Elementary Program (Grades 1-6)
A Conscious Mind
Students between 6 – 12 years of age are entering a new stage of development. The absorbent mind of the younger child is evolving into a conscious mind. Elementary students are interested in reasons, explanations, and the perspective of time; they love grand ideas and lofty concepts— the bigger, the better. They are eager to explore.
Students of elementary age have developed a sure sense of what is real and now enjoy using their imaginations to explore things that they cannot experience concretely, such as other cultures or big ideas. The concrete, manipulative work of the pre-school Casa program naturally gives way to more abstract, intellectual work.
Elementary students are also more aware of their peers, community, and global issues. They are less focused on physical order and more interested in a moral sense of order. They have a strong sense of justice, fairness and rules.
Children who have at least one parent who speaks French at home and are fluent in French have the opportunity to enrol in the Francophone Program
Download for each grade


By Olimpia Zagnoli for the New York Times
Can you detect someone’s emotional state just by looking at his face?
It sure seems like it. In everyday life, you can often “read” what someone is feeling with the quickest of glances. Hundreds of scientific studies support the idea that the face is a kind of emotional beacon, clearly and universally signaling the full array of human sentiments, from fear and anger to joy and surprise.
Increasingly, companies like Apple and government agencies like the Transportation Security Administration are banking on this transparency, developing software to identify consumers’ moods or training programs to gauge the intent of airline passengers. The same assumption is at work in the field of mental health, where illnesses like autism and schizophrenia are often treated in part by training patients to distinguish emotions by facial expression.
But this assumption is wrong. Several recent and forthcoming research papers from the Interdisciplinary Affective Science Laboratory, which I direct, suggest that human facial expressions, viewed on their own, are not universally understood.
Read the full article by CLBB Faculty and Northeastern University Psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett in the New York Times. Published February 28, 2014.
UC Berkeley psychologists and leading facial expression researchers Paul Ekman and Dacher Keltner submitted a response to Feldman Barrett’s research findings on March 11, 2014. Read the letter to the editor here.


European legislators adopted a legally-binding target this week to decrease greenhouse gas emissions 60% by 2030, more ambitious than the net reduction of “at least 55%” the European Commission had proposed, even as a new study found the continent’s fossil companies’ climate plans falling short of the targets in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The legislated emission cuts will require agreement between the European parliament and individual EU countries, which remain split on a target that is to be finalized by the end of the year, Reuters reports. The EU’s 2030 goal currently stands at 40%.
On Wednesday, Swedish Social Democratic MEP Jytte Guteland, identified by Reuters as the “lead lawmaker” on the target, said the parliament had taken “a big step closer” to meeting the Paris goals by adopting the 60% threshold. Denmark and Finland both said they would support deeper emission cuts, and about half of the EU’s member nations have come out in favour of the “at least 55%” goal. But “Danish climate minister Dan Jørgensen acknowledged it would be difficult to gather enough support for even the 55% target,” the news agency writes.
The Czech Republic is already on record opposing 55%, and Poland, with its heavy dependency on coal, is asking for more detailed economic analysis before deciding.
Yet “experts say a 55% cut by 2030 is the minimum needed to steer the EU towards becoming climate neutral by 2050, putting EU emissions on a path that, if adopted globally, would cap global warming at safe levels,” Reuters states. “A 60% target is unlikely to secure support from EU countries,” but “backing a more ambitious aim could make it harder for countries to water down the target in the ensuing negotiations.”
“We have decided on really ambitious instruments, and we will not easily give that away,” said Greens MEP Michael Bloss of Germany.
On the same day as the European parliament vote, Reuters reported on new analysis showing that none of the continent’s biggest fossil companies have aligned their carbon reduction targets with the Paris goals. “The study by the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), which unites investors with US$22 trillion in holdings, comes as shares of European energy companies including BP and Royal Dutch Shell have struggled amid concerns over their ability to successfully shift away from oil and gas,” the news agency writes.
The assessment of 59 big oil, gas, and coal companies found seven—Glencore, Anglo American, Shell, Repsol, Total, Eni, and Equinor—with plans to match their performance to governments’ long-term carbon reduction targets. But those targets add up to 3.2°C average global warming, TPI found, far above the 1.5°C threshold laid out two years ago this week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “No company was set to meet the United Nations-backed Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of limiting global warming to ‘well below’ 2.0°C above pre-industrial levels by reducing carbon emissions to net-zero,” Reuters says.
“BP, whose CEO Bernard Looney plans to grow the company’s renewables business 20-fold by the end of the decade, is the least aligned among the European companies, not even meeting the government pledges level,” the news agency writes, citing the report. BP was one of several fossils that said they disagreed with TPI’s methodology.
“We’re very happy that some oil and gas companies are seeing these fundamental changes and trying to respond,” said Bill Hartnett, stewardship director of ESG Investment with TPI member Aberdeen Standard Investments. “Some (of the fossils) might have made bigger statements so far than the others, and the important thing is the direction of travel. But none of them are making net-zero yet.”


Fifteen days to Opening Night, and Fearless is running out of elements to match with your Washington Capitals. Next in line is number 15…
The name “phosphorus” comes from the Greek word, “phosphoros,” meaning “bringer of light,” an ancient name for the planet Venus. The name was bestowed upon the element as a result of the glow that phosphorus gives off in the presence of oxygen. The glow is evidence of the high reactivity of phosphorus, an element not found in nature in a pure form for just that reason.
Phosphorus as an element exists almost entirely in two forms, white and red (convenient for our purposes here, covering the Caps and all). White phosphorus glows green in the dark and is self-igniting in the presence of air. It must be stored in water to avoid this occurrence. Red phosphorus is obtained by heating white phosphorus and is more stable than its white counterpart. It will not spontaneously ignite in air, although as we will see in a moment, that does not make it entirely safe.
Phosphorus is named for a word meaning “bringer of light,” but it also has another term attached to it – “The Devil’s Element.” Why? Well, it was the 13th element to be discovered (the number 13 thought to be an unlucky number). Also, it its “red” form it was used to make matches (“frictional” heating, such as striking it across a rough surface, returns the “red” phosphorus to its “white” form, which then ignites).
It was discovered in 1669 by German chemist Hennig Brand, and this is where the story turns just a bit weird. Brand, who might have been an otherwise rational sort of fellow, set out to create the “philosopher’s stone,” a centerpiece of alchemy thought to be capable of turning base metals (lead, for instance) into gold or silver. Brand got it into his head that he might be able to accomplish the feat by distilling salts from (and we’re not making this up) urine. We are not going to go through the whole, frankly disgusting process, other than to say it required large quantities that took up to two weeks to accumulate (these days, that’s what graduate research assistants are for).
He must have been disappointed when he did not end up with gold, but rather a white, waxy substance that glowed in the dark. What he had was ammonium sodium hydrogen phosphate. It would be up to Johann Kunckel, a Swedish chemist (you knew there had to be one here somewhere), to produce elemental phosphorus in 1678 from the compound Brand synthesized.
Today, phosphorus has a variety of uses – flame retardants, pesticides, water treatment, steel production, water softening, carbonated soft drinks (which used to be called “phosphates”). There are two applications that bear special notice. One, in its calcium phosphate form, is bone china – a fine material that contains a minimum of 30 percent phosphate. The other is, as we hinted, matches. The head of the match contains phosphorus that ignites when struck on a rough surface.
What we have is an element that is unsafe in one of its predominant forms, capable of spontaneous ignition, and potentially dangerous in another, a form in which it can be ignited under special conditions. It has something of an odd history about it, and it can be found in materials that can, on occasion, be fragile. It sounds like a defenseman who can be a bit dangerous in his own end from time to time, but who at the other end can ignite an offense. A defenseman who can be fairly described as a bit odd on occasion and who has been a bit fragile, subject to injury.
Phosphorus… the “Mike Green” of the elements of the periodic table.


Castor oil, the yellowish extract from the tropical castor bean plant, is regarded for its important medical uses.
Medical uses for castor oil has been around for centuries – here you will find out why.
From its simple beginnings as a natural home remedy to its expanding roles in mainstream medicine, it is one of the few oils that deliver many medical benefits for everyone.
Castor Oil Is a Common Laxative
Natural castor oil serves as a laxative, which is one of its most recognized medical uses.
During the heyday of your grandparents, it was already used to relieve diarrhea and constipation. In the modern times, this oil from castor oil plant still maintains its medical use as a valuable laxative, especially useful for children and the elderly.
Castor oil is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an over-the-counter laxative that is “generally recognized as safe and effective.” However, it is not recommended in the treatment of chronic constipation as it may only aggravate the condition if taken. Castor oil is indeed very effective in discharging the contents of the digestive tract but its unpleasant, nauseating taste has diminished its demand these days.
Castor Oil Helps in Labor Induction
Another medicinal use of castor oil is that it is a way to induce labor. This is done when pregnant women drink a blend of castor oil and juice in an attempt to prepare for childbirth.
However, there are mixed views regarding this use of castor oil. Some doctors and midwives claim that castor oil induction is effective. But there are also those who say that it causes potential side effects such as dehydration and vomiting for the pregnant mother and fetal distress for the baby inside the womb.
Castor Oil Supports Skin Care and Other Health Concerns
This valuable oil is also used remarkably in the treatment of skin problems. Castor oil contains ricinoleic acid, which brings about anti-inflammatory effects. It is used to treat cuts, burns, abrasions, and sunburn. Castor oil also helps you prevent having skin disorders such as acne and eczema. It is used whenever there is a condition caused by excessively oily skin. According to Botanical.com, it is also used to treat various cutaneous problems such as ringworm, itch, and the like.
Further, castor oil helps in skin care and conditioning. One of its components, Isostearate Succinate, allows it to penetrate deep into the skin, causing an antioxidant effect. Because of this, the oil is used as an ingredient in lipstick and lip balm and other commercial skin care products that moisturize condition and hydrate the skin.
Castor Oil Is Truly Beneficial for Your Health
With all these medicinal uses of castor oil, no doubt that it plays a crucial role in supporting your health. So what are you waiting for? Make use of castor oil and start reaping all its wonderful health benefits.
Do you want to explore other uses of castor oil? Check out the next article -> Health Benefits of Castor Oil
Thank you for reading Medical Uses for Castor Oil.


Tunicates are characterised by an outer coating known as a tunic, made of a cellulose compound. They are marine animals, fixed or pelagic, whose larva has a typical dorsal nerve cord that disappears in adulthood. Ascidians (Benthic tunicates) only live in marine waters. They live fixed to objects at all depths, from the tidal zone to the ocean trenches.
The Muséum’s ascidian collection is above all a scientific one. The samples are mostly preserved in formalin, and since 2011 part of the recent harvests (Southern Ocean) has been preserved in alcohol for molecular studies. They are all identified at family, genus and species level for the 8,000 bottles and 11,400 microscope slides (dyed dissections and preparations). There are an estimated 600 types. The collection samples come from all the oceans, at all latitudes, from the North Pole to the South Pole. Most of the specimens are from the tropical zone. The value of this collection is also due to the systematic diversity represented there, since it contains preserved specimens of all families and genera. There are several databases for scientists. In the ascidian collection, each record includes the family, genus, species, author, synonyms, and often related publications and place of harvest. The species general file covers all the existing species, listed with their author, publication and synonyms.
Due to a lack of French specialists until 1965, very few ascidians have been harvested and preserved in the Muséum. The oldest specimens date back to Savigny (1816). Then travelling naturalists brought back a few examples. For over 30 years, C. and F. Monniot devoted their entire career to ascidians and accumulated the vast majority of the current collection. The collection of bathyal and abyssal ascidians is unique in the world.
Most of the research concerning the collection is systematic (morphology, anatomy and genetics) but there is also ecological and biogeographical research. Specimens have been used for studies of pollution by heavy metals, hydrocarbons, etc. Ascidians are a major component of biomedical research internationally and the collection includes reference specimens from which chemists have extracted new molecules. The collection is growing all the time thanks to the work of the Muséum’s colleagues and researchers from all countries. The many new species described and simple identifications have been made possible by loans of types by foreign natural history Muséums.


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The definition of a chicken tractor has evolved to mean employing your chickens skill-sets in a variety of different tasks that benefit you, your garden and yard. The chickens peck and scratch the soil to clean your beds, eat pest bugs and weed seeds, and fertilize the beds with their manure. Best of all, they provide eggs and meat with that old-fashioned flavor and homegrown goodness. Expanded, updated and even more detailed. Learn how to raise homestead flocks for eggs, meat and money. Loads of photos and diagrams make important information visual and easy to understand. Process birds in your backyard with exact, step-by-step explanations. Over 50 processing photos and diagrams—to let you do it right, efficiently and humanely each and every time. This incredibly popular hands-on book is a grass-roots best seller. It has helped thousands of folks have better gardens and has rekindled an interest in the backyard flocks and heritage breeds of poultry. It has literally, changed the lives of millions of chickens all over the world by taking them out of factory farms, and putting in the gardens where they are happier, more productive and healthier.


Despite the dramatically increased entry of women into general surgery and surgical subspecialties, traditionally male-dominated fields, there remains a gross under-representation of women in the leadership positions of these departments. Women begin their careers with fewer academic resources and tend to progress through the ranks slower than men. Female surgeons also receive significantly lower salaries than their male counterparts and are more vulnerable to discrimination, both obvious and covert. Although some argue that female surgeons tend to choose their families over careers, studies have actually shown that women are as eager as men to assume leadership positions, are equally qualified for these positions as men, and are as good as men at leadership tasks.Three major constraints contribute to the glass-ceiling phenomenon: traditional gender roles, manifestations of sexism in the medical environment, and lack of effective mentors. Gender roles contribute to unconscious assumptions that have little to do with actual knowledge and abilities of an individuals and they negatively influence decision-making when it comes to promotions. Sexism has many forms, from subtle to explicit forms, and some studies show that far more women report being discriminately against than do men. There is a lack of same-sex mentors and role models for women in academic surgery, thereby isolating female academicians further. This review summarizes the manifestation of the glass-ceiling phenomenon, identifies some causes of these inequalities, and proposes different strategies for continuing the advancement of women in academic surgery and to shatter the glass ceiling.


NATURAL BEAUTY AND ART BEAUTY:
KANT, HEGEL AND ADORNO REVISITED
Marcio Hemerique Pereira
University of London
[...] The true purpose of painting is to represent objects as they really are; that is to say, differently from the way we see them. It tends always to give us their sensible essence, their presence, this is why the image it forms does not resemble their appearance [...]
The present essay proposes to compare and contrast the relationship between natural beauty and art beauty as it is conceived by Kant, Hegel and Adorno. Exploring these forms intrinsically attached to public and private concerns of the Aesthetics Theory, I will try to go beyond the author’s texts and understand, if not explore, what they intended to say to the society and the implications it had in our society after that. Equally important, relate their works in Aesthetics and inside-out world. Finally, the essay tangles the different efforts of the writers when using representative forms of speech and what considers being a more viable and broader definition of that Aesthetics.
Natural Beauty and Art Beauty
Beauty is an element which gives pleasure to the human beings. The concept of beauty is found in different cultures with a lot of features. Hegel, Adorno and Kant were great modern philosophers with their concepts on Beauty of Art and Beauty of Nature. Hegelian philosophy declares that true beautiful is divine creature in material shape that finds out beauty in fine art and he keeps out the beauty of nature. Aftermath of Kant, the concept of natural beautiful is turned down mainly because of the arguments of Hegel for the beauty of art. He affirms that a simple art work pass through individuals mind is superior to any creation of nature. Adorno considers realistic beauty happens through the ability of a person to access the object in its distinctiveness. He was inspired by Kant so one can see this influence in his notion. Adorno acquired some support from Kant for his idea of beauty.
However Adorno, says that there is an evil star hangs over the concept of natural beauty. Kant claims that the beautiful should recognize with purposive, but not any specific purpose. But art works have definite purposes given by the artists while their production, that is, beauty is the spirit forms through the judgment of mind.
The discussion on the relation between artistic beauty and natural beauty started from the time of the ‘ Critique of Judgment’ introduced by Immanuel Kant. Nature plays an imperative role in his explanation of beauty. Philosophical suggestions on the art and nature were shifted in the direction of a philosophy of fine art mainly by the arguments put forwarded by the German philosopher Hegel. Kant claimed that the superior structure of beauty is free and self-regulating but Hegel persisted that, to obvious beauty of art is superior to all that is exterior. He used the possibilities of spiritual elements with his scientific view point to define beauty. By a reasonable scientific treatment, his spiritualization of content keeps out the natural beauty. One can see same attitude in the writings of Kant and Hegel but it only in their hierarchical arrangement that consider the relation connecting natural beauty and artistic beauty. Kant considered natural beauty as greater than artificial beauty but according to Hegel the beauty of art is better than the beauty of nature. At the same time 20th century philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, changed their hierarchies related with the idea of beauty. Ástráður Eysteinsson and Vivian Liska, for instance, pointed out that, “Adorno occupies a modernist position in the area of aesthetics because he breaks Hegel’s ideals of artistic harmony” (Eysteinsson, 2004, p.144). In his ‘ Aesthetic Theory,’ Adorno explains that natural beauty is not a superior one over artistic beauty. He argues that natural beauty is a prerequisite for the positive treatment of artistic beauty. Adorno recognizes the aesthetic skill of nature and also positively consider aesthetic experience of art works. Thus he made a synthesis between Kant and Hegel to clearly define the concept of beauty. In short Adorno’s attempt was to avoid the bias of Kant and Hegel towards the realization of beauty.
Aesthetics concept of Hegel is regarded as one of the greatest theories made after Aristotle. Like other many German philosophers Hegel was also a child of neoclassical approach and looked back to the ancient classical age of Europe. Hegel was understood about the setback which continued his own period also. Consequently, he supported that the artist should take theme from the ancient time. His philosophy related with beauty is influenced several thinkers and he was very exact regarding the type of art to find out beauty. His principles on aesthetics are comprehensive notions of beauty and ideal. Beauty in art is the production of the spirit or truth through an object and it can identify only by a deep form called the ‘ideal’ that transcends it to a special form. Beardsley states that, “The artistically embodied idea, Hegel calls ‘Ideal” (Beardsley, 1975, p. 237). On the opposite, spirit is only the true, realizing everything in itself, and then one can say that all are truly beautiful only as distribution in this superior sphere and made by it. Hegel puts forward his argument about beauty. He exclusively finds out beauty in fine art and he totally keeps out the beauty of nature. According to Hegel, the idea is constantly opposite to Nature and the mind generates art, which provides idea to nature. Moreover, he considers beauty in nature is too formless and there are no criteria to analyze it. In addition he argues that a silly fancy pass through a person’s mind is superior to any creation of nature. This constant difference between beauty of art and beauty of nature is a vital point. Thus, Hegel inserts into the history of aesthetics against the concept of Kant which is more recognized beauty of nature.
Carritt writes that, “Hegel refuses to consider nature as strictly beautiful, and defines aesthetic as the philosophy of fine art” (Carritt, 1962, p. 102). Hegel is profoundly making a scientific and an objective study of beauty and in the second chapter of ‘ Lecture on Aesthetics’. He observes that recent concepts of beauty pointed a dichotomy between the representation of beauty and content. This dichotomy involves that a basic element of the beautiful.
 Jacques Rivière (1886-1924) ‘ Present Tendencies in Painting’ p. 190. In Art in Theory (1900-2000). An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Ed. by Charles Harrison & Paul Wood. Blackwell Publishing, 2002.
 Hegel considered that the artistic beauty as the defining characteristic of works of art while Adorno considered it as the moment that turns an artefact into art and determines its greatness. Kant on the other hand considered that some beauty does not express a function at all, but it depends entirely on how the thing is considered in itself. These considerations are referred to in: Kant, Critique Judgment, transl. Meredith (Oxford: Oxford University Press), section 16. Theodor Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, trans. C. Lenhardt (New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984), p.16. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, “The Philosophy of Fine Arts,” in Philosophies of Art and Beauty, ed. Albert Hofstadter and Richard Kughns (New York: The Modern Library, 1964), p.30.
 Jacob (quoted by Matineau) says, “The beautiful has this feature, in common with all that is original, that there is no mark by which we know it. It exists and is self-manifest; you show it but not prove it – es kan gewiesen, aber nicht bewiesen weiden.”
 Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgment, Translated by Werner S. Pluhar, Hackett Publishing Co., 1987
 Kant recognizes, and gives special treatment to, four classes of beautiful objects: free beauty, dependent beauty, beauty in art, beauty in nature. Kant also recognizes two kinds of judgments of taste: pure judgments of taste (the object of which is always free beauty) and impure judgments of taste (the objects of which is always dependent beauty). This point can easily accessed in Eva Schaper in “Free and Dependent Beauty,” which is chapter 3 of Studies in Kant’s Aesthetics (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1979).
 William Desmond, Art and the Absolute: A Study of Hegel’s Aesthetics. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1986).
 G. W. F. Hegel, Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art. Chapters on ‘Natural beauty’ and ‘Art Beauty’ in part I [In volume 1 of the Knox translation]. Full reference is given in the end of this essay.
- Quote paper
- MA Marcio Hemerique Pereira (Author), 2011, Natural Beauty and Art Beauty: Kant, Hegel and Adorno revisited, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/204916


Mental Leap 10 – The World of Systems
With the tenth leap, 75 weeks after due date, or more easily said, 17 months, your toddler gets the new ability to perceive and handle “systems.” He is now able to see clearly over the world of principles. He no longer applies principles as rigidly as before. He is able to adjust his principles to changing circumstances. He also starts to understand that he can choose how he wants to be: honest, helpful, careful, patient, etc. Or, he could choose to be just the opposite. From off this age you can see him develop the earliest beginnings of a conscience by systematically upholding his values and norms.
We adults use the term “system” if the parts it consists of are interdependent and function as a whole. There are tangible examples, like a grandfather clock that needs winding, en electrical network or the human muscle system. There as also less tangible examples such as human organizations. To name just a few examples, take the scouts, the family, the drama club, the police station, the church, our society, our culture, and the law.
You can’t spoil babies, but you can toddlers! By understanding what is happening inside that little head of your newly formed toddler – and remember, they are pretty savvy – you can shape the future behavior of your toddler and set values and norms that will carry him through life. To learn more about how to do so, be sure to read the new, extended edition of The Wonder Weeks.
NOTEThis information is not enough to help your baby through the leap (mental leap 10). Read all about this leap in the book and give your baby the help he really needs.
Your baby really needs your guidance during this (and other) leap(s)!
- See the world through your baby’s perspective
- Learn how to encourage each leap forward
- Help your baby with the three Cs’ of fussy behavior Cranky, Clingy, Crying
- Know which games and toys are best during each key week
- Use calendars, charts and checklists to make sense of their behavior
- Week-by-week guide to baby’s behavior


Quantum physics mimics spooky action into the past. Ancient Islamic architects created perfect quasicrystals. Converting light to sound in cold quantum systems. Science Xplained: Football Physics. Magnetic Movie. Faster Than The Speed Of Light. The Beautiful Math Of Coral. The Brain and Reality. When Worlds Collide. [VIDEO] There is no pink light. New Discovery: Why the Most Massive Galaxies in Universe Suddenly Stopped Creating Stars Billions of Years Ago. Does antimatter weigh more than matter? Lab experiment to find out the answer.
New Clues Into Moon's Magnetic Mystery Revealed. Scientists create first free-standing 3-D cloak. A galactic magnetic field in a lab bolsters astrophysical theory. Study supports role of quantum effects in photosynthesis. Rice lab mimics Jupiter's Trojan asteroids inside a single atom. Physicists Hope to Catch Neutrons in the Act of Jumping from Our Universe to Another. Ultrafast magnetic processes observed 'live' using an X-ray laser. World's first magnetic soap produced. From planets to universes (part II) From planets to universes (part I) A new class of electron interactions in quantum systems. [VIDEO] - What is nothing? Neutrons revive Heisenberg's first take on uncertainty - physicsworld.com. 8 Shocking Things We Learned From Stephen Hawking's Book. Why Does Our Universe Have Three Dimensions?
Quantum mechanics enables perfectly secure cloud computing. How do snowflakes get their shape? Quantum computers, galaxies and Schroedinger's guinea pig. The Search for the Smallest Bits of Space [Video]: Scientific American. Quantum uncertainty: Are you certain, Mr. Heisenberg? SMBC Physics: Why are stones round? feat. Zach Weiner. A Theory That Explains Why Earth's Gravity Doesn't Crush Us All. Introducing the 'antimagnet'
Researchers in Spain have proposed a new type of invisibility cloak that could hide objects from magnetic fields.
The cloak – which has not been built yet – is designed to have a dual effect. It ensures that a magnetic field generated inside the cloak does not leak outside, and it ensures that the cloak and its contents cannot be detected by an external magnetic field. If it can be realized as a practical device, the technology could prove useful in industrial applications that require specific magnetic environments. The first invisibility cloak was unveiled in 2006 and worked for electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range.
It and subsequent cloaks have been based on metamaterials – materials that have been artificially engineered to have specific electromagnetic properties. Magnetic shroud The team used a computer model to simulate the antimagnet as it enclosed a small single magnet. The research is available online at the arXiv preprint server. How to turn darkness into light. Quantum mechanics tells us that the vacuum is not empty but is filled with virtual particles that pop into and out of existence.
Normally these particles are hidden from our view, but now a team of physicists has used the electrical equivalent of an ultrafast mirror to convert virtual photons into real electromagnetic radiation. Known as the dynamical Casimir effect, it was first predicted more than 40 years ago. The static Casimir effect, put forward by Dutch physicist Hendrik Casimir in 1948, involves two perfectly reflecting parallel mirrors that, when placed in a vacuum, will be attracted to one another. This attractive force is caused by the radiation pressure exerted by virtual photons outside the mirrors and the fact that this pressure exceeds the pressure between the mirrors because of the limited number of modes of electromagnetic vibration that are permitted within this gap. In other words, the force results from a mismatch of electromagnetic modes in space.
Science fiction, science fact: reports from the frontiers of physics. Electron's negativity cut in half by supercomputer.


Plasma is a fourth state of matter, following solid, liquid and gas. As we warmed up a substance, its particles (atoms or molecules) are increasingly shaking wildly, and their linkages weaken or break up. Thus, in the liquid state particles are weakly linked compared to the solid (so as to have undefined shape) in the gases, this linkage is virtually nonexistent.
Now, if a gas is heated up several thousand degrees, the particles (molecules or atoms) are separated apart (losing electrons and becoming ionized), giving rise to a new state of matter called plasma. This can also be achieved by passing electricity in gas - examples are "cold plasmas" inside fluorescent lamps and plasma TV screens.
The plasmas are of interest in astrophysics – are present inside the sun and stars - and in material processing - for example, in the manufacture of very thin films with up to a few atoms thick. However, plasma is more popular because they offer the possibility of obtaining controlled thermonuclear fusion (from hot plasma). That it would be a source of abundant energy and a lot cleaner than nuclear fission, commonly used in nuclear power plants (see box below). It said to be "controlled" as opposed to the energy generated in the explosions of hydrogen bombs (H bombs).
Fission and Fusion
Source of figures: Wikipedia
Nuclear fission occurs when an atom splits into two or more particles and release energy. In the figure, a nucleus of a uranium atom is struck by a neutron, becomes unstable and is divided into a nucleus of barium (Ba) and a krypton (Kr), and three more neutrons and energy. Occurs, for example, in the reactors of common nuclear power plants, where the uranium is usually used as fuel. The released energy is used to heat steam which, in turn, through a turbine drives a generator to produce electricity.
In nuclear fusion, two atomic nuclei fuse to form one and also releasing energy. This happens inside the sun (and is the source of solar energy) and in small-scale, inside controlled nuclear fusion devices. In fusion, the most widely used fuel would be hydrogen isotopes (such as deuterium and tritium). In the figure below, a deuterium atom and a tritium (two different types of hydrogen) fuse forming helium and releasing energy of 3.5 MeV, and leaving a neutron, which carries more than 14.1 MeV.
The main practical difference between the two processes is that the energy released by fusion is higher (in proportion to the amount of fuel burned) and it is much cleaner than fission. The fission produces radioactive waste for very long duration, such as plutonium and contaminated materials, in the fusion would activate only the walls of the reactor, and tritium, which would be used as fuel, and has an average life of only 12 years.
It turns out that the technical and theoretical problems involved are immense. The research on the subject already has 60 years and more 60 may need until the first controlled fusion power plant begins to produce electricity commercially. Large fusion experiments, based on machines called tokamak, are being built. The most promising is called ITER in southern France, which involves the collaboration of several countries (EU, Japan, USA, Russia, China, India and Korea South).
The Plasma Physics and Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion Group actuates on hot plasmas in order to contribute to solving these problems.
The plasma confinement
The plasma needed for controlled fusion would be too hot - tens of millions of degrees Celsius – and can not be contained in normal vessel: it is necessary to avoid contact with the solid wall materials (this in addition to damage them, also would cool the plasma). To do this, one can take advantage of the fact that plasma consists mostly of electrically charged particles. The idea is to use magnetic fields and electric currents induced in the plasma so as to conveniently deflect the trajectories of the particles (which usually go fast and randomly back and forth) in order to keep them within a region of space. This is called "magnetic confinement".
This magnetic field is generated by electric currents (analogous to a magnet). The structure most proper for confinement is shaped like a tube or a donut, called torus or toroid by physicists and mathematicians.
But nothing is simple in controlled fusion. The particles tend to move out of the torus, and when they reach the walls of the apparatus, the plasma cools down and the system halts. To resolve this, one should study the plasma physics to determine ways to prevent such movement, called the drift.
If the hot plasma survive for about 10 seconds, with sufficient density (about one millionth the density of air at atmospheric pressure), the device could produce more energy than you would consume, condition known as the Lawson criterion, so that beyond this criteria we can build a power plant that generates energy (not consuming).
So far, only the tokamak JET (Joint European Torus), at the UK, managed to keep the plasma confined for a few seconds, but at a temperature below that required, a few tens of millions of degrees. It is expected that ITER can reach this goal and become the first reactor to produce more energy than it spends. It is envisaged the formation of the first plasma (150 million degrees) in ITER in 2018 and the beginning of operation of a power plant based on the unit in the 2030s.
The Group's activities
The Group conducts theoretical and experimental research on the problem of controlled thermonuclear fusion in magnetically confined plasmas. In the theoretical, investigates, for example, physical models (theory) that describe the improved plasma confinement and reduce to a minimum as possible drift of the particles, and also how to produce an electric current in the plasma using so-called non-inductive methods, as an alternative to the most common method of obtaining it by means of an apparatus similar to a transformer (i.e., by electromagnetic induction).
Is the tokamak dangerous?
Once the plasma is inside the tokamak at a temperature of millions of degrees, one can imagine, what happens if the plasma touches the walls of the apparatus, or escape to the external environment. In fact, next to nothing. The reason is that the plasma density is very low (NOVA-Unicamp is one million times less dense than air). Therefore, there is very little hot stuff inside the tokamak. If he touches on its walls, there is almost nothing happen, the plasma cools and returns to gas. Thus, a possible accident with the chamber of a tokamak would not imply in dangerous radioactive leaks.
The NOVA-UNICAMP tokamak
The experimental part also addresses those problems, together with the theoretical. For this, the laboratory has a tokamak called NOVA-UNICAMP, received as a donation from Japan in 1996. It is a small device in comparison with the giants around the world, but the size gives advantages: it is much cheaper to make it work, and thus we can repeat an experiment many times as you want until you get to a conclusion about a theory or a test.
The NOVA-UNICAMP tokamak
The NOVA-UNICAMP performs experiments on hydrogen plasmas. The gas inside is one million times less dense than air. (1013 particles per cubic centimeter). To produce the plasma, the device raises the temperature of the gas to about 1.5 million degrees Celsius (this is the temperature of the ions, the electron is higher). The plasma survives for 15 milliseconds, sufficient time to carry out investigations of the group. Despite the low density, a magnetic field of 1 Tesla maintains the plasma at a pressure greater than 20 times atmospheric pressure.
Main experimental studies is to measure basic plasma parameters such as temperature, density and types of impurities that are present inside hydrogen plasma, so you can develop a diagnostics or to test some new techniques and analyze their results - which can then be compared with measurements obtained in other tokamak or theoretical results.
The study of particles constituting the plasma is important because there are always impurities that affect the supply of energy: if there is too much heavy particle, they absorb the energy that should go into the hydrogen, which are of interest. However, impurities also provide information about the plasma, because the ionized hydrogen (without an electron), main constituent of plasma, is very poor source of information. The reason is that this information comes from the light emitted by the electrons of the atoms - but ionized hydrogen has no electron.
History of the Group
The group began with the arrival of Prof. Paul Sakanaka in 1974 from the Courant Institute of Mathematics at New York University, USA. Prof. Sakanaka was one of the Brazilian physicists abroad invited by Prof. Sergio Porto to form the IFGW Department of Quantum Electronics (DEQ). With him came several others, including Prof. Busnardo Jose Neto, Ricardo Galvão, Shuko Aihara, Massanobu Niimura, Helmut K. Bockelmann and Aruy Marotta.
Prof. Sakanaka wanted to work with plasmas and thus founded the first theoretical and experimental plasma group in Brazil whose main objective was to study this issue. Initially at the DEQ main building, the laboratory was transferred to a new building in 1980 (the Laboratory of Plasma).
At that time, the tokamak was not yet installed, there was a machine working with similar principle, called theta-pinch (the "Tupã"). The difference is that the theta-pinch is straight, not toroidal. The Tupã generated electrical current of one million amperes and voltages of the order of 100 000 volts on his coils.
Also in this initial period, in experimental work led by Prof. Shuko Aihara and later by Prof. José Busnardo Neto and Aruy Marotta, the group produced the first plasma torch of Brazil, an instrument that has several industrial uses. Marotta in 1987, founded the Group of Plasma Physics and Technology, devoted mainly to these torches.
The Tokamak crisis
In 1990, there was a drawback in the studies of controlled nuclear fusion in the world. The U.S. Department of Energy concluded that the strategy to achieve fusion, based on tokamak, was not the most reasonable, and practically the whole country magnetic fusion program was suspended. Some U.S. laboratories were closed - until then, the largest tokamak researches in the world were there. But the rest of the world - especially Europe and Japan - continued to believe in tokamak.
Brazil insisted that line and now is the only country in the Southern Hemisphere that invests in the construction and maintenance of tokamak (there are others groups researching plasma, but do not have these machines, such as Argentina).
Today, the United States, besides participating in the ITER project, also try to achieve controlled fusion with so-called "inertial fusion" based on large number of nuclear micro explosions produced with the aid of laser beams. One of the main experiments in this line is the National Ignition Fusion Experiment (NIFE).


There is no single way to make the shift from traditional to modern education. There are multiple entry points that are based on what you already have in place. Have you developed capacity around performance-based assessment or project-based learning? Your next step might be creating consistency so that all teachers are credentialing higher order skills with the same level of expectation. Have you invested in blended learning so that your teachers are comfortable with workshop instructional approaches? Now you might want to strengthen how you help students develop their building blocks of learning. Though there is no recipe, there are key first steps.
- Talk to your students and community. Every successful change process starts with empathy. Understand how your students, families, and teachers experience learning and the problems they see. Listen to their ideas and aspirations. This perspective will guide everything else. It also goes a long way in building trust and respect that you will need along the way.
- Learn. Learn a lot. Learn about personalized, student-centered, competency-based learning. Learn about the learning sciences. Learn about equity-informed practices. Read, yes, but also visit schools, talk to experts, and explore.
- Set a vision. There will be bumps and turns in the road. A vision is your north star as you navigate those changes. A vision inspires people to join you and keeps everyone moving in the same direction. Setting a vision doesn’t happen fast, and it doesn’t happen in isolation. Take time and engage your community in the process.
- Focus on the student experience. You will have the option of starting lots of places. The best place to start is with students. Find an entry point that directly touches the core of learning and teaching. Always always always, start with students. They will also be powerful spokespeople.
- Figure out continuous improvement. Whatever you do first, it’s not going to be perfect. Know how you will figure out what’s not working and adjust, and figure out what’s working and build on it. Get a framework or structures in place from the get go to help you reflect.
Questions to Consider
- What insight have you already gathered from your communities? How else can you collect empathy data to understand their perspectives?
- What do you already know about the learning sciences and modern education? What local expertise can you tap? What do you want to know, and how can you engage in this learning?
- Who will need to be part of your visioning process? What will this process look like if it is truly inclusive? How can you purposefully integrate traditionally marginalized voices?
- What do you know about the student experience in your school or district today? How can you craft a vision for what it might look like in the future? Who will you engage to do this?
- What systems and structures to you currently have in place to support learning and continuous improvement? How can you build on what you have? What else will you need in place as you embark on an innovation path?
- Implementing Competency Education in K-12 Systems provides an overview of the process that many districts and schools use to get started.
- Growing into the Framework describes District 51’s early implementation steps.
- Sanborn Regional School District Flips District Reform describes their early steps.


History of modern movements
American Revolutionary War
Substantial opposition to British war intervention in America led the British House of Commons on 27 February 1782 to vote against further war in America, paving the way for the Second Rockingham ministry and the Peace of Paris.
Antebellum Era United States
Substantial anti-war sentiment developed in the United States during the period roughly falling between the end of the War of 1812 and the commencement of the Civil War, or what is called the antebellum era (A similar movement developed in England during the same period). The movement reflected both strict pacifist and more moderate non-interventionist positions. Many prominent intellectuals of the time, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau (see Civil Disobedience) and William Ellery Channing contributed literary works against war. Other names associated with the movement include William Ladd, Noah Worcester, Thomas Cogswell Upham and Asa Mahan. Many peace societies were formed throughout the United States, the most prominent of which being the American Peace Society. Numerous periodicals (e.g., The Advocate of Peace) and books were also produced. The Book of Peace, an anthology produced by the American Peace Society in 1845, must surely rank as one of the most remarkable works of anti-war literature ever produced.
A recurring theme in this movement was the call for the establishment of an international court which would adjudicate disputes between nations. Another distinct feature of antebellum anti-war literature was the emphasis on how war contributed to a moral decline and brutalization of society in general.
American Civil War
Rioters attack federal troops.
A key event in the early history of the modern anti-war stance in literature and society was the American Civil War, where it culminated in the candidacy of George McClellan for President of the United States as a "Peace Democrat" against incumbent President Abraham Lincoln. The outlines of the anti-war stance are seen: the argument that the costs of maintaining the present conflict are not worth the gains which can be made, the appeal to end the horrors of war, and the argument that war is being waged for the profit of particular interests. During the war, the New York Draft Riots were started as violent protests against Abraham Lincoln's Enrollment Act of Conscription plan to draft men to fight in the war. The outrage over conscription was augmented by the ability to "buy" your way out; the amount of which could only be afforded by the wealthy. After the war, The Red Badge of Courage described the chaos and sense of death which resulted from the changing style of combat: away from the set engagement, and towards two armies engaging in continuous battle over a wide area.
Second Boer War
William Thomas Stead formed an organization against the Second Boer War: the Stop the War Committee.
World War I
In Britain, in 1914, the Public Schools Officers' Training Corps annual camp was held at
Tidworth Pennings, near Salisbury Plain. Head of the British Army Lord Kitchener was to review the cadets, but the immenence of the war prevented him. General Horace Smith-Dorrien was sent instead. He surprised the two-or-three thousand cadets by declaring (in the words of Donald Christopher Smith, a Bermudian cadet who was present) that war should be avoided at almost any cost, that war would solve nothing, that the whole of Europe and more besides would be reduced to ruin, and that the loss of life would be so large that whole populations would be decimated. In our ignorance I, and many of us, felt almost ashamed of a British General who uttered such depressing and unpatriotic sentiments, but during the next four years, those of us who survived the holocaust-probably not more than one-quarter of us – learned how right the General's prognosis was and how courageous he had been to utter it.  Having voiced these sentiments did not hinder Smith-Dorrien's career, or prevent him from carrying out his duty in the First World War to the best of his abilities.
With the increasing mechanization of war, opposition to its horrors grew, particularly in the wake of the First World War. European avant-garde cultural movements such as Dada were explicitly anti-war.
The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 gave the American authorities the right to close newspapers and jailed individuals for having anti-war views.
On June 16, 1918, Eugene V. Debs made an anti-war speech and was arrested under the Espionage Act of 1917. He was convicted, sentenced to serve ten years in prison, but President Warren G. Harding commuted his sentence on December 25, 1921.
Between the World Wars
In 1924 Ernst Friedrich published Krieg dem Krieg! (War Against War!): an album of photographs drawn from German military and medical archives from the first world war. In
Regarding the pain of others Sontag describes the book as 'photography as shock therapy' that was designed to 'horrify and demoralize'.
It was in the 1930s that the Western anti-war movement took shape, to which the political and organizational roots of most of the existing movement can be traced. Characteristics of the anti-war movement included opposition to the corporate interests perceived as benefiting from war, to the status quo which was trading the lives of the young for the comforts of those who are older, the concept that those who were drafted were from poor families and would be fighting a war in place of privileged individuals who were able to avoid the draft and military service, and to the lack of input in decision making that those who would die in the conflict would have in deciding to engage in it.
In 1933, the Oxford Union resolved in its Oxford Pledge, "That this House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country."
Many war veterans, including US General Smedley Butler, spoke out against wars and war profiteering on their return to civilian life.
Veterans were still extremely cynical about the motivations for entering World War I, but many were willing to fight later in the Spanish Civil War, indicating that pacifism was not always the motivation. These trends were depicted in novels such as All Quiet on the Western Front, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Johnny Got His Gun.
World War II
Opposition to World War II was most vocal during its early period, and stronger still before it started while appeasement and isolationism were considered viable diplomatic options. Communist-led organizations, including veterans of the Spanish Civil War, opposed the war during the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact but then turned into hawks after Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
The war seemed, for a time, to set anti-war movements at a distinct social disadvantage; very few, mostly ardent pacifists, continued to argue against the war and its results at the time. However, the Cold War followed with the post-war realignment, and the opposition resumed. The grim realities of modern combat, and the nature of mechanized society ensured that the anti-war viewpoint found presentation in Catch-22, Slaughterhouse-Five and The Tin Drum. This sentiment grew in strength as the Cold War seemed to present the situation of an unending series of conflicts, which were fought at terrible cost to the younger generations.
U.S. Marshals arresting a Vietnam War protester in Washington, D.C., 1967
Organized opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began slowly and in small numbers in 1964 on various college campuses in the United States and quickly as the war grew deadlier. In 1967 a coalition of antiwar activists formed the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam which organized several large anti-war demonstrations between the late-1960s and 1972. Counter-cultural songs, organizations, plays and other literary works encouraged a spirit of nonconformism, peace, and anti-establishmentarianism. This anti-war sentiment developed during a time of unprecedented student activism and right on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, and was reinforced in numbers by the demographically significant baby boomers. It quickly grew to include a wide and varied cross-section of Americans from all walks of life. The anti-Vietnam war movement is often considered to have been a major factor affecting America's involvement in the war itself. Many Vietnam veterans, including the former Secretary of State and former U.S. Senator John Kerry and disabled veteran Ron Kovic, spoke out against the Vietnam War on their return to the United States.
South African Border War
Opposition to the South African Border War spread to a general resistance to the apartheid military. Organizations such as the End Conscription Campaign and Committee on South African War Resisters, were set up. Many opposed the war at this time.
2001 Afghanistan War
There was initially little opposition to the 2001 Afghanistan War in the United States and the United Kingdom, which was seen as a response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and was supported by a majority of the American public. Most vocal opposition came from pacifist groups and groups promoting a leftist political agenda; in the United States, the group A.N.S.W.E.R. was one of the most visible organizers of anti-war protests, although that group faced considerable controversy over allegations it was a front for the extremist Stalinist Workers World Party. Over time, opposition to the war in Afghanistan has grown more widespread, partly as a result of weariness with the length of the conflict, and partly as a result of a conflating of the conflict with the unpopular war in Iraq.
The anti-war position gained renewed support and attention in the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and its allies. Millions of people staged mass protests across the world in the immediate prelude to the invasion, and demonstrations and other forms of anti-war activism have continued throughout the occupation. The primary opposition within the U.S. to the continued occupation of Iraq has come from the grassroots. Opposition to the conflict, how it had been fought, and complications during the aftermath period divided public sentiment in the U.S., resulting in majority public opinion turning against the war for the first time in the spring of 2004, a turn which has held since. Many American writers against the war, like Naomi Wolf, were labeled conspiratorial due to their opposition, with others choosing to post their anti-war writings anonymously, such as the anonymous conspiracy author Sorcha Faal. The financial website Zero Hedge offered its anti-war writers the protection of the anonymous pseudonym Tyler Durden for those exposing war profiteering. The American country music band Dixie Chicks opposition to the war caused many radio stations to stop playing their records, but who were supported in their anti-war stance by the equally anti-war country music legend Merle Haggard, who in the summer of 2003 released a song critical of US media coverage of the Iraq War. Anti-war groups protested during both the Democratic National Convention and 2008 Republican National Convention protests held in St. Paul, Minnesota in September 2008.
Possible war against Iran
Organised opposition to a possible future military attack against Iran by the United States is known to have started during 2005–2006. Beginning in early 2005, journalists, activists and academics such as Seymour Hersh, Scott Ritter, Joseph Cirincione and Jorge E. Hirsch began publishing claims that United States' concerns over the alleged threat posed by the possibility that Iran may have a nuclear weapons program might lead the US government to take military action against that country in the future. These reports, and the concurrent escalation of tensions between Iran and some Western governments, prompted the formation of grassroots organisations, including Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran in the US and the United Kingdom, to advocate against potential military strikes on Iran. Additionally, several individuals, grassroots organisations and international governmental organisations, including the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, a former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq, Scott Ritter, Nobel Prize winners including Shirin Ebadi, Mairead Corrigan-Maguire and Betty Williams, Harold Pinter and Jody Williams, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Code Pink, the Non-Aligned Movement of 118 states, and the Arab League, have publicly stated their opposition to a would-be attack on Iran.
War in Donbass
Anti-war/Putin demonstration in Moscow
, 21 September 2014
Anti-war/Putin demonstrations took place in Moscow "opposing the War in Donbass", i.e., in the Eastern Ukraine.
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
Protest against U.S. involvement in the Saudi Arabian
-led intervention in Yemen
, New York City, 2017


Spammers, hackers, and other online “evil-doers” often try to convince you to give up private, important info — like your bank account, credit card, password, or other secret information.
To help avoid getting caught in a so-called phishing attempt, pay attention to these tips from Stanford’s Secrure Computing site (http://www.stanford.edu/group/security/securecomputing/phishing.html):
Vigilance is the only defense against social engineering. Look for these markers to know you’re getting ready to divulge too much:
- “Here’s your big chance to play the new fantastic version of the [xxx] game!” The link, of course, goes somewhere where they will extract some private information (real name? a password that might work somewhere else? your birthdate in order to prove you are ‘old enough’ to play, etc.). This really is the #1 rule: Avoid clicking links people send you instead of using a search engine to find the proper link.
- Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. It is unlikely that you have won the Irish Sweepstakes, even if you elect to send in a $1,000 security payment.
- Any time you get a solicitation in email that you did not request – even from a trusted friend – should be discarded immediately. No reputable company works this way.
- Email with misspelled, mispunctuated, or bizarrely formatted text is almost surely a scam.
- If something feels like it requires action, confirm via telephone with someone you know (or at least can verify, e.g., by calling the corporate headquarters) before you send money. A recent scam asks for money because your best friend (or aunt or grandmother or …) is caught in Europe (or some faraway place) and can’t return until they pay bail, or a fee, or some other money-requirement. You, the trustworthy friend or relative can help them! Call them at home to make sure they’re not there before sending money.
- Any time you are getting ready to feel good about giving away some money or information, think twice: Why am I really doing this? Do I know who is on the other end of my bequest? “Hey, John, please remind me of the combination to get into the machine room.” Who is really asking?
- “Please come back to FaceBook!” The link, of course, goes to a FaceBook look-alike which presumably reaps your name and password. Avoid clicking links people send you instead of using a search engine to find the proper link.
- “Please call this number to verify [xxx].” You’ll get a recording asking you to leave all sorts of useful information. Don’t even think of calling telephone numbers you can’t verify (perhaps by checking a phone book or institutional phone list) sent to you unsolicited in email.
Keywords to avoid: verify, account, won, lottery, respond [now, quickly], or you will suffer [some horrible thing] See these? Click delete.
- Vishing: These same pitches and scams work in airports, for panhandlers, and all sorts of non-computer scammers, too, by the way. They even work when people call you on the phone! “Hey, Jill, this is Ralph over in accounting. I’ve forgotten [xxx], can you help me out?” Look up their number and call them back.
- SMSiShing: Same idea for text messages are you phone. Don’t believe a bank will text you; call them on an independently verified number.


#46 International Cooperation in WWII
Poster caption: In 1942 twenty-six nations signed the “Declaration by United Nations,” using the term “United Nations” for the first time. This Office of War Information poster from 1943 dramatically illustrates the forces assembled against the Axis in World War II.
These posters are 22" x 30", full color, and printed on a semi-gloss white stock. Each one features a caption that places the image in historical context.


Garfield High School
Garfield High School opened its doors to students in September 1925. Located in unincorporated East Los Angeles, the campus was created to serve the new residential communities established in the early 1920s on formerly agricultural land east of the L.A. boundary.
The campus is bordered by E. Sixth and Escuela Streets on the south and north, and by Woods and Fraser Avenues on the east and west.
Garfield High garnered national attention for the role it, along with four other Los Angeles high schools, played in the East L.A. Chicano Student Walkouts (Blowouts) of March 1968.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) purchased seventeen-and-a-half acres of land along E. Sixth Street in July 1924 and construction began in March 1925. LAUSD appointed architect George M. Lindsay to design the original Romanesque Revival campus buildings, one of which survives today with a modernized exterior.
The campus has undergone several changes through the decades, including the exterior modernization of the original administration building and adjacent classroom building (300 Building) in the1950s and 60s, the addition of Modern-style classroom buildings, and a new library building with a multistory arcade influenced by New Formalism in the 1970s.
Today, the campus retains a few buildings from 1967 and 1968, as well as several newer buildings.
The campus received national attention several times throughout its history. In 1944, the Army-Navy Screen Magazine profiled Garfield High students who worked at the Lockheed and Douglas aircraft plants under a special program for the war effort during World War II. The 1988 film Stand and Deliver is based on the true story of Garfield High math instructor Jaime Escalante, who helped his students overcome adversity and excel in Advanced Placement Calculus. The events of the East L.A. Walkouts were memorialized in the 2006 HBO film Walkout directed by Edward James Olmos and filmed at Garfield High.
An arson fire on May 20, 2007 destroyed the Auditorium, which was demolished in July 2010 along with the connected Administration Building. These were replaced by a new classroom building and new auditorium named in honor of Jaime Escalante, which opened in 2014.
1968 East L.A. Chicano Student Walkouts (Blowouts) and Garfield High School
On March 5, 1968, hundreds of students filed out of classrooms at Garfield High and gathered in front of the school’s entrance where they shouted “Viva la revolución!” and “Education, not eradication!” As students made their way to the campus gates and surrounding sidewalks, sheriff's deputies in riot gear arrived to order them back to class, though most refused. The principal of Garfield High, Reginald Murphy, held a special outdoor assembly on campus appealing to students to return to classes, though students continued the boycott.
Garfield High was one of the five schools with predominately Mexican-American students (including Roosevelt, Lincoln, Wilson, and Belmont Highs) in which students walked out of classes as part of an organized protest to draw attention to educational inequality. Known as the East L.A. Chicano Student Walkouts (Blowouts), the Walkouts are widely considered the first major protest against racism and educational deficiencies staged by Mexican Americans in the United States. Garfield High was one of the original four schools to form a Blowout Committee during the fall of 1967 and participated in the early activities of the movement.
A student at Garfield High at the time of the Walkouts, Joseph Rodriguez, recalled, “Until that day, it never crossed my mind that Garfield High was... lagging behind public schools in wealthier white neighborhoods. All that changed after the blowouts.” In fact, several of the high schools east of downtown L.A. had some of the worst dropout rates in the nation. Garfield High had a dropout rate of 57% in 1968.
The walkouts at Garfield High continued on each day through the end of the week. On March 11, 1968, student body representatives from the original five Walkout schools plus Jefferson, Hamilton, and Marshall High Schools spoke at a special meeting before the LAUSD Board of Education and presented a list of thirty-six demands.
On March 26, 1968, the LAUSD Board of Education met in the packed auditorium at Lincoln High to discuss the students’ demands with students, parents, and community members. At this meeting, students representing each of the Eastside high schools transferred their leadership to the designated adult leaders of the Educational Issues Coordinating Committee (EICC), who would continue the effort to improve the conditions and quality of education for Chicanx students in the Eastside.


“Rainbow flags, Black Lives Matter yard signs — We see these as hugely important symbols standing for what we believe in and what we’ve worked for.” — David Breslin, Whitney Museum of Art
Art has a power to disrupt and dissect the state of society and its oppressive structures. Steeped in aesthetics that can be monstrous realities, language that can alert consciousness, and strokes of composed beauty that reel one’s eye, art has a shifting power that is vital.
Listen: David Breslin discusses the role artists’ play in transforming and shaping the future through political and protest art.
From the AIDS epidemic to the tragic events of 9/11 on to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and present day, art has illustrated and chronicled the narrative of our lives. And with the traffic of modern technology in addition to cultural institutions, the messages are hyper-visible.
“When I see rainbow flags and Black Lives Matter yard signs in different places, in some ways we know that those were made by people, but it’s not the first thing that comes across our head,” says David Breslin, Director of Curatorial Initiatives at the Whitney Museum of American Art. “We see these as hugely important symbols standing for what we believe in and what we’ve worked for. That comes first. The artist who put those things out into the world, was really responding to the issue that they care deeply about.”
In the Whitney Museum’s 2017 exhibition, “An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940-2017,” co-curated by Breslin, Jennie Goldstein and Rujeko Hockley, the installation presented a variety of perspectives demonstrating how artists confronted social and political issues of their time.
Pulling from their respective contextual focuses — Breslin and the AIDS crisis; Hockley’s thoughts about Black artists and how they’ve reframed the way we think about art from the ‘60s to the present; and Goldstein’s expertise channeling the intersection of these movements – the exhibit centered on how artists digest and investigate the world around them, then use their skill to define and shape the future.
While art can be used as a form of resistance and even rebellion, in the current civil rights movements, Breslin reflects on poster art by AIDS artist group Gran Fury, that spoke volumes to him. The poster was created in 1988 and read: ’With 42,000 dead; art is not enough’.
“What’s so powerful about that is they didn’t say art was nothing and that art wasn’t powerful. But they said that it really had to be complemented by direct action – by marching, being politically organized,” Breslin says. “I think there were a lot of art works like that, that held its contention between wanting to do something and also acknowledging that art has a serious role to play, but it can’t do everything.”


Even before the Trump impeachment inquiry began dominating news coverage and watercooler conversations this week, politics were already dividing many Americans from their sanity.
University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers surveyed 800 Americans about the physical, social and emotional effects of today’s often heated and hyperpartisan political discourse. Many respondents reported feeling stressed and losing both friends and sleep as the polarized country heads toward a contentious 2020 presidential election.
Almost 40% said politics had “stressed” them out, and about 32% agreed watching media outlets featuring views opposite their own drove them “crazy.”
Many also reported caring “too much” about which candidates win and lose (22%), or spending more time thinking about politics than they would like (26%). Indeed, more than one in four (26%) said they became “depressed” when their preferred candidate lost.
And, most alarmingly, 4% said they have had suicidal thoughts. Lead author and political scientist Kevin Smith noted that it’s quite a small proportion, but still a noteworthy one. “That translates into 10 million adults,” he said in a statement.
Voters aren’t just suffering mental and emotional fatigue. About one in five reported losing sleep, and more than 10% complained of nonspecific health issues. One in five also said that a friendship had been “damaged” as the result of a political argument.
“Politics is really negatively affecting a lot of people’s lives, or at least, they’re perceiving that politics is really negatively affecting their lives in deep and meaningful ways,” added Smith.
This has been an issue for some time, and it appears to be getting worse. The American Psychological Association’s 2016 “Stress in America” survey of 3,400 American adults found that 63% saw the country’s future as “a significant source of stress,” and 56% said they were stressed by the political climate at that time.
By 2018, the APA reported that the number of people pinning their stress on politics had risen to 69%, while those who said the political climate was stressful had jumped to 62%.
Stress and anger have also been increasing among Americans, in general, and particularly among people between the ages of 15 and 49, according to a Gallup poll earlier this year.


ST. HELENA ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINATime has stood still for more than a century on this rural island off the Atlantic Ocean. Dirt roads lead to houses where Gullah families live in clusters the way their ancestors did in Africa. Women wearing head wraps and aprons weave baskets from sea grass and sell them to tourists on their way to the affluent outlying islands.
Sandwiched between the lavish golf courses and gated condo communities of Hilton Head Island and the trendy riverfront village of Beaufort, St. Helenauntouched by massive developmentis one of only a few remnants of a bygone era in the South Carolina low country. And the people who live there want to keep it that way.
The Gullahs who live on the island are descendants of West African slaves who worked the rice and cotton fields before they were freed and offered a chance to purchase their land. As whites deserted the coast in favor of milder climates inland, the Gullahs lived in isolation for generations, allowing them to maintain their African culture longer than any slave descendants in America.
But more than 300 years after their arrival, some fear the Gullahs' grip on the past as well as their land is slipping. As older generations die, coastal development moves in and young people leave to find work, the people who once thrived along the coast from northern Florida to North Carolina are struggling to hold on to the ancient customs that defined their culture and remained intact almost a century after the emancipation.
"These are proud people who have always had a strong sense of history and tradition particularly on St. Helena, which was a point of entry for slaves," said Veronica Gerald, a historian on the island. "There was a time we owned all of this land. We helped to build this coastal area and we are fighting very hard to keep St. Helena as true to its natural state as possible. We see what happened to Hilton Head, and we don't want it here."
Theirs is a familiar story of assimilation as told by American Indians, Cajuns in Louisiana and highlanders in Appalachia. No longer able to live in isolation, groups with roots in old America are sucked into the mainstream, where local traditions are forfeited in favor of popular culture.
Saving the Gullahs From Extinction
The National Park Service soon will complete a three-year study to determine what role the government might play in saving the Gullahs from extinction. But it is almost impossible, federal officials concede, to protect them from encroachment. Some land could be set aside as a national park, and crafts and linguistics could be documented in books and exhibits.
No one knows exactly how many Gullah people remain. Estimates range from 200,000 to 500,000. The recent resurgence of interest, activists said, could help connect Gullah communities in all parts of the country, including Texas and Oklahoma, where they mixed with the local Indian population.
The unique language, a melodic blend of 17th and 18th century English and African dialects, is rarely spoken among the Gullahs, or Geechees, as they are called outside South Carolina. Since the 1950s, their farms, their fishing holes and the sea grass fields that fueled their artistry have fallen victim to bulldozers. Other traces of the culture, such as cooking, medicines, storytelling and even magical hoodoo, are increasingly harder to find.
"For a long time, it was considered negative to be Gullah, though we didn't grow up feeling negative about ourselves," said Delo Washington, a retired professor at California State University at Stanislaus. "But we were considered strange people with a strange language. You couldn't get a job speaking that way.


Helping teens develop a healthy outlook about their bodies
Childhood obesity has been growing dramatically over the past few decades. And eating disorders are the third most common chronic condition in adolescents after obesity and asthma. Pediatrician Neville Golden, MD, is a lead author of new clinical guidelines aimed at helping prevent obesity and eating disorders in adolescents. The guidelines, published in the journal Pediatrics were developed in response to growing concerns about teenagers use of unhealthy methods to lose weight. The guidelines, which are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, synthesize expanding scientific evidence that the same techniques can simultaneously prevent both obesity and eating disorders in young people.


Ulnar Nerve Compression
(Also known as Funny Bone Syndrome)
What is ulnar nerve compression?
Ulnar nerve compression is a condition characterized by pressure being placed on the ulnar nerve as it passes along the inner aspect of the elbow (funny bone).
The ulna nerve originates from several spinal nerves in the neck and travels through the upper arm, into the forearm, hand and fingers. It passes the elbow in a shallow groove situated at the inner aspect of the elbow between the medial epicondyle and olecranon (figure 1). The ulna nerve is responsible for supplying sensation to the inner aspect of the forearm, the palm of the hand on the little finger side, the little finger and half of the ring finger. It is also responsible for supplying some muscles of the forearm and hand.
Following a direct impact to the inner aspect of the elbow, the ulnar nerve may be compressed. In addition, damage and inflammation of tissue adjacent to the ulnar nerve may also place pressure on the nerve. When this occurs the condition is known as ulnar nerve compression.
Ulnar nerve compression can occur at any age and is more common in the dominant arm especially in the case of overuse injuries. Occasionally, it may affect both arms.
Causes of ulnar nerve compression
Ulnar nerve compression most commonly occurs due to a direct impact to the nerve as it passes the inner aspect of the elbow. This is particularly common during a fall onto the elbow or due to a direct impact from an object or person. This may injure and compress the nerve directly or damage adjacent tissue causing inflammation, swelling and subsequent secondary compression of the nerve. Adjacent tissue may also be damaged due to overuse (such as excessive gripping activities) again placing pressure on the ulnar nerve due to inflammation, swelling and scar tissue formation.
Ulnar nerve compression may also occur due to excessive traction to the nerve. This is particularly common in the throwing athlete whereby their elbow is subject to excessive valgus forces in the cocking phase of throwing.
The nerve may also be compressed as is passes through one of the muscles of the forearm (flexor carpi ulnaris) typically due to muscle overdevelopment (associated with weight training) or overuse and subsequent inflammation and scar tissue formation.
Bony irregularities (such as spurs) within the groove between the olecranon and medial epicondyle may also contribute to ulnar nerve compression and is typically associated with overuse injuries in the throwing athlete.
A history of wrist, elbow, shoulder, neck or upper back injury may also increase the likelihood of a patient developing this condition.
The above factors alone or in combination with each other may contribute to the development of ulnar nerve compression.
Signs and symptoms of ulnar nerve compression
The symptoms associated with ulnar nerve compression may develop suddenly or gradually over a period of time. Symptoms may include an ache or pain at the back or inner aspect of the elbow and forearm, pins and needles, numbness or a burning sensation may also be present in a similar area or into the palm on the little finger side of the hand, the little finger and half of the ring finger. Tenderness and an increase in symptoms may be experienced when firmly pressing or tapping the nerve at the inner aspect of the elbow. Occasionally, in more severe cases, weakness of the hand and fingers may also be present.
In patients with inflammation contributing to the condition, symptoms may be worse at night or first thing in the morning. Occasionally, ulnar nerve compression may be associated with neck or upper back pain on the same side. In severe cases of ulnar nerve compression, obvious wasting of the muscles of the hand and forearm may be detected.
Diagnosis of ulnar nerve compression
A thorough subjective and objective examination from a physiotherapist may be sufficient to diagnose ulnar nerve compression. Nerve conduction studies may also be required to confirm diagnosis.
Treatment for ulnar nerve compression
Many cases of ulnar nerve compression settle well with appropriate physiotherapy. This includes careful assessment by the physiotherapist to determine which factors have contributed to the development of the condition, with subsequent correction of these factors.
The success rate of treatment for patients with this condition is largely dictated by patient compliance. One of the key components of treatment is that the patient rests sufficiently from any activity that increases their symptoms until they are symptom free. Activities which place large amounts of stress through the elbow and forearm should be minimized, these include: throwing, racquet sports, gripping activities, opening jars, cans or doors, carrying or lifting. Resting from aggravating activities ensures that the body can begin the healing process in the absence of further tissue damage. Once the patient can perform these activities pain free, a gradual return to these activities is indicated provided there is no increase in symptoms.
Ignoring symptoms or adopting a 'no pain, no gain' attitude is likely to lead to the problem becoming chronic. Immediate, appropriate treatment in patients with ulnar nerve compression is essential to ensure a speedy recovery. Once the condition is chronic, healing slows significantly resulting in markedly increased recovery times.
Patients with ulnar nerve compression will usually benefit from following the R.I.C.E regime. The R.I.C.E regime is beneficial in the initial phase of the injury (first 72 hours) or when inflammatory signs are present (i.e. morning pain or pain with rest). This involves resting from aggravating activities, regular icing, the use of a compression bandage and keeping the arm elevated. Anti-inflammatory medication may also significantly hasten the healing process by reducing the pain and swelling associated with inflammation.
Manual "Hands-on" Therapy from the treating physiotherapist such as massage, mobilization, dry needling, neural stretches and electrotherapy are important to break down adhesions and reduce muscle tension that may be compressing the nerve and restricting its movement.
Patients with ulnar nerve compression should perform pain-free flexibility, neural mobilization, and strengthening exercises as part of their rehabilitation to ensure an optimal outcome. The treating physiotherapist can advise which exercises are most appropriate for the patient and when they should be commenced.
In patients who are non responsive to conservative measures, surgical intervention may be indicated to relocate the nerve or reduce local compression.
Prognosis of ulnar nerve compression
With appropriate management and physiotherapy, most minor cases of ulnar nerve compression that have not been present for long can usually recover within a few weeks. In more severe and chronic cases recovery can be a lengthy process and may take many months in those who have had their condition for a long period of time. Early physiotherapy intervention is therefore vital to hasten recovery.
Contributing factors to the development of ulnar nerve compression
There are several factors which can predispose patients to developing ulnar nerve compression. These need to be assessed and corrected with direction from a physiotherapist. Some of these factors include:
- excessive training or activity (e.g. throwing sports)
- excessive muscle hypertrophy (particularly of the flexor carpi ulnaris)
- muscle weakness
- muscle tightness
- joint tightness
- poor sporting technique (e.g. throwing)
- inadequate warm-up
- Injury to the neck, upper back and nerves, upper arm, elbow or forearm
Physiotherapy for ulnar nerve compression
Physiotherapy treatment for ulnar nerve compression is vital to hasten the healing process, ensure an optimal outcome and decrease the likelihood of future recurrence. Treatment may comprise:
- soft tissue massage
- dry needling
- bracing or splinting
- joint mobilization
- neural mobilization
- ice or heat treatment
- progressive exercises to improve flexibility and strength
- training and activity modification advice
- technique correction
- anti-inflammatory advice
- devising an appropriate return to activity plan
Other intervention for ulnar nerve compression
Despite appropriate physiotherapy management, some patients with ulnar nerve compression do not improve. When this occurs the treating physiotherapist or doctor can advise on the best course of management. This may include nerve conduction studies, X-rays, ultrasound or MRI investigations, pharmaceutical intervention, corticosteroid injection, or referral to appropriate medical authorities (such as an orthopedic specialist) who can advise on any intervention that may be appropriate to improve the condition.
Surgery for ulnar nerve compression
Occasionally, surgical intervention may be required to decompress the ulnar nerve in patients with this condition. Surgery typically involves relocation of the nerve and increasing the space around the nerve to reduce compression and scar tissue adhesions. Rehabilitation under specialist and physiotherapy guidance is required following the procedure to ensure an optimal outcome.
Exercises for ulnar nerve compression
The following exercises are commonly prescribed to patients with ulnar nerve compression. You should discuss the suitability of these exercises with your physiotherapist prior to beginning them. Generally, they should be performed 3 times daily and only provided they do not cause or increase symptoms.
Wrist Flexor Stretch
Keeping your elbow straight, take your wrist and fingers backwards using your other hand until you feel a mild to moderate stretch pain-free (figure 2). Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 4 times provided there is no increase in symptoms.
Figure 2 – Wrist Flexor Stretch (right side)
Wrist and Finger Extensor Stretch
Keeping your elbow straight, curl your wrist and fingers up using your other hand until you feel a mild to moderate stretch pain-free (figure 3). Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 4 times provided there is no increase in symptoms.
Figure 3 – Wrist and Finger Extensor Stretch (right side)
Physiotherapy products for ulnar nerve compression
Some of the most commonly recommended products by physiotherapists to hasten healing and speed recovery in patients with this condition include:
- Ice Packs or Heat Packs
- Resistance Band (for strengthening exercises)
- Golfers Elbow Braces
- TENS Machines (for pain relief)
To purchase physiotherapy products for ulnar nerve compression click on one of the above links or visit the PhysioAdvisor Shop.
Find a Physio for ulnar nerve compression
Find a Physiotherapist in your local area who can treat ulnar nerve compression.
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On this page, we examine the history of gentrification in Williamsburg, starting from globalization and the neighborhood’s consequent deindustrialization in the 1980s to new condominiums being built for a new generation of “gentrifiers,” aiming to start new families and raise them where they are.
During the 1980s and the 1990s, Williamsburg began to transform from a notoriously dangerous area to a place full of opportunities for young people, especially artists. Sociologist Jason Patch writes that “into the early 1990s widespread homelessness, public drug dealing and prostitution filled the neighborhood,” while media such as the New York Times and New York “began hyping the neighborhood…as ‘The New Bohemia,’ as an extension of Manhattan’s underground hipness” (173). In her book Uncommon Spaces, sociologist Sharon Zukin notes the “visible presence” of artists in Williamsburg in the 1990s, “in an area not previously known for the arts” (43). Artists began to move to Williamsburg due to its proximity to Manhattan – the L train on Bedford Avenue is only a stop away from Manhattan – and its cheap rent offered to people who wanted to be close to the city, most likely young artists and entrepreneurs. What occurred in Williamsburg confirms Jane Jacobs’s that “old buildings with low rents will act as incubators of new activities,” according to Zukin (38). The “old buildings,” such as the Domino Sugar factory, housed manufacturing jobs for Williamsburg’s working class for many decades, and as globalization rose and jobs were exported overseas, these factories were shut down, leading to lots of empty space throughout Williamsburg.
The initial process of gentrification in Williamsburg stemmed from a lack of systemic private and public investment, but as time progressed, real estate developers and government played a greater role in gentrifying Williamsburg. Urban geographer Winifred Curran notes that the displacement of places such as manufacturing factories and small businesses “is the result of speculative real estate pressure that is tied directly to gentrification” (2). She expands on this point, saying that displacement “is an active process undertaken by real estate developers, policy-makers, landlords, and even individual gentrifiers” (2). Thus, there is a contrast between the absence of investment in the first wave of gentrification and the government and private involvement in later waves. This can be seen in other New York neighborhoods such as SoHo and the West Village, and, of course, in Williamsburg, where places like the Domino Sugar factory are being converted from their deindustrialized status to a modern “residential development,” as a waterfront with “glass-and-masonry towers, stores and a quarter-mile esplanade,” according to an article from the New York Times in 2010.
A landmark in recent gentrification in Williamsburg is the rezoning efforts by Mayor Bloomberg’s City Planning Commission in 2005, aimed to encourage more high-scale residential developments. After only three years, luxury condominiums were fully developed on the waterfront, although the housing crisis starting in 2007 affected its success.
Now, restaurants, artists’ unique storefronts, and other businesses exist along Bedford Avenue as the first business signaling gentrification from the 1990s. Williamsburg has become a place that “people come to…where residents don’t have a traditional urban village way of life but are very proud of the ‘authenticity’ of the neighborhood” (Zukin 60). People are starting to settle down in Williamsburg, as they have in other gentrified neighborhoods throughout New York City, and the ‘authenticity’ – the gritty, deindustrial, and ethnically mixed image of Williamsburg – has changed to be hipster, post-industrial, and mostly white. While the gentrifiers and hipsters of Williamsburg admire their deindustrialized environment and use it to their business advantage, they are clearly different from their predecessors.
Actor Danny Hoch wrote and starred in a one-man play called Taking Over about gentrification, and he summed up his feelings about it in three words in an interview with the New York Times: “It feels unfair.” To many former and current Williamsburg residents, it does feel unfair, that their neighborhood has changed, with upper-class Whites representing the new image of Williamsburg, often displacing ethnic businesses elsewhere, putting them out of business completely, or indirectly leading these businesses to benefit economically. Regardless of how you want to interpret these changes, they are certainly here to stay, and a new, “authentic” image of Williamsburg will continue to project itself to the world.


Factor XII deficiency is an inherited disorder that affects a protein (factor XII) involved in blood clotting.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
When you bleed, the body launches a series of reactions that help the blood clot. This is called the coagulation cascade. The process involves special proteins called coagulation factors. (Factor XII is a coagulation factor in this series of reactions.)
Each factor has a reaction that triggers the next reaction. The final product of the coagulation cascade is the blood clot. When one or more of these clotting factors are missing, there is usually a higher chance of bleeding.
A lack of factor XII does not cause the affected person to bleed abnormally, but the blood takes longer than normal to clot in a test tube.
Factor XII deficiency is a rare inherited disorder.
There are usually no symptoms.
Signs and tests
Factor XII deficiency is usually found when clotting tests are done for routine screening.
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.


First Case Of Bird Flu From Infected Cat To Human In New York Reported
(Photo : Wang He/Getty Images)
The NYC Department of Health reported the first ever case of a person who was infected with bird flu from a shelter cat in New York City. The virus is the H7N2, a strain of influenza A virus that could be contracted through exposure from an infected cat.
Dr. Mary Bassett, the City Health Commissioner, stated that their investigation confirms that the risk to human health from H7N2 is low, but they are urging New Yorkers who have adopted cats from a shelter or rescue group within the past three weeks to be alert for symptoms in their pets. She further stated that they are contacting people who may have been exposed and offering to test as appropriate.
CBS reports that the H7N2 or also referred to as avian or bird flu spread among more than 100 cats that lived at Animal Care Centers of NYC shelters. The employees and the volunteers were tested. On the other hand, only the veterinarian, who worked with sick cats, was the one infected. It is reported that the veterinarian had only mild symptoms in a short period and has fully recovered.
This is not only the case of H7N2 spread from cat to human but also the first time it jumps from bird to cat. The NYC Health Department reported that there have been no documented cases of human-to-human transmission.
The officials also said there is no need for anyone to panic and abandon their pets. The risk of their cat being infected by H7N2 is extremely low, particularly outside New York City. On the other hand, they advise to watch out for signs of the virus such as coughing, sneezing, loss of appetite, fever and discharge from the nose or eyes. Currently, the health officials are having their investigation to guarantee that no human cases have gone undetected, according to Science Alert.