How to Care for Your Rainbow Boa
Brazilian rainbow boas (Epicrates cenchria cenchria) are medium-sized, semi-arboreal, nocturnal snakes native to the central South America, particularly the Amazon River Basin area. They tend to prefer tropical rainforest for habitat, and divide their time between the forest floor, low branches, and swimming in bodies of water.
Rainbow boas typically grow to around 6’ long, although females are capable of growing larger. They have an oval head, slender body, and large labial (lip) scales. They are best known for their stunning color: Brazilian rainbow boas are typically vibrant red-orange with a pattern of contrasting rings and three stripes on the head. But most noteworthy is the incredible iridescence that gives them their common name.
Although there are several subspecies of rainbow boa, the Brazilian rainbow boa is the most common in the pet trade. Due to high humidity requirements and a somewhat nippy temperament as youngsters, these snakes are intermediate-level pet reptiles. With good care, they can live 20-25 years.
How much space do rainbow boas need?
Because rainbow boas are slender, it’s easy to think of them as smaller than they really are, keeping them in enclosures that are too small for them to stretch out fully, explore, and climb. The minimum for appropriately keeping one adult rainbow boa is 48”L x 24”W x 24”H. This is just the minimum, so using larger dimensions is beneficial and will happily be used!
Cohabitation (keeping multiple rainbow boas in one enclosure) is not recommended, as this is not a social species, and keeping them together causes competition and stress.
Do rainbow boas need UVB?
They seem to be able to survive without it, but it’s still best practice to provide UVB lighting for optimal health and wellbeing. Providing UVB lighting to your snake gives them all of the vitamin D that their body needs, stimulates better appetite and activity, and generally allows them to be healthier than they would be without.
The best UVB bulbs for rainbow boas housed in a 48” x 24” x 24” enclosure are:
- Arcadia T8 6%, 24”
- Zoo Med T8 Reptisun 5.0, 24”
The UVB bulb should be housed in a reflective fixture and placed close to the heat lamp, about 8-13” above the basking branch if over mesh, and 10-15” above the basking branch if not. UVB is blocked by glass and plastic, so you can’t give your snake UVB by placing its terrarium in front of an open window. Also make sure that the fixture your UVB bulb is in does not have a clear plastic bulb cover. UVB bulbs decay over time, so don’t forget to replace your bulb every 12 months to maintain good performance.
Lights should be on for 12 hours/day.
What basking temperatures do rainbow boas need?
Like other reptiles, rainbow boas are ectotherms, which means that they need a temperature gradient in their enclosure to help them regulate their metabolism and stay healthy.
Rainbow boas need a warm side temperature between 84-86°F. On the other side of the enclosure, the temperature should be around 73-75°F. Measure air temperatures in these locations with digital probe thermometers, with each probe placed in the desired area.
Provide heat for your snake by imitating the sun with a cluster of at least two halogen heat bulbs placed on one side of the enclosure, positioned over a sturdy basking branch or warm hide. Do not use ceramic heat emitters (CHEs), red bulbs, or blue bulbs, as these are not as effective.
Heating should be turned off at night. If your home gets particularly cold at night, you can use a CHE or radiant heat panel to maintain minimum ambient temps.
What humidity levels do rainbow boas need?
Rainbow boas dehydrate easily, and need an average humidity of 70-80%, as measured by a digital probe hygrometer placed in the middle of the enclosure. It’s essential to install a humid hide for your snake on the cool side of the enclosure, lined with moistened sphagnum moss, where they can access humidity levels of 90-100%.
Misting your snake’s enclosure with a sprayer first thing in the morning and again at night will help create the right humidity levels. If you need more, installing a cool mist humidifier connected to a hygrostat for use at night can be helpful.
These snakes also tend to like soaking, so make sure to provide a tub of water large enough to accommodate their entire body. Keep the water in this tub clean at all times, and scrub with animal-safe disinfectant once a week.
What substrate is good for rainbow boas?
Rainbow boas require a thick layer of moisture-retentive substrate to cushion their bodies and help maintain healthy humidity levels. As an added perk, it also tends to make the enclosure more attractive.
Ideally, this substrate should resemble what rainbow boas naturally live on in the wild: tropical soil. It should have small particles and hold moisture well. We recommend the following substrates for rainbow boas:
Layering clean, chemical-free leaf litter on top of the substrate can also help with humidity.
Substrate should be at least 4” deep and completely replaced every 3-4 months. Remove poop and urates daily, along with contaminated substrate.
What décor can you use in a rainbow boa terrarium?
It’s terribly boring for a snake to be stuck in an enclosure with nothing in it except substrate, a branch, and a water bowl. It doesn’t matter how big the enclosure is if you don’t put things in it for your pet to use and interact with.
Décor options include:
Whatever you choose to use, make sure that the snake has cover to hide in so it can feel secure in its environment.
What do rainbow boas eat?
Like other snakes, rainbow boas are carnivores, which means that they need to eat whole animal prey in order to get the nutrition that they need. Here is a basic feeding schedule based on snake age:
- Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed once every 5-10 days.
- Adults should be fed once every 14 days.
Prey items should be roughly the same width as the snake at its widest point. Prey options include mice, rats, gerbils, hamsters, small guinea pigs, chicks, and quail.
Although live prey can be used, it’s safest and most humane to use frozen instead. Prey should be thawed in a plastic bag in warm water to approximately 100°F before offering with a pair of soft-tipped tweezers.
Snakes can survive without vitamin or mineral supplements, but occasionally using them can help prevent nutritional deficiencies and optimize your pet’s health. We recommend Repashy Calcium Plus LoD.
Do rainbow boas like to be handled?
Few reptiles actually “like” to be held, but once they’re past the nippy baby phase (lasts about a year), rainbow boas generally tolerate human interaction well, and handling them regularly helps keep them tame. Here are some basic rules for handling snakes:
Wait at least 2 weeks before attempting to handle a new boa. Babies and juveniles tend to be more nervous and defensive than adults. Be gentle, and pick up the snake from below rather than from above. Support as much of its body as possible, and NEVER pick a boa up by its tail! Keep handling sessions brief at first, and always end them on a positive note, with the snake acting calm.
*This care sheet contains only very basic information. Although it’s a good introduction, please do further research with high-quality sources to obtain additional information on caring for this species.


- Royal Botanic Garden & Domain
- Australian Botanic Garden
- Blue Mountains Botanic Garden
- Feature stories
- Quick links
The History of the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah
The Garden takes its name from the mountain on which it is located. The original owners of the land were the Darug Aboriginal people. 'Tomah' is reputedly an Aboriginal word meaning tree fern.
In 1804 the naturalist and explorer George Caley was the first european to visit Fern Tree Hill, now Mt Tomah. In 1823 Archibald Bell, with Aboriginal guides, found the route across the northern Blue Mountains now known as Bells Line of Road. He was followed later that year by botanist Allan Cunningham (Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney 1837-1838).
The first land grant in the area was made in 1830 to Susannah Bowen. The property was subsequently used for dairying and resting paddocks for cattle. Three sawmills also operated at separate locations, milling Coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum), Sassafras (Doryphora sassafras) and Brown Barrel (Eucalyptus fastigata). These species still dominate the rainforest sections of the mountain.
From 1934 the property now occupied by the Garden was acquired by by the French-born horticulturist Alfred Brunet and his Australian wife Effie. They operated it as cut-flower farm to supply Sydney florists, specialising in bulbs and other cool-climate plants. In the early 1960s the Brunets proposed that their land at Mount Tomah should be donated to become an annex of the Royal Botanic Gardens. They presented the land for the Garden in 1972. With State and Commonwealth Bicentennial funds for development, the Garden opened to the public on 1 November 1987.
Since 1993 the Garden has included 186 hectares of sandstone woodland and gullies to be maintained as a conservation area. In 2011 the name of the Garden was changed to the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah.


The experiment contains a plot of the Curren Power of Motors B and C and the values of the Gyro Sensor when the robot is moving with a power of 100%. What you could see is that it is not actually moving with a power of 100% because the current power is about 75-80%.
How to open?
Programs with extension *.ev3 could be opened EV3 Lab Software sometimes referred to as EV3-G. It could be found throught the EV3 Lab Software section on the LEGO Website.Download
- 10 Jan 2018
- LEGO MINDSTORMS, LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3
- EV3-G, Experiment, EV3, Physics, Classes with students, Programming
The robot can move with different speed by applying different power to the motors. It will most of the time make smaller deviations when it moves slower. But you can't just move with a power of 10 all the time. This is a way too slow especially for competitions like FIRST LEGO League or World Robot Olympiad. In this video tutorial I would like to discuss the balance between motor power and robot movement error, how does the battery influence the power of the robot and to conduct an EV3-G experiment that will record the values of the Gyro Sensor along with the current power.


What are the benefits of the MMR vaccine?
The MMR vaccine protects your child against three viruses: measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles).
You can also protect your child against chicken pox with the MMRV vaccine. The MMRV is the same as the MMR, except that it also includes protection against the varicella virus, which causes chicken pox. Some parents get the first dose of the MMR vaccine for their child, and choose the MMRV vaccine for the second dose.
(The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) doesn't recommend the MMRV for the first dose because of an increased risk of fever and febrile seizures.)
Before a measles vaccine was licensed in 1963, 3 to 4 million people were infected with measles in the United States annually. About 48,000 people were hospitalized, and 400 to 500 died. Measles encephalitis chronically disabled 1,000 people.
There were more than 1,280 cases of measles reported by the CDC in 2019, the highest number in the U.S. in almost 30 years. Although measles had been virtually wiped out in the United States, outbreaks have increased over the past few years, mainly due to travelers bringing the illness into the country (usually from Europe or Asia) and large numbers of people in some communities choosing not to vaccinate their kids. These outbreaks can affect unvaccinated people, including infants who either haven't yet received the MMR vaccine or have received only one dose, and people with weakened immune systems.
Most of the measles cases in 2019 were concentrated in New York and were among people not vaccinated against measles. Prominent outbreaks have also occurred in New York state and New Jersey in 2018, in Minnesota in 2017, and at Disneyland in California in 2015.
Measles outbreaks are still common in other countries, including Europe. According to the World Health Organization, measles is one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths in young children. But thanks to the global effort to vaccinate children against measles, the number of measles deaths around the world dropped by about 73 percent between 2000 and 2018. Even so, more than 140,000 people died from the disease in 2018.
Mumps is a viral infection that typically causes a fever, headache, and inflammation of the glands under the ears or jaw.
Mumps can lead to meningitis, encephalitis, and (rarely) deafness. It can also cause painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries.
Twenty to 50 percent of males infected with mumps after puberty develop orchitis, an inflammation of one or both testicles. In rare cases, orchitis leads to sterility.
Before a vaccine was available, mumps was common in babies, children, and young adults. The current vaccine was licensed in 1967. By 2009, the two-dose childhood vaccine reduced the rate of the disease by 99 percent.
But since then, there have been a number of outbreaks. The biggest and most recent spike occurred between January 2016 and June 2017, when 150 outbreaks reportedly infected more than 9,000 people in homes, schools, universities, athletic facilities, church groups, workplaces, and at large parties and events. Almost 3,500 mumps cases were reported to the CDC in 2019.
Rubella, also called German measles, is characterized by a pinkish red rash that starts on the face, a mild fever, and swollen lymph nodes. It's possible, however, to have rubella without any symptoms.
Rubella is a mild illness that runs its course in about three days. But if a woman gets rubella during pregnancy, it can cause a miscarriage or birth defects in her baby, including deafness, eye problems, heart defects, and intellectual disability. During an epidemic in 1964 through 1965, 12.5 million cases of rubella were reported in the United States, and 20,000 infants were born blind, deaf, or mentally disabled as a result.
The first rubella vaccines were licensed in 1969. Today rubella has been virtually eliminated in the United States, with only a handful of cases reported each year.
What's the recommended schedule?
Recommended number of doses
- Between 12 and 15 months
- Between 4 and 6 years old (The second dose can be given at any time as long as it's at least 28 days after the first.)
Babies 6 to 11 months old should get one dose if traveling outside the United States.
Adults who were vaccinated before 1968 and can't confirm they received the live measles vaccine should get revaccinated. The inactivated vaccine given from 1963 to 1967 was less effective than the live vaccine. People born before 1957, however, don't need to get a vaccine unless they're a healthcare worker.
Women of childbearing age who have not received the rubella vaccine also should get vaccinated. If you're pregnant and not immune to rubella, you should get vaccinated after delivering your baby.
To track your child's immunizations, use BabyCenter's Immunization Scheduler.
Who shouldn’t get the MMR vaccine?
A child who has ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to gelatin (yes, the stuff found in Jell-O), the antibiotic neomycin, or a previous dose of the MMR vaccine should not get the immunization.
Check with your doctor about giving the MMR vaccine to your child if he:
- Is taking steroids or any other medicine that affects the immune system
- Has a disease that affects his immune system, like HIV/AIDS or leukemia
- Has cancer
- Has a blood disorder or has recently received a blood transfusion
Because the measles and mumps vaccines are made by growing the virus in the cells of chicken embryos, children with egg allergies used to be advised not to get the vaccine. However, studies have found that even children with severe egg allergies can receive this vaccine without a greater risk of side effects.
Kids who are moderately or severely ill are usually advised to wait until they're better to get the vaccine.
Who shouldn’t get the MMRV vaccine?
The CDC recommends that children ages 12 to 47 months or any child with a history of seizures get the MMR and varicella vaccines separately because studies show an increased risk of fever and febrile seizures when they're combined. Talk to your child's doctor about getting the MMR vaccine instead of the MMRV vaccine if your child has ever had a seizure or if there's a family history of seizures.
What are the possible side effects?
Mild reactions are fairly common. Up to 1 in 6 children gets a low fever, and 1 in 20 develops a mild rash. In rare cases, a child has swelling in the glands of his neck or cheeks.
If these problems are going to happen, they usually show up six to 14 days after getting the shot. A child is more likely to have these symptoms after the first dose.
Moderate reactions are less common. About 1 child in 3,000 who gets the MMR vaccine has a seizure caused by high fever. With the MMRV vaccine, as many as 1 in 1,250 has a seizure.
Though these febrile seizures may seem scary, they're almost always harmless to the child.
Up to 1 person in 30,000 will have a temporarily low platelet count, which may cause bleeding problems.
Severe allergic reactions are rare but possible with any vaccine. See what our expert says about how to tell whether your child is having an adverse reaction.
If your child has an adverse reaction to this or any other vaccine, talk to your child's doctor and report it to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
Is there a link between the MMR vaccine and autism?
In 1998, the British medical journal The Lancet published a study connecting the MMR vaccine and autism. Researchers noticed that eight of the 12 children with autism being studied had started showing symptoms of the condition around the time they received their MMR shots, and the researchers hypothesized that the children were having a physical reaction to the vaccine.
It turned out to be a coincidence, and the study has now been repudiated by most of the researchers associated with it and retracted by The Lancet. An editorial published in the British Medical Journal in 2011 called The Lancet study "fraudulent" and noted that the lead author had been stripped of his academic and medical credentials.
Read on for more information about separating fact from fiction when it comes to vaccines, and about other vaccines and immunizations recommended for babies and children.


What’s life like for a young carer?
Many young Irish people already have a full-time job
A young carer is someone under the age of 18 who is responsible for the needs of an adult who is ill, who has a disability or who is dependent on drugs or alcohol. As a carer, you may have to do a lot of household chores that the adult in your life would normally do, such as cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping.
You may need to help out with medical care, such as changing dressings or giving out medication each day. You may also need to take charge of looking after your siblings. Finally, you may need to provide emotional support to the person you are caring for.
Being a young carer can be very tough. You may feel scared that the person you look after isn’t able to care for you, and you may resent the fact that you have to do so much. You may also have trouble keeping up with your homework or studying for your exams. Finally, you may feel very alone and like you can’t be a ‘normal’ young person. Some young people can also develop health problems from being a carer, such as back pain from lifting the person they care for or stomach problems and insomnia from the stress of caring.
What can you do to help yourself?
- Sort out the practicalities, such as money. If you are a full time carer, you may be entitled to welfare payments such as Carer’s Benefit, Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Leave. Find out more detailed information on these benefits.
- Enlist the help of others if you can. Yes you are a carer; but you shouldn’t have to spend 24/7 caring. See if you can enlist the help of close friends or relatives to give you a break now and then. Often though, the person you are caring for does not need 24/7 care anyhow, so you can allow yourself a bit of a break.
- Spend time outside the home. Play sports, keep up with hobbies and meet friends. Spending all your time caring will drain you and you may end up physically or mentally ill yourself.
- Look after your health. Exercise, eat well and try to get good sleep. You may even be able to exercise with the person you are caring for. For example, walking is a low impact form of exercise that is beneficial for people suffering with both physical and mental ill health.
- Plan daily treats for yourself. Even something as simple as watching a favourite boxset, Skyping a friend or taking an aromatherapy bath can be beneficial. As tough as it is, try to choose healthy outlets for treating yourself rather than turning to alcohol, drugs or junk food. If you feel these are becoming a problem for you, then visit our help section.
- Take advantage of respite care if this is available to you. Respite care involves someone else caring for the person you normally look after, for anything from a few hours to a few weeks. This care can be done in your home or can be done in the form of a holiday break away from the home for the person you care for. Contact the Carers Association at FREEFONE 1800 240724 to be referred to their caring service. Your GP or social worker can also refer you.
What practical help is out there?
The Carers Association has a network of 16 resource centres across the country. You can drop into any of these for advice on financial entitlements, support groups and your rights as a carer. Visit their website or phone 1800 240724. The Carers Association also hold an annual Young Carers Conference, as well as an awards ceremony for the Young Carer of the Year.
Your doctor is always there to listen. Remember that you may very well be eligible for a full medical card so doctor visits may be free for you. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a counsellor if you’d like to talk things over with a professional. He may also arrange for a social worker to work with you and your family, so that you get the supports you need. If you do see a social worker, don’t think that it means you will be taken away from your home; social workers only remove young people from the home if they are in danger living there.
- You may also find comfort in attending a support group. The Carers Association holds many support groups around the country.
- Teachers and your school can be a fantastic source of help too. You may find it hard to believe but a lot of schools will do whatever they can to help make life easier for you.
- If you get on well with a teacher, you can always offload and chat to them about the stresses of being a carer.
- Many schools will refer you to the school counsellor (if your school has one) whose job it is to help young people cope with situations such as these.
- If your school know that you are a busy carer, they may be able to give you extra time to finish homework assignments.
- The HSE offer a variety of supports to carers and the people they care for, such as physiotherapy, community nursing (i.e. a local nurse who calls in to provide medical care to people in their homes), occupational therapy, chiropody (foot care), speech and language therapy, psychological services and even speech and language therapy. Contact The Carers Association or your local health office for further information on these supports.


Analytical Methodologies Utilized by Global Financial Integrity
An Overview of the Analytical Methodologies Utilized by Global Financial Integrity to Study Illicit Financial Flows
Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimates that nearly US$1 trillion of unrecorded money shifts out of emerging market and developing countries annually. This is a staggering sum, causing great harm to the economies of nations across the globe.
There are three forms of unrecorded money moving across borders:
- Corrupt: Proceeds of bribery and theft by government officials.
- Criminal: Proceeds of drug trading, human trafficking, counterfeiting, contraband, and myriad forms of additional activities.
- Commercial: Proceeds arising from import and export transactions conducted so as to manipulate customs duties, VAT taxes, income taxes, excise taxes, or other sources of government revenues.
GFI accepts that by far the greater part of money moving across borders in an unrecorded, undetected manner has an illicit component, intentionally violating the letter or the intention of laws and regulations of countries out of which the money comes, through which the money passes, or into which the money arrives. Thus we define illicit money as money that is illegally earned, transferred, or utilized. If it violates laws or regulations in its origin, movement, or use, it merits the label.
In analyzing illicit financial flows (IFFs), GFI utilizes sources of data and analytical methodologies that have been used by international institutions, governments, and economists for decades. Basically, these data sources and methodologies are providing information on gaps—gaps in balance of payments data and gaps in trade data. Where recorded sources and uses of funds in balance of payments data do not match, the difference is net errors and omissions, indicating an inflow or outflow that was not recorded. Where bilateral trade data does not match (after adjusting for freight and insurance in the data of the importing country) this indicates re-invoicing of transactions between export from one country and import into another country.
GFI undertakes macroeconomic analyses of IFFs and detailed analyses of trade misinvoicing by commodity groups. For our annual analysis of illicit financial flows out of developing countries—the source of the current US$1 trillion figure—we consistently use the following:
- Balance of payments data, contributing to the analysis of net errors and omissions.
- Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS), enabling analyses of discrepancies in trade between pairs of reporting countries.
For other economic and trade analyses, we draw from a selection of sources including the following:
- World Bank: Providing data on debt, contributing to the analysis of broad capital flight.
- UN COMTRADE: Providing data on bilateral trade in commodity groups.
- US Dept. of Commerce: Providing data on trade transactions by Harmonized System coding categories.
- European Statistics: Providing data on trade transactions by Harmonized System coding categories.
GFI believes that the estimates arising from these data sources and analytical methodologies are very conservative, for several reasons:
- DOTS data records trade in merchandise only. It does not include trade in intangibles, services, licenses, royalties, etc., now estimated to comprise more than 25 percent of all global trade.
- DOTS data reveals only transactions that have been re-invoiced between export and import. It does not reveal transactions where price manipulations have been included in the same invoice exchanged between exporters and importers.
- None of the data sources adequately reveal cash transactions across borders, particularly those used in criminal pursuits.
Some reviewers of GFI’s data sources and analytical methodologies have raised questions, which we are pleased to address as follows:
- GFI well recognizes that statistics can be flawed, due to errors in collection, recording, or conveying. Precisely the same point can be made about virtually every other economic analysis ever undertaken. We use the best data available, data that has been collected, reported, and recorded by governments for decades according to international guidelines issued by the IMF. Balance of payments data and global trade data provide the basis on which national governments measure their investment, trade, tax positions, and economic policies and international institutions, bankers, and corporations determine key decisions on capital transfers, interest rates, exchange rates, and more. Quite simply, balance of payments data and trade data are the basis on which the economic and financial worlds work.
- The reliability and accuracy of trade statistics of developing countries are regularly assessed through the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework under the Data component of the Reports on Standards and Codes. These ratings show that for all developing countries for which the IMF has carried out an assessment of balance of payments statistics (about 72) the quality of these statistics, which includes the main data on goods trade, is “very high” or “high” in accordance with the international guidelines issued by the IMF.
- GFI does not suggest that every single unrecorded transaction is illicit; however, the vast majority of unrecorded transactions are illicit given that, apart from entry errors, there is not often a reason why legitimate transactions should go unseen.
- GFI does not net illicit outflows and illicit inflows. In countries where unrecorded outflows and unrecorded inflows roughly balance, it would be a mistake to consider that such a country has no problem with unrecorded flows. There is no such concept as “net crime.” Indeed, in GFI’s view, illicit outflows and illicit inflows should be added, since both sides of the equation generally produce harm to the economies of the countries so affected.
- GFI does not suggest that illicit outflows and tax evasion are the same thing. If, for example, US$100 million of illicit outflows from a country is evident, does this mean that if that US$100 million stayed in the country that the total would accrue as tax revenues? No. If the US$100 million stayed in the country, a portion of it would accrue as tax revenues, perhaps 10 to 30 percent, and most of the rest would remain in the economy for investment, consumption, or savings. Indeed, the private component of these flows is more important to the economy than the tax evading component of these flows.
- GFI makes no estimate as to how much of IFFs arising from trade misinvoicing are attributable to multinational corporations or locally owned businesses. None of our data sources reveal such information.
There has been a serious flaw in development economics for a half century—studying only one side of the financial equation for development – the money going into developing countries – while almost completely ignoring the other side of the financial equation for development – the money coming out of developing countries. GFI very firmly believes that both sides of the development equation must be analyzed. This requires that we work with orders of magnitude. While there is no perfection in the data that we utilize, the data and the methodologies have been very solidly established for decades and very clearly point to a major problem that must be addressed in development economics—the vital need to focus on both sides of the financial equation for development.
GFI welcomes carefully considered contributions to our ongoing efforts to improve sources of data and analytical methodologies on the crucial issue of illicit financial flows impacting emerging market and developing economies.


Muscular membranous sac under the liver that stores and concentrates bile. Pear-shaped and expandable, it holds about 1.7 fluid oz (50 ml). Its inner surface absorbs water and inorganic salts from bile, which becomes 5–18 times more concentrated than when it leaves the liver. The gallbladder contracts to discharge bile through the bile duct into the duodenum. Disorders include gallstones and inflammation (cholecystitis). Surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) has no serious side effects.
This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on gallbladder, visit Britannica.com.
Seen & Heard
What made you look up gallbladder? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here.


The geodesic dome theoretically allows us to live anywhere, free to roam in our own environmentally controlled bubble
Among the ordinary tents and temporary structures of London’s 2014 Occupy protest camp lurked a shelter of more exotic cultural provenance. Parked in one corner of Finsbury Square was a geodesic dome, about five metres in diameter and fabricated from rusting triangular metal panels.
For some, this structure was instantly recognisable as a fragment of Drop City, a 1960s utopian settlement built in South Eastern Colorado. Set up by artists and partially funded by the visionary architect Buckminster Fuller, Drop City was the countercultural utopia par excellence. It lasted little more than half a dozen years but its impact on architectural culture has been significant and long lasting.
This was partly due to its association with Fuller, whose technologically driven work has transfixed many architects, most notably the English high-tech generation of Richard Rogers, Norman Foster et al. Fuller designed many things including the so-called Dymaxion car and a lightweight, flat-pack house, but he is best known for his work with geodesic domes.
Fuller was obsessed with domes, designing them for almost every conceivable situation. This enthusiasm reached a zenith with his 1960 proposal to place a two-mile wide dome over midtown Manhattan. Fuller claimed that the savings from snow-clearing alone would pay for this vast and improbable structure, a justification that captured his bizarre combination of wide-eyed technological romanticism and geeky problem-solving.
Despite this, Fuller’s proposal exemplified a persistent thread in the technologically driven thinking of the 1960s, which embraced the idea of architecture as little more than a form of sophisticated environmental control. Lightweight, transportable and transparent, the geodesic dome theoretically allows us to live anywhere, free to roam in our own environmentally controlled bubble. Inside the dome there are no walls, no inherited forms of spatial hierarchy or social segregation.
Fuller’s own utopian credentials are less clear however and his adoption by the countercultural avant-garde problematic. Photographs of him and his wife at home in their own dome in Carbondale, Illinois make the disparity evident. Fuller’s dome has internal walls and the couple’s traditional furniture and Eisenhower-era haircuts sit awkwardly within the purist futurism of the geodesic structure. What’s more, much of his research was funded by the US military who were interested in very different forms of temporary encampment to the one built by hippies at Drop City.
Drop City’s innovation was to combine Fuller’s geodesic technology with the collagist experimentalism of Robert Rauschenburg and other artists. The settlement’s collagist, ad-hoc aesthetic ensured its place in architectural history far more than its radical social ambitions. Drop City figured prominently in Charles Jencks’ early books describing the origins of postmodernism, one strand of which can be traced back to such radical experiments in self-build architecture.
Drop City's collagist, ad-hoc aesthetic ensured its place in architectural history far more than its radical social ambitions
It is routine to describe experiments like Drop City as failures and in a sense it was. It lasted less than a dozen years and no doubt the clichés of power struggles, internecine warfare and bickering that bedevilled it are true. But such a dismissal assumes two things: that experiments like Drop City are intended to last and that their value can only be judged by longevity or by becoming completely normalised; and that the settlements that do last, the ones we live in now, are unequivocal successes.
The dome that turned up in Finsbury Square was not a genuine relic of Drop City; it was a replica fabricated by British artist Alex Hartley. It was initially made for an exhibition called Dropper at the Victoria Miro gallery in Islington, and Hartley lived in his dome for two months before donating it to the Occupy camp.
Unlike Drop City, Hartley’s experiment was never intended to last. And he was consciously playing with the symbolism of the structure, its rusty metal panels now standing for ruination and failure rather than possibility. But clearly there was an archaeology of the radical utopian impulse going on too, an attempt to explore the latent potential of such structures and what they mean today.


Multiple Myeloma Signs and Symptoms
Signs and Symptoms of Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma symptoms vary and depend on several factors, including the stage and severity of the disease. In early stages, patients may not experience noticeable symptoms. Symptoms and complications of multiple myeloma develop when tumors form in bone marrow, bones, and organs; when abnormal plasma cells interfere with bone marrow function; and/or when the disease causes organ damage.
The primary symptom of multiple myeloma is bone pain. Pain associated with multiple myeloma commonly affects the spine (backbone), ribcage, or hips, and worsens with movement.
Severe, persistent pain in one location may indicate a bone fracture. Bone tissue consists of two types of cells: osteoblasts, which are responsible for bone formation, and osteoclasts, which are responsible for dissolving bone tissue. Multiple myeloma increases the activity of osteoclasts and suppresses the activity of osteoblasts, causing bones to deteriorate and increasing the risk for fractures. The formation of tumors in the bone marrow and bones also contributes to bone pain and fractures.
Other signs of multiple myeloma include low blood counts (cytopenia), high levels of calcium in the blood (called hypercalcemia), and high levels of calcium (called hypercalciuria) or protein (called proteinuria) in the urine. These conditions can affect many organs and body systems and cause a number of symptoms and complications.
Low red blood cell count (called anemia ) often causes fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath and pallor (pale skin). Low white cell count (called leukopenia or neutropenia ) increases the risk for chronic infections, such as pneumonia and kidney infection (pyelonephritis), and fevers. Low platelet count (called thrombocytopenia ) can cause abnormal bleeding, excessive bruising, and other circulation problems (e.g. Raynaud’s phenomenon [bluish skin, numbness, often in the fingers and toes, in response to cold or stress], clotting disorders).
Hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, or proteinuria can cause muscle pain and weakness, increased thirst and urination, gastrointestinal (GI) tract problems (e.g. nausea, vomiting, constipation, weight loss), and kidney (renal) failure.
Multiple myeloma also can cause tumor compression of the spinal cord or nerves, resulting in neurological symptoms. These symptoms include confusion, depression, lethargy (physical and mental sluggishness), headache, nerve disorders (e.g. neuropathy, radiculopathy), vision loss, and bowel and bladder control problems. Spinal cord compression is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment (e.g. radiation therapy to shrink the tumor) and myeloma patients who experience neurological symptoms should contact their physician right away.
Publication Review By: Stanley J. Swierzewski, III, M.D.
Published: 01 Jul 2009
Last Modified: 25 Sep 2015


MD13 - Maiwand - 27 July 1880
The Battle of Maiwand on 27 July 1880 was one of the principal battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Under the leadership of Ayub Khan, the Afghans defeated two brigades of British and Indian troops under Brigadier-General George Burrows, though at a high price: between 2,050 and 2,750 Afghan warriors were killed, and probably about 1,500 wounded. British and Indian forces suffered 969 soldiers killed and 177 wounded.
More informations on Wikipedia.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.
Brigadier General Burrows
6 Command cards
6 Command cards
- Each ordered british unit, which left their edge through on one of the 3 red marked hexes, counts as 1 VP for the British player (LDR don’t count in this case as VP).
- Cross sabers hits only in melee
- Ravine: the hill tiles represent ravine terrain. A unit, which moves from a non ravine tile, on or off a ravine hex, must stop. Moving from a ravine hex to another, don’t stop moving. Ravine hex don’t block LOS.
- British Engineers: The british unit on the left (with shovels and badge) are Engineers. They ignores terrain battle restrictions in close combat. Instead of battling, they may built a fieldwork in her own or an adjacent hex or may built a bridge on a river hex. They can upgrade this fieldwork in a further turn to an entrenchment.
- British Rifles: The british unit on the right (single picture unit) with 3 figures battles 2-2-2-2. If they don’t move, they also hit on XSW.
- Horse Artillery: The british horse artillery may move 0-1 and battles with 4-3-2-1 or move 2 and no battle.
- Tribes with swords: - Strength 5 figures - Move 0-1 and battle 3-2-1 OR move 2 without battle
- Tribes with muskets: - Strength 4 figures - Move 1 and battle 3-2-1 OR don´t move and battle 4-3-2-1


After 2,000 years, does the resurrection still affect us? How? Why does what happened so long ago matter to us today?
1. The resurrection is the proof that our faith is not in vain. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (NKJV):
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
But Christ was raised so we need not doubt our reward of resurrection.
2. The resurrection demonstrates that everything else Jesus claimed is true.
The most impossible claim Jesus ever made, was that he would raise from the dead. If he pulled that off, the chance that the kingdom of heaven might fill our hearts as crops do a field is not unfathomable.
3. The resurrection allows us to live beyond ourselves.
You see, the resurrection of Jesus, means that you and I can and will be resurrected as well. Some to eternal comfort and peace, too many to eternal damnation, but it is hope that allows us to change our lives. The hope that this world with all its struggle and suffering is not all there is. The knowledge that redemption is available and that it comes with great reward, allows me to forgive. Because I know that there is more than this life, I can live free from any need to prove myself, or exact vengeance when wronged. I can love those who need it most.
In fact, this is what separates those who enter heaven from those who enter hell. Those who love Christ and others more than themselves, and demonstrate that love by paying the price to heal the hurts that others have caused will enter heaven.
In Matthew 25:34-35 Jesus tells a story that tells what is different between those he calls “sheep and goats.” Jesus says to the sheep, “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” (NKJV)
The truth of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead gives us hope, and hope changes everything!
Dow Tippett is Associate Pastor with Faith Family Church.


In a single-processor architecture, A process might be New, Ready, Running, Blocked and Terminated.
Are there any additional states in a multi-processor architecture?
Computer Science Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, researchers and practitioners of computer science. It only takes a minute to sign up.Sign up to join this community
More states aren't technically needed, depending on an operating system's implementation.
A kernel can have a task scheduler running on each processor. This allows for the use of the same process states, since each scheduler is running independent of each other. The kernel can have "load balancing" between the processors so that not too many processes are queued-up on one processor
xv6 (UNIX V6 port for x86 architecture) is a bare-bones kernel that does just this, and so, it has the same process states like in a single-processor environment.


What You Need to Know About Indoor Air Quality08/08/2016 Many people understand how dangerous outdoor air pollution like car emissions can be, but they don’t realize that the air inside the typical house might be more polluted—reliant on actual circumstances, it can be up to five times more. Things have become so dangerous, the EPA has indoor air pollution classified as a top five environmental danger. Mold, pollen, pet dander, radon and even formaldehyde are commonly found inside. Since Americans spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, superior indoor air quality is crucial for good health, no matter if it’s in our homes or our workplaces. To help manage this pollution and improve our indoor air quality, we can take different measures. But first, we are required to absorb some lingo often used to discuss indoor air quality. HEPA HEPA is a term a lot of people have heard or seen, but did you know it stands for “high-efficiency particulate air” or “high-efficiency particulate arrestance”? HEPA filtration systems are engineered—and certified—to confine at least 99.97% of .3-micron particles (less than the diameter of a human hair) from the air that filters through the system. This significantly increases your home’s indoor air quality when dust, pollen, mites and other contaminants are destroyed. MERV Minimum efficiency reporting value or MERV describes the effectiveness of an air filter. With metrics ranging from 1–16, you should look for a max rating that specifies the filter will destroy more contaminants and allergens from your air without limiting the airflow of your home comfort system. Ask us which MERV-rated filter will work best for your home. At Econo Air, we can help you understand the importance of indoor air quality and help you work on breathing the best air possible. After all, the typical adult takes in about 11,000 liters of air each day. Give us a call at 714-695-6661 if you have any questions or concerns about your home comfort system or schedule an appointment with us online.


The Natural Resources sector includes agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting and comprises occupations primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats and work in greenhouses, nurseries and orchards. This sector also includes occupations focused on extracting naturally occurring mineral solids, such as coal and ores; liquid minerals, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. This includes quarrying, well operations, and other preparation customarily performed at the mine site, or as a part of mining activity.
- Natural resources represents just 1% of all jobs in Minnesota.
- This industry is projected to grow 10% between 2016 and 2026, adding 3,000 new jobs.


CATANIA, Sicily, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano, is spewing lava and ash in its first eruption of the year, vulcanologist said.
Activity began Thursday morning, pushing an ash column nearly 16,000 feet into the sky, but experts say it presents no danger to nearby villages or air traffic, ITN reported.
At 10,801 feet, Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is Europe's highest active volcano.
Lava was seen flowing from a new crater on the southeast side of the summit toward the uninhabited Valle del Bove region, Sky News reported.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said no airline flights in the region have been canceled so far.


Since the birth of web 2.0, users no longer just consume, but are now active creators of content that is going to be consumed by other users. This new dynamic took data generation to a whole new scale, called planetary scale or web scale. Often, this data represents relationships between its elements, such as in social networks, recommendation systems, online boards, email networks, scientific citation networks and others. Therefore, this data can be properly modeled as graphs, which contain properties like weights on its edges, associated texts and dynamic behavior that can be explored. To analyze such graphs, the main approach consists of using distributed processing techniques via computer clusters leading to high costs and techinical complexity that can be prohibitive. So, it is desirable to be able to process planetary scale graphs using only a single computer. To do this, we intend to combine edge and vertex centric iterative processing with discrete matrix processing and text processing techniques aiming to develop an analysis framework capable of recognizing patterns, comprehension and helping with decision making. With such methods we intend to develop new algorithms and systems to solve problems like fraud detection, behavior analysis and sentiment analysis, in a variety of domains.
News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the scholarship:


Fau fibres / by Jill MacGregor ; photographs by Scott MacGregor.Material type: TextSeries: MacGregor, Jill, Children of the Pacific ; Description: 23 pages : colour illustrations, map ; 27 cmISBN:
|Item type||Current library||Collection||Call number||Status||Date due||Barcode||Item holds|
|Junior Non Fiction||Manaia LibraryPlus Children's||Children's Non Fiction||919 COUNTRIES (Browse shelf(Opens below))||Available||I2157730|
"A story from the Islands of Samoa."
Maimai describe how he and his family prepare and use the bark fibres of the fau tree in Samoa to make string, costumes, toys, and animal bedding. Includes instructions for making your own titi fau.
Junior, primary National Library of New Zealand.
There are no comments on this title.


Excel can analyze data from many sources. But are you using the Data Model to make your life easier? In this post you learn how to create a pivot table using two tables by using the Data Model feature in Excel.
What is a Data Model
Excel’s Data Model allows you to load data (e.g. tables) into Excel’s memory. It is saved in memory where you don’t directly see it. You can then instruct Excel to relate data to each other using a common column. The ‘Model’ part of Data Model refers to how all the tables relate to each other.
Old school Excel Pro’s, use formulas to create a huge table containing all data to analyze. They need this big table so that Pivot Tables can source a single table. Yet by creating relationships, you surpass the need for using VLOOKUP, SUMIF, INDEX-MATCH formulas. In other words, you don’t need to get all columns within a single table. Through relationships, the Data Model can access all the information it needs. Even when it resides in multiple places or tables. After creating the Data Model, Excel has the data available in its memory. And by having it in its memory, you can access data in new ways. For example, you can start using multiple tables within the same pivot table.
A Simple Task
Imagine your boss wants to have insight in the sales but also wants to know the Sex of the sales person. You got below dataset containing one table with the sales per person and another table containing the salespeople and their respective sex. A way to analyze your data is to use a LOOKUP formula and make a big table containing all information. As a next step you can then use a Pivot Table to summarize the data per sex.
Advantages of the Data Model
And before method is great when you work with very little data. Yet there are advantages of using the Data Model feature in Excel. Here follow some advantages:
- Checking and updating formulas may get arbitrary when working with many tables. After all, you need to make sure all the formulas are filled down to the right cell. And after adding new columns, your LOOKUP formulas also need to be expanded. The Data Model requires only little work at setup to relate a table. It uses a common column at the setup. Yet columns that you add later, automatically add to the Data Model.
- Working with big amounts of data often results in a very slow worksheet due to calculations. The Data Model however handles big amounts of data gracefully without slowing down your computer system.
- Excel 2016 has a limit of 1.048.576 rows. However, the amount of rows you can add to the memory of the Data Model is almost unlimited. A 64-bit environment imposes no hard limits on file size. The workbook size is limited only by available memory and system resources.
- If your data resides only in your Data Model, you have considerable file size savings.
Add Data to Data Model
You will now learn how to add tables to the Data Model. To start with, make sure your data is within a table. Using Power Query you can easily load tables into the Data Model.
- Click the Data tab -> Click a cell within the table you want to import
- Select From Table / Range
In the home tab of the Power Query editor
- Select Close & Load -> then Close & Load to…
- Select Only Create Connection
- Make sure to tick the box Add this data to the Data Model
This adds the data to the Data Model. Please make sure to do these steps for both tables.
Creating Relationships Between Data
After adding your data to the Data Model, you can relate common columns to each other. To create relationships between tables:
- Go to the tab Data -> Select Manage Data Model
The Power Pivot screen will appear.
- Click Diagram view. It gives you an overview of all the tables in the Data Model.
- Then relate the common column ‘Seller’ in the first table, with the column ‘Seller’ in the second table. You can do this by clicking-and-dragging one column, onto the other. A relationship should appear.
Using the Data Model
Now we come to the exciting part. To use the Data Model in a PivotTable perform the following steps:
- Go to the tab Insert -> Click Pivot Table
The ‘Create PivotTable’ pop-up screen will appear. As you have a Data Model in place, you can now select to use it as data source.
- Click Use this workbook’s Data Model
In the PivotTable Fields you will now see all the possible Data Sources for your PivotTable. The yellow database icon on the lower right corner of the marked tables, shows that it is part of Excel’s Data Model.
As the two tables have a relationship between each other, you can use fields from both tables within the same pivot! Read previous sentence again. Isn’t that amazing?? Below example uses the Sales and Seller field from the ProductSales table, while the Sex field comes from the other table. And the numbers are still correct!
Using the Data Model you can analyze data from several tables at once. All without using any LOOKUP, SUMIF or INDEX MATCH formula to flatten the source table. Yet the data analyzed could also come from a database, text file or cloud location. The possibilities are endless.
To minimize the usage of LOOKUP formulas even more, an amazing tool to look at is Power Query. There’s several articles to find about it on my website. For example, you can read how to use Power Query for Creating Unique Combinations or for Transforming Stacked Columns.


Aquaponics is a system of the integration of aquaculture and hydroponics in a recirculating “closed water loop” cycle. The fish effluent (or fish waste) accumulated in the water as a byproduct of an aquaculture system is collected and channeled to hydroponic grow beds where the nutrient rich fish waste (toxic to fish but rich in nitrogen and other byproducts.) fertilizes the planted grow beds. This waste is referred to as “effluent” . The planted grow beds in turn digest the filtered liquid effluent thus reducing or eliminating the toxicity before it is returned to the fish tanks clean and recycled.
The benefits of a Recirculatory Aquaponic System: Because RAS units recycle most of their water, they consume considerable less than other types of culture systems and are especially well suited to areas with limited water supplies. The required quantity of water needed to successfully grow fish varies with the species of fish selected, size of the unit system, and the unit process equipment design. A properly designed and operated recirculating system requires a minimum daily input of water, just enough to clean the waste from the filters and to replace water lost to evaporation.


China "Untrustworthy Citizens": This is how technology is used to punish the population that annoys or disagrees with the Government
Weapons Star Wars will cease to be fiction: China prepares rockets capable of shooting down enemy satellites
Imagine that in Spain
the Government had a ministry with several verification offices
on the internet that decided which news is
and which is not.
Imagine that you could also establish the guidelines for the content that is published on Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp, based on a series of
about whether that comment, that information or that photograph, is appropriate.
Let's go with another assumption.
Imagine that the government tried to control all the content on the web, but cannot because it circulates through private channels in cyberspace, run by large
independent and foreign technology companies
So it was decided to close all the doors through which global online traffic enters, and create a large internal software in which only compliant internet service providers could operate. These would
allow the authorities to analyze the information
, messages and trends that circulate, as well as manipulate or censor them at will through algorithms and engineers disguised as policemen who check cyberspace.
In the late 1990s, computer science doctor
developed a Great Firewall in China that allowed the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to
cut off access to IP addresses it deemed "dangerous or malicious
That program of firewalls and proxy servers at the gateways became more restrictive over the years.
In 2000, Chinese leaders issued an order requiring internet service providers to ensure that information sent on their services complied with the law. A couple of years later,
the government drafted the "Public Self-Discipline Pledge for China's Internet Industry,"
which established four principles: patriotic law enforcement, fairness, honesty and honesty. There were more than 100 foreign companies that signed the pledge.
Xi Jinping's rise to power in 2012 brought tighter control of cyberspace. "The Internet has become the main battleground for the public opinion struggle," Xi said in a leaked speech shortly after taking the throne in Beijing. The goal was to ensure that the content on the network served the interests of the party. In September 2013, the Supreme Court of the People, a judicial body controlled by the CCP, ruled that "
authors of online posts that deliberately spread rumors or lies
, and were seen by more than 5,000 people or shared more than 500 times, they could face defamation charges and up to three years in jail. "
Two years later, the Ministry of Public Security, the strongest in China, established the Network Security Bureau, also called the "Internet Police",
charged with censoring "illegal and harmful" content
. In a statement, the ministry assured that the presence of these agents was to "create a harmonious, cultured, clear and bright internet", and that they would work to "detect and prevent cybercrime, profanity and curses online."
Manuals on how to make a napalm bomb and
how to buy chemical precursors to make fentanyl
are found in Chinese browsers
But it is impossible to connect to a porn site
To enter Facebook and Twitter, or watch videos on YouTube, you need a VPN, a software that connects the computer or mobile server with the networks of another country.
China probably has the
most sophisticated online monitoring system in the world
Over the years it has further isolated its cyberspace.
Now, the Chinese government is in full regulatory crusade, reaching out to almost every sector in the country, especially technology companies.
A recent report from the official Xinhua agency said there are new guidelines that seek to
improve the "civilization of the Internet",
with more regulation to "improve ethics and behavior."
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC, the body in charge of Internet control in the Asian country, also dependent on the Ministry of Public Security) launched a campaign against false news in September. Under the new regulations: online censors will go after "unlicensed citizen journalists who misinterpret economic policies and forecast pessimism in financial markets." Also to those who "write false news and spread rumors." Meanwhile,
the "propaganda directed on the achievements of the party" will be strengthened
The CAC document broke down other points from its new campaign: "
Addressing issues including misinterpretation of
and macroeconomic data; posting negative information to threaten, intimidate or blackmail relevant stakeholders."
The new guidelines will provide the government with a framework to further tighten its grip on internet giants from Tencent to ByteDance and the vast amount of content and data they generate.
The joint campaign of 10 regulatory agencies is expected to reach social media platforms like
Douyin, the name by which TikTok is known in China
The CAC also explained a few weeks ago that it was tightening its oversight of algorithms used by tech companies to "act fairly and
not use algorithm models that entice users to spend cash in a way that could alter the public order
". The guidelines include a proposal to allow users to disable algorithm recommendation services.
The new reforms have reached
WeChat, the Chinese WhatsApp
, where the CAC announced that it was going to start taking action against groups of the application considered a
In late September, WeChat removed dozens of LGBT accounts run by college students, saying some had broken the rules.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Technology What are the best alternatives to WhatsApp?
TechnologyThe strange fall of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram surrounded by suspicions and uncertainty
TechnologyThe culprits of the fall of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram: BGP and DNS
See links of interest
La Palma Volcan live
Home THE WORLD TODAY
Alba Berlin - Baskonia


Nobody knew of a similar case before. Genetic diseases sometimes are strange, but usually there are some cases in the medical literature that give some clue. This is not the case, and so far Syndrome X means that nothing is known about this case.
Reportedly all the biochemical and genetic tests have been normal for a 6-month old baby. There was no response to the administration of Growth Hormone.
This case demonstrates for the first time that there is one factor (gene) responsible for Child Development: growth and maturation of cells, tissues and organs. No one had ever envisioned the existance of such a gene. It was believed that there were multiple independent processes that regulated this.
Let me say that I am a Medicine PhD with research background and some genetic knowledge, which allows me to have a little speculation, although I am not the ideal specialist to conduct treatments or run the proper research studies.
This is most likely a genetic disease. The problem could lie in her mother, which, judging from the video, has a few asymmetric features in her face. She probably carries a single copy of the defective gene for this disease. The father looks normal, but he also might carry of copy of the defective gene. In the case of Brooke, but not in her 3 siblings, the sperm and the ovulus carried the defective genes, and the result was the full expression of this gene in the resulting baby.
There is also the possibility that the mutation (damage to a normal gene) took place during gametogenesis or early embryo development.
The mechanism so far is well known to Genetics specialists. However, we do not know which gene is affected, which is the protein coded by this defective gene, and how this protein regulates growth and development of a child.
How to identify this protein? This is a problem of tremendous importance, because it can be the clue of Aging and Anti-Aging.
If I was Brooke’s doctor, I would try a simple treatment: blood transfusions. After applying a weekly transfusion for a month or two, we could see if there was any growth. In this case, we both solved the girl’s problem and opened the way to identifying the missing protein.
Blood can be fractioned (plasma and cells) to see where the growing compound is. Fractioning can continue until we establish the size of the protein, which is the first step in the identification.
I would also try in vitro culture of Brooke blood cells and other biopsied tissues, to see if they behave as normal cells. Maybe they do not grow so well, and this behavior can be corrected adding human serum or serum fractions. It will also be interesting to see if she heals well the skin wounds.
Assuming we identified the gene that regulates Growth, we could try to block it. Anti-sense mRNA can be inserted in cells by carrier viruses, and block the normal gene. Also, many genes have regulators, that can be targeted by specially-designed molecules. Down-regulating the Growth gene could be useful to stop Ageing.
If any person at age 40 started the anti-ageing treatment, we might reach almost-immortality.
In any case, Brooke might carry the answer to many questions that scientists have had since the first man discovered the first gray hair in his temple.


Central to our current understanding of periodontal disease development and progression is the idea that only specific periodontal pathogens cause periodontal disease and that all other bacteria present in the oral cavity are either beneficial or do not contribute to periodontal disease. Other factors that are believed to be necessary for periodontal destruction are that the bacterial load overcomes the host’s ability to neutralize them and that one or more of the “red complex” bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia) must be present in the biofilm colony. Host-specific genetic factors resulting in impaired immune response also influence the development and progression of periodontal disease.
This old model of periodontal disease gave us plenty of time between gingivitis and periodontitis to “watch” the condition and to educate our patients to improve their home care techniques and habits before the number of pathogenic bacteria built up to sufficient numbers to cause periodontitis. Upon detection of deeper pockets and evidence of radiographic bone loss, we became more concerned and began recommending various treatments.
The new model of periodontal disease is called Polymicrobial Synergy and Dysbiosis. This refers to the entire colony of multiple different bacteria (polymicrobial) working together (synergy) to initiate periodontal disease (dysbiosis), rather than by a few select bacteria known as “periodontal pathogens.” The combined action of the entire bacterial colony is exponentially greater than the action of the individual microbes. This creates an imbalance in the microbial flora leading to inflammation and periodontal destruction.
Research has now demonstrated that the entire bacterial colony is involved in creating an increase in severity of oral inflammation and tissue destruction. This process is accomplished by inter-bacterial communication. Studies have established that colonization by key pathogens, such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, elevates the virulence of the entire bacterial colony by altering their gene expression, rendering them more aggressive. P.gingivalis flips the switch that converts bacteria, previously thought to be benign, into destructive microbes that contribute to periodontal disease progression. Research shows that P.gingivalis impairs host immunity, as well. For these reasons, P.gingivalis is now known as a keystone pathogen.
The concepts of keystone pathogens and Polymicrobial Synergy and Dysbiosis (PSD), have significant ramifications for the development of therapeutic options for periodontal disease. With the old model of periodontal disease there was little urgency to treat periodontal disease in early stages. We believed increasing numbers of periodontal pathogens were required for periodontal destruction to occur. These new concepts create more urgency now that we know if even a low level of P.gingivalis (or other keystone bacteria yet to be identified) is present that the entire bacterial colony can become more toxic. This means that even in cases of early stage gingivitis, the focus should be on identifying the bacteria present and on efforts to control those bacteria before the disease progresses to full blown periodontitis. No longer do we have the luxury of time when it comes to treating gingivitis and possibly preventing periodontitis.
Salivary diagnostics are used to identify the specific bacteria present and to recommend targeted antibiotic therapy to reduce or eliminate those particular bacteria. Antibiotics alone are not enough to eliminate P. gingivalis though, because it is particularly difficult to eradicate. Treatment will likely involve a multi-faceted approach. This may mean using probiotics and other techniques to increase the number of beneficial bacteria, methods to bolster the defensive innate immunity, and the use of anti-inflammatory regimens. These treatments, and others, could render the host less susceptible to the bacterial challenge intensified by P.gingivalis.
Knowledge and understanding of the Polymicrobial Synergy and Dysbiosis model of periodontal disease will enable clinicians to develop more effective therapeutic approaches in the treatment of periodontal disease and prevention of disease recurrence.


Sun is the ultimate source of life on earth. Yet, we still rely on wasteful, costly, and unsafe substances as the main sources of energy. We keep asking ourselves, Why go solar now?
We’ll have you know that setting up a solar power system has ecological, financial, and efficiency benefits. In this article, we will examine these benefits and present you with twelve reasons why going solar is a good idea.
Pollution Free/No Greenhouse Gases
Unlike common energy sources, solar systems do not produce toxins or greenhouse gases. Using solar panels decreases the overall carbon footprint of the world. In other words, going solar is one of the most eco-friendly actions you can take.
Reduces Reliance on Foreign Oil and Fossil Fuels
Solar systems can reduce our nation’s reliance on foreign energy sources. They can also reduce global reliance on oil and fossil fuels. That can lead us to a more sustainable future.
Clean and Renewable
As we’ve mentioned, solar energy is one of the most harmless energy sources. Besides, solar energy is fully renewable. This means it can supply humans with clean energy for millions of years.
Reduces Water Usage
Solar systems need much less water than their traditional counterparts. Older energy sources use massive amounts of water for cooling. Not to mention hydropower plants, which require water dams that can damage local ecosystems.
Short Payback Period
Setting up solar panels can seem quite costly. Still, the amount of money you can save will make your investment worthwhile in a matter of a few years. In other words, after a few years, your panel will be helping you earn money.
Low Maintenance Costs
Solar energy systems often need minimal care. Besides occasional cleaning, you will not have any large costs. Furthermore, we offer a workmanship warranty. It will last up to fifteen years and cover any issues you might have.
Reduces Utility Bills
Since you will be relying on solar panels for electricity, you can expect your bills to get slashed. Going solar will also decrease your reliance on electric companies during peak hours. You can even buy an electric car and reduce gas costs.
Qualifies for Tax Breaks
Federal and state incentives are offered to homeowners who own solar systems. As a result, you will get your money back in no time.
The future is bright for the solar power industry. Technology in this field is evolving rapidly. It’s only a matter of time before we are introduced to new, improved versions of the current solar power systems.
Can be Set Up Anywhere and Used for Anything
The next reason for going solar is that it’s flexible in terms of installation and usage. Unlike other green energy sources, sunshine is usable across the globe. Furthermore, you can place a solar panel almost anywhere, be it on the roof or in the field. You can use solar energy to produce electricity or heat.
Stores the Excess Energy
Solar panels can store energy both through net metering and through storage batteries. This will allow you to use excess energy whenever your panels can’t produce it.
Works Even on a Cold and Cloudy Day
Contrary to common belief, solar systems can produce energy even on cold and cloudy days. Energy output might be a bit lower during the winter months. Still, you will be able to reap the benefits of solar energy.
I hope this answers your why go solar now conundrum. All the above-mentioned reasons should be enough to encourage you to make the right choice. It doesn’t matter if you do it for budget-friendly or eco-friendly reasons. What matters is that you go solar now!


A sure-fire way of making steady and effective progress towards German fluency is to read more. And while beginners benefit a lot from reading easy German texts (like German stories for beginners or simple German fairy tales), we'd recommend B2+ learners like yourself sink their teeth into some challenging intermediate books to make sure you're directing yourself off and away from the dreaded intermediate plateau of death.
Just as is the case with German beginner books, reading intermediate material that you truly find interesting can work wonders in effecting your motivation to actually utilise the skills you’ve been learning in German class, in real life scenarios, and at your own pace.
On top of that, challenging yourself with meaty intermediate books & novels will throw you out of your comfort zone for the better, as you come across new words and expressions that you wouldn’t in daily conversation or in a German news article. This is especially important for intermediate learners, as a large part of progression at this stage relies on expanding your German vocabulary.
Lastly, exposing yourself to the varied voices of different protagonists in literature is like engaging in conversation with multiple people throughout the day. By doing so, you exercise your ability to adapt your eye/ear quickly to different styles of writing/speech.
Just as it can be helpful to speak German to different people and not only your tandem partner, it can be helpful to expose yourself to a variety of writing styles as you continue to read in German.
Here is our short but spicy list of five German intermediate books that we believe would make for appropriately meaty, challenging reading.
The list includes a variety of widely differing perspectives, experiences and time periods, so we hope at least one of them will catch your eye!
First on the list is a well known classic: Die Verwandlung, or “Metamorphosis” in English. How about trying your hand at the original German language version?
One of Kafka’s most reputable works, the story peers into the life of a salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a massive bug!
Unable to continue working himself to the bone in order to support his family and pay their debts, the others must take action.
It’s a novella about family obligations and the desire to break free from those obligations that weigh too heavily on the shoulders, for far too long a time.
PS: If you are asking yourself how difficult Kafka is in German, we can only advise you to try for yourself! For intermediate learners, reading Kafka will be challenging, but totally doable.
This well-received family saga begins with the unfortunate death of father and husband Hüseyin, who had spent the last thirty years working hard in a factory in Germany in order to support his family and finally buy his dream home in Istanbul, where he planned to spend his longed-for retirement that he was on the very cusp of entering into, when suddenly and tragically, he died.
Fatma Aydemir’s novel explores the various thoughts and experiences of different family members who gather to pay their respects at Hüseyin’s funeral.
It is a story about migration; a story about the search for lost identities, generational trauma and the difficulty of feeling at home in a country that often seems unwelcoming.
Fatma Aydemir is an author and journalist based in Berlin. The granddaughter of Turkish-Kurdish immigrants, her novels deal with identity and the experiences and repercussions of migration on a personal level.
This book is also available as an audiobook!
One literary critic described this novel as a critique of the “Bildungsroman” genre of literature popular during the 70’s and 80’s, that romanticised the mother-daughter relationship.
For in this novel, the relationship between piano teacher Erika Kohut and her mother is relentlessly abusive, disastrously impacting her life in many ways, least of which concern the sadomasochistic relationship she begins with her student, Walter Klemmer.
It’s a painful, merciless and ultimately devastating book about possession, repression and power, and although brilliantly frank, passionate and oftentimes humorous, “Die Klavierspielerin” is not for the faint of heart.
Christian Kracht’s debut novel, “Faserland” was one of the first books to trigger the German language wave of pop literature, which began in the 90’s.
It follows the aimless wanderings of a young man from a wealthy family, as he travels from Germany to Switzerland. On his journey, he visits unreliable friends and attends drug-fueled parties in a brand-saturated world, which he seems to waft through with a disturbing degree of self-destructive apathy.
Ultimately, the book paints a sober picture of a nihilistic generation of youth, struggling to find real meaning or happiness in their lives, as they continue to drink alcohol, take drugs and buy things.
A book commonly read in German classrooms, this is one of the less challenging options on our list, because of its straightforward, no-frills writing.
A fascinating fictional tale about a real life villain, “Mephisto” is about the overambitious and amoral deeds of an actor, living and working during the Nazi period. A political satire, the book critiques the protagonist’s shameless opportunism as he works alongside the Nazi regime, purely for the professional success and power he hungers for and ultimately attains.
Interestingly, the novel was famously written with the real life “Gustaf Gründgens” in mind - an actor who became one of the most well-known and successful in Germany, throughout the Nazi period, and with whom author Klaus Mann had previous been in a relationship.
This is a novel for language learners and history fans alike!
If you are at an intermediate level with your German, first of all congratulations! It's not easy to get this far with a language and you should be proud you are able to read books in German.
In this section, we have a few more tips for you as you approach the upper intermediate or even advanced levels of your learning journey.


Britain's unwritten constitution. famously, Britain has an unwritten constitution, in contrast with most other countries. at least that's a clich- that's the cliche. in fact, um, most of the constitution is not, unwritten at all. um, it's largely a myth, that Britain has an unwritten constitution. um, it's just not written down in a single document, which you can go out and buy. you can go out and buy a copy of the American or French constitution if you want to. but i don't think many people do. but you can do it.
our constitution, is strewn around, um, through various documents, acts of Parliament, and through history. one of the earliest written contributions is the Magna Carta of twelve fifteen, for example. but to get more up to date, all the various parliamentary reform acts, of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. starting off as First Reform Bill, eighteen thirty-two, Second Reform Bill, eighteen sixty-seven. then, really the same thing, but in the twentieth century called, Representation of the People's Act. um, nineteen eighteen, nineteen twenty-nine, nineteen sixty-eight, those acts. the Parliament Bill of nineteen eleven, which took away, a lot of the powers of the House of Lords. all these are written, and if you collect them together, they form, a huge, written ensemble, um, which, collectively, are a large part of the British Constitution. and of course there are many other acts, like the Ballot Act of eighteen eighty-one. uh, which also you, you can tip into that category.
so, a lot of the British Constitution is, in fact, written. it's just strewn around. um, but, because it's strewn around, um, that, helps to make the constitution, our constitution very flexible. and there is indeed, a very important part, of the British Constitution which is not written. summed up under the term Conventions, um, Constitutional Practice.
Conventions of Constitutional Practice, what actually happens, um, and these conventions, are flexible, and they support the view, um, usually put forward by, people who like the British Constitution, that, um, the allegedly unwritten nature, has its advantages. you can change the constitution as necessary, without going through cumbersome procedures.
one example, is, fairly obvious. um, in the nineteenth century, the prime minister was more often in the House of Lords than not. but the last, um, prime minister to be in the Lords, was Lord Salisbury, who retired in nineteen oh two, at the very beginning of what is, for a few weeks, the present century. as_ a few weeks still. and since then, no prime minister has been in the Lords. two, two, um, candidates were rejected, among other reasons, because they were lords. Curzon in twenty-three, and Halifax in nineteen forty. this wasn't the only reason.
in nineteen sixty-three a peer did become prime minister, Douglas Hume, but he had to ren_ um, renounce his peerage, which you could legally do by then. you couldn't in nineteen twenty-four, and seek a common seat. um, it_ with the greater democracy of the twentieth century, it was_ became a convention that prime minister, the cheif's_ the chief, um, elected person, head of the executives, the chief, um, servant of the people had to be in the Commons, which was elected by the people.
but there's still no_ there is still_ it's still in fact no law, no constitutional rule, that the prime minister has to be in the Commons. the prime minister could still be in the Lords. or, the the prime minister c- need not be in either house. the story of Douglas Hume, in fact, was for several weeks in sixty-three, prime minister without being either a member of the Lords or Commons.
what about the present reform of the House of Lords, you may ask? well, um, that's not relevant to what i'm saying at the moment. i'm talking about practice up to now. but i'll come back to the Lords Reform, soon. um, however, um, conventions, also have to exist, or do exist, in countries which have written constitutions. they have to adapt their constitutions, to change in circumstances, just as we do. the American constitution's a good example. um, how do they do it?
well, you could change the constitution, um, itself, but that's a very cumbersome process. because naturally constitution laws, and input are not to be changed lightly, if they're in the constitution itself. um, so, how do they adapt? well, partly, by getting the Supreme Court to interpret, general, simple, eighteenth-century clauses, of the constitution, rather, s- um, liberally, to being them up to date. and partly, simply, by using conventions themselves. conventions exist in the U-S congress, about how to get about things.
um, one example of that, is that, um, powerful congressional committees, used to deal with legislation, and determine whether legislative processes went forward, or not. um, now, in the nineteen nineties the power us U-S, congressional committees has been much whittled down. the chairman, of U-S congressional committees, was always the next senior person after the, previous chairman retired. that was a convention, it wasn't written in the eighteenth century constitution. but now that's gone entirely. there's great competition for chairmanship, of, select committees. but, um, that's only in the nineteen nineties.
so, no, constitution can en_ exclude the use of conventions. Nevertheless, our constitution is more flexible than the American one. because, it's less easy, in many cases, to point to a document and said, it w- say, it was written in seventeen eighty-seven, that we have to do things, this way. um, which Americans do. the American_ in America it's much easier to block things than to change things. gun control is a good example. in seventeen eighty-seven, the constitution said every citizen should the right to bear arms. which make great sense in Amer_ in colo_ in, not colonial, in the rural, America of seventeen eighty-seven. the wild America, cabins in the clearings of the woods. you had to defend yourself against Indians, renegade white men, you had to shoot, wild beasts, and you had to shoot your own dinner. there wasn't a supermarket, you went out and shot a deer. they had to shoot rattlesnakes. it makes no sense now that everyone carry guns, really, in the urban America of nineteen ninety-nine. nevertheless, you can't really change the constitution. while all we need to do is have a quick law, on gun control. if we have it, and we have had recently.
um, however, um, the difference, with other advanced countries, the U-K's uniqueness in constitutional matters have been much whittled down. recently, with the_ Mr. Blair's Labour government. we've had, um, constitutional laws on devolution. which of course is all written. devolution to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. we're going to have a bill of rights. and then Euro law is increasingly overtaking whatever we might want to decided to do in Britain, anyway. and that's definitely written down. and it takes precedence over, whatever legislation is passed in Westminster.
so I think, it's another of the many unique features of Britain, which is, sadly, going to go out of the window, over the next fifty years.


In 1950, renowned English scientist Alan Turing devised the “Turing Test” – a measure of a machine’s ability to communicate with humans in a lifelike manner and exhibit intelligent behavior comparable or indistinguishable to them.
Ever since then, the race to create artificial intermediaries of communication began and have only heated up in the past decade.
While chatbots still have not passed the elusive Turing Test, they have come closer than ever.
At its essence, a chatbot is a piece of software that conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods.
In an increasingly connected world, it is crucial for businesses, especially fledgling startups, to maintain a reliable and personalized relationship with their clients as well as interactively market themselves to prospective customers.
Chatbots are one of the most efficient and cost effective methods of achieving that purpose and with the advent of AI technology, they can only get better.
Indeed, a Business Insider report says, by 2020, over 80% of businesses are expected to have some sort of chatbots implemented. Read on to find out how your business can benefit from using this technological gem.
How do Chatbots work?
Chatbots are algorithmically programmed to detect the tone of language, the flow of the conversation, the specific words enunciated and the intricacies of different accents in order to deliver an appropriate response from a range of pre-coded sentences.
They also pick up similar cues in text messaging. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning allow them to become increasingly better and more adept at conversation after each subsequent use.
They are able to record conversations and update their algorithms to diversify their conversational repertoire.
They also make use of databases to present accurate information to the consumer and to respond to any queries that they might have. Chatbots can work on popular messaging apps like Messenger and WhatsApp as well as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
As most users interact with businesses on these platforms, this is a crucial feature. They can also work seamlessly with your own websites, allowing visitors to have their questions answered in the blink of an eye.
The Benefits of Using Chatbots
1) Access to trending platforms
Most meaningful forms of marketing now take place in the digital sphere and especially in social media platforms as there is greater reach to potential customers.
Companies that have been able to make that transition now have a competitive edge over those that are still stuck in the past.
Using chatbots allows businesses, especially small startups, to get a slice of the pie and broaden their reach without having to pay the extra money and time to develop an application.
Chatbots can be used across platforms and is a cheap and effective way to connect with users.
Some chatbots are offered directly by platforms such as Facebook while others can be easily bought or rented from IT firms for use in big platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp.
2) Savings in time and money
Implementing a chatbot is an investment but it is one with a high return on investment as it requires minimal maintenance costs to keep it up and running.
The implementation is also significantly cheaper compared to hiring agents that require specialized training, wages and infrastructure.
Chatbots also save money by minimizing human errors and increasing the acquisition of new customers.
This is crucial for businesses to maintain their profit margins when the positive difference between their revenues and costs start to shrink.
Chatbots also save a significant amount of time by automating the routine tasks in customer services.
Detailed answers to common queries can be instantly dispatched with 24/7 availability and information can be effectively delivered with pictures, charts, videos and even analytical reports.
This ensures that customers have their basic questions answered without delegating human resources to these menial tasks.
This allows the relaying of more complex issues to humans as Chatbots notify them with detailed descriptions of the unique problems that customers face.
Customers can also quickly book a flight, make a reservation or even an online order with little need for human intervention.
3) Greater customer satisfaction
Customers need help trying to understand the products that are best for them and providing them with the best user experience generates future sales revenue exponentially.
Chatbots are highly trained and provide 24/7 personalized conversation by addressing each customer by their names and providing just the information that they need almost instantly.
With each consumer interaction, they get better with contextual responses. They act as sales persons and hold the customer’s hand through the entire experience by asking questions related to their queries and providing quick and easy solutions and suggestions.
They also provide greater choice to the customer by presenting highly personalized advertisements and offers.
This increases consumer engagement in the long run which can boost sales as consumers feel like you care for them.
4) Greater Monitoring and Insight
With the feedback and information that chatbots collect from each consumer after a conversation, businesses can make improvements to their services and product line-ups.
It allows them to respond quickly and effectively to consumer feedback. They can also optimize their websites by bringing high traffic generating pages to the forefront and improving ones that generate lower traffic.
Consumer spending and behavior patterns can be tracked and analyzed to help a company decide which products to market, redevelop, or re-launch.
Chatbots also improve lead generation by nurturing and directing consumers to making the purchase that they want.
5) Greater Diversification and Scalability
Unlike you average Joe, Chatbots can be programmed to operate in multiple languages.
This allows a business to expand their targets to a wider demographic and to go global with their marketing campaigns.
Companies can better understand the nuanced needs and demands of specific groups of people and it allows them to diversify their products to cater to these new and potential customers.
Chatbots can also be scaled up to handle a large volume of conversations simultaneously. This is especially crucial during rush hours and bulk orders as it is not possible to increase manpower quickly.
Chatbots boost sales, save time and money, allow effective marketing and make sure that your consumers walk away with a satisfying experience.
The best way to align your chatbots with the rest of your business is to use Odoo Apps.
Odoo Apps have a powerful but intuitive UI with reliable server support, efficient sharing of information and proper work scheduling. Syncoria is a digital transformation firm and an Odoo Ready Partner.


Biological invasions are one of the most significant global-scale problems caused by human activities. Introduced Asian earthworms are currently invading eastern deciduous forests in North America, including some relatively undisturbed forests. Because fresh leaf litter is presumably a major food source for these forest floor dwelling species, Forest Service scientists examined whether prescribed fire could be used to reduce food supply and potentially control reproduction and spread of invasive earthworms. The scientists constructed eight experimental beds with 100 earthworms each, and burned half of them with low intensity fires. The fires resulted in minimal heating of mineral soil but litter mass was significantly reduced. No reductions in the number of adult earthworms were detected, but the hatching rates of cocoons were significantly lower in burned beds. The study shows that prescribed fire causes reduced reproduction rates and decreased food availability for the next generation of earthworms, and this may have significant application in the management of earthworm invasions in southern deciduous forests.