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What is Whole-of-Government?
These are arrangements established to benefit most if not all Non-Corporate Commonwealth Entities (NCCE) when they procure goods and services. Whole-of-government arrangements may take the form of a contract, standing offer and/or template documentation.
These contracts and arrangements have been variously established by lead entities including Defence and Finance. For example; the Volume Sourcing Arrangement with Microsoft that came from the coordinated procurement initiative.
Generally whole-of-government contracts and arrangements are for use by NCCEs and their use may be mandated.
Whole-of-government arrangements are established for a number of reasons; to give effect to government policy decisions, to improve consistency and control and to deliver savings and efficiencies.
Whole-of-government arrangements are established from time to time through a tender process and may be led by an entity (lead entity) with policy responsibility or expertise in the particular goods or services.
The coordinated procurement contracting initiative is establishing whole-of-government contracts and arrangements where savings and efficiencies can be delivered to entities.
Entities use of some contracts and arrangements is mandatory.
- All entities
- Often mandatory
- Generally initiated by government
Last updated: 01 July 2014 | <urn:uuid:75deb794-fdbe-461d-919b-b84b7f61e4dd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.finance.gov.au/procurement/wog-procurement/wog.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00197-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941977 | 260 | 2.8125 | 3 |
|1. Northern Hemisphere
A strong inter-hemispheric symmetry of anomalous
upper-level circulation features was again evident during September across the lower
latitudes of the Pacific and Atlantic basins (Fig. T22, bottom).
This pattern featured anomalous anticyclonic circulations across the eastern Pacific
eastward to Africa, and anomalous cyclonic circulation anom-alies across the low latitudes
of the western Pacific. Anticyclonic circulation anomalies also persisted across the
middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during the month. All of these features have
prevailed during the June-September period, and are consistent with the ongoing pattern of
anomalous tropical rainfall and tropical convective activity that has persisted during the
period. This pattern of anomalous tropical rainfall included suppressed convection over
the central equatorial Pacific (Fig. T25), an amplified
south-east Asian monsoon system, above-normal rains across central America, and increased
precipitation across the African Sahel region.
Much of the United States was influenced by a large-scale, upper-level trough during
September (Fig. E9), which contributed to significantly
above-normal temperatures over the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada and
to below-normal temperatures over the Plains states (Fig. E1).
This circulation pattern, together with Tropical Storm Dennis and Hurricane Floyd
contributed to extremely heavy rainfall along the entire eastern seaboard from the
Carolinas to the maritime provinces of Canada (Fig. E3). In
fact, eastern North Carolina experienced record flooding in association with extreme
rainfall totals (reaching 500 - 750 mm) linked to landfalling Hurricane Floyd. In
contrast, the region near and west of the trough axis, which included most of the
midwestern United States, experienced drier-than-normal conditions (Figs. E3, E5).
This circulation pattern is in marked contrast to the pronounced upper-level ridge
which dominated most of the country during August, and which contributed to significantly
drier-than-normal conditions and severe drought conditions over large portions of the
eastern United States.
b. Europe/ Asia
Most of Europe experienced significantly above-normal temperatures during September (Fig. E1), with temperatures above the 90th percentile
observed throughout the region. In southern and central Europe, this warmth represents a
continuation of extremely warm conditions that have prevailed during the last several
months. Extremely wet conditions were also observed across western Europe during
September, with totals exceeding the 90th percentile throughout the region.
Farther east, anomalously dry conditions were observed over eastern Europe and western
These anomalous temperature and rainfall patterns were linked to a large-amplitude
anomalous circulation at upper levels, which featured a trough just west of Great Britain
and a strong ridge extending southward from Scandinavia to the area west of the Black Sea.
Also, the continued excessive warmth across southern Europe (and northern Africa) was
again linked to the persistence of an anomalous anticyclonic circulation (Fig. T22, bottom) throughout the region at upper levels.
2. Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere circulation during September (Fig. E15)
featured above-normal heights over southeastern Australia and New Zealand, across most of
Antarctica, and over the central Indian Ocean, and below-normal heights over the high
latitudes of the eastern South Pacific, the high latitudes of the South Atlantic, and
southern Africa. In the Australia/ New Zealand sector, the above-normal heights were
associated with abnormally warm surface temperatures (Fig. E1),
with large portions of eastern Australia recording values above the 70th
percentile and most of New Zealand recording values above the 90th percentile.
These circulation and temperature patterns conditions were also prevalent during August
across the Australia/ New Zealand sector.
In South America, most of cental Argentina and southeastern Brazil experienced a
continuation of anomalously warm (Fig. E1) and dry
conditions (Fig. E3) during the month, while southern
Argentina again experienced extremely wet conditions. This overall pattern has been linked
to increased upper-level westerly winds (Fig. T21, bottom)
and enhanced storminess across the southeastern South Pacific and southern South America
during both August and September, and with an overall poleward displacement of the main
frontal boundary away from central Argentina and southeastern Brazil. | <urn:uuid:41dfb48b-2f0d-45c9-a930-80a8f2b0afdc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/CDB/CDB_Archive_html/bulletin_0999/extra.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911562 | 937 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Postcards from the edge
Message from a craft at the solar system's final frontier holds surprises.
By Ron Cowen, 11:42 AM July 2, 2008
There are no signs to announce the edge of the solar system, but when the venerable Voyager 2 spacecraft approached this final frontier last Aug. 31 it was in for quite a shock. So were the scientists who analyzed the data that the craft radioed back to Earth, along with related observations by NASA’s twin Earth-orbiting STEREO spacecraft.
The signals reveal that at a distance of 83.7 astronomical units (1 AU is the average Earth-sun separation), Voyager 2 had at least five encounters with a t...
Source URL: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/postcards-edge?mode=pick&context=110 | <urn:uuid:3445bb30-5e73-44d4-a7aa-b8663ae6d411> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.sciencenews.org/print/node/12233?mode=pick&context=110 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398216.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921517 | 172 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Batteries have resisted the blazing progress of Moore’s Law, the observation that the number of transistors packed on computer chips—and thus the processing power—doubles every 18 months. The batteries that power all those super fast chips have only managed to perform about 5% to 8% better each year (except for the rare breakthroughs in new battery chemistries).
Scientists are split on whether such meager improvements in energy density should be the norm, or if transformational leaps of 10 to 100 times above today’s performance are possible.
A team at North Carolina State University is working on the latter. By fashioning infinitesimally small "nanoflowers" out of the semiconducting material germanium sulfide (GeS), the researchers have dramatically increased the surface area of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries to develop a "next-generation of energy storage devices and solar cells." Publishing their results in American Chemical Society Nano, the researches shows how the metal "nanoflowers," fabricated by vaporizing GeS powder in a furnace and then cooling it into sheets just 20 to 30 nanometers thick (less than a thousandth the width of a human hair) which resemble a flower, they could pack in several times more charge that conventional designs.
"Creating these GeS nanoflowers is exciting because it gives us a huge surface area in a small amount of space," said Linyou Cao, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at NC State, and the study’s co-author, in a University release. "This could significantly increase the capacity of lithium-ion batteries, for instance, since the thinner structure with larger surface area can hold more lithium ions."
Although not the 100-times improvements coveted by vehicle and electronics manufacturers, it’s one of the many steps toward batteries that will drive a car 300 miles or power a phone for weeks without recharging.
This potential for nanotechnology to transform battery performance has already attracted Department of Energy (DOE) funding. A grant to VC-backed Amprius is testing nanomaterials with the potential to double Li-ion energy density from 225 to 460 watt hours per kilogram. A second DOE collaboration with A123 Systems will try to perfect scalable, mass production methods for nanocomposites extending the range of plug-in electric hybrids by 15%.
For batteries, at least, going big may mean being very, very small. | <urn:uuid:10d416fa-1650-433a-bb37-b1388b7ed63b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680860/superconducting-nanoflowers-pack-big-energy-in-small-batteries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924444 | 507 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Three related compounds produced during the metabolism of fats, two of which are used as a source of energy instead of glucose during a period of fasting or very low carbohydrate intake (the third being acetone, which is excreted).
- In the liver the net result (due to increased acetyl-CoA levels) is the production of ketone bodies.
- Glucose is the main fuel used by the brain, but research has shown that neonates are able to use ketone bodies, lactate and maybe amino acids for oxidation.
- Laboratory findings reveal high blood sugar and glucose in the urine and as the metabolic derangement worsens, excessive ketone bodies in the blood and urine.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: ke¦tone bod¦ies
Definition of ketone bodies in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
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Labour MP Alison McGovern led a debate on special educational needs provision for those aged two to 19 in Wirral on 9 January 2013.
More than a fifth of children (21%) in England are estimated to have special educational needs (SEN) - about 1.7m children.
SEN refers to learning difficulties or disabilities which range from problems in thinking and understanding, to physical or sensory difficulties and difficulties with speech and language.
By 2014, the government wants those identified with SEN to have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which will support them children from birth to the age of 25.
It would replace the current statutory SEN assessment and statement and aims to get professionals from different social services areas to work together more closely. | <urn:uuid:1aaaed9b-5838-463f-a756-937b2647fc61> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_commons/newsid_9782000/9782982.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00197-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974135 | 153 | 2.859375 | 3 |
This is not an uncommon question, especially in the world of toddlers and preschoolers. Children start using spoken language (words and short sentences) long before they are actually able to produce all the speech sounds for the words and sentences that they want to say. There are roughly 45 speech sounds in the English language. This confuses people sometimes, because there are 26 letters in the alphabet we use to write words down. But remember that one alphabet letter (or "grapheme") can stand for a number of different speech sounds (or "phonemes"). Take the letter "c" for example--in words such as "cat," it makes a /k/ sound, but in words such as "face," it makes a /s/ sound. So, while there are 26 letters in our written alphabet, there are 45 sounds in our spoken words. And, even at the age of three, the great majority of children are still working on producing at least 18 of those speech sounds.
Speech sound development is predictable, in that it typically unfolds in a somewhat similar way across children. Most children, for example will make a /w/ sound for /r/ for a long time--this is fully expected and of no concern. Ironically, speech sound development is also quite variable, in that some children produce words clear as day from almost the moment they start talking while others take much longer to produce speech sounds clearly. As a speech therapist, it's my job to help figure out when a child's speech is so distinctly different from normal that the child would benefit from therapy. It's not always easy--and even as speech therapists, we don't always agree! There are some general guidelines, though, that can be helpful to share with parents of young children who are worried about their child's speech. And that, my friends, is what I'm going to share with you today.
Intelligibility is a fancy word that simply means "how much of a child's speech is understood." The general guidelines for intelligibility in young children are as follows:
- A 2 year old is usually understood by others about 50% of the time
- A 3 year old is usually understood by others about 75% of the time
- A 4 year old is usually understood by others nearly 100% of the time
Children usually develop certain speech sounds first. Then, as they grow, they learn to produce new speech sounds along the way. Here's a general picture of which sounds are easy, which are harder, and which are the hardest:
- Easy speech sounds: Vowels, p, m, h, n, w, b, t, d
- Harder speech sounds: k, g, f, v, "ng" (as in ring), and y (as in "yellow")
- Hardest speech sounds: r, l, s, "ch," "sh," j, "th" and "zh" (as in the end of the word "garage")
To find out what ages kids usually develop these speech sounds, you can take a peek at this:
Speech Sound Development Chart (developed by Eric Sander in 1972).
It's not perfect, and there is disagreement in the field of speech therapy about how accurate it is, but it's a great guideline for helping you to get a basic picture of when speech sounds are usually produced accurately. The beginning of each black bar represents the age at which 50% of children produce the sound correctly, while the end of each black bar represents the age at which 90% of children produce the sound correctly. As speech therapists, we generally don't get too excited about a certain speech sound error until a child isn't producing it when 80-90% of his peers are.
Finally, any discussion of speech sounds is incomplete without talking just a bit about how children use those sounds in what we call "syllable shapes." Syllable shapes refer to the way that we put consonants and vowels together to make words. This can get a bit tricky to think about, because most of us are used to thinking about how we put alphabet letters together to spell words, rather than how we put sounds together to say them. A full discussion of this is too complex (and way too boring) to get into here, so I'll just ask that you remember that, for the purpose of this post, we are talking about sounds, not letters. Okay? Okay.
When we shorthand syllable shapes, we write C for consonant and V for vowel (easy enough, right?). So a "CV" word would be "me". One consonant + one vowel. A CVC word would be "mom." Got it? Good.
Here, then, is what we know about the development of syllable shapes:
- Easiest Syllable Shapes: V-V (uh oh), CV (me), VC (up), CVC with the same consonant (mom) and CVCV with the same consonant (daddy).
- Harder Syllable Shapes: CVC with different consonants (pat), CVCV with different consonants (tummy), and CVCVCV words (banana)
- Hardest Syllable Shapes: Words with two or three consonants in a row (black, street) and long words (dictionary).
Combine all that together, and you'll start to find the words that are easy for children (me, boo, bye, mama, dada, up), a bit harder (hat, pony), harder still (dog, kitty, goat), and the hardest (Gregory, licorice, motorcycle). When we speech therapists work with children with speech sound difficulties, we often start with the sounds that are the easiest and put them into the easiest syllable shapes...and then we go from there up, up, up the ladder of speech sound development.
Whew. With all that information, isn't it amazing that our kids ever get it right? Luckily, most of them do, with very little help from us at all. And if they don't? That's what speech-language therapists are for! :)
Looking for more information on speech sound development? | <urn:uuid:a2dea3d5-5e53-4310-b636-e80c504f805c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.talkingkids.org/2011/04/speech-sounds-and-kids-part-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00050-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96442 | 1,284 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Seals have been used by the Eskimo and other northern hunting peoples for food, oil, and hides. Commercial sealing has been largely confined to a few species, most notably the fur seal. Commercially important species of true seals are the harp seal, whose pups are valued for their fluffy white coats, and the ringed seal. The hunting of these seals is regulated by international treaties, and they are not in danger of extinction. The elephant seals were formerly hunted for oil and almost exterminated, but they are now protected and are stabilized or increasing in numbers. The monk seals have been greatly depleted by hunting in past centuries and their survival is threatened, although they are no longer of commercial importance. The Caribbean monk seal is believed by some authorities to be extinct. The ribbon seal and Ross seal are not much hunted; estimates of their populations have varied considerably, but they are not thought to be endangered.
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The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Vertebrate Zoology | <urn:uuid:885a3e70-198e-4acb-9f58-1b8cdb5021cb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/seal-zoology-sealing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969146 | 226 | 3.9375 | 4 |
Carnivore, Omnivore! Game
Submitted: November 4, 2002
a culminating activity, my partner teacher and I made colorful necklaces for the
students to wear. We had one human (orange sign with orange yarn), 2 omnivores
(yellow sign with yellow yarn), 4 carnivores (blue sign with blue yarn) and the
rest of the students were herbivores (green sign with green yarn). Each of the
kids were given 5 slips of matching colored paper that was to be considered their
"life." They were instructed to play this game like tag. The humans
could tag/"eat" any of them, the omnivores could tag/"eat"
the carnivores or herbivores. The carnivores could only eat the herbivores. The
herbivores were to try to survive! If a student was tagged, they were to give
up one slip of paper/"life." Once they were out of life, they were "dead"
and had to sit down.
The students had a great time, while learning! It
met the kinesthetic learner at his/her learning style! We even had a couple of
notes from parents commenting on how this game made the whole concept come together
for their child! | <urn:uuid:383ab4e7-c1df-4be5-b1a0-8becf415675e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ilovethatteachingidea.com/ideas/020411_herbivore_carnivore_omnivore_game.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00080-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977613 | 268 | 3.484375 | 3 |
CCK, dietary variety, and food intake in rats /
McKenzie, Tammy L. B.
MetadataShow full item record
Among the environmental factors that can affect food intake is the extent of dietary variety available in the environment. Numerous studies have demonstrated that variety in a meal can increase the amount of food consumed in humans, rats, and other species. A physiological mechanism that has been demonstrated to affect food intake is the gut peptide cholecystokinin (CCK) which is released from the upper small intestine during the ingestion of food. Peripherally administered CCK has a robust inhibitory effect on the intake of a single-food meal. Thus, dietary variety and CCK both affect meal size, with dietary variety increasing intake and CCK decreasing intake. This raises the question ofhow dietary variety and CCK might interact to affect meal size. Previous studies of CCK's effects have focused on situations in which only one food was available for consumption. However, in an animal's natural environment it would frequently occur that the animal would come across a number of foods either simultaneously or in quick succession, thus providing the animal access to a variety of foods during a meal. Accordingly, the effect ofCCK on food intake in single-food and multiple-food meals was examined. It was found that food intake was greater in multiple-food than in single-food meals provided that foods in the multiplefood meal were presented either simultaneously or in increasing order of preference. When foods in the multiple-food meal were presented in decreasing order of preference, intake was similar to that observed in single-food meals. In addition, it was found that CCK inhibited food intake in a dose-dependent manner, and that its effects on food intake were similar regardless of meal type. Therefore, the inhibitory effects ofCCK were not diminished when a variety of foods were available for consumption. Furthermore, the finding that CCK did not differentially affect the intake of the two types of meals does not provide support for the recent-foods hypothesis which postulates that CCK decreases food intake by reducing the palatability of only recently consumed foods. However, it is consistent with the all-foods hypothesis, which predicts that CCK reduces food intake by decreasing the palatability of all foods. The 600 ng/kg dose of the CCK^-antagonist lorglumide significantly antagonized the inhibitory effect of exogenous CCK on food intake, and the magnitude of this effect was similar for both types of meal. These results suggest that exogenous CCK inhibits food intake through the activation ofCCK^ receptors. However, when administered by itself, the 600^ig/kg dose of lorglumide did not increase food intake in either single-food or multiple-food meals, suggesting that peripheral endogenous CCK may not play a major role in the control of food intake. | <urn:uuid:11f79cd9-db08-41bc-908f-4babec84d854> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://dr.library.brocku.ca/handle/10464/2312 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974127 | 591 | 3.09375 | 3 |
David Bourget (Western Ontario)
David Chalmers (ANU, NYU)
Rafael De Clercq
Ezio Di Nucci
Jack Alan Reynolds
Learn more about PhilPapers
Cambridge University Press (1995)
A paradox can be defined as an unacceptable conclusion derived by apparently acceptable reasoning from apparently acceptable premises. Unlike party puzzles or brain teasers, many paradoxes are serious in that they raise serious philosophical problems, and are associated with crises of thought and revolutionary advances. To grapple with them is not merely to engage in an intellectual game, but to come to grips with issues of real import. The second, revised edition of this intriguing book expands and updates the text to take account of new work on the subject. It provides a valuable and accessible introduction to a range of paradoxes and their possible solutions, with questions designed to engage the reader with the arguments and full bibliographical references to both classic and current literature on the topic.
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Peter B. M. Vranas (2005). The Indeterminacy Paradox: Character Evaluations and Human Psychology. Noûs 39 (1):1–42.
Wesley Elsberry & Jeffrey Shallit (2011). Information Theory, Evolutionary Computation, and Dembski's "Complex Specified Information". Synthese 178 (2):237 - 270.
Timothy Chan (2010). Moore's Paradox is Not Just Another Pragmatic Paradox. Synthese 173 (3):211 - 229.
Mark Thomas Walker (2014). The Real Reason Why the Prisoner's Dilemma is Not a Newcomb Problem. Philosophia 42 (3):841-859.
JC Beall (2000). Fitch's Proof, Verificationism, and the Knower Paradox. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 78 (2):241 – 247.
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Definition of intersubjective
1 : involving or occurring between separate conscious minds <intersubjective communication>
2 : accessible to or capable of being established for two or more subjects : objective <intersubjective reality of the physical world>
intersubjectivityplay \-(ˌ)səb-ˌjek-ˈti-və-tē\ noun
First Known Use of intersubjective
Rhymes with intersubjective
Seen and Heard
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Caravaggio’s life is as turbulent as his personality. He has many run-ins with the law and is arrested on several occasions. In 1606 a bet over a game of tennis leads to an argument, at which point Caravaggio draws his sword and kills his opponent. He flees to Naples, intending to take the long way home to Rome – where friends are lobbying for his rehabilitation – via Malta and Sicily. On his wanderings he produces several masterpieces, such as The Beheading of St John the Baptist, which he creates in Malta. He dies before reaching Rome, probably of pneumonia, in Porto Ercole. Several days after his death word arrives of papal absolution.
Caravaggio’s influence is widespread: outside Italy he inspires painters as diverse as Georges de La Tour and members of the Utrecht School, e.g. Gerrit van Honthorst – artists who in their turn are later to influence Rembrandt.
NARCISSUS by Caravaggio
NARCISSUS by Bob Kessel
DOUBTING THOMAS by Caravaggio
DOUBTING THOMAS by Bob Kessel after Caravaggio
Also known as Saint Thomas Putting his Finger on Christ’s Wound. Thomas is one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. When Jesus shows himself to his followers after his resurrection, Thomas refuses to believe that this man really is his master. He demands evidence. Jesus shows him the wound caused by a Roman soldier’s lance before his crucifixion. He invites Thomas to put his finger on it. Caravaggio shows that Thomas soon casts aside all doubt.
Almost identical copies of this painting and that of the Pilgrimage to Emmaus were found in a church in the French town of Loches, in 1999. After investigation, it was announced in 2006 that both works were authentic Caravaggios. Both contain the shield of arms of Philippe de Bethune, a friend of Caravaggio’s and French ambassador in Rome. Records show that Bethune acquired four paintings from the painter. Caravaggio often made several copies of his own paintings.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Italian painter with great influence both in Italy and abroad.
Caravaggio is particularly renowned for his use of chiaroscuro, a technique that uses light and dark to achieve a 3-D effect. Caravaggio breaks away from the tradition of symmetrical figures and detailed backgrounds. His figures do retain a traditional monumentality. His later work is less plastic.
Caravaggio takes his name from the village where he was born. He receives his first training in Milan, specializing in still-lives. Around 1592 he takes to Rome, the spiritual capital of the Italian peninsula, switching his subject matter to street-life and young boys.
In 1595 Caravaggio’s talent catches the eye of cardinal Francesco Del Monte, who subsequently becomes his first patron. Caravaggio’s three paintings on the life of St Matthew cause a sensation: never before has a saint, let alone an apostle, been shown like this. (calling, inspiration, martyrdom) After this succès fou, Caravaggio takes all his subjects from the New Testament. | <urn:uuid:2232649d-9b90-4a0e-a69a-1d5b799d81dc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bobkessel.com/2010/09/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00200-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973815 | 695 | 3.09375 | 3 |
How to make Papyrus?
The rulers of ancient Egypt knew full well how incredibly useful papyrus was. So much so, that they declared its making a state monopoly and allegedly guarded the secret jealously...
Around the second century, the Chinese invention of paper eclipsed the papyrus, its use quickly fading away and its "recipe" all but forgotten until 1965.
The first major difficulty to overcome in this rediscovery was to get hold of actual papyrus plants: strange as it may seem, this traditional Egyptian plant had entirely disappeared from the country and rhizomes of Cyprus papyrus had to be obtained from Sudan. It is now again heavily cultivated in the Gizah area near Cairo.
The second difficulty was obviously to figure out the process itself: amazingly for a civilization that documented every aspect of their daily life, there was no written trace whatsoever of the techniques used in Ancient Egypt.
And yet, the process of papyrus paper-making is actually remarkably simple. To make papyrus, artisans in modern-day Cairo most likely use a process identical to the one used in 4000 BC:
- First, the inner pith of freshly cut papyrus stalks is removed and cut into long thin strips.
- These strips are soaked for about 3 days in water, so as to clean and soften the pith (removing some of the extra sugar it contains), then pounded to break down the fibers and drain out the water.
- They are then disposed over a cotton fabric in a first layer of slightly overlapping vertical lines, followed by a second layer of horizontal stripes.
- After pounding the strips a last time (using a mallet-like tool) Another piece of cotton fabric is placed on top and the whole is put in a bench press.
- The cotton clothes are changed every dozen hours and, a few days later, the papyrus is ready and can be removed from the press.
- Usually, the sheet is then polished to a smooth finish by rubbing with a stone or block of wood.
As you can see, none of these steps (with the notable exception of the harvesting of authentic papyrus stalks on the side of the Nile river) is any hard to realize at home: the press can be replaced by a sufficiently hard support and heavy weights (encyclopedia books etc).
A more modest variant can be made even if you don't have papyrus stalks handy, using other fitting plants (I have heard that cattails works good). In this case, it can be a good idea to add a little bit of glue or wallpaper paste in the soaking water in order to make up for the sugar that insure structure cohesion when using real papyrus plants. The bottom cotton can then be replaced by a thin paper towel that should be left afterward to insure the Papyrus is tightly held together.
Nowadays if you travel in Egypt and particularly in the region of Cairo, you are likely to see locals taking part in the different steps of papyrus paper-making nearly everywhere... | <urn:uuid:8e3c5057-bd88-4b7d-9211-a41abd820389> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://everything2.com/title/Papyrus?author_id=2061246 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954305 | 619 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:1-6
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid'ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here am I." 5 Then he said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 6 And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Meditation: Moses fled to the wilderness of Sinai as a fugitive hunted by Pharoah’s forces and cut off from his own people, the sons of Israel. In such dire circumstances Moses could have rejected Israel’s God. Had not God rejected him and sent him to a ‘no man’s land’ of misery and isolation? The wilderness of Sinai is harsh and barren – extreme cold at night and searing heat by day. No one could live in such a place unless they knew where to find water, food, and shelter, all scarce quantities in the dry barren desert.
Fortunately Moses found refuge with the Midianites, a nomadic tribe of the desert who taught him how to survive in the harsh environment of the Sinai wilderness. Moses spent long days and nights under the desert sky tending the sheep of his father-in-law, named Jethro or Reuel, which means ‘shepherd of God’. During his night watches Moses must have counted the distant stars and murmured how far he now was separated from his own people, the sons of Abraham.
While God must have seemed distant and silent in the remote wilderness, Moses nonetheless called out to him and sought out his companionship in exile. God met him in the unlikeliest of places – at the foot of a mountain, in the dry heat of a summer mid-day, in a scraggily bush caught on fire but not consumed. What is the significance of this strange appearance in the wilderness? First, God manifested himself in visible form--in the form of a bush on fire and yet not consumed. This theophany (manifestation of God) prefigures another incarnation--the Word made flesh in space and time in the person of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. God wanted Moses to know, beyond a doubt, that he was personally called by the living God and was chosen for a special mission--to be the deliverer of his people. In this strange and wonderful encounter we see God taking the initiative to reveal himself to Moses and to draw him into a personal and intimate relationship. The purpose of Christ's incarnation, likewise, is to draw each of us into a personal and intimate relationship with the living God.
Moses' sojourn in the wilderness had prepared him for such an encounter with the Almighty God. He learned through this wilderness experience to be still before the Word of God. He grew as a man of prayer and as a man of God's word. When the Lord Almighty manifested himself in the burning bush and spoke with Moses as man to man, Moses was ready to see, to believe, to hear, and to obey. Are you ready to encounter God personally, to hear his voice, and to obey his word?
"Lord Jesus, you have called me by name, and I am yours. Help me to
draw near to your presence and to be receptive to your voice. Free me from
indifference and complacency that I may do your will eagerly and whole-heartedly." | <urn:uuid:621b8f70-69dd-42be-9d40-85154b73d0c5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rc.net/wcc/israel/printex3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00160-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978751 | 863 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Drug companies are eager to produce a male birth control pill, which would allow men to take a daily medication that would prevent unwanted pregnancies in their partners. At this point, such a drug is still a pipe dream. However, a group of researchers has performed an experiment that may eventually lead to its development. By injecting a particular peptide into the testes of rats, the scientists discovered they could disrupt the blood-testes barrier, which results in sperm leaving the testes before they are developed enough to fertilize an egg. Though the experiments did not directly measure the fertility of the treated rats, previous work suggests that the level should be somewhere between low and non-existent. Additionally, unlike other potential roads to the male pill, this method appears to be reversible and, since the injected peptide is already produced by the body in limited amounts, safe — which are two major requirements the eventual pill will need to meet in order to make it to the market.
The human brain is likely the most complex subject studied and a recent experiment looked at how the brain organizes itself during development. The study examined mice with and without the gene Arl13b, which, when functioning correctly, allows neurons to read signals from the primary cilia, which guide the neurons to the right place. When the gene is knocked out or not functioning correctly, however, it’s like taking away the neurons’ road map and they get lost on their way to their intended destination. This results in a condition known as Joubert syndrome, which is linked with autism spectrum disorders as well as problems with brain structure. The study is among the first to see how the mutations of the gene actually affect brain development and will hopefully lead to more research that will help provide potential treatments for Joubert syndrome and similar diseases.
In our macroscopic world, if we watch a movie, we can generally tell if it’s moving forward or backward in time: People get older rather than younger and shards of a broken plate never fuse back together. In the subatomic world, however, things don’t work the same way, for the most part. Most processes that occur could just as easily have occurred in reverse. Researchers involved in the BaBar project at Stanford, however, have broken this time symmetry by demonstrating that a certain particle transformation is six times more likely to occur in one direction than the other when moving forward in time. What’s more, the certainty of this being a genuine result is impressive even by physical science’s standards: There is a greater chance of winning the lottery five times in a row than these results being the product of chance. This discovery is the result of 10 years of research with the BaBar project, which continues to investigate the subatomic world in the hopes of generating insights into the nature of time and matter.
A new study published in the journal PLOS One shows that fetuses yawn in the womb, even without having to sit through 8 a.m. lectures. The researchers used advanced 4-D ultrasound videos to differentiate between yawns and simple mouth movements of 15 healthy fetuses — eight girls and seven boys — measured over the second and third trimesters of a pregnancy. Based on the results, yawning appears to be an important part of development, though just like in post-birth humans, it’s unclear what its purpose is. Yawning is not, as commonly thought, a result of “forgetting to breathe,” though the phenomenon of a contagious yawn is very real and other research suggests that reading about yawning — for instance, this article — is also likely to induce yawns. The data collected here doesn’t make things much clearer in the big picture, though it does provide a more specific definition of in-utero yawns as well as support earlier findings that, over the course of a pregnancy, yawning is most frequent during the earlier stages and decreases to virtually nothing by the 36th week. As the reasons behind this phenomenon continue to remain unknown, it’s likely researchers will experience many more sympathetic yawns from studying the subject before they unravel this mystery.
Printed on Thursday, November 29, 2012 as: Birth control may use baby sperm | <urn:uuid:820025fd-56d8-466e-8e20-2935a56905a1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dailytexanonline.com/life-and-arts/2012/11/28/premature-sperm-key-to-male-pill | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00175-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965821 | 860 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Your mission this week, should you decide to accept it, is to:
1) I posted The "Rivers of America" Map yesterday, and demonstrated how to find the downstream course of a river in the United States, or the upstream watershed area of a river. Please refer to that blog post.
2) This week, your Saturday Night Genealogy Fun mission is to make a map using the National Atlas map (at http://nationalatlas.gov/streamer/Streamer/streamer.html) showing the downstream course of a river that one of your ancestors may have traveled on. What does it tell you? What did you learn? Did they live at other places on that river, or downstream of that river?
3) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own (please show us the map you created - use an image snipping tool or take a screen shot), or make a comment here on this post, or write a Facebook status or a Google+ stream post.
I was curious about the river system in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. My Carringer family migrated from there to Louisa County, Iowa in the late 1850s. I don't know if they traveled by horse/oxen and wagon or by river and then wagon. If they went by river, I figured that they went down by wagon to a place on the Ohio River, then down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River and up the Mississippi River to Louisa County, Iowa.
I am interested in the rivers and creeks around Perry township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Here is a zoomed in map of the area (unfortunately, county boundaries are hard to see):
The Martin Carringer family settled in 1796 right about where the red dot is on the map above (I put it there are then copied the image). This appears to be one of the highest spots in the area. As you can see, there is Neshannock Creek to the south of the homestead, which drains to the south, through the towns of Mercer and New Castle to Beaver, where it empties into the Ohio River. The stream to the north of the red dot is the Little Shenango River which drains through Greenville, Sharpsville and New Castle, and thence to Beaver and into the Ohio River.
The watercourse for the Little Shenango River is:
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-rivers-of.html
Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver | <urn:uuid:524f2a9d-602b-47ea-8a35-e4248a755980> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-rivers-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943885 | 538 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Yellowstone National Park is a land of many perils. Occasionally, one of the three million yearly visitors strolls up to a 2,000-pound bison and is gored. Others eat poisonous plants, snowmobile on avalanche-prone slopes, or plunge off a cliff on that last step backward to frame the perfect photograph. And at Yellowstone's 10,000 volcanically driven hot springs, geysers, bubbling mud pots and fumaroles—earth's largest concentration of hydrothermal features—about two dozen people have been boiled alive after falling or jumping in.
"People do a lot of crazy things," says Lisa Morgan, a volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) who conducts research in the park for a few weeks every summer. She is trying to protect the sandal-clad innocents not from these mishaps, however, but from the ultimate "thermal accident": hydrothermal explosions. They can happen when magma-heated water and steam build up in underground pockets. This pressure causes parts of the landscape to rise and fall like merry-go-round horses. Usually they settle back down again harmlessly. But now and then, things blow up.
One of Morgan's best guesses for the next big blowout—maybe the biggest in 3,000 years—is a 2,100-foot-wide, 100-foot-high swelling on the bed of Yellowstone Lake. No one has observed any of the park's ground movements long enough to say which ones signal danger, but she says the lake bed could conceivably burst open. If so, lakeside picnickers could see a tsunami or truck-size rocks heading their way. "I wouldn't want to be here," says Morgan. Then she thinks of the spectacle. "Well, maybe in an airplane."
The park sits on a still-active 30- by 45-mile caldera, a depression created when a volcano erupted 640,000 years ago. Chances of a lava eruption in the next 10,000 years appear remote, but magma simmering four to five miles beneath the caldera's trapped groundwater drives the park's hydrothermal convulsions. Geysers like Old Faithful release pressure, but it can build to the breaking point when heated fluids get sealed in by shifts in rock structures, clogged vents or overlying sediment and mineral deposits.
In and around Yellowstone Lake—which lies near the caldera's center—Morgan and colleagues have identified several areas heavily pocked by past hydrothermal explosions. The pits, which appear to untrained eyes as ponds or depressions in the ground, are a few yards to hundreds of yards wide. Along the lake, in eroded beach cliffs and creek banks, Morgan has found layers of sand and sharp-angled rock up to three feet thick; the debris was hurled as far as three and a half miles by past explosions in the lake bed. Arrowheads jumbled in lakeshore deposits suggest unlucky prehistoric Native Americans were around for some of the explosions.
Major ones occurred from 3,000 to 14,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating of wood fragments mingled with the deposited rock and soil debris. Since people started keeping track, in 1872, there have been at least 20 minor blowouts at sites around the park, including several at favorite tourist spots such as Biscuit Basin and Norris Geyser Basin. The last notable one was in 1989, when the throat of Norris Basin's Pork Chop Geyser apparently clogged with minerals. When it burst, boulders rained down near tourists more than 200 feet away. (They were unscathed.)
Only recently did scientists realize the entire park was heaving up and down. In the 1970s, geophysics professor Robert Smith of the University of Utah compared new scientific surveys of ground elevations with surveys made for road building in the 1920s. He found the caldera's center had risen nearly three feet. It kept rising until 1985, when a series of earthquakes rocked the park. Scientists speculate that the tremors coincided with the sideways escape of pent-up gases. Afterward, the caldera began deflating by three-quarters of an inch a year. In 1995, some parts of it reversed direction and started reinflating, until stopping in 2002. In the meantime, a previously undetected 25-mile-wide swelling began outside the caldera, near Norris Basin, surrounded by smaller swellings one to three miles in diameter.
Though no one is sure what all of this heaving means, it's given researchers a sense of urgency about understanding the park's contortions. "Protecting visitors is our No. 1 concern," says park geologist Hank Heasler, who is working with other scientists to come up with a threat-assessment plan.
New problem spots are popping up all the time as well. In March 2003, fourteen new steam vents opened along a 230-foot line north of Norris Basin, releasing plumes of dense water vapor and powdered glass shards in a tremendous roar. Then, last July, geysers began erupting at odd times. The park had to close off much of Norris when ground temperatures shot up in places from 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 200, and the earth near a boardwalk became more acidic and began to dissolve. The basin has since calmed down, and rangers have reopened most of it, but scientists are monitoring trailside areas with thermometers stuck in the ground, seismographs peppering strategic hills, and radar images taken from satellites. "Yellowstone is like a medical patient, but we haven't studied it long enough to know its normal pulse or respiration rate," says Heasler, standing half a mile from the new steam vents.
Morgan is still tracking the dome on the Yellowstone Lake floor called the "inflated plain." She first spotted it in 1999, while she and colleagues were mapping the lake bottom. The rise, she says, is apparently the result of steam or carbon dioxide building up under the lake bed, sealed in by sediments and overlying water pressure. The swelling seems to have grown in the 1990s and is suspiciously close in size to major blowout craters nearby. In fact, it lies along a nearby fissure, a crack that forms the bed of curiously straight Weasel Creek and continues through the lake bed itself. Morgan says the fissure may have been formed by the caldera's rise and fall, like the crack atop a loaf of bread rising in the oven. | <urn:uuid:53020808-05e6-4be5-906a-3a0a2d606c37> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/yellowstone-grumbles-38370440/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00025-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96364 | 1,343 | 3.25 | 3 |
An Ancient Sweet Solution to a Sticky Modern Problem
We have all heard of "superbugs" – bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus bacteria have even shut down hospital wards. Now researchers in New Zealand and Australia may have found out how to fight superbugs. And their weapon is one that has been in medical use for over 4,000 years!
Researchers in New Zealand have examined the healing properties of over 30 different types of honey native to New Zealand. They have found that honey made from the manuka bush has some powerful healing properties. As the honey mixes with the fluids in a wound, it produces a small but continuous stream of hydrogen peroxide. Being acidic, honey creates a hostile environment for bacteria. Research is being conducted using honey to treat burns, eye infections, diabetic skin ulcers and other conditions with encouraging results. Australian researchers have found that honey will even kill 100 different strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including the flesh-eating bacteria! One New Zealand man who had developed gangrene that could not be controlled with antibiotics tried honey. The honey stopped the infection, and his foot began healing. (Please note that the honey available in stores has been heated or pasteurized, removing its antibiotic properties.)
Honey is a gift of God that has many uses. That it has been used on wounds since earliest times suggests that God gave the first people knowledge of its healing powers. | <urn:uuid:2ff98024-92f6-42fe-9cb9-180e55820ea3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.creationmoments.com/node/3092 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966672 | 290 | 3.03125 | 3 |
New Compatible PCR
The Primary Charge Roller (PCR) has two functions. The first is to apply a DC signal to the surface of the drum so that the laser from the printer can write to it. The second is where an AC signal is applied to the drum to help erase any residual charges left on the drum surface after printing. Because of this dual role, there are some very severe failures from them. Most of failures will show up more in the winter where the humidity is low than in the summer when it is high. | <urn:uuid:eb4f2f86-09b5-46f4-abf2-56f35e34a7d9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bcmyinkjets.com/index.php/pcr | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952649 | 108 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Getting a good night’s rest can make or break your day, so it’s no wonder that millions of people have used sleeping pills at one time or another. But are these pills safe for use, especially when they are utilized regularly? In this article, we’ll go over the latest studies on sleeping pills and explain the possible health risks of using them.
Types Of Sleeping Pills
There are two main types of sleeping pills: over-the-counter and prescription medications. Over-the-counter sleeping pills are typically considered safe for occasional use. Most of these contain antihistamines to help induce a sleep feeling. However, they tend to be less effective the longer you take them. If you’re looking for more information on over-the-counter sleep aids, read Using A Melatonin Supplement As A Sleep Aid.
Prescription sleeping pills, on the other hand, come in many varieties and are tend to have a stronger effect. In addition, many people are more likely to become reliant on prescription sleeping pills as opposed to ones purchased over the counter. The following are some of the main types of drugs used to create prescription sleeping pills (common brand names are noted in parentheses):
- Eszopiclone (Lunesta)
- Triazolam (Halcion)
- Ramelteon (Rozerem)
- Zolpidem (Ambien, Edluar)
- Zaleplon (Sonata)
- Temazepam (Restoril)
- Doxepin (Silenor)
While certain prescription sleeping pills are intended to help you fall asleep, others are meant to help you stay asleep through the night. Talk to your doctor about your sleeping habits if you aren’t sure which type of pill would work better for you.
Possible Side Effects
When taking sleeping pills, it’s important to consider the possible symptoms which may result from taking those medications. The potential side effects of prescription sleeping pills include:
- Allergic reaction
- Memory and performance deficiency during the day
- Extended sleepiness or drowsiness, also called “the hangover effect”
- Sleep behaviors, like sleep-eating or sleep-driving
- Gastrointestinal problems, including diarrhea or nausea
It’s not just the side effects that you have to think about when taking sleeping pills. In fact, there are some potential long-term health risks that may make you think twice before using this type of medication.
Recently, some studies have found that sleeping pills appear to be linked to an increased risk of death. In fact, one study found that prescription sleeping pill users were about four times more likely to die than those who did not take prescription sleeping pills. This statistic applied even to those who were prescribed less than 20 pills per year. In addition, that same study found that those who were taking higher doses of sleeping pills were more likely to develop cancer.
While it’s important to keep in mind that these studies don’t prove that sleeping pills directly caused death or cancer, it’s something very important to think about before getting a prescription for these types of medications.
Tips For Safe Use
If you do wish to take sleeping pills despite the health risks, talk to your doctor to determine which prescription or over-the-counter product will work best for you. In addition, keep these tips for safe use in mind:
- Stop taking sleeping pills gradually. If you’ve grown accustomed to taking sleeping pills regularly, then suddenly stopping may produce withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety, nausea, vomiting or unusual dreams.
- Avoid forming a habit. Try to take sleeping pills only when necessary. Many of the prescription drugs are habit-forming, and taking over-the-counter drugs regularly can lead to them becoming ineffective due to increased tolerance.
- Avoid alcohol. Never drink alcohol when taking sleeping pills as this increases the sedative effects of the pills.
- Don’t try other activities. Don’t attempt to do anything that requires alertness, such as driving, when taking sleeping pills.
- Ask your doctor about conflicting health issues. People with certain health conditions are considered to be unsuitable for sleeping pill use. If you have asthma, liver problems, urinary retention, closed-angle glaucoma, depression, alcohol abuse issues, lung disease, kidney problems, respiratory problems, sleep apnea or are pregnant or breast-feeding, be sure to ask your doctor if sleeping pills are safe for you to take.
There are plenty of ways to get better sleep without using sleeping pills. For many people, the following tactics may help them to get a better night’s sleep without having to use medication:
- Go to bed and wake up at about the same time every day to create a consistent schedule.
- Don’t take naps unless you need them, and try not to nap after 3pm.
- Avoid eating close to bed time; make sure all large meals are finished at least 2 hours before going to bed.
- Don’t exercise within two hours of going to bed.
- Avoid nicotine, alcohol and caffeine about 4-6 hours before bedtime.
- Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet; adjust the temperature to make yourself more comfortable in bed.
- Try to create a bedtime routine where you do something quiet like read or listen to soothing music for about 30 minutes before going to sleep.
- Try valerian supplements. However, keep in mind that these may have side effects like headaches or heart disturbances.
For more tips on how to get a better night’s rest, check out 6 Tips To Sleeping Better At Night.
Sleeping pills can be an effective solution for occasional insomnia, but taking them regularly can result in a host of unpleasant side effects and health risks. Consider trying other methods to adjust your sleeping habits before turning to sleeping pills, and always talk to your doctor before taking any sleep-aid medications. | <urn:uuid:c4d6e4cf-f383-4b32-8ac4-2ec15e42416c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.symptomfind.com/health/are-sleeping-pills-safe/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00151-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932249 | 1,243 | 2.734375 | 3 |
I am well aware that money . . .
how to get it,
and what to do with it, once you have it . . .
isn’t the most fascinating topic for all of us. However, it is one of those necessary evils, and it’s best that we all are well versed and aware of the resources out there, regarding all things money.
Since librarians are all about making research easy for everyone, see below for a list of selected FREE resources for you to use in your journey toward financial literacy.
It All Adds Up Site
Sponsored by American Express, this website is for teens who want to prepare for their financial futures. The web site contains online games and simulations to help students learn about credit management, buying a car, paying for college, budgeting, saving, and investing.
Not Your Parents Money Book: Making, Saving, and Spending Your Own Money by Jean Chatzky.
This book covers personal finances, describing ways to make, save, and spend money responsibly.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Check out this site, maintained by the federal government, to take a look at what you need to do to prepare to enter the world of your dream job, and what you can expect once you get there!
Quick Cash for Teens: Be Your Own Boss and Make Big Bucks by Peter G. Bielagus
This is your guide to starting your own business – from finding your niche to developing a business plan, this one covers it all.
Top 100 Careers Without a Four-Year Degree: Your Complete Guidebook to Good Jobs in Many Fields by Laurence Sharkin, Ph.D
See this title to start with your skills and figure out what career is right for you. The information inside is based on the Occupational Outlook Handbook – more information of that resource above.
That’s all for now! | <urn:uuid:f56e8605-a60f-4bb6-96fc-04f55b60f1ba> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://clpteensburgh.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925435 | 390 | 2.796875 | 3 |
(Last Updated on : 05/03/2014)
A Hindu temple consists of various parts and these are built keeping in mind those parts. The most important part of a temple is the 'garbhagriha' or sanctum sanctorum. This part of a temple is usually of square shape with a low roof and with no doors or windows except for the front opening.
The temple contains the image of the deity in the geometrical centre. The whole place here is fully dark, except for the light that comes through the front opening. There is a small tower over the roof of the whole shrine. In the North Indian temples, this tower is quite high and it is of low or medium height in the South Indian temples. In some of the temples, a pradaksinapatha (a circumambulatory passage) is provided just round the garbhagriha, to enable the devotees to go round the deity. This passage is not available in the vesara temples.
In front of the garbhagriha and contiguous to it is the mukhamantapa, sometimes called sukanasi or ardhamantapa, depending upon its proportion relative to that of the garbhagriha. This is also used to keep the articles of worship including naivedya (food offerings) on special occasions. The other part of a typical temple is the 'antarala', a narrow passage connecting the garbhagriha and the mukhamantapa to the mantapa (pavilion or hall). But, in most of the temples, the antarala is identical with the mukhamantapa or sukanasi. The mantapa is also called nrittamantapa or navaranga and it is a big hall, which is used for congregational religious acts like singing, dancing, recitation of mythological texts, religious discourses and so on.
Another vital part of a temple is the dhvajastarhbha, which is in front of either the garbhagriha or antarala or the mantapa. It is said to represent the flag post of the 'King of kings'. The lanchana (insignia) is another part of a temple, which is made of copper or brass fixed like a flag to the top of the post. It varies according to the deity in the temple. The lanchana has a figure of the vahana (carrier vehicle) of the residing deity. It is the figure of Nandi bull in case of Siva temples while it is the lion that finds its place in Devi temples. In Visnu temples Garuda gets that honour.
The balipitha (pedestal of sacrificial off ermgs) with a lotus or the footprints of the deity is one more vital part of a temple. It can be seen fixed near the dhvajastarhbha, but nearer to the deity. Red-coloured offerings like rice mixed with vermillion powder, are kept on this at appropriate stages during the performance of rituals. This is an indication of the feeding of the parivaradevatas (attendant and associate deities). A high wall (prakara) surrounds the temple with one main and three subsidiary gates, opening in the cardinal directions. These gateways are decorated with gopurams having high tower, which are sometimes called as the Cow-gate.
A typical Hindu temple contains minor temples or shrines inside the prakara, which are meant for the minor deities, connected with the main deity. For example, in a Siva temple, the minor shrines are dedicated to Ganapati, Parvatu Subrahmanya and Candesvara. Again in a Vishnu temple, Laksmi, Hanuman and Garuda find a place as minor deities. In a Durga temple, Siva, Ganapati and subrahmanya can be found.
Besides these, a typical Hindu temple include a yagnasala, (sacrificial shed), pakasala (cooking shed) and kitchen, place for the utsavamurti (processional image carried during the car festivals), well or a puskarinl (tank), flower garden, stores and other essential structures linked with the management of the temple as also the rituals. Another vital part of a Hindu temple is the 'dipastambha' (lamp post), which often can be found in South Indian temples. It is situated either in front of the balipitha or outside the main gate. The top of this post has a bud shaped chamber to receive the lamp. | <urn:uuid:7e4033e0-7bb8-4056-b805-22ee5747d19e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.indianetzone.com/26/vital_parts_a_typical_temple.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940609 | 962 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Understanding EQ is essential when producing, mixing and mastering. This post is a clear explanation and helpful overview of the topic from Mark Garrison's book Encyclopedia of Home Recording.
Equalizers allow us to control the tonal qualities of a signal by changing the relative volume of different frequency ranges. Originally designed to compensate for frequency loss caused by inefficient cabling, equalizers are now used as a creative tool as much as a corrective one. Reasons for using an equalizer include correcting tonal problems that have occurred in the recording process, creating tonal separation between two instruments that exist in the same frequency range, and creating special tonal effects.
An equalizer affects the tone of a signal by boosting or cutting signal in different frequency ranges. This is achieved through the use of three types of filters: bell, shelf, and pass (see Fig. 39).
Bell filters (also called peak filters) boost or cut the chosen frequency, affecting the surrounding frequencies in a bell-shaped curve. How much on either side of the target frequency is affected by the filter is controlled by the its quality factor or “Q”. A high Q affects very little to either side of the target frequency, while a low Q affects a wide band of frequencies (see Fig. 40).
Shelf filters work at either end of the frequency spectrum. A high-shelf slopes up or down to the desired amount of boost or cut, then shelfs off to boost or cut all frequencies above by the same amount (see Fig. 39). A low-shelf does the same, only affecting all frequencies below. For example, a high-shelf set to boost 2 dB at 7 kHz will increase the volume of all frequencies above 7 kHz by 2 dB. A low-shelf set to -3 dB at 80 Hz will attenuate all frequencies below 80 Hz by 3 dB.
Pass filters can only cut signal. Like shelving filters, pass filters occur at either end of the spectrum, but rather than shelving off, the cut continues on the same slope until signal is completely removed (see Fig. 39). The target frequency is the point on the slope where the volume of the signal has been reduced by 3 dB. A high-pass filter cuts all sound below the target frequency completely, allowing only the higher frequencies to pass while a low-pass filter cuts everything higher than the target frequency, with all lower frequencies allowed to pass though unaffected. When both a high-pass and a low-pass filter are used together, it is called a band- pass filter. A band-pass filter leaves a band of frequencies, with everything above and below being cut.
The effect of an equalizer is often represented with an “EQ curve”, a graphic depiction of what is happening to a signal (see Fig. 41). The dashed horizontal line represents the signal coming into the EQ, and the black line represents the signal coming out. When the black line is above the dashed line, the signal is being boosted, when it is below, the signal is being cut, and when the dark line is even to the dashed line, there is no cut or boost. The curve being shown in Fig. 41 shows that the signal is being cut with a shelf filter at 100 Hz and boosted with a bell filter at 2.5 kHz. All other frequencies are unaffected.
Types Of Equalizers
There are two basic types of equalizers: parametric and graphic (see Fig. 42). Parametric equalizers vary in the number of bands they have (essentially, the number of frequencies that can be affected at the same time), generally ranging from 3 to 7. The highest and lowest bands are shelf filters (unless labelled otherwise), with the bands in between being bell filters. On a parametric EQ, each band has controls to set the target frequency and the amount of boost or cut that is to be applied to that frequency. If a band uses a bell filter, it will also have a control for the filter’s Q. An equalizer that works in this manner but has less fewer (for example on a mixing board) is called a semi-parametric equalizer. Parametric equalizers are favored in recording because they can be used to hone in on precise frequencies.
Graphic equalizers use a series of set-frequency, set-Q faders to control frequency balance. They are called graphic equalizers because the positions of the faders provide a graphic representation of the equalization curve they are producing (see Fig. 43). Like parametric equalizers, graphic equalizers have a shelf filter at either end of the spectrum with bell filters in between. The number of bands a graphic EQ has varies, though 15- and 31-band are among the most common. Graphic EQs are less precise than parametric EQs, but they can be used more quickly, making them preferable for use in live sound reinforcement.
Equalizers are usually used with the goal of boosting or cutting a specific portion of a signal, such as the crack of a snare drum, the pick hitting the strings on an acoustic guitar, or the scratch of the bow on a fiddle track. Using a parametric EQ, there is a quick and easy way to find the frequency of a specific quality you want to affect within the signal.
On one band of the equalizer, turn the Q up quite high and boost the band all the way. Then, play the sound and slowly sweep the frequency back and forth until you find the point where the tone you are looking to focus on is loudest. Make a note of the frequency and put the EQ back to zero. You now know the frequency where your target tone occurs, and you can cut or boost appropriately.
General Equalizer Tips
Don’t “fix it in the mix”. Try changing the sound by other means first, such as using a different microphone or mic placement. Heavy EQ often sounds manipulated and can lead to phasing issues.
It is usually better to cut than to boost. Boosting in EQ makes the instrument take up more space in the mix, which can contribute to muddy or unintelligible mixes. Also, the phase problems mentioned above are more common with boosting than with cutting.
An instrument only needs to sound good on its own if it is heard on its own at some point in the song. Otherwise all that matters is how it sounds in the mix.
Don’t be a low-mid junky. When an instrument has a lot happening in the low- mid range (120–250 Hz), it sounds big, but this range tends to get crowded very quickly resulting in a muddy or muffled mix. Avoid allowing too much to happen in this frequency range.
Make space. Every instrument needs its own place in the mix in order for it to be heard clearly. Try cutting a bit of volume from the less important frequency ranges of each instrument to make room for other instruments in that range.
If two instruments exist in the same basic frequency range (for example bass and kick drum) try interlocking their EQ curves. This means that any frequency boosted on one should be cut in the other and vice-versa. In the example of a bass and kick drum, if you boost the bass at 100 Hz to give it more thump, then cut from the kick drum at 100 Hz.
Cut narrow, boost wide. As a rule of thumb, equalization tends to be less obvious when a narrow band (high Q) is used to cut frequencies and a wide band (low Q) is used for boosting frequencies. | <urn:uuid:c5633b21-f363-468a-9e87-091ec3f124ac> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://music.tutsplus.com/articles/encyclopedia-of-home-recording-equalizer--audio-12573 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943595 | 1,551 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Microsoft has seen the potential of Minecraft as a learning tool. Now it's ready to use the video game as a way to expand its presence in schools.
The company will launch a new version of Minecraft for schools this summer, and offer free trial versions.
As part of its plans, Microsoft will also acquire an existing version of the software, MinecraftEdu, from an independent developer, Teacher Gaming.
Minecraft is an insanely popular online video game that allows players to build their own virtual worlds using blocks. More than 22 million people own the game, and more than 7,000 classrooms in 40 countries already have MinecraftEdu.
But because there isn't a central "point" to the game, players have to create their own story.
"Teachers discovered that this allowed them to create lessons through Minecraft [modifications]," Vu Bui told CNNMoney in a recent interview. Bui is COO of Minecraft developer Mojang, which Microsoft bought in 2014 for $2.5 billion.
Instructors use Minecraft to teach everything from coding and math, to history, geography and civil engineering. Students can work on assignments inside and outside of the classroom.
The game is one example of how schools are testing more "personalized" forms of teaching through tech.
"It's not that it helps kids learn different," Rafranz Davis said in a video statement. "[It's that] it helps us see the way that they learn different, and I think that is the biggest game changer." She's a teacher and technology planning administrator in Texas.
While some may fear that the game will decrease the amount of time kids spend socializing, Davis has found the opposite to be true.
"The first time, there is that fear," she told CNNMoney. But it's great for group projects, she added, and students end up training teachers sometimes.
The new Minecraft: Education Edition will have better maps with coordinates that teachers and students can use to navigate virtual worlds.
The multi-player mode will also be built to accommodate up to 40 students. And like many new platforms, Minecraft: Education Edition will have a social media component.
But kids are fickle, and what's cool today may be lame tomorrow. So is Microsoft (Tech30) risking the Minecraft brand by associating it with school and homework? ,
Mojang's Bui says no.
"Minecraft isn't cool because of the game," he told CNNMoney. "It's cool because of the people who create stuff within it."
In addition to Minecraft, Microsoft also has educational versions of its other popular software products, including Office 365, Windows 10, and Skype.
Microsoft also announced the beta launch of some new OneNote features that helps people with reading disabilities improve comprehension. | <urn:uuid:d353df4c-cc49-4b8b-b67e-c507292e3d1a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/19/technology/microsoft-minecraft-education/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965074 | 567 | 2.53125 | 3 |
From the 1850s to the 1880s, illustrators were highly respected in the American art world. The quality of Homer’s designs for wood engravings made in the 1860s and 1870s attests to the view that illustration could be, or could at least aspire to be, a fine art. Homer sometimes adapted his illustrations for watercolors and oil paintings, and, in a reversal of that sequence, he often reused the imagery of his paintings in engravings.
Sterling Clark recognized the prints as an important part of Homer’s work. In his diary, Clark lamented the loss of the original drawings through the wood engraving process: “A pity the drawings were destroyed in the wood cutting process—Lots of movement—...A really great artist.”
|"Snap-the-Whip," publ. Harper’s Weekly, 20 Sept. 1873|
Getting some kind of basic insurance cover for their medical costs link to a website buy amoxil usa pharmacy online if you do not have your wishes placed in writing the medical staff has no choice but to use all measures available to them to sustain your life. | <urn:uuid:fdb8b212-4794-4c22-a2d6-86b66d3d1ab2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.clarkart.edu/exhibitions/homer2013/content/w-e-fineart.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978623 | 239 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Her last inflight radio transmission was little help to a Coast Guard ship waiting below to guide her to her destination: a speck in the Pacific. “We are on the line of position 157-337…. We are running north and south,” Amelia Earhart radioed from her Lockheed Electra 10E as she and navigator Fred Noonan searched desperately for tiny Howland Island on the morning of July 2, 1937. Earhart’s cryptic message came on the next-to-last leg of her attempted around-the-world flight. It continues to vex searchers—and their sponsors—who still search to solve what some consider aviation’s greatest mystery.
From This Story
Did she crash and sink somewhere near Howland after running out of gas on the 20-hour, 2,550-mile flight from Lae, New Guinea? Did she have enough fuel to set down on some other island along the position line? Or did she wind up somewhere else altogether? One fanciful theory has her being captured by the Japanese in the Marshall Islands and later executed as an American spy; another has her living out her days under an assumed name as a housewife in New Jersey.
Seventy years after Earhart’s disappearance, the larger question may be this: Why continue to search for her?
“Because it’s one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century,” says Dorothy Cochrane, curator of general aviation at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. “She was the best-known American woman pilot in the world and she just disappeared off the face of the Earth. People were tracking her flight with great interest at the time and there was a huge search for her. All these little ideas and theories that have come out since—it’s all fueled because her flight was a big deal at the time.”
The 1920s and ’30s were marked by an aeronautical record-setting frenzy. While Earhart was making headlines with her solo flights (thanks in part to promoter-husband George Putnam, the New York publisher), other aviators like high-altitude pioneer Wiley Post, industrialist Howard Hughes, speed champion Roscoe Turner, and speed-hungry Jackie Cochran were grabbing some glory of their own. But only Earhart—the reserved tomboy from Kansas who disappeared three weeks shy of her 40th birthday—still grips the public imagination.
Cochrane subscribes to the crashed-and-sank theory and she doubts the Electra will ever be found. “People want a final ending, but I don’t think we’re going to get it,” she says. “It will always be one of those mysteries. If you find it, it’s all over. I think it’s fun to speculate.”
Ric Gillespie, a former aviation accident insurance investigator and head of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery in Wilmington, Delaware, has raised and spent more than $2 million over 18 years looking for Earhart. He’s led seven expeditions to remote Gardner Island (now called Nikumaroro), south of Howland, where he believes Earhart landed on the reef-flat. His team has found, among other things, what appear to be pieces of aircraft, but nothing that definitively matches the Electra. Gillespie, who has raised several hundred thousand dollars for an eighth trip to the island in July, calls the hunt for Earhart “an American obsession.”
“I don’t know any other way to explain something that’s been the subject of at least 50 books, countless magazine and newspaper articles, and TV documentaries,” he says. “It’s one of those things that people can’t let go of. I’ve heard journalists call it the last great American mystery.”
The flight itself was “not historically significant,” says Gillespie, noting that it was possible in 1937 to fly commercially around the world and that newspaper reporters already had done so. Earhart’s goal was not to be the first woman to fly around the world, but to be the first person to circumnavigate Earth near the equator, thereby besting in distance Wiley Post’s around-the-northern-hemisphere flights. But Earhart’s fame—and her husband’s penchant for promotion—made everything she did newsworthy.
Central to Gillespie’s hypothesis are reports of distress calls from the Phoenix Islands made on Earhart’s radio frequency for days after she vanished. (Gardner is part of the Phoenix chain.) The Electra could have broadcast only if it were on land, not in the water. The Coast Guard and later the Navy, believing the distress calls were real, adjusted their searches, and newspapers at the time reported Earhart and Noonan were marooned on an island. “It all comes down to the credibility of the post-crash calls,” Gillespie says. “Either Earhart was on land in the Phoenix Islands or there was a hoaxer in the Phoenix Islands with her radio.”
Equally adamant that the calls were bogus and that Earhart and Noonan ditched in the water is David Jourdan, a former Navy submariner and ocean engineer in Cape Porpoise, Maine, who specializes in deep-sea recoveries. His company, Nauticos, has raised and spent $4.5 million on two deep-sea sonar searches around Howland in 2002 and 2006. Armed with the materials of Earhart researcher Elgen Long, which he had purchased in the late 1990s, Jourdan so far has searched about 1,200 square miles north and west of Howland. From his research, Long postulates that Earhart’s airplane ran out of gas within 52 miles of the island and is sitting somewhere in a 6,000-square-mile area at a depth of 17,000 feet.
“The analysis of all the data we have—the fuel analysis, the radio calls, other things—tells me she went into the water off Howland,” says Jourdan, who sold his company’s deep-water equipment to Houston-based Oceaneering International in 2002 while retaining the rights to the Nauticos name. To Jourdan, “it makes perfect sense” that Earhart would continue flying on her line of position in search of Howland—as she had radioed—until the Electra simply ran out of gas and splashed into the sea. (The “line of position” is a line plotted at a right angle to the direction toward a celestial body, based on its observed elevation above the horizon at a precise time. On the morning of July 2, 1937, the course derived from an observation of the rising sun yielded a line of position of 157–337. The numbers 157 and 337 refer to points on a compass: 157 degrees southeast and 337 northwest; a line drawn through those points would intersect Howland.)
As for the airplane, “it would still be shiny,” Jourdan says. “At that depth, you wouldn’t even expect to find a layer of [silt].”
That’s unsettling for some Earhart researchers. “The notion of seeing images of Amelia’s leather jacket 18,000 feet down [disturbs] me,” says Tom Crouch, senior curator of aeronautics at the National Air and Space Museum. Based on the condition of artifacts found aboard the Titanic, which came to rest in the north Atlantic at 13,000 feet, Crouch thinks that not only Earhart’s jacket would have survived, but her shoes and probably her teeth as well.
“I want to know where she is, but there’s something uncomfortable about finding out,” Crouch says. “I’m convinced that the mystery is part of what keeps us interested. In part, we remember her because she’s our favorite missing person.”
Whoever finds Earhart’s airplane stands to make a great deal of money. “From a business standpoint, we’ve always felt it was a great opportunity,” Jourdan says. “There’s a fantastic exhibition you could put together if we have that plane in our hands. A clever businessperson could certainly make something of this. I’m not a treasure hunter, but I’d like to do this and make some income so I could offset the cost [of looking for Earhart] and fund other expeditions.”
He agrees the search for Earhart may be something of an obsession. “There’s some truth to that. It does grab you, but I try to keep it from being an obsession. Ric and I disagree profoundly on the basics, but he’s a good guy and we get along. I encourage any of those people looking anywhere, if there’s any chance you’re right, let me know so I can stop wasting my time and go on and do other things.”
Cover photo credit: NASM (SI A-45905-C) | <urn:uuid:c298950d-34d3-45b6-bc1a-ab037619b59f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/an-american-obsession-18677828/?all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00194-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961613 | 1,946 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Wisconsin garden centers and hardware stores all begin sprouting large colorful racks of vegetable seeds in February; some as early as January. This can be frustrating in a state where the growing season starts sometime between May 1 and June 15. Most home gardeners do not have greenhouses and many don't have the money to buy a lot of plants. If you know what you want to grow, however, you can figure out when to start it indoors; it just takes a bit of planning.
Find the last average frost date for your area. The date will vary from April 26 near Lake Michigan near Milwaukee to June 6 up near Hayward on Lake Superior. Your local University of Wisconsin County Extension agent or local Master Gardener Association can probably tell you the last frost date for your location.
Check seed packets for directions that suggest planting indoors before the last freeze date. Compute planting dates for cool season crops like carrots and onions by finding their germination time and subtracting that from the last freeze date. Note the date that each should be planted on a calendar. Most of your planting dates will end up in March and April.
Fill cut-off milk cartons, little plastic pots or peat pots with soil-less potting mixture and put them in trays, wash basins or any containers that will hold them with about 2 inches of head space. Or buy a set of peat "pellets" in a specialized watering tray. Poke holes in the bottom of cartons or pots that have no drainage; peat pots do not need drainage holes.
Plant vegetable seeds according to your calendar. Spray them with distilled or nursery water and cover them with plastic wrap loosely secured with masking tape and set them in a sunny window until they germinate. If condensation forms on the plastic, remove it and vent the seeds so they don't "damp off," or rot. If you start your plants on a schedule, give them plenty of light and keep their potting mix moist, you should have healthy seedlings with several adult "true" leaves by your area's last frost date.
A week or two before the last frost date (about the time that the urge to plant things becomes overwhelming), begin taking your little seedlings out on sunny days to "harden off." Wisconsin winters die hard; snow has been known to fall in May. Keep plants inside or in a covered cold frame at night or on windy days. Begin transplanting cool season crops like lettuce, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts on the last frost date. Wait a few weeks until the soil warms to about 65 degrees Fahrenheit and night temperatures stay above 55 to plant more delicate crops like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. | <urn:uuid:160b3773-f1ab-4f48-b6dc-068a7bf9a53b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gardenguides.com/112721-start-vegetable-plants-indoor-wisconsin.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942401 | 549 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Next January will see the 10th anniversary of one of the most curious episodes in the history of the BBC. At a “secret seminar”, many of its most senior executives met with a roomful of invited outsiders to agree on a new policy that was in flagrant breach of its Charter. They agreed that, when it came to climate change, the BBC’s coverage should now be quite deliberately one-sided, in direct contravention of its statutory obligation that “controversial subjects” must be “treated with due accuracy and impartiality”. Anything that contradicted the party line, from climate science to wind farms, could be ignored.
The BBC Trust later reported that the seminar had taken this momentous decision on the advice of “the best scientific experts” present. Only years later, after the BBC had spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to suppress the identities of its “scientific experts”, did it emerge that they had been nothing of the kind. The room had been full of rabid climate activists, from pressure groups such as Greenpeace and Stop Climate Chaos.
In 2011, I wrote a report for the Global Warming Policy Foundation charting in detail how this had led to hundreds of programmes that were blatantly biased.
Last week, as the wave of propaganda mounts in advance of that bid to get a new global climate treaty agreed next December, the BBC was at it again, in a 75-minute documentary called Climate Change By Numbers. Using a well-tried formula, the programme purported to be taking a fresh, objective look at the issue, this time employing three mathematicians to subject the basic science on global warming to rigorous mathematical analysis.
As usual, supported by an array of gimmicky graphics, irrelevant anecdotes and film clips from all over the world, what these presenters omitted to say was even more important than what they did. We began with a young lady mathematician explaining how we know that, since 1880, the world has unmistakably warmed. Although she cleverly skated round the increasingly controversial methods by which computers have been used to “adjust”, “infill” or “homogenise” temperature data, few people would disagree with her conclusion that the world has indeed warmed, by around 0.85 degrees. What she left out was that there has been nothing unprecedented about our recent warming. As the world has generally warmed since emerging from the Little Ice Age 200 years ago, two earlier warming phases from natural causes, between 1860 and 1880 and from 1910 to 1940, were just as great as that of the last 30 years – before CO2 levels rose as they have done recently.
But the computer models relied on by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been programmed to predict that, as CO2 rises, so global temperatures must follow. So the second segment showed us a professor using his passion for Spurs football team to assure us that those computer models are reliable. What he omitted to explain was that, in the past 17 years, the IPCC’s computer model predictions have turned out to be comprehensively wrong.
In the final segment, another professor used a long sequence about Formula One motor-racing to tell us that pouring increasing amounts of man-made CO2 into the atmosphere has already led us to ever more “extreme weather events”, floods, storms, droughts, hurricanes etc. In years to come, unless we totally change our lifestyle, these will only get even worse and more dangerous. What he failed to tell us was that, as even the IPCC concedes, such events have not become more frequent or intense at all. There have been no more floods, droughts and hurricanes than there were before the global warming scare was invented.
It was telling last week that, in answer to criticism of another even more ludicrously biased programme on another of its favourite subjects, the EU, a BBC spokesman should have insisted “impartiality is paramount for the BBC”. The fact is that they know they have a legal obligation to be impartial. They know that they are breaking the law. But they also know they can get away with it, because no one in authority will ever call them to account for doing so.
From badger culls to the foxhunting ban and plastic bag charges to climate change, Michael Wilkinson explores the key policies surrounding the environment from each of the political parties.
David Cameron's halcyon days as the 'hug a husky' wannabe Prime Minister who would preside over the greenest Government of all time seem like a distant, faded memory. Environmental policy was in fashion for a while, but what has happened since? | <urn:uuid:ccd7b0b0-59c6-4d1c-b1e4-43be2446934c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11456612/BBCs-climate-change-stance-in-brazen-defiance-of-the-law.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97619 | 962 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Precast ConcreteAn overview for understanding precasting concrete operations
Precast concrete is simply concrete that is cast somewhere other than where it will be used. Most precast products are cast in a factory using a wet-cast method, but others are cast on site-such as tilt-up panels. There are lots of reasons-mostly advantages-why one would precast, and we'll get into those, but the biggest negative of precasting is that the resultant concrete item must be moved. Concrete is heavy-typically about 150 pounds per cubic foot-so concrete elements don't have to be very big before moving them becomes unrealistic.
Some decorative contractors, such as those that precast concrete countertops, stretch the boundaries on what's too big or heavy to move, developing special rigs to transport massive pieces of their concrete work. Other times, it's just simpler to cast the concrete in place as the precast advantages are outweighed by convenience, such as with concrete slabs and floors.
Precasting offers contractors an opportunity to make more money-to increase the scope of the types of concrete work they can offer their customers. To begin precasting, you will need a shop large enough to accommodate the size of the pieces you intend to precast (or a yard if you intend to precast outside), material storage areas or bins, molds, a mixer sized for the precast products you are making, a way to consolidate the concrete in the molds, and a material handling system. | <urn:uuid:ba62dc1c-71e5-456e-bebe-805bec907f9f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.concretenetwork.com/precast-concrete/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95033 | 304 | 2.84375 | 3 |
In May 1945, as the war in Europe drew to a close, two great prizes remained. The first, Berlin, was almost completely in the hands of the Soviets. The second, Berchtesgaden, home to Adolf Hitler’s famous mountain retreat, remained to be captured.
For months, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and other Allied commanders had worried about the possible existence of a ‘national redoubt’ in Bavaria and Austria. They were concerned that thousands of Nazi diehards would take to the rugged mountains, sustain themselves with copious supplies stored up over the course of many years and fight a guerrilla-style war against the Allies. Fortunately, the redoubt existed more in the minds of German propagandists and the nightmares of Allied leaders than in the Bavarian Alps. By May most Allied officers had begun to understand this. They faced a German army with very little fight left. Hordes of prisoners clogged the autobahn. The German soldiers still resisting did so primarily against the Russians and most of the others fled westward in hopes of surrendering to the British or the Americans.
Accordingly, Berchtesgaden changed from a strategic to a prestige objective. This was the place where Hitler had planned his conquest of Europe, the place where he had hosted heads of state, the place where the German dictator had relaxed and held forth on various topics to an intimate retinue of party cronies. It was the second seat of government outside of Berlin. Every Allied unit in the area, whether French or American, desperately wanted to capture Berchtesgaden. The unit that did so would win for itself historical immortality as the conquerors of the crown jewel of Hitler’s evil empire. At least that was the thinking.
The 7th Infantry Regiment, the ‘Cottonbalers,’ had fought its way from North Africa to Germany. The unit enjoyed a proud combat heritage dating back to the War of 1812. During World War II, the regiment, operating as part of the 3rd Infantry Division, carried out four amphibious invasions, numerous river crossings and fought in such costly battles as Sicily, Anzio, southern France, the Vosges and the Colmar Pocket. Quite probably no other regiment in the U.S. Army in World War II exceeded the 7th in combat time.
The proud veteran soldiers of this tradition-rich unit were among those vying to seize Berchtesgaden. They figured it was their just dessert after so many hard years of fighting. Many of them had heard stories about the food and liquor stored at ‘Hitler’s house.’ On May 2, fresh from the capture of Munich and a tour of the infamous Dachau concentration camp, the regiment was back on the move, this time bound for Salzburg, Austria, which it took with no opposition.
|Troopers from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment march into Berchtesgaden the day after the 7th Regiment moved through the town. Unlike the Cottonbalers, the men of the 101st stayed.|
The easy capture of Salzburg surprised 3rd Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. John W. ‘Iron Mike’ O’Daniel because he expected a tough fight, like the one his troops had experienced a couple weeks earlier at Nuremberg. In looking at a map, O’Daniel realized that the 7th Infantry was now in perfect position to make a dash for Berchtesgaden. The lure of capturing this objective was well nigh irresistible. ‘By that time the prize of Berchtesgaden was so radiant that it was obvious that considerable fame and renown would come to the unit that was first to reach Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest,’ Major William Rosson, one of O’Daniel’s staff officers said. ‘We were resolved to be the first into Berchtesgaden.’
There was only one problem with that resolution. Eisenhower and his Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) staff had already bestowed the honor upon two other units, the French 2nd Armored and the American 101st Airborne divisions. If the French got Berchtesgaden they would see it as an enormous triumph over Germany, or at the very least some kind of redress for the humiliation of their defeat in 1940. If the 101st captured the prize, Eisenhower expected that it would only add an additional laurel to a unit that was now arguably the most famous outfit in the Army after its epic stand at Bastogne. Eisenhower was doubtless aware of the 3rd’s proximity to Berchtesgaden, but given that the general and other brass expected the 3rd Division to run into a real fight in Salzburg, they probably dismissed O’Daniel’s division as a likely contender. Of course, events on the ground confused such easily formulated intentions.
Very simply, as the situation existed on the morning of May 4, the French 2nd Armored and the American 101st Airborne, the ‘Screaming Eagles,’ were not in as good a position to take Berchtesgaden as O’Daniel’s 3rd Infantry Division. His 7th Regiment controlled the only two remaining bridges over the Saalach River. One was a damaged railroad bridge outside Piding and the second a small wooden bridge nearby. Anyone wishing to get to Berchtesgaden would have to cross the Saalach over one of these bridges. On the morning of the 4th, even though his earlier request to capture Berchtesgaden had been denied by superiors, O’Daniel decided to make the attempt anyway. The tactical situation dictated this course of action but, more than that, he wanted the great prize for his division. The 3rd ‘Rock of the Marne’ Infantry Division had suffered more casualties than any other division in the U.S. Army. It had fought its way from the beaches of North Africa to the Bavarian Alps, all without a great deal of publicity. O’Daniel felt, perhaps with some justification, that his men deserved the chance.
At about 1000 hours that morning, O’Daniel visited the German-born Colonel John A. Heintges, the commander of the 7th Infantry. Heintges, a popular commander, had ordered his engineers to work feverishly through the night to strengthen the railroad bridge so that it could accommodate the 7th Infantry’s vehicles.
O’Daniel and Heintges spoke alone. Although there had been a small snowstorm a couple days before leaving a few inches of snow on the ground, this day was warm and clear. O’Daniel turned to Heintges, ‘Do you think you can go into Berchtesgaden?’
‘Yes, sir,’ Heintges responded. ‘I have a plan all made for it, and all you have to do is give me the word and we’re on our way.’
O’Daniel asked him if the railroad bridge was ready. Heintges nodded. ‘I did not get permission to go into Berchtesgaden,’ O’Daniel told him. ‘Do you think you can do it?’
Heintges did not waste a second. He immediately spoke with his 1st and 3rd battalion commanders and told them to move out.
The troops, along with their armored and artillery support, crossed the bridge and fanned out. The 1st Battalion, led by the regimental ‘Battle Patrol,’ a special reconnaissance formation under the command of Lieutenant William Miller, headed west on the most direct route, through Bad Reichenhall, while the 3rd Battalion swung east on the autobahn. The two pincers were supposed to proceed deliberately, not recklessly, and meet in Berchtesgaden. In the meantime, O’Daniel set up a roadblock and plenty of guards at the valuable bridge his men had just crossed. He left orders that no one was to cross without his express orders and immediately set about making himself difficult to contact.
After cruising through Bad Reichenhall, Miller’s Battle Patrol and the 1st Battalion ran into some resistance at a mountain pass. Some SS troops were defending the pass, a natural defile that could have held up the battalion indefinitely. The Cottonbalers simply backed up, set up their artillery and fired away at the SS, who melted back into the mountains. From there the Americans hit a few roadblocks and mines but nothing really serious.
In the east, L Company led the 3rd Battalion down the autobahn. The commander of L Company, Lieutenant Sherman Pratt, had risen from the ranks to become an officer. Bright, articulate, upbeat and blessed with great resolve, he had found opportunity in the Army as an escape from economic privation and family problems. He had joined the 7th in 1939 and immediately took to military life.
By the time the regiment entered combat in North Africa in November 1942, Pratt had risen to sergeant. For the next 212 years he served with the 7th Infantry in various NCO jobs. At Anzio he was severely wounded by German artillery, but he managed to return in time for the breakout and liberation of Rome. Eventually his superb battlefield leadership led to an opportunity for a commission, and he took it. He quickly rose from platoon leader to command of L Company. Pratt was the very embodiment of those 7th Infantry veterans who had fought their way across two continents, in the process suffering tremendous adversity. He and so many other survivors wanted Berchtesgaden as a reward for overcoming that adversity.
|Troopers of the 3rd Division question recently surrendered German troops on the road to Berchtesgaden. As they advanced, the ‘Cottonbalers’ from the 7th Regiment moved cautiously, suspecting a German ambush along the road to Hitler’s retreat. Fortunately for them, resistance was almost nonexistent.|
Now, as morning turned to afternoon on the 4th, Pratt and his company rolled cautiously down the autobahn. ‘After an hour or so we had covered almost 10 miles, or approximately half the distance to the objective,’ Pratt reported. ‘The going, however, was weird and scary. I was most apprehensive. The hills on both sides of the gorge were steep, and we were confined in a very narrow and restricted area.’ In other words, the terrain was ideal for an ambush and, for all Pratt knew, plenty of SS troops waited around the next bend. The only excitement came when an American tank opened up on a German armored car and blew it up. The column proceeded unmolested all the way to Berchtesgaden, arriving there at 1600. ‘Berchtesgaden looked like a village from a fairy tale,’ Pratt said. ‘Its houses were of Alpine architecture and design. Some had gingerbread decorations.’
Pratt’s group got to Berchtesgaden shortly after a platoon from the 7th Regiment’s Battle Patrol entered the town at the head of the 1st Battalion at 1558. There were some German soldiers in the town, but they were in no mood to fight. Isadore Valenti, a medic with K Company, wrote, ‘.50-caliber machine-gun carrying jeeps and half tracks took up positions inside the square, bagging the entire enemy force in one quick move.’ Valenti and the other Cottonbalers captured 2,000 enemy soldiers. ‘The streets were lined with German officers and a few noncommissioned officers and other ranks as well,’ Major Rosson recalled. ‘The officers were in their gray long coats, with side arms and baggage, awaiting orders.’ Among the prisoners was Hermann Göring’s nephew Fritz. The younger Göring presented himself to Heintges, who had come into town with the 1st Battalion. ‘He surrendered to me in a typical military fashion,’ Heintges remembered. ‘He took off his belt with pistol and dagger and handed it to me in a little ceremony in the square right in the middle of Berchtesgaden.’ After the surrender Göring and Heintges went into a local Gasthaus and split a bottle of wine. Heintges then asked Göring why he remained in the town. ‘He said that he had been left behind to turn over his uncle Hermann Goring’s administrative headquarters and all the records,’ Heintges remembered. The Cottonbalers found the headquarters to be a complex of one-story buildings. Inside were the records for the Luftwaffe.
As soldiers of the 1st and 3rd battalions began exploring the town, Lieutenant Pratt took one of his platoons and some tanks on a mission to ‘liberate’ Hitler’s home on Kehlstein Mountain a few miles outside of town. A complex that included an SS barracks and the homes of other high-ranking Nazi leaders surrounded the Führer‘s house. ‘We were winding our way up the steep and winding mountain road,’ Pratt recalled. ‘The air was clear and crisp with almost unlimited visibility. We rounded a bend and there before us in a broad opening lay the ruins of what had once been Hitler’s house and the SS barracks.’ The Royal Air Force had bombed much of the complex on April 25. Pratt and other 7th infantrymen dismounted and began poking around the buildings. ‘Everyone in my group was struck into silence…by the significance of the time and place. After all the years of struggle and destruction, the killing, pain and suffering…here, for sure, was the end of it.’ Pratt and his men engaged in some minor looting and then went back into Berchtesgaden. A few other Cottonbalers inspected the elevator shaft that led to the teahouse atop Kehlstein Mountain.
At the same time, Valenti, the veteran medic who had seen a great deal of tragedy and heartbreak over the past two years, also explored Hitler’s house and some of the buildings around it. ‘We couldn’t believe what we saw. The walls were covered with shelves and the shelves were stocked with all kinds of wines, champagnes and liqueurs. The food bins were well stocked with a variety of canned hams, cheese and two-gallon cans containing pickles.’ Valenti and his friends sat in Hitler’s great room, where he had once entertained heads of state, and drank his wine. Before the war, Valenti, the son of Italian immigrants, had been a coal miner. He never dreamed he would get to see something like this. He persuaded a buddy to take a picture of him lounging on the hillside next to Hitler’s house.
|Soldiers of O’Daniel’s hard-fighting division enjoy the fruits of their labors by toasting with wine taken in the Nazi complex at Berchtesgaden. Sixty years later, the tales of the parties thrown in and around the Nazi complex on V-E Day are legendary and offer a fitting conclusion to the story of the Allied campaign to liberate Europe.|
Most of the Cottonbalers did not visit the Berghof, as the home was known. They were down in Berchtesgaden hunting for other treasures. Heintges, who had set up his command post in a small hotel, watched in great amusement as his men availed themselves of a nearby warehouse full of cheese. ‘Our soldiers were rolling these big cheese wheels down the streets. I don’t know how many dozens of these cheeses we found and rolled out.’ The troops found plenty of shelter along with various bottles of liquor, more food and a couple of Göring’s special automobiles, one of which was bulletproof and could fit 14 people. The soldiers also found Lt. Gen. Gustav Kastner-Kirkdorf, a member of Hitler’s staff, dead in his bed. He had committed suicide with a Luger pistol, and his brains were all over his plush pillow. A Cottonbaler officer promptly liberated the Luger. Some of Heintges’ other officers brought him a Nazi flag that had flown over Hitler’s house. The colonel ordered that it be cut into pieces and passed out among his officers. Later that evening he was sampling some of the local food when his S-4 reported a major find: In a storage vault underneath a villa, soldiers had discovered Hermann Göring’s personal liquor stock. The stash, remembered Heintges, consisted of ‘16,000 bottles of all kinds of liquor. We had Cordon Rouge, Cordon Bleu Champagne…and we had Johnny Walker’s Red Label, Black Label, American whiskeys. You name it, we had it. Hermann Göring was well supplied.’ Knowing that other units would soon descend on Berchtesgaden, Heintges quietly arranged for six of his trucks to haul much of the liquor to Salzburg, where his 2nd Battalion could safely hide it. This was the largest single trophy the Cottonbalers collected from Berchtesgaden. Most of the humble foot soldiers would leave the area with only small items that could be easily carried.
|Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Wallace (right) speaks with the mayor of Berchtesgaden and local dignitaries after entering the town on May 4.|
Throughout May 4, as the 7th Infantry moved into Berchtesgaden and established control of the area, O’Daniel made sure that the bridges over the Saalach remained closed to the French and the 101st. At approximately 1700, French General Jacques Philippe Leclerc attempted to cross the railroad bridge with his division and head for Berchtesgaden. Cottonbalers would not let him cross. ‘He was standing upright in his vehicle assuming the role of commander with authority and great assertiveness,’ Major Rosson said. Another Cottonbaler officer, Lt. Col. Lloyd Ramsey, told the French general that he had orders to let no one cross. Fuming, Leclerc demanded to speak to O’Daniel. After trying to give him the runaround, Ramsey and the officers agreed to Leclerc’s request. The two generals argued for a time. Leclrec demanded that he be allowed to pass; O’Daniel just as stridently refused. Only when O’Daniel received word that Heintges had, in fact, reached Berchtesgaden, did he allow the French and the 101st to pass. Earlier the Screaming Eagles had succeeded in finding a small footbridge and sending some patrols across, but they were nowhere near Berchtesgaden and, if they wanted to cross in real strength, they needed O’Daniel’s bridges. Countrymen or not, O’Daniel would not let them pass until the race was over and his men had won the prize. The French and Screaming Eagles were mixed up in a traffic jam near the railway bridge at the Saalach. Not until later in the evening of May 4, approximately 2000, did the first French troops reach Berchtesgaden. The paratroopers got there the following morning, probably sometime between 0900 and 1000.
In the early morning hours of May 5, a polite French staff officer visited Heintges and worked out the occupation zones in the area. ‘I took the railroad track which ran right through the middle of Berchtesgaden,’ Heintges remembered. He gave the French everything else, including Hitler’s home and its environs. ‘This was a terrific psychological thing for the French,’ he said. ‘So, I gave it to them because I knew that it would be a good thing for international politics.’
In so doing, Heintges unwittingly sowed the seeds for trouble. Several hours later, well after sunrise, Heintges decided that he and his soldiers should hop aboard trucks and jeeps, go back up to the ruins of Hitler’s house and raise the American flag. By that time, French soldiers had blocked off the approaches to the complex. This was their occupation zone, and they obviously thought of themselves as its conquerors. Most likely, the French soldiers had no idea that the 7th had taken the place first. By allowing the French to set up their occupation zone here, Heintges had directly created this problem. When he and his men attempted to drive into the complex, the French halted them. ‘I’m the…commander of the regiment that captured this place,’ Heintges said. ‘We’re just going up there with our troops to look over the place and raise our flag.’
|Staff Sergeant Bennett Walters (left) and Pfc Nick Urick raise the Stars and Stripes over Berchtesgaden during a hastily convened flag-raising ceremony on May 5. The event was marred by controversy when French troops in town initially refused permission for the Americans to perform the flag raising.|
The French refused to let them pass. An ugly argument ensued. There was hollering, and even some pushing and shoving. Colonel Heintges defused the situation by speaking to several French officers and agreeing that there would be a joint flag-raising ceremony. When the moment came, however, the French flag brought to the ceremony was so big that it dragged on the ground, and in the end it was only Old Glory that flew over the hastily assembled troops. Heintges, his battalion commanders and several of his platoons, including one from Lieutenant Pratt’s L Company, lined up, stood at attention and saluted as the flag was raised in the light of a sunny spring sky. At the request of his battalion CO, Pratt had chosen one of his best men, Staff Sgt. Bennett Walters, to represent the 3rd Battalion in raising the flag. Private First Class Nick Urick of A Company represented the 1st Battalion. The flag raising took only a minute or two. Several war correspondents snapped photographs, and that was that. The Cottonbalers got back on their trucks and returned to Berchtesgaden, never to return to the Berghof, the complex they had conquered. They left behind no billboards or signs to mark their feat nor any indicator that the 7th Infantry had been the first ones there. Heintges should have made sure this was done. By not doing so, he left open the possibility that other Allied soldiers would believe themselves to be the conquerors of the Berghof.
Heintges returned to his command post and was soon visited by Colonel Robert Sink, the commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The two men were old friends, and they warmly greeted each other. They then sat down for a nice lunch and went up to Heintges’ room for a few drinks.
Sink turned to Heintges and said: ‘Well, Johnny, I’m up here…to relieve you. My regiment is on the way up here.’
Heintges was surprised because the 3rd Division staff had led him to believe that the 7th Infantry would get to stay in Berchtesgaden for a while. ‘I just talked to division a little while ago,’ Heintges uttered, ‘and they told me I’d be up here for five or six days.’
‘Oh yes,’ Sink replied, ‘but those plans were all changed and you’re going back to Salzburg.’
Heintges excused himself, called the 3rd Division and found out that Sink was correct. The 7th Infantry had orders to return to Salzburg, its original — and authorized — zone of operations. The Cottonbalers spent one more night in Berchtesgaden and cleared out the next day, May 6. As they did so, Colonel Heintges and Lt. Col. Ramsey stood next to their jeeps in the middle of town. They watched the last trucks of the 7th Infantry leave Berchtesgaden and enjoyed one last, wistful gaze at their great trophy. Heintges acknowledged to Ramsey: ‘Boy, this is a hell of a note. Here we captured the last prize of the war, and we haven’t got a damn thing to show for it.’ His words were very prophetic.
By this time, Berchtesgaden and the Berghof were alive with Allied soldiers, especially paratroopers from the 101st, many of whom believed they had gotten there first. The Cottonbalers had left behind little evidence of their presence. Perhaps they were too war weary to care. Their looting, as a result of strict orders from Heintges, was limited, and somehow they did not encounter the paratroopers in the town or at the Berghof. In the confusion, many of the paratroopers, including several members of E Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, naturally thought that they had been the first ones into Berchtesgaden.
Thus, as the war ended and the 101st Airborne Division occupied Berchtesgaden and its environs, the mistaken notion that they had bagged this great prize took hold. Thousands of tourists from the Allied armies visited Berchtesgaden that summer. Since the paratroopers were there, most of the visitors assumed that they had taken the place. The Screaming Eagles had the time and opportunity to pick the town clean of prime souvenirs and take them home, forever associating themselves with the Nazi complex by their mementoes. Moreover, the 3rd Division, unlike the 101st, was not particularly adept at publicity. Major General O’Daniel and Colonel Heintges apparently thought that their arrival at Berchtesgaden would simply stand on its own merit, and they made little, if any, effort to promote their division’s accomplishment. So, gradually over time, the idea that the 101st had made it to Berchtesgaden first took on a life of its own until many accepted it as fact.
It is not, however, a fact: The 7th Infantry got to the Kehlstein Mountain first. Not only is this recorded in potentially biased sources such as Fedala to Berchtesgaden, the 7th Regiment’s World War II history, another history called The Third Infantry Division in World War II or the recollections of 7th Infantry veterans, but in other more neutral sources. Charles MacDonald in The Last Offensive, the Army’s official history of the final campaign in Europe, wrote of the race to Berchtesgaden that ‘motorized troops of the 3rd Division got there first, in the late afternoon of 4 May.’ General Eisenhower in his wartime memoir noted, ‘on May 4 the 3rd Division…captured Berchtesgaden.’ Even the 101st Airborne credits the 7th Infantry with getting to Berchtesgaden. Major General Maxwell Taylor, commander of the 101st, admitted in his postwar memoir, ‘3d Division units got into Berchtesgaden ahead of us on the afternoon of May 4.’
The history of the 101st Airborne Division in World War II, Rendezvous With Destiny, also records the true course of events. After chronicling how, on May 4, General O’Daniel sealed off the Saalach bridges to ensure that his units would win the race, the authors state: ‘At 1558 that day a motorized column [of the 3rd Division] entered Berchtesgaden; and that evening the 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Division entered. When General O’Daniel received the message of his regiment’s entrance, he lifted his ban, allowed the 101st to come over his road, and Colonel Strayer [commander of 2nd Battalion, 506th] followed the 7th Regiment’s route.’ The authors of Rendezvous With Destiny estimate that Strayer’s soldiers reached Berchtesgaden sometime between 0900 and 1000 on May 5, a full 17 hours after the first Cottonbalers got there.
In spite of these indisputable facts, the myth still persists even today that troopers from the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, got to Berchtesgaden first. This is largely because of an honest mistake made by historian Stephen Ambrose in his otherwise excellent book Band of Brothers, which chronicled the experiences of one airborne unit — Easy Company of the 506th — in the war. Ambrose wrote of Berchtesgaden: ‘Everybody wanted to get there — French advancing side by side with the 101st, British coming up from Italy, German leaders who wanted to get their possessions, and every American in Europe. Easy Company got there first.’ In his research for the book, Ambrose heard the accounts of many Easy Company vets who honestly thought that they had won the race, and he never corroborated them with official, or even outside, sources. Inexplicably, Ambrose never even checked Rendezvous With Destiny, a source that would have alerted him to the fact that the 7th Infantry had reached Berchtesgaden on the afternoon of May 4. Indeed Ambrose wrote in Band of Brothers that Easy Company made it to Berchtesgaden on the morning of May 5. In so doing, he betrayed his ignorance of the facts of the race to Berchtesgaden and unwittingly (not to mention ironically) made the case that Easy Company had not gotten to Berchtesgaden first.
The smash success of Band of Brothers led Home Box Office to turn the book into a miniseries, in which the paratroopers were portrayed capturing Berchtesgaden. The continuation, on film, of this error led to an even greater proliferation of the myth, so much so that it shows up routinely in any discussion of Berchtesgaden. For instance, one reviewer of the Band of Brothers miniseries commented that the Eagle’s Nest was aptly named because the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles had captured it.
This is quite unfortunate, perhaps even unjust. The Cottonbalers’ capture of Berchtesgaden is not open to debate. It is an incontrovertible fact and should be recognized as such. In emphasizing this point so vociferously, there is no intent to denigrate or dismiss the Band of Brothers book or miniseries. Both are excellent studies of the American combat soldier in World War II, but they propagated a myth that, in the interest of fairness and accuracy, needs to be redressed. Nor is there any intention of disparaging the considerable bravery and sacrifice of the 101st Airborne Division. The unit won great, and deserved, fame for itself, through the valor of its soldiers. Even so, the division should not receive plaudits for something it did not do. Plain and simple, those who achieved the prestigious conquest of Berchtesgaden should receive its laurels. Anything else is simply not fair to those who deserve the real credit — the Cottonbalers of the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment.
For further reading, see Autobahn to Berchtesgaden: A View of World War II From the Bottom Up by an Infantry Sergeant, by Sherman Pratt.
This article was written by John C. McManus and originally appeared in the May 2005 issue of World War II. For more great articles subscribe to World War II magazine today! | <urn:uuid:f12ec03b-d608-4b82-ad5d-1c0f928065e2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-race-to-seize-berchtesgaden.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978461 | 6,648 | 2.875 | 3 |
Plant the Spirit of the Season
How to select and grow a living holiday tree
With all that holiday shoping, don't forget to buy a present for the environment. Ties and fruitcakes may not be quite the thing, but how about a living Christmas tree - one you bring indoors for the holidays and then plant in your garden?
The tree not only adds value to your landscape, but can help filter impurities from the air, keep soil from eroding and buffer your house from wind in the winter and direct sun in the summer.In some yards, placing shade trees along a house's western and southern sides will eventually cut air-conditioning needs by as much as half.
Urban homes and landscapes especially need trees. Air conditioners roar away during summer as cities simmer 5 to 9 degrees hotter than the surrounding countryside. Yet about 100 million potential urban tree sites lie empty. Put trees in them, argues American Forests (formerly The American Forestry Association), and the cooling effect could reduce the nation's energy bill by some $4 billion.
Trees also trap carbon dioxide, one of the principle villains of potential global warming. Each tree absorbs the burden of carbon dioxide by 13 to 26 pounds a year, depending on how quickly the tree is growing.
To achieve these benefits, of course, you need to do more than shake the tinsel off and poke the tree in the soil. If the ground freezes in your climate, you'll need to dig a hole for the tree before soil hardens. Also you'll need to pamper the tree while it's indoors and, most importand, reconcile yourself to having the tree inside no more than seven days to prevent damage. And of course, you'll need to pick the right tree, one that thrives in your climate but that won't crowd your yard when it reaches its mature height. Following are some tips on how to select and plant the right gift for your environment:
Selecting a Healthy Tree: No matter where you live, you can find a tree that will have the look and feel of a traditional Christmas tree. However, many popular species of cut Christmas trees make ungainly landscape plants and are not suited to much of the country. For better choices, Holly Shimizu, horticulturist at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., suggests the following:
For the Northeast, Shimizu recommends fir trees for their beautiful texture and soft needles. Some firs reach 300 feet, so she suggests a Douglas fir compacta (Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Compacta'), which grows only 50 feet high. If your landscape needs something smaller with softer lines, she suggests a weeping hemlock (Tsuga canadensis `Sargentii'), which grows 10 to 20 feet high. Weeping hemlocks thrive in moist soil across much of the northern and middle sections of the United States, even as far south as Georgia and Texas under the right conditions. Ask a local nursery for advice about your particular climate conditions.
Many regions of the country will suit the various spruces. A Serbian spruce(Picea omorika) "dances in the breeze," according to Shimizu. It thrives in moist places not prone to excessive winds, like the Northeast, Midwest or Pacific Northwest. Serbian spruces often grow about 40 feet in their first 40 years and can eventually reach 100 feet. The Brewer spruce (Picea brewerana), hardy in the middle third of the country, forms graceful drooping branches with white-banded needles, as if a winter frost had just crystallized. The compact blue spruce (Picea pungens `Compacta') grows more slowly, matures at 25 feet and does well in all but the hottest climates.
Even smaller, the dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca var. albertiana) is a good choice for most climates. It grows into a dense, tidy pyramid less than 10 feet high. It will survive as a patio plant if you choose not to set it in the ground after Christmas. In northern areas, you will have to bring the potted spruce indoors each winter, but it can be used as a living Christmas tree year after year.
Pines, while "not the most elegant trees, do well in most parts of the country, including the South," says Shimizu. As Christmas trees, she recommends a dwarf conical variety, Pinus sylvestris `Compressa'.
For hot climates, Shimuzu suggests Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica). It does well in arid regions of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, growing to 40 feet and filling out into a satisfying conical form.
Even if you live in South Florida or the Southwest, says Shimizu, you can still have the look of a traditional Christmas tree with a "pencil tree" (Euphorbia tirucalli), a succulent, spineless tree that grows about 30 feet high.
Since it takes three to five years to reshape a tree, choose one that already has a pleasing shape. Check trees for signs of insects or disease.
Most living Christmas trees are sold either in containers or balled and bur-lapped (B&B). Nurseries grow B&B trees in fields, then dig them and wrap the root ball in burlap. Look carefully at the root ball of a B&B tree. A tree with a cracked root ball was allowed to dry out at some point, so avoid it. Ropes should be firm, but avoid B&B trees being girdled by too-tight supports.
Check container trees carefully too. Soil should be moist. Avoid a tree with 'roots growing out of the pot from the top or through the hole in the bottom. This indicates neglect, because the tree should have been repotted in a larger container. If you think the tree is in a much larger pot than necessary, place your finger between the edge of the soil and the container. If you do not feel roots, you are paying for a small tree in a large pot.
Seven Days Indoors: Trees go dormant in the fall, but bringing a tree into a warm house in December may break dormancy and trigger new growth, which can doom the tree. The new growth will be too tender to withstand the cold when the tree goes outdoors again. To minimize the risk, leave the tree in the house no more than one week.
A Christmas tree next to a roaring fire looks great in pictures, but direct heat can damage live trees. Keep the room cool, and place the tree away from heat registers. Water daily to keep the root ball from drying out. (Don't mist if you decorated it with electric lights.)
Digging the Hole: Trees don't thrive in waterlogged soil, so test soil drainage before selecting a site. Dig a test hole 9 to 12 inches deep, and fill it with water. Twenty-four hours later, refill the hole with water. If standing water remains after 24 hours, you have poor drainage. Either find another location or raise the planting bed by adding 1 to 2 feet of a good top soil.
Dig the hole before frost. Otherwise frozen soil may prevent you from planting the tree. To encourage the tree's roots to grow horizontally, dig a wide hole, at least three times the width of the root ball but less than a foot deep. The hole should not be deeper than the root ball. Cover the soil with plastic to keep it from freezing or move the soil to a garage or shed.
Planting the Tree: For container plants, gently remove the tree, being careful not to pull the trunk or branches. In the past, experts warned gardeners not to disturb the root ball. New research, however, shows that if circling roots are left intact, they will continue to circle and choke the tree. To encourage horizontal root growth, make four shallow cuts on the root ball with a sharp knife, pruning shears or a shovel: Lay the tree on its side and make a half-inchdeep cut the length of the root ball. Rotating the tree 90 degrees at a time, repeat the cut on four sides, as if outlining quarters on an orange. Place the tree in the hole, and spread out the cut roots to encourage them to grow outward.
If you selected a B&B tree, loosen the burlap before placing the tree in the hole. Most "burlaps" are treated with preservatives to keep them from disintegrating or are made of synthetic materials. Neither will decompose, so remove and discard them before planting the tree.
If you're sure the burlap is an untreated natural fiber, however, it can be left to decompose around the root ball. Bury the burlap completely—any fabric above ground will act like a wick, drawing water away from the tree.
Locate the crown of the tree (where the roots and stem meet). Brush away any soil because the crown must be completely exposed for the tree to survive. Position the tree so the crown is 1 to 2 inches above the soil level, and, as you fill in the soil, remember to keep the crown free of soil or mulch.
Use only the original soil for backfill. Experts no longer recommend most of the traditional amendments such as a complete fertilizer, peat moss, compost or manure. If soil in the hole has significantly better nutrients or texture than surrounding soil, the tree's roots will not grow beyond the original hole. The exception is bone meal or other phosphorous, which can go into the backfill to encourage root growth. Distribute the addition evenly, since phosphorous stays where you put it.
Add backfill until the hole is two-thirds full. Tamp the soil gently, but leave small air pockets, which are necessary for a healthy tree.
Water around the root ball. If the root ball sinks, remove and replant the tree. After watering, fill the hole completely, and tamp the soil again.
Tree specialists no longer recommend a berm, or raised rim, to hold water around the root ball. While a berm keeps moisture near the tree in a drought, the berm can drown a tree after heavy rains.
Most trees less than 10 feet tall do not require staking. If stakes are necessary, use three stakes and remove them within three years. Conifers do not need tree wraps or antitranspirant sprays.
Cover the root area, at least 6 inches beyond the drip line, with 2 to 4 inches of mulch. Keep the mulch several inches away from the trunk of the tree, since mulch can harbor insects, fungus or disease, as well as provide a warm hiding place for rodents. All of these threats can damage the tree. Prune any damaged or misshapen branches. Water at a slow speed for an hour.
The First Two Years: Since plants have a harder time absorbing water through the ground in winter, they may need watering during the first two years. Place a tin can near the base of the tree, and measure the amount of snow or rain that falls each week. In any week with less than a half-inch of water, give the tree a slow, deep watering.
By adding a new tree each year, you will start a new Christmas tradition.
Virginian Nancy Lloyd writes and lectures about gardening. She has planted dozens of trees, which are all thriving. | <urn:uuid:c3c21a2b-551a-4be5-96d2-90da540277f2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/News-and-Views/Archives/1992/Plant-the-Spirit-of-the-Season.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940538 | 2,368 | 2.546875 | 3 |
In the first of a series of summer lectures on the science we work on here at SLAC, I will discuss SLAC's flagship contribution to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST): a 3.2 gigapixel camera, which, when complete, will be the world's largest. Mounted on an 8.5m telescope in the Chilean Andes, the LSST camera will open a window to understanding the astrophysics of stars and galaxies, as well as the cosmological mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, with unprecedented precision. Previous astronomical surveys have had to choose between covering large areas of the sky (wide), frequently re-imaging the same sky patch (fast), and detecting ultra-faint objects (deep). LSST leverages several game-changing technologies, including thick red-sensitive CCDs, fast segmented readout, and active optics control, that will allow it to be the first survey to do all three simultaneously, imaging the entire Southern sky in only 4 nights. Come learn how SLAC is working to boldly go where no camera has gone before! | <urn:uuid:9bbce0ec-a1ec-4546-bbde-681c5471714c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.slac.stanford.edu/slac/sass/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934346 | 223 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Simple Light Up Online Game
Simple Light Up Game DescriptionEach puzzle has one unique and logical solution for you to find, no guessing needed!
Place light bulbs (circles) according to the following rules:
Light bulbs are permitted to place at any white squares.
A number indicates how many bulbs are next to it, vertically and horizontally.
Each bulb illuminates from bulb to black square or outer frame in its row and column.
Every white squares must be illuminated and bulbs should not illuminate each other.
Use your mouse to play.
Simple Light Up Game Instructions
Simple Light Up Screenshot
Puzzle Online Game info
|Hot or not:|
|Hot or not:
|Category:||Puzzle games » Logic games|
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Form a row, column or diagonol of three stars by rotating the boxes but avoid form... Play game » | <urn:uuid:1fef8923-8cd5-4dc5-8693-87e4d2731b7e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gamesloon.com/free-puzzle-7/logic-games-46/simple-light-up-318.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00100-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.799918 | 262 | 2.71875 | 3 |
This document was created to aid you setup your system and environment for effectively processing XML - validating and transforming them to other formats. It also contains usage description of most important XML tools. Content of this document was created with assumption that you have some knowledge about what is XML, DTD and so on but you need some instructions how to setup your environment to make your work more effective.
Most of issues discused here are related to DocBook or Simplified DocBook XML documents. Especially xml transformation section. However most of solutions presented here are more general and can be applied to different XML DTDs.
You may ask why I have created such document. Well, although all this information is available over the Internet I couldn't find one source discused all necessary details. I have spent a lot of time searching and discovering obvious things. And now I would like to help people like me starting editing XML documents and looking for ways to improve their work.
Although I assume you know what is XML, DTD and so on I want to define some terms I will be talking about to prevent from missunderstanding.
“A simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML.” For all necessary information go to w3.org. XML itself is a metalanguage to design markup languages,
This is a description of the content for a family of XML files. Detailed information is located of course on w3.org site.
Schema is a new system for document definition. It is XML based language. And the goal for creating Schema is to replace DTD with new modern language which removes all DTD limitation. Details are also on w3.org site.
It is activity performed for checking if given file is valid XML file. It means that each open tag has appropriate closed tag. That there is only one root tag and so on. During parsing there is no need for using DTD or Schema for parsing document.
It is process of checking given document against appropriate DTD or Schema for this document. So at the moment of validating both resources are necessary - XML file and DTD or Schema.
It is local repository for DTDs, Schemas and other entities used in XML documents.
In XML documents, entities are usually declared with location pointed to entity creator site. What means, in more cases, that at the moment of using them (i. e. validating XML document) all entities must be downloaded from source location. However it requires active Internet connection and additionall time for downloading.
There are two ways to use localy stored entity instead of this one on the Internet site. One is to change entity declaraction and put as location path to your local file or use of Catalogs.
While you are the only one who works on XML file it is acceptable to directly change entity location in declaration. However if there are more editors working on one file or on set of files it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to manage entities in this way. Using Catalogs solves this problem. It maps each entity by it identyfication string to file on your local disk. It is external system to XML files, so no changes to XML are necessary. Each editor can have his own different maping definition and can store emtities in convenient place.
“An XSL stylesheet specifies the presentation of a class of XML documents by describing how an instance of the class is transformed into an XML document that uses the formatting vocabulary.” Source documents can be found on w3.org site.
“Is a language for transforming XML documents into other XML documents.” Source document are located on w3.org site.
DocBook is widely used DTD for creating many different kind of publications.
Simplified DocBook contains subset of DocBook DTD targeted for new users focusing on articles rather than books.
This document was created with helping emacs users. So it concentrates on emacs related issues. However there are many other good XML editing tools. Most of them are worth to consider as an alternative for your XML development. Below I will present known to me XML editors with location where you can find detailed information about them.
I will be adding more editors as I find them, and I will learn they are mature products usable for at least all basic xml editing tasks. And one more condition at least basic version must be available for free. So you can consider it as an option to other programs.
If you have or find information about more editors please feel free to send them to me. I will add it to existing list.
this is not WYSIWYG or WYSIWYM application. You have rather to create XML code. However it provides excellent helper libraries for text edition as well as DTD online validation, and much more. It is difficult to point one emacs site because although it is developed in one place there are many additional libraries available from many different projects. The first one you should check is of course: emacs home page. More resources and many useful information find on emacs wiki pages. It is fully free and open source software.
This is WYSIWYM editor. And it is provided in two versions: standard - free of charge and professional not free version. Personal version has all features necessary for basic XML editing. Files, documentation and license details find on company site.
XML processing includes at least 3 basic tasks:
Transforming XML to other formats.
Please note, I am not going to describe all possible XML tools. First I will include here programms I currently use. Next I will be adding description for next applications after I will find them or someone send me description.
Most of programs used for editing XML files have built-in parsing fnctions and most of them can even validate document against proper DTD. Emacs with psgml, for example, performs also validation against DTD but it's validation is not complete. It is enough to find most of errors during editing, however to ensure that document is fully valid external validator must be used.
I am not going to discuss editor parsing functions. I am going to concentrate on external tools.
This is very fast, written in C tool set. Functionality covers almost all possible tasks necessary to handle XML documets, like parsing, validation, resolving XIncludes and transformation using catalogs and so on.
It does not support Schema and not helps with publishing your XML documents apart from it can be used for transforming your files into HTML format.
It is available on almost all system platforms including Linux, Unix, Windows, CygWin, MacOS, MacOS X, RISC Os, OS/2, VMS, QNX, MVS, ... and I believe on different not listed here should work also. Since it is created in C language and sources are available it should be possible to run it on all platforms where C compiler works. And yes, it is open source software. However you don't need to compile and install it o your own. It is already included in most Linux dostribution as well as CygWin.
All tools available on this site are based on Java. Some of them are also developed for C, C++, Perl and maybe other languages. They are not that fast as previous tool set and also not that portable. It works on all platforms where Java is available. However XML support provided by Apache is complete.
Below I will list the most important packages available on xml.apache.org and describe what they can be used for:
This is XML parser/validator. It supports Schema, DOM Level 3 and XML 1.1 Candidate Recommendation and works in Java, C++ and Perl.
This is XSLT processor for transforming XML to other formats. It works in Java and C++.
This is formating object processor. It transform documents from formating object structure to specified target format. At the moment of writing this document following output formats are supported: PDF (primary output target), PCL, PS, SVG, Print, AWT, MIF and TXT.
This is XML publishing framework. Uses technologies like XSL, XSP and it is designed with performance and scalability in mind.
This is project documentation framework based on Apache Cocoon. It provides XSLT stylesheets, Schemas, images and other resources. It also aims to be Sourceforge-like project management tool.
SGML and XML file prolog contains DTD and entities declaraction. It is called DOCTYPE declaration. DTD and entities are usually stored in external files. The first quoted string after PUBLIC is the DTD's PUBLIC identifier, second quoted string is the SYSTEM identifier. Usually, the SYSTEM identifier is a full URL to website providing this DTD.
Example 1. Sample DOCTYPE declaration.
<!DOCTYPE section PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD Simplified DocBook XML V22.214.171.124//EN" "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/simple/126.96.36.199/sdocbook.dtd">
When any program try to validate XML file it must first load proper DTD for this file. It knows which DTD to load from DOCTYPE declaraction. If DTD location is URL to some website file have to be downaloaded first. While it is very compfortable to have DTD stored in one network location it implies some difficulties. First of all you must be connected to internet to validate XML file. Second, if you are connected to internet, XML file validation takes much more time than necessary because of downloading time. There are also some minor inconveniences with this.
It seems, that it makes sense to keep DTD files localy on your hard disk. SYSTEM declaration can be changed to point to file stored on your local HDD. It is good solution if you are the only person who edits this file. It is difficult, however, to ensure that many editors have stored DTD file in exactly the same directory. They can use different operating systems with incompatible path structure! The simple solution to this problem is to keep DTD in “current” directory. But if you work on several XML projects, and each of them is located in different directory.... Yes, different approach must be used.
The solution to all above problems are CATALOGS. They provide mapping from PUBLIC identifier to file location. So you can put url to internet location of DTD file but CATALOGS allow you to use local version of this DTD during processing. Each XML developer can have own independent catalogs set mapping, so his DTD local copies can be placed in different locations. Catalogs are used not only for DTD mapping but also for entities mapping.
Below I will present my own CATALOGS configuration. Some theory and all details necessary to set it up and use.
CATALOGS are files containing mapping from PUBLIC identifiers to file locations. There are 2 kinds of CATALOGS files. Older standard is pure text file in defined format. New standard keeps mapping in XML files. XML catalogs are more flexible and allow also some path translation. However older standard is kwnown to all tools. So my examples are based on older catalogs files.
Example 2. Sample CATALOG file content for above DOCTYPE declaration.
PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD Simplified DocBook XML V188.8.131.52//EN" "sdocbook.dtd"
If path to DTD file is not absolute, as in above example, it is relative to catalog file location. This is very convenient solution. Catalog files are usually placed together with DTD set definition. And they are also often shipped with DTD sets. You can find docbook.cat file with docbook DTD set. However similar file is not available with simplified docbook DTD set. | <urn:uuid:1687771a-e5c9-4a04-b919-ddd367860a14> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wttools.sourceforge.net/emacs-stuff/basicxml.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00054-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93434 | 2,483 | 2.609375 | 3 |
New research from Siber Systems has revealed a significant disconnect between how people perceive online security and the measures they’re willing to take to protect their information.
Among the major findings of the international survey published by Siber Systems, the leading software developer behind password management tool RoboForm, is that 60 per cent of respondents believe online companies are careless about the security of their customers’ personal information. Facebook is by far the least-trusted website among popular online destinations, with 57 per cent of all respondents rating the social network at the top of their least-trusted list.
“Our survey shows that, like many things in life, people complain about the safety of their information online, but few are willing to take firm steps to protect that information,” noted Bill Carey Vice President of Marketing at Siber Systems. “In an era where our health information, our purchasing practices, our correspondence and even information about our family and friends is online, it’s more important than ever to take online security seriously.”
Hacking happens, yet security remains lax
Many people report experiences with having a personal online account hacked. Almost a third (29 per cent) have had at least one account hacked. Of those who had been hacked, 53 per cent had their personal email hacked, 23 per cent have had an online shopping account broken into, and 29 per cent reported a breach of a social media account.
Yet such negative attitudes and difficulties, for many, do not translate into improved security practices. Of those individuals who admitted having a personal account hacked, more than three-quarters (79 per cent) continued to use the site linked to the account. Among all respondents security practices are often lax. One out of three surveyed occasionally use the same passwords for both work and personal accounts and women were found to be twice as likely to use a word or detail in their password that is personal to them, such as their mother’s maiden name.
No time for 2-step
While many commercial websites are considering more secure login practices to protect users, the survey indicates a significant number of people would find those practices burdensome. For example, if a company introduced two-step login verification wherein a second password is sent to a pre-agreed phone number, one in five (23 per cent) said they would not have the time to go through such a process, and another 13 per cent replied it sounded too complicated. However, 42 per cent said they would trust such a company more with their personal information. People are also hesitant about investing their trust in cloud-based companies; with nearly one-third (31 per cent) of respondents stating that they do not trust cloud-based companies to keep their personal data safe.
A question of responsibility
There are also significant generational differences in attitudes to online personal security - a result that has implications for online companies. While approximately 55 per cent of those 45 and older believe the security of their personal information is their own responsibility, 58 per cent of those under 45 believe it’s the responsibility of the online company or organisation that has their information. Older adults over the age of 35 are also far more likely to use a password management software tool.
The online survey by Siber Systems of over 700 adults from the United States, the U.K., Germany and other countries was conducted during November and December 2012.
About Siber Systems:
Founded in 1995, Siber Systems creates and markets software products for consumers and businesses around the world. Our software is highly acclaimed and has received numerous awards, including PC Magazine Editor’s Choice, CNET’s Best Software of the Year, and PC World’s 25 Products We Can’t Live Without.
The company’s flagship products, RoboForm and GoodSync, are used by millions of people worldwide, with registered customers in over 100 countries. GoodSync, an easy and reliable automatic file synchronization program, was released in 2006 and already enjoys favorable reviews from users and the press.
RoboForm Enterprise has been solving password management problems quickly, easily and cost-effectively since 1999. RoboForm Enterprise reduces employee passwords to one secure, master password and provides an easy and cost-effective way to improve password security while making employees more productive and helping organizations to recognize immediate IT cost savings. As part of the company’s strong commitment to customer satisfaction, its software comes with a risk-free trial. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, Siber Systems is privately held. | <urn:uuid:8740f5a8-cab1-48a5-82c0-2df025e60b23> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.it-director.com/technology/security/news_release.php?rel=35867 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00119-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961698 | 913 | 2.65625 | 3 |
What Is Water and Do We Have Enough?
- 34 Posts
Water, H2O, is one natural resource that is abundant in our environment, yet it is gradually running scarce.
So, What Is Water?
It is a natural occurring resource made up of 2 Atoms of Hydrogen ions and One atom of Oxygen connected by a covalent bond. It is a universal solvent whose uses cut across all aspects of our daily lives - such as washing, cooking, bathing, recreational, and agricultural use to name a few. Water is one resource which over the years has been a source of territorial and communal clashes. It is a major factor in human development and is vital for all known forms of life. It exists in various forms: solid (ice),liquid (water) and gas (vapour). It has its sources from rain water, melting ice, rivers, streams, oceans, wells, water vapors, and bore holes. Water is a renewable natural resource which occupies about 71% of the earth's surface, yet it a scarce resource because its normal bio circle is currently being altered by human activities and climate change.
Why is water a scarce resource?
Though water exists in a large volume on the earth's surface, approximately 1 billion people still lack access to it because more than half of the water on the earth's surface has been polluted. In a recent report: 500 scientists said that the "majority of the 9 billion people on Earth will live with severe pressure on fresh water within the space of two generations as climate change, pollution and over-use of resources take their toll, they warned." The world's water systems would soon reach a tipping point that "could trigger irreversible change with potentially catastrophic consequences", hence they called on governments to start conserving the vital resource. They said it was wrong to see fresh water as an endlessly renewable resource because, in many cases, people are pumping out water from underground sources at such a rate that it will not be restored within several lifetimes. "These are self-inflicted wounds," said Charles Vörösmarty, a professor at the Cooperative Remote Sensing Science and Technology Centre. "We have discovered tipping points in the system. Already, there are 1 billion people relying on ground water supplies that are simply not there as renewable water supplies."
Let's Talk Population and Water Supply!
A majority of the population – about 4.5 billion people globally – already live within 50km of an "impaired" water resource – one that is running dry, or polluted. If these trends continue, millions more will see their water running out or polluted that it will no longer support life.
Relating this to Nigeria: Currently you will realise that an average Nigerian home is a local government of its own, where families provide their own electricity, provide their own revenue and their own water from either dug wells or bore holes. People drink directly without proper treatment or laboratory testing to know if the water is safe for utilisation or not. A typical example of this is the Ogoni area in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in an area. The UNEP report in 2010 revealed that the Ogoni area underground water is polluted with Benzene a cancerous chemical to about 300 times above the recommended standard, but yet they till utilise it because they have no other source of safe drinking water. The Nigerian Niger Delta region is a region filled with water yet they are experiencing water scarcity already.
Where Is Government Help?
It beats my imagination to see that our government can no longer take water issues seriously. This is gradually resulting to an excessive wastage coupled with water pollution from oil spills, underground leakages, buried pipelines and leaching of chemicals and fertilizers into water bodies by individuals and cooperate organisation, yet the governments are not doing anything to remediate this situation.
It has been reported also that in recent time the run-off from agricultural fertilisers containing nitrogenous chemicals has created over 200 large "dead zones" in seas, and rivers where fish and other aquatic organisms can no longer live. Cheap technology to pump water from underground and rivers, has also led to the over-use of scarce resources for irrigation or industrial purposes, with much of the water wasted because of poor techniques.
A rapidly rising population has increased demand beyond the capability of some water resources. This report came at the right time, when the governments of the world are busy transacting CDM and Carbon credit businesses and neglecting the basic issues of finding a sustainable solution to climate change. These threats are numerous. Climate change is likely to cause an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts, floods, heat-waves and storms.
These scientists warned that the developed world would also suffer. For instance, there are now 210 million citizens of the US living within 10 miles of an "impaired" water source, and that number is likely to rise as the effects of global warming take hold.
In Europe, some water sources are running dry because due to over-extraction for irrigation, much of which is carried on in an unsustainable fashion. In a similar vain the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, added his voice to concerns about water security: "We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards. Under current trends, future demands for water will not be met."
These scientist at the end of their research came up with a resolution that: Politicians should include tough new targets on improving water in the sustainable development goals that will be introduced when the current millennium development goals expire in 2015. They want governments to introduce water management systems that will address the problems of pollution, over-use, wastage and climate change.
What Should Be Done, But What Do YOU Think?
The water issue is a global affair and thus a well strategic management and monitoring system should be adopted by the government.
Highly polluted regions like Niger Delta region in Nigeria should be supplied with safe drinking water from well treated, purified and distributed water source so as to curb the high rate of water borne disease victims in that region.
Integrating nature-based solutions into urban planning can also help us build better water futures for cities, where water stresses may be especially acute given the rapid pace of urbanisation."(Ban Ki-moon)
In order to solve this menace of water scarcity globally we must adapt a sustainable water management plan to mitigate the impact of water scarcity in Africa, Nigeria and the rest of the world. | <urn:uuid:52beef00-f2cd-4871-9bde-a53579194e2c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.voicesofyouth.org/en/posts/what-is-water-and-do-we-have-enough- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00063-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956676 | 1,327 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Termination Clause Lawyers
Locate a Local Business Lawyer
What Is a Termination Clause?
A termination clause is a portion of a contract that explains the rights of the parties to terminate, or cancel, their contract.
Where Are Termination Clauses Found?
Termination clauses are commonly found in:
- Employment Contracts - where either party may be allowed to terminate the contract by giving notice. Such clauses may also give the employer the ability to terminate an employee immediately under certain circumstances. This is referred to as "at-will" employment.
- Property Leases - another form of termination clause, also known as an escape clause, is when a tenant reserves the right to terminate a lease prior to its completion.
What Is an Early Termination Clause?
An early termination clause may penalize one of the contracting parties if they terminate the contract too early. Early termination clauses are often found in use agreements, such as automobile leases and cellular phone contracts. Such clauses usually impose fees for terminating an agreement prior to a specified date.
What Is a Termination for Convenience Clause?
Termination for convenience clauses are often found in construction contracts, and they grant the owner the ability to terminate a contract at their own convenience, even when the contractor did nothing wrong. Such clauses also limit the amount that a contractor may recover if the contractor sues for breach of contract. Termination for convenience clauses first appeared in government contracts, but many private contracts are beginning to include them as well.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
If you are drafting a contract with a termination clause, a commercial or business lawyer can help you write an agreement that protects your interests and legal rights. If you are involved in a breach of contract lawsuit, a business lawyer will advise you of your rights and legal defenses.
Consult a Lawyer - Present Your Case Now!
Last Modified: 10-25-2011 03:25 PM PDT
Link to this page | <urn:uuid:b992e86e-91ff-4373-97e5-01b88e0116ae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/termination-clause-lawyers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00159-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944501 | 399 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The Concise Compendium of the World's Languages provides clear snapshots of over one hundred languages. Drawn from the more comprehensive two volume Compendium of the World's Languages, the articles selected for this volume discuss most languages spoken today by populations of at least five to ten million people, as well as minor languages that figure prominently in the contemporary socio-political context. This combination allows little-known languages, such as Akan, Navajo, Basque and Zulu, to figure prominently alongside the mainstream languages such as Arabic, French, Chinese and Russian. Each entry considers the phonological, morphological and lexical features of the language it discusses. Written for language buffs who want to know-in broad outline-how lots of languages work, this terrific book compiles loads of information in one affordable volume. | <urn:uuid:78d6163a-f72a-4810-8a23-fbf7380404e3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=1212 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901378 | 161 | 3.265625 | 3 |
MUSEUM OF ONTARIO ARCHAEOLOGY: Londoners get a chance Sunday to view a quilt celebrating the contributions of First Nations families from Southwestern Ontario
Quilt natives’ untold history
The Native Women’s Trail of Tears Quilt tells the story of First Nations women and families from Southwestern Ontario, many of whom fought in defence of Canada from American invaders during the War of 1812. The quilt will be on display Sunday at the Museum of Ontario Archeology’s Aboriginal Art & Craft Show. (Pam Whitecalf Special to QMI Agency)
It could be a document or a book, leather-bound and handled with care and a degree of reverence.
But it’s not. It’s a quilt called the Native Women’s Trail of Tears Quilt, commemorating First Nations women and families from across Southwestern Ontario, many of whom joined in the defence of Canada from the American invasion during the War of 1812.
Sunday, Londoners will get a chance to view and celebrate the quilt at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology’s Aboriginal Art & Craft Show & Sale, which features hand-crafted items by native artists and artisans.
Among the 31 vibrantly coloured cloth panels is one simply called Tecumseh, the Shawnee warrior and leader who died heroically during the Battle of the Thames.
“He was never really honoured all these years,” said Marilyn Sickles, 79, of Oneida First Nation, one of 13 quilters known as the Chippewa Barn Quilters Women’s Group who made the historic quilt.
“Nobody really celebrated him and that’s what it’s really about.”
Each square of the quilt tells a story, summarized in a brochure as: “Caught in conflict, prevailing among a growing immigrant population, attacking in defence of territories, negotiating with the Crown for peace and friendship, resulting in lands set aside as reserves — a way of life dramatically changed . . .”
The name of the quilt is derived from the Thames River trail followed by natives for generations, along which they went into battle and retreated with their wounded and dead.
“There must have been a lot of tears along that trail,” said Sickles.
“Everybody was involved in that war. We all thought it was time we did something and it was quite an honour to be asked to join the group.”
Sickles said many people don’t realize how the aboriginal people and settlers in the region interacted and how the two nations of people “helped each other.”
Sickles stitched three panels, Strawberry, representing the fruit considered a sacred food; The Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash, as named by the Haudenosaunee people; and, Log Cabin, signifying the arrival of settlers who built their homes on Chippewa land not yet under treaty.
Sickles agreed there was a “spiritual” element to the quilt making.
“It made us all feel good,’ said Sickles. “For me, I think it is just awesome looking and I’m happy we made it.”
--- --- ---
IF YOU GO
What: Aboriginal Art & Craft Show & Sale event and showing of the Native Women’s Trail of Tears Quilt.
When/Where: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Museum of Ontario Archaeology, 1600 Attawandaron Rd., London | <urn:uuid:e4e09429-37d8-47b5-8568-aa373c4f2fac> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lfpress.com/2012/11/23/quilt-natives-untold-history | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961136 | 756 | 3.078125 | 3 |
|2570 Harbins Road|
Postal Code: 30019
|Cemetery notes and/or description:|
The land that Ebenezer Baptist Church occupies today, including Gwinnett and Hall Counties, was once owned by the Cherokee Indians until the United States bought it from them for $5,000. Around 1820, various families began moving into the area that was eventually to be named “Harbins”, after John Harbin, who was one of the first to settle there.
One of the most immediate needs for these settlers was to have a church in which they could come together to worship God. They did not have the funds to erect a formal building, so they erected a Brush Arbor to hold revival services. It was located on the south side of what is now Harbins Road, across the street from the present day church, on land owned by James and Mary Kilcrease. In 1833, the church body joined the Appalachee Baptist Association which had been formed to unify the Baptist churches in the area.
Ebenezer Baptist Church was formally organized on March 28, 1847, by Reverend Samuel Churchill, along with several local families, many of whose decedents still live in the Harbins area. | <urn:uuid:0c95fe95-1cc9-4fba-ab87-5d0465201cf5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GSln=Everett&GSiman=1&GSst=12&CRid=2208399&pt=Ebenezer%20Baptist%20Church%20Cemetery | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98824 | 264 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Last modified: 18 February 2013
Image: COAST (Community of Arran Seabed Trust)
In a comparative study of sea temperature changes, recorded over 20 years around Rathlin, Skerries and Strangford Lough, researchers from National Museums Northern Ireland and Department of Environment’s Marine Division reveal results that could have profound implications for our local marine life.
Northern Ireland is a particularly important area to study the effects of temperature change as it is at the interface of a biogeographic boundary between the cold Arctic waters from the north and the warmer waters coming up from the south. The relatively shallow nature of our waters is also a significant factor.
The report highlighted that rises in water temperatures is a causal factor in the contraction and disappearance of some species. It was found that there were significant increases in the population of warmer water species living at the extreme northern edge of their range.
The report showed that the strongest warming between 1982 and 2007 occurred since 1994, with the warmest years being 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Richard Devlin, a spokesperson for the NIMTF commented on the findings, saying “It is really important that reports such as these are carried out, providing us with locally relevant information on climate change. Northern Ireland is in such an important geographic location for measuring the effects of climate change, and sowe welcome this study. However, the results highlight the policy gaps in Northern Ireland that are stopping us from dealing with the effect of climate change in our seas. At the moment the most significant legislative tool in our marine arsenal, the Marine Bill for NI, is being considered around the Executive table. We have been calling on politicians to amend the Bill to actively respond to the reality of climate change. This would involve considering how species will adapt to climate change when designating special Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) and how certain areas can act as carbon “sinks”, where carbon can be naturally stored in healthy ecosystems without damaging the wider climate. However, without the Bill progressing, we are not even able to start the process of protecting our seas.
“This report should act as a wake-up call, highlighting the absolute need to do all we can to protect our most vulnerable marine species and habitats. without locally robust marine and climate legislation, these features could be lost forever from our seabeds”. | <urn:uuid:15da494a-e3c2-452d-969d-fd528a42027a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/340363-in-hot-water- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947526 | 482 | 3.6875 | 4 |
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH MOST GRACIOUS MOST MERCIFUL
As salaamu alaikum/Greetings
Welcome to our homepage about Infertility and Islam. We hope that you find it beneficial and informative. In many Muslim communities it is often considered a taboo to discuss the topic of infertility openly. Although 1 in 12 couples face infertility problems when trying to conceive a child. And while in many cultures the woman is blamed and shunned by the community, we inshallah would like to shed some light on the situation, in hopes that women will no longer feel ashamed in such an ordeal. It is hard enough for a woman who has difficulty conceiving, having a natural desire to feel a child grow in her womb, to have to deal with cultural ignorances as well. (For the non muslims who have ventured onto our site, please read our brief introduction to What is Islam.)
Every month a couple has basically 1 in 4 chance of conceiving where no infertility factors exist. In a womans' lifetime she will normally produce 4 to 5 thousand eggs. Eight of these eggs are recruited each month, and only one is brought to maturity and relased into the fallopian tube, the other seven eggs deteriorate and die. The egg only lives from 24-36 hours after it is released and if it is not fertilized by the sperm (which can live up to 72 hours inside a woman) the egg will then deteriorate and die. Within two weeks the uterine lining will shed and a woman will have a menstrual cycle.
There are other factors in the whole fertilization process, such as the opening of a womans cervix, cervical mucus that helps the sperm reach the egg. Not to mention healthy non deformed sperm that can survive and fertilize the egg. Although seemingly an easy process there are many factors that can decrease the chances of fertilization from occurring. These can include blocked fallopian tubes, which can be caused by PID,ENDOMETRIOSIS, Scar tissue from miscarriages or surgical proceedings. There is also the factor of PCOS, which affects the woman's ability to normally produce and release an egg each month. These being only female factors of infertility, it is false to assume that infertility is only a woman's problem. Male factors also make up for about 40% of infertility problems, which include blocked ducts, low amount of sperm, and deformed sperm.
Normally when couples have unprotected sex for a year, a pregnancy will occur. If a woman does not become pregnant within a year (6 months for women over 35)the couple should have a fertility work-up to find out what is going on. Most couples that seek a fertility work-up by a Reproductive Endocronologist (differing from a regular GYN), should know within a month, or shortly thereafter,why pregnancy has not been successful. Such a work-up includes, but is not limited to: medical history, blood tests, pap smear, vaginal examination, HSG, a semen analysis, cervical cultures and Laparoscopy.
Having infertility problems, in most cases, does not mean the end of conceiving. There are many options open to couples that will help them to conceive children. Some of these options include, but are not limited to, IVF, IUI, GIFT, ZIFT, Ovulation drugs such as Clomid, and tubal surgery.There are also options for male factor infertility such as treatment with fertility drugs, surgery and ART procedures.
What concerns us most, as Muslims, is what options are Islamically permissible for us. Are ART procedures permissible, what is not permissible, why are certain things not permissible, are just some of the questions we would like to address. Keep in mind that none of the sisters who add to this web page are scholars, and there may be variant opinions as to what is acceptable and what is not. And due to the fact that an "In Depth" look at fertility options have yet to be addressed by "scholars" some questions will be left unanswered on this web site. We encourage all to seek proper Islamic means to deal with your infertility for Allah places things in our lives for a reason. We will all be tested, and as Muslims we should persevere in the way which is right in order to seek any rewards.
This site is work in progress, so bear with us as we grow. If you would like to share your own personal stories of your battle with infertility, the options you chose, please feel free to Email us and we will post them if you choose. Inshallah this will be beneficial for all, and some negative outlooks on barren women, and infertility problems can become a thing of the past for our ummah. Below are some of the topics that we are working on, so please come back and see us for we will continually update this page.
Want to more about Health? Health Talk and You gives all health information and news. Wellness Hub and Medical WTF are also wonderful health sites! | <urn:uuid:5885d824-b5fa-443e-b307-c07e72006360> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.angelfire.com/la/IslamicView/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00063-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959107 | 1,037 | 2.671875 | 3 |
|MadSci Network: Earth Sciences|
Good question! I'm sure many others have wondered the same thing.
For frost to form, the temperature of the object upon which frost forms must be 32 degrees F of lower.
You will often see frost form on automobiles before it forms on the ground. This is because metal radiates heat quicker than soil does.
The minimum air temperature that your local meteorologist gives, or even the air temperature that you measure in your own yard, can be misleading. Under ideal radiational cooling nights...clear skies and calm winds...the temperature at the earth's surface can be several degrees cooler than the temperature at the height of your thermometer.
Therefore, if your thermometer measures a temperature of 37 degrees F, it is quite possible that, under the radiational cooling conditions mentioned above, the temperature on the ground is below freezing.
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Earth Sciences. | <urn:uuid:091b01c1-6bf2-4d4b-a3e3-1620010b038f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-02/949532359.Es.r.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00124-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912416 | 196 | 3.6875 | 4 |
||January -- Howard Hughes, flying his own Hughes H-1, breaks the U.S. transcontinental speed record, flying from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey in 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds. During the flight Hughes averaged a speed of 332 miles per hour.
||October -- Ann Baumgartener Carl of the Women Airforce Service Pilots flies a Bell XP-59A to become the first American woman to fly a jet airplane.
||October -- Air Force Major Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager, flying the Bell X-1 "Glamorous Glennis," becomes the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. The "Glamorous Glennis," named after Yeager's wife, reached a speed of 967 miles per hour, Mach 1.06, at an altitude of 70,140 feet. That was the fastest velocity and highest altitude reached by a manned aircraft up to that time.
||February -- The first round-the-world, nonstop flight begins on February 26 at Carswell Air Force base in Fort Worth, Texas. Captain James Gallagher, flying the B-50 Superfortress, ended his circumnavigation of the globe on March 2. The plane, carrying a crew of 14, averaged 249 miles per hour on the 23,452-mile trip. The Superfortress was refueled four times in the air by B-29 tanker planes.
||Spetember -- Colonel David Carl Schilling of Raleigh, North Carolina makes the first transatlantic, nonstop jet airplane flight. Flying a single-engine F-84E Republic Thunderjet, Schilling traveled a distance of 3,300 miles in 10 hours and 1 minute. The journey began in Manston, England and ended at an Air Force base at Limestone, Maine.
||June -- Major Horace C. Boren of Dallas, Texas becomes the first person to circle the globe via commercial airlines in less than 100 hours. Boren stopped at 19 airports during his 21,000-mile jaunt. He arrived at New York International Airport, Idlewild, New York on June 25, having completed his adventure in 99 hours and 16 minutes.
||November -- Richard Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June, and photographer Captain Ashley McKinley, makes the first flight over the South Pole. Byrd and company flew in a tri-motored monoplane called the Floyd Bennett, named for Byrd's co-pilot on his North Pole flight of 1926. Bennett had died the previous year.
||August -- Champion bicyclist and hang-gliding enthusiast Bryan Allen demonstrates sustained, maneuverable, human-powered flight while flying the "Gossamer Condor" for 7 minutes, 2.7 seconds in a closed course. The "Gossamer Condor" was designed by Dr. Paul MacCready and Dr. Peter Lissamen and was made of thin aluminum tubes, mylar plastic, and stainless steel wire. By making the flight, Allen collected the $95,000 Kremer Prize, established in 1959 by British industrialist Henry Kremer.
||December -- The first solar-powered long-distance airplane flight is recorded when the "Solar Challenge" flies for 22 minutes over a distance of six miles near Marana, Arizona. The 210-pound plane, constructed of aluminum and plastic, was piloted by Janice Brown.
||December -- The first round-the-world flight without refueling is made by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, flying on the Voyager, a front-and-rear propelled plane constructed mainly of plastic. Their 216-hour, 24,986-mile circumnavigation began and ended at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
||August -- Pilot Lyle Shelton, flying a modified Grumman F8F Bearcat called Rare Bear, achieves the fastest speed ever by a piston-engined aircraft. Shelton reached a speed of 528.33 miles per hour over a 10-mile course at Las Vegas, Nevada.
1903 - 1936 | 1937 - 1989
THE FILM & MORE | SPECIAL FEATURE | TIMELINE | MAPS | TEACHER'S GUIDE
THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | KIDS | SEARCH | FEEDBACK
WGBH | PBS Online | <urn:uuid:f4d3f3bb-2ebe-44f1-8bc8-391c9fcbc132> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lindbergh/timeline/index_2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924864 | 892 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Municipal History of Lebanon County
In colonial times, the Lebanon Valley was part of Chester County, one of the three original counties of the Province of Pennsylvania. In 1729, the western section was divided off to make Lancaster County. After the Revolution, the area was divided again in 1785 with the formation of Dauphin County. In the early 1800s, local residents petitioned the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a new county, citing the inconvenient travel time to Harrisburg and Lancaster to conduct routine county business. Finally, in 1813, Lebanon County was formed from portions of Lancaster and Dauphin counties, with minor boundary revisions in 1814 and 1821. [More History »]
The town of Lebanon became a borough in 1821, and in 1885, it was organized into a third-class city. Other townships of the county were divided and boroughs formed at various times as listed below.
Lebanon County Today
|Municipality||Year Formed||Current Population|
|North Annville Township||1845||2,381|
|South Annville Township||1845||2,850|
|North Lebanon Township||1840||11,429|
|South Lebanon Township||1840||9,463|
|West Lebanon Township||1901||781|
|North Cornwall Township||1926||7,553|
|West Cornwall Township||1892||1,976|
|Cold Spring Township||1853||52|
|East Hanover Township||1813||2,801|
|North Londonderry Township||1894||8,068|
|South Londonderry Township||1894||6,991|
|Mount Gretna Borough||1926||196|
Annville Township was divided into North and South in 1845. In 1912, the new Annville Township was formed between the two to encompass the town of Annville. Hanover Township of Dauphin County was divided into East, West, and South. When Lebanon County was formed, East Hanover was split between the two counties. Londonderry Township was divided into North and South in 1894. Cold Spring Township was split off of East Hanover and Union Townships. Today it remains largely an unpopulated forest designated as state game lands.
Population statistics are 2010 results from the US Census Bureau.
Please see the Web Resources page for links to websites of local interest. | <urn:uuid:5a6731e1-5eda-41d2-a285-cc34c63f6ff7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://lebanoncountyhistoricalsociety.org/research-archives/lebanon-county | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910812 | 511 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Deletion Bill
The rationale for the Bill is simple. According to Mr Peters, the principles are at the core of all disquiet surrounding the Treaty of Waitangi (the Treaty).
The explanatory note to the Bill sets out four reasons for why this is so:
- The principles were inserted by Parliament, not at the request of Māori.
- Parliament has never actually defined the principles, meaning the task has fallen to judges, who have taken an increasingly activist, liberal and broad licence in providing a form of definition. However, the principles still remain largely undefined and ambiguous.
- The principles are a source of ongoing litigation regarding their relevance and meaning.
- The principles have become a diversion from the true pathway to success for both Māori and non-Māori.
The intention behind the Bill is to see the Treaty take its rightful place as an historical document which will bind New Zealand, not divide it.
Time to consider the Bill
The Bill has been drawn in the Member’s Bills ballot, but is yet to have its first reading in the House, so there is ample time to consider if there is a problem, and if there is, whether this Bill is the solution.
Whether the Bill is right or wrong, good or bad, is not really the point. Either way, it does give New Zealanders a framework in which to consider the issues in an analytical rather than emotive way.
As one of New Zealand’s leading public law practices, we make no apology for our contribution to the debate, being an analysis from a legal perspective. Perhaps unusually for lawyers, we do not claim to have the answers, but we do think we can help frame the questions.
This Counsel aims to provide the reader with an analysis from a legal perspective when considering these issues.
Is there a problem that needs fixing?
Mr Peters has stated there is no consensus as to what the principles of the Treaty mean or how they ought to be implemented. This, he has said, is a problem. Is he right on either or both counts?
It has become good political sport to try to get ministers to identify and define the principles, and it is true that no definitive answer is usually given. But does this mean the principles are largely undefined and ambiguous?
As Dr Wayne Mapp has observed in the House,1 Government relies on the views of the Court of Appeal.
In 1987, one of our foremost jurists, Richardson J, asserted in New Zealand Maori Council v Attorney General2 that it could not be said that there was broad general agreement as to what the principles of the Treaty were. Have we moved on from then?
According to the Te Puni Kōkiri website there are five sources from which the Treaty principles can be derived. These are:
- the literal terms in the texts of the Treaty
- cultural meanings of words
- influences and events which gave rise to the Treaty
- contemporary explanations
- legal interpretations.
In particular, in 2005, there are a number of legal interpretations that provide guidance as to what are the Treaty principles.
There is also a series of Waitangi Tribunal reports which identify a number of principles that arise from the Treaty’s literal words (the role of the Tribunal is described below and the texts of the Treaty are set out on the attached flyer).
The Waitangi Tribunal: what the principles are
- The Treaty established a partnership, and imposes on both partners the duty to act reasonably, honestly and in the utmost good faith.3
- The needs of both Māori and the wider community must be met, which will require compromise on both sides.4
- The principle of mutual benefit or mutual advantage is a cornerstone of the Treaty partnership.5
- The granting of the right of pre-emption to the Crown implies a reciprocal duty for the Crown to ensure that the tangata whenua retain sufficient endowment for their foreseen needs.6
- The exchange of the right to make laws for the obligation to protect Māori interests “to accord the Māori interest an appropriate priority”.7
- Tino rangatiratanga includes management of resources and other taonga according to Māori cultural preferences.8
- Tino rangatiratanga includes the tribal right of self-regulation.9
- The Crown has an obligation to actively protect Māori Treaty rights.10
- Consultation should occur early in the process.11
- The principle of choice/options: Māori, Pākehā and bicultural options.12
- The Treaty provided an option for Māori to develop along customary lines and from a traditional base, or to assimilate into a new way. Inferentially it also offered a third alternative: “to walk in two worlds”.13
- The Crown cannot evade its obligations under the Treaty by conferring authority on some other body.14
- The Treaty is an agreement that can be adapted to meet new circumstances – the principle of development.15
In summary, the main principles that are stressed are those of partnership, good faith, active protection, the need for compromise and the duty to consult.
The Tribunal has taken the position that the provisions of the Treaty itself are not to be supplanted by the principles which emerge from it, but that they are, however, inter-related.
Most significantly, throughout, the Tribunal has assumed that the Treaty is a living document that should be interpreted in a contemporary context. Successive Tribunals have not confined themselves to analysis of the written text of the Treaty. They have attempted to read the Treaty in the light of present changes and challenges. In particular, there is an emphasis on the spirit of the Treaty and its status as a developing social contract. Because of this, the Tribunal’s view is that new principles are always emerging and existing ones will need to be modified.
A comparison of the principles propounded by the Tribunal with those formulated by the Court of Appeal is interesting. As the Tribunal developed the principles set out, there were simultaneous legal interpretations being developed by the Courts.
Aside from the Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal Act 1975, the first references to the principles of the Treaty occurred in late 1986, with the Environment Act and the State-Owned Enterprises Act. In neither case was the term “principles of the Treaty” defined. This meant that the Courts had to determine what it meant when the Crown had to ensure that it did not “act in a manner that is inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi” at much the same time as when the Tribunal was considering the principles.
The Courts: What the principles are
- The Treaty established a partnership, and imposes on both partners the duty to act reasonably, honestly and in the utmost good faith.16
- The spirit of partnership is “at the heart of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi”.17
- Partnership does not mean that every asset or resource in which Māori have some justifiable claim to share must be divided equally.18
- The freedom of the Crown to govern and make laws.19
- The acquisition of sovereignty in exchange for the protection of rangatiratanga.20
- “Foremost amongst [the] principles are the obligations which the Crown undertook of protecting and preserving Māori property, including the Māori language as part of taonga, in return for being recognised as the legitimate government of the whole nation by Māori”.21
- Māori to retain rangatiratanga over their resources and taonga and to have all the rights and privileges of citizenship.22
- The Crown’s duty of active protection “of Māori people in the use of their lands and waters to the fullest extent practicable”.23
- Active protection of Māori interests, which is not restricted to consultation.24
- The Crown has a positive obligation “within constraints of the reasonable, to protect the position of Māori under the Treaty”.25
- The Crown has a duty to consult, although it is noted that “exactly who should be consulted before any particular legislative or administrative step [is taken] which might affect some Māoris, … would be difficult or impossible to lay down”.26
- Crown duty to remedy past breaches.27
In summary, the Courts have talked of the Treaty partnership, the Crown’s fiduciary duty and of the need to adhere to the principles of the Treaty, rather than any literal reading of the text.
The Courts have, therefore, developed a similar approach to the Tribunal; the principles are seen as important and developing.
It may be that the Courts and the Tribunal have interpreted the principles in an increasingly activist, liberal and broad way. However, both are comfortable with the concept of the “principles” of the Treaty and have taken similar views on what the fundamental principles are and, more importantly, how those principles should be developed.
No, there is no consensus as to what the principles of the Treaty mean; but this is because the Treaty is seen as developing, so the “principles” of it are not constant and cannot be exhaustively identified.
Can it, therefore, be said that the principles of the Treaty are undefined and ambiguous? If so, is there a problem that needs fixing? The principles are not, by their nature, capable of fixed definition and certainty; should they therefore be denied the status of giving rise to enforceable rights?
Does the Bill achieve its seemingly simple fix?
Assuming there is a problem or at least a debate worth having, one question is whether or not removing the references to the principles of the Treaty is a solution.
Five factors seem to require consideration before this question can be answered:
- The continued existence of the Tribunal
- The existence of statutory law interpretations that co-exist alongside Tribunal recommendations
- The continued existence of obligations in legislation to consult with Māori
- The continued extistance of obligations in legislation to make special provision to improve the capacity of Māori
- The goal of having the Treaty apply to all New Zealanders either as between each other in their daily dealings, or as a more classic model, in their group (or individual?) relationships with the Crown.
The Waitangi Tribunal
The Tribunal was established in 1975 by the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 (TOWA). It is a permanent Commission of Inquiry whose role includes inquiring into and making recommendations upon any claim brought by Māori in relation to actions or omissions of the Crown, which breached the promises made in the Treaty.
According to the preamble of the TOWA, the Tribunal is to determine whether certain matters are inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty. The Tribunal’s functions therefore include deciding issues raised by the differences between the texts of the Treaty (set out in the attached flyer).
The existence of this Tribunal and the paramount importance that the TOWA places on the principles of the Treaty is not addressed by the Bill.
The references to the Treaty principles in the TOWA would be removed by the Bill in the same manner as they would be removed from every other Act. However, the TOWA is not just any other Act; the references to the principles may not be able to be removed this simply.
The concept of the principles of the Treaty is intricately related to the purpose of the TOWA and the rationale for establishing the Tribunal. Reconciling the texts of the Treaty may be an impossible task without the concept of the principles of the Treaty.
The fundamental role of the Tribunal under the TOWA may therefore not be able to be carried out without the Treaty principles being relevant. The impact on the Tribunal is an issue that has to be addressed if the Bill is to proceed.
Existing interpretations and recommendations
The Bill purports to remove the references to the principles of the Treaty from legislation. It is significant that the Bill will not be able to remove the existing interpretations. The considerable body of Tribunal reports and Court decisions dealing with the principles of the Treaty will not disappear.
As discussed below, the principles are likely to be relevant so long as the Treaty has a place in New Zealand, and Māori are consulted as Māori on matters of public relevance. The increasingly activist, liberal and broad legal interpretations may not therefore diminish in importance.
Requirements to consult Māori
The numerous statutory requirements to consult Māori would not be removed under the Bill. This creates uncertainty about whether Mr Peters will effectively achieve his goal; will the “disquiet” about the Treaty disappear?
For example, section 82(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 requires local authorities to have in place processes for consulting with Māori when the Act requires that consultation about any decision or other matter be undertaken. This consultation may have to be carried out in accordance with the special consultative procedure, which requires that the relevant consulting bodies ensure that Māori are able to be heard in a manner and format they are comfortable with.
It does not seem far fetched to presume that in complying with this requirement, consulting bodies may be obliged to consider the principles of the Treaty; or Māori may not feel comfortable being consulted in a manner that does not recognise (or even denies) the relevance of the principles of the Treaty.
It seems probable that the principles of the Treaty, in particular those of partnership and good faith, have the potential to impact on whether Māori are being heard in a manner and format they are comfortable with. The Tribunal, for example, will often sit on a marae and hear submissions in accordance with traditional Māori custom. Māori might well request the same from bodies required by statute to consult with them. So far the issue has not been tested in a case where a consulting body has refused to meet on a marae, so whether the refusal is an actionable breach of a right is not known.
Māori also have consultation rights in other capacities, e.g. as affected residents, along with other affected residents. So, a specific requirement to consult Māori might easily be construed as requiring particular attention to Māori dimensions.
Requirements to develop Māori capacity to participate
Some very important legislation such as the Local Government Act 2002 imposes positive obligations to develop processes to give Māori opportunities to contribute to decision making, and consider ways to foster development of Māori capacity to contribute to decision making. More recent legislation states that this does not limit the ability to take similar action for any other “population group”.
Those provisions are not removed by Mr Peters’ Bill. Perhaps they are Parliamentary expressions of the principles of the Treaty, even though not explicitly stated to be?
The continued existence of statutory requirements to consult, involve and foster involvement of Māori as Māori may mean that the Bill is too simple a fix.
The Treaty binding New Zealanders
The stated intention of the Bill is to see the Treaty take its rightful place as an historical document which will bind New Zealanders.
The question raised is, therefore, whether or not this can occur without the principles of the Treaty being recognised? Can they be recognised without being identified, even if not exhaustively?
What does “binding” mean? To lawyers, it usually means:
- consequences like damages or injunctions are available for breaches.
The principles of the Treaty have been developed partly as a result of the two texts of the Treaty leading to different understandings, and because of circumstances and issues that could not be foreseen in 1840. There are significant differences between the “official” English version of the Treaty, and a modern translation of Tiriti and the Māori language document actually signed at Waitangi on February 6th 1840. Do the principles of the Treaty really help resolve them?
Is the term “principles” used mainly because having two literal versions is inconvenient? Is it rather like saying “comply with the spirit of a law, not the letter of that law”, because the “letter of the law” doesn’t help?
A full understanding of the Treaty which will equip Māori and non-Māori New Zealanders to create a future as one nation may not be possible without the principles. The Tribunal is likely to see achieving its goal as being dependent on developing the principles of the Treaty.
It is therefore reasonable to debate whether or not removing the references to the principles will obtain the objective that Mr Peters seeks to achieve, i.e. reduction in the “disquiet” about the Treaty. The Treaty will always be part of our history, and while it remains part of our current law, it is part of our present as well. That may necessitate recognition that the principles of the Treaty are also a part of our lives.
It may well be that removing the references to its principles from our law will still mean we have to live with those principles, whatever they are; and whatever consequences, good or bad, those principles may have.
Mr Peters’ Bill might not get a First Reading before the election, but if it does then we can expect a lively debate in the House and hopefully in the wider community about the principles of the Treaty.
If this Counsel helps to focus that debate, then it has served its purpose. Mr Peters’ Bill may well not pass, but the issues will not go away. | <urn:uuid:04c80eb0-0655-426b-8ade-2d39aef5bb75> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chapmantripp.com/publications/Pages/What-are-the-principles-of-the-Treaty-of-Waitangi-What-should-the-law-do-about-them.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955048 | 3,640 | 2.921875 | 3 |
|Up: Table of Contents||REC-MathML-19980407; revised 19990707|
Besides tokens there are several families of MathML presentation elements. One family of elements deals with various "scripting" notations, such as subscript and superscript. Another family is concerned with matrices and tables. The remainder of the elements, discussed in this section, describe other basic notations such as fractions and radicals, or deal with general functions such as setting style properties and error handling.
An <mrow> element is used to group together any number of subexpressions, usually consisting of one or more <mo> elements acting as "operators" on one or more other expressions which are their "operands".
Several elements automatically treat their arguments as if they were contained in an <mrow> element. See the discussion of inferred <mrow>s in Section 3.1.3. See also <mfenced> (Section 3.3.8), which can effectively form an <mrow> containing its arguments separated by commas.
None (except the attributes allowed for all MathML elements, listed in Section 2.3.4).
<mrow> elements are typically rendered visually as a horizontal row of their arguments, left to right in the order in which the arguments occur, or audibly as a sequence of renderings of the arguments. The description in Section 3.2.4 of suggested rendering rules for <mo> elements assumes that all horizontal spacing between operators and their operands is added by the rendering of <mo> elements (or, more generally, embellished operators), not by the rendering of the <mrow>s they are contained in.
MathML is designed to allow renderers to automatically linebreak expressions (that is, to break excessively long expressions into several lines), without requiring authors to specify explicitly how this should be done. This is because linebreaking positions can't be chosen well without knowing the width of the display device and the current font size, which for many uses of MathML will not be known except by the renderer at the time of each rendering.
Determining good positions for linebreaks is complex, and rules for this are not described here; whether and how it is done is up to each MathML renderer. Typically, linebreaking will involve selection of "good" points for insertion of linebreaks between successive arguments of <mrow> elements.
Although MathML does not require linebreaking or specify a
particular linebreaking algorithm, it has several features designed to
allow such algorithms to produce good results. These include the use
of special entities for certain operators, including invisible operators (see
Section 3.2.4), or for providing hints related to linebreaking when
necessary (see Section 3.2.5), and the ability to use nested
<mrow>s to describe subexpression structure (see below).
MathML renderers are required to treat an <mrow>
element containing exactly one argument as equivalent in all ways to
the single argument occurring alone, provided there are no attributes
on the <mrow> element's begin tag. If there are
attributes on the <mrow> element's begin tag, no
requirement of equivalence is imposed. This equivalence condition is
intended to simplify the implementation of MathML-generating software such as
template-based authoring tools. It directly affects the definitions of
embellished operator and spacelike element and the rules for
determining the default value of the form attribute of an
<mo> element; see Sections 3.2.4 and 3.2.6. See also the
discussion of equivalence of MathML expressions in Chapter 7.
Subexpressions should be grouped by the document author in the same
way as they are grouped in the mathematical interpretation of the
expression; that is, according to the underlying "syntax tree" of the
expression. Specifically, operators and their mathematical arguments
should occur in a single <mrow>; more than one operator
should occur directly in one <mrow> only when they can
be considered (in a syntactic sense) to act together on the
interleaved arguments, e.g. for a single parenthesized term and its
parentheses, for chains of relational operators, or for sequences of
terms separated by
-. A precise rule
is given below.
Proper grouping has several purposes: it improves display by possibly affecting spacing; it allows for more intelligent linebreaking and indentation; and it simplifies possible semantic interpretation of presentation elements by computer algebra systems, and audio renderers.
Although improper grouping will sometimes result in suboptimal
renderings, and will often make interpretation other than pure visual
rendering difficult or impossible, any grouping of expressions using
<mrow> is allowed in MathML syntax; that is, renderers
should not assume the rules for proper grouping will be followed.
A precise rule for when and how to nest subexpressions using <mrow> is especially desirable when generating MathML automatically by conversion from other formats for displayed math, such as TeX, which don't always specify how subexpressions nest. When a precise rule for grouping is desired, the following rule should be used:
Two adjacent operators (i.e. <mo> elements, possibly embellished), possibly separated by operands (i.e. anything other than operators), should occur in the same <mrow> only when the left operator has an infix or prefix form (perhaps inferred), the right operator has an infix or postfix form, and the operators are listed in the same group of entries in the operator dictionary provided in Appendix C. In all other cases, nested <mrow>s should be used.
When forming a nested <mrow> (during generation of MathML) which includes just one of two successive operators with the forms mentioned above (which mean that either operator could in principle act on the intervening operand or operands), it is necessary to decide which operator acts on those operands directly (or would do so, if they were present). Ideally, this should be determined from the original expression; for example, in conversion from an operator-precedence-based format, it would be the operator with the higher precedence. If this cannot be determined directly from the original expression, the operator which occurs later in the suggested operator dictionary (Appendix C) can be assumed to have a higher precedence for this purpose.
Note that the above rule has no effect on whether any MathML expression is valid, only on the recommended way of generating MathML from other formats for displayed math or directly from written notation.
(Some of the terminology used in stating the above rule in defined in Section 3.2.4.)
<mrow> <mrow> <mn> 2 </mn> <mo> </mo> <mi> x </mi> </mrow> <mo> + </mo> <mi> y </mi> <mo> - </mo> <mi> z </mi> </mrow>
The proper encoding of (x, y) furnishes a less obvious example of nesting <mrow>s:
<mrow> <mo> ( </mo> <mrow> <mi> x </mi> <mo> , </mo> <mi> y </mi> </mrow> <mo> ) </mo> </mrow>
In this case, a nested <mrow> is required inside the
parentheses, since parentheses and commas, thought of as fence and
separator "operators", do not act together on their arguments.
The <mfrac> element is used for fractions. It can also be used to mark up fraction-like objects such as binomial coefficients and Legendre symbols. The syntax for <mfrac> is
<mfrac> numerator denominator </mfrac>
|linethickness||number [ v-unit ] | thin | medium | thick||1 (rule thickness)|
The linethickness attribute indicates the thickness of the horizontal "fraction bar", or "rule", typically used to render fractions. A fraction with linethickness="0" renders without the bar, and might be used within binomial coefficients. A linethickness greater than one might be used with nested fractions. These cases are shown below:
In general, the value of linethickness can be a number, as a
multiplier of the default thickness of the fraction bar (the default
thickness is not specified by MathML), or a number with a unit of vertical length (see Section
2.3.3), or one of the keywords
medium (same as 1),
thin (thinner than 1, otherwise up to the renderer), or
thick (thicker than 1, otherwise up to the renderer).
The <mfrac> element sets displaystyle to "false", or if it was already false increments scriptlevel by 1, within numerator and denominator. These attributes are inherited by every element from its rendering environment, but can be set explicitly only on the <mstyle> element. (See Section 3.3.4.)
The examples shown above can be represented in MathML as:
<mrow> <mo> ( </mo> <mfrac linethickness="0"> <mi> a </mi> <mi> b </mi> </mfrac> <mo> ) </mo> </mrow> <mfrac linethickness="2"> <mfrac> <mi> a </mi> <mi> b </mi> </mfrac> <mfrac> <mi> c </mi> <mi> d </mi> </mfrac> </mfrac>
A more generic example is:
<mfrac> <mrow> <mn> 1 </mn> <mo> + </mo> <msqrt> <mn> 5 </mn> </msqrt> </mrow> <mn> 2 </mn> </mfrac>
These elements construct radicals. The <msqrt> element is used for square roots, while the <mroot> element is used to draw radicals with indices, e.g. a cube root. The syntax for these elements is
<msqrt> base </msqrt>
<mroot> base index </mroot>
The <mroot> element requires exactly 2 arguments. However, <msqrt> accepts any number of arguments; if this number is not 1, its contents are treated as a single "inferred <mrow>" containing its arguments, as described in Section 3.1.3.
The <mroot> element increments scriptlevel by
2, and sets displaystyle to "false", within index, but
leaves both attributes unchanged within base. The
<msqrt> element leaves both attributes unchanged within
all its arguments. These attributes are inherited by every element
from its rendering environment, but can be set explicitly only on
<mstyle>. (See Section 3.3.4.)
The <mstyle> element is used to make style changes which affect the rendering of its contents. <mstyle> can be given any attribute accepted by any MathML presentation element; it can also be given certain special attributes listed below.
The <mstyle> element accepts any number of arguments. If this number is not 1, its contents are treated as a single "inferred <mrow>" formed from all its arguments, as described in Section 3.1.3.
Loosely speaking, the effect of the <mstyle> element is to change the default value of an attribute for the elements it contains. Style changes work in one of two ways, depending on whether an attribute's default value is documented as inherited. The two cases are:
Other attributes, such as linethickness on <mfrac>, have default values which are not normally inherited. That is, if the linethickness attribute is not set on the begin tag of an <mfrac> element, it will normally use the default value of "1", even if it was contained in a larger <mfrac> element which set this attribute to a different value. For attributes like this, specifying a value with an <mstyle> element has the effect of changing the default value for all elements within its scope. The net effect is that setting the attribute value with <mstyle> propagates the change to all the elements it contains directly or indirectly, except for the individual elements on which the value is overridden. Unlike in the case of inherited attributes, elements which explicitly override this attribute have no effect on this attribute's value in their children.
Note that attribute values inherited from an <mstyle>, in either manner, affect a given element in the <mstyle>'s content only if that attribute is not given a value in that element's begin tag. On any element for which the attribute is set explicitly, the value specified on the begin tag overrides the inherited value. The only exception to this rule is when the value given on the begin tag is documented as specifying an incremental change to the value inherited from that element's context or rendering environment.
Note also that the difference between inherited and non-inherited attributes set by <mstyle>, explained above, only matters when the attribute is set on some element within the <mstyle>'s contents which has children which also set it. Thus it never matters for attributes, such as color, which can only be set on token elements (or on <mstyle> itself).
There is one exceptional element, <mpadded>, whose attributes cannot be set with <mstyle>. When the attributes width, height and depth are specified on an <mstyle> element, they apply only to the <mspace/> element. Similarly, when lspace is set with <mstyle>, it applies only to the <mo> element.
As stated above, <mstyle> accepts all attributes of all MathML presentation elements. Additionally, <mstyle> can be given the following special attributes which are implicitly inherited by every MathML element as part of its rendering environment:
|scriptlevel||['+' | '-'] unsigned-integer||inherited|
|displaystyle||true | false||inherited|
|color||#rgb | #rrggbb | html-color-name||inherited|
|background||#rgb | #rrggbb | transparent | html-color-name||transparent|
MathML uses two attributes, displaystyle and scriptlevel, to control orthogonal presentation features that TeX encodes into one "style" attribute with values \displaystyle, \textstyle, \scriptstyle, and \scriptscriptstyle. The corresponding values of displaystyle and scriptlevel for those TeX styles would be "true" and "0", "false" and "0", "false" and "1", and "false" and "2", respectively.
The main effect of the displaystyle attribute is that it determines the effect of other attributes such as the largeop and movablescripts attributes of <mo>. The main effect of the scriptlevel attribute is to control the font size. Typically, the higher the scriptlevel, the smaller the font size. (Non-visual renderers can respond to the font size in an analogous way for their medium.) More sophisticated renderers may also choose to use these attributes in other ways, such as rendering expressions with displaystyle="false" in a more vertically compressed manner.
These attributes are given initial values for the outermost expression of an instance of MathML based on its rendering environment. A short list of layout schemata described below modify these values for some of their subexpressions. Otherwise, values are determined by inheritance whenever they are not directly specified on a given element's start tag.
For an instance of MathML embedded in a textual data format (such as HTML) in "display" mode, i.e. in place of a paragraph, displaystyle = "true" and scriptlevel = "0" for the outermost expression of the embedded MathML; if the MathML is embedded in "inline" mode, i.e. in place of a character, displaystyle = "false" and scriptlevel = "0" for the outermost expression. See Chapter 7 for further discussion of the distinction between "display" and "inline" embedding of MathML and how this can be specified in particular instances. In general, a MathML renderer may determine these initial values in whatever manner is appropriate for the location and context of the specific instance of MathML it is rendering, or if it has no way to determine this, based on the way it is most likely to be used; as a last resort it is suggested that it use the most generic values displaystyle = "true" and scriptlevel = "0".
The MathML layout schemata which typically display some of their arguments in smaller type or with less vertical spacing, namely the elements for scripts, fractions, radicals, and tables or matrices, set displaystyle to "false", and in some cases increase scriptlevel, for those arguments. The new values are inherited by all subexpressions within those arguments, unless they are overridden.
The specific rules by which each element modifies displaystyle and/or scriptlevel are given in the specification for each element which does so; the complete list of elements which modify either attribute are: the "scripting" elements <msub>, <msup>, <msubsup>, <munder>, <mover>, <munderover>, and <mmultiscripts>; and the elements <mfrac>, <mroot>, and <mtable>.
When <mstyle> is given a scriptlevel attribute with no sign, it sets the value of scriptlevel within its contents to the value given, which must be a nonnegative integer. When the attribute value consists of a sign followed by an integer, the value of scriptlevel is incremented (for '+') or decremented (for '-') by the amount given. The incremental syntax for this attribute is an exception to the general rules for setting inherited attributes using <mstyle>, and is not allowed by any other attribute on <mstyle>.
Whenever the scriptlevel is changed, either automatically or by being explicitly incremented, decremented, or set, the current font size is multiplied by the value of scriptsizemultiplier to the power of the change in scriptlevel. For example, if scriptlevel is increased by 2, the font size is multiplied by scriptsizemultiplier twice in succession; if scriptlevel is explicitly set to 2 when it had been 3, the font size is divided by scriptsizemultiplier.
The default value of scriptsizemultiplier is less than one (in fact, it is approximately the square root of 1/2), resulting in a smaller font size with increasing scriptlevel. To prevent scripts from becoming unreadably small, the font size is never allowed to go below the value of scriptminsize as a result of a change to scriptlevel, though it can be set to a lower value using the fontsize attribute (Section 3.2.1) on <mstyle> or on token elements. If a change to scriptlevel would cause the font size to become lower than scriptminsize using the above formula, the font size is instead set equal to scriptminsize within the subexpression for which scriptlevel was changed.
In the syntax for scriptminsize,
v-unit represents a unit of vertical length (as described in Section
2.3.3). The most common unit for specifying font sizes
in typesetting is
Explicit changes to the fontsize attribute have no effect on the value of scriptlevel.
For MathML renderers which support CSS1 style sheets, or some other analogous style sheet mechanism, absolute or relative changes to fontsize (or other attributes) may occur implicitly on any element in response to a style sheet. Changes to fontsize of this kind also have no effect on scriptlevel. A style sheet-induced change to fontsize overrides scriptminsize in the same way as for an explicit change to fontsize in the element's begin tag (discussed above), whether it is specified in the style sheet as an absolute or a relative change. (However, any subsequent scriptlevel-induced change to fontsize will still be affected by it.) As is required for inherited attributes in CSS1, the style sheet-modified fontsize is inherited by child elements.
If the same element is subject to both a style sheet-induced and an automatic (scriptlevel-related) change to its own fontsize, the scriptlevel-related change is done first -- in fact, in the simplest implementation of the element-specific rules for scriptlevel, this change would be done by the element's parent as part of producing the rendering properties it passes to the given element, since it is the parent element which knows whether scriptlevel should be changed for each of its child elements.
If the element's own fontsize is changed by a style sheet and it also changes scriptlevel (and thus fontsize) for one of its children, the style sheet-induced change is done first, followed by the change inherited by that child. If more than one child's scriptlevel is changed, the change inherited by each child has no effect on the other children. (As a mnemonic rule which applies to a "parse tree" of elements and their children, style sheet-induced changes to fontsize can be associated to nodes of the tree, i.e. to MathML elements, and scriptlevel-related changes can be associated to the edges between parent and child elements; then the order of the associated changes corresponds to the order of nodes and edges in each path down the tree.) For general information on the relative order of processing of properties set by style sheets vs. by attributes, see the appropriate subsection of CSS-compatible attributes in Section 2.3.3.
If scriptlevel is changed incrementally by an <mstyle> element which also sets certain other attributes, the overall effect of the changes may depend on the order in which they are processed. In such cases, the attributes in the following list should be processed in the following order, regardless of the order in which they occur in the XML-format attribute list of the <mstyle> begin tag: scriptsizemultiplier, scriptminsize, scriptlevel, fontsize.
Note that scriptlevel can, in principle, attain any integral value by being decremented sufficiently, even though it can only be explicitly set to nonnegative values. Negative values of scriptlevel generated in this way are legal and should work as described, generating font sizes larger than those of the surrounding expression. Since scriptlevel is initially 0 and never decreases automatically, it will always be nonnegative unless it is decremented past 0 using <mstyle>.
Explicit decrements of scriptlevel after the font size has been limited by scriptminsize as described above would produce undesirable results. This might occur, for example, in a representation of a continued fraction, in which the scriptlevel was decremented for part of the denominator back to its value for the fraction as a whole, if the continued fraction itself was located in a place which had a high scriptlevel. To prevent this problem, MathML renderers should, when decrementing scriptlevel, use as the initial font size the value the font size would have had if it had never been limited by scriptminsize. They should not, however, ignore the effects of explicit settings of fontsize, even to values below scriptminsize.
Since MathML renderers may be unable to make use of arbitrary font sizes with good results, they may wish to modify the mapping from scriptlevel to fontsize to produce better renderings in their judgement. In particular, if fontsizes have to be rounded to available values, or limited to values within a range, the details of how this is done are up to the renderer. Renderers should, however, ensure that a series of incremental changes to scriptlevel resulting in its return to the same value for some subexpression that it had in a surrounding expression results in the same fontsize for that subexpression as for the surrounding expression.
The color attribute controls the color in which the content of tokens is rendered. Additionally, when inherited from <mstyle> or from a MathML expression's rendering environment, it controls the color of all other drawing by MathML elements, including the lines or radical signs that can be drawn by <mfrac>, <mtable>, or <msqrt>.
Note that the background attribute, though not inherited, has the default value "transparent" (as in CSS1), which effectively allows an element's parent to control its background.
The values of color and background can be specified as a string consisting of '#' followed without intervening whitespace by either 1-digit or 2-digit hexadecimal values for the red, green, and blue components, respectively, of the desired color, with the same number of digits used for each component (or as the keyword "transparent" for background). The hexadecimal digits are not case-sensitive. The possible 1-digit values range from 0 (component not present) to F (component fully present), and the possible 2-digit values range from 00 (component not present) to FF (component fully present), with the 1-digit value x being equivalent to the 2-digit value xx (rather than x0).
These attributes can also be specified as an html-color-name, which is defined in the following subsection.
The color syntax described above is a subset of the syntax of the "color" and "background-color" properties of CSS1. (The "background-color" syntax is in turn a subset of the full CSS1 "background" property syntax, which also permits specification of (for example) background images with optional repeats. The more general attribute name background is used in MathML to facilitate possible extensions to the attribute's scope in future versions of MathML.)
Color values on either attribute can also be specified as an html-color-name, that is, as one of the color-name keywords defined in HTML 4.0. The list of allowed color names includes most of the commonest English color words, though not "orange", "brown", or "pink", and also includes a number of less-common color words; see the reference for the complete list and the equivalent RGB values. Note that the color name keywords are not case-sensitive, unlike most keywords in MathML attribute values. (The same color name keywords are defined for the CSS1 "color" property, but with unspecified RGB values. See also the subsection CSS-compatible attributes within Section 2.3.3.)
The suggested MathML visual rendering rules do not define the precise extent of the region whose background is affected by using the background attribute on <mstyle>, except that, when <mstyle>'s content does not have negative dimensions and its drawing region is not overlapped by other drawing due to surrounding negative spacing, this region should lie behind all the drawing done to render the content of the <mstyle>, but should not lie behind any of the drawing done to render surrounding expressions. The effect of overlap of drawing regions caused by negative spacing on the extent of the region affected by the background attribute is not defined by these rules.
The example of limiting the stretchiness of a parenthesis shown in the section on <mo>,
<mrow> <mo maxsize="1"> ( </mo> <mfrac> <mi> a </mi> <mi> b </mi> </mfrac> <mo maxsize="1"> ) </mo> </mrow>
can be rewritten using <mstyle> as:
<mstyle maxsize="1"> <mrow> <mo> ( </mo> <mfrac> <mi> a </mi> <mi> b </mi> </mfrac> <mo> ) </mo> </mrow> </mstyle>
The <merror> element displays its contents as an "error message". This might be done, for example, by displaying the contents in red, flashing the contents, or changing the background color. The contents can be any expression or expression sequence.
<merror> accepts any number of arguments; if this number is not 1, its contents are treated as a single "inferred <mrow>" as described in Section 3.1.3.
The intent of this element is to provide a standard way for programs that generate MathML from other input to report syntax errors in their input. Since it is anticipated that preprocessors that parse input syntaxes designed for easy hand entry will be developed to generate MathML, it is important that they have the ability to indicate that a syntax error occurred at a certain point. See Section 7.2.2.
The suggested use of <merror> for reporting syntax errors is for a preprocessor to replace the erroneous part of its input with an <merror> element containing a description of the error, while processing the surrounding expressions normally as far as possible. By this means, the error message will be rendered where the erroneous input would have appeared, had it been correct; this makes it easier for an author to determine from the rendered output what portion of the input was in error.
No specific error message format is suggested here, but as with error messages from any program, the format should be designed to make as clear as possible (to a human viewer of the rendered error message) what was wrong with the input and how it can be fixed. If the erroneous input contains correctly formatted subsections, it may be useful for these to be preprocessed normally and included in the error message (within the contents of the <merror> element), taking advantage of the ability of <merror> to contain arbitrary MathML expressions rather than only text.
None (except the attributes allowed for all MathML elements, listed in Section 2.3.4).
If a MathML syntax-checking preprocessor received the input
<mfraction> <mrow> <mn> 1 </mn> <mo> + </mo> <msqrt> <mn> 5 </mn> </msqrt> </mrow> <mn> 2 </mn> </mfraction>
which contains the non-MathML element <mfraction> (presumably in place of the MathML element <mfrac>), it might generate the error message
<merror> <mtext> Unrecognized element: <mfraction>; arguments were: </mtext> <mrow> <mn> 1 </mn> <mo> + </mo> <msqrt> <mn> 5 </mn> </msqrt> </mrow> <mtext> and </mtext> <mn> 2 </mn> </merror>
Note that the preprocessor's input is not, in this case, valid MathML,
but the error message it outputs is valid MathML.
An <mpadded> element renders the same as its content, but with its overall size and other dimensions (such as baseline position) modified according to its attributes. The <mpadded> element does not rescale (stretch or shrink) its content; its only effect is to modify the apparent size and position of the "bounding box" around its content, so as to affect the relative position of the content with respect to the surrounding elements. The name of the element reflects the use of <mpadded> to effectively add "padding", or extra space, around its content. If the "padding" is negative, it is possible for the content of <mpadded> to be rendered outside the <mpadded> element's bounding box; see below for warnings about several potential pitfalls of this effect.
The <mpadded> element accepts any number of arguments; if this number is not 1, its contents are treated as a single "inferred <mrow>" as described in Section 3.1.3.
It is suggested that audio renderers add (or shorten) time delays based on the attributes representing horizontal space (width and lspace).
|width||[ + | - ] unsigned-number ( % [ pseudo-unit ] | pseudo-unit | h-unit )||same as content|
|lspace||[ + | - ] unsigned-number ( % [ pseudo-unit ] | pseudo-unit | h-unit )||0|
|height||[ + | - ] unsigned-number ( % [ pseudo-unit ] | pseudo-unit | v-unit )||same as content|
|depth||[ + | - ] unsigned-number ( % [ pseudo-unit ] | pseudo-unit | v-unit )||same as content|
(The pseudo-unit syntax symbol is described below.)
These attributes modify the dimensions of the "bounding box" of the <mpadded> element. The dimensions (which have the same names as the attributes) are defined in the next subsection. Depending on the format of the attribute value, a dimension may be set to a new value, or to an incremented or decremented version of the content's corresponding dimension. Values may be specified as multiples or percentages of any of the dimensions of the normal rendering of the element's content (using so-called "pseudo-units"), or as multiples of standard length units.
If an attribute value begins with a
- sign, it specifies an increment or decrement of the
corresponding dimension by the following length value (interpreted as
explained below). Otherwise, the corresponding dimension is set
directly to the following length value. Note that the
- do not mean that the following value is positive
or negative, even when an explicit length unit (h-unit or
v-unit) is given. In particular, these attributes cannot
directly set a dimension to a negative value.
Length values (after the optional sign, which is not part of the
length value) can be specified in several formats. Each format begins
with an unsigned-number, which may be followed by a
% sign and an optional "pseudo-unit" (denoted by
pseudo-unit in the attribute syntaxes above), by a pseudo-unit
alone, or by one of the length
units (denoted by h-unit or v-unit) specified in
Section 2.3.3, not including
%. The possible pseudo-units
are the keywords
depth; they each represent the
length of the same-named dimension of the <mpadded>
element's content (not of the <mpadded> element itself).
The lengths represented by h-unit or v-unit are described in Section 2.3.3.
In any of these formats, the length value specified is the product
of: the specified number; 0.01 if
% is given; and the
length represented by the unit or pseudo-unit. If no pseudo-unit is
%, the one with the same name as the
attribute being specified is assumed.
Some examples of attribute formats using pseudo-units (explicit or
default) are as follows:
depth="100% height" and
depth="1.0 height" both set the depth of the
<mpadded> element to the height of its content.
depth="105%" sets the depth to 1.05 times the content's
depth, and either
depth="200%" sets the depth to twice the content's
Dimensions that would be positive if the content was rendered normally cannot be made negative using <mpadded>; a positive dimension is set to 0 if it would otherwise become negative. Dimensions which are initially 0 can be made negative, but this should generally be avoided. See the warnings below on the use of negative spacing for "tweaking" or conveying meaning.
The rules given above imply that all of the following attribute settings have the same effect, which is to leave the content's dimensions unchanged:
<mpadded width="+0em"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded width="+0%"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded width="-0em"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded width="- 0 height"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded width="100%"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded width="100% width"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded width="1 width"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded width="1.0 width"> ... </mpadded> <mpadded> ... </mpadded>
See the Glossary given in Appendix B for further information about some of the typesetting terms used here.
The width attribute refers to the overall horizontal width of a bounding box. By default (i.e. when lspace is not modified), the bounding box of the content of an <mpadded> element should be rendered flush with the left edge of the <mpadded> element's bounding box. Thus, increasing width alone effectively adds space on the right edge of the box.
The lspace attribute refers to the amount of space between the left edge of a bounding box and where the rendering of its contents' bounding box actually begins. Unlike the other dimensions, lspace does not correspond to a real property of a bounding box, but exists only transiently during the computations done by each instance of <mpadded>. It is provided so that there is a way to add space on the left edge of a bounding box.
The rationale behind using width and lspace to control horizontal padding instead of more symmetric attributes, such as a hypothetical rspace and lspace, is that it is desirable to have a "width" pseudo unit, in part because "width" is an actual property of a bounding box.
The height attribute refers to the amount of vertical space between the baseline (the line along the bottom of most letter glyphs in normal text rendering) and the top of the bounding box.
The depth attribute refers to the amount of vertical space between the bottom of the bounding box and the baseline.
MathML renderers should ensure that, except for the effects of the
attributes, relative spacing between the contents of
<mpadded> and surrounding MathML elements is not modified
by replacing an <mpadded> element with an
<mrow> element with the same content. This holds even if
linebreaking occurs within the <mpadded>
element. However, if an <mpadded> element with
non-default attribute values is subjected to linebreaking, MathML does
not define how its attributes or rendering interact with the
A likely temptation for the use of the <mpadded> and <mspace/> elements (and perhaps also <mphantom> and <mtext>) will be for an author to improve the spacing generated by a specific renderer by slightly modifying it in specific expressions -- i.e., to "tweak" the rendering.
Authors are strongly warned that different MathML renderers may use different spacing rules for computing the relative positions of rendered symbols in expressions which have no explicit modifications to their spacing; if renderer B improves upon renderer A's spacing rules, explicit spacing added to improve the output quality of renderer A may produce very poor results in renderer B, very likely worse than without any "tweaking" at all.
Even when a specific choice of renderer can be assumed, its spacing rules may be improved in successive versions, so that the effect of tweaking in a given MathML document may grow worse with time. Also, when style sheet mechanisms are extended to MathML, even one version of a renderer may use different spacing rules for users with different style sheets.
Therefore, it is suggested that MathML markup never use <mpadded> or <mspace/> elements to tweak the rendering of specific expressions, unless the MathML is generated solely to be viewed using one specific version of one MathML renderer, using one specific style sheet (if style sheets are available in that renderer).
In cases where the temptation to improve spacing proves too strong,
careful use of <mpadded>, <mphantom>, or the
alignment elements (Section 3.5.4) may give
more portable results than the direct insertion of extra space using
<mspace/> or <mtext>. Advice given to the
implementors of MathML renderers might be still more productive, in
the long run.
MathML elements which permit "negative spacing", namely <mspace/>, <mpadded>, and <mtext>, could in theory be used to simulate new notations or "overstruck" characters by the visual overlap of the renderings of more than one MathML subexpression.
This practice is strongly discouraged in all situations, for the following reasons:
More generally, any construct which uses spacing to convey mathematical meaning, rather than simply as an aid to viewing expression structure, is discouraged. That is, the constructs which are discouraged are those which would be interpreted differently by a human viewer of rendered MathML if all explicit spacing was removed.
If such constructs are used in spite of this warning, they should be enclosed in a <semantics> element which also provides an additional MathML expression which can be interpreted in a standard way.
For example, the MathML expression
<mrow> <mpadded width="0"> <mi> C </mi> </mpadded> <mspace width="0.3em"/> <mtext> | </mtext> </mrow>
forms an overstruck symbol in violation of the policy stated above; it might be intended to represent the set of complex numbers for a MathML renderer which lacks support for the standard symbol used for this purpose. This kind of construct should always be avoided in MathML, for the reasons stated above; indeed, it should never be necessary for standard symbols, since a MathML renderer with no better method of rendering them is free to use overstriking internally, so that it can still support general MathML input.
However, if for whatever reason such a construct is used in MathML, it should always be enclosed in a <semantics> element such as
<semantics> <mrow> <mpadded width="0"> <mi> C </mi> </mpadded> <mspace width="0.3em"/> <mtext> | </mtext> </mrow> <annotation-xml encoding="mathml"> <mi> &DoubleStruckCapitalC; </mi> </annotation-xml> </semantics>
which provides an alternative, standard encoding for the desired symbol, which is much more easily interpreted than the construct using negative spacing. (The alternative encoding in this example uses MathML presentation elements; the content elements described in Chapter 4 should also be considered.)
(The above warning also applies to most uses of rendering
attributes to alter the meaning conveyed by an expression, with the
exception of attributes on <mi> (such as
fontweight) used to distinguish one variable from another.)
The <mphantom> element renders invisibly, but with the same size and other dimensions, including baseline position, that its contents would have if they were rendered normally. <mphantom> can be used to align parts of an expression by invisibly duplicating subexpressions.
The <mphantom> element accepts any number of arguments; if this number is not 1, its contents are treated as a single "inferred <mrow>" formed from all its arguments, as described in Section 3.1.3.
It is suggested that audio renderers render <mphantom> elements in an analogous way for their medium, by rendering them as silence of the same duration as the normal rendering of their contents.
None (except the attributes allowed for all MathML elements, listed in Section 2.3.4).
Note that it is possible to wrap both an <mphantom>
and an <mpadded> element around one MathML expression, as
<mphantom><mpadded attribute-settings> ...
</mpadded></mphantom>, to change its size and make it
invisible at the same time.
MathML renderers should ensure that the relative spacing between the contents of an <mphantom> element and the surrounding MathML elements is the same as it would be if the <mphantom> element were replaced by an <mrow> element with the same content. This holds even if linebreaking occurs within the <mphantom> element.
For the above reason, <mphantom> is not considered spacelike (Section 3.2.6) unless its content is spacelike, since the suggested rendering rules for operators are affected by whether nearby elements are spacelike. Even so, the warning about the legal grouping of spacelike elements may apply to uses of <mphantom>.
There is one situation where the preceding rule for rendering an <mphantom> may not give the desired effect. When an <mphantom> is wrapped around a subsequence of the arguments of an <mrow>, the default determination of the form attribute for an <mo> element within the subsequence can change. (See the default value of the form attribute described in Section 3.2.4.) It may be necessary to add an explicit form attribute to such an <mo> in these cases. This is illustrated in the following example.
In this example, <mphantom> is used to ensure alignment of corresponding parts of the numerator and denominator of a fraction:
<mfrac> <mrow> <mi> x </mi> <mo> + </mo> <mi> y </mi> <mo> + </mo> <mi> z </mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mi> x </mi> <mphantom> <mo form="infix"> + </mo> <mi> y </mi> </mphantom> <mo> + </mo> <mi> z </mi> </mrow> </mfrac>
This would render as something like
x + y + z --------- x + z
rather than as
x + y + z --------- x + z
The explicit attribute setting form="infix" on the
<mo> element inside the <mphantom> sets the
form attribute to what it would have been in the absence of the
surrounding <mphantom>. This is necessary since
+ sign would be interpreted as a prefix
operator, which might have slightly different spacing.
Alternatively, this problem could be avoided without any explicit
attribute settings, by wrapping each of the arguments
<mi>y</mi> in its
own <mphantom> element, i.e.
<mfrac> <mrow> <mi> x </mi> <mo> + </mo> <mi> y </mi> <mo> + </mo> <mi> z </mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mi> x </mi> <mphantom> <mo> + </mo> </mphantom> <mphantom> <mi> y </mi> </mphantom> <mo> + </mo> <mi> z </mi> </mrow> </mfrac>
The <mfenced> element provides a convenient form in which to express common constructs involving fences (i.e. braces, brackets, and parentheses), possibly including separators (such as comma) between the arguments.
<mfenced> <mi>x</mi> </mfenced>
renders as "(x)" and is equivalent to
<mrow> <mo> ( </mo> <mi>x</mi> <mo> ) </mo> </mrow>
<mfenced> <mi>x</mi> <mi>y</mi>
</mfenced> renders as "(x, y)" and is
<mrow> <mo> ( </mo> <mrow> <mi>x</mi> <mo>,</mo> <mi>y</mi> </mrow> <mo> ) </mo> </mrow>
Individual fences or separators are represented using <mo> elements, as described in Section 3.2.4. Thus, any <mfenced> element is completely equivalent to an expanded form described below; either form can be used in MathML, at the convenience of an author or of a MathML-generating program. A MathML renderer is required to render either of these forms in exactly the same way.
In general, an <mfenced> element can contain zero or more arguments, and will enclose them between fences in an <mrow>; if there is more than one argument, it will insert separators between adjacent arguments, using an additional nested <mrow> around the arguments and separators for proper grouping (Section 3.3.1). The general expanded form is shown below. The fences and separators will be parentheses and comma by default, but can be changed using attributes, as shown in the following table.
A generic <mfenced> element, with all attributes explicit, looks as follows:
<mfenced open="opening-fence" close="closing-fence" separators="sep#1 sep#2 ... sep#(n-1)" > arg#1 ... arg#n </mfenced>
The opening-fence and closing-fence are arbitrary strings. (Since they are used as the content of <mo> elements, any whitespace they contain will be trimmed and collapsed as described in Section 2.3.5.)
The value of separators is a sequence of zero or more
separator characters (or entity references), optionally separated by
sep#i consists of exactly one
character or entity reference. Thus,
separators=" , ; ".
The general <mfenced> element shown above is equivalent to the following expanded form:
<mrow> <mo fence="true"> opening-fence </mo> <mrow> arg#1 <mo separator="true"> sep#1 </mo> ... <mo separator="true"> sep#(n-1) </mo> arg#n </mrow> <mo fence="true"> closing-fence </mo> </mrow>
Each argument except the last is followed by a separator. The inner <mrow> is added for proper grouping, as described in Section 3.3.1.
When there is only one argument, the above form has no separators;
<mrow> arg#1 </mrow> is equivalent to
arg#1 (as described in Section 3.3.1),
this case is also equivalent to:
<mrow> <mo fence="true"> opening-fence </mo> arg#1 <mo fence="true"> closing-fence </mo> </mrow>
If there are too many separator characters, the extra ones are
ignored. If separator characters are given, but there are too few,
the last one is repeated as necessary. Thus, the default value of
separators="," is equivalent to separators=",,",
separators=",,,", etc. If there are no separator characters
provided but some are needed, for example if separators=" " or
"" and there is more than one argument, then no separator elements are
inserted at all -- that is, the elements
separator="true"> sep#i </mo> are left out
entirely. Note that this is different from inserting separators
consisting of <mo> elements with empty content.
Finally, for the case with no arguments, i.e.
<mfenced open="opening-fence" close="closing-fence" separators="anything" > </mfenced>
the equivalent expanded form is defined to include just the fences within an <mrow>:
<mrow> <mo fence="true"> opening-fence </mo> <mo fence="true"> closing-fence </mo> </mrow>
Note that not all "fenced expressions" can be encoded by an <mfenced> element. Such exceptional expressions include those with an "embellished" separator or fence or one enclosed in an <mstyle> element, a missing or extra separator or fence, or a separator with multiple content characters. In these cases, it is necessary to encode the expression using an appropriately modified version of an expanded form. As discussed above, it is always permissible to use the expanded form directly, even when it is not necessary. In particular, authors cannot be guaranteed that MathML preprocessors won't replace occurrences of <mfenced> with equivalent expanded forms.
Note that the equivalent expanded forms shown above include attributes on the <mo> elements which identify them as fences or separators. Since the most common choices of fences and separators already occur in the operator dictionary with those attributes, authors would not normally need to specify those attributes explicitly when using the expanded form directly. Also, the rules for the default form attribute (Section 3.2.4) cause the opening and closing fences to be effectively given the values form="prefix" and form="postfix" respectively, and the separators to be given the value form="infix".
Note that it would be incorrect to use <mfenced> with
a separator of, for instance, "+", as an abbreviation for an
expression using "+" as an ordinary operator, e.g.
<mi>x</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mi>y</mi> <mo>+</mo>
<mi>z</mi> </mrow>. This is because the
signs would be treated as separators, not infix operators. That is,
it would render as if they were marked up as
separator="true">+</mo>, which might therefore render
<mfenced> <mrow> <mi> a </mi> <mo> + </mo> <mi> b </mi> </mrow> </mfenced>
Note that the above <mrow> is necessary so that the <mfenced> has just one argument. Without it, this would render incorrectly as "(a, +, b)".
<mfenced open="["> <mn> 0 </mn> <mn> 1 </mn> </mfenced>
<mrow> <mi> f </mi> <mo> </mo> <mfenced> <mi> x </mi> <mi> y </mi> </mfenced> </mrow> | <urn:uuid:644e4b73-2c02-45d1-867b-dc44248e973b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.w3.org/1999/07/REC-MathML-19990707/chap3_3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00102-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.84879 | 11,487 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Evolutionary Biologists Rethink Evolution
by Brian Thomas, M.S. *
Scientific knowledge has experienced tremendous advances in the last several decades, especially in such relatively new fields as molecular biology, genomics, and embryonic development. Some biologists say, however, that much of what has been learned is not adequately explained by the standard evolutionary model. So, they are looking at alternate ways that evolution could be at work.
In 1942, J. B. S. Haldane introduced the concept of “modern synthesis” as a mechanism for evolution.1 Often presented in museums and textbooks as fact rather than theory, the modern synthesis postulates that evolution proceeded by the selection of mutants out of a population. The descendants of these mutants then filled the population with their new and useful traits. Given enough time, it was thought that any creature could eventually morph into any other creature.
But the accumulation and selection of mutations does not explain certain things that biologists have observed. For example, University of Arizona biologist Alexander Badaev, who has tracked over 12,000 house finches near Missoula, Montana, for over a decade, has noticed rapid changes in their beak shapes. A recent article in The Scientist pointed out that “the only way for finches to survive would be if their beak shape had changed rapidly—too rapidly to have resulted from just random mutations.”2 Badaev’s formal results will be published in an upcoming issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
These finch finds parallel the rapid changes in beak shapes seen in Darwin’s finches on the Galapagos Islands.3 Much evidence, in fact, has been accumulating regarding biological changes that occur too fast for the slow and gradual amassing of mutations, as per the modern synthesis, to explain.4
This cadre of researchers has found that the modern synthesis not only fails to provide a satisfactory explanation for rapidly changing features in animals and plants, but that it also falls short of explaining “major evolutionary milestones” like photosynthesis, flight, and multicellularity.2 Sudden and rapid alterations that occur during embryonic development also resist a mutation-based explanation.
In addition, the modern synthesis does not match the observation that some traits are not inherited through genes, and are thus not even subject to mutational changes.5 Instead, these traits―over 100 of which were documented by Eva Joblanka at Tel Aviv University―are passed from one generation to the next through epigenetic patterns.6
Sixteen biologists were invited by City of New York University’s biologist and philosopher Massimo Pigliucci to meet in 2008 in Austria to discuss alternate biological mechanisms that could be added to the modern synthesis. They plan to publish their ideas in a technical book titled Evolution: The Extended Synthesis.
Though the biologists involved have been careful to affirm their faith in the modern synthesis, insisting that they only want to add to and improve it, their efforts have rankled colleagues. Douglas Futuyma, of the State University of New York, argued in The Scientist that the evolutionary synthesis has already been extending itself. Similarly, Richard Dawkins stated, “I think that we have already expanded the Modern Synthesis.”2
But extensions of and expansions to the modern synthesis would, by definition, make such models no longer the same as the modern synthesis. Yet, no new model name has come out to replace the old one. In any case, extensions and expansions of a primarily mutation-based model still would not explain what these few biologists have been observing.
The rapid changes, the non-gene heritable information, and the suddenly-appearing yet fully-formed information sets in biological systems all appear to be well-regulated systems that were deliberately engineered. Thus, it appears that the most significant mechanisms for biological change were created, and that they only operate within individual kinds.
Neither those mechanisms, nor the selection of mutants, is capable of performing the herculean task of creating the myriad life forms observed today, even given a pre-existing starting population and endless time. On the other hand, such a task would be a trifle for an omnipotent God.
- Haldane, J. B. S. 1942. Evolution: The Modern Synthesis. London: Allen & Unwin.
- Grant, B. 2010. Should Evolutionary Theory Evolve? Some biologists are calling for a rethink of the rules of evolution. The Scientist. 24 (1): 25-30.
- Thomas, B. New Finch Species Shows Conservation, Not Macroevolution. ICR News. Posted on icr.org December 9, 2009, accessed January 25, 2010.
- Reproducing Early and Often is the Key to Rapid Evolution in Plants. Yale University press release, October 2, 2008, reporting on research published in Smith, S. A. and M. J. Donoghue. 2008. Rates of Molecular Evolution Are Linked to Life History in Flowering Plants. Science. 322 (5898): 86-89.
- Thomas, B. The Human Methylome: What Do These Patterns Mean? ICR News. Posted on icr.org October 22, 2009, accessed January 25, 2010.
- Jablonka, E. and G. Raz. 2009. Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: Prevalence, Mechanisms, and Implications for the Study of Heredity and Evolution. Quarterly Review of Biology. 84 (2): 131-176.
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Article posted on February 3, 2010. | <urn:uuid:e78b5612-9d8f-42c1-9c65-5ca6b031087d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.icr.org/article/evolutionary-biologists-rethink-evolution/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945184 | 1,160 | 3.625 | 4 |
The town of Bridgeport had its beginning in pre-American Revolutionary War times. In 1764, John Simpson entered the area and gave his name to Simpson Creek. Bridgeport was chartered in 1816. When the town was incorporated in 1887, it established the office of mayor and town council. The city currently employs a City Manager. Bridgeport is home to Meadowbrook Mall, a 100-store regional shopping complex serving North-Central West Virginia.
When John Simpson entered the Bridgeport area in 1764, he was attracted by the plentiful supply of fur-bearing animals. The men to follow him were also trappers and the fur trade was the first business in what is now Bridgeport. As the settlers came and cleared land, timber was sold, and the lumber trade became another area business.
The first mill of which there is official record is the Bridgeport or Johnson Mill, which Harvey W. Harmer describes as the first mill in Bridgeport in his Old Grist Mills of Harrison County. This gristmill was constructed by James Anderson sometime between 1771 and 1787 on Simpson Creek.
In the 19th century, farming was the main livelihood, and the stores in town were mostly general stores designed to serve the area farmers. The town also had a blacksmith and a barber (a man born in slavery), several mills, and two hotels. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ran through Bridgeport beginning in 1856, eliminating the need for area cattleman to drive their livestock all the way to Baltimore. They instead drove their herds into Bridgeport to the stock pens at the railroad depot. The stockyards remained until the early 1980s when it was razed and replaced by Rite Aid. Cattle, sheep, hogs, and even turkeys were driven into Bridgeport from area farms to be sold here or driven on to market.
The Bridgeport Lamp Chimney Company was succeeded by the Master Glass Company. The Master Glass Company, a marble factory, moved to Bridgeport in 1941 and in 1950 took over the assets of the Akro-Agate Marble Company of Clarksburg. The company manufactured "glass balls for industrial use, colored signal lenses, toy marbles, glass ball reflectors used in highway signs and guard rail posts, and other products for various industrial uses." The company ceased operations in 1973, and the City of Bridgeport bought the property. The building has been torn down, and the former site of the tannery, lamp chimney factory, and marble factory is now a parking lot for the Benedum Civic Center.
On June 29, 2006, the city became noted as the site of a showdown over the issue of separation of church and state in the United States. A portrait of Jesus originally hung on a wall at Bridgeport High School. Two parents filed suit in federal court to have the portrait removed, after the Harrison County Board of Education deadlocked over whether to remove the portrait. The portrait of Jesus was stolen from Bridgeport High School early in the morning on August 17, 2006 and a mirror was put in its place. | <urn:uuid:42126a18-10e7-4ee9-b8ba-a5c517b046bb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Place:Bridgeport%2C_Harrison%2C_West_Virginia%2C_United_States | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00144-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976532 | 624 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Prehistoric decline in freshwater mussels coincident with the advent of maize agriculture
During late prehistory, high population densities and intensive agricultural practices of Native American societies had profound effects on the pre-Columbian landscape. The degree to which Native American land use affected aquatic ecosystems is unknown. Freshwater mussels are particularly sensitive harbingers of modern-day ecosystem deterioration.We used data from prehistoric Native American shell middens to examine prehistoric trends in abundance of freshwater mussels of the genus Epioblasma in North America during the last 5000 years. The relative abundance of Epioblasma declined steadily during this period, a result that could be explained either by an increase in human impacts to streams or by long-term climatic changes unrelated to human activities. The rate of decline of Epioblasma increased significantly, however, after the advent of largescale maize agriculture in the southeastern United States about 1000 years before the present. Our results suggest that human land-use activities in prehistory caused changes in freshwater mussel communities that were lower in magnitude but similar in direction to changes caused by recent activities.
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Happiness. We all want it and yet it seems as to elude so many of us - no matter how hard we try to pursue it. According to a recent poll by the Office for National Statistics just 32% of people in the UK reported high levels of happiness when asked.
And yet many of us cringe slightly if the topic of conversation turns to happiness. We picture cheesy motivational videos or that uneasy feeling you have if you find yourself browsing in the self-help section of a bookstore. But much of the cynicism towards happiness may be semantic - nobody would say that we shouldn't try to reduce misery, would they? Yet it's as if admitting that you might have a 'happiness problem' is something to be ashamed of.
But you shouldn't feel this way. Happiness isn't a trivial subject. As Oscar Wilde once said "We should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality."
According to the research of acclaimed psychologist Ed Diener and colleagues, he's on to something. Happier people live longer, recover quicker from illness, perform better in the workplace and experience more fulfilling relationships. In fact almost every way we cut the pie, happier people are better off - and causation doesn't always run in the direction you may assume.
What's being discovered is that just as our fitness level will remain constant without effort, our happiness levels will remain constant without effort. But with intentional effort our happiness 'muscles' can be trained.
Develop the Happiness Muscles
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied the brains of average people versus Buddhist monks who had over 10,000 hours of meditative training. The surprising findings were that when meditating the level of activity in regions of the brain associated with happiness dwarfed anything the scientists had ever seen. The brain had been trained and rewired to be happier in a process known as neuroplasticity, with regions getting stronger just as muscles do with more use.
Meditative approaches such as mindfulness based cognitive therapy, which is now an NHS accredited mental health treatment, work by helping us to focus on being present moment - rather than being stuck thinking about the past or projecting about the future. This helps us to achieve peak performance or 'flow' - the moments where we are completely engaged in what we are doing.
Increasingly mindfulness is being used in some of the most successful companies to help foster creativity and focus, with a prominent example being Google's 'Search Inside Yourself' programme developed by engineer and self-proclaimed "jolly good fellow" Chade-Meng Tan.
But deep breathing isn't the complete answer to happiness. A study focusing on very happy people found that they did experience negative emotions in the same way way as the average person does, but that very happy people were able to overcome these feelings faster. They had developed emotional resilience that got them through. According to Martin Seligman, the superstar psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, seeing setbacks as "temporary, local and changeable" is the key to overcoming them.
Friend or Foe?
To para-phrase Nick Hornby, no man (or woman) is an island. We've long known that our connections and relationships play a large role in how happy we are. But what's only become known recently is that emotions are contagious and can and do spread, just like a virus epidemic, through our social networks. So we should heed the advice of Tim Ferriss, author of the upcoming The 4-Hour Chef, when he says that "you are the average of the five people you associate with most. If someone isn't making you stronger, they're making you weaker." Similarly, if someone isn't making you happier, they are making you miserable.
Find Your Map
Because happiness is so hard to measure, when we think about our lives we spent more time focusing on the things that we can easily measure - such as our bank balance - and less time on the things that we can't. And as Dan Gilbert reveals in his acclaimed TED talk, many of the things that we think will make us happy really do not at all. For a year Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project tried out many of the commonly held beliefs about happiness, finding that many were misguided.
So test things out, see what works and adapt what doesn't. But whatever you do, don't be fooled that happiness is trivial or that you can't do anything about it. How to be happy is a question that can be answered, you just need to pursue it with the right map. | <urn:uuid:409eb963-f2cc-4f7d-8c79-a7a31c391a2f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tom-cornwall/happiness-how-to-be-happy-the-surpr_b_2133560.html?ir=Health%20News | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977006 | 938 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Everyone of us has failed at something in our lives-whether it be a failed marriage, or relationship, a failed weight loss diet or a failed business or a mere examination. The important thing is how do you learn from your failures? This article provides a nifty mnemonic for you to practice whenever a failure is getting you down: Take the word "failure" and turn it into a positive!
1See how to turn failure into a useful lesson:
- F - stands for forget
- A - stands for accept
- I - stands for investigate
- L - stands for look
- U - stands for understand
- R - stands for re-evaluate
- E - stands for entrust
2Forget. Forget about the past failures in your life. Yesterday is a canceled check, today is cold hard cash, and tomorrow is a promissory note. Tomorrow is not guaranteed and furthermore may never arrive so all you have is the now-the present. Forget about what did not work out as planned, why you failed and move on.
3Accept. Accept why things did not work out as planned and why you did not succeed as planned-regardless as to whether you were victimized or wronged is irrelevant. Accept the facts as facts which is part of the personal growth process in moving forward in reaching your goals.
4Investigate. Investigate why you failed in areas of your personal and professional life. Knowing what the specific steps you took will help you to avoid some of the same mistakes in your goal setting plan.
5Look for alternative ways or solutions in reaching your destination. Remember: it took Thomas Edison over 14,000 failed attempts before he perfected the light bulb that the entire world has come to use in our daily lives. Remember: Perseverance holds the key to success.
6Understand that you are not a failure in life. Every one of us fails at something-some more than others. Understand what you did wrong, and make a mental note what you need to improve upon next moving forward in your personal goal setting.
7Re-evaluate your overall personal goal setting plan of action, maybe you need to remove some tasks or steps in prioritizing things before you can reach your objective. Think objectively and be honest with yourself regarding where you want to go and how you plan on getting to your ultimate destination. This could be a day, a week or a month process. It is important not to rush through this process -so you do not have to revisit failed attempts yet a second time.
8Entrust yourself to try again, to not give up on your goal setting plan objectives, regardless of how many times you fail at it. Each step in the right direction pushes you and motivates you to completing and finishing your goals. Remember it’s a marathon-not a race!
- Remember: ”The only Unfulfilled Goals in Your Life are the Ones you Never Attempt”.
- "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward...". | <urn:uuid:3c91c3de-a964-486d-8ba5-a39b9920ce19> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wikihow.com/Turn-Failure-into-Success | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00097-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955141 | 639 | 2.578125 | 3 |
This is an attempt to clear up some of the mis-conceptions about Powder Coating. The author had been in the industrial paint and powder business for more than 20 years. You may well find a specific situation which contradicts what is written here, the world is filled with anomalies. This FAQ is meant for those that want basic, general information, before they run out to (or run back from!) have there cherished bike parts powder coated! This was originally written for the Brit-Iron list, but then their were similar requests from the BMW, Vintage Japanese and two stroke lists, so here goesÖÖ.
What is Powder Coating?
Simply put, powder is paint applied by a different method. Most all powder paints start life as a liquid, very similar to spray paint. This is where the resin, various components and pigments are mixed into a homogenous mass. From there they are partially cured, converted into a solid, extruded and ground (cryogenically) to the desired level. Color matches are much more difficult with powder, as once it is made into the powder coating, it is done, versus paint that can have additives used to give desired effects (color tint, gloss, leveling, texture etc.).
There is a gross misconception out there that powder is some space age material akin to high tech ceramics and carbon fiber. Thatís generally not true. Powder is just another method of laying down an organic film, i.e. paint. A powder coating of epoxy will have the same basic properties such as poor UV (sunlight) resistance as a liquid paint. For our purposes, resin types should be limited to Acrylic, Polyester, TGIC Polyester and Urethane resins. These are the systems that have the best UV resistance which equates to gloss retention outdoors.
Most powders have very good chemical and corrosion resistance,but again it is resin specific. Epoxies have excellent chemical resistance. Polyesters and Urethanes are typically used for aesthetic coatings on Cycles and have good resistance. Powders do have an advantage over liquid pain there. If you can, imagine how a liquid coating dries or cures. Solvent has to escape from the film as it "dries down". If you were to look at this under a microscope, you would see a bunch of little pinholes that look like small volcanoes. This is an avenue for moisture and chemicals to penetrate the film more quickly, accelerating corrosion. Powder simply melts down at cure temperature and (usually) isnít prone to pinholing. Castings are the exception here. They should always be coated after pre-heating so that the pores of the casting donít "out gas" during the cure cycle. Typical powder cure cycles are 325-375°F @ 12-20 minutes, metal temperature. Actual oven temperature may need to be substantially higher to get the metal to temp in a reasonable amount of time.
Powder coating was introduced to the United States in the late 60ís. It started to really take off in the mid 70ís and has steadily gained in popularity for a number of reasons.
Powder coating is environmentally friendly. Powders contain no solvents (in the final form!) and thus have very low air emissions when curing. Typical powders have a VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) rating of <1.0 pounds per gallon (there is an EPA test method for this!) versus liquid paints in the range of 2.5-7.0 pounds per gallon. There is very little waste with powder. Powder over spray can be collected and reused, rather than just thrown away as with paint over spray.
Powder coating is easy to do. It is much easier to become "good" at applying powder than it is liquid paint. Clean up is also much easier, you can use an air hose instead of solvent.
How is it done?
Powder is sprayed (and in some cases dipped) on parts where it clings by static electricity (sort of like dust on your TV or monitor). That is where the term "electro-statically applied comes from by the way, "electrostatically applied" powder or liquid says nothing about the quality of the workmanship or material, it is just a method! From there it is baked, where it melts, flows and cures.
How should the surface be prepped?
This should be left up to the coater. If he doesnít give you a warm fuzzy feeling about his ability, find another coater (shippingisnít that expensive!). In general, most coaters wonít coat over anything on the parts already (especially primer!) so donít waste your time or money trying to "get it ready".
Powder coating is no different from any other "compliant" coating. What that means is that when the Clean Air Act went into effect, many of the older paints that had a lot of solvent (high VOC) in them were no longer able to be used. These older, high solvent paints, had the ability to "cut through" thin layers of oil or soil and bond to the metal. As newer coatings were introduced, such as water based, high solids/low solvent, powder and E-coat it quickly became apparent that these coatings required very clean substrates for good adhesion and performance. Powders are not unique, but they do require a clean surface as does any modern coating.
As far as surface pretreatment: find a coater that is experienced, and let them do the work. Here is the way to process items (assumed rebuild of an old bike) prior to coating:
#1. Sort and segregate, by metal type (aluminum,zinc vs steel).
#2. Cleaning and rinsing. Clean steel parts in a hot alkaline cleaner / paint stripper to remove heavy oil, grease, old paint, etc. Aluminum and zinc parts can only go into multi-metal type cleaners that are safe for those metals.
#3. Burning. At this point (or instead of #3) many coaters recommend a "burn" to remove leftover oil and grease, especially from frames. This might not be the best thing unless the operator is an expert at doing it. To do it right, you need a controlled pyrolysis oven (brand names to look for are Blu-Surf, Bayco, Pollution Control). These ovens control the UPPER limit of temperature that the parts will see, some by injecting water, similar to a sprinkler system. Setting the oven temperature is not good enough. Where ever you have a gob of grease or paint, these areas can actually ignite and cause very hot spots on the parts, burning the steel and causing fatigue. It is an excellent way to get a part clean, but at what cost down the road?
#4. Blasting. Abrasive media blasting is an excellent way to remove old paint and rust and to increase paint/powder adhesion, as long as it is done properly. Doing it properly means to protect areas that shouldnít be blasted (bearing raceways, machined areas, etc.), using the proper media (avoid steel media - use silica sand, aluminum oxide, plastic media, etc.) and removal of ALL grit after the job is done. It is very important that the blaster clean the parts prior to blasting and that he tells you he does it to all customers' parts. The reason is that blasting re-circulates the blast media (and some of what has been blasted off). Parts that have residual oil on them will only push that oil down into the pores to come out later when baking, potentially ruining the job, or resulting in premature adhesion loss or corrosion. If he only cleans your parts prior to blasting, chances are that re-circulated media will be contaminated, re-soiling your clean parts.
#5. Phosphatizing and subsequent rinsing. This is a topic on which another whole page could be written. Basically iron or zinc phosphatizing aids greatly in paint / powder adhesion and corrosion resistance, especially on parts that are not blasted. What it does is to lay down a coating of metal (iron or zinc) in a crystalline form. This chemically bonds to the steel. The coating then soaks into this sponge-like layer, providing excellent bonding (adhesion) to the steel. Not all places will offer it as it can be a headache for a rebuild type shop, and it is not absolutely needed, but it is worth it if available, especially if redoing a classic that you want to last for a long time. Rinsing after any of the chemical stages is critical. Without proper rinsing you will leave chemicals on the parts that can cause rust later, interfere with coating adhesion or show through the coating in the form of a stain.
Protect the areas where the head races go, protect the triple crown stem, threads and bearing cup areas and protect the open end of the swingarm so bushings will fit without undue hassle. There are many ways to mask parts that need to be protected from the coating. Silicone rubber masks, high temperature tape, Teflon tubing, magnetic metal masks all work well. One of the really unique things you can do with powder, especially on a one at a time basis (versus a production line) is to coat the whole thing. Then selectively blow off the areas to be masked with a fine tipped air nozzle. I have used this method many times, and it is a lot easier than picking off adhesive tape masks after curing! If you screw up, you just blow the whole thing down and re-coat. It does require some practice / experience, but it sounds much harder than it is.
To Coat Or Not To Coat?
Almost any metal part can then be painted, or powdercoated, with a few caveats. In order to use powder, parts must be able to withstand the curing temperatures of powder. This usually means 350°-450°Ffor 15-30 minutes. This pretty much rules out plastic substrates and things that might warp like cylinder heads. Low cure powders are being developed for use on plastic substrates, but for right now, these are beyond the ability of most applicators.
Parts must also be able to withstand the additional coating thickness of powder. Powder does go on heavier than typical paint.
The question keeps coming up about doing cylinders and cylinder heads. Excercise great caution here. This can be a disaster. You want to dissipate heat, not retain heat by putting an insulator over it! Powdercoating can be a great thermal and electrical insulator.
Color and Gloss Choices
You can pretty much forget about truly custom colors per your specification. It simply costs too much to make a batch of powder for one application. Most coaters will have a good selection of "samplepanels" from the powder manufacturers. There are some wild ones out there. Gloss is measured as a percentage when viewed at a given degree. What this means theoretically is that 0% is like the inside of a camera, absolutely no reflection or gloss with 100% being like a mirror. For example, most gloss measurements are taken at a 60 degree angle. At this angle 35% would be a relatively low gloss and 90% would be a high gloss. The inside of a fairing is black and is low gloss so as not to reflect light toward the operator. We "keep the shiney side up" and that shiney side is likely over 90% at 60 degrees. The other typical measuring angle is 85 degrees and that is used for lower gloss coatings. A gloss of 65% at 85 degrees is much less glossy than 65% at 60 degrees. The other factor that many consider is depth of image, which is a way to measure the ability of the finish to act as a mirror. Keep a few things in mind when you choose a color and gloss. Very high gloss in dark colors are beautiful, but will show every fingerprint, not to mention bits of dirt. Besides being hard to keep clean, they are hard to apply. The slightest spec of dust in the air that lands on your part during curing will stick out like a sore thumb. This means that a quality coater will probably charge more for very high gloss, dark colors, or (worse) you will be disappointed.
There are some water clear clearcoat powders on the market now that can be topcoated over other liquid spray paints and powders, adding to the look of gloss and depth. Say what you will about them, but look at the finish on a new Harley. All Harley tanks and fenders are wet spray painted and coated with a special clear powder. The look is stunning, you get amazing depth, but it is beyond the application ability of most coaters to apply successfully.
Orange peel is a surface condition that looks just like itís name, the bumpy skin of an orange. It is typical of some powders, and gets worse as the film thickness gets excessive. Most powders will apply at a range of 1.5-2.5 mils, which is thousandths of an inch in "coater language". When you start building heavier than this, orange peel can be a definite problem.
Defects and Scratches
Polishing out Defects and Scratches: Many small imperfections, minor orange peel, and some scratches can be polished out of a powder coated(or painted) product. Perhaps the best material for this is 3Mís Finesse-it, available at most auto body supply stores.
Once you have your precious parts powder coated, you will never be able to have repairs (chips, scratches, etc.) redone in powder, without taking it apart, stripping and recoating. You can have a small touch up kit made by your local automotive paint supplier "made to match" as close as possible. Remember, special effect powders will not be able to be duplicated! To make life easier, I suggest having a 3"x5"or 4"x6" "Q" panel as they are called in the trade, or flat piece of metal coated at the same time as your parts. Have the coater write the powder manufacturer's company name, part number and color name on the panel for future reference, (i.e. Morton, #PS2230, Ruby Red). Save this panel! Take it to an automotive paint tinter for a touch up kit. Many of them use color computers today and this is the easiest way to get the match.
Powder Coating Myths
These came from threads saved from the bike lists.
"One of the nice things about powder is that it doesn't chip, it's plastic" - Partially True. Powder is a plastic, but so is ordinary paint. If done properly, powder is a little more chip resistant than typical auto re-paint paint, but it definitely can chip.
"powder coating simply cannot be made to last, it fades and peels off in a couple of years" - Not True. Many powder coatings are used in architectural structures and some are designed to last many years (20+) outside. The surface preparation and powder must be selected and applied carefully if longevity is a consideration, no different than liquid paint.
"Frames get dirty and are hard to polish up... the gloss sure fades under such conditions." - Not Necessarily. Fade comes from UV (sunlight) and is more a property of the type of resin used in a specific powder. Acrylics and TGIC Polyesters are some of the better UV resistant materials.
Found your article most enlightening. A metallurgist friend told me a few years ago that things like aluminum wheel spindles should not be powder coated. He explained that aluminum billet material(6061-T6 ?) changed crystal structure at a critical temperature around 410 degrees F (as I recall). The thrust was that the heating step would adversely affect the strength of the material. Non-structural components would be OK, but not something that "holds the spokes on". The metallurgist is correct. Products like wheel billets, scuba tanks, etc. can be powdercoated, but only with powders which cure below peak metal temperature of 300 degrees F. The crystalline realignment at 400 degrees F causes the previous ductile aluminum to become brittle. Imagine the catastrophe when an 80 cu. ft. scuba tank explodes under 3000 psi pressure after an unauthorized powder coat (this actually happened). To my knowledge, all aluminum wheels and other strength-critical aluminum components are powder coated with these cooler curing powders.
I have an old BSA frame which over the years has suffered corrosion pitting in various areas. When I did the bike up I used filler in these areas and had the frame sprayed in cellulose, however I have found the finish to be excellent aesthetically but durability leaves a lot to be desired, can powder coated fames be filled prior to coating, if not to what degree does powder coat fill inperfections? Powder wil fill minor imperfections such as some pitting from corrossion. It will probably do all right on a frame, as the round tubes hide more than a flat (say gastank) would. I have never tried to use fillers with powder. From everything I know, they usually come loose on curing due to the different rates of thermal expansion from the plastic and the metal. Here is what I would do. I would try to find a piece of scrap metal that is corroded (approximately) the same as the frame. Clean it up by whatever method you would / did use on the frame, i.e. blasting, acid clean, etc. Take it to your coater and (if you can) have him coat it with the powder you are going to use, actually if it is a problem, almost any powder applied to a similar thickness will do. Then look at the piece, from the same distance that you would view your frame. This is important. The eye will not see nearly as many defects at arms length as close up. If the powder isn't good enough, use your filling method with a good 2 component spray liquid epoxy primer followed by a coat of 2 component spray liquid urethane.
"I have done some prep on some of the parts exposing bare metal ( I primered these parts afterwards). Will the primer hurt the powder coating process, will they have to sand blast off any primer I add?"If you feel the need to do some prep work first, and donít know when you will get to coating, primer is not a bad way to inhibit rust until coated, but they canít be reliably powder coated over the primer. If it were mine, I wouldnít coat over any parts that came in primed, Iíd blast it off. If you are going to blast off the primer, why do any prep?
"I'd like you to address an issue brought up in Jewell Hendrick's Superbike Tuning book in which he recommends realignment ofthe frame after powdercoating/heating. True? True only for really lightweight race bikes?" I donít know for sure, but this is a possibility especially if the frame is "burned" prior to coating. It is another good reason to avoid that part of the process. Normal baking shouldnít hurt but could conceivably relieve stresses from the welding process throwing it out of square. I have never heard of this happening, but it could.
"What parts are appropriate for powder coating,(i.e.,should parts that get hot/cold be coated?" Use the same criteria you would for painting. If you would need heat resistant paint you would need heat resistant powder. There are some powders on the market (flat black) that are rated for 800°F continuos. I did see a set of Norton mufflers (NOT the head pipes!) that were powder coated with standard high gloss black that looked great.
"How about parts that might flex a bit?" Most powders have excellent flexibility unless put on too thick. I have seen many test panels that have been bent back and forth until the metal fatigues and breaks, with the powder fracturing only at the exact point of breakage. Poor performing materials will break and flake off quite a ways from the bend as stresses are put on the film.
"What is the best way to remove the powder coat without damaging the metal underneath? Are there different removal methods for steel or aluminum? The company I work for (as well as many others) make hot alkaline strippers for paint / powder that are used routinely for powder removal. We even have a hot stripper that takes paint and powder off of aluminum surfaces. Mechanical and burn methods are also regularly used to remove powder.
Listers Good Advice
"This item I learned the hard way. Make two lists of parts, with drawings if possible, and have the person who receives your work, initial both lists. Use this list to check that you get back what you gave them. Very important when small parts are involved. Also remember to take your list of parts with you and check together with the people who give you your parts back, that all your parts are there."
"When you go to pick your parts up, take boxes and protective blankets or towels. My service wrapped my parts in this kraftwrap. Okay, but paper is known to scratch."
"Remember to check the quality of their work in direct sunlight, not interior light."
"The powder coat guy will not have the correct Whitworth fasteners for British bikes and may try to use incorrect threads, damaging yours and you may have to kill him later. This will seriously inhibit your restoration being in jail and all."
"My painter priced frame & swing arm together and all other part separately. Get this firmly in writing for the number of parts to be done by the firm you select."
"Your powder coater will charge you a pretty penny- insist on getting what you pay for. BTW, for any color other than black,have them shoot a test piece first, lest you experience the intense disappoitment I did about two weeks ago..."
"Use a powder coater who has a lot of experience with motorcycles. That rules out shops that mostly do lawn furniture and appliances."
"Let the shop do all the prep, that way they must be responsible for the final job and can't blame you for bad prep."
"If in doubt about the finish and color, have them coat something very similar as a test and see how they do."
"Tell the coater what you want. He will be able to show you samples of his work."
"I asked my coater, I trusted them when they said,"Sure, that's what we do". My trust was well placed. If your guys are not so knowledgeable, you might ask someone who is."
"After I got the parts back, I ground off the powdercoat in several places where there were electrical grounds to make sure I would have good electrical connections."
"I always let the powder coater clean and blast the frame. I have worked with industrial paint specs, and they always call for the primer to be applied within a few hours of blasting. Metal will start to oxidize immediately upon exposure to air! This also gives me an added benefit of a "single source of supply". By this I mean that the powdercoater cannot absolve himself of responsibility for a bad job by blaming the blaster."
"Tell the person who will spray your frame, to go light on the numbers area. I have heard too many stories of people who get their frame back and can barely read the numbers. You don't need headaches with the law."
The following list of powder coaters is compiled from readers who have sent them in, citing good experiences. This is in no way an endorsement. Insert all the usual disclaimers here!
U.S. East Coast
Essex Motorsports Connecticut "they duplicate the original Norton finishes. As they are a bike restoration shop first and foremost.."
Rainbow Powder Coating Company 498 E. Industry Ct Deer Park, NY 516-586-4019
Metal Refinishing Systems (aka Maryland Industrial Coatings) 5360 Enterprise Street Eldersburg, MD 21784 410/ 795-7130 ask for Darren. I stopped off this morning on the way to work to pick up my newly powder coated Commando frame. This is the third frame that the vendor coated for me, and they did their usual excellent job.
U.S. West Coast
Spectrum - San Francisco area:
Craig Craft John McGeehan 14303 Lake Rd. Lynwood,WA 98037 (206) 743-4393 Fax: (206) 743-0231 "They powder coated a bunch of stuff on my /2 restoration, which later won a couple awards at the Washington State club's rally. They will do some small sandblasting, but prefer you to bring in your parts already prepped. The only problem I had was that some of the threaded holes needed to be chased afterwards. It cost me about $250 for the frame, swingarm, Earles forks and swingarm, 2 centerstands,and about 25 other pieces. Service was swift, I got all my pieces back the day after I dropped them off."
Techno-Coat Inc. 861 East 40th Street, Holland, MI 49423 (616)396-6446 Ike Vande Wege, President. "Techno-Coat is a very high quality production powder coater. They are also rare in that they take in work from the public. They view this public work as their R&D area for looking at new coatings to take to their customers. An A1 coating house."
New Image Powder Coating 600 Spring Street Struthers,OH 44471 Jim Kolbrick (216) 755-1918 "this guy did an excellent job on my Commando, on time, and at the price he Quoted. He's near Youngstown OH."
Coating Specialties, Markham, Illinois. "Sorry, I lost their address and phone number. It is available from 708-555-1212. These guys specialize in motorcycle parts, and are excellent. They are used by at least 5 Harley shops in the Chicago area. Their work is first class, but they get backed up from Jan thru May (As one might expect!)."
SEALFAB, 1912 Columbus St., Two Rivers, WI 54241920-793-5700 Tom or Brian Backler. Good quality house that also does impregnation on castings, i.e. that leaky pourous engine case.
Trimen Ind. 925-B South Spring St. Port Washington,WI 53074 414-284-1816 414-284-1045 (fax) Ron White
Southern Powder Coating Inc. 2401 Georgia Highway Moultrie, GA 31768 912-985-2264
Cobra Company 101 Reed Ave. Odessa, Texas 79761 (915)332-0272 Paul Norman, President
Powder coating of cycle, automotive, and consumer parts for over 10yrs.. Electrostatic, fluid bed dipping, and hot flocking applications. Wide range of colors and textures. Centrally located in the middle of nowhere. Fast turnarounds.
U.S. South West
Taint Paint 3368 Adobe Court Colorado Springs,CO 80907 (719) 447-9552 or 800-733-8374 "They did my 850 Commando frame and pieces, 2 colors for $190. Four other Brit bike riders in Colorado have also had their bikes done here, and all of us recommend this shop."
Sierra Powder Coating 1355 Industrial Way Sparks, NV 702 355-1075 "Real pros. Drop off your frame (mine had 5 pieces). Come back and pick it up with $125. Beautiful. All threaded holes had been plugged, as has the head bearing races, the serial number was easily readable. Included all prep work, and THEY masked the bearing races and plugged the threaded holes. A huge operation, and 100% professional."
ACS Coatings Inc. 1686 Dublin Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3H 1A8 Don Paszkowski 204-633-4755 204-633-4827 (fax)
Sun View Powder Coating Ltd. 18011 Bentley Road Box 605 Summerland, B.C. Canada, V0H 1Z0 Gord Cunningham 1-250-494-9222
Powder Blues Montreal Karry Gemmel 514-446-1876."He's very familiar with bikes, has a 74 T150, some kind of Big Twin and a turbo kzxxxx or something, all are powder coated. I had the fender stays, battery box, both stands, footpegs and engine side plates done for about $100 canadian, blasting included. He did the 2 torsion bars for my Avanti for $40. Typically his turnaround is a week for black stuff."
Epoxy Powder Coating 215 Tyburn Road Birmingham B24 8BR (UK) 0121 328 2145
Industrial Powder Coating
Perhaps you came to this site while looking for an industrial powder coating company. If that's the case, try Superior Industrial Coating in Racine, Wisconsin. Click where it says "Powder Coating" to get to their website: Powder Coating
Hopefully, this has all been helpful. Have a great day! back to the Home page © 2016 All Rights Reserved
Hopefully, this has all been helpful. Have a great day!
back to the Home page
© 2016 All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:c9714a63-8845-41e5-9abc-f7c7bb66d426> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://my.execpc.com/~davewrit/Powder.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950955 | 6,163 | 2.625 | 3 |
Single molecules cast light on how drugs work
21 July 2008
- UCL Pharmacology
- Publications page
- Dr Sivilotti's home page
- Prof Colquhoun's Improbable Science site
Pharmacologists at UCL, Dr Remigijus Lape, Professor David Colquhoun and Dr Lucia Sivilotti have investigated why some medicinal drugs are weak in an article published in Nature on 16h July.
This was done for a specific class of drugs that activate ion channels by observations of the behaviour of single ion channel molecules. Ion channels are proteins that span the thin fatty membrane which surrounds all cells. When activated, they change shape so that a pore (channel) opens through the middle of the molecule and this allows an electrical current to flow through the insulating membrane.
It is such currents that are responsible for the propagation of impulses along a nerve cell and from one nerve cell to another. Synaptic transmission from cell to cell happens when a special chemical, a neurotransmitter, is released from one cell and binds to the channels of another and makes them open.
There are some drugs (or ‘agonists’) which mimic the action of natural neurotransmitters, but which act more weakly. Even when such a drug is present at a high concentration, so that it occupies all of the binding sites (receptors) on the cell, it can elicit only a small cell response. It is thought that these weak agonists, or ‘partial agonists’ may have some therapeutic advantages, because they cannot over-stimulate the receptors.
Fifty years ago it was suggested by Bernard Katz here at UCL that the reason some agonists are weak is because they bind to the channel, but aren’t very effective at opening it. The new work shows that in fact the opening and shutting of the pore is very much the same for both strong (full) and weak (partial) agonists. It is as though the open-shut change is a stereotyped nanoswitch, the same whatever elicits it. Weak agonists are weak because they are not very good at producing a preliminary change in shape that the channel must undergo before the switch can flick, i.e before the channels can start opening and shutting.
Professor Colquhoun explained: “Detecting this early change in the shape of the channel was difficult, because the channel stays in this partially-activated shape for a very short time, about 8 millionths of a second. This was made possible because of the development here at UCL of computer programs for the analysis of the data on the basis of the mathematical theory that resulted from many years of collaboration with Prof Alan Hawkes (University of Swansea).”
Understanding the relationship between the structure of a medicinal drug and its effect is the holy grail of pharmacologists. It should eventually allow the rational design of new molecules.
For more information on UCL Pharmacology, Nature and David Colquhoun's 'Bad Science' blog links at the top of this item.
Images show: Dr Lucia Sivilotti, Dr Remigijus Lape and Professor David Colquhoun. | <urn:uuid:f4451e28-4059-4c43-ba61-519a7befc803> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0807/08072101/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00161-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953421 | 647 | 2.90625 | 3 |
A skin biopsy is a procedure where a small piece of abnormal skin is removed for testing. There are 3 main types of skin biopsies: Shave biopsy—outer part of affected area is removedPunch biopsy—a small cylinder of skin is removed using a punch toolExcisional biopsy—an entire area of abnormal skin is removed
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
A skin biopsy is used to test an area of abnormal skin. If possible, the entire area will be removed during the biopsy. A skin biopsy may be done to diagnose: Bacterial, viral, or fungal infections
Inflammatory skin disorders, such as
or benign skin growths
Skin biopsy may also be done to: Make sure a tumor was completely removed—by testing remaining skinMonitor the effect of a treatment
Complications are rare. However, no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have a skin biopsy, your doctor will review a list of possible complications such as: BleedingInfectionPoor wound healingScarringNerve damage
Factors that may increase the risk of complications include: SmokingImmunosuppressionBleeding disordersCirculatory problems
No special preparation is needed for this procedure.
Local anesthesia may be used. It will numb the area being treated.
The involved area will be prepared. The skin will be cleaned. Medication will be applied to the skin or injected to numb the area. The exact steps will depend on the type of biopsy: Shave biopsy—A thin slice of the skin will be removed. It is done with a special razor that shaves off a piece of skin.Punch biopsy—A special tool is used. The tip of the tool is pushed into your skin. As it is pushed down, the tool will be rotated into the skin. A circular sample of skin will then be cut free. This biopsy provides a sample from all of the layers of the skin. Stitches may be needed to close the hole.Excision biopsy—The entire area of abnormal skin will be removed with a scalpel. This biopsy will make a larger and deeper hole in the skin. Stitches will be placed to close the hole left in the skin.
After the procedure, a clean dressing will be placed over the area.
There may be some pain and discomfort after the procedure. Medication may be advised to reduce discomfort. .
Keep the biopsy area clean and dry. Keep it covered with a sterile bandage for 1-2 days. Stitches will be left in the skin for 3-14 days, depending on where they are located. Ask your doctor when you can expect the results of the biopsy.
Ask your doctor about when it is safe to shower, bathe, or soak in water. Pat the wound dry after you have washed it with a mild soap.
Be sure to follow your doctor's
After arriving home, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs: Signs of infection, including fever and chillsRedness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the incision sitePain that you cannot control with the medications you have been givenAny new symptoms
In case of an emergency, call for emergency medical services right away.
Pickett H. Shave and punch biopsy for skin lesions.
Am Fam Physician. 2011;84(9):995-1002.
Skin biopsy. Nemours Kidshealth website. Available at:
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/skin_stuff/skin_biopsy.html. Updated July 2012. Accessed February 25, 2015.
Skin biopsy. DermNet NZ website. Available at:
http://www.dermnetnz.org/procedures/biopsy.html. Updated December 13, 2014. Accessed February 25, 2015.
6/3/2011 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance
http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed: Mills E, Eyawo O, et al. Smoking cessation reduces postoperative complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Am J Med.
Last reviewed February 2015 by Michael Woods, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © EBSCO Publishing. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:b4c14643-dc1d-473e-9f95-090cda055576> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.svmh.com/health/content.aspx?chunkiid=14861 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896067 | 978 | 2.8125 | 3 |
From `A Short Account of the History of Mathematics' (4th edition, 1908) by W. W. Rouse Ball.
Almost contemporaneously with the publication in 1637 of Descartes' geometry, the principles of the integral calculus, so far as they are concerned with summation, were being worked out in Italy. This was effected by what was called the principle of indivisibles, and was the invention of Cavalieri. It was applied by him and his contemporaries to numerous problems connected with the quadrature of curves and surfaces, the determination on volumes, and the positions of centres of mass. It served the same purpose as the tedious method of exhaustions used by the Greeks; in principle the methods are the same, but the notation of indivisibles is more concise and convenient. It was, in its turn, superceded at the beginning of the eighteenth century by the integral calculus.
Bonaventura Cavalieri was born at Milan in 1598, and died at Bologna on November 27, 1647. He became a Jesuit at an early age; on the recommendation of the Order he was in 1629 made professor of mathematics at Bologna; and he continued to occupy the chair there until his death. I have already mentioned Cavalieri's name in connection with the introduction of the use of logarithms into Italy, and have alluded to his discovery of the expression for the area of a spherical triangle in terms of the spherical excess. He was one of the most influential mathematicians of his time, but his subsequent reputation rests mainly on his invention of the principle of indivisibles.
The principle of indivisibles had been used by Kepler in 1604 and 1615 in a somewhat crude form. It was first stated by Cavalieri in 1629, but he did not publish his results till 1635. In his early enunciation of the principle in 1635 Cavalieri asserted that a line was made up of an infinite number of points (each without magnitude), a surface of infinite number of lines (each without breadth), and a volume of an infinite number of surfaces (each without thickness). To meet the objections of Guldinus and others, the statement was recast, and in its final form as used by the mathematicians of the seventeenth century it was published in Cavalieri's Exercitationes Geometricae in 1647; the third exercise is devoted to a defence of the theory. This book contains the earliest demonstration of the properties of Pappus. Cavalieri's works on indivisibles were reissued with his later corrections in 1653.
The method of indivisibles rests, in effect, on the assumption that any magnitude may be divided into an infinite number of small quantities which can be made to bear any required ratios (ex. gr. equality) one to the other. The analysis given by Cavalieri is hardly worth quoting except as being one of the first steps taken towards the formation of an infinitesimal calculus. One example will suffice. Suppose it be required to find the area of a right-angled triangle. Let the base be made up of, or contain n points (or indivisibles), and similarly let the other side contain na points, then the ordinates at the successive points of the base will contain a, 2a ..., na points. Therefore the number of points in the area is a + 2a + ... + na; the sum of which is ½ n²a + ½na. Since n is very large, we may neglect ½na for it is inconsiderable compared with ½n²a. Hence the area is equal to ½(na)n, that is, ½ × altitude × base. There is no difficulty in criticizing such a proof, but, although the form in which it is presented is indefensible, the substance of it is correct.
It would be misleading to give the above as the only specimen of the method of indivisibles, and I therefore quote another example, taken from a later writer, which will fairly illustrate the use of the method when modified and corrected by the method of limits.
Let it be required to find the area outside a parabola APC and bounded by the curve, the tangent at A, and a line DC parallel to AB the diameter at A. Complete the parallelogram ABCD. Divide AD into n equal parts, let AM contain r of them, and let MN be the (r + 1)th part. Draw MP and NQ parallel to AB, and draw PR parallel to AD. Then when n becomes indefinitely large, the curvilinear area APCD will be the the limit of the sum of all parallelograms like PN. Now
area PN : area BD = MP.MN : DC.AD.But by the properties of the parabola
MP : DC = AM² : AD² = r² : n²,and MN : AD = 1 : n. Hence MP.MN : DC.AD = r² : n³. Therefore area PN : area BD = r² : n³. Therefore, ultimately,
which, in the limit, = 1 : 3.
area APCD : area BD = 1² + 2² + ... + (n-1)² : n³ = n (n-1)(2n-1) : n³
It is perhaps worth noticing that Cavalieri and his successors always used the method to find the ratio of two areas, volumes, or magnitudes of the same kind and dimensions, that is, they never thought of an area as containing so many units of area. The idea of comparing a magnitude with a unit of the same kind seems to have been due to Wallis.
It is evident that in its direct form the method is applicable to only a few curves. Cavalieri proved that, if m be a positive integer, then the limit, when n is infinite, of is 1/(m+1), which is equivalent to saying that he found the integral of x to from x = 0 to x = 1; he also discussed the quadrature of the hyperbola.
This page is included in a collection of mathematical biographies taken from A Short Account of the History of Mathematics by W. W. Rouse Ball (4th Edition, 1908). | <urn:uuid:27b604ae-9f77-40c8-a2a7-4117e084a355> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Cavalieri/RouseBall/RB_Cavalieri.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968792 | 1,304 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Here are terms commonly used when discussing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare:
Accountable Care Organization (ACO): A health care organization that includes doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers under one umbrella to provide coordinated coverage for Medicare patients. The goals include avoiding duplication of services and unnecessary procedures. The Affordable Care Act provides financial incentives to physicians and other health care providers to join or create ACOs. (The Affordable Care Act’s financial incentives are for health care providers who have Medicare patients. However, any heath care provider can join an ACO.)
Adjusted Community Rating (ACR): The Affordable Care Act makes it illegal for insurance companies to charge higher premiums based on certain factors, such as gender or a pre-existing condition. Beginning in 2014, insurers selling personal or small group plans will be allowed to adjust premiums based only on family size, place of residency, tobacco use and age, though New Jersey law forbids insurers from charging more because of tobacco. Additionally, insurance companies cannot charge the oldest participants in the plan more than three times what they charge the youngest participants.
Annual Limit: The Affordable Care Act does away with an annual limit, or threshold, beyond which insurance companies will not pay. This applies to the 10 essential health benefits listed in the legislation.
Affordable: Employer-based coverage is considered affordable if the lowest-cost single-coverage option does not exceed 9.5 percent of an employee’s taxable income. Employers who do not comply could be assessed a penalty.
Capitation: Under this payment system, a provider, such as a doctor or hospital, receives a set amount of money per year per patient.
Catastrophic Coverage: People younger than 30 and some people with limited incomes may buy what is called a “catastrophic” health plan from the exchange. A catastrophic plan generally requires you to meet a very high deductible, usually several thousand dollars. These policies usually have lower premiums, however, and provide less coverage.
Common Control: The Affordable Care Act requires businesses with more than 50 employees to provide insurance for all its workers or pay a fine. Businesses under one owner, or common control, are not permitted to divide the company into segments that employ fewer than 50 people simply to avoid paying benefits.
Cost-Sharing: A catch-all phrase that refers to copayments, deductibles or any other costs paid by individuals.
Deductible: The amount an individual pays before the insurance company begins reimbursement. As a rule, lower premiums, the amount the individual pays the insurance company, come with higher deductibles.
Dependent: The ACA requires businesses with more than 50 employees to offer coverage to dependents. The IRS defines dependents as children up to 26 years old. There is no requirement for businesses to cover spouses.
Doughnut Hole: This is the coverage gap that exists in the Medicare Part D prescription drug plans for seniors. Medicare currently pays 75 percent of the first $2,970 in drug costs (not including the deductible) and then 95 percent of the costs above $4,750. Seniors are responsible for 100 percent of the drugs costs between those two amounts, however under the legisalation seniors started getting rebate checks in 2010 to help bridge the gap. Also under the law, the percentage seniors must pay in the doughnut hole decreases every year until 2020, when seniors will be responsible for 25 percent.
Employer Mandate: The law requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide insurance for all full-time employees or pay a per-employee penalty. The mandate was waived for one year by President Obama and will take effect in 2015.
Essential Health Benefits: The Affordable Care Act has established 10 broad categories that must be covered by individual and small group health insurance plans. They are: hospitalization, lab services, rehabilitative services and devices, outpatient services, emergency care, prescription drugs, maternity care, preventive services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and pediatric services, including oral and vision care. These services are not subject to lifetime caps.
Exchanges: A marketplace where uninsured individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid may purchase private health insurance. Some states are running their own exchange. However, the federal government is running the exchanges in most states, including New Jersey. Currently, three companies are offering plans on the exchange. They are Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, AmeriHealth New Jersey and Health Republic Insurance of New Jersey.
Flexible Spending Account: Workers who are insured through their employers can set aside earnings, which are not taxed, in an FSA to pay for certain medical expenses, such as copayments and some drugs. The law, for the first time, caps at $2,500 the amount of pre-taxes dollars that can be set aside.
Full-time Equivalent: The job of any employee working more than 30 hours per week is defined as a full-time equivalent position. Businesses with 50 or more full-time equivalent positions must provide health coverage for their employees. Employers are not required to provide part-timers with health insurance, but their positions must be counted when determining if a company is a small or large business.
Individual Mandate: The Affordable Care Act mandates that everyone in the United States have health insurance. If your employer does not provide coverage, you are responsible for purchasing it on the insurance exchange or applying for Medicaid, if you qualify. Those who do not have insurance are subject to a penalty imposed by the IRS. There are exemptions for hardships, such as a man-made or natural disaster.
Lifetime Benefit Maximum: Insurance companies will no longer be able to place dollar limits on any of the 10 “essential health benefits” required by the ACA.
Marketplaces: Online health insurance markets in each state where consumers can get private health insurance. Also, called exchanges.
Medicaid: A federal and state-funded program that provides insurance for low-income individuals. The law provides federal money for an expanded Medicaid program. In New Jersey, this allows individuals and families of four with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify. This would amount to $15,282 for an individual and $31,321 for a family of four.
Medical Loss Ratio (MLR): Insurance companies are required to spend the majority of the money they receive in premiums to improve the quality of care, as opposed to administrative or marketing costs, or offer reimbursements. Under the Affordable Care Act, that medical loss ratio must be 80 percent or 85 percent, depending on the size of the market they are serving, or the companies must reimburse their customers.
Metal Levels: The four levels of coverage available through exchange plans, called bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Bronze plans feature the lowest monthly premiums, but cover only 60 percent of average costs. Platinum plans have higher premiums and cover 90 percent of expected costs.
Minimum Value: The Affordable Care Act requires large employers, with at least 50 full-time equivalent positions, to cover at least 60 percent of their employees’ total health care costs, or pay a $3,000 per employee penalty.
Out-of-Pocket Maximum: The Affordable Care Act has limits for what an individual or family can spend in out-of-pocket costs. Those limits are $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family policy. This rule was delayed one year by President Obama. The administration said that because some employer-based insurance plans have separate managers for various parts of coverage, it would be too complex to manage under one cap.
Premium: The amount paid to the insurance company. Generally, higher premiums means lower deductibles. The federal government also is providing subsidies to help the uninsured pay premiums for coverage through the new insurance exchanges.
Preventive Care Services: The ACA requires preventive care, such as mammograms, colonoscopies and annual checkups, to be provided free. No copayment, no deductible. Grandfathered plans are exempt.
Qualified Health Plan: Any insurance plan sold on the exchange must be certified by the state and federal government to show it meets minimum standards. Once certified, it becomes a qualified health plan.
Self-Insured Plan: In a self-insured group health plan, or self-funded plan, the employer takes responsibility for collecting premiums and paying claims.
Small-Business Health Care Tax Credit: Businesses with fewer than 25 full-time employees whose average wage is less than $50,000 may qualify for a tax credit of up to 50 percent for the portion of premiums they pay for their employees.
Tax Penalty: The fine levied on individuals who disregard the individual insurance mandate. For adults, in 2014 it’s $95 or 1 percent of taxable income. In 2015, it’s $325 or 2 percent. By 2016, it’s $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable income, whichever is greater. Thereafter it’s adjusted for inflation.
Compiled by Dan Goldberg/The Star-Ledger and the Associated Press | <urn:uuid:601bd78d-af53-4a20-b2ec-9342489c114a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/obamacare_glossary_a_consumers_guide_to_understanding_the_affordable_care_act.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949979 | 1,861 | 2.8125 | 3 |
EGYPTIAN TORTOISE CONSERVATION PROGRAM
A project of Wildlife Survival Fund: Investing in endangered species before it’s too late.
Zaranik Protected Area, North Sinai, Egypt
IUCN Red List Status of Focal Species
About the Project
A local community and science based approach to conserving the critically endangered Egyptian tortoise
The Egyptian tortoise is one of the smallest, most endangered, and least studied tortoises in the world. The main threats to the Egyptian tortoise in Egypt is overgrazing by livestock, removal of woody vegetation by local people, and pet collection. The long-term survival of the Egyptian tortoise requires addressing these threats. This project takes a multiple approach strategy to the conservation of the Egyptian tortoise. The local Bedouin community is heavily involved in this project by patrolling for wildlife collectors, while also collecting scientific data to study the effectiveness of habitat restoration on Egyptian tortoise populations, translocations as a conservation technique to augment small populations, and the long-term dynamics of the population. As a result of the local community approach, three new small populations outside the boundaries of Zaranik Protected Area, North Sinai, Egypt have been discovered. A translocation study has also been completed to determine the most effective methods for reintroduction. This multidimensional approach to Egyptian tortoise conservation allows the project to test the effectiveness of management decisions, addresses direct threats to the Egyptian tortoise, and provides a local community with a more sustainable form of employment than collecting wildlife.
Since Egypt’s revolution, Zaranik Protected Area has experienced many threats. Some local communities have seized protected land and established salt factories. These typically occur in the flooded plains of Lake Bardawil. While these activities do not directly threaten the Egyptian tortoise, the shrinking of the protected area and increased vehicular traffic is cause for concern. Remarkably, despite all the disturbances, none of the tortoise populations or their habitat have experienced any harm or degradation. The local community guards still collect data and monitor the tortoise populations despite the unrest.
Egyptian Tortoises at Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo is a leading conservation breeding institution for Egyptian tortoises, having hatched more than 75 tortoises through our successful program. Look for tortoises on view in the zoo’s Day Exhibit.
To learn more:
Read the Egyptian tortoise fact sheet | <urn:uuid:4ed77e54-d906-451d-90b0-d8d811869b91> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://zoo.org/conservation/egyptiantortoise | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.883442 | 501 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Quantitative Methods: An Introduction for Business Management
2011 | ISBN: 0470496347 | 912 pages | PDF | 38.97 MB
An accessible introduction to the essential quantitative methods for making valuable business decisions
Quantitative methods-research techniques used to analyze quantitative data-enable professionals to organize and understand numbers and, in turn, to make good decisions. Quantitative Methods: An Introduction for Business Management presents the application of quantitative mathematical modeling to decision making in a business management context and emphasizes not only the role of data in drawing conclusions, but also the pitfalls of undiscerning reliance of software packages that implement standard statistical procedures. With hands-on applications and explanations that are accessible to readers at various levels, the book successfully outlines the necessary tools to make smart and successful business decisions.
Progressing from beginner to more advanced material at an easy-to-follow pace, the author utilizes motivating examples throughout to aid readers interested in decision making and also provides critical remarks, intuitive traps, and counterexamples when appropriate.
The book begins with a discussion of motivations and foundations related to the topic, with introductory presentations of concepts from calculus to linear algebra. Next, the core ideas of quantitative methods are presented in chapters that explore introductory topics in probability, descriptive and inferential statistics, linear regression, and a discussion of time series that includes both classical topics and more challenging models. The author also discusses linear programming models and decision making under risk as well as less standard topics in the field such as game theory and Bayesian statistics. Finally, the book concludes with a focus on selected tools from multivariate statistics, including advanced regression models and data reduction methods such as principal component analysis, factor analysis, and cluster analysis.
The book promotes the importance of an analytical approach, particularly when dealing with a complex system where multiple individuals are involved and have conflicting incentives. A related website features Microsoft Excel® workbooks and MATLAB® scripts to illustrate concepts as well as additional exercises with solutions.
Quantitative Methods is an excellent book for courses on the topic at the graduate level. The book also serves as an authoritative reference and self-study guide for financial and business professionals, as well as readers looking to reinforce their analytical skills.
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They Play, You Pay: Why Taxpayers Build Ballparks, Stadiums, and Arenas for Billionaire Owners and M
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Techniques of Tape Reading
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Managerial Economics: Foundations of Busin(1672) | <urn:uuid:796e59d0-aa0e-49ee-a27f-ec45de79dcdb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ebook3000.com/Quantitative-Methods--An-Introduction-for-Business-Management_151849.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.865192 | 816 | 2.546875 | 3 |
A honeypot is simply a "closely monitored computing resource that we want to be probed, attacked or compromised," Niels Provos and Thorsten Holz tell us in their new book, Virtual Honeypots.
Honeypots can capture information about illicit use, attacks and possibly detect vulnerabilities not well understood. The latest models of them, virtual honeypots, are simply those that run in virtualized environments, such as VMware.
In an interview with Ellen Messmer, Provos (a senior staff engineer at Google who's credited with developing the open-source honeypot Honeyd) and Holz (founder of the German Honeynet Project and graduate student at the University of Mannheim's Laboratory for Dependable Distributed Systems) discuss the latest in tools for building virtual honeypots.
So what's a virtual honeypot?
Provos: Honeypot technology can be used for botnet-tracking or malicious code collection, among other things, and the difference with a virtual honeypot is the convenience in remotely administering it. From the network point of view, the virtual honeypot looks exactly like a physical machine. You can have a low-interaction honeypot, which usually only exposes select network services, or a high-interaction honeypot using a complete operating system virtualized in the network layer.
Holz: You can use a honeypot to protect the clients in your network or detect an insider threat.
Do you need special tools for virtual honeypots?
Holz: You can use available tools and they run in the guest operating system.
In your book, you discuss some of the latest honeypot tools. For instance, you mention client honeypots, particularly the HoneyClient virtual machine tool developed by engineer Kathy Wang to detect attacks on Windows clients.
Holz: You'll find a lot on that at www.honeyclient.org and it's a Mitre project.
Other tools are Capture, Nepenthes and Honeyd. Nepenthes is a tool for emulation of vulnerabilities in network services that's used in the German Honeynet Project and we're working closely with the University of Aachen on this. At Aachen, we run it for protection. It's a building block for security. Some ISPs use our tools to detect signs of infected users.
The book also mentions Argos, developed at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. What's Argos?
Provos: With Argos, you can detect a new attack without a signature. The Argos people did information-flow tracking or 'tainting' to figure out if any information sent to the honeypot ends up influencing it inside.
And what's this tool called Billy Goat?
Holz: The basic idea is to simulate the vulnerable network services. Billy Goat is closed source, developed by IBM, and deployed at IBM. | <urn:uuid:38bc3162-93a0-4cf5-a6e8-cefa2add0092> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/183389/why_virtual_honeypots_sweet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907167 | 585 | 3.125 | 3 |
We live in a world of Big Data. Our lives are now being mapped in countless ways; sensors on our phones, our cars, and our Web browsers record the people with whom we interact, the places we go, and even what we’re thinking about.
With Big Data comes the promise of equally big knowledge—or so we’re told by scientists and companies. Excited at the prospects, Massachusetts has even launched a “Big Data Initiative” to ensure that the state wasn’t left out of the coming boom. The dream is that these streams of data are bound to unlock all kinds of insights about the world.
In many ways, this promise seems likely to be borne out: The data that are being generated are rich, detailed, and eminently crunchable. But it’s not quite correct to think of these datasets as all-encompassing. The advent of Big Data also has a paradoxical risk: that by sending us down the narrow paths of the data we have available, it may cause us to mistake those paths for the whole world.
This might sound like a minor concern, but it’s actually a recurring problem with human knowledge, with how science works. Throughout history, in one field after another, science has made huge progress in precisely the areas where we can measure things—and lagged where we can’t.
The result, over time, has been that we know a lot about the things that are closer to our size, our altitude, our spot in the universe—and less about things that are hard to reach, hard to dig up, and hard to quantify. What we know has a bias, in other words, and is biased in favor of what we can measure.
Of course, there are ways to remedy this: Explore and venture into the unknown, or otherwise stretch our ability to measure everything, not just what’s immediately around us. But until we achieve this nearly impossible task, scientists recognize that the huge gaps in our knowledge will remain a problem, or at least something for which we must make allowances. When studying a population, there is even an established term for this problem: the convenience sample. It’s not necessarily a good or representative sample, but it sure is convenient. And this problem has shaped large swaths of what we know—even on very familiar topics—in ways many people don’t appreciate.
The bias toward measurable information affects some of the most popular arenas of science as well as obscure ones. In paleontology, the big-name dinosaurs are the tyrannosaurus rex, the stegosaurus, and the triceratops. Admittedly, as any 5-year-old can tell you, they’re pretty cool, as dinosaurs go. And it’s tempting to think they’re so well known because they were the most important dinosaurs, or the most successful.
But it turns out that the story is a bit more complex. When paleontologists in the United States began to hunt for dinosaurs, back in the late 19th century and early 20th century, they focused their work on two dig sites: Hell Creek in Montana and Como Bluff in Wyoming. These sites were chosen, among other reasons, for their sheer abundance of fossils and the ease with which they could be worked. And what were the dinosaurs that were easiest to find in these two places? The tyrannosaurus rex, the stegosaurus, and the triceratops.
These dinosaurs have since taken on an outsize influence in popular culture, but not because they are necessarily the most important creatures of the Mesozoic; they were simply the most available. Since then, we’ve found what appear to be larger, and frankly, more frightening dinosaurs, from spinosaurus to giganotosaurus. While we have many complete tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, which can provide important insights into dinosaurs, the tyrannosaurus only lived in a single region for only about 2 million years, a little more than 1 percent of the length of the Mesozoic Era.
The low-hanging fruit, in other words, are what we know the most about. In biology, the term is taxonomic bias: when certain species or groups of organisms are studied more than you would expect based on, say, their frequency. For example, insects are overwhelmingly more populous than vertebrates, but many more research papers have been published on vertebrates. Vertebrates, being much easier to spot—and perhaps because they’re more like us, or at least more familiar—have garnered more attention.
In some cases, where this bias shades into something more sinister, what you might call species-ism, scientists have come up with an even harsher term: taxonomic chauvinism. For example, reptiles and amphibians get short shrift when it comes to research attention compared to birds and mammals, because they’re slimy, creepy, and generally less popular.
Whatever the reasons for our bias, what we like, see, and measure dictates what we know the most about. When it comes to planets outside the solar system, for example, the bigger exoplanets are easier to discover. Therefore, they are the ones we know the most about.
This can sometimes contribute to misleading results. One well-known phenomenon in psychology is that experimental subjects are generally WEIRD. What does this acronym mean? When it comes to performing studies, psychologists overwhelmingly end up relying on Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, and Democratic subjects (especially, given that many psychologists work at universities full of students looking to pick up a few dollars, WEIRD undergraduates). Research has found that such traits as visual perception and fairness are far from universal, and there are numerous differences between WEIRD and non-WEIRD populations—and so decades worth of experimental psychology results may not turn out to be nearly as universal as once thought.
Of course, many clever experiments and studies can be done even with a relative paucity of data. And when we want to learn more, we push to collect more data. We create moon shots, launch space probes, build massive particle accelerators, conduct global marine surveys, and much more. We conduct large efforts that are designed to stretch what we know, and to avoid our biases. However, we’re inevitably hampered by the unknown unknowns.
Which brings us to Big Data. The huge pools of data being generated today aren’t evenly distributed. Rather, Big Data is a series of deep wells, each one plumbing the depths of certain topics. We have a lot of mobile phone data, and Facebook is throwing off huge amounts of information. We can even mine credit card purchase data. But that doesn’t mean that we know everything.
Just because we know how people with iPhones interact with their phones doesn’t mean we know how everyone interacts, in all situations. Or, knowing how information spreads on Facebook doesn’t necessarily apply to idea adoption in general. These insights can be useful, and they’re certainly much better than simply trying an experiment on a small group of Ivy League undergraduates. But we need to be cautious about how we generalize about them and what kinds of conclusions we draw.
As personal data accumulate, there are big blind spots that researchers already know about. Datasets about how companies grow and develop is spotty and rare. Data about elusive topics like creativity—for example, how new ideas are formed—are far from robust, despite all the business books written about the subject. For all the published data on successful science, there is almost a complete lack of data from unsuccessful scientific experiments, which could be just as useful in the aggregate, if not more so. We lack large datasets that detail how infectious disease works its way from person to person, a problem that would be enormously beneficial to tackle.
Big Data might be deep, in other words, but it’s not wide. We’re certainly getting there. But until we have lots more, or distribute it more evenly, we always have to be aware that we might be dealing with some informational bias. As you hear the latest claim about big data and its promise, it’s OK to be excited—but keep in mind that we may be finding the triceratops, and thinking we understand everything there is to know about dinosaurs.Samuel Arbesman is a senior scholar at the Kauffman Foundation and a fellow at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University. His first book, “The Half-Life of Facts” (Current/Penguin), from which this article is adapted, was published last week. | <urn:uuid:71403070-5023-4f41-869b-42811547c93f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2012/09/29/big-data-mind-gaps/QClupxdwdPWHtRrZO0259O/story.html?p1=ArticleTab_Article_ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954009 | 1,785 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Eupithecia subfuscata (Haworth, 1809)
Description: Wingspan 17-21 mm. Forewings pale grey occasionally with an ochreous tinge. Adults have an overall mottled appearance with a pale sub-marginal line and a small distinct discal spot. Hindwings similar in appearance with a small black discal spot.
Key Identification Features:
Flight Period: Beginning of May to late August. Skinner gives May and June and occasionally August as the normal flight period in Britain.
Status: Common and widespread across southern counties with small scattered populations further north.
Ecology: This is a widespread species that has been recorded from a variety of habitats including woodland, bogs and some mature suburban gardens, Adults are attracted to light in small numbers. The larvae feed from August to October on a wide variety of trees and flowers.
World Distribution: Widespread across most of northern and central Europe including Russia and north America.
Bradley & Fletcher number: 1837 Agassiz number: 70.190
UK Moths account
|Thompson, R. S. & Nelson, B., 2003 (Oct 2). [In] The Butterflies and Moths of Northern Ireland |
|Copyright ©NMNI, 2002-2015| | <urn:uuid:70414360-2c25-4ed3-a9fd-f5c83d115c2b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.habitas.org.uk/moths/species.asp?item=5925 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00141-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916912 | 260 | 2.859375 | 3 |
hen developers connect to a database with JDBC, they receive a plethora of information about the database and any ResultSet objects that they might create using the database connection. This data, provided as database metadata, has been around since JDBC 1.0 and it can take different forms.
This article explores the information JDBC metadata provides by demonstrating how to create an IBM DB2 database and then invasively peek into it via Java. It focuses on two forms of metadata: one describing a given database connection, the other describing a ResultSet object. Each of these forms will have an associated Java interface: the java.sql.DatabaseMetaData interface, which provides information about the database connection, and the ResultMetaData interface, which provides information about the ResultSet object.
Some database veterans may opt for querying a database server's system catalog tables to retrieve some of the information that they can discover via the DatabaseMetaData and ResultSetMetaData interfaces. However, this option ties them to a specific database, as each database server has a different set of system catalog tables. JDBC enables a database-agnostic approach to gathering database metadata information.
Set Up a DB2 Laboratory
As this article uses IBM DB2 Universal Database as the underlying database, your first step is downloading a trial version of IBM DB2 Universal Database Version 8.1. Of course, the methodologies for acquiring information via the DatabaseMetaData and ResultSetMetaData interfaces apply for any other JDBC-compliant database you might use.
Begin by creating a DB2 database using the DB2 Command Line Processor. Create a database named EMPDB to store employee data:
db2 => create db EMPDB
Next, connect to your database (assuming you have a user named db2admin with a password of db2admin):
db2 => connect to EMPDB user db2admin using db2admin
Next, create a table called EMPLOYEE, which will store some information about your imaginary employees:
db2 => create table EMPLOYEE(SSN integer not null primary key,
FIRSTNAME varchar(30) not null, LASTNAME varchar(30) not null,
SALARY decimal (8,2) NOT NULL)
Now, populate your EMPLOYEE table with some sample records:
db2 => insert into EMPLOYEE values (123456789,'James','Smith',79345.00)
db2 => insert into EMPLOYEE values (123456790,'Bob','Jeffries',65321.23)
db2 => insert into EMPLOYEE values (123456791,'Amy','Keppler',49998.56) | <urn:uuid:2a6a4e13-f2f9-4f36-b899-f7741b9ad67b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.devx.com/dbzone/Article/27992 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.77441 | 561 | 2.59375 | 3 |
As long ago as 3400 B.C., the opium poppy was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia. The Sumerians called it as Hul Gil, the 'joy plant.' The Sumerians’ knowledge of poppy cultivation passed to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and ultimately, the Egyptians.
By 1300 B.C. the Egyptians were cultivating opium thebaicum, named for their capital city of Thebes. From Thebes, the Egyptians traded opium all over the Middle East and into Europe. Throughout this period, opium’s effects were considered magical or mystical.
Some eight hundred years later, the Greek physician, Hippocrates, dismissed the idea that opium was "magical." Instead, he noted its effectiveness as a painkiller and a styptic (a drug used to staunch bleeding.)
Around 330 B.C. Alexander the Great introduced opium to the people of Persia and India, where the poppies later came to be grown in vast quantities. By A.D. 400, opium thebaicumwas first introduced to China by Arab traders.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, when anything from the East was linked to the Devil, opium went unmentioned and unused in Europe. However, the surge of seafaring and exploring reintroduced the drug in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors are thought to have been the first to smoke opium, around 1500. As with any drug, smoking opium has an instantaneous effect, contrasted with eating or drinking the drug.
Laudanum, an alcoholic solution of opium, was first compounded by Paracelsus about 1527. The preparation was widely used up through the 19th century to treat a variety of disorders. The addictive property of opium (or laudanum) was not yet understood. A leading brand of laudanum, Sydenham's Laudanum, was introduced in England in 1680.
Purely recreational use of opium gained some prevalence in the early 1600s in Persia and India, where it was either eaten or drunk in various mixtures. The heavy traffic of trade and exploration by sea continued to spread the traffic of opium around the world during this period. Opium was traded everywhere from China to England. In fact, in 1606 ships chartered by Elizabeth I were instructed to purchase the finest Indian opium and transport it back to England.
The eighteenth century saw greater incursions of the opium trade into China, along with the practice of smoking the drug in pipes. The British undertook creating a demand for opium in China in order to create a trade balance for all off the tea from China they required. The opium problem became widespread enough to inspire a Chinese ban, in 1729, of the use of opium for anything other than licensed medical use. Beginning in the second half of the eighteenth century, the British East India Company dominated the opium trade out of Calcutta to China.
The amount of opium sold into China was approximately two thousand chests of opium per year by 1767, and by 1858, that number had risen to 70,000 chests of opium. By the end of the century, the British East India Company had a complete monopoly on the Indian opium trade. In 1799, all opium trade was banned in China, but by then millions of Chinese were addicted. In some coastal provinces, 90% of Chinese adults were opium addicts by the mid-1830s.
Not to be outdone, the British Levant Company began, in 1800, to purchase nearly half of all of the opium coming out of Smyrna, Turkey for export to Europe and the United States.
In 1803, Friedrich Sertuerner of Germany synthesized morphine (principium somniferum) for the first time, and discovered the active ingredient of the opium poppy, which Linnaeus had first classified in 1753 as papaver somniferum. The discovery of morphine was considered a milestone. The medical community declared that opium had been "tamed." Morphine’s reliability, long-lasting effects, and safety were extolled. In fact, despite its potential for addiction, morphine is still the premier drug used for extreme pain in hospitals and for end-of-life care.
Following the 1799 ban on opium in China, opium smuggling began to be a crowded industry, with several well-known Americans entering the trade. Charles Cabot and John Cushing, of Boston, worked separately to amass opium-smuggling wealth. John Jacob Astor of New York City smuggled ten tons of opium into China under his American Fur Company banner, but later confined his opium selling to the English trade.
English artists, writers, and other luminaries were famously experimenting with and becoming addicted to opium in the early 19th century. By 1830, British use of opium for both medicinal and recreational purposes was at an all time high. 22,000 pounds of opium were imported from Turkey and India that year.
Laudanum continued to be popular, and was actually cheaper than beer or wine. Patent medicines (non-prescription "cures" of all descriptions,) and opium preparations such as Dover's Powder were readily available. The incidence of opium dependence grew steadily in England, Europe, and the United States during the first half of the 19th century by means of these treatments. Working-class medicinal use of products containing opium as sedatives for children was especially common in England. Those using opium for recreational purposes seem to have been primarily English literary and creative personalities, such as Thomas de Quincey, Byron, Shelley, Barrett-Browning, Coleridge, and Dickens.
The First Opium War between China and England began in 1839 as a result of a Chinese ban on opium traffic, and an order for all foreign traders to surrender their opium. In 1841, the British defeated the Chinese and took possession of Hong Kong as part of their bounty. The Second Opium War of 1856 finally made the importation of opium into China legal again, against the wishes of the Chinese government.
Dr. Alexander Wood of Edinburgh discovered the technique injecting morphine with a syringe in 1843. The effects of injected morphine were instantaneous and three times more potent than oral administration.
Heroin (diacetylmorphine) was first synthesized in 1874 by English researcher, C.R. Wright. The drug went unstudied and unused until 1895 when Heinrich Dreser working for The Bayer Company of Germany, found that diluting morphine with acetyls produced a drug without the common morphine side effects. Heroin was considered a highly effective medication for coughs, chest pains, and the discomfort of tuberculosis. This effect was important because pneumonia and tuberculosis were the two leading causes of death at that time, prior to the discovery of antibiotics. Heroin was touted to doctors as stronger than morphine and safer than codeine. It was thought to be nonaddictive, and even thought to be a cure for morphine addiction or for relieving morphine withdrawal symptoms. Because of its supposed great potential, Dreser derived his name for the new drug from the German word for `heroic.'
After decades of promoting the consumption of opium, Britain in 1878 passed the Opium Act to reduce opium consumption in China, India, and Burma. Under the new regulation, the selling of opium was restricted to registered Chinese opium smokers and Indian opium eaters.
In 1886, the British acquired Burma's northeast region, the Shan state. Production and smuggling of opium along the lower region of Burma thrived despite British efforts to maintain a strict monopoly on the opium trade. To this day, the Shan state of Burma (now known as Myanmar) is one of the world’s leading centers of opium production.
During the early years of the 20th century, the Chinese leadership worked in a variety of ways to stop the flow of opium into their country. In 1910, after 150 years of failed attempts to rid the country of opium, the Chinese were finally able to convince the British to dismantle the India-China opium trade.
Despite the 1890 U.S. law-enforcement legislation on narcotics, which imposed a tax on opium and morphine, consumption of the drugs, along with heroin, grew rapidly at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Various medical journals of the time wrote of heroin as a morphine step-down cure. Other physicians argued, on the other hand, that their patients suffered from heroin withdrawal symptoms as severe as morphine withdrawal.
Finally, in 1905, the U.S. Congress banned opium. The following year, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, which required pharmaceutical companies to label their patent medicines with their complete contents. As a result, the availability of opiate drugs in the U.S. significantly declined. In 1909, Congress banned the import of opium. In 1914, Congress passed the Harrison Narcotics Act, which aimed to curb drug abuse and addiction. It requires doctors, pharmacists, and others who prescribed narcotics (cocaine and heroin) to register and pay a tax.
In 1923, the U.S. Treasury Department's Narcotics Division (the first federal drug agency) banned all legal narcotics sales, forcing addicts to buy from illegal street dealers. Soon, a thriving black market opened up in New York's Chinatown.
In the 1920s and 30s, the majority of illegal heroin smuggled into the U.S. came from China. In the 1940s, Southeast Asia, (Laos, Thailand and Burma, referred to as the 'Golden Triangle,') became a major player in the profitable opium trade. In fact, during World War II, the French occupiers of Southeast Asia encouraged Hmong farmers to expand their opium production so that the French could retain their opium monopoly. After the war, Burma gained its independence from Britain, and opium cultivation and trade began to flourish in the Shan state.
In the U.S., the heroin trade between 1948 and 1972 was dominated by Corsican gangsters and U.S. Mafia drug distributors. The raw Turkish opium was refined in Marseilles laboratories (the "French Connection,") and sold to junkies on New York City streets. In the 1950s, the U.S. preoccupation with stopping the spread of Communism led to alliances with drug producing warlords in the Golden Triangle. The U.S. and France supplied the drug warlords and their armies with ammunition, arms, and air transport for the production and sale of opium. The result was an explosion in the availability and illegal flow of heroin into the United States and into the hands of drug dealers and addicts. During the U.S. war in Vietnam, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) set up a charter airline, Air America, to transport raw opium from Burma and Laos. During this period, the number of heroin addicts in the U.S. reached an estimated 750,000.
After the Vietnam War, the heroin epidemic in the U.S. subsided somewhat. Until 1978, "Mexican Mud," temporarily replaced "China White" heroin as the most common source of heroin in the U.S. In 1978, the U.S. and Mexican governments cooperated to eliminate the source of Mexican opium. They sprayed the poppy fields with Agent Orange. The amount of "Mexican Mud" in the U.S. drug market declined rapidly. Another source of heroin cropped up in its wake, from the Golden Crescent area of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
During the 1970s and 80s, officials tried to eradicate marijuana, coca, and opium poppy farms by introducing crop substitution programs in the Third World, but the technique produced very disappointing results.
In the late 80s, the establishment of a dictatorship in Burma increased the production of opium in that country. The world’s single largest heroin seizure was made in 1988 in Bangkok. The 2,400-pound shipment of heroin, en route to New York City, was suspected to have originated in the region controlled by the Burmese drug warlord, Khun Sa. Khun Sa was indicted in the U.S. in 1990 on heroin trafficking charges, but was still at-large in Burma.
In 1992, Colombia's drug lords introduced a high-grade form of heroin into the United States at prices that severely undercut Asian sources. Despite a 1993 joint operation between the Thai army and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, among others, efforts to eradicate opium at its source remained unsuccessful in the mid-90s. The new U.S. focus adopted the approach of attempting to "[strengthen] democratic governments abroad, [to] foster law-abiding behavior and promote legitimate economic opportunity."
In 1995, the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia was the leader in opium production, yielding 2,500 tons annually. According to U.S. drug experts, there were new drug trafficking routes from Burma through Laos, to southern China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In January 1996, the Burmese warlord Khun Sa "surrendered" to the ruling junta of Burma. The junta allowed Khun Sa to retain control of his opium trade if he would end his 30-year-old revolutionary war against the government. In 1998, it appeared that approximately 18% of the heroin smuggled into the U.S. came from the Golden Triangle. | <urn:uuid:2005c835-8591-407a-858c-8b0833d6166d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.intheknowzone.com/substance-abuse-topics/heroin/history.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398216.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963498 | 2,724 | 3.421875 | 3 |
In a working paper released in December 2015, the economists Naima Farah and John R. Boyce find that the discovery and exchange of mammoth tusks is having a serious effect on the market for living elephant tusks. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, they write, tusks from dead mammoths, found in the frozen Siberian tundra, have risen to account for as much as 20 percent of all ivory production. Crunching the numbers, they conclude, “Mammoth ivory trade may be saving elephants from extinction.” In the long run, however, it may be too optimistic to believe that such a laissez faire solution can forestall wild elephant extinction.
Most of the article, by Greg Rosalsky, deals with how researchers are using data (!) to determine whether woolly mammoths did indeed fall prey to the tragedy of the commons. | <urn:uuid:a3a24714-2934-4ece-b4d6-19726b5a6b8f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2016/02/claims-about-woolly-mammoths.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00013-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935786 | 183 | 2.984375 | 3 |
How China and the US can boost the global economy
China must allow currency to rise. The US must boost savings.
China's role in the international policy debate has been rising in tandem with its growing economy. As a key member of the G-20, China is helping to elaborate the global policy priorities for the future and devise solutions to global problems.
What are the principal challenges for the world as it begins to emerge from the global crisis? And what can China do?
The global economy appears to have turned the corner at last. The recovery is uneven and not yet self-sustaining, but many emerging economies – especially in Asia – are turning around strongly. Indeed, in China, we project growth of 8.5 percent for 2009 and 9 percent in 2010.
While the global outlook has thankfully improved, we still face considerable policy challenges. The biggest risk is a premature withdrawal of policy stimulus. While it is prudent to plan for so-called exit strategies, policymakers should keep supportive measures in place until a recovery is firmly established, and particularly until conditions are in place for unemployment to decline.
In China, the government's commitment to maintain fiscal stimulus into 2010 will be important for supporting growth. As the government also recognizes, however, the time has come to begin slowing the very rapid pace of loan growth, which raises risks of overinvestment, overcapacity, and ultimately bad loans.
With the recovery emerging, a key medium-term policy challenge for the global economy is how to achieve a more stable distribution of demand across economies. This is the challenge of what we have come to call global economic rebalancing.
In the run-up to the crisis, global imbalances widened significantly. Because they raised concerns of possible disorderly adjustment, these imbalances have been a source of concern for policymakers. And although global imbalances have declined during the crisis, they remain large and could widen again as the global economy normalizes.
What can the economies at the heart of these imbalances – China and the United States – do?
In economies that have run large current account deficits, national saving will need to increase. In many of these economies, including that of the United States, fiscal consolidation must take priority. And in those that have experienced asset price busts, financial-sector repair will be essential for a lasting recovery.
On the other hand, in economies that have run large current account surpluses, domestic demand needs to be stronger. In euro-area economies and in Japan, competition in product and labor markets should be increased. And in emerging Asia, rebalancing means increasing domestic demand – investment in many countries, and in China, an emphasis on private consumption.
China's leadership has already articulated a clear vision for how to boost private consumption. Consumer spending is growing faster than the economy as a whole. Moreover, as noted recently by President Hu Jintao, China will be taking further steps to boost household spending – and reduce reliance on exports – in the period ahead.
Much is already being done. For example, the bold new initiative to provide quality healthcare for most of the Chinese people. Reform of the rural pension system is also moving forward. But more can be done to secure a lasting, structural shift toward consumption, by expanding the scope of social policies, moving ahead on financial-sector reform and undertaking corporate governance reforms.
A stronger currency is part of the package of necessary reforms. Allowing the renminbi and other Asian currencies to rise would help increase the purchasing power of households, raise the labor share of income, and provide the right incentives to reorient investment.
At the end of the day, higher Chinese domestic demand, along with higher US saving, will help rebalance world demand and assure a healthier global economy for us all. | <urn:uuid:b6bfd371-438e-4928-82a6-809a535c09a8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://m.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/1119/p09s04-coop.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939191 | 772 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Why settle for the real thing when you can get the miniature version? Herein lies the appeal of puppies, tiny electronic items and bonsai trees.
The art of bonsai traces its origins back to Tang dynasty China, where penjing (盆景), literally "tray landscape," developed from an imperial delight to a popular art form. According to legend, the idea of miniature trees goes back even further to a Han emperor who had a miniature version of his empire, complete with mini trees, created in his courtyard so that he could gaze over his "domain" from his window.
Miniature trees found their way to Japan, where they became "bonsai" ("tray-planted"), during the large-scale Chinese culture importation of the Heian period (794 AD to 1191). Long reserved for the elite, bonsai didn't gain mass popularity until the 14th century.
As early as the 16th century, traders and missionaries brought bonsai from Japan and China back to Europe. By the late 1800s, two Japanese nurseries had set up shop in New York. Soldiers returning from Japan after World War II with bonsai trees fueled the growing popularity, and many Western nurseries began to grow bonsai. Today, prize-winning bonsai are cultivated from Thailand to Puerto Rico, England and the US.
In Taiwan, bonsai culture began in the late Qing dynasty. Taiwan's oldest living bonsai is a 240-year-old banyan that resides in Tainan's Kaiyuan Monastery (
"If you count bonsai growers registered with an association, there are between 10,000 and 20,000. For unregistered growers, the number is more like 100,000," said Yen Zi-jing (顏子景), who owns Bonsai World in Beitou (北投).
Bonsai growers in Taiwan are luckier than most: they have the climate on their side. The subtropical temperatures allow the trees to grow faster for longer. According to Yen, that means a fully developed tree can be produced in Taiwan in half the time it takes in Japan, where the climate is temperate.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's mountains mimic temperate and even frigid climates, providing for a broad range of tree species. These factors combine to make Taiwan's bonsai second only to Japan, said Yen.
Depending on its target size, a bonsai begins as a cutting or a seedling. Over the course of about five years it is pruned periodically to develop tapered trunks and branches. Young seedlings will naturally keep an even thickness for several meters. With bonsai, the trunk is chopped off at progressively higher points, causing it to grow thinner and thinner towards the top, creating the gnarled, tapered look of an old tree. The same is done to the branches.
The most basic principle of bonsai is that every part of the miniature tree -- roots, trunk, branches and leaves -- should be in proportion.
Not all species of tree are suitable for bonsai cultivation. The tree has to have naturally small leaves or be able to
develop them, and the space between leaves must be minimal. This can also be done with careful pruning -- the less space between leaves, the smaller they will grow. | <urn:uuid:bbe81a16-4129-47b5-9448-9b50b326caca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/09/22/2003272719/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00047-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956653 | 698 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Three years ago, pathologist Ashley Hill flew to Minnesota to meet a family wracked by one of the world's rarest cancers.
Called pleuropulmonary blastoma, or PPB, this aggressive lung cancer affects just 25 to 30 children a year in the U.S., and most doctors have never heard of it. With such a small patient population, scientists told Hill that tracking down the genetic cause of the disorder—and getting the funding to study it—was a long shot.
Hill persevered because the cancer followed a stereotypical progression during early development, suggesting it was caused by one faulty genetic instruction. Still, she had her doubts. "Would there be enough families to participate?" she wondered, "If there were, would it be a single-gene disorder?"
But there she was in the basement of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Mankato, Minn., with 25-year-old Trisha (Schoettler) Anderson and nearly 70 members of her family. Anderson had the lower lobe of her left lung removed at age two before undergoing two years of intensive chemotherapy that nearly killed her. The smell of rubbing alcohol is enough to make her feel queasy again. Anderson's brother Adam died when PPB spread to his brain at age four, Peter had lung cysts at 16, David got them at 24, and her sister Katie developed a benign thyroid cancer as a teenager. "Cancer and tumors are part of the family," Anderson says. She also has a cousin with a rare kidney tumor and an uncle with a cancer that develops from muscles cells, both of which occur in families with PPB.
Many common diseases appear to stem from multiple genes and their interaction with the environment, yet the process remains too complex to be easily untangled with today's gene-sleuthing tools. The approach holds greater promise for rare diseases like PPB that are likely caused by a defect in a single gene.
So, armed only with a well-educated guess, Ashley Hill and her team from Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis traveled to Mankato to draw vials of blood from the outstretched arms of Anderson's family.
After mapping the disease on their family tree, Hill identified relatives who likely carry the faulty gene, such as Anderson's grandmother and great aunt, and then compared their genetic makeup with the rest of the family. It turned out that the suspected carriers and the afflicted had all inherited one particular segment on chromosome 14. The possibility of that happening solely by chance was less than one in 1,000. Hill expanded the study to three other families and found a similar result.
Unfortunately, the suspect stretch of chromosome 14 contained 72 different genes, and Hill felt she had a long way to go to find the genetic culprit—or culprits. She was a pathologist used to looking at cells and tissues under a microscope, not DNA sequences on a computer screen. On a lark, she plugged the 10 most likely candidates into a public database of medical articles and noticed that scientists had recently found that a gene called DICER1 influenced lung development in mice. She pulled up that 2006 paper and saw an image of a mouse that was missing both copies of the gene, and its lungs were dotted with cysts. It looked exactly like the early stage of PPB.
The gene seems to encode a protein in one set of cells that helps slow down the growth of neighboring lung tissue and keeps cells from turning into tumors. When Hill later tested Anderson's genome for DICER1, she found that one of her two copies was cut short. "This is unbelievable," Hill says, "almost like it was meant to be found." She and her team report their findings in Science this week. Hill, who is now chief of pathology at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., says she is working to understand how Trisha Anderson and others lost the function of their second copy of DICER1, which is required for the disease to manifest itself.
Anderson, now 29, is an accountant and has a two-year-old son named Jackson* who has a 50 percent chance of coming down with the disease. If it is not caught early and treated properly, children with PPB have a 40 percent chance of survival. "He's in that age bracket when PPB shows up, so every little cough or cold gives me worries," she says. By knowing the gene involved, researchers can now develop a clinical test to help doctors diagnose PPB before its too late. And if Jackson proved to have two working copies of DICER1, then his mother would not have to keep taking him in for CT scans that expose him to dangerous radiation. "It's a glimmer of hope," she says.
*Correction (7/13/09): An earlier version of this story misidentified the name of Trisha Anderson's son. | <urn:uuid:3a72fcb6-95d4-49f2-9a99-44c8796f2c2c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hunt-for-ppb-gene/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980268 | 1,002 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Helping You Get the Most From Your Hunting Dogs
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|A spayed female cat usually becomes calm and content as she no longer experiences recurring heat cycles. |
When male cats who are not neutered reach maturity, they typically begin spraying urine that has a strong and offensive odor. They may tend to roam, if allowed, and have violent fights with other males. Wounds from these fights often are serious and require veterinary treatment.
A neutered male cat becomes content to stay at home. Some neutered males may spray occasionally but the urine is not as odorous as that of an intact male. In many instances this infrequent spraying eventually stops or can be managed with veterinary attention.
It was once believed that early neutering of the male was associated with urethral blockage. Studies of stone formation in the lower urinary tract of males indicate that early neutering is not related to urethral blockage.
Your veterinarian can advise you of the best time to neuter your puppy or kitten. Traditionally, puppies are neutered at six months. Female kittens can also be spayed at six months of age. Male kittens should be neutered before spraying and other undesirable habits associated with the intact male have been established. This normally would occur between seven and nine months of age.
The possibility of neutering or spaying at an earlier age is under investigation at several universities. Many veterinarians believe that this procedure presents little or no increased risk.
The medical procedure for spaying a female dog or cat is called ovariohysterectomy. The veterinarian may keep the pet under observation overnight. The pet is anesthetized and the veterinarian removes its ovaries and uterus. The incision can be closed in one of two ways: nonabsorbable stitches which must be removed 7 to 10 days later, or subcuticular stitches that are sutures below the skin. These are gradually dissolved in the body.
Neutering a male dog or cat involves removing the testicles which are the source of sex hormones and sperm cells. Closure of the incision in dogs is performed in the same manner as for an ovariohysterectomy. Subcuticular stitches are often used to reduce the dog's urge to lick the stitches. The dog may be discharged the same day as the surgery, or may be kept overnight. Generally the cat is sent home the same day. The incisions in the male cat are usually very small so suturing is not necessary. Recovery from this procedure is usually rapid.
As in any surgery, neutering has possible complications which you can discuss with your veterinarian. However, the benefits of neutering and spaying outweigh most complications.
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We want your input: | <urn:uuid:87da6415-0974-4932-89b9-589bed0c8433> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gundogsonline.com/Article/Neutering-Spaying-Dogs-Page2.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958025 | 573 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Native New Yorkers seem to possess a kind of devotion to their city that goes beyond the usual hometown pride (for comedic insight into the NYC mindset, check out this map of the United States as seen by a New Yorker). So events like Manhattanhenge, when heavenly bodies align to cast a mathematically perfect glow across the city, seem to confirm in a Stonehenge-esque way the spiritual importance of the place.
The reality is that Manhattanhenge occurs because of the way New York City’s 200-year-old city grid is constructed. The east-west layout of streets and avenues means that twice a year, when the sun rises at due east and sets at due west, it aligns precisely with the east-west axis of the street grid.
Of course, this means that any city in the world with a rectangular grid could experience a similar astronomical effect – but New York City is rather perfectly set up for it with the clear view to the horizon and light-reflecting skyscrapers.
The exact dates of this phenomenon will vary each year according to the summer solstice, but as a general guide, Manhattanhenge usually occurs at the end of May and again mid-July. Once you’ve got the date sorted, you’ll need to stake out the best vantage point. Here’s some advice from New York’s Hayden Planetarium:
“For best effect, position yourself as far east in Manhattan as possible. But ensure that when you look west across the avenues you can still see New Jersey. Clear cross streets include 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 57th, and several streets adjacent to them. The Empire State building and the Chrysler building render 34th street and 42nd streets especially striking vistas.”
You’ve got to hand it to New York for turning a fluke of nature into a show-stopper. | <urn:uuid:cfe251d9-1767-459c-9c39-8589437d8dbd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wanderplex.com/2011/08/03/manhattanhenge-nyc-even-does-its-sunsets-in-style/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935333 | 395 | 2.75 | 3 |
1The rule of logic stating that if a conditional statement (“if p then q”) is accepted, and the antecedent (p) holds, then the consequent (q) may be inferred.
- The statement that q follows by modus ponens from the other two stated as known in the antecedent of the subjunctive principle P; this principle counts on the person to draw the inference to q.
- It could be a premise either, as some say, as the premise of a propositional scheme such as the modus ponens, or, as others assume, as the conditional premise of a hypothetical syllogism.
- We also noted that one of the most fundamental inferences concerning the conditional is modus ponens: a, a c c.
1.1An argument using modus ponens.
- Consider, for example, propositional logic: here one can start from self-evident axioms and proceed to deduce theorems by argument forms - modus ponens, for example - that are themselves self-evidently valid in an obvious sense.
- The first three points are a valid form of argument, in the form of modus ponens.
- Robustness was meant to ensure that an assertable conditional is fit for modus ponens.
Latin, literally 'mood that affirms'.
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: mo·dus po·nens
Definition of modus ponens in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed. | <urn:uuid:4554a950-d3a8-4089-97f5-ec43baee5414> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/modus-ponens | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90139 | 354 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Our ocean pic of the week — a planktonic jellyfish with bright green fluorescent tentacles. The red fluorescence in the middle of the jellyfish is from chlorophyll in a recent meal of algae.
This pic is from NOAA’s Operation Deep Scope 2005 Expedition – a research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep waters off Florida.
Some scientists on the expedition set out to study light in the ocean – color, fluorescence, polarization, vision and bioluminescence.
Dr. Edith Widder, a senior scientist on the trip, said her first sight of luminescence in the ocean’s depths changed her life:
“Seeing lights in the ocean – the living lights of bioluminescence observed from a submersible – is the event that set me on my uncommon career path … I was also convinced that bioluminescence had to be one of the most beautiful and important phenomena in the ocean. It seemed like it was everywhere and there was so much of it.”
Image courtesy Dr. Mikhail Matz and NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration & Research | <urn:uuid:67df2b78-ed3e-4058-82aa-177cf25f53e5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://oceanwire.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/pic-o-the-week/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927726 | 234 | 2.921875 | 3 |
NASA Releases Video Of Curiosity's Martian Descent
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - NASA has released a low-resolution video of the Curiosity rover during the final few minutes of its descent to the Martian surface.
The video showed the protective heat shield falling away as the rover plummeted through the Mars' atmosphere, and dust was being kicked up as it was lowered by cables inside a crater.
Curiosity successfully executed the new landing routine Sunday night and has since returned a flood of pictures.
The mission team is awaiting for full-resolution frames of the descent - a process that would take some time. Once they're sent back, it'll be the first full glimpse of a spacecraft landing on another world.
The video can be found on NASA's website.
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- Racist rant turned apology- Gainesville High teen releases new video | <urn:uuid:7c6ec88f-72d4-44c9-9707-65efb05bde68> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wcjb.com/national-news/2012/08/nasa-releases-video-curiositys-martian-descent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928097 | 272 | 2.625 | 3 |
A suggestion to create a $10 federal woodcock stamp to raise money for habitat projects appears to be gaining support, but the idea could still be months or years away from being debated in Congress.
Michigan has long been one of the best states in the nation for both nesting woodcocks and woodcock hunting in the fall. It generally ranks No. 1 in the nation for the number of woodcocks taken each year.
The woodcock is an odd-looking migratory game bird with a long bill, prominent eyes and a ball-shaped brown-and-rust-colored body. Along with grouse, woodcocks are considered the prime forest game birds in North America because of their quirky flight patterns and difficult habitat, usually thick aspen and tag alder thickets.
Several regional and national studies indicate that woodcock numbers have been in a steady decline for about three decades, mostly because there has been a sharp decline in young aspen and tag alder thickets where woodcock like to search for their favorite food - earthworms.
Clear-cutting older forests is generally regarded as the best method to create more young forests preferred by woodcock and many other species, but there is considerable opposition to clear-cutting, mostly from environmentalists.
The stamp idea, based on the federal duck stamp that has helped raise millions for waterfowl habitat projects since the 1930s, is being pushed by a prominent woodcock and grouse hunter, Dennis LaBare, who splits his time between West Virginia and Maine.
LaBare has been a member of Trout Unlimited since the 1970s and received its national volunteer of the year award. He and his wife, also an avid grouse and woodcock hunter, own English setters.
Dennis LaBare, who has worked on the stamp idea since January, has written opinion pieces for national bird-hunting magazines about the subject.
He said the stamp, if required for the estimated 150,000 woodcock hunters in the country, could generate at least $1.2 million a year for funding habitat projects in about a dozen states that play host to the migratory bird.
LaBare said that he foresees most of the money being used primarily to provide matching money for private forest owners who want to manage their woods for woodcocks.
LaBare said, however, that some money would be available for habitat work in state and national forests. About one-third of Michigan's land is controlled by such public forests.
Little habitat work is undertaken in Michigan and other states because creating prime woodcock areas usually involves the controversial practice of clear-cutting established forests to allow early succession forest species, such as aspen, poplar and tag adlers, to take over, LaBare said.
Woodcock numbers nationwide have been declining, on average, about 2 percent every year for three decades, wildlife biologists say, mostly because of receding habitat.
Federal wildlife officials, who manage the species because it is migratory, have reacted by cutting the daily bag limit to three birds and shortening the woodcock season.
LaBare said state and federal wildlife officials have developed two national plans to reverse the decline by creating more habitat but have lacked funding.
One plan recommends managing at least 21.3 million acres for woodcocks to return the population to 1970s numbers.
"It all boils down to money, and that's where a stamp will provide much-needed dollars," LaBare wrote in The Pointing Dog Journal.
Creating more woodcock habitat also would benefit 59 other species, including 43 kinds of songbirds.
He said the key to getting support from Congress depends upon the reaction of key groups, such as the Ruffed Grouse Society and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The grouse society has endorsed the idea, and the association is considering it.
LaBare said he has heard from about 200 avid woodcock hunters and most favored his idea, but that a general survey of bird hunters is needed to determine public support.
He predicted it will be at least 2010 before a stamp proposal is initiated.
Al Stewart, upland gamebird specialist for the Department of Natural Resources, said he backs the stamp idea because there is no doubt that there is declining woodcock habitat throughout Michigan and most other states.
"Young forests, which are prime woodcock habitat, are being neglected and overlooked," he said. "We need to bring forward the idea that young forests are a good thing for many species."
Stewart said he would like to see a federal stamp for all upland species, such as grouse, which are also troubled by the decline in habitat.
Steve Smith, the Traverse City editor of Pointing Dog Journal and Retriever Journal, said he has backed the idea from the very beginning.
"We need to create more birds by creating more habitat," he said.
If the federal stamp idea doesn't work out, Smith said, the Upper Midwest states including Michigan ought to come up with a regional stamp to finance habitat projects in the prime nesting areas.
Roger Moore, longtime president of the local Keith Davis chapter of the grouse society, said he generally backs the idea of a woodcock stamp, even though he has some reservations.
Moore, who has been hunting grouse and woodcocks for 50 years and has been president of the Genesee County chapter for 27 years, said something needs to be done about the decline in woodcock numbers, even though many hunters oppose any increase in hunting license fees. | <urn:uuid:832a9f59-445b-4e22-9380-a66bcfdf1b37> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2008/07/hunter_proposes_stamp_to_boost.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968046 | 1,135 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Census Returns are probably the most useful of all sources for family history in that it is the only resource that brings together a whole household, often including extended family. The ages and places of birth can lead you to an individual’s birth certificate and/or baptism entry.
Census returns also enable local historians to obtain a complete record of the inhabitants of a place, and its occupational and social structure.
A census has been taken in England and Wales every ten years since 1801, with the exception of 1941, on account of war.
The information required on the census has increased over the years. | <urn:uuid:e5a6f79a-fc94-40fc-a19f-79ca9dc863db> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www3.hants.gov.uk/mobile/archives/hals-collections/census-returns.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965219 | 124 | 3.21875 | 3 |
African Traditional Religtion (http://afrikaworld.net/afrel/) Explore African traditional religion in relationship to other major religions and consider the role of women, social justice, religious music and other topics in traditional Africa.
B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (http://www.bnaibrith.org/members/index_ylan.cfm) The official website for the worldwide Jewish organization designated to develop personal, cultural, and community growth.
Buddha Mind (http://www.abm.ndirect.co.uk) This site provides and intriguing introduction to Buddhism.
Bulfinch's Mythology At the sites below, find the digitalized versions of the classic works that make up Bulfinch's Mythology.
Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.knight.org/advent/cathen/) Articles from the classic encyclopedia cover the important people, saints, practices, and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church.
Dictionary of Egyptian Gods (http://www.osirisweb.com/egypt/director.htm) For access to information about all the various gods that reigned in Ancient Egypt, this site provides concise dictionary-length articles.
Druidism Guide (http://www.wildideas.net/cathbad/druid.html) Druidism is the religion of the Celtic peoples of the pre-Christian British Isles and Gauls. This site contains both historical information about the religion as well as information on modern Druidism.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd.html) This is the Third Edition of the Dictionary compiled by M.G. Easton. Please note that the illustrations have not been included.
Encyclopedia Mythica (http://www.pantheon.org/mythica) This encyclopedia provides articles covering the gods, goddesses, heroes, and creatures featured in the annals of world mythology.
The Pagan Web (http://www.thepaganweb.com) Looking for information about Wizza? Find great information about what it is and is not. There is also a recommended reading list and links to other sites.
Religious Movements Homepage (http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu) This site contains information about the history, sacred texts, and beliefs of over 200 religious movements.
Taoism Information International (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/) Access to classical Taoist texts are presented with this site, which also explores the relationship between Taoism and martial arts, alchemy and feng shui, and Buddhism and Confucianism.
|| Young Adult Area || 001 Generalities || 100 Philosophy and Psychology || 200 Religion ||
|| 300 Social Sciences || 400 Languages || 500 Science || 600 Technology ||
|| 700 Arts & Entertainment || 800 Literature || 900 Geography & History ||
|| Book Awards & Lists || Homework Helpers || New Stuff || Teen Author Homepages || | <urn:uuid:535677b3-03e9-4fc5-b817-e393ae99804b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.yourlibrary.ws/ya_webpage/ya200.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.819852 | 641 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Flower shedding is a major constraint for yield in this crop. In general about 10-20% of the flowers only develop into mature pods. However, it is reported that with proper management of the crop by applying 20 kg/ N/ha, at flowering, the flower drop can be minimized. Further, application of calcium chloride (0.1%) + NAA (100 PPM) when the flowers begin to open in the first inflorescence is reported to improve fruit–set and consequently yield.
By intensive plant breeding methods carried out at the Pulse Section, Agricultural College, Coimbatore, four promising varieties of Avarai (D. Lablab), DL. 250, DL. 269, DL. 453 and DL. 692 were released for general cultivation. But the major problem facing the breeders and the farmers in this crop is the heavy flower shedding with the consequential low pod setting. This peculiar defect has a depressing effect on the total yield in this crop. To give a scientific explanation to this phenomenon and also to assess the variations, if any, among varieties, flower and pod setting was studied in four avarai varieties, viz., DL.250, DL.269, DL.453 and DL.692 at the Pulses Research Station, Jayankondam.
The inflorescences were carefully selected so that the first flower on all the inflorescences in the four varieties open on the same day. Flower opening was recorded for 22 days when all the buds on all the inflorescences in the four varieties have opened. This way, it was possible to fix the number of flowers opened daily on each of the inflorescences. The number of pods set on the inflorescence finally was recorded.
There was varietal difference in flower and pod setting. The variety DL.692 produced the maximum number of flowers followed by DL.250, DL.453, and DL.269. It was interesting that DL. 269 which produced the lowest number of flowers recorded the highest pod set (22.3%) followed by DL. 692, DL. 453 and DL. 250 with 15.9%, 5% and 4.9%, respectively.
It was also noted that the percentage of pod set alone cannot be taken as a criterion in judging the yield behavior of the variety. The ultimate yield of pods depended upon the percentage of flower dropping. The more the shedding of flowers, the less was the pod set. This was evident in the variety DL.250, while the shedding was the least in DL.269 with higher percentage of pod set with the other two varieties falling in between. Yet the variety DL.692 developed the highest number of pods per inflorescence.
Flower and fruit drop is one of the main constraints in the productivity of Dolichos Lablab. It can be attributed to lack of source or impaired translocation to the sink or very low sink capacity. Experiments were conducted to work out the source-sink relationship in a determinate variety Hebbal Avare-3.
Pattern of translocation of photosynthates during bud stage showed that during this stage all the reproductive parts (floral organs) are functionally active sinks. But translocation pattern changed at later stages when the flowers in the upper whorls opened and in the lower whorls pod development had started. There were several sinks within the inflorescence, which received very low activity. Sinks, which were in advanced stages of growth, received relatively higher activity. The sinks were spread in all the whorls. The early formed inflorescences are potentially better sinks than the late formed ones.
Application of nitrogen enhanced photosynthetic 14CO2 fixations and thus increased the source capacity. When source capacity was reduced by way of defoliation, the photosynthetic 14CO2 fixation in the remaining leaves increased per unit leaf area. But when the total source was less, it resulted in lesser influx of 14C-metabolites into developing floral organs. When source availability per unit sink was enhanced by removing the sinks of the upper whorls, there was an increased influx of photosynthates per sink.
Pattern of translocation of 14C- metabolites following feeding of a single intact leaf with 14CO2 showed that the leaf on a branch contributed photosynthates to the sinks in the same branch. But when source availability was reduced on a branch due to defoliation, photosynthates from the other branches move into the inflorescence of the defoliated branches. Due to drastic reduction of sources by way of defoliation, the pattern of translocation changed. Only the sinks in the advanced stages of growth, which were in the lower whorls, received higher activity and the younger sinks of the same inflorescence received very little activity. But the potential sinks in the inflorescence other than fed leaf-inflorescence received higher activity.
The reduction in the source capacity by way of defoliation enhanced the flower drop and decreased the pod number and pod weight and ultimately yield per plant. Removal of the reproductory organs of the late formed ones situated above the sixth whorl resulted in the enhancement in pod and seed yield. But the removal of 50% flower buds in all the whorls and retaining only two flower buds in each whorl did not result in the enhanced yield, which suggests that the sink above the sixth whorl only were non-productive.
The efficient utilization of solar energy by source strength and partitioning of photoassimilates to the harvested economic sink determines the crop productivity. The source strength is the combination of size and activity and the leaf area contributes the maximum for source size. In addition, pod also plays a major role in the productivity of grain legumes similar to that of the flag leaf and inflorescence in cereals. The role of pods as a form of production unit have been studied by many researchers in peas. The present study reports the results of the assessment on the relative role of the pods in Lablab been in relation to seed development with the help of 14Co2.
The experiment was conducted with Lablab bean variety CO.8 in pot culture at TNAU, Coimbatore. Data were collected and Translocation Index was calculated as:
Translocation Index = Activity in seeds/Activity in pods x100
The pods fixed the carbon photosynthetically which varied with the developmental period. The incorporation was maximum in young pods (10 days) after 30 minutes of feeding compared to other feeding periods of sampling. The higher demand by developing pod as well as the seeds may be the possible reason for the higher incorporation during the earlier stages of pod and seed development.
The translocation Index was maximum at 10 days followed by 30 days feeding, the peak being at 8h (65.5%, 29.56% and 44% at 10,20 and 30 days, respectively). After 20 days of anthesis, there may be intense metabolism both in fruit walls and seeds, which may result in production of organic acids which are quite unstable and require to be assimilated immediately. Even the minimum traces fixed at later stages of pod development has been effectively translocated to the seeds which was confirmed by the higher Translocation Indices with the advancement of pod maturity, the maximum being at harvest.
The observations on ethanol insoluble fractions (starch, cellulose and protein) clearly indicated that old pods fixed less amount of 14Co2, but the rate of transfer to seeds was much faster than in young pods. Upto 8h, the insoluble fractions increased with the pod development, thereafter a general decrease was observed suggesting the conversion of assimilates into structural forms. Such transformation declined with the maturation of pods and seeds. With the advancement of maturity, all the fixed carbon in the pod was utilized by the seeds.
The seeds of legumes placed in closed system cannot photosynthesise directly though they contain chlorophyll. The seeds have to derive the assimilates either through the source of plant or pod. This study confirms that the pod fixes 14Co2 through photosynthesis, accumulates and translocates them to the developing seeds, which decreased with the age of the pod.
Measurements were made on leaves of 100 lines of D. Lablab [Lablab purpureus] chosen from the genetic stocks maintained at Jhansi, India. Tabulated data are presented on estimated leaf area calculated by 3 methods. It was concluded that specific leaf-area constants (0.6588, 0.6731 and 0.6905 for slender, medium and broad leaves, respectively) multiplied by length X width give the most accurate estimates of leaf area.
A determinate variety Lablab bean introduced from India was used in this study. In all experiments, seeds were sown in vermiculite and the germinated seeds were transplanted in plastic pots (12-15 cm in diameter), containing a mixture of pumice: vermiculite and sand (1:1:1, V/V/ V/). The plants were fed with a 0.1% solution of a compound fertilizer, OK-F-1 (N: P2 O5: K2 0, 15:8:17, Otsuka chemical Co; Tokyo). Nine plants were used in each treatment.Growth
In phytotron glass rooms, an 8 hour–day length was achieved by exposing the plants to 8 h natural light and covering them from 17-30 h to 09-30 h of the following day. Day lengths longer than 8 h were obtained by extending the 8 h photoperiod with light from 70 k incandescent lamp (14.8 µmol m-2 s-1). The covers were ventilated by means of S-shaped pipes placed at the top of the covers in order to prevent the temperature from raising during lighting.Effect of temperature on growth habit under 12 h day lengths
Seeds were sown on 30 April 1991 and germinated in green house. The seedlings were placed in the growth chambers (15-300C) from 15 May until 22 July.Effect of temperature and photoperiod on growth habit-1
Seedlings grown in the same manner as above received temperature (15–30°C) and photoperiod (15 and 8 h) treatments in the phytotron glass rooms from 20th May. Data were recorded on 27th July.Effect of temperature and photoperiod on growth habit-2
Germination was started on 26th April 1992 in plastic-film greenhouse. On 7th May, the seedlings were transferred to 12, 13 or 14 h day lengths at 25°C, or to 9, 10 or 11 h day length at 30°C in phytotron glass rooms. Measurements were made on 9th July. For the experiment at 20°C, seeds were germinated on 16th July 1992 and the seedlings received 18, 21 or 24 h day lengths from 22nd July until 18 September.Effect of temperature shift on growth habit
Seeds were sown on 11th January 1992 in a growth chamber at 25°C. After germination, the seedlings were placed in the growth chamber at 20 or 30°C. On 24th January (7 days after germination) or on 31st January (14 days after germination), the plants grown at 30°C were transferred to 20°C, and those grown at 20°C were transferred to 30°C. Growth was recorded on February 26th.Effect of photoperiod shift on growth habit
Seeds were sown on 26th April 1992 in a plastic-film green-house and the seedlings were grown at 25 or 30°C in the phytotron glass room under 15 or 8 h days length from 7th May to 26th June. On 22nd May, 20 days after germination, the day length regimes were changed from 8 h to 15 h from 15 h to 8 h.
Data indicate that the critical day length separating the indeterminate growth habit from determinate growth is 13 h at 25°C and is between 10 and 11 h at 30°C. The fact that there was no shift of growth habit from determinate to indeterminate in any day length at 20°C suggests the existence of a minimum temperature that permits the shift in growth habit. Relationships between temperatures and photoperiod in determining the growth habit show that if the critical day length is shorter, the higher the temperature. In a similar fashion, the short day requirement for flowering in some short day plants can be replaced by low temperatures.
Longer day permitted initiation of at least seven more stem nodes and nearly twice as many branch nodes as were produced at the shorter photoperiods in determinate soybean plants (Thomas and Raper, 1983). In Lablab bean, however, the number of nodes was increased by high temperature and internode length was longer when the plants were under long day lengths. These results may suggest that day length regulates internode length rather than number of internodes and that the main factor for determining number of nodes is temperature.
Determinate Lablab bean (Labalab purpureus) was treated with various plant hormones. Gibberellin (GA3) partly induced the indeterminate growth of plants grown under non-inductive conditions. Cytokinins (Kinetin and benzyl adenine) retained the determinate growth habit under inductive conditions for indeterminate growth. Endogenous contents of gibberellins and auxins were higher in the plants under inductive conditions than in those under non-inductive conditions, which the reverse was true for the endogenous contents of cytokinins. It is suggested that in determinate Lablab gibberellin (s) and/or auxin(s) induce indeterminate growth habit in long days and high temperatures, while cytokinin(s) sustain determinate growth in short days and low temperature conditions.
A study was carried out to derive a suitable non-destructive method of leaf area determination using length and breadth of leaflets of the trifoliate leaves of Dolichos Lablab. A random sample of 20 leaves giving 60 leaflets per variety in a group of 17 varieties was used for leaf area determination. The three models utilized were A1 = bLB, A2 = a + bLB, and A3 = aLb1Bb2 resulting in three prediction equations; A1=0.06647 LB, A2=2.3345 + 0.6321 LB and A3 = 0.1223 L0.5633 B1 2791. Although the three equations were found equally efficient, the equation A1=0.6647 LB was selected for its simplicity in calculation.
An experiment was carried out in Mymensingh, Bangladesh during May, 1991 to April, 1992 to investigate the phenology and fruiting behaviour of 3 advance lines (DSC-1-6/S1, DSC-1-6/S-2 and DSC-1-6 (S) of Lablab bean (L.purpureus) cross in F6 generation and their parents. The parental genotypes were DS-21-B (local) and DS-109 (Japanese). The test genotypes were sown on 3 dates, i.e., 15th May, 1st July and 15th August 1991. Results revealed strong interaction of sowing dates with genotypes for flowering and fruiting characteristics. The flowering time in the local parental genotypes gradually decreased with delay in sowing date due to photoperiod sensitivity and timely fixed behaviour. The exotic parent and 3 selected advance generation (F6) lines showed periodically fixed and photoperiod neutral behaviour. The effect of phenology showed that the local parent produced maximum flowers but incurred maximum flower abortion. The edible pod yield of the local genotype also varied widely with sowing dates, but remained statistically unchanged in the exotic genotype as well as in the advance lines. Among 3 sowing dates, July sowing was the best for pod production. May sowing produced the highest percentage of edible pod protein.
Water deficiency is a major factor that determines the productivity performance of the forage plants in the tropics. Different mechanisms contribute to drought resistance in plant: Avoidance of plant water deficits by drought escape (short duration), water conservation and more efficient water uptake. Any one of these could be considered to be used as a defiance strategy by plants.
This study was initiated to identify genotypic differences for drought resistance in a range of Lablab genotypes and to verify if drought resistance is confined to any particular habit–annual or perennial–and to examine if drought resistant genotypes could be selected under laboratory conditions based on some simple physiological attributes.
It was a pot culture experiment. Four replications of 15 genotypes were planted and the plants were raised under controlled environment 30 / 25°C day/night temperature, 14 h photoperiod and 60 and 90% relative humidity during day and night, respectively.
Pots were watered to weight (total 15 kg) for four weeks. The first fully expanded leaf was sampled from one plant of each pot to measure % relative water content – initial (RWC- initial): [(fresh wt-dry wt) / (turgid wt- dry wt)] 100.
After 4 weeks of sowing, pots were watered for the final time to 15 kg and drought stress was imposed by withholding water. Water use was monitored by weighing the pots and ranked (from highest to lowest water use) at 5, 9 and 12 days after imposing water stress. At day 12 into drought stress regime, another leaf sample was taken to calculate RWC during drought stress (RWC–stress). The decline in RWC (RWC–decline) was calculated as the difference between RWC–initial and RWC- stress and rank (from highest to lowest) in each genotype at the end of the 12-day stress period.
At 9 weeks after sowing (5 weeks after withholding water or 3 weeks after most of the applied water used up by the plants) a visual assessment of foliage yield was recorded (Growth Rating). A rating of 4 indicated a high percentage of green leaf minimal leaf loss, good vigour and minimal turgor loss (visible wilting) in the leaves and rating of 1 indicated the lowest value for these parameters.
At 12 weeks after sowing (8 weeks after the start of drought stress or 6 weeks after most of the water has been used), 50% of the lines appeared dead. At this time all pots were re-watered and within two days after re-watering, surviving green leaves were harvested and dry weight recorded. Leaf survival was calculated (Green leaf wt/green+dead leaf wt) 100. The level of recovery and re-growth was monitored 2 weeks after re-watering and was used as an indicator of drought resistance and ranked from the highest to the lowest.
There were significant differences in the total water use among the 15 Lablab lines at days 5, 9 and 12 after beginning of the drought stress. Drought resistance was however, not related to whether genotype is annual or perennial. One of two commercial cultivars, 4 of 8 cultivated accessions, 1 of 3 wild accessions and 2 of 2 bred-lines were measured as drought resistant after a prolonged period of withholding water. This showed that there is high level of variation for drought resistance within the Lablab genotypes. Genotypes with the desirable level of drought resistance could be selected from out of the germplasm collections and use them in breeding programme for increasing forage yield and perenniality.
These physiological indicators, including leaf survival are laborious and need extensive experimentation. It is highly advantageous and breeding progress will be rapid if the (unknown) osmoprotectant in Lablab is identified and molecular markers are developed based on already available genetic map for Lablab. The genes responsible for the biosynthesis of the osmoprotectant could be identified for the introduction into more valuable commercial crops so as to make them more drought tolerant.
Present study is conducted to evaluate the response of bean (Dolichos lablab cv. pusa early prolific) plants to supplemental UV-B (sUV-B: 280-315 nm: 7.2 kJ m-2 d-1) radiation. UV-B caused alteration in biomass translocation pattern with more retention of biomass in below ground parts leading to an increment in root shoot ratio. Specific leaf area (SLA) which is the measure of leaf thinness, increased in plants under sUV-B exposure by 95.7 and 82.3% after 15 and 30 days after germination. Photosynthetic machinery of bean plants was the potential target of UV-B as photosynthetic rate was decreased by 88.6 % at 30 days after germination. sUV-B lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species thus generating oxidative stress. Stimulation of antioxidant defense system (enzymatic and non-enzymatic) was observed due to sUV-B radiation. Phenolic content decreased (34.7 and 18.6%) but protein showed varied response, increased initially (34%) thereafter declined (10.2%) under sUV-B radiation. | <urn:uuid:fa9f23f1-a5fb-41d5-b67e-734503d9d7c0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lablablab.org/html/physiology.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00164-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964083 | 4,374 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Balancing the needs of water for these diverse uses will be one of the key challenges the world will face, experts say, and it’s important that agriculture be proactive and integral in guiding the formation of water policy.
The U.S. population is predicted to grow from 309 million in 2010 to 439 million by 2050. A significant portion of that growth is expected to occur in traditionally water-deficient areas like the southwestern U.S.
Can U.S. food suppliers meet that need? No question, say experts, but those teeming population centers will be clamoring for water for municipal use, as will industry.
“The future growth and prosperity of the U.S. as a nation will be limited by water,” Neal Wilkins, president and CEO of East Wildlife Foundation, told attendees of a recent Holt Cat Symposium on Excellence in Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
“Across this nation, the majority of water that flows in streams or rivers, or recharges our aquifers, falls first on land that is in one way or another involved in agricultural or timber production. Roughly half of water consumption is for ag production, so there’s no way to have this dialog without the engagement of agriculture.”
Another Perspective: Food Waste Must Be Addressed Before We Can Feed The Growing Population
Wilkins was among a cadre of water and land-use experts exhorting attendees to assume a leadership role in critical water resource planning for the nation. They say it’s critical that landowners and agricultural producers engage at all levels and proactively lead in the strategic development of solutions to the long-term water issues facing the nation.
Spurring such a dialog, and outreach, was the purpose of the “Water: Agricultural Challenges and Strategies for the Future” symposium. The agenda was centered on a white paper unveiled at that meeting and available at krirm.tamuk.edu. Entitled “Agricultural Water: Protecting The Future Of Our Nation,” the document was formulated by a diverse group of producers with the aim of enumerating the issues surrounding the water debate, as well as guiding policy discussions around the overall issue.
The paper identifies three priority issues – water supply, water resource stewardship, and long-term water policy. The think tank’s recommendations on these issues include:
- Effectively using existing water resources.
- Responsibly increasing water supplies.
- Encouraging continued investment in water infrastructure.
- Protecting water rights ownership.
- Incentivizing innovation and private investment in water resource management.
Clay Mathis, director of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, which sponsored the project, says producers must advocate for agriculture. With only 2% of Americans today directly involved in production ag, and only 1% on a full-time basis, it’s important that producers get involved. The white paper is a tool and resource for producers to engage in the water debate and proactively lead the discussion, he says.
“Read the paper; carry the message,” another speaker said. | <urn:uuid:9283ad8e-f901-4a50-ab86-2887ed866a11> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://beefmagazine.com/ethanol/ag-must-take-lead-guiding-water-policy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929496 | 651 | 2.96875 | 3 |
In 2013, good wetland conditions in the Prairie Pothole Region, the Western Boreal Forest, and many other key waterfowl breeding areas helped total duck numbers in the traditional survey area remain near a record high. While this is great news for waterfowl hunters, the habitats that support duck populations continue to be threatened. Widespread annual losses of small prairie wetlands, native grasslands, and upland cover formerly enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program continue to erode the habitat base that supports healthy duck populations.
"The fact is that many of the waterfowl that fill the flyways each year are raised on unsecured habitats," DU CEO Dale Hall says. "We must maintain our focus on protecting and restoring important waterfowl habitat across the birds' range in order to see these kinds of numbers again in future wet years."
Related: DU Chief Scientist outlines waterfowl season expectations
For more information about waterfowl populations and habitat conditions on the breeding grounds, visit flyways.us, ducks.org, and ducks.ca.
Liberal Regulations Recommended Again With generally good wetland conditions on the prairies and healthy mallard populations in each survey region, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has once again recommended liberal hunting regulations for the upcoming waterfowl season in every flyway. Based on this year's midcontinent mallard breeding population of 10.8 million birds, which includes combined estimates of mallards in the traditional survey area (minus Alaska) and the Great Lakes states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan), and almost 4.6 million May ponds in prairie Canada, liberal hunting regulations were proposed for the Central and Mississippi flyways. Populations of eastern and western mallard stocks also remained healthy, allowing for liberal hunting regulations in the Atlantic and Pacific flyways as well. Check with the appropriate state or provincial wildlife agency for season dates, daily bag limits, possession limits, shooting times, and other waterfowl regulations in the areas where you plan to hunt. | <urn:uuid:d7a18374-3841-4f23-b42e-3b4ab454a783> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-surveys/2013-waterfowl-forecast/page6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930059 | 414 | 3.203125 | 3 |
New state and national policies are advancing actions to address environmental concerns, and in-crease energy independence and security. These affect economic growth and stability, and are likely to direct major technology investments to:
1. Create a Smart Grid to make use of computer, sensor, automation, control, and communication technologies
2. Achieve large-scale penetration of Renewable and Alternative Energy technologies
3. Maintain U.S. Electric Power Grid Reliability when integrating sources of renewable generation with traditional generation technologies
4. Improve Energy Efficiency in delivery and use
5. Enable the public to use Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles to reduce oil consumption, reduce carbon emissions, and store energy for support of the electric system.
The National Academy of Engineering hailed the electric power grid as the 20th century’s engineering innovation most beneficial to our civilization. The 21st century electric power grid may be recognized again for efforts to connect new and old electricity generation sources to transmission, distribution, customer meters, and customer end-uses. The power grid is being transformed by innovations that draw on technology advances in different fields to meet new societal needs and public policies.
Throughout this transformation, customer expectations for electric power reli¬ability will remain high. Few people doubt that, when they flip the switch, the power will be on. Aging trends in the electrical engineering workforce and in existing infrastructure will make it difficult to meet these reliability ex¬pectations unless action is taken today. Engineering workforce shortages are already occurring. We need more electrical engineers to solve industry challenges, and to build that 21st century electric power grid. We need more electrical engineers to keep the nation’s electric power reliable, secure, safe, and competitive. Meeting these needs requires long-term investment now. | <urn:uuid:57687076-fa2f-4b43-9f3c-f3f43f970eee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.sgiclearinghouse.org/Resources?q=node/4859&lb=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925878 | 358 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Madiba: A symbol of the power of good
Nelson Mandela will be remembered as a symbol for wisdom, for the ability to change, and the power of reconciliation - an obituary by Mark Gevisser.
The words "Nelson Mandela is dead" feel strange in the mouth today, almost impossible to say, given the unique way he was both martyred and canonised during his lifetime. He embodies a paradox: on the one hand we love him for his humanity; on the other, he already passed long ago from the world of the flesh. He is a peak of moral authority, rising above the soulless wasteland of the 20th century; he is a universal symbol for goodness and wisdom, for the ability to change, and the power of reconciliation. In person, he was not notably affectionate, but his image beams a very particular sensation: you just look at him and you feel held, hugged.
Mandela epitomised those instincts we most associate with childhood: trust, goodness, optimism; an ability to vanquish the night's demons with the knowledge that the sun will rise in the morning. But he also made us feel good, and warm, and safe, because he found a way to play an ideal father, beyond the confines of his biological family or even his national one. He was the father we would all have wanted if we could have designed one. He was wise with age, benignly powerful, comfortingly irascible, stern when we needed containing, breathtakingly courageous, affirming when we needed praise – and, of course, possessed of the two childlike qualities that make for the best of fathers: an exhilarating playfulness and a bottomless capacity to forgive.
Mandela is often paired with MK Gandhi. Unlike the godly Indian liberator, however, he was an unapologetic (even if delightfully self-deprecating) patriarch. A leader's claim that his subjects are his children can be the very definition of tyranny, but what made Mandela so singular a leader of modern times is the way he re-appropriated such clichés. He inhabited his paternity in such a way that it seemed fresh and emancipatory even as it comforted in the way it recalled more traditional understandings of what a leader should be.
In his own life, he was a failure as a father – in part, but not entirely, because of his three decades of incarceration. His daughter Maki once said to him, describing a rebuffed hug: "You are a father to all our people, but you have never been a father to me." Like so many great leaders, he found refuge from the difficulties of familial intimacy in politics and struggle – in the family of humanity. This led to a personality that combined "extreme heartiness with impenetrable reserve", as Arthur Schlesinger famously described Franklin Roosevelt, cited by Anthony Sampson in his biography of Mandela.
For most of humanity, only the heartiness was visible. "Ah, Elizabeth!" he once greeted the British queen with a rural bellow as she approached him at Buckingham Palace, folding her in embrace. "You are as beautiful as ever! How do you manage to keep so young?" While courtiers and diplomats expired with embarrassment at his multiple faux pas, the queen simply blushed – and giggled: "Nelson!"
Perhaps America's former president Bill Clinton put his finger on the power of the Mandela icon when he welcomed his fellow-president to Washington in 1998. Speaking of the universal experience of suffering and hatred as an "apartheid of the heart", Clinton said that the world adulated Mandela because it sought "wisdom from the power of his example to do whatever we can, however we can, wherever we can, to take the apartheid out of our own and others' hearts".
Just as apartheid became a global semaphore for evil, so too did Mandela come to symbolise the power of good. More than that: the impulse, in an increasingly malevolent world, to look evil in the eye and do good. Listen, for example, to Clinton's description – 10 years after the above comment – of the roots of Mandela's sanctity: "Mandela is a very godly man because he's the living embodiment of the importance of second chances in life: giving them and getting them, and becoming bigger through adversity."
Mandela got his second chance – at liberty, at leadership, at love. Forgiveness allows both victim and perpetrator to start again, and the way that Mandela bettered himself through adversity serves as an object lesson to us all: if he can walk out of 27 years in jail without anger or the desire for retribution, we too can rise above our petty problems and disputes. Brilliantly, Mandela set himself up to embody the nation – and then, as he saw his effect, to allow himself to be turned into a symbol for that best of human impulses: the desire to make things better. He made a fetish of his biography. As he was in chains, so were we; as he managed to negotiate himself into freedom, so could we; as he forgave his oppressors and his adversaries, so must we. Now, though, this makes his death more complicated: witness ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga's inane comments, made when Mandela was admitted to hospital in June 2013, that the ill man's "well-being is a barometer for the well-being of the nation".
The Jesus imagery has always been present. Listen to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu: "Suffering can of course embitter the one who suffers. But in many other circumstances it can ennoble the sufferer. We are richly blessed that the latter happened with Mandela."
But to view Mandela's prison experience solely through the prism of revelation is to misunderstand his life. Certainly, he went into jail a militant hot-head (in the 1940s, if you needed a meeting broken up you called Mandela) and came out a profound statesman. Even if prison damaged him irrevocably in some senses – how could it not? – he did succeed in using it as both a political laboratory and a place of profound introspection. Sampson describes how he was "cut off from mass audiences, public images and television cameras, stripped down to man-to-man leadership and to the essentials of human relationships". He thus "learned about human sensitivities and how to handle the fears and insecurities of others, including his Afrikaner warders. He was sensitised by his own sense of guilt about [the] family and friends he had used during his political career." Mandela, writes Sampson, was "racked by remorse" about his absence as a husband and a father. By coming to see himself as an actor – a perpetrator, if you like – as well as a victim, he developed his most admirable quality: a capacity for empathy.
He used this to formidable effect, and while he may indeed have lived the racial reconciliation he preached, this is critical to any understanding of the man and his political gifts: he deployed empathy as a strategy to get what he wanted – for himself while in prison, for his people, and for his country. He learned Afrikaans in prison not because it was a beautiful language or even because he wished to use the master's tools to destroy the master's house, but so that he could sweet-talk his warders into granting him and his fellow-prisoners the concessions that would make their lives more bearable.
He came upon his almost inhuman lack of bitterness and desire for reconciliation in the prison laboratory because he saw that this approach lifted the scrim of prejudice from his savage captors' eyes and transformed them into human beings. Once they were human, they could reason, and once they could reason, they would – as he had – understand that South Africans' futures were interlocked, and that they were dependent on each other.
Politics of gesture
He might have had an extraordinary instinct, but he was profoundly instrumentalist: he often told intimates that his legendary humour was part of his "sense of duty", used either to help his interlocutors relax, or to disarm them, or both, depending on the circumstance. He did not take a step – do a jig – without calculating its odds.
From the way he cultivated a romantic "Black Pimpernel" image while in hiding during the 1960 state of emergency, through to the way used the 1995 Rugby World Cup to deepen his project of racial reconciliation, he was a master at the politics of gesture. Even his legendary public outburst at FW de Klerk during the 1992 multiparty negotiations cannot be simply described as a pot boiling over: it was carefully calibrated to humiliate the South African president at a key moment, thereby demonstrating both to recalcitrant whites and to impatient blacks that the balance of power had shifted. As Jacob Zuma once told me – speaking, no doubt, from personal experience – if you wanted to win a battle, you needed to get Mandela on to your side.
The conventional wisdom is that Mandela's extraordinary sense of self, unassailable by even the grossest depredations of apartheid, has its roots in his heritage as a Thembu noble. While there is truth to this, he bore another – potentially damaging – legacy from childhood: he was also a fatherless son, taken on by the Thembu king out of obligation to a trusted adviser. From a distant branch of the royal house, he was raised to be a courtier himself, without the expectation of ever attaining power. This trained him to be frank and strategic. He was an outsider – both in the Thembu royal house and in the ranks of the ANC elite he would find in Johannesburg – and he would need wit and courage and charisma to match his ambition.
He was always a maverick within the ANC. In two critical instances, he took on the conventional wisdom in his movement and won. In the 1940s and 1950s, when the ANC was the preserve of conservative "Black Englishmen", he advocated taking up arms and fomenting insurrection; three decades later, when the ANC was too often blindly following revolutionary theory, he insisted on laying down these arms, even if it meant being branded a sellout. He was deeply and intractably loyal to the ANC – and often, to a fault, to many of his comrades in it its leadership. But, unlike his successors Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, he transcended membership of the "ANC family" into the "South African family" once he came out of jail, and self-consciously sought to embody the nation rather than just the movement.
It is naive to believe, as many in both the ANC and his own family have, that he was duped by his advisers into setting up his Nelson Mandela Foundation, outside of both family and party, as custodian to his legacy: he did this very deliberately, precisely so that he could put himself beyond the reach of more atavistic familial or political ties – and remain there, even when he no longer had agency, or life.
But it is equally naive to believe that Mandela was duped into his last – and very grand – public act: appearing before the rapturous masses at the party's final 2008 election rally, as if to grant a benediction to Zuma, the ANC's presidential candidate. Certainly by this point Mandela was, if not in his dotage, then stuck on certain subjects, in the way that very old people often are. One of these subjects was Mbeki: how poorly he had treated Zuma, and how he had wrecked the ANC. Certainly, too, many of Mandela's closest friends and advisers were now firmly in the Zuma camp, including Mac Maharaj, and his own grandson Mandla Mandela.
Still, to the last, the elder Mandela was calculating. He saw how Zuma's global reputation was deeply sullied by both the corruption and the rape charges, and he understood how this might negatively affect South Africa's own global reputation. Zuma would be president with or without Mandela's imprimatur: the elder statesman thus calculated that it would be in the national interest to lend his moral authority to the new leader.
Perhaps, too, Mandela succumbed to Zuma's flattery: the new leader's promises that he would return the ANC to a Mandela style of leadership from which the party had strayed under Mbeki. But even if Mandela's support for Zuma was driven in part by his often-remarked-upon vanity, it had a salutary effect on South African statecraft: it re-established "the Madiba way" as the ANC way, the South African way.
Zuma set out to emulate Mandela, and claimed to subscribe to his values of reconciliation and non-racialism, of accountability and responsiveness. But in Zuma's singular failure as South African president – and the ANC's unwillingness to let go of him – there is an important lesson: an empty template, like an empty icon, can be filled to suit one's own needs. And in the way that Julius Malema distorted Mandela's history in the ANC Youth League to buttress his own ambitions, we saw the Mandela legacy further sullied; a short-cut to demagoguery and tyranny rather than the model for a way out of it. Even when it is practised with the finesse and integrity of a Nelson Mandela, paternalism is ultimately antithetical to democracy.
'This brick once imprisoned me. Now I will hold it captive'
My relationship with Mandela was professional, not personal. I met him frequently as a journalist and interviewed him several times. It is no measure of my prowess that he always recognised me, and sometimes remarked on something I had written: he practised this art indiscriminately, on my colleagues great and small. I learned one great lesson from him, in 2003, when, in my capacity as heritage curator at Constitution Hill, I showed him round the site.
Constitution Hill is the home of South Africa's Constitutional Court, built on the site of Johannesburg's notorious Old Fort prison; constructed, brilliantly, out of the very bricks of the prison, and surrounded by the abandoned old buildings, as if to demonstrate architecturally how the possibilities of South Africa's future are built on the difficulties of its past. Every significant political prisoner passed through the Old Fort's gates, from Gandhi to Mandela, who was held there twice.
On his visit, Mandela was presented by the then-chief justice Arthur Chaskalson (his legal counsel at the Rivonia trial) with one of the bricks of the old jail, encased in glass. As always, after painstakingly greeting every construction worker and cleaner, Mandela said the right thing, upon receiving the brick: "Ah! This brick once imprisoned me. Now I will hold it captive!"
More edifying, for me, was his attitude during the tour of the old prisons. As we pored over a model of the site and explained it to him, and took him to see the cell he was held in when he was arrested in 1962, he seemed listless and even a bit bored. He only lit up when we mentioned to him that there was a new centre for research into and treatment of Aids across the road, animatedly asking questions to which we were not qualified to respond.
His lesson was an invaluable one, and one I am sure he would want us to apply to his own life: do not dwell in the past. Use it, rather, to attack the problems of the present.
Mark Gevisser's next book, Dispatcher: Lost and Found in Johannesburg will be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Granta and Jonathan Ball in early 2014. | <urn:uuid:624442f8-3b0b-4798-8ccd-7f39a7857d82> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://mg.co.za/article/2013-12-05-madiba-a-symbol-of-the-power-of-good | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984103 | 3,254 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Coral bells (Heuchera) are familiar and popular perennials because they adapt to various exposures and bloom reliably.Varieties of this plant grow well in sun, and partial or even full shade, and most are hardy to 8,500 feet. Coral bells are no longer simply coral. These perennials produce flowers ranging in color from white to amber to purple. Panicles of small blooms on sturdy, wiry stems rise from the plants in late spring or early summer. The blossoms make excellent cut flowers for bouquets.
And the leaves—well, those are another matter entirely. Leaves can be ruffled or flat, edged in color or not, and plain or variegated with fantastic color combinations. Purple palace coral bells, for example, offer elegant foliage in deep shades of purple. Autumn leaves coral bells exhibit bronze, gold and red foliage. And snow angel coral bells, a long-time favorite, display deep green leaves heavily dappled with white.
When coral bells are in bloom, feel free to cut the flowers. This prolongs bloom. Once coral bells have stopped blooming for the season, their foliage remains evergreen into the winter. Coral bells form low, mounding clumps of foliage that spread from 12 to 14 inches wide with flower stems that reach from 12 to 18 inches in height.
Grow and enjoy these great plants. They are easy, adaptable and very rewarding.
For more information, see the following Colorado State University Extension fact sheet(s).
Do you have a question? Try Ask an Expert!
Updated Thursday, March 31, 2016 | <urn:uuid:27094a25-a2d8-444d-8e8e-46d3b0011ef5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1062.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91523 | 330 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Created in the late 1800s, this giant horseshoe may not look like much, but it revolutionized farming in the California Delta by allowing more land to be used for agriculture. Even though Chinese immigrants were not allowed to own land, laborers from China farmed the marshy land of the Delta and developed the tule horseshoe to compensate for the diffi cult farming conditions of the region. The soft peat soil of the Delta was diffi cult for horses to work in; they became bogged down and often they panicked, risking injury to themselves and their drivers.
To overcome this problem, Chinese laborers developed an oversized horseshoe made
out of wood planks. | <urn:uuid:747dea50-3cb3-474e-9a98-9262a0dc61d3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.californiamuseum.org/artifact/tule-horseshoe | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964279 | 145 | 3.359375 | 3 |
2014 Midterms Defined by Low Voter Turnout
In the aftermath of the midterm elections, there’s no shortage of easy explanations for the outcome, and everyone’s an expert. Pundits say the Democrats didn’t allow President Barack Obama to campaign enough, or featured him too much. They didn’t talk enough about the economy. They went too negative, or weren’t negative enough. Some pundits also say that the Republicans ran better, less extreme candidates. Or, variously, that gerrymandering, vote suppression, vote fraud, or big money made the difference. Of course, the real reasons are far more complex. In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll comb through the data to learn more, but right now one fact is painfully clear: Citizens showed up to vote at lower rates than in any federal election since the middle of World War II.
Preliminary data from the United States Election Project indicates that national turnout was below 37 percent. That means nearly 2 in 3 eligible voters, or approximately 144 million American citizens—more than the population of Russia—chose to sit this election out. The nation hasn’t seen turnout this low in any federal general election since 1942. Even in recent midterms, when the turnout was remarkably low, it still exceeded 40 percent, meaning millions more Americans voted in 2006 and 2010 than in 2014.
Examples of the problem can be seen in New Mexico and Nevada, which, despite high-profile statewide races at several levels (governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, etc., as well as a U.S. Senate race in New Mexico), saw their lowest turnouts in a federal election since before 1980. Nevada in particular stands out: Turnout there plummeted to less than 32 percent, a drop of almost 10 percentage points compared with 2010.
While the overall numbers are dismal, Republicans’ efforts to turn out the vote appeared to be far more successful than Democrats’. In Colorado and Nevada, where the majority of votes are cast by mail or in person in advance of Election Day, data show that Republicans voted at much higher rates than Democrats.
In Colorado, for instance, where registered voters are evenly divided between the two major parties, over 110,000 more Republicans had voted as of the day before the election than Democrats. The reasons for this aren’t entirely clear, and it will be an important subject for study in the coming months.
There were a few bright spots in terms of turnout, however. In Wisconsin, 57 percent of eligible citizens voted, the second-highest rate in the nation behind Maine. Despite concerns about possible confusion regarding voter ID in particular (the courts had enjoined the state’s ID law for this election), Wisconsin election officials did a remarkable job accommodating the high turnout.
The real story of the 2014 election might not be the issues or the candidates. Instead, it may be the voters. Over the coming months those of us who study elections should seek to answer these questions: Who chose to participate, who didn’t, and why? And will they still be on the sidelines in 2016 and 2018? | <urn:uuid:baefd0d6-4bf1-4ed1-bed3-f92916892dfb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/analysis/2014/11/13/2014-midterms-defined-by-low-voter-turnout | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957881 | 647 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Artist's Concept of Mars 2020 Rover
Planning for NASA's 2020 Mars rover envisions a basic structure that capitalizes on the design and engineering work done for the NASA rover Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, but with new science instruments selected through competition for accomplishing different science objectives.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Page Last Updated: July 28th, 2013
Page Editor: Tony Greicius | <urn:uuid:3ef3aed3-2c92-4dbb-ad25-0391bdc6f1da> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/multimedia/pia17273.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.864053 | 88 | 2.625 | 3 |
There's a popular saying about our planet and humankind's negative effects on its ecology:
"We treat this world of ours as though we have a spare in the trunk."
Since the nearest planets that could possibly sustain life appear to be more than 1,200 light years away, it may be wise for Earthlings to do what we can to preserve the nice place we already have.
Since 1970, every April 22, Earth Day reminds us to do just that.
If you think we have more pressing matters to deal with than keeping Mother Earth in shape, consider the people of Afghanistan.
In 2011, the Green Club of Afghanistan planted more than 28 million trees. That's nearly one tree per person in one of the world's most war-torn nations.
Or, turn your sights to the beaches of California where a group of volunteers collected more than 3 million pounds of trash that could be recycled, and that was just a day's haul.
The best intentions and actions are driven by knowledge, so here's a little quiz to help you bone up on ecology:
1. How many pounds of trash did the United States create, per person, every day in 2010?
A. 1.23 lbs.
B. 3.46 lbs.
C. 4.43 lbs.
Answer: C -- Less than 5 pounds may not seem like much, but if you multiply it by 365 days, that's 1,617 pounds of garbage per person over a year.
2. The seven worst metropolitan areas for ozone pollution are all in California. No. 8 is in another state. Which is it?
B. New York
Answer: C -- Houston, but some metro areas that may surprise you are not far behind, like Charlotte, North Carolina.
3. What percentage of hybrid car owners replace it with another hybrid when it's time to get a new car?
Answer: C -- Only 35% of people who buy a hybrid once buy one again. With all the praise they receive, isn't it surprising so few drivers buy a second one?
4. About 70% of the Earth is covered with water. Only a relatively small amount of it is potentially potable fresh water. How much?
Answer: B -- Only 2.5% of water on Earth is fresh water. And 70% of that is locked up in polar ice.
5. Though fresh water would seem somewhat precious, Americans use a lot of it every day. On average, what is the approximate daily water use of each household?
A. 25 gallons
B. 50 gallons
C. 300 gallons
Answer: C -- 300 gallons. That's what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. Meanwhile, more than 750 million people (more than 10% of the world's population) still don't have adequate access to drinking water, according to the United Nations.
6. A lot of the water Americans consume lands on their lawns. What percentage, on average, is used for outdoor purposes?
A. About 10%
B. About 30%
C. About 60%
Answer: B -- About 30% of U.S. residential and commercial water goes for outdoor use. And up to 50% of that evaporates if you water in the heat of the day, the EPA estimates.
7. Which of the following takes the longest time to break down?
A. Plastic six-pack holder
B. Hard plastic container
C. Disposable diaper
Answer: A -- A plastic six-pack holder takes 450 years to disintegrate. Consider the impact of plastic water bottles, which take as long to biodegrade. The International Bottled Water Association says that in the top 10 global markets alone, people consumed more than 61 billion gallons of bottled water in 2011.
8. Which of the following accounts for the greatest percentage of total waste in the United States?
Answer: A -- Paper is by far the No. 1 item Americans dispose of. But it is also the most recycled material.
9. How much solid waste does the United States produce in one year?
A. 50 million tons
B. 150 million tons
C. 250 million tons
Answer: C -- 250 million tons, says the EPA. That's more than 1,000 times greater than one of the largest cruise ships in the world.
10. Which of the following countries had higher emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, per capita, in 2008 than the other two?
A. United States
C -- Australia emitted 26.08 tons of carbon dioxide per person in 2008. For comparison's sake, a full tanker truck can weigh between 12 and 25 tons. U.S. and Russian per-person emissions that year were 22 and 15 tons, respectively. | <urn:uuid:25fd52b5-999b-40c4-ac89-169c01375c9d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/22/world/earth-day/index.html?iid=article_sidebar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929192 | 980 | 3.265625 | 3 |
34KK jpg Male, 4cm (1.6in) TL, Finke River, Glen Helen Gorge, west of Alice Springs.
28KK jpg Alternative view of the same fish.
Peter J. Unmack photos.
The genus Chlamydogobius has just been revised by Helen Larson of the Northern Territory Museum (Larson 1995).
To around 60mm (2.4in) TL.
At present, the Finke goby is unlisted, as it has only recently been recognised as different. It should probably be considered Restricted.
Largely restricted to the upper Finke River. It may be common, although it is typically not abundant.
They occur in relatively permanent waterholes. They are typically found amongst shallow aquatic vegetation. Their diet is probably omnivorous. Finke goby would have broad temperature and salinity tolerances like other Chlamydogobius sp.
The reproductive biology is probably similar to the desert goby.
The only present threat to this species is it's restricted range. The majority of relatively permanent water exists within National Parks or conservation reserves. Despite this, the introduction of non-native fish remains a potential threat.
It would be beneficial if monitoring for the presence of introduced species is done on a regular basis.
Larson, H. K. 1995. A review of the Australian endemic gobiid fish genus Chlamydogobius, with description of five new species. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 12: 19-51.
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This file was last modified: 18 March 2003 | <urn:uuid:7ca5a3a4-03a0-476e-aa6d-6ba73f4a83fa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.desertfishes.org/australia/fish/chlajapa.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00196-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91185 | 341 | 2.59375 | 3 |
September 18, 2013
We have learned that systems are made up of parts that work together for an outcome. Think part to whole. Now that we have completed our first chapter of study on ecosystems, please answer the following--- How do the following parts -- climate, plant life, animals and soil -- relate to a biome. and what happens when people move into that biome?
When you respond, please use your first name and class period only. Responses that are posted will be awarded 5 tickets. | <urn:uuid:9a1b2ff4-3bcf-4f8f-a5fa-08c4f60b410c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.d123.org/olhms/clitsogiannis/blog/8708 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95119 | 101 | 3.203125 | 3 |
When I get a headache, my friend presses a spot on my hand. Somehow, this makes my headache go away. How does this work? Your friend is using a very old (about 5,000 years) and widely practiced form of body work called acupressure. Like acupuncture, this practice comes from traditional Chinese medicine. Although acupuncture is more widely known, most sources suggest that acupressure actually predates acupuncture by about 2,500 years.
Acupressure and acupuncture, as well as other therapies such as Shiatsu and reflexology, are based on the concept of a person's energy, or life force. This belief system theorizes that a life force, known as chi or qi (pronounced chee) travels through the body along pathways called meridians. Traditional Chinese medicine dictates that there are 20 meridians. However, in acupressure and acupuncture, most work centers around 14 meridians: the 12 regular meridians (see sidebar) and two extra meridians known as the Conception Vessel and the Governor Vessel.
According to this theory, a block in the flow of chi results in discomfort or even disease. To release the blocked energy, or to promote energy flow to a certain area, the acupressure practitioner presses an acupoint. According to specialists in Traditional Chinese medicine, more than 300 acupoints have been identified along the 14 meridians. Each is assigned a Chinese name and an alphanumeric code, such as Shenmen (HT7).
The Japanese practice of Shiatsu, which literally means "finger pressure," is similar to acupressure. In acupressure and Shiatsu, thumbs are most commonly used to apply pressure, although other fingers, knuckles, palms, elbows and even feet can be used in some of the therapies. The degree of pressure that is applied varies, as does the duration. Anything from moderate to penetrating pressure is employed for several seconds to several minutes, and the treatment can be performed once or repeatedly.
The acupoint that your friend used to make your headache disappear is known as the Hegu (LI4) point. Hegu is the Chinese name and LI4 refers to a specific point on the large-intestine meridian.
Currently, there is no evidence in western medical science to support the theories upon which acupressure and similar therapies are based. However, a number of recent studies have been conducted to investigate the use of acupressure in the temporary relief of nausea and headache pain. Some of these studies suggest that applying pressure to certain points causes the brain to release more endorphins, small proteins that act as a natural painkiller.
Here are some interesting links: | <urn:uuid:a43b9892-861d-4222-97d1-fe906b06a247> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/alternative/question654.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00172-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96235 | 559 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Women's Rights Activist: 1885 - 1977
- 1905: Graduated as class valedictorian at Swarthmore College.
- 1913: Co-founded the Congressional Union of Woman Suffrage.
- 1923: Introduced the Equal Rights Ammendment in Congress.
- Was jailed three times for her activism.
Few people devote their entire lives to one cause as Alice Paul did.
Born into a Hicksite Quaker family in 1885, Alice Stokes Paul was raised to believe in the central tenets of the Quakers, including plain speech, simplicity, and gender equality. She often attended suffragist meetings with her mother, and it is little coincidence that famous suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony (profiled on this website) and Lucretia Mott were Quakers as well. Paul was highly educated, earning degrees in biology, sociology, economics, and law.
Her education as an activist began in England. In 1907, Paul was in Birmingham studying social work when she met the Pankhursts, England’s famous suffragette family. Rather than using petitions and prayer, the Pankhurst women engaged in more radical activities to get the suffrage movement noticed, including heckling and breaking windows. “Deeds not words” was their motto, and Alice Paul joined them. Their actions got them arrested several times; the suffragettes protested the arrests with hunger strikes. Seeing how much national attention suffrage received in England, Paul returned to America in 1910 bringing “deeds not words” with her.
Paul became a member of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA), and soon led its congressional committee to draft a federal suffrage amendment. In 1912, Paul and two friends went to Washington, DCto organize a demonstration.
Determined to get noticed, Paul organized a huge parade of women on March 3, 1913 to coincide with Woodrow Wilson’s presidential inauguration. Thousands of women marched up Pennsylvania Avenue with banners and floats. The huge crowd of onlookers taunted the suffragists with verbal insults, which escalated into physical violence as the police looked on. When order was eventually restored, Paul’s strategy had worked. The newspapers covered the event extensively, and suffrage had captured nation´s attention.
Taking advantage of the publicity, Paul formed the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (CU) as part of NAWSA, designed to lobby for a federal constitutional amendment that would give women the right to vote. But in 1914, the groups split, divided over the best approach to their issue. While Paul was adamant about passing a federal law, NAWSA’s efforts were geared toward achieving suffrage on a state-by-state basis.
Paul formed the Woman’s Party of Western Voters in 1916 to support the women in some of the western states who already had the vote. Soon thereafter, the WP became known as the National Women’s Party, although the formal merger or the CU and WP into the National Women’s Party did not take place until June 1917.
In keeping with what Paul had learned in England, the NWP made certain to stay in the public eye. Demonstrations, pickets, parades, watch fires and hunger strikes were daily occurrences. They published The Suffragist newspaper and called out whichever party was in power (another Pankhurst tactic) for not passing the amendment Paul had named the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.
In 1917, the White House became the focus of their picketing. Called Silent Sentinels, Alice Paul and others stood near the White House, holding suffrage banners and saying nothing. They were tolerated and overlooked until WWI broke out, at which point they were confronted and attacked for the “unpatriotic” act of challenging a president during wartime. One of their banners read, “The Time has Come to Conquer or Submit, for us There Can Be But One Choice. We have Made It.”
Paul and the other suffragists were arrested and sent to Occoquan Workhouse, where they were subject to beatings and deplorable living conditions. Paul immediately began a hunger strike. The prison officials deprived her of sleep, threatened to commit her to an insane asylum, and finally forced tubes down her throat to feed her. Paul´s resolve never wavered. Meanwhile, reports of the women´s abuse began to anger the public, building support for the suffragists. Because of the public outrage, Paul and her compatriots were finally released in November 1917.
A week after her release, Congress set January 1918 as the date to vote on the suffrage amendment. The day before the vote, President Wilson came out in favor of it. The House passed it, but the Senate, waiting until October, failed to pass it by just two votes. Alice Paul and the NWP stayed in the news by burning the President’s speeches. To Paul’s mind, Wilson’s speeches about democracy overseas were meaningless without full rights for everyone at home. And at last, in June of 1919, both the House and the Senate passed the amendment. A year later Tennessee ratified it; it was the last state to do so. The Susan B. Anthony Amendment had given women the right to vote.
Not content with this victory, Paul continued pressing for women’s rights, determined to “remove all remaining forms of the subjection of women.” In 1923, she introduced in Congress the first Equal Rights Amendment, which she called the Lucretia Mott Amendment. Paul submitted the amendment every year until Congress passed it in 1972. The states, however, never ratified it.
Alice Paul never married, spending her life crusading for women’s rights. When asked why, she replied with a quote of her mother’s, “When you put your hand to the plow, you can’t put it down until you get to the end of the row.” | <urn:uuid:2fa23010-95e9-4cd3-b574-8e1ecce1a097> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/alice-paul | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00049-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978603 | 1,240 | 3.734375 | 4 |
You’ve probably come across Thumb Drive Viruses when you connect your thumb drive to a computer at work or at school.
These viruses copy themselves onto a thumb drive as soon as it is connected to an infected computer and the second they’re connected to any other computer, the virus spreads on that machine as well.
Since you may not be able to remove the virus from the infected computer (due to insufficient admin privileges, etc.), you can ensure that the virus on the thumb drive does not spread on another machine.
Suppose you’re not sure if your thumb drive is infected or not and wish to connect it to your computer without taking the risk of infecting it. To ensure that the virus does not start, Hold Shift and insert the thumb drive into the USB Port. This will prevent the AutoPlay function from being executed from the thumb drive, and hence does not start the virus when the thumb drive is inserted.
Now that you’ve connected your thumb drive, it’s time to check if it has a virus or not. Most Thumb drive viruses can be detected by using these 2 techniques:
1) Check Drive Icon:
Although the virus is an exe file, it uses the directory icon to fool users into clicking it. Though not all viruses do this, it’s still worthwhile to check if the icons have been changed.
This what an uninfected thumb-drive looks like:
An infected thumb-drive looks like this:
Now, if you want to access the files in this pen-drive, DO NOT DOUBLE-CLICK THE THUMB-DRIVE ICON as it starts AutoPlay and will execute the virus program.
Instead, right-click the icon and choose Explore OR click the Folders icon on the menu bar and select the thumb drive from the left pane as shown below:
Now it’s time to find the viruses and remove them. If you look at your directory contents it will look like this:
You won’t see any viruses as they are hidden. What’s worse, since they are also marked as system files some anti-virus programs ignore virus scans on such files. This is the time to use the second technique.
2) The ATTRIB Test
Click Start->Run and type cmd and press Enter. Once you see the command prompt, type [USBDriveLetter]: and press Enter i.e. E: in this example.
Now type attrib and press Enter. The output should look like this:
You’ll notice a few files with the SHR File attributes in this window. One of these files will be autorun.inf, which instructs the OS which applications to run when the thumb drive is inserted. The other files will be .exe, .vbs or .pif files and are usually the viruses that you are looking for.
To remove all file attributes type this command: attrib -s -h -r <filename.extension>
After you type this command for all the filenames set with SHR file attributes, type attrib again and observe the result:
Cool, now open Windows Explorer and you’ll notice that the viruses are now visible.
The next part is simple, choose all the viruses and delete them. You should also delete the autorun.inf file unless your thumb drive is made by SanDisk (SanDisk thumb drives depend on autorun.inf to start its own utility programs). If your thumb drive is manufactured by SanDisk, open the autorun.inf file and simply remove all lines that contain the virus filenames.
That’s all. Your Thumb Drive is no longer infected.
There’s something you should take care of though. Many Thumb Drive viruses make copies of itself in every directory on the thumb drive. If that’s the case then you will have to perform the above steps for each folder or use attrib -s -h -r /s *.* to unset SHR attributes of all files in your thumb drive. You can then delete them individually.
To play safe, instead of relying on pressing Shift every time you insert your thumb drive, it is wiser to disable autorun for all removal drives so that Autorun.inf is never executed when your thumb-drive is inserted.
To do that in Windows XP, download a powertoy called TweakUI and disable autoplay for all removable devices as shown below:
Once that is done, you no longer have to press Shift to disable autorun every time you connect your thumb drive.
However, you will still need to use the attrib command to unset file attributes and delete the files manually.
You can also use Ninja PenDisk to do the same thing automatically but I suggest doing this on your own as Ninja Pendisk may not be able to detect and remove all viruses.
Some “USB-Viruses” hide all directories on your thumb drive and replace them with exe files (i.e. the virus) having the same name.
In that case, change your attrib command to this:
attrib –s –h –r /s /d *.*
This will make all the hidden directories visible again. | <urn:uuid:66a8dcef-82ca-4c10-8cda-e3017a547016> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sanchitkarve.com/blog/tag/thumb-drive/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900977 | 1,102 | 2.890625 | 3 |
drumming mechanics - a system of levers
The purpose of this article is to provide an in depth study of the fundamental mechanics of drumming. It is useful to understand these underlying mechanics because it gives us a framework in which to develop our technique. In the context of a snareline, having a comprehensive understanding of mechanics is a great start to building a consistent technique from player to player.
What is a lever?
From wikipedia, a lever is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object. In snare drumming, our fingers, hands, and arms make up a system of levers which we use to apply mechanical forces to our sticks.
In all of my years of being a snare drumming student, the concept of a 'fulcrum' has never quite been explained correctly. The fulcrum is usually defined as the location where the thumb and forefinger meet for both the right and left hands as shown below:
This definition of THE 'fulcrum' is only correct if the sticks pivot only about that exact point, which hopefully they do not. To more accurately describe the mechanics of snare drumming we must define multiple fulcrums within our 'system of levers'.
A. Fulcrum and lever definitions - Right Hand
Fingers: If we consciously lock our wrist, elbow, and shoulder so that they remain stationary, the only degree of freedom we have left to move the stick is the finger lever. The fulcrum, or point of rotation, will be located approximately where the pad of the thumb meets the stick. The thumb acts as the fulcrum while the other 4 fingers can apply mechanical forces to the stick.
Wrist: Let's now freeze the fingers in place by placing a 'death grip' on the stick. Now raise and lower the stick by rotating the wrist.
The point of rotation is now somewhere in the middle of the wrist. This motion makes use of the forearm muscles. Use your left hand to feel your right forearm muscles as you complete the motion. You should feel a lot of muscles at work!
Lower arm: Freeze the wrist lever and move your stick, hand, and forearm by rotating at the elbow.
This should feel quite awkward and ridiculous. This motion uses mainly the biceps and triceps. If you try to move this lever with large amplitude at high frequency you will find that fatigue will set in quickly!
Upper arm: Freeze your entire arm and rotate at the shoulder. Again this should feel quite ridiculous. The shoulder and back muscles are used here.
B. Fulcrum and lever definitions - Left Hand (Traditional Grip)
Thumb: The thumb is almost always defined as the fulcrum on the left hand - this is wrong! The thumb is used to apply the mechanical force to the stick. If the thumb was also the point of rotation it simply would not work. Imagine trying to open a door if the doorknob was mounted directly to the hinges. By pushing or pulling the doorknob we are applying a force directly through the point of rotation. This produces zero torque and the door does not swing open.
To isolate the thumb lever and fulcrum, again lock your entire arm and wrist so that only the thumb can move. Hold out your hand as follows and use your thumb to play some eighth notes. If you haven't done this exercise before, you may quickly feel fatique set in right in the meaty part of your palm where the thumb connects to the hand. This means you are doing it correctly!
The point of rotation (fulcrum) is located at the meaty part of your hand shown below.
Index finger (and possibly middle finger): Because of the orientation of the index finger, it is not able to do too much work on the stick if it is completely isolated from the other levers. Try playing some eighth notes using only your index finger (no thumb or wrist!) as you did with the thumb previously. It doesn't work quite as well, does it? Once we start adding wrist rotation, the index finger and sometimes the middle finger will help support the work that the thumb has to do.
Wrist: Place a 'death grip' on the stick by locking your fingers in place. Keep the wrist in a neutral position (i.e. inline with the forearm) as shown with the green line.
Rotate the wrist and play some eighth notes as shown below.
The axis of rotation should coincide with the axis of your forearm. The muscles used to create this motion are a combination of your forearm muscles and biceps. You should be able to feel your biceps flexing as you play eighth notes with a lot of rotation.
Forearm: Lock your wrist and fingers as much as you can. Play some notes by rotating at the elbow as follows:
Again this should feel awkward. As you can see in the picture above, I added a small amount of wrist rotation even when I was trying to isolate it. The muscles being used to rotate at the elbow are the biceps and triceps.
Upper arm: Lock your entire arm and rotate at the shoulder. Again it is awkward. The muscles being used are the shoulder muscles and back muscles.
C. My instructor told me to never use arm! This is incorrect technique!
What is 'correct' technique? Here is my definition:
For a particular technique to be correct, it must allow a snare drummer to play any number of different musical passages at a range of dynamic levels and tempos for a sustained period of time.
Basically, the technique allows you to control the sticks to do your bidding while not making you overly fatigued. Want to play a really fast, loud open stroke roll and then go into 1" singles at the same speed? No problem, if you have developed 'correct' technique.
If you watch a few of the top snarelines you will see that they are all using slightly different techniques. None of them are 'correct', and none of them are incorrect. They have all found an approach to playing the drum that allows them to perform their shows at very high levels.
D. Put these levers to practical use.
Each lever in your 'system' is suited to a particular purpose. In general they all work together to make up a 'correct' technique, allowing you to command your sticks to do whatever you want them to do.
Fingers / thumb: These levers are controlled with the smallest muscles and involve the least amount of mass in motion. Because there is less mass and less inertia, the fingers and thumb will be used to move the stick at high frequencies. When we play a really fast single stroke roll (RLRLRL etc), we will be using almost 100% fingers!
Wrist: The wrist is used to move the stick in larger motions, leading to higher volume notes. The wrist is almost always used in conjunction with the fingers. Try holding the sticks with a 'death grip' while playing some notes using only wrist rotation. This seems like a good way to develop Tendonitis or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!
Forearm: I like to think of the forearm as a shock absorber for the wrist and fingers. In general, the forearms will move slightly as a reaction to the forces your wrist and fingers are putting on the sticks. Some people frown on this type of motion, but I think it is okay. Just don't use forearm motion to substitute for lack of wrist turn! The forearm is also useful when we need to put a little more beef behind the notes we are playing, especially in big open stroke rolls:
Upper arm: This lever is used for big hits and for show. It is fun to bang the drum like an ape every once and again. :)
Put them all together: I like to define approximately how much of each lever I use for each application. For example:
Eight on a Hand
There is not an easy way to quantify exactly 'how much' of each lever you are using, but it is useful to make approximate guesses. If nothing else, it forces you to think about your technique and how you are approaching the drum. In the context of a snareline, this approach is useful for creating a uniform technique across the line.
This article is starting to get too long so I will stop for now. In the future I plan on posting more mechanics articles. The next article will breakdown the fingers lever and examine how they should be used for multiple bounce rudiments at various tempos. Also in the plans is an article on the Moeller stroke and fast accent-to-tap patterns. Stay tuned! | <urn:uuid:6cf92eee-6e01-4779-8978-ce5fd2eef817> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.snarescience.com/articles/levers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931185 | 1,788 | 3.046875 | 3 |
The Appreciation of a Nation
It happened on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, and they did not find. (Ex. 16:27)
After Moses said that no manna would fall on Shabbos, Dasan and Aviram tried to trick the people into thinking that the manna had fallen on Shabbos by scattering some on the ground at sunrise. Birds came and ate all the manna they had spread before the Bnei Yisroel woke up. Had the people seen even a small amount of manna on Shabbos after Moses had said that it wouldn't fall might have caused a tremendous amount of confusion, which could have led to a rebellion against Moses. Once a year we show appreciation to the birds by feeding them bread.(1)
Birds naturally eat. By eating all the manna they didn't do anything that goes against their nature. In fact they didn't even know that they were doing a great kindness, they just saw bread and ate it. Why then do we reward them yearly?
It is true that birds eat, and eating the manna was not an act against their nature. However, because the eating of the manna was favorable for us, we need to be grateful for it. Being grateful is not dependent on what drove the benefactor to do the act; rather it is for the one receiving the kindness to show appreciation - regardless of the intentions of the giver.
Focusing on what you're lacking leads to misery. When one has a sore throat he can focus on his throat - which will then make him gloomy, or he can focus on the fact that he's breathing fine, his business is going smooth... On average, 90% of things in our life are good. The key to happiness is to be appreciative - focus on the 90%!
1. There is a custom to put out bread for the birds on the week of Parshas B'shalach, in gratitude for the fact that they ate the manna. | <urn:uuid:e064fb67-40a4-4ea9-9f96-00858a40b4b4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.aish.com/tp/b/1-min-vort/238775851.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987469 | 418 | 2.875 | 3 |
Convert from hectare to perch
Unit Definition (hectare)
The Hectare is the customary metric unit of land area, equal to 100 ares. One hectare is a square hectometer, that is, the area of a square 100 meters on each side: exactly 10 000 square meters or approximately 107 639.1 square feet, 11 959.9 square yards, or 2.471 054 acres.
Unit Definition (perch)
The perch is a unit of area. A perch of area covers exactly 272.25 square feet or about 25.292 85 square meters. There are 40 perches in a rood and 160 perches in an acre. | <urn:uuid:15bf1a08-db61-43c5-a2da-1e7eeb2e91f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.onlineunitconversion.com/hectare_to_perch.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.830833 | 145 | 3.171875 | 3 |
I can not understand a para , can you help me ?
The GNU compiler systemís driver program, gcc (which you used in the preceding programming
example), is typically located in /usr/bin or /usr/local/bin, but it will run various compiler-
support applications from another location. This location is specified when you compile the compiler
itself and varies with the host computer type. For Linux systems, this location might be a version-
specific subdirectory of /usr/lib/gcc/. On one of the authorís machines at the time of writing it is
/usr/lib/gcc/i586-suse-linux/4.1.3. The separate passes of the GNU C/C++ compiler, and
GNU-specific header files, are stored here.
I can not understand " but it will run various compiler-
support applications from another location. "
what does it mean ? thanks | <urn:uuid:2a2b9585-8131-4283-891e-a3689b7e8c07> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://p2p.wrox.com/book-beginning-linux-programming-4th-edition-isbn-978-0-470-14762-7/77658-i-can-not-understand-para-can-you-help-me.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.854363 | 197 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Communication Streaming ArchitectureA communications interface technology developed by Intel that directly connects the Memory Controller Hub (the chip that controls the memory) to the I/O controller hub (the network interface) to eliminate network traffic through the PCI bus. The interface allows for full-duplex data transmission at gigabit speeds. Also, memory read and write operations have lower latencies because data moves directly from the network interface to RAM.
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Webopedia's student apps roundup will help you to better organize your class schedule and stay on top of assignments and homework. Read More »List of Free Shorten URL Services
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Java is a high-level programming language. This guide describes the basics of Java, providing an overview of syntax, variables, data types and... Read More »Java Basics, Part 2
This second Study Guide describes the basics of Java, providing an overview of operators, modifiers and control Structures. Read More »The 7 Layers of the OSI Model
The Open System Interconnection (OSI) model defines a networking framework to implement protocols in seven layers. Use this handy guide to compare... Read More » | <urn:uuid:8c45bcf2-c721-49ee-af59-580d4fcf5300> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/Communication_Streaming_Architecture.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00009-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.79306 | 298 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Learn something new every day
More Info... by email
There are a number of possible trial objections an attorney can proclaim. Lawyers may interject when there is an issue of hearsay or when leading questions are posed to a witness. During the course of a hearing, only relevant information should be introduced. When a questionable piece of evidence or witness testimony is presented that is not pertinent to the case, an objection of relevancy may occur. An attorney’s failure to make timely trial objections often leads to the admission of potentially damaging evidence when it otherwise may have been disallowed.
Hearsay is one of the most common trial objections. It frequently occurs when a statement is made by a witness that details what another person verbalized outside a courtroom setting. For example, a witness usually cannot testify about what someone who is not present in court may have told him or her at an earlier time. The witness can, however, state what actions he or she observed.
Lawyers must generally be very careful about the way they query witnesses. Opposing counsel frequently objects to leading questions. There are often small differences in the format, but asked improperly, trial objections will likely occur. For instance, "What time did the defendant arrive?" is an appropriate inquiry because it can be answered in a number or ways. The question itself does not lead to the answer, unlike "Isn't it true that the defendant arrived at midnight?"
Whether an attorney is a prosecutor or defender, the stakes are often very high and lawyers are frequently under a great deal of pressure. Sometimes, they may address a witness in such a way that it can be considered badgering. Harassing or intimidating a witness by infusing sarcasm, making comments that are not in the form of a relevant question, or repeating queries that have already been answered by the witness will likely result in trial objections by opposing counsel.
In order for physical evidence or testimony to be admissible, its significance to the case must be established. Objections of relevancy may relate to the prior negative acts of a defendant that have nothing to do with the crime for which he or she is charged. Another example may include the educational background or family history of the accused. There are times, however, where this type of information is important to the case. In those instances, objections can be overruled by the judge.
Each time an attorney voices an objection, a ruling, or decision, is made on record. If the judge decides there is a legal basis for the protest, it will be sustained. If not, the judge will overrule it. Once an objection is overruled, physical evidence may be introduced, or witness testimony is generally permitted to continue.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:d33e870b-ed80-46cc-b302-010e598c289e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-trial-objections.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967617 | 598 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Contemporary Libraries: 1930s
Let's examine a philosophy of librarianship, libraries during the Great Depression, mobile libraries and bookmobiles, libraries and community outreach, microfilm and preservation, and global trends.
In describing the growth of public libraries during the Great Depression, Charles Seavey used what he called an American saying, "libraries will get you through times with no money better than money will get you through times with no libraries." (Seavey website).
The 1930s was a decade of outreach and expansion for libraries and librarians both physically and intellectually. In particular, young librarians became involved with issues such as supporting intellectual freedom and the creating library unions.
A Philosophy of Librarianship
Although libraries were being used by the public, they're weren't attracting the "masses of common man" that Carnegie had envisioned.
After failed attempts at convincing the masses to use the public library through campaigned in the 1910s-1920s, librarians were ready for a new mission. Harris (1972, p. 40) writes that in the 1930s,
"it is obvious that for the first time in history of library literature, librarians were being regularly exposed to articles with the word 'philosophy' prominently displayed in their titles... the authors of papers or books would begin by lamenting the lack of a philosophy... (and with) increasing frequency these works stressed the importance of the library's role as a guardian of the people's right to know."
In his classic text Introduction to Library Science (1933, 103), Pierce Butler stated that
"a professional philosophy would give to librarianship that directness of action which can spring only from a complete consciousness of purpose."
This focus on a need for a "philosophy of librarianship" combined with world events including the rise of Hitler's propaganda machine and Mussolini's book burning in Italy provided the environment for a new focus for librarians. According to Harris (1972, p. 40), "the library was now portrayed as an institution which could play a vital role in promoting and preserving democracy in America." Libraries provided all people free, convenient access to social and cultural information.
The photo below left shows book burning in Berlin, Germany on May 10, 1933. The poster below right is from the U.S. Government Printing Office and displayed at the Boston Public Library in the 1940s.
Butler (1933, 105-106) noted that
"the librarian's duty is not to entice men, against their wills if need be, to convert themselves to his way of thinking. He is merely society's custodian of its cultural archives. The responsibility which he assumes with his office is to exploit those archives for communal advantage to the utmost extent of his ability."
According to Harris (1972) this new philosophy appealed to librarians for a number of reasons. Librarians liked the idea that people make good decisions when they have access to information. In addition, a mission focusing on the public's "right to know" allowed librarians to stress objective access to information without being put in the position of dictating what was "right or wrong". Patrons were responsible for taking an active role in using information. Finally, librarians were not required to seek new clientele. Instead, they could focus efforts on those interested in accessing information.
The Library Bill of Rights was drafted by Forrest Spaulding to make a stand against censorship. In 1939, the American Library Association adopted the Library Bill of Rights. This document "affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas". The statement stresses that libraries should provide unrestricted access to information for all.
Skim the Library Bill of Rights from ALA.
In 1940, the Committee on Intellectual Freedom was established in response to issues of censorship, specifically bans of The Grapes of Wrath.
The Library Bill of Rights was strengthened in 1848.
In 1951, a statement was added to discourage labeling of materials as subversive. The Freedom to Read Statement was adopted in 1953.
Read Latham, Joyce M. (2009). Wheat and chaff: Carl Roden, Abe Korman, and the definitions of intellectual freedom in the Chicago Public Library. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 44(3), 279-298.
Although most people think of sit-ins as an act of civil disobedience of the 1960s, it began much earlier. In 1930s, young African Americans were frustrated by the passage of segregation laws that prohibited their use of libraries.
On August 21, 1939 a small group of African Americans staged a sit-in at the Barrett Branch Library in Alexandria, Virginia. Organized by attorney Samuel Wilbert Tucker and retired Army Sergeant George Wilson, five young men requested library cards and refused to leave. They were arrested but not convicted of disorderly conduct. The judge concluded "there were no legal grounds for refusing the plaintiff or any other bona fide citizen the use of the library." Rather than provide access to the library, a separate "colored branch" of the Alexandria library erected. The image courtesy of the City of Alexandria Virginia shows the incident.
Read a news article about court case in the Afro American, August 19, 1939.
Libraries and the Great Depression
From 1929 to around 1940, the Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic downturn. Both urban and rural areas were impacted. Cities with heavy industry were particular hard hit, as well as rural areas where crop prices dropped.
The photo on the right shows children at the Harwood Branch Library in Taos County New Mexico in 1941.
During the 1930s, nine states experienced remarkable growth in public libraries including Iowa, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri. The greatest growth occurred in Iowa, a state with less than 2% of the total population of the US along with three other heartland states. Containing mostly small towns and cities, these same states received many Carnegie grants in the early 1900s (Seavey website).
In the Geography of Reading, Louis Round Wilson (1938, 39) notes that "2,502 new libraries being started in 30 states".
The Tennessee Valley Authority Libraries
Southeastern United States
Established in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority was a regional program involving engineering projects in six states in the Southeastern United States. Initially a special library was set up in Washington DC to support the TVA. In 1934, the TVA headquarters was moved to Knoxville, Tennessee and Harry Bauer was hired to establish a technical library.
Mary Utopia Rothrock was appointed Coordinator of Libraries and put in charge of supplying library services to the towns where TVA projects were operating.
"every day the saw-filer issued tools to each man and checked them in at the end of the each day’s work. (Rothrock) thought it would be possible for him to also check out and receive books as well. A waterproof box with lock and key holding about 60 books was placed next to each tool box. The saw-filer checked books in and out with a book card for each book on which he wrote the man’s TVA employee number and the date due.
"The innovative circulation system was a great success. The books in each box were about one third nonfiction, one third fiction, and, surprisingly, one third children’s books. About 60% of the men had families, so it was hoped that even if they did not want to read they would check out books for their children."
The photo on the right above shows a toolbox library at a construction camp. Courtesy of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Rothrock was promoted to Supervisor of Libraries and began working with local groups and libraries to determine the best approach to service in each community. Rothrock established 4000 to 5000 volume collections in general stories, post offices, and filling stations to meet the need. By the late 1930, it was established that 13,000 books were circulating each month.
The photo below shows a bookmobile serving children in Blount County, Tennessee in 1943.
After the engineering projects ended, the TVA chairperson lobbied the states to continue library support.
In 1938, Rothrock was awarded the first Joseph W. Lippincott Award by the American Library Association for her service to libraries.
Skim History of the TVA libraries: from book boxes to computers by Frances Bishop (2009).
Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Libraries
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a world relief program in the United States from 1933 through 1942. Part of the New Deal, it provided unskilled labor to support government projects.
The CCC camps and camp libraries were established across the United States. The camp education advisor often was responsible for the camp library and the recreation room. According to John Paige,
"each camp had a library of approximately 50 books - adventure stories, mysteries, westerns, science fiction, forestry, travel, history, natural science, athletics, biography, national parks, and miscellaneous subjects. In certain areas, the library was moved from one camp to another. Also such periodicals as Life, Time, Newsweek, the Saturday Evening Post, Radio News, and the Sears-Roebuck Catalogue were popular. Certain publications, including The New Republic and the Nation, were banned from camps because they were considered subversive. Further, critics charged that camp officials provided books which pandered to popular taste and lacked literary merit." (Paige, 1985, 1)
In the book Organization of Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Library-Reading Rooms: A Manual, librarians could learn how to set up a camp library including library management and "reader guidance".
John J. Jurras was the Company Educational Advisor and camp paper editor at CCC Camp 146.
The photo on the right shows the interior of the CCC Camp 146 Library in Marshfield Vermont. Courtesy of the Justin Museum.
The library was
"conceived and created by the Company Educational Advisor, John Jurras. John started with no books, then wrote to schools throughout the USA requesting donations, and his work led to this very nice library." (Justin Museum)
The photo below shows the exterior of the Company 146 library. Courtesy of the Justin Museum.
Richard Darling, the nephew of John Jurras states that "when he began the effort to create a library he sent letters throughout the country to libraries asking for books and so many libraries sent the books C.O.D. that eventually he, as an officer of the Camp, had his commanding officer tell him he had to cease and desist because it was costing them so much money and they no more room for additional books." (personal email)
Many CCC enrollees across America commented on the library in reflections and oral histories.
Robert Moore wrote
"the library room at SP-12, Devil's Lake, in 1937. Despite its small appearance, the camp library had access to hundreds of book titles, as well as hometown newspapers and magazines. The library was one of the few private place at camp where enrollees could enjoy some quiet time." (Moore, 2011, 53)
"It so happened that during this time, western adventure novelist Zane Grey was near the height of his literary popularity. With titles like Riders of the Purple Sage and To the Last man, Grey could thank Wally Lahl and thousands of CCC boys like him for putting his escapist fare near the top of the request list at CCC camps all over the country." (Moore, 2011, 52)
"Confined to the camp, the library was a welcome destination for Guetzkow and other enrollees recovering from work injuries. Going to the camp library and reading books and magazines was better than lying around in the infirmary staring at the ceiling" (Moore, 2011, 53)
Robert Pasquill (2008) noted that an Alabama CCC camp library had approximately 400 books, four daily newspapers, a standard list of magazine, and a subscription to "Happy Days" (the national weekly CCC newspaper).
In another camp, the educational report listed three courses being offered for beginners in arithmetic, reading, and writing. Academic and vocational classes were also offered to enrollees. In addition, the library contained 727 books. The education director at another camp noted that they showed films twice per month. In some camps, traveling libraries were accessed.
Neil Maher discussed the importance of on-the-job training, camp educational programs and camp libraries.
"Robert Fechner greatly expanded such opportunities on May 29, 1933, when he authorized the establishment of libraries in Corps camps across the country and allocated funding for them to be stocked with 45 different periodicals and approximately 150 books, many of which were 'educational volumes pertaining largely to forestry and nature study'. The CCC director hoped that enrollees interested in obtaining additional information about the conservation work they performed during the day would return to camp at night and make use of these libraries.
Robert Ross, did just this. 'To learn more of the mountains and the trees, I turned to the library for information,' wrote Ross in the mid-1930s. 'It was mentally refreshing to read of things It had been totally ignorant of - soil erosion, restoration, protection of the forests, the uses of land, the damage of forest fires'" (Pasquill, 2008, 88).
Work Progress Administration (WPA)
The Work Progress Administration supported work related to libraries at many levels. According to Edward Stanford (1944), the WPA was employing 38,324 full-time persons on library and book repair projects.
In 1935, the American Library Association submitted a proposal to the WPA for a Federal Emergency Library Project to "provide employment for approximately 50,000 persons in the the extension and improvement of library service throughout the nation" (Stanford, 1944, 36).
Although the proposal was not implemented it laid the foundation for future projects. For instance, as Assistant WPA Administrator Florence Kerr organized library services activities to employ white-collar men and women. In addition, activities such as book mending and repair units were implemented.
The WPA also funded many bookmobile programs. The photo on the left shows a bookmobile from this time period. (Courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library).
In 1938 the Library Services Section was created within WPA to "act as a clearing house for all library project operation and to render field services to all state-wide library service projects" (Stanford, 1944, 37).
In addition to service activities, the WPA was also involved with small-scale building construction. By the end of 1940 "library construction by this agency totaled over 1,000 completed projects, including 187 new buildings or additions and 814 projects involving the renovation or repair of existing libraries" (Stanford, 1944, 38)
WPA artists created posters supporting public libraries.
Skim WPA Library Posters at the Library of Congress.
In addition to the WPA, other New Deal programs were involved with library work. For instance, the National Youth Administration (NYA) provided part-time work to youth as library attendants. Much work was done in rural libraries with limited library service. In Illinois, a large state-wide project involved NYA youth in a five-point program where they "(1) maintained 60 community reading rooms, (2) operated five bookmobiles serving rural schools, (3) maintained six hospital library units, (4) provided part-time clerical assistants to 200 public libraries, and (5) operated 25 book-mending units" (Standford, 1944, 41).
Skim Library Extension Under the WPA by Edward Barrett Stanford (1944).
Read Robbins, Louise S. (2005). Changing the geography of reading in a southern border state: the Rosenwald Fund and the WPA in Oklahoma. Libraries & the Cultural Records, 40(3), 353-367.
Read Novotny, Eric (2011). Bricks without straw: economic hardship and innovation in the Chicago Public Library during the Great Depression. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 46(3), 158-275
Read Finchum, Tanya Ducker & Finchum, Allen (2011). Not gone with the wind: libraries in Oklahoma in the 1930s. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 46(3), 176-294.
Read McGrath, Eileen & Jacobson, Linda (2011). The Great Depression and its impact on an emerging research library: the University of North Carolina Library, 1929-1941. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 46(3), 295-320.
Read Baggs, Chris (2004). 'The whole tragedy of leisure in Penury': The South Wales Miners' Institute Libraries during the Great Depression. Libraries & Culture, 39(2), 115-136.
Read Latham, Joyce M. (2011). Memorial Day to Memorial Library: The South Chicago Branch Library as cultural terrain, 1937-1947. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 46(3), 321-342.
Read Lee, Mordecai (2007). Clara M. Edmunds and the library of the United States Information Service, 1934-1948. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 42(3), 213-230.
Mobile Libraries and Bookmobiles
Some of the WPA programs revolved around bookmobiles. Approximately 150 counties nationwide obtained bookmobile equipment through the WPA. In South Carolina, the entire WPA program was focused on using bookmobiles to meet the needs of underserved areas (Stanford, 1944).
The photo below shows the Gaston County (North Carolina) Bookmobile in front of the Gaston Public Library building.
However the first mobile library appeared in England in the 1850s as a wagon service.
The Warrington Perambulating Library was a horse-drawn book cart service that loaned more than 12,000 books during its first year of operation.
Operated by the Warrington Mechanics' Institute, the wagon moved in a circle serving eight villages.
The image on the right shows one of the first bookmobiles from Warrington England.
Bookmobiles in the United States
In the 1800s, traveling libraries became popular. Horse drawn carts, cars, and trucks were used to deliver boxes of books to remote library stations.
The use of vehicles for book storage and circulation began in the late 1800s. This shift from using vehicles to deliver crates of books to using vehicles as libraries marked an important transition.
Wasington County Library
Washington County, Maryland
In 1905, Mary Titcomb used a horse-drawn wagon for book delivery in rural areas of Washington County, Maryland. Like earlier traveling libraries, she set up stations in rural communities. These 66 stations were serviced by a book wagon. A photo is shown below.
Notice how the books are arranged in the back of the vehicle. The photo below shows the library automobile truck in Washington County, Maryland in 1916.
Skim Takin' It to the Streets: The History of the Book Wagon by Nancy Smiler Levinson to learn more about Titcomb's book wagon project.
Library of Chester County
Chester County, South Carolina
Around 1903, the People's Free Library of Chester County, South Carolina used a mule-drawn wagon to carry wooden boxes of books to rural areas. By the 1930s, they were using a bookmobile.
The photo below shows the maiden journey of the WPA-funded Chester County Library bookmobile.
By the mid 1900s, more than 2000 bookmobiles could be found in both rural and urban areas. The Gerstenslager company specialized in building bookmobiles during the 1950s. By the 21st century less that 1000 bookmobiles remain in operation.
The photo below shows the WPA library bookmobile from Clark County Ohio. Notice the interior of the bookmobile.
The photo below shows a man on a horse waiting for the bookmobile during the 1930s.
The photo below from the New York Public Library shows a bookmobile near the beach at Eltingville, Staten Island.
Mobile Libraries Worldwide
Bookmobiles and mobile libraries can be found throughout the world. In addition to standard bookmobiles, camels, donkey, and elephants have all been used to pull book wagons. Some areas use boats and motorbikes to transport books.
In 1931, S.R. Ranganathan envisioned India's first bookmobile. The two-wheeled cart became an effective way to deliver library services to rural areas. Inspired by Ranganathan, a Sub Engineer named S. V. Kankasabai Pillai designed a bullock (ox) cart for use as a traveling library. The cart contained books, maps, charts, and a gramophone with records. In operation for ten years, the cart served villages within a ten mile radius.
The photo on the right shows a mobile library at Melavasal Village, Mannarkudi Taluk, Thiruvarur District, Tamil Nadu.
Ranganathan (1962) notes that "each librachine - traveling library in the form of a motor-van of book-mobile as it is called - should have a librarian (professional) and a circulation librarian (a semi-professional)."
Established in 1952, the Delhi Public Library aimed to provide library service to remote areas through the use of van service.
State Library Bookmobile
Established in 1944, the Tasmanian Library Board was responsible for administering the State Library headquarters in Hobart and providing extension services throughout the state. By the 1960s, bookmobiles were used both in the city and in rural areas to provide services to areas without libraries.
The photo above shows the State Library Bookmobile in Tasmania in the mid 1900s (Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office).
Johannesburg, South Africa
In the 1950s and 1960s, bookmobiles became popular in South Africa. The photo below shows a bookmobile used in South Africa between 1955 and 1965. Mobile libraries continue to be an effective way to meet the needs of rural library users.
Pilsen City Library Bibliobus
Pilsen, Czech Republic
The Pilsen City Library opened in 1876. In 1954, two bibliobuses provided library services along the Czech border.
The photo below left shows two bibliobuses from Pilsen City Library from the 1950s. The photo below right shows the bibliobus today.
Vans were used as bookmobiles in the middle east in the 1970s. In 1975, mobile libraries covered 1200 villages. The photo below shows a mobile library van in 1970.
Thailand has a long history of mobile libraries. In Thailand, elephants have been used to transport books to remote areas. The Books-by-Elephant program continues to travel a twenty day journey spending a few days in each village.
Today, the supplies include laptops and satellite dish connections to the Internet. The photo below shows a recent example. Courtesy of Cambridge University Libraries Information Bulletin.
Kulthorn Lerdsuriyaul (2000) identified many types of mobile libraries in use in Thailand. Unused train compartments have been redecorated as mobile libraries parked at targeted railway stations. Mobile buse have been used as libraries in Bangkok. Mobile boat libraries provide services along river banks. Bookbikes are also used in rural areas.
Book Mules and Llama
In South America, mules and llama are used in remote areas for book delivery. Llamas are used to transport books in the Andes. Columbia and Venezuela are using mules. Mule programs can also be found in countries such as Zimbabwe in Africa.
The photo below shows the Biblioburro traveling library in Colombia.
Skim Venezuela's four legged mobile libraries from BBC.
Watch Biblioburro: The Donkey Library from PBS.
Camels are used as bookmobiles in Africa today. The Camel Library Service was launched by the Kenyan government in 1996. Learn about this approach at Marsha Hamilton's website.
The photo below by Briana Orr and Masha Hamilton shows this unique mobile library. Click the image to see a slide show at their website.
Looking for a fun read? Try The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton.
Check out a toy bookmobile.
Read Long Overdue, the Bookmobile from Smithsonian.
Watch Library of Wheels - From Wagons to Buses to learn about the past and present history of the bookmobile.
Read Cummings, Jennifer (2009). How can we fail?: the Texas State Library's traveling libraries and bookmobiles, 1916-1966. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 44(3), 299-325.
Read Latham, Joyce M. (2011). Memorial Day to Memorial Library: The South Chicago Branch Library as cultural terrain, 1937-1947. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 46(3), 321-342.
Read Cummings, Jennifer (2009). How can we fail?: the Texas State Library's traveling libraries and bookmobiles, 1916-1966. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 44(3), 299-325.
Read Boyd, Donald C. (2007). The book women of Kentucky: the WPA pack horse library project, 1936-1943. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 42(2), 111-128.
The American Library Association Committee on Library Extension was established in 1925 to extend services to unserved areas in the United States. Their focus was on issues related to rural libraries particularly in the South.
In the spirit of government outreach programs, libraries formed their own community outreach programs to meet the needs of patrons.
Many of these programs focused on particular groups within the local population such as the African American community.
Bookmobiles are one example of outreach. The photo on the right shows African American children lining up outside Albemarle Region Bookmobile in North Carolina.
Read Wiegand, Wayne A. (2005). Collecting contested titles: the experience of five small public libraries in the rural midwest, 1893-1956. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 40(3), 368-384.
Read Jumonville, Florence M. (2013). ‘Interested in public libraries’: J.O. Modisette and the contributions of a Louisiana Library Commissioner. Information & Culture, 48(1), 112-133.
Pura Belpré (1899-1982)
New York City, New York, USA
Pura Belpré was the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City.
Pioneering library outreach programs within the Puerto Rican community, Belpre worked in southwest Harlem becoming active in providing bilingual story hours, Spanish language books, and cultural events.
Through her efforts the 115th Street branch library become a cultural center for the Latino community of New York hosting evening with well-known figures such as Diego Rivera.
During the 1940s and 1950s she devoted herself to writing, but returned to the library as the Spanish Children's Specialist during the 1960s. In 1968, she established the South Bronx Library Program to promote library use and services in the Latino community.
The Pura Belpré Award is presented by ALSC, a division of ALA to the Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best represents the Latino cultural experience in outstanding literature for children and youth.
Microfilm and Preservation
An English scientist, John Benjamin Dancer is known as the "father of microphotography." He experimented with the production of microproduced texts in the 1830s. After attending the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, James Glaisher argued that microphotography would be an excellent tool for preserving documents. However it wasn't until the turn of the century that microfilm began to be used for document preservation. Paul Otlet and Robert Goldschmidt envisioned a massive library where documents could be stored and printed on demand.
Microforms are films containing microrepresentations of documents. They can be used for storage, reading, and printing. Two formats gained popularity. First, microfilm in the form of film on reels were developed. Second, micofiche in the form of film on small, flat sheets were produced.
At the 1926 American Library Association conference, the use of microfilm was official endorsed. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Library of Congress took a leading roll in converting books and manuscripts to microfilm.
In 1936, the ALA Committee on Photographic Reproduction of Library Materials was established.
The image dated June 1942 on the right shows microfilm at the Library of Congress being developed.
During the 1930s Kodak's Recordak division began preserving magazines and newspapers on microfilm. In 1938, Harvard University Library began a archiving newspapers as part of the Foreign Newspaper Project. In the same year, University Microfilms International (UMI) was established. This company dominated the microfilm industry until it became part of ProQuest in 2001.
During the 1950s and 1960s, microforms became a popular storage medium, particularly in research libraries. By the 1970s, microform readers could be found in most libraries.
Three factors contributed to the growing popularity of microfilm. First, deterioration of print collections particularly newspapers was a cause of concern for those interested in preservation. Microfilm allowed the originals to be stored and copies to be easily distributed. Second, the small size and ease of duplication and distribution made microfilm a popular format for libraries. Third, particular at research libraries, shelf space was a growing concern. By the mid 20th century, the use of microfilm was standard practice.
Learn more about microfilm at Wikipedia.
Between World War I and World War II libraries were being established and the field of library science was evolving.
G. K. Peatling (2004) in his article Public libraries and national identity in Britain, 1850-1919 notes that those studying library history must consider nationalism as a focus on study. Libraries play an important role in national identity.
While many national libraries were established in the 1800s, a number of countries began their libraries in the 20th century.
Established in 1937, the library incorporated collections from many older libraries beginning in the early 1860s.
One of the largest library campuses in the Middle East, it includes five halls: humanities, social studies, law, science, and health studies.
The image on the right is from the National Library of Iran.
Learn more go to the National Library of Iran.
German National Library
This branch of the National Library system was established in 1913 to collect German-language imprints. Leipzig was the center of book and publishing trades, so it was a logical location. The facade of the building contains images of Otto von Bismark, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Johanne Gutenberg.
In 1933 the library administration was moved from the Reich Ministry of Interior to the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and offices are put in place "to monitor measure for enforced cultural and spiritual conformity". A directive from the Reich Chamber of Culture in 1935 requires associations, publishers, and individuals subject to surrender of documents to the library. In 1937 restrictive measures lead to a listing of undesirable literature that is "kept under lock and key". After air raid and fire damage the building in 1843, it is closed until 1945. The library is divided into four zones. A major expansion and renovation was completed in 2011 to reunited the collection. Included in the renovation is an area to accommodate the German Music Archive.
Learn more about the German National Library.
Libraries of Australia
The National Library of Australia was established in the first decade of the 20th century. According to (Tiffen, 2007),
"in the context of Federation nationalism, the insistence on looking to the Library of Congress instead of the British Museum Library as a model can be read as a telling statement on the new nation's independence and sense of its own identify."
The creation of the National Library of Australia marked the beginning of libraries as part of the nation-building process in Australia. Tiffen (2007) concludes that "collection building and developing library services have always been politicised, and that by their very nature, national collections must reflect, and in turn influence, national concepts of identity, culture and heritage."
The Public Library of Tasmania serves as an effective example of library development during the 1930s. Heather Gaunt (2008) states that
"libraries did take an active role in the promulgation of national identity; that, in G. K. Peatling's terms, they formed an arena in which the nation, as a concept, was naturalized, and national identity was shaped...Librarians sought to align themselves and their institutions with the progressive values in ascent around Federation."
The photo below shows the members of the Tasmanian Public Library Board of Trustees in 1932. Courtesy of the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office.
Read Gaunt, Heather (2008). 'A native instinct of patriotism': nationalism in the Australian public library, from Federation to the 1930s. A case study of the public library of Tasmania. Library History, 24(2), 152-166.
Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-1972)
A noted librarian, professor of library science, and mathematician from India, Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan developed the Five Laws of Library Science and designed a system called Colon Classification in 1924 that was implemented in 1925. In 1929, Ranganathan established the School of Librarianship of the Madra Library Association. From 1924 through 1944 he was First University Librarian of the University of Madras.
The Five Laws of Library Science (1931)
Books are for use. Books should be circulated and used.
Every reader his/her book. Books should be available when needed.
Every book its reader. Books should be useful and easy to access.
Save the time of the reader. Access should be efficient.
The library is a growing organism. Libraries must accommodate change and growth.
During the 1930s he made major contributions to classification including the Classified Catalog Code (1934) and Chain Indexing (1938).
Skim the Five Laws of Library Science by Ranganathan (1931).
Read Roe, George (2010). Challenging the control of knowledge in Colonial India: Political ideas in the work of S.R. Ranganathan. Library & Information History, 26(1), 18-32.
Bishop, Frances Edna (2009). History of the TVA libraries: from book boxes to computers. Tennessee Libraries, 59(1). Available: http://tnla.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=260
Butler, Pierce (1933). Introduction to Library Science. University of Chicago Press. Available: http://archive.org/stream/introductiontoli011501mbp
Free Traveling Libraries in Wisconsin (1897). Wisconsin Free Library Commission (1897). Available: http://archive.org/stream/freetravelingli01commgoog
Garrison, Dee (1979). Apostles of Culture: The Public Librarian and American Society, 1876-1920. Free Press.
Harris, Michael H. (1972). The Purpose of the American Public Library in Historical Perspective: Revisionist Interpretation. ERIC. Available: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED071668.pdf
Koch, Theodore & Putnam, Herbert (1918). War Service of the American Library Association. ALA War Service. Available: http://archive.org/stream/servicewarofamer00kochrich
Learned, William S. (1924). The American Public Library and the Diffusion of Knowledge. Harcourt. Available: http://archive.org/stream/americanpublicli007473mbp
Lerdsuriyakul, Kulthorn (2000). Tellng the mobile libraries story: collecting the past to build a future. 66th IFLA Council and General Conference. Available: http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla66/papers/102-175e.htm
Maher, Neil M. (2008). Nature's New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Roots of the American Environmental Movement. Oxford University Press. Preview Available: http://books.google.com/books?id=kQfLlOC3LIUC
Meckler, Alan M. (1982). Micropublishing: a history of scholarly micropublishing in America, 1938–1980. Greenwood Press.
Metzger, Philip A. Catholic University of Louvain. Available: http://sentra.ischool.utexas.edu/~lcr/archive/bookplates/15_3_Louvain.htm
Moore, Robert J. (2011). Devil's Lake, Wisconsin and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The History Press. Preview Available: http://books.google.com/books?id=C8EbzJrjVk0C
Paige, John (1985). Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933-1942: An Administrative History. Available: http://archive.org/stream/civilianconserva00paig
Pasquill, Robert G. (2008). The Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama, 1933-1942. University of Alabama Press. Preview Available: http://books.google.com/books?id=G2HWJW4JFMsC&dq
Peatling, G.K. (March 2004). Public libraries and national identity in Britain, 1850-1919. Library History, 20(1).
Plummer, Alston Jones Jr. (1999). Libraries, Immigrants, and the American Experience. Greenwood Press.
Ranganathan, Shiyali Ramamrita (1931). The Five Laws of Library Science. The Madra Library Association. Available: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b99721
Ranganathan, Shiyali Ramamrita (1962). Library Manual for Library Authorities, Librarians, and Honorary Library Workers. Asia Publishing House.
Stanford, Edward Barrett (1944). Library Extension Under the WPA. The University of Chicago Press. Available: http://archive.org/stream/libraryextension007729mbp
Study hour in the CCC (October 1, 1933). The New York Times, 9(11).
Taylor, Jed Harotte (1938). Organization of Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Library-Reading Rooms: A Manual. American Association for Adult Education, United States. Office of Education.
Tiffen, Belinda (November 1, 2007). Recording the nation: nationalism and the history of the National Library of Australlia. The Australian Library Journal.
Watson, P.D. (1994). Founding Mothers: The contribution of women's organizations to public library development in the United States. The Library Quarterly, 64(3), pp. 233-269.
Wilson, Louis Round (1938). Geography of Reading. University of Chicago Press. | <urn:uuid:47fed4c1-77da-41eb-bc2d-95d3438cc124> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://eduscapes.com/history/contemporary/1930.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00077-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937648 | 8,127 | 3.34375 | 3 |
There's More Than Meets the Eye on
Stories from the Road:
When you drive by Youngstown, you might think of salt. Salt is what initially drew animals and then people to this area. They came for the salt licks that occurred naturally in this region. The county name acknowledges this beginning: it's called Mahoning, derived from a Native American term meaning, at the lick.
But salt is not the most precious mineral in these parts. Iron and coal claim that honor. In 1803, iron ore was discovered in the Mahoning Valley–it was the first iron ore found in Ohio. Daniel and James Heaton built a smelting furnace and began producing kettles, caldrons, flatirons and stoves. Hence, the beginnings of Ohio=s iron and steel industry.
In the mid-1800s, the industry was given another boost. High-quality coal was discovered which was used to fire blast furnaces. This gave Youngstown two primary resources for iron and steel production: ore deposits and coal. That's why the industry became concentrated here. At one time Youngstown was the seventh largest steel producer in the nation, and steel mills filled the Mahoning River Valley: U.S. Steel, Republic Steel, Youngstown Sheet & Tube.
Life in Youngstown was shaped by steel. The residents were largely an immigrant population who came to work in the mills. Slovaks, Slovenians, Irish, and Italians were the most numerous. Their houses were working class homes: simple, sturdy and stained by fallout from the smoke that blanketed the city. During boom times, the mills roared 24 hours a day. The nighttime sky glowed pink from the furnaces, and during the day the smoke created a sense of perpetual dusk.
Throughout the era of Youngstown steel, factory smoke was a sign of prosperity. It meant the mills were running at full blastCit meant work. But today, the air is clear. Surfaces are no longer coated with a dark sticky film, and the rinse water from a batch of laundry no longer comes out black. In this community, clean air means hard times.
September 19, 1977 is referred to in Youngstown as "Black Monday." That's when the first big mill closing was announced. Others followed, and soon more than 25,000 jobs were gone. Why did the Youngstown mills close? Several reasons. One is that they weren=t able to compete with cheap steel produced in other countries. Another is that the companies had not put money into the factories, and they had become outdated. Still another reason: new environment regulations that were expensive to comply with. The result was the departure of the industry that had built Youngstown, and that Youngstown had been built around.
It wasn=t just Youngstown. The steel industry left big cities and small towns throughout northeast Ohio. Cleveland, Youngstown, Warren, and many smaller communities had the economic props knocked out from under them.
Today, Youngstown's steel industry is greatly diminished. Yet, there are remnants–reminders of this heritage. Homes built for the mill workers still stand, and there are ethnic neighborhoods where their descendants live. The churches they built remain as momuments to the many immigrant groups of the city, and a certain gritty feeling remains.
Today, the largest employers in Mahoning County include the health care industry and education. Youngstown College, a school with about 800 students in 1940, has grown into Youngstown State University with an enrollment of over 12,500. Youngstown hosts several national distribution centers, taking advantage of the city=s central location. And the General Motors facility at Lordstown is a large employer of Mahoning County residents, though it=s located in Trumbull County.
So like the other large cities of Northeast Ohio, Youngstown has replaced its industrial jobs with those in health care, education and the service economy. Even though the picture of economic life in post-industrial regions is still coming into focus, the new employment mix will probably look a lot like what we have right here.
* * *
Youngstown was a steel industry town, but it wasn't just steel.
Such as, Good Humor started in Youngstown. The Good Humor Ice Cream Bar was introduced here in 1920 by a drug store owner named Harry Burt. Harry Burt was experimenting with chocolate syrups to pour over ice cream when he came up with the idea of coating a slab of ice cream with chocolate and putting it on a stick. After three years, he perfected his product which he named Good Humor because he believed that a person=s good humor is related to what one eats.
Pretty soon the Good Humor truck became a fixture in America=s neighborhoods. And the Good Humor man--dressed crisply in a white shirt, white pants, white hat and a black bow tie--became a familiar presence. There was even a movie called The Good Humor Man, a 1950 comedy in which a Good Humor man named Biff Jones (honest!) becomes accidentally embroiled in a robbery.
Another contribution to the American landscape with roots in Youngstown is Arby=s Roast Beef. The first Arby=s appeared in 1964 in the community of Boardman, to Youngstown=s south, and it was a harbinger of things to come. Today there are more than 3,000 Arby=s worldwide.
Arby=s was a creation of two brothers, Forrest and Leroy Raffel, who owned a food service company. They anticipated the potential of fast food and decided to create a chain that served something other than hamburgers. One rainy Halloween, the Raffel brothers visited a sandwich shop in Boston that was attracting a large and loyal following with its roast beef sandwiches. In that, an idea was born.
They decided to name their sandwich Big Tex: the Big Tex roast beef sandwich. But somebody already owned the name so the Raffel Brothers came up with Arby=s. That name is based in two letters, R and B, which might be thought to stand for roast beef. But actually, it came from the names of its founders, the Raffel Brothers. Raffel Brothers roast beef sandwiches became AArby=s.@
And here=s another contribution of Youngstown to America=s landscape: the push-up bra. A Youngstown native who invented the contraption. Now, can you imagine an America without Good Humor, Arby=s or the push-up bra? Not a pretty thought, is it?
For more about Youngstown and its surrounding communities, see the tape or CD for I-480/80 East: Cleveland to Youngstown.
MOTOR Communities from Previous Months
Museum of the Open Road, Inc
Copyright © 2008 Museum of the Open Road, inc. All | <urn:uuid:ce9b12c8-f299-496f-8099-73f5ea3e52a0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.roadmuseum.org/2_03_youngstown,_oh.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00054-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973135 | 1,413 | 3.390625 | 3 |
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