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The United States Congress designated the Holy Cross Wilderness (map
) in 1980 and it now has a total of 122,446 acres
All of this wilderness is located in Colorado
and is managed by the Forest Service.
The Holy Cross Wilderness is characterized by rugged ridgelines and glacier-carved valleys complete with spruce-fir forests, cascading streams and dozens of lakes. The wilderness is named after Mount of the Holy Cross, which became famous in 1873 when William Henry Jackson first photographed the cross of snow on the northeast face of the mountain. Over 150 miles of trail traverse the area, providing excellent opportunities for day hiking and backpacking trips.
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The slaughter of the First World War spurred many soldiers to mutiny and join the revolution. Kronstadt sailors played a leading role—and that was no accident.
Kronstadt, base of the Baltic Fleet, was at the centre of the Tsar’s attempt to build a modern navy. That meant more and more skilled recruits were needed.
More than half of recruits were workers—compared to just 3 percent of recruits to the largely peasant army.
Along with their skills, these working class sailors brought an experience of class struggle and socialist politics into the base.
As the director of police complained, they had “already gone through the corrupting school of the factory atmosphere”.
This was also true of the dockers, munitions workers and others who ran the facilities that kept the base running.
By 1917 the town’s industrial workforce had swelled to 17,000.
This powder keg finally blew as a full-scale insurrection ripped through Kronstadt in February 1917.
The February Revolution replaced the Tsar’s rule with a Provisional Government, which dispatched the liberal Victor Pepeliaev to run Kronstadt.
But the sailors had already set up the Committee of the National Movement as the new revolutionary body.
And their soviet—or council—was democratising the fleet in the face of Pepeliaev’s protestations.
Through intense debates Bolshevik workers and sailors won it to opposing the ongoing war—and later to supporting the party’s slogan of “All power to the soviets”.
Their soviet defied the Provisional Government by declaring itself the “sole power” in the city on 30 May.
This prompted revolutionary Leon Trotsky to praise Kronstadt as the “pride and glory of the revolution”.
This foreshadowed the October Revolution when the working class seized power.
But after October Russia’s old rulers and their imperialist backers fought to regain control.
Their civil war decimated the working class the revolution was built on—and forced its leaders to desperate measures.
In 1921, famine in the cities led the Bolsheviks to requisition grain from the peasants, provoking protests.
Kronstadt rose again—now demanding “soviets without Bolsheviks” and a “free market in agriculture”.
This time Trotsky’s Red Army had to suppress it.
The battle was bloody, and many anarchists and liberals use this as proof that the Bolsheviks were installing a dictatorship.
But the angry rebukes they faced in workers’ committees across Petrograd show that, despite the civil war, a working class democracy survived.
If the Bolsheviks had given in to the rebellion’s demands, it would have meant giving up on the revolution’s socialist aims.
Every reactionary would have jumped on a successful Kronstadt revolt to slam the door shut. The Bolsheviks fought to keep it ajar.
Defeat would have ushered in the gruesome revenge of the old ruling class.
If the revolution survived, revolts in other countries could break it out of its isolation. But this hope was beginning to fade.
As Bolshevik leader Lenin said, the tragedy at Kronstadt “lit up reality like a lightning flash” and summed up the growing desperation.
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Advancing the Smart Grid
UL is participating in a pioneering smart grid research project, Pecan Street Demonstration, compiling the industry's most extensive database of consumer electricity consumption practices.
WHY ADVANCING THE SMART GRID MATTERS
With investment in grid modernization, waste in the electrical system can be reduced by 31 percent.1 In addition, making consumers more aware of safe electricity production and consumption as well as the impact on economic and environmental outcomes will speed up acceptance and adoption of advanced technology innovations. By focusing our New Science on emerging smart grid technologies, UL is able to appropriately document the necessary processes, standards, best practices, rules and methodologies that will serve as a blueprint for safe smart grid technology implementation.2
The price of meeting the world’s energy demands is estimated at $26.3 trillion through 2030 — an average of more than $1 trillion a year.3 Waste in the current electrical system in the U.S. costs roughly $500 billion a year. Costs from storm related outages to the U.S. economy are estimated between $20 billion and $55 billion annually,4 and losses from power-line damage total $150 billion a year.5
A smart grid is a digitally enabled electrical grid that gathers, distributes and acts on information about the behavior of all participants (suppliers and consumers) in order to improve the efficiency, importance, reliability, economics and sustainability of electricity services. Used in tandem with smart meters, solar panels, wind turbines, inverters, energy storage devices, electric vehicles and home energy management systems, smart grids are rapidly changing the power landscape and the rules of engagement.6
WHAT DID UL DO?
Having developed a reputation with consumers as a trusted brand for safety, UL is uniquely positioned to be a positive catalyst to accelerate smart grid adoption and industry transformation. As part of our ongoing commitment to advancing emerging technologies, UL is participating in one of the nation’s foremost smart grid research projects — Pecan Street Demonstration.
Supported by a $10.4 million smart grid demonstration grant from the Department of Energy (and more than $14 million in matching funds from project partners), Pecan Street is being led by a team of researchers from The University of Texas, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Environmental Defense Fund to develop and test an integrated, clean-energy smart grid of tomorrow in otherwise ordinary, contemporary homes. This first-of-its kind research project is compiling the industry’s most extensive database of consumer electricity consumption practices.7
Five hundred residences in Austin, Texas, are participating in Pecan Street Demonstration: allowing their energy usage and consumption to be monitored and analyzed. Half of the residences are located in Mueller, a one-square-mile community that boasts the highest concentration of homes with electric vehicles (60 total) and the most owner-installed solar panels (200 of the 250 homes) in the U.S.8
UL is focusing on two key elements of the research project:
- Safety: looking at electrical fire and shock hazards for home energy management systems and appliances, including electromagnetic compatibility issues, functional safety and tamper resistance.
- Interoperability and system integration: continually looking on both sides of the meter, striving for safe living and working environments.9
In addition, UL is training and certifying a team of evaluators to review and rate the grid project performance according to the Perfect Power Institute’s Power System Design and Performance Assessment standards developed in conjunction with UL. These technical specifications are based on input from mayors and other community-based stakeholders, including a number of smart grid pilot projects and other expert advisors. Communities can use the project ratings to compare service providers, shape policy incentives and work with utilities to ensure access to electricity that is cleaner, more affordable and reliable. With more communities and states moving toward restructuring, grid developers can use these ratings to better inform decision-making while entrepreneurs develop applications that allow consumers to better manage their electricity use.10
UL is working with utilities, technology providers and consumers, helping ensure the safety and security of the technologies involved with the Pecan Street Demonstration. In this role, UL is helping reduce component failures, improve product life cycles and accelerate market adoption of the smart grid.
The market for smart grids and renewable energy integration is expected to grow from $3.8 billion last year to $13 billion by 2018.11 UL’s important work with Pecan Street has reimagined an energy distribution system in a way that could support and accelerate the installation and management of smarter and cleaner electricity services, reducing costs and harmful environmental impact while enhancing reliability and peace of mind.
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A Genomics-enabled Microbial Observatory in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Monterey Bay, California
In the Monterey Bay, a typical milliliter of surface water contains on the order of a million microbial cells (in open ocean waters this drops to around one hundred thousand cells per milliliter). These small, single-celled planktonic microbes represent the most abundant organisms in the world's oceans. Some of these microbes contribute significantly to primary production in the sea, while others are responsible for consuming a large proportion of marine primary productivity. Planktonic microbial species are key players in the central chemical transformations of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, which help maintain the oceanic biosphere. However, despite their importance to the functioning of the Monterey Bay ecosystem, and as a model for understanding marine microbial communities in general, we are still only beginning to describe the microbes of the Bay. This Microbial Observatory is dedicated to deciphering, step by step, who these microbes are, how their communities change across time and space, and what they might be doing.
Professor, Division of Biological Engineering and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering MIT,
(Visit the DeLong Lab Website )
Copyright on all images and material by Ed DeLong, 2005.
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LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. — For decades, tourists visiting this popular Adirondack village could gape at the skeletons of soldiers from nearby French and Indian War sites. Then in 1993, a somber reburial ceremony was held to finally put the remains to rest.
Only that never happened.
Almost all of the 18th-century skeletons were never buried. Instead, the collection of remains eventually was taken to Arizona and Canada for study and has yet to be returned for reburial. In this small upstate New York town that was the real-life setting for the historical events depicted in "The Last of the Mohicans," people had no idea.
"Most of them aren't there?" asked Robert Blais, mayor of Lake George since 1971, who learned about the decision from The Associated Press.
The AP spoke to archaeologists who have dug at the site, fort officials and the anthropologists who have the remains to confirm that the bulk of the skeleton collection is not at the fort.
Now, the people behind the decision are publicly discussing for the first time how such important artifacts left Lake George, and why they haven't been returned after nearly two decades.
"You're reaching the time when they should come home," said David Starbuck, a New York archaeologist who has written about the history behind Fort William Henry's skeleton collection.
On Memorial Day weekend in 1993, a well-publicized reburial ceremony was held to honor the redcoats and American provincial soldiers whose remains were being reinterred in the cemetery at the fort, a full-scale reconstruction of the outpost the British built here at the outbreak of war in 1755. The original fort was the real-life setting of the historical events in James Fenimore Cooper's classic, "The Last of the Mohicans."
But what fort officials didn't bother to tell the dozens of history buffs, tourists, and local, British and Native American dignitaries at the ceremony was that only three of 15 mostly complete skeletons were actually reburied. The others were still being analyzed by two anthropologists. The fort's owners decided to go ahead with the ceremony anyway.
"We didn't make an issue out of it," said Robert F. Flacke Sr., longtime president of the Fort William Henry Corp., which owns the fort and an adjacent resort hotel.
Those involved in the '93 project said there was no intention to deceive anyone, but a local historian who said he was at the reburial ceremony recalls no public mention being made of a change in plans.
Starbuck, who spoke at the ceremony, said a longer-than-expected analysis that spring, followed by other issues and job changes among the anthropologists, all combined to leave the reburial in limbo. He and others involved in the project didn't bring up the issue at the ceremony, figuring the bones would be returned soon enough.
"It was not intended to drag on this long," said Starbuck, who has conducted several digs at the fort over the past two decades. In the early 1990s, he recommended that the fort's skeletons be removed from exhibits and reinterred after being studied by experts in bioarchaeology, the study of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites.
Those experts, anthropologists Brenda Baker and Maria Liston, both told the AP they had longstanding agreements with the fort to keep the collections while their studies continued. Neither Baker nor Liston attended the reburial ceremony.
Baker said officials at Fort William Henry haven't asked for the return of the collection, which includes a dozen skeletons from the '93 project and three more uncovered during a follow-up excavation two years later.
"They know where they are and they know what I have and we keep in contact," Baker told the AP.
Though the findings of the anthropologists appeared in professional journals and other publications in the 1990s, few in the public knew where the bones were, including the residents of Lake George, who had long been led to believe the remains were buried there.
"Arizona?" asked a stunned Paul Loding, town historian in nearby Kingsbury, when informed of the skeletons' whereabouts.
"Why don't they do the right thing and get them back?" asked Randy Patten, a French and Indian War re-enactor and former member of the New York commission that promoted the 250th anniversary of the war.
But the fort lacks the facilities to properly preserve and store a large collection of full skeletons, and building such a space is cost prohibitive for a seasonal business, Flacke said. If the collection were to wind up back at the fort, the skeletons would be buried for a final time, he said.
Baker, the anthropologist who took the bulk of the skeletons with her to Arizona State University in 1998, said the remains are stored at the campus in Tempe in climate-controlled conditions that preserve the bones. She's had them so long, it's clear she's protective of them, even though the bones rightfully belong to the fort.
"When they build an adequate storage facility, they will go back to the fort," she said.
Liston said company officials, after being contacted by the AP, asked her to return the fort's boxes of human bone fragments that she had for years at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
"I am happy to cooperate," Liston said.
Baker, a former employee of the New York State Museum in Albany, said she has gleaned vital information from her years of studying the skeletons.
"Skeletons of any sort from this time period in North America, particularly people of European descent, are incredibly rare, and to have them from some sort of military context is even more rare," Baker said. "These skeletons were a window into what life was like at the fort."
In August 1757, the French burned the fort to the ground after the British surrendered following a weeklong siege. After the surrender, Indian allies of the French killed about 200 of the garrison's defenders.
"We want to treat human remains with proper respect. That is always the priority within anthropology," said Benjamin Auerbach, a member of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists' repatriation committee, which deals with issues involving human remains.
Committee members are aware of the situation surrounding the Lake George skeletons, though no formal complaints regarding possible ethics violations have been brought.
Some of the remains did make a homecoming of sorts last year, when Baker brought a few of the bones back to Lake George for a four-part historical forensics series airing this spring on the National Geographic Channel.
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Large and/or multiple mining operations generate opportunities for and challenges to the communities in which they operate—influencing the lives of workers, workers’ families, mining communities, rural communities, Indigenous communities and the wider region. Change can occur on many levels—economic, social, environmental, individual and so on. Mining activity commonly boosts the economic growth of regions, builds the capacity of local communities through vocational training and employment, and adds much-needed infrastructure to underserviced towns in remote areas. Conversely, mining workforce ‘in-migrations’ can alter the social identity of local towns, cause housing shortages, particularly for low-income and Indigenous groups, and place pressure on often already under-resourced local services. Features of the mine, the community and the external environment contribute to how a community might be affected by mining activity. Mining operations have a life cycle: at each stage, factors such as workforce numbers, work tasks, the locality of tasks and the use of equipment differ. Figure 1.1 highlights the confluence of the life-of-mine and life-of-community to prompt further insight into how the different mining stages might differentially affect the various social groups of neighbouring communities and regions. A mining company that has not taken constructive action to close a mine can potentially leave a negative environmental legacy that affects the health and safety of the continuum of groups in the life of the community. As the model suggests, exposure can occur through environmental, social and economic channels. Spills from abandoned mine pits can result in the discharge of acid and heavy metals into river catchments, seas and oceans—damaging the livelihood and health of local farmers as well as fishermen in coastal regions.
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The world’s largest land mammal that lived on earth about 23 million years ago was a rhinoceros known as the Baluchitherium — so named because fossils (preserved remains of ancient animals) of this gigantic extinct animal were first found in the Bugti area of Balochistan in 1910 by English paleontologist, Sir Clive Forster Cooper. Fossils of this animal have also been reported in central Asia.
Famous geologist Guy Pilgrim also found fragments of two skulls and several isolated teeth of a large rhinoceros in this area during the first decade of the 20th century. Due to the large size of the incisor teeth, he suggested that the face of the animal must have been elongated. Several cranial and post cranial elements of different sized rhinoceroses including the Baluchitherium were collected from the 23 million-year-old rocks in Bugti hills, north of Sui, Balochistan, by the Geological Survey of Pakistan in the late 20th century.
In 1985 and 1987, a partial skull and nearly complete mandible along with other fossilised bones of a rhinoceros were found in the continental deposits of Bugti hills, also by the Geological Survey of Pakistan. The Pakistan Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the Laboratory of Palaeontology of the University of Montpellier III, France, has been active in the area for some time since the beginning of the 21st century and has collected fossils of different mammals including the fossils of the Baluchitherium.
Baluchitherium is mainly represented by huge vertebrae, foot and limb bones and skull, which indicate that the animal was of enormous size and the largest of all the known land mammals of the world. It reached a height of 5.5 metres to its shoulders, equal to the collective height of about three persons. It had a massive body and long neck which were supported by powerful limbs built like pillars.
The length of the skull was about 1.3 metres, relatively small in proportion to its body size. No horn was present on the head or on the nose of the animal. It normally lived in the dense forest. The long neck of the animal, combined with long frontal legs, enabled it to browse for food on the higher branches of trees.
It is worth mentioning here that the fossils of rhinoceroses have been found in various areas of Pakistan mainly in the 23 million-year-old continental rocks exposed in Bugti Hills, Balochistan; Potwar plateau and Pabbi Hills, Punjab; Gaj and Sehwan areas, Sindh; and areas to the south and south-east of Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. None, however, are as old as that of the Baluchitherium found in the Bugti Hills. Fossils of the Baluchitherium and its reconstruction can be viewed at the Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Islamabad and the Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta.
The writer is Deputy Director(R), Geological Survey of Pakistan
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This is a about a 3-week (or so) unit for 8th grade based on the Common Core Standards for Verbals. It includes three or more worksheets, a quiz, and a writing exercise for each of the following: participles, gerunds, and infinitives.
Includes answer keys!! YAY!
The worksheets include definitions and examples of the concepts, and I tried to vary the activities as much as possible.
Teacher in the Rye
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late 14c., marcien "of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the planet Mars" (originally in reference to astrological influence), from Latin Martius "sacred to (the god) Mars; pertaining to (the planet) Mars," from Mars (genitive Martis; see Mars). From mid-15c. as "of or pertaining to the god Mars, warlike;" also sometimes "of or pertaining to the month of March" (1620s). The noun meaning "an inhabitant of the planet Mars" is attested by 1877.
masc. proper name, also name of an Old Testament angel, from Hebrew Gabhri el, literally "man of God," from gebher "man" + El "God." First element is from base of verb gabhar "was strong" (compare Arabic jabr "strong, young man;" jabbar "tyrant"). Gabriel's hounds (17c.) was a folk explanation for the cacophony of wild geese flying over, hidden by clouds or night.
fem. proper name, from Norse; it is cognate with Old High German Ansitruda, from ansi "god" (see Aesir) + trut "beloved, dear."
masc. proper name, from French Denis, ultimately from Latin Dionysius, name of an important 6c. Church father, from Greek Dionysos, god of wine and revelry.
"the elect, the select," especially those selected by God, c. 1200, from past participle of choose (v.). Chosen people for "the Jews" is recorded from 1530s.
minor sea god, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, from Latin Triton, from Greek Triton, cognate with Old Irish triath (genitive trethan) "sea."
Greek god of the sea and earthquakes, one of the chief Olympians, a brother of Zeus, Greek Poseidon (Doric Poteidan), a name of uncertain origin. Related: Poseidonian.
Egyptian hawk-headed god of dual relations, 1650s, from Latin Horus, from Greek Horos, from Egyptian Hor, said to mean literally "the high-flying one."
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PHAC 4001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Cyp3A4, Alcohol Dehydrogenase, Alcohol Dependence
Phac 4001 lecture 14 february 12, 2021 alcohol i. Canadian centre on substance use and addiction 2017. In canada, there were around 77,000 hospitalizations entirely caused by alcohol in 2015 2016, compared to 75,000 hospitalizations for heart attacks in the same year. In 2002, alcohol was responsible for 4,258 deaths in canada, representing 1. 9% of all deaths. Effects of alcohol use: short term: intoxication, memory loss and blackouts, injury, violence, accidents, spousal abuse, suicide, alcohol toxicity (overdose), death. This is the general pathway of ethanol metabolism. Ethanol is converted into acetaldehyde usually done through alcohol dehydrogenase, which is highly abundant in the liver and in the tissue. Alcohol dehydrogenase uses the reducing power of nad+ to remove a h+ from ethanol (or oxidize ethanol into acetaldehyde). Acetaldehyde is then converted into acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase. Again, nad+ is the reducing agent that allows for the oxidation to occur.
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Take some time exploring the audio and video making tools that you have learnt about in this course.
- Take one tool and use it with your learners either by creating a resource to use with them, or for them to use the tool themselves.
- Reflect on the process and the learning that took place.
- What worked well, what worked not so well?
Last modified: Wednesday, 8 June 2011, 2:00 PM
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Why you should add almonds
Like all nuts, almonds are one of nature’s superfoods. If you eat them regularly, they may lower your risk of heart attack and type 2 diabetes, and they can even make it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight.
- Eating 70 grams of almonds daily can reduce bad LDL cholesterol by almost 10 per cent—that’s a one per cent reduction for every seven grams you consume! More importantly, almonds prevent cholesterol from becoming oxidised, so it’s less likely to become sticky and block your arteries.
- Adding almonds to your meals dampens the blood sugar surge after eating and research suggests that the more you add the better. Even for people with well-controlled diabetes, the regular use of almonds can lower their blood sugar reading over three months.
- Despite being high in fat, almonds don’t cause you to put on weight and they help to blunt appetite. Tests show that overweight adults who included 84 grams of almonds daily as part of a low-kilojoule diet had 62 per cent greater weight loss than those who didn’t.
How they work
Almonds provide strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and even prebiotic benefits, meaning they can stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in your intestines, especially if you keep their skin on. They’re packed with nutrients such as monounsaturated fats, vitamin E (30 grams provide 70 per cent of the daily requirement), plant sterols, plant protein including arginine (there are 6 grams per handful), calcium and multiple phytonutrients like polyphenols that work collectively for maximum health benefits.
Ways to use more
Unless you have an allergy, include at least 30 grams of almonds (about 20) in your daily diet. If you find them hard to chew, simply soak them in water for 8 to 12 hours.
Enjoy almonds as snacks, in cereals or tossed through salads and stir-fries. Spread their butter on bread instead of margarine and use their “flour” to create moist, flourless cakes.
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Western and Central Africa
Eastern and Southern Africa
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Available in English, French and Spanish. This technical paper focuses on the effect of climate change on global coffee production, with particular reference to small coffee producers in developing and least developed countries. It highlights the possible effects of climate change on quality, yield, pests and diseases, and irrigation; considers potential areas of intervention, and looks at short-term solutions and long-term strategies to make coffee producers better prepared. It also discusses the issue of carbon credits, and provides examples of individual initiatives to reduce product carbon footprint; lists ongoing initiatives and information sources that may assist coffee growers.
Publication Date: 11 Jan. 2010
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king of Scotland (died in 1057)
The Tragedy of Macbeth is among the most famous of William Shakespeare's plays, as well as his shortest tragedy. It is frequently performed at professional and community theatres around the world.
Macbeth (also known as The Tragedy of Macbeth) is a 1971 film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name, concerning the Scottish lord who becomes the king through deceit, treachery and murder. It stars Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth. Because of the transition from play to movie, some passages from the original play had to be cut out for time constraints, and some soliloquies have been changed to inner monologues for the sake of realism.
Macbeth is a Laibach album released in 1990. Like Baptism it is the soundtrack to a play, this time Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave with additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name.
Macbeth is a 1948 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth made by Orson Welles.
Macbeth is a fictional character from the Disney animated television series Gargoyles, voiced by John Rhys-Davies. Macbeth is one of several characters in the show based on characters from plays by William Shakespeare (in this case he is based on the eponymous protagonist from Macbeth), though in fact his backstory is more closely related to the historical story of Macbeth of Scotland.
Macbeth is an Italian gothic metal band.
Macbeth (also known as M) is a 2006 Australian film version of the William Shakespeare classic, Macbeth. It was directed by Geoffrey Wright and features an ensemble cast including Sam Worthington, Victoria Hill and Lachy Hulme. Macbeth was filmed in Melbourne, Australia and was released in Australia on 21 September 2006.
The main character in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth shows dramatic changes throughout the course of the play. He starts off as a valiant General in the Scottish army praised by King Duncan for his bravery, loyalty and heroism. As the play progresses however, he demonstrates more unethical characteristics which eventually lead to his ultimate demise.
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Transcript of Main Idea
A. Sloths and tapirs are other creatures that
live in the rain forest.
B. The rain forest is home to many creatures.
C. Monkeys, toucans and macaws live in the
Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer. Soccer players learn how to dribble and pass the ball. They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score. Most importantly, soccer players learn how to work together with their teammates.
A. They also learn how to control the ball so
they can eventually score.
B. Soccer players learn how to dribble.
C. Soccer players learn many skills when
There are many fun things to do at the beach. Swimming is one thing that can be done at the beach. Snorkeling is another thing that can be enjoyed. Playing beach volleyball can be a lot of fun. It is also fun to look for shells. Some people simply like to sunbathe.
A. There are many fun things to do at the
B. It is also fun to look for shells.
C. Some people simply like to sunbathe When you turn on your radio, you may hear music, or you may hear a voice speaking. The person behind that voice is called an announcer. An announcer introduces songs, interviews guests, and gives news and weather reports. Besides spending time on the air talking, announcers also spend a lot of time off the air getting ready for their shows. That way, when the time comes for them to go on the air, they feel prepared and confident.
A. You can hear music or voices when you turn
on the radio
B. Announcers get to talk to guests and
C. Announcers are people who talk on the
radio Snakes are different from other animals. Their eyes are always open, but they cannot see very well. Snakes cannot hear. They have no legs. They move by sliding along on the ground.
A. Snakes are different from other animals.
B. Snakes cannot hear.
C. They move by sliding along on the ground Crunchy, Munchy, Sparkle Stars Cereal!
If your breakfast cereal gives you the morning BLAHS, try Sparkle Stars—star shaped oats covered with powdered sugar! Sparkle Stars are both sweet and nutritious!
Great with Milk…….or just out of the box!
Eat them every morning for a sparkling start to your day!
What is the main reason you should buy Sparkle Stars cereal?
A. They are covered with powdered sugar
B. Sparkle Stars will perk up your morning
C. They taste great with milk The python is one of the biggest snakes in the world. It can be 30 feet long. It can weigh more than 200 pounds. Sometimes it takes many people to hold one python. A baby python might surprise you. It can be three feet long when it is born. That is bigger than other snake babies.
Like all snakes, pythons are born from eggs. The mother python lays 50 to 100 eggs. She curls her body around them. She rests her head on top of the eggs. To keep her eggs warm, she shakes her body to make heat. She might stay with her eggs for as many as 80 days. She only leaves to get a drink of water. Then the eggs hatch.
1. What is the main idea of the first
A. It can be 30 feet long.
B. The python is the biggest snake in the
C. It can weigh more than 200 pounds.
2. What is the main idea of the second
A. She rests her head on top.
B. She curls her body around them.
C. Like all snakes, pythons are born from
eggs. Henry’s Bakery just introduced a new cookie to its product line. Its ingredients include eggs, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, butter and oats. Henry uses all natural, wholesome ingredients in this cookie. He adds honey and vanilla to make it taste good.
The new cookies weren’t a big success at first. When the first batches came out of the oven, they smelled good, but the cookies looked uninteresting. So, Henry added raisins to the top. Now the cookies look as good as they taste!
1.What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A. Henry’s cookies contain honey and vanilla
B. Henry uses all natural, healthy
C. Henry’s Bakery introduced a new, all natural
2.What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. Henry added raisins to the tops of his
B. Henry had to make his cookies look more
C. The cookies smelled good straight out of the
oven The main idea of a paragraph tells the topic of the paragraph. The topic tells what all or most of the sentences are about.
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You probably never think about your eyes, accept for those times when they are dry or watery and become irritated. The human eye is a very complex biological structure. The science behind sight is truly fascinating and worth the time to investigate and understand. If reading articles about the eye are not stimulating enough for you, you can do something far more hands-on. You can make a model of the human eye. This engaging project is a great way for adults and kids to learn about this amazing organ.
Roll the container of pink clay dough into a fist-sized ball. Take a small egg-sized lump of white clay and mash it up with a walnut-sized piece of blue clay to make a light blue lump. Roll this into a ball and flatten it slightly into a 1-inch-thick disk. Using your finger, make a large dent in top of the pink ball and fit this disk inside it.
Roll up a walnut-sized lump of black clay and press it into the light blue disk. Next, pull off an egg-sized lump of blue clay and mash it up with a walnut-sized ball of white to make a slightly lighter blue. Flatten this ball into a 1/2-inch-thick disk and cover the black clay and the light blue clay with this disk. Lastly, roll out all of the remaining white clay and cover the entire pink ball with it covering every part of the ball.
Cut the large ball of clay in half very carefully with the large knife. You should be able to see all of the colours inside. Turn the halves so that the blue and black areas are pointing to the left. Cut or break off two 6-inch-long pieces of the wooden dowel and insert one into the bottom of each eye half. Insert the model eyes into the styrofoam, separated by at least 6 inches and facing opposite direction (one looking west, or left and one looking east, or right.)
Roll out several very thin ropes of blue and red clay. Arrange these ropes inside of the pink area of each model eye. These are the blood vessels inside of the eye.
Grab the sheet of paper and write the following words in small, but readable print: Iris, Pupil, Lens, Cornea, Vitreous Humor and Blood Vessels. Cut these words out of the paper in small rectangular boxes. Tape these boxes to the end of six toothpicks, one to each toothpick.
Insert the toothpick labelled "Iris" into the blue clay in front of the black clay of one eye. Insert the toothpick labelled "Pupil" into the black clay of the other eye. Insert the one labelled "Lens" into the light blue area behind the black clay of the first eye. Insert the "Cornea" toothpick into the front blue layer of the second eye. Insert the "Vitreous Humor" toothpick into the pink area of the first eye. Lastly, insert the "Blood Vessels" toothpick into a clay vessel in the second eye.
Styrofoam cubes can be purchased at craft stores or in the crafts section of big box stores. You will need a lot of clay for this project. Consider something like a Play-Doh multipack with the four required colours. There are many other parts of the eye and you can include these in your model. Just add more labelled toothpicks. Use the pictures provided in the Resources as a guide.
Tips and warnings
- Styrofoam cubes can be purchased at craft stores or in the crafts section of big box stores.
- You will need a lot of clay for this project. Consider something like a Play-Doh multipack with the four required colours.
- There are many other parts of the eye and you can include these in your model. Just add more labelled toothpicks. Use the pictures provided in the Resources as a guide.
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This summer, I worked at the University of Florida learning how to design and construct robots. A robot is an autonomous machine that detects and responds to external stimuli in a way that simulates intelligent behaviors. The development process goes through several stages before the machine is complete. First is the concept: what the finished robot is intended to do. The physical design is dependent on this concept, including necessary sensors and methods of locomotion. Once that is determined, the mechanical parts are assembled and tested for functionality. After that is finished, the robot is programmed, tested, and debugged until the initial concept is realized. This presentation will cover the development of V.I.C.I., a robot I designed to respond to objects based on their color, and some of the challenges I learned to overcome.
Michelle Peterson, ’06 Colfax, WI
Majors: Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science
Sponsor: Andrew Wildenberg
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Clean quantum and classical communication protocols
By how much must the communication complexity of a function increase if we demand that the parties not only correctly compute the function but also return all registers (other than the one containing the answer) to their initial states at the end of the communication protocol? Protocols that achieve this are referred to as clean and the associated cost as the clean communication complexity. Here we present clean protocols for calculating the Inner Product of two n-bit strings, showing that (in the absence of pre-shared entanglement) at most n+3 qubits or n+O(sqrt(n)) bits of communication are required. The quantum protocol provides inspiration for obtaining the optimal method to implement distributed CNOT gates in parallel whilst minimizing the amount of quantum communication. For more general functions, we show that nearly all Boolean functions require close to 2n bits of classical communication to compute and close to n qubits if the parties have access to pre-shared entanglement. Both of these values are maximal for their respective paradigms.
|Journal||Physical Review Letters|
|Grant||This work was funded by the The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO); grant id nwo/024.002.003 - Networks|
Buhrman, H.M, Christandl, M, Perry, C, & Zuiddam, J. (2016). Clean quantum and classical communication protocols. Physical Review Letters, 117(230503), 230503‐1–230503‐5. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.230503
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Any video clip you watch on your smartphone, computer, TV or tablet has a specific type of file format. If you want your videos to perform well on any platform, you must understand how each video format works. For example, a video format for web development will be different from the format you use for your social media. Read on to learn how to choose the right format for you.
What Is a Video File Format?
A container and a codec are two components of any video file. A video format is the container that stores audio, video, subtitles and any other metadata. A codec encodes and decodes multimedia data such as audio and video.
When creating a video, a video codec encodes and compresses the video while the audio codec does the same with sound. Afterwards the encoded video and audio are synchronized and stored in a media container—the file format.
8 Common Video File Formats, Codecs, and Containers
To choose the best digital video format for your needs, first you must understand the difference between them. Let’s briefly review and understand the common formats in the market and their features.
MPEG-4 Part 14 or MP4 is one of the earliest digital video file formats introduced in 2001. Most digital platforms and devices support MP4. An MP4 format can store audio files, video files, still images, and text. Additionally, MP4 provides high quality video while maintaining relatively small file sizes.
MOV is a popular video file format designed by Apple. It was designed to support the QuickTime player. MOV files contain videos, audio, subtitles, timecodes and other media types. It is compatible across different versions of QuickTimePlayer, both for Mac and Windows. Since it is a very high-quality video format, MOV files take significantly more memory space on a computer.
The WMV video format was designed by Microsoft and is widely used in Windows media players. WMV format provides small file sizes with better compression than MP4. That is why it’s popular for online video streaming. Although it is not compatible with Apple devices, users can download Windows Media Player for their iPhone or Mac.
FLV is a file format used by Adobe Flash Player. It is one of the most popular and versatile video formats supported by all video platforms and browsers. The FLV format is a good choice for online video streaming platforms like YouTube. They have a relatively small file size which makes them easy to download. The only drawback is that it’s not compatible with many mobile devices like iPhones.
The AVI file format was introduced in 1992 by Microsoft and is still widely used today. The AVI video format uses less compression than other video formats such as MPEG or MOV. This results in very large file sizes, approximately 2-3 GB per minute of video. It can be a problem for users with limited storage space. You can also create AVI video files without any compression. This makes the files lossless. A lossless file will keep its quality over time, regardless of how many times you open or save the file. Additionally, this eliminated the use of codecs in video players.
6. AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition)
AVCHD is a format used for HD video playback and digital recording. This video format was designed by Panasonic and Sony for professional high definition video recording. AVCHD also lets you store hours of high-quality video using only a tiny amount of data by leveraging the H.264/MPEG-4 video compression technology. Additionally, the latest version of the format AVCHD 2.0 supports three dimensional video.
First introduced by Google in 2010, WebM is an open-source video format that was developed with the current and future state of the Internet in mind. WebM is intended for use with HTML5. The video codecs of WebM require very little computer power to compress and unzip the files. The aim of this design is to enable online video streaming on almost any device, such as tablets, desktop, smartphones or devices like smart TV.
MKV file format incorporates audio, video and subtitles in a single file. MKV format was developed to be future proof, meaning that the video files will always stay updated. MKV containers support almost any video and audio format, making the format highly adaptive and easy to use.
Conclusion—How to Choose a Video File Format
You should choose a file format based on your video quality requirements. The video should achieve the required quality, but no more than that. High-quality videos are hard to download, convert, share and manage. Plus, you need to take into account how you want to view the video files. Not all browsers, programs, and devices can play a specific video format.
Before choosing a video format, consider the following cases:
- For online videos choose a file format that most web browsers support. This way, your video will be played natively on the browser. MP4 and WEBM are browser compatible video formats.
- For home video recordings, choose a format with high quality video good chance of being usable in the future. Open source file formats are more future-proof than proprietary formats that are controlled by enterprises. MP4 or AVI formats are a good fit for that category.
- For Windows applications, choose a format that is compatible with Windows. WMV is a good choice In this case.
Gilad David Maayan is a technology writer who has worked with over 150 technology companies including SAP, Samsung NEXT, NetApp and Imperva, producing technical and thought leadership content that elucidates technical solutions for developers and IT leadership.
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This is the first ever LADA Awareness Week, organized by Diabetes Hands Foundation and dLife. LADA stands for Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults. I think of it as type 1 diabetes that starts in adulthood, although there are some differences from typical juvenile-onset type 1 diabetes.
Seven-and-a-half to 10% of apparent type 2 adult diabetics have LADA. It’s caused by the body attacking its own pancreas beta cells and thereby impairing insulin production; in other words, it’s an autoimmune thing.
Here are some generalities (with exceptions, of course) about LADA, compared to typical type 2 diabetes:
- lower body mass index, often under 25
- age at onset under 50
- poorer response to dietary management
- poorer response to oral diabetic medications
- acute symptoms at time of diagnosis (e.g., weight loss, thirst, frequent urination, ketoacidosis, malaise, etc.)
- higher risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis
- much more likely to need insulin
How Is LADA Diagnosed?
First of all, the doctor has to consider the possibility, based on the clinical factors above. The autoimmune nature of the disease is reflected in islet-cell antiobodies (ICA) and antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD). These are testable in the blood. One of the two may be enough. If the disease is far enough along, blood levels of C-peptide will be low. C-peptide reflects the body’s production of insulin.
For more information on LADA, talk to your doctor or visit this page at dLife.
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COMPUTER-ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING
Theories & Practice
- The History of CALL. A PDF file of an introduction to the development of the Computer-Assisted Language Learning.
- Hot Potatoes. An excellent free Web authoring tool for language teachers.
- Cloze Generator. You can make blanks for every n-th word automatically, or make blanks of specific words manually.
- Web Frequency Indexer. Cut and paste an article, you will get a list of words used in the article with frequency numbers.
- Web Concordancer. You can search an online corpus for a word and display all the sentences in which the word occurs.
- British National Corpus. This website allows you to quickly and easily search the 100 million word British National Corpus (1970s-1993).
- lexical Tutor. A complete website for learning and learning about English words.
- CALICO. The Computer Assisted Language Instruction Consortium, a professional organization involved in both education and technology.
- APACALL. Asia-Pacific Association for Computer-Assisted Language learning.
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Whale Sharks' Shared Feast Sets Record
Aerial photo of whale sharks taken in the summer of 2009.
CREDIT: Proyecto Domino
The whale sharks spied in one group off the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico two years ago numbered up to 420 — the largest gathering of the mysterious behemoths ever recorded, scientists said Wednesday (May 25).
The gathering, known as an "afuera" (Spanish for "outside"), occurred in August 2009, when the animals were observed crowded in an elliptical patch of ocean about 7 square miles (18 square kilometers).
The observation was reported by LiveScience in March, but this is the first time scientists have tallied the beasts and reported their extensive analysis of the sharks' food choices and whereabouts.
The whale sharks sailed in to feed on dense patches of fish eggs, the researchers reported online April 29 in the journal PLoS ONE.
"Whale sharks are the largest species of fish in the world, yet they mostly feed on the smallest organisms in the ocean, such as zooplankton," Mike Maslanka, a biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, said in a statement. [Images of whale sharks]
The study opens a window into the life of one of the largest but least known fish in the ocean. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) grow longer than 40 feet (12 meters). They live most of their lives out of sight, leaving many questions about what they eat, how they breed, and where they go (and what they do) when they aren't feeding in shallow-water areas like the Mexican waters.
To get a better idea of what goes on during these feeding frenzies, which have been known to occur over the past few years, the team took dozens of trips to the area. The researchers collected food samples within and outside the school of feeding whale sharks. Using DNA analyses, they identified the fish eggs as those from little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus), a member of the mackerel family.
Scientists suspect the little tunny spawn at night and their eggs rise to the surface in the morning. "The sharks come in and literally swim at surface level with their mouths wide open, just vacuuming in the eggs," Jennifer Schmidt, a biologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told LiveScience in March.
Little tunny and plankton may not satiate the whale sharks. The researchers studied a less dense aggregation of whale sharks — this one known as the Cabo Catoche aggregation — off the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. The whale sharks there were feeding on mostly small crustaceans called copepods and shrimp.
Larger afuera gatherings turned out to coincide with a drop in whale-shark sightings at Cabo Catoche. And both groups had the same sex ratio, suggesting these were the same animals traveling between the all-you-can-eat buffets.
"With two significant whale shark aggregation areas and, at the very least, one active spawning ground for little tunny, the northeastern Yucatán marine region is a critical habitat that deserves more concerted conservation effort," Maslanka said.
The whale shark is listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and it is protected from capture around the world.
MORE FROM LiveScience.com
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IN a very elaborate and interesting book, published in the year 1867, the title of which, at length, is the following: Life and Work at the Great Pyramid, by C. Piazzi Smyth, Professor of Practical Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh, and Astronomer Royal for Scotland. Edinburgh, 1867: the conclusions (though a mistake) which we now supply from the author are offered as definitions, after infinite care, of this important name or word, 'PYRAMID'. 'Pyramid' is derived in this book from two Greek terms. πυρός, 'wheat'; μετρον, 'measure'; or from Coptic roots, signifying pyr, 'division'; met, 'ten'. However, we offer to deduce this term 'Pyramid' from quite another source. The present writer originally sought to do. this in the year 1860, in a dissertation on the origin and purpose of the 'Pyramids of Egypt'. It is well known that the letters P and F are radically the same letter (as is evidenced by their peculiar pronunciation in certain countries), and that they are interchangeable. In Professor Smyth's book, Πυρός is wrongly translated 'wheat'. It signifies 'product', or 'growth', or 'elimination'; in other words, and in the symbolical sense, it means 'sun-begotten', or 'fire-begotten'. The Coptic derivation (re-read by a new light) is the true one. Thus we obtain another reason upon which we rely as the real interpretation of the name of the pyramid, or obelisk, or great original altar or upright, raised in the
divinity working secondarily in nature. Πυρ is fire (or Division produced by fire); Μετρον is Ten (or measures or spaces numbered as ten). The whole word means, and the entire object bearing this name means, the original Ten Measures or Parts of the Fiery Ecliptic or Solar Wheel, or the Ten Original Signs of the Zodiac. Therefore the Pyramids are commemorative altars raised to the divinity Fire.
The Ophites are said to have maintained that the serpent of Genesis was the Λογος, and the 'Saviour'. The Logos was Divine Wisdom, and was the Bhudda, or Buddha, of India. The Brazen Serpent was called Λογος, or the 'Word', by the Chaldee Paraphrast (Basnage, lib. iv. ch. xxv). It is very certain that, in ancient times, the serpent was an object of adoration in almost all nations. The serpent-worshippers seem to have placed at the head, or nearly at the head, of all things (Maia), and most intimately connected with the serpent, a certain principle which they called 'Sophia'. This is clearly a translation of the word 'Bhudda' into Greek. It also reminds us that the old Bhuddas are always under the care of the Cobra-Capella. This is evidenced in all the Memnonian or Egyptian heads; and in the asp (or fleur-de-lis), more or less veiled or altered, displayed as the chief symbol upon the universal Sphynxes. The serpent, in one view, was the emblem of the evil principle, or destroyer. But, as we have seen before, the 'destroyer' was the 'creator'. Hence he had the name, among his numerous appellations, of ΟΦΙΣ; in Hebrew, אוב, Ob; and as he was the 'logus', or 'linga', he was also ΟΨ, and in Hebrew מרא∙מ. Query, hence, Συφαρ, a seraph or serpent?--see Jones's Lexicon (in voce), and Σοφος, wise. The Συφ and Σοφ are both the same root. The famous 'Brazen Serpent', called Nehustan, set up by Moses in the Wilderness, is termed in the Targum
a 'Saviour'. It was probably a 'serpentine crucifix', as it is called a cross by Justin Martyr. All the foregoing is allegorical, and hides deep Gnostic myths, which explain serpent-worship, united with the adoration paid to a perpendicular.
The three most celebrated emblems carried in the Greek mysteries were the Phallus, Ι; the Egg, Ο and the Serpent, Φ; or otherwise the Phallus, the Ioni or Umbilicus, and the Serpent. The first, in each case. is the emblem of the sun, or of fire, as the male, or active, generative power. The second denotes the passive nature, or feminine principle, or the element of water. The third symbol indicates the destroyer, the reformer, or the renewer (the uniter of the two), add thus the preserver or perpetuator--eternally renewing itself. The universality of the serpentine worship (or phallic adoration) is attested by emblematic sculpture and architecture all over the world. This does not admit of denial. Its character and purpose are, however, wholly misunderstood. Not only is the worship of the serpent found everywhere, but it everywhere occupies an important station; and the farther back we go, the more universally it is found, and the more important it appears to have been considered. The Destroyer or Serpent of Genesis is correctly the Renovator or Preserver. In Genesis there is a 'Tree of Knowledge' and a 'Tree of Life'. Here we have the origin of the Ophites, Ophiones, or Oriental emblematical serpent-worshippers, to account for whom, and for whose apparently absurd object of adoration, our antiquaries have been so much perplexed. They worshipped the Saviour-Regenerator under the strangest (but the sublimest) aspect in the world; but not the devil, or malific principle, in our perverse, mistaken ideas, and with the vulgar, downward, literal meanings which we apply. The mythic and mimetic art of the
[paragraph continues] Gnostics is nowhere more admirably or more successfully displayed than in their hieroglyphs and pictured formulæ. Even in the blazonry and in the collars and badges of chivalry (which seems so remote from them), we find these Ophite hints. The heathen temples and the modern ritualistic churches alike abound in unconscious Gnostic emblems. State ceremony harbours them; they mix with the insignia of all the orders of knighthood; and they show in all the heraldic and masonic marks, figures, and patterns, both of ancient and of modern times. The religion of the Rosicrucians is also concealed, and unconsciously carried forward, perpetuated, and ignorantly fostered, by the very persons and classes who form, contrive, and wear decorations with special mysterious marks, all the world over. Every person, in unconsciously repeating certain figures, which form an unknown language, heired from the ancient times; carries into futurity, and into all parts of the world, the same carefully guarded traditions, for the knowing to recognize, to whose origin the sun, in his first revolution, may be figuratively said to be the only witness. Thus the great inexpressible 'Talisman' is said to be borne to the 'initiate' through the ages.
Proposals were published some years ago for a book entitled, 'The Enigma of Alchemy and of Œdipus resolved; designed to elucidate the fables, symbols, and other mythological disguises, in which the Hermetic Art has been enveloped and signalized in various ages, in ecclesiastical ceremonies, masonic formulæ, astronomical signs, and constellations--even in the emblazonments of chivalry, heraldic badges, and other emblems; which, without explanation, have been handed down, and which are shown to have originated in the same universal mystic school, through each particular tracing their allusion to the means and
mechanism.' This intended work was left in MS. by its anonymous author, now deceased, but was never published. The unknown author of it produced also in the year 1850, in one vol. 8vo, a book displaying extraordinary knowledge of the science of alchemy; which bore the name A Suggestive Enquiry into the Hermetic Mystery; with a Dissertation on the more celebrated of the Alchemical Philosophers. This book was published in London; but it is now extinct, having been bought up--for suppression, as we believe--by the author's friends after his decease, who probably did not wish him to be supposed to be mixed up in such out-of-the-way inquiries.
The Vedas describe the Persian religion (Fire-Worship) as having come from Upper Egypt. 'The mysteries celebrated within the recesses of the "hypogea"' (caverns or labyrinths) 'were precisely of that character which is called Freemasonic, or Cabiric. The signification of this latter epithet is, as to written letters, a desideratum. Selden has missed it; so have Origen and Sophocles. Strabo, too, and Montfauçon, have been equally astray. Hyde was the only one who had any idea of its composition when he declared that "It was a Persian word, somewhat altered from Gabri of Guebri, and signifying FIRE-WORSHIPPERS".' See O’Brien’s Round Towers of Ireland, 1834, p. 354). Pococke, in his India in Greece, is very sagacious and true in his arguments; but he tells only half the story of the myths in his supposed successful divestment of them of all unexplainable character, and of exterior supernatural origin. He supposes that all the mystery must necessarily disappear when he has traced, and carefully pointed out, the identity and transference of these myths from India into Egypt and into Greece, and their gradual spread westward. But he is wholly mistaken; and most other modern explainers are equally
mistaken. Pococke contemplates all from the ethnic and realistic point of view. He is very learned in an accumulation of particulars, but his learning is 'of the earth, earthy'; by which we mean that, like the majority of modern practical philosophers, he argues from below to above, and not, in the higher way, from above to below, or (contrary to the inductive, or Aristotelian, or Baconian method) from generals to particulars, or from the light of inspiration into the sagacities of darkness, as we may call unassisted world’s knowledge--always vain.
The Feast of Lanterns, or Dragon-Feast, occurs in China at their New Year, which assimilates with that of the Jews, and occurs in October at the high tides. They salute the festival with drums and music, and with explosions of crackers. During the Feast, nothing is permitted to be thrown into water (for fear of profaning it). Here we have the rites of Aphrodite or Venus, or the Watery Deity, observed even in China, which worship, in Protean forms, being also the worship of the Dragon or Snake, prevails, in its innumerable contradictory and effective disguises, over the whole world. How like are the noises and explosions of crackers, etc., to the tumult of the festivals of Dionusus or Dionysius, to the riot or rout of the Corybantes amongst the Greeks, to the outcry and wild music of the priests of the Salii, and, in modern times, to the noises said to be made at initiation by the Freemasons, whose myths are claimed to be those (or imitative of those) of the whole world, whose Mysteries are said to come from that First Time, deep-buried in the blind, unconscious succession of the centuries! In the Royal-Arch order of the Masons, as some have said, at an initiation, the 'companions' fire pistols, clash swords, overturn chairs, and roll cannon-balls about. The long-descended forms trace from the oldest tradition;
the origin, indeed, of most things is only doubt or conjecture, hinted in symbols.
The Egyptian Deities may always be recognized by the following distinctive marks:
Phthas, Ptah, by the close-fitting Robe, Four Steps, Baboon, Cynocephalus.
Ammon, Amn, by a Ram's Head, Double Plume, Vase, Canopus.
The Sun-God (Phre or Ra) has a Hawk's Head, Disc, Serpent, Uræus.
Thoth, or Thoyt, is Ibis-headed (means a scribe or priest).
Sochos, or Suches, has a Hawk. Hermes Trismegistus (Tat) displays a Winged Disc.
The Egyptians, however, never committed their greater knowledge to marks or figures, or to writing of any kind.
Figure 313: the Gnostics have a peculiar talisman of Fate (Homer's Αισα). This is one of the rarest types to be met with in ancient art. In Stosch's vast collection, Winckelmann was unable to find a single indubitable example. It is of brown agate, with transverse shades, and is an Etruscan intaglio or Gnostic gem. The Gnostics, p. 238, makes a reference to this figure.
Later in our book (figs. 191, 300, 301) we give a figure of the 'Chnuphis Serpent' raising himself aloft. Over, and corresponding to the rays of his crown, are the seven vowels, the elements of his name. The usual triple 'S.S.S.' and bard, and the name 'ΧΝΟΥΒΙC', are the reverse of, this Gnostic gem. It is a beautiful intaglio on a pale plasma of the finest quality, extremely convex, as it has been found on examination.
In the Ophic planetary group (Origen in Celsum, vi. 25) Michael is figured as a lion, Suriel as a bull, Raphael as a serpent, Gabriel as an eagle, Thautabaoth
as a bear, Eratsaoth as a dog, Ouriel as an ass. Emanations are supposed to pass through the seven planetary regions, signified by these Chaldæan names, on their way to this world. It was through these seven planetary spiritual regions, or spheres, filled with their various orders of angels, that the Gnostics mythed the Saviour Jesus Christ to have passed secretly; disguising Himself and His Mission in order to win securely to His object. In evading recognition, in His acceptable disguises, through these already-created 'Princedoms of Angels', He veiled His purpose of His Voluntary Sacrifice for the Human Race till He was safe, in His investment in 'Humanity' for the accepted 'Propitiation'--through the 'Virgin' for production only; not for 'office'.
There was deep mystery in the Gnostic method of teaching that, although the 'Sacrifice' (the source of sacrifice in all faiths) was complete and real and perfect, the Saviour did not--nor could--suffer bodily or be nailed really, and die upon the Cross, but that He suffered in appearance only, and vicariously--the Scripture being misread. The Gnostics maintained that Simon the Cyrenean--who, the Evangelist states, bore His Cross--did really bear it as the culprit, and suffered upon it. As human and divine are totally different, this could not impair the efficacy of the 'Crucifixion', for the substitution of persons was miraculous and remote (of course) from human sense.
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For the first few years of life, boys and girls are mostly equal. They develop mentally at about the same rate, are disciplined similarly, and are equally likely to start school, a new UNICEF study says.
But the study suggests that gender differences begin to grow as the children do — particularly when girls become big enough to pick up a broom, care for an ailing grandparent, or fetch water.
Worldwide, girls spend about 50 percent more time on chores than their brothers, according to UNICEF. In the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, the gap is wider — girls ages 5 to 14 spend twice as much time on chores.
The hard work doesn’t build character, says the organization, which is dedicated to providing humanitarian and developmental assistance.
‘‘The types of chores commonly undertaken by girls — preparing food, cleaning, and caring for others — not only set the stage for unequal burdens later in life but can also limit girls’ outlook and potential while they are still young,’’ according to the study.
The chores socialize girls into thinking that domestic duties are the only ones they’re qualified for. Chores such as cooking, cleaning, and fetching water are not as highly valued as other tasks that may earn money for a family. That has ‘‘lasting effects on [girls’] self-esteem and sense of self-worth,’’ the study says.
Among the study’s findings:
■ Globally, girls ages 5 to 14 spend 550 million hours every day on household chores, 106 million more hours than boys their age.
■ In the three countries with the highest girl involvement in household chores, more than half the girls spend 14 hours per week on chores.
■ Two-thirds of girls worldwide help with cooking and cleaning in the house. Fifty percent help with shopping, and 46 percent fetch water or firewood. About 43 percent care for other children.
The increased time on household work negatively affects girls’ lives — and their futures — compared to boys. Every hour a girl spends on chores is an hour she can’t spend making friends, doing schoolwork, or playing.
The early typecasting reverberates as girls become women, making it harder to close gender gaps in education and employment, UNICEF says.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report, a quarter of a billion women entered the global labor force between 2006 and 2015, ‘‘and yet, the annual pay for women only now equals the amount men were earning ten years ago.’’
The forum’s report shows similar problems in skilled labor: ‘‘While more women than men are enrolling at university in 97 countries, women make up the majority of skilled workers in only 68 countries and the majority of leaders in only four.’’
The Economic Policy Institute said years of social programming and gender expectations can explain the complex reasons for the gender pay gap in the United States.
According to a recent study by the institute:
‘‘By the time a woman earns her first dollar, her occupational choice is the culmination of years of education, guidance by mentors, expectations set by those who raised her, hiring practices of firms, and widespread norms and expectations about work-family balance held by employers, co-workers and society,’’ the study says.
‘‘In other words, even though women disproportionately enter lower-paid, female-dominated occupations, this decision is shaped by discrimination, societal norms, and other forces beyond women’s control.’’
The UNICEF study suggests some solutions for gender disparities. A first step: a more even distribution of chores.
‘‘Household chores and negative gender patterns must be addressed before they become cemented in adulthood,’’ the study says.
‘‘Supporting girls to stay in school and be involved in sports, play, and other leisure and asset-building activities — and investing in infrastructure, technology, and child care to ease uneven burdens — can help put girls on the path to empowerment and the world on course to great gender equality.’’
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According to Vox Science and Health, we all have a special system for feeling emotional, social touch.
There are two touch systems. The first one gives us the 'facts' - the location, movement, and strength of a touch - and we call that discriminative touch."
The second is the emotional touch system. It's mediated by special sensors called C tactile fibers, and it conveys information much more slowly. It's vague — in terms of where the touch is happening — but it sends information to a part of the brain called the posterior insula that is crucial for socially-bonding touch. This includes things like a hug from a friend, to the touch you got as a child from your mother, to sexual touch.
It's not just a different kind of information that's conveyed by the same sensors in the skin that allow you to feel a quarter in your pocket. It's a completely different set of sensors and nerve fibers that wind up in a different part of your brain.
Touch shapes first impressions of people in weird ways.
David Linden, a neurobiologist at Johns Hopkins says, "In one of the classic experiments, people were holding either a cold iced drink or a hot drink when meeting someone, and those with a hot drink literally rated the people they met as warmer — as in, having a more pro-social personality. They didn't rate them better overall — say, as smarter, or more competent — they just rated them as warmer.
It points to an idea that's come up in social psychology again and again: if you're evaluating someone for the first time, the first decision you make is friend or foe. Is this person warm, or are they a threat? Then the second thing you evaluate is whether they're competent — which means that it matters if they're a threat or not. And it seems that touch information helps us make these distinctions, even when it's irrelevant."
When you’ve had an upsetting experience or are angry and someone tries to hold you, have you noticed that your first reaction is to resist and hold on to your emotion? But if the person continues to hold you, you tend to release the emotion and accept the comfort the person is giving?
This week, try to be the person giving comfort. See how it can make a difference in your personal world with someone you know. Then remember that we are all one and the comfort you extended may be passed on to someone you don’t know by the first person. Or be bold and Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand) that you don’t know. Our world will be better for any and all of your efforts.
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The Arbatel de magia veterum (Arbatel: Of the Magic of the Ancients) is a Renaissance-period grimoire – a textbook of magic – and one of the most influential works of its kind. Unlike some other occult manuscripts that contain dark magic and malicious spells, the Arbatel contains spiritual advice and guidance on how to live an honest and honorable life.
The Arbatel is claimed to have been written in 1575 AD. This date is supported through textual references dating from 1536 through 1583. It is believed that the final editor of the Arbatel was Swiss physician Theodor Zwinger, and that it was published by Italian printer Pietro Perna. The author remains unknown, although it has been speculated that a man named Jacques Gohory may be the author. Like Zwinger and Perna, Gohory was a Paracelsian (a group who believed in and followed the medical theories and therapies of Paracelsus).
|Portrait of Paracelsus (Philippus von Hohenheim), |
Father of Toxicology and Occultist.
The focus of the Arbatel is on nature, and the natural relationships between humanity and a celestial hierarchy. It centers on the positive relationships between the celestial world and humans, and the interactions between the two. British poet and scholarly mystic Arthur Edward Waite (A.E. Waite) noted that the Arbatel is clearly Christian in nature. He wrote that it does not contain any form of black magic, and that it is not connected to the Greater or Lesser Keys of Solomon, which were focused on demonology.
The most frequently cited book in the Arbatel is the Bible. In the manner it is written, it appears that the author of the Arbatel must have had many portions of the Bible memorized, and that this highly influenced his writings.
The Arbatel was an extremely influential work for its time. It is said that one cannot understand the meaning of the Arbatel without also understanding the philosophy of Paracelsus. It viewed theosophy in an occult sense, and was perhaps the first written work to do so. Prior to the Arbatel, theosophy was generally used as a synonym for theology. It was the first writing to make the important distinction between human knowledge and divine knowledge.
Not all views of the Arbatel are positive, however. Dutch physician, occultist and demonologist Johann Weyer condemned the Arbatel as being “full of magical impiety” in his book, De praestigiis daemonum. In 1617, two professors at the University of Marburg in Germany intended to use the Arbatel as a textbook for students. Actions were taken against those professors by the University, and the book led to a student’s expulsion. Further, in 1623, an individual accused of being a witch, Jean Michel Menuisier, claimed to have used incantations from the Arbatel.
The first edition was most likely published in Basel. Some claim there had been earlier editions, although there has been no evidence to substantiate this. Since 1575, there have been several reprints. In 1655, Robert Turner translated the Arbatel to English, and printed it in his "Fourth" book of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's “Three Books of Occult Philosophy.” In 1686, Andreas Luppius wrote a German translation of the Arbatel, and in 1855, Scheible completed another German translation, correcting Luppius’ errors. In 1945, Marc Haven created a French translation of the manuscript. Finally, in 1969, it was translated again into English in the British Library’s Sloane Manuscripts. This English translation resulted in many errors and missing sections, and included a “Seal of Secrets” not included in any other version.
Through its original edition and later translations, the Arbatel remains a fascinating look into ancient spiritual advice, and the different philosophies and views of the world from the 16th Century.
Find the book on our site.
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Getting Blood Pressure Under Control
Many missed opportunities to prevent heart disease and stroke
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, both of which are leading causes of death in the US. Nearly one-third of all American adults have high blood pressure and more than half of them don’t have it under control.* Many with uncontrolled high blood pressure don’t know they have it. Millions are taking blood pressure medicines, but their blood pressure is still not under control. There are many missed opportunities for people with high blood pressure to gain control. Doctors, nurses and others in health care systems should identify and treat high blood pressure at every visit.
*Blood pressure control means having a systolic blood pressure less than 140 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg, among people with high blood pressure.
Controlling blood pressure has to be a priority.
Why is blood pressure control so important to health?
When your blood pressure is high:
- You are 4 times more likely to die from a stroke
- You are 3 times more likely to die from heart disease
Even blood pressure that is slightly high can put you at greater risk.
Most people with uncontrolled high blood pressure:
- Know they have high blood pressure
- See their doctor
- Take prescribed medicine
Each of these is important, but there is much more to do. What’s needed now is for doctors, nurses and their patients to pay regular and frequent attention to controlling blood pressure.
Federal government is:
- Joining with the private sector in leading the national Million Hearts™ initiative to prevent a million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.
- Working with pharmacists on activities to provide education and counseling to patients with high blood pressure.
- Focusing on the importance of high blood pressure as a Leading Health Indicator.
- Measuring progress against the specific objectives in Healthy People 2020.
Health care systems where patients are seen and treated can:
- Start having doctors, nurses, and others review patient records, looking for patients who need more attention to control their high blood pressure.
- Create system-wide targets using Healthy People 2020 objectives to achieve blood pressure control.
- Update staff monthly on progress and give feedback on success measures.
- Make it easier for patients to stay on medicines:
- Consider 90-day refills for prescriptions
- Consider no or lower co-payments for medicines
Doctors, nurses and others who treat patients can:
- Flag and monitor patients with high blood pressure or who are at-risk. Report progress on patients using National Quality Forum (NQF) 0018.
- Counsel patients to take their medicines and make lifestyle changes. Follow their progress.
- Regularly evaluate the blood pressure medicines they take to determine whether these need to be changed.
- Address every blood pressure reading that is high by talking with the patient about taking prescribed medicines, adjusting current medicines and/or encouraging lifestyle changes. Consider once-a-day doses of medicines when possible.
- Take prescribed medicines each day and follow the directions on the bottle. If your blood pressure is still not under control or if you have side effects, talk with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about possibly changing your medicine.
- Work to maintain a healthy weight and meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
- Follow a heart healthy eating plan with foods lower in sodium.
- Get help to stop smoking. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.
- Measure and write down your blood pressure readings between doctor’s visits. This can be done at home, at a grocery store or at the pharmacy.
- Keep your doctor, nurse, pharmacist or other health care provider informed of your blood pressure readings that you take at home.
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Tropaeolum, commonly known as Nasturtium, literally “nose-twister” or “nose-tweaker”, contains roughly 80 species. They are native to south and central America.
These fit neatly into three categories of a permaculture guild: herbaceous, rhizosphere and vines/vertical. Most organic gardeners know that nasturtiums are an all around useful flower in the garden.
Nasturtiums are considered a “pest trap,” because they attract aphids and other pests. They repel a great many cucurbit pests, like squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and several caterpillars. They have a similar range of benefits for brassica plants, especially broccoli and cauliflower. They are a trap crop against black fly aphids. They also attract beneficial predatory insects, hummingbirds and beneficial insects. They’re easy to grow in poor soil. They can be grown around the borders of an orchard (or garden), or within a tree dripline.
Nasturtiums are usually annuals, but some varieties are perennial, depending on the climate and species. They produce seeds and tubers and can be self-seeding annuals. You can also collect the seed for the following year’s crop.The most desirable perennial grown by permaculturists is known as Mashua, Tropaeolum tuberosum, sometimes known as “Ken Aslet”, a perennial in the nasturtium family. It has extraordinary resistance to insect, nematode and bacterial pests. It is grown as a companion plant to potatoes and any of the nightshade family. Some people allow it to grow up the trunk of their fruit trees.
Mashua is resistant to many insects, nematodes, fungi and other pathogens. It is also resistant to the Andean weevil which attacks potatoes and other tuber crops, and is used in companion planting for that purpose. This disease resistance makes mashua a valuable crop to intercrop with other cultivated species as an efficient and cost effective way to control pests and diseases without using costly chemicals. In the Peruvian highlands, mashua is often grown with maize, oca, ulluco, potatoes, legumes and grains. Mashua contains high levels of compounds with insecticidal properties (from Southern Illinois University, Mashua By Travis A. Clark).
Mashua contains many other medicinal qualities, found at the above article link.
Nasturtiums are in the Brassicaceae (cabbage family), the leaves and flowers are edible for humans. The flowers and leaves taste spicy and can add beauty and spice to any salad. The leaves can be dehydrated for winter use. They crumble readily and can be added dry or fresh in salad dressing, omelets, stir fry, or any number of dishes. The unripe seed and/or flower buds can be eaten like capers too!
Edible watercress, Nasturtium officinale, is believed to be in the Tropaeolum family but recent findings are that it is not.
One mashua plant can produce up to 9 lb. (4 kg) of tubers. The part of mashua that is commonly eaten is the tuber, and is one of the four most principal crops in parts of South America for that purpose. It can be eaten raw and is peppery. But when cooked, the peppery taste dissipates. All parts of Mashua can also be eaten (flower, leaves, seeds) like other nasturtiums.
Mashua has medicinal qualities, but curiously I found too many articles stating that it’s an aphrodisiac when it’s not (where did they get that information?). Folklore is that it reduces male fertility. There has been a scientific study verifying this, that showed a reduction in sperm count in rats, but not in levels of testosterone. The study: (Mashua) reduces testicular function: effect of different treatment times
Mashua is hardy in zones to 7b, but in cooler zones, can be heavily mulched or dug and brought indoors. It can be left in the ground and harvested in winter, in warmer regions, yet it’s one of the most frost tolerant of the varieties.
It was difficult for me to find a source in the US (but there are easy to find sources in the UK). Outside South America, the most common sources come from the US Pacific Northwest and New Zealand, principally because it’s now being grown experimentally in those places.
Fry Road Nursery (Oregon)
Far Reaches Farm (Washington)
The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (California) (note: they appear to sell only at local plant sales, but it’s worth checking)
Whether one uses the mashua or other varieties, nasturtiums are beneficial to plant in each garden bed that has either brassica or nightshade crops. They are equally important for fruit orchards as a pest trap.
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Possum Boxes at your Home
Create a home for an endangered species.
Possum boxes are routinely installed in native trees to create additional nesting options for the western ringtail possum, and provide greater protection from predation from cats, dogs, owls and crows at times when their natural habitat is removed or severely degraded.
Possum boxes are also installed in trees to encourage possums from roofs and living in buildings, and for research, rehabilitation and educational purposes. These actions will help provide an alternative home for the critically endangered western ringtail possum.
Possum boxes can be installed yourself or by a professional arborist in backyards where cats and dogs are contained at night. They are relatively easy to construct out of wood, hanging baskets or plant pots, or you can order one from the Busselton Men’s Shed; 555 Roe Terrace Busselton or call 0438 166 694.
When installing a Possum Box:
- Choose a suitable tree greater than 10 years old preferably without hollows or dreys. The tree must be alive – no dead trunks. Ideally choose its known food source i.e Peppermint Trees- Agonis flexuosa. In the absence of a suitable Peppermint Tree, Marri, Jarrah, Tuart or a known habitat tree can be used.
- Place the box 4m or higher above ground amongst the branches and leaves to provide protection when the possum emerges from predators such as owls.
- Do not place the box on the main trunk, as this can be climbed by goannas/cats etc. Rather, place the box out in the branches of the tree.
- Attach box to tree using wire inserted through old hose (to protect tree) or plastic coated clothesline (available from hardware stores). Black, stretchy tree tie (from revegetation suppliers) or old rope could also be used.
- Ensure your pets (dogs and cats) are kept inside at night.
- Place boxes near food source (Peppermint Trees- Agonis flexuosa).
- Face the nest box away from the prevailing weather – south-east is suggested, if possible. Stormy weather comes mostly from the south/south west. West-facing boxes are too hot, and the low beams of the sun on dusk may impair the vision of the possum when it emerges in the evening.
- Face the door close to the trunk of the tree to reduce the time that the animal is exposed leaving the box. Small branches in front of the box will impede the entrance or flight of possible predators.
- If painting the possum box, use an outdoor, weather-proof paint in a camouflaged colour. This will also help prolong the life of the box.
Monitoring possum box use
Check your box every four weeks to see if it is being used by possums or native wildlife, and to ensure it’s not being overtaken by feral bees. If feral bees are using your possum box, seek professional help to remove existing bees.
Please report possum or wildlife to DBCA using the Fauna Report Form and refer to our guidelines to assist Injured Wildlife.
Possums, along with other types of wildlife, benefit from keeping remnant bush and mature trees on your property, as well as installing nest boxes. Keeping cats and dogs inside at night, driving slowly at night, covering up the compost bin and not leaving pet food out at night time are all actions that will help conserve possums and other wildlife.
Possums are a part of suburban living and are not shy of humans. Their antics and acrobatics are a delight to watch at night, however, they need our help to survive in our urban environment.
- Western Ringtail Possum: Endangered Species in our Backyard (WRAG) Includes guidelines for constructing a possum box
- Nest Boxes for Native Animals
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Monday 11th May
LO: Can I use my research skills to find out what the Romans invented?
This week in English we are going to be having a big debate! "Were the Romans the greatest inventors?"
Today, I would like you to use your research skills to find out what the Romans invented. Use the internet to research this. Then, write a list of what they invented and why these things are useful to us now.
You could also watch these videos to help you:
-What did the Romans do for us?
LO: Can I use a protractor/angle measurer to draw angles less than 180°?
How much do you already know about angles? Read through this PowerPoint to review your knowledge.
Today we are going to be measuring acute and obtuse angles.
First, look at this YouTube video to make your own angle measure.
Using your angle measurer (/protractors), estimate how to measure 70 degrees, 120 degrees etc. Then go around your house and measure angles less than 180 degrees. You could also draw angles on a piece paper to measure.
Complete this estimating angles activity sheet.
AND/OR play this game: Alien Angles. You will be given an angle. Drag the arrow to estimate the angle then click on the spaceship to find out how close your estimate was!
LO: Can I name the parts of the human skeleton?
Can you name any bones in your body?
Read this PowerPoint to find out about the human skeleton.
Next, click here to learn the names of the bones and label the skeleton.
Or if you fancy getting creative, you could use this sheet (or make your own) to cut and stick the skeleton together. Then label the parts!
Test your knowledge of the human skeleton with this fun quiz!
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Irritating U.S. export -- fire ants
Fire ants came to the South as an unwanted gift from Argentina more than half a century ago. But now, the United States has managed to export the ant around the globe, according to a team of researchers tracking the migration.
"It's just exploded in the last 10 years," said one of the researchers, University of Georgia entomologist Kenneth Ross.
Working with former UGA student DeWayne Shoemaker, Ross and other scientists compared genetic material from red imported fire ants in the United States to fire ants that have showed up over the past decade in Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
They also looked at genetic material from colonies in the ants' native territory, Argentina.
The researchers concluded that the fire ants now infesting Asia and Australia came from the American South, with one exception. One type of fire ant that has become established in Taiwan actually came from California - but the California ants had been accidentally imported from the Southern United States earlier, so they're ultimately from the South, too.
Fire ants recently discovered in New Zealand are almost certainly from the United States as well, Ross said.
Shoemaker, Ross and other scientists took genetic material from more than 2,000 ant colonies in 11 countries to track the stinging ants' global travels.
The study demonstrates the power of recently developed methods of genetic analysis, Ross said. Scientists are using similar techniques to map waves of human migration across the globe over the centuries.
But the scientists also see a frightening side effect from swelling global trade at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, he said.
The fire ant seemed hunkered down in Georgia and other parts of the American South for decades after it was accidentally brought to Mobile, Ala., on a South American cargo ship in the late 1930s.
Just in the past 10 years, the United States has become a transportation hub for the fire ant, sending it across the Pacific to at least three and probably five countries.
"I've had some people suggest to me that it's bioterrorists, or even malicious tourists. But it's almost certainly the case that it's large-scale shipping," Ross said.
The fire ant is by no means the only unwanted animal or plant species the U.S. has accidentally exported over the past decade or so. But the stinging ant is one of the most striking examples, Ross said.
"Once they get established, they move around easily, by their own dispersal abilities but also by human activities," he said.
Hidden in a cargo container, the ants can survive a long time with just a little moisture. If they get hungry enough, the adults will cannibalize the young.
"They're really well adapted to surviving long, arduous journeys under difficult circumstances," Ross said.
Observers reported floating rafts of fire ants in the floods that followed Hurricane Katrina - another well-documented survival mechanism that lets fire ants move to dry land and safety during floods, Ross said.
As global trade accelerates, opportunities are rising for fire ants and other invasive species to move from country to country, Ross said.
"It's a very difficult situation, even if we were all in agreement that we wanted to deal with this issue - and it's not clear everyone does," Ross said. "The question becomes, how in the world do you do it with the scale of global commerce?"
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In any Ashtanga class, you've probably heard a teacher shout "hold mula bandha!" to a struggling student. So what the heck does that even mean?
An overview of the three bandhas:
In our yoga practice there are three things that hold the posture together. Without these three things, yoga would just be stretching and nothing else. They are the breath, the bandhas and the drishti or gaze point. The bandhas are energetic locks in the body; we use three bandhas in our practice. The first is the moola bandha or the pelvic floor. We activate this lock by squeezing the pelvic floor. For men this is your anus and for women, this is your vaginal walls, the sensation is the same as kegel exercises. We activate the mula bandha on every inhale. On every exhale we activate the second energy lock, uddiyana bandha, or the navel lock. This bandha is activated by drawing your belly inward and your navel to your spine. The third bandha is the jalandhara bandha, or the throat lock. We only use this lock a few times during the primary practice, unlike the mula and uddiyana bandha which are activated upon every breath. If we think of our body like a vessel, the bandhas help to seal in our prana or energy in order to heat the body and burn away toxins and impurities within the body.
Why and How We Hold Mula Bandha:
Mula bandha is said to cut through brahma granthi, the energetic knot of our resistance to change, which lies in mula-dhara chakra. On the physical level, practicing mula bandha creates attentiveness in the supportive musculature of the pelvis. This increases the stability of the pelvis, and, since the pelvis is the seat of the spine, its stability creates a safe environment for spinal movement. Thus, mula bandha strengthens—and teaches the importance of—the solid foundation that should underlie any movement.
On a physical level, mula bandha consists of a contraction, a muscular lifting-up in the floor of the pelvis. Although the pelvis itself is primarily a bony structure supported with ligaments, the pelvic floor consists of muscle fibers and fascia (connective tissue). These tissues intersect and overlap in complex ways; for our purposes, we can divide the pelvic floor into three muscular levels, each of which can be sensed and moved separately.
While using mula bandha with asana can increase core stability, it can only be fully engaged when the spine is straight and long. It is also difficult to feel and experience the energetic effects of this bandha when done with yoga postures, so it is recommended to first practice mula bandha in a seated meditation pose.
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Folk-lore of the Holy Land, Moslem, Christian and Jewish, by J. E. Hanauer , at sacred-texts.com
IN the early part of the eighteenth century the learned Rabbinnical writer Kolonimos was head of the small, and greatly oppressed Jewish community at Jerusalem.
One Sabbath day, the Rabbi was at his devotions at the Jews’ Wailing-place, when the "Shamash" or verger of the Synagogue came, breathless with haste and fear, to tell him that the town was in an uproar, and that the Mohammedans were threatening to exterminate the Jews, because a Moslem boy had been found slain in the Jewish Quarter. He had not finished his tale when a party of Moslems came up and began to beat the Rabbi, dragging him off towards the serai. The Pasha, at sight of him, pointed to the body of the murdered lad, which had also been brought before him, and sternly told the Rabbi that
unless he could produce the actual murderer, all the Jews would be massacred.
The Rabbi said he could detect the guilty party, if pen and paper, together with a bowl of water were given to him. When this had been done, the Rabbi wrote on the paper the tetra-grammaton, or unpronounceable name of the Most High, together with certain passages from Scripture, and from Kabbalistic writings. He then washed the document in the water, 1 repeating certain magic formulæ all the time. The next thing he did was to apply the wet paper to the dead lad's lips and forehead, the result being that the murdered boy immediately sat up, and, after gazing about him for a moment, sprang to his feet, seized one of the by-standers by the throat, and exclaimed, "This man, and no other, is guilty of my blood." Then he sank to the floor, a corpse as before. The man, thus charged with the crime, a Mohammedan, confessed and was led away to punishment.
The Rabbi was at once released; but remembering how by writing and using magical arts he had not only profaned the Sabbath but also been guilty of a heinous sin, even though compelled thereto for the preservation of his flock, he spent the rest of his days doing penance. Nor was that enough. On his death-bed, he gave orders that he should not be buried honourably, but that his friends should take his body to the brow of the hill over-looking the Kedron, just opposite the traditional monument of Zechariah the prophet, and throw it down in the same
way that the carcases of horses and asses are to this day cast down the same slope. Where it stopped rolling, there it might be buried; but no monument must be erected over the grave, and, for a century after his death, every Jew passing the spot must cast a stone on it, as was the custom in the case of malefactors. His friends carried out his instructions till the body was buried, but could not bear to leave his grave without some memorial. They therefore placed a great stone upon it, but the very next morning it was found broken and the same thing happened every time it was replaced. They saw that he would not be disobeyed. It thus became customary, as Kolonimos had desired that it should, for Jewish passers-by to cast a stone upon his grave; and also to repeat prayers there.
A few years ago an acquaintance of my own happened to be at the house of one of the principal Rabbis in Jerusalem, when a Mohammedan of very good repute came to ask the Rabbi for advice and help. He told how a certain Jew, whom he named, had come to his place of business an hour or so previously, when he was alone, for a few minutes. Soon afterwards he had missed a valuable ring that was lying on the desk in front of him when the Jew entered. No one had been in since. He could produce neither proof nor witness against the Jew in question, but felt sure he had taken the ring. Having questioned the Moslem straitly, the Rabbi saw that he spoke truth, and bade him wait while he sent for the culprit. The Jew came without knowing why he had been sent for. Before he had time to utter a
word of salutation, the Rabbi addressed him in Hebrew, in tones of excited pleading, "I beg you, for the sake of all that is Holy, to deny that you know anything about the ring which this Gentile accuses you of having stolen!" "That," said the rascal, quite thrown off his guard, "that is exactly what I meant to do." "Very well," said the Rabbi sternly, "as you have virtually confessed before all these witnesses that you have the ring, hand it over to its owner immediately, and be thankful if he takes no steps to have you punished." The thief gave back the ring, and went unpunished.
During the Egyptian occupation of Palestine between 1831 and 1840, Ibrahìm Pasha, governor of the country, happened to be at Jaffa, when a certain goldsmith came to him, complaining his shop had been burgled in the night, and demanding justice in a high tone . "While we were under the shadow of the Sultan," he said, "I never lost a thing. But now, with you Egyptians who talk so much about good government, in the first month I lose half my substance. It is a shame to you and a great loss to me; and I think that you owe me compensation, for your own honour."
"Very well, I take the responsibility," said Ibrahìm in some amusement. He then sent a crier through the streets calling upon all who loved strange sights to be at the goldsmith's shop at a certain hour next day, with the result that when that hour arrived, the street in front of the shop was packed with people. Then Ibrahìm appeared, attended by
his officers and the public executioner. He first harangued the people on the virtue of trustworthiness, saying that the Egyptian Government was determined to administer the strictest justice, and to punish, without partiality, the slightest breach of trust, even though committed by a senseless and inanimate object. Then, turning to the door of the shop: "Even this door," he said, "shall be punished for failing in its duty, which is to keep out thieves, unless it tell me who it was that passed it the night before last, and stole things out of the shop." The door giving no answer, he bade the executioner, administer one hundred lashes with his kurbâj. 1
When the punishment was ended, he again exhorted the door to speak, saying that, if it feared to utter the name aloud, it could whisper in his ear. He gave his ear to the door, as one listening, then sprang erect and laughed in scorn: "This door talks nonsense. Executioner, another hundred lashes!"
After this second beating, he listened again to hear what the door had to say, while the people murmured and shrugged shoulders one to another, thinking him mad.
"The same stupid tale!" he cried despairingly. "It will persist in telling me that the thief is present in this crowd of honest people, and still has some dust and cobwebs from the shop on his tarbûsh." At that a man was noticed hurriedly to brush his fez, and the Pasha, on the watch for some such action, had him arrested. He proved to be the guilty party, and was punished.
Another story of the kind is told of Ibrahìm Pasha. They say that, while in Jerusalem, he encouraged the fellahìn of the country to bring their produce to t city, assuring them that his soldiers would e punished if they hurt them or took anything fr m them without payment. One day, a woman from Silwân, with a basket of jars filled with leben, 1 came and complained of a soldier having seized one of her jars and drunk off the contents without so much as "By your leave." Ibrahìm asked her when this had happened, and if she thought she could identify the soldier. She replied that it had happened just this minute, and she would know the man again among ten thousand.
"We shall see," said Ibrahìm, and called his trumpeter. Soon every soldier in the city was on parade before the castle; and the Pasha led the woman down the ranks, asking her to pick out the offender. She pointed to a certain man and stopped before him. Ibrahìm asked if she was sure it was the culprit, and she swore by Allah she was not mistaken. Three times he put the question, and she replied that she was quite sure. Then he drew his sword, and, with a deft stroke, cut the soldier open, releasing the leben, still undigested. "It is lucky for you, you were right," he remarked to the woman, "or your fate would have been far worse than this soldier's."
100:1 For a somewhat similar ceremony in the Mosaic ritual see Numb v. 23.
103:1 A whip of hippopotamus-hide.
104:1 Curds, or else buttermilk.
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Why Did My Plant Die?
Why Did My Plant Die?
Let’s start this post off with the truth: sometimes we can’t figure out why a plant has died. And often, a plant dies not just from one cause, but from a combination of “this, then that, and the other thing.” That said, here is how to problem solve if you’ve got a plant that didn’t thrive.
- The most common reason a plant dies is from either too much or too little water. This is especially true for newly placed plants that don’t have established root systems. In both cases the plants wilt first, so the initial symptoms are the same. In this area where so many people have automatic sprinkler systems, most homeowners depend on those to water their new plants well, and these systems are set to water established plants not new ones. So if your new plant dies, the first thing to do is to dig down twelve to fifteen inches in several areas around that plant and see just how wet or dry the soil really is below the surface. That might answer your question right away.
- Plants can die because they were hit with a chemical, housecleaning product, or too much of a garden product. Ask yourself if the house was recently power-washed, windows cleaned, fertilizer applied, lawn herbicides spread, weed killer used etc around your dead plant.
- Some plants die because they were physically damaged. Staking wires left on too long, string-trimmers that scrape off the bark, something falling on or running over the plant are just three examples of physical injuries. In the winter mice and voles can eat the bark low on young trees and girdle the plant. To look for physical injury, examine the entire plant closely from the ground up.
- Finally, insects and diseases can kill a plant although this isn’t usually the only cause of a plant’s death. Most diseases don’t act quickly so a plant that has “died overnight” isn’t likely to have a disease. Frequent monitoring of your plants will help you to spot any possible insect and disease situations before they become problematic. If you see anything questionable, bring a sample of the foliage and a few pictures of your plant into the garden center so we can help diagnose the problem and provide you with possible solutions.
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The Beginnings of San Francisco
In the Vioget survey of 1839 the streets were, as has been stated, very narrow. Vioget ran no east line for Montgomery street and consequently that street, being completed later, was the widest in the village and was made sixty-two and a half feet wide. Kearny street was made forty-five feet, five inches wide, and Dupont street, forty-four feet, this irregularity being probably due to want of knowledge in regard to the lines and when buildings were erected the street lines were made, in a degree, to conform. Kearny street was afterwards widened to seventy-five feet between Market street and Broadway, and Dupont to seventy-four feet from Market street to Bush. Vioget laid out five streets running east and west, viz: Pacific, Jackson, Washington, Clay, and Sacramento. These streets were forty-nine feet, one and a half inches wide. The Vioget survey was extended some time before the American occupation to include Stockton and Powell streets on the west, Broadway and Vallejo on the north, and California, Pine, and Bush on the south. Stockton and Powell were made sixty-six feet nine inches wide, Broadway, eighty-two and a half feet, California, eighty-five feet, and the others sixty-eight feet, nine inches, which became the regulation width for the main streets of the Fifty vara and the Western addition surveys; the exceptions being, in addition to California street and Broadway, Van Ness avenue one hundred and twenty-five feet, and Divisadero street, eighty-two and a half feet wide. The five westerly streets of the Vioget survey extend with their narrow width to Larkin street, the limit of the Fifty vara survey, and from Larkin street they were widened to sixty-eight feet, nine inches, by taking from the lots on either side. Market street is one hundred and twenty feet wide, and the main streets of the Hundred vara survey are eighty-two and a half feet wide. In the Mission the main streets are eighty-two and a half feet, except Dolores, which is one hundred and twenty; Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Sixteenth streets, which are eighty feet wide and the streets from Fourteenth to Twenty-sixth inclusive (excepting Sixteenth street) which are sixty-four feet wide.
I cannot undertake to give the origin of all of the street names in San Francisco, but can give an account of most of the better known ones. Many of the names of course, require no explanation, as for instance, the trees, Cherry, Chestnut, Pine, etc.; natural objects, as Bay, North Point, and others; the presidents of the United States and statesmen of national reputation, as Fillmore, Buchanan, Clay, etc.; the names of states and of counties, and the numbered streets and avenues. In giving an account of the naming of the streets, I shall again pass beyond the time limit of this history and bring my account down to date. Prior to 1909, San Francisco enjoyed the distinction of having three sets of numbered streets and two sets of streets designated by letters of the alphabet. Two sets of the numbered streets were called "avenues" and one had the suffix "south"; one set of lettered streets had the same treatment. To remedy this condition, which was becoming intolerable, the mayor of the city appointed, in 1909, a commission to look into the matter of street names and recommend such changes as might be considered necessary. The commission in its report suggested many changes, most of which were adopted. The commission endeavored to avail itself of the wealth of material existing in the history of the city and state, and give to the streets names not only of historical significance but to add to their attractiveness the liquid beauty of the Spanish nomenclature of the colonial period. In this the commission was only partially successful, owing to a general opposition on the part of small tradesmen to having the names of their streets changed, claiming that they had established their business under the existing names and having, they said, an "asset" in the name of the street on which they were.
I will give the streets in order, first, in the Fifty vara survey, then the Western addition, the Hundred vara survey, and the Mission.
The Fifty vara survey is that part of the city lying between Market and Larkin streets and the bay. The street on the water front, which, when completed, will run from the presidio line to the San Mateo county boundary, was named by the commission of 1909, The Embarcadero (the Landing). That portion of it within the completed sea wall had been named East street North, and East street South, according to its extension to the north or south of Market street. On the Embarcadero the numbers indicate the location of buildings—odd numbers to the north, and even numbers to the south of Market street. Next west of the Embarcadero is:
DRUMM street was named for Lieutenant Drum who was adjutant of the department during the civil war; afterwards adjutant-general of the army.
DAVIS street was named for William Heath Davis at the instance of William D. M. Howard.
BATTERY street was so named because of the battery erected by Lieutenant Misroon on Clark's Point.
SANSOME street was originally named Sloat street in honor of the commodore and it so appears on the alcalde map of 1847; but between February 22d and July 18th of that year the name was changed to Sansome.
LEIDESDORFF street was named for William A. Leidesdorff.
MONTGOMERY street was named for Commander John B. Montgomery of the Portsmouth. The name of Montgomery avenue was changed to
COLUMBUS avenue, in honor of Christopher Columbus, by the commission of 1909, in order to avoid the confusion resulting from two streets bearing the same name.
KEARNY street was named for Stephen Watts Kearny, military governor of California, March 1, 1847, to May 31, 1847.
DUPONT street was named for Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, who commanded the flagship Congress and afterwards the sloop-of-war Cyane. This street was the original "Calle de la Fundacion" of Richardson and ran from about the line of California street north-northwest. It was later swung into line with the other streets by Jasper O'Farrell. The street acquired an unsavory reputation by becoming the residence of an undesirable class of citizens. When these disreputable residents were removed some years ago, the name of the street was changed to
GRANT avenue, by which it is now known.
STOCKTON street was named for Commodore Robert F. Stockton, military governor of California, August 22, 1846 to January 19, 1847.
POWELL Street is supposed to have been named in honor of Doctor W. J. Powell, surgeon United States sloop-of-war Warren, conquest of California.
MASON street was named for Richard B. Mason, colonel First dragoons and military governor of California, May 31, 1847, to April 13, 1849.
TAYLOR street was named for Zachary Taylor, the hero of Buena Vista and twelfth president of the United States.
JONES street was named for Doctor Elbert P. Jones, first editor of the California Star and member of the council of 1847.
LEAVENWORTH street after the Rev. Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, chaplain First New York regiment; alcalde of San Francisco.
HYDE street after George Hyde, secretary of Commodore Stockton on the Congress; alcalde of San Francisco.
LARKIN street was named for Thomas O. Larkin, United States consul at Monterey and secret agent of the government before the conquest.
GREEN street was named for Talbot H. Green who came with the Bartleson party in 1841 and was a prominent citizen of San Francisco. An account of him appears in chapter xvii.
VALLEJO street was named for Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo.
HALLECK street was named for Captain Henry Wagner Halleck.
PACIFIC, CLAY, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA and PINE streets require no explanation, except that Pacific street was originally named for Alcalde Washington A. Bartlett and the original name of Sacramento street was Howard street, named for William D. M. Howard. Why these names were changed does not appear.
BUSH street was named, it is said, for Doctor J. P. Bush, an early resident.
SUTTER street was named for John A. Sutter.
POST street was named for Gabriel B. Post who came in 1847; member of the ayuntamiento of 1849.
GEARY street was named for John W. Geary, first alcalde, 1849-50, and first mayor under the charter.
O'FARRELL street was named for Jasper O'Farrell.
ELLIS street was named for Alfred J. Ellis who came in 1847; member of the ayuntamiento of 1849, and of the constitutional convention.
EDDY street was named for William M. Eddy the surveyor. He completed the survey of the city under the charter of 1850.
TURK street was named for Frank Turk, clerk of the ayuntamiento and second alcalde.
GOLDEN GATE avenue was originally named Tyler street for John Tyler, tenth president of the United States, but after the opening of Golden Gate park the street was asphalted, made the driveway to the park, and the name changed.
MCALLISTER street was named for Hall McAllister the eminent jurist.
This completes the origin of the streets' names, so far as any explanation may be necessary, of the Fifty vara survey. The description of the streets of the Hundred vara survey would perhaps be next in order as these two surveys comprised the extent of the city as defined by the charter of 1850; but for convenience I will continue the streets north of Market street, comprising the Western addition and the adjoining Outside Lands survey.
HAYES street was named for Colonel Thomas Hayes, county clerk from 1853 to 1856. He had a large tract of land in what was known as Hayes' valley which the Van Ness ordinance confirmed to him. He was one of Terry's seconds in his duel with Broderick.
PAGE street was named for Robert C. Page, clerk to the board of assistant aldermen, 1851 to 1856.
HAIGHT street for Fletcher M. Haight, a prominent lawyer of San Francisco and later United States district judge for the Southern district of California.
WALLER Street for R. H. Waller, city recorder in 1851, also in 1854.
ANZA street (Outside Lands survey) was named by the commission of 1909 in honor of the father of San Francisco, Lieutenant-colonel Juan Bautista de Anza.
BALBOA street, in honor of the discoverer of the Pacific ocean, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa.
CABRILLO street, in honor of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo the navigator.
LINCOLN way, in honor of Abraham Lincoln.
IRVING street, for Washington Irving.
J UDAH street, for Theodore D. Judah.
KIRKHAM street, for General Ralph W. Kirkham.
LAWTON street, for General Henry W. Lawton.
MORAGA street, for Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga, founder of the presidio and mission of San Francisco.
NORIEGA street, for José de la Guerra y Noriega.
ORTEGA street, for José Francisco de Ortega, discoverer of the Bay of San Francisco.
PACHECO street, for Juan Salvio Pacheco, soldier of Anza's company and one of the founders of San Francisco.
QUINTARA street, for Spanish family.
RIVERA street, for Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada, comandante of California.
SANTIAGO street, Spanish battle cry.
TARAVAL street, Indian guide, Anza expedition.
ULLOA street, for Francisco de Ulloa, the navigator.
VICENTE street, Spanish name.
WAWONA street, Indian name.
YORBA street, for Antonio Yorba, sergeant of Catalan volunteers, with Portolá expedition, 1769; sergeant of San Francisco company, 1777.
These names were given by the commission of 1909, not only for the historical value some of them possess, but to preserve the order of the alphabet, the streets having been lettered.
POLK street was named for James K. Polk, eleventh president of the United States.
VAN NESS avenue, for James Van Ness, mayor of San Francisco 1856, and author of the Van Ness ordinance which confirmed title to the actual possessors on January 1, 1855, of property west of Larkin street. Mr. Van Ness' residence was Western addition block 73, bounded by Van Ness avenue, Franklin, Hayes, and Fell streets.
FRANKLIN street may have been named for Selim Franklin, a pioneer merchant.
GOUGH street was named for Charles H. (Charley) Gough. In 1850 he sold milk for J. W. Harlan, at four dollars a gallon, carrying it on horseback in two two and a half gallon cans, one swung on each side of the saddle pommel. In 1855 he was a member of the board of aldermen and was appointed on a committee to lay out the streets in the Western addition.
LAGUNA street was named for Washerwomen's lagoon.
OCTAVIA, BUCHANAN, WEBSTER, PIERCE, and SCOTT require no explanation.
STEINER street was probably named for some friend of Alderman Gough.
DIVISADERO street was named for its position: the summit of a high hill. The name comes from the verb divisar—to descry at a distance. Divisadero: a point from which one can look far. The Spanish name for Lone mountain was El Divisadero.
BRODERICK street, for David Colbert Broderick.
BAKER street, for Colonel E. D. Baker.
LYON street, for Nathaniel Lyon, captain of C Troop, 1st dragoons. In 1849 he punished the Indians of Clear Lake for murder and then marched to the Oregon border to punish the Pitt river Indians for the murder of Lieutenant Warner and recover his body, which was found near Goose lake. Lyon, then a general officer, was killed at the battle of Wilson's creek, Missouri, August 10, 1861.
ARGÜELLO boulevard was named by the commission of 1909 for José Darío Argüello, comandante of San Francisco, 1785-1806; governor, ad interim, 1814-15.
LA PLAYA (The Beach) was the name given by the commission to the street next to the ocean beach and running parallel with it.
The Hundred vara survey is that part of the city which is south of Market street and east of Ninth (formerly Johnston) street. South of Ninth street and extending to Thirtieth is the Mission Dolores, or the Mission, as it is usually called. The Mission extends from Harrison street on the east to the hills of the San Miguel rancho (Twin Peaks) on the west. East of Harrison street is the Potrero Nuevo, extending from Division street on the north to Islais creek on the south. South of Islais creek is the Potrero Viejo, commonly called South San Francisco. This extends to the San Mateo county line. To the west of the Potrero Viejo, or South San Francisco, are a number of small subdivisions, bearing various names, each having its own survey.
The street next to the Embarcadero in the Hundred vara survey is
STEUART street, named for William M. Steuart who came as secretary to Commodore Jones on the line-of-battle ship Ohio in 1848. He was a member of the ayuntamiento in 1849-50 and chairman of the judiciary committee. In the records of the ayuntamiento to December 1, 1849, his name is spelled Stewart. From that date it is Steuart. He was one of the delegates from San Francisco to the constitutional convention and was, at times, acting chairman. He was a candidate for governor in the election of November 1849.
SPEAR street was named for Nathan Spear who was one of the earliest merchants of San Francisco (see chapter xiv) and was upright and honorable in all his dealings. He died in San Francisco in 1849, at the age of 47.
BEALE street was named for Lieutenant Edward F. Beale, United States navy. Beale took an active part in the conquest of California serving as lieutenant with the California battalion; later he was surveyor-general of the state and at one time United States minister to Austria.
FREMONT street was named for Colonel John C. Frémont.
MARKET street is the dividing line between the Fifty and Hundred vara surveys, the Western addition, and the Mission Dolores. It runs diagonally, from northeast to southwest and cuts the city in two. The streets of the Hundred vara survey, run parallel with, and at right angles to it. The name was probably suggested by Market street, Philadelphia.
MISSION Street was the first street opened in the southern portion of the city and followed the road to the mission.
STEVENSON street, between Market and Mission, was named for Jonathan Drake Stevenson, colonel of the First New York volunteers. The blocks in the Hundred vara survey were so large that it was found necessary to run what were called sub-division streets through them. Many of these have names of no significance, such as Annie, Jessie, Clementina, etc.
NATOMA street, a sub-division street, was originally named Mellus street for Henry Mellus, Howard's partner; but after the quarrel between the partners it was changed to Natoma. The name is that of an Indian tribe on the American river.
HOWARD street was named for W. D. M. Howard.
FOLSOM street was named for Captain Joseph L. Folsom.
HARRISON street was named for Edward H. Harrison, quartermaster's clerk of First New York volunteers, collector of the port, member of the ayuntamiento, and member of the firm of DeWitt and Harrison.
BRYANT street was named for Edwin Bryant who succeeded Lieutenant Bartlett as alcalde of San Francisco. Bryant served in the California battalion as first lieutenant of company H.
BRANNAN street was named for Elder Samuel Brannan.
BLUXOME street was named for Isaac Bluxome, Jr., a prominent business man.
TOWNSEND street was named for Doctor John Townsend, a native of Virginia who came overland with the Stevens party in 1844. He took part in the Micheltorena campaign as aid to Captain Sutter, was alcalde of San Francisco in 1848, and member of the ayuntamiento, 1849. He died of cholera in December 1850, or January 1851.
VALENCIA street was named for the family of José Manuel Valencia, a soldier of Anza's company.
GUERRERO street was named for Francisco Guerrero. His biography is in chapter xv.
DOLORES street was named for the mission and contains the mission church.
SANCHEZ street was named for the family of José Antonio Sanchez, a soldier of Anza's company.
NOE street was named for José de Jesus Noé. A brief biography of him is given in chapter xv.
CASTRO street was named for the family of Joaquin Isidro de Castro, a soldier of Anza's company.
The streets of the Potrero Nuevo ("The Potrero") are mostly names of states for the streets running north and south, and those running east and west are the continuation of the numbered streets of the Mission Dolores. The streets in the Potrero Viejo (South San Francisco) were mainly numbered "avenues" and lettered streets. These names the commission insisted on changing, giving the following names to the avenues:
ARTHUR ayenue, for Chester A. Arthur, twenty-first president of the United States.
BURKE avenue, for General John Burke of the Revolutionary army.
CUSTER avenue, for General George A. Custer United States army, killed in a battle with the Sioux under Sitting Bull, on the Little Big Horn river in Montana, June 25, 1876.
DAVIDSON avenue, for Professor George Davidson, the eminent scientist and engineer.
EVANS avenue, for Rear-admiral Robley D. Evans of the United States navy.
FAIRFAX avenue, for Thomas Fairfax, sixth Baron Fairfax, who became an American colonist, friend of Washington, and died near Winchester, Virginia, March 12, 1782.
GALVEZ avenue, for Don José de Galvez, visitador-general of Spain and member of the council of the Indies, who organized the expedition commanded by Portolá, 1768-69.
HUDSON avenue, for Henry Hudson, English navigator, discoverer of Hudson river and Hudson's bay.
INNESS avenue, for George Inness the noted American landscape painter.
J ERROLD avenue, for Douglas William Jerrold, English dramatist and humorist.
KIRKWOOD avenue, for Samuel J. Kirkwood, war governor of Iowa.
LA SALLE avenue, for Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, French explorer, discoverer of the Ohio river.
MCKINNON avenue, for Father McKinnon, chaplain of First California volunteers, Spanish war, who died in the Philippines.
NEWCOMBE avenue, for Samuel Newcombe, the distinguished astronomer.
PALOU avenue, for Fray Francisco Palou, companion of Junípero Serra, and his historian.
QUESADA avenue, for Gonzalo Ximinez de Quesada, Spanish explorer and conqueror of New Granada.
REVERE avenue, for Paul Revere, American patriot and hero of the midnight ride.
SHAFTER avenue, for General William R. Shafter, commander of the United States army in Cuba.
THOMAS avenue, for General George H. Thomas, "The Rock of Chickamauga."
UNDERWOOD avenue, for General Franklin Underwood, United States army.
VAN DYKE avenue, for Walter Van Dyke, justice of the supreme court of California.
WALLACE avenue, for William T. Wallace, chief justice of the supreme court of California.
ARMSTRONG avenue, for General Samuel Strong Armstrong, founder of Hampton Institute.
BANCROFT avenue, for George Bancroft, American historian, secretary of the navy, United States minister to Great Britain and Berlin.
CARROLL avenue, for Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
DONNER avenue, for the leader of the party of immigrants who perished in the Sierra Nevada.
EGBERT avenue, for Colonel Egbert, United States army, killed in the Philippines.
FITZGERALD avenue, for Edward Fitzgerald, English poet and translator.
GILMAN avenue, for Daniel C. Gilman, American educator, former president of the University of California.
HOLLISTER avenue, for Sergeant Stanley Hollister of California, killed in Cuba.
INGERSON avenue, for Doctor H. H. Ingerson, a citizen of San Francisco.
KEY avenue, for Francis Scott Key.
LE CONTE avenue, for Professor Joseph Le Conte, teacher, scientist, and author.
MEADE avenue, for General George G. Meade, a commander at Gettysburg.
NELSON avenue, for General William Nelson, a loyal Kentuckian.
OLNEY avenue, for Richard Olney, American lawyer and statesman.
PULASKI avenue, for Count Casimier Pulaski, Polish general who served in the Revolutionary war.
RICHTER avenue, for Captain Reinhold Richter, First California volunteers, killed in Philippines.
SAMPSON avenue for Admiral William T. Sampson, United States navy.
TOVAR avenue, for Don Pedro de Tovar, ensign-general of Coronado's army.
UGARTE avenue, for Father Juan de Ugarte, founder of missions in Lower California; first ship builder of the Californias, 1719.
For the lettered streets of South San Francisco the following names were adopted by the commission:
ALVORD street, for William Alvord.
BOALT street, for John H. Boalt.
COLEMAN street, for William T. Coleman.
DONAHUE street, for Peter Donahue.
EARL street, for John O. Earl.
FITCH street, for George K. Fitch.
GRIFFITH street, for Millen Griffith.
HAWES street for Horace Hawes.
INGALLS street, for General Rufus Ingalls.
JENNINGS street, for Thomas Jennings (Sr.).
KEITH street, for William Keith.
LANE street, for Doctor L. C. Lane.
MENDELL street, for George H. Mendell.
NEWHALL street, for Henry M. Newhall.
PHELPS street, for Timothy Guy Phelps.
QUINT street, for Leander Quint.
RANKIN street, for Ira P. Rankin.
SELBY Street, for Thomas H. Selby.
TOLAND street, for Doctor H. H. Toland.
UPTON street, for Mathew G. Upton.
BERNAL Heights and Bernal avenue, were named for the family of Juan Francisco Bernal, a soldier of Anza's company.
PERALTA avenue, for the family of Gabriel Peralta, corporal of Anza's company.
DE HARO street was named for Alcalde Francisco de Haro.
The commission in selecting new names for numbered and lettered streets was limited in its choice by the necessity of preserving an alphabetical order.
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What is Depression?
Depression is a term commonly applied to a wide variety of emotional states ranging from feeling down for a few hours on a given day to severe clinical depression that may last for several months.
Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder can lead to depression. After becoming sick and not knowing what is wrong with us, we can feel a weight being lifted off of our shoulders when we get the correct diagnosis. After we get the diagnosis of MS or another autoimmune disorder, we can get depressed because of what we do and do not know about the disease and how it will affect our future. Depression can affect our daily activities and our relationships.
Studies have suggested that clinical depression—the most severe form—is more frequent among people with MS than it is in the general population or in many other chronic illnesses.
Depression is equally common in other immune-mediated, neuroinflammatory diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease) suggesting that inflammation is a contributing factor to depression in these conditions.
Read more about what you are to do when you are feeling depressed, by clicking here.
A discussion on depression for people living with MS with Tracy and Tom Kimball
How to Cope with Depression
There are a few things you can do when you have the blues and you need to get out of a funk. Looking at your overall health and how you can improve different areas may help.
- Exercise – Finding the right exercise for you can make all the difference. Discuss which type of exercise you should be doing with your doctor.
- Reduce your stress. I don’t care who you are, everyone has stress. There are many different ways to reduce your stress you need to decide how and when you are going to do it. Here are a few ideas:
- Take a bubble bath.
- Read a good book in a quite setting.
- Listen to soothing music.
- Stay in touch with your family and friends. You may need a Self-Care Saturday to reconnect.
- Stay connected with your doctors. Don’t miss your appointments and make sure to write down all of your questions before going to your appointment so you don’t forget anything.
- Recognize your feelings. Get a journal and keep track of how you are feeling. Track what triggers them and what helps relieve them.
20 Tips & Tricks to Tackle Depression in MS by
Dr. Aaron Boster
To learn more about depression and MS, the National MS Society has created this helpful brochure.
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In this blog we try to give you an idea of what a bot is made of i.e. the components used in making a bot. Obviously the exact components required for a given bot will depend on the type of bot you are building, but this will give you some idea of the components available.
Every bot must be capable of connecting to and interacting with one or more messaging platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, Slack or web chat. The chat platforms is the user interface for the bot.
Natural language processing (NLP) engines are able to the identify the intentions behind phrases in natural language. For example the following phrases all have the same intent, which is BOOK_FLIGHT:
I want to book a flight
I want to go from Dubai to Moscow
I need a flight
Bots that need to be able to understand text or speech in natural language need to access NLP engines to do so.
To fully engage in a conversation, a bot also needs a dialog manager (which keeps track of the information state of the bot and generates responses or actions in response to intents and the information state) and a natural language generator (which takes parameterized responses and converts them into understandable natural language phrases).
It’s worth noting that AI driven bots are very far away from being able to participate in conversations in a human-like way.
Analytics is needed to monitor and measure the bots’ performance. They provide metrics on the bot such as the number of users and the type of engagement. It’s obviously critical for bot developers to gather these types of metrics on the bot to understand if engagement with the bot and the interactions with different conversational or graphical features is as expected.
The conversation flow are the rules that govern the action the bot takes in response to different inputs. The actions could be a text response, a multimedia response or a graphical widget response where the user is presented with graphical options to choose from.
These rules are usually built by a developer and determine the behaviour of the the bot. The rules can be scripted, i.e. the user has to choose from limited options at each step of the conversation, or open, in which case the user can say anything (normally within a narrow context like customer service for a company, or purchasing a product on Alexa) and the bot determines what to do from the intent (as determined by the NLP engine).
The content such as text in the user’s language and media files needs to be managed independently from the conversation flow. The language, the media files and implementation may change depending on who the user is, the context, and the messaging platform that the message is being shown on.
Content like code needs to be professionally maintained and source controlled which is why Botpress created UMM.
Even if they are not used specifically for marketing purposes, many chatbots need marketing and campaign like features. This can include the ability to tag users according to segmentations and then use the segmentations to determine the messages that they get sent. This can also include the ability to do A/B testing. And this is in addition to the opportunities to do native and affiliate marketing for chatbots.
Chatbots need the ability to manage subscriptions, broadcasts and newsfeeds. Most chatbots will have some information that they provide their subscribers with on a regular basis and managing these subscriptions is therefore necessary. Apart from sending automated messages to subscribers they also may need to offer the ability for human agents to send messages to subscribers manually.
Human in the loop is the ability of the human to take control of the bot. There are many reasons why a human might want to manually take over the bot conversation, the most common being that the bot did not understand what the end user said.
Security is a concern for any software creator. A chatbot creator not only needs to ensure that the messages to and from the users are suitability encrypted and private, but they also have to ensure that the roles of the internal staff assigned to manage and monitor the chatbot are suitably permissioned.
While architecture is not a component, like any software, every chatbot has an architecture. If the software architecture is not of a high standard the chatbot will not be extensible and easily maintainable.
Although Botpress is essentially middleware that connects all the chatbot components to each other, it provides a best practice architecture that makes the chatbot easy to maintain and highly extensible.
Botpress also offers components out of the box for all the major categories above. It allows and encourages developers to use third party components or services available in the ecosystem alongside or instead of its own components.
The above hopefully gives you a basic idea of the components that a chatbot is composed of and how to program bots for your own personal or business needs. It is important to note that individual bots are customized by developers coding their own modules that they add to the chatbot and by developers customizing the off the shelf modules by editing the source code.
Disclaimer: We encourage our blog authors to give their personal opinions. The opinions expressed in this blog are therefore those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Botpress as a company.
Fortunately, the unrealistic expectations regarding how conversational AI would allow chatbots to be almost fully...
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All you need to realize about clinical article: its function, way and structure of composing
The manuscript for the article must have the total name associated with work, the surname and mane for the writer, the annotation ( for a split page), record of used literary works.
Few words regarding the framework of medical article
This article possesses structure that is simple
- introduction (formula of a medical problem, relevance, reference to the main tasks for the growth of a specific industry of science and training – 1 paragraph or 5-10 lines);
- the key research and magazines in the issue, recently relied on by the author, the issue associated with allocation of unresolved problems, which will be focused on this article (0.5-2 pages of typed text);
- formulation of this function of the content (statement for the issue) – the main notion of this book is expressed, which varies significantly through the contemporary some ideas concerning the issue, complements or deepens currently understood approaches. The goal of the paper follows through the declaration associated with the problem that is scientific the breakdown of the key magazines on subjects (1 paragraph, or 5-10 lines);
- a declaration for the content of very own research – the primary an element of the article. It covers the primary provisions and outcomes of medical research, personal tips, thoughts, gotten clinical facts, system of test. Analysis regarding the results, personal share associated with the writer into the utilization of the key conclusions, etc. (5-6 pages);
- conclusion, where the primary declaration through the writer is developed, the information of conclusions and suggestions, their significance for concept and training, social importance and perspectives (1/3 page).
Variety of guidelines of composing an article that is scientific
Whenever composing a medical article, you need to abide by particular guidelines:
- The information about the author is indicated in the upper right corner there is the author’s full name; if necessary, the information that supplements
- the name for the article quickly reflects its idea that is main (ideally as much as five terms);
- A report that is scientific be avoided;
- it really is not practical to inquire of rhetorical concerns; more use of narrative sentences;
- try not to overload the written text with figures within the listings of specific viewpoints, conditions, demands;
- citations in the article are used very rarely (it is possible to make references in the parentheses to the scientist who first investigated the nagging problem);
- all references to authority get at the start of the article; the volume that is main dedicated to the presentation associated with the writer’s own views;
- this article should conclude with tangible conclusions and recommendations and add a summary of utilized sources.
Theoretical and empirical types of articles
Prior to the allocation in medical research for the theoretical and empirical degree of knowledge, we distinguish theoretical and empirical articles. The articles that are theoretical the outcomes of research carried out with the aid of such types of cognition as abstraction, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, idealization, formalization, modeling.
Into the articles in which the calculations were created, the things of this description into the analytical or graph-analytical kind are physical, chemical, real and chemical procedures, outcomes and types of financial calculations, etc.
In works specialized in the interpretation of phenomena, procedures, issues on the basis of the systematization of medical facts utilizing the allocation of fundamental ideas, principles, regulations, mathematical calculations and models receive, nevertheless the product is principally presented in a form that is textual. The primary importance in the dwelling of acquiring rational guidelines and rules.
Empirical articles describe the link between research carried out by using experimental techniques, observation, dimension, but with the employment of a quantity of theoretical practices. Within their titles you can find frequently words, calculation, assessment, meaning, methodology.
The techniques of research, opportinity for its understanding are described, the characteristic and category associated with the gotten material is offered, its interpretation, in the event of implementation contains home elevators experimental and commercial evaluating. Information is frequently presented by means of charts, less frequently – diagrams, drawings, photographs, in tabular type.
The last the main article, summing within the material, should respond to the questions posed by the basic part, echo along with it and thus show your reader the area of work in the industry knowledge system https://www.custom-writings.net/.
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Guest Author - Barbara Swiech
Who is a hero? Sometimes it seems that a hero can be only a person whose actions are known to others. Good people are known to make good things. But what if somebody seems not to take any actions but in fact helps many people in secret? Unfortunately nowadays heroism is defined by intensity of publications that are made. If we are not aware of somebody’s heroism, he is not a hero to us. But there are many individuals who would act in the aim of just, without boasting of that fact, and were forgotten. The same almost happened to Irena Sendler, a simple woman who saved thousands of lives.
She was born in 1910 as a daughter of Polish doctor. She was social worker. She was a woman of weak health (as most of her youth she spent in old Polish Spa that was to help her to recover) but of great will. When the war broke out, Irena started to help poor Jewish citizens of Warsaw. She continued to offer them her support when they were all moved to Warsaw Ghetto. When entering the area of Ghetto, Irena Sendler would wear David’s star not to be recognized from its citizens and to show solidarity with people crowded there. In December 1942 she became a leader of child support department within Council to Aid Jews (underground organization of Polish resistance).
She organized the action of smuggling Jewish children out of the ghetto and placing them in Polish families and other places where they could survive the war. One of such places was the convents of Franciscan nuns, that agreed to take any child that would require help and place them between Polish children in orphanages run by nuns.
The task of getting out Jewish children was not as easy as it seems now. Ghetto was a closed area surrounded with walls and guarded by Nazis. One needed connections (and money) to be able to get through secret way out. Apart from this some of the children had not spoken Polish (before they were placed in Polish families) but only Yiddish that they used with their Jewish relations. One mistake, one omission could decide about child’s life and the future of family that was hiding it – especially that hiding a Jew in Poland was forbidden and punished with death.
It is estimated that Irena saved about 2500 Jewish children. Their records would be written down on small pieces of paper (that Irena hid in a jar) to enable them to find their relations. Although Irena Sendler was very cautious with her actions she was betrayed and imprisoned by Gestapo. She was tortured and sentenced to death. Zegota, how the previously mentioned Council to Aid Jews was called, paid a big bribe to save her life. The death punishment was performed only on paper (what means that officially she was shot by Gestapo).
The new government of post war Poland, that was against Polish Home Army (resistance movement of WW II that Irena was associated with), made people like Mrs Sendler silent – they were not allowed to speak about what they did. The history of her and her helpers remained unknown in Poland and outside. But this is not where Sendler’s misfortune ceased. She was imprisoned and tortured also by communist Ministry of Public Security of Poland.
Although already in 1965 she was honored by Israeli Yad Vashem organization as Righteous among the Nations, her history was not widely known until 1999. This is when American teacher inspired students to make to make a theatre play based on the life and actions of Irena Sendler. When he got to know what she did, he could not believe that a woman, who saved twice as many Jews as Oscar Schindler, is not recognized worldwide. After the success of the play more and more people started to talk and ask about the history of Irena Sendler. Her history became popular, especially when a movie about her saving ghetto Jewish kids was made in 2009 (called The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler).
Irena Sendler died in 2008 at the age of 98. Her life still inspires many.
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By Devoney Looser, Arizona State University
While Austen’s collateral descendants influenced her writing, she also galvanized generations of Austen family relatives who were themselves writers, publishers, and public figures. Jane’s closest sibling relationship was with her sister, Cassandra, who played an important role as an artist in Jane’s life. However, Henry may have been the sibling who had the greatest impact on Jane’s career during her lifetime, as well as after it.
Henry Austen frequently helped Jane in her dealings with publishers. He arranged for his ‘man of business’ to act as Jane’s agent. He was the author of the well-known biographical notice of Jane in 1818. When he expanded that memoir of his sister for republication in 1832, his name was advertised in the newspapers as the memoir’s author. By this time, Henry had become a clergyman. He regularly delivered sermons and was said to be quite eloquent as a speaker. He published a book and several pamphlets of sermons in the 1820s. His second wife, too, published religious works, under the name ‘Mrs. Henry Austen’.
Any argument that Jane’s family was against a woman signing her name on her books is weakened by Mrs. Henry Austen’s byline. It’s possible, of course, that Mrs. Henry Austen’s marital status was seen as protecting her reputation in a way that a single woman like Jane couldn’t benefit from. But it’s one more piece of evidence to weigh.
Cassandra painted portraits of her sister; the only ones affirmed with certainty to be Jane. She also drew imaginary portraits of famous historical figures for the pages of Jane’s juvenile work, ‘The History of England’. The sisters’ work together on this text deserves to be seen as an artistic collaboration, in the same way that we might now imagine the author and illustrator of a children’s book.
In addition, Cassandra wrote charades, as did many in the Austen family. A charade then meant something a little different from what we understand it to mean today. It was a kind of word puzzle or riddle. Rather than acting out the syllables, charade writers describe these syllables in verse. Readers would then attempt to guess the answer by figuring out each syllable described in the riddle.
This article comes directly from content in the video series The Life and Works of Jane Austen. Watch it now, on Wondrium.
The Large Austen Family
Within two generations, Austen’s large family had become exponentially larger. She was one of eight children. Four of her siblings had children themselves, for a total of 33 nieces and nephews. Then those nieces and nephews had 101 collateral descendants, who were Jane’s great nieces and nephews.
Within the space of several decades, we’re already talking about 100 people when we say, ‘the Austen family’. Those 100 collateral descendants were perfectly aware of their famous aunt. Some used her name to market their own writings or undergird their own public lives.
It wasn’t only the Austen men who advanced the reputation of their famous aunt or great aunt, and their own reputations, using her name. James Austen’s daughter, Anna Lefroy, whose full name was Jane Anna Elizabeth Austen Lefroy, published a short story, ‘Mary Hamilton’, in 1834. She didn’t sign her own name to the work but used the byline ‘a niece of the late Miss Austen’. Her story appeared in a literary magazine called The Literary Souvenir, and Lefroy, in writing it, took some inspiration from both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.
Anna Lefroy is the same niece who wrote but never published an incomplete continuation of Jane Austen’s unfinished final work, Sanditon. Lefroy and her daughters published more than a dozen children’s stories, with religious and moral themes.
Female Authors in the Austen Family
Other branches of the Austen family nurtured female authors, too. A daughter of Jane’s naval brother, Francis Austen, began to publish novels as ‘Mrs. Hubback, late Miss Austen’. Her novels were advertised in the 1850s as ‘by the niece of the celebrated Miss Austen’. Hubback family descendants kept up that Jane Austen-inspired work, publishing the biographical book Jane Austen and Her Sailor Brothers in 1906.
Edward Knight’s branch of the Austen family had many writers. His daughter, the diarist Fanny Knight, became Lady Knatchbull. Her son, Lord Brabourne, the politician-baronet who first published Jane Austen’s letters, also published dozens of volumes of fairy tales. He had a Cambridge University-educated daughter who also published fairy tales and pursued social activism for the arts and women’s education.
The point of all of these details isn’t only to suggest that literary habits or talents might run in families—although sometimes they do. It’s rather to say that Jane Austen wrote in a family community of writers. It was also a community that she, with her posthumous literary success, served to enable and foster, even in the years after she died.
Common Questions about How Jane Austen enabled and Fostered Generations of Writers
Cassandra painted portraits of her sister, Jane Austen; the only ones affirmed with certainty to be Jane. She also drew imaginary portraits of famous historical figures for the pages of Jane’s juvenile work, ‘The History of England’.
In Austen’s time, a charade was a kind of word puzzle or riddle. Rather than acting out the syllables, charade writers described these syllables in verse. Readers then attempted to guess the answer by figuring out each syllable described in the riddle.
Anna Lefroy was James Austen’s daughter. Her full name was Jane Anna Elizabeth Austen Lefroy. She published a short story, ‘Mary Hamilton’, in 1834. She didn’t sign her own name to the work but used the byline ‘a niece of the late Miss Austen’. Lefroy, in writing the story, took some inspiration from both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey.
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Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a type of surgery that improves blood flow to the heart. It's used for people who have severe coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease.
CHD is a condition in which a substance called plaque (plak) builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood.
Plaque can narrow or block the coronary arteries and reduce blood flow to the heart muscle. If the blockage is severe, angina (chest pain or discomfort), shortness of breath, and, in some cases, heart attack can occur.
CABG is one treatment for CHD. During CABG, a healthy artery or vein from the body is connected, or grafted, to the blocked coronary artery. The grafted artery or vein bypasses (that is, goes around) the blocked portion of the coronary artery.
This creates a new passage, and oxygen-rich blood is routed around the blockage to the heart muscle.
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
CABG is the most common type of open-heart surgery in the World and Doctors called cardiothoracic surgeons do this surgery.
Other Names for Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
CHD isn't always treated with CABG. Many people who have CHD can be treated other ways, such as with lifestyle changes, medicines, and a procedure called Angioplasty. During angioplasty, a small mesh tube called a stent may be placed in an artery to help keep it open.
In people who are candidates for the surgery, the results usually are excellent. Following CABG, 85 percent of people have significantly reduced symptoms, less risk of future heart attacks, and a decreased chance of dying within 10 years.
Traditional Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
This is the most common type of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). It's used when at least one major artery needs to be bypassed.
During the surgery, the chest bone is opened to access the heart. Medicines are given to stop the heart, and a heart-lung bypass machine is used to keep blood and oxygen moving throughout the body during surgery. This allows the surgeon to operate on a still heart.
After surgery, blood flow to the heart is restored. Usually, the heart starts beating again on its own. In some cases, mild electric shocks are used to restart the heart.
Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
This type of CABG is similar to traditional CABG because the chest bone is opened to access the heart. However, the heart isn't stopped, and a heart-lung bypass machine isn't used. Off-pump CABG is sometimes called beating heart bypass grafting.
Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
This surgery is similar to off-pump CABG. However, instead of a large incision (cut) to open the chest bone, several small incisions are made on the left side of the chest between the ribs.
This type of surgery mainly is used for bypassing the blood vessels in front of the heart. It's a fairly new procedure that's done less often than the other types of CABG.
This type of CABG isn't for everybody, especially if more than one or two coronary arteries need to be bypassed.
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is used to treat people who have severe coronary heart disease (CHD) that could lead to a heart attack. CABG also may be used to treat people who have heart damage following a heart attack but still have blocked arteries.
Your doctor may recommend CABG if other treatments, such as lifestyle changes or medicines, haven't worked. He or she also may recommend CABG if you have severe blockages in the large coronary (heart) arteries that supply a major part of the heart muscle with blood-especially if your heart's pumping action has already been weakened.
CABG also may be a treatment option if you have blockages in the heart that can't be treated with angioplasty.
Your doctor will decide whether you're a candidate for CABG based on a number of factors, including:
If you're a candidate for CABG, the goals of having the surgery include:
You may need repeat surgery if the grafted arteries or veins become blocked, or if new blockages develop in arteries that weren't blocked before. Taking medicines as prescribed and making lifestyle changes as your doctor recommends can lower the chance of a graft becoming blocked.
Tests will be done to find out which arteries are clogged, how much they're clogged, and whether there's any heart damage.
An EKG is a simple test that detects and records your heart's electrical activity. This test is used to help detect and locate the source of heart problems.
An EKG shows how fast your heart is beating and its rhythm (steady or irregular). It also records the strength and timing of electrical signals as they pass through each part of your heart.
Some heart problems are easier to diagnose when your heart is working hard and beating fast. During stress testing, you exercise (or are given medicine if you're unable to exercise) to make your heart work hard and beat fast while heart tests are done.
These tests may include nuclear heart scanning, echocardiography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning of the heart.
Echocardiography , or echo, uses sound waves to create a moving picture of your heart. The test provides information about the size and shape of your heart and how well your heart's chambers and valves are working.
The test also can identify areas of poor blood flow to the heart, areas of heart muscle that aren't contracting normally, and previous injury to the heart muscle caused by poor blood flow.
There are several types of echo, including stress echo. This test is done both before and after a stress test. A stress echo usually is done to find out whether you have decreased blood flow to your heart, a sign of CHD.
Coronary angiography uses dye and special x rays to show the insides of your coronary (heart) arteries. During the test, a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter is put into a blood vessel in your arm, groin (upper thigh), or neck.
The tube is then threaded into your coronary arteries, and the dye is injected into your bloodstream. Special X rays are taken while the dye is flowing through your coronary arteries.
The dye lets your doctor study the flow of blood through your heart and blood vessels. This helps your doctor find blockages that can cause a heart attack.
Tests may be done to prepare you for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). For example, you may have blood tests, an EKG (electrocardiogram), echocardiography, a chest X ray, and coronary angiography.
Your doctor will give you specific instructions about how to prepare for surgery. He or she will advise you about what to eat or drink, what medicines to take, and what activities to stop (such as smoking). You'll likely be admitted to the hospital on the same day as the surgery.
If tests for coronary heart disease show that you have severe blockages in your coronary (heart) arteries, your doctor may admit you to the hospital right away. You may have CABG that day or the day after.
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) requires a team of experts. A cardiothoracic surgeon does the surgery with support from an anesthesiologist, perfusionist (heart-lung bypass machine specialist), other surgeons, and nurses.
After surgery, you'll typically spend 1 or 2 days in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels will be checked regularly during this time.
An intravenous line (IV) will likely be inserted into a vein in your arm. Through the IV line, you may get medicines to control blood circulation and blood pressure. You also will likely have a tube in your bladder to drain urine and a tube to drain fluid from your chest.
You may receive oxygen therapy (oxygen given through nasal prongs or a mask) and a temporary pacemaker while in the ICU. A pacemaker is a small device that's placed in the chest or abdomen to help control abnormal heart rhythms.
Your doctor may recommend that you wear compression stockings on your legs as well. These stockings are tight at the ankle and become looser as they go up the leg. This creates gentle pressure up the leg. The pressure keeps blood from pooling and clotting.
While in the ICU, you'll also have bandages on your chest incision (cut) and on the areas where an artery or vein was removed for grafting.
After you leave the ICU, you'll be moved to a less intensive care area of the hospital for 3 to 5 days before going home.
Your doctor will give you specific instructions for recovering at home, especially concerning:
You also may get instructions on how to deal with common side effects from surgery. Side effects often go away within 4 to 6 weeks after surgery, but may include:
Full recovery from traditional CABG may take 6 to 12 weeks or more. Less recovery time is needed for nontraditional CABG.
Your doctor will tell you when you can start physical activity again. It varies from person to person, but there are some typical timeframes. Most people can resume sexual activity within about 4 weeks and driving after 3 to 8 weeks.
Returning to work after 6 weeks is common unless your job involves specific and demanding physical activity. Some people may need to find less physically demanding types of work or work a reduced schedule at first.
Care after surgery may include periodic checkups with doctors. During these visits, tests may be done to see how your heart is working. Tests may include ECG (electrocardiogram), stress testing, echocardiography, and cardiac CT.
CABG is not a cure for coronary heart disease (CHD). You and your doctor may develop a treatment plan that includes lifestyle changes to help you stay healthy and reduce the chance of CHD getting worse.
Lifestyle changes may include making changes to your diet, quitting smoking, doing physical activity regularly, and lowering and managing stress.
Your doctor also may refer you to cardiac rehabilitation (rehab). Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.
Rehab programs include exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress and help you return to an active life. Doctors supervise these programs, which may be offered in hospitals and other community facilities. Talk to your doctor about whether cardiac rehab might benefit you.
Taking medicines as prescribed also is an important part of care after surgery. Your doctor may prescribe medicines to manage pain during recovery; lower cholesterol and blood pressure; reduce the risk of blood clots forming; manage diabetes; or treat depression.
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If you are being bullied...
- Reach Out
Tell an adult. Sometimes you may have to tell more than one trusted adult.
Ask your friends to help you. There is safety in numbers.
Practice what to say the next time you're bullied with your parents, teachers or friends.
- Be Cool in the Moment
Stay calm and confident. Don't show the bully that you're sad or mad.
Ignore the bully and walk away.
Remember: Fighting back can make bullying worse.
- Change the School Community
Work with others to stop bully behavior; your whole school will benefit.
Remember: A lot of kids have to cope with bullying. You are not alone. No one deserves to be bullied.
If you witness bullying...
- Interrupt It
Stand next to, or speak up for, the person being bullied.
Ask the bully to stop.
Comfort the person being bullied and offer friendship.
- Get Help
Walk away and get help.
Find an adult who can intervene.
If you are the bully...
- Make a Commitment to Change
Talk to an adult, like a teacher or parent, about how to get along with others.
Ask a friend to help you stop your bully behavior.
Apologize to the kids you have bullied.
- Focus on Empathy and Responsibility
Think about what it feels like to be bullied -- would you want to be treated that way?
Before you speak, think about whether your words will help or hurt another student.
- Change Your Behavior
Resist peer pressure to bully.
If you start to bully, walk away and find something else to do.
Remember: You don't have to like everyone around you, but you have to treat everyone with respect.
Drawn from Stop Bullying Now, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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This test executes a new proposed standard benchmark method for MPI startup that is intended to provide a realistic assessment of both launch and wireup requirements. Accordingly, it exercises both the launch system of the environment and the interconnect subsystem in a specified pattern.
Specifically, the test consists of the following steps:
- Record a time stamp for when the test started - this is passed to rank=0 upon launch.
- Launch a 100MB executable on a specified number of processes on each node.
- Each process executes MPI_Init.
- Each process on an odd-numbered node (designated the "originator" for purposes of this description) sends a one-byte message to the process with the same local rank on the even-numbered node above it - i.e., a process on node N sends to a process on node N+1, where N is odd.
- The receiving process answers the message with a one-byte message sent back to the original sender. In other words, the test identifies pairs of nodes, and then the processes with the same local rank on each pair of nodes exchange a one-byte message.
- Each originator records the time that the reply is received, and then enters a call to MPI_Gather. This allows all the time stamps to be collected by the rank=0 process.
- Once all the times stamps have been collected, the rank=0 process searches them to find the latest time. This marks the ending time of the benchmark. The start time is then subtracted from this to generate the final time to execute the benchmark.
Thus, the benchmark seeks to measure not just the time required to spawn processes on remote nodes, but also the time required by the interconnect to form inter-process connections capable of communicating.
How to Build
To execute the benchmark, you will need to compile both the ziatest.c and ziaprobe.c programs. A very simple Makefile is provided.
How to Run
The ziatest.c program simply obtains the initial time stamp, and then executes the "mpirun" (or equivalent) command to initiate the actual benchmark. As distributed, the format of this command in the code takes advantage of OpenMPI's "-npernode" option. To use the benchmark with a different MPI, you may need to add a second argument to the ziatest command line. Specify the run command followed by the necessary option(s). End with the option (no value) that specifies the number of mpi_ranks per node (aka -npernode). The required behavior is to launch a constant number of processes on each node.
There is no requirement on the number of nodes, nor that there be an even number of nodes. In the case of an odd number of nodes, the test will automatically "wrap" the test by requiring the last node to communicate with node=0. Note that this can invoke a penalty in performance as the processes on node=0 will have to respond twice to messages. Thus, the test does tend to favor even numbers of nodes.
With the code compiled, simply execute:
./ziatest N -or-
./ziatest N "LAUNCH_CMD OPTIONS"
where N is the number of processes to be launched on each node. If you are using OpenMPI and want to restrict the nodes, or are not using a common resource manager (e.g., SLURM or MOAB) to provide an allocation, then create a hostfile and add OMPI_MCA_hostfile=your-hostfile-name to your environment.
If you are using a different version of MPI, the optional second argument can be used to specify the command and other arguments.
If you are using OpenMPI, the output will appear in the following format:
$ ./ziatest 4
Time test was completed in 624.57 millisecs
Slowest rank: 8
Here is an example from a Cray CLE system using the optional second argument:
$ ./ziatest 4 "aprun -n 16 -N"
Time test was completed in 0:01 min:sec
Slowest rank: 16
As you can see, the time required to execute the test is displayed, along with the rank that reported the slowest time. The time will be in min:sec if the test tool longer than 1 minute to execute. The slowest rank information is provided in the hopes it may prove of some diagnostic value.
If you question the output value, try running ziatest through the UNIX time command:
time ./ziatest 4
The result should be close to identical.
Run a logrithmic scaling study using base-10 values times double the number of cores per node. For example, if there are 26 cores per node, run:
52, 520 5200, 52,000, ... MAXIMUM_NUMBER_OF_MPI_RANKS
The output is self-explanatory.
Copyright (c) 2008 Los Alamos National Security, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The product of two of Oklahoma's foremost authorities on the history of the 46th state, Oklahoma: A History is the first comprehensive narrative to bring the story of the Sooner State to the threshold of its centennial. From the tectonic formation of Oklahoma's varied landscape to the recovery and renewal following the Oklahoma City bombing, this readable book includes both the well-known and the not-so-familiar of the state's people, events, and places. W. David Baird and Danney Goble offer fresh perspectives on such widely recognized history makers as Sequoyah, the 1889 Land Run, and the Glenn Pool oil strike. But they also give due attention to Black Seminole John Horse, Tulsa's Greenwood District, Coach Bertha Frank Teague's 40-year winning streak with the Byng Lady Pirates, and other lesser-known but equally important milestones. The result is a rousing, often surprising, and ever-fascinating story. Oklahoma history is an intricate tapestry of themes, stories, and perspectives, including those of the state's diverse population of American Indians, the land's original human occupants. An appendix provides suggestions for trips to Oklahoma's historic places and for further reading. Enhanced by more than 40 illustrations, including 11 maps, this definitive history of the state ensures that experiences shared by Oklahomans of the past will be passed on to future generations.
- 2008 University of Oklahoma Press
- Book Quality:
- University of Oklahoma Press
- Date of Addition:
- History, Nonfiction,
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
Choosing a Book Format
EPUB is the standard publishing format used by many e-book readers including iBooks, Easy Reader, VoiceDream Reader, etc. This is the most popular and widely used format.
DAISY format is used by GoRead, Read2Go and most Kurzweil devices.
Audio (MP3) format is used by audio only devices, such as iPod.
Braille format is used by Braille output devices.
DAISY Audio format works on DAISY compatible players such as Victor Reader Stream.
Accessible Word format can be unzipped and opened in any tool that supports .docx files.
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Nobody wants to lose their independence as they age. But when it comes to driving, safety should always outweigh the desire to remain independent by getting behind the wheel. Talking to your parent about hanging up the keys is not an easy conversation to have, but at some point, it may be a necessary one.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the risk of being involved in a traffic accident increases once drivers reach 70 years of age. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also finds that, on an average day, more than 700 older adults are injured in a car accident, and an additional 20 people are killed. It’s important to determine the right time for aging parents to stop driving for their and others’ safety. Here’s how to decide if your parents should hang up the keys and how to help.
Factors that affect driving ability
Certain health factors decrease a senior’s ability to drive safely. If your parent has one or more of these issues, consider their fitness to drive:
- Medical conditions: Alzheimer's disease and dementia can affect judgment, but those conditions are not the only concerns for older drivers. Diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease, sleep apnea, or heart disease can cause confusion, limited mobility, dexterity issues, and fatigue.
- Medications: Some medications or drug interactions can cause drowsiness or slow a person's reaction time.
- Vision: Cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy reduce the ability to see when driving. Decreased depth perception, poor judgment of speed, difficulty seeing at night, and increased sensitivity to bright sunlight, headlights, and glare also affect senior drivers.
- Hearing: A senior’s driving ability may be hampered by the failure to hear important warning sounds.
- Flexibility and mobility: Many seniors are less physically active, which can diminish their dexterity and strength for controlling the vehicle.
- Alcohol use: The effects of aging in combination with alcohol can slow reaction time, coordination, and information processing. Alcohol mixed with certain medications can increase drowsiness and make driving even riskier.
Putting your senior’s driving skills to the test
To get a clear picture of your parent’s driving skills, ride with them at various times of day, and in different conditions. Note the following:
- Do they have the physical ability to control the car? Watch for slowed response times.
- Are they staying within the lanes? Watch for failure to use turn signals and wide turns.
- Can they scan from left to right to look for hazards?
- Are they struggling to see while driving at night? Are they confused in traffic? Take note if they hit curbs, miss turns, or get lost on familiar streets.
- Do they have trouble driving at higher speeds or on freeways? Do they drive unpredictably making abrupt lane changes or stops?
- Are there dents or scratches on the car or nearby fences, mailboxes, or garage doors?
Dreading ‘the talk’? Here are some pointers
If you’re worried that driving is a safety issue for your mom or dad, gather other family members and speak with them in a caring way. Know the discussion may be traumatic, but stress your concern that they may hurt themselves or others. Mention specific reasons and examples.
If your parent refuses to stop driving, talk to their health care providers. Seniors often accept a doctor’s recommendations to stop driving. The doctor can also send a medical status report to their State Department of Motor Vehicles Division (DMV). The DMV will do a medical review, and your parent may need to retake a driving test. (You can also request a DMV medical review without getting a doctor involved, but be aware that the DMV may let your parent know who made this request.)
It’s not a good idea to hide the keys, block usage of the car, or notify the police that your parent is an unsafe driver. It could cause a situation of mistrust, and this information could be used against them if they’re involved in an accident.
Giving up the keys doesn’t mean giving up independence
Remind your mom or dad that hanging up the keys does not mean they’ll be homebound or can no longer shop for items and services they need, when they need them. Now, more than ever, there are options for them to get around or to have their purchases delivered to their door. In addition to asking a friend or family member for a ride, they can:
- Contact the local Area Agency on Aging or Eldercare Locator for help finding services such as Dial-A-Ride, public transit, specialized mini-buses, volunteer chauffeurs or free or low-cost buses, taxi services, or carpools
- Use a smart phone or computer (or you can do it for them if they are not tech-savvy) to:
- Call on-demand ride services such as Uber or Lyft
- Use meal delivery services such as DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates, and Uber Eats.
- Request groceries and other items delivered from local stores, fulfilled by services like Instacart, Walmart, Postmates, Shipt, and more
- Shop online for just about anything (Amazon Prime even has same-day delivery on thousands of items)
- Inquire with church or community groups about volunteers who help transport older adults
- Purchase a power chair or three-wheeled scooter to get to nearby places
No doubt, giving up the keys can be a traumatizing and depressing signal that a senior’s independence is significantly impacted. However, by offering support, understanding, and solutions, you can help your parent stay safe and retain a sense of control and autonomy as they age.
Let Us Know What You Thought about this Post.
Put your Comment Below.
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Note to Reader:
Funded by Metro Vancouver and a federal-provincial program for climate change adaptation, the Water Balance Model Express for Landowners helps landowners quantify how well their properties slow, sink and spread rainwater runoff and do their share to meet pre-set watershed targets for volume, infiltration and flow.
The tool is integrated with Google Maps / Earth and the land use zoning of partner local governments. Six local government applications of the tool are now operational. An online video tutorial provides step-by-step guidance on use of the Water Balance Express.
“Water Balance Express for Landowners” – online tool is a key part of solution for restoring “environmental flows” in urban streams as watersheds re-develop
Water Balance Express video is an outcome of collaboration
The Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia teamed with the Master of Land and Water Systems Program at the University of British Columbia and the Environmental Services Division at the Cowichan Valley Regional District (on Vancouver Island) to develop the video tutorial.
“Three individuals played key roles in creating the video, namely Julie Wilson of UBC, Jeff Moore of Cowichan Valley and Jim Dumont of the Partnership,” states Ted van der Gulik, Partnership President. “Julie produced and narrated the video, Jeff wrote the script, and Jim provided technical oversight. Their collaboration has provided the Partnership with a valuable educational tool.”
“The first public showcasing of the video was at the 2016 annual conference of BC landscape architects. We approached this as a focus group test. The feedback was enthusiastic.”
Water Balance Express engages the user
“The Water Balance Express tool allows people to think about water in a different way, by conceptualizing how it behaves as it moves on and around their property. They can see how the built environment (roofs, driveway) and natural features (soil type, depth, vegetation) change the movement or storage of that water,” reports Julie Wilson.
“But it’s more than just a conceptual tool, it has a really well-designed interface, where users can create a simulation of their own property. People can locate their property on a map, recreate their current house and yard, and then like Lego, add building blocks of different rainwater management features to the property, to reduce their property’s runoff and infiltrate more water into the soil.”
“There is immediate gratification in seeing the Stream Health gauge move into the ‘green’ zone, indicating you are below your runoff target and reducing the theoretical impact on the stream. It is fun to use!” concludes Julie Wilson
Enhanced Usability + Greater Flexibility
Jeff Moore is an Environmental Analyst with the Cowichan Valley Regional District. He has made substantial contributions to the ongoing evolution of the Water Balance Express, in particular the GIS-based interface with Google Maps/Earth.
“The Google Maps interface provides a number of important benefits to users. The enhanced resolution, address search function, and ability to zoom-in to individual properties means that homeowners and developers can quickly and easily pinpoint the exact location of their property. This takes the guesswork out of identifying the watershed in which their property lies,” explains Jeff Moore.
“Working with Ian Smith (Water Balance team) and the Comox Valley Regional District, we were able to use this enhanced resolution to allow property-specific targets to be set for retention and infiltration based on both the watershed characteristics and the amount of impervious surface allowed by the zoning. This provides enhanced usability for homeowners and developers along with greater flexibility for local governments.”
“My goal in developing the script for the tutorial was to explain how to use the tool, and also how the various building blocks affect the stream health in both positive and negative ways,” concludes Jeff Moore.
Water Balance Express and ‘environmental flows’
“The flow-duration relationship is the cornerstone of the methodology. By maintaining flow-duration stability, this would prevent unintended stream erosion during wet weather while sustaining ‘environmental flows’ during dry weather. When homeowners slow, sink and spread rainwater runoff on their property, streams benefit.”
“The new Water Sustainability Act will establish regulations pertaining to ‘environmental flows’ within the next few years. The Water Balance Express is a key part of the long-term solution for protecting stream health.”
To Learn More:
The Water Balance Methodology provides a logical and straightforward way to assess potential impacts resulting from urban development; and analytically demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods proposed for preventing and/or mitigating those impacts. To learn more, download a Primer on Water Balance Methodology for Protecting Watershed Health. The Primer storyline is structured in five parts:
- Part A: Watershed-Based Approach to Rainwater Management
- Part B: Water Balance Methodology Explained
- Part C: Science Behind the Methodology
- Part D: How to Establish Targets
- Part E: References
For a synopsis of each part, click on the following link to Table 1. Information is presented in a layered fashion to accommodate the interests of a continuum of audiences.
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The British codebreakers at Bletchley Park are now believed to have shortened the duration of the Second World War by up to two years. During the dark days of 1941, as Britain stood almost alone against the the Nazis, this remarkable achievement seemed impossible. This extraordinary book, originally published as Action This Day, includes descriptions by some of Britain s foremost historians of the work of Bletchley Park, from the breaking ofEnigma and other wartime codes to the invention of modern computing, and its influence on Cold War codebreaking. Crucially, it features personal reminiscences and very human stories of wartime codebreaking from former Bletchley Park codebreakers themselves. This edition includes new material from one of those who was there, making The Bletchley Park Codebreakers compulsive reading.
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Growing Organic to Feed the World: Environmental Justice is Social Justice
There are significant benefits to the environment and economic profitability when considering more organic farming practices. Organic farming will decrease threats to biodiversity and decrease greenhouse emissions. At the same time, organic farming preserves soil conditions with less use, exploitation, and degradagtion. Moreover, there is a wider market for buying organic. People are simply willing to pay a little more if they know they are getting quality produce. Nutritious quality also increases, which translates to preventable or reduction of negative social outcomes. For example, less pesticide use means less unnatural compounds that affect quality of health. Although organic farming produces 10-20% less than that of conventional farming, is it enough to feed the entire world’s population? Though there are obvious benefits, what other sustainable options are available? And how do we progress?
Proponents have countered that increasing research could reduce the yield gap, and organic agriculture generates environmental, health and socioeconomic benefits that can’t be found with conventional farming.
In a time of increasing population growth, climate change and environmental degradation, we need agricultural systems that come with a more balanced portfolio of sustainability benefits.
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The British Miners and the Coal Industry between the Wars
The problems of the interwar mining industry, which led to a General Strike in 1926, writes W.H. Chaloner, epitomized the struggle between capital and labour in twentieth-century Britain.
Between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries an expanding coal industry was one of the main factors in Britain’s gradual rise to world economic predominance. The rapid decline between the two World Wars in this hitherto highly successful industry was therefore rendered all the more dramatic and depressing, for a great national enterprise seemed to be surely foundering.
Naturally, much has been written on this subject, but some of the most important evidence from the angle of labour relations has only recently been made available, and this justifies a re-examination of the coal industry’s fate in the 1920s and 1930s.
In 1913 the British coal industry stood at the zenith of its productive success, with a record output of 287 million tons, 94 million tons of which were exported, either for consumption on land or for use in coal-fired shipping. The rise in production had been particularly rapid in the nineteenth century, which saw a twenty-fold increase in output.
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I saw a photo of a paper soccer ball on flicker made like this.
From what I found, this was made by Phillip Chapman-Bell. If this is incorrect please let me know.
The soccer ball shape is made from pentagons and hexagons.
This uses two different colors for the two different shapes, and a unique Yin Yang looking connection.
Step 1: Materials and Tools Needed
20 8x11 sheets card stock for the 6 sided pieces
11 8x11 sheets card stock for the 5 sided pieces
Some kind of light fixture
Scissors or craft knife and cutting mat
1/4 inch hole punch
Tweezers to help with assembly
The two PDF files to print the modules
Step 2: The Two Modules
These are the two modules used to make the shade, a five sided module and a six sided module.
Use the PDF files to print the modules. Cut them out around the outline and also the half round slits.
You can use a hole punch to make the small holes. The dashed lines are score lines to make the small folds.
Use a scoring tool or an empty ball point pen works perfectly for this.
You will need 20 of the six sided modules and 11 of the five sided modules.
You would actually need 12 of the five sided modules to make a complete ball.
I left the bottom one out to give easy access to the light.
Make a hole in the center of one of the five sided modules, this will be the top and allow the wire to come out there.
Stack all of the modules so that the rounded part of the connectors are going the same way, either clock ways or counter clock ways. Then fold down all of the edges on the score lines. They should look like the photo.
Step 3: Conecting Two Modules
Start by connecting the top with one of the six sided modules
The half round part of each module goes on top of the other module as in the photo.
This creates the Yin Yang shape.
Step 4: Adding the Next Module
The next six sided module is added the same way, keeping the half round parts on top.
Also connect the six sided modules together the same way.
Step 5: The First Six Modules
This is the way it will look after you have added five of the six sided modules to the top five sided module.
The second photo shows what the inside will look like.
There will always be five of the six sided modules around each five sided modules.
The six sided modules will each be connected to three other six sided modules and three five sided modules.
Step 6: Adding the Next Ten Modules
Add the next ten modules alternating five and six sided modules.
A pair of tweezers can be used to help with the interlocking process.
This is half of the ball shape. I decided to add the light fixture and hang it up to finish adding the rest of the modules
Step 7: The Light Fixture
This was the setup I used for the light.
I would recommend a Compact Florescent Lamp because they produce very little heat.
If you use an incandescent light you will need to make some holes in the top for ventilation as they produce a lot of heat.
Lamp cord and socket.
I put a knot in the cord with a small washer on top of that and a clear disk, from a DVD stack, on top of that.
This distributes the weight of the shade over a larger area, and the knot lowers the light so it is in the center of the ball.
The second photo shows the top half of the ball hanging from the cord.
Step 8: Adding the Next Modules
Add the next 5 six sided modules under the 5 five sided modules.
Again I used tweezers to help.
Step 9: Adding the Last Five Sided Modules
Add the last 5 five sided modules.
It should look like the photo.
Step 10: The Finished Ball
Add the last 5 six sided modules to the bottom.
The finished ball will look like this.
This makes a ball about 18 inches in diameter.
Step 11: Light It Up
This is what it looks like with the light turned on.
When you use the card stock as is, this gives off a soft glow. You could get more light from it by using my instructable on making card stock more translucent:
With a low wattage light it would make a good night light for a child's room.
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Google and China may not be fighting over science, but their feud could have unintended negative consequences for researchers in the country.
A Nature News survey of Chinese scientists found that 84 percent of them thought losing access to Google would "somewhat or significantly" hurt their work process. Like their American counterparts, Chinese researchers use Google and Google Scholar to find papers and related information.
"Research without Google would be like life without electricity," one Chinese scientist told Nature.
In January, Google announced it would stop following censorship rules required by the Chinese government after its servers came under attack. It remains to be seen whether the Mountain View company will be thrown out of the country for that stance.
When Google's initial announcement broke, media blogger Robin Sloan of Snarkmarket pondered the possibility of the splitting of the famously world-circling internet.
"Is the Chinese internet going to be largely parallel? The othernet?" Sloan asked.
If events do continue in that direction, truly global enterprises like science could suffer as information becomes harder — even if only moderately — to exchange.
Image: AP Photo/Vincent Thian. A Chinese Google user presents flowers to the Google China headquarters in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010.
- Google to Stop Censoring Search Results in China After Hack Attack
- China Stands Firm in Response to Google Threat
- TED 2010: Google Optimistic It Can Remain in China
- Timeline: Google's Rocky Road Into China
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The health of your teeth and mouth is very important to the well-being of your entire body. While routine brushing and flossing at home is necessary, visiting your dentist for a comprehensive exam and cleaning is essential. You visit your dentist every six months to ensure your teeth stay healthy and your smile stays beautiful.
By routinely seeing your dentist for exams and cleanings, you can:
- Prevent tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath
- Save money by avoiding costly and extensive dental procedures
- Keep your teeth white by reducing staining from food and drinks
- Shorten the time spent in your dentist’s office
- Have a smile that will last a lifetime
During your exam, Dr. Fong will thoroughly examine your teeth and gums for signs of tooth decay, gum disease, and other health problems. He may also want to take X-rays to see what is happening beneath the surface of your teeth and gums. The images provided will help Dr. Fong discover dental issues not visible to the naked eye.
The dental hygienist will begin your cleaning by exploring the surface of your teeth to determine the amount of tartar present. During the cleaning, the hygienist will note any problem areas of periodontal pockets, bone loss, or decay. Next our hygienist will carefully clean your teeth with a variety of instruments to remove any tartar from your teeth.
Then our hygienist will floss your teeth, use a polishing compound, and apply fluoride. Cleanings usually aren’t painful, but if you have any anxiety about your dental exam, be sure to let us know. We offer sedation options to ensure your comfort. If Dr. Fong finds tooth decay or gum disease, he will talk to you about changing your brushing or flossing habits. In severe cases, he may recommend antibiotics or other dental treatments.
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NARRATOR: Reginald Marsh was a quintessential New York artist, feeding on stimulation, motion, change, and novelty. He didn’t leave a scrap of the city out of his paintings. Discarded on this subway floor there’s a tabloid newspaper, the sordid details of the latest scandal blazoned across its front page. The advertisements, one for buckwheat pancakes, the other for the elevated train, are rendered with great care. When Marsh sketched onsite he would write down the exact wording of the signs he encountered, even taking notes on the type of lettering and the colors used.
Back in the studio, Marsh used color to emphasize urban dynamism. In his paintings, the modulation of the colors changes almost inch-by-inch. He sometime used mixing agents in his paints, or diluted pigments so that their intensity ranged over the surface of the work. Even in a somewhat somber scene like this one, the result is a quietly pulsating energy.
Marsh made this painting in 1931, and it certainly shows some of the Great Depression’s trials. But the scene also reveals something else. Where else but in the New York City subway do people of all walks of life come together? By paying tribute to the city’s democratic spirit, Marsh celebrates the vitality of urban life and the resiliency of the city’s inhabitants.
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Downfall of Homo antecessor, Ancestor in Name Only
Details make the story of Homo antecessor an improbable tale of human evolution.
It was Europe’s entry into the early human evolution story. It was the pride of the Spaniards. It was Europe’s answer to Africa’s Homo ergaster, the earliest population of Homo outside of Africa. It was named Homo antecessor, an evolutionary missing link living between 800,000 and 1.2 million years ago, according to the evolutionary timeline (antecessor being synonymous with predecessor; that’s why some nickname it “Pioneer Man.”) The Spanish researchers who found some 90 fossil pieces at the Gran Dolina, Atapuerca site believe they have honed the age to about 900,000 years, according to Science Daily. Wikipedia says the best-preserved fossil is a maxilla. From other pieces, paleoanthropologists have inferred that the species was just about as tall as modern man, but had a slightly smaller brain size.
But then something weird happened. In May 2013, during a low tide, human tracks appeared in some rocks along the English coast at Happisburgh. By chance, some archaeologists came across them and thought they looked like footprints. They came to make casts and photograph them. Since they were found in rock thought to be a million years old, evolutionists immediately linked them to the long-lost Homo antecessor, deducing that a family with children passed this way a million years ago. National Geographic was thrilled:
As a group of ancient humans walked across a muddy beach in England nearly a million years ago, little did they know that one day, their footsteps would thrill modern discoverers.
The find—believed to be the oldest known human footprints found outside of Africa—wouldn’t have happened without a rare combination of mud with just the right consistency, still or slow-flowing water, and a bit of perfect timing on the part of some modern humans.
Within two weeks, the tracks were gone, eroded away by the waves.
New Scientist, the BBC News and Science Daily have all echoed the thrill of discovery, but none of them seemed curious why tracks would appear now after a million years, only to be washed away in a matter of days. Instead, they are focused on calling these the “oldest human footprints outside of Africa,” twice as old as the previous record, and comparable to the 3.5 million year old tracks at Laetoli ascribed to Australopithecus afarensis and 1.5 million year old tracks in Kenya ascribed to Homo erectus. The original paper, published in the open-access online journal PLoS ONE, even tried to best the Laetoli footprints (which look modern) by suggesting further evolution had occurred, at least in size:
Here a series of hominin footprints preserve anatomical details consistent with a forward-pointing large toe and clearly distinguished lateral arch. The footprints are larger than those at Laetoli, and suggest that by 1.5 My humans had developed an essentially modern walking gait and are argued to have reached a similar stature to modern humans.
The BBC already has these tracks arranged in a lineage. They preceded Homo heidelbergensis which they say lived 500,000 years ago; those were followed by Homo neanderthalensis at 400,000 years ago, who “lived in Britain intermittently until about 40,000 years ago – a time that coincided with the arrival of our species, Homo sapiens.” There are no fossils of Homo antecessor in Britain, but “the circumstantial evidence of their presence is getting stronger by the day,” the article says, based on these tracks and some “flint artefacts” found earlier in nearby strata, thought to be 350,000 years old and “cut-marked bones” not detailed by the authors.
Science Daily notes that “in some cases the heel, arch and even toes could be identified, equating to modern shoes of up to UK size 8,” but the discoverers call them “hominin” tracks. The only reason the tracks have been linked to H. antecessor, the authors make clear, is because “The only known species in western Europe of a similar age is Homo antecessor, whose fossil remains have been found at Atapuerca, Spain.”
Paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer began a confident story of the tracks that petered out at the end due to ignorance. New Scientist related the tale,
Stringer says the climate 850,000 years ago was colder than it is now, so the individuals were at the northernmost limit of hominin settlement. “They were coping with conditions harsher than today, so maybe they had more body fat. Or did they wear clothing or make windbreaks, and did they have fire? We don’t have evidence yet.”
Nicholas Ashton continued the ignorance meme on National Geographic: other than the link to H. antecessor which it is thought had smaller brains, “We actually know very little else about the people who left these prints,” he said. So sometimes they are “people,” sometimes they are “hominins”.
The original paper explains that the tracks became visible briefly due to ongoing erosion of underwater Pleistocene cliffs. Because of “particularly severe scouring and removal of the modern beach deposits during winter storms,” the tracks became visible, but without the sand cover, the tracks fell victim to the scouring waves. That’s why they disappeared in two weeks: “The rarity of such evidence is equalled only by its fragility at Happisburgh, where severe coastal erosion is both revealing and rapidly destroying sites that are of international significance.” Here’s how they decided these tracks were not made more recently:
A recent origin for these features from human or animal activity can be excluded as the exposed sediments are compacted, have low moisture content and are therefore too firm to preserve recent imprints. Given the similarity of the hollows observed in Area A to Holocene footprint surfaces, the most likely explanation is that the majority of hollows can be interpreted as ancient footprints.
The strata have been dated, the authors say, by “biostratigraphical and palaeomagnetic evidence” to the early Pleistocene.
In other early man news, New Scientist said that there’s still head scratching about the Hobbits of Indonesia (Homo floresiensis). Two tales are being tossed around: the Hobbit as an early ancestor of Homo erectus, or a later side branch that underwent “island dwarfism” from long habitation in a limited ecosystem. Some paleoanthropologists are still entertaining the idea that they are “unusually small humans” with the defect called microcephaly. One new puzzle is the relative size of the foot, possessing “modern and archaic characteristics” but larger than expected for the rest of the skeleton. This gave occasion for New Scientist to label the little guy “Bigfoot Hobbit.” One researcher remarked, “It’s definitely a head-scratcher” – the interpretation, that is, not the foot bone.
Anyone with an ounce of common sense, who is free from obligate Charlie worship, who can think independently without having to have a scientist tell him what to think, has to conclude that this story of H. antecessor is a complete fabrication designed to keep the Darwin industry in business. This is not to say that bones were fabricated, or the tracks were fabricated, but the interpretation of them is. It’s not only a fabrication, it’s an absurd fabrication. The story becomes ridiculous on several fronts when you take the Darwin-colored glasses off.
For one, they ask us to believe that the Happisburgh tracks lasted for almost a million years, but eroded in two weeks. Think about that! Were there no severe winter storms in a million years? Was there no “particularly severe scouring” of beach sand? Are we to accept the thesis, like programmed robots, that delicate tracks were made in mud a million years ago, only to turn up in front of these guys’ eyes for a couple of weeks? Look how fast they eroded! Look how fast the rocks crack and fall apart. Now think of the supposed ice ages, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, plate movements and asteroid impacts that could occur in a million years. But lo and behold, delicate human tracks burst into view in 2013 for a couple of weeks, then were gone forever. It’s much more sensible to view the tracks as fairly recent. Same could be said of the Laetoli tracks: they had to be covered up before they disappeared. These scientists had no good reason to reject a young age for the tracks. They rejected the idea just because of personal preference: “the most likely explanation is that the majority of hollows can be interpreted as ancient footprints,” they said. It’s likely they can be interpreted that way, so that’s what they did. Isn’t it likely that storytellers will tell stories? Sure.
For another thing, there’s nothing about the evidence that requires an evolutionary interpretation. In fact, the evidence militates against an evolutionary interpretation. The footprints here, and in Laetoli and Kenya, are fully within the range of human foot variation. Think of the fun you could have by taking various living people of different races and ages, having them walk in plaster of Paris, painting the scene, photographing it, and showing the photos to Chris Stringer or one of the other Darwin dupes and telling them you found them in 1.5-million-year-old rocks in Africa. Before they caught on to the practical joke, they would immediately rush to the conclusion that they were Homo erectus footprints and would be jumping in their jeeps to go look. How do we know? Because that’s how they reacted to the Kenya prints, which have toes and arches and the rest. Even worse, the Laetoli prints, claimed to be 2 million years older, are virtually identical to modern prints! Yet the Darwin industry had to (because of the alleged dates) claim they belonged to Lucy’s ape-like family. This required them to imagine modern feet on apes! It’s crazy (see 7/20/11 #13, and 3/22/10 – must read). This fact alone should falsify the evolution story and destroy the credibility of evolutionary paleoanthropologists.
For a third, the dates are fabricated to match evolution’s imaginary timeline. Since man had to start ascending out of the ape jungle six million years ago, the Darwin imagineers had to put some pieces into the timeline between then and now. So they found extinct ape bones and placed them near the beginning, and dead men’s bones and put them near the end, in order to show “evolutionary progress.” You could do the same thing with the tools in your garage to prove the screwdriver evolved into pliers.
Finally, the story is absurd because it forces absurd conclusions about people. The Darwin tale requires human forms, comparable in body size, upright posture, body proportions, feet, and skull size within the range of human variability, possessed of reason, to do nothing with their spare time for millions of years! What they call “Homo erectus” made fire, built boats, walked continents and hunted with more finesse than today’s couch potatoes, using handcrafted stone tools. What they call “Homo antecessor” looked very similar in their story; it went some half a million years, to be replaced by another artificial species “Homo heidelbergensis” (Heidelberg Man) that spent another 100,000 years in caves. Then “Neanderthal Man” appears, doing little for 350,000 years till “modern man” arrives in all his cerebral glory. But he doesn’t use those brains to do anything but make cave paintings and jewelry for tens of thousands of years more (see 2/03/14). Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, cities appear, replete with writing and agriculture. Why don’t more people see how preposterous this is? You don’t have to be a young-earth creationist to think this is silly, but if you are an old-earth creationist, theistic evolutionist or other kind of believer in millions of years, the same follies should trouble you. If our “enlightened” scientific age had not let Darwin pull the wool over our eyes with his tale, now falsified (see 2/07/14), this completely unrealistic story of human evolution would be laughed off the stage. Nothing about any of this fossil evidence requires the story of long ages and a slow, gradual climb from primitive post-ape to advancing pre-human.
Notice how the Darwin industry manipulates language to fit their preconceived narrative. They invent terms like “hominin” to make things sound non-human. They call things “primitive” or “ancient”. They make up new species designations. Was there such a thing as Homo antecessor? The answer is yes! They lived, once upon a time, in the paleofantasyland of certain Darwin Party imagineers (3/13/13). Here at Creation-Evolution Headlines, we’ve been following their paleofantasy for 13 years now, and can attest that it has gotten stupider, not wiser, over time. This is not scientific progress! It is the collapse of a world view.
In the real world, the makers of the tracks, with their bones and flints, were known as “people.” They were smart from the start. They quickly spread around the world, as documented in Genesis 10-11, the Table of Nations. The recent creation revealed in Genesis avoids all the nonsense inherent in Charlie’s tale, because it doesn’t need to fill in useless, unobserved millions of years for Charlie to work his evolutionary light and magic show. Recent creation fits both recorded history and sound reasoning about the nature of man.
In the recent creation debate, Bill Nye ridiculed Genesis. Would that Ham had hammered the Nye guy about the folly of Darwin mythology pretending to be “science.” But it wouldn’t take a scientist to win a debate against a Darwinist. Hey, Jay Leno: now that you’re out of work, we have an idea….
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Most of the ocean we dive in is subject to movement in the form of tides and currents. Even in places where there is no appreciable tidal flow, water can be forced to move around topographical obstacles. Just like air flowing over an aircraft's wing, the water has to speed up to pass over or around such an obstruction and that is why even in places like the Northern Red Sea, usually notable for its easy diving conditions, divers can experience strong currents pushing up over the submerged tongue of a reef in some places.
In many parts of the world where there are small islands lying in the path of gentle ocean currents, the water can speed up alarmingly for an unsuspecting diver and the flow as it squeezes round the islands can be very powerful indeed.
Good examples of this are found in French Polynesia, the Indonesian islands that form a barrier between the mighty Indian Ocean and the lesser seas to their north, the atolls of the Maldives, and anywhere that there are channels that let water flow in and out of a lagoon as the water level changes almost imperceptibly in the ocean beyond. At the same time, the shallow seas around the UK are subject to tidal flow as the water of the Atlantic floods over our continental shelf and back again, causing currents.
What does this mean for divers? Down at depth at the dive site, whether it be a wreck or a natural example of topography - rock or reef - the diver can often shelter from this water movement and enjoy a tranquil time or just simply anchor themselves in place by some method. It's during the ascent that divers can find that they are unknowingly swept along but because everything else in mid-water is being swept along with them, they don't really notice, not until they break the surface and realise how far they have travelled.
Getting separated from the dive boat is among the most hazardous moments of the dive and a lost diver's head makes a tiny sight at the surface, especially if there are any waves. If you don't surface close to your boat, you need to attract attention to where you are so that the boat crew can find you without delay.
The obvious thing to do is to communicate with your boat crew while you are still at depth and before ascending from the dive site. You can do this by inflating a buoy and sending it up at the end of a long line so that it breaks the surface and your boat crew understands that you have started your ascent and can follow it if need be.
Mike's Dive Store has a range of such delayed-deployment surface-marker buoys and suitable reels or spools of line to employ them with. By the way, it is important that you never attach this line to any part of yourself or your equipment when you use it, in case the line snags and the buoy drags you to the surface with it.
How to you inflate the buoy? You can either use air from your octopus rig, pressing its purge valve, or hold the open end of the un-inflated buoy over the upper side of your exhaust-T while you have your head tilted to one side so that you can exhale into it. The advantage of this second method is that provided you can inflate it sufficiently with one lungful of air, your buoyancy doesn't change because that air is either in you or in the buoy. You don't need to fill the buoy with air. The decreasing pressure as it ascends will take care of that. Another method is to use a buoy with an autonomous air supply.
Once you are at the surface there are a few different methods of attracting your cover boat, should it not have seen your buoy. One solution is low-tech and consists of a large flag at the end an extending pole. You otherwise carry it bungee'd to your tank.
There was a time when divers made it a habit to carry emergency flares in a submersible container. These proved less than satisfactory because even if they work, they only are effective for a very short duration.
Another is a (much more expensive) high-tech solution called a Nautilus Lifeline. This uses a submersible marine VHF radio once you are back at the surface to contact your boat, other boats or even international rescue services, depending on which button you press. High-tech solutions depend on battery power and need regular recharging to be reliable. There are other high-tech solutions too. Check what's best for you with the dive shop.
Happy Diving - John Bantin
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Description - AQA Critical Thinking AS by
AQA Critical Thinking offers complete coverage and support that will give students and teachers all they need to work through the specification with complete confidence. Provides thorough coverage of the key specification concepts and terminology. Uses real-life examples for discussion and practice to expand students' general knowledge and critical awareness. Learning Objectives, clearly referenced to the related statements in the AQA specification, let students know exactly what they'll need to learn and understand in that topic. Includes techniques to help students question, analyse and evaluate texts, and improve their skills of oral and written argument.
Buy AQA Critical Thinking AS by from Australia's Online Independent Bookstore, Boomerang Books.
(265mm x 195mm x 7mm)
Nelson Thornes Ltd
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication:
Book Reviews - AQA Critical Thinking AS by
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The realization that dinosaurs are closely related to birds raised the obvious possibility that some dinosaurs had feathers.
Fossils of Archaeopteryx include well-preserved feathers, but it was not until the early 1990’s that clearly nonavian dinosaur fossils were discovered with preserved feathers.
Today there are more than a dozen genera of dinosaurs with fossil feathers, all of which are theropods.
Most are from the Yixian formation in China.
The fossil feathers of one specimen, Shuvuuia deserti, have even tested positive for beta keratin, the main protein in bird feathers, in immunological tests. Particularly well-preserved (and legitimate) fossils of feathered dinosaurs were discovered during the 1990s and 2000s.
The fossils were preserved in a Lagerstätte -- a sedimentary deposit exhibiting remarkable richness and completeness in its fossils -- in Liaoning, China.
The area had repeatedly been smothered in volcanic ash produced by eruptions in Inner Mongolia 124 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous Period.
The fine-grained ash preserved the living organisms that it buried in fine detail.
The area was teeming with life, with millions of leaves and the oldest known angiosperms, insects, fish, frogs, salamanders, mammals, turtles, lizards and crocodilians discovered to date. The most important discoveries at Liaoning have been a host of feathered dinosaur fossils, with a steady stream of new finds filling in the picture of the dinosaur-bird connection and adding more to theories of the evolutionary development of feathers and flight.
For more information about the topic Feathered dinosaurs, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Recommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
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Saturday’s ride took me as close as I could get to a place where one straight line intersects another in two places. And yes, this is with normal Euclidean geometry. It’s the place where the surveyor’s baseline which goes across lower Michigan from east to west is crossed by the Michigan meridian. These two lines “govern” the remaining survey of Michigan into townships and sections.
On this Royce map I’ve marked the two with thin red lines to make them stand out a little better. One can see how the numbering of townships and ranges starts from the zero point where the lines cross, which is at a place roughly between Mason and Jackson. That point was my Saturday destination.
Or rather, those two points were my Saturday destination.
View 2009 Spokesrider rides in a larger map
The reason I say two is because the east and west segments of the baseline don’t quite match up. They miss each other by about 920 feet (as measured by google map). Here I’ve marked the baseline in yellow. The line from the east takes a big jog to the south along the meridian, and then proceeds west. (My route for the day is shown in brown. The spot where the above photo was taken is shown by a blue pushpin. The two points of intersection are shown by blue balloon-shaped markers.)
BTW, I don’t know that surveyors say the baseline intersects the meridian at two points. It’s just my own way of talking.
One might think it’s like like two crews carving a tunnel out of a mountain, each starting from a different side and not quite meeting up in the middle. But I’m pretty sure the sequence of events was not anything like that. The wikipedia article on the Michigan Meridian has information about the two surveys, but I’m not sure it’s as simple as it describes, either. My impression is that the surveys took place over an extended period of time, and the lines were extended as needed to conduct the surveys of range and township lines. But exactly how this jog came about, I don’t know.
However it came about, I wanted to go as near as I could get to the two locations. I knew I couldn’t go right to the very spot(s), even though there is a state park that encompasses both locations. None of the section line roads goes to either of the two points, nor does any other road go there. The Michigan DNR web describes it very briefly:
This unique, landlocked park designates the spot where all township, range and section measurements begins for the entire state of Michigan. It is not accessible to the public, but is being preserved for its historic value.
On the web site there is a photo of a marker. From the latitude-longitude information it looks like it’s on the northern-most of the two points.
On my way I wished I had scrutinized the google-map satellite view more closely to see if there was a dirt road or anything leading to the spot. I didn’t expect to be able to ride on it, but maybe there would be a gate to bar access, and I could at least take a photo of that. But I hadn’t done that much preparation. And I came to realize that in the short amount of daylight available I wouldn’t have time to ride on both of the north-south roads that lie closest to the marker. So I had to decide which of the two to try.
On the east side is Meridian Road, which sounded promising. It’s appropriately named, but it doesn’t exactly follow the meridian at all points. And this is one of the places where it doesn’t. But my map showed a small stream between Meridian Road and the actual meridian. It wasn’t likely that there would be a bridge over it out in the middle of nowhere, I guessed.
On the west side was Cooper Road. I decided to try that one. I rode down it from the north, examining the roadside to the east for a likely-looking lane. But I got to the Jackson County line without seeing one. (The county line coincides with the baseline.) So I took the above photo in what light remained, and headed back to Leslie where Myra came to get me.
After I got home I studied the google satellite view and found a likely-looking farm lane that leads back to one of the two intersection points, though not by a straight line. What it looks like on the ground where it meets Cooper Road, I don’t know. I had ridden past it without noticing.
Mileage for the day: 60.0 (While waiting for Myra I made a few laps in the Felpausch parking lot to get over the 60-mile mark.)
YTD mileage: 2156.0
[typo correction 15-mar-2015]
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Because beautiful garments were prized and carefully stored, even if they were rarely worn, many have survived and remain in excellent condition. Sometimes, the sponsor of a theatrical performance would reward an outstanding actor by tossing a sumptuous garment onto the stage. Military lords recognized loyalty in many ways, often with gifts of fine cloth and clothing. Finely woven fabrics also were valued, even if the original garments were worn; given to temples, they were cut up and reassembled into patchwork surplices to be worn by Buddhist abbots and high-ranking priests.
Eleven years ago, John Weber began collecting Japanese art by purchasing robes that resembled those he saw in ukiyo-e paintings of beautiful women. One group of garments on view in this gallery showcases the technical finesse and artistic genius of Japanese weavers, dyers, and embroiderers, in robes created for the wives of Japan's military elite and wealthy merchants in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Traditional seasonal and floral motifs are intrinsic to their design.
Also on view are several garments from the first half of the twentieth century, classified as meisen, an immensely popular style during the Taishō period (1912-26), when artistic and technological exchange between Japan and the Western world escalated. In 1909, a silk-weaving center outside Tokyo developed an innovative stencil-printing process that modified the traditional labor-intensive technique of tying and dyeing bundles of thread by hand (called kasuri or ikat). This innovation, along with new bright chemical dyes, allowed artists to create complex, modern patterns that sometimes were influenced by contemporaneous international movements such as Art Nouveau and Art Deco. For young urban women of the middle and upper classes, these dynamic meisen kimonos reflected the worldly and adventurous spirit of an increasingly cosmopolitan Japan.
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"Gauging the Gaps: A Deeper Look at Student Achievement"
A new report by the Education Trust illustrates how some methods of measuring states’ progress in closing achievement gaps between students from different racial, ethnic, or income groups can be misleading.
Between 2003 and 2009, for example, Georgia and West Virginia both narrowed the gap separating African-American students from their higher-achieving white peers on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in mathematics. In Georgia, though, both black and white students improved but by different amounts. In West Virginia, scores for African-American students increased, while white students’ performance stagnated.
To get a more complete measure of states’ progress, the report says, policymakers and analysts ought to look at: whether gaps between groups have decreased over time, whether all groups of students improved, the current size of the gaps between groups, and how each group compares with its counterparts in other jurisdictions.
Viewed from all those perspectives, the Washington-based research and advocacy group says five states emerge as clear leaders in closing achievement gaps. They are: Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, and Vermont.
Vol. 29, Issue 18, Page 4
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Many prescription and nonprescription medicines, including
some that you put directly on the skin, may cause blisters. A few examples
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (for example, Advil or
Motrin), naproxen (for example, Aleve), or piroxicam (for example, Feldene).
Medicines you put on your skin
(topical medicines), such as Neosporin or benzocaine (for example, Anbesol,
Hurricaine, or Orajel), and ethylenediamine, which is used in some topical
If the blisters are only mildly annoying and other symptoms
are not present, stopping the use of the medicine or ointment may be all that
is needed. Call your doctor. He or she may be able to prescribe another
medicine for you.
Blisters that occur with other signs of illness
(such as fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea), may mean a more serious
problem, such as
Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Talk with your doctor if a
medicine may have caused blisters and you have other signs of illness.
If you think your blisters may be caused by a medicine:
Call the doctor who prescribed the medicine to
find our whether you should stop taking the medicine or take a different one.
An appointment may not be needed.
If you are taking a medicine
that was not prescribed by a doctor, stop taking it. Call your doctor if you
feel you need to keep taking the medicine or if you need help to control your
symptoms after you stop taking the medicine.
Primary Medical Reviewer
William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
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Classified top secret, The
Pentagon Papers consisted of 47 volumes and some 7,000 pages
that detailed American decision-making about Vietnam since the
end of World War II. Only 15 copies were produced. Two copies
went to the RAND Corporation. Daniel Ellsberg had access to the
study at RAND. He and Anthony Russo copied the Papers and leaked
them to Neil Sheehan, a New York Times reporter and
former Vietnam War correspondent.
When the Times published
the first of a series of lengthy articles on The Pentagon Papers
on June 13, 1971, an extraordinary court battle erupted that
pitted the U.S. government against the press and ended up in the
U.S. Supreme Court in less than two weeks.
The press won its confrontation
with the government about the secret history of the Vietnam War.
The Pentagon Papers played a role in turning the American public
further against the war and in feeding the mistrust and siege
mentality in the White House that eventually led to Watergate
and President Nixon's resignation.
Publication of The Pentagon
Papers in 1971 was controversial. The secret study, a rich
source of historical documents which shed much light on many
years of often-hidden government decision-making that enmeshed
America in its longest war. To commemorate the 30th anniversary
of the release of The Pentagon Papers, VVA held a one-day
symposium in June 2001 at the National Press Club in Washington,
The symposium included keynote
speaker Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the top-secret study to the
press; a morning panel of journalists and lawyers on the
confrontation between the press and the government; lunch
speaker former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, who put part of The
Pentagon Papers in the record of a Senate hearing and arranged
for their private publications; an afternoon panel on doing The
Pentagon Papers study inside the Department of Defense during
1967-1969; and a final panel of historians and authors on the
historical significance of The Pentagon Papers. Among the
panelists were three Pulitzer Prize winners. C-Span broadcast
the first five hours of the symposium live and has since
rebroadcast it at least twice. More information about the
symposium and panelists, and links to articles about The
Pentagon Papers, can be found on the VVA web page at
Disagreement and controversy
about The Pentagon Papers still exist. To share the rich history
from the symposium, The VVA Veteran will be publishing a
number of articles based on transcripts of presentations made by
speakers and panelists at the symposium. In this, the first
installment of the symposium in The VVA Veteran, keynote
speaker Daniel Ellsberg presents his perspective on the affair.
Jim Doyle: Keep in mind as
you listen to the panels today that this was about real people
and about the enormous amount of suffering caused by this war
and the suffering that still continues. This Pentagon Papers
symposium is one of the ways we are trying to heal that wound.
It is my pleasure to introduce George C. Duggins, our national
George Duggins: On behalf
of the 45,000 members of VVA, I welcome you. As veterans, we
have an obligation to safeguard our Constitution and protect our
freedoms. We have a moral contract with those who served to make
sure that the lessons of the war are not forgotten.
For many of us who served in the
Vietnam War, the release of the Pentagon Papers validated our
most deeply held suspicions. The Papers revealed that the
government may have known for a very long time that we were
fighting a war that we could not win. That war tore this country
apart and inflicted wounds from which we are still recovering.
It took great courage to challenge the power of the U.S.
government. But some of our panelists today had the courage to
stand up for what they believed was right.
A few blocks from here, the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial lists the names of more than 58,000
men and women who died with honor and distinction in our
nation's longest and most controversial overseas war. Our
commitment to their memories and to the families they left
behind is to make certain that their lives were not lost in
vain. Those of us who served with them cannot, and will not,
retreat from our obligation to make certain that the truth is
told. Vietnam Veterans of America's motto is "In Service to
America.'' Each day we try to make those words meaningful.
This symposium observes the 30th
anniversary of the release of The Pentagon Papers. Sponsoring it
is part of our commitment to serve our nation, and it's part of
our commitment to make clear the lessons of the past.
Thank you for being with us. To
introduce our keynote speaker, here is Marc Leepson, the arts
editor of our newspaper, The VVA Veteran.
Marc Leepson: Our keynote
speaker, Daniel Ellsberg, was born in Chicago in 1931. He
received his B.A. from Harvard College and his M.A. in economics
from Harvard in 1954. He then enlisted in the Marine Corps for
two years. He volunteered for an extended tour of duty when his
battalion was sent to the Middle East during the 1956 Suez
conflict. After he left the Marines, Mr. Ellsberg went back to
Harvard in the Society of Fellows. Then, in 1959, he went to
work as an intelligence analyst for the RAND Corporation,
conducting studies on defense policies. He made a one-week trip
to Vietnam in 1961 with a study group task force sent by the
Pentagon. In 1962 he received his Ph.D. in Economics from
In '64 he was asked by Assistant
Secretary of Defense John McNaughton, a former Harvard
professor, to join him as a special assistant. At that time, he
was a strong backer of the U.S. effort in Vietnam. He went to
Vietnam in 1965 to evaluate the pacification program as senior
liaison officer to the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. He stayed until
1967, serving as an assistant to the U.S. Ambassador.
Back in Washington in 1967, Mr.
Ellsberg joined the team of Defense Department analysts who
worked on The Pentagon Papers. He returned to the RAND
Corporation in 1967. In October 1969 he and Anthony Russo, his
RAND colleague, copied parts of the study, hoping that its
dissemination would speed the end of the war.
In June 1971, 30 years ago, he
leaked The Pentagon Papers to Neil Sheehan of The New York
Times, precipitating a momentous series of events that we
are going to cover in detail today.
The 12 charges against him,
carrying up to 115 years in prison, were dismissed by a federal
judge because of government misconduct - misconduct that marked
the beginning of the Watergate scandal. Since then, Mr.
Ellsberg's main activity has been antinuclear lecturing,
writing, and activism, including taking part in dozens of
nonviolent civil disobedient protests against the nuclear arms
race, the Persian Gulf War, and the U.S. intervention in
Nicaragua and elsewhere.
Today, he is working on a memoir
that will cover the Vietnam War, The Pentagon Papers, and the
Daniel Ellsberg: Thank you
very much. I want to talk about The Pentagon Papers as leak or
unauthorized disclosure. I first heard this phrase,
"unauthorized disclosure,'' in connection with the bill that was
passed by both houses of Congress last fall that for the first
time criminalized unauthorized disclosure. It was, fortunately
and unexpectedly, vetoed by President Clinton. I immediately
liked the term "unauthorized disclosure,'' because I never
really liked the word "leak.'' It's a little pejorative,
demeaning, and didn't sound good. My wife has always disliked me
being called "leaker.'' She felt it made me sound incontinent.
So, I'm an unauthorized disclosurer from now on.
The question I'd like to address
is, "What can we learn from this experience and from experience
of the last 30 or 50 years about the role of unauthorized
disclosure in this country, in the world, and - above all - in a
democratic republic that means to remain so?
When I was on trial, I had
occasion very often to quote a statement by James Madison, the
author of the First Amendment. I'm sure you all have heard it,
but it really deserves repeating. "Knowledge will forever govern
ignorance, and the people who mean to be their own governors
must arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives. Popular
government without popular information, or the means of
acquiring it, is but the prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or -
perhaps - both."
We've seen lots of farce in
Watergate and Irangate. We've seen the plumbers. We've seen
tragedies - not a tragedy for America, although it was a
tragedy, more like a crime - a tragedy for Vietnam that we
imposed on Vietnam from the very beginning of that conflict in
our support of the French.
The Vietnam War, of course, was
an unwinnable war, as I had come to see by '66 or '67 in
Vietnam. That was enough for me and many others to try to work
against it from inside. I had read the earliest portions of The
Pentagon Papers in September of 1969, by which time I had
already been committed for at least two years to getting us out
When I read the earliest pages, I
realized that I was reading not just the record of a tragic
mistake, but of a colonial war in which the United States had
been a participant from its earliest position. It was a truly
tragic decision made by Franklin Roosevelt in the last months of
his life - and persisted in by Harry Truman - to support the
French in their determination to reconquer their colonial empire
in Indochina and elsewhere.
In those days, with the U.N.
Charter's recognition of colonial rule as a legitimate form of
rule, it would be hard to say that was a crime. But we can judge
it morally, politically, and in various ways.
What I learned when I read that
in September '69 - very late in the game for me - was that this
was a war that we couldn't win. We could not defeat the people
fighting for independence from foreign rule. They would not be
defeated by anything we could do. They would not give up. They
would not give up against us any more than the French.
It was a war that we had no right
to win, a war we should not win, a war we should not be in. And
that killing in that war, mostly financed by us, was
unjustifiable homicide that should be ended as soon as possible
- not gracefully, not saving face, as I would have been willing
to do to some degree before '67 or '68, but as soon as possible.
I had no illusions that would be easy. That was one of the
things that drove me.
In other words, having written,
having read these Papers - which, for me, were authorized - the
disclosure to me was an authorized disclosure. I was a
consultant, at that point, for the RAND Corporation, but one
trusted to keep its secrets no matter how much I disagreed.
I had been tested on that many,
many times. I didn't get those secrets because they just hoped I
would keep them secret. Anyone associated with me knew that I
was one of those who would keep certain kinds of information
about planning, about estimates, and about proposals from
unauthorized persons- meaning the American public, Congress,
In most cases, the issue didn't
even arise whether I would leak them to the Russians or the
Vietnamese. In most cases, we were reading about things that the
Russians and the Vietnamese had been told directly by our
leaders. The threats were no secret to our opponents. Attacks on
North Vietnam, attacks on Cambodia, attacks on Laos were no
secret to the people under the bombs, but were secret only from
the American people and from Congress. In some cases, that
secret has an ironic aspect to it.
When William Beecher of The
New York Times revealed that we were bombing Cambodia, one
might say it ceased to be secret. Not so. It was not regarded as
a fact, as a happening, as an experience by the American public
for many years afterwards until a leak - a real leak - occurred.
That was because the evening of Beecher's announcement, the
Defense Department simply said, routinely, "That story is wrong.
That's not happening.'' And so, it wasn't happening.
In a period when presidents were
believed - maybe not to tell everything, maybe to be a little
misleading, but not to lie, which was a mistake. Presidents do
all those things. They conceal; they cover. All officials do.
Congressmen do. It's part of the game.
I had been known for five years -
really, ten years - to be reliable in keeping secrets that I
strongly disagreed with and the policies that I thought were
bad, terrible, even disastrous. Anyone around me knew I could be
given such secrets. I didn't have to agree with the policy. I
would keep it secret. That's the way I was until '69.
For the first time I perceived
that what I was reading about was not just dangerous and costly
and tragic - all of which it was - but was something close to
murder. And I don't use that word rhetorically. Unjustifiable
homicide. Let the lawyers tell me the best way of describing it,
but it was killing that should not go on. That affected my sense
of what it was worth, personally, to stop it.
But I had a much stronger
incentive at that time, which was absolutely crucial. I was
given information because I had worked on Vietnam options in the
beginning of the year for Henry Kissinger, working for Nixon. In
fact, I had drafted a set of alternative options and set of
questions that were called National Security Study Memorandum I,
and I had gone over the answers for the President. For that
reason, I was given a piece of information with my top-secret
clearance by someone who had been in the White House.
Mort Halperin told me, because of
my background and his knowledge of my reliability, the option
Nixon had chosen. It wasn't one of the ones I had put in the
set, interestingly. As The Pentagon Papers showed, presidents
very commonly end up with a policy that does not really
correspond to any one of the alternatives given to them. And
that was true in this case.
What Nixon had chosen, I was
told, was a policy of secret threats of escalation, just like
the ones that Johnson had secretly given Ho Chi Minh in the
summer of 1964 during a campaign when he gave absolutely the
Nixon was, again, making secret
threats of escalation despite the failure of bombs, 3.2 million
tons of bombs by that time, to bring them to their heels. He
thought that threats of even greater escalation would cause them
not to surrender, not to give in, but to accept what he thought
of as a compromise (which they would have seen as defeat): the
permanent exclusion of the leaders of the independence movement
(communists) from government in Saigon and the permanent
renunciation of the reunification of Vietnam. It was certain
that they would not accept those terms.
I believed from my study of The
Pentagon Papers and my experience that the threats would be
carried out. They weren't bluffs. I believed that. I believed
that they would not win the war or end the war - again, from
experience, including my experience in Vietnam - facing people
that gave me a very strong impression they wouldn't quit no
matter how many of them were killed.
So, the war would just be longer
and bigger. I saw a prolongation under a president who had been
elected to end the war. I saw a pattern that had led us into
endless war, previously, under previous presidents. This was
unique information. It wasn't shared by people in the antiwar
It was just from Mort Halperin.
As he said, "I told everybody who would listen.'' He told me,
"`You were the one who listened.'' And I believed him. I knew
his access. I knew his reliability, where most people would have
found that just incredible. Nixon couldn't be doing that. The
journalists and historical community have to a large extent
found my account incredible because I didn't have documents to
Larry Berman, a very good
historian of the Johnson era, is coming out with a book in
August called, No Peace, No Honor, in which he has
dazzled me by having found documents that do demonstrate this
thesis at last. I had never seen them before.
I was concerned that I didn't
have the documents - not as concerned as I should have been. The
truth is, looking back after The Pentagon Papers, I have never
really been believed or convinced anybody of what I was saying
about policy. Most of it was unfamiliar and not something people
wanted to believe without documents.
If I'd had those documents at the
time - Mort himself didn't have them. He'd been shown documents
that he wasn't supposed to see as the deputy to Kissinger.
Another deputy showed him documents that had been withheld from
Mort himself. Threats were deliberately or directly delivered to
the Russians. He didn't have documents. He didn't give me any;
he might or might not have shown them to me.
If, in that mood, at that time,
he had shown them to me or had access to them, I certainly would
have put those out rather than The Pentagon Papers. I would not
have spent the time - however important The Pentagon Papers were
as history. I was concerned with avoiding escalation and
stopping the war. The Pentagon Papers had obvious defects -
obvious to me as well as to everyone else - as an instrument for
ending the war. It could illuminate the war to other people and
maybe increase their disgust with it. But they didn't prove what
Nixon was doing.
My assertion was that Nixon was
doing what essentially Truman and Eisenhower in the '50s - but
in particular Kennedy and Johnson - had done. He was still doing
it. All The Pentagon Papers could do for that message - which
was my message that I put out to congressmen in person and in
letters to the editor - all The Pentagon Papers could do, which
was something, was to say, "Well, it's happened before.'' You
may think it is hard to believe that a man would be so reckless
and so mad as to expand the war, having been told what the costs
would be and how hopeless it was.
But four presidents before did
it. So, maybe you should entertain that possibility. You might
find it hard to believe that a president who has been elected
one way would simply lie. Remember that Nixon wasn't clearly
lying at this time. He did expect to end the war. But he
expected to do it by threats that would work and, if necessary,
by escalation. I thought that his sincere belief was extremely
misguided and does not do his reputation as a statesman - or
Henry Kissinger's - any credit. It was foolish, reckless, and
uninformed. The main thing was not to expose that about him, but
to end the war.
I thought The Pentagon Papers, in
particular, might encourage Republican Richard Nixon as a new
president to uncommit himself from what Mort had said he was
privately doing. He hadn't yet announced it in September.
My real hope in my initial
copying of The Pentagon Papers - for which Tony Russo was
absolutely crucial in finding a Xerox machine, helping me
getting this started, fast - was to release this record of
Democratic recklessness and duplicity. And to encourage Nixon to
reconsider and think, as some advisers like Laird and Rogers
were urging him to do, what they said he should do, not what he
in his heart felt and Kissinger felt, and blame the war on the
Democrats and say, "It is a lost cause. It was a noble cause,
but it was a lost cause. They screwed it up. I have no choice
but to cut the losses and get out.''
That's what I had hoped it might
do. I think that was a reasonable hope. I didn't have any
assurance. But it was unreasonable in terms of Nixon's actual
commitment. I now realize that, if I had put that out in '69 as
I had planned to do and tried to do through Fulbright, it would
have had no effect on Nixon and the war.
Even in '71, the main reaction in
the White House was elation that this information was out. It
made the Democrats look bad. The tapes show that very clearly.
They are all gloating how this would put the Democrats at each
other's throats. This showed that Nixon hadn't started the war,
etc., etc., and of course, it didn't prove that Nixon was
continuing the policy. That reaction didn't surprise me at all.
What I didn't realize in '69 was
how committed Nixon was, having been Vice President during a
major, crucial stage (including Dien Bien Phu) of our earlier
involvement. He didn't think he had inherited that war. He
thought it was his war and Eisenhower's war. And it was a good
war and should be won. And he thought he knew a way to do it.
But it was a way that the public, by '69, would not endorse. He
knew that. So, it must be kept secret from them.
Therefore, even as late as '71,
the plan had not totally been carried out. A hemorrhage of
secrets, even about the past, carried the possible risk that it
would continue. There would be more secrets about Nixon,
documents about Nixon, which, unfortunately, I didn't have. He
knew I had some, like National Security Study Memorandum I.
Like all government officials
leaving office, I had with me the stuff I had worked on. Let's
say 90 percent of government officials are holding documents
they are forbidden to hold by the rules and the promises they've
For their memoirs or to go
against Republican rivals, I mean, I'm sorry, professional
rivals and so forth. Not all rivals are Republican. They are not
all from a different party. They are not breaking the law. We
have no official secrets act, unlike virtually every other
country. None had ever been passed by Congress until last
November, and that was vetoed.
I was very struck to see the
editorials that came out very properly and quickly.
Our trial, our prosecution for
copying and possessing unauthorized copies, as I say, what every
official does, actually, but had never been tried before, and
then there was the Boston Grand Jury working on the
distribution, the leak part of it. That would have been the
first prosecution for a revelation, the first ever.
What was not appreciated was that
this was as unprecedented a prosecution as were the
unprecedented injunctions before the Supreme Court. The two had
no precedent and both for the same reason. The First Amendment
reflected James Madison's view that there must not be an
official secrets act if we want to keep this a republic.
Unauthorized disclosures occur
within this system every minute of every hour. It's against the
rules. It happens constantly. It is part of the way the system
works. Unauthorized disclosures to the press and Congress happen
every day or every other day. They are not truly unauthorized.
They are really just; they are against the rules. They are not
authorized by the head of an agency. They are classified
information. It reflects merely the necessarily decentralized
nature of the secrecy process and the management of information
within the government.
So, in other words, public
affairs officers, officials of every kind - even low-level
people - are trusted in their jobs that they will never
jeopardize their jobs by making disclosures that their bosses
will not like made. In fact, that was really, I understand, why
the law was vetoed. It was pointed out by Strobe Talbot to
Clinton at the last minute that this would make criminals out of
our public affairs officers almost every day. They are - it's
not a joke - selectively putting out classified information.
There is no leeway in the rules for that. But it is necessary.
And of course, they do it. It is necessary to fool the public,
to focus their attention on this rather than that, to support
this position rather than that one, to affect the budget. So,
we've got to revise this rule a little bit.
I'm talking about disclosures
that are really unauthorized, would not be approved by the
President or the head of an agency if they were submitted for
their permission. Those are the disclosures that most need
Remember, the reason the
President doesn't want it out - I'm postulating - has nothing to
do with keeping it from the enemy over there, the Vietnamese,
Soviets, or whoever. We may, indeed, be talking about things
that we have directly delivered to the Soviets or the Vietnamese
in the way of threats. They must not go to the public. They
would not be authorized. Any system of submitting them for
authorization misses their very nature.
To mention another founder of the
Republic, Tom Paine. In his first book, Common Sense,
he said, maybe a little extremely, "Nations should have no
secrets. For the secrets of courts are ever their defects.''
Now, it is defects, it's crimes, failures, errors, recklessness,
breaking of treaties, defects like that, where lives are at
stake, that are exactly what must be in the hands of Congress,
the public, the voters, and - perhaps - the courts, if we are to
be protected from reckless and illegal actions that the
President has decided are good for the national interest and his
Unauthorized disclosures are the
heart blood of democracy and of a democratic republic. It is not
the case that we need new laws criminalizing these for the first
time. I would say we need many more such unauthorized
disclosures like The Pentagon Papers and like the documents I
would have put out if I had them. Looking back, I should have
put them out, and I would have put them out. The public needed
those a lot more than The Pentagon Papers.
I can look back to my own
experience. When we come to the 1964-65 part of The Pentagon
Papers, we are looking at documents, all of which were in my
safe, in my authorized possession, in the Pentagon, when I was
Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense in
I knew that every aspect that was
being relayed about the Tonkin Gulf incidents was a conscious
lie. Partly to protect intelligence operations, which were not
only illegal but terribly imprudent and should never have been
done, which were as foolish and improper, let us say, and
illegal as the Bay of Pigs, which should have been disclosed
before it happened, from every point of view.
I also knew - I had written
drafts myself - of speeches for McNamara telling the true number
of troops that were being sent to Vietnam in '65, in addition to
the 75,000 we already had. The true number, which I had in my
draft, was 100,000. I listened to the President give, instead,
the figure 50,000. He was lying - directly lying - to the
I had safes full of documents of
such insane, wrong, criminal, and deceptive - deceptive is the
least of it. They were deceptive because they were so foolish
and would never have gotten support from an electorate that had
just voted Johnson in by the largest landslide in history to
avoid the escalation that they feared under Goldwater. So, we
had a hoax of an election. The difference between the two
candidates was presented as night and day, Goldwater and
In fact, known to a thousand
people inside, they were very similar. The public was about to
get the bombing of Vietnam, whichever one they voted for. I did
not put any of that information out. I don't need to point
fingers at McNamara or whoever else who may have thought about
the policy even more wisely than I did. People like George Ball
were clearly against it at that point. Clark Clifford later was
more clearly against it than I was at that point, knew more
about it. I don't need to point fingers at them for not putting
I was a beginner here; I was no
part of a policy maker, never even became one in that year. I
was like a clerk. I was like a secretary. But I knew what I was
reading, and I knew where it would head. I could have given that
information to [Sen. Wayne] Morse as he pointed out to me. As
Morse said, "If you had given that information to me in '64 the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution would never have gotten out of committee.
And if it got out, it would never have passed.''
But the Tonkin Gulf Resolution is
just a resolution. He could have gotten it under other
circumstances. He could have done without it. But later I didn't
blame myself too much when Morse told me that, years later. By
September, I had a safe full of stuff like that about where we
were going, the likelihood of bombing, the fact that it not only
was a terribly reckless policy, but we had a candidate who was
totally lying about it. In fact, even Goldwater knew of these
plans and forbore to mention them. He ran proposing a plan that
he knew was in the works anyway. So, that's how democracy was
working, given our secrecy system, again and again.
I believe, without being
grandiose here, not that I could have ended the war. I believe
the documents in my possession could have averted that war had I
revealed them. That is what I should have done. That is what I
wish I had done. Of course, I didn't think of it. I don't have
to tax myself with moral guilt, because, like all my colleagues,
it just didn't occur to me to do such a thing. But I know it
would have occurred to me a few years later.
And I would hope it would occur
to other people after the Tonkin Gulf, The Pentagon Papers,
Watergate, and Irangate, and the other examples they've had. In
short, are there more Pentagon Papers, do they exist, and
are they needed? And should they be put out at risk? The risk is
inescapable, with or without a law. I have no doubt whatever
that at this moment there are people in this government in the
Republican administration, Executive Branch, who believe that
the course of this administration toward abandoning the ABM
Treaty is catastrophic and that every reassurance given to us by
the officials in this government is contradicted by official
I would put to them that they
should consider sharing those documents with Congress at
whatever cost to themselves because a world is at stake. Our
policy under Clinton and now pursued under Bush in Colombia is
as foolish, as counterproductive, as crazy as Vietnam. I am sure
there are people in the administration who know that and have
documents that would support it. I call on them to do what I
should have done in '64 and did not do. Go to Congress, tell the
truth with documents. It can save a lot of lives.
Audience Question: Is it
your assumption that there was a particular point in post-World
War II history at which American presidents successively
concluded that it was no longer possible to trust the American
people on foreign policy issues? That is, they became convinced
that there either wasn't time or the public wasn't sufficiently
educated that you could generate popular backing in support of a
war before you actually went into it. And do you find a
particular point in time at which that conclusion was reached?
Ellsberg: That's a
fascinating question. I'd love to discuss it. I'd be interested
to know just what led you to that question because it is a
profound question. I have thought about the subject, and I can
answer it without a lot of thought.
I would say it was not during the
war. It was some time prior to our entry into World War II.
President Roosevelt, whom I revered, gave us a precedent in a
number of ways that other presidents have followed very
consciously at a very, very great cost. It is described by the
attitude you described.
Obviously, President Roosevelt
came to accept the views of a number of people I won't identify
who believed it was essential for us to be in the European War,
and were aware that the American public was strongly against our
active participation in the war - although not against our
giving some degree of support to our English allies.
Congressional opposition was not
to giving financial aid to the British but to direct combat
participation in the war. And it almost won. Roosevelt was
facing a situation where he felt strongly that the country was
wrong on this. And he somehow had to lead them on.
Bill Buckley, the one time I was
on his program - I was on trial; I had just come from the
courtroom. He says, "You talk a lot about lying, presidential
lying, if there is such a thing.'' He says, "What about FDR's
saying that we had peaceful missions in the Atlantic with
destroyers, which, in fact, were carrying on antisubmarine
operations against the Germans? What would you call that?'' I
said, "I'd call it a lie. What would you call it?''
He was very taken aback. He
wasn't prepared for that answer. He said, "I don't know that I
would call it a lie.'' I was very young at the time. So I said
to him, "Sometimes when we are young we know more than we know
later about the difference between lying and truth.''
I know that example is
consciously in the minds and often explicitly referred to by
assistant secretaries of State and Defense and higher, when they
are justifying, in their own minds, the necessity to lie to the
public. They say, after all, "We wouldn't have defeated Hitler.
We wouldn't have gotten into the war without a lot of
Question: Behind that
assumption is the assumption, effectively, that democracy
Ellsberg: It's not
necessarily a generalization. Remember that it is just in
specific situations. You see, "The public is wrong here, in this
case, so I have to go around them.'' Certainly, that is what
each of these presidents thought about Vietnam. They couldn't
handle the truth. "I'm doing what is necessary, but they
wouldn't support that.''
It's a specific case. But of
course you are right. Again, it shows the wisdom behind your
question. Of course there is a bureaucratic mentality and an
elitist mentality. But it is not just parties. It doesn't seem
to be limited to the Eastern establishment or the Western
establishment. It is very much a bureaucratic party, which
is very antidemocratic. The Congress, to start with, is
parochial, self-interested, politically minded, and unlike us
who would think of the national interest, they think of their
So, we have to protect the
country from Congress, and ultimately, from the public, from the
right wing, from the left wing. Now, they don't worry about the
left wing very much. They think it's ineffective and not very
large. But the right wing will make us do things.
I'll give you a rationale that I
think is very important for which Johnson has never been given
enough credit. It does not justify what he did. I'm sure that he
and McNamara, in what they were doing in the way of bombing,
felt that they were protecting the country from the proposals of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who would, if they exposed their own
views by resigning and speaking out, might well say they should
have done--given their convictions - except that they were
military men under the UCMJ. If they did that - if they exposed
themselves to democracy - they had reason to fear the
public would back those catastrophic proposals. I agree with
Johnson and McNamara. The proposals of the Joint Chiefs were
crazy. They would not have won. They would have risked war with
China, which may be what some of them wanted. And that would
have been nuclear war.
Johnson and the others said, "We
have to deceive. We have to follow a course which will give the
Joint Chiefs enough of what they want so they won't resign and
press for their proposal because it might be supported by the
public who will say, 'We don't know whether it will work or not;
let's do it; let's win, let's get this over'.'' The public, as
has been pointed out, thought until very late in the game: win
or get out.
Even after Tet, the mood was not
"get out;'' it was, "win or get out.'' Some of the people who
believed that it could be won attacked the Joint Chiefs for not
exposing their views. I must say, I'm happy to see that civilian
control was observed, constitutionally, here. I'm glad they
didn't do that on constitutional grounds and policy grounds,
because I thought their policy was terrible.
But Johnson then thought - and to
some degree, Nixon - "I have to lie, I need to lie. Partly
because the public is so uninformed and might back policies that
were terrible if they knew they had the Joint Chiefs' backing.
If they knew that, they might back them. So, I have to conceal
that.'' But they followed a middle course of an endlessly
escalating war that wasn't as bad as the Joint Chiefs proposed.
They did not consider getting
out. Not because the proposal was not made; the proposal was
made. Not only by George Ball, but by William Bundy, Assistant
Secretary of Defense; Clark Clifford; and Hubert Humphrey. The
Vice President gave that advice to the President in '64, '65. I
knew none of that when I read The Pentagon Papers because their
dovish views were so secret that I never saw them as Special
Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense.
If it was important to keep me
from seeing it. It was doubly important to allow the Congress to
see it, or the President, and so forth. And of course, it is
conceivable that I would have leaked them, reliable as I was.
That might have done it then, and that would have been to the
good. I wish that had happened. Or, I might not. In which case,
I would still be feeling guilty.
Question: Thinking about
the totality of the United States and who we were in 1963, '64,
'65, do you believe you would have been believed if you had put
the truth to light with The New York Times or The
Washington Post? Would they have believed you at all?
Ellsberg: I've been
lecturing for a long time, and that's the second question I've
never heard before and it's a very good one. I would have to say
- I can say very simply - without documents, no. The documents
in that period were for a war we weren't yet committed to. We
said it wasn't a war; we were advising; we were consulting.
We had not had a large number of
U.S. troops at risk or killed. That didn't happen until the fall
of '65. I think one could say that after the fall of '65 it was
hard to get out, though still not impossible. We had a long way
to go. It was going to get a lot worse. But it was a lot harder
than it was before, let's say, April of '64, '65.
Question: Would you have
Ellsberg: The documents
would have spoken for themselves. I was never believed. But I
can say, in my own opinion, I deserved to be believed, but I
don't blame people for not knowing that or not knowing how
truthful I was or how well placed I had been.
But the fact is, then or later,
I've never been believed without documents. When Goldwater was
asked why he didn't reveal what he knew in '64, he said, "Who
would have believed me?'' McNamara says exactly the same: "If I
had resigned and told all this stuff, it would have been a
Even they wouldn't have been
believed without documents, but that's the hidden premise. They,
like myself and lots of other people, had the ability to say,
"Here are the documents. I'll tell you all I know about them.
You judge for yourself.''
What could McNamara have done? He
says, "one-day story.'' He knew the war was hopeless in late
'65, if not earlier. He knew that, especially when there was no
response to our bids for so-called negotiations - that is,
Vietnamese surrender - in December of '65.
I didn't know this at the time.
He told Harriman, "The best we can hope for is defeat with
honor.'' Defeat with honor. He told that to James Galbraith.
Whether he told the President at that time, I don't know. He did
But he had an alternative. He had
the option of going before Fulbright in his hearings of February
'66, which he declined to do when asked. He wouldn't go; he
could have gone. He could have said, "Ask me for these
documents, I'll give them to you. No violation of laws here.
I'll declassify them. Or, you can have them classified. Ask me
these questions. I'll testify. I'll tell you what you want to
He could have ended the war. But
did he consider that? No - no more than I did six months later.
There is a very interesting
question of whether The New York Times would have
published the documents in '63, '64. I can't answer that. Or,
whether The Washington Post could. Would they have
published them in '70, in '69? Possibly not. Newsmen have told
me that. Afterwards? I think, in many cases, not.
So there was a configuration of
events in '71. And with the Post, I think, a factor on
both papers was a fear they would be scooped by the other. It
got the information out.
So, there is a problem of being
believed, especially when the news is unwelcome news. The
President can still, to an amazing degree but less than before,
control the mind and say, ``This isn't happening. This is
But The Pentagon Papers had that
effect, and Watergate. So many other things have had that
effect. The President can't just create reality, and that's
very, very healthy.
Question: I'm wondering if
you've given any thought to the lies, or at least the unanswered
questions that we've had from our recent national leaders that
are coming out of the Vietnam era. Whether you are talking about
Bill Clinton or George W. Bush or Bob Kerry, it seems like they
have not been straightforward with the American public about
their own background in the military, or, avoiding the military,
relating to their own personal lives.
Daniel Ellsberg: I can say
two things. There has been a great change in journalistic
standards - I don't believe for the better in this respect - on
the diminution of their tolerance of the privacy of individuals,
the sexual habits, the marital habits, the drugs, anything like
that. I'm not saying this need be entirely irrelevant.
But I think for many reasons this
has not been a helpful development on the whole. The relative
priorities that are shown by the press and the public are quite
deplorable. Should we be totally concerned and totally informed
by what Clinton did with his cigars, and not what he did with
his Cruise missiles?
All government officials lie, and
nothing they say is to be believed. And that doesn't mean
disbelieve or believe the opposite of everything they say.
Sometimes, for their own purposes, they tell the truth or
something like the truth.
But it does mean: Don't take
anything an official says as the last word. Check it, counter
it, probe, investigate. That's what a republic needs. And I have
not seen the evidence that sexual behavior is so closely
correlated with political behavior as to deserve enormous focus
from a political point of view. But many, many other things do
deserve a lot more, and I would like to draw attention to one
amazing thing that I think has never gotten enough attention
about the press.
It refers to The Pentagon Papers
almost uniquely. The Pentagon Papers is not just the revelation
of a leak. It was large, but that happens all the time, even for
the Post or the Times. The Pentagon Papers episode
was a circumstance in which one newspaper after another, in the
face of injunctions, declined requests from the Attorney General
and the President to refrain from publishing or to stop
Not one paper did that until they
were enjoined. Other papers did it in full understanding that
they could be or would be enjoined and they went ahead. They
were then defying an Attorney General's judgment that they were
violating the law, which is not something a newspaper with
conglomerates and TV franchises does lightly. They were told by
the President, ``I am the Commander-in-Chief. I am the
President. In my judgment, this publication and continued
publication immediately jeopardizes the national security of the
We had a configuration in history
where every newspaper offered these Papers decided to trust
their own judgment of what they were reading against the
I believed there was a sort of
official secrets act. So all of us were doing something that we
thought might be constitutional, in a deep sense, or hoped it
was. But it was probably contrary to some law.
I was wrong. Their lawyers told
them this would be legal. One law firm of The New York
Times dropped them as a client on the grounds that it was
not only illegal and politically wrong but treason, and they
wouldn't be associated with it. The Times got new lawyers
and went ahead.
Their courage, I think, has never
been given sufficient appreciation. Remember, it wasn't just a
political judgment against the war as it was for me and Tony and
many other people. New York Times editor Abe Rosenthal
was not against the war. I don't know about Washington Post
publisher Kay Graham, but I'm not aware that she was a fanatic
antiwar person at that point. They went ahead, for professional
reasons, reasons of conscience. Abe Rosenthal was absolutely
prepared to resign if they did not use the documents. He went
into the meeting with Punch Sulzberger (his publisher), who
supported the war, ready to resign if they wouldn't publish
As I've been saying all along,
not one government official in the course of that war -
including hundreds of thousands who believed this war was
catastrophic, disastrous, usually not criminal or immoral, but
disastrous, costly - not one resigned, let alone resigned with
So, the contrast here between
these two particular arms of government is very striking. It
applies to Congress as well. I approached a number of senators.
They backed off. Every one of them said yes, first. Two of them
said yes, first, and then had second thoughts: George McGovern
and Mac Mathias.
Sen. Mike Gravel, before the
Supreme Court decision, took a step that he knew might be judged
as illegal, could cost him his job, and did cost him his status
in the senatorial club. He read those secret documents into the
A second time, later, he tried to
read National Security Study Memorandum I in 1972 into the
record. It was blocked. Rep. Ron Dellums put it into the House
record. So, it can be done. But 17 newspapers - that was a
standard of civil disobedience. They wouldn't have liked that
term for it. Civil disobedience by the newspapers that was
nonviolent and truthful, Gandhian. That was of enormous
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The new paper Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is not fatigue, or 'CFS' explains why M.E. is not defined by mere 'chronic fatigue' and why M.E. and 'CFS' are not synonymous terms, as well as why a diagnosis of CFS based on any of the definitions of CFS can only ever be a misdiagnosis.
(Members of the M.E. community are also recommended to read: Fatigue Schmatigue. This paper explains how the fraudulent 'fatigue' construct came into being and how the M.E. community can and MUST play an active part in debunking this myth.)
See the Downloads section below to download these papers in Word or PDF format.
Copyright © Jodi Bassett June 2007. This version updated March 2009. From www.hfme.org
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is not synonymous with being tired all the time. If a person is very fatigued for an extended period of time this does not mean they are having a ‘bout’ of M.E. To suggest such a thing is no less absurd than to say that prolonged fatigue means a person is having a ‘bout’ of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or Lupus. If a person is constantly fatigued this should not be taken to mean that they have M.E. no matter how severe or prolonged their fatigue is. Fatigue is a symptom of many different illnesses as well as a feature of normal everyday life – but it is not a defining symptom of M.E., nor even an essential symptom of M.E.
There are a number of post-viral fatigue states or fatigue syndromes which may follow common infections such as mononucleosis/glandular fever, hepatitis, Q fever, Ross river virus and so on. M.E. is an entirely different condition to these self-limiting fatigue syndromes however (and is not caused by the Epstein Barr virus or any of the herpes or hepatitis viruses), the science is very clear on this point. People suffering with any of these post-viral fatigue states or fatigue syndromes do not have M.E. M.E. is also not the same condition as Lyme disease, athletes over-training syndrome, burnout, depression, somatisation disorder, candida, multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome or Fibromyalgia, or indeed any other illness. M.E. is a distinct neurological illness with a distinct; onset, symptoms, aetiology, pathology, response to treatment, long and short term prognosis – and World Health Organization classification (G.93.3) (Hyde 2006, 2007, [Online]) (Hooper 2006, [Online]) (Hooper & Marshall 2005, [Online]) (Hyde 2003, [Online]) (Dowsett 2001, [Online]) (Hooper et al. 2001, [Online]) (Dowsett 2000, [Online]) (Dowsett 1999a, 1999b, [Online]) (Dowsett 1996, p. 167) (Dowsett et al. 1990, pp. 285-291) (Dowsett n.d., [Online]).
M.E. is also not defined by ‘fatigue following exertion which can last up to 24 hours’ as the bogus definitions of ‘CFS’ describe. Fatigue following activity (or post-exertional fatigue or malaise) is a common symptom of a large number of different illnesses – but what is happening in M.E. is quite different. Overexertion does not cause fatigue in M.E. but instead a worsening of the severity of the illness generally and of various neurological, cognitive, cardiac, cardiovascular, immunological, muscular and gastrointestinal (and other) symptoms. The severity of these symptoms can range from mild to severe to life-threatening. The effects of overexertion can last for hours, days, weeks or even many months in M.E., or can even be permanent. The onset of these post-exertional effects are very often significantly delayed so that very often the worsening of the illness caused by overexertion has not even begun within 24 hours in M.E., let alone been completely resolved in that time.
The reaction people with M.E. have to physical and mental activity, sensory input and orthostatic stress not only has nothing to do with mere fatigue (or ‘malaise’) but is in fact unique to M.E. in a number of ways. This reaction is so abnormal in fact that exercise testing is one of the series of tests which can be used to help confirm a M.E. diagnosis, as are various tests which measure the abnormal responses to orthostatic stress seen in M.E. This is simply not the case in post-viral fatigue syndromes, Lyme disease, Fibromyalgia and so on. These patient groups do not exhibit the same measurable pathological abnormalities as M.E. patients in these (and other) tests. Recent research has also shown that postural stress exacerbates cardiac insufficiency in M.E. and that this cardiac insufficiency is the cause of many of the symptoms and much of the disability of M.E. This pathology is also not seen in any of those illnesses causing fatigue after exertion which are commonly misdiagnosed as ‘CFS.’ The way people with M.E. respond to physical and mental activity, sensory input and orthostatic stress is profoundly different than in these other illnesses; it is an entirely different problem, of a much greater magnitude (Cheney 2006, [video recording]) (Hooper & Marshall 2005, [Online]) (Hyde 2003, [Online]) (Dowsett 2001, [Online]) (Hooper et al. 2001, [Online]) (Dowsett 2000, [Online]) (Dowsett 1999a, 1999b, [Online]) (Dowsett et al. 1990, pp. 285-291) (Ramsay 1986, [Online]).
What does define Myalgic Encephalomyelitis?
What defines M.E. is not ‘chronic fatigue’ but a specific type of acquired damage to the brain. Myalgic encephalomyelitis is an acutely acquired illness initiated by a virus infection with multi system involvement which is characterised by post encephalitic damage to the brain stem; a nerve centre through which many spinal nerve tracts connect with higher centres in the brain in order to control all vital bodily functions – this is always damaged in M.E. (Hence the name Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.) Central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, and in particular, inconsistent CNS dysfunction is undoubtedly both the chief cause of disability in M.E. and the most critical in the definition of the entire disease process.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is a loss of the ability of the CNS (the brain) to adequately receive, interpret, store and recover information which enables it to control vital body functions (cognitive, hormonal, cardiovascular, autonomic and sensory nerve communication, digestive, visual auditory balance etc). It is a loss of normal internal homeostasis. The individual can no longer function systemically within normal limits. This dysfunction also results in the inability of the CNS to consistently programme and achieve normal smooth end organ response. There is also multi-system involvement of cardiac and skeletal muscle, liver, lymphoid and endocrine organs. Some individuals also have damage to skeletal and heart muscle.
This diffuse brain injury is initiated by a virus infection which targets the brain; M.E. represents a major attack on the central nervous system (CNS) by the chronic effects of a viral infection. M.E. is an infectious and primarily neurological disease process which occurs in epidemic and sporadic forms. There is a history of recorded outbreaks of M.E. going back to 1934, when an epidemic of what seemed at first to be poliomyelitis was reported in Los Angeles. A review of M.E. outbreaks found that clinical symptoms were consistent in over sixty recorded epidemics of M.E. spread all over the world. M.E. has been linked to Poliomyelitis (Polio) since 1934 and for a number of years M.E. was referred to as ‘atypical Polio.’ There is ample evidence that M.E. is caused by the same type of virus that causes polio; an enterovirus. The evidence which exists to support this theory is compelling, for example: M.E. epidemics very often followed Polio epidemics, M.E. resembles Polio at onset, serological studies have shown that communities affected by an outbreak of M.E. were effectively blocked (or immune) from the effects of a subsequent polio outbreak, evidence of enteroviral infection has been found in the brain tissue of M.E. patients at autopsy, and so on. (See: The outbreaks (and infectious nature) of M.E. and for more information.)
M.E. is primarily neurological, but because the brain controls all vital bodily functions virtually every bodily system can be affected by M.E. Again, although M.E. is primarily neurological it is also known that the vascular and cardiac dysfunctions seen in M.E. are also the cause of many of the symptoms and much of the disability associated with M.E. – and that the well-documented mitochondrial abnormalities present in M.E. significantly contribute to both of these pathologies. There is also multi-system involvement of cardiac and skeletal muscle, liver, lymphoid and endocrine organs in M.E. Some individuals also have damage to skeletal and heart muscle. Thus Myalgic Encephalomyelitis symptoms are manifested by virtually all bodily systems including: cognitive, cardiac, cardiovascular, immunological, endocrinological, respiratory, hormonal, gastrointestinal and musculo-skeletal dysfunctions and damage.
M.E. is an infectious neurological disease and represents a major attack on the central nervous system (CNS) – and an associated injury of the immune system – by the chronic effects of a viral infection. There is also transient and/or permanent damage to many other organs and bodily systems (and so on) in M.E. M.E. affects the body systemically. Even minor levels of physical and cognitive activity, sensory input and orthostatic stress beyond a M.E. patient’s individual post-illness limits causes a worsening of the severity of the illness (and of symptoms) which can persist for days, weeks or months or longer. In addition to the risk of relapse, repeated or severe overexertion can also cause permanent damage (eg. to the heart), disease progression and/or death in M.E.
M.E. is not stable from one hour, day, week or month to the next. It is the combination of the chronicity, the dysfunctions, and the instability, the lack of dependability of these functions, that creates the high level of disability in M.E. It is also worth noting that of the CNS dysfunctions, cognitive dysfunction is one of the most disabling characteristics of M.E.
M.E. is a distinct, recognisable disease entity which contrary to popular belief is not difficult to diagnose and can in fact be diagnosed relatively early in the course of the disease (within just a few weeks) – providing that the physician has some experience with the illness. Although there is (as yet) no single test which can be used to diagnose M.E. there are a series of tests which can confirm a suspected M.E. diagnosis. If all tests are normal, if specific abnormalities are not seen on certain of these tests (eg. brain scans), then a diagnosis of M.E. cannot be correct (Hyde 2006, 2007, [Online]) (Hooper 2006, [Online]) (Hooper & Marshall 2005, [Online]) (Hyde 2003, [Online]) (Dowsett 2001, [Online]) (Hooper et al. 2001, [Online]) (Dowsett 2000, [Online]) (Dowsett 1999a, 1999b, [Online]) (Hyde 1992 p. xi) (Hyde & Jain 1992 pp. 38 - 43) (Hyde et al. 1992, pp. 25-37) (Dowsett et al. 1990, pp. 285-291) (Ramsay 1986, [Online]) (Dowsett n.d., [Online]) (Dowsett & Ramsay n.d., pp. 81-84) (Richardson n.d., pp. 85-92).
What are some of the real hallmark symptoms and characteristics of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis?
What characterises M.E. every bit as much as the individual neurological, cognitive, cardiac, cardiovascular, immunological, endocrinological, respiratory, hormonal, muscular, gastrointestinal and other symptoms is the way in which people with M.E. respond to physical and cognitive activity, sensory input and orthostatic stress, and so on. In other words, the pattern of symptom exacerbations, relapses and of disease progression.
The way the bodies of people with M.E. react to these activities/stimuli post-illness is unique in a number of ways. Along with a specific type of damage to the brain (the central nervous system) this characteristic is one of the defining features of the illness which must be present for a correct diagnosis of M.E. to be made. The main characteristics of the pattern of symptom exacerbations, relapses and disease progression (and so on) in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis include:
When a person with M.E. is active beyond their individual post-illness limits, the result is not tiredness, fatigue or even exhaustion – nor is ‘malaise’ an accurate word to describe what occurs. There simply is no one symptom caused by overexertion in M.E. What does happen is that there is a worsening of all sorts of different symptoms and of the severity of the illness generally with overexertion. (Repeated or severe overexertion can also cause disease progression, permanent damage, or death in M.E.) It is an entirely different problem of a much greater magnitude.
Overexertion causes an exacerbation of all sorts of combinations of neurological, cognitive, cardiac, cardiovascular, immunological, endocrinological, respiratory, hormonal, muscular, gastrointestinal and other symptoms which can be mild, moderate, severe, or even life threatening (eg. seizures and cardiac events). Many of the symptoms involved are present at a lower level at rest, but overexertion causes them to worsen. (Although some patients may also have some symptoms that only appear after overexertion.) Anywhere from one symptom to a large cluster of symptom can be made worse, or produced, by overexertion. The cluster of symptoms made worse by excessive exertion or stimulus is often very similar from patient to patient, as generally it is a worsening of the most common symptoms of the illness. M.E. patients commonly experience a combination of the following:
Profound cognitive dysfunctions (and various other neurological disturbances), muscle weakness (or paralysis), burning eye pain or burning skin, subnormal temperature or low-grade fever, sore throat or painful lymph nodes (and/or other signs of inappropriate immune system activation), faintness, weakness or vertigo, loss of co-ordination, dyspnoea, an explosion of sensory phenomena (low level seizure activity), cardiac and/or blood pressure disturbances, facial pallor and/or a slack facial expression, widespread severe pain, nausea or feeling as if ‘poisoned,’ feeling cold and shivering one minute and hot and sweating the next, anxiety or even terror (as an organic part of the attack itself rather than as a reaction to it) and hypoglycaemia. Often the patient will feel an urgent need to retreat from all homeostatic pressures. The types of symptoms triggered vary widely from patient to patient, but some combination of these is common. There may also be an accompanying exacerbation of other symptoms. These symptoms often combine to create an indescribable and overwhelming experience of terrible illness that is unique to M.E, and can be profoundly incapacitating. At its most severe, the patient feels as if they are about to die.
Each of the symptoms caused or exacerbated by overexertion can be clearly articulated without difficulty whether they be; seizures, cardiac events, labile blood pressure, tachycardia, shortness of breath, muscle pain, muscle weakness or muscle paralysis, facial paralysis, black outs, flu-like symptoms, nausea, inability to speak or to understand speech, problems with memory, and so on. It makes no scientific or logical sense to subsume these very specific symptoms, and very specific and varied combinations of symptoms, under a vague and inaccurate label of mere ‘fatigue.’ To say that all of these very different and very specific – and in some cases very serious – symptoms can be accurately summarised as being a problem of mere ‘fatigue,’ ‘malaise’ or ‘exhaustion’ is absurd.
Repeated or severe overexertion can also cause disease progression, permanent damage (eg. to the heart), or death in M.E. patients. Again, to suggest that these very serious and long-term effects – including fatalities – could be accurately summarised as being a problem of mere ‘fatigue’ is clearly absurd (Hyde 2006, 2007, [Online]) (Hooper 2006, [Online]) (Cheney 2006, [video recording]) (Hooper & Marshall 2005, [Online]) (Hyde 2003, [Online]) (Dowsett 2001, [Online]) (Dowsett 2000, [Online]) (Dowsett 1999a, 1999b, [Online]) (Dowsett 1996, p. 167) (Hyde 1992 p. xi) (Hyde & Jain 1992 pp. 38 - 43) (Hyde et al. 1992, pp. 25-37) (Dowsett et al. 1990, pp. 285-291) (Ramsay 1986, [Online]) (Dowsett n.d., [Online]).
What is ‘Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'?
CFS was created in a response to an outbreak of what was unmistakably M.E., but this new name and definition did not describe the known signs, symptoms, history and pathology of M.E. It described a disease process that did not, and could not exist. All each of these flawed CFS definitions ‘define’ is a heterogeneous (mixed) population of people with various misdiagnosed psychiatric and miscellaneous non-psychiatric states which have little in common but the symptom of fatigue (a symptom seen in many illnesses but not a defining feature of M.E. nor even an essential symptom of M.E.).
The disease category ‘CFS’ has undoubtedly been used to impose a false psychiatric paradigm of M.E. by allying it with various unrelated psychiatric fatigue states and post-viral fatigue syndromes (etc) for the benefit of various (proven) financial and political interests (Hyde 2006, [Online]) (Hooper 2006, [Online]) (Hyde 2003, [Online]) (Hooper 2003, [Online]) (Dowsett 2001, [Online]) (Hooper et al. 2001, [Online]) (Dowsett 2000, [Online]) (Dowsett 1999a, 1999b, [Online]).
The fact that a person qualifies for a diagnosis of CFS (a) does not mean that the patient has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, and (b) does not mean that the patient has any other distinct and specific illness named ‘CFS.’ A diagnosis of CFS – based on any of the CFS definitions – can only ever be a wastebasket diagnosis, in other words, a misdiagnosis. Despite popular opinion, M.E. and CFS are not synonymous terms. All a diagnosis of ‘CFS’ actually means is that the patient has a gradual onset fatigue syndrome which is usually due to a missed major disease. As Dr Byron Hyde explains, the patient has:
a. Missed cardiac disease, b. Missed malignancy, c. Missed vascular disease, d. Missed brain lesion either of a vascular or space occupying lesion, e. Missed test positive rheumatologic disease, f. Missed test negative rheumatologic disease, g. Missed endocrine disease, h. Missed physiological disease, i. Missed genetic disease, j. Missed chronic infectious disease, k. Missed pharmacological or immunization induced disease, l. Missed social disease, m. Missed drug use disease or habituation, n. Missed dietary dysfunction diseases, o. Missed psychiatric disease (2006, [Online]).
The only groups which gain from this ‘CFS’ confusion are insurance companies and other organisations and corporations which have a vested financial interest in how these patients are treated, including the government. Under the cover of ‘CFS’ these vested interest groups have assiduously attempted to obliterate recorded medical history of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis; even though the existing evidence has been published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals around the world and spans over 70 years. This is clearly unscientific, and unethical. The only way forward for M.E. patients and all of the diverse patient groups commonly misdiagnosed with ‘CFS’ (both of which are denied appropriate support, diagnosis and treatment) is that the bogus disease category of ‘CFS’ must be abandoned. (See: Who benefits from 'CFS' and 'ME/CFS'?)
People with M.E. must be diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, and treated for M.E. based on information gained solely from studies involving authentic M.E. patients. People with depression must be diagnosed and treated for depression. People with cancer must be diagnosed with cancer and then treated as appropriate for the type of cancer they have, and so on.
Physicians who diagnose ‘CFS’ in any patient experiencing fatigue without looking and testing for the true cause of the symptoms (and who choose not to familiarise themselves with the scientific facts about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) do their patients – and themselves – a great disservice. Some of the conditions commonly misdiagnosed as CFS are very well defined and well-known illnesses and very treatable – but only once they have been correctly diagnosed. Some conditions can become very serious or can even be fatal if not correctly diagnosed and managed, including Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Every patient deserves the best possible opportunity for appropriate treatment for their illness, and for recovery and this process must begin with a correct diagnosis if at all possible. A correct diagnosis is half the battle won (Hyde 2006, 2007, [Online]) (Hooper 2006, [Online]) (Hyde 2003, [Online]) (Hooper 2003, [Online]) (Dowsett 2001, [Online]) (Dowsett 2000, [Online]) (Dowsett 1999a, 1999b, [Online]) (Dowsett n.d., [Online]).
All of this is not simply theory, but is based upon an enormous body of mutually supportive clinical information which has been published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals all over the world and spans over 60 years. Confirmation of this hypothesis is supported by electrical tests of muscle and of brain function (including the subsequent development of PET and SPECT scans) and by biochemical and hormonal assays. Newer scientific evidence is increasingly strengthening this hypothesis. M.E. is neither ‘mysterious’ nor ‘medically unexplained. Many aspects of the pathophysiology of the disease have, indeed, been medically explained in volumes of research articles. These are well-documented, scientifically sound explanations for why patients are bedridden, profoundly intellectually impaired, unable to maintain an upright posture and so on.
Despite popular opinion, there simply is no legitimate scientifically motivated debate about whether or not M.E. is a ‘real’ illness or not, or whether or not it is ‘behavioural’ or has a biological basis. The psychological or behavioural ‘theories’ of M.E. are no more scientifically viable than are the theories of a ‘flat earth.’ They are pure fiction.
The reality is that anyone, whether medically qualified or not, who looks at the worldwide published medical evidence on M.E. could not fail to recognise that the psychological or psychiatric theories could not possibly explain the many different and profound physical abnormalities seen in M.E. (nor the many other characteristics of the disease which are not consistent with psychological or behavioural illness). There are only two ways that a person could reach a different conclusion:
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is a debilitating autoimmune disease which has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since 1969 as an organic neurological disorder. M.E. is similar in a number of significant ways to illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, Lupus and Polio. M.E. affects all races and socio-economic groups and has been diagnosed all over the world with a similar strike rate to multiple sclerosis. Children as young as five can get M.E., as well as adults of all ages. M.E. can be extremely disabling, and is not a self-limiting or short term illness. 25% of M.E. sufferers are severely affected and housebound and bedbound. In some cases Myalgic Encephalomyelitis can also be progressive, or fatal. Governments around the world are currently spending $0 a year on M.E. research.
The name and authentic definition of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis must be fully restored (to the exclusion of all others) and the WHO classification of M.E. must be accepted and adhered to in all official documentations and government policy. People with M.E. must be diagnosed with M.E. and treated for M.E. again, finally. There were sound medical reasons for the creation of the name in 1956, and for the classification of the illness as a distinct organic neurological disorder by the WHO in 1969; neither of which has changed in the interim (Hyde 2006, 2007, [Online]) (Hooper 2006, [Online]) (Cheney 2006, [video recording]) (Hyde 2003, [Online]) (Dowsett 2001, [Online]) (Hooper et al. 2001, [Online]) (Dowsett 2000, [Online]) (Dowsett 1999a, 1999b, [Online]) (Hyde 1992 p. xi) (Hyde & Jain 1992 pp. 38 - 43).
As Professor Malcolm Hooper explains:
The term myalgic encephalomyelitis (means muscle pain, my-algic, with inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, encephalo-myel-itis, brain spinal cord inflammation) was first coined by Ramsay and Richardson and has been included by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in their International Classification of Diseases (ICD), since 1969. The currently version ICD-10 lists ME under G.93.3 - neurological conditions. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that this recognition emerged from meticulous clinical observation and examination (2006, [Online]).
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is a distinct infectious neurological disease of extraordinarily incapacitating dimensions that affects virtually every bodily system – not a problem of medically unexplained ‘fatigue.’
The basic facts are that fatigue, ‘CFS’ and M.E. are not at all the same thing:
There is also no such disease as ‘ME/CFS’ or ‘CFS/ME’ or CFIDS and so on. The unadulterated scientific facts about M.E. are mind blowing and utterly compelling and credible, but the ‘CFS’ and ‘ME/CFS’ propaganda isn’t. For more information see: Who benefits from 'CFS' and 'ME/CFS'?, What is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis? A historical, medical and political overview and The Terminology Explained
A note on the high quality of the references used to compile this paper: This paper has been compiled using the highest quality resources available. Not everyone was taken in by the ‘CFS’ insurance scam thankfully! A small but dedicated group of M.E. experts have made many remarkable discoveries about the pathology of M.E. – as well as confirmed many times over what was already known about M.E. prior to 1988, before M.E. research became tainted by ‘fatigue’ and ‘CFS.’ Legitimate unbiased M.E. experts and researchers do exist, and their numbers continue to grow – albeit far more slowly than is needed, unfortunately.
A final additional note on ‘fatigue’: Just as some M.E. sufferers will experience other minor and non-essential symptoms such as vomiting or night sweats some of the time, but others will not, the same is true of fatigue. The diagnosis of M.E. is determined upon the presence of certain neurological, cognitive, cardiac, cardiovascular, immunological, endocrinological, respiratory, hormonal, muscular, gastrointestinal and other symptoms (and so on) – the presence or absence of mere ‘fatigue’ is irrelevant. In addition to these other (far more serious) symptoms, some M.E. sufferers may also suffer with mild, moderate or severe fatigue some of the time, while others will not. Thus the symptom of fatigue is not an essential symptom of M.E. and does not define M.E. (Although the symptom of fatigue is essential to qualify for a misdiagnosis of ‘CFS’). The point to be most aware of is not that M.E. is ‘more than fatigue’ – but that M.E. ISN’T FATIGUE AT ALL.
All of the information concerning Myalgic Encephalomyelitis on this website is fully referenced and has been compiled using the highest quality resources available, produced by the world's leading M.E. experts.
More experienced and more knowledgeable M.E. experts than these – Dr Byron Hyde and Dr. Elizabeth Dowsett in particular – do not exist. Between Dr Byron Hyde and Dr. Elizabeth Dowsett, and their mentors the late Dr John Richardson and Dr Melvin Ramsay (respectively), these four doctors have been involved with M.E. research and M.E. patients for well over 100 years collectively, from the 1950s to the present day. Between them they have examined more than 15 000 individual (sporadic and epidemic) M.E. patients, as well as each authoring numerous studies and articles on M.E., and books (or chapters in books) on M.E. Again, more experienced, more knowledgeable and more credible M.E. experts than these simply do not exist.
This paper is merely intended to provide a brief summary of some of the most important facts of M.E. It has been created for the benefit of those people without the time, inclination or ability to read each of these far more detailed and lengthy references created by the world’s leading M.E. experts. The original documents used to create this paper are essential additional reading however for any physician (or anyone else) with a real interest in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. For more information see the References page.
Before reading this research/advocacy information, please be aware of the following facts:
1. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and ‘Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’ are not synonymous terms. The overwhelming majority of research on ‘CFS’ or ‘CFIDS’ or ‘ME/CFS’ or ‘CFS/ME’ or ‘ICD-CFS’ does not involve M.E. patients and is not relevant in any way to M.E. patients. If the M.E. community were to reject all ‘CFS’ labelled research as ‘only relating to ‘CFS’ patients’ (including research which describes those abnormalities/characteristics unique to M.E. patients), however, this would seem to support the myth that ‘CFS’ is just a ‘watered down’ definition of M.E. and that M.E. and ‘CFS’ are virtually the same thing and share many characteristics.
A very small number of ‘CFS’ studies/articles and books refer in part to people with M.E. but it may not always be clear which parts refer to M.E. The A warning on ‘CFS’ and ‘ME/CFS’ research and advocacy paper is recommended reading and includes a checklist to help readers assess the relevance of individual ‘CFS’ studies (etc.) to M.E. (if any) and explains some of the problems with this heterogeneous and skewed research.
In future, it is essential that M.E. research again be conducted using only M.E. defined patients and using only the term M.E. The bogus, financially-motivated disease category of ‘CFS’ must be abandoned.
2. The research referred to on this website varies considerably in quality. Some is of a high scientific standard and relates wholly to M.E. and uses the correct terminology. Other studies are included which may only have partial or minor possible relevance to M.E., use unscientific terms/concepts such as ‘CFS,’ ‘ME/CFS,’ ‘CFS/ME,’ ‘CFIDS’ or Myalgic ‘Encephalopathy’ and also include a significant amount of misinformation. Before reading this research it is also essential that the reader be aware of the most commonly used ‘CFS’ propaganda, as explained in A warning on ‘CFS’ and ‘ME/CFS’ research and advocacy and in more detail in Putting Research and Articles on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis into Context.
“People in positions of power are misusing that power against sick people and are using it to further their own vested interests. No-one in authority is listening, at least not until they themselves or their own family join the ranks of the persecuted, when they too come up against a wall of utter indifference.’ Professor Hooper 2003
‘Do not for one minute believe that CFS is simply another name for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.). It is not. The CDC definition is not a disease process. It is (a) a partial mix of infectious mononucleosis /glandular fever, (b) a mix of some of the least important aspects of M.E. and (c) what amounts to a possibly unintended psychiatric slant to an epidemic and endemic disease process of major importance’ Dr Byron Hyde 2006
‘Thirty years ago when a patient presented to a hospital clinic with unexplained fatigue, any medical school physician would search for an occult malignancy, cardiac or other organ disease, or chronic infection. The concept that there is an entity called chronic fatigue syndrome has totally altered that essential medical guideline. Patients are now being diagnosed with CFS as though it were a disease. It is not. It is a patchwork of symptoms that could mean anything’ Dr Byron Hyde 2003
The vested interests of the Insurance companies and their advisers must be totally removed from all aspects of benefit assessments. There must be a proper recognition that these subverted processes have worked greatly to the disadvantage of people suffering from a major organic illness that requires essential support of which the easiest to provide is financial. The poverty and isolation to which many people have been reduced by ME is a scandal and obscenity. Professor Malcolm Hooper 2006
To the very few physicians still practicing today who began seeing patients with this illness some 40 years ago and who have continued to record and publish their clinical findings throughout, the current enthusiasm for renaming and reassigning this serious disability to subgroups of putative and vague "fatigue" entities, must appear more of a marketing exercise than a rational basis for essential international research. It was not always so unnecessarily complicated! Dr Elizabeth Dowsett
M.E. is a systemic disease (initiated by a virus infection) with multi system involvement characterised by central nervous system dysfunction which causes a breakdown in bodily homoeostasis (The brain can no longer receive, store or act upon information which enables it to control vital body functions, cognitive, hormonal, cardiovascular, autonomic and sensory nerve communication, digestive, visual auditory balance, appreciation of space, shape etc). It has an UNIQUE Neuro-hormonal profile. .Dr Elizabeth Dowsett
M.E. appears to be in this same family of diseases as paralytic polio and MS. M.E. is less fulminant than MS but more generalized. M.E. is less fulminant but more generalized than poliomyelitis. This relationship of M.E.-like illness to poliomyelitis is not new and is of course the reason that Alexander Gilliam, in his analysis of the Los Angeles County General Hospital M.E. epidemic in 1934, called M.E. atypical poliomyelitis. Dr Byron Hyde 2006
Disclaimer: The HFME does not dispense medical advice or recommend treatment, and assumes no responsibility for treatments undertaken by visitors to the site. It is a resource providing information for education, research and advocacy only. Please consult your own health-care provider regarding any medical issues relating to the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition.
Copyright © Jodi Bassett, January 2009. This version updated May 2009. From www.hfme.org
For more information, and to read a fully-referenced version of this text compiled using information from the world’s leading M.E. experts, please see: What is M.E.? Extra extended version. Permission is given for this unedited document to be freely redistributed. Please redistribute this text widely.
To download other papers from this site, see the Document Downloads page.
Permission is given for this document to be freely redistributed by e-mail or in print for any not-for-profit purpose provided that the entire text (including this notice and the author’s attribution) is reproduced in full and without alteration. Please redistribute this text widely.
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Bigshot LetterLanguage brain teasers are those that involve the English language. You need to think about and manipulate words and letters.
Add the indicated number of the same letter(the Bigshot Letter) to the following sets of letters and form three words that contain all five vowels. The letters given are not in the correct order.
1. AEIOUDNT + Bigshot Letter(1)
2. AEIOUMMNT + Bigshot Letter(2x)
3. AEIOULLRYNT + Bigshot Letter(4x)
QUESTION: What is the Bigshot Letter and what are the words?
Hint1. Experience is the best teacher.
2. Mean what you say.
3. Be ready for the ups and downs of business.
AnswerThe letter C.
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
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Computing Grid Helps Get to the Heart of MatterBy Paula Musich | Posted 2007-05-20 Print
A massive computing grid is helping physicists at CERN in Switzerland power the world's largest particle accelerator to answer the question: what other particles exist in the universe that we don't know about?
In November, when physicists at CERN in Switzerland begin their grand experiment using the world's largest particle accelerator—the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC—computer scientists there and across the globe will also put the world's largest scientific computing grid through its paces.
The success of the experiment—intended to answer such questions as what other particles exist in the universe that we don't know about—will rely in large part on a worldwide, high-speed network that will allow scientists to harness the power of 100,000 computers—mostly PCs—to process the tons of data generated by the experiment.
The universe consists of particles of matter, and scientists currently know only a tiny fraction of them. Gaining greater insight into what else makes up the universe will give them a greater understanding of the universe itself.
The network's 10G bps backbone, linking to 11 scientific data centers, forms the core of the world's largest international scientific grid service, which was created to enable scientists to handle the huge amount of data that will come out of the experiment.
"The LHC is a 27-kilometer ring underground that accelerates protons to high energy and smashes them together in the ring to produce a fireworks of particles," said Francois Grey, director of IT communications at CERN, in Geneva. "Huge underground detectors will pick up the signals [from the collisions] using millions of channels that will read out every 25 nanoseconds. The rate at which [the data] will come out [of the four detectors in place] to be stored is in the hundreds of megabytes per second."
Along with lessons about what the universe comprises, the LHC Computing Grid project will teach network engineers valuable lessons about what it takes to run and manage one of the largest 10G-bps networks in the world.
"Everyone is looking to see who's installing a large backbone on that scale. We've become a reference for other people waiting to see what happens," Grey said. "We have no choice because we need that speed. We're also learning a lot about shipping data at high rates and how to optimize a grid between 10G bps and slower links."
About 200 institutions in 80 countries—some with their own large data centers—will participate in the grid to help process an expected 15 petabytes of data per year generated by the LHC.
"We realized early on there was no way we could store all that data and analyze it here at CERN," Grey said. "The idea was to pull those resources together in a grid."
The grid is organized in a three-tiered hierarchy, with CERN serving as the Tier 0 "fountainhead" from which data subsets will be dispersed to 11 Tier 1 data centers in Europe, North America and Asia, according to Grey.
Tier 2 data centers, located mostly at more than 250 universities around the globe, will serve as the locations where physicists analyze the data subsets they receive.
The LHC Computing Grid rides on dark fiber used in national and international research networks to interconnect each of the 11 Tier 1 sites at 10G bps for continuous paths to the different locations. Commercial links are used to connect participants in Canada, Taiwan and the United States.
In North America, Tier 1 sites include two in the United States—Fermi National Accelerator Lab, in Batavia, Ill., and Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Long Island, N.Y.—as well as the Triumph Laboratory, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Because of the nature of the computing task, PCs used in the grid don't have to communicate at very high speeds with one another so they are linked via grid middleware for "trivially parallel" processing, according to Grey.
Detectors read out images of the collisions, which are analyzed for particular patterns. "Each collision is independent from the next one, which is why trivially parallel processing works," Grey said.
At CERN, the PCs, CPU servers and disks are linked on a 1G-bps network provided by Hewlett-Packard ProCurve switches. CERN itself will contribute 10 percent of the total necessary processors for the job, including 3,500 PCs and the rest single- or dual-core processors all running a version of Linux called Scientific Linux CERN. CERN will contribute about 8,000 processors to the computing tasks.
The PCs used at CERN are commodity systems from a mix of smaller vendors, including Elonex, of Bromsgrove, England, and Scotland Electronics, of Moray, Scotland.
"We buy them cheap and stack them high," said David Foster, communications systems group leader in CERN's IT department. "The physics applications can run in parallel, but independently on separate boxes, so any PC which fails can be replaced and just that job restarted."
"Our typical workhorses" are dual-processor PCs in a one-rack unit "pizza box" form factor stacked in 19- inch racks, according to Helge Meinhard, technical coordinator for server procurements at CERN.
Although most of the roughly 8,000 PCs are single-socket machines that run single-core chips, about 750 are two-socket systems that use dual-core processors.
Administering all the PCs is a batch scheduler, which identifies available units and assigns a job to them.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Computing Grid Helps Get to the Heart of Matter
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Vermont begins 11th year of testing dead birds for West Nile virus
For Immediate Release: June 21, 2010
Media Contact: Communication Office
Vermont Department of Health
BURLINGTON - Each year in Vermont, mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus feed on birds, and some birds become sick and can die. For the past 10 years, the Vermont Department of Health has conducted a statewide “Dead Bird Surveillance Program.” Tracking the number and location of bird deaths, along with testing some birds for West Nile virus, helps to assess the risk for human infection from mosquito bites, and directs prevention efforts.
Again this year, report sightings of dead birds by calling the central dead bird reporting line at the Vermont Department of Health at 1-800-913-1139. Some of the birds will be tested for West Nile virus. The dead bird reporting line will remain active until the middle of October, when the mosquitoes begin to die off and the risk of disease transmission declines.
The West Nile virus season peaks in late summer and runs through October. The risk for infection with West Nile virus continues into late fall, or as long as mosquitoes remain active.
“Although human cases of West Nile virus infection are still rare in Vermont, we want everyone to be aware of the Health Department surveillance programs and to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites,” said Erica Berl, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Health Department, “For example, to reduce mosquitoes around your house, eliminate standing water where they might breed and drain areas where water can pool, such as rain gutters and wading pools.”
Although Vermont’s last reported human case of West Nile virus occurred in 2003, four positive birds were identified in 2009. Mosquitoes also tested positive last year, so the virus is still circulating in our state. In addition, the Health Department and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets are on the lookout for another mosquito-borne virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus. This virus has not been detected in Vermont but has been found in neighboring states and Quebec.
Only one out of five people who are infected with the West Nile virus experience symptoms. The symptoms are most often mild and include fever, body aches, headache, nausea, vomiting and sometimes swollen lymph nodes or a rash. Fewer than 1 percent of people develop severe illness affecting the central nervous system. The severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, disorientation, muscle weakness, numbness and paralysis.
The Department of Health is urging Vermonters to:
- Wear long sleeves and pants and avoid outdoor activities at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are active.
- Reduce mosquito breeding habitats by getting rid of standing water; drain areas where water can pool such as rain gutters, wading pools and any other water-holding containers such as old tires.
- Use effective mosquito repellents.
- Install or repair screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out.
- Horses are also susceptible to infection and should be vaccinated against the virus.
For more information on West Nile Virus visit healthvermont.gov.
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There is a major shortage of qualified gerontological social workers in the US (PowerPoint 4/26)
People are starting to live longer and are consuming more resources because of the advances in health care and technology. Due to this there aren’t enough social workers working with this population.
Death is not talked about in our society. (Lecture 4/26)
Death is something that no one wants to talk about. Although everyone is going to die eventually, in our society that topic is just pushed to the side. It is very important to talk about the process because there are many things that need to be discussed (will, DNR) to make sure that everything is going the way it should be. It is also harder for the caregiver to deal with what is going on if nothing is discussed.
There are four definitions of aging. (PowerPoint 4/26)
Chronological Age: the number of years the person has been alive
Biological Age: how changes in bodily systems affect the physical, psychological, and social functioning of elders
Psychological Age: person’s ability to adopt and to modify to familiar and unfamiliar environments
Social Age: A person’s position or role in a social structure, as well as the person’s ability to relate to others
There are four assessment principles for evaluating older adults. (PowerPoint 4/26)
- Compare a person’s age measured in years and functioning and see how they compare
- Use brief assessment instruments (depression scales mental status exams)
- Assessment must result in delineation of strengths and weaknesses
- Clinicians should use many different assessment methods to improve the quality of the information
There are 5 stages of grief according to the Kuebler-Ross scale. (PowerPoint 4/26)
Our society does not take the time to grieve. (Sarah Hopkins, 4/28)
As we continually move forward with life we are always saying goodbye to things, but we don’t take the time to do that. Just like when we lose someone we don’t take the time to mourn them, we just quickly move on with life because that’s what society expects us to do. Based on the relationship, a person only gets 3 bereavement days from work. People need to talk about their feelings and take the time to grieve the loss of their loved ones.
Vassello, J. (2016). Social Work With Older Adults [Power Point Presentation]
Hopkins, S. (2016). Guest Speaker
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|Cardiac Muscle: the muscle of the heart. This muscle is involuntary and contractions are caused by pacemaker cells within the heart that send signals to the muscles at regular intervals. Under a microscope cardiac muscle looks branched, has striations due to organization of the myosin and actin fibers, and each mucle fiber has 1 or 2 nuclei6.|
Figure 1: Cardiac muscle under a microscope. The branching and light vertical lines of the striations can be seen. Nuceli are less present than in the skeletal muscle image. (Courtesy of Carolina Biological Supply Company)
|Smooth Muscle: the muscle found in the digestive tract, bladder, uterus, and blood vessel walls along with many other places. Smooth muscle is involuntary with its contractions controlled by the autonomic nervous system (the part of the nervous system below consciousness). Under a microscope smooth muscle appears smooth, non-striated, and each muscle fiber has a single nucleus6.|
Figure 2: Smooth muscle under a microscope. Each nuclei is associated with only one fiber. (Image thanks to Wikimedia Commons)
composes the voluntary muscles in the body. The well known muscles,
such as the biceps, triceps, quadriceps, and pectorals, are all
skeletal muscle. Contracting skeletal muscle is controlled by the
conscious nervous system. Under the microscope skeletal muscle appears
smooth, striated, and with multinucleated muscle fibers6.|
Figure 3: Skeletal muscle under a microscope. The compacted and multinucleated fibers can be seen. The striations are difficult to observe in this image. (Personal work)
|The most basic skeletal muscle unit is called a sarcomere. Multiple sarcomeres are put together end to end to build a myofibril. The myofibrils are surrounded by something called the sarcoplasmic reticulum11, which contains a lot of calcium ions which will be important when we talk about how the muscle contracts. Many of these bound myofibrils together compose a muscle fiber, and many muscle fibers are bound together with membranes into compartments that together compose the entire muscle6.|
Figure 4: Microanatomy of muscle. Actin and myosin are the myofilaments that compose the sarcomere, many of which combine to form the myofibril, many of which together form muscle fibers, many of which together form the muscle. (Image thanks to MIT OpenCourseWare)
-Muscle contraction begins with a signal to contract from the nervous system.
-This signal is sent via a motor neuron to the muscle.
-The signal travels the length of the motor nerve as an electrical signal to the end of the neuron where it becomes a chemical signal in the form of a neurotransmitter released into the space between the end of the neuron and the muscle receptors.
-If the signal is strong enough, the muscle fiber is depolarized, resulting in the release of calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
-The calcium ions bind to troponin which alters the shape of the tropomyosin to expose binding sites on the actin fibers for the myosin heads to bind to.
-One of the phosphate groups is cut from the ATP bound to the myosin head.
-The energy released from this allows the myosin head to bend, pulling the actin fiber with it, contracting the muscle11.
-The ADP is then released from the myosin and a new ATP binds where it was, causing the myosin head to release the actin binding site and return to the "cocked" formation.
-While all of this is going on, the calcium ions are being actively transferred back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, freeing the troponin and allowing everything to return to their relaxed conformations4,6.
Figure 5: schematic of the process of muscle contraction (Image thanks to Hank van Helvete and Wikimedia Commons)
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The following are codes or dates that you can expect to find on certain food products, along with a brief explanation provided by the USDA.
Types of Dates:
- A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale. You should buy the product before the date expires
- A “Best if Used By (or before)” date is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date
- A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. The date has been determined by the manufacturer of the product
- “Closed or coded dates” are packing numbers for use by the manufacturer (USDA, 2015)
Some 20 states require dating of food while others have no specific laws. The USDA does not specifically require dating on foods with the exception of baby foods/formula.
“Use-by” dates usually refer to best quality and are not safety dates.
Is Dating Required By Federal Law?
“Except for infant formula, product dating is not generally required by Federal regulations” (USDA, 2015).
Baby food, more specifically baby formula should not be consumed past the “use by” date.
Therefore, the question is can you eat food past the dates stamped on a food product. Well some you can and some you cannot, how’s that for specificity. It is obvious some fresh foods cannot be eaten if they have been lounging in the refrigerator for several weeks.
On the other hand, the dates on the packaging are recommendations, but are not necessarily chiseled in stone, and as stated earlier they are not food safety dates. Use your nose and eyes as well as the dates on the packaging when it comes to fresh products or packaged products that require refrigeration.
Fresh meats will of course spoil after a couple days left in temperatures above freezing and the higher the temperature the faster the meats or other fresh products will begin to decompose. Cooked meats can be stored up to four days in refrigeration.
Eggs for example, are edible for up to five weeks after purchase if purchased before the use by date and stored in your refrigerator. Keep fresh eggs as close to the back of the refrigerator as possible. Most refrigerators are cooler in the back furthest from the door.
Test Your Eggs
A bacterium creates gases as it breeds and grows and too much bacteria in an egg will cause it to float (become buoyant) because of the gases. Draw a bowl of tap water and place the egg (s) in the water. If any float do not eat them obviously.
Some Recommendations for Storage
- Fresh chicken should not be consumed if it has been thawed in the refrigerator for longer than two days
- Beef, pork, and lamb can be stored thawed in the refrigerator up to five days and still be considered safe to eat
- Ground fresh chicken and beef is good for two days thawed and under refrigeration
- Ground fresh pork or turkey two days under refrigeration
- Cured products such as ham purchased from a grocery store is up to five days
Certain cured or dried products can have an extended shelf life. However, much depends on the curing process and the level of expertise that went into the process. Check any dried or cured products for evidence of deterioration, mold, bad smell, or taste.
Processed fresh foods/meats such as deli sandwich meat, hot dogs, and sausages if left unfrozen past the use by date can encourage the growth of the bacteria listeria, which causes the infection listeriosis.
Highly acidic foods such as tomatoes are generally of good quality up to 18 months. This does not mean you cannot eat the product after 18 months, but you can expect some texture and flavor deterioration after this point. Low acidic foods such as green beans are considered stable for five years or longer.
Any canned product that shows swelling or bulging should be discarded. Swelling can mean a bacterium is growing in the can and this could cause sickness or worse if consumed. Glass canning jars can burst if a bacterium begins to grow.
Where you store your canned products can make a difference, so hot areas like attics or garages can reduce the stability of canned products. Fifty to 70° F is the ideal storage temperature for canned products. If stored in this temperature range the shelf life can be six years or more.
In most cases, you can tell if fresh meat is spoiled by the smell and color of the product. Fruits and vegetables will show obvious signs of spoilage as well.
Foods like pasta, white rice, and most hard grain products with the exception of brown rice is somewhere around 12 years plus and even longer if stored at a constant 70° F or slightly lower. Brown rice is shelf stable for up to six months, and can be stored up to 12 months under refrigeration and up to 18 months in the freezer.
The reduced shelf life of brown rice is due to the oils that will oxidize and go rancid. Weevils will infest any grain products so package to prevent infestation.
Sugar, salt, and honey are considered shelf stable indefinably as long as stored properly.
Flour is shelf stable for 5 years plus if stored in a sealed container. Flour can last longer if stored in an oxygen free environment however.
Frozen foods with the exception of frozen meats can be frozen for years. Meats will begin to lose flavor and texture, and there will be some deterioration after a certain period. Much depends on the packing method before freezing however.
Grounds meats are considered stable between two and four months in the freezer and this includes processed lunch meats. Steaks and whole roasts according to foodsafety.gov are good for six months up to a year in the freezer.
Vacuum sealing products will help to extend the shelf life of many frozen foods and certain other fresh products when stored in the refrigerator. Vacuum seal hard and soft cheeses, for example, to extend the shelf life while under refrigeration.
Foodsafety.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved 2015, from http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/storagetimes.html
USDA. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/fsis-content/internet/main/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/food-product-dating/food-product-dating
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Vehicles accounted for more than 50 per cent of Delhi's pollution during the early phase of this year's winter, from October 24 to November 8, according to an analysis by the green think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The CSE study released here today is based on real-time data on source contribution from the Decision Support System for Air Quality Management of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune.
"The analysis clearly shows vehicles' contribution is half or more. This is followed by household pollution (12.5-13.5 per cent), industry (9.9-13.7 per cent), construction (6.7-7.9 per cent), waste burning and road dust (each varied between 4.6-4.9 per cent and 3.6-4.1 per cent, respectively)," it said.
The Decision Support System of IITM is part of the Air Quality Early Warning System and provides information on the potential emission sources in Delhi. It also tracks data from sources outside Delhi- 19 districts in the national capital region- as well as biomass burning in the neighbouring states.
During November 2-6, the contribution of pollution sources in NCR dominated the initial phase- going up to 70-80 per cent. Its share declined during the smog episode post-Diwali when the relative contribution of Delhi's own sources increased.
Similarly, the contribution of biomass burning from other states remained low in the initial pre-Diwali phase but peaked post-Diwali.
Clearly, the calm conditions during the smog episode post-Diwali have reduced intrusion of cross-boundary movement from NCR and enhanced the share of local pollution in Delhi, the CSE said.
On the other hand, the long-range transport wind brought more pollution from biomass burning from neighbouring states, it said.
During the day, it has been noticed that the overall contribution of Delhi's own sources increases normally during evening hours and lasts until early morning hours (7:30 pm to 9:30 am).
"Clearly, after the closure of all coal-based power plants, expansion of natural gas usage in industry and controls on dirty fuels, vehicles have emerged as the biggest real-time contributor among the local sources of winter pollution in Delhi this year.
"Action on transportation has to gather strong momentum. At the same time, action on waste management, clean energy access in households, and dust control must be speeded up," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE.
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Hakim, a farmer in the Masaka region, with his calendar. Image: Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd.
Printed calendars offer illustrated guidance on sustainable farming for thousands of coffee growers.
Coffee can be a challenging crop to farm. Its trees can take several years to reach maturity and produce good yields. During those growth cycles, coffee crops are susceptible to pests, plant diseases, poor soil quality, and the effects of extreme weather linked to climate change. While there are techniques to address these challenges, learning good practices and knowing when to apply them demands special attention from coffee farmers: How much pruning is too much? When should fertilisers be applied? What’s a good approach to intercropping?
As a simple and reliable way to share timely guidance for coffee growers, Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd. (Volcafe’s company in Uganda) developed printed calendars to distribute to farmers. The calendars offer focused advice for each month, are appropriate to the local growing season, and touch on everything from planting seedlings or intercropping with shade trees, to stumping and pruning, to thwarting plant diseases and pests.
By combining illustrations with step-by-step instructions, the calendars are an easily understood supplement to in-person trainings. They are a visual aid that reinforces the good agricultural practices (GAP) and regenerative techniques that coffee growers gain through our Volcafe Way farmer support programme, which also involves model farms and local field staff advising farmers.
“Pictures speak more than words and it isn’t easy to forget a picture seen,“ explains Jane Najjemba, a coffee agronomist with Volcafe in Uganda. “The pictorial part of the calendars made GAP easy to implement.“
Farmers who deploy GAP and regenerative practices can improve coffee yields, boosting their incomes while also reducing the need for costly chemical inputs and safeguarding local ecology.
Jane says the calendars have been positively received by farmers, with the majority finding the advice clear and easy to grasp.
The calendars offer month-by-month tips and techniques to coffee farmers like Alice. Image: Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd.
Alice Kacubya, a coffee farmer from Lwengo district, says, “Calendars are a wonderful GAPs implementation guide. On a monthly basis, the calendar reminds you of the most important GAP to implement. In this way, the calendar helps us in improving coffee productivity and profitability.”
Emmanuel Bukomeko, Masaka Scheme Manager with Volcafe in Uganda adds: “These calendars prove that simplicity is genius. The pictorials and the very few additional texts make the calendars very easy to understand, even for farmers without the ability to read or write.”
The calendars are produced in conjunction with partners like NESCAFE and NESPRESSO who also purchase the farmers’ coffee harvests. There are calendars geared toward robusta as well as arabica coffee. This year, new robusta calendars (seen in the pictures here) were distributed in Uganda’s Masaka coffee-growing region.
Since 2016, Volcafe and our roaster partners have distributed 6,500 robusta and 17,000 arabica commercial calendars to Ugandan farmers.
The calendars are a low-tech resource with lasting value: each printed edition of the calendar spans three years, and the advice contained can support farmers for much longer. Based on the successes in Uganda, we are exploring the possibility of designing localised calendars for other coffee origins.
The calendars cover several years, offering advice for the cultivation of coffee plants and managing one’s farm. Image: Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd.
Topics covered include water conservation, soil health, safety on the farm, and record-keeping. Image: Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd.
The graphics and tips contained demonstrate regenerative agriculture practices. Image: Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd.
Objectives: Support farmers to learn and apply regenerative agriculture practices through a low-tech solution, enable improved coffee yields and farmer incomes
Timeline: 2016 onwards
Impact: Over 23,000 calendars have been distributed to coffee farmers in Uganda, providing a take-home supplement to in-person trainings and visits to model farms
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Born: April 18, 1480
Died: June 24, 1519
Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara, earned a reputation as a political schemer in fifteenth century Italy. In actuality, she was simply used by her father and brother to further their own political goals.
Lucrezia Borgia was born during Italy's Renaissance period (1320–1520), a time when artists, architects, and scientists rose to world appreciation. She was born into one of the most well-known families in world history: the Borgias, who sought to control as much of Italy as they could. The Borgias legacy, however, is not one to be desired, as they earned a reputation for being evil, violent, and politically corrupt.
Lucrezia Borgia was born on April 18, 1480, the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (c. 1431–1503), later to become Pope Alexander VI, and his mistress Vannozza Cattanei, who was also the mother of Lucrezia's two older brothers, Cesare and Giovanni. The task of raising Lucrezia, however, was given to Rodrigo's cousin, the widow Adriana daMila. While living in a palace in Rome, Lucrezia was educated at the Convent of St. Sixtus on Via Appia. Lucrezia was slender with light blue-green eyes and golden hair, which she later bleached to maintain its goldenness. A painting by Pinturicchio (1454–1513), "Disputation of Saint Catherine," is said to be modeled after her. It portrays a slender, young woman with wavy, blonde hair cascading down her back.
Young Lucrezia was no more than eleven when she was first affected by the political ambitions of her father (who had by this time become Pope Alexander VI) and her older brother, Cesare. Her father annulled (can-celled) a marriage contract between Lucrezia and a Spanish nobleman. Instead he gave Lucrezia to Giovanni Sforza, lord of Pesaro, a twenty-seven-year old with a fierce temper.
By the time Lucrezia was seventeen, Alexander and Cesare, were looking to align themselves with Spain and Naples against France and the Sforza family. Sensing he was losing favor with the Borgia family, Giovanni fled for his life. Soon Lucrezia's marriage was annulled and Giovanni was humiliated.
For Lucrezia's next husband, Cesare and Rodrigo chose seventeen-year-old Alfonso of Aragon, the Duke of Bisceglie and son of the late king of Naples. But by the time her first marriage was officially annulled on December 27, 1497, Lucrezia was six months pregnant.
Alfonso of Aragon was reputed to be a handsome youth with fine manners, and by all evidence Lucrezia truly loved him. But only a year later, political changes were once again stirring. Alexander and Cesare now looked to align with France, and Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso stood in the way. Fearing for his life, Alfonso also fled Rome. Lucrezia met up with her husband in Nepi and soon the two returned to Rome.
On July 15, 1500, hired killers attacked Alfonso, stabbing him several times. On August 18, as Alfonso was recovering, Cesare reportedly came to him and whispered in his ear that "what was not finished at breakfast would be complete by dinner." Returning to Alfonso's room later that day, Cesare ordered everyone out and directed his strongman to strangle Lucrezia's young husband.
Left a widow at the age of twenty, Lucrezia spent most of her time weeping over the loss of her husband. Tired of watching her mourn, her father and brother sent her to Nepi in the Etruscan Hills. On her return to Rome in November 1500, she began assisting her father as a sort of secretary, often opening and responding to his mail when he was not in residence.
Once again politics determined Lucrezia's marriage to the twenty-four-year-old widower Alfonso d'Este, eldest son of Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. Lucrezia was eager for the marriage. She regarded Rome as a prison and thought she would have a better chance of leading her own life in Ferrara, away from her ambitious father and brother.
On February 2, 1502, Lucrezia and Alfonso were wed. Lucrezia had married a man who not only was interested in artillery, tournaments, dogs, and horses, but who also played the viol (a musical instrument that was popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) and made pottery. On the other hand, he was also known for his cruelty, stinginess, and strange behavior.
The people of Ferrara adored Lucrezia, praising her for her beauty and "inner grace of personality." Content to socialize with artists, courtiers, poets, and citizens of the Renaissance court, she helped make Ferrara a center for artists and writers.
In 1503 Alexander died, along with many of Cesare's political plans. Finally, some stability appeared in Lucrezia's life. When Ercole died in 1505, she and Alfonso became the reigning duke and duchess of Ferrara. Lucrezia had several children by Alfonso d'Este. In 1512 Lucrezia withdrew from public life, possibly from the news that Rodrigo, her son by Alfonso of Aragon, had died. She began to spend more time in her apartments or in nearby convents, and turned to religion.
As the years progressed, her body thickened, and she was said to have aged greatly. She also suffered from spells of deep sadness. On June 14, 1519, while giving birth to a stillborn girl (dead upon birth), she developed a fever that caused her to lose much of her strength. She died ten days later at the age of thirty-nine.
Many historians view Lucrezia Borgia as a political pawn whose marriages were used for her family's political gains. Born into a vicious and greedy family, Lucrezia was very much a product of her times, and she accepted these ambitions and their consequences for the good of the family.
Bellonci, Maria. The Life and Times of Lucrezia Borgia. London: Phoenix Press, 2000.
Chamberlin, E. R. The Fall of the House of Borgia. New York: Dial Press, 1974.
Cloulas, Ivan. The Borgias. Translated by Gilda Roberts. New York: F. Watts, 1989.
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The Colorado Septic Experts
There’s no residential or commercial job that is too small or too large for our team!
Why Is Pumping Septic Tanks Important?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 25% of U.S. households are on septic systems. Septic systems are easy enough when they are functional. However, when the system becomes overloaded or unhealthy, it is difficult to remedy because the whole thing is underground!
Did you know that the average person uses 50 to 75 gallons of water per day?
If you’re on a septic system, then all of that water is flowing into your leach field!
A healthy septic system must be pumped before the tank builds up too much sludge (on the bottom of the tank) or scum (floating on the top of the tank.) When these layers become excessive, they are forced into the leach field, plugging it up. Leach fields are expensive to replace (10k on average) – plus the environmental damage can be catastrophic.
For these reasons, septic tank pumping at regular intervals is essential. Pumping the septic tank removes excess sludge and scum, preventing them from flowing into the leach field. Depending on the size of the leach field, and the size of the tank, pumping may have to occur each year, or as infrequently as every 2 to 3 years.
See the table below to find out how often your septic tank should be pumped. (If you don’t know the size of your tank, there should be a record of it with your municipality.)
|Tank size (gallons)||Number of Persons In The Household|
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Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinussumatrensis) is the smallest and most primitiveof all extant rhino species in the world, with distinct appearance from the other rhino – hair covers most of their body. This large mammal can grow up to 1.5 m high & 3m long, and weigh about 800 kg. Sumatran rhino has two horns and can live up to 40 years old.
They once ranged from northeast India to Indonesian Borneo and may have numbered in the tens of thousands. Today, much has changed for the Sumatran rhino. It's one of the most endangered large mammals on the planet. They are listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered and world population estimates since 1985 show a precipitous fall. Most recently, it has been estimated that there are less than 100 individuals left in the world.
What we do?
- Supporting the Indonesian Government Rhino Secretariat to take high-level action to save Sumatran rhinos.
- Supporting Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, the location of one of the four Sumatran rhino populations in Indonesia, in establishing an "Intensive Protection Zone" for the remaining rhinos in the park.
- Setting up Resort Based Management patrol system using SMART in Bukit Barisan Selatan, Gunung Leuser, and Way Kambas National Park, three priority areas for Sumatran rhinos, to enhance the overall protection effort of the species by government.
- Conduct scientific research on rhino to improve conservation strategies: Conducted an island wide scale of occupancy survey to better targeting their protection effort, and helping the Gunung Leuser NP in conducting population survey using camera-traps and DNA.
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Swimmers - along with scuba divers and body surfers - have been using fins for decades,but only recently have coaches and swimmers alike begun to appreciate what these excellent training tools can do to help people of all ability levels improve their swimming.
Increase fitness and Cardiovascular Conditioning Although swimming is considered one of the best aerobic or cardiovascular-conditioning exercises, many people forget to use their legs where the largest muscles are located. Since the greatest cardiovascular benefits come from including the highest percentage of the body's muscles - that's why cross-country skiing and rowing are considered two of the most demanding sports - it makes sense that swimmers who activate the large muscle mass of the legs by kicking will benefit from a more demanding workout that burns more calories and increases fitness levels.
Add fins to the equation and the increased load they add to the legs means that as long as exertion levels remain high, the cardiovascular system gets an even more intense workout with even greater fitness benefits. Unlike all other fins, even those with open toe drains, "Only Force Fin swimming fins are designed to concentrate the force of the blade further back on the foot, using the muscles of the whole leg, not just the lower leg."
Increase Ankle Flexibility Have you ever noticed that runners, cyclists or triathletes new to swimming who start a serious swim program have a hard time just kicking and going anywhere? In fact, they sometimes go backward! One reason is that their ankles are so inflexible that when they kick, their feet act like hooks, catching the water and pulling the frustrated swimmer in the wrong direction.
Good swimmers, on the other hand, can hyperextend (plantar flex) their ankles, pointing their toes so that the top of the foot forms a straight line with the shin. Because of the extra load from the increased surface area that fins provide, swimming or kicking with fins forces ankle extension during the power phase (pushing down when swimming freestyle) of the kick. Repeated fin use eventually stretches the ankles, increasing their flexibility for moving in all directions and helping the kick become more propulsive and efficient.
The extra load from the increased surface area that fins provide, swimming or kicking with fins forces ankle extension during the power phase (pushing down when swimming freestyle) of the kick. Repeated fin use eventually stretches the ankles, increasing their flexibility for moving in all directions and helping the kick become more propulsive and efficient.
Ankle flexibility is one key to efficient kicking. To measure your flexibility, sit on the floor with legs extended and pching the floor, point your toes as far forward as you can while having lace a stiff piece of paper against the side of the foot. With heels tousomeone trace this side view.
Measure the distance from the base of your big toe to the ground or floor; your goal should be from one to four inches.
Using a regular program of kicking with FORCE FIN swimming fins, re-measure and chart your progress.
Develop Leg Strength Kicking with fins is like lifting weights: the added resistance of the water on the blade of the fin increases the workload on your leg muscles. Your body adapts by increasing the strength and endurance of the muscles involved. Stronger muscles move more water making you swim faster, all other things being equal.
A word about specificity: It's important to realize that muscular strength for swimming needs to be "specific." Good runners, cyclists, roller bladers, etc. can have very strong leg muscles, but the muscles have developed for running, cycling or roller blading, not for swimming. Fins develop leg strength specifically for swimming, and in a way that few other activities can.
Improve Body Position and Technique Fins add extra propulsion to the stroke, which increases a swimmer's speed through the water. Good swimmers tend to plane on top of the water while poor swimmers tend to drag their legs and swim in a more vertical position slowing them down.
One of the goals of swimming faster with fins is to swim faster when the fins are taken off! By transferring the feeling of swimming faster and higher with fins to swimming without them, a swimmer makes use of a phenomenon know as neuromuscular patterning. The muscles and the nerves can actually remember the feeling of swimming faster and will try to duplicate the pattern the next time out. The more times the pattern is repeated (swimming faster and higher in the water with fins), the easier it is to duplicate it. The end result: the swimmer's technique and neuromuscular coordination improves.
WHY USE FORCE FIN SWIMMING FINS?
We've been designing and making improvements to fins for over 25 years, with hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers, and many major product design awards under our belts, we can honestly say that we are the experts in fin design. That's all we do, and we think our innovative fins are without equal in terms of comfort, efficiency, durability, performance, versatility and sheer value for your money.
We offer a variety of fins and each as been developed in response to your needs, comments and suggestions. Studying marine animal locomotion and human biomechanics, we have researched and designed our fins to take advantage of the laws of nature and physics. Not to mention common sense.
Force Fin swimming fins utilize the body's strength and put it where it's needed. The human body is built to have more strength when kicking down (during freestyle), than when kicking up. The downward or power phase of the kick emphasizes the powerful quadriceps muscle group at the front and side of the upper leg. The upward, recovery phase uses the weaker hamstrings at the back of the thigh. While still developing both sets of muscles, our blade design assists -- or helps take the load off -- the upward recovery phase that uses the weaker muscles, maximizing energy efficiency.
Open Foot Pocket Design Unlike all other fins, even those with open toe boxes, only FORCE FIN swimming fins are designed to concentrate the force of the blade further back on the foot, using the muscles of the whole leg, not just the lower leg.
Try this simple test to see the difference between how our fins work compared to other brands.
While seated, cross your ankle over your knee, grab your toes and pull them in the direction of the sole of your foot. Do you feel the stretch and tension running from the top of your foot up and along the shin? Those are the primary muscles that other fins work because the fin blade extends from your toes.
Now, grab the foot in both hands - one holding the heel, the other holding the top of the foot - pull again toward the sole of the foot and resist with the leg. The tension has moved up to the upper leg, hasn't it?
Because of their unique design based on human biomechanics, Force Fins and Slim Fins work the larger muscles of the upper leg in addition to the lower leg. These are the muscle groups you need to develop for a strong kick and a better workout.
Patented Blade Design Our fins do not have flat blades like most other brands. Instead the blade curves up or away from the bottom of your foot to provide more resistance on the power or downward (during freestyle) phase of the kick. The blade then snaps back to assist on the recovery. This two-stroke cycle does several things for a swimmer:
The snap of the blade helps increase kicking tempo keeping correct arms-to-legs coordination intact. There's no worry about the kick slowing down unnaturally as with all other fins.
The rebound of the blade during the recovery phase helps bring the legs higher in the water (during free-style), raising the lower body to the surface in the desirable high-in-the-water position, where you encounter less drag and can swim faster and more efficiently.
By kicking against a load that provides for a separate power and recovery cycle as opposed to the traditional power-power cycle of other fins, oxygen depletion is reduced, the legs and body work more aerobically and less anaerobically, and swimmers can maintain their workout efforts for longer periods of time. Independent research has shown less lactic acid buildup (lactic acid is the proof of anaerobic activity) and more oxygen absorption with Force Fins. Flat fins bring on symptoms of fatigue and cramping more quickly.
"The curves and flexibility of our blade design help keep the legs properly
oriented for more efficient power, even as they fatigue.
As you kick down, the blade pushes against the water engaging muscles of the whole leg. The water is pushed behind and through the split in the fin to provide initial forward thrust.
At the end of the downstroke, the fin recoils, setting up to rebound to its original position during the recovery or return kick stroke.
Assited by the rebound, the fin throws and directs water behind, faster than you can kick it with any other fin. The fin's tips fold inward to aid the upward recovery and to prepare your leg for the next downward power stroke.
At the same time, it resets and recovers your leg into position for its next forward kick stroke.
Inspired by Nature Have you ever seen a fast-swimming fish with a blunt or squared-off tail? Neither had we. That's why we patterned our fins after the split-V shape of fish tails that more efficiently channel the water. The other brands of swimming fins still use the cheaper-to-make, straight-across design.
Other fins, flat fins want to go through the water along the path of least resistance, which is sideways! Don't believe it? Hold a flat, heavy object at the surface of the water, let go and watch what happens. It turns on its edge and heads for the bottom. Or, if it's light like a sheet of paper, it will zig-zag or "dish" its way down. Neither action is going to help your kicking. With flat fins - even small or cutoff flat fins - a swimmer is constantly fighting all this twisting and torquing, and any effort spent this way is wasted.
We also noticed that other fins worked basically like boards tied to your feet; they were stiff and inflexible. Again, we took our cue from nature and physics, and we came up with very flexible fins using innovative materials like polyurethane instead of rubber. The curves and flexibility of our blade design help keep the legs properly oriented for more efficient power, even as they fatigue.
FORCE FINS or SLIM FINS? Force Fins are our original design, and being somewhat larger than Slim Fins, they provide a more concentrated leg workout (more resistance). They are a more versatile fin, in that they can be used for other sports, such as snorkeling, SCUBA and float tube fishing. From a swimming perspective, they are a very specific training tool and are excellent for butterfly, "new-wave" breaststroke, and the backstroke dolphin kick.
Slim Fins are narrower than the Force Fin and are specifically designed for pool swimming - especially freestyle - applications. With Slim Fins, the blades don't touch, flip turns are no problem, and high stroke turnover or cadence is easily maintained. Slim Fins can be used either while swimming or in kicking-only drills. They receive the highest recommendations from swimming coaches and professionals, and will do the best job for and are the best choice for most swimmers.
Other swim fin choices: Multi Force are a short bladed swim training fin, with a foot pocket that adjusts to fit
a wide variety of feet, with an added twist. You can add Force Wings to vary the output of your fin, to work harder or faster. You can even fine-tune the Wings to target specific muscles or stroke correction needs. They are great for reconditioning, lap swimming and threshold training.
HOW ARE THEY MADE? Manufactured in the USA and backed by over 30 years of research and development, Force Fin swimming fins are made of ultraviolet-, abrasion- and chemical-resistant polyurethane and heat-treated for 16 hours at temperatures where other fins melt. This process allows the molecules to cross-link giving the blade its snappy, high-performance characteristics and extreme durability. Unlike other brands, Force Fin swimming fins will not melt on hot pool decks or mark the sides of pools, and should last season after season, even when used daily. We could go on forever describing the unique benefits of using Force Fin swimming fins to improve your swimming. But there's only one way to really find out why our fins are the best swimming fins in the world: try a pair you will be happy!
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Agave Parryi, also known as Parry’s Agave or Mescal Agave, is a succulent, evergreen plant, which develop into nicely rounded rosettes. The leaves are usually hazel green and are pointy at the top. The plants look like artichokes, and they can grow to several feet in diameter. Over many years, the plant builds up and stores sugars to use for flowering. During the adult stage, they grow 12-foot stalks with yellow flowers from the middle of the rosettes. The stored sugars in the plant also produce nectar to attract insects to help pollinate the plant, which is very important given that the plant only gets one chance to produce seeds. .With all of its energy spent on reproduction, the plant’s life cycle is completed after flowering, and the plant dies back. The sugars stored in the agave heart once made an important food and energy source for Native Americans. They removed the leaves, and roasted the agave hearts, also known as pinas, for four days. While the agave roast was going on, they tended to chew on the removed agave leaves to extract any extra nutrients they could. The abundant sugars in the plant have also made agave parryi a traditional candidate for making the alcohol known as mescal. Today, agave syrup, which is a bit like honey, is still somewhat popular too. Succulent plants, like Agave Parryi, are also commonly known as Fat Plants. They are mostly grown in very arid climates, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico or in the Tropics. Known to tolerate cool mountain weather, this species is very hardy and can be grown outdoors to Zone 5b but does prefer a dry winter.
Growing information: Agave Parryi can be grown in the house as well as in warm green houses. It needs at least a few hours of sunlight per day, however full exposure is not recommended. Sow your seeds with the edge down so that the top edge is about equal with the soil line. Burying too deep will ruin germination. A commercial cactus soil mix is ideal for growing agave. We have also had success with a mix of compost and sand. Keep the seeds lightly moist until they sprout. If the temperature outside reaches above 58-60 degrees consistently, the plant can be moved outside, however a careful watch is suggested. The soil should be fertilized every 15-20 days with a low—nitrogen fertilizer. Agave does not requires excessive watering. As a succulent, agave can hold water inside it leaves, stems, and roots. The soil should actually dry between watering periods. A deep watering about once per month is suitable for established plants. Small plants should be watered about once every week though. In the winter, watering should be even less.
International buyers must assume risk of arrival on all items. We cannot replace lost or seized items. You will be required to confirm that you agree to these terms before items can be sent.
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What does a teacher do with a teenage student who can’t seem to read, write, speak, or want to mix in with others? What does a parent do when their child is continually bullied throughout elementary school without teachers or administrators seeming to care? Where is a safe place for students with challenges that no one seems to understand?
This is a true story. When Liam came to my classroom, I knew something was off. What was I supposed to do with this student who was extremely withdrawn? I didn’t know, but I knew I had to find out ̶ a challenge that I could not ignore. This book isn’t only about bullying, though there was plenty of that. It’s about a boy who needed help to allow his potential to surface. If you are a teacher, a parent, or anyone who has witnessed, or have themselves experienced this, you need this book. LIAM will give you hope.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
There was a time when anyone who didn’t catch on at the same pace as others were labeled “retarded.” R. Janet Walraven notes thanks to former President Obama passing Rosa’s Law, “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” were replaced with “intellectual disability” and “individual with an intellectual disability.” Unfortunately, this change in federal law did not replace the use of these terms in state law. The author also states in chapter eight, “In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a law guaranteeing that every child with a disability would get Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). This is supposed to be included in the Individualized Education Programs, IEP’s, that special education teachers write. From there, they have options of working with the child onsite, sending them away for therapy, …or waiting for litigation.” R. Janet Walraven states that many teachers look the other way at a child’s apparent struggles because they lack support in costs and help from the administration. LIAM: The Boy Who Saw the World Upside Down is a prime example of when the administrator fails a teacher, fails to support the students and makes doing a teacher’s job harder than necessary.
Thirteen-year-old Liam has made a move from public to private school. His parents made a choice, not out of a need for better education. No, they are transferring him because they feel he’s unsafe in public school. Ms. J, the 8th-grade teacher at the private school, has a full class, but the principal, Mr. Chadwick, doesn’t care. That’s a recurring theme with him. He doesn’t care about the students’ safety, best interests, or helping the faculty. He abuses his power on several occasions.
Ms. J. could’ve been like Liam’s other teachers and accepted Liam as “mentally retarded” and let him float by. Liam’s parents, even Liam, accepted the label. Since Ms. J didn’t have proper special education training, the parents and Liam wouldn’t have faulted her. However, Ms. J was different from the other teachers. She thought Liam was mislabeled. She saw his intelligence, his potential. Ms. J stood up to the principal. She put her foot down when the bullies chants shredded Liam’s confidence. She sought outside help for Liam and even drove him to his sessions at Hope Clinic.
Hope Clinic properly diagnosed Liam, and he was not “retarded.” Liam has visual perception dysfunction. The book explains it in length, but (basically) Liam’s brain wasn’t computing what his eyes saw. He needed special glasses and exercises to retrain the brain. Thanks to Ms. J and her cousins, Liam never missed an appointment. Liam could afford specialized care thanks to his parents selling their home and moving into a trailer. I was angry to see the colossal sacrifice his parents had to make but also touched by their display of love.
LIAM: The Boy Who Saw the World Upside Down was FULL of emotions. I wanted to cry when the boys tore him down with their chants. I wanted to cry again at his graduation. My heart nearly burst when Willow asked Liam to join her in Jump Rope for Heart and the school newspaper. I cheered Liam when he repeatedly showed the world they were wrong about him.
I’ve worked in mainstream and special education classrooms. I’ve seen how people treat students that need extra help. Basically, I’ve run into my share of Mr. Chadwick’s. However, I also had the great pleasure of working with teachers who resemble Ms. J. They go the extra mile and then a thousand more.
Ms. J didn’t know to teach Liam (at first), but she didn’t give up on him. Students like Liam are highly intelligent. They only need to discover a way to show it. It could be reading glasses. It could be having questions read to them. I know teachers are overwhelmed, overworked, and underpaid, but this story is a prime example of what can happen when teachers, administrators, and parents work together.
I encourage educators and parents of children with intellectual disabilities to read this book. It’s inspirational. It’s heart-warming. It’s worthy of five stars!
Be sure and look at the bonus material at the back of the book. Meet “Liam” and his best friend “Willow.” See where they are now. View writing samples from Liam. Also, check out appendix C: Characteristics of Dyslexia.
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest)
Meet the Author
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30 November 2009 - catalysis
|Cyclohexanone is industrially made by cyclohexane oxidation. it can also be made from cheaper phenol by hydrogenation but then spillover to cyclohexanol is just around the corner. In a recent Chinese publications this issue is tackled by combining a catalyst - palladium on carbon - with a Lewis acid - aluminium chloride in a phenol / scCO2 system (Liu et al. 2009 DOI). No cyclohexanol is formed and the authors offer a simple explanation. The Lewis acid is expected to activate the aromatic ring (just as in EAS) and palladium activates hydrogen. The carbon dioxide in addition to being a solvent speeds up the reaction even further by being a weak Lewis acid itself. Finally, By complexation with cyclohexanone the Lewis acid blocks the secondary reaction to the alcohol. |
By one of those nice coincidences this article was dropped in the mailbox of one publisher the very same day (7 July 2009) another article also on cyclohexanone hydrogenation (Chatterjee et al. 2009 DOI) appeared online with another publisher. The solvent is again scCO2 and the catalyst is palladium embedded in mesoporous silica that is doped with sodium aluminate forming Pd/Al-MCM-41. At 50°C and 12GPa (H2 + CO2) the results are comparable. The presence of a Lewis acid is not appearant but the aluminium incorporated in the silica is creating acidic sites just the same.
It is easy being a global warming skeptic
22 November 2009 - Copenhagen
|It is about time this blog comes to the rescue of that little molecule called carbon dioxide. For the past millions of years it has helped trap heat in our atmosphere making life on earth possible but according to climate scientists mankind has been adding too much and now carbon dioxide is overheating the planet. |
But it has never been easier being a global warming sceptic. This week a collection of email exchanges between global warming scientists were published that hackers had stolen from a university computer. From these exchanges a picture emerges that these scientists 1. may use statistical tricks in order to move data in the desired direction 2. may sweep data not fitting their models under the carpet and 3. may collude in smear campaign against scientists known to have a critical stand on climate change (see nytimes article).
And global temperature rise has come to a complete standstill anyway: for the past 10 years the planet has simply refused to heat up any further and global cooling is on the way. (see report in Der Spiegel or New Scientist). And how about those glaciers? The journal Science last week headlined No Sign Yet of Himalayan Meltdown, Indian Report Finds, the glaciers over there at least (contrary to many recent media reports) appear to be holding out despite global warming. According to climate scientist John Shroder cited in the Science article :The bottom line is that IPCC's Himalaya assessment got it horribly wrong (..) They were too quick to jump to conclusions on too little data. (DOI).
And how about those sunspots!. Solar activity varies over time and low activity as evidenced by low sunspot count corresponds to a relatively cool climate. The Little Ice Age in the 17 Th century is attributed to an extended solar slumber. Yet according to the IPPC (2007) solar activity today only accounts for 10% in the overall global warming. Nevertheless it is very tempting to connect the current global warming pause with the recent phenomenon of the missing sunspots. In a July 2009 article the NYTimes cites a NASA scientist on solar activity stating that it's been as dead as a doornail and in the beginning of 2009 there was a long lull of several months of virtually no activity, which had me worried (sunspot numbers here). The next solar maximum in 2013 is predicted to be the weakest since 1928.
But do not underestimate the IPPC. In their 2007 synthesis report they do not only assess radiative forcing components but also add an assessed level of scientific understanding (LOSU) for each component. And for carbon dioxide the LOSU value is high but for solar irradiance LOSU is low. So it is still possible for carbon dioxide to have it's name cleared if it is possible to steer research in the right direction although not before the upcoming Copenhagen 2009 summit.
The chromocapillary effect
20 November 2009 - Parlour games
|In another installment of that chemical parlour game we like to call "make it move" a French-Japanese team moves around droplets in the petri dish arena (Diguet et al. DOI). The droplet consists of oleic acid, the medium is water with dissolved in it a cationic photosensitive azobenzene trimethylammonium bromide surfactant. Illumination of the water surface with a precise wavelight (regular microscope) brings about a photochemical trans-cis isomerization of the azobenzene group resulting in a change in surface tension and hence autonomous motion - away from the illuminated area with light at 365nm and the reverse with light at 475 nm. By a two-color illumination setup the droplet can be moved around around at will, ideal for letter writing! |
12 November 2009 - Patent literature
|In the batch of latest patents (category C07 at espacenet.com) a novel method to synthesise tetrazoles by Novartis with some relevance to the production of the drug Losartan (EP2116548A1). Compared to the scientific literature where anything can be published and is published, a patent should be more relevant. A patent costs a lot of money to draw up and a scientific paper does not cost anything to have it published. As an added bonus, while the same scientific paper costs a lot of money to read (an expensive subscription to a scientific journal), the patent can be viewed for free. |
The patent also has to really convince the patent office an invention is new (not known in the art) whereas with a scientific paper the peer-reviewers are fellow academic scientists and you can get away any variation that just was not tried before.
The Novartis patent in question is to the point: yes we know that tetrazoles can be made from nitriles and azides but ammonium azides are volatile with risk of explosion and organozinc azides are toxic with ecological concerns. So they have come up with dialkylboron and dialkylaluminium halides as an alternative which according to the claim has never been tried in cycloaddition with nitriles.
Diethyl aluminium chloride is reacted with sodium azide to (organic solvent soluble) diethylaluminium azide and this reagent reacts with a nitrile precursor to losartan. To keep the alcohol group preoccupied an excess of triethylaluminium is added first. The reaction is quenched with sodium nitrate , not reacting with the toluene solvent (another surprise according to the patent)
To be sure the patent also covers any tautomer of the tetrazole cycle as if you can isolate and sell them as unique compounds. Patent oddity.
05 November 2009 - Bimetallic bases
|Breaking news in the field of chemistry dealing with otherwise unbreakable carbon-hydrogen bonds. The reaction: C-H activation, the substrate tetrahydrofuran (THF), the reagent: a so-called bimetallic base. Ordinary bases such as buLi can metallate the alpha hydrogen atom in THF but with subsequent ring-cleavage. Kennedy et al. now demonstrate that by adding a second metal to lithium and something else, lithiated THF can be stabilized or rather sedated (see title) (DOI). |
Nitrogen cycle TMP is reacted with organosodium compound NaBu to TMPNa. The organozinc compound Zn(CH2SiMe3)2 is added next together with metal ligand TMEDA forming the actual reagent TMEDA(TMP)ZnR2. The molecular structure of the THF adduct contains a O-C-Zn-N-Na- cycle that looks odd and esoteric but makes sense. THF is stabilized by two metal chelating interactions (Zn-C and Na-O) and both metals in turn are stabilized by three nitrogen atoms. The complex is found to react predictably with common electrophile benzoyl chloride.
More bimetallic bases (Knochel base) in Grignards on lithium
Kennedy, A., Klett, J., Mulvey, R., & Wright, D. (2009). Synergic Sedation of Sensitive Anions: Alkali-Mediated Zincation of Cyclic Ethers and Ethene Science, 326 (5953), 706-708 DOI: 10.1126/science.1178165
02 November 2009 - Beer chemistry
|Researchers at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Münster have identified several new chemicals in the complex brew we call beer (Intelmann et al. 2009 DOI). Adhumulone is one of several compounds present in hops and converts in a pinacol rearrangement to iso-adhumulone - a key bitter compound - as a cis and trans-isomer during beer processing. The bitter taste of beer (a quality) disappears over time - limiting shelf life - as the amount of trans humulones decreases (significantly the cis isomer is stable) and the German researchers now propose a new chemical pathway.|
They purified a trans iso-adhumulone, stored an aqueous solution of it at pH 4 @ 40 °C for 6 days, separated the degradation products by reversed phase LC-MS and analysed components by NMR spectroscopy to arrive at a tricylocohumol as one of the main degradation products, the result of a Prins reaction. The researchers then went on to detect the compound in a sample of commercial aged beer and even found some time to establish bitter-taste threshold concentrations (poor volunteers) - still inconclusive as some tricycles are more bitter (but more harshly so) than their precursors.
Intelmann, D., Kummerlöwe, G., Haseleu, G., Desmer, N., Schulze, K., Fröhlich, R., Frank, O., Luy, B., & Hofmann, T. (2009). Structures of Storage-Induced Transformation Products of the Beer?s Bitter Principles, Revealed by Sophisticated NMR Spectroscopic and LC-MS Techniques Chemistry - A European Journal DOI: 10.1002/chem.200902058
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With the goal of understanding how nervous systems produce activity and respond to the environment, neuroscientists turn to model systems that exhibit the activity of interest and are accessible and amenable to experimental methods. The stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) of the American lobster (Homarus americanus; also know was the Atlantic or Maine lobster) has been established as a model system for studying rhythm generating networks and neuromodulation of networks. The STNS consists of 3 anterior ganglia (2 commissural ganglia and an oesophageal ganglion), containing modulatory neurons that project centrally to the stomatogastric ganglion (STG). The STG contains approximately 30 neurons that comprise two central pattern generating networks, the pyloric and gastric networks that underlie feeding behaviors in crustaceans1,2. While it is possible to study this system in vivo3, the STNS continues to produce its rhythmic activity when isolated in vitro. Physical isolation of the STNS in a dish allows for easy access to the somata in the ganglia for intracellular electrophysiological recordings and to the nerves of the STNS for extracellular recordings. Isolating the STNS is a two-part process. The first part, dissecting the stomach from the animal, is described in an accompanying video article4. In this video article, fine dissection techniques are used to isolate the STNS from the stomach. This procedure results in a nervous system preparation that is available for electrophysiological recordings.
27 Related JoVE Articles!
Videomorphometric Analysis of Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction of Intra-pulmonary Arteries Using Murine Precision Cut Lung Slices
Acute alveolar hypoxia causes pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) - also known as von Euler-Liljestrand mechanism - which serves to match lung perfusion to ventilation. Up to now, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The major vascular segment contributing to HPV is the intra-acinar artery. This vessel section is responsible for the blood supply of an individual acinus, which is defined as the portion of lung distal to a terminal bronchiole. Intra-acinar arteries are mostly located in that part of the lung that cannot be selectively reached by a number of commonly used techniques such as measurement of the pulmonary artery pressure in isolated perfused lungs or force recordings from dissected proximal pulmonary artery segments1,2
. The analysis of subpleural vessels by real-time confocal laser scanning luminescence microscopy is limited to vessels with up to 50 µm in diameter3
We provide a technique to study HPV of murine intra-pulmonary arteries in the range of 20-100 µm inner diameters. It is based on the videomorphometric analysis of cross-sectioned arteries in precision cut lung slices (PCLS). This method allows the quantitative measurement of vasoreactivity of small intra-acinar
arteries with inner diameter between 20-40 µm which are located at gussets of alveolar septa next to alveolar ducts and of larger pre-acinar
arteries with inner diameters between 40-100 µm which run adjacent to bronchi and bronchioles. In contrast to real-time imaging of subpleural vessels in anesthetized and ventilated mice, videomorphometric analysis of PCLS occurs under conditions free of shear stress. In our experimental model both arterial segments exhibit a monophasic HPV when exposed to medium gassed with 1% O2
and the response fades after 30-40 min at hypoxia.
Medicine, Issue 83, Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, murine lungs, precision cut lung slices, intra-pulmonary, pre- and intra-acinar arteries, videomorphometry
Aplysia Ganglia Preparation for Electrophysiological and Molecular Analyses of Single Neurons
Institutions: The Scripps Research Institute, Florida.
A major challenge in neurobiology is to understand the molecular underpinnings of neural circuitry that govern a specific behavior. Once the specific molecular mechanisms are identified, new therapeutic strategies can be developed to treat abnormalities in specific behaviors caused by degenerative diseases or aging of the nervous system. The marine snail Aplysia californica
is well suited for the investigations of cellular and molecular basis of behavior because neural circuitry underlying a specific behavior could be easily determined and the individual components of the circuitry could be easily manipulated. These advantages of Aplysia
have led to several fundamental discoveries of neurobiology of learning and memory. Here we describe a preparation of the Aplysia
nervous system for the electrophysiological and molecular analyses of individual neurons. Briefly, ganglion dissected from the nervous system is exposed to protease to remove the ganglion sheath such that neurons are exposed but retain neuronal activity as in the intact animal. This preparation is used to carry out electrophysiological measurements of single or multiple neurons. Importantly, following the recording using a simple methodology, the neurons could be isolated directly from the ganglia for gene expression analysis. These protocols were used to carry out simultaneous electrophysiological recordings from L7 and R15 neurons, study their response to acetylcholine and quantitating expression of CREB1 gene in isolated single L7, L11, R15, and R2 neurons of Aplysia
Neurobiology, Issue 83, intracellular recording, identified neuron, neural circuitry, gene expression, action potential, CREB, Aplysia californica, genomics
A Murine Model of Cervical Spinal Cord Injury to Study Post-lesional Respiratory Neuroplasticity
Institutions: Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Hôpital Ambroise Paré, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
A cervical spinal cord injury induces permanent paralysis, and often leads to respiratory distress. To date, no efficient therapeutics have been developed to improve/ameliorate the respiratory failure following high cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). Here we propose a murine pre-clinical model of high SCI at the cervical 2 (C2) metameric level to study diverse post-lesional respiratory neuroplasticity. The technique consists of a surgical partial injury at the C2 level, which will induce a hemiparalysis of the diaphragm due to a deafferentation of the phrenic motoneurons from the respiratory centers located in the brainstem. The contralateral side of the injury remains intact and allows the animal recovery. Unlike other SCIs which affect the locomotor function (at the thoracic and lumbar level), the respiratory function does not require animal motivation and the quantification of the deficit/recovery can be easily performed (diaphragm and phrenic nerve recordings, whole body ventilation). This pre-clinical C2 SCI model is a powerful, useful, and reliable pre-clinical model to study various respiratory and non-respiratory neuroplasticity events at different levels (molecular to physiology) and to test diverse putative therapeutic strategies which might improve the respiration in SCI patients.
Physiology, Issue 87, rat, cervical spinal cord injury, respiratory deficit, crossed phrenic phenomenon, respiratory neuroplasticity
Setting-up an In Vitro Model of Rat Blood-brain Barrier (BBB): A Focus on BBB Impermeability and Receptor-mediated Transport
Institutions: VECT-HORUS SAS, CNRS, NICN UMR 7259.
The blood brain barrier (BBB) specifically regulates molecular and cellular flux between the blood and the nervous tissue. Our aim was to develop and characterize a highly reproducible rat syngeneic in vitro
model of the BBB using co-cultures of primary rat brain endothelial cells (RBEC) and astrocytes to study receptors involved in transcytosis across the endothelial cell monolayer. Astrocytes were isolated by mechanical dissection following trypsin digestion and were frozen for later co-culture. RBEC were isolated from 5-week-old rat cortices. The brains were cleaned of meninges and white matter, and mechanically dissociated following enzymatic digestion. Thereafter, the tissue homogenate was centrifuged in bovine serum albumin to separate vessel fragments from nervous tissue. The vessel fragments underwent a second enzymatic digestion to free endothelial cells from their extracellular matrix. The remaining contaminating cells such as pericytes were further eliminated by plating the microvessel fragments in puromycin-containing medium. They were then passaged onto filters for co-culture with astrocytes grown on the bottom of the wells. RBEC expressed high levels of tight junction (TJ) proteins such as occludin, claudin-5 and ZO-1 with a typical localization at the cell borders. The transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) of brain endothelial monolayers, indicating the tightness of TJs reached 300 ohm·cm2
on average. The endothelial permeability coefficients (Pe) for lucifer yellow (LY) was highly reproducible with an average of 0.26 ± 0.11 x 10-3
cm/min. Brain endothelial cells organized in monolayers expressed the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), showed a polarized transport of rhodamine 123, a ligand for P-gp, and showed specific transport of transferrin-Cy3 and DiILDL across the endothelial cell monolayer. In conclusion, we provide a protocol for setting up an in vitro
BBB model that is highly reproducible due to the quality assurance methods, and that is suitable for research on BBB transporters and receptors.
Medicine, Issue 88, rat brain endothelial cells (RBEC), mouse, spinal cord, tight junction (TJ), receptor-mediated transport (RMT), low density lipoprotein (LDL), LDLR, transferrin, TfR, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER),
Live Cell Imaging of Primary Rat Neonatal Cardiomyocytes Following Adenoviral and Lentiviral Transduction Using Confocal Spinning Disk Microscopy
Institutions: Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Biomedicine and Institute of Cell Biology, Yale Cardiovascular Research Center and Section of Cardiovascular Medicine.
Primary rat neonatal cardiomyocytes are useful in basic in vitro
cardiovascular research because they can be easily isolated in large numbers in a single procedure. Due to advances in microscope technology it is relatively easy to capture live cell images for the purpose of investigating cellular events in real time with minimal concern regarding phototoxicity to the cells. This protocol describes how to take live cell timelapse images of primary rat neonatal cardiomyocytes using a confocal spinning disk microscope following lentiviral and adenoviral transduction to modulate properties of the cell. The application of two different types of viruses makes it easier to achieve an appropriate transduction rate and expression levels for two different genes. Well focused live cell images can be obtained using the microscope’s autofocus system, which maintains stable focus for long time periods. Applying this method, the functions of exogenously engineered proteins expressed in cultured primary cells can be analyzed. Additionally, this system can be used to examine the functions of genes through the use of siRNAs as well as of chemical modulators.
Cellular Biology, Issue 88, live cell imaging, cardiomyocyte, primary cell culture, adenovirus, lentivirus, confocal spinning disk microscopy
Measuring Respiratory Function in Mice Using Unrestrained Whole-body Plethysmography
Institutions: Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash Medical Centre, Animal Resource Centre, Perth, Australia, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Respiratory dysfunction is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world and the rates of mortality continue to rise. Quantitative assessment of lung function in rodent models is an important tool in the development of future therapies. Commonly used techniques for assessing respiratory function including invasive plethysmography and forced oscillation. While these techniques provide valuable information, data collection can be fraught with artefacts and experimental variability due to the need for anesthesia and/or invasive instrumentation of the animal. In contrast, unrestrained whole-body plethysmography (UWBP) offers a precise, non-invasive, quantitative way by which to analyze respiratory parameters. This technique avoids the use of anesthesia and restraints, which is common to traditional plethysmography techniques. This video will demonstrate the UWBP procedure including the equipment set up, calibration and lung function recording. It will explain how to analyze the collected data, as well as identify experimental outliers and artefacts that results from animal movement. The respiratory parameters obtained using this technique include tidal volume, minute volume, inspiratory duty cycle, inspiratory flow rate and the ratio of inspiration time to expiration time. UWBP does not rely on specialized skills and is inexpensive to perform. A key feature of UWBP, and most appealing to potential users, is the ability to perform repeated measures of lung function on the same animal.
Physiology, Issue 90, Unrestrained Whole Body Plethysmography, Lung function, Respiratory Disease, Rodents
Modeling Astrocytoma Pathogenesis In Vitro and In Vivo Using Cortical Astrocytes or Neural Stem Cells from Conditional, Genetically Engineered Mice
Institutions: University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
Current astrocytoma models are limited in their ability to define the roles of oncogenic mutations in specific brain cell types during disease pathogenesis and their utility for preclinical drug development. In order to design a better model system for these applications, phenotypically wild-type cortical astrocytes and neural stem cells (NSC) from conditional, genetically engineered mice (GEM) that harbor various combinations of floxed oncogenic alleles were harvested and grown in culture. Genetic recombination was induced in vitro
using adenoviral Cre-mediated recombination, resulting in expression of mutated oncogenes and deletion of tumor suppressor genes. The phenotypic consequences of these mutations were defined by measuring proliferation, transformation, and drug response in vitro
. Orthotopic allograft models, whereby transformed cells are stereotactically injected into the brains of immune-competent, syngeneic littermates, were developed to define the role of oncogenic mutations and cell type on tumorigenesis in vivo
. Unlike most established human glioblastoma cell line xenografts, injection of transformed GEM-derived cortical astrocytes into the brains of immune-competent littermates produced astrocytomas, including the most aggressive subtype, glioblastoma, that recapitulated the histopathological hallmarks of human astrocytomas, including diffuse invasion of normal brain parenchyma. Bioluminescence imaging of orthotopic allografts from transformed astrocytes engineered to express luciferase was utilized to monitor in vivo
tumor growth over time. Thus, astrocytoma models using astrocytes and NSC harvested from GEM with conditional oncogenic alleles provide an integrated system to study the genetics and cell biology of astrocytoma pathogenesis in vitro
and in vivo
and may be useful in preclinical drug development for these devastating diseases.
Neuroscience, Issue 90, astrocytoma, cortical astrocytes, genetically engineered mice, glioblastoma, neural stem cells, orthotopic allograft
Bladder Smooth Muscle Strip Contractility as a Method to Evaluate Lower Urinary Tract Pharmacology
Institutions: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
We describe an in vitro
method to measure bladder smooth muscle contractility, and its use for investigating physiological and pharmacological properties of the smooth muscle as well as changes induced by pathology. This method provides critical information for understanding bladder function while overcoming major methodological difficulties encountered in in vivo
experiments, such as surgical and pharmacological manipulations that affect stability and survival of the preparations, the use of human tissue, and/or the use of expensive chemicals. It also provides a way to investigate the properties of each bladder component (i.e.
smooth muscle, mucosa, nerves) in healthy and pathological conditions.
The urinary bladder is removed from an anesthetized animal, placed in Krebs solution and cut into strips. Strips are placed into a chamber filled with warm Krebs solution. One end is attached to an isometric tension transducer to measure contraction force, the other end is attached to a fixed rod. Tissue is stimulated by directly adding compounds to the bath or by electric field stimulation electrodes that activate nerves, similar to triggering bladder contractions in vivo
. We demonstrate the use of this method to evaluate spontaneous smooth muscle contractility during development and after an experimental spinal cord injury, the nature of neurotransmission (transmitters and receptors involved), factors involved in modulation of smooth muscle activity, the role of individual bladder components, and species and organ differences in response to pharmacological agents. Additionally, it could be used for investigating intracellular pathways involved in contraction and/or relaxation of the smooth muscle, drug structure-activity relationships and evaluation of transmitter release.
The in vitro
smooth muscle contractility method has been used extensively for over 50 years, and has provided data that significantly contributed to our understanding of bladder function as well as to pharmaceutical development of compounds currently used clinically for bladder management.
Medicine, Issue 90, Krebs, species differences, in vitro, smooth muscle contractility, neural stimulation
Analysis of Tubular Membrane Networks in Cardiac Myocytes from Atria and Ventricles
Institutions: Heart Research Center Goettingen, University Medical Center Goettingen, German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) partner site Goettingen, University of Maryland School of Medicine.
In cardiac myocytes a complex network of membrane tubules - the transverse-axial tubule system (TATS) - controls deep intracellular signaling functions. While the outer surface membrane and associated TATS membrane components appear to be continuous, there are substantial differences in lipid and protein content. In ventricular myocytes (VMs), certain TATS components are highly abundant contributing to rectilinear tubule networks and regular branching 3D architectures. It is thought that peripheral TATS components propagate action potentials from the cell surface to thousands of remote intracellular sarcoendoplasmic reticulum (SER) membrane contact domains, thereby activating intracellular Ca2+
release units (CRUs). In contrast to VMs, the organization and functional role of TATS membranes in atrial myocytes (AMs) is significantly different and much less understood. Taken together, quantitative structural characterization of TATS membrane networks in healthy and diseased myocytes is an essential prerequisite towards better understanding of functional plasticity and pathophysiological reorganization. Here, we present a strategic combination of protocols for direct quantitative analysis of TATS membrane networks in living VMs and AMs. For this, we accompany primary cell isolations of mouse VMs and/or AMs with critical quality control steps and direct membrane staining protocols for fluorescence imaging of TATS membranes. Using an optimized workflow for confocal or superresolution TATS image processing, binarized and skeletonized data are generated for quantitative analysis of the TATS network and its components. Unlike previously published indirect regional aggregate image analysis strategies, our protocols enable direct characterization of specific components and derive complex physiological properties of TATS membrane networks in living myocytes with high throughput and open access software tools. In summary, the combined protocol strategy can be readily applied for quantitative TATS network studies during physiological myocyte adaptation or disease changes, comparison of different cardiac or skeletal muscle cell types, phenotyping of transgenic models, and pharmacological or therapeutic interventions.
Bioengineering, Issue 92, cardiac myocyte, atria, ventricle, heart, primary cell isolation, fluorescence microscopy, membrane tubule, transverse-axial tubule system, image analysis, image processing, T-tubule, collagenase
Sublingual Immunotherapy as an Alternative to Induce Protection Against Acute Respiratory Infections
Institutions: Universidad de la República, Trinity College Dublin.
Sublingual route has been widely used to deliver small molecules into the bloodstream and to modulate the immune response at different sites. It has been shown to effectively induce humoral and cellular responses at systemic and mucosal sites, namely the lungs and urogenital tract. Sublingual vaccination can promote protection against infections at the lower and upper respiratory tract; it can also promote tolerance to allergens and ameliorate asthma symptoms. Modulation of lung’s immune response by sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is safer than direct administration of formulations by intranasal route because it does not require delivery of potentially harmful molecules directly into the airways. In contrast to intranasal delivery, side effects involving brain toxicity or facial paralysis are not promoted by SLIT. The immune mechanisms underlying SLIT remain elusive and its use for the treatment of acute lung infections has not yet been explored. Thus, development of appropriate animal models of SLIT is needed to further explore its potential advantages.
This work shows how to perform sublingual administration of therapeutic agents in mice to evaluate their ability to protect against acute pneumococcal pneumonia. Technical aspects of mouse handling during sublingual inoculation, precise identification of sublingual mucosa, draining lymph nodes and isolation of tissues, bronchoalveolar lavage and lungs are illustrated. Protocols for single cell suspension preparation for FACS analysis are described in detail. Other downstream applications for the analysis of the immune response are discussed. Technical aspects of the preparation of Streptococcus pneumoniae
inoculum and intranasal challenge of mice are also explained.
SLIT is a simple technique that allows screening of candidate molecules to modulate lungs’ immune response. Parameters affecting the success of SLIT are related to molecular size, susceptibility to degradation and stability of highly concentrated formulations.
Medicine, Issue 90, Sublingual immunotherapy, Pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Lungs, Flagellin, TLR5, NLRC4
Methods to Assess Subcellular Compartments of Muscle in C. elegans
Institutions: University of Nottingham.
Muscle is a dynamic tissue that responds to changes in nutrition, exercise, and disease state. The loss of muscle mass and function with disease and age are significant public health burdens. We currently understand little about the genetic regulation of muscle health with disease or age. The nematode C. elegans
is an established model for understanding the genomic regulation of biological processes of interest. This worm’s body wall muscles display a large degree of homology with the muscles of higher metazoan species. Since C. elegans
is a transparent organism, the localization of GFP to mitochondria and sarcomeres allows visualization of these structures in vivo
. Similarly, feeding animals cationic dyes, which accumulate based on the existence of a mitochondrial membrane potential, allows the assessment of mitochondrial function in vivo
. These methods, as well as assessment of muscle protein homeostasis, are combined with assessment of whole animal muscle function, in the form of movement assays, to allow correlation of sub-cellular defects with functional measures of muscle performance. Thus, C. elegans
provides a powerful platform with which to assess the impact of mutations, gene knockdown, and/or chemical compounds upon muscle structure and function. Lastly, as GFP, cationic dyes, and movement assays are assessed non-invasively, prospective studies of muscle structure and function can be conducted across the whole life course and this at present cannot be easily investigated in vivo
in any other organism.
Developmental Biology, Issue 93, Physiology, C. elegans, muscle, mitochondria, sarcomeres, ageing
The Swimmeret System of Crayfish: A Practical Guide for the Dissection of the Nerve Cord and Extracellular Recordings of the Motor Pattern
Institutions: University of Cologne.
Here we demonstrate the dissection of the crayfish abdominal nerve cord. The preparation comprises the last two thoracic ganglia (T4, T5) and the chain of abdominal ganglia (A1 to A6). This chain of ganglia includes the part of the central nervous system (CNS) that drives coordinated locomotion of the pleopods (swimmerets): the swimmeret system. It is known for over five decades that in crayfish each swimmeret is driven by its own independent pattern generating kernel that generates rhythmic alternating activity 1-3
. The motor neurons innervating the musculature of each swimmeret comprise two anatomically and functionally distinct populations 4
. One is responsible for the retraction (power stroke, PS) of the swimmeret. The other drives the protraction (return stroke, RS) of the swimmeret. Motor neurons of the swimmeret system are able to produce spontaneously a fictive motor pattern, which is identical to the pattern recorded in vivo 1
The aim of this report is to introduce an interesting and convenient model system for studying rhythm generating networks and coordination of independent microcircuits for students’ practical laboratory courses. The protocol provided includes step-by-step instructions for the dissection of the crayfish’s abdominal nerve cord, pinning of the isolated chain of ganglia, desheathing the ganglia and recording the swimmerets fictive motor pattern extracellularly from the isolated nervous system.
Additionally, we can monitor the activity of swimmeret neurons recorded intracellularly from dendrites. Here we also describe briefly these techniques and provide some examples. Furthermore, the morphology of swimmeret neurons can be assessed using various staining techniques. Here we provide examples of intracellular (by iontophoresis) dye filled neurons and backfills of pools of swimmeret motor neurons. In our lab we use this preparation to study basic functions of fictive locomotion, the effect of sensory feedback on the activity of the CNS, and coordination between microcircuits on a cellular level.
Neurobiology, Issue 93, crustacean, dissection, extracellular recording, fictive locomotion, motor neurons, locomotion
Quantification of the Respiratory Burst Response as an Indicator of Innate Immune Health in Zebrafish
Institutions: University of Maine.
The phagocyte respiratory burst is part of the innate immune response to pathogen infection and involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are toxic and function to kill phagocytized microorganisms. In vivo
quantification of phagocyte-derived ROS provides information regarding an organism's ability to mount a robust innate immune response. Here we describe a protocol to quantify and compare ROS in whole zebrafish embryos upon chemical induction of the phagocyte respiratory burst. This method makes use of a non-fluorescent compound that becomes fluorescent upon oxidation by ROS. Individual zebrafish embryos are pipetted into the wells of a microplate and incubated in this fluorogenic substrate with or without a chemical inducer of the respiratory burst. Fluorescence in each well is quantified at desired time points using a microplate reader. Fluorescence readings are adjusted to eliminate background fluorescence and then compared using an unpaired t-test. This method allows for comparison of the respiratory burst potential of zebrafish embryos at different developmental stages and in response to experimental manipulations such as protein knockdown, overexpression, or treatment with pharmacological agents. This method can also be used to monitor the respiratory burst response in whole dissected kidneys or cell preparations from kidneys of adult zebrafish and some other fish species. We believe that the relative simplicity and adaptability of this protocol will complement existing protocols and will be of interest to researchers who seek to better understand the innate immune response.
Immunology, Issue 79, Phagocytes, Immune System, Zebrafish, Reactive Oxygen Species, Immune System Processes, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Respiratory Burst, Immune System Phenomena, innate immunity, bacteria, virus, infection]
Extracellularly Identifying Motor Neurons for a Muscle Motor Pool in Aplysia californica
Institutions: Case Western Reserve University , Case Western Reserve University , Case Western Reserve University .
In animals with large identified neurons (e.g.
mollusks), analysis of motor pools is done using intracellular techniques1,2,3,4
. Recently, we developed a technique to extracellularly stimulate and record individual neurons in Aplysia californica5
. We now describe a protocol for using this technique to uniquely identify and characterize motor neurons within a motor pool.
This extracellular technique has advantages. First, extracellular electrodes can stimulate and record neurons through the sheath5
, so it does not need to be removed. Thus, neurons will be healthier in extracellular experiments than in intracellular ones. Second, if ganglia are rotated by appropriate pinning of the sheath, extracellular electrodes can access neurons on both sides of the ganglion, which makes it easier and more efficient to identify multiple neurons in the same preparation. Third, extracellular electrodes do not need to penetrate cells, and thus can be easily moved back and forth among neurons, causing less damage to them. This is especially useful when one tries to record multiple neurons during repeating motor patterns that may only persist for minutes. Fourth, extracellular electrodes are more flexible than intracellular ones during muscle movements. Intracellular electrodes may pull out and damage neurons during muscle contractions. In contrast, since extracellular electrodes are gently pressed onto the sheath above neurons, they usually stay above the same neuron during muscle contractions, and thus can be used in more intact preparations.
To uniquely identify motor neurons for a motor pool (in particular, the I1/I3 muscle in Aplysia
) using extracellular electrodes, one can use features that do not require intracellular measurements as criteria: soma size and location, axonal projection, and muscle innervation4,6,7
. For the particular motor pool used to illustrate the technique, we recorded from buccal nerves 2 and 3 to measure axonal projections, and measured the contraction forces of the I1/I3 muscle to determine the pattern of muscle innervation for the individual motor neurons.
We demonstrate the complete process of first identifying motor neurons using muscle innervation, then characterizing their timing during motor patterns, creating a simplified diagnostic method for rapid identification. The simplified and more rapid diagnostic method is superior for more intact preparations, e.g.
in the suspended buccal mass preparation8
or in vivo9
. This process can also be applied in other motor pools10,11,12
or in other animal systems2,3,13,14
Neuroscience, Issue 73, Physiology, Biomedical Engineering, Anatomy, Behavior, Neurobiology, Animal, Neurosciences, Neurophysiology, Electrophysiology, Aplysia, Aplysia californica, California sea slug, invertebrate, feeding, buccal mass, ganglia, motor neurons, neurons, extracellular stimulation and recordings, extracellular electrodes, animal model
Gross Dissection of the Stomach of the Lobster, Homarus Americanus
The stomach of the American lobster (Homarus americanus
) is located in the cephalothorax, between the rostrum and the cervical groove. The anterior end of the stomach is defined by the mouth opening and the posterior end by the bottom of the pylorus. Along the dorsal side of the stomach lies the stomatogastric nervous system (STNS). This nervous system, which contains rhythmic networks that underlie feeding behavior, is an established model system for studying rhythm generating networks and neuromodulation 1,2
. While it is possible to study this system in vivo 3
, the STNS continues to produce its rhythmic activity when isolated in vitro
. In order to study this system in vitro
the stomach must be removed from the animal. This video article describes how the stomach can be dissected from the American lobster. In an accompanying video article4
we demonstrate how the STNS can be isolated from the stomach.
Neuroscience, Issue 27, lobster, stomach, neural network, dissection, central pattern generator
Measures of Heart and Ventilatory Rates in Freely Moving Crayfish
Institutions: University of Kentucky.
The fear, flight or fight response serves as the fundamental physiological basis for examining an organism's awareness of its environment under an impending predator attack. Although it is not known whether invertebrates posses an autonomic nervous system identical to that of vertebrates, evidence shows invertebrates have a sympathetic-like response to regulate the internal environment and ready the organism to act behaviorally to a given stimuli. Furthermore, this physiological response can be feasibly measured and it acts as a biological index for the animal's internal state. Measurements of the physiological response can be directly related to internal and external stressors through changes in the central nervous system controlled coordination of the cardio-vascular and respiratory systems. More specifically, monitoring heart and ventilation rates provide quantifiable measures of the stress response not always behaviorally observed. Crayfish are good model organisms for heart and ventilatory rate measurements due to the feasibility of recording, as well as the rich history known of the morphology of the crayfish, dating back to Huxley in 1888, and the well-studied typical behaviors.
Physiology, Issue 32, invertebrate, autonomic nervous system, behavior, crustacean
Membrane Potentials, Synaptic Responses, Neuronal Circuitry, Neuromodulation and Muscle Histology Using the Crayfish: Student Laboratory Exercises
Institutions: University of Kentucky, University of Toronto.
The purpose of this report is to help develop an understanding of the effects caused by ion gradients across a biological membrane. Two aspects that influence a cell's membrane potential and which we address in these experiments are: (1) Ion concentration of K+
on the outside of the membrane, and (2) the permeability of the membrane to specific ions. The crayfish abdominal extensor muscles are in groupings with some being tonic (slow) and others phasic (fast) in their biochemical and physiological phenotypes, as well as in their structure; the motor neurons that innervate these muscles are correspondingly different in functional characteristics. We use these muscles as well as the superficial, tonic abdominal flexor muscle to demonstrate properties in synaptic transmission. In addition, we introduce a sensory-CNS-motor neuron-muscle circuit to demonstrate the effect of cuticular sensory stimulation as well as the influence of neuromodulators on certain aspects of the circuit. With the techniques obtained in this exercise, one can begin to answer many questions remaining in other experimental preparations as well as in physiological applications related to medicine and health. We have demonstrated the usefulness of model invertebrate preparations to address fundamental questions pertinent to all animals.
Neuroscience, Issue 47, Invertebrate, Crayfish, neurophysiology, muscle, anatomy, electrophysiology
Intravital Microscopy of the Inguinal Lymph Node
Institutions: University of Northern British Columbia, University of Northern British Columbia.
Lymph nodes (LN's), located throughout the body, are an integral component of the immune system. They serve as a site for induction of adaptive immune response and therefore, the development of effector cells. As such, LNs are key to fighting invading pathogens and maintaining health. The choice of LN to study is dictated by accessibility and the desired model; the inguinal lymph node is well situated and easily supports studies of biologically relevant models of skin and genital mucosal infection.
The inguinal LN, like all LNs, has an extensive microvascular network supplying it with blood. In general, this microvascular network includes the main feed arteriole of the LN that subsequently branches and feeds high endothelial venules (HEVs). HEVs are specialized for facilitating the trafficking of immune cells into the LN during both homeostasis and infection. How HEVs regulate trafficking into the LN under both of these circumstances is an area of intense exploration. The LN feed arteriole, has direct upstream influence on the HEVs and is the main supply of nutrients and cell rich blood into the LN. Furthermore, changes in the feed arteriole are implicated in facilitating induction of adaptive immune response. The LN microvasculature has obvious importance in maintaining an optimal blood supply to the LN and regulating immune cell influx into the LN, which are crucial elements in proper LN function and subsequently immune response.
The ability to study the LN microvasculature in vivo
is key to elucidating how the immune system and the microvasculature interact and influence one another within the LN. Here, we present a method for in vivo
imaging of the inguinal lymph node. We focus on imaging of the microvasculature of the LN, paying particular attention to methods that ensure the study of healthy vessels, the ability to maintain imaging of viable vessels over a number of hours, and quantification of vessel magnitude. Methods for perfusion of the microvasculature with vasoactive drugs as well as the potential to trace and quantify cellular traffic are also presented.
Intravital microscopy of the inguinal LN allows direct evaluation of microvascular functionality and real-time interface of the direct interface between immune cells, the LN, and the microcirculation. This technique potential to be combined with many immunological techniques and fluorescent cell labelling as well as manipulated to study vasculature of other LNs.
Immunology, Issue 50, Intravital vital microscopy, lymph node, arteriole, vasculature, cellular trafficking, immune response
Intraspinal Cell Transplantation for Targeting Cervical Ventral Horn in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
Institutions: Thomas Jefferson University Medical College.
Respiratory compromise due to phrenic motor neuron loss is a debilitating consequence of a large proportion of human traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) cases 1
and is the ultimate cause of death in patients with the motor neuron disorder, amyotrophic laterals sclerosis (ALS) 2
ALS is a devastating neurological disorder that is characterized by relatively rapid degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. Patients ultimately succumb to the disease on average 2-5 years following diagnosis because of respiratory paralysis due to loss of phrenic motor neuron innnervation of the diaphragm 3
. The vast majority of cases are sporadic, while 10% are of the familial form. Approximately twenty percent of familial cases are linked to various point mutations in the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene on chromosome 21 4
. Transgenic mice 4,5
and rats 6
carrying mutant human SOD1 genes (G93A, G37R, G86R, G85R)
have been generated, and, despite the existence of other animal models of motor neuron loss, are currently the most highly used models of the disease.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a heterogeneous set of conditions resulting from physical trauma to the spinal cord, with functional outcome varying according to the type, location and severity of the injury 7
. Nevertheless, approximately half of human SCI cases affect cervical regions, resulting in debilitating respiratory dysfunction due to phrenic motor neuron loss and injury to descending bulbospinal respiratory axons 1
. A number of animal models of SCI have been developed, with the most commonly used and clinically-relevant being the contusion 8
Transplantation of various classes of neural precursor cells (NPCs) is a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of traumatic CNS injuries and neurodegeneration, including ALS and SCI, because of the ability to replace lost or dysfunctional CNS cell types, provide neuroprotection, and deliver gene factors of interest 9
Animal models of both ALS and SCI can model many clinically-relevant aspects of these diseases, including phrenic motor neuron loss and consequent respiratory compromise 10,11
. In order to evaluate the efficacy of NPC-based strategies on respiratory function in these animal models of ALS and SCI, cellular interventions must be specifically directed to regions containing therapeutically relevant targets such as phrenic motor neurons. We provide a detailed protocol for multi-segmental, intraspinal transplantation of NPCs into the cervical spinal cord ventral gray matter of neurodegenerative models such as SOD1G93A
mice and rats, as well as spinal cord injured rats and mice 11
Medicine, Issue 55, cell transplantation, engraftment, graft, spinal cord, stem cells, precursors, ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, motor neuron, SCI, spinal cord injury
The Use of Pharmacological-challenge fMRI in Pre-clinical Research: Application to the 5-HT System
Institutions: Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Imperial College London .
Pharmacological MRI (phMRI) is a new and promising method to study the effects of substances on brain function that can ultimately be used to unravel underlying neurobiological mechanisms behind drug action and neurotransmitter-related disorders, such as depression and ADHD. Like most of the imaging methods (PET, SPECT, CT) it represents a progress in the investigation of brain disorders and the related function of neurotransmitter pathways in a non-invasive way with respect of the overall neuronal connectivity. Moreover it also provides the ideal tool for translation to clinical investigations. MRI, while still behind in molecular imaging strategies compared to PET and SPECT, has the great advantage to have a high spatial resolution and no need for the injection of a contrast-agent or radio-labeled molecules, thereby avoiding the repetitive exposure to ionizing radiations. Functional MRI (fMRI) is extensively used in research and clinical setting, where it is generally combined with a psycho-motor task. phMRI is an adaptation of fMRI enabling the investigation of a specific neurotransmitter system, such as serotonin (5-HT), under physiological or pathological conditions following activation via administration of a specific challenging drug.
The aim of the method described here is to assess brain 5-HT function in free-breathing animals. By challenging the 5-HT system while simultaneously acquiring functional MR images over time, the response of the brain to this challenge can be visualized. Several studies in animals have already demonstrated that drug-induced increases in extracellular levels of e.g. 5-HT (releasing agents, selective re-uptake blockers, etc) evoke region-specific changes in blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) MRI signals (signal due to a change of the oxygenated/deoxygenated hemoglobin levels occurring during brain activation through an increase of the blood supply to supply the oxygen and glucose to the demanding neurons) providing an index of neurotransmitter function. It has also been shown that these effects can be reversed by treatments that decrease 5-HT availability16,13,18,7
. In adult rats, BOLD signal changes following acute SSRI administration have been described in several 5-HT related brain regions, i.e. cortical areas, hippocampus, hypothalamus and thalamus9,16,15
. Stimulation of the 5-HT system and its response to this challenge can be thus used as a measure of its function in both animals and humans2,11
Medicine, Issue 62, Pharmacological MRI, Neuroscience, rat, 5-HT, BOLD, translational imaging, brain, fMRI
Breathing-controlled Electrical Stimulation (BreEStim) for Management of Neuropathic Pain and Spasticity
Institutions: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital, TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital.
Electrical stimulation (EStim) refers to the application of electrical current to muscles or nerves in order to achieve functional and therapeutic goals. It has been extensively used in various clinical settings. Based upon recent discoveries related to the systemic effects of voluntary breathing and intrinsic physiological interactions among systems during voluntary breathing, a new EStim protocol, Breathing-controlled Electrical Stimulation (BreEStim), has been developed to augment the effects of electrical stimulation. In BreEStim, a single-pulse electrical stimulus is triggered and delivered to the target area when the airflow rate of an isolated voluntary inspiration reaches the threshold. BreEStim integrates intrinsic physiological interactions that are activated during voluntary breathing and has demonstrated excellent clinical efficacy. Two representative applications of BreEStim are reported with detailed protocols: management of post-stroke finger flexor spasticity and neuropathic pain in spinal cord injury.
Medicine, Issue 71, Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Anatomy, Physiology, Behavior, electrical stimulation, BreEStim, electrode, voluntary breathing, respiration, inspiration, pain, neuropathic pain, pain management, spasticity, stroke, spinal cord injury, brain, central nervous system, CNS, clinical, electromyogram, neuromuscular electrical stimulation
Isolation and Culture of Neonatal Mouse Cardiomyocytes
Institutions: King’s College London, University of California San Diego .
Cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes have long been used to study myofibrillogenesis and myofibrillar functions. Cultured cardiomyocytes allow for easy investigation and manipulation of biochemical pathways, and their effect on the biomechanical properties of spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes.
The following 2-day protocol describes the isolation and culture of neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes. We show how to easily dissect hearts from neonates, dissociate the cardiac tissue and enrich cardiomyocytes from the cardiac cell-population. We discuss the usage of different enzyme mixes for cell-dissociation, and their effects on cell-viability. The isolated cardiomyocytes can be subsequently used for a variety of morphological, electrophysiological, biochemical, cell-biological or biomechanical assays. We optimized the protocol for robustness and reproducibility, by using only commercially available solutions and enzyme mixes that show little lot-to-lot variability. We also address common problems associated with the isolation and culture of cardiomyocytes, and offer a variety of options for the optimization of isolation and culture conditions.
Cellular Biology, Issue 79, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Molecular Biology, Cell Culture Techniques, Primary Cell Culture, Cell Culture Techniques, Primary Cell Culture, Cell Culture Techniques, Primary Cell Culture, Cell Culture Techniques, Disease Models, Animal, Models, Cardiovascular, Cell Biology, neonatal mouse, cardiomyocytes, isolation, culture, primary cells, NMC, heart cells, animal model
Evaluation of Respiratory System Mechanics in Mice using the Forced Oscillation Technique
Institutions: McGill University , SCIREQ Scientific Respiratory Equipment Inc..
The forced oscillation technique (FOT) is a powerful, integrative and translational tool permitting the experimental assessment of lung function in mice in a comprehensive, detailed, precise and reproducible manner. It provides measurements of respiratory system mechanics through the analysis of pressure and volume signals acquired in reaction to predefined, small amplitude, oscillatory airflow waveforms, which are typically applied at the subject's airway opening. The present protocol details the steps required to adequately execute forced oscillation measurements in mice using a computer-controlled piston ventilator (flexiVent
; SCIREQ Inc, Montreal, Qc, Canada). The description is divided into four parts: preparatory steps, mechanical ventilation, lung function measurements, and data analysis. It also includes details of how to assess airway responsiveness to inhaled methacholine in anesthetized mice, a common application of this technique which also extends to other outcomes and various lung pathologies. Measurements obtained in naïve mice as well as from an oxidative-stress driven model of airway damage are presented to illustrate how this tool can contribute to a better characterization and understanding of studied physiological changes or disease models as well as to applications in new research areas.
Medicine, Issue 75, Biomedical Engineering, Anatomy, Physiology, Biophysics, Pathology, lung diseases, asthma, respiratory function tests, respiratory system, forced oscillation technique, respiratory system mechanics, airway hyperresponsiveness, flexiVent, lung physiology, lung, oxidative stress, ventilator, cannula, mice, animal model, clinical techniques
Evaluation of Respiratory Muscle Activation Using Respiratory Motor Control Assessment (RMCA) in Individuals with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Institutions: University of Louisville, Shepherd Center, University of Louisville.
During breathing, activation of respiratory muscles is coordinated by integrated input from the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord. When this coordination is disrupted by spinal cord injury (SCI), control of respiratory muscles innervated below the injury level is compromised1,2
leading to respiratory muscle dysfunction and pulmonary complications. These conditions are among the leading causes of death in patients with SCI3
. Standard pulmonary function tests that assess respiratory motor function include spirometrical and maximum airway pressure outcomes: Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1
), Maximal Inspiratory Pressure (PImax
) and Maximal Expiratory Pressure (PEmax
. These values provide indirect measurements of respiratory muscle performance6
. In clinical practice and research, a surface electromyography (sEMG) recorded from respiratory muscles can be used to assess respiratory motor function and help to diagnose neuromuscular pathology. However, variability in the sEMG amplitude inhibits efforts to develop objective and direct measures of respiratory motor function6
. Based on a multi-muscle sEMG approach to characterize motor control of limb muscles7
, known as the voluntary response index (VRI)8
, we developed an analytical tool to characterize respiratory motor control directly from sEMG data recorded from multiple respiratory muscles during the voluntary respiratory tasks. We have termed this the Respiratory Motor Control Assessment (RMCA)9
. This vector analysis method quantifies the amount and distribution of activity across muscles and presents it in the form of an index that relates the degree to which sEMG output within a test-subject resembles that from a group of healthy (non-injured) controls. The resulting index value has been shown to have high face validity, sensitivity and specificity9-11
. We showed previously9
that the RMCA outcomes significantly correlate with levels of SCI and pulmonary function measures. We are presenting here the method to quantitatively compare post-spinal cord injury respiratory multi-muscle activation patterns to those of healthy individuals.
Medicine, Issue 77, Anatomy, Physiology, Behavior, Neurobiology, Neuroscience, Spinal Cord Injuries, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Motor Activity, Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment, Respiratory Muscles, Motor Control, Electromyography, Pulmonary Function Test, Spinal Cord Injury, SCI, clinical techniques
A Method of Nodose Ganglia Injection in Sprague-Dawley Rat
Institutions: University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Afferent signaling via the vagus nerve transmits important general visceral information to the central nervous system from many diverse receptors located in the organs of the abdomen and thorax. The vagus nerve communicates information from stimuli such as heart rate, blood pressure, bronchopulmonary irritation, and gastrointestinal distension to the nucleus of solitary tract of the medulla. The cell bodies of the vagus nerve are located in the nodose and petrosal ganglia, of which the majority are located in the former. The nodose ganglia contain a wealth of receptors for amino acids, monoamines, neuropeptides, and other neurochemicals that can modify afferent vagus nerve activity. Modifying vagal afferents through systemic peripheral drug treatments targeted at the receptors on nodose ganglia has the potential of treating diseases such as sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, or chronic cough. The protocol here describes a method of injection neurochemicals directly into the nodose ganglion. Injecting neurochemicals directly into the nodose ganglia allows study of effects solely on cell bodies that modulate afferent nerve activity, and prevents the complication of involving the central nervous system as seen in systemic neurochemical treatment. Using readily available and inexpensive equipment, intranodose ganglia injections are easily done in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats.
Neuroscience, Issue 93, neuroscience, nodose ganglia, vagus nerve, EMG, serotonin, apnea, genioglossus, cannabinoids
Expired CO2 Measurement in Intubated or Spontaneously Breathing Patients from the Emergency Department
Institutions: Universit Catholique de Louvain Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc.
Carbon dioxide (CO2
) along with oxygen (O2
) share the role of being the most important gases in the human body. The measuring of expired CO2
at the mouth has solicited growing clinical interest among physicians in the emergency department for various indications: (1) surveillance et monitoring of the intubated patient; (2) verification of the correct positioning of an endotracheal tube; (3) monitoring of a patient in cardiac arrest; (4) achieving normocapnia in intubated head trauma patients; (5) monitoring ventilation during procedural sedation. The video allows physicians to familiarize themselves with the use of capnography and the text offers a review of the theory and principals involved. In particular, the importance of CO2
for the organism, the relevance of measuring expired CO2
, the differences between arterial and expired CO2
, the material used in capnography with their artifacts and traps, will be reviewed. Since the main reluctance in the use of expired CO2
measurement is due to lack of correct knowledge concerning the physiopathology of CO2
by the physician, we hope that this explanation and the video sequences accompanying will help resolve this limitation.
Medicine, Issue 47, capnography, CO2, emergency medicine, end-tidal CO2
Spinal Cord Electrophysiology
Institutions: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gene Expression Laboratory, University of California San Diego - UCSD.
The neonatal mouse spinal cord is a model for studying the development of neural circuitries and locomotor movement. We demonstrate the spinal cord dissection and preparation of recording bath artificial cerebrospinal fluid used for locomotor studies. Once dissected, the spinal cord ventral nerve roots can be attached to a recording electrode to record the electrophysiologic signals of the central pattern generating circuitry within the lumbar cord.
Neuroscience, Issue 35, Electrophysiology, central pattern generator, spinal cord, artificial cerebrospinal fluid
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May 30, 2007 A novel analysis of water flow in the Southern Ocean surrounding the Antarctic is revealing previously hidden structures that are crucial in controlling the transport of drifting plants and animals as well as the distribution of nutrients and pollutants that affect ocean life.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia and the Universitat Paderborn in Germany discovered that barriers to currents, which can lead to swirling gyres and eddies that trap material for long periods, may escape detection with traditional analyses that concentrate on monitoring average water flow or sea surface height.
Rather than tracking flow in the ocean point by point, as is typical of most ocean studies, the researchers applied a more holistic approach based on a mathematical technique known as Lagrangian analysis. In effect, the method allows them to simultaneously consider all the possible ways that currents can move in the ocean, and then pick out the most likely solution.
When the team tested their approach on a simulated model of ocean current flow, they found that regions where drifting material might be trapped in seas near the Antarctic were clearly identified with the Lagrangian approach. Traditional analyses, however, can only hint at the regions' locales. The researchers plan to extend their study to encompass current flow on a global scale. The work should help to provide a clearer picture of the currents that are vital to the health of our planet's oceans.
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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All people are entitled to a healthy and secure food supply. This
begins at birth with breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a human right
as supported by the Provincial Human Rights Commission.
Breastfeeding is a child’s right:
All children have the right to be breastfed in order to achieve
and maintain optimal health.
Breastfeeding is a woman’s right:
It is her right to be able to provide her child with optimal nutrition
and it is her right to enjoy the physical and emotional benefits
that can come to her through a breastfeeding relationship.
Federal and provincial human rights law bans discrimination against
women. If someone tells you to stop breastfeeding at work or in
a public place, such as a park, shopping mall or restaurant, that
person may be discriminating against you. You have the right to
feed your baby, wherever you are allowed to be.
Employers and people providing public services must accommodate
Speak up about your right to breastfeed your baby anywhere anytime.
By speaking up, you're not just helping yourself and your child.
You are helping all mothers and children by making your community
If you are interested in more details about breastfeeding rights
and how to advocate for yourself, see this document.
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The benefits of keeping stormwater runoff out of waterways are well known, but what if that runoff is viewed as potential drinking water – is it as valuable as the water that flows from the kitchen sink?
Research from the Environmental Protection Agency, indicates that if the stormwater can make it back into the ground, it could be worth as much as that in the drinking water supply.
“I think this is a great piece of data – it’s another great way to talk in economics about the value of doing these stormwater reduction projects,” said Tracy Skrabal, coastal scientist with North Carolina Coastal Federation, of the study. “When we put water back into the ground and it is cleaned as it is infiltrating, then we are resupplying that resource that provides us with drinking water. That’s intuitive, but to put the value on it of hundreds of millions of dollars per year – or billions of dollars cumulatively – is really valuable.”
The study, “Estimating Monetized Benefits of Groundwater Recharge from Stormwater Retention Practices,” estimates the benefits of groundwater recharge from the application of small stormwater retention practices on new development and redevelopment across the country.
Stormwater that makes it back into the ground could be worth as much as $225 million annually as drinking water, according to the study.
“This analysis was undertaken as part of the effort to estimate monetary value of the co-benefits of stormwater retention policies to inform policy makers,” Enesta Jones, a spokesperson for the EPA, said. “Stormwater retention policies are driven for different reasons, this study was to assess the potential economic benefit. While groundwater recharge may not economically drive retention, it should be noted as a side benefit of the water quality and stream protection. “
Skrabal agreed that placing a monetary estimate to stormwater would be an addition to the list of benefits of managing runoff.
“We talk about these projects in terms of multiple benefits, so groundwater recharge is one of them,” she said. “Those (estimated values) don’t even touch the value of keeping polluted stormwater out of our creeks and rivers and streams. So when you look at the overall valuation in terms of having clean waters and development around that, and recreation, the number must be enormous.”
Skrabal called the study further evidence that there is more than just environmental benefits to managing stormwater.
“It actually is a financial or economic benefit to the state and relates to something that is pretty critical in our state, which is adequate water supply,” she said. “So I think this piece of data should drive not just public policy, but also should help the state justify making more changes to their programs to allow these better infiltration practices.”
Bridget Munger, a spokesperson for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, which manages the state’s stormwater permitting program, said the department is open to looking at new research and data that could improve the program and provide more flexibility for developers in choosing how they want to manage stormwater at a particular site.
“While the state’s stormwater program has not yet studied the economics of infiltration and groundwater recharge, our engineers are always looking at innovative ways to provide design options that will protect water quality, while providing additional environmental benefits,” Munger said. “Program staff work closely with researchers at N.C. State University, as well as diverse stakeholder groups, in that effort.”
She explained that new stormwater rules developed this year by the state require infiltration in areas of active shellfish harvesting waters whenever it’s technically feasible. In areas outside active shellfish harvesting waters, developers can choose the stormwater control measures best suited to their projects, though the state provides options for infiltration devices that follow specific guidelines.
Annette Lucas, an engineer with the state Department of Environmental Quality’s stormwater permitting program, said permit applicants have 12 options for treating stormwater with methods varying from more traditional wet ponds, where water settles into a manmade pond, to complex bio-retention ponds that infiltrate stormwater through a series of plants, sand, clay and other organic materials to increase the rate in which the water goes back into the ground. Other methods include pervious pavement, rain gardens and more.
“The person who owns the property gets to choose how the stormwater is treated,” Lucas said. “But we’ve made a lot of changes that make it easier to do infiltration, to do bio-retention. We’ve taken away in our design (of the stormwater rules) some of the things that unwittingly prevented people from making that choice. So a lot of times people are choosing to do bio-retention and infiltration, but there’s a lot of factors that go into making that decision that are really site specific.”
“As we move Down East, we have trouble with high water table. So you might have great soil for infiltration, but the soils are saturated with groundwater,” she explained, noting the need for a wide range of stormwater treatment choices.
“I think over time people are choosing more of the low-impact type systems,” Lucas said.
Skrabal said she believes North Carolina has been “very aggressive” in its approach to managing stormwater runoff through innovative, low-impact development techniques, like vegetative swales, rain gardens, bio-retention areas and more.
More attention should be paid to redevelopment and retrofitting opportunities, she said, as well as moving away from the more traditional methods of stormwater treatment, like wet ponds, and encouraging or requiring more use of the low-impact development techniques.
“I think (the EPA study is) just another sort of confirmation of what we already know, and that is: When you can employ low-impact development techniques during new development, it is going to be financially beneficial to the community, but also to the developer,” Skrabal said. “We know that a lot of these techniques are actually cheaper in the long run to employ than what I would call old-school stormwater retention ponds and detention ponds. It just makes good financial sense all around to do this.
“And the added benefit of reducing the volume of polluted stormwater in our adjacent waters – that’s a win-win for everybody.”
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Bachelor of Arts
Political Science and International Studies
Department or Program Chair
Alison Howard, M.A.
Christian Dean, Ph.D.
The advancement in social media technology has greatly improved how people from around the world can communicate with each other. This has been quite apparent during the 2016 presidential election year, as many people have taken to social media to find their news sources and share opinions. This paper examines the use of Facebook and Twitter by the Clinton and Trump campaigns to connect with voters. These two modes of communication have been used by the campaigns to advertise their campaign and take stances on a variety of issues. By using content analysis, data from the two campaigns’ social media profiles will be examined and categorized into its respective themes: mobilize voters, fundraise, take position on issues, encourage participation in the campaign process, attack the opponent, or promote themselves or their campaign. Campaigns have begun to understand how to reach out to voters and provide them with the information they deem necessary in order to get elected. It is crucial to understand how social media has impacted this past presidential campaign season and the election through the use of social media.
Davis, Jack, "Presidential Campaigns and Social Networks: How Clinton and Trump Used Facebook and Twitter During the 2016 Election" (2017). Senior Theses and Capstone Projects. 75.
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- Jul 2012
Robert E Lee certainly was superior to most of the Union generals he faced, even he couldn't take Wset Virginia from Rosecrans. Outside of Virgina, the Confederates repeatedly failed, even under the best Confederate generals, even when they had numerical superiority. I agree that the war would have ended sooner if the Confederacy hadn't had RE Lee, but the war also would have ended sooner without McClellan and Halleck. Of course we should judge CSA generals and other generals on the standard of winning campaigns - what other standard should they be judged on. Bothe the Union and the Confederacy had smaller populations than the equivalent areas in Europe, but the Union still had to garrison that big of an area and stretch supply lines over that long of a distance. The Confederacy didn't allow slaves to serve in the military, but they certainly worked in the farms and factories. Not counting them towards confederate number only if you subtract all of the Union farmers and factory workers from the Union's available manpower. The actual size of the armies was roughly 3 Union soldiers to every 2 Confederates in an era where the military technology favored the defensive.I disagree. I think the fact if the CSA didn't have superior officers the war would have been over much sooner and I think judging the CSA generals by the standard of "winning campaigns" isn't realistic. And the Eastern confederate officers were superior to the West, that is why the Union won most major battles in the west. However there was no single victory in the East that could end the war and it took time for those victories to add up. The CSA might have been large but in terms of population it had a much smaller population than those places(maybe not Poland) especially a free population. There were less than 6 million free people in the CSA in 1860. They were outnumbered almost 4 to 1.
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Home / Browse / Maynard Baptist Academy
The Maynard Baptist Academy—first known as the Abbott Institute and then as the Ouachita Baptist Academy—was a boarding school founded in 1894 in Maynard (Randolph County). At the time, most schools typically had only one room and went only as far as the eighth grade.
The Abbott Institute was founded in 1894 by the Abbott family from the Maynard area. While they themselves lacked much education, they saw great value in educating the young people of the area and surrounding areas. Eli Abbott had been very successful in land speculation in the Fourche River and Current River bottomland while also farming. The institute drew students from a wide area of Arkansas and from other states. The school had a dormitory for young women; male students were expected to find accommodations with local families.
At this time, the Baptist churches of Arkansas were seeking to build schools in areas with a mild climate and less chance of disease. Maynard was a good location for such a school, as its location was far enough away from the river bottoms, which were home to disease-spreading mosquitoes. In fact, advertisements from the period described Maynard as being far away from the “death-lurking swamps.” The Abbott Institute became part of a network of schools associated with what is today Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) in Arkadelphia (Clark County), though there is some confusion about when this association began.
The school began in the ninth grade and offered civics, history, English, Latin, Bible, science, and algebra. It also offered teaching of arithmetic, since many of the students aimed to take the state teachers’ exam and teach in local one-room schools upon graduation. It also featured extracurricular activities for students, such as basketball, baseball, and the Aurora Literary Society.
Since this was a private, religious school, students had to pay tuition in order to attend. For the ninth grade, the tuition was $3.50 per month, and those costs increased by fifty cents for the succeeding years. Students who were not from the Maynard area also had to pay boarding charges. Students also had to pay an extra $4.00 per month in order to participate in extra-curricular activities and a $1.00 enrollment fee. In a typical month, a student could spend $20.00 to $25.00 for all fees, making the academy expensive by turn-of-the-century standards. In 1903, the school had an enrollment of seventy-eight students.
Arkansas underwent one of its first major educational reforms in the mid-to-late 1920s. As the state began consolidating smaller schools and developing high schools paid for by property taxes, schools like the academy lost much of their niche market. In 1928, the Maynard Baptist Academy was sold to the Maynard Public School District, and its facilities were used by the public school. Today, all that is left of the academy is the arch that the last class built in 1927. In 2008, the Maynard School Alumni Association restored this arch on the school grounds as a memorial to the academy.
For additional information:Cook, Regina, et al. History of Randolph County, Arkansas. Dallas: Curtis Media Corp., 1992.
Dalton, Lawrence. The History of Randolph County. Little Rock: Democrat Printing and Lithographing Company, 1946.
Seawel, Harmon, and Susan Seawel. From Ox Teams to Computer Chips: A History of the Maynard Community, 1800–1995. N.p.: 1995.
Rodney HarrisPocahontas, Arkansas
Last Updated 2/24/2010
About this Entry: Contact the Encyclopedia / Submit a Comment / Submit a Narrative
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Grades Pre K-6
If you had only 5 or 10 minutes with a student, what skills could you teach that would give him/ her the best chance to succeed academically and in ALL aspects of life?
Self-Regulation, sometimes called executive functioning, is a critical competency of universal skills necessary for academic success, emotional control and healthy social interaction. Self-regulated children are able to delay gratification and suppress impulses long enough to process consequences of their actions or recognize alternative actions that might lead to more positive outcomes. Helping children learn self-regulation earlier in life will greatly increase the positive impact on their academic performance challenges, anger problems, anxieties, school safety issues, self-esteem struggles, social troubles and more.
In this informative 90-minute webinar, author and consultant Brad Chapin will provide key strategies to use with all students – but especially those who have behavioral/emotional self-control and/or impulse-control issues. The insights, strategies and activities presented in this webinar are based soundly upon the evidence base of cognitive-behavior psychology. They are also consistent with the principles founding the RTI/MTSS, Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports and Responsibility-Centered Discipline movements. These approaches are creative, fresh and engaging in a way that will help create quick and observable changes in young people. Mr. Chapin will provide concrete lessons targeting each of the 3 skill-training areas identified in the Self-Regulation Training System (Physical, Emotional and Cognitive Regulation.)
To augment the PowerPoint™ presentation and activities, each participant will receive a (PDF) resource packet of the presentation with ideas, reproducible forms, activities and other suggested resources.
Brad Chapin, LCP, LMLP
A leading authority on Self-regulation, Brad Chapin, LCP, LMLP is a masters level psychologist with a passion for helping others learn the skills necessary for success and happiness. He is a best-selling author and nationally-recognized speaker in the area of Self-Regulation. He has served as the Director of Child and Adult Community Services for a large mental health center where he supervised 65 mental health field staff. Currently, he serves as Director of Clinical Services for Stormont-Vail Behavioral Health Services.
Bead created the Self-Regulation Training System from a practical, research-based foundation. His strategies have helped thousands of people develop the skills necessary for success in job and academic performance, relationships and overall wellness.
Brad is the author of Helping Young People Learn Self-Regulation (now in its second printing), Helping Teens Learn Self-Regulation, The Legend of the Regulators and the SECRET List – and the soon-to-be-released Helping Pre-K Students Learn Self-Regulation. He has also created several DVDs and additional resources for helping students learn Self-Regulation skills.
To submit a registration form along with a purchase order, click here. We also accept registration forms and school purchase orders by fax, mail or email (email@example.com).
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Rules for Walking Safely
Walking is a fun and healthy activity, but you need to know the rules of walking safely.
It is important to walk on sidewalks when they are available as they are the safest place to walk. Sidewalks keep you separated from the street and out of the path of a vehicle.
Always walk facing traffic so you can see the traffic in front of you and you can make eye contact with the driver if necessary.
Wear bright colored clothing and try to only walk in the daytime so you are more visible to the drivers. If you have to walk at night, wear light-colored clothing or a reflective vest to be visible. Drivers are often not expecting walkers to be out after dark, and you need to give them every chance to see you, even at street crossings that have crossing signals.
Avoid being distracted when walking by keeping your head up and your device down. Also, if wearing ear buds or headphones, make sure to keep the volume low so you can hear the traffic and other noises around you.
You should always try to cross the street at an intersection if possible. Look both ways before crossing the street and make eye contact with the drivers before crossing and give them a wave, so they know you are planning to cross. Do not start crossing the street between parked cars as the drivers may not have seen you behind the cars.
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"A body that is in balance,
offers the human being the opportunity for development
on a physical, mental and energetic level"
Dr. Ida P. Rolf
Structural Integration / Rolfing
Work on the human body according to Dr. Ida P. Rolf
"Structural Integration" is a manual body treatment. It was developed and researched over 50 years by the biochemist Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Following the name of the founder, the treatment method became known under the trademarked name "Rolfing".
Every body has a structure. In the ideal case, this body structure is in balance, integrated in the sense of aligned and erect, organized.
A non-integrated - disorganized, unbalanced - body structure manifests itself in chronic posture problems or in pain associated with them.
The aim of Structural Integration/Rolfing is to bring a disorganized, poorly integrated body structure back into a harmonious relationship, in balance with gravity:
Original artwork: Ida Rolf, Rolfing®. The Integration of Human Structures
A well-organized system, in this case, an upright and efficiently aligned posture, supports our mental well-being and performance.
The starting point of Structural Integration/Rolfing is the acceptance that there is a natural, optimal and yet individual alignment for each of us that supports and facilitates our relationship to gravity.
If this alignment is impaired by external influences and circumstances, e.g. accidents, physical or mental trauma, permanent misalignments or protective postures, this leads to internal tension, which manifests itself as chronic physical discomfort, but also as mental disharmony.
The outlines, the gait, the positioning of a shoulder or the pelvis could indicate the weaknesses in the structure:
Original artwork: Rolfers United 2004
Some individuals resemble a question mark with the stomach pushed forward, a round back or the upper edge of the pelvis tilted forward. Others have a collapsed ribcage, which leads to narrowing of the diaphragm and thus restricted breathing. However, they may all have the impression of standing upright.
People with an integrated body structure are supported by the floor up their whole body in a balanced way. They are connected vertically from the centre of the head to their feet. The body is thus in harmony with gravity instead of fighting it. This enables relaxed and graceful movements.
Fasciae (Latin for ribbons) are fine, tough skins. They are part of the connective tissue and form an organ that wraps up and connects all internal structures of the human body. This organ is called the fascia net.
The fascia net is multi-dimensional. It runs from the smallest cell nucleus to the outermost skin cell through the whole body. It supports and shapes the body by enveloping, dividing, connecting and coordinating bones, muscles, blood vessels, organs, tendons, ligaments, joint capsules etc.
The fascia web is also an extremely powerful conductor. Minute changes in fascial tension are transmitted to the central nervous system at high speed.
Fascia skins thicken and condense when exposed to permanent stress. Accidents or injuries lead to deformation. The natural ageing process of the body also leaves traces in the facial web. The support and elasticity of the fascia diminish.
Due to their biochemical composition, fasciae can be shaped by pressure and heat. Thanks to the plastic ability of the fascia, it can be returned to its natural anatomical position through targeted stimulation.
Structural Integration/Rolfing uses and supports this malleability of the fascia. With well-directed touching, tensions in the fascial net are balanced.
The session begins with a short observation phase: How does the client walk, stand and sit?
The treatment is mostly carried out on a couch. The client wears his or her underwear and supports the therapist's work with targeted breathing or small, guided movements.
Ten sessions based on each other at intervals of ten days to three weeks are ideal.
The sketch on the left ("before") shows posture problems before the first session:
The legs are overstretched, the pelvis tilted forward. The abdominal wall pushes forward. The chest collapses and is tilted backwards. The head hence must balance with a strong orientation to the front. Breathing is thus impaired both in the lower back and in the upper thorax.
In the short or long term, this incorrect posture leads to chronic head and back pain.
The sketch on the right ("after") shows the progress after 10 sessions.
For what and for whom?
Structural Integration/Rolfing focuses on improving posture and movement.
Achievable goals are:
- improved mobility
- facilitated breathing
- a more upright posture
- physical and mental stabilization
- Facilitation of movement (less effort when walking, getting up, sitting down)
The following symptoms can be indications of imbalances in the body structure:
- back-, neck-, headache
- chronic tensions
- restricted movement
Structural Integration/Rolfing is suited for people of all ages:
- after accidents or sports injuries
- one-sided occupational stress (computer work, heavy body work, sports, music, etc.)
- preventive, for a good body feeling and mental well-being
Dr. Ida P. Rolf
Dr. Ida P. Rolf was born on May 19, 1890 in Brooklyn, New York. She was one of the first women to earn a doctorate in biochemistry from Columbia University in the USA.
She worked for twelve years at the Rockefeller Institute in the Department of Chemotherapy and Organic Chemistry. She later studied mathematics and nuclear physics in Zurich and homeopathic medicine in Geneva.
Dissatisfied with the medical methods of treatment common at the time, Dr. Ida P. Rolf began researching osteopathy, chiropractic, Tantric Yoga, Alexander Technique and Korzybski's work on consciousness in the 1930s. In the course of her studies and practical work with people, she developed and refined her method of counteracting a faulty structure of the body and thus reducing physical and mental problems. She herself called her method "Structural Integration". The treatment became known as "Rolfing".
During the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Ida P. Rolf's successes became so well known that Fritz Perls, founder of Gestalt Therapy, invited her to the Esalen Institute in California, where she led the first training courses in Structural Integration.
In the 1970s, Dr. Ida P. Rolf founded her own institute in Boulder, Colorado.
She died in 1979.
There are several schools that continue Dr. Ida P. Rolf's quest for the balance between man and gravity, two of which are the Guild for Structural Integration and the Rolf Institute.
Links and Literature
Rolf Institute (Colorado, Boulder)
Diego Albertani, Horgen
Ales Urbanczik, Feldmeilen
Ida Rolf Interview (SOMATICS, 1979)
Rolfing, a Painful Form of Massage, Regains Popularity (NY Times, 2010)
Ein neues Kapitel der Heilkunst? (GEO Nr. 05/2017)
Ida P. Rolf, Reestablishing the Natural Alignment and Structural Integration of the Human Body for Vitality and Well-Being. 1989.
Peter Schwind, Alles im Lot. Eine Einführung in die Rolfing-Methode. Droemer/Knaur 1994 (2004).
Hans G. Brecklinghaus, Rolfing - Strukturelle Integration. Was die Methode kann, wie sie wirkt, und wem sie hilft. Lebenshaus Verlag 2015 (6. Aufl.)
Hans G. Brecklinghaus, Rolfing. Strukturelle Integration für Kinder und Jugendliche. Lebenshaus Verlag, 2005.
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Pharmaceutical development is one of the most regulated industries in the world. Each new medication has to conform to strict guidelines in both development and manufacturing. Because the process is so complex, new drugs can take about a decade before reaching the market.
Here’s what’s involved in both the design and the production of a new medicine.
From discovery to approval
New medicines start when scientists identify key factors involved in a specific disease. Next, they test the impact of different chemical or biological interventions at important points in the pathway of disease progression. Once an effective drug compound is discovered, scientists then look for a version safe for human use.
After receiving positive results from lab studies, the pharmaceutical company will need to seek approval to start the process leading to clinical trials. In the United States, this involves submitting an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Several stages of clinical trials then take place over several years in order to ensure that the new medicine is both safe and effective.
Once the company analyzes the results of the trials, the company then submits those results as part of its New Drug Application (NDA). After reviewing the NDA, the FDA will grant final approval for the new medicine to come to market.
From approval to production
Once a pharmaceutical company has permission to market its new medicine, it needs to make sure that its manufacturing process conforms to governmental safety regulations. The FDA, for example, monitors the manufacturing of medicines intended for the U.S. market to ensure compliance with the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice.
These guidelines cover everything from best practices for eliminating potential contaminants to the degree and type of records the company needs to keep. Regulations do not extend to specific types of equipment used in the manufacturing process.
For example, a company can choose a laboratory air mixer, depending on a compound’s volatility and viscosity. However, regulation governs both equipment disinfection and breakage in order to minimize the risk of contamination.
Regulation ensures safety and effectiveness
Bringing a new medicine to the marketplace is a complicated, drawn-out process that spans several years. However, consumers should take confidence in knowing that these regulations over the design and production of new medicines mean that companies are producing safe, effective drugs for the market.
Overall, you can rest assured that pharmaceutical companies do their best to make sure that your medication is safe and ready for your use. Making medication is definitely not an easy task, but with the help of a lot of hard workers they are able to get the job done.
Image from Pixabay
Latest posts by Kara Masterson (see all)
- Pharmaceutical Production: How Companies Design and Produce Medication - October 12, 2016
- The Spooky Holiday: 6 of the Very Best Things About Halloween - October 5, 2016
- 5 Unique Ideas to Give Your Home a Country Charm - September 19, 2016
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(b. ca. 1430, Colmar, d. 1491, Breisach)
Oak panel, 37,5 x 28 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
In the porch of a house the Virgin kneels beside the Child lying before her on a tattered blanket spread over a bundle of straw. Shepherds approach from the right to worship the Child. Between the wooden posts supporting the roof of the stable we have a glimpse of a hilly landscape with a river flowing through it.
In Schongauer's paintings, as in Dürer's, draughtsmanship is all important. This is, well exemplified by the small Berlin panel, which may once have formed part of a small altar and which, for fine detail, could hardly be surpassed. It was natural, therefore, that as early as the sixteenth century, Rogier van der Weyden should have been regarded as Schongauer's teacher. Although this is most unlikely, as Rogier died in 1464, it is nevertheless relevant to the Netherlandish training which Schongauer received. About 1469/70 he visited both Burgundy and the Netherlands, where as his early works show, he made a particularly close study of the works of Rogier, including the Bladelin Altar, which was then in Middelburg and is now in Berlin.
Martin Schongauer was the most important German painter and copper-engraver before Dürer. In the latter capacity in particular, he won a reputation that extended beyond the frontiers of Germany. The young Dürer was one of his admirers and was anxious to meet him, but their paths never crossed. Schongauer, who came from Colmar in Alsace, was, like Dürer, the son of a goldsmith, and the skills they inherited undoubtedly contributed to the fact that both artists became masters in the art of copper-engraving.
In 1471, Schongauer settled in his native town, Colmar. It was here, in 1473, that he produced his major painting, the Madonna of the Rosehedge, for St Martin's Church in Colmar. The small Berlin panel must have been painted fairly soon after and may have helped to earn him the affectionate nickname, which his own contemporaries converted into a proper name: Martin Schön or Hübsch Martin.
Of the early history of this picture, which was acquired for the Berlin Gallery from a London art-dealer in 1902, nothing is known.
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Joseph Goebbels: En biografi - Google böcker, resultat
Joseph Goebbels – Wikipedia
The sheer magnitude of the Holocaust has commanded our attention for the past German WWII Diplomat Dr. Kurt Heinrich Rieth grouping. Såld [ Nazi Party ] Adolf Hitler. Såld Nazi Propaganda cards, special cancels, postal stationery, etc. 1. Heinz Goedecke, Wilhelm Krug; - Wir beginnen das Wunschkonzert für die Wehrmacht - Berlin, Nibelungen-Verlag, 1941 - 3rd edition - 224 pp.. - Bound Love history?
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“While Nazi…propaganda may seem ludicrous by twenty-first-century standards, the principle of reducing complex social problems to a simple issue of one common enemy that must be destroyed has proven effective in rallying support…(Nazi Propaganda)” The German people were more than willing to take this simplified answer and apply it to the Jewish people and the Allied forces, who they Examples of Nazi Anti-Semitic Propaganda This pro-Hitler propaganda image portrays Hitler as a strong, heroic warrior who is crowned with a halo of light. The Swastika was originally a symbol of good fortune, but the Nazi party adopted it as its symbol in 1920, and it became associated with “Aryan identity” and German nationalist pride. A Nazi propaganda poster from 1934. The title reads “Yes! We follow the Fuhrer” Unser Wille und Weg [‘Our Will and Way’] was a monthly journal published by the Reich Propaganda Directorate of the Nazi government. Edited by Joseph Goebbels, it contained articles The Nazi party used radios to spread its message to new followers, especially pushing the argument that Germany had been wronged by the Treaty of Versailles. Joseph Goebbels was the mastermind behind Nazi Germany’s propaganda machine, and has been hailed as the inventor of marketing strategies that are still in use today, in addition to creating the idea of ‘fake news.’ However, once the Second World War broke out in 1939, problems in Goebbels’ propaganda paradise soon surfaced.
Nazi Germany conducted propaganda against smoking and had arguably the most powerful anti-tobacco movement in the world. Anti-tobacco research received a strong backing from the government, and German scientists proved that cigarette smoke could cause cancer. Harlan tells the historical tale of 18th-century German-Jewish banker Joseph Süss Oppenheimer and places it in the context of anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda.
RUSSIAN NATIONAL UNITY: A POLITICAL CHALLENGE
Once again propaganda was an effective means of attacking communist ideology and the Soviet state. How effective was Nazi propaganda 1933-1945? Propaganda was recognized by Hitler and his men as an important tool for the success of a regime.
Propaganda; Lot with 3 books about nazi-Germany - 1931/1941
Nazi propaganda Nazi propaganda-- Germany (East) Nazi propaganda-- Germany (West) Nazi propaganda-- Europe-- 1939-1942 Genres Photographs Physical Description Gelatin silver prints Type of Resource Still image Identifiers Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 70485490-c601-012f-e8fb-58d385a7bc34 Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945), was the Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany. He was charged with presenting Hitler to the public in the most favorable light, regulating the content of all Illegally displaying Nazi symbols in Germany can be punished by three years in jail.
Enkelt. av P Nilsson · 2014 — dictatorships, namely Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under the leadership of Josef. Stalin. By examining a number of propaganda posters
Upon being released from his battered compound in Ramallah, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat denounced the Israelis as “terrorists, Nazis
Hitta stockbilder i HD på hitler propaganda och miljontals andra royaltyfria stockbilder, illustrationer och vektorer i Shutterstocks samling. Tusentals nya
Hitler anställde snabbt efter att han kom till makten Joseph Goebbels som ansvarande för ministeriet för upplysning av folket och propaganda.
Vinstskatt försäljning bolag
Propaganda is the art of persuasion – persuading others that your ‘side of the story’ is correct. Nazi Germany – Propaganda. Loading Propaganda is the art of persuading people to have a particular view about something. Propaganda is always biased. It is used by political leaders or organisations to deliberately mislead a population into believing a certain set of facts or beliefs to be true. Nazi Germany quotations: propaganda.
Once again propaganda was an effective means of attacking communist ideology and the Soviet state. How effective was Nazi propaganda 1933-1945? Propaganda was recognized by Hitler and his men as an important tool for the success of a regime. As Goebbels said in 1934, “Propaganda was our sharpest weapon in conquering the state, and remains our sharpest weapon in maintaining and building up the state.”
To find out more, read Hitler’s Airwaves: The Inside Story of Nazi Radio Broadcasting and Propaganda Swing by Horst Bergmeier and Rainer Lotz (Yale University Press, 1997) or Michael Kater’s Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany (Oxford University Press, 1992). Hitler believed massively in the power and importance of propaganda.
Aktie med okant varde
Harlan tells the historical tale of 18th-century German-Jewish banker Joseph Süss Oppenheimer and places it in the context of anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda. "Jud Süss" was seen by millions of Propaganda was central to National Socialist Germany. This page is a collection of English translations of Nazi propaganda for the period 1933-1945, part of a larger site on German propaganda. The goal is to help people understand the great totalitarian systems of the twentieth century by giving them access to primary material. A good mnemonic to help you remember the key features of Nazi propaganda is: Communication - at the heart of propaganda; Should - Sport; Remain - Rallies; Really - Radio; Positive - Press One of the factors that helped the Nazis rise to power was propaganda. The Nazis used propaganda throughout the late 1920’s and early 1930’s to boost Hitler’s image, and, as a result of this and other aspects, he became extremely popular.
This collection of Nazi Germany quotations has been selected and compiled by Alpha History authors. It contains quotes from Nazi leaders, contemporaries or historians who specialise in the history of Nazi Germany. If you would like to suggest a quote for inclusion here, please contact Alpha History. Overview This is a Nazi Germany propaganda poster from the 1920's in support of Hitler's ideals for a new government. This poster depicts a strong arm bearing a swastika, a strong Nazi symbol, strangling a snake bearing the words "Marxismus" and "Hochfinanz" as well as a title on the top saying "Tod Der Lüge".
Universitet oslo bibliotek
Film Propaganda in Britain and Nazi Germany – Jo Fox – Bok
The purpose of Nazi propaganda was not to brainwash ordinary Germans, and it was not intended to deceive the masses even though it did enable the movement to gain new recruits. The Nazi party used radios to spread its message to new followers, especially pushing the argument that Germany had been wronged by the Treaty of Versailles. In Nazi Germany, Hollywood movies were banned and over 1,200 new films were created. The majority of these films were used as tools of propaganda. While many of them are over-the-top and easy to dismiss in modern times, a handful of movies were so well-made that they are … Nazi Germany used propaganda to portray itself as the greatest nation out there. They used movies, documentaries, books, and posters to illustrate how Germany should look and what the citizens of Germany should be like, both mentally and physically.
The Fascist Who Fought for World Peace: Conversions and
Propaganda is always biased. It is used by political leaders or organisations to deliberately mislead a population into believing a certain set of facts or beliefs to be true. A good mnemonic to help you remember the key features of Nazi propaganda is: Communication - at the heart of propaganda; Should - Sport; Remain - Rallies; Really - Radio; Positive - Press These Nazi propaganda posters are as repugnant in their message as they are impressive in their artistic craftsmanship.
World War II Propaganda Documentaries - Prime Video
Joseph Goebbels was the mastermind behind Nazi Germany’s propaganda machine, and has been hailed as the inventor of marketing strategies that are still in use today, in addition to creating the idea of ‘fake news.’ However, once the Second World War broke out in 1939, problems in Goebbels’ propaganda paradise soon surfaced. The Nazi propagandists also used rhetoric and pictures to boost German pride (this is an example of supportive propaganda, in Stanley’s sense) and, in some instances, to rectify the sneaking By exploiting existing stereotypes and the sentiments of the German people, Nazi propaganda sought to target those whom it considered either an enemy or unworthy of being a citizen – Jews, Gypsies (Roma and Sinti), homosexuals, communists and other political dissidents, and those Germans who were viewed as inferior and detrimental to creating a strong Germany (such as people with mental or physical disabilities). This promoted censorship and led to a very effective form of propaganda.
But at its core, it is a mode of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a Jul 31, 2013 The Nazis threatened to exclude American movies -- more than 250 played in Germany after Hitler took power in 1933 -- unless the studios Jul 27, 2016 Adolf Hitler knew this well — and knew that propaganda was a politically expedient instrument to impose anti-Semitism onto the German Apr 18, 2017 Afro-German during the Third Reich.
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An army sergeant in Iraq posted to Facebook a photo of a Lemon-yellow Tree Frog he encountered in a latrine, while a student participating in a scientific expedition in Costa Rica snagged a photo of a toad biologists had thought extinct. A biologist and writer contributed a photo of an endangered frog he’d found 30 miles outside its isolated, mountain-top range in Venezuela.
These are some of the successes of the three-month-old Global Amphibian BioBlitz, which is harnessing the power of social media – Facebook, Flickr and other sites – to track threatened species around the globe. More than 190 threatened frog, toad and salamander species from 55 countries have so far been logged via the website iNaturalist.org, with two amateurs each posting more than 100 photos of distinct amphibian species.
This success has now spawned a Global Reptile BioBlitz to take advantage of the even greater public interest in lizards and snakes.
“What’s most exciting is seeing complete non-professionals – amateur but enthusiastic amphibian people – getting involved, which is the kind of interest I want to see,” said herpetologist Michelle Koo, a University of California, Berkeley, research scientist who is one of the coordinators of BioBlitz and helps manage AmphibiaWeb, an Internet database hosted by the campus’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. “I think it’s great to now tap into the larger group of reptile people.”
The Global Reptile BioBlitz, launched last week during Global Assessment for Reptile Distribution meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, will track the world’s 9,500 reptiles. Both the amphibian and reptile BioBlitz efforts are a partnership between international herpetology organizations, including AmphibiaWeb, and the social network iNaturalist.org.
According to Scott Loarie, a researcher at the Carnegie Institution for Science and a coordinator of BioBlitz, amphibian and reptile populations are declining rapidly around the globe because of disease, climate change, habitat loss and irresponsible collecting. The first step towards conserving reptiles and amphibians is to gather data where populations persist, and social networking can help.
“From the volume of photos shared on the Internet, it’s clear that there is a critical mass of people passionate about all sorts of creatures,” Loarie said. “They are just beginning to mobilize for science and conservation.”
BioBlitz hopes to collect photos shared on social networks like Flickr and Facebook and use the geo-referenced and scientifically verified sightings to assess the health of populations of the world’s 7,000 amphibian species. The Global Amphibian BioBlitz has already collected over 700 distinct species – more than 10 percent of the world’s amphibians – from thousands of observations contributed by hundreds of participants.
The scientifically vetted contributions will be searchable through a new cloud-based assembly called VertNet.
“These kinds of vetted observations can be extremely valuable, as much as museum records in helping us predict and understand species distributions,” said Carol Spencer, a staff curator at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology who is co-principal investigator on HerpNET and VertNet.
“Efforts like the BioBlitz that connect amateur photographers and nature enthusiasts with scientists are great because not only do they generate data, but they’re also powerful education tools,” says Gary Sharlow, manager of lifelong learning at the California Academy of Sciences, one of the groups partnering on the Global Reptile BioBlitz, and leader of the academy’s conservation photography workshop series. “When you understand an animal’s role in its ecosystem, a photograph of that animal can become much more than a pretty picture – it can change your perspective, and even support conservation efforts.”
For more information:
- Storing vertebrates in the cloud (Aug. 23, 2011 press release about VertNet)
- Can social networking save the world’s amphibians? (May 25, 2011 press release)
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Carmarthen © Crown copyright (2013) Visit Wales
The town of Carmarthen is sited on the river Towy some eight miles north of its estuary. It is a small town of around 15,000 inhabitants and lays claim to being one of, if not the oldest town, in Wales. It was in 1546 that the two settlements of old and new Carmarthen joined to form a single town, that between the 16th and 18th centuries became one of the most densely populated areas in Wales and was quoted during this period as being perhaps the chief city of Wales. Alas, the population dwindled during the 19th century as people moved to the more prosperous areas of the South Wales coalfields.
The origins of Carmarthen can be traced back to pre-Roman times when it was the capital of the Demetae tribe and was known as Moridumum (meaning ‘sea fort’). Ptomemy records the town in antiquity. It is also mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary, which is a register of the stations along the various roads of the Roman Empire and lists the distances and directions between the various Roman settlements.
Right:- Carmarthen Outdoor Market
© Crown Copyright (2013) Visit Wales
A most interesting feature of Carmarthen is the Roman fort, which is believed to date back to AD75. Close to the fort can be found the remains of an amphitheatre, one of only two such sites in Wales. The other being Isca Augusta in Caerloen. The amphitheatre was extensively excavated in the 1960s during which the total area it originally covered was calculated to be some 95 yards by 70 years, within which sat the actual arena of some 50 yards by 29 yards. One can only imagine what activities took place there all those years ago.
By medieval times, the town that eventually became known as Carmarthen was called ‘Llanteulyddog’, or the town of St Teulyddogs. At that time it held considerable sway as an important religious centre and was one of the seven principle ‘sees’ in Dyfed.
The strategic importance of the site, originally recognised by the Romans, continued to be so during the medieval period. It was around 1094 that a Norman noble, William fitz Baldwin is credited as having started the building of a castle in Carmarthen. With more certainty it can be confirmed that the existing castle site is known to have been in use since 1105. Alas, the original castle had a relatively short life span before being destroyed by Llwelyn the Great a little over 100 years later in 1215. By 1223, the castle had been rebuilt and more importantly was accompanied by walls that protected the town itself from further intrusions. At least, that was, until the town and castle were attacked and sacked by Owain Glyndwr in 1405.
Carmarthen is know for the famous ‘Black Book’, which is understood to be the perhaps the earliest surviving manuscript written almost entirely in Welsh around 1250. It’s name comes from the colour of its binding and it is association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen. The book contains poetry and references to Welsh heroes including the legend of Arthur.
A place of gruesome interest in the area is the graveyard that adjoins the 'Maes-yr-Ysgol' and 'Llys Model' housing at the rear of St Catherine Street. It is here that mass graves can be allegedly found that contain the victims of the Black Death that visited the area around the 1340s.
The town also witnessed the burning at the stake of the Protestant martyr Bishop Ferrar in the town square in the 1550s as part of the ‘Marian persecutions’. Around this time the local Priory and the Friary were both ravaged and abandoned due to the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.
Copyright © Croeso Net 1998 -
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Accelerated life testing involves placing products under conditions of extreme stress to simulate the process of lifetime wear and tear in a shorter time. Engineers use these in product design to develop usable life estimates more quickly than it would take for the products to wear out over time.Continue Reading
Accelerated tests can use qualitative or quantitative methods. Qualitative tests are designed to show likely failure modes so that engineers can improve elements of the product design. Typical qualitative tests include what are known as torture or "shake and bake" tests. Quantitative tests are designed to produce numerical data that leads to actual accelerated life data analysis.
During a quantitative accelerated life test, the technician picks the stress type(s) that would eventually cause product failure during normal use. Typical examples include voltage, vibration, humidity, temperature or any other source of stress that would directly impact the life span of the product. The technician applies the stress at chosen intervals and then records the time it takes the product to fail under those accelerated conditions. If a product functions normally at 80 degrees Fahrenheit but elevated temperatures cause failure, testing might involve environments of 100, 120 and 140 degrees. The recommended maximum is the use stress level, which is compared to the product life at elevated temperatures.Learn more about Business Resources
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Jammu District is a district in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu is the winter capital of the state. The majority of the population of the district practise Hinduism; people of all religions, Muslims, Sikhs live in peace and harmony. Jammu is also known as city of temples with major attraction as Maa Vaishno Devi which is located around 50 km from Jammu City. There are other temples with historical importance which add to the rich heritage of Jammu.
Jammu district comprises 4 tehsils -
According to the 2011 census Jammu district has a population of 1,526,406, roughly equal to the nation of Gabon or the US state of Hawaii. This gives it a ranking of 326th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 596 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,540 /sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.48 %. Jammu has a sex ratio of 871 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 83.98 %.
The most widely spoken language of Jammu is Dogri. Other languages spoken are Hindi,kashmiri,Punjabi,English and Urdu.
Wheat is the main staple food with significant proportion of people associated with rice.Jammu is nationally and internationally famous for its Rajma Chawal which is Red Kidney Beans and Rice.
Jammu District has 11 assembly constituencies: Nagrota, Gandhinagar, Jammu East, Jammu West, Bishnah, R.S.Pura (S.C.), Suchetgarh, Marh, Raipur Domana (S.C.), Akhnoor and Chhamb (S.C.).
Weather and TourismEdit
Jammu's altitude ranges from 300 meters to 4200 meters. Due to extreme whether in summers and winters it is also known as the City of Rocks. Jammu has lots of Major tourist attractions, including, Patnitop, Mansar Lake, Jhajar Kotli, Baag-E-Bahu (Bahu Fort), Peer Kho, Jammu Tawi and many more.
- ^ a b c d e f g "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. http://www.census2011.co.in/district.php. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- ^ Statement showing the number of blocks in respect of 22 Districts of Jammu and Kashmir State including newly Created Districts dated 2008-03-13, accessed 2008-08-30
- ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html. Retrieved 2011-10-01. "Gabon 1,576,665"
- ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php. Retrieved 2011-09-30. "Hawaii 1,360,301"
- ^ "ERO's and AERO's". Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir. http://ceojammukashmir.nic.in/ERos_AERos.html. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
| Rajouri district |
|This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Jammu district. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.|
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Adolescents exhibit significantly lower sun protection behaviours than adults in Australia. While many studies have assessed the sun protection behaviours of adolescents during summer, few studies have explored the differences in sun protection behaviours of adolescents across key contexts relevant to adolescents during summer—notably school time, weekends and school holidays. Greater understanding of differences in behaviours across these contexts provides more detailed explanations of the nature of adolescent ultraviolet exposure and thereby facilitates improved targeting of interventions for this segment whose behaviour is considered hard to change. In this study, we explore the differences in self-reported, habitual, sun protection behaviours of adolescents across key contexts during summer. A sample of 692 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 completed a self-report survey concerning habitual sun-related behaviours across four key contexts. Comparisons were made between contexts in seven key sun protection behaviours. The results show that there are significant differences in habitual sun protection behaviours of adolescents between contexts and notably increased compliance with sun protection behaviours in the school context. These findings suggest that some sun protection behaviours are not transferred between key contexts relevant to adolescents and highlight an opportunity for public health programmes to focus more specifically on facilitating the transfer of positive sun protection behaviours between contexts.
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Animals seem to use migration to escape the spread of deadly pathogens...so it's bad news that many animals have stopped migrating.
Billions of animals migrate across the world every year, with some taking months to get to their destination. Along the way, animals expose themselves to potentially deadly pathogens, encountering lots of different environments and making a few key stopover points that are shared by lots of different species. These areas can become hotbeds for disease. This mirrors how diseases spread in our modern civilization, as highly concentrated population centers can see massive outbreaks, and then a handful of people traveling elsewhere can take the disease with them.
But researchers at the University of Georgia have figured out the other side of migration, and why it actually can keep pathogens in check. Many parasites have transmission stages that require the host to stay in the same habitat. Speedy migration takes the infected host outside that habitat, effectively killing off the parasite before it has a chance to take hold. As a bonus, any parasites left behind in the now host-free habitat die off, cleaning up the entire area in time for the hosts' return from their travels.
There's also survival of the fittest at work here. It's pretty brutal stuff - migration forces the infected to take part in a long, strenuous activity that will either kill them or cure them. If, say, a sick bird can't make it through the day's long flight, it will peel off from the rest of the birds and die, sparing the rest of the flock from infection when they land for the night. And, again, there's a secondary effect at work here, as the dying hosts take the most serious strains of disease with them, leaving the surviving flock with the relatively mild pathogens. The migrating animals are essentially forcing evolution to work for them by promoting less virulent strains of disease.
Researcher Sonia Altizer focused on monarch butterflies from eastern North America, which can migrate all the way from Canada to central Mexico. These butterflies migrate much farther distances than their monarch relatives elsewhere, and some populations in always pleasant areas like Florida and Hawaii don't bother with migration at all.
Altizer and her colleagues found that infectious disease is lowest in the butterflies that travel the greatest distances, while the non-migratory monarchs are the most at risk of deadly pathogens. The parasite strains that did exist in the long-travelling butterflies were consistently weaker than their counterparts, all of which supports migration as a way of weeding out disease.
But monarch butterflies are just one of many species for which migration has become an endangered activity. Human activity has destroyed a lot of potential stopover sites and put up barriers like dams and fences that can block the way. This means once migratory animals are trapped in one habitat year-round, which places them at much greater risk of disease. Climate change is also a factor - the warmer it gets, the less likely animals are to bother to migrate to escape wintry conditions.
Altizer's colleague Barbara Han sums up the danger:
"Migration is a strategy that has evolved over millions of years in response to selection pressures driven by resources, predators and lethal parasitic infections-any changes to this strategy could translate to changes in disease dynamics."
These findings speak to how complex and innovative evolution can be, as an incredibly energy-intensive activity like migration, something that requires sophisticated navigational skills, has risen as a way to protect species from disease. Now it's just a question of whether migration is a good enough strategy to survive this changing world - a lot of species are depending on it.
[Read the full scientific article via Science]
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Glossary of Terms
Bellows - a popular accessory to help boost combustion in wood fires, feeding air to the flames as it is forced out of an expandable bladder. Though unnecessary for a gas hearth where the combustion level is easily controlled with the turn of a knob, bellows' lovely finish in attractive blends of fine woods with vinyl or leather makes them a decorative accessory.
BTUs - British Thermal Unit, the primary heat measurement unit used by the hearth industry. It is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 lb. of water by 1 degree F.
Catalytic Combustor - a device used on some wood stoves to increase combustion efficiency by lowering flue gas ignition temperatures.
Clearance - the distance required by manufacturers and building codes between stove, connector pipe or chimney and any combustible materials.
Creosote – deposits of condensed wood smoke in the chimney and connector pipe resulting from incomplete combustion. It can ignite and cause a chimney fire.
Direct Vent – an appliance with a sealed, specifically designed venting system, that draws combustion air from outdoors and exhausts its combustion products to the outdoors, eliminating the need for a standard chimney system. A glass panel in direct vent units is critical to keeping the combustion system sealed from the home.
Emissions – unburned gases and particles as a result of incomplete combustion.
EPA Regulations - government regulations of wood-burning appliances mandating that products sold after July 1, 1992, emit no more than 4.1 grams of particulate matter per hour for catalytic-equipped units and no more than 7.5 grams for non-catalytic-equipped units.
Firebacks - protect fireplace masonry and mortar, shielding them from extreme heat of the flames. Cast-iron firebacks store heat from the fire and radiate it into the room after the fire has died down. Firebacks work just as well in a modern gas fireplace as they do in a traditional wood burning one.
Fireplace Inserts - heating units that retrofit into an existing fireplace (masonry or factory-built). They burn wood, gas or wood pellets and offer superior efficiency.
Flue – the passageway in a chimney for conveying gases to the outdoors.
Freestanding Stove - a heating appliance normally on legs or a pedestal.
Gas Logs – an open flame appliance with ceramic or ceramic fiber logs placed over a burner to provide dramatic realism of a traditional flame. Manufactured log sets have a burner that uses either natural gas or propane.
Glass Doors – doors attached to a fireplace to close off the opening of the hearth from the home to prevent heat from escaping up the chimney and prevent cold air from entering the home when the fireplace is not being used.
Grate – a metal frame used to hold and contain burning fuel in a fireplace.
Hearth - traditionally refers to the floor of a fireplace on which a blaze is built. Today it is also used to refer to all the devices and equipment used in connection with the fireplace and the stove industry.
Heat Shield - a noncombustible protector used around appliances, smoke pipes or chimneys to protect combustibles from heat sources.
Hopper - a container attached to an appliance in which fuel, either coal, nuggets or wood pellets, is stored and from which the fuel is fed to the burner.
Island Fireplace - a fireplace that has four sides of glass, for viewing from any angle.
Kindling - thin, dry wood used to start a fire.
Liquid Propane - liquefied petroleum gas, available in cylinders, for home use.
Mantle - an ornamental facing surrounding the fireplace or simply a shelf above a fireplace.
Metal Liner - used primarily with fireplace inserts and placed inside an existing chimney (usually masonry) to reduce the diameter of the flue for more rapid exit of smoke and combustion gases. Also used when an existing chimney is unlimited or deteriorating.
Natural draft (B-vent) Appliances - a gas-burning appliance that takes in combustion air from the home and vents byproducts of combustion outside the home.
Natural Gas - clean-burning fossil fuel transported to homes via an extensive pipeline network.
Pellets - are made of 100% compressed wood sawdust with no additives. A renewable fuel source made from sawdust or wood chips otherwise destined for landfills.
Peninsula Fireplace - a fireplace that has three sides of glass.
Seasoned - refers to cordwood that has been allowed to dry before burning. Seasoning generally takes six to 12 months. Wood burns much more efficiently when its moisture content has been reduced.
Unvented or Vent-Free Appliance - an appliance that draws combustion air from inside the home. The appliance is designed to burn so efficiently that it eliminates the need for venting.
Zero-Clearance Fireplace - a factory-built fireplace that is constructed so that it can be placed, safely, with close clearances to combustible materials.
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Variable CA1 : Child had diarrhoea in last 2 weeks
Valid case(s): 4986 (4986)
Invalid: 53 (0)
Children aged 0-4
Source of information
The mother or caretaker of the child aged 0-4.
Warning: these figures indicate the number of cases found in the data file. They cannot be interpreted as summary statistics of the population of interest.
Has (name) had diarrhoea in the last two weeks, that is, since (day of the week) of the week before last?
Diarrhoea is determined as perceived by mother or caretaker, or as three or more loose or watery stools per day, or blood in stool.
These questions aim to find out if the child has recently had diarrhoea or any other illness and, if so, what treatments, drinks and foods the child took during the episode. Diarrhoea is determined by the perception of the mother or caretaker, or by three or more loose or watery stools per day, or by blood in stool. When asking this question, insert the name of the day of the interview. For example, if the interview is taking place on a Tuesday, ask: "HAS (name) HAD DIARRHOEA IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, THAT IS, SINCE TUESDAY OF THE WEEK BEFORE LAST?" Record the mother's/primary caretaker's answer by circling the corresponding code. If a respondent is not sure what is meant by diarrhoea, tell her/him it means "THREE OR MORE LOOSE OR WATERY STOOLS PER DAY, OR BLOOD IN THE STOOL." Make sure the respondent understands what is meant by 'in the last 2 weeks'. If the child has not had diarrhoea in the last 2 weeks or the caretaker doesn't know, skip to CA5.
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Going to college can cause excitement and anxiety. It’s one of the best times of your life, but it raises many questions too. There is no need to be frightened, however. When you know what to expect, your fears will be erased. This article will help you out.
When you are getting ready to go to college you should make a list of things that you need to take with you. Even if you are attending school close to home, it is much more convenient to have everything with you rather than calling your parents to deliver things. This is even more important if you will be attending a college that is far away.
Always carry around a bottle of water while on campus. You have to remain hydrated to ensure your brain and body are functioning properly. This is crucial, especially if you have one class after another without any time to eat. When you’re not thirsty, you can focus on your school work. Refill the bottle between classes at water fountains.
Apply to scholarships and other grants early. Securing money in advance is the safest way to approach things. Turn in everything well before it is due and focus on other things you need to take care of.
Eat healthy. There’s nothing fun about the freshman 15! Maintaining a healthy diet is as important to your college education as your classes. Resist the temptation to grab junk food from a vending machine or go on a late-night pizza binge. The foods may be low in cost initially, but these costs add up, and so do the pounds they create.
Learn about the available grants and scholarships that can help you finance your education. You may find a scholarship for a student who excels academically or others that cater to specific, unique situations. The federal government and your state also offer many grants that will not have to be paid back.
Familiarize yourself with the route you will have to take to get to your classes prior to your first day. Time your route from one course to the next, and plan the best way to get there. You can also find libraries or cafes on your route to study or eat lunch at if you have time.
Always prepare your testing materials before an exam. Not doing so can make you face a rather difficult disadvantage. Your professor is not going to babysit you and have these things available, so it is up to you to make sure you know what you need.
It is important to use the gym on campus. Not only does exercising help you to stay focused, but the gym is also a great place to meet new people. You can also find friends to join you at the gym, which may enlarge your circle of friends.
Prepare yourself on important testing days by getting a good breakfast beforehand. A breakfast of any type will help you stay focused and alert during a test. Your brain cannot function as well on an empty stomach and its growling will distract you from your exam. Therefore, it is advisable to eat a breakfast with plenty of protein to help keep your mind alert.
When you start class, take the time to introduce yourself to your professors. Learn the location of their offices and their office hours. It’s critical to have a good relationship with them if you need extra time on an assignment or their understanding on another issue.
Always pay the balance of your credit card. This prevents several penalties and late fees. If paying off your balance is too difficult, keep a credit card to use in emergencies only. You are going to college to get an education, not a social life, so try to avoid the temptation of using your credit card for entertainment expenses. Don’t let yourself become distracted by financial woes.
Used textbooks are king. It can be very costly to buy the books you need for school. Paying for college puts you in the position of needing to save money. Search for used bookstores and online options. Used textbooks can often be bought at a considerable discount.
Remember to register for your classes early. If you postpone, you may not get the classes you had in mind. This could extend your college career. Register for your classes the first day that they are offered. That will ensure you aren’t scrambling.
Try to avoid buying coffee every morning. This is way too expensive. Brew your own coffee. This can help reduce the expense without hurting the quality that much. Getting a good coffee machine for cheap is easy if you just browse around for one.
You are probably less scared of college since reading this article. As you have learned, it is possible for anyone to graduate when armed with the proper tools and right planning. Use what you have learned in this article. You may even be able to graduate with academic honors. Success is in your reach!
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