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Allergies among pets are fairly similar to human allergies and can be described as an abnormal sensitivity when exposed to particular elements. There may be some breed susceptibility, it is believed that allergies can be genetically inherited. Most pets start to show signs of an allergy around the age of 1 to 4 years old.
Common allergens for pets include mold, dust, dust mites, fleas, tree pollens, weed pollens, grass pollens, feathers, wool, some cleaning products, and various food ingredients.
How are specific allergies determined?
History and examination of your pet forms the basis for suspicion of allergy. Testing such as skin scraping and cultures can rule out other issues. Response to therapy specific for allergy also typically confirms allergic origin. There are tests that can help determine specific allergies in pets, including:
Skin Allergy blood test - This is a blood test to measure whether your dog is allergic to certain antigens. This can be done in our office, and only requires that your pet not be any any allergy medications such as steroids or apoquel.
Skin allergy panel – This test is done by a dermatologist and may require your pet to be sedated. During the test, the veterinarian will shave off a small section of your pet’s hair and will draw a grid directly on their skin. The vet will then inject common known allergens alongside control variables to determine which allergens the pet is allergic to.
Food trials – Food trials are simply the process of trying out different pet foods to alleviate a food allergy. We will prescribe a prescription hypoallergenic food that is either a hydrolysed micro-protein base, or a novel protein base. It is critical during this 6-8 wk feeding trial that your dog not eat anything thing else, including flavored medications and bones.
Symptoms of allergies in pets:
Treating pets with allergies
Depending on the allergy, there are many methods of treatment available that can help alleviate the agony of allergies. To help give relief at home, you can regularly shampoo your pet to help reduce itchiness and remove any pollens, bacteria from the skin. Also consider wiping paws every time they have been outdoors. Be cautious with plants inside your home which may cause allergic reactions. Do your best to keep your house free from dust and other airborne allergens. We might recommend over-the-counter antihistamines initially, although these help only with mild allergy symptoms.
After positively diagnosing your pet with a specific allergy, the veterinarian can recommend a more specific treatment for their particular case.


What is rainy season in Tanzania
The rainy season in Tanzania typically occurs between March/April and May/June, and then again between October and December. However, the exact timing and duration of the rainy season can vary depending on the region within Tanzania.
In the northern coastal areas of Tanzania, the rainy season usually occurs from March to June, while in the southern regions, the rainy season can last from November to April. In the central regions of Tanzania, the rainy season typically occurs from November to May.
During the rainy season, Tanzania experiences heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, which can lead to flooding and landslides in some areas. The rainy season can also make some roads and bridges impassable, and some parks and reserves may be closed due to safety concerns. However, the rainy season also brings new growth and greenery to the landscape, which can make for some stunning scenery and great wildlife viewing opportunities


A Time for Patience
Patience is defined in the dictionary as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset. Throughout the times we are presently forced to tolerate, I cannot believe that there is any greater quality needed than patience.
We must spend a lot of time right now with our children who are not in school. We need to get to know them and tolerate their moods and actions. We need to be patient with them and with ourselves in a rare situation through this virus attack.
Patience can be taught to our children as we attempt to help them at home. They need to be patient with themselves when we limit their screen time which may be all they know to do with their out-of-school time. They need to be patient with their siblings when they get little break from them. They need to be patient with you as their “substitute teacher--more patient than they have been with the substitute teachers in school.
If we teach patience as a strength when dealing with people, as courage, as something that makes our children healthier and happier, we will accomplish more learning than they receive in school. If we teach them patience as steadfastness in face of the teasing and tormenting from siblings, we will also help ourselves to have patience. If all of us can remain calm in waiting for this to pass, we will have become better people, patient people.
Patience is not the ability to wait, but how you act while you are waiting.
(See specific articles to learn how to grow patience in your children of all ages.)
Even if the goal is academic, when we teach young people emotional skills, social skills, we see better mental health. Shimi Kang
If we want our children to succeed in life, there are social and emotional skills we must teach them. As parents and caregivers, our time is important, but taking time to help children learn to control and use their feelings and emotions properly in society is worth every minute of our time. This generation is growing up with tech time, but not parent time.
Children who grow up feeling like they can't do things, are not good enough or that they are not worth anything experience mood swings, loss of pleasure and poor concentration. These feelings are made worse by a tech-based society in which children experience social isolation and disconnection.
Impulse control is one of the skills with which we can help our children. "Mastery of impulse is all about self-discipline and choice. The mind is a powerful tool with which we have the ability to be in control of ourselves," says Alaric Hutchinson.
Children need balance in their lives which parents and caregivers can give. Creating routines, providing the right amount of nourishment in the form of fruits and vegetables with fewer calorie-rich snacks, limiting the amount of time children are on screen, providing time for physical activity, enough sleep for their age, and family time, especially at meals help children to know who they are and their place in the family as well as society. Communication and conversations are needed for children to grow successfully, to feel good about themselves and to achieve in their studies.
Suggestion: Make time to listen to your children.


Bacteria as Space-Time Machines
Microbes and bacteria don’t understand political man-made borders. They just expand and react freely; they are sovereigns of their surroundings. They deterritorialize human topographic order to delimit their own dominion. And they always leave some sort of trace behind them. Trace evidence is left behind when different objects come into contact with one another revealing a past narrative, like fingerprints indicate a hand that was once in contact with a surface, or a warm seat in the tube, which reveals that somebody was seating there before us.
Once the cap of a Boletus Erythropus mushroom is nicked and the cell walls are broken, oxygen alters its colour from brownish-orange to a range of iridescent tones. Walking amongst these psychedelic fungi in a forest could produce fantastic blue-black footsteps, as their colour transfers onto the shoes, which tread upon them. Colours and shape distortions that appear on them provide some sort of forensic evidence. A dynamic landscape narrative starts also on us after watching these traces. Landscape sensitive properties are nonetheless preserved in spite of continuous deformations.
This process of tracking back a series of events in space deals with re-enacting and re-mapping. In this sense, it could be also considered a Deleuzian reterritorialization process, where Euclidean coordinates turn into a set of dynamic parameters. Microbiological mutations can be perceived as space-time machines as well. After watching them, our brain takes us to a different time and place through a set of topological relations. How humid an environment was that turned bacteria samples into a pale tone? Or were they rather affected by loads of dust floating in the air?
Hidden layers of reality become automatically visible for us. The essence of different places is registered and captured during a certain time lapse. Aren’t these on-going maps almost more real than reality?
In observing microbes mutations, space is both represented and built anew in a constant negotiation of different agents; as Martina Löw puts it when referring to the relational production of space, which she understands by Spacing: the situating of social goods and people and/or the positioning of primarily symbolic markings in order to render ensembles of goods and people recognisable as such constitute space. Goods and people are connected to form spaces through processes of perception, memory and fantasy; we want to imagine what has really happened, why there is a round-shaped stain on the floor in front of us…
Building space can be considered as an architectural act, but not in the most classic perspective as the Vitruvian Triad has monopolised over centuries. The real fundaments of constructing space have actually never been Firmitas, Utilitas and Venustas (firmness, utility and beauty). As Miguel Paredes states, built space must actually be unstable, dysfunctional and ugly, changeable and blurry.
daniel fernández pascual (text contribution, 2011)
With the work DOMINIONS, Julian Charrière and Andreas Greiner captured a series of landscapes through bacteria (installation at Program Berlin, 2011. Curated by Carson Chan). Each box was exposed to a different ambience in remote places of Germany and Switzerland; then, displayed at a height proportional to the altitude of each site.
[all images> Dominions by Julian Charrière and Andreas Greiner. Installation at Program Berlin 2011. Curated by Carson Chan]


Represent: Dr. Santosh Rai
Photo: Pakistani Hindu women's performing Laxmi Puja on Diwali Festival in Karachi City of Sindh State)
Islamabad : Hindu leaders in Pakistan say persecution is the main reason for the recent migration of members of their community from the country.
“Every month a Hindu family leaves for neighboring India. Insecurity, killings, kidnappings and forcible conversion of women to Islam are the major causes,” said Jaipal Chabria, a Hindu politician in Pakistan.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says that every year about 300 Hindu girls are abducted and converted to Islam against their will in Sindh province alone.
Hyderabad diocese’s Vicar General Father Samson Shukardin also referred to “increasing frustration” among minority groups. “Most of the cases registered from Hindu families are from the Haris (peasants) community. The recent murder of the only Catholic federal minister has also increased desperation among minority groups,” said the director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace in the Catholic diocese in Sindh province. “Many Christian families wish to leave the country but cannot do so because they are poor,” he said adding “Minorities are feeling left out.”
Out of a population of 170 million, 78 percent are Sunnis, 16 percent Shiites and 6 percent non-Muslims. Christians are the second largest minority after Hindus, who make up 1.6 percent of Pakistan’s population. About 90 percent of the Hindus live in the rural southern region.
The recent number of Hindus is the sharpest decline in contrast to 20 percent of the population at the time of country’s independence in 1947, Chabria said.
“The mass migration, the non return of the Hindu community is bad news. Other minority groups including Christians and Ahmadis are discriminated likewise,” said Pritam K. Rohila from the Association for Communal Harmony in Asia. “The younger generation do not trust the government any more and opt for living abroad,” he said. The use of religion for power and politics will only distance people from the county’s establishment, he added.
Media reports say about 30 temples remain out of 300 Hindu places of worship at the time of independence in Karachi.
Rights group say that Pakistan’s stringent laws relating to religion have been used to persecute minority faiths.
Hundreds of Hindus and Christians are said to be among the accused


The USDA organic label is supposed to protect the consumer against GMOs and avoidable chemical exposures, but the sobering fact is that USDA-certified infant formula manufacturers are not only being allowed to use a pesticide in their formulas, but are advertising it as a ‘healthy’ mineral to unsuspecting consumers.
Unbeknownst to the vast majority of U.S. consumers, the nutritional adequacy of infant formula it not determined by its ability to support and produce health in those who receive it, as would be expected. Instead, it is deemed nutritionally adequate solely by virtue of it containing minimum quantities of a list of 29 nutrients, without specifying or even acknowledging the significant qualitative differences that exist between minerals in the form of nutrients and those in the form of industrial chemicals, e.g. amino acid-chelated forms of iron (iron glycinate) are much safer than relatively inorganic forms (ferrous oxide). Surprisingly, all that regulators do is ensure that those ingredients are there in the amounts deemed necessary, and that some basic quality control measures are followed during the manufacturing process.
A recent review summarized the U.S. rules as follows:
Infant formula, like no other food, is regulated by its own law, the Infant Formula Act of 1980 as amended in 1986. The act sets lower limits on 29 nutrients (so-called “table nutrients” because they appear in table form. U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 21 CFR 107.100). . . . Manufacturers are required to follow “good manufacturing practice,” but no requirement for sterility is specified. . . . Powdered formula is not guaranteed nor required to be free of pathogenic organisms (Baker, 2002).
Another researcher opined on the topic: “If we assess formula by its results, rather than by whether its ingredients matched a specific list, we would have to conclude that there has never been an infant formula that would “satisfy,” by itself, the nutritional requirements of infants during the first months of life.”
Essentially, the only thing infant formula does is keep children alive, and hopefully growing at a pace deemed acceptable by pediatric clinical growth standards.
But even infant formula’s ability to ‘keep children alive’ is increasingly coming into question. A recent review published in Archives of Diseases in Childhood revealed a disturbing statistic:
Considering this estimate, a fair question to ask is how much of this mortality burden is caused solely by a lack of breastfeeding/breast milk, and how much of this is being caused by the formula itself?
There is no denying that a sizable body of clinical and epidemiological research now exists proving that breastfeeding prevents at least 70 health conditions in breastfed infants, and that infant formula contributes to or causes 57 adverse health conditions, making the widespread promotion of infant formula in the US all the more troubling.
But, what may be most disturbing of all, is what ingredients are actually being put into these so-called breast milk alternatives, and under the ostensibly ‘pure’ and ‘healthy’ banner of the USDA organic label.
Enter the strange story of Copper Sulfate….
Copper Sulfate: Pesticide, Algaecide or “Organic” Nutrient?
Counter Markets Newsletter - Trends & Strategies for Maximum Freedom
Do a google search for “Copper Sulfate” and you’ll find a fascinating array of products vying for your attention, such as:
- Rooto Brand ‘Root Killer,’ 2lb Copper Sulfate: used to effectively kill and destroy roots in your drain.
- Crystal Blue Copper Sulfate ‘Smart Crystals,’ 5 lb Copper Sulfate: used to kill algae and kill roots in septic systems.
- Seed Ranch 100% Pure Copper Sulfate Crystals, 1lb: used to kill snails and slugs, pond cleaner to kill mosquito larvae and algae, fungicide/mildew cleaner, tree stump remover.
Nothing here indicates that Copper Sulfate is a ‘nutrient,’ correct?
Indeed, if you dig deeper into its toxicological classification you will find that, according to the Dangerous Substance Directive (one of the main European Union laws concerning chemical safety), Copper Sulfate is “Harmful (Xn), Irritant (Xi) and Dangerous for the environment (N).” According to research performed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the lowest dose of copper sulfate that had an acutely toxic impact on humans is 11 mg/kg, which is approximately 748 mg for a 150 lb adult.
All the more surprising to find this chemical in USDA certified Organic infant formulas, such as Similac’s new Advance® Organic Infant formula, and not as a contaminant, or even as a preservative, but as a mineral that ‘…helps give babies a strong start in life,’ according to the Similac website, describing its line of infant formulas and human breast milk fortifiers.
How can this be?
The USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) presently regulates the definition of organic. According to NOP guidelines, any multi-ingredient product that contains 95% or more organic ingredients (excluding water and salt) may be labeled “organic.” Therefore the Copper Sulfate in Similac’s Advance Organic formula falls within the “contains less than 2%” ingredient list, giving the chemical a free pass.
But it gets even more interesting. Part 205.601 of the NOP’s guidelines specifies that copper sulfate is a “synthetic substance allowed for use in organic crop production,” as long as it is used in a way that “minimizes accumulation of copper in the soil.” We can assume, therefore, that its classification as an acceptable synthetic substance for use in organic crop production, it has evaded raising red flags among regulators.
There are several conclusions we can arrive at from here:
- Faced with chemically-watered down USDA Organic Standards, the time has come to look to truly organic agriculture (you know, what our grandparents simply called “food”), produced locally, and whenever possible with permaculture and biodynamic farming practices, which do not allow chemicals of any kind into their self-sustaining systems.
- We should be weary of all infant formula, including so-called “organic” formula, as it has well-known health risks, is not produced with any assurance that it has a beneficial effect on infant physiology (beyond preventing death from starvation), and likely also contains a known pesticide/herbicide.
- Time has come to focus on the irreplaceable importance of breastfeeding in infant health. When a mother’s milk fails, or production drops off prematurely, milk sharing clubs should be utilized. Worse case scenario, and these options are not available, goat milk products should be considered as an alternative, primarily because they do not contain the problematic casein protein known as beta-casein alpha 1, which is found in most cow’s milk in the US.
- Finally, hold manufacturers accountable. Advocate the Precautionary Principle, and put the burden of proving copper sulfate, sodium selenite, and various other chemicals used in infant formulas, and children’s vitamins, safe instead of turning exposed populations into guinea pigs by using animal-based toxicological risk assessment models to determine the highly Orwellian “acceptable level of harm.”
 June Pauline Brady. Marketing breast milk substitutes: problems and perils throughout the world. Arch Dis Child. 2012 Jun ;97(6):529-32. Epub 2012 Mar 14. PMID: 22419779
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 1981–1986. Registry of toxic effects of chemical substances (RTECS). Cincinnati, OH: NIOSH.
This article first appeared at GreenMedInfo. Please visit to access their vast database of articles and the latest information in natural health.


Date: April 14, 2019
Speaker: John Fonville
Category: Palm Sunday
Scripture: Luke 19 :28–19:40
Tags: faith, judgment, davidic covenant, Hallel Psalms, Isaiah 53, Peace, Christ, King, Messiah, Passover, Triumphal Entry, kingdom, Rome, Palm Sunday, donkey, palm branches, Psalm 118, Judas Maccabeus, A.D. 70, Fall of Jerusalem, Sovereign, Weeping, Psalm 89, Zechariah 9:9
In Luke 19, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem divides into three scenes. Each scene reveals an aspect of the kind of King (Messiah) Jesus came to be. The consequences for failing to receive Jesus for who He truly is utterly disastrous.


FALKNER • American author, Robert Heinlein, once said, “A generation which ignores history has no past and no future.” Tippah County is fortunate to be home to a Historic Landmark which invites residents to delve in to the past: The Old Ruckersville School.
Ruckersville School was the institution that gave birth to the formal education process of most of the black citizens of the Ruckersville community. The school building, which now serves as a community center, is one of over 1,300 buildings and sites in the state that have officially been recognized as having historical and/or architectural significance. Properties designated as Mississippi Landmarks are afforded specific benefits and protection by the State of Mississippi to insure preservation of the property’s historic, aesthetic, architectural, scenic, and cultural significance.
The Ruckersville School, originally organized as the Ruckersville Colored School, was founded in the early 1940’s. In 1941-42, the first structure for the Ruckersville School was a one-room shanty style building and served a dual purpose, as church and school.
The school in its infancy was supported primarily by the community with families and friends making sure that there was wood for the pot belly stove that provided heat for the teachers and students. A number of the teachers that taught at the Ruckersville School were from out of town, and during the school year, they lived with numerous families in the community.
It is believed that the building that now stands on the site and which served the Ruckersville School from the early 1940’s to the late 1960’s was built by Garnett Hopper. The school was initially slated to be a brick structure, but due to the building of the nearby Falkner School at the time, which used all of the bricks available, Ruckersville School ended up being constructed with cement blocks, which, in essence, probably ended up being a blessing to the community, since most of the other schools built during this time period were built from wood. Due to time and the elements, these other schools have had to be torn down or totally refurbished.
In the early 1940’s when the construction of Bethlehem Baptist Church was in progress, the present structure served temporarily as a place of worship for the members of the church.
When school was in session, the students would often look forward to being allowed the privilege of going to the principal’s office, pressing the small black button signaling it was time to raise the flag for the beginning of a new day of learning. The raising of the school flag was always overseen by a school official.
The school building itself, which, for the most part, has been left unchanged — even down to the original pale green paint on the cinder block walls — is not the only reason why the building is historically significant. The old school, which formerly went up to sixth grade, now features a Historic Room: a veritable time capsule of the school’s history.
Elaine Simelton taught at the school before integration. Prior to her death in 2021, Simelton, a well-respected leader in the Ruckersville community, engaged in spearheading multiple Ruckersville community improvement projects, including leading the Ruckersville TCDC in its quest before the Appalachian Regional Authority to secure the grant monies for laying the Foot Loose Walking Track on the former playground area. Her passion for her community, and preserving her community’s history, led to her establishment of the Historic Room, where she served as its first curator.
The Historic Room was a labor of love for Simelton, who spent decades of her time and financial resources to preserve the history of the school for future generations. Old wooden chairs from the original school are set up in a circle in a corner of the Historic Room, as if awaiting a small group of children for story time. Original student textbooks are on display, as well as the school secretary’s typewriter. Primary source documents, such as a ledger written in the handwriting of a former teacher of the school, photographic tributes to the many members of the military and notable graduates and teachers of the school, as well as newspaper clippings of past events, including a visit by Dr. James H. Meredith, who integrated the University of Mississippi, are all proudly displayed, transporting visitors back in time. The catalogued documents and artifacts in the Historic Room emphasize the major impact this unassuming, humble structure had on so many students during its 60 years as a school, due to the dedicated teachers and staff who cultivated young minds with a love of learning and a passion to change the world.
One such former student is Simelton’s daughter, Miriam Simelton Anderson. Carrying on her mother’s vision, Anderson, a Ripley resident, is interim curator of the Historic Room. Pointing to a school portrait of a smiling girl with braided pigtails, displayed on a bulletin board in the school’s auditorium with photos of others associated with the school, Anderson explained, “That’s my third grade photo—right before integration.”
Passing the stage, where students would once perform, prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance were recited, as well as where major announcements were made, Anderson recalled her mother telling her as a child, “When you get older, you’re going to have to learn to get up in front of people.”
She and her classmates gave many speeches up on that stage. Anderson’s mother was right: as an adult, Anderson speaks publicly, both as a community advocate and as an entrepreneur who provide individuals, families, employees, and small business owners with access to legal services, and identity theft protection services.
Mississippi’s state government dedicated the building to community use after integration.
“There is a board which oversees the building now. After integration, most of us (students) went to Falkner, some went to Ripley, some went to Walnut,” Anderson explained.
After integration, her mother stopped teaching, cared for her children, and continued in various community projects, including the Historic Room.
The Ruckersville School served then, and continues to serve, as a pillar to Ruckersville and surrounding communities, and was declared an official Mississippi Landmark on July 17, 2009.
The Historic Room is open for viewing by appointment only. To schedule a tour, contact Miriam Simelton Anderson: (662) 587-7604.
Those desiring to donate to the Ruckersville Historic Room Evergreen Project may do so by making your donations payable to: Ruckersville T.C.D.C. Historical Room Evergreen.


Beware of beauty
Senecio Jacobaea has very few friends, despite her beautiful head of yellow flowers. The problem is in her common name, Ragwort, which paints a picture of a raggy person covered in warts, usually poisonous! But Senecio Jacobaea is not a person; she’s a bright wild flower with the potential to kill, or at least cause sickness, pain and suffering!
But please don’t write her off just yet. You see, due to her good supply of nectar and pollen, she is loved by many! Her fan following consists of insects, flies, bees and butterflies. So taking away Senecio and you take away this romantic liaison between 150 wild species. But to many people, getting rid of her is the only option! Especially people that keep horses!
Ragwort is poisonous to horses and quite often, there are no symptoms until it’s too late. The horse will stop eating and lose weight quickly. They will become sensitive to the sun and lose co-ordination. Quite often they lose their sight and eventually struggle to breathe. This is liver failure in a horse.
So what makes this plant a killer? Well it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids compounds (but so do 1/3rd of all plants) that are poisonous to most animals. Once in the intestines, it’s broken down by the liver. It’s the liver cell damage that kills the poor animals that eats Senecio Jacobaea when no other food is available.
It is a sorry tale for many, but one that could have a happy ending if you avoid the Jekyll and Hyde plant.


Being able to work together with individuals is one thing puppies are born with, new analysis exhibits: As much as 40 p.c of a younger canine’s capability to speak with us is genetic, even earlier than any coaching or bonding has taken place.
In different phrases, the friendliness that younger pups are identified for is partly innate – although some begin off higher at it than others, based mostly on their genes. The workforce behind the findings says their discovery might assist in bettering coaching for service canines sooner or later.
The research concerned 375 puppies with a mean age of 8.5 weeks previous. The canines have been requested to finish quite a lot of standardized duties designed to measure their responsiveness to human interplay and their willingness to cooperate.
“These are fairly excessive numbers, a lot the identical as estimates of the heritability of intelligence in our personal species,” says animal psychologist Emily Bray, from the College of Arizona, Tucson. “All these findings counsel that canines are biologically ready for communication with people.”
Bray and her colleagues have spent a decade working with canines on the service canine group Canine Companions within the US, which provides them entry to loads of puppies along with their breeding historical past and pedigree report.
Utilizing knowledge from observations collected between 2017 and mid-2020, the workforce constructed a statistical mannequin evaluating genetic with environmental elements within the canines they examined, whereas controlling for breed, intercourse, age and rearing location.
The younger pups have been most responsive when a handler checked out or pointed to a container hiding meals – although the canines solely adopted orders when the gaze or gesture was preceded by a social cue (the handler speaking to the canine).
In one other take a look at, the puppies have been proven to be eager to have a look at a handler whereas the individual was speaking, and to return ahead for a pet. Nevertheless, in an experiment with a sealed container holding meals, the canines seemed much less to their human companions, suggesting whereas they have been good at responding to our cues, their capability to speak in form comes later of their improvement.
“We present that puppies will reciprocate human social gaze and efficiently use data given by a human in a social context from a really younger age and previous to intensive expertise with people,” says Bray.
“For instance, even earlier than puppies have left their littermates to reside one-on-one with their volunteer raisers, most of them are capable of finding hidden meals by following a human level to the indicated location.”
There’s truly a rising quantity of proof that very younger canines share the identical willingness to cooperate and talk as human infants do, although scientists have but to ascertain the genetic influences that is likely to be behind this conduct.
Subsequent, the researchers wish to search for particular genes that affect sociability in puppies, which would require a genome-wide affiliation research, the involvement of extra sorts of canine, and following these canines over time fairly than simply analyzing their conduct at a single level of their improvement.
In addition to serving to in canine coaching, future discoveries could possibly be informative in tracing the evolution and domestication of canines – precisely after they began exhibiting these behaviors as they grew to become a human’s finest pal.
“From a younger age, canines show human-like social expertise, which have a powerful genetic part, which means these talents have robust potential to bear choice,” says Bray.
“Our findings would possibly subsequently level to an vital piece of the domestication story, in that animals with a propensity for communication with our personal species might need been chosen for within the wolf populations that gave rise to canines.”
The analysis has been revealed in Present Biology.


A Tutorial for High School Chemistry
High school chemistry is one of the most feared classes of high school students in their scholastic careers, but with a few tips and resources it can be fun and engaging. High school chemistry encompasses the basics of chemical structure, equations, atomic mass and numbers, as well as bonding and topics like organic and electrochemistry.
Chemistry starts with the basic understanding of the chemical structure of atoms and molecules. All matter is made up of atoms and atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Each of these has a specific mass and never changes. The atomic number of an element is determined by the number of protons in an atom and the atomic mass is the number of protons plus the average number of protons in the atomic nucleus. To figure the mole, or molecular mass, the atomic masses of the individual atoms are multiplied by 1 gram and added together if the atoms are in direct proportion with each other or a one to one ratio. This number is called Avagodro's number and represents the fact that the number of particles in the molecule will be the same as that of the atoms making it up.
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A distinction that must be made is that chemical equations differ from chemical reactions. A chemical reaction is what really happens, or the physical events that take place. While the chemical equation represents the reaction in mathematical form. Reactants are the chemicals that are involved in the reaction, also called reagents, and are what the reaction starts as. After the equation and reaction are completed the result is called a product. Several different types of equations exist such as skeletal, balanced, and word equations and they are a part of all chemistry including organic and electrochemistry. A skeletal equation does not show any kind of conversion or change; it simply lists the reactants of the equation and a result. Balanced equations show the amount of atoms or molecules involved, as well as the amount of the product. Word equations are simply that, just the words representing the formula. Balanced equations are the most prevalent in chemistry.
Electrochemistry involves the transfer of electricity in the form of electrons and bonding in physical and chemical processes. It is the study of electricity at its most basic description. Terms such as potentiometry and electrolytic methods are common in electrochemistry. Potentiometry is the potential voltage of any substance or the potential electricity that may be transferred to another substance while electrolytic methods encompass a measurement involving a current or charge. This is the branch of chemistry that provides society with batteries, fuel cells, and electrical grids that are so vital to existence. Additional areas of study in electrochemistry include redox, balancing redox equations, reduction potentials, and the thermodynamics of redox equations.
Organic chemistry is the study of carbon based chemistry and is the chemistry of life and living organisms. Organic chemistry makes up a large portion of chemistry research and learning as it governs all of life's processes and chemical exchanges such as digestion, decay, growth, and birth. Topics in organic chemistry include acids and bases, molecular modeling, carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins, and DNA, as well as stereochemistry. There are thousands of organic chemical reactions and equations that are essential in the understanding of carbon chemistry. Studying organic chemistry will have a majority of the time devoted to bonds and the orbital properties of electrons that allow or enable said bonds in every state of matter.
Chemical bonds are what hold atoms together in molecular form and three major bonds take place in chemistry covalent, ionic, and non-covalent. In a covalent bond atoms share an electron to form their bond, effectively binding them together as the shared electron is needed by both or all atoms involved with the bonding. An ionic bond occurs when an electron is dropped or given to another atom and is not shared. Ionic pairs are held together by electrostatic attractions much the same way magnets work; common table salt is an example of an ionic bond. Non-covalent bonds are typically found in biological chemistry; hydrogen bonds are an example of non-covalent bonds.
Isomers present a special set of properties; they are compounds that contain the same number and same type of atoms but display different properties. Types of isomers include geometric, structural and optical; an optical isomer is a compound that is a mirror image of another but not identical. Typically they rotate the plane of polarized light evenly and equally. Geometric isomers differ only in the structure of the atoms and how they are connected and bonded. Isomers are a diverse and complicated group of chemical compounds that has given rise to many medicines such as Insulin.


Using one of the recommended resources to get writing feedback, respond to the prompt below.
Make short sentences about each of the following images using each one of these adverbs: frecuentemente, bien, rápidamente, lentamente, temprano, ya, todo, mal.
Using one of the platforms for finding a tutor or language exchange partner, practice the speaking activities below.
Partner Speaking Exercise:
With a partner who speaks Spanish, practice forming different -mente adverbs by using this list of English adverbs of manner (ending in -ly). See how many of these English adverbs also exist in Spanish. Then try to form ten simple sentences using adverbs of manner.
Independent Speaking Exercise:
Choose 10 of your favorite -ly adverbs in English and form their -mente versions in Spanish. Use them in sentences, saying each sentence aloud. If you need help thinking of -ly adverbs use this list of English adverbs. Check them in a translator to see if they are correct once you’ve formed the Spanish equivalents.


Weather and climate dominate disaster trends, says 2015 CRED data
The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Robert Glasser, said yesterday that just under 100 million people were affected by disasters last year, while climate often aided by a strong El Niño was a factor in most.
Introducing preliminary annual disaster data from the Brussels-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Mr Glasser said the most obvious impact of the hottest year on record “was the 32 major droughts recorded…more than double the ten-year annual average.”
He added: “The main message from this trends analysis is that reducing greenhouse gases and adapting to climate change is vital for countries seeking to reduce disaster risk now and in the future.”
Nepal confirmed that earthquakes are the single most deadly category of natural hazard and underlined the importance of building codes.
“It is buildings which kill people in seismic zones,” Mr Glasser said in a joint UNISDR-CRED press release, “as we saw again at the weekend in Taiwan.”
But weather and climate-related disasters now dominate disaster trends linked to natural hazards, the press release said.
The five most disaster-hit countries in 2015 were – in descending order of frequency of events – China, the US, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Mr Glass added: “National disaster-management agencies in Asia are doing good work in reducing death tolls from storms through early warnings and timely evacuations, especially in the Philippines, China, Japan and the small island states of the Pacific.
“Asia and the Pacific bore the brunt of the 90 storms reported last year which included 48 cyclone-strength storms.”
CRED Director Debarati Guha-Sapir said: “At 22,773 deaths for 2015, overall disaster mortality was considerably down on the ten-year average of 76,424 deaths.
“It does seem that early warnings are having an impact in the case of storms. Further investment in this area is warranted…
“Extreme temperatures, mostly heatwaves, have been severe in 2015. Several countries in Europe faced heat stress with significant numbers of deaths particularly in France.
The 32 major droughts recorded by CRED last year compared to an annual average of 15 over the previous decade, its analysis says, and the 50.5 million people affected were well above a ten-year average of 35.4 million.
Floods, which usually affect the most people in any given year, were in second place in 2015, when 152 floods affected 27.5 million people and claimed 3,310 lives.
Among other weather or climate-related data from 2015 were landslides triggered by heavy rains that killed 1,369 people and wildfires that affected almost half a million people.
Number of reported disasters per country, in an extract from a CRED-UNISDR infographic of their preliminary analysis of disaster data for 2015: it shows Asia was the most disaster-affected region and China the most affected country. (Source: CRED-UNISDR)


UC Berkeley Press Release
Avoid the brat pack: Website makes raising joyous kids more practical
BERKELEY – Reams of academic research abound across the country on how to raise happy children, but who has the time to read this myriad of findings, boil down the facts, and then turn them into practical parenting advice? The University of California, Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center is taking on the job with its new website on how to foster joy and avoid brattish behavior in children.
(Courtesy UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center)
"They said, 'We've read enough. Tell us what to do,'" said Carter, the mother of two young girls, ages 4 and 6, who follows child development research closely.
A video producer offered to film Carter having blog conversations or "blogversations" with other moms and parenting experts, and thus was born the "The Science of Raising Happy Kids" website at: http://greatergoodparents.org.
Carter points out that happiness is not necessarily something we're born with, but is a skill children learn best from their parents. For example, research shows that the road to happiness is paved with altruism rather than materialism. Moreover, children who are praised for working hard rather than for "being smart" respond more positively to all sorts of challenges.
While grounded in rigorous social science research from institutions ranging from Stanford University and UC Berkeley to Harvard University and Columbia University, the website each week will answer such common questions as how best to praise your children, how to foster gratitude and how to establish sit-down family dinners even when everyone is on a different schedule. Carter said her ultimate goal is to help parents raise "emotionally literate" children.
Unlike other online parenting resources, the Raising Happy Kids site focuses on the positive rather than approaching everything as a problem. In addition, visitors can receive helpful tips from parents via message boards rather than from pediatricians, nutritionists and other experts.
Plus, there's not a single advertisement on the site: "We are doing this because we are concerned about trends in child well-being, not because we want to sell something. We know that we have good science that can improve children's outcomes, and our commitment is to getting the word out," Carter said.
Right now, visitors to the site will find short video blogs and "Try This at Home" tips as well as a blogversations between Carter and East Bay author, mother and breast cancer survivor Kelly Corrigan. Each month, a new theme will be featured. Not surprisingly, November's is gratitude and December's is an emphasis on family traditions and rituals as alternatives to shopping and toy fests.
The Greater Good Science Center helps people apply scientific research to their lives. Researchers at the center currently are looking into the neurobiology of positive emotions as well as at trends in well-being among American youth.
"Scientists have traditionally focused on understanding dysfunctional behaviors, but for the first time we are really seeing a lot of research that tells a positive story," said Dacher Keltner, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology who is founder and faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center. "When scientists learn something about what helps children thrive or what makes them happy or compassionate or grateful - well, then, we need to pass that information on to parents."


To define critical thinking is to describe it as the ability one has to comprehend and analyze a given subject in great depth. When students are asked to write an essay that involves critical thinking, they are expected by their professor to conduct critical research and to demonstrate a true understanding of both the problem and possible solutions. Professors assign critical thinking essays because the process of writing them teaches students to critically analyze information.
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Critical Thinking Essay Examples – Use Them Wisely
Of course, critical thinking is one of the most important skills today. Students write dozens of critical thinking essays to develop better critical thinking competencies. However, not everyone knows how essays on critical thinking can benefit their progress in learning. The purpose of this post is to outline the most valuable aspects of critical thinking and provide critical thinking essay examples for everyone.
Learn How to Make Decisions from Critical Thinking Essay Examples
Critical thinking always begins with decision making. In fact, critical thinking essays require a great deal of clarity about the decisions made by students. Writing a critical thinking essay actually means making a critical decision and defending it. If you have pending essays on critical thinking that are due soon, then be ready to engage in a lengthy and productive decision making process. Stay critical when you are choosing a topic, developing a thesis statement, and selecting evidence to support your claims. Be critical choosing the best solutions for a problem that you are going to discuss in your paper.
Do not Ignore Deductive Reasoning
If you look at critical thinking essays, you will see that many of them incorporate the advantages of deductive reasoning. It means that you take the information you have for each decision making alternative and deduce a conclusion based on a thorough analysis of this information. Critical thinking essays often require advanced deductive reasoning. They also provide an opportunity to improve your critical thinking skills.
Essays on Critical Thinking – You Can Do It
Critical analysis comes into play whenever you are in a position to evaluate someone else’s ideas or works. If it is a book, then you will have to read it through. If it is a painting, you will have to understand its historical and creative context. Critical thinking essays can provide a clue to students as to how they can best use their critical thinking skills. Empirical analysis can also benefit you. Do not underestimate its value in critical essay writing. However, be ready to take an objective position and evaluate your work from a new perspective.
In all essays on critical thinking, evaluation is one of the most important components. It means that your claims and assumptions must be supported with evidence. This is one of the primary requirements for critical thinking essay writing. Facts should be used everywhere. Their credibility is often unquestionable. However, make sure that you take these facts from reliable and reputable sources. Otherwise, your paper will look like it was written by the 1st-grader. If you want to defend a thesis that capital punishment does not improve crime deterrence, make sure to cite specific statistical data to back up your points.
Great Essays on Critical Thinking – Solving Problems
Problem solving is one more component of critical thinking and essay writing. It means that, when you have a problem, you develop a strong outline and defend the proposed solution. In almost all situations, one problem renders the provision of more than one solution. However, before you have at least one potential solution at hand, you will have to consider each and every component of the selected issue. Try to break it down into separate components and see which of them do not fit their purpose. In most essays on critical thinking, this is what you will do. You will be doing a job that your physician is usually doing – examining your organs and systems to find out which one is not working well. In essay writing, you will have to take a critical perspective on the consistency of your writing, your thesis statement, your topic, and so on. Be ready to consider your topic and essay as a combination of smaller elements. This way you will greatly improve your skills.


An Element’s Presence Felt
Throughout this novel, “The Lord of the Flies”, fire serves many functions both real and symbolic. Fire was a form of wealth and power; it represented maturity and responsibility and was the one thing which all the boys had in common. When reflecting apon this novel it is imperitive to witness how important a role fire actually plays.
One of the things that fire represented in this novel was that it could be considered a form of wealth and power. Of the boys, those that were considered important and dominant were the ones who controlled the fire. In turn, those who controlled the fire were followed by the others, so fire could also represent leadership. Many times jealousy reared its head over there fire; something quite common in our society in terms of money, so that demonstrates how fire could be viewed as a form of wealth. It’s something of immense value, so much in fact that if necessary one would kill to obtain it. Control over the fire was a key issue however fire could not always be controlled. In fact at times it showed its incredibly wild nature and caused mass destruction on the island.
Maturity and responsibility were some other key symbols of fire. Keeping the fire lit in hopes of being rescued was part of a plan devised by the elder members of the group (Ralph in particular). This point supported by Ralph when he stated,
They were like a small nation; one that had to develop laws and a small system of government to keep order and prevent chaos. This, their elections, etc, were some of the adult situations they had to adapt and use in their new lifestyle on the island.
Whatever the situation may be, fire always remained the one thing all the boys had in common. The fire had to be kept going lit if they were to be rescued. This statement supported when Ralph lashed out at Jack,
“There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out! They might have seen us. We might have gone home-” (pg. 76-77).
Keeping the fire going was a common goal amongst the boys and they all worked together to see that it would be done. They all needed fire for basic survival and its importance was well known among them all. Despite whomever had control of the fire, the rest of the boys follwed them, so thusly this determined temporary leadership on the island.
To summarize the above, the fire’s importance in this novel is clear; both for what it represented and what it is. It was responsible for keeping the boys unified, as well as tearing them apart. Fire brought adult situations to the table which the boys had to deal with and couldn’t ignore. It helped sustain life yet it also caused mass destruction. Whether viewed in a positive or negative light, its presence was surely felt nonetheless.


Parents often ask us how they would know whether their young person requires a higher level of care, such as a hospital admission or a stay in residential treatment. Understandably parents want to balance their child’s need for the best treatment with keeping them at home and in the family.
Sometimes these decisions can feel incredibly tough, especially if it is unclear what treatment your child needs and your child is resistant to help. But the treatments and therapies you choose for your child can heavily influence outcomes.
Here we look at how parents can better understand the decision-making process to make informed choices that are right for their child.
What happens when my child first shows signs there might be a problem?
When young people first show signs and symptoms of mental health concerns or problems at home or school, they may be referred to a counsellor. This may be a school counsellor, pastoral head, NHS CAMHS service, or a specialist children’s therapist. In addition, some schools will have an educational or clinical psychologist or a child and adolescent recovery coach that can be called upon for young people with low-level concerns.
When a young person sees a counsellor at school or home, we usually expect them to be working on ‘here and now’ issues. This might include friendship problems, homework difficulties, pressure at school, or family arguments. Counsellors at school and in the community are excellent resources for problems in the day-to-day management of life for young people. This approach is often sufficient to iron out any issues before they escalate into deeper problems.
Where problems appear more complex (as is generally the case with eating disorders, for example), your child’s counsellor may refer your young person or even the family to a specialist Psychotherapist, Clinical Psychologist, or Psychiatrist.
This is the usual protocol if your child’s counsellor feels that your young person would benefit from an assessment of medical or clinical needs, or that they need more specialist levels of care. There are several different types of psychological treatments. The evaluation will determine the best approach for your child but will usually include talking therapy, like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
As a parent, it is crucial to understand the complexity of mental health. Sometimes, a few counselling sessions won’t provide a magical cure, and recovery is never linear for complex issues. There may be steps forward and steps back in your child’s treatment. It is helpful to be prepared for this and be aware that different treatment options may become more appropriate as your child’s treatment progresses and problems unravel. Try not to worry. The counsellor or therapist with whom your child works will inform you if they feel more intensive treatment options should be considered.
What is a higher level of care?
A higher level of care usually means a stay in a hospital psychiatric ward, a psychiatric unit, or a residential treatment centre. However, it could be a more intensive outpatient treatment program. Your child’s safety will always be at the heart of any recommendations by clinical professionals.
My child is not getting better. What do I do now?
For some children, counselling will help to get things back on track. For others, more help may be needed, and there may be a referral to a child and adolescent specialist mental health team, psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist specifically trained to work with young people.
The family may also be referred to a family therapist and specialist mental health practitioners trained to help with specific family-oriented problems. Whatever the referral, your young person will get a treatment plan formulated after careful consideration.
As treatment progresses, parents will receive regular updates and be kept involved in decisions about ongoing care. Additional specialist services may be called upon as the plan unfolds to help with physical or psychological needs.
If your child has a higher risk level, or when outpatient treatment does not seem to be improving your child’s situation, your treatment team may recommend residential admissions or hospital care.
Your child’s mental health team will carefully consider inpatient or residential care if your child is self-harming, has suicidal thoughts, their physical health is compromised or is at risk of deteriorating or further harm.
Deciding for your child to go into a hospital or residential care treatment program can be difficult and frightening, particularly if your child resists the idea. Parents understandably feel that the safest place for their child is at home. While it may feel like you are going against your child’s wishes, you must trust the clinical guidance and process.
What if my child is resisting help?
This is such a valid question and one we are asked often. If your child is struggling with their mental health, for whatever reason, they will be behaving differently from how they did before these issues arose. You may therefore struggle to communicate with your child or adolescent, and it can feel like you no longer recognise them. You know they need help, but they try every trick in the book to convince you they don’t need it.
As a parent, you can feel like you are forcing them to do something they don’t want to, and this can feel uncomfortable. While it is essential during adolescence to allow your young person to develop independence and let them have their say, you must be careful not to let the mental health condition win.
Remember, your child is most likely terrified of treatment. Let’s consider the example of an eating disorder. Controlling what they eat has become their coping skill. It has likely begun to define them, and this means they may feel treatment will signify giving up some part of themselves.
If you find yourself in this challenging but not uncommon situation, there are many strategies to try. While it may feel overwhelming, you may have to approach things differently if you want to influence your child’s recovery.
This might involve family therapy and therapy for yourself. Importantly, don’t engage in debates or a battle of wills with your child. Ultimatums and a power struggle will make them want to reject treatment even more.
Inpatient, Residential, or Outpatient – what’s involved?
Treatment for mental health disorders is complex and may involve multiple providers and different levels of care at various stages. Therefore, it is helpful for parents to know what each level of care involves.
Having this knowledge will help to clarify what is appropriate for your child. Treatment for anorexia nervosa, for example, will usually include talking therapies (there are several types) and supporting activities that forge positive experiences around food and weight management.
Here’s an overview of what the different levels of care generally involve:
Outpatient treatment – sessions with a counsellor, psychologist, or psychiatrist once or twice a week and regular appointments with a dietician for eating disorders.
Intensive outpatient treatment is a structured program that includes individual therapy, group therapy, and education. Sessions are typically three to four hours long and run two to five days weekly.
Intensive outpatient treatment is usually offered when a person needs more support and structure than standard outpatient treatment. It is also a valuable option for people who have just ended a period of hospitalisation or when leaving residential care.
Partial hospitalisation – the person attends an outpatient treatment centre during the day for five days a week but sleeps at home. Most meals are taken at the treatment centre. This is especially critical for eating disorders as part of a food education and recovery program. This level of care is suitable for medically and psychiatrically stable people who can’t function in normal educational or vocational settings and need daily assessment.
Residential treatment is 24/7 care in a non-hospital setting. Treatment includes multidisciplinary care, nutritional support, medication management, and individual and group therapy. Residential care is ideal for young people who are medically stable but need time away from home and school, college, or university to make progress in recovery.
Medicalised hospitalisation is emergency care for people who are medically unstable and require 24-hour monitoring of vital signs. The person may require intravenous fluids and tube feeding. Sometimes, the person may be admitted to a psychiatric ward or mental hospital against their will for compulsory treatment.
Countries have different regulations for hospitalisation against a person’s will. For example, in the USA, a person can be committed against their will if they meet specific criteria, which may differ from State to State. In the UK, a doctor can decide to admit a person to a hospital for compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act.
What does treatment look like?
Treating eating disorders is complex. Individuals have different needs, and treatment should reflect this through a precise and personalised program of therapies and supporting activities.
Talking therapies are essential. Opportunities to explore feelings that underpin eating disorders may include individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy. Families need to understand that eating disorders aren’t just about food. There is often anxiety, depression, trauma, perfectionism, and an element of control.
The most common type of talking therapy for eating disorders is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT-E). CBT-E is a scientifically proven method of treatment where the therapist and the young person work out together what is keeping the eating disorder going and how to manage and ask for help. In addition, the therapist supports the young person in exploring how they feel about themselves and their bodies and the rules they may have developed around food and eating. Family involvement is usually an essential part of CBT-E for young people.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a therapy method initially developed for people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) but has shown to be helpful for people with eating disorders. This approach helps people develop new coping and relationship skills, which include mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotional regulation.
In addition, essential to any comprehensive eating disorder program is wrap-around support and education and the chance to enjoy new experiences and have fun. At The Wave, for example, a typical day would include journaling, arts, dance, study time, self-care breaks, reading and relaxing, and individual and group therapy. Notably, The Wave’s expert dieticians work with our young people to make food challenges more manageable and provide support and guidance on weight management. For example, we empower young people to practice safely writing lists, shopping and preparing meals together.
Is residential care at The Wave a good fit for my child?
The Wave is one of the few International Programs dedicated to mental health care for children, teenagers, young adults, and their families.
The Wave has developed a team of exceptional professionals who are talented, dedicated, experienced, and lovely, empathetic people. Our team of experts is renowned for treating young patients with care and sensitivity, so you can feel assured that your child or young person is in a safe space and in the safest possible hands.
Please get in touch with us for further information and to discuss your child’s needs. All enquiries are treated with the utmost confidentiality and respect.


The Burmese cat is known to have a very dog-like personality, loving nothing more than to follow owners around the home and being involved in everything they are doing. It’s their way of getting all the attention they crave while at the same time showing owners just how much they love them. They are strong, athletic and graceful cats that boasts wonderful glossy coats. Males tend to be quite a bit larger than their female counterparts, but both are loyal and affectionate which are just two of the reasons why the Burmese has remained such a popular companion and family pet throughout the ages.
Although the Burmese was originally native to Burma, the cats we see today were developed in the United States. Legend has it that ancestors of the breed were considered sacred and were kept in remote monasteries and temples in Burma. It is said, the cats were so revered, they were given their own servants whose task it was to look after them and to make sure no harm ever came to them.
It was in the late 1800s that the breed found its way to England, although at the time they were never as popular as their blue-eyed cousins, the Siamese. As a result, their numbers fell to dangerously low levels both in the UK and Europe. However, in the thirties breed enthusiasts rescued the Burmese by Dr Joseph Thompson, a medical officer who was serving in the US navy when he returned to the States after his tour of duty. He established a breeding programme using pure breeds to widen the gene pool.
In 1936, the breed was officially recognised by the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA) and then in 1952, the Burmese was officially recognised by the GCCF in the UK and was granted full Championship status a few years later in 1959. Today, the Burmese is among one of the more popular breeds both in the UK and elsewhere in the world, thanks to their charming looks and affectionate, playful and loyal natures.
The Burmese is a strong, elegant and athletic cat that boasts having a lovely, glossy coat. Their coats always appear to have a polished look about them which is one of the breed’s distinguishing traits. Although, athletic, the Burmese is quite a heavy cat, yet their legs are nice and slender. They have wedge-shaped heads that are well rounded at the top. Their ears are medium in size, set well apart and rounded at the tips matching the shape of their heads. They have large eyes which can be anything from a bright yellow right through to amber in colour and which are set well apart. Cats always have a keen, alert expression in their eyes which adds to their charming looks. They have wide cheek bones and quite blunt noses with a clear break in them. Males have more well developed jowls and thicker necks than their female counterparts.
They have moderately long, well-muscled bodies and nice strong chests which when seen in profile appears rounded. Backs are straight from a cat's shoulders to their rumps. They have slender legs with their back ones being slightly longer than their front legs. Their paws are oval in shape and small. The Burmese has a straight tail that's thicker at the base before it tapers to a rounded tip.
When it comes to their coat, the Burmese boasts having a short, fine, close lying, glossy coat that's very satin-like to the touch. The sheen on a cat's coat is always thought to be a sign of them being in good health. The colour on their under parts is always that much lighter than on the rest of their bodies, but the change in colour is always gradual and never abrupt. A cat's ears and face can also be slightly darker and some Burmese have slight tabby markings on their faces as well as undefined markings on the rest of their bodies with the exception of on their sides and bellies. Coat colours include the following:
The Burmese is renowned for being a cuddly, affectionate and fun-loving cat that loves being part of a family. They crave human contact, liking nothing more than being involved in everything that goes on in their environment. They are quite gregarious and extremely social by nature and as such, they need to be kept busy to avoid boredom setting in. They get on very well with children which is another reason why they are such a great family pet.
They boast having a soft albeit rather "hoarse" voice and can be quite talkative at times, especially when encouraged. They don't like to be left on their own for long periods of time which means they are best suited to families where at least one person stays at home when everyone else is out. Males tend to be less inquisitive than their female counterparts and they are often a lot quieter by nature too. Females on the other hand tend to get very attached to their families and crave more in the way of attention. However, both females and males are known to like their food a little too much which is why it's important to keep an eye on a cat's waistline throughout their lives.
The Burmese is a highly intelligent cat and one that boasts having a ton of energy. They are often referred to as being the "extroverts" of the cat world which often sees them behaving very mischievously. Because they are so smart and boast so much energy, the Burmese needs to be kept busy so it’s always a good idea to invest in lots of good quality toys if you are thinking of sharing your home with a Burmese.
They adore exploring the great outdoors, but never seem to stray far from home. However, many owners like to keep their cats as indoor pets for safety reasons. As such, when a Burmese is kept as an indoor cat, they need to be given lots of toys and things to play with to prevent boredom from setting in which could result in them becoming a little destructive around the home.
The Burmese with their outgoing, affectionate and mischievous personalities are the perfect choice for families with children and this includes toddlers. They love playing interactive games with the kids and tend to be very tolerant and patient around them, knowing instinctively when to get out of the way when things get too boisterous. However, younger children need to be taught how to behave around cats and any interaction should always be well supervised by an adult to prevent any mishaps.
They also get on well with dogs as long as they are good around cats, that is. However, care has to be taken when introducing a Burmese to dogs they don't already know just in case the dog does not get on with their feline counterparts. Burmese are incredibly social by nature, however, it's always wiser to keep a close eye on any cat when they are around smaller pets, just in case.
The average life expectancy of a Burmese is between 16 and 18 years when properly cared for and fed an appropriate, good quality diet to suit their ages.
The Burmese is known to suffer from a few hereditary health issues which are worth knowing about if you are planning share your home with one of these energetic, fun-loving cats. The condition that seems to affect the breed the most include the following:
The Burmese needs to be groomed on a regular basis to make sure their coats and skin are kept in top condition. On top of this, cats need to be fed good quality food that meets all their nutritional needs throughout their lives which is especially true of kittens and older cats.
The Burmese boasts having a short, dense, close lying coat and as such they are low maintenance on the grooming front. A weekly brush and wipe over with a chamois leather is all it takes to keep their coats in good condition with a nice sheen on it, bearing in mind that the breed is well known for their glossy coats. Like other cats, they tend to shed the most in the Spring and then again in the Autumn when more frequent brushing is usually necessary to keep on top of things.
It's also important to check a cat's ears on a regular basis and to clean them when necessary. If too much wax is allowed to build up, it can lead to a painful infection which can be hard to clear up. In short, prevention is often easier than cure with ear infections. Cats often suffer from ear mites which can be a real problem which is why it's so important to check their ears on a regular basis.
The Burmese boasts having a ton of energy and are known to be rather mischievous when the mood takes them. They love playing interactive games which is just one of the reasons why they have remained such a popular family pet throughout the ages.
Cats that are kept as indoor pets need to be given lots of things to do and places to hide when they want to, bearing in mind that the Burmese loves to climb up high. They also need to have lots of places they can snuggle up for a snooze when the mood takes them because if there is one thing they are really good at it's taking a lot of naps throughout the day.
If you get a Burmese kitten from a breeder, they would give you a feeding schedule and it's important to stick to the same routine, feeding the same kitten food to avoid any tummy upsets. You can change a kitten's diet, but this needs to be done very gradually always making sure they don't develop any digestive upsets and if they do, it's best to put them back on their original diet and to discuss things with the vet before attempting to change it again.
Older cats are not known to be fussy eaters, but this does not mean they can be given a lower quality diet. It's best to feed a mature cat several times a day making sure it's good quality food that meets all their nutritional requirements which is especially important as cats get older. It's also essential to keep an eye on a cat's weight because if they start to put on too much, it can have a serious impact on their overall health and wellbeing. Like all other breeds, the Burmese needs to have free access to fresh, clean water at all times.
If you are looking to buy a Burmese, you would need to pay anything from £400 to over £700 for a well-bred pedigree kitten. The cost of insuring a male 3-year-old Burmese in northern England would be £13.05 a month for basic cover but for a lifetime policy, this would set you back £25.32 a month (quote as of Sept 2016). When insurance companies calculate a pet's premium, they factor in several things which includes where you live in the UK, a cat's age and whether or not they have been neutered or spayed among other things.
When it comes to food costs, you need to buy the best quality food whether wet or dry making sure it suits the different stages of a cat’s life. This would set you back between £15 - £20 a month. On top of all of this, you need to factor in veterinary costs if you want to share your home with a Burmese and this includes their initial vaccinations, their annual boosters, the cost of neutering or spaying a cat when the time is right and their yearly health checks, all of which quickly adds up to over £500 a year.
As a rough guide, the average cost to keep and care for a Burmese would be between £30 to £50 a month depending on the level of insurance cover you opt to buy for your cat, but this does not include the initial cost of buying a well-bred kitten.
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Beacons are fires lit on hills or high places, used either as lighthouses for navigation at sea, or for signalling over land that enemy troops are approaching, and alerting the defence. In the latter form, beacons are an ancient form of optical telegraph and always used in relay leagues.
In modern technical parlance, a beacon can also be a radio transmitter used for navigation.
Beacons have often been abused by pirates. A fire at a wrong position was used to direct a ship against cliffs or beaches, so the cargo could be looted after the ship sank or ran aground.
Beacon is also the name (or part of the name) of some places in the United States of America:


If the counterinsurgency (COIN) in Afghanistan is America's longest war, it is also among its more complicated. Insurgencies have their own sets of confusions, intelligence puzzles, and dubious allies. Afghanistan adds its own challenges through its rich tapestry of clans and ethnicities, centuries-old rivalries, poorly defined borders, and myriad of cultural dynamics that make it difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies. In the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, today's friends can very quickly become tomorrow's enemies. Pakistan is a country that markets itself to Washington as a friend but whose primary intelligence service may function as an enemy.
The Taliban's ascent to power fits into the pattern of modern Afghan authoritarian and clan-based politics. Many of today's insurgent leaders took part in the fight against the Soviets in the 1980s and were directly supported by Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and supplied by the United States. In the summer of 1994, the Taliban entered a general fracas to control Afghanistan. The reclusive leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, led an assortment of religious leaders and students to control 90 percent of the country within five years. Recruits were largely drawn from slums and refugee camps in Afghanistan and adjacent areas in Pakistan. The Taliban was supported, to some extent nurtured, by the ISI. The relationship was born, in part, from elements of common Pashtun identity and a long border. Pakistan views Afghanistan's security concerns as its own as it has long seen Afghanistan as lying within its sphere of influence.
After the United States invaded Afghanistan to rid the region of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Pakistan, which had armed the anti-Soviet insurgents, pledged to partner with Washington as an ally. In turn, Washington substantially increased the level of military and developmental aid to Pakistan, making it the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. Between 2001 and 2009, Pakistan received approximately $12 billion in direct U.S. aid. In 2009 alone, Congress passed a five-year $7.5 billion civilian aid package and in October 2010 the U.S. announced a new $2 billion military aid package as an incentive to work harder at clearing its country of terrorists. Soon, however, observers became skeptical of Pakistan's true intentions and grew concerned that some of the funds and weapons provided to Pakistan to ferret out the Taliban were, in fact, being handed to the Taliban and used to kill Americans.
A Janus-Faced Ally
Had there been any doubts about Pakistan's double game, recent revelations by Wikileaks would have put some to rest. The Wikileaks website and the New York Times, The Guardian of London, the German magazine Der Spiegel, and other media outlets revealed Pakistani direct partnering with the Taliban. In addition, a report produced by the London School of Economics in 2010 detailed the assistance of mid-level ISI officials to the Taliban. The report claimed that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met and coordinated with senior Taliban officials and assured the Taliban that he would resist U.S. pressure to close the insurgents' sanctuary in Pakistan. Pakistani officials were, predictably, quick to dismiss this report, calling it "rubbish."
In fact, it is not rubbish. The RAND Corporation produced an extensive study verifying a dynamic and extensive ISI role in the insurgency, and U.S. senators such as Russell Feingold, then-member of the Foreign Relations Committee, have acknowledged the veracity of elements of the Wikileaks reports. This sentiment was echoed by former State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley who said, "It [the ISI aid to the Taliban] is a real threat." Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton explained that he understood this problem well when he served in the Bush administration and hoped then-Pakistani Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf would purge the ISI of the more radical and militant elements.
The extent to which the ISI collaborates with the insurgents is debatable. Some observers claim that the ISI's "S" Wing is the main culprit and operates with relative autonomy and often without approval of high-level leaders in the ISI. Others are skeptical that any element of the ISI could offer large-scale and sustained lethal aid without approval of the ISI's chief.
Explaining ISI Support
There are three basic reasons why Pakistan's most important intelligence service supports the anti-American insurgents: Pashtun connections with the Taliban; a consuming hatred for the United States; and Pakistan's demand to be a regional actor in South Asia.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of ethnic solidarity in parts of South Asia. Vast literature has been written about these bonds and of the sweeping Pashtun nationalism that overarches the porous and contested borders. A Pashtun code of conduct known as Pashtunwali requires tribesman to aid each other and close ranks against a common enemy. The common enemy of some Afghan and Pakistani Pashtuns is the Coalition Forces of Afghanistan. About a quarter of the Pakistani military is Pashtun, which is greater than the 15 percent in the general society. The ISI is approximately 25 percent Pashtun. Even more important than Pashtunwali and solidarity, however, is the fear that Pashtuns in Afghanistan may agitate for a Pashtunistan, drawing Pakistani territory into the equation.
A second reason for the ISI aid to the Taliban is driven by a nation-wide consuming hatred for the United States, which receives surprisingly little play in U.S. media. If Pakistan is, indeed, a friend of the United States, the Pakistani intellectuals, clerics, journalists, local politicians, and retired ISI offices have yet to learn this. There is a constant screed against American hegemony, human rights abuses against Pakistanis, and American cultural degradation corrupting Pakistani youth. Above all, Islamic clerics and leaders of civil society fulminate against an American-led war on Islam. For over 25 years, Gulf states have funded Pakistani religious schools, or madrassas, which inculcated boys in the most narrow, puritanical, misogynistic, and religiously chauvinistic strains of Wahhabi-oriented Islam.
Two issues illustrate this broad-base hatred and embrace of wild conspiracy theories. In a trial barely covered by the dominant U.S. media, Afia Saddiqui, also known as "Lady al-Qaeda," became a national hero in Pakistan. Born in Pakistan, she was raised in the U.S. where she received her doctorate in neuroscience. Soon after 9/11, her allegiances were revealed as she traveled to Pakistan with documents connected to biological weapons of destruction. She hoped to make herself useful to al-Qaeda, but was apprehended in Afghanistan by the U.S. military and shot at a U.S. soldier. She missed, but will be serving the next 28 years in prison. There have been countless demonstrations, political rallies, even a national petition-signing campaign orchestrated from the highest echelons of the Pakistani government, which express the anger and contempt for the United States held in Pakistan. Under the moniker the "daughter of the nation," Siddiqui is considered a victim of American "Islamophobia."
Driven by nationalism, the third cause for aiding the Taliban is Pakistan's insistence on playing a dominant role in South Asian affairs and the need to prove independence from Washington. Many Pakistanis believe that the United States works in concert with India and that Afghan security personnel partner with Indians to undermine Pakistani interests. Pakistani leaders can ill afford to develop the image of being controlled by Washington. They need to appear tough towards the U.S.
Evidence of this pervasive fear of India and hatred for the West is personified in retired ISI chief Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, who headed the ISI from 1987 to 1989. In the late 1980s, Gul worked with Taliban commanders loyal to Mullah Omar, as well as the Jalaluddin and Sirajuddin Haqqani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar groups, who are all are tied to al-Qaeda. Today, Gul is flamboyant with his hatred of the United States, India, and Israel. Some of this may be narcissistic braggadocio, but some of his comments reflect his conviction that these three countries are allies in a war against Islam. U.S. leaders have tried to put Gul's name on a list of international terrorists.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan will remain an important actor in the greater Afghan drama. A U.S. government leader said, "The key thing to bear in mind is that the administration is not naive about Pakistan. The problem with the Pakistanis is that the more you threaten them, the more they become entrenched and don't see a path forward with you." This may be the case. Still, there are things the U.S. government can do.
Demand a full accounting by all external players who support the insurgents. Iranian and Pakistani intelligence services have repeatedly, significantly, and enthusiastically supported the Taliban. The data revealed through Wikileaks makes Pakistani denials no longer plausible. Further, Saudi Arabia funds the Pakistani religious schools that preach contempt of the United States, India, and world Jewry. Post-Wikileaks robust and rigorous Congressional hearings could clarify the role of Pakistan in the Afghan insurgency. If the ISI helps the Taliban kill U.S. soldiers, the American people are entitled to know. This issue has been investigated before but insufficiently.
Educate the U.S. military. Establish a hard-hitting security briefing to protect the force against political Islam, or Islamism. This briefing should have three partsâ€”a background on political Islam, to include Islamic mandates for global supremacy, dissimulation, and allegiance to the world's Islamic community; a second part could focus on service-specific issues and threats; a final part would turn to threats by the world's Muslims in areas of operation, particularly Afghanistan, in which U.S. forces are deployed or likely to deploy.
Expose the lobbyists. Honest discussion on the role of external players in the Afghan COIN is clouded by the vast army of "consultants" who serve on the payroll of Pakistan, as well as Saudi Arabia and other oil-exporting states. Often, these hirelings boast impressive credentials such as retired general, former ambassador, senior intelligence officer, and university professor. While it is their right to work in the interests of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, television audiences could profit from understanding their employment status. They are not honest brokers.
Pakistan may render aid to the United States, but elements of its chief intelligence service also aid the enemy. It may be that one element, "S" Wing, is the singular supplier of lethal aid, but ISI leaders are unlikely ignorant. It may be that a cost-benefit analysis will determine the current relationship with Pakistan is sufficient. Perhaps. But there are reasons to doubt it.
Mark Silinsky is a senior intelligence analyst for the United States Army. His views do not represent those of the Army or any element of the U.S. government.
Related Topics: Winter 2010 inFocus
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Collecting Data — The First Step to locating Solutions to Organization Problems
Collecting info is the first step in finding strategies to business complications. Once you have a clear idea of what your organization is trying to achieve, you have to figure out how to gather the data that will help you get there. The kind of data you may need will depend on your goals and may end up being either quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data is statistical and talks about things in concrete and easily measurable terms, such as rates, amounts and statistics. Qualitative data is definitely descriptive and gives an insight into people’s thoughts, opinions and perceptions of a subject.
It is important to get a formal method for collecting data because it ensures that the data gathered is normally accurate and unbiased. That is particularly significant in fields where groundwork integrity may be a concern, just like laboratory savoir or public sciences like sociology or perhaps cultural anthropology. The use of particular data collection instruments (whether existing ones, new types or modified versions) and clearly delineated instructions with regard to their appropriate use minimizes the likelihood of problems virtualdatatech.net/virtual-board-meeting-for-contemporary-business-environment once collecting data.
Depending on the approach to data collection you choose, the next step is recording or organizing your data. This can take various forms depending on type of info you happen to be collecting and your desired method of analysis. Meant for case in point, if you are doing a study you might record the answers on a schedule or jot them down, while a spotlight group interview requires detailed notes. Saving is a essential part of the info collection procedure as it enables you to review and evaluate your computer data after the simple fact, rather than having to rely on random access memory or second-hand reports.


Today people are continually looking for ways to get energy through cleaner means than traditional methods such as coal or nuclear. However, technologies that have been used for decades under the realm of clean energy, such as dams, are now being questioned because of the negative impacts they have on the environment and people around where the dam is built. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about water turbines and their huge potential for generating electricity from the flow of rivers or from the power of tides (Alternatives to Dams: The Free Flow Kinetic Hydropower System). Today I’m going to be writing about harnessing power from the oceans waves, specifically through a system by Australia’s BioPower Systems called the bioWave. Let’s jump in and take a look at what this system is and how it works.
The bioWave system was designed around a concept called biomimicry. There are things in nature that have gone through a process of trial and error in order to come up with a solution that works best in nature. Biomimicry looks at what has worked in nature and tries to mimic it through modern technology. While BioPower Systems was in their design phase they looked at kelp and the way it stands up to the rough conditions of the ocean and survives. They paid specific attention to the way kelp sways in the ocean with every wave. Out of that observation came the bioWave.
The bioWave is made up of several components. The main component is the floats or “blades”. Within one unit there are several of these blades that serve to capture the motion of the ocean. The blades interact “with the rising and falling sea surface (potential energy) and the sub-surface back-and-forth water movement (kinetic energy)”. Just as kelp sways back and forth in the water with every wave so does the bioWave. Along with the blades there is a base foundation that is mounted to the ocean floor and has a pivot that can turn the unit so that it is in line with the wave direction as well as letting the blades sway. When the blades sway they convert the energy into electricity through an onboard generator and then the electricity is sent to the grid through cables on the ocean floor. The result is clean energy.
The bioWave has a number of components that set it apart from other systems that harness power from the waves. One of the biggest issues with these types of systems is that they break in the unpredictable and treacherous climate of the ocean. BioPower Systems came up with a unique solution in its design. When the waves get too rough a sensor is triggered and the blades fill with water. As the blades fill they get heavier and the whole arm pivots and lies down on the ocean floor to protect itself. As the ocean calms the water is released from the blades and they are filled with air making them stand back up. Sounds like a great solution to keep the unit from tearing itself apart under the extreme conditions of the ocean.
Another consideration that had to be given attention was how it will affect the surrounding environment and marine life. To this BioPower Systems says, “the slow motions of bioWAVE, and its smooth surfaces, should minimize any disturbance to the environment”. This explanation sounds nice, but we’ll have to see when they’re actually installed in the ocean. Something else we’re going to have to wait and see is how the environment and marine life will treat the system. Obviously they’ve done testing and have planned for these units being in the ocean, but the ocean is unpredictable and when you enter its world anything can happen.
Fortunately it looks like we’re not going to have to wait too long to see how these will work and survive in the ocean. At the end of 2011 the Victorian government of Australia awarded BioPower Systems $5 million for installation of the bioWave system in the oceans off of Australia. Also, I was thrilled to hear that California is currently working with BioPower Systems to get the bioWave system installed off the coast of San Francisco (where I’m from) to provide power to San Francisco’s grid. Hopefully the installation in Australia will be successful and lead to more of these installations around the world.
Overall this system sounds like a great idea that has a lot of potential for adding to the number of ways we get electricity from clean energy. I can’t wait to see the results from the installation in Australia, and see if California gives it a try. Whereas other technologies have failed to harness the ocean BioSystems hopes that by paying attention to nature and building their system around biomimicry they will be successful where others have failed. Here’s a short video showing the system and how it works. Hope you enjoyed the article. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this technology and its potential in the future of clean energy.


Previous studies have linked Bisphenol A (BPA) to migraines and miscarriages, but a new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago have found a link between exposure to low levels of BPA during early development and the development of prostate cancer later in life.
In the study, researchers implanted prostate stem cells from deceased young men into mice, and then fed the mice BPA for the first two weeks of life. The amount of BPA given to mice was relatively the same as those commonly seen in pregnant women. Thirty-three percent of the stem cells in mice who were fed BPA had cancerous or precancerous lesions later in life. Mice produced cancerous or precancerous lesions in 45% of tissue samples when the stem cells were exposed to BPA before and after the stem cells were implanted in the mice. Comparatively, only 12% of mice who were fed harmless oil instead of BPA were found to have cancerous or pre-cancerous lesions.
“We know that stem cells help replenish our organs throughout life. We propose that if there is exposure early in life to an estrogenic compound – such as BPA – it reprograms our stem cells,” said Gail Prins, lead author of the study.
BPA is an industrial chemical that is widely used to soften plastics and can be found in clear plastic bottles, containers used to store food, and some sports equipment. BPA is in an industrial chemical that can be found in clear plastic bottles, containers used to store food, and some sports equipment. BPA can leach into water or food as the plastic breaks down, especially when the bottle is heated. One way to lower your exposure to BPA? Switch to a bottleless water cooler.