A machine is a device that transmits or modifies energy to help you perform a task. Therefore, a bike is the machine of machines. It helps you uniquely explore the world, getting you from point A to point B in what is the most efficient way possible by your own means. However, like any machine, a bike is system of moving parts, and in order for it to work to the best of its ability, these parts need to be properly maintained.
A bicycle is not a cheap item, therefore, it’s critical to make sure you are taking proper care of it. From storing it in the garage to keeping up with regular maintenance intervals, there are a wide array of things you should do to ensure your ride is always running properly.
While you can always rely on your local bike shop to fix and maintain your bicycle, sometimes you just want to make the repairs on your own. Even though some components on a bike might be foreign objects to you as far as how they work and how they should be properly maintained, that doesn’t mean you can’t take some tasks on by yourself. Not having to pay a mechanic for labor might be worth the extra effort to do repairs on your own. One part of the bike you can definitely maintain yourself is the bike’s crankset.
The crankset includes all the parts between the bike’s two pedals. It’s the mechanism that you power to go forward, the chain, the wheels, and the pedals. As these are some of the most essential parts of the bike, you’ll want to make sure they are functioning properly, and if any issues do arise, that you are properly caring for them.
Assessing The Crankset
First you’ll want to check your crankset for damage or looseness. Look for any dents, cracks or bending of this system. Simply grabbing it and giving it a shake will help you determine if anything is out of place. If it’s loose, you’ll need to make some adjustments. A bike’s axle should always spin effortlessly. Lifting the bike off the ground and giving the pedals a spin will also help you determine whether this system is working properly. If anything is rubbing or you hear grinding, the crankset is likely loose and it’s time to get the tools out.
More serious issues with a crankset would include cracking or bending. It’s likely you’ll be able to see this damage. However, just to be safe, spin the pedals and see if the crankset moves back and forth on its own. If there’s even the slightest motion or a pedal doesn’t easily spin, the crankset is probably bent. The only solution here will be replacing your cranket, unless you are extremely good with fabricating metal. It’s probably a good idea to have a bike serviced before replacing the crankset, in case a professional could work their magic. You’ll also want to look at the teeth of your gears and chain. If any of these are worn or bent, it might be time to replace them.
Even if you are not handy, you are capable of properly caring for your crankset. If you noticed that this system is loose, fixing it could be as easy as tightening crank bolts with an Allen wrench. Over time, bolts can become loose, causing a crankset to wiggle. This could lead to a number of issues, so it’s important to make sure everything is tight before heading out on a ride.
Fixing a crankset could be as easy as tightening a bolt. However, more glaring problems might be present, like if any of the metal is bent. This could mean parts need to be replaced before a bike will function again. However, if the crankset spins smoothly and nothing appears to be wobbling, it’s likely undamaged and safe for riding.
What To Look For And How To Clean
First, you’ll want to inspect a crankset to ensure it’s not broken. The best way to do this is to wiggle the system and see if anything falls off or is loose. Some simple tightening could be just the remedy for making sure everything is working properly.
It’s also important to check for rust. The crankset is low to the ground and is therefore susceptible to dirt and grime. The tires kick up mud that gets all over your crankset, and before you know it, you have rust and other gunk clogging up your gears.
This could forever change your outlook on soda, but soaking metal in cola can be the best way to getting rust off. A crankset could look brand new after a Coke bath. However, other cleaning products are available to help you deal with rust, although they might be more expensive than a six pack of Pepsi.
First, you’ll need to take apart the crankset, before soaking it in cleaning solution. For this step, it’s critical to remember what parts go where. Be sure to remember how you got each piece off, so you can put it back on. From there, you’ll have individual pieces that can easily be cleaned. One of the best cleaning utensils for a crankset is a toothbrush, so for a couple dollars, you can properly maintain this part of your bike.
Preventative Maintenance Is Key
The best way to care for anything – a vehicle, house or bike – is to do it regularly. Practicing preventative maintenance is the best way to avoid any issues down the road.
That means when you see dirt or grime caught in your crankset, you should clean it up. Over time, any debris can damage a crankset, causing it to rust or rub with other parts of the bike. Cleaning a crankset is as easy as wiping it with a cloth after a ride. However, a toothbrush is another great tool for really getting in there and cleaning this system.
The best bet to caring for a bike’s crankset is to make sure it’s always dry and clean. Taking care of any issues after a ride will save you plenty of hassle later on. Wiping a chain down is much easier and cheaper than having to go out and buy a new crankset.


Virtually all cultures consume drugs from psychoactive plants. Caffeine, for example, is probably the most common stimulant in the world, and many modern medicines, such as morphine and codeine, are derived from plant sources. In these cases, scientific research has revealed the composition of the plants and how they interact with the nervous system. There are also many herbal medications with reputed therapeutic value that have not yet gained acceptance into mainstream medicine, partly because there has not been enough research to support their usefulness. Instead they are regarded as "alternative medicines." This is an active research area, however, and many current studies are focusing on identifying the active components, pharmacological properties, physiological effects, and clinical efficacy of herbal medicines. This book compiles and integrates the most up-to-date information on the major psychoactive herbal medicines -- that is, herbal medicines that alter mind, brain, and behavior. It focuses particularly on the effects on various areas of cognition, including attention, learning, and memory. The book covers all major classes of psychoactive drugs, including stimulants, cognitive enhancers, sedatives and anxiolytics, psychotherapeutic herbs, analgesics and anesthetic plants, hallucinogens, and cannabis.


You are hereJune 7, 2019
Stem cell identity unmasked by single cell sequencing technology
BRISBANE (AU), May 2019 — Scientists from the University of Queensland's Diamantina Institute have revealed the difference between a stem cell and other blood vessel cells using gene-sequencing technology.
Kiarash Khosrotehrani, M.D., Ph.D., said the findings provided evidence of how stem cells express genes that allow them to be identified within a blood vessel.
"Until now, we couldn't accurately say how a stem cell differed from the other cells without preconceived ideas," Professor Khosrotehrani said. "We hypothesized that stem cells expressed genes that could separate them from other cells inside the blood vessel."
UQDI senior lecturer Jatin Patel, Ph.D., performed the study and looked at every single cell in the largest artery, the aorta, and identified the genes expressed by each cell through sequencing. "This allowed us to examine every cell without any bias or pre-conceived idea of whether it is a stem cell or not," Dr. Patel said.
The study used single-cell RNA sequencing to look at the gene expression of each cell and group common cells together into separate populations.
UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience senior research officer Sam Lukowski, Ph.D., performed the analysis. "We used specialized algorithms to group cells that express similar sets of genes into clusters," Dr. Lukowski explained. "What we found is that these stem cells form little groups within the blood vessel and that is how you differentiate them from other cells."
Knowing the exact profile of a stem cell will help researchers develop new treatment options for conditions like skin cancer, heart attacks and wound healing.
"This will have an impact on how we treat conditions which are the result of dysfunctional blood vessel behavior," Professor Khosrotehrani said. "We know that if you can target these stem cells, then you can reduce blood vessel formation and potentially stop diseases like skin cancer metastasis."
Previous research by Professor Khosrotehrani found that stopping the spread of melanoma to other parts of the body might be as simple as cutting off the blood supply to cancer.
"Blood vessels are vital because tumors can't grow without them — they feed the tumors and allow the cancer to spread," he said. "If you get rid of these stem cells, then the blood vessels don't form, and the tumors don't grow or spread to other locations."
In situations where blood vessels are missing or are clogged, providing more stem cells might generate new blood vessels and allow the supply of oxygen in cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks, stroke or leg ischemia.
Professor Khosrotehrani had hypothesized this method of stem cell identification and said these findings provided answers to scientific debate. "We've been working on this type of research for over 10 years and the model we've found matches perfectly with our previous findings," he said. "The availability of the data publicly will allow scientists from all over the world to hopefully end some of the controversy around the identity and definition of these stem cells."
Scientists from the University of Queensland's Diamantina Institute have revealed the difference between a stem cell and other blood vessel cells using gene-sequencing technology. Image courtesy of Pixabay.


afrol News, 25 February - "Mauritia" is the name scientists have given the newly discovered micro-continent in the Indian Ocean, which detached about 60 million years ago while Madagascar and India drifted apart. A thick layer of lava so far has kept it secret.
Scientists from the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam outside Berlin have published remarkable findings they made on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion, showing that the two famous holiday destination islands in the Indian Ocean not were created by volcanism alone. On the contrary, they are located on the rests of a so-called micro-continent the researchers have baptised Mauritia.
Mauritia detached from Madagascar and India as these two parts of the giant continent Gondwana started drifting away from each other some 60 million years ago. But major volcanic activity in the region has covered the continental fragment with huge masses of lava, according to the scientists.
The researchers also conclude that there probably are a larger number of undiscovered micro-continents around in the great oceans. A summary of the study has been published in the latest edition of the prestigious journal 'Nature Geosciences'.
According to the researchers, mostly the break-up of continents is often associated with mantle plumes. These giant bubbles of hot rock rise from the deep mantle and soften the tectonic plates from below, until the plates break apart at the hotspots.
"This is how Eastern Gondwana broke apart about 170 million years ago. At first, one part was separated, which in turn fragmented into Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica, which then migrated to their present position," the report says.
"Plumes currently situated underneath the islands Marion and Reunion appear to have played a role in the emergence of the Indian Ocean. If the zone of the rupture lies at the edge of a land mass - in this case Madagascar and India - fragments of this land mass may be separated off," according to the report. The nearby Seychelles are a well-known example of such a continental fragment.
The researchers first looked into lava sand grains from the beaches of Mauritius. "The sand grains contain semi-precious zircons aged between 660 and 1970 million years, which is explained by the fact that the zircons were carried by the lava as it pushed through subjacent continental crust of this age," the reporters explain. This was to prove that rests of an older micro-continent lays beneath the lava masses on Mauritius.
Researcher Bernhard Steinberger of the research centre in Potsdam and several international colleagues further were able to trace the geohistorical track of the mantel hotspot now located close to Réunion island. "We were able to show that the continent fragments continued to wander almost exactly over the Réunion plume, which explains how they were covered by volcanic rock," Steinberger explains.
Until know, the creation of the African islands southeast in the Indian Ocean, including Réunion and Mauritius, has been explained by the Réunion plume, as a parallel to the creation of the Hawaii islands. But Steinberger and his colleagues conclude the contrary, saying they represent the micro-continent Mauritia.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.


Relative age dating worksheets, relative dating diagram answer key
It is good at this time to remind them that these letters represent fossils in a rock layer and that one fossil next to another within a rock layer implies no particular sequencing; they both are approximately the same age as that particular rock layer.
On a larger scale, even between continents, fossil evidence can help in correlating rock layers.
Relative Dating Diagram Answer Key - jwarlock.com
Return to top To enhance this activity, have students match the fossil sketches to real fossils. This rock layer would be younger as indicated by the appearance of new fossils in the rock stratum.
Figure 2-A gives some background information on the individual fossils.
The brachiopod, crinoid, eurypterid, foraminifera, gastropod, horn coral, pelecypod, and trilobite could probably not be used as index fossils since they overlap more than one stratum. Since this card has a common letter with the first card, it must go on top of the "TC" card.
Marine sedimentary rocks such as limestone, shale, and sandstone might contain fossils similar to those depicted in this activity.
The sequence must be exactly in the order as written. Starting with the top card, the letters should be in order from youngest to oldest. The following is a list of fossils in the John Hanley Fossil Teaching Set that may be useful in this activity.
The letters on the other cards have no significance to the sequencing procedure and should be ignored at this time.
The following question may help clarify this point. Sequencing the rock layers will show the students how paleontologists use fossils to give relative dates to rock strata. By correlating fossils from various parts of the world, scientists are able to give relative ages to particular strata.
By using this information from rock formations in various parts of the world and correlating the studies, scientists have been able to establish the geologic time scale.
This will enable your teacher to quickly check whether you have the correct sequence. Scientists also use direct evidence from observations of the rock layers themselves to help determine Speed dating brest relative age of rock layers.
Sequence the remaining cards by using the same process. When you finish, you should have a vertical stack of cards with the top card representing the youngest fossils of this rock sequence and the "TC" card at the bottom of the stack representing the oldest fossils. In a "normal" horizontal sequence of rocks, the oldest rock layers will be on the bottom with successively younger rocks on top.
Keep in mind that extinction is forever. Scientific measurements such as radiometric dating use the natural radioactivity of certain elements found in rocks to help determine their age.
The first card in the sequence has "Card 1, Set A" in the lower left-hand corner and represents the bottom of the sequence.
This also means that fossils found in the lowest levels in a sequence of layered rocks represent the oldest record of life there.
This is called relative dating. This would also mean that fossils found in the deepest layer of rocks in an area would represent the oldest forms of life in that particular rock formation.
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The lesson of the newsletter
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
I) What is a countable noun?
a) It is a noun which is for things we can count.
Examples of countable nouns: table, bag, school
We can say: one table, two tables... one bag, two bags...
b) It usually has a plural form:
Examples: table > tables | bag > bags | school > schools
II) What is an uncountable noun?
a) It is a noun which is for things we cannot count.
Examples of uncountable nouns: tea, sugar, water, air, rice.
b) Uncountable nouns are often the names for abstract ideas or qualities.
Examples: knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.
c) They usually do not have a plural form. They
are used with a singular verb.
Examples: we cannot say
"sugars, angers, knowledges".
d) We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these nouns, we use a word or expression like:
some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...
He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
They've got a lot of furniture.
What have you understood?
Write the letter "C" in front of Countable nouns and the
letter "U" in front of Uncountable nouns.
The first one has been done for you:
_________ TV set
Here are the Uncountable nouns: water, money, furniture, evidence, happiness, advice, baggage, information, news


Leading Teams: ORGL 4010
Contemporary organizations require individuals to collaborate in teams. The ability to lead such teams effectively is a prized skill and vital to both organizational and personal success. In this course, you will learn how to identify and develop effective individual and team behaviors, apply contemporary research on groups, leading teams, and team development to individual and collaborative team activities, and engage in self-reflection and team role-playing exercises that will develop and strengthen your leadership skills.
On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify characteristics of teams and understand team processes.
- Develop and use team charters effectively.
- Explain how cooperation and competition influence team dynamics.
- Identify key issues faced by teams in contemporary organizations.
- Use survey results to reflect on individual orientation toward teamwork (e.g. attitude, cooperation, conflict style, etc.).
- Apply problem analysis and problem solving techniques.
- Demonstrate the ability to critically think, express, and defend ideas in written, oral and presentational forms.


Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Over the past week the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has caused global headlines for its solemn warning of the possibility of a climate-induced future food crisis.
The report warns of food price spikes and supply shortages as the effects of increased temperatures, more unpredictable rainfall, and increased salinity in farmland from rising sea levels continue to take hold.
Climate change is lowering cereal yields and reducing fish catches, and along with high and volatile food prices, these impacts are spreading hunger and malnutrition among the world’s poorest people.
In parallel, demand for food will rise to serve the world’s growing population. Global diets also are changing to incorporate more high-quality foods, and the developing world’s cities are growing.
Africa, for example, will have twice as many people in 2050 as it has today, most of them in cities. Nigeria’s population will soon reach 440 million, surpassing that of the United States. By 2050 we expect to have 10 billion mouths to feed.
Things can only get more dire, it would seem.
But does this inevitably mean greater levels of hunger and malnutrition? More food price spikes? Another round of riots as populations panic over shortages and prices of their staple foods?
Not if we act now.
Investment in agricultural innovation is key. And we need to do more of it - soon. Some of the most effective ways to deal with climate change, such as adapting crop varieties and livestock to the new conditions, take a full 20 years to develop.
For instance, publicly funded CGIAR research programs are developing drought-tolerant maize for farmers in southern Africa and flood-tolerant rice which is now being rolled out to millions of smallholders in Asia, after years of research and testing. Research has also developed crop varieties that are higher in vitamins and minerals with a significant impact on health as well as helping to climate proof the food system.
The biodiversity in plants, livestock, trees and fish must also be protected. They contain important genetic diversity, whose variations have evolved over millennia and provide the basic template for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
A worldwide network of gene banks will provide access to this variation and provide new opportunities to rapidly generate new breeds of crops and livestock that will withstand the effects of a changing climate.
Research is also looking into better farming practices. The UK’s Department for International Development is helping to fund work by CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) to advance EverGreen Agriculture—the integration of trees into crop and livestock systems.
This approach is helping millions of smallholder farmers across Africa improve their farming, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These “fertilizer trees” improve soil fertility and increase food production, while providing an array of benefits such as fodder, fuel, medicine, fiber and income.
Furthermore, we need to integrate how the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors work within the broader landscape in which they produce food. Innovative finance that supports sustainable land use practices, enhanced infrastructure and markets to reduce losses and waste, and strengthened land tenure will also help ensure functioning food systems in the face of climate change.
And the way we govern will have to change as well. Innovation in policy and institutions are equally important. Prices of food and natural resources need to reflect the costs to the environment and climate. Right now, the exclusion of these costs from food production leads to over-use of natural resources.
On the other hand, new initiatives such as providing crop and livestock insurance can boost farmers’ ability to cope. A CCAFS programme has rolled out such an insurance scheme to farmers and herders in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique, making available affordable protection from extreme weather.
Far-sighted new policies must advocate for more transparent free trade, fair taxation and economic incentives, regulation and improved knowledge. Revising carbon credits to small farmers can encourage them to adopt sustainable farming practices. Campaigns can promote behavior change that reduces food waste, both amongst consumers as well as with manufacturers and retailers.
In the short run, a strong social protection system is needed to cover poor people, especially smallholder farmers who are particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Yes, climate change is already affecting food security, and we are all likely to be affected, both in our stomachs and in our pockets. But a nightmare scenario is not inescapable. We will be able to address demands for food in the face of climate change if we take this wake-up call as urgent and serious, and further invest in research for a smarter agriculture to drive development.


October 17, 2013
Archaeologists Find Home Of The Last Neanderthals
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online
In reassessing an archaeological site located on the British island of Jersey, a team of UK scientists has found preserved layers of geological deposits that were thought to have been lost through excavation decades ago, according to a new study in the Journal of Quaternary Science.
Using modern optical dating techniques, the scientists found that a large part of the site holds sediments dating back to the last Ice Age - essentially a record of 250,000 years of climate change and a wealth of archaeological evidence at a site known for producing more Neanderthal stone tools than the rest of the British Isles combined.
"In terms of the volume of sediment, archaeological richness and depth of time, there is nothing else like it known in the British Isles,” said study author Matt Pope of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. “Given that we thought these deposits had been removed entirely by previous researchers, finding that so much still remains is as exciting as discovering a new site.”
To make their discovery, the team dated the sediments using a technique called Optically Stimulated Luminesce (OSL), which can determine the last time sand grains were exposed to sunlight. An analysis showed parts of the sediments date to between 100,000 and 47,000 years old, suggesting Neanderthal teeth found at the site in 1910 are younger than formerly thought and most likely belonged to one of the region’s last Neanderthals.
"The discovery that these deposits still exist and can be related to previously excavated deposits opens up a range of exciting possibilities," said lead researcher Martin Bates, an archaeologist from the University of Trinity St Davids.
The new findings also indicated that stone tools, animal bone and the Neanderthal remains from the site should be reviewed under the different context.
"Excavation in the future will provide us with the opportunity to subject the site to the wide range of approaches we use today in Palaeolithic archaeology and Quaternary science,” Bates said. “For example we are hoping to be able to link our site with the broader Neanderthal landscapes through study of similarly aged deposits around the island and, through bathymetric survey, on the seabed.”
"We were sure from the outset that the deposits held some archaeological potential, but these dates indicate we have uncovered something exceptional," Pope explained. "We have a sequence of deposits which span the last 120,000 years still preserved at the site. Crucially, this covers the period in which Neanderthal populations apparently went 'extinct'.
"We may be able to use this evidence to better understand when Neanderthal populations disappeared from the region and whether they ever shared the landscape with the species which ultimately replaced them, us," he concluded.
The new study also represents the scientific research at the site since the early 1980s. In the interim, the site has been managed and preserved by the Société Jerisaise, the English Channel island’s academic society that has been involved with the investigation of the site since its early days.
"For over a hundred years the Société has tried to maintain the interest of the wider academic world in La Cotte, having realized its international importance from the beginning,” said Neil Molyneux, president of the Société Jersiaise. “We are delighted, therefore, that such a prestigious team is now studying the site, and, in addition, the wider Paleolithic landscape of Jersey.”


USDA Launches Climate Hubs WebsiteWed, 22 Oct 2014 15:30:21 CDT
The US Department of Agriculture launched their Climate Hubs website Wednesday. The new site provides a portal for farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and others to find useful, practical information to help cope with the challenges and stressors caused by a changing climate. The site provides resources related to drought, fire risks, pests and diseases, climate variability, and heat stress, and links users to the network of USDA conservation programs and resources that provide producers with technical and financial assistance to manage risks.
Each region also has its own site. For more information, see the "USDA Climate Hubs Website: Connecting Stakeholders to the Hubs" blog. Click here to access the USDA Climate Hubs website. To read more about the website from USDA Climate Hubs National Leader Randy Johnson, click here.
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Last month, members of Congress from across the political spectrum found common ground on a piece of legislation to ensure that our patent system benefits true innovators rather than those who abuse it.
Just a year after it first convened in April of 1790, the United States Congress passed legislation to promote the progress of science and the useful arts, giving American inventors the rights to the products they created. The bill would be the first of many to help foster an environment that both encouraged and protected our young nation’s innovators.
Unfortunately, 225 years later, the patent landscape for today’s tinkerers, small retailers, and tech innovators alike is a hostile one. For years, abusive actors have been taking advantage of a system meant to drive innovation, and have instead stifled job creation and threatened businesses around the country.
These bad actors—sometimes no more than a shell company with an army of lawyers—prey on our best and brightest innovators with the threat of costly litigation. Some scholars estimate that this takes billions of dollars out of the US economy every year. Patent litigation and litigation threats target an increasingly wide range of economic actors, from Main Street storefronts to tech startups.
The dilemma faced by anyone caught in the crosshairs is unbearable: spend precious time and resources defending against what are often overly broad or bogus infringement claims, or pay a handsome sum to make the lawsuit go away. The constant threat has discouraged entrepreneurs who are understandably hesitant to invest in innovation. In fact, the more companies invest in research and development, the more likely they are to be sued for patent infringement.
In recent years, the problem has only escalated. Earlier this month, the New York Times Editorial Board noted that from 2012 and 2013, the number of patent-infringement cases had increased by as much as 25 percent. And according to one study, there were six times more patent-related lawsuits in 2013 than in the 1980s.
Of course, this issue is not new to Congress. In fact, reforming the patent system in this country has been discussed throughout our tenure in the US Senate. But despite the need for serious reform, progress has been slow. Previous efforts left threats of abuse largely unaddressed, and although lawmakers in both the House and Senate began working on legislation last Congress, a resolution could not be reached.
Building on that progress and months of substantive discussions and input from a wide variety of stakeholders, along with several of our colleagues, we have introduced the bipartisan PATENT Act to clamp down on abusive patent assertion and restore the integrity of our intellectual property system.
The PATENT Act provides consensus solutions that would usher in significant reform and ease the burden on countless American companies and inventors. Our bipartisan bill shifts the legal burden back onto those who seek to game the patent system at the expense of businesses that are playing by the rules. The PATENT Act would put the responsibility on the plaintiff to explain the substance of the claim when filing an initial suit. It would also curb the practice of sending abusive demand letters that con people into paying settlement fees for unsubstantiated infringements. And it would limit costly discovery while preliminary matters in a case are resolved. Finally, our legislation would bring flexibility and transparency to patent litigation proceedings, discouraging frivolous lawsuits by shifting the responsibility for the cost of litigation to the losing party if the case was not objectively reasonable.
Real patent reform enjoys strong bipartisan support in Congress and is something the President has said he wants to accomplish. We firmly believe the PATENT Act’s sensible reforms are the best way to deter those who abuse the system while also protecting access to justice for patent holders with legitimate claims of infringement. It’s time for Congress to unite around a bill that protects American entrepreneurs and safeguards our country’s culture of innovation.


Author and environmentalist Micheal Dax. Courtesy/PEEC
How many endangered or threated animals call the Pajarito Plateau home?
Michael Dax from the Defenders of Wildlife will be at the nature center at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29 to talk about the endangered species in the local area and reveal how to help protect the current biodiversity.
New Mexico is home to 118 animals listed as threatened and endangered. In many cases, scientists do not fully understand the animal or how the ecosystem will change if it becomes extinct. This talk is part of a national outreach effort by Defenders of Wildlife to build awareness for local imperiled wildlife and the innovative ways people are working to promote ecosystem health.
Dax, an outdoor enthusiast, environmentalist and author, is the New Mexico Outreach representative for Defenders of Wildlife. His writing has appeared in High Country News and Earth Island Journal. Dax’s first book, Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West, was release last month.
His talk is at the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road. It is free and no registration is required. For more information about this and other PEEC programs, visit www.peecnature.org, email firstname.lastname@example.org or call 505.662.0460.
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) was founded in 2000 to serve the community of Los Alamos. It offers people of all ages a way to enrich their lives by strengthening their connections to our canyons, mesas, mountains, and skies. PEEC operates the Los Alamos Nature Center at 2600 Canyon Road, holds regular programs and events, and hosts a number of interest groups from birding to hiking to butterfly watching. PEEC activities are open to everyone; however, members receive exclusive benefits such as discounts on programs and merchandise. Annual memberships start at $35. To learn more, visit www.peecnature.org.


The misunderstood mole in the garden. Yes I said misunderstood because this ugly looking critter is not responsible for eating the roots of your prized hostas or tender flowers. A mole burrows under ground and eats grubs and earthworms NOT plants. As you can see from the pictures, moles do not have eyes and their ears are almost nonexistent. There very powerful front claws could cause you some serious injury (my husband could barely hang on to this guy).
The mole is responsible for the tunnels in your yard that the VOLE uses to get to your hostas and other plants (to devour). I do not mind moles in certain areas of my gardens that are not planted or thriving. Call me crazy but the mole is doing me a favor and helping to turn my hard red clay soil into something workable. Because of my neighbor putting down hazardous and dangerous chemicals I get overrun with moles and voles this time of the year, I have to take measures to protect my existing gardens. This is also the time of year when my dogs go crazy digging for moles and usually tear up my garden in the process. So what do I do?
I use castor oil in my watering can and water the hostas and plants where I see tunnels and holes. Oh I forgot to mention- those holes you see at the end of the tunnels? Those are not mole holes but the entrance/exit holes made by either a vole or chipmunk (or ground squirrel). Castor oil and water are effective at deterring moles and voles in my shade garden. So every week or so you want to water your hostas and other tender perennials and flowers with a couple tablespoons of castor oil in my 2 gallon watering can and water the plants and ‘holes’ in the garden.
There is a reason you have moles- you have grubs and other food sources for them. Now you may see your neighbor putting down a ton of chemicals in late summer & fall to get kill the ‘grubs’ and by the time spring comes it is too late to these treatments. However I am going to suggest safe, natural ways to effectively get rid of grubs anytime because those grub killing chemicals are not good for our environment or beneficial insects. I am not a tree hugging, never ever use the bad stuff, gardening gal but I am aware of what I am doing and try to be as responsible as possible. There are 3 alternatives:
- Milky Spores (is available online at Home Depot)
- Neem oil (is available in store at Home Depot & Lowe’s)
- Beneficial Nematodes available online at Home Depot)
With that being said, I try to look for alternatives to kill off fleas, ticks, and even roaches such as Diatomacious Earth (which is also available at Home Depot) which can be used in your home and garden and is NOT poisonous to humans or animals. Most of these products you can order online and know that you are not harming nature in the process.
Oh by the way, nothing eats moles- not even my dogs or cats. They have an odor and taste that keeps them pretty safe from any predators. When the dogs (or cats) catch one that is alive, I get out the heavy duty leather gloves and pick it up and relocate it to the park across the street. I have to do that because I just can’t kill living creatures.
Thanks for stopping by and I will be writing more gardening tips so keep watching! If you ever have a question, feel free to contact me and I will try to answer it or find resources for you to read.
Creating. Inspiring. Gardening without the rules!
2016 copyrighted material C Renee Fuller @the Garden Frog Boutique
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Los Angeles, California USA
Mar. 31, 2009 to Apr. 2, 2009
Hashing long strings is difficult, especially when the alphabet is small. Chess and GO game board hashing has almost always been accomplished by using (letter position) pairs to index into a table of random numbers which are exclusiveor’d to create the hash value. The table of random numbers can be a huge source of different hash functions by varying any bit of any random number. Algorithms are developed here that can find hashes that are perfect, minimal, and even ordered for very large cases. The Human Genome is a great source of small alphabet strings that are long, so it is used as a test case here. An algorithm is presented that can solve for an ordered minimal perfect hash for the Genome. It can also solve for the lesser cases of minimal perfect and perfect hash at higher speed. A statistical criterion is derived for obtaining the ordered minimal perfect hash with high probability. The algorithm and the statistical criterion lead to a duplicate finding algorithm that might prove to be fastest for important cases.
Albert Lindsey Zobrist, "Ordered Minimal Perfect Hash of the Human Genome and Implications for Duplicate Finding", CSIE, 2009, Computer Science and Information Engineering, World Congress on, Computer Science and Information Engineering, World Congress on 2009, pp. 106-111, doi:10.1109/CSIE.2009.1070


1Alexander of Macedon son of Philip had come from the land of Kittim and defeated Darius king of thePersians and Medes, whom he succeeded as ruler, at first of Hel as. 2He undertook many campaigns, gained possession of many fortresses, and put the local kings todeath. 3So he advanced to the ends of the earth, plundering nation after nation; the earth grew silent beforehim, and his ambitious heart swel ed with pride. 4He assembled very powerful forces and subdued provinces, nations and princes, and they became histributaries. 5But the time came when Alexander took to his bed, in the knowledge that he was dying. 6He summoned his officers, noblemen who had been brought up with him from his youth, and dividedhis kingdom among them while he was stil alive. 7Alexander had reigned twelve years when he died. 8Each of his officers established himself in his own region. 9Al assumed crowns after his death, they and their heirs after them for many years, bringing increasingevils on the world. 10From these there grew a wicked offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes son of King Antiochus; once ahostage in Rome, he became king in the 107th year of the kingdom of the Greeks. 11It was then that there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many people astray. 'Come,'they said, 'let us al y ourselves with the gentiles surrounding us, for since we separated ourselves from themmany misfortunes have overtaken us.' 12This proposal proved acceptable, 13and a number of the people eagerly approached the king, who authorised them to practise thegentiles' observances. 14So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, such as the gentiles have, 15disguised their circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to gentile rule as willingslaves of impiety. 16Once Antiochus had seen his authority established, he determined to make himself king of Egypt andthe ruler of both kingdoms. 17He invaded Egypt in massive strength, with chariots and elephants (and cavalry) and a large fleet. 18He engaged Ptolemy king of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned back and fled before his advance,leaving many casualties. 19The fortified cities of Egypt were captured, and Antiochus plundered the country. 20After his conquest of Egypt, in the year 143, Antiochus turned about and advanced on Israel andJerusalem in massive strength. 21Insolently breaking into the sanctuary, he removed the golden altar and the lamp-stand for the lightwith all its fittings, 22together with the table for the loaves of permanent offering, the libation vessels, the cups, the goldencensers, the veil, the crowns, and the golden decoration on the front of the Temple, which he stripped ofeverything. 23He made off with the silver and gold and precious vessels; he discovered the secret treasures andseized them 24and, removing all these, he went back to his own country, having shed much blood and uttered wordsof extreme arrogance. 25There was deep mourning for Israel throughout the country: 26Rulers and elders groaned; girls and young men wasted away; the women's beauty suffered achange; 27every bridegroom took up a dirge, the bride sat grief-stricken on her marriage-bed. 28The earth quaked because of its inhabitants and the whole House of Jacob was clothed with shame. 29Two years later the king sent the Mysarch through the cities of Judah. He came to Jerusalem with animpressive force, 30and addressing them with what appeared to be peaceful words, he gained their confidence; thensuddenly he fell on the city, dealing it a terrible blow, and destroying many of the people of Israel. 31He pil aged the city and set it on fire, tore down its houses and encircling wal , 32took the women and children captive and commandeered the cattle. 33They then rebuilt the City of David with a great strong wal and strong towers and made this theirCitadel. 34There they installed a brood of sinners, of renegades, who fortified themselves inside it, 35storing arms and provisions, and depositing there the loot they had collected from Jerusalem; theywere to prove a great trouble. 36It became an ambush for the sanctuary, an evil adversary for Israel at all times. 37They shed innocent blood al round the sanctuary and defiled the sanctuary itself. 38The citizens of Jerusalem fled because of them, she became a dwelling-place of strangers; estrangedfrom her own offspring, her children forsook her. 39Her sanctuary became as forsaken as a desert, her feasts were turned into mourning, her Sabbathsinto a mockery, her honour into reproach. 40Her dishonour now ful y matched her former glory, her greatness was turned into grief. 41The king then issued a proclamation to his whole kingdom that al were to become a single people,each nation renouncing its particular customs. 42Al the gentiles conformed to the king's decree, 43and many Israelites chose to accept his religion, sacrificing to idols and profaning the Sabbath. 44The king also sent edicts by messenger to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, directing them to adoptcustoms foreign to the country, 45banning burnt offerings, sacrifices and libations from the sanctuary, profaning Sabbaths and feasts, 46defiling the sanctuary and everything holy, 47building altars, shrines and temples for idols, sacrificing pigs and unclean beasts, 48leaving their sons uncircumcised, and prostituting themselves to al kinds of impurity and abomination, 49so that they should forget the Law and revoke all observance of it. 50Anyone not obeying the king's command was to be put to death. 51Writing in such terms to every part of his kingdom, the king appointed inspectors for the whole peopleand directed al the towns of Judah to offer sacrifice city by city. 52Many of the people -- that is, every apostate from the Law -- rallied to them and so committed evil inthe country, 53forcing Israel into hiding in any possible place of refuge. 54On the fifteenth day of Chislev in the year 145 the king built the appalling abomination on top of thealtar of burnt offering; and altars were built in the surrounding towns of Judah 55and incense offered at the doors of houses and in the streets. 56Any books of the Law that came to light were torn up and burned. 57Whenever anyone was discovered possessing a copy of the covenant or practising the Law, theking's decree sentenced him to death. 58Month after month they took harsh action against any offenders they discovered in the towns of Israel. 59On the twenty-fifth day of each month, sacrifice was offered on the altar erected on top of the altar ofburnt offering. 60Women who had had their children circumcised were put to death according to the edict 61with their babies hung round their necks, and the members of their household and those who hadperformed the circumcision were executed with them. 62Yet there were many in Israel who stood firm and found the courage to refuse unclean food. 63They chose death rather than contamination by such fare or profanation of the holy covenant, andthey were executed. 64It was a truly dreadful retribution that visited Israel.
GenExodLevNumDeutJoshJudgRuth1 Sam2 Sam1 Kgs2 Kgs1 Chr2 ChrEzraNehTobJdtEsth1 Macc2 MaccJobPsProvEcclCantWisSirIsaJerLamBarEzekDanHosJoelAmosObadJonMicNahHabZephHagZechMalMattMarkLukeJohnActsRom1 Cor2 CorGalEphPhilCol1 Thess2 Thess1 Tim2 TimTitusPhlmHebJas1 Pet2 Pet1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRev


More often than not, files do get misplaced on your computer. For finding them, you will need to use some sort of tool and a bunch of rules. In today’s Terminal Tuts series, we’re going to explain how to find files on your Linux systems, by knowing any sort of information about the file and by using the terminal.
The utility provided by GNU in Linux for finding files is the find command. It’s much faster, efficient and precise than any manually installed program, or graphical program. In this article, we are going to assume that the readers are familiar with cd and ls commands.
Let’s start with a few simple commands and parameters first where we will look for files on the basis of its name.
find -name abc
Since we are searching on the basis of name, notice the usage of the -name parameter. In the example, abc is the name of the file you are searching. The search will run in the working directory of your terminal session. Here are some important properties of the -name parameter:
- The name has to be exact. It won’t search files with the given argument as a part of the name.
- It is case sensitive.
- It searches for both files and directories by the name that is provided.
Some modified usages of -name parameter:
Using -iname instead of -name makes the search case insensitive. It means that the search will not focus on whether the filenames are uppercase or lowercase.
Searching using a keyword
To search for a file not by using its exact name but a keyword is simple too. All you have to do is modify the name of the file that you use for the -name attribute. The syntax is as follows:
find -name "*test*"
NOTE: The double quotes are not a mistake. If you don’t put in the quotes while searching for files with a keyword, you will get a syntax error.
In the CLI, ‘*’ means everything. It displays any file names that have anything at all before the test, or after it. Additionally, you can use the -iname parameter instead of -name to make the search even broader.
You can use the -name parameter to find files with a specific extension. For example, if you want to list all Python scripts, you can enter this code:
find -name "*.py"
Because all Python scripts use the .py extension.
Next up, the -type parameter, which stands for the type of the file. The find command provides a number of options for the -type parameter but for most users, only two come in handy. They are the d and f values. The d value means that the user wants only directories listed, and f means that the user wants only the files (no directories) listed. Here’s an example:
Other options available are:
- c : Character (unbuffered) special
- p : Named pipe
- l : Symbolic link
- s : Socket
- d : Door (Solaris)
The find command can also find files based on their size. It uses various options for various size units. Some are:
- c : For bytes.
- k : For KBs
- M : For MBs
- G : For GBs
In the syntax, you have to put a number in front of the symbol that you’re using. For example, if you want to denote 50 MBs, then you have to write 50M.
You also have to put a ‘+’ or ‘-‘ before the number of units. If you want to search for files more than the quantity use ‘+’. If its less than the specified size, use ‘-‘.
Here’s an example where I’m searching for a file more than 400MB. I have named the file 465 because that’s its size.
Range of size
Since you can mention a more than and less than the limit, you can also combine the two to search for files in a certain size range. This requires two -size attributes. For example, if I have to search for files more than 400MB but less than 500MB in size, I can use this:
find -size +400M -size -500M
Here’s an example:
Setting a location
To search for files in a directory, navigating to the directory is not necessary. You can also specify the location of a directory if that’s the only place where you want to search the files. The location has to be written right after the find. So if you want to mention the location, you have to do so before any parameters or values.
For example here, I search in the Downloads directory:
find Downloads/ -name test
Similarly, if you want to search for a file in the whole system, just use / as the location. You will need root access or superuser permissions, hence use sudo before the command. Remember that it will take a bit of time as it is scanning the entire system. Example command:
sudo find / -name abc
That’s all about the significant and most useful options of the find command on Linux systems. All these options may seem a bit difficult to remember at first, but as you start using it on a regular basis, and you’ll be using the Terminal method rather than the GUI method most often! We hope this article helped.
Any queries are welcome in the comment section. Cheers!


The Indian parliament recently unveiled statues of Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda.
Swami Vivekananda was a spiritual genius of commanding intellect. Exhorting the nation to spiritual greatness, he awakened India to a new national consciousness. He was the founder of the Ramakrishna Mutt and Mission to spearhead the teachings of his spiritual guru, Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Vivekananda was a guiding spirit to the youth and his teachings remain an inspiration.
Shri Aravind Ghose, popularly known as Sri Aurobindo was the first of the national leaders to insist on full independence for India as the goal of the nationalist movement, besides lending all his energies to the freedom struggle.


521-1984 - IEEE Standard Letter Designations for Radar-Frequency Bands
Description: Since World War II, radar systems engineers have used letter designations as a short notation for describing the frequency band of operation. This usage has continued throughout the years and is now an accepted practice of radar engineers. Radar-frequency letter designations are used for given reasons. The radar letter designations are consistent with the recommended nomenclature of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The high frequency (HF) and the very high frequency (VHF) definitions are identical in the two systems. The essence of the radar nomenclature is to subdivide the existing ITU bands, in accordance with radar practice, without conflict or ambiguity.


Pears are a member of the rose family of plants (Rosaceae), which, in addition, of course, to roses, contains a long list of fruits including apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, raspberries and strawberries.
Pears are found in a variety of colours, including many different shades of green, red, yellow/gold, and brown. Many varieties fail to change colour as they ripen, making it more difficult to determine ripeness.
Since pears are very perishable once they are ripe the pears you find at the supermarket will generally be unripe and will require a few days of maturing. Look for pears that are firm, but not too hard. They should have a smooth skin that is free of bruises or mold. The color of good quality pears may not be uniform as some may feature russetting where there are brown-speckled patches on the skin, but this is an acceptable characteristic and oftentimes reflects a more intense flavour.
Fresh pears are delicious eaten as is after gently washing the skin by running it under cool water and patting it dry. Since their skin provides about half of the pears total dietary fibre as well as its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties it is best not to peel the fruit but eat the entire pear.


Expressions with talk
Here is a list of idiomatic expressions using the word talk. Each expression is followed by its meaning or definition. Example sentences are also given.
To talk through one’s hat
To talk through one’s hat is to speak carelessly or tell lies.
- Are you talking through your hat? Your words hardly make any sense to me.
- I would like to believe what he says but I can’t because he often talks through his hat.
Talk to hear one’s own voice
To talk to hear one’s own voice is to find pleasure in talking too much.
- If you talk to hear your own voice, you might lose your friends.
To talk turkey is to talk frankly.
- ‘OK, Peter, we’ve quite a few issues to discuss. Let’s talk turkey.’
Talk until you are blue in the face
To talk until you are blue in the face is to talk at length although it might have no influence on others.
- I talked until I was blue in the face, but I couldn’t convince her.
Do (all) the talking
To do all the talking is to explain things.
- Let him do the talking. He is an expert that field.
Not know what someone is talking about
This expression is used for saying that you do not understand what somebody is talking about even though you really understand.
- ‘You broke our window while playing cricket, didn’t you?’ ‘Me!? I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
Now you’re talking
This expression is used when you are happy with an offer somebody is making.
- ‘OK. I’ll give you 500 dollars for that computer.’ ‘Now you’re talking.’ (= I’m happy with that offer you have just made.)


HAZARDS AND THREATS
The greatest Southern California earthquake in modern history was the Fort Tejon Earthquake on January 9, 1857 that measured 8.0 on the Richter Scale. Damage was not nearly as serious as it would be today, mostly because Southern California was sparsely populated. The effects of the quake were quite dramatic, even frightening. Were the Fort Tejon shock to happen today, the damage would easily run into billions of dollars, and the loss of life would be substantial. The present-day communities of Wrightwood and Palmdale lie upon or near the 1857 rupture area. The greatest Southern California earthquake in modern history was the Fort Tejon Earthquake on January 9, 1857 that measured 8.0 on the Richter Scale. Damage was not nearly as serious as it would be today, mostly because Southern California was sparsely populated. The effects of the quake were quite dramatic, even frightening. Were the Fort Tejon shock to happen today, the damage would easily run into billions of dollars, and the loss of life would be substantial. The present-day communities of Wrightwood and Palmdale lie upon or near the 1857 rupture area. On March 10, 1933 at 5:54 p.m., a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit the Newport-Inglewood Fault, causing serious damage in Long Beach and other communities. The earthquake resulted in 120 deaths and more than $50 million in property damage. Most of the damaged buildings were of unreinforced masonry.
More recent earthquakes have caused severe damage, but none would be classified as a “major” temblor.
The San Fernando Earthquake hit at 6:01 a.m. on February 9, 1971. It caused more than $500 million in damage and 65 deaths.
The Whittier Narrows Earthquake struck on October 1, 1987 at 7:42 a.m. and registered magnitude 5.9. It caused eight deaths and $358 million in property damage.
The Sierra Madre Earthquake was magnitude 5.8 and occurred on June 28, 1991 at 7:43 a.m. Because of its depth and moderate size, it caused no surface rupture, though it triggered rockslides that blocked some mountain roads. It caused about $40 million in property damage and two deaths, mostly in the San Gabriel Valley.
The magnitude 6.7 Northridge Earthquake struck at 4: 31 a.m. on January 17, 1994. This earthquake caused 57 deaths and a FEMA-estimated $40 billion in property damage. An estimated 12,000 people were injured, and 100,000 structures were damaged. More than 600,000 individuals applied for disaster assistance.
Want more information about earthquakes? Check out our links page
Residence that was “red tagged” due to damage from the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
Los Angeles County is well known as one of the world’s great urban centers, but the county is also home to the 650,000-acre Angeles National Forest and a large portion of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area. Thousands of homes are located in foothill communities near these great natural areas, creating unique challenges for local fire agencies.
Since 1927, a total of 24 wildland fires have caused the loss of 1,502 homes, 830 other structures, 271,047 acres and five fatalities. The most recent major wildfires erupted in Los Angeles and surrounding counties starting in the Angeles National Forest above Altadena on October 27, 1993. Fires in Altadena and Malibu caused the loss of many homes.
Floods and mudslides
Los Angeles County contains some of the steepest and most erosive mountains in the world, the San Gabriels, with elevations reaching 10,000 feet above sea level. Below steeply walled canyons lie large coastal plains with a high population density. When heavy rains come, there is a significant potential for floods and mudslides.
In 1914, when the population of the Los Angeles Basin was about 700,000, a four-day storm produced more than 19 inches of rain in the San Gabriel Mountains, resulting in floods causing $10 million in damage.
Floods in 1938 caused $70 million in damage in Southern California, and in 1969, floods caused $400 million in damage and 60 deaths.
In the 1990s, serious flooding happened in 1992, ’93, ’95, and ’98.
How can you protect yourself against floods? Consider flood insurance and home preparedness measures – for more information click here.
Significant events of civil disorder are uncommon in the Operational Area, but have occurred twice in recent history. On August 11, 1965, six days of rioting began in the Watts section of Los Angeles. In the violence, 34 people were killed and 856 injured.
On April 29, 1992, just hours after a Simi Valley jury acquitted four LAPD officers in the Rodney King trial, civil disorder erupted, resulting in 58 deaths.
Click here to see a listing of all State and federally declared disasters in Los Angeles County since 1950. Information provided the California Office of Emergency Services.
Hazards and Threats
- Maintaining an approved Operational Area Emergency Response Plan.
- Providing ongoing leadership and coordinating disaster plans and exercises with the 88 cities, 137 unincorporated communities and 288 special districts in the county.
- Assisting County departments to develop department emergency plans which address how they will perform both their non-deferrable missions and Operational Area duties during disasters.
- Assisting County departments with development of facility emergency plans for every occupied County facility.
- Supporting and advising the Board of Supervisors, Emergency Management Council and Emergency Preparedness Commission.
- Supporting and advising the Board of Supervisors in matters pertaining to their role as elected officials during emergencies and disasters.
The Los Angeles County Operational Area (LACOA) is known for its famous sunshine, beaches, mountains and deserts, but on occasions the area may experience Extreme Heat in the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys, San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys, and other parts of the LACOA. During periods of Extreme Heat, there may be an increase in heat exhaustion, heat cramps and sunstroke.
Heat may worsen the affects of poor air quality in areas of heavy smog. If you plan to be outdoors, take precautions to protect yourself from the heat.
Landslides, Mud and Debris Flows
- Landslide Introduction
- What to Do Before Storms and Heavy Rainfall
- What to Do During Storms and Heavy Rainfall
- Where Do Landslides Occur
- Landslide Mitigation
- Web Resources
- Terms and Definitions
- History in Los Angeles County Operational Area
Pandemic Flu Brochures
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Arabic
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Armenian
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Chinese
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Farsi
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Khmer
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Korean
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Russian
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Spanish
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Tagalog
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Thai
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – Vietnamese
- Pandemic Flu Brochure – English
What Causes Power Outages?
- Excavation Digging
- High Power Demand
- Outage Information
- Preparation Checklists and Other Information
- Carbon Monoxide Information
- Using a Generator Information
- Rotating Electric Outages – Preparedness
- Web Resources
- Southern California Edison’s Electricity Safety Program Information
- Additional Information from Southern California Edison on Portable Generators
- Power Lines
- Frequently Asked Questions (provided by Southern California Edison)
- ESP Focus Sheet – Heat Wave
- SCE New Mobile Outage Reporting App
CAISO Flex Alerts
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Emergency Operations Bureau is responsible for
coordinating responses to terrorism in Los Angeles County. Please visit the Sheriff’s website for
- “Volcano” the movie filmed at the L.A. County Emergency Operations Center


Welcome to the Icelandic Saga Database
saga n : a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family; originally, a story of the families that settled Iceland and their descendants.
The Icelandic Saga Database is an online resource dedicated to the digital publication of the Sagas of the Icelanders -- a large body of medieval literature which forms the foundation of the Icelandic literary tradition. This website contains all the extant Icelandic family sagas in an easily readable format using modernized Icelandic spelling, with Old Norse versions and translations into English and other languages made available where these exist in the public domain.
Running the Icelandic Saga Database takes time and money. Your donations help keep us up and running!
Due to server failure, the website has been down for the past couple of weeks. These technical difficulties have now been resolved and the website is back online.
22.03.2011: EPUB format
All the sagas are now available for download in the EPUB format, for convenient reading on mobile devices.
05.10.2009: New Danish translations
10.01.2009: Hrafnkels saga update
Hrafnkels saga is now available with Old Norse spelling.
23.04.2008: Norwegian LaxdŠla
LaxdŠla saga now available in Norwegian translation.
The Icelandic sagas are prose histories describing events that took place amongst the Norse and Celtic inhabitants of Iceland during the period of the Icelandic Commonwealth in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. They were most likely written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries AD, perhaps originating in an oral tradition of storytelling. While their facticity and authorship is for the most part unknown, they are a widely recognized gem of world literature thanks to their sparse, succinct prose style and balanced storytelling. The sagas focus largely on history, especially genealogical and family history, and reflect the struggles and conflicts that arose amongst the second and third generations of Norse settlers in medieval Iceland, which was in this time a remote, decentralised society with a rich legal tradition but no organized executive power.


Boost to blood filters
Wednesday 15 December 2010
CHRONIC diabetics are at a greater risk of kidney problems. As the kidneys overwork to filter high blood sugar, its filtering system gets damaged, eventually leaking blood proteins into urine. Poor filtration also pushes the blood pressure up. Doctors usually recommend ACE inhibitors, available under trade names of capton and accupril, to lower the protein loss through urine, while controlling the blood pressure.
The inhibitors do not completely fix the problem. “The kidney problems still persist in some patients,” said Anoop Misra, director of the department of diabetics in Fortis Hospital in Delhi. The problem can be identified by regular testing for presence of high protein levels in urine, called albuminuria.
Dutch researchers recently tried to get around the problem with the help of a 2008 study on animals. The study showed paricalcitol, a drug that controls calcium absorption in the body, helps lower albuminuria. The researchers, led by Dick de Zeeuw of University Medical Centre Groningen, examined the efficacy of paricalcitol on diabetics being treated with ACE inhibitors.
They studied the effect of the drug on 280 patients for 24 weeks. Eightyeight patients were kept on placebo, 92 were on 1 μg of paricalcitol a day and 92 were on 2 μg of paricalcitol. The results showed the albuminuria was safely lowered in patients who were on the additional dose of 2 μg of paricalcitol, lead researcher de Zeeuw said.
Unlike ACE inhibitors, the adjunctive treatment was helpful for even those whose sodium or salt intake was high, he said. Since adhering to low-sodium diet is difficult, paricalcitol could be useful for kidney protection in the large number of people with type 2 diabetes, the authors noted in The Lancet on November 3.
Misra said the study, funded by pharma company Abbott, is too specific. Long-term studies on people in different countries are needed to draw a definite conclusion. Indians, for example, have different metabolism and calcium absorption capacity than the Dutch, Misra said. His colleague at Fortis Hospital, Suchee Madhusudan, said more studies are needed as paracalcitol can raise calcium and phosphorous levels in blood, causing bone disease.


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The USDA APHIS web site has a page with all sorts of links. Check out http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/wnv/index.html.
Cause: The bacterial organism Streptococcus equi.
Transmission: Transmission may be direct from one horse to another through nasal discharge or by drainage from either active or recovering cases. Transmission may also be indirect via contaminated housing, water sources, and feeders or from handler’s clothing and equipment.
It is increasingly recognized that transmission may originate from outwardly healthy animals. These may be animals that are incubating the disease and who later develop symptoms or from recovering animals that appear to be fully recovered but may still be shedding the organism. A recovered horse may be a potential source of infection for at least 6 weeks after clinical signs have resolved.
A chronic carrier state may develop in up to 10% of horses affected. These horses appear normal clinically but harbor the organism primarily in the guttural pouches. The guttural pouches are large air-filled cavities on either side of the horse’s pharynx. Roughly 50% of the horses with these low-grade guttural pouch infections will have an occasional cough and intermittent unilateral nasal discharge.
No good studies have been conducted to determine the length of time the organism can persist in the environment. The organism is unlikely to persist more than 4 weeks on pasture. Feeding, watering utensils and horse trailers should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
Symptoms: Some horses may show no outward signs of the disease or develop only a single abscess with no other symptoms of illness. A typical case will develop firm, painful swelling of the intermandibular lymph nodes which eventually burst and drain white pus. Lymph nodes also break into the guttural pouches and throat which then drain out the nose. Bastard strangles is the term used to refer to cases where lymph nodes in the chest or abdominal cavity may develop abscesses. These animals have rather vague symptoms of illness that when remain undetected until they culminate in colic, peritonitis or sudden death when an abscess ruptures inside a body cavity.
Some horse immune response to Strep infections is exaggerated resulting in an inflammation of the blood vessels know as vasculitis. This condition, also knows as purpura hemorrhagica, is manifested by swelling of the extremities and occasionally rupture of small blood vessels on the mucous membranes.
Diagnosis: The classical form of Strangles can be diagnoses based on symptoms alone. Veterinarians do face a diagnostic challenge when presented with an otherwise healthy horse with a single abscess in the throat or between the jaws. In these cases the veterinarian will most likely refrain from a diagnosis but assume it I until a culture of the organism can be obtained. Cultures of nasal swabs, nasal washes, or aspirated pus from abscesses remain the gold standard for detection of S. equi. The organism is normally not present on the mucous membranes until 24-48 hours after the onset of fever. Twice daily monitoring rectal temperatures may be used to detect and isolate new cases early in an outbreak.
Nasal or guttural pouch washes are used to:
A blood test that detects a specific antibody for S. equi in the horse is used to:
Vaccination: Over 75% of horses that recover from strangles develop a solid immunity for 5 years or more. However, attempts to stimulate solid immunity through vaccination have been disappointing.
Earlier intramuscular vaccines had a high rate of soreness and occasional abscess formation at the injection site. These same vaccines were only protective in 50% of horses challenged a few weeks after vaccination.
A new intranasal vaccine contains a live, attenuated, and non-encapsulated strain of Strep equi. This vaccine has provided a high level of resistance against experimental challenge. Safety issues include residual virulence with formation of slowly developing abscesses in a small percentage of vaccinates nasal discharge, and occasional cases of purpura. Since this is a live vaccine contamination of remote injection sites will result in abscess formation at these locations.
Control of Outbreaks:
Appropriate treatment of horses with strangles depends on the stage and severity of the disease. Veterinary opinion on the use of antibiotics is markedly divided. In my opinion (Erfle) horses that have evidence of abscess formation should not be treated with antibiotics unless the animal is off feed, depressed and/or manifesting upper airway obstruction. When close monitoring of horses at risk detects a fever before an abscess has started treatment with antibiotics is a means of preventing localized abscesses. Beware however that animals treated in this manner may not develop an immune response and could still break with the disease if they have ongoing exposure to infected horses or environment.
Bacteria are killed by sunlight and drying. Phenolic disinfectants are recommended in facilities. Bleach and quaternary compounds are effective but are easily inactivated by organic matter. Regardless of the product used physically cleaning all surfaces before applying disinfectants is essential.
Equine Viral Arteritis
Equine viral arteritis (EVA) is an infectious viral disease of horses that causes a variety of clinical symptoms, most significantly abortions. The disease is transmitted through both the respiratory and reproductive systems. Many horses are either asymptomatic or exhibit flu-like symptoms for a short period of time. An abortion in pregnant mares is often the first, and in some cases, the only sign of the disease. EVA has been confirmed in a variety of horse breeds, with the highest infection rate found in adult Standardbreds.
Breeders, racehorse owners, and show horse owners all have strong economic reasons to prevent and control this disease. While it does not kill mature horses, EVA can eliminate an entire breeding season by causing numerous mares to abort. In addition, U.S. horses that test positive for EVA antibodies and horse semen from EVA-infected horses can be barred from entering foreign countries. As the horse industry becomes increasingly internationalized, nearly all major horse-breeding countries are including in their import policies measures to reduce the risk of EVA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) program provides the equine industry with EVA diagnostic and surveillance support.
More than a century ago, a disease fitting the clinical description of what we now call EVA was reported in European veterinary literature. However, the virus was not isolated from horses in this country until 1953 during an epidemic of abortions and respiratory disease.
The most recent EVA epidemic occurred in 1984 when this disease affected 41 thoroughbred breeding farms in Kentucky. This outbreak brought to light two very important findings about EVA: the efficiency with which an acutely infected stallion could venereally transmit the virus and the high carrier rate that immediately occurred in stallions following natural infection with the virus.
EVA is primarily a respiratory disease. Particles from acutely infected horses' nasal discharges are inhaled, often during the movement of horses at sales, shows, and racetracks. Horses are herd animals that tend to commingle, and this close contact facilitates the spread of the virus.
However, unlike other respiratory diseases, EVA can also be transmitted venereally during breeding, either naturally or by artificial insemination. When a mare, gelding, or sexually immature colt contracts the disease, the animal will naturally eliminate the virus and develop a strong immunity to reinfection. On the contrary, infected stallions are very likely to become virus carriers for a long time. Once stallions are in the carrier state, they transmit the virus to mares during breeding.
While the mare will shed the virus easily, a pregnant mare infected with EVA may pass the virus to her unborn fetus. Depending on the stage of pregnancy, the fetus can become infected, die, and be aborted. If the infected foal is born, it will only live for a few days.
Many horses infected with EVA are asymptomatic. When symptoms do occur in the acute stage of the disease, they can include any or all of the following: fever, nasal discharge, loss of appetite, respiratory distress, skin rash, muscle soreness, conjunctivitis, and depression. Other clinical signs in infected animals are swelling around the eyes and ocular discharge, swollen limbs, swollen genitals in stallions, and swollen mammary glands in mares.
Abortion in pregnant mares is also a symptom of EVA. Abortion rates in EVA-infected mares can be as low as 10 percent or as high as 70 percent.
Horse owners should suspect EVA when respiratory symptoms accompany an abortion in a mare. Since the clinical signs of EVA are similar to those of other respiratory disease, and no characteristic lesions are in EVA-aborted fetuses, only diagnostic tests can confirm the disease. Virus isolation can be attempted from swabs of the nose, throat, or eyes; semen, placentas, or fetal tissue; and blood samples. However, the most common method of diagnosis is testing blood for the virus' neutralizing antibodies that cause EVA. While the presence of these antibodies alone does not indicate active infection, it does indicate EVA exposure has occurred. Very high levels of antibodies on a single sample or a rising antibody titer from paired blood samples collected 14 to 28 days apart indicate active infection.
While there is no specific treatment for EVA, treatment should include rest and in selected cases, antibiotics, which may decrease the risk of secondary bacterial infection. Adult horses recover completely from the clinical disease. However, the virus commonly persists in the accessory glands of recovered stallions, so these carrier stallions continue to shed the virus for years and remain a significant source of infection.
Prevention and Control
Fortunately, there is a way the industry can work to prevent and control EVA. A safe, effective, and low-cost avirulent live virus is now available. Combining this vaccine with isolation of the vaccinated animal from noninfected horses can prevent the spread of EVA.
Since properly vaccinated EVA-negative stallions do not become carriers, all EVA-negative colts less than 270 days old should be vaccinated. The vaccine is not approved for use in pregnant mares.
Blood samples for EVA testing should be collected from all horses before breeding, and virus isolation should be performed on imported semen before use. Strict hygiene and disinfection of instruments and equipment are essential to minimize spread of the virus. EVA-negative mares should be bred only to EVA-negative, noncarrier stallions.
If blood test results are positive in a stallion, but there is no official documentation of negative EVA status prior to vaccination, the stallion must be tested for the presence of a carrier state. Virus isolation can be attempted on the semen from two separate ejaculations, or by mating two EVA-negative mares with the stallion. Twenty-eight days after breeding, mares' blood should be tested for the development of the neutralizing antibodies to the EVA virus.
Carrier stallions should be bred only to EVA-positive mares or mares that are properly vaccinated. When breeding an EVA-positive or carrier stallion to an EVA-negative, vaccinated mare, isolate both horses for 24 hours after breeding to prevent mechanical spread of EVA from voided semen. If this is the first time the mare has been bred to a carrier stallion, she should be isolated from other horses for an additional 21 days due to potential virus shedding.
All vaccinated horses should receive yearly boosters to protect against infection and, for the stallions, to prevent the development of a carrier state. In a generation or two, these practices could all but eliminate the population of carrier stallions.
Phenomenal veterinarians and excellent service! I appreciated the care the vets and technicians took for each and every one of my animals. Their attention to detail and concern for the well being of my stock was much appreciated.


July 2013 – The Understanding EIA-485 Video Series discusses the popular EIA-485 technology - commonly called RS-485 - used for interconnecting network devices.
This video discusses the importance of cabling and repeaters. Cables attenuate and distort signal, so cable selection depends on data rate, encoding, distance. Repeaters that use the data link protocol are more reliable than basic EIA-485 repeaters.
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- Foods that require a lot of chewing, meaning fibrous foods like apples, celery, and carrots, will whiten teeth because they naturally remove stains on teeth. They act as natural exfoliants.
- Greens such as spinach, broccoli, and lettuce prevent staining because when chewed they create a film over teeth that acts as a barrier. This biofilm prevents stain molecules from adhering to the teeth.
A Answers (4)
Jonathan B. Levine, DMD, Dentist, answeredThese foods can help keep your teeth white:
RealAge answeredSome foods help to protect teeth from decay, and clean healthy teeth are generally whiter teeth. Certain foods increase saliva flow and neutralize the acids produced by bacteria. This makes it less likely that the enamel will lose minerals. For example, aged cheese eaten immediately after other food helps to buffer the acid.
Chewing sugarless gum also can help protect your teeth against cavities. Xylitol is an ingredient in some sugarless gums. This sweetener has been shown to reduce the amount of bacteria in the mouth. It also helps to buffer the teeth against the effect of acid. Most sugarless gums and sugarless candies increase the flow of saliva, which helps to protect your teeth against bacteria.Helpful? 1 person found this helpful.
Mehmet Oz, MD, Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease), answeredWant to brighten up your smile? Swap your whitening strips for a crunchy midday snack. Celery contains fibrous cellulose which scrubs away teeth stains as you chew it.
This content originally appeared on doctoroz.comHelpful? 2 people found this helpful.
Joan Salge Blake, MS, RD, Nutrition & Dietetics, answered on behalf of Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsTo deliciously achieve a healthier, whiter smile, try these foods suggestions from the AACD:
- Pineapples can help whiten teeth. Research shows that the enzyme bromelain in pineapples acts as a natural stain remover. Bromelain also helps break up plaque, the sticky film of bacteria that accumulates on your teeth. The bacteria in plaque produce acids that can erode the enamel of your teeth and lead to dental caries.
- Carrots contain vitamin A, which is needed for healthy tooth enamel. Eating them raw stimulates saliva, your mouth’s natural cleanser. In fact, chewing any crunchy vegetable will naturally cleanse your teeth. Try this Carrot-Pineapple Ginger Salad from the AACD.
- Basil is a natural antibiotic that reduces bacteria in the mouth. Basil's essential oils, rosmarinic acid, linalool, and oleanolic acid inhibit the growth of bacteria in the mouth.
- Cheese is rich in protein, calcium, and phosphorus, all of which can help buffer the acids in your mouth. Calcium and phosphorus also assist in the remineralization or repairing of your teeth. Enjoy reduced fat cheese to minimize heart-unhealthy saturated fat in your diet.
- Sesame seeds help “scrub” away the plaque on your teeth. Chewing nuts can also provide this coarse, scrubbing action. Sesame seeds also contain bone and teeth-strengthening calcium.
- Onions contain the sulfur compounds, thiosulfinates and thiosulfonates, which reduce bacteria that cause tooth decay. Eating them raw is a must as cooking will destroy these tooth-friendly compounds. Don’t like onions? Garlic also contains these sulfur compounds.
- Broccoli contains iron which helps form an acid-resistant film or barrier that can protect the enamel of your teeth.


Bile acids, their physiology and metabolism, their role in carcinogenesis and other major human diseases are recently undergoing significant progress. Starting in 1999 when the orphan nuclear receptor FXR was shown to be specifically activated by bile acids, these compounds became part of the arsenal of ligands of the steriod hormone superfamily of nuclear receptors, including receptors of Vitamin D3, retinoids (RAR, RXR), and thyroid hormone. Another decisive discovery pointed later that the pregnane X-receptor (PXR) is activated by the endogenous toxic lithocholic acid, as well as several xenobiotics and drugs. Bile acids have recently emerged as key regulators of their own metabolism, and of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. They have important role as promoters of esophageal and colon cancers, cholangiocarcinoma, as well as new implications in breast cancer development and metastasis. This Review will emphasize novel aspects of bile acids, FXR and PXR as regulators of interfaces at cell proliferation and differentiation, cell death, survival, invasion, and metastasis during normal development and cancer progression. Signaling pathways controlled by bile acids will be presented and discussed in relation to their impact on gene expression. The biological and pharmacological significance of bile acids and their recently developed synthetic derivatives and conjugates, as well as new development in the design of FXR agonists and antagonists for clinical applications in cancer prevention and therapy, will be evaluated. This part includes advances in the utilization of bile acid transporters in drug resistance, therapeutic targeting and delivery of anticancer drugs, as well as therapeutic combinations using new bile acid derivatives, sequestrating agents and reabsorption inhibitors, and their limitations.


|meninx tenuis -->|
The two delicate layers of the meninges, the arachnoid mater and pia mater (vs. The tough pachymeninx or dura mater), considered together; by this concept, the arachnoid and pia are two parts of a single layer, much like the parietal and visceral layers of a serous membrane or bursa; although separated by the subarachnoid space they are connected via the arachnoid trabeculae and become continuous where the nerves and filum terminale exit the subarachnoid space (the cerebrospinal fluid-filled space bounded by the leptomeninges).
Origin: Lepto-+ G. Meninx, pl. Meninges, membrane
(05 Mar 2000)
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Originally Posted by neerajkore
Okay, so everytime I do this with the size left on it the words overlap and it’s impossible to read. If I take the font size code off they unjumble but they’re too small to read. What can I do to fix this?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and is a simple styling language which allows attaching style to HTML elements. Every element type as well as every occurance of a specific element within that type can be declared an unique style, e.g. margins, positioning, color or size.


Scaffolding Visual Learning for Argument and Critical Reading
NOTE: This teaching activity showcase is one of two during the 1:00pm-2:30pm session. Â It will be presented within that session from 1:00pm to 1:40pm.
BRIEF SESSION DESCRITION:
This activity offers students the chance to use visual learning to support critical reading and inquiry into challenging texts. Scaffolding the visual learning aspect of the activity allows students to think and write individually, have a visual â€œdiscussionâ€ using notecards on a whiteboard, and then work in small-groups to focus their â€œdiscussionâ€ on a specific argument about a theme or concept that is stated in the text. Â The basics of this activity rely on inquiry, critical reading skills, and argument, which are cornerstones of higher education. Instructors across the disciplines will experience this activity as "students" and be able to adapt and adopt this activity at any point in the semester to push studentsâ€™ reading and thinking skills further.
Visual learning activities offer an alternative mode of support for critical reading and inquiry tasks. In my English classes, scaffolding visual learning activities has fostered increased student engagement and team work skills while giving students new ways to dissect challenging texts and concepts. This session will focus on one scaffolded visual learning activity, and will then break down adaptations that faculty from a variety of disciplines can use. The first part of this activity consists of a free-write, in which students are asked to respond to questions about the text that they have read. After completing the free-write, students will break into groups and each focus on a different theme (or concept) taken from the text and from the questions that they responded to. Each student will write on a notecard a strong question centered on that theme or concept. Using the whiteboards in active-learning classrooms, students will spend time moving the note cards around, commenting on or answering the questions in writing, and using whiteboard markers to show connections and categorize ideas. Finally, students will discuss their findings from their â€œconversationâ€ on the whiteboard, and use their discussion to create a thesis statement or argument about their theme as stated in the text.


Second-Hand Smoke, First-Hand Disease
By Cheyenne Martin
In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control reported approximately 18.1 percent of the U.S. population (or 42.1 million adults) smoked. It’s a staggering number, and the health risks these people will face are, by now, well-rehearsed. But if you think you are immune from lung cancer, heart disease or stroke because you don’t smoke, think again. Secondhand smoke (SHS) can be just as devastating.
When a cigarette is lit, the smoker gives off two kinds of smoke: sidestream smoke and mainstream smoke. Sidestream smoke is the tell-tale blue wisp that comes from the end of a lit cigar, cigarette or pipe. This releases a high concentration of carcinogens and, because it has smaller particles than mainstream smoke, is the most toxic. Mainstream smoke is what a smoker exhales through his mouth or nose. The two can make a deadly combination.
Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds. At least 250 are harmful and 69 are known to cause cancer. When tobacco smoke is inhaled, no matter the amount, it instantly causes stress on the body. The vascular system (heart and blood vessels) is instantly challenged, increasing the risk for heart attack or stroke. Even brief exposure can harm cells in such a way that triggers the cancer process.
SHS can kill adults and children; cause disease; cause complications during pregnancy such as low birth weight, miscarriage or stillborn births; and increase the risk of SIDS. A 20 to 30 percent increased risk for lung cancer is linked with SHS. Children exposed to SHS are at risk for smaller lungs, chronic wheezing and coughing, asthma and increased ear infections.
Almost half of non-smokers are exposed to SHS. Most of this exposure comes from the workplace. Ventilation and separate smoking sections do very little to protect non-smokers from tobacco smoke. Approximately 60 percent of children are exposed to SHS. Smoking outside the house or in a car with a window down does very little to minimize their exposure. The Surgeon General warns that the only way to avoid the risks of SHS is through strict smoke-free policies.
The Surgeon General warns that separate smoking sections in restaurants and even well-ventilated buildings do not completely protect non-smokers from the toxins found in cigarette smoke. In light of the growing concerns over SHS-related problems, 28 states and the District of Columbia have passed no-smoking laws. Alabama passed a no-smoking law in 2003.
In Alabama, it is:
- Illegal to smoke in public places or at public meetings, unless the organizers have set aside a designated smoking area.
- Up to the proprietors of restaurants and bars to choose whether or not they will allow smoking. They are free to designate the entire establishment, or just a section, as non-smoking.
- Illegal to smoke in government buildings, schools, daycares and health facilities except for in designated, well-ventilated areas.
- A $25-$200 fine if the smoking law is violated.
Exceptions to this law include retail tobacco shops and businesses, limousines under private hire to individuals or companies, hotel and motel rooms (unless specifically labeled non-smoking) and bars and lounges.
It is within the power of local communities to pass even stronger smoking restrictions.
**Sources: American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Lung Association


The Constitution was built in the shipyard of Edmund Hartt in Boston, MA. It was made of 2,000 resilient live oak trees that were cut and milled at the Gascoigne Bluff in St. Simons, GA. The planks were up to seven inches thick. The design was unique of the time because the diagonal cross-bracing of her skeleton that was a part of why the ship was so strong. The copper on the spikes and bolts that held the planks in place and the copper that was sheathing and protecting the hull were forged by Paul Revere. It took a few tries before she was set out to sail on July 22, 1798. Her first job was to patrol the southeast coast of the United States during the Quasi-War with France. The sailors and marines took part in the amphibious operations against Puerto Plate, Santo Domingo when the French privateer Sandwich was cut out and the gund from the Spanish fort were spiked.
In 1803 he is sent to the Mediterranean Sea as a flagship of the third Mediterranean squadron by President Thomas Jefferson. It was her mission to try and attempt to force the Barbary pirates from their policies of violence against the U.S. merchant shipping. Commander Edward Preble was in command and the Constitution and other ships of the squadron mounted five attacks on Tripoli. On June 3, 1805 a peace treaty is signed with Tripoli onboard the USS Constitution. Later on August 14, another treaty is signed with Tunis. Both treaties were signed inside the captains cabin aboard the Constitution.


Some people say we've got a lot of malice some say its a lot of nerve. But, I
say we won't quit moving until we get what we deserve. We have been bucked and
we have been conned. We have been treated bad, talked about as just bones. But
just as it takes two eyes to eyes make a pair. Brother we won't quit until we
get our share. Say it loud- I'm Black and I'm Proud.
The First and Second Reconstructions held out the great promise of rectifying
racial injustices in America. The First Reconstruction, emerging out of the
chaos of the Civil War had as its goals equality for Blacks in voting, politics,
and use of public facilities. The Second Reconstruction emerging out of the
booming economy of the 1950's, had as its goals, integration, the end of Jim
Crow and the more amorphous goal of making America a biracial democracy where,
"the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave holders will be able to
sit down together at the table of brotherhood." Even though both movements, were
borne of high hopes they failed in bringing about their goals. Born in hope,
they died in despair, as both movements saw many of their gains washed away. I
propose to examine why they failed in realizing their goals. My thesis is that
failure to incorporate economic justice for Blacks in both movements led to the
failure of the First and Second Reconstruction.
The First Reconstruction came after the Civil War and lasted till 1877. The
political, social, and economic conditions after the Civil War defined the goals
of the First Reconstruction. At this time the Congress was divided politically
on issues that grew out of the Civil War: Black equality, rebuilding the South,
readmitting Southern states to Union, and deciding who would control
government.1 Socially, the South was in chaos. Newly emancipated slaves wandered
the South after having left their former masters, and the White population was... [continues]
Cite This Essay
(1999, 10). The Goals and Failures of the First and Second Reconstructions. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Goals-Failures-First-Second-Reconstructions-2334.html
"The Goals and Failures of the First and Second Reconstructions" StudyMode.com. 10 1999. 10 1999 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Goals-Failures-First-Second-Reconstructions-2334.html>.
"The Goals and Failures of the First and Second Reconstructions." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Goals-Failures-First-Second-Reconstructions-2334.html.