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Since the 1960s we have known that pesticides when used without care and attention will cause insect pest outbreaks. But we never seem to learn. In recent years there have been severe outbreaks of planthoppers and leafhoppers on rice in China, Vietnam and other countries in South and Southeast Asia. It is part of the reason why global rice production has become unstable since 1999. Rice prices have soared as a result.
An international conference on the threats of insecticide misuse in rice ecosystems in Vietnam on the 16th December could not be more timely. But despite all the knowledge and understanding scientists have amassed about this issue, we should be under no illusions that this abuse of pesticides will be easily resolved.
My interest in the pesticide challenge began in the early 1960s when I was appointed the government entomologist in North Borneo (Sabah). On arrival I was immediately sent to the young cocoa plantings near the Indonesian border. There I was confronted by field after field of cocoa without leaves, infested by a variety of insect pests feeding not only on the leaves but on the branches and the trunks of the trees. The farmers said they were doing everything they could, spraying cocktails of lethal insecticides every week, but to no avail.
It occurred to me that perhaps the pests had previously been naturally controlled by their enemies, parasites and predators, which had been killed by the indiscriminate pesticide use. I suggested we stopped spraying. This proposal was met with some derision but my Director of Agriculture backed me and spraying was stopped. Soon parasites and predators appeared and six months later all the pests had come under control, except for one which was treated by a highly selective insecticide.
This was the first example of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) outside California and Peru where the concept had been invented five years earlier. It was highly successful, persisting for several decades.
Soon afterwards I went to visit the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. I discovered they were placing cans of insecticides in the water inlets to the fields. I told them they were courting trouble, but they were dismissive.
In the 1970s Asian rice fields were attacked by massive outbreaks of Brown Planthopper, a sucking bug that carries destructive viruses. Losses in Indonesia rose to one billion dollars a year. Then brilliant research by Peter Kenmore and his colleagues showed that the planthoppers were naturally controlled by parasitic wasps and wolf spiders.
The answer was to greatly reduce the use of insecticides. In 1986, a decree by the Indonesian president banned 57 broad spectrum pesticides and a system of IPM was developed. Farmer Field Schools were used to teach farmers about the planthoppers and their natural enemies and when to use insecticides. Soon the average number of sprays per season dropped from over four to one at most. Once again the control was highly successful and persisted.
But with the passage of time the lessons have been forgotten. Since 2004 outbreaks of leafhoppers and planthoppers have occurred in many Asian countries. The 2005 outbreaks were devastating in Vietnam and China. Farmers, under pressure, had reverted to heavy use of prophylactic insecticides. There is not much money to be made from selling rice seeds, even the new hybrids developed by the Chinese, but pesticides are highly profitable. The agro-chemical sellers have combined seeds and insecticides in packages that are proving to be highly destructive.
What is the answer? We need more research, specifically designed to develop IPM systems that allow natural enemies to do their work of controlling the leaf and plant hoppers. We also need to ensure that insecticides are only used when necessary, and compounds are chosen that will not elicit resistance from the pests.
But even more important is decisive governance. Political leaders need to recognise the problem for what it is and to put policies and regulations in place that will enforce IPM and strengthen the desirability of sustainable agricultural systems.
This issue is now urgent. Without immediate action rice production is under threat and without sustained action these problems will be recurring. I hope at the conference this Friday we will prove we have learned from the past. | <urn:uuid:2c55f9f0-f8ae-492c-b279-eba7da9e0f12> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/professor-sir-gordon-conway/pesticides-create-pests-d_b_1145225.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00144-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979457 | 841 | 3.09375 | 3 |
A large factor of the Melee Halberd is its design and engineering; most Melee Halberds have a different center of gravity in their design to capitalize on the fighting styles of their pilots, shore up the weakenesses in their close-quarters combat doctrine, or for any other reason. Many other Melee Halberds also have characteristics unique to them that affects the way they can be used.
Related to Melee Halberds are the Close Combat Daggers and Fixed Armament weapon types. These often sacrifice the reach of Melee Halberds for other aspects in combat, or else focus on fulfilling completely different purposes during close-range fighting.
Most American TSFs are not calibrated nor equipped with a primary melee weapon, as their combat doctrine does not allow for prolonged close-quarters combat against the BETA.
Type-74 PB BladeEditThe standard Japanese melee weapon, the longsword-styled PB Blade first saw service in 1976 as the primary melee weapon for their F-4J Gekishins, using momentum as the weapon's primary means of defeating combatants; the weapon is strong enough to cut through super-carbon, as well as damage the Grappler-class' armored forearms.
The weapon has remained virtually unchanged since then, serving as the primary close-combat weapon for all of Imperial Japan's TSFs even in modern times. It can be fitted with a protective sheath that allows it to be used as a training weapon, which works by covering its sharp edges and dampening its impact.
The PB Blade is designed with its center of gravity located near its hilt, which allows for better control and faster strikes during combat. The design and tactical usage of the weapon was also influenced by Japanese sword martial arts; TSF pilots without a background in Japanese pilot training or the required combat experience will find it hard to fully utilize the PB Blade.
Initially designed by Japanese developers (of which Takamura Yui's father, Takamura Masatada, was rumoured to be one of them), the weapon's first production run was in the United States in 1974. The weapon also recieved the designation of CIWS-2A, despite never being part of the US Armed Force's equipment list.
XCIWS-2B Close In Weapon SystemEditA prototype melee weapon developed by the United States exclusivly for the YF-23 Black Widow II, it was used during the units' flight and combat trials in the ATSF program.
The weapon is slightly different from the Type-74 PB Blade; it boasts an all-round improvement to performance, with a straighter design and a unique Mount Pylon bolt. It is unknown where its center of gravity is located, although its overall shape is similar to the PB Blade. It is stored on the same Mount Pylon as the XAMWS-24 Assault Cannon.
Like the Black Widow II itself, the weapon never entered production.
Type-77 Close Range Battle HalberdEditManufactured by the People's Republic of China for their J-8, the Type-77 Battle Halberd shares similar capabilities with the Type-74 PB Blade. However, while its Japanese counterpart focuses on momentum and speed to inflict damage, this weapon relies more on its heavy weight and high center of gravity (located near the tip of the weapon) to achieve the same effect. As a result, it suffers from slower initial swinging speed in combat and weighs down its user during evasive maneuvers, but has greater strike power once in motion. This curious design choice is intended to boost the attack capability of the weapon, especially for lightweight TSFs that lack the energy to carry out heavy strikes, such as the J-10.
The Battle Halberd was also exported to the German Democratic Republic in the early 1980s, and was utilized by several MiG-21 Balalaika pilots. However, few of them have been able to master this heavy weapon, as its weight and tactical usage often ran counter to the laserjagd strategy of the Nationale Volksarmee.
Developed by the Federal Republic of Germany, the BWS-8's top-heavy design affords it incredible attack power for a one-handed weapon.
BWS-3 Great SwordEdit
A large melee sword in the shape of a two-handed blade, the BWS-3 is nicknamed by many to be the "Fort Slayer"; the weapon is the opposite of the slashing-oriented PB Blade/Battle Halberd, and is capable of piercing the large body of the Fort-class, or completely severing its leg joints during combat. Additional handles located near the hilt allow for greater thrusting power and balance.
Developed by the British, the BWS-3 is more than a weapon; it is a signature of skill, carried only by veteran British pilots fulfilling the equivalent role of Storm Vanguards. Despite plans to discontinue the production of the BWS-3, frontline units are still operating them in full force.
Falcate SwordEditThe primary melee weapon equipped on the Rafale, the French-manufactured Falcate Sword is the most unique weapon yet, and the second largest of all Melee Halberds. Some have nicknamed the weapon the "Death Scythe" because of its sword tip ending in a sickle curved downwards.
Like the BWS-8, the blade is top-heavy; the purpose of its curved tip in combat is to defeat the tendency of Grappler-class BETA blocking strikes with their armored forearms.
- These class of weapons are known as Melee Halberds despite only one of them coming close to even resembling a halberd. A true halberd has a blade resembling an axe-head, with a sharp tip added and mounted on a pole, usually used as a pushing weapon by infantry to improve their melee range.
- The PB Blade bears a slight resemblance to the larger weapon of the Magoroku Exterminate Swords, a pair of blades, and a model kit-only weapon that belongs to Evangelion Unit 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- The Type-77's design is based off the Chinese da dao.
- The Flugelberte's shape is reminisent of a bardiche.
- The Falcate sword originates from the Latin term falcata (feminine form of falcatus, meaning "sickle-shaped sword") coined to describe pre-Roman swords used on the Iberian peninsula. The actual sickle-shaped sword design, however, is based on the Harpe, a blade with a sickle-like protrusion at the sword's tip, referred to in Greek and Latin mythology. | <urn:uuid:f4da2aee-69c7-4c11-a1ed-b05fab91e803> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://muvluv.wikia.com/wiki/Melee_Halberd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953857 | 1,375 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Artificial muscles that can lift loads 200 times heavier than a human muscle could power the limbs of superstrong robots in the future, scientists say.
In tests the muscles, made from twisted strands of carbon yarn, were able to pull more than 100,000 times their own weight.
Professor Ray Baughman, from the University of Texas at Dallas, said: "The artificial muscles that we've developed can provide large, ultrafast contractions to lift weights that are 200 times heavier than possible for a natural muscle of the same size.
"Because of their simplicity and high performance, these yarn muscles could be used for such diverse applications as robots, catheters for minimally invasive surgery, micromotors, mixers for microfluidic circuits, tunable optical systems, microvalves, positioners and even toys."
However, for technical reasons, they are unsuitable for replacing lost or damaged muscle in the human body.
The muscles are made from carbon nanotubes - hollow strands of carbon 10,000 times thinner than human hair yet 100 times stronger than steel.
Yarn made from the nanotubes is soaked in wax and shaped into a coiled structure. When heated by electricity or a flash of light, the wax expands, causing the yarn to contract and twist.
The process goes into reverse when the heating is stopped and the yarn cools.
Results of tests of the artificial muscle have been published in the journal Science.
In terms of power-to-weight ratio, the muscles were four times more efficient than an internal combustion engine.
They were also capable of operating in temperatures above 1,000C, higher than the melting point of steel.
Prof Baughman said one possible application could be "smart suits" for firefighters, which would be designed to react to dangerous temperatures by providing greater protection.
"This intelligent materials function aspect is very important," he said. | <urn:uuid:8ac4cd6d-8c3d-487e-9c51-33fd3e1f1e25> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.sky.com/story/1012185/artificial-muscles-created-from-carbon-yarn | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00184-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951075 | 391 | 3.296875 | 3 |
UK Flusurvey set to go viralNovember 21, 2012 in Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Does "man flu" exist? How effective is the flu vaccine? And do pets keep you healthy? These are just some of the questions scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine want to explore as they launch a nationwide flu survey.
The annual UK Flusurvey goes live for 2012-13 today. It aims to collect data from men and women of all ages around the country, in order to map trends as seasonal flu takes hold, enabling researchers to analyse how the virus spreads and who it affects. Anyone can take part in Flusurvey and it only takes a couple of minutes each week.
The online questionnaire at www.flusurvey.org.uk allows people to report their symptoms directly and the data is supplied to the Health Protection Agency's national surveillance programmes.
Results from previous years of the Flusurvey suggest men are less likely than women to report flu-like illness. In fact, women had about a 16% higher risk of reporting flu-like symptoms.
But in a bid to work out if "man flu" is real, researchers hope to find out more about gender differences to determine if men are more likely to have severe symptoms or if there is any evidence that they make more of a fuss than women. They are also interested in exploring if owning a cat or dog reduces the risk of reporting flu-like symptoms and comparing flu levels in different age groups and regions.
Last year was one of the mildest flu years reported but despite that about 30% of people in the United Kingdom and Europe reported having some flu-like illness.
It is not possible to predict if and when seasonal flu will affect people this year but the Flusurvey team is keen to encourage people to sign up now to help find out. The more people who participate the more information they will be able to collect to increase understanding and help medics and health services prepare. Traditional monitoring methods rely on data from GPs or hospitals. The Flusurvey provides a unique insight because many people with flu-like illness do not visit a doctor.
Other findings from 2011-12 included:
- Vaccination protected against flu - people who were not vaccinated reported more than 10% more flu-like symptoms than vaccinated people throughout Europe. This was in a year with very little flu. In a year with normal amounts of flu, the researchers would expect this figure to be much higher.
- Staying off the train or bus didn't stop you getting flu - results suggested that people who regularly used public transport were no more likely to develop flu-like illnesses than people who did not use public transport.
- Having children was a risk factor for reporting flu-like illness. People with children reported 14% more flu-like illness compared with people who didn't have children.
- The pattern of people reporting flu-like illnesses was very similar in the UK and Europe.
"We also appeal to newcomers to join in.
"By spending a few minutes every week participants provide crucial data for increasing our knowledge of flu, monitoring its spread and developing methods to improve the handling of outbreaks of the virus. Seasonal flu can be a serious illness, potentially fatal in some cases, and we want to help the quest to keep people healthy."
More information: To take part in the UK Flusurvey go to www.flusurvey.org.uk
Flusurvey is on Facebook - www.facebook.com/pages/flusurveyorguk/220599440047 and Twitter - @flusurvey
Provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
"UK Flusurvey set to go viral" November 21, 2012 http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-uk-flusurvey-viral.html | <urn:uuid:a5c74042-e73d-4f11-97da-2786348adeb7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://medicalxpress.com/print272743364.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961723 | 806 | 2.703125 | 3 |
A firsthand account of how the Navajo language was used to help defeat the Japanese in World War II.
At the age of 17, Nez (an English name assigned to him in kindergarten) volunteered for the Marines just months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Growing up in a traditional Navajo community, he became fluent in English, his second language, in government-run boarding schools. The author writes that he wanted to serve his country and explore “the possibilities and opportunities offered out there in the larger world.” Because he was bilingual, he was one of the original 29 “code talkers” selected to develop a secret, unbreakable code based on the Navajo language, which was to be used for battlefield military communications on the Pacific front. Because the Navajo language is tonal and unwritten, it is extremely difficult for a non-native speaker to learn. The code created an alphabet based on English words such as ant for “A,” which were then translated into its Navajo equivalent. On the battlefield, Navajo code talkers would use voice transmissions over the radio, spoken in Navajo to convey secret information. Nez writes movingly about the hard-fought battles waged by the Marines to recapture Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and others, in which he and his fellow code talkers played a crucial role. He situates his wartime experiences in the context of his life before the war, growing up on a sheep farm, and after when he worked for the VA and raised a family in New Mexico. Although he had hoped to make his family proud of his wartime role, until 1968 the code was classified and he was sworn to silence. He sums up his life “as better than he could ever have expected,” and looks back with pride on the part he played in “a new, triumphant oral and written [Navajo] tradition,” his culture's contribution to victory.
A unique, inspiring story by a member of the Greatest Generation. | <urn:uuid:b3a622f0-3c8b-42d6-a455-27d27d84546e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chester-nez/code-talker-memoir/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00172-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985033 | 408 | 3.421875 | 3 |
One year after re-introducing the Tridentine Mass and two years after the Regensburg address, Benedict XVI's popular new traditionalism has re-ignited the Catholic culture wars.
24 - 09 - 2008
The new traditionalism
On 14th June this year about 1500 people filled Westminster Cathedral. Every seat was taken; people stood in the aisles and spilled out on to the piazza outside. The occasion was a mass, but not an ordinary mass. It was indeed a mass in what is now officially called the ``extraordinary form'' of the Roman rite, i.e. the mass as it had existed before the changes that followed the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). It was celebrated by Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, and was the first mass in the traditional form to be celebrated in the Cathedral by a cardinal in thirty nine years.
Before the mass, Cardinal Castrillon had addressed the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, a group which had striven for forty years to preserve the ancient liturgy. He told them to `take heart' because the new Pope sympathised with them, and he spoke of the `sacrifices' of those members of the Society `who have not lived to be here today.'
To outsiders, all this emotion, this talk of sacrifices made by dead Catholics for the liturgy might well be unintelligible. What are the great issues at stake? Why should people throng Westminster Cathedral and spill out onto the street, including many too young to remember the old ways, just to experience a service in Latin conducted by a prelate with his back to the people?
The truth is that the Roman Catholic Church has been in crisis ever since the Second Vatican Council, a crisis not only of falling numbers attending mass, a reduction of vocations, the virtual extinction of some religious orders, but a crisis of identity of the Church itself. The confident, tightly centralised ``triumphalist'' Catholicism that followed the sixteenth century Council of Trent and regained many of the lands that had been lost to Protestantism, the Church that claimed to be `the one ark of salvation for all,' has been replaced by the ``pilgrim Church'', tentatively stretching out to other faiths, often apologetic about the past, sometimes ready to play down its most distinctive doctrines.
There is a deeper issue. Hilaire Belloc had said `Europe is the Faith, and the Faith is Europe.' Although Catholicism is a world-wide religion, and an Abrahamic faith, its European inheritance has been central, its philosophical theology deriving from Greece, its language and structures of authority from Rome. It was not for nothing that Hobbes described the papacy as `the ghost of the dead Roman Empire sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.' Enthusiasts for Vatican II thought they had changed all that. Rituals, language, even theology were to reflect the diverse cultures of the faithful, and even the subjective convictions of the individual.
The attempt since the Counter-reformation of the sixteenth century to resist some of the most important developments in modern culture, with an index of books forbidden to Catholics to read that included most of the greatest philosophers and imaginative writers of the modern world, was to be seen as a sort of auto-immune disorder -- an inability to cope with foreign bodies. In the light of this, an attachment to tradition seemed like a rejection of intelligence, and a scarcely defensible surrender to clerical dictatorship. The Church had raised the drawbridge against the modern world, and Vatican II would confidently lower it again. Central to that was the rejection of the traditional Latin mass. It was there that the battle lines were most obviously drawn.
The culture wars
Last September, a motu proprio (legislation of his own volition) of Pope Benedict XVI, liberating the old mass, and obliging parishes to provide it for those of the faithful who want it, came into effect. It was clearly an attempt to console those who were still attached to the old rite, including the followers of Archbishop Lefebvre, who rejected the new mass and many of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (summoned by `that maniac, John XXIII.') ``Liberal'' Catholics grimly suspect that the Pope himself has long been disillusioned with the Council, and is bent on restoration of the old order. One Italian bishop said that he actually wept when he read the motu proprio, because he saw one of the greatest achievements of the modernists, a new style of liturgy, dissolving before his eyes. He was right to be alarmed. Benedict''s undoubted love of the old liturgy is also a love of the European culture which produced it.
On the other side, traditionalist Catholics, who were so joyously in evidence at Westminster cathedral, rejoiced mightily. Benedict XVI is on the way to becoming a hero as dear to them as Cyrus the Great was to the ancient Jews, because he freed them from the Babylonian captivity. When the motu proprio was issued, their websites triumphed in the imminent defeat of the philistines and were filled with accounts of celebratory champagne parties and suggestions that everyone should send flowers to the Pope in sign of gratitude.
Not just talking to God in Latin
But what is the fuss all about? Is this just a matter of some people preferring to talk to God in Latin? Or is it the re-igniting of a subterraneous culture war that has troubled the peace of the faithful over the past forty years?
The ultras have a point. A pious Catholic who had fallen asleep in 1960 and woken up forty years later would be puzzled indeed at a modern mass (unless he had been allowed to slumber all those years in Brompton Oratory or a few other traditionalist redoubts.) He would find the modern Church culturally and psychologically so altered that he might be tempted to see it as a new religion masquerading under the old name. He might, like my Polish acquaintance, decide not to bother any more.
The first time I was taken to mass as a child, my mother told me to watch the altar attentively, because an angel might fly across it. My hope in seeing the angel faded quite soon, well before my faith did, but the feeling that the celebration of mass marked a mystery in which Godhead was truly present on the altar, body, blood, soul and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine was astonishingly powerful. The form of the old mass enforced it. There was an overwhelming emphasis on the mass as an actual sacrifice, a mysterious re-enactment of Christ''s sacrifice on Mount Calvary. The priest began at the foot of the altar, with prayers that he might be worthy to ascend the steps: Introibo ad altare dei. In mounting the altar steps the priest was being brought ``unto thy holy mount, and into thy tabernacles.'' These are the words of psalms from the Hebrew Bible, and they go with an extraordinary insistence on using the language of ancient Jewish sacrifice -- `a holy victim, a pure and unblemished sacrifice.' (A Jewish friend of mine, attending a Tridentine mass for the first time, said that this language, and the elaborate cleansing of the sacred vessels, took his mind back to Temple Judaism.) The ritual proceeded with the inevitability of a piece of intricate and beautiful mechanism, as the priest mounted the steps, read the epistle and gospel and came to the canon of the mass. The climax, the obvious focal point of the exercise, was the consecration. The Latin words of this were uttered in a very audible stage whisper, and were followed by genuflection, elevation, genuflection, accompanied by the ringing of bells.
Every gesture by the priest, the signs of the cross, the genuflections, the many kissings of the altar, were strictly controlled by the rubrics. There was no place for ``creativity'' or the expression of personality. The authority of liturgy has always been its immemorial antiquity, and this strange, intensely focussed ritual certainly took you back to the remote past. This was sometimes a cause of scandal. The Good Friday liturgy (which was not actually a mass, Good Friday being the only day in the year when mass was not said) notoriously had a prayer for the `unbelieving Jews' (perfidis Judaeis) that God would remove their ``blindness'' and lead them to Christ. Even worse, this was the one prayer during which the congregation did not have to kneel. (John XXIII removed the offensive words in 1962.) There were also curiosities of an innocent sort. A missal published in 1935 contains a Good Friday prayer that God will `look favourably on the Roman empire' and `render all barbarous nations' subject to the Emperor.
The curious thing about the old mass was that it did not much matter if it was performed badly. It often was. Some priests spoke the Latin intelligently and well. Others gabbled it. We altar boys fought to serve the Low Mass of a certain Franciscan priest because he got through it, by means of remarkable elisions, in twelve minutes flat.
The priest was a craftsman, bringing Christ to the altar, and distributing Him to the faithful in communion. In many ways, it was the priest''s mass, to which the congregation were onlookers, or listeners in. Much of it was in silence, with the priest raising his voice at certain moments to indicate what point the mass had reached. In northern Europe and the United States most of the congregation followed in their missals, which were in Latin and English. But in earlier times people would instead read ``prayers during mass,'' rather than follow the actual words. Illiterates would simply tell their beads. Perhaps they looked for angels to fly across, or at the stained-glass windows. Yet there is overwhelming evidence that they, too, were moved, for they participated in a ritual that signified visually and in terms of movement as well as in words.
Vatican II decreed that the people should `actively participate' in the mass. To the older idea that active participation could take place largely in silence and stillness was opposed the feeling that the congregation should always be doing things, saying prayers aloud, reading passages of scripture, presenting the bread and wine for the mass. The priest became less one who offered an awe-inspiring sacrifice, and more like one who presides over a community meal. Altars were turned round, so that the priest faced the people, rather than praying on their behalf to the East, as had been done from ancient times. (Critics of the new order often suggest -- rightly -- that this leads to a cult of the priestly personality.) The first part of the liturgy is now given over to scripture readings, somewhat in Protestant style, so that when the priest goes to the altar to say the actual canon of the mass, this can seem like an afterthought, rather than the focal point of the whole proceedings. The priest''s genuflections and other ritual signs of assent to the real presence, which in the old mass enacted an idea of worship and transcendence, seemed to have been cut to a minimum. For many, the remarkable beauty of the Latin text itself, set by so many great composers over the centuries, and a profound influence on the authors of the Book of Common Prayer, had helped create a sense of the sacred which had now all but vanished.
How did this happen? There had been a liturgical movement, strong in northern Europe, going back to the nineteenth century. It emphasised the intelligent participation of the laity, the use of missals, and a partial return to what were believed to be pre-mediaeval liturgical practices. This led to the half-conscious assumption that there was some golden age before the ``accretions'' that led to the elaborate liturgy of modern times. This was rather like the Protestant idea of the ``primitive'' Church before Roman ``corruptions.''
There was another line of thought. This was that the Council of Trent had been a tragedy just in that it had sealed the division between Catholic and Protestant in the sixteenth century. Trent had re-affirmed the hierarchical structure of the Church, the role of the priest, and the mass as the continual re-enactment of Christ''s death on the cross. The Anglican Thirty nine Articles say that the `one oblation of Christ is finished on the cross .Wherefore the sacrifice of Masses were dangerous fables and blasphemous deceits.' The underlying purpose of the new rite was reconciliation with Protestantism. Its chief inventor, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, actually said: `We must strip from our Catholic prayers everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren, that is, for the Protestants.'
Traditionalists oppose Papal power
To undo the Council of Trent would be no mean endeavour, although to anyone with a sense of the religious history of Europe during the last four hundred and fifty years it must seem a madly ambitious one. But what really ignited the Catholic culture wars was the way it was done: by an unprecedented exercise of papal power. Hardly anything of what happened was prescribed by the Second Vatican Council, not the turning around of the altars, not the almost universal use of the vernacular, not the scaling down of the sense of transcendence and sacrifice, not the discouraging of the faithful from kneeling when receiving holy communion, not the receiving of communion in the hand rather than on the tongue. Traditionalists point out that the Council had decreed that the Latin language was to be preserved. (And the `maniac' John XXIII had been totally opposed to the vernacular in the mass.) It had all been done by Pope Paul VI, Archbishop Bugnini and a close circle of liturgical experts. It was never even passed by a synod of bishops.
The paradoxical conclusion might have been forseen: it was the most pious Catholics, most devoted to the papacy and its prerogatives who were most outraged, but who felt most bound by loyalty and obedience. Their anguish when they were presented in 1971 with the abolition of the old rite can be imagined. (The most popular English Catholic newspaper, The Universe, informed its readers on 26th November that year that `as from this Sunday it is forbidden to offer Mass in the Tridentine rite anywhere in the world.')
Only in France was there open rebellion. Led by Archbishop Marcel Lefevbvre, a thousand or so traditionalists occupied the Church of St. Nicholas in Paris, resisted all attempts to evict them, reintroduced all the old ceremonies, and have been there ever since. The Lefebvrists decreed that with Vatican II Rome had departed from Tradition, and had as good as apostatised.
The bitterness (even despair) of traditional Catholics ran deep. The enthusiasts for Vatican II hailed it as inaugurating an epoch of religious liberty. Yet the abolition of the old mass actually depended upon a Vatican diktat. The Anglican Church has introduced new forms of service, often distressingly banal. But it is impossible to imagine the Anglicans wishing, let alone being able, suddenly to forbid the Book of Common Prayer in all churches of the Anglican Communion. I remember in the 1970s attending out of curiosity a Tridentine mass ``illegally''celebrated by Archbishop Lefebvre in the Great Western Hotel at Paddington. The atmosphere was extraordinary, like that of some improbably enormous catacomb where a clandestine ceremony was going on. Catholics had come from all over England, and many were in tears as they participated in a rite that had suddenly been forbidden them. It was tempting to see this as religious persecution.
Iconoclasm and novelty
The changes were accompanied by an astonishing outbreak of what one can only call iconoclasm, for that is what it literally was. In the University Catholic chaplaincy in Cambridge, the furniture of the chapel, including a charming little baldachino, was largely destroyed at the instigation of the Chaplain. The parish priest of the main Catholic church in Cambridge proposed replacing all the pews with raked cinema-style seats, removing the stained glass, and dismantling their own noble baldachino. (He was frustrated by his congregation, which had been infiltrated by dons.) In my own old parish church, the Franciscans smashed to pieces the whole Byzantine-style sanctuary. Such scenes were replicated all over the country.
There was also liturgical vandalism, especially in America, including priests with red-nose masks celebrating ``clown-masses,'' Halloween masses, dancing-girls and various New Age fooleries. In England, Catholic practice plummeted, and churches were shut.
English Catholics had a special reason for attachment to the old mass. In penal times, several hundred English priests had been executed for saying it. At the place of execution they would often kiss the scaffold, as the priest kisses the altar in the Tridentine mass (much more rarely in the new rite.). The English, more docile than the French, did not rebel. Instead they organised a letter signed by cultural luminaries, many of them non-Catholic, politely asking the Pope for an ``indult'' - permission to celebrate the old mass on special occasions, with the permission of bishops. But their letter did not conceal their feelings of horror: ``If some senseless decree were to order the partial or total destruction of basilicas or cathedrals, then obviously it would be the educated, whatever their personal beliefs, who would rise up in horror '' The old mass ``in its magnificent Latin text, has inspired a host of priceless achievements by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters and sculptors in all countries and epochs. Thus it belongs to universal culture as well as to churchmen and formal Christians.''
The Agatha Christie exception
How could the Pope fail to respond to such a letter, signed as it was by (amongst many others) Vladimir Ashkenazy, Agatha Christie, Kenneth Clark, Robert Graves, Graham Greene, F.R.Leavis, Cecil Day-Lewis, Nancy Mitford, Iris Murdoch, Yehudi Menuin, Malcolm Muggeridge, Joan Sutherland and the Anglican Bishops of Exeter and Rippon? The story goes that Paul VI was quietly reading through the list of signatories and then suddenly said: ``Ah, Agatha Christie!'' and signed his approval. Ever since, this permission has been known in traditionalist circles as the Agatha Christie Indult.
But although this indult had been granted, many bishops were unwilling actually to give permission. The traditionalists, including the Latin Mass Society, were often treated as trouble-makers and rebels.
The authority to change
I once interviewed the Patriarch of Antioch, in Damascus. I asked His Beatitude whether he, like the Bishop of Rome, believed he had power radically to alter the liturgy. `Oh yes, we have authority in liturgical matters. And in fifteen hundred years we did once alter a prayer.' Clearly the idea of virtually inventing a new rite had never entered the Patriarch''s head. (The so-called ``Tridentine'' rite was not invented by the Council of Trent, but was a codification of the Roman rite which dated back many centuries.) The question all along was whether pope and bishops really do have such authority. One distinguished Catholic thinker judged that there was no such sweeping power, that liturgy had its own authority based on immemorial tradition, and that the pope''s authority in liturgy `is at the service of Sacred Tradition.' The same thinker even dared to describe the new mass as `no re-animation but devastation... fabricated liturgy... banal-on-the-spot product.' The man who wrote those words is now Pope Benedict XVI. The Cardinals elected Ratzinger knowing that these were his convictions. It cannot have been done in a fit of absence of mind.
Mass and Invariance
The Catholic Church has often enforced unity with ferocity. Yet in the present culture war (officially denied, of course) real unity seems far away. As the Pope''s intentions become clear (Cardinal Castrillon said that the Pope wants to make the old rite available `in all the parishes' of England and Wales) the English bishops have fallen into a curious silence. The parish priest of a famous Jesuit church, politely asked whether he would make some traditional masses available, responded with unconcealed rage. (This church advertises a children's liturgy, Japanese masses, services for Brazilians and Filipinos, but apparently drew the line at the ancient Roman liturgy). The dispute about liturgy is part of a wider battle. Those who want to align the Church with modernity, which inevitably means drawing on current liberal values, became influential following Vatican II. But if they hoped that the Church would change its stance on liberation theology, divorce, homosexuality, the ordination of women, they found their nemesis in John Paul II . Woytila''s reassertion of tradition in all these areas was less flamboyant than Pio Nono''s famous denial that `the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to come to terms with progress, liberalism and the modern world,' but it came to much the same thing.
Pope Ratzinger is even more profoundly traditional than his predecessor, and he believes that disputes about liturgy are disputes about the very nature of the Church. He prizes a mass that develops according to its own laws throughout the ages. He is also attracted by the Eastern Orthodox conception of a liturgy `whose light illumines our changing times with its unchanging beauty and greatness.' Those who altered the mass after Vatican II thought it possible to create a form of worship that was illumined, indeed determined by the changing times. These are two wholly incompatible visions. As Benedict puts it in a letter to the bishops that accompanied his motu proprio: `What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.'
Tradition re-discovered in every age
Something unexpected seems now to be happening in the Catholic Church. Far from attachment to the old forms dying away, a generation of younger priests and lay Catholics is coming into view that is enthusiastically attached to the Tridentine mass, and to Catholic orthodoxy. In France, one in five of all priests currently being ordained is devoted to the old mass. And this is a committed, determined minority growing up in a virtual wasteland for the French Church. Only five per cent of French Catholics attend mass regularly. In one diocese, the Cathedral attracts seventy worshippers on Sunday, while the chapel of semi-schismatic Society of St Pius X (of Archbishop Lefebvre) attracts seven hundred to a traditional mass. Indeed, it is suggested that an actual majority of church goers on a Sunday in France attend Lefebvrist services.
Pope Benedict himself is a philosophical traditionalist of a sort that is barely understood in the modern world. In a lecture to the University in Regensberg he enraged some Muslims because he quoted a Byzantine Emperor who suggested that Mohammed countenanced violent religious conversion. But what he was talking about was the relation between religion and reason.
In other words, Christianity is a culture as well as a set of beliefs. Equally, Europe should remember its Christian roots. (Cardinal Ratzinger once said that if Turkey were ever allowed to join the EU this would represent ``the triumph of economics over culture.'') Catholic liturgies have to keep their Roman and European heritage, and cannot simply be adapted to local conditions, tongues and cultures. The mass in China should not be celebrated with rice and rice wine; and in America it should not express folksy inclusiveness. For Ratzinger, this special blend of Judaism, Greek philosophy and Romanitas is essential to the Church, an idea that Luther scorned. So it is almost literally unthinkable that a genuine liturgy could be fabricated, rather than grow out of immemorial tradition.
Admirers of Ratzinger insist that his traditionalism is no blinkered love of the past, no theological auto-immune disorder. As T.S.Eliot put it, tradition cannot be blindly inherited, but has to be re-discovered in every age, an enterprise that requires great labour. No one who reads Ratzinger can deny that he brings a very lively intelligence into his attempt to rediscover tradition. It is his critics of the ageing Vatican II generation who begin to look intellectually lazy.
In Benedict XVI, Catholic modernists meet a formidable antagonist indeed. His gentle manner and readiness to persuade rather than bludgeon conceals (from those that have not eyes to see) a philosophy of tradition that challenges not only liturgical philistines, but all those Catholics for whom history began with the Second Vatican Council. He is the immediate cause of all those joyful traditionalist Catholics congregating in Westminster cathedral and overflowing onto the pavement. The authority of a pope of Rome is not to be underestimated. When the Pope''s motu proprio became known to Catholic traditionalists, not a few of them wept for joy. At the moment his election was announced in St Peter''s square in 2005, several priests of modernist sympathies were also seen to weep -- but with chagrin. Provided his health holds, then (to misquote Henry James) those tears are not the last they are destined to shed. | <urn:uuid:77ac1d85-d9ca-4ea2-a456-c6872107bf94> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://stlouiscatholic.blogspot.com/2008/09/rediscovering-traditionalism.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976212 | 5,290 | 2.59375 | 3 |
There is a halacha that one may not name a child after an evildoer, a principle known as shem reshaim yirkav taken from Yoma 38b ("ועל בן קמצר וחביריו נאמר ושם רשעים ירקב", cf. Mishlei 10:7). Later authorities discuss the parameters of this halacha, of which you may see a summary here.
Now, occasionally there have been seeming exceptions to this rule, most famously ר' ישמעאל of the Talmud. A handful of other Jews have also been named ישמעאל -- including fairly recently (e.g. the late 18th century Rabbi Laudadio Sacerdote of Italy, whose Italian name is a calque of the Hebrew ר' ישמעאל כהן). There are various halachic justifications for the use of this name, but the very fact that it was used is assumed to be evidence that it is permissible (though not ever a popular choice among Jews).
Now, the names Muhammad, Mahmud, Mehmet, and various similar names are extremely common throughout the Muslim world. Are there any examples of these being used as names by Jewish figures? If so, it would provide interesting evidence for a few discussions, including whether the Muslim figure Muhammad is viewed as a rasha, and whether names that are etymologically related to the name of a rasha are also forbidden for use. | <urn:uuid:6669ff5b-7969-4099-9b2c-a18b6503749e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/34184/any-famous-jews-named-muhammad-mahmud-mehmet-etc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937988 | 341 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Quantifying Defensive ability in Baseball
This speech deals with the problem of quantifying the defensive ability of baseball players. The most commonly used measure of defense is fielding percentage. We will discuss several modifications of this measure that take into account other factors that help determine how much impact a player’s defensive performance has on the outcome of the game. The full student program can be found here. | <urn:uuid:6f1d2122-b75c-46d6-adb6-c623615460d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.onu.edu/research/43093 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969411 | 78 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Posted on Wednesday 20th August 2014
Discover the slithering, secret life of snakes at World Museum
World Museum invites visitors to discover the slithering, secret life of snakes this autumn, with the opening of an exciting new family friendly exhibition.
Sssnakes Alive! opening 19 September 2014 until 22 February 2015 in Liverpool, explores the biology and habitats of these fascinating reptiles.
Have you ever wondered how snakes capture their prey? Or how they adapt to live in water? Or why they shed their skin? Find out the answers and other slippery snake facts at Sssnakes Alive!
Visitors will come face to face with live specimens, including a boa constrictor and a royal python, learn about the importance of conservation and discover what life is like in countries where encounters with deadly snakes are a daily occurrence.
Objects on display include a Burmese python skeleton, a red spitting cobra and stunning photographs of snakes from around the world.
There are audio visual and interactive elements to captivate and engage all the family. Visitors can explore the Field Lab and Discovery Zone, learning about the vital work scientists do to understand the power of snake venom and the important task of developing anti-venom.
Little ones can dress up in snake camouflage, get involved in a giant game of Snakes & Ladders and take a quiz to test their snake knowledge!
Throughout the exhibition run there is a programme of free, family friendly events, including meeting live snakes, making snake models and getting temporary snake tattoos. Activities are run with the help of Exo Teach Ltd (exotic animal education, welfare and captive management) and the North Wales Reptile and Raptor Sanctuary (NWRR).
There will be an opportunity to purchase snake-inspired toys and games at World Museum’s shop.
Director of World Museum, Steve Judd, said:
“We are so excited that Sssnakes Alive! is coming to World Museum. It’s a sssensational exhibition that will enthral and entertain! It’s the perfect place to bring the kids to over half term and the Christmas holidays, and best of all, it’s free!”
Sssnakes Alive! is a touring exhibition created by Blue Tokay, with additional content from National Museums Liverpool and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
For more details on the exhibition, please visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/snakes.
Notes to editors
About National Museums Liverpool
National Museums Liverpool comprises eight venues, including some of the most visited museums in England outside of London. Our collections are among the most important and varied in Europe and contain everything from Impressionist paintings and rare beetles to a lifejacket from the Titanic. We attract more than 2.7 million visitors every year. Our venues are the Museum of Liverpool, World Museum, the Walker Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, International Slavery Museum, Border Force National Museum, Sudley House and the Lady Lever Art Gallery.
From the sea to the stars, a visit to World Museum reveals millions of years of the Earth’s history through thousands of exhibits and hands on activities. Find out how humans have created the world we inhabit, from Africa to the Americas, Asia and Europe. Look out for the Ancient Egypt gallery where our collection is amongst the finest in Europe, bringing this age old civilisation to life. Discover the wonders of the natural world in the Clore Natural History Centre, packed full of mounted and preserved specimens of all types of animals, as well as rocks, minerals, fossils and plants. The Aquarium is home to fish from Australia to Anglesey, while an array of creepy crawlies live in the Bug House. Then, blast off on a spectacular journey through space and time as the universe unfolds around you in the Planetarium.
World Museum was a winner of Netmums favourite place to go in Merseyside 2011 and was short listed for the Telegraph Family Friendly Museum Award in 2012. | <urn:uuid:22bb6e54-3d95-4810-aa8e-1b25ddef5212> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/about/mediacentre/2014/Snakes-pressrelease.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920537 | 829 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Perpetual motion machines are a thing of fantasy/delusion, but there's a lot of energy floating around that doesn't cost anything to harvest. The calculator and weather station shown here run off of microwaves from that TV tower in the distance.
Broadcasters pump out tons of of RF from their big microwave towers, operating on the mere hope that some of the RF will hit a TV antenna and deliver unto someone the evening news. Since power demands for electronic devices continues to reduce (see Moore's Law), those radio waves can now act as currents in a stream, turning the digital wheels inside small electronic devices. The catch is that the antenna harvesting the electricity has to be in line-of-sight with the microwave tower. On the bright side, the TV station (or cell tower or home Wi-Fi network) will never feel the burden of these added devices. It's just RF that didn't make it to its intended location.
The same team at Intel Labs Seattle also figured out a way to develop motion-sensing RFID tags that require the same off-the-shelf RFID transceiver used to simply count boxes and other simple tag apps—in other words, gear that's already in place in many buildings. By sticking the little tags on a bunch of household products in a room, the researchers could track what people were doing with 90% accuracy. Some people are already testing these Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform (WISP) RFID chips for use inside the human body (pacemaker location) and deep under the sea (testing seawater 1km below the surface).
The thing is, none of these technologies are going to charge your phone or power your laptop. For that, you'll need Intel's other wireless power initiative, Wireless Resonant Energy Link, first shown off in 2007. Currently, a demo model features a 45W lightbulb operating at full brightness at 1 meter with around 80% efficiency. And best of all, it doesn't electrocute people when they walk by. [Intel Labs Seattle] | <urn:uuid:e7466bdf-c4e2-4e61-9caa-93162527ffbd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://gizmodo.com/5370418/yes-there-is-such-a-thing-as-free-energy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00154-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945572 | 418 | 2.9375 | 3 |
What can you tell me the difference between GERD and pyloric stenosis?
Dr. Greene’s Answer:
GERD stands for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Normally, when we eat, food passes from our mouths to our stomachs through a tube called the esophagus. When food or acid in the stomach travels back up the esophagus, the process is called gastroesphageal reflux.
Many people have some degree of reflux. You may have experienced the feeling of heartburn after a large meal. When reflux occurs on occasion, it typically does not cause any problems. However, when it occurs frequently, it can cause damage and inflammation to the esophagus. Gastroesphageal reflux disease describes reflux that is abnormally frequent or damaging.
All newborns have a small amount of reflux. Spit up, is by definition, a reflux event. However, if the spit up is frequent or causes pain, poor feeding, poor growth, breathing problems, or damage to the esophagus, treatment is usually prescribed.
For babies with a mild degree of reflux, pediatricians may recommend nonmedical treatments such as thickened feeds or sitting the baby up at a 45-degree angle during and after feeds. Giving smaller, more frequent feedings makes good sense and is reported by many doctors and parents to have made a difference. An AR formula is an easy thing to try. Enfamil AR adds some rice without changing the number of calories kids get. It goes down thin then thickens in the stomach. Carnation Good Start, with its partially hydrolyzed proteins, has been able to show that the formula goes through the stomach quicker, but studies proving its effects n reflux are lacking.
Many children outgrow mild GERD as their stomach muscles mature. In more severe cases, babies often need medications to help control symptoms. Very rarely, surgery may be needed.
Pyloric stenosis, is far less common than GERD. It occurs when, the valve at the bottom of the stomach grows so tight, that liquid in the stomach comes shooting back up. The classic thing with pyloric stenosis is projectile vomiting, where the vomit shoots out forcefully away from the body. However, not all kids with pyloric stenosis have this (or vice versa). But the one thing most of these kids have in common is that the vomiting is progressive. It occurs more and more often over time, usually immediately after a feeding, but not necessarily after all feedings. It usually starts after 3 weeks of age, but can begin anywhere up to 5 months. It is most common in firstborns, especially firstborn boys. While nonmedical treatments have been explored in other countries, in the United States, the primary mode of treatment is surgery. When done by an experienced pediatric surgeon, the surgery is rather simple and the recovery time can be quick. Many babies are eating and feeling well enough to go home within 24 to 48 hours after surgery. | <urn:uuid:377e655b-7572-4e99-b2fc-a0b2ac5d337f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.drgreene.com/qa-articles/gerd-pyloric-stenosis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953005 | 622 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Where do the seven colored shapes come from, and whose are they?
As the shapes come blowing across the clean, white pages, the chicken, the fish, the bird, the snail and the frog each in turn claim them using simple repetitive phrases. "They're mine!" says the chicken, created when the shapes arrange themselves in the form of its head. "I saw them lying around!" But it turns out only the wind has the power to transform the puzzlelike paper shapes into the bodies of each creature and to finally blow them high in the air so readers can “catch” them and make their own (imaginary) collages. The shapes arrange themselves differently on each page to challenge children to see them as different animals. French illustrator Manceau makes extravagant use of white space; the page opposite the text that reveals the wind’s role in the drama is amusingly blank. The typeface looks light and insubstantial in relation to the strong graphic line of the illustrations. The text reads clumsily in places, possibly a poor translation from the French original, and is so sparse that some spreads are unsatisfying.
A book that at first glance might seem minimalist to the point of vacuity bears closer scrutiny when one appreciates the function the paper shapes can have in allowing a child to identify them in different orientations and even to practice counting. (Picture book. 3-7) | <urn:uuid:7d00eabe-692b-4d4e-9e96-73dbcfe89070> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/edouard-manceau/windblown/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00058-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956166 | 288 | 3.421875 | 3 |
What Does Data Integration Do For IT Support?
The computer revolution has created, over the course of several decades, a climate in which businesses and other organizations produce increasing amounts of data. One of the goals for the creation of new types of data sets is the extraction of valuable information and lessons from this mass of data so that companies can become more data driven, basing decisions and plans on objective fact rather than intuition about the economic or market conditions that might influence profitability.
This explosion in data, however, has created a strong need for new tools that can help businesses make sense of the thousands or even millions of data points that they might create or collect. One such tool is known as data integration. This technique involves making use of data from different sources, combining the data so that users can have a more unified understanding of the larger patterns that may indicate correlations or even causes that managers and business owners should take into account.
A simplified example of data integration may help make the technique clearer. Consider a teacher who is puzzling over the test scores of her students. This data set alone will indicate who is passing or failing, but shed no light on the question of why. Data integration could be used to assist by combining information from the attendance records with the test score grades. New patterns may jump out at the teacher, now, such as students absent more than 30 percent of the time in the two weeks prior to a cumulative test tend to fail that test in much greater proportions.
Data integration systems can be installed and maintained as part of an overall managed programs approach to IT support. | <urn:uuid:2c629f8b-7c1e-4dc0-863f-bb0d358aebd2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.icorps.com/bid/120004/What-Does-Data-Integration-Do-For-IT-Support | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00197-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95162 | 317 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Blueberry bushes are great plants to grow in a section of your garden. They’re low maintenance but can provide you with an awesome yield of fruit each year. What’s more, they are one of nature’s fast foods. They don’t require any preparation before eating.
I first came across fresh blueberries when I was cooking at a resort near Pemberton. By fresh I mean they weren’t a couple of days old when we received them from the grocer. We had a supplier who grew blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, loganberries, strawberries, boysenberries – you name it. If it came from a berry bush he would be growing them. Often we would go to his farm to help pick them or at least get some that he had already recently picked.
I had never considered growing blueberry bushes until recently but I might be able to squeeze one or two in along the fence of my vegie patch. Depending on which variety you decide on most only grow about 30cm (1ft) – 1m (3ft) high and bush out about 1-2m wide so they are in the realms of possibility for most household gardeners.
How to Plant Blueberry Bushes
Blueberry bushes prefer a rich soil that contains a fair amount of humus. They’re acid loving plants preferring the soil’s pH to be in the vicinity of 4.5 to 5.0 and frequent amounts of fertiliser especially prior to, and during, the fruiting season. Blueberry bushes love full-sun but can tolerate part-shade and prefer growing in colder climates. They also require frequent watering during their fruiting season.
To plant a blueberry bush follow the instructions from my How to plant a shrub making sure the soil you plant into is as above, rich in humus.
If you are considering growing a few blueberry bushes, you may want to plant some varieties that will fruit at different periods. Some varieties will set their fruit in early spring while others won’t ripen until late summer. Ask your supplier for varieties that are suited to your region with these characteristics.
How to Propagate Blueberry Bushes
One gardener who demonstrates her attempts at propagating blueberry bushes is Kerry from Kerry’s Garden. She took some cuttings off her container planted blueberry bush and planted them in some trial settings. Some she kept under plastic, some glass and others without any covering at all.
While I have never attempted to propagate these bushes before I will make a couple of observations from Kerry’s trials. Firstly, the planted blueberry bush that she shows as being the parent for these cuttings looks like the buds have formed fairly well already. I think she probably should have taken her cuttings a lot earlier in the bushes dormancy period. Like grape cuttings, if you propagate the canes towards the end of winter instead of at the end of summer the buds will instantly open and deprive the cane of all the nutrients needed to produce roots.
Secondly, Kerry didn’t seem to use any rooting powder for her blueberry cuttings. Most times I don’t use any rooting hormones for my propagated cuttings because I like the challenge. However, if you want a greater chance of success you should consider using something that will stimulate root growth especially with blueberry bushes that like to race away after budding.
How to Prune Blueberry Bushes
I had an email from a reader yesterday requesting information about being able to espalier a blueberry bush. While most berries this is very possible due to their extended canes, blueberry bushes don’t grow that large. I guess if you had a small wall that you were hoping to cover espaliering your blueberry bush may not be impossible. However, I have never seen it done before.
Pruning blueberry bushes should be done at the end of winter and requires clipping away any dead wood. The fruit comes from buds on second year wood so you will need to take this into consideration when you’re pruning.
What are the Benefits of Blueberries
Blueberries are high in vitamin C and apparently the pigment in the skin is a powerful antioxidant. Enjoying them as part of your normal diet will help protect you against cancer and heart disease and it has also been proven that they can protect you against vision loss.
Photo source: Will Merydith | <urn:uuid:5a8886bd-4ff9-48d6-8dd8-23bb44da70a3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2006/04/blueberry_bushes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00049-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97011 | 926 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Recognize how redshift suggests the universe is expanding.
Examines some of the key discoveries achieved with the famous Hubble Space Telescope, the concept of redshift, and a new telescope that will be used to uncover the early universe.
Students explore the origins of the universe through three hands-on activities, a writing exercise, and extension activities. Questions and answers are provided.
A list of student-submitted discussion questions for Expansion of the Universe.
This study guide summarizes the key points of Expansion of the Universe. You can download and customize it to suit your needs and study habits.
These flashcards help you study important terms and vocabulary from Expansion of the Universe. | <urn:uuid:7fd50cb8-c497-4f23-a191-ce8d928e1873> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ck12.org/earth-science/Expansion-of-the-Universe/?by=ck12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00196-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.886299 | 138 | 4.21875 | 4 |
Battle Of The River Plate Background
A selection of articles related to battle of the river plate background.
Original articles from our library related to the Battle Of The River Plate Background. See Table of Contents for further available material (downloadable resources) on Battle Of The River Plate Background.
- The Aeonic Perspective of the Enochian Temples
- The initiatory system of the Enochian Temples divides the path of initiation into four major stages, distinguished primarily by the types and sources of the influences they are sensitive to. Briefly, these stages are: 1. Lunar-planetary, focused in Yesod and...
Magick >> Enochian
- Bringing it Down to Earth: A Fractal Approach
- 'Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.' B. Mandelbrot W e want to think about the future - it's our nature. Unlike other creatures, humans possess an...
Mystic Sciences >> Astrology
- The Celtic Vedic Connection, Part I
- Of all the great ancient cultures perhaps no two share more parallels than those of the Celtic and Vedic peoples. A deep rooted affinity runs between them, what is present in one is mirrored in the other. Myths, Gods, Goddesses, even fairy tales bear a...
Religions >> Druidism
- Mother Of The Gods And The Father Of The Gael
- There is no surviving, or as yet translated, Creation story within Irish mythology. We learn from the Lebor Gabala Erenn, a text from the Christian Middle Ages, of the Tuatha De Danann, or "People of the Goddess Danu", who came to Ireland either...
Deities & Heros >> Celtic, Welsh, Irish & Brittish
- Select Cross-Cultural and Historical Personifications of Death
- This extensive introduction includes some of the more well known, along with some lesser known Death "incarnations", and I use that term loosely, as in many cultures, the Angel of Death can be quite an adept shapeshifter. We have tried to cull...
Mystic Sciences >> Necromantic Studies
Battle Of The River Plate Background is described in multiple online sources, as addition to our editors' articles, see section below for printable documents, Battle Of The River Plate Background books and related discussion.
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black body stefan-boltzmann law | <urn:uuid:e5f55239-b219-461f-ae5e-f76f62bd7d32> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.realmagick.com/battle-of-the-river-plate-background/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918477 | 826 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Fruits, vegetables meant to aid Ohio river renewal
Berry bushes and squash vines, apple and pear saplings, and inches-high corn plants growing now are envisioned to blossom into an "edible forest garden" in urban Cincinnati for the benefit of joggers, bicyclists, hikers and those who simply want to relax along a waterway.
Community forest and gardening efforts have been popping up across the country, from Seattle to Pittsburgh, including other urban gardens in this city along the Ohio River.
But this new project combines the goals of providing a new source of fresh fruit and vegetables for city dwellers with a long-term effort to renew the river, which has been polluted for decades.
"Basically, we are transforming what this river corridor looks like. We're giving the river a green edge and making it more inviting for people," said Robin Corathers, an environmental planner and the executive director of Groundwork Cincinnati, a community-based nonprofit.
The ambitious "Healthy People, Healthy River" project incorporates nutrition, recreation, education and artwork - along with major environmental cleanup.
A 28-mile greenway trail is planned in the Mill Creek watershed, which runs from the Ohio River through Cincinnati and into its northern suburbs. The watershed has long been a receptacle for industrial waste, raw sewage, residential stormwater runoff and other pollutants.
ill Creek restoration has been under way for two decades, and the edible forest garden is a way to heighten public interest in it, Corathers said.
Fresh, healthy food from the garden is intended to go to people who live within walking distance and aren't near a major grocery store, and to food pantries.
It's also hoped the fresh produce will boost anti-obesity efforts and attract people to the area for exercise, learning and leisure. The site will include ground vegetation and a tree canopy.
The garden also is a celebration of art.
Jonathan Sears, executive director of Professional Artistic Research Projects in Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood, and community volunteer Lennell Myricks Jr. spent a recent 90-degree morning hoeing rows of recently planted corn in an acre-size maze.
Regional sculptors will donate works to be placed throughout the corn maze; when the corn grows tall, people will come upon the works by surprise as they search for the way out.
"Long after the corn is gone, the art will be here," said Sears. "And people will be able to snack on the other things that are growing."
His group is among many participants in the forest garden. The Garden Club of Cincinnati is contributing plants and volunteers, and other help comes from neighborhood organizations, students, environmental groups, government programs and corporations.
Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has made the project one of 1,000 community gardens and green spaces it plans to help develop by 2018 in a corporate outreach project for its 150th anniversary.
"There are so many healthy benefits to this," said Chris Cerveny, a horticulture scientist for Scotts, the lawn products and service company based in Marysville, OH.
Scotts has partnered with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which granted $25,000 to the project this year, including donations of topsoil, compost and other Scotts products. The company organized dozens of volunteers to help clear and prepare the soil for planting.
Ten sweat-soaked Duke Energy Corp. volunteers were working on a recent day, wielding machetes and sprayers to clear honeysuckle and other invasive plants along the Mill Creek. The greenway project is helping to revitalize heron, turtle and other wildlife habitat along the Ohio.
Student volunteers are teaching local youths more about the area's history, as well as the environment, nutrition and horticulture.
Some of the newly planted trees are called "Freedom Trees" to celebrate Mill Creek's role in the Underground Railroad system that helped fugitive slaves reach freedom.
Even on a recent hot summer day, a few people came down the trail on bicycles. Soon, it's hoped, they'll be able to stop and pluck some blueberries or an apple while taking a break under shade trees.
"Anyone who uses the trail who wants to grab some fruit and nuts and vegetables, that's what it's there for," Carothers said. | <urn:uuid:e776b055-60f8-4582-8799-2e2882d84894> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wisfarmer.com/features/fruits-vegetables-meant-to-aid-ohio-river-renewal-----jcpg-332948-216942671.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00198-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957823 | 888 | 2.75 | 3 |
A brief history of numbers and counting, Part 2: Indian invention of zero was huge in development of math
Under the curious minds of the ancient Greeks, beginning with Pythagoras, who brought with him new concepts he learned during his time in Egypt, mathematics rose to a highly evolved level of theoretical mathematics, which ushered in a golden age of math.
But, the Greek’s role in mathematics ended, quite literally, with Archimedes, who was killed by a Roman soldier during the Siege of Syracuse in 212 BC. Under the rule of Rome, mathematics entered a dark age, and for a couple different reasons.
The main reason was that Romans simply weren’t interested in mathematics (they were more concerned with world domination), and secondly, because Roman numerals were so unwieldy, they couldn’t be used for anything more complicated than recording the results of calculations. Romans did all their calculating on a counting board, which was an early version of an abacus. And because of that Roman mathematics couldn’t, and didn’t, go far beyond adding and subtracting. Their use of numbers was good for nothing more than a simple counting system. The Romans' use of numbers was no more advanced than the notches on the Ishango Bone. There’s a good reason there are no famous Roman mathematicians.
The next big advance (and it was a huge advance) in the world of numbers and mathematics came around 500 AD in India. It would be the most revolutionary advance in numbers since the Sumerians invented math. The Indians invented an entirely new number: zero.
Under Hinduism, the Indians possessed concepts such as Nirvana and eternity. These are some very abstract concepts that need some abstract math to help describe them. Take for instance a Rajju. A Rajju is the distance that a deity can fly in a six-month period. Or a Palya, which is the length of time it would take to build a cube of lamb’s wool 10-km high if you were to lay one strand of lamb’s wool every century. Try expressing that idea with Roman numerals.
The Indians needed a way to express very large numbers, and so they created a method of counting that could deal with very large numbers. It was they who created a different symbol for every number from one to nine. They are known today as Arabic numerals, but they would more properly be called Indian numbers, since it was the Indians who invented them. The Indians have been using “Arabic” numbers them since about 500 BC.
Once zero was invented it transformed counting, and mathematics, in a way that would change the world. Zero is still considered India’s greatest contribution to the world. For the first time in human history the concept of nothing had a number.
Zero, by itself, wasn’t necessarily all that special. The magic happened when you paired it with other numbers. With the invention of zero the Indians gained the ability to make numbers infinitely large or infinitely small. And that enabled Indian scientists to advance far ahead of other civilizations that didn’t have zero, due to the extraordinary calculations that could me made with it. For example, Indian astronomers were centuries ahead of the Christian world. With the help of the very plastic and fluid Arabic numbers, Indian scientists worked out that the Earth spins on its axis, and that it moves around the sun, something that Copernicus wouldn’t figure out for another thousand years.
The next big advance in numbers, the invention of fractions, came in 762 AD in what is now Baghdad — and what was then Persia. The Persians were Muslims, and it was their adherence to the Koran and the teachings of Islam that led to the invention of fractions.
The Koran taught that possessions of the deceased had to be divided among their descendants. Unlike Christianity at the time, Islam — which was scarcely 100 years old at the time — divided belongings among women as well as men. But women got a lesser share. Working all of that out required fractions. But prior to 762 AD they didn’t have a system of mathematics sophisticated enough to do a very proper job. Enter Arabic numbers.
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- West Valley mom creates special needs... 1 | <urn:uuid:16194064-e12b-4ecd-ba86-f29f18803058> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865560133/A-brief-history-of-numbers-and-counting-Part-2-Indian-invention-of-zero-was-huge-in-development-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96609 | 1,049 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Top 10 Largest Databases in the World
Bangalore: Through your life, you may have come across some very large collections. These collections can vary from things that you use in your day to day life to things such as stones or even bugs. You also might have met with some of the organizations having large databases like Google and Facebook who are nearing to a billion users. So now the question- what is a database? Well databases are nothing but massive collection of billions and trillions of information’s that are in the forms of fields and records and on how they are being stored and served.
To justify the old saying that “Size alone doesn’t matters”, databases are merely not listed according to their sizes. It depends on their storage and service. So keeping this in mind here’s a list that features top 10 Largest Databases in the World.
10. Library of Congress:
Research library of the United States Congress or the de facto national library- it’s the Library of Congress that finds its ideal 10th spot in the listing of top 10 largest databases in the world. Ranging from 130 million items from little story books to newspapers-old and new, and to U.S Government proceedings, the Liberty of Congress (LC) owns a proud collection that not even the digital age can’t match up. It’s said that the text portion of LC would take up of 20 Terabytes of data. With an expansion rate of 10,000 per day, the LC spreads out in a massive 530 miles of shelf space. It’s said that the LC is the ideal place for information’s that aren’t found on the internet.
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All form fields are required. | <urn:uuid:4c2e0b6b-e62b-4746-a3ff-c3cee1883f74> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.siliconindia.com/news/enterpriseit/Top-10-Largest-Databases-in-the-World-nid-118841-cid-7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945688 | 364 | 2.578125 | 3 |
CPF Highlights Role of Forests for Bioenergy
7 November 2011: The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) has released a statement on the role of forests in coping with future demands for bioenergy, improving environmental quality and increasing economic opportunities.
The statement outlines potential opportunities for efficient use of wood for purposes such as the production of renewable bioproducts including bioplastics, biofuels and biochemicals, but cautions that increased demand for wood as a source of energy must be balanced with other needs. These needs include biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, ensuring livelihoods of forest-dependent communities and indigenous peoples, and the needs of conventional forest industries. The statement highlights that, although Europe focuses on enhancing contributions of forests to renewable energy supplies, many developing countries are more concerned with ensuring energy security and reducing vulnerabilities of forest-dependent communities dependent on biomass for energy.
The CPF advocates growing trees on farms as one way to meet local demands for fuel while taking pressure off forests and woodlands. The statement acknowledges that fuel wood use is a driver of deforestation in many developing countries, and calls for increased effort and investment to make fuelwood a source of sustainable and potentially carbon neutral energy in those countries. [CPF Statement] | <urn:uuid:3c03eade-8007-4274-99af-f226354f77bf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/cpf-highlights-role-of-forests-for-bioenergy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943399 | 254 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The pharmaceutical industry is starting to use bar codes to ensure authenticity of its products. The World Health Organization estimates that counterfeit drugs account for 10 percent of legal market sales worldwide [source: Kremen]. The Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) in the United Arab Emirates plans to launch a bar code system in 2011 that will track legitimate medications and prevent counterfeits from reaching the market. Using the system, patients taking a drug make a phone call and enter the code on the package to make sure it's not a fake (source: Underwood). Pharmaceutical distributors worldwide are implementing similar safety precautions through 2-D bar code technology [source: Kremen].
Back in the hospital, bar codes are used on medications such as bottles of pills and bags of intravenous (IV) fluids. The goal of these bar codes is to ensure that hospital staff match the correct medication with the correct patient [source: Reinberg].
Unfortunately, if this bar code system isn't used properly, it may fail to prevent a patient from receiving the wrong medication. In one study of five hospitals, nurses ordered incorrect medications despite computer system alerts from bar code scans for more than 4 percent of patients, which amounted to over 10 percent of all medications ordered. Researchers said nurses who misused bar codes and ignored the alerts could have caused patients to receive the wrong drug doses and formulas [source: Neale].
Bar codes might still play a role in keeping you safe outside the health care industry. One example is in the form of ID cards used for secure access to buildings. Secure buildings often use scanner technology to release door locks. Bar codes on ID cards are passed over a bar code scanner at each secure door for entry. This helps protect people inside the building from intruders that might threaten their lives, and it prevents intruders from accessing dangerous materials inside a building that could be a threat to the public if they got out.
Another way bar codes help prevent life-threatening situations is by speeding up the product recall process. Part of a UPC bar code is the product's Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), which can be used to identify an individual product or a grouping of products as they're distributed to the businesses that sell them [source: GS1 US]. By using the GTIN, stockers in warehouses and retail store stockrooms can quickly identify if they have any stock of a recalled product before it ever reaches store shelves.
If you browse product recalls on the Web, you'll find various examples of cases in which a food, toy or baby product was potentially hazardous to the consumer. For example, in December 2010, Whole Foods Market issued a recall of a milk-free frozen dessert product because it possibly contained milk. This type of situation could have been dangerous and even deadly to someone with severe milk allergies who had purchased the product specifically because it was milk-free. Whole Foods was able to quickly identify 25 suspect pallets of the product, determine where those pallets would have been shipped, and inform their stores and customers how to identify the recalled product. [source: Whole Foods]
As we've just seen, bar codes can potentially save your life by facilitating access to information essential to ensuring your safety and by reducing the time needed to handle an emergency. Scan forward to the next page for more information on bar codes. | <urn:uuid:fa3f7491-50a5-4567-8fef-84af46faa1f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/repurposed-inventions/barcode-save-your-life1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00164-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943848 | 672 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Visit the site of the first official call for American independence
Halifax in eastern North Carolina is home to the Halifax Resolves, the first official action for independence by any colony. Halifax was the meeting place of the state’s Fourth Provincial Congress in 1776, and the historic structures that preserve the identity of this important colonial port comprise the Historic Halifax State Historic Site. The site offers an audiovisual presentation, exhibits, guided tours and displays depicting the history of the town. In the center of the state, Mecklenburg County claims its own declaration that pre-dates the call for American independence, but its validity has yet to be resolved. However, if you find yourself in Charlotte on May 20, be sure to wish someone a Happy Meck Dec Day.
Halifax State Historic Site
Halifax State Historic Site, Saint David Street, Halifax, NCGet Directions
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© 2016 Visit North Carolina | <urn:uuid:f994f07a-a0e3-4515-aeaf-31356dafc3e3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://project543.visitnc.com/halifaxresolves/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9275 | 194 | 3.03125 | 3 |
New analysis of the dagger buried with King Tut confirms that the weapon was made from an iron meteorite. They used X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to study the dagger, found on Tut's mummified body by Howard Carter in 1925. Daniela Comelli of Milan Polytechnic's department of physics and her colleagues have even identified the most likely meteorite used to forge the dagger.
"We took into consideration all meteorites found within an area of 2,000 km in radius centered in the Red Sea, and we ended up with 20 iron meteorites," Comelli told Space.com. "Only one, named Kharga, turned out to have nickel and cobalt contents which are possibly consistent with the composition of the blade."
The study shows the ancient Egyptians attributed great value to meteoritic iron for the production of precious objects, possibly perceiving those chunks of iron falling from the sky as a divine message.
The most ancient Egyptian iron artifacts, nine small beads excavated from a cemetery along the west bank of the Nile tomb in Gerzeh and dated about 3200 BC, are also made from meteoritic iron hammered into thin sheets.
"It would be very interesting to analyze more pre-Iron Age artifacts, such as other iron objects found in King Tut's tomb. We could gain precious insights into metal working technologies in ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean," Comelli said.
"King Tut's Blade Made of Meteorite" Read the rest
A video recently posted on YouTube appears to show a falling meteoroid just missing a skydiver in Norway. Fast forward to 1:31 to see it streak past.
"If you work out the mathematics, the odds of a 1-kilogram- rock (2.2 lbs.) passing within some 30 feet (9.1 meters) of a person on Earth's surface within 10 minutes is about 1 in 500 billion," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office told Space.com. "You have a 1,000 times greater chance of winning the Powerball lottery."
UPDATE: Over at Slate, Phil "Bad Astronmy" Plait wrote, "It is entirely possible that what the video shows is a smaller rock that fell out of the skydiver’s parachute." Read the rest
Carlo Zapponi created Bolides, a fantastic animated visualization of meteorites that have been seen hitting the Earth. The data source is the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society's Meteorite Bulletin. "The word bolide comes from Greek βολίς bolis, which means missile. Astronomers tend to use bolide to identify an exceptionally bright fireball, particularly one that explodes." Bolides Read the rest
Here is Heritage Auctions' description for the Gibeon Mask -- "an incomparable iron meteorite"
Read the rest
Closing out the Gibeon section is arguably the most aesthetic iron meteorite known to exist. In 1992, indigenous tribesmen in Namibia's Kalahari recovered this matchless specimen with the aid of a metal detector. It is extremely rare for meteorites to have naturally formed holes, and rarer still when the holes are positioned in the matrix in such a way as to yield a magnificent aesthetic specimen-let alone the highly zoomorphic example seen here. Defined by the two adjacent hollows that perforate its mass and separated by perfectly sculpted ridges, there is an exquisite asymmetric balance between this meteorite's two sides: the outward flanging of one side is offset by the larger hollow and more prominent opposing crest.
In addition to the mechanisms involved in the shaping of aesthetic iron meteorites described in the previous lot, there is one other critical detail that was of particular significance to the current example: the moment of extraction from beneath the Earth's surface. If removed several hundred years earlier, this specimen would not have been the perfectly singular zoomorphic evocation before us. If removed several hundred years later, the holes would be far too large and outsized. Adorned with a sumptuous natural patina from its stay in the Kalahari and accompanied by a custom armature and Lucite dome, this is an incomparable meteorite from the finest collection of aesthetic iron meteorites in the world. 195 x 212 x 177mm (7.66 x 8.33 x 7 inches) and 9.37 kilograms (20.66 pounds)
Provenance: The Macovich Collection, New York City.
This is a very cool, behind-the-scenes peek at how researchers at the Smithsonian deal with the problem of studying meteorites without contaminating said meteorites.
This is a big issue. We study meteorites to learn things about what has happened and is happening outside our own planetary system. If, in the process of that, we end up covering the samples with the detritus of Earth, then the message gets muddled. If you're studying a meteorite, you want to be reasonably sure that you're not accidentally studying dust or bacteria from this planet. Clean rooms like the one in this video make it easier to examine these samples in a way that is less destructive.
Learn more about the Smithsonian's collection of Antarctic meteorites.
Video Link Read the rest | <urn:uuid:3774c5ab-5806-4b65-9f1d-0b0ba5c118e9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://boingboing.net/tag/meteorites | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00167-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936221 | 1,074 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future results)... When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters for a campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently utilize campaign advertising. It is common for political scientists to attempt to predict elections via Political Forecasting methods. Election, Wikipedia. | <urn:uuid:c870586a-ce13-4c84-a73e-508c53ba9bbc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dukecityfix.com/profiles/blogs/recovery-cat-10302010 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00148-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965764 | 92 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Under the authority of the Railway Safety Act, the proposed regulations will improve safety by providing comprehensive and enforceable safety standards for grade crossings; clarifying the roles and responsibilities of railway companies and road authorities and mandating the sharing of key safety information between railway companies and road authorities.
The regulations are a result of a comprehensive public consultation process and were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on February 8, 2014.
The current approach to managing safety at grade crossings requires collaboration between 1,460 municipal and provincial road authorities, 95 aboriginal bands, 32 railway companies and many individual private authorities. The proposed regulations affect approximately 14,000 public and 9,000 private crossings and would encourage increased collaboration, require information sharing and clarify roles and responsibilities.
"A safe and secure national rail transportation system is important to local communities and to Canada's economic well-being. While Canada has one of the safest rail systems in the world, we can do better. These proposed regulations will make grade crossings safer and save lives," said Canada's Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt.
The proposed regulations would require railway companies and road authorities to meet improved and enforceable safety standards when building or altering grade crossings and for existing grade crossings, such as the introduction of signs and warning systems. Additionally, the proposal specifies what critical safety information must be shared between railway companies and road authorities.
The proposed regulations also clearly define who is responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and inspection of the crossing surface, signage and warning systems.
Last, sightlines would be required to be clear of any obstructions, such as buildings, structures, trees or brush. Railway companies would not be permitted to leave railway equipment unattended if it impedes visibility at grade crossings. Other safety features include design plans for warning systems and standards for maintaining, inspecting and testing traffic control devices. Railway companies would be required to keep records of these activities and of any system malfunctions or failures for a minimum of two years.
Stakeholders and the public have 90 days to comment on the proposed regulations before a finalized version is published. | <urn:uuid:9375ecfd-0772-4c68-8953-b0797535706b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rtands.com/index.php/safety-training/transport-canada-proposes-new-grade-crossing-regulations.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00150-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958891 | 420 | 2.625 | 3 |
Mark Liberman recently asked, "What was the earliest use of mixed typographical symbols (as opposed to uniform asterisks or underlining) to represent (part or all of) taboo words?" The use of such symbols appears to have originated as a comic-strip convention. Comic strip fans, following Mort Walker's Lexicon of Comicana, have often called these cursing characters grawlixes, though I prefer the term obscenicons. In Gwillim Law's history of grawlixes, he lists examples of cartoon cursing going back to the Sep. 3, 1911 installment of "The Katzenjammer Kids." Here is the panel in question (which I found in the Washington Post archives):
Along with a sequence of asterisk-dash-exclamation point-dash-exclamation point, the speech balloon also features what appears to be a stick-figure devil firing a cannon, with three more exclamation points for good measure. As delightful as this example is, it's not the earliest use of obscenicons on the comics page. I found another "Katzenjammer Kids" strip using them, from two years earlier.
Skimming through comics pages in the newspaper databases, I discovered the "Kids" strip of Aug. 8, 1909 (as printed in The Atlanta Constitution), with the title, "One of Those Dod Gasted Lumber Flumes!" (Dod gasted is a minced oath along the lines of dad-blasted, in the strip's stereotypically German-accented style.) The Captain takes the Kids, Hans and Fritz, to see a log flume, and before too long the Kids have pushed the Captain and the flume owner, Diamond Joe, into the water. Diamond Joe exclaims, "Ouch!" followed by "* fool!", with lines around the asterisk.
But when the Captain and Diamond Joe are finally fished out of the water, they both unleash a flurry of obscenicons (the Captain's sequence even includes an anchor symbol):
(You can see the whole strip here.)
Since "The Katzenjammer Kids" often portrayed Hans and Fritz mischievously tormenting adults, who then react with cartoonish rage, it's quite likely that earlier obscenicons can be found in the strip's history. Credit "Kids" creator Rudolph Dirks, then, with being the true pioneer of typographically innovative taboo-word substitution.
[Update, July 24: See this follow-up post for obscenicons going back to 1902.] | <urn:uuid:02edaf10-29b9-4339-9862-49d4f4a29ffb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2457 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934475 | 517 | 2.59375 | 3 |
2 Answers | Add Yours
To answer your question, I'll make a list of literary devices (literary terms) that Marvell used and how he used them.
- Rhyme: particularly end of line; the poem's rhyme scheme is very easy to trace.
- Couplet: the entire poem is written in couplets, or two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.
- Meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables; each couplet has the same number of syllables.
- Allusion: making reference to people or events in history, mythology, or literature; the speaker says he would love her "ten years before the Flood."
- Hyperbole: exaggeration; the speaker says that "an hundred years" should be spent to praise her eyes and "thirty thousand to the rest"
- Simile: youth sits on her skin "like morning dew."
This is a brief list of the devices Marvell used in the poem. I hope it will help you to find more.
In reading “To his Coy Mistress” there are three literary devices that jump out at me, rhyming words, parallel structure and allusion.
The first device rhyming words links the first line to the second line, the third line to the fourth line and so on.
Marvell, in turn, uses this device as the basis for the next device, the poem’s parallel structure. First, every pair of lines is linked by a rhyme pair. Second, these pairs of rhyme follow each other as though they are in a single file line. Consequently, Marvell’s use of parallelism gives firm order to the first stanza.
The third literary device Marvell uses is allusion. This occurs in the middle of the first stanza: “Till the conversion of the Jews”. This line gets at the notion of the continual and long-lasting of the rejection of the Jesus as the Messiah.
We’ve answered 328,285 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:a2f1e81f-7e18-4c49-a192-6b6150d8e936> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-some-examples-literary-terms-this-poem-219061 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00120-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937223 | 434 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Aug. 15, 2012 (1:00 p.m. Eastern)
Astronomers have found an extraordinary galaxy cluster—one of the largest objects in the Universe—that is breaking several important cosmic records. Observations of this cluster, known as the Phoenix Cluster, with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the NSF's South Pole Telescope and eight other world-class observatories, may force astronomers to rethink how these colossal structures, and the galaxies that inhabit them, evolve.
Live audio of the teleconference streamed online at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio If you're unable to take part, you can call the replay number below to listen to the news conference until August 22:
Dial In: 1-800-873-1933
Toll Call: 1-203-369-3374
A video will air on NASA Television on August 15 (check the NASA TV schedule for additional times and information).
|Michael McDonald (MIT)|
|Brad Benson (U. Chicago)|
|Megan Donahue (Michigan State University)|
|Martin Rees (Cambridge University, UK)|
Figure 1. Optical (red, green, blue) and ultraviolet (blue) image of center of Phoenix Cluster, and optical images of Abell 2029 and Abell 2052.
Figure 2. Artist's impression of galaxy at center of Phoenix Cluster.
Figure 3. Animation of cooling gas and stars forming near center of Phoenix Cluster.
Figure 4. Cavities and sound waves in the Perseus Cluster.
Figure 5. South Pole Telescope (SPT).
Figure 6. Microwave (orange), optical (red, green, blue) and ultraviolet (blue) image of Phoenix Cluster.
Figure 7. Optical/UV/X-ray composite with a pull-out from the central region to optical/UV image.
Figure 8. Artist's impression of galaxy at center of Phoenix Cluster.
Figure 9. Chandra Spacecraft.
Paper Title: SPT-CLJ2344-4243: A Massive, Cooling Flow Induced Starburst in a Highly Luminous Galaxy Cluster
Full Author List: M. McDonald, M. Bayliss, B. A. Benson, R. J. Foley, J. Ruel, P. Sullivan, S. Veilleux, K. A. Aird, M. L. N. Ashby, M. Bautz, G. Bazin, L. E. Bleem, M. Brodwin, J. E. Carlstrom, C. L. Chang, H. M. Cho, A. Clocchiatti, T. M. Crawford, A. T. Crites, T. de Haan, S. Desai, M. A. Dobbs, J. P. Dudley, E. Egami, W. R. Forman, G. P. Garmire, E. M. George, M. D. Gladders, A. H. Gonzalez, N. W. Halverson, N. L. Harrington, F. W. High, G. P. Holder, W. L. Holzapfel, S. Hoover, J. D. Hrubes, C. Jones, M. Joy, R. Keisler, L. Knox, A. T. Lee, E. M. Leitch, J. Liu, M. Lueker, D. Luong-Van, A. Mantz, D. P. Marrone, J. J. McMahon, J. Mehl, S. S. Meyer, E. D. Miller, L. Mocanu, J. J. Mohr, T. E. Montroy, S. S. Murray, T. Natoli, S. Padin, T. Plagge, C. Pryke, T. D. Rawle, C. L. Reichardt, A. Rest, M. Rex, J. E. Ruhl, B. R. Saliwanchik, A. Saro, J. T. Sayre, K. K. Schaffer, L. Shaw, E. Shirokoff, R. Simcoe, J. Song, H. G. Spieler, B. Stalder, Z. Staniszewski, A. A. Stark, K. Story, C.W. Stubbs, R. Šuhada, A. van Engelen, K. Vanderlinde, J. D. Vieira, A. Vikhlinin, R.Williamson, O. Zahn, and A. ZentenoScientist Contact Information:
Michael McDonald: firstname.lastname@example.org
Bradford Benson: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:3f787c42-ae18-4a17-8231-5261ce955636> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2012/phoenix/media/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00132-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.678075 | 1,002 | 3.078125 | 3 |
The human eye is optimised to have good colour vision at day and high sensitivity at night. But until recently it seemed as if the cells in the retina were wired the wrong way round, with light travelling through a mass of neurons before it reaches the light-detecting rod and cone cells. New research presented at a meeting of the American Physical Society has uncovered a remarkable vision-enhancing function for this puzzling structure.
About a century ago, the fine structure of the retina was discovered. The retina is the light-sensitive part of the eye, lining the inside of the eyeball. The back of the retina contains cones to sense the colours red, green and blue. Spread among the cones are rods, which are much more light-sensitive than cones, but which are colour-blind.
Before arriving at the cones and rods, light must traverse the full thickness of the retina, with its layers of neurons and cell nuclei. These neurons process the image information and transmit it to the brain, but until recently it has not been clear why these cells lie in front of the cones and rods, not behind them. This is a long-standing puzzle, even more so since the same structure, of neurons before light detectors, exists in all vertebrates, showing evolutionary stability.
Researchers in Leipzig found that glial cells, which also span the retinal depth and connect to the cones, have an interesting attribute. These cells are essential for metabolism, but they are also denser than other cells in the retina. In the transparent retina, this higher density (and corresponding refractive index) means that glial cells can guide light, just like fibre-optic cables.
In view of this, my colleague Amichai Labin and I built a model of the retina, and showed that the directional of glial cells helps increase the clarity of human vision. But we also noticed something rather curious: the colours that best passed through the glial cells were green to red, which the eye needs most for daytime vision. The eye usually receives too much blue – and thus has fewer blue-sensitive cones.
Further computer simulations showed that green and red are concentrated five to ten times more by the glial cells, and into their respective cones, than blue light. Instead, excess blue light gets scattered to the surrounding rods.
This surprising result of the simulation now needed an experimental proof. With colleagues at the Technion Medical School, we tested how light crosses guinea pig retinas. Like humans, these animals are active during the day and their retinal structure has been well-characterised, which allowed us to simulate their eyes just as we had done for humans. Then we passed light through their retinas and, at the same time, scanned them with a microscope in three dimensions. This we did for 27 colours in the visible spectrum.
The result was easy to notice: in each layer of the retina we saw that the light was not scattered evenly, but concentrated in a few spots. These spots were continued from layer to layer, thus creating elongated columns of light leading from the entrance of the retina down to the cones at the detection layer. Light was concentrated in these columns up to ten times, compared to the average intensity.
Even more interesting was the fact that the colours that were best guided by the glial cells matched nicely with the colours of the cones. The cones are not as sensitive as the rods, so this additional light allowed them to function better – even under lower light levels. Meanwhile, the bluer light, that was not well-captured in the glial cells, was scattered onto the rods in its vicinity.
These results mean that the retina of the eye has been optimised so that the sizes and densities of glial cells match the colours to which the eye is sensitive (which is in itself an optimisation process suited to our needs). This optimisation is such that colour vision during the day is enhanced, while night-time vision suffers very little. The effect also works best when the pupils are contracted at high illumination, further adding to the clarity of our colour vision. | <urn:uuid:0c2e47fe-2f5f-4e3c-b1cf-678bb9476619> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://theconversation.com/look-your-eyes-are-wired-backwards-heres-why-38319 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964708 | 836 | 3.921875 | 4 |
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Session 6 - The Art of Math ~ Carol Yeager with Neil Currie and Rostom Kouyoumdjian
Math is not always apparent in art, and yet, it is inherent in art. Not all artists are math savvy, although their works contain many mathematical principles including geometry, patterns, as well as angles and lines of perspective. The golden ratio, or phi, is one of the ultimate mysteries of the arts; it is a major element in many noted art works from Leonardo DaVinci's paintings to the Parthenon … and beyond.
To many mathematicians, the mysteries of art are intriguing and offer deeper investigations. You have already been introduced to some of these elements of mathematics in art, and you will be delving more deeply in the last two sessions.
This session offers an overview and some artists depictions and demonstrations of the Golden Ratio and perspective. Join us in investigating the mysteries of art as demonstrated and explained by artists and mathematics.
Reading, Viewing and Listening Materials
- Session, 29 November: Location:pre-recorded for your asynchronous pleasure, and located HERE.
- How creative are you with 4 lines and 9 dots? Watch this video and test yourself.
- Try a perspective drawing and post it in your blog ... use one, two or three point perspective. HERE is a bit more on perspective (check out the links). | <urn:uuid:8a3b8389-a44a-49d8-bf5b-6b041220c422> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://math.cdlprojects.com/week6.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905947 | 320 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Children's dental health is extremely important, which is why so many schools across the country have been asking experts to come and visit their students and talk to them about the importance of keeping their teeth clean. For example, The Florida Times-Union recently reported that military dentists came to talk to a local class about how to keep their teeth healthy, and offered important dental health tips to both children and parents.
Among the many things they recommended was that by age 12 to 14 months, babies should be weaned from the bottle, since prolonged use of bottles may lead to tooth decay. When children drink from the bottle all day, their teeth are constantly getting exposed to the sugars and bacteria in their milk, which is why they need to stop drinking from it as soon as possible.
Tips for weaning
WebMD states that weaning usually comes at a busy time in a baby's life, when he or she is developing hand-eye coordination, teething and learning to crawl. The news source spoke to Laura Jana, M.D., a Nebraska pediatrician and co-author of "Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor and a Bottle of Ketchup," who explained that parents should start early when it comes to transitioning their baby from the bottle to the sippy cup.
"Many [parents] wait until they think their kids can successfully handle the cup instead of treating it like a learning experience," Jana told WebMD.
She said that the better move would be to let children handle the cup even before they have the dexterity and coordination to keep from spilling. It's better that kids get a feel for the cup as early as possible, so they'll be more comfortable with it.
Jennifer Shu, M.D., who co-wrote the book with Jana, states that to wean a baby, parents should put whatever beverage their child is used to - whether it's breast milk or baby formula - into a sippy cup. Furthermore, Shu recommended switching out the bottle with a cup every five to seven days, and putting a little more liquid in the cup and a little less in the bottle each time.
Finally, if the baby is old enough to show preferences, let him or her help pick out the cup, so he or she may be more inclined to drink from the cup without being fussy about it.
© 2013 Brafton Inc. | <urn:uuid:690c9b63-82c1-4077-8068-d4c91e4504ae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dentalplans.com/dentalhealtharticles/58446/get-your-baby-from-the-bottle-to-a-sippy-cup-for-better-dental-health.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00200-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979784 | 493 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
The Ponzo illusion is an optical illusion that was first demonstrated by the Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo (1882-1960) in 1913. He suggested that the human mind judges an object's size based on its background. He showed this by drawing two identical lines across a pair of converging lines, similar to railway tracks. The upper line looks longer because we interpret the converging sides according to linear perspective as parallel lines receding into the distance. In this context, we interpret the upper line as though it were farther away, so we see it as longer – a farther object would have to be longer than a nearer one for both to produce retinal images of the same size.
Some researchers believe that the Moon illusion is an example of the Ponzo illusion, with trees and houses playing the role of Ponzo's converging lines. Foreground objects trick our brain into thinking the moon is bigger than it really is.
One of the explanations for Ponzo illusion is the 'Perspective hypothesis', which states that the perspective feature in the figure is obviously produced by the converging lines ordinarily associated with distance, that is, the two oblique lines appear to converge toward the horizon or a vanishing point. Another is the 'Framing effects hypothesis', which says that the difference in the separation or gap of the horizontal lines from the framing coverging lines may determine, or at least contribute to the magnitude of the distortion.
Work by Fujita and the Bloughs suggests that Pigeons can see the illusion too.
References & BibliographyEdit
- R. W. Brislin (1974)The Ponzo Illusion: Additional Cues, Age, Orientation, and Culture.Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 5, 139-161
- Fujita, K., Blough, D. S. & Blough, P. M. (1991) Pigeons see the Ponzo illusion. AnimalLearning & Behavior, 19, 283-293
- Fujita, K., Blough, D.S. & Blough, P.M. (1993). Effects of the inclination of context lines on perception of the Ponzo illusion by pigeons. Animal Learning & Behavior, 21, 29-34 | <urn:uuid:4cb55962-9dcc-4137-a2e3-808495ebf49a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Ponzo_illusion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905759 | 472 | 4.125 | 4 |
What do we know about Mora clocks?
Well, we know they were made, at least the clock works, in a town called Mora in the district or province of Dalarna, Sweden. We know that they were made as early as the 18th century and that the shapes that are in demand now, the figure eight and the curvaceous female forms, were produced more in the early 19th century. It seems that each province in Sweden used roughly the same internal clock works and a similar set of patterns for their body types, but each came up with a somewhat different variation on the shape or form. While there was little deviation from the standard figure eight or female shapes, there were some that were very thin and tall (northern Sweden) and some wide and overly shapely. These beautiful clocks, quickly becoming a hot commodity on the market today, were sought after even more fervently in their own time.( CLOCKS TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT ARE “SOLD”). Continue reading | <urn:uuid:423a6ee4-b392-4a24-8cdd-609bb6319e5a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ryderantiques.com/tag/clocks-and-watches/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.992568 | 205 | 2.90625 | 3 |
E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
November 17th, the day of the aecession of Queen Elizabeth. first publicly celebrated in 1570, and still kept as a holiday at the Exchequer, as it was at Westminster school.
Nov. 17 at Merchant Taylors school is a holiday also, now called Sir Thomas Whites Founders Day.
A rumour is spread in the court, and hath come to the eares of some of the most honourable counsell, how that I on the Queens day last past did forbidd in our college an oration to bee made in praise of Her Majestys government, etc.Dr. Whittaker to Lord Burghley (May 14th, 1590). | <urn:uuid:e5bc0a71-61d7-4ec9-b760-acd8a0837f42> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bartleby.com/81/13895.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942644 | 162 | 2.53125 | 3 |
ESL Grammar Worksheets
Past Continuous Tense
Past Continuous Tense (2)
To use the Past Continuous Tense, you need a [Past Tense Be Verb] + [Verb+ing]:
Fill in the blanks to complete the sentences below.
1. I was watching TV when______________________________.
2. My mother was driving her car when ____________________.
3. Roger was _________________ when he heard a strange noise.
4. I was talking to my friend when _______________________.
.5 We were sleeping when ______________________________.
6. Dave and James were ____________________ when
7. Tina was________________________ when her friend hit her.
8. Steve was riding his motorcycle when ___________________.
9. It was raining when ____________________________.
10. The cat __________________ when the dog started barking.
Back to ESL Grammar Exercises
Stickyball Home: ESL Worksheets | <urn:uuid:d1d1ac8a-65d0-4c54-ac3c-763bb445c600> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://stickyball.net/esl-grammar-worksheets.html?id=73 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.879747 | 203 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Flags are used as icons of places and nations. Hence, most flags are designed around a certain idea or image that is somehow associated with the land being represented. This is especially true of national flags. The flag of each and every country in the world contain elements of symbolism and, many times, these symbols occur in the form of colors. Most times when a flag includes a certain color it is entwined with some sort of commentary on the country in which the flag represents.
Black is a color that appears in several flags across the globe. Jamaica, Estonia, the Bahamas, Barbados, South Korea, Germany, Belgium, Egypt and South Africa are just a few examples of some countries that have black in their flags. Although often associated with all things dark and dreary, black can also represent strength and perseverance. For example, the black in the Jamaican flag represents the strength and creativity of the Jamaican people that has enabled them to overcome many struggles throughout their history. In South Korea the black on the flag is symbolic of the balance between darkness and light, day and night, since it contrasts with the white background of the flag.
Since mostly all flags are iconic of the places they represent by studying the flags of different countries it is possible to learn more about the specific nation and why certain color schemes and shapes appear in the flag. Included here is a slide show of five flags that contain the color black. | <urn:uuid:f3fc2dfc-a3d5-4de5-b307-a9940210ab66> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.examiner.com/article/flags-containing-the-color-black?cid=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00160-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954545 | 288 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Cross-posted from Kayak Yak . . . Drug discovery from marine sources is an active area of research, and several drugs of marine origin have already reached regular clinical use. (There’s a whole journal dedicated to Marine Drugs. Open access, too). For quite some time, I’ve had the notion of doing a series of posts about these drugs, where they come from and what they do, and I’ve been tinkering with this first entry for about as long, trying to balance length with bio-geekery. So here goes.
In 2004, the pain-killing drug ziconotide (Prialt) was approved for marketing by the US FDA, some twenty years after Balmedro Olivera and Lourdes Cruz set out to find out how the sting from a 10 cm poisonous marine snail, Conus geographus, could kill a human many times its weight. C geographus (picture from Wikimedia commons) is a member of the cone snail family, so named for their distinctively shaped, colourful shells. C. geographus takes its name from its map-like shell pattern (photo from Wikimedia commons). It lives below the low tide mark in pockets of sand near the edges of coral reefs and atolls; on a map its distribution tracks a wide ribbon from Madagascar around the edges of the Indian Ocean, down through Indonesia, around the North coast of Australia and up the islands and atolls of the Pacific. To the biologist, it and its fellows are known as Class Gastropoda, Order Neogastropoda, Superfamily Toxoglossa, Family Conidae, while naturalists over the centuries have named the Apothecary Cone, Astrologers Cone, Hebrew Cone and Emaciated Cone. The dinosaurs were already extinct when the first cone shell was pressed into the fossil record, some 55 million years ago, but they now form a family around 700 species strong, which inhabits warm and tepid shallows around the globe. The more common species can be had for a pleasure-dive in reef waters, or a stroll along the ocean, while particularly rare and handsome specimens have been auctioned for more than the price of a painting (in 1798) or a family saloon car (1960). Occasionally, their price has been a life: 30 or so people are known to have died of cone snail stings, mainly from Conus geographus.
Cone snails’ dietary aspirations might seem, on first blush, overambitious: they are carnivorous, with a taste for worms, other molluscs … and fish. However, per Ecclestiates, the race is not to the swift . . . Cone snails generally use one of two hunting strategies, harpoon or net, and their secret weapon is poison, a cocktail of venoms tailored to hunting style and prey. The cocktails contains 50-200 individual toxins, and vary between species, so that there are an estimated 25 000 plus toxins across all the known cone snail species. The venom of the harpoon-wielding snail Conus purpurascens contains a mixture of fast-acting toxins that produce a nerve paralysis, and slower acting toxins that produce muscular paralysis. When a fish comes within range, the snail jabs at it with a venom-filled tooth held on the end of a proboscis. A stung fish can be paralyzed within two seconds, its body rigid and its fins standing out as though shocked. One toxin jams open the sodium channel involved in the propagation of the nerve impulse [footnote i], a channel that ordinarily would close immediately to allow the membrane to reset itself. Another jams closed those potassium channels which normally would open to quench the depolarization. The membrane depolarizes, rapidly and completely, and nerve conduction stops. Even as this happens, a second, slower-acting set of toxins, acting on calcium channels, starts to paralyze the fish’s muscles. They block sites to which signalling neurotransmitters bind, and sodium channels which would open in muscle contraction. Net-wielding snails, like Conus geographicus favour muscle paralytic toxins; since they first engulf their prey and then sting it, they can afford the slightly slower onset poison.
Contoxins are very small proteins, 10-35 amino acids long, and at their length would normally be a tumbling mixture of floppy conformations in solution rather than a fixed protein fold—Proteins depend on their ability to hold conformation to function. Conotoxins, however, take advantage of a property of the amino acid cysteine. Under the proper conditions, two cysteines in a peptide chain will link to each other, bringing their respective pieces of peptide chain into alignment. Conopeptides, small as they are, each have two or three pairs of cysteines, which cross-link to create a tight little package (3d structure of Ziconotide as the August 2006 molecule of the month at 3dchem). Since they are tightly folded, conotoxins waste neither time nor energy shifting into the right shape to bind to their target. There are two measures of quality of any interaction between molecules: how well a molecule discriminates between its own and all other binding sites, and how strongly it binds. By those measures, conotoxins are finely tuned, with certain conotoxins able to select between nerve cell sodium channels and muscle cell sodium channels, and others able to pick and chose between subtypes of calcium channel. Contoxins are several times more selective than peptides from snake and scorpion venoms. A measure of the strength of binding is the dissociation constant, a ratio of the amount of unbound toxins to the amount of bound toxin at a giving concentration; for the conotoxins those are of the order of 10(-9) or 0.000000001, or for every unbound toxin molecule, there are one trillion bound.
Drugs are often limited in their usefulness by side effects, some of which result from binding to molecular sites other than the target sites. For that reason, the conotoxin peptides, all 25 000-odd, with their strong, specific binding, are of great interest to scientists and several companies have investigated cone shell toxins as a source of drug candidates. Ziconotide (aka Prialt, from Elan Pharmaceuticals) is the first conotoxin-derived drug to pass successfully through all the stages of clinical drug development. It is a synthetic omega (calcium-channel binding) conotoxin from Conus magus, the Magician cone, which binds specifically to (calcium) channels in nerves in the spine which carry pain, and has proved effective in relieving pain for patients with intractable severe pain who either do not respond to or cannot tolerate other drugs. It’s not an opioid, therefore doesn’t produce tolerance, and can be combined with other drugs. But it’s still far from ideal: it has to be administered by intrathecal injection (directly into the fluid around the spine), which means it has to be given by an anaesthetist or by an implanted pump. The dose has to be increased slowly to decrease the risk of side effects, the onset of effect slow, response to dose changes is laggardly, and it can produce severe neurological and psychiatric side effects (Williams, 2008 PubMed abstract; Schmidtko, 2010 PubMed abstract).
To date, no other conotoxin-derived drugs have made it through clinical testing and into clinical use. Olivera in 2006 listed five in Phase I (first human) testing, mainly for pain, and their status in 2011 gives a snapshot of the vicissitudes of early phase drug development and the precarious life of small biotechnology companies: three of the companies involved appear to have either gone under or moved away from conotoxin development, and I am hard put to find evidence of progress on four of the compounds. The fifth (Xen-2174), which inhibits the uptake of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, is in Phase II trials. Nevertheless, investigation continues; there are at least 24996 more conotoxins to go . . . A conotoxin derivative that can be taken orally has been developed. Conotoxins are being studied for their potential to protect brain tissue in stroke and heart muscle in heart attack, where part of the damage is known to be caused by uncontrolled leaks of ions across membranes [Twede et al, 2009 Full text]. And work with conopeptides has also identified other pathways involved in severe pain, leading to the development of non-conopeptide drugs directed at these pathways.
Footnotes and references.
[i] An aside on nerve conduction. It is orchestrated by the opening and closing of protein pores in the cell membrane of the neuron, which pass, according to their filter characteristics, sodium, potassium, or calcium ions. The sequence proceeds as follows: a trigger signal arrives, whether an electrical signal from another neuron, or a chemical signal. The membrane is held at a resting potential, a static voltage, with an excess of sodium outside the cell and potassium inside. When the impulse is triggered, sodium channels open, and sodium flows into the cell. The membrane depolarizes, losing its charge. Once the depolarization proceeds to a certain point, the sodium channels close, and potassium channels open, quenching the depolarization and allowing the membrane to reset to receive the next impulse. As each patch of nerve membrane is depolarized, it triggers depolarization of the next downstream; thus the impulse travels.
- Olivera BM. E.E. Just Lecture, 1996. Conus venom peptides, receptor and ion channel targets, and drug design: 50 million years of neuropharmacology. Mol. Biol. Cell. 1997 Nov;8(11):2101-2109.
- Olivera BM. Conus peptides: biodiversity-based discovery and exogenomics. J. Biol. Chem. 2006 Oct 20;281(42):31173-31177.
- Terlau H, Olivera BM. Conus venoms: a rich source of novel ion channel-targeted peptides. Physiol. Rev. 2004 Jan;84(1):41-68.
- Wikipedia on Conus species, Ziconotide, ion channel.
- ConoServer (peptide sequence and reference database). | <urn:uuid:a34779e0-ffdf-4b84-95ba-4532a12baf56> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.alisonsinclair.ca/2011/04/drugs-from-the-sea-1-cone-snails-and-ziconotide/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944032 | 2,156 | 2.578125 | 3 |
|Pink-footed Shearwater (Puffinus creatopus) and Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) at sea with a Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
photos: Sophie Webb/NOAA CBNMS
The fertile waters of the sanctuary are globally important to a variety of seabirds. Most are seasonal visitors and undertake long, annual migrations to reach Monterey Bay's rich feeding grounds, arriving here in the winter from Chile, New Zealand, Mexico, Hawaii or Alaska. Large numbers of birds congregate offshore, feeding on a plentiful supply of small fish, squid, krill and plankton. Seabirds spend most of their time on the ocean, primarily coming to land to breed. Many species nest in large colonies on remote cliffs or islands. Compared with other birds, they have fewer young, but live longer than most birds (20-60 years) and invest a lot of time in raising their young.
Ninety-four seabird species are known to occur within the sanctuary, of which 30 are dominant. Some seabirds, like albatrosses, storm-petrels and shearwaters are pelagic, remaining far out at sea where they feed and rest, coming ashore only to breed. Coastal seabirds stay closer to shore and include Brown Pelicans, loons, cormorants, scoters, grebes and gulls. The prevalence of seabirds in the sanctuary changes from year to year, due to fluctuations in climate and oceanographic conditions such as upwelling or El Niño.
Monterey Bay offers some of the best offshore birding in the world. A boat trip is one of the best ways to see truly pelagic species, such as the amazing Black-footed Albatross. Two groups offer offshore birding trips from Monterey harbor:
SIMoN: Sanctuary monitoring network seabird information
Sanctuary Site Characterization: seabird information | <urn:uuid:600fc71f-dcbc-4bf6-ae66-0da99ff295c5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://montereybay.noaa.gov/visitor/access/seabirds.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00026-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91133 | 408 | 3.4375 | 3 |
The prevalence of tight hamstrings in the general population is quite common. Most likely, the high rate of people suffering from tight, inflexible hamstrings has something to do with occupations that require sitting for hours at a time. Sitting in a typical office chair forces the hamstrings to become inactive and places them in a shortened position. Repetitive, prolonged sitting eventually leads to hamstring muscles that adapt to a new shortened length, and the result is tightness in the back of the legs along with potential low back pain. Interestingly, it is thought that the process of hamstrings tightness starts as early as age 6 when children start school and begin sitting for most of the day. Other possible causes for tight hamstrings include genetic characteristics, such as having short hamstrings, and not stretching after participation in running and jumping sports, which have a high demand on the hamstrings.
Regardless of the cause of hamstrings tightness, you can take steps to alleviate the problem. Committing to a program of stretching the hamstrings most days of the week (or every day, if possible) will slowly coax the tight muscles into a longer resting length. Over a period of several weeks to several months, depending on how tight you are, you can achieve a normal resting length for the hamstrings, which will allow them to properly perform their functions of flexing the knee, extending the hip, and stabilizing the pelvis.
Most people know that the hamstrings function to move the lower leg upward and move the thigh in a posterior (or backward) direction. However, the hamstrings also play an important role in stabilizing the pelvis when a person is standing and walking. Because the hamstrings attach to the sit bones on the underside of the pelvis, they pull downward on the pelvis and create a pelvic “tuck.” Thus, the hamstrings provide a downward pull against other competing muscles attached to the pelvis that create an upward pull, such as the lower back muscles and the hip flexors. Remembering the hamstrings’ function of stabilizing the pelvis will help you choose the best stretches for this muscle group.
To effectively stretch the hamstrings, or any muscle group for that matter, it is essential to perform a five- to seven-minute warm-up of light activity such as walking or working on an elliptical machine. Once the muscles are warmed, the best bodily positions in which to stretch the hamstrings are lying or sitting. Attempting a hamstrings stretch while standing does not allow complete relaxation of the muscle because it is involved in its role of stabilizing the pelvis. On the other hand, a seated or lying position does not require the hamstrings to work, so a stretch in these postures is more productive.
Two of the most effective hamstring stretches are the lying hamstrings stretch and the modified hurdler stretch. Click the links to view details from the ACE exercise library including step-by-step instructions for performing these stretches, photos, exercise variations and helpful tips.
Supine (lying) hamstrings stretch
Modified hurdler stretch
Sabrena Merrill, M.S., is an exercise physiologist and ACE Education Content Development Expert. A 20-year veteran of the fitness industry, she is a Level 1 CrossFit Trainer as well as an ACE-certified Personal Trainer, Health Coach and Group Fitness Instructor. Sabrena holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education (sport science) as well as a master’s degree in physical education/biomechanics from the University of Kansas. A former full-time faculty member in the Kinesiology and Physical Education Department at California State University, Long Beach, Sabrena has a passion for educating others about current fitness topics as evidenced through her work developing curriculum for continuing education programs, writing for fitness-related publications, creating educational videos and speaking to fitness professionals at conferences and workshops nationwide.
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Are eggs unhealthy for my diet? | <urn:uuid:27729f9e-27ca-40b4-a2c4-d62ce860a555> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/expert-insight-article/3/870/what-exercises-can-i-do-to-help-alleviate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00084-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933759 | 830 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Alvirne Community Garden BloomsJune 27, 2014
For most high school science teachers, hands-on science is cutting into a frog or measuring granules with a triple beam balance. For long-time Alvirne science teacher John Hodgkins, his science class extends past the confines of the school building and into the real world life found in the Alvirne Community Garden behind the school barn. Hodgkins has integrated caring for two of the 30 plots in the garden into his biology classes as he and his students take time to tend the garden.
“The focus is hands-on learning and applying what you learn in the classroom,” Hodgkins said. “There’s been a big move in our culture to gardening and growing your own food. We take it for granted that food comes from the grocery store. It’s as much the learning process as it is how much did we harvest. It’s nice to get a harvest, but the learning gets done along the way.”
The Alvirne Community Garden has been around for the last five years and was first begun by now retired Alvirne science teacher Phyllis Appler. Before the current garden, Hodgkins took his students to a garden across the street from Alvirne High School on the other side of Route 102. According to Hodgkins, the location made it difficult and dangerous to get to and take care of as a class. “The safety of crossing the road and transporting large volumes of water in milk jugs made it difficult,” he explained.
Hodgkins noted that the current garden’s location makes it much easier to allow students access to it. No longer do students need to transport jugs or buckets of water. The current garden has hoses next to it. Hodgkins and his students plant and water their two plots throughout the school year and even during the summer. Alvirne Farm Manager Emory Nadeau also helps and turns the soil over every year.
Each year the students plant annuals (plants that complete an entire life cycle within a year). The students choose the specific plants. They plant annuals every spring, which die in the fall. This gives them the ability to plant something totally new in the spring if they want to do so. This season, students chose to plant potatoes, beans, chives, and dusty millers.
“The kids get to learn about putting down straw in the rows to keep down the weeds, they learn about how to plant the seeds. They also learn from their mistakes and see what happens when you don’t water the plants enough.”
Some of the challenges have been figuring out how to protect the plants from bugs without using pesticides. The students found Colorado potato beetles on some of their plants and decided to catch the bugs and feed them to the fish in Hodgkins’ classroom.
In addition to the two plots cared for by Alvirne students are 28 others taken care of by others in the community. Each plot measures 10 feet by 30 feet and costs $25 a year in rent, and they are arranged in three rows of 10.
“What happens is you’ll meet people in your community. You get to talking to people as you garden and share ideas and help each other out,” Hodgkins said.
Families that have relocated from Burundi (a country in Africa) to the local area also come to tend to a large plot of land provided for them next to the 30 plots for the community. Many of them were first brought in to help by Appler through her social connections at Main Street Methodist Church in Nashua.
“They teach us a lot about cultural diversity, they demonstrate for us an appreciation of gardening with a purpose of providing food for the families,” Hodgkins explained. “They exemplify a hard work ethic and we as a community try to provide support for cultures that have been uprooted from their homes and come to America for a new life.”
Anyone interested in renting a plot of the garden is welcome to email Suzanne Roark at Suzroark@comcast.net. | <urn:uuid:e9a2f2e8-92d7-47f5-8a12-6cb7a65a6c46> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.areanewsgroup.com/alvirne-community-garden-blooms/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00198-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974311 | 859 | 2.640625 | 3 |
First published in 1930, the essays in this manifesto constitute one of the outstanding cultural documents in the history of the South. In it, twelve southerners-Donald Davidson, John Gould Fletcher, Henry Blue Kline, Lyle H. Lanier, Stark Young, Allen Tate, Andrew Nelson Lytle, Herman Clarence Nixon, Frank Lawrence Owsley, John Crowe Ransom, John Donald Wade, and Robert Penn Warren-defended individualism against the trend of baseless conformity in an increasingly mechanized and dehumanized society.
In her new introduction, Susan V. Donaldson shows that the Southern Agrarians might have ultimately failed in their efforts to revive the South they saw as traditional, stable, and unified, but they nonetheless sparked debates and quarrels about history, literature, race, gender, and regional identity that are still being waged today over Confederate flags, monuments, slavery, and public memory.
Found an Error? Tell us about it. | <urn:uuid:e05c3214-7d25-45fe-a1aa-3459d2f0a012> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://lsupress.org/books/detail/i-ll-take-my-stand-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904572 | 194 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting,
written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is considered to be his "masterwork". Set in
A short summary of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. This free synopsis
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The Scarlet Letter study guide contains a biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne,
literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters,
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne lesson plans include symbolism,
Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale character analysis, literary conflict & more
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The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not to
tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers—stern and wild ... | <urn:uuid:32ca529e-994b-4f9f-b61c-6cd4d93230b7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ask.com/web?qsrc=3053&o=102140&oo=102140&l=dir&gc=1&qo=popularsearches&ad=dirN&q=What+Is+The+Scarlet+Letter+About | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00068-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.750319 | 364 | 3.34375 | 3 |
How do you get fresh water?
Getting freshwater in Antarctica is quite difficult and time consuming. The exact method used varies between stations. In earlier days, snow and ice was shovelled into large tanks and heated to form water. Today, Casey and Mawson pump water from a melt lake behind the station and store it in a heated tank house.Davis draws water from a local tarn which is processed by a Reverse Osmosis System which produces about 18,000 litres each 24 hours. The average station demand is around 10,000 – 14,000 litres a day. Macquarie Island draws water from a dam located about three kilometres from the station on the plateau and 200 metres above sea level. The water is pumped to two holding tanks.
Water saving appliances are installed wherever possible, but each person on station is asked to use as little water as possible.
Expeditioners are limited to three minute showers and, when water supplies are short, to only shower every second or third day. Other water saving measures are also followed, such as doing one large load of washing rather than several smaller loads, and turning off the taps while cleaning your teeth. | <urn:uuid:26ca28f8-cf56-46f1-b2ba-894e04f7f634> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/people-in-antarctica/water | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00052-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978257 | 234 | 3.296875 | 3 |
As the U.S. Senate begins debating the new nuclear agreement with India, far too little attention is being paid to the regional security implications of the deal. Instead of simply rubber stamping the deal, the Senate should examine its far reaching effects on security and nonproliferation efforts.
This past March, President George W. Bush reached a landmark agreement on nuclear cooperation with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Despite a terrorist attack in Karachi two days before his scheduled visit, Mr. Bush also traveled to Pakistan. Whereas his arrival in New Delhi was marked by glitz and pomp, Bush was met staidly by Pakistani President Musharraf’s daughter in Islamabad under cover of darkness. This contrast was emblematic of what Bush was to accomplish on his South Asian tour.
The U.S.-India agreement, which must be approved by the Senate, gives India unprecedented access to U.S. civilian nuclear technology in exchange for the opening of its non-military facilities to international inspection. Pakistan’s request for similar assistance was unequivocally rejected.
While in Pakistan, Bush issued a vague statement affirming the two countries’ “strategic relationship” in the war on terrorism, urged democratic reforms, and tried his hand at cricket. Downplaying the special treatment for India, Bush said, “Pakistan and India are different countries with different needs and different histories. As we proceed forward, our strategy will take in those well-known differences.”
The offer of nuclear assistance to India reverses decades of U.S. policy and lifts the moratorium on nuclear commerce with India. Although the Bush administration maintains that the greatest threat to U.S. and global security is nuclear proliferation, the agreement loosens export control laws and clears the way to provide nuclear assistance to a country that has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, an international agreement designed to stop the spread of deadly nuclear technology.
Critics of the deal are concerned that India’s ability to purchase nuclear fuel and technology from the U.S. for civilian reactors will free up domestic supplies of uranium for use in its nuclear weapons program. And with the gaps in its program filled by U.S. nuclear technology, India can afford to be more ambitious and could pursue a far more expansive nuclear weapons program.
Secondly, as India gets to decide what facilities are to be classified as civilian–some 14 of 22 reactors–its military facilities will remain entirely outside the purview of international inspections. At the un-safeguarded reactors, it can vastly increase production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. And as the weapons program expands, there will be an increased threat of nuclear catastrophe at both the local level due to substandard nuclear safeguards and at the international level.
While India has imposed a moratorium on nuclear testing, the current deal does not require India to limit its fissile material production nor restrict the number of weapons it plans to produce. India also retains the right to develop future fast-breeder reactors. The guiding assumption behind the agreement seems to be that a bad deal is better than no deal.
According to the leading Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, what is “bothering” Pakistan about the deal is that although India, like Pakistan and Israel, has refused to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the deal amounts to de facto acceptance of India as a legitimate nuclear weapons state. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri declared the administration’s refusal to offer Pakistan similar terms “discriminatory” and “unacceptable.” He indicated that Pakistan wants equal treatment and will go elsewhere for nuclear support.
While Pakistan has forfeited any moral standing it may have had on the issue of nuclear proliferation upon the unraveling of A.Q. Khan’s extensive black market network, the agreement gives fresh impetus to a nuclear arms race in the region. Should Pakistan wish to continue the race, it will likely receive the baton of nuclear assistance from China.
Shortly after the deal was announced, Pakistan expressed interest in purchasing nuclear reactors from China. As Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) points out, China has already assisted Pakistan’s civilian program in the past and was named by the CIA as the “principal supplier” of the Pakistani weapons program. Were it not for China’s assistance, Markey said, “Pakistan would not have acquired nuclear weapons…including provision of a tested nuclear weapons design, which A.Q. Khan distributed to Libya and perhaps other countries.”
Beyond supporting its Pakistani proxy, China may also choose to fortify its nuclear arsenal, potentially prompting a regional arms rivalry. According to Samina Ahmed, a nonproliferation expert at the International Crisis Group, Pakistan will play catch-up with India “not only through expanded nuclear ties with China, but also by a more aggressive pursuit of nuclear technology from the global nuclear bazaar.”
For the United States–the first country to develop nuclear weapons and the only to use them–to pursue a course that heightens tensions and increases the likelihood that they may be used again is deeply irresponsible. The U.S.-India nuclear deal increases proliferation risks in the region and is a step backwards for global nonproliferation efforts. Congress should take these dangerous side-effects into account and either require major changes in the agreement or reject it altogether. | <urn:uuid:6f24cc38-287e-4ec2-8e59-a066c99d0438> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://fpif.org/the_regional_implications_of_the_us-india_nuclear_agreement/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949622 | 1,107 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Have students spend time researching the culture of Gilgamesh's world. Stage a Gilgamesh Day in which students come dressed in clothes similar to those worn by Gilgamesh and the people of Uruk. Students can prepare traditional foods, engage in sporting events, and re-create a portion of the city of Uruk.
The Cedar Forest
Divide students into groups. Have one group work to create a scale model of the Cedar Forest. Have another create a forest gate. Have a third create a model Humbaba to place in the forest.
The Bull of Heaven
Have students construct models of the bull of heaven.
Battles of Gilgamesh
Work with students to plan a talent show type of exhibition for the rest of the school. Students can portray the various battles of Gilgamesh wearing costumes. Students can also work to design sets based on the descriptions in the story.
I am a god!
This section contains 863 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) | <urn:uuid:f943dfe7-0159-46a7-904e-4fcf997f47e5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/epicgilgamesh/funactivities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00186-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929471 | 212 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Cooperation among peoples is greatly enhanced by language, though this is not the only vehicle for communication possible. The statement that a picture is worth a thousand words can scarcely be argued. Nevertheless, humans who do not speak the same language essentially do not associate with each other, they avoid each other and segregation results. Nevertheless there are common threads in all languages, based on words that mock natural sounds and developmental associations the child makes. Early races of man, developing in isolation from each other, did not develop common languages, and this situation persists today. In fact, isolation creates different languages that started from the same base. They grow apart.
The legend of the Tower of Babel reflects this common occurrence, but the legend is not altogether fancy. Deliberate separation occurred in mankind's recent past, among groups that were commandeered into forced labor by the hominoid visitors from the 12th Planet. These slave-masters were constantly on the alert to prevent their slaves from gaining their technological advantages. The visitors constructed towers, silos in fact, to surround the missiles they used to shuttle between Earth and their home planet when it made a periodic appearance. When groups of their slave-laborers were found snooping and sharing information with each other, they were separated, forcibly. What remained of the story was the tower, the clustering of man, and the resulting separation due to language barriers. They did not separate because of a language barrier, the barrier developed because of separation. | <urn:uuid:1cd6c0e0-094f-47db-ae5a-1f708bbbe82f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.zetatalk4.com/myths/m10.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00155-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973159 | 298 | 3.484375 | 3 |
By Ned Rozell
The White River Ash blasted from giant eruptions somewhere in today’s Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains, drifted as far away as Ireland and Germany, said experts who attended the December 2012 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, held in San Francisco.
Ash from the White River eruptions, possibly from 15,638-foot Mount Churchill or at least close to it, left an easy-to-see mark on eastern Alaska and northwestern Canada. Explorer Frederick Schwatka documented the ash in 1885 in his book “Along Alaska’s Great River.” People driving the Klondike Highway pass more than two feet of the whitish grit exposed in road cuts on their journey through the Yukon Territory.
“It was an enormous eruption,” said Britta Jensen of the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Jensen studies volcanic ash layers in northwest Canada and Alaska. Recently, she and Duane Froese, also of the University of Alberta, along with colleagues in the United Kingdom, connected the dots on some far-flung findings of old volcanic ash.
Froese and Jensen traveled in the Yukon to a branch of the upper White River, which flows from glaciers in Alaska and dumps into the Yukon River. There, they cored the grey trunks of spruce trees smothered by White River ash. Using radiocarbon dating, they found the trees died in the year 843 AD, give or take about 20 years.
Recently, U.K. researchers located an ash layer familiar throughout Europe that scientists first found in Ireland peat bogs and in a Greenland ice core. They determined that it came from an eruption that happened around 846 AD. That date, along with a familiarity to the ash, caught the attention of Jensen and others.
“We saw this and thought it was too good to be true,” Jensen said.
When Jensen analyzed the ash from Ireland, she found it had the same geochemical signature as the White River Ash, including a unique high content of chlorine. “Morphologically, it even looks like the same ash,” she said.
Until the Canadian and U.K. researchers made the connection, no one knew the source of ash dated to about 860 AD found in Ireland and in other places in Europe, including northern Germany and Scandinavia.
At the time of the great series of eruptions, in 860, Alaska and Canada were lonely places where nomadic Native people followed caribou and salmon in seasonal camps. The rest of North America was quite similar, centuries before any European contact. In the civilized world, ancestors of northern Russian people in 860 invaded Constantinople in what became known as the Rus’-Byzantine war.
Around that time, two incredible eruptions blew from the heart of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains from somewhere near Mount Churchill and Mount Bona, two neighboring peaks separated by a high saddle. The ash in the Irish peat bog is from what scientists call the “eastern lobe” of the eruptions that created the White River Ash.
The White River Ash’s presence in Europe is not the end of the story, Jensen said. Alaska volcanoes have many times spewed ash in ancient eruptions larger than the White River event. Their evidence may be waiting to be discovered in lake bottoms and road cuts around the world.
Since the late 1970s, the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute.
PHOTO CAPTION/CREDIT: Duane Froese of the University of Alberta in a forest of stumps smothered by the White River Ash around the year 843 AD. Froese is pictured in the Yukon Territory, close to the Alaska border and Natazhat Glacier in an area downwind of the great White River eruptions, which spewed from somewhere near Alaska’s Mount Churchill. Photo courtesy of D. Froese. | <urn:uuid:3f744f31-1e26-468a-ad0b-00275db34a03> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gi.alaska.edu/node/1411 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95223 | 847 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Molluscum contagiosum is an infection of the skin. It is caused by the molluscum virus. In children, the most common areas are the face, neck, arms, and hands. In adults, it is considered a sexually transmitted disease. In these cases the genitals and surrounding skin are the areas most commonly affected.
Contact with the virus causes this skin infection. This can occur with skin to skin contact.
Having skin to skin contact with an infected person is the main risk factor. Other risk factors include:
Indirect contact with an infected person through a swimming pool or bath or by sharing towels or clothing
Sexual contact with an infected person
Weakened immune system (eg,
) or broken skin increases risk for getting disease, and causes more severe symptoms
Skin lesions are the main symptom. If you experience a similar skin lesion, do not assume it is due to this condition. These lesions may be caused by other health conditions. It is important that you see your doctor.
Molluscum contagiosum skin lesions usually have the following characteristics:
Small, dome-shaped bumps with dimpling in center
Painless, but may be itchy or tender
At first appear translucent, pearly or flesh-colored and later may turn gray and drain
White or waxy substance in center of lesion
Usually multiple lesions in groups
Face, trunk, arms, and legs are common sites in children
Genitals, abdomen, and inner thigh are common sites in adults
Can last from several weeks to several years
Diagnosis is usually made based on the lesions. Sometimes a biopsy will be taken. The sample will be looked at under a microscope. Your doctor may refer you to a dermatologist. This type of doctor focuses on skin conditions.
Left untreated, this disease usually resolves within six months. If untreated in people with HIV, the lesions usually persist and spread indefinitely. Your doctor may recommend removal of the lesions in order to prevent spreading, or to avoid infecting others.
Treatment options include the following:
The lesions can be removed by cutting them off the surface of the skin.
Chemicals are placed directly on the lesions to remove them. Common treatments include:
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 | <urn:uuid:573308b5-5dff-45cb-801b-526f8c90654a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.empowher.com/media/reference/molluscum-contagiosum?results | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93576 | 552 | 3.28125 | 3 |
by Fr. Landelin Robling OSB
Writing was considered the equivalent of manual labor. "It was the occupation of writing, and not what was written, that was valued." 16 Early library lists of books copied testify to the contrary, and it might be added that in general what was transcribed was highly treasured; hence, the almost endless multiplication of the Holy Scriptures, and its adornment with the richest illuminations.
Like all else that was done in the monastery, the copying of books had ordinarily only two motives in the system: to provide materials actually needed in the routines of the community, and to serve as busywork for hands and minds otherwise idle. In the first case, the aim was production: in the latter, merely treadmill activity. 17
What monk does not know that his labor has much more meaning than mere drudgery for the sake of a pastime or necessity's demands for another day? The monk has a deeper understanding and a more spiritual motivation for work. "The purpose of labor is the sanctification of the soul. It humbles pride, purifies the heart and, united with prayer, prepares the mind for the thought of the divine to whose service it is vowed."18 Writing as an occupation of the monk was a means towards one end: the sanctification of the whole monk, soul and body.
Montalembert draws his reader's attention to the fact that the rule of St. Ferreol, written in the sixth century, regards transcription as the equivalent of manual labor since it charges that the monk "who does not turn up the earth with the plow ought to write the parchment with his fingers."19 The earliest extant commentaries on the Rule of St. Benedict even imply the labor of transcription as the common occupation. Thus Schroll observes that Paul Warnefrid's and Hildemar's "several brief allusions to the generality of the monks being engaged in writing implies that it was a common occupation, but further information on the subject is lacking in our commentaries."20 A contemporary of St. Benedict, Cassiodorus, delights in this noble task, although it is strenuous and fatiguing:
I admit that among those of your tasks which require physical effort that of the scribe, if he writes correctly, appeals most to me; and it appeals, perhaps not without reason, for by reading the Divine Scripture he wholesomely instructs his own mind and by copying the precepts of the Lord he spreads them far and wide. Happy his design, praiseworthy his zeal, to preach with the hand alone, to unleash tongues with the fingers, to give salvation silently to mortals, And to fight against the illicit temptations of the devil with pen and ink. Every work of the Lord written by the scribe is a wound inflicted on Satan21 (Institutes, I, xxx).
Great as his influence was on literature and its preservation through the scriptorium's transmission to posterity, "Cassiodorus must not, however, be considered the first man to have introduced into monasteries either the copying of manuscripts or the study of the Scriptures;"22 But "it remained for Cassiodorus to make of the monastery a theological school and a scriptorium for the multiplication of copies of Scriptures, of the Fathers of the Church and the commentators, and of the great secular writers of antiquity."23
16 Thompson, op. cit., p. 31
17 de Roover, op. cit., p. 592
18 Schroll, OSB., Sister M. Alfred, Benedictine Monasticism, N.Y.: Columbia U. Press, 1941, p. 86.
19 Monks of the West, London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1861, vol. 6, p. 81.
20 Op. cit., p 125, quoting Paul, p. 377, 397; and Hildemar, p. 458, 484.
21 Quoted by Jones, L.W., An Introduction to Divine and Human Readings, N.Y.: Columbia U. Press, 1946, p. 133.
22 Ibid., p. 25.
23 Ibid., p. 26.
Table of Contents
OSB Index |
Saint John's Abbey | <urn:uuid:73ec7b7b-2d8b-40cb-8f07-9ccbd86c454f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.osb.org/gen/robling/05script.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954719 | 876 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The assumption has been that if you're fit and physically active, that will protect you, even if you spend a huge amount of time sitting each day.
Sturgeon Bay, WI (PRWEB) April 24, 2014
Everyone knows that being a coach potato is unhealthy. Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Chiropractor and Naturopath Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP notes that recent research has shown that prolonged sitting can be deadly, while increasing one’s time standing can have beneficial health results.
A research team led by Dr. Rebecca Seguin of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York followed a multiethnic group of 92,234 women between the ages of 50 and 79 years for over 12 years to see what effect prolonged sitting would have on their health. The women were divided into four groups according to their reported daily sitting time: up to 4 hours daily, more than 4 and up to 8 hours, more than 8 and up to 11 hours, and over 11 hours daily. Of particular interest was the development of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and death from cancer.
The researchers found that women who spent over 11 hours per day sitting were 12% more likely to die prematurely from any cause compared to those spending 4 hours or less sitting. Premature death from prolonged sitting was increased 13% by cardiovascular disease, 21% by cancer, and 27% by coronary heart disease. The connection between prolonged sitting and premature death remained the same even when controlling for chronic disease, age, race, body mass index, physical mobility and function, and overall fitness. It was noted that even women who exercised regularly had an increased risk of dying prematurely if they spent excessive amounts of time sitting.
This study, titled “Sedentary Behavior and Mortality in Older Women,” was published in the January 2014 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Lead researcher Dr. Rebecca Seguin concludes, "The assumption has been that if you're fit and physically active, that will protect you, even if you spend a huge amount of time sitting each day… you are far less protected from negative health effects of being sedentary than you realize… If you're in an office, get up and move around frequently… If you're retired and have more idle time, find ways to move around inside and outside the house. Get up between TV programs, take breaks in computer and reading time, and be conscious of interrupting prolonged sedentary time."
The November 2013 issue of BMC Health published a research paper titled “Active Lifestyles Related to Excellent Self-rated Health and Quality of Life: Cross Sectional Findings from 194,545 Participants in The 45 and Up Study”. The research team led by Dr. Richard Rosencranz of Kansas State University—Manhattan studied the health effects of sitting on 194,545 Australian men and women over 45 years old. They found decreased risks of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, and colon cancer when sitting less. It was found that when the body’s muscles are inactive during extended sitting, the production of lipoprotein lipase, which metabolizes fat, is shut down. Co-researcher Dr. Sara Rosenkranz states, "We're basically telling our bodies to shut down the processes that help to stimulate metabolism throughout the day and that is not good… Just by breaking up your sedentary time, we can actually up-regulate that process in the body." Dr. Rosenkranz advises office workers to try using a sit/stand desk to decrease their sitting time while increasing their physical activity throughout the day.
Dr. J G Moellendorf notes that he sees many patients who are inactive because of pain. By returning movement to fixated joints and decreasing their pain through Chiropractic care, they are able to return to an active lifestyle and become healthier all around.
Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. uses the latest research findings to provide a comprehensive package of Chiropractic care, decompression traction therapy, active therapeutic movement training, cold laser therapy, and nutrition for the natural treatment of neurological conditions, neck and back pain, and other health conditions without drugs or surgery. Additional information about Chiropractic, Naturopathy, and other forms of natural health care has been provided by Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. at http://www.all-about-wellness.com.
About: Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP
Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP attended the University of Wisconsin—Superior where he majored in Physics and Mathematics, with a minor in art photography. While attending the University of Minnesota—Minneapolis, he assisted in research on ribosomal proteins. Completing his Chiropractic studies at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, he graduated Cum Laude (with high honors) in 1983. He started Moellendorf Chiropractic Office, Ltd. in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1983. In 1996, Dr. Moellendorf was awarded his Doctorate in Naturopathy from Trinity School of Natural Health. In 2001, he received Chiropractic’s most prestigious award, the honorary Legion of Chiropractic Philosophers degree, for his thesis “The Workings of Innate Intelligence in Obsessive/Compulsive and Addictive Behaviors.” This paper was chosen for publishing in the book Philosophic Contemplations vol. 2 in 2002. In June of 2012, Dr. Moellendorf authored his first book titled Healthcare’s Best Kept Secret. Dr. Moellendorf can be contacted by phone (920) 493-2126, fax (920) 743-1145, email jgmoellendorf(at)itol(dot)com, his website at http://www.all-about-wellness.com, or send a carrier pigeon to 44.84722N and 87.36416W. | <urn:uuid:9cf4bf93-90d7-4728-996f-88933d1b52f0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/04/prweb11787646.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952897 | 1,268 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more
About The Concordia eagle. (Vidalia, La.) 1873-1890
Vidalia, La. (1873-1890)
- The Concordia eagle. : (Vidalia, La.) 1873-1890
- Place of publication:
- Vidalia, La.
- Geographic coverage:
- David Young
- Dates of publication:
- Began in Oct. 1873; ceased in 1890.
- African Americans--Louisiana--Concordia Parish--Newspapers.
- African Americans.--fast--(OCoLC)fst00799558
- Concordia Parish (La.)--Newspapers.
- Louisiana--Concordia Parish.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01215884
- Vidalia (La.)--Newspapers.
- "Official journal of the state of Louisiana", <1874>.
- Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
- Description based on: Vol. 2, no. 5 (Sept. 5, 1874).
- Latest issue consulted: Vol. 10, no. 26 (Apr. 12, 1883)
- Microfilmed by the Library of Congress for the Committee on Negro Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies.
- sn 83016716
- Related Links:
- View complete holdings information
- First Issue Last Issue
Founded in 1873 under the motto "Equal Rights to All Men," the Concordia Eagle was a four-page Republican weekly published in Vidalia, Louisiana, a small agricultural community located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, opposite Natchez, Mississippi. The paper's founder was a black state legislator and political boss, David Young (b. 1836). Born in Kentucky, Young was captured as a runaway slave and eventually taken to Louisiana, where, after the Civil War, he became a prosperous farmer, businessman, minister, and officeholder. Although accused of political corruption, as editor of the Concordia Eagle (the official journal of Concordia Parish) he supported various civic projects, including the improvement of the Mississippi River. During the so-called Exodus of 1879, in which thousands of former slaves left north Louisiana in search of greater economic opportunities and more social freedom in Kansas, he dissuaded much of Concordia Parish's large black population from leaving.
Young was succeeded by James Presley Ball, Jr. (1851-1923), son of a prominent black Cincinnati photographer and abolitionist. In the 1880s, Ball and his father operated a photography studio in Concordia Parish. He also served as clerk of the district court. Around 1885, Ball left Louisiana, possibly for Minneapolis, where his father is known to have owned a studio. In 1894, he edited the first black newspaper in Montana, the Helena Colored Citizen. Ball later practiced law in Honolulu and Seattle and worked for a time at the Seattle Republican, one of the most successful black newspapers of its era.
In 1885, the Concordia Eagle came under the editorship of Love S. Cornwell (1811-1888). Born in Kentucky and raised in Missouri, Cornwell moved to Kansas at the height of the Free Soil controversy of the 1850s, was elected to the Kansas territorial legislature in 1859, and participated in important votes on the issue of slavery. At the start of the Civil War, he was assaulted and driven out of Kansas by the famous "Jayhawker" Charles Jennison. At war's end, he moved to Natchez, where he eventually became a prominent businessman.
Only scattered issues of the Concordia Eagle have survived. Of particular interest are reports on the devastating floods of 1882 and 1883, information on parish schools, news of elections, agricultural advice, a "ladies' department," and personal briefs from both Concordia Parish and Natchez. A small number of obituaries and marriage notices are available, as are minutes of the police jury, the governing body of the parish. Publication appears to have ceased in 1890.
Provided by: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA | <urn:uuid:3f2a06ee-e79b-4be6-888d-07daae10fdb5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016716/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394937.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00137-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93325 | 925 | 2.65625 | 3 |
New Guide for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Kansas City, MO – Historically black colleges and universities were founded in the United States during a time when segregation and Jim Crow excluded blacks from higher education. Today, there are 104 HBCUs, representing just 3% of the nation's colleges and universities. Yet they graduate nearly 30% of African Americans who earn undergraduate degrees.
This past February, President Barack Obama gave HBCUs a boost: a 5% increase in federal funding and an executive order to strengthen the White House Initiative on HBCUs.
But HBCUs face some daunting challenges: declining enrollment, management issues and financial instability. An in an era when higher education is no longer segregated, some question if there is still a need for HBCUs?
To explore the answer to this question, KCUR's Susan B. Wilson talked with architect John Fleming, who recently published a guide to called HBCU Today. He says that when he retired, his son urged him to take on a new venture. | <urn:uuid:993b9255-3416-4787-99d0-53fd19137df4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://kcur.org/post/new-guide-historically-black-colleges-and-universities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962929 | 207 | 2.859375 | 3 |
BOSTON — Even at a sturdy 70 tons, the North Atlantic right whale is no match for the huge ships that cross its path carrying cargo, passengers and the threat of lethal collisions.
Now, a new app for the iPad or iPhone aims to help mariners avoid the rare whales so they don't strike them.
The Whale Alert app takes information from underwater microphones to locate the whales in real time, which helps ships in New England waters avoid the species' estimated 550 remaining whales.
The app also uses the GPS feature on iPads or iPhones to alert mariners if they're entering areas where right whales were spotted, or are known to frequent, along their migratory route from Florida to Maine. Those zones have mandatory or voluntary speed restrictions.
Preventing even one fatal ship strike can have a lasting effect on the right whale population.
"Right whales are being run over by large ships and killed, but we can save them," said Patrick Ramage of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which led the app's development.
The North Atlantic right whale was hunted to near extinction in the late 18th century and has struggled since.
The animal, which can grow to 55 feet in length, is vulnerable to ship strikes because it can be difficult to see as it feeds on plankton slicks near the surface. It's also oblivious to its surroundings while eating.
Since the 1970s, an average of two North Atlantic right whales have been killed annually by ship strikes, though there has been one death in each of the past two years, said Greg Silber, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
After an increase in strikes in the mid-2000s, a host of measures were adopted to protect the whale.
For instance, vessels longer than 65 feet must slow to 10 knots in areas the whales frequent during certain seasons. Violators have been fined as much as $92,000.
Mariners are also asked to voluntarily slow down in zones where right whales were recently spotted. And any vessel greater than 300 gross tons must report to NOAA when they enter designated right whale areas up and down the East Coast.
Whale Alert aims to make it easier for navigators to be aware of the various whale restrictions.
Previously, ships often received that information via clunky technologies such as fax machines, VHF transmission, or not at all because their equipment was outdated.
But vessels with the app are alerted when they enter areas with right whale restrictions (with a whale song sound effect), and mariners can click on the iPad to find out the specific regulations.
For now, the app can only locate the whales' real-time location off New England because it's the only region where special acoustic buoys are installed.
The 13 buoys, placed along a shipping lane into Boston Harbor and in Cape Cod Bay, can detect the right whales within a five-mile radius by listening for their distinctive songs.
Once a whale's presence has been confirmed, its location appears on the app's digital nautical chart and the captain knows to be vigilant in that area.
"The whales now have a voice," said Christopher Clark, a Cornell University scientist who led development of the acoustic monitoring system and worked on the app. "We are eavesdropping on the social network of whales."
The multimillion-dollar acoustic system has been in operation for several years. But before the app, when Cornell researchers confirmed a right whale had been detected, they had let any liquefied natural gas tankers in the area know by phone, Clark said. Now, vessels from container ships to pleasure boats can know quickly through the app.
The app is free, but the cost for vessels is about $600 to $700 for the iPad and the equipment to receive the needed wireless signal.
The app cost about $100,000 to develop, said Brad Winney of Delray Beach, Fla.-based EarthNC Mobile, which did the technical work on it.
Some cruise lines and other vessels have committed to the app, but its effectiveness depends on broad use.
"This is no good, unless the maritime community knows it exists," said Dave Wiley of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, who worked on the app.
Besides holding a press unveiling this past week at the Boston Fish Pier, agencies and individuals are talking up the app to contacts in the maritime industry.
Kathy Metcalf of the Chamber of Shipping of America, a shipping industry group that wasn't involved in the project, called the app fantastic, and said she "can't imagine a reason" why any mariner or boat owner wouldn't want it.
The cost is "beans," Metcalf said, and the benefits are substantial. By locating where whales are, and detailing any restrictions in effect to protect the animals, the app enhances a mariner's general awareness of the situation at sea, she said.
"If you don't want that, you've got problems," Metcalf said. "No one on a ship wants to hit anything in the water, whale or otherwise." | <urn:uuid:fce9e64f-ab5b-4c82-9dfc-d0ce525c4bdf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/mobile_app_aims_to_spare_whale.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00196-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970945 | 1,036 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Skin cells from infertile men can be turned into the precursors of sperm cells in a lab, according to a new study.
The findings raise the possibility of one day making sperm from the skin cells of men with fertility problems, the researchers said. However, much more research is needed to determine if this is possible and whether it is safe.
In the new study, researchers first transformed the men's skin cells into stem cells, then implanted the cells into the testes of mice where they formed sperm precursor cells. However, one safety issue is that some of the stem cells formed tumors in the mice, said study researcher Renee Reijo Pera, who conducted the work while at Stanford University, and is now a professor of cell biology and neurosciences at Montana State University.
To conduct the study, Pera and colleagues took skin samples from three infertile men, and two fertile men. The infertile men had a genetic mutation in a region of the genome called AZF1 that prevented them from making mature sperm, a condition called azoospermia. [Sexy Swimmers: 7 Facts About Sperm]
The researchers used the skin cells to produce what are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), which have the ability to become nearly any tissue type in the body. These iPS cells were then implanted into the testes of mice, where they turned into germ cells, which normally give rise to sperm in males.
However, in the study, the germ cells did not go on to form mature sperm in the mice, likely because of evolutionary differences between humans and mice that blocked the production of such mature cells, Pera said.
The stem cells from fertile men were much better at generating germ cells than those from infertile men. Still, the fact that the infertile men's stem cells produced germ cells at all was surprising, because men with the AZF1 mutation often have no germ cells, Pera said.
The new findings suggest that these infertile men do in fact have the potential to produce germ cells, but the germ cells are lost over time, Pera said. If that's true, young boys with this mutation might be able to preserve their germ cells for the future by collecting and freezing samples of testes tissue, Pera said.
The mouse model used in the study will help researchers better understand the earliest stages of sperm development, Pera said. For example, the cells of human embryo "decide" whether they are going to be germ cells at day 12 after conception, she said. "We've developed a way to study the earliest steps," which take place in the fetus, Pera said.
Previously, the same group of researchers created germ cells from human embryonic stem cells. And last year, experiments in mice showed that skin cells of the animals can be turned into stem cells, which can then be turned into germ cells. When researchers implanted these germ cells in sterile mice, the mice became fertile.
The new study is published today (May 1) in the journal Cell Reports. | <urn:uuid:5e15024c-c5aa-437c-9620-b3a028cb4ae3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.livescience.com/45278-stem-cells-sperm-production.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959618 | 632 | 3.015625 | 3 |
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2001 Ghana's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $39.4 billion. The per capita GDP was estimated at $1,980. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 3%. The average inflation rate in 2001 was 25%. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 36% of GDP, industry 25%, and services 39%.
According to the United Nations, in 2000 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $32 million or about $2 per capita and accounted for approximately 0.7% of GDP. Worker remittances in 2001 totaled $34.02 million. Foreign aid receipts amounted to about $33 per capita and accounted for approximately 13% of the gross national income (GNI).
The World Bank reports that in 2001 per capita household consumption (in constant 1995 US dollars) was $305. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the same period private consumption declined at an annual rate of 1%. The richest 10% of the population accounted for approximately 30.1% of household consumption and the poorest 10% approximately 2.2%. It was estimated that in 1992 about 31% of the population had incomes below the poverty line. | <urn:uuid:35ce1c12-ec86-464d-91d0-2948c5ca69bd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Ghana-INCOME.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00145-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968895 | 316 | 3.21875 | 3 |
The first Mayday. The Haymarket Speeches 1895-1910 Voltairine de Cleyre (with an introduction by Paul Avrich).
On 1 May 1886, 800,000 workers from all trades and factories throughout the US went on strike in support of the eight-hour working day. In Chicago, a stronghold of immigrant labour and anarchists, 300,000 workers struck and marched through the city streets in a huge display of proletarian power. Before the Chicago May Day strike action began, the management at McCormick Machine Co. (now International Harvester) had locked out 1500 workers over a wage dispute. On 3 May, when pickets attempted to prevent blackleg labour entering the plant, the Chicago police opened fire on the workers, killing, four and wounding many more. Outraged at this act of naked aggression, radical newspapers called for armed resistance against the bloodthirsty Chicago police, and a protest rally was called for the following day (4 May) at Haymarket Square. Three leading anarchists gave speeches condemning police violence and capitalist oppression: Parsons, Spies and Fielden. As the meeting came to an end, 200 police moved in on the crowd. Suddenly, a bomb was thrown and exploded in the midst of the police, who immediately opened fire on the assembled workers. Several police and many workers were killed.
In the hysterical aftermath of the Haymarket tragedy five anarchists were convicted and sentenced to hang by a specially constituted tribunal (see Photo Album). On 11 November, Black Friday, it murdered Parsons, Spies, Fischer and Engel. Lingg had committed suicide the previous day. They were later shown to have had nothing to do with the bombings.
On 14 July 1889, on the hundredth anniversary of Bastille Day, an American AFL delegate attending the International Labour Congress in Paris proposed that 1 May be officially adopted as a workers’ holiday. This motion was unanimously approved and since then May Day has served as a date for international working class solidarity — and inspired the labour anthem ‘The Red Flag‘
These speeches, delivered between 1985 and 1910 by anarchist agitator Voltairine de Cleyre, eloquently express the mood of US labour militants and confirm the last words of Spies: ‘There will come a time when our silence from the grave ‘ will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today!’ | <urn:uuid:54dc04a6-833a-4468-920b-b947234fecd4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.christiebooks.com/ChristieBooksWP/2013/01/the-first-mayday-the-haymarket-speeches-1895-1910-voltairine-de-cleyre-with-an-introduction-by-paul-avrich-kindle-edition-1-92/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961875 | 481 | 3.15625 | 3 |
January 7, 2013
New Therapy Points To Potential Cure For Peanut Allergy
Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online
Peanuts are one of the most common triggers of severe food-induced allergic reactions. In many instances, this reaction can even be fatal. Add to that recent studies showing that the overall prevalence of peanut allergies has been steadily on the rise, not to mention the fact that the danger of this allergy is magnified by the fact there is currently no clinical treatment for its sufferers short of strict dietary abstinence.A new study in this month´s issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology may shed new light on a possible treatment for individuals afflicted with this harsh allergy. Lead authors of the study, David M. Fleischer of the National Jewish Health in Denver, and Wesley Burks, the Curnen Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, have been working with a new treatment plan that could help to eradicate the allergy in adolescents to middle aged adults.
The new therapy underwent clinical trials at multiple centers to account for any geographic or procedural anomalies. By utilizing sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), a treatment where patients are given gradually increasing daily doses of a liquid containing peanut powder, the researchers were able to slowly desensitize the patients´ allergic response to peanuts.
The study participants included 40 individuals between the ages of 12 and 37. The researchers began by administering a baseline oral food challenge of up to 2 grams of peanut powder to test how much peanut powder the subjects could consume before they started to experience symptoms of their allergy. Each participant was asked to hold the liquid peanut mixture under their tongue for 2 minutes before swallowing it. After administration of the baseline SLIT, the patients were then randomized to receive either a daily regimen of peanut powder or a placebo.
A second oral food challenge was then administered after 44 weeks of the clinical trial. Participants who were able to consume 5 grams, or a 10-fold increase in peanut powder compared to their initial baseline results were considered ℠responders´, or in layman´s terms, desensitized to their peanut allergy. It was at the 44-week mark that researchers discovered that a full 70 percent of those who had received the steadily increasing doses of peanut SLIT were responders. This was a marked difference to the 15 percent of placebo SLIT participants who were designated as responders. All told, the median amount of peanut powder that could be ingested increased from 3.5 to a staggering 496 milligrams in patients who had received the peanut SLIT treatment. Continuing the study to week 68 saw that figure increase further to 996 milligrams.
At week 44, the research team had administered 10,855 peanut doses to the participants. A full 63.1 percent of these patients were found to be symptom-free at this point. Taking into account an exclusion of minor oral/pharyngeal symptoms from the team´s analysis showed that 95.2 percent of the participants could be considered symptom-free.
"These results are encouraging," Burks said. "The immune response was stronger than we thought it might be, and the side effects of this treatment were relatively small. However, the magnitude of the therapeutic effect was somewhat less than we had anticipated. That's an issue we plan to address in future studies."
Due to the inherent danger of peanut allergies, Burks is quick to caution that individuals should not attempt to bring about desensitization to this allergy on their own. For now, he says, it´s a treatment that should only be given by medical professionals in a carefully monitored clinical trial.
That said, Fleischer and Burk contend that their study shows that peanut SLIT can safely and effectively induce desensitization in a majority of participants when compared to a placebo SLIT. They also contend that the longer duration of the therapy can lead to significant increases in the amount of peanut powder that people with peanut allergies can safely consume.
The researchers believe, however, that SLIT could eventually become an important therapy in helping to protect individuals with peanut allergies from harmful and even fatal reactions due to accidental ingestion of peanuts or peanut-related products.
The study was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). | <urn:uuid:5faf2be8-e80b-419a-9e3a-69555d303625> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112759044/cure-for-peanut-allergy-immunotherapy-010713/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963583 | 881 | 2.890625 | 3 |
By Carsten Stahn, Jennifer S. Easterday, and Jens Iverson
In our previous post, “Jus post bellum and the ethics of peace,” we introduced the concept of jus post bellum, including its history, functions, and varied definitions. Because jus post bellum can operate simultaneously with related but distinguishable concepts, it is important to keep the goals of related concepts clear. Jus post bellum may serve a particular function in facilitating choice among competing interests in the transition from armed conflict to peace.
Relationship to related concepts
Jus post bellum overlaps with Responsibility to Protect (R2P), Transitional Justice, and the law of peace. It is sometimes even argued that it forms part of these concepts, but there are differences.
The concept of transitional justice emerged in the context of the post-democratic transitions of the 1990s. Traditionally, it has a different focus than jus post bellum. It is geared towards accountability for past violations and the establishment of new political order that would prevent human rights violations from re-occurring. Jus post bellum is not a ‘human rights’ or ‘justice’ project per se. It is geared at peacebuilding more broadly, focusing on the organization of the interplay between actors, norms, and institutions in situations of transitions, and the establishment of sustainable peace.
Jus post bellum is also distinct from Responsibility to Protect. R2P was developed to provide authority for protective duties and response schemes, through a definition of sovereignty as responsibility. Its application is linked to atrocity crimes. This trigger has oriented the concept towards prevention and response to conflict. Ethics of care in the aftermath of conflict have been side-lined in its operation. Jus post bellum is tied to the ending of hostilities. It entails certain due diligence obligations towards intervention, but is mostly focused on the organization of post-conflict peace. It includes negative obligations (i.e. ‘do no harm’ principle) and positive duties. In some cases, conduct may be warranted by R2P (e.g. continued international presence), but sanctioned under jus post bellum, i.e. due to lack of consent (e.g. unlawful occupation).
In just war theory, some attempts have been made to define the ideal content of a jus post bellum. Areas included in this checklist are:
- Disarmament, Demilitarization, Re-integration (DDR)
- Constitutional reform
- Economic reconstruction
This ‘toolbox’ logic deserves critical scrutiny. These factors are typically tied to international armed conflicts, rather than dilemmas of internal armed conflicts, or mixed conflicts. More fundamentally, there is an inherent danger that jus post bellum might be used to tell what a ‘just society’ ought to look like.
An alternative way to think about content is to view jus post bellum as a mechanism to facilitate choice among competing interests. The concept provides an incentive to integrate the goal of sustainable peace into decision-making processes requiring a balancing of conflicting rationales. For example, this is relevant to peace arrangements, processes of governance, and redress for victims. How should ‘consent’ used in peace negotiation and peacebuilding efforts, and how inclusive should it be? What factors should be taken into account in the restoration of public authority and democratic rule? How can judicial reform be reconciled with ‘vetting’ of institutions? To what extent is there an adequate equilibrium between protection of fundamental freedoms and socio-economic rights in post-conflict settlements? Is damage repaired in a way that that addresses harm and needs of post-conflict societies?
Such choices require a certain ‘margin of appreciation’. In some areas, a deviation from peacetime standards may be acceptable. Classical examples are collective reparation, the focus on targeted accountability, or conditional amnesties.
Jus post bellum may also offer some guidance for specific procedures. One example is the permissibility of derogation from human rights, including their justification and declaration. Existing principles have been applied primarily in the context of human rights obligations of States. In the context of jus post bellum, such principles become relevant in relation to other entities, such as regional organizations, peace operations, or the Security Council.
Another example is ‘sequencing’ and coordination of the temporal application of specific responses. Under a ‘justice after war’ perspective, classical dilemmas of peace v. justice are at forefront of attention. In the context of peacebuilding, sequencing gains broader importance in additional areas, such as the timing of elections or the determination of status issues. Jus post bellum may further determine parameters for ‘exit’ after intervention.
The fundamental problems of minimizing the evils of war and building a robust peace are not new, but they are often treated as new. Too often, contemporary peacebuilding difficulties are treated as essentially unprecedented, when in fact legal history could serve as a valuable aide. A key thesis of jus post bellum is that the rich legal and philosophical traditions that guide the law of armed conflict and the general prohibition on the use of force could also inform the transition from war to peace. Unfortunately, these traditions are too often ignored. Rather than being depreciated or held sacred, those traditions must be refreshed and revisited if they are to be applied meaningfully to contemporary problems. We could extend the dualistic approach of jus ad bellum and jus in bello to a tripartite conception that includes jus post bellum. Such a conception would cover the entire process of entering into armed conflict, fighting, and exiting from armed conflict. This more comprehensive approach would improve our capacity to manage the enduring difficulties inherent in ending war and building peace. Jus post bellum does not offer the promise of a more comprehensive approach on its own, but only in combination with other, related concepts. Together, however, they offer the promise of transitions to peace that are both more just and more secure.
Carsten Stahn, Jennifer S. Easterday, and Jens Iverson are the editors of Jus Post Bellum: Mapping the Normative Foundations. Carsten Stahn is Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice and Programme Director of the Grotius Centre for International Studies, Universiteit Leiden. Jennifer S. Easterday is a Ph.D Researcher, Faculteit Rechtsgeleerdheid, Instituut voor Publiekrecht, Internationaal Publiekrecht, Universiteit Leiden. Jens Iverson is a Researcher for the ‘Jus Post Bellum’ project and an attorney specializing in public international law, Universiteit Leiden.
Oxford University Press is a leading publisher in international law, including the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, latest titles from thought leaders in the field, and a wide range of law journals and online products. We publish original works across key areas of study, from humanitarian to international economic to environmental law, developing outstanding resources to support students, scholars, and practitioners worldwide. For the latest news, commentary, and insights follow the International Law team on Twitter @OUPIntLaw. | <urn:uuid:c3247091-6d4d-44ce-8f9c-9423b5e0decb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.oup.com/2014/04/contours-conceptual-position-of-jus-post-bellum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00019-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925763 | 1,502 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Photo: tamburix (flickr)
We all know that carbon dioxide emissions contribute to global warming by trapping light and heat near the earth’s surface.
However, the greenhouse effect is not the only man made mechanism responsible for things heating up. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have found that snow is also responsible.
Dirty snow, that is, especially in the Arctic, but also in East Asia, Northern Europe, and the Northeastern United States. Snow becomes soiled when soot from smokestacks, car tailpipes, forest fires, and other sources swirls up into the atmosphere and eventually falls back to earth.
As we know from wearing a black shirt on a sunny day, dark colors absorb light. The same goes for dark snow, which absorbs more sunlight than clean, white snow, and reflects less light back into the atmosphere. Therefore, the darker snow is, the warmer it gets.
To be clear, this finding doesn’t let greenhouse gases off the hook. The greenhouse effect still accounts for the majority of global warming, while dirty snow may be responsible for something like 19% of warming.
In the Arctic, however, the impact of dirty snow is more significant, accounting for perhaps one-third of the warming there. Moreover, when enough snow melts to expose much darker sea ice or soil, even more sunlight is absorbed, increasing Arctic warming.
The fix here, of course, is to clean up the snow by using cleaner fuels. Putting less soot into the atmosphere won’t solve global warming, but at least it would be a start. | <urn:uuid:d4b7638c-b1b8-4eba-8ffe-dbb472499ea4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/dirty-snow-heating-up/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00088-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933931 | 332 | 4.125 | 4 |
How long do cats live? Many new cat owners asked that question. There are is no easy answer as many factors can affect a cat’s lifespan. If an indoor cat is healthy and does not have any accidents, the cat can live for up to twenty-one years.
Spending time unsupervised outdoors puts the cat at risk for accident and injury that can greatly reduce the cat’s lifespan. Intentional or accidental poisoning, disease from other cats, and accidents such as being struck by a car are some of the main causes of early death for cats that spend time outdoors.
Stray cats and feral cats often live only a few years due to the hazards of being outdoors. Many stray cats also succumb to starvation.
Keeping a cat indoors is probably the best way to increase the cat’s chance of living a long life. There may be other steps that a cat owner can take to increase their cat’s chances of longevity.
Cat owners do have some control over some of the factors that can affect the cat longevity. Feeding a cat a healthy diet is a basic necessity for a cat to live a long life.
Some cat owners make the mistake of giving their cat extra food thinking that this benefits the cat. Extra food can cause the cats become obese which can put the cat at risk for some cat illnesses such as diabetes mellitus and arthritis.
Exercise helps the cat maintain good muscle tone and avoid obesity. Cat owners may need to encourage older cats to participate in active play since older cats are naturally less active.
Antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and cat vitamins are examples of nutritionals supplements that are marketed as ways to keep cat healthy and help them live longer. A veterinarian should be consulted before the cat owner gives these products to the cat. Very little research has been done on cat vitamins and cat supplements to test their safety and effectiveness.
Some factors that affect the lifespan of the cat are not within the cat owner’s control such as cat diseases which often have genetic causes. Regular veterinary exams can help the cat live longer since the veterinarian can screen for cat diseases and may notice symptoms that the cat owner may miss. Since treating a disease early is the best way to avoid negative effects from the disease, regular veterinary checkups are crucial to protect the health the cat.
Moses Wright is a cat expert who can answer your cat health questions and perhaps also give you hundreds of unique cat names for you to choose from if you are getting a new cat. Visit his cat health resource website now.
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- None Found | <urn:uuid:7a7bdc61-6b62-4e09-bb3b-bf4b4f4fd0af> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ragdollcatsecrets.com/blog/how-long-do-cats-live/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00174-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956701 | 534 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Although some of the more commonly thought of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, can wipe out billions of dollars in property and take many lives, wildfires can also cause similar damage. Much like hurricanes, wildfires do have their season but have been known to crop up at many different times during the year. With more left to be learned about them, wildfires happened long before man occupied the world. All the uncertainty surrounding them can lead one to wonder with all the technology available to predict and fight fires, have they gotten better, or has a new breed of careless man from the guy who just dumps water on a campfire to the guy looking to collect insurance money just made things worse?
To judge for yourself, we have gathered the top 25 wildfires of all time below. They range from the local to the international, from the recent to the historical, and have numerous causes. Dry conditions, wind, and even the human intervention all make the list, which is ordered mostly by number of people thought to have been killed.
Top National Wildfires of All Time
- The Great Peshtigo Fire – In 1871, the worst recorded forest fire in North American history raged through Northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Known as The Great Peshtigo Fire, it destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of property and took between 1,200 and 2,400 lives. Ironically enough, it also took place at the same as another famous fire in Chicago found further down the list.
- Cloquet FireIn 1918, Americans were being killed in World War I in addition to a deadly Spanish flu epidemic. However in the same year, wildfires in the forests of Minnesota killed 453 and seriously burned 85 others. Ten towns were completely destroyed. The fire was deemed the fault of railroad due to sparks caused by trains.
- The Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 – This fire tore through the town of Hinckley, Minnesota after a dry summer season. The fire might best be remembered for the heroic acts of the train engineers which were ferreting away survivors as fast as the trains could take them. When it was over, an estimated 418 were dead in an area of about 1,400.
- The Great Miramichi Fire – This wildfire is perhaps best remembered for its survivors taking shelter by standing in the nearby river. Even livestock stood with them, and a baby was rumored to have been born there. It took place in 1825 in New Brunswick. The death toll for this fire is thought to be at least 200 killed in both the U.S. and Canada.
- The Big Burn – Occurring in Idaho and Montana, this wildfire happened in 1910. It tore through 3 million acres of wildfire and was said to have sent great balls of fire down the mountainsides. The fire claimed 85 lives and set off a debate on forest fires. Popular Mechanics has more on the blaze.
- Port Huron Fire – In the second of three famous wildfires to happen in 1871, this one also struck in Michigan in a different part than the Peshtigo Fire. The cities of Port Huron and White Rock burned along with 1.2 million acres. An estimated minimum of 50 people were suspected to have perished.
- Oakland Wildfire – Think huge fires only happened in the time of our grandparents? Then read more about these 1991 fires that took place in Oakland, California. It destroyed over 3,000 homes, cost over billion dollars, and killed 25 people, with another 150 injured. The fire is suspected to have begun in the Berkeley Hills from a poorly extinguished grass fire.
- California Wildfires 2003 – This wildfire is current enough to have been reported on by CNN. It was an 18 mile wall of flames and was dubbed the Cedar Fire. Taking place in the Southern part of the state, it happened near the community of Cuyamaca and tourist town of Julian. Although CNN reported at the time that the death toll was 16, the actual total grew to over 20.
- Mann Gulch Fire – Although the death toll was comparatively lower than the above, this fire is best remembered for taking the lives of firemen. The fire happened in Montana’s Helena National Forest in 1949. The Forest Service dispatched a team of firemen called “smokejumpers” to study the fire. However, the fire built up quickly and all but three were killed. However, they did learn a great deal on how to deliver new firefighting techniques and equipment.
- Florida Fires of 1998 – These fires happened in the summer of the year and displaced over 40,000 people from their homes. However, what is truly fascinating is this transcript from PBS on how modern day firefighters battle a blaze of this magnitude. Modern techniques, equipment, and more are all discussed.
Top International Wildfires of All Time
- Matheson Fire – In 1916, high winds blowing through the forests of Ontario, Canada turned a small fire into an inferno that destroyed nearly 800 square miles of forest. The towns of Matheson, Cochrane, and Nushka Station were destroyed in minutes. The death toll reached an unheard of 223 for the country, although the actual number was probably higher. The fire led to the passage of tougher fire safety laws for northern Ontario.
- Black Saturday Bushfires – The deadliest wildfires in Australia’s history took place in 2009 in Healesville and surrounding areas in the Southeastern state of Victoria. It burned people in their homes and cars, wiped out entire towns, and had killed 130 people at the time of this report. The fire was perpetuated by a long running drought and officials suspected that an additional 400 fires were deliberately set.
- Black Friday – Up until the above, this was the worst wildfire in Australian history. It happened in 1939 in the same state and killed 71 people. This site has more including an interactive map.
- Greek Forest Fires – Proving that wildfires happen in Europe too is this 2007 fire. It happened in the Southern Peloponnese region, near the site of the Ancient Olympics. At the time of the story, 56 were dead with more predicted. Officials blamed arson in several cases after up to 20 new fires broke out overnight after the original fire.
- Israel 2010 – Although there is plenty of man-made trouble in the Middle East, nature can still strike. In December of 2010, a major forest fire in the Northern part of Israel killed at least 40 people. More than 12,000 people were evacuated from towns and villages and a number of prison guards died in an attempt to evacuate the prison. A bright spot was that in an attempt to put out the blaze, Israel cooperated with eight other countries who sent aircrafts to help battle the blaze.
- The Great Fire of Rome – This fire stands out for being one of the very first ever recorded. It happened in the year 64 AD and went on for six days and seven nights. Although the cause was uncertain, there were rumors that Emperor Nero ordered the fire so he could blame it on his Christian enemies. It was also named the “Worst and Strangest Fire” by Socyberty.
Other Top Wildfires of All Time
- The Great San Francisco Earthquake – In 1906, one of the most significant earthquakes of all time was recorded in the city of San Francisco. However, many of the deaths came from the resulting fires. Between 400 and 700 people were estimated to have perished. The events destroyed 490 city blocks, 25,000 buildings and left 250,000 homeless. You can read actual accounts of the fire from Eye Witness to History.
- The Great Chicago Fire – In 1871, one of the best known fires in American history happened in the town of Chicago. While theories of the cause remain hypothesized, with one of the more famous being a spooked cow, it happened after the city’s small firefighting team had already put out 20 other fires. The blaze quickly spread and before being put out by rain, had killed at least 300 people, and had left 100,000 Americans homeless. This interactive guide from PBS has loads more.
- London’s Burning – What’s the worst thing that could happen on a street called Pudding Lane? Unfortunately, in the London of 1666 it was the beginning of one of the worst fires ever. By the time it was over, the fire had destroyed almost 80 percent of the city. Because of the practice of simply putting out fires by destroying houses, which were also very susceptible to fire, it was able to spread quickly.
- The Reichstag Fire – Taking place in 1933 Germany, if you guessed Nazis has something to do with it, you’re right. The Reichstag was the building of the German parliament, the symbol of their democracy, and thusly, an enemy of Adolf Hitler. Although he and his party stood to gain the most, Hitler publicly blamed the opposing communists and used the blaze as an excuse to arrest them. After the fire, Hitler presented legislation that would transfer power to himself and the members cooperatively voted themselves out of existence.
- Mount Saint Helens – Although a volcano eruption isn’t exactly a wildfire, it can be just as deadly. In 1980, this Washington State volcano erupted when an earthquake struck. The blast was heard hundreds of miles away, the pressure wave flattened entire forests, the heat melted glaciers, and 57 people lost their lives. You can even click here to see the eruption on HowStuffWorks.
- Happy Land Fire – Because man is often his own worst enemy, this unimaginable fire was set in 1990 in The Bronx. A Cuban refugee had a bout of jealousy concerning his seventeen year old ex-girlfriend. She was an employee at the Happy Land Social Club. In a fit of rage, her ex burned down the club killing her and 86 other people. Although the club had been cited for several violations by the fire department, no follow up ever happened.
- John Orr – Proving that arson doesn’t just happen in fits of passion is Orr. He was a fire captain and arson investigator during the 80’s and 90’s in the Southern California Glendale Fire Department. The first on the scene of dozens of arson fires, suspicion soon began to grow around him. After a fingerprint positively identified him as the arsonist, he was convicted of starting a fire that killed four people and was sentenced to life in prison.
- Love Letter Fire – Ever burned something your ex gave or wrote to you? Then you have a lot in common with Terry Barton. In 2002, she burned a letter from her estranged husband which resulted in the largest wildfire in Colorado history causing $30 million in damages. A U.S. Forest Service Worker, the matches Barton used to start the fire and pieces of the letter traced the fire back to her and she would go on to be convicted for it.
- Fire Bombs – One would think that pro-environment groups would be first in protesting the use of fire as protest, and for the most part, this is true. However, in the case of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), this is wrong. The FBI had ranked the ELF and the ALF as among the nation’s top domestic terrorism threats after a string of attacks beginning in 1996 against U.S. Forest Service buildings, a Vail ski resort, a wild horse slaughterhouse, and other targets. In this 2001 attack, two members were convicted of setting of a firebomb at the University of Washington, causing seven million dollars’ worth of damage.
The above top 25 wildfires of all time are just the ones that have happened since we have been recording them and keeping records for future generations. To have a look at current wildfires in the United States, click here for an updated map by the USDA Forest Service. | <urn:uuid:1a1defe7-0763-4030-97fa-c4cc6b084c3e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.firesciencedegree.com/top-25-wildfires-of-all-time/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976344 | 2,425 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Fibromyalgia is a fairly common condition characterized by long-term, body-wide pain and tender points in joints, muscles, tendons and other soft tissues. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, morning stiffness, sleep problems, headaches, numbness in hands and feet, depression and anxiety.
Many people know what fibromyalgia is, but its causes have yet to be identified and confirmed in definite terms. But recent research has generally found that fibromyalgia is most likely a result of what scientists call central sensitization or unusual responses in the nervous system with regard to pain perception.
According to Dr. Bruce Solitar, clinical associate professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at NYU Medical Center/Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York, “The [current] consensus is that fibromyalgia is not a problem with the muscles, joints or tendons, but rather a problem with the central nervous system.” | <urn:uuid:e711cc74-7670-4cc7-aa1f-87cd024941f6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blackdoctor.org/252/understanding-the-pain-of-fibromyalgia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943653 | 195 | 2.921875 | 3 |
|Home||Pre-Adoption Questions||Orphanage Care||Older Children|
|Language Development Charts||Current Projects||Resources|
|Most children raised in
orphanages will have language delays prior to adoption. The causes of these delays are
outlined in the Orphanage
Care section of this web site. The best medicine for these
delays is adoption
into a family that provides good nutritional and physical care, within an
enriching, nurturing language learning environment.
After adoption, the internationally adopted child gains a new family, a new culture and a new language. Because adoptive families are rarely able to maintain the birth language, development in that language stops suddenly, or in linguistic terms becomes "arrested." There are many developmental and linguistic issues that emerge when language development is prematurely arrested. These issues are reviewed in depth in Glennen (2002) and will not be addressed here. Suffice it to say that arrested language development is not an ideal situation and results in slowing the language learning process.
After adoption children have to begin learning in a new language. Most parents expect initial delays in English language skills but also wonder how much delay is normal, and when (if ever) to expect the child to catch up. I had the same questions after adopting my 17 month old son from Russia, and was concerned when his English language skills emerged more slowly than expected. At the time, there wasn't much information available about language. Much of the information was anecdotal, based on a small number of children who truly had severe problems. Other information was based on testing internationally adopted children in English then comparing them to English-language norms. These tests resulted in a high number of children being labeled with delayed language. There was no information regarding typical language learning milestones for internationally adopted children.
In researching the problem of typical language learning, other parents and professionals had the same unanswered questions. During discussions, three scenarios began to emerge. The first was the family who expected normal English language skills immediately after adoption and sought early intervention services if the child wasn't fully caught up within a few months home. The second scenario was the family who felt it would take the child a long time to learn English. Those families didn't seek intervention services even when the child was way behind a year or two after coming home. A third scenario was described by families who sought early intervention services and despite the child's obvious delays were given the "your child hasn't been home long enough to learn English" justification to deny services. In summary, there was no consensus regarding what was 'normal' for internationally adopted children.
Language Development Survey Project
In order to develop a profile of normal language development in internationally adopted children, a parent survey project was developed (Glennen & Masters, 2002). Parents of children adopted from Eastern Europe were contacted and asked to provide information about their child's vocabulary development, to complete checklists of language abilities, and to provide examples of the child's longest sentences. Over 130 parents responded and completed the initial surveys. Parents were then sent additional surveys every 3-6 months until the children reached age 40 months. Because language development varies depending on the child's adoption age, children were divided into four age of adoption groups. The first group consisted of children adopted at age 12 months and younger. The second group was children adopted between 13-18 months. The third group was children adopted between 19-24 months, and the final group was children adopted between 25-30 months. This web site provides a brief review of the findings from the parent survey project. Additional information regarding survey methods, data analysis, and complete results are available in Glennen and Masters (2002).
The survey collected information about vocabulary, sentence length, grammar, and overall language development skills. The first part of the survey asked parents to track vocabulary development. A 300-word checklist developed by Rescorla (1989) was used to collect this information. Parents simply checked each English word the child could say. The second part of the survey asked parents to write out the child's 3 longest sentences. These were analyzed by counting the number of 'Morphemes' in each sentence. A morpheme is a unit of meaning. It can be a word, such as "dog" or a grammatical marker such as "plural s." For example "dog" equals 1 morpheme, "dogs" equals 2 morphemes. A sentence such as "The dogs are chasing cars" has 8 morphemes (1 for each word plus 3 for the plurals and the ing verb ending). The average number of morphemes in the child's 3 longest sentences was calculated as a measure of sentence complexity. Parents were also asked to check if their child was using plurals, possessive 's markers, "ing" verb endings, or regular past tense "ed" verb endings. In addition the child's sentences were reviewed to see if these grammar markers appeared. Use of grammatical markers was then scored from 0 to 4 depending on how many of the grammatical endings the child used. Finally parents were given a checklist of language development skills modified from Rosetti (1990). If 75% of the items at a given age level were checked by the parent, the child was considered to have mastered skills at that age.
The pages linked below contain results from the surveys and provide information regarding normal language development in internationally adopted children learning English. Each page has a table that indicates the child's current age along the vertical axis. The horizontal axis indicates the average (mean) score for each age, the first standard deviation scores for each age, and the range of scores for each age. First standard deviation numbers provide cutoffs for determining if a child is above or below average when compared to other internationally adopted children. Any child whose language skills fall near or below the first standard deviation cutoff score should be referred for early intervention services. If a child's scores are above the first standard deviation cutoff, the child is above average when compared to other internationally adopted children. Children whose scores are between the numbers are developing normally. The range lists the lowest and highest recorded scores from the survey. Although this data is based on children adopted from Eastern European orphanages, it is likely that children adopted out of orphanages from other countries will learn similarly. Roberts, Krakow and Pollack (2002) are conducting a parent survey study of children adopted from China and finding similar results. Parents and professionals are encouraged to use these tables to determine if a child is developing normally or is in need of early intervention services. Beneath each table is a summary with a review of what to expect and when to get concerned.
Vocabulary Development in Internationally Adopted Infants and Toddlers
Charts based on Glennen and Masters (2002) were developed to quickly compare similar information across the adoption age groups. The first chart outlines vocabulary growth over time. Low, mid and high scores are based on the average scores and first standard deviation cutoffs for each age level. The highest possible number at any age level is 310. Children whose scores fall near or below the low score should be referred for early intervention services.
What the numbers clearly show is the rapid pace of vocabulary growth after adoption. By 40 months, children adopted at older ages were close to catching up to those adopted at younger ages. Internationally adopted children who are not making fast progress in learning English vocabulary should be referred for early intervention services. Refer to the charts listed above for further details about what to expect at each age level and when to get concerned.
Sentence Length in Internationally Adopted Children
Similar charts were developed to compare sentence length across children adopted at different ages (Glennen & Masters, 2000). As outlined previously, each child's three longest sentences were counted in morphemes and averaged together. Low, mid and high scores are based on the average scores and first standard deviation cutoffs for each age level. Children whose longest sentences fall near or below the low score should be referred for early intervention services.
vocabulary development, sentence length does not catch up as easily.
There are significant differences in sentence length based on the child's
age of adoption. By age 40 months, children adopted before 18 months
of age were averaging 9-10 morphemes in their
longest sentences, children adopted after 19 months of age were only
producing sentences with 5-6 morphemes. The differences in sentence
length are due to
leaving grammar elements out of the sentences. For example, a child
adopted at a younger age might say "He's jumping over the blue
chairs" (9 morphemes) while a child adopted at older ages might say
"He jumping over blue chairs" (7 morphemes). The content
vocabulary of the sentences is similar, but several grammar elements are left out
of the older child's sentences.
Refer to the charts
listed above for further details about what to expect at each age level
and when to get concerned.
Refer to the charts listed above for further details about what to expect at each age level and when to get concerned.What to do if a Language Delay is Suspected
Children under age 36 months with suspected speech, language, or any other type of developmental delay are eligible for early intervention services under the federal IDEA act PL 105-17 (Moore-Brown & Montgomery, 2001; Paul, 2001). Children born into "high risk" categories automatically qualify for services. Many internationally adopted infants and toddlers have high risk factors in their pre-adoption histories that may qualify them for services. Children also qualify if they are more than 25% delayed in any one developmental area. Early intervention services are usually operated through the local school district although some states and regions have opted to set up other agencies to handle these services. Families can get information on early intervention services in their area by contacting their local neighborhood public school or state Child Find service.
Early intervention services typically begin with an in-home assessment of the child. One issue that emerges with internationally adopted children is how to assess the extent of language delay when the child is in the process of learning a new language. While some professionals will have experience with internationally adopted children, most will not. Parents should be ready to provide professionals with the information contained in this web site if necessary.
If the early intervention team determines that the child has a language or other developmental delay, then treatment services are arranged and an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) is developed. The IFSP is a legal document that states the services to be provided and treatment goals for the child and family. For very young children treatment is usually held in the home setting and the primary focus should be training the parent to help the child. As the child ages, small group treatment is sometimes offered at a nearby school.
Children older than 36 months are seen through the IDEA Part-B program. IDEA Part-B applies to any child age 3 through 21 who requires a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). Parents can contact their local public school to get information on services for preschool children. If a child has been seen for early intervention services, the early intervention team will assist the family in making the transfer from one program to the other. Services for 3-5 year old children range from individual or small group therapy sessions, to preschool classroom programs. Services may be held in the neighborhood public school, or may be held at another school in the district. The intervention team will develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that outlines appropriate services and treatment goals for the child. Most school districts have developed policies outlining who qualifies for services under IDEA Part-B. These policies are usually more strict than those used to qualify for early intervention services.
In addition to services provided through the public schools, parents can also get speech and language services through private agencies, hospitals, and clinics. The American Speech Language Hearing Association web site has a comprehensive listing of certified professionals that can be searched by geographic area.
|Sharon Glennen, Ph.D., CCC-SLP|
|Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders|
|Towson, MD 21252|
|Last Modified 7/22/02| | <urn:uuid:b14c33f2-7fb5-4c3e-95d3-d1c9666cfc33> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://pages.towson.edu/sglennen/InfantToddlerLanguageDev.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958233 | 2,491 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Parents sending kids back to school have another thing to worry about besides pens, paper and pencils.
They have always had to look out for head lice, but new research shows the bugs may be harder to kill.
Samples from 30 states, including Texas, found a gene mutation in lice that turns it into a superbug and resistant to over-the-counter chemicals.
If that's not bad enough, there is also a new way adults and teens are getting it: selfies.
Lice used to be a childhood problem eventually outgrown, like when youngsters bumped heads as they played together in tight quarters.
Now, as adults and teenagers almost constantly put their heads together while taking selfies, they’re unknowingly giving lice a new host on which to feed.
Loren Hickman works at Hair Fairies in Dallas, which specializes in lice removal. She says it's impossible to pinpoint exactly where someone gets lice.
However, Hickman says she's seen an uptick in the number of teens with lice who don't have siblings.
“They're holding the phone up, putting their head close to their friend,” said Hickman. “It only takes a second.”
Lice crawl from one strand of hair to another. They don't jump, they don't fly, but they travel and spread like wildfire.
“People taking group selfies, it’s just like a chain reaction,” said Hickman. “You take a picture with one person, you’re taking a picture with another person. That bug can actually spread that quick.”
The research into mutated lice still has to be independently evaluated, but it's not entirely surprising that over the years, over-the-counter medication may not be as effective as it once was. | <urn:uuid:292aaa03-5085-4b19-a35e-d01761be8d77> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fox5ny.com/news/10106468-story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977701 | 381 | 2.859375 | 3 |
With English,Korean,Chinese, Russian,Spanish,French,Hungarian and Japanese version.
With 34-36 test reports
With small size and standard big size
The Quantum Magnetic Resonance Analyzer replaces the need for ultrasonic, nuclear magnetic resonance or radiography for various health related conditions. Simply by holding sensors in your palm, health data will be collected within minutes from various body systems. The magnetic resonance analyzer offers new advantages in the field of material analysis. It has been shown that the applicability of such an analyzer exceeds the range of tissue analysis and other medical applications. The magnetic resonance analyzer measures the degree and type of response of a matter under test, and by comparison with reference matter it assists in recognizing deviations from the desired response.
Quantum Magnetic Analyzer: Principle of Analysis
Human body is an aggregate of numerous cells, which continuously grow develop, split, regenerate and die. By splitting up, cells renew themselves. For adult people, about 25 million cells are splitting up every second and blood cells are constantly renewing at a rate of about 100 million per minute. In the process of cellular split-up and renewal, the charged bodies of nucleus and extranuclear electrons as the basis unit of a cell are moving and changing ceaselessly at a high speed as well, emitting electromagnetic waves without interruption. The signals of electromagnetic waves emitted by human bodies represent the specific condition of human body and therefore, different signals of electromagnetic waves will be emitted by the conditions of good health, sub-health, diseases, etc. The conditions of life can be analyzed if such specific electromagnetic wave signals can be analyzed.
The quantum resonant magnetic analyzer is a new instrument to analyze such phenomenon. The weak magnetic frequency and energy of human body are collected by holding the sensor, and after amplification by the instrument and treatment by the built-in micro-processor, the data are compared with the standard quantum resonant spectrum of diseases, nutrition and other indicators incorporated in the instrument to judge whether the sample waveforms are irregular using the Fourier approach. Analysis and judgment can thus be made on health condition and main problems of the testee based on the result of waveform analysis, as well as standard protective and curative proposals.
The method of quantum resonant magnetic analysis is an emerging rapid, accurate and non-invasive spectral testing method and particularly suitable for comparison of curative effects medicine and health products, and check of sub-health conditions. The main analysis items are over 30, including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular condition, bone mineral density, trace elements, blood lead, rheumatism, lung and respiratory tract, nephropathy, blood sugar, stomach and intestines, liver and gall, cranial nerves, gynecology, prostate, bone disease, the trace elements of selenium, iron, zinc and calcium, etc. | <urn:uuid:7f750e9a-8368-41c2-8118-a9388ac24fab> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sheenzi.en.alibaba.com/product/482422811-200058921/Mini_Quantum_magnetic_resonance_analyzer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911119 | 583 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Henri Matisse (1869-1954), was a French painter, leading representative of Fauvisme. The name of the artistic movement comes from the French word 'fauve' which means 'beast'. Why beast? Matisse used intensive colours, he painted with flat spots of primary colours and did not even try to create the illusion of space, according to critics of canvas his paintings were 'savage'. This may be confusing because pictures of the French painter are as result very decorative. Besides painting he used various artistic techniques, also sketch and sculpture and in the final stage of his works of art also collage, most preferably Matisse painted women and still lifes. He was a long time friend and also the main rival of Pablo Picasso. | <urn:uuid:783a8310-7d04-4488-8d89-829985589cc5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bimago.co.uk/famous-artists-paintings-and-art-prints/henri-matisse.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00186-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975965 | 156 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Thanks to the Georgia Basin Action Plan for
partial funding of this project.
| The Gulf Islands Atlas is a web-based mapping tool that brings together a variety of information about the natural and cultural attributes and resources of the southern Gulf Islands region.
Its main purpose is to foster public awareness of the resources within Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, and to help park managers make informed decisions that promote the maintenance of ecological integrity on park lands while at the same time allowing for public enjoyment and education opportunities.
The contents of the atlas can assist researchers in creating a profile of the myriad of ecosystems within the park (from the macro to the regional), be used in the development of communications and interpretive products, provide the building blocks for management planning, and paint a portrait of the human presence on the islands over the millennia. | <urn:uuid:555412b9-519f-4066-8d65-1c96437667e5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shim.bc.ca/gulfislands/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89569 | 165 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 10:32am.
I had to do this hero characterization and I did rough draft of the assignment. The direction ask me to do this: This character may be one you encountered either as a child or adult, one that may have appeared in any medium: television, film, literature (stories, poems, drama), oral stories, plays, comic books, graphic novels, and/or computer games. Spend time imagining everything you might think of regarding the hero in terms of the characterís desire, image, voice, action, and thought (as discussed in Imaginative Writing). Jot down as much information you can capture from your imagination.
Then, using the desire of your character and at least one other method (image, voice, action, and/or thought), create a characterization of him or her.
Last, write a short summary before and after the characterization to contextualize it within a plot. In essence, you are showing the hero in your characterization and telling the story surrounding him or her in the short summaries before and after the characterization. An example is below, showing you how to accomplish this task.
Write this assignment in either first or third person. While writing and revising, seek the most precise word choices possible to convey your imagined character. Remember to use concrete images whenever possible. Here is an example of what the professor did: The example below uses the desire of the character, as well as actions and images, to show him:
[Summary] William had convinced his mother to let him join the army, even though he was only 17. He had not been able to stand the loss of his grand piano that his father sold to raise money for another drinking binge. Now en route to Vietnam, William closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. His memories of music, lessons, and Professor Svoboda came to him in his dreams.
[Characterization] If only he could master that one last passage in Rachmaninoffís second concerto, William was certain the piano competition would be his win. He carefully folded up his sheet music and placed it back in his portfolio. Professor Svoboda looked down and shook his head. If William would only realize his talent, he thought, he would know heís ready.
William shook his instructorís hand, as usual. He turned and left without a word. Glum. Again. He ducked under the tree branch hanging over the porch outside the studio door and swung his left hand in time to some inaudible bit of music in his head. Anger began to rise, hotter than the last time.
His quick pace and intermittent hand-swinging were familiar to the benchwarmers each weekday afternoon on East 73rd near the park. William saw nothing and kept his head down. But they saw him. They saw his photo on the kiosks in the park. Lincoln Center, no less. The international competition, February 16.
William turned right on East 65th and headed into Central Park. Another gray, damp afternoon, perfect for the last bit of Rachmaninoffís weeping piano in the second concerto. William didnít notice. His head was down.
[Summary] When the air transporter landed at the military base on Guam, William woke with a jolt. It was his 18th birthday. He would leave Vietnam a drug-addicted door gunner 13 months later.
Here is my rough draft and I want to know if you can tell me what I did wrong and help me out with it please.
Summary] My father convinced me that having an education is something that everyone needs in life. I had no idea that everything does not come easy for you unless you work hard for it.
[Characterization] My hero growing up as a child was no other than my father all my life before his passing. I came remember me and my dad talking what you want to do when you grow up go to college and make something out of myself that is a good little girl. I donít want you to be anything like me not finishing school because school is the most important thing that you can have in your life education. I would come home everyday from school saying daddy I donít think that I really want to go to college anymore because it is going to be hard work because I ask my teacher what she had to do to get were she at and she told me going to college got right were I really want to be a teacher wow. I ran home daddy I know what I want to do finish college and maybe one day own my own business.
My father was someone who you could have went to for advice or asks for anything because if he got it you know that you could have got it from him. I really didnít know what I would do without him or his help. After my father death I really couldnít focus on anything school or nothing. I really want to give it all up because my father is not here to share it with me and I remember what he said donít be nothing like me just do what you need to finish school and opening up your business like you plan on doing because I am always going to be here with you.
[Summary] I couldnít tell my father that I am almost finish because he die right because I finish high school so my goal was because he push me to my hardest to do my best and donít give up at all.
- English - Anonymous, Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 10:43am
write a short summary before and after the characterization to contextualize it within a plot. In essence, you are showing the hero in your characterization and telling the story surrounding him or her in the short summaries before and after the characterization. An example is below, showing you how to accomplish this task.
- English - SraJMcGin, Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 12:45pm
I'll at least proofread what you have done.
does not come easy for you = easily (an adverb)
I came remember me = I can?
talking what you = talking about what
you grow up go to college = end with up Then a new sentence. "Going to college and making something out of myself would what a good little girl should do. (or something similar)
like me not finishing school = like my not finishing school...drop the word 'education' at the end.
saying daddy I = saying, "Daddy, I...."
hard work = end right there with the word work.
The next sentence is so cumbersome, making the sentence where you had it much too long. Drop "because" and try something like: When I asked my teacher what she had to do to be where she is, she told me that going to college got her where she is. Now, I really want to be a teacher --- wow!
I ran home daddy = I ran home to tell Daddy, etc.
know what I want to do finish = know that what I wanat to do is finish, etc.
someone who you could have went to = someone to whom you could go to ask for advice on anything......sorry, but you have so many grammar errors and I do not want to change the idea of what you want to say.
because if he had it, you know you could get it from him
my father death = father's death
focus on anything school or nothing. = focus on school or anything. (No double negatives!)
he said donít be nothing like me just do what you need to finish school and opening up your business = he said "Don't be anything like me. Just do what y ou need to finish school and open your business......"
I am almost finish = finished...father died...
NOTE: You will need to rework the last sentence. We are not through with suggestions, etc. so I recommend that you redo as much as you can and repost for more proofreading, etc.
- English - Ms. Sue, Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 1:00pm
I agree with Sra's editing.
As you revise, pay close attention to these directions:
"Spend time imagining everything you might think of regarding the hero in terms of the characterís desire, image, voice, action, and thought (as discussed in Imaginative Writing)."
- English - SraJMcGin, Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:05pm
P.S. In addition, are you writing, as the prompt required, totally in either first or third person?
first person = I, we
third person = he/she/they
The only time to have "you" is in a direct quote when you are speaking to your father, or he is speaking to y ou.
While you imagining, think of the 5 senses: sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing. As the person, how would these things be perceived.
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Pharmaceutical companies are sitting on a vast trove of drug blueprints that could be applied to fight new diseases. What if we had access to them?
Even as the medical world makes great advances in drug testing, development cycles can still take years, if not decades. In the case of cystic fibrosis, for instance, scientists were able to detect the disease's molecular cause by as early as 1989 -- but it's taken nearly three decades to push a drug to market.
Could there be a faster way to cures? If NIH director Francis Collins has his way -- perhaps. By studying the human genome and noticing similarities among the molecular effects of certain diseases, Collins believes pharmaceuticals designed to target one affliction can have surprisingly positive effects on other illnesses. We just need to match the right drugs with the right diseases.
"The first drug for HIV/AIDS wasn't developed for HIV/AIDS," said Collins in a lecture at TEDMED, a three-day conference on medicine and health in Washington, D.C. "It was originally developed to fight cancer. It was called AZT."
The same tactic is being applied to progeria, a rare genetic disease that causes rapid aging in children. One of the drugs that's now being clinically tested for progeria wasn't created to fight it -- like AZT, this drug was billed as a cancer medication.
"Turns out it didn't work very well for cancer," said Collins, "but it has exactly the right properties and the right shape to work with progeria."
If pharmaceutical companies can reach an intellectual property agreement with NIH -- "we're making steps," said Collins -- drug development could eventually become at least partly open-sourced, giving older drugs a new lease on life. | <urn:uuid:d830a825-9145-4e75-9f07-3896646407ae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/04/teaching-old-drugs-new-tricks/255738/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979146 | 357 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Definition of antiquated
a. - Grown old. Hence: Bygone; obsolete; out of use; old-fashioned; as, an antiquated law. 2
The word "antiquated" uses 10 letters: A A D E I N Q T T U.
Direct anagrams of antiquated:
Words formed by adding one letter before or after antiquated (in bold), or to aadeinqttu in any order:
t - quantitated
All words formed from antiquated by changing one letter
Browse words starting with antiquated by next letter | <urn:uuid:1bd4f169-8b0a-4842-8437-6049c97372e2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.morewords.com/word/antiquated/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.846431 | 122 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Summary Report for:
25-4011.00 - Archivists
Appraise, edit, and direct safekeeping of permanent records and historically valuable documents. Participate in research activities based on archival materials.
Sample of reported job titles: Archival Records Clerk, Archives Director, Archivist, Collections Director, Collections Manager, Manuscripts Curator, Museum Archivist, Records Manager, Registrar, University Archivist
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Detailed Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education | Credentials | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Job Openings | Additional Information
- Organize archival records and develop classification systems to facilitate access to archival materials.
- Provide reference services and assistance for users needing archival materials.
- Prepare archival records, such as document descriptions, to allow easy access to information.
- Authenticate and appraise historical documents and archival materials.
- Create and maintain accessible, retrievable computer archives and databases, incorporating current advances in electronic information storage technology.
- Preserve records, documents, and objects, copying records to film, videotape, audiotape, disk, or computer formats as necessary.
- Establish and administer policy guidelines concerning public access and use of materials.
- Direct activities of workers who assist in arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and maintaining collections of valuable materials.
- Research and record the origins and historical significance of archival materials.
- Locate new materials and direct their acquisition and display.
- Coordinate educational and public outreach programs, such as tours, workshops, lectures, and classes.
- Specialize in an area of history or technology, researching topics or items relevant to collections to determine what should be retained or acquired.
- Select and edit documents for publication and display, applying knowledge of subject, literary expression, and presentation techniques.
Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
- Desktop computers
- Digital cameras — Compact digital cameras
- Inkjet printers
- Notebook computers — Laptop computers
- Personal computers
- Scanners — Data input scanners; Digitizers
Technology used in this occupation:
- Data base user interface and query software — DiMeMa CONTENTdm; Gallery Systems The Museum System; Microsoft Access ; PREMIS (see all 8 examples)
- Development environment software — Encoded Archival System EAD
- Document management software — Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat software
- Electronic mail software — Microsoft Outlook
- Enterprise application integration software — Extensible markup language XML
- Graphics or photo imaging software — Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop software ; Corel Paint Shop Pro
- Internet browser software — Web browser software
- Office suite software — Microsoft Office software
- Presentation software — Microsoft PowerPoint
- Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel
- Video creation and editing software — Adobe Systems Adobe Premiere Pro software; Apple Final Cut Pro
- Web platform development software — Dynamic hypertext markup language DHTML ; Hypertext markup language HTML
- Word processing software — Microsoft Word
Hot Technology — a technology requirement frequently included in employer job postings.
- English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- History and Archeology — Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
- Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
- Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
- Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
- Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
- Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
- Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
- Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
- Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
- Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
- Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
- Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
- Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
- Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
- Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
- Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
- Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
- Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
- Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
- Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
- Staffing Organizational Units — Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
- Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Detailed Work Activities
- Order instructional or library materials or equipment.
- Research topics in area of expertise.
- Develop policies or procedures for archives, museums or libraries.
- Organize informational materials.
- Help patrons use library or archival resources.
- Evaluate characteristics of archival or historical objects.
- Develop library or archival databases.
- Direct activities of subordinates.
- Prepare materials for preservation, storage, or display.
- Plan community programs or activities for the general public.
- Edit documents.
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 97% responded “Every day.”
- Electronic Mail — 84% responded “Every day.”
- Face-to-Face Discussions — 78% responded “Every day.”
- Telephone — 63% responded “Every day.”
- Freedom to Make Decisions — 50% responded “A lot of freedom.”
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 50% responded “Very important.”
- Structured versus Unstructured Work — 66% responded “Some freedom.”
- Spend Time Sitting — 61% responded “More than half the time.”
- Deal With External Customers — 38% responded “Very important.”
- Letters and Memos — 47% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
- Contact With Others — 44% responded “Contact with others about half the time.”
- Work With Work Group or Team — 41% responded “Very important.”
- Duration of Typical Work Week — 72% responded “40 hours.”
- Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 31% responded “Moderate results.”
- Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 31% responded “Very important.”
|Title||Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed|
|Education||Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).|
|Related Experience||Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.|
|Job Training||Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.|
|Job Zone Examples||These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, sports medicine physicians, wildlife biologists, school psychologists, surgeons, treasurers, and controllers.|
|SVP Range||(8.0 and above)|
Percentage of Respondents
|Education Level Required|
Interest code: CI
- Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
- Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
- Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
- Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
- Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
- Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
- Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
- Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
- Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
- Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
- Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
- Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
- Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
- Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
- Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
- Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
- Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
- Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
- Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
- Recognition — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
|25-1082.00||Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary|
|25-1121.00||Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary|
|25-1125.00||History Teachers, Postsecondary|
Wages & Employment Trends
|Median wages (2015)||$24.16 hourly, $50,250 annual|
|Employment (2014)||7,000 employees|
|Projected growth (2014-2024)||Average (5% to 8%)|
|Projected job openings (2014-2024)||2,600|
|Top industries (2014)|
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 wage data and 2014-2024 employment projections . "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2014-2024). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.
Job Openings on the Web
Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer: Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries. Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
- Archivists, curators, and museum workers . Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition.
- Council of State Archivists (CoSA) , P.O. Box 2508, Albany, NY 12220-0508.
- Society of American Archivists (SAA) , 17 N. State St., Suite 425, Chicago, IL 60602-4061. Phone: (312) 606-0722. Fax: (312) 606-0728. | <urn:uuid:92b4d90f-460a-480f-8569-41c6d08c962d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-4011.00 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.858327 | 3,879 | 2.78125 | 3 |
A very first introductory example
Each morning a plant manager, who comes to work in a combined train/car ride, arrives by train at the railway station at 8:00 in the morning, where he is picked up by the company driver. Not wanting to keep his boss waiting nor liking to wait himself, the driver leaves the plant each morning so as to arrive exactly at 8:00 at the station.
One morning the manager happens to catch an earlier train, which arrives at the station at 7:00. Instead of waiting an hour for his driver to arrive, he starts walking to the plant. When he meets his driver on the road, he steps into the car and together they return to the plant. That day, the manager arrives at the plant 20 minutes earlier than usual. For long has the manager been walking? (As usual in such problems, each person or object moves at its own constant speed, events such as leaving the train or turning the car, are instantaneous, etc.)
Before reading on, you might want to tackle this problem yourself. If so, look now at your watch.
The driver saved 20 minutes on the round trip, so he saved 10 minutes on his way out. He had planned to turn at 8:00, so this day he turned at 7:50. Hence the manager, who started at 7:00, walked for 50 minutes.
Some may think this solution cute, surprising, or ingenious, but I would like to point out that there is nothing ingenious about it, because the argument is all but forced. Let me show you how.
Since we know when the manager started walking, we have to determine when he stopped doing so. The only other definitions of that moment are the moment when the manager and driver met and the moment the driver turned. Moreover we know that we have to relate this moment to 8:00, the only other moment in the data. That day, the only significance of 8:00 is that it was the moment at which the driver had planned to turn. So the question has become: by how much was the drivers trip to the station shortened? This interval has to be related to the only interval in the data, the 20 minutes the manager arrived earlier. This is also the shortening of the drivers round trip, which is twice the amount by which his trip out was shortened, and now we have the solution. Experience has shown that people used to the above type of problem analysis solve this problem within 2 to 60 seconds.
There is another approach. One just introduces variables for all unknown quantities (car speed, train speed, walking speed of the manager, distance between plant and station, etc.), writes down as many equations as one can think of, and solves those equations, which are all linear, so that should be no problem. In practice it does.
Firstly, almost all our training in solving systems of equations dealt with systems in which all roots could be determined. Secondly, we have not been trained in how to be sure that we have written down all equations relating the unknowns.
The person following this approach typically grabs pencil and paper within 1 minute and complains a few minutes later that he has been given insufficient data, It is then very tempting —I never did— to give him more data like Oh yes, sorry! I forgot to tell you that the managers train ride takes 30 minutes. or The distance between station and plant is 15 miles., thereby only adding to the confusion. His problem is, firstly, that by his random start he has lost track of what he really needs and, secondly, that he is under the misapprehension that, the more he knows, the better off he is.
In the latter approach, the solution requires at least 10 minutes, if reached at all.
You may feel tempted to complain that this problem was too simple to deserve a whole chapter of what purports to be a serious book on mathematical methodology. Yet its inclusion is justified, for the simpler the problem, the more alarming the following observation: of the scientists the problem is posed to, the fraction that solves it within 1 minute is no more than a few percent. Evidently this little problem embodies some trap and we have not learned how to avoid being trapped by it; perhaps we have even been conditioned to fall into the trap. In any case it presents a reason why a book like this one seems so needed.
Austin, 19 October 1989
prof. dr. Edsger W. Dijkstra
Department of Computer Sciences
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712-1188 | <urn:uuid:67fd88ae-c4ef-475a-a4c3-64761328897d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD1067.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00193-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977396 | 936 | 3.21875 | 3 |
No link has been established between exercise and sarcoma. Nevertheless, exercise can help:
- Reduce stress and depression.
- Reduce fatigue and increase energy.
- Reduce nausea and improve appetite.
- Relieve constipation.
- Reduce the risk of blood clots.
- Reduce the risk of osteoporosis, which can affect both men and women, and young and old, if they get chemo, radiation or hormone treatment.
- Improve balance and reduce the risk of falling.
- Improve breathing.
- Reduce weight (if needed). There is no evidence that weight puts anyone at risk of getting sarcoma. But obese people tend to have more complications after surgery, for example, and obesity has risks for other illnesses, such as heart disease.
During or after treatment you may benefit from physical therapy, rehabilitation and/or occupational therapy. Therapists will help determine your needs. You may need to regain strength, mobility and endurance; learn to use a prosthetic or assistive device; and/or focus on skills of everyday living.
Ask your health-care team before starting or resuming other exercise and physical activities. Then go slow. As you recover, think of exercise and other physical activities that work your heart and lungs, and strengthen bones as well as muscles.
Cancer centers may offer exercise. For example, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has classes in pilates, yoga, qigong and tai chi. Some health insurance may have programs, such as Silver Sneakers. Some YMCAs have Livestrong programs. | <urn:uuid:0b5e865b-3caa-42b7-a00e-02c73cd20066> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sarcomaalliance.org/what-you-need-to-know/adult-sarcoma/exercise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933686 | 328 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Ir.: conn: head, leader, chief; céad: hundred; cathach battles.
"Chief/Head of a Hundred Battles"
ca. 110 - 157 CE
Irish Pseudohistorical King
Legendary high king of Ireland, he was the son of Fedhlimidh Rachtmar, the high king, and Ughna, daughter of the king of Lochlinn1. Between the kingship of he and his father, Conaire Mór ruled Ireland. Conn challenged Conaire to battle, defeating Conaire in Meath.
Supposedly, at Conn's birth, five roads to Temhair were discovered, which had never been noticed before: Slighe Asail, Alighe Miodhluchra, Slíghe Cualann, Slighe Mór, and Slighe Dála. Slighe Mór later became the dividing line between Leath Chuinn and Leath Mhogha.
For most of his reign, Conn was at war with one king or another. In particular, his war with Eoghan Mór2--also called Mogh Nuadat ("slave of Nuada")--led to the partition of Ireland into half. The origin of their feud is in the earliest Irish pseudohistory, with the feud between the brothers Eber and Eremon, the two sons of Mil Espaine--in other words, the original Milesians who came to Ireland.3 Conn was descended of Eremon, while Mogh Nuadat was descended of Eber. When Mogh Nuadat realized that Conn, as a descendant of Eremon, had gained dominion over him, he rebelled. Geoffrey Keating lists ten battles that Mogh Nuadath won over Conn:
the Battle of Brosnach and the Battle of Samhpait; the Battle of Sliabh Musach; the Battle of Gabhran; the Battle of Suama and the Battle of Grian and the Battle of Ath Luain; and the Battle of Magh Croich... the Battle of Asal and the Battle of Uisneach
At the battle of Magh Lena, the two kings divided Ireland into two sections: Leath Mhogha and Leath Chuinn, or, "Mogh's Half" and "Conn's Half." This division (supposedly) lasted up through the age of Brian Bórúmha (ca. 1000 CE). Keating also says that because of this division, Conn slew Mogh Nuadath in his bed.
The division of Ireland between Conn and Mogh Nuadat is likely indicative of an Irish social hierarchy: that is, "Conn", ruling the northern half, is the "head", while "Mogh", ruling the southern half, is the "slave". According to "The Settling of the Manor at Tara", the north and west (Ulster and Connacht, of whom Conn is ancestor) in Ireland were associated with war and knowledge, while the south and east (Munster and Leinster) were associated with slaves, musicians, and farming. This cosmology was likely created for the benefit of the Uí Niell clan (of whom Conn is the ancestor).
In "Cath Mag Mucrama", it's stated that Conn's daughter Sadb is married to Ailill Aulom, son of Mogh Nuadat. His sons are Art, Connlae, and Asal, the last who murdered Eochu Bélbuide, which ultimately leads to Conn's death.
There are some legends that say Conn had a hand in the settling of Dalriada in Scotland.
Conn was killed at Temhair in 157 CE when Tiobraide Tireach the king of Ulster sent fifty warriors disguised as women to kill him. This enmity between Connacht and Ulster, of course, is reminiscent of the Ulster Cycle, and the enmity between Medb and Conchobhor mac Nessa.
Relationship with Pwyll
In Ireland and the Grail, John Carey argues that Pwyll has his origin in the mythical Irish king Conn Céadcathach. While other figures in the Mabinogi have names which signify divinity or have cognates in Irish literature or Gaulish deities, "Sense" and his son "Care" have names which are more like the invented names found in "Culhwch ac Olwen" than anythink like the rest of the Mabinogi. However, pwyll has an Irish cognate ciall, "sense", which in turn is often paired with the word cenn or conn, both of which mean "head". Ergo, ciall cenn (or ciall conn) becomes, in Welsh, pwyll pen--Pwyll Pen Annwfn.
But beyond this, Carey notes the similarities of the first branch of the Mabinogi with the stories surrounding Conn and his progeny. In Baile in Scail, Conn blunders into the Otherworld, is initially attacked, then finds himself and his companions at the house of Lugh, who offers friendship and his descendents the kingship of Ireland. Conn is also offered a mead cup by Sovereignty. In Echtrae Connlai, Conn's son Connlae climbs on the Hill of Uisnech, and is lured to the Otherworld by a fairy woman and disappears. Carey compares these stories with the first and third branches of the Mabinogi, and finds a close comparison between them: Pwyll, like Conn, blunders into the Otherworld, is initially attacked, then becomes a friend of Arawn, like Conn with Lugh. Pryderi, like Connlae, disappears, causing chaos for his father. Also, the story of Connlae seeing the fairy woman from the Hill of Uisnech parallels Pwyll seeing Rhiannon from the hill Gorsedd Arberth.
Keating, Geoffrey. The History of Ireland. ca. 1350? Found at CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts: http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/index.html.
The Annals of the Four Masters. A six-volume work of the 16th century (IIRC). It can now be found at CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts: http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005A/index.html
"Baile in Scaíl." The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom. ed. Caitlin and John Matthews.
Ancient Irish Tales. ed. T. Cross & H. Slover. Barnes and Noble, 1995 (reprint).
1. Lochlinn: presumably Scandanavia, though some scholars narrow this down to Denmark. Probably due to the Viking raids, the Scandanavians--under the guise of the people of Lochlinn--often figure in the pseudohistorical Irish and Welsh tales, as they were written in the Viking and post-Viking age of conquests. It is unknown if they would have been as prominent in the original, oral tales; if anything, Lochlinn often stands in as the typical "far away place" that, say, Sarras would play in the medieval romances. It's possible that Lochlinn may even have originally designated the Otherworld, as many wives seem to come from there, comparable to the later "fairy wife" in folklore.
2. Eoghan Mór: eponymous founder of the Eoghannacht clan.
3. Eber and Eremon: the theme of warring brothers who found a nation or are the origin of civilization is common in western culture; compare to Romulus and Remus, or Cain and Able.
4. This type of story is reflected in "The Colloquy of the Old Men" in which we are told of how Oisín went off with a fairy woman; and in the story of "The Voyage of Bran" in which Bran sails to Tír inna m-Ban, the Land of Women.
Back to "C" | Back to JCE
Mary Jones © 2004 | <urn:uuid:de77bfbe-035d-43f1-b584-742df20995d2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.maryjones.us/jce/conn.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00061-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956444 | 1,712 | 3.5 | 4 |
Hydrazine sulfate is a chemical compound that has been studied as a treatment for cancer and certain side effects caused by cancer (see Question 1).
Hydrazine sulfate may block the tumor from taking in glucose, which is a type of sugar that tumor cells need to grow (see Question 3).
In randomized clinical trials (a type of research study), hydrazine sulfate did not make tumors shrink or go away. In some randomized trials, however, hydrazine sulfate was reported to be helpful in treating...
Risk factors (things that increase your risk) for oral cancer include smoking (or using smokeless tobacco) and heavy alcohol use. Other risk factors are being male, using marijuana, or having human papillomavirus (HPV). For cancers of the lip, exposure over a long period of time to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun or from tanning beds increases risk.
Symptoms for oral cancer include sores or lumps on the lips or in your mouth. Talk with your doctor if you have any of these signs:
A sore on your lip or in your mouth that bleeds easily and does not heal
A lump or thickening on your lips, gums, cheek, or in your mouth
A white or red patch on your gums, your tongue, tonsils, or the lining of your mouth
A sore throat or a feeling that something is caught in your throat
Unexplained difficulty chewing, swallowing, speaking, or moving your jaw or tongue
Numbness or pain in your tongue or other areas of your lips or mouth
Swelling in your jaw that makes your teeth loose or your dentures fit poorly
Your dentist or doctor may look closely at your lips, mouth, or throat to check for signs of oral cancer. Other tests may be needed if there are possible signs of cancer, such as a biopsy, an X-ray, or an MRI.
Oral cancer is usually treated with surgery and radiation therapy. Your treatment will depend on the stage of your cancer and your other health factors. If the cancer is advanced, other treatments may be used. You may get chemotherapy. Or chemotherapy and targeted therapy may be used together.
You can find more information about oral cancer at the National Cancer Institute website www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/oral.
In this article
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
November 14, 2014
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor.
Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this | <urn:uuid:6d6577f4-5076-442c-8fd0-e516cac3e038> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/oral-cancer-topic-overview | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932733 | 532 | 3.125 | 3 |
Via Tyler Cowen, Peter T Leeson has an interesting article on the economics of human sacrifice. He links human sacrifice to property rights and rational choice theory, but the fundamental idea doesn't depend on these right-wing shibboleths for its validity, IMHO.
It's one of the many disreputable bits of human history, but it seems to be a fact that human sacrifice has been pretty widely practiced at certain stages of human history. Why? Economists have their own fish to fry, but to me a good explanation needs to explain some selective advantage to the practice. Leeson's theory does that.
Besides the libertarian mumbo-jumbo, Leeson cloaks his model in a sort of Rube Goldberg mathematics - some funky algebra where a straight forward minimization would be more to the point - but the key points don't depend on either of those.
His model subjects are the Konds of Orissa India, who practiced a truly gruesome form of human sacrifice in historically recent times. These people lived in a loosely organized hierarchy at the smaller scale but consisted of highly competitive and mutually warring communities at the largest scale. As farmers, they were subject to the vicissitudes of nature as well as predation by their neighbors. In this situation, Leeson argues, the wealthiest communities were the biggest target for predators and hence the most vulnerable. For them, Leeson argues, ritual destruction of wealth was a way of making themselves less vulnerable to attack and hence adaptive.
You should read the paper to see the details of the logic, but the principle is illustrated by another practice of the same people: tattooing their women. According to their own accounts, they did this not because they thought that made them more attractive, but the opposite. It seems that a neighboring power liked to seize their women, so tattooing them uglified them enough to make them unlikely targets.
The British, on discovering their ritual immolations, tried a lot of things to suppress them: violence, bribes, and so on. But when they asked the Kond what they would take to stop the sacrifices which were ostensibly to appease their blood-thirsty gods, they asked for law and order. So the British stopped the inter-community violence and the human sacrifices stopped. | <urn:uuid:6a5a9c6c-5be3-4d04-9180-4ac6699c1dae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://capitalistimperialistpig.blogspot.com/2012/12/tattoos-and-sacrifice.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00083-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972622 | 463 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Last summer, we covered Rowhammer, an attack method capable of targeting DRAM by exploiting intrinsic flaws in DRAM design. Rowhammer has been a known problem for several years, and later-generation DDR3 chipsets and the architecture of DDR4 were supposed to contain features that rendered it harmless. A new paper, however, suggests this isn’t the case.
How Rowhammer works
You can think of DRAM as conceptually similar to a spreadsheet — DRAM cells are packed tightly together and are laid out in a series of rows and columns. As DRAM nodes have shrunk and technology has advanced, manufacturers have steadily increased the amount of DRAM they could pack into a given area — often by shrinking the gaps between the DRAM cells. Unfortunately, this makes DRAM more susceptible to an attack like Rowhammer.
Rowhammer works by repeatedly reading data from specific rows of DRAM. This process causes voltage fluctuations in the nearby rows, which can lead those cells to undergo a bit flip. These disturbance errors break the memory protection model that modern computing relies on to ensure data accuracy, program sandboxing, and privilege separation between processes. It’s so serious because it can be used to dismantle the various protections that keep data secure and processes isolated from each other, and it launches that attack in hardware, far below the detection capabilities of any conventional antivirus or security software.
The image above shows how repeated reads of a single row (purple) can disturb the data in adjacent rows (yellow). It’s also possible to read two rows for the purpose of attacking a single row between them, and the likelihood of success increases if this method is used. These attack methods are known as single-sided or double-sided attacks, respectively.
In order to test for Rowhammer faults, Third I/O used its own Memesis software suite. Memesis is designed to “push extreme levels of stress and bandwidth between the processors and memory while looking for data corruptions and ECC events” and was originally used to validate systems for Third I/O’s Iris — an external SSD that connected via Fibre Channel. The company was able to use Memesis to expose specific use cases that made a successful Rowhammer more likely, including using multi-threaded attacks and targeting 2MB regions of DRAM.
Third I/O’s research suggests that using more sophisticated techniques can slash the total number of row hammer attacks required to flip a bit, from an original estimate of 2.7 million hammers per address in the original research to a current 800,000 for double-sided attacks and 1.5 million for single-sided.
Existing mitigation strategies aren’t working
There are already several ways to guard against Rowhammer. Simply refreshing the DRAM more quickly dramatically reduces Rowhammer’s ability to induce bit flips — there’s less time available to perform the operation. Unfortunately, increasing DRAM refresh rate has ugly impacts on DRAM power consumption and performance, as shown in the graph below from this IEEE Research paper:
Keep in mind that RAM sizes are reported in gigabits above; 32Gb corresponds to 4GB. At that size, refresh rate power consumption is already more than 20% of the total. Given how much DRAM is packed into modern servers and even some laptops, increasing RAM power consumption is exactly the opposite of what most vendors are trying to do.
As for ECC (Error Correcting Code) memory, it’s at best an imperfect solution. There is no unified single standard for ECC memory, only the advertised ability to find and correct single-bit errors (some systems advertise the ability to correct multi-bit errors as well). Tests Third I/O conducted against a two-node NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access)-aware server were able to produce a significant number of ECC events within minutes, and hard locks within half an hour. This was after doubling the refresh rate of the RAM as a guard against this type of attack. Before the refresh rate was doubled, the same system would lock and die within three minutes.
DDR4 and Rowhammer
When Rowhammer was first discovered and discussed, Samsung claimed that its DDR4 would not be susceptible to this attack method due to its use of Targeted Row Refresh inside devices. Micron followed suit with a statement that TRR mode is implemented in the background of its hardware as well. Third I/O’s testing shows that in Micron’s case, at least, this protection is imperfectly implemented. The paper states:
In addition to purchasing a fast Intel Skylake based system, we also acquired four Crucial Ballistix Sport 2400 MHz, two Crucial Ballistix Elite 2666 MHZ, two Geil Super Luce 2400 MHz, two G.Skill Ripjaws 4 3200 MHz, and two Micron branded 2133 MHz DDR4 memory modules for testing… Of the twelve memory modules we tested, eight showed bit flips during our 4-hour experiment. And of these eight failures, every memory module that failed at default settings was on DDR4 silicon manufactured by Micron. The Geil branded modules contained SK Hynix and the G.Skill modules contained Samsung silicon.
The 25% reduced refresh rate right-hand column refers to slower refresh rates, not faster ones. Third I/O notes that their own research into this project isn’t finished. The data from 2014 appeared to show that Intel chips were 200x more likely to have bitflips than AMD processors, and the team wants to explore this further. It also wants to research how Rowhammer behaves on ARM processors, whether external DMA can trigger Rowhammer attacks, and whether this attack method can be exploited to GPUs.
Regardless of what current investigations uncover, this is one issue that simply isn’t resolved yet and the DDR4 transition does not, in and of itself, provide that resolution. | <urn:uuid:11f4234c-7dc9-40f9-818a-284b89c0ff35> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/224860-new-paper-alleges-servers-some-ddr4-dram-still-vulnerable-to-critical-rowhammer-attack | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947354 | 1,220 | 3.109375 | 3 |
The 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami, has created an ongoing environmental and public health crisis. Nuclear experts say that the greatest radiation-releasing damage to the plant may have been caused by the explosion of built-up hydrogen as the plant overheated. Now, MIT researchers have developed a new coating for nuclear fuel rods they say prevents precisely that explosive situation.
Nuclear power plants use rods filled with uranium to heat water, creating steam that drives electric generators. Without enough water to draw heat from the rods, the reactor overheats, leading to a meltdown. And it turns out, as those rods are overheating, their zirconium alloy coating reacts with hot steam to create explosive clouds of hydrogen that, once ignited, can cause massive radiation release.
That's why researchers at MIT are investigating silicon carbide (SiC), a ceramic-type coating, as a replacement for zirconium alloy as a coating for nuclear rods. In two papers published in the journal Nuclear Technology, the MIT researchers explain that SiC shows 100 to 1,000 times less corrosion at meltdown temperatures, with none of the loss of strength that zirconium alloy exhibits. And under normal operating conditions, SiC cladding is more durable than zirconium alloy, which could mean longer service life for fuel rods and less nuclear waste to dispose.
Unfortunately, SiC is still a long way from implementation. While zirconium alloy tubes can be closed off by welding the ends, researchers don't yet have a way to bond end caps onto SiC tubes, and the way the ceramic material fractures under stress is still being studied. But with the after-effects of Fukushima becoming increasingly apparent, it's safe to say that researchers have a lot of impetus to solve these technical limitations. [MIT]
Image via AP | <urn:uuid:97ef10da-33d7-41ea-b775-a3edb66cfa60> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://gizmodo.com/this-fuel-rod-coating-could-prevent-the-next-fukushima-934157446 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396455.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944725 | 377 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Archaeologists work to uncover the Roman mass grave in Gloucester during 2005. © Oxfod Archaeology
A mass Roman grave, discovered in Gloucester in 2005, may have contained the victims of an acute disease of epidemic proportions, possibly plague.
This is the startling conclusion to a new report by Oxford Archaeology and archaelogical consultancy CgMs, who have been conducting an 18-month programme of scientific study on the grave, which contained around 91 skeletons.
The discovery of a mass grave of Roman date is almost unparalleled in British archaeology and archaeologists now believe the remains were of individuals who had been thrown in over a short period of time during the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD.
The grave contained around 91 skeletons. © Oxford Archaeology
“The skeletons of adult males, females, and children were lying in a very haphazard fashion, their bones completely entangled, reflecting the fact that they had been dumped, unceremoniously in a hurried manner,” explained Louise Loe, Head of Burial Archaeology at Oxford Archaeology.
“When we studied the skeletons we were looking for evidence, such as trauma, that would explain why they had been buried in such a way. In fact, very little trauma was found on the skeletons and there were no diseases that would explain why they had been singled out for this treatment.”
The unusual arrangement of the skeletons led archaeologists to conclude that the individuals were the victims of an epidemic that did not discriminate against age or sex.
The discovery of two 1st century sculptured and inscribed tombstones enabled the team to make a direct connection between documentary evidence and the archaeological record of the site. © Oxford Archaeology
The report, ‘Life and Death in a Roman City’, puts forward the theory that the cause of death may have been the Antonine plague, an outbreak perhaps of smallpox that swept across the Roman Empire between AD 165 and 189.
Plague, which kills quickly, tends not to leave marks on bone and therefore it is not surprising that evidence for disease is lacking on these skeletons. It is hoped that future tests on the bones for DNA will confirm this.
A further exciting discovery of two 1st century sculptured and inscribed tombstones enabled the team to make a direct connection between documentary evidence and the archaeological record of the site.
The unusual arrangement of the skeletons led archaeologists to conclude that the individuals were the victims of an epidemic. © Oxford Archaeology
One tombstone was used for a 14 year old slave. The other was for ‘Lucius Octavius Martialis, son of Lucius, of the Pollian voting tribe, from Eporedia, soldier of the Twentieth Legion.’
The legion was stationed at Gloucester until the 70s AD, and known to have soldiers from Eporedia, modern Ivrea north of Turin. The mass grave population may have been civilian descendants of the Roman military.
Only two other Mass Roman graves have been reported in the UK, but their identification has never been confirmed and neither have been studied. | <urn:uuid:5c21219e-991f-4656-b65e-bc4cb897d341> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/archaeology/art56936 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97412 | 633 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Reprinted from Our County Our Story by Malcolm Rosholt, 1959, pages 83-85.
The French were probably first among European man to view the depth of the pine forest and to taste of the spring-fed streams of Portage County. In the century that followed the discovery of the Mississippi River by Marquette and Joliet in 1673, it is quite possible that French fur traders and missionaries followed the Indian portage from the Wolf River across the southern townships of the county to the Yellow Banks at Plover. Or, they could have gone from Green Bay southwest on the Fox, down to the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin near modern Portage city and from there on foot or horseback north along the left bank of the Wisconsin. Perhaps this was the route followed in 1790 by Louis DuBay, father of John DuBay, when he reputedly journeyed from Green Bay to the modern township of Dewey.
Some 40 years later John Baptiste DuBay, son of Louis DuBay, came to Fort Winnebago (Portage city) probably with the intention of journeying north from this point to visit the spot his father may have suggested to him as a place to establish a trading post.
A number of French-Canadians were also attracted to the county after it was opened up to settlement along the Wisconsin River in 1836. The history of the area was not new to the French by any means and they were no doubt in close touch with developments in Wisconsin before and after it gained statehood. When the log jobbers moved in and the sawmills were established on the rivers and streams of the county between 1837 and 1857, many of the employees both in the woods and in the mills were French-Canadians. While some were transient workers, moving north with the receding timber belt, others remained in the county and became farmers and tradesmen, and because they were among the first, were able to select choice lands on the prairie in south Stockton and northern Buena Vista. The 1876 plat includes such names as Doville, Packard, Bussard, Bourcier (originally Busha, today Boursier), Pollit, and two Precourt families, as well as a De Clark, probably of Belgian ancestry. However, the first Belgians in the county to apply for citizenship at Plover in 1853 were Hypolete and Alexander Jack, who settled for a time in Sharon. Charles Van Hecke, also born in Belgium, applied for naturalization at Plover in June 1855.
While the early French explorers left little material improvement in Wisconsin, they left a legacy of travel and high adventure. A lasting reminder of their association with the early history of the state are the descriptive names of rivers, lakes and places, many of which were given the French translation of Indian names. In Portage County the Little Eau Claire and Little Eau Pleine are reminders of the French heritage. And when Hathaway surveyed the Indian strip in 1839-40 he came upon a clearing about four miles north of modern Stevens Point on the left bank of the river in Sec 10 called Presque Prairie) meaning, in French, a meadow or grassland on a peninsula.
In addition to the French-Canadian communities, a small settlement of French-speaking Americans developed in Linwood, mostly along the river road between the ferry point in Sec 23 and Conant Rapids. These would include, among others, the families of Puariea, Couture, Chepreau, Fountain, Trudell, and Shaurette. Mrs. Malvina Trudell, nee Puariea, of Stevens Point, recalls, as a girl, that her mother usually addressed her in French, but she replied in English. Most of the original French families in Linwood conversed in French, she said.
A third generation farmer of French descent is Martin Steffanus, whose grandfather, William, settled on land north of modern Ellis in the mid-1850s. William was born in Etting, Lorraine, and served seven years in the 7th Regiment of Artillery as 1st cannonier, and later married Melanie Paupaun. While the couple spoke French between themselves, William was also conversant in German.
Two other pioneer families from France were John Nicholas Dehlinger, who settled in Stevens Point, and applied for naturalization at Plover on Aug. 11, 1866; and Michael Milius, who made his first application in Milwaukee County in 1852 and later settled in the township of Almond. However, both families allegedly spoke German which suggests that they too originated in Lorraine. Two families of French descent who settled in the old town of Eau Pleine were Peter LeMeux and Joseph Paupon (or Paupaun), both listed in the 1863 tax roll. | <urn:uuid:47641dbd-054a-4f3c-8454-7a367701846f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wispags/history/ethnic-french.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977475 | 1,005 | 3.0625 | 3 |
SMART-1 'star tracker' peeks at the approaching lunar surface
While ESA's SMART-1 mission is running on its last orbits around the Moon before its planned lunar impact on 3 September 2006, the spacecraft 'star tracker' – or attitude camera - is taking exciting pictures of the ever approaching surface.
One week before the end of the SMART-1 mission, the SMART-1 Mission Control Team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany are working together with the Danish Technical University (DTU), manufacturer of the star tracker, to demonstrate that this attitude camera is not only capable of determining the spacecraft attitude by looking at the stars, but can also be used for exciting peeks at the Moon. The DTU star tracker is a light-weight instrument, weighing only 3.2 kilogrammes including the baffles, and operates highly autonomously.
With only a few days to go, the flight control team is taking advantage of the star tracker being blinded by the moonlight to fuel the imagination and take images at close distance.
The first image was taken on 23 August at 12:42 CEST (10:42 UT), from 165 kilometres above the Moon surface, while SMART-1 was travelling at a speed of 1.93 kilometres per second. The two craters visible on the image are 'satellite' craters to the Neumayer crater. Satellite craters are identified by the name of their parent crater and an additional letter.
On the star tracker image the crater with the sharp rim is called Neumayer M (located at a latitude of 71.6° South, and a longitude of 78.5° East) and the one with the smooth rim is called Neumayer N (at a latitude of 70.4° South, and a longitude of 78.7° East). The image is slightly smeared as the spacecraft is moving at high speed and at low altitude. This image was taken as a test, which means the spacecraft pointing was not optimised for taking images with the star tracker.
Additional test images were taken by the star tracker on 25 August, from 165 and 59 kilometres altitude, respectively. The first image was taken while the spacecraft was moving at a speed of 2 kilometres per second, while the second image was taken when SMART-1 was travelling at 1.6 kilometres per second.
On Tuesday 29 August the spacecraft is in a favourable position to take the most exciting images so far. At that time the star tracker will have both the Earth and the Moon in its field of view, with the Earth about to disappear on the Moon's horizon.
To calibrate the star tracker and to ensure safe star tracker operation, the Flight Control Team at ESOC have taken test images with new star tracker settings provided by DTU. The resulting images already show a breath-taking view of the Moon.
"The star tracker provided its first images of the Milky Way a few days after SMART-1 was 'born' in space", says SMART-1 Project scientist Bernard Foing, "and it is also witnessing the last moments from the vehicle as if we were on board."
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Apr 2016
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:23a2b4b7-bc41-48c2-8f82-c6794efbdd8d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2006-08/esa-st082906.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946651 | 680 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Looking for a safe place for the kids to have an adventure filled afternoon?
Come to the Gardens for an exciting Summer Garden Safari! Choose from the following exciting programs for children ages 4-12:
The Art of Plants
What does art have to do with plant science? Students discover the similarities between art and science and explore how botanical illustration is an artistic form that requires scientific understanding.
Through observation and investigation, students create their own works of art using plants as their inspiration.
Come and discover the fruits and vegetables in our garden and the pollinators that make them grow. Students will explore the garden using clues to seek and find specific plants and pollinators found here during the summer months. Students will gain an appreciation of the nutritional value plants provide us.
Plants in the Days of the Dinosaurs NEW!
Take a step back in time to see ferns, horsetails and ginkoes – living relics of plants that fed the dinosaurs eons ago. Discover different ways plants reproduce and how plants have changed over millions of years. Students will make terarriums to take home
Summer Garden Safaris include:
- 1 1/2 hour program
- Instruction from a Children’s Educator
- An hour long adventure in the Gardens hunting for plants and pollinators
- A culminating classroom activity with a planting to take home
- The opportunity to utilize all of the senses and gain a better understanding of the world of plants
Program information and costs:
- Programs are available from mid June through mid August for children ages 4 – 12.
- Cost is $7.00 per child with a minimum registration of 15 children. Maximum registration of 60.
- Final registration count is due two weeks in advance of the program. If a final count is not received and the number of children is less than the original estimated count, the facility will be charged for the greater number.
- Picnic area are located on the grounds. Please let us know if you will be picnicking.
- Programs are conducted through the Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens. Programming is held in the Education & Visitor Center in the event of inclement weather.
Contact Paul Vandermeuse, Education Manager at:
Phone: (414) 525-5659
Email: [email protected]
Quick question? Use the below to email us! | <urn:uuid:a10d617a-d648-4de9-b3a1-7f8ff13b5033> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://boernerbotanicalgardens.org/summer-garden-safaris/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910218 | 485 | 2.8125 | 3 |
This set includes works from the Walker Art Center's Event Horizon installation that are examples of artistic appropriation.
Each work of art is introduced by discussion questions. Users can find background information about each work by clicking the "More Info" button at the bottom of each slide. For even more information about the works in Event Horizon, refer to Event Horizon: A Study Set.
This and four other Event Horizon sets explore the installation through the lenses of five elements of contemporary art: appropriation, hybridity, performance, space, and time. Visitors can use this set to create their own thematic tour of the exhibition or generate a discussion on what appropriation means in the practice of artists working today.
Feel free to make this Set your own. As a registered user of ArtsConnectEd you can duplicate any published Art Collector Set to your own account. Once a Set is duplicated you can edit the Set and its slides. Click here to learn more about duplicating a published Set.
Appropriation in art is the use of preexisting images and objects to create a work of art. Artists have appropriated, or borrowed, items and imagery from such sources as advertising, mass media, art history, everyday life, or even their own work. Sometimes the subjects are altered, combined with other images or objects, or placed in a new context.
Appropriation questions the idea that all art is original. Artists choose to reuse images or objects for various reasons, including paying homage or tribute to another artist or style, using irony to criticize or mock, forcing a fresh perspective through jarring juxtapositions or unexpected contexts, or challenging viewers to consider the very nature of art.
Who is the subject of this painting?
What event do these images bring to mind?
Where do you think Andy Warhol found these images?
What did he do to change or alter them when he made this work?
What big idea or message do you think Andy Warhol was conveying in this work?
Spend a few minutes carefully examining this work. Use the zoom tool for a closer look.
What materials do you notice? Which of those materials seem to be appropriated?
Why do you think this artist chose to use these materials for an artwork?
What is appropriated in this sculpture? (Follow the link below to see the source of this art work.)
How has Sherrie Levine changed her work from the original? What has she kept the same?
What questions does this raise for you?
Click here to see the Man Ray painting La Fortune (Luck) that inspired this appropriation:
Man Ray American, 1890–1976
La Fortune (Luck) 1938
oil on canvas
Collection Whitney Museum of American Art
Purchase, with funds from the Simon Foundation, Inc.
Photo: Geoffrey Clements
©2009 Man Ray Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY/ADAGP, Paris
|More Info||More Info|
|More Info||More Info|
What materials did Thomas Hirschhorn use to make this work? Where do you think he found them?
What do these materials remind you of?
What else is appropriated in this work?
Why do you think he chose to title this work "Archaeology"?
Use the zoom feature to carefully examine this print. To see the entire set, open up the Work of Art detail page by clicking on the "More Info" button and toggle through the "previous" and "next" buttons.
The background images in these prints were appropriated by Kara Walker. When do you think they were made? What event are they illustrating? What do you see that helps you know this?
(They are from Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War which was first published in 1866 by Harpers's Weekly magazine, described as the most popular magazine in America during the Civil War years.)
What did the artist add to these images from the Civil War?
How do these additions change the stories that the illustrations originally told?
Why do you think Kara Walker made these works? What message or meaning do you draw from them? | <urn:uuid:4a60f824-9039-483b-b0dd-92645f2564ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.artsconnected.org/collection/110992/event-horizon-appropriation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939934 | 837 | 2.984375 | 3 |
In the Nation’s Capital, the celebration of Emancipation Day is unique to the city but very significant. It marks the day in 1862 that President Abraham Lincoln freed slaves in living in Washington, D.C., months before the nationwide Emancipation Proclamation would go into effect at the top of 1863.
At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Lincoln began to openly criticize the practice of slavery, a strongly held practice among states in the rebel South. As the Union began to assert its power and dominance, southern states resisted the liberal aims of Lincoln. Abolitionist Congressman Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania told Lincoln that the Union could defeat the rebels by abolishing slavery and disrupting a huge part of their business earnings.
Lincoln passed a law in March of 1862 that allowed the Union to pay slave owners for releasing their slaves. This led Lincoln to decide to abolish slavery in Washington, D.C. The act freed 2,989 slaves in one fell swoop. According to historical records, their former owners were paid handsomely.
Nine months later, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect and abolished slavery throughout the entire nation. In Washington, freed Blacks celebrated Emancipation Day with an annual parade from 1866 until 1901. According to historical accounts, it was revived by the efforts of Ms. Loretta Carter-Hanes in 2002.
In 2005, then mayor Anthony A. Williams signed D.C. Emancipation Day into law, making it an official public holiday and celebration complete with a city-funded parade and performances.
REGISTER NOW for the 2014 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion taking place August 28- September 1, 2014 in Orlando, Florida! For booking information visit here. | <urn:uuid:3f002ac1-17c2-49b6-98a9-0ba8c26d3a97> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blackamericaweb.com/2014/04/17/little-known-black-history-fact-d-c-emancipation-day/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00153-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960305 | 357 | 4.125 | 4 |
This week, we talked about spring. We learned about what types of clothing you wear in spring, what kinds of activities people do in spring, and what the weather is like in the spring. We learned that spring can bring very windy weather. We made a circle map to show all that we learned about spring.
This week, we read the book The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins. It is a great book for making predictions. Afterwards, the students brainstormed other things that the wind could blow. | <urn:uuid:18314787-73c5-4d82-a2a8-dad47dce76a5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://larremoreclass.blogspot.com/2010/04/wind-blew.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972584 | 104 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The CliffsNotes study guide on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and "The Secret Sharer" supplements the original literary works, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the works, and critical commentaries, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better understand these works. This study guide was written with the assumption that you have read Heart of Darkness and "The Secret Sharer".
Reading a literary work doesn’t mean that you immediately grasp the major themes and devices used by the author; this study guide will help supplement your reading to be sure you get all you can from Conrad's Heart of Darkness and "The Secret Sharer".
CliffsNotes Review tests your comprehension of the original text and reinforces learning with questions and answers, practice projects, and more. For further information on Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness and "The Secret Sharer", check out the CliffsNotes Resource Center at www.cliffsnotes.com.
©2000 Wiley Publishing, Inc. Adaptation of original text (c) 2011, Wiley Publishing, Inc. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
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If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action. | <urn:uuid:bd026522-cb99-47a2-b2a9-0291c5d44994> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.audible.com/pd/Classics/Heart-of-Darkness-The-Secret-Sharer-CliffsNotes-Audiobook/B004S8JW7W | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919619 | 273 | 3.15625 | 3 |
horned lizard or horned toad, broad, flat-bodied lizards of the genus Phrynosoma, found in arid regions from extreme SW Canada to Guatemala. There are several species in the United States W of the Mississippi. The body is 3 to 5 in. (7.6 to 12.7 cm) long; it has a short, thin tail, a short neck, and short legs. There are spines on the head, sides, and back. Horned lizards are protectively colored, usually in dull grays and browns. They feed on insects, especially ants, and are often found buried in the sand, with only their heads exposed. In some species the female lays eggs; in others the eggs are incubated internally and the young are born alive. When alarmed, members of some species eject a thin stream of blood from the nictitating membrane of the eye for a distance of several feet. Horned lizards are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Iguanidae.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:27f03c66-ffc6-4daa-aa9c-5231a5161fe5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/science/horned-lizard.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953988 | 250 | 3.46875 | 3 |
The Coulee Dam Bridge is located in the Town of Coulee Dam a short distance downstream from Grand Coulee Dam. The bridge was built in the mid 1930s about the time that construction began on the dam. The horizontal and vertical clearances are now substandard. I would guess that the state will replace this bridge within the next decade or two.
Coulee Dam is the only incorporated city in the state whose area is located in three counties. Within the city the area northeast of the Columbia River is in Okanogan County. To the southwest, parts of the city are in Douglas and Grant Counties.
Most photos of this bridge show Grand Coulee Dam in the background. To be different, I took the photo from a point between the dam and bridge. The photo was taken in September 2001.
Primary State Hwys Secondary State Hwys | <urn:uuid:0fb92dd6-9272-4981-9832-3cb5d32f75a3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/ColRivBr55.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00058-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97057 | 176 | 2.5625 | 3 |
World History Homework Four Answers - Student 4
1. Who is your favorite Roman emperor, and why? Augustus Caesar. Augustus Caesar was a great emperor for multiple reasons. First he initiated the transitions between Rome's democratic stage and its stage as an empire. After Julius Caesar's Assasination, Rome was headed towards becoming an empire and Augustus ensured a smooth transition. Although he had to fight two other powers in a Triumvrate to gain imperial power Augustus avoided a revolution or some other greater reaction to Rome's becoming an empire. Second, Augustus, similarly after fighting a war to gain imperial power, initiated the Pax Romana.
- Good. There are a few typos/grammar/misspelling, and I don't think the phrase "initiated" is quite right near the end. Perhaps "his leadership allowed Pax Romana to begin."
2. Describe what the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire were, including approximate dates. The Roman Republic was Ancient Rome from 590-27BC. The Republic created a system of Government mixing an Aristocratic Senate and Consuls, with a tribal assembly meant to represent the plebeians. The Republic's most famous wars were the Punic wars, in which Rome successfully defeated Carthage three times in war. Augustus Caesar's taking of power in 27 BC marked the beginning of the Roman Empire, the Roman Empire conquered territory stretching from England to Egypt and built a strong organized infrastructure, the Roman Empire without as strong a focus on popular representation, could not hold together its territories and divided. Finally the Western Half totally fell in 476 AD.
- 509-27 BC. Maybe the other starting date was a typo in your answer. Superb otherwise.
5. Discuss Hannibal or Attila the Hun. Hannibal was strangely ingenious. Following his Ancestor's submission to Roman Power in the first Punic War, Hannibal wished to lash out and made a scheme which would seem hair-brained today, traveling Elephants across the Alps. Hannibal and his forces did not suffer in their invasions of Italy. Rather, Roman Generals were successful in diverting his attention from Rome to Carthage where his forces were suffering. In Carthage he was not able to recover and was defeated.
6. Enter 3 terms and descriptions into the online Study Guide (5 terms and descriptions are worth 2 questions). I added Vergil, Catullus, and Cicero.
- Good work. I improved the description for Virgil (note spelling).
7. Julius Caesar: a hero or a villain? Explain. Uncertain. All we can really know of Julius Caesar is that he was assassinated and that he used his army to seize dictatorship. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is certainly not to be taken for granted, and other histories have probably been written by the Victors, meaning in this situation the supporters of Julius Caesar who would soon come to Power.
- Terrific analysis.
- Excellent work - 50/50.--Andy Schlafly 21:22, 8 October 2011 (EDT) | <urn:uuid:5367153a-ac19-451c-afe1-725145611f90> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.conservapedia.com/World_History_Homework_Four_Answers_-_Student_4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00098-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964613 | 620 | 3.234375 | 3 |
The devil's backbone plant (Pedilanthus tithymaloides 'Variegatus'), also commonly known as Jacob's ladder, redbird flower and Japanese poinsettia, makes an excellent border plant, a colorful accent in a rock garden or a lovely houseplant. The drought-resistant succulent also works well as an xeriscaping option. Known for its variegated leaves and red, fleshy blooms, this evergreen plant is hardy in Sunset's Climate Zones H1, H2 and 22 through 24. It requires indirect sunlight when grown indoors and partial shade in zone H2. Grow as a houseplant or in a greenhouse in regions where temperatures dip below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Propagation is like that of any other succulent plants.
Cut off 4 to 6 inches of chosen stems using a sharp knife. Make the cutting just below a node, or where the leaf and bud join the stem. Take stem cuttings in summer for outdoor plants; you can take cutting from houseplants at anytime of the year.
Remove one-half to two-thirds of the leaves, starting from the bottom. Cut large leaves in half.
Set the stems aside in warm area out of direct sunlight for a day or so and allow them to callus.
Fill a clean pot with potting soil or perlite and moisten it. Poke a 2-inch deep hole in the soil and insert the callus cutting, firming the soil around it. Do this for each cutting.
Place the pots in a tray of about 2 inches of water to keep the soil moist.
Place the pots in area with indirect sunlight or under grow lights for up to 14 hours a day.
Check the plants in about two weeks. If they resist a slight tugging, they have established roots.
Move plants to their permanent home once they sprout leaves.
Things You Will Need
- Potting Soil or Perlite
- Fertilize plants in spring and summer.
- Bright light helps the plant retain red tips.
- Allow soil to dry slightly between watering.
- Do not touch or ingest the milky sap, as it known to irritate mucus membranes and if ingested, cause nausea.
- All parts of the plant are poisonous.
- Learn2Grow:Pedilanthus tithymaloides 'Variegatus'
- easyBloom: Variegated Devils Backbone
- Sunset Western Garden Book; Kathleen Norris Brenzel (Editor)
- University of Delaware:A Curious Houseplant, Indeed | <urn:uuid:d3a80fa7-cb8f-4cbd-a7e7-e19350a90c03> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://homeguides.sfgate.com/propagate-devils-backbone-plant-23513.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00068-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.880845 | 528 | 2.609375 | 3 |
A recent survey found that 60 percent of adults have gone online at least once in the past year to look up health information. Unfortunately, finding high-quality health websites is a challenge. Several years ago, a review of 79 studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that online health information for consumers is frequently flawed, inaccurate, or biased. Based on my experience, the situation isn’t any better today.
Why do some health websites contain misleading information? One reason is that the group or organization running the site may have a hidden agenda. Drug companies often create consumer demand for expensive new drugs by financing groups that promote awareness of a previously unrecognized health condition, a sales tactic known as “disease mongering.” (For example, Dartmouth Medical School researchers have argued that restless leg syndrome became a disease only when a drug was developed to treat it.) Unfortunately, a study published in 2011 in the American Journal of Public Health found that most health advocacy groups that receive drug-company funding don’t disclose that on their websites.
Another reason that websites may contain misinformation is that some groups willfully disregard scientific evidence to promote certain health beliefs. For example, even though the U.S. Institute of Medicine found in 2004, after an exhaustive review of the medical literature, that there is no relationship between childhood vaccines and autism, it’s easy to find websites that claim otherwise. Similarly, although most researchers have concluded that Morgellons disease—a bizarre skin condition that sufferers believe to be caused by an undiagnosed parasitic infestation—is likely to be a psychiatric delusional disorder, you wouldn’t know it by simply Googling “Morgellons.”
Because advising my patients to make an appointment every time they have a health-related question isn’t a practical solution, I refer them to websites that I trust or that have been certified by an independent, quality rating organization such as the Health on the Net Foundation. This organization’s search engine only retrieves results from websites that have agreed to provide objective, scientifically sound information. One such website—Healthfinder.gov, which is a clearinghouse on a variety of general health topics— links to the latest health headlines, and provides interactive health tools that give personalized advice about screening tests and other preventive health issues. Content on Healthfinder.gov is periodically reviewed by U.S. government health experts to assure its accuracy and consistency with results from the latest scientific studies.
When I want to give patients a handout about the basics of a preventive test or newly diagnosed health condition, I turn to FamilyDoctor.org, a nonprofit website supported by the American Academy of Family Physicians. (Full disclosure: I edit a medical journal that is the source of many of these handouts.)
One such handout advises that patients ask themselves three questions about every health-related website they visit:
1. Where did this information come from?
2. How current is this information?
3. Who is responsible for the content on this website?
As powerful a tool as the Internet can be in giving people access to health information, it is only a starting point. With few exceptions (for example, management of the common cold), patients should never use online information to self-diagnose or treat a medical problem. However, I believe that patients who visit high-quality health websites are usually better-informed and more capable of making complex choices, such as whether or not to get a screening test for cancer. And in my opinion, that’s a good thing.
Kenneth Lin is a family physician who blogs at Common Sense Family Doctor. | <urn:uuid:780a34db-ad9f-4758-ab6a-e84d194132f8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/07/evaluate-health-websites.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953064 | 748 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The IR detector field of view is nominally concentric with the UVIS field, but subtends a somewhat smaller area on the sky, 136×123 arcsec. The detector tilt is about the x-axis (AXIS1 in Figure 7.1
), so the projected aperture shape is nearly a rectangle, with the angle between the x- and y-axes on the sky nearly 90°
, as shown by the outline in Figure B.3
. At field center, the x- and y-scales are 0.135 and 0.121 arcsec/pixel, respectively. A vector plot of the deviation from linearity is given in Figure B.3
. The deviations have been magnified by a factor of 10, as in Figure B.1
. The largest deviation is 10 pixels, corresponding to about 1.4 arcsec. | <urn:uuid:b3621b30-227f-417b-af75-d80862748fd4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.stsci.edu/hst/wfc3/documents/handbooks/currentIHB/appendixB4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933361 | 177 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The forest hingeback tortoises are an interesting species that do not make good pets for the first time tortoise owner. Often, the ones offerred on the market are imported specimens that contain many parasites. Although most animals contain parasites in the wild, in captivity, the animals are living in a confined area and may reingest internal parasite adults or eggs, and large numbers can build up resulting in the death of the tortoise. This tortoise is occasionally offered on dealers lists and very rarely in pet shops.
That being said, the forest hingeback is certainly one of the most unusual looking tortoises. Patterened with brown and yellow markings on the carapace, many I have seen have bright yellow heads. They are quite attractive tortoises. Because they live in tropical forests and streambanks of Africa, they are quite shy and do not do well with bright lights. A humid terrarium with a substrate which the tortoises can dig into works well for this species. These tortoises are highly omnivorous. The ones i have kept in captivity would readily accept any live invertebrate, including earthworms, snails and slugs.
The forest hingeback tortoise is one of the very few tortoises that may venture into the water, according to Ernst and Barbour (1989). This is really important when considering captive care. It prefers moist areas! It is semi-aquatic. In nature, it is often found in the water, according to Ernst and Barbour (1989, Smithsonian Institution, Turtles of the World)
Status and Conservation
Kinixys erosa status in the wild is not known. The IUCN, who publishes international
"Red Books" that contain data regarding endangered species, list K. erosa as Data Defecient,
meaning more researd needs to be completed to determine if this species is endangered.
This species, like all hingebacks, is listed under CITES appendix II. This means that countries
can export a certain number of animals. In 2001, the following numbers of tortoises can be legally
exported from these countries: (courtesy of CITES
2001 Democratic Republic of the Congo 500 live
2001 Gabon 10 live
2001 Ghana 120 live
2001 Togo 1 900 ranched
2001 Togo 500 wild-taken
Ranched specimens are those that are collected from the wild as eggs or juveniles. Live specimens
are those taken directly from the wild. As you can see, approximately 2500 tortoises are taken
from these countries each year. If their current status is not known, a sustainable quota may not
be determined. I would estimate from forest hingebacks i have seen in pet stores, and stories that
I have heard, that no more than 10% of these exported tortoises live more than a few
years in captivity.
Since this tortoise is habitat specific, prefering rainforests and aquatic systems, this tortoise is probably more at risk than Bell's hingeback tortoises, which can and do well in agricultural areas (Link to an article about this coming soon!) | <urn:uuid:3e3752de-7bb9-41a9-a99d-35f8efab5113> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.geocities.ws/hiramtom/erosa.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938443 | 654 | 3.03125 | 3 |
In November 1855, a motion was made to then Mayor Lorin Farr to select a police force for the City of Ogden. By December, an ordinance was drafted and passed by the City Council to select 25 good, efficient men to act as policemen. Ogden had only become a city in 1851. The influence of the Mormon Church was evident I the early years of the police force. The force was referred to as a “quorum” and the officers were addressed as “brother.” An officer could be dropped from the force for drunkenness and profanity. The police quorum met weekly and records show that the main concern was to keep the streets clean of drunkenness.
At the turn of the century, the population growth and increase in crime created the need to for new laws and a redefining of the duties of the police. In 1902, the Ogden Police Department consisted of a chief, a captain, a detective and eight patrolmen. A patrolman earned $75 per month and worked twelve hour days. In 1903, Police Chief Thomas E. Browning requested the purchase of a patrol wagon. Mayor William Glasmann denied the request stating that such a purchase would require the purchase of a team of horses, the hiring of a driver and a caretaker for the horses as well as maintaining a stable. Such costs were not warranted, however, Mayor Glasmann did authorize the chief to engage a carriage, gurney, cab, wagon, or other conveyance as the chief might wish for patrol purposes. That same year Chief Browning requested placement of a telephone on the desk in the police station office and the request was granted.
Ogden Police Today
As of 2011, the Ogden Police Department has been in the state-of –the-art 60,000 square foot public safety building since the year 2000. The facility houses the police department, fire administration and Ogden’s central fire station. The department is comprised of 144 sworn officers, 10 Community Service Officers and 23 civilian employees. In addition, 50 volunteers made up the Ogden Reserve Corps. There are three main divisions within the Department: Uniform Division, Investigations Division, and Support Services Division. Each division is led by an Assistant Chief, with Bureau Commanders, Watch Commanders, and Sergeants acting in administrative and supervisory roles. Ranks within the Department consist of officer, master officer, sergeant, and lieutenant, with detective positions being assignments at the respective rank of the individual. Assistant Chief is an appointed position, as is the position of Chief of Police.
In 2010, the police department responded to 104,406 calls for service and officers wrote 28,738 reports. Officers patrol over 28 square miles and made approximately 8,360 arrests; 7,089 adults and 1,271 juveniles.
The department is actively engaged in community policing with ten officers assigned full-time to the Community Policing unit, primarily using bicycles as their mode of transportation. In addition, the department has a K-9 Unit, Crime Reduction Unit, Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Policing, and D.A.R.E. programs. Ogden Police Department administers the Ogden Metro SWAT Team, the Ogden Metro Gang Unit, and participates heavily with the Weber Morgan Narcotics Strike Force. | <urn:uuid:e774f2d6-9528-46b4-a229-3dc98942284d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ogdencity.com/en/public_safety/microsite_Police/inside_OPD/history.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00043-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96482 | 671 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Biography of William T.
Compiled by David L.
Hornaday was born in Plainfield, Indiana on December 1, 1854. He attended
Oskaloosa College in Iowa and Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa then became
associated with Wards National Science Foundation in Rochester, N.Y in 1873.
In 1874 he made his first collecting expedition for Wards to the Bahamas,
Cuba and Florida. In 1876 he spent six months in the West Indies and South
America and a short time later made a two-year tour of exploring and
collecting for Wards in the Jungles of Ceylon, Malaya and Borneo. He married
Josephine Chamberlain of Battle Creek, Michigan in 1879. In 1880, Dr.
Hornaday founded the National Society of American Taxidermists and in 1882
was named the Chief Taxidermist of the National Museum (the Smithsonian), a
position he held until 1890. Two years before he left he persuaded the
museum to establish a living animals department and was so successful as the
curator that the National Zoological Garden was established in Washington,
D.C. When people above him radically changed his original plans for the Zoo,
he resigned rather than be responsible for them. He left his zoological
career at that point for a six-year stint as a businessman. He moved to
Buffalo, N.Y. in 1890 where he started and ran a real estate business for
six years. During those six years in Buffalo, N.Y., he served as a Trustee
for the Buffalo Museum of Science. In 1896 he returned to his zoological
career and became the first director of the New York Zoological Garden (the
Bronx Zoo), which, under his supervision, became the largest and finest zoo
in the world. He remained in that position for thirty years, retiring in
1926 at age 72. The New York Zoological Society is now known as the Wildlife
Conservation Society (since 1994). In 1913 he created the Permanent Wild
Life Protection Fund and raised $105,000.00 to endow it. Through the Fund,
Dr. Hornaday did as much as any living man of his era to protect wild life.
He was also one of the organizers of the Stamford Museum in Connecticut.
William T. Hornaday also
revolutionized how museums displayed wildlife exhibits. Before he came along
they were simply mounted and placed on a board. He created and showed life
like displays of wildlife in their natural settings. The first time he did
this with monkeys it created a sensation. Surprisingly, Dr. Hornaday was at
one time a big game hunter. He established the National Collection of Horns
and Heads at the Bronx Zoo when it appeared big game animals would become
extinct. That collection is now owned by the Boone & Crockett Club and is on
display at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. Dr. Hornaday
is widely credited with saving the American bison and the Alaskan fur seal
from extinction. He also played a large part in ending the use of feathers
in women's hats. This alone saved millions of birds from slaughter.
According to some sources, Dr. Hornaday was considered to be a bit eccentric
in his day and he was involved in a highly controversial exhibit at the
Bronx Zoo in 1906 that involved an African native named Ota Benga that
ultimately ended in tragedy.
Dr. Hornaday was the
President of a conservation group called the Campfire Club in 1905 as well
as the President of the American Bison Society from 1907-10. He was also the
President of the U.S. Junior Naval Reserve in 1916 and was a published poet
as well as a songwriter. He was a very influential writer and wrote hundreds
of newspaper and magazine articles and twenty-six books, which greatly
helped bring about far reaching conservation laws. Dr. Hornaday was the
author of the 1929 BSA Bird Study merit badge book and wrote articles for
Boys Life Magazine. He, along with Ernest Thompson Seton, is among the 27
people enshrined in the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Hall of
Fame. Seton was selected in 1968, Dr. Hornaday in 1971. The very first
person chosen for the Conservation Hall of Fame was another icon of Scouting
in it's early years. It was not Audubon or John Muir but Theodore Roosevelt,
who was inducted in 1964.
Dr. Hornaday devoted his
life to the crusade of wild life protection and proved to be a formidable
defender of that cause. He died on March 6, 1937 at age 82 in Stamford,
Connecticut. While he had the same frailties all humans do, he also had an
extraordinary ability to organize and a drive to get things done. His great
passion in life was to protect wild life from slaughter by humans. To that
end he was extremely successful. | <urn:uuid:ad180042-a71d-4447-84d4-e0583ec38c7a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://usscouts.org/history/hornadaybiography.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975913 | 1,049 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Throughout Central America, venomous snakes are found widespread. For this report I will be discussing the different venomous snakes that are found in the Costa Rica region and the different types of habitats that they inhabit. I will also cover the different types of prey that these snakes hunt, and the types of venom that the different species have. Also I will also be touching on the different anti-venoms that are currently under practice and use for the snakebites, and also proper steps to take if one is unfortunately bitten.
In Costa Rica, snakes make up almost half of all the reptile species in the country. There are 135 species of snakes, and only 17 are known to be venomous in Costa Rica. These 17 species of venomous snakes are the only ones that are known to be clinically important throughout the Costa Rica region. Other species of snakes may contain traces of venom such as the brown vine snake, however the amount of venom that is carried and injected by this snake is as toxic as a bee sting or an ant bite. The two different families of venomous snakes found in Costa Rica region are the coral snake family (Elapidae), and the pit-viper family (Crotalidae). There are 5 species of Elapids and 12 species of Crotalids that are found in Costa Rica. I will first discuss the Crotalidae family of snakes found in Costa Rica.
The family Elapidae is comprised of the coral snake species. There are four known different coral snake species in Costa Rica and they include Allen’s coral snake (Micrurus alleni), Central American coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus), bicolored coral snake (Micrurus multifasciatus), and Clark’s coral snake (Micrurus clarki). All of these coral snakes belong to the genera Micrurus. The other genera, Micruroides are not found in Central America. All of these coral snakes are highly venomous, and brightly colored with bright bands of red, black, and yellow or white. These snakes have small heads and blunt tails which allows them to maneuver easily around the leaf litter and rocky regions. The two most common species of coral snakes that you may be likely to see is the Allen’s coral snake and the American coral snake. The bicolored coral snake is uncommon, and the Micrurus clarki is extremely rare. Allen’s coral snake is a tricolored, black, yellow or white, and red ringed snake. The black of the head projects behind over the adjacent yellow band as a narrow marking at its mid-dorsum region. Allen’s coral snake can be distinguished from the bicolored coral snake because the bicolored has more than 40 black bands, and Allen’s has 26 or fewer. Allen’s coral snake is found in deep forests under ground cover where it may be seen during daylight hours, as well as evening hours. It usually occurs in wet lowland forests and along riverbanks. Its diet consists of lizards, skinks, snakes, mammals, and possibly eels (Russell pp.1475). Its range is mostly along the eastern coast of Costa Rica.
The bicolored coral snake, which is also known as the coralilla or rabo de aji snake, is a long slender bicolored coral snake with red and black rings; the black rings are usually wider than the red however. Juveniles of the species seem to be more brightly colored than adults and some adults may exhibit black or white except for the endpoint of the tail. The bicolored coral snake is usually found in moist and lowland rain forests between 100 and 1700 m. This snake is often commonly found around human habitations (Russell pp.1476).
Another coral snake member, the Central American coral snake is probably the most common coral snake that is found in Central America. In general these snakes are tricolored, however in some of the six sub-species of this species they may be bicolored. The snake is made of yellow, black and some red bands. There may be anywhere from ten to 29 black rings, and three to eight black bands on the tail. This snake is found up to 1500 m in lowland forest but is also known from near the seashore. Its diet consists of snakes, lizards, skinks and birds.
In general the identification of coral snakes in Costa Rica is often difficult because of many variations and sub-species of each species. An often-used saying when dealing with coral snakes is “red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black that’s OK jack.” This however is not an applicable guideline to follow when dealing with Costa Rica’s coral snakes. If a coral snake is approached by something, their defense display is that they flatten their bodies and snap back and forth while alternately hiding then swinging their heads side to side and coiling and waving their tails. Another important note with coral snakes is that when they bite their prey, they don’t have the same type of fangs as the Crotalids. Their fangs are fixed in their upper jaw, and can’t be folded back. When they bite their prey, they have to almost use a chewing motion to inject appropriate amounts of venom to subdue their prey.
The second type of venomous snakes found in Costa Rica consists of the Crotalids. There are 13 known Crotalids that inhabit Costa Rica. The Crotalids are members of the pit viper family. They are named pit viper because of a ‘pit’ located behind their eyes that senses heat from prey. Their wedge shaped heads are easily distinguishable, along with their elliptical vertical pupils and rough-scaled bodies. The pit vipers have solenoglyph fangs that are mounted on the maxillary bones in such a way that they can be rotated and folded against the roof of the mouth. The two most abundant species are the eyelash palm-pit viper (Bothriechis shclegelii), and the Fer de lance (Bothrops asper). Other fairly common species include one species of the hognosed pitviper (Porthidium nasutum), the Neotropical rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus), and the jumping pitviper (Atropoides nummifer). Some fairly uncommon snakes that you may happen to luckily encounter (or unluckily) is the bushmaster (Lachesis muta), and the Godman’s montane pitviper (Cerrophidion godmani). There are seven other species of Crotalids that are found in Costa Rica. They include: side-striped palm pitviper, slender hognosed pitviper, black speckled palm-pitviper, Cantil or castellana, pelagic sea snake and hognosed forest pitviper.
The eyelash palm pitviper is a relatively slender pitviper that usually doesn’t reach lengths over 820 mm. This snake can have various ground colors, usually golden yellow, olive green or gray-green. Its name eyelash palm pitviper comes from the spine like processes above the eyes. It’s range is quite extensive throughout all of central America, however in Costa Rica it would be likely to be found in tropical and montane wet forests up to 1500 m. Its diet consists of lizards, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
The second type of snake that is commonly seen in Costa Rica is the fer-de-lance also known as the lancehead, and terciopelo by Costa Ricans. The fer-de-lance is one of the world’s most venomous snakes. It can reach lengths up to 3 meters. Its body color varies, with olive green, gray, tan, brown or rust blotches, which are usually separated by light edging. The fer-de-lance inhabits a variety of habitats. It can be found in overgrown fields and river courses in drier lowland regions, as well as montane, deciduous wet forests. It is often found near human cultivation as well. It is generally a nocturnal snake, however if stepped on or encountered during the day, they are quick to strike. As juveniles, the fer-de-lance is an arboreal snake that feed on lizards and frogs, which they attract with a yellow-tipped tail. As adults they come down and rest in loose leave litter on the forest floor.
Another member of the Crotalids is the Neotropical rattlesnake. This is the only known rattlesnake snake that inhabits Central America as well as Costa Rica. They can be identified by their dark paravertebral blotches, and the rattle. The body color varies from brown to greenish, while the venter is white or cream. These snakes are usually found at elevations less than 1000 m, however specimens have been found up to 2500 m. They are usually found in dry areas, scrub woodlands, grasslands. They are rare in rain forests. The Neotropical rattlesnake eats anything from mammals to amphibians to birds.
Another pit viper that I will discuss is the bushmaster, which is the largest viper in the world. It is found in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica and in the pacific lowlands of Costa Rica as well. All though this snake is extremely rare to encounter, it is somewhat abundant in the Costa Rica region. The head of the snake is broad and distinct from the neck. The eyes are relatively small with vertically elliptical pupils (as in all pit vipers). The body is more or less cylindrical, and the tail is tapered with spiny scales on the underside. The body color varies from tan to brownish colors. Scientists discovered that bushmasters that are found in the pacific lowlands of Costa Rica tend to be aggressive any time they are disturbed. This snake is extremely dangerous to humans because of its large size, large fangs and extremely large reservoir of venom. A case report was done by Miguel Tanus Jorge, about a field scientist who was bitten by a bushmaster. According to the descriptions the initial bite only connected with one fang on the index finger. As the subject was rushed to medical care, within ten minutes he was feeling the effects of the venom. The subject luckily lived, however he had to stay in the hospital for weeks recovering.
Snake venom can be summarized as a complex mixture, which contains proteins, amines, carbohydrates, organic salts and acids, and possibly other unidentified substances. Most snake venom is a neurotoxin, which disrupts the nervous system of the prey, however the other type attacks the muscular and respiratory system of the prey. For coral snakes, studies have shown that coral snake venom caused respiratory paralysis in cats prior to cardiac failure (Russell pp.1484). Attempts to find an appropriate anti-venom to most coral snake bites found that a certain anti-venom given against M. frontalis was the most suited for use as a coral snake antivenin, giving the most neutralizing and precipitating antibodies. Due to coral snakes having rear fangs, it reduces their ability to bite large objects. To protect against the possibility of being bitten by a coral snake, one might wear thick hiking boots that would deter the fangs from reaching your skin. Most coral snake bites occur when someone deliberately picks up the snake or mis-identifies the snake for another species and is bitten in the hand. In Costa Rica depending on where you are, seeking medical attention may take hours. Studies have shown that with coral snake bites a smart thing to do is to gently massage the area where the victim was bit to hopefully push out venom from the bite wound.
Venom of pitvipers varies extensively from species to species. Snakebites by pitvipers are much more common than being bitten from a coral snake. The most venomous of all pitvipers in Costa Rica is the venom of the fer-de-lance and the bushmaster. Other pitvipers have venom that could easily kill a person as well, however the fer-de-lance and the bushmaster bites are documented more in scientific studies. The venom of the fer-de-lance contains thrombin-like enzymes. It also contained more L-amino acid oxidase than most North American venoms. A common antivenom used against the fer-de-lance and other pitvipers is the polyvalent serum, which neutralizes the defibrillating, fibryonic activities of the different venoms in pitvipers. Certain studies have also shown that newborn pitvipers have the same toxicity, if not more than their parents do. Also for adolescent snakes, they may not know how to control their venom influx when they bite. Therefore immature and newborn snakes are just as dangerous as the parents are.
In conclusion, Costa Rica’s snake population is wild and diverse. Not only is Costa Rica home to many venomous snakes, it is also home too many colubrid snakes. The different venomous snakes found in Costa Rica are not exactly easy to find. Most of the snakes in Costa Rica are nocturnal and usually just rest up during the day. If one is lucky enough to stumble across a snake, caution should first be taken, and then appropriate measures would follow. To ensure healthy populations of snakes for years to come certain measures need to be taken. Education is a major key to developing a sound ecological community for snakes. Locals need to be educated on what, where, and how to deal with snakes. Also public awareness of the ecological impact that snakes have on ecosystems needs to be stressed across the globe. By scientists continuing efforts to better understand snakes and all other organisms for conservation purposes, hopefully we can be ensured that generations to come can enjoy the same reptiles that we have today.
Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Rara Avis. http://www.rara-avis.com/herplist.htm
Costa Rica, Amphibians and Reptiles. http://www.photo.net/cr/moon/amhibians-and-reptiles
Eg, Marg. “Venemous snakes of Costa Rica, Serpents, Tourism.” http://www.worldheadquarters.com/cr/feature_articles/snakes/
Guyer C, Donnelly MA. “Length Mass Relationships Among Assembledge of Tropical Snakes in Costa Rica.” Journal of Tropical Ecology. Vol. 6: 65-76, part 1. Feb. 1990
Kricher, John. A Neotropical Companion. Second edition
Russell, F.E.. “Snakes and Snakebite in Centeral America.” Toxicom. Vol. 35 no10. Pp.1469-1522. C 1997.
Miguel, Tanus Jorge. “Snakebite by the Bushmaster In Brazil.” Toxicon. Vol. 35 no 4. Pp. 545-554. 1997.
Savage, Jay. “Evolution of coloration, urotomy and coral sanke mimicry in snake genus Scaphiodntophis.” Biological Journal of Linnean Society. 52(2) 1996. 129—124.
Hardy, David L. “Bothrops asper (Viperidae) snakebite and field researchers In Middle America. Biotropica. Pp.198-207. 1994.
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It is 9:22:36 AM on Friday, July 1, 2016. Last Update: Friday, October 4, 2002 | <urn:uuid:64f4380a-17ae-4ea9-9725-1c0784e40473> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/fieldcourses01/TropEcoCostaRicaArticles/NEWFINAL.VenomousSnakesFo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00097-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949813 | 3,266 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Water testing has certainly evolved from the ancient days of tasting and swirling water in the mouth like a good wine. Taste and odor are parameters that have taken on new meaning. What’s in the water? How did it get there? Is it harmful? Is it regulated? What are the limits of exposure, and what can be done to rid the water of undesirable contaminants?
Many contaminants are odorless, colorless and tasteless, and can only be detected by chemical testing.
Onsite testing offers real-time results and gives water treatment professionals a base point from which to work
Overview of regulations and contamination factors
Avoiding liability through development of standards and certification programs
A reputable laboratory should be able to help you determine what type of laboratory certification is required, if any, for the specific sample testing you are looking to have performed. Laboratories will typically provide all the sampling containers and collection instructions to ensure the accuracy of the sampling.
Whatever the structure of the testing service provider, the manufacturer must be satisfied that their partner can deliver the project turnaround, quality, scope of services, reliability, and ultimately, the value that they need.
Technology-specific testing methods in relation to the American National Standards
Water Quality Products recently invited Marianne R. Metzger, technical support/accounts manager of National Testing Laboratories, Ltd., Cleveland, Ohio, to share some of her thoughts with WQP’s readers on the trends of different
types water analysis in the industry.
Cryptosporidium—Once a Common Affliction to Travelers of Underdeveloped Countries, Now a Common Outbreak in Communities in the U.S.
This article summarizes the current state of efforts to address this hot topic from the point of view of the NSF/ANSI Drinking Water Treatment Unit (DWTU) Standards.
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(HealthDay)—There has been a substantial increase in antipsychotic use among Medicaid-enrolled children in recent years, with the increase partially driven by youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and those with multiple diagnoses, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in Health Services Research.
Meredith Matone, M.H.S., from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues used Medicaid Analytic Extract files for 50 states and the District of Columbia to describe the relationship between mental health diagnosis and treatment with antipsychotics in children from 2002 to 2007.
The researchers found that there was a 62 percent increase in antipsychotic use, reaching 354,000 youth by 2007. Proportionally, youth with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism were more likely to receive antipsychotics, while the largest consumers of antipsychotics over time were youth with ADHD and those with three or more mental health diagnoses. By 2007, 50 percent of total antipsychotic use was for youth with ADHD and one in seven antipsychotic users were youth with a sole diagnosis of ADHD.
"This national analysis revealed persistent growth in second-generation antipsychotic use among U.S. Medicaid-enrolled children during the past decade," the authors write. "In the context of a complex relationship between childhood behavior, diagnosis, and treatment, future research will need to more broadly examine the efficacy and safety of second-generation antipsychotic use in pediatric populations and the potential consequences of efforts to restrict their use."
Explore further: Hyperactivity: Increased prevalence of children with ADHD and the use of stimulants
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Vitamins and Minerals
Are You Getting What You Need?
- Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients because they perform hundreds of roles in the body.
- There is a fine line between getting enough of these nutrients (which is healthy) and getting too much (which can end up harming you).
- Eating a healthy diet remains the best way to get sufficient amounts of the vitamins and minerals you need.
Every day, your body produces skin, muscle, and bone. It churns out rich red blood that carries nutrients and oxygen to remote outposts, and it sends nerve signals skipping along thousands of miles of brain and body pathways. It also formulates chemical messengers that shuttle from one organ to another, issuing the instructions that help sustain your life.
But to do all this, your body requires some raw materials. These include at least 30 vitamins, minerals, and dietary components that your body needs but cannot manufacture on its own in sufficient amounts.
Vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrients—because acting in concert, they perform hundreds of roles in the body. They help shore up bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. They also convert food into energy, and repair cellular damage.
But trying to keep track of what all these vitamins and minerals do can be confusing. Read enough articles on the topic, and your eyes may swim with the alphabet-soup references to these nutrients, which are known mainly be their initials (such as vitamins A,B,C,D,E, and K—to name just a few).
In this article, you’ll gain a better understanding of what these vitamins and minerals actually do in the body and why you want to make sure you’re getting enough of them.
Vitamins and minerals are often called micronutrients because your body needs only tiny amounts of them. Yet failing to get even those small quantities virtually guarantees disease. Here are a few examples of diseases that can result from vitamin deficiencies:
- Scurvy. Old-time sailors learned that living for months without fresh fruits or vegetables—the main sources of vitamin C—causes the bleeding gums and listlessness of scurvy.
- Blindness. In some developing countries, people still become blind from vitamin A deficiency.
- Rickets. A deficiency in vitamin D can cause rickets, a condition marked by soft, weak bones that can lead to skeletal deformities such as bowed legs. Partly to combat rickets, the U.S. has fortified milk with vitamin D since the 1930s.
Just as a lack of key micronutrients can cause substantial harm to your body, getting sufficient quantities can provide a substantial benefit. Some examples of these benefits:
- Strong bones. A combination of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, and phosphorus protects your bones against fractures.
- Prevents birth defects. Taking folic acid supplements early in pregnancy helps prevent brain and spinal birth defects in offspring.
- Healthy teeth. The mineral fluoride not only helps bone formation but also keeps dental cavities from starting or worsening.
The difference between vitamins and minerals
Although they are all considered micronutrients, vitamins and minerals differ in basic ways. Vitamins are organic and can be broken down by heat, air, or acid. Minerals are inorganic and hold on to their chemical structure.
So why does this matter? It means the minerals in soil and water easily find their way into your body through the plants, fish, animals, and fluids you consume. But it’s tougher to shuttle vitamins from food and other sources into your body because cooking, storage, and simple exposure to air can inactivate these more fragile compounds.
Interacting—in good ways and bad
Many micronutrients interact. Vitamin D enables your body to pluck calcium from food sources passing through your digestive tract rather than harvesting it from your bones. Vitamin C helps you absorb iron.
The interplay of micronutrients isn’t always cooperative, however. For example, vitamin C blocks your body’s ability to assimilate the essential mineral copper. And even a minor overload of the mineral manganese can worsen iron deficiency.
Water-soluble vitamins are packed into the watery portions of the foods you eat. They are absorbed directly into the bloodstream as food is broken down during digestion or as a supplement dissolves.
Because much of your body consists of water, many of the water-soluble vitamins circulate easily in your body. Your kidneys continuously regulate levels of water-soluble vitamins, shunting excesses out of the body in your urine.
- Biotin (vitamin B7)
- Folic acid (folate, vitamin B9)
- Niacin (vitamin B3)
- Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
- Thiamin (vitamin B1)
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B12
What they do
Although water-soluble vitamins have many tasks in the body, one of the most important is helping to free the energy found in the food you eat. Others help keep tissues healthy. Here are some examples of how different vitamins help you maintain health:
- Release energy. Several B vitamins are key components of certain coenzymes (molecules that aid enzymes) that help release energy from food.
- Produce energy. Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and biotin engage in energy production.
- Build proteins and cells. Vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid metabolize amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and help cells multiply.
- Make collagen. One of many roles played by vitamin C is to help make collagen, which knits together wounds, supports blood vessel walls, and forms a base for teeth and bones.
Words to the wise
Contrary to popular belief, some water-soluble vitamins can stay in the body for long periods of time. You probably have several years’ supply of vitamin B12 in your liver. And even folic acid and vitamin C stores can last more than a couple of days.
Generally, though, water-soluble vitamins should be replenished every few days.
Just be aware that there is a small risk that consuming large amounts of some of these micronutrients through supplements may be quite harmful. For example, very high doses of B6—many times the recommended amount of 1.3 milligrams (mg) per day for adults—can damage nerves, causing numbness and muscle weakness.
Rather than slipping easily into the bloodstream like most water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins gain entry to the blood via lymph channels in the intestinal wall (see illustration). Many fat-soluble vitamins travel through the body only under escort by proteins that act as carriers.
Absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
Fatty foods and oils are reservoirs for the four fat-soluble vitamins. Within your body, fat tissues and the liver act as the main holding pens for these vitamins and release them as needed.
To some extent, you can think of these vitamins as time-release micronutrients. It’s possible to consume them every now and again, perhaps in doses weeks or months apart rather than daily, and still get your fill. Your body squirrels away the excess and doles it out gradually to meet your needs.
What they do
Together this vitamin quartet helps keep your eyes, skin, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and nervous system in good repair. Here are some of the other essential roles these vitamins play:
- Build bones. Bone formation would be impossible without vitamins A, D, and K.
- Protect vision. Vitamin A also helps keep cells healthy and protects your vision.
- Interact favorably. Without vitamin E, your body would have difficulty absorbing and storing vitamin A.
- Protect the body. Vitamin E also acts as an antioxidant (a compound that helps protect the body against damage from unstable molecules).
Words to the wise
Because fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body for long periods, toxic levels can build up. This is most likely to happen if you take supplements. It’s very rare to get too much of a vitamin just from food.
The body needs, and stores, fairly large amounts of the major minerals. These minerals are no more important to your health than the trace minerals; they’re just present in your body in greater amounts.
Major minerals travel through the body in various ways. Potassium, for example, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, where it circulates freely and is excreted by the kidneys, much like a water-soluble vitamin. Calcium is more like a fat-soluble vitamin because it requires a carrier for absorption and transport.
What they do
One of the key tasks of major minerals is to maintain the proper balance of water in the body. Sodium, chloride, and potassium take the lead in doing this. Three other major minerals—calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium—are important for healthy bones. Sulfur helps stabilize protein structures, including some of those that make up hair, skin, and nails.
Words to the wise
Having too much of one major mineral can result in a deficiency of another. These sorts of imbalances are usually caused by overloads from supplements, not food sources. Here are two examples:
- Salt overload. Calcium binds with excess sodium in the body and is excreted when the body senses that sodium levels must be lowered. That means that if you ingest too much sodium through table salt or processed foods, you could end up losing needed calcium as your body rids itself of the surplus sodium.
- Excess phosphorus. Likewise, too much phosphorus can hamper your ability to absorb magnesium.
A thimble could easily contain the distillation of all the trace minerals normally found in your body. Yet their contributions are just as essential as those of major minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which each account for more than a pound of your body weight.
What they do
Trace minerals carry out a diverse set of tasks. Here are a few examples:
- Iron is best known for ferrying oxygen throughout the body.
- Fluoride strengthens bones and wards off tooth decay.
- Zinc helps blood clot, is essential for taste and smell, and bolsters the immune response.
- Copper helps form several enzymes, one of which assists with iron metabolism and the creation of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood.
The other trace minerals perform equally vital jobs, such as helping to block damage to body cells and forming parts of key enzymes or enhancing their activity.
Words to the wise
Trace minerals interact with one another, sometimes in ways that can trigger imbalances. Too much of one can cause or contribute to a deficiency of another. Here are some examples:
- A minor overload of manganese can exacerbate iron deficiency. Having too little can also cause problems.
- When the body has too little iodine, thyroid hormone production slows, causing sluggishness and weight gain as well as other health concerns. The problem worsens if the body also has too little selenium.
The difference between “just enough” and “too much” of the trace minerals is often tiny. Generally, food is a safe source of trace minerals, but if you take supplements, it’s important to make sure you’re not exceeding safe levels.
Antioxidant is a catchall term for any compound that can counteract unstable molecules such as free radicals that damage DNA, cell membranes, and other parts of cells.
Your body cells naturally produce plenty of antioxidants to put on patrol. The foods you eat—and, perhaps, some of the supplements you take—are another source of antioxidant compounds. Carotenoids (such as lycopene in tomatoes and lutein in kale) and flavonoids (such as anthocyanins in blueberries, quercetin in apples and onions, and catechins in green tea) are antioxidants. The vitamins C and E and the mineral selenium also have antioxidant properties.
Why free radicals may be harmful
Free radicals are a natural byproduct of energy metabolism and are also generated by ultraviolet rays, tobacco smoke, and air pollution. They lack a full complement of electrons, which makes them unstable, so they steal electrons from other molecules, damaging those molecules in the process.
Free radicals have a well-deserved reputation for causing cellular damage. But they can be helpful, too. When immune system cells muster to fight intruders, the oxygen they use spins off an army of free radicals that destroys viruses, bacteria, and damaged body cells in an oxidative burst. Vitamin C can then disarm the free radicals.
How antioxidants may help
Antioxidants are able to neutralize marauders such as free radicals by giving up some of their own electrons. When a vitamin C or E molecule makes this sacrifice, it may allow a crucial protein, gene, or cell membrane to escape damage. This helps break a chain reaction that can affect many other cells.
It is important to recognize that the term “antioxidant” reflects a chemical property rather than a specific nutritional property. Each of the nutrients that has antioxidant properties also has numerous other aspects and should be considered individually. The context is also important—in some settings, for example, vitamin C is an antioxidant, and in others it can be a pro-oxidant.
Words to the wise
Articles and advertisements have touted antioxidants as a way to help slow aging, fend off heart disease, improve flagging vision, and curb cancer. And laboratory studies and many large-scale observational trials (the type that query people about their eating habits and supplement use and then track their disease patterns) have noted benefits from diets rich in certain antioxidants and, in some cases, from antioxidant supplements.
But results from randomized controlled trials (in which people are assigned to take specific nutrients or a placebo) have failed to back up many of these claims. One study that pooled results from 68 randomized trials with over 230,000 participants found that people who were given vitamin E, beta carotene, and vitamin A had a higher risk of death than those who took a placebo. There appeared to be no effect from vitamin C pills and a small reduction in mortality from selenium, but further research on these nutrients is needed.
These findings suggest little overall benefit of the antioxidants in pill form. On the other hand, many studies show that people who consume higher levels of these antioxidants in food have a lower risk of many diseases.
The bottom line? Eating a healthy diet is the best way to get your antioxidants.
Adapted with permission from The Truth About Vitamins and Minerals: Choosing the Nutrients You Need to Stay Healthy, a special health report published by Harvard Health Publications. | <urn:uuid:dcf7e10e-c9df-485f-9e6c-536ef771cf4b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.helpguide.org/harvard/vitamins-and-minerals.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931507 | 3,104 | 3.5 | 4 |
FOR the next 15 weeks, we will be going through the SPM English 1119 examination format. Yes people, D-day is not very far away. Before I send some of you scurrying back to your books, there are some changes to the format that you need to be aware of.
Paper One (1 hour, 45 minutes)
Directed Writing and Continuous Writing
Paper Two (2 hours, 15 minutes)
Section A: Multiple-choice items
Section B: Information transfer
Section C: Reading comprehension & Summary
Section D: Literature
TIP: Spend at least 10 minutes everyday reading to improve your English.
As you can see, the essays are now in Paper 1 and the time allotted is 1 hour and 45 minutes. Paper 2 begins with the multiple-choice items such as graphics and short texts followed by Section B where you are required to do some information transfer. There are no changes to these sections.
In Section C, you are required to answer only five comprehension questions as compared to 10 last year. You can also expect a shorter passage. You are also required to do a summary on the same passage in not more than 130 words.
In Section D, you are required to answer structured questions on one short story and one poem. Finally, the novel question now carries 15 marks. I shall discuss each section in detail in the weeks to come
Let's begin with directed writing. What does “directed writing” mean?
It is a piece of writing that follows a set of directions or instructions. Thus, the question aims to test the ability of students to respond appropriately to a certain task.
In the exam, you will be given a question in the form of notes or a stimulus. You may be tested on the following items: report writing, speech, letters (formal and informal), processes and procedures, descriptions, articles and recounts.
TIPS FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTION
1. You have only 45 minutes for this question, so budget your time carefully.
10 minutes – planning
30 minutes - writing
5 minutes – checking for mistakes
2. Read the question carefully and determine the task required. Are you required to write a speech, an article or a letter? What is the purpose of the task? Who is the target audience? Ask yourself continuously as you plan and write your answer, checking that you are answering the question correctly.
3. Plan your answer quickly, deciding which points would go into which paragraphs or which points could be combined. Remember to use all the points given.
4. If there are more than ten points given, you do not need to elaborate on each. Many of my proficient students tend to elaborate too much on each point and end up having less than an hour for their continuous writing. Remember that only one mark is awarded for each point, no matter how long the elaboration is.
5. Write out your answer as neatly as possible as there is no time for re-writing. Do not use liquid eraser to wipe out whole sentences and re-write over these sentences. The errors might resurface after a month or so and the examiner would not be able to read your answer.
6. Write your essay with an appropriate introduction and conclusion. Make sure your paragraphs are well-organised.
7. Check for grammatical mistakes, punctuation and spelling errors.
Now, let’s try to answer the following question which is similar to a previous year's exam question.
Task A: Read the question below
As the secretary of the English Society in your school, you have been asked to write a report about the club and its activities for your school magazine. Use the following notes to help you write your report.
• established in 2000
• 250 members
• aim – to help students improve their English
• advisor – Puan Zarina bt Amin
• English assembly
• Pop Quiz
• Treasure Hunt
• English camp
• English week – poetry, drama and story-telling competition
• Annual party
In your report,
• remember to provide a title
• state the aim of the society
• encourage others to become members
Task B: Answer the following questions.
1. What is the required task?
2. How many points are provided? Do you need to provide any of your own?
3. What is a suitable introduction and closing?
As you can see, you are required to write a report. In a report, you usually have a suitable title and the writer’s name at the end. Twelve points are provided and you are required to add a point, that is, to encourage others to join the society. Did you include the three points found in the ‘English Week’?
So, let’s plan the answer.
TITLE: (Think of a suitable title for your report)
The English Society was established in 2000 with the aim of helping students improve their English. It received tremendous support from its 250 members this year.
The main activity for this year was? (include all the points given in two or three paragraphs.)
(End your essay with the mention of the annual party, presentation of prizes, etc and encourage others to join the society)
Now, it’s your turn. You will have to complete this essay yourself. Next week, we shall discuss a sample answer and how marks are awarded for this question.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR WRITING?
I receive a lot of e-mails and queries from my students asking me to give them advice on how to improve their English, especially their essay-writing. Here is my advice.
1. Use it or lose it
There are times when I wish I have a magic pill that I could give to students. The fact is, there are no shortcuts. To learn a language, one has to use it. Start today. Speak to your friends.
If you are shy, start with a few words or phrases in your conversation. Practise speaking in front of the mirror.
2. Read it
Read the newspapers. I would recommend the sports pages if you are a sports enthusiast, or the letters to the editor. You will learn how to give opinions, to complain and to elaborate your ideas. Go to your school library and borrow a book.
Make use of pockets of time during school such as in between classes. I am quite sure you are able to squeeze ten minutes a day for reading. Do not get bogged down if there are words that you do not know. Just read the easier stuff first.
3. Write it
My students are required to keep a journal in my classes. What is a journal? Is it like a diary? A diary is a record of your daily experiences but a journal is more than that. It is a collection of your thoughts, responses to events in your life and it may also include any interesting article, poems or even a song. I keep a journal of articles and quotations that are motivating.
There are many types of journals which you can keep. Check out the bloggers on the Internet for more examples. Search also for examples of journals to help you get started.
I would like to invite you to join my students in a journalling programme. I have provided seven prompts below to help you get started. Get a notebook or any old diary and begin your writing journey with me. Make the notebook special by decorating it. Just use the prompts (questions) to help you get started.
Day 1: What is something that you like about yourself?
Day 2: Write about three fears of your life.
Day 3: Which quality do you dislike most about yourself? Is it laziness, selfishness, or childishness and why?
Day 4: What is something that makes you happy? Why?
Day 5: Do you have a favourite subject in school and one that you dislike? Write about these subjects.
Day 6: Do you have a favourite teacher?Write about his/her class qualities. What makes you look forward to his/her class?
Day 7: Have you ever had a crush on someone? Write about your experience(s). If you have never had a crush, what do you think about falling in love? Is it advisable? Is it a waste of time?
Read the prompt and respond instantly with the first thing that comes to your mind. Do not stop at one sentence or two. Write for as long as you want without worrying about your grammar.
We will come to errors later. Apart from writing, you can also add pictures, photographs, poems, drawings. Be creative. See you next week with more prompts. Remember, use it or lose it. Bye. | <urn:uuid:83b8d585-9672-498f-b02d-807cf48a2026> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://paduka2.blogspot.com/2009/08/directed-writing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954284 | 1,798 | 2.859375 | 3 |
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