Cyril of Jerusalem, Saint
Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of the Church, b. about 315; d. probably March 18, 386
Cyril of Jerusalem, Saint, Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of the Church, b. about 315; d. probably March 18, 386. In the East his feast is observed on the 18th of March, in the West on the 18th or 20th. Little is known of his life. We gather information concerning him from his younger contemporaries, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Rufinus, as well as from the fifth-century historians, Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret. Cyril himself gives us the date of his “Catecheses” as fully seventy years after the Emperor Probus, that is about 347, if he is exact. Constans (d. 350) was then still alive. Mader thinks Cyril was already bishop, but it is usually held that he was at this date only a priest. St. Jerome relates (Chron. ad ann. 352) that St. Cyril had been ordained priest by St. Maximus, his predecessor, after whose death the episcopate was promised to Cyril by the metropolitan, Acacius of Caesarea, and the other Arian bishops, on condition that he should repudiate the ordination he had received from Maximus. He consented to minister as deacon only, and was rewarded for this impiety with the see. Maximus had consecrated Heraclius to succeed himself, but Cyril, by various frauds, degraded Heraclius to the priesthood. So says St. Jerome; but Socrates relates that Acacius drove out St. Maximus and substituted St. Cyril. A quarrel soon broke out between Cyril and Acacius, apparently on a question of precedence or jurisdiction. At Nicaea the metropolitan rights of Caesarea had been guarded, while a special dignity had been granted to Jerusalem. Yet St. Maximus had held a synod and had ordained bishops. This may have been as much the cause of Acacius’ enmity to him as his attachment to the Nicene formula. On the other hand, Cyril’s correct Christology may have been the real though veiled ground of the hostility of Acacius to him. At all events, in 357 Acacius caused Cyril to be exiled on the charge of selling church furniture during a famine. Cyril took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Tarsus. He appeared at the Council of Seleucia in 359, in which the Semi-Arian party was triumphant. Acacius was deposed and St. Cyril seems to have returned to his see. But the emperor was displeased at the turn of events, and, in 360, Cyril and other moderates were again driven out, and only returned at the accession of Julian in 361. In 367 a decree of Valens banished all the bishops who had been restored by Julian, and Cyril remained in exile until the death of the persecutor in 378. In 380, St. Gregory of Nyssa came to Jerusalem on the recommendation of a council held at Antioch in the preceding year. He found the Faith in accord with the truth, but the city a prey to parties and corrupt in morals. St. Cyril attended the great Council of Constantinople in 381, at which Theodosius had ordered the Nicene faith, now a law of the empire, to be promulgated. St. Cyril then formally accepted the homoousion; Socrates and Sozomen call this an act of repentance. Socrates gives 385 for St. Cyril’s death, but St. Jerome tells us that St. Cyril lived eight years under Theodosius, that is, from January, 379.
WRITINGS.—The extant works of St. Cyril of Jerusalem include a sermon on the Pool of Bethesda, a letter to the Emperor Constantius, three small fragments, and the famous “Catecheses”. The letter describes a wonderful cross of light, extending from Calvary to the Mount of Olives, which appeared in the air on the nones of May, after Pentecost, towards the beginning of the saint’s episcopate. The catechetical lectures are among the most precious remains of Christian antiquity. They include an introductory address, eighteen instructions delivered in Lent to those who were preparing for baptism, and five “mystagogical” instructions given during Easter week to the same persons after their baptism. They contain interesting local references as to the finding of the Cross, the position of Calvary in relation to the walls, to other holy places, and to the great basilica built by Constantine in which these conferences were delivered. They seem to have been spoken extempore, and written down afterwards. The style is admirably clear, dignified, and logical; the tone is serious and full of piety. The subject is thus divided: 1. Hortatory. 2. On sin, and confidence in God‘s pardon. 3. On baptism, how the water receives the power of sanctifying: as it cleanses the body, so the Spirit seals the soul. 4. An abridged account of the Faith. 5. On the nature of faith. 6-18. On the Creed: 6. On the monarchy of God, and the various heresies which deny it. 7. On the Father. 8. His omnipotence. 9. The Creator. 10. On the Lord Jesus Christ. 11. His Eternal Sonship. 12. His virgin birth. 13. His Passion. 14. His Resurrection and Ascension. 15. His second coming. 16-17. On the Holy Ghost. 18. On the resurrection of the body and the Catholic Church. The first mystagogical catechesis explains the renunciations of Satan, etc. which preceded baptism; the second is on the effects of baptism, the third on confirmation, the fourth on Holy Communion, and the fifth on holy Mass for the living and the dead. The hearers are told to observe the disciplina arcani; Rom. they must repeat nothing to heathens and catechumens; the book also has a note to the same effect.
A few points may be noted. The mythical origin of the Septuagint is told, and the story of the phoenix, so popular from Clement onwards. The description of Mass speaks of the mystical washing of the priest’s hands, the kiss of peace, the “Sursum Corda”, etc., and the Preface with its mention of the angels, the Sanctus, the Epiclesis, the transmutation of the elements by the Holy Ghost, the prayer for the whole Church and for the spirits of the departed, followed by the Paternoster, which is briefly explained. Then come the “Sancta Sanctis” and the Communion. “Approaching, do not come with thy palms stretched flat nor with fingers separated. But making thy left hand a seat for thy right, and hollowing thy palm, receive the Body of Christ, responding Amen. And having with care hallowed thine eyes by the touch of the Holy Body, take it, vigilant lest thou drop any of it. For shouldst thou lose any of it, it is as though thou wast deprived of a member of thy own body.” “Then after Communion of the Body of Christ, approach the Chalice of His Blood, not extending thy hands, but bending low, and with adoration and reverence saying Amen, sanctify thyself by receiving also the Blood of Christ. And while thy lips are yet wet, touch them with thy hands, and sanctify thy eyes and thy forehead and thy other senses” (Cat. Myst., v, 22, 21-22). We are to make the sign of the cross when we eat and drink, sit, go to bed, get up, talk, walk, in short, in every action (Cat. iv, 14). Again: “if thou should be in foreign cities, do not simply ask where is the church, for the heresies of the impious try to call their caves, nor simply where is the Church (iKKX7) ala), but where is the Catholic Church, for this is the proper name of this holy Mother of all” (Cat. xviii, 26).
DOCTRINE.—St. Cyril’s doctrine is expressed in his creed, which seems to have run thus: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten by the Father true God before all ages, God of God, Life of Life, Light of Light, by Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified … and buried. He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, and sat at the right hand of the Father. And He cometh in glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And in one Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, Who spake by the prophets; and in one baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, and in one holy Catholic Church, and in the resurrection of the body, and in life everlasting.” The italicized words are uncertain. St. Cyril teaches the Divinity of the Son with perfect plainness, but avoids the word “consubstantial”, which he probably thought liable to misunderstanding. He never mentions Arianism, though he denounces the Arian formula, “There was a time when the Son was not”. He belonged to the Semi-Arian, or Homoean party, and is content to declare that the Son is “in all things like the Father”. He communicated freely with bishops such as Basil of Ancyra and Eustathius of Sebaste. He not only does not explain that the Holy Trinity has one God-head, but he does not even say the Three Persons are one God. The one God is for him always the Father: “There is one God, the Father of Christ, and one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the only God, and one Holy Ghost, Who sanctifies and deifies all things” (Cat. iv, 16). But he rightly says: “We do not divide the Holy Trinity as some do, neither do we make a melting into one like Sabellius” (Cat. xvi, 4). Cyril never actually calls the Holy Ghost God, but He is to be honored together with the Father and the Son (Cat. iv, 16). There is therefore nothing incorrect in his doctrine, only the explicit use of the Nicene formulae is wanting, and these, like St. Meletius and others of his party, he fully accepted at a later date.
St. Cyril’s teaching about the Blessed Sacrament is of the first importance, for he was speaking freely, untrammeled by the “discipline of the secret”. On the Real Presence he is unambiguous: “Since He Himself has declared and said of the bread: This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any more? And when He asserts and says: This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate and say it is not His Blood?” Of the Trans-formation, he argues, if Christ could change water into wine, can He not change wine into His own Blood? The bread and wine are symbols: “In the type of bread is given thee the Body, in the type of wine the Blood is given thee”; but they do not remain in their original condition, they have been changed, though the senses cannot tell us this: “Do not think it mere bread and wine, for it is the Body and Blood of Christ, according to the Lord’s declaration”. “Having learned this and being assured of it, that what appears to be bread is not bread, though perceived by the taste, but the Body of Christ, and what appears to be wine is not wine, though the taste says so, but the Blood of Christ…. strengthen thy heart, partaking of it as spiritual (food), and rejoice the face of thy soul”. It is difficult not to see the whole doctrine of Transubstantiation in these explicit words. Confirmation is with blessed chrism: “As the bread of the Eucharist after the invocation of the Holy Ghost is not bread, but the Body of Christ, so this holy myrrh is no longer simple, as one might say, after the invocation, but a gift of Christ and capable by the presence of the Holy Ghost of giving His divinity” (ii, 4). St. Peter and St. Paul went to Rome, the heads of the Church. The Faith is to be proved out of Holy Scripture. St. Cyril, as the Greek Fathers generally, gives the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament omitting the deuteron-canonical books. But yet he often quotes them as Scripture. In the New Testament he does not acknowledge the Apocalypse.
There have been many editions of St. Cyril’s works:—(Vienna, 1560); G. Morel (Paris, 1564); J. Prevot (Paris, 1608); T. Milles (London, 1703); the Benedictine edition of Dom Touttee (Paris, 1720; reprinted at Venice, 1763); a new edition from MSS., by G. C. Reischl, 8vo (Munich, 1848; 2nd vol. by J. Rupp, 1860); Migne gives the Bened. ed. in P.G., XXXIII; Photius Alexandrides (2 vols., Jerusalem, 1867-8); Eng. tr. in Library of the Fathers (Oxford).


Biology and appearanceEdit
The blismal species was a type of rodent found deep within the caves of Ilum, capable of surviving in the cold, harsh world's interior. Quadrapeds, the blismal were quite small and were covered in beautiful silver which kept out water and dirt while simultaneously holding in warmth. Feeding off of insects and cave fungi, the blismal had hairless tails and long snouts for slipping between cracks to capture bugs. Free of most predators due to their speed, the Jedi Order came to recognize the blismal by their sustained shriek. When several blismal howled together, the painfully loud call could cause cave-ins and even shatter the precious Adegan crystals growing under Ilum's crust. Jedi researchers believed that the blismals' powerful scream was a product of their close connection to the Force. To prevent the blismal from causing any trouble if stumbled upon, a Jedi could counter the effects of the rodent by encasing them within a noise-dampening bubble in the Force so that they could be captured, and even domesticated.


Students, Museum Visitors, and Web Surfers Can Join First Search for Life on the Arctic Ocean Floor
Dispatches, Photos Being Sent Daily from Historic Research Expedition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Relations Office
July 6, 2007
A multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers is conducting the first search for life and hot springs on the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean. Through the use of the World Wide Web and satellite communications, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and nine partner museums are bringing thousands of students and citizens along with them.
On July 2, WHOI researchers and communications specialists sent the first of 40 days of dispatches and photo-essays from the icebreaker Oden, which researchers are sailing into the ice pack of the Arctic in order to explore the seafloor mountain chain known as the Gakkel Ridge. Reports from the groundbreaking expedition to the world's most isolated ocean are posted daily on the Polar Discovery web site, which also offers podcasts, games, video and audio clips, and a forum for emailing questions directly to researchers at the Pole.
This month, the research team will conduct live satellite phone conversations from the icebreaking ship to visitors at partner museums across the United States. Through these “Live from the Poles” events, students and other visitors will have the opportunity to interact directly with researchers while they are working in the fielddriving robotic vehicles, deploying ocean sensors, and hunting for new communities of life.
Participating museums include: The Field Museum,
Chicago; Birch Aquarium at Scripps, La Jolla, Calif.; Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center, Edgewater, Md.; the Museum of Science,
Boston; Carnegie Museum of Natural
History, Pittsburgh; Liberty Science Center, Jersey City; the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History,
Washington, DC; the Houston Museum of Natural Science; the Houston Museum of Natural Science; and Pacific Science Center, Seattle. (See a
schedule by clicking here).
The live presentations and Web dispatches provide a unique opportunity to observe how ocean science and polar exploration are conducted and to learn what real scientists are likewhat excites them, how they cope with their environment, and what challenges they face as they try to gain a better understanding of our planet.
The Gakkel Ridge outreach effort is part of a two-year project to conduct live and virtual conversations between field researchers and museum visitors. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation in conjunction with the International Polar Year. The “Polar Discovery” project represents an innovative approach to education and outreach that brings together some of the nation’s best science centers and natural history museums, world-class ocean researchers, and creative multimedia talent.
"Polar Discovery makes it easy for scientists to participate in outreach projects,” said Chris Linder, a research associate at WHOI, a professional photographer, and a principal investigator on Polar Discovery. “They can plug into our Web site and take advantage of the partnerships we've developed with science centers across the country. Our goal is to apply collaborative, multimedia approaches to telling the story of polar research.”
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the oceans and their interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the ocean's role in the changing global environment.
Originally published: July 6, 2007


Years and years and eons ago, when I was in charge of children's programming at a large bookstore chain, I held a doozy of a Read Across America Day. It was actually a weekend event with over one hundred children in attendance and did we have a blast! For this Read Across America week I am going to dig into my memories to share with you some of the fun we had. Children love connections between the fun stories they read and their real life. So, what we are going to do today is give you some idea on how to extend some of their favorite stories into arts & crafts and games & fun. Are ya ready?
Today's Dr. Seuss book is Fox in Socks! If you have never read Fox in Socks, get ready to run your tongue through a twister! This book is a great tool to introduce the fun in tongue twisters. Take is slow and have your wee ones repeat after you the silliest of rhymes. Tongue Twisters find their magic in rhyme and alliteration. Children adore alliterations and it is easy for them to mimic.An alliteration is a group of words (usually a sentence) in which each word begins with the same letter. For the best effect, the letter should produce the same beginning sound (sometimes c, j, g and others don't make the same sounds). For example:
"Foxes find flowers fun" or "Senta's socks slip slowly"
The sillier, the better and children do seem to like things that are silly. While tongue twisters themselves seem nonsensical and silly, they actually are powerful in teaching children phonemic awareness. Before children read, they begin to gather an awareness of sounds (phonemes) and rhythms (syntax) in language. When you read aloud from a book of tongue twister or rhymes, you are able to visually show your child what those sounds look like. Fox in Socks can be a great tool in beginning identification of sounds and how they look written down. Though I may stick with the first part of the book and stay far, far away from that tweetle beetle battle. After you have finished trip, trip, tripping those tongues up, have your wee ones create an alliteration of their own using their names as a jumping off point. You can also spend some time thinking up all the words you can that rhyme with socks, fox and box or pick another word that delights your tots.
If you have a large empty carton around, bring it on out and have your wee ones put on their happiest socks and see if they can act out the first part of the book. Try reading it as fast as you can and see how silly they can get.


- The removal of testicles from male animals; done for many reasons such as to prevent fighting and increase weight gain. (Castration).
Combined glossary of agriculture. - MidCountry Media publishes Farm World newspaper.
Look at other dictionaries:
neutering — eutering n. The sterilization of an animal. Syn: fixing, altering. [WordNet 1.5] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Neutering — Romanino, Scene of a cat castration, 1531–32, Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento. Neutering, from the Latin neuter (of neither sex), is the removal of an animal s reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerabl … Wikipedia
neutering — noun the sterilization of an animal they took him to the vet for neutering • Syn: ↑fixing, ↑altering • Derivationally related forms: ↑fix (for: ↑fixing), ↑neuter … Useful english dictionary
neutering — nuËtÉ™rÉªÅ‹ n. making sterile by castration or spaying; making neuter neuÂ·ter || nuËtÉ™(r) / njuË n. neutral gender, state of being neither masculine nor feminine (Grammar); castrated or spayed animals; sexually undeveloped insect (Zoology);… … English contemporary dictionary
Dog health — Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with bandaged foot … Wikipedia
Castration — The Castration of Uranus: fresco by Vasari Cristofano Gherardi (c. 1560, Sala di Cosimo I, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence). Not to be confused with Penectomy or Penis removal. Castration (also referred to as gelding, spa … Wikipedia
Trap-Neuter-Return — (TNR), also known as Trap Test Vaccinate Alter Release (TTVAR) is a method of humanely trapping unaltered feral cats, spaying or neutering them, and releasing them back to the same location where they were collected. TNR is promoted by the ASPCA… … Wikipedia
Dog — For other uses, see Dog (disambiguation). Domestic dog Temporal range: 0.015–0 Ma … Wikipedia
Veterinary surgery — is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians. Most veterinarians perform surgery, but it is also possible to specialize in surgery by becoming board certified.The goal of veterinary surgery may be quite different in pets and in farm animals.… … Wikipedia
Aging in dogs — covers the impact of aging in the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), common medical and clinical issues arising, and life expectancy. Older dogs, like this 10 year old Neapolitan Mastiff, often grow grey hairs on their muzzles; some dogs go… … Wikipedia


ERIC Number: ED156514
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1978-Feb
Reference Count: 0
Addition: A High-Interest Workbook in Mathematics and Language.
Kravitz, Brian C.
This student workbook is intended for use in special-needs mathematics and language high school programs. The workbook consists of number activities, language activities, and addition drill sections along with survey tests and an addition diagnostic test. A vocabulary list is included which contains the meanings of words underlined in the book. (MN)
Descriptors: Activity Units, Addition, English Education, Instructional Materials, Language Aids, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Materials, Secondary Education, Special Education, Vocational Education, Workbooks
New Jersey Vocational Curriculum Lab., 4103 Kilmex Campus, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 ($3.00 plus postage)
Publication Type: Books
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: New Jersey State Dept. of Education, Trenton. Div. of Vocational Education.; Rutgers, The State Univ., New Brunswick, NJ. Curriculum Lab.


The Arabian horse is one of the most recognizable and beloved horse breeds in the world, known for its beauty, athleticism, and unique temperament. With a rich history dating back thousands of years to ancient civilizations in the Middle East, this majestic creature has captured the hearts and imaginations of people around the globe. Whether you’re an equestrian enthusiast or simply appreciate their timeless elegance, join us as we explore everything there is to know about the Arabian horse – from its fascinating past to its diverse uses today! Exploring different Breeds of Horses can help you find the perfect match for your riding style and needs.
The Rich History of the Arabian Horse
The Arabian horse is one of the oldest and most revered breeds in the world. Its history dates back to ancient times, where it was known for its beauty, grace, and stamina. The Bedouin tribes of the Arabian Peninsula were among the first to recognize these qualities in their horses.
They selectively bred them for strength, speed, and endurance, resulting in a breed that could survive harsh desert conditions while still being able to perform well under saddle. These early Arabians were highly prized by their owners and often considered part of the family.
In more recent times, Arabian horses have played a significant role in shaping human history as well. During World War I, they were used by both sides as cavalry mounts due to their agility and hardiness on difficult terrain.
Today’s purebred Arabian horse can be traced back through centuries of breeding programs that sought to preserve its unique characteristics. In fact, many modern horse breeds owe much of their development to crossbreeding with Arabians.
With such a rich history behind them, it’s no wonder that people continue to be captivated by this exceptional breed. Whether you’re looking for an athletic partner or a loyal companion animal with a long-standing tradition of excellence behind it – there’s no denying that the Arabian horse is truly something special!
Arabian Horses in Ancient Civilizations
Arabian horses are one of the oldest and most distinguished breeds in history. In ancient civilizations, these horses played a crucial role in transportation, warfare, and cultural ceremonies. The Bedouin tribes of Arabia were among the first to selectively breed Arabian horses for specific characteristics, leading to their distinct physical traits and temperament that we know today.
These remarkable animals were highly valued by many ancient cultures throughout history. Egyptians admired them for their stamina and gracefulness on long journeys across the desert sands. They also depicted Arabian horses in hieroglyphs as symbols of royalty and prestige.
Greek historians noted the superiority of Arabian horse breeds compared to other equine species during Alexander the Great’s conquests. The Romans also showed admiration towards this breed during their empire’s expansion into North Africa and the Middle East.
Even after centuries have passed since those times, people still regard these magnificent creatures with awe-inspiring reverence. Their beauty and athleticism continue to captivate equestrian enthusiasts worldwide who recognize them as living reminders of our collective past heritage.’
Modern Arabian Breeding and Recognition
Modern Arabian breeding and recognition have come a long way from the early days of horse domestication. Today, the Arabian Horse Association (AHA) is responsible for maintaining breed standards, registering horses, and promoting the breed worldwide.
To ensure that modern Arabian horses are true to their heritage, strict breeding guidelines have been put in place by AHA. These guidelines aim to preserve desirable characteristics such as beauty, athleticism, and temperament while eliminating undesirable traits.
Recognition of the Arabian horse has also grown significantly over time. The breed’s versatility is one reason why it has become so popular among equestrians worldwide. From endurance riding to show jumping competitions, Arabian horses excel in many different disciplines.
In addition to sporting events, Arabians are commonly used for pleasure riding and companionship due to their friendly nature and willingness to bond with humans.
Thanks to its distinct physical features and versatile nature, the popularity of the Arabian horse shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. With continued efforts towards responsible breeding practices and promotion by organizations like AHA- this magnificent breed will continue earning recognition across all corners of equestrian activity globally.
The Distinctive Traits of the Arabian Horse
The Arabian horse is a distinct breed that has been prized for centuries. One of the most notable things about these horses is their physical beauty and athleticism. They have a unique head shape, with a dished profile and large nostrils that allow them to breathe easily while running long distances.
In addition to their good looks, Arabian horses are also known for their intelligence and sensitivity. They are highly trainable and responsive to gentle handling. This makes them ideal companions for riders who want a horse that will work with them rather than against them.
Another unique trait of Arabians is their health and longevity. These horses have strong immune systems that help fight off disease, making them less prone to illnesses than other breeds. Additionally, they often live longer lives – some even into their 30s or 40s!
Arabian horses also come in many different colors, including gray, chestnut, bay, black, and white. Some may even have spots or patterns on their coats.
The distinctive traits of the Arabian horse make it an exceptional breed admired by equestrians worldwide for its combination of elegance and performance both in competitions as well as personal leisure activities such as trail riding or merely enjoying each other’s company during quiet moments at home in the barnyard setting
Physical Characteristics: Beauty and Athleticism
The Arabian horse is known for its beauty and athleticism. The breed has a distinct appearance that sets it apart from other horses.
One of the most striking features of the Arabian horse is its head. It has a dished profile with large nostrils, giving it an elegant look. Its eyes are wide-set and expressive, adding to its overall beauty.
Another physical characteristic that makes the Arabian horse unique is its high tail carriage. This gives the impression of energy and pride while moving.
Arabian horses have a compact body with strong legs and hooves, making them well-suited for long-distance riding and endurance events. They also have a deep chest which allows them to take in more oxygen during exercise, enhancing their athletic performance.
In addition to their physical attributes, Arabians possess exceptional grace when they move. Their gaits are fluid and smooth, making them ideal for various equestrian disciplines such as dressage or show jumping.
The combination of beauty and athleticism makes the Arabian horse one of the most sought-after breeds in equestrian sports as well as leisure riding.
Temperament: Intelligence and Sensitivity
The temperament of the Arabian horse is often described as a combination of intelligence and sensitivity. These horses are known for their ability to read human emotions and respond accordingly, making them excellent companions for those who value a deep connection with their animals.
Arabian horses are highly intelligent creatures that have an innate curiosity about the world around them. They thrive on mental stimulation and require regular training to keep their minds engaged. This intelligence makes them quick learners, eager to please, and always willing to try something new.
However, this high level of intelligence also means that Arabian horses can become bored or frustrated if they are not given enough mental stimulation. It’s important to provide these horses with plenty of opportunities to learn new skills or engage in different activities so that they can channel their energy in positive ways.
In addition to being highly intelligent, Arabian horses are also incredibly sensitive creatures. They have finely-tuned senses that allow them to pick up on subtle changes in their environment or the people around them. This sensitivity is what gives these horses such a strong bond with their human handlers – they can sense our moods, our emotions, and even our intentions.
This sensitivity also makes it important for owners of Arabian horses to approach training with patience and kindness. Harsh treatment or rough handling can cause these sensitive creatures undue stress or anxiety which could ultimately harm both the horse and its owner.
The unique blend of intelligence and sensitivity found in Arabians make these magnificent animals some of the most beloved breeds among equestrians worldwide. Their ability to connect deeply with humans through empathy provides an unexplainable feeling every time you ride one!
Health and Longevity: What Makes Them Unique
One of the most remarkable traits that set Arabian horses apart from other breeds is their exceptional health and longevity. These majestic animals have a unique genetic makeup that makes them less susceptible to diseases, injuries, and stress.
Arabians are known for their strong immune system, which enables them to fight off infections and illnesses more effectively than other horse breeds. They also have robust bones and joints that can withstand high-intensity activities such as racing or jumping without breaking down easily.
Moreover, Arabian horses have a slower metabolism compared to other equines. This means they require fewer calories to maintain their weight and energy levels, making them less prone to obesity-related conditions like laminitis or colic.
Another factor contributing to the longevity of these magnificent creatures is the way they were traditionally bred by Bedouin tribes in desert regions. The harsh environment forced breeders only to choose the strongest, fittest individuals with superior genes for survival and reproduction purposes.
Thanks to this selective breeding process over centuries, modern-day Arabians still possess an inherent toughness that allows them not only long lives but also excellent performance well into old age.
It’s clear that Arabian horses’ unique genetic makeup plays a significant role in keeping them healthy and thriving for years on end. Their natural resilience combined with appropriate care gives owners confidence in their ability always perform at peak levels while enjoying many years of companionship together.
The Diverse Uses of the Arabian Horse
The Arabian horse is a versatile breed that has been trained to serve in various equestrian disciplines. Due to its intelligence, athleticism, and endurance, the breed excels in many activities.
One of the most popular uses of the Arabian horse is endurance riding. These horses are capable of traveling long distances without tiring quickly due to their stamina and ability to regulate their body temperature. They have participated and won some of the toughest races globally, including Tevis Cup 100-mile ride.
Arabian horses also excel in show rings because they possess an elegant appearance with refined features and high-stepping gaits. They perform well in events based on gracefulness such as dressage or halter competitions.
In addition, Arabians are frequently used as pleasure horses for trail riding or leisurely rides around town because they are easy-going animals that enjoy human companionship.
Arabians can make great companion animals for individuals seeking an animal friend since they bond easily with humans due to their sensitive nature.
Arabian horses’ versatility makes them suitable for a wide range of equestrian disciplines such as jumping events like show jumping or cross-country courses; however, these athletic creatures will forever be known for their beauty and elegance no matter how we use them today!
In Equestrian Sports: Endurance and Versatility
Arabian horses have long been prized for their endurance and versatility in equestrian sports. They are known for their ability to cover great distances at a sustained pace, making them ideal for long-distance riding events like endurance racing.
One of the most famous endurance rides is the Tevis Cup, a 100-mile race through rugged terrain that takes place annually in California. Arabian horses have won this grueling event numerous times over the years, demonstrating their remarkable stamina and tenacity.
In addition to endurance racing, Arabian horses excel in other equestrian disciplines as well. They are known for their agility and athleticism, which makes them suitable for everything from dressage and jumping to western pleasure riding.
Their versatility also extends to non-competitive pursuits like trail riding and recreational riding. Their calm temperament and gentle nature make them an ideal choice for riders of all ages and skill levels.
Arabian horses have proven themselves time and again as exceptional athletes with unmatched endurance and adaptability. Whether you’re looking to compete or simply enjoy a leisurely ride through the countryside, there’s no better companion than an Arabian horse.
In Show Rings: Elegance and Performance
When it comes to equestrian sports, showing horses is considered the ultimate display of elegance and performance. Arabian horses have been a popular choice in show rings for decades due to their unique physical characteristics and graceful movements.
In Arabian horse shows, judges are looking for the perfect combination of beauty, athleticism, and obedience. The horse’s conformation must be flawless – from its head to its tail. Judges pay close attention to the curvature of the neck, shape of the ears, length of legs and overall symmetry.
One essential trait that sets Arabian horses apart in show rings is their high-set tail carriage – which adds an extra touch of gracefulness during trotting or cantering. It’s not just about looks; these elegant creatures need to perform well too! Their movement should be fluid yet powerful while maintaining balance at all times.
The ideal show ring candidate has also undergone extensive training and conditioning leading up to competitions. They must have excellent manners both on-grounds and under saddle as riders showcase their abilities through various exercises such as dressage tests or pattern work.
All in all, it takes years of dedication from breeders, trainers and handlers alike before an Arabian horse can make a name for itself in the competitive world of horse shows. But once they do so successfully with elegance combined with performance – they truly become stars!
As a Pleasure and Companion Animal: Trust and Bonding
The Arabian horse is not just a magnificent animal to look at; they are also fantastic companions. Due to their intelligence and sensitivity, they bond well with humans and make great pleasure horses.
Arabian horses have an innate ability to connect with their riders on a deeper level, creating trust and building strong bonds that can last a lifetime. They have been known to be intuitive of human emotions, which allows them to comfort and support their owners in times of need.
For those looking for a friend who will always be there for them, the Arabian horse is an excellent choice. Their loyalty knows no bounds, and they thrive on the affection given by their owners.
In addition to being great companions for adults, Arabian horses are also ideal animals for children or novice riders due to their gentle yet spirited nature. Children learn responsibility when caring for these animals while having fun riding them.
Owning an Arabian horse as a companion can bring joy like no other pet could offer because this majestic creature offers more than just friendship; it provides an opportunity for personal growth through bonding experiences that can’t be replicated anywhere else but with another living creature such as the Arabian horse.
Throughout history, the Arabian horse has captured hearts and minds with its beauty, athleticism, intelligence, sensitivity and bravery. From ancient civilizations to modern times, this breed has played a significant role in human society. Whether as a war mount or a companion animal, the Arabian horse continues to be admired for its versatility and grace.
As we have seen in this article on the history, traits and uses of the Arabian horse, this breed is truly unique. Its physical characteristics are unmatched by any other breed – from its dished profile to its high-set tail. Its temperament is equally fascinating – intelligent yet sensitive enough to form deep bonds with humans.
The diverse uses of the Arabian horse also make it an excellent choice for many equestrian activities such as endurance riding and show competitions. But above all else, these horses make fantastic companions that can create lasting relationships with their owners.
If you’re looking for a beautiful and versatile equine partner that will provide you with years of joy and companionship then look no further than the magnificent Arabian horse!”


A typical sweetener that is commonly used in many different meals and beverages is refined or white sugar. It is manufactured from sugarcane or sugarbeets that have had the sugar extracted through processing. The natural molasses and nutrients that were previously included in the sugar are eliminated during this process, leaving behind a white, crystalline product that is 99.9% pure sucrose.
While refined sugar can make meals sweeter, it can also be harmful to your health. Here are a few explanations:
Refined sugar has a lot of calories but no necessary nutrients. Too much sugar consumption can result in weight gain, which raises your chance of getting diabetes, cancer, and other diseases as well as heart disease.
Blood sugar levels rise fast as a result of refined sugar’s speedy absorption into the circulation. This may result in an increase in the synthesis of insulin, which may then cause a dip in blood sugar levels, leaving you hungry and exhausted.
Your chance of contracting chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer can rise if you consume too much refined sugar. Additionally, obesity, high blood pressure, and liver disease have all been connected to sugar intake.
One of the main causes of dental decay is sugar. Consuming sugary meals and drinks causes the bacteria in your mouth to interact with the sugar, producing acids that can erode your tooth enamel and cause cavities.
No necessary nutrients are present in refined sugar, and it may even deprive the body of vital vitamins and minerals. Sugar overconsumption can also hinder the body’s capacity to adequately absorb nutrients.
Honey and jaggery powder are two of the most widely used natural sweeteners available. Both have a unique flavour and taste and are frequently used in different cuisines. While bees collect nectar from flowers to make honey, sugarcane juice or palm sap is boiled to create jaggery powder. We will evaluate honey and jaggery powder on a number of different criteria in this blog post to see which is superior.
Although their compositions are different, both honey and jaggery powder offer some nutritional value. Antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals including iron, calcium, and magnesium are all present in honey. Additionally, it possesses anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. Jaggery powder, on the other hand, is rich in calories and carbs despite having iron, calcium, and potassium.
Although honey and jaggery powder both offer some nutritional value, honey outperforms them both in terms of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Depending on which flowers’ nectar was used to make the honey, each kind has a unique flavour and taste. Some types of honey are delicate and flowery, while others are powerful and dark. On the other hand, jaggery powder may give any meal depth thanks to its distinct caramel-like flavour and scent. Indian food frequently uses it to sweeten drinks and sweets.
The taste and flavour of honey and jaggery powder vary and are dependent on individual preferences. But jaggery powder has a distinctive caramel-like flavour that goes well with many different foods.
The rate at which a meal elevates blood sugar levels is determined by its glycemic index (GI). Foods with a high GI value raise blood sugar quickly, whereas those with a low GI value raise it more gradually. Due to its high GI value, honey has the potential to quickly raise blood sugar levels. On the other hand, jaggery powder has a low GI rating, which indicates that it distributes glucose into the circulation gradually and is a healthier choice for those who have diabetes.
Honey loses to jaggery powder in terms of glycemic index since it has a higher GI value.
Honey is a pure natural product that doesn’t need to be processed, and the nectar-producing flowers determine the quality of the honey. On the other hand, sugarcane juice or palm sap is heated until it thickens and hardens to create jaggery powder. Jaggery powder is created by heating, which might diminish part of its nutritious benefits.
Since honey is a natural product and doesn’t need to be processed, it wins in terms of processing.
Honey is easily accessible and can be purchased in the majority of supermarkets and grocery stores. Depending on the type and quality, honey might cost more or less than jaggery powder, although it is often more costly. When compared to honey, jaggery powder is less accessible and is only sold at specialised stores. Jaggery powder typically costs less than honey.


One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
(1910–89), British-born American physicist; full name William Bradford Shockley. Shockley and his researchers at Bell Laboratories developed the transistor in 1948 and in 1958 he shared with them the Nobel Prize for Physics. He later became a controversial figure because of his views on a supposed connection between race and intelligence.
In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV.


Zinc (Zn) is an essential component in animal and poultry metabolism of various biochemical pathways. It serves as a nutrient and also as a feed additive for improving reproductive functions, productive indices, cellular immunity, normal growth and the maintenance of feathers, bone tissues as well as appetite. Furthermore, Zn has many roles as an antioxidant agent. This mineral is essential for hormone function, including pancreatic (insulin and glucagon), sex and growth hormones. It is a part of more than 300 enzymes that are involved in the metabolism of protein, energy, carbohydrates and nucleic acids. Previous studies demonstrated many beneficial impacts of supplemental Zn on different physiological and immunological functions above the established concentration in diets, including alleviating heat stress. Zinc supplementation in layer diets increases albumen weight, and may alter egg shell thickness and total egg weight. Zinc deficiency can cause a fraying of the feathers and retardation in growth of broilers. Different Zn sources (organic or inorganic) positively impact health and performance in poultry including meat or egg production, feed intake and conversion efficiency, carcass traits, blood parameters and apparent nutrient digestibility. This review compares and provides a review of the nutritional and physiological aspects of different Zn sources.


Your doctor may suggest that you keep a food diary and eliminate certain foods to see if symptoms stop, or she may order skin scratch tests. Like the green version, black pepper is the cooked and dried unripe fruit from the Piperaceae family. Food Allergy Research & Education states that mainly 8 foods that lead to 90% of food allergies. Food allergy for instance black pepper allergy triggers when the hypersensitive person ingests to comes in contact with the allergic substance. Antihistamines may be effective for minor reactions, while severe reactions may require a shot of epinephrine and a doctor's visit. Copyright © They can possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic, lipid-lowering qualities, are protective of the liver, kidney and gut, and have anticancer activities. Black pepper should not be confused with red pepper, which is from an entirely different plant. . Despite the evidence that salt is not harmful (unless you are sodium sensitive), using less or no salt is still the norm, giving people added reasons to use more black pepper. Anaphylaxis requires immediate medical intervention. Your doctor will then send the tests for further testing in a laboratory to check which are the offending foods. Producers derive this spice from dried berries from pepper trees, known as peppercorns, growing primarily in southern India, Ceylon and Malaysia. Her writing experience has primarily been in the area of strategic planning and policy development.
The immune system in sensitive people reacts mistakenly by producing antibodies. The goal of treatment is to lessen your symptoms and discomfort, while minimizing chances of reactions later on. According to official reports about 15 million Americans including adults and children have a food allergy. any of the products or services that are advertised on the web site. Next time when you ingest black pepper, the immune system releases histamines to trigger a chemical reaction. Black Pepper ürünlerini yüzlerce farklı model seçeneği ve Boyner.com.tr avantajları ile satın almak için hemen alışverişe başlayın! While the occasional black pepper sprinkle may not be harmful, higher amounts are typically used in cooking, packaged foods and at the dinner tables of almost everyone having the traditional salt and pepper shaker. Because so much of the immune system is housed in the gut, immunity may be compromised too, along with function of the urinary tract, prostate, and potentially elsewhere. Moreover, we do not select every advertiser or advertisement that appears on the web site-many of the Foods substance and dishes must be avoided. Herbs and spices have long been used to create tasty meals, as well as for their many mild therapeutic effects. The chemical reaction then results in various allergic symptoms. It should not be Even the trace of these food substances will stimulate the reaction. There are different ways of contacting the black pepper by inhalation, by ingesting it or by physical contact. University of Maryland Medical Center; Food Allergy; David Zieve, M.D., M.H.A., and David R. Eltz; 2010, All Allergy: Bell Pepper/Paprika/Green Pepper, Wayne's World Online Textbook of Natural History; The Wayne's Word Chile Pepper Edition: Chile Peppers, Black Peppers, Kava Kava & Pepper Trees; W.P. They can, Like the green version, black pepper is the cooked and dried unripe fruit from the, We learned in the 1960s that the phytochemical, Sufficient amounts of black pepper can increase, Higher doses of black pepper may be comparable to the harmful gut effects of a single dose of aspirin, which causes mild intestinal bleeding. Black pepper allergy symptoms can be mild in most cases, but in rare cases, the person may experience severe allergic symptoms. Plus they’re safe. Your doctor may also order blood tests to check whether your body is having an immune response, known as immunoglobulin.
As it’s not common, most people aren’t aware of this allergen. And, most black pepper is ground, usually long ago, reducing its flavor and contributing to the use of higher quantities.
As it’s not common, most people aren’t aware of this allergen. Waiters anxiously await your nod for freshly ground pepper from those big grinders. 2020 Higher doses of black pepper may be comparable to the harmful gut effects of a single dose of aspirin, which causes mild intestinal bleeding. Black Pepper Intolerance: Black pepper is used in many dishes to enhance their tastes.
Black pepper may be an exception. Problems caused by black pepper may go unnoticed, although it can also trigger epigastric pain and dyspepsia, which are common symptoms for many people, and ones that often result in the use of over-the-counter or prescription medication to quiet the stomach.
Producers derive this spice from dried berries from pepper trees, known as peppercorns, growing primarily in southern India, Ceylon and Malaysia. It is mostly used in Chinese and Italian dishes. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the LIVESTRONG.COM
Even if you aren’t allergic to black pepper, pollen from other allergic substances travels through the wind and combine with the spice. An allergic reaction typically occurs within a few minutes to two hours after consuming the allergen. Along with its benefits, symptoms of black pepper allergy are more common when you come in contact with different types of spices. If you have a parent with an allergy, you are 75 percent more likely to develop one within your lifetime, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. advertisements are served by third party advertising companies.
You may also experience wheezing and congestion, dizziness or lightheadedness. The LIVESTRONG Foundation and LIVESTRONG.COM do not endorse
Prevention is your best bet. Your doctor may diagnose a food allergy based on exposure to an allergen and present symptoms; however, it is prudent to pursue further testing. Food allergies are very serious when you ignore them because almost all ingredients include black pepper due to its nutritional benefits and flavor.
The material appearing on LIVESTRONG.COM is for educational use only. Researchers found potential cross-reactivity with pollen. LIVESTRONG is a registered trademark of the LIVESTRONG Foundation.
Food allergies are very serious when you ignore them […] It is this oxidative effect that may trigger intestinal irritation. The problem with pepper may not be black and white. Herbs and spices have long been used to create tasty meals, as well as for their many mild therapeutic effects.
used as a substitute for professional medical advice, We learned in the 1960s that the phytochemical safrole, found in such spices as sassafras and black pepper was potentially toxic in higher amounts. Symptoms of a black pepper allergy occur upon exposure to different forms of the spice and can vary depending on how you come into contact with it. Allergies have no cure; however, some lucky folks outgrow them. Consult your Physician or a Qualified Health Professional on any matters regarding your health and well-being or on Any opinions expressed within this Website. A close-up of black peppercorns on a wooden table. All Material Provided within this Website is for Informational and Educational purposes only, And is not to be construed as Medical advise or Instruction. Black pepper is a favored spice, included in most recipes, making it a difficult allergen to avoid. This, Many people have heard black pepper can improve absorption of, Problems caused by black pepper may go unnoticed, although it can also trigger epigastric pain and dyspepsia, which are common symptoms for many people, and ones that often result in the use of, The problem with pepper may not be black and white. No Action should be taken solely on the contents of this Website. Black Pepper Allergy Symptoms and Diagnosis. Black pepper is a favored spice, included in most recipes, making it a difficult allergen to avoid. Black pepper is a nemesis for hypersensitive people because it triggers different allergic symptoms. Many people have heard black pepper can improve absorption of turmeric’s phytonutrients, but this is only because the irritation of the gut by pepper damages the lining of the gut making it easier to absorb compounds into the bloodstream.
But there are other signs that are serious.
Leaf Group Ltd. However, normal sneezing due to black pepper is common.
LIVESTRONG.com may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Black pepper is a nemesis for hypersensitive people because it triggers different allergic symptoms. Sufficient amounts of black pepper can increase free-radical production.
Check ingredient before taking a product and make sure that the spice isn’t added in any of the dishes. If you’re allergic to black pepper, then probably you’ll be sensitive to green and white peppers.
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A lot people think that the rising standards of fuel economy regulations will be the death of big and powerful engines. Well that’s just not true. New engine technologies that are being developed and implemented can greatly increase the fuel economy of big engines.
Higher Compression Ratios
An increase of the compression ratios in an engine can improve the performance and fuel economy for a vehicle. The amount of fuel and air squeezed in the engine’s combustion chamber is the compression ratio.
Mazda has been developing technology for both gas and diesel powered vehicle to increase their compression ratios. Mazda’s SKYACTIV-G gasoline engine uses a 13:1 compression ratio in America, where the standard ratio is 10:1.
The majority of engines used today mix the fuel and air before sending them to the combustion chamber. With a direct injection engine, highly pressurized fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber at the height of the pistons’ stroke. Direct injection creates more power and fuel efficiency than multi-point fuel injection.
Cylinders on Demand
A cylinders on demand engine will only use the minimum number of cylinder it needs for performance. An example would be accelerating a vehicle from 0-60 miles per hour. In order to accelerate that quick, an eight cylinder engine would need all of the cylinders firing. Once the vehicle reaches a cruising speed, it will only require 4 cylinders to maintain speed and perform. If you need to make a pass or accelerate the rest of the cylinders will kick in again and disengage once you reach a cruising speed. Cylinders on demand engines can improve fuel efficiency by 10% when the vehicle is cruising.


Spore some mushrooms on me (in the name of love).
Behold, the (edible) mushroom. It’s in your supermarkets. It’s the fungi at parties. It’s the friendly-looking specimen you find in the woods that—after correctly identifying it and confirming your findings with a qualified expert—is as friendly and eatable as it looks. Just for fun, consider these random facts about mushrooms:
Did you know that the portabello, crimini, and champignon/white button mushrooms are varying sizes of the same species of mushroom?
Did you know that there is a species of mushroom known as the giant puffball, which is literally a giant, white mushroom ball that can be sliced into delicious, savory thick-cut mushroom steaks?
Did you know that we are more strongly related to mushrooms and other fungi than plants?
And that’s not all, folks! Besides coming with an almanac of cool facts, mushrooms can add a healthy, nutrient-packed boost to our diet. Low sodium, low fat, low cholesterol, and low calorie, mushrooms are a powerhouse when it comes to healthy eating. Here’s some more reasons why:
There’s a reason that mushrooms are considered an excellent meat substitute for vegan and vegetarian diets. Not only are they a good source of protein, mushrooms (especially shitake and oyster mushrooms, to name a few) typically feature a generous amount of B complex vitamins, copper, and potassium. 100 grams of shiitake and maitake mushrooms can provide up to 10% of your daily fiber needs. (1) Mushrooms are also a source of selenium, which is important for DNA replication and immunity, and pantothenic acid, which helps maintain hormones and metabolic function. On top of that, mushrooms contain small amounts of vitamin D that can be increased dramatically by drying them in sunlight. (2) (3) (4)
Along with soy, cheese, meat, and seaweed, mushrooms are full of glutamic acids, which we perceive as the meaty, savory taste known as umami. But with mushrooms, it gets even better. Mushrooms have compounds that can combat inflammation, and their soft, spongy texture can easily soak up juices, spices, and oils, turning even the smallest enoki mushroom into a nutritious flavor bomb. (2) In fact, due to a tough protein called chitin in mushroom cell walls, it is recommended to cook mushrooms before you eat them, even though many species are still edible and delicious raw. (5)
(Glu)can they help your blood levels? You beta!
A type of fiber found in mushroom cell walls, beta-glucans have been widely studied for their biochemical properties. Studies have shown that beta-glucans have anti-inflammatory activity and can help manage cholesterol levels and glucose levels. (2)
They keep you on your toes!
Cordyceps are a parasitic fungus that grows on the backs of caterpillars, which is not so great for the caterpillars, but great for us. This is because Cordyceps’ bioactive compounds have generated a lot of excitement for their possible ability to support our lungs, liver, kidneys, and aging process. In fact, recent studies point to their potential to combat fatigue and subsequently improve endurance, making Cordyceps a fungal superstar worth including in your supplementation. (6)
(And for those of you who are squeamish at the thought of murderous caterpillar fungus, methods have been developed to grow Cordyceps on much kinder alternatives like agar jelly or a sterile liquid medium. The Vitamin Packs Cordyceps, for example, is grown in a cGMP certified facility in the U.S. and tested for purity so you can safely and guiltlessly consume it.) (7)
If you’re surrounded by lush, dark forests and you want to get up close to nature, or you just want a fun(gal) exercise activity, hunt mushrooms! Mushroom hunting, or “mushrooming,” is a popular activity around the world. Families, travelers, and rare mushroom hunters around the world traverse throughout the woods in search of wild edible mushrooms, and may take home treasures worth thousands of dollars. For reference, one pound of wild matsutake mushrooms can cost around $1000 per pound. However, be careful—not all mushrooms are safe or edible. Should you decide to go mushrooming, consult local mushrooming experts, books, or mycology societies to make sure the ones you harvest won’t harm you.
Versatile and full of variety, mushrooms are an excellent staple to a healthy diet. And while you may not burn calories eating lots of mushrooms, chasing down that priceless porcini or costly chanterelle can serve as excellent cardio. So button up, because the wonderful world of edible mushrooms always has room for one more fun-guest.
- Cheung, Peter C. K. “Mushrooms as Functional Foods.” Mushrooms as Functional Foods, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009, doi:10.1002/9780470367285.
- Cheung, Peter C. K. “The Nutritional and Health Benefits of Mushrooms.” Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 35, 2010, pp. 292–99, doi:10.1111/j.1467-3010.2010.01859.x.
- Haytowitz, D. B. Vitamin D in Mushrooms. 2009, p. 20705.
- Rangel-Castro, J.Ignacio, et al. “The Ergocalciferol Content of Dried Pigmented and Albino Cantharellus Cibarius Fruit Bodies.” Mycological Research, vol. 106, no. 1, 2002, pp. 70–73, doi:10.1017/S0953756201005299.
- Dikeman, Cheryl L., et al. “Effects of Stage of Maturity and Cooking on the Chemical Composition of Select Mushroom Varieties.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 53, no. 4, 2005, pp. 1130–38, doi:10.1021/jf048541l.
- Nagata, Arika, et al. “Supplemental Anti-Fatigue Effects of Cordyceps Sinesis Tochu-Kaso Extract Powder during Three Stepwise Exercise of Human.” Jpn. J. Phys. Fitness Sports Med., 2006, pp. S145–52, doi:10.7600/jspfsm.55.S145.
- Martel, Jan, et al. “Myths and Realities Surrounding the Mysterious Caterpillar Fungus.” Trends in Biotechnology, vol. 35, no. 11, 2017, pp. 1017–21, doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.06.011.


While the current buzz over Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are hard to ignore, the underlying technology that makes the trade of bitcoins possible needs to be further explored. Blockchain technology is the virtual, public ledger that records everything in a secure and transparent matter. The benefits of blockchain are more than big enough to sustain its relevance for years to come, unlike the cryptocurrency it was designed to support. Here are six of the most important benefits of blockchain that will prove useful to businesses in different industries.
Supply Chain Management
Blockchain technology offers the supply chain management industry the benefits of cost-effectiveness and traceability. A blockchain can be used to track all the movements of goods, their origin, and their quality. This can help to simplify processes within the industry like ownership transfer, payments, and production process assurances.
A blockchain system can lead to finding the point of origin if an irregularity is detected somewhere along the supply chain. This will make it easier for businesses who utilize the technology to carry out investigations and execute the actions necessary to correct the problem.
Recording transactions through blockchain can virtually eliminate human error and will prevent the data from being tampered with. Records within the blockchain are verified every single time they are passed on from one block to the next within the chain. Along with providing guaranteed accuracy of documents, the process also leaves a highly traceable audit trail.
The aspect of voting, just like with supply chain management, all boils down to trust. Utilizing blockchain technology in local elections could significantly diminish electoral fraud, which has become an issue despite the prevalence of electronic voting systems. Another example would be how NASDAQ could leverage blockchain to facilitate shareholder voting.
The idea of implementing blockchain technology for securities and commodities training isn’t new. Given the open-yet-reliable nature of the blockchain technology, it isn’t surprising that stock exchanges consider it to be the next big step forward in trading.
In certain parts of the world, household and commercial establishments can now take advantage of blockchain-enabled transactive grids for sustainable energy solutions that track usage accurately. Blockchains can also be used to improve the tracking of clean energy. Renewable energy is traditionally followed through tradable certificates that have been issued by the government. The documents are terrible in serving their purpose, which is something that blockchain wouldn't have any trouble handling.
It is clear that blockchain technology is making strides in different industries outside of cryptocurrency. While most people are ready for decentralized ledgers, the progress of blockchain technology means it probably won’t be too far off from becoming mainstream.


How to Prevent a Mercury Spill at Your School
- Conduct a mercury audit to determine if any elemental mercury or mercury-containing instruments exist.
- Replace mercury-containing instruments and products such as thermometers or blood pressure cuffs with non-mercury alternatives. For immobile items, such as thermostats or switches, place labels indicating they contain mercury so when they need to be replaced they can be properly handled and disposed of. For items with no alternatives, such as fluorescent light bulbs, properly handle, store, and recycle to prevent spills.
- Properly dispose of or recycle elemental mercury, mercury compounds, and mercury-containing instruments and products. It is always more cost effective to dispose of mercury than clean it up. Contact your county solid waste department to determine if a household hazardous waste program is available for schools. If a household hazardous waste program is not available, contact a hazardous waste contractor or recycler and notify your elected officials that schools need affordable options for recycling or disposing of mercury. You can also contact the manufacturer of the product; many will recycle the item for free, especially if you purchase the mercury-free alternative from them. View fluorescent bulb information on recycling bulbs.
- Implement and enforce a no-mercury policy to prevent the purchase of mercury-containing items if alternatives exist and to prevent mercury from entering the school. Note that even if schools have a no-mercury policy, they can continue to have mercury spills if students and staff are not educated on the policy. Therefore, consider including information about mercury in staff meetings and new employee trainings and designate your school as a Mercury-Free Zone.
Be Prepared for a Mercury Spill
- Designate a professional spill cleanup firm to respond, or
- Assign a competent, trained staff person to be immediately notified in case of a spill. Designated staff need to be trained in the appropriate use of a mercury spill kit, cleanup procedures, required personal protective clothing, decontamination and disposal.
- Establish emergency plans for small spills (less than 2 tablespoons) and for large spills (more than 2 tablespoons or one pound). Get professional spill response help for large spills or if mercury contaminates carpeting or porous flooring. (See yellow pages under Environmental Services for a list of contractors providing 24-hour spill response).


With summer sun baking, river levels low and warm at this time of year, Hawke's Bay Regional Council says people should be aware of the risks to people and animals from toxic algae.
River areas are popular places to exercise dogs and owners need to be extra cautious in summer.
While the specific cause of last week's dog death at Pākōwhai Regional Park is unclear, it does emphasise the need for owners to look out for their pets.
During summer, Hawke's Bay Regional Council staff monitor popular recreation sites weekly on the Ngaruroro, Tutaekurī and Tukituki rivers, but cannot check the whole length of rivers. People enjoying the rivers for recreation need to be aware of the variety of risks and take their own precautions.
In the height of summer, toxic blue-green algae can dry out at the side of rivers forming "mats" as the water flows reduce. The toxin forming blue-green algae naturally occur in all rivers, stream and lakes.
Warm summer weather coupled with low river flows increases blue-green algal growth, sometimes making water unsafe for swimming in those areas and forming dark-coloured mats. Not all algae is toxic but blue-green algae, known as cyanobacteria, can be, even when dry.
These mats should not be touched, and people should avoid swimming where mats are present. The mats can vary in colour from brown/black when in the water to a pale brown/whitish colour when dry, and are identifiable by a strong musty smell which dogs will naturally want to investigate.
Stuart Badger of Hawke's Bay Vet Services in Hastings warns that dogs are particularly susceptible to the toxins compared with other stock.
"When you go near a river, take fresh water and a bowl so you can give your dog a good drink of water before they run around, so they are less tempted to drink from the river," he says.
He says the main symptoms are gastro-intestinal, such as vomiting and diarrhoea with blood, or neurological, such as inability of the dog to use their back legs and shaking, although both ranges of symptoms can occur.
Any dogs or other animals that appear unwell or are sick after being in or by a river should get prompt veterinary attention.
Hawke's Bay District Health Board Medical Officer of Health Rachel Eyre says people who come into contact with the toxic form of the mat may experience vomiting, diarrhoea, skin rashes and numbness or tingling around the mouth. Children are particularly at risk. Anyone displaying signs of illness after being in a river bed should seek medical advice from a doctor immediately.
The HBDHB Population Health services should be alerted in the event of health issues occurring after contact with river or lake water. The On Call Health Protection Officer can be contacted on 06 834 1815.


Advice to drink water may make you sicker
The doctor's advice to "drink plenty of fluids" when you have a respiratory infection is not based on sound evidence, and could even be dangerous, Australian researchers warn.
"[The advice to drink water] doesn't have any empirical evidence to support it and has some theoretical reasons why it might not be a good idea," Del Mar told ABC Science Online. But the advice had been around for a long time.
"We don't really know where it comes from. It's from time immemorial, ancient times; we think even Roman times it may have even been used."
Theoretically, drinking more when you are sick replaces fluid lost by evaporation when the body has a temperature. It also helps to break down and drain away thick mucus.
But when Del Mar's team examined the literature they found no studies that showed drinking more fluids made people better. And they found some evidence suggesting the contrary.
"We found data to suggest that giving increased fluids to patients with respiratory infections may cause harm," the researchers reported.
They found some evidence that people with lower respiratory infections, so-called "chesty colds", who drink extra fluids were more at risk of having fits due to low sodium levels.
Del Mar said researchers were not certain why these people had low sodium but it was possibly due to secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This is a hormone the body releases when it is under stress and makes the body retain fluid.
"It's obviously a protective mechanism designed to protect animals when they're very sick and are unable to go and get food and drink. They then shut down fluid loss and retain fluid until they get well again and go and get fluid again," said Del Mar.
If a person secreting ADH is given additional fluid, he said, their body could become overloaded with water: "And if you get too much water in the body you get a thing called cerebral oedema which is waterlogging of the brain and that can cause fits."
Less extreme symptoms of low sodium are irritability, confusion and lethargy.
Secretion of ADH had not been observed in people with upper respiratory tract infections, like the common cold.
"To date there are no randomised controlled trials to provide definitive evidence, and these need to be done," the researchers wrote. "Until we have this evidence, we should be cautious about universally recommending increased fluids to patients, especially those with infections of the lower respiratory tract."
Del Mar admitted it would be "tricky" to design a randomised controlled trial to provide the evidence; it would require a lot of people, a lot of money and was not in anyone's particular interest to do it.
He could not advise how much water would be too much to drink when you were sick.
But he thinks people with respiratory infections should not be encouraged to drink more than they feel like drinking: "Just be guided by your thirst. Your body will tell you," he said.


The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Penguin English Library Edition of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
'Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, - stern and wild ones, - and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss'
Fiercely romantic and hugely influential, The Scarlet Letter is the tale of Hester Prynne, imprisoned, publicly shamed, and forced to wear a scarlet 'A' for committing adultery and bearing an illegitimate child, Pearl. In their small, Puritan village, Hester and her daughter struggle to survive, but in this searing study of the tension between private and public existence, Hester Prynne's inner strength and quiet dignity means she has frequently been seen as one of the first great heroines of American fiction.
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.


Fireworks: The Annual Whine About Their Environmental Impact
It's the time of year where, as regular as the Fourth of July, we point out that "fireworks are often propelled by gunpowder, and the accelerants and heavy metals used for coloration can leave traces in the air and water for days or even weeks after the party is over." and "fireworks heavily contribute to perchlorate contamination of surrounding water bodies. Perchlorate is well-known to pose risks for both human health and wildlife." The EPA studied a lake in Oklahoma last year and found that within 14 housrs of the fireworks display, perchlorate levels were 1000 times higher than background. (Perchlorate inhibits the workings of the thyroid gland).
While LiveScience reports that there is progress in replacing perchlorate with nitrogen compounds and nitrocellulose, there is still the residue from the colouring agents, made from lovely heavy metals like strontium, barium and copper. We asked last year: It is all very pretty, but is it a celebration of the birth of a country or is it an excuse to blow things up?
This deserves a poll, below the fold.
More fireworks about fireworks in TreeHugger:
Fireworks : Fun for the Whole Family or Dangerous Water ...
Green Fireworks Come in All Colors
It's Canada Day. Let's Lose the Fireworks ! :
The Prettiest Pollutants
4th of July by the Numbers


Eczema is a condition that caused the skin to get irritation or inflammation. One of the most common eczemas is called atopic eczema or atopic dermatitis, whereby atopic describes a batch of diseases with a genetic inclination to grow other allergic skin condition like hay fever and asthma.
Researches suggest that eczema attacks around 10 to 20 percent of newborns and 3 percent of children and adults. A majority of the patients notice the condition getting worse after their 10th birthday whereas others notice the condition off and on throughout their lives. According to Dr. Shumaila, the disease can be controlled if diagnosed early and treated properly by a professional and board certified dermatologists.
Eczema has the potential to attack any part of the body. The condition is very itchy and creates un-comfort in the patients. At times, the itching will begin before the condition becomes visible in the form of rashes. It has been noted that the rashes usually appear on the face, hands, feet, knees and wrists, in addition to other parts of the body.
You should immediately book a dermatological consultation session with Dr. Shumaila if:
Even though the exact cause of eczema is yet to be scientifically determines, yet it is largely agreed among dermatologists that over reaction of your body’s immune system causes this condition. In other words, it is an autoimmune disorder caused by your body’s hyper-resistance against outside agents. Eczema has also found to be common in families having history of other allergic condition or asthma. Skin contact with certain allergic substances also causes eczema, including soap or detergents, jewellery or plants and other products. Stress is also being held responsible for eczema in some patients.
No matter what is causing your eczema, you should book a dermatological consultation session with Dr. Shumaila who will first diagnose the condition and then comes up with a proper treatment plan for your specific case. Your condition can be diagnosed by asking you few, simple questions and looking at your skin. In some cases, Dr. Shumaila may ask ask you to undergo alley tests to identify likely irritants.
Get an appointment with Dr. Shumaila today to get your skin condition diagnosed an treated.


|Ih, order 120|
|Regular-||Small stellated-||Great-||Great stellated-|
|Th, order 24||T, order 12||Oh, order 48||Johnson (J84)|
|D4h, order 16||D3h, order 12|
In geometry, a dodecahedron (Greek δωδεκάεδρον, from δώδεκα dōdeka "twelve" + ἕδρα hédra "base", "seat" or "face") is any polyhedron with twelve flat faces. The most familiar dodecahedron is the regular dodecahedron, which is a Platonic solid. There are also three regular star dodecahedra, which are constructed as stellations of the convex form. All of these have icosahedral symmetry, order 120.
The pyritohedron is an irregular pentagonal dodecahedron, having the same topology as the regular one but pyritohedral symmetry while the tetartoid has tetrahedral symmetry. The rhombic dodecahedron, seen as a limiting case of the pyritohedron, has octahedral symmetry. The elongated dodecahedron and trapezo-rhombic dodecahedron variations, along with the rhombic dodecahedra, are space-filling. There are a large number of other dodecahedra.
In crystallography, two important dodecahedra can occur as crystal forms in some symmetry classes of the cubic crystal system that are topologically equivalent to the regular dodecahedron but less symmetrical: the pyritohedron with pyritohedral symmetry, and the tetartoid with tetrahedral symmetry:
A pyritohedron has 30 edges, divided into two lengths: 24 and 6 in each group.
|Face polygon||irregular pentagon|
|Edges||30 (6 + 24)|
|Vertices||20 (8 + 12)|
|Symmetry group||Th, [4,3+], (3*2), order 24|
|Rotation group||T, [3,3]+, (332), order 12|
A pyritohedron is a dodecahedron with pyritohedral (Th) symmetry. Like the regular dodecahedron, it has twelve identical pentagonal faces, with three meeting in each of the 20 vertices. However, the pentagons are not constrained to be regular, and the underlying atomic arrangement has no true fivefold symmetry axes. Its 30 edges are divided into two sets – containing 24 and 6 edges of the same length. The only axes of rotational symmetry are three mutually perpendicular twofold axes and four threefold axes.
Although regular dodecahedra do not exist in crystals, the pyritohedron form occurs in the crystals of the mineral pyrite, and it may be an inspiration for the discovery of the regular Platonic solid form. Note that the true regular dodecahedron can occur as a shape for quasicrystals with icosahedral symmetry, which includes true fivefold rotation axes.
The coordinates of the eight vertices of the original cube are:
- (±1, ±1, ±1)
The coordinates of the 12 vertices of the cross-edges are:
- (0, ±(1 + h), ±(1 − h2))
- (±(1 + h), ±(1 − h2), 0)
- (±(1 − h2), 0, ±(1 + h))
where h is the height of the wedge-shaped "roof" above the faces of the cube. When h = 1, the six cross-edges degenerate to points and a rhombic dodecahedron is formed. When h = 0, the cross-edges are absorbed in the facets of the cube, and the pyritohedron reduces to a cube. When h = √ − 1/, the inverse of the golden ratio, the result is a regular dodecahedron.
A reflected pyritohedron is made by swapping the nonzero coordinates above. The two pyritohedra can be superimposed to give the compound of two dodecahedra as seen in the image here.
The pyritohedron has a geometric degree of freedom with limiting cases of a cubic convex hull at one limit of colinear edges, and a rhombic dodecahedron as the other limit as 6 edges are degenerated to length zero. The regular dodecahedron represents a special intermediate case where all edges and angles are equal.
|1 : 1||1 : 1||2 : 1||1.3092... : 1||1 : 1||0 : 1|
|h = −√ + 1/||h = 0||h = √ − 1/||h = 1|
Regular star, great stellated dodecahedron, with pentagons distorted into regular pentagrams
Concave pyritohedral dodecahedron is called a endo-dodecahedron and can tessellate space with the convex regular dodecahedron.
A cube can be divided into a pyritohedron by bisecting all the edges, and faces in alternate directions.
The geometric proportions of the pyritohedron in the Weaire–Phelan structure
A regular dodecahedron is an intermediate case with equal edge lengths.
A rhombic dodecahedron is the limiting case with the 6 crossedges reducing to length zero.
Tetragonal pentagonal dodecahedron
|Face polygon||irregular pentagon|
|Symmetry group||T, [3,3]+, (332), order 12|
|Properties||convex, face transitive|
A tetartoid (also tetragonal pentagonal dodecahedron, pentagon-tritetrahedron, and tetrahedric pentagon dodecahedron) is a dodecahedron with chiral tetrahedral symmetry (T). Like the regular dodecahedron, it has twelve identical pentagonal faces, with three meeting in each of the 20 vertices. However, the pentagons are not regular and the figure has no fivefold symmetry axes.
Although regular dodecahedra do not exist in crystals, the tetartoid form does. The name tetartoid comes from the Greek root for one-fourth because it has one fourth of full octahedral symmetry, and half of pyritohedral symmetry. The mineral cobaltite can have this symmetry form.
Its topology can be as a cube with square faces bisected into 2 rectangles like the pyritohedron, and then the bisection lines are slanted retaining 3-fold rotation at the 8 corners.
The following points are vertices of a tetartoid pentagon under tetrahedral symmetry:
- (a, b, c); (−a, −b, c); (−n/, −n/, n/); (−c, −a, b); (−n/, n/, n/),
under the following conditions:
- 0 ≤ a ≤ b ≤ c,
- n = a2c − bc2,
- d1 = a2 − ab + b2 + ac − 2bc,
- d2 = a2 + ab + b2 − ac − 2bc,
- nd1d2 ≠ 0.
It can be seen as a tetrahedron, with edges divided into 3 segments, along with a center point of each triangular face. In Conway polyhedron notation it can be seen as gT, a gyro tetrahedron.
Dual of triangular gyrobianticupola
A lower symmetry form of the regular dodecahedron can be constructed as the dual of a polyhedra constructed from two triangular anticupola connected base-to-base, called a triangular gyrobianticupola. It has D3d symmetry, order 12. It has 2 sets of 3 identical pentagons on the top and bottom, connected 6 pentagons around the sides which alternate upwards and downwards. This form has a hexagonal cross-section and identical copies can be connected as a partial hexagonal honeycomb, but all vertices will not match.
The rhombic dodecahedron is a zonohedron with twelve rhombic faces and octahedral symmetry. It is dual to the quasiregular cuboctahedron (an Archimedean solid) and occurs in nature as a crystal form. The rhombic dodecahedron packs together to fill space.
The rhombic dodecahedron can be seen as a degenerate pyritohedron where the 6 special edges have been reduced to zero length, reducing the pentagons into rhombic faces.
Another important rhombic dodecahedron, the Bilinski dodecahedron, has twelve faces congruent to those of the rhombic triacontahedron, i.e. the diagonals are in the ratio of the golden ratio. It is also a zonohedron and was described by Bilinski in 1960. This figure is another spacefiller, and can also occur in non-periodic spacefillings along with the rhombic triacontahedron, the rhombic icosahedron and rhombic hexahedra.
There are 6,384,634 topologically distinct convex dodecahedra, excluding mirror images—the number of vertices ranges from 8 to 20. (Two polyhedra are "topologically distinct" if they have intrinsically different arrangements of faces and vertices, such that it is impossible to distort one into the other simply by changing the lengths of edges or the angles between edges or faces.)
Topologically distinct dodecahedra (excluding pentagonal and rhombic forms)
- Uniform polyhedra:
- Johnson solids (regular faced):
- Congruent irregular faced: (face-transitive)
- Other less regular faced:
- Hendecagonal pyramid – 11 isosceles triangles and 1 regular hendecagon, C11v, order 11
- Trapezo-rhombic dodecahedron – 6 rhombi, 6 trapezoids – dual of triangular orthobicupola, D3h symmetry, order 12
- Rhombo-hexagonal dodecahedron or elongated Dodecahedron – 8 rhombi and 4 equilateral hexagons, D4h symmetry, order 16
- Truncated pentagonal trapezohedron, D5d, order 20, topologically equivalent to regular dodecahedron
- 120-cell: a regular polychoron (4D polytope) whose surface consists of 120 dodecahedral cells.
- Pentakis dodecahedron
- Snub dodecahedron
- Truncated dodecahedron
- Dutch, Steve. The 48 Special Crystal Forms. Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, U.S.
- Crystal Habit. Galleries.com. Retrieved on 2016-12-02.
- The Tetartoid. Demonstrations.wolfram.com. Retrieved on 2016-12-02.
- Hafner, I. and Zitko, T. Introduction to golden rhombic polyhedra. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- Lord, E. A.; Ranganathan, S.; Kulkarni, U. D. (2000). "Tilings, coverings, clusters and quasicrystals". Curr. Sci. 78: 64–72.
- Counting polyhedra. Numericana.com (2001-12-31). Retrieved on 2016-12-02.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Regular dodecahedra.|
- Plato's Fourth Solid and the "Pyritohedron", by Paul Stephenson, 1993, The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 77, No. 479 (Jul., 1993), pp. 220–226
- THE GREEK ELEMENTS
- Stellation of Pyritohedron VRML models and animations of Pyritohedron and its stellations.
- Klitzing, Richard. "3D convex uniform polyhedra o3o5x – doe".
- Editable printable net of a dodecahedron with interactive 3D view
- The Uniform Polyhedra
- Origami Polyhedra – Models made with Modular Origami
- Dodecahedron – 3D model that works in your browser
- Virtual Reality Polyhedra The Encyclopedia of Polyhedra
- K.J.M. MacLean, A Geometric Analysis of the Five Platonic Solids and Other Semi-Regular Polyhedra
- Dodecahedron 3D Visualization
- Stella: Polyhedron Navigator: Software used to create some of the images on this page.
- How to make a dodecahedron from a Styrofoam cube
- Roman dodecahedrons: Mysterious objects that have been found across the territory of the Roman Empire


Muhammad And Islam
( Originally Published Early 1900's )
ARABIA BEFORE MUHAMMAD
WE have already described how in A. D. 628 the courts of Heraclius, of Kavadh, and of Tai-tsnng were visited by Arab envoys sent from a certain Muhammad, "The Prophet of God," at the small trading town of Medina in Arabia. We must tell now who this prophet was who had arisen among the nomads and traders of the Arabian desert.
From time immemorial Arabia, except for the fertile strip of the Yemen to the south, had been a land of nomads, the headquarters and land of origin of the Semitic peoples. From Arabia at various times waves of these nomads had drifted north, east, and west into the early civilizations of Egypt, the Mediterranean coast, and Mesopotamia. We have noted in this history how the Sumerians were swamped and overcome by such Semitic waves, how the Semitic Phoenicians and Canaanites established themselves along the east-ern shores of the Mediterranean, how the Babylonians and Assyrians were settled Semitic peoples, how the Hyksos conquered Egypt, how the Arameans established themselves in Syria with Damascus as their capital, and how the He-brews partially conquered their "Promised Land." At some unknown date the Chaldeans drifted in from Eastern Arabia and settled in the old southern Sumerian lands. With each invasion first this and then that section of the Semitic peoples comes into history. But each of such swarmings still leaves a tribal nucleus behind to supply fresh invasions in the future.
The history of the more highly organized empires of the borse and iron period, the empires of roads and writing, shows Arabia thrust like a wedge between Egypt, Palestine, and the Euphrates-Tigris country, and still a reservoir of nomadic tribes who raid and trade and exact tribute for the immunity and protection of caravans. There are temporary and flimsy subjugations. Egypt, Persia, Macedonia, Rome, Syria, Constantinople, and again Persia claim some unreal suzerainty in turn over Arabia, profess some unsubstantial protection. Under Trajan there was a Roman province of "Arabia," which included the then fertile region of the Hauran and extended as far as Petra. Now and then some Arab chief and his trading city rises to temporary splendour. Such was that Odenathus of Palmyra, whose brief career we have noted, and another such transitory desert city whose ruins still astonish the traveller was Baalbek.
After the destruction of Palmyra, the desert Arabs began to be spoken of in the Roman and Persian, recorda as Saracens.
In the time of Chosroes II, Persia claimed a certain ascendancy over Arabia, and maintained officials and tan collectors in the Yemen, Before that time the Yemen had been under the rule of the Abyssinian Christians for some years, and before that for seven centuries it had had native princes professing, be it noted, the Jewish faith.
Until the opening of the seventh century A. D. there were no signs of any unwonted or dangerous energy in the Arabian deserts. The life of the country was going on as it had gone on for long generations. Wherever there were fertile patches, wherever, that is, there was a spring or a well, a scanty agricultural population subsisted, living in walled towns because of the Bedouin who wandered with their sheep, cattle, and horses over the desert. Upon the main caravan routes the chief towns rose to a certain second-rate prosperity, and fore-most among them were Medina and. Mecca. In the begin-ping of the seventh century Medina was a town of about 15,000 inhabitants all told; Mecca may have had twenty or twenty-five thousand. Medina was a comparatively well-watered town, and possessed abundant date groves; its inhabitants were Yemenites, from the fertile land to the south.
Mecca was a town of a different character, built about a spring of water with a bitter taste, and inhabited by recently settled Bedouin.
Mecca was not merely nor primarily a trading centre; it was a place of pilgrimage. Among the Arab tribes there had long existed a sort of Amphictyony centering upon Mecca and certain other sanctuaries ; there were months of truce to war and blood feuds, and customs of protection and hospitality for the pilgrim. In addition there had grown up an Olympic element in these gatherings; the Arabs were discovering possibilities of beauty in their language, and there were recitations of war poetry and love songs. The sheiks of the tribes, under a "king of the poets," sat in judgment and awarded prizes; the prize songs were sung through all Arabia.
The Kaaba, the sanctuary at Mecca, was of very ancient date. It was a small square temple of black stones, which had for its corner-stone a meteorite. This meteorite was regarded as a god, and all the little tribal gods of Arabia were under his protection. The permanent inhabitants of Mecca were a tribe of Bedouin who had seized this temple and constituted themselves its guardians. To them there came in the months of truce a great incourse of people, who marched about the Kaaba ceremonially, bowed themselves, and kissed the stone, and also engaged in trade and poetical recitations. The Meccans profited much from these visitors.
All of this is very reminiscent of the religious and political state of affairs in Greece fourteen centuries earlier. But the paganism of these more primitive Arabs was already being assailed from several directions. There had been a great proselytizing of Arabs during the period of the Maccabeans and Herods in Judea; and, as we have already noted, the Yemen had been in succession under the rule of Jews (Arab proselytes to Judaism, i. e.), Christians, and Zoroastrians. It is evident that there must have been plenty of religious discussion during the pilgrimage fairs at Mecca and the like centres. Naturally enough Mecca was a stronghold of the old pagan cult which gave it its importance and prosperity; Medina, on the other hand, had Jewish proclivities, and there were Jewish settlements near by. It was inevitable that Mecca and Medina should be in a state of rivalry and bickering feud.


Dr China Hanson
Lecturer in Molecular Microbial Ecology
Email: email@example.comTelephone: +44 (0)20 7882 3089Room Number: Room 5.10, Fogg building
Microbial Diversity and Biogeography
Microbes are the most abundant and diverse organisms on Earth. They inhabit every known environment from the deep oceans to the atmosphere to every nook and cranny of the human body! How is such enormous diversity generated and maintained in nature? And why is it important?
To test aspects of these broader questions, I strive for an experimental approach using a variety of microbial model systems backed by observational studies of natural systems. My perspective is unique because it is strongly underpinned by classic ecology and evolutionary theory while at the same time depends on a range of methodological tools from the most advanced state-of-the-art molecular and “omics” technologies to old-school microbiological culturing techniques.
Currently, my research has three interrelated themes:
- The role of viruses in shaping the diversity and function of microbes
The seas are full of viruses – 50 million viruses in a single teaspoon of seawater! But these are not the kind that make us, or even marine animals, sick. The vast majority of these viruses infect tiny microscopic organisms - bacteria and small eukaryotes. In fact, viruses that infect bacteria, known as phages, are the most numerous biological entities on Earth and harbour an astonishing amount of uncharacterised genetic diversity. This suggests that these viruses are successful agents of infection and therefore ecologically important, yet little is known about virus-microbe interactions in natural systems. We aim to use marine virus-microbe model systems, mesocosm experiments, genomics and other cutting-edge molecular tools to elucidate relationships between virus activity, host diversity, and marine biogeochemical cycling.
- Dispersal and biogeography in the marine deep biosphere
Deep below the surface of the Earth exists an entirely microbial world! The extreme conditions here – dark, very low energy, no oxygen, and extreme temperature and pressure – have resulted in unique microbial diversity and ecosystems. Our understanding of these microbially-dominated ecosystems is hindered by the fact that the subsurface is extremely difficult to sample directly. Thermophilc (heat-loving) sulphate-reducing bacteria derived from warm deep biosphere sources are found as dormant endospores in cold marine sediments, where they have little hope of growing. How did these “thermospores” get there and why are they there? Answers to these questions can serve as a unique window into the ecology and evolution of microbes in the difficult-to-sample deep biosphere. Our current approach involves quantifying the dispersal and biogeography of thermospores from Arctic marine sediments.
- The processes responsible for microbial biogeographic distributions
In recent years, microbial biogeography has become much more than “everything is everywhere, the environment selects.” Like all organisms, microbial diversity in space and time is ultimately structured by four basic processes - selection, dispersal, drift, and mutation. While current evidence agrees that selection is undeniably important, the significance of the other three processes for microbial biogeography remains highly debated. We aim to directly test the relative influence and outcome of these processes by using manipulative experiments followed by sequencing and high-resolution bioinformatic analysis. Understanding the mechanisms contributing to microbial biodiversity and biogeography can ultimately lead to better predictions of ecosystem response to change.