In the past year, cities have been inundated with electric scooters provided by a vast number of e-scooter sharing services. Offering a convenient and inexpensive access to electric scooters, they have proven popular with city commuters and tourists. And these services have proven so successful that one e-scooter sharing service claims to have reached 26 million riders within the first year. Another was valued at over USD 1 billion within 15 months.
But electric scooters are not without danger. Hospital emergency departments have seen an uptick in the number of injuries caused by the widespread use of e-scooters. According to the medical journal JAMA Network Open, more people were injured while riding standing electric scooters than by riding or walking based on a study over a one year period in two Los Angeles emergency rooms.
Dangers have also been caused by the malfunction of electric scooters. In Zurich, one e-scooter sharing service recalled certain scooters that stopped abruptly during travel, causing injury to riders. And, more traumatic, a passenger train in the Netherlands collided with an electric cart, used to transport school children, after the cart’s brakes failed to function properly.
Some issues with electric scooters will be resolved by government regulation. Already, some city governments have begun establishing rules regarding speed limits, designated parking spots and e-scooter travel lanes.
Standard to the rescue
To ensure safety on a global level, standardization is needed. Currently, few or no standards exist for devices with multiple wheels used for personal mobility or to transport passengers without the use of a steering wheel. Standards are needed to harmonize rules for manufacturers and users as well as ensure the implementation of safety features.
Recognizing the increased prevalence of personal e-transporters and the need to ensure their safety, the IEC has set up a technical committee, TC 125, to provide standardization in the areas of safety and reliability and the protection against hazards. It will also provide standards for docking stations, battery recharging and recycling.
According to Luk Van Hecke, who will serve as assistant secretary to TC 125, “there is a need in the IEC for the work of a technical committee to standardize the evolutions in this market and to guarantee public safety as these devices become more and more common in the public space”.
These standards will apply to electrically powered transport devices with one or more wheels where the speed and/or steering is controlled electrically. It includes electric scooters, monocycles and Segways but excludes electric bicycles, motor bikes and cars since they are already addressed by other technical committees. Standards will only apply for devices used on public roads and spaces.
Issues that TC 125 will address include:
- Terminology for the different personal e-transporters.
- Reliability of the speed control (acceleration and braking) and steering.
- Definitions of the different safety and reliability levels based on the maximum speed of the device and, subsequently, the different safety precautions. For example, should maximum acceleration and deceleration speeds be imposed or should the weight of the user i.e. whether an adult or a child, impact the maximum speed of the device.
- Requirements regarding visibility depending on where the device is used. This can include requirements to use lights, horns or reflectors.
- Protection against hazards such as fire and water.
- Requirements for recharging and public docking stations.
- Methods for testing safety requirements.
Van Hecke noted that “while avoiding all accidents on e-transporters (or any other road vehicle for that matter) is not possible, setting minimum safety standards will help greatly to reduce them. And it could help avoid accidents like in the Netherlands where public safety and the business of a manufacturer were jeopardized”.
The secretariat of the new TC will be held by Belgium. The first meeting of TC 125 is scheduled to take place on 23-24 September 2019 in Brussels.


Monitoring and control system with acoustic sensor
Acoustic supervision system for the localization and discrimination of the type of noise in domestic environments with the aim of rationalizing the use of energy, increasing the safety of the environments and increasing the quality of domestic life.
By analyzing the acoustic state of an environment, it is possible to fully interpret what is happening in a domestic environment and therefore some control and intervention actions can be arranged. In fact, the arrangement of four acoustic sensors (microphones) in an environment allows, through a calculation, supervision and control unit, to locate the origin of one or more noises and with a parallel processing of the same noise, other information contents can be extracted that can reveal the type of noise, for example if it is a human voice, a thump on the floor, a malfunction of a device, a TV that is left on when no one is at home, etc. This information allows you to operate or activate alarms or recommend corrective actions.
- Assisted living environment.
- Rationalization of the use of energy in closed environments;
- Assistance to lonely or with problems people who need increased safety in domestic environments;
- Automation of intervention and control procedure;
- Supervision and control of the proper functioning of “noisy” household appliances.


Assessment is a measurable ongoing procedure of recording an individual’s behaviour & characteristic qualities, evaluating the performance & values and assessing the professional capabilities according to the standardized criteria. The main aim of this cyclic process is to gather the accurate data and to process it in the demanded records for using official purposes.
Government & corporate study circles, business organizations, healthcare institutions and taxation department are some of the professional sectors, where an assessment program is conducted and accessed widely. Students, employees, patients and players are some of the individuals being assessed in such a procedure by the teachers, career counsellors, healthcare specialities and professional experts.
Categories of Assessments:
- Health Assessment
- Educational Assessment
- Psychological Assessment
- Risk Assessment
- Tax Assessment, etc
Following steps are very helpful to outline and to conduct a professional assessment procedure:
- Assessment is conducted by using diverse formats such as a multiple choice questionnaire, online opinion poll, form, face-to face- interview and writing & reading test, etc. Therefore, choose the suitable format for an assessment program.
- Review if all necessary fields such as the name of individual, address, background performance and marking sections are mentioned clearly in the assessing format.
- Make sure that chosen assessing procedure must be based on the cyclic models such as assessment design, report & user results, and program objectives, etc.
- Emphasize upon the defined theories & ideas to screen an individual in this assessing process.
- Gather the genuine feedback & recital data by measuring an individual’s personality traits, occupational behavioural & social participation characters and certain qualities such as motivation, leadership, punctuality and performance, etc.
- To complete the assessment, save it into record files and seal it with authorized signatures for the future references.
Thus, an assessment is a planned procedure for evaluating the unique factor & attributes of particular standards and for recording the traits of diverse human personalities.


I’m working on a Health & Medical exercise and need support.
Unit 9 Assignment: Presenting Health Information as an Infographic
To see the grading rubric, go to Course Resources / Grading Rubrics
- Distinguish methods of summarizing data, including histograms, stem and leaf displays, pie charts and bar charts.
- Demonstrate techniques of presenting and reporting data using a computer.
HS311-6: Create visual representations of summary data with given health data.
An effective infographic presents information visually, efficiently, and clearly. Your task is to create an original infographic about a health-related topic of your choice.
The infographic should include the following:
- A description of the health-related topic.
- Descriptive data (at least four statistics)
- Three risk factors or determinants.
- Two relevant prevention strategies specific to the target audience.
Create your infographic using the free templates provided at piktochart.com. Submit your infographic as an image file (jpg, png or pdf). Please submit the sources for the descriptive data in APA style in a separate Word document.
For more information on using infographics, and for examples on what an infographic looks like, please review this CDC Website.


It is no secret that in our ever-growing industry the need for automation, AI and modern technologies is a thing that pulls us forward. At the same time these might not work well, if not used expertly. We got to the point where machine translation has been growing and growing and along with it the need for data annotation has become a niche service, which might tempt most companies to give it a try.
So far in the past few years AI has been implemented with great success to many languages but was found to be lacking in others, especially when it comes to Asian languages.
However, the truth is that smart technologies and science always find a way and the new technologies and modern approaches are doing wonders to machine translation and its quality.
For this article we’ve chosen to talk about the hot topic of data annotation for Chinese language from the point of view of a company that was involved in new technologies back in the days when the first corpora for Asian languages were built.
What is data annotation?
Data annotation is exactly what it sounds like: the process of identifying and labeling information, so it can be later used for AI purposes. When it comes to languages, it is the process of “categorizing” and tagging the different parts of a language in order to have it later used in practice. There are various kinds of annotation when it comes to language: POS (part-of-speech), phonetic, semantic or stylish annotation, etc. (these are not all of course)
What does it have to do with language?
If you noticed the types of annotation described above you already know the answer. Data annotation is done by people, and who better know the intricacies of a language than a translator or an experienced linguist. And here come the LSPs as a natural partner for providing the service.
Now add the Chinese language, its two writing systems, the hundreds of dialects and the fact that it is a tonal language.
There are numerous cases when the annotators have to decide on the meaning of a character based on their linguistic knowledge, so a sentence is annotated correctly while building the corpora of a Chinese language processing tool. Due to this a very significant knowledge of the language itself especially in syntax is needed. Understanding the language, its sentence structure and punctuation is a key factor in creating a quality database.
Chinese language has no spaces between words and phrases, so it is hard to do word segmentation. It is also difficult to deal with words that can be different parts of speech but at the same time they don’t change.
One more challenge is the fact that Chinese uses tones and honorifics, which are very difficult to assess via an algorithm.
Where are we heading to?
There is a long road ahead until a human quality translation in Chinese language can be achieved. At 1-StopAsia, we are very eager to see where new technologies are heading. With regards to Asian languages in general, so far besides the standard human translation services, we have taken the middle ground when it comes to modern technologies. Depending on the client’s needs, when machine translation is requested we can then add a post-editing step to improve the final result.


Cellular metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life. Cellular metabolism involves complex sequences of controlled biochemical reactions, better known as metabolic pathways. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to environmental changes.
Cell Metabolism Target Files
The chemical reactions of metabolism are organized into metabolic pathways, in which one chemical is transformed into another by a sequence of enzymes. Enzymes are crucial to metabolism and allow the fine regulation of metabolic pathways to maintain a constant set of conditions in response to changes in the cell's environment, a process known as homeostasis.
Cellular metabolism has two distinct divisions: anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism is a constructive metabolic process in which a cell uses energy to construct molecules such as enzymes and nucleic acids and perform other essential life functions. Anabolism involves three basic stages: firstly, the production of precursors such as amino acids, monosaccharides, isoprenoids and nucleotides; secondly, their activation into reactive forms; and thirdly, the assembly of these precursors into complex molecules.
Catabolism is the metabolic process by which the cell breaks down complex molecules. The purpose of catabolic reactions is to provide the energy and components needed by anabolic reactions. Catabolic reactions are normally exothermic and are further subdivided according to their substrate into carbohydrate, fat, and protein catabolism.
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Prosthetic intervention has been used for many years in human rehabilitation to achieve mechanical and rehabilitative goals, that is, to stand up and walk again.
The use of these prosthetic devices has been limited in veterinary medicine although published case reports have existed for over 40 years.
“The use of prosthetic devices in veterinary medicine is in its infancy,” says Dr. Jacqueline Davidson, clinical professor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. “Usually, most dogs and cats do really well with three legs and so, in the past, veterinarians just amputated the affected leg.”
For most of these injuries, even those that require the amputation of more than one leg, there are other devices, such as wheeled carts that can do the job. “In the last ten years people started to do more prosthetics,” Davidson says. “Lately we are seeing more small animals with prosthetics.”
This surgery is not a cheap one, and normally it is the owner who requests it.
“There are different types of surgeries that involve prosthetic limbs. One surgery involves fitting a prosthesis over the skin on the stump of the leg and the other one is more involved as the prosthesis is implanted into the bone,” Davidson says.
According to Davidson, this kind of surgery, though promising, will still need some time to be more cost-effective. “Right now, you have to work with a prosthetist and you have to order the materials specifically for each animal. It can be very expensive.”
Just like humans do, pets that undergo this kind of surgery and get a prosthesis implanted need to go through a rehabilitation process. “Sometimes, getting the pet to adapt depends on the personality of the animal, on the circumstances, or their age. But after some time they start to adjust and live a fairly normal life,” Davidson says.
It’s important to remember that, after a successful prosthetic implant, pets are not the only ones who recover several degrees of freedom. Their owners feel a sense of freedom because they are able to sit on the porch or sofa again and watch their cats and dogs run around the house.
Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the Web at vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk.


This circuit gives an initial voltage of 2.5 V per cell at 25℃ to rapidly charge the battery. The charging current decreases as the battery is charging, and when the current drops to 180 mA, the charging circuit reduces the output voltage of 2.35 V per cell, leaving the battery in a fully charged state. This lower voltage prevents the battery from overcharging, which would shorten its life.
The LM301A compares the voltage drop across R1 with an 18 mV reference set by R2. The comparator’s output controls the voltage regulator, forcing it to produce the lower float voltage when the battery-charging current, passing through R1, drops below 180 mA. The 150 mV difference in between the charge and float voltages is certainly set by the ratio of R3 to R4. The LEDs present the state of the circuit.
Temperature compensation assists stop overcharging, especially when a battery goes through wide temperature changes whilst becoming charged. The LM334 temperature sensor ought to be placed near or on the battery to lower the charging voltage by 4 mV/℃ for each cell. Because batteries require far more temperature compensation at lower temperatures, alter R5 to 30Ω for a tc of -5 mV/℃ per cell if application will see temperatures beneath -20℃.
The charger’s input voltage need to be filtered dc that's at the very least 3 V greater than the maximum required output voltage: approximately 2.5 V per cell. Choose a regulator for the highest possible current required: LM371 for 2 A, LM350 for 4 A, or LM338 for 8 A. At 25℃ and with no output load, adjust R7 for a VOUT of 7.05 V, and adjust R8 for a VOUT of 14.1V.


Acquired spinal stenosis encompasses the overwhelming majority of cases of central and foraminal canal narrowing in the general population. Acquired simply means that the stenosis was not in existence from birth. This means that congenital spinal stenosis is the only type of canal narrowing which does not qualify to be called acquired, since this type of stenotic change is present prior to birth.
There are many reasons for stenosis to occur and all of these are documented in the section titled causes of spinal stenosis. However, this article will investigate some of the more common reasons for people to acquire a decreased canal space as they age, including exploring how injury, degeneration and other factors can create stenosis.
Acquired Spinal Stenosis Definitions
As already mentioned, almost all stenosis is acquired, usually due to spinal injury, spinal degeneration or a combination of the 2 factors working together. Remember, injury is known to hasten the degenerative processes in the vertebral column and degeneration might also help facilitate injury in many patients.
It must be fully understood that acquiring a narrowed canal space is completely normal and expected as we get older. The simple processes of living all contribute to deterioration of the vertebral column and it is virtually universal to see a reduction in the functional size of the central and foraminal spaces by middle age.
These degenerative changes will usually continue to develop year by year, sometimes causing neurological concerns, but often remaining completely asymptomatic, despite drastic reductions in canal diameter and patency.
Acquired Spinal Stenosis Exceptions
Congenital spinal canal narrowing exists prior to birth and may be caused by known or idiopathic factors. Since this type of stenosis is present at birth, it is the only variety which is not considered to be acquired.
However, this is not to say that congenital stenosis can not change or develop with age and activity, as it almost certainly will. Many cases will worsen as the patient ages, just like in a person without congenital stenosis. However, it is also possible for time or treatment to resolve areas of even problematic stenosis.
As always, patients must be evaluated on a case by case basis and no assumptions should be made as to the progression of their stenosis, without evidence.
Acquired Spinal Stenosis Summary
Acquiring stenosis of the spine is part of the human experience. Most cases will not produce significant negative health issues, but some may.
Remember, the spinal cord and spinal nerves traverse the central canal and the spinal nerves traverse the foraminal canals, as well. When these spaces are decreased in patency, there is always the possibility for symptoms to occur, if the neurological structures are unable to function as designed, due to compression.
When stenosis does reach a problematic level and symptoms can be definitively linked to specific or general areas of canal impingement, then treatment is usually advised and may even be a necessity. Typically, surgery is the most effective method of resolving symptomatic stenosis, but this is not always true, depending on the location and cause of the canal narrowing.
To learn more about what to expect from a known or suspected stenosis condition in the spine, I recommend consulting with a qualified neurologist who specializes in the central nervous system. These niche medical professionals understand the complexities of the spinal cord better than most other care providers and are uniquely qualified to diagnose and treat spinal stenosis in all its many forms.


This weekend, the labyrinth of Chicago’s Hyatt Hotel complex is packed with scientists and journalists, all dashing back and forth between panel discussions and poster presentations. They’ve abandoned their loved ones this Valentine’s Day to attend the annual meeting of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The theme of this year’s AAAS meeting is “Meeting Global Challenges: Discovery and Innovation.” The first challenge I learned about this morning? Building a virtual human.
Why are so many scientists researching the idea of the “virtual human”? Almost all agree that the pace of research is too slow. By the time a drug or therapy makes it from the lab to the market, months, years, sometimes decades have gone by. Yet computers can simulate many of the functions of the human body, and at a much faster rate. Computer science can also be used to improve human health by tracking and identifying dangerous health trends.
The concept of “virtual human” can be applied in many different fields – from mapping a patient’s whole health portfolio to simulating the actions of a single molecule. This morning, much of the most exciting research in this field coalesced in one small conference room, where researchers across the globe presented their own efforts to create virtual human systems.
There was a surprise appearance in the newsroom this morning. Peter Coveney, director of the U.K.’s Centre for Computational Science, brought along a 3D printed model as a demonstration of a new project called the Virtual Human Simulation Initiative. Coveney hopes to blend the fields of computer science and medicine to improve patient outcomes.
“Clinical trials that involve lots of real people and tons of time can hopefully one day be replaced,” he said. “Computer models are, absolutely, complicated. But they’re doable today.”
There are also major efforts to combine the principles of computer science and medicine here in the United States. Leroy Hood, a pioneer of systems biology, announced a bold new plan for a longitudinal study that will run for several decades, much like the Framingham heart study. Starting with a pilot group of about 100 patients, the study will measure six different types of physiological data for each participant and store each patient profile in the cloud. During this pilot phase, “coaches” will tease out the trends in that data to help patients make lifestyle changes, hopefully before disease takes hold.
“We are quite certain we have the framework analytic approach to do this. The purpose of the 100-patient pioneer project is to prove that we can do it, and to train coaches to translate the complexities of the data into actionable options,” Hood said.
Hood is the founder of the Institute for Systems Biology. This study will ultimately enroll 100,000 patients and track them over the course of 20 or more years. All participants must be healthy at enrollment and the goal is to use powerful mathematical algorithms to identify their health trends over time. Ideally, their care will become a model of the idealized proactive prevention rather than reactive treatment.
While Hood is working on whole-human health, Vijay Chandru is focused on one organ, the liver. His company, Strand Life Science, owns a virtual liver that has the computational power to test the toxic effect of different substances before they are tested in a human or animal.
“Through the virtual liver, we are able to predict toxicity of chemical and drug candidates.This is being piloted by chemical companies and pharmaceutical companies as a model for finding toxicity,” Chandru said.
Creating a virtual liver is one thing, but creating a virtual ballerina? Computer graphics scientist Nadia Magnenat Thalmann is using advanced imaging techniques to understand more about the complicated injuries suffered by ballerinas and other athletes. Her research involves six highly trained ballerinas who are experiencing hip cartilage deformation because of their strenuous performances.
Thalmann said she has always been fascinated by virtual humans and the potential of avatars, but now she’s creating computer simulation that map the human body in motion.
“What’s really interesting is to be able to virtually model the physiological human,” she said.
Through MRI imaging and optical motion capture systems, she and those at MIRAlab have created a computer-simulated hip model that precisely replicates cartilage damage.
Other presenters this morning included Christian Jacob, PhD, a computer scientist who is integrating iPad displays into the classroom for educational purposes and Terrance Stewart, who is using a virtual brain model to make connections between neurological signals and their correlated human behavior.
At MedTechBoston, we are sharing stories about cutting-edge medical innovation. As Managing Editor, I help coordinate our coverage of hackathons and company profiles. I also create content, update our social media and scout stories. I'm part of an ambitious group of people hoping to inspire a tech revolution in medical care.
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Christians and believers of many other faiths place a high value on the dignity of another person. The Bible teaches that all people are created in the image of God. Therefore we should treat them with respect. Respect can be defined as the acknowledgement of the worth of another person and his/her right as a free individual. Respect is revealed as unconditional care and warmth towards another person. That includes the recognition of the boundaries that others set for their interaction with us.
To respect people means: That I will not manipulate, exploit or take advantage of others or misuse them for personal gain or pleasure to believe they have an innate dignity and purpose, to see value and worth in people to be courteous and polite, to show hospitality and kindness and to be tolerant and appreciative of individual differences. acknowledge the uniqueness of other people and respect their right to make decisions about their own lives.
In short, respect means to treat others in the way you want to be treated (the “golden rule”).
Respect implies that I will respect myself and my partner, also in the sexual arena. The way I treat my partner and family should be determined by my attitude of respect for their humanity, sensitivities, needs and wants. Respecting myself implies that I must be aware of my HIV status and not recklessly endanger the lives of others by irresponsible sexual behaviour. Respect will stand against all forms of abuse and misuse of the vulnerable in society.
Apart from respecting myself and individuals, I should also respect the norms and practices present in different cultures. Respecting someone background, culture, believes and language is a powerful way to combat moral viruses. It crates equality, values diversity and fosters dignity.
To think about: How can your respectful behaviour honor the dignity of others today?
Written by: Dr. Andre de la Porte, CEO, HospiVision, a trained as a ‘Churches, Channel of Hope’ Facilitator


The China Pakistan Economic Corridor, (CPEC) is actually a part of China’s much publicized One Belt One Road programme that has been making rounds in political circles for quite some time. In fact it is the New Silk Road concept of the Chinese leadership primarily meant to extend China’s influence in larger parts of Asian and European continents.
India registered her protest to the gala function of inaugurating formally the 124 billion dollar project called One Belt One Road in Beijing. No astute political commentator or strategist will accept that the sponsors of the project, China and Pakistan, have only trade interests in floating the project. They are blowing hot and cold in the same breath. If the corridor is purely connected with trade and commerce then why call it a game changer, a historical event and give it many other distinctions. India had reasons to decline participation. Let us try to understand.
First and foremost we reflect on the geography of the corridor. Starting somewhere in Sinkiang, the western province of China, the road passes over the part of Aksaichin, which has been illegally ceded by Pakistan to China. This is originally Indian Territory and since Pakistan was occupying if after the fall of Gilgit in 1947, Pakistan retained it illegally. In 1963, Pakistan ceded nearly 5,000 square kms of this territory called Aksaichin enabling China to build road and rail link to Tibet. In return, Pakistan got assurance from China that it would lend its support to the cause of Pakistan’s claims over Kashmir. By participating in the inaugural function, India would have given an opportunity to Pakistan to tell the world that India had accepted Pakistan’s/China’s sovereignty over Aksaichin which in fact is Indian Territory.
In recent days, while China and Pakistan were jointly working on the CPEC, China made it clear to Pakistan that it should decide the uncertainty about the sovereignty of the area over which the corridor would be passing. Under pressure from Beijing, Pakistan had announced that she was contemplating integration of Gilgit and Baltistan as the fifth province of Pakistan. This was said only through word of mouth and so far no formal orders have been issued by Pakistan that would put the seal of finality on the status of Gilgit and Baltistan. It is true that both China and Pakistan did link the entire issue to the politics of J&K. New Delhi understands that by agreeing to participate in the corridor meet, India would indirectly concede that Gilgit, Baltistan and Aksaichin were part of Pakistan. India could never do that.
Nobody should be under the misconception that the heart of the proposed corridor was the heart of trouble of rivalry which China harbours against India. We know that the contemplated CPEC has strong military dimensions. Some important world leaders did show up at the function of CPEC organized by China in Beijing. Either they are still unaware of larger territorial and commercial interests of China or they are little informed on what is called the string of pearls. China nurses the ambition of monitoring the Gulf from which two-third of world oil produce is exported. China has her eye on the huge mineral wealth of Afghanistan especially the copper mines and would never like that India takes longer steps to grab access to these mineral resources. China has made large investments in the region including Afghanistan and has been seeking a military base in the KP area of Pakistan. China opposed India’s proposal in the Security Council to designate the LeT leader Lakhvi as terrorist who was responsible for Mumbai attacks. It is because China lends outright support to the terrorist outfits raised by Pakistan on its soil. Pakistan has allowed China to be militarily present in Gilgit under the rubric of developmental activities. China has been issuing visa to the citizens of Indian part of J&K on separate sheet of paper against the universally accepted norms. All this shows that China is not behaving in a friendly manner. The so-called CPEC is in reality a strategic and military exercise of China to change the geostrategic plan of the entire region. It means allowing China to grab Gilgit- Baltistan, pose military threat to us in J&K, complete the necklace of pearls and make her naval presence viciously felt in the Indian Ocean including police manning of the Gulf.


9th Division Signals sets up a mobile switchboard.
This photo, taken during the 9th Division advance, shows two unidentified members of 9th Division Signals working rapidly to establish lines of communication across the newly captured front.
The soldier to the right is setting up and operating a mobile switchboard. The linesman to the left has a reel of signal wire mounted on his back in preparation for the mad dash he is about to perform to front line postions. A seperate wire would need to run to each position from the switchboard. These wires would often be cut by shell bursts and it would be necessary for men to go out under extreme fire to repair the wire. There are many stories of bravery by members of 9th Div Sigs, many of whom were killed or wounded attempting to repair a wire during a battle.
Not often given their due, Signalmen performed many of the unseen tasks that made the Infantry's job alot easier by ensuring rapid voice communication, by 1940's standards, was possible.
image 041965 Australian War Memorial.


C. Rationale for the study system and scope
Syntrichia is a diverse genus of mosses containing about 79 species (Zander 1993), occurring worldwide in dryland habitats and demonstrating an unusual amount of ecological variation among close relatives. Its species occur in habitats ranging from mesic alpine meadows, to tree trunks and boulders in mid-elevation forests, and to late-successional desert biocrusts (Fig. 1). This genus is one of the most ecologically dominant groups of mosses across western and northern North America. This makes Syntrichia an excellent model system in which to investigate the role of alternative reproductive and stress tolerance strategies in shaping dimensions of biodiversity.
Syntrichia ruralis has become a model system for studying the biology of desiccation tolerance (DT), with many published studies documenting its molecular, cellular, and physiological responses to drying and rehydration (Oliver et al. 2005; Proctor et al. 2007 and references therein).
The reproductive ecology of Syntrichia caninervis has also received much attention, with a number of published studies describing sex ratios in different habitats, distribution of sex-expressing individuals and sporophytes, potential tradeoffs between sex expression and male rarity, as well as growth rates (e.g., Bowker et al. 2000; Stark et al. 2000, 2004, 2005). These two species inhabit environments with varied seasonal precipitation and temperature regimes; our work will determine if this ecological amplitude (Fig. 1) is the product of unusually plastic physiological tolerance or is maintained by the presence of physiologically differentiated genotypes that are perhaps structured geographically.
Both S. ruralis and S. caninervis are potentially dominant in soil biocrust communities of drylands, contributing to multiple ecosystem functions (Belnap & Lange 2003).
Thus, diversity in Syntrichia is likely to have repercussions throughout its associated communities. We will focus most genomic and population-level work on these two target species of Syntrichia with intensive collecting within N. America in order to capture the ecological amplitude of both. Because of ease of access, we will study elements of physiological diversity in DT using the 15 North American species of Syntrichia (Table 2), which were taxonomically revised for North America by one of the coPIs (Mishler 2007).
The 15 species of Syntrichia in North America. While all will be studied, boldface indicates the two species complexes to be studied in the most detail.
S. ammonsiana S. chisosa S. norvegica S. princeps
S. bartramii S. fragilis S. obtusissima S. ruralis
S. cainii S. laevipila S. pagorum S. sinensis
S. caninervis S. montana S. papillosissima
We will focus on both S. ruralis and S. caninervis to characterize the ecophysiology of DT as a function of the two principal ecological factors of desiccation (rate of drying and equilibrating relative humidity; Green et al. 2011), in the process deriving quantitative measures of assessment that may vary within and between populations and species. The ecophysiology of DT directly relates to, and integrates the analyses of the population genetic variation among moss patches, the transcriptomic signature of gene expression during desiccation stress, the diversity and evolution of ecological strategies of DT across Syntrichia, and the ecosystem functions of Syntrichia.
We will focus on S. caninervis to study the genetic and evolutionary consequences of energetic tradeoffs involving reproduction. Sexual reproduction (indicated by the presence of sporophytes) in this species is very rare in the Mojave Desert (Stark et al. 1998; Bowker et al. 2000), and this rarity is likely a reflection of the constraints imposed by partitioning limited resources between survival, growth, and reproduction in extremely water-limited environments.
[photo of S.caninerivs with sporophytes coming soon!]
Another relevant outcome of tradeoffs related to water stress in S. caninervis is the appearance of skewed sex expression (female biased) in this dioicous plant, which has been attributed to higher reproductive costs incurred by males in this species (Stark et al. 2000). In less stressful environments typical of higher elevations, S. caninervis sex expression is less highly female biased, yet still reaches female to male ratios as high as 14:1 at some sites (Stark et al. 2001).
[Pic of Syn.can asexual gemmae coming soon!]
Furthermore, in the most heat- and drought-stressed environments of its range, S. caninervis shoots have not been observed to express sex (Stark et al. 1998, 2005), and appear to favor the energetically efficient strategy of clonal propagation from vegetative fragments or specialized gemmae. Of particular interest to our study, this energetic tradeoff between sexual and asexual strategies may have important implications for the population genetics and evolution of desert mosses like S. caninervis, because spores, the meiotic product of the sexually produced diploid sporophyte, are assumed to be responsible for occasional long-distance dispersal and gene flow (Newton & Mishler 1994; Stenøien et al. 2010).
A summary of our methodological approaches appears in Table 3, and details are outlined below.
Table 3. Proposed approaches to address the questions outlined in Table 1.
(1) Construct high quality draft nuclear genomes of S. caninervis and S. ruralis.
(2) Use next generation sequencing to develop genotypic markers for population-level genetic variation studies, signature transcriptome tools for phenotypic analyses (related to ecophysiological and ecosystem investigations), and multiple single-copy genes for phylogenetic analyses.
(3) Conduct transcriptomics experiments comparing different development stages and sexes of both species in response to desiccation stress and reproductive state.
(4) Conduct ecophysiological experiments on multiple populations of S. caninervis and S. ruralis, and all 15 species of N. American Syntrichia, to assess phenotypic plasticity in the key trait of desiccation tolerance.
(5) Characterize (a) the population structure and genetics of S. caninervis and S. ruralis in different environments, (b) the niche preferences of males and females, and (c) patterns of genetic diversity.
(6) Build a robust phylogeny for Syntrichia and use it to understand evolutionary trends and correlations among the traits under study, as well as to produce a refined classification.
(7) Examine the role of taxonomic, genetic, and functional diversity in the resilience to climate change of biocrust communities that are dominated by Syntrichia, with co-occurring mosses, lichens, and cyanobacteria in field and simulated climate change greenhouse experiments.


Germs Where You Least Suspect Them
Everyone knows there are germs around them. Some of the places are obvious—you probably wash your hands after cleaning up your cat’s litter, changing a diaper, or using the toilet. But there are places in your home that probably escape your attention, and some of those places need to be cleaned as frequently as germ hot spots you already know.
The easiest way for germs to escape their hiding places and find their way into your body is through your hands. Your hands are constantly interacting with objects in your home, and they’re also what you use to wipe your eyes and nose, and to feed your mouth. That’s a common way for infectious diseases to escape your body’s main natural defense—your skin.
In the following article, learn the environments where germs love to hide. You and your family can enjoy fewer colds and other infections as well as a healthier daily life by learning these germ-filled locations and cleaning them frequently.
How many times a day do you check your smartphone? One study found that people swipe, tap, type, and click over 2,600 times a day on average. That adds up to over 75 separate phone sessions for the average user.
Now ask yourself—when’s the last time you cleaned your smartphone? Most people never even think to clean them. But with all of that touching, your phone has become a breeding ground for various bacteria, and some are quite dangerous. The risk to health care workers who deal with infectious diseases is great, but everyone is susceptible.
One study found that of 150 cell phones, 124 showed bacterial growth. Among the most common bacteria recovered belong to the family Staphylococcus, some varieties of which can cause Staph infections. And remember where else your cell phone ends up—these devices touch your face, your ears, and your lips. The danger of spreading disease increases when you share your phone with someone else. This can lead to cross-sharing diseases.
To avoid this danger, read your phone manufacturer’s instructions on the proper way to clean the device. Many phones can be kept clean by wiping them down with rubbing alcohol, but check the instructions first to make sure this method is best for your phone.
The T.V. Remote
As you channel surf, your fingers are dancing across a germ danger-zone that rarely gets cleaned. All those button presses are opportunities for germs to come into contact with your skin. And if you’re one of the many people who eat while they watch, your fingers are then potentially transferring germs onto the food you eat. That gives bacteria an easy route directly into your body, leaving you vulnerable to sickness.
The safest way to veg out on television is by keeping your remote controls wiped down. You can make a habit of it. Add it to your list when you do another common chore, such as picking up or sweeping. By doing that, you can begin to associate a clean house with a clean remote. Then when the munchies strike while you watch, you can snack more safely.
Your Laptop and Keyboard
Your hands can be constantly at work while you use your computer. And you should be paying attention to the places your hands frequent, such as the mouse and keyboard. Always wash your hands before eating, and don’t let them come into contact with unclean spaces while you eat. If you’re concerned that your home electronics aren’t as clean as they should be, start adding them to your cleaning routine to keep bacteria at bay.
But your cleaning regimen shouldn’t end there—make sure your desk is sanitized as well. One study found more than 20,000 bacteria per square inch on desk surfaces. That’s more than six times the number found on the average keyboard and more than 400 times the number found on the average toilet seat.
The Sink Sponge
It’s surrounded by soap and warm water while you use it, but think about how much time your kitchen sponge spends being damp and warm. That’s exactly the type of environment bacteria love, because it allows them to multiply quickly. And that’s particularly concerning if you cook with raw meat. Raw chicken, for example, is an infamous carrier for Salmonella, the world’s most common source of food poisoning.
This problem has been known for a while. In the past, health experts have recommended boiling or microwaving sponges to get more use out of them. But further study has shown these methods only partially effective, removing at most about 60% of the bacteria that collects on used sponges. That means the weaker bacteria are killed off, leaving room for the stronger ones to set up residence. So, the safest way to keep your dishes clean is by throwing your used sponge away after a week of use. This is especially important if you live in a home with someone who is especially young or old, or otherwise living with a compromised immune system.
Trouble on Your Toothbrush
The dentist says you should use it at least twice a day, or once after every meal. What other object spends so much time in your hands and mouth but the tooth brush? Tooth brushes should be replaced at least every three to four months according to the American Dental Association, but in the meantime, they can collect a whole host of germs.
We don’t know how harmful bacteria on your toothbrush are, just that they exist. Your mouth harbors hundreds of microbes that usually balance each other out, preventing one microbe from taking over. Some of them wind up on your toothbrush and its bristles, studies have shown. But while we don’t know how much danger these bacteria pose, there are ways to reduce your risk of becoming infected:
- Don’t share your toothbrush. If the person you share with is sick, this is an easy way for disease to spread. And just because you can’t tell the person is sick doesn’t mean they aren’t. Many infections set in before symptoms arise, including the common cold.
- Rinse your toothbrush with tap water, and leave it upright to dry.
- Don’t let your toothbrush touch another toothbrush while it is stored.
- Don’t cover or seal in your toothbrush. This prevents it from drying as quickly, leaving more time for bacteria to flourish.
- Become aware of how soon you need to replace your toothbrush, and stay on schedule. While most adults can get away with replacement after three or four months, tooth brushes for children often should be replaced more frequently than that.
The Whole Office Lounge
Blame your coworkers (and yourself). One way for infectious diseases to spread is through the various break room objects that are touched frequently. How often are the buttons on your vending machine cleaned? What about the communal coffee pot and that container of half-and-half? Think about all the surfaces that many people are using every day—refrigerator handles, cabinet doors, microwaves and more can all serve as homes for germs.
The best way to keep yourself safe is to wash your hands frequently. Make it the last step you take after filling your water bottle or preparing your lunch. And rinse that coffee pot after you use it! They can become moldy or full of yeast when they aren’t cleaned frequently.
Your Dog and Puppy’s Chew Toys
Ever hear the idea that your dog’s mouth is cleaner than yours? Don’t believe the hype. Researchers in Japan studied the bacterial plaque from 66 dogs and 81 humans. They found that both human and dog mouths are teeming with bacteria, just not of the same kind. They further found that many of these bacteria are highly transferable, meaning that close contact with doggy germs can upset the bacterial balance in your own mouth. These transferable bacteria include some nasty pathogens, including E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter, all of which can cause gastrointestinal infections.
All of this means that some germs belong in your dog’s mouth, but not your own. By letting your pups lick your face, you’re inviting more than affection—unhealthy organisms may manage to set up a new home on your body, particularly inside your mouth.
One of the ways this transfer can take place is through chew toys. Your dog may love to wrestle with them, and you may find yourself touching them as well while cleaning up your dog’s area or in order to play fetch. If that’s the case, you will want to make sure your hands are well-scrubbed before touching them to your face.
Cold, Hard Cash
We may be moving in the direction of a cash-free economy, but today cash is still an important and popular means of buying and selling. Scientists have studied how often a bank note changes hands. They call this the “velocity of money.” It turns out that physical bills change hands about 55 times a year on average before they are worn out and retired. That number is more than double for smaller notes worth less money.
When a dollar bill changes hands, microbes are commonly carried with it. Fecal bacteria, mold, and yeast are some of the common hitchhikers that make their way onto cash money. In fact, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. Air Force, 94% of $1 bills harbor bacteria. U.S. bank notes seem to be more at risk than some others, too. Bills issued by the U.S. Treasury are made of 75% cotton and 25% linen, and seem to be more attractive to bacteria than the currency of some other countries like Australia and Canada that use polymers instead.
Cash is everywhere, and you probably use it all the time. So, if there’s no easy way to avoid its use, the best tip for staying healthy is to wash your hands before you eat or otherwise touch your face. It could keep you from spreading sickness while you spread your money around.
That Old Office Coffee Cup
Germs seem to like certain surfaces more than others. Soft, porous materials at the right temperature can send growth rates soaring for bacteria and viruses alike. But even hard, nonporous surfaces can spread disease. Enter the coffee cup.
You may not see the point in washing your office coffee cup between uses. But a coffee cup is exactly what researchers used to study the spread of rhinovirus, the virus responsible for the common cold. They found that by having study subjects touch an infected coffee cup, and then touch their eyes and nostrils, about half came down with colds. The good news is that cleaning these surfaces dramatically improved the odds of avoiding infection. So, keep that coffee mug clean to prevent sickness.
The Laundry Washer and Dryer
We toss our dirty clothes in the laundry to get the dirt out, along with all those nasty germs. But does it work? According to one study, it depends on how you clean. The study found that some disease-causing pathogens can survive the washer and dryer. These include rotavirus, the bug responsible for spreading the common cold.
So how should you clean to keep diseases out of your clean clothes? If your clothes can stand it, wash them hot. Also, make sure to use bleach for suitable clothes. Few pathogens can withstand the combination of hot water and bleach. And when you wash especially filthy items such as rags, dish towels, and clothes worn by anyone with an infection, be sure to use water heated to 140 degrees. Finally, remember that the bacteria from your dirty clothes tends to accumulate in your appliances. To keep them away, run them on a regular cycle now and then with bleach and water, but no clothes.
You may be carrying more home inside your purse than you meant to. Your purse goes where you go—to the public restroom, the floors of restaurants, and everywhere else. One study found that one in five purses and handbag handles contains bacterial contamination great enough to pose a threat to health. In a separate study, a microbiologist swabbed 50 purses and found that one in four tested positive for E. coli, which produces a harmful toxin that can cause severe stomach cramping and diarrhea.
To keep away from harmful bacteria, be sure to clean your handbag regularly. A Clorox wipe will work just as well as soap and hot water, and may be easier on the fabric. If the surface you set your purse on is damp, be sure to wipe it down when you get home—bacteria love damp places. And for your safety and the safety of those around you, refrain from setting your handbag down on surfaces where people eat. All of this applies equally to similar items, such as backpacks and briefcases.
ATMs and POS Keypads
Automatic teller machines and point-of-sale (POS) keypads are an easy pick for a list of hidden germ hideouts. Think about all the fingers that touch them every day. In busy places like New York City, hundreds of people visit these machines on any given day.
Researchers tested dozens of ATMs from across New York City to find out what microbes cling to these cash machines. They found remnants of human skin, traces of food, and microbes that came from household surfaces. Bacteria were plentiful, and the same types of microbes were found, no matter the ATM’s location.
If you shook hands with 100 people in a day, you’d probably want to wash your hands before you ate. The same principle applies with ATMs and checkout keypads. Using one is similar to touching the hands of several people at once when it comes to germs. So, after visiting the bank, supermarket or any location that provides these machines, make sure your hands are clean before touching your face.
The Grocery Cart
When’s the last time you pushed a grocery cart? Most people slide their hands all over these convenient carts while they push them through the store, and don’t give it a second thought. But just like most of the other items on this list, grocery carts see many hands every day, and if those hands carry infectious germs, you could be the next person infected.
One four-year study of grocery cart cleanliness frequently found everything from saliva, fecal matter, and mucus remnants attached to these carts. The study prompted new laws in some states like New Jersey that required or encouraged grocery stores to provide sanitary wipes to shoppers. If you’d rather stay healthy, use these the next time you go shopping, as such wipes can effectively reduce or eliminate many of the harmful pathogens you come into contact with.
The Soap Dispenser Itself
Even when you’re trying to keep your hands clean, germs can find their way onto your skin. Public restrooms typically provide liquid soap from refillable dispensers to keep hands clean. But one study found that one dispenser in four harbors contamination. And it’s not the outside of the soap dispenser you need to be concerned about—the soap itself is contaminated, according to the study.
Not only did pathogens remain after washing from a contaminated dispenser, but study participants had actually increased the number of nasty germs on their hands after washing. So, what can you do to keep your hands clean? If the restrooms at work refill their soap dispensers, you can encourage the building manager to switch to sealed soap containers that can’t be refilled. You can also carry alcohol-based wipes or hand sanitizer with you to give your hands a more thorough cleansing after you freshen up at the sink.
The Towels in Your Kitchen
One of the grimiest items in your kitchen is the same thing you use to dry your hands. That’s right—your kitchen towel is likely to be crawling with bacteria.
Researchers observed 123 parents between the ages of 20 and 45 to find out what really goes on in their kitchens. The subjects were asked to prepare two meals items—one with raw meat, and the other a fruit salad. The meat had been laced with a harmless but detectable bacteria so the researchers could study what items in the kitchen were most likely to be contaminated. After the test had been performed, the filthiest item in the kitchen was the hand towel. Why? It all comes down to hand washing.
The participants, 90% of them women, and more than 70% college graduates, rarely washed their hands effectively. And whether they washed too briefly or didn’t use any soap, most of them dried their hands on the towel. That left enough bacteria on the towels to raise concerns for the researchers. The results of the study showed that a full 90% of the fruit salads had been contaminated by bacteria from the raw meat.
What can you do about all of this? There are two things to keep in mind here. One is to replace your kitchen towel daily, or at least any day you cook in the kitchen. The second is to wash your hands properly, using soap, for a full 20 seconds each time you wash. Participants who did this were less likely to end up with contaminated kitchens.
Blowing Out Birthday Candles
Sometimes sharing germs is socially acceptable—but it’s still gross when you think about it. One example is blowing the candles out of a birthday cake. How many partygoers think about the germs spread over a thick layer of icing after the special birthday guest puffs out the candles?
Scientists know bacteria live in your breath. Anywhere from 700 to more than 6,000 live bacterial cells escape your lungs every time you exhale. To find out how this relates to birthday cake, researchers built a fake cake by covering Styrofoam in foil and covering the foil in frosting. Candles were planted into the Styrofoam. After eating pizza, one of the participants blew out the candles and the frosting was carefully collected and compared to “cake” that hadn’t been blown on. Overall, blowing on the frosting increased bacterial growth by 14 times on average. But some gusty blowers can raise that to 120 times, and others seem to leave no additional bacteria on the frosting after they blow.
One of the study’s authors didn’t think it was anything to worry about. “If you did this 100,000 times then the chance of getting sick would probably be very minimal,” he said, explaining that even though bacteria were present, the amount is tiny compared to the number living inside your mouth at any moment. Also, most of these bacteria are harmless. Even so, if the blower is clearly sick, especially with the flu or a viral illness like a cold, you should probably skip that slice of cake.
If you listed all the household chores you did regularly, would “clean the doorknobs” be on that list? Doorknobs see lots of hands from day to day, and they have been proven effective at transmitting disease.
Researchers studied how viruses can be transmitted in a typical office. They swabbed the office door with a harmless virus, and the hand of one random employee. Within four hours, half the office had been infected. A subsequent study of a larger number of offices and employees bore the same results—about half of an office stands to be infected by one germy door handle.
There are a couple of things you can do to protect yourself from the dreaded doorknob. One good idea is to carry disinfecting wipes or hand sanitizer, and use it after touching communal surfaces. Another is to avoid coming in to work when you know you are ill. Of course, the doorknobs in your home can’t be avoided when you’re sick, so be sure to wash your doorknobs frequently—infectious germs can be spread even before you show symptoms of illness.
Turn on the lights, and you may unwittingly be turning on an infection. Light switches are another place hands frequently go, but disinfectants rarely visit. That’s been proven in a study of hotel rooms. Researchers looked at rooms to try and find their most germ-ridden hideaways. They found that light switches, particularly the ones on bedside lamps, pose a high risk of bacterial infection. In fact, the study found that the average light switch is crawling with bacteria. The average number of colony-forming units of bacteria on these switches per square centimeter? 112. It’s enough to make you want to break out the rubbing alcohol on your next vacation.
When you apply makeup, try to remember all the intimate places on your face that product will wind up. It’s second-nature for many to put on a little makeup in the morning and to reapply throughout the day, but if you don’t do so carefully, your fresh look can cause sickness.
With that in mind, here are a few tips to keep your makeup bag safe:
- Don’t share. Even if your friend seems well, dangerous germs can still be spread.
- Apply makeup with clean hands. If your hands aren’t clean, your makeup won’t be either.
- Don’t wear makeup when you’re sick. You’re liable to preserve the disease-causing pathogens in the makeup itself, which can prolong your illness or cause you to get sick again later on.
- Watch out for open sores and pimples. Any place where your skin is broken will not be as protected from infection, so avoid these areas as you apply your makeup.
- Be wary of store samples. One study found yeast growing on three of 25 makeup samples, and that yeast can lead to pinkeye or rashes.
Hands and Germs
Most of the hidden germ hotspots have something in common—they’re places where hands go over and over again. The simplest solution is to wash your hands properly, and at the right time.
How to Wash Your Hands
This might seem a little simplistic—even insulting. You learned to wash your hands as a child, right? Of course. But the truth is, most people don’t wash their hands properly. And that means infectious germs are getting a free pass.
The first step is to get your hands wet. Apply enough soap, and then lather. When you lather your hands, remember to get beneath the nails, between your fingers, and the backs of your hands. Next, scrub your hands for a full 20 seconds. To help you keep track of time, you can try humming the “Happy Birthday” song twice. Then rinse with clean, running water and dry. If you follow these steps, your hands will be safe from whatever germs they may have collected.
When Should You Wash Your Hands?
Knowing when to wash your hands is as important as knowing how. Anytime you’re preparing food or eating, you should wash your hands first. The same is true if you’re treating a wound or caring for a sick person.
You should also wash after doing any particularly dirty things. That includes petting animals, taking out the garbage, using the toilet, blowing your nose, and handling dirty diapers.
By keeping in mind when and how to wash your hands, you can dramatically reduce your risk of infection, no matter where the germs in your world are hiding.


October 6, 2008 — A special supplement of the Oct. 15 journal Cancer for the first time details guidelines for low- and middle-income countries to implement breast cancer programs to detect and treat the most common disease among women worldwide.
"Guidelines for International Breast Health and Cancer Control - Implementation" developed by the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) outlines a tiered system of resource allocation - based on countries' overall economic status and availability of resources - toward early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and developing an overall breast health program. Other papers contained in the supplement outline how countries implement programs in breast pathology, radiation treatment, surgery and treatment of locally-advanced cancer.
"The breast health guidelines for implementation will be an essential medical reference for low- and middle-income countries to improve breast health outcomes," said Benjamin O. Anderson, M.D., founder, chair and director of the Seattle-based BHGI organization.
BHGI, an alliance comprised of a strategic mix of internationally-focused health care organizations, was founded by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
"The BHGI guidelines are intended to assist ministers of health, policymakers, administrators and institutions in prioritizing resource allocation as breast cancer treatment programs are implemented and developed in their resource-constrained countries," the authors note in their overview of the 172-page supplement. The 16 articles by 56 authors from around the world are the culmination of work begun in 2002 when the first of three global summits on breast health took place.
"The development and implementation of these international evidence-based breast health care guidelines, which are oriented to countries or regions of the world with limited financial resources, is a crucial step toward improving breast health care and breast cancer care in these regions," said Anderson. "Current evidence about the value of earlier detection and cost-effective diagnosis and treatment can be applied to define best practices with limited resources for breast health care. While health care strategies may differ, measurable improvement in breast cancer outcomes can be achieved using the best standard of care that is practical in a given setting."
Why breast cancer and why low- to middle-income countries? Breast cancer comprises 23% of all female cancers. It's also the leading cause of cancer mortality. There is a marked geographical variation in case fatality rates, which are highest in developing countries and lowest in developed ones. Further, women in poor- and middle-income nations generally are diagnosed when their cancer has progressed due to lack of resources to detect cancer earlier, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality rates.
BHGI recently launched a five-year plan to achieve guideline implementation. It focuses on three key areas: dissemination & implementation (D&I) research; education and training programs; and technology application and development. The foundation of the plan will be creation of "learning laboratories" - in-country locations in which to test programs that will form the basis for breast health program expansion in low-to-middle-income countries. BHGI is working with partner organizations - Komen for the Cure, HopeXchange, and the Ghana Breast Cancer Alliance - to open the first learning laboratory in Kumasi, Ghana this year, with a second learning laboratory planned for South America in 2009.
Note to editors/reporters: "Guidelines for International Breast Health and Cancer Control - Implementation" is available online here: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121417905/HTMLSTART
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more information, please visit www.fhcrc.org.
About the Breast Health Guidelines Initiative
BHGI is comprised of an alliance of the following healthcare organization: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, American Society of Clinical Oncology, U.S. Office of International Affairs, National Cancer Institute, Pfizer Inc, American Cancer Society, Lance Armstrong Foundation, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., GE Healthcare, Novartis Oncology, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Oncology Nursing Society, Pan American Health Organization, U.S. Office on Women's Health, NCI, U.S. Office of Research on Women's Health, NIH, American Society for Breast Disease, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, Breast Surgery International, International Union Against Cancer, International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations, International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research, International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care, International Society of Breast Pathology, Middle East Cancer Consortium, World Society for Breast Health.
The Breast Health Global Initiative is co-sponsored by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. www.bhgi.info


What is Aquaponics?
Are you wondering “what is aquaponics?” The most simple definition is that it is the marriage of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that grows fish and plants together in one integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the growing plants and the plants provide a natural filter for the water the fish live in. The third participants are the microbes (nitrifying bacteria) and composting red worms that thrive in the growing media. They do the job of converting the ammonia from the fish waste first into nitrites, then into nitrates and the solids into vermicompost that that are food for the plants.
In combining both systems aquaponics capitalizes on the benefits and eliminates the drawbacks of each.
The problems with traditional soil-based gardening
- The weeds
- The amount of water required
- The soil-borne insects
- The heavy digging, the bending, the back strain
- The the bunnies, the raccoons, and other 4-legged pests
- Knowledge required to know when to water, when and how to fertilize, and what is the composition of the soil
These issues are all solved with hydroponics, but hydroponics has problems of its own
- Traditional hydroponic systems rely on the careful application of expensive, man-made nutrients made from mixing together a concoction of chemicals, salts and trace elements. In aquaponics you merely feed your fish inexpensive fish feed, food scraps, and food you grow yourself.
- The strength of this mixture needs to be carefully monitored, along with pH, using expensive meters. In aquaponics you carefully monitor your system during the first month, but once your system is established you only need to check pH and ammonia levels weekly or if your plants or fish seem stressed.
- Water in hydroponic systems needs to be discharged periodically, as the salts and chemicals build up in the water which becomes toxic to the plants. This is both inconvenient and problematic as the disposal location of this waste water needs to be carefully considered. In aquaponics you NEVER replace your water; you only top it off as it evaporates.
- Hydroponic systems are prone to a disease called “pythium” or root rot. This disease is virtually non-existent in aquaponics.
The problem with recirculating aquaculture
- The tank water becomes polluted with fish effluent which gives off high concentrations of ammonia. Water has to be discharged at a rate of 10-20% of the total volume in the tank daily. This uses a tremendous amount of water. Again, in an aquaponics system you never need to discharge your water
- This water is often pumped into open streams where it pollutes and destroys waterways.
- Because of this unhealthy environment fish are prone to disease and are often treated with medicines, including antibiotics. Fish disease is rare in an aquaponics system.
How aquaponics changes the game
- Waist-high aquaponics gardening eliminates weeds, back strain and small animal access to your garden.
- Reuse resources currently considered “waste”. In aquaponics there is no more toxic run-off from either hydroponics or aquaculture.
- Aquaponics uses only 1/10th of the water of soil-based gardening, and even less water than hydroponics or recirculating aquaculture.
- Watering is integral to an aquaponics system. You can’t under-water or over-water.
- Fertilizing is also integral to an aquaponics system. You can’t over-fertilize or under-fertilize.
- Gardening chores are cut down dramatically or eliminated. The aquaponics grower is able to focus on the enjoyable tasks of feeding the fish and tending and harvesting the plants.
Instead of using dirt or toxic chemical solutions to grow plants, aquaponics uses highly nutritious fish effluent that contains all the required nutrients for optimum plant growth. Instead of discharging water, aquaponics uses the plants and the media in which they grow to clean and purify the water, after which it is returned to the fish tank. This water can be reused indefinitely and will only need to be replaced when it is lost through transpiration and evaporation. Two primary methods of aquaponics growing are most widely in use today.
- The raft based aquaponics growing system uses a foam raft that is floating in a channel filled with fish effluent water that has been through filtration to remove solid wastes. Plants are placed in holes in the raft and the roots dangle freely in the water. This method is most appropriate for growing salad greens and other fast growing, relatively low-nutrient plants.
- The second method is called media based aquaponics because plants are grown in inert planting media (gravel, expanded clay pellets, coir, etc.). The media provides both the biological (ammonia based waste) and mechanical (solid waste) filtration, so requires far less maintenance than raft-based systems. Large, fruiting plants are also grown much more successfully in media based systems than in rafts.
- The third method is called hybrid aquaponics, which is a combination of the two. The media beds become the pre-filter for the solid waste before the water enters the raft systems. This hybrid system style is the focus of The Aquaponic Source’s AquaBundance systems because it provides planting flexibility, high productivity and low maintenance.
History of Aquaponics
- Long before the term “aquaponics” was coined in the 1970s the Aztec Indians raised plants on rafts on the surface of a lake in approximately 1,000 A.D.
- In modern times aquaponics emerged from the aquaculture industry as fish farmers were exploring methods of raising fish while trying to decrease their dependence on the land, water and other resources.
- Traditionally fish were raised in large ponds, or in netted pens off ocean coastlines, but in the past 35 years much progress has been made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
- The advantage of RAS is that fish can be stocked much more densely: up to of a pound of fish per gallon of water, thus using only a fraction of the water and space to grow the same amount of fish as pond or netting based systems.
- The disadvantage is the large amount of waste water that quickly accumulates.
In the 1970s research on using plants as a natural filter began, most notably by Dr. James Rakocy at the University of the Virgin Islands.
- The first large scale commercial aquaponics facility, Bioshelters in Amherst, MA, was established in the mid-1980s, and it is still in operation today.
- Home based aquaponics owes its origin in the early 1990s to Tom and Paula Speraneo of S&S Aquafarms in West Plains, MO. The Speraneo’s diligently refined a media bed growing technique that was more appropriate for smaller systems, and wrote a how-to manual that became a spring board for many home based systems build through-out the world.
- Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in Australia interest in home aquaponics was taking off because aquaponics is a way to solve the drought and poor soil conditions that the Australians have to contend with. Joel Malcom led the movement by starting a popular forum (Backyard Aquaponics) and creating and selling aquaponic systems designed specifically for homeowners. He was joined by Murray Hallam of Practical Aquaponics, who also runs a forum and is best known for his series of entertaining DVDs on home aquaponics.
- In January, 2010 the Aquaponic Gardening Community was formed, and it has since become the largest online gathering place for aquapons in North America.
- In September, 2011, the book Aquaponic Gardening by Sylvia Bernstein was introduced at the first annual Aquaponics Association Conference in Orlando, Florida. It was the first time that a complete guide to designing, building, starting and maintaining a media-based aquaponics system had been available. Within a month the book was the best selling gardening book on Amazon.com and within the first year the book was printed four times and sold over 30,000 copies.
- At that same conference the Aquaponics Association was officially created with Gina Cavaliero of Green Acre Aquaponics and Sylvia Bernstein of The Aquaponic Source as the founders and inaugural Chair and Vice Chair. The Association’s mission is to promote aquaponics, and to continue holding annual conferences so aquaponics practitioners from around the world can gather once a year to exchange ideas and learn from each other.
- With the Aquaponics Association increasingly focused on commercial farming, in August of 2014 the first Aquaponics Fest was held in Longmont, CO for home and school aquaponic gardeners.


Pavlik Martin, Lalik Michal, Noge Michal, Skvarenina Juraj
Abstract: Coniferous forests in Slovakia as well as in other European countries in recent decades are attacked by various harmful factors. The most important abiotic factor is the wind, which can in a short time destroy large complexes of spruce stands. After processing such calamities frequently create huge areas of afforestation, making very good conditions for pine weevil presence. It is a beetle causing a lot of damage by eating bark of the trunks of young seedlings, thereby causing a weakening or dieback of them. Actual research is focused on study of reactions of the pine weevil adult (Hylobius abietis L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to infection caused by various entomopathogenic fungi species (Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Isaria fumusorosea). Beauveria bassiana is one of the longest known insect pathogens. The most significant effect in reducing of food intake has fungus Beauveria bassiana. Metarhizium anisopliae had no effect on food intake, and beetles infected with fungus Isaria fumusorosea had even increased food intake. Mortality of pine weevil has increased by fungus Beauveria bassiana, and good efficacy in this regard has also fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Isaria fumusorosea had almost no effect ontheir mortality rate.
Keywords: Entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana, Hylobius abietis, biological control.
Pages: 1 – 11 | Full PDF Paper
Vagif Akhmedov, Arif Ismailzadeh
Abstract: Scientists still are debating whether oil has a non-biological or a biological origin. The subject of scientific debates between the proponents of abiogenic and biogenic theories reduces to the question about the origin of the carbon, constituting the basis of the formation of gas-oil hydrocarbons. The results of many geological, geochemical and chemical studies indicate an intricate relationship between the mechanisms of the genesis and evolution of all global changes taking place in the interior and exterior domain of our planet. The formation of gas – oil hydrocarbons corresponds to a certain higher stage of evolution of the geochemical cycle of the primary elements of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, which have also played an important role in the emergence of the organic world. Nature selectively created two different mechanisms for activating molecules of water and carbon dioxide. Redox reactions are the basis of both global processes in which electrons are transferred from the donor-H2O to the acceptor-CO2 to form hydrocarbons and carbohydrates, respectively. The global cycle of carbon oxide and water may serve as a unifying thread between the presumed process of gas-oil formation in the deep layers of the Earth and the well-known phenomenon, aerobic photosynthesis, on an outer surface of our planet. This article discusses some of chemical peculiarities of the origin of oil and photosynthesis which are of considerable interest for the elucidation of formation mechanism of gas-oil hydrocarbons. Presumed pathway for the formation of petroleum hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide and water along with endogenic methane predicts that the resources of gas – oil hydrocarbons are practically inexhaustible. Moreover, the prospects for the synthesis of fuels and other valuable organic materials based on CO2 and H2O open the new possibilities for their efficient and environmentally friendly artificial production.
Keywords: Global changes in nature; CO2 and H2O as the renewable raw materials; Mechanism of catalytic activation of the molecules water and carbon oxide in the Earth’s depths; Mechanism of activation of the molecules water and carbon oxide on the Earth; Artificial energy from CO2 and H2O.
Pages: 12 – 34 | Full PDF Paper


The Boomerang is a monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific read aloud novel. It is geared toward 8th to 10th graders (ages 12—advanced, 13-15) and is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.
This guide contains the following features:
About the book
Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant-in the blink of an eye-that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work-in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?―Amazon
Purchase the Blink novel here (affiliate link).


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that US autism rates have increased — again , noting that now 1 in every 68 US kids have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum disorder. The report highlights the American Academy of Pediatrics ongoing and urgent effort to get culturally sensitive screening and access to effective interventions for all children.
In a statement to the press, Dr. James Perrin, the president of the AAP, said, “The AAP is working to help make pediatric practices more equipped to provide ongoing care to the many children with autism. These rising rates certainly underscore the need to improve our understanding of the causes of autism and to work on prevention.” The CDC collected the information as part of the Autism and Development Disabilities Monitoring Network and the results were published earlier today as part of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The data collected indicates the number of 8-year-old children diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum in 2010.
The data reveals that the prevalence of autism has risen 30 percent in the past two years. Susan Hyman, chair of the AAP’s autism subcommittee said, “The prevalence data makes even more important the Academy’s focus on early screening, identification and referral for intervention for allchildren, and our work to support collaborative medical homes for children, youth and adults with autism spectrum disorder. It’s critical that we as a society do not become numb to these numbers. They remind us of the work we need to do in educating clinicians and parents in effective interventions for all children, including those with developmental disabilities.”
Currently, the AAP advocates for early screening for autism spectrum disorders, early diagnosis and a timely referral for effective intervention, coordinated through the medical home. According to research, early intervention strategies can considerably improve a child’s long-term development and social behaviors. As part of their commitment, the AAP is working to provide 62,000 member pediatricians with tools and training necessary to appropriately identify children with autism spectrum disorders and refer them to the treatments and services they’ll need.
Do the latest findings shock you? What do you think can be done to help children and families?


Probably Toprakkale, eastern Anatolia
Bronze; H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
Dodge Fund, 1950 (50.163)
Urartu was a powerful kingdom that rivaled the Assyrian empire in the first millennium B.C. It extended from northeastern Turkey into northwestern Iran. Its settlements were palace-fortresses that protected agricultural production and supported many crafts, especially an extensive metalworking industry. In the late seventh century B.C., Urartian centers were destroyed by an enemy whose identity remains unknown.
This object, with the lower part of a figure standing along the flanks of a bull, was most likely part of a throne. From better-preserved examples, we know that the figure wore the horned crown of a deity. The whole would have been gilded. A throne and footstool supported by four deities and their animal companions would have been a potent symbol of the Urartian king's power.