Japanese coral atoll of Minamitorishima. Both areas measure about 3,000 square kilometres – nearly three times the size of Hong Kong.
China is the only nation authorised to explore seabeds for as many as three major types of minerals, as it faces the depletion of natural resources at home and rising mineral prices abroad.
But the drive to mine the ocean floors has come up against unforeseen hurdles. China first secured the rights to explore for polymetallic nodules – lumps found on the ocean floor where layers of metals have formed around a rock core – in the northeast Pacific in 2001, and for polymetallic sulphide deposits in the southwest Indian Ocean two years ago.
China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (Comra) clinched the latest contract, along with the earlier contracts in 2001 and 2011.
The goal is to mine cobalt crusts, which are rich in iron, and hydroxide deposits containing significant concentrations of cobalt, titanium, nickel, platinum, molybdenum, tellurium, cerium and other metals and rare earth elements.
China won the contract partly because it had been surveying in the region over the past 15 years, according to Chinese marine authorities. It has built up a large fleet of survey vessels with deep-reaching robotic and manned submersibles, giving state leaders unprecedented confidence in China’s ability to harvest the earth’s undersea riches.
Shortly after winning the cobalt contract, President Xi Jinping vowed to turn the marine industries into a pillar of China’s economy.
“China’s maritime cause has generally entered the best period of development after years of efforts,” he was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
“In no way will the country abandon its legitimate rights and interests, nor will it give up its core national interests.”
But compared to developed countries, China is a latecomer to the game. Germany, the United States and Japan were conducting intensive surveys on cobalt crusts and made many promising findings as early as the 1980s.
A deposit near Hawaii alone was estimated to contain 300 million tons of cobalt, enough for thousands of years of consumption in the United States.
Also, China is reliant on overseas suppliers for technology and equipment for geophysical exploration. Amid concerns China could use and adapt such technology for its own engineering and military use, most countries restricted the export of advanced products to it. And now, some Chinese researchers doubt whether China can explore and exploit seabed minerals without the very best technology and equipment.
Xiao Zhijian, sales manager at China’s biggest cobalt supplier, the Jinchuan Group, said cobalt reserves in China were small, and the country would desperately need them in the future.
The metal is widely used in the aerospace industry, he said, where aircraft engines need cobalt to maintain strength amid high temperatures. But the biggest consumption of cobalt is anticipated to be in industrial batteries.
When electric vehicles were still at the infant stage, the demand for cobalt was weak. Land reserves in Congo-Kinshasa alone could meet up to 70 per cent of the international demand, Xiao said.
“But we expect explosive growth in cobalt after 2017 as electric cars mature. Perhaps that is why the government was so eager to secure the seabed contract,” he said.
Cui Yingchun, a researcher with China’s First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, told Science and Technology Daily that cobalt crusts still puzzled scientists with their mysterious formation. For nearly a century scientists had been debating whether they were formed physically, chemically or even biologically.
But one thing is certain – mining them will be difficult. The technical challenge of mining the crusts will be much greater than that of mining polymetallic nodules, Cui told the newspaper. While the nodules are distributed loosely on soft sediments, the crusts are often tightly glued to very hard bedrock.
“While scraping the crusts, you must avoid the bedrock, otherwise the quality of the ore is severely affected,” Cui said.
But the crusts contain many valuable metals and are widely distributed among relatively shallow seabeds. There is also less controversy about their exploitation in international communities, compared to other minerals, he said.
However, Cui explained that during mining “disturbance to the original seabed can be huge, and there is a significant risk of upsetting the entire ecosystem”.
He added: “In addition, due to the current limitations of technology, the development of underwater equipment also faces no small challenge.”
And that may prove to be China’s bigger headache. Wang Xiuming , ultra-sonar expert with the ChineseAcademy of Sciences’ Institute of Acoustics, said China was still far behind developed countries in the mining technology race.
“About 80 to 90 per cent of the geophysical surveying instruments on the international market are not allowed to be sold to China,” he said.
“They do not sell precise instruments to us. They are afraid we will copy their designs.
“They are also afraid we will use the knowledge in the military – highly sensitive geophysical sensors can be used to detect and identify submarines.
“These instruments are very expensive, usually costing tens of millions of yuan, but money is not the main problem. The problem is nobody will sell it to us.”
China is now developing its own equipment, but the gap with overseas products is huge, according to Wang. “When it comes to land surveying, the gap may be narrowing, but on ocean mapping we are still far behind. The government didn’t realise the importance of seabed minerals,” he said.
“When we joined the race, the foreign countries had been ahead of us for decades. This gap can’t be eliminated in the short term.”
Professor Chen Daizhao, a geophysicist with the CAS Institute of Geology and Geophysics, said China was not only backward when it came to equipment, but also software.
Most analytical software used in China was written by other countries. Even scientists who had used it for decades did not have a clue how the programme’s core modules worked.
“The government is now aware of the problem and wants to achieve independence in both software and hardware,” Chen said. “But it is extremely difficult to change the situation, as almost every basic tool we use is a foreign product.”
The exception is Jiaolong, a deep sea research submersible that can dive to a depth of over 7,000 metres. Arguably the deepest manned submersible that can move freely on the ocean bed, Jiaolong is this month busily exploring China’s contracted seabed in the northeast Pacific.
Jiaolong last month dived down to explore for polymetallic nodules, reaching a depth of more than 5,200 metres. The trip led to the discovery that more than 50 per cent of the seabed was covered by the nodules, confirming previous estimates.
But Chinese scientists were also astonished to find marine life thriving throughout the deep sea region. Many fish species along with sea cucumbers, starfish, shrimp, jellyfish, corals, sponges, crinoids and a total of 20 kinds of giant benthic creatures – species living in sedimentary seabed environments – were all observed, Xinhua reported.
The scientists estimate there is at least one cucumber in every 10 square metres, and in some areas the density of creatures was so high they almost filled the explorer’s entire monitoring screen.
One important job of the mission was to relocate some creatures from abyssal plains to an undersea mountain chain. If future return visits showed these creatures could live happily in their new home, it would provide evidence the creatures could migrate and live in shallower waters, helping show that mining may not seriously harm biodiversity.
However, the Jiaolong experiment failed. A mission to trap sea life was dogged by mechanical or design problems, according to Xinhua, and put on hold.
China now has to grapple with the frustration of having a rich new source of natural wealth within its grasp, but with technological limitations and potential environmental damage barring its way.
China is in a race with foreign rivals to mine the seabed for valuable mineralsSource: SCMP “China enters race with foreign rivals to mine the seabed for valuable minerals”
- After orbiting space lab, China wants an undersea lab for deep sea mining (chinadailymail.com)
- The Deep Sea Resources Rush (thediplomat.com)
- Looking At Seabed Mining Around The World (bernews.com)
- Chinese submersible undergoes “body check” (wantchinatimes.com)
- Seabed mining could earn Cook Islands ‘tens of billions of dollars’ (theguardian.com)
- Japan granted rights to explore rare metals-rich Pacific Ocean (japandailypress.com)
- Deep-sea mining may turn Cook Islands into one of the world’s richest nations (rt.com)
- China 中国 Submersible Jiaolong sets sail for deep sea mission. South China Sea/Pacific Ocean (retiredinthephilippines.wordpress.com)
- Japan wins rights to drill on Pacific floor for rare minerals used in consumer electronics (rawstory.com)
- Japan wins rights to explore for rare metals in Pacific (channelnewsasia.com)
- The Deep Sea Resources Rush (stratrisks.com) | <urn:uuid:9066afd1-6c35-4c84-b10a-47620ec43650> | {
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Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Carnegie Mellon Astrophysicists To Participate in European Space Agency’s Dark Energy Mission
PITTSBURGH—NASA has named Carnegie Mellon University astrophysicists Shirley Ho and Rachel Mandelbaum to a 40-member U.S. science team that will participate in the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Euclid mission. A space-based telescope, Euclid will be used to investigate the greatest mysteries of the universe — dark matter and dark energy.
NASA will support the researchers from 2013 to 2028 as they prepare for and carry out collaborative scientific research using the data gathered by Euclid, which is planned for launch in 2020.
Ordinary visible matter, like stars and galaxies, make up about 4 percent of the universe; the remaining 96 percent is made of dark matter and dark energy that can’t be seen directly. Even though scientists can’t see it, they can learn more about dark matter and dark energy by studying how it impacts what can be seen. Euclid’s telescope and instruments will gather information from approximately two billion galaxies contained in one-third of the sky. Researchers will use the data to measure weak gravitational lensing, baryon acoustic oscillations and redshift space distortions, which will allow them to analyze the effects of dark matter and dark energy.
Mandelbaum, an assistant professor of physics and member of CMU’s Bruce and Astrid McWilliams Center for Cosmology, studies weak gravitational lensing. As light from distant galaxies travels toward earth, it passes by other galaxies. The ordinary and dark matter contained in the galaxies create a gravitational field that causes the light rays to bend, distorting the images seen by telescopes, like Euclid. Mandelbaum and other researchers who study weak lensing measure and average the slight distortions seen over many galaxies. From these averages, they can derive how much dark matter lies in and between galaxies and how it is distributed throughout space. They also can study how these distortions change over time, which can reveal valuable information about dark energy.
“With lensing we can learn about the large scale distribution of all of the matter of the universe — even the dark matter we can’t see. If we truly want to understand the structure and evolution of the universe, we need a tool like lensing that reveals the presence of all of the matter,” Mandelbaum said.
Ho, an assistant professor of physics and member of CMU’s McWilliams Center, specializes in studying baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) and redshift space distortions. BAOs are relics of sound waves from the early universe. These remnants can be measured and used as a standard cosmological ruler to calculate how the universe has expanded over time. With an understanding of this expansion, researchers can learn about the mysterious dark energy that dominates 70 percent of the universe and drives the accelerating rate of expansion and the dark matter that makes up nearly 25 percent of the universe. Ho, in collaboration with her European colleagues, also will use Euclid to measure the velocity of galaxies and study redshift space distortions, which can be used to measure dark matter, the growth of the universe and test Einstein’s theory of relativity.
“By using spectra for approximately 70 million galaxies that will be provided by Euclid, we can explore the universe using a variety of dark energy probes, such as BAOs, weak lensing and redshift space distortions,” Ho said. “Euclid scientists can combine what is learned from these probes to test our understanding of what the universe is made of and how the universe works.”
Euclid is a European Space Agency mission with science instruments and data analysis provided by the Euclid Consortium (http://www.euclid-ec.org) with important participation from NASA. NASA's Euclid Project Office is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. The JPL will contribute the infrared flight detectors for one of Euclid's two science instruments. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will assist with infrared detector characterization and will perform detailed testing on flight detectors prior to delivery. Three U.S. science teams, led by JPL, Goddard and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech, will contribute to science planning and data analysis. Ho and Mandelbaum are members of the JPL team. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 12,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon’s main campus in the United States is in Pittsburgh, Pa. It has campuses in California’s Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university is in the midst of “Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University,” which aims to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements.
By: Jocelyn Duffy, [email protected], 412-268-9982 | <urn:uuid:c8356647-5e23-4b51-9956-fb195d454fa2> | {
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1937 Auto Union V12 Grand Prix racer. Click image to enlarge
By Bill Vance; photo courtesy Volkswagen
It is well known that Dr. Ferdinand Porsche and associates designed the Volkswagen Beetle in the mid-1930s, and that after the Second World War Porsche and his son Ferry developed the Porsche sports car with a similar layout. What is not so well known is that Dr. Porsche also designed Grand Prix racing cars during the 1930s.
In the highly charged atmosphere of Hitler’s 1930s Germany, Porsche’s genius would become intertwined with the government’s desire to advance technology and generate national prestige by demonstrating technical superiority through automobile racing.
Porsche’s work, therefore, was not only an instrument of engineering innovation, it was also exploited for political and propaganda purposes.
Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. He was a racing enthusiast, and to encourage German manufacturers to pursue racing, Hitler offered a large cash prize for the most successful German racing car of 1934. He also gave subsidies to Mercedes-Benz, and later, Auto Union to develop Grand Prix racers. Auto Union was a consortium formed in 1932 by the amalgamation of Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. Those forebears are represented today in Audi’s four-ring badge.
Engineer Porsche had set up his consulting office in 1930 and was soon contracted by Auto Union to design a car for the new 1934 Grand Prix racing formula. The main formula stipulation was a maximum car weight of 750 kg without driver, tires or fluids.
There was no engine displacement limit, race organizers naively believing that low weight would slow the cars down. The formula favoured light cars powered by large engines, the type in which Porsche excelled.
Never one to follow convention, Porsche took a highly unusual direction. In an era of front-engined, rear drive racers his Auto Union GP car’s layout bore a strong resemblance to the humble Volkswagen which was being designed at the same time.
He boldly mounted the Auto Union’s engine longitudinally behind the driver, but unlike the VW, ahead of the rear axle. In this mid-engine placement Porsche and his associates Adolf Rosenberger and Karl Rabe demonstrated their forward thinking. It would be a generation before Formula One and other open wheel racers recognized the superiority of mid-rear engine placement.
The all-independent suspension employed torsion bars and twin trailing arms in front, like the VW. At the rear were VW-type swing axles, although with a transverse leaf spring. Torsion bars would come later. | <urn:uuid:cfcf8bf4-0e59-47c1-92e4-fa311eb3062b> | {
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The Merchant of Greece?
The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, is a play about how Jewish man (Shylock) is not repaid the money that he loans to two men. Shylock, a moneylender, makes an agreement with a man named Antonia, who needs the money to give to his friend as travel expenses in order to court Portia. The deal is that Shylock will not charge any interest, but if he is not paid back timely, then Antonia will lose “a pound of flesh.” After no money had been received, a friend of Shylock seeks the pound of blood from of Antonio. Portia, the woman caught in the middle of situation, offers to repay the unpaid loan three times, but Shylock refuses the offer. Eventually Shylock goes on trial in order to seek justice against Antonio. Portia, disguised as man in the courtroom, reminds Shylock that if he takes any of Antonio’s flesh, then he will be arrested immediately. Therefore, Portia begins to argue that Shylock should not receive any money and as result should face the death penalty for plotting against a Christian man. In this pressing circumstance of life versus death, Shylock is forced to convert to Christianity.
While reading the “Apology” by Plato earlier in the semester, I could not help but to notice the similarities between Socrates (specifically in sections 34 and 35 of the text) and Shylock from The Merchant of Venice. Both men argue to save their own lives in an unapologetic tone, which creates the idea of a superiority complex. Personally, it seems odd to be acting above the judiciary committee involved, yet each man look down on their current society as they are faced as a neighborly anomaly. Socrates believes in radical philosophical concepts, while Shylock is a Jew.
Putting aside these ‘quirks’ which separate them from the majority, both men play the ‘I-have-a-family-and-children card’ as a means for the jurors and judges to relate to them. For example, Socrates states in section 34d that he is:
Not born ‘from oak or rock,’ but from men, so that I have a family, indeed three sons, men of Athens, of whom one is an adolescent while two are children.
Clearly, Socrates is trying to convey a sense of empathy and relatedness towards the people of the courtroom in order to distract why he is being placed on trial. Both men are trying to divert from the reason of the trial, and suggesting people look at humanity. Ironically, Shylock suggests humanity in the courtroom, but he himself is on trial because he is threatening to take the life of Antonio (obviously not very humane!) He demonstrates this by stating during the trial that he has a family.
These be the Christian husbands. I have a daughter;
Would any of the stock of Barrabas
Had been her husband rather than a Christian
These two examples demonstrate how both men in dramatic and life threatening moments chose to find the humanity in the situation. Although each man was originally criticized for thinking and acting differently, they are now trying to create a parallel.
While they are trying to create a sense of equality, they also attempt to connect to prosecutors by acting somewhat elitist, which is odd juxtaposition when the majority of people in a room want you dead. Socrates blatantly states in section 35a that “Socrates is superior to the to majority of men.” He continues this argument by deflating the intellectual capacity of Athenians. When Shylock enters the courtroom he angrily and fiercely explains how he wants justice rather than mercy for the matter with Antonio.
What if my house be troubled with a rat
And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats
To have it baned? What, are you answer’d yet?
Some men there are love not a gaping pig;
Some, that are mad if they behold a cat;
And others, when the bagpipe sings i’ the nose,
Cannot contain their urine: for affection,
Mistress of passion, sways it to the mood
Of what it likes or loathes. Now, for your answer:
As there is no firm reason to be render’d,
Why he cannot abide a gaping pig;
Why he, a harmless necessary cat;
Why he, a woollen bagpipe; but of force
Must yield to such inevitable shame
As to offend, himself being offended;
So can I give no reason, nor I will not,
More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing
I bear Antonio, that I follow thus
A losing suit against him. Are you answer’d?
Here Shylock is quite fierce when he chooses to not provide a reason about why he is pursuing this unprofitable case. He answers the question in quite a sassy way as reflects his answer’s approval back at the Duke. Shylock even uses rhetorical question and answer sequences (though this is not the best example) in order to prove his point. Very Socratian!
I am writing this post because I truly found the similarities between these two men quite uncanny. Though Shylock succumbs to society by converting while Socrates remains in jail, there is something to be said about this comparison. It makes me wonder how much of Shakespeare’s philosophical opinions and syntactical influence aided him while writing this anti-Semitic piece of dramatic literature? | <urn:uuid:af9cd138-894f-4d37-b9ce-84d139d864b7> | {
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Out-of-control boys facing spells in detention or anti-social behaviour orders can now blame it all on their hormones.
The "stress hormone" cortisol - or low levels of it - may be responsible for male aggressive antisocial behaviour, according to new research. The work suggests that the hormone may restrain aggression in stressful situations.
Researchers found that levels of cortisol fell when delinquent boys played a stressful video game, the opposite of what was seen in control volunteers playing the same game.
The results suggest that biology rather than peer pressure might play a larger role than previously thought in delinquent behaviour, and raise new possibilities for diagnosing and treating such disorders.
The study pitted each volunteer against a pugnacious, virtually generated rival boy in a computer game that had them competing for a monetary reward. The game was deliberately rigged to subject volunteers to stress, frustration, provocation, and taunting from their adversary.
Saliva samples from the 95 control volunteers showed that their cortisol levels rose by an average of 48%, as expected in stressful situations. But in the 70 participants with conduct disorder, levels of cortisol dropped by an average of 30%.
The researchers, based at the University of Cambridge, suggest that the delinquent youths may be so used to provocative and stressful encounters that they no longer respond by producing the "restraining" hormone cortisol.
"It could be that they're used to provocative situations and habituated to stress," he says.
The disparities only arose during the game situation. Otherwise, the daily patterns of cortisol production were similar in delinquent and control volunteers.
One other surprise was that the cortisol drops were about the same across all the delinquents, whether they originally became disruptive during childhood or during adolescence.
Although it's already accepted that there is a strong biological component to "early-onset" conduct disorder, which develops around the age of five, the current thinking is that when delinquency develops in teenagers, it's mainly a result of malevolent peer pressure, perhaps combined with lack of supervision at home.
The new research challenges this picture by showing that in both groups, cortisol levels fell - a biological rather than peer-led response.
"It could be that the same latent trait exists in both groups," says Fairchild, who has initiated new brain imaging studies to see if there are differences in the way delinquent brains function.
The results also raise the possibility of finding biological markers in the blood of infants that identify those most likely to develop conduct disorders.
Families and children could then be given help to manage and refocus their behaviour before it degenerates into the usual habits of lying, stealing, violence, malevolence and lack of concern for other people.
Alternatively, the research might lead to new drugs that have the same effect.
It's too soon to say whether extra cortisol would help. But Fairchild cites earlier experiments showing extreme violence in rats unable to make corticosterone, the rat equivalent of human cortisol. When the rats received extra corticosterone to compensate, it calmed them down.
Journal reference: Biological Psychiatry (DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.05.022)
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to. | <urn:uuid:272a6b4f-4363-4ab4-a4f3-08f00e672c69> | {
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Can agriculture support both man and the ecological systems? Is it possible to separate social and ecological systems within agriculture?
Using case studies and field experience, the Master´s Programme in Agroecology guides students through a learning process on agriculture as an open system, dependent on its global and regional surroundings, as well as people and local resources. The programme offers a head start for students who seek to work with development or research for agriculture to support small-scale farmers.
Farming and food production are ecologically, economically and socially important in all societies. Worldwide there is a need for academic experts that can deal with land use systems that are complex, multifunctional and rapidly changing. This programme investigates the social, economic and environmental barriers and opportunities for small scale and sustainable agricultural production. Some examples of subjects are: agronomy in a systems ecology perspective; farm production integrated with nature conservation and production of ecosystem services; the sociology of farming and agriculture.
Learning through experience
The programme is based on learning through experience, which means that the complexity of real life situations is the starting-point for study activities. The programme uses real-life case material, for students to test and practice their ongoing acquired knowledge and skills.
The programme contains theoretical bases and methodologies for agroecological and interdisciplinary analyses needed to contribute to sustainable development of livelihoods based on local renewable resources. The programme emphasizes the relationship between biological resources and human societies.
The programme has an international focus based upon educational partnership between SLU and Universities in Ethiopia and Uganda. The Programme is first and foremost based on agroecological systems and experiences from Nordic agriculture, applied to tropical settings.
Diverse cultural backgrounds and academic experiences among students are both encouraged and regarded as constructive for the overall training process.
The programme is based on recurrent inputs from real life cases both from Sweden and Africa.
It offers the student the opportunity to attain an excellent degree of comprehension and experience in agroecological systems and how they are shaped by the natural local conditions, biological and political processes.
It takes into great consideration the local farmers day-to-day specific interests and requirements.
The core curriculum includes and provides the theoretical fundamentals and methodologies necessary to carry out meticulous agroecological analyses. Other interdisciplinary features are explored, chiefly those needed to attain a first-rate level of understanding of sustainable standards of development, based on local renewable resources.
Depending on the student’s previous Bachelor and academic background, there is space allowed for individual profile inventiveness. Still, the students become fully acquainted with Project Management and the intricacies, possibilities and challenges which arise in a project’s course of action. Entirely adapted to both scientific research and enterprise settings and needs. At all times centered on the specifics of an appropriate use of the local resources.
There are ample oppurtunities to carry out parts of the programme at our collaborative partner universities: Mekelle University, Ethiopia or Uganda Martyr´s University.
The programme contains courses and projects, of which 60 HEC are compulsory, 30 HEC optional, and 30 HEC consists of the concluding Master´s thesis with a major in agricultural science.
To be eligible for the Agroecology - Master´s programme, the requirements are a Bachelor´s degree (undergraduate cycle) corresponding to a minimum of 180 HEC/ECTS, including 90 HEC/ECTS specialization in one of the following subjects/ educational areas:
- Natural sciences
- Cultural geography
- Human ecology
- Leadership and organization
- Political science
- Social anthropology
or the equivalent overseas degree,
AND specific admission requirements including English language proficiency demonstrated as:
- English B (Swedish secondary school) or equivalent.
Grade requirement: A minimum grade of Pass in the course above. | <urn:uuid:b7b118b1-f333-4025-a110-93ab2042661e> | {
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|Purred: Wed Apr 12, '06 12:12pm PST |
|I found this on a website about cats/dogs with bad breath. Hope it helps.
-Bad breath, medically termed 'halitosis', is a common problem reported by pet owners. The most common cause of halitosis is some sort of dental problem. Bacteria, saliva and food particles can form plaque, which causes bad breath. This can further develop into gingivitis, or worse, periodontal disease, which will make the breath even more unpleasant.
In addition to dental problems, other causes of bad breath include:
Gastrointestinal disease including cancers and obstructions
Infections of areas around the mouth, such as the folds of the lips
Respiratory disease, e.g.; some sinus infections
Dietary "indiscretions" such as eating stool or spoiled garbage
Other oral disease such as tonsillitis, cancer, trauma, and some autoimmune diseases
Any pet with bad breath should be examined by a veterinarian, unless you know it's caused by something the pet ate. Some causes of bad breath can cause severe and even fatal complications if not treated promptly.
|my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends|| [notify]| | <urn:uuid:7b0f2164-a4f2-44e9-9776-ea22e99227f3> | {
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Researchers at Hospital de Navarra in Spain found that those who consumed at least four cups of coffee per day had a 64 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never or nearly never consumed coffee.
At least that's the conclusion of a preliminary study that suggests - but doesn't prove - that coffee is associated with a lower risk of death in the next 10 years. Even further, researchers also found that those 45 years or older could lower the risk of death by 30 percent for two more cups of coffee each day.
According to a Spanish study drinking four cups of coffee a day will make you live longer.. It is believed that a number of compounds in coffee, including caffeine, diterpenes, and antioxidants, may have positive and protective effects on the body.
"Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages around the world", said Adela Navarro, a cardiologist at Hospital de Navarra.
For the study, researchers investigated the association between coffee consumption and risk of death.
500 families flee Iraq's ISIL-held Tal Afar for Syria
The International Organisation for Migration estimates that some 10,000 to 40,000 people are still living in the city. "God willing, the remaining part will be liberated soon", Jaafari said at a news conference in Baghdad on August 26.
When the study began, the participants completed a survey about their lifestyle, overall health, diet and coffee consumption. After this, participants were checked in on for an average of 10 years.
It adds to a range of previous studies which have found potential benefits from the drink - one indicated that it could improve liver function, while another suggested it could boost the immune system. Researchers in Spain say consuming more coffee has been connected to a lower risk of death from illnesses like heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease.
"Coffee drinkers should certainly not rest on their laurels". This new study seems to corroborate those findings by suggesting that it is indeed four-to-six daily cups of joe that made the most impact.
While we all love our daily brew it's important to do not forget to not over expose yourself to too caffeine.
"I think it's the polyphenols (a form of antioxidant), they have an anti-inflammatory effect". | <urn:uuid:7f7e37c7-50c6-4e47-b58d-8eb98566d41b> | {
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asphalt[as′fôlt′; often as̸h′-]
- The definition of asphalt is a black or brown, tar-like substance that is used to cover roadways and is usually mixed with gravel.
Blacktop on your driveway is an example of asphalt.
An asphalt parking lot.
- a brown or black, tarlike, bituminous substance that consists mainly of hydrocarbons, found in large flat beds or made by refining petroleum
- a mixture of this with sand or gravel, for cementing, paving, roofing, etc.
Origin of asphaltMedieval Latin asphaltus ; from Classical Greek asphaltos, probably ; from a-, not + sphallein, to cause to fall, injure (; from Indo-European base an unverified form (s)p(h)el-, to split off from source spill): uncertain or unknown; perhaps so named because of use as protective substance for walls
- A brownish-black solid or semisolid material consisting of bitumens obtained from native deposits or as a petroleum byproduct and used in paving, roofing, and waterproofing.
- This material mixed with crushed stone gravel or sand, used for paving or roofing.
transitive verbas·phalt·ed, as·phalt·ing, as·phalts
Origin of asphaltMiddle English aspalt, from Medieval Latin asphaltus, from Greek asphaltos.
(third-person singular simple present asphalts, present participle asphalting, simple past and past participle asphalted)
- To pave with asphalt.
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Ocean Ecosystems Collapsing, Study Finds
Natural Resources Defense Council
Revised, June 2, 2003
After decades of human abuse, the world's oceans are in a state of "silent" collapse. That's the chief conclusion of a report to Congress issued in June 2003 by the Pew Oceans Commission, a bipartisan, independent group created to chart a new course for the nation's oceans policy. After a multi-year assessment, the commission concluded that the loss of ocean life reaches far inland, threatening jobs, cultures, ecosystems and more.
The commission's report is the first such comprehensive look at all aspects of ocean health in 30 years. Over the course of its rigorous assessment, the commission issued seven reports on various subtopics. This final report, addressed to Congress, assesses the ocean's health from sea bottom to inland estuaries and makes a series of recommendations. At the heart of these recommendations is the need to refocus human activity in the oceans -- away from constant use and extraction of resources, and toward better stewardship, revitalization and recovery.
The commission concludes that human misuse of the seas is the heart of the problem:
"Marine life and vital coastal habitats are straining under the increasing pressure of our use. We have reached a crossroads where the cumulative effect of what we take from, and put into the ocean substantially reduces the ability of marine ecosystems to produce the economic and ecological goods and services that we desire and need. What we once considered inexhaustible and resilient is, in fact, finite and fragile."
The problems the report details are far-reaching:
In addition, climate change over the next century will "profoundly impact coastal and marine ecosystems." Expected problems include rising sea levels and an accompanying loss of coastal wetlands and other important waterways, and damage to habitat-rich coral reefs from increased temperatures.
A 'Frontier Mentality'
The report describes the crisis as the result of a failure of "both perspective and governance." U.S. ocean policy is a patchwork of laws, many written several decades ago as quick fixes for specific problems. What's missing is a unifying vision of ocean stewardship, the panel says.
Instead, national policy toward oceans is driven by a "frontier mentality," taking the general view that oceans are inexhaustible resources, so vast that human activity can barely make a dent. In fact, the evidence is just the opposite: decades of abuse are taking a measurable toll on the oceans, with predictable negative consequences for the communities, cultures, and economies dependent on them.
'A New Course'
The Pew Oceans Commission recommends in its report that management of marine life be brought into the 21st century by adopting a variety of necessary policies. First, the commission calls for the creation of a national ocean agency that consolidates existing federal agencies and directs them to develop policies to protect and restore ocean resources.
Also needed: better management of fisheries, to make sure that conservation decisions are made by scientists and that policies are geared toward protecting and restoring ecosystems.
The commission recommends the creation of marine reserves that would act as national parks of the sea, in which plants and animals are protected from certain harmful activities, thus allowing ocean ecosystems to recover and marine species to rebound.
And it calls for increased protection of wetlands, sounds and beaches from unwise development, by replacing federal programs that encourage habitat destruction with incentives for protection and restoration.
Chartered in 2000, with support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pew Oceans Commission explored all aspects of ocean health, issuing a series of reports on marine fisheries, ecosystem management and conservation, the ecological effects of fishing, coastal sprawl, marine pollution, marine aquaculture, and introduced species. The commission is chaired by Leon Panetta, a former member of Congress who served as White House chief of staff during the Clinton administration. In Congress, Mr. Panetta sponsored several ocean-friendly pieces of legislation, including a bill to create the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary and legislation to protect sensitive coastal and ocean areas from harmful offshore drilling activities.
The 18-member commission includes NRDC president John Adams; Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center of Global Climate Change; Tony Knowles, former governor of Alaska; George Pataki, governor of New York; and Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, chief executive officer of Columbus, Ohio's Center of Science and Industry, and a former astronaut who was the first American woman to walk in space.
NRDC's ocean initiative is making implementation of the commission's recommendations a top priority.
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An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2015
Where did the German Andriesen family come from? What is the German Andriesen family crest and coat of arms? When did the Andriesen family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the Andriesen family history?Schleswig-Holstein, which is the northernmost state in western Germany, is the homeland of the proud surname Andriesen. The name is derived from the personal name "Andreas" or "Andres," meaning "man" or "manly." German surnames developed at a time when Schleswig, as well as most of the other German provinces, were states of the Holy Roman Empire. At first people used only a single name, but as the population grew and people began to travel, they began to find it necessary to take on an additional name to differentiate themselves. Fairly general principles guided the development of hereditary surnames in Schleswig.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Anderson, Andersen, Aenderson, Aendersen, Andersson, Anderssohn, Andersohn, Enderson, Endersen, Andreesen, Andriesen, Aendreesen, Endreesen, Endriesen, Andriesens, Andreessen, Andriessen, Andresen, Andressen, Anderten, Andreasen and many more.
First found in Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark, where the family contributed greatly to the development of an emerging nation and would later play a large role in the political conflicts of the area. The family branched into many houses, some of which acquired estates and manors throughout the surrounding regions, where they played significant roles in the social and political affairs. From early on, the name was represented by predominantly Danish families, although most of the Schleswig branches and many of the southern Danish branches spoke German.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Andriesen research. Another 339 words(24 lines of text) covering the years 1733, 1360 and 1596 are included under the topic Early Andriesen History in all our PDF Extended History products.
Another 51 words(4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Andriesen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products.
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Andriesen Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
The Andriesen Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Andriesen Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.
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Based on a recent survey administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average teenager of 2013 is not sexually active, but if they are, they may not be using a condom and don’t smoke cigarettes — but they may use an e-cig, and they're most likely guilty of texting while driving.
On Thursday, the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey was released. The number of U.S. teenagers who are smoking cigarettes is at the lowest ever since the survey was first started in 1991, Reuters reported. In 1991, a total of 27.5 percent of high school students smoked cigarettes. This number rose to 36.4 percent in 1997 but has fortunately dropped to only 15.7 percent in 2013. While the news is encouraging, some health officials are worried the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes among teenagers may make it even harder to reach the eventual goal of a smoke-free America. "We're particularly concerned about e-cigarettes re-glamorizing smoking traditional cigarettes and maybe making it more complicated to enforce smoke-free laws that protect all non-smokers," said CDC Director Tom Frieden, Reuters reported. The number of e-smokers, a relatively new genre, has risen from 7.7 percent in 2011 to 8.8 percent in 2013.
In 1991, over half of American teenagers had ever had sex and 38 percent were sexually active, meaning they had sex within three months of their involvement in the survey, Blog Aids reported. Last year, only 47 percent of teenagers had ever had sex, and of those, a mere 34 percent were considered sexually active. Still, the survey revealed that in teenagers who have sex, only 59 used a condom in their last sexual act. This number is not as high as experts would like. Blog Aids explains how teenagers who have unprotected sex put themselves in danger of contracting AIDS, STDS, and creating unintended pregnancies.
The survey also revealed that 41 percent of U.S. teenagers send texts or emails on their smartphones while driving. This is an extremely dangerous activity, which was the cause of nearly a quarter of all automobile collision in the year 2011, according to Texting and Driving Safety. Still, what’s most alarming is that despite this very real danger, 77 percent of young adults are confident they “can safely text while driving,” and 55 percent of teenage drivers claim it's “easy” to do.
Another positive statistic the survey revealed is that the number of teenagers partaking in physical fights is falling, Reuters reported. In 1991, a total of 43 percent of U.S. teenagers admitted to being involved in a physical fight in three months prior to the survey. Last year, only a quarter of high school students had been in a recent physical fight.
The National Youth Risk Behavior survey serves as an accurate representation of the activities of American high school students, according to the CDC. More than 3,000 U.S. high school students were involved in last year’s survey. It is done every two years, and in 2013 a total of 42 states and 21 large urban school districts were involved in the survey’s results. | <urn:uuid:e01e5197-1d35-432c-a0b7-34ef646264cc> | {
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Monitoring Migrating Monarchs in Monterey County
Ventana Wildlife Society has been conducting surveys of overwintering monarch butterflies (from 2001 through 2008) to monitor roosting sites along the California coast in Monterey County and to document monarch butterfly population densities, fluctuations, and movements. Monarch butterflies are amazing insects with a wonderfully unique life cycle, and by studying their overwintering populations we hope to learn more about why they spend the winter where they do, and what we can do to ensure their return to the central coast year after year.
Explore the links below to learn more about Monarch butterflies, our research, and what you can do to help!
VWS and Monarchs
Monarch Butterfly Updates
Meet project sponsor Helen I. Johnson
Monarch populations west of the Rockies, migrate to specific overwintering sites along the coast of California. In California, upwards of 200,000 western monarchs butterflies (Danaus plexippus L.) overwinter annually. These sites extend from Marin County in the North to San Diego County in the South. In some winters, Monterey County may accommodate as much as 35% of the western monarch population. However, overwintering sites of monarch butterflies are identified by the California Department of Fish and Game as vulnerable in the state; at moderate risk of extinction due to a restricted range, relatively few populations (often 80 or fewer), recent and widespread declines, or other factors.
In 1983, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources created a new category to list the overwintering sites and consequently, the annual migration of monarch butterflies in California and Mexico as threatened (Wells et al. 1983). Monarchs suffer from recurring natural threats to their overwintering sites and human influenced habitat loss and degradation. Despite the monarchs’ wide public appeal and status as a species of conservation concern, protection of the overwintering sites and understanding of population dynamics in western North America are limited.
Monarch butterflies require specific habitat and microclimate characters for overwinter survivorship. Monarchs choose sheltered groves of trees close to the ocean, in areas buffered from freezing winter temperatures and severe storms. Suitable habitat is typically composed of trees in an amphitheater, or U-shaped formation with several rows of trees on the windward side of the grove that allows light to penetrate for warmth. Groves must also have vertical density, a multi-tiered canopy for adequate protection from wind, cold and storms. Light should penetrate enough to allow insolation, but not enough to significantly heat the butterflies while in clusters. Too much heat and butterfly metabolic rate increases necessitating finding nectar and shortening overwintering life span. Some winter feeding is normal and so groves should be close to water and nectar.
Historically, butterflies likely utilized native conifer stands of Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), Monterey cypress (Cupressus maculatum) and Coast redwood (Sequoia sempevirens), but in the last century monarchs have been observed roosting in introduced eucalyptus. Eucalyptus have strong vertical layering, grow quickly and densely, and are not susceptible to disease while Monterey pine is susceptible to pitch canker and is not densely constructed. Further, extensive land development, logging, and poor land management have reduced the number of native tree stands that support over-wintering monarchs. Use of isolated stands of non-native eucalyptus trees makes monarchs vulnerable to land management plans that mandate the removal of non-native tree species. Today, protection and management of monarch overwintering sites usually entails balancing planting eucalyptus coupled with its eradication and removal of diseased pine.
Given the unique and precarious circumstances of the monarch butterfly’s existing overwintering habitat, it is essential to monitor numbers of monarchs and locations supporting them in order to make scientific management recommendations to sustain future monarch butterfly populations. In winter 2001, Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS) in collaboration with Helen Johnson and California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo embarked on a research initiative to document population dynamics, health and roost site quality of monarch butterflies in Monterey County. Results of that collaboration identified 9 important autumnal and true overwintering sites in Monterey County. These include The Monarch Grove Sanctuary, George Washington Park, Point Lobos State Reserve, Palo Colorado Canyon in Big Sur, Andrew Molera State Park, Sycamore Canyon at Pfieffer Beach, a Private Property site in Big Sur, Prewitt Creek and Plaskett Creek in Pacific Valley. Sites are managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Forest Service, the City of Pacific Grove and private citizens. VWS has worked with each of these landowners to manage their respective monarch groves by producing reports and making recommendations.
In addition to collecting population data, monarch butterflies are also tagged in order to study inter-site movement and spring dispersal patterns. Permission was granted by the Pacific Grove City Council for VWS to tag at Monarch Grove Sanctuary. Two sessions took place at that location, one on November 2, 2006 (1,075 butterflies tagged), and the other on December 19, 2006 (73 butterflies tagged). Because numbers were dwindling at Monarch Grove Sanctuary, VWS was granted special permission by the Pacific Grove City Council to tag at George Washington Park. The final tagging session was at that location on February 23 (741 butterflies tagged). Results from the tagging indicate that monarch butterflies move between sites throughout the winter. Butterflies tagged at the Monarch Sanctuary were re-sighted at George Washington Park, Point Lobos (11 miles south), Natural Bridges State Park (40 miles north), and a private property site in Big Sur (40 miles south). These results indicate that protection of multiple overwintering sites is crucial to the survival of monarch butterflies.
Methodology: Site Evaluation
This project uses protocols established during the past four winter seasons. Surveys are conducted one day per week from October 1 to the last week of February in the mornings while temperatures are low (below flight threshold, 13°C) and monarch butterflies are still clustered. Surveys do not take place during heavy precipitation because of poor visibility, but will be made up on the next available “good weather” day.
Data is recorded at each site using a standard data form. These data include: date, site, observers, pre-count time start and end, count time start and end, presence of nectar and water sources, and observations of tagged or mating monarch butterflies. For every tree that has roosting monarch butterflies, number of butterflies, tree species, tree identification number, and the aspect and height of clusters will be recorded. Furthermore, the number of monarch butterflies on the wing and on the ground is counted and recorded separately. To estimate the number of butterflies in a cluster, we first estimate the number of monarch butterflies in a small area of a cluster, and then extrapolate this count to arrive at a total count for the entire cluster. The average of the total counts of all observers is then recorded. Total butterflies on each tree are calculated by summing the cluster totals. Aggregation aspect, the range of directions that butterflies are roosting relative to the base of the tree, will be recorded. These ranges are converted to presence or absence of butterflies at eight cardinal directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW). For each tree that has butterflies, the number of butterflies present will then be evenly distributed throughout the range of directions in order to weight aspects for cluster size.
Butterflies are captured from overnight roosting clusters during the early morning using a 10 meter multi-section pole with a net attached. Tags used in the study are small round self-adhesive stickers (Watson Label Products, St. Louis, Mo.). Each tag has a preprinted identification number, the words “FREE CALL”, and the Ventana Wildlife Society toll-free number. Tags are gently placed on the underside of the right hindwing of the butterfly. After tag placement, the sex, body condition, and mated status of each individual will be recorded. Data will be recorded at each site using a standard data form.
VWS is involved in Monarch Alert, a collaborative research project with California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo to study patterns of fall migration, wintering activity, and spring dispersal of tagged monarch butterflies in western North America. For more information about Monarch Alert, visit their website at http://www.calpoly.edu/7Ebio/Monarchs.
Check this page for updates on the latest Monarch Butterfly numbers, research findings, and media or link direcly to our western monarchs discussion board.
One of the action items outlined from our meeting last December (Western Monarch Symposium, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, Dec 2, 2006) was to create a discussion board on yahoo so that we could freely share information and communicate more regularly about western monarchs. We invite you to join in the discussion.
Group name: western_monarchs
Group home page:
Group Email Addresses
This graph demonstrates the cyclical nature of monarch butterfly overwintering population dynamics. Abundance of overwintering monarchs seems to be tied with abundance and productivity of milkweed on the summering grounds, which in turn is linked to rainfall and land management.
In Monterey County, Pacific Grove houses the highest numbers of butterflies. In the winter of 2006/7, it held 68% of the monarch butterflies during Thanksgiving week.
Monarch butterfly numbers from biweekly counts conducted during the winter of November 2006- February 2007.
Western Monarch Butterfly Symposium held Dec 2-3, 2006, Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History and co-sponsored by Helen Johnson and Ventana Wildlife Society. The symposium themed “To define working sustainable solutions for the preservation of monarch butterflies and their habitats”featured the following speakers and presentations: Stuart Weiss, Ph.D., Consulting Ecologist, Creekside Center for Earth Observations, Microclimate assessment and canopy structure design for overwintering monarch butterflies; Walter Koenig, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Hastings Reserve, Spatial synchrony in monarch butterflies; Jessica Griffiths, Ventana Wildlife Society, Monitoring Monarch Butterflies in Monterey County; Mia Monroe, Monarch Campaign Coordinator, The Xerces Society, Citizen Science and Western Monarch Butterfly Conservation; John Dayton, What Makes a California Overwintering Site; Ro Vaccaro, Friends of the Monarchs, Monarch Moments; Bobby Gendron, Owner, Butterfly Encounters, Milkweed Cultivation for California Gardens; and Jan Southworth, Ranger, East Bay Regional Park District, Coyote Hills Regional Park Coyote Hills Butterfly Garden and our Monarchs in the Classroom program for teachers.
Conservation of the Monarch Butterfly — Population Dynamics and Migration held Thursday and Friday, Dec. 8-9, 2005 at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo. Dr. Dennis Frey and Shawna Stevens, co-leaders of Project Monarch Alert, headed up the conference and sponsored by Helen Johnson. Featured speakers included Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia Ecology Institute; Karen Oberhauser, University of Minnesota Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology; and Chip Taylor, Kansas University Entomology Department, among others. Altizer is an international authority on monarch ecology and evolution, as well as the effects of parasites on the insect. Oberhauser directs the Monarch Larval Monitoring Project that studies monarchs nationwide at their breeding grounds. Taylor is director of Monarch Watch, an educational outreach program that engages the public in large-scale research projects.
by: Jim Davis, former Executive Director of Ventana Wildlife Society
|Copyright © 2012 Ventana Wildlife Society, 19045 Portola Dr. Ste. F-1, Salinas, CA 93908, Phone: 831-455-9514, Fax: 831-455-2846| | <urn:uuid:0417a5d3-c2da-4199-903a-70bd3a0b1e88> | {
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Forty-four years ago this month, the military of the Republic of Vietnam was involved in Operation Lam Son 719 (Chiến dịch Lam Sơn 719) in Laos, February 8th - March 25th, 1971.
Communist forces had long established supply and transportation networks running through the territory of Laos in what is commonly referred to as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The objective of the republic`s military campaign in Laos was to disrupt this network, and in turn diminish the Communists` abilities to launch offensive operations into the republic`s territory. It was the largest single deployment of the republic`s troops outside its borders, and was the largest helicopter operation of the Vietnam War.
Following this campaign, and other operations in Cambodia, the Republic of Vietnam instituted a new decoration. The Medal for Campaigns Outside the Frontier was created in 1973. It was the last new military medal to be established by the republic. It was awarded to soldiers who had served in Laos and Cambodia, with country devices signifying to which area the individual served. The "Ha-Lao" (Laos) device was only given to veterans of Lam Son 719, as it was the only officially recognized operation in Laos undertaken by the republic. | <urn:uuid:b69662c4-75d4-4240-a7f9-63b707fa5042> | {
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Children learn language naturally, so toddlers and preschoolers find it really easy to pick up French very quickly.
HOWEVER, their progress will depend greatly on what you do in class – use just words, and that’s all they’ll learn, words. Use fluent language, and they will become fluent users themselves.
But – Using Fluent Language the Right Way Is an Art
Using fluent language in a way that suits your young students’ stage of development and activates their natural knack for languages during the brief periods of time typical of foreign language classes is quite an art.
It’s not just about opening your mouth and talking in French!
Although I’m a native speaker, highly educated, and had two bilingual kids of my own, when I tried to apply the language teaching methods that I had learned for older students to preschoolers, the results were terrible.
Preschool children learn quite differently than older kids and adults.
Early Human Development Is NOT a Linear Progression – It’s a Complete Transformation!
Children ages 0 to 5 are to the human adult what a caterpillar is to a butterfly, as world-renown educator Maria Montessori used to say. It’s not so much a linear progression, but rather a metamorphosis that takes place between babyhood and childhood (about age 6).
I learned that I was teaching cute caterpillars and not butterflies the hard way, by trial and error in my own classes. There was no training available that really worked (and, believe me, I tried it all).
I realized there were no good resources anywhere on the market to help me teach French in preschool. So I had to set out and create my own program.
That was back then, but I continued learning during years and years – and I continue learning today, because I am passionate about teaching languages to young children and any new discoveries related to early cognition and language acquisition fascinate me.
Recently re-developed from the ground up, my “French for Preschoolers” guide is a very practical introduction to my unique language learning system, based on many years of experience in the field as a teacher, parent, author, advocate and entrepreneur.
Who Is the Guide Intended For?
The guide will help teachers with any level of experience to make learning French rewarding and fun for you and your students ages 1 to 8 years old:
- A ground-breaking, quite unique early language system.
- Originally published in 2006 – now completely updated!
- The only professional guide dedicated to teaching fluent French language at the preschool age.
[Note: This guide is not really intended for parents, but I have many other materials suitable for their use – you can find them online by searching “Ana Lomba”]
Buy & Download “French for Preschoolers” Now!
I am happy to offer a complete 30-day money-back guarantee on this resource.
If it doesn’t give you the best platform to teach French to very young children with confidence – I’ll refund every penny!
Get the guide today for only $37!
P. S. It would be very difficult to find a university level course that would teach you all of this, and even if you could find such a course, it would probably cost you a hundred times more than this e-guide.
P. S. S. Moreover, it would be very difficult to find university professors who have actually taught toddlers and preschoolers – not only that, who have created materials and developed curriculum to teach toddlers and preschoolers. So this is your chance – pick up my brain and get started on solid ground today! | <urn:uuid:0473c35d-f671-44f8-ae66-24717937b55b> | {
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The boiling point is defined as the temperature at which the saturated vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to the surrounding atmospheric pressure.
A short discussion on high heels and the increased pressure they give. Contains links to various related articles.
A brief description of how Tyre Pressure Gauges work from HowStuffWorks.com, with an interactive element to it.
Details of how to calculate the pressure exerted by a static fluid.
Blaise Pascal (1613 - 1661) is best known for his work on pressure which came to be known as Pascal's law of pressure. Pascal also invented the first digital calculator to help his father with his ...
An exploration of the variation of pressure with depth'.
Definitions linked to hearing.
Description of how mercury barometers measure pressure.
Fun demonstration of air pressure with shaving foam and a vacuum pump.
High Pressure Physics and the Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions
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If an anime ninja comes knocking at your door this Halloween talking about the plight of cacao farmers in West Africa, it’s probably Emilie Reitz.
Emilie, a seventh-grader from North Bend, Wash., was shocked when her best friend, Rachel Donka, told her that the Hershey bars and other chocolate products she loved came, in part, from the labor of kids in places like Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Indonesia. “Most people don’t know about this,” she reflected later, “so I wanted to understand what went into the things I used. And I wanted other people to start asking questions, too.”
This year both girls are participating in Reverse Trick-or-Treating, an annual tradition initiated four years ago by activists promoting fair wages and treatment for farmers. Instead of just going door to door asking for candy, an anticipated quarter of a million Reverse Trick-or-Treaters are bringing the chocolate to you—fairly traded, bite-sized morsels glued to cards that explain widespread human rights violations occurring on non-fair trade cacao farms around the world.
Reverse Trick-or-Treating is a project of Global Exchange, a human rights organization that promotes Fair Trade Certification as the best alternative to, well, unfair trade. Other fair trade organizations and businesses partner on the campaign, but the program is more than an opportunity for fair trade businesses to push their own products. It has twin goals: convincing major players in the chocolate industry, like Hershey, to switch to fairly sourced cacao, and teaching children the value of activism before they’ve learned the meaning of cynicism. It takes “a gimme gimme holiday,” said one participating parent, and turns it “into a giving back holiday.”
Life isn’t fair, we tell our children, and by the time they’re teenagers, many have resigned themselves to this reality. But younger children ignite with fervent idealism: Why isn’t life fair? Why not a fairer world? Any parent knows the passionate protest of a child who senses the slightest injustice. While they may not fully grasp the complexities of NAFTA or the International Monetary Fund, two things they do understand are chocolate and the concept of fairness.
Injustice in the cacao industry is an issue that children naturally connect to, says Adrienne Fitch-Frankel, fair trade campaign director for Global Exchange. They make up one of the biggest groups of chocolate consumers, and they get upset when they learn their peers are being exploited. “There are kids who are growing up in cocoa communities that have never tasted chocolate–for a child that’s a basic human rights issue," says Fitch-Frankel. "They grow chocolate but they don’t get to eat it. They don’t even get to play.”
While some key chocolate-producing companies have made moves towards fairly sourced cacao, the organizations behind Reverse Trick-or-Treating are targeting one that, in their view, hasn’t: the Hershey Company, which controls a 40 percent share of the U.S. chocolate market.
In September, Hershey released its very first Corporate Social Responsibility report, devoting two pages to the problem of child labor on cacao farms. Some activist organizations found this insufficient, and soon came back with a retort: a 42-page exposé on the most egregious rights violations in the global cacao sector.
This counter-report, titled “Time To Raise The Bar: The Real Corporate Social Responsibility Report for the Hershey Company,” was authored by the International Labor Rights Forum, Green America, and Oasis USA, along with Global Exchange. It spotlights the troubles faced by cacao farmers who struggle to feed their families on low wages. Many children can’t go to school because their families need them in the fields, supplementing their income. Others without family support systems seek employment on their own, or are trafficked to the fields as slave labor. They face health hazards like overexposure to pesticides, as well as physical and sexual abuse.
In 2001 a group of corporations with interests in cacao, including Hershey, signed on to the Harkin-Engel Protocol, a voluntary, self-policing attempt to eliminate child labor from the growing and manufacturing of cacao. While the initiative is lauded within the industry, critics complain that it does little to rectify the structural problems that propel the involvement of children in cacao production. Fitch-Frankel argues that Hershey has done much within the U.S. to better the lives of children, but has had little impact in the lives of African children who grow their beans. As signatories to the Harkin-Engel Protocol, the counter-report argues, the company is committed to addressing the root causes of child labor in these areas-–but so far it has no policies in place to safeguard the labor of cacao farmers, and has continually declined to publicize information on its cacao sources.
A change in Hershey’s policies could help shift the entire chocolate industry to fairer practices. When British confectioner Cadbury switched to fair trade cacao for its iconic Dairy Milk Bars (though not the ones sold in the U.S., which are produced by Hershey), it demonstrated that a major company could create a bestselling fair trade candy bar.
Slavery Goes Public:
Are the products you buy tainted by slavery and child labor? A new California law can help you find out.
The desire to show solidarity with cacao farmers has galvanized fledgling activists like Emilie and Rachel, who at the age of 12 have renounced non-certified fair trade chocolate. Emilie and her mother sell fairly traded products every week after church, and Rachel has convinced the rest of her family to follow her own lead when it comes to chocolate (except for her 15-year-old brother, on whom she is still working). “The hardest part,” she says, “is when he tells me how delicious a piece of unfair chocolate tastes.”
Rachel is also promoting fair trade chocolate in a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where she plays the lead, Charlie Bucket. When she passed out fair trade chocolate and information cards to fellow cast members, several friends told her they went home to research on the Internet for themselves.
Promoting fair trade chocolate through exercises like this and Reverse Trick-or-Treating provides kids an entrée into the universe of social activism. Children are too often underestimated and even dismissed when it comes to sparking social change, notes Fitch-Frankel.
For Emilie and Rachel, it starts on the block, backstage, and with their friends and family. They hope to run their own booth at a local Girl Scouts conference next year:
“We’ll start by educating about chocolate, because that’s what kids my age care about,” says Rachel. “Then maybe coffee … tea … handicrafts … who knows?”
- How to talk to children about social justice: Find resources, stories, and more at
How students can tell big companies like World's Finest Chocolate that they demand an end to abusive child labor practices, and that they want to buy products that are Fair Trade Certified.
- More information on participating in .
9 progressive policies to support our families. | <urn:uuid:4555677e-90b8-44b1-a8e9-55d5b9d7ffc1> | {
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Name and version: Data and Metadata Reporting and Presentation Handbook (OECD)
Alternative name: none
Valid: From February 2007
The Data and Metadata Reporting and Presentation Handbook provides a comprehensive reference set of international guidelines and recommendations for the reporting and presentation of statistical data and metadata. The Handbook draws on existing international statistical guidelines and recommendations. It aims to improve the quality of statistics at both the national and international levels, in particular with respect to interpretability and coherence within datasets, across datasets, over time and between countries. The Handbook also contains recommendations and presentation practices on a selected data presentation areas like: data revision, series breaks, samplings and non-samplings errors, re-basing indices, citation practices, availability and presentation of metadata and presentation of administrative data.
The Handbook is designed for use by statistical agencies in both developed and developing countries and by international organizations. Promoting the consistency of methodologies through the standardization of format, terminology and dissemination of statistical data and metadata it is applicable for short term economic statistics, annual (structural) statistics, for social and population statistics.
Maintenance organization: The body responsible for maintaining this methodological material is the OECD.
ISO Standard Number: not applicable
Handbook on OECD Web site: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/17/37671574.pdf
Relationships to other standards: Concept Map
The terminology and definitions presented in the Handbook are closely linked to the SDMX Metadata Common Vocabulary . Within the Guidelines for the reporting of different types of data, the Handbook recommends best practices and methodologies/standards for original data, indices, grows rates, ratios, proportions, percentages and rates. Within the Guidelines for the reporting of different forms of the time series, the Handbook presents a key terminology relating to time series analysis (as an output of the work by the OECD Short-term Statistics Working Party).
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Exploding objects converts single objects to their constituent parts but has no visible effect. For example, exploding forms simple lines and arcs from polylines, rectangles, donuts, and polygons. It replaces a block reference or associative dimension with copies of the simple objects that compose the block or dimension. Groups explode into their member objects or into other groups.
To explode an object
- From the Modify menu, choose Explode.
- Select the objects to be exploded.
An exploded object doesn’t look any different, but the colors, linetypes, and lineweights of objects can change. Component objects of a block assume their original properties.
When you explode a polyline, AutoCAD discards the associated width information. The resulting lines and arcs follow the polyline’s centerline. If you explode a block that contains a polyline, you need to explode the polyline separately. However, a nonuniformly scaled block can be exploded during an insert. If you explode a donut, its width becomes 0.
Blocks inserted with unequal X, Y, and Z scale factors may explode into unexpected objects. You cannot explode xrefs and their dependent blocks. If you explode a block with attributes, the attributes are deleted, but the attribute definitions from which they were created remain. The attribute values and any modifications made by the ATTEDIT command are lost. | <urn:uuid:70e5937a-ba09-4fc9-9e87-888bfacab5cc> | {
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Even if you don’t have a green thumb, you can start an easy to grow garden with your preschooler.
While some things are harder to grow then others, the following five things are easy to go and will help your preschooler learn how foods go from outside in the garden to inside in the home.
Kids will recognize the smell of oregano from pizza, pasta sauce and other Italian foods that they’ve eaten. Being able to see what smells familiar to them can help them relate to how foods go from being a seed to being in the foods they eat. Oregano can be grown outdoors from the end of May on. Press the oregano seeds gently into the ground about 10 inches apart and water them occasionally, when the soil seems dry. Once the plant is about four inches tall or has 12 leaves, you can begin harvesting it. The oregano seed should germinate in 10-14 days.
Kids will love the vibrant orange and yellow colors of the marigold flowers. Once the threat of frost is over and the soil is warm, plant marigold seeds directly into the garden, 6 inches apart, in a location where there is plenty of sunshine. Place the seed gently onto the soil and cover lightly with ¼ inch of soil. Water the seeds thoroughly once. During dry periods, water once or twice per week. By midsummer you should see your first blooms.
Strawberries are most easily grown from seedlings in early spring. Depending on the type of strawberry seedlings you purchase, they can be planted 12 to 20 inches apart. Plant in an area that gets full sun and add compost or aged manure to the soil as you plant. Water the strawberry seedlings regularly. While you will get some strawberries the first year, the second year will yield a full harvest.
Children are more likely to eat foods that they’ve had a part in growing and preparing. For this alone, lettuce is a great vegetable to plant. Lettuce can be planted in spring, 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost date. Plant seeds about ½ inch deep, 8 to 14 inches apart, depending on the variety, and cover with a fine soil. Water consistently so the soil is always moist. In about 8-14 weeks, you can expect your first harvest.
5. String beans (bush been seeds).
String beans are easy to grow and can help children learn how foods get from the garden to their dinner plates. Place green bean seeds in soil about 1 inch deep. Cover the seed with dirt to fill the furrow. Space the seeds 1-2 inches apart in rows that are 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart. Water seeds well. Depending on the type of seed you plant, you should see beans in 45-75 days.
Have you planted a garden with your preschooler? What did you grow? What worked for you and what didn’t? Share your tips in the comments below. | <urn:uuid:dbcef20c-97b1-4d18-9292-fc9400cb2e39> | {
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Last month, the United Nations Environment Programme agreed on the first major environmental treaty in over a decade, with a focus on reducing mercury pollution. In attendance at the event in Geneva, Switzerland were 10 MIT students and their instructor Noelle Selin, a researcher with the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and an assistant professor of atmospheric chemistry and engineering systems.
The group had UN observer status and was able to attend all of the negotiations, breakout sessions and meetings. The students also revealed their latest scientific information about mercury through a poster presentation, and shared their experiences and observations via a blog and Twitter feed.
Back on the MIT campus, Selin and the students hosted a panel discussion on Feb. 6 in which they shared their experiences and lessons learned from witnessing international environmental policy-making in action.
Selin kicked off the event by describing the problem of mercury pollution and why an international treaty was essential to curbing the environmental and public health effects. She explained that mercury levels in the Earth have increased greatly due to the burning of fossil fuels, cement production and more. Mercury then rains down into oceans, where it contaminates fish as toxic methylmercury.
“The health risks to consumers of fish include neurological effects, particularly in the offspring of exposed pregnant women,” Selin explained. “Over 300,000 newborns in the U.S. each year are at risk of learning disabilities due to their elevated mercury exposure.”
Mercury is an element that cycles in the environment, meaning that once it’s released into the atmosphere it can take decades to centuries for mercury to make its way back to ocean sediments.
“This becomes a global issue, this becomes a long term issue, and thus an issue for international cooperation,” Selin said.
During the trip, five student teams covered topics including governing institutions, products and processes, emissions, waste/trade/mining, and finance. A member from each team gave a presentation at the Feb. 6 panel and shared thoughts and observations on the international negotiation process.
Philip Wolfe, a PhD candidate in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, discussed the institutions and policy process of the negotiations. He explained that the treaty has to work on two levels: globally and domestically.
“Individual countries engage in regional, domestic or bilateral agreements and they’ll only really sign on to a global convention if it also meets their own domestic goals,” Wolfe said.
The treaty, if nations decide to sign it, would require tightly controlling emissions — a major area of discussion during the negotiations.
Leah Stokes, PhD candidate in environmental policy and planning, discussed the challenges with regulating emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and artisanal small-scale gold mining. She explained that when individuals want to mine gold and don’t have any equipment, they use mercury because it binds with gold. When burned together, the mercury burns first, leaving gold behind. This process is estimated by the United Nations to be the largest global contributor of mercury emissions.
“We also come into contact with mercury through a lot of the products we use,” explained Ellen Czaika, a PhD candidate in the Engineering Systems Division.
Examples of products with mercury that will be phased out under the treaty include some types of compact fluorescent light blubs, dental fillings, pesticides, thermometers and batteries. There were important discussions at the conference about weighing the benefits of some of these products versus their mercury risks, Czaika said.
Mercury mining is another source of concern, and a major piece of the treaty. Danya Rumore, a PhD student in environmental policy and planning, explained that this was expected to be a big area of contention, but an agreement was reached that gave time for a ban to come into effect over a 15-year period.
Julie van der Hoop, a PhD student in the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Joint Program, followed financial and technical assistance issues at the negotiations. She discussed how the strength and effectiveness of the treaty will be shown through the technology transfer programs, a new funding mechanism for developing nations and implementation plans.
Ultimately, she said, “We’re looking for a treaty to be effective… If you make a treaty and it’s not effective then what’s the point?”
Many of the panelists said that the treaty has relatively weak requirements, but that this is still a historic and impactful international environmental treaty. Selin recognized that it had to be an agreement that all 140 countries would be able to sign on to and that any limits on mercury will have long-term impacts because of the nature of the mercury cycle.
“This isn’t a thing that ends today,” Stokes said. “This is just something that keeps going and going and going. Even though we have a treaty — really, we’re going to decide everything [about implementation] at the next meeting.”
The students attended the conference as part of a National Science Foundation grant that aims to train a cohort of graduate students for science policy leadership through a semester-long course and an intensive policy engagement exercise. | <urn:uuid:ec017221-664c-407c-8815-791e6e66b4c9> | {
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Industrial CT scanning is a process which uses X-ray equipment to produce three-dimensional representations of components both externally and internally. Industrial CT scanning can be used in many engineering sectors for internal inspection of components. The key uses for CT scanning are flaw detection, failure analysis, metrology, assembly analysis and reverse engineering applications.
There are many advantages to using Computed Tomography (CT) scanning over traditional techniques such as Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM) or 3D laser scanners. Some of the main points include:
◊ Non-destructive test for inspection and metrology.
◊ Reduced costs in creating the first CAD model due to data capture.
◊ Design requirements for both internal and external components are validated quickly and accurately.
◊ Product quality is improved to reduce the risk of recalls.
◊ Internal complex features can be precisely measured without destructive testing.
◊ Parts are scanned in a ‘free-state’ environment without fixtures applying stresses that could damage delicate parts or display warping not present in the part.
◊ Rapid prototyping of the internal components can be completed without the task of creating the CAD file from scratch.
One of the most recognised forms of analysis using Computed Tomography (CT) is assembly or visual analysis. CT scanning has been largely used for medical purposes. For industrial CT scanning, the ability to see the inside features and components is a huge advantage as they can be seen in their functioning position and can be analysed without disassembly.
Our CAD software can take measurements from the CT data. These measurements are useful for determining the clearances between assembled parts or simply a dimension of an individual feature. | <urn:uuid:4e545a2e-c4d9-4b03-a586-87473ca3e985> | {
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