In a five-to-four decision the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the formula in Section 4 of the 1965 Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional.
The level of income inequality stretches much higher in the United States than in the other developed countries. Now it's gone off the chart.
The case was brought forth by Richard and Mildred Loving, who were imprisoned for one year for marrying in the state of Virginia.
Inside and outside the U.S. Supreme Court, unionists backed the right of same-sex couples to marry as the justices held hearings on two separate cases on the issue.
African American delegates met in Washington, D.C., to form the Colored National Labor Union.
Brown, a minister and fierce opponent of slavery, sought to obtain weapons from the arsenal to defeat the slaveocracy in the South. John Brown and his men were captured and executed.
Orval Faubus tried to prevent schools in Little Rock from integrating, despite the fact that the Supreme Court had ordered the desegregation of public schools three years prior.


What Does Encryption Algorithm Mean?
An encryption algorithm is a component for electronic data transport security. Actual mathematical steps are taken and enlisted when developing algorithms for encryption purposes, and
varying block ciphers are used to encrypt electronic data or numbers.
Encryption algorithms help prevent data fraud, such as that perpetrated by hackers who illegally obtain electronic financial information. These algorithms are a part of any company’s risk management protocols and are often found in software applications.
Techopedia Explains Encryption Algorithm
Encryption algorithms assist in the process of transforming plain text into encrypted text, and then back to plain text for the purpose of securing electronic data when it is transported over networks. By coding or encrypting data, hackers or other unauthorized users are generally unable to access such information. Some encryption algorithms are considered faster than others, but as long as algorithm developers, many of whom have math backgrounds, stay on top of advancements in this technology, this type of encryption should continue to flourish as hackers continue to become more sophisticated.
In 1977, RSA became one of the first encryption algorithms developed by U.S. mathematicians Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Len Adleman. RSA has had ample staying power as it is still widely used for digital signatures and public key encryption. Encryption algorithms can vary in length, but the strength of an algorithm is usually directly proportional to its length.


tions in particular locales (affecting teachers’ willingness to work in certain schools or districts), and demographics of the teaching profession (affecting whether students of different races and ethnic backgrounds can envision themselves working as teachers).
All of these conditions and elements constitute a web of influence on the work and careers of school teachers. Although that full set of conditions must be taken into account to represent the complete story, what follows concentrates on the aspects of teacher preparation and development that have the potential to be most directly influenced by nationally developed mathematics, science, and technology education standards.
This section examines how prospective teachers learn mathematics, science, or technology content and pedagogy, how they become eligible for certification or licensure, and how their professional growth is encouraged during their teaching careers.
There is broad agreement that teachers should be expert in subject matter content and pedagogical knowledge (National Research Council [NRC], 1999c; Shulman, 1986, 1987). For teachers entering the profession, such knowledge and skills are initially shaped by their exposure to mathematics, science, and technology content—and the ways those subjects are taught—prior to and during their formal teacher preparation program.
Both K-12 programs and courses completed at the college level provide early classroom experience with the subject areas that prospective teachers will later teach. How courses are presented conveys subtle messages to future teachers about the nature of the subject area, how that knowledge is acquired and tested, and how it should be taught to others. For example, learning calculus as an undergraduate through didactic lectures may predispose new mathematics teachers to teach in similar ways. Likewise, how


Module 5.A – Understanding Uniaxial Geogrid Reinforcement (1.0 PDH Credit) by L. Carter (Strata)
Written By: gepdh|
February 24, 2012|
Uniaxial geogrids are most commonly used in applications where reinforcing strength is only required in one principle direction. Retaining wall and steepened slope designs fall into this category. This module walks you through the design criteria of incorporating a uniaxial geogrid with your wall and or steepened slope project. It also offers some helpful hints for a successful installation of the reinforcing system.
Price: $70.00 US
Enroll in CourseCourse Instructions (pdf)(You will be transferred to the Minerva Education site for this transaction)


6 Ways to Help a Child Who Wets the Bed
So, you made it through potty training in one piece and now it’s smooth (dry) sailing ahead, right? Nope, sorry. Controlling your bladder at nighttime is something else entirely, and parents can expect accidents for a few years going forward. (The National Sleep Foundation says that bedwetting is not even considered to be a problem until after age seven.) The good is that most instances of bedwetting resolve themselves on their own, but there are a few different strategies that families can try to improve the situation.
Bedwetting (or nocturnal enuresis in medical terms) is actually pretty common—according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 20 percent of five-year-olds and 10 percent of six-year-olds wet the bed. And the good news is that most kids will grow out of it on their own. Until then, try not to let your kid see you become frustrated by it. The best response, say experts, is not to make a big deal out of it and try to be encouraging of progress.
That means no caffeine (like that mug of hot cocoa) or sugar-laden drinks before bedtime. Pediatricians don’t recommend restricting all fluids before bedtime (dehydration can actually exacerbate the problem), but parents can encourage kids to drink more earlier in the day to see if that helps them to be less thirsty in the evenings.
Encourage bathroom trips
Schedule regular bathroom breaks so that your kid is going every couple of hours. And make sure to do a bathroom stop right before bedtime, too. Leave a night light on so that your child can find her way to the toilet.
Get a waterproof mattress
A mattress overlay or vinyl covering won’t necessarily help your kid stop wetting the bed, but it can certainly make nights easier, as will laying out a fresh set of pajamas by the bed for quick 3 a.m. changes. In the morning, let your child help you change the sheets if they need it—not as a punishment (experts say to never punish a kid for bedwetting) but so that they can feel like they’re helping the situation.
Check if your child is constipated
Constipation is a common cause of bladder issues (affecting about one third of children who wet the bed, according to the Cleveland Clinic). If you suspect that this might be an issue, increase your kid’s fluid and fiber intake or speak to your pediatrician.
Get a bedwetting alarm
A urinary bed alarm is considered to be the most effective method of preventing accidents, although it may take weeks or even months to work. Different kinds of alarms are available (some clip on to a child’s clothing while others attach to the bed), but most operate by making a sound when they detect moisture in the bed. The idea is that the interruption in sleep eventually conditions the brain to control the bladder to help prevent accidents. Parents need to make sure that they can hear the alarm, either by sleeping nearby or using a baby monitor.


Investigators from University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Harvard U, MA; St Louis, MO; Atlanta, GA; Northwestern U, and Shriner's Hospital, Chicago, compared the development of school-aged children with single-suture craniosynostosis (sagittal, metopic, unicoronal, lambdoid) and unaffected children. Tests of intelligence, reading, spelling, and math were administered in 182 case participants and 183 controls. Case participants’ average scores were lower than controls on all measures. Full-Scale IQ and math computation showed the largest differences; case participants’ adjusted mean scores were 2.5 to 4 points lower than those of control participants (Ps ranged from .002 to .09). Mean case-control differences on other measures of achievement (reading and spelling), partially evident at school age, were only slightly lower, but case deficits were more pronounced after adjusting for participation in developmental interventions. The frequency of specific learning problems in case and control participants was comparable; among case participants, 58% had no learning problem. Children with metopic, unicoronal and lambdoid synostosis tended to score lower on most measures than those with sagittal fusion (P<.001 to .82). In patients with single-suture fusions, neurodevelopmental screening in preschool years is especially important in those with unicoronal and lambdoid synostosis, with more selective screening of children with isolated sagittal fusions.
COMMENTARY. This 10-year, multi-site study of the cognitive development of children with single-suture craniosynostosis shows that children born with the disorder are on average more likely to develop learning problems in early elementary school. Developmental delays are generally mild and vary significantly, those with unicoronal or lambdoid synostosis being most vulnerable, whereas sagittal synostosis cases, the most common variety of synostosis, are spared. Boys with single-suture craniosynostosis score lower on academic and IQ tests than girls; and males are more likely than females to have learning problems (50 vs 30%); males with unicoronal synostosis have a 86% risk of learning disorder .
The cause of neurodevelopmental and cognitive delay of infants with single-suture craniosynostosis remains unclear . Craniosynostosis is frequently complicated by other neurological abnormalities constituting various syndromes, eg Apert syndrome (acrocephalopolysyndactyly), sometimes associated with cerebral malformation and hydrocephalus . Various cognitive profiles are described in patients with Apert syndrome . Other syndromes that list craniosynostosis as a major abnormality include Crouzon, Pfeiffer, Carpenter, Jackson-Weiss, Saethre-Chotzen, Beare-Stevenson, Vogt, Waardenburg, and Muenke syndrome. The characteristics of Muenke syndrome are a unilateral coronal craniosynostosis with anterior plagiocephaly, asymmetry of skull and face, developmental delay and learning disorder. This unilateral craniosynostosis is explained by a mutation in the gene FGFR3 .


Rigobert Bonne (1727 – 1794) was a French cartographer, widely considered to be one of the most important cartographers of the late 18th century.
In 1773 Bonne succeeded Jacques Nicolas Bellin as Royal Cartographer to France in the office of the Hydrographer at the Depôt de la Marine. Working in his official capacity, Bonne compiled some of the most detailed and accurate maps of the period. Bonne’s work represents an important step in the evolution of the cartographic ideology away from the decorative work of the 17th and early 18th century towards a more detail oriented and practical aesthetic. With regard to the rendering of terrain Bonne maps bear many stylistic similarities to those of his predecessor, Bellin. However, Bonne maps generally abandon such common 18th century decorative features such as hand coloring, elaborate decorative cartouches, and compass roses.
While mostly focusing on coastal regions, the work of Bonne is highly regarded for its detail, historical importance, and overall aesthetic appeal.


Eggs provide protein, vitamin A, potassium, folic acid, selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12, zinc, iron, copper, choline and biotin, according to nutritional therapist Jo Lewin for BBC Good Food. The protein in eggs is considered a whole protein, which is important because it means eggs provide all eight essential amino acids.Continue Reading
Many people still worry about old research that used to claim eggs were sources of bad cholesterol and could increase the risk of heart disease, says Lewin. Modern research has disproved that theory, however.
The betaine and choline in eggs are extremely heart-healthy nutrients. Choline is also very important for women to consume during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as it assists in brain development for the child during these early stages. The vitamin D in eggs helps to protect against osteoporosis and rickets by decreasing the likelihood of bone loss, notes Lewin.
Eggs should be kept in the refrigerator. They can last up to one month if they are kept refrigerated. Many people enjoy a runny yolk in their eggs, but there is a danger of contracting salmonella poisoning if eggs are not cooked thoroughly. Lewin advises that people cook their eggs long enough at an appropriately high temperature to be sure that any risk of illness is removed.Learn more about Nutritional Content


This is week 2 of the letter "C" and we have a lot to talk about! We are learning to pronounce the letter "C" (say- hard "K" sound when followed by a, o, u and soft "S" sound when followed by e or i), and we are learning about Cuba and Cristina Saralegui. We are learning to count and to talk about the date in Spanish. Every day in Spanish class we will say the day of the week and the date in Spanish. We are learning lots of questions like, "¿Qué día es?" (What day is it), "¿Qué mes es?" (What month is it?), "¿Cuál es la fecha?" (What's the date?), and "¿Cuántos?" (How many?) Unfortunately, since we always have Spanish class on the same day of the week, the students are limited in their ability to practice all of the days of the week. Be sure to ask your students what day it is in Spanish every day. Most students already know how to count to 10 in Spanish, but we're learning the importance of not saying the numbers in order. Students can practice saying their phone number, address, and age in Spanish. Whenever you see a number- try to say it in Spanish! Also be sure to ask about Cuba and Cristina Saralegui. Who was the leader of Cuba for a long time? What is Cristina famous for?
This week, students are bringing home some pages to practice numbers and dates. Now our Spanish is starting to build as we can describe things by both number and color. Keep practicing conversational skills and encourage your students to speak Spanish to any Spanish speakers they may encounter!
Coming up next week... Ch for "Cuerpo Humano" (Parts of the Body).
Lesson plans for this week:
PreK/ K (click here)
1st/ 2nd grade (click here)
3rd-5th grade (click here)


Brought to you by Sadlier School
WeAreTeachers is pleased to welcome guest teacher-blogger Tiffany Rehbein. Tiffany is a high school English teacher and writes the Core Grammar blog at Sadlier School. Find Tiffany’s blog as well as free grammar and writing lessons, activities and games over at Sadlier’s PubHub.
Think fast. What subject do you find hardest to teach? For a surprising number of teachers, the answer is writing. Progress in writing is often hard to see because writing encompasses a myriad of smaller skills, from how to use a comma correctly to how to parse through a complex plot. So when a student learns to, say, use quotations correctly, the overall level of the writing may not seem all that different. Growth is incremental, but it all adds up! Learning the concrete rules of writing frees students up to think about content and how they want to express themselves. Here are eight free resources for your classroom—some for you, some for your students—that will help you increase students’ understanding of proper grammar and sentence structure and aid in improving their vocabulary and writing skills.
- “Five Ways to Use Commas” Mini-Poster
You know that student who never met a comma he didn’t like or the one who sticks with periods because it’s “easier”? Here’s a mini-poster for both of them! Print it out and make it part of a writing bulletin board, or distribute individual copies for their writing notebooks. Plus, use this handout to review comma rules and give students the chance to practice.
- Homophone Mini-Poster
There, they’re, their! Even adults sometimes need reminders to use the right homophone. Here’s a mini-poster to keep tough-to-remember words front of mind. There’s a practice sheet as well to help your students learn to use the right word at the right time!
- “Let’s Get Parallel” Activity
Sentences with parallel structure have a strong rhythm and are easier to understand. Here’s a quick practice activity for in-class or homework to help your students recognize and use parallel structure in their sentences.
- Surprise Adverb Chart
Adverbs seem to be falling out of fashion. Help bring them back! Here’s a quick chart of adverbs that don’t end in -ly that your students need to know.
- Sentence, Fragment or Run-On?
Is it a sentence or isn’t it? Help your students learn to tell the difference with this practice activity. Afterward, have students create their own examples and challenge their classmates to identify them.
- Five Simple Rules for Revising Sentences
Here’s a quick list of tips for your students to help them revise sentence by sentence. Have your students use it for an in-class peer revision session or take it home to improve their own drafts.
- The 10 Rules of Effective Grammar Instruction
This one is just for you. Here is a list of the top 10 things you can do to help your students improve their grammar skills. It takes a lot of exposure to make those grammar rules stick. Here’s how to make sure your students are hearing, seeing and practicing grammar throughout the day.
- Complex or Noncomplex Sentence? Exercise
A compound sentence connects related ideas with and, but or or. A complex sentence connects related ideas with a subordinating conjunction. Download this freethree-page exercise to give your students practice listening for and recognizing the difference.
Tiffany Rehbein has been a high school English teacher for 10 years. She loves engaging her students with motivating grammar and writing activities and celebrates when they “get it.” Read her Core Grammar blog.


Canada is moving to become the first country to require health warnings on every cigarette.
The message will read "poison in every puff," the country's associate health minister said.
Canada was the first country to make tobacco manufacturers put graphic images on their packaging.
Canada is moving to make tobacco companies print health warnings on individual cigarettes in an effort to slash the number of smokers in the country.
Associate health minister Carolyn Bennett announced new plans to crack down on cigarette use on Friday, with the government saying tobacco was the "leading preventable cause of illness and premature death" in Canada.
Health Canada said in a statement that it plans to have the warnings printed on all "individual cigarettes, cigars that have a filter, and cigarette tubes."
"Labeling the tipping paper of cigarettes and other tobacco products would make it virtually impossible to avoid health warnings altogether," Health Canada said. "If implemented, Canada would be the first country in the world to introduce such a requirement."
The message currently being considered is "poison in every puff," though that may change, Bennett told a press conference Friday.
The introduction of the new messaging is subject to a 75-day public consultation period that began Saturday, the government said.
Terry Dean, the president of the Canadian Lung Association, called the move a "bold and impactful strategy, one that will continue Canada's trend of being a leader in tobacco control."
The government is also moving to make tobacco companies put more health warnings on their packaging, such as warnings of stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and cervical cancer.
In 2001, Canada became the first country to require tobacco manufacturers to place graphic photos warning of the dangers of smoking on half of the front and half of the back of their packaging. The move has since been adopted by the likes of the UK and Australia.
Around 48,000 Canadians die from smoking-related illnesses each year, according to the government. Data published by Statistics Canada last month showed that 10% of Canadians smoke regularly.
The Canadian government has launched a campaign to halve the number of regular smokers by 2035.
Read the original article on Business Insider


Serial data breaches.
What is known as "clean fraud" in the e-commerce industry tends to happen after a major data breach, when millions of customers' data (name, card number, IP address, physical address, etc.) have been stolen. The data is clean, so it is more difficult for fraud prevention softwares to detect the fraudulent transaction on time.
Now, why are there so many major data breaches? A single point of failure, which is associated with centralized systems privileged by e-commerce platforms, certainly does not apply to the big ones. Those can afford redundancy, which is inherently expensive. Having said that, centralized databases allow specific types of commands, and whoever has access credentials can actually compromise the entire system (see "Serial Human Dysfunctions").
After a data breach, why are customers' data so easy to utilize unbeknownst to them? Even the billion-dollar e-commerce companies are still choosing to store their customers' information, unencrypted. While encryption is standard during the data transmission process, many enterprises have failed at implementing the same for information held within their databases. And that's a hacker's dream, because they are able to easily use stolen data in its rawest form.
Serial human dysfunctions.
Did you know that human error is behind more than two-thirds of data breaches pertaining to centralized data storage systems?
It oftentimes starts with excessive user privileges. It is indeed common for system administrators to grant other employees excessive database privileges that exceed the requirements of their job functions, consequently increasing risks, since some employees may eventually abuse their permissions, and trigger potentially detrimental data breaches.
When systems weaknesses become a target, software vendors respond with patches. However, database administrators are often too busy to keep up with all the releases. And the longer a database runs with missing patches, the more susceptible it is to developing malware.
On the consumer's side, human error always starts with poor password management. (Source: DataInsider) 18% of the individuals surveyed reuse the same password on multiple platforms for easy remembrance; while 39% write it down on a piece of paper; and 10% choose to secure it in a computer file. Need we say more...?
Our private Blockchain-based data storage architecture promotes trust between your organization and your customers for all transactions purposes and more and mitigates internal fraudulent issues.
Leveraging the BlockID Private Blockchain Ecosystem entails storing the customers and employees biometric information in a virtually incorruptible system to ensure they are who they say they are at all times throughout the process. Employees' and customers' data stored in our distributed ledger aren't subjected to data breaches.
The immutability of a distributed ledger is leveraged to record service provider-customer interactions. The document can never be modified, leaving an auditing trail, and therefore creating trust between all parties involved.
“Cybercrime is a daily threat to every organization and government across the globe...These Verizon solutions (powered by 1Kosmos BlockID) offer a significant step forward in cybersecurity protection.”
Alex Schlager, Executive Director and Chief Product Officer of security services at Verizon Business


Wayfinding System is a people-centric science that assists the customers in navigating through or around space. Although architecture and civil design foundations of a site usually dictate the movement of people at a structural level, the wayfinding system is the communication layer that guides the navigation of people throughout and into a specific built environment.
The complexity of the wayfinding system depends on the characteristic of the site. It can also include different solutions that are necessary to achieve a smoother customer journey. In addition to that, wayfinding systems could combine signage, maps, and any other form of communication that could guide the customers in accordance with the site requirements.
Since its aim is to help customers achieve a smooth journey, its process includes observing the customer’s behavior. Through knowing the behavior of customers, the designers will be able to analyze and enhance the facility based on the customer’s necessity. Journey mapping is also essential since it determines the routes of each user group. Afterward, concept designs, as well as the preparations, will be conducted. Additionally, some features like shapes, colors, and materials will also be considered in this process to produce a concept.
There are questions to ask and factors to consider in order to assess the quality of an efficient wayfinding system. Obviously, the easiest way to evaluate the quality of such a system is to observe whether it guides the customers or visitors without frustrations. It should also support a stress-free experience. However, such an evaluation can be done only after the system has been put in place. With that, we are going to discuss some components to consider in order to ensure a positive result.
The zoning and spaces
Different zones or spaces must be identified by the wayfinding system in a built environment. For instance, in a hospital, areas such as the reception, emergency rooms, and private rooms must be differentiated. As well as that, the routes and needs should also be addressed accordingly. If it is in a hotel, the system could have various arrival points for both pedestrians and drivers that could easily be found. Similarly, the wayfinding system should also consider the accessibility requirements of the customers depending on their situations. For example, there are different accessibility requirements for parents with a child versus parents without a child, or the needs of the people with cars or bicycles versus those who have not.
A good wayfinding system must consider its user groups as well as the design that would fit the needs of the customers.
Signages are some of the elements that can be included in evaluating a good wayfinding system. When it comes to functionality, it should consist of legibility and the visibility of the signage that is necessary to ensure that customers could access the information whenever they need it. It should also be designed according to the modern standard. Moreover, in the aspect of spatial considerations, it should be ensured that the user has what they need in order to navigate the space. However, in most cases, signages may be located on walls or floors. Materials should also be selected according to the required longevity and compatibility with its brand.
Consider the Branding and Graphics
A good wayfinding system should also consider the shapes, materials, colors, and finishes. These considerations should be aligned with the brand guidelines. Evaluation of these aspects could contribute to the success of the strategy of the brand.
Maps should help minimize the process of the customer’s decision-making. The journey mapping is a crucial element in order to ensure that disruptions along the journey are reduced. As was mentioned above, the mapping should also consider the user-groups. It should develop according to the needs of each group. A good wayfinding system puts itself in the eyes of the customer to see the space right through their eyes.
One of the things or aspects to consider is how easily space can be navigated. It should also answer the question of whether the path leads the customer to a different zone without disruption.


Unusual pair of Italian baroque walnut pedestals. Each top is supported by carved fruits issuing from two spirally grooved cornucopiae held in the jaws of scaly twin serpents. The composition symbolizes the agathodaemon, an ancient Greek spirit of vineyards and grainfields and a personal companion spirit. The Romans adopted the snake with a cornucopia as one of the penates, or household gods of plenty. The upper portion rests on an incurvated base that is decorated with laurel swags and overlapping scales and terminates in large scrolls. [Top shelves replaced. Small repairs.]
A famous marble statue of Antinous as Agathodaemon in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin portrays him standing by a grooved cornucopia with an entwined scaly snake.


Children through the years have grown up with dinosaurs and learned about the world around them thanks to these magnificent creatures. Dinosaur toys can foster creativity and learning and make a marvelous, educational gift.
Why You Should Invest In Dinosaurs
Dino toys are educational and beneficial on many different levels, especially when kids are young. They’re worth the investment because of the way they can better children’s lives through play.
Toy dinosaurs immediately activate children’s imaginations. They begin to imagine prehistoric worlds, dinosaur battles, and other exciting stories. Dinosaurs are like a blank canvas for imaginary play.
The more children use their imagination, the more they can develop cognitive skills and creativity.
Dinosaurs are like a doorway to learning about history, paleontology, and geology, among other subjects. Dinosaur toys can help children begin to explore the world around them, learn about the characteristics of each dinosaur, and learn about their habitat and world.
Many children come to love science and the natural world thanks to dinosaurs. These ancient beasts spark kids’ curiosity about the world around them, and they learn to search for information in books and online to satisfy that curiosity.
Toy dinosaurs can help children develop fine and gross motor skills. As they play with the toys, and arrange and rearrange them, they slowly develop motor skills that eventually can lead them to write, use utensils and draw. They also develop gross motor skills as they stretch, crawl, reach, and move during play.
Children may also develop emotional skills such as empathy and emotional intelligence as they create situations and scenarios with dinosaurs.
As children learn the names of their dinosaur toys they come to speak better. They may also work to create narratives and learn new vocabulary. Speech is also fostered as kids cooperatively play, invent rules, and share their ideas with other children. Eventually, they will come to speak and express themselves better.
Toy dinosaurs come in all shapes and sizes, from toy models to plushies to learning games. Oftentimes these animals become beloved friends for children in times of anxiety or stress.
How To Choose The Best Dinosaur Toy
When choosing a dinosaur toy, you need to take into account the age of the child. For example, it’s important to avoid toys with small parts for children under four or five years of age. You should also avoid toys with sharp or hard parts for smaller children. Stuffed animal dinosaurs or dino board books are a great choice for kids this age.
Older kids may enjoy dinosaur board games, dinosaur figurines, puzzles, or 3D puzzles.
Even adults can learn a lot from dinosaurs and may enjoy collecting hand-painted dinosaur figurines.
Where To Find Quality Dinosaur Toys
Whether you’re looking for hand-painted models or dinosaur-themed games, there is something for everyone online. You won’t regret the positive impact of toy dinosaurs on your child’s life.


Mica is an important group of rock-forming silicate minerals, belonging to the subgroup called phyllosilicates. The group consists of more than 30 members, the most common among them being biotite, lepidolite, and muscovite.
Members of this group have a variety of applications. For instance, they are good dielectrics that are useful for capacitors and for insulating high-voltage electrical equipment. As heat-resistant materials, they are used instead of glass in windows for stoves and kerosene heaters. Pressed sheets are often used in place of glass in greenhouses. In addition, muscovite mica is common substrate for sample preparation for the atomic force microscope.
The word "mica" is thought to be derived from the Latin word micare, meaning "to shine." This description refers to the shiny appearance of the mineral, especially when observed in the form of small scales.
Mica was known to ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations, as well as the Aztec civilization of the New World. The earliest use of mica has been found in cave paintings created during the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000 to 10,000 B.C.E.). The first colors were red (from iron oxide, hematite, a form of red ochre) and black (manganese dioxide), though black was also produced from bridget or pine carbons. White from kaolin or mica was used occasionally.
A few kilometers (km) northeast of Mexico City stands the ancient site of Teotihuacan. The most striking structure here is the towering pyramid of the Sun. This pyramid contained considerable amounts of locally mined mica, in layers up to one-foot thick.
Throughout the ages, fine powders of mica have served various purposes, including decorative functions. The colored Gulal and Abeer used by the Hindus of north India during holi festival contain fine crystals of mica. The majestic Padmanabhapuram palace, 65 km from Trivandrum, India, has colored mica windows.
Until the early nineteenth century, large crystals of mica were quite rare and expensive because of the limited supply in Europe. Thereafter, the prices dropped dramatically when large reserves were found and mined in Africa and South America.
Scrap and flake mica is produced all over the world. The flake mica comes from several sources: the metamorphic rock called schist as a byproduct of processing feldspar and kaolin resources, from placer deposits, and from pegmatites. Major producers of flake mica are Canada, India, Finland, and Japan. Sheet mica is considerably less abundant than flake and scrap mica. Sheet mica is occasionally recovered from mining scrap and flake mica. The most important sources of sheet mica are the pegmatite deposits. Major sheet mica mining countries are India, Belgium, Germany, and China.
The mica group of minerals includes several closely related materials consisting of sheets of silicate tetrahedra and interconnected hexagonal rings. Micas have excellent chemical stability, high dielectric strength, and birefringence.
The sheetlike arrangement of atoms explains the nearly perfect basal cleavage of micas. Crystals of these minerals are generally monoclinic or triclinic, but the ringlike arrangement of atoms produces pseudo-hexagonal symmetry.
Chemically, micas can be given the general formula:
The arrangement of atoms in the different layers of mica can be described as follows. Two layers of tetrahedrally arranged atoms form a sandwich that encloses an octahedral layer of aluminum ions (or other small metal ions). This type of sandwich is then stacked in layers that are separated by "interlayers" of large cations, such as Na+, K+, or Ca2+. The presence of ions between layers of mica prevent swelling by blocking water molecules.
As noted above, the general formula may be written as X2Y4-6Z8O20(OH,F)4. Based on the nature of the X and Y ions, micas can be classified as di-octahedral (when Y = 4) or tri-octahedral (when Y = 6). Also, if X corresponds to an ion of K+ or Na+ (or other ion of +1 charge), the mica is called a common (or "true") mica. If X is an ion of Ca2+ or Ba2+, the mica is known as a brittle mica. In addition, some micas are grouped as interlayer-deficient forms, when their interlayer contains fewer cations than the other micas.
Very fine-grained micas with typically greater variation in ion and water content are informally termed clay micas. They include:
All links retrieved October 23, 2014.
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The mailbox has been filling up with interesting stories lately, like a pair of conflicting papers from the Current Directions in Psychological Science journal. One claims that Darwin was wrong to suggest that facial expressions have innate connections to particular emotions, while the other supports the idea that facial expressions evolved to communicate emotional states, playing a crucial role in survival. There's also new evidence that chimps have a theory of mind, which has implications for the development of language. If all this talk of mind and emotion is too boring, Hank Pellissier over at IEET, wrote a piece Sexbots for Women, pondering why only males are assumed likely to desire sex with androids. The Swirling Brain noticed a Huffington Post story on Google's cloud robotics initiative. Know any other robot news, gossip, or amazing facts we should report? Send 'em our way please. And don't forget to follow us on twitter.


A lot of people have one or more types of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure (HF), stroke, and congenital cardiovascular defects.
Because of the prevalence of CAD, we will talk about the
- Anatomy of the heart.
- Physiology of the heart.
- Causes of coronary artery disease.
- Symptoms of coronary artery disease.
- Diagnosis of coronary artery disease.
- Treatment of coronary artery disease.
Anatomic and physiologic overview of the heart
The heart is a hollow, muscular organ located in the center of the thorax, where it occupies the space between the lungs and rests on the diaphragm.
The heart weight approximately 300g; the weight and size of the heart influenced by age, gender, body weight, the extent of physical exercise and heart disease.
The major heart function is to pump oxygenated blood and nutrients to the body.
The heart has 3 layers. The exterior layer of the heart is called epicardium.
The middle layer of the heart is called myocardium, is made up of muscles and fibers and is responsible for pumping action.
The inner layer, or endocardium, consists of endothelial tissue and lines the inside of the heart and valves.
The heart consists of four chambers, two top chambers (atria) and two bottom chambers (ventricles) these chambers pump blood in a very effective way in order to keep us a life.
The pumping action of the heart is accomplished by relaxation and contraction of the muscular walls of its four chambers.
During the relaxation phase, called diastole, all four chambers relax together, which allows the ventricles to fill in preparation for contraction. Diastole is routinely referred to as the period of ventricular fillings.
During the contraction phase, called systole, atrial and ventricle systole are not simultaneous events.
Atrial systole occurs first, followed by ventricular systole. This synchronization allows the ventricles to completely fill, this behavior called atrial kick, prior to ejection of blood from there chambers.
The right side of the heart made up of the right atrium and right ventricle.
The right atrium received deoxygenated blood from two large vessels.
The vessel coming from the above draining the top part of the body is superior vena cava and the vessel draining the bottom part of the body is inferior vena cava.
The right atrium pumps the blood to the right ventricle through a valve is called the tricuspid valve.
The right ventricle distributes and pumps the deoxygenated blood (venous blood) to the lung via the pulmonary artery to pulmonary circulation for oxygenation through a valve is called pulmonic valve.
The Valves are open and close to move the blood and change the pressure within the chambers.
The left side of the heart, composed of the left atrium and left ventricle.
The left atrium received oxygenated blood from pulmonary veins and pumps it to the left ventricle through the mitral valve.
The Left ventricle distributes and pumps oxygenated blood to the body via the aorta (systemic circulation).
Two types of valves
- Atrioventricular valves: during diastole these valves are open, allowing blood to move freely from contracted atria to relaxed ventricles. These valves located between the atrium and ventricle, the right valve is called tricuspid (three leaflets) valve and the left side is called the bicuspid (two leaflets) or mitral valve.
- Semilunar valves: during systole these valves are forced to open, allowing blood to move from contracted ventricles to pulmonic and systematic circulation.
We don’t want the valve to over-expand.
So, connecting to the valves there are tendons these are called tendinous cords or sometimes referred to Latina name chordae tendineae, these days we name them tendinous cords.
And what there are is tissue which holds the valves name into the wall of the heart tissue, which holds the valves and stops them flopping back away to insure one-way flow from the atrium to the ventricle.
Tendinous cords are rooted into the wall of the heart by special muscles and these muscles that connect the tendinous cord to the wall of the heart are papillary muscles.
Papillary muscles preventing blood backflow and keeping the valve leaflets closed.
An abnormal buildup of lipid and fatty substances, and fibrous tissue in the lining of atrial blood wall.
This accumulation block and narrow the coronary vessels in a way that decreases blood flow to the heart muscles.
The development of atherosclerosis without treatment can be a life-threatening process.
Coronary Artery Disease Causes
- High blood pressure: untreated high blood pressure may result in increased stiffness of the vessel walls, leading to vessel injury. Hypertension increased the left ventricle workload cause the heart to enlarge and thicken
- Smoking: hemoglobin fuse with carbon monoxide than with oxygen. A reduced amount of oxygen may decrease the heart ability to pump
- Diabetes mellitus: high blood glucose level increase platelet formation and alter red blood cell function
- High cholesterol level: fats, lipoprotein, and density the lipid metabolism is an important contributor to the development of plaque formation
- Stress: un-coping stress may lead to hypertension and increase the potential of heart workload
Coronary Artery Disease Symptoms
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in the shoulder or arm
- Sudden death
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol level
- physical inactivity
- family history
Coronary Artery Disease Diagnosis
Diagnostic tests will help your doctor to better understand and evaluate your heart disease
- Electrocardiogram to evaluate your coronary artery function during rest via electrical wave if there is an old heart attack or a new one
- Stress test to evaluate the electrical activity of your heart during exercise
- Blood tests such as cardiac marker CPK, CKMB, and T-Test. C reactive protein, lipid profile and HBA1C
- Cardiac catheterization to evaluate your coronary blood flow wither they are open or blocked
- Echocardiogram mainly to evaluate your heart muscle and left ventricle function
- Coronary imaging to evaluate your coronary blood flow
- Aspirin your doctor may prescribe aspirin as a blood thinner medication to prevent blood clot formation
- Calcium channel blockers (CCB) your doctor may prescribe calcium channel blockers to improve the symptoms of chest pain
- Beta-blockers your doctor may prescribe beta-blockers to reduce your heart demand for oxygen
- Ranolazine your doctor may prescribe ranolazine to relief your chest pain
- Nitroglycerin your doctor may prescribe nitroglycerin to control your chest pain
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin ll receptor blockers your doctor may prescribe them to prevent any new episode of heart attacks
- Coronary artery bypass surgery is a surgical procedure to restore normal blood flow to an obstructed coronary artery
- Percutaneous coronary revascularization is a non-surgical procedure that use a catheter to place a stent and open up the blood vessels in the heart that have been narrowed by atherosclerosis
For more information


Jesus taught that money has its proper use, but that peoples’ attitude toward it can be dangerous. You either believe that money rules or that God does: ‘No one can be a slave to two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot be a slave to both God and Money.’
Addressing the wealthy, Jesus condemned the greed which leads to corruption, damaged family relationships and injustice. He told a story of an entrepreneur who built bigger and bigger barns to store his extra goods, only to die suddenly and lose everything. ‘This is how it will be,’ Jesus said, ‘with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.’ Wealth increases the risk of mistaking ownership of goods for quality of life, wealth for security, body for soul, time for eternity. ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’
Jesus spent a lot of time talking about money because he knew that it creates the illusion that it is all anyone needs. The thing that would most improve the quality of a rich person’s life was to give away his or her possessions to the poor and follow the way of Jesus. It was natural to be concerned about having a roof over one’s head, food on the table and clothes to wear, but Jesus encouraged his followers to give priority to living God’s way. Essential material things would follow because, ‘Your Father knows that you need them.’
In contrast, said Jesus, it is the poor who have real blessings. The Kingdom of God is theirs, because God is in unrivalled control of their lives. It is not a change of behaviour that is needed, but a total change of heart. Unsurprisingly, poor people gathered around Jesus in large numbers.
What the Bible says about it
An extract from the Bible:
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
Where to find it:
1 Timothy 6:17-18
About these words:
Written by Paul in a letter of instruction to a young church leader, showing that what Jesus taught was being put into practice in the years after his resurrection.
And they said...
Dorothy Parker, North American writer, 1893-1967:
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
Jeremy Marshall, chief executive of the bank C Hoare & Co, and founder of Generous Giving UK:
The Bible teaches, 'To those whom much is given, much is required. If Christians make money, then as Christians we believe that we will meet God and he will say, 'What did you do with it?'
He Guanghu, Professor of Religion, Renmin University, China:
The worship of Money ... has become many people's life purpose. I think it is very natural that people will not be satisfied and will seek some meaning for their lives. When Christianity falls into their lives they will seize it very tightly.
Jim Elliot, missionary martyred in Ecuador, 1927-1956:
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Henry Fielding, novelist, 1797-1754:
If you make money your god, it will plague you like the devil.
Sir Paul McCartney, musician:
Money can't buy me love.
J Paul Getty, industrialist and billionaire, 1892-1975:
I hate and regret the failure of my marriages. I would gladly give all my millions for just one lasting marital success.


Have you ever wondered of alternative clean methods to power your home appliances? Well, wonder no more! The Solar Curtain was made for that! The Solar Curtain relies on photovoltaic panels to generate electricity and it can be used in homes, hotels, offices and any building with a window. The generated electricity can be stored in a battery or directly connected to your refridgerator, television, computer, lights or any other appliances.
The working principle behind the Solar Curtain is simple. The generated electricity is stored in a battery, then it goes to an inverter which is connected to the house, allowing you to generate your own electricity.
28 hours of Television, 42 hours of 5 lamps
4 square meters of Solar Curtain can generate up to 1.4kWh of energy. Which powers your refridgerator for 14 hours, your Television for 28 hours and 5 lamps for 42 hours, which does not add to your electricity costs. With your generated electricity you can, watch a sport match, play a game on your computer, cool your food and beverages. Moreover, you can also use lighting, TV, computer, fridge, etc., even if electricity is cut off.
You can choose the color, design and fabric of the Solar Curtain, making it as you desire. The Solar Curtain project, developed at Yıldız Teknopark, affiliated to Yildiz Technical University, is about to start massive funding campaign in Arıkovanı. We are interested in what our potential future users have to say about it.


Business owners worried that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's new ergonomics standards program will significantly impact their operations can relax (see "Guerrilla Ergonomics," March 2001). Although the effective date of the standard has come and gone, Congress got involved before the rule started to effect most workplaces.
The final standard was published in November with an effective date of January 16. But that date was postponed two months by an executive order signed by President Bush the day he took office. Actually, the Bush order postponed the start of all executive orders and new regulations of the outgoing administration by 60 days. Then the ergonomics regulation became a test case for the Republican majority in Congress' promise to roll back regulations put into place during Clinton's final months. Congress was able to do so, because last term it passed the Congressional Review Act, which gives it the power to invalidate a final agency rule.
The OSHA standard was aimed at reducing workplace injuries from repetitive tasks or those associated with lifting and other manual jobs. Among the jobs with the potential for hazards are computer work and the use of VDT workstations. It has been shown that long hours in front of a computer can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome and other musculoskeletal injuries.
All businesses and workplaces were covered by the standard, but small businesses with fewer than 10 employees had been exempt from record keeping requirements and small businesses were allowed easier ways to comply with other requirements than large businesses.
OSHA research shows that more than half a million musculoskeletal injuries occur in the workplace annually, with carpal tunnel syndrome being one of the most common. While it may no require companies obligated to implement a specific ergonomics program, OSHA still recommends that employers carefully study the problem, which results in tens of thousands of insurance claims annually.


On 22 September 1806, Governor Sir Erasmus Gower granted printer John Ryan a licence to publish the colony's first newspaper. At the time, no publication could circulate without government approval. This was an important development, but the Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser was (and remained) a government mouthpiece devoted to proclamations, public notices, and advertisements. From 1814, independent presses and newspapers were allowed to operate. Print journalism expanded and by mid-century there were about 21 newspapers.
Most 19th-century newspapers were overtly partisan and divided along denominational lines. They usually published on a weekly basis and catered to the mercantile and political elite concentrated at St. John's and Conception Bay. This began to change after 1879, when technological change, a growing population, and rising literacy rates helped nurture a weekly press in the outports and a daily press in St. John's.
Courtesy of the Provincial Reference Library, Arts and Culture Centre, St. John's, NL.
Newfoundland's economy flourished in the early 1800s. Warfare in Europe gave the colony a virtual monopoly over the international fish trade and made it an attractive destination for migrants from England and Ireland. Prosperous and populous, Newfoundland acquired new institutions and services to accommodate its rapidly changing society. Medical and educational facilities became more widespread, churches gained influence, and a postal service began operating in 1805.
A group of St. John's merchants suggested to Governor Gower in 1806 that a newspaper should be established to encourage trade and contribute to the town's social development. As a result, Gower authorized John Ryan to set up a printing office and newspaper. An American-born United Empire Loyalist, he had recently arrived in St. John's from New Brunswick, where he had operated two newspapers.
The weekly Royal Gazette began publication on 27 August 1807. Its four pages contained government notices, shipping advertisements, and some local and foreign news. Poetry and short essays were sometimes printed on the back page. The paper's masthead bore the royal coat of arms and the motto "Fear God: Honor the King." Ryan's licence stipulated that he could only publish content approved by the governor's office.
He maintained a seven-year monopoly, as successive governors actively opposed the establishment of additional newspapers. In 1810, Ryan's son Michael failed to obtain permission from Governor Sir John Duckworth to establish a second newspaper. Three years later, Governor Sir Richard Keats turned down similar proposals from Alexander Haire and Robert Lee, local printers of shipping papers and handbills.
Emergence of a Sanctioned Free Press
Circumstances changed in 1814, when crown lawyers determined that the governor did not have the power to prevent the establishment of local newspapers and printing presses. Haire and Lee founded the Newfoundland Mercantile Journal sometime in 1814 or 1815 (its earliest issues have not survived), which marked the beginning of free press in the colony. This was followed by the Newfoundland Sentinel and General Commercial Register in 1818, edited by John Ryan's son Lewis; the Public Ledger and Newfoundland General Advertiser in 1820, edited by Henry Winton; and The Newfoundlander in 1827, edited by John Shea. Two papers also appeared outside of St. John's: the Harbor Grace and Carbonear Weekly Journal in 1828, published by Thomas W. Ball, and the Conception Bay Mercury in 1829, published by W.S. Comer.
Courtesy of the Provincial Reference Library, Arts and Culture Centre, St. John's, NL
The press remained largely confined to St. John's and Conception Bay until the late-1800s. Densely populated hubs of government, commercial, and military activity, these areas could easily sustain a newspaper industry. In contrast, rural areas were sparsely populated and characterized by high illiteracy rates. Improvements in education, transportation, and technology would not make an outport press possible until the 1880s. Until then, the readership generally consisted of the wealthy and educated urban elite.
Despite a limited audience, early newspapers provided a forum for public discourse never before experienced in Newfoundland. They fostered political awareness and made government officials more accountable than before. Editors debated one another and published letters from the public. Government authorities, however, remained nervous of the emerging free press and strictly enforced English libel laws, which included blasphemy, defamation, obscenity, and anything that might threaten the social order. In 1821, for example, libel charges prompted Lewis Ryan to flee the colony and shut down the Sentinel.
That same decade, the reform movement gave the Newfoundland press its first major journalistic issue. Newspapers played an active role in the debate over whether or not to establish representative government in the colony. The Sentinel (until it folded), Public Ledger, and Newfoundlander supported the movement, while the Royal Gazette shed its typically nonpartisan stance to oppose it. Lively and opinionated editorials attracted numerous letters from the public. After the British government granted Newfoundland representative government in 1832, the press continued to encourage spirited public debate, this time centred on the colony's first general election, set for November of that year.
Courtesy of the Provincial Reference Library, Arts and Culture Centre, St. John's, NL.
As campaigning unfolded, a struggle for political power soon emerged in St. John's between the English Protestants, who traditionally governed the colony, and the Irish Roman Catholics, who accounted for slightly more than half of the island's population. Religious and political issues merged on the public stage as candidates and clergy tried to influence voters. The press also took sides and this helped to shape the nature of newspaper coverage for decades to come. Newspapers became polarized along denominational and political lines and were labelled according to the religious and political stands of their publishers and editors. Winton, for example, was frequently accused of using the Public Ledger to spread anti-Catholic sentiment and to help keep political power in the hands of the established Protestant elite.
By the end of the 1832 general election, the press was entrenched in Newfoundland society. It had acquired an engaged readership and could now look to the local legislature as a source of ongoing news. Soon other newspapers began to circulate. Most were weeklies and all remained confined to St. John's and Conception Bay.
Newspaper Content and Appearance
The colony's newspapers closely resembled those published in Britain. They were typically printed on a single sheet, measuring 13 inches by 17 inches, and folded once to make four pages. According to historian Maudie Whelan, "Most carried extracts from British and American newspapers, parliamentary and other reports about on-going disputes and international wars, usually on the front and back pages. Pages two and three contained local news, unsigned editorials, and letters to the editor, almost always signed with a pseudonym. The inside pages also carried local legislative reports, occasional brief accounts of fish catches, vessel reports, church notices, and school reports. Poetry and serial fiction had their place, and a minimum of space was afforded to births, deaths and marriages" ("The Newspaper Press" 46-47).
Politics and religion remained staples of the Newfoundland press, but other issues, such as temperance and poverty, also gained in significance after the 1830s. The campaign to establish responsible government received attention in the early 1850s, but not nearly as much as the vigorous confederation debates of the 1860s. Newspapers on both sides published large amounts of propaganda. Some were created largely to support or oppose the issue, such as the anti-confederate Morning Chronicle, published by St. John's merchant Charles Fox Bennett in 1862, and the confederate Comet, published by the Bonavista MHA John Thomas Burton in 1869.
The debate leading up to the 1869 confederation election prompted some papers to enter daily production. Demand for news was strong and the leaders of both political camps recognized a daily press would be a powerful tool in swaying public support. The first was the St. John's Daily News and Newfoundland Journal of Commerce, a confederate journal that ran from 1860 to 1869 and was established by Henry Winton's sons, Robert and Francis. The Public Ledger maintained a daily circulation for a few months in 1868, and the Morning Chronicle was issued every day until it ceased publication in 1873. By then all the dailies had either ceased publication or reverted to a weekly status, largely due to technological limitations, which made it expensive and time consuming to publish on a daily basis.
However, the newspapers of the 1860s were the forerunners of a permanent daily press that would emerge in St. John's in 1879 and reshape the newspaper industry. By then, more sophisticated printing presses, an expanding readership, and increased revenues from advertisers made it possible for newspapers to meet the increased cost and labour demands of daily publication. These same factors also made it possible for a weekly outport press to begin operating in the 1880s.


The day was February 28, 1827. The city was Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. The first railroad tracks were laid. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had begun in Baltimore, and it would spread across the continent. A roundhouse was built to service the trains to keep them running.
It was at this very place where the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum was erected, and that roundhouse that once was a repair shop is now home to the oldest collection of rolling stock in America from locomotives to old freight cars to passenger cars to include a few locomotives that changed the course of railroading history. Oh, you can visit the museum without riding a train along the first mile and a half stretch of track laid in America, and you can ride part the Mount Clare House, the home of Charles Carroll, Barrister who gave some of his land for the railroad to be built. After you ride the train and see the collections, you think that you are done here… but you are not done yet. What else could there be? You have seen everything, right? You have not seen everything.
To answer that question, you must first ask, “Who built all of this?” Who laid the track? Who built the roundhouse? Who serviced the locomotives and rolling stock?
As the roundhouse and the first tracks have been preserved, so has the neighborhood north of the museum. It was where the railroad workers lived. One block from the B&O Railroad Museum is another museum that tells the story of the workers who built America’s first railroad.
Welcome to the Irish Railroad Worker’s Museum also known as the Irish Shrine commemorating those who built America’s first railroad. It is here where you will see the stories unfold. Erected in a few old row houses where the workers once lived, the museum shows the story of the Irish worker’s family life. The one section show what the worker’s home would have looked like. The second section shows the workers socialized and how they worshipped. The story of the first railroad is truly told in these few houses.
The Irish Railroad Workers Museum is located at 918 and 920 Lemmon Street in Baltimore, just one block from the B&O Museum. It is open on Friday and Saturday from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Admission to the museum is free, but donations are greatly appreciated. Along with the tour of the two houses there are also neighborhood tours as well as special events that go deeper into the history of America’s first railroad builders. You can get more information at www.irishshrine.org. In case you are wondering, you do not have to be Irish or have Irish descent to appreciate this museum. You only need a love for the history of the railroad.
Whenever you visit the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, take a little time to see the Irish Railroad Workers Museum. It is all a part of the beginning of the railroad in America.


How to Balance Electrolytes in the Bodyby Carolyn Robbins
Electrolytes are chemicals including sodium, potassium, calcium, chlorine and magnesium that play an important role in physiological functions. Muscle contraction, nerve function, blood clotting, fluid balance and heart rhythm are all processes dependent on electrolyte balance. Proper food and fluid intake is the best way to prevent a chemical imbalance. It's also important to be conscious of your day-to-day activities and adjust your diet accordingly.
Identify the cause of your electrolyte imbalance. The loss of fluids through sweating, vomiting, diarrhea and fever is the most common culprit for an electrolyte imbalance according to MedlinePlus. Although dehydration is usually to blame, excessive hydration can also cause problems. Review your activities over the past few weeks. Have you been sick? Exercising more than usual? Doing strenuous yard work? Identifying the cause is the first step to restoring electrolyte balance.
Address the problem. If you've been sick, you may need to lay low and hydrate for a few days to recover. If you're exercising or doing yard work, consider rearranging your schedule so that you can work at a cooler point in the day when you'll sweat less. If you've been making frequent trips to the bathroom, perhaps you are over-hydrating and need to drink a little less.
Think about how much water you drink in a day. The Institute of Medicine recommends a total beverage intake of approximately 3 liters for men and 2.2 liters for women, but there is no guideline that fits everyone. You may need to drink more if you are an athlete or less if you are sedentary and indoors most of the day. Carry a water bottle with you and take a few sips whenever you feel thirsty. Drink an extra 1.5 to 2.5 cups of water on days that you engage in moderate intensity exercise, recommends the MayoClinic.com.
Eat a well-balanced diet. Electrolytes come from your food and drink. Dairy products are a good source of calcium while fruits and vegetables will supply you with potassium, phosphate and magnesium. Unless you are on a low-sodium diet, you'll get plenty of salt by eating normally. Sports drinks aren't necessary to balance electrolytes in your body unless you're an athlete or have a physically demanding job.
- Symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dark urine, infrequent urination, lethargy and dizziness. If you think you are dehydrated, move to a cool room and drink small quantities of water over several hours.
- Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images


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Inside: Homeschooling science doesn’t need to be difficult, complicated, or an extra burden on top of your core subjects. During the elementary years especially, you can take a more relaxed approach with these ideas.
Do you have a little scientist in your family? A child who loves animals and can recite animal facts from Wild Kratts off the top of his head until you’re tired of listening? One who asks so many questions about the world that you’re seriously tempted to just hand him your phone and say, “Can you just ask Siri?”?
In all seriousness, I believe that any parent can teach science, especially when your kids are small. Just like Pablo Picasso said that “every child is an artist,” I believe that every child is also a scientist.
After all, the essence of being a scientist is asking questions and finding answers, making guesses and testing them. Isn’t that what children do from the time they are babies?
Merriam Webster defines science as, “the intellectual and physical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.”
Children are constantly making hypotheses and testing them. Even babies do this: I cry, mommy comes. I cry louder, mommy comes faster.
They are surprisingly adept at coming to correct conclusions and using that information to formulate new questions and hypotheses. In their early years, science is as natural as breathing.
If you can foster (and not kill) that natural curiosity when they are young, their love of science will continue to grow as they do. Science will be fun, not just another subject they “have” to do.
If you are homeschooling, I once heard a teacher at a homeschool convention admit that all of elementary science is repeated in depth in the upper grades. Science is one subject where you can feel a little freer to let your child’s passions guide your studies. Branch out with interest-driven learning, unit studies, and of course, lots and lots of reading.
Here are some ideas to get you started, but with science, the sky is seriously the limit!
8 Fun & Simple Ways to Teach Science in Your Homeschool
1) Dollar Store Spices & Kitchen Staples
Mixing up spices and water is the perfect activity to introduce the concept of experiments. Even my older kids still love to do this!
Take a trip to the Dollar Store or to Aldi’s and pick up some inexpensive spices just for your child’s “experiments”. Give them bowls, spices, water, some measuring spoons, food coloring, and let them mix up several crazy concoctions.
Vinegar and baking soda are also fun ingredients: remember making a “volcano”?
2) Nature Walks
The key to nature walks is to inspire curiosity. This means that you, the parent need to show interest.
Ask questions, “I wonder why that bird flies that way. What animal do you think lives here?” Point out your favorite birds, flowers, plants. If you show interest, your kids will pick up on that.
While nature walks are free, you can make the experience even more special (especially if you have reluctant nature goers) with a pair of binoculars, a special notebook and colored pencils for sketching what you see, a bug catcher, a magnifying glass, and even a camera for documenting their favorite finds (or for sketching from later, if you have a perfectionist artist like I do).
3) Science Experiments
Starter Experiment Kit
We were given this basic starter experiment set, and my kids loved it! The experiments were basic enough for my six year old to read and do with her younger brother, and they required very few extras (food coloring being the item you may not have on hand).
My kids did the experiments over and over again, only recently tiring of them. We still have the beaker and test tubes, which they use to mix up “potions”.
Individual Science Experiments
Pinterest is chock full of interesting science experiments for kids (you can follow me here – my homeschooling science board contains a tiny number of the thousands out there). Many require adult supervision, so with four kids we haven’t attempted too many just yet, but there are endless possibilities.
Magic School Bus Science Kit
Update: This product is no longer available. See Little Passports Science instead.
For our homeschool this year, we purchased the Magic School Bus Year of Science Experiments. Each kit comes with 6-7 activities. I say activities because some are not experiments, but learning scientific terms or building a solar system with wires and bouncy balls.
We watch the corresponding Magic School Bus Episode on Netflix, and then take our time completing the activities over the next several days.
The only drawback of this kit is that it requires a lot of materials from home that are not items we typically have on hand – water bottles, soda bottles, newspaper, to name a few.
Little Passports Science
This is our new favorite Science subscription box! We took a break from it to try Steve Spangler Science, and we weren’t very impressed.
We are going to renew our subscription next month. Each box comes with several experiments with everything you need except a few common household items.
It also includes a pamphlet which does a great job explaining the Science behind the experiments. These are so great that I saved all of them to read together in the future.
See all that’s included in Little Passports Science Expeditions HERE.
We recently tried a one month subscription to Kiwi Crate (now Kiwi Co), a bonus included in this past year’s Ultimate Homemaking Bundle.
It was a hit! We built stomp rockets and a periscope, and my kids loved every minute.
We discontinued our subscription, mostly because we receive the Magic School Bus Kit each month, and I get easily overwhelmed by the clutter that comes with kits and too many activities that require adult supervision.
However, what is great about Kiwi Crate is that you can also order individual boxes at any time without a subscription. You get to choose the theme based on your child’s interests – perfect for birthday, Christmas, and really long winters when you need structured indoor activities.
4) Science Books
I’m not talking about textbooks, here. Have you ever been inspired by a textbook? I didn’t think so. So much of science during the elementary school years is about cultivating curiosity and sparking interest.
There are so many beautiful books to help your kids learn and develop interest in science, some that even my toddler loves to look through! Here are a few of our favorites:
5) Science Shows
There are so many fantastic shows about science for kids! My second child is particularly interested in Science, and after watching the latest Wild Kratts episode, he always comes up to me excitedly explaining what mosquitos feed to their babies or how pangolins thick plates are composed of keratin.
We recently subscribed to PBS Kids Channel on Amazon Prime so we could access all the Wild Kratts seasons. If you head HERE to one of the Wild Kratts Seasons, you should be able to subscribe. If you can’t find the button, simply search “PBS Kids subscription” in the search bar.
Here are some of the best Science shows we watch regularly:
6) Field Trips
We have loved living in two cities now with amazing science museums, zoos, and aquariums. An annual pass or membership is often the most affordable option, especially if you have multiple children. The libraries in some cities also offer free or discounted passes that you can reserve through the library system.
Science museums have so many exhibits and scheduled presentations that it can feel like drinking water from a fire hose. Trying to see everything in one trip can be overwhelming, sometimes outweighing the benefits. Especially if you are homeschooling, regular visits are the best option. That way you can choose one section of the museum to focus on during each visit, and you can also do the special activities available that day without feeling rushed.
If you have grandparents or other family nearby, leaving toddlers in their care will give older children (and you) a better experience. Older children have longer attention spans. You can follow their interests instead of dragging them away to chase down a runaway toddler (I’ve done it – not fun).
7) Scientific Tools
Last Christmas, the kids received a starter kit of scientific tools. It included a telescope, microscope, and binoculars. The kids enjoyed it, and it’s gotten a lot of use. But here’s the thing: the kids can tell when they are getting the “kid version”. They know that these are not the real thing; they can tell the difference.
What if we gave our kids the real thing instead?
Now I’m the first to admit that this idea makes me nervous. Our budget is tight as it is without purchasing expensive gadgets that might get broken. But I wonder if the real thing just might make cause my children to love science even more.
What if they had a real, if basic, microscope, complete with slides? How might that change their perspective on Science?
8) Take Things Apart
Broken toys are perfect for little scientists to explore the way things work. One of our nerf guns recently broke, so my husband helped the kids take it apart to see how it works. My science-lover was thrilled to explore how springs and triggers work, and we benefitted from something breaking: win-win.
Finally, the best thing you can do to instill a love of science is to teach your children to ask great questions. Develop a habit of asking great questions out loud, all day long. Take the time to wonder, to actually stop long enough to find answers. The best gift you can give your child is a love of learning.
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire…” -W.B. Yeats
If you create an environment that inspires curiosity and supports a love of learning, you will give your little scientist a gift that extends far beyond science and academics. You’re giving her the tools to succeed in life.


Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), recently referred also as hyperandrogenic anovulation, is a chronic anovulation syndrome associated with androgen excess.
The Rotterdam criteria is used to make the diagnosis of PCOS and requires any two of the following three criteria for the diagnosis, as well as the exclusion of other etiologies (e.g. congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing syndrome, and/or an androgen-secreting tumor) 4,18:
- ovulatory dysfunction (oligo- and/or anovulation)
- clinical and/or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism
- polycystic ovarian morphology on ultrasound
Hence, ultrasound is not necessary for the diagnosis if features of both ovulatory dysfunction and hyperandrogenism are present, but will identify the complete PCOS phenotype.
Hyperandrogenic anovulation has been proposed as a more accurate and potentially less confusing term, as the ovarian feature is of multiple follicles and not cysts 13. At this stage, however, PCOS remains the term that is widely known and used.
The estimated prevalence is 8-13% of women of reproductive age but this varies (up to 20%) depending on the diagnostic criteria used 11.
The classic triad of PCOS is:
- oligomenorrhea and/or anovulation
In addition to this, patients may have infertility, acne, alopecia or biochemically show increased androgen levels.
Biochemical hyperandrogenism is based on the measurement of free testosterone, free androgen index, or calculated bioavailable testosterone, androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate 20.
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels are generally increased, and there is emerging evidence for the utility of AMH in the diagnosis of PCOS. At the time of writing, there is insufficient assay standardization and validation, and AMH should not be used in the diagnosis of PCOS at this stage 18.
- subfertility and recurrent pregnancy loss
- long-term increased risk of
- high prevalence of anxiety and depression
- women with polycystic ovarian morphology are at increased risk of OHSS when undergoing IVF, regardless of whether they have PCOS 15
Ovaries may be normal in PCOS, and conversely, polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) may be seen in women without the syndrome. However, it is well accepted that women with PCOS tend to have larger ovaries with an increased number of follicles.
The specific diagnostic cut-offs, however, have been the subject of debate and revision in recent years. The updated diagnostic criteria at the time of review are based on a 2018 international consensus guideline 18.
In patients >8 years post menarche, and using a high-frequency endovaginal probe:
- follicle number per ovary (FNPO) ≥ 20, and/or
- ovarian volume ≥10 mL, ensuring no corpora lutea, cysts or dominant follicles are present
If using transabdominal scanning, or older technology where ovarian morphology is not well visualized, consider using the ovarian volume threshold of ≥10 mL on either ovary.
The diagnostic criteria are adjusted in adolescent females (defined as within 8 years of menarche, or age <20 years) 18, in whom ultrasound should not be used for the diagnosis of PCOS due to the high incidence of multi-follicular ovaries in this life stage.
This supersedes the initial Rotterdam criteria of ≥12 follicles and interim recommendations of 24 or 25 follicles per ovary. The presence of a single multifollicular ovary is sufficient to provide the sonographic criterion for PCOS 2.
Other morphological features have been described, but do not contribute to formal diagnostic criteria:
- hyperechoic central stroma
- peripheral location of follicles (string of pearls sign)
- follicles of similar size measuring 2-9 mm
MRI is not warranted routinely in the investigation of PCOS, nonetheless, pelvic MRI may show most or all of the above sonographic features. Signal characteristics include:
- T1: small uniform follicles are low in signal while the central stroma is of intermediate signal (vs normal myometrium)
- T2: follicles have high T2 signal while the central stroma is of comparatively low T2 signal 8
History and etymology
The syndrome was first described by I F Stein and M L Leventhal in 1935 7.
- with a lack of consensus sometimes it is easier to report the number of follicles in each ovary rather than attempt to label the ovaries as "polycystic" or "multifollicular"
- ultrasound should not be used for the diagnosis of PCOS in patients <8 years after menarche due to the high incidence of multi-follicular ovaries in this life stage
- as the individual age of menarche may not be known, an age cut-off of 20 years is suggested for the utility of ultrasound in this diagnosis (based on the median age at menarche being approximately 12 years)
- post menopause, a new or continuing diagnosis of PCOS could be considered based on past history and clinical evidence of persistent hyperandrogenism
- postmenopausal women presenting with new-onset, severe or worsening hyperandrogenism including hirsutism, require further investigation to rule out androgen-secreting tumors and ovarian hyperthecosis.
- 1. Weissleder R, Wittenberg J, Harisinghani MM et-al. Primer of Diagnostic Imaging, Expert Consult- Online and Print. Mosby. (2011) ISBN:0323065384. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Balen AH, Laven JS, Tan SL et-al. Ultrasound assessment of the polycystic ovary: international consensus definitions. Hum. Reprod. Update. 9 (6): 505-14. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmg044 - Pubmed citation
- 3. Atiomo WU, Pearson S, Shaw S et-al. Ultrasound criteria in the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Ultrasound Med Biol. 2000;26 (6): 977-80. Ultrasound Med Biol (link) - Pubmed citation
- 4. Revised 2003 consensus on diagnostic criteria and long-term health risks related to polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertil. Steril. 2004;81 (1): 19-25. Fertil. Steril. (link) - Pubmed citation
- 5. Franks S. Controversy in clinical endocrinology: diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome: in defense of the Rotterdam criteria. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2006;91 (3): 786-9. doi:10.1210/jc.2005-2501 - Pubmed citation
- 6. Balen A. Polycystic ovary syndrome and cancer. Hum. Reprod. Update. 7 (6): 522-5. doi:10.1093/humupd/7.6.522 - Pubmed citation
- 7. Stein IF, Leventhal ML. Amenorrhoea associated with bilateral polycystic ovaries. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1935;29:181–91
- 8. Giudice LC. Endometrium in PCOS: Implantation and predisposition to endocrine CA. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2006;20 (2): 235-44. doi:10.1016/j.beem.2006.03.005 - Pubmed citation
- 9. Azziz R, Carmina E, Dewailly D et-al. The Androgen Excess and PCOS Society criteria for the polycystic ovary syndrome: the complete task force report. Fertil. Steril. 2009;91 (2): 456-88. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.06.035 - Pubmed citation
- 10. McCartney CR, Eagleson CA, Marshall JC. Regulation of gonadotropin secretion: implications for polycystic ovary syndrome. Semin. Reprod. Med. 2002;20 (4): 317-26. doi:10.1055/s-2002-36706 - Pubmed citation
- 11. Sirmans SM, Pate KA. Epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. Clin Epidemiol. 2014;6: 1-13. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S37559 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
- 12. Lujan ME, Jarrett BY, Brooks ED et-al. Updated ultrasound criteria for polycystic ovary syndrome: reliable thresholds for elevated follicle population and ovarian volume. Hum. Reprod. 2013;28 (5): 1361-8. doi:10.1093/humrep/det062 - Pubmed citation
- 13. Martins WP, Kollmann M, Raine-Fenning N. Counting ovarian follicles: updated threshold for diagnosis of hyperandrogenic anovulation. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2014;44 (2): 131-4. doi:10.1002/uog.13402 - Pubmed citation
- 14. Dewailly D, Gronier H, Poncelet E et-al. Diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): revisiting the threshold values of follicle count on ultrasound and of the serum AMH level for the definition of polycystic ovaries. Hum. Reprod. 2011;26 (11): 3123-9. doi:10.1093/humrep/der297 - Pubmed citation
- 15. Dewailly D, Lujan ME, Carmina E et-al. Definition and significance of polycystic ovarian morphology: a task force report from the Androgen Excess and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Society. Hum. Reprod. Update. 2014;20 (3): 334-52. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmt061 - Pubmed citation
- 16. Mitchell DG, Gefter WB, Spritzer CE, Blasco L, Nulson J, Livolsi V, Axel L, Arger PH, Kressel HY. Polycystic ovaries: MR imaging. Radiology. 160 (2): 425-9. doi:10.1148/radiology.160.2.3726121 - Pubmed
- 17. Lee TT, Rausch ME. Polycystic ovarian syndrome: role of imaging in diagnosis. Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. 32 (6): 1643-57. doi:10.1148/rg.326125503 - Pubmed
- 18. Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation (MCHRI). International evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. 2018. monash.edu/
- 19. Teede HJ, Misso ML, Costello MF, Dokras A, Laven J, Moran L, Piltonen T, Norman RJ. Recommendations from the international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. (2018) Human reproduction (Oxford, England). 33 (9): 1602-1618. doi:10.1093/humrep/dey256 - Pubmed
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In the Cellular Plasticity and Disease lab headed by the ICREA researcher Manuel Serrano at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and supported by "la Caixa" Banking Foundation, the researchers devise strategies to eliminate senescent cells. In a study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, they present a proof of principle of a drug delivery system with selectivity for tissues that harbour senescent cells.
In collaboration with a team headed by Ramón Martínez-Máñez at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, the IRB Barcelona scientists have exploited a particular hallmark of senescent cells in order to design a delivery system that specifically targets them. They have demonstrated its efficacy in cells in vitro and in two experimental mouse models, namely pulmonary fibrosis and cancer. These diseases are characterized by the presence of damaged cells, and in the case of cancer this is particularly true after treatment with chemotherapy.
In these models, the senescent cells take up the carrier more efficiently than other cells and once inside the cell the casing of the carrier degrades to release the drug cargo. When the nano-vehicles contained cytotoxic compounds, the senescent cells were killed and this resulted in therapeutic improvements in mice with pulmonary fibrosis or with cancer.
"This nano-carrier may pave the way for new therapeutic approaches for serious conditions, such as pulmonary fibrosis or to eliminate chemotherapy-induced senescent cells," explains Manuel Serrano. Another outcome of this study is that these nano-carriers could be used for diagnostic tests of senescence as they can transport a fluorescent compound or marker.
Daniel Muñoz‐Espín, Miguel Rovira, Irene Galiana, Cristina Giménez, Beatriz Lozano‐Torres, Marta Paez‐Ribes, Susana Llanos, Selim Chaib, Maribel Muñoz‐Martín, Alvaro C Ucero, Guillermo Garaulet, Francisca Mulero, Stephen G Dann, Todd VanArsdale, David J Shields, Andrea Bernardos, José Ramón Murguía, Ramón Martínez‐Máñez, Manuel Serrano.
A versatile drug delivery system targeting senescent cells.
EMBO Molecular Medicine (2018) e9355. doi: 10.15252/emmm.201809355.


- Vegetables: tomatoes
- Education and Training: extension, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research
- Pest Management: biological control, biorational pesticides, chemical control, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management
Twospotted spider mite is a serious pest of solanaceous (tomato, eggplant) and cucurbit (cucumber, watermelon) crops throughout much of the southern U.S. A recent survey of NC vegetable growers rated it the number one arthropod pest of tomato. Control is achieved almost exclusively with expensive chemical acaricides, usually multiple applications per season, which has led to costly control measures and the development of acaricide-resistant populations. We have recently detected resident field populations of the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis in tomatoes and cucurbits in Rowan County, NC, which is in the Piedmont Region of the state. This is a highly mobile specialist predator of TSSM that is commonly used worldwide for augmentative releases in greenhouse vegetable production, and in some instances in field strawberries. Resident field populations have not previously been detected in the southeastern U.S. Naturally occurring populations of P. persimilis in Rowan County have been observed to do an excellent job of controlling TSSM on tomatoes in late August and September, provided growers recognize them as beneficials and avoid spraying insecticides harmful to the predator. Unfortunately there is a considerable lag time between the buildup of TSSM and predators in tomato fields early in the season (July to mid-August), which is when mite populations and acaricide use are most intense. Field experiments completed in 2016 provide strong evidence that early season releases of tomato-adapted predatory mites in tomato plots accelerated P. persimilis buildup and maintained TSSM populations below economic injury levels for the entire season.
This project will determine the distribution of P. persimilis in different ecoregions of NC, develop a banker plant system (i.e. plants deployed in fields used to rear and release biological control agents) to accelerate the buildup of P. persimilis in tomato fields early in the season, and evaluate insecticide programs for their compatibility with biological control, efficacy in controlling key arthropod pests, and economic viability.
Finally a multifaceted outreach program will be developed to education extension personnel and growers on implementing P. persimilis-based biological control programs.
Project objectives from proposal:
- To determine the distribution of resident populations of P. persimilis in different ecoregions of NC, and overwintering sites in regions where they successfully overwinter.
- To compare the efficacy of different commercial sources and release rates of P. persimilis in controlling TSSM on tomatoes.
- Determine the level of TSSM suppression in tomatoes using a within field tomato-based banker plant system and a periphery bean-based banker plant system for releasing P. persimilis into commercial tomato fields.
- Compare different insecticide-based management programs for compatibility with P. persimilis, efficacy in managing key insect pests, and net profitability of tomato production.