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Rudolf Ritter von Alt (born 28 August 1812 in Vienna; died 12 March 1905 in Vienna) was an Austrian landscape and architectural painter. He was also known as Rudolf von Alt or Rudolf Alt.
He was the son of the famous lithographer Jakob von Alt (1789- 1872). He studied at the Akademie der bildenden K├╝nste in Vienna. Hiking-trips through the Austrian Alps and northern Italy awoke a love in for landscapes, and he painted with his brush and using watercolors in a very realistic and detailed style. In 1833, inspired by a visit to Venice and neighbouring cities, he also made a number of architectural paintings.
Alt demonstrated a remarkable talent for expressing certain peculiarities in nature. He managed to paint nature authentically by focusing on the different hues of sky, the colour-tone of the air, and the vegetation. His later works came closer to Impressionism. His perspectives on architecture were interesting, and he often chose everyday objects to paint. The painting of interior-views also became one of his strong points, giving him attention in Vienna.
He visited and worked for a while in Rome and Naples; after that he visited the lakes of Lombardy, then Galicia, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Bavaria and then returned multiple times to Italy. In 1863 he went to the Crimea to paint some views of an estate of the Empress, and in 1867 he went to Sicily.
Because of his artistic accomplishments, he was knighted in 1882.
His younger brother Franz von Alt, (Born 1821 in Vienna) was also a painter.
Most of his paintings are held by various museums in Vienna. The Albertina in Vienna is hosting a retrospective exhibition from September 2005 until January 2006.
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On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced it had received credible reports that two Libyan Red Crescent ambulances had been shot at in Misrata.
What’s worse, two Red Crescent volunteers were apparently injured in the shooting and one of the ambulances was completely burnt, leaving one less vehicle to transport wounded people to hospitals and clinics.
Since 1864, the international community has formally recognised the importance of protecting medical personnel in times of armed conflict. The original Geneva Convention created an instantly recognisable symbol – a red cross on a white background – to protect medical personnel and facilities like hospitals. However, under the Geneva Conventions medical personnel and facilities are protected from attack regardless of whether they display the emblem.
The red crescent was created just over a decade later and was officially adopted into international law in 1929. It carries exactly the same weight and protection that the red cross does. It tends to be used in countries where the red cross emblem – an inversion of the Swiss flag to recognise the role Switzerland played in the development of the Geneva Conventions – could be seen as a religious symbol instead of a symbol of neutrality.
In 2005 an additional protective emblem – the red crystal – was introduced for situations where the existing emblems might not be perceived as neutral.
Conflict has changed since 1864. One thing that remains the same is the absolute need for healthcare workers to be able to do their jobs safely.
Wounded and sick people have a right to available healthcare, whether they took part in violent clashes or not. Whether they are professional soldiers or not. Whether they are fighting for one’s enemy or not.
Military medical services and humanitarian workers from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement use the emblems to help them save lives. In times of chaotic, violent clashes, the emblems have to be instantly recognised as symbols of neutrality and protection. They must be respected.
Our volunteers and staff go to great lengths to make sure they don’t compromise the emblems.
They take no sides in the conflict and offer assistance based only on need. They carry no weapons, and because of this they could be seen as easy targets.
Yet Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff continue working in some of the most dangerous situations in the world, helping people survive the unthinkable.
The ICRC has called on all those taking part in the violence to respect and protect medical personnel, medical facilities and any vehicle used as an ambulance in all circumstances.
Learn more about the emblems
Find out more about the Geneva Conventions
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Coordination is vital in emergencies. Good coordination means less gaps and overlaps in humanitarian organizations’ work. It strives for a needs-based, rather than capacity-driven, response. It aims to ensure a coherent and complementary approach, identifying ways to work together for better collective results.
The basis of the current international humanitarian coordination system was set by General Assembly resolution 46/182 in December 1991. The Humanitarian Reform of 2005 introduced new elements to improve capacity, predictability, accountability, leadership and partnership.
The most visible aspect of the reform is the creation of the Cluster Approach. Clusters are groups of humanitarian organizations (UN and non-UN) working in the main sectors of humanitarian action, e.g. shelter and health. They are created when clear humanitarian needs exist within a sector, when there are numerous actors within sectors and when national authorities need coordination support.
Clusters provide a clear point of contact and are accountable for adequate and appropriate humanitarian assistance. Clusters create partnerships between international humanitarian actors, national and local authorities, and civil society.
OCHA works closely with global cluster lead agencies and NGOs to develop policies, coordinate inter-cluster issues, disseminate operational guidance and organize field support. At the field level, OCHA helps ensure that the humanitarian system functions efficiently and in support of the Humanitarian Coordinator’s (HC) leadership. OCHA provides guidance and support to the HC and Humanitarian Country Team, and facilitates inter-cluster coordination. OCHA also helps to ensure coordination between clusters at all phases of the response, including needs assessments, joint planning, and monitoring and evaluation.
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Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: firstname.lastname@example.org. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Prevalence of Cigarette Use Among 14 Racial/Ethnic Populations --- United States, 1999--2001
The 1998 Surgeon General's report, Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups, addressed diverse tobacco-control needs of the four primary U.S. racial/ethnic minority populations: non-Hispanic blacks, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics (1). However, data on these populations do not describe differences in tobacco-use prevalence among subsets of these populations. To assess the prevalence of cigarette smoking among persons aged >12 years among 14* racial/ethnic populations in the United States, CDC analyzed self-reported data collected during 1999--2001 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) (formerly the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults aged >18 years ranged from 40.4% for AI/ANs to 12.3% for the Chinese population, and the prevalence among youths aged 12--17 years ranged from 27.9% for AI/ANs to 5.2% for the Japanese population. Implementing tobacco-control programs that include culturally appropriate interventions can help reduce tobacco use among racial/ethnic populations.
NSDUH is an annual household survey that collects information on drug use and abuse from a nationally representative sample of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged >12 years. The average, weighted, overall response rate for the 1999--2001 surveys was 74.0% for youths and 64.8% for adults; final sample sizes were 74,318 youths and 133,081 adults. Racial/ethnic classifications by NSDUH were based on standards for collecting racial/ethnic data within the federal statistical system (2). Prevalences and confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by using SUDAAN, and data were weighted to account for different probabilities of selection within strata.
Current cigarette smoking was assessed by asking respondents, "During the past 30 days, have you smoked part or all of a cigarette?" Persons who answered "yes" were classified as current smokers. This definition for current smokers is different from that used by certain other surveys (1), which define adult current smokers as persons aged >18 years who have smoked >100 cigarettes during their lifetimes and who currently smoke every day or some days.
Among youths, AI/ANs had the greatest cigarette smoking prevalence (27.9%), followed by non-Hispanic whites (16.0%), who had greater cigarette smoking prevalence than nine other populations (non-Hispanic blacks, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Asian Indians, Vietnamese, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Central or South Americans) (Table 1). Among non-Hispanic white youths, females had a greater prevalence of cigarette smoking (17.2%) than males (14.9%). Among non-Hispanic black youths, males had a greater prevalence of cigarette smoking (8.2%) than females (5.9%).
Among adults, AI/ANs had the greatest cigarette smoking prevalence (40.4%) and the Chinese population had the lowest (12.3%) (Table 2). Prevalence among non-Hispanic blacks was similar (25.7%) to that among non-Hispanic whites (27.4%). Cigarette smoking prevalence among half of the adult racial/ethnic populations (Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Asian Indian, Mexican, Central or South American, and Cuban) was less than among non-Hispanic whites. Among adults, smoking prevalence was greater among men in all racial/ethnic populations except AI/ANs, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans, which had no statistically significant variance by sex.
Reported by: R Carmona, MD, Office of the Surgeon General. J Gfroerer, Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Svcs Admin. R Caraballo, PhD, SL Yee, MPH, C Husten, MD, T Pechacek, PhD, RG Robinson, DrPH, Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; C Lee, PhD, EIS Officer, CDC.
The findings in this report indicate that cigarette smoking varies among and within racial/ethnic populations, with AI/ANs having the highest prevalence of cigarette smoking among both youths and adults in the United States (1,3,4). Disparities in smoking prevalence might be attributable to various factors. Non-Hispanic black youths are less likely to regard smoking as part of their lifestyle and perceive strong parental and community disapproval of smoking (5). Strong parental disapproval also is observed among Hispanic populations, especially regarding smoking among females (1). However, no single factor determines the prevalence of cigarette smoking among racial/ethnic populations; current smoking prevalence is the result of complex interactions of multiple factors, including socioeconomic status, cultural characteristics, acculturation, stress, advertising, cigarette prices, parental and community disapproval, and abilities of local communities to mount effective tobacco-control initiatives.
Among youths, smoking prevalence varied substantially by sex only among non-Hispanic whites (i.e., females had a greater prevalence) and among non-Hispanic blacks (i.e., males had a greater prevalence). Other national youth surveys report no overall difference between males and females in smoking prevalence (1,6,7). The similarity in prevalence among Asian and Hispanic youths might reflect a loss of cultural constraints regarding smoking among females.
Among adults, men usually had a higher smoking prevalence than women from the same racial/ethnic population. The findings also indicate substantial variability in adult smoking rates among Asian and Hispanic populations. The lack of such variability among youths might have occurred because the prevalence estimates are less precise.
During 1965--2001, among adults, cigarette smoking declined more rapidly among non-Hispanic blacks than among non-Hispanic whites. As a result, the prevalence of smoking among non-Hispanic black adults is now similar to that of white adults, and current smoking among non-Hispanic black women is now less than that among non-Hispanic white women (8). Increased prevention and control initiatives targeted specifically at non-Hispanic blacks during the 1990s might explain part of this decline (9).
The findings in this report are subject to at least three limitations. First, the precision of smoking prevalence estimates for certain populations is low, especially when reported by sex; differences in prevalence between males and females and among racial/ethnic populations might be missed, and estimates should be interpreted with caution. Second, no adjustments for multiple comparisons were performed to determine whether differences between any pair of estimates were statistically significant. Such differences might be significant even if CIs overlap. Finally, youths who did not want their parents to know they smoked might have denied smoking. This concern is relevant in NSDUH and other surveys conducted in the households of participants (3).
Although the prevalence of youth cigarette smoking among the majority of racial/ethnic minority populations was less than that among non-Hispanic whites, among adults, the prevalence in certain populations (e.g., non-Hispanic blacks, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Puerto Ricans) was similar to that of non-Hispanic whites (1). Multiple factors might account for this similarity. Cessation rates among certain racial/ethnic populations might be lower than those among non-Hispanic whites. Racial/ethnic minority populations commonly have less access than non-Hispanic whites to culturally and linguistically appropriate anti-smoking educational materials, media messages, and cessation services (1). Moreover, racial/ethnic minority populations have been targets of tobacco industry marketing efforts, including sponsorships of cultural events and funding of organizations (1).
Interventions are needed to decrease current cigarette smoking among specific racial/ethnic populations with high smoking prevalence and to prevent increases in cigarette smoking among specific racial/ethnic populations with low smoking prevalence. Effective tobacco-control initiatives could result from 1) increasing the capacity (i.e., through increased funding for program development, training, evaluation, and research) of specific populations to address tobacco use within their communities; 2) conducting educational campaigns that are culturally competent and targeted to the specific needs and concerns of racial/ethnic populations (10); and 3) drawing on the strengths and assets of these racial/ethnic communities. Tobacco-control initiatives based on these practices can reduce disparities related to smoking prevalence, exposure to secondhand smoke, and the burden of smoking-related disease.
* Non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Asian Indians, Koreans, Vietnamese, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central or South Americans, and Cubans.
Disclaimer All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to email@example.com.
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Type of Culminating Activity
Master of Science in Hydrologic Sciences
Shawn G. Benner, Ph.D.
This study investigated controls on soil water storage and its effect on vegetation cover in a semi-arid, mountainous environment characterized by warm-dry summers and wet-cold winters. Soil moisture and soil temperature were monitored over 286 days at eight sites spanning four elevations (approx. 1100, 1300, 1500, and 1800 m asl), and paired north and south exposures. These sites span an ecological gradient from grass and shrub land to conifer forest. Measurements of soil texture, soil depth, vegetation cover (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI), and soil carbon content were made at the same sites. Variables that strongly influence the soil water distribution are topographically-driven and include: mean annual precipitation, which increases by a factor of 1.8, and mean annual temperature, which increases by a factor of 1.5, over the 700 m elevation increase; potential insolation, which is 1.5 to 1.9 times higher from north to south aspect, and by 1.1 to 1.4 times over the elevation gradient on north and south aspects, respectively; and soil depth, which is 1.1 to 2.3 times greater on a north aspect than south aspect at a given elevation, and is 1.4 to 2.3 times greater at higher relative to lower elevations on north and south aspects, respectively. North aspects store from 1.1 to 3.7 times as much water as south aspects at a given elevation, and higher elevations store up to 3 times more water than the lowest elevations at a given aspect; these trends are dictated by both higher average water content and deeper soils on higher elevations and on north facing slopes. Overall, soils are shallow, ranging from 34 to 92 cm deep and underlain by granodioritic bedrock. Due to the shallow profile and coarse texture of study area soils, 6 to 16 cm of water infiltrated into dry soil can exceed the storage capacity and may be lost to vertical or lateral redistribution in one to four weeks. Filling of the soil water reservoir, as indicated by whole-profile hydraulic connectivity and attainment of field capacity at the soil-bedrock interface, was observed at all sites in response to both winter and spring precipitation, with north aspects and higher elevations experiencing longer periods of deep wetting.
Vegetation cover is typically greater on north relative to south aspects, and generally increases with increasing elevation. Maximum (peak) seasonal NDVI values are reached as much as seven weeks earlier on south aspects at a given elevation, and as much as 12 weeks earlier at lower elevations compared to higher elevations. North-facing soils hold 3.5 to 4.2 times as much organic carbon as south-facing soils at all but the highest elevation forested sites, where the south and north aspect soil carbon contents were similar. Both vegetation cover and soil carbon content are largest at sites that retain moisture for a longer portion of the summer period, consistent with a water limited ecosystem. The duration of wet soil conditions during the summer, when vegetation production peaks, is strongly influenced by the magnitude and duration of spring and summer precipitation. These observations suggest that vegetation productivity and soil carbon storage in this environment will be particularly sensitive to climatic changes that alter spring and summer precipitation, which is delivered near, or during, the growing season. In contrast, the ecosystem may be less sensitive to changes in the magnitude of winter precipitation, which recharges the relatively small soil reservoir in the winter season and is generally lost from the soil early into the spring when productivity is depressed by lower temperatures and low insolation.
Smith, Toni Jo, "Using Soil Moisture Trends Across Topographic Gradients to Examine Controls on Semi-arid Ecosystem Dynamics" (2010). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. Paper 117.
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J.K. Rowling’s world of Harry Potter comes alive every morning when the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) opens it doors. Since July 9, Harry Potter aficionados and ambivalent readers alike have flocked to the museum to complete the “Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt.”
To begin the scavenger hunt is simple: Pick up a “Marauder’s Map” when you enter the museum and follow its clues. The map lists items such as Harry’s “invisibility cloak,” “animagus,” and “Snape’s Patronus,” offering hints about a related item in a specified area of the museum. The map is available free with admission and museum-goers have until Sept. 5 to participate. Not just for kids, the search for Harry Potter treasures has attracted eager groups of all ages.
The educational goal of the scavenger hunt is to bring attention to the real plants and animals that may have inspired characters, creatures, and objects in the Potter books. For example, Dobby the house elf’s counterpart is an aye-aye monkey, a real-life primate with large eyes and ears.
“J.K. Rowling clearly drew on some knowledge of natural and human history,” said Janis Sacco, the HMNH director of exhibitions, who points out Rowling’s use of wolfsbane potion in the novels to render werewolf Remus Lupin harmless during the full moon. A beautiful life-size glass model of the plant wolfsbane is displayed in the Glass Flowers exhibit at the museum.
The thestral, described in the books as a skeletal, carnivorous creature with leathery wings, appears to resemble the fossil skeleton of a Cenozoic precursor to today’s horses, Equus.
On each label, museum staff provide both a basic summary of the similarity between the magical and muggle specimens and a suggestion for Harry Potter experts to find related objects based on their knowledge of the series.
The scavenger hunt was designed to be “as versatile as possible” in terms of its audience, making it challenging for people of varying familiarity with Harry Potter’s world, explained Sacco. It engages visitors to the HMNH exhibits in a new way, by helping them to understand what inspired Rowling’s world, and what aspects of the mythological world exist in our own world.
“Sometimes the real world is even more magical than the magical world,” she added.
The “Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt” continues through Sept. 5 during regular museum hours, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. It is free with museum admission. For more information, visit the website.
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CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE FOUND IN 24 MORE DEER IN ALBERTA
Erika Beauchesne Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Twenty-four more cases of chronic wasting disease have been found in Alberta's wild deer, the Sustainable Resource Development of Alberta announced Tuesday.
The results, from a 2007-08 testing program, bring the province's count of the disease up to 53 cases.
CWD affects the central nervous system and causes infected animals to slowly waste away. Evidence suggests it does not affect humans. Darcy Whiteside, spokesperson for Sustainable Resource and Development, said the department has consulted with communities such as Provost, Oyen and Wainwright, where many of the diseased deer have been detected.
"The next step is really making hunters aware there are opportunities here," he said, referring to an ongoing hunting program the government implemented in 2005 when the first diseased deer was found 30 kilometers southeast of Oyen.
The program aims to reduce deer populations and track the disease.
"It's a contagious disease, so any animal we can take away from the population is a plus," he said, adding the province was seeing excessive growth in the number of wild deer even before CDW.
But Whiteside said the new numbers are not huge. "We're still seeing very low percentages," he said. "There were more deer tested this year."
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE IN ALBERTA
This disease poses significant economic problems for farmers of elk and deer. CWD was unintentionally introduced into farmed elk populations from live wild elk and deer taken from affected areas in the U.S. It was then TRANSLOCATED to farms in various states as well as SASKATCHEWAN AND KOREA. The source of the infection on farms in Alberta is not known. The economics of trade in live elk and their products (primarily antler velvet) have been seriously affected. IN ADDITION, the association with BSE has let to possible PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS. ...
SEE CWD ALBERTA CASE BY CASE
SEE MAP UPDATE JANUARY 2008 UPDATE
8. Human susceptibility to CWD
Millions of North Americans hunt deer and elk (U.S. Department of theInterior, Census Bureau), and there is no doubt that people have beenexposed to CWD through venison consumption, particularly in light of recentdata showing CWD prions in muscle . Human susceptibility to CWD or toother newly emerging animal TSE [9, 14] is still unclear, although we can besomewhat reassured in that there have been no large scale outbreaks of humanTSE cases in Colorado and Wyoming, where CWD has existed for decades .Up until approximately 10 years ago, autopsies were not performed on suspecthuman TSE cases in many states due to biosafety concerns, therefore thediagnosis of potential new TSE strains has been hampered. This indicatesthat clinical TSE diagnoses in humans were not confirmed, nor was any straintyping done to look for the appearance of potentially subtle or unusualpathological or biochemical phenotypes of a new TSE strain. Fortunately, theautopsy rate for suspect cases is improving. At the National Prion DiseasePathology Surveillance Center at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland,Ohio), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) suspect cases are studied andclassified by CJD subtype. Thus far,
*** twenty-seven CJD patients who regularly consumed venison were reportedto the Surveillance Center***,
however there have been no unusual or novel prion subtypes that mightindicate the appearance of a new prion strain [7, 41]. Other indirectstudies of human susceptibility to CWD also suggest that the risk is low. Inbiochemical conversion studies, Raymond et al. showed that theefficiency of CWD to convert recombinant human PrP into amyloid fibrils waslow, but similar to that of both BSE and scrapie fibrils to do the same.These results suggest that there is a molecular incompatibility in theconversion of human PrPC by CWD, sheep scrapie, or BSE, and that crossspecies infections in humans may be rare events. To determine whether commonPrPSc strain features may link CWD and CJD, histopathology and the PrPScbiochemical characteristics from deer and elk were compared with that ofhumans with sporadic CJD (sCJD) cases that are methionine homozygous atcodon 129 of the Prnp gene by Xie et al. , although strain featuresincluding histologic profile, target organs, and glycoform patterns will notnecessarily remain the same upon crossing species barriers [6, 5, 8, 57].The PrPSc form is cleaved by proteinase-K (PK) at different sites dependingon the conformation of the protein and may aid determination of whether thePrPSc conformation is similar. By western blot (SDS-PAGE) of elk CWD, theunglycosylated PK-resistant PrPSc migrated at 21 kDa, similar to sCJD (MM1subtype) and the PK cleavage site was the same, occurring at residues 78 and82 as assessed by N-terminal sequencing. Conformational stability wasevaluated by measuring the PrPSc stability under partially denaturingconditions and also showed no significant difference between elk CWD andsCJD MM1 PrPSc. However, elk CWD and human sCJD MM1 strains exhibiteddistinct glycoform patterns by two dimensional gel electrophoresis,suggesting that the strains differed. Future studies may utilize luminescentconjugated polymers, which were recently shown to distinguish naturally- andexperimentally-derived prion strains . To study elk-human prion speciesbarriers, Kong et al. inoculated elk CWD into transgenic mice expressingeither human PrP or elk PrP. Whereas the elk PrP expressing mice developeddisease after only 118-142 days post-inoculation, human PrP expressing mice(129M) did not develop any features of TSE after more than 657 or more than756 days . In accordance with these results, Tamgüney et al. alsoreported that human PrP overexpressing mice were not susceptible to 9 CWDisolates from mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elk . However, mice havea limited lifespan and further passages may be necessary to detect lowlevels of prion infectivity that may be present subclinically. Although indirect evidence is accumulating that there may be a robust species barrier forCWD transmission to humans, one report indicates nonhuman primatesusceptibility to CWD. Intracerebral inoculation of squirrel monkeys(Saimiri sciureus) demonstrated a positive CWD transmission . Amongnon-human primates, however, the Prnp sequence of the new world monkeys arethe most distant from humans , and therefore may not indicate that humanprion conversion would occur by CWD.
11. Disease control challenges posed by CWD
Evidence is building that indicates efficient horizontal transmission occursin CWD, indeed a complicating aspect in disease control . Potentialtransmission mechanisms range from spread via direct contact among animalsto environmental exposure through grazing in areas contaminated byprion-infected secretions, excretions (saliva, urine, feces), tissues(placenta), or decomposed carcasses. Recently, in a breakthrough finding,saliva from CWD infected deer was shown to transmit prion disease . Anadditional experiment by Miller and colleagues showed that CWD-infectedcarcasses allowed to decay naturally in confined pastures can lead to CWDinfections in captive deer, demonstrating the potential for environmentalcontamination to spread infection . Modelling studies have providedfurther
support that environmental contamination is likely playing a significantrole in transmitting CWD [56, 53]. Additionally, infectious prions have beendemonstrated to bind soil particles and remain infectious to animals by bothintracerebral and oral exposure routes [38, 37]. Prion infectivity has beenrecovered from soil more than two years after experimental exposure toprions, suggesting the soil may serve as a reservoir for CWD prions .Taken together, these results indicate that there may even be multiplesources for CWD exposure, perhaps through direct contact and environmentalroutes. Significant challenges to CWD eradication exist in free-rangingcervids. Infected deer and elk range over a broad geographic region, andeven previously surmised geographic barriers such as the Continental Dividehave proven passable by infected animals. Ridding the environment ofCWD-contaminated soil or even CWD-infected carcasses is not possible.Moreover, the available ante-mortem diagnostic tests for surveillance arelaborious and impractical for large numbers of free-ranging animals [74, 88,95]. Therefore for a wildlife manager, this disease is costly to survey anddifficult to control.
CWD in cervids is efficiently transmitted, likely more than any other TSE inanimals or humans. Therefore, it is unlikely that this TSE can beeradicated, but perhaps through an improved understanding of transmissionroutes, biological factors influencing pathogenesis, and the molecular basisof CWD prion conversion, a targeted strategy for interrupting disease spreadmay be developed.
I thank Drs. Michael Miller, Jason Bartz and Mathias Heikenwalder forcritical review of the manuscript.
snip...see full text 19 pages ;
Subject: Species barriers for chronic wasting disease by in vitro conversion of prion protein Date: November 3, 2007 at 10:57 am PST
Species barriers for chronic wasting disease by in vitro conversion of prion protein
Li Li a, Michael B. Coulthart b, Aru Balachandran c, Avi Chakrabartty d, Neil R. Cashman a,* a Brain Research Centre, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health, UBC Hospital, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 2B5 b Prion Diseases Program, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Man., Canada R3E 3R2 Q1 c National Reference Laboratory for Scrapie and CWD, Animal Diseases Research Institute, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 3851 Fallowfield Road, Nepean, Ont., Canada K2H 8P9 d University Health Network, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5G 1L7 Received 6 October 2007
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that can affect North American cervids (deer, elk, and moose). Using a novel in vitro conversion system based on incubation of prions with normal brain homogenates, we now report that PrPCWD of elk can readily induce the conversion of normal cervid PrP (PrPC) molecules to a protease-resistant form, but is less efficient in converting the PrPC of other species, such as human, bovine, hamster, and mouse. However, when substrate brain homogenates are partially denatured by acidic conditions (pH 3.5), PrPCWD-induced conversion can be greatly enhanced in all species. Our results dem- onstrate that PrPC from cervids (including moose) can be efficiently converted to a protease-resistant form by incubation with elk CWD prions, presumably due to sequence and structural similarities between these species. Moreover, partial denaturation of substrate PrPC can apparently overcome the structural barriers between more distant species.
Although Syrian hamsters were initially deemed resistant to CWD , a recent publication demonstrates that CWD can be transmitted and adapted to hamster .
Substrate denaturation and human health
We confirm with multiple species that acid/GdnHCl- treated brain PrPC is a superior substrate for in vitro con- version than untreated PrPC, possibly by overcoming con- formational barriers in partial denaturation of substrate PrPC. PrP conversion in scrapie-infected neuroblastoma cells is believed to occur in endosomes, a low-pH and reducing environment . The non-ruminant stomach possesses a low pH lumen, and PrPC is expressed in this organ . Such acidic (denaturing) organ or cellular organellar environments might also promote CWD trans- mission to non-cervid species, including humans.
This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Institute of Infection and Immunity, Safe Food and Water program) and PrioNet Canada.
G.J. Raymond, L.D. Raymond, K.D. Meade-White, A.G. Hughson, C. Favara, D. Gardner, E.S. Williams, M.W. Miller, R.E. Race, B. Caughey, Transmission and adaptation of chronic wasting disease to hamsters and transgenic mice: evidence for strains, J. Virol. 81 (2007) 4305–4314.
2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: L. Li et al., Species barriers for chronic wasting disease by in vitro..., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. (2007), doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.10.087
Transmission and adaptation of chronic wasting disease to hamsters and transgenic mice: evidence for strains
Gregory J. Raymond1, Lynne D. Raymond1, Kimberly D. Meade-White1, Andrew G. Hughson1, Cynthia Favara1, Donald Gardner2, Elizabeth S. Williams3§, Michael W. Miller4, Richard E. Race1*, and Byron Caughey1*
Running title: CWD transmission to rodent species
Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases1, and Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch2, NIAID, NIH, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, MT 59840; Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 820703; Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526-20974. §deceased *corresponding authors: Byron Caughey, Rocky Mountain Labs, 903 S. 4th St, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA; email@example.com; Tel: (406) 363-9264; FAX: (406) 363-9286 Richard Race, Rocky Mountain Labs, 903 S. 4th St, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA; firstname.lastname@example.org; Tel: (406) 363-9358; FAX: (406) 363-9286
In vitro screening using the cell-free prion protein conversion system indicated that certain rodents may be susceptible to chronic wasting disease (CWD). Therefore, CWD isolates from mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk were inoculated intracerebrally into various rodent species to assess their susceptibility and to develop new rodent models of CWD. The species inoculated were Syrian golden, Djungarian, Chinese, Siberian, and Armenian hamsters; transgenic mice expressing the Syrian golden hamster prion protein; and, RML Swiss and C57 BL10 wild-type mice. The transgenic mice and the Syrian golden, Chinese, Siberian and Armenian hamsters had limited susceptibility to certain of the CWD inocula as evidenced by incomplete attack rates and long incubation periods. With serial passages of CWD isolates in Syrian golden hamsters, incubation periods rapidly stabilized as isolates with either short (85-89 days) or long (408-544 days) mean incubation periods and distinct neuropathological patterns. In contrast, wild-type mouse strains and Djungarian hamsters were not susceptible to CWD. These results show that CWD can be transmitted and adapted to some species of rodents and suggest that the cervid-derived CWD inocula may have contained, or diverged into, at least two distinct transmissible spongiform encephalopathy strains.
Differences in PrP-res glycoform patterns analyzed from several CWD- affected deer and elk have also suggested that CWD in mule deer may be more heterogeneous than in elk (19). Curiously, however, this apparent strain difference was not manifested when the identical mule deer CWD inoculum was serially passaged through only one recipient species. Serial passage in Sg hamsters yielded only the fast isolate (Table 1 and Figure 3), while passage first through the Tg (haPrP) mice then into Sg hamsters yielded only the slow isolate (Table 2 and Figure 3). With this in mind, it is important to consider other possible explanations for these results. One possibility is that CWD might be able to undergo a stochastic change into a more rapid and aggressive strain in Sg hamsters, and that this happened to occur after the mule deer CWD inoculations. A similar emergence of both fast and slow strains has been observed upon inoculation of TME into Sg hamsters (5). These strains developed even when a clonal isolate of the TME inoculum was used, suggesting that they arose in the recipient Sg hamsters rather than in the mink source (1). Finally, although extensive precautions were taken, we cannot formally prove that inadvertent contamination of the mule deer CWD inoculum with hamster-derived 263K strain did not occur which potentially could yield short- incubation-period passages in Sg hamsters (Table 1). However, the incubation period observed with the CWD passages (85-89 d) were significantly longer than 263K incubation periods observed in our lab (70-75 d) and no mock-infected
controls became sick during their lifespan. Also, we saw no 263K-like infectivity develop in the highly susceptible Tg (haPrP) mice even though we used the identical primary inoculum for both recipient species. Interestingly, the similarity of the Sg hamster-adapted CWD fast isolate and 263K might be due to a common origin since there is circumstantial evidence that CWD arose from cervid exposure to sheep scrapie, which was also the origin of the 263K strain in hamsters (14). Furthermore, the Hyper strain derived from TME inoculations has 263K-like strain characteristics in Sg hamsters (5). Thus, it would appear that both CWD and TME transmissions into Sg hamsters can result in divergent fast and slow strains.
Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy TME
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
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This infrared view reveals galaxies far, far away that existed long, long ago. Taken by the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the image is part of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field survey, the deepest portrait ever taken of the universe. This galaxy-studded view represents a "deep" core sample of the universe, cutting across billions of light-years.
This infrared image offers a slightly farther look into the universe's past, compared with the snapshot of the same field taken in visible light by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Astronomers used Hubble's near-infrared camera to find very distant galaxies that cannot be seen in visible light. The light from remote galaxies has been stretched from visible to invisible infrared wavelengths by the expansion of space. Some light also has been absorbed by intergalactic hydrogen.
Astronomers are hoping to strike it rich by finding some of the farthest known galaxies, existing perhaps 400 million years after the big bang. To find them, astronomers must combine the infrared and visible-light images. The remotest galaxies will only appear in the infrared image. If discovered, these record-breaking galaxies may offer clues to the emergence of galaxies when the universe was only 2 to 5 percent of its present age.
The Ultra Deep Field observations represent a narrow, deep view of the cosmos. Peering into the Ultra Deep Field is like looking through an eight-foot-long soda straw.
In ground-based photographs, the patch of sky in which the galaxies reside (just one-tenth the diameter of the full Moon) is largely empty. Located in the constellation Fornax, the region is so empty that only a handful of stars within the Milky Way galaxy can be seen in the image.
This composite image was assembled from exposures taken by the near-infrared camera and the advanced camera. Astronomers incorporated the advanced camera's visible-light observations into the image to better discriminate the colors of the distant galaxies. The near-infrared camera observations were taken from Sept. 3 to Nov. 27, 2003.
Object Names: Hubble Ultra Deep Field, HUDF
Image Type: Astronomical
To access available information and downloadable versions of images in this news release, click on any of the images below:
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Did you know?
All homes have some level of radon - the only way to know how much is to test.
Radon is a radioactive gas found naturally in the environment. It is produced by the decay of uranium found in soil, rock or water. Radon is invisible, odourless and tasteless and emits ionizing radiation. As a gas, radon can move freely through the soil enabling it to escape to the atmosphere or seep into buildings. When radon escapes from the bedrock into the outdoor air, it is diluted to such low concentrations that it poses a negligible threat to health. However, if a building is built over bedrock or soil that contains uranium, radon gas can be released into the building through cracks in foundation walls and floors, or gaps around pipes and cables.
When radon is confined to enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces, it can accumulate to high levels. Radon levels are generally highest in basements and crawl spaces because these areas are nearest to the source and are usually poorly ventilated. In the open air, the amount of radon gas is very small and does not pose a health risk.
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Opel History: Adam Opel got started by making sewing machines and bicycles but died in 1895 before the first car was produced. In 1899 Opel's sons teamed up with a farmer named Friedrich Lutzmann to carry on their father's legacy but the first cars were unpopular and Lutzmann backed out two years later. In 1902 the Opel brothers resurfaced with an all new car built under a licensing agreement with a French automaker, Darracq, under the name 'Opel-Darracq'. The cars were Opel bodies on a Darracq chassis with a two cylinder engine. However, the Opel-Darracq was only produced from 1906 to 1907.
The Opel factory burnt down In 1911 but it was soon replaced with a better facility. By 1913 Opel had become the largest automaker in Germany and by 1924 the factory had an automated assembly line. In 1929 General Motors bought a majority interest and in 1931 bought out the Opel brothers completely.
In 1940 the factories were seized by the Nazi regime and passenger car production was halted until 1947, when the Soviets took over the Opel Kadett as part of war reparations. GM regained control of Opel in 1948 and by 1972 Opel was Germany's largest car maker again. In 1982 GM opened a new factory in Spain to produce the Opel Corsa. The majority stockholder in Opel is now "PSA Peugeot Citroën".
Search For Anything
Enter keywords (Ex: 1957 chevy, black) or filters
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Extra-short nanowires best for brain
This is the conclusion from an experiment in which the long-term effects of nanowires of different sizes were tested. The nanowires were mixed into a saline solution that was injected into the brains of lab animals, and the results were compared with an injection of saline alone.
The nanowires that were only 2 micrometres long did not have any greater effect on the brain tissue than the pure saline solution, whereas nanowires of 5 and 10 micrometres caused inflammation in the surrounding brain tissue. After a year, there were also fewer nerve cells remaining in the vicinity of the longest nanowires, which suggests that over time they had had a neurotoxic effect.
“We also saw clumps of dead cells containing nanowires, especially with the longer wires. These are probably immune system cells that have tried to neutralize the foreign body. The cells in the immune system’s ‘cleaning patrols’ are often up to 10 micrometres in diameter. They are therefore not able to enclose the long nanowires and die in the process”, said Cecilia Eriksson Linsmeier.
Dr Eriksson Linsmeier is a researcher at the Neuronano Research Center, an interdisciplinary centre at Lund University where researchers in medicine, engineering and science collaborate to develop electrodes that can be inserted into the brain. This technology can already help patients with Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. However, current electrodes are quite large and stiff, which over time causes scar tissue to form in the brain, in turn reducing the electrodes’ capacity to influence the nerve cells.
The researchers at the Neuronano Research Center therefore want to develop electrodes that are both smaller and more flexible. They also want to furnish the electrodes with a coating of nanowires, which could produce both a more tissue-friendly surface and better registration of signals from the nerve cells. However, it is important that the nanowires do not damage the tissue if they were to break off from the electrode.
“We have studied a worst case scenario, in which the nanowires break off from the electrode and spread through the brain tissue. In order to proceed with research on brain implants, we must be able to prevent all possible side-effects”, said Cecilia Eriksson Linsmeier.
For the same reason, the study was allowed to continue for an unusual length of time. The effect of the nanowires on the animals was studied both twelve weeks and one year after the injection of the nanowires into the brain. In this context, a year is an extremely long time frame – half the lifespan of a rat.
“A lot of changes take place in the brain as the animal ages. We also found that the long nanowires had certain effects that were not seen until after a year. The short nanowires, on the other hand, did not produce any obvious harmful effects either in the short or the long term”, said Dr Eriksson Linsmeier.
She believes that the group’s findings could be of significance both for future electrodes and in other contexts, such as the development of nanoparticles as drug carriers. This will most probably also require the particles to be small enough not to trigger an immune response.
Cecilia Eriksson Linsmeier
+46 46 2224107
cecilia [dot] eriksson_linsmeier [at] med [dot] lu [dot] se
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People have inhabited
Sub-Carpathia since ancient times. Various relics have been found in
Sub-Carpathia. The most ancient finds go back to the Paleolithic Period (the
early Stone Age—300,000 BCE).
The region was officially called:
- Subcarpathia (Kárpátalja) or
North-Eastern Upper Hungary, during its period of Hungarian
rule lasting a thousand years.
- Rusinsko or Karpatske
Rusinsko, then mostly as Subcarpathian Rus' /
Ruthenia or Subcarpathian Ukraine after the Treaty
of Trianon in 1920 until 1938, when it was part of Czechoslovakia. After
1927, it was referred to as: Subcarpathian Land (Czech:
Země/Zem podkarpatskoruská, Slovak: Země / Zem
podkarpatskoruská) and Podkarpatská
- Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine when the region briefly declared its
independence in 1939.
- Sub-Carpathia after it was annexed by Hungary from
1939 to 1944.
/ Zakarpattia) when it was part of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic (after briefly returning to Czechoslovak rule) from 1945 to 1991.
/ Zakarpatt'ya) since 1991, as part of Ukraine.
Alternative, unofficial names used in Czechoslovakia before World War II,
- Subcarpathia (Czech / Slovak:
- Transcarpathia (Czech: Zakarpatsko; Slovak:
- Transcarpathian Ukraine (Ukrainian:
Україна / Zakarpats'ka
- Carpathian Rus' / Ruthenia (Czech / Slovak:
- Hungarian Rus' / Ruthenia (Czech: Uherská;
Slovak: Uhorská Rus', rare)
Click the following topics to open and close them.
- → Sub-Carpathia - Timeline
- → Sub-Carpathia - Oblast (county)
- → Sub-Carpathia - Raions (districts)
- → Sub-Carpathia - Culture
- → Sub-Carpathia - Economy
- → Sub-Carpathia - Education
- → Sub-Carpathia - Castles
- → Sub-Carpathia - Palaces
- → Sub-Carpathia - Festivals
- → Sub-Carpathia - Heraldry
- → Sub-Carpathia - Trivia
- → Sub-Carpathia - Additional Reading
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The Middle Kingdom
12th - 13th Dynasty
(20th century BCE)
Source: Website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Picture from the tomb
The Middle Kingdom
(Dates: ± 50 years)
12th - 13th Dynasty
2050 - 11th Dynasty
- Domesticated cats possibly introduced from Nubia or Libya.
- Graveyards have a "Holy Road"
- Earliest ushabtis as grave goods under Mentuhotep II
- Tombs of Mentuhotep III and IV at Deir-el-Bahari: two floors with pillar halls, at the centre a pyramid, a broad ramp leading to the upper floor
- Model ships with painted figurines etc as gifts to the dead.
- Hennu journeys south along the east-African coast.
2000 - 12th Dynasty
- Amenemhet I restricts the power of the nobles
- Important moral and didactic writings:
- Well developed calligraphy, papyrus, reed pens, ink made of soot, pen-cases
- Miniature animal statues: Hippos, hedgehogs, hares, mice etc
- Vibrant trade relations with Syria and Palestine, above all the Phoenician port cities.
- Ovens for baking bread
- Olive oil
|1985 - Amenemhet I
- Giant tomb of an officer and landowner at Assiut: 7 chambers, 50 metres long. Inscriptions determine the services to be held after his death.
- The Teachings of King Amenemhet for his son Senusret I, pessimistic world view
- Apparently murdered
|1955 - Senusret I
- Senusret I (Sesostris) extends Egyptian influence to the third cataract in Nubia.
Fortification with bastions in Nubia
- Tomb of Sirenpowet at Asswan: Staircase, courtyard, entrance hall, three aisled hall, reliefs
- Mass sacrifices of Nubians at burials of Egyptian princes
- Obelisk erected at the temple of Heliopolis, commemorating 30 years of the rule of King Senusret I.
- Rock tombs at Beni Hassan with culturally interesting pictures and inscriptions.
In the tomb of Amenemhet I: three aisled inner room with double rows of fluted columns without capital (similar in form and style to those found in Greek temples). wall paintings: antelope hunt, dancers, bearers votive offerings
- Rectilinear auxiliary grid lines used in relief sculpture
- Proven cultural exchanges between Egypt and Mesopotamia
- Feeding of the Antelopes", naturalistic wall painting in the tomb of Khnumhotep at Beni-Hassan
- Grave of a second Sirenpowet at Asswan: Pictures of the deceased and his family
- Right angles are constructed with the help of knotted ropes in the form of a triangle, the relation between the sides: 3 to 4 to 5.
|1880 - Senusret II
- Coffin Texts, magical spells on the inside of the coffins, serve the dead.
- Granite statue of Nofret, wife of King Senusret II
- Sandstone statue of Chertihotep
- First alphabetic inscription on a rock, which appears to include two men's names, titles, and perhaps a prayer to a local god. (Syrian alphabetic writing dates from about 1700)
- Settlement housing the workers who erected the pyramid of Senusret II at the entrance to the Fayum oasis in the Libyan desert.
|1850 - Senusret III
- King Senusret III seeks support from the rising bourgeoisie, conquers Nubia and Canaan.
- Symmetrical, geometrical and ornamental forms preferred in reliefs
- Canals, sluices and dams control the waters of the Nile at Fayum oasis and enable settlement.
- Granite sphinx of Amenemhet III at Tanis
- Granite block statue, merges the human body with the geometrical cube form.
- Isis suckling Horus, copper statue
- Pyramids and temples at Hawara (Fayum)
- Rhind Papyrus: arithmetic book of Ahmes, with mathematical notes, examples taken from agricultural practice including fractions and area calculations .
- Men's clothing: A long loin cloth made of linen. Women's clothing: A long shirt made of linen with shoulder straps, coloured collar. Shoes are not worn, sandals infrequently. Curly haired wigs.
|1770 - Second Intermediate Period
- Social unrest
- Egyptian culture becomes more 'secular' and bourgeois.
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| 998
| 3.390625
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American Imperialism has been a part of United States history ever since the American Revolution. Imperialism is practice by which powerful nations or people seek to expand and maintain control or influence over weaker nations or peoples. Throughout the years there has been many instances where the Americans have taken over other people countries, almost every time we go into we have taken over a new piece of land. The Americas first taste of imperialism came about five hundred years ago when Columbus came to America. We fought the pleasant inhabitants and then took over their land making them slaves. Americans over the years have been known to become almost selfish, no matter how much we have we will never be happy until we control the free world.
"The Monroe Doctrine
of 1823 defined United States foreign policy
in the Americas for the rest of the 19th century and beyond. It declared that the United States had an interest in the Western Hemisphere
and the European powers must not meddle in the affairs of any developing nations there. The United States was a young nation in 1823 and did not really have to powers to back up the Monroe Doctrine. However, the policy was used to justify the sending of the U.S. troops into Mexico in 1866 (to intimidate the French) and the purchased of Alaska in 1867". Another case of Imperialism was the United States industrial economy was growing so fast that they were producing more goods than they could consume. The over abundance of industrial goods led the United States to look for new markets. Next came the Spanish-American War, which started with the Americans not liked the way that the Spaniards were treated the Cubans. After this an U.S. battleship (Maine) was docked outside of Havana (Cuba's Capital) and all of a sudden exploded from under the sea. At the time no one actually knew the real reason why the ship exploded but many Americans thought that it was the Spaniards. 266 officers and men were lost in the explosion. William McKinley (U.S. President 1897-1901) went to congress and asked for permission to send troops to help stop the fighting in Cuba. After a couple of days he was given permission which shortly led to war. Spain declared war on the United States on April 24th followed by an U.S. declaration of war on the 25th. This war was no contest for the Americans; they easily defeated the Spanish troops. Led by Gen. William Shafter (and including Theodore Roosevelt and his 1st Volunteer Calvary, the "Rough Riders"). The Rough Riders were National Guard infantry regiments and a regiment of volunteer cavalry. They played a very important role in the defeat of the Spanish Army. The war only lasted about four months and the Americans easily won. The Treaty of Paris (signed Dec. 10, 1898), Spain lost Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the U.S., and also the United States gained control of the Philippines. This was a major turning point in the history of both countries. Spain was able to concentrate on their problems within the country and not about over seas, while the Americans were becoming a very powerful country expanding its property. There was a lot of talk about "Manifest Destiny", and many people suggested that America should assume its role as a world power.
"Manifest Destiny, jingoistic tenet holding that territorial expansion of the Unites States is not only inevitable but also divinely ordained. The phrase was first used by the American journalist and diplomat John-August 1845 edition of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, a magazine that featured literature and nationalist opinion. The phrase was later used by expansionists in all political parties to justify the acquisition of California, the Oregon Territory, and Alaska. By the end of the 19th century the doctrine was being applied to the proposed annexation of various islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean". (Encarta 98)
The Boxer Rebellion Chinese nationalists uprising against foreigners, the representatives of alien powers and Chinese Christians in 1900. Expulsion of all foreigners from China was the ultimate objective of the uprising. In 1899 a secret society of Chinese called the Yihequan ("Righteous and Harmonious Fists"), known by Westerners as the boxers, began a campaign of terror against Christian missionaries in the northeastern provinces. They were secretly supported by many of the Chinese Royal Court. "In the early months of 1900, thousands of Boxers roamed the countryside. They attacked Christian missions, slaughtering foreign missionaries and Christian converts. Then they moved toward the cities, attracting more and more followers as they came. Nervous foreign ministers insisted that the Chinese government stop the Boxers". The United States was willing to rescue the ministers and to emphasize it presence in China. So they sent 2,500 sailors and marines, after rescuing many of the ministers they marched to Beijing, fighting boxers along the way. The international troops looted the capital and even ransacked the Forbidden City. The power of China would never be the same.
The Panama Canal The United States had long been interested in a Central American canal, to link its east and west coasts and expand trade. However, it did not have the money or the will to build one before 1900. During the 1890's Congress appropriated money to begin work on a capital in Nicaragua, but the project was soon cancelled.
The Spanish-American War in 1898 heightened military interest in a canal. After defeated Spain, the United States acquired the Philippines and Puerto Rico and wanted better access for its navy to both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. American officials negotiated the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty with Britain in 1901, in which the two countries agreed that the United States alone could build and regulate the canal. "The Panamanians had authorized Philippe Bunau-Varilla, a French citizen and long-time official of the French Canal Company. Bunau-Varilla gave the United States even more than it had asked for a perpetual lease on a section of central Panama 16 km (10 mi.) wide, where the canal would be built. The right to take over more Panamanian land if needed; and the right to use troops to intervene in Panama. The United States agreed to guarantee Panama's independence and pay $10 million, plus and annual fee of $250,000. In exchange for their independence, then, Panamanians were forced to accept the treaty, which no Panamanian ever signed, that virtually gave away the Canal Zone to the United States.
The United States of America has come along way since the purchase of Alaska. For one thing sense when does it say in history that we have purchased any land. We have taken it from the weaker, but is this bad? I don't think so, I think that we help out a lot of the countries. That is why they are third-world countries, because they are poor and do not have availability that we do. I think of the United States as the big brother that looks after his younger ones until they are able to defend themselves from the bullies of the world. The United States is a world among it self, just saying it strikes fear in the hearts of some people. To there is one argumentative question that not everyone will agree on. Did we have to kill and hurt so many people to get to where we are today? I think so, we sure didn't get here because to tend to talk well. In this world the strongest survive our ancestors have made sure that we are the strongest for all time.
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Long before Shenandoah's dedication, the park was being created by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of President Roosevelt's public works programs created within months of his taking office. In 1933, the first two CCC camps located in national parks were established at Skyland and Big Meadows. Congress took advantage of the future park's proximity to Washington, D.C., and used it as a demonstration of Roosevelt's Depression cures. In August 1933, the president took a highly publicized whirlwind tour through Shenandoah's camps to bolster public confidence in his "New Deal."
Between 1933 and 1942, 10 CCC camps were established within, or on leased land, adjacent to Shenandoah. At any one time, more than 1,000 boys and young men lived in these camps that were supervised by the Army. They worked on projects directed by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Public Roads. The earliest CCC activities involved building trails, fire roads and towers, log comfort stations, construction projects associated with the Skyline Drive and park picnic grounds.
The CCC was the most popular of President Roosevelt's "New Deal" programs, even winning the endorsement of Virginia's conservative U.S. senator Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (While Byrd was a fellow Democrat, he advocated a small federal government that did not spend ahead of means or interfere in state affairs.) Designed to alleviate the widespread unemployment caused by the Great Depression, the CCC recruited unmarried, unemployed young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five to spend six months in camps doing conservation work, primarily in the nation's forests. They were paid $1 a day, most of which was sent to their parents in $25 monthly allotments. The War Department ran most of the camps on a military basis, providing supervision and discipline. Although some critics saw a fascist-like militarism in such circumstances, the CCC had the positive, although unintended consequence of preparing men for service in World War II (1939–1945). At its peak, the CCC employed half-a-million men in more than 2,500 camps, and 2.5 million men enlisted during its nine-year existence.
The first ever CCC camp, Camp Roosevelt, was set up at Luray in the George Washington National Forest in 1933. The first CCC camp in a national park was NP-1, established near Skyland in May 1933 (Timber Hollow Overlook area). The second camp was also in Shenandoah National Park, camp NP-2 at Big Meadows. In its nine years of work, the CCC spent $109 million in Virginia, the fifth-largest state expenditure in the country. The state ranked fourth in the number of camps (more than eighty, twelve of which were for black Virginians) and seventeenth in the total number of enrollees. The CCC employed 107,210 men statewide, 64,762 of whom were Virginia youth and 10,435 of whom were local camp officers and supervisors. The agency put most of its effort into controlling erosion and flooding and improving forest landscaping and wildlife conditions. CCC workers also labored on the federal projects of the Shenandoah National Park, the Skyline Drive, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
After the official establishment of the park on December 26, 1935, CCC activities were expanded to include the entire acreage. Houses and outbuildings of former residents were dismantled or burned, fences were removed, gardens and orchards were obliterated, and work areas were replanted, seeded or sodded. Many known 20th-century homesites in Shenandoah are invisible today due to the CCC's mandate to return the land to its "natural state."
The war and dwindling unemployment caused the termination of the CCC in 1942. The final Virginia report summarized its work: "In no State did the CCC make a greater or more lasting contribution to the well-being of its citizens than it did in Virginia."
April 17, 1933 - The first Civilian Conservation Corps work camp is established in Luray, Virginia.
June 15, 1936 - Virginia's state parks system launches when the six inaugural parks - Douthat, Fairy Stone, Hungry Mother, Seashore, Westmoreland, and Staunton River - open simultaneously. All of the parks are products of the workers employed by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps.
1942 - The beginning of World War II along with dwindling unemployment cause the termination of of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Heinemann, Ronald L. Depression and New Deal in Virginia: The Enduring Dominion. Charlottesville: The University of Virginia Press, 1983.
Salmond, John A. The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933–1942: A New Deal Case Study. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1967.
Contributed by Ronald L. Heinemann, professor of history, Hampden-Sydney College.
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You enjoy tag questions, don’t you? You study or teach English, don’t you?
The above two sentences are two examples of tag questions. Tag questions are often used to elicit a confirmation from another party. The grammar employed involves positive and negative verbs in pairs. Take a look at the following sentences. The examples of the positive and negative verbs have been capitalized.
These verbs are infinitive, but many other patterns may be used;
You CAN speak English, CAN’T you?
You HAVE eaten eggs, HAVEN’T you?
They WILL clean the carpet, WON’T they?
He COULD have escaped through the window, COULDN’T he?
She HADN’T moved from the couch by the time the phone rang, HAD she?
The best way to confirm understanding of tag questions is to confirm that the student knows you. Have the student confirm how well they know you, asking questions about nationality, favorite foods, sexual orientation, work schedule, etc.After the student has asked 5 questions, switch and ask the student 5 questions. This is where the exercise becomes difficult, because Japanese responses may be “Yes, I don’t”, which is unnatural in English. Inform the student that they should answer as though the question is not a tag question. For example;
You aren’t Chinese, are you?
No, I am not (Chinese).
Your parents are still alive, aren’t they?
No, they are not (alive).
Accusatory questions are similar to tag questions, but as indicated by their name, are much more accusatory in fashion. They are used when you are in disbelief of a situation.
Don’t you like cake? (surprise that the person is not eating/enjoying cake)
Haven’t you seen Castleblanca? (surprise that the person has not seen the classic movie Castleblanca)
Can’t you breathe through your nose? (surprise at the student’s breathing through their mouth)
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Three New Locations! 5 Ways to Save! In creating an advertisement, the way a number is represented may fall to a copy writer or even a graphic artist. The decision may be based on space available, design considerations, or perceived clarity. Interesting new research looks at how “4”, “four”, and ” * * * * ” are processed by our brains. Studies yield insight into the numerical brain describes two new studies published in Neuron. The first study may be reassuring to marketers – Manuela Piazza and colleagues at INSERM, Orsay, France, found that the same area of the brain, the parietal cortex, processed both a numeric representation, e.g., “6” and a group of six dots.
“Our results show that, at least in the adult brain, numerical symbols and nonnumerical numerosities converge onto shared neural representations,” they wrote. “Perhaps we attach meaning to symbols by physically linking populations of neurons sensitive to symbol shapes to preexisting neural populations holding a nonsymbolic representation of the corresponding preverbal domain (e.g., numerosity).”
The other study seems to muddy the water a bit by suggesting that all numeric representations aren’t processed in the same way:
In the other paper in Neuron, Roi Cohen Kadosh and colleagues conducted experiments demonstrating that the two hemispheres of the parietal lobe function differently in processing numbers. While the left lobe harbors abstract numerical representations, the right shows a dependence on the notation used for a number, they found. The researchers concluded that “results challenge the commonly held belief that numbers are represented solely in an abstract way in the human brain.” The authors also concluded that their results “advocate the existence of distinct neuronal populations for numbers, which are notation dependent in the right parietal lobe.”
There’s no clear-cut path to the best usage for numbers in a marketing context from these studies. Overall, it appears that the differences in number processing aren’t so dramatic that marketers should always try use a particular method for maximum impact. Rather, letting the choice of number format be guided by the content of the ad, the layout, and the context in which the number will be used makes sense. As other research builds on these initial studies, perhaps some more concrete advice will emerge; at the moment, though, we think marketers can choose their #1 (or Number One!) approach without worrying much about the neuromarketing aspects of the decision.
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High Cholesterol is one of the primary causes of heart disease in America today and the medical establishment is on an ongoing quest to reduce cholesterol levels in the adult population. If you’ve been screened for high cholesterol In the last five years you shouldn’t take it as a guarantee of health. Cardiologists warn that everybody over the age of 20 is at risk and should get a blood test for elevated cholesterol levels every five years. Still, there is no need to panic if your doctor tells you that you have high cholesterol levels, as there are ample ways to reduce it, through both natural and pharmacological means.
Why is cholesterol so dangerous? Simply put, small cholesterol particles can form deposits in the arteries and aggravate heart conditions, leading to heart disease and eventually heart attacks. While treatment for high cholesterol is emphasized by physicians around the country, there are some correlated symptoms like pre-diabetes or obesity that go unchecked. In order to tackle these as well as cholesterol all at once here are 10 tips for lowering bad cholesterol and improving the health of your heart:
Set a goal
Once you’re diagnosed with elevated cholesterol you need to take a course of action to reduce it. Before you can do this, however, you need to set a goal for reducing your cholesterol to an adequate level. This level varies and is highly influenced by the presence of other risk factors like obesity and diabetes.
Get Tested Regularly
You need to know how far along you are in your attempt to reduce your cholesterol levels so you will need to take regular blood tests, especially as you approach your goal.
To combat cholesterol you need to combat its correlated factors. One of them is obesity, which can in turn cause the other, diabetes. To counteract this you should always start a specialized diet to combat cholesterol at the same time that you start exercising as well. As you lose weight you will start to feel better and likely your cholesterol levels will go down. Do not start a training regimen without permission from your physician, as in some people exercising can be dangerous.
Limit Saturated Fats
NO more eggs, whole milk, ice cream, high fat meat, processed meats and salami or palm oil. All these foodstuffs contain very large quantities of saturated fat and can hurt your cardiovascular system.
Give up on Snacks
You might prefer nachos and kettle-cooked chips to air-popped popcorn, apples and carrots but the latter are considerably better for you. If you feel an urge for a snack chose a light healthy alternative to the likes of cool ranch flavor tortilla chips.
Good sleep schedules and adequate sleeping periods re crucial in the body’s daily healing process. Sleeping has been demonstrated to have significant impact on cholesterol level, Besides, if you are doing this right you will also need to rest after a hard day exercising.
When shopping for groceries read all labels carefully and try to keep away from products that have saturated fats in them. Even if you’re staying away from saturated fats yourself in your diet, a quick lunch stop at a deli or grabbing a croissant for breakfast may reverse your entire progress in just a few days both calorie and cholesterol-wise. Try to know everything you eat and pay close attention to ingredients.
Quit Smoking, Start drinking Tea
Smoking is the perpetual risk factor and, no surprise the habit is correlated not only with lung cancer but high cholesterol as well. Green tea on the other hand is chock full of anti-oxidants and said to help in eliminating LDL cholesterol or, in any case, reducing it by 5%.
Strangely enough, moderate consumption of alcohol seems to reduce the risk of high cholesterol, particularly in men. While drinking too much rarely has any benefits, 1-2 drinks a day are actually recommended by doctors.
Give Medication a Try
Cholesterol medication is so widespread that there actually are low-fat non-dairy spreads containing compounds that actively fight cholesterol calledstanols. Proper anti-cholesterol medication is much stronger though. Highly effective statins created to fight LDL (like Crestor) can lower cholesterol by up to 50% over a course of treatment.
While an admirable cause to tackle, we must always remember that high cholesterol is a symptom rather than a cause of disease. Plaque deposits do increase the risk of heart attack by a significant percentage but cholesterol is nothing but a by-product of an unhealthy lifestyle. We can treat the symptom with medicine but we can only make a difference in our lives if we change our lifestyle and start eating and living healthily.
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|Home||Beach Indicators||Methodology||Findings||Beach Manifesto||State Reports||Chapters||Perspectives||Model Programs||Bad and Rad||Conclusion|
|Rhode Island Home||Beach Description||Beach Access||Water Quality||Beach Erosion||Erosion Response||Beach Fill||Shoreline Structures||Beach Ecology||Surfing Areas||Website|
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) signed into law on October 10, 2000, amends the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), incorporating provisions intended to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. The BEACH Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award program development and implementation grants to eligible States, Territories, Tribes, and local governments to support microbiological testing and monitoring of coastal recreation waters, including the Great Lakes, that are adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. BEACH Act grants also provide support for development and implementation of programs to notify the public of the potential exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in coastal recreation waters. EPA encourages coastal States and Territories to apply for BEACH Act Grants for Program Implementation (referred to as Implementation Grants) to implement effective and comprehensive coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs. CWA section 406(i) authorizes appropriations of up to $30 million per year to develop and implement beach programs. Unfortunately, only about one-third that amount has been authorized each year since the program's inception. For fiscal year 2014, the total fund available for BEACH Act grants was $9.55 million. Funding beyond 2012 has been in jeopardy, since EPA's budget requests for this program in FY2013 and FY2014 were ZERO (money for testing in 2013 and 2014 was ultimately allocated as part of Continuing Resolutions to resolve the Federal Budget impasse) and there was also no money for beach testing in the FY2015 budget. Again, it was restored at the last minute as part of a Continuing Resolution. It is very discouraging to have to fight for this basic funding to protect the public's health at the beach every year. Thankfully, there is a growing movement to provide stable funding. If available, funds are allocated to the states and territories based on a formula which uses three factors that are readily available and verifiable: (1) Length of beach season, (2) miles of beach and (3) number of people that use the beaches. Rhode Island was eligible for a $205,000 grant in fiscal year 2014. The cost of the coastal monitoring program is fully funded by this federal grant.
Portions of the following discussion have been taken from NRDC's report Testing the Waters, A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, June 2014. NRDC's report evaluates beach monitoring data relative to EPA's recommended Beach Action Value (BAV). The BAV is a more protective threshold than the national allowable bacteria levels used in previous years to trigger beach advisories. The EPA considers the BAV to be a "conservative, precautionary tool for making beach notification decisions."
NRDC ranked Rhode Island 25th in Beachwater Quality (out of 30 states). 16% of samples exceeded EPA's new BAV standards for designated beach areas in 2013.
Rhode Island has more than 200 beach access points along about 400 miles of Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay waters. The Rhode Island Department of Health is responsible for beach water monitoring and water quality notifications. The regular monitoring season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Beachgoers can learn about beach advisories and closures on the Rhode Island Department of Health's website.
Many urban areas across the U.S. have combined sewer systems, which carry both stormwater and sewage in the same pipes. During heavy storms, the combined flows can exceed the capacity of the sewer system and overflow into waterways. The Narragansett Bay Commission is currently in the middle of a two-phase, multiyear combined sewer overflow (CSO) abatement program that will create six miles of underground storage tunnels, five CSO interceptors, a wetland treatment system, and sewer separation in 12 areas. When the program is complete, overflow volume will be reduced by an expected 98% and water quality will dramatically improve.
The first phase of this multiyear project (the addition of a tunnel, associated station, and drop shafts) was completed in 2008. Between 2008 and 2012, these improvements resulted in the treatment of approximately 4.6 billion gallons of overflow and wastewater that would have polluted Narragansett Bay. Construction for the second phase (two interceptors, two sewer separation projects, and a wetlands facility) began in 2011 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2014.
In the summer of 2009, Easton's Beach in Newport County began using a seaweed harvester to remove excess seaweed from the beach in an effort to improve aesthetics and water quality. In 2012, approximately 64.35 tons of seaweed was removed. (Note that while piles of seaweed on the beach can contribute to poor water quality, they may play a role in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and their removal can have detrimental effects on local flora and fauna.)
Another undertaking to improve beachwater quality at Easton's Beach was the installation of an ultraviolet treatment system for destroying bacteria in stormwater discharges to the beach from Easton's Moat. The system, which began operating during the 2011 beach season, is activated when there is more than 0.25 inch of rain in a 24-hour period.
Beachwater quality has improved over time at Easton Beach. In 2008, despite low precipitation, 32% of samples taken at this beach exceeded water quality standards for fecal indicator bacteria. There was more rain in 2009 than in 2008, yet the percentage of samples exceeding standards dropped to 20%. In 2012, just 3% of samples exceeded water quality standards. However, in 2013 the percentage of samples jumped to 22% using EPA's more restrictive BAV standard.
Bristol Town Beach in Colt State Park implemented a number of changes to improve beachwater quality, including green infrastructure techniques that allow stormwater to filter into the ground instead of running off into the ocean. Six catch basins connected to bioswales have been installed to intercept runoff from the park before it reaches the beach. Rainwater is filtered mechanically in the catch basins, and then further filtered by vegetation in the bioswales. The bioswales also significantly slow down the flow of rainwater, preventing surges of stormwater that may carry bacteria and other contamination to the beach.
Also, the storm drain whose outfall is at the beach has been opened and restored so that when there is stormwater flow from urban areas upstream of the beach, it follows a slow and winding path. This helps clean the water carried to the ocean and allows time for some infiltration into the soil. The park's parking lot has been resurfaced with permeable pavers, and bioretention swales and specialized vegetation have been installed around the parking lot to absorb and filter any stormwater that does run off.
In addition, there are plans to upgrade the sewage treatment plant near this beach and install underground tanks that will store rainwater during heavy storms. With the modifications, rainwater will be stored and released slowly to the sewage treatment plant when rainfall is not heavy and will help prevent overflows of untreated or partially treated sewage during storms.
All of the beaches north of Conimicut Point in Warwick and Nayatt Point in Barrington have been unlicensed since 1999 because of ongoing water quality issues. Closures and advisories are never issued at these beaches because only licensed beaches are considered to be "open." However, the state specifically discourages swimming and other full-body water-contact activities north of Conimicut Point and urges people to refrain from any contact with water north of Conimicut Point for at least three days after heavy rainfall.
The Urban Beach Initiative was launched in 2010 in part to determine if there are areas in the upper Narragansett Bay that are safe for swimming. The initiative's sampling, surveys, and remediation efforts, undertaken in partnership with Save the Bay, continued into the 2012 beach season, and results of these efforts will be submitted to EPA in October 2013. The state hopes that testing will show that water quality has improved and can support swimming.
Watershed Counts is a collaborative initiative of 60 partners, facilitated by the URI Coastal Institute in its role as Chair of the Rhode Island Environmental Monitoring Collaborative and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, working together to evaluate the conditions and trends of the land and waters of the Narragansett Bay Region. The 2014 edition of the Watershed Counts annual report noted that despite frequent rainstorms last summer (2013), beach closures were much lower than in past years. Projects such as the construction of an ultraviolet plant in Newport (see above) and work to curb runoff at Bristol’s town beach (see above) are helping to prevent runoff from polluting swim areas, along with Providence’s ambitious effort to reduce combined sewer overflows into Narragansett Bay. In the summer of 2013, there were 36 marine beach-closure events each lasting a day or more, compared with more than 80 in 2009, when rainfall was less. “From 2005 through 2009, the amount of rainfall was highly correlated with the number of closure events. Since 2009 though, communities … have taken steps to reduce the flow of bacteria into the surrounding waters — even during high rainfall events — and you see that there are fewer beach closures,” the report notes.
Sampling Practices: The regular monitoring season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Volunteer groups, including the Rhode Island Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, Clean Ocean Access, and Save the Bay assist with sampling efforts throughout the year as well.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and/or the Department of Health determine sampling practices, locations, standards, and notification protocols and practices throughout the state. Samples are collected just below the surface in water that is approximately 3 feet deep. The water quality at all licensed marine beaches in the state is monitored. High priority for more frequent monitoring is given to beaches with direct known sources of pollution (stormwater outfalls, septic/sewer connections, high population density, nearby sewer plants) and high usage, and to beaches that have exhibited poor water quality in the past.
Monitors focus on areas of greatest concern and aim to collect samples when high bacteria counts are most likely to be present. The number of samples collected depends on the length of coastline and the presence of physical barriers to circulation (jetties, groins, etc.) that can trap bacterial contaminants near the shore.
If a beach is closed or placed under advisory, sampling is conducted daily until the water quality meets standards and the beach is reopened. Extensive wet-weather sampling is conducted to determine the reopening schedule for beaches under preemptive rainfall advisories. States that monitor more frequently after an exceedance is found or after heavy rainfall will tend to have higher percent exceedance rates and lower total closing/advisory days than they would if their sampling schedule did not increase after an exceedance was found or after heavy rainfall.
Standards and Procedures: Rhode Island issues both beach closings (in response to bacterial contamination) and advisories (due to rain). The state's coastal bathing water standard is a single-sample maximum of 104 cfu/100 ml of enterococcus. No geometric mean standard is applied when determining whether to issue a beach closing. Advisory information is posted at the beach and online.
The state's usual policy is to close a beach if sampling results exceed the standard. However, the state health department considers several environmental factors before deciding whether to close a beach because of bacterial contamination, including the presence of wildlife or seaweed, the number of tides since the sample was collected, the history of sample results for that beach, and rainfall. On occasion, if environmental factors do not suggest that fecal contamination is likely, the beach may remain open while it is resampled.
If a known sewage discharge occurs in close proximity to a beach, officials immediately close the beach without waiting for sampling results to confirm contamination. Scarborough State Beach and Easton's Beach have preemptive rainfall standards and are closed when there is more than 1 inch of rainfall in a 24-hour period. Easton's Beach may reopen within 12 hours of cessation of heavy rain if water quality has shown to improve in that time period. These preemptive closure protocols are proving to be effective, and the Department of Health is developing additional closure evaluations based on rainfall. The Beach Monitoring Program generally recommends no water contact for three days after heavy rainfall.
As noted above, the Department of Health discourages contact with water in Upper Narragansett Bay, north of Conimicut Point, for at least three days after heavy rains because the water is directly impacted by wastewater treatment facilities and/or storm drains in the area.
RIDOH's Beach Monitoring Program website gives the public up-to-date information on water quality. The Website provides information on 126 licensed beaches throughout the state. RIDOH posts beach closures, openings, advisories, and current water quality conditions daily throughout the bathing season. Individuals can search for bathing areas alphabetically or by towns and cities. They can get historical data back to the beginning of the program in 1994. The site also includes information on the importance of water quality monitoring, current standards, sampling methods, and monitoring frequencies. In addition to water quality data, the Beach Monitoring Program website contains a section on swimming-related illnesses, their causes, and precautionary measures. Also included is a link to send an email to the Beach Program if you suspect that your illness resulted from swimming at a public beach and would like to submit a complaint.
In June 2012 the Rhode Island Beach Program announced that they had completed phase I of their State Water Interactive Map (SWIM) viewer. The current application shows beach openings and closings, water quality data, uploaded photos of the beaches and beach imagery. Phase II will add a data filtering tool and a help/training tool. The toolbar buttons are dynamic so you can change the basemap, turn the legend on or off, and search for a beach. The viewer requires use of a Silverlight plug-in.
For those who don't have Internet access, RIDOH has a 24-hour hotline (401) 222-2751 that lists all current closures and advisories, provides contact information, and gives RIDOH's after-hours emergency phone number. RIDOH uses a standard press release that can be faxed or emailed to the major print, radio, and television outlets in Rhode Island. Press releases are issued almost daily during the summer bathing season to publicize the status of beaches. When the decision to close a beach is made, RIDOH notifies the beach and updates the hotline and Website. It also distributes the press release within an hour of receiving the sample results.
The Beach Monitoring Program website lists the following 2012 Accomplishments:
Through the Governor's leadership, a commission was created to develop a plan for Narragansett Bay and its watershed that incorporates environmental protection and restoration, sustainability, economic development, and socially equitable use of resources. This commission, called the Governor's Narragansett Bay and Watershed Planning Commission, has called on experts from state and federal agencies, non profit groups, academia, and the public to collaborate on a watershed wide plan for Rhode Island. The Commission was created after the excessive number of beach closures and the largest fish kill in RI in the past 50 years during the summer of 2003. More info on the Commission can be found at http://www.ci.uri.edu/GovComm/Default.htm
In 2004, the Rhode Island Environmental Monitoring Collaborative (RIEMC) was created through legislation. This group will coordinate all environmental monitoring in the state to reduce duplication and, more importantly, get the information to the decision makers and the public. This group is comprised of the state agencies that are collecting information, non profits, and academia. Information on the RIEMC can be found at http://www.ci.uri.edu/Projects/RI-Monitoring/default.html
Surfrider Foundation's Rhode Island Chapter collects water samples approximately once per month, year-round. Their Blue Water Task Force data is posted on the University of Rhode Island's website and on Surfrider's website.
RIDOH spends approximately $210,000 per year on coastal water quality monitoring (EPA Beaches grant funds). RIDOH staff believes that additional funds are needed to investigate and eliminate sources of pollution that affect RI's bathing beaches.
Beach Monitoring Program
3 Capitol Hill, Room 203
Providence, RI 02908-5097
Amie Parris - Beach Program Coordinator
Beach Cell: 401-639-8246
Sean McCormick - Beach Program Assistant
Beach Closure Information: (401) 222-2751
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM)
Division of Water Resources
(401) 222-3961 ext. 7258
Closing/advisory status and monitoring results are posted at http://www.health.ri.gov/programs/beachmonitoring/
Here are some statistics from the 2013 Rhode Island Beach Monitoring Program:
From May 27, 2011 through September 5, 2011, approximately 1908 samples were collected by
HEALTH from all 70 licensed saltwater beaches. Samples were analyzed for Enterococci bacteria as required in the Federal Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act.the need for additional funding and support.
The 2011 bathing season showed a decrease in saltwater beach closure events and an increase in closure days from the 2010 season. Whereas 2010 exhibited 45 closure events resulting in 70 beach closure days; 2011 saw 36 closure events and 74 beach closures days. Total volume of rainfall over the beach season was higher during the summer of 2011 (May 27 through September 5) than the summer of 2010. Total rainfall increased from 13.42 inches in 2010 to 14.80 inches in 2011. Significant rainfall instances (> 0.50 inches in a 24-hour period) decreased in 2011, with 11 instances in 2010 and 9 instances in 2011.
It should be noted, funding for the beach program supports efforts at licensed saltwater facilities only. Although freshwater facilities are required to collect samples to ensure public health, the beach program can not assist with these efforts or the identification and elimination of sources of contamination. While the success of the program can be seen across the state at saltwater beaches, freshwater beaches continue
In 2013, Rhode Island reported 237 coastal beaches, 69 of which were monitored. Of all reported beach monitoring samples, 16% exceeded the Beach Action Value (BAV) of 60 enterococcus bacteria colony forming units (cfu) per 100 ml marine or estuarine water in a single sample. NRDC considers all reported samples individually (without averaging) when calculating the percent exceedance rates in this analysis. This includes duplicate samples and reported samples taken outside the official beach season, if any.
The beaches with the highest percent exceedance rates of the BAV in 2013 were Oakland Beach in Kent County (41%), Fogland Beach in Newport County (37%), Conimicut Point Beach in Kent County (35%), Hazard's Beach in Newport County (33%), and Scarborough State Beach South in Washington County (28%).
For a bar chart showing a 5-year water quality trend, see NRDC's report.
RIDOH, RIDEM, and RIDOT have created a plan for the identification and elimination of pollution sources at 10 priority beaches. Scarborough State Beach and Easton's Beach, both popular surfing spots, were targeted as the highest priority beaches.
In June 2013, U.S. EPA released its latest data about beach closings and advisories for the 2012 swimming season. Note that for some states the data is incomplete, making state-to-state or year-to-year comparisons difficult. Here's EPA's BEACH Report for Rhode Island's 2012 Swimming Season. EPA no longer publishes this report.
The EPA has information on water quality in Rhode Island, including a fact sheet which notes that in estuarine waters, approximately 77% support swimming uses and 14% fully support them but are considered threatened. Nutrients and low dissolved oxygen in the Upper Bay and coves are moderate causes of impairment. Combined sewer overflows are the major source of bacteria contamination. CSOs, urban runoff, and municipal discharges are sources of nutrient enrichment problems in the Upper Bay and coves.
The United States Geological Survey maintains a website, USGS Water Resources of Rhode Island. This site is a valuable source of information including current projects, online reports, publications, maps, real-time water conditions, and educational outreach material for teachers and students.
The University of Rhode Island Watershed Watch Program works with local governments, watershed, tribal, and other organizations to assess water quality by recruiting and training volunteers to become citizen scientists. Research centers on long-term ecological monitoring of RI's fresh water and salt water resources, including lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and coastal waters. This comprehensive program provides training, equipment, supplies, and analytical services tailored to organizational needs. Their biennial report summarizes the water quality of over 120 locations with site-specific data available upon request.
Watershed Watch (RISF BWTF lab)
Information on the location or number of storm drains and sewage outfalls in Rhode Island was not readily available. It can be obtained from individual town planning agencies or RIDEM. RIDEM maps storm drains through shoreline surveys for the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. Storm drains are not permanently posted by RIDOH.
In June 2014 Northeast Ocean Data announced the release of easy-to-use interactive maps of water quality data for the northeastern states from New York to Maine. Based on data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the maps display No Discharge Zones, impaired waters, and wastewater discharges. Also shown on the maps are boundaries of watersheds and subwatersheds in the region. To view the water quality maps, go here.
The Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC) has information on their website about the two wastewater treatment facilities operated by the NBC. They are the Field's Point Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) in Providence and the Bucklin Point Wastewater Treatment Facility in East Providence. The Field's Point WWTF is the state's largest and one of the country's oldest wastewater treatment facilities. Its capacity is 200 million gallons per day preliminary and primary treatment and 65 MGD secondary treatment. For flows greater than 65 MGD, only a portion of the wastewater meets the federal Clean Water Act requirement for secondary treatment. Likewise, at Bucklin Point WWTF, there is 50 MGD preliminary and primary and only 31 MGD secondary treatment capacity.
The most popular beaches are in areas generally not affected by wastewater treatment facilities (although there is one combined sewer system in Narragansett Bay). When sewage releases are anticipated due to lack of sewer collection system or treatment plant capacity, either RIDEM or RIDOH must provide affected towns with a 24-hour warning. The protocol then calls for the town to close the beach upon notification.
An article in the Providence Journal in August 2011 stated that the city of Newport had entered into a consent decree that will require it to eliminate illegal discharges of sewage into Narragansett Bay and prevent contaminated storm-water runoff at Easton’s Beach (First Beach). The primary culprit at First Beach is a stream that crosses beneath Memorial Boulevard and empties onto the beach, carrying runoff tainted with what is suspected to be animal feces. The city recently addressed the problem by completing construction of a $5.7-million plant that, after heavy rains, treats the runoff with ultraviolet light, which kills harmful bacteria. The larger and more difficult problem is ending discharges of raw sewage into the Bay. As noted above, when heavy rains overwhelm the wastewater system with runoff, overflows carrying raw sewage are dumped. There is no single fix to eliminate the problem. The consent decree calls for preventing the flow of rainwater into the sewage system by identifying and removing connections to storm-water pipes and replacing leaky pipes.
There are two wastewater treatment facility sewage outfall pipes of concern to coastal recreational users in southern Rhode Island. Both are found in Narragansett approximately 1,000 feet offshore in about 40 feet of water (at mean low water): one off of Scarborough Beach and the other off of Monahan's Pier. There are a few noteworthy reasons to be concerned about their locale. First, each pipe lies just south of licensed state and town beaches (respectively) that are packed with summer crowds from June through August. Second, they are close to at least 10 surfing spots. The fact that these two pipes lie within permanently closed shellfishing areas also leads to concern about the integrity of water quality in the area.
The State of the State's Waters (these are now called Integrated Water Quality Reports) report (2004) noted the following:
Following a public investment of over $284 million in federal funds and over $64 million in state funds for construction of wastewater treatment systems, the majority of the larger direct dischargers into Rhode Island waters, which are municipal wastewater plants, are now operating reliably with respect to conventional treatment. Programs to regulate direct discharges and industrial pretreatment have been generally effective in controlling and often reducing toxic pollutant loadings to surface waters. Continued vigilance and effective enforcement within these programs is needed to ensure the long-term protection of water quality.
While wastewater treatment has significantly improved over the past decade, water quality degradation due to combined sewer overflows (CSOs) remains a longstanding major concern. CSOs continue to cause bacterial contamination of the Upper Narragansett Bay. In addition, DEM has more recently determined that both CSOs and treated discharges are contributing to a nutrient enrichment problem in the Upper Bay. This water quality problem, while not fully characterized, indicates that nutrients are linked to adverse impacts of reduced dissolved oxygen levels.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Office of Water Resources has now added a 2006 State of the State's Waters Report, a 2008 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report and a 2010 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report.
While the NBC has been recognized nationally for its environmental achievements to improve the condition of Narragansett Bay and its contributing waterways, it still must address another significant source of water degradation, the combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls. Each year, the 66 CSOs in the NBC District release an estimated 2.2 billion gallons of untreated combined sewage into the Bay and its tributaries, namely the Blackstone, Moshassuck, Providence, Seekonk, Woonasquatucket, and West Rivers. CSOs pose pollution and public health risks since they comprise residential, commercial and industrial wastes, and other pollution washed or dumped into storm drains. These overflows carry pollutants in the form of sewage solids, metals, oil, grease and bacteria which can affect the health of those who swim in CSO polluted water or eat shellfish contaminated by these materials. To protect human health in Rhode Island, certain areas of the bay are permanently closed to shellfishing, and over 11,000 acres are temporarily closed for harvesting when there is more than one-half inch of rainfall.
The first construction contract for the CSO program was awarded in 2001 and eleven contracts have been successfully completed since that time. The Phase I facilities include the tunnel, and tunnel pump station. Start-up of the facilities began in October 2008 and millions of gallons of combined water and wastewater that would have gone straight into Narragansett Bay were treated. FY 2009 represents a historical achievement for NBC with the launch of the CSO Phase I Facilities.
The CSO Phase II Facilities are the second phase of the three phase federally mandated CSO Abatement Program. NBC has begun design of the Phase II Facilities in order to ensure compliance with the Consent Agreement with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and to meet additional regulatory milestones related to CSO abatement. Preliminary design of the Phase II Facilities was completed and submitted for RIDEM review in August 2008. NBC is required to submit final design within one year of approval by RIDEM.
The CSO Phase II Facilities consist of the construction of two interceptors to reduce the discharge from combined sewer overflows at approximately 17 active combined overflow locations during and after wet weather events. The interceptors will be located along the Seekonk and Woonasquatucket Rivers, and will convey flows to the Main Spine Tunnel constructed as part of Phase I. The Woonasquatucket Interceptor will be 19,150 feet long and the Seekonk Interceptor will be 11,200 feet long. This project also includes two sewer separation projects in Providence as well as a constructed wetlands treatment facility in Central Falls.
In April 2013 the New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) published the results of the first comprehensive look at where, how often and how much sewage from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) flows into New England waterways. NECIR's research indicated that in 2011, approximately 1.2 billion gallons of sewage water spilled through 58 pipes throughout Rhode Island. The NECIR investigation determined more than 7 billion gallons spewed into waterways across New England, the first such compilation of an annual total. More info.
The citizens of Rhode Island passed a $19M bond in the November 2004 elections that will provide money to upgrade local wastewater treatment facilities and provide municipalities grants to deal with stormwater discharges. As part of the stormwater grant program, beaches have been identified as a top priority.
In February 2007 the USEPA's New England Regional Office ordered the Narragansett Bay Commission and the Cities of Providence, Barrington, Smithfield, Cranston and Bristol to take steps to stop harmful Sanitary Sewage Overflows (SSOs) from entering state waterways. EPA plans to use a variety of compliance techniques to make all of Rhode Island's wastewater utilities and municipalities with wastewater systems aware of the harmful effects of SSOs, and to get them to take action to fix any problems found. EPA has launched a website to provide more information on preventing SSOs, including links to future workshop information.
Up to 1 million gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Woonasquatucket River in upper Narragansett Bay in February 2005 when a sewer pipe that was slated to be replaced either collapsed or suffered a blockage. The Narragansett Bay Commission is spending several hundred million dollars on a massive tunnel that will collect stormwater overflows and hopefully eliminate storm-induced sewage overflows.
A sewer spill that was variously estimated at between 1 and 4 million gallons occurred in Bristol in November 2005 after sewage pumps failed. The state Department of Environmental Management closed waters in Bristol Harbor and surrounding Hog Island to shellfish harvesting for several days until test results indicated the areas could be reopened. At about the same time (a rainstorm two days before Thanksgiving), the rain caused combined sewer overflows that impacted several neighborhoods in Newport.
In March 2011 the state Department of Environmental Management announced that letters would soon be sent to over 1,100 Sakonnet area residents (and thousands more around the state) alerting them that their cesspools must be inspected within six months. Those that flunk must be replaced within a year — or less if that cesspool is deemed a threat to public health. On the list are people whose homes are served by cesspools and are located within 200 feet of coastal/tidal waters, public drinking water wells and reservoirs. The action stems from the Rhode Island Cesspool Act of 2007 which requires replacement of failed cesspools located near the water.
A cesspool is essentially just a covered pit that receives wastewater and allows it to drain into the surrounding soil. Cesspools located near drinking water wells or near bodies of water used for recreation have the potential to contaminate these waters. Rhode Island banned cesspools in new construction in 1968, but there are an estimated 25,000 or so still actively in use, including nearly a thousand in high-risk areas, such as on the coast. The Rhode Island Cesspool Act of 2007 requires all cesspools within 200 feet of the Ocean State shoreline to be removed by Jan. 1, 2014. Using geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and combing through septic system permits and sewer connection documents, the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) was able to identify 945 cesspools operating within 200 feet of the coast, a public well or public drinking-water supply. Of the 945 in violation, 504 of the properties had replaced their cesspools with a an onsite wastewater treatment system — likely a septic system — or had connected to public sewer by late February 2014, according DEM. Of the remaining properties, more than 300 were in the permitting pipeline to be replaced. The remaining 100 or so properties are in violation. Read more.
The RI Coastal Resources Management Council has developed a Clean Marina Program with the RI Marine Trades Association, RI Department of Environmental Management, and Save The Bay to protect the state’s coastal waters and benefit the marina industry in Rhode Island. These groups will be holding a series of public workshops in May in an effort to educate the public on the program.
The Clean Marina Program is a voluntary initiative designed to reward marinas that go beyond regulatory requirements by applying innovative pollution prevention best management practices (BMPs) to their day-to-day operations.
A Rhode Island Operations and Maintenance Guide for Marinas, a Rhode Island Clean Marina Guidebook and a Rhode Island Clean Marina Certification Checklist have been developed by the CRMC and RI Sea Grant as tools to assist marinas toward becoming RI Clean Marinas. Marinas that achieve this status will be presented the RI Clean Marina Award and other highly publicized incentives to distinguish them as top tier “green” businesses that offer clean, safe, and environmentally friendly facilities.
Rhode Island CMC policies with regard to Recreational Boating Facilities (adopted April 2007) can be found here.
Information regarding No Discharge Areas (NDA) in Rhode Island and elsewhere in New England can be found on EPA's website.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
Office of Water Resources
235 Promenade Street
Providence, RI 02908
Phone: (401) 222-3961
Alicia Good, PE
Chief, Surface Water Protection
Angelo Liberti, PE
Chief, Groundwater and Wetlands Protection
Russell Chateauneuf, PE
RIDOH has the following information on their beach water quality monitoring Website:
Easton's Beach, Atlantic Beach Club Beach and Scarborough State Beach: The Department of Health discourages swimming, surfing and other full body contact activities at these beaches for a minimum of 24-hours after heavy rainfall. Heavy rains and discharges from stormwater drains directly affect these waters. As a result, these waters may contain high levels of harmful bacteria that may cause illness after a heavy rain.
Portsmouth Park and Island Park: The Department of Environmental Management has documented evidence of human sewage in storm drain outfalls and groundwater seeps along the shorelines of Portsmouth Park and Island Park. Though available water quality data at nearby offshore monitoring stations located in the Sakonnet River and the southern portion of "The Cove" indicates safe swimming conditions, these sources are variable in nature and may cause localized areas of contamination, the extent of which is unknown. Consistent with established HEALTH policy not to swim within 200 feet of stormwater discharges, it is advised that individuals also avoid swimming in the vicinity of areas where water seeps from the ground. Because the waters potentially affected cannot be explicitly defined, the shellfish closure area may be used as a guide. Generally described, these areas include the Sakonnet River offshore of Portsmouth Park from Morningside Lane northeast to the point at Stonebridge and for Island Park, the southern portion of the Cove, commonly referred to as "Blue Bill Cove".
Statewide: The Department of Health discourages water contact in areas within 200 feet of a running storm drain. These waters may contain high levels of harmful bacteria, which may cause illness.
Upper Narragansett Bay: The Department of Health discourages swimming and other full body contact activities north of Conimicut Point. These waters are directly affected by pollution inputs due to heavy rains and discharges from area wastewater treatment facilities. Water contact should be avoided for a minimum of 3 days after heavy rainfall.
Drainage and other improvements under way at Bristol Town Beach are expected to greatly reduce pollution sources from washing into Narragansett Bay. This “environmentally innovative,” project is being hailed as a model of how to green a public park by the EPA. The entire parking lot was torn up during summer 2010 and redesigned to have the storm water slope down into several spots, called ‘rain gardens.’ The water collects into these rain gardens planted with wildflowers and flowering shrubs, and then flows through a perforated drain underneath the plantings that directs the storm water underneath the parking lot to a retention pond built near the lower girls’ softball field. The pond filters contaminants from the runoff and allows it to naturally flow to wetlands along the shore.
To minimize Health Department closures of the beaches, Middletown is moving ahead with a $3.2-million project to extend an outfall pipe into the bay to discharge storm water from the southernmost end of town. All of the storm water from the neighborhood will flow to a pipe sticking out of the bluff below. The pipe will then be extended out into the bay, to waters averaging about 7 feet deep at low tide. The new 18-inch pipe will end in an 80-foot-long diffuser that will promote dilution of the runoff with seawater. Its primary purpose is to catch “the first flush,” the earliest and dirtiest runoff from a heavy rainstorm. A second pipe, 36 inches in diameter, will extend slightly more than half the distance of the 18-inch pipe, 280 feet off shore. It will carry overflow runoff that follows the “first flush” — cleaner water that will be discharged without a diffuser and into waters two feet shallower. The bluff around the two pipes will be reinforced with stone.
A UV stormwater treatment facility was installed to improve water quality at Newport's Easton's Beach in time for summer 2011. The plant cost $5.7 million, with the city using $3.7 million in grants and awards to help pay for it. In addition, the city pays its contractor, United Water, $150,000 to operate it, and $30,000 for electricity to power it. The plant is capable of processing 62 million gallons of water a day. That’s good enough to handle all of the watershed’s runoff from 1.2 inches of rainfall within 24 hours, which is 97 percent of all storms.
Watershed Counts is a broad coalition of agencies and organizations that have committed to work together to examine and report regularly on the condition of the land and water resources of the Narragansett Bay Watershed Region. The coalition's first report (2011) featured information on five key indicators (climate change, impervious cover, beach closures, fresh water flow and invasive species). In 2012, indicators were added for marine water quality, freshwater quality, open space and resource economics. These indicators will be used to describe the condition of the watershed region and then to communicate this information to the public and decision makers in order to inform and guide future management and development of the watershed. The indicators consider the region's interwoven economic and environmental assets. Here is the 2013 report.
Rhode Island completed the Greenwich Bay Special Area Management Plan in 2005. The intent of this plan is to limit development on Greenwich Bay and improve water quality, recreation and fish harvests. As part of the plan CRMC was able to reclassify waters in Apponaug and Warwick Coves from Type 3 to Type 1 and 2. This reclassification restricts marina expansion and other development along the reclassified shorelines. The objectives of the plan include:
The University of Rhode Island's Sea Grant program managed the effort to write the plan, with federal funds awarded in 2002.
The Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan (Ocean SAMP) will serve as a federally recognized coastal management and regulatory tool. Using the best available science, the Ocean SAMP will provide a balanced approach to the development and protection of Rhode Island's ocean-based resources.
Rhode Island employs a variety of methods to educate the public about water quality issues, including brochures, the RIDOH beach monitoring website, signs, maps, and through information included in press releases.
Some municipalities have held public information meetings to inform residents about pollution prevention and non-point source pollution. As an example, the town of Smithfield held a public information meeting on January 28, 2003 about new U.S. EPA and Rhode Island Department of Management regulations that will affect municipalities, residents, and businesses.
Rhode Island's state beaches are going smoke-free. The RI Department of Environmental Management and the RI Department of Health are taking this step to curb litter on state beaches and to protect children and wildlife from the risks and ramifications of smoking on the beach. They ask for your participation in helping to keep the beaches clean, healthy, and smoke-free.
The University of Rhode Island Outreach Center has partnered with the RI Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) to develop new approaches to landscape management in coastal areas in Rhode Island. The goal of the Coastal Landscapes Program is to create a climate of cooperation among property owners, landscapes, and other green industry professionals, and State regulatory agencies to protect environmental quality and encourage environmental stewardship in Rhode Island.
EPA has compiled several NPS (Nonpoint Source) Outreach Products that are a selection of television, radio, and print products on nonpoint source pollution that have been developed by various agencies and organizations around the country. They are good examples of outreach in the mass media. Also see What You Can Do.
NOAA, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International City/County Management Association and Rhode Island Sea Grant, will be releasing, in August 2009, a first-of-its kind interagency guide that adapts smart growth principles to the unique needs of coastal and waterfront communities. Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities builds on existing smart growth principles to offer 10 coastal and waterfront-specific guidelines that help manage development while balancing environmental, economic, and quality of life issues.
USGS' Great Lakes Beach Science website has a nationwide database that contains greater than 1200 citations for publications directly and indirectly pertaining to recreational water quality intended for access by the general public and scientific community. It is a fully searchable, downloadable bibliography that has been categorized into major study topics.
|State of the Beach Report: Rhode Island|
|Rhode Island Home||Beach Description||Beach Access||Water Quality||Beach Erosion||Erosion Response||Beach Fill||Shoreline Structures||Beach Ecology||Surfing Areas||Website|
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Stress is a normal part of life. The body's stress responses are your first line of defense in life-threatening situations, and many of the effects of stress—such as increased alertness, resiliency, and adaptation—are positive and have allowed our species to survive and evolve over time. However, prolonged stress is another story.
Persistent reactions to stress can lead to:
- Health conditions such as high blood pressure
- Suppression of the immune system
- Negative impact on school or work performance
Understanding how to identify and control your reactions to stress can lessen its negative impact. Learning to be aware of and control your stress responses takes intention, awareness, and practice over time.
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The Book of Ruth is the eighth book of the Bible. It is unusual in that it does not explicitly discuss miracles, prophets, national politics or conquest, or moral commandments. Instead it is the short, simple story of a Moabite woman, her Jewish mother-in-law, and the man she seduces in order to escape poverty. It appears that this book was included in the Bible largely because Ruth is claimed to be a great-grandmother of David.
Naomi's husband Elimelech and her sons Mahlon and Chilion die while their family is living in Moab. Naomi decides to return to her home town of Bethlehem, which her family had left during a famine years previously. Of her Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah returns to her people, but Ruth accompanies Naomi, whom she loves very much.
Ruth, being without a husband or father to rely upon, goes out into the fields to gather the leftovers during the barley harvest. Boaz, the owner of one of these fields, takes notice of her and encourages her to come to his fields to gather and to eat some of his bread. Ruth returns to her home with Naomi, who tells Ruth that Boaz is one of her relatives (since widows are rarely virgins, one of their only ways of remarrying at this time would have been to find a man from their dead husband's family to marry).
Naomi encourages Ruth to improve her lot by marrying Boaz, and tells her how to seduce him. She sneaks up to him, waits for him to eat and drink and go to sleep, then sneaks up to him and uncovers him. He tells her to stay the night with him, but that she has a closer relative that he will have to check with before taking her for a wife. In the morning Ruth brings a present of barley back to Naomi.
The closer relative that Boaz mentioned wants Elimelech's field, but doesn't want to take Ruth as a wife, in part because he's concerned about the inheritance of his other children could be threatened by any children of Ruth. He then gives Boaz his shoe because that's the customary way of displaying that he has handed over any rights to Elimelech's stuff. Boaz therefore buys Elimelech's property from Naomi, including the daughter-in-law Ruth. Ruth has a son, Obed (David's paternal grandfather), whom Naomi nurses as her own.
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- shark (n.)
- 1560s, of uncertain origin; apparently the word and the first specimen were brought to London by Capt. John Hawkins's second expedition (landed 1565; see Hakluyt).
There is no proper name for it that I knowe, but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a 'sharke' [handbill advertising an exhibition of the specimen, 1569]
The meaning "dishonest person who preys on others," though attested only from 1599 (sharker "artful swindler" in this sense is from 1594), may be the original sense, later transferred to the large, voracious marine fish. If so, it is possibly from German Schorck, a variant of Schurke "scoundrel, villain," agent noun of Middle High German schürgen (German schüren) "to poke, stir."
But on another theory, the English word is from a Mayan word, xoc, which might have meant "shark." Northern Europeans seem not to have been familiar with sharks before voyages to the tropics began. A slightly earlier name for it in English was tiburon, via Spanish (where it is attested by 1520s), from the Carib name for the fish.
The English word was applied (or re-applied) to voracious or predatory persons, on the image of the fish, from 1707 (originally of pick-pockets); loan shark is attested from 1905. Sharkskin (1851) was used for binding books, etc. As the name of a type of fabric held to resemble it, it is recorded from 1932.
There is the ordinary Brown Shark, or sea attorney, so called by sailors; a grasping, rapacious varlet, that in spite of the hard knocks received from it, often snapped viciously at our steering oar. [Herman Melville, "Mardi"]
- shark (v.)
- c. 1600, "to live by one's wits," of uncertain origin (see shark (n.)); according to OED, at least partly a variant of shirk. Meaning "obtain by sharking" is from 1610s. Related: Sharked; sharking.
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Saturdays for success: How supplementary education can support pupils from all backgrounds to flourishPublished Thu 17 Sep 2015
The more diverse Britain becomes, the more scope there is for mainstream schools to take advantage of, and benefit from, the extensive network of between 3,000 and 5,000 supplementary schools that exists in the country. These community-led out-of-school educational programmes, set up largely by migrant and ethnic minority communities, have widespread support from parents and communities, and offer a personalised and informal learning environment that complements mainstream education, covering areas including the core curriculum, languages, and cultural activities.
At their best, these supplementary schools offer children and young adults a rich learning experience, providing personalised learning with strong pupil–teacher engagement, and giving young people the means to explore complex questions of identity, engage with role models from similar backgrounds, and develop networks of peer support.
In this report we recommend greater complementarity and coordination between the mainstream education system and these thriving supplementary schools. This would make some mainstream schools better prepared and equipped to deal with the pressures that come with catering for a diverse student body, and further the government’s commitments to community- and parent-led approaches to education, and to greater diversity and autonomy within the schools system.
We call for more mainstream schools to, through engagement with supplementary schools, become active players in their communities. In doing so, they can raise the capacity of those communities, and of parents, to take ownership over their children’s education. They can help ensure that out-of-school learning and enrichment opportunities are high-quality, and open and accessible to all pupils, particularly those who need them the most.
This report sets out a roadmap for how mainstream schools can build on and engage with supplementary education, where there is a high-quality local offer. We suggest three modes of engagement with supplementary schools:
- mapping supplementary school uptake
- greater coordination with, and referral to, supplementary schools
- cooperative programming with supplementary schools.
Making supplementary schools work for your school
IPPR has also produced a summary of the research presented in this report, tailored specifically for headteachers and other education professionals in primary and secondary schools.
Entitled ‘Making supplementary schools work for your school’, it considers the challenges facing mainstream schools, asks how those schools and their pupils can benefit from supplementary schools, and suggests how they can best work together.
You can read this leaflet below, and download it here.
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WHERE ARE THEY?
Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites populate diverse ecological niches from the human body to the extreme conditions of arctic ice or thermal vents in the deep ocean.
The human body contains more bacteria than human cells. In fact, our lives would not be possible without them. The gut, for example, contains a dense bacterial ecosystem, with numbers as high as 100 trillion bacteria in total. This ecosystem assembles from birth through the first weeks of life. These microbiota manufacture some essential vitamins, provide us with nutrients, help to educate our immune systems, and crowd out potentially harmful species.
Various bacteria and fungal species are also responsible for fermentation in food, environmental remediation, and breakdown of organic waste.
Relatively few species are outright pathogens – organisms that trigger acute or chronic disease. However, some species that are harmless in the gut or on the skin can cause problems if they invade the blood or vital organs.
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In 1861, Thomas Graham’s investigations on diffusion led him to classify substances as crystalloids or colloids based on their ability to diffuse through a parchment membrane. Crystalloids passed readily through the membrane, whereas colloids (from the Greek word for glue) did not. Intravenous fluids are similarly classified based on their ability to pass through barriers separating body fluid compartments, particularly the one between intravascular and extravascular (interstitial) fluid compartments. This chapter describes the salient features of crystalloid and colloid fluids, both individually and as a group. This is a must-know topic in the care of hospitalized patients, and several reviews are included at the end of the chapter to supplement the text.
The principal component of crystalloid fluids is the inorganic salt sodium chloride (NaCl). Sodium is the most abundant solute in the extracellular fluids, and it is distributed uniformly throughout the extracellular space. Because 75 to 80% of the extracellular fluids are located in the extravascular (interstitial) space, a similar proportion of the total body sodium is in the interstitial fluids. Exogenously administered sodium follows the same distribution, so 75 to 80% of the volume of sodium-based intravenous fluids are distributed in the interstitial space. This means that the predominant effect of volume resuscitation with crystalloid fluids is to expand the interstitial volume rather than the plasma volume.
As indicated by the horizontal bar that is second from the top, infusion of 1 L of 0.9% sodium chloride (isotonic saline) adds 275 mL to the plasma volume and 825 mL to the interstitial volume. Note that the total volume expansion (1100 mL) is slightly greater than the infused volume. This is the result of a fluid shift from the intracellular to extracellular space, which occurs because isotonic saline is actually hypertonic to the extracellular fluids.
The prototype crystalloid fluid is 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl), also called isotonic saline or normal saline. The latter term is inappropriate because a one normal (1 N) NaCl solution contains 58 g NaCl per liter (the combined molecular weights of sodium and chloride), whereas isotonic (0.9%) NaCl contains only 9 g NaCl per liter.
The pH of isotonic saline is also considerably lower than the plasma pH. These differences are rarely of any clinical significance.
The chloride content of isotonic saline is particularly high relative to plasma (154 mEq/L versus 103 mEq/L, respectively), so hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis is a potential risk with large-volume isotonic saline resuscitation. Hyperchloremia has been reported, but acidosis is rare.
Ringer’s solution was introduced in 1880 by Sydney Ringer, a British physician and research investigator who studied mechanisms of cardiac contraction. The solution was designed to promote the contraction of isolated frog hearts, and contained calcium and potassium in a sodium chloride diluent. In the 1930s, an American pediatrician named Alexis Hartmann proposed the addition of sodium lactate buffer to Ringer’s solution for the treatment of metabolic acidoses. The lactated Ringer’s solution, also known as Hartmann’s solution, gradually gained in popularity and eventually replaced the standard Ringer’s solution for routine intravenous therapy.
Lactated Ringer’s solution contains potassium and calcium in concentrations that approximate the free (ionic) concentrations in plasma. The addition of these cations requires a reduction in sodium concentration for electrical neutrality, so lactated Ringer’s solution has less sodium than isotonic saline. The addition of lactate (28 mEq/L) similarly requires a reduction in chloride concentration, and the chloride in lactated Ringer’s more closely approximates plasma chloride levels than does isotonic saline.
Despite the differences in composition, there is no evidence that lactated Ringer’s provides any benefit over isotonic saline. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the lactate in Ringer’s solution provides any buffer effect.
The calcium in lactated Ringer’s can bind to certain drugs and reduce their bioavailability and efficacy. Of particular note is calcium binding to the citrated anticoagulant in blood products. This can inactivate the anticoagulant and promote the formation of clots in donor blood. For this reason, lactated Ringer’s solution is contraindicated as a diluent for blood transfusions.
NORMOSOL OR PLASMA-LYTE
The major feature of these solutions is the added buffer capacity, which gives them a pH that is equivalent to that of plasma. An additional feature is the addition of magnesium, which may provide some benefit in light of the high incidence of magnesium depletion in hospitalized patients.
Magnesium administration can promote hypermagnesemia in renal insufficiency and can counteract compensatory vasoconstriction and promote hypotension in low flow states.
Dextrose is a common additive in intravenous solutions, for reasons that are unclear. A 5% dextrose-in-water solution is not an effective volume expander. The use of 5% dextrose solutions was originally intended to supply nonprotein calories and thus provide a protein-sparing effect. However, total enteral and parenteral nutrition is now the standard of care for providing daily energy requirements, and the use of 5% dextrose solutions to provide calories is obsolete.
A 5% dextrose solution (50 g dextrose per liter) provides 170 kcal per liter (3.4 kcal/g dextrose).
The addition of dextrose to intravenous fluids increases osmolarity (50 g of dextrose adds 278 mosm to an intravenous fluid) and creates a hypertonic infusion when 5% dextrose is added to lactated Ringer’s solution (525 mOsm/L) or isotonic saline (560 mOsm/L). If glucose use is impaired (as is common in critically ill patients), the infused glucose accumulates and creates an undesirable osmotic force that can promote cell dehydration.
Other undesirable effects of glucose infusions in critically ill patients include enhanced CO2 production (which can be a burden in ventilator-dependent patients), enhanced lactate production, and aggravation of ischemic brain injury.
The proportion of a glucose load that contributes to lactate formation can increase from 5% in healthy subjects to 85% in critically ill patients. This can produce an increase in circulating lactate levels, even when infusing 5% dextrose solutions. Patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery were given either a Ringer’s solution or a 5% dextrose solution intraoperatively to maintain normal cardiac filling pressures. As shown, the 5% dextrose infusions were associated with a 125% increase in arterial lactate levels (from 1.85 to 4.15 mmol/L). Thus, in patients with circulatory compromise, abnormal glucose metabolism can transform glucose from a source of useful energy to a source of toxin production.
The disadvantages noted above, when combined with a lack of documented benefit, favor the recommendation that the routine use of 5% dextrose infusions be abandoned in critically ill patients.
As mentioned earlier, colloids are large molecules that do not pass across diffusional barriers as readily as crystalloids. Colloid fluids infused into the vascular space therefore have a greater tendency to stay put and enhance the plasma volume than do crystalloid fluids. The colloid fluid in this case is 5% albumin, and as demonstrated, the plasma expansion with this colloid fluid is nearly twice that produced by an equivalent volume of isotonic saline (500 mL versus 275 mL, respectively). This is the principal benefit of colloid fluid resuscitation: more effective resuscitation of plasma volume than that produced by crystalloid fluids. Much of this potency is related to the colloid osmotic pressure exerted by each fluid.
COLLOID OSMOTIC PRESSURE
Large solute molecules that do not move freely across barriers separating fluid compartments create a force that draws water into the large solute compartment. This force opposes the hydrostatic pressure (which favors the movement of water out of a fluid compartment) and is called the colloid osmotic pressure (COP) or oncotic pressure. As would be expected, the ability of each fluid to expand the plasma volume is directly related to the COP; that is, the higher the COP, the greater the volume expansion. If the COP of a colloid fluid is greater than the COP of plasma (i.e., greater than 25 mm Hg), the plasma volume expansion exceeds the infused volume. The 25% albumin solution, which has a COP of 70 mm Hg and a plasma volume expansion that is 4 to 5 times the infused volume.
Albumin is a transport protein that is responsible for 75% of the oncotic pressure of plasma. Heat-treated preparations of human serum albumin are commercially available in a 5% solution (50 g/L) and a 25% solution (250 g/L) in an isotonic saline diluent. The 25% solution is given in small volumes (50 to 100 mL) and because the accompanying sodium load is small, 25% albumin is also called salt-poor albumin.
A 5% albumin solution (50 g/L or 5 g/dL) has a COP of 20 mm Hg and thus is similar in oncotic activity to plasma. Approximately half of the infused volume of 5% albumin stays in the vascular space. The oncotic effects of albumin last 12 to 18 hours.
The 25% albumin solution has a COP of 70 mm Hg and expands the plasma volume by 4 to 5 times the volume infused. Thus, infusion of 100 mL of 25% albumin can increase the plasma volume 400 to 500 mL. This plasma volume expansion occurs at the expense of the interstitial fluid volume, so 25% albumin should not be used for volume resuscitation in hypovolemia. It is intended for shifting fluid from the interstitial space to the vascular space in hypoproteinemic conditions, although the wisdom of this application is questionable.
Because albumin preparations are heat-treated, there is no risk of viral transmission (including human immunodeficiency virus). Allergic reactions are rare, and although coagulopathies can occur, most are dilutional and not accompanied by bleeding.
Hetastarch is a synthetic colloid available as a 6% solution in isotonic saline. It contains amylopectin molecules that vary in size from a few hundred to over a million daltons. The average molecular weight of the starch molecules is equivalent to that of albumin, and the colloid effects are equivalent to those of 5% albumin. The main advantage of hetastarch over albumin is its lower cost.
Hetastarch is slightly more potent than 5% albumin as a colloid. It has a higher COP than 5% albumin (30 versus 20 mm Hg, respectively) and causes a greater plasma volume expansion (up to 30% greater than the infused volume). It also has a long elimination half-life (17 days), but this is misleading because the oncotic effects of hetastarch disappear within 24 hours.
Hetastarch molecules are constantly cleaved by amylase enzymes in the bloodstream before their clearance by the kidneys. Serum amylase levels are often elevated (2 to 3 times above normal levels) for the first few days after hetastarch infusion, and return to normal at 5 to 7 days after fluid therapy. This hyperamylasemia should not be mistaken for early pancreatitis. Serum lipase levels remain normal, which is an important distinguishing feature.
Anaphylactic reactions to hetastarch are decidedly rare (incidence as low as 0.0004%). Laboratory test coagulopathy (prolonged partial thromboplastin time from an interaction with Factor VIII) can occur, but is not accompanied by bleeding. Coagulopathy claims have dogged hetastarch for years, without evidence of hetastarch-induced bleeding.
Pentastarch is a low-molecular-weight-derivative of hetastarch that is available as a 10% solution in isotonic saline. Although it is not currently approved for clinical use in the United States, there is considerable evidence indicating that pentastarch is an effective and safe plasma volume expander.
Pentastarch contains smaller but more numerous starch molecules than hetastarch, and thus has a higher colloid osmotic pressure. It is more effective as a volume expander than hetastarch, and can increase plasma volume by 1.5 times the infusion volume. The oncotic effects dissipate after 12 hours. Pentastarch shows less of a tendency to interact with coagulation proteins than hetastarch, but the significance of this tendency is unclear.
The dextrans are glucose polymers produced by a bacterium (Leuconostoc) incubated in a sucrose medium. First introduced in the 1940s, these colloids are not popular (at least in the United States) because of the perceived risk of adverse reactions. The two most common dextran preparations are 10% dextran-40 and 6% dextran-70, both diluted in isotonic saline.
Both dextran preparations are hyperoncotic to plasma (COP = 40 mm Hg). Dextran-40 causes a larger increase in plasma volume than dextran-70, but the effects last only a few hours. Dextran-70 is the preferred preparation because of its prolonged action.
Dextrans produce a dose-related bleeding tendency by inhibiting platelet aggregation, reducing activation of Factor VIII, and promoting fibrinolysis. The hemostatic defects are minimized by limiting the daily dextran dose to 20 mL/kg.
Anaphylactic reactions were originally reported in as many as 5% of patients receiving dextran infusions. However, this has improved considerably in the last 20 years because of improvements in antigen detection and desensitization and improvements in preparation purity. The current incidence of anaphylaxis is 0.032%.
Dextrans coat the surface of red blood cells and can interfere with the ability to cross-match blood. Red cell preparations must be washed to eliminate this problem. Dextrans also increase the erythrocyte sedimentation rate as a result of their interactions with red blood cells.
Finally, dextrans have been implicated as a cause of acute renal failure. The proposed mechanism is a hyperoncotic state with reduced filtration pressure. However, this mechanism is unproven, and renal failure occurs only rarely in association with dextran infusions.
There is considerable disagreement about the most appropriate fluid for volume resuscitation in critically ill patients. The following is a brief description of the issues involved in the colloid-crystalloid debate.
Because crystalloid fluids fill primarily the interstitial space, these fluids are not useful for filling the vascular space. The early popularity of crystalloid fluid resuscitation in hypovolemia stems from two observations made about 40 years ago. The first is the response to mild hemorrhage, which involves a shift of fluid from the interstitial space to the vascular space. The second observation stems from studies in an animal model of hemorrhagic shock, where survival was much improved if a crystalloid fluid was given along with reinfusion of the shed blood volume. The combination of these two observations has been interpreted as indicating that the major consequence of hemorrhage is an interstitial fluid deficit, and that replacement of interstitial fluid with crystalloid fluids is important for survival.
The interstitial fluid deficit is predominant only when blood loss is mild (less than 15% of the blood volume), and in this situation, no volume resuscitation is necessary (because the body is capable of fully compensating for the loss of blood volume). When blood loss is more severe, the priority is to keep the vascular space filled and thereby support the cardiac output. Because colloid fluids are about three times more potent than crystalloid fluids for increasing vascular volume and supporting the cardiac output, colloid fluids are more effective than crystalloid fluids for volume resuscitation in moderate to severe blood loss. Crystalloid resuscitation can achieve the same endpoint as colloid resuscitation, but larger volumes of crystalloid fluid (about three times the volume of colloid fluids) must be used. This latter approach is less efficient, yet it is the one favored by crystalloid users.
Despite the superiority of colloid fluids for expanding plasma volume, colloid fluid resuscitation does not confer a higher survival rate in patients with hypovolemic shock. This lack of improved outcomes is a major rallying point for crystalloid users, but it does not negate the fact that colloid fluids are more effective for maintaining blood volume in patients who are actively bleeding.
The biggest disadvantage of colloid resuscitation is the higher cost of colloid fluids. Using equivalent volumes of 250 mL for colloid fluids and 1000 mL for crystalloid fluids, the cost of colloid resuscitation is three times as high (if hetastarch is used) to six times as high (if albumin is used) than volume resuscitation with isotonic saline.
The risk of edema has been used to discredit each type of fluid. Because crystalloid fluids distribute primarily in the interstitial space, edema is an expected feature of crystalloid fluid resuscitation. However, edema is also a risk with colloid fluid resuscitation. This is particularly true with albumin-containing fluids; even though albumin is the principal oncotic force in plasma, over half of the albumin in the human body is in the interstitial fluid. Therefore, a large proportion of infused albumin eventually finds its way into the interstitial fluid and promotes edema. Furthermore, this egress of albumin from the bloodstream is magnified when capillary permeability is disrupted, which is a common occurrence in critically ill patients. Despite this risk, troublesome edema (e.g., pulmonary edema) is not common with either type of fluid resuscitation when capillary hydrostatic pressure is not excessive.
The following analogy helped me resolve the colloid-crystalloid conundrum. Assume that the goal is to recreate the performance of crystalloid and colloid fluids in expanding the plasma volume by filling a bucket. Because the volume of crystalloid fluids needed to expand the plasma volume (fill the bucket) is three times larger than the volume of colloid fluid that fills the bucket, holes will need to be punched in the bucket while it is filled with crystalloid fluids (to allow the extra fluid to escape). Therefore, the question is this: If the goal is to fill a bucket with fluid, do you want to punch holes in the bucket (and make the bucket more difficult to fill)? Seen in this light, it is more efficient to use colloid fluid resuscitation to expand the plasma volume.
An interesting approach to volume resuscitation that has stalled in recent years is the use of small-volume hypertonic saline solutions. A 7.5% sodium chloride solution is given either in a fixed volume of 250 mL or in a volume of 4 mL/kg. The volume increments in both fluid compartments are similar to those produced by 1 L of 5% albumin. Thus, hypertonic saline resuscitation can produce equivalent volume expansion to colloid fluids, but at one-fourth the infused volume. Note that the total volume expansion (1235 mL) produced by 7.5% saline is far greater than the infused volume (250 mL). The additional volume comes from intracellular fluid that moves out of cells and into the extracellular space. This movement of intracellular fluid points to one of the feared complications of hypertonic resuscitation: cell dehydration.
Since the first report of its successful use in 1980, hypertonic saline has been shown repeatedly (but not unanimously) to be safe and effective in the early resuscitation of hypovolemia. However, there is little evidence that hypertonic resuscitation is superior to standard volume resuscitation. Hypertonic resuscitation seems best suited for prehospital resuscitation in cases of trauma, but studies in trauma resuscitation fail to document a clear benefit with this approach in most patients. Select subgroups of patients (e.g., those with penetrating truncal injuries who required surgery) may benefit from hypertonic resuscitation, but these subgroups are small. Thus, after over 15 years of evaluating this technique, hypertonic resuscitation has few advocates.
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According to German scientists, mild electric stimulation of the brain while asleep improves a person’s memory. Jan Born, a neuroscientist at the University //of Lübeck , Germany and his team conducted a study in which, they applied currents that mimic natural slow oscillating brain waves through electrodes attached to the scalp.
13 medical students who were involved in the study were made to learn a list of paired words in a standard memory test before they slept. Their brain was stimulated while they were asleep. The students were asked to recall the words they had memomorised once they got up.
The findings revealed that without the electric stimulation, the students remembered an average of 37.42 words before sleep and 39.5 words on waking up. On the other hand, electric stimulation increased the average to 41.27 after sleep.
"This is proof that this slow oscillation has a real function during sleep -- to build and consolidate memory," said Born.
"It is an eight percent increase overall. This is a striking increase," he added.
There were no adverse side effects due to the current applied to the frontal cortex of the brain. The scientists reported that the current made the brain move into the deep slow-wave sleep. At this stage, there are normal electric fluctuations in the prefrontal neocortex that is associated with conscious thought and spatial reasoning.
In the study, no memory enhancement was noticed when current applied was of a different frequency or was applied at a different stage of sleep. The reasons are still not clear.
"One plausible theory is that electrical currents of a particular frequency can make brain cells resonate. This strengthens connections between networks of cells, which are the physical representations of memories in the brain, " said Born.
This study was published in the online edition of the journal Nature.
Scientists believe that brain stimulation
could also help people with Alzheimer’s disease.
GT Related medicine news :1
. Improved height from administration of growth hormones2
. Improved procedure to do laproscopic esophagectomy discovered3
. Improved parent-physician communication to prevent hospitalizations for childhood asthma4
. Testicular Cancer Patients Have Improved Reproductive Outcomes After Treatment 5
. Improved cure and activity level seen among patients treated by Vertebroplasty.6
. New Cardiac Angiography Technique For Improved Imaging Of Coronary Veins7
. Minister claims Chinas Epidemic Control System Improved8
. Quality Platelets and Improved Blood Availability No Longer a Pipe Dream9
. Robotic Assisted Knee Replacement Surgery Has Improved Accuracy
. Latest Version of Echocardiography Provides Improved Pictures of the Heart11
. Improved Bone Grafts With Bioactive cement scaffold
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DURING the early 1960s, “Drinka pinta milka day” was a popular advertisement in England. Milk was then a favourite drink also. The milkman used to deliver the fresh bottles outside the front door and collect the empty bottles from there every morning. At the end of the week, he collected the money left at night with the empty bottles. It was a common practice in London at that time. Theft of money left outside for the milkman was never heard of. It was not necessary for a milkman to ring the doorbell either for delivery the bottles or for collection of money.
During a visit to London in the mid 1970s, I was surprised to hear the doorbell ringing in the early morning. I was told my hostess that it was the milkman calling. “Why should a milkman ring the doorbell?” I asked her. “He has come to deliver the milk and collect the money.” She replied. “Don't you leave the money with the empty bottles?” I asked her again. “Those golden days are gone.” She said and added: “There are some youngsters in the locality who not only steal the money but also drink the milk, if left outside the door. So, the milkman rings the bell so that we collect the milk soon after delivery!” The British were so proud of their honesty at one time. I felt so sorry to see how honesty had eroded, at least among a certain group of people, in England.
Very recently, I was surprised to see a different picture in Dhaka. Street side tea shops have become common in the city. While walking in the morning, I have seen several vendors delivering their merchandise to these shops often before the arrival of the shop owners. They leave cakes, biscuits, buns, bananas and other food items at the unattended shops, usually covered by a sack or a plastic sheet. At that time, the roads are normally frequented by garment workers, office goers, domestic helps, drivers, day labourers etc. Out of curiosity, I once I asked a vendor: “Aren't the items stolen sometimes?” He replied politely: “Not to my knowledge, Sir.”
I was pleasantly surprised and felt so proud like the British did in the early days. It shows honesty has not totally eroded from our country. Some people are still honest. They are poor. They soil their hands to earn their livelihood. They don't steal other's properties. They are so different from those who have become rich overnight by defaulting bank loans, extorting money and grabbing others' properties and now live like parasites on the society.
The writer is a former chief engineer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.
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October 23, 2012
- cadre (noun)
- What does it mean?
- 1 : frame, framework2 : a group of people having some unifying relationship
- How do you use it?
- The agent was part of a cadre of international spies.
- Are you a word wiz?
English borrowed "cadre" from another language. Which language do you think that was?The correct answer is D, French. Let's place "cadre" within its historical framework. The word "cadre" was borrowed into English in the early 1800s from the French word "cadre," which meant "framework." That French word came ultimately from the Latin word "quadrum," meaning "square." It's not hard to see the link between "square" and "framework," but how did we get from "framework" to "a unified group of people"? In English, we used the early "framework" meaning to refer to the essential members of a group. These people form the "framework" of that group.
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One of the most remote of the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs), South Georgia is a beautiful and rugged island lying 1600 km north of the Antarctic in the South Atlantic Ocean. With mountain ranges reaching nearly 3000 m, most of its 3755 km² are covered in permanent snow and glaciers, but at low altitude, within the shelter of its numerous bays, there is a sparse covering of herbaceous vegetation. South Georgia is known for its spectacular wildlife and as the final resting place of the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. It is home to over 50 million seabirds, including globally important populations of wandering albatross and macaroni penguins. During the summer months, the beaches and tussac mounds are overrun by 4.5 million fur seals and 0.5 million elephant seals. The Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) manages the island as a pristine wilderness environment with strict bio-security protocols and monitoring of visitors. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is working with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to help the Government protect the native flora and fauna.
South Georgia's flora consists of 25 native species of vascular plants, co-existing with as many introduced species. There are also about 125 species of moss, 85 liverworts and 200 lichens. Woody species are unable to withstand the island's severe weather conditions. The native vegetation resembles that of parts of the Falkland Islands, Tierra del Fuego and southern Patagonia. It is dominated by low herbaceous plants, predominantly in different grassland communities and in mire and bog, mossbank and fellfield. Tussac (Parodiochloa flabellata) grasslands are of particular importance as a habitat for native wildlife and introduced species, including reindeer.
In January 2009, a team from Kew spent 28 days on South Georgia surveying the extent of introduced plant species. The work was undertaken as part of the RSPB's South Atlantic Invasive Species project, aimed at reducing the impact of invasive species in the South Atlantic UKOTs, and was funded by the European Commission through EDF-9. The team was joined by two entomologists from Buglife undertaking a similar survey of invasive insects. The survey team were based offshore on the sailing yacht Seal, which was designed for supporting expeditions in high latitudes. Part of the success of the trip was down to the skill of the Seal's crew, who navigated safely from the Falkland Islands and around the exposed coastline of South Georgia, avoiding icebergs and the severest weather, to ensure that the team covered as much of the island as possible.
The team visited 16 sites and enumerated over 600 random quadrats and transects. They surveyed 24 introduced species, which will be combined with BAS data from the 1970s to map the introduced flora and identify changes. Many of the alien species were introduced by whalers in cattle fodder and are familiar as common weeds in the northern hemisphere. Mouse-eared chickweed (Cerastium fontanum) and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) are now naturalised and are widespread across the island. Other introduced species have persisted without spreading. An example is the curled dock (Rumex crispus), which was documented from one site in Grytviken over 30 years ago and still remains in stasis with no evidence of spreading. Other species had been reported in the past, but were found to have disappeared, apparently unable to cope with the harsh South Georgian winters and short summers. Fur seals have had a significant impact eroding vegetation around the whaling stations and maybe a factor suppressing populations of some introduced plant species. Fur seals were killed for their oil and populations crashed to almost zero. Since the whaling stations were abandoned in the 1960s, the fur seal population has recovered and exploded to over 4.5 million individuals. With new information from the survey, SAISP staff are already helping the Government of SGSSI to eradicate wavy bittercress (Cardamine flexuosa) from the Grytviken area. It is hoped that this work will extend to some of the other introduced plant species that may be able to spread and become naturalised with global warming and the inevitable arrival of non-native insect pollinators.
In addition to the field data on invasives, the team returned with over 130 herbarium specimens for the herbaria of RBG Kew and BAS. They found one species new to South Georgia, narrow oat-grass (Trisetum spicatum).
The team also collected the seeds of 14 native species for ex-situ conservation at the RBG Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. This was achieved with the help of environmentalists and writers Thies and Kicki Matzen, who are based on the famous yacht Wanderer III. They are remaining around South Georgia for a year and aim to collect seeds from the remaining flowering plant species as the fruits mature.
The British Antarctic Survey and the South Georgia Heritage Trust have provided funds for funded the digitization of all the BAS Herbarium specimens for South Georgia and Kew's historical specimens. These images and specimen data will be databased to form part of the UKOTs Online Herbarium, alongside digitised versions of the specimens collected during the most recent fieldwork.
The 2009 survey of invasive plants on South Georgia was undertaken as part of the South Atlantic Invasive Species Project (SAISP), co-ordinated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and funded by the European Commission through EDF-9.
Herbarium specimens from South Georgia are being digitized to form part of the UKOTs Online Herbarium, which is an on-going project funded by the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) and additional support from the South Georgia Heritage Trust (SGHT). The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) herbarium specimens are also being digitised to form part of the UKOTs Online Herbarium, with support from SGHT and BAS.
Please use the links below to see further details on conservation activities in the UK Overseas Territories
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Common cues taught to parrots in order to get them to step on or off a perch. This is a crucial skill to teach all parrots, no matter how biddable they might seem, especially as youngsters.
Using positive reinforcement, teach a parrot to step on and off a person’s hand when cued. Many pet birds are happy to learn this for the simple reward of verbal praise. Others prefer a head scratch or special food treat as a reward. An excellent approach to the use of the up /down cue is to ask the bird if it wants to interact. Parrots will generally answer such questions with their body language. If they move away, turn their back or tighten their feathers to their bodies, then they do not want attention, so the human should exit without asking the bird to step on the hand. On the other hand, if the bird leans forward, raises a foot or looks eager, then it seems pleased with the opportunity to interact and can be picked up easily. Except for emergencies, such as a house fire, there is no reason to force a parrot to step up just for the fun of it. People should always give their bird a reason for the bird to want to step up.
Disclaimer: BirdChannel.com’s Bird Behavior Index is intended for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the expertise and experience of a professional veterinarian. Do not use the information presented here to make decisions about your bird’s health if you suspect your pet is sick. If your pet is showing signs of illness or you notice changes in your bird’s behavior, take your pet to the nearest veterinarian or an emergency pet clinic as soon as possible.
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Judith Koenig teaches grade 8 in Boulder, Colorado. After many years teaching grade
7, she has moved ahead with her students. She says it is very interesting to teach
the same students for two years, especially since she uses The Connected Mathematics
Project and gets to see student progress and retention.
Judy has almost 20 years experience, starting at the elementary level and moving
to middle school in the mid 1980's. Before moving to Boulder in 1991, she taught
for many years in Los Angeles. She has always taught in public schools. Students
in the middle school where she teaches are mostly Caucasian, due to the fact that
Boulder does not have a very diverse population. Classes have between 25 to 30 students
and her entire school uses the same math program. This contributes to collegiality
among peers and good administrative support for Connected Mathematics.
The 8th grade classes have a choice of Regular, Honors, or Algebra I Honors. Both
the Regular and Honors classes use Connected Mathematics but with different emphases
and requirements. The Algebra class uses a more traditional text. Connected Mathematics
is one of the NSF-funded programs designed to encourage reform in the middle grades.
Students excel in this program and demonstrate a good understanding of concepts.
The graphing calculator is incorporated in all classes, as are appropriate computer
Judith received the 1996 Presidential Award from Colorado for Secondary Mathematics
and the Impact on Learning Award from the Boulder Valley School District. She supports
the NCTM Standards and has been active in implementing them with teachers and students
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The Nucleus of Comet 9P/Tempel 1: Shape & Geology From Two Flybys
By Peter Thomas
The flyby of comet Tempel 1 by Stardust-NExT on February 14, 2011 revealed new parts of the surface hidden from view of the Deep Impact spacecraft in July 2005. The new data allow mapping of nearly ¾ of the surface and show the shape of this object is somewhat pyramidal, with a mean radius of 2.8 km. From the mass inferred from Deep Impact observations, the surface gravity is only 1/30000 that on the earth (200 pound Earthling would weigh only about 1/10th ounce on the surface). The shape, viewed from six directions, and colored by the relative heights, is shown in the top of the illustration.
One of the striking features of this low-gravity object is that there are regions of different types of “geology” and that these occur at different relative heights. Areas that are relatively high are rough and have many pits, tens to hundreds of m across. Areas that are low have much smoother topography and even display deposits that have many characteristics of having been emplaced as flows along the surface filling in the low areas. These likely flow deposits are up to tens of meters thick, and some are over 3 km in length. The three main low regions and outlines of likely flows are shown in the lower part of the illustration.
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These findings emphasize some of the conclusions emerging from close-up exploration of comet nuclei: they have complicated histories and are not just evaporating snowballs, and that even very low gravity can control geological processes.
Shape and surface of Tempel 1. Top: views of the shape from six orthogonal directions. Mean radius is 3 km. Colors show heights relative to a reference surface: red is high, blue low. Bottom: Three images projected to views down on areas with smooth topography indicating flow deposits. The lowest row of color views shows the outlines of the flows and the topography, emphasizing the smoother materials have been deposited in the low regions.
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VIRGIL was a Latin poet who flourished in Rome in the C1st BC during the reign of the Emperor Augustus. His works include the Aeneid, an twelve book epic describing the founding of Latium by the Trojan hero Aeneas, and two pastoral poems - the Eclogues and Georgics.
Virgil. Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid. Translated by Fairclough, H R. Loeb Classical Library Volumes 63 & 64. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916.
A revised version of this translation is available new from Amazon.com (click on image right for details). In addition to the translation of Virgil's three poems, the book contains text revisions by G. P. Goold, source Latin texts, Fairclough's footnotes and an index of proper names.
These, as well as several other more recent translations and academic commentaries, appear in the booklist (right).
NOTE: I have quoted from the Day-Lewis translation of the Aeneid, rather than this Loeb volume, in the biography pages of Theoi.com.
VIRGIL AENEID INDEX
Storm, Aeneas & Dido Part I
Aeneas' Tale: "Sack of Troy"
Aeneas' Tale: "The Voyage"
Aeneas & Dido Part II
Funeral Games of Anchises
The Cumaean Sibyl
Journey to the Underworld
BOOKS 7 - 12
BOOK 1 OF THE AENEID, TRANS. BY H. R. FAIRCLOUGH
Arms and the man I sing, who first from the coasts of Troy, exiled by fate, came to Italy and Lavine shores; much buffeted on sea and land by violence from above, through cruel Juno’s unforgiving wrath, and much enduring in war also, till he should build a city and bring his gods to Latium; whence came the Latin race, the lords of Alba, and the lofty walls of Rome.
Tell me, O Muse, the cause; wherein thwarted in will or wherefore angered, did the Queen of heaven drive a man, of goodness so wondrous, to traverse so many perils, to face so many toils. Can heavenly spirits cherish resentment so dire?
There was an ancient city, the home of Tyrian settlers, Carthage, over against Italy and the Tiber’s mouths afar, rich in wealth and stern in war’s pursuits. This, ‘tis said, Juno loved above all other lands, holding Samos itself less dear. Here was her armour, here her chariot; that here should be the capital of the nations, should the fates perchance allow it, was even then the goddess’s aim and cherished hope. Yet in truth she had heard that a race was springing from Trojan blood, to overthrow some day the Tyrian towers; that from it a people, kings of broad realms and proud in war, should come forth for Libya’s downfall: so rolled the wheel of fate. The daughter of Saturn, fearful of this and mindful of the old war which erstwhile she had fought at Troy for her beloved Argos – not yet, too, had the cause of her wrath and her bitter sorrows faded from her mind: deep in her heart remain the judgment of Paris and the outrage to her slighted beauty, her hatred of the race and the honours paid to ravished Ganymede – inflamed hereby yet more, she tossed on the wide main the Trojan remnant, left by the Greeks and pitiless Achilles, and kept them far from Latium; and many a year they wandered, driven by the fates o’er all the seas. So vast was the effort to found the Roman race.
Hardly out of sight of Sicilian land were they spreading their sails seaward, and merrily ploughing the foaming brine with brazen prow, when Juno, nursing an undying wound deep in her heart, spoke thus to herself: “What! I resign my purpose, baffled, and fail to turn from Italy the Teucrian king! The fates, doubtless, forbid me! Had Pallas power to burn up the Argive fleet and sink sailors in the deep, because of one single man’s guilt, and the frenzy of Ajax, son of Oileus? Her own hand hurled from the clouds Jove’s swift flame, scattered their ships, and upheaved the sea in tempest; but him, as with pierced breast he breathed forth flame, she caught in a whirlwind and impaled on a spiky crag. Yet I, who move as queen of gods, at once sister and wife of Jove, with one people am warring these many years. And will any still worship Juno’s godhead or humbly lay sacrifice upon her altars?
Thus inwardly brooding with heart inflamed, the goddess came to Aeolia, motherland of storm clouds, tracts teeming with furious blasts. Here in his vast cavern, Aeolus, their king, keeps under his sway and with prison bonds curbs the struggling winds and the roaring gales. They, to the mountain’s mighty moans, chafe blustering around the barriers. In his lofty citadel sits Aeolus, sceptre in hand, taming their passions and soothing their rage; did he not so, they would surely bear off with them in wild flight seas and lands and the vault of heaven, sweeping them through space. But, fearful of this, the father omnipotent hid them in gloomy caverns, and over them piled high mountain masses and gave them a king who, under fixed covenant, should be skilled to tighten and loosen the reins at command. Him Juno now addressed thus in suppliant speech:
“Aeolus – for to you the father of gods and king of men has given power to clam and uplift the waves with the wind – a people hateful to me sails the Tyrrhene sea, carrying into Italy Ilium’s vanquished gods. Hurl fury into your winds, sink and overwhelm the ships, or drive the men asunder and scatter their bodies on the deep. Twice seven nymphs have I of wondrous beauty, of whom Deiopea, fairest of form, I will link to you in wedlock, making her yours for ever, that for such service of yours she may spend all her years with you, and make you father of fair offspring.”
Thus answered Aeolus: “Your task, O queen, is to search out your desire; my duty is to do your bidding. To your grace I owe all this my realm, to your grace my sceptre and Jove’s favour; you grant me a couch at the feasts of the gods gods, and make me lord of clouds and storms.”
So he spoke and, turning his spear, smote the hollow mount on its side; when lo! the winds, as if in armed array, rush forth where passage is given, and blow in storm blasts across the world. They swoop down upon the sea, and from its lowest depths upheave it all – East and South winds together, and the Southwester, thick with tempests – and shoreward roll vast billows. Then come the cries of men and creaking of cables. In a moment clouds snatch sky and day from the Trojan’s eyes; black night broods over the deep. From pole to pole it thunders, the skies lighten with frequent flashes, all forebodes the sailors instant death. Straightway Aeneas’ limbs weaken with chilling dread; he groans and, stretching his two upturned hands to heaven, thus cries aloud: “O thrice and four times blest, whose lot it was to meet death before their fathers’ eyes beneath the lofty walls of Troy! O son of Tydeus, bravest of the Danaan race, ah! that I could not fall on the Ilian plains and gasp out this lifeblood at your hand – where, under the spear of Aeacides, fierce Hector lies prostrate, and mighty Sarpedon; where Simois seizes and sweeps beneath his waves so many shields and helms and bodies of the brave!”
As he flings forth such words, a gust, shrieking from the North, strikes full on his sail and lifts the waves to heaven. The oars snap, then the prow swings round and gives the broadside to the waves; down in a heap comes a sheer mountain of water. Some of the seamen hang upon the billow’s crest; to others the yawning sea shows ground beneath the waves; the surges seethe with sand. Three ships the South Wind catches and hurls on hidden rocks – rocks the Italians call the Altars, rising amidst the waves, a huge ridge topping the sea. Three the East forces from the deep into shallows and sandbanks, a piteous sight, dashes on shoals and girds with a mound of sand. One, which bore the Lycians and loyal Orontes, before the eyes of Aeneas a mighty toppling wave strikes astern. The helmsman is dashed out and hurled head foremost, but the ship is thrice on the same spot whirled round and round by the wave and engulfed in the sea’s devouring eddy. Here and there are seen swimmers in the vast abyss, with weapons of men, planks, and Trojan treasure amid the waves. Now the stout ship of Ilioneus, now of brave Achates, and that wherein Abas sailed and that of aged Aletes, the storm has mastered; with side joints loosened, all let in the hostile flood and gape at every seam.
Meanwhile Neptune saw the sea in turmoil of wild uproar, the storm let loose and the still waters seething up from their lowest depths. Greatly troubled was he, and gazing out over the deep he raised a composed countenance above the water’s surface. He sees Aeneas’ fleet scattered over all the sea, the Trojans overwhelmed by the waves and by the falling heavens, nor did Juno’s wiles and wrath escape her brother’s eye. East Wind and West he calls before him, then speaks thus:
“Has pride in your birth so gained control of you? Do you now dare, winds, without command of mine, to mingle earth and sky, and raise confusion thus? Whom I –! But better it is to clam the troubled waves: hereafter with another penalty shall you pay me for your crimes. Speed your flight and bear this word to your king; not to him, but to me were given by lot the lordship of the sea and the dread trident. He holds the savage rocks, home of you and yours, East Wind; in that hall let Aeolus lord it and rule within the barred prison of the winds.”
Thus he speaks, and swifter than his word he clams the swollen seas, puts to flight the gathered clouds, and brings back the sun. Cymothoë and Triton with common effort thrust the ships from the sharp rock; the god himself levers them up with his trident, opens the vast quicksands, allays the flood, and on light wheels glides over the topmost waters. And as, when ofttimes in a great nation tumult has risen, the base rabble rage angrily, and now brands and stones fly, madness lending arms; then, if perchance they set eyes on a man honoured for noble character and service, they are silent and stand by with attentive ears; with speech he sways their passion and soothes their breasts: just so, all the roar of ocean sank, soon as the Sire, looking forth upon the waters and driving under a clear sky, guides his steeds and, flying onward, gives reins to his willing car.
The wearied followers of Aeneas strive to run for the nearest shore and turn towards the coast of Libya. There in a deep inlet lies a spot, where an island forms a harbour with the barrier of its side, on which every wave from the main is broken, then parts into receding ripples. On either side loom heavenward huge cliffs and twin peaks, beneath whose crest far and wide is the stillness of sheltered water; above, too, is a background of shimmering woods with an overhanging grove, black with gloomy shade. Under the brow of the fronting cliff is a cave of hanging rocks; within are fresh water and seats in living stone, a haunt of Nymphs. Here no fetters imprison weary ships, no anchor holds them fast with hooked bite. Here, with seven ships mustered from all his fleet. Aeneas takes shelter; and, disembarking with earnest longing for the land, the Trojans gain the welcome beach and stretch their brine-drenched limbs upon the shore. At once Achates struck a spar from flint, caught the fire in leaves, laid dry fuel about, and waved the flame amid the tinder. Then, wearied with their lot, they take out the corn of Ceres, spoiled by the waves, with the tools of Ceres, and prepare to parch the rescued grain in the fire and crush it under the stone.
Meanwhile Aeneas climbs a peak and seeks a full view far and wide over the deep, if he may but see aught of storm-tossed Antheus and his Phrygian galleys, or of Capys or the arms of Caïcus on the high stern. There is no ship in sight; he descries three stags straying on the shore; whole herds follow behind these and in long line graze down the valley. Thereon he stopped and seized in his hand his bow and swift arrows, the arms borne by faithful Achates; and first he lays low the leaders themselves, their heads held high with branching antlers, then routs the herd and all the common sort, driving them with his darts amid the leafy woods. Nor does the stay his hand till seven huge forms he stretches victoriously on the ground, equal in number to his ships. Then he seeks the harbour and divides them among all his company. Next he shares the wine, which good Acestes had stowed in jars on the Trinacrian shore, and hero-like had given at parting; and, speaking thus, clams their sorrowing hearts:
“O comrades – for ere this we have not been ignorant of misfortune – you who have suffered worse, this also God will end. You drew near to Scylla’s fury and her deep-echoing crags; you have known, too, the rocks of the Cyclopes; recall your courage and banish sad fear. Perhaps even this distress it will some day be a joy to recall. Through varied fortunes, through countless hazards, we journey towards Latium, where fate promises a home of peace. There it is granted that Troy’s realm shall rise again; endure, and live for a happier day.”
Such words he spoke, while sick with deep distress he feigns hope on his face, and deep in his heart stifles his anguish. The others prepare the spoil, the feast that is to be; they flay the hides from the ribs and lay bare the flesh; some cut it into pieces and impale it, still quivering, on spits; others set cauldrons on the shore and feed them with fire. Then with food they revive their strength, and stretched along the grass take their fill of old wine and fat venison. When hunger was banished by the feast and the board was cleared, in long discourse they yearn for their lost comrades, between hope and fear uncertain whether to deem them still alive, or bearing the final doom and hearing no more when called. More than the rest does loyal Aeneas in silence mourn the loss now of valiant Orontes, now of Amycus, the cruel doom of Lycus, brave Gyas, and brave Cloanthus.
Now all was ended, when from the sky’s summit Jupiter looked forth upon the sail-winged sea and outspread lands, the shores and peoples far and wide, and, looking, paused on heaven’s height and cast his eyes on Libya’s realm. And lo! as on such cares he pondered in heart, Venus, saddened and her bright eyes brimming with tears, spoke to him: “You that with eternal sway rule the world of men and gods, and frighten with your bolt, what great crime could my Aeneas – could my Trojans – have wrought against you, to whom, after many disasters borne, the whole world is barred for Italy’s sake? Surely it was your promise that from them some time, as the years rolled on, the Romans were to arise; from them, even from Teucer’s restored line, should come rulers to hold the sea and all lands beneath their sway. What thought, father, ahs turned you? That promise, indeed, was my comfort for Troy’s fall and sad overthrow, when I weighed fate against the fates opposed. Now, though tried by so many disasters, the same fortune dogs them. What end of their toils, great king, do you grant? Antenor could escape the Achaean host, thread safely the Illyrian gulfs and inmost realms of the Liburnians, and pass the springs of Timavus, and whence through nine mouths, with a mountain’s mighty roar, it comes a bursting flood and buries the fields under its sounding sea. Yet here he set Padua’s town, a home for his Teucrians, gave a name to the race, and hung up the arms of Troy; now, settled in tranquil peace, he is at rest. But we, your offspring, to whom you grant the heights of heaven, have lost our ships – O shame unutterable! – and, to appease one angry foe, are betrayed and kept far from Italian shores. And thus is piety honoured? Is this the way you restore us to empire?
Smiling on her with that look wherewith he clears sky and storms, the Father of men and gods gently kissed his daughter’s lips, and then spoke thus: “Spare your fears, Lady of Cythera; your children’s fates abide unmoved. You will see Lavinium’s city and its promised walls; and great-souled Aeneas you will raise on high to the starry heaven. No though ahs turned me. This your son – for, since this care gnaws your heart, I will speak and, further unrolling the scroll of fate, will disclose its secrets – shall wage a great war in Italy, shall crush proud nations, and for his people shall set up laws and city walls, till the third summer has seen him reigning in Latium and three winters have passed in camp since the Rutulians were laid low. But the lad Ascanius, now surnamed Iulus – Ilus he was, while the Ilian state stood firm in sovereignty – shall fulfil in empire thirty great circles of rolling months, shall ships his throne from Lavinium’s seat, and, great in power, shall build the walls of Alba Longa. Here then for thrice a hundred years unbroken shall the kingdom endure under Hector’s race, until Ilia, a royal priestess, shall bear to Mars her twin offspring. Then Romulus, proud in the tawny hide of the she-wolf, his nurse, shall take up the line, and found the walls of Mars and call the people Romans after his own name. For these I set no bounds in space or time; but have given empire without end. Spiteful Juno, who now in her fear troubles sea and earth and sky, shall change to better counsels and with me cherish the Romans, lords of the world, and the nation of the toga. Thus is it decreed. Thee shall come a day, as the sacred seasons glide past, when the house of Assaracus shall bring into bondage Phthia and famed Mycenae, and hold lordship over vanquished Argos. From this noble line shall be born the Trojan Caesar, who shall extend his empire to the ocean, his glory to the stars, a Julius [Augustus], name descended from great Iulus! Him, in days to come, shall you, anxious no more, welcome to heaven, laden with Eastern spoils; he, too, shall be invoked in vows. Then wars shall cease and savage ages soften; hoary Faith and Vesta, Quirinus with his brother Remus, shall give laws. The gates of war, grim with iron and close-fitting bars, shall be closed; within, impious Rage, sitting on savage arms, his hands fast bound behind with a hundred brazen knots, shall roar in the ghastliness of blood-stained lips.”
So speaking, he sends the son of Maia down from heaven, that the land and towers of new-built Carthage may open to greet the Teucrians, and Dido, ignorant of fate, might not bar them from her lands. Through the wide air he flies on the oarage of wings, and speedily alights on the Libyan coasts. At once he does his bidding, and, God willing it, the Phoenicians lay aside their savage thoughts; above all, the queen receives a gentle mind and gracious purpose toward the Teucrians.
But loyal Aeneas, through the night revolving many a care, as soon as kindly light was given, determines to issue forth and explore the strange country; to learn to what coasts he has come with the wind, who dwells there, man or beast – for all he sees is waste – then bring back tidings to his friends. The fleet he hides in over-arching groves beneath a hollow rock, closely encircled by trees and quivering shade; then, Achates alone attending, himself strides forth, grasping in hand two shafts, tipped with broad steel. Across his path, in the midst of the forest, came his mother, with a maiden’s face and mien, and a maiden’s arms, whether one of Sparta or such a one as Thracian Harpalyce, when she out-tires horses and outstrips the winged East Wind in flight. For from her shoulders in huntress fashion she had slung the ready bow and had given her hair to the winds to scatter; her knee bare, and her flowing robes gathered in a knot. Before he speaks, “Ho!” she cries, “tell me, youths, if perchance you have seen a sister of mine here straying, girt with quiver and a dappled lynx’s hide, or pressing with shouts on the track of a foaming boar.”
Thus Venus; and thus in answer Venus’ son began: “None of your sisters have I heard or seen – but by what name should I call you, maiden? for your face is not mortal nor has your voice a human ring; O goddess surely! sister of Phoebus, or one of the race of Nymphs? Show grace to us, whoever you may be, and lighten this our burden. Inform us, pray, beneath what sky, on what coasts of the world, we are cast; knowing nothing of countries or peoples we wander driven hither by wind and huge billows. Many a victim shall fall for you at our hand before your altars.”
Then said Venus: “Nay, I claim not such worship. Tyrian maids are wont to wear the quiver, and bind their ankles high with the purple buskin. It is the Punic realm you see, a Tyrian people, and the city of Agenor; but the bordering country is Lybian, a race unconquerable in war. Dido wields the sceptre – Dido, who, fleeing from her brother, came from the city of Tyre. Long would be the tale of wrong, long its winding course – but the main heads of the story I will trace. Her husband was Sychaeus, richest in gold of the Phoenicians, and fondly loved by unhappy Dido; to him her father had given the maiden, yoking her to him in the first bridal auspices. But the kingdom of Tyre was in the hands of her brother Pygmalion, monstrous in crime beyond all others. Between these two came frenzy. The king, impiously before the altars and blinded by lust for gold, strikes down Sychaeus unawares by stealthy blow, without a thought for his sister’s love; and for long he hid the deed, and by many a pretence cunningly cheated the lovesick bride with empty hope. But in her sleep came the very ghost of her unburied husband; raising his pale face in wondrous wise, he lad bare the cruel altars and his breast pierced with steel, unveiling all the secret horror of the house. Then he bids her take speedy flight and leave her country, and to aid her journey brought to light treasures long hidden underground, a mass of gold and silver known to none. Moved by this, Dido made ready her flight and her company. Then all assemble who felt towards the tyrant relentless hatred or keen fear; ships, which by chance were ready, they seize and load with gold; the wealth of grasping Pygmalion is borne overseas, the leader of the enterprise a woman. They came to the place where today you will see the huge walls and rising citadel of new Carthage, and bought ground – Byrsa they called it therefrom – as much as they could encompass by a bull’s hide, and they are choosing laws and magistrates, and an august senate. But who, pray, are you, or from what coasts come, or whither hold you your coarse?” As she questioned thus he replied, sighing and drawing every word deep from his breast.
“O goddess, should I, tracing back from the first beginning, go on to tell, and you have leisure to hear the story of our woes, sooner would heaven close and evening lay the day to rest. From ancient Troy, if perchance the name of Troy has come to your hears, sailing over distant seas, the storm at its own caprice drove us to the Libyan coast. I am the loyal Aeneas, who carry with me in my fleet my household gods, snatched from the foe; my fame is known to the heavens above. It is Italy I seek, my father’s land, and a race sprung from Jupiter most high. With twice ten ships I embarked on the Phrygian sea, following the fates declared, my goddess-mother pointing me the way; scarcely do seven remain, shattered by waves and wind. Myself unknown and destitute, I wander over the Libyan wastes, driven from Europe and Asia.” His further complaint Venus suffered not, but in the midst of his lament broke in thus:
“Whoever you are, not hateful, I think, to the powers of heaven do you draw the breath of life, since you have reached the Tyrian city. Only go forward and make your way to the queen’s palace. For I bring you tidings of your comrades restored and of your fleet recovered, driven to safe haven by shifting winds – unless my parents were false, and vain the augury they taught me. Look at those twelve swans in exultant line, which Jove’s bird, swooping from the expanse of heaven, was harrying in the open air; now in long array they seem either to be settling in their places or already to be gazing down on the places where others have settled. As they, returning, sport with rustling wings, and in company have circled the sky and uttered their songs, with like joy your ships and the men of your company have reached harbour already or under full sail enter the river’s mouth. Only go forward and where the path leads you, direct your steps!”
She spoke, and as she turned away, her roseate neck flashed bright. From her head her ambrosial tresses breathed celestial fragrance; down to her feet fell her raiment, and in her step she was revealed a very goddess. He knew her for his mother, and as she fled pursued her with these words: “Why, cruel like others, do you so often mock your son with vain phantoms? Why am I not allowed to clasp hand in hand and hear and utter words unfeigned?” Thus he reproaches her and bends his steps towards the city. But Venus shrouded them, as they went, with dusky air, and enveloped them, goddess as she was, in a thick mantle of cloud, that none might see or touch them, none delay or seek the cause of their coming. She herself through the sky goes her way to Paphos, and joyfully revisits her abode, where the temple and its hundred altars steam with Sabaean incense and are fragrant with garlands ever fresh.
Meanwhile they sped on the road where the pathway points. And now they were climbing the hill that looms large over the city and looks down on the confronting towers. Aeneas marvels at the massive buildings, mere huts once; marvels at the gates, the din and paved high-roads. Eagerly the Tyrians press on, some to build walls, to rear the citadel, and roll up stones by hand; some to choose the site for a dwelling and enclose it with a furrow. Here some are digging harbours, here others lay the deep foundations of their theatre and hew out of the cliffs vast columns, fit adornments for the stage to be. Even as bees in early summer, amid flowery fields, ply their task in sunshine, when they lead forth the full-grown young of their race, or pack the fluid honey and strain their cells to bursting with sweet nectar, or receive the burdens of incomers, or in martial array drive from their folds the drones, a lazy herd; all aglow is the work and the fragrant honey is sweet with thyme. “Happy they whose walls already rise!” cries Aeneas, lifting his eyes towards the city roofs. Veiled in a cloud, he enters – wondrous to tell – through their midst, and mingles with the people, seen by none!
Amid the city was a grove, luxuriant in shade, the spot where the first Phoenicians, tossed by waves and whirlwind, dug up the token which queenly Juno had pointed out, a head of the spirited horse; for thus was the race to be famous in war and rich in substance through the ages. Here Sidonian Dido was founding to Juno a mighty temple, rich in gifts and the presence of the goddess. Brazen was its threshold uprising on steps; bronze plates were its lintel beams, on doors of bronze creaked the hinges. In this grove first did a strange sight appear to him and allay his fears; here first did Aeneas dare to hope for safety and put surer trust in his shattered fortunes. For while beneath the mighty temple, awaiting the queen, he scans each object, while he marvels at the city’s fortune, the handicraft of the several artists and the work of their toil, he sees in due order the battles of Ilium, the warfare now known by fame throughout the world, the sons of Atreus, and Priam, and Achilles, fierce in his wrath against both. He stopped and weeping cried: “Is there any place, Achates, any land on earth not full of our sorrow? See, there is Priam! Here, too, virtue finds its due reward; here, too, are tears for misfortune and human sorrows pierce the heart. Dispel your fears; this fame will bring you some salvation.”
So he speaks, and feasts his soul on the unsubstantial portraiture, sighing oft, and his face wet with a flood of tears. For he saw how, as they fought round Pergamus, here the Greeks were in rout, the Trojan youth hard on their heels; there fled the Phrygians, plumed Achilles in his chariot pressing them close. Not far away he discerns with tears the snowy-canvassed tents of Rhesus, which, betrayed in their first sleep, the blood-stained son of Tydeus laid waste with many a death, and turned the fiery steeds away to the camp, before they could taste Trojan fodder or drink of Xanthus. Elsewhere Troilus, his armour flung away in flight – unhappy boy, and ill-matched in conflict with Achilles – is carried along by his horses and, fallen backward, clings to the empty car, still clasping the reins; his neck and hair are dragged on the ground, and the dust is scored by his reversed spear. Meanwhile, to the temple of unfriendly Pallas the Trojan women passed along with streaming tresses, and bore the robe, mourning in suppliant guise and beating breasts with hands: with averted face the goddess kept her eyes fast upon the ground. Thrice had Achilles dragged Hector round the walls of Troy and was selling the lifeless body for gold. Then indeed from the bottom of his heart he heaves a deep groan, as the spoils, as the chariot, as the very corpse of his friend meet his gaze, and Priam outstretching weaponless hands. Himself, too, in close combat with the Achaean chiefs, he recognized, and the Eastern ranks, and swarthy Memnon’s armour. Penthesilea in fury leads the crescent-shielded ranks of Amazons and blazes amid her thousands; a golden belt she binds below her naked breast, and, as a warrior queen, dares battle, a maid clashing with men.
While these wondrous sights are seen by Dardan Aeneas, while in amazement he hangs rapt in one fixed gaze, the queen, Dido, moved toward the temple, of surpassing beauty, with a vast company of youths thronging round her. Even as on Eurotas’ banks or along the heights of Cythus Diana guides her dancing bands, in whose train a thousand Oreads troop to right and left; she bears a quiver on her shoulder, and as she treads overtops all the goddesses; joys thrill Latona’s silent breast – such was Dido, so moved she joyously through their midst, pressing on the work of her rising kingdom. Then at the door of the goddess, beneath the temple’s central dome, girt with arms and high enthroned, she took her seat. Laws and ordinances she gave to her people; their tasks she adjusted in equal shares or assigned by lot; when suddenly Aeneas sees approaching, in the midst of a great crowd, Antheus and Sergestus and brave Cloanthus with others of the Trojans, whom the black storm had scattered on the sea and driven far away to other coasts. Amazed was he; amazed, too, was Achates, thrilled with joy and fear. They burned with eagerness to clasp hands, but the uncertain event confuses their hearts. They keep hidden, and, clothed in the enfolding cloud, look to see what is their comrade’s fortune, on what shore they leave the fleet, and why they come; for from all the ships chosen men advanced, craving grace, and with loud cries made for the temple.
When they had entered, and freedom to speak before the queen was granted, the eldest, Ilioneus, with placid mien thus began: “Queen, to whom Jupiter has granted to found a new city, and to put the curb of justice on haughty tribes, we, unhappy Trojans, tempest-driven over every sea, make our prayer to you: ward off the horror of flames from our ships; spare a pious race, and look more graciously on our fortunes. We have not come to spoil with the sword your Libyan homes or to drive stolen booty to the shore. No such violence is in our hearts, nor have the vanquished such assurance. A place there is, by Greeks named Hesperia, an ancient land, mighty in arms and wealth of soil. There dwelt Oenotrians; now the rumour is that a younger race has called it from their leader’s name, Italy. Hither lay our course . . . [incomplete verse] when, rising with sudden swell, stormy Orion bore us on hidden shoals and with fierce blasts scattered us afar amid pathless rocks and waves of overwhelming surge; hither to your shores have we few drifted. What race of men is this? What land is so barbarous as to allow this custom? We are debarred the welcome of the beach; they stir up wars and forbid us to set foot on the border of their land. If you think light of human kinship and mortal arms, yet look unto gods who will remember right and wrong. A king we had, Aeneas: none more just or dutiful than he, or more renowned in war and arms. If fate still preserves that hero, if he feeds on the air of heaven and lies not yet in the cruel shades, we have no fear, nor would you regret to have taken the first step in the strife of courtesy. In Sicilian regions, too, there are cities and a supply of arms, and a prince of Trojan blood, famed Acestes. Grant us to beach our storm-battered fleet, to fashion planks in the forests and trim oars, so that, if we are granted to find king and comrades and steer our course to Italy, Italy and Latium we may gladly seek; but if our salvation is cut off, if you, noble father of the Trojan people, are the prey of the Libyan gulf, and a nation’s hope no longer lives in Iulus, that we at least may seek the straits of Sicily, whence we came hither, and the homes there ready, and Acestes for our king.” So spoke Ilioneus, and all the sons of Dardanus loudly assent . . .
Then Dido, lowering her eyes, briefly speaks: “Free your hearts of fear, Teucrians; put away your cares. Stern necessity and the new estate of my kingdom force me to do such hard deeds and protect my frontiers far and wide with guards. Who could be ignorant of the race of Aeneas’ people, who of Troy’s town and her brave deeds and brave men, or of the fires of that great war? Not so dull are our Punic hearts, and not so far from this Tyrian city does the sun yoke his steeds. Whether your choice be great Hesperia and the fields of Saturn, or the lands of Eryx and Acestes for your king, I will send you hence guarded by an escort, and aid you with my wealth. Or is it your wish to settle with me on even terms within these realms? The city I build is yours; draw up your ships; Trojan and Tyrian I shall treat alike. And would that your king were here, driven by the same wind – Aeneas himself! Nay, I will send trusty scouts along the coast and bid them traverse the ends of Libya, if perchance he strays shipwrecked in forest or in town.”
Stirred in spirit by these words, brave Achates and father Aeneas had long burned to break through the cloud. First Achates addresses Aeneas: “Goddess-born, what purpose now rises in your heart? You see that all is safe, comrades and fleet restored. One only is wanting, whom our own eyes saw engulfed amid the waves; all else agrees with your mother’s words.”
Scarce had he said this, when the encircling cloud suddenly parts and clears into open heaven. Aeneas stood forth, gleaming in the clear light, godlike in face and shoulders; for his mother herself had shed upon her son the beauty of flowing locks, with youth’s ruddy bloom, and on his eyes a joyous luster; even as the beauty which the hand gives to ivory, or when silver or Parian marble is set in yellow gold. Then thus he addresses the queen, and, unforeseen by all, suddenly speaks: “I, whom you seek, am here before you, Aeneas of Troy, snatched from the Libyan waves. O you who alone have pitied Troy’s unutterable woes, you who grant us – the remnant left by the Greeks, now outworn by every mischance of land and sea, and destitute of all – a share in your city and home, to pay you fitting thanks, Dido, is not in our power, nor in theirs who anywhere survive of Trojan race, scattered over the wide world. May the gods, if any divine powers have regard for the good, if there is any justice anywhere – may the gods and the consciousness of right bring you worthy rewards! What happy ages bore you! What glorious parents gave birth to so noble a child? While rivers run to ocean, while on the mountains shadows move over slopes, while heaven feeds the stars, ever shall your honour, your name, and your praises abide, whatever be the lands that summon me!” So saying, he grasps his dear Ilioneus with the right hand, and with the left Serestus; then others, brave Gyas and brave Cloanthus.
Sidonian Dido was amazed, first at the sight of the hero, then at his strange misfortune, and thus her lips made utterance: “What fate pursues you, goddess-born, amidst such perils? What violence drives you to savage shores? Are you that Aeneas whom gracious Venus bore to Dardanian Anchises by the wave of Phrygian Simois? Indeed, I myself remember well Teucer’s coming to Sidon, when exiled from his native land he sought a new kingdom by aid of Belus; my father Belus was then wasting rich Cyprus, and held it under his victorious sway. From that time on the fall of the Trojan city has been known to me; known, too, your name and the Pelasgian kings. Foe thou he was, he often lauded the Teucrians with highest praise and claimed that he was sprung from the Teucrians’ ancient stock. Come therefore, sirs, and pass within our halls. Me, too, has a like fortune driven through many toils, and willed that in this land I should at last find rest. Not ignorant of ill I learn to aid distress.”
Thus she speaks, and at once leads Aeneas into the royal house; at once proclaims a sacrifice at the temples of the gods. Meanwhile not less careful is she to send his comrades on the shore twenty bulls, a hundred huge swine with bristling backs, a hundred fatted lambs with their ewes, the joyous gifts of the god [wine of Bacchus] . . . But the palace within is laid out with the splendour of princely pomp, and amid the halls they prepare a banquet. Coverlets there are, skillfully embroidered and of royal purple; on the tables is massive silver plate, and in gold are graven the doughty deeds of her sires, a long, long course of exploits traced through many a hero from the early dawn of the race.
Aeneas – for a father’s love did not suffer his heart to rest – speedily sends Achates forward to the ships to carry this news to Ascanius and lead him to the city; in Ascanius all his fond parental care is centred. Presents, too, snatched from the wreck of Ilium, he bids him bring, a mantle stiff with figures wrought in gold, and a veil fringed with yellow acanthus, once worn by Argive Helen when she sailed for Pergamus and her unlawful marriage – she had brought them from Mycenae, the wondrous gift of her mother Leda – the sceptre too, which Ilione, Priam’s eldest daughter, once had borne, a necklace hung with pearls, and a coronet with double circled of jewels and gold. Speeding these commands, Achates bent his way towards the ships.
But the Cytherean revolves in her breast new wiles, new schemes; how Cupid, changed in face and form, may come in the stead of sweet Ascanius, and by his gifts kindle the queen to madness and send the flame into her very marrow. In truth, she fears the uncertain house and double-tongued Tyrians; Juno’s fury chafes her, and at nightfall her care rushes back. Therefore to winged Love she speaks these words:
“Son, my strength, my mighty power – O son, who alone scorn the mighty father’s Typhoean darts, to you I flee and suppliant sue your godhead. How your brother Aeneas is tossed on the sea about all coasts by bitter Juno’s hate is known to you, and often have you grieved in our grief. Phoenician Dido now holds him, staying him with soft words, and I dread what may be the outcome of Juno’s hospitality; at such a turning point of fortune she will not be idle. Wherefore I purpose to outwit the queen with guile and encircle her with love’s flame, that so no power may change her, but on my side she may be held fast in strong love for Aeneas. How you can do this take now my thought. The princely boy, my chiefest care, at his dear father’s bidding, makes ready to go to the Sidonian city, bearing gifts that survive the sea and the flames of Troy. Him will I lull to sleep, and on the heights of Cythera or Idalium will hide in my sacred shrine, so that he may by no means learn my wiles or come between to thwart them. For but a single night, feign by craft his form and, boy that you are, don the boy’s familiar face, so that when, in the fullness of her joy, amid the royal feast and the flowing wine, Dido takes you to her bosom, embraces you and imprints sweet kisses, you may breathe into her a hidden fire and beguile her with your poison.” Love obeys his dear mother’s words, lays by his wings, and walks joyously with the step of Iulus. But Venus pours over the limbs of Ascanius the dew of gentle repose and, fondling him in her bosom, uplifts him with divine power to Idalia’s high groves, where soft marjoram enwraps him in flowers and the breath of its sweet shade.
And now, obedient to her word and rejoicing in Achates as guide, Cupid went forth, carrying the royal gifts for the Tyrians. As he enters, the queen has already, amid royal hangings, laid herself on a golden couch, and taken her place in their midst. Now father Aeneas, now the Trojan youth gather, and the guests recline on coverlets of purple. Servants pour water on their hands, serve bread from baskets, and bring smooth-shorn napkins. There are fifty serving-maids within, whose task it is to arrange the long feast in order and keep the hearth aglow with fire. A hundred more there are, with as many pages of like age, to load the board with viands and set out the cups. The Tyrians, too, are gathered in throngs throughout the festal halls; summoned to recline on the embroidered couches, they marvel at the gifts of Aeneas, marvel at Iulus, at the god’s glowing looks and well-feigned words, at the robe and the veil, embroidered with saffron acanthus. Above all, the unhappy Phoenician, doomed to impending ruin, cannot satiate her soul, but takes fire as she gazes, thrilled alike by the boy and by the gifts. He, when he has hung in embrace on Aeneas’ neck and satisfied the deluded father’s deep love, goes to the queen. With her eyes, with all her heart she clings to him and repeatedly fondles him in her lap, knowing not, poor Dido, how great a god settles there to her sorrow. But he, mindful of his Acidalian mother, little by little begins to efface Sychaeus, and essays with a living passion to surprise her long-slumbering soul and her heart unused to love.
When first there came a lull in the feasting, and the boards were cleared, they set down great bowls and crown the wine. A din arises in the palace and voices roll through the spacious halls; lighted lamps hang down from the fretted roof of gold, and flaming torches drive out the night. Then the queen called for a cup, heavy with jewels and gold, and filled it with wine – one that Belus and all of Belus’ line had been wont to use. Then through the hall fell silence: “Jupiter – for they say that you appoint laws for host and guest – grant that this be a day of joy for Tyrians and the voyagers from Troy, and that our children may remember it! May Bacchus, giver of joy, be near, and bounteous Juno; and do you, Tyrians, grace the gathering with friendly spirit!” She spoke, and on the board offered a libation of wine, and, after the libation, was first to touch the goblet with her lips; then with a challenge gave it to Bitias. He briskly drained the foaming cup, and drank deep in the brimming gold; then other lords drank. Long-haired Iopas, once taught by mighty Atlas, makes the hall ring with his golden lyre. He sings of the wandering moon and the sun’s toils; when sprang man and beast, whence rain and fire; of Arcturus, and rainy Hyades and the twin Bears; why wintry suns make such haste to dip themselves in Ocean, or what delay stays the slowly passing nights. With shout on shout the Tyrians applaud, and the Trojans follow. No less did unhappy Dido prolong the night with varied talk and drank deep draughts of love, asking much of Priam, of Hector much; now of the armour in which came the son of Dawn; now of the wondrous steeds of Diomedes; now of the greatness of Achilles. “Nay, more,” she cries, “tell us, my guest, from the first beginning the treachery of the Greeks, the sad fate of your people, and your own wanderings; for already a seventh summer bears you a wanderer over every land and sea.”
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Click for "Microbes After Hours" videos
In MicrobeWorld Video episode 66 Dr. Stan Maloy talks with Curtis Suttle, Professor of Earth & Ocean Sciences, Microbiology & Immunology, and Botany, and Associate Dean of Science University of British Columbia.
Dr. Suttle is one of the World's leading marine virologists, and is among a small group of researchers that is credited with launching the field of marine virology. Dr. Maloy talks with Dr. Suttle about the incredible diversity of the ocean's microscopic inhabitants that have long been overlooked.
The oceans are mostly microbial, 98% by weight, which means most of what is going on in the oceans is unseen and until recently largely unknown. Dr. Suttle explains the large role that ocean viruses play in keeping our planet alive. In fact, Dr. Suttle points out that viruses do more to create life than take it away. If you were to take the viruses out of the ocean much of the planet's life-cycle would stop, there would be no more photosynthesis. Viral replication drives the major bio-geochemical cycles on Earth.
Dr. Suttle also discusses transposons, "the world's first immune system," phage and using genomic sequencing to do ecology outside of the lab environment.
This episode was recorded at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 17, 2012.
Don't miss an episode of MicrobeWorld Video. Subscribe for free using iTunes or help support our work by purchasing the MicrobeWorld podcast application for iPhone and Android devices in the iTunes or Android app stores.
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Alien cells in rain? Study revisits bizarre theory
Feb 01,2008 00:00
A controversial theory, that strange red rains in India six years ago might have contained microbes from outer space, hasn’t died.
In fact, things might be getting even weirder.
A new study suggests the claimed connection between scarlet rain and tiny celestial visitors may be consistent with historical accounts linking colored rain to meteor passings. These would seem to echo the India case, in which organisms are proposed to have fallen out of a breaking meteor.
“Some of these [past] accounts may have been exaggerated,” cautioned the new study’s author in reporting his findings, adding that considerable problems also dog the alien-cell proposal.
The red rain particles magnified about 1,000 times. (Courtesy GodfreyLouis)
Yet the historical analysis, he concluded, shows the question is “much more complex than one might have expected” and “should be investigated with every scientific resource” available.
The study, by doctoral student Patrick McCafferty of Queen’s University Belfast, is published in the advance online edition of the International Journal of Astrobiology.
McCafferty analyzed, as he wrote, “80 accounts of red rain, another 20 references to lakes and rivers turning blood-red, and 68 examples of other phenomena such as colored rain, black rain, milk, bricks, or honey falling from the sky.”
Sixty of these events, or 36 percent, “were linked to meteoritic or cometary activity,” he went on. But not always strongly. Sometimes, “the fall of red rain seems to have occurred after an airburst,” as from a meteor exploding in air; other times the odd rainfall “is merely recorded in the same year as a stone-fall or the appearance of a comet.”
The phenomena were recorded in times and places as varied as Classical Rome, medieval Ireland, Norman Britain and 19th century California, noted McCafferty, who has a master’s degree in archaeology and studies Irish myth and astronomy. McCafferty added that tales suggestive of red rain-meteor links also crop up in myth.
With witnesses to past events all long dead, McCafferty wrote that probably no historical analysis will ever settle the debate over the 2001 rainfalls in India.
Research claiming to connect these rains to extraterrestrial life provoked disbelief when they were first reported widely, in World Science. “I really, really don’t think they are from a meteor!” wrote Harvard University biologist Jack Szostak, referring to cell-like particles that had been reported to permeate the collected rainwater.
The curious events began on July 25, 2001, when residents of Kerala, a region in southwestern India, started seeing scarlet rain in some areas. It persisted on-and-off for some weeks, even two months. Scientists couldn’t identify the cell-like specks that gave the water its scarlet hue. Speculation of possible extraterrestrial origins began.
Two Indian scientists later published a chemical and biological analysis suggesting, they said, that the specks might indeed be little aliens. They “have much similarity with biological cells” but without DNA, wrote the researchers, Godfrey Louis and A. Santhosh Kumar of India’s Mahatma Gandhi University. “Are these cell-like particles a kind of alternate life from space?”
They cited newspaper reports that a meteor broke up in the atmosphere hours before the red rain. Louis and Kumar’s research paper appeared in the April 4, 2006 online edition of the research journal Astrophysics and Space Science. In previous, unpublished papers, the pair also claimed the particles could reproduce in extreme heat.
Some researchers, including Chandra Wickramasinghe, director of the Center for Astrobiology at Cardiff University, U.K., have said that Louis and Kumar’s idea may well be correct. He and other supporters pointed to the consistency of the alien-cell hypothesis with the popular “panspermia” theory, which holds that meteors and comets might have seeded life throughout many planets.
But other scientists have cited problems with the theory, including a lack of clear evidence for any meteor, and the knotty question of how micro-aliens might have stayed aloft for months after bursting out of a meteor.
“Without conclusive evidence such as meteoritic dust mixed with red rain, it is difficult to say anything specific about Kerala’s red rain,” McCafferty wrote. But in history, he added, “there appears to be a strong link between some reported events [like it] and meteoritic activity. The reported airburst just before the fall of red rain in Kerala fits a familiar pattern, and cannot be dismissed so easily as an unrelated coincidence.”
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Hepatitis C is an infectious virus that is carried in the blood and affects the liver. It is an infection that is increasing in Canada and around the world. While not identified until 1989, the hepatitis C virus has been around for a very long time. For more information, see our fact sheet on hepatitis.
Hepatitis C Quiz - 5 Questions and Answers to Test Your Knowledge
Please place your mouse over the answers to find out which one is correct.
Hepatitis C is a disease that affects the:
Hepatitis C cannot be transmitted through:
The risk of getting Hepatitis C infection through a blood transfusion today is extremely low.
Many people who have been infected with Hepatitis C do not know they have the disease because they feel healthy and show no symptoms.
It is possible to contract the hepatitis C virus by ______________ an infected person.
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The requirements for a History major assure that graduates will develop both depth and breadth of knowledge of geographical regions of the world, time periods in history, and thematic approaches to understanding social, political, and economic changes in human societies. A degree in History prepares students for graduate or professional schools, as well as a wide variety of careers in law, teaching, business, government, public service and others. History stresses learning how to read critically, write effectively, and develop diverse yet rigorous bodies of knowledge. History majors will learn skills that open up a world of career opportunities.
To ensure that this broad range of knowledge is obtained all History majors are required to take courses in:
Copyright © 2016 University of North Florida1 UNF Drive | Jacksonville, FL 32224 | Phone: (904) 620-1000
RegulationsConsumer Information | Disability Accommodations
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Proper Disposal of Household Prescriptions and Over-the-Counter Drugs
Do NOT flush or pour unwanted, unused or expired medications down the drain.
This includes expired and unused prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs.
Why Not Flush?
Flushed medications can get into our lakes, rivers and streams
Research has shown that continuous exposure to low levels of medications
has altered the behavior and physiology of fish and aquatic organisms.
Pharmaceuticals enter our wastewater from a variety of sources including the flushing of unused medications.
Long-term exposure to low levels of antibiotics might result in the evolution of, or selection for, drug-resistant microbes and bacteria.
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One of the golden rules of reporting is you always put what's important first. Also, keep in mind that a report needs to be short and concise, and there is always room for improvement; no news report is perfect.
Sample News Reports
Writing Your Own News Report
1Select your audience. If you're writing for children, don't use nuclear physics slang. Think before you write!
2Find subjects of interest. If you have no inspiration, do a brainstorm and choose a topic which is popular presently
3Refine your results. Do this by applying the law of proximity; choose a subject which is close to your target audience. In order, this list shows links which will connect your audience to your topic:
- Geographic: something happened close to your reader, his neighbor or in his locality.
- Affective: someone close to him, be it his mom or his idol.
- Psychological: something that passions humans (money, violence, etc.).
- Temporal: something recent.
- Cultural and social: something linked to the interests of your reader.
- Existential: about fundamental questions.
- Practical: something that concerns everyday life.
4List your potential sources. If your article does not have them, it will not be credible; it's something you've made up all by yourself. Always look at both sides of a story. Your article is not there to convince readers of your positions or your views on the matter. Always aim for the most credible source following this order as established by the professor Pierre Sormany:
- Non-elevated authority
- Official spokesperson
- Leader of an important group
- Heroes, celebrities, etc.
- Ordinary people (vox populi)
5Master your subject. Do research and know more than what your article will divulge; this will ensure you do not say anything stupid when you interview your sources and you'll also be able to write more articles on the same subject if your report spawns interest. You must become an expert on the subject. If someone has a question about this topic, you should be able comfortable enough to answer or refer him to someone who knows.
6Interview your sources.
7Write your Lead. This part of the text will contain the What, Who, Where and When of your subject. It may also include the How and the Why, depending on their importance with the subject. The Lead should contain nothing else and begins with the most important information. The first words are the cornerstone of the report.
8Write the rest of the article. Split each parts in short paragraphs of about 4 to 5 lines whilst keeping the most important information first in a concise manner.
9Title your work; even if it's just a news report. Figuratively, the title is a bait and the lead is a hook that catches a fish and makes him read your article, wholly or partially. Here is the magic recipe for a good title:
- Visual : Big, bold, in color.
- Vivid, catchy.
- Punctuation (i.e.: Where's Junior?).
- Active wording: a catchy verb in present tense, but it's not always possible. (i.e.: Cubs Lee blocks potential trade to Angels)
- Short and concise.
- Announces the topic.
Should the first paragraph answer the questions where, when, who, why, what, etc.? And should the body paragraph answer how and why?wikiHow ContributorDon't put too much information into one paragraph. Save some of it for other paragraphs. Answer what, where, and when. Save the rest for other paragraphs. Divide it equally among as many paragraphs as you decide to have. But take into consideration into how long the reader's attention span will be.
- Only write what's true.
- When choosing your subject, select the one that seems less kitsch, more original and seems easier for you to master.
- Stay neutral, don't spawn debate.
- Do not mix journalistic genres. If you're writing a news report, do not add your opinion.
- Let people think for themselves.
- It is more elegant to put the When after a verb. I.e.: "The president announced (verb) yesterday (When) in a press conference (Where) the arrival of his Chinese counterpart."
- Do not give your opinion. The important part here is to report the news. If you want to share your views, opt for a subjective genre such as a blog article, a chronicle, a critical essay, an open letter, etc.
- Don't forget to quote! Your text should contain about 30% quotes and 70% facts.
In other languages:
Français: écrire une nouvelle journalistique, Italiano: Scrivere un Articolo Giornalistico, Deutsch: Einen Nachrichtenbericht schreiben, Português: Escrever uma Reportagem, Русский: написать информационный доклад, Español: redactar un artículo periodístico, 中文: 写作新闻报道, Bahasa Indonesia: Menulis Warta Berita
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 209,908 times.
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This concept teaches students four theorems about chords and how to apply them.
This video provides the student with a walkthrough on chords in circles.
This video provides the student with a walkthrough of one or more examples from the concept "Chords in Circles".
This video gives more detail about the mathematical principles presented in Chords in Circles.
This video shows how to work step-by-step through one or more of the examples in Chords in Circles.
A list of student-submitted discussion questions for Chords in Circles.
Theorems for chords, secants, and tangents (of a circle) are covered in this study guide.
These flashcards help you study important terms and vocabulary from Chords in Circles.
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view a plan
In this marketing lesson, students develop a company, product, marketing plan and advertisements
Social Studies, Computers & Internet
By – Keisha Crenshaw
Primary Subject – Social Studies
Secondary Subjects – Computers & Internet
Grade Level – 11-12
- Students will work on a team,
- students will collaborate to create a company profile,
- students will work together to determine individual roles in their company,
- students will collectively create a PowerPoint presentation,
- students will create a concept for a product or service to market.
- This lesson is designed to develop career and employability skills, specifically
- Michigan Content Standard 7, Teamwork:
- all students will work cooperatively with people of diverse backgrounds and abilities, identify with the group’s goals and values, learn to exercise leadership, teach others new skills, serve clients or customers, and will contribute to a group process with ideas, suggestions and efforts.
Learning Resources and Materials:
- Computers with internet access
- Overhead Projector and screen
Development of Lesson:
- This is the first lesson in a three-part project. Students will work together to develop a company, product or service, marketing plan and various advertisements. At this point in the course, students will have studied various marketing techniques, advertising styles, sales plans and market conditions. These junior and senior level students will have already taken general business and other foundational courses. Students will work together to decide who’s skills are the best match for different parts of the project. Their ending results will be presented in class by the entire group.
- This will be a group assignment; depending on class size, there will be 2-3 groups. Students will be given time to come up with a concept for a product or service, develop a company, its name and profile, and assign job titles to the members of the group (CEO, VP, etc.). Students will create a PowerPoint presentation introducing their company, its staff and its product or service.
- Working on this project as a group will allow students to contribute collectively and each in their own areas of expertise. There will be periodic submissions of progress due for evaluation by the instructor to ensure that students are on the right track. In class discussion time, real world examples of companies, their marketing plans and advertising campaigns should be given.
- Students will be evaluated on their ability to work harmoniously as a group. Each student should have an active role in the assignment. Students PowerPoint presentation will be graded based on the following criteria: minimum number of slides, visual clarity, presence of required information and presentation to the class. Students will also be graded on the development of their company and the assignment of duties within the group.
- Once part one is complete, the class will move on to part two. After all groups have presented their company to the class, they will continue to work together on the next phase of the project. Students will have an opportunity to discuss in open class their ideas to get feed back from the other groups, who could possibly represent their target market.
E-Mail Keisha Crenshaw !
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The Specific Capacity of a well is simply the pumping rate (yield) divided by the drawdown (Figure 1). It is a very valuable number that can be used to provide the design pumping rate or maximum yield for the well. It can be used to identify potential well, pump, or aquifer problems, and accordingly to develop a proper well maintenance schedule. It can also be used to estimate the transmissivity of the aquifer(s) tapped by the well's perforations. Transmissivity is the rate water is transmitted through an aquifer under a unit width and a unit hydraulic gradient. It equals the aquifer's hydraulic conductivity (permeability) times the aquifer thickness. The higher the transmissivity, the more prolific the aquifer and the less drawdown observed in the well.
Figure 1 - Drawdown in a well. From Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Typically, a well should run continuously for at least 24 hours at a constant yield before recording the drawdown (Driscoll, 1986). The same time frame should be used for each subsequent test for equal comparisons to the initial test. Shorter time frames are sometimes used from electric company pump efficiency tests or Step-Drawdown tests, but these shorter times may not sufficiently allow the water levels to stabilize for a reliable Specific Capacity calculation.
Figure 2 shows information from a typical well driller's log for a well in the Central Basin. The pumping test was run for 24 hours when the yield (2,500 gpm) and the drawdown (21 feet) were measured. The Specific Capacity is calculated as 2,500 gpm/21 feet, or 119 gpm/ft.
Figure 2 - Information from a Well Driller's Log showing variables for Specific Capacity.
The Specific Capacity obtained just after a well is drilled and properly developed is typically the highest value that will be produced and is the benchmark with which to compare all future values. As time goes by, the Specific Capacity will decline as plugging of the well's perforations or filter pack occurs, as the pump starts to fail, or as static water levels change. Specific Capacity tests should be performed at least semi-annually and water levels (static and pumping) should be collected monthly to provide early detection of potential well problems. Rehabilitation work should be initiated when a well's Specific Capacity drops by 25% (Driscoll, 1986).
The initial value can also be used to estimate the maximum pumping rate for the well. Using the above example and assuming that only 50 feet of drawdown is available in the well, the maximum yield is calculated as the Specific Capacity times the maximum drawdown, or 119 gpm/ft * 50 ft, = 5,950 gpm. This should be verified with an actual field test.
The initial Specific Capacity value can also be used to estimate the transmissivity of the aquifer. Driscoll (1986) provides the following equations to estimate transmissivity:
T = 1500 * Q/s (for an unconfined aquifer)
T = 2000 * Q/s (for a confined aquifer)
Notes: T = Transmissivity, in gallons per day per foot, gpd/ft Q/s = Specific Capacity, in gallons per minute per foot, gpm/ft See Driscoll (1986) for assumptions.
To gain an understanding of the Specific Capacity distribution throughout the Central and West Coast Basins, WRD calculated the Specific Capacity values from 328 well driller's logs between 1920 and 2003. These values were then brought into a Geographic Information System (GIS) and gridded, contoured, and color-coded into ranges to produce the map shown as Figure 3. Although the wells had different pumping rates, durations of test, and lengths of screen, the map nonetheless can be used to provide some general understanding of distributions across the basins. Specific Capacity values are generally highest in the Carson and Dominguez Gap areas of the West Coast Basin, where the Silverado Aquifer sands are especially thick and transmissive. Specific Capacity values are lowest in the eastern and northern portions of the Central Basin and along the Newport-Inglewood Uplift near Gardena and Inglewood, indicative of tighter and less transmissive aquifers in those areas.
Many pumpers do not have the luxury of drilling new wells in areas of higher Specific Capacity, so this map can be used to estimate the drawdown that will occur at a new well site based on the desired pumping rate. However, confirmation with site-specific pilot hole drilling and pump testing will still be necessary for final well and pump designs.
Figure 3 - Specific Capacity Map based on initial values on well driller's logs.
Part 2 will focus on declining Specific Capacity values and well redevelopment. For more information on this Technical Bulletin, please contact the author at the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. Current and previous editions can be found on our web site's Technical Documents section.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, web site accessed 2/24/05.
Driscoll, F.G., 1986, Groundwater and Wells, Second Edition, Published by Johnson Filtration Systems Inc.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators are essential to our nation’s food supply and to maintaining healthy, productive wildlands.
The BLM's Plant Conservation Program recognizes managing for pollinators and other non-pollinating insects is an important aspect of protecting and managing rare plants and natural plant communities. Because plants and insects can be interdependent, many times, conservation of one species cannot happen without consideration of the other.
The BLM takes the needs of pollinators into consideration when authorizing or performing land use activities on the public lands.
Increasingly, specialist pollinators and insects are becoming the focus of BLM conservation activities and are being added to BLM special status species lists. This page contains a few of the many examples of plant-insect interactions that the BLM manages.
The Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly (Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana) is a BLM Nevada special status butterfly species. These butterflies are known for their almost complete dependence upon Kearney buckwheat (Eriogonum nummulare), eating the fallen leaves of the plant as larvae, and feeding on the nectar of the flowers as adults. In addition the Sand Mountain Blue has a close relationship with ants. Desert carpenter ants feed off a sugary secretion produced by the larvae. Over the past 10 years, the population of Kearney buckwheat in the Sand Mountain area has declined due to recreational use. Changes in BLM management of the area have stabilized populations while balancing multiple use of the area.
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
The BLM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Pollinator Partnership, which is the non-profit administrator for a collaboration known as the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC). Through NAPPC, more than 100 private, government, university and non-profit organizations are working together to encourage the health of resident and migratory pollinating animals in North America.
Podcast: Carol Spurrier, BLM range ecologist, and Scott Hoffman Black, Executive Director of the Xerces Society, are featured in the BLM podcast, Managing Microfauna: Pollinators on Public Lands. Listen to what the BLM is doing to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators and the need to protect them and their habitats.
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EASTER TRADITIONS VARY around the world – from dyeing eggs to dancing around them.
In some countries, huge processions take place, while in others the religious celebration is marked in more sedate ways.
We take a look at some of the most interesting traditions worldwide.
- People often prepared for the coming of Easter by spring cleaning their home, buying new clothes and cutting hair and fingernails.
- In the past, a mock funeral for a herring would be held on Easter Saturday, which marked the end of the Lenten period where Catholics would abstain from eating red meat.
- Traditional folk dancing called Morris dancing takes place over Easter.
- Easter bonnets were popular, especially in times past, when women would make and wear their own bonnets..
- Hot cross buns are served on Good Friday, while Simnel cake was served on Easter Sunday to help break the Lenten fast.
- Maundy Thursday is celebrated by Christians on the Thursday before Easter, and includes blessing of holy oils and often the washing of the feet. The Monarch offers ‘alms’ or coins to senior citizens.
- A game called ‘egg tapping’ is sometimes played in the North of England, where players hit other players’ eggs and the winner is the one whose egg breaks last.
- The Easter Bunny also visits Germany, and decorated eggs are popular here.
- The summer day parade, or Sommertagszug, is celebrated three weeks before Easter. The Easter market (Ostermarket) also takes place, where people can pick up Easter-themed products and crafts.
- The Osterbrunnen is an Easter fountain – you’ll find it in Franken in Germany, and it involves decorating a fountain with garlands and decorated eggs.
- The ‘egg dance’ is often played – eggs are laid on the ground and people dance among them while trying not to damage them.
- The Osterbaum or Easter tree is also popular in Germany, which involves Easter eggs being hung from trees or large branches. One family takes the idea of an Osterbaum to a new level: (AP/Youtube)
- An Easter festival is held in Antigua, a tradition brought to the country by Spanish missionaries in the 1700s. It involves a week of celebrations, including a procession travelling through the town.
- People gather to carry huge holy statues and a shrine is constructed every year. (TransAmericasJourney/Youtube)
- Similar processions take place in Colombia, where the Nazarenos wear purple hooded robes decorated with white crosses.
- Candle-lit processions are held and brass bands play throughout the spectacular events. (AFP/Youtube)
- The crucifixion of Christ is renacted in the Philippines at Easter time. This practice is not encouraged by the church but takes place on Good Friday and involves the real-life nailing to the cross of volunteers.
- Easter is celebrated in dramatic ways throughout Spain, from processions of religious statues to the drum chorus in Calanda.
- Holy Week is called Semana Santa, and Semana Santa in Andalucia sees the ‘nazarenos’ in traditional hoods and masks following processions.
- The Danza de la Muerte (Dance of Death) takes place in Verges, Gerona, on Holy Thursday and harks back to the Black Death in the 14th century. It involves five people dressed as skeletons touring the town and scaring many in their path.
- In Florence, the Easter Sunday celebration involves a parade through the town, during which a cart is exploded to help ensure a good harvest.
- Easter processions are also popular in Italy, with confraternities in traditional costumes journeying through the streets and brass bands playing in Enna in Sicily.
- A cross of thorns, the urn of the Dead Christ and the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows are carried through Enna. (levk12345/Youtube)
- Dyeing Easter eggs is popular here, a tradition that is also carried out around the world.
- The White House Easter Egg Roll is an annual event where children roll easter eggs down the White House lawn. This was a European tradition taken to the New World by settlers. Here’s last year’s video: (whitehouse/Youtube)
Do you have any family Easter rituals?
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April 26, 2014 | By Epilepsy Arizona |
Normally, our bodies run on energy from glucose, which we get from food. We can’t store large amounts of glucose, however. We only have about a 24-hour supply. When a child has no food for 24 hours – which is the way the diet begins, usually in a hospital – he or she uses up all the stored glucose. With no more glucose to provide energy, the child’s body begins to burn stored fat.
The ketogenic diet keeps this process going. It forces the child’s body to burn fat round the clock by keeping calories low and making fat products the primary food that the child is getting. In fact, the diet gets most (80 percent) of its calories from fat. The rest comes from carbohydrates and protein. Each meal has about four times as much fat as protein or carbohydrate. The amounts of food and liquid at each meal have to be carefully worked out and weighed for each person.
Doctors don’t know precisely why a diet that mimics starvation by burning fat for energy should prevent seizures, although this is being studied. Nor do they know why the same diet works for some children and not for others. Trying to put a child on the diet without medical guidance puts a child at risk of serious consequences. Every step of the ketogenic diet process must be managed by an experienced treatment team, usually based at a specialized medical center.
Chances of Success
Often, a period of fine-tuning is needed before it’s clear whether or not a child is going to respond to the ketogenic diet. Doctors often ask parents to try the diet for at least one month, and even as long as two or three, if it’s not working at first. A child on the diet usually continues taking anti-seizure medicine, but may be able to take less of it later on. If a child does very well, the doctor may slowly taper the medication with the goal of discontinuing it altogether. About a third of children who try the ketogenic diet become seizure free, or almost seizure free. Another third improve but still have some seizures. The rest either do not respond at all or find it too hard to continue with the diet, either because of side effects or because they can’t tolerate the food.
A side benefit of the diet is that many parents say their children are more alert and make more progress when on the diet, even if seizures continue. If the diet seems to be helping, doctors will usually prescribe it for about two years. Then, they may suggest that parents slowly begin including regular food in the child’s diet to see if the seizures can still be controlled, even with a normal diet.
Like all the other treatments for epilepsy, the ketogenic diet has some side effects, which may or may not affect a particular child. Some side effects may go away if caught and managed early on. Knowing what to look for can make a big difference. Reported side effects include dehydration, constipation, and, sometimes, complications from kidney stones or gall stones.
Adult women on the diet may have menstrual irregularities. Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), decreased bone density and certain eye problems have also been reported. Again, this is why the medical team closely follows children or adults who are on the diet.
The diet lacks several important vitamins which have to be added through supplements. Sometimes high levels of fat build up in the blood, especially if a child has an inborn defect in his ability to process fat. This possibility can lead to serious effects, which is another reason for careful monitoring.
Making the Decision
Most experts say the diet is worth trying when two or more medications have failed to control seizures, or when medications cause side effects that are having a harmful effect on a child’s life. It also helps to have a child who is willing to try foods that he might otherwise not be enthusiastic about, and is tolerant and not fussy about eating.
The diet seems to work for more than one kind of seizure, and for children who have a lot of seizures or few seizures. But most doctors say it shouldn’t be used instead of medications if the drugs are working and the child is not having bad side effects. Parents generally decide to try the diet because they hope it will give their child a better chance for a normal life.
However, the diet can be a barrier to some normal life experiences for children, especially those that revolve around food and holidays. And, like other treatments for epilepsy, it also can have side effects that affect some children more than others. So, as with any kind of treatment, there’s a lot to think about before deciding to try the diet.
Going over all the possibilities with your doctor is the best way to make the decision. It may also be helpful to talk with other parents whose children have been on the diet.
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Counting in the Wake of a Catastrophe: Challenges and Recommendations for the 2010 Census in the Gulf Coast Region
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund - August 2009
Four years after the catastrophic combination of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and multiple failures of government preparation and response, this report reviews factors that contribute to the unique difficulties in obtaining an accurate count in the Gulf Coast region for the 2010 Census. We recommend a set of policy and operational changes that would increase the likelihood of a successful count, which is vitally important to continued progress in communities still recovering from the impact of the 2005 storms.
The always-daunting task of accurately counting the U.S. population every 10 years is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The count, carried out by the U.S. Census Bureau based on a nationwide survey of households, is used to allocate representation in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states, to draw congressional and state legislative district lines, to direct the distribution of trillions of dollars in federal, state, and private spending and investment decisions, and to assist in the evaluation and enforcement of civil rights protections.
The uneven accuracy of previous Census counts – particularly the higher likelihood that racial and ethnic minorities, people with low income, people with limited English proficiency, and others are more likely to be undercounted – raises serious civil rights concerns about equality of political representation and economic opportunity.
For the 2010 Census, the task will be exceptionally challenging in the Gulf Coast region.
View the report by section below, or download a printable version of the full report (PDF).
Table of Contents
- Importance of the 2010 Census to the Gulf Coast Region
- Difficulties of a Post-Katrina Count in Gulf Coast Communities
- Good News from the Census Bureau
- Reasons for Continued Concern
- This Report
- The Long-Term Demographic Impact of Katrina
- The Changing Racial and Ethnic Landscape
- Demographics and Hard-to-Count Areas
- Vacant Housing Units
- Households without Telephone Service
- Renter-Occupied Housing
- Addressing the Challenges of an Address-Based System
- Residence Rules and Displaced Residents
- Difficulties in Enumerating Immigrant and Migrant Populations
- The Impact of High Vacancy Rates and Temporary Housing
- Consequences of More Households without Phone Service
- A Potential Downside to Relatively Strong Economic Conditions
- Communications Campaign
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Rochester is now a member of Internet2, a consortium of some 110 universities and agencies working to create a network that will be between 100 and 1,000 times faster than the current Internet. The new system would allow researchers to have their computers talk to each other with unprecedented speed; digital libraries would be able to offer on-line video and audio materials; medical researchers and clinicians would be able to diagnose and monitor patients from a distance; and professors would be able to appear on-screen and talk on-line with a sizable class of students.
"We can see what the Internet has done so far, and Internet2 is likely to have that kind of effect, but many times over," says Edward Titlebaum, vice provost for computing. "We want to be a part of that new system."
Titlebaum notes that Rochester was originally involved in ARPANET, the government computer network that laid the groundwork for today's Internet system.
Internet2 will not be an "add-on" to the present Internet, but will be based on entirely new fiber optics connections and a new system of channeling information around the net. Universities will use a new very high-speed backbone network service (vBNS) line to connect to a regional "gigapop" (gigabit capacity point of presence), which in turn will connect with 14 other gigapops around the country. Information will be able to flow at more than 600 million bits per second--compared with the current 10,000 or so bits per second--and will eventually operate at speeds as high as 2.4 billion bits per second. The new connections would provide higher speeds, greater capacity (i.e., bandwidth), and better quality of service that, for example, would allow video images to appear smoothly and virtually instantaneously on one's computer screen and avoid the long "pauses" that sometimes occur when a computer user connects to a new web site. Computer programs involving multiple computers at various locations would be able to work significantly faster.
The University expects to be connected to the New York State gigapop by the end of the year. (The state's gigapop also will include SUNY Buffalo, Syracuse University, SUNY Albany, SUNY Binghamton, New York University, Columbia University, Polytechnic University, New York Public Library, Rockefeller University, SUNY Stony Brook, Brookhaven National Laboratories, and other institutions.)
Rochester is now a part of an application among seven institutions in the state for National Science Foundation funding to support connection to the vBNS linesnow being laid along the Thruway that will connect New York State gigapop members as well as serving commercial customers.
"In our application for NSF funding, we had to show some of the ways in which Internet2 will be useful to our research efforts, and we had plenty to show them," Titlebaum says. Among examples are projects from the various campuses in physics, biomedical ultrasound, and telemedicine.
For example, physics and astronomy faculty and students visit telescopes around the country to make observations and record data--lots of it. (One clear night easily generates 100 megabytes of data.) A faster Internet would allow these astronomers to transfer their findings to other colleagues or back to their home institutions, instead of packing them up on CDs or some other storage format.
At the Medical Center, faster and better Internet connections would allow a physician at a remote location to observe and consult during complicated surgical procedures.
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The dwarf planet Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt, is releasing water vapour into space, astronomers announced yesterday. The discovery, made by the European Herschel space telescope, is being called the first unambiguous detection of water vapour around any object in the asteroid belt and was published today in the journal Nature.
According to Michael Küppers of ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre in Spain, and lead author of the paper in Nature, “This is the first time that water has been detected in the asteroid belt, and provides proof that Ceres has an icy surface and an atmosphere.”
Almost all of the water vapour is originating from two widely separated spots on the surface in the mid-latitudes. “We estimate that approximately 6 kg of water vapour is being produced per second, requiring only a tiny fraction of Ceres to be covered by water ice, which links nicely to the two localised surface features we have observed,” said Laurence O’Rourke, Principal Investigator for the Herschel asteroid and comet observation programme called MACH-11, and second author of the Nature paper. The amount of water vapour being released varied over a matter of hours.
The discovery brings to mind comets as well as moons such as Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa, both of which are now known to release plumes of water from cracks in their surfaces.
The origin of Ceres’ water vapour plumes is still uncertain. Like comets, it may be that that ice on the surface is warmed by heat from the Sun and then sublimates into space during the 9 hours it takes Ceres to rotate once on its axis. The two locations of the water vapour emissions are about 5% darker than the rest of the surface. They may therefore be a bit warmer, allowing ice in those areas to more easily sublimate.
The other, more exciting possibility, is that the water vapour is coming from within Ceres itself, like Enceladus and Europa. This would imply a layer of liquid water below the surface, raising the possibility of a habitable environment inside the dwarf planet.
As Humberto Campins, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, explained, “It’s fascinating that these plumes are coming from limited areas. We don’t have enough information to discriminate at this point.” He added, “But no matter what the source of the vapour is, it must somehow be continuously replenished.”
Ceres is the largest known asteroid (and classified as a dwarf planet) at 950 kilometres (590 miles) in diameter, and is almost spherical in shape.
Some answers to these question may come fairly soon, when the Dawn spacecraft is due to arrive at Ceres in early 2015, after having already studied the asteroid Vesta.
This article was first published on Examiner.com.
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Google Climate Map Highlights Impact of 4C Temperature Rise
Google has this week released an interactive tool layering climate data over Google Earth maps to illustrate the specific impacts a temperature rise of 4C would have on the planet.
The map is populated with temperature data from the met office and other climate research centres which has been imposed onto a Google earth layer, which allows users to select different climate ‘impacts’ to view from sea level rises to temperature rises.
A temperature rise of 4C would be devastating for millions of people in developing countries who are already suffering the effects of climate change.
Development charity Practical Action works with poor communities in Latin America, Asia and Africa helping people that are facing the realities of climate change on a daily basis to adapt to them and get on with their lives.
Find out more about Practical Action’s work on climate change adaptation, from building gardens that float on flood water in Bangladesh to digging shallow wells in times of drought in Kenya.
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Many schools in South Africa may have considered biometric access control as a means of combating truancy and ensuring learner safety and security.
In the UK, an estimated 30% of all schools use biometric access control. Although concerns have been raised over privacy and the collection of fingerprints into national data sets, the Data Protection Act (1998) of that country allows schools to record fingerprint biometrics without the consent of the parents.
In South Africa, however, the almost to be promulgated Protection of Personal Information (POPI) bill prevents the collection of personal information without the written consent of the individual, or that of a legal guardian in the case of minors. (See section 25 – Prohibition on processing of special personal information).
This would imply that, even if a school’s governing body agrees to the implementation of biometric access control at a school, the individual learners would still be able to reject this notion through the refusal by the parent/legal guardian to record the learner’s biometric information.
It is thus imperative that schools, and governing bodies in particular, manage the decision-making process around biometric access control in such a way that the potential legal stumbling blocks are taken care of as early as possible.
What is biometrics?
Biometrics (ancient Greek: bios life, metron measure) introduces the technology and methods for uniquely recognizing a person by storing unique biological metrics of that person in a central database from which identification of said metrics can be done without the need for access cards, security tags, etc.
What is the preferred way of implementing biometrics at schools?
From an affordability, accuracy, and usability perspective, the primary options for biometric access control at schools would be fingerprint, palm vein, and face metrics.
Fingerprint biometrics is by far the most popular, but do suffer from a few practical limitations. Young children, up to the age of 8 years, have notoriously unreadable fingerprints. In March 2009, the European Parliament has consented that children under the age of 12 would not be required to have their fingerprints recorded as part of their visa applications.
This would thus exclude fingerprint biometrics from use in primary schools.
Another challenge with most fingerprint biometrics, is the vulnerability towards ambient temperature. Although a device may have operating specifications that is way below zero degrees Celsius, any person subjected to an outside temperature close to that temperature, even for short periods of time, will undergo physiological changes where blood vessels contract to retain heat, and in doing so, altering the ratios and distances of various minutiae points on his/her fingers.
In short, it has been noted that fingerprint biometrics can be challenging if kids have to walk to school in cold winder months.
Face recognition is another metric that is gaining in popularity and affordability. From a usability perspective, face recognition has the advantage of not having to put your school-bags down in order to present a hand/finger to the identification device. This can be a convincing argument in extreme cold conditions.
The disadvantage of most face-recognition systems is scan and processing time. Should a child need access granted to the school premise, he/she needs to walk up to the face-scanner, stay immobile for at least 2 seconds, not say a word, not moving, not making faces, and not talking on his/her cell phone. Although this is an easy feat for adults, it can be quite a challenge for juveniles and teenagers alike.
Palm vein biometric systems make use of infra-red technology to create a profile of the subcutaneous veins of a person’s hand. This is a relatively universal metric that is as easily recordable for toddlers as it is for grown-ups. Recent trials with contact-less palm vein biometric systems have shown promising results. With identification speed of less than 1 second, and a price-tag that competes favorably with quality fingerprint scanners, this technology would be the author’s preferred technology of choice when implementing biometric access control at primary and secondary schools.
In general, the biometric technology is the least of your concerns when it comes to implementing access control at a school. At the top of the list of expenses would be the purchase and installation of perimeter control. Without proper fencing, no access control system would be worth anything. Similarly, turnstiles (devices used to allow one person through a gate at a time) can be quite costly and one would normally need a number of these to allow acceptable entrance rates into/out of the school premises.
A general rule of thumb for biometric devices would be to allow for a maximum of 8 learners per minute through a turnstile. This means that if you need to grant access for 500 children onto the school terrain between 07:10 and 07:30 am, an average of 25 children would arrive at any minute during that time. We know that this is not the case though. Of the 500, 350 would probably arrive within the last 10 minutes before the school starts. To allow 350 kids access through biometric controlled turnstiles within 10 minutes, would require 3-4 turnstiles to be installed.
By: Liam Terblanche, CIO at Accsys
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Unlike the Roman calendar that begins its year in winter (in the northern hemisphere), the Bible calendar begins in spring (in the Middle East). In accordance with its ancient beginnings (right from Creation when light was created after the darkness), Bible calendar days were, and are, determined to begin and end at sunset.
Months of the Biblical calendar are linked directly to the phases of the moon (the word month actually means moon). The Bible month begins with the first sighting of the slender crescent of the new moon which does not become visible until a day or two after the precise time of the astronomical new moon, when the moon is directly between the earth and the sun. The moon at that time is usually slightly above or below the ecliptic. At other less common times, when the moon is directly in our line of sight to the sun, we get a solar eclipse (i.e. eclipses of the sun can occur only at the time of the new moon when the moon is between the earth and the sun. Conversely, eclipses of the moon can only occur at the time of the full moon when the earth is between the moon and the sun).
The Bible calendar is a very simple and natural means of keeping time. Although today commonly known as the "Jewish calendar," it actually long predates the Jewish people. God Himself gave it to all humanity. It uses His earth and His heavens as a great clock that can always be counted on - the earth keeps on rolling, and the moon always goes around.
Fact Finder: Were the sun and the moon to be used to mark days, months and seasons (years)?
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Smolensky Cemetery (Russian: Смоленское кладбище) is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia. It occupies a rectangular parcel in the western part of Vasilievsky Island, on the bank of the small Smolenka River, and is divided into the Orthodox, Lutheran, and Armenian sections.
The Orthodox cemetery is known to have existed in 1738, but was not officially recognized until 1758. Not only was it far removed from the city center, but it was also damp, necessitating the construction of drainage canals.
The cemetery has two churches. The older church is dedicated to the Theotokos of Smolensk. The azure-painted Neoclassical building was erected between 1786 and 1790. The church was closed for worship by the Bolsheviks between 1940 and 1946, then between 1960 and 1987. The newer church (1904), currently in disrepair, is dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ. It is the only example of Naryshkin Baroque in St. Petersburg. The church used to be known for its dazzling Neo-Baroque icon screen with a set of Vasnetsov icons. Other buildings on the grounds included the first wooden church, that of Michael the Archangel (destroyed by the Saint Petersburg flood of 1824), and an almshouse designed by Luigi Rusca.
The cemetery was a traditional burial place for the professors of the Imperial Academy of Arts and St. Petersburg University (both sited on Vasilievsky Island). Up to 800,000 people are estimated to have been interred at Smolensky Cemetery before the Russian Revolution, making it the largest 19th-century cemetery of St. Petersburg.
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What is Consciousness?
Public Radio Tulsa – This Friday at 8:00 pm on Public Radio 89.5 HD1, The Really Big Questions will explore the latest thinking about consciousness, by looking at what the minds of nonhuman animals can tell us about human minds.
The quest to define consciousness has inspired philosophers and scientists for much of human history. The Really Big Questions (TRBQ), will explore the latest thinking about consciousness, by looking at what the minds of nonhuman animals can tell us about human minds. Do you ever wonder what your dog is thinking when you talk to her, and she cocks her head and looks at you with the saddest eyes you have ever seen? Or what is going on in your cat's head while you scratch its chin and it purrs. It wasn't too long ago that scientists considered conscious thought to be an exclusively human attribute. Today, however, a growing body of research suggests that nonhuman animals exhibit varying degrees of conscious-like behavior, from planning for the future and memorizing previous events, to considering the thoughts of and deliberately misleading other members of their species. Which brings us to a really big question: What is consciousness, anyway?
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CREATE: A Comprehensive Model for Instruction of Academic Language and Literacy in the Content Areas
Annie Duguay, Center for Applied Linguistics
Download a PDF of this document (387 KB)
English learners continue to lag behind their English-proficient peers in terms of academic achievement (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). In addition, Hispanics, who make up the largest group of English learners in the United States, have the highest high school dropout rate in the country (Chapman, Laird, Ifill, & KewalRamani, 2011). As a response to this achievement gap and numerous other pressures, teachers are being challenged to teach to more rigorous standards, engage students with more complex text, and ensure that their students are college and career ready. At the same time, research on second language acquisition and best teaching practices for English learners, as reflected in the SIOP Model, calls on teachers to incorporate more peer interaction, visuals, hands-on experiences, prereading activities, and scaffolded writing assignments (Echevarría, Vogt, & Short, 2010). Teachers may find this recommendation for scaffolded learning to be in contradiction with district and state expectations for providing academic rigor and preparing students for independent performance on high-stakes tests. The Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) has responded to this challenge by integrating academic language development into the rigorous content area instruction of learners in the middle grades. This research brief is intended to explain instructional implications from the 7-year CREATE program of study as well as to guide practitioners in implementing the findings. School leaders who are interested in reforms that target academic language development within content area instruction to boost the achievement of both English learners and English-proficient students will benefit from the approach described in this brief. It will also be valuable for preservice and inservice teachers who are interested in practical techniques for creating scaffolded tasks in lesson plans that are aligned with grade-level content standards.
Research Context and Contributions
During the first 4 years of the CREATE program, researchers conducted separate studies that involved developing curricula for three content areas: social studies, science, and language arts. The intervention sites included classrooms with both English learners and English-proficient students. After 4 years, during which the curricula were tested and revised with promising results (August, Branum-Martin, Cardenas-Hagan, & Francis, 2009; Echevarría, Richards-Tutor, Canges, & Francis, 2011; Snow, Lawrence, & White, 2009; Vaughn, Martinez, Linan-Thompson, Reutebuch, Carlson, & Francis, 2009), the separate studies were integrated into a 2-year, school-wide intervention with an overarching framework of SIOP Model professional development and weekly coaching sessions. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of SIOP as a profes¬sional development approach to improve the quality of instruction for English learners (Short, Fidelman, & Louguit, 2012).
Grade 7 teachers at eight middle schools participated in the school-wide intervention. In the first year of this integrated intervention, four schools acted as the control sites, while four schools received the researcher-developed curricula, professional development, and coaching. In the second year, the teachers who had previously been control teachers received the intervention curricula, professional development, and coaching. In addition to the three content areas originally included in the study, in the final year of research math teachers received SIOP professional development, coaching, and weekly instructional “math tips.” Preliminary results indicate that this whole-school approach with language-rich curricula and intensive professional development has been effective and that it benefits all learners in the classroom, not only the English learners (August & Duguay, 2011; Snow & White, 2011; Vaughn & Reutebuch, 2011).
Several aspects of the CREATE intervention make it unique. Its contributions include the comprehensive model for school-wide planning as well as an experimental study of individual best-teaching practices for English learners. While most previous studies have focused on language development or content knowledge separately, the CREATE project focused not only on rigorous grade-level content but also on integrated academic language development. Researchers incorpo-rated a nuanced approach to language development: Rather than focus solely on content vocabulary items as traditional methods do, they also emphasized high-frequency general academic terms (e.g., structure, function, implement) and various morphological forms that characterize academic vocabulary (e.g., -tion, –ly), in addition to other language structures. Curricula encouraged use of academic language in frequent, rich, extended student discussion. The shared curricular approach implemented in a comprehensive intervention across content areas yields a coherent framework for teaching and learning. Although the intervention required that teachers modify their practice, the innovations were aligned with the state standards that teachers were accustomed to following. Teachers had support in the form of SIOP professional development and intensive individual coaching. Another notable attribute of CREATE is that the work was carried out in the middle grades, an area that has been sparsely studied despite the distinct language development and literacy needs of students at this level (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004).
Academic Language in the Classroom
Students’ knowledge of academic language is a significant determinant of their academic success (Francis, Rivera, Lesaux, Kieffer, & Rivera, 2006). However, there is no common definition for academic language or a clear understanding of how it reflects content knowledge (Anstrom, DiCerbo, Butler, Katz, Millet, & Rivera, 2010). Although states have identified aspects of academic English for the purpose of creating and implementing English language development standards and English language proficiency assessments, these standards and assessments are mostly utilized by ESL teach-ers and specialists. Increasingly, content area teachers are recognizing the need to help their English learners and English-proficient students with academic language development, but they lack sufficient guidance, preservice training, or professional development (Ballantyne, Sanderman, & Levy, 2008).
Now teachers are being held accountable to new standards that address academic language. The Common Core State Standards address language in three ways (van Lier & Walqui, 2012): by specifying that language is a factor in all content areas; by targeting the development of communicative and academic language through the English language arts standards; and by focusing standards specifically on language, including vocabulary acquisition, conventions of grammar, and knowledge about language. The CREATE project was well under way before the release of the Common Core State Standards and the forthcoming Next Generation Science Standards, but it addresses academic language development in content areas in ways that are aligned with these standards: by providing SIOP professional development and by developing content curricula featuring explicit instruction of language, such as aspects of morphology, and literacy instruction with grade-level text aligned with content concepts.
Common Instructional Design Across the Content Areas
While developing the curricular approach for the integrated intervention, researchers began by considering the demographics of the school sites. The majority of the English learners in these schools were bilingual in Spanish and English, and therefore the students would benefit from explicit attention to cognates and translated glossaries. Additionally, the classrooms that participated in the study represented the reality that most English learners are learning alongside their English-proficient peers in mainstream classrooms. Because many of the English-proficient peers could also benefit from attention to academic language, the content and language objectives were pertinent to all students in the class.
In response to teacher reports that students were often unable to read the assigned textbooks or to follow a lecture on content concepts, the project curricula were written to engage students with academic content and concepts from grade-level standards, but with scaffolding to ensure comprehensibility for English learners and accessibility to all. Examples of scaffolding included heavy use of visuals to define vocabulary terms and concepts, organization of key concepts in graphic orga-nizers, and teacher modeling of science experiments, debate techniques, and expectations for final products. Student engagement was also promoted through high-interest topics, such as comparing current events to the Texas revolution, debating the humaneness of renting pets, or comparing the various forms of social media to determine word meaning; and through participatory activities including classroom debates in English language arts, partner talks in Social Studies, and hands-on science experiments. Teachers also used multimedia to communicate concepts, for example, by delivering instruction through PowerPoint, showing short video clips, and guiding students to explore interactive websites linked to a content concept.
All of the content area curricula emphasized direct vocabulary instruction of content-specific terms, general academic words, and word-learning strategies. Content-specific terms are those that are most frequent in a domain, such as siege in social studies or evaporation in science. General academic terms are words like analyze, function, or factor that are frequent in all of the subject areas. Word-learning strategies are important because students have to learn about 2,000–3,000 words per year (a word and all of its forms are counted as one word) in order to gain the vocabulary level of the average high school graduate: 50,000 words (Graves, 2006). Teachers cannot possibly teach all of these words, so they need to be strategic in leveraging student knowledge about word parts and cognates, which requires explicit instruction. For example, in English language arts, students in the CREATE classrooms learned that analyze is related to analyzes and analyzing and also to analysis, analytical, and analyzable. This word form instruction is vital. Without it, students taking a high-stakes test may know the forms of words that their teacher has introduced (e.g., revolve, cycle) but have difficulty applying that knowledge to new forms of the same root (e.g., revolution, cyclic). This limitation affects their performance even though they may have mastered the content concepts behind the test. In the CREATE interventions, once students were introduced to the meanings of content-specific and general academic vocabulary terms, they practiced the words through speaking, listening, reading, and writing tasks. Teachers reinforced the terms orally and promoted use of the word wall. The words were purposefully embedded in student activities and reading passages and were provided in the form of word banks and sentence stems for students to use in their writing and discussions. Teachers also used games such as Mix and Match, Bingo, or Ziparound (also called “I have/Who has?”) with the vocabulary terms and definitions.
The literacy practices of the CREATE intervention were also intensive and common across the subject areas. Each lesson included a reading passage that was tightly aligned to the content concepts. Teachers introduced the topic with a big idea or overarching question; read the passage aloud, exposing students to the rich academic text; asked detailed comprehension questions after each chunk of text; prompted interactive discussions based on the text; and asked students to complete a graphic organizer or an activity to demonstrate comprehension of the text, such as preparing a travel brochure to match the description of a biome in the passage. In some classrooms, where the majority of students were able to read independently, students worked in pairs to read the text, answer the questions, and complete the tasks. Teachers could then closely monitor other students and provide reading support as needed.
In addition to interaction with text, the curricula encouraged the students to engage in oral discussions with each other. Each week in English language arts, students engaged in a classroom debate. They were given the vocabulary terms and several argumentative positions relevant to an issue, such as the multi-million-dollar salaries of professional athletes. In social studies, peer inter-action was guided by questions following short video clips that presented historical events. In science, short partner talks were built into applying vocabulary words to new contexts, while more extended time was given to answering higher order thinking questions related to science content, such as whether or not twins share the same DNA. In addition, small groups participated in hands-on lab experiments, during which they were prompted to use the academic vocabulary of the lessons. Purposeful partnering and group work were used to give students an opportunity to collaborate on content work with peers as well as to develop their academic oral language skills in a safer environment than the whole-class setting. Such techniques as providing sentence stems, word banks, and graphic organizers for pairs or groups helped to ensure that students were on task and using the academic language of the content area.
See Table 1 (141 KB), Planning a CREATE Content Lesson, for specific examples of each of the instructional techniques highlighted in this section and to follow a guide to develop a similar lesson.
Benefits to Using a Common Instructional Model Across the Content Areas
In participating CREATE schools, seventh-grade students attended classes throughout the day in which all content area teachers were using the same model of instruction. All intervention teachers had received professional development in the SIOP Model and in using project curricula. Some of the general academic vocabulary terms were also taught across the subject areas, and teachers in different content areas used some of the same interactive activities. The benefits of this consistent approach were evident in the project’s results, suggesting the importance of systematic grade-wide planning. With teachers from different content areas introducing similar or identical words and word-learning strategies, students could recognize the utility of general academic vocabulary across content areas and contexts. Through the repetition of routines, activities, and review games, teachers could reduce transition time between lesson activities for effective management. When teachers promoted structured peer conversations, students were able to recognize that oral language engagement is an academic task, valued and evaluated within the classroom. Having a shared inventory of instructional techniques gave teachers a common focus for discussing successes and challenges and for making modifications to their practice. It also allowed school leaders and instructional coaches to focus their classroom observations, workshops, and feedback on instructional techniques that were common goals across the school and responsive to the needs of the students.
Key Implications From the CREATE Study
While individual research studies have explored many of the practices described above, CREATE’s contribution was in combining the approaches in a comprehensive intervention that cut across content areas, integrated content and language learning, and targeted both English-proficient students and English learners. Additionally, the researchers supported teachers by providing the SIOP Model professional development as a framework, curricula aligned to state standards and tailored to the unique needs of students, and weekly coaching sessions. Although school leaders might attempt to implement a handful of these reforms and techniques, it is their systematic combination and a high level of implementation (Echevarría, Richards-Tutor, Chinn, & Ratleff, 2011) that likely promoted the achievement of students in the intervention group.
Classroom practices to build content knowledge while targeting language development include posting objectives to focus students on the language involved in the content lesson; providing opportunities for content-based oral interaction with diverse partners and groups; directing vocabulary instruction of domain-specific words, general academic words, and word-learning strategies; and using modified grade-level texts that are aligned to content concepts, shared as a group or with a partner, and reviewed through comprehension questions or graphic organizers. Students need opportunities to apply their content knowledge through the use of academic reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.
While these best practices and scaffolds for English learners are implemented, there is no need to sacrifice grade-level rigor in content classrooms. Early research within the CREATE program demonstrates that English-proficient students in intervention classrooms made significant gains on measures of content knowl-edge compared with those in control classrooms whose teachers had not received professional development and did not use project curricula (August, Branum-Martin, Cardenas-Hagan, & Francis, 2009).
Using common curricular approaches and instructional strategies across content areas and grade levels will improve students’ content knowledge and academic language development, reduce classroom management issues, and create common objectives for a professional learning community. To undertake such a shared approach, teachers need district support in the form of planning time, professional development focusing on language development across the content areas, curricula with a dual focus on content and language, ongoing coaching from a specialist, and strong communication between administrators and teachers. A team approach strengthens teacher practices and allows for instructional changes to be sustained and to meet the needs of each school and its diverse learners. The CREATE study contributes to school reform efforts by suggesting that school leaders and instructors who implement a comprehensive approach will see benefits in the overall content knowledge and language proficiency of both their English learners and their English-proficient students.
Anstrom, K., DiCerbo, P., Butler, F., Katz, A., Millet, J., & Rivera, C. (2010). A review of the literature on academic English: Implications for K-12 English language learners. Arlington, VA: The George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education.
August, D., Branum-Martin, L., Cardenas-Hagan, E., & Francis, D. (2009). The impact of an instructional intervention on the science and language learning of middle grade English language learners. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4), 345–376.
August, D., & Duguay, A. (2011, November). CREATE science: Developing science knowledge and academic language in middle grade ELLs. Presentation at the 2011 CREATE Conference, Austin, TX. (PowerPoint slides available from http://www.cal.org/create/events/CREATE2011/ppt-presentations.html)
Ballantyne, K. G., Sanderman, A. R., & Levy, J. (2008). Educating English language learners: Building teacher capacity. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition.
Biancarosa, C., & Snow, C. E. (2004). Reading next—A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report to the Carnegie Corporation of New York (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Chapman, C., Laird, J., Ifill, N., & KewalRamani, A. (2011). Trends in high school dropout and completion rates in the United States: 1972-2009 (NCES 2012-006). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Echevarría, J., Richards-Tutor, C., Canges, R., & Francis, D. (2011). Using the SIOP Model to promote the acquisition of language and science concepts with English learners. Bilingual Research Journal, 34(3), 334-351.
Echevarría, J., Richards-Tutor, C., Chinn, V. P., & Ratleff, P. A. (2011). Did they get it? The role of fidelity in teaching English learners. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(6), 425–434.
Echevarría, J., Vogt, M. E., & Short, D. (2010). Making content comprehensible to secondary English learners: The SIOP model. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Francis, D., Rivera, M., Lesaux, N., Kieffer, M., & Rivera, H. (2006). Practical guidelines for the education of English language learners: Research-based recommendations for instruction and academic interventions. Portsmouth, NH: Center on Instruction. Retrieved from www.centeroninstruction.org/files/ ELL1-Interventions.pdf
Graves, M. F. (2006). The vocabulary book: Learning and instruction. New York: Teachers College Press.
Himmel, J. (2012). Language objectives: The key to effective content instruction for English learners. Colorin Colorado. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/ article/49646/
National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2011 assessment. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Short, D., Fidelman, C., & Louguit, M. (2012). Developing academic language in English language learners through sheltered instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 46(2), 334–361.
Snow, C., Lawrence, J., & White, C. (2009). Generating knowledge of academic language among urban middle school students. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4), 325–344.
Snow, C., & White, C. (2011, November). Using Word Generation in classes with ELLs: Does discussion really work? Presentation at the 2011 CREATE Conference, Austin, TX. (PowerPoint slides available from http://www.cal.org/ create/events/CREATE2011/ppt-presentations.html)
van Lier, L., & Walqui, A. (2012). Language and the Common Core State Standards. Paper presented at the Understanding Language Conference, Stanford University. Retrieved from http://ell.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academic-papers/04-Van%20Lier%20Walqui%20Language%20 and%20CCSS%20FINAL.pdf
Vaughn, S., Martinez, L., Linan-Thompson, S., Reutebuch, C., Carlson, C., & Francis, D. (2009). Enhancing social studies vocabulary and comprehension for seventh-grade English language learners: Findings from two experimental studies. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2(4), 297–324.
Vaughn, S., & Reutebuch, C. (2011, November). CREATE social studies: Developing social studies knowledge and academic language in middle grade ELLs. Presentation at the 2011 CREATE Conference, Austin, TX. (PowerPoint slides available from http://www.cal.org/create/events/ CREATE2011/ppt-presentations.html)
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.cal.org/create/publications/briefs/comprehensive-model-for-instruction-of-academic-language-and-literacy-in-the-content-areas.html
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After analyzing light coming from distant quasars, some researchers have asked a physical constant a blunt question: Are you really constant at all? And since the “fine structure constant” that they’re interrogating is important for how physicists understand things like electrons’ behavior in atoms and fusion in stars, other physicists are asking their own question: Are your measurements correct?
The paper, which appeared last month in arXiv, argues that the constant might vary depending on location. This controversial claim is a new twist on a previous controversial claim–made over the past decade by some of the same physicists–which said that the constant varied with time.
Craig Hogan of the University of Chicago and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., acknowledges that “it’s a competent team and a thorough analysis.” But because the work has such profound implications for physics and requires such a high level of precision measurements, “it needs more proof before we’ll believe it.” [Science News]
Because the constant determines how atoms absorb light, researchers looked at how distant gas clouds in space appeared to absorb the quasars’ light. The light they get from these far away clouds has traveled for billions of years to reach them and therefore is a means to look into the universe’s past. Some of the same researchers previously argued, using observations from the Keck telescope in Hawaii, that the constant was smaller when the universe was younger. Now, measurements from a different telescope seem to say it was larger in the past.
Today, John Webb at the University of South Wales, one of the leading proponents of the varying constant idea, and a few [colleagues] say they have new evidence from the Very Large Telescope in Chile that the fine structure constant was different when the universe was younger. But get this. While data from the Keck telescope indicate the fine structure constant was once smaller, the data from the Very Large Telescope indicates the opposite, that the fine structure constant was once larger. [Technology Review]
Now for the twist. Since the Keck observations measured light in the Northern Hemisphere while the Very Large Telescope measures light from the Southern, the two results together suggest that the constant varies with location. The difference is small, the researchers note, and apparently only varied during the first several billion years of the universe’s life. Still, Paul Davies of Arizona State University says that if correct the find could mean questions for other fundamentals.
If the fine-structure constant really does vary in both space and time, says Davies, it’s an obvious extension that other presumed constants of nature–such as the gravitational constant that determines the strength of the gravitational force–might vary in a similar lopsided manner. “If we can accept a varying fine-structure constant, then all bets are off.” [Science News]
Despite the constant’s importance and the fact that changing the rules of physics would be a mite confusing for everybody, coauthor Michael Murphy of Swinburne University in Australia declares that it’s his job to test assumptions:
[Murphy] understands the caution. But he says the evidence for changing constants is piling up. “We just report what we find, and no one has been able to explain away these results in a decade of trying,” Murphy told New Scientist. “The fundamental constants being constant is an assumption. We’re here to test physics, not to assume it.” [New Scientist]
80beats: Far-Off Quasar Could Be the Spark That Ignites a Galaxy
80beats: Researchers Spot an Ancient Starburst from the Universe’s Dark Ages
80beats: How to Create a Black Hole on a Lab Bench
80beats: We Knew That Black Holes Were Massive. Now Double That.
DISCOVER: Quasars Say Earth is 1/2 a Pinkie Smaller
Image credit: NASA/ESA/ESO/Wolfram Freudling et al. (STECF)
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/10/quasar-study-suggests-a-physics-constant-isnt-so-constant/
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Yellowstone Grizzly Bears Safer For Now
Yellowstone grizzly bears warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. So says the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which recently upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a federal government effort to strip the bears of their protections.
When the government “delisted” the bears in 2007, which stripped them of protections under the Endangered Species Act, Earthjustice attorneys went to court to get the protections reinstated. The federal government failed to explain how grizzlies are supposed to make a living now that one of their key foods, whitebark pine seeds, are disappearing. The seeds are disappearing because the trees that produce them are being killed by beetles which are ravaging the high alpine habitat where the trees grow. The beetles are surviving what used to be harsh winters due to global warming.
One of the untold stories behind the successful effort to reinstate protections for the bears is the efforts of Earthjustice Attorney Doug Honnold and NRDC’s Louisa Willcox that largely put the whitebark pine issue on the map. Few in officialdom, or elsewhere, were talking about the decline of whitebark pines before these two went to work on it. Most people had never heard of these trees nor of their value as a food source to grizzly bears.
Mountain pine beetles have decimated one of the main food sources for grizzly bears. (USDA)
Honnold and Willcox sought out U.S. Forest Service entomologist Dr. Jesse Logan who documented the disastrous spread of mountain pine beetle through whitebark pine forests in the Northern Rockies. Willcox and NRDC then helped to secure funding for an aerial overflight survey of the Yellowstone ecosystem to definitively document the demise of whitebark pine across the ecosystem.
Honnold made sure that Dr. Logan’s cutting-edge work documenting the rapid demise of whitebark pine and modeling the connection between global warming, bark beetles, and the rapid decline in whitebark pine was put squarely in the court record, time and again. This record turned out to be a key to winning the court case.
By the federal government’s last report, there are an estimated 540–660 grizzly bears living in Yellowstone National Park and the national forests that surround it. About 40 percent of the area in this ecosystem now inhabited by the great bears is unprotected from logging, roading, and oil and gas development. Human development is hemming the bears in and they’re having a harder time making a living. Historically, in years when whitebark pine failed to produce large crops of seed-bearing cones, Yellowstone grizzly bears produced fewer cub litters and fewer cubs per litter. Now, with the thousands and thousands of acres of dead whitebark pine trees, every year will be a bad cone year for bears. It’s clear grizzly bears will need help over the long term to survive. The court’s recent ruling keeping ESA protections in place is the right solution at this time.
Aerial view of the devastation caused by the mountain pine beetle. (USDA)
About 40 percent of the area in this ecosystem now inhabited by the great bears is unprotected from logging, roading, and oil and gas development. Human development is hemming the bears in and they’re having a harder time making a living. (NPS)
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<urn:uuid:c43f9acf-dd7c-4c89-b572-d97fd5f29207>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://earthjustice.org/blog/2011-november/yellowstone-grizzly-bears-safer-for-now
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|
en
| 0.948049
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PARIS – In a double blow, bald men may be at higher risk of coronary heart disease, but only if their hair is lost at the crown, a new study says.
Men who bald from the front appear to carry no significant added risk for clogged arteries, which can cause heart attacks, a report in the online journal BMJ Open said Wednesday.
Researchers from the University of Tokyo’s Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases analyzed six studies on male pattern baldness and coronary heart disease conducted between 1993 and 2008 with nearly 40,000 participants in the U.S. and Europe.
They showed that men who had lost most of their hair were more than a third more likely to develop coronary artery disease than those with hair.
The severity of baldness influenced the degree of risk, but again, only if the balding was at the crown, or vertex.
“These findings suggest that vertex baldness is more closely associated with systemic atherosclerosis (coronary heart disease) than with frontal baldness,” said the study. “Thus, cardiovascular risk factors should be reviewed carefully in men with vertex baldness, especially younger men, and they probably should be encouraged to improve their cardiovascular risk profile.”
They also urged further studies to confirm the findings. The reasons for the association were unclear, but the authors pointed to previous links drawn between baldness and insulin resistance, diabetes, chronic inflammation or sensitivity to testosterone — all of which may lead to cardiovascular disease.
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<urn:uuid:0d1be8cb-59a0-4ee9-b394-b487b510f879>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/04/05/national/bald-spots-a-giveaway-for-heart-disease-risk-study/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.963164
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Colorectal Cancer (CRC)
Issue: Of all the types of cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered one of the most preventable.
Population: White adults from a mid-western city in the U.S.
Methods: A convenience sample of N= 31 people (11 men; 20 women) was used for this quasi-experimental study, which evaluated the effectiveness of a HBM-based colorectal cancer education session on adults. The education session was based on six HBM constructs (see below). Bivariate analyses were performed to assess CRC beliefs based on HBM constructs before and after the education session.
Results: Data showed that there was a significant difference (p <.05) in participants' beliefs about CRC prevention and screening after the education session was administered. Also, participants reported an increased belief in the seriousness of CRC. Lastly, participants had an increased belief that CRC screening would be affordable.
Conclusion: Participants improved their awareness and beliefs about colorectal cancer screening and prevention.
|CONSTRUCTS USED||SAMPLE CONSTRUCT MEASURES
(5 point scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly do not believe ")
|Perceived Susceptibility (1 item)||I believe that I can get CRC|
|Perceived Severity (1 item)||I believe CRC is a serious disease|
|Perceived Benefits (3 items)||I believe CRC is a serious disease|
|Perceived Barriers (2 items)||I believe that I could be easily and inexpensively tested for CRC|
|Cues to Action (1 item)||I believe it is important that I get screened for CRC according to the American Cancer Society's guidelines|
|Self-Efficacy (1 item)||I believe I will talk with my physician about CRC at my next office visit|
- The researcher developed and tested an educational intervention on colorectal cancer prevention using a quasi-experimental design.
- All six HBM constructs were measured.
- The study included a small sample size (N= 31).
- The study used a convenience sample.
- The study did not include an ethnically diverse population.
Ueland A.S., Hornung P.A., Greenwald B. (2006). Colorectal Cancer Prevention and Screening. Gastroenterology Nursing, 29, 357-363.
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<urn:uuid:0ef2a5b3-0685-4318-921e-e2704dd30c6f>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.med.upenn.edu/hbhe4/part2-ch3-application-of-constructs.shtml
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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| 0.93128
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Welcome to the Birds of North America Online!
Welcome to BNA Online, the leading source of life history information for North American breeding birds. This free, courtesy preview is just the first of 14 articles that provide detailed life history information including Distribution, Migration, Habitat, Food Habits, Sounds, Behavior and Breeding. Written by acknowledged experts on each species, there is also a comprehensive bibliography of published research on the species.
A subscription is needed to access the remaining articles for this and any other species. Subscription rates start as low as $5 USD for 30 days of complete access to the resource. To subscribe, please visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology E-Store.
If you are already a current subscriber, you will need to sign in with your login information to access BNA normally.
Subscriptions are available for as little as $5 for 30 days of full access! If you would like to subscribe to BNA Online, just visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology E-Store.
The Seaside Sparrow is a habitat specialist of salt and brackish marshes. First described by Wilson (1811), it has attracted the interest of systematists since the end of the nineteenth century. Occurring in relatively small, localized populations along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States, this species has been divided into several morphologically distinct subspecies.
This sparrow is socially monogamous although extrapair matings have been reported from S. Carolina. Although territorial, it often feeds long distances from the defended space around its nest, a response to wide separation of nesting and feeding areas in the tidal zones it inhabits. Under ideal conditions, it may occur at high population densities, a reflection of the high productivity of salt marshes. Optimal habitat is found in marshes with expanses of medium-high cordgrass with a turf of clumped, residual stems. Especially suitable are spots not subject to extreme flooding that have open muddy areas for feeding. Nest mortality of northern populations is caused mainly by storm flooding; flooding is a significant mortality factor among southern groups, but predation is also important, and its intensity is often related to changes in water levels.
As a maritime wetland specialist, the Seaside Sparrow represents a potentially valuable “indicator” of continued ecological integrity of certain types of coastal marshes and has already proven sensitive to habitat modification in Florida. The melanistic Dusky Seaside Sparrow (A. m. nigrescens) of east-central Florida is extinct; the pale Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (A. m. mirabilis) of the Florida Everglades is endangered. Other populations are as likely to be susceptible to habitat disturbance and restriction as those in Florida. The species has been studied in detail in the Northeast (Woolfenden 1956, Post et al. 1983) and Florida (Post et al. 1983, Werner and Woolfenden 1983, Lockwood et al. 1997)
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http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/127/articles/introduction
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Ever since King Tut’s lavish tomb was opened in 1924, when people weren’t muttering about the curse supposedly placed on it they were trying to divine what killed the young Egyptian king. Now, a British surgeon and history buff has a new theory about not only what may have caused King Tut’s death, but also led Egypt to become the world’s first monotheistic culture.
Hutan Ashrafian, a surgeon at Imperial College London, thinks the malady that killed King Tut was epilepsy. Ashrafian’s theory, reported in New Science, is the result of some good old fashioned historical deduction. The surgeon noted the pharaohs’ feminized figures, as they appeared in the artistic portrayals of King Tut and his presumed relatives — Smenkhkare, believed to be Tutankhamun’s uncle or older brother, and Akhenaten, who is thought to be Tut’s father. He also took into account findings that each pharaoh had died at a slightly younger age than his predecessor. To Ashrafian, this suggested an inherited disorder. Then Ashrafian looked at the religious events that occurred under these pharaohs’ watch. “It’s significant that two [of the five related pharaohs] had stories of religious visions associated with them,” Ashrafian told New Science. The religious experience of Tuthmosis IV is inscribed near the Great Sphinx, while Akhenaten’s religious vision encouraged him to raise the status of a minor deity called Aten into a supreme god — thus establishing the earliest recorded monotheistic religion.
For Ashrafian, this historical milestone was another clue to what may have killed boy king. “People with temporal lobe epilepsy who are exposed to sunlight get the same sort of stimulation to the mind and religious zeal,” Ashrafian told the Washington Post. “It’s likely that the family of pharaohs had a heritable form of temporal lobe epilepsy.” According to New Science, the temporal lobe is connected to parts of the brain involved in the release of hormones, and epileptic seizures are known to alter the levels of hormones involved in sexual development — which could explain why the pharaohs were depicted with wide hips and larger breasts than you would expect on a man. A seizure might also be to blame for Tutankhamen’s fractured leg, says Ashrafian — evidence of which had led some to speculate that Tut died from injuries sustained after a fall from his chariot.
But the new theory does not completely lay to rest speculation about the cause of death of King Tutankhamen. “It’s a fascinating and plausible explanation,” said Howard Markel, a medical historian at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, to the Washington Post. However, he notes, the theory is almost impossible to prove, given that there is no definitive genetic test for epilepsy. “Do we know that a seizure led to monotheism? It’s a nice idea, but we don’t know,” he says. “It’s a very interesting hypothesis, but it’s just that — there’s no definite proof.”
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/09/13/did-king-tutankhamen-die-from-epilepsy/?xid=rss-topstories
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|Kingdom of Lesotho|
|Flag||Coat of Arms|
|Language||[[English and Sotho]] (official)|
|Monarch||King Letsie III|
|Prime minister||Pakalitha Mosisili|
|Area||12,727 sq mi|
|GDP 2013||$4.277 billion|
Lesotho is an independent kingdom in southern Africa; it is an enclave within South Africa (that is, it is completely surrounded by South Africa and has no other borders or access to the sea). The capital city is Maseru.
More than 99% of Lesotho's population is ethnically Basotho; other ethnic groups include Europeans and Asians. The country's population is 80% Christian, the majority of whom are Roman Catholic. Other religions are Islam, Hindu, and indigenous beliefs. Sesotho and English are official languages, and other languages spoken include Zulu and Xhosa.
- Population (2005 est.): 2 million.
- Annual growth rate (2004 est.): 1.4%. (Note: the population growth rate is depressed by an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate estimated to be at approximately 29%.)
- Ethnic groups: Basotho 99.7%; Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%.
- Religions: 80% Christian, including Roman Catholic (majority), Lesotho Evangelical, Anglican, other denominations; other religions include Islam, Hindu, indigenous.
- Languages: Official--Sesotho and English. Others--Zulu, Xhosa.
- Education: Years compulsory--None. Literacy (2003 est.)--84.8%. Lesotho has free primary education (grades 1-7).
- Health: Infant mortality rate (2004 est.)--85.22/1,000. Life expectancy (2004 est.)--36.81 years.
- Work force (2001 est.): 704,000.
Government and Political Conditions
The Lesotho Government is a constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister, Pakalitha Mosisili, is head of government and has executive authority. The King serves a largely ceremonial function; he no longer possesses any executive authority and is proscribed from actively participating in political initiatives.
The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) controls a majority in the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament), with All Basotho Congress (ABC), the National Independent Party, and the Lesotho Workers Party among the 9 opposition parties represented. The upper house of parliament, called the Senate, is composed of 22 principal chiefs whose membership is hereditary, and 11 appointees of the King, acting on the advice of the prime minister.
The constitution provides for an independent judicial system. The judiciary is made up of the Court of Appeal, the High Court, Magistrate's Courts, and traditional courts that exist predominately in rural areas. All but one of the Justices on the Court of Appeal are South African jurists. There is no trial by jury; rather, judges make rulings alone, or, in the case of criminal trials, with two other judges as observers. The constitution also protects basic civil liberties, including freedom of speech, association, and the press; freedom of peaceful assembly; and freedom of religion.
For administrative purposes, Lesotho is divided into 10 districts, each headed by a district administrator.
Lesotho held its first post-independence local government elections on April 30, 2005 using a quota system that reserved one-third of electoral divisions for women candidates. In these elections, 53% of the victorious candidates were women. Locally elected officials attended post-election training while regulations for local governance were drawn up by the National Assembly and infrastructure was created.
Principal Government Officials
- Head of State--King Letsie III
- Prime Minister--Pakalitha Mosisili
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs and Public Safety--Archibald Lesao Lehohla
- Minister of Defense--Pakalitha Mosisili (also Prime Minister)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs--Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa, MP
Lesotho's geographic location makes it extremely vulnerable to political and economic developments in South Africa. It is a member of many regional economic organizations including the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). Lesotho also is active in the United Nations, the African Union, the Nonaligned Movement, the Commonwealth, and many other international organizations. In addition to the United States, South Africa, China, Libya, Ireland (Consulate General), and the European Union all currently retain resident diplomatic missions in Lesotho. The United Nations is represented by a resident mission as well, including UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO, WFP, and UNAIDS.
Lesotho has historically maintained generally close ties with the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other Western states. Although Lesotho decided in 1990 to break relations with the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) and reestablish relations with Taiwan, it has since restored ties with the P.R.C. Lesotho also recognized Palestine as a state, was a strong public supporter of the end of apartheid in South Africa, and granted a number of South African refugees political asylum during the apartheid era.
The security force is composed of the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF--estimated 4,000 personnel) and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS--estimated 3,000-4,000 personnel). The LDF consists of an army, an air wing, and a paramilitary wing. The LDF answers to the Prime Minister (who is the Minister of Defense and National Security and also the Minister of Public Service), while the Lesotho Mounted Police Service reports to the Minister of Home Affairs. There also is a National Security Service (NSS), Intelligence, which is directly accountable to the Prime Minister. Relations between the police and the army have occasionally been tense, and in 1997 the army was called upon to put down a serious police mutiny.
Lesotho's economy is based on water and electricity sold to South Africa, manufacturing, earnings from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), agriculture, livestock, and to some extent earnings of laborers employed in South Africa. Lesotho also exports diamonds, wool, and mohair. Lesotho is geographically surrounded by South Africa and economically integrated with it as well. The majority of households subsist on farming or migrant labor, primarily miners in South Africa for 3 to 9 months. The western lowlands form the main agricultural zone. Almost 50% of the population earns some income through crop cultivation or animal husbandry, with over half the country's income coming from the agricultural sector.
- GDP (2003): $1.43 billion.
- Annual growth rate (2004): 3.4%.
- Per capita GDP (2003): $550.
- Average inflation rate (2003): 10%.
- Natural resources: Water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals. Lesotho is an exporter of excess labor.
- Agriculture (2003 est.): 16.8% of GDP. Products--corn, wheat, sorghum, barley, peas, beans, asparagus, wool, mohair, livestock. Arable land--11%.
- Industry (2003 est.): 43.1% of GDP. Types--apparel, food, beverages, handicrafts, construction, tourism.
- Trade (2003): Exports--$450 million; clothing, furniture, footwear and wool. Partners--South Africa, United States, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, EU. Imports--$661 million; corn, clothing, building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products. Partners--South Africa, Asia, EU.
- Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March.
- Economic aid received (2002): $972.6 million. Primary donors--World Bank, IMF, EU, UN, U.K., Ireland, U.S.
Water is Lesotho's only significant natural resource. It is being exploited through the 30-year, multi-billion-dollar Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which was initiated in 1986. The LHWP is designed to capture, store, and transfer water from the Orange River system and send it to South Africa's Free State and greater Johannesburg area, which features a large concentration of South African industry, population, and agriculture. Completion of the first phase of the project has made Lesotho almost completely self-sufficient in the production of electricity and generated approximately $24 million annually from the sale of electricity and water to South Africa. The World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, and many other bilateral donors financed the project. Lesotho has taken advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to become the largest exporter of garments to the U.S. from sub-Saharan Africa. Exports totaled $466.9 million in 2004. Employment reached 40,000. Asian investors own most factories.
Lesotho has received economic aid from a variety of sources, including the United States, the World Bank, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Germany, and the People's Republic of China.
Lesotho has nearly 6,000 kilometers of unpaved and modern all-weather roads. There is a short rail line (freight) linking Lesotho with South Africa that is totally owned and operated by South Africa. Lesotho is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) in which tariffs have been eliminated on the trade of goods with other member countries, which include Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. With the exception of Botswana, these countries also form a common currency and exchange control area known as the Common Monetary Area (CMA). The South African rand can be used interchangeably with the loti, the Lesotho currency (plural: maloti). One hundred lisente equal one loti. The loti is at par with the rand.
According to recent estimates, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Lesotho is about 29%, one of the highest rates in the world. The United Nations estimates that this rate will rise to 36% within the next 15 years, resulting in a sharp drop in life expectancy. According to the Lesotho Bureau of Statistics, in 2001 life expectancy was estimated at 48 for men and 56 for women. Recent statistics estimate that life expectancy has fallen to an average of 36.81.
The government of Lesotho was initially slow to recognize the scale of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and its efforts to date in combating the spread of the disease have met with limited success. In 1999, the government finalized its Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS, a diagram for addressing the education, prevention, counseling, and treatment needs of the populace. In late 2003, the government announced that it was forming a new National AIDS Commission to coordinate society-wide anti-AIDS activities. Also in 2003 the Government of Lesotho hosted a SADC Extraordinary Summit on HIV/AIDS. In July 2005 legislation was passed to create the National AIDS Commission.
Lesotho gained independence from Britain on October 4, 1966. In January 1970 the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) appeared set to lose the first post-independence general elections when Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan annulled the election. He refused to cede power to the Basotho Congress Party (BCP) and imprisoned its leadership.
The BNP ruled by decree until January 1986 when a military coup forced them out of office. The Military Council that came into power granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until then a ceremonial monarch. In 1990, however, the King was forced into exile after a falling out with the army. His son was installed as King Letsie III.
The chairman of the military junta, Major General Metsing Lekhanya, was ousted in 1991 and then replaced by Major General Phisoane Ramaema, who handed over power to a democratically elected government of the BCP in 1993. Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in 1992 as an ordinary citizen. After the return to democratic government, King Letsie III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state. In August 1994, Letsie III staged a coup which was backed by the military and deposed the BCP government. The new government did not receive full international recognition. Member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) engaged in negotiations aimed at the reinstatement of the BCP government. One of the conditions put forward by the King for the return of the BCP government was that his father should be re-installed as head of state. After protracted negotiations, the BCP government was reinstated and the King abdicated in favor of his father in 1995, but Moshoeshoe II died in a car accident in 1996 and was again succeeded by his son, Letsie III. The ruling BCP split over leadership disputes in 1997.
Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of Members of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government. The LCD won the general elections in 1998 under the leadership of Pakalitha Mosisili, who had succeeded Mokhehle as party leader. Despite the elections being pronounced free and fair by local and international observers and a subsequent special commission appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the results.
Opposition protests in the country intensified, culminating in a violent demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. When junior members of the armed services mutinied in September, the government requested a SADC task force to intervene to prevent a coup and restore stability. A military group of South African and Botswana troops entered the country in September, put down the mutiny, and withdrew in May 1999. Looting, casualties, and widespread destruction of property followed.
An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998. The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that there would be opposition in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, but added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this new system in May 2002, and the LCD won again. For the first time, due to the inclusion of proportional seats, opposition political parties won significant numbers of seats. Elections were held again in February 2007. Nine opposition parties hold all 40 of the proportional seats, with the National Independent Party (NIP) having the largest share (21). The LCD has 61 of the 80 constituency-based seats, and All Basotho Congress (ABC) holds 17.
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Santa Claus is a jolly old elf beloved of children and postcard collectors, but some artists of the early 1900s gave him a less than sentimental image. Even when they got the beard and costume right, they didn’t picture him as someone you’d want in your living room in the middle of the night.
Forget the delightful creations of artists like Ellen H. Clapsaddle. There were cynics lurking in the artistic community, and finding their creations can be as much fun as hunting for different-colored Santa suits.
The Santa of today owes much to two 19th century men: Dr. Clement C. Moore and Thomas Nast. Dr. Moore’s classic poem written in 1822, “The Night Before Christmas,” described Santa in this way:
“His eyes – how they twinkled, his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.”
Dr. Moore never considered publishing his Santa poem. He wrote it for his children, and a woman outside the family, Miss Butler of Troy, N.Y., obtained a copy and sent it to the local newspaper. It was published without Moore’s knowledge, permission, or name. He was not pleased at first, but eventually it made him famous. His classical poems are long forgotten, but his description is a blueprint for the Santa so well loved today.
Words are one thing, images another. Thomas Nast was a leading political cartoonist, but he put aside his barbed pen to create a picture of Santa that has never been equaled. In 1862, the North was suffering the darkest days of the Civil War when Nast drew a melancholy Santa for the cover of Harper’s Magazine to celebrate the birth of Christ. He also drew a centerfold emphasizing the sacrifices of Union families.
Nast drew on the German traditions of his own family, emphasizing Santa’s role as a gift giver. His wonderful picture of Santa bedecked with gifts and smoking his long-bowed pipe set the standard for Santa images up to the present, but many cultures contributed to the traditions surrounding the magical elf. Immigrants from many countries brought their legends and observances to this country, blending them into the benevolent creature we enjoy today.
It’s common knowledge that Santa sprung from the legends about St. Nicholas, the wealthy bishop of Myra in Asia Minor (Turkey) who provided dowries for three poor nobleman’s daughters so they could marry.
Less attention has been paid to the many other cultures that contributed to the legend of the gift-giving elf. In Scandinavian countries, an elf called Julenissen brought gifts to good children. In England, it was Father Christmas, and several countries, including Holland and Belgium, kept the tradition of St. Nicholas.
The gift-giver took other forms. In Spain, it was Balthazar, one of the wise men who brought gifts on the eve of Epiphany in remembrance of the gifts given to the Baby Jesus. In Syria, the Good Camel brought presents, and in Italy, a little old woman called Befana came down the chimneys of houses to leave gifts for little ones because she’s been too busy sweeping to join the wise men searching for the new-born king. And on this side of the Atlantic, Mexicans have looked to Quetzalcoatl, the ancient feathered serpent god ofthe Aztecs as a gift-giving figure.
There were darker traditions, too. In France, Bonhomme Noel was accompanied by Pere Fouettard (Father Whipper), who left a birch rod for unfortunate naughty children.
The Krampus was even more cruel – a creature usually pictured as dark and devilish in Alpine cultures, including Austria, Southern Bavaria and Hungary. He traveled with St. Nicholas to punish bad children, sometimes stuffing the worst behaved in his sack to carry away – for his dinner. This nasty being is sometimes pictured on postcards with Santa Claus.
With such a rich heritage of folklore, some dating to pre-Christian times, it’s not surprising a few artists gave Santa a less-than-jolly interpretation. Even on pleasing designs with toys and traditional garb, Santa is sometimes shown with an unpleasant human expression.
Forget the colorful suit, the big fluffy beard, and the load of toys. Look into Santa’s face and read what you see there. Is he really a cheerful elf, delighted to be giving toys to children? Some artists must have slyly disagreed. Although these portrayals are fairly unusual, they bring a new dimension to a long-favorite postcard topic.
With postcards, there’s always a new twist and new ways to add enjoyment to the pursuit of paper treasures. ■
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in Wisconsin History
The great Green Bay to Madison automobile race of 1878.
Race of first steam buggies to Madison for prize is recounted
After Rev. J. W. Carhart invented a horseless carriage in 1873, the state legislature offered a prize of $10,000 to anyone who could run such a machine on regular roads from Green Bay to Madison. Two groups of inventors took up this challenge and the race was run in 1878 between two automobiles named the "Oshkosh" and the "Green Bay" after their places of invention. This newspaper story looks back on the race and the inventors, and includes long excerpts from letters of the particpants.
Industrialization and Urbanization|
|Pub Data:||Capital Times (Madison, Wis.), May, 26, 1921|
|Citation:||"Race of first steam buggies to Madison for prize is recounted." Capital Times (Madison, Wis.), May, 26, 1921. Online facsimile at: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=947; Visited on: 6/27/2016|
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noun (plural microfloras or microflorae /-ˈflôrē/)Biology
Bacteria and microscopic algae and fungi, especially those living in a particular site or habitat.
- Similarly, the relationship between the overall diet and composition of the microflora awaits further clarification using modern microbiological techniques.
- In areas where soils are infertile, native plants and soil microflora that are critical to plant survival often rely on intact biological crusts to provide sufficient water and nutrient flow.
- In a preferred embodiment, the process produces microflora having a cell aggregate size less than about 150 microns useful for the production of food products for use in aquaculture.
- Example sentences
- Process for growing thraustochytrium and schizochytrium using non-chloride salts to produce a microfloral biomass having omega-3 - highly unsaturated fatty acids
- It is possible microfloral alterations induced by a particular antibiotic might be more severe in individuals with compromised health or who have been subjected to multiple courses of antibiotics.
- These two formations are heteropic because of the common appearance of the same microfloral assemblage.
For editors and proofreaders
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Going Online I - Introduction: Basic information on the Internet and how to use the Internet Explorer browser. Learn to use browser icons and find a known Web address.
Lesson One - What is the Internet?
Lesson Two - How does the Internet work?
Lesson Three - How do I find information on the Internet?
Lesson Four - Learn More
3512 Darrow Rd.
Stow, OH 44224
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Yesterday’s story got me thinking about jam. Specifically, about the word “jam”. All sorts of versions of sugared fruit had been around for hundreds of years before there was “jam”. There were “wet” sweetmeats (or “suckets” – think of the Italian mostarda), “dry” sweetmeats – sometimes called quidonies (think of crystallised ginger or glacé apricots), and “marmalades” (which were thick pastes or dry blocks of any fruit – originally probably quince, and later any fruit, before we finally settled on oranges.)
So, we had plenty of ways of preserving fruit with sugar, and plenty of words to describe the various end-products, – but somewhere around the late seventeenth century, “jam” appeared. I understand the first known appearance of the word is in a manuscript written by a Rebecca Price in 1681, but I have no other information on her work. The first published recipe is usually attributed to Mrs. Eales, whose cookbook (1718) we have often used as a source in previous posts. She gives instructions for Apricock-Jam, Rasberry-Jam and Cherry-Jam. It does seem that around this time the fruit and sugar was more likely to be left “wetter” and put up in jars rather than dried in slabs, but we hardly needed another name.
The OED is puzzled, and half-heartedly suggests it may be from the method of “jamming” – that is, “bruising or crushing by pressure” – but is unable to resist the utterly charming and oft-repeated explanation that it derives from the French “j’aime” which means “I love (it)” - supposedly from the response of children to this form of sweetmeat. I am puzzled in turn as to why English children would have adopted a French phrase. I don’t know of any other phrases they adopted in the seventeenth century – and it seems unlikely that many children of the time learned French! Nonetheless, the explanation is so charming, I do hope the linguists eventually prove it true.
I am particularly and unreasonably fond of the spelling “giam”, so I give you Hannah Glasse’s version from her Art of Cookery (1747).
To make rasberry giam.
Take a pint of this [recipe above] currant jelly and a quart of rasberries, bruise them well together, set them over a slow fire, keeping them stirring all the time till it boils. Let it boil five or six minutes, pour it into your gallipots, paper as you do the currant jelly, and keep it for use. They will keep for two or three years, and have the full flavour of the rasberry.
Gallipots – now there’s another thing we don’t find in the kitchen any more.
Quotation for the Day.
The jelly - the jam and the marmalade, And the cherry-and quince-"preserves" she made! And the sweet-sour pickles of peach and pear, With cinnamon in 'em, and all things rare! - And the more we ate was the more to spare, Out to old Aunt Mary's! Ah!
James Whitcomb Riley.
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Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol. III. The Process of Capitalist Production as a Whole
"IN England, a steady accumulation of additional wealth takes place, which has a tendency to assume ultimately the form of money. But next to the desire to acquire money, the most insistent desire is that of disposing of it by some kind of investment bringing interest or profit; for money as money does not bring wealth. Unless, therefore, a gradual and adequate extension of the field of investment takes place simultaneously with this steady accession of additional capital, we must be exposed to periodical accumulations of money seeking investment, which will be of greater or smaller importance according to circumstances. For a long series of years the national debt was the great means of absorbing the superfluous wealth of England. Since it reached its maximum in 1816 and no longer acts as an absorbent, every year a sum of at least 27 millions has been seeking other fields of investment. Moreover, various return payments of capital were made....Enterprises which require a large capital for their execution and make an opening from time to time for the excess of unemployed capital...are absolutely necessary, at least in our country, in order to take care of the periodical accumulations of the superfluous wealth of society, which cannot find room in the ordinary fields of investment." (The Currency Question Reviewed, London, 1845, p. 32.) Of the year 1845 the same work says: "Within a very short period the prices have leaped upward from the lowest point of depression....The 3% national debt stands almost at par....The gold in the vaults of the Bank of England exceeds all former amounts stored away there. Stocks of all kinds are quoted at prices, which are unheard of in almost every case, and the rate of interest has fallen so much, that it is nearly nominal....All these are proofs that another heavy accumulation of unemployed wealth exists in England, that another period of speculative overheating is imminent." (Ibidem, p 35.)
"Although the import of gold is not a reliable indication of profit in foreign commerce, nevertheless a part of this import of gold, in the absence of any other explanation, represents on its face such a profit." (J. G. Hubbard, The Currency and the Country, London, 1843, p. 41.) Take it that in a period of good steady business, profitable prices, and well supplied circulation of money, a crop failure gives rise to an export of 5 millions of gold and to an import of corn to the same amount. The circulation" (meaning, as we shall see immediately, the unemployed money-capital, not the medium of circulation. F. E.) "is reduced by the same amount. The private individuals may still possess means of circulation to the same amount, but the deposits of the merchants in the banks, the outstanding balances of the banks with their money brokers, and the reserves in their treasuries will all be reduced, and the immediate result of this reduction to the amount of the unemployed capital will be a rise in the rate of interest, say from 4% to 5%. Since business is sound, confidence is not shaken, but credit will be valued more highly." (Ibidem, p. 42.) "If the prices of commodities fall universally, the superfluous money flows back to the banks in the form of increased deposits, the plethora of unemployed capital reduces the rate of interest to a minimum, and this condition of affairs lasts until either higher prices or a brisker business call the slumbering money into service, or until it has been absorbed by investment in foreign securities or foreign commodities." (P. 68.)
The following extracts are once more taken from the parliamentarian report on Commercial Distress, 1847-57.—In consequence of the crop failure and famine of 1846-47 a heavy import of means of subsistence was necessary. "Hence a great excess of imports over exports....Hence a considerable drain of money from banks, and an increased demand upon the discount brokers from people who had bills of exchange to discount; the brokers began to inspect the bills of exchange more closely. The accommodation hitherto granted was seriously restricted, and weak houses failed. Those who relied wholly upon credit went to the wall. This increased the already marked unrest; bankers and others found, that they could not be as certain as formerly of transforming their bills of exchange and other securities into bank notes, in order to fulfill their obligations; they restricted the accommodation still more and frequently refused it altogether; they locked their bank notes up in many instances, in order to meet their own future obligations; they preferred not to let go of them at all. The unrest and confusion increased daily, and without the letter of Lord John Russel the general bankruptcy was imminent." (P. 74-75.) The letter of Russel suspended the Bank Acts.—The previously mentioned Charles Turner testifies: "Some firms had large means, but they were not available. Their entire capital was tied up in real estate in Mauritius, or in indigo or sugar factories. Once that they had contracted obligations for 5 or 600,000 pounds sterling, they had no means free for the payment of bills of exchange, and finally it was seen, that they could pay their bills of exchange only by means of credit, and so far as that went." (P. 81.)—The aforesaid S. Gurney said: "At present (1848) there prevails a contraction of business and a great plethora of money.—No. 1763. I do not believe that it was a lack of capital, which drove the rate of interest so high; it was the alarm, the difficulty of obtaining bank notes."
In 1847 England paid at least nine million pounds sterling in gold to foreign countries for imported means of subsistence. Of this amount seven and a half millions came from the bank of England and one and a half million from other sources. (P. 245.)—Morris, the Governor of the Bank of England: "On October 23, 1847, the public funds and the canal and railroad stocks were already depreciated by 114,752,225 million pounds sterling." (P. 312.) The same Morris, when questioned by Lord G. Bentinck: "Is it not known to you that all capital invested in papers and products of all kinds was depreciated in the same way, that raw materials, cotton, silk, wool were sent to the continent at the same cut prices, and that sugar, coffee and tea were auctioned off in forced sales?"—"It was inevitable that the nation should make considerable sacrifices, in order to counteract the drain of gold caused by the enormous imports of means of subsistence."—"Don't you believe that it would have been better to touch the eight million pounds sterling stored in the vaults of the bank, instead of trying to recover the gold with such sacrifices?"—"I do not believe that."—Now to the commentaries on this heroism. Disraeli questions Mr. W. Cotton, the Director and former Governor of the Bank of England. "What was the dividend received by the stockholders of the bank in 1844?"—"It was 7% for that year."—"And the dividend for 1847?"—"Nine per cent."—"Does the bank pay the income tax for its stockholders in the current year?"—"Yes, Sir."—"Did it do so in 1844?"—"No, Sir."*84—"Then this Bank Act (of 1844) worked very much to the advantage of the stockholders....The result is, then, that since the introduction of the new Act the dividend of the stockholders has risen from 7% to 9%, and that the income tax is now also paid by the bank, while formerly it had to be paid by the stockholders?"—"That is quite right."—(No. 4356-4361.)
Concerning the formation of hoards in banks during the crisis of 1847, Mr. Pease, a provincial banker, has the following to say: 4605. "As the bank was compelled to raise its rate of interest more and more, the apprehension grew universally; the rural banks increased the quantities of money in their possession and likewise the amounts of their notes; and many of us, who would ordinarily carry only a few hundred pounds in gold or bank notes, stored up at once thousands in cash boxes and desks, since there was great uncertainty concerning the discount and the possibility of circulating bills of exchange on the market; and consequently a universal accumulation of hoards ensued."—A member of the Committee remarks: 4691. "Accordingly, whatever may have been the cause during the last 12 years, the result was certainly more in favor of the Jew and the money broker than in favor of the productive class in general."
To what extent a money broker exploits times of crisis, is revealed by Tooke: "In the metal ware business of Warwickshire and Staffordshire very many orders were rejected in 1847, because the rate of interest, which the manufacturer had to pay for discounting his bills of exchange, would have more than swallowed his entire profit." (No. 5451.)
Let us now take another report of Parliament, the Report of the Select Committee on Bank Acts, communicated from the Commons to the Lords, 1857 (quoted further along as B. C. 1857). In it Mr. Norman, Director of the Bank of England and a leading light among the champions of the Currency Principle, is questioned as follows:
3635. "You said you were of the opinion, that the rate of interest depends, not on the mass of bank notes, but on the demand and supply of capital. Would you state, what you comprise under the head of capital, outside of bank notes and hard cash?"—"I believe the general definition of capital is: Commodities or services used in production.—3636. "Do you include all commodities in the term capital, when you speak of the rate of interest?"—"All commodities used in production."—3637. "You include all that in the term capital, when you speak of the rate of interest?"—"Yes, Sir. Let us assume that a cotton manufacturer needs cotton for his factory, then he will probably secure it by obtaining an advance from his banker, and with the money so obtained he will go to Liverpool and buy. What he really needs is cotton; he does not need the bank notes or the money except as means of getting the cotton. Or he may need the means to pay his laborers; then he again borrows notes and pays the wages of his laborers with them; and the laborers on their part need food and shelter, and the money is a means of paying for them."—3638. "But interest is paid for this money?"—"Yes, Sir, in the first instance; but take another case. Take it that he buys the cotton on credit, without getting any advance from the bank; then the difference between the price for cash payment and the price on credit at the time when payment is due is the measure of the interest. There would be interest even if no money existed."
This self-complacent rubbish is quite worthy of this pillar of the Currency Principle. First the brilliant discovery, that bank notes or gold are means of buying something, and that they are not borrowed for their own sake. And this is supposed to explain, that the rate of interest is regulated, by what? By the demand and supply of commodities, that were so far known to regulate only the market prices of commodities. But very different rates of interest are compatible with the same market prices of commodities.—But now take another look at this slyness. He hears the correct remark: "But interest is paid for this money?" and this, of course, implies the question: "What has the interest, which the banker receives, who does not deal in commodities at all, to do with these commodities? And do not manufacturers receive money at the same rate of interest, although they invest it in widely different markets, that is, in markets, in which widely different conditions of demand and supply prevail, so far as the commodities used in production are concerned?" And all that this solemn genius has to say in reply to these questions, is that the manufacturer, who buys cotton on credit, pays interest, the measure of which is "The difference between the price for cash payment and the price on credit at the time when payment is due." Vice versa. The prevailing rate of interest, whose regulation the genius Norman is asked to explain, is the measure of the difference between the cash price and the credit price to the time of due payment. First the cotton is to be sold to its cash price, and this is determined by the market price, which is itself regulated by the condition of supply and demand. Say that the price is 1,000 pounds sterling. This concludes the transaction between the manufacturer and the cotton broker, so far as buying and selling is concerned. Now a second transaction is added. This takes place between the lender and the borrower. The value of 1,000 pounds sterling is advanced to the manufacturer in the shape of cotton, and he has to repay it in money, say, in three months. And the interest for 1,000 pounds sterling, determined by the market rate of interest, forms the addition over and above the cash price. The price of cotton is determined by supply and demand. But the price of the advance of the value of cotton, of 1,000 pounds sterling for three months, is determined by the rate of interest. And this fact, that the cotton itself is thus transformed into money-capital, proves to Mr. Norman that interest would exist, even if no money existed. If there were no money at all, there would certainly be no general rate of interest.
There is, in the first place, the vulgar conception of capital as "commodities used in production." So far as these commodities serve as capital, their value as capital compared to their value as commodities is expressed in the profit, which is made out of their productive or mercantile employment. And the rate of profit has under all circumstances something to do with the market price of the bought commodities and their supply and demand, although it is determined besides by circumstances of quite a different kind. And there is no doubt that the rate of interest is generally limited by the rate of profit. But Mr. Norman is precisely asked to tell us how this limit is determined. It is determined by the supply and demand of money-capital as distinguished from the other forms of capital. Now one might ask furthermore: How are the demand and supply of money-capital determined? It is doubtless true, that a tacit connection exists between the supply of commodity-capital and the supply of money-capital, and also that the demand of the industrial capitalist for money-capital is determined by the actual conditions of real production. Instead of giving us information on this point, Norman offers us the sage opinion, that the demand for money-capital is not identical with the demand for money as such, and this wisdom is advanced for no other reason than that behind him. Above Overstone and other Currency prophets always stands the bad conscience, which makes them aware that they are trying to make capital of the mere medium of circulation by the artificial method of legislative interference and to raise the rate of interest.
Now to Lord Overstone, alias Samuel Jones Loyd, who is asked to explain, why he takes 10% for his "money," because the "capital" in the country is so scarce.
3653. "The fluctuations in the rate of interest arise from one of two causes: From a change in the value of capital" [excellent! Value of capital, generally speaking, signifies precisely the rate of interest! A change in the rate of interest is thus made to arise from a change in the rate of interest. The phrase 'value of capital' never signifies anything else theoretically, as we have shown in another place. Or, if Lord Overstone means the rate of profit by the phrase 'value of capital,' then this deep thinker comes back to the position that the rate of interest is regulated by the rate of profit!]" or from a change in the sum of money available in the country. All great fluctuations of the rate of interest, great either in duration or in the extent of the fluctuations, may be clearly traced to changes in the value of capital. There can be no more striking illustration of this fact than the rise of the rate of interest in 1847 and again in the two last years (1855-56); the lesser fluctuations of the rate of interest, which arise from a change in the quantity of the available money, are small in duration and extension. They are frequent, and the more frequent they are, the more effectively they accomplish their purpose." This purpose is no other than that of making bankers like Overstone rich. Friend Samuel Gurney expresses himself very naively on this point before the Committee of Lords, C. D. 1848. "Are you of the opinion, that the great fluctuations of the rate of interest, which took place last year, were advantageous to the bankers and money brokers, or not?"—"I believe they were advantageous to the money brokers. All fluctuations of business are advantageous to the knowing men."—1325. "Should not the banker ultimately lose through the high rate of interest owing to the pauperisation of his best customers?"—"No, Sir, I do not think that this result prevails to any appreciable degree."—There you can see what talk will do.
We shall recur to the question of the influence of the quantity of available money on the rate of interest later on. But we must note right here that Overstone once again takes one thing for another in this case. The demand for money-capital in 1847 (there was no worry on account of scarcity of money, or the "quantity of available money," as he called it, before October) increased for various reasons, such as the dearness of corn, rising cotton prices, unsaleable sugars through overproduction, railroad speculation and slumps, overcrowding of foreign markets with cotton goods, the above described forced export to and import from India for the purpose of mere swindling with bills of exchange. All these things, the over-production in industries as well as the underproduction in agriculture, in other words, widely different causes, led to an increased demand for money-capital in the shape of credit and money. The increased demand for money-capital had its causes in the course of the productive process itself. But whatever may have been the causes, it was the demand for money-capital which brought about the rise in the rate of interest, in the value of money-capital. If Overstone means to say that the value of money-capital rose because it rose, he is simply repeating himself. But if he means by "value of capital" a rise in the rate of profit which caused a rise in the rate of interest, we shall see immediately that this was not the case here. The demand for money-capital, and consequently the "value of capital," may rise even though the profit may decrease; as soon as the relative supply of money-capital decreases, its "value" increases. Overstone wants to establish the fact that the crisis of 1847, and the high rate of interest going with it, had nothing to do with the "quantity of available money," that is, with the regulations of the Bank Acts of 1844 which he had inspired; but as a matter of fact this crisis had something to do with these things, so far as the fear of exhausting the bank reserve—a creation of Overstone—added a money panic to the crisis of 1847-48, But this is not the main point here. There was a dearth of money-capital, caused by the excessive volume of operations compared to the available means and brought to an eruption by disturbances in the process of production due to a crop failure, overcapitalisation of railroads, over-production, particularly of cotton goods, swindling practices in the Indian and Chinese business, speculation, superfluous imports of sugar, etc. What the people, who had bought corn at 120 shillings per quarter, lacked when it fell to 60 shillings, were the 60 shillings which they had paid too much and the corresponding credit for that amount in the Lombard advance on corn. It was by no means the lack of bank notes that prevented them from transforming their corn into money at its old price of 120 shillings. The same things applied to those who had bought sugar to such an excess that it became almost unsaleable. It applies likewise to the gentlemen who had tied up their floating capital in railroads and relied on credit to make up for it in their "legitimate" business. To Overstone all this is expressed in "a moral sense of the enhanced value of his money." But this enhanced value of money-capital had its direct counterpart on the other side in the shape of the depreciated money-value of the real capital (commodity-capital and productive capital). The value of capital in one form rose, because the value of capital in the other forms fell. Overstone, however, seeks to identify these two kinds of value of different sorts of capital in one sole value of capital in general, and he does it by opposing both of them to a scarcity of the medium of circulation, of available money. But the same amount of money-capital may be loaned with very different quantities of medium of circulation.
Take, for instance, his example of the year 1847. The official bank rate of interest stood at 3 to 3½% in January; 4 to 4½% in February. In March it was generally 4%. April (panic) 4 to 7½%. May 5 to 5½%. June on the whole 5%. July 5%. August 5 to 5½%. September 5% with trifling variations of 5¼, 5½, 6%. October 5, 5½, 7%. November 7 to 10%. December 7 to 5%.—In this case the interest rose, because the profits decreased and the money-values of commodities fell enormously. If Overstone says here that the rate of interest rose in 1847, because the value of capital rose, he cannot mean anything else by "value of capital" but the value of money-capital, and this is precisely the rate of interest and nothing else. But later the cloven hoof appears and the value of capital is identified with the rate of profit.
As for the high rate of interest in 1856, Overstone was indeed ignorant of the fact that this was partially a symptom of the supremacy of credit jobbers, who paid interest, not from their profit, but with the capital of others; he maintained even a few months before the crisis of 1857 that "business is quite sound."
He testifies furthermore: 3722. "The conception that the business profit is destroyed by raising the rate of interest is highly erroneous. In the first place, a rise in the rate of interest is rarely of long duration; in the second place, if it is of long duration and considerable, it is in the nature of things a rise in the value of capital, and why does the value of capital rise? Because the rate of profit has risen."—Here, then, we learn at last, what the meaning of "value of capital" is. We remark, by the way, that the rate of profit may hold itself at a high level for a long time, and yet the industrial capitalist's profit may fall and the rate of interest rise to a point where it swallows the greater portion of the profit.
3724. "The raise of the rate of interest was a result of the enormous expansion of business in our country, and of the great rise in the rate of profit; and if complaint is made, that the raised rate of interest destroys these two things, which were its own cause, it is a logical absurdity, which one does not know how to characterise."—This is just as logical as though he had said: The increased rate of profit was the result of the raise of prices by speculation, and if complaint is made, that the raise of prices destroys its own cause, namely speculation, it is a logical absurdity, etc. That anything can ultimately destroy its own cause, is a logical absurdity only for the usurer, who is in love with the high rate of interest. The greatness of the Romans was the cause of their conquests, and their conquests destroyed their greatness. Wealth is the cause of luxury, and luxury has a destructive influence upon wealth. The wiseacre! The idiocy of the present bourgeois world cannot be characterised more markedly than by the respect, which the "logic" of the millionaire, of this dunghill aristocrat, commanded in all England. By the way, even if high profits and an expansion of business may be the cause of a high rate of interest, a high rate of interest is for that reason by no means a cause of high profit. The question is precisely, whether such a high rate of interest (as was seen actually during the crisis) did not continue, or even reach its climax, after the high rate of profit had long gone the way of the flesh.
3718. "As for a great increase of the rate of discount, it is a circumstance, which arises entirely from the increased value of capital, and the cause of this increased value of capital, I believe, may be discovered by every one with perfect clearness. I have already mentioned the fact, that during the 13 years, which this Bank Act was in force, the commerce of England grew from 45 to 120 million pounds. Consider all the events implied by this brief statement in figures, consider the enormous demand for capital, which such a gigantic increase of commerce carries with it, and consider at the same time, the natural source of this great demand, namely the annual savings of the country, have been consumed during the last three or four years by unprofitable expenditures for purposes of war. I confess, I am surprised, that the rate of interest is not much higher; or in other words, I am surprised, that the shortage of capital in consequence of these gigantic operations is not much more stringent, than you have found it to be."
What a wonderful mixture of words on the part of our logician of usury! Here he is again with his increased value of capital! He seems to imagine, that on one side this enormous expansion of the process of reproduction took place, an accumulation of real capital, and that on the other side a "capital" existed, for which an "enormous demand" arose, in order to accomplish this gigantic increase of commerce! Was not this enormous increase of production itself this increase of capital, and if it created a demand, did it not also create the supply, including an increased supply of money-capital? If the rate of interest rose so high, it did so merely because the demand for money-capital increased still more rapidly than its supply, which means, in other words, that the expansion of industrial production carried with it a greater volume of its transactions on a credit basis. That is to say, the actual industrial expansion caused an increased demand for "accommodation," and this last demand is evidently what our banker means by the "enormous demand for capital." It was surely not the expansion of this mere demand for capital, which raised the export business from 45 to 120 million pounds sterling. And again, what does Overstone mean when he says, that the annual savings of the country swallowed by the Crimean War form the natural source of the supply for this great demand? In the first place, how did England get its accumulations from 1792 to 1815, which was a far greater war than the little Crimean War? In the second place, if the natural source dries up, from what source did capital flow then? It is well known that England did not ask for any loans from foreign countries. But if there is an artificial source aside from the natural one, it would be a very peculiar method for a nation to utilise the natural source in war and the artificial one in business. But if only the old money-capital was available, could it double its effectiveness through a high rate of interest? Mr. Overstone thinks evidently that the annual savings of the country (which were supposed to have been consumed in this case) are converted only into money-capital. But if no real accumulation, that is, no real expansion of production and augmentation of the means of production, took place, what good would the accumulation of debtor's claims in money on this production do?
The increase in the "value of capital," which follows from a high rate of profit, is mistaken by Overstone for an increase, which follows from a greater demand for money-capital. This demand may increase for reasons, which are quite independent of the rate of profit. He quotes himself some examples, which show that it rose in 1847 as a result of the depreciation of real capital. He means by the value of capital now real capital now money-capital, just as it may suit his purpose.
The dishonesty of our banking lord, and his narrow minded banker's point of view, which he aggravates by posing as a schoolmaster, are further revealed by the following: 3728. "You said, that in your opinion the rate of discount is of no particular significance for the merchant; will you kindly state what you regard as an ordinary rate of profit?"—Mr. Overstone declares that it is "impossible" to answer this question.—3729. "Suppose the average rate of profit to be from 7 to 10%; in that case, a change in the rate of discount from 2% to 7 or 8% must appreciably affect the rate of profit, must it not?" [This question confounds the rate of industrial profit with the average rate of profit and overlooks the fact, that this last rate of profit is the common source of interest and industrial profit. The rate of interest may leave the average rate of profit untouched, but not the industrial profit.] Overstone replied: "In the first place, business men will not pay a rate of discount, which takes away most of their profits beforehand; they will rather close up their business." [Yes, if they can do so without ruining themselves. So long as their profit is large, they pay the discount, because they are willing, and when profit is low, they pay the discount because they must.] "What does discount mean? Why does a man discount a bill of exchange?...Because he desires to obtain a larger capital." [Hold on! Because he desires to anticipate the return of his tied-up capital in the form of money and to avoid the stopping of business; because he must meet due payments. He demands additional capital only when business is good, or when he speculates on another man's capital, though business may be bad. The discount is by no means a mere device to expand business.] "And why does he wish to obtain command of a greater capital? Because he wants to invest this capital; and why does he want to invest this capital? Because it is profitable; but it would not be profitable for him, if the discount were to swallow his profit."
This self-complacent logician assumes that bills of exchange are discounted only for the purpose of expanding business, and that business is expanded, because it is profitable. The first assumption is wrong. The ordinary business man discounts, in order to anticipate the money-form of his capital and thereby to keep his process of reproduction in flow; not in order to expand his business or secure additional capital, but in order to balance the credit which he gives by the credit which he takes. And if he wants to expand his business on credit, the discounting of bills will do him little good, because it is merely the transformation of capital, which he has already in his hands, from one form into another; he will rather take up a direct loan for a long time. Only the credit swindler will get his fraudulent bills of exchange discounted for the purpose of expanding his business, in order to cover one rotten business by another; not for the purpose of making profits, but of getting possession of the capital of another man.
After Mr. Overstone has thus identified discount with the borrowing of additional capital [instead of identifying it with the transformation of bills of exchange representing capital into money], he beats at once a retreat, when the thumbscrews are applied to him.—3730. "Must not merchants, once that they are engaged in business, continue their operations for a certain period of time in spite of a temporary increase in the rate of interest?"—Overstone: "There is no doubt, that in any single transaction, if a man can get hold of capital at a low rate of interest instead of a high rate of interest, taking the matter from this narrow point of view, that it is pleasant for him."—But it is a very wide point of view, which enables Mr. Overstone now to understand by "capital" all of a sudden only his banker's capital, and to assume that the man, who discounts a bill of exchange with him, is a man without capital, just because his capital exists in the form of commodities, or because the money-form of his capital is a bill of exchange, which Mr. Overstone converts into another money-form.
3732. "With reference to the Bank Act of 1844, can you state what was the approximate relation of the rate of interest to the gold reserve of the bank; is it true, that, if the gold in the bank amounted to 9 or 10 millions, the rate of interest was 6 or 7%, and when it amounted to 16 millions, the rate of interest was about 3 or 4%?" [The cross-examiner wants to compel him to explain the rate of interest, so far as it is influenced by the amount of gold in the bank, by the rate of interest, so far as it is influenced by the value of capital.]—"I do not say, that this is the case...but if it is, then we should in my opinion resort to still more stringent measures than those of 1844; for if it should be true, that the greater the quantity of gold the lower the rate of interest, then we should go to work, according to this view of the matter, and increase the gold reserve to an unlimited amount, and then we should reduce the rate of interest to zero."—The cross-examiner Cayley, unmoved by this poor joke, continues: 3733. "If this were so, assuming that 5 millions in gold were returned to the bank, then in the course of the next six months the gold reserve would amount to 16 millions, and assuming that the rate of interest should fall thus to 3 or 4%, how could one maintain, that the fall in the rate of profit was due to a great slump in business?"—"I said the recent great increase in the rate of interest, not the fall in the rate of interest, is intimately connected with the great expansion of business."—But what Cayley says is this: If a rise of the rate of interest together with a contraction of the gold reserve, is an indication of an expansion of business, then a fall of the rate of interest together with an expansion of the gold reserve, must be an indication of a contraction of business. Overstone has no answer to this.—3736. Question: "I note that Your Lordship said that money is an instrument for securing capital." [This is precisely a mistake, this conception of money as an instrument; it is a form of capital.] "During a decrease of the gold reserve (of the Bank of England) does not the difficulty consist rather in the fact that capitalists cannot get any money?"—Overstone: "No, it is not the capitalists, it is the non-capitalists, who seek to obtain money, in order to carry on the business of people, who are not capitalists."—Here he declares point blank, that manufacturers and merchants are not capitalists, and that the capital of the capitalist is only money-capital.—3737. "Are the people who draw bills of exchange no capitalists?"—"The people who draw bills of exchange are probable capitalists and probably not."—Here he is stuck.
He is then asked, whether the bills of exchange of merchants do not represent the commodities, which they have sold or shipped. He denies, that these bills represent the value of the commodities just exactly as a bank note represents gold. (3740 and 41.) This is a little insolent.
3742. "Is not the purpose of the merchant that of obtaining money?"—"No; to obtain money is not the purpose of drawing a bill of exchange; to obtain money is the purpose of discounting the bill."—The drawing of bills of exchange is a conversion of commodities into a form of credit-money, just as the discounting of bills of exchange is the conversion of credit-money into other money, namely bank notes. At any rate Mr. Overstone admits here, that the purpose of discounting is to obtain money. A while ago he said that discounting was a means, not of transforming capital from one form into another, but of obtaining additional capital.
3742. "What is the great desire of the business world under the pressure of a panic, such as occurred according to your testimony in 1825, 1837 and 1839; do they want to secure possession of capital or of legal tender money?"—"They want to obtain command of capital, in order to continue their business."—Their purpose is to obtain means of payment for due bills of exchange on themselves, on account of the prevailing lack of credit, so that they may not have to get rid of their commodities below price. If they have no capital at all themselves, then they receive with the means of payment at the same time capital, because they receive value without giving an equivalent. The desire to obtain money as such consists always in the wish to transform value from the form of commodities or creditor's claims into money. Hence also, aside from crisis, the great difference between the borrowing of capital and discount, the last being a mere transformation of money claims from one shape into another, or into real money.
[I take the liberty, in my capacity of editor, to interpolate a few remarks here.]
With Norman as well as Loyd-Overstone the banker always figures as a man, who advances "capital" to others, and his customers appear as people, who demand "capital" from him. Thus Overstone says, that people have bills of exchange discounted through him, "because they wish to obtain capital" , and that it is pleasant for such people to "obtain command of capital" at a "low rate of interest" . "Money is an instrument for obtaining capital" , and during a panic the great desire of the business world is to "obtain command of capital" . All the confusion of Loyd and Overstone notwithstanding they reveal at least the fact that they call the thing, which the banker gives to his customer, capital, and that this is a thing formerly not in the possession of the customer, but advanced to him in addition to the one already in his hands.
The banker has become so well accustomed to figure as the distributor [through loans] of the social capital available in the form of money, that he considers every function, by which he hands out money, as loaning. All the money which he pays out appears to him as a loan. If the money is directly loaned, it is literally true. If it is invested in the discounting of bills, then it is in fact advanced by himself until the bill becomes due. In this way the conception grows upon him that he cannot make any payments without loaning money to somebody. And these are loans, not merely in the sense that every investment of money, which has for its object the taking of interest or profit, is economically considered an advance of money, which the owner of money in his capacity as a private individual makes to himself in his capacity as an entrepreneur. They are loans in the definite sense that the banker loans to his customer a sum of money, which constitutes an addition to the capital already held by him.
It is this conception, which, transferred from the banker's office to political economy, has created the confusing controversy, whether the thing, which the banker loans to his customer in the shape of cash money, is capital or mere money, medium of circulation or currency. In order to decide this fundamentally simple controversy, we must place ourselves in the position of a customer of a bank. It depends what this customer wants and receives.
If the bank allows to its customer a loan on his own private credit, without any security on his part, then the matter is clear. He certainly receives in that case an advance of a definite amount in addition to the capital so far invested by him. He receives this advance in the form of money; it is not merely money, but money-capital.
If on the other hand, he receives an advance on depositing securities, etc., then this is money paid to him on condition that he pay it back, but it is not capital. For the securities also represent capital, and at that of a larger amount than the money advance upon them. The recipient of the advance receives less capital-value than he deposits as a security; hence the advance is not additional capital for him. He does not agree to this transaction, because he needs capital—for he has this in his securities—but because he needs money. Therefore we have in this case an advance of money, not of capital.
If the loan is granted by discounting bills, then even the form of an advance disappears. The transaction is then purely one of buying and selling. The bill passes by endorsement into the possession of the bank, while the money passes into the possession of the customer. There is no question of any return payment on either side. If a customer buys with a bill of exchange or some similar instrument of credit cash money, it is no more an advance than it is if he buys cash money with other commodities, such as cotton, iron, corn. Still less can this be called an advance of capital. Every purchase and sale between merchant and merchant transfers capital. But an advance of capital takes place only then, when a bill is a fraudulent one, which does not represent any commodities at all, and no banker will take such a bill, if he is aware of its nature. In the regular discounting business the customer of the bank does not, therefore, receive any advance, either of capital or of money, but he receives money for sold commodities.
The cases, in which the customer demands capital from a bank and receives it are thus very plainly distinguished from those, in which he merely receives an advance of money or buys it from the bank. And since particularly Mr. Loyd Overstone very rarely advanced any funds without collateral [he was the banker of my firm in Manchester] it is very evident that his beautiful descriptions of the great quantities of capital loaned by the generous bankers to the manufacturers in need of capital are gross inventions.
In chapter XXXII Marx says practically the same thing: "The demand for means of payment is a mere demand for convertibility into money, so far as merchants and producers have good securities to offer; it is a demand for money-capital whenever there is no collateral, so that an advance of means of payment gives to them not only the form of money, but also the equivalent, whatever be its form, with which to make payment."—And again in chapter XXXIII: "Under a developed system of credit, when the money is concentrated in the hands of the bankers, it is they, at least nominally, who make advances of money. This advance does not refer to the money already in circulation. It is an advance made to circulation, not an advance of capital circulated by it."—Likewise Mr. Chapman, who ought to know, corroborates this conception of the discounting business: B. C. 1857: "The banker has the bill, the banker has bought the bill." Evid. Question 5139.
We shall return to this subject in chapter XXVIII.—F. E.] 3744. "Will you kindly describe, what you really mean by the term capital?"—Overstone: "Capital consists of various commodities, by means of which trade is carried on; there is a fixed capital and there is a circulating capital. Your ships, your docks, your wharves are fixed capital, your means of subsistence, your clothes, etc. are circulating capital."
3745. "Has the drain of gold to foreign countries injurious consequences of England?"—"Not so long as one combines this term with a rational meaning." [Then follows the old Ricardian theory of money]..."in the natural condition of things the money of the world distributes itself among the various countries of the world in certain proportions; these proportions are such, that with such a distribution [of money] the commerce between any one country on one side and all other countries on the other side is one of mere exchanges; but there are disturbing influences, which affect this distribution from time to time, and when these influences arise, a portion of the money of a given country flows off to other countries." 3746. "You are now using the term 'money'. If I understood you correctly on former occasions, you called this a loss of capital."—"What was it that I called a loss of capital?"—3747. "The export of gold."—"No, I did not say that. If you treat gold as capital, then it is doubtless a loss of capital; it is a giving away of a certain portion of precious metal, of which the world money consists."—3748. "Did you not say before that a change in the rate of discount is a mere indication of a change in the value of capital?"—"Yes."—3749. "And that the rate of discount in general changes with the gold reserve in the Bank of England?"—"Yes, but I have already stated that the fluctuations of the rate of interest, which arise from a change in the quantity of money" [so this is what he calls the quantity of gold actually existing] "are very significant...."
3750. "Then do you mean to say that a decrease of capital has taken place, when a longer, but still temporary, raise of the discount above the ordinary quotation has taken place?"—"A decrease in a certain sense of the word. The relation between capital and the demand for it has changed; but it may be only through an increased demand, not through a decrease in the quantity of capital."—
[But capital was for him precisely money or gold, and a little before that he had explained the rise of the rate of interest by a rise of the rate of profit, which was due to an expansion, not to a contraction of business or capital.]
3751. "What kind of capital is it that you have particularly in mind here?"—"That depends entirely on what sort of a capital that every one needs. It is the capital which a nation has at its disposal in order to carry on its business, and if this business is doubled, a great increase must occur in the demand for that capital with which it is to be carried on." [This shrewd banker doubles first the business and then the demand for capital with which it is to be doubled. He never sees anything else but his customer, who asks Mr. Loyd for more capital by which to double the volume of his business.]—"Capital is like any other commodity;" [but according to Mr. Lloyd capital is nothing else but the totality of commodities] "it changes its price" [that is, the commodities change their price twice, one as commodities and the second time as capital] "according to supply and demand."
3752. "The fluctuations in the rate of discount are in a general way connected with the fluctuations of the gold reserve in the vaults of the bank. Is this the capital to which you refer?"—"No."—3753. "Can you give an example, showing when a great supply of capital was accumulated in the Bank of England and at the same time the rate of discount stood high?"—"In the Bank of England it is not capital that is accumulated, but money."—3754. "You testified that the rate of interest depends on the quantity of capital; will you kindly state, what kind of capital you mean, and whether you can quote an example, where a great supply of gold was held in the bank and at the same time the rate of interest was high?"—"It is very probable" [aha!] "that the accumulation of gold in a bank may coincide with a low rate of interest, because a period of low demand for capital" [namely money-capital; the time to which reference is made here, 1844 and 1845, was a period of prosperity] "is a period, in which naturally the means or instrument, by which capital is commanded, can accumulate."—3755. "You think, then, that no connection exists between the rate of discount and the quantity of gold in the bank vaults?"—"A connection may exist, but it is not a connection on principle;" [but his Bank Act of 1844 made it precisely a principle of the Bank of England to regulate the rate of interest by the quantity of gold in its possession] "there may be a coincidence of time,"—3758. "Do you intend to say that the difficulty of the merchants in this country, during times of scarcity of money due to a high rate of interest consists of obtaining capital, and not in obtaining money?"—"You are throwing together two things, which I do not bring together in this form; the difficulty consists in getting capital, and it also consists in getting money....The difficulty of obtaining money, and the difficulty of obtaining capital, is the same difficulty considered at two different stages of its development."—Here the fish is caught once more. The first difficulty is to discount a bill of exchange, or to obtain a loan on security of commodities. It is the difficulty of converting capital, or a commercial equivalent for capital, into money. And this difficulty expresses itself, among other things, in a high rate of interest. But after the money has been obtained, in what does the second difficulty consist if it is merely a question of paying, has any one any difficulty in getting rid of his money? And if it is a question of buying, where has any one ever had any difficulty in times of crisis in buying anything? Supposing, for the sake of argument, that this should refer to the specific case of a dearth in corn, cotton, etc., this difficulty should become apparent only in the price of these commodities, not in that of money-capital, that is, not in the rate of interest; but the difficulty, so far as it refers to the price of commodities, is overcome by the fact that our man now has the money to buy them.
3760. "But a higher rate of discount is an increased difficulty of obtaining money, is it not?"—"It is an increased difficulty of obtaining money, but it is not the money, the possession of which is essential; it is only the form" [and this form brings profits into the pockets of the banker] "in which the increased difficulty of obtaining capital presents itself under the complicated relations of a civilised condition."
3763. Overstone's reply: "The banker is the middle man, who receives on one side deposits, and on the other side uses these deposits by entrusting them, in the form of capital, to the hand of persons, who etc."
Here we have at last what he calls capital. He converts money into capital by "entrusting" it, or, less euphemistically, by loaning it out at interest.
After Mr. Overstone has stated, that a change in the rate of discount is not essentially connected with a change in the quantity of gold reserve in the bank, or in the quantity of available money, but that there is at best only a coincidence in time, he repeats:
3804. "If the money in the country is reduced by export, its value rises, and the Bank of England must adapt itself to this change in the value of money;" [that is, the value of money as capital, in other words, the rate of interest, for the value of money as money, compared with commodities, remains the same] "this is technically expressed by the words, that it raises the rate of interest."
3819. "I never throw the two together." Meaning money and capital, for the simple reason, that he never distinguishes them.
3834. "The very large sum, which had to be paid out for the necessary subsistence of the country [for corn in 1847] and which was, indeed, capital."
3841. "The fluctuations in the rate of discount have doubtless a very close connection to the condition of the gold reserve [of the Bank of England], for the condition of the gold reserve is the indicator of the increase or decrease of the quantity of money existing in a country; and in proportion as the money in a country increases or decreases, the value of money falls or rises, and the bank rate of discount will adapt itself to that."—Here, then, he admits what he denied once for all in No. 3755-3842. "There is a close connection between the two." Meaning between the quantity of gold in the issue department and the reserve of notes in the banking department. Here he explains the change in the rate of interest by the change in the quantity of money. But what he says is wrong. The reserve may decrease, because the circulating money in the country may increase. This is the case, when the public takes more notes and the metal reserve does not decrease. But in that case the rate of interest rises, because then the banking capital of the Bank of England is limited by the Acts of 1844. But he dare not mention this, since this law provides, that these two departments shall not have anything in common.
3859. "A high rate of profit will always create a great demand for capital; a great demand for capital will raise its value."—Here, we have at last the connection between a high rate of profit and a demand for capital, as Overstone conceives it. Now, a high rate of profit prevailed in 1844-45, for instance, in the cotton industry, because raw cotton was and remained cheap while the demand for cotton goods was strong. The value of capital [and according to a previous statement Overstone calls capital that which every one needs in his business], in the present case the value of raw cotton, was not increased for the manufacturer. Now the high rate of profit may have induced some cotton manufacturer to take up money for the expansion of his business. Thereby the demand for money-capital rose, and nothing else.
3889. "Gold may be money or not, just as paper may be a bank note or not."
3896. "Do I understand you correctly, then, that you abandon the statement, which you applied in 1840, to the effect that fluctuations in the circulating notes of the Bank of England should be governed by the fluctuations in the quantity of the gold reserve?"—"I abandon it in so far...that according to the present condition of our knowledge we must add to the circulating notes those other notes, which are deposited in the bank reserve of the Bank of England."—This is superlative. The arbitrary provision, that the bank may make out as many paper notes as it has gold in the treasury and 14 millions more, implies, of course, that its issue of notes fluctuates with the fluctuations of the gold reserve. But since "the present condition of our knowledge" shows clearly, that the mass of notes, which the bank can manufacture according to this (and which the issue department transfers to the banking department), and which circulating between the two departments of the Bank of England and fluctuate with the fluctuations of its gold reserve, does not determine the circulation of bank notes outside of the walls of the Bank of England, and this last circulation becomes a matter of indifference for the administration of the bank, and the circulation between the two departments of the bank, which shows its difference from the real circulation in the reserve, becomes alone essential. For the outside world this internal circulation is significant only, because the reserve indicates, how close the bank is getting to the legal maximum of its issue of notes, and how much the customers of the bank can still receive from the banking department.
The following is a brilliant example of Overstone's bad faith:
4243. "Does the quantity of capital fluctuate, in your own opinion, to such an extent from one month to another, that its value is changed thereby in the way that we have observed during the last years in the fluctuations of the rate of discount?"—"The proportion between demand and supply of capital may undoubtedly fluctuate even in short intervals....If France announces to-morrow, that it will take up a very large loan, it will undoubtedly cause at once a great change in the value of money, that is, the value of capital, in England."
4245. "If France announces, that it will suddenly need 30 millions worth of commodities for some purpose or other, a great demand will arise for capital, to use the more scientific and simpler expression,"
4246. "The capital, which France might want to buy with its loan, is one thing; the money, with which France buys this, is another thing; is it the money, which changes its value, or not?"—"We are coming back to the old question, and that, I believe, is better suited for the study room of a scientist than for this committee room."—And with this he retires, but not into the study room.*85
Notes for this chapter
In other words, formerly the dividend was first determined and then the income tax deducted on payment of the dividend to the individual stockholder; but after 1844 the income tax was first paid out of the total profit of the bank, and then the dividend paid "free of income tax." The same nominal percentages are therefore higher in the latter case by the amount of the tax.—F. E.
Further remarks on Overstone's confusion of terms in the matter of capital will be found at the close of chapter XXXII.
Part V, Chapter XXVII.
End of Notes
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- Exhibits & Animals
- IMAX Movies
- Visit the Aquarium
- Fun & Learning
- Conservation & Research
Common Name: Horseshoe crab
Latin Name: Limulus polyphemus
Size/weight: Up to 24 inches long and 12 inches wide; 3 or 4 pounds.
Range: Found from Maine to the Yucatan (Mexico).
Habitat: Estuaries to continental shelf
Diet: Worms, bivalves and other bottom dwelling creatures.
Predators: Migratory shorebirds, humans (fishing bait).
Description: The horseshoe crab’s name is somewhat misleading. Although it is shaped like a horseshoe, it’s no crab. The horseshoe crab is an arachnid, a class of arthropods that also includes scorpions, spiders, mites and ticks. With two main eyes, two simple (light sensing only) eyes and a mouth on the bottom, the horseshoe crab is well suited to life on the bottom. A brownish segmented shell offers protection and a pointed tail helps the animal right itself; it’s not used for attacking or even self-defense.
Conservation Note: After surviving on Earth for 300 million years, horseshoe crab numbers are declining. A local study, in which The Maritime Aquarium participates, is looking to find out the health and habits of the horseshoe crab population in Long Island Sound.
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Danglars travels to Italy and presents Monte Cristo’s receipt for five million francs to the firm of Thomas and French. He plans to use this money to resettle in Vienna rather than reimburse any of his creditors. Peppino, now one of Luigi Vampa’s bandits, has been tipped off about the huge sum that Danglars is about to withdraw and follows Danglars to Thomson and French.
The next day, Vampa’s bandits ambush Danglars as he rides from Rome to Venice. Danglars is presented to Vampa, who is busy reading Plutarch. Vampa places Danglars in a cell, comfortably made up with a bed. Danglars decides that the bandits would have killed him already if that had been their intent, so he concludes that he will most likely be held for ransom. As Danglars cannot imagine that the bandits would hold him for a sum anywhere near five million francs, he feels sure that all will work out well and goes to sleep contented.
The next day, Danglars is left alone in his cell and becomes extremely hungry. In response to his request for food, he is told that he can order any meal he wants, but that he must pay a ridiculously high price for it—one hundred thousand francs for any item. Reluctant but half-starved, he buys a chicken.
The next day Danglars asks to see Vampa. Vampa tells Danglars that he is keeping him captive under someone else’s orders and, therefore, can do nothing to alter the food situation. After twelve days, Danglars has used up all but fifty thousand of his francs buying food and drinks. He decides that he will save this last bit of money at any cost, and for days he eats nothing.
Finally, Danglars cries out for mercy, feeling he can take the hunger no more. A strangely familiar voice asks him if he repents his evil ways, and he swears that he does. Monte Cristo steps into the light and tells Danglars that he is forgiven. He reveals his true identity and then tells Danglars that he is free to go. Dumped by the side of the road, Danglars draws himself to a brook in order to drink and notices that his hair has gone white from terror.
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another.
On the day that Maximilian’s one month expires, he meets Monte Cristo on the island of Monte Cristo and proves himself still eager to die. Monte Cristo leads Maximilian into the exquisite palace carved into the rocks, which is filled with every earthly delight. Monte Cristo tests Maximilian’s resolve, attempting to determine whether his unhappiness is absolute and his devotion to Valentine limitless. Monte Cristo even offers Maximilian his entire fortune if he chooses life instead of death. Maximilian refuses the offer, wanting only release from the pain of lost love. Pretending to relent to Maximilian’s wishes, Monte Cristo hands the young man a green liquid, which Maximilian assumes is poison. Maximilian drinks it down and falls into a deep sleep.
The Sultan of Monte Cristo is a return to the great classic writing of
the late 19th century.Written as a sequel to the long time loved and
treasured adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo,Sultan of
Monte Cristo pays great tribute to the original by remaining full of
intrigue and adding more seductive romance with the harem of the
The many exploites of the Sultan leaves you wondering how could
this astonishing work of literary art be so captivating while keeping
to the ... Read more→
25 out of 81 people found this helpful
This for the full version if your not reading the full version this will get you even more confused than the book does. The Count of Monte Christo is a good book but not when your confused about the Plot i'm in the middle of reading it and think the spark notes really help.
6 out of 10 people found this helpful
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The Tain Bo Culaigne
The Combat Of Lethan And Cuchulain
There came also Lethan ('the Broad')
to his ford on the Nith in the land of
Conalle Murthemni, to fight with Cuchulain. He came upon him at the ford. Ath
Carpait ('Chariot-ford') is the name of the ford where they fought, for their
chariots were broken in the combat on the ford.
It is there that Mulcha, Lethan's charioteer, fell on the shoulder of the
hill between the two fords. Hence it is called Guala Mulchi ('Mulcha's
Shoulder') ever since. It is there, too, that Cuchulain and Lethan met, and
Lethan fell at Cuchulain's hands and he smote his head from his neck on the ford
and left it therewith, that is, he left the head with the trunk. Wherefore the
name of the ford of the Nith was called Ath Lethain ('Lethain's Ford') ever
since in the district of Conalle Murthemni.
Then came unto them the Crutti Cainbili ('the Tuneful Harpers'), from Ess
Ruaid in the north to amuse them. They opined it was to spy upon them they were
come from Ulster. When they came within sight of the camp of the men of Erin,
fear, terror, and dread possessed them, and the hosts pursued them as never men
pursued, far and wide, till they escaped them in the shapes of deer near the
standing stones at Lia Mor ('Great Stone') in the north. For though they were
known as the 'Mellifluous Harpers' they were druids, men of great cunning and
great power of augury and magic.
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New Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act
Locate a Local Employment Lawyer
What Are the Amendments to the American Disabilities Act?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the main articles of legislation that provides civil protections for persons with disabilities. In particular, the ADA regulates equal employment opportunity, transportation, public accommodation, and housing for disabled persons.
In 2011, Amendments to the ADA were approved under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). The amendments relaxed many of the requirements of what was required to qualify as a "disability." In effect, the amendments make it easier for a person to file a federal disability claim.
How Is "Disability" Defined under the ADAAA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act greatly expands the definition of disability under federal law, and removes many of the hurdles claimants previously encountered. Specifically, the ADAAA makes the following changes to the definition of “disability”:
- Substantially limiting effect: Under the previous definition, a disability claimant had to prove that the disability resulted in a “substantially limiting effect” on their major life activities, such as sleeping or walking. Substantial limiting effect was construed very narrowly, and essentially meant the disability had to prevent or severely restrict the major life activity. Now, the impairment does not necessarily have to prevent or severely restrict a major life activities to be classified as a disability. Nonetheless, not every impairment will qualify.
- Major life activities: The new amendments require this phrase to also cover “major bodily functions.” A major bodily function is a broad category, and can include anything from immune system functioning and cell growth to endocrine and neurological functions.
- Mitigating measures: Previously, mitigating measures, such as medication or the use of other medical devices, could be considered when reviewing a disability claim. Under the new amendments, “mitigating measures” may no longer be considered. However, eyeglasses and contact lenses may still factored into an analysis.
- Recurring or episodic impairments: A recurring or episodic disability, such as epilepsy, are now protected by the ADA. However, they must still substantially limit a major life activity during the periods that impairment is active. Episodic impairments may also include disabilities that are dormant or in remission, such as cancer.
- Regarded as disabled: Previously, a non-diagnosed claimant could file for disability if they had been “regarded as disabled." According to the new amendments, the focus is shifted from the type of impairment to an analysis of how the person was actually treated.
- Obvious Impairment: The old definition of impairment did not provide an exhaustive list of impairments, due to the difficulty of creating a complete listing. The new ADAAA is by no means exhaustive, but does list specific examples of conditions that would obviously be considered a disability or impairment. Some obvious impairments include epilepsy, HIV infection, bipolar disorders, and diabetes.
Thus, the new amendments to the ADA make it significantly easier for a claimant to establish that they have a disability according to the federal definition. Moreover, in an effort to provide as much protection as possible, courts have been directed to interpret the new guidelines broadly.
Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act Cover All Impairments?
The new ADAAA guidelines make it clear that not all impairments will be classified as a disability. Even with the new expansions to the definition of disability, conditions that are questionable or are not immediately debilitating will still be subject a rigorous analysis.
In addition, claims that are subject to fraud or deceit will be rejected. Filing a false disability claim may result in civil or criminal penalties. For example, if a person provides false medical documents in order to receive disability protections, their claim will be denied. The person may also have to face legal consequences such as a fine or a possible jail sentence.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
If you will be filing a disability claim, you may wish to familiarize yourself with the new amendments contained in the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). Prior to filing, you should certainly consult with an attorney for advice. An employment lawyer will be able to assist you with compiling the necessary documents for filing. Additionally, if a dispute arises over your claim, your attorney will be able to provide assistance during mandatory hearings.
Consult a Lawyer - Present Your Case Now!
Last Modified: 09-05-2014 01:24 PM PDT
Link to this page
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SEATTLE Mass vaccination would not be necessary in the event of a large-scale smallpox bioterrorist attack in the United States, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that appears online in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Instead, the current U.S. government policy of post-release surveillance, prompt containment of victims and vaccination of hospital workers and close contacts would be sufficient to thwart an epidemic, according to lead author Ira M. Longini Jr., Ph.D., a world leader in using mathematical and statistical methods to study the natural course of infectious diseases.
"We found that a well-prepared response of surveillance and containment, if done quickly, within a day or two of detecting the first smallpox case, would contain a large attack if up to 500 people were infected," said Longini, a member of the Public Health Sciences Division at the Hutchinson Center and a professor of biostatistics at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine. These results apply to scenarios involving even the most virulent, fatal forms of the virus.
However, Longini emphasizes, failure to quickly isolate known smallpox cases and vaccinate their close contacts could thwart the containment of an epidemic.
These findings emerge from a committee of smallpox experts including infectious-disease modelers, epidemiologists, statisticians and clinicians who were commissioned by former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson to evaluate a variety of intervention strategies to determine whether the United States could contain a large-scale smallpox bioterrorist attack and, if so, how.
Specifically, the researchers were charged with determining whether surveillance and containment isolation of detected smallpox cases and vaccination of their close contacts would be sufficient to contain a large attack. They also wanted to find out whether oth
Contact: Kristen Woodward
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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Find the information you’re looking for by reading through our comprehensive articles on eye diseases and conditions.
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The Museum of Emigration Pietro Conti was created to highlight the historical, cultural and human migration linked to the great exodus that involved Italy from the end of 1800, which covered more than 27 million departures. Powered by the technique of video projections, involving the viewer in an emotional journey back: the arrival, departure and travel. Documents, images and stories from all regions of Italy.
A choir trip, which has as its protagonist, the migrant: the farewells, the encounter and the clash with the foreign country, nostalgia, the everyday joys and sorrows, the integration into the new reality, the defeats and victories, the comparison and reflection with immigration today. The museum is a study center, educational workshop and a place of memory.
When Albert Einstein landed in the United States, like all emigrants, received a form to fill. Among the many questions to be answered there was one that asked:
“Which race do you belong?” And he replied: “to that human!”
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Latin american journal of aquatic research
versión On-line ISSN 0718-560X
LANGO REYNOSO, Fabiola et al. Ornamental marine fishkeeping: a trade of challenges and opportunities. Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Res. [online]. 2012, vol.40, n.1, pp.12-21. ISSN 0718-560X. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-560X2012000100002.
The aquariums industry is a trade that is expanding. Although there is no accurate information regarding the figures of the aquarium industry in the international scenario, it is estimated to generate revenues over US$ 300 million with an annual growth rate of 14%. Approximately US$ 28 to 44 million of this amount is generated by the ornamental marine fish trade. However, the trade in marine species has aroused controversy regarding the extraction of almost all traded marine organisms from wild populations and, in many cases, illegally. This paper presents a review that includes: the ornamental marine fishkeeping history, the species of commercial importance, the international trade scenario, risks of the aquarium industry, conservation strategies, and the current situation of this trade in Mexico. The last section focuses on describing the development and market prospects of the marine aquarium trade. Additionally, some initiatives from academic and private institutions aimed at developing sustainable aquaculture on ornamental marine fish species of commercial importance in Mexico are provided.
Palabras clave : ornamental marine resources; international trade; marine fishkeeping; sustainable aquaculture; Mexico.
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A study put three groups of dieters on different regimens. They included a low-fat group, a low-carbohydrate group that ate the same number of calories, and a third group on a similar low-carbohydrate plan that included 300 extra calories a day. The low-carbohydrate dieters lost more weight than low-fat dieters despite eating 25,000 extra calories over a 12-week study period. The findings generated national attention after Penelope Greene, a visiting scholar in the Harvard School of Public Health’s Nutrition Department, presented her research Oct. 13, 2003, at the annual meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Greene conducted the study with Walter Willett, Nutrition Department chair and Fredrick Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition. Participants in all three groups lost weight, Greene said, with the low-fat group losing an average of 17 pounds and the low-carbohydrate group that ate the same number of calories losing 23 pounds. The biggest surprise, however, was that the low-carbohydrate dieters eating extra calories lost more than those on the low-fat diet. Participants in that low-carbohydrate group lost an average of 20 pounds.
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In cryptography, a key (or cryptographic key) is a piece of information that allows control over the encryption or decryption process.
There are two basic types of cryptographic algorithms.
- Symmetric algorithm: If there is just one key for encrypting and decrypting, the algorithm is called symmetric.
- Asymmetric algorithm: If there are two different keys, each of which can be used only to encrypt data or only to decrypt it, the algorithm is called asymmetric. If an algorithm is asymmetric, one person publishes a key and accepts messages encrypted with that key. Anyone can encrypt a message, but only the person who owns the other key can decrypt it. This is how online stores, banks, etc., work.
Key sizes[change | change source]
For symmetric algorithms, a minimum key size of 128 bits is recommended. For applications that need extreme security, such as top secret documents, 256 bits is recommended. Many older ciphers used 40, 56, or 64-bit keys—these have all been cracked by brute force attack because the key was too short.
Asymmetric (public key) algorithms need much longer keys to be secure. For RSA, at least 2048 bits is recommended. The largest publicly-known key that has been cracked was a 768-bit key.
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https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(cryptography)
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Autism can be difficult to spot in young children, and currently parents must rely on behavioral evaluations for diagnosis. But a new study offers hope that a simple electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures the electrical activity of the brain, can give doctors a reliable tool to diagnose autism as early as infancy.
Scientists at Boston Children's Hospital compared the EEG measurements of more than 1300 children with and without autism. They examined the extent to which electrical activity from various brain regions synchronized with activity from other regions, known as EEG coherence, or connectivity. A trend emerged: Compared with the control group, the children with autism had reduced connectivity between brain regions, and this was especially true in regions of the brain's left hemisphere that are responsible for language.
To measure connectivity in the brain, researchers Frank Duffy and Heidelise Als quantified the degree to which any two given EEG signals—in the form of waves—are synchronized. If two or more waves rise and fall together over time, those brain regions are tightly connected.
Duffy and Als generated coherence readings for more than 4000 unique combinations of electrode signals and, using computational analysis, looked for the signals that seemed to vary the most from child to child. From these, they identified 33 coherence factors that consistently distinguished the children with autism.
Previous studies using EEG and functional MRI to study autism have found that people with autism often have altered connectivity across brain regions compared with people without autism. But the details of these studies, such as how the connectivity is altered, have differed in conflicting ways. Consequently, scientists haven't been able to come up with reliable criteria for EEG- or MRI-based diagnostic tests.
The new study attempted to clear up some of the confusion. The study is the largest and most rigorous of its kind to date. The researchers also took special care to minimize the effects of EEG artifacts: non-relevant electrical activity generated by the blinking, eye movement and bursts of muscle activity of squirmy kids.
Duffy and Als say they believe the findings could be the basis for a future diagnostic test of autism, particularly at very young ages, when behavior-based measures are unreliable. The researchers plan to repeat the study for children with Asperger's syndrome to see if EEG patterns are similar to those of autism.
The study was published June 26 in the journal BMC Medicine.
Image credit: Frank Duffy and Heidelise Als, Boston Children's Hospital
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Why Cavities Are Increasing In Baby Teeth
Recent government surveys have shown a noticeable increase in tooth decay in baby teeth.
Health experts are concerned because decay in baby teeth is an indicator that these people will have more tooth problems as adults. Tooth decay is also a sign of nutrient deficiency or biochemical imbalance in the body. It is not caused by a bacterial infection, but rather a rapid loss of minerals, or a lack of minerals in the body.
The "experts" cite that tooth decay is caused by two problems. #1, Lack of fluoride in the water due to the use of bottled water, and #2, Too much junk food.
More About Why Tooth Decay is Increasing In Primary Teeth
I agree with #2, that junk food will severely affect your child's health. However fluoride does not prevent tooth decay. And in large controlled studies, fluoridated communities actually score worse on the tooth decay chart. If water fluoridation really worked, with a high percentage of our communities fluoridated, dentists would not be able to stay in business.
Tooth decay in children is on the rise because of the poor diets of mothers during pregnancy, and because of the nutrient-devoid dietary suggestions for children during their growth spurts. Our modern diet does not contain the type of special nutrients required by our bodies to be healthy.
"I've always known deep down that teeth can heal naturally. When my own daughter began having dental issues, I went on a mission! Already been down that path, and being very scarred from the dental experiences I endured, I knew I couldn't put my child through it. I found Dr. Weston Price's research and my instincts told me this was it! Ramiel has now written a book, drawn from Price's findings, but specifically directed at restoring dental health. The result is a very comprehensive book that lays it all out. He is honest. And the truth is an incredible eye-opener! The protocol works. Get this book, especially if you have children."-Mrs. Brown, Canada
"Not only is Cure Tooth Decay a practical guide to teach parents how to raise healthy children (with healthy teeth), it is also a helpfull tool for adults who have suffered with poor dental health and/or chronic disease. I would also highly recommend this book to people who are looking for things they can do to protect their bones, and their overall health, as they age. In other words, this book is a must read for everyone interested in improving their health." Pam Killeen New York Times nestselling Author
Fabulous book! I work in a health food store and will be recommending it a lot. - Vimala
I purchased your cure tooth decay book and appreciate all the info that has opened my eyes to this nutritional healing. - Ace
I have read your book and I am very grateful for it. Thank you for all your hard work! - Joni
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http://www.curetoothdecay.com/Baby_Bottle_Tooth_Decay/baby_teeth_cavities.htm
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Engineering Technology?
At first glance, engineering technology is similar to engineering. Basic courses in mathematics and science are the same for both. While engineering programs provide the theoretical and abstract training necessary for planning, designing, and creating new products, engineering technology programs focus on application and practice. They combine classroom studies with hands-on, high-tech laboratory experiences. Generally, engineering technology programs offer a 50/50 mix of theory and laboratory experience. Students take specialized technical courses that emphasize rational thinking and the application of scientific principles to find practical solutions to technical problems.
In the field of Engineering Technology, knowledge of the applied mathematical and natural sciences is devoted to the application of engineering principles and the implementation of technological advances for the benefit of humanity. Engineering Technology programs focus primarily on analyzing, applying, implementing and improving existing technologies and are aimed at preparing graduates for the practice of engineering closest to the product improvement, manufacturing, and engineering operational functions. It is this practical application of theory that sets the engineering technologist apart from the other disciplines of the engineering enterprise.
What is Industrial Technology?
The National Association of Industrial Technology defines Industrial Technology as “…a field of study designed to prepare technical and/or management oriented professionals for employment in business, industry, education, and government. Industrial Technology is primarily involved with the management, operation, and maintenance of complex technological systems….”
At Tarleton, the Industrial Technology program heavily emphasizes “hands-on” activities as well as classroom instruction to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to fill a wide range of positions in industry. While our program explores a wide variety of manufacturing issues, the course content can also be applied to the construction, cabinet-making, and fabrication industries.
What is Engineering?
As defined by the Engineers Council for Professional Development, “Engineering is that profession in which knowledge of the mathematical and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practice, is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind.” In other words, Engineering is the art of applying scientific and mathematical principles, experience, judgment, and common sense to make things that benefit people. It includes the process of producing a technical product or system to meet a specific need.
Engineering focuses primarily on the conceptual and theoretical aspects of science and engineering aimed at research, development, and conceptual design functions whereas Engineering Technology focuses more on the application of scientific and engineering principles.
Engineering work is organized into traditional academic fields of study. The five largest of these are chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering. There are also more specialized engineering fields, including aerospace, manufacturing, nuclear, biomedical, and environmental engineering.
What is Manufacturing Engineering Technology
Manufacturing Engineering Technology is a field of study that prepares students for careers in modern manufacturing and related industries. Manufacturing engineering technologists help create and supervise the processes for manufacturing products. They translate the concepts and specifications of design engineers into the actual production of manufactured goods at the lowest possible cost. Manufacturing technologists direct and coordinate manufacturing processes and complex systems of machines in industrial plants and work in areas such as automated testing and product improvement. Technical areas of work include planning, production methods, fabrication, assembly, materials handling, scheduling, and quality assurance.
A broad array of talents and experiences is required along with inquisitiveness and intuitive skills. Manufacturing Engineering Technology requires vision, creativity, and the ambition to not just solve today’s problem, but to refine yesterday’s answers with continuous improvement.
At Tarleton, Manufacturing Engineering Technology students can expect to be educated in a wide range of manufacturing related courses such as Quality, Ergonomics, Production Planning, Management, Materials, Control Systems, and Computer Modeling. The courses will be very applications oriented and will provide the graduates with the tools, techniques, and knowledge required to solve a wide range of manufacturing problems and provide the knowledge of how to continuously improve every aspect of the manufacturing facility.
What is the difference between Industrial Technology and Manufacturing Engineering Technology?
The differences between educational programs in engineering technology and industrial technology include type of faculty, use of facilities, mathematics and science sequence content, and degree of specialization.
Manufacturing Engineering Technology programs tend to emphasize processes more than the product being manufactured. They tend to be narrower in scope and do not normally attempt to develop manual skills. The nature of the engineering technology field requires that these programs include a fairly high level of math and science. Engineering technology courses are traditionally taught by professional engineers.
Industrial Technology programs tend to be even more “hands-on” than Engineering Technology programs and are more slanted toward products than processes. They typically include some manual skill development in many broad areas and are usually less rigorous in the math and science requirements than Engineering Technology programs. Because of the broadness of the field, Industrial Technology programs may provide opportunities to specialize in areas such as computer-aided design and manufacturing, operations management, and educational certification. Industrial Technology courses are traditionally taught by those who have degrees in the field of Industrial Technology.
What is Manufacturing?
Manufacturing has many definitions and means different things to different people. One of the most commonly accepted definitions is as follows: “Manufacturing is converting raw materials into products by various processes, machinery, and operations, following a well-organized plan for each activity required.”
Most of the things we use from airplanes to paper clips are manufactured. Even the slicing and packaging of bacon and the packaging of potato chips are considered manufacturing operations along with the making of bricks, sandpaper, soft drink bottles, automobiles, etc. Manufacturing basically means making things that are essentially the same in quantities of two or more. If you create a “one of a kind” piece of jewelry, that’s art. If you reproduce that piece of jewelry in large quantities and sell it through a discount store or at a mall, that’s manufacturing.
Why should I pursue a major in the Department of Engineering Technology?
If you like knowing why and how things work and applying that knowledge to solve real-life problems, one of the degrees in the department of Engineering Technology may lead to the perfect career for you.
Are you a tinkerer? Do you like to take things apart and wonder how they are made? That helps, because Engineering Technology is not all mental; it draws on manual skills and an appreciation for things well made. Manufacturers are looking for those individuals who can bring the most technology tools to the task and evaluate many possible solutions.
The fields of Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Industrial Technology offer rewarding and lucrative careers—those in which you can use your mind to find creative solutions to the challenges facing our society. In his book Studying Engineering (Discovery Press, 1995), Raymond Landis, Dean of Engineering and Technology at California State University–Los Angeles, lists the following "top 10" rewards and opportunities that an engineering career offers.
Job Satisfaction--Studies show that, by far, the number-one cause of unhappiness among people in the United States is job dissatisfaction. Thus, it is important to find a career that provides you with enjoyment and satisfaction. For numerous reasons, some of which are listed below, engineering provides a satisfying field of work.
Variety of Career Opportunities--An engineering degree offers a wide range of career possibilities. Within the practice of engineering, there are an enormous variety of job functions. The analytical skills and technological expertise you develop as an engineering student can also be put to use in many other fields.
Challenging Work--If you like challenges, an engineering-related career could be for you. In the engineering work world, there is no shortage of challenging problems. You will be required to devise a solution and persuade others that your solution is the best one.
Intellectual Development--An engineering education will "exercise" your brain, developing your ability to think logically and to solve problems. These are skills that will be valuable throughout your life—and not only when you are solving engineering problems.
Benefit Society--Just about everything that engineers and engineering technologists do benefits society. They design the buildings that we live and work in, the systems that deliver our water and electricity, the machinery that produces our food, and the medical equipment that keeps us healthy. With an engineering related career, you can choose to work on projects that clearly benefit society.
Financial Security--Engineering graduates receive among the highest starting salaries.
Prestige--Engineers and engineering technologists play a primary role in sustaining our nation's international competitiveness, maintaining our standard of living, ensuring a strong national security, and protecting public safety. As a member of such a respected profession, you will receive a high amount of prestige.
Professional Environment--Engineers and engineering technologists work in a professional environment in which they are treated with respect and often have a certain amount of freedom in choosing their work.
Technological and Scientific Discovery--An engineering education can help you understand how many things work and an understanding of technology will provide you with a better understanding of many issues facing our society.
Creative Thinking--Engineering is by its very nature a creative profession. When practicing engineers develop solutions to problems, they must employ conscious and subconscious mental processing as well as divergent and convergent thinking.
If you like to question, explore, invent, discover, and create, then engineering could be the ideal profession for you.
What types of jobs are available with a degree from the Engineering Technology department?
Positions requiring the knowledge and skills of Engineering Technology department graduates are plentiful and varied. Recent graduates have accepted positions at Ratheon, Northrup Grumman, Fibergrate-Composite Structures International, Ram Incorporated, Plastipack, Huck Manufacturing, Lockheed Aerospace, Vought Aerospace, Norton Abrasives, Trane, Head Golf, U. S. Brick, TAC Americas, Dell Computers, E-Systems and many other companies too numerous to mention.
Not only has our placement record been outstanding, but our graduates also command some of the highest starting salaries of all Tarleton graduates. The starting salary for recent graduates ranged from $45,000 to $60,000 with an average of $50,000. Jobs such as manufacturing engineers, numerical control (NC) programmers, quality control specialists, computer-aided drafters, production supervisors, project managers, and a multitude of other careers are available to E. T. graduates. Many graduates choose self-employment as building contractors, welders, machinists, etc. For those students who wish to teach, a large number of secondary school teaching positions are available.
What is the career outlook for graduates in engineering and engineering-related fields?
More than 1.2 million engineers work in the U.S. today, making engineering the nation's second largest profession. According to Graduating Engineer magazine, job opportunities for new engineers should be 3.9 percent greater than they were last year. Starting pay averages in the low-$40,000s.
How open are engineering-related fields to women?
Today, women comprise 19 percent of first-year engineering students. Women are attracted to engineering in growing numbers for the same reasons the field draws men: It promises challenging, interesting work, and high pay. In recent years, universities and industries have increased their efforts to welcome women into engineering.
For more information on women in engineering, contact the Society of Women Engineers.
For historical information on women in engineering, see
Women in Science home page
How open is the engineering field to minorities?
Ever since a 1970s study by the National Science Foundation showed that minorities (with the exception of Asian Americans) were vastly underrepresented in engineering, the profession has made efforts to recruit minorities. Various programs now exist to acquaint minority students and their families and teachers with the field as well as to mentor and support minority engineering students. Though the rates of enrollment have shot up, actual numbers of minority engineers are still low.
For more information on programs for minority engineering students contact:
ABET 's Minority Introduction to Engineering Program
For historical information on minorities in engineering, see The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
What is professional registration? Will I need to get it after college?
Registration as a professional engineer, though mandatory in only a few cases, is considered by many in industry to be an impressive credential. For most engineers, professional registration is optional. However, in certain fields of work that involve public safety, professional registration may be mandatory. Approximately 30 percent of all practicing engineers are registered. The percentage is much higher for civil engineers because of the nature of their work.
Professional registration is handled by the individual states, each of which has a registration board. Although the requirements and procedures differ somewhat from state to state, they are generally fairly uniform due to the efforts of the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES). For details about the process of becoming a registered Professional Engineer, visit the NCEES web page: http://www.ncees.org/
State boards are responsible for evaluating the education and experience of applicants for registration, administering an examination to those applicants who meet the minimum requirements, and granting registration to those who pass the examination.
Can you get a teaching certificate with the Industrial Technology degree?
Yes, the Technology Education option in the BS in Industrial Technology leads to certification to teach Technology Education at the public school level. There are a large number of openings in Texas as well as other states for dedicated individuals who are looking for an exciting and rewarding career in the public schools.
What is the difference between a BS degree and a BAAS degree?
The primary difference in the two degrees lies in how and when a person starts their college career. The BS (Bachelor of Science) degree is designed for those who enter a university or “academic-track” program at a community college as a freshman. Students will take the academic core of courses required of all students (English, math, history, government, etc.) plus those courses required for a BS degree in a specific area such as Math, English, Biology, Industrial Technology, Manufacturing Engineering Technology, etc.
The BAAS (Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences) degree is designed for those students who entered a technical or community college and took a large number of technical courses in a specific area such as drafting and design, semi-conductor manufacturing, welding, laser technology, diesel mechanics, etc. If, after completing a two-year technical program, someone decides to continue their education and work toward a bachelor’s degree, most of the technology courses can be applied to the “occupational specialization” section of a BAAS degree. The BAAS degree is available only to those who have completed at least thirty-three semester credit hours of technology or training courses that can be applied to the occupational specialization.
Do people in engineering-related careers use computers?
Definitely! Computers are used for everything from office work such as e-mail and reports to computer-aided manufacturing. Typical activities include computer-aided design, solid modeling, computer simulation of factory layouts and operations, statistical analysis, and writing programs to control a computer controlled (NC) machining center. Computers are vital in today’s manufacturing plants. They control everything from inventory of raw materials to the air-conditioning on the factory floor.
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http://www.tarleton.edu/COSTWEB/engtech/faq.html
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1. Informal terms for a mother.
4. A sea nymph (part woman and part bird) supposed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks where the nymphs lived.
9. Being or occurring in fact or actuality.
13. How long something has existed.
16. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.
17. The ending of a series or sequence.
18. Bulky grayish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail.
19. Common black-and-gray Eurasian bird noted for thievery.
20. A widely distributed system consisting of all the cells able to ingest bacteria or colloidal particles etc, except for certain white blood cells.
21. Strong feelings of dislike v 1.
23. The occurrence of a change for the worse.
25. An island of central Hawaii (between Molokai and Kauai).
27. British statesman who as Prime Minister bought controlling interest in the Suez Canal and made Queen Victoria the Empress of India (1804-1881).
29. The sixth month of the civil year.
30. Having narrow opening filled.
31. Without moral standards or principles.
33. A member of a people native to the Philippines chiefly inhabiting central Luzon around and including Manila.
37. A characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves).
44. Denuded of leaves.
45. Fruit of the oak tree.
48. Any of various floor-like platforms built into a vessel.
49. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.
50. An indehiscent fruit derived from a single ovary having one or many seeds within a fleshy wall or pericarp.
52. A doctor who practices veterinary medicine.
53. Greenwich Mean Time updated with leap seconds.
58. The part of a coal seam that is being cut.
62. A collection of excerpts from a literary work.
64. (prefix) In front of or before in space.
65. A protective covering that protects the outside of a building.
67. Wild or seedling sweet cherry used as stock for grafting.
68. Clothing for the head.
70. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.
71. Offering fun and gaiety.
72. Prepare for a military confrontation.
74. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).
76. A very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk.
82. A subsidiary proposition that is assumed to be true in order to prove another proposition.
86. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.
90. (of a young animal) Abandoned by its mother and raised by hand.
92. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.
93. A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body.
94. A Russian prison camp for political prisoners.
95. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).
96. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement.
97. The syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization.
98. A city in central Alabama on the Alabama river.
99. A small cake leavened with yeast.
100. A workplace for the conduct of scientific research.
1. Of or relating to or characteristic of Morocco or its people.
2. A religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery.
3. A Bantu language.
4. Surface layer of ground containing a matt of grass and grass roots.
5. Any of a class of organic compounds that contain the divalent radical -CONHCO-.
6. Make one's home or live in.
7. Oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food.
8. An island republic on Nauru Island.
9. Desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers.
10. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.
11. Small genus of evergreen trees of tropical America and western Africa.
12. A unit of length of thread or yarn.
13. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.
14. Mentally or physically infirm with age.
15. An open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring.
22. (legend) Chalice used by Christ at the last supper.
24. The capital and largest city of Equatorial Guinea on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea.
26. Release, as of emotions.
28. A large number or amount.
32. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.
34. Small free-swimming tunicates.
35. Denoting or characteristic of the biogeographic region including southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago as far as the Philippines and Borneo and Java.
36. Type genus of the Gentianaceae.
38. The simplest ketone.
39. A baroque musical composition (usually for a keyboard instrument) with full chords and rapid elaborate runs in a rhythmically free style.
40. Not out.
41. Being one more than one hundred.
42. A river in central Europe that arises in northwestern Czechoslovakia and flows northward through Germany to empty into the North Sea.
43. Enthusiastic approval.
46. A white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily.
47. The syllable naming the fourth (subdominant) note of the diatonic scale in solmization.
51. Any plant of the genus Canna having large sheathing leaves and clusters of large showy flowers.
54. A gray tetravalent metallic element that resembles zirconium chemically and is found in zirconium minerals.
55. An emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight).
56. Being nine more than forty.
57. Popular music originating in the West Indies.
59. A projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water.
60. Type genus of the Aceraceae.
61. Wearing or provided with clothing.
63. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).
66. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.
69. Of or relating to the stomach and intestines.
73. God of wealth and love.
75. Fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of e.g. a puffball or stinkhorn.
77. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.
78. A vessel in which something is immersed to maintain it at a constant temperature or to process or lubricate it.
79. Burrowing marine mollusk living on sand or mud.
80. Someone who works (or provides workers) during a strike.
81. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.
82. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward your retirement.
83. The bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service.
84. God of death.
85. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.
87. System of measurement based on centimeters and grams and seconds.
88. The quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength.
89. An extension at the end and at right angles to the main building.
91. A light touch or stroke.
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ENV Risk Mitigation Pollinators › Education and Training
|Education Efforts such as Training and Certification or Stewardship Efforts|
Training and certification programs convey information (such as on technology and regulations of pesticides) to professional pesticide applicators to ensure that these individuals remain informed of the safe application of pesticide products. Training and certification programs therefore, support mitigation efforts by providing broader knowledge, understanding and adoption of mitigation measures found on pesticide labels. Stewardship programs which can be similar to training and certification programs, also contribute to risk mitigation by providing a broader understanding of the label and proper use of pesticides to a wider audience including persons other than professional applicators.
More information on education and training resources relevant to insect pollinator protection of OECD Member Countries can be accessed under Laws, Policies and Guidance.
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Fuge, Charles. Astonishing Animal ABC. Sterling Pub., 2011. J 411 FUG
An alphabet book featuring rhyming text and all sorts of vividly illustrated animals.
Horowitz, Dave. Twenty-Six Pirates. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2013. E HOR
Twenty-six pirates, one for each letter of the alphabet, demonstrate their particular--and sometimes silly--talents and skills.
Maass, Robert. A is for Autumn. Henry Holt, 2011. E MAA
Perfect for preschoolers, this alphabet book’s rich photographs capture the wonders of autumn from A-Z.
Schaefer, Carole Lexa. ABCers. Viking, 2012. E SCH
On a warm summer's day, children in a park find fun things to do from A to Z.
Van Lieshout, Maria. Backseat A-B-See. Chronicle Books, 2012. E VAN
In this striking alphabet book, a child sees road signs from A to Z from the backseat of a car.
Zuckerman, Andrew. Creature ABC. Chronicle Books, 2009. E ZUC
This deluxe alphabet book features Zuckerman’s breathtaking wildlife photography. From alligator to zebra, each featured animal boasts two striking portraits against a clean white background, offering a unique up-close view of the animal kingdom.
Asper Smith, Sarah. Have You Ever Seen a Smack of Jellyfish?: an Alphabet Book. Sasquatch Books, 2010. J 411 ASP
Explore the alphabet and animals in a playful and delightfully unusual way - through their collective nouns.
Galvin, Laura Gates. Alphabet of Animals. Soundprints, 2006. J 590 GAL
Come along on an alphabet adventure and discover different animals, starting with Ant and ending with Zebra. The book also includes fun rhymes, interesting facts and great illustrations.
Isadora, Rachel. ABC Pop! Viking, 1999. J 428.1 ISA
From airplane to zing, zap, zoom, this witty alphabet book explodes with energy, color, and fun and will make readers see everyday-- and not-so-everyday-- objects in an exciting new way.
McNamara, Margaret. Apples A to Z. Scholastic Press, 2012. J 634.11 MCN
Join fox, bear, pig, and rabbit as they learn about apples one letter at a time.
Nunn, Daniel. ABCs at Home. Raintree, 2013. J 411 NUN
This book presents the alphabet from A to Z using words connected with familiar objects that are part of a young child’s everyday life at home. Other titles in the Everyday Alphabet Series, include: ABCs at the Park, ABCs at the Store, and ABCs in Nature.
Salas, Laura Purdie. C is for Cake!: A Birthday Alphabet. Capstone Press, 2010. J 411 SAL
Birthdays are full of streamers, balloons, and presents. Get ready to celebrate each letter in C is for Cake!
Austin, Mike. Monsters Love Colors. Harper, 2013. E AUS
Different-colored monsters happily howl, growl, and roar for more as they mix and match primary colors to make new shades and hues.
Cabrera, Jane. Cat’s Colors. Puffin Books, 2000. E CAB
A cat describes ten different colors and tells which one is its favorite.
Delessert, Etienne. Full Color. Creative Editions, 2008. E DEL
The strange but friendly creatures of artist Etienne Delessert come together in a simple and playful celebration of colors, from the primary colors to the rainbow spectrum.
Klausmeier, Jesse. Open This Little Book. Chronicle Books, 2013. E KLA
Cleverly designed as books nestled within smaller and then larger books, this bright offering is rich with vivid colors. Children will be drawn in at many levels: the pithy text, the fun illustrations, and the interactive format.
Norman, Kim. I Know a Wee Piggy. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012. E NOR
A fun day at the fair becomes color chaos when one boy's energetic pig gets loose. Upside down, piggy wallows in brown, and soon, he's adding a rinse of red (tomatoes), a wash of white (milk), and a pinch of pink (cotton candy). Can piggy be caught before he turns the whole fair upside down?
Wellington, Monica. Colors for Zena. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2013. E WEL
A young girl learns how a rainbow of colors can be made from just three primary colors.
Gordon, Sharon. Blue. Benchmark Books, 2005. J 535.6 GOR
Brief text and illustrations depict the color blue. Additional titles in this Bookworms Colors Series include: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Purple.
Kalman, Bobbie. I Eat a Rainbow. Crabtree Pub. Co., 2010. J 613.2 KAL
By introducing young readers to the colors of food, they also learn about healthy eating.
Pallotta, Jerry. Icky Bug Colors. Scholastic, 2002. J 535.6 PAL
Kids will love this adorable book that teaches all about colors – with help from the ickiest bugs around! All the bright colors kids love are featured in this young picture book.
Ranchetti. Sebastiano. Animals in Color. Weekly Reader Pub., 2008. J 535.6 RAN
In this beautifully illustrated book, animals introduce color to young learners. Minimal text combines with bold, eye-catching art to present colors in a simple yet captivating way.
Red, Blue, and Yellow Too. Scholastic/Children’s Press, 2010. J 535.6 RED
This book is a perfect “grown up” format for preschoolers who have just graduated from board books. Bright balloon animals introduce the colors of the rainbow.
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. Lemons are not Red. Roaring Brook Press, 2006. J 535.6 SEE
Clever cutouts in the pages make this a simple, original, and utterly beguiling introduction to color.
Barnett, Mac. Count the Monkeys. Disney Hyperion, 2013. E BAR
The reader is invited to count the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages.
Blechman, Nicholas. Night Light. Orchard Books, 2013. E BLE
Count the lights and through die-cut pages, find out which vehicle they belong to.
Gibbs, Edward. I Spy Under the Sea. Templar Books/Candlewick Press, 2012. E GIB
There are many colorful creatures to find under the sea. Look through the spy hole and use the clues to guess the creature, then turn the page to count the animals.
Kromhout, Rindert. 1 2 3, Little Donkey. Gecko Press, 2013. E KRO
Little Donkey and his friend will do anything for candy. An early concept counting book with a satisfying story structure, and a full, domestic setting and characters.
Murray, Alison. One Two That’s My Shoe! Disney-Hyperion Books, 2012. E MUR
When a mischievous puppy runs off with his owner’s shoe, it’s a race from one to ten to get it back again. Over the teddy bears and out the door, readers can rollick along with the canine trickster and count the scenery along the way.
Smith, Danna. Two at the Zoo. Clarion Books, 2009. E SMI
A grandfather and grandchild go to the zoo, where they count animals from one to ten.
Barrett, Judi. I Knew Two Who Said Moo: A Counting and Rhyming Book. Aladdin Paperbacks, 2003. J 513.211 BAR
Rhyming lines feature the numbers from one to ten.
Browne, Anthony. One Gorilla: A Counting Book. Candlewick Press, 2013. J 513.211 BRO
Count from one to ten with apes and primates in this full color picture book designed for the youngest of children.
Dahl, Michael. Downhill Fun: A Counting Book about Winter. Picture Window Books, 2004. J 513.211 DAH
Introduces the numbers from one to twelve as skiers, sledders, and snowboarders whiz down a snowy slope. Readers are invited to find hidden numbers on an illustrated activity page.
Marzollo. Jean. Help Me Learn Numbers 0 – 20. Holiday House, 2011. J 513.211 MAR
Colorful photographs of rabbits chicks, cars, fish, dogs, cookies, and other fun objects, rhyming text, and a fun game, help children learn numbers. This book not only teaches children how to count, but how to connect numbers with a value.
Milich, Zoran. City 123. Kids Can Press, 2005. J 513.211 MIL
Vibrant photographs showcase the numbers one to ten and invite kids to look at cityscapes with new eyes. Familiar objects such as skyscrapers, bags of leaves, cars – and even french fries! – will help children discover that numbers are all around them.
Rissman, Rebecca. Counting at Home. Raintree, 2013. J 513.211 RIS
Learn to count to 20 with this fun, interactive book! Each page features one or more clear numerals, and then asks the reader to search an image of a home to find that number of objects.
Blackstone, Stella. Bear in a Square. Barefoot Books, 2006. E BLA
Bear looks for shapes everywhere, such as for rectangles in a school and for stars in the nighttime sky.
Falwell, Cathryn. Shape Capers, Greenwillow Books, 2007. E FAL
A group of children shake shapes out of a box and discovers the fun of using circles, squares, triangles, semicircles, rectangles, and their imaginations.
Moncure, Jane Belk. Word Bird’s Shapes. The Child’s World, 2003. E MON
Word Bird makes various objects while playing with basic shapes.
Thong, Roseanne. Round is a Tortilla: a Book of Shapes. Chronicle Books, 2013. E THO
In this lively picture book, children discover a world of shapes all around them.
Walsh, Ellen Stoll. Mouse Shapes. Harcourt, 2007. E WAL
Three mice make a variety of things out of different shapes as they hide from a scary cat.
Wilson, Zachary. A Circle in the Sky. Children’s Press, 2011. E WIL (Beginning Reader);
A child puts together various simple shapes to build a rocket that will fly to the moon.
Bruna, Dick. Round, Square, Triangle. Tate Pub., 2012. J 516.15 BRU
Introduces very young children to the shapes of everyday objects, combining simple and boldly colored illustrations in the signature style of the creator's beloved Miffy Series.
Dilkes, D. H. I See Squares. Bailey Books, 2011. J 516.154 DIL
Full-color photos and simple text uncover squares hidden within a child’s world. Other titles in this All About Shapes Series include: I See Circles, I See Ovals, I See Rectangles, I See Stars, and I See Triangles.
Dingles, Molly. Rectangle Ranch. Dingles, 2005. J 516.154 DIN
Introduces young children to the concept of shapes – and community. Other titles in this series, Community of Shapes, include: Seaside Circles, Triangle Trail, Town Squares, Oval Opera, and Star Ship.
MacDonald, Suse, Shape by Shape. Little Simon, 2009. J 516.15 MAC
Turn the die-cut pages to discover colorful shapes, which come together to reveal a creature from long ago.
Pallotta, Jerry. Icky Bug Shapes. Scholastic, 2003. J 516.15 PAL
Kids love learning their shapes with help from the ickiest bugs around. All the familiar shapes are covered in this young picture book.
Rissman, Rebecca. Shapes in Art. Heinemann Library, 2009. J 516.15 RIS
Can you spot the shape? This book introduces children to different shapes in a range of situations.
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Want to switch off the living room lights from bed, change channels while washing dishes, or turn the heat up from the couch? A team at the University of Washington has rigged a standard Wi-Fi home network to detect your movements anywhere in the home and convert them into commands to control connected devices.
Gesture recognition is the latest fad in games and tech, but even the newest systems require high-tech depth-sensing cameras or other special hardware. Microsoft’s new Kinect, for instance, uses a photon-measuring method called “time of flight” sensing that was, until the Kinect was announced, limited to high-tech laboratories. And Kinect isn’t small, either.
UW computer science students, led by assistant professor Shyam Gollakota, looked at the gesture-detection puzzle another way — specifically, how people affect the environment they’re already in.
Our bodies distort the Wi-Fi signals we use to beam information to and from our laptops and phones. By watching those signals very closely, the team could determine not just what room you’re in, but where you’re standing and how you’re moving your body. They call the system WiSee.
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Stocks of companies that develop and sell fuel cells are going crazy — their shares are up about 50% in the past five days.
The gainers include:
- Plug Power: 67%
- Ballard: 48%
- Fuel Cell: 49%
The market caps of these companies are tiny, but still, the surge cannot be ignored. Are we really on the verge of fuel cells going mainstream?
Let's back up for a moment.
What are fuel cells?
Basically, fuel cells take hydrogen and turn it into electricity. The most common way of doing this involves using a proton exchange membrane.
This is a membrane that separates out the positive and negative charges — the proton and electron — of a hydrogen atom. The membrane is treated in such a way that the electron cannot pass through it; instead, it only captures the proton. This allows the electron to go through an external circuit and get momentarily captured as electricity.
The exhaust product from the system is created by the proton and electron recombining with an oxygen molecule, which is flowing through the other side of the membrane. The only "waste" created from a fuel cell is water heat, meaning they are essentially carbon neutral.
Via Ballard, here's the visual demonstration. The flow field plate is charged to separate out the proton and electron.
Hydrogen and oxygen pass through along either side of the charged membrane.
The hydrogen atom gets split into its positive and negative charges — protons and electrons.
The proton passes through the membrane, where it will become part of an exhaust product ...
... while the electron gets temporarily captured as electricity.
The split proton and electron are reunited with an oxygen atom to produce water and heat — a nearly pure form of energy exhaust.
If you stack a bunch of these guys together, you get a fuel cell.
More demand, and getting cheaper
The long-term shift in the marketplace is that hydrogen — namely in the form of natural gas, which is simply hydrogen and carbon — is getting cheaper and more abundant according to Bloomberg's Christopher Martin. On the higher end, solar-based fuel cells, which convert solar and wind energy into hydrogen, have seen cost improvements as solar use has expanded. And fuel cells form part of the push toward cleaner energy, something Wal-Mart has been pushing. And a recent note from Navigant indicates more sectors are looking to fuel cells to provide grid-independent sources of power in case of natural disasters.
“With the growing need to enhance grid resiliency and the accelerating adoption of distributed generation technologies worldwide, the stationary fuel cell industry is well-positioned for growth over the next decade,” says Mackinnon Lawrence, research director with Navigant Research. “Expected to break through the $2 billion mark in annual revenue in 2014, stationary fuel cells are seeing increased financing options for adoption, particularly in the healthy residential combined heat and power segment.”
Wal-Mart also sees the cells as cost- and labor-saving devices, since it takes less time to refuel a lift, and thus creates less downtime.
The hype cycle
But again, the market cap of these firms remains relatively minuscule. As far as their use in transport, fuel cells are so far mostly limited to light industrial machines like forklifts. Navigant says the stationary fuel cell market will reach $9 billion in annual revenue by 2022.
More importantly, these stocks have come under huge waves of hype before, when the market has gotten frothy. Plug Power went public during the dot-com bubble, and while it survived, its stock has gone nowhere for the past decade. Check out the insane heights it reached during the bubble.
For what it's worth, Lake Street's Rob Brown today lowered his rating on Ballard to "hold" from "buy" with a $4 price target. He writes in a note:
At the current price, we believe shares are implying roughly $4 per share in value for new development programs (based on discounting at least $80M in additional annual EBITDA) on top of the core business, which we value at $2.50 per share. Many of these potential programs have yet to be identified, have very limited visibility on future outcomes, and likely will not contribute meaningful revenue for at least 4 years.
Ballard gets 10% of its revenue from Plug Power, and 25% from Volkswagen, Brown says. Indeed, some analysts believe everything will ride on whether automakers ultimately start rolling out fuel cell vehicles en masse. But given the surge in demand for electric vehicles, there is a decent chance the bump doesn't go much higher from here.
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We all know that public places are extremely filthy and are undoubtedly an open pool for plenty of germs. Viruses and Bacteria are everywhere around us. Some germs are essential in our daily life. More than 200 species living inside human body performing much essential functions for instance: eating dead skin.
These days hygiene is a mandatory habit to maintain especially at public places. With our decreasing immunity we need to take care of our health and inculcate healthy habits to lead a germ free life. With some simple tips you can easily follow a healthy and clean routine:
- You must teach your children about the good, healthy and hygienic habits. But, if you really want that your child must follow you, these habits are to be practiced by you also that too regularly.
- You must take care of not touching your eyes or mouth while you are shopping or at a public meeting. Because it may cause any allergy or infection.
- As an alternative of using your hand to flush a public toilet, you can make use of your foot or any dispensable tissue or towel.
- At a public event where you shook a lot of hands, before leaving you’re your hands thoroughly before you leave. Because, it’s easy to infect the steering wheel for the next driver.
- Always keep a hand sanitizer with you, in your car and other common places because it actually guards you from many pathogens along with giving you a fresh and germ free feel .
So, by following these tips, you will surely enhance the hygienic conditions of you and your family and helps staying germ free even at public places. You can also share these healthy habits with your family and friends too.
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Ocean Universal Scene (OCEANUS™) Model
OCEANUS™ is a physics-based ocean background scene model that calculates water-leaving radiance in the ultraviolet (US), visible (VIS) and infrared (IR) portions of the spectrum (0.2 – 50 microns). The development of OCEANUS™ was funded by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) SBIR program in order to create a model that generates scene signatures of the environmental radiance conditions in the UV/VIS/IR for the development of optimal sensors for detection and tracking of ballistic missiles and other targets of interest over ocean backgrounds. OCEANUS™ can simulate high-fidelity ocean imagery with spatial resolutions as fine as 1 mm for any reasonable sensor geometry, including space-based, airborne and ground-based systems.
OCEANUS™ is database driven, incorporating a large amount of remotely-sensed measured data. The data available includes monthly variations in the global sea surface temperature, the global sea surface salinity, the global sea ice, phytoplankton, CDOM, and suspended sediment distributions, global sea surface wind speed and direction, and ocean depth. This data characterizes the ocean spatially on a global scale for annual and multi-year cycles for local meteorological conditions, and accounts for the different ocean environments (e.g., open ocean, littoral, river mouths, estuaries). However, if desired the user can override these database values with customized inputs for a known ocean location.
OCEANUS™ is designed to incorporate all key ocean phenomena, including surface bidirectional reflectivity and directional emissivity from the ocean surface, multiple scattering within the ocean volume, and reflections from the ocean floor (important for visible wavelengths in the littoral zone). Both static and time-dependent ocean surface wave structure can be calculated based on local conditions such as surface wind speed and ocean depth. This pixel dependent surface orientation is important for calculating the bidirectional reflectivity and directional emissivity. Atmospheric effects and radiance values to support scene simulation are provided by the AETHER™ radiative transfer model. This includes atmospheric transmission, path radiance, incident direct diffuse solar irradiance, incident direct and diffuse lunar irradiance, and incident diffuse thermal irradiance, all on a three-dimensional grid (latitude, longitude and altitude).
Shown below is an animation of a sample wave structure for a wind speed of 12 m/s (Beaufort Scale of 2) in a fully developed sea (rollover image to activate motion). The image is for a 250 × 250 m area, sampled at 1 meter. The vertical scale is exaggerated, but the significant wave height is 3.1 m and the maximum vertical variation in the scene is 4.8 m.
The OCEANUS™ architecture was designed to allow efficient and consistent interface with existing computer modeling environments, such as the Fast Line-of-sight Imagery for Target and Exhaust-plume Signatures (FLITES) scene generation code. The OCEANUS™ model has also been integrated into GAIA™ to provide seamless scene generation anywhere on the surface of the earth.
More details on the modeling capabilities can be found in the OCEANUS™ brochure.
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Judging from the number of juices and teas advertised as containing antioxidants, consumers are aware of the dangers of oxidative stress. But what is the best way to measure it - and fight it?
Doctors at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a substance in the blood that may be useful in predicting an individual's risk for heart disease. The substance is cystine, an oxidized form of the amino acid cysteine and an indirect measure of oxidative stress.
In a study of more than 1,200 people undergoing cardiac imaging at Emory because of suspected heart disease, people with high levels of cystine in the blood were twice as likely to have a heart attack or die over the next few years.
Riyaz Patel, MD, a postdoctoral researcher at Emory's Cardiovascular Research Group, is presenting the results Monday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions meeting in Orlando.
Patel was part of a team led by Arshed Quyyumi, MD, professor of medicine (cardiology) at Emory University School of Medicine.
When considered independently of variables such as the presence of diabetes, high levels of cystine still predicted future trouble, Patel says. In the current research, high levels means the quarter of the group of patients with the highest levels.
"Cystine could be a valuable marker of cardiovascular risk, but it also has a direct harmful effect on cells, so reducing it may be a valuable treatment strategy," he says. "What's exciting is there are already known ways to intervene and drive down cystine levels in patients."
For example, a previous study has shown that supplementing the diet with zinc can lower cystine levels, he says.
Several studies have shown that levels of oxidized cysteine in the blood tend to rise as people age. Smoking and alcohol consumption are also linked with higher levels of oxidized cysteine.
Cysteine is itself a short-lived precursor to glutathione, one of the main antioxidants found inside cells, says Dean P. Jones, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the Clinical Biomarkers Laboratory at Emory University School of Medicine.
"We need to have a continuous supply of cysteine, but it is too reactive for us to have very much at any one time," he says. "We are not sure why the oxidized form of cysteine accumulates with aging and disease. But our studies show that when it accumulates, it activates inflammation in cells."
Jones and his colleagues have shown that when white blood cells are exposed to high levels of cystine, they display signs of inflammation and become stickier. That makes them more likely to adhere to blood vessels in the heart, an event that contributes to the development of heart disease.
The team has found that levels of cystine do not correlate with C-reactive protein, a blood marker of inflammation other scientists have studied for a possible relationship with heart disease. The team's future plans include comparing cystine to other markers of inflammation and understanding the relationships between them.
More about cysteine and oxidative stress:
Effects of long-term zinc supplementation on plasma thiol metabolites and redox status in patients with age-related macular degeneration.
SE Moriarty-Craige, KN Ha, P. Sternberg, M. Lynn, S. Bressler, G. Gensler, D.P. Jones. Am J Ophthalmol. 143(2):206-211 (2007)
The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University is an academic health science and service center focused on missions of teaching, research, health care and public service. Its components include the Emory University School of Medicine, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, and Rollins School of Public Health; Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Emory Winship Cancer Institute; and Emory Healthcare, the largest, most comprehensive health system in Georgia. Emory Healthcare includes: The Emory Clinic, Emory-Children's Center, Emory University Hospital, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Wesley Woods Center, and Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital. The Woodruff Health Sciences Center has $2.3 billion in operating expenses, 18,000 employees, 2,500 full-time and 1,500 affiliated faculty, 4,500 students and trainees, and a $5.7 billion economic impact on metro Atlanta.
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Einstein referred to her as the most important woman in the history of mathematics. Her theorem has been recognized as “one of the most important mathematical theorems ever proved in guiding the development of modern physics.” Yet many people haven’t the slightest clue of who this woman was, or what she did that was so significant to our understanding of how our world works. If you count yourself as one of those who have never heard of Emmy Noether and wish to enlighten yourself, please read on. I can only hope I do her memory justice. Not just by telling you who she was, but by also giving you an understanding of how her insight led to the coming together of symmetry and quantum theory, pointing academia’s arrow toward quantum electrodynamics.
Being a female in Germany in the late 1800s was not easy. She wasn’t allowed to register for math classes. Fortunately, her father happened to be a math professor, which allowed her to sit in on many of his classes. She took one of his final exams in 1904 and did so well that she was granted a bachelors degree. This allowed her to “officially” register in a math graduate program. Three years later, she earned one of the first PhD’s given to a woman in Germany. She was just 25 years old.
1907 was a very exciting time in theoretical physics, as scientists were hot on the heels of figuring out how light and atoms interact with each other. Emmy wanted in on the fun, but being a woman made this difficult. She wasn’t allowed to hold a teaching position, so she worked as an unpaid assistant, surviving on a small inheritance and under-the-table money that she earned sitting in for male professors when they were unable to teach. She was still able to do what professors are supposed to do, however – write papers. In 1916, she would pen the theorem that would have her rubbing shoulders with the other physics and mathematical giants of the era.
Noether’s Theorem – The Basics
Emmy Noether’s Theorem seems simple on the onset, but holds a fundamental truth that explains the fabric of our reality. It goes something like this:
For every symmetry, there is a corresponding conservation law.
We all have heard of laws such as Newton’s first law of motion, which is about the conservation of momentum. And the first law of thermodynamics, which is about the conservation of energy. Noether’s theorem tells us that there must be some type of symmetry that is related to these conservation laws. Before we get into the meaning, we must first understand a little known subject called The Principle of Least Action.
The Universe is Lazy
I would wager a few Raspberry Pi Zeros that many of you already have an intuitive grasp of this principle, even if you’ve never heard of it before now. The principle of least action basically says that the universe has figured out the easiest way possible to get something done. Mathematically, it’s the sum over time of kinetic energy minus potential energy as the action occurs. Let us imagine that you’re trying to program an STM32 Discovery eval board in GCC. After about the 6,000th try, you toss the POS across the room and grab your trusty Uno. The graph depicts the STM32 moving through time and space.
The green points represent particular points of how how high the STM32 is at a given point in time. Note that there are no values for height and time – this example is meant to explain a principle. We can say that at these points (and all points along the curve), the SMT32 has both kinetic and potential energies. Let us call the kinetic energy (kt) and the potential energy (pt). The ‘t‘ subscript is for time, as both the energies are functions of time. The action for each point will be called s, and can be calculated as:
However, action is the total sum of the difference of energies at each point between t1 and t2. If you’ve read my integral post, you will know that we need to integrate in order to calculate the total action.
Now before you get your jumper wires in a bunch, all that is saying is that we’re taking the difference in potential (p) and kinetic (k) energies at each point along the curve between t1 and t2, and we’re adding them together. The elongated S symbol means a sum, and the (dt) means as it changes over time. The path that the STM32 will take will be the path where the action S is at its minimum value. Check out the video in the source section below if you’re confused. It’s only 10 minutes and goes into this concept in easy to follow details.
Noether’s Theorem – The Details
Noether’s theorem is based upon a mathematical proof. It’s not a theory. Her proof can be applied to physics to develop theories, however. Now that we know what the principle of least action is, we can do just this.
Any law of nature can be traced back to a symmetry and the least action principle. Let’s consider two very simple examples – Newton’s first law of motion and the first law of thermodynamics.
Conservation of Momentum
Space has what is known as translational symmetry. That’s just fancy-pants talk for saying that what you do in one point in space is the same as what you do in another point in space. It doesn’t matter what hacker space you throw your STM32, it will act the same at all hacker spaces on earth. Space itself provides the symmetry. And because the principle of least action applies, you have a natural law – the first law of motion.
Conservation of Energy
Time has the same translational symmetry as space does. If I toss the STM32 now, and toss it tomorrow, it will act the same. It doesn’t matter what point in time I toss it, the results will always be the same. Thus energy is conserved between different points in time. Time is our symmetry, and the 1st law of thermodynamics is the result.
Now, I realize these examples might seem a bit useless. But when you dig a bit deeper, things get interesting. Electrical charge is also conserved. Noether says there must then be some type of symmetry involved. What do you suppose that symmetry might be? Keep following that rabbit hole, and you’ll end up face to face with QED. We’ll get there in a future article, so for now just keep Noether’s Theorem in mind.
Physics Helps, The principle of least action, video link.
Ransom Stephens, Ph.D., Emmy Noether and The Fabric of Reality, video link
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Teach Functions to Increase your Students’ Motivation
Why do so many TEFL courses put emphasis on teaching grammar directly as the goal of a lesson rather than teaching it indirectly and related to the direct teaching of functions?
I think it is because either they are lazy (putting together a grammar lesson is fast, easy AND boring!) and/or they don’t always really understand the purpose of learning English. Sad to say – but it sure seems to be true.
Very quickly, first, lets talk about what a function is. It’s simple: a function in teacher-talk is a specific task. So teaching students the English needed to find and rent an apartment, for example, would be a function. Most often functions are stated like this: Asking and Answering Questions about Renting an Apartment. Or in occupational language it might be the language required to deal with a customer complaint at a business or to inquire about the details of a service or product. Then the function might be: Dealing with Customer Complaints or Answering Customer Questions about Servicing their New Honda.
Let’s try a few more functions: Asking for Permission to Stay out Late on Friday Night. Expressing your Opinion about [fill in the blank].
Teachers who teach functions will generally have a much more motivated group of students. Why? Wouldn’t you rather learn how to do something than to learn – let’s say – about the future perfect progressive aspect of verbs . . . Ow! I almost fell asleep just writing it. Students are motivated by learning functions that are relevant to their daily lives. Future Perfect Progressive, on the surface anyway – doesn’t seem relevant to anything.
Particularly if you ever teach Business English or English for Specific (or Special) Purposes classes – you should always be teaching functions.
I am not suggesting never teaching grammar, but teaching grammar in the context of a function makes much more sense to students and gives them a motivation to use the language – rather than just the raw information of how to use a grammar point.
TED’s Tips™ #1: Teach functions rather than grammar points. Your students will thank you and you will feel far more productive.
TED’s Tips™ #2: Motivate your students to learn even more by asking them what they would like to learn to do or deal with – in English.
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The Effects of Hearing Loss
Hearing is our most critical sense when it comes to our ability to communicate, and even small degrees of hearing loss can have profound effects on how we interact and connect with others. Being separated from that ability not only has consequences for our social lives — it can have physical effects, as well, that can detract significantly from overall health.
Types of Hearing Loss
Social Effects of Hearing Loss
Those suffering from hearing loss often begin to notice their difficulty in the following circumstances:
- Hearing conversations in large groups
- Participating in conversation in restaurants or other settings with background noise
- Hearing on the telephone
- Understanding women’s and children’s voices
Party settings and even small family gatherings can strain hearing to the point where the additional mental effort required to decode what seems like broken speech can become tiresome. Eventually such social situations can become so difficult that those experiencing hearing loss may begin to withdraw from them altogether. Individuals instead begin to prefer less demanding, quieter settings — often away from the precious social contact that enriches our lives and draws us closer to the ones we love.
The stress of living with hearing loss, too, can have its own consequences:
- Distrust of others
- Anger at not feeling understood
- Feeling socially marginalized
Reluctance to seek treatment or to wear hearing aids can cause additional stress when individuals — often unconsciously — wish to conceal their hearing loss, and potentially miss out on important communications. Compromised hearing in the workplace, for instance, can have significant effects on job performance and even earning potential.
Physical Effects of Hearing Loss
Untreated hearing loss over extended periods of time can have damaging physical effects, as well, when the auditory system goes unused. Auditory deprivation, as audiologists refer to it, leaves nerves and portions of the brain underused, and — like other parts of the body — if the auditory system goes unused, it can begin to atrophy. Without fail, in our experience, the longer a patient waits to address their hearing loss, the more difficult it is to recover one’s ability to communicate.
Increasing Evidence Connects Hearing Loss to Dementia
Additionally, increasing evidence points to a connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults. According to a study published in January 2013 in JAMA Internal Medicine, adults in their 70s and 80s with hearing loss developed cognitive problems at a rate 30 to 40 percent faster than those without hearing loss. While the reason for this apparent connect remains unknown, researchers have speculated that social isolation might be a factor. The additional mental demands of having to constantly decode speech might also be a contributing factor to the types of cognitive changes that, over time, can lead to the onset of dementia.
Since most hearing loss develops gradually over time, it can be difficult to know how well you are hearing now compared with how well you used to hear. Only an accurate hearing test can reveal if you are having difficulty with specific sounds, and if so, how you might be able to hear better.
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As astronauts launch into space, they go from feeling the Earth’s gravitational pull to an experience of weightlessness, also known as Zero-Gravity (Zero-G). While floating in space, astronauts get to research and conduct experiments, but in the process, they sort of become what we Earthlings call ‘clean freaks’ - at least when it comes to dust.
The New Horizons Governor’s School for Science and Technology (GSST) in Hampton, Va., is helping to shake off the dust.
GSST is one of 14 schools across the country selected to participate in the High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) Extreme Science Program, based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. As part of the program, GSST students will develop an autonomous robot that could remove dust from surfaces aboard the ISS as well as other space vehicles. Select students will fly with components of their project onboard the Zero Gravity Corporation's G-Force One plane in April at Ellington Field in Houston.
Before getting to fly like superman, the students prepped for their Zero-G experiment by speaking live with STS-131 Discovery astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, who told the class more about her experience in space and the challenges she faced.
“How difficult was it to adapt to life in space?” asked 12th-grade GSST student, Chris Feigh.
“Going from One-G to Zero-G didn’t agree with my stomach completely so I spent the first day every couple of hours throwing up and that wasn’t a lot of fun,” Metcalf-Lindenburger said. “I woke up the next morning and I felt great! It was awesome to live up there.”
“It’s really great since the astronauts are the only people that get to go in Zero-G, and we are making something for Zero-G,” said Grant Gibson, a GSST senior. “Getting feedback from someone who is actually in that environment instead of just guessing or estimating what it’s like is much better.”
During the live chat, Metcalf-Lindenburger gave the students new direction, re-emphasizing the importance of working on a project revolved around dust.
“The students read about the different complaints that the astronauts had and a lot of the astronauts were complaining about dust,” said NASA aerospace engineer, Adam Ben Shabat. “It accumulates and can cause allergic reactions. It also requires astronauts to take time off their experiments for cleaning. When they build their robot, it will be very beneficial to NASA and its astronauts as well as for future missions into deep space.”
The HUNCH team divided into three small teams to design, build and test the “CleanBot,” which will serve as a labor-saving dust collector that may eventually be used by astronauts aboard the ISS.
“Often, dust accumulates on critical surfaces and in internal crevices of the ship equipment, often inaccessible or otherwise difficult to clean,” explained Jordan Estep, GSST communications team lead. “It will be time and energy saving to implement an alternate cleaning method.”
This year’s microgravity test will be conducted by the first team, who is responsible for measuring preload and pull-off forces of state of the art dry adhesives to compare adhesion performance in a Zero-G environment versus a terrestrial environment. The dry adhesive, modeled after the clinging ability of Gecko feet, will attach the crawling CleanBot to the surface as it cleans.
Next year, the second team will study adhesive behaviors in microgravity by applying forces in normal and lateral directions using a mobile prototype of CleanBot. Building on the experiences from the first two teams, team three will provide conceptual designs for a fully functioning CleanBot in order to construct and test it in future years.
Each team will take what they learned from Metcalf-Lindenburger and apply it to their current HUNCH project and future careers.
“I really encourage you to choose a career in science, technology, engineering, and math because we need talented scientists in our workforce,” Metcalf-Lindenburger said to the students. “If you’re literate and speak the language and you understand the concept, you’re going to go really far. I hope you’ve enjoyed working on the project and that you continue to pursue your dreams.”
NASA's Langley Research Center
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Sound Practices: Noise Control in the Healthcare Environment
“Unnecessary noise is the most cruel abuse of care which can be inflicted on either the sick or the well,” Florence Nightingale wrote in her 1859 book, Notes on Nursing. *1 Understanding the basics of sound transmission and measurement is essential to a realistic assessment of a facility’s sound environment.
Despite—or, to some extent, because of—incredible advances in medical technology over the past century and a half, noise remains a large and largely unsolved problem in healthcare environments. In fact, a new study by acoustical engineers at Johns Hopkins University found that hospital noise levels have increased steadily over the past 50 years. Since 1960, average daytime hospital sound levels have risen from 57 decibels to 72 dB, while average nighttime levels have jumped from 42 to 60 dB—all far exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 35 dB as a top measure for sound levels in patient rooms. *2
The Johns Hopkins researchers reported that medical and communications technologies were major culprits behind increasing noise levels. Communications devices like overhead pagers and cell phones fill the air with that most distracting of sounds—human speech—and patients and healthcare workers find themselves raising their voices ever louder in an effort to be heard over the din. Within patient rooms, monitoring and life-sustaining equipment continually beeps and whooshes around patients’ beds, occasionally erupting into alarming warning signals. *3 “These noises are concentrated around the patient’s head,” notes Linda Greenberg, clinical consultant for Herman Miller for Healthcare, “because that’s where caregivers naturally tend to position equipment so it’s easier to use with the patient.” *4
Effects on Patient Outcomes
Modern research suggests that Florence Nightingale wasn’t exaggerating when she referred to hospital noise as “abuse.” Studies show that high levels of sound have negative physical and psychological effects on patients, disrupting sleep, increasing stress, and decreasing patients’ confidence in the competence of their clinical caregivers. *5
A considerable body of research has documented the effects of noise on patient outcomes. For example, exposure to sudden, unexpected noise raises patient heart rates and has been proven to have a negative influence on patient recovery times. *6 Chronically high levels of sound, on the other hand, tend to increase blood pressure levels; a new study by University of Michigan researchers found a direct correlation between overall decibel levels and blood pressure levels. *7
Higher blood pressure leads to a higher risk of cardiac problems, and a team of European researchers, in a study of 4,115 patients in 32 Berlin hospitals, found that chronic noise increased the risk of heart attacks by 50 percent for men and 75 percent for women. *8 In a hospital environment, where people are already ill and psychologically stressed, unnecessary noise can be very harmful.
Impact on Staff Effectiveness
Although the effects of noise on those working to care for patients in hospital environments are less well documented, hospital staff is clearly affected in many of the same ways. “People who work in noisy environments for long shifts, day in and day out, also have similar stress-induced experiences,” says Susan Mazer, president of Healing Healthcare Systems. “They report everything from exhaustion to burnout, depression, and irritability expressed at home.” *9
Recent findings in the field of cognitive science show that mental activities requiring a lot of working memory, such as paying attention to a variety of different cues or performing a complex analysis, are especially noise-sensitive. *10 The frequent interruptions and distractions noise causes often result in medication errors, one of today’s most challenging issues in delivering care, according to clinical consultant Greenberg. “Since noise breaks concentration, it can contribute to the number of medication errors that is becoming a costly and dangerous situation in many healthcare facilities.” *11 When a sudden loud noise causes an involuntary reflex reaction in a surgeon or when a nurse fails to hear a warning signal over the general sound level in a chronically noisy ICU, performance suffers and accidents can result.
Swedish researchers studying a coronary critical care unit found that healthcare workers exposed to different levels of noise over the workday reported higher levels of stress and tension during periods defined as acoustically “bad “ (as measured by sound pressure levels, reverberation time, sound propagation, and speech intelligibility). During acoustically “good” periods, staff perceived the work environment more favorably, and patients correspondingly judged staff attitudes and care to be better than during the “bad” acoustical periods. *12
Considerations of Privacy
Interfering and distracting sounds can contribute to medical and nursing errors, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) standards state that “ambient sound environments should not exceed the level that would prohibit clinicians from clearly understanding each other.” *13 On the other side of this acoustical coin, however, is the issue of patient privacy, brought to the forefront in recent years by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Speech privacy is important in any healthcare setting. Patients know that if they can overhear conversations in nearby rooms or nursing stations, others can overhear their conversations as well. A lack of auditory privacy can make people uncomfortable and less likely to discuss private matters with their caregivers.
Why it’s so Noisy
Former patients often note the supreme irony in the fact that the hospital environment, the place where quiet is most essential, is the one place it’s least likely to be found. There are reasons for this, of course, most of which have to do with concern for patient health and safety.
In addition to the sound emanating from all the machines and human beings working to monitor and promote patient health, a major cause of noisy hospital environments is the built environment itself. Hospital interiors and furnishings are typically made of hard, reflective materials that won’t harbor infectious organisms and are easily cleaned. All these sound-reflecting surfaces propagate noise down hallways and into patient rooms, causing sounds to echo, overlap, and linger. *14 Rolling equipment such as procedure carts and housekeeping dollies moving across uncarpeted floors add to the din, as do pneumatic tube systems, metal chart holders, and elevator doors and alarms.
The sheer number of people required to care for hospitalized patients—nurses, physicians, technicians, and maintenance and housekeeping staff—contributes to the sound level, and the ratio of staff to patients rises with acuity levels. “Inpatient centralized nurse stations have the highest concentration of people in the smallest footprint,” notes clinical consultant Greenberg. *15 “While smaller, decentralized stations where two to three caregivers work are becoming common, the problem of noise can still persist. Even with staff dispersed in decentralized substations, small groups of people frequently congregate in the areas just outside patient rooms.” *16 During shift changes and physician rounds, these gatherings create peak times of occupancy and noise.
Basics of Sound and Noise
Sound is the effect of vibration on air. Vibration—of vocal cords, of a ringing alarm bell, of a cart wheel that hasn’t been oiled—creates sound waves that transmit the energy of the vibration away from its source. The human ear is sensitive to both the rate of vibration (the frequency of the sound waves) and its intensity. The intensity, the physical pressure of vibrating air particles on the ear drum, is experienced as loudness and measured in decibels. To give an idea of the magnitude of sounds that can be found in hospital environments, the decibel level of a portable X-ray machine is roughly equivalent to that of motorcycle; a bedside monitor alarm approaches the intensity of sound created by heavy truck traffic. *17
While sound can be measured objectively, noise is a subjective phenomenon and not an acoustic property. The Environmental Protection Agency defines noise as “any sound that may produce an undesired physiological or psychological effect in an individual or group.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s definition is simply “unwanted sound.” Since there’s no way to measure noise empirically, it must be assessed in relation to other factors—decibels in context, in other words. At the wrong time or place the sound of laughter may be more disturbing than the louder but more appropriate sound of an infusion pump or heart monitor. *18
It’s also important to understand, acoustics experts say, that when it comes to sound management silence is not golden—or the goal. If the level of continuous sound or noise floor of a space is too low, conversations can be easily overheard and sharp sounds like a cabinet door slamming or a glass breaking can startle people unnecessarily. Noticeable changes in sound levels over time and in different areas of the hospital facility make it harder for patients and caregivers to block out unwanted sound. A continuous and consistent noise floor ranging between 42 and 48 dBA can help preserve speech privacy and protect concentration. *19
All noise is sound, but all sounds are not necessarily noise. The sound of caregivers moving quietly through the corridors can be reassuring to patients in their rooms. The sound of a harp playing in the background can be soothing, even healing.
Assessing and Managing the Sound Environment
Hospitals need auditory environments that promote clear and timely communication while also protecting proprietary information from being overheard and possibly misused or misunderstood. Closed doors and other visual barriers can hamper staff accessibility without assuring that patients and their families won’t hear proprietary information or preventing nurses and physicians from exchanging critical information at the right time but in the wrong place.
Designing sound environments for hospital facilities, then, must include considerations of intelligibility levels as well as decibel levels.
The first step in reducing noise in hospital environments is identifying its sources. A digital decibel meter is an effective tool for measuring the sound levels of specific areas of the hospital at different times of day. A sound quality committee at an Atlanta area hospital measured the decibel levels of 238 pieces of equipment, from rolling carts to monitors to communication devices, finding that different mixes of sound sources contributed to the noise levels at different times of day. *20
In addition to quantitative measurements, of course, it is important to assess the perception of noise by patients and their families. This can be accomplished by reviewing patient satisfaction survey results on issues related to disturbances caused by noise.
Once noise sources have been identified, a variety of noise abatement strategies, from sophisticated sound-masking systems to “Quiet, Please!” signs, may be employed. In general, studies of the effectiveness of different measures suggest that design interventions are more successful than organizational or behavioral interventions. *21 However, policy changes regarding use of communications devices can be effective. Switching from loudspeaker paging to vibrating beepers and setting standards governing the use of cell phones, nurse call systems, and the discussion of confidential information in public spaces can go a long way toward reducing unwanted sound and protecting patient privacy.
Environmental design strategies for noise reduction include the maintenance and replacement of hospital equipment, the layout and acoustical treatment of patient rooms, nurses’ stations, and corridors, and the implementation of emerging technologies to mask sound, reduce speech intelligibility, and introduce healing sound into the environment.
Equipment Repair and Replacement
With all the rolling carts and machines in hospitals today, considerable noise reduction can be achieved by simply fixing or replacing squeaky wheels and scheduling regular maintenance to keep mobile equipment in quiet working order. The noise level of heavy rolling equipment can be reduced by as much as 30 decibels just by lubricating the moving parts. *22
Other effective strategies include padding chart holders and pneumatic tube systems, and lowering volume levels on clinical and communication equipment. Making purchasing choices that are based on auditory performance—selecting folded towel dispensers over rolltype dispensers, for example, or choosing cleaning and maintenance equipment not only for its price and function but also for its decibel output—can contribute to quieter environments.
As hospitals adopt Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), they significantly reduce paper charts. However, during the transition to electronic records, charts, with the noises that result from handling them, will persist. Another problem—noise from overhead paging systems—won’t recede until more facilities adopt nurse call systems that use wireless technology.
Design of Patient Rooms and Adjacent Areas
Walls are still the first line of defense in acoustic design. Physical barriers between patients and noise sources will block sound movement fairly effectively if they are of the proper height and constructed of sound-absorbing materials. However, the floor and ceiling can do more to collar noise. Together they typically account for 70 to 80 percent of the acoustical properties of a patient room.
Noise levels are obviously much lower in single-bed rooms than in shared rooms or bays. Studies consistently show that most of the noise in a shared room is associated with the presence of another patient. One survey of more than two million patients receiving care in 2003 found that patient satisfaction with hospital noise levels was over 11 percent higher in single rooms than doubles. *23 In new hospital construction, there is already a trend toward standardizing on single-bed private rooms.
In areas like ICUs and nurses’ stations, where visual access is essential, clear plexiglass or nonbreakable glass is a workable alternative to architectural walls or freestanding partitions. While naturally more sound-reflective than acoustically treated opaque sound baffles, transparent barriers between patient rooms and corridors or nurses’ stations can provide a level of noise control and speech privacy while maintaining an open line of sight. *24
Of course, it’s impossible to erect barriers of any kind between patients and the sound sources within their rooms. Here, the replacement or treatment of hard, reflective surfaces with soundabsorbing materials can dramatically reduce noise levels. Experts recommend materials with a Noise Reduction Coefficient (which measures ability to absorb sound) above .85 and a Ceiling Attenuation Class (measuring ability to block sound) of at least 35. Hospitals that have replaced “hard-lid” ceilings with high-performance acoustical tiles and tiled floors with sound-absorbing carpet report that they have been able to reduce decibel levels and improve patient sleep without sacrificing cleanliness or infection control. *25
Distance is another separation strategy that can be employed. Sound intensity decreases by six decibels every time the distance between the sound source and the listener doubles. *26 Locating noisy equipment like ice machines or printers as far as possible from patient rooms (and acoustically treating those locations and connecting corridors to prevent their racket from reverberating its way back to patient rooms) is an obvious but often overlooked plan of action.
The location of nurses’ stations is also an important design consideration. Especially during shift changes, the activity level in a central nurses’ station can create decibel levels that approach or even exceed those of a motorcycle or a jack hammer. *27 Decentralizing nurses’ stations, if space allows, disperses people and reduces the concentration of sound emanating from their activities.
However, central workstations are likely to remain for several functions on the nursing unit, even with the use of decentralized nurses’ stations. To keep noise in check, careful planning of work zones and locating equipment according to who uses it must be considered. “As part of studying the workflow in these areas,” says clinical consultant Greenberg, “we have the staff look at different ways of organizing functions. The unit secretary has specific needs that are very different than the nurses’. Dispersing the noise created by crowded stations helps everyone concentrate. Because working with medical records and entering and checking physician orders happens in these areas, they are critical places for creating an environment for accurate documentation.” *28
Adding Sound to Reduce Noise
Another method for controlling noise involves actually adding sound to the environment. Sound-masking systems work to reduce the distance over which speech and other distracting sounds can be heard by raising the decibel level of the “noise floor” in a controlled fashion. *29 A series of speakers installed in the ceiling distributes electronically generated background sound that serves to cover or reduce the impact of noise spikes. This specially engineered sound creates an ambient environment that is perceived to be quieter and that enhances speech privacy in healthcare facilities.
Emerging technologies that use computing technology to shape sound offer the possibility of localized sound-masking that can be customized for specific situations. Perhaps eventually individual patients and caregivers will be able to control them. These technologies are particularly effective in masking conversations. If a voice is understandable, it catches one’s attention, and that’s when confidentiality can be broken. Voice-scrambling technology, which uses a sound processor and speakers to multiply and disorder voices that come within its range, addresses this issue. The strategic placement of such devices—in nurses’ or admitting stations, for instance—could go a long way toward protecting patient confidentiality. *30
Adding soft music or nature sounds like falling water to the environment can also help to mask less pleasant sounds and may even offer a healing effect. In hospital settings, music combined with images of nature has been shown to reduce patient requests for pain medication. *31
Keeping it Quiet
Acoustics experts caution that noise is not a problem that can be fixed once and for all, but an ongoing issue that requires continual attention in healthcare facilities. Regular sound assessments and acoustical maintenance of equipment are essential to sustaining an auditory environment that promotes the effectiveness of caregivers and patient rest and healing.
1. Florence, Nightingale. Notes on Nursing: What it is, and what it is not, First American Edition, D. Appleton and Company (New York, 1860), <http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/nightingale/nursing/nursing.html#IV>.
2. “Rise in Hospital Noise Poses Problems for Patients and Staff, “Johns Hopkins University news release, November 21, 2005, <http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/home05/nov05/noise.html>.
4. Linda Greenberg, Herman Miller for Healthcare clinical consultant, phone interview, February 16, 2006.
5. Cheryl Ann Cmiel, et al., “Noise Control: A Nursing Team’s Approach to Sleep Promotion,” AJN, American Journal of Nursing, February 2004.
6. C. Maschke, et al., “The influence of stressors on biochemical reactions—a review of present scientific findings with noise,” International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, March 2000, cited in Cole, Jasper et al. “Impact of acoustics on staff and patients in CCU,” Hospital Development, November 10, 2005.
7. “Exposure to high levels of noise increases blood pressure, “University of Michigan News Service, November 18, 2005, <http://www.umich.edu/news/?Releases/2005/Nov05/r111805>.
8. Stefan Willich, et al., “Noise burden and the risk of myocardial infarction,“ European Heart Journal November 24, 2005, <http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/ehi658v1>.
9. Susan Mazer, “Stop the Noise: Reduce Errors by Creating a Quieter Hospital Environment,” Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare, March/April 2005.
10. Jasper Cole, et al., “Impact of acoustics on staff and patients in CCU,” Hospital Development, November 10, 2005.
11. Linda Greenberg, Herman Miller for Healthcare, phone interview, February 16, 2006.
12. Jasper Cole, et al., “Impact of acoustics on staff and patients in CCU,” Hospital Development, November 10, 2005.
13. Susan Mazer, “Stop the Noise: Reduce Errors by Creating a Quieter Hospital Environment,” Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare, March/April 2005.
14. Roger Ulrich, et al., “The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity,” Research Report, The Center for Health Design, September 2004.
15. Linda Greenberg, “Planning a Nurse Station for Clinical Function,” Herman Miller, Inc., 2000, (February 16, 2006).
16. Linda Greenberg, Herman Miller for Healthcare, phone interview, February 16, 2006.
17. Cheryl Ann Cmiel, et al., “Noise Control: A Nursing Team’s Approach to Sleep Promotion,” AJN, American Journal of Nursing, February 2004.
18. Susan Mazer, “Hear, Hear,” Health Facilities Management, April 2005.
19. Niklas Moeller, “Sound Masking in Healthcare Environments,” Healthcare Design, November 2005.
20. Susan Mazer, “Sound Advice: Seven Steps for Abating Hospital Noise Problems,” Health Facilities Management, May 2002.
21. Roger Ulrich, et al., “The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity,” Research Report, The Center for Health Design, September 2004.
22. Susan Mazer, “Sound Advice: Seven Steps for Abating Hospital Noise Problems,” Health Facilities Management, May 2002.
23. Roger Ulrich, et al., “The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity,” Research Report, The Center for Health Design, September 2004.
24. Susan Mazer, “Sound Advice: Seven Steps for Abating Hospital Noise Problems,” Health Facilities Management, May 2002.
25. Dana Dubbs, “Sound Effects,” Health Facilities Management, September 2004.
26. Cheryl Ann Cmiel, et al., “Noise Control: A Nursing Team’s Approach to Sleep Promotion,” AJN, American Journal of Nursing, February 2004.
28. Linda Greenberg, Herman Miller for Healthcare, phone interview, February 16, 2006.
29. Niklas Moeller, “Sound Masking in Healthcare Environments,” Healthcare Design, November 2005.
30. John Markoff, “No Privacy in Your Cubicle? Try an Electronic Silencer,” The New York Times, May 30, 2005.
31. Susan Mazer, “Stop the Noise: Reduce Errors by Creating a Quieter Hospital Environment,” Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare, March/April 2005.
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<urn:uuid:4a31034b-9103-4561-8555-5fc0e57df5a6>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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Georgia Wildlife Resources Division
2070 U.S. Hwy. 278, SE, Social Circle, GA 30025
How do you restore a mountain bog? Sweat, science, partners and perseverance.
How do you keep it restored? See above.
Mountain bogs are one of the Southern Appalachians’ most critically endangered habitats, home to species found nowhere else, such as federally threatened bog turtles, state-protected montane purple pitcherplants and federally threatened swamp pinks, some of Georgia’s rarest plants.
Only a small number of the hundreds of Blue Ridge wetlands in the state are candidates for bog-habitat restoration. Fewer than 15 sites – pinpointed by remote mapping and ground-truthing (i.e., checking what maps appear to show) – are being restored. Conservationists want that number increased.
The work involves not only clearing known mountain bog areas, but also evaluating other wetlands that may also be suitable for restoration. Genetic material from rare plants found at a very few intact sites is safeguarded at restored sites. Safeguarding of rare plants involves seed collection, propagation, outplanting the species at suitable sites and monitoring those outplantings. (Through safeguarding, the montane purple pitcherplant has grown in number from fewer than 20 surviving plants in the mid-1980s to more than a thousand at greenhouses and in the wild at five restored bogs.)
Although the woody plants removed in restoring bog habitats are native, removal is necessary to produce suitable conditions for the rare species to survive long-term. Wildlife biologist Thomas Floyd of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Nongame Conservation Section said species such as the montane purple pitcherplant and bog turtle require open, sunny habitats.
“As bog habitats become overgrown, pitcherplants no longer grow vigorously, flower or produce seed,” Floyd said. “And without basking and nesting sites afforded by open habitat, bog turtles cannot successfully reproduce, and either seek more suitable wetlands elsewhere or simply dwindle in numbers over time.”
Bog restoration also brings together a network of agencies, organizations and volunteers to complete what often turns out to be a multi-year ordeal. While agencies such as the DNR and the U.S. Forest Service start the overhaul of sites, much of the maintenance falls to partner-created organizations such as the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance, whose members include the Atlanta Botanical Garden, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, DNR and Zoo Atlanta, to name a few.
Nongame Conservation Section botanist Mincy Moffett said the ideal long-term goal of habitat restoration is to bring the habitat back and then be able to “walk away.”
But because of today’s fragmented forests and the lack of natural disturbance (including the influence of beavers) that keeps woody vegetation at bay, “continued maintenance for these bogs is necessary and usually done by volunteers,” Moffett said.
Through reliance on dedicated volunteers, all partner organizations save valuable resources, "allowing them to focus on the discovery and restoration of additional bog sites,” he said.
As part of a DNR study started in 2007, scientists are using herbicide and prescribed fire to determine the most efficient way to control woody vegetation in bogs. One of three bogs studied was a hayfield only 30 years ago, having been converted to agricultural use years before. While not ideal habitat, a bog turtle population survived within the ditches of this former wetland. Then, the field became overgrown, making it increasingly less suitable for the turtles.
“As part of the eight-year study, the woody vegetation was removed in much of the habitat, giving resident bog turtles a better chance of long-term survival,” Floyd said.
The initial observation of plots treated just two autumns ago shows promise for a new maintenance protocol that will save conservation manpower and dollars.
Mountain bog restoration is a high-priority conservation action in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy that guides DNR and DNR Wildlife Resources Division efforts to conserve biological diversity. The work is also a key part of the U.S. Forest Service’s plans for stimulus money for critical habitat work.
“The stimulus money will help us speed up recovery of the bogs on (Chattahoochee) National Forest land by providing the funds necessary to complete the more labor-intensive shrub clearing activities associated with bog restoration,” Forest Service wildlife biologist Mike Brod said.
While DNR is gearing up to complete the restoration experiment at the hay field-turned-bog, many other bog sites have a long way to go. This winter, prescribed fire treatments will be installed to test hypotheses and compare techniques.
Only time will tell if long-term bog restoration work will provide the critical habitat necessary for the rare species that depend on one of Georgia’s rarest ecological systems. But there’s no doubt that restoring this rare habitat across the landscape is a lofty goal.
At a glance
Mountain bogs are associated with seeps, springs or small creeks, and typically small – between a 10th of an acre to 5 acres. Each is unique, exhibiting slight differences in species composition, elevation and hydrology. Each also provides critical habitat for a variety of species found nowhere else.
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<urn:uuid:ebb74a8f-7252-45e0-9852-3407ff9ca61e>
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1 Answer | Add Yours
The Catcher in the Rye first appeared in 1951, a period of increasing material prosperity in the United States, which had suffered far less than Europe in the Second World War - indeed, this period was something of an economic boom for the country. Ordinary Americans were experiencing the fruits of modern technology more and more, with ever-increasing numbers of household appliances and cars and televisions and other gadgets. But amid all this, there was also increasing concern as to where society was actually going. One reason for this was that international conflict was not slow to make a re-appearance, with the US engaging in Korea and the Cold War with the Soviet Union gathering apace. Such conflicts led increasingly to disillusionment among many observers. Meanwhile there were ongoing problems within American society itself, most visibly racism, which remained in some parts as virulent as it had ever been.
The beginning of the 1950s, then, was a time when many Americans started questioning their society's values, and wondering where the meaning of modern life actually lay. Materialism and technological advances,they felt, led to an essentially shallow, selfish and morally bankrupt society, where everything was done just for show, or to get ahead of one's competitors in the drive for social and material success. This is why Holden Caulfield, with his many-pronged attacks on phoniness, seemed to chime in with the mood of many at this time.
Holden's youthfulness and anti-establishment attitudes of course also made him popular with teenage readers, although he may have scandalised many adults. It should be remembered that this was the era where teenage culture, with its own idioms, its own music, can be said to have emerged properly for the first time, and a book with a protagonist like Holden, conveying all the anguish and idealism of adolescence, was inevitably a big hit in such an environment. The book's highly conversational and informal style, with constant use of youthful slang and other improper language, also helped make it distinctive - even among those who might frown upon its message.
We’ve answered 327,522 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question
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<urn:uuid:b4f44d88-8bf5-4d5a-a20f-408ff42251c1>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/explain-why-book-catcher-rye-significant-american-381338
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en
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Wouldn't it be better to have coils going in two directions?
closed as not a real question by Dave Tweed♦, Olin Lathrop, embedded.kyle, Kaz, W5VO♦ Dec 8 '12 at 8:09
It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, visit the help center.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
If you are speaking about a regular brushed DC motor, it's just the way the inductors work:
The windings produce a magnetic field (which will interact with the permanent magnets to produce motion), and the direction of the magnetic field is related to the direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) you make the windings.
So if you wind it in both directions, one generated field is going to cancel the other. It's hard to make it short, since it involves too many concepts, so I recommend you to search for inductors, DC motors and magnets.
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<urn:uuid:dfd437c4-3822-461c-8a5c-6721edb497a8>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/50574/why-must-the-coil-in-a-motor-kit-be-wound-in-only-one-direction
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Painting at Dora
Fifteen Years Before Cofounding the Oulipo, a French Chemical Engineer Made It Through His Internment at Dora-Mittelbau by Mentally Re-Creating His Favorite Works of Art in Exquisite Detail
François Le Lionnais, born in Paris in 1901, was a chemical engineer, chess enthusiast, and unrelenting polymath. He mounted a remarkable career in the public service of science and mathematics, working in various capacities for UNESCO, Musées Nationaux de France, and France’s national public broadcasting service, and writing or editing several publications on contemporary mathematical thought. In 1960, with his friend Raymond Queneau, Le Lionnais founded the Oulipo (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle), of which he served as president until his death, in 1984.
In 1944, for his participation in the French Resistance throughout the early 1940s, Le Lionnais was arrested, tortured, and deported to Dora-Mittelbau, via Buchenwald, where he spent several months building guidance systems for V2 missiles—often faultily. Shortly before the camp was liberated by the U.S. army, he and three others escaped the Nazi death marches and fled to the neighboring town of Seesen, where they spent the following weeks helping to organize shelter, medical care, and repatriation services for their fellow inmates. Le Lionnais also oversaw the production of a journal called Revivre!—“To live again!”—of which a single issue was printed on a commandeered German printing press.
The following memoir of Le Lionnais’s time at Dora first appeared in the Lyons-based journal Confluences in 1946. This is, as far as I know, its first English translation, and it is presented humbly, with all its author’s original rights reserved.
—Daniel Levin Becker
For Henri Seeliger,
recalling the joy of being reunited
It happened one morning during a routine assembly. We were some thousands of prisoners, idling at the calling point while they went about a general inspection.
My gaze fell reflexively upon the hill that rose beside the infirmary, where autumn was finishing its own occupation. Without warning, the great bare trees dissolved before me and carried me away with them. All at once the Hell of Dora mutated into a Brueghel, for me alone. Encouraged, no doubt, by the mental and physical exhaustion all of us felt, an intense rapture took hold of me: the sense of escaping, as a wisp of smoke could have, from under the watch of my idiot wardens. The euphoria did not last long.
It was long enough, however, to allow me to withstand the volley of slaps and blows (another example of the expressive superiority of the vernacular over academic language: wallops is the correct word) I received when my turn came to be searched.
I knew then that I was being summoned once more by the call of a bygone passion. I had to relearn it, though. It was in my block that my reeducation would take place.
Our blocks were decorated here and there with paintworks by some talented detainees. This was less a matter of entertaining ourselves than of embellishing the small corner of our jail reserved for our block chiefs, our powerful potentates. The paintings were for the most part uninteresting, wavering between the crude local flavor of the Foire aux Croûtes and the antiquated opulence of the Salon des Artistes Français.
There was one, however, that fascinated me. It depicted a stream in southern Germany, or the Tyrol (at least I suppose it did). Emerging from the bottom of the tableau, the river rushed at the viewer, its current at once effervescent and perfectly still. Firmly planted on a raft, a forester steered with a bundle of wood. Thanks to a total and blessed inexperience with his craft, the painter had rendered the raft slightly larger than the stream. The work could have held its own with dignity in the Popular Realist Painters Exposition, where I had spent some time in 1937, or at the recent Self-Taught Painters Exposition. I would have liked to take the small panel of colored wood with me, but the Nazis forced us to evacuate Dora a few days before the Liberation.
In the camp I had made the acquaintance of two or three painters, but I saw little of them due to the difficulties inherent in the occupation of detainee, and in any case I did not seek out their company. We did not have the same manner of understanding and loving painting. I preferred to discuss the subject with my best friend there, a young man to whom I became attached as one can only in such cases, and who would not, alas, leave this awful adventure alive. His name was Jean Gaillard.
Intelligent as he was sensitive, Jean was keen on all things concerning the spirit. Together we passed all the time we could surveying the spheres of human knowledge, making a sort of inventory of all the world’s civilizations had managed to build. I retraced for my friend the history of number theory, which we soon broadened to a more general history of mathematics. Next we explored electricity, optics, and chemistry. We veered toward philosophy and reconstituted its trajectory from the primitive theogonies through existentialism and Marxism. When the day came for painting, Jean asked me to share what I knew and thought about the matter.
We hope you enjoy this excerpt.
To read the full piece, please purchase a copy of the magazine from The McSweeney’s Store.
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<urn:uuid:d927bffb-44c6-4645-825e-e3b37c24d7b5>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.believermag.com/issues/201306/?read=article_lelionnais
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ECBC has worked in the detection arena since its inception
in 1917, standardizing the first chemical agent alarm as early as 1924.
Today, ECBC develops a myriad of products, including chemical and biological
agent detectors and sampling kits. As U.S. involvement in the Middle East
escalated during the Gulf War, so did ECBC's efforts and technical
advancements in nuclear, chemical and biological (NBC) detection. For
example, work begun and transitioned out of ECBC led to development of
NBC reconnaissance systems that served during Operation Desert Storm/Shield
as portable detection, warning, communication and intelligence systems.
Leading the development and deployment of modern detection technology,
ECBC can investigate, develop or enhance technologies for vapor, aerosol
and surface detection, identification, quantification, ranging, reconnaissance
mapping and decontamination evaluation.
Near Real-Time Monitoring
- Automated continuous monitoring systems providing near real-time detection of airborne contaminants to ensure worker safety
- GC based instruments coupled with flame photometric or halogen specific detection
- Up to 32 monitoring systems linkage capability, remotely controlled by computer
- Deployment of mobile and fixed configurations designed and fabricated to satisfy site-specific requirements.
- Solid sorbent technology used to collect target compounds in air
- Analytes thermally desorbed for analysis
- Low-level parts per billion analysis capability
- Detection confirmation by near real-time instruments as well as provision of historical area monitoring documentation using results from GC/MS analyses
- Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy used to perform down-wind perimeter monitoring using infrared energy to identify and quantify target compounds in air.
- Analyte detection and quantification along a path length of up to 400 meters.
- Detection of more than 250 compounds including chemical warfare agents.
- Integrated chemical/biological point detection
- Fully automated biological identification
- Water/food contaminant detection
- Reagent development
- Joint Biological Standoff Detection System Blk I
- Joint Biological Standoff Detection System Blk II
- Joint Service Agent Water Monitor
- Chemical Biological Mass Spectrometer Blk III
- Wide Spectrometry
- Hyperspectral Imaging
- Integrated Detection
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<urn:uuid:173dd6e9-e3ae-442b-b427-ba0a6aa4f513>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.ecbc.army.mil/ps/svcs_detect_monitor.htm
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396224.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.866403
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The contour plot at left shows elevation contours for the NW Oregon and SW Washington Region (click to enlarge). This was generated using the relatively high-resolution satellite elevation data from TOPEX (more info) . Robert MacKay uses this image to ask students to explain the thermal circulation patterns expected through the Columbia River gorge knowing that areas west of the Cascade Mountain range are often dominated by marine air and that areas east of the Cascade Mountain range are typically dominated by continental air. The Columbia River Gorge is quite popular for wind surfing.
Contour Basics is a good online learning activity designed to help students better understand contour plots. Several good additional references related to understanding contour plots are also provided with Contour Basics.
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<urn:uuid:bcdb6492-3d22-4144-8fdb-7d620a570132>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/teachingwdata/Contours.html
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en
| 0.935781
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| 3.171875
| 3
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Each human being carries 23 chromosome pairs, but when there is the presence of a partial or full extra copy of chromosome 21 the result is the Down Syndrome.
Down Syndrome affects one in about thousand babies born today and causes learning disabilities, increases the chances of getting bowel and blood diseases, and dementia among other problems. The good news is that Dr. Jeanne Lawrence and his team from the University of Massachusetts appear to have found a new method which could potentially treat DS: switching the extra chromosome off.
The treatment involves using the XIST gene to turn off the extra chromosome 21 via a technique called “genome editing”.
The XIST gene plays an important role in the determination of gender. It’s the XIST gene’s action of silencing the second X chromosome that turns a baby male. If the second X chromosome is not silenced, the baby will be female.
When the researchers inserted XIST into chromosome 21 of cells taken from DS patients, it resulted in the extra chromosome being coated by RNA and it was shut down.
Though this procedure was done on cultured cells, the scientists believe that the method could be used to ease or even stop the effects of DS in patients.
For example, the therapy could be used to treat early-onset dementia seen in 60 percent of DS patients in their 60s. Or the extra chromosome of bone marrow cells could be shut down to decrease the risk of leukemia. And after a few years of research we might see prenatal gene therapy being used to cure DS completely.
According to Lawrence, “The long-range possibility—and it’s an uncertain possibility—is a chromosome therapy for Down’s syndrome. But that is 10 years or more away. I don’t want to get people’s hopes up“.
And not just the Down Syndrome, the technique could also be used for treatment of diseases such as the Edward syndrome (triplicated chromosome 18) and Patau syndrome (triplicated chromosome 13).
The researchers are now planning to test the method on mice.
Check out the video below to hear more from Dr. Jeanne Lawrence about the new find.
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<urn:uuid:22eacafc-fb1e-4aa0-9ad5-ad13437ba2d2>
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CC-MAIN-2016-26
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http://www.mobilemag.com/2013/07/22/gene-therapy-for-down-syndrome-video/
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en
| 0.929714
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| 3.4375
| 3
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