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Edward III and Philippa of Hainault
Edward, son of Edward II and Isabel, daughter of King Philip of France, was born at Windsor Castle on 13th November 1312 at 5:40am – he was the first English king to have the exact time of his birth recorded. Much of his reign was taken up with fighting in France, pursuing his claim to the French throne but he also brought about reforms in Parliament and founded the Order of the Garter at Windsor in 1348. During his reign the Black Death decimated the population of England.
His brother John of Eltham is buried in St Edmund's chapel. His sisters were Eleanor who married the Count of Gueldres and Joan who married King David II of Scotland.
He married Philippa, daughter of William III, Count of Holland and Hainault, at York Minster on 24th January 1328. They had seven sons and five daughters (three of whom are buried in the Abbey). Their eldest son Edward of Woodstock, later called the "Black" Prince probably due to the colour of the armour he wore, died in 1376 and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.
His father was deposed and later murdered and Edward was proclaimed Keeper of the Realm in October 1326 and King in January 1327. In February he was crowned in Westminster Abbey by Walter Reynolds, Archbishop of Canterbury. Philippa's coronation took place a few weeks after their marriage.
Burial, Monument and funeral effigy
The king died of a stroke at Sheen Palace on 21st June 1377. A torch lit procession accompanied the coffin which first stopped at St Paul's cathedral. His funeral took place in the Abbey on 5th July and he was buried near his wife's monument in the chapel of St Edward the Confessor. His bones lie in the tomb chest
The full length wooden effigy, which was carried at his funeral, is preserved in the Abbey collection and the face (a plaster mask fixed to the wood, slightly distorted on the left side of the mouth) is thought to be taken from a death mask.
On his Purbeck marble tomb is a gilt bronze effigy, with long hair and beard, which is possibly by John Orchard. He wears his coronation robes and holds the handles of two sceptres (the rest being broken off). He has small buttons on his cuffs and decoration on his shoes. On the flat tomb top are niches, some of which still hold small gilt angels. The pillow below the king's head is a replacement from 1871 (given by Queen Victoria), the original having been lost. The lion at his feet (shown in an engraving of 1677) has now gone. The inscription can be translated:
Here is the glory of the English, the paragon of past kings, the model of future kings, a merciful king, the peace of the peoples, Edward the third fulfilling the jubilee of his reign, the unconquered leopard, powerful in war like a Maccabee. While he lived prosperously, his realm lived again in honesty. He ruled mighty in arms; now in Heaven let him be a king.
Originally there were bronze weepers (or statuettes) of his twelve children around the tomb but only six of these now remain on the south side - Edward the "Black Prince", Edmund of Langley, William of Hatfield, Lionel Duke of Clarence, Mary of Brittany and Joan. (Those that are now missing were to his children Isabel (who married Enguerrand, Lord of Coucy), William of Windsor, John of Gaunt, Blanche of the Tower, Margaret (or Margery)(who married John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke) and Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester (whose wife Eleanor de Bohun is also buried in the Abbey), with their enamelled coats of arms below).
Above the tomb is an elaborate wooden tester by Hugh Herland. The arches terminate in half-angels as pendants. The soffit has a rich ribbed vault of six bays with cusping and bosses carved with human and beast-heads, many of which are missing. Four large enamelled shields (showing the cross of St George and the arms of France and England quarterly) remain on the south side of the tomb chest.
A state sword, seven feet long, was traditionally associated with this king and was kept near his tomb for many centuries. Also a shield covered with canvas and black leather, now much mutilated.
During the 1914-1918 war the effigy was stored in the crypt of the Chapter House. Both effigy and tester were evacuated to a country house for safety during the Second World War.
Tomb dimensions in metres: length 2.90. width 1.35. height 1.70.
The funeral effigy, state sword and the shield are on show in the new Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries
Philippa of Hainault
Philippa was born in 1314 and often accompanied Edward on his foreign expeditions. She is remembered for pleading successfully for the lives of the burghers of Calais who surrendered the town to Edward. She died at Windsor Castle on 14th August 1369. The king was devoted to her and spent about £3,000 on her tomb in the Confessor's chapel at the Abbey, in which her bones lie. The queen's alabaster effigy, by Hennequin (Jean) of Liège, is undoubtedly a portrait as it shows her plump figure and kindly face. She originally held the string of her cloak in one hand and a sceptre but the hands are now broken. She wears a reticulated head dress, tight bodice laced in front, buttoned sleeves and a loose cloak. Her bones lie in the tomb chest below the effigy.
The tomb has been much mutilated over the centuries and most of its decoration has disappeared and there is now no inscription. But this short Latin inscription was recorded in 1677, translated as "Queen Philippa. Wife of Edward lies here. Queen Philippa. Learn to Live" on the base below the shields. The railings which once protected the tomb on the south side were removed in the early 19th century.
Only two of the many weepers (statuettes) around her tomb still survive (the original scheme of figures is recorded in the Abbey's Liber Niger cartulary, together with statues above the tomb ie. St Louis (king), St Louis (bishop), St John the Baptist and St George). The weepers, including one thought to be Blanche of Lancaster holding her pet monkey, are protected by a grille. The headless one has the arms borne by Philippa herself below it. When the Chantry Chapel of Henry V was built this encroached on the eastern end of her tomb. Two shields of arms remain on the south side of the tomb, two are hidden at the east end and three are on the north side (behind the protective grille).
Tomb dimensions in metres: length 2.74. width 1.34. height 1.55.
The tomb was sandbagged for protection during the Great War and evacuated to a country house 1939-45.
The Perfect King. The life of King Edward III by Ian Mortimer, 2006
The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey edited by A. Harvey and R. Mortimer, 2003 revised edition.
Royal wooden funeral effigies at Westminster Abbey by S. Jenkins and K. Blessley, Burlington Magazine Jan. 2019 vol.161
Gothic tombs of kinship, by A. Morganstern, 2000 (with plan of names of all weepers once round the tomb)
The history of the King's works vol.1 ed. by H.M. Colvin, 1963 (chapter XI royal tombs and monuments)
Royal Monuments in the 19th century by John Physick in Church Monuments II, 1987
Gleanings from Westminster Abbey by Sir G.G. Scott, 1863 p.64-5 (he found parts of her tomb in a museum)
A genealogical history of the kings of England... by F. Sandford, 1677 (shows her crown, the beast at her feet and more of the shields)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004
The reign of Edward III by W.M. Ormrod, 2000
A 19th century reconstruction of part of Philippa's tomb base is at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
13th November 1312
21st June 1377
5th July 1377
2nd February 1328 | <urn:uuid:cea4b08d-2751-4ab7-bbf3-549dcc63121f> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://www.westminster-abbey.org/es/abbey-commemorations/royals/edward-iii-and-philippa-of-hainault | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540525821.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20191210041836-20191210065836-00023.warc.gz | en | 0.975373 | 1,795 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Wednesday, June 17 before dawn – Crescent Moon near Uranus
In the eastern sky before dawn on Wednesday, June 17, the slender crescent of the old Moon will pass less than a palm’s width below (or 5 degrees to the celestial southeast of) Uranus. The blue-green, magnitude 5.8 ice giant planet will be visible in telescopes and binoculars (red circle), especially for observers at southerly latitudes, where the surrounding sky will be darker.
Friday, June 19 before sunrise – Crescent Moon meets Venus
For about an hour before sunrise on Friday, June 19, the very slim crescent of the old Moon will sit very close to the bright planet Venus. Look for the pair just above the east-northeastern horizon. The Moon and Venus will fit together in the field of view of binoculars and backyard telescopes (red circle) and will make a nice widefield photograph when composed with foreground scenery. Observers in the Azores; the Canary Islands; northern and eastern Canada; Greenland; and the northern parts of Europe, Russia, and Mongolia can see the Moon occult Venus between 07:20 and 08:07 GMT.
Saturday, June 20 at 21:44 GMT – Summer Solstice
On Saturday, June 20 at 5:54 p.m. EDT, or 21:44 GMT, the Sun will reach its northernmost declination for the year, resulting in the longest daylight hours of the year for the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest daylight hours of the year for the Southern Hemisphere. The solstice marks the beginning of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sunday, June 21 at 6:41 GMT – New Moon and annular solar eclipse
At its new phase on Sunday, June 21 at 2:41 a.m. EDT, or 6:41 GMT, the Moon will be travelling between the Earth and the Sun, for an annular solar eclipse.
The partial eclipse will not be visible from Canada, but can be seen throughout eastern Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East, most of Asia and Southeast Asia. For those who aren’t in the vicinity — or who have bad weather — look for livestreams of the astronomical event online.
Since sunlight is only shining on the side of the Moon aimed away from us, and the Moon is in the same region of the sky as the Sun, the Moon is normally hidden from view everywhere on Earth for about a day. This new Moon will occur 6.2 days past apogee, resulting in a thin-ringed annular solar eclipse visible across central Africa and southern Asia. The path of totality for this eclipse will commence at 04:48 GMT in central Africa. Greatest eclipse, with 98.8 per cent of the Sun blocked by the Moon, will occur for 38 seconds at 06:40:05 GMT in northeastern India, with the Sun at an altitude of 83 degrees. After crossing southern China and a final landfall over Taiwan, the Moon’s shadow will sweep across the Philippine Sea and Pacific Ocean, narrowly missing Guam ten minutes before sunset. Proper solar filters will be required to view any portion of this eclipse in person.
Chris Vaughan is a science writer, geophysicist, astronomer, planetary scientist and an “outreach RASCal.” He writes Astronomy Skylights, and you can follow him on Twitter at @astrogeoguy. He can also bring his Digital Starlab portable inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact him through AstroGeo.ca to tour the universe together. | <urn:uuid:e4bc00a5-64a6-4fe4-9edc-e864b29dbce8> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://skynews.ca/this-weeks-sky-june-15-to-21/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618039536858.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20210421100029-20210421130029-00414.warc.gz | en | 0.914286 | 740 | 3.46875 | 3 |
The survey also finds "acceptance of homosexuality is particularly widespread in countries where religion is less central in people's lives.These are also among the richest countries in the world.Some sects within some religions, especially those influenced by the Abrahamic tradition, have censured homosexual acts and relationships at various times, in some cases implementing severe punishments.Many countries have also seen rising support for LGBT rights in modern times (including the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination laws, and other such rights).Percentage of responders who were in favor of #1: Societal attitudes toward homosexuality vary greatly in different cultures and different historical periods, as do attitudes toward sexual desire, activity and relationships in general.
In contrast, in poorer countries with high levels of religiosity, few believe homosexuality should be accepted by society.
Age is also a factor in several countries, with younger respondents offering far more tolerant views than older ones.
Since the 1970s, much of the world has become more accepting of same-sex sexuality between partners of legal age.
The Pew Research Center's 2013 Global Attitudes Survey "finds broad acceptance of homosexuality in North America, the European Union, and much of Latin America, but equally widespread rejection in predominantly Muslim nations and in Africa, as well as in parts of Asia and in Russia".
Pew Global Attitudes Project 2013: "Which one of these comes closer to your opinion, number 1 or number 2?: #1 – Homosexuality should be accepted by society, #2 – Homosexuality should not be accepted by society". | <urn:uuid:c6ff59d1-89d9-414b-a399-c1b58092529f> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | http://terrem43.ru/gay-dating-in-north-edwards-california-9797.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195526888.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20190721040545-20190721062545-00272.warc.gz | en | 0.953627 | 318 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Paige: U.S. Schools Like Apartheid
As the federal government tries to improve student success under No Child Left Behind, the nation's top educator complains that many minority children are served so poorly it can be compared to apartheid conditions.
U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige has warned of an educational crisis of disadvantaged students who are forgotten in school and then later lost in the real world. Most students who are behind are poor, and "the education circumstances for these students are not unlike a system of apartheid," Paige said during a speech quoted by the Associated Press.
Paige, the first black to serve as education secretary, says a weak education system will damage the entire nation, not just the individuals who fall through the cracks. And while many states and school officials have called the federal mandate under-funded, Paige criticizes their resistance, calling the complainers "significant, powerful forces entrenched in the old ways, mired in self interest."
Flex Funds for Florida's Struggling Students
Male black and Hispanic eighth graders in Putnam County School District will be among lucky students who will get needed extra attention under a new federal funding plan.
Florida was recently approved to receive federal funds under the new State Flexibility Authority Program under NCLB. State-Flex allows up to seven states nationwide to consolidate certain federal formula funds to use appropriately for state-level priorities in exchange for increased accountability for student academic progress. More than $30 million in federal funds will be used at state and local levels for each of the five years of the program.
As part of the State-Flex plan, Florida has local performance agreements with eight school districts, including Putnam County, where 44 percent of the students live below the state poverty level.
Florida's State-Flex goals say that every child who is not proficient in reading and math will have individual proficiency targets that should lead to proficiency within four years. Another goal is for every parent will know where their children are in terms of proficiency and how far the student must advance every year to achieve grade-level proficiency.
"We are particularly targeting eighth-grade black and Hispanic males; it's an area that needed some attention," says Phyllis Criswell, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. The plan includes addressing teacher training such as how they should teach minority students and knowing strategies that work better for those students.
The plan also involves buying computers and software. The five deficient areas where children will be assessed include phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension and vocabulary. From there, administrators can determine what strategies are needed to "bring them up to where they need to be," Criswell says.
States Struggle to Define Top-Notch Teachers
For almost two years now, administrators have known that under NCLB, each teacher must be "highly qualified" by 2006. But defining what that means is proving tough, and the federal government won't set national standards.
The definition will vary from state to state, but the end result is expected to help all students become proficient by 2013, according to NCLB.
This fall experts from the U.S. Department of Education visited seven states (with another 21 state visits scheduled) to help create definitions and offer innovative practices. States were most focused on the "high objective uniform state standard of evaluation." These standards must provide information about the "teachers' attainment of core content knowledge in the academic subjects" they teach.
But state officials are confused, says Kate Walsh, executive director of the National Council on Teacher Quality. "The law will, in fact, be difficult to be in compliance with if states refuse to revisit their own certification requirements. Change is difficult."
Teachers must have a college degree, or B.A.; must be fully state certified, and must show subject competency via a test. | <urn:uuid:fcda7c5c-8969-48f4-a92d-383055bea5b1> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://www.districtadministration.com/article/inside-law-31 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440645356369.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827031556-00184-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956182 | 784 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Gastroenteritis is a condition that causes irritation and inflammation of the stomach and intestines (the gastrointestinal tract). The most common symptoms are
- crampy abdominal pain,
Many people also refer to gastroenteritis as "stomach flu." This can sometimes be confusing because influenza (flu) symptoms include headache, muscle aches and pains, and respiratory symptoms, but influenza does not involve the gastrointestinal tract.
The term stomach flu presumes a viral infection, even though there may be other causes of infection.
Viral infections are the most common cause of gastroenteritis but bacteria, parasites, and food-borne illnesses (such as shellfish) can also be the offending agents. Many people who experience vomiting and diarrhea that develops from these types of infections or irritations think they have "food poisoning," when they actually may have a food-borne illness.
Travelers to foreign countries may experience "traveler's diarrhea" from contaminated food and unclean water.
The severity of infectious gastroenteritis depends on the immune system's ability to resist the infection. Electrolytes (these include essential elements of sodium and potassium) may be lost as the affected individual vomits and experiences diarrhea.
Most people recover easily from a short episode of vomiting and diarrhea by drinking fluids and gradually progressing to a normal diet. But for others, such as infants and the elderly, loss of bodily fluid with gastroenteritis can cause dehydration, which is a life-threatening illness unless the condition is treated and fluids restored. | <urn:uuid:022fd41d-2047-449d-98ca-eda2a8d96e15> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://mavhealthytips.blogspot.com/2012/01/gastroenteritis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189734.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00626-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934124 | 308 | 4.125 | 4 |
Lead shot is used by hunters and is scattered over moorlands, marshes, wet fields and estuary mudflats, when it fails to kill the hunted wildfowl. Large numbers of birds are dying after they ingest discarded shot together with grit during feeding. Stomach acids in the bird's gizzard and the grinding action of the grit produce high concentrations of toxic lead salts in the intestine, which is the absorbed into the blood stream and deposited in the tissues of vital organs. Birds ingesting greater than around ten shot may die within a few days. A smaller number of shot are sufficient to cause poisoning which may lead to death within weeks (from emaciation, weakness and malfunction of the digestive organs). Poisoned birds tend to die slowly and are rarely seen because they secrete themselves and their corpses are consumed by predators or scavengers. Not all birds die, but those that survive have internal damage and are more sensitive to further exposure. Contaminated migrating waterfowl contaminate other waterfowl areas where hunting is not allowed. Predators of waterfowl are also affected -- over 144 bald eagles have died of lead poisoning in lower USA since the 1960's (this endangered species numbers some 3000 individuals in total). Raptors in the Mediterranean may also be at risk.
It is conservatively estimated that wildfowl hunters alone use 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes of shot annually in Europe, and 2,000 to 4,000 tonnes annually in the USA. Research in the USA and the UK indicate that 2 to 3% of the autumn population of ducks dies each year from lead poisoning. This means up to 2.4 million birds a year in the USA.
Birds are most likely to ingest shot in areas with high shot densities and little grit, a situation that exists in many of the heavily hunted river deltas of the Mediterranean, where shot densities of to 2 million pellets per hectare accumulate in popular spots such as the Carmargue and Evros deltas. Acid moorlands and the acidic conditions at the bottom of many lakes render lead most biologically available, to the degree where it is concentrated enough to affect other aquatic wildlife, such as fish and plants; shot from a clay pigeon shoot in the UK has killed plants over 6 hectares and resulted in lead concentrations in the remaining vegetation of 250 times those regarded as acceptable for grazing animals. Species which most frequently ingest shot are not necessarily the most susceptible to lead poisoning (species with diets rich in protein, calcium and phosphorous reduce the toxic effects of lead), but diving ducks and swans are especially affected because of the bottom-feeding habits and also because they ingest anglers' split-lead shot used to weight lines. | <urn:uuid:bb589a22-6ef3-4c8b-8d76-f9717242ff2c> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/139030 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578678807.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20190425014322-20190425040322-00387.warc.gz | en | 0.947168 | 549 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Bitcoin is the first successful decentralized peer-to-peer digital currency based on blockchain technology. It is often compared to gold. BTC is not minted, but mined, and the creator limited the supply of coins to 21 million. The Bitcoin payment network was launched in 2009, but it quickly turned out that the system is imperfect and does not fully satisfy the needs of users. This circumstance has become one of the prerequisites for the emergence of forks - more perfect versions of the original algorithm that can compete with it. AND
How Litecoin Differs from Bitcoin
One of the first such versions was Litecoin, based on the same principles as BTC and based on Bitcoin software. The decentralized global payment network Litecoin was created to correct the shortcomings of Bitcoin and launched in 2011. LTC was to become digital silver, similar to Bitcoin's virtual gold.
- The key differences from the original coin boil down to two points:
- For primary hashing during LTC mining, the Scrypt algorithm is used.
A new block is formed in 2.5 minutes (for comparison: the time it takes for a Bitcoin block to form is 10 minutes). A high block formation rate means that transactions that are one block deep are guaranteed to be confirmed faster.
However, it must be remembered that more blocks will be required to confirm equal strength in the Litecoin network.
The Litecoin network is designed to create 84 million blocks. The starting reward for the mined block was 50 coins. The amount of the reward is halved every 840,000 blocks and currently, the reward is 12.5 LTC
Since Scrypt is used as a proof-of-work algorithm, mining requires significantly more computing power.
Will Litecoin ever outshine its parent - time will tell. While there are no clear preconditions for this, the current LTC to BTC rate is close to 262: 1.
Improving Litecoin Performance
During the existence of LTC, several new functions have been implemented in the network. All of them are aimed at increasing the speed of transactions and maintaining the original integrity and security of the network.
Segregated Witness (SegWit) was developed back in 2015 for Bitcoin to address scalability issues. SegWit works by 'splitting' the digital signal data outside of the base unit. As the idea sparked a lot of controversy in the Bitcoin community, its implementation was delayed.
Two years later, the feature was launched on the Litecoin network. SegWit tests were successful, it proved its viability and effectiveness, after which it was implemented in the Bitcoin network. Against the background of controversy over the implementation of SegWit, another Bitcoin fork was created - Bitcoin Cash
It is a second-layer technology that uses micropayment channels to empower the blockchain.
Actually, as in the previous case, the Litecoin network served as a testing ground for the Lightning Network.
The MimbleWimble privacy protocol should increase scalability and reduce block size. It is based on confidential transactions that encrypt information about the amount of the transaction. Today this protocol is still under development.
Market Performance and Outlook for LTC
At the moment, the coin is in the TOP-20 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, which has reached $ 17 billion.
Low transaction costs and fast confirmation of transactions contribute to the growth of LTC popularity. The coin is gradually becoming a means of payment and this is a good signal for potential investors. On the whole, expert forecasts are more optimistic compared to the Vechain price prediction. Experts agree that the price of the asset will continue to grow in the foreseeable future, however, estimates of the levels of new highs and the possible timing of their achievement vary greatly. | <urn:uuid:2b2a4cd1-6622-486f-884a-9fc330e03058> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://www.dublinnews.net/news/271843399/ltc-vs-btc-what-is-the-difference | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320304954.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220126131707-20220126161707-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.956673 | 773 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Architecture Week: Placing Chandigarh
Chandigarh (after ‘Chandi Mandir’, a Hindu temple located nearby) is the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana. Jawaharlal Nehru envisaged a new city which architecturally and politically departed from the past – a break from classical and colonial styles. Le Corbusier steered the design of the city, accompanied by European architects working under the same modernist rubric, including Pierre Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew. Efforts to train Indian students according to this architectural modernism also ensured the longevity of the style in the region.
In a city which erased the possibilities for nostalgia by looking to the future, a seamless integration between forced migrants and the built environment was not possible. Indeed, Corbusier’s Eurocentric architectural ideals of open space and large gardens did not suit the migrants’ experiences of domesticity; neighbourliness, once audible and comforting, had vanished. In a city which aimed to remedy the post-Partition Lahore void in India, feelings of disconnect between individuals and the new built environment amplified – an apt reminder as this year marks the 70th anniversary of India's Partition.
Today, Chandigarh magnetises wonder and fascination both within and outside of India. It attracts a vibrant student community, primarily due to the prestigious university occupying the north. It currently has one of the highest tree-covers in the country, a topography secured through tightly maintained green belts. And it has also inspired social commentary, ranging from short films featuring John Berger and Jarvis Cocker, to artistic responses by Shezad Dawood.
The following compilation of photographs draws upon the various written and visual responses, exploring how the natural, artificial and human interweave in contemporary Chandigarh. | <urn:uuid:29f3bb43-3616-4354-b90e-4e0cd6fd0a04> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://www.courtauldian.com/single-post/2017/07/18/architecture-week-placing-chandigarh | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703497681.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20210115224908-20210116014908-00250.warc.gz | en | 0.940865 | 377 | 2.8125 | 3 |
How mindfulness can help with making New Year's resolutions stick
After suffering for nearly three decades from osteoarthritis pain, Maria Barnes has found solace in the 'mindfulness' approach.
Angela Mulholland, CTVNews.ca
Published Wednesday, January 1, 2014 8:30AM EST
If New Year’s resolutions are notorious for one thing, it’s that they’re easy to break. Our resolve to eat healthier gets thrown to the wayside when we are stressed by work or home life. Our plans to go for more walks are pushed aside when more important matters compete for our time.
And often by the time March 1 rolls around -- or even sooner -- we’re left wondering how we’ve managed to fall back into our old habits.
But breaking habits is never easy because, by their nature, they are ingrained in us until they have become automatic reflexes. It’s easy to mindlessly reach for snacks when we're bored, or sit down after dinner rather than go for a walk if that‘s how we‘ve done things for years.
But perhaps the key to ending unhealthy habits is developing a skill called mindfulness.
What exactly is mindfulness?
To psychologists, mindfulness means being fully aware of what is happening at this very moment. And one of the ways of maintaining this awareness is through mindful meditation.
In practical terms, mindfulness meditation involves sitting quietly and focusing the mind on one thing -- often the feel or sound of one’s breath. Then, as thoughts enter the mind, the idea is to take notice of the thoughts but not react to them; simply return the focus to the breath.
On the surface, it’s a simple technique; but it’s a skill that takes time to learn. Yet once mastered, mindfulness can have powerful effects, as a growing number of studies show.
Research over the last several years has found mindfulness meditation can help with depression by turning off the negative self-talk that often starts the spiral into deeper depression. Other studies have shown it can help with chronic pain and anxiety disorders.
Those who regularly practise mindfulness say it does more than just relax them during the meditation itself; over time, they begin transferring the mindfulness technique of “quieting the mind” into their thought processes throughout the day.
Sarah Housser is a psychotherapist who teaches mindfulness techniques to those with depression and anxiety at The Mindfulness Clinic in Toronto. She says her patients often have a hard time understanding how simply sitting still for 20 or 30 minutes is going to translate into happiness or better mental health.
"People often ask, 'Okay, I'm going to follow my breath and then that's supposed to make me less depressed? What's the connection?'" she says.
But she explains is that mindfulness forces us to be aware of what’s happening right now, to fully experience the moment -- and not judge it.
While that sounds simple enough, it’s not easy to do, particularly when our minds are used to multitasking or focusing on several things at once.
"Usually, our minds are worrying about the future or the past, or criticizing something or wanting something or judging something," she says. "But what that means is we’re not really awake to the moments of our life. We’re just getting ready for the next thing. Instead of enjoying what we're eating, for example, we're thinking about what we're going to do after we eat. And we miss a lot.”
By focusing only on this moment right now, Housser says it gives our minds a chance to take a break and reset themselves.
"It's like de-fragmenting the computer or tuning an instrument; it just kind of settles you back to something that is more real -- so that those moments carry on,” she says.
Ending negative self-talk often key
Mindfulness also urges us not to react to thoughts that enter the mind during a meditation. When thoughts begin to creep in and distract, instead of getting irritated, the idea is to simply notice the thoughts, send them away gently and re-focus on the breath. With enough practice, this ability not to judge or react to intruding thoughts becomes a habit in itself.
Housser explains that many of us, especially those with depression or anxiety, have a loop of negative self-talk playing in our heads -- even when many of the worries are neither helpful nor even true.
Practising mindful meditation can allow us to take a break from those thoughts and refocus, so that when negative thoughts begin again, they can be seen more clearly for what they are.
"So mindfulness is a way to come back. We can say to ourselves, 'You don't need to fix everything'," she says.
"The concept I like to think about is that the mind is going to pump thoughts the way the heart pumps blood. We can't stop our thoughts. We just don't need to take all of them so seriously. They're just thoughts and they're constantly changing."
Learning to use mindfulness to slow the mind, to take notice and appreciate each moment, and to recalibrate when we are over-reacting to thoughts are all skills that can take a little time to master, Housser says.
"In the program we offer, we ask our patients to practice a half an hour of mindfulness meditation a day for eight weeks," she says.
"And it's often by the fourth week that people start to notice that they're catching it more in their daily life, where they're not reacting quite as quickly to emotions or the automatic responses that they know will create the same dynamic or thought patterns."
Self-awareness as a way to shift habits
When it comes to New Year’s resolutions -- which are often about habits -- the first step is awareness of our habits and what compels us to slip back into them. The next step is convincing ourselves to resist that urge.
Housser says mindfulness can help with both.
“People can use mindfulness as a way to shift habits because what you're learning is the ability to notice a sensation or a desire, and to just sit with those sensations without reacting to them. If you just sit with the sensations long enough, they will pass,” she says.
Mindfulness can also help when we fall off the resolution wagon by reminding us not to beat ourselves up over our misstep and by renewing the resolve to try again. A key principle of mindfulness meditation involves acceptance. When the mind wanders during a meditation, the key is to accept that it will. As Housser says, that’s just what the mind does -- just as the heart pumps blood.
“Instead of judging yourself, the instruction is just to bring yourself back to the present. The same is true with making goals for change,” she says.
“You can try and promise to go the gym more often. But if you find after a time that you've fallen away, you can just start again if you let go of the judging story of: 'Oh God, here I go again, failing at this.' Instead you can say: ‘Okay, I've kind of lost my way with my goal. But I can just begin again,’ ” she says.
As simple as mindfulness sounds, it’s difficult to learn on one’s own, Housser believes. She recommends taking an introductory course, because an instructor can offer guidance on how to stay focused and overcome obstacles.
But for those not interested in taking workshops, Housser says anyone can learn to incorporate more mindfulness into their day.
“It doesn’t have to be airy fairy or mysterious. You can practise it formally, but you can also try it out by resolving to bring a little bit of it into every day. Like when you're eating, really taste your food. When you're washing dishes, be there instead of rushing through it to get it done,” she says.
“What you'll find is what you get is more time. If you’re really awake moment to moment, you get to have each moment of your life instead of missing most of them.
“It’s about waking up to your life.” | <urn:uuid:e1371725-48f6-46a1-9dde-50e860da76d9> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/how-mindfulness-can-help-with-making-new-year-s-resolutions-stick-1.1614037 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794865884.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20180524014502-20180524034502-00146.warc.gz | en | 0.958382 | 1,735 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo prototype, made primarily of carbon composites, has been given the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for powered test flights. The company's vehicle developer, Scaled Composites, has been granted an experimental launch permit for both the suborbital commercial spaceship and its high-altitude launch vehicle, the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.
Virgin Galactic has been working on perfecting its second-generation prototype for more than two years. SpaceShipTwo is the first rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry people that has received such a launch permit, although a few experimental launch permits have been granted to other, mostly unmanned rockets. SpaceShipTwo's predecessor, SpaceShipOne, also designed for manned space flight, was successfully flown to space in 2004, before the FAA established the Experimental Permit regulatory regime.
The SpaceShipTwo commercial spaceship and its launch vehicle, WhiteKnightTwo, shown here in glide test flights, have received FAA permission for experimental, rocket-powered, suborbital launch tests.
(Source: Virgin Galactic)
Scaled Composites built and tested SpaceShipOne and WhiteKnightOne. The Spaceship Company, a joint venture between the Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, is building and testing SpaceShipTwo under Scaled Composites' direction.
WhiteKnightTwo has completed most of its test plan, with 80 test flights under its belt. SpaceShipTwo has completed fewer tests to date, only 16, since it was constructed more recently. (You can access the latest test summaries
here). Ten test firings of a full-scale SpaceShipTwo rocket motor have also been successfully completed, including full duration burns.
In preparation for rocket-powered test flights, Scaled Composites will begin testing SpaceShipTwo's aerodynamic performance while carrying the full weight of the rocket motor system onboard. Integration of the rocket motor's key components was begun during a recently finished period of downtime for routine maintenance. That integration will continue into the fall. Toward the end of the year, Scaled Composites expects to begin supersonic, rocket-powered, heavyweight glide test flights under the newly granted experimental permit, according to a press release. | <urn:uuid:cd7c5e18-1c23-4729-8cb4-8f2160a923cb> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=245596&piddl_msgorder=asc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507441801.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005721-00053-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948266 | 449 | 2.578125 | 3 |
T O P I C
STORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
Why does such a high proportion of the UNRWA regular budget come from
Western countries and such a low proportion from Arab countries?
CREATION OF UNRWA
Created in December 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency which supports more than 5 million registered Palestinian refugees, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine war as well as those who fled or were expelled during and following the 1967 Six Day war. Originally intended to provide jobs on public works projects and direct relief, today UNRWA provides education, health care, and social services to the population it supports. Aid is provided in five areas of operation: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; aid for Palestinian refugees outside these five areas is provided by UNHCR.
It also provided relief to Jewish and Arab Palestine refugees inside the state of Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for Jewish refugees in 1952. In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2017.
UNRWA is the only agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict and is separate from UNHCR. Formed in 1950, UNHCR is the main UN refugee agency, which is responsible for aiding other refugees all over the world. Unlike UNRWA, UNHCR has a specific mandate to aid its refugees to eliminate their refugee status by local integration in current country, resettlement in a third country or repatriation when possible. Only UNRWA allows refugee status to be inherited by descendants.
UNRWA has had to develop a working definition of "refugee" to allow it to provide humanitarian assistance. Its definition does not cover final status.
Palestine refugees are defined as "persons whose regular place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict."
UNRWA services are available to all those living in its area of operations who meet this definition, who are registered with the Agency, and who need assistance. The descendants of Palestine refugee males, including adopted children, are also eligible for registration as refugees. When the Agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees. Today, some 5 million Palestine refugees are registered as eligible for UNRWA service.
UNRWA AND THE JEWS
Jewish News, Lyn Julius, Sep 2, 2018
Lyn Julius is the author of ‘Uprooted:
How 3000 years of Jewish civilisation in the Arab world vanished overnight' (Vallentine Mitchell)
Jewish refugees fleeing areas conquered by the Arab Legion in 1948. Some 3,000 Jews fled East Jerusalem.
The news that the US is no longer funding UNRWA (the UN Relief and Relief Agency) should remove one of the major obstacles to settling the conflict between Israel and the Arabs. UNRWA has been perpetuating the delusion that the Palestinians are in transit to their permanent home in Israel and that one day they will return. If the ‘refugees’ come under the umbrella of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the focus will be on rehabilitation and resettlement in their host countries.
It is not generally known that UNRWA was established with the aim of helping refugees on both sides of the conflict.
According to Don Peretz (Who is a Refugee?) initially UNRWA defined a refugee “as a needy person who, as a result of the war in Palestine, has lost his home and his means of livelihood.” This definition included some 17,000 Jews who had lived in areas of Palestine taken over by Arab forces during the 1948 war and about 50,000 Arabs living within Israel’s armistice frontiers. Israel took responsibility for these individuals, and by 1950 (Wikipedia 1952) they were removed from the UNRWA rolls leaving only Palestine Arabs and a few hundred non-Arab Christian Palestinians outside Israel in UNRWA’s refugee category.
At the time there was no internationally recognised definition of what constituted a refugee. In 1951, The UN Refugee Convention agreed the following definition:
“A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”
This definition certainly applies to the 850,000 Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Arab countries, synagogue burnings, arrests and riots. Returning to these countries would have put – and still does -their lives at risk.
The burden of rehabilitating and resettling the 650,000 Jewish refugees who arrived in Israel was shouldered by the Jewish Agency and US Jewish relief organisations, such as the Joint Distribution Committee. They were shunted into transit camps or ma’abarot. The conditions were appalling.
From an early stage in the conflict, the UN was co-opted by the powerful Arab-Muslim voting bloc to skew its mandate and defend the rights of only one refugee population – the Palestinians. The UN dedicated an agency, UNRWA, to the exclusive care of Palestinian refugees.There are ten UN agencies solely concerned with Palestinian refugees. These even define refugee status for the Palestinians explicitly: one that stipulates that status depends on ‘two years’ residence’ in Palestine.The definition makes no mention of ‘fear of persecution’ nor of resettlement. Palestinian refugees are the only refugee population in the world, out of 65 million recognised refugees, permitted to pass on their refugee status to succeeding generations, even if they enjoy citizenship in their adoptive countries. It is estimated that the current population of Palestinian ‘refugees’ is 5,493, million. Instead of resettlement, they demand ‘repatriation’, an Israeli red line. (This begs the question: why would any Palestinian wish to return to an evil, ‘apartheid’ Israel?)
In contrast to the $17.7 billion allocated to the Palestinian refugees, no international aid has been earmarked for Jewish refugees. The exception was a $30,000 grant in 1957 which the UN, fearing protests from its Muslim members, did not want publicised. The grant was eventually converted into a loan and paid back by the American Joint Distribution Committee, the main agency caring for Jews in distress.
Yet on two occasions the UN did determine that Jews fleeing Egypt and North Africa were bona fide refugees. In 1957, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, August Lindt, declared that the Jews of Egypt who were ‘unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of the government of their nationality’ fell within his remit. In July 1967, the UNHCR recognised Jews fleeing Libya as refugees under the UNHCR mandate.
Needless to say, no Jew still defines himself as a refugee. Despite the initial hardships, they are now all full citizens of Israel and the West. As such, they are a model for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in their host countries or in a putative state of Palestine alongside Israel.
For any peace process to be credible and enduring, the international community would be expected to address the rights of all Middle East refugees, including Jewish refugees displaced from Arab countries. Two victim populations arose out of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Arab leadership bears responsibility for needlessly causing both Nakbas – the Jewish and the Arab. As the human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler observes: ‘Put simply, if the Arab leadership had accepted the UN Partition Resolution of 1947, there would have been no refugees, Arab or Jewish.’
UNRWA HAS CHANGED THE DEFINITION OF REFUGEE
The U.N.'s agency for Palestinians
should stop playing word games and do its job.
Foreign Policy, Jay Sekulow, August 17, 2018
Last week, Foreign Policy published a story about Palestinian refugees that claimed I am among the “activists trying to strip Palestinians of their status.” The article obscured basic facts about the matters at hand—both my own role as a policy advocate and the questions that lawmakers in Congress are presently considering that pertain to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). I feel compelled to correct the record on both points.
This requires first understanding the legal facts. UNRWA was founded in 1949 through U.N. General Assembly Resolution 302 at the conclusion of the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948, aiming for “the alleviation of the conditions of starvation and distress among the Palestine refugees” from that conflict. The agency defines Palestinian refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.”
In 1965, UNRWA changed the eligibility requirements to be a Palestinian refugee to include third-generation descendants, and in 1982, it extended it again, to include all descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, regardless of whether they had been granted citizenship elsewhere. This classification process is inconsistent with how all other refugees in the world are classified, including the definition used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the laws concerning refugees in the United States.
Under Article I(c)(3) of the 1951 U.N. Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, a person is no longer a refugee if, for example, he or she has “acquired a new nationality, and enjoys the protection of the country of his new nationality.” UNRWA’s definition of a Palestinian refugee, which is not anchored in treaty, includes no such provision.
Last month, members of Congress introduced a bill asking that with respect to refugees under UNRWA the policy of the United States should be consistent with the definition of a refugee in the Immigration and Nationality Act, such that “derivative refugee status may only be extended to the spouse or minor child of such a refugee” and “an alien who was firmly resettled in any country is not eligible to retain refugee status.”
Foreign Policy’s article includes a claim that deserves closer scrutiny and reflects the sleight of hand often performed by UNRWA. The author writes:
“Palestinians, [Sekulow and his organization] claim, are the only refugees in the world who pass on their refugee status through the generations. The view is not shared by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the State Department, which maintain that multiple generations of Afghan, Bhutanese, Burmese, Nepalese, Thai, Tibetan, and Somali people have been recognized as refugees.”
The clear implication of that paragraph, and the similar claims made by UNRWA, is that the laws I have cited above are wrong, that UNRWA’s definition of a refugee is consistent with the standard definition, and that in all of these cases the descendants of refugees are considered to be refugees as well. In actuality, what the article has done is to conflate two different issues.
The 1951 refugee convention has a lengthy definition of refugee that is personal: A refugee is a person who “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” In registering refugees on this basis, the UNHCR interprets the convention as requiring “family unity,” and it implements the principle by extending benefits to a refugee’s accompanying family, calling such people “derivative refugees.” Derivative refugees do not have refugee status on their own; it depends on the principal refugee. UNRWA’s definition is also personal: Palestinian refugees are “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict,” but it also registers “descendants of Palestine refugee males, including adopted children.” The status for descendants is not dependent upon accompanying the principal refugee.
Here is where the sleight of hand comes in: Of course it is possible for there to be multiple generations of refugees, if the multiple generations all fit the primary 1951 definition of a refugee. For example, if the granddaughter of a refugee is also outside the country of her nationality due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted, she too is a primary refugee. But she is not a refugee due to descent, because there is no provision for refugee status based on descent in the 1951 refugee convention or in internationally accepted practices for refugees who are not Palestinian refugees.
Those are the laws. Now, consider the broader political facts. Since the end of World War II, millions of refugees have left refugee camps and have been resettled elsewhere, including hundreds of thousands of Jewish people who were forced out of Arab countries. Many hardworking agencies have played a role in making sure that the descendants of these refugees were never refugees themselves. These agencies include the UNHCR, whose mandate is to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement to a third country.
IS UNRWA’S HEREDITARY REFUGEE STATUS
FOR PALESTINIANS UNIQUE?
EMET News Service, January 17 2019 [ Kohelet Policy Forum
Summary ... UNRWA's claim that their hereditary refugee status for Palestinians is not unique is simply untrue. There is no parallel and no precedent, even in protracted conflict situations, for the manner in which UNRWA transfers the "registered refugee" status, automatically, through the generations, while refusing to take any actions that would end this status. While UNHCR provides certain services on a case-by-case basis to the children of refugees, it does not make refugee status hereditary. This is one of many differences in UNRWA's treatment of its population from the general practices used by UNHCR. All these differences are designed by UNRWA to maximize the population counted as "Palestine Refugees" and perpetuate their status.
[The use here of the word "Palestinian(s)" is the author's choice. There are no such people as the "Palestinians".—ed]
For almost 70 years, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has created a unique category of "registered refugee" status — one that is automatically passed down to one's descendants. Under UNRWA's rules, the children and grandchildren of a Palestine refugee, and all their descendants thereof, are automatically considered ‘refugees from Palestine'. Amid ongoing criticism of UNRWA's role in purposefully perpetuating the Palestinian "refugee" problem, the agency has attempted to obfuscate its policy.
UNRWA has claimed that its hereditary refugee practice is not unique, and is also practiced by the main international refugee agency, UNHCR. This background paper aims to clarify this issue.
UNRWA - Redefining refugee status There are two separate UN agencies in charge of aiding refugees: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA). UNRWA was established in December 1949 and UNHCR in December 1950. UNHCR is responsible for all refugees except those from Mandatory Palestine, who fall within UNRWA's exclusive jurisdiction.
The UNHCR determines refugee status based on criteria from international law, in particular, the Refugee Convention from 1951, which defines a refugee as "A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."
In certain cases, UNHCR gives refugee services — but not status — to the immediate family of a refugee but it does so in a manner that significantly differs from UNRWA's policy:
It is not automatic — it is based on a case-by-case review of whether the actual situation merits it. When it does, UNHCR gives certain services to the children of refugees. UNHCR does not automatically add the children and grandchildren of refugees to the count of refugees and does not automatically define them as refugees. Even if a child of refugees is given refugee services, the grandchild will not be eligible for status or services. UNRWA, on the other hand, automatically grants such children refugee status, resulting in exponential growth of refugee numbers.
UNHCR does not define as refugees people who acquired new citizenship. The Refugee Convention of 1951 has a cessation clause, which clearly says that a person ceases to be a refugee if he acquires a new citizenship. UNRWA acts differently: More than 2 million ‘Palestine Refugees' hold Jordanian citizenship, most of whom have been born in Jordan and have lived there their entire lives and are still called ‘refugees'. In addition, based on recent official census, probably 2/3 to 3/4 of the 1 million refugees registered by UNRWA in Lebanon and Syria have left those countries over the decades, with many acquiring citizenships of Western countries. Yet, UNRWA refuses to check their situation and take them off its registration rolls. UNHCR tracks individual refugees and takes them off its rolls as soon as they have acquired a status, such as third country citizenship, that ends their refugee status. This is another reason UNRWA's numbers never decline.
UNHCR does not define as ‘refugees' people who are internally displaced, that is, who have moved within the same territory. "Palestine refugees" living in the 'West Bank' or Gaza Strip were in fact internally displaced since they have never crossed the internationally recognized border of Mandatory Palestine. UNRWA considers these people as refugees, and their children and grandchildren, and all their descendants, as well.
UNHCR makes efforts to ensure refugees are resettled or locally integrated where they are staying, thereby ending their refugee status. UNHCR does not exclusively promote repatriation as sole solution, as UNRWA does, but also rehabilitation in country of refuge or in third countries.
Repatriation, rehabilitation and resettlement are considered equally legitimate means of ending a refugee status. They are promoted based on expediency — that is which could achieve the goal of ending the refugee status most quickly. UNRWA refuses to promote local rehabilitation and resettlement, and actually makes no effort to end the individual refugee status of the Palestinians, arguing that "it's not in its mandate". It actually is. This is the main reason that UNRWA's numbers grow exponentially whereas the numbers of refugees in other, shorter duration, protracted refugee situations, decline over time.
UNHCR's longest significant number of recorded refugees is from Afghanistan — from the early 1980s. UNHCR does not have in its records refugees that have been defined as such for 70 years. UNRWA does. Such persistence of refugee status has no parallel.
UNRWA reports of 5.5 million refugees. These are the descendants of roughly 700,000 registered Palestine refugees from the war of 1948. These numbers include more than 2 million ‘refugees' who hold Jordanian citizenship. They also include a larger number of ‘refugees' who live in the 'West Bank' and Gaza strip: They are citizens of the ‘Palestinian Authority' or ‘State of Palestine' and at the same time claim to be ‘refugees from Palestine'.
According to the rules applied by UNHCR, these people are not refugees.
UNRWA's claim that their policy is identical to UNHCR's is a lie and shows that they are not a neutral humanitarian organization but rather a political actor aimed at perpetuating the Palestinian refugee problem.
See also ‘The MiddleEast Piece - What is UNRWA?’
fanak, Chronicle of the Middle East and North Africa
In retrospect, UNRWA is the only UN agency to have worked for such a long time in the exclusive service of one particular category of refugees – the ‘Palestine refugees’. Over the years, it has gradually established itself as a semi-state institution in the fullest sense, taking on responsibilities traditionally assigned to national governments. Its staff, the vast majority of whom come from the refugee communities, has grown fivefold since 1951, from about six thousand to 30,000 in 2009. However, UNRWA’s linkage with the refugees is only predicated on humanitarian considerations. Its definition of a ‘Palestine refugee’ was elaborated for operational purposes only. It did not determine who is a Palestinian refugee, but rather who is eligible for its assistance programs. While it has evolved over time, its core elements have remained the same: normal place of residence in Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and loss of means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict. Descendents of male Palestine refugees have also been eligible to register on a voluntary basis with UNRWA. Since 1951, the number of ‘Palestine refugees’ has increased fivefold, from 876,000 refugees to 4.7 million refugees in 2008. This represents about 90.8 percent of the total number of refugees in the Middle East; and about three-quarters of the estimated total Palestinian refugee population disseminated around the world.
From the outset, UNRWA’s assistance mandate has been regarded by the refugees not just as a temporary international charity venture, but as an entitlement and, even more, a recognition by the international community of their status as refugees endowed with vested rights, namely the right of return to Palestine and/or to receive compensation as recommended in UNGA resolution 194 (III) (11 December 1948). UNRWA’s identification with the political dimensions of the Palestinian refugee issue may have been reinforced by its status as the only significant UN stakeholder in charge of Palestinian refugee affairs, following the de facto demise of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP) in the early 1950s , and the de jure exclusion of the Palestinian refugees from the UNHCR coverage. As a result, although registration with UNRWA was never officially meant to have any political implications, it has nevertheless been regarded by the refugees as a legal justification for their vested humanitarian and political rights. This is understandable since the ‘registration card’ it provides has constituted an official – and often unique – piece of documentary evidence attesting to their link with pre-1948 Palestine.
UNRWA ANNUAL REPORT 2016 - GAZA
ThIs report describes the current situation for each area. As an example their Gaza report is reproduced below.
The Gaza Strip is home to a population of approximately 1.9 million people, including 1.3 million Palestine refugees.
For the last decade, the socioeconomic situation in Gaza has been in steady decline. The blockade on land, air and sea imposed by Israel following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, entered its 10th year in June 2016 and continues to have a devastating effect as access to markets and people’s movement to and from the Gaza Strip remain severely restricted.
Years of conflict and blockade have left 80 per cent of the population dependent on international assistance. The economy and its capacity to create jobs have been devastated, resulting in the impoverishment and de-development of a highly skilled and well-educated society. The average unemployment rate is well over 41 per cent – one of the highest in the world, according to the World Bank. The number of Palestine refugees relying on UNRWA for food aid has increased from fewer than 80,000 in 2000 to almost one million today.
Over half a million Palestine refugees in Gaza live in the eight recognized Palestine refugee camps, which have one of the highest population densities in te world.
Operating through approximately 12,500 staff in over 300 installations across the Gaza Strip, UNRWA delivers education, health and mental health care, relief and social services, microcredit and emergency assistance to registered Palestine refugees.
On 7 July 2014, a humanitarian emergency was declared by UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, following a severe escalation in hostilities, involving intense Israeli aerial and navy bombardment and Palestinian rocket fire. Hostilities de-escalated following an open-ended ceasefire which entered into force on 26 August 2014. The scale of human loss, destruction, devastation and displacement caused by this third conflict within seven years was catastrophic, unprecedented and unparalleled in Gaza.
UNRWA mounted an extraordinary response during the 50 days of hostilities which highlighted its unique position as the largest UN organization in the Gaza Strip and the only UN Agency that undertakes direct implementation.
The human, social and economic costs of the last hostilities are sit against a backdrop of a society already torn by wide-spread poverty, frustration and anger, heightening vulnerability and political instability. The compounded effects of the blockade and repeated armed conflicts and violence have also had a less visible, but quite profound, psychological impact on the people of Gaza. Among Palestine refugee children, UNRWA estimates that a minimum of 30 per cent require some form of structured psychosocial intervention. Their most common symptoms are: nightmares, eating disorders, intense fear, bed wetting.
In recent years, UNRWA has made significant improvements to its services in Gaza, such as its schools of excellence and excellent health services initiatives. It also better targets its assistance to the poorest of the poor through the implementation of a proxy-means tested poverty survey. UNRWA continues to:
(THE OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
(ALSO KNOWN AS THE UN REFUGEE AGENCY)
UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950 and succeeded the earlier United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.
UNHCR's mandate has gradually been expanded to include protecting and providing humanitarian assistance to whom it describes as other persons "of concern," including internally displaced persons (IDPs) who would fit the legal definition of a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization for African Unity Convention, or some other treaty if they left their country, but who presently remain in their country of origin. UNHCR presently has major missions in Lebanon, South Sudan, Chad/Darfur, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as Kenya to assist and provide services to IDPs and refugees in camps and in urban settings.
UNHCR maintains a database of refugee information, ProGres, which was created during the Kosovo War in the 1990s. The database today contains data on over 11 million refugees, or about 11% of all displaced persons globally. The database contains biometric data, including fingerprints and iris scans and is used to determine aid distribution for recipients.The results of using biometric verification has been successful. When introduced in Kenyan refugee camps of Kakuma and Dadaab in the year 2013, the UN World Food Programme was able to eliminate $1.4m in waste and fraud.
To achieve its mandate, the UNHCR engaged in activities both in the countries of interest and in countries with donors. For example, the UNHCR hosts expert roundtables to discuss issues of concern to the international refugee community.
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so. War and ethnic, tribal and religious violence are leading causes of refugees fleeing their countries.
By the end of 2016, 65.6 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. That was an increase of 300,000 people over the previous year, and the world’s forcibly displaced population
remained at a record high.
65.6 MILLION FORCIBLY DISPLACED WORLDWIDE
as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations
22.5 million people who were refugees at end-2016
17.2 million under UNHCR’s mandate
5.3 million Palestinian refugees registered by UNRWA
40.3 million internally displaced people
2.8 million asylum-seekers
10.3 MILLION NEWLY DISPLACED
During the year, 10.3 million people were newly displaced by conflict or persecution.
This included 6.9 million individuals displaced within the borders of their own countries
and 3.4 million new refugees and new asylum-seekers.
20 NEW DISPLACEMENTS EVERY MINUTE
The number of new displacements was equivalent
to 20 people being forced to flee their homes
every minute of 2016, or 28,300 every day.
10 MILLION PEOPLE
UNHCR estimated that at least 10 million people were stateless
or at risk of statelessness in 2016.
However, data captured by governments and reported to UNHCR
were limited to 3.2 million stateless individuals in 75 countries.
Children below 18 years of age constituted about half of the refugee population
in 2016, as in recent years.
Children make up an estimated 31 per cent of the total world population.
84% HOSTED BY DEVELOPING REGIONS
Developing regions hosted 84 per cent of the world’s refugees under UNHCR’s mandate,
with about 14.5 million people.
The least developed countries provided asylum to a growing proportion,
with 28 per cent of the global total (4.9 million refugees).
552,200 REFUGEES RETURNED
Refugee returns increased from recent years.
During 2016, 552,200 refugees returned to their countries of origin,
often in less than ideal conditions. T
he number is more than double the previous year and most returned to Afghanistan (384,000).
1 IN 6 PEOPLE A REFUGEE IN LEBANON
Lebanon continued to host the largest number of refugees relative to its national population, where 1 in 6 people was a refugee.
Jordan (1 in 11) and Turkey (1 in 28) ranked second and third, respectively.
55% FROM THREE COUNTRIES
Altogether, more than half (55 per cent) of all refugees worldwide
came from just three countries:
Syrian Arab Republic (5.5 million)
Afghanistan (2.5 million)
South Sudan (1.4 million)
2.9 MILLION PEOPLE HOSTED BY TURKEY
For the third consecutive year,
Turkey hosted the largest number of refugees worldwide, with 2.9 million people.
It was followed by Pakistan (1.4 million), Lebanon (1.0 million),
the Islamic Republic of Iran (979,400), Uganda (940,800), and Ethiopia (791,600).
2.0 MILLION NEW ASYLUM CLAIMS
The number of new asylum claims remained high at 2.0 million.
With 722,400 such claims, Germany was the world’s largest recipient
of new individual applications,
followed by the United States of America (262,000), Italy (123,000), and Turkey (78,600).
189,300 REFUGEES FOR RESETTLEMENT
In 2016, UNHCR referred 162,600 refugees to States for resettlement.
According to government statistics, 37 countries admitted 189,300 refugees for resettlement during the year, including those resettled with UNHCR’s assistance.
The United States of America admitted the highest number (96,900).
75,000 UNACCOMPANIED OR SEPARATED CHILDREN
Unaccompanied or separated children – mainly Afghans, and Syrians –
lodged some 75,000 asylum applications in 70 countries during the year,
although this figure is assumed to be an underestimate.
Germany received the highest number of these applications (35,900).
The fastest-growing refugee population was spurred by the crisis in South Sudan.
This group grew by 64 per cent during the second half of 2016
from 854,100 to over 1.4 million, the majority of whom were children.
More than half of the Syrian population lived in displacement in 2016,
either displaced across borders or within their own borders.
THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEES:
A CASE STUDY IN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAUD
The Times of Israel, James Cooper, November 29 2017
James Cooper is a practicing lawyer in the Greater Toronto Area.
What if you discovered that the overwhelming majority of Palestinian refugees never actually left Palestine in 1948, that they just evacuated from those portions of Mandate Palestine which constituted the frontline in what was promised to be a war of extermination of the Jewish population that lived within the confines of the war zone?
What if you found out that, in the vast majority of cases, those refugees did not scatter across the world or settle hundreds of miles from the land in which they were born? What if the truth was that in many cases, masses of those alleged refugees relocated tens of miles from their original homes, living not amidst any foreign majority population, but rather in territories where they constituted the majority and yet refused to exercise – or to demand – any kind of sovereignty for themselves?
What you are about to learn is the chronicle of an international legal fraud that has been perpetrated over the course of seven decades. The main financier and facilitator of this fraud is the institution known as the United Nations, specifically conducted through its member nations and through the offices of one of its constituent bodies, known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
In 1948, an estimated 800,000 Palestinians evacuated the contested portions of Mandate Palestine, having summoned in five neighboring Arab armies to exterminate the 600,000 Jewish residents living amid the frontlines that would eventually be bounded by the armistice borders of the State of Israel.
According to the UNRWA’s website (unrwa.org), there are currently 5 million people registered as Palestinian refugees, among whom 1.5 million live in 58 refugee camps aided by UNRWA, spread throughout the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and East Jerusalem (yes, there are Palestinian “refugees” in Jerusalem).
Most of the original cohort of 1948 Palestinian refugees are no longer alive. The burgeoning population of Palestinian refugees you see today are the descendants of that original cohort – mostly third or fourth generation refugees, the world’s only case of long-term, intergenerational refugee status inheritance.
If you thought that, to be counted as a Palestinian refugee, one must live in a refugee camp, you are mistaken. According to the UNRWA’s own figures, only 30% of Palestinian refugees actually live in what the UNRWA liberally denotes as “camps”, but which are more accurately described as UN-supported shantytowns. The rest – 70% – live outside those “camps”, overwhelmingly under the sovereignty and de facto governance of fellow Palestinians.
The UNRWA has not been accorded any legal capacity to determine who is a Palestinian refugee under international law. As a relief and aid agency, the UNRWA has its own particular definition as to who is eligible to receive UNRWA-funded services, whether in the camps themselves or anywhere else where UNRWA operates, including East Jerusalem.
The UNRWA defines Palestinian refugees as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict” – in other words, applicable to any Arab resident who lived in Palestine at any time less than two years before the creation of the State of Israel, whether they had resided in Palestine as a recent migrant worker or as a resident with deep ancestral ties to the land.
According to the UNRWA, any descendant of a Palestinian male refugee – and their adopted children – are eligible to be registered as refugees for the purposes of receiving UNRWA aid services. Presumably, a Palestinian female refugee who married a non-refugee is ineligible to have her descendants registered for UNRWA aid.
Regardless of the questionable eligibility requirements, the important point to keep in mind is that UNRWA registration lists cannot be taken as a legal census of Palestinians considered as refugees under international law. At best, it is a registrant list for persons entitled to call upon various aid services from the UNRWA.
As the UNRWA makes clear, it does not administer, police, or manage the “refugee camps” it works in. Rather, the governing host authority provides the land, police, and overall governance, while the UNRWA merely administers humanitarian aid and education services through the installations it manages within and outside the perimeters of those “camps.”
Other than paying the salaries of UNRWA’s core staff, the United Nations itself does not provide the bulk of the UNRWA’s funding. Rather, the agency is kept afloat through voluntary donations, with close to 50% of those donations provided by the American government (the largest donor), followed by the European Union. Since only Congress has the power to approve and allocate any portion of American government spending, it can be said that the operations of UNRWA are substantially underwritten by Congress and the American taxpayer.
Under international law, Palestinian refugee status is subject to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status on Refugees (the UN Convention) , which applies the generally applicable definition of a refugee, and likewise determines the factors for the cessation of refugee status. There is, in fact, no international instrument of law that designates the UNRWA as a body competent to legally define and determine which Palestinian is or is not a refugee for the purposes of international law.
Again, to reiterate, the UNRWA is little more than the agency designated to provide aid and services to Palestinians that the UNRWA defines, according to its own peculiar criteria, as “refugees” (i.e. registrants entitled to receive UNRWA aid services).
As mandated by the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, the agency tasked with overseeing the protection of the rest of the world’s refugees is the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). To be clear, the UNHCR is not a judicial body in any sense of the term. Nevertheless, it provides determinations of refugee status (and the cessation of such status) in accordance with the relevant provisions of the 1951 UN Convention. Signatories to the UN Convention look to UNHCR in considering which individual, or groups, are entitled to refugee protection.
For practical reasons, UNHCR does not administer aid to Palestinians who receive such aid under the UNRWA system. A widely held myth is that UNRWA sets aside a special definition under international law for Palestinian refugees, while UNHCR applies a general definition for all other refugees. As previously noted, UNRWA is not set up to legally define which Palestinians are refugees under international law.
Another widely held myth is that UNRWA has the legal power to convey hereditary refugee status on Palestinians it considers as entitled to receive its services. Most clearly, it does not. Whether any particular Palestinian has retained or ceded their refugee status under international law is subject to factors considered by reference to the UN Convention. Under the UN Convention, as interpreted by UNHCR, a child of a refugee may acquire derivative refugee status – in a sense, inheriting the refugee status of the original refugee applicant.
However, this inter-generational refugee situation is often parsed in the context of protections accorded to coherent family units. Family unity is considered a desired goal under the refugee protection system, particularly where the aim is to maintain the services and protections of the family unit in an asylum country.
With regard to the very unique Palestinian situation, there are certain clear determinations that can be made under international law with respect to those who clearly do not have refugee status under any rudimentary analysis of the applicable UN Convention.
For instance, in the May 30, 1997 Note on Cessation Clauses, the UNHCR Standing Committee indicated,“Cessation of refugee status therefore applies when the refugee, having secured or being able to secure national protection, either of the country of origin or of another country, no longer needs international protection.”
Note that the underlying concern here is “international protection”, not necessarily repatriation to the country of origin. With respect to the Palestinian situation in Jordan – a de facto Palestinian State with 70% of the population being of Palestinian origin – the UNRWA counts over 2 million residents as “refugees”, though virtually all of them live outside of “camps” and have full rights of citizenship. By any stretch of the imagination, it must be conceded that the Palestinians in Jordan have been able to secure national protection in another country (i.e. Jordan, though this country was once part and parcel of Palestine before the East Bank portion was severed and rechristened as Transjordan).
In short, their situation has long since triggered the cessation clauses of the UN Convention. While the UNRWA may continue in its efforts to provide 2 million Jordanian citizens with aid services – and freely label them as “refugees” – their policy has absolutely no bearing or substance under international law. That removes 2 million Jordanian Palestinians from the “refugee” ledger.
Then, what about the Palestinian “refugees” in East Jerusalem? Under Israeli law, not only do they have permanent residency rights, but they also have the right to elect to take on Israeli citizenship, though most elect not to. But – and this is a key point – under any reasonable interpretation of refugee law, one cannot elect to stay a refugee, particularly when one already has access to, and the benefits of, national protection in the country in which one resides. So much for the Palestinian “refugees” in Jerusalem.
What, then, of the Gaza Strip, where the UNRWA registers roughly 70% of its residents – 1.3 million out of a population of 1.9 million – as “refugees”? According to UNRWA, there are eight refugee “camps” in Gaza, but they are more accurately termed as urban enclaves or neighbourhoods indistinguishable from any other crowded urban enclaves in Gaza. Nevertheless, the UNRWA insists on labeling these neighbourhoods as “camps”, though residents are free to stay or leave as they wish.
More problematically, from the perspective of refugee law, is the question as to whose “national protection” they are under. More than 20 years ago, the Palestinians of Gaza were governed by the Palestinian Authority as per the Oslo Accords. As of 2006, this “refugee” population has been under the “national protection” of Hamas. It may very well be the world’s only “refugee” population that fields its own missile arsenal, army, and a criminal justice system (of sorts).
According to Palestinian “Refugee” President Mahmud Abbas, 70% of the population of the Gaza Strip retains the theoretical right to “repatriate” a few miles across the border into the State of Israel. It may be the first instance in the annals of refugee law in which the bulk of the “refugee” population yearns to surrender their status as the majority population in their own country, and to seek minority status within the confines of the state next door in which they never had any citizenship. By any stretch of the imagination, the cessation clauses of the UN Convention have long since been triggered by the residents of the Gaza Strip. That removes a further 1.3 million Palestinians from the “refugee” ledger.
And now on to the West Bank, where the UNRWA has registered 775,000 “refugees”, with 25% of them spread across 19 “camps”. As the UNRWA freely admits, however, it does not run these “camps.” Rather, the responsibility for the administration and governance of these camps rests with the host authority, which just happens to be under the auspices of the Palestinian President. In other words – like their counterparts in Gaza – the “refugees” themselves serve as the hosts and administrators of their own “refugee” camps.
Under refugee law, repatriation to the original country of one’s nationality is just one option to bring about an end to one’s refugee status. Another option lies in integrating oneself into the local host population. But what if the local host population just happens to be your fellow nationals? Unless an international jurist can raise a persuasive argument that 775,000 West Bank “refugees” are unable to sufficiently integrate with themselves in the West Bank, I would argue that here is a good case for removing a further 775,000 West Bank Palestinians from the refugee ledger.
All of which leaves us – according to the UNRWA’s trustworthy figures – 450,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and around 500,000 in Syria (though those numbers have no doubt diminished substantially over the last few years, in light of the current turmoil in these countries). In terms of the UN Convention, these residents are able to present a comparatively stronger case for maintaining their legal status as refugees, or at least the need for international protection. For one thing, over the course of decades, they have formed a minority population in the midst of a majority population that otherwise disparages them and that has historically denied them full participation as citizens in line with the host residents.
With regard to the Palestinians in Syria, they remain vulnerable to the spillover of bloody civil war that has recently fragmented the country. However, when one looks closer, one must ask: Does a theoretical need for refugee protection in this instance necessarily lead to a need to repatriate the population to the country of origin, much less to the State of Israel?
As noted above, the governing concern of the UN Convention is that the refugee achieve some kind of practical protection, whether that comes from repatriation or from integration into the local host population. As of this writing, certainly the Palestinians in Syria – along with almost all Syrians, incidentally – may be considered a population in need of physical protection. Currently, the option of local integration is not practicable.
But in light of the current demography of Palestinians who reside within the borders of what formerly constituted Mandate Palestine, there are far more practical options to consider than mass settlement of Syrian and Lebanese Palestinians within the borders of the State of Israel.
Let us examine, for instance, this notion of “repatriation.” Under refugee law, there is no right to be repatriated to an ancestor’s house or neighbourhood that you had never lived in. Even with the provisional stipulation that refugee protection status can be inherited under international law, the repatriation rights of the stateless grandson cannot be equated with those of the grandfather who was forced to abandon his house and neighbourhood.
In the event the Palestinian grandson one day crossed the border from Syria into what was once Mandate Palestine, and chose to settle securely either in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, or Jordan, his refugee status would come to an end, despite the fact that he nevertheless wished to reclaim the grandfather’s house over the border in that part of the former Palestine Mandate that now comprises the State of Israel.
In short, there is absolutely no special or intrinsic right under refugee law for any Lebanese or Syrian Palestinian to “repatriate” into the State of Israel as opposed to those areas of the former Palestine Mandate where the Palestinians effectively comprise the host population.
Even under the most generous and liberal reading of the UN Convention, a mass repatriation of such a population to the State of Israel would be discouraged and avoided on practical grounds alone. More to the point, what exactly makes the borders of the State of Israel the necessary go-to destination for an alleged Palestinian refugee?
As noted, the aspiration of refugee protection law is to repatriate a refugee within their “country of origin” or among their “nationality of origin”. The Palestinians who evacuated the contested frontlines of a portion of the Palestine Mandate, which eventually became the State of Israel, cannot maintain – under any principle of refugee law – an inherited, inter-generational right to repatriate to the same home, neighbourhood, or town once occupied by one’s ancestor.
In practice, refugee law simply does not operate on that level of particularity. Rather, the unit of international redress is the state or nationality of origin. Under refugee law, a Palestinian cannot “reacquire” Israeli nationality or citizenship rights because they never had such rights to begin with,. A “return” to your grandfather’s former house in Haifa may very well be considered as a return to the ancestral homestead, but under refugee law, it could not be considered as a “return” to your nationality of origin, particularly in a situation where your nationality of origin has subsequently coalesced as an autonomous authority elsewhere in another portion of what was once Mandate Palestine.
Thus, even when – at least for the sake of argument – one stipulates and concedes that Palestinian refugee status might be inherited, and that – after 70 years – there might exist some kind of right in refugee law for repatriation of the descendants of the original refugees, it is difficult to argue in good faith that such refugees by rights must be settled in the portion of their former “country of origin” that now comprises a foreign nationality (i.e. Israeli), rather than in the portion of their country of origin that comprises their own nationality (i.e. Palestinian).
Up to this point, I have stipulated that – as of 1948 – there exists a “nationality of origin” that one could describe as “Palestinian.” In truth, it would be anachronistic and wholly inaccurate to accept such a stipulation on its face. The 1948 invasion of Palestine by five Arab nations – in concert with the Arabs of Mandate Palestine – was premised on incorporating Palestine as part of the greater Arab nation, and was based on the ideology of pan-Arab nationalism, itself founded by the leader of the Arab community in Palestine, Haj Amin al-Husseini. .
As late as 1964, the PLO Charter defined its national goal as providing for the armed liberation of Palestine, for the express purpose of incorporating it into the greater Arab nation.
With respect to refugee law, the relevant time frame of reference is the year 1948. In short, we must look at the circumstances that existed at the time the refugee crisis first arose. At that time, all sources were consistent with the collective understanding that the Arabs of Palestine viewed themselves not as “Palestinian” in nationality, but rather as citizens of the greater Arab nation. On that basis, the armies of five neighbouring Arab states were called in by the Arab leadership of Palestine to claim all of Mandate Palestine for the greater Arab nation, in accordance with the ideology of pan-Arab nationalism.
It is a crucial – yet conceptually subtle – point – to emphasize. If, indeed, the Arabs of Palestine declared themselves as fellow belligerents and as fellow citizens, of the greater Arab nation that invaded the newly formed State of Israel in 1948, then their self-declared “nationality of origin” on this date would arguably be shared with the citizens of their fellow co-belligerents, among whom were the Jordanians, Syrians, and Lebanese. In short, all the belligerents against the newly formed State of Israel – including the Arab leadership of Mandate Palestine – declared war against the Jewish State on the basis of their shared nationality as members of the greater Arab nation, whether Sunni, Shiite, or Christian.
According to the nationalized dynamics of the conflict, the Arab nationals of one part of Mandate Palestine sought refuge among fellow Arab nationals in other portions of Mandate Palestine, and across the border with fellow Arab nationals in the neighbouring Arab states.
What set the Palestinian Arabs apart in those neighbouring Arab states was not due to any inherent cultural or ethnic differences, but rather due to the political and legal need to keep them demographically intact and isolated from the host population, so as to retain their refugee status and their political use as part of the regional toolkit in the ongoing war to bring about the collapse of the State of Israel.
A suitable frame of reference would be the mass population exchanges that accompanied the partition of Pakistan from a portion of India in 1947. Upon the creation of Pakistan, millions of Muslims were uprooted and “repatriated” into the newly created Muslim state of Pakistan, while masses of Hindu adherents were evacuated from areas that would comprise Pakistan, and “repatriated” into the Hindu majority state of India.
With respect to the India-Pakistan crisis, there has been no international call for several million Hindus to be “repatriated” back into the territories that were incorporated into the Muslim majority state of Pakistan. It would be an absurd request in any case, in light of the fact that there would be no “nationality of origin” for these Hindu residents to “reacquire” in the Muslim state of Pakistan.
So, too, with the respective Jewish and Arab populations that were displaced in the wake of the creation of the State of Israel. An estimated 800,000 Middle Eastern Jews were expelled, or fled, from various countries around the Arab world, and subsequently integrated with their fellow Jews within the State of Israel.
Over the course of decades, there has been no sustained call for the Jewish refugees of the Middle East to be repatriated back to their original homes, or to be compensated en masse. By contrast, the Arab refugees from the 1948 war were effectively “weaponized” by the Arab World as demographic cannon fodder to be employed against the State of Israel, to be held in place in refugee settlements – again, mostly within the borders of Mandate Palestine – for the sole purpose of sustaining their legal status as refugees under international law.
Thus, up until 1967, both Egypt (in the Gaza Strip) and Jordan (in both Jordan and the West Bank) opted to permanently warehouse masses of Palestinians in refugee “camps” within the borders of Mandate Palestine for no reason at all, except to preserve for them the legal option of being repatriated across the border of the State of Israel.
With the active support of the oil-rich Gulf States, and in collusion with the Soviet Union (up until 1967) – and thereafter, with the European Union – the UNRWA would serve as the educational and “humanitarian” instrument by which an intergenerational refugee population would be educationally nourished on an identity of grievance, victimhood, and, above all, a fervent desire to destroy the very state in which they were demanding to be repatriated – incidentally, an ongoing circumstance of belligerence according to which the UN Convention advises against repatriation.
After 1967, once Israel acquired the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, an initial effort was made by the Israeli government – in its new role as the Administrative Authority in these territories – to dismantle the refugee settlements and to prod the “refugees” to integrate with the other Palestinian Arab residents of the area who weren’t registered by the UNRWA.
But the “refugees” – and the United Nations – were having none of it. So long as the UNRWA umbrella remained in place, the legal fiction could be sustained that any Palestinian Arab receiving aid by the UNRWA preserved a future ticket to settle in the State of Israel.
In time, when even the majority of Palestinians drifted out of the physical boundaries of the “camps” – which were now “camps” only in the sense that they had UNRWA installations set up within the boundaries of these designated crowded neighborhoods – the UNRWA brand was such that you no longer even needed to reside in a “camp” in order to sustain your refugee status. So long as you were registered with the UNRWA, and thus eligible to receive its services, you would be deemed a Palestinian “refugee” in the eyes of the US State Department, the European Union, and most of the other member states of the UN.
While integration into the local host community would be sufficient to end refugee status under the UNHCR system, the UNRWA umbrella remained in place – and would be repeatedly renewed by the UN – in order to artificially and indefinitely sustain Palestinian refugee status. Under the UNRWA umbrella, local integration would be wholly irrelevant in determining the end of one’s refugee status; henceforth, repatriation – into the Jewish State – would be considered as a valuable and viable bargaining chip to be placed on the table, at least so long as one was registered with UNRWA.
As we have seen, the overwhelming majority of Palestinian refugees do have a number of options available to end their refugee status. Those options, in turn, challenge the underlying rationale for refugee protection law, which is to mitigate the refugee’s vulnerable position with practical solutions.
In other words, if the refugee is presented with a viable option to improve their unfortunate circumstances, yet the refugee elects instead to maintain the status quo in order to preserve future options currently unavailable to that refugee (i.e. they want to voluntarily maintain their legal status as a refugee without triggering the cessation clauses), that stance can justifiably be viewed as insincere, as fraudulent, as evidence of bad faith conduct.
All of which brings us to the legal fraud that forms the basis of the Palestinian refugee claim. Under common law, when a party claims a personal injury, they have a duty to mitigate their losses, even while seeking redress for the alleged tort committed against them.
For seventy years, the Palestinians have claimed to suffer a grievous tort at the hands of the Jewish population they had initially sought to “throw into the sea.” Back in 1948, under international law, the newly formed State of Israel was under absolutely no legal obligation to accept a hostile population back into the domain of the once contested frontline.
By point of contrast, the Palestinians who remained within the borders of the State of Israel – after the initial cessation of hostilities in 1949 – happened to come from villages and towns where the population refrained from threatening the viability and physical safety of the newly formed state and its Jewish inhabitants. That population has since grown more than ten-fold over the course of several decades, sharing in the full rights of Israeli citizenship.
In the two decades from 1949 to 1967, the overwhelming bulk of internally displaced Palestinians continued to reside in the portions of Mandate Palestine that did not comprise the State of Israel, among a host population that was overwhelmingly Palestinian in origin. In that time frame, there was neither any plea nor request for “camp” residents to be integrated into the local host population, whether among their fellow countrymen in the West Bank, in Gaza, in Jordan, or among their fellow Arab neighbours in Syria and Lebanon.
Nor in that time frame was there any call or desire to exercise any kind of sovereign national governance over those portions of Mandate Palestine where they constituted the overwhelming majority.
f, in the case of Syria and Lebanon, the host governments made a concerted effort to maintain the minority Palestinian population in their second-class status, it is telling that no effort or request was made by these residents to resettle themselves among their “countrymen” in Gaza, the West Bank, or Jordan. On the one hand, they claimed to “suffer” on account of their extended refugee status, yet on the other hand, took every measure to ensure that they would not do anything to trigger the legal cessation of their refugee status.
In order to maintain the legal fiction of an ongoing refugee “crisis”, both the Arab World and the West – in collusion with the Soviet Union – did everything possible to ensure that Palestinian refugee “camps” would stay in place, even as they evolved into crowded urban enclaves. So long as the UNRWA would continue to offer services there and continue to designate these enclaves as “camps”, the legal fiction could continue in perpetuity.
Even as the majority of Palestinian “refugees” left the “camps” for more desirable accommodations, the remnant that chose to stay on in these “camp” /UNRWA-serviced enclaves would continue to be shown to the world as Exhibit A in the showpiece of Palestinian “suffering”.
However, lost in all this extended propaganda – even to much of the Israeli public – was this notion of Palestinian choice, of Palestinian agency, of the failure to mitigate one’s presumed injuries.
Against the evidence of that course of conduct, the incessant call for the “refugees” to repatriate en masse, from the Palestinian enclave of their portion of Palestine, into the Jewish enclave of the remaining portion, could only be seen for what it was – a strategy intended to demographically dissolve the Jewish polity within the borders of the State of Israel.
Since the signing and implementation of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians have taken some element of sovereign control over the Gaza Strip and over significant portions of the West Bank, denoted as Areas A and B. And yet, in these areas alone, a combined total of roughly 2 million Palestinian “refugees” claim the theoretical right to leave their “country of origin”, and to settle instead within the borders of the State of Israel, to live among six million Jews as a hostile minority.
The US State Department – for the sake of “peace” – continues to underwrite the legal fiction that the Palestinians suffer a legitimate refugee “crisis” that somehow requires Israel’s participation and concessions to resolve.
In the meantime, the Palestinians continue on as history’s most astoundingly unique case study in refugee crisis management. Where other refugee populations tend to diminish in the space of a few years, this one grows inter-generationally by orders of magnitude, mostly by means of natural growth rather than through ongoing displacement. Where other refugee populations look for any viable option to get out of the camps, this one seeks out funding, services, and indoctrination activities to keep a credibly sustainable mass of their population in the camps. While most refugee populations will do anything to end their legal status as refugees, this one will do anything to keep their legal status as refugees from ending.
In recent years, the Palestinian President has presented the international community with a truly puzzling legal conundrum to work through. If, on the one hand, you intend to argue that – thanks to the Oslo Accords – you now preside over a quasi-sovereign political entity that is internationally recognized as the “State of Palestine”, then under what principle of refugee law can you credibly maintain the argument that a significant proportion of your citizens nevertheless require the “protection” of being “repatriated” to the alien state next door?
The answer: You can’t credibly maintain this legal paradox. Yet in collusion with the majority of member states that comprise the United Nations, you can fraudulently maintain the illusion that your arguments are indeed credible under international law.
WHAT UNHCR and UNRWA DO
SERVE 5,300,000 PEOPLE (2016)
All field offices have a similar organizational structure and UNRWA’s programmes are implemented and managed by the:
Relief and Social Services Department
Department of Infrastructure and Camp Development in Amman
Office of the Microfinance and Microenterprise Programme in Jerusalem.
The number of area staff range from 3,000 in the Lebanon Field Office to over 10,000 in the Gaza Field Office. UNRWA has over 30,000 employees, most of them Palestinian refugees and a small number of international staff.
The majority of area staff are teachers, health services, relief and social services staff and administrative and support staff In addition to area staff, the United Nations in New York funds nearly
Asylum and Migration
Environment, Disasters and Climate Change Innovation
UNRWA and UNHCR
Where people come from, where they flee to – and why they keep moving.
New Internationalist gives a worldwide context for refugee flows with this
zoomable infograph from our Jan/Feb magazine ( 1 Jan 2016). | <urn:uuid:69a51c1d-c5d4-4bcb-99c4-90cafb08edff> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.jewishwikipedia.info/unrwa_unhcr1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572870.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817062258-20220817092258-00522.warc.gz | en | 0.956177 | 13,908 | 3.625 | 4 |
One-Octave Major Pentatonic Scale
What is the Major Pentatonic Scale?
‘Penta’ means five. A pentatonic scale is a five-tone scale. The major pentatonic scale is the most common pentatonic scale. This 5-note scale is found in virtually every style of music.
This scale is very versatile, is easy to play on the bass, and contains a very pleasing-to-hear group of notes. That’s why it is such a commonly used scale.
Whole-Step/Half-Step Construction of the Major Pentatonic Scale
Many times scales are described as a series of half-steps and whole-steps. We said the chromatic scale contained only half-steps, and the major scale uses a combination of whole- and half-steps. The major pentatonic scale is different since it contains a step-and-a-half between two pairs of notes in the scale. This helps create its unique open, airy sound.
The major pentatonic scale contains no half-steps. Starting on any note, it is built from the series: W, W, step-and-a-half, W, step-and-a-half.
Intervallic Construction of the Major Pentatonic Scale
The major pentatonic scale is constructed of the intervals M2, M3, P5, and M6. This intervallic construction is unique to this scale. This scale can be built on any note of the musical alphabet. As a result there are 12 major pentatonic scales.
A one-octave C major pentatonic scale is spelled C, D, E, G, A, and C an octave above. That’s five different notes don’t count the root twice.
One Octave Major Pentatonic Scale Fingering
You will notice the major pentatonic shape and fingering is similar to the one-octave major scale pattern. The major pentatonic scale can be most easily remembered as a major scale missing two of its seven notes the 4th and the 7th.
Just as with the major scale pattern, you can play this fingering anywhere on the fretboard.
Begin your fingering on your 2nd finger and apply the one-finger-per-fret rule:
Root with your 2nd finger
2 with your 4th finger
3 with your 1st finger
5 with your 4th finger
6 with your 1st finger
8 with your 4th finger
Why Learn the Major Pentatonic Scale?
You will run into and use this scale a lot. You might use it more often than any other scale. It works very well in basslines and many melodies use the major pentatonic scale. This is a must learn scale.
Major Pentatonic Scale Usage
When applied in the most common way, this scale has a simple, bright sound to it, and works well over many major chords. You should notice that three of the five notes are the notes of the major triad. That is why this scale often complements and is played over major triads. It also often works over the major 7th and dominant 7th chords. It can also be applied to some other chords we have yet to discuss like the major 6th chord (R, 3, 5, 6) and the major 6 9 chord (R, 3, 5, 6, 9).
When creating your own basslines you always have to use your ear to judge when applying a scale to a chord works and when it doesn’t. Hopefully you’ve read ‘chord tones are primary’. In a way the major pentatonic scale is a slightly modified major triad. I think the popularity of this scale is more evidence that chord tones are the real key to understanding music. You’ll notice most basslines applying the major pentatonic scale still heavily emphasize the basic underlying major triad. Don’t get too caught up in scales without first knowing the chords they complement.
You may also discover the guitar riff to 'My Girl' simply plays up the notes of the major pentatonic scale - root....2, 3, 5, 6, 8.
Here are some example basslines applying the major pentatonic scale.
|Major Pentatonic Scale Details|
|Whole-step/half-step construction:||W W 1-1/2 step W 1-1/2 step|
|Intervallic construction:||Root, M2, M3, P5, M6, P8|
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Lawsuits over the management of national forests have persisted despite a steep decline in logging, based on a 20-year litigation study.
An average of 56 cases a year were filed against the U.S. Forest Service between 1989 and 2008, according to the State Univerity of New York study, which was funded by the agency.
In that time, annual timber harvest levels in national forests have dropped roughly 75 percent, from 12 billion board feet to fewer than 3 billion board feet, according to Forest Service data.
“Even with the supposedly kinder and gentler forest management, the environmentalists are still litigating,” said Scott Horngren, attorney with the American Forest Resource Council timber industry group.
Environmentalists are now targeting thinning projects that they previously claimed were preferable to large clearcuts, he said.
There are simply fewer timber sale projects for the groups to target, Horngren said. “They all gang up on what’s left.”
Ralph Bloemers, an environmental attorney with the Crag Law Center, said he disagreed with that characterization of the data.
Lawsuits against the Forest Service are filed by diverse interests, including industry groups and people who live next to national forests, he said.
“It’s not just environmental plaintiffs,” said Bloemers. “The courts continue to be a place where people can enforce the substantive protections of the (Northwest) Forest Plan and ensure due process.”
The study evaluated the lawsuits filed during the 20-year period and found that the Forest Service prevailed about 54 percent of the time.
The agency lost about 23 percent of the cases and settled another 23 percent, the study said.
During the first decade analyzed in the study, the number of lawsuits against the Forest Service generally increased.
In the second decade, the number of annual cases swung wildly, from about 40 to more than 100.
Forest Service officials also appeared more willing to settle cases in the more recent years.
Since 2003, the agency has reached settlements in roughly 33 percent of cases, compared to fewer than 18 percent previously.
Bloemers said this statistic is encouraging, as settlement deals can offer more durable solutions than court rulings.
“It would be a heartening trend to see more settlements,” he said.
The study’s conclusion that the Forest Service loses nearly one-fourth of the lawsuits points to the agency’s management shortcomings, Bloemers said.
As a matter of law, the court is supposed to defer to the agency’s judgment, he said. “They get a lot of discretion and they’re still losing a lot of cases.”
Horngren of the American Forest Resources Council said unfavorable rulings have a ripple effect on other Forest Service projects, which must often be revised based on the judge’s opinions.
“They’ve got to go back and redo their work,” he said.
The legal process also creates major delays, Horngren said. Even after a project is revised, it can take years to win approval from the court to lift an injunction.
“The agencies are up against the overworked judiciary,” he said.
However, the Forest Service’s legal outlook is more optimistic now than it was during the years covered by the study, Horngren said.
In 2008, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a landmark decision in which it denied an injunction against a large timber project in Idaho.
The ruling reduced the ability of courts to second-guess the Forest Service and allowed the agency to rely more on its own experts, said Ann Forest Burns, vice president of AFRC.
“They’re entitled to evaluate the science for themselves,” she said.
Since then, the agency’s odds in court seem to have improved, said Horngren.
“I see a lot more victories,” he said. “Not every time, but at least we’re not dead on arrival.” | <urn:uuid:ced371ad-28af-420c-903b-28fdf323e9e7> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.capitalpress.com/Timber/20140409/study-as-logging-declines-lawsuits-continue | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891812855.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20180219231024-20180220011024-00483.warc.gz | en | 0.967514 | 858 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Extremely high frequency
|Extremely high frequency (ITU)|
|30 to 300 GHz|
|Millimetre band (IEEE)|
|110 to 300 GHz|
|2.73 to 1 mm|
|EU / NATO / US ECM|
|Other TV and radio|
Extremely high frequency (EHF) is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) designation for the band of radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum from 30 to 300 gigahertz (GHz). It lies between the super high frequency band and the far infrared band, the lower part of which is the terahertz band. Radio waves in this band have wavelengths from ten to one millimetre, so it is also called the millimetre band and radiation in this band is called millimetre waves, sometimes abbreviated MMW or mmWave. Millimetre-length electromagnetic waves were first investigated by Indian physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose during 1894–1896, when he reached up to 60 GHz in his experiments.
Compared to lower bands, radio waves in this band have high atmospheric attenuation: they are absorbed by the gases in the atmosphere. Therefore, they have a short range and can only be used for terrestrial communication for distances up to about a kilometer. Absorption increases with frequency until at the top end of the band the waves are attenuated to zero within a few meters. Absorption by humidity in the atmosphere is significant except in desert environments, and attenuation by rain (rain fade) is a serious problem even over short distances. However the short propagation range allows smaller frequency reuse distances than lower frequencies. The short wavelength allows modest size antennas to have a small beam width, further increasing frequency reuse potential. Millimeter waves are used for military fire-control radar, airport security scanners, short range wireless networks, and scientific research.
In a major new application of millimeter waves, certain frequency ranges near the bottom of the band are being used in the newest generation of cell phone networks, 5G networks. The design of millimeter-wave circuit and subsystems (such as antennas, power amplifiers, mixers and oscillators) also presents severe challenges to engineers due to semiconductor and process limitations, model limitations and poor Q factors of passive devices.
Millimeter waves propagate solely by line-of-sight paths. They are not reflected by the ionosphere nor do they travel along the Earth as ground waves as lower frequency radio waves do. At typical power densities they are blocked by building walls and suffer significant attenuation passing through foliage. Absorption by atmospheric gases is a significant factor throughout the band and increases with frequency. However, this absorption is maximum at a few specific absorption lines, mainly those of oxygen at 60 GHz and water vapor at 24 GHz and 184 GHz. At frequencies in the "windows" between these absorption peaks, millimeter waves have much less atmospheric attenuation and greater range, so many applications use these frequencies. Millimeter wavelengths are the same order of size as raindrops, so precipitation causes additional attenuation due to scattering (rain fade) as well as absorption. The high free space loss and atmospheric absorption limit useful propagation to a few kilometers. Thus, they are useful for densely packed communications networks such as personal area networks that improve spectrum utilization through frequency reuse.
Millimeter waves show "optical" propagation characteristics and can be reflected and focused by small metal surfaces and dielectric lenses around 5 to 30 cm (2 inches to 1 foot) diameter. Because their wavelengths are often much smaller than the equipment that manipulates them, the techniques of geometric optics can be used. Diffraction is less than at lower frequencies, although millimeter waves can be diffracted by building edges. At millimeter wavelengths, surfaces appear rougher so diffuse reflection increases. Multipath propagation, particularly reflection from indoor walls and surfaces, causes serious fading. Doppler shift of frequency can be significant even at pedestrian speeds. In portable devices, shadowing due to the human body is a problem. Since the waves penetrate clothing and their small wavelength allows them to reflect from small metal objects they are used in millimeter wave scanners for airport security scanning.
This band is commonly used in radio astronomy and remote sensing. Ground-based radio astronomy is limited to high altitude sites such as Kitt Peak and Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) due to atmospheric absorption issues.
Satellite-based remote sensing near 60 GHz can determine temperature in the upper atmosphere by measuring radiation emitted from oxygen molecules that is a function of temperature and pressure. The ITU non-exclusive passive frequency allocation at 57–59.3 GHz is used for atmospheric monitoring in meteorological and climate sensing applications and is important for these purposes due to the properties of oxygen absorption and emission in Earth's atmosphere. Currently operational U.S. satellite sensors such as the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on one NASA satellite (Aqua) and four NOAA (15–18) satellites and the special sensor microwave/imager (SSMI/S) on Department of Defense satellite F-16 make use of this frequency range.
In the United States, the band 36.0–40.0 GHz is used for licensed high-speed microwave data links, and the 60 GHz band can be used for unlicensed short range (1.7 km) data links with data throughputs up to 2.5 Gbit/s. It is used commonly in flat terrain.
The 71–76, 81–86 and 92–95 GHz bands are also used for point-to-point high-bandwidth communication links. These higher frequencies do not suffer from oxygen absorption, but require a transmitting license in the US from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). There are plans for 10 Gbit/s links using these frequencies as well. In the case of the 92–95 GHz band, a small 100 MHz range has been reserved for space-borne radios, limiting this reserved range to a transmission rate of under a few gigabits per second.
The band is essentially undeveloped and available for use in a broad range of new products and services, including high-speed, point-to-point wireless local area networks and broadband Internet access. WirelessHD is another recent technology that operates near the 60 GHz range. Highly directional, "pencil-beam" signal characteristics permit different systems to operate close to one another without causing interference. Potential applications include radar systems with very high resolution.
Uses of the millimeter wave bands include point-to-point communications, intersatellite links, and point-to-multipoint communications. In 2013 it was speculated that there were plans to use millimeter waves in future 5G mobile phones. In addition, use of millimeter wave bands for vehicular communication is also emerging as an attractive solution to support (semi-)autonomous vehicular communications.
Shorter wavelengths in this band permit the use of smaller antennas to achieve the same high directivity and high gain as larger ones in lower bands. The immediate consequence of this high directivity, coupled with the high free space loss at these frequencies, is the possibility of a more efficient use of frequencies for point-to-multipoint applications. Since a greater number of highly directive antennas can be placed in a given area, the net result is greater frequency reuse, and higher density of users. The high usable channel capacity in this band might allow it to serve some applications that would otherwise use fiber-optic communication or very short links such as for the interconnect of circuit boards.
Millimeter wave radar is used in short-range fire-control radar in tanks and aircraft, and automated guns (CIWS) on naval ships to shoot down incoming missiles. The small wavelength of millimeter waves allows them to track the stream of outgoing bullets as well as the target, allowing the computer fire control system to change the aim to bring them together.
With Raytheon the U.S. Air Force has developed a nonlethal antipersonnel weapon system called Active Denial System (ADS) which emits a beam of millimeter radio waves with a wavelength of 3 mm (frequency of 95 GHz). The weapon causes a person in the beam to feel an intense burning pain, as if their skin is going to catch fire. The military version had an output power of 100 kilowatts (kW), and a smaller law enforcement version, called Silent Guardian that was developed by Raytheon later, had an output power of 30 kW.
Clothing and other organic materials are transparent to millimeter waves of certain frequencies, so a recent application has been scanners to detect weapons and other dangerous objects carried under clothing, for applications such as airport security. Privacy advocates are concerned about the use of this technology because, in some cases, it allows screeners to see airport passengers as if without clothing.
The TSA has deployed millimeter wave scanners to many major airports.
Prior to a software upgrade the technology did not mask any part of the bodies of the people who were being scanned. However, passengers' faces were deliberately masked by the system. The photos were screened by technicians in a closed room, then deleted immediately upon search completion. Privacy advocates are concerned. "We're getting closer and closer to a required strip-search to board an airplane," said Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union. To address this issue, upgrades have eliminated the need for an officer in a separate viewing area. The new software generates a generic image of a human. There is no anatomical differentiation between male and female on the image, and if an object is detected, the software only presents a yellow box in the area. If the device does not detect anything of interest, no image is presented. Passengers can decline scanning and be screened via a metal detector and patted down.
Three security scanners using millimeter waves were put into use at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on 15 May 2007, with more expected to be installed later. The passenger's head is masked from the view of the security personnel.
According to Farran Technologies, a manufacturer of one model of the millimeter wave scanner, the technology exists to extend the search area to as far as 50 meters beyond the scanning area which would allow security workers to scan a large number of people without their awareness that they are being scanned.
Recent studies at the University of Leuven have proven that millimeter waves can also be used as a non-nuclear thickness gauge in various industries. Millimeter waves provide a clean and contact-free way of detecting variations in thickness. Practical applications for the technology focus on plastics extrusion, paper manufacturing, glass production and mineral wool production.
Low intensity (usually 10 mW/cm2 or less) electromagnetic radiation of extremely high frequency may be used in human medicine for the treatment of diseases. For example, "A brief, low-intensity MMW exposure can change cell growth and proliferation rates, activity of enzymes, state of cell genetic apparatus, function of excitable membranes and peripheral receptors." This treatment is particularly associated with the range of 40–70 GHz. This type of treatment may be called millimeter wave (MMW) therapy or extremely high frequency (EHF) therapy. This treatment is associated with eastern European nations (e.g., former USSR nations). The Russian Journal Millimeter waves in biology and medicine studies the scientific basis and clinical applications of millimeter wave therapy.
Police speed radar
- Electromagnetic shielding
- Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves
- Knife-edge effect
- Terahertz radiation
- "Milestones: First Millimeter-wave Communication Experiments by J.C. Bose, 1894-96". List of IEEE milestones. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- User Equipment (UE) radio transmission and reception; Part 3: Range 1 and Range 2 Interworking operation with other radios (PDF) (Technical Specification). 3GPP TS 38.101-3 version 15.2.0 Release 15. ETSI. July 2018. p. 11. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- du Preez, Jaco; Sinha, Saurabh (2017). Millimeter-Wave Power Amplifiers. Springer. pp. 1–35. ISBN 978-3-319-62166-1.
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- "Millimeter Wave Propagation: Spectrum Management Implications" (PDF). Office of Engineering and Technology, Bulletin No. 70. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), US Dept. of Commerce. July 1997. Retrieved May 20, 2017. Cite journal requires
- du Preez, Jaco; Sinha, Saurabh (2016). Millimeter-Wave Antennas: Configurations and Applications. Springer. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-3319350684.
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- FCC.gov[permanent dead link], Comments of IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society, FCC RM-11104, 10/17/07
- Rfdesign.com Archived 2012-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, Multigigabit wireless technology at 70 GHz, 80 GHz and 90 GHz, RF Design, May 2006
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- Hambling, David (2009-05-08). "'Pain ray' first commercial sale looms". Wired. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
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- esa. "Bat inspires space tech for airport security". esa.int. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- Pakhomov, A. G., Murphy, P. R. (2000). "Low-intensity millimeter waves as a novel therapeutic modality". IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. 28 (1): 34–40. Bibcode:2000ITPS...28...34P. doi:10.1109/27.842821. S2CID 22730643.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
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- "Radio and Radar Frequency Bands". copradar.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020. | <urn:uuid:006ec286-83bd-4347-8f2f-730b0aba7da0> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://www.technetiumtr898.xyz/wiki/Destiny | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964363400.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20211207140255-20211207170255-00607.warc.gz | en | 0.880105 | 3,756 | 3.78125 | 4 |
We all heard that “demography is destiny”. But how many of us truly believe it? If demography was destiny, the world would look very different today. The two demographic giants China and India would be uncontested economic and military powers. The United States would be a regional power struggling to keep up. Larger European nations such as Britain, France and Germany would barely register on the economic map, while smaller ones such as Switzerland and Finland would be invisible. Nigeria and DR Congo would be African powerhouses. Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines would be the shining stars of their continents.
None of this is true because demography is not destiny. Population size alone does not set a country on a predictable course. Still, demography is, among other factors, an important determinant of destiny. While the rate of demographic growth (or decline) is important, what is more important is the age distribution of the population. Too many old people means an elevated dependency ratio and less income available for spending and investing. Too many young people means an overburdened education system and high unemployment.
The chart below shows for each country the percentage of the population that is aged 0-29 vs. per capita GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP). The correlation is undeniable.
Countries with a smaller percentage of young people have higher GDP per capita. Many of these countries and regions, including the United States, Europe and China, have benefited from a demographic dividend while their birth rates declined in recent decades.
Conversely, countries with more young people have lower GDP per capita. Most of them are in Asia and Africa.
We can argue about causality. Are countries poorer because they have more children? Or do they have more children because they are poorer? Or are they both poorer and have more children because of a third factor?
Nothing is simple and all three are true. Countries are poorer because they have too many children, mothers have no time to educate themselves, and there is little or no disposable income to save or invest. But countries also have more children in part because they are poorer, have inadequate health services and suffer from high child mortality. And many countries are poorer and more fertile because female literacy is low and gender inequality is high.
What is known is that countries that experience a decline in their birth rate sometimes realize a demographic dividend, an economic boost that can last years or even decades. Improving health care and boosting literacy have been shown to break the cycle of extreme poverty and extreme fertility.
Meanwhile, this is the world that we face in the next few decades: rich countries that are getting older and poor countries that are very young. Working-age populations are shrinking in the rich countries while in poor countries, they are booming beyond those countries’ abilities to educate them, shelter them and employ them.
The chart above shows that there are many outliers, countries that are either poor despite being relatively older, or richer despite being relatively younger. When we looked to see if the outliers have anything in common, it turned out that they do.
The first group (old and poor) are shown in red and are the countries that are former or current communist states. The second group (rich and young) are shown in black and are the leading oil and gas-producing nations. The yellow data points are the nations that are (or were) both communist and wealthy from energy resources.
Communism may be considered an “unusual” way of managing an economy since it conflicts with strong human instincts for creativity and innovation. Likewise, the huge accidental wealth that comes from finding oneself living on top of vast underground resources may also be deemed “unusual” (or certainly lucky) since it is probably rare, or perhaps even unprecedented, in several millennia of human experience.
If we remove the outlying red and black data points, we end up with the chart below with a much better regression and trend line and an r-squared of 0.78, a large improvement from 0.37 when all the data is included. The trend line is curved because the y-axis is on a log scale.
This reinforces the idea that in a large majority of countries, young populations tend to be far poorer. At first, this statement may ring intuitively true and uncontroversial, because young people have had less time to accumulate wealth, until one examines the magnitude of the wealth gap. The GDP per capita of the very youngest nations is less than 5% that of the oldest. The Central African Republic’s is 1% of Switzerland’s.
This is a constantly changing dynamic. And it remains to be seen whether the rich countries of the West can weather the aging of their populations and maintain their GDP per capita at current levels.
They may struggle to do so and we may find that over the long term, demography reasserts itself every so often, even if temporarily, as the leading driver of our destiny.
Sami Karam is the founder and editor of populyst.net and the creator of the populyst index™. populyst is about innovation, demography and society. Before populyst, he was the founder and manager of the Seven Global funds and a fund manager at leading asset managers in Boston and New York. In addition to a finance MBA from the Wharton School, he holds a Master's in Civil Engineering from Cornell and a Bachelor of Architecture from UT Austin.
Baby photo by Bigstock. | <urn:uuid:5e2055ab-4146-4517-b577-2385731e6449> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.newgeography.com/content/005201-the-relationship-between-fertility-and-national-income | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257832942.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071032-00234-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961328 | 1,120 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Remains of Stephenson's 'Rocket' (1829) on display, 2001
Image number: 10325643
Remains of Stephenson's 'Rocket', 1829. On display in the 'Making the Modern World' gallery, Science Museum, London. The Rocket, designed by Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) became famous after winning the Rainhill Trials of 1829. The Rainhill Trials were a series of speed tests to find the best locomotive for haulage on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. After winning the competition the Rocket ran on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway (1829-1836) and the Midgeholme Colliery Railway (1836-1840).
- Image number:
- Science Museum/Science & Society Picture Library
- Image rights:
- Science Museum | <urn:uuid:eb958459-c3b0-476d-94c7-4cbe58ed87bb> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/ManualSSPL/10325643.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042986646.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002306-00176-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.818758 | 164 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Jack in the Green
Jack in the Green, also known as Jack o' the Green, is an English folk custom associated with the celebration of May Day. It involves a pyramidal or conical wicker or wooden framework that is decorated with foliage being worn by a person as part of a procession, often accompanied by musicians.
The Jack in the Green tradition developed in England during the eighteenth century. It emerged from an older May Day tradition—first recorded in the seventeenth century—in which milkmaids carried milk pails that had been decorated with flowers and other objects as part of a procession. Increasingly, the decorated milk pails were replaced with decorated pyramids of objects worn on the head, and by the latter half of the eighteenth century the tradition had been adopted by other professional groups, such as bunters and chimney sweeps. The earliest known account of a Jack in the Green came from a description of a London May Day procession in 1770. By the nineteenth century, the Jack in the Green tradition was largely associated with chimney sweeps.
The tradition died out in the early twentieth century. Later that century, various revivalist groups emerged, continuing the practice of Jack in the Green May Day processions in various parts of England. The Jack in the Green has also been incorporated into various modern Pagan parades and activities.
The Jack in the Green tradition has attracted the interest of folklorists and historians since the early twentieth century. Lady Raglan—following an interpretive framework influenced by James Frazer and Margaret Murray—suggested that it was a survival of a pre-Christian fertility ritual. Although this became the standard interpretation in the mid-twentieth century, it was rejected by folklorists and historians following the 1979 publication of Roy Judge's study on the custom, which outlined its historical development in the eighteenth century.
The Jack in the Green consists of a wooden or wicker frame that is covered in woven foliage, including green branches, leaves, and flowers. It is worn on the upper half of a human body and carried along in May Day processions. There is often a slot in the frame out of which the individual inside of it can see, and the individual's feet can often be seen below the framework.
Origins in the eighteenth century
Jack in the Green emerged within the context of English May Day processions, with the folklorist Roy Judge noting that these celebrations were not "a set, immutable pattern, but rather a fluid, moving process, which combined different elements at various times". Judge thought it unlikely that the Jack in the Green itself existed much before 1770, due to an absence of either the name or the structure itself in any of the written accounts of visual depictions of English May Day processions from before that year.
The Jack in the Green developed out of a tradition that was first recorded in the seventeenth century, which involved milkmaids decorating themselves for May Day. In his diary, Samuel Pepys recorded observing a London May Day parade in 1667 in which milk-maids had "garlands upon their pails" and were dancing behind a fiddler. A 1698 account described milk-maids carrying not a decorated milk-pail, but a silver plate on which they had formed a pyramid-shape of objects, decorated with ribbons and flowers, and carried atop their head. The milk maids were accompanied by musicians playing either a fiddle and bag-pipe, and went door to door, dancing for the residents, who gave them payment of some form. In 1719, an account in The Tatler described a milk-maid "dancing before my door with the plate of half her customers on her head", while a 1712 account in The Spectator referred to "the ruddy Milk-Maid exerting herself in a most sprightly style under a Pyramid of Silver Tankards". These and other sources indicate that this tradition was well-established by the eighteenth century.
Many accounts from the second half of the eighteenth century describe chimney sweeps dressing up in costumes for May Day, including in wigs, crowns, and coats. Some cross-dressed in women's clothing, and many either blackened or whitened their faces. These chimney sweeps created music by banging together their brushes and shovels. Many of the descriptions of chimney sweeps at May Day make no reference to them carrying garlands, indicating that at this point this was not considered a standard part of their seasonal costume. There were nevertheless examples where sweeps did bear garlands; one of the earliest examples of this is in an illustration from 1769, in which a sweep bears a small garland on his head. This illustration also featured garlands being worn by milkmaids and bunters, implying that the custom was being adopted by various different professional groups at May Day. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there are further accounts of bunters having garlands, although theirs were often made of pewter, on contrast to the milk maid's silver, reflecting their comparative socio-economic status.
The first known textual account of the Jack in the Green tradition was written in 1770 by a Frenchman who had visited London and observed a May Day procession, Peter Grosley. The earliest known reference to the term "Jack in the Green" comes from 1785, where it was referred to in a report in The Times newspaper that gave an account of a masquerade that was held at the Pantheon in London. The event would have been a largely upper-class affair, and was attended by the Prince of Wales. The earliest possible pictorial reference to a Jack in the Green comes from a picture titled "May Day" that was produced between 1775 and 1785. This image featured a procession in which three garlands of metal objects are in the foreground, but in the background of the image is something that resembles a foliate Jack in the Green. A clearer depiction of a Jack in the Green was featured in a 1795 engraving, perhaps by Isaac Cruikshank, which included the foliate figure alongside a fiddler with a wooden leg, a man, and a transvestite; in the background are dancing chimney sweeps.
This evidence reflects that while the Jack in the Green was brought out at May Day events, where chimney sweeps were also regularly present, the Jack in the Green itself was not yet closely associated with the sweeps, as it would become in the following century. Judge suggested that it would have been "neatly appropriate" had the foliate Jack in the Green been developed by greengrocers or members of another trade that worked closely with fauna, however, he noted that there was no evidence for this.
Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century developments
The Jack in the Green tradition is well recorded in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1806 and 1883, the Jack in the Green came to gain a central part in the English May Day processions. The Jack in the Green tradition came to be associated especially with chimney sweeps. In the mid-nineteenth century, many London chimney sweep families migrated to other towns in the south-east and brought the tradition with them; Jack-in-the-Green practices are for instance recorded from the Kentish towns of Lewisham, Deptford, Greenwich, Bromley, and Orpington.
By the beginning of the 20th century the custom had started to wane as a result of disapproval of bawdy and anarchic behaviour. The Lord and Lady of the May, with their practical jokes, were replaced by a pretty May Queen, while the noisy, drunken Jack in the Green vanished altogether from the parades. The Jack-in-the Green custom practiced at Whitstable in Kent for instance died out around 1912.
In a 1939 article, Lady Raglan proposed that the Jack in the Green tradition was linked to the medieval church carvings which she described as the "Green Man". She further interpreted both the Jack in the Green and the Green Men as pre-Christian spirits of nature and fertility. Her supposition was not based on any in-depth examination of the historical developments of either tradition. Her interpretation was an extension of the ideas about fertility deities which had been promoted by the anthropologist James Frazer in his influential book, The Golden Bough. Raglan's linking of the Jack in the Green to the Green Man and pre-Christian belief systems took "direct inspiration"—in the words of historian Ronald Hutton—from the 1934 suggestion by folklorist Margaret Murray that the Sheela-na-Gig carvings found in medieval churches represented pre-Christian fertility goddesses.
According to Hutton, Raglan's presentation of the Jack in the Green as a pre-Christian survival "so perfectly reflected what mid-twentieth-century folklorists wished to believe that it became an orthodoxy". In her 1976 overview of British folk customs, for instance, the folklorist Christina Hole suggested that Jack in the Green was a "very ancient figure" who represented "the Summer itself, the very old bringer-in of the time of plenty".
This interpretation would be rejected by folklorists after the 1979 publication of a historical study on the Jack in the Green tradition written by the folklorist Roy Judge and published by the Folklore Society. This monograph had been based on Judge's doctoral research, carried out at the University of Leeds' Folklife Studies Institute. Hutton described Judge's book as "a turning-point in folklore studies which showed how much could be learned from a systematic investigation of historical evidence". It was, in his view, "one of the first triumphs" of a movement within British folkloristics that sought "to reintroduce a scholarly rigour to their field". Writing Judge's obituary for The Guardian, Derek Schofield stated that Judge's book "set new standards of meticulous research in a discipline that has frequently attracted shoddy and fanciful scholarship".
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2010)
In the 1970s, Gordon Newton and his Motley Morris troupe revived the custom in Rochester, Kent. This grew in popularity, and was expanded into the broader May Day Rochester Sweeps Festival. Another revival took place in Whitstable.
Another revival occurred in Hastings during 1983 and has become a major event of the Hastings Old Town calendar. Ilfracombe in North Devon has had a Jack in the Green procession and celebration since 2000. It is participated with by local schoolchildren, dancing around the maypole on the sea front, and by local Morris men and dance groups from in and around the district.
Jack is a colourful figure, almost 3 m (9.8 ft) tall, covered in greenery and flowers. In Whitstable, he is accompanied by two attendants, representing the legendary figures of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. In Hastings, he is also accompanied by attendants, here known as Bogies, who are completely disguised in green rags, vegetation, and face paint. The attendants play music, dance and sing as they guide Jack through the streets to celebrate the coming of summer.
Revivals of the custom have occurred in various parts of England; Jacks in the Green have been seen in Bristol, Oxford and Knutsford, among other places. Evercreech Jack in the Green takes place in early May at The Old Stores Studio in the village of Evercreech near Bruton in Somerset. Jacks also appear at May Fairs in North America. In Deptford the Fowler's Troop and Blackheath Morris have been parading the tallest and heaviest modern Jack for many decades, either in Greenwich, Bermondsey and the Borough or at Deptford itself, and at the end of May a Jack is an essential part of the Pagan Pride parade in Holborn.
Current Jacks in the Green
A large number of Jacks parade each year keeping the tradition alive. Some are revivals based on traditional customs that ended during the 19th century, whilst others are new, based on writings or pictures depicting earlier Jacks. The following list are all currently active:
- Bradford-on-Avon: Bradford on Avon Green Man Festival
- Brentham Garden Suburb, London: Brentham has a big celebration every May which includes a Jack in the Green described as "a walking, talking bush" who sometimes parades barefoot.
- Bristol: A Jack in the Green was recorded in Bristol about 1865 by a woman who remembered seeing him with a sweep and a queen on the outskirts of the city. The revived Bristol Jack in the Green appears on the first Saturday in May starting from the historic Harbourside (outside M Shed museum) and leads a procession through the streets of Bristol, eventually ending the day on Horfield Common where he is "slain" (and ripped apart by onlookers) to "release the spirit of summer".
- Evercreech, Somerset: Evercreech Jack in the Green emerges from The Old Stores Studio in early May and is accompanied by musicians, drummers and followers on a procession to The Bullzini Circus Field for a celebration to banish winter and release the Sprit of Summer, embodied by a joyous female icon who welcomes the summer months.
- Carshalton, London: A Celebration of Harvest, this occurs during September each year. A straw Jack is stripped in the evening so that all present can take a keepsake and the body is burnt in a brazier.
- Central London:The parade starts from the Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1, led by traditional giants, the Jack-in-the-Green and Bogies.
- City of London: Rather than a revival, the City of London Jack-in-the-Green is based on descriptions and illustrations from early writings. During the late 1970s Greenwood Morris, who danced at Alexandra Palace, would bring their Jack into the City for an evening tour of London Wall and Smithfield. One lunchtime an all day event was discussed and the City of London Jack was invented and was first paraded during 1984. Tradition has it that the City of London Jack only comes out on City working days.
- Deptford, London: The Fowlers Troop Jack was revived during the early 1980s by members of the Blackheath Morris Men and friends. It is a revival of a Jack in the Green from about 1906 which was paraded by the original Fowlers Troop. The Fowlers Jack goes out on the streets of South East London or the City of London each May Day. The Jack is usually dressed on 30 April and is paraded on May Day.
- Hastings, East Sussex: The Hastings Jack-in-the-Green festival was revived by local group Mad Jacks Morris Dancers during 1983 and is now one of the biggest annual gatherings of Morris dancers in the country. The Jack is "released" every year and is important to the festival. The main procession of the Jack takes place on the May Bank Holiday Monday through the streets of Hastings Old Town, starting from the Fishermen's Museum. The Jack is accompanied by the Bogies, Black Sal, the Fat man with a drum and other character, Mad Jacks Morris, dancers, giants, drummers and various other Morris sides. The procession ends on the West Hill where Jack is "slain" to "release the spirit of summer". The current Bristol Jack is a direct descendant of the Hastings Jack.
- Highworth, Wiltshire: Highworth Jack in the Green, takes part in the annual Highworth Charter Market, usually held on the Saturday nearest to Mayday. The Highworth Jack was first reported in 2006.
- Ilfracombe, North Devon: Ilfracombe Jack-in-the-Green normally takes the streets the first Sunday of May accompanied by spectacular giants, The Humdrumconumdrum drummers and a host of wonderful mystical characters from fairies to horned stilt walkers, the day is truly magical. The parade starts from Wilder Road car park at 11:00 am lead by the town crier, Roy Goodwin. Music and laughter filling the streets of Ilfracombe while crowds of people watch the happy green clad crews dancing via the High Street heading down the oldest street in Ilfracombe "Fore Street". The crowds from Ilfracombe follow the crew to the clapping circle were they dance the maypole and "release the spirit of summer".
- Knutsford, Cheshire: May Day in Knutsford is celebrated during the May Bank Holiday weekend. The emphasis is the May Queen but there is a Jack in the Green.
- Oxford: A Jack in the Green appears in Oxford on May Day. A traditional Jack was famously photographed in Oxford by Sir Benjamin Stone.
- Rochester, Kent: The Rochester Sweeps festival was revived during 1981 and still has a Jack in the Green Ceremony where the Jack is awoken by dancers and sweeps on Blue Bell Hill at dawn on May Morning (approximately 5:32 am) at the Blue Bell Hill picnic area. The Jack is paraded through the street (usually on the Bank Holiday Monday) starting in Rochester Castle Gardens and taking a circular route. The festival is attended by hundreds of Morris sides.
- Whitstable, Kent: Oyster Morris have their own Green Man who combines the roles of Jester and announcer dressed in white and green. The Jack is central to the Whitstable May Day celebrations.
- Mylor, South Australia: 'The English Ale' is a unique seasonal gathering in Australia inspired by Jack-in-the-Green and other English folk customs which takes place in the township of Mylor in the picturesque Adelaide Hills. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, it is an autumn gathering celebrating various village customs and ritual traditions of England, whilst also acknowledging the end of the hot dry Australian summer, the end of the fire season and moving into the ‘greener’ times of the year. A Jack and Giants are paraded around Mylor Oval, with dancers, guisers, and hobby horses, followed by a Peramangk Welcome to Country ceremony and the burning of a Wicker man with music, food and dance.
- Hole 1995, p. 169; Hutton 1996, p. 241.
- Hutton 1996, p. 241.
- Hole 1995, p. 169.
- Judge 2000, p. 21.
- Judge 2000, p. 24.
- Judge 2000, p. 3.
- Judge 2000, pp. 4–5.
- Judge 2000, p. 5.
- Judge 2000, p. 4.
- Judge 2000, pp. 12–13.
- Judge 2000, pp. 13–14.
- Judge 2000, p. 14.
- Judge 2000, p. 9.
- Judge 2000, pp. 10–11.
- Judge 2000, pp. 19–21.
- Judge 2000, p. 19.
- Judge 2000, pp. 21–22.
- Judge 2000, p. 241.
- Doel & Doel 2003, p. 18.
- Mayhew 1861, p. 370
- Judge 1979
- Doel & Doel 2003, p. 19.
- Hutton 1996, pp. 241–242.
- Hutton 1996, p. 242.
- Hutton 1996, p. 424.
- Schofield 2000.
- Hutton 1996, p. 265.
- "Medway Web Site:Sweeps". Medway.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- Leech, Keith (1989). The Hastings Jack in the Green. Hastings: Hastings Borough Council.
- "Dancing at dawn in Hastings to celebrate May Day". hastingsobserver.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Dancing in the May". calendarcustoms.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Maypoles and Morris dancing". londonist.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Hastings May-Time Celebrations". enfieldiancoaches.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Morris dancers gathered at West Hill, Hastings, UK. 1 May 2016". alamy.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Crowds turn out for May Day Morris dancing and parades". theargus.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Maypoles motorbikes and dancing the sun up". bexhillobserver.net. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "6 of the best May Day festivals". countrylife.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Whitstable Jack in the Green". calendarcustoms.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Coronavirus Kent: Whitstable May Day Parade to have 'virtual procession'". kentonline.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Jack in the Green - Hastings, England". atlasobscura.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Virtual Hastings Jack in the Green is huge success and viewed throughout the world". hastingsobserver.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Jack in the Green - Bristol Museums". bristolmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Jack in the Green". maymorning.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Jack in the Green - Knutsford Royal May Day". knutsford-royal-mayday.co.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "British Folklore: The Traditional Jack in the Green". folklorethursday.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Deptford Jack in the Green May Day Celebrations Greenwich". thelostbyway.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "As they knew it reminiscences of Bermondsey 1820-1916 BermondseyStreet back number 10" (PDF). bermondseystreet.london. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "London Pagan Parade 2020". londonpaganparade.org/. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
- "Bradford on Avon Green Man Festival". Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- "Brentham Jack-in-the-Green". Brentham.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "Bristol Jack in the Green". Home.freeuk.net. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "Carshalton Straw Jack". Strawjack.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "London Jack-in-the-Green (Beltane Bash)". Paganfestivals.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "City of London Jack-in-the-Green". Cityjackinthegreen.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "Deptford Jack-in-the-Green". Deptford-jack.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "Hastings Traditional Jack-in-the-Green". HastingsTraditionalJackInTheGreen.co.uk. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- "Knutsford Jack-in-the-Green". Virtual-knutsford.co.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- uk2.net. "Oxford Jack-in-the-Green". Am39.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- Rochester Jack-in-the-Green Archived 7 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- "Whitstable Jack-in-the-Green". Oystermorris.org.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- "The English Ale, Mylor, South Australia". Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- Doel, Fran; Doel, Geoff (2003). Folklore of Kent. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-2628-0.
- Hole, Christina (1995) . A Dictionary of British Folk Customs. Oxford: Helicon. ISBN 978-1859861295.
- Hutton, Ronald (1996). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198205708.
- Judge, Roy (1979). The Jack in the Green, a May Day Custom. D S Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-029-6.
- Judge, Roy (2000). The Jack-in-the-Green: A May Day Custom (second ed.). London: The Folklore Society Books. ISBN 0-903515-20-2.
- Mayhew, Henry (1861). London Labour and the London Poor: A Cyclopedia of the Condition and Earnings of those who will work,...etc. Vol. 2 (Cosimo Classics 2008 ed.). p. 346. ISBN 978-1-60520-735-3. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- Schofield, Derek (5 December 2000). "Obituary: Roy Judge". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- Atkinson, Allen (1989). Jack in the Green. Crown Pub. ISBN 0-517-56594-3.
- Gross, Paul (illus), Crofts, Sarah Jane (2002). Fowler's Troop and the Deptford Jack in the Green: A History of an Old London May Day Tradition. Rainbarrow P. ISBN 0-9542661-0-2.
- Frazer, James (2004). The Golden Bough. Canongate Books Ltd. ISBN 1-84195-432-2. - see Chapter 10: Relics of Tree Worship in Modern Europe
- Leech, Keith (1989). Hastings Jack in the Green. Keith Leech. ISBN 0-9514498-0-X.
- Leech, Keith (1989). Jack in the Green in Tasmania 1844-1973. Folklore Society Library. ISBN 1-871903-00-9.
- "The Jack-in-the-Green", book review in White Dragon #29, Imbolc (March) 2001
- Sketches by Boz by Charles Dickens, Chapter XX - The First of May | <urn:uuid:75af3efa-f609-424c-b799-78c907670c3c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_in_the_Green | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572077.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814204141-20220814234141-00755.warc.gz | en | 0.935094 | 5,662 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Have you ever seen a bird so small that you weren't sure that it was a bird? It was probably a hummingbird! Written for students in grade 3, Hummingbirds helps students find out more about hummingbirds. Students see many beautiful pictures of different kinds of hummingbirds in the book. This 22-page book includes a glossary of bold-faced vocabulary words, reading activities, an index of terms, and an answer key. | <urn:uuid:6947b5e3-8a82-4d32-92e4-e72f5f54c90d> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://www.carsondellosa.com/d04112-eb--hummingbirds-reader-grade-3-ebook-d04112-eb/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347422803.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20200602033630-20200602063630-00195.warc.gz | en | 0.968618 | 89 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Writing Lab Reports: Results
Keys to the Results Section
Purpose: What did you find?
Relative size: 10-15% of total (excluding tables and figures)
Scope: Narrow: the middle of the hourglass
Verb Tense: Always use the past tense when summarizing the results of your experiment
Summarize the results of your study.
Be careful to present your results in a manner that relates to your hypotheses; the reader should be able to identify your hypotheses in your introduction and easily find their associated results. This is not a place to provide raw data – present only summarized or analyzed data.
When appropriate, use figures and/or tables to present your results in a meaningful way and imbed them within the text. Results should only be presented in one format though – either in the text, in a figure, or in a table.
For example, if you are presenting means and standard deviations in a figure, rather than repeating these same numbers in the text, refer to the per cent difference, increase, or decrease (e.g., Plant height increased by 20% with the addition of fertilizer [Figure 2]). Do not explain what a graph is showing (e.g., Figure 1 shows the mean +/- standard deviations of plant height in response to fertilizer treatment) – the readers can see that for themselves.
Describe trends and patterns; highlight interesting and anomalous data; report significant findings. This provides the reader with a more relevant context than would simple digits.
The results section should contain information specific to your study only. Therefore, it should not include any interpretation of your results (this would require a comparison with other literature): do not state whether your results supported or rejected your hypotheses; do not say what your results mean; and do not compare your results to those of other studies.
Results Section Details
Description of results: You must include a written description of your results. Include only summarized data (e.g., means, statistics, etc.) and point out trends, patterns, and interesting data. Refer to tables and figures to support your descriptions.
Figures: Graphs provide a visual representation of your results. This is the ideal way to present your findings. You must refer to each figure in the written portion of your results.
Tables: Use tables to present more complex or detailed results that do not lend themselves to figures or text. You must refer to each table in the written portion of your results.
Appendix: This is an additional section, placed at the very end of your report after your reference section, where you can include, if required, raw data and other supplementary information. You must refer to the appendices in the written portion of your results.
A good results section should…
- Describe summarized data and statistical results
- Describe trends and patterns; highlight interesting and anomalous data; report significant findings
- Include appropriate tables and figures, referred to and imbedded within the text
A good results section should NOT…
- Include raw data
- Repeat numbers from text, tables, and figures
- Interpret or explain results
- Refer to other studies
Back to Writing Lab Reports
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Ulster Radar was equiped with two area radars. The type 80 was located on site at Killard Point while there was a type 84 located close by on the airfield. Both radars were equiped with SSR (Secondary Surveilance Radar). In addition there were also height finders located on the unit. These were all owned and maintained by the RAF. In addition in late 1977 NATS (National Air Traffic Services) installed a free standing SSR located on the airfield.
This was a 2.5 Mw (peak) S-band (3 GHz or 3,000 MHz) search radar with a range of around 200-250 miles. The aerial reflector was 75 feet long and 25 feet high with a rotation speed of 4rpm. The transmitter power was somewhere between one and two and a half megawatts.
The Marconi Type 84 L-band radar operated on a wavelength of 23 cm. The magnetron developed a peak power of 2.5 Mw at a PRF of 250 pps and a pulse width of 10 uS. The Type 84 was originally designed for a 6 Mw magnetron, however problems with the magnetron meant that production had to go ahead with the 2.5 Mw magnetron. The head was a bit of a novelty, for the design allowed for two separate radar's working "back to back". In the original design the Type 84 radar was going use one reflector whilst the other was going to be used for a narrow beamwidth IFF Mk 10 SIF, this option was never installed though. The antenna reflector measured 60 ' wide by 21' 8" high with a rotation speed of 4 rpm
These were used as a pair in order to find the height of aircraft that were not displaying height read out on SSR. Care had to be used as the height finders, or "Noddys" as they were commonly refered to, would lock onto each other and spend time nodding at each other.
The editor would like to express grateful thanks to Dick Barrett, editor of www.radarpages.co.uk for the technical information and use of images and also to Doug Robb who took the Type 84 photograph. Further technical details on these radars can be found on the radarpages website.
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The number of people in their late teens and early 20s being treated for alcohol-related illnesses is growing.
Teenage drinking is a problem across Europe
Is the problem as serious in other European countries and what do they do to reduce the incidence of binge drinking?
For many decades Swedes - including young Swedes - have had a rather low alcohol consumption when seen from a European perspective.
This has been due to a consistent national alcohol policy with a state monopoly on the sale of alcoholic beverages, strict rules on sales of alcohol to minors (defined in Sweden as under 20) and high alcohol prices.
Despite this, the trend has been upward ever since Sweden entered the EU in the early 1990s - due to increased access to cheaper alcohol in neighbouring countries.
However, in the past couple of years Sweden has seen a decrease in the level of teenage alcohol consumption.
The non-governmental organisation, the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs, publishes an annual survey of the drinking habits of ninth-grade students (aged 15 to 16).
For 2007 the statistics suggest that more than 30% of the students claim that they do not drink alcohol.
This is up from 20% non-drinking 15 to 16-year-olds in the late 1990s.
In real figures, the council has found that on average boys of that age drink 3.0 litres of pure alcohol, dramatically down from 5.3 litres at the peak year 2000 - girls consumed 2.2 litres in 2007, also down from 3.2 litres in their peak year 2005.
However, this decline is not seen among the slightly older Swedes. Young men in their early 20s in particular drink a great deal, and a great deal more than young women.
Young men between the age of 20 and 25 consume on average 14 pints of strong beer weekly while women of the same age group half as much.
By Julian Isherwood
Since the government cut tax on alcohol by one third in March 2004, deaths and diseases from alcohol have all jumped by similar amounts in hard-drinking Finland.
The cut was made due to cheap alcohol imports from neighbouring Estonia.
Some young Finns have taken advantage of cheaper booze and now, although overall consumption among young people is declining, binge drinking is on the rise.
"Among young people aged 16 to 17 years, binge drinking is more and more visible and definitely increasing," said Christoffer Tigerstedt, a senior researcher at social research institute Stakes in the capital, Helsinki.
The Finnish love affair with the bottle shows no sign of abating. Alcohol-related diseases and alcohol poisoning taken together were the leading cause of death of working-age Finns last year, Statistics Finland said earlier this month.
In an attempt to deal with the growing problem, the government has introduced adverts aimed at the young designed to shock them into more responsible drinking.
"This new campaign has had an impact - some people have been moved to think before they drink. But what we really need is a change in the whole culture of alcohol in Finland and more public debate on the issue," Tigerstedt said.
By Sean Crowley
Spain's problem with alcohol is minor compared with countries like the United Kingdom.
The relative size of drinks in Spain is a good guide to the scale of the problem. When you order in a bar, the standard serving of beer is a caņa - a glass with a volume of 200 millilitres, just over a third of the size of a British pint.
Many people start drinking in their early teens in Spain, but not just with their friends - often with their parents.
There's a high social tolerance for alcohol consumption and the atmosphere in which drinking is done - in bars, restaurants - is usually relaxed and more suited to slower drinking than in some other countries. It is rare to see alcohol-fuelled violence.
That is not so say that Spain is immune from alcohol issues.
The Ministry for Health says about 5% of Spaniards have an alcohol-related problem.
And, a phenomenon known as Botellon (Big Bottle), where young people meet and consume alcohol on the street is a cause of concern for some Spaniards who say it encourages binge drinking. Botellon has been banned in some cities.
But you only have to go out at night in Spain to see that, generally, alcohol is well under control.
By Danny Wood
Earlier this year, in March, a 16-year-old German pupil died after drinking over 50 tequila shots.
His death brought attention to the rising problem of teenage alcoholism in Germany and led to some legislative changes.
The bar owner who served the boy was arrested and is awaiting trial. He is charged with causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death.
The government also decided to ban "drink all you can" parties, where guests could pay a certain amount to drink until they literally drop. It was at such a party where the 16-year-old had died.
Although the overall consumption of alcohol here has declined during the past years, some now drink more than ever. German teenagers are number two consumers of alcohol in Europe, topped only by British youth.
The problem is blamed on the fact that drinking is still a big part of German culture and that the alcohol industry is specifically targeting young people as new customers.
While Britain's teenagers have gained notoriety for binge drinking, their Latin cousins have always been renowned for their restraint.
The quickest way to lose respect of your Italian friends and neighbours is to get drunk in public. Drinking on the streets is considered disrespectful.
But in the past few years, this more reserved, continental etiquette to drinking has been changing.
Over the summer the Italian government commissioned a series of reports which reveals a worrying new trend.
According to figures from the health ministry 17% of the Italian population are binge drinking at least once a month.
One in five teenagers admits to being drunk regularly.
In 1996 there were 19,000 alcoholics in Italy receiving regular treatment - now there are 54,000.
And this, says Emanuele Scafato, from the Italian Institute for Health, is merely the tip of iceberg.
"Young people no longer drink for enjoyment," he said. "They drink to get drunk.
"The relationship with alcohol is very different to what it was 10 years ago.
"We blame the growth in the sale of alcopops, the way the industry encourages young people to drink to be 'cool'. These days you can't be 'part of the gang' in Italy unless you drink.
"The second problem - is the breakdown of the traditional family unit. Drinking in moderation was something you learned from your father.
"Young people were encouraged to enjoy a glass of wine at dinner. Now parents work longer hours, the rhythm of life is changing and so is the father son relationship."
The authorities in Rome have tried to crack down on binge drinking and the related violence, forcing bar owners to close early and to sell drinks in plastic beakers instead of glasses.
Last month the Ministry for Transportation forced through new changes to the law. It is now illegal to sell alcohol in discos after 2am.
By Christian Fraser | <urn:uuid:dd2e662a-da55-43dd-a958-85176dac0ced> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7093143.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218203536.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322213003-00601-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97183 | 1,487 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Common Cranes, such as these birds migrating north over Spain, may be more robustly protected after this week’s international agreements. Photo: Antonio (commons.wikimedia.org)
Two new international agreements have been reached by conservationists to help save migratory bird species across continents.
The Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) has agreed a set of guidelines to tackle some of the causes of poisoning and ratified a ground-breaking action plan to save more than 400 bird species.
In top of this, the Poisoning Resolution to reduce and minimise poisoning of migrating birds includes a ban on veterinary diclofenac, the phasing out of all lead ammunition, and action on lethal rodenticides, insecticides and poison baits. These five groups of toxic substance were identified as the most significant poisoning risks to migratory birds and the agreement marks a milestone in ending this threat. Continue reading
We might have to get very creative in our conservation approaches if we are to boost declining numbers of vultures, zoologists say.
Zoologists from the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin are proposing an ingenious idea to help conserve populations of African white-backed vultures. The iconic birds, which play a critical role in sustaining healthy ecosystems, may need to dine for free in human-staffed ‘vulture restaurants’ if they are to survive spells of food scarcity in Swaziland and neighbouring countries.
Throughout Africa, vulture populations have suffered an alarming collapse in numbers in recent years. In rural parts of West Africa some species have declined by over 95%, while the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve has lost an average of 62% of its vultures over the past three decades. Aside from poisoning – both targeted and incidental – vultures are threatened by wind turbines, electricity pylons, habitat destruction, food loss and poaching. Continue reading
Goshawk adult. Credit: Daniel Burgas
Raptors can affect the distribution of other species and they can also be used to find forests with high biodiversity value.
Predators influence decisions on conservation actions because they awake a remarkable interest in the society. However, favouring just predators in conservation can also mislead the scarce funding invested in nature conservation.
Researchers in the University of Helsinki and Novia University of Applied Sciences studied two common raptor species in Finland, the goshawk and the Ural owl. Researchers visited raptor nests and surrounding forests on two large forested areas and recorded the amount of biodiversity such as birds, flying squirrel and polypores around them. Continue reading
New Zealand’s largest pest control programme has been given the go ahead to protect native wildlife from a plague of rats and stoats, Conservation Minister Nick Smith says.
Dr Smith outlined the “battle for our birds” programme in January. The final programme has now been determined.
Some new areas have been added, such as D’Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds, some expanded like in the Kahurangi National Park, and some may not proceed due to pest count numbers not yet reaching thresholds. Continue reading
The western grebe prefers deep, large, fish-filled lakes—the same places that vacationers choose for their summer havens. Credit: Mara Erickson
A declining bird species recently listed by the Alberta government as threatened in status is managing to survive as it shares heavily developed lake habitat with humans—but care must be taken to preserve its breeding grounds, say University of Alberta researchers.
A study by U of A co-authors Mara Erickson and professor Mark Boyce indicates that the western grebe is able to persist on lakes with shoreline development, while at the same time showing a definite link with the preservation of bulrushes as cover for nests and quiet nesting waters. Continue reading
Bryan Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology, extracts a 7-day-old red-cockaded woodpecker out of its nest May 20 to put bands on a leg at Piney Grove Preserve in Sussex County.(Photo: AP)
WAVERLY – Flopping around on a towel on the floor of a pine forest, a tiny chick represented hope — if hope can be blind, pink and naked.
This object of optimism, no more than a blob with a beak, was a baby red-cockaded woodpecker, one of the rarest and most peculiar birds in Virginia.
Using climbing gear and an aluminum ladder that he stacked in three 10-foot sections, biologist Bryan Watts had reached the chick’s nest hole in an old-growth pine and extracted the bird with a snare-like tool. Continue reading | <urn:uuid:3cc51b86-486c-4f20-9d34-1f9f41f24180> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://newsofbird.wordpress.com/tag/conservations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250603761.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20200121103642-20200121132642-00396.warc.gz | en | 0.93461 | 966 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Study area description
Serralada Litoral Park is mainly covered with woodland, although there are also sections of farmland and more open areas, especially in the middle of the park, which help increase its biodiversity.Pine and holm oak woods are the two most predominant forms of vegetation. Its bright pine forests of umbrella and Aleppo pine, on the Maresme side, contrast with the better conserved forest of holm oak, mixed with white oak, on the greener, wetter slopes of the Vallès side.
Brush and scrubland are mainly found on the Maresme slopes, spreading over old vineyards and areas affected by forest fires. The few water courses in the park, fragile arteries running through the landscape contrasting with the dryness of the Mediterranean forest, are home to European alder, white poplar and hazel, mixed with reeds and plantations of black poplars and plane trees. These are vulnerable habitats, strongholds for the threatened species that find refuge in the park.
Gastropod communities in various natural environments and conchological species of interest for conservation are also described. Several environmental aspects that determine the distribution and abundance of snails are discussed and management m.easures to meet their ecological requirements are suggested. | <urn:uuid:46c06918-4c40-44f1-b9cc-0ea96f1acaf0> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.gbif.org/dataset/ab51623c-d96f-4b94-a94b-d2cfaf240d7c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207928864.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113208-00232-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931519 | 258 | 3.09375 | 3 |
By Yvonne A. de Jong & Thomas M. Butynski
The degree of threat status for each of Africa’s primate species and subspecies was assessed/reassessed in April 2016 in Rome during the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group’s ‘African Primate Red List Assessment Workshop’. In December 2019, the first 122 of these assessments were published (www.iucnredlist.org).
An unpublished analysis by the late Peter Grubb on the systematics of red colobus monkeys (subgenus Piliocolobus) is now available.
Butynski & De Jong (2018) Geographic range, taxonomy, and conservation of the Mount Kilimanjaro guereza colobus monkey (Primates: Cercopithecidae: Colobus). Hystrix.
The Mount Kilimanjaro guereza colobus monkey is endemic to northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, occurring on and near Mount Kilimanjaro/Mount Meru. Currently referred to as “Colobus guereza caudatus Thomas 1885”, this monkey is geographically very isolated, and phenotypically distinct from all other taxa of guereza monkeys. As such, application of the “Phylogenetic Species Concept” resurrects the Mount Kilimanjaro guereza to specific rank as Colobus caudatus. The geographic range of C. caudatus is small (ca. 4030 km2) and in decline, as is the number of individuals and area of habitat. Colobus caudatus qualifies as an IUCN Red List globally “Endangered” species, as a nationally “Endangered” species in Tanzania, and as a nationally “Critically Endangered” species in Kenya. Colobus caudatus is Kenya’s most threatened species of primate. Recommendations for research and conservation actions are provided.
Read the full publication here
Adult female Mount Kilimanjaro guereza Colobus caudatus at Kitobo Forest Reserve, central south Kenya. Notice that the white tail tuft comprises about 80% of the tail. Photograph by Yvonne de Jong and Tom Butynski.
The results of the latest eastern patas monkey survey in eastern Laikipia (central Kenya) are now available. Read the abstract of the report below or go straight to the full report (De Jong & Butynski, 2017). | <urn:uuid:3f446db1-7ad0-4b22-a8c1-f1ee5efde739> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.wildsolutions.nl/topics/news/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585768.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20211023193319-20211023223319-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.854939 | 525 | 2.984375 | 3 |
LEAD Student Leadership
Grant Middle School embraces student leadership through its LEAD program.
LEAD is the middle school version of The Leader in Me, a program based on the principles of Dr. Stephen Covey and Franklin Covey's skills and life habits. Students are introduced to The Leader in Me in Marion City Schools' elementary schools and participate in LEAD in middle school.
The LEAD program seeks to:
- Create a culture of trust and caring.
- Empower students to lead their own lives, and make a difference with others.
- Provide students tools to better achieve goals.
- Help students develop their voice.
Students and staff read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and focus on different habits each month. Students are split into three action teams focusing on leadership, culture and academics.
They learn about creating Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) and keep a leadership notebook to track their progress towards goals they help set. | <urn:uuid:65df6690-894b-48c6-a4ec-bcf37bb69d64> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://www.marioncityschools.org/schools/grant-middle-school/programs/lead-student-leadership | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891814292.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20180222220118-20180223000118-00642.warc.gz | en | 0.95373 | 197 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Cats with overactive thyroid glands may appear “nervous”. The disease (hyperthyroidism) most commonly affects older cats. Other symptoms include a healthy appetite (initially) with weight loss and increased activity. Owners can be fooled into thinking their older cat is doing great because he or she is more active and has lost weight when actually they are seeing early symptoms of hyperthyroidism. The nervousness, increased appetite and activity are due to the revved up metabolism that occurs from elevated thyroid hormones. Another health problem that may cause “nervousness” in cats is hypertension. Cats are well known for their ability to hide illnesses until the disease is well advanced. Watching for behavioral changes can be one of the best early indicators of disease in cats. | <urn:uuid:ca5c9b46-6653-4151-898b-ce597a603c0a> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://i20animal.com/pet-pointer-cat-nervous/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578530100.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20190421000555-20190421022555-00443.warc.gz | en | 0.970387 | 160 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Help Recycle By Tracing is a combination activity that involves tracing and counting. Children will help collect all the recyclables along the path to place them in the recycling bin. Afterward, they will count how many they have collected and write the number on the recycling bin. This activity helps children build tracing and counting skills as well as learn about the concept of recycling. See our blog post to discover 20 earth-loving activities your kids will love! Include Traditional and Simplified Chinese versions. | <urn:uuid:e113a5bf-b35c-4d72-866e-583486062a0d> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://lingobuddies.fun/printable/help-recycle-by-tracing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323588341.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20211028131628-20211028161628-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.95604 | 99 | 3.671875 | 4 |
The discovery that our universe is expanding certainly ranks among the most important scientific contributions of the 20th century. Only a few years before this discovery, most astronomers believed that our universe consisted solely of our Milky Way galaxy. But we've discovered so much more since then.
So who's credited for this discovery? Most people would say Edwin Hubble — the revered astronomer with a famous telescope bearing his name.
There were several other astronomers
, however, who significantly contributed to this discovery. Astronomer Knut Lundmark, for instance, provided some of the first observational evidence for an expanding universe.
Now, an historical analysis has revealed that some of Lundmark's measurements were far more accurate than Hubble's. On top of that, Lundmark conducted these measurements five years before Hubble's expansion discovery.
The Hubble Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA
Expanding, But How?
When Hubble looked at distant stars and galaxies, he noticed a peculiar correlation. Fainter stars, which were presumably farther away, had higher redshifts, according to Hubble's measurements.
In other words, light emanating from more distant stars lengthened more in wavelength than closer stars, and all distant stars demonstrated some sort of this Doppler shift. This Doppler shift appears when a light source is moving either away or toward an observer (namely, astronomers on Earth such as Hubble).
When objects move away, the light is redshifted — it increases in wavelength. Consequently, because the more distant galaxies had a higher redshift, Hubble had evidence that the universe as a whole was expanding.
Hubble formulated this observation mathematically, and it has become a pillar of Big Bang cosmology. The equation now known as Hubble's law essentially states that a galaxy's redshift and distance are proportional, and the constant of proportionality is called "Hubble's constant."
This constant has been refined throughout the years as astrophysicists have collected increasingly accurate data. Hubble was pretty far off initially — he missed current estimates by at least an order of magnitude.
Lundmark, however, made distance measurements consistent with a constant very close to today's estimates. In fact, Steer writes that Lundmark's measurements were within 1 percent of today's best estimates He also made this estimate in 1924, five years before Hubble!
This revelation about Lundmark was published in Nature
late this year by Ian Steer — a co-director of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database of Galaxy Distances. In early 2013, he will reveal more at a large astronomy conference in California.
To be fair, Lundmark based his estimates on some unproven methods and at least one unfounded assumption, according to Steer's paper. Nonetheless, Steer's analysis indicates that Lundmark may have had the earliest compelling observational evidence for an expanding universe.
No Stranger to Controversy
Just last year, Hubble's legacy suffered a different controversy surrounding this same discovery. One of Hubble's contemporaries — astronomer Georges LeMaitres — published theoretical evidence for this discovery a few years prior to Hubble.
Several astronomers and historians believe Lemaitre should receive more credit for the discovery, and some have pushed to rename Hubble's law to reflect Lemaitre's contribution.The controversy erupted
when astronomers noticed curious edits to one of Lemaitre's early papers. The more conspiracy-minded astronomers believed Hubble may have actively censored the work of his competitor to maintain his own legacy.
These allegations, however, appear to be false. A later analysis
(PDF) revealed that Lemaitre, of all people, was behind the mysterious edits.
We'll have to see if a similar situation arises when the full extent of Lundmark's contributions are revealed in January. I don't think anyone will be renaming the Hubble Telescope anytime soon, however.
Here's how Steer summed up
"Lundmark established observational evidence that the Universe is expanding.
Lemaître established theoretical evidence. Hubble established observational proof." | <urn:uuid:63f911a6-87df-480b-9554-5e0900077bbf> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=5733729491286542319 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440645265792.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827031425-00258-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958314 | 818 | 4.09375 | 4 |
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction: The Need for Change
- Searching for a New Vision: New Environmentalism
- Creating a New Paradigm: The Role of Values
- Creating a New Paradigm: The Role of Knowledge
- Creating a New Paradigm: The Role of Incentives
- How Should Collective Decisions Be Made?
- How Can the Principle and Filters Be Applied in Specific Policy Areas?
- Next Steps: What Can Congress Do?
- About the Author
Creating a New Paradigm: The Role of Knowledge
There are two fundamental kinds of knowledge: general knowledge and specific knowledge of time, place, circumstance and experience.
General knowledge is constant across time and space, "knowable" in the form of general rules. For example, the boiling point of water is a kind of general knowledge. The boiling point does not change over time, and with some adjustments for altitude it does not change across locations. Among the problems that can be analyzed with general knowledge are those of global warming and ozone depletion. Whatever is known about these problems is available to scientists everywhere, although the information may be incomplete or ambiguous.
Specific knowledge, by contrast, varies by location and circumstance and may change over time. For example, whether incorporating recycled content into a package will save total resources (time, energy, raw materials) will depend on the material, the availability of alternative materials, production details and other specifics. Specific knowledge also embraces such matters as the subjective valuations of individuals. The answer to the question "what do people want?" is known only by the dispersed individuals in society.
Often, knowledge relevant to environmental decision making is specific. Why is this so, and how does this affect decision making?
Most environmental impacts occur locally. Impacts vary depending on local geology, hydrology, biology and meteorology. While universal knowledge in the form of scientific theorems provides some uniform understanding of the physical world, specific knowledge of each location is what enables understanding of actual environmental harms and potential remedies.
Most environmental problems also have a dynamic dimension. Impacts change over time, depending on many interdependent, location-specific variables. For example, all resource uses involve dispersed, dynamic and interdependent supplies of materials. All production processes involve plant-specific trade-offs, and good decision making about them requires experiential knowledge of the plant site, how it functions and how its operations interact with the local environment.
Take paper manufacturing, for example. The feedstock for making paper can come from tree farms, from the residue of lumber production, from public forests or from wastepaper. It can come from foreign or domestic supplies. Availability and cost depend on technologies - how easy or difficult it is to grow and harvest different trees and how easy it is to collect and process discarded wastepaper - as well as on transportation, global economic conditions, the vagaries of climate, discoveries of substitute materials and other variables.
And each manufacturing plant faces different circumstances. Some plants use mechanical pulp processing technologies; some use chemical processing. A plant that uses high levels of wastepaper may consume less total energy than a plant using virgin materials, but it will have to purchase that energy rather than using wood residues as fuel. And the wastepaper plant may generate more sludge waste. What makes sense depends on such details - details that are not uniform and cannot be known by a single decision maker or even a group in a government agency.
If most relevant environmental decisions involve quite specific knowledge, then universal rules invariably will overlook critical trade-offs and details. In addition, if most relevant knowledge is dynamic rather than static, then political and bureaucratic rule-making processes will be unable to adequately respond. | <urn:uuid:e68dcf4d-fd18-441c-81bb-0eed04038c46> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st201?pg=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662507.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00137-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906406 | 759 | 3.734375 | 4 |
Jose invested $50,000 for 2 years at an annual interest rate of 4 percent compounded yearly. Patricia invested $50,000 for the same period of time, at the same interest rate, but the interest was compounded quarterly. To the nearest dollar, how much more money did Patricia's investment earn than that of Jose?
N=2; R=0.04;PV=50000; FV=PV*(1 + R)^N; print"FV =$",FV
FV =$ 54,080.00 - Jose's investment after 2 years.
N=2*4; R=0.04/4;PV=50000; FV=PV*(1 + R)^N; print"FV =$",FV
FV =$ 54,142.84 - Patricia's investment after 2 years.
$54,142.84 - $54,080 =$62.84 =~$63 - difference between Jose's and Patricia's investments. | <urn:uuid:1fb0c744-9952-48f9-8057-61897814f1ec> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://web2.0calc.com/questions/help_13039 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593657140746.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20200713002400-20200713032400-00287.warc.gz | en | 0.950737 | 216 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Congenital Horner's Syndrome
Horner's syndrome results from a defect in the sympathetic innervation to the eye and adnexal structures and causes an ipsilateral ptosis, miosis of the pupil and anhydrosis of the affected side of the face. The ptosis associated with Horner's syndrome is unique in that it results from Mueller's muscle inactivation as opposed to any sort of levator dysfunction.
Horner's syndrome is most commonly seen as an acquired condition in adults; less than 5% of cases can be classified as truly congenital. The most common cause of congenital Horner's syndrome is birth trauma resulting in a brachial plexus injury. Potentially life-threatening causes of congenital Horner's, including thoracic and cervical neuroblastoma, agenesis of the internal carotid artery and complications from perinatal surgical procedures have also been reported. Although less common, congenital Horner's resulting from carotid artery aneurysms and traumatic carotid dissection have also been described (Mirzai, 2006).
Ptosis secondary to a Horner's syndrome can usually be distinguished from isolated congenital ptosis because of the associated ocular and adnexal findings. Infants present with unilateral ptosis but also with associated miosis. Parents may report that the affected side of the face does not flush when the infant cries (so-called Harlequin baby'). In cases of congenital Horner's associated with sympathetic dysgenesis (and not birth trauma) the affected iris may be lighter, as iris melanocytes, like sympathetic ganglion cells, derive from neural crest cells. | <urn:uuid:d8f47396-957c-4eb5-8d6d-29cb4894f60b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/eyeforum/cases-i/case114/Horner.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570741.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808001418-20220808031418-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.938102 | 349 | 3.109375 | 3 |
WILLIAM OWSLEY was born in Virginia on March 24, 1782. In 1783, his family moved to Kentucky and settled in Lincoln County, where Owsley attended the common schools. Before he studied law, he held various jobs, working as a teacher, a deputy sheriff, and a surveyor. He entered politics in 1809, serving as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives, a position he held until 1811, and in which he was reelected to in 1831. In 1812, he was appointed to the Court of Appeals, where he served as a justice until 1828. He also served as a member of the Kentucky State Senate from 1832 to 1834, and was secretary of state from 1834 to 1836. Owsley won the Whig gubernatorial nomination and was elected governor by a popular vote in 1844. During his tenure, funding was increased for public education, the state's deficit was reduced, and troops were raised for service in the Mexican War. Also, Robert J. Breckinridge was appointed the public school superintendent in 1847, and the controversial ouster of Secretary of State Ben Hardin was dealt with. After leaving office, Owsley returned to his farm near Danville, retiring from public service. Governor William Owsley passed away on December 9, 1862, and was buried at the Bellview Cemetery in Danville, Kentucky.
Governors' Papers, Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives, Public Records Division
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols. | <urn:uuid:78a418ed-8986-44fb-9e04-56da3d9a723c> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kentucky/col2-content/main-content-list/title_owsley_william.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207929899.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113209-00017-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988661 | 357 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The Fairmont and Veblen Railway was chartered in 1913 and built a railway line between Fairmont, North Dakota, southward to Rosholt, South Dakota, then westward to Veblen that same year. The following year, the line was extended southward to Grenville.
The Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Sault Ste Marie Railway, known as the Soo Line Railroad, purchased the line in 1915 and continued operations over it.
In 1971, the Soo Line abandoned the end portion of the line between Veblen and Grenville. Then, in 2000, the Soo Line submitted for abandonment the new end portion of the line between Rosholt and Veblen. Before approval, however, the Sunflour Railroad purchased that section of the line; the section between Claire City and Veblen was abandoned in 2012. | <urn:uuid:51d786be-5e36-4f06-86b2-0c68da485b38> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | http://www.abandonedrails.com/Fairmont_and_Veblen_Railway | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578529813.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20190420120902-20190420142902-00532.warc.gz | en | 0.964015 | 174 | 2.765625 | 3 |
In the early twentieth century, many Americans were troubled by the way agriculture was becoming increasingly industrial and corporate. Mainline Protestant churches and cooperative organizations began to come together to promote agrarianism: the belief that the health of the nation depended on small rural communities and family farms. In Baptized with the Soil
, Kevin M. Lowe offers for the first time a comprehensive history of the Protestant commitment to rural America. Christian agrarians believed that farming was the most moral way of life and a means for people to serve God by taking care of the earth that God created. When the Great Depression hit, Christian agrarians worked harder to keep small farmers on the land. They formed alliances with state universities, cooperative extension services, and each other's denominations. They experimented with ways of revitalizing rural church life--including new worship services like Rural Life Sunday, and new strategies for raising financial support like the Lord's Acre. Because they believed that the earth was holy, Christian agrarians also became leaders in promoting soil conservation. Decades before the environmental movement, they inspired an ethic of environmental stewardship in their congregations. They may not have been able to prevent the spread of industrial agribusiness, but their ideas have helped define significant and long-lasting currents in American culture.
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We do not know the cause of most cases of cerebral palsy. That is, we are unable to determine what caused cerebral palsy in most children who have congenital CP. We do know that the child who is at highest risk for developing CP is the premature, very small baby who does not cry in the first five minutes after delivery, who needs to be on a ventilator for over four weeks, and who has bleeding in his brain. Babies who have congenital malformations in systems such as the heart, kidneys, or spine are also more likely to develop CP, probably because they also have malformations in the brain. Seizures in a newborn also increase the risk of CP. There is no combination of factors which always results in an abnormally functioning individual. That is, even the small premature infant has a better than 90 percent chance of not having cerebral palsy. There are a surprising number of babies who have very stormy courses in the newborn period and go on to do very well. In contrast, some infants who have rather benign beginnings are eventually found to have severe mental retardation or learning disabilities.
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Emerging evidence from a number of laboratories indicates that humans have the ability to identify fatty acids in the oral cavity, presumably via fatty acid receptors housed on taste cells. Previous research has shown that an individual's oral sensitivity to fatty acid, specifically oleic acid (C18:1) is associated with body mass index (BMI), dietary fat consumption, and the ability to identify fat in foods. We have developed a reliable and reproducible method to assess oral chemoreception of fatty acids, using a milk and C18:1 emulsion, together with an ascending forced choice triangle procedure. In parallel, a food matrix has been developed to assess an individual's ability to perceive fat, in addition to a simple method to assess fatty food liking. As an added measure tongue photography is used to assess papillae density, with higher density often being associated with increased taste sensitivity.
24 Related JoVE Articles!
Fat Preference: A Novel Model of Eating Behavior in Rats
Institutions: University of Texas Medical Branch.
Obesity is a growing problem in the United States of America, with more than a third of the population classified as obese. One factor contributing to this multifactorial disorder is the consumption of a high fat diet, a behavior that has been shown to increase both caloric intake and body fat content. However, the elements regulating preference for high fat food over other foods remain understudied.
To overcome this deficit, a model to quickly and easily test changes in the preference for dietary fat was developed. The Fat Preference model presents rats with a series of choices between foods with differing fat content. Like humans, rats have a natural bias toward consuming high fat food, making the rat model ideal for translational studies. Changes in preference can be ascribed to the effect of either genetic differences or pharmacological interventions. This model allows for the exploration of determinates of fat preference and screening pharmacotherapeutic agents that influence acquisition of obesity.
Behavior, Issue 88, obesity, fat, preference, choice, diet, macronutrient, animal model
Real-time Imaging of Heterotypic Platelet-neutrophil Interactions on the Activated Endothelium During Vascular Inflammation and Thrombus Formation in Live Mice
Institutions: University of Illinois at Chicago , University of Illinois at Chicago .
Interaction of activated platelets and leukocytes (mainly neutrophils) on the activated endothelium mediates thrombosis and vascular inflammation.1,2
During thrombus formation at the site of arteriolar injury, platelets adherent to the activated endothelium and subendothelial matrix proteins support neutrophil rolling and adhesion.3
Conversely, under venular inflammatory conditions, neutrophils adherent to the activated endothelium can support adhesion and accumulation of circulating platelets. Heterotypic platelet-neutrophil aggregation requires sequential processes by the specific receptor-counter receptor interactions between cells.4
It is known that activated endothelial cells release adhesion molecules such as von Willebrand factor, thereby initiating platelet adhesion and accumulation under high shear conditions.5
Also, activated endothelial cells support neutrophil rolling and adhesion by expressing selectins and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), respectively, under low shear conditions.4
Platelet P-selectin interacts with neutrophils through P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), thereby inducing activation of neutrophil β2 integrins and firm adhesion between two cell types. Despite the advances in in vitro
experiments in which heterotypic platelet-neutrophil interactions are determined in whole blood or isolated cells,6,7
those studies cannot manipulate oxidant stress conditions during vascular disease. In this report, using fluorescently-labeled, specific antibodies against a mouse platelet and neutrophil marker, we describe a detailed intravital microscopic protocol to monitor heterotypic interactions of platelets and neutrophils on the activated endothelium during TNF-α-induced inflammation or following laser-induced injury in cremaster muscle microvessels of live mice.
Immunology, Issue 74, Medicine, Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Inflammation, Hematology, Neutrophils, Microscopy, Video, Thrombosis, Platelet Activation, Platelet Aggregation, Intravital microscopy, platelet, neutrophil, rolling, adhesion, vascular inflammation, thrombus formation, mice, animal model
Cecal Ligation Puncture Procedure
Institutions: Temple University , Temple University .
Human sepsis is characterized by a set of systemic reactions in response to intensive and massive infection that failed to be locally contained by the host. Currently, sepsis ranks among the top ten causes of mortality in the USA intensive care units 1
. During sepsis there are two established haemodynamic phases that may overlap. The initial phase (hyperdynamic) is defined as a massive production of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species by macrophages and neutrophils that affects vascular permeability (leading to hypotension), cardiac function and induces metabolic changes culminating in tissue necrosis and organ failure. Consequently, the most common cause of mortality is acute kidney injury. The second phase (hypodynamic) is an anti-inflammatory process involving altered monocyte antigen presentation, decreased lymphocyte proliferation and function and increased apoptosis. This state known as immunosuppression or immune depression sharply increases the risk of nocosomial infections and ultimately, death. The mechanisms of these pathophysiological processes are not well characterized. Because both phases of sepsis may cause irreversible and irreparable damage, it is essential to determine the immunological and physiological status of the patient. This is the main reason why many therapeutic drugs have failed. The same drug given at different stages of sepsis may be therapeutic or otherwise harmful or have no effect 2,3
. To understand sepsis at various levels it is crucial to have a suitable and comprehensive animal model that reproduces the clinical course of the disease. It is important to characterize the pathophysiological mechanisms occurring during sepsis and control the model conditions for testing potential therapeutic agents.
To study the etiology of human sepsis researchers have developed different animal models. The most widely used clinical model is cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The CLP model consists of the perforation of the cecum allowing the release of fecal material into the peritoneal cavity to generate an exacerbated immune response induced by polymicrobial infection. This model fulfills the human condition that is clinically relevant. As in humans, mice that undergo CLP with fluid resuscitation show the first (early) hyperdynamic phase that in time progresses to the second (late) hypodynamic phase. In addition, the cytokine profile is similar to that seen in human sepsis where there is increased lymphocyte apoptosis (reviewed in 4,5
). Due to the multiple and overlapping mechanisms involved in sepsis, researchers need a suitable sepsis model of controlled severity in order to obtain consistent and reproducible results.
Medicine, Issue 51, sepsis, systemic inflammation, infection, septic shock, animal model
Gene-environment Interaction Models to Unmask Susceptibility Mechanisms in Parkinson's Disease
Institutions: SRI International, University of California-Santa Cruz.
Lipoxygenase (LOX) activity has been implicated in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, but its effects in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis are less understood. Gene-environment interaction models have utility in unmasking the impact of specific cellular pathways in toxicity that may not be observed using a solely genetic or toxicant disease model alone. To evaluate if distinct LOX isozymes selectively contribute to PD-related neurodegeneration, transgenic (i.e.
5-LOX and 12/15-LOX deficient) mice can be challenged with a toxin that mimics cell injury and death in the disorder. Here we describe the use of a neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), which produces a nigrostriatal lesion to elucidate the distinct contributions of LOX isozymes to neurodegeneration related to PD. The use of MPTP in mouse, and nonhuman primate, is well-established to recapitulate the nigrostriatal damage in PD. The extent of MPTP-induced lesioning is measured by HPLC analysis of dopamine and its metabolites and semi-quantitative Western blot analysis of striatum for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of dopamine. To assess inflammatory markers, which may demonstrate LOX isozyme-selective sensitivity, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Iba-1 immunohistochemistry are performed on brain sections containing substantia nigra, and GFAP Western blot analysis is performed on striatal homogenates. This experimental approach can provide novel insights into gene-environment interactions underlying nigrostriatal degeneration and PD.
Medicine, Issue 83, MPTP, dopamine, Iba1, TH, GFAP, lipoxygenase, transgenic, gene-environment interactions, mouse, Parkinson's disease, neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation
Transabdominal Ultrasound for Pregnancy Diagnosis in Reeves' Muntjac Deer
Institutions: Colorado State University.
Reeves' muntjac deer (Muntiacus reevesi
) are a small cervid species native to southeast Asia, and are currently being investigated as a potential model of prion disease transmission and pathogenesis. Vertical transmission is an area of interest among researchers studying infectious diseases, including prion disease, and these investigations require efficient methods for evaluating the effects of maternal infection on reproductive performance. Ultrasonographic examination is a well-established tool for diagnosing pregnancy and assessing fetal health in many animal species1-7
, including several species of farmed cervids8-19
, however this technique has not been described in Reeves' muntjac deer. Here we describe the application of transabdominal ultrasound to detect pregnancy in muntjac does and to evaluate fetal growth and development throughout the gestational period. Using this procedure, pregnant animals were identified as early as 35 days following doe-buck pairing and this was an effective means to safely monitor the pregnancy at regular intervals. Future goals of this work will include establishing normal fetal measurement references for estimation of gestational age, determining sensitivity and specificity of the technique for diagnosing pregnancy at various stages of gestation, and identifying variations in fetal growth and development under different experimental conditions.
Medicine, Issue 83, Ultrasound, Reeves' muntjac deer, Muntiacus reevesi, fetal development, fetal growth, captive cervids
Oscillation and Reaction Board Techniques for Estimating Inertial Properties of a Below-knee Prosthesis
Institutions: University of Northern Colorado, Arizona State University, Iowa State University.
The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) demonstrate a technique that can be used to directly estimate the inertial properties of a below-knee prosthesis, and 2) contrast the effects of the proposed technique and that of using intact limb inertial properties on joint kinetic estimates during walking in unilateral, transtibial amputees. An oscillation and reaction board system was validated and shown to be reliable when measuring inertial properties of known geometrical solids. When direct measurements of inertial properties of the prosthesis were used in inverse dynamics modeling of the lower extremity compared with inertial estimates based on an intact shank and foot, joint kinetics at the hip and knee were significantly lower during the swing phase of walking. Differences in joint kinetics during stance, however, were smaller than those observed during swing. Therefore, researchers focusing on the swing phase of walking should consider the impact of prosthesis inertia property estimates on study outcomes. For stance, either one of the two inertial models investigated in our study would likely lead to similar outcomes with an inverse dynamics assessment.
Bioengineering, Issue 87, prosthesis inertia, amputee locomotion, below-knee prosthesis, transtibial amputee
The Utilization of Oropharyngeal Intratracheal PAMP Administration and Bronchoalveolar Lavage to Evaluate the Host Immune Response in Mice
Institutions: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The host immune response to pathogens is a complex biological process. The majority of in vivo
studies classically employed to characterize host-pathogen interactions take advantage of intraperitoneal injections of select bacteria or pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in mice. While these techniques have yielded tremendous data associated with infectious disease pathobiology, intraperitoneal injection models are not always appropriate for host-pathogen interaction studies in the lung. Utilizing an acute lung inflammation model in mice, it is possible to conduct a high resolution analysis of the host innate immune response utilizing lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Here, we describe the methods to administer LPS using nonsurgical oropharyngeal intratracheal administration, monitor clinical parameters associated with disease pathogenesis, and utilize bronchoalveolar lavage fluid to evaluate the host immune response. The techniques that are described are widely applicable for studying the host innate immune response to a diverse range of PAMPs and pathogens. Likewise, with minor modifications, these techniques can also be applied in studies evaluating allergic airway inflammation and in pharmacological applications.
Infection, Issue 86, LPS, Lipopolysaccharide, mouse, pneumonia, gram negative bacteria, inflammation, acute lung inflammation, innate immunity, host pathogen interaction, lung, respiratory disease
Behavioral and Locomotor Measurements Using an Open Field Activity Monitoring System for Skeletal Muscle Diseases
Institutions: Children's National Medical Center, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The open field activity monitoring system comprehensively assesses locomotor and behavioral activity levels of mice. It is a useful tool for assessing locomotive impairment in animal models of neuromuscular disease and efficacy of therapeutic drugs that may improve locomotion and/or muscle function. The open field activity measurement provides a different measure than muscle strength, which is commonly assessed by grip strength measurements. It can also show how drugs may affect other body systems as well when used with additional outcome measures. In addition, measures such as total distance traveled mirror the 6 min walk test, a clinical trial outcome measure. However, open field activity monitoring is also associated with significant challenges: Open field activity measurements vary according to animal strain, age, sex, and circadian rhythm. In addition, room temperature, humidity, lighting, noise, and even odor can affect assessment outcomes. Overall, this manuscript provides a well-tested and standardized open field activity SOP for preclinical trials in animal models of neuromuscular diseases. We provide a discussion of important considerations, typical results, data analysis, and detail the strengths and weaknesses of open field testing. In addition, we provide recommendations for optimal study design when using open field activity in a preclinical trial.
Behavior, Issue 91, open field activity, functional testing, behavioral testing, skeletal muscle, congenital muscular dystrophy, muscular dystrophy
Sex Stratified Neuronal Cultures to Study Ischemic Cell Death Pathways
Institutions: University of Colorado School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Sex differences in neuronal susceptibility to ischemic injury and neurodegenerative disease have long been observed, but the signaling mechanisms responsible for those differences remain unclear. Primary disassociated embryonic neuronal culture provides a simplified experimental model with which to investigate the neuronal cell signaling involved in cell death as a result of ischemia or disease; however, most neuronal cultures used in research today are mixed sex. Researchers can and do test the effects of sex steroid treatment in mixed sex neuronal cultures in models of neuronal injury and disease, but accumulating evidence suggests that the female brain responds to androgens, estrogens, and progesterone differently than the male brain. Furthermore, neonate male and female rodents respond differently to ischemic injury, with males experiencing greater injury following cerebral ischemia than females. Thus, mixed sex neuronal cultures might obscure and confound the experimental results; important information might be missed. For this reason, the Herson Lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine routinely prepares sex-stratified primary disassociated embryonic neuronal cultures from both hippocampus and cortex. Embryos are sexed before harvesting of brain tissue and male and female tissue are disassociated separately, plated separately, and maintained separately. Using this method, the Herson Lab has demonstrated a male-specific role for the ion channel TRPM2 in ischemic cell death. In this manuscript, we share and discuss our protocol for sexing embryonic mice and preparing sex-stratified hippocampal primary disassociated neuron cultures. This method can be adapted to prepare sex-stratified cortical cultures and the method for embryo sexing can be used in conjunction with other protocols for any study in which sex is thought to be an important determinant of outcome.
Neuroscience, Issue 82, male, female, sex, neuronal culture, ischemia, cell death, neuroprotection
Reduced Itraconazole Concentration and Durations Are Successful in Treating Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Infection in Amphibians
Institutions: James Cook University.
Amphibians are experiencing the greatest decline of any vertebrate class and a leading cause of these declines is a fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
), which causes the disease chytridiomycosis. Captive assurance colonies are important worldwide for threatened amphibian species and may be the only lifeline for those in critical threat of extinction. Maintaining disease free colonies is a priority of captive managers, yet safe and effective treatments for all species and across life stages have not been identified. The most widely used chemotherapeutic treatment is itraconazole, although the dosage commonly used can be harmful to some individuals and species. We performed a clinical treatment trial to assess whether a lower and safer but effective dose of itraconazole could be found to cure Bd
infections. We found that by reducing the treatment concentration from 0.01-0.0025% and reducing the treatment duration from 11-6 days of 5 min baths, frogs could be cured of Bd
infection with fewer side effects and less treatment-associated mortality.
Immunology, Issue 85, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, itraconazole, chytridiomycosis, captive assurance colonies, amphibian conservation
Combining Magnetic Sorting of Mother Cells and Fluctuation Tests to Analyze Genome Instability During Mitotic Cell Aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Institutions: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
has been an excellent model system for examining mechanisms and consequences of genome instability. Information gained from this yeast model is relevant to many organisms, including humans, since DNA repair and DNA damage response factors are well conserved across diverse species. However, S. cerevisiae
has not yet been used to fully address whether the rate of accumulating mutations changes with increasing replicative (mitotic) age due to technical constraints. For instance, measurements of yeast replicative lifespan through micromanipulation involve very small populations of cells, which prohibit detection of rare mutations. Genetic methods to enrich for mother cells in populations by inducing death of daughter cells have been developed, but population sizes are still limited by the frequency with which random mutations that compromise the selection systems occur. The current protocol takes advantage of magnetic sorting of surface-labeled yeast mother cells to obtain large enough populations of aging mother cells to quantify rare mutations through phenotypic selections. Mutation rates, measured through fluctuation tests, and mutation frequencies are first established for young cells and used to predict the frequency of mutations in mother cells of various replicative ages. Mutation frequencies are then determined for sorted mother cells, and the age of the mother cells is determined using flow cytometry by staining with a fluorescent reagent that detects bud scars formed on their cell surfaces during cell division. Comparison of predicted mutation frequencies based on the number of cell divisions to the frequencies experimentally observed for mother cells of a given replicative age can then identify whether there are age-related changes in the rate of accumulating mutations. Variations of this basic protocol provide the means to investigate the influence of alterations in specific gene functions or specific environmental conditions on mutation accumulation to address mechanisms underlying genome instability during replicative aging.
Microbiology, Issue 92, Aging, mutations, genome instability, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, fluctuation test, magnetic sorting, mother cell, replicative aging
Measuring Frailty in HIV-infected Individuals. Identification of Frail Patients is the First Step to Amelioration and Reversal of Frailty
Institutions: University of Arizona, University of Arizona.
A simple, validated protocol consisting of a battery of tests is available to identify elderly patients with frailty syndrome. This syndrome of decreased reserve and resistance to stressors increases in incidence with increasing age. In the elderly, frailty may pursue a step-wise loss of function from non-frail to pre-frail to frail. We studied frailty in HIV-infected patients and found that ~20% are frail using the Fried phenotype using stringent criteria developed for the elderly1,2
. In HIV infection the syndrome occurs at a younger age.
HIV patients were checked for 1) unintentional weight loss; 2) slowness as determined by walking speed; 3) weakness as measured by a grip dynamometer; 4) exhaustion by responses to a depression scale; and 5) low physical activity was determined by assessing kilocalories expended in a week's time. Pre-frailty was present with any two of five criteria and frailty was present if any three of the five criteria were abnormal.
The tests take approximately 10-15 min to complete and they can be performed by medical assistants during routine clinic visits. Test results are scored by referring to standard tables. Understanding which of the five components contribute to frailty in an individual patient can allow the clinician to address relevant underlying problems, many of which are not evident in routine HIV clinic visits.
Medicine, Issue 77, Infection, Virology, Infectious Diseases, Anatomy, Physiology, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Retroviridae Infections, Body Weight Changes, Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures, Physical Examination, Muscle Strength, Behavior, Virus Diseases, Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis, Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena, HIV, HIV-1, AIDS, Frailty, Depression, Weight Loss, Weakness, Slowness, Exhaustion, Aging, clinical techniques
Getting to Compliance in Forced Exercise in Rodents: A Critical Standard to Evaluate Exercise Impact in Aging-related Disorders and Disease
Institutions: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.
There is a major increase in the awareness of the positive impact of exercise on improving several disease states with neurobiological basis; these include improving cognitive function and physical performance. As a result, there is an increase in the number of animal studies employing exercise. It is argued that one intrinsic value of forced exercise is that the investigator has control over the factors that can influence the impact of exercise on behavioral outcomes, notably exercise frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercise regimen. However, compliance in forced exercise regimens may be an issue, particularly if potential confounds of employing foot-shock are to be avoided. It is also important to consider that since most cognitive and locomotor impairments strike in the aged individual, determining impact of exercise on these impairments should consider using aged rodents with a highest possible level of compliance to ensure minimal need for test subjects. Here, the pertinent steps and considerations necessary to achieve nearly 100% compliance to treadmill exercise in an aged rodent model will be presented and discussed. Notwithstanding the particular exercise regimen being employed by the investigator, our protocol should be of use to investigators that are particularly interested in the potential impact of forced exercise on aging-related impairments, including aging-related Parkinsonism and Parkinson’s disease.
Behavior, Issue 90, Exercise, locomotor, Parkinson’s disease, aging, treadmill, bradykinesia, Parkinsonism
Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Institutions: University of Colorado, Denver, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population, and this is only partially explained by traditional CVD risk factors. Vascular dysfunction is an important non-traditional risk factor, characterized by vascular endothelial dysfunction (most commonly assessed as impaired endothelium-dependent dilation [EDD]) and stiffening of the large elastic arteries. While various techniques exist to assess EDD and large elastic artery stiffness, the most commonly used are brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMDBA
) and aortic pulse-wave velocity (aPWV), respectively. Both of these noninvasive measures of vascular dysfunction are independent predictors of future cardiovascular events in patients with and without kidney disease. Patients with CKD demonstrate both impaired FMDBA
, and increased aPWV. While the exact mechanisms by which vascular dysfunction develops in CKD are incompletely understood, increased oxidative stress and a subsequent reduction in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability are important contributors. Cellular changes in oxidative stress can be assessed by collecting vascular endothelial cells from the antecubital vein and measuring protein expression of markers of oxidative stress using immunofluorescence. We provide here a discussion of these methods to measure FMDBA
, aPWV, and vascular endothelial cell protein expression.
Medicine, Issue 88, chronic kidney disease, endothelial cells, flow-mediated dilation, immunofluorescence, oxidative stress, pulse-wave velocity
Ultrasound Assessment of Endothelial-Dependent Flow-Mediated Vasodilation of the Brachial Artery in Clinical Research
Institutions: University of California, San Francisco, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco.
The vascular endothelium is a monolayer of cells that cover the interior of blood vessels and provide both structural and functional roles. The endothelium acts as a barrier, preventing leukocyte adhesion and aggregation, as well as controlling permeability to plasma components. Functionally, the endothelium affects vessel tone.
Endothelial dysfunction is an imbalance between the chemical species which regulate vessel tone, thombroresistance, cellular proliferation and mitosis. It is the first step in atherosclerosis and is associated with coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, heart failure, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.
The first demonstration of endothelial dysfunction involved direct infusion of acetylcholine and quantitative coronary angiography. Acetylcholine binds to muscarinic receptors on the endothelial cell surface, leading to an increase of intracellular calcium and increased nitric oxide (NO) production. In subjects with an intact endothelium, vasodilation was observed while subjects with endothelial damage experienced paradoxical vasoconstriction.
There exists a non-invasive, in vivo
method for measuring endothelial function in peripheral arteries using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound. The endothelial function of peripheral arteries is closely related to coronary artery function. This technique measures the percent diameter change in the brachial artery during a period of reactive hyperemia following limb ischemia.
This technique, known as endothelium-dependent, flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) has value in clinical research settings. However, a number of physiological and technical issues can affect the accuracy of the results and appropriate guidelines for the technique have been published. Despite the guidelines, FMD remains heavily operator dependent and presents a steep learning curve. This article presents a standardized method for measuring FMD in the brachial artery on the upper arm and offers suggestions to reduce intra-operator variability.
Medicine, Issue 92, endothelial function, endothelial dysfunction, brachial artery, peripheral artery disease, ultrasound, vascular, endothelium, cardiovascular disease.
Fundus Photography as a Convenient Tool to Study Microvascular Responses to Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Epidemiological Studies
Institutions: Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Hasselt University, Hasselt University, Leuven University.
The microcirculation consists of blood vessels with diameters less than 150 µm. It makes up a large part of the circulatory system and plays an important role in maintaining cardiovascular health. The retina is a tissue that lines the interior of the eye and it is the only tissue that allows for a non-invasive analysis of the microvasculature. Nowadays, high-quality fundus images can be acquired using digital cameras. Retinal images can be collected in 5 min or less, even without dilatation of the pupils. This unobtrusive and fast procedure for visualizing the microcirculation is attractive to apply in epidemiological studies and to monitor cardiovascular health from early age up to old age.
Systemic diseases that affect the circulation can result in progressive morphological changes in the retinal vasculature. For example, changes in the vessel calibers of retinal arteries and veins have been associated with hypertension, atherosclerosis, and increased risk of stroke and myocardial infarction. The vessel widths are derived using image analysis software and the width of the six largest arteries and veins are summarized in the Central Retinal Arteriolar Equivalent (CRAE) and the Central Retinal Venular Equivalent (CRVE). The latter features have been shown useful to study the impact of modifiable lifestyle and environmental cardiovascular disease risk factors.
The procedures to acquire fundus images and the analysis steps to obtain CRAE and CRVE are described. Coefficients of variation of repeated measures of CRAE and CRVE are less than 2% and within-rater reliability is very high. Using a panel study, the rapid response of the retinal vessel calibers to short-term changes in particulate air pollution, a known risk factor for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, is reported. In conclusion, retinal imaging is proposed as a convenient and instrumental tool for epidemiological studies to study microvascular responses to cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Medicine, Issue 92, retina, microvasculature, image analysis, Central Retinal Arteriolar Equivalent, Central Retinal Venular Equivalent, air pollution, particulate matter, black carbon
Community-based Adapted Tango Dancing for Individuals with Parkinson's Disease and Older Adults
Institutions: Emory University School of Medicine, Brigham and Woman‘s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Adapted tango dancing improves mobility and balance in older adults and additional populations with balance impairments. It is composed of very simple step elements. Adapted tango involves movement initiation and cessation, multi-directional perturbations, varied speeds and rhythms. Focus on foot placement, whole body coordination, and attention to partner, path of movement, and aesthetics likely underlie adapted tango’s demonstrated efficacy for improving mobility and balance. In this paper, we describe the methodology to disseminate the adapted tango teaching methods to dance instructor trainees and to implement the adapted tango by the trainees in the community for older adults and individuals with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Efficacy in improving mobility (measured with the Timed Up and Go, Tandem stance, Berg Balance Scale, Gait Speed and 30 sec chair stand), safety and fidelity of the program is maximized through targeted instructor and volunteer training and a structured detailed syllabus outlining class practices and progression.
Behavior, Issue 94, Dance, tango, balance, pedagogy, dissemination, exercise, older adults, Parkinson's Disease, mobility impairments, falls
Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities
Institutions: Université de Strasbourg.
Opioid-induced hyperalgesia and tolerance severely impact the clinical efficacy of opiates as pain relievers in animals and humans. The molecular mechanisms underlying both phenomena are not well understood and their elucidation should benefit from the study of animal models and from the design of appropriate experimental protocols.
We describe here a methodological approach for inducing, recording and quantifying morphine-induced hyperalgesia as well as for evidencing analgesic tolerance, using the tail-immersion and tail pressure tests in wild-type mice. As shown in the video, the protocol is divided into five sequential steps. Handling and habituation phases allow a safe determination of the basal nociceptive response of the animals. Chronic morphine administration induces significant hyperalgesia as shown by an increase in both thermal and mechanical sensitivity, whereas the comparison of analgesia time-courses after acute or repeated morphine treatment clearly indicates the development of tolerance manifested by a decline in analgesic response amplitude. This protocol may be similarly adapted to genetically modified mice in order to evaluate the role of individual genes in the modulation of nociception and morphine analgesia. It also provides a model system to investigate the effectiveness of potential therapeutic agents to improve opiate analgesic efficacy.
Neuroscience, Issue 89, mice, nociception, tail immersion test, tail pressure test, morphine, analgesia, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, tolerance
Setting-up an In Vitro Model of Rat Blood-brain Barrier (BBB): A Focus on BBB Impermeability and Receptor-mediated Transport
Institutions: VECT-HORUS SAS, CNRS, NICN UMR 7259.
The blood brain barrier (BBB) specifically regulates molecular and cellular flux between the blood and the nervous tissue. Our aim was to develop and characterize a highly reproducible rat syngeneic in vitro
model of the BBB using co-cultures of primary rat brain endothelial cells (RBEC) and astrocytes to study receptors involved in transcytosis across the endothelial cell monolayer. Astrocytes were isolated by mechanical dissection following trypsin digestion and were frozen for later co-culture. RBEC were isolated from 5-week-old rat cortices. The brains were cleaned of meninges and white matter, and mechanically dissociated following enzymatic digestion. Thereafter, the tissue homogenate was centrifuged in bovine serum albumin to separate vessel fragments from nervous tissue. The vessel fragments underwent a second enzymatic digestion to free endothelial cells from their extracellular matrix. The remaining contaminating cells such as pericytes were further eliminated by plating the microvessel fragments in puromycin-containing medium. They were then passaged onto filters for co-culture with astrocytes grown on the bottom of the wells. RBEC expressed high levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins such as occludin, claudin-5 and ZO-1 with a typical localization at the cell borders. The transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) of brain endothelial monolayers, indicating the tightness of TJs reached 300 ohm·cm2
on average. The endothelial permeability coefficients (Pe) for lucifer yellow (LY) was highly reproducible with an average of 0.26 ± 0.11 x 10-3
cm/min. Brain endothelial cells organized in monolayers expressed the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), showed a polarized transport of rhodamine 123, a ligand for P-gp, and showed specific transport of transferrin-Cy3 and DiILDL across the endothelial cell monolayer. In conclusion, we provide a protocol for setting up an in vitro
BBB model that is highly reproducible due to the quality assurance methods, and that is suitable for research on BBB transporters and receptors.
Medicine, Issue 88, rat brain endothelial cells (RBEC), mouse, spinal cord, tight junction (TJ), receptor-mediated transport (RMT), low density lipoprotein (LDL), LDLR, transferrin, TfR, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER),
Neutrophil Isolation Protocol
Institutions: University of Pennsylvania .
Neutrophil polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN) are the most abundant leukocytes in humans and among the first cells to arrive on the site of inflammatory immune response. Due to their key role in inflammation, neutrophil functions such as locomotion, cytokine production, phagocytosis, and tumor cell combat are extensively studied. To characterize the specific functions of neutrophils, a clean, fast, and reliable method of separating them from other blood cells is desirable for in vitro studies, especially since neutrophils are short-lived and should be used within 2-4 hours of collection. Here, we demonstrate a standard density gradient separation method to isolate human neutrophils from whole blood using commercially available separation media that is a mixture of sodium metrizoate and Dextran 500. The procedure consists of layering whole blood over the density gradient medium, centrifugation, separation of neutrophil layer, and lysis of residual erythrocytes. Cells are then washed, counted, and resuspended in buffer to desired concentration. When performed correctly, this method has been shown to yield samples of >95% neutrophils with >95% viability.
immunology, issue 17, blood, neutrophils, neutrophil polymorphonuclear granulocytes, cell separation, cell isolation
Non-invasive Assessment of Microvascular and Endothelial Function
Institutions: Thomas Jefferson University , Thomas Jefferson University, Thomas Jefferson University .
The authors have utilized capillaroscopy and forearm blood flow techniques to investigate the role of microvascular dysfunction in pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Capillaroscopy is a non-invasive, relatively inexpensive methodology for directly visualizing the microcirculation. Percent capillary recruitment is assessed by dividing the increase in capillary density induced by postocclusive reactive hyperemia (postocclusive reactive hyperemia capillary density minus baseline capillary density), by the maximal capillary density (observed during passive venous occlusion). Percent perfused capillaries represents the proportion of all capillaries present that are perfused (functionally active), and is calculated by dividing postocclusive reactive hyperemia capillary density by the maximal capillary density. Both percent capillary recruitment and percent perfused capillaries reflect the number of functional capillaries. The forearm blood flow (FBF) technique provides accepted non-invasive measures of endothelial function: The ratio FBFmax
is computed as an estimate of vasodilation, by dividing the mean of the four FBFmax
values by the mean of the four FBFbase
values. Forearm vascular resistance at maximal vasodilation (FVRmax
) is calculated as the mean arterial pressure (MAP) divided by FBFmax
. Both the capillaroscopy and forearm techniques are readily acceptable to patients and can be learned quickly.
The microvascular and endothelial function measures obtained using the methodologies described in this paper may have future utility in clinical patient cardiovascular risk-reduction strategies. As we have published reports demonstrating that microvascular and endothelial dysfunction are found in initial stages of hypertension including prehypertension, microvascular and endothelial function measures may eventually aid in early identification, risk-stratification and prevention of end-stage vascular pathology, with its potentially fatal consequences.
Medicine, Issue 71, Anatomy, Physiology, Immunology, Pharmacology, Hematology, Diseases, Health Care, Life sciences, Microcirculation, endothelial dysfunction, capillary density, microvascular function, blood vessels, capillaries, capillary, venous occlusion, circulation, experimental therapeutics, capillaroscopy
Assessing Endothelial Vasodilator Function with the Endo-PAT 2000
Institutions: Stanford University .
The endothelium is a delicate monolayer of cells that lines all blood vessels, and which comprises the systemic and lymphatic capillaries. By virtue of the panoply of paracrine factors that it secretes, the endothelium regulates the contractile and proliferative state of the underlying vascular smooth muscle, as well as the interaction of the vessel wall with circulating blood elements. Because of its central role in mediating vessel tone and growth, its position as gateway to circulating immune cells, and its local regulation of hemostasis and coagulation, the the properly functioning endothelium is the key to cardiovascular health. Conversely, the earliest disorder in most vascular diseases is endothelial dysfunction.
In the arterial circulation, the healthy endothelium generally exerts a vasodilator influence on the vascular smooth muscle. There are a number of methods to assess endothelial vasodilator function. The Endo-PAT 2000 is a new device that is used to assess endothelial vasodilator function in a rapid and non-invasive fashion. Unlike the commonly used technique of duplex ultra-sonography to assess flow-mediated vasodilation, it is totally non-operator-dependent, and the equipment is an order of magnitude less expensive. The device records endothelium-mediated changes in the digital pulse waveform known as the PAT ( peripheral Arterial Tone) signal, measured with a pair of novel modified plethysmographic probes situated on the finger index of each hand. Endothelium-mediated changes in the PAT signal are elicited by creating a downstream hyperemic response. Hyperemia is induced by occluding blood flow through the brachial artery for 5 minutes using an inflatable cuff on one hand. The response to reactive hyperemia is calculated automatically by the system. A PAT ratio is created using the post and pre occlusion values. These values are normalized to measurements from the contra-lateral arm, which serves as control for non-endothelial dependent systemic effects. Most notably, this normalization controls for fluctuations in sympathetic nerve outflow that may induce changes in peripheral arterial tone that are superimposed on the hyperemic response.
In this video we demonstrate how to use the Endo-PAT 2000 to perform a clinically relevant assessment of endothelial vasodilator function.
Medicine, Issue 44, endothelium, endothelial dysfunction, Endo-PAT 2000, peripheral arterial tone, reactive hyperemia
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade Leads to a Larger Intraabdominal Volume During Laparoscopy
Institutions: Aleris-Hamlet Hospitals, Soeborg, Denmark, Aleris-Hamlet Hospitals, Soeborg, Denmark.
Shoulder pain is a commonly reported symptom following laparoscopic procedures such as myomectomy or hysterectomy, and recent studies have shown that lowering the insufflation pressure during surgery may reduce the risk of post-operative pain. In this pilot study, a method is presented for measuring the intra-abdominal space available to the surgeon during laproscopy, in order to examine whether the relaxation produced by deep neuromuscular blockade can increase the working surgical space sufficiently to permit a reduction in the CO2
insufflation pressure. Using the laproscopic grasper, the distance from the promontory to the skin is measured at two different insufflation pressures: 8 mm Hg and 12 mm Hg. After the initial measurements, a neuromuscular blocking agent (rocuronium) is administered to the patient and the intra-abdominal volume is measured again. Pilot data collected from 15 patients shows that the intra-abdominal space at 8 mm Hg with blockade is comparable to the intra-abdominal space measured at 12 mm Hg without blockade. The impact of neuromuscular blockade was not correlated with patient height, weight, BMI, and age. Thus, using neuromuscular blockade to maintain a steady volume while reducing insufflation pressure may produce improved patient outcomes.
Medicine, Issue 76, Anatomy, Physiology, Neurobiology, Surgery, gynecology, laparoscopy, deep neuromuscular blockade, reversal, rocuronium, sugammadex, laparoscopic surgery, clinical techniques, surgical techniques
A Strategy to Identify de Novo Mutations in Common Disorders such as Autism and Schizophrenia
Institutions: Universite de Montreal, Universite de Montreal, Universite de Montreal.
There are several lines of evidence supporting the role of de novo
mutations as a mechanism for common disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia. First, the de novo
mutation rate in humans is relatively high, so new mutations are generated at a high frequency in the population. However, de novo
mutations have not been reported in most common diseases. Mutations in genes leading to severe diseases where there is a strong negative selection against the phenotype, such as lethality in embryonic stages or reduced reproductive fitness, will not be transmitted to multiple family members, and therefore will not be detected by linkage gene mapping or association studies. The observation of very high concordance in monozygotic twins and very low concordance in dizygotic twins also strongly supports the hypothesis that a significant fraction of cases may result from new mutations. Such is the case for diseases such as autism and schizophrenia. Second, despite reduced reproductive fitness1
and extremely variable environmental factors, the incidence of some diseases is maintained worldwide at a relatively high and constant rate. This is the case for autism and schizophrenia, with an incidence of approximately 1% worldwide. Mutational load can be thought of as a balance between selection for or against a deleterious mutation and its production by de novo
mutation. Lower rates of reproduction constitute a negative selection factor that should reduce the number of mutant alleles in the population, ultimately leading to decreased disease prevalence. These selective pressures tend to be of different intensity in different environments. Nonetheless, these severe mental disorders have been maintained at a constant relatively high prevalence in the worldwide population across a wide range of cultures and countries despite a strong negative selection against them2
. This is not what one would predict in diseases with reduced reproductive fitness, unless there was a high new mutation rate. Finally, the effects of paternal age: there is a significantly increased risk of the disease with increasing paternal age, which could result from the age related increase in paternal de novo
mutations. This is the case for autism and schizophrenia3
. The male-to-female ratio of mutation rate is estimated at about 4–6:1, presumably due to a higher number of germ-cell divisions with age in males. Therefore, one would predict that de novo
mutations would more frequently come from males, particularly older males4
. A high rate of new mutations may in part explain why genetic studies have so far failed to identify many genes predisposing to complexes diseases genes, such as autism and schizophrenia, and why diseases have been identified for a mere 3% of genes in the human genome. Identification for de novo
mutations as a cause of a disease requires a targeted molecular approach, which includes studying parents and affected subjects. The process for determining if the genetic basis of a disease may result in part from de novo
mutations and the molecular approach to establish this link will be illustrated, using autism and schizophrenia as examples.
Medicine, Issue 52, de novo mutation, complex diseases, schizophrenia, autism, rare variations, DNA sequencing | <urn:uuid:ef78e1d9-f602-4c37-b8d2-1a958f6f7195> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.jove.com/visualize/abstract/25121995/the-influence-body-mass-index-age-sex-on-inflammatory-disease-risk | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424575.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20170723162614-20170723182614-00602.warc.gz | en | 0.910173 | 10,071 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Cooperative multithreading is useful when you have multiple entities whose actions have STRONG dependency on the other states.
There aren't many instances I can think of when it's useful. The only time I've found it particularly useful is in retro-system emulators. For example, the SNES.
The SNES has several systems:
1) CPU in charge of running actual game code
2) PPU (aka GPU) in charge or rendering pixels
3) APU, a separate processor which runs custom music/sound effect code.
4) DSP in charge of generating audio
5) Any additional hardware on the cartridge (such as the SuperFX chip on the StarFox cartridge, or the ?DSP-1? chip on Super Mario Kart)
The kicker is in real life these 5 areas are all running simulatenously, and all have constant, real-time communication with each other. So if you want to emulate them with multithreading, you're going to have to have some threads wait for other threads to sync up.
For example, every time the CPU writes to a PPU register (often hundreds of times per frame -- thousands of times per second), you have to make sure the PPU is in sync with the CPU, because the write will affect what is drawn. But you can't run the PPU ahead of the CPU because that will affect any register reads that the CPU does.
The end result is a LOT of switching between threads. Tens or hundreds of thousands of times per second. Preemptive (traditional) mulithreading performance sucks when you have this many context switches.
Cooperative multithreading, on the other hand, is ideal. When the CPU is running and it writes to a PPU register, just switch over to the PPU thread, run until you catch up to the CPU, then switch back to the CPU thread.
This is how the popular SNES emulator "bSNES" works. And in fact, I spoke with the author about this technique and employed it in my own NES emulator a while back. You can see the performance difference here:
But like I say... that's about the only example I can give where I found it useful. I'm sure there are others, but it's kind of a niche thing. | <urn:uuid:653e91e1-966c-4bbc-8867-d2b40e9ecfa2> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.cplusplus.com/forum/general/90392/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131298020.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172138-00028-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94079 | 475 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Liz Bonnin presents a controversial and provocative episode of Horizon, investigating how new scientific research is raising hard questions about zoos - the film explores how and why zoos keep animals, and whether they need to change to keep up with modern science or ultimately be consigned to history. Should zoos cull their animals to manage populations? Liz travels to Copenhagen Zoo, who killed a giraffe and fed it to the lions, to witness their culling process first hand. They think it is a natural part of zoo keeping that is often swept under the carpet. Should some animals never be kept in captivity? In a world exclusive, Liz visits SeaWorld in Florida and asks if captivity drove one of their orcas to kill his trainer. But could zoos be the answer to conserving endangered species? Liz examines their record, from helping breed pandas for the wild to efforts to save the rhinos. She meets one of the last surviving northern white rhinos and discovers the future of this species now lies in a multimillion-dollar programme to engineer them from stem cells. Veteran conservation scientist Dr Sarah Bexell tells Liz the science of captive breeding is giving humanity false hope. | <urn:uuid:5e57fe90-9bca-4dcf-9eb3-28679de5656e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://maoyan.dianping.com/asgard/movie/1138846?_v_=yes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00413.warc.gz | en | 0.925169 | 298 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Greetings to all fans of Photoshop! Just a little bit left until the day when we will congratulate our beloved mothers, sisters, grandmothers, girlfriends … well, the whole beautiful half of humanity! In this lesson, I will show you the principle of creating text from ribbons, which can perfectly fit into your greeting card, made, of course, with your own hands and in your favorite Adobe Photoshop program!
So, we have very little time. For the cause!
First you need to decide on the size of the card. I decided to make a large A4 card, so I create an A4 document (2480×3508 pixels).
In this document, we write the appropriate text in the appropriate font. A suitable font is almost any italic that you could imagine in the form of ribbon curls. I chose the font Peterburg.
Initially, I wrote the text in yellow, but in the process of creating a postcard the color has changed. Therefore, in order to be better seen, I will set a contrasting background. You choose colors at your discretion, at this stage it does not matter. In the future, the text color can be changed as you like.
Since the ribbon bends exclude sharp corners, we will slightly correct our font – we will get rid of sharp corners. This can be done either with a tool. Eraser (Eraser) or by using layer mask (Layer Mask). Also, the “tails” of letters can be made forked, so that it is more like a ribbon. To do this with the tool Polygonal Lasso (Polygonal Lasso) cut out the triangles where necessary.
You should have the following:
Now we need to work on the volume, determine the tape bending lines. Light and shadows will help us in this. Shadows and lights can be created with a brush, setting its color to a darker than the base text color. Or use the tools Clarifier (Dodge) and Dimmer (Burn).
I prefer to work with a brush first to set the desired color for the shadow, and then walk a little bit with the clarifier and dimmer in places where there is not enough volume.
To set the shadow direction, use the tool. Pen (Pen). Imagine for a start how a real ribbon would be bent in the shape of the letter “a”, where the light would fall, and where a shadow would form. Tool Pen (Pen) I created a contour where, in my view, there should be a tape bend. It will go into the shadow, so I will create a selection from the outline and on the new layer I paint over this area with a darker color with a soft brush.
I do it on a new layer, so that later, in case I don’t like the result obtained or adjustments are needed in the process, I could easily fix everything.
It is important that you do not need to paint over the entire area, but to form a certain gradient. Exactly brush with soft edges will allow this to be done. Just set it to a rather large size (at my resolution, it’s about 90 pixels in size) and start painting over the line of the supposed bend. At the place of bending, the color should be more saturated, dissolving to the tip of the tape.
By the same principle, create another selection area near the letter “a” and form a ribbon bend by adding a shadow.
Invert the selection (Ctrl + Shift + I) and on the new layer try to create a shadow between the tapes. I did it this way: first I painted over the area where it was necessary:
Then returned to the layer where the main text is written (it must be rasterized). Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the thumbnail of the text layer to load text selection.
Now, attention! Make sure that you are on the layer where you last painted the shadow (at the beginning of step 5). Invert the loaded selection and eraser erase all unnecessary.
You should have something like this:
And finish tail.
Here we have the letter “a”.
The remaining letters do the same principle. Using tool Dimmer (Burn) we strengthen the shadows in the lines of the bend, and with the help of the tool Clarifier (Dodge) add light, where necessary according to the intention of the composition. This is how it turns out:
In this illustration, you can clearly see how and where you can create bend lines, as well as where to enhance shadows and light to give volume.
In the process of creating the text, I decided to change its color. To do this, just refer to the function Hue / Saturation (Hue / Saturation) (Ctrl + U) and adjust the desired color.
Merge all the layers related to the text (do not include the background). Create a new layer. Load the selection of the text layer by clicking on its thumbnail while holding down the Ctrl key. Make sure that the new layer you just created is active. Go to the menu Allotment (Select) – Modification (Modify) – Compress (Contract). For my resolution, I chose a value of 4 pixels. And then Allotment (Select) – Modification (Modify) – The border (Border). Set the value to 1 pix. The resulting selection is filled with white.
We did it like this:
Since the rim of ours is formed on a new layer, it can be adjusted along bending lines.
So our ribbons are ready, it remains to make a composition.
On the Internet you can find any floral background, for example, like this:
I slightly changed the size and position of the text.
Diluted the motley background with a pale yellow oval.
You can also create an outline inside the oval using the tool Ellipse (Ellipse) and execute the command Circle Outline (Stroke Path). Select a brush as the stroke tool.
The brush must be pre-configured. Set the brush size suitable for you, and then play in the settings with the parameter Scattering (Scattering). This is what should result:
You can add some bouquet:
And, to balance the composition, a nice curl:
That’s all! Our card is ready! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it useful! I would be glad to see your exclusive work, as well as comments about the lesson! | <urn:uuid:d7d90860-5c4c-4a10-b88d-b40d82ea892e> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://photobecket.com/work-with-text/create-text-from-ribbons-in-photoshop.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738653.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20200810072511-20200810102511-00284.warc.gz | en | 0.907937 | 1,355 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The National Ocean Service (NOS) Estuarine Bathymetric Digital Elevation Models are gridded bathymetry datasets interpolated from 150 years’ worth of hydrographic survey data collected by the former NOS Special Projects Office. The initiative produced datasets for 70 estuaries in the conterminous United States with sufficient data coverage to support detailed bathymetric processing.
Specifications and File Structure
Estuarine bathymetric data are available as gridded products with 30 meter spatial resolution. The extent shapefile, visualization files, and density images are packaged together, while the DEM is available as a stand-alone download.
Note: Do not use bathymetric data for navigation. Refer to NOAA nautical charts, and NOS source data to navigate in U.S. coastal waters.
Bathymetric data adds another dimension to geographic mapping and modeling, and can be used as either a background layer or 3D surface for draping thematic maps such as benthic or marine organism habitats and geologic data. It also delineates the lower boundary of the water column in hydrodynamic models used to monitor and predict the movement of oil and hazardous materials, temperature and salinity distributions, animal migration patterns, and model storm surge and tsunami effects.
The perimeter of each bathymetry aligns with estuarine drainage area water boundaries determined by the NOS Coastal Assessment Framework. Elevations do not extend beyond the high water line. Bathymetric depths are vertically referenced to the local tidal datum, typically Mean Lowest Low Water (MLLW) averaged over a 19 year tidal epoch. There are no plans to produce bathymetries for other estuaries, but some existing bathymetries are updated as part of Coastal Digital Elevation Models, which can accessed through the Bathymetric Data Viewer application.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the source data for the bathymetry?
- Consult the metadata for each estuary to view source data.
- How do you view data in GIS applications?
- NetCDF data can be opened in a variety of GIS software packages, including ESRI ArcGIS. Alternatively, users can convert from netCDF to other common raster formats using Geospatial Data Abstraction Library utilities to facilitate use in a GIS environment.
- Why do sections of some estuaries appear ramped or have a constant slope?
- The constant slope may be real or an artifact of sampling density. Very few estuaries have a constant sounding density over the entire area of the estuary. Some estuaries have larger gaps in data than others, and the density of the original soundings often change from one section of the estuary to another. A triangulation process is used to produce the gridded data. Areas with dense concentrations of soundings will produce more accurate grid values than areas where the soundings are sparse. Some areas have gaps of many hundreds of meters. These areas will show interpolation across large distances which will appear evenly spaced. In order to determine where these areas are, the user can download the Sounding Coverage Images, which are included in the supplemental information zipfile for each DEM. These images allow the user to get a general idea of the distance between the original soundings data so that they may assess for themselves whether or not the original point coverages meet their project's resolution needs. | <urn:uuid:fe9a90cb-fc8f-4f88-bd20-31bc42c32228> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/estuarine-bathymetric-digital-elevation-models | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296948932.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20230329023546-20230329053546-00094.warc.gz | en | 0.882791 | 719 | 3.109375 | 3 |
- Up to 15 Colors per Design
- Flat (traditional) or Raised (3D puff) Embroidery
- Chenille Varsity Letters / Tackle Twill
- Embroidered Patches
- In-House Digitizing
Check Out Our Product Catalog
*6 piece minumum for embroidery
What is Embroidery?
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in strands of thread using a needle.Embroidery is great on hats, polos, and outerwear to name just a few. One of the major benefits is that it lends a very professional tone to the item it is added to. For this reason it is very commonly done on uniform pieces, or on items that a business wants to give away or sell as promotional goods. Unlike screen printing, for embroidery the number of colors in the design has no bearing on the price. This makes it a great choice for a design that features many different colors. | <urn:uuid:052c3109-9132-4a4d-8680-1b294933cf18> | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | https://bandesportswear.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875145941.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20200224102135-20200224132135-00235.warc.gz | en | 0.934142 | 213 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This operator produces a surface displacement that simulates small surface damage using anti-aliased noise of various frequencies.
The Displacement Scale (
scale) input determines the amount of overall
displacement of each frequency set. A positive scale will produce dents,
such as concrete holes and smallpox scars. A negative scale will
generate bumps, such as skin rash or stucco.
As an example, the following values will generate a pitted look. To
simulate pitted metal, for instance, pipe the Displaced Normal (
output into the
N input of the Shiny Metal operator, and the resulting
metal color into the
Cf input of the Output operator.
freq amp chip scale -------------+----+-----+----- 0.5,0.5,0.5 1 0.01 0.2
Typically, this operator will be used in a displacement shader, with
disp outputs piped into the matching inputs of the Output Variables
operator. Alternatively, it can be appear in a surface shader, in which
case the displaced normal would be normalized and then connected to the
nN input of the Lighting Model operator.
If the Position (
P) input and the Normal (
N) input are not connected,
the global variables by the same names will be used instead. Typically
you will use Rest Position or UV Space Change as inputs for
will not touch
N unless you want to apply additional displacement to
the surface using an operator such as Bump Noise. If you need to access
the global variables directly, they are available from the Global Variables operator. | <urn:uuid:e227f697-198e-4a59-adfd-bebf60b1c541> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/nodes/vop/cavities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618039610090.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20210422130245-20210422160245-00326.warc.gz | en | 0.791796 | 338 | 3.171875 | 3 |
An affinity group is a group formed around a shared interest or common goal, to which individuals formally or informally belong. Affinity groups are generally precluded from being under the aegis of any governmental agency, and their purposes must be primarily non-commercial. Examples of affinity groups include private social clubs, fraternities, writing or reading circles, hobby clubs, and groups engaged in political activism.
Some affinity groups are organized in a non-hierarchical manner, often using consensus decision making, and are frequently made up of trusted friends. They provide a method of organization that is flexible and decentralized. Other affinity groups may have a hierarchy to provide management of the group's long-term interests, or if the group is large enough to require the delegation of responsibilities to other members or staff.
Affinity groups can be based on a common ideology (e.g., anarchism, pacifism), a shared concern for a given issue (e.g., anti-nuclear, anti-war) or a common activity, role, interest or skill (e.g., legal support, medical aid, black blocs). Affinity groups may have either open or closed membership, although the latter is far more common. Some charge membership dues or expect members to share the cost of the group's expenses.
Although affinity groups are a natural way for humans to organize and are, in that sense, as old as humanity, the origin of affinity groups in the current context began in the 16th century in Britain with dining clubs that would meet at a set location and at a recurring time. One of the earliest recorded examples of such was a group that called itself the "Fraternity of Sireniacal Gentlemen" which met at the Mermaid Tavern in London the first Friday night of each month. Membership was strictly limited and many of the Elizabethan Era's most prominent literary figures belonged. They gathered to eat, drink and socialize with other members, and to discuss literary matters.
During the 17th century, far more affinity groups formed, ranging from large, national or even international fraternal groups like the Freemasons to private gentlemen's clubs, to small, informal reading circles or collectors clubs. Unlike salons or other periodic gatherings that had continuously changing participants, affinity groups traditionally have had curated memberships. Often, a would-be member had to be proposed for membership by an existing member, or would-be members might petition to join on their own. The existing members often are required to vote upon whether or not to accept the applicant as a new member. Some voting procedures require unanimity (such as the Freemasons), others may a simple majority of supporting votes. After becoming a member, continuing membership may be contingent upon conforming to rules or shared ideologies, and the disbarring of members for a variety of reasons is possible.
Affinity groups fall under the category of NGOs, but are further limited by being primarily non-commercial, and are not required to have any specific purpose that might affect the community beyond their own group. For example, both a social justice group and a philately group would be considered affinity groups, but the former more closely resembles the classic definition of an NGO.
Political affinity groups
Affinity groups engaged in political activism date to 19th century Spain. It was a favourite way of organization by Spanish anarchists (grupos de afinidad), and had their base in the tertulias or in the local groups.
Politically oriented affinity groups in the United States gained public attention during the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The term was first used by Ben Morea and the group Black Mask. Later, anti-war activists on college campuses organized around their hobbies or backgrounds -- religious, gender, ethnic group, etc. They became popular in the 1970s in the anti-nuclear movement in the United States and Europe. The 30,000 person occupation and blockade of the Ruhr nuclear power station in Germany in 1969 was organized on the Affinity group model. Today, the structure is used by many different activists: animal rights, environmental, anti-war, and anti-globalization, to name some examples.
By definition, Affinity groups are autonomous from any larger body. Co-ordinated effort and co-operation amongst several Affinity groups, however, is often achieved by using a loose form of confederation. Private clubs, for example, may cooperate through reciprocal agreements which allow the members of one club to use the facilities of another club in a different location. Other affinity groups, such as Rotarians or Toastmasters, may be individual units that conform to shared standards so that one may participate in another group of the same name anywhere on earth without requiring the individual to reapply for a new membership.
- Cluster: The cluster is the basic unit of organization amongst Affinity groups. A cluster consists of several Affinity groups and is organized in a non-hierarchical manner. A cluster can be permanent, but is more often an ad hoc grouping organized for one specific task or action. One can be organized around a shared goal (e.g. blockading a particular road), a common ideology (e.g. the Quakers) or a place of origin.
- Spokescouncil: The spokescouncil is an aggregate of clusters and Affinity groups. Each Affinity group or cluster nominates one representative (often called a "spoke") to participate in the council. Spokescouncils are most often temporary bodies, committed to accomplishing one task or event.
Affinity groups tend to be loosely organized, however there are some formal roles or positions that commonly occur. A given Affinity group may have all, some or none of these positions. They may be permanent or temporary and the group may opt to take turns in these roles, or assign one role to one person.
- Spoke: The individual charged with representing the Affinity group at a spokescouncil or cluster meeting; roughly the same as a spokesman but without gender assumptions. Occasionally, the spoke will be granted a more general ambassadorial role by the Affinity group.
- Facilitator: A person or people who perform facilitation duties in consensus process of the group and also, to varying degrees, act as arbiter of internal conflicts.
- Media contact: An individual who represents the group to the mass media. Often this individual is the same person as the Spoke.
- Vibe watch: A person or people charged with monitoring the mood and feeling of the group. The reference is to vibrations in the colloquial emotional sense. In some Affinity groups, the vibe watch is also charged with keeping the facilitator from using his or her role to favor any position or proposal.
- Snap-decision facilitator: Also called "quick decision facilitator", this is a person charged with making decisions for the group in time-constrained or high-pressure situations. The position is rare and is almost always temporary (contrast with the pre-Imperial Roman concept of a temporary dictator).
- Hauser, Luke Direct Action: An Historical Novel, (New York: GroundWork, 2003) 768pp. ISBN 0-9740194-0-2 | <urn:uuid:e495daf6-3a99-4916-82ca-7d8b89bd3040> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | http://www.infogalactic.com/info/Affinity_group | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439736883.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20200806061804-20200806091804-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.952419 | 1,485 | 3.515625 | 4 |
One of the more unusual and more interesting monuments in Washington DC is the Korean War Memorial. The Memorial is situated on the National Mall, close to the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool.
The Korean War started in 1950 with the North Korean Invasion of South Korea. North Korea was supported by China and the USSR; the United States lead a 21-nation United Nations force to help South Korea. The war lasted for three years and ended in a tense stalemate which lingers to this day. Hopefully things are finally moving towards a more peaceful Korean peninsula.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial commemorates the service and sacrifice of 5.8 million Americans who served during the three-years of the Korean War. The United States suffered significant losses in the conflict, including 36,574 dead, 103,284 wounded in action, and 8,177 Missing in Action.
Construction on the Memorial began in 1993 and it was completed and dedicated in 1995. The Memorial is managed by the National Park Service.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial consists of four parts.
1) The Statues:
The most obvious part of the monument are 19 stainless steel statues representing a platoon on patrol. They are standing in patches of juniper bushes, separated by bands of polished granite, symbolizing the rice paddies of Korea. The statues each are more than 7 feet tall and weigh more than 1000 pounds. To me they looked like ghosts on patrol, although I’m not sure if that was the desired effect.
2) The Mural Wall:
The Mural Wall was fascinating to study. The wall consists of 41 polished granite panels extending 164 feet, illustrated with etchings of more than 2,400 photographs of the Korean War. Beyond the photos etched into the wall, the reflections of the soldier statues on the wall’s glossy surface further enhanced my impression of ghosts. It was a bit eerie.
3) The Pool or Remembrance:
The Memorial has a reflective pool (30 ft wide), lined by black granite. The Pool is encircled by a walkway along which benches are located. Inscriptions list the numbers killed, wounded and MIA. I visited in early December and the pool had been drained, so I didn’t bother photographing it. But here’s a photo from Wikimedia that shows the pool in all its summer-time splendor. A further granite wall bears the simple message: “Freedom Is Not Free.”
4) The United Nations Wall:
To the north of the Mural Wall is a walkway on which are engraved markers for each of the 22 Allied nations that contributed troops to the UN’s response to the Korean War.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow) | <urn:uuid:58b584ce-e9df-4528-a365-3be09e8b6029> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://drfumblefinger.com/blog/2018/12/korean-war-veterans-memorial-washington/nggallery/slideshow | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912206677.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20190326220507-20190327002507-00261.warc.gz | en | 0.948225 | 563 | 3.40625 | 3 |
The Citi Foundation Helps India Prepare To Be World’s Youngest Population By 2020
(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Last year, Prime Minister Modi of India launched an ambitious project that aims to train over 400 million young people in different skills by 2022. The initiative is called ‘Skill India’, with the tagline - 'Kaushal Bharat, Kushal Bharat', which means ‘Skilled India, Successful India.’ Today, every third person in an Indian city is a youth. In about four years, the average-aged person will be 29 years old and very likely a city-dweller, making India the youngest country in the world by then. India is set to experience a dynamic transformation as the population burden of the past turns into a demographic dividend, but the benefits will be tempered with social and regional inequalities.
Supporting the India’s national agenda of ‘Skill India’ will be the Citi Foundation’s India Innovation Grant Program (IIGP), which is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, launched in 2014 to encourage non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to develop innovative, sustainable financial education and inclusion models. Now in its third year, IIGP will expand to focus on investing in the skills of the youth across the country and prepare them for and connect them with economic opportunities, which in turn, will propel economic progress and inclusion in India.
In India, the Citi Foundation’s overall grant program is focused on addressing the socio-economic challenges with innovative and strategic grants, which will help enhance and grow financial inclusion, promote responsible financial behavior via increased financial literacy and create new income-generating opportunities in low income communities. Since 1999, the Citi Foundation has supported more than 35 non-profit organisations, benefiting an estimated 2.5 million individuals across India. Now through its IIGP plan, it will identify leading programs that will help young people, aged between 16-25 years old, build an entrepreneurial mindset, acquire leadership, financial and workplace skills, and begin to engage in the formal economy through a first job.
The IIGP 2016 is part of Pathways to Progress, Citi Foundation’s global scheme to prepare young people with career necessary tools and opportunities needed to thrive in the current world’s economy. Pathways to Progress is comprised of programs, research and partnerships that helps the next generation build an entrepreneurial mindset, acquire leadership, financial and workplace skills, and begin to engage in the formal economy through a first job.
So, as India prepares to become the world’s youngest country by 2020, while the West, Japan and even China are ageing, this demographic potentially offers this nation a thriving and growing economy. However, while India is undergoing this demographic transition, regional disparities in education mean the benefits will not be evenly spread across the country. That's why IIGP 2016, along with ‘Skills India’, will be crucial to see how things eventually play out for the youth in the end.
Photo Credit: Citi Foundation | <urn:uuid:3f73971c-bd24-46b0-9652-501ab37c002f> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://www.justmeans.com/blogs/the-citi-foundation-helps-india-prepare-to-be-worlds-youngest-population-by-2020 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046155322.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20210805032134-20210805062134-00007.warc.gz | en | 0.92894 | 634 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The field of quantum computing is developing fast. Quantum computers are based on a different kind of technology than ordinary computers. Instead of the usual bits that can only take on the values 1 or 0, quantum computers use so-called qubits, which can take on both values at the same time. This gives quantum computers a vastly greater computing power. The first prototypes of quantum computers have already been developed, and it is expected that these can be scaled up for more general use in the next twenty years.
That poses many challenges. Not only technologically, but also at the level of society. Including in the field of cyber security. The cryptography that is currently used by for example financial institutions and governments, is difficult to crack using existing computers, but can be cracked much more easily with a quantum computer. How do we ensure that these systems, which are vital to society, remain safe in the future? In other words, how can the transition to encryption that is resistant to attacks by quantum computers be managed in the right direction?
That is the overarching goal of the new research consortium Quantum Impact on Societal Security (QISS), led by Sebastian De Haro of the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation and the Institute of Physics of the University of Amsterdam. QISS is a multidisciplinary collaboration between scientists, financial institutions, the government and societal groups that will investigate the impact of this transition. To this end they were awarded more than 900,000 euros by the Nationale Wetenschapsagenda (National Science Agenda), one of the programmes of the national funding agency NWO. In addition, there is extra funding for this project from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Banking Association.
‘With QISS, we broadly focus on four scientific goals,’ says De Haro. ‘First, identifying technical and societal requirements on innovation policies for quantum-safe cryptography. We will explore what enables an interactive approach to responsible innovation, in real-time as the technology develops. The second goal is to understand the dynamics of knowledge in research and innovation ecosystems. Thirdly, to draft novel innovation policies that satisfy the societal requirements for the financial and government sectors, clarifying their legal underpinning. And finally, our fourth goal is to link the development of new cryptographic standards to the subsequent stakeholder dynamics and their geopolitical consequences.’
Together these goals should make an important contribution to the Dutch ecosystem for quantum-secure cryptography, including the development of responsible innovation policy and regulations and proper public awareness.
In addition to the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation and the Institute of Physics, the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Informatics and Institute for Information Law are also collaborating on this project.
In addition to the University of Amsterdam and the mentioned co-financiers, the following partners are involved in QISS: Quantum Delta, Fontys University of Applied Sciences, QuSoft, Rathenau Institute, De Nederlandsche Bank, ABN-AMRO, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations , Ministry of Justice and Security, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and other societal organisations. International partners include Aalto University School of Business, Quantum-Safe Canada, and the University of Cambridge. | <urn:uuid:8e8e1ba8-40b8-4767-9a5a-8bfbcb55f79c> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.uva.nl/en/shared-content/faculteiten/en/faculteit-der-natuurwetenschappen-wiskunde-en-informatica/news/2022/05/large-nwa-grant-for-research-into-the-social-impact-of-quantum-secure-cryptography.html?origin=kUP%2Byx6UTZqvuJiCJKnnEQ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679099514.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20231128115347-20231128145347-00289.warc.gz | en | 0.921549 | 655 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Before throwing the two-state solution onto the garbage heap of history, we would be wise to consider the long and difficult path that led to acceptance of this solution, eliminating the zerosum nature of the conflict. Indeed, the idea of two states evolved out of a good deal of internal discussion and dissent within the Palestinian national movement, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and even longerterm rejection by the government of Israel. At the core was a basic identity issue that denied legitimacy of each side’s right to statehood. Palestinians viewed Jews as belonging to a religion rather than a nation (deserving of selfdetermination) and Zionism as a colonial movement that usurped the land and expelled its rightful, historic owners. In a mirror image, the mainstream of the Zionist movement viewed the Palestinians not as a people (nation) but rather as merely a part of the broader Arab nation that had migrated into historic Palestine over the centuries, usurping the (exclusive) Jewish right to the land. So went the narratives on both sides. The denial of the other’s nationhood remains in many circles on both sides; nevertheless, there were those who gradually placed the discourse on a more pragmatic level with the idea of a two-state solution.
The PLO’s movement towards accepting a two-state solution
A detailed, authoritative account of the PLO’s consideration and gradual acceptance of the idea can be found in Yezid Sayigh’s monumental volume, The Armed Struggle and Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement 1949-1993. Fateh, the largest party in the PLO (after joining the organization in 1969) set as its goal “the establishment of an independent democratic state with complete sovereignty on all Palestinian lands, and Jerusalem is its capital city, and protecting the citizens' legal and equal rights without any racial or religious discrimination,” according to Article 13 of the Fateh Constitution. This was popularly referred to as a secular, democratic state, to be established in all of Palestine once “the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated” (Article 19, http://www.mideastweb.org/fateh.htm#Goals).
Discussions and debates within the PLO were to change this gradually, with Nayif Hawatmeh, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) arguing for the idea of a state in the territories occupied in 1967. Hawatmeh was a Marxist and apparently in agreement with Soviet efforts to persuade the PLO to accept the idea of a state limited to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as I have documented in The Soviet Union and the Palestine Liberation Organization: Uneasy Alliance. Anxious to avoid confrontation with the United States, Moscow was not willing to challenge Israel’s existence within the pre-1967 lines. Thus, it opposed Palestinian talk of replacing Israel, and at the close of the 1973 war, it contacted the leaders of the PLO’s three main movements — Fateh, the DFLP and the PFLP — with the admonition to define and limit their national demands to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
This is not to say that the PLO was guided by Moscow’s wishes. The Soviet request at that time was prompted in part by discussions under way within the PLO itself regarding Palestinian goals, ahead of the Arab League meeting of October 1974. At the meeting of the Palestinian National Council on June 8, 1974, primarily at the urging of the DFLP, the PLO adopted a 10-point program that called for the establishment of “the independent combatant national authority for the people over every part of Palestinian territory that is liberated.” The idea was statehood of a sort (authority or entity were the terms used) in liberated areas until all of Palestine were liberated — often viewed as a step-by-step approach. This same decision was subsequently adopted, secretly, by the Arab League at it meeting. The term “state” finally appeared in the PLO’s 1977 Six Point Program, but from 1974 onwards (if not earlier), the term “national rights” was interpreted inside and outside the organization as a reference to statehood. As spelled out in 1977, the PLO would strive to establish “…an independent Palestinian national state on any part of Palestinian land, without reconciliation, recognition or negotiations, as an interim aim of the Palestinian Revolution.”
The 1974 and 1977 programs did not bring an end to the PLO’s internal debate over statehood or, more specifically, over the location of such a state and the tactics for achieving it. The PFLP, under its founder George Habash, was also Marxist but more militant on virtually all issues including the use of international terror (abandoned by Fateh in 1973) and Fateh-supported tactics such as meetings with Israelis. Finally, Habash and the PFLP openly opposed Arafat and his policies, leading to a split in the 1980s.
The internal debate that had been taking place since the early 1970s over statehood and the idea of a mini-state limited to the West Bank and Gaza came to a head after the Lebanon War of 1982. In the debates over tactics as well as goals, there were those, for example Issam Sartawi of Fateh, who urged diplomatic measures in view of the failure of quasi-military tactics used against Israel from Lebanon. Understanding that the PLO could not defeat Israel militarily, many also realized that help from outside for such an effort was not forthcoming. The failure of either the Arab states or the Soviet Union to assist the PLO against Israeli in1982, or at least prevent its expulsion from Lebanon, was a lesson advocated by Sartawi and others. In 1983, Sartawi was assassinated by the renegade Palestinian organization of Abu Nidal, presumably for these views. His advocacy of the need to find a political path and compromise echoed many of the ideas of the PLO’s London representative Said Hamami, who had been assassinated by the Abu Nidal group in 1978. Both Hamami and Sartawi apparently had the backing of Arafat, who had in fact authorized the earlier meetings with Israelis.
Yet others in the PLO, like Habash, drew opposite conclusions from the war, based on an appraisal that Israel would always prefer military means. There were a number of reasons for the split in the PLO and (a Syriandominated) rebellion against Arafat after the 1982 war, but their opposition found expression in their criticism of Arafat’s conciliatory attitude toward Jordan in 1984, the convening of the PNC in Amman (boycotted by PFLP and others), followed by the joint statement with King Hussein in February 1985. All of these acts by Fateh pointed to a PLO move toward acceptance of UNSC Resolution 242 (with its recognition of the right of all states in the region to live within recognized and secure borders, i.e., implied recognition of Israel’s right to exist) and negotiations with Israel.
The internal rift in the PLO was healed in 1988 but Fateh was the winner. The November 1988 PNC and Arafat’s subsequent UN speech and press conference declared acceptance not only of UNSCR 242 but also of UNGA Resolution 181 (1947 Partition Plan), the creation of a Palestinian state and the two-state solution. This was known in the PLO as the “ministate option” based on an “historic compromise” whereby Palestine would be limited to 22% of British Mandate Palestine. This was a long way from the 1964 PLO charter and even Fateh’s Constitution of that year.
Popular Palestinian support followed that of the leadership, reaching a high of 71% in support of the two-state solution by 2010.1 It has remained the position of the PLO and of the Palestinian Authority, but the frustration and failures of Fateh’s preference for negotiations and compromise, under both Arafat and Abbas, has reduced this support to just 43% as of December 2018.2 The hard-won option of a Palestinian state alongside, rather than instead of, Israel, the option that eliminated the zero-sum relationshipand opened the way to a solution via two states, would appear to be in jeopardy today among the Palestinians.
Israel’s Movement toward Accepting the Two-State Solution
Israel’s path to the two-state solution was neither shorter nor less complicated than that of the Palestinians. Basically denying the Nakba or the existence of a Palestinian people (viz. Golda Meir’s claim that she was a Palestinian because of her British Mandate pre-state passport), the general Israeli attitude was that the “Arabs of Israel” or “Israeli Arabs” could realize any national aspirations within the broader Arab nation and the many Arab countries. There were, of course, other opinions within the
Zionist movement and even within Israel, such as the nearly miniscule Brit Shalom group and the Marxist-Zionist Hashomer Hatzair movement that favored a bi-national state. But until 1967, the conflict was considered by Israel, and the international community, as one between states, while the Palestinians was treated as refugees, not a national, issue. This was reflected in the 1967 UNSC Resolution 242, to which the PLO objected, for this very reason. Thus, after 1967 the ruling Labor coalition favored a Jordanian option for whatever territory occupied in 1967 might be relinquished.
There was early consideration of the creation of a Palestinian state but this was to be exclusive of East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel at the end of June 1967. Such a state was also to consist of enclaves in the West Bank, completely surrounded territorially by Israel. This formula was discussed in the Israeli government meetings of June 18-19, 1967. The 1968 Allon Plan had similar parameters but for the Jordanian option rather than a Palestinian state. Both strongly resemble the present attitude toward Area C. This limited “Palestinian state” was discussed with local Palestinians in 1967, and rejected.
In response to growing international attention to the PLO, largely as a result of aircraft hijackings, attacks on Israelis in Europe, and a political campaign following Arafat’s assumption of PLO leadership, two figures of the Labor Alignment, Mapam’s Victor Shem Tov and Labor’s Aharon Yariv, introduced in 1972 the Shem-Tov-Yariv condition for dealing with the PLO: “acceptance of Israel’s right to exist and renunciation of the use of terror.” Negotiating the 1975 Interim Agreement with Egypt, Labor Prime
Minister Yizhak Rabin obtained an American promise that it would not deal with the PLO until and unless it adhered to the Shem-Tov-Yariv formula.
The existence of a Palestinian people crept into Israeli political discourse, notably in party platforms, sometime in the 1970s. Labor, while maintaining the preference for the Jordanian option, spoke of Palestinian national aspirations, but in the context of a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation.3 In 1973, for example, Yigal Allon spoke of the Arabs who “lived in Eretz Israel for hundreds of years and … developed their own unique characteristics … in historic Eretz Israel on both sides of the River
Jordan.” Thus, a national identity, and a homeland, for the Palestinians were acknowledged, but within the Jordanian option rather than in “Eretz Israel.” Rabin also expressed this principle in 1974. Only small parties to the left, such as Uri Avnery’s HaOlam Hazeh, spoke directly of a “Palestinian Arab people” and their right to a state at the time. Slightly later they were joint by the Communists (Hadash) and the newer Sheli. But on the right, the 1973 platforms of both the Likud and Mafdal (the National Religious
Party) continued to speak of the “Arab residents of Eretz Israel.” In 1975 Menachem Begin told the Knesset: “There is no Palestine here and therefore there is no entity, no identity and no nation that is called Palestinian.”
A change occurred around 1977, as U.S. President Jimmy Carter strove to reconvene an international conference. The right-wing party Shlomzion, created by Ariel Sharon, maintained the “Jordan is Palestine” idea, but Sharon also spoke of the need to speak with “the Palestinians,” even going so far as to assert that “Israel should speak with the PLO representatives if they represent the Palestinians.” Begin maintained his use of the term “Arabs of Eretz Israel,” and I would argue that he opted for bilateral talks with Egypt and full withdrawal from the Sinai in order to avoid an international conference and its likely discussion of Palestinian independence in the West Bank. However, given Sadat’s insistence upon linkage, at Camp David, with at least autonomy for the West Bank, Begin agreed to the formulation of “the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.” Still, he continued to use the term “Arabs of Eretz Israel” when speaking to Israelis.4 Labor’s 1977 platform acknowledged the “Palestinian Arabs” but “negates the establishment of an independent Arab-Palestinian state west of the River Jordan.”
While the right-wing and religious parties maintained their positions, Labor introduced a pragmatic change in the early 1980s. It spoke increasingly of the demographic issue and the dangers of a bi-national state emerging from continued control of all of the territories.5 Still, even as it acknowledged Palestinian rights, Labor continued to favor the Jordanian option (Palestinian-Jordanian confederation) and explicitly opposed the creation of a Palestinian state. This was often expressed over the issue of speaking with the PLO, to which Labor often responded that there was nothing to discuss. It explicitly ruled out withdrawal from various parts of the West Bank (Jordan Rift Valley, north Dead Sea, East Jerusalem etc.) in what greatly resembled the positions of the Eshkol government on June 18-19, 1967. And within Labor’s political committee debates raged between hawks and doves over the future of the territories. Public pronouncements initially focused on Israel’s exclusive claim to the lands but later security
considerations dominated.6 Further to the left, Mapam (that left the Labor Alignment in 1988) and Ratz (Shulamith Aloni’s Movement for Civil Rights and Peace) called for Palestinian self-determination in 1988. This coincided with the first intifada and Jordan’s transfer to the Palestinians of its claim to the West Bank in August 1988.
The positions and even language of the parties on the right remained unchanged — with the exception of Netanyahu’s brief lapse in 2009 when he supported the two-state solution in his Bar-Ilan speech made in response to President Obama’s Cairo speech, albeit with a list of conditions. However, Labor underwent a gradual, some would argue very slight, shift after the 1992 elections. With the Oslo Declaration of Principles, Rabin began implementation of an autonomy plan that he had advocated for some time.
His greatest innovation was the recognition of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, along with a never-explicit understanding that the final status talks, scheduled for completion by 1998, would produce some form of Palestinian self-rule. In his last speech before the 1995 assassination Rabin spoke of “an entity less than a state” and repeated some of the earlier Labor party territorial-security demands. The platform under Shimon Peres’ brief turn as party leader spoke of separation and end of
rule over Palestinians, but it did not mention statehood. That year, Meretz, created in 1992 by Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, directly called for creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
In 1999, in the platform to the elections that brought Ehud Barak to power, Labor expressed opposition to a Palestinians state “as a goal” but allowed that if such a state were to result from a peace agreement, certain Israeli interests were to be preserved.7 Barak himself said he preferred a solution via Jordan, and, like Rabin, he too announced that Israel would not return to the pre-June 1967 lines.8 However, in preparation for the elections of 2003, the Labor party under Amram Mitzna finally adopted
the two-state solution.
Public opinion too underwent transformation. In the late 1970s, some 90% of Israeli Jews perceived a Palestinian state as a threat to Israel and opposed its creation.9 Around the middle of the 1980s opposition began to decline, but nonetheless in 1987 one poll found only 20% in favor of a Palestinian state.10 Still, the decline of the numbers opposed continued until 2006, when slightly fewer than 50% remained opposed.11 Actually, one poll found that by 2007, Jewish support for the two-state solution had risen to
70%.12 and another found an all-time high of 71% in 2010.13
This positive long-term trend may have been the result of pragmatic considerations, as it had been for the PLO. Rabin expressed this in positive terms when he spoke of changes in the international community (collapse of the Soviet Union and emergence of American-led new world order), changes within the PLO (its weakening during the first Gulf War but also its post-1988 policy), and also negative changes in the region (growth of Islamism and Iranian nuclear plans). He noted both an opportunity but also
a need to resolve the conflict. In addition, Rabin had concern about the resilience of the Israeli public. Like Ehud Olmert in 2008, and even Sharon earlier, the demographic issue and fear of a bi-national state (or as Rabin once put it, “democracy without the territories or apartheid with them”) was the major motivating factor for some, also among the Jewish public. A gradual shift to greater willingness to part with most or all of the territories was under way. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, this was related to the
first intifada, namely, the resistance of the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, prompting Israeli concern that the quiet of the earliest period of the occupation had become impossible to sustain.
Decline in Israeli Support for Two States
However, beginning in 2008 (or 2011, according to other polls), the positive trend was gradually reversed. The Peace Index of August 2018 found that only 47% of Israeli Jews supported the two-state solution; 46% would not. At the end of 2018, this was down to 43%. (As noted, there was a similar decline to 43% among Palestinians in 2018.)
Yet even among those favoring two states, there were potentially deal-breaking conditions. Labor, for example, persisted in advocating many of the same exceptions (e.g., the Jordan Rift Valley, East Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and more) as in the past. The new centrist Blue and White party led by former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz has adopted most of those limitations as well, without any mention of Palestinian statehood. Only Olmert (and, to a lesser extent, Barak) was willing to make serious concessions on territory and Jerusalem. Netanyahu, for his part, added the pre-condition of Palestinian recognition of Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people,” in addition to other restrictions on the future state and Israeli retention of East Jerusalem. More recently, Netanyahu has come out firmly against the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, and his party, along with parties to his right, call for annexation of all of the West Bank.
Settlement construction, begun by Labor almost immediately after the 1967 war, has greatly handicapped the possibility of the two-state solution. In addition, past failures, along with the rise of extreme views on both sides, have led Israelis and Palestinians alike to doubt the possibility of reaching a two-state solution or its viability. This may account for a slight decline in support even among left-wing Israeli Jews. Indeed, polls suggest a connection between pessimism and the general decline to less than 50%
support, on both sides, over the past decade.
Given the reluctance on both sides, and the long struggle to obtain support for the two-state solution, the present trend is alarming. Mutual acceptance was hard to achieve; a return to the zero-sum impasse would likely provide nothing more than continued conflict and bloodshed.
1 Khalil Shikaki and Dahlia Scheindlin, “Role of Public Opinion in the Resilience/ Resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, December 2018,” Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Ramallah, 2018.
2 “Public Opinion Poll No (70), Press Release, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Ramallah, 2018.
3 Neta Oren, “Israeli Identity Formation and the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Election Platforms 1969-2006,” Journal of Peace Research, 47/2, 199.
4 Galia Golan, “Sadat and Begin,” in Robert Hitchings and Jeremy Seri, Foreign Policy Breakthroughs, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015) 121-147; Magal, T., Bar-Tal, D., Oren, N., & Halperin, E., “Psychological Legitimization—Views of
the Israeli Occupation by Jews in Israel: Data and Implications. “ in D. Bar-Tal & I. Schnell (Eds.), The Impact of Lasting Occupation, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013) 122-186 (ebook)
5 Years 1981, 1984 (Magal, et.al.)
6 Magal, et.al.
7 Neta Oren, “Israeli Identity Formation and the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Election Platforms 1969-2006,” Journal of Peace Research, 47/2, 199.
8 Magal, et.al.
9 Magal, et.al.
10 Asher Arian, Security Threatened, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 105.
11 Magal, et.al.
12 William Cubbison, “Two States for Two People? A Long Decline in Support,” Israel Democracy Institute, October 23, 2018 (based on Peace Index).
13 Khalil Shikaki and Dahlia Scheindlin, “Role of Public Opinion in the Resilience/ Resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, December 2018,” Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Ramallah, 2018 | <urn:uuid:7f020ab7-ff87-4cc5-a59d-3acf15c9ca55> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://www.pij.org/articles/1946/the-history-of-the-twostate-solution | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540521378.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20191209173528-20191209201528-00534.warc.gz | en | 0.959516 | 4,757 | 3.0625 | 3 |
AP: A.T.T.A.C.K (Advanced Placement: Analysis, Thinking, Training, Articulation, and Content Knowledge)
AP: A.T.T.A.C.K (Advanced Placement: Analysis, Thinking, Training, Articulation, and Content Knowledge) unites the district with Davidson College, Museum of the New South, Afro-American Cultural Center, Charlotte Museum of History, and Charlotte-Mecklenberg Public Library in a program for American history and Advanced Placement (AP) American history teachers in grades 8 and 11. Supported by the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies and College Board, the project aims to improve student test scores, increase earned AP diplomas, boost academic rigor by establishing a pre-AP course in middle school, expand classroom resources, and reduce the number of American history teachers who leave teaching. Activities include training in vertical team building, Smithsonian workshops on historical investigation, monthly meetings led by history professors and museum educators, mentoring and team teaching, and development of local networks. Instructional strategies focus on student ability to analyze and write about primary and secondary sources. The project builds on a grant providing teachers in grades 5, 8, and 11 with training based on the History Alive! program. Key staff bring expertise in the post-Civil War era, Constitution, American internationalism, New Deal, post-Cold War era, the Presidency, peace heroes in 20th century American, the American South, and other topics. | <urn:uuid:aff125bf-5605-437e-a7a4-9cf70c311a7f> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://www.teachinghistory.org/tah-grants/tah-project-database/18396 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917120881.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031200-00374-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905863 | 307 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Nitrogen occupies by volume 78% of the earth’s atmosphere, making it a giant pool of this inert gas crucial for any form of life, especially for chlorophyll of the plants to carry on photosynthesis. The atmospheric, however, can not be utilized as such, it has to be fixed by many natural ways so that all living being may use it for their survival and growth. During conversion of nitrogen to a variety of chemical forms, part of it gets converted to nitrates and part to nitrite. As long the natural system works and the nitrogen cycle continues there is no problem. But due to human interference through excessive use of chemical fertilizers and poor waste management in urban clusters lead to excess amounts of nitrates find their way to aquifers in the sub-surface.
High nitrate values in ground water are alarming. There are reports from Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, North Eastern states, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka of values of nitrates in water samples from hand pumps and dug wells much higher than the prescribed standards. As per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) the maximum permissible limit of nitrates in drinking water should never exceed 45 mg/litre. There is no relaxation to this limit as nitrate in quantities higher than the standards is known to cause mouth and or colon-rectal cancers, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome).
A cursory look at the following description is enough to indicate the nitrate footprint in the groundwater of our country:
Sopore, popularly known as the apple town of Kashmir valley produces one of the finest apples in, Asia has a high content of nitrates in water from the shallow and deep tube-wells, say Imran A. Dar, M.A. Dar and K. Sankar of Department of Industries and Earth Sciences, Tamil University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, in one of their research papers. Their findings state that 85% of samples have a high nitrate content during summer and 67% have a high nitrate during winter months.
The following table elaborates the results: (All values in mg/litre). The highlighted portions reflect analytical results from localities where nitrate content remains high in all the seasons:
Locality Summers Winters
1 Tawheed Bagh 33 51
2 Mumkak 51 52
3 Khwaja Gilgit 53 28
4 Colony Shalimar 78 56
5 Muslimpeer 52 40
6 Ashpeer 50 53
7 Sangrama 81 52
8 Duru 32 29
9 Shiva 51 32
10 Dangerpora 51 30
11 Nowpora 56 52
12 Alsafa Colony 32 50
13 Badam Bagh 56 55
14 New Colony 91 57
15 Shah Abad 54 54
Imran and his colleagues have found that the high values of nitrate are due to rampant use of chemical fertilizers in the apple orchards. High values of nitrate near cluster of hamlets could also be due to poor human waste management.
A report of Water Quality and Assessment Bureau of the Government of India states that a survey conducted in 2008 in Bathinda, Mansa and Patiala areas of Punjab has revealed nitrate values much higher than the prescribed norms of 45mg/lotre. In Bathinda out of 21 samples tested, seven have nitrates higher than 100mg/litre. Similarly samples from Muktsar and Ludhiana too have yielded nitrates more than 50mg/litre.
Punjab is considered to be the granary of India and use of chemical fertilizers is at the peak there. Thus most researchers conclude that the high nitrates in ground water are being derived from the fertilizers. However, there are contradictions to this find and a group of researchers blames poor human and animal waste management responsible for this malaise.
Uttar Pradesh is again an agrarian state with a high population density. Alarming results of high nitrate have come here during the recent researches.
N.J. Raju, U.K. Shukla and Prahlad Rao of Jawaharlal Nehru University claim that 18% samples of groundwater from dugwells and hand pumps in the holy and historical town have more than 45 mg/litre nitrate. Ground water samples have high nitrate content in the northern and eastern parts of their study area, e.g. Kakarmatha (90.4 mg/l); Shivdaspur (63.6 mg/l); Chandpur (62.4 mg/l); Maduadi (76 mg/l); Gurubagh (92 mg/l); Koharpur (55.1mg/l); Cantt Railway Station (66.7mg/l); Kotwa (67.1 mg/l) and Rajghat (92 mg/l). Very high concentrations along a straight line along parts of Varuna River have also been obtained.
Raju et al blame the poor management of domestic sewage, leaking septic tanks and improper management of landfills for high nitrate content in the northern and eastern parts of Varanasi. Along the Varuna they attribute the high values to seepage of irrigation water from the agriculture fields where the chemical fertilizers are used abundantly.
The report about high nitrate values in dug well and handpump water samples from Varansai created quite a furor amongst the researchers in U.P. Thus Nupur Srivastava and her colleagues A.K. Singh, Rohit Kumar, Swati and her guide Dr Munendra Singh of Centre of Advance Studies in Geology, Lucknow University, Lucknow carried out intensive surveys in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.
They divided the entire city in to a grid of two minutes interval along the latitude and longitude between which the city is located. This grid made 100 blocks and a drinking water sample was collected from India Mark II hand pumps installed in each block. The 100 samples thus collected were analyzed in the state of art laboratory of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology at Dehradun. The results obtained should cause a ripple amongst the water managers of the city, as high values of nitrate have been given by some of these samples.
Nupur et al found that nitrate concentrations range from 0.07-155.76 mg/l. Three percent of the samples show nitrate values much above the limit of 45mg/l. Three percent of the samples (above more than 20 mg/l) are in the desirable limit, 59% well within prescribed limit and rest 38% below detection limit.
Statistically the figures are not so alarming, but unfortunately the three percent samples exceeding the desirable limit of 45mg/l are from the localities Hussainabad (155.76mg/l), Alambagh (107.56mg/l) and Bijnaur (150.16mg/l). These localities are densely populated with a major chunk of population from below poverty line. These people have no option but to drink water from the hand pumps installed by the government.
Nupur et al state that drinking water samples violating WHO standards are from shallow aquifers at around 30 m depth. Nitrate is being leached due to leakage from sewerage system at weak zone of shallow aquifer. These migrate to depths of aquifer as water table is lowered due to overexploitation particularly in overcrowded residential areas.
West Bengal already reeling under the impact of arsenic laced groundwater is now facing the specter of nitrate concentrations in shallow aquifers like many other states. As per a report by the Central Ground Water Board Bankura and Bardhman are perhaps the worst affected districts! Water samples from Bankura district, Villages Basudevpur, Bheduasol, Khirpai, Khatra, Raipur and Gholkunda have shown nitrate content 81, 58, 81, 49, 81 and 58 mg/l respectively. Similarly the samples from Dakshinkhanda and Raniganj in Bardhman district have indicated nitrate content of 46 mg/l. As per the standards since there is no relaxation in nitrate content beyond 45 mg/l, the values of Bardhman district too are beyond safe limit.
A.K. Singh et al from North Eastern Regional Institute of Land and Water Management conducted systematic surveys for water pollution in all the eight states of the region. They report Nitrate content just above the prescribed limit from Assam (0.02-49.0 mg/l) and Arunachal Pradesh (0.00-45.3 mg/l-monsoon period). Nitrate content in the drinking water of remaining six states is within the limits. Higher nitrate content could be due to leaching of chemical fertilizers and or poor human waste management.
A.B. Gupta, a Professor in M.N.I.T., Jaipur, Rajasthan in a paper states ‘A survey conducted by Public Health Engineering Department Rajasthan in 2001-2 reported that 20659 villages/habitations had nitrates in drinking water more than 45 mg/l and 7675 villages/habitations had nitrate more than 100 mg/l. The districts of Jaipur, Nagaur, Barmer, Udiapur, Churu, Alwar and Tonk were the worst affected.’ The problem is common for the rural and urban areas both. The reason of enrichment of nitrates in groundwater is again man made. That is excessive use of chemical fertilizers and poor management of human and animal waste.
Interestingly Gupta observes that the groundwater table in Jaipur has depleted at an alarming rate in the past few years, as a result there has been a higher concentration of nitrates in groundwater, Gupta reports 8 to 16 times higher values of nitrates from drinking water from Jalupura, Sikar House and Banipark localities of Jaipur. These localities, like Lucknow are again densely populated and a large chunk of population is exposed to nitrate toxicity.
Scourge of nitrate pollution of groundwater is not limited to northern or eastern states alone. Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh is reported to have a range of nitrate in ground water from below detection limit to a whopping 879.65 mg/l. K. Brindha and co-workers from Geology Department, Anna University, Chennai report 13.78% of samples from Nalgonda district to have nitrate values much above the permissible values. They blame the nitrogen rich industrial waste, chemical fertilizers and worst of all dumping of human and animal excreta in disused well as the culprits.
The Hindu and Times of India had reported in 2009 occurrence of nitrate in quantities above permissible limits from Bangalore and Kolar districts respectively. The IT boom has made Bangalore a crowded city. Demand for water has acceded, consequently there is a tremendous pressure on the groundwater resources. Quoting a study conducted by Department of Environmental Science, Bangalore University and BARC, Mumbai, The Hindu reports occurrence of nitrate values from 10 to 400 mg/l from the central core of the city. The Hindu further says that 88% of surface water and 43% of groundwater in Vrishbhavathi and Arkavathi basins, Hebbal, Koramangala and Challaghatta villages exceed the permissible limit of 45 mg/l of nitrate. In case of Bangalore too the report blames leaking sewers, poor human and agri-waste management and disposal of nitrogen rich industrial effluents into water bodies.
The Times of India had reported high nitrate values from Gulbarga, Bijapur, Raichur and Tumkur districts. These districts have sanitation coverage below 20% the report states. Presence of higher quantities of nitrates in groundwater bears a testimony to poor sanitation the report says.
Nitrates beyond permissible limit of 45 mg/l can cause blue baby syndrome in the infants and children and cancers of the intestinal tract and rectum in the adults. On one hand we need nitrates to improve our crop productivity, but on the other hand if care is not taken they can ruin our own lives.
From the foregoing it is clear that nitrates in unnatural quantities have sneaked in to ground water reservoirs of a huge tract of the country. It is very difficult to cure the groundwater reservoirs as unlike the surface reservoirs, water there is stored as a film between the pore spaces of the sediments. In majority of the cases the problem is due to leaching of human waste. It means we are not giving due importance to Public Health Engineering and taking short cuts for disposal of human excreta. This is a serious situation. Since large chunks of population are involved the respective state governments will have to come forward and take preventive measures to control the further spread of the problem. Sadly nitrates have polluted the shallow aquifers of a major part of country. The shallow aquifers are the main water suppliers for dug wells and handpumps. Most of the consumers of water from these two sources are the poor masses. Unfortunately the areas where they live usually have poor sanitation facilities.
Image (c) Gettyimages.com | <urn:uuid:ae0cdd25-777d-454f-ba7c-7604c7549b65> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=10904 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464052946109.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524012226-00161-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929299 | 2,742 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors – popular drugs commonly used to treated heartburn, acid reflux and ulcers – could lead to kidney damage and severe kidney disease.
This was the conclusion researchers came to after analyzing large collections of patient data held in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national databases. They report their findings in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) reduce the stomach acid made by glands in the lining of the stomach. This is not the same as antacids, which reduce excess acid after it enters the stomach.
PPIs are also used to treat peptic or stomach ulcers and damage to the lower esophagus caused by acid reflux. There are many names and brands of PPIs. Most work equally as well, although side effects may vary. Some are also available over the counter – that is, without a prescription.
Estimates for 2013 suggest that 15 million Americans were prescribed proton pump (PPIs) that year. The researchers suggest the actual number of PPI users in the US is likely to be higher, because some types are available without a prescription.
Common types of PPI include omeprazole (brand name Prilosec, also available over the counter), esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (AcipHex), pantoprazole (Protonix), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant) and Zegerid (omeprazole with sodium bicarbonate).
For their study, the team examined 5 years of VA records for 173,000 new users of PPIs and 20,000 new users of H2 receptor blockers – another type of drug that also suppresses stomach acid – and looked for incidence of kidney problems.
Their analysis finds that patients taking PPIs were more likely to experience declining kidney function than patients taking H2 receptor blockers.
PPI use was also linked to a 28% increased risk of developing chronic kidney disease and a 96% higher risk of developing complete kidney failure, compared with H2 blocker use.
The researchers note that the longer the duration of PPI, the higher the risk of kidney problems. They conclude long-term use of PPIs may cause harm to the kidneys and should be avoided.
Senior author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a nephrologist with the VA Saint Louis Health Care System in Missouri, says their findings emphasize the importance of only using PPIs when strictly medically necessary, and also limiting the duration of use to the shortest possible. He notes:
“A lot of patients start taking PPIs for a medical condition, and they continue much longer than necessary.”
The study adds to a body of research that is raising questions about long-term use of PPIs. | <urn:uuid:5fadae5d-90e1-4022-8e32-6ea2ca424db3> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/309122 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400187354.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20200918061627-20200918091627-00239.warc.gz | en | 0.940104 | 590 | 3.28125 | 3 |
The increasing industrialization of Victorian Britain required a large workforce – and the workers needed to be fed. Working class folk usually had little or no cooking facilities, so buying prepared food from street vendors was the norm. In the second half of the nineteenth century, there was a move to provide better quality dinners to those who kept the mills, factories, and shipyards in operation. A short piece in Lloyds Weekly Newspaper of April 12, 1863 described the new system in Glasgow, Scotland
The following interesting letter on this important subject has been addressed to the editor of the Times:-
I visited last week the new dining rooms for the working-classes at Glasgow; and I will, if you please, describe in a few words what I saw and ate there. I am anxious to do this, because I perceive that a praiseworthy attempt is about to be made in London to follow the example which has been set in Glasgow; and I think that I shall be able to show that the bill of fare issued on Saturday by “The London Association for the Establishment of Dining and Refreshment Rooms for the Working Classes” lacks one main element – viz., simplicity – which has assured to the Glasgovians the success they so well deserve.
There are in Glasgow about eight or ten sets of these new dining-rooms, which will all, in a few days, be supplied from one central cooking establishment; the kitchens which now supply them being mere makeshifts.
….. on each table stands a large decanter of fair spring water and some tumblers. No beer, wine, or spirits are sold or consumed on the premises.
Every ration of everything sold, save meat, costs one penny. A ration of meat costs three halfpence; lemonade, ginger-beer, and soda water are sold at a penny a bottle. The first floor is chiefly devoted to the sale and consumption of tea, coffee, bread and butter, and cold meat and eggs; on the upper floor, broth, soup, cold meat, hot collop, potatoes, rice and plum pudding are sold.
For fourpence halfpenny I got a pint basin of pea soup, a plate of hot minced collops, a plate of potatoes, and eight ounces of bread; my companion, Mr. Stirling, of Keir, got, for the same sum, a pint basin of broth, a plate of cold beef, a plate of potatoes, and a slice of plum pudding. The quantity of meat was small, but the ensemble of the dinner was certainly sufficient to satisfy one not endowed with an exorbitant appetite; and as each article of which our dinner was composed was distinctly priced, a voracious consumer can readily, by paying a penny or three halfpence more, adapt his supplies to the extraordinary requirements of his stomach.
After we had thus dined, we called, in passing through the lower room, for a cup of coffee and a slice of bread and butter, and were each supplied, on paying 2d., with a large breakfast-cupful of coffee and milk, and four ounces of bread buttered.
The remarkable feature of our entertainment was that every article was of the very best quality. Better broth, soup, potatoes, and meat are not to be had in any club in London than at these Glasgow dining-rooms; at no railway station that I have ever stopped at in Great Britain are such coffee, milk, and bread and butter ever sold at all.
The provisions are all contracted for, at the best prices; the thick end of the ribs and beefsteaks being the only meat received in the establishment. This meat, cut from the ribs, rolled and dishes, is sold cold in slices; the bones and trimmings going to make the soup and broth, in which the rolled beef is also boiled; while the beef-steaks minced and stewed become “hot collops,” and mixed with potatoes or rice constitute a very savory mess.
After six p.m. whatever soup or broth remains is sold at half-price; and if any should remain after 8 p.m. it is given away; so that none is left at night to disgust, by staleness, the customers of the morrow. But the soup and broth are so good and so popular, that it generally turns out that the day’s supply is consumed before six o’clock, and that nothing remains to be sold at half-price or to be given away.
Several decades later (in 1890) an American perspective on the efforts to feed the workers was published. Luckily for us, Cookery for Working-Men's Wives: Report by United States Consul Underwood, Glasgow included some recipes which fit our theme:
Put a little dripping into a saucepan, let it get quite hot, then put in your minced-meat, and keep turning it for ten minutes or so with a fork (if liked, when the dripping is hot, before putting in the meat, add an onion chopped fine and a teaspoonful of flour). When all is a nice brown, add as much boiling water as will cover the meat; close the lid and stew very gently for one hour. Pepper and salt to taste. | <urn:uuid:0dc492af-49f4-42e4-8dd4-2bb856d27327> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2015/09/working-class-dining-rooms-glasgow-1863.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585424.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20211021133500-20211021163500-00405.warc.gz | en | 0.972664 | 1,075 | 2.765625 | 3 |
New Bridge over the River Ilen
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|• Summer (DST)||IST (WEST) (UTC-1)|
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Skibbereen (//; Irish: An Sciobairín), is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the N71 national secondary road. The name "Skibbereen" (sometimes shortened to "Skibb") means "little boat harbour". The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometers away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. As of the Census of Ireland 2011, the population of the town (not including the rural hinterland) was 2,568.
Prior to 1600 most of the land in the area belonged to the native MacCarthy Reagh dynasty - today McCarthy remains the town's most common surname. The town charter dates back to 1657 and a copy can be seen in the town council chambers. In 1631 Skibbereen received an influx of refugees fleeing from the Sack of Baltimore. The "Phoenix Society" was founded in Skibbereen in 1856 and was a precursor to the Fenian movement.
500 years after the Black Death, the region again experienced a significant famine in the years 1845-52, a time referred to as The Great Hunger or Great Famine (Irish: an Gorta Mór). The Skibbereen Heritage Centre estimates that 8,000 to 10,000 victims of 'The Great Famine' are buried in the famine burial pits of Abbeystrewery cemetery close to the town. While there is some question on the accuracy of census data from the famine era, records indicate a drop of population from 58,335 in 1841 to 32,412 in 1861.
Skibbereen is also the name of a song about the Famine, and the impact it and the British Government had on the people of Ireland. The song, known as Dear Old Skibbereen, takes the form of a conversation between a father and a son, in which the son asks his father why he fled the land he loved so well.
A permanent exhibition to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Great Famine is sited at the Skibbereen Heritage Centre. Skibbereen was also the focal point of Ireland's first National Famine Memorial Day on 17 May 2009. The town was selected as it was in one of the areas worst affected by the Great Famine. The National Famine Commemoration Committee agreed that the centerpiece of the memorial day would rotate between the Four Provinces on an annual basis.
The Skibbereen Eagle, a newspaper founded in 1857 was unusual in having an international perspective. For example, it published an editorial that "told Lord Palmerston that it had 'got its eye both upon him and on the Emperor of Russia'." And a 1914 article said "We give this solemn warning to Kaiser Wilhelm: The Skibbereen Eagle has its eye on you." This newspaper was superseded by the Southern Star, which was founded in 1889. Its first editor was D.D. Sheehan and Michael Collins was among its shareholders.
Skibereen Rowing Club is situated on the outskirts of the town, and is one of the most successful clubs in Ireland. Club members Paul and Gary O'Donovan won silver at the 2016 summer Olympics in the men's lightweight double sculls, the first Olympic medal won by Irish rowers.
There are four primary schools located in the town, including Abbeystrewry National School (a mixed school), Gaelscoil Dr O'Suilleabhain (a mixed Irish-speaking school), St. Patrick's Primary School (boys), and Scoil Naomh Seosamh (girls)
As of 2016, there are three secondary schools, including Rossa College (mixed), St Fachtna's de la Salle (boys), and Mercy Heights (girls). As of September 2016, the three secondary schools are due to merge into one school called Skibbereen Community School
- Agnes Mary Clerke, astronomer and writer was born in Skibbereen
- Seamus Davis, physicist and member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences was born at Skibbereen
- Tony Davis, former gaelic footballer and analyst for RTÉ's The Sunday Game
- Jeremy Irons, the English actor, has long maintained a fishing cottage in Skibbereen
- Percy Ludgate, designer of an analytical engine was born in Skibbereen
- Kieron Moore, actor
- Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, worked in Skibbereen and established O'Donovan Rossa GAA club
- Jasper Wolfe, politician, Teachta Dála and solicitor
- Don Wycherley, actor
- Gary O'Donovan, Olympic silver medallist (rowing – lightweight double sculls, 2016)
- Paul O'Donovan, Olympic silver medallist (rowing – lightweight double sculls, 2016)
Culture and leisure
The Skibbereen Arts Festival occurs annually, taking place at the end of July and including community based projects as well as a mix of national and international films, theatre, visual art and music acts.
A number of different music events are held each year, with several bars and venues in town (including "Baby Hannah's") hosting musical acts. Skibbereen has also hosted the Cork X Southwest Music & Arts Festival over several years. The 2011 festival was held at Liss Ard Estate and featured Patti Smith, Echo & the Bunnymen, Balkan Beat Box, Fred and others across a two-day lineup.
Just outside Skibbereen is Tragumna beach, and the town's location near the coast means that sea fishing, scuba diving, sailing, and kayaking are possible locally.
- "Census 2011 – Population Classified by Area" (PDF). Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 November 2013.
- "Book pays tribute to towns fine patriots". The Southern Star. 23 June 2015.
- "Skibbereen Heritage Centre - Great Famine Commemoration Exhibition". Skibbheritage.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- JJ Lee (1981). JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson, ed. "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population". Economy and Society: 54.
- "Census of Ireland 1861: Part I, Area, Population, and Number of Houses, by Townlands and Electoral Divisions Provinces of Leinster and Munster". Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers On Ireland. 1861. p. 164. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- "Skibbereen Heritage Centre". Skibbheritage.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- "National Famine Memorial Day". Littleshamrocks.com.
- "Skibbereen to be focal point of Famine Memorial Day". BreakingNews.ie. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- Cobham Brewer, E (1898). Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. London: Cassell, and Co. Ltd.
- Philip Howard (2000). "The Press Gang - The World in Journalese" (PDF). Institute for Cultural Research. p. 15. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- "Southern Star Newspaper". Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- "Skibbereen Rowing Club". Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- "Ireland's O'Donovan brothers become web sensations after medal win". The Guardian. 14 August 2016.
[...] Paul, who trains with his brother at Skibbereen Rowing Club, agreed [...]
- "Silver for Ireland! The O'Donovan brothers do the country proud with amazing Olympic rowing final race". Irish Independent. 12 August 2016.
It is the first ever Olympic medal for Irish rowing
- "Skibbereen & West Carbery Golf Club, Co Cork, Ireland". Skibbgolf.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- "Skibbereen Athletic Club". Skibbac.com. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- "News & Events | National University of Ireland". Nui.ie. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- "Official Website Skibbereen Arts Festival". Skibbereenartsfestival.com. 11 August 2016.
- "Cork X South West Festival website". Corkxsw.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2011.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skibbereen.|
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An article on the State of the Union address from the University of Minnesota’s Smart Politics blog has been making the rounds today, arguing that “for the third straight Address, the President's speech was written at an eighth-grade level.” Picking up on Smart Politics’ analysis, Politico noted that “President Obama's three addresses have the lowest grade average of any modern president,”while Fox News emphasized the theme with the headline “Obama’s SOTU Written At 8th Grade Level For Third Straight Year.” The article included a picture of a child in a dunce cap.
What does all this mean? First, it does not mean that President Obama writes like an 8th grader. While these stories repeatedly note the president’s “low scores” and “low grade levels” according to the Flesch-Kincaid test, this only means that his State of the Union speeches score high in comprehensibility. According to the test, they are easier to understand. (In fact, there’s a nearly identical test called the Flesch Reading Ease test, in which high comprehensibility correlates with high number scores, but Smart Politics chose not to use this test.)
How does the test work? Well, it’s not very complicated. The Flesch-Kincaid test only measures the average sentence length (it counts the number of words in each sentence) and the average size of each word (it counts the number of syllables in each word). It uses these numbers to approximate how easy a text is to understand. A score of 8 indicates that a text should be easy to understand for an 8th grader, a score of 6 should be easy to understand for a 6th grader, and so on. (Calculating a Flesch-Kincaid score requires a comprehension of arithmetic below the 8th grade level.)
If that wasn’t clear, let’s take an example. Wikipedia points out that the sentence “The Australian platypus is seemingly a hybrid of a mammal and reptilian creature” is a 13.1, as it has 26 syllables and 13 words. If we tighten the sentence, so that it’s “The Australian platypus seems a hybrid of a mammal and a reptile,” it scores an 8.8 (meaning that it was “written at the 8th grade level”). Which is the better sentence? The same analysis suggests that the first paragraph of The Sun Also Rises was written at the 7th grade level.
The author of the Smart Politics post, Eric Ostermeier, argues that his calculations show that the speeches of our last few presidents—Reagan, Bushes I and II, Clinton— “have been written more and more simplistically” (his emphasis), with Obama’s speeches the most “simplistic” of all. Putting aside the accuracy of the test for a moment, what it really suggests is that they’ve been written more simply. One of Strunk & White’s elementary rules of composition is to “omit needless words”; similarly, one of George Orwell’s six rules in “Politics and the English Language” is to “never use a long word where a short one will do.” (Orwell also agrees with Strunk & White that “If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out”).
If we can take anything from this test—which is pretty simplistic itself—it’s that Obama spoke pretty clearly. And if Obama is one of many recent American presidents to express himself more clearly, why is that a bad thing?
(Full disclosure: The Flesch-Kincaid test indicates that this article was written at the 10th-grade level. But I wouldn’t read too much into that.) | <urn:uuid:83df2320-acf6-49a5-9340-0998543de607> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/01/25/state_of_the_union_and_flesch_kincaid_obama_might_write_for_8th_graders_but_he_doesn_t_write_like_them.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717963.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00109-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952286 | 824 | 2.890625 | 3 |
White clover (Trifolium repens) is probably one of the most commonly known and easily identified weed along with wild violets and dandelions. Most people fall under two camps with this plant. They either love or hate it. Native to Europe white clover was brought over with the early settlers. After escaping cultivation it easily established itself and became a weed.
White clover belongs in the bean family, Fabaceae, so it is a nitrogen fixing plant. It is also a pollinator friendly and visited by many species of bees. However, once established in the lawn it is difficult to eradicate.
Because white clover is in the bean family you often see it in areas of low nitrogen fertility. One way to help keep it out of the lawn is increasing the soil fertility and mowing at 3” height. White clover is a low growing plant so increasing the height of the lawn can help shade out the white clover. Apply combination herbicides starting in mid-October will also help manage the plant. Keep in mind that this plant spreads by stolons (above ground stems) and many herbicides have a difficult time moving through them.
By using multiple approaches to manage white clover you can eliminate it from the lawn. | <urn:uuid:c66df9fc-7a27-40f9-85ec-614848eb6a37> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://grobigred.com/2017/05/19/white-clover/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211185.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180816211126-20180816231126-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.966032 | 257 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Concevoir un scénario de jeu vidéo sérieux pour l'enseignement-apprentissage des langues ou comment dominer un oxymore
Prof. Dr. habil. Anemone Geiger-Jaillet, Université de Strasbourg
Datum der Disputation
To create a video game scenario for language learning or how to overcome an oxymoron
This research examines the use of video games in foreign language classrooms. It investigates the integration of this digital medium, originating as an informal leisure activity, in a formal language learning classroom setting. The ‘learning video game’, which refers to both the act of learning and the act of play, can be seen as an oxymoron encompassing seriousness as well as fun. This work focuses on the fun aspect. This work is motivated by the following research question: how can the use of a learning video game foster a playful attitude, hypothetically conducive to a greater involvement of the learner, while also potentially leading to increaseand complexification in student foreign language production and interaction? As a part of the Eveil 3D-project, this study analyses reception from a sample of learners to two learning games which have the same scenario but were completed according to two different game design models. The findings provide both a game design model and a scenario template in order to support foreign language learning through the use of the video game. | <urn:uuid:a696a628-ee7f-45b2-9626-8a43cfbd9eab> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://www.collegedoctoral-rhinsup.eu/de/mitglieder/laurence-schmoll/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224647459.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20230531214247-20230601004247-00491.warc.gz | en | 0.865617 | 308 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums become swollen, red, and may bleed. In its more serious form, called periodontitis in which the gums can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and the teeth may loosen or fall out. Bad breath may also occur.
Periodontal diseases are infections of the structures around the teeth. These include the gums, the cementum that covers the root, the periodontal ligament and the alveolar bone. In the earliest stage of periodontal disease, gingivitis, the infection affects only the gums. In more severe forms of the disease, all of the supporting tissues are involved.
Periodontal disease is an infection of the tissues that hold your teeth in place. ItOur mouths are full of bacteria. These bacteria, along with mucus and other particles, constantly form a sticky, colorless “plaque” on teeth. It’s typically caused by poor brushing and flossing habits that allow plaque to build up on the teeth and harden.Brushing and flossing help get rid of plaque. Plaque that is not removed can harden and form “tartar” that brushing doesn’t clean. Only a professional cleaning by a dentist or dental hygienist can remove tartar. In advanced stages, periodontal disease can lead to sore, bleeding gums; painful chewing problems; and even tooth loss.
There are a number of risk factors for gum disease, but smoking is the most significant. Smoking also can make treatment for gum disease less successful. Other risk factors include diabetes; hormonal changes in girls and women; diabetes; medications that lessen the flow of saliva; certain illnesses, such as AIDS, and their medications; and genetic susceptibility.
Though the majority of adults are affected by gingivitis, gingivitis fortunately does not always develop into periodontal disease. Progression of gum disease is influenced by a number of factors which include oral hygiene and genetic predisposition. One of the challenges for early detection of periodontal disease is its “silent” nature – the disease does not cause pain and can progress unnoticed. In its early stages, bleeding gums during tooth brushing may be the only sign. As the disease advances and the gums deteriorate, the bleeding may stop and there may be no further obvious sign until the teeth start to feel loose. In most cases, periodontal disease responds to treatment and although the destruction is largely irreversible its progression can be halted.
Periodontal disease can be prevented with daily meticulous removal of plaque by tooth brushing , regular visits to the dentist or hygienist at least once a year and avoidance of behavioural and environmental risk factors such as smoking, stress, poor diet. For more details, check www.gulfsideperio.com. | <urn:uuid:b2568fcb-e312-4bce-9bcc-2ecdcc1a2b91> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | http://www.p90xworkoutfitness.com/health-care/periodontal-disease.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987822098.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20191022132135-20191022155635-00508.warc.gz | en | 0.942299 | 623 | 3.765625 | 4 |
ERIC Number: ED240568
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1983
Reference Count: 0
Student Teaching Packets: A Guide for Writing Remediation. Grade Level: Intermediate.
Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Cortland, NY.
This guide provides materials for teaching a writing remediation class in the intermediate grades. Sections of this guide include: (1) background information for teachers about the writing process; (2) teaching units containing activities and games on selection of writing topics, organization of the elements in a paragraph, development of ideas, skills in sentence structure, writing the four basic types of sentences, use of specific/vivid language, and language mechanics; (3) four sample checklists for evaluating student work; (4) suggestions for publishing student writing; and (5) an evaluation form for teacher assessment of this guide. A 19-item bibliography is included. (JW)
Descriptors: Capitalization (Alphabetic), Educational Games, Intermediate Grades, Learning Activities, Paragraph Composition, Prewriting, Punctuation, Remedial Instruction, Remedial Programs, Sentence Structure, Spelling, Student Evaluation, Teaching Guides, Units of Study, Writing (Composition), Writing Evaluation, Writing Exercises, Writing for Publication, Writing Skills
Publication Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Practitioners
Authoring Institution: Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Cortland, NY.
Identifiers: PF Project | <urn:uuid:71b154aa-b6f6-48d3-b528-25368ee92aab> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED240568 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698542060.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170902-00101-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.829944 | 331 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Typhoon Soulik was a timely reminder of nature’s awesome power: Hurricane-strength winds tore across the nation, Taipei was flooded and 800,000 homes were yanked from the national grid.
The extreme weather connected to global warming remains pegged to rising carbon emissions, and carbon-intensive energy is at the center of the debate: UN statistics show that humans produce a staggering 43.1 percent of global CO2 emissions through coal-fired generation.
Amid a torrent of hard facts, Taiwan’s political leaders stand accused of failing to confront the worsening environmental storm, while further UN figures indicate that Taiwan’s per capita carbon emissions are now the 27th highest in the world.
In 2008, early into his presidency, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged to “preserve the natural environment.” Five-and-half years into his administration, figures reveal that little has changed with Taiwan continuing to generate the vast majority of its electricity through carbon-intensive methods: In 2011 the combustion of fossil fuels provided 78.6 percent of its electrical power with nuclear power driving 16.7 percent of the nation’s grid.
Publicly accessible Bureau of Energy figures show that the country is still up to 98 percent dependent on imported fuels to match its substantial appetite for energy resources — a figure unchanged for more than two decades.
While many other industrialized nations may have embraced low-carbon energy sources — namely wind, solar, geothermal and to some extent hydropower — Taiwan, it would appear, is lagging behind its developed nation competitors.
Germany, for example, currently generates three percent of its total energy needs through solar power alone and produces 20 percent through renewable sources.
Repeated attempts by the Taipei Times to confirm the exact breakdown for sustainable energy, source by source, within Taiwan has met with official indifference. Representatives of the power-providing monopoly, Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, 台電), stated that it “has no relevant information” on the matter, while their counterparts at the Bureau of Energy also failed to provide any data.
The most recent available Taipower statistics indicate, however, that in 2011 Taiwan — blessed with more than twice the sunshine of Germany — met only 3.56 percent of its electricity needs through all its sustainable energy sources combined.
At the pleasantly-named Green+ Together 2013 Taiwan Sustainability Summit in June, a presidential aide quoted Ma saying that “[he] hoped that by the year 2025 the percentage of renewable energy rises to 9.7 percent.”
Lofty words, but the situation remains somewhat bleaker. Official figures appear to indicate that, in 2011, much of Taiwan’s “green” energy was actually generated through “biomass.” This generously-termed “sustainable” energy source includes the burning of fuel sources such as household trash and industrial/agricultural byproducts which can release high levels of global warming gases as well as other dangerous substances, including carcinogenic dioxins.
For 50-year-old Pittsburgh native Robert Lasure, former director of a small-scale firm installing solar panels in southeast Taiwan, the key stumbling block to sustainable energy in Taiwan remains pricing.
“I think subsidized power provided by Taipower is problematic — the Legislative Yuan is still pumping money into it and this means for us to sell solar to the home owner [is] not cost effective,” he says. | <urn:uuid:c110ba28-7058-49a8-9a74-549233400f2a> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2013/08/07/2003569098 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917119361.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031159-00430-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945216 | 725 | 2.9375 | 3 |
GRE Quantitative Practice
There are three sections on the Graduate Record Examination or the GRE. The quantitative section is one of them. Questions in the quantitative section challenge a student’s abilities in arithmetic, basic algebra, basic geometry and data interpretation. The results of this test reveal a student’s skill level in basic mathematics. At Veritas Prep, we offer online courses that help students to achieve their best scores on the GRE. Quantitative prep can include reviewing practice questions with an instructor, learning valuable test-taking strategies, strengthening basic mathematical skills, and more! Discover some of the most effective ways to practice for the quantitative section of the GRE.
Take Sample Tests to Prep for the Quantitative Section
By taking a sample test (PDF), students can find out which skills they’ve mastered and which ones need improvement. In fact, the results of a practice test can be one of a student’s most valuable resources as they study for the GRE. A student who studies with Veritas Prep can go over their sample test results with one of our instructors. We are skillful at advising students on how to improve specific math skills. There’s another reason it’s important to complete quantitative GRE practice questions. Doing so, students can establish a test-taking rhythm that helps them to finish each of the two parts of this section in 35 minutes. They may even want to allow themselves a few extra minutes to review their answers. Establishing a test-taking rhythm enables a student to tackle this portion of the exam with confidence and efficiency.
Focus on the Skills That Need Improvement
After completing many quantitative GRE practice questions and checking the results, students can plan out their study time. Not surprisingly, students with organized study plans will not waste time reviewing skills that they already understand. Students studying with a Veritas Prep instructor can get suggestions on how to approach math problems that appear to be complicated and overwhelming. For instance, an instructor may suggest that a student look through all of the answer options even before scanning the problem. Then, after looking at the problem, a student can eliminate answer options that are obviously incorrect. This narrows down a student’s options and simplifies the task of solving the equation. Students who work with us have a clear advantage on the GRE. Quantitative prep questions are much simpler when a student partners with a professional Veritas Prep instructor.
Utilize Different Problem Solving Strategies
Veritas Prep instructors have plenty of tips to give to students as they are preparing for the GRE. Quantitative review questions allow students the chance to put some of those valuable tips into practice. For example, when a student encounters a puzzling algebra problem, it is possible to find the answer by plugging in each answer option to see which one is correct. A student can practice this skill whenever he or she encounters a confusing math problem. Another tip for students to keep in mind is to draw any shapes referred to in a geometry problem. It is much easier for a student to determine the correct answer option without having to visualize a particular shape as well as its measurements. By the time test day arrives, using these strategies along with others will be second nature for students.
Review Math Textbooks and Worksheets
Reviewing old math textbooks is another effective way to prep for the GRE. Quantitative review questions test a student’s basic math skills. Students can benefit from completing sections of problems from old textbooks used in high school or even middle school math classes. An old textbook can be a tremendous resource for the kinds of math problems that students encounter on the GRE. There are no advanced math topics such as calculus or trigonometry included in the quantitative section of the test. Worksheets and quizzes are also helpful study materials for students who want to strengthen various math skills. In short, the more practice students get with basic algebra, geometry, and arithmetic, the better prepared they will be when they tackle this section of the exam on test day. | <urn:uuid:5b4d4c1c-8036-420b-8eb4-3c4298c83c68> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.veritasprep.com/gre/gre-quantitative-practice/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370506580.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402014600-20200402044600-00460.warc.gz | en | 0.931593 | 808 | 2.921875 | 3 |
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Latitude: 50.6562 / 50°39'22"N
Longitude: -1.9622 / 1°57'43"W
OS Eastings: 402767
OS Northings: 84053
OS Grid: SZ027840
Mapcode National: GBR 44Q.W55
Mapcode Global: FRA 67SB.MCK
Entry Name: Gun emplacement 770m north-west of Knoll House Hotel
Listing Date: 30 November 2012
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1411830
Location: Studland, Purbeck, Dorset, BH19
Civil Parish: Studland
Traditional County: Dorset
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset
Church of England Parish: Studland St Nicholas
Church of England Diocese: Salisbury
Gun emplacement erected in 1940 as a component of the Studland Defence Area.
MATERIALS: reinforced shuttered concrete and brick.
DESCRIPTION: the front chamber is open-fronted and square in plan and, although now incomplete, its concrete canopy breaks forwards. The gun mounting is no longer evident. To the rear are two passageways that lead, via steps, to three underground rooms, probably ammunition stores, which have brick walls and ceilings of shuttered concrete.
To the south-west of the gun emplacement is a trench which has a sinuous form. It is probably associated with the use of Studland Heath as a military training area in c.1942.
Studland Bay was one of the two stretches of Dorset coastline where a German invasion was considered most likely. In 1940, the defence of the Dorset coast was the responsibility of V Corps whose 50th Division had its headquarters at Blandford Forum. Anti-tank islands were established in towns in the area and a number of stop lines were also constructed. Anti-invasion defences were constructed along Studland Bay in response to the threat of a German invasion. Forward defended localities were established along the line of the beach at Studland and a number of pillboxes and other defensive structures were constructed. Anti-tank cubes blocked possible exits from the beach at three locations and minefields were also situated amongst the sand dunes. Most of these defences were in place by early August 1940. In October 1940, the infantry battalion in the Studland Sub-Sector (Studland Defence Area) was the 7th Bn. Suffolk Regiment. By April 1941, it had been replaced by the 1st Bn. Coldstream Guards. The Dorset Home Guard unit also manning defences at Studland was No.2 (East Purbeck) Company, 7th (Wareham) Battalion was manned by No.2 (East Purbeck) Company, 7th (Wareham) Battalion of the Home Guard.
From the autumn of 1943, Studland Bay became an amphibious assault training area as part of the preparations for D-Day on 6 June 1944, one of the most significant dates in modern history, defining the start of the final phase of World War II in Europe. Six weeks prior to D-Day, Allied troops gathered in Studland Bay to undertake three full-scale training exercises to prepare themselves for the amphibious landings that were to take place on the beaches of Normandy. The rehearsal, codenamed Exercise Smash 1, was the largest live ammunition practice of the whole war period; battle training was also carried out using the anti-invasion pillboxes erected within the Defence Area. The bay was also the scene of a major experiment to test the effectiveness of burning oil as a defence against a German seaborne invasion, known as Project Fougasse, it involved piping oil to the sea and firing it by explosive charges.
On the east side of a spur of land above the Ferry Road, to the north of Studland, is a gun emplacement which was erected in c.1940 as part of the coastal anti-invasion defences in the Studland area. It faces north-east, overlooking Studland Bay and Old Harry Rocks.
The gun emplacement, 770m north-west of Knoll House Hotel, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Group value: although it has suffered some loss of fabric, it is integral part of a significant group of Second World War anti-invasion defences that are listed and it contributes to an understanding of national defence policy at that time;
* Historic interest: as part of the Second World War military program of coastal defences, it provides a visual reminder of the impact of world events on the area.
Other nearby listed buildings | <urn:uuid:d0a5d1e9-0355-42e7-8d55-1bb68b71491c> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101411830-gun-emplacement-770m-north-west-of-knoll-house-hotel-studland | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864364.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20180622065204-20180622085204-00188.warc.gz | en | 0.972589 | 973 | 2.5625 | 3 |
- What are the 4 R’s of paraphrasing?
- How does a paraphrase look like?
- What is the definition for paraphrase?
- What is an effective paragraph?
- What are the four steps to paraphrasing?
- What are the three types of paraphrasing?
- How do you structure a paragraph?
- How do you introduce a paraphrase?
- What are paraphrasing skills?
- What is a good paraphrase?
- How do you do structural paraphrasing?
- Why do we paraphrase?
- What are the qualities of a good paragraph?
- What is an example of a paraphrase?
- What are the 5 types of paragraph?
What are the 4 R’s of paraphrasing?
Key Resource: The 4 R’s–A Paraphrasing Strategy Review the graphic below that explains the 4 R’s: Read, Restate, Recheck, and Repair and use the attached graphic organizer to help you practice paraphrasing by using this strategy..
How does a paraphrase look like?
A paraphrase is similar to a summary because you are rewriting the source in your own words. They key difference is that paraphrases include both key points and subpoints. Because a paraphrase includes detailed information it can sometimes be as long (if not longer) than the original source.
What is the definition for paraphrase?
1 : a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form The teacher asked the students to write a paraphrase of the poem.
What is an effective paragraph?
An effective paragraph is like a miniature essay. It has a clear beginning, middle, and ending. An effective paragraph combine focus and attention to detail to develop a single idea thoroughly. It also help the reader transition from one idea to the next.
What are the four steps to paraphrasing?
ParaphrasingStep 1: Read.Step 2: Take Notes.Step 3: Think About What You Read.Step 4: Write It In Your Own Words.Step 5: Cite Your Source.Citing in APA.Citing in MLA.Aug 9, 2020
What are the three types of paraphrasing?
As you recall, Thinking Collaborative teaches three levels of paraphrasing – acknowledging, organizing, and abstracting.
How do you structure a paragraph?
A basic paragraph structure usually consists of five sentences: the topic sentence, three supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. But the secrets to paragraph writing lay in four essential elements, which when used correctly, can make an okay paragraph into a great paragraph.
How do you introduce a paraphrase?
It is best to introduce the quotation or paraphrase with a signal phrase which includes the author’s name and provides context for the reader. That is, you must give the reader enough information to understand who is being quoted or paraphrased and why.
What are paraphrasing skills?
Key Points. Paraphrasing means rephrasing text or speech in your own words, without changing its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. You can use both techniques to clarify and simplify complex information or ideas.
What is a good paraphrase?
An effective paraphrase is… 1. Original—paraphrases should use your own fresh vocabulary, phrasing, and sentence structure, not the sentence structure, phrasing and words of your source. 2. Accurate—paraphrases must precisely reflect the ideas, tone, and emphasis of your source.
How do you do structural paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing tipsStart your first sentence at a different point from that of the original source.Use synonyms (words that mean the same thing)Change the sentence structure (e.g. from active to passive voice)Break the information into separate sentences.Apr 18, 2018
Why do we paraphrase?
Paraphrasing is important because it shows you understand the source well enough to write it in your own words. … It is important because it shows you and your reader (i.e. your lecturer) that you have understood the source sufficiently enough to write it in your own words.
What are the qualities of a good paragraph?
Qualities of a good paragraph. A good paragraph is like a miniature essay. It has a clear beginning, middle, and ending. Strong paragraphs combine focus and attention to detail to develop a single idea thoroughly, and they help the reader transition from one idea to the next.
What is an example of a paraphrase?
Sometimes you only need to paraphrase the information from one sentence. Here are some examples of paraphrasing individual sentences: Original: Her life spanned years of incredible change for women as they gained more rights than ever before. Paraphrase: She lived through the exciting era of women’s liberation.
What are the 5 types of paragraph?
Different Type of ParagraphsDescriptive paragraphs.Narrative paragraphs.Expository paragraphs.Persuasive paragraphs.Literary paragraph. | <urn:uuid:5d5b1ad7-d815-44cc-9f80-d6600849b6b6> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://wavesshower.com/qa/what-is-structural-paraphrase.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046153854.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20210729074313-20210729104313-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.917818 | 1,066 | 3.84375 | 4 |
England and Wales Census, 1871 - FamilySearch Historical Records
|Access the Records|
England and Wales Census, 1871
|This article describes a collection of records at FamilySearch.org.|
|England and Wales|
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|The National Archives|
What is in This Collection?[edit | edit source]
The 1871 census was taken on the night of 2 April, 1871. Census schedules consist of large sheets with pre-printed rows and columns. The schedules are arranged by county and then divided by civil parish, while some are further subdivided into smaller enumeration districts, each district being an area that could be enumerated in a day. For reference purposes, the National Archives assigned a piece number to each enumeration district and stamped a folio number in the upper right corner of each right-side page. The number refers to entries on both sides of the page.
The Registrar General created the national censuses. Enumerators went door to door collecting the data in census books. Censuses taken between 1851 and 1931 were conducted on a single day, sometime between March 31 and April 8. The census takers listed only those who spent the night in each household, so individuals who were traveling or at school were listed where they spent the night. Almost all the residents of England are included in the census. Non-citizens were also included.
The following civil parishes, townships, or places in the registration district of Gower in Glamorgan and the Sub-District of Gower Western are missing:
- Registration Sub-District 2B Gower Western
- Penmaen (3)
The original schedules are well preserved and housed at the Public Records Office in Kew. The Registrar General created censuses for various reasons, including population studies, accessing military readiness, compiling lists of eligible voters, and tracking relief to the poor. The information gathered by the census taker is only as reliable as the person who provided the information. While some information may not be completely accurate, it can still provide important clues in locating an ancestor.
If you do not know what registration district you need, find your location in: UK BMD Registration Districts In England and Wales.
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Search the Index[edit | edit source]Search by name on the Collection Details Page.
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|More images are available in the FamilySearch Catalog at England and Wales census, 1871. Some catalog records link to multiple references. In this case, click on a reference to find a camera icon to see images.|
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I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?[edit | edit source]
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- Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family
I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking for, What Now?[edit | edit source]
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- If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
- Check for other names. They might have been listed under a middle name, a nickname, or an abbreviation of their given name
- Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try searching based on how the name may have been pronounced
Research Helps[edit | edit source]
The following articles will help you research your family in England.
The following articles will help you research your family in Wales.
Citing This Collection[edit | edit source]
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.
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When looking at a record, the citation can be viewed by clicking the drop-down arrow next to Document Information.
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Exploring Science with Dyslexic Children and Teens: Creative, multi-sensory ideas, games and activities to support learning
This book is a collection of ideas, activities and approaches for science learning, to support kids with learning differences aged 9+ to grow in confidence, recall and understanding. The multi-sensory and fun ideas and activities can be adapted to suit individual students' needs and skills, and curriculum stage. Written by an experienced science teacher, the book includes mnemonics, art, drama and poetry activities, board games, card games, and more. All of these strategies will aid neurodiverse students' science learning and memory through boosting their creative thinking, encouraging a play-based and exploratory approach to science.
Whether you want to get creative, play a game or try out a fun experiment, you can dip in and out of the activities to suit your student's unique learning style. The activities in the book will help creative thinkers who learn differently to take alternative approaches to tricky topics, grasping a fundamental understanding of key scientific concepts, whilst gaining confidence as the scientists of tomorrow.
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Earn money by sharing your favourite books through our Affiliate programme.Become an Affiliate | <urn:uuid:41beaf1f-de10-41d0-a3c5-5061e87053cd> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://uk.bookshop.org/books/exploring-science-with-dyslexic-children-and-teens-creative-multi-sensory-ideas-games-and-activities-to-support-learning/9781787753860 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103917192.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220701004112-20220701034112-00798.warc.gz | en | 0.936786 | 261 | 3.8125 | 4 |
Nature and nurture go hand in hand, say scientists who study obesity and diabetes. In this month's issue of Genome Research, Edward Leiter and colleagues (The Jackson Laboratory) report that an animal's 'maternal environment' acts together with genetics to increase the risk of obesity and obesity-related diabetes.
Type II diabetes particularly afflicts obese individuals. Numerous genes and environmental factors, like sedentary lifestyle, interact to produce a predisposition for diabetes (diabesity), making it difficult to tease out individual suspects. In the current report, Leiter and colleagues perform an ingenious experiment to identify specific gene-environment interactions affecting diabesity.
The researchers crossed two strains of mice, one obese and one lean, and looked for unique DNA sequences that correlate with diabesity in the descendants. Leiter and colleagues identified several gene locations involved in different aspects of fat deposition and diabetes risk. Furthermore, the effects of these genes depended on whether the nursing mother was obese or lean; mice with genetic predisposition for diabesity were less obese if nursed by a lean foster mother. The researchers suggest that factors in mother's milk may act in combination with genetic heritage to trigger obesity and consequent diabetes, a finding with potential health implications for obese human populations.
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Cite This Page: | <urn:uuid:e75e6877-ae19-49e0-bab5-43375fa973b1> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001016074333.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049270798.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002110-00086-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898046 | 286 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Asteroid 2011 MD flew past Earth on Monday, June 27th. At closest approach the ~10-meter space rock was only 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) above the planet's surface. NASA analysts said there was no chance it would strike Earth, and indeed it didn't.
Astronomers around the world monitored the flyby. Using a remotely-controled telescope in Cerro Tololo, Chile, Joe Pollock of Appalachian State University obtained this light curve:
An excellent video recorded by Andre Paquette of Ottawa, Canada, shows the brightness of the asteroid oscillating as it races among the stars. "My light curve is a good match to Cerro Tololo's," says Paquette.
But a real interesting asteroid is coming see here | <urn:uuid:b1e4de9f-0e67-40d2-9485-31eb3ffa54f8> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://dailycosmicnews.blogspot.com/2011/06/asteroid-2011-md-flew-past-earth-on.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948515313.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20171212095356-20171212115356-00629.warc.gz | en | 0.936932 | 161 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Even till date, known as the nation of snake charmers, the world sometimes fail to see the uniqueness in the beauty of India. With a huge diverse population and bewitching topography, India has certain distinctive factors which make it simply incredible. Listed below are the 20 amazing facts of India.
1/. Wettest place on earth: Situated in East Khasi Hill district of Meghalaya, Mawsynram is indeed the wettest place in the world, holding a Guinness World Record for the highest average annual rainfall of 11,873 millimetres. Meteriologists believe in its location close to the Bay Of Bengal having a huge role to play in these heavy rainfalls.
2/. Diamonds first mined in India: One of the most precious gem stones; diamond was first mined in India in the early 4th century B.C. It was indeed the only source of diamonds till the 18th century, until the quest for alternative sources started with depletion of the Indian diamond mines.
3/. World’s Highest Cricket Ground: The nation not only holds pride in the Indian cricket team but also houses the World’s Highest Cricket ground. Built in the early 1893, the Chail cricket stadium is located in the state of Himachal Pradesh built by the Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh.
4/. Spices trade: The use of spices in India, dates back the early Vedic civilization and is also one among the reasons that lured the foreign invaders to come to India. Even today India supplies 70% of the world spices.
5/. Shani Shingnapur, Maharashtra: Located in the state of Maharashtra, Shani Shingnapur is a small village, say about 35 kms from Ahmednagar. In todays world filled with insecurity, greed and lack of trust; Shani shingnapur has about 300 houses with no doors. Only a loose door panel is used to keep away from the wild animals and stray dogs.
6/. Rocket on a cycle: It might not sound practical in today’s context but India’s first rocket was transported with the help of a cycle to the Thumba Launching Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
7/. Kumbh mela, largest pilgrimage: Kumbh Mela is indeed one of the largest human congregations where a large number of Hindu pilgrims come together to bathe in the sacred river. Kumbh Mela 2011 recorded the largest gathering of 75 millions of people which was also visible from the space.
8/. 2nd largest English Speaking Nation: With Hindi and English as the official language of the nation, it is the second largest English speaking nation in the world, second only to US.
10/. Child worshipped as Lord Hanuman: Arshid Ali Khan was born with a tail 10 cms long because of which he was worshipped as Lord Hanuman by the villagers. However it’s a different story that the tail had to be removed as Arshid, also known as Balaji was facing major health issues because of the tail.
11/. Biggest family in the World: If handling a family of four is a task, one can only imagine a family with 181 members altogether. And yes! This too is in India. Residing in the Baktawng village, India, Ziona, is the head of the world’s largest family with 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughter-in-laws and 33 grandchildren.
12/. 31 doctors in one family: Having 31 doctors in a family sounds something close to impossible. But not to this family in Jaipur who have seven physicians, five gynecologists, three ophthalmologists, three ENT specialists, neurologists, urologist, surgeons, psychiatrists, pathologists and orthopedic doctors in the house. One of the youngest member might join soon to be the 32nd member of the doctor’s family.
13/. First university in the World: India definitely holds pride in housing the world’s First University, Takshashila which flourished from 600 BC to 500 AD. It is said to have 68 subjects and had about 10,500 students at one point of time from all around the world.
14/. Invention of Zero: Aryabhatta, an Indian mathematician invented Zero. It is believed to be widely used for calculations, astronomy and astrology.
15/. Snakes and Ladders: The game of snakes and ladders, also known as the Moksha Patamu, was invented in India and is said to be there from as early as 2nd century BC. It was used mostly to teach moral lessons to children.
16/. Science day in Switzerland: Ever since 26 May, 2005 Switzerland celebrates this day as Science Day, honoring the visit of the then Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam. Switzerland considered the then President as the father of India’s missile programme.
17/. Bollywood, largest producer of films: Not only is Bollywood one among the high earning industry but is also the largest producer of films in the world.
18/. Shakuntala Devi, the human calculator: Shakuntala Devi also known as the “Human Calculator” for her extra ordinary mental calculation skills was of Indian origin. On 18 June 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779 randomly picked by the computer at London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in 28 seconds.
19/. Use of sugar: The manufacture and the use of sugar, first started in India. The crystallization of sugar was started by the Indians in the early Gupta Dynasty, dating back to around 350 AD.
20/. Highest gold consumption in the world: A typical Indian wedding with the bride covered in gold ornaments from head to toe showcases the nation’s love for gold. They also have a festival called Akshaya Tirtya, which is considered auspicious day for buying gold. | <urn:uuid:e1c403b8-0844-4c8b-b198-7c64c1497628> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://blog.getsholidays.com/20-amazing-facts-about-india.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647044.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20180319175337-20180319195337-00318.warc.gz | en | 0.960616 | 1,271 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Lack of access to clean water is the primary cause of children dying before their 5th birthday. Surely clean water – that is so readily available to us coming from taps, in water coolers and in pretty (but environmentally damaging) plastic bottles, should be available to every single person on the planet. In this world there is more than enough money to ensure that everyone has clean water, again we see that its not a matter of money rather a matter of priority. When the world needed trillions of dollars to stop a financial crisis money was suddenly available, yet when the worlds needs just a fraction of that to prevent a human crisis the coffers run dry.
In the case of Papua New Guinea, lack of water is definitely not due to a lack of money; Papua New Guinea has been one of the main recipients of Australian aid for more than 20 years. Yet in all of this time the percentage of population without clean water has remained at a pathetic 60%. Only two in five people have access to clean water – in a country that is closer to Australia than New Zealand.
The over arching aim of Australian aid money – to grow the PNG economy has largely been unsuccessful and has been a big contributor to the degradation of water ways from pollutants coming from increased mining and industrial activities.
When aid money is delivered with a human priority as opposed to an economic one it has the potential to deliver the clean water needed. Oxfam and Water Aid Australia have been working to do just this. These organizations work on the ground in partnership with communities to ensure they have ownership over the project – this system of community empowerment has resulted in the successful implementation of clean water systems to many villages and tribes people in PNG.
Learn more about water and sanitation
Unfortunately these organizations do not have the big budgets of the governments and are therefore not able to implement the program to the extent that it is needed. You can SAVE A LIFE today by donating to help communities’ access clean water.
You can also call upon the Australian government to ensure that the delivery of aid concentrates on the provision of basic services to the rural poor by adding your name to thousands of people already demanding more and better aid.
This post is part of Blog Action Day 2010
Oxfam NSW/ACT Campaigner Debbie Hunt | <urn:uuid:22775606-6906-47ae-bf33-77fafec8d06a> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | https://www.oxfam.org.au/2010/10/water-in-papua-new-guinea/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440644065534.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827025425-00232-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964412 | 460 | 3.1875 | 3 |
At the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conference in Lima this December, Brazilian researcher, Antonio Donato Nobre published a synthesis on the most recent scientific data about the Amazon’s climate accompanied by an explanation of the the profound impact that the Amazon has on South America and how this is changing as a consequence of climate change and deforestation. Antonio Donato Nobre, a well-respected Brazilian scientist and brilliant science communicator (click here to see his Ted Talk) has been researching the Amazon’s climate for decades.
The synthesis introduces two concepts that were new to me: the first was the notion of the Amazon as a ‘Green Ocean’, the second that the Amazon functions as a biotic pump pushing ca 20 billion tonnes of water into the atmosphere every day and in doing so drawing water vapour in from the Atlantic Ocean. The first idea of the Amazon as a Green Ocean is an important one as it gives a scale to the impact the Amazon has on the global climate, equivalent to one of the World’s Oceans. Conversely it also suggests the enormity of what we are doing to an ecosystem that is probably critical for our welfare. The second concept, not proven but for which there is mounting evidence, presents the Amazon as a vast community of ca 385 billion trees mutually interdependent with trillions of micro-organisms, insects and vertebrates functioning in concert as a water pump, extracting water from the ground, catalyzing its conversion to rain in the lower atmosphere and in doing so drawing water vapour in from the Atlantic Ocean and sending moisture to the grain belt of South America creating one of the most productive agricultural landscapes in the World.
The main points of Antonio’s report are that 1) the Amazon generates a climate that supports agriculture to its south, 2) deforestation will result in a climate that does no longer supports agriculture in southern South America, 3) that the nature of the Amazon’s impact on climate means that there is a point of no-return with respect to deforestation which once passed will lead irreversibly to desertification for much of southern South America, 4) that deforestation in the Amazon is already having an impact on the regions climate and that this could accelerate the impact of climate change on the Amazon, and lastly 5) it is not too late to reverse these impacts and that muscular actions to outlaw forest fires and deforestation coupled with a popularization of the scientific research on the Amazon cold avert the destruction of the Green Ocean. I can not recommend reading the report enough, it is engagingly and precisely written and will make you amazed at the impact forest have on our World. | <urn:uuid:d6a8e844-9e4a-467c-915a-af5b85508cc8> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | https://tropicalbotany.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/the-future-climate-of-amazonia/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105108.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818194744-20170818214744-00604.warc.gz | en | 0.948935 | 536 | 3.046875 | 3 |
You might have some misconceptions regarding sensorineural hearing loss. Alright, perhaps not everything is false. But there is at least one thing worth clearing up. Generally, we think that sensorineural hearing loss develops gradually while conductive hearing loss occurs quickly. It so happens that’s not inevitably true – and that rapid onset of sensorineural hearing loss might often be wrongly diagnosed.
Is Sensorineural Hearing Loss Normally Slow-moving?
When we consider sensorineural hearing loss or conductive hearing loss, you may feel a little disoriented – and we don’t hold it against you (the terms can be quite disorientating). So, here’s a basic breakdown of what we mean:
- Conductive hearing loss: This kind of hearing loss is the result of a blockage in the outer or middle ear. This might include anything from allergy-driven inflammation to earwax. Normally, your hearing will return when the underlying obstruction is cleared up.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: This type of hearing loss is normally due to damage to the nerves or stereocilia in the inner ear. Your thinking of sensorineural hearing loss when your considering hearing loss from loud noise. Although you may be able to treat sensorineural hearing loss so it doesn’t get worse in most instances the damage is permanent.
Commonly, conductive hearing loss comes on quite suddenly, whereas sensorineural hearing loss moves significantly slower. But sometimes it works out differently. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (or SSNHL) is relatively uncommon, but it does occur. And SSNHL can be particularly damaging when it’s not treated properly because everyone thinks it’s a weird case of conductive hearing loss.
Why is SSNHL Misdiagnosed?
To understand why SSNHL is misdiagnosed somewhat often, it may be practical to look at a hypothetical situation. Let’s suppose that Steven, a busy project manager in his early forties, woke up one day and couldn’t hear out of his right ear. The traffic outside seemed a little quieter. So, too, did his crying kitten and a crying baby. So he did the wise thing and scheduled a hearing test. Needless to say, Steven was in a rush. He was recovering from a cold and he had a ton of work to catch up on. Maybe he wasn’t sure to mention that recent condition during his appointment. After all, he was worrying about getting back to work and most likely left out some other relevant info. So after being prescribed with antibiotics, he was advised to come back if his symptoms didn’t clear up. It’s rare that sensorineural hearing loss comes on suddenly (something like 6 in 5000 according to the National Institutes of Health). And so, in the majority of situations, Steven would be just fine. But there could be dangerous consequences if Steven’s SSNHL was misdiagnosed.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss: The First 72 Decisive Hours
SSNH can be caused by a range of conditions and situations. Some of those causes might include:
- Some medications.
- Problems with blood circulation.
- Head trauma of some kind or traumatic brain injury.
- A neurological issue.
This list could continue for, well, quite a while. Your hearing professional will have a much better understanding of what problems you should be watching for. But many of these hidden conditions can be treated and that’s the significant point. And if they’re treated before injury to the nerves or stereocilia becomes permanent, there’s a possibility to minimize your long term loss of hearing.
The Hum Test
If you’re having a bout of sudden hearing loss, like Steven, you can perform a brief test to get a rough concept of where the issue is coming from. And it’s fairly simple: hum to yourself. Choose your favorite song and hum a few bars. What does it sound like? If your hearing loss is conductive, your humming should sound the same in both ears. (Most of what you’re hearing when you hum, after all, is coming from inside your head.) It’s worth mentioning to your hearing professional if the humming is louder in one ear because it may be sensorineural hearing loss. Inevitably, it’s possible that sudden sensorineural hearing loss may be wrongly diagnosed as conductive hearing loss. That can have some consequences for your general hearing health, so it’s always a good idea to mention the possibility with your hearing professional when you go in for your appointment. | <urn:uuid:13e60328-eabb-4bf8-bc7f-e97bbf967602> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://www.hearchattanooga.com/hearing-loss-articles/why-sudden-sensorineural-hearing-loss-is-sometimes-missed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243989874.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20210518222121-20210519012121-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.953959 | 960 | 2.96875 | 3 |
What is a diagnostic essay in academic meaning
In general, all academic papers are called to measure students success in studying education plan. Someone gets more skills and deserves for high mark, others have more weakness and need to continue studying exact subjects. So thanks to such tests professors can make rational decisions and help students to achieve more knowledge. One of such tasks which allows defining your success in studying is a diagnostic essay.
In the literal sense, this task can ‘diagnose’ the student’s progress in studies. The task of each writer is to show the skills and knowledge he already has and demonstrate the understanding of the goals of his education program. Besides, this is a good way for professors to find out any weal sides which they will help students to improve in the future. So such task is vitally important during qualitative education in college or university.
Besides, you should not only understand what is a diagnostic essay but also know the main tips in writing. So find out its particularities, structure, chancy topics, and so on. These recommendations will definitely help in writing.
How to write a diagnostic essay without experience
The writer needs to use his skills in the exact topic and keep the proper structure of a diagnostic essay. Usually, experts recommend using the same structure as 5 paragraph essay has. So the writer should keep these elements under control:
- Write the section with thesis statements;
- Write 3 paragraphs for body, describing the key ideas in each one;
- Write encouraging and powerful conclusion in one final paragraph.
The introduction should hook readers and demonstrate, that the writer understands his topic and task. Then keep writing your body part, so it will include 3 sections. Usually, experts advise making the first body paragraph the strongest ones. It will help to impress readers and make them feel the way you want. And don’t forget that you can’t reduce the interest in your writing, so second and third body sections must be relevant. In the end, you should write a powerful conclusion. Make a summary, but don’t share any new information. This is the golden rule of most academic papers.
Don’t forget, that diagnostic essay writing has its time limits. Usually, you have several days to prepare this task, and sometimes students may face with urgent writing for several hours. If you are not sure in your speed of writing, it is recommended to practice time after time. Be sure that only experience in this field will help you to feel confident and relax.
Note, that you are not alone in writing diagnosis paper. This task has a lot of hidden rocks, and even experienced authors cannot make it perfect all the time. So feel free to ask for professional help, if you really need it. Our company is keen on writing any kinds of academic papers, including diagnostic essays. The professional authors in our team can choose the best topic for you and make this task corresponding to all requirements.
Diagnostic essay: definition and tips
So if you can define diagnostic essay, then you have 50% of success. The next step is to use professional advice in writing. Here are several of the most powerful recommendations:
- Keep calm and avoid panic, because unconstructive actions and thoughts can only harm the quality of your diagnostic paper;
- Clear your schedule, so you have enough time for writing and proofreading;
- Use diagnostic essay prompts to understand the goals of your writing and get additional information.
If you can use diagnostic essay samples in your paper preparation, then do it. Such examples will be a golden standard for you, so you can make your task from a perception that the template is perfect.
In general, you must follow all traditional rules in writing papers. And don’t forget that grammar is always important. Your diagnostic essay may be great and exciting, but numerous mistakes and misprints don’t allow professor marking your job with a high score. You can use special online services to check your text, but the best way is to cooperate with an experienced editor.
Also, try to avoid such things in your paper:
- Making an essay without using your personal ideas and experience;
- Writing text with wrong structure and make grammar mistakes;
- Begining essay with dictionary definition.
In addition, don’t hesitate the expert help. There are a lot of online professional authors at our platform who are ready to support you with your diagnostic essay.
Diagnostic essay topics in 2019
Usually, students write their diagnostic essays in narrative writing style. Such an approach allows describing your thoughts and do not overload readers with annoying details. So it is okay to use a lot of the first person singular, for instance, I, my, me, mine. As a result, your sentences will be like ‘I think,’ ‘My experience,’ ‘I went,’ etc.
Here are several topics you can use for your diagnostic essay:
- My best vacation
- The TOP-3 of my favorite poets
- The place of my dream to travel
- My daily routine at home
- How I learned to be a successful person?
So diagnostic essay topics are quite simple. Note, that this is not a research or dissertation, so professor doesn’t demand from you complicated analyses. But he can check your skills with the simplest task. That’s why you shouldn’t consider a diagnostic essay silly and useless. Work hard, and you will impress everyone with your paper.
So diagnostic essay is one of the traditional papers for students. Usually, they write such tasks on a regular basis and know good tips. But besides ability in writing, they may face with unexpected troubles such as lack of time, knowledge, opportunity, etc. In such a situation, you have a choice: to fail an essay or
hire a personal writer. Choose the second option and be always successful with our company! Let us help you right now. | <urn:uuid:574af4d6-ec54-4b54-99b5-78cd3b9dcd38> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://writemyessaysos.com/blog/diagnostic-essay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510149.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20230926043538-20230926073538-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.937968 | 1,222 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Much has been written about this subject over the past few years. While there is a great wealth of information, most of it is aimed at the COBOL community, and what isn't tends to be very generic-limited to management guides and theoretical discussions. What I want to do in this chapter is simply look at the issue from a practical perspective, focusing on its particular relevance to Visual Basic. I will look at how Visual Basic stores and manipulates date information and, equally important, what its weaknesses are.
For me the issue is not so much what happens when the clocks strike midnight on a certain night in December 1999, but that many developers still do not fully understand how our language deals with this simple piece of data! | <urn:uuid:550d4c1d-cd06-4648-9e57-b1cc0c63544e> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://www.brainbell.com/tutors/Visual_Basic/ch8.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570987841291.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20191024040131-20191024063631-00302.warc.gz | en | 0.963964 | 147 | 2.625 | 3 |
The portion of radiant energy important for plants is called photosyntheti-cally active radiation (PAR): 400-700 nm (nanometers), which is short-wave, energy-rich radiation. The amount of PAR that reaches a certain area where plants grow is measured in irradiance units, or photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), and is expressed in micromoles per square meter per second (Longman and Jenik 1987). Light availability can be expensive to measure in a direct manner, because it requires equipment such as light sensors. Indirect measurements of light availability or total illuminance can be more practical. Indirect measurements of light availability in a forest can include indices of canopy closure based on direct observation of canopy characteristics, or on the use of spherical densiometers consisting of a concave or convex mirror that reflects the canopy of trees and allows estimations of area covered. Hemispheric photography uses fish-eye lenses to obtain pictures of the canopy, and can be complemented with computer software that can calculate the size of the open and canopy areas in a more precise manner. Simple light sensors can also be used for instantaneous measurements, but their reliability is low due to the high variations that can be found in the light environment according to time of day and weather conditions.
Solar radiation is spectrally altered by passage through the forest canopy, affecting both the quantity and the quality of PAR in the understory (Chaz-don et al. 1996). Chlorophyll in green plants absorbs some light energy in the blue (400-500 nm) but mainly in the red (600-700 nm) portions of the light spectrum. Leaves (chlorophyll) reflect light around 550 nm (the green band). Leaves are very transparent to far-red (FR, beyond 700 nm) wavelengths, i.e., they reflect and transmit most of the FR radiation that reaches them; thus a high proportion of FR radiation penetrates all the way down to the forest floor. The greatest spectral change after canopy filtering, therefore, is the reduction in R/FR ratio (Chazdon et al. 1996).
Was this article helpful? | <urn:uuid:45fd5241-30f1-435f-8176-c1f4d9af24dc> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://www.ecologycenter.us/tropical-forests/availability-of-light.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347394074.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20200527110649-20200527140649-00154.warc.gz | en | 0.912237 | 438 | 3.609375 | 4 |
The common cold is due to a popular disease of the higher breathing system, and it frequently occurs because there are over 200 malware that can cause it, although rhinoviruses are the primary causes. It is no shock, therefore, that a mature will experience with a cool on regular three periods a year, whereas, a child can be contaminated between six and 12 periods years.
Cold signs usually last between seven and ten periods, although it is not unusual to experience sick for up to three weeks. Symptoms include a drippy nasal area, nasal discomfort, sneezing, hacking and coughing, a painful neck, high temperature and complications. Common discomforts and conjunctivitis can also happen during the common cold.
Because the common cold is due to a malware, medications are of no use for it, signifying that there is no real cold cure. Most cold treatments center around looking after yourself and dealing with the signs.
1. Relax and fluids
It is best to deal with the common cold like any other popular disease and allow your whole body the time to restore. Getting plenty rest and restoring the liquids lost due to high temperature and sneezing, will help your whole body use its energy to battle the disease.
2. Vapor inhalation
If an obstructed nasal area is one of your primary cold signs, a good cure is breathing in the steam; either with or without Menthol Crystal demolished it in.
3. Using a fumes rub on your chest area and nasal area can also help a rigid nasal area.
Gargling with salt-water or specific germ killing mouth rinse can help reduce the swelling associated with a a painful neck.
There are a variety of cold solutions available over the reverse. Most will contain either paracetamol or Advil, which are anti-inflammatory drugs and will help with the discomfort and pain-inducing swelling. | <urn:uuid:fd214a27-c365-45e3-8219-ef9b81b8f609> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://aroraaromatics.weebly.com/home/archives/08-2014 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912203378.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20190324063449-20190324085449-00439.warc.gz | en | 0.937301 | 383 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Each November brings the opportunity for American citizens to make their voices heard on Election Day. No matter if it is a local race featuring your friends and neighbors or a federal election for President of the United States, each person (with little exception) has the right to cast their vote and make their voice heard. But politics can be a confusing game, particularly for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Attack ads and divisive rhetoric and campaigning techniques make it difficult for anyone to separate rhetoric from policy, and determine who might represent their interests best once elected. Voting is the first step in taking part in our local, regional, and national government, and one that has only recently been put on a level playing field for people with a disability.
There was a time not long ago when Americans with disabilities were left out of the political process. Sweeping civil rights movements in the 1960s helped to shape our country’s always evolving direction for treating all citizens as equal. However, it was The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (and updates in 2010) that introduced the bedrock of many regulations and protections that were left uncodified. Still, it was not until the Help America Vote Act of 2002 was passed that protection of voting rights was truly examined, along with putting the physical equipment used to cast a vote as subject to inspection. This distinction is so important to many that would otherwise have tremendous difficulty casting a ballot with pen and paper.
In Springbrook’s area of New York State, the ImageCast is the standard ballot counting machine. The NY Board of Elections has put together a full description of the different adaptive equipment that can be used with the ImageCast. We visited the polling locations for the Town and City of Oneonta and the Town of Milford on the day of NY’s Federal Primary Election in September 2018. Each location had on-site at least one adaptive device, and some had all described devices. Those that did not informed us that they could call the main office in Cooperstown to make additional devices available. Everyone has the right to have assistance from another person when voting, along with many other rights that New York State has outlined. These rights are a huge step forward for EVERY citizen in New York!
“All of our inspectors have been trained to respect any voter that requires assistance, and to be treated with genuine politeness and helpfulness. If the voter requires assistance in voting they may request a bi-partisan team of inspectors to aid them, but not influence their vote. If the voter has been accompanied by an outside agent then they may assist the voter.” said Carol Franklin, one of the two Commissioners of Elections from Chenango County. This commitment to citizens with a disability is especially important to the dozens of individuals that Springbrook supports in the Norwich area. Likewise, all poll station workers that we visited in Otsego County were helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable about the accommodations available to all citizens.
While the experience we had with local polling locations was overwhelmingly positive, that is not the case everywhere across the country. In a 2016 study of 178 polling places, 60% (107) had some sort of physical impedance, from parking to problems in the voting area. Still, in another 2012 study, more than 30% of individuals with a disability reported difficulty in voting compared to just 8.4% of voters without a disability. This type of difficulty can be frustrating, as it de-incentivizes individuals with a disability from casting their vote. Another report shows sixteen million people with disabilities reported voting in the November 2016 elections. However, that was six percentage points lower than that of people without disabilities; this gap could have accounted for 2.2 million votes in 2016!
With the 2018 general election just behind us, you can see which candidates were successful in their election campaigns here. If you haven’t already, learn their names, contact their offices, let your voice be heard the other 364 days of the year—not just on election day(see this piece on how congressional lawmakers handle correspondence)! Talk to these elected officials about what is important to you. Do they have accessibility/universal design, Medicaid, and other issues that affect individuals with a disability as a cornerstone to their policies?
Stay informed. This chart is a popular guide to the quality and bias in news sources. News sources in the center at the top of the chart are factual (AP, Reuters). The further down and left or right a source appears on the chart, the worse their quality of reporting is considered. Knowing your representative is only half of the equation; you need to know what issues they are passionate about if you hope to offer your opinion to them. And remember, a representative’s job is to work on behalf of every person is their village, city, district, state, or country, regardless of their political affiliations or personal opinions.
The 2019 election is 363 days away at the time of publishing. Your chance to register to vote is today. Help a friend or loved one with a disability register today too. Talk to each other about local, state, and federal elections, the men and women who are campaigning, and what issues are most important to you. As we saw from the study in 2016 above, if more individuals with a disability come out to vote in 2019 (and for the next federal election in 2020), demographics could look significantly different than in previous years.
The most important thing for everyone to remember is that YOUR VOTE MATTERS. Contact your Board of Elections if you have questions. Every voice is important.
*Disclaimer: The goal of this piece is a non-partisan look at voting rights, specifically for Americans who have disabilities. The author of this post recognizes his own liberal bias. Springbrook does not support any one individual candidate. Instead, we hope that anyone who reads this article will consider what is most important to their lives and which candidates advance those causes before making a call, sending a letter, or casting a vote. | <urn:uuid:1635fc89-36b6-4476-ac0f-0d55311dcedf> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://www.springbrookny.org/voting-rights-your-voice-matters/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998607.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20190618043259-20190618065259-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.973952 | 1,214 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Researchers dubbed the malware as Mayhem, a nasty malware modular that includes a number of payloads to cause malicious things and targets to infect only those machines which are not updated with security patches or less likely to run security software.
So far, researchers have found over 1,400 Linux and FreeBSD servers around the world that have compromised by the malware, with potentially thousands more to come. Most of the compromised machines are located in the USA, Russia, Germany and Canada.
Three security experts, Andrej Kovalev, Konstantin Ostrashkevich and Evgeny Sidorov, who work at Russia-based Internet portal Yandex, discovered the malware targeting *nix servers. They were able to trace transmissions from the infected computers to the two command and control (C&C) servers.
"In the *nix world, autoupdate technologies aren't widely used, especially in comparison with desktops and smartphones. The vast majority of web masters and system administrators have to update their software manually and test that their infrastructure works correctly," the trio wrote in a technical report for Virus Bulletin.
"For ordinary websites, serious maintenance is quite expensive and often webmasters don't have an opportunity to do it. This means it is easy for hackers to find vulnerable web servers and to use such servers in their botnets."
Researchers say that this new type of malware can work under restricted privileges on the systems and has been created by keeping multiple functionality in mind. The malicious attack is conducted via a more sophisticated PHP script, that has a low detection rate with the antivirus engines available.
Communication of the system is established with the command and control servers, which can send the malware different instructions. As we mentioned above that Mayhem is a modular, its functions can be expanded through plugins and at the moment some eight plugins have been discovered, those are listed below:
- rfiscan.so - Find websites that contain a remote file inclusion (RFI) vulnerability
- wpenum.so - Enumerate users of WordPress sites
- cmsurls.so - Identify user login pages in sites based on the WordPress CMS
- bruteforce.so - Brute force passwords for sites based on the WordPress and Joomla CMSs
- bruteforceng.so - Brute force passwords for almost any login page
- ftpbrute.so - Brute force FTP accounts
- crawlerng.so - Crawl web pages (by URL) and extract useful information
- crawlerip.so - Crawl web pages (by IP) and extract useful information
In case of rfiscan.so, the malware spreads by finding servers hosting websites with a remote file inclusion (RFI) vulnerability that it checks using 'https://www.google.com/humans.txt' file. If the HTTP response contains the words 'we can shake', then the plugin decides that the website has a remote file inclusion vulnerability.
Once the malware exploits an RFI, or any other weakness mentioned above, and get installed, it will run a PHP script on a victim. The PHP script kills all '/usr/bin/host' processes, check for the system architecture and OS (whether Linux or FreeBSD), and then drops a malicious object identified as 'libworker.so'.
Meanwhile, the PHP script also defines a variable named 'AU', which includes the full URL of the script being executed. It also executes the shell script which is then being executed, then pings its Command-and-Control server.
The malware then creates a hidden file system, known as sd0, and downloads all the above eight plugins, none of which were detected by the VirusTotal malware scanning tool.
Mayhem was first detected in April 2014, and according to the trio, it is a continuation of the "Fort Disco" brute-force campaign that was unearthed by Arbor Networks in 2013.
The Yandex researchers warned people that there may be more plugins in circulation, based on information they discovered on the two detected Command-and-Control servers, including one which specifically exploits the systems that haven't patched the critical Heartbleed vulnerability in OpenSSL. | <urn:uuid:33017d9c-d3c2-4eb3-bd00-47d8b32ee7e6> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://thehackernews.com/2014/07/mayhem-new-malware-targets-linux-and_24.html?m=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510462.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20230928230810-20230929020810-00418.warc.gz | en | 0.918623 | 856 | 2.546875 | 3 |
- 7.9–9.1 in
- 16.1–16.9 in
- 4.3–8.1 oz
- Harlequin Quail
- Colin arlequin (French)
- Codorniz Moctezuma (Spanish)
- The Montezuma Quail usually crouches and stays still when danger threatens, and then explodes into flight from a leaping start if the danger comes too close. In captivity, even with clipped wings, it can leap at least 2 m (6.5 feet) straight up, often with enough force to cause severe injury or death if it strikes the roof of a cage.
Pine-oak forest, arid montane scrub, and northern temperate grassland.
- Clutch Size
- 2–15 eggs
- Condition at Hatching
- Downy and able to follow mother.
The secretive nature of the species makes obtaining accurate population estimates difficult. It is hunted in the three states where it occurs.
- Stromberg, M. R. 2000. Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae). In The Birds of North America No. 524 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. | <urn:uuid:0c4a6628-30bb-4e74-91ac-01eb2017ef71> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Montezuma_Quail/lifehistory | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997857714.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025737-00016-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.821261 | 269 | 2.875 | 3 |
Rear Admiral Samuel Du Pont, South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, is relieved of duty over the lack of ability of the Navy to make headway against the fortifications of Charleston, according to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. He is replaced by John Dahlgren.
The 54th Massachusetts, comprised primarily of free blacks from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, attack Battery Wagner in Charleston Harbor, losing 30% of their men and forcing Quincey Gillmore to lay siege to the city. The film "Glory" is based on this action.
In an impressive display of firepower, Federal batteries begin heavy shelling of Confederate positions ringing Charleston Harbor including Fort Sumter. Using Parrott rifled cannon including the 200 pound Swamp Angel, the artillery is deadly accurate and easily breaches Sumter, but no assault is forthcoming. Although the initial attack is the heaviest, Federal assaults continue off and on until September, 1864.
Fort Sumter, the outpost in Charleston Harbor where the Civil War started stood as a symbol of the radical Southerners in the eyes of both the North and the South. Two years after the bombardment of Fort Sumter Admiral David Porter decided to make a move against the fort, advancing a fleet of 9 ironclads to the harbor. The cannon of Fort Sumter dealt a serious blow to Porter's fleet an hour into the battle.
Once a naval attack was ruled out, Brigadier General Quincey A. Gillmore | <urn:uuid:226f16aa-4c94-4d9f-b758-1d5cf2aa9f0b> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Siege_of_Charleston | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257824757.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071024-00288-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934011 | 292 | 3.078125 | 3 |
One of the challenges in vibration testing is mass loading. The resonant frequency of a vibrating device under test (DUT) will change depending on whether an additional mass is added to the DUT. This is particularly evident with a vibrating cantilevered beam and especially so with a curved cantilevered beam, such as a turbine blade. Accurately measuring the resonant frequencies of a turbine blade with an accelerometer is complicated due to mass loading. Even the tiniest of accelerometers adds a mass that affects the resonant frequency of the turbine blade.
A solution to the mass loading dilemma is to measure the turbine blade’s accelerations with a non-contact sensor, such as a laser vibrometer. In this case study, a lightweight accelerometer (7.5 g) was used to measure the resonant frequencies of a short turbine blade (20.4 g). This was contrasted with measurements made with Polytec’s VibroGo® (laser vibrometer).
The laser vibrometer was operated in the velocity setting because it is the base measurement tool in the vibrometer. Both the displacement and acceleration settings derive their data from the velocity setting of the vibrometer through processing calculations. Therefore, we determined to use the velocity setting to avoid any lag or errors in the processing of the data to a displacement or acceleration measurement.
The smallest bandwidth (1kHz) and the smallest velocity range (1m/s) that did not result in an overloading error were used for the test.
Finally, the laser vibrometer was used at an optimal stand-off distance. The vibrometer we used had a basic stand-off distance of 463mm + (183mm * n). We set the vibrometer at 877mm from the tip of the turbine blade (Figure 1).
A flat 1G sine sweep from 50 to 500Hz was conducted on the turbine blade at a 1oct/min sweep rate. The test was conducted with and without mass loading.
In the first test, an accelerometer was attached to the end of the turbine blade (mass loading situation) to measure the resonances of the turbine blade. Simultaneously, the vibrometer was collecting data from the end of the turbine blade (Figure 2).
In the second test, the accelerometer was removed (no mass loading) and the vibrometer collected the vibration data from the end of the turbine blade (Figure 3).
The results of these tests were compared to confirm that the laser vibrometer could collect the same data as the accelerometer and confirm the effect of mass loading on a resonant beam.
A flat 1G sine sweep test was conducted on the turbine blade, sweeping down from 500Hz to 30Hz at a 1oct/min sweep rate. Several resonances were detected during this sine test. Both the accelerometer and the vibrometer were able to detect the same resonances (Figure 4).
The results of the testing demonstrate that mass loading causes a downward shift in the resonances of the turbine blade (Figure 5).
The results also show that the controller was able to control better within tolerances when there was no mass on the turbine blade (Figure 6). Mass loading makes controlling through resonances more difficult.
The results of this study demonstrate three things. First, the results show that a laser vibrometer can produce the same measurements as a traditional accelerometer. Second, the results show that mass loading is in fact an issue that engineers must face. The resonant frequencies of the turbine blade changed when the accelerometer was removed. Finally, the results show that a non-contact sensor, such as a laser vibrometer, can be used accurately to determine the resonant frequencies of a DUT that is particularly susceptible to mass loading issues. When using the non-contact sensor to accurately determine the resonant frequencies of the DUT, the controller will also be able to control through the resonances better than when the turbine blade is affected by mass-loading issues. | <urn:uuid:e7f07952-9ad7-40c2-9e5a-d259872fa283> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://vibrationresearch.com/resources/mass-loading-benefits-laser-vibrometer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00704.warc.gz | en | 0.933832 | 838 | 3 | 3 |
Ukraine is a large country in Eastern Europe known for its Orthodox churches, Black Sea coastline and forested mountains.
The name Ukraine is believed to originally mean “borderland” or “region”. In English ‘The Ukraine’ used to be the form used now it is just called ‘Ukraine‘.
Ukraine is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland and Slovakia to the west, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively.
The official language is Ukrainian.
As of 1 January 2016, the population of Ukraine was estimated to be 42,617,345 people.
Ukraine has an area of 603,628 square kilometers (233,062 square miles), which makes it the largest country with its entirety within Europe.
Kiev is the capital city of Ukraine, bisected by the Dnieper River and known for its religious architecture, secular monuments and history museums.
The country consists almost entirely of level plains at an average elevation of 175 meters (574 feet) above sea level. It is surrounded by mountains to its west and extreme south.
Mount Hoverla at 2,061 meters (6,762 feet), is the highest mountain in Ukraine and part of the Carpathian Mountains.
The Ukraine coastline is 2,700 kilometers (1,678 miles) long and includes the northern and western shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
More than twenty thousand small lakes dot the Ukraine landscape, covering a total area of about 18,139 square kilometers (7,000 square miles).
The animal life of Ukraine is diverse, with about 350 species of birds, more than 100 species of mammals, and more than 200 species of fish. The most common predators are wolves, foxes, wildcats, and martens, while hoofed animals include deer, wild pigs, and sometimes elk and mouflons (a species of wild sheep).
The Carpathian National Natural Park is the first and the largest national park in Ukraine, created in 1980 to protect the unique natural riches of the Carpathian Mountains. The area of the park is 515.7 square kilometers (199.1 square miles)
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus’. The cathedral is one of the city’s best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with the Kiev Cave Monastery complex.
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051 the Lavra has been a preeminent center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe.The Kiev Pechersk Lavra contains numerous architectural monuments, ranging from bell towers to cathedrals to underground cave systems and to strong stone fortification walls.
The Saint Andrew’s Church, a masterpiece of rococo architecture in Kiev. It was designed for Empress Elizabeth I by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli and built under the direction of I. Michurin in 1747–53. Its site on the crest of the steep slope to the river makes it a striking landmark.
St Volodymyr’s Cathedral is a cathedral in the center of Kiev. It is one of the city’s major landmarks and the mother cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchy, one of two major Ukrainian Orthodox Churches.
The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans in Chernivtsi, Ukraine was built between the years 1864 – 1882 to the designs of the Czech architect, Josef Hlávka. The Residence, whose buildings are now part of Chernivtsi University, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
The shortest main street among all capitals in a world, and in the same time one of the widest and most beautiful is Khreschatyk street in Kyiv. It’s length is 1225 meters (4,019 feet).
Arsenalna Metro Station located in Kiev is the deepest in the world (at 105.5 meters (346 feet)). The station was built in 1960,very close to the House of Parliament. According to some reports, the tunnels near Arsenalnaya house secret shelters built specially for the political elite.
The oldest map known to scientists, as well as one of the most ancient settlement of Homo Sapiens were found in Ukraine, in the village of Mezhireche. They are 14.5 – 15 thousand years old. The map is cut out of the bones of a mammoth. The settlement is made of the same material.
The oldest oak tree of Ukraine is 1300 years old, is Yuzefin hole, Rivne region. Its diameter is 7.9 (26 feet) meters, the height is 20 meters (65 feet).
The official Guinness world record: Ukrainians made the world’s largest glass of Champagne – 56.25 liters (14.86 gallons).
The first frame hive was invented in Ukraine in 1814 by Petro Prokopovych. During last years Ukraine surely takes a place in the three worlds leaders in honey producing. Ukraine leaves behind European countries in honey producing and, at the same time, is the first in the world in honey producing per capita (1,5 kilograms (3,3 pounds))
Ukrainian cuisine is very much a part of the population’s culture, lifestyle and customs. Well-known for its great diversity and amazing flavors, Ukrainian cuisine has had a number of influences including Russian, Polish, German and Turkish. Popular ingredients in the cuisine of Ukraine are meat, mushrooms, vegetables, berries, fruit and herbs. As Ukrainians are extremely hospitable their meals are served in very generous quantities. Borsch is the national dish, and has become known worldwide.
Ukraine is tech-savvy. They’ve got the 4th largest number of IT professionals in the world, behind the US, India, and Russia.
The world’s worst nuclear power plant accident, the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster, took place in the now abandoned Ukrainian town of Pripyat.
The Ukraine currency is called the Hryvnia.
A Ukrainian powerlifter, Dmytro Khaladzhi holds 63 Guinness World Records. | <urn:uuid:6648c123-e0bc-481d-8aee-e1b061377e07> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | http://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-ukraine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446711126.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20221207021130-20221207051130-00262.warc.gz | en | 0.946303 | 1,357 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Ancient wildfires played a crucial role in the formation and spread of grasslands like those that now cover large parts of the Earth, according to a study.
The study, published in the journal PNAS, links a large rise in wildfires nearly 10 million years ago with a major shift in vegetation on land.
Frequent, seasonal fires helped turn forested areas into open landscapes, and drove the expansion of grasslands, they said.
The researchers developed an innovative approach to test the role of fire in the rise of early grasslands.
They analysed tracers of ancient leaves and of burned organic matter left behind in paleosols, or fossil soils, in northern Pakistan.
"The tools we use are molecules and biomarkers produced by organisms in Earth history and preserved in rocks," said Allison Karp, a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University.
"We can use these as clues to figure out what was happening with climate and ecology in the past," said Karp.
The new technique has broad implications as a tool for scientists seeking to answer questions about past vegetation and climate change, the researcher said.
This shows that the tool can pinpoint the location of a fire where it occurred, according to Karp.
"In a paleosol record you are really capturing an integrated picture of what was happening when the soil was forming," she said.
"This is one of the biggest ecological changes in the last 66 million years," said Karp.
"None of the open grassland systems we have today existed before this transition. It was a very different looking world, especially in sub-tropical places like Pakistan," she said.
Scientists have long studied the rise of C4 grasslands, named after plants that evolved a new way to handle photosynthesis that allows them to thrive in dry, tropical conditions and with lower amounts of carbon dioxide.
These plants include modern crops like corn and sugarcane.
A drop in global carbon dioxide levels was once believed to be behind the rise of C4 grasslands.
More recent research has shown that the grasses spread at different rates on different continents, indicating that regional factors, like rain patterns -- and potentially fire -- played important roles.
However, there had been little direct evidence that linked a rise in wildfires to this transition.
"We were interested in reconstructing fire and the expansion of grasslands in the same geologic record to see if we could find proxy evidence of the role fire played," Karp said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | <urn:uuid:cfde6c80-6308-4fb9-ab69-dd0c751bb129> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/fires-fuelled-spread-of-grasslands-on-earth-study-118112900391_1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247508363.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20190221193026-20190221215026-00167.warc.gz | en | 0.966725 | 527 | 4.21875 | 4 |
- slide 1 of 11
Profibus (from process field bus) is a protocol for field bus communication in automation technology. Profibus links automation systems and controllers with decentralized field devices such as sensors, actuators, and encoders. Profibus networks exchange data using a single bus cable.
- slide 2 of 11
Types of Profibus network
Two alternative versions of Profibus are generally used in automation: Profibus DP and Profibus PA. PA and DP contain the same protocols and both can be linked using a coupler device.
Profibus DP (Decentralized Peripherals) is normally used for data exchange with field devices like sensors and actuators through a programmable logic controller in production automation field applications.
Profibus PA (Process Automation) is used to interface measuring instruments through a process control system in process automation applications.
An early version of Profibus was Profibus FMS, for "Fieldbus Message Specification." Profibus FMS was intended to interface between Programmable Controllers and PLCs, sending complex data information between them.
- slide 3 of 11
The Profibus communication is specified in IEC 61158 and IEC 61784. These standards set out the details of how each device can communicate and describe data exchange safety.
- IEC 61158 (Digital data communications for measurement and control – Communication Layers.)
- IEC 61784-1 (Communication Profiles)
- IEC 61784-2 (Realtime Ethernet RTE)
- IEC 61784-3 (Safety Communication)
- IEC 61784-4 (Security)
- IEC 61784-5 (Installation)
- slide 4 of 11
Importance of Profibus Protocol in Industries
Many products like PLC, drives, and instruments manufacturers offer Profibus. The advantage is that for each application, one solution, the same inventory, and the same knowledge portion can be used. Profibus can interface with 12 Mbps, which is the fastest field bus in the automation world. The network works on the master-slave scheme in which a master passes the token with its slaves and then to next station in a closed system.
- slide 5 of 11
Profiles are pre-defined configurations of the functions available from Profibus for different devices and applications. The end user can interchange the same product from different vendors because of profile interoperability. Profiles are available for encoders, linear transducers, CNC machines, Drives, PLC, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), various digital instruments, etc.
- slide 6 of 11
The configuration and programming software package is required to set up a Profibus network.
Diagnostic trouble rectification includes process related responses, built-in diagnostics mechanisms to indicate troubles on SCADA or PLC, and a Profibus interfacing break-through cable itself. Continuous monitoring of Profibus communication can identify some of the critical problems before they lead to major production loss. The diagnostics from different devices are event-triggered and generate a recordable alarm report.
Generally an engineer needs two tools to rectify the errors in network: a bus analyzer to determine the protocol quality and an oscilloscope to confirm the signal quality of the data communication, e.g. short circuit, wire breaks, termination error, etc.
A short circuit in the Profibus cable will disconnect the data communication from the master. The instrument on that node will not be destroyed in this case. The short circuit and the distance to the trouble point can be detected with an oscilloscope.
Diagnostic Function Blocks
Function blocks are capable of diagnosing each slave device. The diagnostic information can be stored in a data block. This data block further can be displayed on a SCADA PC.
The repeater acts as a slave on the network and can interface diagnostics information to the master. This diagnostic data contains various fault types like Profibus cable break, conductor short circuit with the shield, terminator resistor break, nodes diagnostics, etc. The location and type of the fault on the cable can be identified in text and a graphical representation.
Power Cable Disturbance
Profibus interfacing can be disturbed by interference caused by a power cable laid near the Profibus cables. At least 10 cm air space between the Profibus and power cable should be maintained. Also proper shielding is important to prevent interference.
- slide 7 of 11
Important Parameter Check List During Commissioning of a Profibus Network
- Profibus wire polarity (A=green, B=red) should be correct.
- Ensure maximum 32 devices or less per segment.
- Avoid branch lines.
- Use only Profibus cable and connectors.
- Adequate baud rate is set with respect to cable length.
- Ensure that the address of each node is defined correctly.
- Protect the cable from short circuit and breaks.
- In case of higher transmission speed, the minimum distance between two devices shall be at least one meter.
- Multiple Profibus cables laid inside the same metal conduit gives good behavior when EMC is involved.
- One slave device can’t have two masters.
- slide 9 of 11
Pin configuration on the DB9 connector
- Pin 3= red colored B line Data+ (input/output)
- Pin 8= green colored A line Data- (input/output)
- The metal casing of the connector= shield
Profibus DP to Serial Gateway
A serial gateway allows the user to communicate with any serial device with a Profibus network. It can support RS232, RS422, and RS485 serial formats without any modification in hardware.
- slide 10 of 11
Meaning of “GSD" File
GSD stands for “General Station Description." The manufacturer of the devices is responsible for providing the GSD file, which describes the Profibus functionality of the device. During hardware configuration, the GSD file is required in order to have the device recognized by the controller. Integration of a new device in a configuration is done by importing a GSD file and synchronizing the address of the device.
DP Slaves in a Network
A total of 124 DP slaves can be configured for data exchange.
Each device on a Profibus network shall be assigned by address. For specifying the address, most devices have either rotary switches (decimal or hexadecimal) or DIP switches. Also a configuration tool is used for some devices to set the address.
If a slave device fails and needs replacement with the same type, the master recognizes the replaced device and with the same Profibus address.
1.5 Mbps is widely used default transmission speed. For long length cables speed should be lower to minimize the disturbances.
Profibus cable ends should be terminated to stop reflections (signal resonance on the cable). Two ends of each segment should be isolated by active termination. Normally a Profibus connector comes with a built-in switch that can terminate the end.
- slide 11 of 11
NetTest Analysis Tool
To detect errors in Profibus DP segments, the NetTest analysis tool is widely used for line analysis. It provides information on short circuits, cable breaks, shield damage, termination mistakes, termination activated mistakes, baud rate, active node list, signal quality of slaves, etc.
A “NetTEST II" handheld diagnostic device is also available in the market. | <urn:uuid:56a852c6-d70a-443b-b26b-fc2dbc8d2a7a> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://www.brighthubengineering.com/consumer-appliances-electronics/125704-profibus-protocol-in-plc-and-automation-technology/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647777.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20180322053608-20180322073608-00056.warc.gz | en | 0.852713 | 1,538 | 2.53125 | 3 |
On opposite sides of North America, house mice have strikingly similar adaptations to cold climates, and have independently evolved changes to genes that drive their similar behaviours and hardiness.
House mice (Mus musculus domesticus) are native to Western Europe but have spread across the world thanks to their close association with humans. They arrived in the Americas more than 200 years ago and have since expanded into climates quite different from their original temperate home.
To find out how these mice have adapted to new environmental conditions, Michael Nachman at the University of California, Berkeley, and his team collected 50 mice from locations in western North America ranging from Arizona in the US north to Alberta, Canada. The team analysed DNA from these wild mice and kept some to breed lab populations, comparing the western mice with those from a previous study on mice from eastern North America, ranging from Florida to New York.
The mice were most closely related to those that shared their side of the continent, suggesting that mice in western and eastern North America had moved north independently after an initial spreading along a southern route, says Nachman.
Yet the lab-reared mice from Alberta and New York were physically similar: both were bigger than southern mice and made larger nests, discouraging heat loss and providing insulation, respectively.
Nachman was surprised the nest style was so clearly genetically encoded after just a few hundred generations. “Even at room temperature in a comfy lab with plenty of water and constant temperature and plenty of food, the mice from Canada build a bigger nest than the mice from Arizona,” he says.
The western and eastern mice from cold climates shared changes in 16 genes, many involved with the regulation of body temperature.
“This suggests that there’s some predictability to evolution, that some of the same genes have changed in parallel to give rise to similar traits,” says Nachman.
But the mice also showed regional adaptations – such as fur colour and changes to hydration regulation genes – which may be due to differences in soil colour and rainfall between west and east.
It is quite rare to be able to identify possible environmental features that explain divergent genetic changes like those seen in these mice, says Kalina Davies at Queen Mary University of London.
Going forward, Nachman wants to see if the same physical and genetic patterns occur in mice spanning the length of South America.
Journal reference: PLOS Genetics, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009495
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More on these topics: | <urn:uuid:f2a9c514-8c6a-4fad-abaf-ea0768e7aeef> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://zephr.newscientist.com/article/2276306-mice-on-opposite-north-american-coasts-evolved-the-same-way/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499646.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20230128153513-20230128183513-00436.warc.gz | en | 0.953854 | 548 | 4.125 | 4 |
It takes creativity and attention to details to come up with a perfect box. For measurements to accurately correspond to the inner dimensions of the box, exact measurements must be adhered to. This is carefully done to ensure your products are well protected and fit to move around. Understanding the types of products is vital. For packaging purposes, length, width and depth must be precisely determined. Calculating the dimensions of the box is critical to avoid them facing wrong direction when measuring, or clients getting boxes having a completely different sizes than the actual measurements. Numbers should be well outlined to avoid any packaging confusion that might arise. Quality boxes measurements refer to the internal dimensions not the external dimensions. Internal and external dimensions can differ greatly depending on the box. Durable boxes are made from corrugated board that has a liner both inside and outside fluting. Maximum strength of the box depends on the size of the fluting and weight of paper used. Smaller fluting means the box will be rigid whereas, larger fluting provides a better protection for products during packaging. Corrugated boxes come in a wide varieties of shapes, styles and sizes. From square, triangular, round, rectangular, flat and tall boxes just to mention a few. All these types are measured by length, width or depth/height to avoid throwing off the desired box size. It is important to put into consideration the volume of the box to ensure a food fit. Length is the measure of the side of the box or how long the box is. This is the dimension that is always the longest. Width is the length from left to right or how broad the box will be. Its the shortest dimension of the box. Depth/height this is the length from front to back or how high the box will be. Volume is simply the measure of how big the box is in three dimensions or how much room the box will be inside. Procedure for measurement: Rectangular box dimensions. To make a flawless box, length, width and depth should match correctly. They are then multiplied to get the volume of the box. For instance; formula volume (V) = length (L) X width (W) X height (H) is often used to precisely calculate the box dimensions of corrugated box. Measure the length (L), this is the longest side of the box indicating the inches or preferred measurement units. Proceed to measure the width (W), this being the other edge next to the box making sure to use the same measurements. Finally, take down the measurement of the height (H) of the box normally the distance from top of the box to the ground. The next crucial stage is finding the total volume of the box by multiplying all the three sides of the box using the units obtained. Volume of the box must be in the units used for example in our case inches. Clearly understanding the final volume measurements of the box helps us know how many cubes will fit exactly in the box. Example: If the box has a length of 4 feet, width 2 feet and a height of 3 feet we calculate the measurements as follows: Volume of the box =length (l) X width (w) X height (h) Volume= 4ft x 2ft x 3ft. Volume= 24ft cubed. This means that the box can comfortably accommodate 24 cubes while carrying out the packaging.
Square has all the same dimensions and proves easy to assemble. To achieve the desired volume of the square box we multiply all the three sides to arrive at the volume. Measure all the sides of the square to get the units correct. This is safely done using the formula Volume(V)= side times side times side. Example: Lets assume the dimensions of our square in this case is 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet: Volume of the box = 3 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet Volume of the box will be= 27ft cubed. Meaning our final box will be able to take in 27 small cubes.
In simple terms, cylindrical boxes have bottom and top circles. To find the volume of the cylindrical box, we apply the formula Volume of cylindrical box = pi by radius squared by height. Where pi equals 3.14, r indicates the radius of the of top circle and h the height of the cylindrical box. Additionally, we also find the pyramid with a circle for the bottom part. To find the total volume of our cylindrical box we multiply the above volume by 1/3. Hence our volume will be: Volume: 1/3 ( pi x radius squared by height). Example: Lets say our height is 6 feet, length is 14 feet and width is 14 feet. We calculate the volume of the cylindrical box as follow: Volume= length(l) by width(w) by height(h)./ 3 Volume= 6 x 14 x 14/3 Volume= 392 feet squared. This suggests that our cylindrical box is capable of carrying a maximum of 392 smaller cubes.
Box with this advanced shape has one side or base with all the other sides coming to a point. To find the total volume of our pyramid-shaped box, we proceed as follows. We multiply the base area by height and then multiplying the results by the fraction of 1/3. The area of the base is calculated by multiplying the length of the base by width. Thus, Volume of pyramid-shaped box= 1/3( base by height) Conclusion Boxes are available for lightweight, fragile and heavy storage. They are also available in standard duty wall to heavy duty making them the best value option for products package. Boxes are eco-friendly and very affordable. Quality and durability is unmatched. | <urn:uuid:71f6857d-3c7c-478e-88bd-28e28c92d973> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://www.gostickers.us/blog/difference-between-decal-and-sticker/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662517485.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20220517130706-20220517160706-00280.warc.gz | en | 0.916682 | 1,151 | 3.046875 | 3 |
A study on the revolutionary and political role of clans in Eastern Syria, before and during the Syrian Revolution. Focus will be on the following issues:
- The concept of clan and its social and political role
- Role of clan in the peaceful mobility
- Role of clans in the military episode of the Syrian Revolution
- Effect of civil society on the tribal culture
- Clan torn between law and tribal conventions
- Future role of clans
The eastern region of Syria, which includes many governorates such as Der Al- Zour, Al-Raqa and Al- Hasaka, is considered to be one of the rich pieces of Syrian land regarding irrigated water and rain-fed agriculture especially growing field’s crops like cotton, corn, wheat and barley, and rearing animals and stockbreeding. So, this area takes advantage of Euphrates and Khabur rivers; with a little interest regarding Tigris river that pervades the area near Al-Malekia. As for Al-Khabur river, it rises in Ra’as Al-Een, which is situated at the Syrian-Turkish border, and it pours in Euphrates, particularly at Al-Busaira in Der Al-Zour. However, its water basin has been subjected to a harsh overuse; that is the reason why it has not sprung any more. The eastern region is classified as the richest area in the country in oil and gas because the majority of these resources’ wells are found over there.
As for its size, the eastern region of Syria is about 76.1 thousand kilometers; thus, it forms totally 41.1 percent out of the total size of Syria, and this area is inhabited by 4 million citizens; which means that its population forms 17.1 percent out of the whole population of Syria.
The eastern region is characterized by being tribal communities, regarding its people, coexisting with each other over the deep course of time. These tribes, particularly the Arabian ones, have got regional echoes and extention which involve their historical residential areas that were submitted to division as a result of Sikes-Picot Accords.
Whenever we want to define the concept of “clan”, we can say that it is ” a group of people who gather because they are relatives, or they gather because they share an actual or supposed ancestor even if that ancestor’s relation was not detailed enough to be known”. The members of the tribe might recognize the founding member or the primitive ancestor, and those considerations might be built on symbolic relation; since the tribe shares a certain ancestor who is deemed as a symbol for the uniformity of the tribe.
To understand the structure of tribe or clan, we need to shed light on the development of the human communities throughout the patterns of their agricultural and nomadic production. These two patterns unify the human crowds who belong to one single origin within a social style saving their ancestors’ attributions and their economic interests, as much as, it provides for them protection in case of danger.
To make it clearer and easy to understand, it could be said that “The tribe captures a primitive image of the human crowd; and it, as a concept, is attributed to a group of people sharing either relatives’ links, or the so-called solo- origin set. These two illustrations are usually linked into their individuals belonging to the same rituals, their same ownership, submitting themselves with the communal cooperation and solidarity at many occasions like; celebrations, taking revenge against their enemies, and military unit which is represented by composing a compact tough military team.
A tribe is smaller than a clan, in terms of numbers and individuals, in which the latter usually consists of a group of tribes sharing ancestors and relatives. In other words, the tribe, which is the singular form of tribes, means certain persons who belong to one father or one grandfather.
It is mentioned in the Jame’h Al- Ma’any dictionary that the man’s tribe means the relatives who come from his father relatives and tribe closely. Moreover, the tribe is a small human community that shares one ownership and cooperates to take revenge against its enemies. however, it is of a little interest comparing with the tribe.
The Concept of Clan and Its Existence
The clans of the eastern region of Syria is considered to be the social mixture that captures the societies over there. Over the history of the region, particularly ever since the Ottoman rule, the successive governments made much effort, respectively, to find a certain relation with tribes and clans in order to spread their authority over tribes and clans and conduct collection of taxes.
As tribe and clan are important because they both constitute the frames of social organization for their individuals. So, they both create the personal faithfulness before the emergence of the national state, so to speak. Throughout those periods of time, a person has always admitted his Shammi (Damascus) or Hijazi (Mecca) attributions, or he said that he came from Tay or Shummer tribes or any other Arabian one. So, this attribution is not only social one, yet it is declaring for a political identity that is derived from those human communities. Throughout the Ottoman rule over the Arabian Orient, the tribe kept strict relationships with the civic centers of the Ottoman authority and it kept its relationships with its supporters in the countryside too.
Principally, the clan’s economic production paradigm standardizes its presence at one place. So, it could be assumed that a human group who are characterized by being relatives socially inhabits in one area only for the sake of protection. Also, that human group is organized by an economic and dynamic axis which is linked either by stockbreeding which relies on looking after pastoral land that is called nomadic code, or the agricultural production that conducts all the nomads’ relationships. That is to say, the land becomes distributed among the clan’s and tribe’s individuals, as much as, there is a person who regulates the relation inside this social composition. besides, a family out of the tribe’s or clan’s families occupies the leadership position in this tiny community in accordance with formulation of the dominant social scale towards each and every person of them. A clan is a human group that is constituted by the relation which is built on blood tie descended from a primitive grandfather. The clan is composed of several families who settle usually in one home embracing them all. Moreover, those families have got one accent, culture, habits and traditions. The clans of eastern region of Syria exist in Deir Ezor, Hasakeh and Al-Raqqa near the banks of Euphrates, Al-Khabur, Tigris and rainy areas.
The main clans of Deir Ezor are composed of Al-Ekedat Clan, which involves a huge mixture of cooperated tribes, Al-Bakkarh tribe, Al-Busaraya clans and other clans inhabit in cities’ centers. The majority of Al-Ekedat clans inhabits in Euphrates’ banks to east of Deir Ezor towards Iraqi border. As for Al-Bakkarh, it exists in series of villages located in the left bank of Euphrates up to west of Deir Ezor.
In Hasaka, there are many tribes; such as, Tay and Shammar and some clans of Al-Bakkarh and Al-Ekedat. Whereas the majority of Kurdish clans settles in the border strip next to Turkey starting from Al-Malkia “Deryek”. In Al-Raqqa, Al-Bushaban Al-Zubeidia is the main clan from which most of the Arabic tribes in Al-Raqqa come from. These clans formalize the utmost majority of people who settle in Al-Raqqa. As we have mentioned earlier. These clans’ presence is systemized either by economic production which captures the dearly nomadic mode, or the agricultural production as it was later adopted.
Pre-revolutionary Tribalism; politically and socially
The conditions of the clan’s manner or position in the eastern region of Syria could be understood throughout the comprehension of the political, economic and social development in the country. It can never ever neglect the impact of such a change in the tribe and the clan structure; concerning the tribes’ communities and the nomadic ones in this pivotal region. So, after the French invasion of Syria in 1920, a clan fragmentation occurred and this incident was accompanied with a decreasing role of the biggest clan and increasing the role of tribes and sheikhs who had been less influential.
Thus, we are able to figure out the relationship between the clan’s and tribe’s manner, and the extent of political, economic and social development. Whenever the economic structures advance and so their productive styles do, there will be political powers that air the new economic dimensions, to some extent. Then, this advanced movement will pervade the social structures already existing in the society. So, when the industrial and agricultural production grew in the country, the social structures that indulged in the process of production was under the effect of that development in the industrial and agricultural fields. Consequently, all of these structures have been changed and their coordinating relations have been modified.
Before the independence in 1946, clans were the systematic political frame of the social structure in the eastern region and the clan’s individuals considered that their political identity is the identity of their clans. After the independence and formulation of political parties, the role of clans was weakened, politically, in favor of these structures (represented by political parties). Hence, the political ideologies passed over the social structures provided by a double drug of education; besides, one can easily see different political visions and several political attributions within the same clan. After that, when Hafez Al-Assad came to power in 1970, he re-put the highest consideration of the tribal standards regarding the tribal leaders. As a result, many tribal individuals who immigrated to Iraq and Saudi Arabia were being re-settled in their original country, Syria, and were being granted high positions in the state and the Syrian parliament. So, Hafez Al-Assad re-coordinated with tribes after they had been fought by the national governments after the independence and the early years of Al-Ba’ath party’s government.
The relationship between the clans’ leaders in the eastern region of Syria and the regime during presidency of Hafez Al-Assad was built on awarding those leaders positions in the state and, facilitations and many privileges. Simultaneously, the system of the regime supported powers within these clans in order to create a particular political relationship decreasing the role of clans’ leadership through an indirect way and putting their authority under risk in case of necessity. So, the political tyranny in Syria and the regime of one single party weakened the clan’s political role, so that the clans lost their previous impact as much as they have, conversely, looked like the pivotal basis supporting the structure of the current political regime. Having said that, those who refused to capture or play this role in favor of government got satisfied with the political silence; yet they still played a certain role in the economic and social activity within clans. This unsteady progression in the structure of clans that resulting from the political and economic developments made the clan’s individuals realize the state’s power and its political authority in comparison with the clan’s weakness and its political downturn.
The tribal system has not, then, been fit and untied enough as a result of spreading the knowledge within its spheres as much as the plenty of mental capabilities in each and every clan. Moreover, the clan’s region has been under the urban impact, and the region has been globalized with human variety, the presence of the current strong state which is governed by both of the constitution and the law of the clan’s mentality. In short, the civic traditions and the new relevance have been placed instead of those other old ones.
Yet, a few relationships were kept between the clans’ and tribes’ leadership and the political authority. Such relationships preserved for those leaders, to some extent, their social role within their clans or tribes. This status is clarified; for example, in the tongue of Al-Bou Faraj clan’s sheikh, who descended from Al-Ekedat tribe, saying that the relationship between the authority and the tribe in Syria before the Syrian uprising in 2011 was a very good one; nevertheless, even when the clans’ sheikhs’ positions missed their interest; so to speak, the state kept the clan’s sheikh’s dignity and his presence, too.
Having discussed the political changes in the country over one hundred year, it could be said that the political and social status of clans became of a little interest to play a primary political role. And this clan-based status had got, still, a little social influence compared with its influence before. At any rate, the clan has got, currently, expressed any same political vision for its individuals. Hence, this uncertain vision is captured by the changeable political and economic profits for the individuals who belong to the clan, who have never linked with the previous two paradigms of production (the agricultural production and the nomadic lifestyle). Consequently, as long as the profits change, attitudes and loyalties change.
The Clan-based Role in the Peaceful Mobility
The peaceful movement in the eastern region was more activated by political elites than clan- based political activity, therefore city centers in the eastern region were the arena of the political movement in the uprising in 2011. The peaceful mobility in the eastern region was captured with particular demands addressing the issues of releasing political freedom and ceasing all discrimination formula; whether it is political or non-political discrimination. Yet, this movement was remote enough to be outside the villages and rural towns which did not engage in the movement’s mechanism. So, the peaceful protests were the way with which the powers which guided these protests airing their manifestations. Reactively, the regime resorted to activating the role of clans’ sheikhs in order to confront this movement in an attempt to prevent these clans’ engagement in the current uprising. However, Assad’s Regime, over decades ago and within its totalitarian concepts across the two phases of the first and the second Al-Assad (Hafez and Bashar), seemed to forget about its policy which aimed to destroy and shatter the social and political role of the Syrian tribes and clans; and it also prevented the tribes and clans from expressing their own tribal privacy. Apart from that, it finalized the social leadership of the Arabian clans and melted the latter into the frame security-related subordination.
Given that the peaceful movement is civil one characterized with having much national nature than clan-based structure, we find, clearly, the peaceful movement in cities’ centers of the eastern region much more than these cities’ countryside or towns which still belong to clan-based structure, largely, without political identity. As a result of the uprising of 2011, the Syrian regime has lost its own control over a huge eastern part of Syria; the part that is inhabited, principally, by the tribes. Such a loss has resulted from the regime’s dependence on weak clan-based leaderships among their environment. Besides, those leaderships could not represent their clans in terms of political respect since they linked their private interests (familial and personal) with the regime’s dimension instead of linking them with their clans’ own interests. Thus, it could be said that the time with which the tribe’s sheikhs had the ability to conclude the convention with external powers on behalf of each and every person of his tribe evaporated and vanished, so to speak.
The Clan-based role in the Military Stage of the Revolution
The clan-based impulses in the eastern region towards arming and constituting their own squads could be understood in terms of self- defense because of the withdrawal of the ruling regime which became a military target for the uprising. The conflict with the regime woke up the clan-based communities to care for their own safety and security-related necessity. That is the reason why the clans focused on the necessity of protecting for their local communities. Thus, several military brigades and squads have been created in most of the eastern areas aiming to defend their areas depending on the support received from the regional powers. Moreover, these regional powers have rushed out to support these brigades and squads for those powers’ own goals. The external powers have done their best to polarize the tribal support to achieve their political and military aims since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in 2011. So, these powers have allied with the sheikhs of tribes and have invested the tribal entity to compose fighting units. Furthermore, the fragmentations of clans’ loyalties and their little interests in the eastern region have led to a total absence of the united military action to submit the oil wealth, particularly in Deir Ezor, under the clan’s authority. The militarism of clan captures a kind of defense of economic interests, especially those interests that relate to oil wealth in the region.
The clans, that have been structurally ruptured throughout their history, did not do any further serious steps for constituting a local army in both Al-Raqqa and Deir Ezor governorates to replace the regime’s army which had already withdrawn from these two governorates. Hence, the clan-based military brigades became so frail target and easy prey for much organized military powers whose aims seemed to be much clearer and accurate just like Islamic State in Iraq and Sham, ISIS, or “Daa’ash”. Meanwhile, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Hasaka managed to found its military arm which was not, from the very beginning, founded or submitted to clan-based basis.
A number of parties and entities involved in the Syrian conflict; including Assad Regime, extremist Islamic groups, Kurds and regional powers, have tried to merge the clans’ leaderships with those parties’ political agenda assuming that the clans would follow their sheikhs and leaderships. Yet, these parties seemed to forget that these sheikhs have not, currently, owned any kind of authority which was once theirs. The current conflict has shown that the clans changed their compass towards their own private stuff and interests; that is the reason why their entity was weakened or decomposed.
Thus, the clan has not got any one single decision since the visions and considerations inside the clan’s spheres varied and contrasted as a result of the political and regional interferences utilizing their agenda and interests. Therefore, those interjected sides have got followers and supporters at most of the clans. Then, after the stage of the Free Syrian Army, Al-Nusra Front or “Jabhet Al-Nusra”, which is descended from the internationally well-known, Al-Qaida Body, has controlled over a wide range of the countryside’s squads in the eastern region. When “ISIS” appeared in the region, fought against Al-Nusra Front and what were left over of the Free Syrian Army. So, the majority of the countryside’s squads realized that they were obliged to withdraw from the region or pledge allegiance to ISIS and admit its authority over them all.
This This change of allegiance shows the actual belonging to the private limited interests, that are, extremely pre-national ones, that largely pervade the Syrian countryside, particularly the eastern one. Actually, those private limited interests led to the destruction of the primitive tribal background and basis, and divided the latter into smaller entities; and, then, caused dichotomies inside these entities using the political and economic discriminations in order to decompose the primitive tribal basis. Such a situation provided a plenty of interchangeable loyalties in favor of different powers whose political agendas are paradoxical. As for this case, one can say that the clan, which is considered to be social, political, economic, and pre-national ingredient, missed its political and economic role throughout many phases. Also, its social standard has been recently, still, fought with dissociation and erode that coincided with creating vanguards of a new civil society.
The clans’ changeable loyalty among Al-Nusra Front, “ISIS” and “Kassad” have shown that this loyalty is circumscribed by achieving certain conditions. For example, firstly, the politically controlling entity should accept leaving a few profits and interests for these clans. Secondly, there should be common and shared points between the two sides serve them both; even if that service is at its lowest level. However, this changeable loyalty is governed by national horizon; and it shows internal rupture in such a basis which was once reliable social principle in the periods of pre-national state in 1946.
The effect of civil society and its culture on the tribal culture
The origin of Syrian civil society with its modern form is not new or Independence-borne and developments that came after. At the end of the Othman Empire, Syrian civil political, social and cultural societies appeared in the Syrian society. The following is list of these societies that emerged before 1908:
- Syrian Scientific Society which was founded in Beirut in 1847.
- Beirut Secret Society which later gave birth to the Arab Nationalists Movement. This society was founded in 1875. Most of its members are graduates of American University in Beirut.
- Damascus Conference in 1877 which called for independence of Syria from the Othman Empire
- “Preservation of the rights of the Arab Nation” is a society which was founded in 1881 with an Arabic credo.
- Damascus Charity Society. It is an Islamic charity society that worked in politics. It was founded by Taher Al Jaza’eri end of the 19th century.
- Arab-Othman Fraternity Society
- Literary Forum which was founded in 1909
Independent social commissions and societies can be considered as a means for serving its members. They used to be some kind of cooperative and charity institutions or civil societies like syndicates, literary clubs, etc. A civil society is based on the people having different economic lifestyles. It has a deep root in the concept of citizenship, unified constitution and unified law. Social expressions are usually formulated on the basis of a constitution that allows the establishment of such societies like political parties, syndicates, cultural, scientific and social societies interested in children, women and the young. Such social expressions are usually exploited in a way that serves the political system in stead of serving the basic objectives of these societies.
Using their cultural structure, Civil societies usually invade different social structures that are less developed like the tribal structures. These societies affect the existing culture and push members of these traditional structures to get involved in a larger and more national commissions which have got a wider base. These new-born commissions are protected by the national law. The relationship that connects the individual to his/her tribe or clan retreats in the face of his or her relationship with larger national entities which are more capable of meeting his or her increasing needs. We are in front of an economic change that leads to change in the political, social and culture structures. This makes the tribal allegiance retreat as civil societies develop. To make this clearer, we can say that civil society in Syria started as an influential power with the advent of civil demonstrations and protests like what happened in Al Maydeen whether in an organized way or a random one.
Prevalence of Law and Tribal Conventions
The complete formation of citizenship state depends on building all its social, political and economic pillars on the basis of one integrated law that regulates its existence. Such law constitutes a common basis that composes all the components of the state including tribal historic composition. Prevalence of law can be defined as a principle of governance where all citizens, institutions, public and private entities and sectors, including the state itself, are held accountable by virtue of law which is publicly issued, enacted and respected by all individuals and public entities. All stakeholders refer to an independent judicial system, and they accord with international rules and standards of human rights. When the law is whole, comprehensive and public, all other previous private and local conventions retreat. This includes tribal and sectarian loyalties or any other pre-state conventions.
Prevalence of law is a constitutional principle. This entails that no existing public authority can rule or act the law without having written laws made according to constitutional procedures that comply with the constitution of the country. The aim of these limitations is to anticipate any arbitrary judgements that are individually determined. On the contrary, tribal conventions are principles that are agreed by members of the same clan and other clans including habits, conventions and traditions they are used to in their everyday life. Such conventions are considered to be the reference for all members of the clan. They consider these conventions as the principal credo that they depend on for solving their problems, help their dreams come true and settle their disputes through reconciliation, arbitration or conventional litigation.
Tribal convention is a verbal law memorized by nominated tribal judges who are committed to conventions of the clan to solve disputes and conflicts of all the clans and tribes living in the governorate. As a result of the development of the society and the empowerment of authority of the central government and its domination of the economic, social and political aspects of life, and the existence of a set of laws to which all citizens are subjugated, tribal conventions retreat and the tribal structure is dismantled. Its role is nearly obliterated. This allows the general, but not ultimate domination of laws. Tribal conventions are still vigorous in some cases whose judicial procedures are deemed to be prolongated and take long time for members of the clan, so they resort to tribal conventions which they all agree on.
Clans of the Eastern Area and their Future Role
No political authority whatsoever can obliterate the role of a historical component of the Syrian society. The Eastern area of Syria is an assembly of clans. The sustainability of tribal concepts in this area has caused an economic, social and political negligence on part of the central government. Hafez Assad played a role in reinforcing competition and dichotomy within each clan to weaken the authority of Head of the clan. Hafez Assad didn’t want to obliterate this major component of the Syrian society. Instead, he wanted to make the best use of these clans for the sake of domination of this major social component.
If war stops and peace prevails, the eastern area of Syria needs persistent efforts to heal up war-associated wounds, and anticipate any internal conflicts. Clans are considered a safety valve for the peace process and political transition. This doesn’t mean the reproduction of these tribes and clans as an inevitable historical necessity. Society should smoothly move from tribal protection towards the protection of law, and tribal culture should be substituted with a unifying national culture. Allegiance should change from tribe to homeland in which all citizens are equal under the umbrella of national constitution and laws.
For the sake of this evolution in an environment of stability, new ties will be enhanced in the new civil society; societies for women, the young and laborers. This should be accompanied with the retreat of tribal thought in favor of national political thought with all its different political programs and ideologies. This is what happened after the independence of Syria in 1946 before Al Ba’ath Party took over and started a new era of tyranny and the rule of one party which inhibited any diversity of thought and political trends. Al Ba’ath Party crushed any attempt to terminate its permanent rule. This made all components of the Syrian society pre-nationalistic in the form of tribes and clans, and favored limited interests at the expense of public interests.
The upcoming stage will be time for Syrian civil society where all components melt in a national crucible as a result of the development of life with all its aspects including the tribal one.
Copyright © 2019 The Middle East and North Africa Media Monitor. | <urn:uuid:bb77b9cd-a571-44b5-9131-5c7973486962> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://mena-studies.org/clans-of-eastern-syria/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710890.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20221202014312-20221202044312-00790.warc.gz | en | 0.966299 | 5,737 | 3 | 3 |
High school transcript studies have been conducted by NCES as part of the Longitudinal Studies Program and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript Studies (HSTS) program since 1982. Each transcript study is associated with a major NCES data collection. For example, the first NCES sponsored transcript study was associated with the High School and Beyond's (HS&B) first followup survey in 1982. The National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) 1992 second followup was associated with the 1992 transcript collection. A third transcript study associated with the longitudinal study series is being conducted for the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS:2002) in 2004/05. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has collected transcript data in 1987, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2005.
NCES high school transcript studies collect information that is contained on the student high school record—i.e., courses taken while attending secondary school; information on credits earned; year and term a specific course was taken; and, final grades. When available, information on class rank and standardized scores is also collected. Once collected, information (e.g., course name, credits earned, course grades) is transcribed and standardized (e.g., credits and credit hours standardized to a common metric) and can be linked back to the student's questionnaire or assessment data.
Transcripts include information that is considered to be the official and fixed record regarding student course taking behavior. It is considered to be more accurate than student self-report information and represents a record of courses taken by the student. This information can be used to examine course-taking patterns of students and to predict future education outcomes.
May 7, 2015:Digest of Education Statistics, 2013
December 31, 2013:Digest of Education Statistics, 2012
March 12, 2013:Algebra I and Geometry Curricula: Results from the 2005 High School Transcript Mathematics Curriculum Study
June 13, 2012:Digest of Education Statistics, 2011 | <urn:uuid:58786b10-cdf3-48c2-93de-58b7871e7b87> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/hst/index.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398450559.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205410-00170-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915057 | 414 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Many students seem to know how to solve a Min/ Max problem easily but do not understand. I hope this gives them some insights into Min/ Max problem.
Firstly, what is a Min/ Max problem? It is those differentiation questions that ask us for the largest area, smallest volume, minimum cost, etc. All of this falls under a simple idea of minimum or maximum problem.
Take the above question as an example. Here, we are trying to obtain the minimum external surface area. So most students should be able to say they will find an equation of area and then differentiate it, equate to zero and solve.
So how does this relate in real life?
Most products you see in supermarkets, are related to such a problem. We have a constraint usually, in this case volume. And we have factors we can vary, in this case, the dimensions which affects the surface area. We want to minimise it simply to cut costs. Other words, given this single constraint of volume, we find the dimensions of the box that gives the smallest surface area.
The equation of area we found is a graph and when we equate the first order derivative to zero, we are attempting to find stationary points which can be either maximum or minimum points here, that is, the minimum area or maximum area. Then we check with the second order derivative to show it is indeed a minimum area.
Some students do ask, but in reality, we would’ve more constraints like weight, etc. To learn more on this, you can read more on lagrangian function which allows us to consider even more constraints. This will require knowledge beyond A-levels.
Solutions to this questions can be found here. | <urn:uuid:368d87af-569e-4ed5-87dc-986f6e327620> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://theculture.sg/2015/08/understanding-a-level-differentiation-questions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593657129257.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20200711224142-20200712014142-00228.warc.gz | en | 0.933969 | 348 | 3.890625 | 4 |
Spending 20-Minutes in Nature Could Make You Less Stressed Out
Most people welcome spending time in nature and green space. After all, taking a few moments in the outdoors offers a much-needed break from the chaos of everyday life. And it can also lend positive physiological benefits, including lower stress levels, fewer symptoms of depression, and even a lower mortality rate.
Still, despite everything scientists know about the connection between nature and well-being, they still can't say with certainty how much time outdoors leads to improved mental and physical health.
A new study, published Thursday in Frontiers in Psychology, attempted to answer that question by asking participants to spend time in a place that "brings a sense of contact with nature" for at least 10 minutes per outing, three times per week, over the course of eight weeks. The researchers found that participants who immersed themselves in a "nature experience" for at least 20 minutes per outing experienced a significant decrease in their levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
The study's authors wrote that they envision ultimately developing a "nature prescription" — or "nature pill" — that health care providers can offer to their patients as a low-cost, preventive mental health treatment. (The "pill" is the time spent outside.)
This research is the first step toward that goal, says MaryCarol R. Hunter, the study's lead author and an associate professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan.
That's because the subject is tricky and expensive to study. Scientists don't yet know exactly which aspects of nature and green space — whether they're trees, grass, water, or plants — trigger the benefits of being outside. It's also difficult for them to design studies using the gold standard of a randomized clinical trial because neither scientists nor study participants are supposed to know which treatment or intervention the subject receives. In a study about exposure to nature, it's typically obvious to both the scientist and their subjects who's being sent to green spaces.
So Hunter and her colleagues tried an "adaptive management" approach instead. They let their 36 participants freely decide where, when, and how long they spent time in nature, provided they obeyed certain ground rules. They couldn't use phones or internet-connected devices to browse social media or the internet, and they couldn't make calls or read during their designated time outside. Their nature experience also couldn't include aerobic exercise. The researchers were collecting saliva samples that, in addition to cortisol, measured the hormone amylase, which can be influenced by physical activity.
"You could go sit next to one tree and just be with the tree, that could do it for you."
"They could pick any place they wanted," says Hunter, "but when they went to the place they actually had to feel some resonance to nature, feel connected to it. You could go sit next to one tree and just be with the tree, that could do it for you. The same person might go to a city park free of the noise of traffic."
Peter James, an assistant professor in the department of population medicine at Harvard Medical School who has studied the link between nature and well-being, says the study's approach highlights the trade-off of letting participants shape the intervention based on their own interests. While it makes the research more feasible, it becomes difficult to know whether they stayed outdoors longer because of a personal inclination, like because they were having a great time — or some other factor unknown to the researchers. It's also then hard to know the characteristics of the participants' nature experience.
"This is a consistent problem in the literature," says James. "What is a nature experience? Is it looking at trees, grass, going on a hike, walking in an urban park? It's one of the vexing problems in this area of research."
Hunter says that people's changing perception of nature is at the heart of this challenge. Venturing into a wilderness area might feel relaxing and restorative for one person, but terrifying for someone else, who'd much rather decompress in an urban park. Doctors who want to prescribe a nature experience to their patients shouldn't focus on a standard experience but rather encourage them to go where they feel most connected to the outdoors, Hunter says.
She also plans to release additional research based on the data collected in this study. In particular, Hunter wants to look at the self-reported information she gathered from participants about their mood, stress, and energy level to see if there's a correlation with the decrease in cortisol.
While intriguing, there are limitations to broadly generalizing the findings. The small sample consisted mainly of white women, all healthy, with a mean age of 46, who responded to an ad seeking people interested in spending more time outdoors in green spaces. That group doesn't reflect the population at large. Some research, however, does suggest that exposure to nature and green spaces has strong health benefits for low-income populations.
Hunter knows that 20 minutes in nature may be out of reach for many people. It might be difficult for them to reach green spaces or they can't commit to that much time. In her own personal experience with friends and family, Hunter has recommended just five minutes per outing to start. It's a number that seems manageable and can quickly turn into more time.
"To be practical," says Hunter, "it has to be something they can just do easily." | <urn:uuid:0d734ea0-b313-4e80-987a-eefa3f78b63b> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://in.mashable.com/social-good/2819/spending-20-minutes-in-nature-could-make-you-less-stressed-out | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371675859.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407054138-20200407084638-00440.warc.gz | en | 0.970255 | 1,106 | 3.25 | 3 |
Come Explore the Universe! See preview.
Activity presented in a table note organizer format with text and pictures. Very colorful! Great for scientific vocabulary practice and the development of scientific literacy. A perfect modified activity addressing a variety of learning abilities. Great for special education and inclusion classrooms.
3 versions of universe object size comparison – applicable to different ability levels.
Cut and paste, Smartboard, or Velcro and laminate activity that challenges many learners based on how the information is presented. The instructor decides the difficulty!
Also, perfect for homeschooling!
This has been used as a pre-class, lab/activity, study guide, review, and assessment. This is an effective teaching tool one on one, in small groups, and as a class when using a Smart Board/Promethean Board/Projection.
A guaranteed hit all around!
A great addition to your astronomy teaching library.
Within the classroom, this activity has been consistently very successful and acclaimed by students in grades 2nd – 7th within multiple types of schools - public, private, and charter.
Our goal is your satisfaction! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will promptly assist you. Your feedback is very valuable to us as we strive to produce the highest quality products possible.
*Activity designed, completed, and submitted at private residence/educational resource center*
Geo Leo and Meteo Mike
“The Tar Heel Tandem”
“Southern Science Specialists” | <urn:uuid:e499dd98-3b26-4670-8f13-3d7abefee358> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Universe-Outer-Space-Note-Organizer-Planets-Stars-Galaxies-and-a-Universe-1900806 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698542657.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170902-00414-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918065 | 315 | 3.265625 | 3 |
At this conference he presented a paper comparing scores and norm characteristics from the CogAT, NNAT, and Ravens. The name of the paper and abstract (italics added by me) is below. The focus was on the use of nonverbal measures of intelligence in the identifcation of gifted students. The results presented were a bit disconcerting regarding possible technical issues with the norms of two of the tests---I've featured Lowman's conclusion in the abstract below. Lohman's research raises significant issues re: the accuracy of gifted identification via the NNAT and Ravens. Of course, and appropriately so, Lohman made it clear that his findings and research needed to recognize his potential conflict of interest as author of the CogAT, a direct competitor to the other tests, esp. the NNAT. It is refreshing to see such scholarly integrity in person.
- Ethnic Differences on Fluid Reasoning Tests: Is the NNAT the Panacea? David F. Lohman, University of Iowa
- Abstract: Nonverbal, figural reasoning tests such as the Raven Progressive Matrices are often used as markers for Gf in research on intelligence. These tests are also widely used in schools to help identify academically gifted students. The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) has been particularly popular following a recent report that in a large, representative sample of U.S. school children, it was found to identify equal proportions of high-scoring White, Black, and Hispanic students. Although questions have been raised about the integrity of the data analyses used in this study, the author of the study continues to defend it as the most important research yet conducted with the NNAT. The goal of this investigation was to compare the NNAT with two other nonverbal assessments: the Raven Progressive Matrices and the Nonverbal Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). All three tests were administered by trained examiners in counterbalanced order to 1,200 children in grades K to 6 in an ethnically diverse school district. Results showed provided no support for the assertion that the NNAT reduced ethnic differences – either at the mean or at the tails of the distribution. Rather, ethnic differences were actually somewhat larger on the NNAT than on the other two tests. Furthermore, it was discovered that the variance of basic normative score on the NNAT (M = 100, SD = 15) substantially exceeded the reported value of 15 at all but one test level. Re-analyses of the standardization data for the NNAT confirmed this finding. A similar normative score on the Raven (computed from the most recent U.S. national norms) was 10 points too lenient. Consequences of invalid or outdated normative scores for research and practice are discussed.
The bottom line take-away: Buyer beware. Educators need to do their due diligence when evaluating and comparing psychometric instruments (group or individual) that impact important educational decisions regarding children.
[Conflict of interest disclosure - I'm a coauthor of the WJ III mentioned above, which is an instrument that competes with a different individually administered cognitive battery of the author of the NNAT, which was a focus of Lohman's presentation and paper]. | <urn:uuid:a7ff7585-c616-4fe1-8da3-99b7dec6977f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.iqscorner.com/2008/12/iq-isir-scholar-spotlight-david-lohman.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281492.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00085-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95599 | 657 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Part of the series Australian Signpost Maths (Third Edition) - Teacher's Books.
A longtime favourite with teachers, Australian Signpost Maths (Third Edition) now features resources to help you take maths learning into the digital age and meet the latest assessment requirements. Use the student activity book as your program foundation and add digital assets to move learning online.
Simplify planning with the teacher’s book one-page-per-lesson planning resource. The teacher's book provides ideas for classroom activities using print and digital resources. You can check curriculum coverage, and access teacher planning and recording documents.
- Complete year’s work with full coverage of the curriculum
- Curriculum links and descriptions for every lesson
- Reproduced Student Activity Book pages with answers
- Teaching suggestions, extension ideas, vocabulary lists, digital and print resources and evaluations for every lesson
- Extensive diagnostic assessment with answers
- Pedagogical background and suggested program
- Remediation records
- ID Cards to review the language of Mathematics
- Blackline masters and worksheets
|Product Type||Teacher Resources,|
|Author(s)||Alan McSeveny, Rachel McSeveny, Diane McSeveny-Foster, Alan Parker.|
Be The First To Review This Product!
Help other Teacher Superstore users shop smarter by writing reviews for products you have purchased. | <urn:uuid:9d763783-d912-4f4f-9733-fd39b2472b22> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.teachersuperstore.com.au/australian-signpost-maths-third-edition-teachers-book-f | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876307.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021093214-20201021123214-00549.warc.gz | en | 0.859398 | 287 | 2.609375 | 3 |
A girl is waving a white-red-white flag against the banners pasted by protesters on the base of the Lenin monument near the Government House. Minsk, August 16, 2020. On this day, the Freedom March took place in Minsk, which gathered, according to various estimates, about 200 thousand people. Photo: Olga Shukailo, TUT.BY
With an astonishing 80.23% of votes in the recent Belarusian presidential elections, the incumbent president – Alyaksandr Lukashenka – has once again secured a landslide victory over his opposition. His sixth consecutive victory, however, was met with mass protests in the capital, Minsk, over the falsifications and electoral fraud that have become apparent in the aftermath of these elections. Yet, despite a history of electoral fraud, Belarusians appear to have had enough of Lukashenka and his never-ending rule, mobilizing in numbers of up to 300,000.
As a response to the peaceful demonstrations, the government deployed riot police to disperse the protestors, using batons, stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets. Violent clashes ensued, and to-date over 12,000 protestors have been detained, five killed, and dozens more have gone missing. This inhumane use of force against peaceful demonstrators has often drawn parallels with Ukraine’s Euromaidan revolution, although whether such a comparison is justified is a different question in and of its own.
In order to answer this question, this article will attempt to explore the underlying structural assemblages that underpin both Belarus and Ukraine. In doing so, it will look at how national identification has served as a key mobilizing tool in Ukraine, while the relative unanimity over the question of national identity in Belarus, as well as Lukashenka’s monopoly over the national idea, has deprived his opposition of a crucial mobilizing resource. Finally, the article will conclude by looking at the protests themselves and assess their consequences for both Belarus and Ukraine.
The question of national identity in Belarus and Ukraine
For a very long time, Belarus and Ukraine shared a common past and culture.
Both formed parts of Kyivan Rus and were later absorbed into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They were incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century and became part of the Russian Empire in the 18th century. After a brief period of independence in the early 20th century, they became parts of the Soviet Union until gaining formal independence in 1991. However, due to belonging to different kingdoms and empires for the vast majority of their history, the formation of their national identities only took root after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
In Belarus, the communist establishment was always strong – the communist economic system worked, and it took the longest time for Belarus, out of any of the former Soviet republics, for Perestroika and Glasnost to take root.
This comes as no surprise, as it was during the Soviet era, in the 1950s-1970s when Belarus transformed from a predominantly peasant society into a modern, industrial society. It was also the Soviet era that provided Belarus with its national symbols and heroic national tales about partisan resistance under Nazi occupation. In fact, the image of “Partisans” as national heroes – popularised by the work of Vasil Bykaŭ – could be paralleled with the image of “Cossacks” in Ukraine.
In an independent Belarus, there was relative unanimity over the question of national identification, and after coming to power in 1994, Lukashenka used the widespread popularity of a Soviet-Belarusian national identity and manufactured a system around it –
Lukashenka solidified his rule by establishing a monopoly over this national identity and put himself and his apparatus at the center of it.
The logic then follows that anyone who votes against Lukashenka would vote against Belarusian independence and neutrality – one would essentially vote against Belarus.
A large part of Lukashenka’s opposition agrees with the basic tenets of his regime
This monopoly over the national idea deprived his opposition of a key mobilizing resource, because too radical of a change in national orientation, such as integration with the European Union or, to a lesser extent, integration with Russia, would not find majority support.
As a consequence, a large part of Lukashenka’s opposition agrees with the basic tenets of his regime: the fact that Belarus should remain independent, neutral, should not align itself with either Russia or the West and should uphold a unique Belarusian identity that is indebted to its Soviet past.
This, however, is not the case in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s polarised identity prevented the country’s leaders from establishing centralized authority with the likes of Lukashenka
In contrast to Belarus, this identity polarisation played a key role in denying Ukrainian leaders the opportunity to establish a centralized authority with the likes of Lukashenka.
The only president who came close was Leonid Kuchma. He consolidated eastern Ukrainian “centrists” – who supported an ambiguous position regarding Ukraine’s national orientation – and western “nationalists,” creating a basis for an autocratic state in the late 1990s. However, the release of tapes suggesting the president’s participation in the murder of a journalist and the widespread corruption linked to his regime alienated the West from Kuchma, forcing him to pursue closer ties with Russia.
This formulated the basis of the Orange Revolution which unseated Kuchma and his successor, Viktor Yanukovych, in 2004. Despite the protests initially being anti-corruption protests, they were also driven by support for a pro-European vision of a Ukrainian national identity.
As a consequence, a pro-Western national orientation served as a vital mobilizing tool – there was a sizeable proportion of the population that found a pro-Western orientation attractive and was able to mobilize against the incumbent power and foster change.
Therefore, it is possible to argue that national identification plays a crucial role in the ability of a leader to centralize power and the ability of the opposition to mobilize against such centralization.
The case of Euromaidan and the ongoing Belarusian demonstrations
The difference between the Ukrainian and Belarusian opposition in their ability to use national identity as a mobilizing force is part of the explanation why the 2006 and 2010 protests in Belarus were unable to achieve change, while mobilization in Ukraine in 2004 and the winter of 2013-14 led to the overthrow of the government. This begs the question of what is different about the ongoing Belarusian demonstrations from all previous ones and, in comparison to Ukraine, whether Belarusians are experiencing their own Euromaidan.
The Euromaidan protests that took place in Ukraine in the winter of 2013-14 followed a similar logic to the Orange Revolution, except the support for a pro-European national orientation was even higher in 2013-14 than it was in 2004.
As a result, apart from being an anti-establishment protest, Euromaidan had an underlying idea that was able to mobilize a large part of the population.
The failure of the Yanukovych government to sign the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement was a key factor in sparking the protests, initially mobilizing the youth that wanted a European future.
For the first couple of weeks the demonstrations were relatively peaceful, until the government decided to use excessive force to break up the protestors. This resulted in the demonstrations gaining traction as more people started standing in solidarity with the youth and, as a consequence, the protests adopted a hybrid nature.
Protests in Belarus
In comparison, in Belarus the vote for the main opposition candidate – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – and the subsequent Belarusian protests do not put into question Belarusian national identity – both are purely an anti-establishment reaction against Lukashenka’s rule.
When people voted for Tsikhanouskaya, they did not vote for her as a potential presidential candidate, they simply voted against Lukashenka. It did not matter who the opposition candidate was – be it an inexperienced housewife or someone else – as long as there was someone but Lukashenka to vote for.
As a consequence, her coalition garnered a hefty amount of support and a sizeable number of votes, which was more than the official 9.9% figure. However, after the publication of the fabricated results, the unprecedented dissonance between Lukashenka’s 80.23% and the amount number of people who actually voted for Tsikhanouskaya served as the initial spark that ignited the protests.
[qutoe float=left]The Belarusian protests can be understood as a separate struggle for dignity that caters to the unique circumstances of Belarus[/quote]Following the logic of the vote, the current protests are also purely anti-establishment in nature. There is no underlying pro-European idea behind them. They are protests of mass dissatisfaction and anger with Lukashenka and his system. What distinguishes these protests from previous ones is their scale and decentralised nature. After Lukashenka arrested the opposition leaders of the 2006 and 2010 demonstrations, the protests subsided because there was no one for the opposition to rally around. However, the current protests do not have a figure that can be arrested – they are guided by spontaneity.
Perhaps, the ongoing protests might have subsided after a week if left alone, as they did in 2006 and 2010, but what added fuel to the fire was the violent crackdowns by the government apparatus in the first week of the protests. The scale of the crackdowns highlighted the degree to which the apparatus does not care about the opinion of its citizens.
As a consequence, although the protests might not be comparable to Euromaidan because national identity was never the issue, in their own right, these protests can be understood as a separate struggle for dignity that caters to the unique circumstances of Belarus.
The consequences will be different
Overall, it is safe to conclude that the Belarusian protests offer a significantly different dynamic when compared to Ukraine’s Euromaidan, especially in terms of national identification. Given this difference, it is logical to assume that the consequences of these ongoing protests will also be different from Euromaidan, even though at this point nothing is certain.
- On the one hand, conservative estimates suggest that the protests will end in a month or so and the situation will stabilize with Lukashenka retaining power.
- On the other hand, the protests are credited with enough potential to overthrow the government, in which case this raises the question of a Russian response.
For instance, in the aftermath of Euromaidan, the Kremlin used the rift in Ukrainian national identity to seize Crimea and support a war in Donbas. However, since there is no identity polarisation in Belarus and Belarusians themselves have an amicable attitude towards Russia, a repetition of the consequences of Maidan is highly unlikely. Nevertheless, the Russian reaction is also dependent on the leader who might come to power and fill the void left by Lukashenka; and any alternative force that does come to power is free of Lukashenka’s track record of human rights abuses and has real potential for normalizing relations with the West. In this case, it is reasonable to assume that Moscow will not sit by idly as an unpredictable political force enters the arena.
Furthermore, given the decentralized nature of the protests, much of its outcome is dependent on the formation of a strong and organized opposition – perhaps within the framework of the Coordination Council for the Transfer of Power. Lastly, the willingness of Lukashenka to go towards dialogue should also be taken into account when looking at the consequences of the protests. Overall, many facets still remain uncertain, yet what is certain is that Belarus will no longer be the same.
Artem Kyzym is BSc at Vrije Universiteit Brussels
Tags: Anti-government protests in Belarus, Belarus, EuroMaidan, Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine (18–23 February 2014), Russia-Belarus relations, Russian neocolonialism | <urn:uuid:76d21fb4-aebb-42d7-b363-36b18151d66f> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://euromaidanpress.com/2020/11/19/the-belarus-protests-are-not-euromaidan-yet-a-separate-struggle-for-dignity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224653501.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20230607010703-20230607040703-00234.warc.gz | en | 0.963059 | 2,498 | 3.09375 | 3 |
It offers many useful features :
Create an extension using Cython — not an easy task. To do this, you need to create a collection of wrapper functions. Assuming the working code shown was compiled into a C library called libwork . The code below will create a file named
Code # 1:
In Cython, the above code will work as a C header file. The original cdef extern declaration from
work.h declares the required C header file. The following declarations are from header. The name of this file is —
cwork.pxd . The next target — create a file
work.pyx which will define wrappers that connect the Python interpreter to the underlying C code declared in
cwork.pxd . p >
Code # 2:
Code # 3: p>
Finally, to build an extension module, create a file
Code # 4:
Code # 5: Building the resulting module for experiments.
% python3 setup.py build_ext --inplace
cythoning work.pyx to work.c
gcc -fno-strict-aliasing -DNDEBUG -g -fwrapv -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes
/ usr / local / include / python3
. 3m -c work.c
gcc -bundle -undefined dynamic_lookup build
. macosx-10.6-x86_64-3.3 code >
- L. -lwork -o work.so
We now have a plugin
work.so code > Let`s see how it works.
Code # 6:
GCD: 4 Division: (4, 2) Average: 2.0 pt1: & lt; capsule object "Point" at 0x1005d1e70 & gt; pt2: & lt; capsule object "Point" at 0x1005d1ea0 & gt; Distance between the two points: 2.8284271247461903
At a high level, Cython usage is modeled after C. The .pxd files simply contain C definitions (similar to
.h ), and the
.pyx files contain the implementation (similar to the
.c file). The cimport statement is used by Cython to import definitions from the
.pxd file. This is different from using a regular Python import statement that would load a regular Python module.
A Problem-Solver’s Guide to Building Real-World Intelligent Systems. Data is the new oil and Machine Learning is a powerful concept and framework for making the best out of it. In this age of aut...
Introduction to Machine Learning with Python: A Guide for Data Scientists 1st Edition. Machine learning has become an integral part of many commercial applications and research projects, but this f...
Computer Age Statistical Inference: Algorithms, Evidence, and Data Science (Institute of Mathematical Statistics Monographs, Series Number 6). The twenty-first century has seen a breathtaking expan...
Scientific progress has increasingly become reliant on large-scale data collection and analysis methodologies. The same is true for the advanced use of computing in business, government, and other are... | <urn:uuid:3df5fabb-8c43-4803-88d1-259214c4f4e2> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://python.engineering/cython-to-wrap-existing-c-code/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585828.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20211023224247-20211024014247-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.809806 | 677 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The Roman Republic (Latin res publica; from res, "affairs," and publica, "public") lasted as a representative government from 509 B.C. until the end of the civil wars as defined by Julius Caesar's death in 44 B.C.
The city of Rome is located on the Tiber River very near the west coast of Italy. It was at the northernmost border of the territory in which the Latin language was spoken and at the southern edge of Etruria, the territory in which the Etruscan language was spoken.
The Romans observed two principles for their officials: annuality or the observation of a one year term and collegiality or the holding of the same office by at least two men at the same time. The supreme office of consul, for instance, was always held by two men together, who exercised a power of mutual veto over any actions by the other consul. If the Roman army took the field under the command of the two consuls they were to alternate days of command. Most other offices were held by more than two men - in the late Republic there were 8 praetors a year and 20 quaestors.
The dictators were an exception to annuality and collegiality, and the censors to annuality. In times of emergency (always military) a single dictator was elected for a term of 6 months to have sole command of the state. On a regular but not annual basis 2 censors were elected every five years but for a term of 18 months.
The Legion was the backbone of Roman power.
History of the Republic
The Foundation of the Republic - 509 B.C.
Livy's version of the establishment of the Republic the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (superbus, "the proud") had a thoroughly unpleasant son, Sextus Tarquinius, who raped a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia. Lucretia compelled her family to take action by gathering the men, telling them what happened, and killing herself. They then were compelled to avenge her, and led an uprising that drove the Tarquins out of Rome to take refuge in Etruria.
Lucretia's husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus and Lucius Junius Brutus were elected as the first two consuls, the chief officers of the new Republic. The Brutus who assasinated Julius Caesar was a descendent of the first Brutus.
The early consuls took over the roles of the king with the exception of his high priesthood in the worship of Jupiter Optimus Maximus at the huge temple on the Capitoline Hill. For that duty the Romans elected a Rex sacrorum or "king of holy things." Until the end of the Republic the accusation that a powerful man wanted to make himself king remained a career-shaking charge. Julius Caesar's assasins claimed after they acted that they were preserving Rome from the reestablishment of an explicit monarchy.
Patrician and Plebeian
The people of Rome were divided into patricians and plebeians. These words have taken on such different connotations of wealth and ordinariness in modern English that they must be examined in their Roman context. The two classes were ancestral and inherited. One's class was fixed by birth rather than by wealth, and though Patricians had in the early Republic monopolized all political offices and probably most of the wealth, there are always signs of wealthy plebeians in the historical record, and many patrician families had lost both wealth and any political influence by the later Republic. One could move from one to another by adoption, like the political operator Clodius in the late Republic, who managed to have himself adopted into a plebeian branch of his own family for political purposes, but it was rare. By the 2nd century BC the classifications had meaning predominantly in religious functions - many priesthoods were restricted to patricians.
The relationship between the plebeians and the patricians was sometimes so strained that the plebeians seceeded from the city - literally left the city with their families and movable possessions and set up camp on a hill outside the walls. These secessions happened in 494, 450, and around 287 B.C. Their refusal to cooperate any longer with the patricians led to social changes on each occasion. In 494, only about 15 years after the establishment of the Republic, the plebeians for the first time elected two leaders, to whom they gave the title Tribunes. The plebs took an oath that they would hold their leaders 'sacrosanct' or inviolate during their terms, and that the united plebs would kill anyone who harmed a tribune. The second secession led to further legal definition of their rights and duties and increased the number of tribunes to 10. The final secession gave the vote of the Concilium Plebis or "Council of the Plebeians" the force of law - we call this a "plebiscite".
The Social War - 90-88 B.C.
In 90 almost all of the Italian allies of Rome rebelled in what the Romans called the Social War (allies = Socii, related to the English ?associates?). The allied cities in the Italian peninsula had sought for some time Roman citizenship and therefore more of a say in the external policy of the Roman Republic - most local affairs were self-governing and not as much of an issue as when the alliance would go to war and what the share of the proceeds would be. Rome undercut the military rebellion by extending citizenship to all of Italy south of the Po River and then spent two years defeating the cities still in arms. Sulla came to prominence as an officer in this war. Roman citizenship and the right to vote was limited, as always in the ancient world, by the requirement of physical presence on voting day. After 88 candidates regularly paid the expenses (or part of them) for their supporters to come to Rome to vote.
The Spartacist Rebellion - 73-71 B.C.
Large scale agriculture in the Italian peninsula came to depend on slavery and was rocked by a severe slave revolt that lasted from 73 to 71 B.C.
see Roman Empire
- political offices of the Republic
- figures of the Republic
- Late Republic | <urn:uuid:d1729a81-dd91-4e46-af61-2fcd70fd301e> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400234232.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20200926040104-20200926070104-00527.warc.gz | en | 0.978805 | 1,302 | 4.125 | 4 |
According to a study, how the foot is positioned prior to ground contact when walking or running could increase risk of sprained ankle, otherwise known as a twisted ankle. The results of the research found that people who have a history of repetitive ankle sprain demonstrated lower clearance heights between their feet and the floor during running and pointed their toes down more during walking. A sprained ankle is the most common sports-related injury, and many who experience a sprained ankle will go on to develop chronic instability, suffering repetitive ankle sprain during their lifetime.
Practically everyone who’s physically active will experience a twisted ankle at some time. A lot of people develop painful repetitive ankle injuries which can decrease performance as well as increase ankle osteoarthritis risk. The researchers identified factors in foot positioning just before ground contact which could predispose some individuals to these repetitive injuries. This information can help clinicians create rehabilitation programs which address movements which could have previously been ignored.
The study collected data on more than 30 male recreational athletes, some with a history of repetitive ankle sprain and some without. Motion capture equipment was used to analyze joint movements and forces in individuals while walking and running. The study was unique because it analyzed all 3 possible ankle motions and involved individuals who had different kinds of ankle instability.
Even though such motion capture equipment might not be available for analysis of patients in rehabilitation clinics, the results can be applied to any physically active individuals who suffer from a twisted ankle.
The study shows there are differences in movements at the foot and ankle in an injured population that may respond to rehabilitation interventions beyond standard strengthening and stretching. The next step is to determine if targeted interventions can treat and also prevent ankle sprain by trying to influence how people walk and run. | <urn:uuid:92b79d36-06d9-4dfd-b766-38fac6dbcdbe> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://pilloledimassa.eu/foot-position-prior-to-contact-influences-risk-of-sprained-ankle.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370505366.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20200401034127-20200401064127-00287.warc.gz | en | 0.96515 | 352 | 3.375 | 3 |
|Vector Type||Mammalian Expression Vector|
|Expression Method||Constiutive, Stable / Transient|
|Selection In Mammalian Cells||Hygromycin|
FLAG-tag, or FLAG octapeptide, is a polypeptide protein tag that can be added to a protein using recombinant DNA technology. It can be used for affinity chromatography, then used to separate recombinant, overexpressed protein from wild-type protein expressed by the host organism. It can also be used in the isolation of protein complexes with multiple subunits.
A FLAG-tag can be used in many different assays that require recognition by an antibody. If there is no antibody against the studied protein, adding a FLAG-tag to this protein allows one to follow the protein with an antibody against the FLAG sequence. Examples are cellular localization studies by immunofluorescence or detection by SDS PAGE protein electrophoresis.
The peptide sequence of the FLAG-tag from the N-terminus to the C-terminus is: DYKDDDDK (1012 Da). It can be used in conjunction with other affinity tags, for example a polyhistidine tag (His-tag), HA-tag or Myc-tag. It can be fused to the C-terminus or the N-terminus of a protein. Some commercially available antibodies (e.g., M1/4E11) recognize the epitope only when it is present at the N-terminus. However, other available antibodies (e.g., M2) are position-insensitive.
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), C-GFPSpark 標籤||HG10346-ACG|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), C-OFPSpark 標籤||HG10346-ACR|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), C-Flag 標籤||HG10346-CF|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), C-His 標籤||HG10346-CH|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), C-Myc 標籤||HG10346-CM|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), C-HA 標籤||HG10346-CY|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF(克隆載體)||HG10346-M|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體)||HG10346-M-N|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), N-Flag 標籤||HG10346-NF|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), N-His 標籤||HG10346-NH|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), N-Myc 標籤||HG10346-NM|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體), N-HA 標籤||HG10346-NY|
|人 ICAM-1/CD54 基因全長cDNA ORF克隆 (表達載體)||HG10346-UT|
Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1, or CD54) is a 90 kDa member of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily and is critical for the firm arrest and transmigration of leukocytes out of blood vessels and into tissues. ICAM-1 is constitutively present on endothelial cells, but its expression is increased by proinflammatory cytokines. The endothelial expression of ICAM-1 is increased in atherosclerotic and transplant-associated atherosclerotic tissue and in animal models of atherosclerosis. Additionally, ICAM-1 has been implicated in the progression of autoimmune diseases. ICAM-1 is a ligand for LFA-1(integrin). When activated, leukocytes bind to endothelial cells via ICAM-1/LFA-1 interaction and then transmigrate into tissues. Presence with heavy glycosylation and other structural characteristics, ICAM-1 possesses binding sites for a number of immune-associated ligands and serves as the binding site for entry of the major group of human Rhinovirus (HRV) into various cell types. ICAM-1 also becomes known for its affinity for Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (PFIE), providing more of a role in infectious disease. Previous studies have shown that ICAM-1 is involved in inflammatory reactions and that a defect in ICAM-1 gene inhibits allergic contact hypersensitivity. | <urn:uuid:2ca6726f-556a-4712-a414-9a4882687f00> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://tw.sinobiological.com/Human-ICAM-1-CD54-Gene-cDNA-Clone-(full-length-ORF-Clone),-expression-ready,-C-FLAG-tagged_p45054.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698541783.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170901-00269-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.680591 | 1,364 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Socrates and Plato
After the Peloponnesian War was over, all the cities of Greece were worn out and poor. Many men went and fought for the Persians for money. But others tried to rebuild the cities. This was the time of the great philosophers, Socrates and his student Plato.
The Peloponnesian War
Who was Socrates?
Short history of Greece
All our ancient Greece articles
Philip of Macedon
To the north of Greece, there was a country called Macedon (MA-suh-donn). King Philip of Macedon noticed that the Greeks were very weak. So he attacked the Greek city-states. One by one he took them over: first Thebes, then Athens, then Sparta.
What is a city-state?
Alexander of Macedon
Where is Thebes?
What about Sparta?
The Persian Empire
When Philip was assassinated in 336 BC, his son Alexander became king. So he also ruled Greece. Alexander was only 20 when he became king. At first a lot of people thought he might be too young. But he not only held onto Greece, he also took a big army of Greeks and Macedonians and attacked the Persian Empire!
Alexander the Great
Alexander was a great general, and the Persians were also weak at this time. So, little by little, Alexander took over the Persian Empire. First he conquered Lydia, then Phoenicia, then Israel, then Egypt. Then he took his army further east. They went all the way to Afghanistan and India (see map).
Lydians (modern Turkey)
Who were the Phoenicians?
Egypt under Persian rule
In India Alexander’s troops refused to go any further (or so the story goes), and he turned back. But a lot of the soldiers died on the way back, and soon afterwards, in 323 BC, Alexander himself died of a fever, in Babylon. He was 33 years old.
Alexander died without any sons (though his wife Roxane was pregnant). So his generals split up his kingdom. There were three main parts. His general Ptolemy took Egypt. Seleucus ruled Seleucia (modern Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan). Macedon and Greece had other rulers.
Egypt under the Ptolemies
Maccabees and Israel
The Sogdians in Afghanistan
Hellenistic Greek government
Although these three kingdoms often fought each other, still the Hellenistic period was one of wealth and learning. Peace allowed traders, artists, and scientists to travel between Africa, India, Iran, Iraq, and Greece. The Ptolemies started a great university at Alexandria, in Egypt. The philosopher Aristotle worked in Athens.
Who was Aristotle?
The university at Alexandria
Ancient Greek science
The combination of the knowledge of Africa, West Asia, and India with that of the Greeks led to great achievements in science, in philosophy, and in art. But these kingdoms, and the peace, lasted only about two hundred years, until the Romans and the Parthians divided West Asia between them.
More about Alexander the Great
Greece under Roman rule
Bibliography and further reading about Hellenistic Greece:
Oxford First Ancient History, by Roy Burrell and Peter Connolly (1997). Lively interviews and pictures make the ancient Mediterranean come to life. For teens.
Alexander the Great, by Samuel Willard Crompton (2003). For teenagers.
Alexander the Great, by Robin Lane Fox (reprinted 1994). Lane Fox is a good writer.
The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome, by Erich S. Gruen (1984).
The Greek World After Alexander, 323-30 BC, by Graham Shipley (2000). Takes a more positive view of the Hellenistic period than Gruen, but it’s not as entertaining to read.
Leave A Comment | <urn:uuid:cbe04287-3fce-4961-b2fe-46f4ebf3dce4> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://quatr.us/greeks/hellenistic-greece-greek-history.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296949678.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20230331175950-20230331205950-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.966573 | 852 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Here are the guidelines for this paper and please be aware there are two different assignments. One is the word paper answering to the three different questions and the other is for the learning aide.
Imagine you are working in HR and have a group of new employees. You want to create information to facilitate the training and the importance of the process that goes into training.
Assignment 1 – Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper answering, with great detail, the 3 questions below.
- Explain why training and education are vital in health care.
- Explain the importance of measuring competencies.
- Describe the process for tracking and evaluating training effectiveness.
Assignment 2 – AND Create a learning aid about training and education in health care. You may choose from a brochure, newsletter, pamphlet, or handout. (You can only choose from the list I provided)
This is two separate assignments. Make sure you submit both assignments.
Include at least 2 references.
Format your assignment according to APA guidelines. | <urn:uuid:f725ed31-18e1-4d8c-9033-2176618af81b> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://thenursinggeeks.com/need-help-with-training-and-development-paper/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703529080.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20210122020254-20210122050254-00562.warc.gz | en | 0.934495 | 212 | 2.796875 | 3 |
SetPoint Medical, a biomedical technology company developing a bioelectronic therapy for inflammatory diseases, presented positive results from an ongoing study modulating the inflammatory reflex to treat Crohn’s Disease (CD), a debilitating disease caused by inflammation in the digestive tract. The data were presented at United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW) in Vienna.
“We are very encouraged by these initial positive results using bioelectronic medicine to treat Crohn’s Disease,” said Dr. Geert D'Haens, Professor of Gastroenterology at The Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam and Coordinating Investigator for the study. “The treatment was well tolerated and significantly reduced Crohn’s symptoms in six of eight patients. We are evaluating a new cohort of patients as the study continues.”
The open-label pilot study is being conducted at five centers in Europe, including patients with moderately-to-severely active Crohn’s despite treatment with a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist drug. The trial uses an implanted device to deliver digital doses of electricity, stimulating the vagus nerve with timed electrical pulses, activating the body’s natural Inflammatory Reflex to produce a systemic anti-inflammatory effect.
“These data provide more evidence that modulating the inflammatory reflex with digital doses has the potential to be a breakthrough approach to treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, building on the positive results presented from our earlier clinical trial in rheumatoid arthritis,” said Anthony Arnold, chief executive officer of SetPoint Medical. “Patients living with Crohn’s need alternatives to existing treatments that often do not work well and carry significant risks, and modulating the inflammatory reflex shows promise as a new option to fight this debilitating disease using digital doses.”
In this study, eight patients with severe Crohn’s Disease not responsive to TNF antagonists received an implant on the vagus nerve in their neck to deliver digital doses to the vagus nerve.
Improvement was assessed at the sixteen-week mark using the primary endpoint for the study – a change from baseline to week 16 in the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI), a tool used to quantify the symptoms of patients with the disease. Severe Crohn’s is defined by a CDAI greater than 450, and remission is defined as a CDAI below 150.
At the primary end point, the CDAI scores of six of the eight patients in the study were reduced by 70 points or more, and CDAI remission and endoscopic remission was achieved in three patients.
The data also show a direct correlation between vagus nerve stimulation and the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF, which plays a key role in inflammation, a finding consistent with the results from the company’s earlier study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
SetPoint is developing a novel proprietary bioelectronic medicine platform to treat a variety of inflammation-mediated autoimmune diseases by activating the body’s natural Inflammatory Reflex to produce a systemic anti-inflammatory effect. The emerging field of bioelectronic medicine aims to address unmet patient needs utilizing digital dose delivery to modulate disease pathways historically treated with drugs.
About SetPoint Medical
SetPoint Medical is a privately held biomedical technology company dedicated to treating patients with debilitating inflammatory diseases using bioelectronic therapy. SetPoint’s approach is intended to offer patients and providers an alternative for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other chronic inflammatory diseases with less risk and cost than drug therapy. SetPoint’s therapy is also being evaluated in an open-label clinical study for Crohn’s Disease.
SetPoint is developing a novel bioelectronic medicine platform consisting of an implantable miniature neuromodulation device and iPad prescription pad application. The implantable device stimulates the vagus nerve to activate the body’s natural Inflammatory Reflex, which is intended to produce a potent systemic anti-inflammatory effect. The company has published positive results from a first-in-human open-label proof-of-concept trial in rheumatoid arthritis in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and presented positive results at the American College of Rheumatology meeting. Current investors in the company include Morgenthaler Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Topspin Partners, Medtronic, GlaxoSmithKline’s Action Potential Venture Capital Limited and Boston Scientific. For more information, visit www.setpointmedical.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161019005384/en/Business Wire
Last updated on: 19/10/2016
PharmiWeb.com is Europe's leading industry-sponsored portal for the Pharmaceutical sector, providing the latest jobs, news, features and events listings.
The information provided on PharmiWeb.com is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician. | <urn:uuid:3bb7b844-927b-4d6b-bc55-fae33bb0ce9b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.pharmiweb.com/PressReleases/pressrel.asp?ROW_ID=186905 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00262-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898559 | 1,053 | 2.625 | 3 |
Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving the stomach, intestines, or both; usually resulting in diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and possibly vomiting. Gastroenteritis is frequently termed "stomach flu" or "gastric flu" because the most frequent cause of gastroenteritis is viral. However, this loose terminology confuses some people becauseinfluenza viruses (flu viruses) do not cause gastroenteritis.
Gastroenteritis also can be confusing to people because gastroenteritis itself is considered a disease, but gastroenteritis can also be considered a symptom of other diseases.
For example, a person who has the symptoms of gastroenteritis and eventually develops bloody diarrhea is usually not diagnosed with gastroenteritis, but with a specific disease such as shigellosis. Unfortunately, there are many specific diseases that manifest with symptoms of gastroenteritis, usually early in the disease process.
To complicate things even more, often confusion is generated when the term gastroenteritis is modified by words like "mild" or "severe." "Severe gastroenteritis" is a non-specific term that usually means different things to different investigators. The meaning is usually implied by the disease process that is being discussed.
For example, if the context of an article about a viral cause of gastroenteritis, it often means diarrhea that causes dehydration; while another article about a bacterial cause of gastroenteritis it may mean bloody diarrhea with fever.
The best way to sort out this non-specific terminology associated with gastroenteritis is for authors and health care practitioners to define what they mean by gastroenteritis and its modifying terms. While there may be disagreement about the terms, at least their meaning will be clear to the readers of individual articles.
Consequently, for this article, gastroenteritis will mean the short-term (lasting about 2 to 5 days and resolution, sometime over an additional few days) occurrence of symptoms that may include some or all of the following:
- Non-bloody diarrhea.
- Vomiting (occasional, less than 48 hours).
- Abdominal cramping (intermittent, usually relieved by a bowel movement).
Other symptoms may develop such as a mild fever (about 100 F, 37.7 C), mild chills, occasionally a headache, and/or muscle aches, and a feeling of being tired. All of the above symptoms may develop into severe gastroenteritis which means for this article, dehydration, which may be life-threatening, especially in children.
People with symptoms of diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting that lasts more than five days, and often may have additional symptoms of fever (greater than 101 F, 38.3 C), malaise, dehydration, and sepsis, for this article, will not be considered to have gastroenteritis. However, people with such problems will be considered to have symptoms of gastroenteritis that are related to a specific disease, for example, shigellosis.
Not all investigators will agree with this designation and consider bloody diarrhea, vomiting more than 48 hours, fever higher than 101 F (38.3 C), dehydration, and relatively constant abdominal pain as severe gastroenteritis. However, these symptoms are not frequently associated with gastroenteritis or stomach flu that does not run a limited course, and does not resolve without professional or medical treatment, and are more often associated with other specific diseases, most of which require medical care.
Most children and adults diagnosed with shigellosis, E. coli 0157:H7 infections, salmonellosis, and other diseases are usually not diagnosed as having severe gastroenteritis or severe stomach flu. Readers may wonder why then, should such pathogens be listed as causes of gastroenteritis. The answer is simple.
The pathogens are listed because in many people, the pathogens produce only symptoms of gastroenteritis and do not go on to develop worse symptoms, often because an otherwise healthy person self-limits the infection. Not to list them would not give an accurate summation of the causes of gastroenteritis.
The symptoms of gastroenteritis are:
- abdominal cramps,
Not all affected individuals will develop all symptoms. Some people also may develop a mild fever of about 100 F (37.7 C). Most symptoms will resolve in about 2 to 5 days. Gastroenteritis may cause dehydration during this short time period, mainly in children or debilitated adults. In this article, gastroenteritis with dehydration is considered severe gastroenteritis. For videos of how a child may appear with dehydration, see the link in the references section of this article.
People with symptoms of diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting that last longer than 5 days, and often may have additional symptoms of fever (greater than 101 F, 38.3 C), malaise, dehydration, sepsis, or additional symptoms, for this article, will not be considered to have gastroenteritis.
Not all investigators or clinicians will agree with this designation and consider bloody diarrhea, vomiting more than 48 hours, fever higher than 101 F, dehydration, and relatively constant abdominal pain as symptoms of severe gastroenteritis.
However, since these symptoms are non-specific and are more frequently associated as part of a spectrum of symptoms that occur with a specific disease that needs medical care, often quickly, these symptoms are considered as part of those that may occur with a number of specific diseases.
Is gastroenteritis contagious?
The majority of causes of gastroenteritis are contagious (mainly viral, bacterial, and parasitic). In some instances where the cause of the gastroenteritis is not a pathogen (for example, food allergies, toxins that are ingested), gastroenteritis is not contagious.
Gastroenteritis has many causes. Viruses and bacteria are the most common.
Viruses and bacteria are very contagious and can spread through contaminated food or water. In up to 50% of diarrheal outbreaks, no specific agent is found. The infection can spread from person to person because of improper handwashing following a bowel movement or handling a soiled diaper.
Gastroenteritis caused by viruses may last one to two days. However, some bacterial cases can continue for a longer period of time.
Norovirus - Fifty to seventy percent of cases of gastroenteritis in adults are caused by thenoroviruses (genus Norovirus, familyCaliciviridae. This virus is highly contagious and spreads rapidly. Norovirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States.
- Noroviruses can be transmitted and infect individuals by
- contaminated food and liquids,
- touching objects contaminated with norovirus and then placing the hands or fingers in the mouth,
- direct contact with an infected individual (for example, exposure to norovirus when caring or sharing foods, drinks, eating utensils with an affected individual, and
- exposure to infected individuals and objects in daycare centers and nursing homes.
- Norovirus is often in the news when cruise ship passengers contract the virus, which causes gastroenteritis.
Rotavirus - According to the CDC, "Rotavirus was also the leading cause of severe diarrhea in U.S. infants and young children before rotavirus vaccine was introduced for U.S. infants in 2006. Prior to that, almost all children in the United States were infected with rotavirus before their 5th birthday.
Each year in the United States in the pre-vaccine period, rotavirus was responsible for more than 400,000 doctor visits; more than 200,000 emergency room visits; 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations; and 20 to 60 deaths in children younger than 5 years of age".
Other viruses that cause gastrointestinal symptoms include:
- Adenoviruses - This virus most commonly causes respiratory illness; however, other illnesses may be caused by adenoviruses such as gastroenteritis, bladder infections, and rash illnesses.
- Parvoviruses - The human bocavirus (HBoV), which can cause gastroenteritis belongs to the family Parvoviridae.
- Astroviruses - Astrovirus infection is the third most frequent cause of gastroenteritis in infants.
Bacteria may cause gastroenteritis directly by infecting the lining of the stomach and intestine. Some bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus produce a toxin that is the cause of the symptoms. Staph is a common type of food poisoning.
Escherichia coli infection can cause significant complications. E. coli O157:H7 (one type of the bacteria) can cause complications in approximately 10% of affected individuals (for example, kidney failure in children [hemolytic-uremic syndrome or HUS), bloody diarrhea, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) in the elderly.
Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter
Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter are also common causes of illness.
- Salmonella is contracted by ingesting the bacteria in contaminated food or water, and by handling poultry or reptiles such as turtles that carry the germs.
- Campylobacter occurs by the consumption of raw or undercooked poultry meat and cross-contamination of other foods. Infants may contract the infection by contact with poultry packages in shopping carts. Campylobacter is also associated with unpasteurized milk or contaminated water. The infection can be spread to humans by contact with infected stool of an ill pet (for example, cats or dogs). It is generally not passed from human to human.
- Shigella bacteria generally spreads from an infected person to another person.Shigella are in diarrheal stools of infected individuals while they are ill, and for up to one to two weeks after contracting the infection. Shigella infection also may be contracted from eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water, or swimming or playing in contaminated water (for example, wading pools, shallow play fountains). Shigella can also be spread among men who have sex with men.
Clostridium difficile (C difficile) bacteria may overgrow in the large intestine after a person has been on antibiotics for an infection. The most common antibiotics that pose a potential risk factor for C difficile include
- clindamycin (for example, Cleocin),
- fluoroquinolones (for example, levofloxacin [Levaquin'], ciprofloxacin [Cipro, Cirpo XR, Proquin XR]),
Other risk factors for C difficile infection are hospitalization, individuals 65 years of age or greater, and existing chronic medical conditions.
Parasites and Protozoans
These tiny organisms are less frequently responsible for intestinal irritation. A person may become infected by one of these by drinking contaminated water. Swimming pools are common places to come in contact with these parasites.
Common parasites include
- Giardia is the most frequent cause of waterborne diarrhea, causing giardiasis. Often, people become infected after swallowing water that has been contaminated by animal feces (poop). This may occur by drinking infected water from river or lakes but giardia may also be found in swimming pools, wells and cisterns.
- Cryptosporidium (Crypto) is a parasite that lives in the intestine of affected individuals or animals. The infected individual or animal sheds theCryptosporidium parasite in the stool. Crypto may also be found in food, water, soil, or contaminated surfaces (swallowing contaminated recreational water, beverages, uncooked food, unwashed fruits and vegetables, touching contaminated surfaces such as bathroom fixtures, toys, diaper pails, changing tables, changing diapers, caring for an infected individual or handling an infected cow or calf). Those at risk for serious disease are individuals with weakened immune systems.
Other Common Causes of Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis that is not contagious to others can be caused by chemical toxins, most often found in seafood, food allergies, heavy metals, antibiotics, and other medications.
Although most people with gastroenteritis require no formal treatment, the key to a more rapid and safe recovery is good hydration. Home treatment consists of adequate fluid intake so that dehydration is prevented.
The recommended fluids are clear fluids (Pedialyte, especially for young children, Gatorade, Powerade, and other similar drinks) but not fruit juices or milk. If dehydration occurs, the affected individual should be evaluated by a health care practitioner, who is likely to begin IV rehydration, the treatment of choice for rapid rehydration.
Medications may be prescribed to reduce the symptoms of gastroenteritis, for example,promethazine (Phenergan), prochlorperazine (Compazine) or ondansetron (Zofran) may be prescribed to reduce vomiting. Some physicians suggest using these only as a suppository (or IV) since patients frequently just vomit the pills up.
Others may prescribediphenoxylate and atropine (Lomotil) orloperamide (Imodium) to slow diarrhea. Many clinicians simply suggest no treatment for gastroenteritis symptoms as all of the drugs have side effects, and the clinicians figure that if the patient stays well hydrated, the symptoms will soon stop anyway.
Once the gastroenteritis symptoms abate, especially vomiting, clinicians recommend a BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples and toast) for a day or two before beginning a regular diet.
Individuals that have more serious symptoms, or other symptoms in addition to gastroenteritis need to be evaluated, diagnosed, and treated by a physician because the patient will likely have a specific disease that will need treatment. The treatment will depend on the cause of the illness (for example, salmonellosis or Clostridium difficile toxin). Administration of antibiotics and other treatments may be contraindicated for some of these diseases, so an accurate diagnosis is important. | <urn:uuid:0cc76f81-2a8b-4572-b75f-5f9a69332c67> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://youcure.me/en/guide/gastroenteritis-1595 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320243.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170624082900-20170624102900-00229.warc.gz | en | 0.932991 | 2,930 | 4.21875 | 4 |
Composting is a great way to reduce waste, build soil and grow healthy thriving plants. Part of a naturally occurring cycle that feeds an ecosystem. Urban composting may mean smaller systems need to be used but they can still be very effective. I have a tumbler compost bin and now I have made a DIY worm tower to go in my Container Gardens. This tower is made from recycled PVC pipe we had left over and a recycled plant pot was used for the lid. The worms love it and so do my plants!
You don’t need to have a large garden to start composting your veggie scraps at home. There are some great urban composting solutions including Tumbler Composts, Bokashi and Worm Farms. There is even an app called Share Waste that connects people to others that have composts in your local area. Whichever solution you choose it is a fantastic way to reduce your waste and stop it from going to landfill. Food scraps that end up in landfill do not break down in the correct environment so they produce methane emissions that contribute to our climate change crisis. The more scraps you can use up or put back into the earth the better!
How to Make a DIY Composting Worm Tower?
Using things you already have at home is a great way to recycle and get the most out of everything you use. Left over PVC pipes are great for turning into worm towers. The worms can go between the garden and the worm tower to feed and help break down the veggie scraps. This will in turn provide natural fertiliser for the plants to thrive. Creating a balanced and diverse ecosystem is so import for healthy gardens.
- To make these I used a 6 inch PVC pipe and cut it down so that it was the height of my pallet plants.
- We then drilled holes around the bottom half of the pipe approximately 10mm in diameter. Big enough for worms to fit through.
- I then dug a hole in the centre of my pallet planter and buried the pipe with the holes at the bottom and covered the sides back up with soil. Try to bury as much of the pipe as you can as to reduce it’s exposure to the sun.
- A lid is important to stop any flies, rats, mice or household pets from getting in and eating the scraps. It will also keep any smells away so your gardens don’t give off a bad odour. The lid we made from the bottom of a plastic garden pot we had spare. I tested out a few for size and chose on that fit tightly over the pipe. It needs to be secure so that the wind won’t blow it off or animals cant easily overturn it. If your pot has drainage holes in the bottom cover them up too.
- Once the pipe and lid are secured in place you can start adding your veggie scraps. Use only scraps that will break down relatively quickly and do not place any meat or dairy scraps. You can also add a sprinkle of soil on top of the layers to reduce odours if it is a concern.
Make sure your recycled materials are food safe and haven’t been used previously with any chemicals.
Healthy soil grows healthy vegetables!
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content! | <urn:uuid:2c2c4997-945d-46c6-820e-57dad9e8458a> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://sustainableholly.com/tag/urban-permaculture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104205534.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20220702222819-20220703012819-00619.warc.gz | en | 0.949051 | 731 | 3.046875 | 3 |
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