What is CoQ10?
Coenzyme Q10 (also known as CoQ10) is, as the name suggests, a coenzyme. CoQ10, via its action as a coenzyme, can drive many cellular processes throughout our bodies. Although not classified as a vitamin, CoQ10 closely resembles the structure of vitamin K and it appears that CoQ10 benefits resemble vitamin-like effects. This also hints at an important aspect of CoQ10: it is essential for overall human health. Without CoQ10, many bodily functions would may not work properly. Luckily our bodies are fairly good at preserving CoQ10, and CoQ10 deficiencies are rare. That said, taking a CoQ10 supplement still may have some remarkable effects on overall health.
Supplementing with extra Coenzyme Q10, alongside a healthy diet, may produce the following CoQ10 benefits:
- Coenzyme Q10 can support our cardiovascular health
- Coenzyme Q10 can support our metabolic function
- Coenzyme Q10 can promote our cognitive function
- Coenzyme Q10 can support brain health via its neuroprotective effects
A large majority of these CoQ10 benefits are attributed to how CoQ10 helps the body produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a very important molecule which drives most biological processes in the body. CoQ10 is also known as a redox molecule, which allows it to transfer between fully oxidized and fully reduced states. Through its redox actions, CoQ10 can help power our cells while also helping protect them from oxidative stress. This all sounds great on paper, right? However, CoQ10 in its crystalline form is faced with some major issues and may not be able to produce all of the CoQ10 benefits mentioned above.
The Problems with CoQ10 Absorption Bioavailability
As we just discussed, Coenzyme Q10 is a fantastic compound with lots of beneficial effects for both mind and body. That being said, CoQ10 benefits can only be realized if the CoQ10 is being properly absorbed and shuttled to where it is needed. This is where the poor water solubility of CoQ10 starts to become a major limiting factor. For compounds to be absorbed rapidly and efficiently, we want them to have a good ratio between water solubility (hydrophilicity) and water insolubility (hydrophobicity). This ratio is called the Log P, and is a good predictor of bioavailability. The more water soluble a compound is, the better it will get absorbed. However, absorption is also dependent on lipid bilayer permeation in cells. Due to this, you also want a compound to be slightly hydrophobic and lipophilic. The ratio between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity is the Log P. If the Log P is under 5, then a compound has a good ratio between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity, and due to this, has the potential to be very bioavailable. In fact, a Log P under 5 is one of the five rules that Christopher A. Lipinski, the medicinal chemist at Pfizer who set the standard for drug bioavailability, established to predict bioavailability of a compound. The Log P of CoQ10 is unfortunately 21, way above the ideal Log P of below 5! It also violates another one of Lipinski’s rule of 5, which stipulates that for ideal bioavailability, a compound should have a molecular weight of below 500 Daltons. CoQ10 has a molecular weight of 863 Daltons. So, unfortunately it doesn’t adhere to this rule either.
CoQsol-CF Proof of Bioavailability
Based on this, plain old crystalline CoQ10 is not a great choice for supplementation, as it has at least two major factors limiting its bioavailability. This is very unfortunate as most CoQ10 supplements on the market are simply crystalline CoQ10 pressed into tablets or loaded into capsules. From the data on absorption mechanisms on CoQ10, it is highly unlikely that we can achieve adequate serum levels of CoQ10 by supplementing with crystalline CoQ10. This means that many regular off-the-shelf CoQ10 products like that ones found in your local grocery store will likely have a hard time truly producing the CoQ10 benefits that people take it for.
The solution to the problem outlined above is literally to put Coenzyme Q10 in a solution (no pun intended), which is exactly what Soft Gel Technologies achieved with their CoQsol-CF product. Soft Gel Technologies discovered that CoQ10 is highly soluble in an extract of oranges called D-limonene. D-limonene can completely solubilize CoQ10, and has a Log P value of 4.570 which is below the Lipinski prescribed value of 5! By dissolving CoQ10 in D-limonene, CoQ10 bioavailability is drastically increased. Another unique aspect of D-limonene is that it inhibits recrystallization of CoQ10, which ensures both potency and stability for long stretches of time. D-limonene is much more than just a solubilizing agent for CoQ10 though, as it even has some of its own unique benefits! D-limonene benefits include:
- D-limonene has been shown to produce calming effects, which can help promote healthy levels of stress.
- D-limonene has been shown to help support our immune function.
Overall, taking into account the above D-limonene benefits, D-limonene appears to be a very healthy compound! Read on to learn more about what makes CoQsol-CF CoQ10 Softgels the best CoQ10 supplement available..
Not only is CoQsol-CF more bioavailable than most Coenzyme Q10 products on the market, it also features vitamin E for enhanced functioning of CoQ10 in the body. Vitamin E and CoQ10 appear to synergize together and can enhance each other’s effects in the body. At a dose of 100 IU vitamin E present in each CoQsol-CF capsule, you are getting 333% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin E! Vitamin E is important for our body and goes hand in hand with CoQ10 to help promote cardiovascular health. Vitamin E benefits are plentiful, much like D Limonene! Vitamin E benefits include:
- Vitamin E is one of many oxidative support vitamins, and helps protect from oxidative substances in the body.
- Vitamin E as been shown to help keep our immune system strong.
- Vitamin E has been shown help promote healthy cardiovascular function.
- Vitamin E has been shown to support our brains from excess glutamate.
In order to fully realize these vitamin E benefits, CoQsol-CF utilizes a mixture of various tocopherols. The tocopherols included in CoQsol-CF are:
- Alpha Tocopherol in the form of d-alpha tocopherol
- Gamma tocopherol in the form of d-gamma tocopherol
- Beta tocopherol in the form of d-beta tocopherol
- Delta tocopherol in the form of d-delta tocopherol
By using mixed tocopherols, the vitamin E content in CoQsol-CF is highly bioavailable. Judging by the vitamin E benefits above, it seems that CoQsol-CF is much more than just a bioavailable CoQ10 supplement, and instead is a fairly comprehensive overall health booster!
Ubiquinol vs. Ubiquinone
Coenzyme Q10 can occur in multiple different forms in the body, and the two most abundant forms are oxidized CoQ10 (ubiquinone) and reduced CoQ10 (ubiquinol). Many people tend to prefer ubiquinol, due to its oxidation reducing effects in the body. However, due to this, the lesser desired ubiquinone often times gets overlooked. This is a shame because it actually has some very unique effects! Ubiquinone plays a major role in the electron transport chain, acting as a shuttle for cellular energy. Due to the fact that ubiquinone CoQ10 is hydrophobic and lipophilic, it can freely move between hydrophobic regions in the inner membranes of mitochondrion. It moves by way of passive diffusion, so no energy is needed to move CoQ10 around in the mitochondrion.
Ubiquinone stores energy temporarily, and is able to move it through the electron transport chain. It does this by attaching an electron to its benzoquinone head. It can accept electrons from various different systems, such as NADH-Q reductase. Ubiquinone transports these electrons from complex I and complex II of the electron transport chain, to complex III of the electron transport chain. While it does this, it also transports protons, which generates a proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane. As these protons flow back across the inner mitochondrial membrane, it directly helps form adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This is in addition to ubiquinone already enhancing ATP synthesis by transporting electrons throughout the electron transport chain.
ATP is the primary source of energy for our cells, and nearly every biological process in our body is dependent on the availability of ATP. You can read more about the importance of ATP in our in-depth creatine blog. Since CoQ10 is such an important component in ATP synthesis, deficiencies in CoQ10 can be majorly detrimental to various different functions within our bodies and brain. By supplementing with CoQ10, especially in the ubiquinone form, we can enhance ATP formation; which should translate to improved physical strength and enhanced cognition. To capitalize on the effects of CoQ10, it may be highly beneficial to take CoQ10 alongside creatine monohydrate. As can be read in the creatine monohydrate blog, creatine is another major regulator of ATP production, and it has been suggested that CoQ10 and creatine synergize to produce large amounts of ATP.
Stacking CoQ10 and Shilajit Supplements
Another good product to combine with CoQ10 is shilajit. Studies have shown that when CoQ10 and shilajit are supplemented together mitochondrial function is improved greater than with either one alone. Shilajit essentially improves the efficiency of the supplemented CoQ10. The combination of shilajit and CoQ10 has been shown to significantly elevate levels of ATP in the body. The reason for this is the fulvic acid and humic acids that are found in shilajit. Fulvic acid makes mitochondrial energy extraction more efficient, where humic acid speeds up the transfer of electrons along the electron transport chain. Put together, these mechanisms combine with the mitochondrial enhancing effects of CoQ10 to provide a very significant improvement to your body’s entire energy transfer system. So combining CoQSol-Cf with our Primavie shilajit is a great combination that one should consider for energy and mitochondrial support.
What Does Ubiquinol Do?
As mentioned earlier, many people appear to prefer the fully reduced form of Coenzyme Q10, ubiquinol. Why is this the case? In the body, and especially in mitochondrion, ubiquinol benefits are focused on directly reducing oxidation. This is highly important in mitochondrion as their high activity results in large amounts of oxidative stress. By supplementing with ubiquinol CoQ10, it is possible to directly reduce oxidation in targeted areas such as the mitochondrion. These ubiquinol benefits make it highly attractive to consumers, and for good reason, as these oxidation reducing ubiquinol benefits are very desirable! That being said, you do not necessarily have to directly supplement with ubiquinol in order to utilize ubiquinol’s benefits. This is due to the fact that ubiquinone actually turns into ubiquinol as it travels through the electron transport chain. In the electron transport chain, CoQ10 exists in three forms: ubiquinone, semiquinone and ubiquinol. Ubiquinone is the fully oxidized form, and when it picks up a proton, it turns into the partially reduced form, semiquinone. Semiquinone is a highly unstable compound which is quickly further reduced to ubiquinol by picking up another proton. Ubiquinol may then act in an oxidative support role in the mitochondria. However, when ubiquinol interacts with an oxidant, it becomes oxidized and loses a proton. This turns ubiquinol back into semiquinone. Semiquinone then also becomes oxidized and now we are back at the fully oxidized form of CoQ10: ubiquinone. This means that by either supplementing with ubiquinone or ubiquinol, you will reap similar benefits. That being said, supplementation of ubiquinone may act more rapidly to produce ATP whereas supplementation with ubiquinol may act more rapidly to control oxidative stress in the mitochondria.
Who Should Take a CoQ10 Supplement?
Anybody looking to enhance cellular health via a CoQ10 supplement should consider supplementing with CoQsol-CF. On an anecdotal level, Coenzyme Q10 has helped many of us around the office sustain energy levels, aid in exercise performance, increase mental clarity, and promote mood. On a scientific level, the combination of CoQ10 and creatine monohydrate will produce lots of ATP to keep our cells running at optimal capacity! In particular, if you are interested in supplementing with CoQ10, we would highly recommend CoQsol-CF over most commonly available CoQ10 supplements. Again, as mentioned earlier, this is due to the fact that CoQsol-CF is highly bioavailable in comparison to other CoQ10 supplements on the market. All of the CoQ10 benefits can only be fully realized and implemented if the CoQ10 is actually being absorbed!
Learn more about the clinical research regarding the biovailability of CoqSol-CF CoQ10 Softgels in the diagram to the left.


The long expected end of the Galaxy is the collision with Andromeda, in a symphony of gravity, interstellar matter and a whole load of destruction and subsequent creation of a monster galaxy. However, through my subscription to New Scientist I read of emerging evidence that may perhaps indicate we do not yet fully understand the chain of cosmic events – so I will share these ideas with you. The ideas are complex, so I am presenting them simply as I do not have the full picture myself yet. If I find the time to drill into the detail I will update you.
The disturbance in the current understanding came from the observation that the break away galaxies around the edge of our galaxy appear to have some sort of correlation… a rough alignment that suggests they may be a trail from some form of cosmic collision. So an alternative view is that two galactic discs came together, colliding with great force leaving tails of dust much like that you might see in the tail of a comet but on a grander scale. If you imagine two spinning discs being pulled into each other, colliding, and then ripping away from each other – leaving parts of one in another and vica vera. Then when the dust began to coalesce around the edge of the galaxy they form the breakaway galaxies which are observed when we look at the universe today.
Whist it sounds far-fetched, and I stress there is much more work to do in this area, what would be most interesting is it would require a total rethink of dark matter. In our current models the dark matter creates random scatterings of galaxies – not correlated ones like the skies seem to suggest. But dark matter seemed so neat, and mysterious so the topic wasn’t explored too much further.
In 2005 some scientists made the important observation that there in fact exists some very similar structures of dwarf galaxies around the poles of Andromeda. This brings forward the incredibly bold idea that Andromeda and our Galaxy have already collided.
However: This theory is defeated by time. That is, there is not enough time since the big bang for the galaxies to have collided and to have pulled apart to their present point – which means the observed correlations are meaningless? Rarely. This just leads to more questions we need to address.
Currently there are some very exciting and very complex areas of research that are trying to test and prove this area. The most notable is modified Newtonian dynamics.
Rationalising the Universe needs you
We all get by with a little help from our friends. If you have read any of my posts and would like to get involved in a mathematical or scientific capacity and would like to come on board to build the site please let me know. I am willing to give full rights – so am really looking for some people to bring some diversity and a different perspective to the site. Feel free to pass on to anyone who might like to join in.
Failing that, follow me on my new twitter, it isn’t much fun without friends. All my social media links are at the top of the page – it’s great to connect with you guys.


June 22 2012
US News and World Report
Carrie L. Lukas
Title IX's Dark Legacy
The law pits men and women against each and is destroying collegiate male sports teams
When the summer Olympics begin next month, commentators will point to young girls eagerly watching female track stars, soccer players, gymnasts and swimmers, and celebrate how Title IX, a law passed 40 years ago, has helped so many girls and young women have the chance to play sports.
That's an important part of Title IX's legacy.
Yet there's another side to the story. It's one that could be told by male gymnasts, swimmers, and track stars: And that's how men's sports teams have been sacrificed in order to achieve "proportionality" as demanded by those enforcing Title IX. Mothers concerned about their sons' diminishing prospects might rightly bow out of Title IX's anniversary celebrations, and ask why the focus continues to be solely on bolstering female participation on college campuses, even as young men fall further behind.
To better understand the problems caused by Title IX enforcement, one should talk to Andrew Valmon, the Olympic gold medal winner who will coach the men's U.S. track and field team in London. When he returns in the fall, he is likely to be without a team to call his own. That is because the University of Maryland's prestigious track and field program is not expected to resume for the 2012-2013 school year.
Budget pressures have driven the school to eliminate eight varsity teams, but Title IX's role in those cuts is also clear. Coach Valmon is trying to raise money from alumni to save his team, but his task is more difficult because he also must come up with enough to cover the costs of the tumbling (or competitive cheerleading) team. The university won't consider resurrecting the male track team without also bringing back tumbling, since otherwise it would run afoul of Title IX.
The men's Olympic gymnastics team likely sympathizes with Coach Valmon. Back in 1980, there were nearly 80 men's NCAA gymnastic teams. Today, fewer than 20 programs remain.
In fact, in 2007, the College Sports Council (now the American Sports Council) conducted a comprehensive analysis of NCAA data over 25 years (1981-2005), which revealed that, after controlling for the growth in the number of NCAA schools, the number of female athletes per school increased by 34 percent and the number of women's teams also increased by 34 percent. During the same time period, male athletes per school fell by 6 percent and men's teams by 17 percent.
The problem with Title IX isn't the law itself, which simply outlaws discrimination based on sex in academia, but how it's enforced. The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights created three paths to demonstrate compliance with Title IX, but only one inoculates a college from potentially costly lawsuits: showing that athletic participation for each gender is "substantially proportionate" to their respective enrollments.
Making the numbers add up has become a real challenge since women increasingly outnumber men on campus, earning an estimated 57 percent of bachelor's degrees. Colleges pursuing "proportionality" can try to increase the number of female athletes so that women account for 57 percent of athletes, or—the more surefire and less costly path—eliminate male athletes from the roster.
Forty years ago, the lawmakers advancing Title IX meant to open doors for women, not close them for men. Yet current enforcement policies are increasingly outdated and even anti male. How else can one explain why Title IX's enforcement remains focused solely on athletics, the one extracurricular activity in which men's participation outpaces women, instead of the many other activities—from theater to student newspapers to academic clubs—that women dominate? How else can one justify that discussions about expanding Title IX into academic disciplines exclusively target the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--again, those few disciplines in which men's enrollment exceeds women's?
Title IX wasn't conceived as an intrusive quota system. It wasn't meant to pit men and women against each other. Yet that's the sad reality of the law in practice today.
As we look forward to the Olympics, Americans should encourage policymakers to reform Title IX's enforcement policies to re-embrace the vision of a level playing field, with equal opportunity for all, but one on which the outcomes are determined by those on the field.
Carrie Lukas is the managing director of Independent Women's Forum.


(Natural News) Scientists from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria found that editan (Lasianthera africana), a shrub native to central Africa, may protect the liver from antibiotic-induced damage. In their report, which appeared in the Journal of Integrative Medicine, the team examined whether editan leaves can protect the liver from oxidative damage in vivo.
Editan is a staple in Nigerian cuisine
The leaves of the editan plant are popular in southern Nigeria, where they are the primary ingredient in an eponymous vegetable soup. A recent study in Drug and Chemical Toxicology showed that the leaves are packed with antioxidants that help reduce the adverse effects brought on by exposure to carbon tetrachloride. The hazardous chemical, once used as a cleaning agent, can cause serious damage to the kidneys and liver in high concentrations.
Aside from editan leaves, the team also used silymarin for the study. Silymarin, an active ingredient in milk thistle, is widely used to treat liver conditions.
In a narrative review in Advances in Therapy, researchers from the University of Munster in Germany noted that silymarin has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in the liver, making it beneficial for those at risk of liver disease. This includes hepatic steatosis, a condition marked by having too much fat in the liver and affects one in three adults in the United States. It’s worth noting that around 2 million people die from liver diseases around the world each year, with hepatic steatosis being the leading cause of liver-related deaths.
In their report, the Nigerian team looked at whether editan leaves and silymarin can protect the liver from drug-induced hepatitis. The condition occurs when there is too much medicine in the blood for the liver to break down; this leaves the liver inflamed and badly damaged. Estimates show that up to half of all cases of hepatitis or even liver failure may be linked to adverse drug effects.
Researchers obtained a hot aqueous extract from the leaves, which they used to treat rats with drug-induced liver damage from isoniazid and rifampicin. To note, isoniazid is a drug used for treating tuberculosis, and rifampin is used to reduce bacteria that may cause meningitis. Both drugs are known to cause liver damage if not taken properly. Biomarkers for liver damage and antioxidant markers were taken during the 28-day treatment period.
After treatment, the team found significant improvements in biomarkers for liver damage in the rats. Prior to treatment with editan and silymarin, the rats had elevated biomarkers for liver damage. In particular, the treatment led to a reduction in alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Having elevated levels of these biomarkers in the blood indicate liver and tissue damage, among others. (Related: 2 Commonly consumed vegetables in southern Nigeria found to prevent neurodegeneration.)
Aside from improving liver damage biomarkers, they also noted that silymarin and editan reduced total triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein levels. Having elevated triglyceride levels is linked to chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and increased low-density lipoprotein — or bad cholesterol — levels are linked to cardiovascular disease.
Rats that were treated with editan and silymarin also showed increased high-density lipoprotein levels. High-density lipoprotein, aptly named good cholesterol, carries cholesterol from other parts of the body back to the liver, where it is removed from the body. A tissue evaluation of the rats treated with editan and silymarin showed similar results, which supported the plant’s ability to protect the liver.
The team concluded that editan leaf extracts reduced the damage caused by drug-induced hepatitis in the liver. They hope the findings pave the way to explore the potential of using editan in liver disease treatment.
Learn more about editan and other plants used in medicine at NaturalMedicine.news.


WHY DO SOME BASSISTS PLAY MORE MELODICALLY THAN OTHERS?
It’s not that they possess a 6th sense—a mysterious talent channeled only by mystics and
bass gods. Their well-kept secret? They’ve mastered the fundamentals of music technique and
theory. Melodic bassists have a good command of wide interval jumps—6ths and 7ths—and
these large intervals make for compelling, melodic lines. Intervals are the building blocks of
music, and you can improve your playing by learning to use intervals in a musical way.
Intervals of 6ths and 7ths usually require crossing over two strings, or shifting positions,
so they are harder to grab on the fingerboard than smaller intervals like 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, and
5ths. But the 6th interval is useful to have under your fingers all over the bass. Practice large
intervals and you’ll develop your 6th sense for melodic playing!
There are two types of 6ths that you should know. The interval of a major 6th can be
determined from any note by counting up or down nine half-steps (Ex. 1). The interval of
a minor 6th is found by counting up or down eight half-steps (Ex. 2). Play a major scale in
broken-6th intervals, and you’ll see and hear that some of the intervals are major 6ths and
some minor 6ths (Ex. 3).
Bass lines, solos, and chords can all be analyzed by the relationships between intervals. Intervals
that are played successively (one after the other) are called melodic intervals, horizontal intervals,
or linear intervals. Two notes played simultaneously, such as the notes in a chord, or in a double-stop
on the bass, line up vertically and are described as a harmonic interval or vertical interval.
A minor 6th interval can also be named an augmented
5th, depending on the key signature and
how accidentals are used. For example, a C7#5 contains
a minor-6th interval between the notes C and
G#. An Fm7 chord also has a minor-6th interval
between the notes C and the Ab above it; the G#
and Ab in both chords are the same pitch, but are
written differently to fit the harmonic construction.
Similarly, the minor-6th interval sounds the
same, whether it is C to G# or C to Ab. The Ab and
G# are called enharmonic equivalents (two spellings
of the same note). The intervals C to Ab and C to
G# are both minor-6th intervals, even though the
notes are spelled differently, and the notes function
differently in each chord.
You can play any scale in 6ths, like the E harmonic
minor in Ex. 4. Apply this exercise to some
of the scales you already have under your fingers.
If you’re used to playing scales up and down diatonically
or in 3rds, this exercise will force you out
of your comfort zone and into a world of melodic
leaps and bounds.
The inversion of a 6th interval yields another
melodic friend of ours, the 3rd. Example 5 shows
that the major 3rd interval (notated as “3”) between
the notes C and E, when inverted, becomes a minor
6th (m6) interval between the notes E and C. The
minor 3rd (m3) interval between the notes C and
Eb, when inverted, becomes a major 6th (6) interval
between the notes Eb and C.
Example 6 is an excerpt from my solo on the Bb
blues “Misterioso” [Live at the Nachbar, Bass Lion
2008, bass solo starts at 3:40]. Alto saxophonist Jacob
Duncan ends his solo with a quote of the original
Thelonious Monk melody, which is based on 6th
intervals. For my bass solo, I pick up on Duncan’s
idea and play the entire first 12 bars only
using intervals of major and minor 6ths. I use two
proven devices for building an interesting solo:
quoting from the melody, and repeating musical
phrases. I am referring to the original melody,
but also altering some of the rhythms for a surprise
effect. The glue that holds this solo chorus
together is the combination of minor-6th and
Learning to play melodic bass lines and solos is
not hard, once you’ve mastered some basic technical
and theoretical material. By using 6th intervals
in your lines and solos, you’ll open up your
playing, and become known as a melodic bassist.
Develop your 6th sense!
Learn To Recognize
Many common songs begin with an interval
of a major 6th or minor 6th. You
can train your ear to recognize these
intervals by listening to songs and recognizing
the first interval of the melody.
Start by singing the interval to any of
these melodies; then pick up your bass
and match the pitches. This is great ear
training on a very practical level.
Songs Beginning With Major 6th
“Days of Wine and Roses”
“My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”
“Take the A Train”
“When Sunny Gets Blue”
Songs Beginning With Minor 6th
“In My Life”
“Manhã de Carnaval”


A listing of links about all types of diabetes that help explain what diabetes is, what other diseases and conditions it's associated with, and how to treat it.
It was a very sad day when "adult-onset diabetes" was replaced in the nomenclature by "type 2 diabetes." So many overweight children had it, it had to be renamed so that it would apply to children as well as grown-ups. These links, about all types of diabetes, help explain what diabetes is, what other diseases and conditions it's associated with, how to treat it, and even ways that it might make one's life better in the long run.
Am I At Risk For Type 2 Diabetes?
A test from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, one of the National institutes of Health.
Blood Glucose Meters: http://www.dlife.com/dLife/do/ShowContent/blood_sugar_management/testing/
An information page from DLife.com.
Diabetes At School: http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/d_0q_000.htm
An informational page about law and discrimination from Children With Diabetes.
Diabetic Exercise And Sports Association: http://www.diabetes-exercise.org/
DESA works to increase fitness and exercise of people with diabetes.
Diabetes Insipidus: http://www.chop.edu/consumer/your_child/wellness_index.jsp?id=-9058
An informational page from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Diabetes Pills: http://www.fda.gov/diabetes/pills.html
An information page from the Food and Drug Administration.
Diabetes Public Health Resource: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/links.htm
A compendium of government resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gestational Diabetes: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/Gestational_Diabetes.cfm
An informational page from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, an NIH division.
Glomerular Filtration Rate Study: http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/info/urinary/procedure/gfr-study.htm
An information page on the GFR test by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.


Medical centrifuges come in various sizes and apply to many different applications, making them an extremely useful device whether in a doctor’s office, hospital environment, or laboratory.
Modern centrifuges are basically compact, made either of plastic or metal, and are visually appealing; they normally sit on a counter top on rubber feet so they do not move while in operation. The bottom may be weighted to make it stable while in use. Size will determine how many glass test tubes or vials it may hold at one time. They are controlled by a timer and have at least two speeds, low and high. Many also have the capability to keep the interior cool so when the appliance is working, particularly on high speed, the contents will remain cool instead of heating up as would normally happen when the centrifugal force is applied.
There are many medical applications for a medical centrifuge including studies of viruses, proteins, polymers, nucleic acids, and blood. They can separate serum as well as from plasma from blood, and solids from liquids. The uses are many and not restricted to the medical field alone.
Having a timer is convenient when uses include extended periods of time required for separation of ingredients. The high speed spin creates an artificial gravity that, depending on the substance, will separate the ingredients quickly or slowly.
Medical centrifuges can spin at amazing speeds, especially the variable speed models. They can produce from eight hundred revolutions per minute (RPM) up to a blazing two and a half million RPM. Average use and application for most centrifuges with a minimum of two speeds (low and high) are from two thousand RPM up to sixty thousand RPM. Most uses require the higher speeds but for shorter periods of time.
It is a difference in density that causes most substances to separate when run through a cycle in a medical centrifuge. The high speed units are called ultracentrifuges and these are generally bench top units which require some means of fastening them down on the counter or bench top so they stay in place while in use. Uses for ultracentrifuges include the separation of gases to determine molecular weight of certain liquids. They are put to use as a means of separating uranium 235 for nuclear reactors. The temperature requires strict control in many of these applications due to sensitivity of the ingredients. They will become extremely hot at high revolutions which are actually a form of friction.
While an average medical centrifuge may cost anywhere from a few hundred to several hundred thousand dollars, there is one instance of an efficient device being created by chemists at a university which cost a mere two dollars to make. The device is basically an old fashioned egg beater to which was added plastic tubing held on by tape. It is capable of creating a low speed centrifugal force that actually will separate blood cells from plasma and has proven useful for simple laboratory tests in instances where no lab or equipment is available. It proves that human ingenuity can work many wonders.


If a radioactive Isotope has a half life of 30 days then how long will it take 1000 grams to decay to 120 grams?
Half-life (t½) is the amount of time required for a quantity to fall to half its value as measured at the beginning of the time period.
In this question (t½) of isotope is 30 days, which means that after 30 days half of the sample would have decayed and half would be left as it is.
After 30 days ( first half life) 120 /2 = 60 g decays and 60 g remains left.
After another 30 days ( two half lives or 60 days) 60 /2 = 30 g decays and 30 g remains left .
After another 30 days ( three half lives or 90 days) 30 /2 = 15 g decays and 15 g remains left.
After another 30 days ( four half lives or 120 days) 15 /2 = 7.5 g decays and 7.5 g remains left.
after four half lives or 120 days , 7.5 g of the isotope will be left.


How Hitler Became a Dictator
by Jacob G. Hornberger
Whenever U.S. officials wish to demonize someone, they inevitably compare him to Adolf Hitler. The message immediately resonates with people because everyone knows that Hitler was a brutal dictator.
But how many people know how Hitler actually became a dictator? My bet is, very few. I’d also bet that more than a few people would be surprised at how he pulled it off, especially given that after World War I Germany had become a democratic republic.
The story of how Hitler became a dictator is set forth in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer, on which this article is based.
In the presidential election held on March 13, 1932, there were four candidates: the incumbent, Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg, Hitler, and two minor candidates, Ernst Thaelmann and Theodore Duesterberg. The results were:
Hindenburg 49.6 percent
Hitler 30.1 percent
Thaelmann 13.2 percent
Duesterberg 6.8 percent
At the risk of belaboring the obvious, almost 70 percent of the German people voted against Hitler…
causing his supporter Joseph Goebbels, who would later become Hitler’s minister of propaganda, to lament in his journal, We’re beaten; terrible outlook. Party circles badly depressed and dejected.
Since Hindenberg had not received a majority of the vote, however, a runoff election had to be held among the top three vote-getters. On April 19, 1932, the runoff results were:
Hindenburg 53.0 percent
Hitler 36.8 percent
Thaelmann 10.2 percent
Thus, even though Hitler’s vote total had risen, he still had been decisively rejected by the German people.
On June 1, 1932, Hindenberg appointed Franz von Papen as chancellor of Germany, whom Shirer described as an unexpected and ludicrous figure. Papen immediately dissolved the Reichstag (the national congress) and called for new elections, the third legislative election in five months.
Hitler and his fellow members of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party, who were determined to bring down the republic and establish dictatorial rule in Germany, did everything they could to create chaos in the streets, including initiating political violence and murder. The situation got so bad that martial law was proclaimed in Berlin.
Even though Hitler had badly lost the presidential election, he was drawing ever-larger crowds during the congressional election. As Shirer points out,
In one day, July 27, he spoke to 60,000 persons in Brandenburg, to nearly as many in Potsdam, and that evening to 120,000 massed in the giant Grunewald Stadium in Berlin while outside an additional 100,000 heard his voice by loudspeaker.
Hitler’s rise to power
The July 31, 1932, election produced a major victory for Hitler’s National Socialist Party. The party won 230 seats in the Reichstag, making it Germany’s largest political party, but it still fell short of a majority in the 608-member body.
On the basis of that victory, Hitler demanded that President Hindenburg appoint him chancellor and place him in complete control of the state. Otto von Meissner, who worked for Hindenburg, later testified at Nuremberg,
Hindenburg replied that because of the tense situation he could not in good conscience risk transferring the power of government to a new party such as the National Socialists, which did not command a majority and which was intolerant, noisy and undisciplined.
Political deadlocks in the Reichstag soon brought a new election, this one in November 6, 1932. In that election, the Nazis lost two million votes and 34 seats. Thus, even though the National Socialist Party was still the largest political party, it had clearly lost ground among the voters.
Attempting to remedy the chaos and the deadlocks, Hindenburg fired Papen and appointed an army general named Kurt von Schleicher as the new German chancellor. Unable to secure a majority coalition in the Reichstag, however, Schleicher finally tendered his resignation to Hindenburg, 57 days after he had been appointed.
On January 30, 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor of Germany. Although the National Socialists never captured more than 37 percent of the national vote, and even though they still held a minority of cabinet posts and fewer than 50 percent of the seats in the Reichstag, Hitler and the Nazis set out to to consolidate their power. With Hitler as chancellor, that proved to be a fairly easy task.
The Reichstag fire
On February 27, Hitler was enjoying supper at the Goebbels home when the telephone rang with an emergency message: The Reichstag is on fire! Hitler and Goebbels rushed to the fire, where they encountered Hermann Goering, who would later become Hitler’s air minister. Goering was shouting at the top of his lungs,
This is the beginning of the Communist revolution! We must not wait a minute. We will show no mercy. Every Communist official must be shot, where he is found. Every Communist deputy must this very day be strung up.
The day after the fire, the Prussian government announced that it had found communist publications stating,
Government buildings, museums, mansions and essential plants were to be burned down… . Women and children were to be sent in front of terrorist groups…. The burning of the Reichstag was to be the signal for a bloody insurrection and civil war…. It has been ascertained that today was to have seen throughout Germany terrorist acts against individual persons, against private property, and against the life and limb of the peaceful population, and also the beginning of general civil war.
So how was Goering so certain that the fire had been set by communist terrorists? Arrested on the spot was a Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe. Most historians now believe that van der Lubbe was actually duped by the Nazis into setting the fire and probably was even assisted by them, without his realizing it.
Why would Hitler and his associates turn a blind eye to an impending terrorist attack on their national congressional building or actually assist with such a horrific deed? Because they knew what government officials have known throughout history that during extreme national emergencies, people are most scared and thus much more willing to surrender their liberties in return for security. And that’s exactly what happened during the Reichstag terrorist crisis.
Suspending civil liberties
The day after the fire, Hitler persuaded President Hindenburg to issue a decree entitled, For the Protection of the People and the State. Justified as a defensive measure against Communist acts of violence endangering the state, the decree suspended the constitutional guarantees pertaining to civil liberties:
Restrictions on personal liberty, on the right of free expression of opinion, including freedom of the press; on the rights of assembly and association; and violations of the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications; and warrants for house searches, orders for confiscations as well as restrictions on property, are also permissible beyond the legal limits otherwise prescribed.
Two weeks after the Reichstag fire, Hitler requested the Reichstag to temporarily delegate its powers to him so that he could adequately deal with the crisis. Denouncing opponents to his request, Hitler shouted, Germany will be free, but not through you! When the vote was taken, the result was 441 for and 84 against, giving Hitler the two-thirds majority he needed to suspend the German constitution. On March 23, 1933, what has gone down in German history as the Enabling Act made Hitler dictator of Germany, freed of all legislative and constitutional constraints.
The judiciary under Hitler
One of the most dramatic consequences was in the judicial arena. Shirer points out,
Under the Weimar Constitution judges were independent, subject only to the law, protected from arbitrary removal and bound at least in theory by Article 109 to safeguard equality before the law.
In fact, in the Reichstag terrorist case, while the court convicted van der Lubbe of the crime (who was executed), three other defendants, all communists, were acquitted, which infuriated Hitler and Goering. Within a month, the Nazis had transferred jurisdiction over treason cases from the Supreme Court to a new People’s Court, which, as Shirer points out,
soon became the most dreaded tribunal in the land. It consisted of two professional judges and five others chosen from among party officials, the S.S. and the armed forces, thus giving the latter a majority vote. There was no appeal from its decisions or sentences and usually its sessions were held in camera. Occasionally, however, for propaganda purposes when relatively light sentences were to be given, the foreign correspondents were invited to attend.
One of the Reichstag terrorist defendants, who had angered Goering during the trial with a severe cross-examination of Goering, did not benefit from his acquittal. Shirer explains:
The German communist leader was immediately taken into protective custody, where he remained until his death during the second war.
In addition to the People’s Court, which handled treason cases, the Nazis also set up the Special Court, which handled cases of political crimes or insidious attacks against the government. These courts
consisted of three judges, who invariably had to be trusted party members, without a jury. A Nazi prosecutor had the choice of bringing action in such cases before either an ordinary court or the Special Court, and invariably he chose the latter, for obvious reasons. Defense lawyers before this court, as before the Volksgerichtshof, had to be approved by Nazi officials. Sometimes even if they were approved they fared badly. Thus the lawyers who attempted to represent the widow of Dr. Klausener, the Catholic Action leader murdered in the Blood Purge, in her suit for damages against the State were whisked off to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where they were kept until they formally withdrew the action.
Even lenient treatment by the Special Court was no guarantee for the defendant, however, as Pastor Martin Niemoeller discovered when he was acquitted of major political charges and sentenced to time served for minor charges. Leaving the courtroom, Niemoeller was taken into custody by the Gestapo and taken to a concentration camp.
The Nazis also implemented a legal concept called Schutzhaft or protective custody which enabled them to arrest and incarcerate people without charging them with a crime. As Shirer put it:
“Protective custody did not protect a man from possible harm, as it did in more civilized countries. It punished him by putting him behind barbed wire.”
On August 2, 1934, Hindenburg died, and the title of president was abolished. Hitler’s title became Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor. Not surprisingly, he used the initial four-year temporary grant of emergency powers that had been given to him by the Enabling Act to consolidate his omnipotent control over the entire country.
Accepting the new order
Oddly enough, even though his dictatorship very quickly became complete, Hitler returned to the Reichstag every four years to renew the temporary delegation of emergency powers that it had given him to deal with the Reichstag-arson crisis. Needless to say, the Reichstag rubber-stamped each of his requests.
For their part, the German people quickly accepted the new order of things. Keep in mind that the average non-Jewish German was pretty much unaffected by the new laws and decrees. As long as a German citizen kept his head down, worked hard, took care of his family, sent his children to the public schools and the Hitler Youth organization, and, most important, didn’t involve himself in political dissent against the government, a visit by the Gestapo was very unlikely.
Keep in mind also that, while the Nazis established concentration camps in the 1930s, the number of inmates ranged in the thousands. It wouldn’t be until the 1940s that the death camps and the gas chambers that killed millions would be implemented. Describing how the average German adapted to the new order, Shirer writes,
The overwhelming majority of Germans did not seem to mind that their personal freedom had been taken away, that so much of culture had been destroyed and replaced with a mindless barbarism, or that their life and work had become regimented to a degree never before experienced even by a people accustomed for generations to a great deal of regimentation…. The Nazi terror in the early years affected the lives of relatively few Germans and a newly arrived observer was somewhat surprised to see that the people of this country did not seem to feel that they were being cowed…. On the contrary, they supported it with genuine enthusiasm. Somehow it imbued them with a new hope and a new confidence and an astonishing faith in the future of their country.
Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.
This article originally appeared in the March 2004 edition of Freedom Daily. “


44th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
|Active||1944 - 1945|
|Country||Empire of Japan|
|Branch||Imperial Japanese Army|
The 44th division was organized in 4 April 1944, simultaneously with the 81st and 86th divisions as a defiant action against popular Japanese Tetraphobia superstition. The nucleus was the headquarters of the 4th division. Originally the 44th division was assigned to Central District Army.
In March 1945, the 44th division was sent to Takahagi, Ibaraki, arriving 8 April 1945. The division was re-subordinated to 51st army 18 April 1945 and assigned to the role of the mobile reserve. The surrender of Japan 15 August 1945 has happened before the 44th division have any engagement with the enemy.
This article does not cite any sources. (June 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)


Wood mulch has nothing on plants!
1) Wood mulch is touted as a way to improve soil and conserve soil moisture. It's true, it does these things, and can be valuable around newly-planted trees as well as an initial, one-time application at planting time for perennials. Soil organisms digest and incorporate wood mulch, building the upper layer over time, and mulch is great for saying "keep away" around tree trunks.
But thick layers of plant communities shade the soil with their leaves, which cool it down and robs sunlight from weed seedlings. Plant roots also rob water and nutrients from weed seedlings while amending soil naturally over time. Take prairie grasses -- 1/3 of their roots die each year, adding organic material. Many plants have evolved to punch down into clay and open up air and water passageways, while plants with fibrous roots can build up sandy and rocky soil so it holds more water over time.
3) Leaving plants up for winter helps them gather leaves around their bases, insulating them from winter cold, adding organic matter over winter and spring, and provides shelter for overwintering insects. The more plant layers and plant diversity you have, the more life you'll have thriving in your landscape.
Wood mulch is beneficial, yes, but doesn't hold a candle to more plants. If you can't afford a lot of plants, try to choose those that spread by seed or runners (wild geranium, purple poppy mallow, zigzag goldenod, solomon's seal, blue mistflower, etc). Consider planting just the ornamental flower layers with forbs and shrubs, then sow in a grass or sedge groundcover; we love to suggest sideoats grama for this purpose if you're working toward a stylized meadow look. Additionally, there are local and regional nurseries and growers that offer smaller plants for a smaller price, so you can buy more at once time. Some day, we hope the industry sells trays of plugs at nurseries to consumers planning larger beds.
Finally, look at the numbers and tally up how much money you spend on wood mulch each year. Is it around $200? In three years that's $600 -- money you could have put into more plants, which means more habitat and less work for you as that habitat grows.


In this article we are going to know OK full form
Find The Full Form OF OK?
What Is The Full Form Of OK?
The Full Form Of OK is Oll Korrect.
Below We Are Going To Explain The Meaning Of OK,
Find The Meaning Of OK
What Is The Meaning Of OK?
The Meaning Of OK,
Okay (OK) may be a colloquial English word denoting approval, acceptance, assent, or acknowledgment. OK is presumably short for “Oll Korrect,” a jokey misspelling of “All Correct” that needs a touch historical context to form sense.
See This Also: What Is SOP Full Form? Find Out The Full Form Of SOP.
Find The Abbreviation Of Oll Korrect.
What Is The Abbreviation Of Oll Korrect?
The Abbreviation Of Oll Korrect Is OK.
OK also spelled as okay, ok, or O.K. maybe a word wont to denote agreement, acceptance, approval, or acknowledgment. OK expand as Olla Kalla. It is a Greek word that suggests All correct. This is a really common word utilized in conversation once we accept it as true with the opposite. It is also used in chat.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the full form of OK in India?
OK: Olla Kalla or Oll Korrect
OK (also spelled as okay, ok, or O.K.) may be a word wont to denote acceptance, agreement, acknowledgment, approval. OK expand as Olla Kalla.
What is OK short for?
OK stands for “oll korrect”, or “all correct”.
Is OK an acronym?
The word OK can be a verb, a noun, or an adjective, adverb, or an exclamation. It is an abbreviation for “Oll Korrect” or “Ole Kurreck” meaning “all correct”. There is no acronym for “ok”.
What does OK mean from a girl?
When a woman says okay it means unsure. When a woman says okay it means only for you.
Who started OK?
President Martin Van Buren
I Hope We Had Covered Your All Queries Regarding
OK Full Form In English?
What Is Fullform Of OK?
What Is Long-Form Of OK?
What Is Abbreviation Of Oll Korrect?
Oll Korrect Abbreviation In English?
What Is Short Form Of OK?
OK Meaning In English?
What Is Meaning Of OK?
Definition Of OK?
OK Full Form?


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[Wednesday, December 31, 2003] NASA's plans for 2003 were abruptly changed February 1 with the sudden and tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the brave crew of STS-107.
»» Hubble Sees Record-breaking ancient galaxy clusters
[Wednesday, December 31, 2003] Studies of two distant galaxy clusters using a combination of the largest radio, optical and x-ray telescopes on the ground and in space have independently found that galaxies formed relatively early in the history of the Universe.


John Roblin (May 2, 1774 – February 28, 1813) was a farmer and political figure in Upper Canada.
He was born in Smiths Clove, Orange County, New York in 1774. He was the son of Philip Roblin, a United Empire Loyalist, and Elizabeth Miller. After the American Revolution, his family settled in Adolphustown Township. He was elected to the 5th Parliament of Upper Canada for Lennox and Addington. He was unseated in 1810 because he was felt to be unfit to serve because he was a Methodist lay preacher. This may have been only an excuse, since he was a Reformer and so not acceptable to the Family Compact. His constituency re-electing him, his seat was again declared vacant by the same party and for the same reason. Returning home, he was elected for the third time; but he died before the next session commenced, and thus evaded that which threatened to become a serious cause of dissatisfaction, if not of disturbance.
- Becoming Prominent: Leadership in Upper Canada, 1791-1841, J.K. Johnson (1989)
|This article about an Ontario MPP is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.|


An appropriate exposure to fluoride must be able to interfere with the development of dental caries (benefit) without great concern for dental fluorosis (risks). This condition in relation to individual seems feasible leading to a rational use of fluoride. Nevertheless, dealing with population and particularly non-EME countries (non-Established Market Economies or developing), the most suitable method of fluoride use will depend on each nation. On the other hand, each country should have a public health program to control dental caries as part of its health system. The choice between fluoridated dentifrice or fluoridated drinking water and the option for salt will depend on its applicability in each country. At the same time, it is important that either the appropriate exposure to a community method of fluoride use as well as the association with other methods and preventive measures in relation to risks-benefits are evaluated for each country. The determination of an appropriate exposure to fluoride in non-EME countries in the future will depend on critical analysis of how it has been used at present. Available data have shown that some non-EME countries have even been able to revert the dramatic situation of dental caries in their population, but in others caries experience continues a public health problem. Nevertheless, in other countries the increase in caries prevalence, which was expected, has not occurred but endemic fluorosis has been a concern. The challenges for non-EME countries are huge and identical solutions cannot be used for distinct problems.
Fluoride; fluorosis; Dental caries; risks


Susan Liautaud teaches cutting-edge ethics courses at Stanford University, serves as Chair of Council of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and is the founder of the nonprofit platform The Ethics Incubator. She is also the founder and managing director of Susan Liautaud & Associates Limited, which advises clients from global corporations to NGOs on complex ethics matters.
Below, Susan shares 5 key insights from her new book, The Power of Ethics: How to Make Good Choices in a Complicated World. Download the Next Big Idea App to enjoy more audio “Book Bites,” plus Ideas of the Day, ad-free podcast episodes, and more.
1. Banish the binary.
Ethics are not a yes-or-no question. Some ethical failures are straight-up unacceptable: racism, sexual misconduct, or disregarding science-based advice about COVID-19 prevention, for example. But most ethical challenges today require navigating the gray, rather than just labeling options as right or wrong, ethical or unethical. Banishing simple, binary questions prompts us to ask instead, “When and under what circumstances should we proceed?” Rather than prohibiting or tolerating all gene editing, for example, we should support scientists in determining proper precautions and uses for it.
2. Ethics are democratic.
Power is no longer only concentrated in the hands of a few. Anyone with a cell phone can tutor a child on another continent, run a political campaign, or verify the authenticity of medicine—or distribute false information and incite widespread violence. So every choice matters, from voting or foregoing a plastic water bottle to speaking up against a racist remark. We can all actively choose our ethics and our legacy, rather than passively submitting to whatever trajectory that morally questionable leaders, innovators, and rogue actors define. No president or corporate behemoth can deliver or repair moral decline alone. Ethics require using our power, seizing responsibility, and taking action.
“No president or corporate behemoth can deliver or repair moral decline alone. Ethics require using our power, seizing responsibility, and taking action.”
3. Ethics are contagious.
We see the same news headlines over and over: sexual misconduct, corporate malfeasance, misuse of our data, politicians’ chronic lies, et cetera. We focus on eradicating unwanted behavior, but we often leave what drove the spreading of the behavior to fester and spur further trouble. While we can identify behavior that spreads COVID-19, for example, we have not sufficiently addressed the drivers of the underlying ethics, such as false information, fear, skewed economic incentives, failed leadership, and impunity. In short, the contagion of our ethics is inextricably linked to the contagion of societal challenges. But once we focus on identifying and dismantling these drivers and deploying them for good, we can break the cycle of reading about the same problems over and over.
4. There is no such thing as ethics without truth.
I saw a story of a 69-year-old Dutch man who urged a court to let him change his legal age because he felt like he was 20 years younger. Thankfully, the court declined. Age is a fact, not a feeling or an opinion, and factual accuracy is the scaffolding of our society. It’s the very foundation for human interaction and trust, and our decisions hinge on a truthful assessment of relevant information—for example, we grant privileges such as voting, drinking, driving, and marriage based on accurate age. So today’s assault on truth threatens social relationships, democracy, and even ethics itself. We can do ethics in a world of wishful thinking all we want, but reality’s truth will always come back to bite us—and have a real impact on real people.
“We can do ethics in a world of wishful thinking all we want, but reality’s truth will always come back to bite us.”
5. Ethics can be the greatest risk of our time, or an unprecedented opportunity.
Not integrating ethics into our decisions is the most underestimated global risk we face. It is at the source of so many other risks, from climate change and financial system meltdowns to authoritarian regimes, increasing inequality, and abuse of our private data. Ethics can bring unprecedented opportunity, however—ethical decision-making unites us in a common project of benefiting and protecting humanity, of responsibly improving our communities. It invites us to explore what it means to be human in a technologically-infused world, and to support one another as we build the future together.
For more Book Bites, download the Next Big Idea App today:


Patchwriting, a method of rewording or restating information from primary sources, gives students opportunities to develop exemplary habits of expository
The comprehension taxonomy was inductively developed through an analysis of retellings from a variety of elementary students, in a variety of elementary grades, reading a variety of narrative and expository
texts (Kucer, 2009a; Kucer & Silva, 1999).
Narrative texts are undoubtedly established in an early years classroom, but as students move into higher grades, expository
texts become more common.
TEXT-DRIVEN AND KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN PROCESSING OF EXPOSITORY
This written excerpt illuminates the voice of Jennifer (a pseudonym), who represents pre-service teachers in an urban teacher preparation program who employed culturally relevant and innovative practices, situated in her use of narrative and expository
At times the writing is a little expository
as Fuzzy discusses the politics of the time, but these issues are rarely touched upon in YA literature and it's a minor flaw.
Stripped bare of expository
dialogue, expensive set pieces and digital trickery, Hazanavicius's love letter to the moving image is tender, romantic and incredibly funny, reminding us that the beating heart of any film is human emotion.
Hershey attacks her thankless role with gusto until Shaye enters psychological battle and reveals the film's ultimate design through expository
And multiple-choice and short-answer questions can never have the rigor that is demanded by expository
The 16 research and expository
articles from the 2008-09 academic year represent various developments in nonlinear partial differential equations.
Simply written in expository
prose, "The Lives of Stars" has chapters that define how a star is born, the H-R diagram (a way of measuring the intensity of stars that reveals the star's projected life story), descriptions of many different types of stars, star clusters, the origin of the elements, and what to considre about the possibility of life in space, to name just a few.
ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository
writing skills, and to


The Drumlohan Ogham Stones and Souterrain are a very interesting site, with two separate but intertwined histories. Known locally as the ‘Ogham Cave’, the souterrain was uncovered by a farmer in 1867. Ten Ogham stones that must have been removed from a nearby ecclesiastical site were found built into the walls and roof of the souterrain. The souterrain was probably built around 800-900AD using Ogham Stones that predated it by a few hundred years. In 1936 five of the stones were removed from the souterrain and placed either side of the pit, three stones remain as part of the roof while another two line its walls. Each of the stones bares an inscription for example one states in CUNALEGEA MAQI C..SALAR CELI AVI QVECI, translates as ‘of Conlang son of C. follower of the descendant of Q’; the name CUNALEGEA contains a commonly occurring element ‘CUNA’ meaning ‘dog’ or ‘hound’. Another stone reads BIR MAQI MUCOI ROTTAIS, BIR, from Berr ‘short-haired’ and ROTTAIS is the tribal name Rothrige, one of the families of the Déisi of Munster. The souterrain measures 2.5 metres by 1.5 metres and is 1.2 metres in height. One of the roofing slabs also appears to have cup-marks dating from the Neolithic period however I have not found this to be conclusively proven in research thus far. Drumlohan is a lovely site, it is a shame the surrounding fence wasn’t even just a little bit further away from the structure however its much needed as the field is used for grazing.
GPS: 52.16331, -7.46538


"The Bigler": Take a Musical Tour with a Great Lakes Schoonerman
Grades: 6-8, 9-12
Kalkaska is Awesome" (video)
Recorded: Charles, Michigan, September, 1938; Traverse City, Michigan, May 9, 2014
Performers: Asel Trueblood, Kalkaska (Michigan) Middle and High School students
Activity 1: Songs of the Schoonermen
- Teacher provides some background to Great Lakes, sailors, and their ballads (songs that tell a story).
- The 1860s-1880s were the golden age of schooners on the Great Lakes, when they were an essential part of the region’s economy
- During this period as many as 1800 schooners sailed the lakes, carrying cargos of grain, lumber, and ore
- Trips between Great Lakes ports ranged from overnight to several weeks, depending on the weather
- Sailors on these vessels—called schoonermen—developed stories and songs about their distinctive occupation.
- The songs were sung for their own amusement during the long trips up and down the lakes, or in port-side saloons. A sailor who could sing never had to buy his own drink!
- Teacher prepares students to listen to “The Bigler” by providing the following background (provided by folklorist Ivan Lomax for the publication Our Singing Country by John and Alan Lomax):
- This is the best-known song that came out of the lumber trade on the Lakes
- The song uses sailor jargon, or special terms known to this occupation
- The song traces the journey of the Bigler, naming places that were well-known to the Great Lakes schoonermen
- The schooner Bigler, which was evidently carrying a cargo of grain on the trip narrated in the song, was a blunt-nosed scow that was slow and hard to steer.
- The ‘juberju’ mentioned in the song has been variously described as the jib boom, the raffee yard, and the crossfire, upon which the sailors at times climbed to ride the halyard down to the deck.
- Students listen to “The Bigler.” *Note, Verses 2, 3, 4, sung by Asel Trueblood of Charles, Michigan (near St. Ignace). Other verses (in written form only) from R.F. Hasbrook, Bessemer, Michigan. Students may read or sing the remaining verses. In Trueblood’s time, a single sailor often sang the verse, while his mates joined in on the chorus.
Transcription of “The Bigler” from Our Singing Country.
“The Timber Drogher Bigler”
[*Verses 2, 3, 4, shown in italics, sung by Asel Trueblood of Charles, Michigan (near St. Ignace). Other verses from R.F. Hasbrook, Bessemer, Michigan.]
Come, all my boys and listen, a song I’ll sing to you,
It’s all about the Bigler and of her joy crew.
In Milwaukee last October, I chanced to get a sight
In the schooner called the Bigler belonging to Detroit.
Chorus: Watch her, catch her, jump up in her juberju,
Giver her sheet and let her go, we’re the lads will pull her through.
Oh, don’t you hear us howling, oh, the wind is blowing free,
On our down trip to Buffalo from Milwaukee.
It was on a Sunday morning just at the hour of ten,
When the tug Nickle Roberts towed the schooner Bigler into Lake Michigan,
Oh, there we made our canvas, in the middle of the fleet,
Oh the wind hauled to the south’ard, boys, and we had to give her sheet.
The wind come down from the south-southeast, it blowed both stiff and strong,
You’d ought seen that little schooner Bigler as she plowed out Lake Michigan,
Oh, far beyond her foaming bows the fiery waves to fling
With every stitch of canvas and her course was wing and wing.
Passing by the Foxes, the wind was blowing free
Sailing by the Beavers with the Skilagalee on our lee
Oh, we hauled her in pulling, boys, as close as she would lie,
We weathered Wabbleshanks and entered the Straights of Mackinac
First Forty-Mile Point and Presque Isle Light and then we boomed away,
The wind being fresh and fair, for the Isle of Thunder Bay.
The wind it shifted to a close haul, all on her starboard tack,
With a good lookout ahead we made for Point aux Barques.
We made the light and kept in sight of Michigan’s east shore,
A-booming for the river as we’d often done before.
And when abreast Port Huron Light, our small anchor we let go;
The tug Kate Moffet came along and took the Bigler in tow.
The Moffet took six schooners in tow, and all of us fore-and-aft,
She took us down to Lake St. Clair and stuck us on the Flats,
She parted the Hunter’s towline in trying to give relief,
And stern to stern went the Bigler smash in the Mapleleaf.
Then she towed us through and left us outside the river light,
Lake Erie for us to wander and the blustering winds to fight.
The wind was from the sou’west, and we paddled our own canoe,
Her jib boom pointed the **Dummy, she’s hell-bent for Buffalo.
Dummy: likely another word for decorative figurehead at the bow of the vessel
Haul: To steer (a vessel) closer to the direction of the wind
Jib: triangular sail at the front of the ship
Boom: A spar attached to the foot of a fore-and-aft sail.
- Students receive further background by reading (or listening to the teacher read) what the singer--former schooner captain, Asel Trueblood—had to say about the song (as told to Alan Lomax):
“I learned this song a good fifty years ago. I was twenty-three at the time. I’ve walked the old Bigler’s decks many times though I never sailed on her. She was supposed to be the slowest vessel in the fleet, and, of course, they had winds and all that and she’d bile along like everything but the other vessels would beat her. They stopped many places on the way down, and a new verse was composed about every place they stopped in and every place they’d pass. And when they got done in Lake Erie, before they got to Buffalo, they met the fleet coming back.
I knew this feller that composed this song about the Bigler, but I forgot his name. It was a kind of a jokey song like, because they got beat. He said they’d a’beat the fleet if the fleet had a’hove to. The places they stopped in were the whorehouses on the way down, and they’d get in there drinkin’ beer and singin’ this song, and it bought ‘em a lot of free beers.”
- Students identify terms and other features from the ballad in the photo of a wooden two-masted timber schooner, c. 1900, leaving the channel at Charlevoix. Click here for a high resolution version that will enable more detailed viewing and zoom functions. (**Note, the Bigler, known as a “scow-schooner,” would have been a different shape, with a wider hull and a square bow and stern.)
- Tug and towline
- Canvas (sails)
- Sailors—how many can you find?
- Starboard (right side of vessel)
- Stern (rear of vessel)
- Boom (large pole attached to bottom of sail)
For high resolution viewing with zoom capability:
- Cargo (sheets of bark)
- Sailors—how many can you find?
- Clothing worn by sailors
- Cargo (sheets of bark)
- Name of vessel (Annie O. Hanson, built 1869 in DePere, WI; foundered off Manistee on March 30, 1902, when she was driven ashore by ice flows during an early season run to take advantage of high prices for her cargo. No hands were lost.)
Timber schooner leaving the channel at Charlevoix, Michigan, 1900. “The Bigler” was a timber drogher, a ship specially built to carry squared logs. Photo from Detroit Publishing Company Collection, Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994005446/PP/
Activity 2: Chart the Voyage of "The Bigler"
- Students track the voyage of the Bigler from Milwaukee to Buffalo on a map of the Great Lakes with sufficient detail so geographic features and ports can be located. Note: the website for Brian Miller and Randy Gosa, Traditional Music from the Northwoods Music, includes an online interactive map of the Bigler’s route, based on a different version of the ballad, sung in 1922 by Minnesota singer Michael Dean. See http://www.evergreentrad.com/the-biglers-crew/...
- Students select a place on the trip to research and report to the class. Enhance the map of the Bigler’s route with captions and/or photos to display as a class exhibit. Places include lakes, ports, islands, lighthouses, the Straights of Mackinac. Modern day marine preserves involving historic shipwrecks of the period include the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve (part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore) (http://www.michiganpreserves.org/) and the Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary (http://thunderbay.noaa.gov/).
Activity 3: Take a Musical Tour of Your Community
- 1. Teacher points out the formulaic opening of "The Bigler"—"Come, all my boys and listen, a song I’ll sing to you." Many traditional ballads open with a version of the "come all ye" formula. **See, for example, in other Michigan lessons "The Gallagher Boys" and "Once More A-Lumbering Go."
- 2. Students watch/listen to "Kalkaska is Awesome," a collaboratively written song by Kalkaska, Michigan area students in 2014, and inspired by "Come all ye" ballads collected by Lomax in Michigan. Kalkaska students updated their opening to "Hey, everybody, come on along; Kalkaska is awesome, we can tell you in song." Like "The Bigler," this student-written song celebrates and lists local places of importance to the singers, taking listeners on a musical tour of their town. Notice how, at the end of "Kalkaska is Awesome" the performers shout out important places in their town than are meaningful to them.
Q—What are the special places in your town, county, community, region?
- Students write a collaborative song, modeled on "Kalkaska is Awesome" about important places if someone were to take a musical tour of "their place." Use "The Bigler" as the structure for the new song, substituting your own community, neighborhood, school, etc. as the focus. The chorus can easily be adapted to your place, with new verses added.
**Note: Kalkaska-area students created this song as part of the Quest-A Celebration of Community 2014 [http://earthworkmusic.com/quest2014/], an innovative, place-based after school arts program in seven underserved schools in northwest Lower Michigan. The grand finale concert, held in May 9 2014, featured students’ artwork and collaboratively written songs, inspired by Lomax’s 1938 Michigan recordings. The Quest is a program of SEEDS, a Traverse City, Michigan non-profit. For more discussion about the Quest, and how it became the basis of a semester-long project, see the Laurie Kay Sommers and Samuel Seth Bernard, "Questing with Lomax: Michigan’s Historic Field Recordings Inspire a New Generation," Journal of Folklore and Education Vol. 2 (2015).
Collaborative Songwriting Template (courtesy of Seth Bernard, Artistic Director of The Quest, Traverse City, Michigan)
Phase 1 Brainstorming and free association, ideally with a circle of 5 to 20 people. Participants each contribute a word or sentence that is then written down by the facilitator. After one round, everyone closes their eyes, and the facilitator recites the ideas of the group. Everyone listens to the sounds of the words and creates mental pictures of the words and phrases. Another round of brainstorming is shaped by the first round of words. Some words and phrases connect. Some may be another phrase that rhymes. [**For "The Bigler," the facilitator may want to prompt ideas about the students’ favorite or important places on the tour. Certain melodies may emerge. [**With "The Bigler" or another pre-existing song as inspiration, you already have a melody to work with.] A large group may only have to go around twice.
Phase 2 Facilitator asks about connections of words and phrases: Is a story or form emerging? Is a chorus emerging? Sometimes students will already have melodic ideas. Find rhythms of words and musical motifs that go with that. [**For "The Bigler," consider using the existing rhyme scheme: AABB]. Employ democracy and give everyone’s idea a chance, it works every time.
Phase 3 Work out verses, choruses, bridge, or riff.
**With "The Bigler" existing music and melodic ideas can serve as a springboard for content. Or, simply use the entire tune. Alternatively, use the updated 2014 version, "Kalkaska is Awesome."
Phase 4 Perform and record the song using a smart phone or a recording engineer. Do at least two takes of a song, creating a professional environment. Re-work the song as needed. Emphasize that everyone has a role.
Phase 5 Give a public community performance.
"Kalkaska is Awesome" lyrics by Kalkaska High School and Middle School students participating in the Quest 2014, a program of SEEDS of Traverse City, sponsor for the Quest Project. SEEDS is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established to foster local solutions to global issues.
Explore the Great Lakes further—history, economy, geography, geology, biology, etc. Compare/contrast the Lakes of the 1880s with the Lakes of today. Good online resources include Michigan Sea Grant’s Teaching Great Lakes Science, Lessons and Data Sets http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/lessons/. Lake Rhymes, Folksongs of the Great Lakes Region, A songbook and study guide with an 18-song companion (Lee and Joann Murdock, 2004) is an excellent resources for educators.
Explore other schoonermen songs in the Lomax collection online. Not all songs were about vessels and sailing. What did the schoonermen sing about? Search the repertoire of Asel Trueblood and John W. Green in the Alan Lomax Collection of Michigan and Wisconsin Recordings, www.loc.gov/collection/alan-lomax-in-michigan/about-this-collection/ . Also see Windjammers (Walton and Grimm) listed below in credits.
John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, compilers. Our Singing Country, Folk Songs and Ballads (1941, 1968)
Ivan Walton and Joe Grimm, Windjammers, Songs of the Great Lakes Sailors (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2002).
"Hanson, Annie O." Bowling Green State University Great Lakes Vessel Online Index, http://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/vessel/view/003893
Information on the Annie O. Hanson adapted from Dave Swayze, The Great Lakes Shipwreck File: Total Losses of Great Lakes Ships 1679 – 1999, http://www.boatnerd.com/swayze/shipwreck/
Special thanks to Seth Bernard, Artistic Director of the Quest and source of the collaborative songwriting template, and to SEEDS of Traverse City, sponsor for the Quest Project. SEEDS is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established to foster local solutions to global issues.
For a more in-depth look at the Quest Project with samples of student work and other ideas based on the 1938 Lomax material, see Laurie Kay Sommers and Samuel Seth Bernard, "Questing with Alan Lomax: Michigan’s Historic Field Recordings Inspire a New Generation." Journal of Folklore and Education (2015 Vol 2): 51-62. http://locallearningnetwork.org/guest-artist/journal/
Lesson Plan by Laurie Sommers
With generous support from the NEA