text
stringlengths 199
648k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| dump
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 14
419
| file_path
stringlengths 139
140
| language
stringclasses 1
value | language_score
float64 0.65
1
| token_count
int64 50
235k
| score
float64 2.52
5.34
| int_score
int64 3
5
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leeches, Eels, & Lampreys
Leeches are used best for catching large trout while flyfishing. These parasites live on reptiles, snails or cold-blooded fish; some live off plants and dead animals. They don’t have eyes but have a high sense of smell and touch. Their highly developed muscular system and multi-segmented body allows them to change their body form from short and fat to thin and elongated. Both ends of the leech have strong suction cups to hold on to the host or bottom structures. They can reach anywhere from 1”- 6” in length. Leeches have a wide range of color, anywhere from light crème to black, brown, gray, or olive, with lateral stripes. They may have mottled spots or markings.
Eels are primitive fish that don’t have scales. They have a snake-like appearance with a long dorsal and anal fin that connects directly into the tail. Eels have strong jaws and teeth, and a pair of pectoral fins located behind the gill openings. This primitive fish is a scavenger as well as a predator of other fish species. Eels are unusual because they spawn in salt water but live in fresh water with some still staying behind and living in salt water. They are swift, strong swimmers and prefer to live on the bottoms of lakes and streams.
Lampreys are blood sucking parasites that are primitive fish with cartilage skeletons and no scales. They have a round, sucking, disk mouth and a long, double, dorsal fin which attaches exactly with their tails. Just behind their heads they have a series of horizontal gill holes. Their wormlike larvae can be found in freshwater streams buried in the mud or sand bottoms. After emergence, these parasites are free swimming and are eaten by trout only until they are about 2”-8” long. Lampreys mostly attack fish as parasites. They live close to bottom structures. Their coloration varies from silvery to dirty olive or brown with a lighter side.
Fly Fishing - The Lifetime Sport
Copyright 2016 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2016 Perigee Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
lovetheoutdoors.com is owned and operated by Advameg, Inc. Copyright 2016 Advameg, Inc.
|
<urn:uuid:6addbf68-3e07-4d83-a3da-84e4931936bb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/fly-fishing/Le-Pa/Leeches-Eels-Lampreys.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.945365
| 483
| 2.53125
| 3
|
The explosive violence of a large tornado can leave little standing in its wake except the shelters that have been designed to withstand 250-mph winds.
Although shelter designers acknowledge that not every tornado is an F5 class, and the chances of being hit directly by such a storm are somewhat remote, a place of safety is definitely an asset.
Ernst Kiesling and others in the Wind Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech began designing shelters in 1974 and have continually upgraded their designs while waiting for an actual storm to test one of their structures.
''For the first time, in Oklahoma City, in the path of an F5, there was an above-ground storm shelter that survived,'' Kiesling said of the May 1999 storms.
(A-J Photo / Ray Westbrook)
A-J Photo/Ray Westbrook
''It was not actually our design, but it was fashioned after these, and it survived very well where an entire neighborhood was destroyed.''
The devastation left by the Oklahoma tornadoes last year has created a heightened demand for shelters in the Lubbock area also. Several members of the West Texas Home Builders Association now offer the shelters either as part of new construction or as an add-on to an existing home.
Art Cuevas, who does both remodeling and the building of new homes, said there is an advantage to including the shelter in new construction.
''You can plan for it and plan the footings and tie your structure down to the footings,'' Cuevas said. ''When you finish, the typical person walking through the house would not even recognize it as a safe room it looks just like another room.''
According to Kiesling, the in-house shelter is built independently from the rest of the house so that its structural integrity is not compromised by what happens to other parts of the home.
The shelters also are possible on a retrofit basis for existing homes, but the original structure of the house does impose some limitations.
Cuevas, who believes it would not be economically feasible to construct a shelter inside a house the way it is done in new construction, suggests an alternate means of adding a safe room.
''It is more feasible to go in and build it in a garage,'' he said.
Another way is to add a kind of closet or small room to the outside of the house, with the entrance joined to the home.
''If you brick it, you can make it look exactly like the rest of the house,'' Cuevas said. ''Then you can start with a foundation, footings, and finish it all the way up, and it's tied solidly to the ground.''
He said, ''It will look like it's attached to the house, but as far as the structure itself, it would be a separate entity.''
According to Kiesling, 14,000 applications were submitted in Oklahoma for grants offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the tornadoes struck last year.
''We can say a shelter industry has been born,'' Kiesling said, ''and now there are moves afoot to form trade associations around the shelter industry. That is a very healthy development because it will give some order to this fledgling industry.''
The goal of a shelter's design is to withstand wind forces and impacts even if the house around it is completely destroyed.
''Normally we don't find houses completely destroyed, though in some cases they are,'' Kiesling said. ''So, the house typically does provide a little bit of protection, but we don't count on that in designing the shelter.''
The shelters pioneered by the Wind Engineering Research Center are designed to remain standing at winds up to 250 mph.
Some shelters now are being manufactured by various companies and can be installed for about $3,000, according to Kiesling.
''Some are doing it in a kit form, where essentially you can buy the shelter and they would typically make it available through dealers, or some are even distributed through retailers.''
Cuevas said shelters built at the site during new construction could range from $3,000 to $5,000 depending on the size.
Shelters built as additions to an existing home can cost from $5,500 to $6,500, and those that are finished to blend with the rest of the house can cost from $8,000 to $9,000.
Larry Vannozzi, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said if no shelter is available inside a home, small interior rooms can offer a degree of protection from a tornado.
Places to avoid in a storm are automobiles and trailer homes.
''Well over half of tornado fatalities are people who are in mobile homes or automobiles,'' he explained.
Vannozzi said the Oklahoma tornadoes showed that concrete overpasses along highways also offer little protection.
Referring to Oklahoma, he said, ''They had tornadoes across the interstates seven times on May 3, 1999. At three of those locations they went right through an overpass, and one person was killed in each of those locations.''
The traditional wisdom of taking cover in a ditch when caught out in a storm also has questionable value.
''Last year's Oklahoma City area tornado was an excellent example of why even a ditch is normally not a great place to be,'' Vannozzi said. ''The debris tended to pile up in those ditches. You've got to worry about flooding in the ditches and to worry about a lot of debris landing on you in the ditches.
''So, it really comes down to awareness of the situation. Once you're driving down the interstate and all of a sudden you drive into a storm that has a tornado, now all of a sudden your options are really reduced. You have to pick between several bad options. Those include the ditch, staying in your vehicle the bad things like that.
''The main thing is to try to be aware of the situation and not get into that kind of a problem. But once you are there, then look for some sort of sturdy shelter, anything underground would be great. If you don't have that, then a low interior room of any structure, but away from the outer walls and away from the windows.''
Although a shelter designed to survive tornadic winds can be expensive, it may be worth the investment.
Kiesling said there also is another aspect about shelters that isn't directly related to physical safety.
''I think the biggest benefit of having an above-ground storm shelter, or having a storm shelter in your house, is the peace of mind that it offers of knowing that a safe place is there.''
Ray Westbrook can be contacted at 766-8711 or firstname.lastname@example.org
|
<urn:uuid:512da448-e362-4f92-8529-2b37f29cb2df>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040700/lif_040700073.shtml
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00149-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.9671
| 1,386
| 2.59375
| 3
|
If we really want to decipher an organization’s culture, this author claims that we must dig below the organization’s surface — beyond the “visible artifacts” — and uncover the basic underlying assumptions, which are the core of an organization’s culture. To do this, he provides a tool — a formal definition of organizational culture that emphasizes how culture works. With this definition in hand, the author feels that one cannot only come to understand the dynamic evolutionary forces that govern a culture, but also can explain how the culture is learned, passed on, and changed.
The purpose of this article is to define the concept of organizational culture in terms of a dynamic model of how culture is learned, passed on, and changed. As many recent efforts argue that organizational culture is the key to organizational excellence, it is critical to define this complex concept in a manner that will provide a common frame of reference for practitioners and researchers. Many definitions simply settle for the notion that culture is a set of shared meanings that make it possible for members of a group to interpret and act upon their environment. I believe we must go beyond this definition: even if we knew an organization well enough to live in it, we would not necessarily know how its culture arose, how it came to be what it is, or how it could be changed if organizational survival were at stake.
The thrust of my argument is that we must understand the dynamic evolutionary forces that govern how culture evolves and changes. My approach to this task will be to lay out a formal definition of what I believe organizational culture is, and to elaborate each element of the definition to make it clear how it works.
Organizational Culture: A Formal Definition
Organizational culture is the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered, or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, and that have worked well enough to be considered valid, and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.
Pattern of Basic Assumptions
Organizational culture can be analyzed at several different levels, starting with the visible artifacts — the constructed environment of the organization, its architecture, technology, office layout, manner of dress, visible or audible behavior patterns, and public documents such as charters, employee orientation materials, stories (see Figure 1). This level of analysis is tricky because the data are easy to obtain but hard to interpret. We can describe "how" a group constructs its environment and "what" behavior patterns are discernible among the members, but we often cannot understand the underlying logic — "why" a group behaves the way it does.
|
<urn:uuid:1861a080-1b2f-4008-ad63-776d91b3f40e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/coming-to-a-new-awareness-of-organizational-culture/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.951362
| 547
| 2.90625
| 3
|
According to Dyson, the biggest environmental impact of domestic appliances is 'energy in use', which in vacuum cleaners, accounts for approximately 90% of a machines impact.
James Dyson, the founder of the Dyson group, has used responsible engineering as part of its philosophy since the company began, by getting rid of the disposable dust bag from vacuum cleaners in 1992, and by designing out ideas that are wasteful in their use of materials, energy and consumables.
The result is that its machines outperform others and have a lower impact on the environment.
The average energy consumption of a vacuum cleaner is 1800W but Dyson has been working to reduce the Wattage of its motors. Its smallest upright has a 650W motor, which equals the pick-up performance of a full-sized Dyson through its Radix Cyclone technology and compact design.
Apple is another company that designs in this way. Its Macbook Air is an ultra compact machine which reduces its material footprint. While it reduces the amount of material used to produce the product, it gives consumers the added benefit of having a lighter product to carry around.
In addition to encouraging the recycling campaign, Dyson and Good Guys are also aiming to educate consumers on reducing their environmental impact. Simple tips include turning off lights and switching to energy efficient lighting, switching off appliances that aren't in use at the power source and recycling as many household appliances as possible.
Other ways include using re-usable shopping bags, choosing low greenhouse impact transport options such as walking, cycling and public transport instead of the car.
|
<urn:uuid:14e1e0c4-ff1c-4309-b859-c127cc85c9dd>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.smarthouse.com.au/appliances/cleaning/J2E8A5D4.aspx
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965913
| 317
| 3.171875
| 3
|
|Central coordinates||76o 25.78' East 11o 7.90' North|
|IBA criteria||A1, A2, A3|
|Altitude||658 - 2,383m|
|Year of IBA assessment||2004|
Site description Silent Valley is a rectangular tableland enclosed by a high contiguous ridge along its northern and eastern borders, and by a lower, irregular ridge along its western and southern borders. It is flanked by steep escarpments to the south and west, which descend some 1,000 m to the plains of Kerala, and by sheer cliffs to the north and east which rise a further 1,000 m to the Upper Nilgiri Plateau. Kunthipuzha river flows southwards through the entire 15 km length of the Park, dividing it into a narrow western sector of less than 2 km and a wider eastern sector of 5 km. The valley is drained by five main tributaries of the Kunthipuzha, which originate near the eastern border and flow westwards. Only a few minor streams drain into the Kunthipuzha from the western sector. The river is uniformly shallow, with no floodplains. Its bed falls from 1,861 m to 900 m over a distance of 12 km, the last 8 km being particularly level, with a fall of only 60 m. Kunthipuzha is one of the less torrential rivers of the Western Ghats, with a pesticide-free catchment area. The soil is blackish and slightly acidic in the evergreen forests, where there is good accumulation of organic matter. The underlying rock in the area is granite with schists and gneiss, which give rise to the loamy laterite soils on slopes (Anon., undated, 1981, 1982; Unnikrishnan, 1989). The total area is 8,951.65 ha. The Park is contiguous to the proposed Karimpuzha National Park (22,500 ha) in the north and to Mukurthi National Park (7,846 ha), Tamil Nadu, in the northeast. The altitude ranges from 658 m to 2,383 m (Balakrishnan 1984). Most of the Park lies between 880 m and 1,200 m (Anon. undated). High peaks such as Anginda (2,383 m), Sispara (2,206 m) and Kozhipara (1,904 m) occur in the northern part of the Park. Four main types of vegetation can be recognized: Tropical Evergreen Forest, Subtropical Hill Forest, Shola forest and grasslands which are restricted to the narrow sector west of the Kunthipuzha and to the higher slopes and hill tops in the eastern sector. Seven new plant species have been recorded from the Silent Valley (Manilal 1988), as well as many rare, endemic and economically valuable species, such as Cardamom Elettaria cardamomum, Pepper Piper nigrum, Yam Dioscorea spp., various beans Phaseolus spp., a pest-resistant strain of Rice (species unknown), and 110 plant species of importance in Ayurvedic medicine (Nair et al. 1980).
AVIFAUNA: Kerala’s avifauna is well represented within the Park. Two hundred species of birds have been recorded (Jayson 1990, Basheer and Nameer 1990). Four globally threatened species are found here. The Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon Columba elphinstonii is an uncommon bird (Zacharias and Gaston 1999, BirdLife International 2001), even in this well protected forest. The Broadtailed Grassbird Schoenicola platyura has a wide range in the Western Ghats but is uncommon everywhere. Santharam (1996) found it in the Poochipara area in December 1990. The site lies in the Western Ghats Endemic Bird Area (EBA) (Stattersfield et al. 1998). In this IBA, all the 16 endemic or restricted range species have been recorded. Flocks of Wynaad Laughingthrush Garrulax delesserti are sighted up to an elevation of 1,700 m. Above that, it seems to be the range of the Nilgiri Laughingthrush Garrulax cachinnans. Vijayan et al. (1999) also found this species in the upper reaches. Both the species confine themselves strictly to their respective altitudinal ranges. Nilgiri Flycatcher Eumyias albicaudata, a Near Threatened species, is common in the foothills of the National Park. Silent Valley is not only a paradise for local species, but it also host a large number of forest migrants in winter, from the Himalaya and beyond. Some of the forest birds noted are Tickell’s Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus affinis, Large-billed Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus magnirostris, Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis, Rufous-tailed Flycatcher Muscicapa ruficauda, Brown-breasted Flycatcher Muscicapa muttui and Blueheaded Rock-thrush Monticola cinclorhynchus. This site lies in Biome-10 (Indian Peninsula Tropical Moist Forest) where 15 species are considered as representative of this biome’s assemblage. Nine of these species have been recorded from Silent Valley NP. Only those species which live in comparatively drier habitats are not found here, for example, the Small Greenbilled Malkoha or Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris, a bird of scrub and secondary jungle, and the Jerdon’s Nightjar Caprimulgus atripennis, a bird found in scrub forests, edges of moist forests and secondary growth. Silent Valley NP has been selected as an IBA as it qualifies three criteria (A1, A2, and A3) and more importantly, it has one of the finest undisturbed forests left in the Western Ghats. This famous forest has significant populations of many threatened and endemic birds. It also adjoins another IBA, Mukurthy NP in Tamil Nadu.
OTHER KEY FAUNA: The faunal diversity is very high and includes a number of endemic and threatened species. Some 26 species of mammals, excluding bats, rodents and insectivores, have been recorded (Balakrishnan 1984). Notable species include Nilgiri Langur Trachypithecus johni, Lion-tailed Macaque Macaca silenus, Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard P. pardus, Jerdon’s Palm Civet Paradoxurus jerdoni, Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Nilgiri Marten Martes gwatkinsi, Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, Gaur Bos gaurus and Nilgiri Tahr Hemitragus hylocrius, some of which are endemic to the Western Ghats. Estimates of large mammal populations are provided by Balakrishnan (1984). Six species of bats have been recorded, of which Peshwa’s bat Myotis peshwa and Hairy-winged bat Harpiocephalus harpia are considered rare. Amphibians total 19 species, lizards 9 species and snakes 11 species (Kerala Forest Department 1990). Notable records are two fishes (Holaloptera pillae and Garra menimi) and two amphibians (the primitive caecilian Ichthyophis longicephalus and Malabar tree toad Nectophryne tuberculosa).
Lepidoptera comprise about 100 species of butterflies and about 400 of moths, of which 13 are endemic to South India, and now have very restricted distributions, mostly within the Western Ghats (Mathew 1990).
|Species||Season||Period||Population estimate||Quality of estimate||IBA Criteria||IUCN Category|
|Nilgiri Woodpigeon Columba elphinstonii||resident||2004||present||-||A1, A2, A3||Vulnerable|
|Malabar Parakeet Psittacula columboides||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Least Concern|
|Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Least Concern|
|White-bellied Treepie Dendrocitta leucogastra||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Least Concern|
|Grey-headed Bulbul Pycnonotus priocephalus||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Near Threatened|
|Broad-tailed Grassbird Schoenicola platyurus||resident||2004||present||-||A1, A2||Vulnerable|
|Rufous Babbler Turdoides subrufa||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Least Concern|
|Wynaad Laughingthrush Garrulax delesserti||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Least Concern|
|Garrulax cachinnans||resident||2004||present||-||A1, A2, A3||Not Recognised|
|Garrulax jerdoni||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Not Recognised|
|Brachypteryx major||resident||2004||present||-||A1, A2, A3||Not Recognised|
|Black-and-rufous Flycatcher Ficedula nigrorufa||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Near Threatened|
|Nilgiri Flycatcher Eumyias albicaudatus||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Near Threatened|
|White-bellied Blue-flycatcher Cyornis pallipes||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Least Concern|
|Crimson-backed Sunbird Nectarinia minima||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Least Concern|
|Nilgiri Pipit Anthus nilghiriensis||resident||2004||present||-||A2, A3||Vulnerable|
|Medium - based upon reliable but incomplete / partially representative data|
|Agriculture and aquaculture||annual & perennial non-timber crops - agro-industry farming||happening now||some of area/population (10-49%)||no or imperceptible deterioration||low|
|Forest||0||0||good (> 90%)||good (> 90%)||favourable|
|Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation||A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species||The conservation measures needed for the site are being comprehensively and effectively implemented||high|
|Protected area||Designation||Area (ha)||Relationship with IBA||Overlap with IBA (ha)|
|Silent Valley||National Park||8,952||is identical to site||8,952|
|Western Ghats||World Heritage Site||0||protected area contains site||8,952|
|IUCN habitat||Habitat detail||Extent (% of site)|
|Land-use||Extent (% of site)|
|nature conservation and research||-|
|Notes: Nature conservation and research|
Acknowledgements Key contributor: The IBA Team.
Anonymous (1981) Flora and fauna of Silent Valley, Attappadi and Sabarigiri forests. Report of the Study Team appointed by the Government of Kerala. Kerala State Electricity Board, Trivandrum. Pp. 108.
Anonymous (1982) Ecological aspects of the Silent Valley. Report of the Joint Committee, Department of the Environment, Government of India, New Delhi. Pp. 44.
Anonymous (undated) Report of the Task Force for the ecological planning of the Western Ghats. National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination. Government of India, New Delhi. Pp 20.
Balakrishnan, M. (1984) The larger mammals and their endangered habitats in the Silent Valley forests of South India. Biological Conservation 29: 277-286.
Basheer, A. C. A. and Nameer, P. O. (1990) Some observations on the Birds of Silent Valley National Park. In: Bird conservation-strategies for the Nineties & Beyond (eds. Verghese, A., Sridhar, S., & Chakravarthy, A.K.), Ornithological Society of India, 1993. Pp. 131-136.
BirdLife International (2001) Threatened Birds of Asia: The BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
Jayson, E. A. (1990) Community ecology of birds in Silent Valley. In: Ecological studies and long-term monitoring of biological processes in Silent Valley National Park. Kerala Forest Research Institute Research Report. Pp. 55-107.
Kerala Forest Dept (1990) Silent Valley National Park. Nomination dossier for World Heritage List. Kerala Forest Department, Trivandrum. Pp. 66.
Manilal, K. S. (1988) Flora of Silent Valley tropical rainforests of India. The Mathrubhumi (MM) Press, Calicut. Pp. 398.
Mathew, G. (1990) Studies on the lepidopteran fauna of Silent Valley. In: Ecological studies and long-term monitoring of biological processes in Silent Valley National Park. Kerala Forest Research Institute Research Report. Pp. 13-53.
Nair, V. C., Vajravelu, E., Bhargavan, P. (1980) Preliminary report on the botany of Silent Valley (Palghat District, Kerala). Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore.
Santharam, V. (1996) A note on the endemic Broad-tailed Grass Warbler. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 93: 587.
Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J. and Wege, D. C. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series No. 7. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
Unnikrishnan, P. N. (1989) Silent Valley National Park Management Plan 1990.91-99.2000. Silent Valley National Park Division, Mannarghat. Pp 83.
Vijayan, L., Prasad, S. N., Balasubramanian, P., Gokula, V., Ramachandran, N. K., Stephen, D., and Mahajan, M. V. (1999) Impact of human interference on the plant and bird communities in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Project Report. Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore.
Zacharias, V. J. and Gaston, A. J. (1999) The recent distribution of endemic, disjunct and globally uncommon birds in the forests of Kerala State, south-west India. Bird Conservation International. 9:191–225.
Contribute Please click here to help BirdLife conserve the world's birds - your data for this IBA and others are vital for helping protect the environment.
Recommended citation BirdLife International (2016) Important Bird and Biodiversity Area factsheet: Silent Valley National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/07/2016
To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife
|
<urn:uuid:d1b79f09-4ae2-450f-82fb-d80fb3a57d94>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=18257
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.781571
| 3,387
| 3.078125
| 3
|
chemically speaking, considering the reaction, you have two things to consider: energy and time. basically heat relates to energy, and if you dont have enough energy, you will never make the cross over the activation energy barrier, or the inital energy hump required for the reaction to take place. From a molecular viewpoint, the water molecules have to gain enough energy, or speed/power, to run into the tea molecules and pull them off into the water. So in the most extreme circumstances of very low temperature, the activation energy will never be reached, and tea will never brew.
At room temperature, tea does brew, thus you know there is enough energy, but it is very far from the required activation energy. This is where time plays a larger role. Energy of a system is not completely uniform, some molecules gain more power when its more important with well timed bumps with other molecules. Although the NET or average energy is the same, some molecules are higher than others, which allows them to break the activation energy. thus, more time means a better chance that water molecules randomly gain the required energy to pull tea molecules and thus steep.
so instead of waiting, we can just increase the energy by using hot water and thus ensure that the net energy is already very near the activation energy, then time doesnt play a significant role, and thus the water molecules can easily bombard the tea molecules and steep quickly.
In other words, the way i see it, high energy or low energy, tea is gonna steep the same way eventually, and thus hot water or room temperature water will get you the same nutritional results, just hot water will get u there faster.
|
<urn:uuid:8e911f91-18db-4de5-9489-c0a528a53dda>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?p=321
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.93974
| 335
| 3.125
| 3
|
Intl Watershed Management
INTERNATIONAL WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
The study of watershed planning is a subject that combines the biophysical and social sciences. It requires that we explore the relationships and linkages between coastal, marine and aquatic habitats and the human activities, such as water use, water pollution, and habitat loss that impact watershed ecosystems. As a consequence, this course will focus on a characterization of the ecology of aquatic ecosystems, and the impacts of human beings and climate change on these ecosystems across diverse cultural contexts. It will include a review of government and non-governmental watershed-based programs and plans that exist in less developed and industrialized countries.
The Course Outline describes the major themes of the course and associated reading assignments (including recommended readings and useful web links), and lecture topics, including case study materials. The goals of this course are:
(1) to introduce the ecological factors that influence disturbance of watershed ecosystems;
(2) to describe integrative watershed management principles;
(3) to review state, federal and international policies and programs that support watershed-based ecosystem management and integrative planning; and,
(4) to provide an overview of the major policy initiatives and planning tools that support watershed-based ecosystem management in diverse contexts.
|
<urn:uuid:98633af4-136d-4d96-8df7-3b48fbd2debb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://catalog.middlebury.edu/courses/view/catalog/catalog%2FMIIS/course/course%2FIEPG8615
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.910801
| 258
| 2.984375
| 3
|
Although the transitions were gradual, and exact dates for the demarcation of the Middle Ages are misleading, convention often places the beginning of the period between the death of the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 395 and the fall of Rome to the Visigoths in 410. The Dark Ages, formerly a designation for the entire period of the Middle Ages, and later for the period c.450–750, is now usually known as the Early Middle Ages. The term Dark Ages may be more a judgment on the lack of sources for evaluating the period than on the significance of events that transpired.
Medieval Europe was far from unified; it was a large geographical region divided into smaller and culturally diverse political units that were never totally dominated by any one authority. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, Christianity became the standard-bearer of Western civilization. The papacy gradually gained secular authority; monastic communities, generally adhering to the Rule of St. Benedict, had the effect of preserving antique learning; and missionaries, sent to convert the Germans and other tribes, spread Latin civilization.
By the 8th cent. culture centered on Christianity had been established; it incorporated both Latin traditions and German institutions, such as Germanic laws. The far-flung empire created by Charlemagne illustrated this fusion. However, the empire's fragile central authority was shattered by a new wave of invasions, notably those of the Vikings and Magyars.
Feudalism, with the manorial system (see also tenure) as its agricultural base, became the typical social and political organization of Europe. The new framework gained stability from the 11th cent., as the invaders became Christian and settled and as prosperity was created by agricultural innovations, increasing productivity, and population expansion.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
|
<urn:uuid:bf70bba3-012b-478c-b567-7cab907d4c9c>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/history/middle-ages-beginnings-cultural-developments.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.971561
| 380
| 4.09375
| 4
|
In January, UW-L Assistant Professor of Chemistry Heather Schenck and her undergraduate research student Stefanie Sippl corrected an error in the literature that stood for 19 years.
The error was in the shape of one section of a tiny molecule. While a seemingly small inaccuracy, the information gives scientists new, foundational knowledge that could potentially have implications for future discoveries in the development of antibiotics or treatment of cancer.
“We repeated our experiment many times and continued to get the same results,” recalls Sippl. “It was exciting because it led to more questions and further investigation into the properties and behavior of our molecule.”
The little molecule, N-methylacetohydroxamic acid, is made up of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen connected in a somewhat unusual way. This molecule, and others of its type, have a major claim to fame for their ability to bond with ferric iron — found in such familiar places as rust.
While something people associate with old vehicles, different forms of oxidized iron are essential for organisms to live. Yet, for some organisms like bacteria, fungi and algae, it’s tricky to get ahold of iron at the atomic level. Unlike humans, they can’t simply swallow a medium-rare steak to get their intake. They need to be a bit more inventive.
That’s where hydroxamic acids come in. Bacteria and other organisms create these molecules to catch iron. Even people with excess iron in their blood will get injections of a hydroxamic acid molecule to help them bind and get rid of the extra iron.
Because of the importance of hydroxamic acids, Schenk and Sippl were interested in learning more about them, using a tiny model that was easy to study. The molecule they are studying, like all hydroxamic acids, has two favored shapes. Using a large instrument in a Cowley Hall Science lab, Schenck and Sippl were able to get an inside look at the physical and chemical properties of the molecule through a technique called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy.
They found that what researchers thought was an alternate shape of hydroxamic acids was actually the more desirable and common shape. This means the molecule has to change its shape in order to bind with iron, which helps explain why hydroxamic acids have a slow rate of iron binding, says Schenck.
Understanding how this molecule behaves has implications for the world of medicine. Hydroxamic acids continue to be talked about as potential areas of exploration for antibiotics and treatment of cancer, says Schenck.
“If we are going to use hydroxamic acids for these tasks, we’d better understand what they’re doing,” she says.
With her name now tied to a significant research discovery, Sippl says undergraduate research has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her college career. Schenck, she says, has been an extraordinary mentor.
“I really enjoy working in lab and being involved in the investigation because I see concepts I have learned in biology, physics, and chemistry put into application,” says Sippl. “Research has helped me grow as a student and a scientist, especially in the way I perceive and process the world around me.”
Check it out
A UW-L student and her professor discovered an error in the shape of a molecule. The corrected molecular structure was published this year in Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry.
UW-L researchers found this error using a highly technical process called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, which employs the same technology as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The instrument arrived in 2010 thanks to a $390,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Schenck and Adrienne Loh, professor of chemistry, were co-principal authors of the grant proposal.
|
<urn:uuid:94fce1c1-e4bd-4afe-80f9-75f8c4e7a9bf>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://news.uwlax.edu/student-research-uncovers-surprise-in-molecules-shape/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.963296
| 798
| 3.765625
| 4
|
A degree in health information technology opens several career options. Whether or not an individual has an interest inside the scientific areas of area of, or perhaps the business necessary to make sure the techniques operate correctly, the task option is many. All these jobs offers their own requirements the job description, but they almost all start with a similar degree.
A health information technician contains the task regarding looking at your health-related charts regarding sufferers. Although checking out for completion as well as accuracy and reliability, they also put together reviews as well as allocate diagnosing requirements for a lot of purposes. The diagnosis rules are utilized with the physician, insurance coverage promises, and data selection. The job that an data technician does means that the particular healthcare providers can work efficiently to the people. This specific profession needs excellent computer effectiveness along with tiny immediate exposure to the actual people. Elementary opportunities are available by having an associate degree, but certification is essential through the express on many occasions.
The health care coder's activity is comparable to what health information technician yet provides much more of a business component on the work. Again, the actual medical programmer will certainly evaluate papers for your physicians. Nevertheless, an expert calls for further evaluation. Following, analysis as well as procedural unique codes are generally designated and also sequenced while using standard code method. The business element is joined throughout because the economic payment handles after the precision on this coding system. A great associates degree is critical to succeed in a beginner place. The career of an health care coder is a popular feeder point in to the medical area as a result of improvement opportunities that will originate from having one of these knowledge.
A degree in health information technology makes it possible for those coming into the particular medical industry to make an area and look after a specialist occupation. To comprehend education, the possibilities boost tremendously. No matter whether someone is just seeking to get into the sector or really wants to rise their method to the very best, health information technology is important.
|
<urn:uuid:4af51d3b-8866-46c8-81aa-835551964c8b>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://restauranteuno.blogspot.com/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00013-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961351
| 399
| 2.65625
| 3
|
Absent net fiscal social benefits, the U.S. household savings rate is even more negative than it was at the peak of the housing boom.
Social spending is deeply entwined with household income and has become part and parcel of consumers’ savings decisions as its share of household income has steadily risen. According to our Bank Credit Analyst service, after adjusting to remove the effect of social benefits, the saving rate as a share of disposable income is negative 7%. This rapid aggregate dissaving is being driven by two fundamental factors. First, higher commodity price pressures have sapped household purchasing power. Second, disposable income growth has been stagnant for the better part of four years. With social benefits already comprising a big part of household income and playing a critical role in forming future expectations, any uncertainty surrounding benefit flows risks driving consumers to ramp up the savings rate in an attempt to protect or rebuild their cushions. Recessions are always associated with rising thrift and politicians must therefore tread very carefully on social benefit reforms, especially at a time when global economic conditions are fragile.
|
<urn:uuid:93f2136d-8417-428e-8afa-38232c00179d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://blog.bcaresearch.com/u-s-households-and-fiscal-support
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.966678
| 214
| 2.671875
| 3
|
by Dr. Leo Galland
The standard American diet (SAD), with its excess of sugar, refined carbohydrates, saturated fat and trans fats, is the primary cause of obesity and diabetes. Although the American style of eating began here in the U.S., this eating pattern has spread around the world, contributing to the rise of obesity and its related conditions worldwide.
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of:
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Heart disease
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
The main reason that obesity increases the risk of these disorders is that obesity increases the level of inflammation throughout your body.
Even in people who are not obese or overweight, the SAD directly causes inflammation and plays an important role in creating or aggravating many of these diseases.
Numerous studies have shown connections between specific dietary components and a range of diseases:
- Diets high in saturated fat raise cholesterol levels.
- Diets high in sugar and white flour products raise serum triglycerides.
- Diets high in processed foods increase the risk of depression.
- Diets high in cured and processed red meats increase the risk of colon cancer.
The Road Back from SAD: Shifting to Whole Foods
Switch from eating mostly processed foods such as white bread, white rice and sugary products to eating whole foods that have high nutrient density.
What are Whole Foods?
Foods as close to their natural state as you can find, unprocessed, without a label or a barcode. Think of fresh apples, berries, lettuce, broccoli, whole grains. And raw nuts, seeds, eggs and fish.These foods have no added fats, sugars or artificial ingredients.
Whole foods are generally more nutrient dense than processed foods, which means they have a high ratio of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients to calories. Phytonutrients simply means nutrients from plants. They have been well studied for their ability to help reduce inflammation and contribute to well-being. The best way to get a range of phytonutrients is by having whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, and beans.
In summary, the road back from SAD begins with dietary and lifestyle patterns that may also prevent inflammation. Protective factors include:
- Eating more vegetables and fruits that are rich in anti-inflammatory phytonutrients like carotenoids and bioflavonoids.
- Eating more omega-3 fatty acids from fish, flaxseed, leafy greens and sea vegetables.
- Eating more dietary fiber.
- Regular mild to moderate aerobic exercise, about 30 to 60 minutes a day
|
<urn:uuid:a1a9e1ab-a79e-48e8-bf12-0d0fcc9264ef>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://pilladvised.com/2010/01/the-standard-american-diet-sad/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00067-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.934103
| 544
| 3.609375
| 4
|
February 4, 2013
Testing Confirms That Skeleton Is That Of King Richard III
[ Watch the Video: The Search For King Richard III ]
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe OnlineDNA testing has proven “beyond reasonable doubt” that human remains discovered beneath a parking lot in the East Midlands region of England are those of King Richard III, UK scientists announced on Monday.
The skeleton, which was discovered last September in the foundations of an old church in Leicester, matched the DNA of descendants of the 15th century Plantagenet, who was crowned king of England in July 1483, according to BBC News reports.
In addition, the bones were found to be those belonging to a man in his late 20s or early 30s (Richard was 32 at the time of his death), and were carbon dated to a period between 1455 and 1540 (Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485), the British news agency added.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that, beyond reasonable doubt, the individual exhumed at Greyfriars... is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England," Richard Buckley of the University of Leicester, who lead the research, told reporters, according to Nick Britten and Andrew Hough of The Telegraph.
According to Britten and Hough, the find is considered to be "truly astonishing." The reporters added that the evidence "provides a highly convincing case for identification as Richard III" and that "the skeleton was the king as far as all scientific tests could prove."
“The announcement, which will now be published in leading journals, provoked wild applause. It came 24 hours after an image of the battle-scarred skull of Richard III was released for the first time.”
According to New York Times reporters John F. Burns and Alan Cowell, some of the evidence used to support the researchers´ conclusion came from DNA testing completed by geneticist Turi King. Genetic material taken from the skeleton was compared to that of two descendants of the monarch´s family — one of whom was a son of a 16th-generation niece of Richard III´s and the other who asked to remain anonymous.
“The skeleton, with an arrowhead in its back and bearing other signs of battle wounds, was exhumed in the ruins of an ancient priory. It was found in the same place as historians say Richard III was buried after perishing at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485,” Burns and Cowell wrote. “At the news conference on Monday, researchers showed photographs of the skeleton as they found it, stuffed into a grave without a coffin, clearly displaying curvature of the spine as chronicled in contemporary accounts of Richard III´s appearance.”
“The researchers said that the body displayed 10 wounds, 8 of them in the skull and some likely to have caused death, possibly by a blow from a halberd, a kind medieval weapon with an ex-like head on a long pole,” they added. “Other wounds seem to have been inflicted after his death to humiliate the monarch after his armor was stripped and he was paraded naked over the back of a horse, the researchers said.”
The excavation, which began last August, was a collaborative effort between the University of Leicester, the Leicester City Council, and the Richard III Society, the university explained in a website dedicated to the project. They called it “one of the most ambitious archaeological projects ever attempted,” as they attempted to not only find the 500-plus year told remains of the monarch, but also the lost cathedral where he was said to have been buried following his death on the battlefield.
Prior to the official announcement, an image of the skull was released by the university early Monday morning. In an interview with BBC News, Dr. Jo Appleby of the University's School of Archaeology and Ancient History, who was the head of efforts to analyze the skull, said that the skull was “in good condition, although fragile, and was able to give us detailed information about this individual.”
“It has been CT scanned at high resolution in order to allow us to investigate interesting features in as much detail as possible,” she added. "In order to determine whether this individual is Richard III we have built up a biological profile of its characteristics. We have also carefully examined the skeleton for traces of a violent death.”
|
<urn:uuid:5e42dae6-7ea2-437d-ace4-7d3b6e45e464>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112776430/dna-testing-proves-bones-are-those-of-king-richard-iii-020413/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.975785
| 931
| 2.609375
| 3
|
Blender 3D is a popular, open source modeling package that can produce photo-realistic 3D images and animations. Automating tasks and extending the functionality of an extensive application like Blender will streamline your workflow and make the impossible possible. However, implementing scripts may be daunting.
This book takes a practical step-by-step approach to implementing Python scripts that cover almost all areas of Blender. It clearly outlines each problem and focuses on straightforward, easy-to-understand code, highlighting the common pitfalls and Blender idiosyncrasies. It guides you from the installation process and the creation of a simple object to elaborate, fully rigged models with vertex groups and materials all the way to extending Blender's built-in editor. It also teaches how to implement a simple web server inside Blender to serve rendered images. This book will take you from a clear problem description to a fully functional program. The focus is on finding your way in Blender's vast array of possibilities and getting things done without losing too much time on programming details. Each script is carefully explained to provide insight that can be reused in other projects.
This practical book will help you gain control over all the aspects of Blender using the Python programming language
The focus of the book is on practical problems and how to solve them in Python. The examples given are useful programs that try to solve real-world needs. Each chapter revolves around a single concept giving several examples gradually growing in difficulty. Each section analyses the problem first before diving into coding and gives extensive background information to enable the reader to generalize from the specific problem to a wider range of challenges. The sample code is provided as fully working examples with all key issues extensively highlighted. All sample programs are clear and concise yet nothing essential is left out and the programming style focuses on readability rather than on stylistic rigor or efficiency.
Who this book is for
This book is for users comfortable with Blender as a modeling and rendering tool who want to expand their skills to include Blender scripting to automate laborious tasks and achieve results otherwise impossible. Blender experience is essential as is some experience in Python programming.
|
<urn:uuid:6480bf33-fc2e-4223-9263-7579b134ddf7>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9781849510400.do?sortby=publicationDate
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00195-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.917241
| 434
| 2.671875
| 3
|
About a month ago I wrote here on the blog about the White Rose student essay contest, sponsored by the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. As I've done several times in the past, I served this year as one of the preliminary judges.
The contest this year was focused on the issue of Jewish resistance to the Holocaust, and in their essays students were asked to include and remark on this comment by Holocaust historian, Lucy Dawidowicz: “The wonder is not that there was so little resistance, but that, in the end, there was so much.”
Over the years, as you might well imagine, there has been plenty of discussion and debate about how much the Jews whom the Nazi regime was trying to murder resisted the Holocaust. The Dawidowicz quote represents one view of that, and resistance certainly took many forms other than armed revolt, which rarely happened.
But hers is not the only view, and I've been thinking about the different opinions about Jewish resistance as I've been reading the powerful account of the Holocaust by the late University of Vermont scholar Raul Hilberg, who grew up a Jew in Vienna as the Nazi regime came to power.
At least in tone, Hilberg's conclusion about the extent and effectiveness of Jewish resistance differs from that of Dawidowicz, and I thought it would be worth sharing his view with you given that in the previous post about Jewish resistance I shared something of at least the tone of the Dawidowicz quote.
Here is some of what Hilberg writes in his three-volume The Destruction of the European Jews, first published in the early 1960s, later revised in the mid-1980s and revised a final time in the early 2000s:
"The Jews attempted to tame the Germans as one would attempt to tame a wild beast. They avoided 'provocations' and complied instantly with decrees and orders. They hoped that somehow the German drive would spend itself. This hope was founded in a 2,000-year-old experience. (Tammeus note: For an account of those centuries of anti-Jewish persecution in Christian history, see my essay on that subject under the "Check this out" headline on the right side of this page.) In exile the Jews had always been a minority, always in danger, but they had learned that they could avert or survive destruction by placating and appeasing their enemies. Even in ancient Persia an appeal by Queen Esther was more effective than the mobilization of an army. Armed resistance in the face of overwhelming force could end only in disaster.
"Thus over a period of centuries the Jews had learned that in order to survive they had to refrain from resistance. Time and again they were attacked. They endured the Crusades, the Cossack uprisings, and the czarist persecution. There were many casualties in these times of stress, but always the Jewish community emerged once again like a rock from a receding tidal wave. The Jews had never really been annihilated. After surveying the damage, the survivors always proclaimed in affirmation of their strategy the triumphant slogan, 'The Jewish people lives (Am Israel Chai).' This experience was so ingrained in the Jewish consciousness as to achieve the force of law. The Jewish people could not be annihilated.
"Only in 1942, 1943, and 1944 did the Jewish leadership realize that, unlike the pogroms of past centuries, the modern machinelike destruction process would engulf European Jewry. But the realization came too late. A 2,000-year-old lesson could not be unlearned; the Jews could not make the switch. They were helpless."
Perhaps the debate about how much the Jews resisted the Holocaust will go on forever, and no doubt any satisfactory answer must be nuanced.
But the question for all of us now is how we might react in future crises knowing that an allegedly civilized nation in Western Europe once really did try to murder an entire people. One hopes that resistance would emerge more quickly and with greater force than it did in World War II, when this murderous plot was so huge as to be unthinkable and, thus, unbelievable -- until, as Hilberg writes, it was too late.
* * *
WHERE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IS ANATHEMA
One of the inevitable drawbacks to living in a country in which there is essentially no religious freedom is that censorship is not far behind. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, where the practice of only Islam is allowed, a newspaper editor has resigned because his paper published an opinion piece criticizing Salafism, a form of Islam from which is derived Wahhabism, the kind of puritanical Islam favored by the House of Saud, which runs the kingdom. Some day, I hope, Saudi Arabia's leadership will recognize that Islam is strong enough to stand on its own and take criticism without needing to be babied by officialdom there. As things stand now, Islam there looks weak and in need of such protection.
|
<urn:uuid:04ead1d8-70d9-47e0-91f3-748ad2aea16e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://billtammeus.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/05/51810.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00161-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979093
| 1,008
| 2.53125
| 3
|
There are only about thirteen species of turtle in Pennsylvania, maybe nine of those are found in the Central Ridge and Valley. Of these, perhaps the hardest to spot is the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata). There is really nothing particularly striking about Spotted Turtles, although they are, as turtles go, colorful creatures. They tend to be small–my Peterson Guide lists the record as 5 inches–and they are seldom seen, which may have as much to do with a very short active period as with actual rarity. They have a Pennsylvania State ranking of S3 (Vulnerable), although they are listed as Globally secure (G5).
I have seen precisely four Spotted Turtles in my entire life, all here in Central Pennsylvania.
The first was in a small drainage stream in a lowland forest one April about ten years ago. I didn’t know what I was looking at for certain. I didn’t have a camera, and I didn’t think it was much of anything special.
I saw the second one seven years ago, on the 6th of May 2006, sunning on an emergent log in a vernal pool.
Two years ago, on the 14th of April 2013, I found another one, also sunning on an emergent log in a different vernal pool some thirty miles away.
I have gone back to the spot where I saw the first one many times over the last ten springs. This year, on the 8th of April, I finally found one—and this time I had my camera.
Spotted Turtles seem to prefer it a little cool. On warmer days, they tend to limit their activity to the mornings. In Pennsylvania, they emerge from hibernation early in the spring, as early as March, and by early summer, they have gone to ground, spending the summer buried under the leaf litter of the surrounding forest.)
In the fall they move to hibernation points in muskrat dens and in the mud at the bottom of flowing streams. They will emerge the next spring once the water temperature reaches the low 40s.
- This excludes the Bog Turtle, Pennsylvania’s poster child for conservation. The Bog Turtle is generally not found in the mountains, although a couple of years ago one was found trundling through a parking lot near Swatara State Park. There is a great little write up here: http://www.fish.state.pa.us/education/catalog/ab/bogturtle/bogturtl.htm Information on Pennsylvania Turtles is found at ((See http://www.paherps.com/herps/turtles [↩]
- Conant and Collins. Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians Eastern Central North America, 3rd. ed., Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY, 1991). Note that the measurement referenced is the length of the carapace. [↩]
- G5: “Common; widespread and abundant.” S3: Vulnerable in the nation or state due to a restricted range, relatively few populations (often 80 or fewer), recent and widespread declines, or other factors making it vulnerable to extirpation. http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/RankStatusDef.aspx Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Rank and Status Definitions (webpage). Accessed 17 April. [↩]
- Information on the Spotted Turtle comes almost completely from Hulse, McCoy, and Censky. Amphibians and Reptiles of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. 2001 [↩]
|
<urn:uuid:8e9d039b-dded-4d69-929d-ab02888e0aeb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.northoftheridge.com/2013/04/spotted-turtle/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.949971
| 761
| 2.65625
| 3
|
Ninety-nine years ago today, police opened fire on striking maritime workers outside the headquarters of United Fruit Company in New Orleans, La. The violence ended with one worker killed and two wounded. The demonstrators were members of the Industrial Workers of the World and the American Federation of Labor.
The workers on strike were members of the AFL's Marine Firemen's Union, who refused to work aboard banana transport ships after their wages were cut from $50 to $45 per month. When the violence took place, the workers were attempting to board the Heredia, a steamship that the company had staffed with replacement workers.
These U.S. workers, though not aware of it, were part of a movement around the Americas against United Fruit, which later became the Chiquita corporation. The company was notorious for bribing U.S. officials and became a symbol of U.S. corporate and political domination over Central and South America. It was the hand of United Fruit in dictatorial governments that brought about the term "banana republic."
Eventually, the company went on to even worse things than killing protesters, including working with the U.S. government and CIA to overthrow progressive governments, including that of the democratically elected Col. Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala. Eventually, the strength of the company began to wane. After the Cuban Revolution, its tracts of land in Cuba were nationalized.
|
<urn:uuid:9febec8d-a4f7-4deb-9c0d-c48b73dfb3cb>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.peoplesworld.org/today-in-labor-history-maritime-strikers-killed-in-new-orleans-port/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.985709
| 289
| 3.09375
| 3
|
College admissions tests, specifically the SAT and ACT, are one of the biggest sources of stress and anxiety for high school students. Test Prep is not easy, but it is essential considering that your SAT and ACT test scores can either help or hinder your chances for college admissions and scholarships. Raising your score just a few points can sometimes make a difference. Feeling adequately prepared and more confident can help you do your best on the SAT and ACT.
Students should plan on some type of test prep for the SAT and ACT. Just as athletes practice before a big game to gain confidence and feel more skilled, test takers should practice, too: the more familiar they are with the kinds of questions they will encounter, appropriate test-taking strategies, and pacing themselves, the better their chances will be for doing well. Practice tests are the key to performing well on the SAT and ACT.
The test prep that works for one, may not work for another. If students are self-driven, disciplined, and motivated, they can probably do their test prep on their own and be successful. However, if students need a teacher and specific time to meet each week in order to prepare for the SAT and ACT, they would probably benefit from a test prep course.
Parents who are looking for a good test prep course should consider a small local company with good instruction and quality practice materials. Their courses are more reasonably priced and often prepare students every bit as well as large test prep companies. Regardless of what you have been told, read the fine print: There are no guarantees. Good test prep requires time, practice and review, but you don’t need to go broke paying for it.
|
<urn:uuid:08bdf26a-cb10-4243-813c-c75b986d1551>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.examiner.com/article/how-to-find-the-best-test-prep-for-your-child?cid=rss
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.970608
| 338
| 2.5625
| 3
|
English Literature Of The 19th Century:
Other Irish Story Writers
Thomas Adolphus Trollope
Poetry Of The Early Victorian Period
Read More Articles About: English Literature Of The 19th Century
( Originally Published Early 1900's )
Charles Kingsley was the apostle of muscular Christianity, but. his life was singularly uneventful. He was born in June, 1819, at Dartmoor, Devon, where his father was an old-fashioned fox-hunting rector. He went to Cambridge, took honors, and was ordained in the Church, of England. In 1841 he became curate at Eversley, Hampshire, and was afterwards rector there till his death in 1875. He had been appointed professor of history in Cambridge in 1861, canon at Chester, and at Westminster in 1873. He made some trips on the Continent and visited America.
Kingsley's first book was "The Saint's Tragedy" (1848), a drama on the story of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Being roused by the Chartist movement and the writings of Carlyle to the necessity of righting the wrongs of the oppressed, he joined with F. D. Maurice in an effort to put Christian life into the masses. .His sympathy with the working-classes was shown in "Alton Locke" (1850), the pathetic story of a London tailor who took part in the Chartist insurrection, and in "Yeast" (1851), which made the stir of the time appear as a struggle towards a better life. His contributions to "Fraser's Magazine" treated of a variety of subjects from literature to fishing. "Hypatia," his first historical novel, is a vivid panorama of Alexandria in the Fourth Century and the struggle of Christianity with Pagan philosophy and other foes. These foes are virtually the same in all ages, notwithstanding the diversity of appearances. Hypatia, slain by a fanatical Christian mob, was the martyr maid of philosophy. Kingsley's next novel, "Westward Ho!" (1855) generally considered his masterpiece, recalled the Elizabethan adventurers, Raleigh and Drake. "Two Years Ago" (1857) dealt with the Crimean War. "Hereward the Wake" (1866) went back to the Saxon times. Throughout these historical novels the landscapes and sea-scenes are lovingly depicted, and the more remote they are, the more care is taken to render them pictorial. "Andromeda" (1858) has been pronounced the most successful attempt at the use of hexameter verse in English. It treats of the Greek myth of Perseus. "The Water Babies" (1863) is a charming fairy tale for children, yet contains satire for adults. His short poems, such as "The Three Fishers," are full of freshness and grace. An incidental remark of Kingsley's in 1864, which seemed to charge Newman with excusing disregard of truth, drew from the latter his famous "Apologia pro Vita Sua." This controversy was one of many which gave color to Kingsley's life.
His younger brother, Henry Kingsley (183o-1876), was also a vigorous novelist, though he never reached the same general recognition. Having lived in Australia five years, he made that land the scene of his best stories, "Geoffrey Hamlyn" and "Ravenshoe."
|
<urn:uuid:d0c006fe-5d43-4a2b-aafa-2aa63d8f1b77>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles35/english-lite-23.shtml
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.970803
| 698
| 2.890625
| 3
|
A tropical cyclone is a powerful, rotating storm that begins over a warm body of water. Tropical cyclones form in waters near the equator, and then they move north. The term hurricane denotes a tropical cyclone whose maximum sustained wind speed is at least 74 miles per hour. Less severe tropical cyclones are known as tropical storms or tropical depressions, depending on intensity.
Hurricane winds swirl about the eye, a calm area in the center of the storm. The band of tall, dark clouds surrounding the eye is called the eyewall. The eye is usually 10 to 40 miles in diameter and is free of rain and large clouds. In the eyewall, large changes in pressure create the hurricane's strongest winds. These winds can reach nearly 200 mph. Damaging winds may extend 250 miles from the eye.
Hurricanes are referred to by different labels, depending on where they occur. They are called hurricanes if they occur over the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or Northeast Pacific Ocean; typhoons if they occur in the Pacific Ocean west of the International Date Line; and tropical cyclones if they occur in the Indian Ocean or southwest Pacific.
Hurricanes are most common during the summer and early fall. In the Atlantic and the Northeast Pacific, for example, August and September are the peak hurricane months. Typhoons occur throughout the year in the Northwest Pacific but are most frequent in summer. Approximately 85 hurricanes, typhoons, and tropical cyclones occur in a year throughout the world.
Names are assigned to hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones in order to differentiate between each year's storms. However, there is no universal naming convention. Hurricanes and Atlantic tropical storms are assigned male and female names, whilst the name of a typhoon may be a number (as in Japan), or it may be assigned an Asian name, as in China and the Philippines.
|miles per hour||meters per second|
|Tropical depression||< 39 m.p.h.||< 17 m/s|
|Tropical storm||39-73 m.p.h.||17-32 m/s||Tropical Storm Erin (2007)|
|Category 1 hurricane||74-95 m.p.h.||33-42 m/s||Hurricane Earl (1998)|
|Category 2 hurricane||96-110 m.p.h.||43-49 m/s||Hurricane Georges (1998)|
|Category 3 hurricane||111-130 m.p.h.||50-58 m/s||Hurricane Fran (1996)|
|Category 4 hurricane||131-155 m.p.h.||59-69 m/s||Hurricane Betsy (1965)|
|Category 5 hurricane||≥ 156 m.p.h.||≥ 70 m/s||Hurricane Camille (1969)|
Hurricanes require a special set of conditions, such as ample heat and moisture, that exist primarily over warm tropical oceans. For a hurricane to form, there must be a warm layer of water at the top of the body of water with a surface temperature greater than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm seawater evaporates and is absorbed by the surrounding air. The warmer the ocean, the more water evaporates. The warm, moist air rises, which lowers the atmospheric pressure of the air beneath. In any area of low atmospheric pressure, the column of air that extends from the surface of the water or land to the top of the atmosphere is relatively less dense and therefore weighs less.
Since air tends to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, wind is produced. In the Northern Hemisphere, the earth's rotation causes the wind to swirl into a low-pressure area in a counterclockwise direction. This effect of the rotating earth on wind flow is called the Coriolis effect. The Coriolis effect increases in intensity further from the equator. To produce a hurricane, a low-pressure area must be more than 5 degrees of latitude north of the equator. Hurricanes seldom occur close to the equator. For a hurricane to develop, there must be little wind shear— little difference in speed and direction between winds at upper and lower elevations. Uniform winds enable the warm inner core of the storm to stay intact. The storm would break up if the winds at higher elevations increased markedly in speed and/or changed direction. The wind shear would disrupt the budding hurricane by tipping it over or by blowing the top of the storm in one direction while the bottom moved in another direction.
Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane, smashed into the area south of Miami, Florida, in August 1992, leaving forty people dead, 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, more than a million people left without electricity, and damages of $20-30 billion. Much of South Florida's sensitive vegetation was severely damaged. The region had not seen a storm of such awesome power in decades. Andrew destroyed complacency and erased any sense of benign ignorance toward hurricanes among South Florida residents.
Hurricane information for Earth's oceans
- Atlantic hurricane season 2009
- Eastern Pacific hurricane seasons
- Northwest Pacific season 2009
- 2008 Atlantic hurricane season
- 1803 Atlantic hurricane season
- Barnes, Jay. Florida's Hurricane History. (1998). 330 pp.
- Provenzo, Eugene F., and Asterie Baker Provenzo. In the Eye of Hurricane Andrew. (2002). 184 pp. online review
- Williams, John M. and Duedall, Iver W. Florida Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, 1871-2001. (2002). 176 pp. online review
|
<urn:uuid:3a6c96bc-7e45-4c3c-a4d6-f6871e50550b>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.conservapedia.com/Cyclone
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00091-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.889755
| 1,164
| 3.796875
| 4
|
- change ups
When Smoke Gets In Your Skies
Commissioners are likely to ban those devices, which burn wood, wood pellets, corn and other renewable energy sources, because the city sees the boilers as being unhealthy.
"It's a renewable energy source and we want renewable energy sources, but not at any cost," said Mayor George Heartwell.
Four city departments, including the fire department, reported the current technology for outdoor furnaces and boilers is "rudimentary" and the devices have a number of adverse effects on air quality, fire safety, public health and quality of life in the neighborhoods.
Assistant City Planning Director Elizabeth Byron said outdoor furnaces produce too much smoke and odor, and aren't regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. She said the state's Department of Environmental Quality is concerned about the boilers because the amounts of emissions from these products vary widely. The DEQ reported that boilers create more pollution than indoor wood stoves because the outdoor furnaces burn wood at lower temperatures.
But Central Boiler, a leading supplier of outdoor furnaces based in
Byron, though, said Central Boiler also reported that these furnaces "would not be the best choice in densely populated areas."
Byron told commissioners the excessive amount of smoke produced by the boilers is the main complaint other governments have received about outdoor furnaces. And because of the immediate health impact of particulate emissions on people with respiratory diseases, she said these devices must be kept away from residential neighborhoods.
First Ward Commissioner James Jendrasiak said outdoor furnaces are a new technology and improvements could lower smoke emissions in the immediate future. He suggested that the city find another way to regulate the devices instead of an outright ban.
"It could be a good thing," he said of the outdoor furnaces. "A total prohibition could be restrictive."
But commissioners are leaning toward prohibiting the use of such furnaces within the city, and without a public hearing on the issue. Should they do that, the ban would go into effect tomorrow. Third Ward Commission Elias Lumpkins said if future models reduce smoke emissions the city could amend its ban.
Outdoor boilers use wood to heat water that is pumped through underground pipes to a home's existing heating system, such as a forced-air furnace, radiant baseboards or radiant floors. A boiler can be located up to 500 feet away from a house.
The city's Environmental Protection Services Department would enforce the ban. But Byron pointed out that little enforcement activity is expected, as a potential user must get a construction permit for an outdoor furnace and a permit would be denied.
Byron said she was aware of two boilers operating within city limits. One was installed illegally and was removed, while the other is being investigated. She said if any others are legally operating in the city, those units would be allowed to continue operating.
|
<urn:uuid:28cf07ef-7d3e-4dcc-b8db-4a1d8eaa1662>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.grbj.com/articles/67041
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.967499
| 584
| 2.71875
| 3
|
Note: Along with the story (1500+ words) that we highlight below the article also includes a sidebar with info about 13 Canadian government libraries either consolidated or closed during 2012 and 2013.
Last week the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which is closing five of its seven libraries, allowed scientists, consultants and members of the public to scavenge through what remained of Eric Marshall Library belonging to the Freshwater Institute at the University of Manitoba.
Nearly 40,000 books and papers were relocated to a federal library in Sidney, B.C.
“It was a world class library with some of the finest environmental science and freshwater book collections in the world. It was certainly the best in Canada, but it’s no more,” said Burt Ayles, a 68-year-old retired research scientist and former regional director general for freshwaters in central Canada and the Arctic.
Established in 1973, when foreign governments hailed Canada as a world leader in freshwater science and protection, the library housed tens of thousands of reports, maps, charts and books, including material dating back to the 1880s.
The loss of this library and its impact on fisheries and environmental science is equivalent to Rome destroying the Royal Library of Alexandria in Egypt. It’s equal to that,” said Ayles. At the time, Alexandria boasted the world’s largest collection in the ancient world.
Read the Complete Article
|
<urn:uuid:346cb6c9-90e8-4037-8705-5964c732fac4>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.infodocket.com/2013/12/09/canada-dismantling-of-fishery-library-like-a-book-burning-say-scientists/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00034-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954584
| 290
| 2.78125
| 3
|
Lake Erie lies to the west of the Southern Tier, and the north or bordered by the Niagara region and the Finger Lakes. The region is bordered to the south by the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, and together these regions are known as the Twin Tiers.
The majority of the region between the Allegany Mountains and the Catskill Mountains is "dissected plateau" split by a few large river valleys. Most of the population centers are clustered in these valleys, particularly in the east. West of the Allegany's the land slopes gently down to the shores of Lake Erie. Climate is typical humid continental with hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The region can experience heavy snows, with both lake-effect snow and Nor'Easters commonly hitting the area. Two feet of snow from a single storm is not uncommon.
Locations in the Southern Tier often take their names from Native American and early Colonial history. Many places and features, such as Chautauqua (sha-TAW-kwa) County, retain their original Indian names and can require a clever tongue to pronounce.
The Southern Tier is served by two regional airports with limited flights:
The nearby airports of Syracuse, Scranton, and somewhat farther away, Albany are considerably larger and offer more in the way of connections and services to the eastern portion of the Southern Tier. The western portion may be better served by airports in Buffalo and Erie, PA:
There currently is no passenger rail service offered in the Southern Tier, although there are some efforts to change this. . However, there are Amtrak stations in nearby cities of Syracuse, Buffalo, and Erie.
The Southern Tier is a large, mostly rural region. As such, the best way to experience it is by car. There are several rental companies that service the area, particularly at the airports.
Public transportation is limited to the major metropolitan centers, with some interconnection between cities by private bus lines.
Skydiving, mountain climbing and gliding are popular activities among the fearless in the Southern Tier. The National Soaring Museum in Elmira has an extensive collection of sail planes and is home to the Soaring Hall of Fame.
The Southern Tier has a great deal of agricultural industry and is a great place to find locally grown produce. Almost every town or city has at least one farmers market
Spiedies of course, Endicott's great pizza
Before Prohibition, New York was the leading producer of Hops in the US. The western section of the Southern Tier has a rich tradition in beer craft and there are a number of breweries and brewpubs to be found here. The aptly named Southern Tier Brewing Company is located in Lakewood, NY (just west of Jamestown). STBC brews some very fine craft beers and a number of season beers.
|
<urn:uuid:4109444d-00f6-4c0d-9b8f-b031ddd1a9f7>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Southern_Tier&oldid=1181044
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.958297
| 580
| 2.515625
| 3
|
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 13, 2014 – Your smartphone could become part of the world’s largest telescope. A team led by UC Irvine physicist Daniel Whiteson and UC Davis physicist Michael Mulhearn has designed an app to turn the global network of smartphones into a planet-sized cosmic ray detector, according to a paper posted today to the physics website arXiv.
A long-standing puzzle in astrophysics is the source of ultra-high-energy particles from space that hit Earth. Called cosmic rays, they’re up to a billion times more energetic than particles at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. They strike the atmosphere and cause an enormous shower of other particles, mostly muons, electrons and photons, over a wide area. Though they were discovered decades ago, cosmic rays at these high energies are very rare, making it difficult to pinpoint where in the universe they originated.
“Whole square kilometers can be drenched in these particles for a few milliseconds,” said Whiteson, associate professor of physics & astronomy at UCI. “The mystery is nobody knows where these crazy, high-energy particles are coming from or what’s making them so energetic. But they can be captured by technology in smartphones’ cameras.”
The app, dubbed CRAYFIS (Cosmic Rays Found in Smartphones), collects data when the phone is connected to a power source and has not been used for several minutes, in order to not interfere with normal phone usage or drain battery levels. Anyone with an Android or iOS smartphone or tablet will be able to participate in the detector network. If an individual’s phone gathers data used in a scientific paper, he or she will be offered authorship. The app can also run in anonymous mode.
The silicon-based sensors in smartphone cameras use the same principles as detectors at CERN and elsewhere to identify the particles. But because the particles arrive so infrequently, a very large detector – such as a global network of smartphones – is needed.
As a side benefit, the same data can be used to calculate local levels of radiation from radon or other sources and function as an alarm system. The network of phones could provide a real-time radiation weather map, following the movement of plumes, for instance.
While it has recently been shown elsewhere that individual smartphones can spot particles, this is the first attempt to demonstrate that if enough devices are connected, a networked, worldwide detector can rival or exceed the scientific capabilities of huge, dedicated cosmic ray experiment sites such as the Auger Experiment in South America.
The team has been working on the project for nearly a year. The app is ready, and the researchers are now locating servers able to handle myriad users. Anyone interested can sign up to become part of the network as it expands. Co-authors of the new paper are Chase Shimmin and Kyle Brodie of UCI and Dustin Burns of UC Davis.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. Located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities, it’s Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $4.8 billion annually to the local economy.
Media access: UC Irvine maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists/experts/. Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UC Irvine faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UC Irvine news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
|
<urn:uuid:9bde591d-fe53-4961-b1b6-79facb9033ce>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://news.uci.edu/press-releases/smartphone-network-could-track-incoming-cosmic-rays-uci-led-research-finds/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00039-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.929224
| 850
| 3.234375
| 3
|
An iodide ion is the ion I<sup>−</sup>. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1
are called iodides. This page is for the iodide ion and its salts, not organoiodine ...
Jul 29, 2013 ... The human body requires iodine but if you've done your homework, you've heard
of iodine, iodide, and even nascent iodine. Learn the ...
Aug 22, 2015 ... This gives a pretty good explanation of the difference. How are Iodide and Iodine
Different? Elemental Iodine is two iodine atoms bonded ...
Iodide | I- | CID 30165 - structure, chemical names, physical and chemical
properties, classification, patents, literature, biological activities, safety/hazards/
Iodide definition, a salt of hydriotic acid consisting of two elements, one of which
is iodine, as sodium iodide, NaI. See more.
Oct 27, 2014 ... In December 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final
Guidance on Potassium Iodide as a Thyroid Blocking Agent in ...
Applies to potassium iodide: oral solution, oral syrup. As well as its needed
effects, potassium iodide may cause unwanted side effects that require medical ...
Differences between potassium iodide and potassium iodate. Which one is safe,
effective and legal for radiation protection?
Structure, properties, spectra, suppliers and links for: Iodide ion, Iodide.
If taken properly, potassium iodide (KI) will help reduce the dose of radiation to
the thyroid gland from radioactive iodines, and reduce the risk of thyroid cancer.
|
<urn:uuid:19ce0377-9e61-4a17-bd18-9e743d4073d1>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.ask.com/web?q=iodide
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00064-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.793079
| 358
| 3.78125
| 4
|
Posted November 14th, 2011
Viventi and his team developed an implantable electrode array (pictured) integrating ultrathin, flexible silicon transistors capable of sampling large areas of the brain with minimal wiring.
Tapping into the human brain to understand its functions in daily life — as well as its malfunctions in illness — has long been a challenge for researchers. Mapping brain activity requires unwieldy, invasive arrays of electrodes and sensors that can damage tissue while only reading activity in a limited area.
Jonathan Viventi, assistant professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) and New York University (NYU), co-led a team of researchers to devise a streamlined, minimally invasive brain interface that may yield new insights into the causes of brain diseases like epilepsy, as well as usher in a new generation of implantable neuroprosthetic and diagnostic devices.
At the core of the research is a novel, implantable electrode array integrating ultrathin, flexible silicon transistors capable of sampling large areas of the brain with minimal wiring.
The findings are published in the December issue of Nature Neuroscience. Co-authors include the study’s senior author Brian Litt of the University of Pennsylvania and John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The technology has been licensed to mc10, a Boston-area company delivering flexible electronics for industrial and biomedical applications.
Current efforts to record or stimulate brain activity are limited by the need to wire each individual sensor at the electrode-tissue interface. The resulting mass of leads is cumbersome and renders a high-resolution map of large areas logistically impossible.
This new approach enables dense arrays of thousands of multiplexed sensors that provide unprecedented spatial resolution — more than 400 times the current level — with a fraction of the wires. In experiments, just 39 wires were required for 360 electrodes. The design can be readily scaled to thousands of electrodes, while maintaining a small number of wires. The arrays are also non-penetrating and, unlike current techniques, cause little or no damage to fragile brain tissue. The use of flexible silicon also allows active circuitry to be built right at the brain surface.
Viventi explains that "the circuits we're familiar with are built on rigid silicon, which doesn't conform to the body. Ultrathin silicon retains its performance while being flexible, and is much better suited to implantable devices. It's the difference between a piece of paper and a piece of 2x4 lumber — same material, dramatically different properties."
In experiments, the research team deployed their system to record various types of brain activity in animals, including sleep and visual responses and observation of the brain during an epileptic seizure. Their techniques may improve understanding of what causes epilepsy and lead to implantable technologies to stop or prevent seizures in patients.
The researchers believe this is the first reported use of ultrathin, flexible silicon in a brain interface device.
The research also holds promise for other medical applications, including dramatic improvements of existing implantable devices such as cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, cochlear and retinal implants and motor prosthetic systems.
The longer-term goal is to configure these implantable arrays for use anywhere in the body, equipped with wirelessly controlled sensors capable of multiple functions such as recording, stimulating and ablating.
Viventi is a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at NYU-Poly and the Center for Neural Science at NYU. The research was conducted with support from the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and its National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Science Foundation; the U.S. Department of Energy Division of Materials Sciences; Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy; and the Dr. Michel and Mrs. Anna Mirowski Discovery Fund for Epilepsy Research.
Polytechnic Institute of New York University (formerly Polytechnic University), an affiliate of New York University, is a comprehensive school of engineering, applied sciences, technology and research, and is rooted in a 157-year tradition of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship: i2e. The institution, founded in 1854, is the nation’s second-oldest private engineering school. In addition to its main campus in New York City at MetroTech Center in downtown Brooklyn, it also offers programs at sites throughout the region and around the globe. Globally, NYU-Poly has programs in Israel, China and is an integral part of NYU's campus in Abu Dhabi. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.
New York University, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, was established in 1831 and is one of America’s leading research universities. It is one of the largest private universities, it has one of the largest contingents of international students, and it sends more students to study abroad than any other college or university in the U.S. Through its 18 schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and dramatic arts, music, public administration, social work, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.
|
<urn:uuid:d1d59237-dfbd-4a7b-923e-076cea9ddb6f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://engineering.nyu.edu/press-release/2011/11/14/flexible-sensors-offer-unprecedented-view-brain-activity-during-epileptic-s
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.935451
| 1,078
| 3.234375
| 3
|
This title is also available for purchase as an e-book or as a print/e-book bundle.
6" x 9"
Year Published: 2013
The easy-to-use tools in Springshare’s LibGuides
help you organize webpages, improve students’ research experience and learning, and offer an online community of librarians sharing their work and ideas. Editors Dobbs, Sittler, and Cook have recruited expert contributors to address specific applications, creating a one-stop reference. Readers will be able to create subject guides that achieve the full potential of LibGuides with advice on such topics as
- Learning from the best—a showcase of 28 LibGuides with exceptional design and pedagogy
- Collaborating with faculty to embed LibGuides in course management systems
- Creating a customized look to your LibGuides with design flair and enhanced functionality
- Getting ready for smart-phone users with a plan for the mobile web
- Setting up Google Analytics on a LibGuide site
- Teaching with LibGuides
Table of Contents
PART 1: A Brief Introduction to Libraries and the Internet
1 A Short History of Library Guides and Their Usefulness
to Librarians and Patrons
PART 2: Administering and Maintaining LibGuides—for System Librarians
2 Making the Case Campus-wide
for Purchasing LibGuides
Stephanie DeLano Davis
3 Administering LibGuides:Planning, Implementation, and Beyond
Beth Larkee Kumar and Tabatha Farney
4 Strategies and Techniques for Administrators
Aaron W. Dobbs and Rich Gause
5 Developing LibGuides Training: A Blended-Learning Approach
Laura Westmoreland Gariepy, Emily S. Mazure, Jennifer A. McDaniel, and Erin R. White
PART 3: Creating LibGuides—For Guide Creators
6 Design: Why It Is Important and How to Get It Right
Nedda H. Ahmed
7 Integrating LibGuides into the Teaching-Learning Process
Veronica Bielat, Rebeca Befus, and Judith Arnold
8 Creating Your First LibGuide
9 Adding Some Pizzazz to Your Guides
PART 4: Making Better Use of LibGuides
10 Helping Users Help Themselves: Maximizing LibAnswers Usage
11 Using Statistical Gathering Tools to Determine Effectiveness and Accountability
Lora Baldwin and Sue A. McFadden
12 Using LibGuides to Promote Information Literacy in a Distance Education Environment
Barbara J. Mann, Julie Lee Arnold, and Joseph Rawson
13 Why Go Mobile?
Mark Ellis, Leslie Adebonojo, and Kathy Campbell
PART 5: Technological and Pedagogical Exemplars from Academic, K–12, Public, and Special Libraries
14 Showcase of Exceptional LibGuides
Sharon Whitfield and Claire Clemens
About the Editors and Chapter Contributors
About the Editors
Aaron W. Dobbs is systems and electronic resources librarian and assistant professor at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. He received his master’s degree in management from Austin Peay State University and his MSLS from the University of Tennessee. Dobbs is heavily involved in the American Library Association as councilor-at-large on the ALA Council, chair of the ALA Website Advisory Committee, and as an ACRL legislative advocate. His current professional interest is in creating student-centered library websites, particularly with LibGuides.
Ryan L. Sittler is the instructional technology/information literacy librarian at California University of Pennsylvania. Ryan holds an MLS from Clarion University, an MSIT from Bloomsburg University, and is ABD in communications media and instructional technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Sittler has coedited two other books with Doug Cook: Practical Pedagogy for Library Instructors (2008) and The Library Instruction Cookbook (2009). He is also part of a team that developed the educational information literacy game A Planet in Peril: Plagiarism, which won the Caspian Learning 2010 Serious Games Challenge.
Douglas Cook is an instruction librarian and professor at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.He received his MLS from the University of Maryland and DEd from Pennsylvania State University. He has recently coedited five books: with Tasha Cooper, Teaching Information Literacy Skills to Social Science Students and Practioners (2006); with Ryan Sittler, Practical Pedagogy for Library Instructors (2008) and The Library Instruction Cookbook (2009); with Lesley Farmer, Using Qualitative Methods in Action Research (2011); and a children’s book with Carolyn Cook, A Hike on the Appalachian Trail (2010). His current research interests are web-centered pedagogy and real-world definitions of information literacy.
The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of ALA, educates, serves and reaches out to its members, other ALA members and divisions, and the entire library and information community through its publications, programs and other activities designed to promote, develop, and aid in the implementation of library and information technology.
”Although there have been many journal articles and conference papers written about
LibGuides, this is the first attempt to pull this information together in a published volume.
This is a readable and accessible guide and one I would particularly recommend to
— Australian Library Journal
|
<urn:uuid:8b167fd0-d944-46a3-9743-a202fa3c14c7>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=4210
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00079-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.868342
| 1,128
| 2.671875
| 3
|
An ape-like creature that lived seven million years ago may have been the earliest known ancestor of humans.
New evidence shows that the remains of the creature found in 2002 has human features and may have walked upright.
A skull was found in the African country Chad three years ago - since then named Toumaļ - and scientists have worked hard to learn more about it.
Some people thought it was an ape when it was first found, but this new evidence suggests it was a human.
As well as working on the remains of Toumaļ's skull, other scientists have been studying other very old fossils found in Chad as well, reports the science magazine Nature.
When found Toumaļ confused some experts because it had an ape-like brain and skull shape, but its facial features looked human.
It was also difficult to understand because it was so badly mangled, but scientists using computers to work out what it really looked like.
However they tried they couldn't make the computer scan look like a chimpanzee or gorilla, but they were able to recreate the look of an early human, called a hominid.
|
<urn:uuid:de5923c5-e1c0-4fe1-bc2f-9335ca378c59>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4410000/newsid_4418500/4418573.stm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.992103
| 232
| 3.703125
| 4
|
When I was growing up, I didn’t realize how much my mother did for me and my nine other older siblings.
It must have been very hard for her — the challenges, the sacrifices — all to give us a better life. Now, looking back, I can see her life. To all the mothers in this world I say, “Thank you for all you have done; for all you are.”
An earlier issue of the Rotarian, Rotary’s magazine, highlighted the areas where mothers have significant impact. Here are some facts of the matter.
A mother’s influence on her children’s health and well-being begins before delivery. Daughters of mothers who are overweight before pregnancy are up to six times more likely to be obese by the age of 18. After delivery, a mother’s nutrition and eating patterns are predictors of her daughter’s likelihood of becoming overweight.
Daughters of mothers who smoke tobacco while pregnant are four times more likely to smoke, and both daughters and sons of women who smoke while pregnant are at an increased risk of behavioral problems.
Mothers who breast-feed their infants provide their children with immunities to diarrheal diseases, respiratory and ear infections and skin disorders. Breast-fed children also have lower rates of adult-onset high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Mothers who give birth before the age of 20 are more likely to have children who also become young mothers, a trend that declines as a daughter’s education level rises.
The United Nations estimates that worldwide, at least one in every three women will be abused in their lifetime. Women in safe, non-abusive relationships have children with a lower risk of unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, alcohol abuse, smoking, suicide, depression and later-life medical problems such as heart, lung, and liver diseases.
Worldwide, the education level of parents, particularly mothers, influences the probability that children will attend school. The likelihood of children staying in school increases with the years of education that their parents attain.
In developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the education of mothers — even at low levels — is associated with reductions in child mortality. Mothers’ schooling is associated with a greater likelihood of prenatal care, childbirth assistance from trained health care providers, and postnatal provision of childhood vaccinations and medical care.
Children whose mothers read aloud to them are more likely to develop the skills and knowledge that influence written and oral language abilities.
Mothers who participate in activities with their children, convey expectations for school performance, and are present when their children wake up in the morning, arrive from school, or go to sleep reduce the likelihood of their children’s involvement in violent behaviors such as fighting, carrying a weapon, stealing, bullying and homicide.
Mothers whose daughters view them as positive role models influence their daughters’ confidence. Daughters who aspire to emulate their mothers develop stronger self-esteem and more positive body image than girls who don’t identify with their moms.
Here is a fun anecdote about the “Mom Test,” which I’m reprinting by popular demand. We can’t overestimate the influence a mother has on her child (sorry, Dad).
I was out walking with my 4-year-old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and told her not to do that.
“Why?” my daughter asked.
“Because it’s been on the ground, you don’t know where it’s been, it’s dirty, and probably has germs,” I replied.
At this point my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, “Momma, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart!”
I was thinking quickly. “All moms know this stuff. It’s on the ‘Mom Test.’ You have to know it, or they don’t let you be a mom.”
We walked along in silence for two or three minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information.
“Oh! I get it!” she beamed. “So if you don’t pass the test you have to be the dad.”
“Exactly,” I replied back with a big smile on my face.
|
<urn:uuid:993389cd-287d-4b31-a074-d98337de6b66>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://pagosasun.com/archives/2012/05May/051012/pagosalakes.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00155-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.9677
| 938
| 2.875
| 3
|
Crataegus uniflora Münchh.
Dwarf hawthorn, One-flowered Hawthorn
Rosaceae (Rose Family)
Synonym(s): Crataegus bisulcata, Crataegus choriophylla, Crataegus gregalis, Crataegus raleighensis
USDA Symbol: crun
This species occurs in tree form only in northern Florida. Sometimes planted as a curiosity in botanical gardens because of its dwarf size.
From the Image Gallery
Plant CharacteristicsDuration: Perennial
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Elliptic , Oblong , Ovate
Leaf Margin: Serrate
Fruit Type: Pome
Flower: Petals 5
Fruit: Greenish-yellow to dull red.
Size Class: 3-6 ft. , 6-12 ft.
Bloom InformationBloom Color: White
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May
DistributionUSA: AL , AR , DC , DE , FL , GA , KY , LA , MD , MO , MS , NC , NJ , NY , OH , OK , PA , SC , TN , TX , VA , WV
Native Distribution: New York (Long Island) and New Jersey south to N. Florida, west to E. Texas, and northeast to S. Missouri; to 2000 (610 m) or above.
Native Habitat: Dry sandy and rocky uplands in open woods, forest borders, and old fields.
Value to Beneficial InsectsSpecial Value to Native Bees
This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
From the National Organizations DirectoryAccording to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:
Mt. Cuba Center - Hockessin, DE
Additional resourcesUSDA: Find Crataegus uniflora in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Crataegus uniflora in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Crataegus uniflora
MetadataRecord Modified: 2011-08-07
Research By: TWC Staff
|
<urn:uuid:ff9905c4-bbc0-4674-bd30-f1e008874fe1>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=crun
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.716627
| 487
| 2.53125
| 3
|
Forget outer space; there are aliens far closer to home! These bizarre looking and strangely fascinating sharks look like they’re from another world. And from poisonous flesh and electrical sensors to sneaky ambushes and the impaling of prey, their methods of attack and self-defense are just as extraterrestrial seeming. Without further ado, then, we list the 10 most bizarre looking sharks on planet Earth.
10. Cookiecutter Shark
The brilliantly named Cookiecutter sharks only grow up to 17 to 22 inches long, but what they lack in size they make up for with pure nastiness (as well as one weird looking profile!). You see, these cigar-shaped sharks hover in the water, waiting for larger prey to approach. Their bodies are luminescent, except for a dark collar behind their heads, and this dark section is thought to mimic the silhouette of a small fish, acting as a lure.
Although cookiecutter sharks can eat a squid whole, they’re best known as parasitic feeders. First, they attach themselves to a large creature by pressing their suctorial lips against the animal’s flesh. Then, once they have a tight seal, the sharks stab their teeth into the host. The upper teeth act as anchors, while the lower teeth vibrate back and forth like an electric carving knife. Next, the sharks twist and rotate, until they have scooped out a chunk of flesh around two inches wide and 2.8 inches deep.
Cookiecutters feed on practically every medium-to-large creature that shares their tropical-water habitat. Whales, dolphins, sharks, seals and bony fish have all been spotted with cookiecutter injuries. These fearsome little critters have also been known to bite into submarines, undersea cables, and even people.
9. Hammerhead Shark
Although hammerheads are better known than some of the other sharks on this list, no roll call of weird looking sharks would be complete without them. With eyes set on either side of their gigantic cephalofoils, or hammers, hammerheads have 360-degree vertical vision – which means they can see what’s above and below them at the same time.
The cephalofoil also gives hammerhead sharks a heightened sensitivity to electrical fields emitted by their prey – stingrays, for example, which often bury themselves in the sand. And although they have small mouths and teeth compared to other sharks, hammerheads are very flexible and can pivot in the water at high speeds.
Another unusual feature peculiar to hammerheads is that they form schools during the day. There are very strict hierarchies within these groups, and the sharks communicate with one another through complicated body maneuvers.
8. Longnose Sawshark
Take a look at this next odd-looking fellow! The longnose sawshark is one of six species of sawsharks, and it grows to up to four and a half feet long. Incredibly, its long, serrated snout, or rostrum, is lined with sharp teeth and accounts for a third of its entire body size.
Longnose sawsharks also have long barbels that hang down on either side of their rostrums – rather like mustaches – and these are used to search for food. The barbels can move around quite freely, and they sense vibrations and bioelectricity, similar to the hammerhead’s way of picking out its favorite stingray snack. What’s even more fascinating is that the barbels are sensitive to touch and taste – which makes them perfect for discovering delicious delicacies hidden in the sand!
When the longnose sawshark finds its prey, it slashes its rostrum around, injuring, and sometimes even impaling, its unfortunate victims. The shark shakes its head violently until the prey falls off its toothy snout, and then it sucks the food into its mouth and crunches it up with thorny teeth.
7. Frilled Shark
Frilled sharks look more like massive eels or strange, deep-sea lizards than sharks. This rare species of shark can be found in various locations in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans but is most common in the waters off Japan. Frilled sharks’ main claim to fame is their weird shape and a whopping gestation period of up to 42 months (the longest of any vertebrate).
They also have 300 wickedly sharp forked teeth, which they bury into their slippery prey. And what’s more, their mouths can distend, which allows them to swallow prey up to half their size!
For a long time, scientists thought these critters moved by wriggling, since their fins are quite small. Later, however, it was discovered that the shark’s oily liver keeps it buoyant in water, allowing it to stay afloat and hover at depths of between 160 and 660 feet.
Although frilled sharks have never been caught feeding, it’s believed that they lie in ambush for their prey. When something tasty gets close, the sharks are thought to brace themselves against their fins and launch forward like a striking snake, teeth ready to bite.
6. Basking Shark
Check out the chops on this next chap! Weighing in at over five tons and measuring up to 33 feet long, basking sharks are the second largest sharks in the ocean (after whale sharks). These gentle giants troll through the water with their cavernous mouths wide open, using 5,000 gill rakers to filter plankton out of 1.5 million liters of water every hour.
Basking sharks have to swim in order to feed, because the swimming action pushes the water out through their gills. Although they travel at the leisurely pace of 3 miles per hour, they migrate thousands of miles and are known to dive to depths of almost 3,000 feet.
Sadly, these cool, harmless sharks have been dangerously overfished for their flesh, their gigantic oily livers, and their fins. At least they are protected in several places, including the Gulf Coast of the USA, Malta, and the UK.
5. Megamouth Shark
From one big mouth to another! Megamouth sharks are incredibly rare and are so strange that they have their own family classification: Megachasmidae. These flabby-bodied sharks are slow swimmers, with soft fins and asymmetrical tails. And because they are so uncommon, not a whole lot is known about them.
What we do know is that they are filter feeders and that they can grow to up to 18 feet long. Also, their huge mouths are surrounded by light-emitting organs (photophores), which are thought to attract plankton. Megamouths stay in deep water during the day and come up closer to the surface at night, following their food source.
Remarkably, there have only been 54 recorded sightings of these sharks since their discovery off the coast of Hawaii in 1976, when one got tangled up in the anchor of a U.S. Navy ship. They have been spotted in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
4. Ghost Shark
From their funny plow-shaped snouts to their silvery underbellies, ghost sharks are strangely beautiful from end to end. These ethereal creatures also go by the names elephant shark, makorepe, whitefish, and plownose chimaera. But although they’re called sharks, technically, ghost sharks aren’t actually sharks at all.
Like other sharks, ghost sharks share the name Chondrichthyes and are considered cartilaginous fish, but ghost sharks are in the subclass known as Holocephali.
Ghost sharks grow to about four feet in length and are most recognizable by their trademark snouts. These distinctive “noses” are covered in pores that help the sharks find food by sensing motion and electrical currents.
Ghost sharks have three tooth plates. The plates on their bottom jaws are perfect for crushing, while the plates on the upper jaw are sharp and serrated. Oh, and these fish live in temperate waters off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.
3. Greenland Shark
With an average speed of less than 1 mile per hour (and a top speed of 1.6 mph), Greenland sharks are among the slowest moving fish in the ocean. Not only that, but it takes them a full seven seconds just to move their tails back and forth. Yet, despite their gentle speed, these comical-looking sharks somehow manage to catch much faster prey. So how do they do it?
Well, scientists think that the sharks sneak up on seals while they’re sleeping. Fortunately, they don't have to snap up the whole seal in one bite. Instead, they use a sucking motion that draws their prey in. Still, that doesn’t explain how they catch polar bears and even reindeer!
Once their prey has been secured, Greenland sharks bury their top, dagger-like teeth into their victims. These hold the flesh in place while the jagged bottom teeth cut the food into bite-sized pieces.
Greenland sharks can grow to up to 21 feet long and weigh up to 2,250 lbs. They live at depths of between 600 and 2,400 feet, further north than any other shark species – and where the water temperature can be as low as 28 °F! Finally, unlike many sharks, their flesh is poisonous and smells like urine. Strange to taste as well as to look at, then!
2. Wobbegong Shark
Depending on the species, these strange, shaggy looking sharks can measure between four and just less than ten feet long. Wobbegongs, or “carpet sharks,” are masters of disguise, making good use of their speckled skin and whiskery barbs to blend in with the ocean floor and set up ambushes for prey. When an unsuspecting fish, crab, octopus, or even another shark swims close enough, the wobbegong attacks at speed, opening its large mouth and snapping its jaws closed.
Wobbegongs can also dislocate their jaws for a wider bite, and their teeth point backwards, making it nearly impossible for their prey to slip free. “With enough time,” says researcher Daniela Ceccarelli, “they can dismember and consume prey larger than themselves.”
Some wobbegongs have even been known to attack humans – although this usually only happens if they are stepped on by accident. These sharks are most common around Australia and Indonesia, and their name is thought to originate from the Aboriginal word for “shaggy beard.” Australians enjoy eating wobbegong meat, known as flake, with fries. Us? We’d rather spend time looking at these suckers than eating them.
1. Goblin Shark
Goblin sharks are as rare as they are hideous and inhabit the dark depths of the ocean – below 820 feet. These fascinating sea creatures have huge shovel-shaped snouts, which help them to sense food. But the most unusual feature of the goblin shark is its protrusible jaw.
Mostly, goblin sharks keep their jaws “folded” back at eye level. However, when food comes along, the jaws, armed with razor-like teeth, snap forward – a bit like a pair of tongs. At the same time, the shark uses its tongue to suck its hapless prey into its terrifying mouth.
Another odd and un-shark-like characteristic of goblin sharks is their pink skin and blue highlights. Capillaries that lie close to the surface of their bodies show through their translucent skin, giving them their distinctive coloring.
First discovered by fishermen in Japan, goblin sharks have since been found all over the world – from Australia to the Gulf of Mexico.
|
<urn:uuid:4a42a146-634e-4b10-87be-3a13922c5ca3>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://brainz.org/10-most-bizarre-looking-sharks-earth/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.964171
| 2,458
| 2.78125
| 3
|
|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In Chapter 15, what does May Kasahara wish she could do with every wig she makes?
2. At the beginning of Chapter 25, why is Toru heartened by his life?
3. Where are Toru and May Kasahara as they talk in Chapter 39?
4. Where on Noboru Wataya's body does Toru land a blow first?
5. Who acted as May Kasahara's sponsor in securing her the factory job?
Short Essay Questions
1. What happens to Noboru Wataya in Chapter 37?
2. What plan does Kumiko reveal in Chapter 17?
3. In Chapter 22, what does Kumiko say about her current state of mind?
4. What questions about The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle does Toru have in Chapter 27?
5. What does the boy in Chapter 11 find in the bag and what does he do with it?
6. How does May Kasahar's worldview change in Chapter 36?
7. What two bits of strange information does Malta Kano provide Toru in Chapter 30?
8. How does Toru overcome Noboru Wataya in Chapter 35?
9. How does Nutmeg's marriage end in Chapter 20?
10. What does Toru do after Nutmeg and Cinnamon stop coming to the residence?
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Communication is a tricky and prevalent theme in the novel. Toru Okada is bombarded with new acquaintances in nearly every chapter of the novel, and they come top him in many different ways. Write an essay, outlining the different ways in which people make contact with the protagonist of the novel. How are the telephone, mail, dreams, and an early internet chat program all utilized? How does this menagerie of different forms of communication lead to ambiguity regarding how is communicating with whom?
Essay Topic 2
The central antagonist of the novel is Noboru Wataya, a generally unpleasant but popular politician. Write an essay exploring the character arc of Noboru Wataya. How does he go from malcontent intellectual to beloved politician in such a short period? What is his opinion of Toru Okaka, and Toru's opinion of him? Describe the initial secret that Toru knows about Noboru and how this secret gives rise to a much large incrimination of Noboru Wataya. In the end, does Noboru get what he deserves?
Essay Topic 3
The world of Murakami's novel is one in which the spiritually powerful are revered. No one questions the validity of their abilities. In an essay, write about three spiritual seers/healers. What is their place in the plot, and how do they become necessary to other people's lives? With whom in the novel does each interact, and what service do they perform? Is each character viewed by the reader as benevolent or dangerous?
Part 1) Mr. Honda.
Part 2) Malta Kano.
Part 3) Nutmeg.
This section contains 963 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page)
|
<urn:uuid:7c3df0d2-e01f-4cf3-bc30-efe45c6fc9de>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/the-wind-up-bird-chronicle/test6.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.944141
| 689
| 2.609375
| 3
|
Blacksburg, Va. - Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, and collaborators at 454 Life Sciences of Branford, Conn., have sequenced the genome of Brucella abortus strain S19. Strain S19 is a naturally occurring strain of B. abortus that does not cause disease and was discovered by Dr. John Buck in 1923. It has been used for more than six decades as vaccine that protects cattle against brucellosis, an infectious disease caused by other strains of B. abortus that leads to reproductive failure in livestock.
Scientists have long wanted to know what genetic features make strain S19 suitable for use as a vaccine in cattle because it may hold the secret as to why other Brucella strains cause disease and trigger the abortion of developing embryos in livestock. The researchers have discovered a group of 24 genes that are linked to virulence by making comparisons of the newly available S19 genome sequence to previously sequenced genomes of two virulent strains of B. abortus. The paper "Genome sequence of Brucella abortus vaccine strain S19 compared to virulent strains yields candidate virulence genes" was published recently in PLoS One (May 2008, Volume 3, Issue 5, e2193).
Oswald Crasta, project director at VBI's Cyberinfrastructure Group and the corresponding author on the paper, remarked: "We have been able to leverage rapid sequencing of the S19 genome on the Roche GS-20™ and GS-FLX™ platforms, and comparative genomics narrowed down the search for Brucella virulence factors to a small group of genes. Of particular interest are four genes that show consistently large sequence differences in S19 compared with two fully sequenced virulent strains." He added: "Further studies are underway to characterize the short list of protein differences that appear to be involved in cellular processes ranging from lipid transport and metabolism to transcription and protein transport. We believe that this characterization will explain why strain S19 has been such a successful vaccine over the years and why infection with other strains leads to disease."
The initial sequencing was performed on the Roche GS-20™ at 454 Life Sciences, and subsequently repeated after the installation of the Roche GS-FLX™ in the VBI Core Laboratory Facility. Additional traditional sequencing methods were used in VBI's Core Laboratory Facility to completely finish the S19 genome sequence. Clive Evans, Associate Director of the Core Laboratory Facility at VBI, remarked: "The S19 sequence was the first bacterial genome sequenced at VBI with the new Roche GS-FLX™, which was installed in January 2007. The Roche GS-FLX™ sequence allowed us to verify and improve the original sequence, and reduced the number of gaps that needed to be covered with traditional sequencing methods. We were very pleased with the performance of the Roche GS-FLX™."
Bruno Sobral, Executive and Scientific Director of VBI and co-author, remarked: "The complete genome sequence of strain S19 helps us understand the causal molecular agents of brucellosis." He remarked: "Brucella is able to pass from animals to humans with relative ease and poses a significant public health burden for workers in the livestock industry. It is also a possible agent for agricultural, civilian and military bioterrorism. This emphasizes the need for researchers to have a handle on the genetic makeup of the different Brucella strains."
The project was supported by funding from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute provided to Bruno Sobral. The purchase of, and resequencing of the S19 genome on, the Roche GS-FLX™ was supported with funds from the Commonwealth Research Initiative. The data analysis was also funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF grant # OCI-0537461 to Oswald Crasta). The preparation and submission of genomic sequences to GenBank and annotation were funded by NIAID Contract HHSN26620040035C to Bruno Sobral.
The manuscript is available on-line at http://www.
The genome sequence is available at VBI's PATRIC website: http://patric.
The S19 genome sequence is also available online at GenBank (accession numbers CP000887 and CP000888).
About the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute
The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech has a research platform centered on understanding the "disease triangle" of host-pathogen-environment interactions in plants, humans and other animals. By successfully channeling innovation into transdisciplinary approaches that combine information technology and biology, researchers at VBI are addressing some of today's key challenges in the biomedical, environmental and plant sciences. www.vbi.vt.edu
|
<urn:uuid:0bbb08ab-dcae-4bd8-98cc-b5ce1f6c5791>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/vt-bas060508.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.94383
| 975
| 2.6875
| 3
|
Over geologic time, plate movements in concert with other geologic processes, such as glacial and stream erosion, have created some of nature's most magnificent scenery. The Himalayas, the Swiss Alps, and the Andes are some spectacular examples. Yet violent earthquakes related to plate tectonics have caused terrible catastrophes -- such as the magnitude-7.7 earthquake that struck the Chinese province of Hebei in 1976 and killed as many as 800,000 people.
Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions do not strike randomly but occur in specific areas, such as along plate boundaries. One such area is the circum-Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Pacific Plate meets many surrounding plates. The Ring of Fire is the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world.
Because many major population centers are located near active fault zones, such as the San Andreas, millions of people have suffered personal and economic losses as a result of destructive earthquakes, and even more have experienced earthquake motions. Not surprisingly, some people believe that, when the "Big One" hits, California will suddenly "break off" and "fall into the Pacific," or that the Earth will "open up" along the fault and "swallow" people, cars, and houses. Such beliefs have no scientific basis whatsoever. Although ground slippage commonly takes place in a large earthquake, the Earth will not open up. Nor will California fall into the sea, because the fault zone only extends about 15 km deep, which is only about a quarter of the thickness of the continental crust. Furthermore, California is composed of continental crust, whose relatively low density keeps it riding high, like an iceberg above the ocean.
Aerial view, looking north toward San Francisco, of Crystal Springs Reservoir, which follows the San Andreas fault zone. (Photograph by Robert E. Wallace, USGS.)
Like all transform plate boundaries, the San Andreas is a strike-slip fault, movement along which is dominantly horizontal. Specifically, the San Andreas fault zone separates the Pacific and North American Plates, which are slowly grinding past each other in a roughly north-south direction. The Pacific Plate (western side of the fault) is moving horizontally in a northerly direction relative to the North American Plate (eastern side of the fault). Evidence of the sideways shift of these two landmasses can be found all along the fault zone, as seen from the differences in topography, geologic structures, and, sometimes, vegetation of the terrain from one side of the fault to the other. For example, the San Andreas runs directly along Crystal Springs Reservoir on the San Francisco Peninsula. Topographically, this reservoir fills a long, straight, narrow valley that was formed by erosion of the easily erodible rocks mashed within the fault zone.
Movement along the San Andreas can occur either in sudden jolts or in a slow, steady motion called creep. Fault segments that are actively creeping experience many small to moderate earthquakes that cause little or no damage. These creeping segments are separated by segments of infrequent earthquake activity (called seismic gaps), areas that are stuck or locked in place within the fault zone. Locked segments of the fault store a tremendous amount of energy that can build up for decades, or even centuries, before being unleashed in devastating earthquakes. For example, the Great San Francisco Earthquake (8.3-magnitude) in 1906 ruptured along a previously locked 430 km-long segment of the San Andreas, extending from Cape Men-docino south to San Juan Bautista.
Map of the San Andreas and a few of the other faults in California, segments of which display different behavior: locked or creeping (see text). (Simplified from USGS Professional Paper 1515.)
The stresses that accumulate along a locked segment of the fault and the sudden release can be visualized by bending a stick until it breaks. The stick will bend fairly easily, up to a certain point, until the stress becomes too great and it snaps. The vibrations felt when the stick breaks represent the sudden release of the stored-up energy. Similarly, the seismic vibrations produced when the ground suddenly ruptures radiate out through the Earth's interior from the rupture point, called the earthquake focus. The geographic point directly above the focus is called the earthquake epicenter. In a major earthquake, the energy released can cause damage hundreds to thousands of kilometers away from the epicenter.
A dramatic photograph of horses killed by falling debris during the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, when a locked segment of the San Andreas fault suddenly lurched, causing a devastating magnitude-8.3 earthquake. (Photograph by Edith Irvine, courtesy of Brigham Young University Library, Provo, Utah.)
The magnitude-7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake of October 1989 occurred along a segment of the San Andreas Fault which had been locked since the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Even though the earthquake's focus (approximately 80 km south of San Francisco) was centered in a sparsely populated part of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the earthquake still caused 62 deaths and nearly $6 billion in damage. Following the Loma Prieta earthquake, the fault remains locked from Pt. Arena, where it enters California from the ocean, south through San Francisco and the peninsula west of San Francisco Bay, thus posing the threat of a potential destructive earthquake occurring in a much more densely populated area.
The lesser known Hayward Fault running east of San Francisco Bay, however,
may pose a potential threat as great as, or perhaps even greater than, the
San Andreas. From the televised scenes of the damage caused by the 7.2-magnitude
earthquake that struck Kobe, Japan, on 16 January 1995, Bay Area residents
saw the possible devastation that could occur if a comparable size earthquake
were to strike along the Hayward Fault. This is because the Hayward and
the Nojima fault that produced the Kobe earthquake are quite similar in
several ways. Not only are they of the same type (strike-slip), they are
also about the same length (60p;80 km) and both cut through densely
populated urban areas, with many buildings, freeways, and other structures
built on unstable bay landfill.
On 17 January 1994, one of the costliest natural disasters in United States history struck southern California. A magnitude-6.6 earthquake hit near Northridge, a community located in the populous San Fernando Valley within the City of Los Angeles, California. This disaster, which killed more than 60 people, caused an estimated $30 billion in damage, nearly five times that resulting from the Loma Prieta earthquake. The Northridge earthquake did not directly involve movement along one of the strands of the San Andreas Fault system. It instead occurred along the Santa Monica Mountains Thrust Fault, one of several smaller, concealed faults (called blind thrust faults) south of the San Andreas Fault zone where it bends to the east, roughly paralleling the Transverse Mountain Range. With a thrust fault, whose plane is inclined to the Earth's surface, one side moves upward over the other. Movement along a blind thrust fault does not break the ground surface, thus making it difficult or impossible to map these hidden but potentially dangerous faults. Although scientists have found measurable uplift at several places in the Transverse Range, they have not found any conclusive evidence of ground rupture from the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Similar earthquakes struck the region in 1971 and 1987; the San Fernando earthquake (1971) caused substantial damage, including the collapse of a hospital and several freeway overpasses.
Not all fault movement is as violent and destructive. Near the city of Hollister in central California, the Calaveras Fault bends toward the San Andreas. Here, the Calaveras fault creeps at a slow, steady pace, posing little danger. Much of the Calaveras fault creeps at an average rate of 5 to 6 mm/yr. On average, Hollister has some 20,000 earthquakes a year, most of which are too small to be felt by residents. It is rare for an area undergoing creep to experience an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 6.0 because stress is continually being relieved and, therefore, does not accumulate. Fault-creep movement generally is non-threatening, resulting only in gradual offset of roads, fences, sidewalks, pipelines, and other structures that cross the fault. However, the persistence of fault creep does pose a costly nuisance in terms of maintenance and repair.
Mid-plate earthquakes -- those occurring in the interiors of plates -- are much less frequent than those along plate boundaries and more difficult to explain. Earthquakes along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States are most likely related in some way to the westward movement of the North American Plate away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a continuing process begun with the break-up of Pangaea. However, the causes of these infrequent earthquakes are still not understood.
East Coast earthquakes, such as the one that struck Charleston, South Carolina, in 1886 are felt over a much larger area than earthquakes occurring on the West Coast, because the eastern half of the country is mainly composed of older rock that has not been fractured and cracked by frequent earthquake activity in the recent geologic past. Rock that is highly fractured and crushed absorbs more seismic energy than rock that is less fractured. The Charleston earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of about 7.0, was felt as far away as Chicago, more than 1,300 km to the northwest, whereas the 7.1-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquakes was felt no farther than Los Angeles, about 500 km south. The most widely felt earthquakes ever to strike the United States were centered near the town of New Madrid, Missouri, in 1811 and 1812. Three earthquakes, felt as far away as Washington D.C., were each estimated to be above 8.0 in magnitude. Most of us do not associate earthquakes with New York City, but beneath Manhattan is a network of intersecting faults, a few of which are capable of causing earthquakes. The most recent earthquake to strike New York City occurred in 1985 and measured 4.0 in magnitude, and a pair of earthquakes (magnitude 4.0 and 4.5) shook Reading, Pennsylvania, in January 1994 causing minor damage.
Left: Creeping along the Calaveras fault has bent the retaining wall and offset the sidewalk along 5th Street in Hollister, California (about 75 km south-southeast of San Jose). Right: Close-up of the offset of the curb. (Photographs by W. Jacquelyne Kious.)
We know in general how most earthquakes occur, but can we predict when they will strike? This question has challenged and frustrated scientists studying likely precursors to moderate and large earthquakes. Since the early 1980s, geologists and seismologists have been intensively studying a segment of the San Andreas near the small town of Parkfield, located about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, to try to detect the physical and chemical changes that might take place -- both above and below ground -- before an earthquake strikes. The USGS and State and local agencies have blanketed Parkfield and the surrounding countryside with seismographs, creep meters, stress meters, and other ground-motion measurement devices.
The Parkfield segment has experienced earthquakes measuring magnitude 6.0 about every 22 years on average since 1881. During the most recent two earthquakes (1934, 1966), the same section of the fault slipped and the amount of slippage was about the same. In 1983, this evidence, in addition to the earlier recorded history of earthquake activity, led the USGS to predict that there was a 95 percent chance of a 6.0 earthquake striking Parkfield before 1993. But the anticipated earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or greater did not materialize. The Parkfield experiment is continuing, and its primary goals remain unchanged: to issue a short-term prediction; to monitor and analyze geophysical and geochemical effects before, during, and after the anticipated earthquake; and to develop effective communications between scientists, emergency-management officials, and the public in responding to earthquake hazards.
While scientists are studying and identifying possible precursors leading to the next Parkfield earthquake, they also are looking at these same precursors to see if they may be occurring along other segments of the fault. Studies of past earthquakes, together with data and experience gained from the Parkfield experiment, have been used by geoscientists to estimate the probabilities of major earthquakes occurring along the entire San Andreas Fault system. In 1988, the USGS identified six segments of the San Andreas as most likely to be hit by a magnitude 6.5 or larger earthquake within the next thirty years (1988-2018). The Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 occurred along one of these six segments. The Parkfield experiment and other studies carried out by the USGS as part of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program have led to an increased official and public awareness of the inevitability of future earthquake activity in California. Consequently, residents and State and local officials have become more diligent in planning and preparing for the next big earthquake.
As with earthquakes, volcanic activity is linked to plate-tectonic processes. Most of the world's active above-sea volcanoes are located near convergent plate boundaries where subduction is occurring, particularly around the Pacific basin. However, much more volcanism -- producing about three quarters of all lava erupted on Earth -- takes place unseen beneath the ocean, mostly along the oceanic spreading centers, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise.
Subduction-zone volcanoes like Mount St. Helens (in Washington State) and Mount Pinatubo (Luzon, Philippines), are called composite cones and typically erupt with explosive force, because the magma is too stiff to allow easy escape of volcanic gases. As a consequence, tremendous internal pressures mount as the trapped gases expand during ascent, before the pent-up pressure is suddenly released in a violent eruption. Such an explosive process can be compared to putting your thumb over an opened bottle of a carbonated drink, shaking it vigorously, and then quickly removing the thumb. The shaking action separates the gases from the liquid to form bubbles, increasing the internal pressure. Quick release of the thumb allows the gases and liquid to gush out with explosive speed and force.
In 1991, two volcanoes on the western edge of the Philippine Plate produced major eruptions. On June 15, Mount Pinatubo spewed ash 40 km into the air and produced huge ash flows (also called pyroclastic flows) and mudflows that devastated a large area around the volcano. Pinatubo, located 90 km from Manila, had been dormant for 600 years before the 1991 eruption, which ranks as one of the largest eruptions in this century. Also in 1991, Japan's Unzen Volcano, located on the Island of Kyushu about 40 km east of Nagasaki, awakened from its 200-year slumber to produce a new lava dome at its summit. Beginning in June, repeated collapses of this active dome generated destructive ash flows that swept down its slopes at speeds as high as 200 km per hour. Unzen is one of more than 75 active volcanoes in Japan; its eruption in 1792 killed more than 15,000 people--the worst volcanic disaster in the country's history.
While the Unzen eruptions have caused deaths and considerable local damage, the impact of the June 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo was global. Slightly cooler than usual temperatures recorded worldwide and the brilliant sunsets and sunrises have been attributed to this eruption that sent fine ash and gases high into the stratosphere, forming a large volcanic cloud that drifted around the world. The sulfur dioxide (SO2) in this cloud -- about 22 million tons -- combined with water to form droplets of sulfuric acid, blocking some of the sunlight from reaching the Earth and thereby cooling temperatures in some regions by as much as 0.5 °C. An eruption the size of Mount Pinatubo could affect the weather for a few years. A similar phenomenon occurred in April of 1815 with the cataclysmic eruption of Tambora Volcano in Indonesia, the most powerful eruption in recorded history. Tambora's volcanic cloud lowered global temperatures by as much as 3 °C. Even a year after the eruption, most of the northern hemisphere experienced sharply cooler temperatures during the summer months. In part of Europe and in North America, 1816 was known as "the year without a summer."
Apart from possibly affecting climate, volcanic clouds from explosive eruptions also pose a hazard to aviation safety. During the past two decades, more than 60 airplanes, mostly commercial jetliners, have been damaged by in-flight encounters with volcanic ash. Some of these encounters have resulted in the power loss of all engines, necessitating emergency landings. Luckily, to date no crashes have happened be-cause of jet aircraft flying into volcanic ash.
Diagram showing the lower two layers of the atmosphere: the troposphere and the stratosphere. The tropopause--the boundary between these two layers--varies in altitude from 8 to 18 km (dashed white lines), depending on Earth latitude and season of the year. The summit of Mt. Everest (inset photograph) and the altitudes commonly flown by commercial jetliners are given for reference. (Photograph by David G. Howell, USGS.)
Since the year A.D. 1600, nearly 300,000 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions. Most deaths were caused by pyroclastic flows and mudflows, deadly hazards which often accompany explosive eruptions of subduction-zone volcanoes. Pyroclastic flows, also called nuées ardentes ("glowing clouds" in French), are fast-moving, avalanche-like, ground-hugging incandescent mixtures of hot volcanic debris, ash, and gases that can travel at speeds in excess of 150 km per hour. Approximately 30,000 people were killed by pyroclastic flows during the 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée on the Island of Martinique in the Caribbean. In March-April 1982, three explosive eruptions of El Chichón Volcano in the State of Chiapas, southeastern Mexico, caused the worst volcanic disaster in that country's history. Villages within 8 km of the volcano were destroyed by pyroclastic flows, killing more than 2,000 people.
Mudflows (also called debris flows or lahars, an Indonesian term for volcanic mudflows) are mixtures of volcanic debris and water. The water usually comes from two sources: rainfall or the melting of snow and ice by hot volcanic debris. Depending on the proportion of water to volcanic material, mudflows can range from soupy floods to thick flows that have the consistency of wet cement. As mudflows sweep down the steep sides of composite volcanoes, they have the strength and speed to flatten or bury everything in their paths. Hot ash and pyroclastic flows from the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano in Colombia, South America, melted snow and ice atop the 5,390-m-high Andean peak; the ensuing mudflows buried the city of Armero, killing 25,000 people.
Eruptions of Hawaiian and most other mid-plate volcanoes differ greatly from those of composite cones. Mauna Loa and Kilauea, on the island of Hawaii, are known as shield volcanoes, because they resemble the wide, rounded shape of an ancient warrior's shield. Shield volcanoes tend to erupt non-explosively, mainly pouring out huge volumes of fluid lava. Hawaiian-type eruptions are rarely life threatening because the lava advances slowly enough to allow safe evacuation of people, but large lava flows can cause considerable economic loss by destroying property and agricultural lands. For example, lava from the ongoing eruption of Kilauea, which began in January 1983, has destroyed more than 200 structures, buried kilometers of highways, and disrupted the daily lives of local residents. Because Hawaiian volcanoes erupt frequently and pose little danger to humans, they provide an ideal natural laboratory to safely study volcanic phenomena at close range. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, on the rim of Kilauea, was among the world's first modern volcano observatories, established early in this century.
In recorded history, explosive eruptions at subduction-zone (convergent-boundary) volcanoes have posed the greatest hazard to civilizations. Yet scientists have estimated that about three quarters of the material erupted on Earth each year originates at spreading mid-ocean ridges. However, no deep submarine eruption has yet been observed "live" by scientists. Because the great water depths preclude easy observation, few detailed studies have been made of the numerous possible eruption sites along the tremendous length (50,000 km) of the global mid-oceanic ridge system. Recently however, repeated surveys of specific sites along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, off the coast of the Oregon and Washington, have mapped deposits of fresh lava, which must have been erupted sometime between the surveys. In June 1993, seismic signals typically associated with submarine eruptions -- called T-phases -- were detected along part of the spreading Juan de Fuca Ridge and interpreted as being caused by eruptive activity.
Iceland, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is exposed on land, is a different story. It is easy to see many Icelandic volcanoes erupt non-explosively from fissure vents, in similar fashion to typical Hawaiian eruptions; others, like Hekla Volcano, erupt explosively. (After Hekla's catastrophic eruption in 1104, it was thought in the Christian world to be the "Mouth to Hell.") The voluminous, but mostly non-explosive, eruption at Lakagígar (Laki), Iceland, in 1783, resulted in one of the world's worst volcanic disasters. About 9,000 people -- almost 20% of the country's population at the time -- died of starvation after the eruption, because their livestock had perished from grazing on grass contaminated by fluorine-rich gases emitted during this eight month-long eruption.
Major earthquakes occurring along subduction zones are especially hazardous, because they can trigger tsunamis (from the Japanese word tsunami meaning "harbor wave") and pose a potential danger to coastal communities and islands that dot the Pacific. Tsunamis are often mistakenly called "tidal waves" when, in fact, they have nothing to do with tidal action. Rather, tsunamis are seismic sea waves caused by earthquakes, submarine landslides, and, infrequently, by eruptions of island volcanoes. During a major earthquake, the seafloor can move by several meters and an enormous amount of water is suddenly set into motion, sloshing back and forth for several hours. The result is a series of waves that race across the ocean at speeds of more than 800 km per hour, comparable to those of commercial jetliners. The energy and momentum of these transoceanic waves can take them thousands of kilometers from their origin before slamming into far-distant islands or coastal areas.
A giant wave engulfs the pier at Hilo, Hawaii, during the 1946 tsunami, which killed 159 people. The arrow points to a man who was swept away seconds later. (Retouched photograph courtesy of NOAA/EDIS.)
To someone on a ship in the open ocean, the passage of a tsunami wave would barely elevate the water surface. However, when it reaches shallower water near the coastline and "touches bottom," the tsunami wave increases in height, piling up into an enormous wall of water. As a tsunami approaches the shore, the water near shore commonly recedes for several minutes -- long enough for someone to be lured out to collect exposed sea shells, fish, etc. -- before suddenly rushing back toward land with frightening speed and height.
The 1883 eruption of Krakatau Volcano, located in the Sunda Straits between the islands of Sumatra and Java, Indonesia, provides an excellent example of an eruption-caused tsunami. A series of tsunamis washed away 165 coastal villages on Java and Sumatra, killing 36,000 people. The larger tsunamis were recorded by tide gauges as far away as the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula-more than 7,000 km from Krakatau!
Because of past killer tsunamis, which have caused hundreds of deaths on the Island of Hawaii and elsewhere, the International Tsunami Information Center was created in 1965. This center issues tsunami warnings based on earthquake and wave-height information gathered from seismic and tide-gauge stations located around the Pacific Ocean basin and on Hawaii.
Many of the Earth's natural resources of energy, minerals, and soil are concentrated near past or present plate boundaries. The utilization of these readily available resources have sustained human civilizations, both now and in the past.
Volcanoes can clearly cause much damage and destruction, but in the long term they also have benefited people. Over thousands to millions of years, the physical breakdown and chemical weathering of volcanic rocks have formed some of the most fertile soils on Earth. In tropical, rainy regions, such as the windward (northeastern) side of the Island of Hawaii, the formation of fertile soil and growth of lush vegetation following an eruption can be as fast as a few hundred years. Some of the earliest civilizations (for example, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman) settled on the rich, fertile volcanic soils in the Mediterranean-Aegean region. Some of the best rice-growing regions of Indonesia are in the shadow of active volcanoes. Similarly, many prime agricultural regions in the western United States have fertile soils wholly or largely of volcanic origin.
Most of the metallic minerals mined in the world, such as copper, gold, silver, lead, and zinc, are associated with magmas found deep within the roots of extinct volcanoes located above subduction zones. Rising magma does not always reach the surface to erupt; instead it may slowly cool and harden beneath the volcano to form a wide variety of crystalline rocks (generally called plutonic or granitic rocks). Some of the best examples of such deep-seated granitic rocks, later exposed by erosion, are magnificently displayed in California's Yosemite National Park. Ore deposits commonly form around the magma bodies that feed volcanoes because there is a ready supply of heat, which convectively moves and circulates ore-bearing fluids. The metals, originally scattered in trace amounts in magma or surrounding solid rocks, become concentrated by circulating hot fluids and can be redeposited, under favorable temperature and pressure conditions, to form rich mineral veins.
The active volcanic vents along the spreading mid-ocean ridges create ideal environments for the circulation of fluids rich in minerals and for ore deposition. Water as hot as 380 °C gushes out of geothermal springs along the spreading centers. The water has been heated during circulation by contact with the hot volcanic rocks forming the ridge. Deep-sea hot springs containing an abundance of dark-colored ore minerals (sulfides) of iron, copper, zinc, nickel, and other metals are called "black smokers." On rare occasions, such deep-sea ore deposits are later exposed in remnants of ancient oceanic crust that have been scraped off and left ("beached") on top of continental crust during past subduction processes. The Troodos Massif on the Island of Cyprus is perhaps the best known example of such ancient oceanic crust. Cyprus was an important source of copper in the ancient world, and Romans called copper the "Cyprian metal"; the Latin word for copper is cyprium.
Oil and natural gas are the products of the deep burial and decomposition of accumulated organic material in geologic basins that flank mountain ranges formed by plate-tectonic processes. Heat and pressure at depth transform the decomposed organic material into tiny pockets of gas and liquid petroleum, which then migrate through the pore spaces and larger openings in the surrounding rocks and collect in reservoirs, generally within 5 km of the Earth's surface. Coal is also a product of accumulated decomposed plant debris, later buried and compacted beneath overlying sediments. Most coal originated as peat in ancient swamps created many millions of years ago, associated with the draining and flooding of landmasses caused by changes in sea level related to plate tectonics and other geologic processes. For example, the Appalachian coal deposits formed about 300 million years ago in a low-lying basin that was alternately flooded and drained.
Geothermal energy can be harnessed from the Earth's natural heat associated with active volcanoes or geologically young inactive volcanoes still giving off heat at depth. Steam from high-temperature geothermal fluids can be used to drive turbines and generate electrical power, while lower temperature fluids provide hot water for space-heating purposes, heat for greenhouses and industrial uses, and hot or warm springs at resort spas. For example, geothermal heat warms more than 70 percent of the homes in Iceland, and The Geysers geothermal field in Northern California produces enough electricity to meet the power demands of San Francisco. In addition to being an energy resource, some geo-thermal waters also contain sulfur, gold, silver, and mercury that can be recovered as a byproduct of energy production.
As global population increases and more countries become industrialized, the world demand for mineral and energy resources will continue to grow. Because people have been using natural resources for millennia, most of the easily located mineral, fossil-fuel, and geothermal resources have already been tapped. By necessity, the world's focus has turned to the more remote and inaccessible regions of the world, such as the ocean floor, the polar continents, and the resources that lie deeper in the Earth's crust. Finding and developing such resources without damage to the environment will present a formidable challenge in the coming decades. An improved knowledge of the relationship between plate tectonics and natural resources is essential to meeting this challenge.
Farmer plowing a lush rice paddy in central Java, Indonesia; Sundoro Volcano looms in the background. The most highly prized rice-growing areas have fertile soils formed from the breakdown of young volcanic deposits. (Photograph by Robert I. Tilling, USGS.)
The long-term benefits of plate tectonics should serve as a constant reminder to us that the planet Earth occupies a unique niche in our solar system. Appreciation of the concept of plate tectonics and its consequences has reinforced the notion that the Earth is an integrated whole, not a random collection of isolated parts. The global effort to better understand this revolutionary concept has helped to unite the earth-sciences community and to underscore the linkages between the many different scientific disciplines. As we enter the 21st century, when the Earth's finite resources will be further strained by explosive population growth, earth scientists must strive to better understand our dynamic planet. We must become more resourceful in reaping the long-term benefits of plate tectonics, while coping with its short-term adverse impacts, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Last updated: 05.05.99
|
<urn:uuid:59a9e84c-d5ad-4111-95be-846b5b393d2f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/tectonics.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.949174
| 6,396
| 4.1875
| 4
|
"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos, the trees, the clouds, everything."
Thich Nhat Hanh
Acupuncture is both a science and a healing art. It is the most popular
therapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that additionally comprises
Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, Tui-na
(Chinese Massage) and Qi Gong.
Clinical results for TCM have been recorded in writing for over 2000 years,
and it is the oldest continually practiced healthcare system in the world. The
World Health Organization estimates that more people worldwide use Acupuncture
over any other form of health care.
The ancient Chinese
believed that there is a universal life energy called Qi that is present in
every living creature. Qi is a bio-energy that circulates throughout the body
and vital organs along specific pathways that are called meridians. Any disturbance to the flow or balance of Qi may
result in pain, dysfunction, or ill health. Acupuncture
works to "re-program" and restore normal functions by stimulating certain
points on the meridians in order to remove disease.
|
<urn:uuid:d6d2e789-a54d-4d29-ba4e-89d2213c7cf7>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.acupuncture-east.co.uk/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.917191
| 237
| 2.6875
| 3
|
This article reviews the design and operation of a transportable neutron spectrometer. Four of these instruments were produced and have been widely used for applications such as the assessment and classification of radiation hazards at field sites in the United Kingdom and Europe. An overview of the instrument hardware is presented, together with a description of the six sensor channels, their associated processing electronics and the host data logger computer. Spectral unfolding is also summarized and a sample spectra, which was measured from outside a fuel flask, is given. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.
|
<urn:uuid:11e6b590-2301-47f0-9783-b86d96c50836>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/unique-broadspectrum-neutron-sensing-instrument(bd51b970-7118-4f8a-afa4-ff48068e1d70).html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00130-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.967496
| 109
| 2.8125
| 3
|
Definition of Atrioventricular (AV)
Atrioventricular (AV): Pertaining to the atria (the upper chambers of the heart) and the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart).
The AV node is an electrical relay station between the atria and the ventricles. Electrical signals from the atria must pass through the AV node to reach the ventricles. The AV node is a major element in the cardiac conduction system that generates electrical impulses within the heart, conducts them throughout the muscle of the heart, stimulates the heart to contract and pump blood, and so controls the heart rate.Source: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary
Last Editorial Review: 5/13/2016
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z
Search Medical Dictionary
|
<urn:uuid:0b2c16ed-9883-4087-94b9-825e5aed8b43>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=8526
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.808016
| 160
| 3.328125
| 3
|
Haida Gwaii, the misty islands, how dramatically they have changed over the last years! The multinational timber companies that once dominated the economy and dictated public policy on this archipelago that sits off the coast of British Columbia are gone. More than half of the land is now protected.
The economy, measured by conventional indicators, is weaker. The population of Sandspit, long an industry town, has dropped from 700 to 200. Government agencies, including the Ministry of Forests, which once supported 60 families in the village of Queen Charlotte alone, have indiscriminately shed employees.
But little of this has affected the Haida, who were never beneficiaries of a timber boom that promised to destroy their homeland.
To a remarkable degree they have lived outside of the formal economy, relying instead on the sustainable resources of the land–salmon, halibut, venison, crabs, octopus, seaweed, herring roe, clams, sea urchins, berries, abalone, and cedar. “When the tide is out,” the Haida like to say, “the table is set.”
The collapse of industrial logging has in fact coincided with a revitalization of Haida culture that few could have anticipated when the whine of chainsaws overpowered all other sounds in the forest.
There is no better place to take measure of this astonishing transformation than the Haida Heritage Centre. Home to the finest collection of argillite carvings in the world, as well as contemporary art and scores of wooden and stone artifacts recovered from ghostly villages scattered throughout the archipelago, the Centre is the symbol of the resurrection of Haida culture.
It is also the site where master artist Bill Reid in 1975 accepted Guujaaw as his apprentice. Together they carved and raised one of the first totem poles to be erected after a roughly 100-year lapse in the sacred tradition. It was as though a new wind had blown through the hearts of the Haida.
Since then totem poles have sprung up by the score, emblems of rebirth but also signs of a new economy based on the creation of high art–masks, cedar bent boxes, gold and silver jewelry, exquisite prints, button blankets, and robes–fashioned both for sale and for ritual activities.
We drove north from the museum, along the eastern shore of Graham Island, through the fields of Tlell, and past the cabin where, on one fateful night some four decades ago, Guujaaw, destined to be head of the Haida Nation, and Thom Henley (Huckleberry to his friends) scratched a line across a map of the islands and vowed to save everything south of it. Most laughed it off, saying it could never be done, but today that line is the northern frontier of Gwaii Haanas, the national park we will begin to explore tomorrow.
The bogs of Naikoon carried me past Port Clements, once home to the “Golden Spruce” and the “White Raven,” both long dead, destroyed by man. Crossing a causeway we reached Old Massett, home to the Eagle moiety.
As a member of the Raven moiety, and a descendant of the people of Skedans, she would have in the old days been betrothed in an arranged marriage to an Eagle, securing for her family a reciprocal bond in kinship and commerce. But she had chosen instead to marry in the modern way, a love marriage with a non-Haida she had met at a logging camp.
Though the marriage didn’t last, its consequences endured. By marrying a white man she lost her legal status as a native person. When a Haida man, she explained, married a white woman, he not only retained his status, but his wife became Haida as well. This, Linda explained, was but another means by which the dominant white society worked to undermine the traditional social structure of the matrilineal Haida.
Divested of her status, ostracized socially, and denied even the right to gather food from traditional sources, Linda found herself in limbo, both psychologically and materially. She had little choice but to leave the islands. It took 25 years for her to return.
In Old Massett we were welcomed at the long house of Christian White, an exceptional Haida carver of argillite, canoes, and totem poles, and one of the leading cultural figures of Haida Gwaii. With his wife Candace, an anthropologist and teacher of the Haida language, he leads a cultural revival based on song and dance, ritual and dreams, all of it rooted in the art of creation that is at the heart of the Haida.
One dance was that of shark, mother of dogfish. Another recalled a gesture of peace, a warrior in movement leaving eagle feathers in his wake, just as shamans quelled the wrath of the sea by scattering them down upon the waves. Christian reminded me that these songs and dances were the currency of the Haida.
Material goods could come and go, happily, without regret or attachment in the reciprocal gift exchange that was the potlatch. The songs and dances by contrast were actual wealth, real and meaningful possessions, a kind of prayer for the well-being of the community that could only be performed by those who had inherited the right to bring them into the world.
Christian later brought me to his carving shed, a workshop where cedar logs 60 feet long were being transformed into totem poles and canoes, with paddles carved from yew wood and fish nets spun from cedar bark and nettles. Outside, with a fine mist in the air, he shared the stories of the poles he had erected for his family and ancestors. These were not small undertakings. Each pole required 500 men to put up, a thousand more to bear witness, and all had to be fed and gifted for the event to shine as a community memory that would never fade.
House poles, carved flat in the back to rest easily against the facade of the long house, feature the heraldic crests of the family–Raven, Eagle, Frog, Bear–as an aristocratic European clan might display its coat of arms. Memorial poles, by contrast, are meant to be observed from all sides and carved in the round. These, too, are decorated with heraldry to honor the one being remembered.
Mortuary poles are burials, each with a cedar box held high off the ground, in which would be placed the bones of the deceased. Finally, there are story poles, which, as their name suggests, recall a narrative–a powerful and meaningful moment in time.
Regardless of type, Christian noted, each pole took months to create. Each had to be buried nine feet in the ground, in a bed of stones, as ancient tradition dictated. There were no shortcuts here, nor interest in them.
Hospitality is a universal trait of culture at which the Haida excel. At Christian’s canoe house a dozen women prepared a feast while we slipped away to visit Jim Hart, arguably the greatest Haida artist still living, just up the road. Jim and his family welcomed us into their home. A tirelessly prolific artist, Jim shared, with immense grace and warmth, his plans for a dozen new projects, each more monumental and ambitious than the last. A new pole to be carved, a story to be told of the residential schools, and a new era of hope, reconciliation, and forgiveness for all.
Jim’s work is internationally renowned, and his pieces are to be found in museums and galleries throughout the world. To have been invited into his home, in the presence of his family, to watch as he carved, to hear how he honed his thoughts, each a story as sharp as a knife, was a privilege I won’t soon forget.
As the rain began to fall, we returned to the canoe house for a final blessing from Christian and his family, a glorious spread of salmon, herring roe, seaweed, and crab prepared for us with kindness and generosity by some of the most wonderful people I will ever have a chance to meet.
|
<urn:uuid:5d2d10a0-5f77-47a9-afb4-abdb369aa902>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/30/the-magic-of-haida-gwaii/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00019-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97479
| 1,690
| 2.90625
| 3
|
In Kenya, selling human waste could revolutionize sanitation
Working directly with residents of Mukuru, one of Nairobi's largest slums, Sanergy has developed a promising new method to improve sanitation through low-tech, low-cost toilets that create organic fertilizer.
Dealing with human waste has become a health crisis in many poor communities, but residents of a Kenyan slum have found a solution that turns poop into profit.
Working directly with residents of Mukuru, one of Nairobi’s largest slums, an MIT spin-off company called Sanergy has developed a promising new method to improve sanitation. Instead of promoting sanitation through education, Sanergy has addressed the core reason why many residents must still defecate in pits or in the street: a lack of access to toilets.
But contrary to the idea behind last year’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge by the Gates Foundation, Sanergy co-founder David Auerbach says that access to innovative toilets alone isn’t enough to spread sanitation practices.
“When it comes to sanitation, it’s no longer a question of, ‘Can you bring someone a good toilet?’” said Auerbach. “If that’s the answer we would have already solved it.
“You need to address the entire sanitation value chain to solve the challenge,” he continued.
Sanergy’s toilets are low-tech and low-cost, but they have a key feature: They come with removable waste cartridges. Local entrepreneurs buy and operate the toilets, charging users a small monthly membership fee. Sanergy then collects the waste and processes it into organic, sell-able fertilizer. Soon the company plans to process the waste into biogas, biochar and several types of plastic, as well.
Creating business relationships means that toilet operators earn steady income from their investments, and waste treatment pays for itself. It benefits people you would expect like the toilet users, who now have access to a clean and private space to go to the bathroom, and people you wouldn’t, like the farmers who pay less for the processed, organic fertilizer.
Around the world, a lack of sanitation puts 2.5 billion people at risk of diseases like dysentery, cholera, typhus fever, and typhoid. Every year 1.6 million children die from preventable, sanitation-related diseases. A lack of clean toilets and clean water is “a compound magnifier of poverty, ill-health, and mortality,” said U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe.
Sanergy grew out of a MIT class on building entrepreneurial ventures in developing countries. When students learned the depth of the global sanitation problem, they saw a business opportunity. Human waste, they believed, didn't have to be waste at all.
Sanergy’s answer is "no." Since opening its first toilet for business in 2011, the company has installed 330 toilets, collected 1,800 tons of waste, and created 350 jobs in Mukuru, an area with 40 percent unemployment.
Local toilet operator Agnes Kwamboka says the project changed her life. Before working with Sanergy, Kwamboka sold an illicit beer called chang’aa to support her family.
“People look at you and think you are a prostitute,” Kwamboka said about that time of her life. “When I used to sell chang’aa, many men used to enter my stall. They thought they could just use me like a broom. Policemen used to demand a bribe of 500 shillings each day.”
Now, as a Fresh Life Toilet operator, Kwamboka feels secure.
“The Fresh Life Toilet has given me peace of mind. My children used to steal, but now they don’t have to,” she said. “I keep all my profits, and I’m able to provide for my family and also pay off my debts.”
Sanergy aims to expand in Mukuru and start producing renewable energy as well from the collected human waste. The company’s founders hope to expand into other areas in Kenya, then Africa, and eventually into Asia, where sanitation needs are critical.
Right now, though, the company is focused on its work in Mukuru.
“We need to get it right in the community we’re serving first,” Auerback said.
The project has won widespread recognition. It took first in the 2011 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and has received awards from MassChallenge, MIT’s Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, and the Lemelson Foundation.
What makes Sanergy’s project so strong? It is a great example of developing a sanitation solution that is scalable and sustainable.
- Market-driven. Participants pay, but the benefits they gain far outweigh the cost. For example, people get to use safe, clean, and private bathrooms for a small monthly fee. The toilet operators must invest in their business, but they earn more than enough to pay back that investment and support their families.
- Fits local needs. Sanergy focused on addressing major local issues, such as the lack of sanitation and unemployment, and tapped into the existing entrepreneurial spirit. And to make sure the project would be locally profitable, Sanergy tested toilet and waste-processing designs in Mukuru and another slum, Kibera, before scaling up the project.
- Sanergy’s work connects participants and innovates new solutions as needed. Pay toilets already existed in Mukuru, but they were not designed so that the waste could be collected. Toilet owners had a hard time making a profit. In addition to creating a better toilet design, Sanergy also developed the waste-to-fertilizer factories – the major gap in the value chain from poopers to planters.
But the most exciting feature of Sanergy’s sanitation value chain is that it can be used anywhere. Sanergy’s success in Mukuru shows that sanitation can be solved around the globe.
|
<urn:uuid:67975da4-8161-424d-84a5-6d2862663aa5>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2014/0317/In-Kenya-selling-human-waste-could-revolutionize-sanitation
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954186
| 1,269
| 2.65625
| 3
|
Africa Site Casework
The Africa Site Casework showcases efforts by the BirdLife Africa Partnership through the African Sites Casework and Emerging Threats Taskforce (ASCET) to save key threatened sites through advocacy campaigns.
Africa’s 59 countries and territories host 1,250 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). IBAs are priority sites for biodiversity conservation identified using objective and scientifically proven criteria. These criteria are based on information on birds, but the sites themselves are often important for other biodiversity and provide ecosystem services that underpin local livelihoods and national economies.
In recent years, IBAs in Africa, have been facing serious threats from human needs for development. Large ‘unsustainable development’ projects and the pressures of population growth are among the key threats to the IBAs. These threats often cause very severe damage to the IBAs, the biodiversity and the birds within them that are of significant conservation concern. As a result, the lives and livelihoods of adjacent communities are also affected.
In 2003, the Council for African Partnership (CAP), which is the main body for governance, set up the Africa Policy and Advocacy Working Group (APAWG) to advise the Partnership on policy and advocacy approaches. APAWG consists of focal points from Partners, nominated based on expertise and/or Partner interest in a subject, e.g. desertification. ASCET is a sub-group of APAWG.
The BirdLife Africa Secretariat has been leading the work especially to support partners faced with emergency threats at IBAs. The following sites highlight efforts to save some of Africa’s most threatened IBAs.
- Lake Natron, Tanzania
- Dakatcha Woodlands, Kenya
- Mutulanganga woodland, Zambia
- Wakkerstroom, South Africa
- Tana Delta, Kenya
- Lower Zambezi, Zambia
- Sao Tome, Lowland Forest
- Letseng, Lesotho
- Save Africa's flamingos with "Think Pink".
- World Migratory Bird Day Event photos at Lake Natron.
- All News articles about Lake Natron
|
<urn:uuid:a984af8f-bd3e-41de-bb59-46c87240bd42>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.birdlife.org/africa/policy/africa-site-casework
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.89956
| 437
| 3.15625
| 3
|
CHILD OF THE WARSAW GHETTO is a biographical picture book about Froim Baum’s Holocaust experience. Froim, the youngest of 7 children, was born to a Jewish tailor and his wife in Warsaw, Poland. The family struggled for survival before Germany invaded Poland. But their sorrow intensified in 1939 when the Nazis arrived.
First the Germans imposed anti-Jewish laws, singling them out for humiliation and making it impossible to earn a living.Then they herded the Jews into a 70 street section of Warsaw which they surrounded with a wall topped by barbed wire. They denied the residents of this ghetto adequate food, fuel and clothing. Starvation, abuse and death ensued. With time, the Nazis removed the Jews. Froim and his brothers were sent to a concentration camp where he narrowly escaped the gas chamber.
Back at the Jewish Ghetto, a secret group of Jews fought against the Germans for several weeks but were eventually overcome.
Froim was eventually freed by the Allied Armies. He shared his story with David Adler who wrote this book. The book is magnificently illustrated with muted pencil sketches by Karen Ritz. The pictures are appropriately somber but contain just enough color to appeal to younger readers.
This book is similar to THE WAR WITHIN THESE WALLS in that it tells the Warsaw Ghetto experience. But it differs in intensity. In THE WAR WITHIN THESE WALLS we see the story up close and personal – focusing in on specific horrors. CHILD OF THE WARSAW GHETTO gives us a broader view and is not as graphic as books for older readers.
If you wish to read books with similar stories, I can't say enough good things about MILKWEED by Jerry Spinelli which also takes place in the Warsaw Ghetto and.Jennifer Roy's YELLOW STAR, a free verse novel about the Jewish Ghetto in Lodz, Poland.
Also on this topic, a few books I have yet to read: IRENA SENDLER AND THE CHILDREN OF THE WARSAW GHETTO by Susan Goldman Rubin and JANUSZ KORCZAK'S CHILDREN by Gloria Spielman. There are more, of course. So many heartbreaking but also inspiring stories...
|
<urn:uuid:02121f98-6b5e-4ffa-b491-5f42f3f8e93e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://joycemoyerhostetter.blogspot.com/2014/03/child-of-warsaw-ghetto.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00112-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965144
| 470
| 3.25
| 3
|
Frequently Asked Questions
6. What are some common signs of gout?
Gout is a form of arthritis that frequently affects joints in the lower part of the body such as the knees, ankles, or toes. The affected joint may become swollen, red, or warm. Attacks usually occur at night. Sometime during the course of the disease, many patients will develop gout in the big toe.
Other signs and symptoms of gout include
- hyperuricemia -- high levels of uric acid in the body
- the presence of uric acid crystals in joint fluid
- more than one attack of acute arthritis
- arthritis that develops in a day, producing a swollen, red, and warm joint
- attack of arthritis in only one joint, often the toe, ankle, or knee.
|
<urn:uuid:5a65e874-3a66-425c-b3c9-0080c450df8d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/gout/faq/faq6.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00047-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.946067
| 166
| 3.296875
| 3
|
Continue to study, work, or be somewhere after others have left: 75 per cent of sixteen-year-olds stay on in full-time education
More example sentences
- He came to Umist to study business and stayed on for a masters degree at Manchester Business School.
- Mr Latham said graduates were often put off staying on for further study for fear of incurring greater student debts.
- Anyway, A-levels had to change because we have more people staying on to study them than ever before.
Definition of stay on in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
|
<urn:uuid:a310af56-8e0a-412e-9ebb-253975f2146a>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stay-on
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00124-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.971662
| 141
| 2.796875
| 3
|
CORNERSTONE: SUSTAINABILITY AND SELF-RELIANCE
HOW IT WORKS:
Short-term fixes eat up resources and don't help families learn how to provide for themselves in the longterm. Heifer projects focus on caring for animals and the Earth so that they continue to produce. Participants get an initial boost from Heifer, but help comes in the form of tools and knowledge that will allow them to make their own way.
Be mindful of your weight on the planet. Could you tread more lightly? When you can, eat foods that are grown locally. Carpool or walk. Reuse and recycle. Be aware of the true price of what you buy. Was the person who made it fairly compensated? Was the air, water or soil polluted?
See where Heifer is working around the world to end hunger.
Ecuador is in the midst of recovery after an April earthquake killed over 660 people. Little Rock-based Heifer International has been working with farmers and fishing families in the region just outside the earthquake's epicenter for decades. Oscar Castañeda, Vice President of the Americas with Heifer, spoke with KUAR's Jacob Kauffman about the path of recovery efforts... Please click the title of the article to read more!
Heifer International Supporter, Ms. Fitzgerald, shares an article from the Okanogan Independent written on Thursday, May 2nd, 1968, in Okanogan, WA... Click the link below to read the article!
After we read the World Ark article “Refuse, Reuse” that explains how animal waste can be turned into usable biogas energy, I challenged the 25 students in my 6th grade class to see if they could raise $50 to provide a biogas stove for a family in need. We agreed that if we collected additional money they could choose an animal to include in their gift. During the three weeks between Thanksgiving students paged through “The Greatest Gift” catalogs I brought to school and the funds trickled in. We decided that instead of spending money on “Secret Santa” gifts, we would give each other handmade cards and donate toward our project. Several families joined in, and our custodian even added a few extra dollars. Excitement grew as we kept track of each new contribution. By the last day of class, we had raised $125 and the class voted to add a flock of chicks and a share of a Knitter’s Basket to the gift of a stove. They also asked if they could keep going and see if they could multiply the remaining $7 to give another gift during the Spring semester. This year’s science curriculum included research on the California Drought and the need for water conservation. We learned that in parts of the world women and girls must walk long distances to get water. We also studied solar energy, made solar ovens, and learned that using solar-powered ovens means that women and girls don’t have to walk long distances to get firewood. Because I’ve been supporting Heifer’s biogas projects for several years, I decided to also introduce the students to this form of alternate energy which improves the lives of women and girls in similar ways. We read the World Ark article to understand how biogas systems work and to learn some fun vocabulary words (fertilizer, slurry, manure, and dung!). But the article went further: it connected my students with the impact of these projects on lives of real people in another country. This touched their hearts. I’m really proud of my students, many of whom struggle academically and/or are still learning English. They are also proud of what they’ve accomplished and are pleased that their small gifts will help improve the lives of struggling families. Submitted by Janet Graff
If there is enough for all, why don't we all have enough?Yasin Dguidegue
Received during the first week of January, Alice Rupel Rohrer, a long time donor, reached out to us wanting to share her donor story. We are so grateful she decided to take that extra step. Hearing from donors is not only a privilege, but allows Heifer International to learn what makes our donors tick. As you'll quickly learn, Alice's story is astounding... (Click the title of this story to learn more about Alice.)
I bought a cow! She’s being given away through Heifer International to a family in need of a reliable source of food and income. I’m giving this gift to honor you and others. We don’t need another cake or a check or small gifts, but other people in the world need sustainable food sources. Pick your favorite cow part and think of it as your part of a gift we are all giving. Why a cow? Because it is the symbol of Heifer International, and when I was 17 years old I attended a school where we were learning to live off the land. My job was to walk about a half mile to the barn, clean and feed Brownie the Cow, and milk her by hand. I then carried the buckets back, and, of course, repeated the whole process again each evening for a second milking. Our one cow gave us six gallons of milk per day. Merry Christmas! Submitted by Katherine Harris
Submitted by Nicolas | California
Submitted by Carlos | California
The poor are not responsible for their poverty and misery. Most of them struggle in conditions that are subhuman, dangerous, full of disease, hunger and despair.Pierre Ferrari
Received in the beginning of December 2015, the below letter was sent into Heifer International from Pam Nemeth, proud mother of Jake Nemeth, co-founder of The Giving Garden and recently inducted Eagle Scout. There was no way we at Heifer were going to allow Jake's hard work and dedication to go unacknowledged. We'd like to allow Pam's words to tell you more about Jake's Eagle Project, so without further ado... (Click the title of this story to read more!)
In 1969 Ralph Barnes, from Chatham, IL, a farmer and coordinator for Heifer International, called Austin Hulcher to see if he would take a load of cattle/heifers, to Miami, FL. Since the 1,400-mile trip would be non-stop, Austin called his good friend, Bud King, to help drive the truck. This trip meant loading up the heifers into a double decker trailer. The 47 heifers were chosen from prize winners at county fairs and the Illinois State Fair. Each of the heifers weighed between 600-800 pounds and were among prize winning stock. The cowboys were told the heifers would help to upgrade the stock in Bolivia, South America, where the cattle were pretty scrawny... Click the title of this story to read more!
Dear Friends, The Sheep 'n Kids Club of Washington County, NY would like to donate to Heifer International $120.00 to sponsor a sheep for a family in need. The members raised the funds this past year at their sheep to shawl public demonstrations showing all the steps involved in turning raw wool into woven or felted fabric. Below is a picture of the club showing off their t-shirts earned for their presentation to County Extension leaders. Community service is a large part of the 4-H experience and as stated in the 4-H pledge, the world is part of our community. We are pleased to be able to assist Heifer International make the lives of a family better. Sincerely, Margaret Brand, leader
Sahel (MNN) — A United Nations article states that up to 41 million youth in the Sahel region will face poverty, creating fertile ground for radicalization.
Writer Jocelyn Edwards and photographer Anne Ackermann traveled to Burkina Faso for World Ark to interview pastoralist Fulani families about how the changing climate affects their livelihoods. We interviewed these families to show the challenges pastoralists in the region face.
We own a business called Crafter's Closet. For about two years, we have been selling our knitted and crocheted goods to raise funds for clean water. Click the title of this story to read more!
I am a woman among women, and my family is well respected in the villageGagnessiri Ndiaye, http://tinyurl.com/qhbuvnn
|
<urn:uuid:52fcb04f-de08-44e1-9e3b-b7da8c23d9c0>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.heifer.org/whencowsfly/cornerstones/sustainability-and-self-reliance.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.964485
| 1,747
| 2.6875
| 3
|
Neuroscience indicates that our brains are plastic, malleable, improvable. Here are five new books eager to help you expand your mind.
The Other Side of Normal
Nurture vs. nature has been replaced by neuroplasticity, the theory that "the brain uses the world to wire itself." Step by detailed step, Harvard psychiatrist Smoller develops the concepts of biological and environmental influences. In chapters on fear and phobias, love and memory, we're immersed in the latest psychobiology, as well as its history. What is normal behavior? Intriguing studies show that the "more we learn about the architecture of the mind, the more we see that the conditions we recognize as disorders are variations of the same biological and psychological systems that operate in all of us." Eye-opening and accessible. Grade: A
With an engaging and often humorous narrative, Mlodinow, a theoretical physicist and co-author of "The Grand Design" with Stephen Hawking, leads us through scientific research and astonishing cognitive experiments into subconscious behaviors. With functional MRIs and new advances, "Vague concepts like the id and the ego have now given way to maps of brain structure, connectivity and function." Fascinating examples show how the unconscious creates one's own personal concept of reality by filling in gaps in our limited conscious. "Our brains are not simply recording taste or other experience, they are creating it." Accessible language. Perfect for armchair neurobiologists! Grade: A
The Woman Who Changed Her Brain
Thirty years ago, struggling with her own learning disorders as she worked on a master's in psychology, Arrowsmith-Young drew up cognitive exercises to improve her brain's functioning. Out of this success, she founded the Arrowsmith School and the Arrowsmith Program, using individualized cognitive exercises to stimulate weak brain structures, such as those tied to dyslexia and predicative speech deficit. Presenting dozens of case histories, she shows that "activity-dependent neuroplasticity" can be a tool for teachers helping students rewire their minds. The writing is sometimes disjointed, but educators and those interested in learning disorders will find the information important. Grade: B+
Babel No More
The cover shows an illustration of a head with the brain exposed, but the subtitle tells what this book is about: "The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners." Slow to begin, Erard takes us on his quest to find polyglots and what makes them tick. He wants answers to what truly knowing a language means, and what the limits of acquiring several languages "might be in practice, not in theory." Some neuroscience, not all clearly explained. Some interesting history of language. Specific to a limited audience: those fascinated by language, multilingualism in particular. Grade: B
The Emotional Life of Your Brain
Richard J. Davidson, with Sharon Begley
Affective neuroscience, "the study of the brain mechanisms that underlie our emotions," uses classifications such as emotional states, emotional traits, personality and temperament. After 30 years of research, Davidson pushes for a whole new category, emotional style, consisting of resilience, outlook, social intuition, self-awareness, sensitivity to context and attention. These, he argues, "can be considered the atoms of our emotional lives." Davidson offers neuroscience concepts as well as a questionnaire and self-help exercises, such as meditation, for those who want to change their emotional styles. Well-meaning, but it is marred by generalizations and too much self-important autobiography. Grade: B-
Sarah Willis, a novelist, teacher and critic in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
|
<urn:uuid:83998ec7-6ada-4143-ab00-1282e546c592>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2012/06/jordan_smoller_and_leonard_mlo.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.929543
| 748
| 3.203125
| 3
|
By Steve Moyer
“The issue of keeping the French language alive in Louisiana,” says Dana Kress, a professor at Centenary College in Shreveport, “is always accompanied with great wailing, much pulling of hair, and feverish wringing of hands.” A smiling head shot accompanies Kress’s guest editorial in this summer’s edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas. And yet, the loss of French in his state seems to really get his chèvre: “The truth is this: For more than a century and a half, millions of Louisianians who claim French heritage have been taxed and their dollars have been diverted from their communities to support English-language education.” He’s a little touchy on the subject, certainement, but given the fact that, as he writes, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana “has enjoyed more support from its partners in France, Belgium, and Canada than from its own state government,” you begin to see his point. Having to justify your existence continuellement can make the best of us a little, well, irascible.
In the same issue of Louisiana Cultural Vistas, Christophe Landry takes up another thorny issue. He writes of the “Cajunization” of south Louisiana and its implication for other francophones in the state, which, after all, began as part of a vast French colony way back in 1699 when explorers Iberville and Bienville claimed it for the Sun King. From 1764 to 1788, however, three thousand or so Acadians who had been expulsed from Canada by the British and who decided to settle in the territory, by that time controlled by the Spanish, acquired land in southwestern Louisiana. These “expert planters and levee engineers,” now known as Cajuns, endured and by the late 1960s came to be closely identified with Louisiana French. This phenomenon blurred cultural distinctions of Creoles and American Indian communities still speaking French. “Acadiana” became a geographical designation for about twenty parishes in south Louisiana, and the state legislature adopted a flag for the region.
Landry goes on to point out that “it was not until the 1980s . . . that fundamental linguistic differences and similarities between French and Creole were fully examined. . . . The two are merely lexically related, but grammatically entirely different, and thus are two distinct languages.” The descendants of the early French settlers, as well as of the Spanish and Indians, form what is today a “broader culture” in Francophone Louisiana.
With the boom in all things Cajun in the 1980s, Louisiana’s spicy cultural diversity ran the risk of becoming less piquant. The Dictionary of Louisiana French, published in 2010 by the University of Mississippi Press, with a grant from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, however, aims to preserve the rich, complex ingredients of French spoken not only in Cajun communities but in Creole and American Indian communities as well.
“All combined,” concludes Landry, “Francophone Louisiana offers a culinary, cultural, and linguistic gumbo that is too tasty to pass up.”
|
<urn:uuid:c04095e4-39f3-426f-9d0d-07e797166e0f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.neh.gov/print/1358
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965967
| 681
| 2.96875
| 3
|
Important part of the environmetal pollution consists of waste water and water pollution. The water polluted by anthropogenical, industrial, and agricultural originated sources are defined as waste waters which are the main pollution sources for reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and seas. In this work, waste waters of leather, textile, automotive side, and metal plating industries were used to determine the levels of Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb and Ni by using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. As a result, highest mean levels of copper in supernatants of plating and textile industries were observed as 377,18 ng ml-1, respectively 103 ng ml-1 lead and 963,6 ng ml-1 nickel in plating industry, 1068,2 ng ml-1 zinc and 14557,1 ng ml-1 chromium in plating and leather industries were determined.
Ağır metal, Alevli AAS, Atık sular
|
<urn:uuid:d2f28236-b008-4f01-a800-efc62bc3f320>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.saujs.sakarya.edu.tr/article/view/5000011799
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00092-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.928439
| 198
| 2.71875
| 3
|
BIRTHDAYS ARE CHANGING THE WORLD
This year, 36 people in Rwanda will get clean water because a boy named Lory turned six in New York.
Lory learned about millions of people in developing countries who walk up to two hours a day to collect water for their families -- water that’s not even clean. When they bring it home, they have to make choices: should they use it for drinking? Bathing? Cooking or washing? There’s never enough of it to go around. Worse yet, the water is making them sick.
So Lory decided to help. He gave up presents for his 6th birthday and instead asked his family and friends to donate $6 to help build clean water projects.
With a little effort and two YouTube videos, he raised $2,386.
The projects that were funded by his birthday campaign are currently underway in Rwanda, and those 36 people will soon stop drinking from the river or the swamp, and have clean water near their homes for the first time.
Lory hasn’t been the only one to use his birthday for clean water. A 25-year-old named Joey raised $5,050 for people in Africa. A 30-year-old in Sydney raised $12,007. A 29-year-old girl in California just recently raised $32,398.
And this didn’t happen by accident -- in fact, the whole idea started with our founder a long time ago.
On September 9th, 2006, Scott Harrison threw a big party to celebrate his 31st birthday and the launch of charity: water. He invited all of his friends and charged $20 at the door. That night, he raised $15,000 for clean water projects. That’s where it all began.
charity: water sent the money to a refuge camp in Northern Uganda, and 100% of it was used to build three new wells and fix three broken wells in a place with 30,000 displaced families and almost no clean water around.
All of the sudden, the lives of people halfway around the world got a little bit better. They didn’t have to walk hours or dig holes in dry river beds to find water that was full of parasites. They just had to pump a well, and clean water came out.
Scott knew he was on to something: he believed birthdays could be used to solve the water crisis. Everyone has them, and people have them every year.
What if each person we knew gave at least one birthday to help end the water crisis? We could really make a dent.
And it’s worked. About 17,000 people have celebrated their birthdays with us now, and together we’ve raised nearly $9 million for clean water projects through birthdays alone.
Which is a lot-- but it’s not nearly enough.
Our goal is to give 100 million people access to safe drinking water in the next ten years. It's going to cost at least 3 billion dollars. But we've seen what birthdays can do. And we know that the average birthday campaign raises over $770. That means we're only 3.8 million birthdays away.
You can help by pledging yours at charitywater.org/birthdays. Even if it's not your birthday yet, we'll remind you when the time comes and help you start a campaign. Then all you have to do is set a goal, add a photo, and tell your family and friends.
100% of the money you raise will go directly to water projects around the world, and we'll show you exactly where it goes and who it helps.
Make our birthday story your story too. Just fill in the box below.
- The charity: water team
If you’d like to learn more about our work, visit our homepage at charitywater.org
|
<urn:uuid:546ebdd4-df4b-4887-9d6c-dd5faba57758>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
https://www.charitywater.org/birthdays/history.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.975178
| 802
| 2.546875
| 3
|
Travel - The Republic of Iraq
Iraq's Crops and Natural Resources
Iraq's most-prized natural resource is its crude oil and natural gas reserves. Other resources found in Iraq include phosphates and sulfur. Crops such as barley, wheat, rice, aubergines, beans, chickpeas, cucumbers, onions, okra, tomatoes, dates, watermelons, sesame, cotton and tobacco can also be found in this middle-eastern country.
Conflicts and UN Sanctions on Iraq
Iraq has been involved in a number of conflicts with other countries in the past few decades. Iraq and Iran were at war for eight years, between 1980-1988, because of a dispute over land. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait in an attempt to take over their oil reserves but the United Nations (UN) stepped in and forced Iraq out. This was known as the Gulf War. After the Gulf War, the UN placed sanctions on Iraq. This means that all trade with Iraq was banned among United Nations countries. In 1995, however, a clause was made so that Iraq could export petroleum and petroleum products as long as the majority of money they received went towards humanitarian projects. In order for the sanctions to be lifted, Iraq must destroy all weapons of mass destruction, improve human rights and respect the boundaries, and independence, of Kuwait.
Throughout the UN inspections of the past few months, Iraq has maintained that they do not have any weapons of mass destruction. Inspectors have found some missiles which they have requested be destroyed and Iraq has agreed. Saddam Hussein has suggested that he and President Bush have a televised debate about the United States' evidence against Iraq. Reports have been made however, that much of the evidence the United States has supplied against Iraq is actually false. Click here for the Channel 4 story.
|
<urn:uuid:028085ed-e2be-4ae9-ac10-37a19e7c352e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/3152-travel-the-republic-of-iraq
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.978531
| 368
| 2.953125
| 3
|
A BRIEF HISTORICAL TIME LINE
1500 b.c.(?) - Yap populated by migrators from Eastern Indonesia or the Philippines. Archaeologists are still studying the migration issue and have not conclusively determined when or how the islands of Yap were settled. The arrival of settlers may have occurred as far back as two thousand b.c., or even earlier. Some scientists feel that Micronesia was Originally settled by Ancient Egyptians allied with Tamil and Dravidian Peoples of India, seeking trade routes to So. America. Nicotine and Cocaine, chemicals found in South American Plants, have been discovered in the tissue of Egyptian Mummies, lending credence to the idea of such trading ventures. Pharoah needed to insure his Stash was kept full!
1525 - On October 1, the Portuguese explorer Dioga Da Rocha arrives in the islands of Yap, probably Ulithi, and stays for four months. Over the next two centuries more than twenty other explorers and traders of Spanish, British, Dutch and American origin passed through the Yap Islands.
1731 - Father Juan Cantova and Father Victor Walter bring Catholicism to the island of Mongmong, Ulithi. After several months Father Walter returned by ship to Guam. Shortly thereafter Cantova and his party were massacred, perhaps by local priests opposed to the new religion.
1800 to 1860 Intermittent trading between Yapese and Europeans for Behe-de-mer (Sea Cucumbers) Britain's Andrew Cheyene was perhaps the most well known trader during this period. Outer Island residents began making regular voyages of their own during this time to Guam and the Marianas.
1818 One hundred Outer Islanders from Lamotrek sail to Guam and a year later establish a colony in Siapan.
1869 Germans establish first permanent trading station, Godeffory & Son, under management of Alfred Teten. By 1874 its holdings included 3,000 acres of land, a cotton plantation and ship repair operation.
1871 David Dean O'Keefe, an American Sailor on a pearl diving expedition aboard the Belvidere, is shipwrecked on Yap and rescued by the Yapese people. He was later taken to Hong Kong on a German trading ship.
1872 O'Keefe returns as skipper of a Chinese junk named Catherine, after his American wife, and begins his famous trade of Stone Money for copra and Beche-de-mer.
During this period the largest pieces of Stone Money were quarried in Palau, using iron tools. These pieces are commonly refereed to as "O'Keefes Money" and are not as highly valued as the money brought to Yap by traditional canoes.
1874 Spain proclaims sovereignty over Yap.
1876 Germany sends a warship to Yap to map the island and protect
1880's Yap established as a commercial center of Caroline Islands. During this period Yap serves as the major regional source of copra, is home to four trading companies and is a coaling station for Spanish steamers.
1885 Spanish - German feud reaches climax. On August 21, two Spanish ships arrive with a governor, tow priests, soldigers, convict laborers, horses, water buffalo, cattle and stones for a governor's house and a mission. Four days later the German gunboat Iltis drops anchor and a small party races ashore to hoist a German flag and a claim to the island - just prior to the formal colonization ceremony the Spanish are planning.
1886 Pope Leo XIII settles the feud between Germany's Bismarck and Spain's King Alfonso. The Pope awards Yap and the other Caroline Islands to Spain, but grants Germany and other nations commercial rights. Spain sets up a small garrison and begins building first of six Catholic churches.
1899 Spain sells Yap and the remainder of Spanish Micronesia to Germany for $4.5 million. First German delegation includes a Governor, secretary, doctor, police chief and eleven Malay police.
1900 - 1906 Disease ravages Yap. The population declines from 7,464 to 6,641 with influenza and leprosy the main killers.
1901 O'Keefe disappears at sea. Tagrenga Canal opens.
1902 Germans select one boy from each municipality for training as medical officers and establish municipal medical stations.
1903 Germans open islands first hospital near Tarang Island.
1905 German communications station finished, linking Yap with Guam and Shanghai.
1908 Last Spanish leave Yap.
1909 Phosphate mines open at Angaur (Palau) and Germans recruit 98 Yapese to work there.
1910 Pohnpeians who revolted against Germans are exiled to Yap and Palau.
1914 World War I begins. British shelling destroys German communications center. Japanese Expeditionary Squadron occupies the island on October 7, in a bloodless takeover.
1919 Secret treaty agreement between Japan and Britain guaranteeing Japanese control over all Pacific islands north of the Equator announced to the world at the Treaty of Versailles.
1920 Rapid Japanese settlement begins.
1921 Japan and United States sign treaty recognizing American rights to use Yap's cable station.
1922 Japanese civilian administration begins under League of Nations mandate. Tattooing banned.
1925 Typhoon destroys nearly all homes on Yap.
1935 Japan leaves League of Nations. The fortification of Yap begins.
1938 - 1939 Military preparations intensify. Yapese are forced to work in labor gangs. Nickel mine opens in Gagil. Strip mining for bauxite and phosphate on Yap and Fais.
1941 - 1942 World War II begins. Japanese build lighthouse in Gagil and intensive gardening begins in a large part of southern Yap.
1944 Allies begin bombing Colonia, the Japanese airfield at the southern end of the island and the airfield under construction in Tomil.
1965 Marshall O'Keefe is born.
1981 Marshall O'Keefe learns details of his Royal Legacy, and begins plans to restore the O'Keefe Monarchy on Yap.
1982 The Yap Government in Exile is established by Marshall O'Keefe.
1987-1994 Marshall O'Keefe founded Chivalric Order to perpetuate the ideals of the Monarchy.
1999 Marshall O'Keefe orders the creation of the Yap Virtual Embassy under the auspices of the Ministry of Disinformation and Popular Enlightenment.
|
<urn:uuid:37fa11cb-0357-43b3-abbd-4c555ac1ca5a>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.angelfire.com/ky/kingdomofyap/timeline.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.948926
| 1,331
| 3.296875
| 3
|
Diseases and Conditions
Heart Valve Disease
The heart valves serve a vital role in regulating the rate and direction of blood flow through the heart. A damaged or diseased valve can severely compromise the heart's ability to pump efficiently. This places additional strain on the heart and, over time, may result in arrhythmias and heart failure.
Individuals with heart valve disease may experience one of several symptoms including shortness of breath or palpitations. In some cases, patients experience no symptoms at all. The causes of heart valve disease typically include degenerative diseases such as congenital defects, and rheumatic fever or endocarditis, severe infections that can damage or scar the heart valves and prevent them from working properly.
The Role of the Heart Valves
The heart is made up of four chambers, two on the right and two on the left. These chambers are known as the atria and ventricles. Each side of the heart has one atrium and one ventricle. The ventricles are the chambers of the heart that pump the blood out of the heart. The atria are the chambers that receive the blood flowing back into the heart.
The heart's valves lie at the exit of each of the four heart chambers and are critical to the proper flow of blood through the heart. When functioning normally, the heart valves allow blood to flow either from one chamber to another, or out of the heart in a forward direction. The four heart valves are the:
Types of Heart Valve Disease
There are several conditions that can impact the overall performance and function of the heart valves. Chief among these is heart valve disease. When an individual is diagnosed with heart valve disease, it is typically the result of a congenital birth defect or an infection such as rheumatic fever, degenerative disease or endocarditis, which can damage or scar the heart valves and prevent them from working properly. The two types of heart valve disease are:
|
<urn:uuid:757b3a14-fa49-401a-b0db-d4005db23d84>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.montefiore.org/heart-valve-disease
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.928452
| 398
| 3.59375
| 4
|
FROM: CREATING THE FUTURE
Perspectives on Educational Change
Compiled and Edited by Dee Dickinson
FACILITATING CHANGE IN OUR SCHOOLS
Linda MacRae Campbell, M.A.
At present, numerous schools across the country have accepted the challenge of updating and upgrading their services. However, as administrators and faculties forge ahead to rethink their educational mission, organizational structure, academic program, teaching methods, personnel roles, or community relationships, their renewal efforts often falter because schools lack effective action plans. Many involved in efforts to change are unaware of guidelines for the successful initiation and implementation of an innovation. By working with a game plan, even if it requires frequent modification, schools can avoid unnecessary wheel spinning and prevent excessive time loss to process issues. Determining where a school is going and how it will arrive can make educational reform less stressful, more predictable and manageable, and most importantly, more successful for all involved.
While the restructuring experience will vary from school to school, renewal efforts at any site can be well strategized and coordinated. To manage the change process efficiently, some guidelines follow that highlight essential aspects and issues of educational reform. It should be noted that the nature of restructuring is nonlinear and that the following guidelines will not necessarily unfold in a predictable sequence:
GUIDELINES FOR CHANGE PROJECTS
Guideline 1: Identify a new mission or a need for reform within the school.
Restructuring can begin only with the initiation of honest dialogue at a school. This is often difficult to achieve since many teachers and administrators are resistant to any perceived change effort, are hesitant to speak truthfully about problems, or else they opt to maintain a collegial, "let's not rock the boat" school climate. One interesting observation some educational reformers have made is that when teachers are asked to assess their school, many believe it is above average. Faculties assume that serious problems exist elsewhere but not at their own site. Those who promote school renewal will necessarily and frequently have to engage individuals, small groups, and full faculty meetings in repeated school appraisal and restructuring conversations. Dialogue of all kinds, both informal and formal, both low key and hard hitting, must be risked before a school will determine it has reason to change.
Many restructuring efforts begin by targeting a high profile need or concern within a school. Serious issues such as dropout rates, lack of parental involvement, or too many curricular add-ons can be highlighted. Supporting "evidence" of the extent of the problem should also be shared, and will frequently catalyze individuals to action and insure widespread support. An example of targeting a high-profile need to initiate restructuring was recently evident at an urban high school of 1600 students. Some staff members had, understandably, become concerned with the failure statistics of its ninth grade students. At the end of the first semester, 450 ninth graders generated over 500 class failures. While many faculty members placed blame on outside factors for the dismal academic performance, several maintained that action should be taken to prevent such failure from recurring.
A major restructuring effort was launched by a committee of approximately 12 members, including teachers, administrators, parents, and a school counselor. After a year of research, heated debate, discussion, and grant writing, a significant alteration of the school's program was proposed. An entire wing of the school building was dedicated to house the incoming ninth grade students for four hours each day.
Five "schools within schools" were created for the ninth graders; teachers and counselors were reassigned to accommodate approximately 90 students each; an interdisciplinary curriculum was developed; new instructional methods were pursued; and extensive parental outreach was initiated. Plans are currently under way to spread the "school within a school" concept throughout the entire high school program. Ultimately, by beginning with one high-profile issue, the essentials of schooling at this high school were radically redesigned to better meet the needs of its students.
Another approach to instigating significant change is to write or update an educational mission statement. Many schools have not specified their philosophy, goals, and values; this oversight results in a lack of purpose and vision for such sites. Without a cohesive mission statement, schools exist merely to adhere to the rules and regulations imposed by outside agencies; they are thus unprepared for self-determination. A mission statement clarifies a school's identity and underscores its distinct individuality.
Writing such a mission statement requires extensive preliminary dialogue among all members of the school community: teachers, administrators, students, parents, community members, and classified staff. Once clearly articulated, however, all academic and extracurricular offerings, curricula, teaching methods and most importantly, staffing, should reflect the school's stated purpose in operation. To achieve such internal integrity usually requires significant restructuring efforts.
One middle school, besieged with the acute inner-city problems of gang violence, drug abuse, low standardized achievement scores, and poor staff morale, determined that significant improvement must occur to maintain staff and enhance the academic program. Weary of focusing on what was wrong, a group met with the principal to discuss how they might revitalize the school. It was evident that the teachers and administrator wanted to be enthusiastic about what they were doing; they wanted a new burst of life and energy to fill them personally and to spark the students with a love for learning. The group determined that the way to move their middle school forward was to create a new mission, one which would provide a schoolwide impetus for change.
From discussions with the school community, the new mission quickly emerged: the school would become the state's first arts-based school. Later, a full mission statement was drafted which specified, in part, that the arts would be used not only as specific disciplines taught by art specialists, but as an integral part of classroom instruction in all subjects, as the source of schoolwide projects and activities and as one avenue to increase interaction with parents and local community members. Extensive revision of the school's program was undertaken, as was the retraining of staff members. The few teachers who did not agree with the the new mission statement were encouraged to transfer elsewhere in the district to insure integrity in the new program and its practice.
Educational renewal is often a conflict-ridden process. As they begin honest and earnest dialogue about their schools, faculties commonly find it necessary to seek training in conflict resolution skills, problem-solving, and decision-making approaches. Assuming the role of change agent requires the honing of a variety of new skills in order to complete the tasks at hand successfully.
Guideline 2: Seek support for educational change.
Support for change efforts can come in two forms: information that provides reformers with a solid knowledge base to work from, advocacy from those inside and outside the school. During the last twenty or so years, an explosion of research from the cognitive sciences has revealed ways to optimize learning and teaching. It is indefensible not to implement what is currently known about improving human learning potential. Many of the researchers represented in this book serve as guides into new educational terrain.
As schools endeavor to upgrade their programs, they can look to the current knowledge base for both inspiration and support. Providing rationales for change efforts founded upon solid research helps persuade many naysayers. Educational innovators who are well informed of the breakthroughs in the cognitive sciences are intellectually and often politically empowered as they begin to influence school philosophy, policy, and practice.
When a change effort is initiated, strong advocates for the innovation from within and outside of the school should be identified and their support actively sought. By offering a variety of ways to participate, more individuals can contribute to the restructuring effort. It is unrealistic, however, to expect that any innovation will be greeted with consensus and also highly unlikely that a majority of those involved will embrace the innovation. Fortunately, consensus and majority favor are not necessary to initiate change. Many significant restructuring projects have gotten under way with the support of only 15 to 20% of a school's population. Some change projects have begun with as few as two supporters.
As an example, at one high school of approximately 50 teachers, two teachers decided to team their first and second period classes. Since this arrangement had little or no impact on the other teachers, scant attention was paid at first to the teamed and interdisciplinary approach; however, the student response was enthusiastic and vociferous. They wanted more similar courses, and, a year later, their requests were met. What began as a two-person project quickly escalated into a schoolwide instructional approach.
Guideline 3: Create and communicate a model of the change effort.
To reduce the rampant cynicism among most school staffs about educational improvement, restructuring endeavors should be well organized and coordinated. A written and/or visual model of the change effort can be developed and posted, including timelines, activities, task force members, and their responsibilities. One middle school decided to track its accomplishments on a monthly basis. In the faculty lounge, a large monthly calendar was made and posted on the faculty bulletin board. Meeting dates, tasks, and accomplishments were logged, as were sneak previews into the projects ahead. Such a simple visual tracking device served to keep the faculty informed, and meanwhile conveyed the important message that things were being accomplished.
It's often wise to specify short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals with renewal endeavors. Beginning with small projects that gain visibility and success within the first three to four months can increase confidence as well as demonstrate that achievements are being made. For far-reaching restructuring plans, many reformers suggest a minimum of three to five years for developing, implementing, and institutionalizing new models.
Ways to measure the effects and results of the innovation can also be undertaken. School personnel will find it valuable to evaluate their efforts and then use such data to determine their next steps. As research is conducted, it can be shared with other reformers and restructuring sites, thus making important contributions to the expanding knowledge base of school renewal. One highly innovative approach to conducting and sharing research is evident in the National Education Association and IBM partnership that has linked teachers across the United States electronically, enabling them to telecommunicate their research and build upon each each other's experience.
Guideline 4: Secure needed resources.
A variety of resources must be secured to implement any kind of educational innovation successfully. Both human and material resources will be required, including consultations, training programs, financial support, and curriculum materials. Extensive and ongoing staff development must become a regular feature of school life so that educators can keep abreast of the knowledge base and continually broaden their range of educational tools.
Usually, the most important resource, and the one in least supply, is additional time for those involved in restructuring. While confronted with the relentless demands of teaching, school personnel must have time to reflect on what must change as well as time to implement the changes. To accommodate this need, many schools have creatively altered their daily schedules to provide meeting time for staff members. Some sites begin five minutes earlier each day to "buy" two half days of release time every month. One school provides a full release day each week per teacher. This is accomplished by having faculty work longer days four days out of five, resulting in one full day of preparation or staff development time. Other approaches have included coordinating teachers' schedules to create team or group planning time; adding paid work days beyond the school calendar; and hiring substitutes to release teachers to conduct restructuring projects.
Guideline 5: Acknowledge the emotional reaction to change.
School renewal is rarely an objective, rational process. Change agents should anticipate their own emotional reactions to change, as well as strong reactions from others. Some researchers have studied the affective dimension of restructuring with fascinating findings about the emotional response to change.
In the 1979 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators, University Associates, Don Kelly and Darryl Connor have identified an emotional cycle of change, which includes five stages:
- Uninformed optimism is the honeymoon phase of the project and provides the energy and enthusiasm to begin the restructuring effort.
- Informed pessimism ensues when unexpected problems are encountered, the resistance of others rears up, and morale drops. This is a dangerous stage of the emotional cycle, and many change efforts are abandoned during this phase. For those projects that continue, the three remaining three stages include:
- Hopeful realism when it is evident that some efforts will succeed in spite of the obstacles;
- Informed optimism which emerges when confidence is restored as things move ahead, and
- A sense of rewarding completion which is experienced by those involved in the change effort as they see concrete results of their work.
Another emotional phenomenon encountered in restructuring is the "Implementation Dip" identified by Michael Fullan, author of The Meaning of Educational Change. When people agree to implement a new procedure or policy, a decline in performance or work quality is commonly experienced during their initial attempts. This can be so humiliating and frustrating that feelings of awkwardness and guilt often emerge. It is important, however, to note that the decline in skills is only temporary. Once the dip has been reached, behavior usually reorganizes itself at a higher level than before.
Anyone attempting to initiate change within a school must also realize that some others will openly, verbally, resist the change. Occasionally, the resistance takes the form of professional or personal attacks. Emotional fortitude, a sense of humor, and a personal support system are usually necessary to sustain the commitment of any change agent. Since the emotional roller coaster ride of educational innovation appears inevitable, being forewarned of the ups and downs can, at least intellectually, make the ride more bearable.
Guideline 6: Anticipate restructuring problems and identify problem-solving skills.
Taking a proactive approach to predictable restructuring problems serves to streamline and accelerate change efforts. In his research of schools embracing change, Matthew Miles, professor at the University of Massachusetts, has identified their common renewal problems. These include, in order of importance: attitude and emotional issues; process factors such as lack of coordination, planning, or communication; and lack of resources. Other predictable problems are unanticipated crises, competing demands, limiting physical environments and perceived low or minimal control among those involved in the change effort.
Change facilitators may want to plan how to handle such problems before they arise. Matthew Miles has also identified a variety of problem-solving strategies, and he asserts that active problem-solving methods are extremely important if a project is to be successful. Passive avoidance, procrastination, doing things the usual way, and shuffling people from task to task are weak strategies. Effective problem solving approaches include vision-building and sharing, monitoring progress and revising plans accordingly, securing outside assistance, re-staffing if necessary, team-building, increasing resource control, and redesigning the school organization.
Since each change effort is undoubtedly fraught with problems, it is crucial to use myriad coping skills. Sensing what is appropriate for any situation is an important intuitive skill to develop. At times, deliberate postponement may be the best approach; however, empowering school staff, establishing new roles and groups, and monitoring and adjusting efforts often reduce restructuring problems.
Guideline 7: Share the leadership.
For widespread change to take hold, it is necessary to share control of the project and to work collaboratively with others. Securing both input and follow-through from diverse groups such as teachers, administrators, classified staff, students, parents, consultants, and school board and community members will effectively broaden the support base.
To distribute leadership equitably, one high school developed a new governing body. This group, called the Representative Council, includes teachers, administrators, counselors, classified staff, students, and parents. Membership requirements consist of a personal commitment to attend the bimonthly meetings for the entire school year. The R.C. oversees two main components of the high school: ongoing daily affairs and the school's philosophy. Thus, in a highly democratic manner, it assumes responsibility for establishing the mission and conducting the operation of the high school on a daily basis.
For successful restructuring it is also necessary to develop effective communication channels. Information can be shared at weekly meetings, through newsletters, bulletin items, phone trees, or other means. One elementary school placed a journal on a podium in the staff lounge. Anyone was free to write individual or schoolwide messages about the renewal efforts. The resulting avid interest in the journal was not anticipated. It provided a powerful link and voice in the restructuring effort. Another elementary school, wanting to enlist broad community support for its continual progress, ungraded school program, created a high quality newsletter published monthly. The photographs, articles, and interviews explore successes and challenges of the innovative model while maintaining one important communication channel with community members.
Guideline 8: Anchor the innovation as quickly as possible to classroom practice.
The ultimate goal of all restructuring projects is to enhance the learning of children and the teaching of teachers in schools suitable for our time. Change efforts must necessarily be linked to classroom practice and the sooner the better. Skepticism about improvement efforts is reduced when teachers are asked to expand their instructional and assessment repertoires. When change facilitators address the nitty gritty of school life and of teaching and learning, educational innovations appear relevant and important.
For new classroom practices to be implemented, both support and pressure are required. Encouragement and technical assistance should be offered freely as deadlines are met, new teaching approaches adopted, and results achieved. Also important are the rewards and recognition offered for innovators at each school site.
Recently, one elementary school made a commitment to change instructional strategies in each classroom. All staff members received training in learning styles theory. Each teacher then identified ways to apply learning styles concepts to his teaching. The students were informed of their teachers' efforts. Banners were then hung in each classroom stating, "Each student in this classroom has the right to learn through his/her strengths at least some of the time." The banner exerts gentle pressure for teachers to remain on track with their commitment and guarantees students that their learning styles will be actively engaged. The banners have become a source of pride to teachers who eagerly point them out to classroom visitors as they explain the schoolwide effort to "teach to reach" each student.
Guideline 9: Embed the renewal effort and process into organizational practice.
Once implemented, measured, and refined, the restructuring effort becomes part of organizational life. When it has become embedded in many aspects of school life, including its philosophy, budget, policies, and practices, increasing numbers of personnel will make use of the change. Even when significant results are achieved and celebrated, however, renewal efforts are not complete. Restructuring is a process that must become a regular feature of school life, enabling continual initiation, implementation, and institutionalization of change within each school.
The world, and the mass of information at our disposal, are being transformed rapidly, and schools must create processes to keep abreast of and implement new approaches to education, teaching, technology and human development. When school personnel perceive change as synonymous with learning, then ongoing restructuring will be the norm, and schools will evolve into learning organizations.
Educational innovation can be understood, managed, and valued as positive results are achieved. Schools can derive satisfaction from taking charge of their destinies and leading the restructuring movement forward, rather than being pushed into it. There is also great satisfaction in helping our schools better meet the needs of children they serve. These children are waiting for us to act.
About: Linda MacRae Campbell
Linda MacRae Campbell is never daunted by any challenge, whether she is helping a retarded adult to learn to read, working with easily distracted young children, or motivating the interest of gifted high school students. Her greatest current interest is in teaching teachers, and her work in that area is resulting in great rewards as they apply what they have learned to teaching their own students.
She is coordinator of the innovative Teacher Certification Program at Antioch University Seattle. Her continuing success as a "facilitator of change" in public schools began with her work as a restructuring consultant for the National Education Association.
As a classroom teacher, she received the Teacher of the Year awards three times. She has taught on all levels; and, as a junior and senior high school teacher, she taught language arts, French, and humanities. She was director of an award-winning drama department at Redmond High School in Washington State.
Later, as director of her own school, she received a Professional Business Woman of the Year award. She was founder and director of the Pegasus Schools, where she developed an integrative educational program for children from three to seventeen.
She is currently an adjunct professor at Seattle Pacific, Eastern Washington, and Antioch Universities, and Gifted Program Coordinator for the Burlington and Concrete Public Schools.
Her publications include Our Only Earth: A Curriculum for Global Problem-Solving (a series of six books integrating science, social studies, and language arts). Her No Time to Waste and We All Live Downstream are environmental manuals commissioned by Greenpeace. She is co-author, with her husband Bruce Campbell and Dee Dickinson of Teaching and Learning Through Multiple Intelligences.
Featured Item: Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning: Insights from a Neurologist and Classroom Teacher
By Judy Willis | Purchase
|
<urn:uuid:1717ef98-9197-4aae-8697-45fad92d295f>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/future/creating_the_future/crfut_campbelll.cfm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96319
| 4,363
| 2.75
| 3
|
In my recent End of Year Security Overview, I mentioned that one trend that’s finally gaining traction – after many years of all talk and no action – is a move away from the traditional username/password authentication scheme to alternative ways of verifying the identities of users.
Pattern recognition, whether that be the patterns created by the loops and whirls of fingerprints, those that make up the features of a face, or a random pattern that we “draw” on a photo or grid, is the hottest new method of proving to a computer, network or web site that you are who you claim to be. Here’s a look at how that trend is starting to come into its own, and where we can expect it to go in the next year.
A few years back, phones and tablets started offering a new way to log on, by drawing a pattern to connect a grid of dots on the screen. You could make your pattern as simple or complex as you wanted, then you repeated it to unlock the device. Windows RT and Windows 8 introduced the “picture password,” whereby you choose a photo and then use gestures to draw shapes or tap specific areas of the picture in the right order to log on. For example, you might set it up so that to unlock the OS, on a photo of your three children you have to tap the left eye of your oldest, draw a circle around the head of your middle child and tap the right hand of the youngest.
When you think about how we have always identified people in the “real world,” it’s really all about patterns. Facial patterns, voice patterns, gestures, gait, etc. – that’s how we know the guy who just walked into the room is Bob, not George. Even with identical twins who look practically the same, those who know them well can (usually) distinguish between them because one might have a unique walk, or talk a little faster, or exhibit other subtle behavioral patterns that the other doesn’t.
When we want to get more serious about identity, we look at physiological patterns that can’t be changed or easily faked: fingerprints, iris or retinal patterns, facial recognition, or even the patterns in the shape of your ear or your hand geometry can be used. Of course, DNA patterns are one of the most definitive. Other patterns that can be analyzed with more or less reliability to identify persons include handwriting, typing cadence, and speaking patterns.
Even the venerable and much-maligned password is, in essence, a pattern of alpha, numeric and symbol characters typed in a particular order. However, as we all know, passwords are very easy patterns for someone else to duplicate. That’s why the password is regarded as a less secure means of identification and the reason, in an era when we all have sensitive information stored on computers and passing across networks, that alternative means of authenticating identity are being implemented.
Fingerprint readers have been around for a long time, with the fingerprinting of criminals beginning in the 1800s. Fingerprint recognition started to become an automated process in the 1960s but was still used primarily in law enforcement. Today it’s commonplace as a login option on high end smart phones.
Fingerprint readers have been available as add-on peripherals for computers for well over a decade. IBM introduced one of the first laptops with a built-in fingerprint scanner in 2004, the ThinkPad T42. Biometrics were supported in Windows XP, and Microsoft introduced the Windows Biometric Framework (WBF) in Windows 7, but using it was dependent on third party enrolment software and drivers. Although quite a few computer makers offered fingerprint scanners in their hardware, it didn’t really catch on for a long time.
One reason was unreliability. I do use fingerprint authentication on my current phone and it works pretty well. On the previous model, I gave up on it because it so often didn’t recognize my print when I swiped it. I found that if my finger was the least bit moist, or if the weather was cold, I got a “No Match” error. I loved the idea of biometrics and the practicality of a quick swipe vs. typing in a password on a small phone keyboard, but it only recently became useable enough for me to depend on it.
When I got my Surface Pro 4 and bought a new keyboard for it, I opted for the more expensive model that has the built-in print scanner. I really like this system because instead of swiping, you simply press your finger pad onto the little scanner screen. I’ve rarely had a failure to recognize with this. However, not long after I got familiar with the new Surface, I found myself rarely ever using the fingerprint logon feature. Why? Because it has something even better.
Hello, Windows. The new Windows Hello feature in Windows 10 encompasses three different types of biometric authentication for logging onto Windows: fingerprint recognition, iris recognition or facial recognition. As nicely as the fingerprint rec works, you still have to take the time to press your finger to the pad. The first time I used the facial recognition option, I was hooked. I open up my Surface, look at the screen, the built-in camera looks back and “sees” me, sees that it’s me, and I’m in. Tedious typing of passwords is a thing of the past.
I’ve been using it for a couple of months and I’m still amazed at how fast and accurate it is. Whether I have my hair down or pulled up, whether I’m wearing my glasses or not, “Hello” knows it’s me. But let my daughter or my husband be the one looking at it and it says “Couldn’t recognize you. Sign in with your PIN.” I can make it do the same thing by putting on a mask or distorting my face – then I straighten it out and pop! There’s the desktop.
If you’re not sitting close enough or your head is turned sideways, you’ll see the little “eye” searching around for you, and it will even tell you to move closer to the camera or to look straight at the camera. It has an infrared sensor so it even works in the dark. It’s pretty cool – and a little bit scary. Considering just how good that camera is, you might want to do what I do and keep a sticky note over the camera after you get logged on. It’s simple enough to slip it over the curious little eye(s) so that just in case a hacker took remote control of the system and camera, he wouldn’t be able to watch what you’re doing.
Setup of Hello facial recognition is easy, and – at least for me on the Surface Pro 4 – it works flawlessly. But how secure is it, really? Can it be fooled? Probably, if you put enough effort into it, but I tried holding a high def head shot of myself on my tablet up to it and that didn’t work, and also tried a print picture and it was having none of that, either.
So what’s the catch? Well, Windows Hello doesn’t work with just any hardware. You can’t just install Windows 10 on your old computer and start logging in with your face. My Surface is obviously optimized for it and has the special camera and illuminated infrared sensor. There are third party devices that have the cameras built in, and Tobii, a company that makes eye-tracking technology, supports Windows Hello with its standalone cameras. If this becomes a popular substitute for password logon (and it should), we will undoubtedly see more companies getting into the act.
Probably the biggest obstacle to Windows Hello adoption – other than privacy issues some may have with the cameras constant “searching” for you – is the simple fact that many users won’t even know it’s an option unless they get curious and start poking around in the logon settings in Windows 10, since the biometric logon technologies aren’t enabled by default.
Here’s a caveat, though: Windows Hello’s facial recognition is so good that it will almost certainly sometimes log you in when you aren’t wanting to log on. It can “see” you at surprising distances and angles. That could cause problems if someone else is looking over your shoulder and you had something on the screen that you didn’t want them to see. My solution is the tactic I already mentioned: Keep the cameras covered with a sticky note until you want to use them. It will keep looking for you in vain until you remove the piece of paper.
What if you have the opposite problem? Maybe you change your looks drastically and Hello doesn’t know who you are? You can have both fingerprint and facial rec set up so that if Hello can’t figure out who you are when it sees you, all you have to do is press a fingertip to the reader.
It may take a while, but I think once people start to experience the convenience of logging in with Windows Hello, we’ll see this trend start to pick up speed. And as we say hello to alternative authentication methods, we can finally say goodbye to passwords.
|
<urn:uuid:2452ae68-d75f-47a7-a9d3-bb3cc8fdd378>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.gfi.com/blog/the-long-goodbye-to-password-only-authentication/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00084-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.952127
| 1,959
| 2.78125
| 3
|
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
The term secondary care is a service provided by medical specialists who generally do not have first contact with patients, for example, psychiatrists, psychologists in hospital departments. A physician might voluntarily limit his or her practice to secondary care by refusing patients who have not seen a primary care provider first, or a physician may be required, usually by various payment agreements, to limit the practice this way.
In the United States, however, there is a trend toward self-referral by patients for these services, rather than referral by primary care providers. This is quite different from practice in the United Kingdom and Canada, for example, where all patients must first seek care from primary care providers who will in turn decide whether to refer the patient to secondary or tertiary care providers. In Canada, secondary care providers will not be paid by the publicly funded health care system unless the patient has been assessed by a primary care provider (a hospital emergency room doctor is considered a primary care provider, as is a general practitioner or family doctor).
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).|
|
<urn:uuid:530f5f08-bf37-486d-b90b-a6ea31743d04>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Secondary_care
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938862
| 240
| 3.25
| 3
|
The Enlightenment restricted knowledge to experience and the phenomenal. Post-Enlightenment thought sought to progress in knowledge while considering the advances the Enlightenment had made. The Christian faith attempted to develop a new relationship between transcendence and immanence. Transcendence has to do with God’s being self-sufficient and beyond or above the universe. Immanence corresponds with God being present and active in creation, intimately involved in human history. Newtonian physics did not permit God to be immanent in the universe. This was brought into light by the unmistakable success of science.
Einstein’s GTR permitted the possibility that God interacts with the created order without interrupting the physical cause and effect system. According to Einstein, the doctrine of a personal God interfering with natural events could never be refuted, in the real sense, by science, for this doctrine can always take refuge in those domains in which scientific knowledge has not yet been able to set foot. But this isn’t so much of a god-of-the-gaps doctrine. Because of Einstein’s relativity the Newtonian and Laplacian models have been abandoned. The present discussion of how God interacts with the world has shifted to quantum mechanics. There are over a dozen interpretations, which mathematically describe the quantum world. Objections from the principle of conservation are moot in an Einsteinian universe because it is not causally closed. Even so, certain quantum interpretations reject the principle of conservation such as the Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber interpretation. In a theistic context, Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber makes sense of external causes having an ontological link, the mass density simpliciter, to the physical world without violating conservation. Einstein was at odds with Niels Bohr, the father of quantum mechanics, when Bohr suggested the notion of indeterminism on the quantum level. This appalled Einstein, which brought the well-known response of, “God does not play with dice.” It is reported that Bohr’s response to Einstein was, “Don’t tell God what to do.”
The most important task for scientific theologians was how to avoid de facto deism—not merely by calling it unorthodox and expressing a dislike for the Newtonian theistic system, but by actually showing why it is an unnecessary conclusion drawn from science. Christian theologians must be in the position to say what they mean by God’s activity in the world and how God’s activity can be consistent with the belief that God has created a finite order with a goodness and perfection of its own.
Clayton Philip, God and Contemporary Science (Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 1997), 188.
See Thomas Torrance, Space, Time, and Incarnation (Edinburgh, Scotland: T&T Clark, 1969).
Albert Einstein, Out of My Later Years (New York: Bonanza Books, 1956, 1990), 28.
See Bradley Monton, “The Problem of Ontology for Spontaneous Collapse Theories,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (2004): 9-10.
Philip, 192.
|
<urn:uuid:d7b1e36e-ac2f-4675-8a67-149b53fc48ff>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://sententias.org/2012/07/10/science-and-divine-action-in-nature/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00194-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.9062
| 653
| 2.53125
| 3
|
So What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by hyperglycemia, an excess of glucose, or sugar, in the blood stream. Hyperglycemia occurs when the body's use of insulin, which delivers blood sugar to muscles and cells to be used as energy, is compromised. It may be caused by the body's inability or impaired ability to produce insulin, or the inefficiency of muscles and cells receiving insulin. Regardless of the underlying cause, symptoms include frequent and urgent urination, increased thirst and hunger, unexplained weight loss, fatigue and blurred vision. In addition to obesity or excess weight and physical inactivity, age and genetics also play a role in developing diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes
In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, causing a deficiency in the body's insulin levels. Type 1 diabetes is estimated to affect fewer than 10 percent of diabetes patients. The onset of type 1 typically escalates quickly with noticeable symptoms, and more often appears in childhood or adolescence, though it can occur at any age.
Type 2 Diabetes
In type 2 diabetes, the body experiences a relative insulin deficiency or resists metabolizing insulin. Most patients appear asymptomatic at onset and are diagnosed through a routine medical screening. Sometimes, patients are screened and diagnosed with pre-diabetes, when changing diet and exercise may reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
Preventing and Treating Diabetes
Education, a healthy diet and regular exercise can prevent diabetes. Eating a balanced diet low in fat while maintaining an active lifestyle lowers cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, manages blood sugar levels and promotes weight loss and weight management.
Diabetes can be treated through lifestyle modifications and medications. Education also is important so that patients with diabetes learn the potential complications of diabetes and the importance of managing their chronic illness; how to maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise; how to recognize signs of low blood sugar and respond appropriately; when and how to check glucose levels and how to self-administer diabetes medication, including insulin injections.
Holiday Strategies for Diabetics
Faced with more stress, less time and many social events and holiday celebrations revolving around food, how can people manage diabetes or pre-diabetes to control blood sugar and maintain a steady weight? The answer lies in additional planning to anticipate potential problems and address them proactively, such as:
The SLUCare Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
The SLUCare Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism provides comprehensive consultation and treatment for patients with diabetes and the associated complications. Using a collaborative approach, the team of specialists provides patients with access to clinical diabetes educators and nutritionists, a multidisciplinary obesity clinic, special services for visually impaired diabetics, and clinics for the screening and management of diabetic foot problems with referrals, as appropriate, to specialists in orthopedics, vascular surgery and physical therapy and orthotics.
The division has offices at Doctors Office Building and University Tower. To schedule a consultation with a SLUCare endocrinologist, call 977-4440. For more information about the SLUCare Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, visit http://www.slu.edu/x23422.xml.
|
<urn:uuid:ca69b750-0785-4a3d-9817-cb4393478480>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.slu.edu/the-slucare-division-of-endocrinology-diabetes-and-metabolism
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.904037
| 670
| 3.46875
| 3
|
Pakistan Environmental Protection Act
The Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on September 3, 1997, and by the Senate of Pakistan on November 7, 1997. The Act received the assent of the President of Pakistan on December 3, 1997.
The text of the Environmental Protection Act 1997 is as follows:
Act No. XXXIV of 1997
An Act to provide for the protection, conservation, rehabilitation and improvement of the environment, for the prevention and control of pollution, and promotion of sustainable development.
Whereas it is expedient to provide for the protection, conservation, rehabilitation and
Improvement of the environment, prevention and control of pollution, promotion of sustainable development and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto;
It is hereby enacted as follows:
1) Short Title, Extent and Commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Environmental Protection Act 1997.
(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context:
(i) "adverse environmental effect" means impairment of, or damage to, the environment
(a) impairment of, or damage to, human health and safety or to biodiversity or
(b) pollution; and
(c) any adverse environmental effect as may be specified in the regulation.
(ii) "agricultural waste" means waste from farm and agricultural activities including
poultry, cattle farming, animal husbandry, residues from the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other farm chemicals;
(iii) "air pollutant" means any substance that causes pollution of air and includes soot, smoke, dust particles, odor, light, electro-magnetic, radiation, heat, fumes, combustion
exhaust, exhaust gases, noxious gases, hazardous substances and radioactive substances;
(iv) "biodiversity" or "biological diversity" means the variability among living
organizations from all sources, including inter alia terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems;
(v) "council" means the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council established under
(vi) "discharge" means spilling, leaking, pumping, depositing, seeping, releasing,
flowing out, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping;
(vii) "ecosystem" means a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism
communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit;
(viii) "effluent" means any material in solid, liquid or gaseous form or combination
thereof being discharged from industrial activity or any other source and includes a
slurry, suspension or vapour;
(ix) "emission standards" means the permissible standards established by the Federal Agency or a Provincial Agency for emission of air pollutants and noise and for discharge of effluent and waste;
(x) "environment" means-
(a) air, water and land;
(b) all layers of the atmosphere;
(c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms;
(d) the ecosystem and ecological relationships;
(e) buildings, structures, roads, facilities and works;
(f) all social and economic conditions affecting community life; and
(g) the inter-relationships between any of the factors in sub-clauses (a) to (f)
(xi) "environmental impact assessment" means an environmental study comprising collection of data, prediction of qualitative and quantitative impacts, comparison of alternatives, evaluation of preventive, mitigatory and compensatory measures, formulation of environmental management and training plans and monitoring arrangements, and framing of recommendations and such other components as may be prescribed;
(xii) " Environmental Magistrate" means the Magistrate of the First Class appointed under section 24;
(xiii) "Environmental Tribunal" means the Environmental Tribunal constituted under section 20;
(xiv) Exclusive Economic Zone" shall have the same meaning as defined in the
Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (LXXXII of 1976);
(xv) "factory" means any premises in which industrial activity is being undertaken;
(xvi) "Federal Agency" means the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency
established under section 5, or any Government Agency, local council or local authority exercising the powers and functions of the Federal Agency;
(xvii) "Government Agency" includes-
(a) a division, department, attached department, bureau, section, commission, board,
office or unit of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government;
(b) a development or a local authority, company or corporation established or
controlled by the Federal Government or Provincial Government;
(c) a Provincial Environmental Protection Agency; and
(d) any other body defined and listed in the Rules of Business of the Federal
Government or a Provincial Government;
(xviii) "hazardous substance" means-
(a) a substance or mixture of substance, other than a pesticide as defined in the
Agricultural Pesticide Ordinance, 1971 (II of 1971), which, by reason of its chemical
activity is toxic, explosive, flammable, corrosive, radioactive or other characteristics
causes, or is likely to cause, directly or in combination with other matters, an adverse
environmental effect; and
(b) any substance which may be prescribed as a hazardous substance;
(xix) "hazardous waste" means waste which is or which contains a hazardous substance or which may be prescribed as hazardous waste, and includes hospital waste and nuclear waste;
(xx) "historic waters" means such limits of the waters adjacent to the land territory of Pakistan as may be specified by notification under section 7 of the Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (LXXXII of 1976);
(xxi) "hospital waste"
includes waste medical supplies and materials of all kinds, and waste blood, tissue, organs and other parts of the human and animal bodies, from hospitals, clinics and laboratories;
(xxii) "industrial activity" means any operation or process for manufacturing, making, formulating, synthesizing, altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, packing or otherwise treating any article or substance with a view to its use, sale, transport, delivery or disposal, or for mining, for oil and gas exploration and development, or for pumping water or sewage, or for generating, transforming or transmitting power or for any other industrial or commercial purpose;
(xxiii) "industrial waste" means waste resulting from an industrial activity;
(xxiv) "initial environmental examination" means a preliminary environmental review of the reasonably foreseeable qualitative and quantitative impacts on the environment of a proposed project to determine whether it is likely to cause an environmental effect for requiring preparation of an environmental impact assessment;
(xxv) "local authority" means any agency set-up or designated by the Federal Government or a Provincial Government by notification in the official Gazette to be a local authority for the purposes of this Act;
(xxvi) "local council" means a local council constituted or established under a law relating to local government;
(xxvii) "motor vehicle" means any mechanically propelled vehicle adapted for use upon land whether its power of propulsion is transmitted thereto from an external or internal source, and includes a chassis to which a body has not been attached, and a trailer, but does not include a vehicle running upon fixed rails;
(xxviii) "municipal waste" includes sewage, refuse, garbage, waste from abattoirs, sludge and human excreta and the like;
(xxix) "National Environmental Quality Standards" means standards established by the Federal Agency under clause (e) of sub-section (1) of section 6 and approved by the Council under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 4;
(xxx) "noise" means the intensity, duration and character from all sources, and includes vibrations;
(xxxi) "nuclear waste" means waste from any nuclear reactor or nuclear or other nuclear energy system, whether or not such waste is radioactive;
(xxxii) "person" means any natural person or legal entity and includes an individual, firm, association, partnership, society, group, company, corporation, co-operative society, Government Agency, non-governmental organization, community-based organization, village organization, local council or local authority and, in the case of a vessel, the master or other person having for the time being the charge or control of the vessel;
(xxxiii) "pollution" means the contamination of air, land or water by the discharge or
emission or effluents or wastes or air pollutants or noise or other matter which either directly or indirectly or in combination with other discharges or substances alters unfavourably the chemical, physical, biological, radiational, thermal or radiological or aesthetic properties of the air, land or water or which may, or is likely to make the air, land or water unclean, noxious or impure or injurious, disagreeable or detrimental to the health, safety, welfare or property of persons or harmful to biodiversity;
(xxxiv) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(xxxv) "project" means any activity, plan, scheme, proposal or undertaking involving any change in the environment and includes;
(a) construction or use of buildings or other works;
(b) construction or use of roads or other transport systems;
(c) construction or operation of factories or other installations;
(d) mineral prospecting, mining, quarrying, stone-crushing, drilling and the like;
(e) any change of land use or water use; and
(f) alteration, expansion, repair, decommissioning or abandonment of existing
buildings or other works, roads or other transport systems; factories or other
(xxxvi) "proponent" means the person who proposes or intends to undertake a project;
(xxxvii) "Provincial Agency" means a Provincial Environmental Protection Agency
established under section 8;
(xxxviii) "regulations" means regulations made under this Act;
(xxxix) "rules" means rules made under this Act;
(xl) "sewage" means liquid or semi-solid wastes and sludge from sanitary conveniences, kitchens, laundries, washing and similar activities and from any sewerage system or sewage disposal works;
(xli) "standards" means qualitative and quantitative standards for discharge of effluents and wastes and for emission of air pollutants and noise either for general applicability or for a particular area, or from a particular production process, or for a particular product, and includes the National Environmental Quality Standards, emission standards and other standards established under this Act and the rules and regulations made thereunder;
(xlii) "sustainable development" means development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs;
(xliii) "territorial waters" shall have the same meaning as defined in the Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (LXXXII of 1976);
(xliv) "vessel" includes anything made for the conveyance by water of human beings or of goods; and
(xlv) "waste" means any substance or object which has been, is being or is intended to be, discarded or disposed of, and includes liquid waste, solid waste, waste gases, suspended waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste, nuclear waste, municipal waste, hospital waste, used polyethylene bags and residues from the incineration of all types of waste.
3) Establishment of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council-
(1) The Federal Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, establish a Council to be known as the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council consisting of;
(i)Prime Minister or such other person as the Prime Chairperson
Minister may nominate in this behalf.
(ii)Minister Incharge of the Ministry or Division Vice Chairperson
dealing with the subject of environment.
(iii) Chief Ministers of the Provinces. Members
(iv) Ministers Incharge of the subject of environment in the provinces. Members
(v) Such other persons not exceeding thirty-five as the Federal Members Government may appoint, of which at least twenty shall be non -official including five representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Industrial Associations and one or more representatives of the Chambers of Agriculture, the medical and legal professions, trade unions, and non-governmental organizations concerned with the environment and development, and scientists, technical experts and educationists.
vi) Secretary to the Government of Pakistan, in-charge of Member/Secretary the Ministry or Division dealing with the subject of environment
(2) The Members of the Council, other than ex–officio members, shall be appointed in accordance with the prescribed procedure and shall hold office for a term of three years.
(3) The Council shall frame its own rules of procedure.
(4) The Council shall hold meetings as and when necessary, but not less than two meetings shall be held in a year.
(5) The Council may constitute committees of its members and entrust them with such functions as it may deem fit, and the recommendations of the committees shall be submitted to the Council for approval.
(6) The Council or any of its committees may invite any technical expert or representative of any Government Agency or non-governmental organization or other person possessing specialized knowledge of any subject for assistance in performance of its functions.
4) Function and Powers of the Council
(1) The Council shall-
(a) co-ordinate and supervise enforcement of the provisions of this Act;
(b) approve comprehensive national environmental policies and ensure their implementation within the framework of a national conservation strategy as may be approved by the Federal Government from time to time;
(c) approve the National Environmental Quality Standards;
(d) provide guidelines for the protection and conservation of species, habitats, and
biodiversity in general, and for the conservation of renewable and non-renewable resources;
(e) coordinate integration of the principles and concerns of sustainable development into national development plans and policies; and
(f) consider the National Environment Report and give appropriate directions thereon.
(2) The Council may, either itself or on the request of any person or organization, direct the Federal Agency or any Government Agency to prepare, submit, promote or implement projects for the protection, conservation, rehabilitation and improvement of the environment, the prevention and control of pollution, and the sustainable development of resources, or to undertake research in any specified aspect of environment.
|
<urn:uuid:ed332c69-6a9f-4427-a579-f14a0a76ff64>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://theenvironmentallaw.blogspot.com/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.898091
| 3,101
| 3.25
| 3
|
Empire – Eukaryota
Kingdom – Plantae
Sub Kingdom – Viridaeplantae
Phylum – Magnoliophyta
Class – Monocots
Order - Potamogetonales
Family – Cymodoceaceae
Genus – Phyllospadix
Species – iwatensis
This sight highlights the species P. scouleri
Hooker, W.J. Phyllospadix. AlgaeBase. May 13, 2009. <http://www.algaebase.org/browse/taxonomy/?id=7300>.
Three Pacific Northwest Species
The leaf blades of P. serrulatus tend to have 5-7 veins running verticle along the blade. The leaf blade is also uneven on the edges . This species can be found along the pacific coast from Alaska to Washington (Adams 2006).
The leaf blades of P. scouleri tend to have 3 veins running verticle along the blade. The blade length of this species is no longer than 3ft. P. scouleri an be found on the pacific coast ranging from Alaska to California. Most pictures on this sight are P. scouleri unless otherwise noted (Adams 2006).
The leaf blade of P. torreyi is skinny and only 2 mm wide. This species can be found on he pacific coast ranging from Southern Vancouver Island to Baja Peninsula. P. torreyi leaf blades can reach up to 10ft long (Adams 2006)
Adams, Mary Jo. Intertidal Organisms EZ-ID guides. 9/12/2006. Washington State University. May 13, 2009. <http://beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/seagrasses/Phyllospadix.htm>.
|
<urn:uuid:b9f3fd11-0422-45a4-8cf6-50d46b7ff4e9>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/mb/Phyllospadix_Alex/taxonomy.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.685505
| 377
| 2.671875
| 3
|
A transgender is a person who is at odds with their assigned sex and gender identity. Transgender does not only refer to men and women whose gender identity is different from their actually assigned sex, it also includes gender queer individuals. Gender queer persons do not have identities that are specifically masculine or feminine. Such persons may for instance be agender, pagender or bigender. This term may also refer to cross dressers.
Many transgenders go through a period where they seek to develop their identity through understanding their self expression, self reflection and self image. Transgender congruence is the level at which a transgender feels authentic, genuine and accepts their identity and is comfortable with their external looks.
Transgenders and Sexual Orientation
Being a transgender has no relationship with a person’s sexual orientation. A transgender may be bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, asexual or have any other form of sexual orientation.
According to a recent effort to determine the population of transgenders, it was found that 0.3% of the adult population in U.S.A. is transgender.
Distinction between a Transsexual and Transgender
The difference between a transsexual and transgender is based on the difference between sex (physical) and gender (social and psychological). Tran sexuality focuses on one’s sex whereas transgender focus on one’s gender predisposition and the social expectations, such as dating, related with a particular gender role. Many transgenders prefer the term transgender and do not like to be referred to as transsexual. For instance, in 1979, Christine Jorgensen, a well known transgender, publicly dismissed the term transsexual in reference to her and identified herself as a transgender. She stated that gender is not related to bed partners but refers to one’s identity. Some transsexual individuals also object to being categorized as transgender.
Genderqueer are not masculine or feminine but are bigender, agender, androgynous or pangender. Bigender individuals move between the roles of male and females (gender fluid) or being male and female at the same time (androgynous). Agender are identified as persons who are genderless or beyond gender. Persons who exhibit multiple genders are referred to as pangender. Some forms of androgynous behavior include men with earrings and women with pants. Androgynous people are also called intersex individuals. Genderqueer is an identity that is not linked to a person’s sexual orientation.
A cross dresser is also called a transvestite person. This is an individual who wears the clothes of the opposite sex. This definition does not include people who wear the clothes of the opposite sex for other reasons like female impersonators or actors or males or females who are participating in a masquerade. Cross dressers do not necessarily want to be or adopt the mannerisms of the opposite gender. Cross dressers may not even want to alter their physical appearance to fit that of the opposite sex. Many cross dressers are heterosexual.
|
<urn:uuid:3fdf7660-0686-4be0-a1c3-f3db95f67555>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.ncftm.org/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00137-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.942734
| 611
| 3.421875
| 3
|
Sports Development in Schools
In terms of sports development, the Council hosts a small but vibrant group of people, who, like many authorities, have established TOP programmes in schools, taken on the Active Sport and Communities initiatives and deliver a service through a constantly changing format of direct provision and facilitation. At present the lack of a Sports College is hampering developments with Active Schools but hopefully this situation will change in the near future.
When it was suggested that the sport development unit provide a service for local primary schools in which qualified sports coaches take games lessons, it appeared to be an exciting and worthwhile opportunity but initiated some concerns. These concerns were heightened when the main aim of the service was stated to be the release of class teacher to work in other curriculum areas.
- Would the headteachers and teacher be happy with this service?
- Why not let the teachers stay in the lessons and learn from the coaches?
- How could we ensure a quality and consistency of delivery which brought benefits to the education of young people?
Coaches in Schools Scheme
Tameside Sports Development work in partnership with local primary schools to deliver approximately one thousand PE lessons a year equating to over 3500 children having the opportunity to play sport each week. The scheme's main objective is to promote and provide sport within schools whilst releasing a Key Stage 2 class teacher to work in other curriculum areas for the benefit of a whole school improvement.
Curriculum Lessons - Key Stage 2
At the end of each school year all schools have the opportunity to participate in the scheme, currently 97% of the primary schools are actively involved. The schools can choose how many half terms they would like the sportscoach's in. On average most schools utilise the scheme for three out of the six half terms however over 30% of schools buy in coaches all year round. The schools have the choice of sports (athletics, basketball, cricket, hockey, football, volleyball, rugby, netball and tennis) that are delivered over six weeks and in line with National Curriculum 2000 guidelines.
Curriculum Lessons - Key Stage 1
Over the last year the coaches in schools scheme expanded into Key Stage One with an emphasis on developing generic motor skills that are fundamental to all sports. The scheme has received great feedback and within a year has doubled in demand with over 180 lessons scheduled from September.
Extra - Curricular Activities
To compliment the work done in curriculum time after school clubs are also organised which last 5 weeks. Within a school year Sports Development deliver 250 sports clubs that in total attracts 3500 boys and girls from all cultures and backgrounds to get engaged in sport. Not only do Sports Development provide the opportunity to gain further coaching, but all schools are provided with the opportunity to enter school tournaments in all the sports provided in term time. Within the last year Sports Development at a variety of venues hosted 21 separate tournaments. These tournaments attracted over 200 school teams from all over the borough.
In order to deliver such a comprehensive scheme a Sports Development Officer coordinates eight coach's who are employed full time. All coaches are qualified to at least a level two within a specific sport and have completed their First aid Certificate and Child Protection Workshop. With these qualifications and the continual inset courses and mentoring provided ensure that the coaches have the skills and expertise to deliver lessons within the National Curriculum 2000 guidelines.
In order for the scheme to continually improve and meet the demands of the schools Sports Development seek regular feedback. This is done via regular communication particularly at PE Association meetings where all issues surrounding primary school sports are discussed. The second method of evaluation is done via evaluation forms that have to be completed by the school at the end of every half term. Schools currently state that the satisfaction rating of this service is 88% excellent and 12% good at Key Stage 2 and 90% excellent and 10% satisfactory at Key Stage 1.
How to contact us
For further information about coaching in schools or sports development in general contact us:
|
<urn:uuid:70879867-4374-4e53-8db9-afdc5bc35654>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.tameside.gov.uk/sports/development/schools
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961562
| 806
| 2.609375
| 3
|
An impact event is a collision between celestial objects causing measurable
effects. Impact .... The minimum impact velocity on Earth is 11 km/s with asteroid
impacts averaging around 17 km/s. .... ...
Jan 26, 2015 ... This morning, an enormous space rock missed Earth by a narrow margin of
745,000 miles , or about three times the distance from the Earth to ...
Feb 14, 2013 ... A significantly bigger asteroid would produce a significantly bigger blast ...
Astronomers estimate there are 2,400 objects in the vicinity of Earth that ... As it
happens, we have a very good idea of how things would unfold in a ... 65 million
years ago could tell you—if an asteroid hadn't killed them all, of cours...
www.ask.com/youtube?q=What Would Happen If an Asteroid Hit the Earth&v=bU1QPtOZQZU
Mar 7, 2011 ... Earth was born as a result of repeated asteroid collisions, the moon was ... Learn
what would happen if an asteroid hit the Earth with this ...
Oct 16, 2015 ... A similar collision today would likely kill billions of people … most of the animals
and all the vegetation. It's possible a few people could survive ...
Mar 1, 2015 ... What would happen if a larger asteroid collided with Earth? A simulation by the
Discovery Channel has provided a visual scenario to take us ...
Jun 6, 2014 ... ... to Earth. Here's what happened if it actually did hit the Earth. ... Big 'Beast'
Asteroid Flies by Earth Sunday: What Would Happen if It Hit Us?
If a big comet hit the Earth, it would cause great devastation. It might cause ... This
is believed to be due to the impact of comets or large asteroids. While the ...
Mar 2, 2015 ... The Discovery Channel ran a simulation to see what damage a gigantic asteroid
hitting our planet would cause -- and whether or not it would ...
By the end of 2003, astronomers had discovered about 400 asteroids whose
orbits ... According to the best estimates, objects 3 meters across impact the Earth
|
<urn:uuid:108c27b3-b2fb-454d-9b4d-3ef17b609c6b>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.ask.com/web?q=What+Would+Happen+If+an+Asteroid+Hit+the+Earth&o=2603&l=dir&qsrc=3139&gc=1
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.896841
| 446
| 3.84375
| 4
|
The Oklahoma Territory of the mid- to late-1800's prior to the Land Rush days, was littered with small towns. Many others sprang up after the Rush in the early 1890's while "Tent Cities" were prevalent during the oil boom days of 1900-1935. Some, like Benton, which was located east of present-day Beaver
on the Beaver River
in the Panhandle region, flourished for a time--to the point where populations approached 1,000 residents. Their demise was often triggered by a catastrophe such as a fire, when a natural resource such as a gypsum field played out or, as was Benton's case, when the buffalo disappeared. Some lost their fight with the Dust Bowl of the early-to-mid 1930's while others along Route 66
dried up when the Interstate Highway System was constructed.
With an incredible 250 (or so) ghost or near-ghost towns on record, this page, instead of being the definitive source of Oklahoma ghost towns, will present thumbnail sketches and brief anecdotes of a sampling of these towns.
|
<urn:uuid:3a0bc452-b9cd-4a1d-8af6-fe3b4c6f0bbe>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.ohwy.com/ok/g/ghosttow.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00038-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97356
| 219
| 2.703125
| 3
|
Ferreira, António (äntôˈnyŏ fərēˈrə) [key], c.1528–69, Portuguese dramatist and poet. Ferreira served as a privy councillor and a magistrate. Influenced by the Italian Renaissance, he wrote his great play Inés de Castro (c.1557), employing Italian meters and classical form. The only Renaissance tragedy in Portuguese, it was translated into English in 1697. Ferreira also wrote comedies, sonnets, and odes. His writing is generally grave and elevated and displays his classical learning. He was important in the movement to free Portuguese literature and language from Spanish influence.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
|
<urn:uuid:68a61c16-b1b5-424d-8591-a749464bd366>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/people/ferreira-antonio.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.951304
| 166
| 2.90625
| 3
|
"Our Father." Only two words, and yet, if we learned to pray these words as Jesus instructed, our lives would be radically transformed. In Jesus' day it was not uncommon to address God as Father; this wasn't new. But Jesus made this way of speaking to and thinking about God, normative. "Father," in Jesus' view, should be the customary interpretation of God.
Jesus went so far as to call God "Abba." This was not a formal term for the male parent. This was an affectionate Aramaic title used by the smallest of children, a term of tenderness. Welcome. Approachability. Vulnerability. To think of God as "Papa" or "Dad" was a total upheaval – a redemptive upheaval – in terms of God language.
Consider that the pietistic Jews of Jesus' day wouldn't even say God's name, nor would they write it down. "Yahweh," God's name as revealed to the Old Testament patriarchs, was spelled without the vowels, all in an effort to maintain reverence. And a common Jewish prayer of Jesus' day began with sixteen different adjectives to describe God, but the prayer never called his name.
What a contrast, as Jesus began his prayers with the simple, audacious word "Father." God is neither a distant, ambivalent, unapproachable deity, nor a vindictive titan who has to be constantly placated. Instead, he is a loving parent, and consequently, we are his beloved children. We are accepted, treasured, and cherished.
This unconditional, parental love of God was the driving force behind Jesus' ministry. Jesus didn't come to earth as the Christ to change God's mind about us – as if God really wasn't sold on humanity in the first place and Jesus had to come work out a deal to avoid our destruction – that is absolutely preposterous.
No, Jesus didn't come to change God's attitude toward us. Jesus came to change our attitude about God, revealing him to be a benevolent Father wooing us into his welcoming arms. This God can be trusted. He can be revered. He can be loved, because he loves us. Embracing God as Father is nothing short of a spiritual shake-up, correcting the many misrepresented images that have been put before us.
Now, I'll hurry to say that the use of "Father" should not be taken as exclusively paternalistic or masculine. Jesus was not talking about the sexual identity of God, as if God uses the men's room. The point is that God relates to us as a compassionate parent, mother and father, not that God has a "Y" chromosome.
In fact, to introduce God as "Father" to some folks isn't helpful; it is detrimental, as the word "Father" has too much baggage attached to it. This isn't an attack on God's parenthood. It is an acknowledgment that some people struggle with the image of divine parent, because they have no healthy model with which to compare it.
Too many people have had lousy, abusive fathers. Too many have been harmed, raped, hated, or abandoned by their fathers. Too many have problems with men – men who have used and maltreated them with such intensity, that to begin a prayer, "Our Father," creates an emotional and spiritual tailspin before they even get started.
What comes to their mind when they think about God is not a beneficent image. And while they can speak of God as "Creator," "Lord," even "Mother," the idea of Father is associated with far too much pain to be useful. So let me be clear that this is a metaphor. It is a signpost pointing to something else, someone else; someone who is better to us than anyone else could be; someone who loves with an absolute love; someone who welcomes us into his arms without qualification or reservation.
So you might call on the Almighty using words like God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Father, Mother, Parent, Papa, Protector, Provider, or Guardian – even Uncle Charlie or Aunt Lucille – whatever word is most associated with love, trust, welcome, and safety. Call God what you will; but call on him (or her). You will be welcomed, always.
Ronnie McBrayer is a syndicated columnist, pastor, and author. His newest book is "The Gospel According to Waffle House." You can read more at www.ronniemcbrayer.me.
|
<urn:uuid:4c9938f4-7c9d-4cc7-b98e-6b1ec1104c0c>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://blog.nola.com/cest-la-nola/2014/06/our_father.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.98142
| 929
| 2.859375
| 3
|
Consumers across the Middle East and North Africa going green with change in shopping habits, according to Yahoo! Maktoob Research
Survey reveals attitudes towards environment in the Middle East and North Africa as world marks Earth DayConsumers across the Middle East and North Africa are changing their lifestyle and shopping habits as they become more environmentally aware, according to a new survey from Yahoo! Maktoob Research.
The online poll canvassed opinion on environmental issues across the Arab world in advance of the annual global Earth Day this Friday, April 22.
The survey showed that people across the Middle East and North Africa are well informed about environmental issues with more than 60 percent of those polled concerned about the environment and agreeing that the seriousness of global warming is generally underestimated.
Tamara Deprez, Head of Yahoo! Maktoob Research said, “There is an ongoing debate in green circles over whether the Middle East and North Africa is really taking climate change and risks of environmental pollution seriously, and it’s interesting to see that the level of awareness is indeed high in the region with many intending to take personal actions to become more environmentally conscious.”
Across the Arab world, eighty percent of people polled were aware that the earth’s rising temperature is mainly triggered by the effects of pollution. According to the poll, greater awareness and understanding of environmental issues is changing the way people live and shop.
The Yahoo! Maktoob Research survey said that 44 percent of consumers in the region have changed their purchasing behavior by choosing products which they believed to be more environmentally friendly, while the majority of respondents – 60 percent - agreed that the environment is a very important factor in their purchasing decisions.
At home people are making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. About seven out of ten consumers consciously attempt to reduce their household’s usage of energy, while nearly half of households (46%) use water saving devices to improve water efficiency and reduce water consumption.
CELEBRATING EARTH DAY
The Middle East and North Africa is reaffirming its commitment to improve the environment celebrating Earth Day on April 22. Earth Day has spread across the globe with thousands of events in more than 180 countries.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents in the region are aware of Earth Day, the Yahoo! Maktoob Research poll said.
While Moroccans seem to be most knowledgeable about Earth Day celebrations (75%), Algerians and Iraqis (26%) fall drastically behind regarding Earth Day awareness, the poll revealed.
The short online poll had a sample of 1,700 consumers aged 15 and older from 14 Arab countries. A minimum of 100 consumers per country were interviewed through the Yahoo! Maktoob Research community.
A host of related opinion polls and surveys can be found through Arab Eye (www.arab-eye.com), the Yahoo! Maktoob Research community - accessible online through the new Yahoo! Maktoob homepage for the Middle East (maktoob.yahoo.com) presented in both English and Arabic.
About Yahoo! Maktoob Research
Launched in September 2006, Yahoo! Maktoob Research combines the region’s largest online consumer panel in the Middle East and North Africa with the latest in international online research standards, to provide marketing professionals with better insights on consumer opinions, needs and expectations. Yahoo! Maktoob Research guarantees delivery of high-quality, super-fast quantitative research projects at highly competitive rates. Yahoo! Maktoob Research can target its panel members by demographics, such as age, gender and occupation among others, which makes it possible to target specific areas, a survey targeted at students for example. Key behavioral patterns are available too. Yahoo! Maktoob Research not only provides full project support to its clients via survey programming, translations and sampling, but also a complete research package, including consultancy. For more information, log on to: www.maktoob-research.com.
About Yahoo! Middle East
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) is the premier digital media company, creating deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. That’s how we deliver your world, your way. And Yahoo!’s unique combination of Science + Art + Scale connects advertisers to the consumers who build their businesses. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.com) or the company’s blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).
|
<urn:uuid:f360f8a3-bceb-4bcf-b78b-35c12247a13d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.dubib.com/news/6219_consumers-across-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-going-green-with-change-in-shopping-habits-according-to-yahoo-maktoob-research
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00061-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.929013
| 929
| 2.640625
| 3
|
Alcohol is a permissible drink in most countries. However, the warning for health injury is also as common with alcohol. Indeed, over consumption of drinks that contain alcohol in high concentration can cause serious damage to internal organs and systems. Oral cancer becomes inevitable at times for alcoholics. It is because the effect of this compound inhibits saliva-flow irritates soft oral tissues. Limited drinking, however, may not be as bad.
Here people can find out what are the effects of alcohol on dental implant surgeries.
- Alcohol causes dehydration while patients need to remain hydrated post surgery.
- Human body should get maximum nutrients before surgeries because they help in faster recovery. But alcohol impairs nutrient ingestion causing no or reduced benefit.
- Alcohol interferes with post-operation antibiotics.
- Alcohol slows down blood coagulation. Blood Coagulation is that natural characteristic of a body that is needed in every surgery. Surgery for dental implant may fail due to open wounds.
- Alcohol develops tendency to smoke, which is worse than drinking for dental implants.
- Alcohol must be completely avoided for the first week after the surgery. Patients who have been prescribed painkillers must further avoid problematic drugs.
- Patients must ask dentist’s advice on which mouthwash to use as some contain alcohol.
- The degree of alcohol consumption is hard to be detected by oral examination, which is why patients must outright mention their drinking habits to dentists, who needs to determine whether the dental implant should be carried out.
- Prolonged heavy drinking causes bone loss and affect the longevity of the implant.
- Gum and teeth become sensitive due to alcohol.
Author Bio: Tony Rolland is a marketing consultant for Santa Rosa dentist Valeria Lawrence DDS, a progressive Santa Rosa,CA dentist. Tony writes about alternative medicine, health, dentistry and advancements in medicine and dentistry.
|
<urn:uuid:d730515d-8422-4864-9046-4a785e8aaa40>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.thetotaldentistry.com/2013-08-how-alcohol-impacts-dental-implant-surgeries/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00098-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.927582
| 382
| 2.828125
| 3
|
First, a prediction of the sound absorption of seated audiences in four concert halls was made by three methods. Employed were: reverberation chamber data obtained at the laboratory by the Kath and Kuhl method [Acustica 15, 127 (1965)] and the ISO-354 method on similar seating, and average absorption coefficients derived from RT data in 15 halls with three levels of upholstered seating [Beranek, Concert and Opera Halls, Acoustical Society of America, Woodbury, NY, 1996]. For each of the four halls, the residual absorption coefficients were determined from actual measurements (``residual`` meaning that due to all surfaces other than the seating). When the coefficients from the three methods and the measured residual coefficients were substituted in the Sabine equation, the K&K method gave the best prediction above 500 Hz and the Beranek method below 1000 Hz. In order to explain the large differences between K&K/ISO and actual hall measurements at the lower frequencies and to construct a method for predicting RTs in halls from reverberation chamber data, the difference in diffusivity in large concert halls and a reverberation chamber was examined. The incident angle distribution of sound rays onto a seated audience was determined by computer simulation and the oblique incident absorption coefficients of seated audiences were measured in an anechoic room. These findings were then employed to explain the large discrepancy.
|
<urn:uuid:14851dae-d19d-4017-b770-c47d600f8d13>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.auditory.org/asamtgs/asa96haw/3pAA/3pAA2.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00034-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.959769
| 281
| 3.140625
| 3
|
- Download PDF (249 KB)
- This publication is available only online.
Female Flight Propensity and Capability in Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) from Russia, North America, and Their Reciprocal F1 Hybrids
Environmental Entomology. 30(2): 380-387.
In the laboratory, the timing of both preflight and flight behaviors of the Asian strain of female gypsy moths, Lymantria dispar L., was regulated primarily by light intensity. The shortest times to initiation of wing fanning and flight occurred at 0.1 lux, the lowest light intensity evaluated. A gradual decrease in light intensity, compared with an instantaneous decrease, prolonged time to flight. The highest percentage of female flight was observed at 0.1 lux. A higher percentage of females initiated flight when exposed to lower light intensities after the onset of normal scotophase rather than before scotophase. Virgin females were less likely to fly than mated females. Females fanned their wings longer at lower temperatures and when they were capable of only a gliding flight. Females that were flight-tested the same day they emerged tended to take longer to initiate flight than those 1-2 d old. At 0.1 lux, the majority of the Asian females, less than 2% of the F1 hybrid females, and none of the North American females exhibited strong, directed flight. Over half of the F1 hybrids glided for a few meters while flapping their wings, whereas none of the North American females exhibited even this level of flight. Thus, female flight capability will be reduced when flighted and nonflighted forms initially hybridize.
Keena, M.A. 2001. Female Flight Propensity and Capability in Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) from Russia, North America, and Their Reciprocal F1 Hybrids. Environmental Entomology. 30(2): 380-387.
Last updated on: September 30, 2009
|
<urn:uuid:ae84ac60-521e-45d6-95f1-8da88e529f4d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/8381
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.929165
| 422
| 2.859375
| 3
|
By spokesman | February 15, 2010
Retard (verb) - to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.
Most bicyclists, especially racers and triathletes want to ride faster. However there are a number of factors that retard their forward motion and slow them down. Cyclists try of overcome these factors through training, technique and buying more expensive equipment. Let’s take a look at the factors that retard the motion of cyclists.
The primary forces that a cyclist must overcome are gravity and air resistance. The force due to gravity is proportional to weight. Given two cyclists who can produce equal power, the lighter one will go faster. The bicycle industry has embraced this fact and sells lighter bicycles each year. However cyclists need to consider not just the weight of their bicycle but the combined weight of the bicycle and themselves. A 150lb cyclist on an 18lb bicycle has a total weight of 168lbs. The same 150lb cyclist on a 20 lb. bicycle has a combined weight of 170 lbs. Changing from the 20lb bike to the 18 lb bike reduces the total combined weight by only 1.17% (2lbs/170lbs) for that cyclist.
The second factor that slows cyclists is air resistance. Air resistance increased exponentially with speed and does not become a significant factor until you reach about 15 mph. At speeds less than 15 mph, gravity is a more significant factor than air resistance. In order to decrease the force due to air resistance, you need to decrease your profile. Professional cyclists optimize their riding position in wind tunnel tests and have custom made bikes that minimize their profile. However even with the optimization of rider position and equipment, the cyclist’s body accounts for 80% of the drag due to air resistance. For amateurs, it is even higher than 80%. Most of the benefit that amateur cyclists can gain from minimizing their profile can be achieved with an aerobar and aerodynamic helmet. The extra benefit of an aerodynamic frame is insignificant for most riders. Unless you are a serious triathlete or racer who does time trials, an aerodynamic frame will only give a marginal improvement. Often the uncomfortable position needed to minimize air resistance will reduce the cyclist’s output power.
Cyclists tend to spend more money to increase speed. Often they will spend hundreds or thousands of dollars more on a bicycle to save a few pounds or gain an aerodynamic advantage. While this can make a difference for professional cyclists where the difference between victory and a loss can be a few seconds, the gain for an amateur cyclist is often not significant. If I had a nickel for every overweight person that buys a sub 17 lb bike or every triathlete that buys an aerodynamic frame that is so uncomfortable that they sacrifice a significant amount of their power, I could retire. As Rahm Emanuel would say about spending all of that extra money to gain a marginal increase in speed - “That’s just f–king retarded”
There is a campaign to stop the use of the word retard. A website at http://www.r-word.org is asking people to pledge to stop using the r-word. I decided not to take the pledge. So did Christopher Fairman, who wrote an article entitled “Saying It Is Hurtful. Banning It Is Worse.” in the Outlook Section of the Washington Post.
|
<urn:uuid:c5e43573-87bb-43bc-b10b-c7fdea2d64c7>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://bicyclespokesman.com/retarded-motion/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.956866
| 696
| 3.078125
| 3
|
The Welsh Government have launched a campaign to raise awareness about how we can all take simple steps now to reduce our risk of developing dementia in later life.
Dementia is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that over time may include:
- memory loss and difficulties with thinking
- problem-solving or
A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour. The most common forms are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia (mini strokes).
The risk of dementia increases with age. There are currently over 42,000k people with dementia in Wales and this figure is rising. Healthier living may reduce dementia risk by 60%.
We can all ACT NOW to reduce our risk in six simple steps:
Active (physically and socially)
Check your health regularly
Try new things
No to smoking
Only drink alcohol within the recommended guidelines, if at all
Watch your weight
|
<urn:uuid:a2f14392-f917-422a-879d-1376d39392fc>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://change4lifewales.org.uk/adults/dementia/?lang=en
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.941423
| 187
| 3.140625
| 3
|
For some families, lunchboxes might as well be relics from the past. Why bother with packing the kids’ lunch when they can get a perfectly healthy meal at school?But, you may surprised by what you don't know about our national school lunch program.
School lunch service as we know it began in 1946 as The National School Lunch Program. Congress enacted The National School Lunch Act, which President Truman signed, in response to an abundance of men who were rejected from the World War II draft due to nutritional deficiencies.
Today, the National School Lunch Program provides meals to more than 30 million students nationwide. For those students whose families live below 130 percent poverty level (an income of $27,560 for a family of four), the lunch is free. Those who live between 130 percent and 185 percent poverty level (an income of $39,220) pay a reduced price for lunch, no more than 40 cents. And all others pay full price.
How does the program work? Schools that participate get cash subsidies and commodities from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as long as their lunches meet Federal requirements.
According to a USDA Food and Nutrition Service fact sheet, “school lunches must meet the applicable recommendations of the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend that no more than 30 percent of an individual’s calories come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations also establish a standard for school lunches to provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories.”
That means that, overall, school meals are very balanced, according to Alexis Steines, Public Affairs Associate for the School Nutrition Association in Washington DC. “All school meals have to meet strict nutritional values set by the federal government, and there are also requirements that some states put into place over their program.”
The biggest problem, Steines says, is that students can choose food items from the a la carte lines that are not as balanced and nutritious as the actual school meal. “The dietary guidelines for the a la carte line hasn’t been updated since the 1970s,” Steines says. “So students can purchase beverages or snack items that don’t meet the USDA dietary guidelines.”
But Susan Levin, Director of Nutrition Education for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PRCM), also based out of DC, says there's an even bigger problem than the a la carte line: the food pyramid that school lunch programs follow. Levin says the pyramid, which was created by the USDA, is flawed because it favors the interests of agricultural industry. Specifically, she says, the allowances for fat are too high.
"And eighty percent of schools do not meet the USDA standards for fat composition," Levin says. She explains that in addition to reimbursing schools for a portion of their lunches, the USDA gives the schools overproduced meat and dairy products for free--products that are fat and sugar laden. "The USDA is paying industry--huge corporations--for their overproduced goods," she says.
The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report in 2003 titled, “School Lunch Program: Efforts Needed to Improve Nutrition and Encourage Healthy Eating.” The GAO’s findings in 2003 were that though schools were moving toward meeting school lunch nutrition requirements, they did not meet the required 30 percent limit for calories from fat. The GAO reported that officials said they run the risk that students will buy fewer school lunches when they introduce healthier foods, resulting in loss of needed revenue.
But schools are not the ones to blame, Levin says. “The schools are set up for failure. You have to be an incredibly creative person to work within the system and get healthy school lunches out there.”
How can you ensure your children are eating healthily at school? Get involved in the schools. Talk to the principals, food service directors, and superintendent. Petition to get rid of vending machines. Solicit help from national organizations like the School Nutrition Association and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Or, choose to work at the federal level and change what the schools are getting. Get a petition going and take it to your representative; let him or her know that this is the number of people in the district who want to see a change.
For inspiration, visit The Edible Schoolyard’s web site: www.edibleschoolyard.org/. The Edible Schoolyard is a one-acre garden and kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California. Each student at the school attends 12 to 30 sessions in the kitchen and garden classrooms, depending on grade level, and the program hosts over 1,000 visitors each year and has inspired countless kitchen and garden programs.
For more information about the National School Lunch Program, visit the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Web site: www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/.
|
<urn:uuid:0fd0f742-1a44-4e84-bb81-34d03d3db2b8>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/school-lunch-nutrition/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.960636
| 1,052
| 3.78125
| 4
|
The Daily Ritual was one of a series of cultic rituals performed for the statue of the god by temple priests each day. Performed in the morning after the first light of dawn, it was complemented by similar but more abbreviated rituals in the afternoon and evening. The Egyptians believed that the gods themselves had established the correct form of the rituals, and along with the celebration of annual festivals, these acts were considered imperative for securing the continuing beneficence of the divinities.
The resources in this section describe the various rites of the Daily Ritual, illustrated by scenes that are part of the decorative program at Karnak and other Egyptian sites.
Guide (PDF format) - This document guides you through the videos in this section
Discussion of the Individual Rites - This video introduces the viewer to the "Daily Ritual" at Karnak, a series of cult rituals performed at the temple each morning. A number of the rituals were depicted in the great Hypostyle Hall of the temple. 4min 22sec.
|
<urn:uuid:02e0c2b7-4e2e-4202-94e5-5701932feddc>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/experience/DailyRitual
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.964804
| 204
| 3.59375
| 4
|
http://www.gizmag.com/first-steel-bodied-school-bus-donated-to-henry-ford-museum/8963/picture/42838/ "Using a steel body instead of wood and incorporating a Ford Model T chassis, the 1927 Blue Bird No. 1 proved a pioneering vehicle, with all major school bus manufacturers move to steel-bodies within a decade of its appearance."
Most school buses turned the now familiar yellow in 1939. In April of that year, Dr. Frank W. Cyr, a professor at Teachers College in New York who became known as the "Father of the Yellow School Bus," organized a conference that established national school bus construction standards, including the standard color of yellow for the school bus.
Engineers from Blue Bird Body Co., Chevrolet, International Harvester, Dodge, and Ford Motor Company, as well as paint experts from DuPont and Pittsburgh Paint showed up. Together with the transportation administrators, they met for 7 days and agreed on 44 standards, including the color and some mechanical specifications such as body length, ceiling height, and aisle width.
It became known officially as "National School Bus Chrome". The color was selected because black lettering on that hue was easiest to see in the semi-darkness of early morning and late afternoon. The distinctive color later became officially known as "National Glossy School Bus Yellow". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Bird_Corporation
|
<urn:uuid:82246a9d-bb1c-4c5a-9661-3dcd69932b74>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/05/first-school-bus-donated-to-henry-ford.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00172-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.959961
| 301
| 3.1875
| 3
|
If we're talking about a finite set of the natural numbers, like those between 1 and 500 or 1 and a million, it seems to me that the fraction of numbers in that finite set that have a factor of 5 approaches $1/5$ as the set increases in size. Like roughly $1/2$ of all numbers in such a set have a factor of 2, roughly $1/3$ have a factor of 3, and so on; and this approximation grows less "rough" and more exact as the size of the set increases.
So, can we say that out of the entire set of the natural numbers, exactly $1/5$ are divisible by 5? Or perhaps that the limit of the fraction of the natural numbers less than or equal to a given n divisible by a given integer approaches 1/that integer as n approaches infinity?
(I would love to know how to ask this question with proper notation.)
|
<urn:uuid:154d9e4c-acd9-4eb7-89f2-92dc0c34ec78>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://math.stackexchange.com/questions/187233/is-the-statement-1-3-of-the-natural-numbers-are-divisible-by-3-true-is-anythi
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00143-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96843
| 193
| 2.625
| 3
|
Self-government agreements set out arrangements for Aboriginal groups to govern their internal affairs and assume greater responsibility and control over the decision making that affects their communities. Self-government agreements address: the structure and accountability of Aboriginal governments, their law-making powers, financial arrangements and their responsibilities for providing programs and services to their members. Self-government enables Aboriginal governments to work in partnership with other governments and the private sector to promote economic development and improve social conditions.
Because Aboriginal groups have different needs, negotiations will not result in a single model of self-government. Self-government arrangements may take many forms based on the diverse historical, cultural, political and economic circumstances of the Aboriginal groups, regions and communities involved.
Comprehensive claims settlements also include self-government arrangements.
Federal Policy Guide Aboriginal Self-Government
The Government of Canada's Approach to Implementation of the Inherent Right and the Negotiation of Aboriginal Self-Government.
The process for completing self government agreements follow these six steps:
- Submission of Proposal
- Framework Agreement
- Agreement-in-Principle (AIP)
- Final Agreement and Ratification
You may also be interested in:
- Chronology of Events - Inuvialuit Self-Government Agreement-in-Principle
- Frequently Asked Questions - Inuvialuit Self-Government Agreement-in-Principle
- Fact Sheet: Aboriginal Self-Government
- Fact Sheet – Own-Source Revenue – At a Glance
- Fact Sheet - Taxation by Aboriginal Governments
- Harper Government Responds to Calls for More Efficient Results-Based Approach to Treaty and Self-government Negotiations
- Voices of Vision: Yukon Aboriginal Self-Government
- Treaties and Self-Government in British Columbia
- Date modified:
|
<urn:uuid:9e729eea-b5cf-4812-b828-87812c46bba0>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100032275/1100100032276
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00141-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.916195
| 361
| 3.46875
| 3
|
Solar cell breaks world record for efficiency
Engineers have used inexpensive materials to create a solar cell certified at a world-record 7.0 percent efficiency.
“Previously, quantum dot solar cells have been limited by the large internal surface areas of the nanoparticles in the film, which made extracting electricity difficult,” says Susanna Thon of the University of Toronto.
“Our breakthrough was to use a combination of organic and inorganic chemistry to completely cover all of the exposed surfaces.”
Full story at Futurity.
More research news from top universities.
Photo credit: U. TorontoPosted by Futurity
|
<urn:uuid:ef91bfa8-eaa6-41e8-a1cb-1a46f179d2b3>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://holykaw.alltop.com/solar-cell-breaks-world-record-for-efficiency
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00072-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.924939
| 128
| 3.046875
| 3
|
This image of Ceres is part of a sequence taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on May 23, 2015, from a distance of 3,200 miles (5,100 kilometers). Resolution in the image is about 1,600 feet (480 meters) per pixel.
The view shows numerous secondary craters, formed by the re-impact of debris strewn from larger impact sites. Smaller surface details like this are becoming visible with increasing clarity as Dawn spirals lower in its campaign to map Ceres.
The region shown here is located between 13 degrees and 51 degrees north latitude and 182 degrees and 228 degrees east longitude. The image has been projected onto a globe of Ceres, which accounts for the small notch of black at upper right.
OpNav9 is the ninth and final set of Dawn images of Ceres taken primarily for navigation purposes.
Dawn's mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK, Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. For a complete list of acknowledgments, see http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission.
For more information about the Dawn mission, visit http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov.
|
<urn:uuid:beb994de-b4b1-4990-a562-b439327eba47>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA19065
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.896616
| 322
| 3.40625
| 3
|
Don't Forget Recycling in Ash Regulation Discussions
Americans benefit from robust conversations about coal
ash disposal and the best ways to manage it. Unfortunately, those conversations
all too often degenerate into attacks on “toxic coal ash” that demonize the
material and interfere with the best coal ash management strategy of all –
beneficially using the ash instead of disposing it in the first place.
EPA’s recent six-year coal ash rulemaking was primarily a
debate over who should enforce new disposal standards. EPA presented both hazardous (Subtitle C) and
non-hazardous (Subtitle D) approaches. Notably, the landfill engineer...
posted by: on: Aug 05, 2015 @ 09:47
Happy Earth Day 2015!
Happy Earth Day 2015! Much has changed over the 45 years
since the first Earth Day was held in 1970. Americans have made enormous
progress in cleaning up our environment and creating consciousness about
environmental issues in people’s everyday lives.
For the people who work in the coal ash recycling
industry, improving the environment is a job description and every day is Earth
Day. There are many good reasons to view coal ash as a resource, rather than a
waste. Recycling it conserves natural resources and saves energy. In some
cases, products made with coal ash perform better than ...
posted by: on: Apr 22, 2015 @ 02:43
Think Coal Ash for “America Recycles Day”
November 15 is “America Recycles Day” and what better
occasion to remember the environmental benefits of recycling coal ash.
More than 50 million tons of coal ash are safely recycled
every year in a wide variety of uses and products. Recycling coal ash keeps it
out of landfills and disposal ponds where it can cause problems.
Despite what you may read about coal-fueled power plants
shutting down, coal remains the largest energy source used to generate electricity.
Generating that much electricity from coal produces large volumes of ash —
solid materials left over from the combustion...
posted by: on: Nov 15, 2014 @ 01:15
On Kingston Anniversary, Time to Refocus on Recycling
December 22 marks the fifth anniversary of the coal ash
spill at the Kingston power plant in Tennessee. Cleanup from the incident is
substantially complete, but the regulatory uncertainty and negative publicity
the spill caused continue to depress efforts to recycle coal ash rather than
throw it away.
In today’s Knoxville News-Sentinel, American Coal Ash
Association Executive Director Thomas Adams called for refocusing on recycling.
You can view the article on the KnoxNews website here – or view a reprint
Five Years after Kingston
Spill: It’s Time to Refocus on R...
posted by: on: Dec 22, 2013 @ 07:38
Kingston – Then and Now
On the fifth anniversary of the Kingston coal ash spill,
Citizens for Recycling First readers may be interested in what the site looks
like today. The Tennessee Valley Authority has posted a bunch of “before” and
“after” photos on its website showing the remarkable cleanup that has occurred.
You can see all of the photos here or look below for samples.Above: December 2008Above: Same view 2012...
posted by: on: Dec 22, 2013 @ 07:29
Coal Ash Bill Passes House with Broad, Bipartisan Support
Legislation that would create the first national coal ash
disposal regulations passed the U.S. House of Representatives with the support
of 39 Democrats, 279 diverse industry trade associations and individual
companies, and a positive statement from the Obama White House.
HR 2218, the “Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of
2013,” passed the House on July 25, 2013, by a vote of 265-155. Sponsored by
Rep. David McKinley (R‐WV) and 54 co‐sponsors, the bill attracted yes votes
from 39 Democrats from urban and rural districts in 21 states.
The bill also enjoyed widespre...
posted by: on: Aug 04, 2013 @ 03:13
|
<urn:uuid:f95c1203-3fa9-44cf-a07d-326dbe7a1edd>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.recyclingfirst.org/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.906575
| 897
| 2.84375
| 3
|
From George Gheverghese Joseph’s excellent book ‘The Crest of the Peacock: Non-European Roots of Mathematics’:
The concept of mathematics found outside the Graeco-European praxis was very different. The aim was not to build an imposing edifice on a few self-evident axioms but to validate a result by any suitable method. Some of the most impressive work in Indian and Chinese mathematics examined in later chapters, such as the summations of mathematical series, or the use of Pascal’s triangle in solving higher-order numerical equations, or the derivations of infinite series, or “proofs” of the so-called Pythagorean theorem, involve computations and visual demonstrations that were not formulated with reference to any formal deductive system. The view that mathematics is a system of axiomatic/deductive truths inherited from the Greeks, and enthroned by Descartes, has traditionally been accompanied by the following cluster of values that reflect the social context in which it originated:
- An idealist rejection of any practical, material(ist) basis for mathematics: hence the tendency to view mathematics as value-free and detached from social and political concerns
- An elitist perspective that sees mathematical work as the exclusive preserve of a high-minded and almost priestly caste, removed from mundane preoccupations and operating in a superior intellectual sphere
Mathematical traditions outside Europe did not generally conform to this cluster of values and have therefore been dismissed on the grounds that they were dictated by utilitarian concerns with little notion of rigor, especially relating to proof.
|
<urn:uuid:57a04964-014f-48d7-b8c6-82996e906b4d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.ashwinp.com/tag/computational-mind/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953686
| 335
| 3
| 3
|
Cameras save lives
In November 2010 the RAC Foundation published a report - Effectiveness of Speed Cameras - by Professor Richard Allsop of University College London which reviewed available literature to make an assessment on the benefit or otherwise they had on road safety.
At that time the conclusion was that cameras cut the number of people being killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads each year by about 800.
In June 2013 the Foundation published further work (updated in November 2013) by Professor Allsop which was intended as a guide to help those people attempting to interpret speed camera data which councils are now obliged to release in the interests of transparency.
Based on this 2013 work, which takes into account revised techniques and the general downward trend in road deaths, Professor Allsop recognises that the estimate of 800 needs to be revised downwards and writes as follows:
"The 2010 report was a review of evidence then available as a contribution to a high-profile professional and political debate about the use of speed cameras. In that context it was relevant to estimate the number of deaths or serious injuries being prevented per year nationally by the use of cameras, and the resulting estimate was about 800 per year.
"The 2013 analysis had no such aim, and was carried out in the course of developing advice for users of the extensive data published in 2011 in the interests of transparency about collisions in the vicinity of speed cameras.
"But it is interesting and fair to ask how different the estimate made in 2010 might have been if results like those of the 2013 analysis had been available then, and what the corresponding estimate might be for today’s conditions.
"The answer is that alongside the estimate of about 800 made by the method available in 2010 would have been set a second estimate, made differently, of about 420. In interpreting these two different estimates, greater weight would have been given to the lower estimate because it stemmed from more powerful analysis of more extensive data, but the higher estimate would still have been taken into account because it stemmed logically from different data and analysis. If national coverage of speed cameras today is broadly similar to that of 2010, the corresponding estimates for today’s conditions are about 750 and 390.
"In more detail:
"In considering the discrepancy between the two estimates, it should first be recognised that neither is based on data that is statistically representative of the whole range of camera sites nationally. Secondly, the information from the 2013 analysis affects only one part of the analysis leading to the 2010 estimate of 800. Other parts of the analysis remain unaltered, and in particular in respect of allowance for regression to the mean the outcome of the 2013 analysis and judgement is confirmed by the 2013 findings. The extrapolation to today’s conditions depends on the rather strong assumption about the coverage of speed cameras; it is based simply on there being about 8 per cent fewer road deaths or serious injuries nationally in the year ending June 2013 (the latest for which provisional data is available at the time of writing) than in the year ending March 2010 on which the 2010 estimate was based.
"The affected part of the 2010 analysis is the indication, from a combination of analysis and judgement, that after allowing for trend and regression to the mean cameras were reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured in their vicinity by about 43 per cent. The 2013 analysis in its updated form estimated this percentage to be about 22, which reduces the estimate of about 800 to about 420.
"The two analyses were based on data from different sensibly mixed but not statistically representative sets of road safety partnerships, 12 in 2010 and 9 in 2013, with only 3 partnerships common to the two sets. The 2010 set was chosen on grounds of availability of data at short notice and the 2013 set on grounds of ease of downloading of the data published on partnership websites in 2011. This could be expected to lead to an appreciable difference between the resulting estimates, but probably not such a large difference as has arisen. The two studies also differ in that the 2010 analysis is of numbers of casualties killed or seriously injured\while the 2013 analysis is of numbers of fatal or serious collisions, but this may not have contributed much to the difference because the 2013 analysis indicates that cameras may have little effect on the average number of fatal or serious casualties per fatal or serious collision.
"The only definitive way to resolve the discrepancy would be to make a comprehensive analysis on the 2010 and 2013 lines of data in the form published in 2011 from all or a sizeable random sample of the partnerships in England or, preferably, Great Britain. To extrapolate reliably to today’s conditions, comprehensive information would also need to be assembled about current speed camera coverage compared with coverage in 2010. All this would require substantially greater resources than were required for either the 2010 or the 2013 studies.
"One important finding on which the two studies are agreed is in estimating that the numbers killed or seriously injured per year in the vicinity of cameras are typically about one-third higher in the years from which data were used in selecting sites for the cameras than in other years prior to establishment of the cameras. The two studies are thus in agreement in estimating that regression to the mean accounts typically for a reduction of about 25 per cent in the numbers killed or seriously injured per year from the numbers recorded in the years on which selection of the camera sites were based. This percentage varies considerably between areas according to their characteristics, and between cameras within each area mainly because of random variation."
The text below accompanied the original publication of the Effectiveness of Speed Cameras in 2010.
Eight hundred more people could be killed or seriously injured each year on Britain’s roads if all the fixed and mobile speed cameras operational before the road safety grant was cut in summer 2010 were to be decommissioned.
The true scale of the benefits of speed cameras are detailed in a new report by Professor Richard Allsop of University College London for the RAC Foundation. In light of the findings the RAC Foundation is sending a copy of the report to every highway authority in the country as they consider how best to spend their reduced road safety budgets.
Professor Allsop says speed cameras have offered continuing road safety benefits since their widespread introduction between 2001 and 2005.
These benefits, Professor Allsop concludes, are not just to be found at camera sites but across the wider road network.
He also points out that a large majority of the public have consistently backed the use of cameras. And he dispels the myth that penalties generated by cameras are a significant source of revenue, showing that in 2007 just £4 out of every £60 raised in penalties was net income to the Treasury and there was no surplus for local authorities or the police.
In December 2011 Professor Allsop's work was honoured with a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.
|
<urn:uuid:4c865285-9594-4b41-82c7-e730d81080a9>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.racfoundation.org/research/safety/effectiveness-of-speed-cameras
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96877
| 1,377
| 2.53125
| 3
|
| Military, defense center in Civil War. Cooke voted 231 to 137 anti-secession, yet nine military units served Confederacy from here. In constant danger of Federal or Indian attack. Col. Wm. C. Young of Cooke, with 1,000 men took Indian Territory forts from Federals April-May 1861. Commissioners set up regular patrols. Forted a home as refuge for dependents. Gave $4,000 for munitions and wool cards to make cloth. Cotton gin, grist mill, gunsmiths, blacksmiths made war goods. C.S.A. was furnished epsom salts from Indian creek. Corn, beef, pork, wheat, other produce fed the military, home front. County swapped 25 steers for salt for dependent families. People worked hard, sacrificed much, protected homes of fighting men of Confederacy. (Back of Cooke County, C.S.A.) Organized Oct. 1863 with Gainesville as headquarters, the Second Frontier Regiment, Texas Cavalry C.S.A. guarded counties along Red River, to keep down outlaws, Indians, deserters. Col. James Bourland (1803-1868) was appointed Commander and it became known as Bourland's Border Regiment. Union invasion from north of Red River was constantly threatened. These mounted troops patrolled, maintained posts along river and in Indian Territory. Confederate Seminole troops served with the unit. Famous Confederate Indian Gen. Stand Watie and his Cherokee Brigade shared duty along perilous border. Bourland also worked with Frontier Regiment, state troops, that maintained line posts 100 mi. west, a day's horseback ride apart, from Red to Rio Grande rivers, and with a state militia line 30 mi. to the west. Erected by The State of Texas 1963. |
This page last updated: 7/15/2008
Cooke County, C.S.A./2nd Frontier Regiment Historical Marker Location Map, Texas
Related Themes: Texas C.S.A., Texas Confederate States of America, Confederacy
Texas Confederate Historical Markers.
|
<urn:uuid:eb84d803-0a94-4b67-becf-86b6aea511b6>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=Cooke+County,+C.S.A./2nd+Frontier+Regiment&cnty=cooke
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.940882
| 426
| 3.171875
| 3
|
The hemogram or complete blood count (CBC) is used as a broad screening test to check for such disorders as anemia, infection, and many other diseases. It is actually a profile of tests that examines different parts of the blood and includes the following:
- Hematocrit measures the percentage of red blood cells in a given volume of whole blood.
- Hemoglobin measures the amount of oxygen-carrying protein in the blood.
- Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) is a measurement of the average size of your red blood cells. The MCV is elevated when your red blood cells are larger than normal (macrocytic), for example in anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. When the MCV is decreased, your red blood cells are smaller than normal (microcytic) as is seen in iron deficiency anemia or thalassemias.
- Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) is a calculation of the average amount of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin inside a red blood cell. Macrocytic red blood cells are large so they tend to have a higher MCH, while microcytic red blood cells would have a lower value.
- Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) is a calculation of the average concentration of hemoglobin inside a red cell. Decreased MCHC values (hypochromia) are seen in conditions where the hemoglobin is abnormally diluted inside the red cells, such as in iron deficiency anemia and in thalassemia. Increased MCHC values (hyperchromia) are seen in conditions where the hemoglobin is abnormally concentrated inside the red cells, such as in burn patients and hereditary spherocytosis, a relatively rare congenital disorder.
- Platelet Count is the number of platelets in a given volume of blood. Both increases and decreases can point to abnormal conditions of excess bleeding or clotting.
- Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) is a calculation of the variation in the size of your red blood cells. In some anemias, such as pernicious anemia, the amount of variation (anisocytosis) in red blood cell size (along with variation in shape – poikilocytosis) causes an increase in the RDW.
- Red Blood Cell (RBC) Count is a count of the actual number of red blood cells per volume of blood. Both increases and decreases can point to abnormal conditions.
- White Blood Cell (WBC) Count is a count of the actual number of white blood cells per volume of blood. Both increases and decreases can be significant.
|
<urn:uuid:981fec40-b6d4-4ad1-984e-c099a8a9e346>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.wyominghealthfairs.com/test/hemogram
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.889829
| 542
| 4.15625
| 4
|
Liaoning (lyouˈnĭngˈ) [key], province (2010 pop. 43,746,323), c.58,400 sq mi (151,295 sq km), NE China, on the Bohai and Korea Bay. The capital is Shenyang (Mukden). A part of Manchuria, it encompasses the Liaodong peninsula and the plain of the Liao River. The Liao River is navigable in its lower reaches, and an extensive rail net, including sections of the South Manchuria RR, connects the interior with the ports along the coast. Rainfall is adequate, but long, severe winters permit only one harvest annually. Soybeans are the major crop, and millet, sorghum, wheat, rice, sweet potatoes, beans, cotton, tobacco, fruit, and oakleaf silk (pongee silk) are also produced. Along the coast, salt production and fishing are important.
Liaoning is China's largest producer of heavy industrial products, and it supplies one fifth of China's electrical power. It is a major coal-producing area and contains a large percentage of China's iron ore reserves; there are large deposits of oil and magnesite and smaller ones of copper, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Shenyang is the center of a vast heavy-industrial complex (metallurgy, machinery, chemicals, petroleum, and coal) that also embraces Anshan, a major city for iron and steel; Fushun, a coal and a shale oil producing center; and Dalian, the chief commercial port of Manchuria. Important manufactures include locomotives, tractors, and a wide range of heavy equipment. Liaoning is also a leading producer of machine-made paper, and it has numerous brick and tile factories that utilize waste ash and slag. Textiles and foodstuffs are also produced. In the late 20th cent. the huge state industries became increasingly uneconomical, and the province was the scene of labor unrest as workers went unpaid or were laid off and factories closed. The Supung Dam on the Yalu River, built by the Japanese, supplies power to Liaoning and North Korea.
Liaoning's fine harbors were long coveted by Russia and Japan for their strategic positions. Japan acquired (1895) the Liaodong peninsula after the first Sino-Japanese War, but was forced by Russia, Germany, and France to return it to China that same year. In 1898, Russia received the southern portion of the Liaodong peninsula as a 25-year leasehold. After the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), Japan took this territory (which it called Kwantung). The growth of railroads after 1900 spurred the development of the province; the Japanese concentrated heavy industry there, especially after 1931. After World War II, an area approximately the same as Kwantung was made the Port Arthur Naval Base District, under joint Soviet and Chinese operation. The district, which is now the city of Dalian and includes the port of Lüshun (Port Arthur), has been under sole Chinese administration since 1955. The eastern part of what was Rehe prov. became part of Liaoning in 1956, and in 1970 more than 30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km) of territory from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region were added to Liaoning in the west. This territory was returned to Inner Mongolia in 1979.
|
<urn:uuid:e24815db-45f0-4e5e-ace9-b30397b94a33>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/world/liaoning.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965973
| 711
| 3.09375
| 3
|
Memory-mapped file objects behave like both bytearray and like file objects. You can use mmap objects in most places where bytearray are expected; for example, you can use the re module to search through a memory-mapped file. You can also change a single byte by doing obj[index] = 97, or change a subsequence by assigning to a slice: obj[i1:i2] = b'...'. You can also read and write data starting at the current file position, and seek() through the file to different positions.
A memory-mapped file is created by the mmap constructor, which is different on Unix and on Windows. In either case you must provide a file descriptor for a file opened for update. If you wish to map an existing Python file object, use its fileno() method to obtain the correct value for the fileno parameter. Otherwise, you can open the file using the os.open() function, which returns a file descriptor directly (the file still needs to be closed when done).
For both the Unix and Windows versions of the constructor, access may be specified as an optional keyword parameter. access accepts one of three values: ACCESS_READ, ACCESS_WRITE, or ACCESS_COPY to specify read-only, write-through or copy-on-write memory respectively. access can be used on both Unix and Windows. If access is not specified, Windows mmap returns a write-through mapping. The initial memory values for all three access types are taken from the specified file. Assignment to an ACCESS_READ memory map raises a TypeError exception. Assignment to an ACCESS_WRITE memory map affects both memory and the underlying file. Assignment to an ACCESS_COPY memory map affects memory but does not update the underlying file.
To map anonymous memory, -1 should be passed as the fileno along with the length.
(Windows version) Maps length bytes from the file specified by the file handle fileno, and creates a mmap object. If length is larger than the current size of the file, the file is extended to contain length bytes. If length is 0, the maximum length of the map is the current size of the file, except that if the file is empty Windows raises an exception (you cannot create an empty mapping on Windows).
tagname, if specified and not None, is a string giving a tag name for the mapping. Windows allows you to have many different mappings against the same file. If you specify the name of an existing tag, that tag is opened, otherwise a new tag of this name is created. If this parameter is omitted or None, the mapping is created without a name. Avoiding the use of the tag parameter will assist in keeping your code portable between Unix and Windows.
offset may be specified as a non-negative integer offset. mmap references will be relative to the offset from the beginning of the file. offset defaults to 0. offset must be a multiple of the ALLOCATIONGRANULARITY.
(Unix version) Maps length bytes from the file specified by the file descriptor fileno, and returns a mmap object. If length is 0, the maximum length of the map will be the current size of the file when mmap is called.
flags specifies the nature of the mapping. MAP_PRIVATE creates a private copy-on-write mapping, so changes to the contents of the mmap object will be private to this process, and MAP_SHARED creates a mapping that’s shared with all other processes mapping the same areas of the file. The default value is MAP_SHARED.
prot, if specified, gives the desired memory protection; the two most useful values are PROT_READ and PROT_WRITE, to specify that the pages may be read or written. prot defaults to PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE.
access may be specified in lieu of flags and prot as an optional keyword parameter. It is an error to specify both flags, prot and access. See the description of access above for information on how to use this parameter.
offset may be specified as a non-negative integer offset. mmap references will be relative to the offset from the beginning of the file. offset defaults to 0. offset must be a multiple of the PAGESIZE or ALLOCATIONGRANULARITY.
To ensure validity of the created memory mapping the file specified by the descriptor fileno is internally automatically synchronized with physical backing store on Mac OS X and OpenVMS.
This example shows a simple way of using mmap:
import mmap # write a simple example file with open("hello.txt", "wb") as f: f.write(b"Hello Python!\n") with open("hello.txt", "r+b") as f: # memory-map the file, size 0 means whole file map = mmap.mmap(f.fileno(), 0) # read content via standard file methods print(map.readline()) # prints b"Hello Python!\n" # read content via slice notation print(map[:5]) # prints b"Hello" # update content using slice notation; # note that new content must have same size map[6:] = b" world!\n" # ... and read again using standard file methods map.seek(0) print(map.readline()) # prints b"Hello world!\n" # close the map map.close()
The next example demonstrates how to create an anonymous map and exchange data between the parent and child processes:
import mmap import os map = mmap.mmap(-1, 13) map.write(b"Hello world!") pid = os.fork() if pid == 0: # In a child process map.seek(0) print(map.readline()) map.close()
Memory-mapped file objects support the following methods:
Flushes changes made to the in-memory copy of a file back to disk. Without use of this call there is no guarantee that changes are written back before the object is destroyed. If offset and size are specified, only changes to the given range of bytes will be flushed to disk; otherwise, the whole extent of the mapping is flushed.
(Windows version) A nonzero value returned indicates success; zero indicates failure.
(Unix version) A zero value is returned to indicate success. An exception is raised when the call failed.
|
<urn:uuid:b35d8939-e34f-4d59-a5ac-44a56f4c3c1e>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.wingware.com/psupport/python-manual/3.1/library/mmap.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.78641
| 1,345
| 3.015625
| 3
|
MorphologyRead full entry
"Cool facts"Breeding across the tundra from Nunavut to Siberia, across Russia, and in Greenland, the Greater White-fronted Goose has one of the largest ranges of any species of goose in the world. In North America, however, it is common only west of the Mississippi River, where it is found in large flocks in wetlands and croplands.
The Tule goose is a large, dark subspecies of the Greater White-fronted Goose. This form breeds just around Cook Inlet in Alaska, and numbers only about 7,500. It winters in the Sacramento Valley of California, where it meets the more widespread subspecies. The Tule goose uses primarily marshes while the other form forages in open fields.
As is true of many geese, Greater White-fronted Goose pairs stay together for years and migrate together, along with their offspring. White-front family bonds can last longer than in most geese, and some young stay with their parents through the next breeding season. Parent and sibling associations may continue throughout their lives.
A smaller, but very similar goose is found in northern Asia and Europe. It is known as the Lesser White-fronted Goose and is the reason our goose is known as the "Greater." Dwarf species seem to have appeared repeatedly in geese. Other similar pairs are the Ross's and Snow geese and Cackling and Canada geese.
The Greater White-fronted Goose subspecies that breeds in Greenland usually winters in Ireland and Scotland. It occasionally turns up on the East Coast of North America. It is slightly larger than the typical American form, and has a brighter orange (less pink) bill, but telling them apart definitively is difficult.
|
<urn:uuid:f8ab6612-d51d-4b5e-93bf-0c7997ad40ae>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.eol.org/pages/1048438/overview/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00019-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953986
| 362
| 3.828125
| 4
|
After 20 minutes of searching, you found your glasses resting on your forehead. Memory loss is typically blamed on aging. People fear that memory lapses are signs of what's in store.
But take note. Dementia -- a mental decline advanced enough to affect daily activities, the most common form is Alzheimer's disease -- is more than forgetfulness. About 10 to 20 percent of people older than 65 get dementia, so most people who occasionally forget things simply have too much on their mind.
Though it is impossible to predict memory loss, follow these 10 steps to keep your memory sharp.
1. Exercise your mind. Regardless of age, an active brain produces new dendrites -- connections between nerve cells that allow cells to communicate with one another. This helps the brain to store and retrieve information more easily.
2. Stay Physically Active. Include stretching, aerobics and strength training in your fitness routine. Stretching increases the range in which you can bend and stretch joints, muscles and ligaments, helping to decrease stiffness and prevent injury. Aerobic activities such as brisk walking, bicycling and swimming increase endurance and decrease high blood pressure, reducing your risk of stroke, heart and kidney disease. Strength training can slow or even reverse the loss of muscle mass and slow bone loss.
3. Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. These contain antioxidants -- substances that protect and nourish brain cells. As an added bonus, these foods may reduce your risk of cancer, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. Drink water. Lack of water leads to dehydration, which can leave you feeling tired, making it hard to concentrate.
4. Develop a system of reminders. Write it down. Keep a diary, use calendars and make lists. Establish a routine. Store easy-to-lose items in the same place. Complete tasks in the same order and practice repetition.
5. Take time to remember things. Normal aging changes the brain, which makes your mind slightly less efficient in processing new information.
6. Learn relaxation techniques. Stress and anxiety can interfere with concentration, so it's important to take time to relax.
7. Keep a positive attitude. Studies show that optimists tend to live longer than those who are pessimistic.
8. Talk to your doctor. Many factors unrelated to aging or genetics can contribute to memory problems. These include the use of certain medications, poor vision and hearing, vitamin deficiencies, fatigue, depression and stress.
9. Check your levels. Know your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Also make sure your thyroid gland is functioning normally. These tests are good indicators of what's going on inside your body.
10. Keep your perspective. Everyone has difficulty remembering things at times. Don't lose sight of how much you do remember. Wisdom is built from a lifetime of memories.
|
<urn:uuid:9a8885f7-a046-4ff0-b903-05240a7aa7b3>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://mirror.augusta.com/stories/042805/com_042805_1811_23.shtml
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.926651
| 585
| 3.53125
| 4
|
Visibility of the Geminid meteor shower is likely to be poor this year because it will occur during a waxing moon and rainy weather, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said yesterday.
One of the three most prolific meteor showers of the year — along with the Quadrantids next month and the Perseids in August — the Geminids will peak between 9am today and 6am tomorrow.
However, the moon will rise at about 8:30pm today, which will make it difficult for sky gazers to see the shooting stars, the museum said.
Even before moonrise, observation of the celestial event will be problematic because of the heavy cloud cover and rainy conditions, the museum said.
The Central Weather Bureau has forecast rain nationwide until Friday.
The Geminid meteor shower, said to be one of the best this year, is expected to produce about 20 meteors per hour, the museum said.
Meanwhile, astronomical fans have been offered an incentive to brave the unfavorable observation conditions, said Chang Kuei-lan (張桂蘭), an assistant researcher at the museum.
US space agency NASA has developed a free iPhone application that has the capability to record data on the shower, such as the time and brightness of each meteor, she said.
With the use of the “Meteor Counter” app, enthusiasts and experts alike can record the data, which will be automatically uploaded to NASA for analysis, the space agency said.
“We want to include [sky watchers’] observations in NASA’s discoveries — and have them share in the excitement of building a knowledge base about meteor showers,” Bill Cooke, developer of the iPhone app and head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, said in a press release.
The Geminids originate from an asteroid instead of a comet, which is more common, Chang said.
|
<urn:uuid:62b79a86-42b6-43a7-8753-703c7d0b147c>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/12/14/2003520705
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00100-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.941706
| 392
| 2.984375
| 3
|
- Diet Plans
- Weight Loss Community
A couple months ago I was asked to look into the issue of arsenic in rice. I hesitated because I was concerned about raising undue concern among those with celiac disease who must follow a gluten-free diet. I looked at my own gluten-free diet which I don't consider to be rice based. The cereal, crackers, and waffles (which I use as bread) are rice based and I frequently eat rice at lunch or dinner. This got me wondering whether I needed to be concerned about the arsenic levels in my own diet. Arsenic in rice may be an important issue for people who follow a gluten-free diet if it is largely rice based. Fortunately, gluten-free diets do not have to be rice based. There are so many other gluten-free grains and flours to choose from and so many ready-made cereals, bread products, and pastas made from grains other than rice. It is a good idea to not eat too much of any food. As poet William Cowper said, "Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor."
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is found in both organic and inorganic forms. It may be present in soil, water, and air. Inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen and ingestion may cause an increased risk of certain cancers.
In the United States, arsenic standards have been set for water but not food. The Environmental Protection Agency allows no more than 0.01 milligrams of total arsenic per liter of drinking water. The Food and Drug Administration has the same standard for bottled water. No standards have been set for arsenic in food in the United States.
The European Food Safety Authority is in the process of conducting a risk assessment for arsenic in food. EFSA is also assessing:
"the typical ratios between inorganic and organic arsenic forms in different groups of foodstuffs; the contribution of different foodstuffs to human exposure for total arsenic and inorganic arsenic, including the contribution from drinking water; and the exposure of specific population groups (e.g. high consumers, infants and children, people following specific diets, etc.) and to provide an indication of the age group in which children would be most exposed to the toxic effects of arsenic."
According to the EFSA, several foods may contain inorganic arsenic and contribute to an individual's exposure, including rice and rice-based products. Recent studies have assessed the arsenic content of baby rice cereal, rice milk, and rice products.
The abstract from the study entitled, "Inorganic arsenic levels in baby rice are of concern" (Meharg AA, et al. Environ Pollut. 2008 Apr;152(3):746-9. Epub 2008 Mar 12) reads as follows:
"Inorganic arsenic is a chronic exposure carcinogen. Analysis of UK baby rice revealed a median inorganic arsenic content (n=17) of 0.11 mg/kg. By plotting inorganic arsenic against total arsenic, it was found that inorganic concentrations increased linearly up to 0.25 mg/kg total arsenic, then plateaued at 0.16 mg/kg at higher total arsenic concentrations. Inorganic arsenic intake by babies (4-12 months) was considered with respect to current dietary ingestion regulations. It was found that 35% of the baby rice samples analysed would be illegal for sale in China which has regulatory limit of 0.15 mg/kg inorganic arsenic. EU and US food regulations on arsenic are non-existent. When baby inorganic arsenic intake from rice was considered, median consumption (expressed as microg/kg/d) was higher than drinking water maximum exposures predicted for adults in these regions when water intake was expressed on a bodyweight basis."
The abstract from the study entitled, "Inorganic arsenic levels in rice milk exceed EU and US drinking water standards" (Meharg AA, et al. J Environ Monit. 2008 Apr;10(4):428-31. Epub 2008 Mar 7) reads as follows:
"Under EU legislation, total arsenic levels in drinking water should not exceed 10 microg l(-1), while in the US this figure is set at 10 microg l(-1) inorganic arsenic. All rice milk samples analysed in a supermarket survey (n = 19) would fail the EU limit with up to 3 times this concentration recorded, while out of the subset that had arsenic species determined ... Continue
|1 | 2 Next Page|
|
<urn:uuid:899591a9-5c34-45f1-be9a-fd6d4c363d92>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.diet.com/dietblogs/read_blog.php?title=Gluten-Free+Diet%252C+Arsenic%252C+and+Rice&blid=17016
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.948667
| 925
| 2.921875
| 3
|
The recent uptick in solar flares and other activity on the sun could one day cripple satellites or knock out power grids on Earth. But in the meantime, the solar maelstrom has been helping to clear out space junk, NASA scientists report.
Right now some tens of millions of pieces of space junk are circling our planet—broken satellites, rocket parts, and other human-made materials trapped in orbit. That includes pieces from a Chinese probe that was destroyed during an anti-satellite missile test in 2007.
In the latest issue of NASA's Orbital Debris Quarterly News, agency scientist Nicholas Johnson notes that an increased influx of solar heat is causing Earth's upper atmosphere—specifically, a layer known as the thermosphere—to swell.
In turn, the puffed-up thermosphere has accelerated the rate at which the Chinese satellite debris is being removed from Earth's orbit, Johnson found. (Also see "NASA Satellite Falling Faster Due to Solar Activity.")
In general, "the increase in solar activity causes more energy to be deposited into the atmosphere, which in turn is heated and expands," explained Johnson, chief scientist of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"This increases atmospheric density at a given altitude, thereby increasing drag. This causes [orbiting space junk] to lose energy and fall into a lower orbit," where the debris eventually reenters the atmosphere, Johnson said in an email.
Space Junk Flushed Like Leaves From Gutters
In 2007 China deliberately destroyed its Fengyun-1C weather satellite to test anti-satellite technology. (Related photos: "Satellite Collision Creates Dangerous Debris.")
NASA estimates that about 6 percent of the 3,218 cataloged pieces of debris from Fengyun-1C have since reentered Earth's atmosphere.
Half of those objects were destroyed during the past year alone, which coincides neatly with a ramp up in the sun's activity as it enters the next anticipated solar maximum—when solar activity is at its peak—in 2013.
In total, more than a hundred metric tons of space junk have been destroyed in the past year. The majority of this debris would have reentered the atmosphere sooner or later—increased solar activity simply sped up the process, Johnson said.
"The more susceptible objects will fall out first, similar to flushing leaves from your house gutters," he said.
While most of the objects that fall from they sky are vaporized before they hit the ground, some pieces are large enough that they could survive reentry and pose threats.
"Last year," Johnson said, "there were 17 spacecraft and 8 rocket bodies which reentered in an uncontrolled manner, including two spacecraft and one rocket body from the 1960s."
Johnson predicts that the sun's effect on the thermosphere will last through next year's solar max, but that the atmospheric swelling—and thus the space-junk purge—will begin to decrease soon after that.
|
<urn:uuid:ba7e401d-f42a-4116-a92f-87e758459156>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/120127-active-sun-solar-flares-space-junk-cleaning-earth-science/?source=link_TW_02
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00199-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.939516
| 614
| 3.3125
| 3
|
The Walvis Ridge is believed to be caused by a long-living hotspot, which started to erupt with the opening of the South Atlantic. The ridge in combination with the large igneous provinces (Etendeka and Parana) in South America and Namibia is today considered to be a classical model for hotspot driven continental break-up. To unravel details on how the crust and mantle was modified by such a major thermal event, a large-scale geophysical experiment was conducted in 2011 off northern Namibia. Here, we report on the results of an active experiment perpendicular to the coast of Namibia and along the crest of the Walvis Ridge. In total, the land-sea profile with a length of 730 km consists of 28 ocean bottom stations and 50 land stations, which recorded dense airguns shots and up to 8 dynamite shots fired on the Namibian mainland. This profile concentrates on how much the continent-transition zone was affected by the eruption of the ridge, and how its crustal composition varies away from the coast, where it initially formed. The first raytracing results of the combined land-sea will be introduced.
|
<urn:uuid:4832b046-a432-4e94-8406-90ee055a2ee4>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://epic.awi.de/30767/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947082
| 235
| 3.65625
| 4
|
Reclaiming the Urban City
Geographic focus: USA / Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Date completed: 2002
Over the last 20 years, employment opportunities in the Milwaukee region have abandoned the city center and relocated to surrounding counties and suburbs. This trend has created problems of poverty, urban sprawl, housing inadequacies, and a strain on the transportation infrastructure. Nathaniel Gieryn, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discussed the problem and used a map to show job market trends in Milwaukee and surrounding counties. Nathaniel recommended concentrating sustainable development efforts on depleted areas of downtown Milwaukee to bring new jobs to the area and reverse recent employment trends. He also noted that environmentally damaged Brownfield sites are prime targets for development because of their central geographic location.
Topics / keywords: Urbanization; Sustainable Development
|
<urn:uuid:b97b3a94-4303-4e30-ac30-549e8b4aecbd>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.aag.org/mycoe/learning_resources/project_gallery/reclaiming_the_urban_city
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.913744
| 160
| 2.78125
| 3
|
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park tells the story of our 36th President in a unique and encompassing way. The story begins with Lyndon Johnson's ancestors, tracing the influences his family and his beloved Texas Hill Country had on the boy and the man. In Johnson City, the visitor can see how LBJ influenced his home town by bringing the resources of the U.S. Government to bear on improving the lives of his friends and neighbors. The park also affords a special opportunity to visit a working cattle ranch, preserved in the late 1960s time period. On the LBJ Ranch it is possible to experience the serenity and beauty from which the former president drew his strength and comfort. It is here that his final resting place is located. This entire "circle of life" gives the visitor a unique perspective into one of America's most noteworthy citizens by providing the most complete picture of an American president.
The park was authorized on December 2, 1969 and was redesignated from a historic site to a national historical park on December 28, 1980. Present holdings are approximately 1,570 acres, 674 of which are federal. The Johnson family generously continues to add to this property; their most recent donation of acreage was in April, 1995.
|
<urn:uuid:0d2c6fc1-8438-4089-818c-b8c962e06bbc>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/lyndon-b-johnson-national-historical-park
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979382
| 254
| 3.046875
| 3
|
Organic Chemistry Lecture Videos: Second Semester
In this video I'll continue teaching you about DNA and RNA (nucleic acid chemistry), beginning with my showing you how physical traits are passed on through DNA replication. I'll go on to teach you about transcription (DNA to mRNA) and translation (mRNA to tRNA to peptide/protein), and how these processes are used to actually form proteins from the information encoded in our DNA. And I'll conclude by teaching you about the polymerase-chain reaction (PCR). Many thanks to FreeScienceLectures.com for their video on DNA replication (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teV62zrm2P0&feature=related), as well as to the DNA Learning Center for my use of their highly awesome educational videos on DNA replication (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jtmOZaIvS0), transcription (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MfSYnItYvg), and translation (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dsTvBaUMvw). Whew! --Dr. Mike Christiansen from Utah State University.
Christiansen, Mike A., "Chapter 28 (Part 2): Nucleic Acid Chemistry" (2012). Biochemistry. Paper 27.
|
<urn:uuid:0486fc05-adb7-4500-8be4-3608e36e47b3>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/ub_biochem/27/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00175-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.834184
| 289
| 2.890625
| 3
|
Nepal, the fabled land of Buddha, Hindu temples, and unrivaled mountain scenery, was controlled by a myriad of factions beginning in the 4th century.
Little is known about Nepal's early history. However, it is certain that the Kirant tribe inhabited the region more than 2,500 years ago.
Numerous small kingdoms laid claim to the region until 1482, when Nepal split into three separate divisions: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur.
The modern Nepalese state began in the late 18th century when King Prithvi Narayah Shah successfully unified most of the individual ethnic groups and small principalities into one entity.
In search of additional lands, Nepal ventured into India, subsequently losing part of its own territory to British India, but retaining its independence.
Nepal, at the time, was controlled by a monarch (for life and by hereditary right). In 1951, the Nepalese monarch (under great pressure) ended that system of rule, and instituted a cabinet system of government.
Only one year after the country's first election in 1959, King Kahendra dismissed the cabinet, dissolved parliament and banned political parties.
Since 1990, turmoil in Nepal has included a bloody insurgency, a royal family massacre and assorted governmental conflicts and squabbles that have dominated the headlines.
In February 1996, a decade-long civil war broke out after members of the Maoist movement (Communist Party of Nepal) fought to replace Nepal's monarchy with a democracy.
As a result of the conflict, more than 15,000 were killed, and an additional 150,000 were internally displaced.
In early 2005 (once again), the king dissolved the government and assumed power. Little progress was made, and municipal elections held early in 2006 were widely regarded as "a backward step for democracy" by the European Union.
Change came in mid-2008, as the royal house was ousted by newly elected Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and President Ram Bran Yadav, the first ever for Nepal.
In this poor country, the tourism industry was once a significant economic force, as backpackers, river rafters, mountain climbers and nature lovers trekked to Nepal in large numbers.
In the 2013 elections, the dominant Communist party was routed and the political atmosphere shifted sharply to the right.
In February of 2014, Nepal's Parliament elected Sushil Koirala, as the new prime minister, and the country is working on issues as to the adoption of an executive presidency and how to divide the country into smaller political units.
|
<urn:uuid:a88e14e4-114a-4713-8ddb-cdd457360b2d>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/np.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.969834
| 532
| 3.40625
| 3
|
Coming out in open and talking about one’s sexual orientation is still a taboo in India. No matter how progressive we claim to be, somewhere or the other we are drawn back to the stereotypical acceptance of relationships of the Dark Ages. A
And ever since the Supreme Court of India revoked the Delhi High Court’s stand over Article 377, the law is actually infringing upon human rights. Closer home we had celebrated author Vikram Seth penning a heartfelt poem expressing his despair and anguish over the verdict named ‘Through love’s power’.
Now something extraordinary has been done by the young students of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi. They have made an effort to spread awareness about this sensitive subject. They have formed a LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and inter-sex individuals) community, and have dedicated a section in the library catering exclusively to literature for the community. There is also a notice board that updates the latest news about the same and also a complaint box.
It is incredible that the students are getting involved at such a young age. They are trying to give a humane angle to this social stigma. They are indeed being trained to be pioneers, and kudos to them to have come up with something out of the box!
Watch the children talk about the LGBTQI initiative ‘Breaking Barriers’ in the video below!
|
<urn:uuid:30df6e6a-b1ac-49c9-805c-e37a993c8faf>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.india.com/stream/breaking-barriers-for-the-lgbtqi-community-tagore-international-school-breaks-the-social-stigma-56557/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955091
| 293
| 2.859375
| 3
|
1. The human cell contains 75 MB of genetic information
2. A sperm 37.5 MB.
3. In a milliliter, we have 100 million sperms.
4. On average, one ejaculation releases 2.25 ml in 5 seconds.
Using basic math we can compute the bandwidth of the human male penis as:
(37.5MB x 100M x 2.25)/5 = (37,500,000 bytes/sperm x 100,000,000 sperm/ml x 2.25 ml) / 5 seconds = 1,687,500,000,000,000 bytes/sec = 1,687.5 TeraBytes/sec
That’s in the order of Petabytes. After laughing about it, you may wonder if the calculation is correct. Well, keep reading for our ordinary investigations in this profound question that will surely cheer up any casual conversation.
THE CD-SPERM COINCIDENCE
Information in our genome is encoded as a sequence of nucleotides in the DNA. Knowing the total number of relevant nucleotides (forming a base pair) is pretty straightforward: in a reference haploid human genome there are some 3,1 billion of them. Since there are four types of nucleotides in our DNA (the famous “TGCA” letters, or GATTACA for your mnemonics), each base-pair represent 2 bits of information, meaning that would you to record all of them it would take some 6,2 billion bits, which translates to around 740 megabytes. Roughly the data that fits a single CD.
Now, as a side information, we are in fact diploid, having two of each autosome and two sex chromosomes. Meaning we have double that calculated value of data in our cells, which amounts to 1,44 Gigabytes. Each tiny one of your 100 trillion cells has double the data of a CD encoded in a tiny strand of DNA.
But back to the human penis data bandwidth.
The human sperm is indeed haploid – half the data that will be joined with the other half in the human egg –, which means that it does have around 740 Megabytes of raw genetic data as we calculated at first.
Which also means it’s a funny coincidence a single sperm has around the same amount of data as a single CD. Sperm data capacity is a reference far more interesting than Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, by the way.
Well, the calculation quoted at the beginning of this post is wrong, a sperm has around 20 times 37.5 MB. Now, correcting that error, and knowing that the values for average sperm count and ejaculation volume are correct, you would have:
(6.2 x 10^9 bits/sperm) x (100 x 10^6 sperm/ml) x (2.25 ml) / 5 seconds
1395 x 10^15 bits / 5 seconds
2.8 x 10^17 bits/sec
human penis data bandwidth.
You could have simply multiplied the initial value by 20 to get to roughly the same value, but anyway, an average human penis would be transmitting 31 Petabytes, or 31 quadrillion bytes of raw data per second during its climax performance.
That’s more than all data processed by Google every day; two times all the data produced by the Large Hadron Collider per year; thirty times all the users’ photos in Facebook – already roughly 10 billion photos. It far exceeds the bandwidth of any current data transmission technology.
Amazing, huh? Say hello to our little friend. But let’s delve into some related issues.
MP3 YOUR SPERM?
Just as the original audio CD format may store only a single Beethoven’s 9th Symphony performance, but hundreds of songs in the compressed MP3 format, data in our genome could also be compressed. Perhaps it’s just as wasteful?
For starters, only around a third of the genome is unique, 10% or less seems to be devoted to genes, and a mere half of that would be coding DNA. Which, ten years ago, led to the suggestion that a haploid human genome would have only around 30 Megabytes of actual information (coincidentally, a value close to the initial one in this post).
But would our genome be as bad a format as an audio CD? Audiophiles can clearly distinguish between a lossless audio format and the lossy MP3 one. Similarly, recent research suggests the “junk DNA” is in fact not junk, which would make compressing the genome data much more difficult. We still know far too little on the subject – we don’t even know for sure how many genes we have – but it’s not wild to speculate that our genome may not be “wasting” too much storage in useless junk.
Another thought to consider is that, as mentioned earlier, each and every of the 100 trillions of the cells in our bodies has 1,44 Gigabytes of genetic information… do the math and I don’t think there’s a unit of information to account for all the genetic data a single human being is carrying around. That would be some 144 trillion Gigabytes.
Only thing is, almost all of our cells have (or should have) the exact same genetic information (some chimeras apart), so that would not be that impressive. In fact, that makes our reproductive cells more impressive, since each one of them is genetically unique. If all of the sperm going through a human penis had an identical genome, then the information transmitted would be that of a single sperm.
Which leads us to some further interesting numbers. By maturing each ovum (egg), women are producing around a CD worth of unique genetic information each menstrual cycle. In contrast, men are constantly producing around 200 million sperm per day, that is, around 30 Petabytes of unique genetic data. No wonder the urge to be fruitful and multiply.
On the other hand, you can also grasp that this is a lot of wasted genetic data. As folks at everything2 noted, “if you consider signal to noise, the figures come out much differently”. Usually only a single sperm fertilizes the egg, all those petabytes wasted. That would make only a single CD in five seconds, or 150Mb/s, something close to broadband Internet in Japan.
Even that lowly value can be interesting if you crunch more numbers. Around 4.4 babies are born every second worldwide, which establishes that at least 4.4 conceptions must be happening, translating into 740Mb x 4.4 /sec or something like 3 Gigabytes of genetic data being successfully “transmitted” each second by men all over the world, warranting the continuity of our species.
Considering only a small fraction of sexual intercourse results into a successful conception, and all the other means by which sperm may be liberated, the total data bandwidth of all human penises probably far exceeds all the current artificial means of human communication. Which is mostly wasted too, or haven’t you seen your kitten video today? Or aren’t you reading this?
As “LJ” noted on e2, penises, however, “puts the local in Local Area Network. It would take a special breed of man to achieve a segment length of more than a few feet, and network topologies are best left as an exercise for the reader.”
Every sperm is sacred. That’s a CD worth of data.
Popularity: 3% [?]Posted in Science | 9 comments
|
<urn:uuid:585bd565-6be2-4e49-b0da-6b19d12174f9>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://forgetomori.com/2008/science/enlarge-your-penis-data-bandwidth/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.930995
| 1,591
| 2.546875
| 3
|
The Bright Papers – Henry James to Bright
The first page of a poignant letter to Bright, written by Henry James just over a week after President Lincoln’s assassination in which James informs Bright that the President had personally praised the British politician for his support for the Union during the war. He details a meeting he had with the President in which his correspondence with Bright was mentioned.
The President himself responded ‘I love to read the letters of Mr. Bright…I believe he is the only British statesman who has been unfaltering in his confidence in our ultimate success’. James continues to mention that Lincoln had a picture of Bright in the room they were meeting in. Historians have acknowledged the weight both Bright and Richard Cobden’s views had on the President, informing some of the decisions he made. They particularly shared views about libertarian democracy.
A testimonial by Bright, written in support of the President’s re–election, was found in one of Lincoln’s pockets on the night of his assassination. The rest of James’s letter mentions his sorrow at the ‘dreadful loss’ of the President, alongside condolences to Bright following the death of his good friend Cobden in early April 1865.
|
<urn:uuid:315352ef-8d16-46f3-87d6-1d455f9dd9ed>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/uscivilwar/highlights/bright/thebrightpapersjames.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00058-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.986054
| 255
| 2.640625
| 3
|
Guest Author - Linda Paul
Chelation is a Greek word meaning claws. Chelation therapy is a process in which a chelating agent literally grabs onto and pulls lead or other heavy metals from the blood and arteries, and gets rid of them through the process of natural elimination. This is commonly done intravenously with a chemical agent called EDTA.
Chelation therapy using EDTA was found to remove not only lead but mercury and aluminum. The theory is that getting rid of these heavy metals within the body allows the elimination of millions of free radicals (disrupted cell structures}, which in turn allows the body to heal itself.
Chelation therapy can also be done orally, which consists of taking a scheduled dosage of supplements which remove the heavy metals from the body. This, however, can be almost as costly as intravenous chelation.
However, Dr. Yoshiaki Omura has reported a huge success using the common herb cilantro, better known as coriander, as a chelation agent. He claims that fresh cilantro can remove heavy metals from the body in less than two weeks.
His study also indicated that patients using cilantro as a chelator had fewer incidences of colds and flu after removing the heavy metals. This could be because viruses and bacteria tend to accumulate in organs which have high levels of heavy metal. Cilantro was also found to be beneficial in preventing herpes outbreaks.
Cilantro is a Mexican and Middle Eastern spice. To be used as a chelating agent it must be used fresh. The leaves are preferable as the stems tend to taste bitter. Salads and salsas are a good way to introduce cilantro into the diet.
A tablespoon of cilantro a day keeps the doctor away! Cilantro or intravenous chelation? Well, I am really not that thrilled with needles, so cilantro salsa, here I come!
|
<urn:uuid:e1cf81f2-1eb4-4098-843c-bd70d815f903>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art7738.asp
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00145-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961927
| 381
| 2.75
| 3
|
Don't throw those juicy steaks away yet.
Scientists believe they may have discovered how to make the fats that are most hazardous to our hearts no more harmful than the fats that are supposed to be good for us, like fish oil. And what's even more important, the discovery may launch us on a course that could eliminate heart disease.
"If it works as well in us as it does in mice, it would push us in that direction," said Lawrence L. Rudel, leader of the research team who's a professor of comparative medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Rudel admits that's a very long shot at this point, since no human clinical trials are even on the horizon, but the research, published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology is tantalizing.
Rudel's team fed laboratory mice six different diets that ranged in fats from the good stuff, like olive oil and flax oil, to several types of saturated fats, the stuff that many experts believe is killing us by driving up our cholesterol and clogging our blood vessels. Half of the mice were just plain old lab rats, but the other half had been genetically altered to remove a complex protein, called the ACAT2 enzyme.
At the end of 20 weeks (a long time in the life of a mouse), the untreated rats that had dined on saturated fat were lucky to still be alive, with high cholesterol levels and evidence of atherosclerosis, or clogging of the blood vessels.
But the mice that had the enzymes removed were doing great.
"They are so healthy and look so good it makes you ask why we even have it [the enzyme]," Rudel said. That includes mice that were fed stuff that even fast food joints would reject.
Or as the researchers formal report notes, "Regardless of the diet fed, the mice [without the enzyme] were protected from atherosclerosis."
And here's a surprise. The mice that consumed all that deadly fat didn't get any fatter than the ones that were fed fish oil and other polyunsaturated fats, the so-called good fats.
"They are normal weight," Rudel said, and they showed no side effects from the treatment.
That all sounds too good to be true, and maybe it is. What works for mice frequently doesn't work for humans, although we are amazingly similar genetically. So the next step is to try the same procedure in monkeys. That test should take a couple of years. And then, if the Food and Drug Administration approves, human clinical trials could begin.
But first, a couple of problems need to be resolved. The mice had to be injected with a compound that inhibits the enzyme's actions, and Rudel doesn't believe frequent injections to control cholesterol would appeal to many people. So he's working with a large pharmaceutical company to see if it's possible to achieve the same results with a pill.
"The company that makes those compounds would very much like to go there," he said. "I don't know how fast they can get there, but that's certainly high on their agenda."
The target of the research is an enzyme that modifies cholesterol. There are hundreds of different types of enzymes in the human body, produced in living cells to cause or accelerate chemical reactions in other substances. This particular enzyme was previously implicated in the rise of the so-called bad cholesterol, LDL. So it was a natural target for Rudel's team.
"Normally, animals that have it [the enzyme] will store cholesterol in the liver," Rudel said. "When you knock the enzyme out, the animal cannot do that anymore, and the liver just stays very happy and healthy and it doesn't have any cholesterol accumulation."
Cholesterol is important to metabolism, by which organic material is broken down to produce energy to build new cells and tissues and allow us to remain active.
"All cells can make it," Rudel said. "Only the liver can get rid of it. The only organ that degrades it in the body is the liver, so basically, it can be made everywhere, gets into the blood and back to the liver so we can get rid of it."
The research indicates that when the enzyme is removed, the liver can get rid of extra cholesterol instead of allowing it to hang around and eventually latch on to the inside of those vital arteries that carry blood throughout our bodies.
But if the enzyme serves no useful purpose, why do we have it?
"I don't have an answer to that," Rudel said. "The mice look healthier without it. Why don't we get rid of it?"
Maybe, he said, there's a purpose we haven't discovered.
"Nature knows something that we don't, because she put it there, but it looks like we don't need it," he added.
He and his colleagues hope to begin monkey trials soon. And if successful there, move on to human trials.
It remains cutting-edge research at this point, and it is much too early to predict success, but Rudel believes he's on the right track.
"What works in mice often works in humans," he said.
|
<urn:uuid:0d4d487b-f183-4add-9c78-e1a8891e8915>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://www.listeditor@abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3198207&page=1
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.980434
| 1,066
| 2.78125
| 3
|
Three examples of using Google+ Hangouts to teach and learn in new ways
Here is how this might be applicable in your school or classroom.
1) Take a class without having to be in the same place. (00.00 in video)
You can have up to ten participants in a Google+ Hangout. What can that mean for teaching and learning? Here are some ideas.
- Invite up to 9 classes/individuals to learn from one expert. This can be great in communities where there is perhaps only one teacher for a particular subject but a few students in various schools interested in learning.
- Sick or traveling students can participate when they are not able to attend class.
- Learners can connect with others who share their passions and interests even if they are not in their school / class. For example there might be students from other schools, communities that join your class.
- Invite up to 9 home instruction students (those who are home because of illness or other reasons) to join in a live class.
Google+ Hangout provides a great way to empower students to find an authentic audience by being able to invite up to 9 other people to listen to their performance, presentation, reading, etc. Here are some ideas.
- Have students invite some family members and / or friends to watch a performance.
- Have students find others who share their passions through places like blogs and discussion groups and invite them to watch.
- Connect with other classes that might want to watch a student perform. They will be able to chat to give feedback and even give live applause, questions, etc.
Google+ Hangout provides a way for you to connect with others even if they are not geographically desirable. This can be great for a student looking to connect with others that may not exist at their school. Here are some ideas.
- A student who wants to study music and perform can do so even if there is no such program in their school or community. With Google Hangout, they can connect with others and practice, perform, and jam together.
- A student who wants to study a certain type of theater can do so with others and do a virtual reading with Hangout.
- If you do book clubs in your school, you may discover you have some students with unique tastes. Let them do book talks with others using Google Hangout.
- Support young people in developing their personal learning networks and create times to have online discussions with others who share their passions.
|
<urn:uuid:40b708a4-9f0c-42be-bcd1-ab8a82652dc7>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-26
|
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2012/02/3-great-ways-to-use-google-hangout-to.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.962153
| 509
| 3.234375
| 3
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.