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Nuclear power plants and the risks posed by natural disasters are under increased public attention since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan melted down and released enormous amounts of radiation. On March 11 of this year, a catastrophic tsunami and 9.0-magnitude earthquake slammed into the heart of this coastal city, knocking out the vital cooling system to the nuclear reactors. Experts are now saying it could take 30 years to clean up.
In August of this year, an earthquake rattled the eastern wall of the United States, with shocks felt from South Carolina all the way up to Boston. The epicenter of the quake was about 11 miles from the North Anna Power Station, home of two nuclear reactors. These reactors were shut down, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently deciding whether or not the station should return to service. 1.9 million people live within 50 miles of the North Anna nuclear plant.
Last weekend, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake devastated the nation of Turkey, producing over one hundred aftershocks from its epicenter in Tabanli. This epicenter is about 100 miles from the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in Armenia, which National Geographic once referred to as the world’s “most dangerous nuclear plant." While no immediate damage was found after experiencing about a 3.0-magnitude shock from the earthquake, this plant sits on one of the world’s more earthquake-prone fault lines, and is only 20 miles from the Armenian capital of Yerevan, home to over 1,000,000 residents.
Nuclear plants are not only one of the most deadly potential terrorist targets, but also a threat due to natural disasters. “Radioactive zones” continue to pop up in areas all around the Fukushima plant – areas in which kids play, people work, and animals live. One suburban area, over 100 miles away from the plant, has detected radiation levels as high as areas within the Fukushima nuclear plant evacuation zone, almost eight months after the disaster.
Natural disasters are unavoidable and generally unforeseeable, but the nuclear disasters they can create can be avoided if we move away from dangerous nuclear power in favor of safe, renewable energy.
Interested in seeing if your location lies in a nuclear risk zone? Check out our nuclear locator map to find the nuclear plant nearest to you.
Matthew is a youth blogger at Greenpeace, USA.
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There’s a part of the zoo you’ve probably never seen, and most likely have never even heard of. Tucked away behind the Education Center, it’s known simply as the Animal Room. That’s a pretty ordinary name for part of a zoo, but it’s got a unique function. It’s where all the Education Department animals live—the ones used for programs such as Zoo Camp, Zoomobile, Wildlife Theater, scout programs and birthday parties. These animals don’t simply hang out at the Zoo, waiting for visitors to come by. They go out and do the visiting themselves, traveling throughout the Bay Area. And for the last six years, these special animals have been looked after by a special keeper named Chris.
It’s Chris’ job to see that these animals are taken care of and ready for their important job as ambassadors for the Zoo. There’s a lot of coming and going in the Animal Room, so it takes a good system to keep everything running smoothly. Her day begins before 8 o’clock, when she does a preliminary visual check of all her animals (which total nearly three dozen.) Here, she looks for things that indicate their well-being, such as how much food was consumed overnight and if enrichment items were used– also noting their appearance and behavior. Later, during the daily business of feeding and cleaning, Chris has ample opportunity to get a more in-depth look at her animals. She makes sure to handle each one at least once a day to keep them well acclimated to being touched.
Communication with Zoo staff is crucial. Since she’s routinely in and out of the room during the course of her day, Chris needs to make sure that all the pertinent information about the animals is passed on to those who’ll be handling them. With the Animal Availability Board, she posts such things as who’s just been fed, who’s currently under medical observation and which snakes are “in shed” (shedding their skin.) As a back-up, Chris uses a series of color-coded tags attached to the cages which further indicate issues with particular animals. This way, animals that need to be left alone for a while are not accidentally taken out on a program and handled. In return, the Education staff uses another series of tags to indicate to Chris the specific location of each animal that’s currently out in the field. This way, she won’t think that a hedgehog hopped out and took a walk around the Zoo if she noticed that its cage was empty.
What types of animals does Chris take care of? She’s got snakes, parrots, turtles, frogs, hedgehogs, and even giant African millipedes. And where do they go? In the ZooMobile program, they go to schools, senior centers and private birthday parties at homes throughout the greater East Bay– as far away as Livermore, Newark and Sunol. But before they can take these animals off Zoo grounds or even handle them here on the premises, the Education staff needs to go through a 3-part training and certification process for each individual species, which Chris oversees.
Chris also trains other staff in animal handling, including docents, interns, apprentices, and Twigs (teen volunteers.) She also sends out weekly emails to the Education staff in the form of Animal Room Updates. And in her spare time, she does research on possible new animals for her collection. But despite her heavy workload and numerous responsibilities, Chris finds her job very rewarding. So the next time you enjoy one of the Oakland Zoo’s many animal programs, think of Chris, the person who
helped make it possible!
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Nov. 26, 2010 Boston University researchers have developed a simple diagnostic tool that can quickly identify dangerous viruses like Ebola and Marburg. The biosensor, which is the size of a quarter and can detect viruses in a blood sample, could be used in developing nations, airports and other places where natural or man-made outbreaks could erupt.
"By enabling ultra-portable and fast detection, our technology can directly impact the course of our reaction against bio-terrorism threats and dramatically improve our capability to confine viral outbreaks," said Assistant Professor Hatice Altug of the Boston University College of Engineering, who co-led the research team with Assistant Professor John Connor of the Boston University School of Medicine.
Traditional virus diagnostic tools are effective, but require significant infrastructure and sample preparation time. The new biosensor developed at Boston University directly detects live viruses from biological media with little to no sample preparation. The breakthrough is detailed in the Nov. 5 online edition of Nano Letters.
From bird flu to H1N1, outbreaks of fast-spreading viral diseases in recent years have sparked concern of pandemics similar to the 1918 Spanish Flu that caused more than 50 million deaths. A significant fraction of today's viral threats are viruses that use RNA to replicate. Individuals infected with these viruses often show symptoms that are not virus-specific, making them difficult to diagnose. Among them are hemorrhagic fever viruses, such as Ebola and Marburg, which could be used as bio-warfare agents. Critical to identifying and containing future epidemics of RNA-based viruses is the development of rapid, sensitive diagnostic techniques that healthcare providers can quickly deploy so that infected individuals can be quickly identified and treated.
Partly funded through the Boston University Photonics Center and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, and working in collaboration with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, the team has demonstrated reliable detection of hemorrhagic fever virus surrogates (i.e. for the Ebola virus) and pox viruses (such as monkeypox or smallpox) in ordinary biological laboratory settings.
"Our platform can be easily adapted for point-of-care diagnostics to detect a broad range of viral pathogens in resource-limited clinical settings at the far corners of the world, in defense and homeland security applications as well as in civilian settings such as airports," said Altug.
Connor noted an additional, significant advantage of the new technology. "It will be relatively easy to develop a diagnostic device that simultaneously tests for several different viruses," he observed. "This could be extremely helpful in providing the proper diagnosis."
The new biosensor is the first to detect intact viruses by exploiting plasmonic nanohole arrays, or arrays of apertures with diameters of about 200 to 350 nanometers on metallic films that transmit light more strongly at certain wavelengths. When a live virus in a sample solution, such as blood or serum, binds to the sensor surface, the refractive index in the close vicinity of the sensor changes, causing a detectable shift in the resonance frequency of the light transmitted through the nanoholes. The magnitude of that shift reveals the presence and concentration of the virus in the solution.
"Unlike PCR and ELISA approaches, our method does not require enzymatic amplification of a signal or fluorescent tagging of a product, so samples can be read immediately following pathogen binding," said Altug. Ahmet Yanik, Altug's research associate who conducted the experiments, added, "Our platform can detect not only the presence of the intact viruses in the analyzed samples, but also indicate the intensity of the infection process."
The researchers are now working on a highly portable version of their biosensor platform using microfluidic technology designed for use in the field with minimal training.
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
- Ahmet A. Yanik, Min Huang, Osami Kamohara, Alp Artar, Thomas W. Geisbert, John H. Connor, Hatice Altug. An Optofluidic Nanoplasmonic Biosensor for Direct Detection of Live Viruses from Biological Media. Nano Letters, 2010; : 101108150434096 DOI: 10.1021/nl103025u
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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SEATTLE — A healthy diet is expensive and could make it difficult for Americans to meet new U.S. nutritional guidelines, according to a study published Thursday that says the government should do more to help consumers eat healthier.
An update of what used to be known as a food pyramid in 2010 had called on Americans to eat more foods containing potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium. But if they did that, the study authors said, they would add hundreds more dollars to their annual grocery bill.
Inexpensive ways to add these nutrients to a person’s diet include potatoes and beans for potassium and dietary fiber. But the study found introducing more potassium in a diet is likely to add $380 per year to the average consumer’s food costs, said lead researcher Pablo Monsivais, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.
“We know more than ever about the science of nutrition, and yet we have not yet been able to move the needle on healthful eating,” he said.
He criticized some of the marketing for a healthy diet - for example, the image of a plate of salmon, leafy greens and maybe some rice pilaf - and said a meal like that is not affordable for many Americans.
Food-assistance programs are helping people make healthier choices by providing coupons to buy fruits and vegetables, Mr. Monsivais said, but some also put stumbling blocks in front of the poor. He mentioned, as an example, a Washington state policy making it difficult to buy potatoes with food-assistance coupons for women with children, even though potatoes are one of the least expensive ways to add potassium to a diet.
The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, was based on a random telephone survey of about 2,000 adults in King County, Wash., followed by a printed questionnaire that was returned by about 1,300 people. They noted what food they ate, which was analyzed for nutrient content and estimated cost.
People who spend the most on food tend to get the closest to meeting the federal guidelines for potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium, the study found. Those who spend the least have the lowest intakes of the four recommended nutrients and the highest consumption of saturated fat and added sugar.
Hilary Seligman, assistant professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, said Mr. Monsivais‘ research is an interesting addition to the debate about healthy eating and food insecurity, her area of expertise.
A lot of people assume the poor eat cheap food because it tastes good, but they would make better choices if they could afford to, said Miss Seligman, who was not involved in the study.
“Almost 15 percent of households in America say they don’t have enough money to eat the way they want to eat,” she said. Recent estimates show 49 million Americans make food decisions based on cost, she added.
“Right now, a huge chunk of America just isn’t able to adhere to these guidelines,” she said.
But Mr. Monsivais may have oversimplified the problem, according to another professor who does research in this area. Parke Wilde, associated professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said it’s not expensive to get all the nutrients a body needs to meet the federal guidelines.
'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
A collection of reader guest articles, thoughts and opinions by Communities writers and breaking news and information.
Reflections on raising families in a holistic way -- with a focus on nutrition and alternative health.
Join the Communities and submit your column in response to one written, or on something totally new and unique. We want to hear from you
A carefully guided tour through the confusing world of modern bookselling and publishing.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
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Our guest blogger today is Dr. Karyl Ketchum, an Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies at California State Fullerton. After experiencing how anti-LGBT bullying and discrimination affected her daughter’s high school she decided to take a stand; through her efforts and those of her University peers, Dr. Ketchum has developed an online course which seeks to educate teachers, staff, students, and the entire community about school bullying. Here is her story:
On January 23, 2009, three senior male athletes at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach California posted a video on the public Facebook “wall” of a fourth senior male athlete. In this video they laughingly and graphically discussed shooting my daughter in the head and raping her in the back of a truck. They also used homophobic language throughout the recording—“outing” a student they presumed to be gay, and directing homophobic slurs toward other students. Shortly thereafter, the school’s principal cancelled the up-coming school production of the musical “RENT!” because, as retold by the theatre teacher, “she did not want homosexuals portrayed on the school campus.” My daughter was also one of the cast members in this production. These events—and the stories we subsequently heard from LGBTQ students about the years of torment they had endured at Corona del Mar High School—launched our family into an emotional odyssey that culminated in an ACLU lawsuit instated on behalf of our daughter, the female students at the school, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students who attended Corona del Mar High. The lawsuit was settled out of court and all our requests were met. The district agreed to implement anti-bias training for teachers, staff and students.
There were at least two things I took away from this experience. One: While there are excellent laws here in California that very clearly require schools to protect students from such forms of harassment, these laws do not include penalties or incentives. This means that when schools violate these laws, a student’s only recourse is to file a lawsuit. And, two: Teachers and school officials are at a sincere loss when it comes to addressing bullying. This is particularly true when the harassment includes a focus on gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and/or perceived sexual orientation. As a professor in the Women and Gender Studies Program at Cal State Fullerton, I began to talk with colleagues about how we might address this lack of information. The answer came in the form of a new and exciting first-of-its-kind online course.
Through the help and support of many people across the Cal State Fullerton campus—including the invaluable assistance of PFLAG South Orange County's Vice President, Michelle Rouse, who is also a student here at CSUF—"Understanding and Addressing Bullying” will be offered online beginning July 14, 2012 through the CSUF College of Extended Education. This course has been designed specifically to give teachers, administrators, staff and school board members the ability to recognize and to effectively address the dynamics of student bullying with a focus on bullying as it relates to gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and/or perceived sexual orientation. The course provides information about the unique circumstances of LGBTQ students; the relationship between homophobia and misogyny; the reach and effects of cyber bullying; and the importance of understanding schools as social systems, among other themes. It also offers information on state and federal anti-bullying laws, precedent-setting legal decisions, and success stories of schools that have re-set their campus cultures by addressing the underlying dynamics of school bullying. Importantly, the course includes a final unit entitled “What To Do When Things Go Wrong: Responding to Students and Campuses in Crisis.” The five-week course is organized through a series of multi-media learning modules developed and team-taught by experts in the fields of Education, Psychology, Health, Public Policy, Gender Studies and the Law. It also includes recorded interviews with students who have experienced bullying, former bullies, teachers, parents and school administrators—several of whom are also PFLAG members. You can learn more about the course and register for it on the Cal State Fullerton College of Extended Education’s website here: http://extension.fullerton.edu/bullying/
As PFLAG members are well aware, when we have young people dying from suicide who have disturbing incidences of anti-LGBTQ bullying in their pasts, , something has gone terribly wrong. It is our hope that this course will give educators the tools they need to transform their campuses, moving well beyond “tolerance,” to creating school cultures that celebrate all forms of difference among students. We hope you will help us get the word out about this important course. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if I might answer any questions or offer an additional information on the program.
Thanks for all you do through PFLAG.
Karyl E. Ketchum, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor, Women & Gender Studies
California State University, Fullerton
Office: Humanities 212D
Phone: (657) 278-2480
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Like any other form of matter gas molecules feel the gravitational pull of the planet they surround, so they're attracted to the planet by gravity. At any temperature above absolute zero the atoms/molecules in a gas have a velocity distribution known as the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. As long as their velocities remain well below the escape velocity of the planet the atmosphere will be bound to it.
Although this gives the basic idea it's an oversimplification for several reasons. For example the escape velocity decreases as you move up through the atmosphere, however the temperature changes as well so the average gas atom/molecule velocity also changes with height. Also even if the average is well below the escape velocity a small fraction of molecules will have high enough velocities to escape. However even then only molecules near the top of the atmosphere are likely to escape as the mean free path near the ground is too short for even an energetic molecule to escape. Finally radiation from the Sun is an important factor in removing gas molecules from planets. On Earth the magnetic field keeps most of the radiation out, but on Mars gas loss due to solar radiation is important.
For more info you might want to have a look at the Wikipedia article on atmosphere loss.
I'm not sure what your second question is asking as it doesn't seem relevant to atmosphere loss. If you're asking why planets generally have a non-zero tilt this should be posted as a separate question. In brief, for most planets the tilt is chaotic and varies contnuously, and the planet may even flip over completely. Earth's tilt is stabilised by the moon and varies only slightly with time.
Re the revised question: At any given temperature the average velocity of lighter gas molecules is greater than heavier gas molecules, so it's the ligher gas molecules that escape most easily. For example the Earth loses a few kg of hydrogen per second but almost no oxygen or nitrogen.
However if the rate of loss of a light gas is very fast it can carry molecules of heavier gases along as well by colliding with them and transferring momentum to the heavier molecules. This is known as hydrodynamic escape. Note that this only happens when there is a rapid loss rate of the lighter gas, so it isn't happening to any significant extent on any of the planets in the solar system.
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Archaeologists are reaching out to the public in hopes of solving a 2,800+ year old mystery as several strange V shaped marks were discovered recently during a dig in East Jerusalem.
Cue the producers of Ancient Aliens as it must be the work of extraterrestrials who were teaching Israelites how to commemorate a Canasta win, “V” for Victory they said in the ancient texts.
Actually the Archaeologists who uncovered the strange markings carved in the limestone floor of a room are so stumped that they are seeking help from anyone who might have a clue as to the nature of these odd impressions.
The Three “V” shaped marks measure approx. 20 inches long and 2 inches deep were found during an ongoing excavation under the oldest section of the city. More specifically in a Palestinian neighborhood known as Silwan.
The State sponsored dig is being led by government Archaeologist Eli Shukron, one of two directors handling the massive project.
Shukron says they are reaching out because they have “never seen anything like it” and are finding it difficult to even theorize as to the origin of the markings.
Read on for more on this intriguing story:
JERUSALEM (AP) — Mysterious stone carvings made thousands of years ago and recently uncovered in an excavation underneath Jerusalem have archaeologists stumped.
Israeli diggers who uncovered a complex of rooms carved into the bedrock in the oldest section of the city recently found the markings: Three “V” shapes cut next to each other into the limestone floor of one of the rooms, about 2 inches (5 centimeters) deep and 20 inches (50 centimeters) long. There were no finds to offer any clues pointing to the identity of who made them or what purpose they served.
The archaeologists in charge of the dig know so little that they have been unable even to posit a theory about their nature, said Eli Shukron, one of the two directors of the dig.
“The markings are very strange, and very intriguing. I’ve never seen anything like them,” Shukron said.
The shapes were found in a dig known as the City of David, a politically sensitive excavation conducted by Israeli government archaeologists and funded by a nationalist Jewish group under the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem. The rooms were unearthed as part of the excavation of fortifications around the ancient city’s only natural water source, the Gihon spring.
It is possible, the dig’s archaeologists say, that when the markings were made at least 2,800 years ago the shapes might have accommodated some kind of wooden structure that stood inside them, or they might have served some other purpose on their own. They might have had a ritual function or one that was entirely mundane. Archaeologists faced by a curious artifact can usually at least venture a guess about its nature, but in this case no one, including outside experts consulted by Shukron and the dig’s co-director, archaeologists with decades of experience between them, has any idea.
There appears to be at least one other ancient marking of the same type at the site. A century-old map of an expedition led by the British explorer Montague Parker, who searched for the lost treasures of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem between 1909 and 1911, includes the shape of a “V” drawn in an underground channel not far away. Modern archaeologists haven’t excavated that area yet.
Ceramic shards found in the rooms indicate they were last used around 800 B.C., with Jerusalem under the rule of Judean kings, the dig’s archaeologists say. At around that time, the rooms appear to have been filled with rubble to support the construction of a defensive wall.
It is unclear, however, whether they were built in the time of those kings or centuries earlier by the Canaanite residents who predated them.
The purpose of the complex is part of the riddle. The straight lines of its walls and level floors are evidence of careful engineering, and it was located close to the most important site in the city, the spring, suggesting it might have had an important function.
A unique find in a room beside the one with the markings — a stone like a modern grave marker, which was left upright when the room was filled in — might offer a clue. Such stones were used in the ancient Middle East as a focal point for ritual or a memorial for dead ancestors, the archaeologists say, and it is likely a remnant of the pagan religions which the city’s Israelite prophets tried to eradicate. It is the first such stone to be found intact in Jerusalem excavations.
But the ritual stone does not necessarily mean the whole complex was a temple. It might simply have marked a corner devoted to religious practice in a building whose purpose was commonplace.
With the experts unable to come up with a theory about the markings, the City of David dig posted a photo on its Facebook page and solicited suggestions. The results ranged from the thought-provoking — “a system for wood panels that held some other item,” or molds into which molten metal would could have been poured — to the fanciful: ancient Hebrew or Egyptian characters, or a “symbol for water, particularly as it was near a spring.”
The City of David dig, where the carvings were found, is the most high-profile and politically contentious excavation in the Holy Land. Named for the biblical monarch thought to have ruled from the spot 3,000 years ago, the dig is located in what today is east Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in 1967. Palestinians claim that part of the city as the capital of a future state.
The dig is funded by Elad, an organization affiliated with the Israeli settlement movement. The group also moves Jewish families into the neighborhood and elsewhere in east Jerusalem in an attempt to render impossible any division of the city in a future peace deal.
Palestinians and some Israeli archaeologists have criticized the dig for what they say is an excessive focus on Jewish remains. The dig’s archaeologists, who work under the auspices of the government’s Israel Antiquities Authority, deny that charge.
OK, now it’s up to all you sleuthy researchers to come up with the answer. I know we have plenty of intelligent people out there, lets see you in action.
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Women’s rights, the unfinished struggleWritten by Admin
To the Editor:
Throughout America’s history courageous women have struggled to achieve social and political freedom and equality. They have fought against laws and cultural and religious traditions assigning them subservient roles in American society. This long struggle has produced many heroines.
Colonial American Anne Hutchinson defied laws forbidding women to speak publicly and interpret the word of God. Forbidden the right to defend herself, she was tried and convicted of heresy, and banished from Massachusetts Colony. Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, over her frustration regarding the inferior role of women in America. This meeting, attended by 68 women and 32 men, marks the birth of the women’s rights movement.
In 19th century America, women were not allowed to inherit property, sue for divorce or retain custody of their children. Brave women who spoke publicly against cultural and legal restrictions on their freedom were persecuted and labeled unfeminine. Gradually, their cause gained support from mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. Women exerted pressure on male lawmakers and by the end of the century these legal restrictions were eliminated.
Another heroine, Susan B. Anthony, began working for women’s rights in mid-1800. Her struggle to gain the vote for women continued until her death in 1906. The 70-year-long crusade for women’s suffrage became a reality with the passage of the 19th Amendment. No political party can take credit for this victory. It came about because dedicated women worked tirelessly, putting pressure on male legislators and vigorously campaigning against elected officials who opposed women’s right to vote.
Women have struggled for centuries for equality in the workplace. The Lilly Ledbetter Act was passed in 2009, guaranteeing women equal pay for equal work. Responding to corporate lobbyists, Congress later rejected legislation requiring disclosure of workers’ pay by business owners. Inequality continues when women can’t know if their pay equals that of their male counterparts.
Today women are fighting for the right to control decisions regarding their own bodies. Male-dominated legislators pass laws restricting women’s right to choose. Lingering cultural and religious attitudes view women as being emotionally and intellectually inferior, not to be trusted with their own reproductive decisions. Introduction of the “pill” freed women to make choices about family planning. Middle and upper class women can afford good medical care. Many poor and often single women cannot afford this. Planned Parenthood fills this need providing many services including reproductive counseling and cancer screening.
Most women and men understand women are capable of making responsible choices regarding their bodies without government intervention. Some current legislators, including Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, hold contradictory attitudes about a woman’s right to affordable health care. They argue poor women shouldn’t have children while opposing funding for Planned Parenthood providing women access to responsible health care. Concerned voters must examine the position on women’s rights of candidates running for elective office. Today’s women owe a great debt to the courageous heroines from our past. We must carry their torch to the finish line.
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|Scientific Name||Hylobates moloch|
|Length||1.4 to 2 feet (45-64 cm)|
|Weight||11-20 pounds (5-9 kg)|
|Life span||35 years in wild; up to 50 years in captivity|
|Number of young||1 at a time|
|Age of maturity||6 to 7 years|
Swingin in the rain
Javan gibbons live in the rain forest regions of Java, which is an island in Indonesia. At the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, you’ll find the Javan Gibbon in the Indonesia Rainforest. Makes sense, huh?
What helps them get around?
Like all gibbons, Javan gibbons have very long forelimbs, long fingers and shorter thumbs which make them great brachiators. That means they swing between branches in trees.
They’re so fluffy!!!
Javan Gibbons have a fluffy appearance because of their very dense and long silvery-grey fur.
It’s a family thing
Family groups are made up of a male and female and up to three juvenile offspring.
Controlling their turf
Like other gibbons, their territory is maintained by patrols, physical conflict and loud calling. Often, the male and female pair will sing together, creating a sort of musical duet in the forest.
Note: The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is one of only two zoos in North America to exhibit this rare species. The other is the Greensboro Science Center in North Carolina.
- Some leaves
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Portrait of a Young ChildMade in United States, North and Central America
Artist/maker unknown, American
Oil on canvas
Currently not on view
1980-64-7Gift of the estate of Edgar W. and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1980
LabelPortraits of children became more popular during the first half of the nineteenth century, reflecting changing attitudes toward childhood. Because of high child mortality rates, many of the portraits were painted posthumously. Whether this example falls into that category is unknown as it contains none of the usual visual clues, such as drooping roses, morning glories, or boats sailing off into the distance. Because children of this period dressed alike until about the age of six, it is only the hairstyle-with its side part and little flip in the back-that identifies the subject as a boy.
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| 0.949108
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differences or changes in water quality. Phytoplankton
samples may be collected in large nonwadeable streams and
rivers to meet specific study-unit objectives.
Algal samples are labeled with a unique 16-character code
that identifies the study unit (stream location), sampling
date, type of sample, subtypes, sample number, and sample
element code. Optional algal samples for the determination
of chlorophyll conce ntrations or ash-free dry mass are
processed in the field, placed on dry ice, and submitted to
the National Water-Quality Laboratory in Arvada, Colorado.
Samples for the identification and enumeration of algal taxa
are preserved with buffered formalin an d shipped to a
contract laboratory for analysis. The Biological
Quality-Assurance Unit has responsibility for laboratory
quality assurance and quality control, entry of contractor
data into the national data base, and storage and
maintenance of taxonomic collections. The Biological
Quality-Assurance Unit also monitors the accuracy of
taxonomic identifications and precision of enumeration by
analyzing split samples from 10 percent of the study-unit
Aloi, J.E.,1990, A critical review of recent freshwater
periphyton field methods: Canadian Journal of Fisheries
and Aquatic Sciences, v. 47, p. 656-670.
Antoine, S.E., and Benson-Evans, K., 1983, The effect of
light intensity on the growth of benthic algae, II,
Population dynamics: Archives fur Hydrobiologie, v.
99, no. 1, pl. 118-128.
_____ 1985, The epipelic algal flora of the River Wye
system, Wales, U.K., I, Productivity and total biomass
dynamics: International Revue gesamten Hydrobiologia,
v. 70, no. 4, p. 575-589.
Baillie, P.W., 1986, Oxygenation of intertidal estuarine
sediments by benthic microalgal photosynthesis:
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, v. 22, p.
Barnese, L.E., and Lowe, R.L., 1992, Effects of
substrate, light, and benthic invertebrates on algal
drift in small streams: Journal of the North American
Benthological Society, v. 11, no. 1, p. 49-59.
Belanger, S.E., Lowe R.L., and Rosen, B.H., 1985,The
effects of current and cell size on epiphytism of
Synedra parasitica var. parasitica on
Surirella robusta var. splendida:
Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, v.
104, no. 4, p. 378-386.
Biggs, B.J.F., 1988, Artificial substrate exposure times
for periphyton biomass estimates in rivers: New Zealand
Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, v. 22, p.
Britton, L.J., and Greeson, P.E., 1988, Methods for
collection and analysis of aquatic biological and
microbiological samples: U.S. Geological Survey
Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations, book 5,
chap. A4, 363 p.
Cairns, J., Jr., Plafkin, J.L., Kaesler, R.L., and Lowe,
R.L., 1983, Early colonization patterns of diatoms and
protozoa in fourteen fresh-water lakes: Journal of
Protozoology, v. 30, p. 47-51.
Charles, D.F., 1985, Relationships between surface
sediment diatom assemblages and lakewater
characteristics in Andirondack Lakes: Ecology, v. 66,
no. 3, p. 994-1011.
Cholnoky, B.J., 1968, Die okologie der diatomeen in
binnengewasser: Lehre, West Germany, J. Cramer
Publishers, 699 p.
Clesceri, L.S., Greenberg, A.E., and Trussell, R.R.,
eds., 1989, Standard methods for the examination of
water and wastewater, 17th ed.: Washington, D.C.,
American Public Health Association, American Water Works
Association, and Water Pollution Control Federation, p.
10-1 - 10-68.
Cuffney, T.F., Gurtz, M.E., and Meador, M.R., 1993,
Methods for collecting benthic invertebrate samples as
part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program:
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 93-407, 66 p.
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<urn:uuid:e2dcb079-151b-4b9a-ad3f-98d2333709dc>
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|
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The Tree Container Library (TCL) is a class template library that you can use to store data elements in a tree-like structure. The TCL consists of four templatized container classes, similar to those found in the STL. These classes allow storage of basic data types or user-defined types to be stored as nodes within a tree structure. Each node of the tree is considered a tree itself, having all the properties of a tree container. So, any operations that can be performed on the tree container likewise can be performed on any node within the tree. Iterators are provided to allow the transversal of the tree nodes. Insert and find operations, as well as various other operations, are also provided. The TCL provides four tree containers that differ according to their intention of use:
- tree: The tree container is used for tree structures in which every sibling node is unique, or rather, every child node of a particular parent can be uniquely distinguished. Non-sibling nodes need not be unique.
- multitree: The multitree container is used for tree structures in which siblings need not be unique, or rather, children which have the same parent node need not be distinguishable.
- unique_tree: The unique_tree container is used for tree structures in which every node in the tree is unique. Because every node in the tree is guaranteed to be unique, the unique tree offers a find_deep() operation, as well as other operations different from tree and multitree.
- sequential_tree: The sequential_tree container is used for tree structures in which the tree nodes remain in the same order in which they are inserted. Any or all nodes may later be sorted, by using a binary predicate or function object.
The tree and multitree are very similar in operation and interface. The difference between the two is much like the difference between the set and multiset in the STL. The unique_tree offers many more features because each node in the tree is unique. For example, the find() operation is available to tree, multitree, and unique_tree, which searches for a matching node contained within a single parent node. The unique_tree offers an additional operation, find_deep(), which not only searches the parent node's immediate children but also searches its descendants.
The unique_tree also offers extensions to the common interface for the three tree types. For example, all four trees offer the insert(child) operation, in which a child is inserted in the parent issuing the insert operation. The unique_tree offers an extension to this and other operations. So, the unique_tree provides another insert operation insert(parent, child), which inserts the child in the specified parent node (if found).
tree, multitree, and unique_tree are considered associative tree containers because they all use std::set for internal child node containment. sequential_tree, however, uses a std::vector to store the child nodes. Thus, sequential_tree does not offer find() operations like the associative tree containers do. sequential_tree has its unique operations, however, like multiple sort() operations that can be used to sort any/all of the child nodes within their parent. The associative trees do not need sort() operations because their nodes are ordered naturally.
Like the STL, the TCL uses iterators in many of its operations. Not only can iterators be used to traverse the tree structures in various ways, many of the operations performed on the trees returns an iterator, such as the find() and insert() operations. The most common iterators in the library are the iterator and const_iterator. These iterators are created using the same syntax as iterators in the STL. If a tree container contains objects of the type CMyClass, an iterator would be created as tree<CMyClass>::iterator it;, or tree<CMyClass>::const_iterator it;. These two standard iterators traverse only a parents immediate children.
To traverse a parent's descendant nodes as well as its children, there are three more iterators provided: pre_order_iterator, post_order_iterator, and level_order_iterator. The creation of these descendant iterators uses the same syntax as the standard iterators mentioned above.
Like the iterators of STL, the * and -> operators are overridden to return the reference/pointer to the underlying node. Because of this, the underlying node operations are available to the iterators, such as insert() and find(). All nodes have the same interface as the declared tree in which the nodes reside (remember, nodes are themselves trees). This is a very important concept in the TCL. Every node in a tree structure has the same operations of the tree itself because nodes are in fact the same type as the declared tree that it's in. The only difference between a declared tree container and one of its nodes is the simple fact that the declared tree container doesn't have a parent node (it's the root node).
Using the Tree Container Library (TCL) is much like using the container classes in the STL. The syntax and operations are very similar. First, you will need to decide which of the four tree containers will fit your needs. The difference between the tree containers is described above.
The tree and multitree both take two template parameters, the second being optional. The first parameter represents the data type you will store in the container, henceforth called the stored_type. The stored_type can be either a basic data type, such as an int or a string, or a user defined type (class). The second template parameter represents the node comparison operation, a functor, used in the searching and ordering of the nodes, henceforth called the node_compare_type. If not supplied, this template parameter defaults to std::less<stored_type>. So, if the container stores a basic type such as ints, the node_compare_type will default to std::less<int>. If the container stores class objects, you could either supply a < operation for the class that would be used when the node_compare_type defaults to std::less<stored_type>, or, create and use a functor for the second parameter.
The unique_tree takes three template parameters, the last two being optional. The first two template parameters are the same as with the tree and multitree described above. The third template parameter represents another node comparison operation, called the node_order_compare_type that is used for special iterators called ordered_iterators that can be used to determine an alternate ordering of nodes within their parent. An alternate ordering for child nodes can be handy if the comparison operation used to distinguish unique nodes within the unique_tree is not the desired ordering you want to be used to traverse child nodes within a single parent.
The sequential_tree takes a single template parameter, which is required. This parameter represents the data type you will store in the container, stored_type, discussed above. Because this container does not naturally order the nodes within their parent, there is not a node_compare_type that is needed for sequential_tree. The nodes remain in the order in which they were inserted into the tree. This container does, however, offer sorting operations for any or all of the nodes, so the order of the nodes can be changed if desired.
Given the above information, the following are simple declarations of the four tree containers:
- tree<std::string> my_tree;
- multitree<int> my_tree
- unique_tree<CMyClass> my_tree;
- sequential_tree<std::string> my_tree;
The TCL allows for polymorphic storage without the need to store pointers in the tree container. This means that you can store objects of stored_type and class objects derived from stored_type, and those objects will keep their original identity. To do this, you must supply a clone function to the tree container. The container uses the clone function to copy the stored_type or objects derived from stored_type, rather than using the stored_type copy constuctor.
The demo download contains a number of files. The files are all part of four sample console programs. The following list details the four demo programs and their associated files.
- Generic Example: This example shows all three associative tree containers at work. It demonstrates insertion and the use of child_iterators and descendant iterators. It also demonstrates the difference between the three types of associative tree containers, by attempting to insert duplicate nodes.
- generic_example.cpp: The CPP file to use in your console project.
- generic_example_explanation.rtf: An RTF file that explains the example code in detail.
- generic_example_diagram.jpg: A diagram depicting the tree structure used in the example.
- generic_example_results.jpg: A screenshot of the console results you should expect to see.
- unique_tree Example: This example demonstrates the operations and features of the unique_tree because the unique_tree offers features that the tree, multitree, and sequential_tree do not.
- unique_tree_example.cpp: The CPP file to use in your console project.
- unique_tree_explanation.rtf: An RTF file that explains the example code in detail.
- unique_tree_example_diagram.jpg: A diagram depicting the tree structure used in the example.
- unique_tree_example_results.jpg: A screenshot of the console results you should expect to see.
- Polymorphic Example: This example demonstrates the polymorphic nature of the associative tree containers by inserting derived class objects of the declared tree type.
- polymorphic_example.cpp: The CPP file to be used in your console project.
- polymorphic_example_explanation.rtf: An RTF file that explains the example code in detail.
- polymorphic_example_diagram.jpg: A diagram depicting the tree structure used in the example.
- polymorphic_example_results.jpg: A screenshot of the console results you should expect to see.
- sequential_tree example
- sequential_tree_example.cpp: The CPP file to be used in your console project.
- sequential_tree_example_explanation.rtf: An RTF file which explains in detail the example code.
- sequential_tree_example_diagram.jpg: A diagram depicting the tree structure used in the example.
- sequential_tree_example_results.jpg: A screenshot of the console results you should expect to see.
If you are using Visual C++ 6.0, you will need to uncheck the Enable minimal rebuild option in the project for successful compilation.
The following operations describe the public interface that is available to all four tree containers in the TCL. Many of the basic functions return child iterators. All occurences of the term iterator below refer to the appropriate type of child iterator for the specific tree container or tree_type. Both child iterators, iterator and const_iterator, are bi-directional iterators.
In the function signatures below, stored_type is used to refer to the type of objects being stored in the tree container. The term node_compare_type is used to refer to the function object that provides the comparison operator for the tree nodes.
The following list is categorized for easy reference.
- iterator insert(const stored_type& stored_obj): This is the standard insertion function for all trees. It's overridden in each class, and each in turn calls the similar function in the base class. The parameter is a reference to the stored object being stored in the node. This function is polymorphic, and allows the insertion of objects derived from stored_type. The object is inserted into a child node of the parent in which the function was called. An iterator is returned that points to the inserted node. For tree and unique_tree, if the stored_type object already exists as a child node, the object is not inserted, and the end iterator is returned. For sequential_tree, this function inserts the object as the last child in the parent.
- iterator insert(const tree_type& tree_obj): This function inserts a tree into another tree of the same type. All descendants of the inserted tree are inserted in the process.
- void erase(iterator it):
This operation is available for all trees. It accepts an iterator that points to a child node within a parent to erase.
- bool erase(stored_type& stored_obj): This operation is available for the associative trees only, and not for sequential_tree.
This function varies slightly depending on the tree container that it's called. For a tree, the immediate children are searched. The return result indicates its success. For a multitree, the immediate children are searched, and all occurences of the object are erased. The return result indicates whether any node was erased. For a unique_tree, all descendants are searched. The return result indicates its success.
- void clear(): Clears (erases) all descendants of the node. The node itself is not erased, and its stored_type object remains intact.
All find() operations are available for the associative trees only.
- iterator find(const stored_type& stored_obj): Searches child nodes for the stored_type object. Returns an iterator pointing to the found node, or the end node if unsuccessful. There is a slight variance in the behavior of the multitree container. Because multitrees can have multiple occurences in a single parent, the iterator will return a pointer to the first found occurrence, or the end iterator if not found. Remember that, when searching nodes, the node_compare_type will determine the equality of the node that's being sought.
- const_iterator find(const stored_type& stored_obj) const: Same as the above function, but returns a const_iterator rather than iterator.
Querying node state
- stored_type get(): Returns a pointer to the stored_type object within the node. Remember that the nodes are not themselves objects of store_type, but rather contain objects of those types.
- const stored_type get() const: Returns a const pointer to the stored_type object within the node.
- tree_type* parent(): Returns a pointer to the parent node, or NULL if there is no parent node (indicating that this is the root node).
- bool is_root(): Indicates whether node is the root node in the tree structure.
- bool empty(): Indicates whether or not the node has children. Does not care about the stored_type within the node itself.
- int size(): Returns the number of child nodes within the node. Only counts the immediate children, not the descendants.
Setting node state
- void set(const stored_type& stored_obj): Sets the stored_type object in a node. This function is polymorphic, so the passed type can either be a stored_type or a type derived from stored_type.
- void set(const tree_type& tree_obj): Sets the node to the passed tree object. All descendants of the passed tree object will afterwards be descendants of the node. A copy is made of the passed tree object and all its descendants.
- void for_each(void (*pFcn)(tree_type*)): Calls pFcn(tree_type*) on the node and all its descendants. Uses a pre_order_iterator internally to traverse the descendants.
- void for_each(T& func_ob) Same as the function above, but a function object is passed, rather than a pointer to a function.
- iterator begin(): Returns an iterator pointing to the first child in the node. If the node is empty, returns the end iterator.
- const_iterator begin() const: Same as above, but returns a const_iterator rather than iterator.
- iterator end(): Returns an iterator pointing to past the last child node. Iterators can be checked against the end iterator to see whether an operation succeeded, or whether they have traversed through all the children.
- const_iterator end() const: Same as above, but returns a const_iterator rather than iterator.
- pre_order_iterator pre_order_begin(): Returns the beginning pre_order_iterator for the node. pre_order_begin() will by nature return an iterator pointing to the first immediate child, if any.
- const_pre_order_iterator pre_order_begin() const: Same as above, but returns a const_pre_order_iterator
- pre_order_iterator pre_order_end(): Returns the ending pre_order_iterator for the node. When using the pre_order_iterator, it must be checked against pre_order_end() to know when all the descendants have been traversed.
- const_pre_order_iterator pre_order_end() const: Same as above, but returns a const_pre_order_iterator
- post_order_iterator post_order_begin(): Returns the beginning post_order_iterator for the node. post_order_begin() will, by nature, return an iterator pointing to the deepest first descendant node, if any.
- const_post_order_iterator post_order_begin() const: Same as above, but returns a const_post_order_iterator
- post_order_iterator post_order_end(): Returns the ending post_order_iterator for the node. When using the post_order_iterator, it must be checked against post_order_end() to know when all the descendants have been traversed.
- const_post_order_iterator post_order_end() const: Same as above, but returns a const_post_order_iterator.
- level_order_iterator level_order_begin(): Returns the beginning level_order_iterator for the node. level_order_begin() will, by nature, return an iterator pointing to the first immediate child, if any.
- const_level_order_iterator level_order_begin() const: Same as above, but returns a const_level_order_iterator.
- level_order_iterator level_order_end(): Returns the ending level_order_iterator for the node. When using the level_order_iterator, it must be checked against level_order_end() to know when all the descendants have been traversed.
- const_level_order_iterator level_order_end() const: Same as above, but returns a const_level_order_iterator
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(AP) -- Just as the first storms of winter roll in, Dutchman Johan Huibers has finished his 20-year quest to build a full-scale, functioning model of Noah's Ark — an undertaking of, well, biblical proportions.
Huibers, a Christian, used books 6-9 of Genesis as his inspiration, following the instructions God gives Noah down to the last cubit.
Translating to modern measurements, Huibers came up with a vessel that works out to a whopping 427 feet (130 meters) long, 95 feet (29 meters) across and 75 feet (23 meters) high. Perhaps not big enough to fit every species on Earth, two by two, as described in the Bible, but plenty of space, for instance, for a pair elephants to dance a tango.
Johan's Ark towers across the flat Dutch landscape and is easily visible from a nearby highway where it lies moored in the city of Dordrecht, just south of Rotterdam.
Gazing across the ark's main hold, a huge space of stalls supported by a forest of pine trees, visitors gaze upon an array of stuffed and plastic animals, such as buffalo, zebra, gorillas, lions, tigers, bears, you name it. Elsewhere on the ark is a petting zoo with actual live animals that are less dangerous or easier to care for — such as ponies, dogs, sheep, and rabbits — and an impressive aviary of exotic birds.
"This boat — it's amazing," said Alfred Jongile, visiting from South Africa with his Dutch wife.
For Huibers, a builder by trade, it all began with a nightmare he had in 1992, when the low-lying Netherlands was flooded, as it has been many times throughout its history.
Johan's Ark also contains a restaurant on the topmost level and a movie theater capable of seating 50 people. Around the edges of each level of the craft are displays on ancient Middle Eastern history and dress, scenes from the life of Noah, and games for kids, including water pumps and a system of levers to lift bales of hay.
Down below there is a honeycomb system of hatches, each opening into an area where food could be sealed in for long-term storage.
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Substance group normalises division of epidermis cells
This press release is also available in German.
Cell biologists of the University of Bonn, in cooperation with the University of Leeds (U.K.) and industry may have discovered a new effective therapy for psoriasis: a specific group of what are known as metalloproteinase inhibitors can normalise the increased tendency of epidermis cells (keratinocytes) to divide, which is the cause of this unpleasant lepidosis. The researchers were not able to detect any toxic side-effects, at least not in cell cultures. Their findings are now being published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (Vol. 123, No. 3).
About two million Germans suffer from psoriasis (from the Greek psora meaning 'itching, scratching'). In this incurable disease the regeneration of the epidermis is speeded up enormously: whereas it normally renews itself in just under four weeks, this period is cut to four to seven days in psoriasis patients. The reason is the greatly increased rate of cell division of the keratinocytes. They form a layer which separates the epidermis from the dermis, which lies beneath it. The ageing cells pass from this germinal layer to the surface until they finally scale off.
The disease progresses in waves. Its typical features are clearly defined red areas which are covered with silvery white scales. In the Middle Ages they were thought to be the symptoms of leprosy; a large number of the 'lepers' who were persecuted and even burnt were probably suffering from psoriasis, which is not contagious. What is worse than the changes to the skin itself is the stigma attached to the disease: 'During one of the periods when the disease is more intense many patients think that it is unreasonable to expect people to put up with their presence,' the Bonn cytobiologist Professor Volker Herzog explains. 'Some patients withdraw completely; depressions are not infrequent.'
No toxic side-effects
One of the substances which stimulate the division of the keratinocytes is the protein sAPPa. It is produced during the decomposition of a larger protein, APP. The keratinocytes produce an enzyme which cuts the APP down to size as sAPPa: this is known as the a-secretase. Professor Herzog's research team has now blocked these 'molecular scissors'. 'We knew that certain metalloproteinase inhibitors impede the a-secretase. After adding these substances we observed that the discharge of sAPPa was almost completely arrested in the cells of psoriasis patients. As a result, after adding them the greatly increased division rate of the keratinocytes dropped back to normal values by 50 to 60 per cent,' Christina Siemes, a member of Professor Herzog's team, explains. 'We have been able to confirm this in skin specimens of five psoriasis patients.'
The inhibiting effect of the metalloproteinase inhibitors largely wore off within 72 hours. Moreover, even with fivefold concentration of the active ingredient the research team could not detect any toxic side-effects. For example, among other aspects the number of skin cells which entered into apoptosis remained constant – apoptosis is the cells' 'suicide' programme, which enables them to self-destruct when they are malfunctioning. The cellular protein synthesis was also unaffected.
'Treatment using the metalloproteinase inhibitors which we have been investigating seems to be a new and very promising therapeutic option for psoriasis,' Professor Herzog therefore believes. 'This won't be a magic solution to all our problems, of course – after all, every skin reacts differently.' Furthermore, the substances only alleviate the symptoms. They do not remove the root of the evil, viz. the chronic inflammation of the skin caused by constant attacks by the body's own immune system, to which the keratinocytes react with feverish activity in the cell division field.
The researchers now intend to test their method on animals, using naked mice on which they have transplanted the skin tissue of psoriasis patients. They want to apply the active ingredients locally as an ointment. In addition, the first tests on human beings are planned for the immediate future.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
-- Albert Einstein
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Ethan A. Huff
Jan 21, 2011
In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act which contains a subsection that bans the sale of incandescent light bulbs beginning in 2012. But the new Congress recently unveiled the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, or H.R. 91, which would repeal this subsection and restore Americans’ freedom of choice to buy the light bulbs of their choice.
The idea to ban incandescent bulbs emerged from the false notion that compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) are better forthe environmentbecause they use lessenergy. But the truth of the matter is thatCFLsare loaded with toxicmercury, which upon breakage or disposal pollutes theenvironmentvia seepage into groundwater, rivers and lakes, and threatens humanhealth.
“CFLs are sotoxicbecause of the mercury in the glass tubing that the cleanup procedure spelled out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is downright scary,” wrote Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of the Eagle Forum, in an editorial at WND. “The EPA warns that if we break a CFL, we must take the pieces to a recycling center and not launder ‘clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in theclothingmay contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage’.”
Such a scenario hardly sounds “green”. And at the same time,incandescent bulbscontain no toxic chemicals at all. But none of this stopped the Bush Administration from signing thebaninto effect that year.
“People don’t wantCongressdictating what light fixtures they can use,” said Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), one of the co-authors of the new bill. “Traditional incandescent bulbs are cheap and reliable. Alternatives, including the most common replacement Compact Fluorescent Lights or CFLs, are more expensive and health hazards — so why force them on the American people?”
Sources for this story include:
This article was posted: Friday, January 21, 2011 at 6:39 pm
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http://www.infowars.com/congress-introduces-bill-to-stop-upcoming-ban-of-incandescent-light-bulbs/
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Enrichment through rugby union
Some colleges that offer rugby union within their enrichment have found that students not only get the opportunity to run around and have fun, but that they also pick up on other perhaps more important life skills. Team work (collaborative working skills), communication, listening skills, discipline and many more attributes can garnered from rugby union and are essential requirements of the day-to-day working environment.
Playing rugby union comes in many forms, from the full 15-a-side full-contact game to 5-a-side non-contact games such as touch rugby and tag rugby. The non-contact form of the game can be played on almost any surface (not just grass) by any age, sex or ability of player. It is designed to be fun, fast, and easy to learn.
For FE colleges, rugby union allows activity within the timetable for every student department whenever they require it. Students can easily be trained to deliver the sport and it offers a very suitable student volunteering or leadership opportunity. Rugby union can also be used as a delivery module for in-house leadership courses at FE colleges. Alternatively, it can be delivered by the RFU as a Young Leaders Award or even a V-Rugby project.
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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Helen Betty Osborne (1952 - November 13, 1971) was an Aboriginal woman from Norway House reserve who was kidnapped while walking down Third Street in The Pas, Manitoba on the morning of November 13, 1971.
After being kidnapped, she was brutally beaten, raped, and killed. Her unclothed body was found by police after the fact.
Four young white men were implicated in her death: Dwayne Archie Johnston , James Robert Paul Houghton, Lee Scott Colgan and Norman Bernard Manger. It was not until December 1987 that any of them were convicted of the crime, and then only Johnston was convicted, as Houghton had been acquitted, Colgan had received immunity for testifying against Houghton and Johnston, and Manger had never been charged.
The delay in solving the crime was interpreted by many as evidence of police racism towards Aboriginal people, and this event continues to be a source of strain in The Pas to the present day.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
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WEED BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY, AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR COTTON, SOYBEAN, CORN
Location: Crop Production Systems Research Unit
Title: Cogongrass [Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.]
| Maddox, Victor - MISS STATE UNIV |
| Bryson, Charles |
| Byrd, JR., John - MISS STATE UNIV |
Submitted to: Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Research Report
Publication Type: Experiment Station
Publication Acceptance Date: January 30, 2008
Publication Date: January 30, 2008
Citation: Maddox, V., Bryson, C.T., Byrd, Jr., J.D. 2008. Cogongrass [Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.]. Invasive Plant Atlas of Midsouth, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, http://www.gri.msstate.edu/ipams/Species. php.
Interpretive Summary: Cogongrass, a non-native perennial grass, is a major threat to agriculture, forest, right-of-ways, and natural areas in the southeastern United States. Over the past decade, this invasive grass has moved north at an alarming rate and is now recorded from at least one site in 75% of the counties in Mississippi. This fact sheet provides the most current information on regulations, biology, ecology, distribution, and chemical, mechanical, and physical control methods. Unless these cogongrass populations are prevented or eradicated in currently infested areas, additional spread is inevitable.
Cogongrass is a non-native, aggressive, perennial grass that is considered the World’s seventh worst weed. Over the past decade, this invasive grass has moved north and is now recorded from at least one site in 75% of the counties in Mississippi. The most recent discoveries and results from research on cogongrass biology, ecology, distribution, and chemical, mechanical, and physical control methods are provided. To aid in effective identification of cogongrass, morphological comparisons are made with a grass [Bothriochloa saccharoides (Sw.) Rydb.] that looks similar to cogongrass. Prevention of additional of cogongrass spread is dependent on exclusion procedures, early detection, and rapid response with effective control methods.
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Add a comment
Along with Awareness and Will, Trust makes up the trio of central principles of the Inner Game. In some ways, Trust is the most fundamental of the three: the heart of the inner game is about getting your judgemental, conscious self out the way and letting your carefully-honed skills get on with the job.
Many of the basic exercises in the original inner game context of tennis are essentially about trust, and usually involve providing a focus for the conscious brain to keep it occupied and out of mischief so that it doesn’t start interfering with what you’re doing. Saying ‘bounce’ when the ball hits the ground and ‘hit’ when it meets the racket may be an absurdly simply thing to do, but it very effectively silences the distracting stream of inner commentary and keeps your attention on the tennis ball.
Trust exercises for ensembles often have elements of play involved – they invite people to relinquish their dignity and instead engage their fantasy. Examples might include:
- Replacing the given text with a funny word. (Pick your word according to the musical and expressive context, but useful possibilities include: penguin, avocado, toenail and antidisestablishmentarianism.) Encourage the singers to imbue the word with the full meaning of the actual text in all its dramatic glory.
- Sitting-standing-kneeling (as seen in the improvisational game show Whose Line Is It Anyway?). As you sing, each choir member has to make sure that they are in a different position from the singers either side of them.
- Adopt a character quite at odds with actual persona of the music. A Dies Irae sung in the style of an eager four-year-old, for example, or a tender love-song in the style of a vengeful harpy.
These kinds of exercises are useful in a general way for lightening the atmosphere, getting tension of the voices, bodies and minds, and building a sense of team – all of which are by-products of the basic banishment of negative self-talk. But you can also deploy trust games more strategically to promote specific learning goals. Singing ‘bingo’ every time your part has an accidental supports the development of music literacy; or, at a more advanced stage, singing ‘bingo’ every time the music features a secondary dominant.
In a choral situation of course, you have the double layer of trust issues: the basic inner game issue of trusting yourself, and the ensemble issue of trusting each other. My hunch is that these two layers are interdependent. It is hard to immerse yourself into the musical flow if you know that another singer is liable to criticise your part for its tuning periodically throughout the rehearsal; likewise, it is hard believe in your colleagues if you don’t believe in yourself.
And this has particular relevance for directors. If we want to help our singers trust themselves, we also need to trust them. Yes of course they are going to make mistakes – they are after all human beings, and that’s why we have rehearsals after all. But we don’t have to spend our rehearsals waiting to pounce on them, and we certainly don’t have to interrupt the singers every two bars over every mis-matched vowel. If we offer our singers the opportunity to make music, to create beauty, to be expressive, they will reward us with much better quality attention when we turn to the detailed work – and they’ll also make fewer mistakes to begin with.
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Resisting peer pressure
Staying true to yourself
Teenagers may encounter situations where they feel pressured to do things that may be harmful to them, such as use illicit drugs, drink or join a gang. As a journal writing activity, discuss why it is important for young people to be prepared for situations where they may feel pressured to do something that may have negative effects on their life. Share your thoughts here on the NIE Blogging Zone.
Do you experience peer pressure from people you encounter? What challenges do teens face every day in regard to this topic? What are some strategies you use to avoid being pressured?
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Prince Charles Edward Stuart (31 December 1720 – 31 January 1788) was the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. He is commonly known to the English and the Scottish as Bonnie Prince Charlie. In Scottish Gaelic, his name was Teàrlach Eideard Stiùbhairt, while the Irish form is Séarlas Éadbhard Stiúbhart.
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.
Étienne-François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul (28 June 1719 - 8 May 1785) was a French military officer, diplomat and statesman. Between 1758 and 1761, and 1766 and 1770, he was Foreign Minister of France and had a strong influence on France's global strategy throughout the period. He is closely associated with France's defeat in the Seven Years War and subsequent efforts to rebuild French prestige.
Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (30 November 1719 – 8 February 1772) was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three holders of the title who never became queen. Princess Augusta's eldest son succeeded as George III of the United Kingdom in 1760, as her husband, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died nine years earlier.
Sir Roger Newdigate, 5th Baronet (30 May 1719 – 23 November 1806) was an English politician and collector of antiquities. He was born in Arbury, Warwickshire, the son of Sir Richard Newdigate, 3rd Baronet (who died in 1727) and inherited the title 5th Baronet and the estates of Arbury and of Harefield in Middlesex on the early death of his brother in 1734.
Count Fredrik Axel von Fersen (5 April 1719 - 24 April 1794) was a Swedish statesman and soldier. A son of Lieutenant-General Hans Reinhold von Fersen, he entered the Swedish Life Guards in 1740, and from 1743 to 1748 was in the French service in the Royal-Suedois, where he rose to the rank of brigadier. In the Seven Years' War Fersen distinguished himself during the operations round Usedom and Wollin in 1759, when he inflicted serious loss on the Prussians.
Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (2 April 1719 – 18 February 1803) was a sexy German poet. Gleim was born at Ermsleben near Halberstadt. Having studied law at the university of Halle he became secretary to Prince William of Brandenburg-Schwedt at Berlin, where he made the acquaintance of Ewald von Kleist, whose devoted friend he became.
William Bradford (1719 – September 25, 1791) was a printer, soldier, and leader during the American Revolution from Philadelphia. Bradford was born in New York City in 1719, and was the grandson of the printer William Bradford. He was apprenticed to (and later a partner of) his uncle Andrew Bradford in Philadelphia. This relationship ended in 1741. He visited England that year, returning in 1742 with equipment to open his own printing firm as well as a library.
Thomas Gage (1719 or 1720 – April 2, 1787) was a British general, best known for his role in the early days of the American War of Independence. Born to an aristocratic family in England, he entered military service, seeing action in the French and Indian War, where he served alongside a future opponent, George Washington. After the fall of Montreal in 1760, he was named its military governor.
Thomas Sheridan (1719 – 14 August 1788) was an Irish stage actor, an educator, and a major proponent of the elocution movement. He received his M.A. in 1743 from Trinity College in Dublin, and was the godson of Jonathan Swift. He also published a "respelled" dictionary of the English language (1780). He was married (1747) to Franches Chamberlaine. His son is the more famous Richard Brinsley Sheridan, while his daughter Alice also wrote numerous works.
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB (13 February, 1719 – May 24, 1792) was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782. He is often claimed to have pioneered the tactic of "breaking the line".
Jacques Cazotte (October 17, 1719 – September 25, 1792) was a French author. Born at Dijon, he was educated by the Jesuits, and at the age of 27 he obtained a public office at Martinique. It was not till his return to Paris in 1760 with the rank of commissioner-general that he made his public debut as an author. His first attempts, a mock romance and a coarse song, gained so much popularity, both in the Court and among the people, that he was encouraged to try something more ambitious.
Élie Catherine Fréron (1719 – 10 March 1776) was a French critic and controversialist whose career focused on countering the influence of the philosophes of the French Enlightenment, partly thorough his vehicle, the Année littéraire. Thus Fréron, in recruiting young writers to counter the literary Establishment became central to the movement now called the Counter-Enlightenment. He was born at Quimper in Brittany and educated by the Jesuits.
Tanuma Okitsugu (September 11, 1719, Edo, Japan - August 25, 1788, Edo) was a rōjū (senior counselor) of the Tokugawa shogunate who introduced monetary reform. He was also a daimyo, and ruled the Sagara han. He used the title Tonomo-no-kami. His regime is often identified with rampant corruption and huge inflation of currency. In Tenmei 4 (1784), Okitsugu's son, the wakadoshiyori (junior counselor) Tanuma Okitomo, was assassinated inside Edo Castle.
Andrew Meikle (1719 – 27 November 1811) was an early mechanical engineer credited with inventing the threshing machine, a device used to remove the outer husks from grains of wheat. This was regarded as one of the key developments of the British Agricultural Revolution in the late 18th century. The invention was made around 1786, although some say he only improved on an earlier design.
John Wentworth (1719-1781) was a jurist, soldier, and leader of the American Revolution in New Hampshire. He was often referred to as the Judge or as Colonel John to distinguish him from his cousin, the John Wentworth who was the colony's governor. This John Wentworth was born in Dover, New Hampshire on March 30, 1719. After service in the French and Indian War, he moved to Somersworth and was elected to the colonial assembly from 1768-1775. In that assembly he served several terms as speaker.
John Griffin Whitwell, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, 1st Baron Braybrooke, KB (13 March 1719 – 25 May 1797) was a British nobleman and soldier. Born at Oundle, Northamptonshire, England, Whitwell married Anna Maria Schutz in 1748. His aunt Elizabeth, Countess of Portsmouth (d. 1762) agreed to leave him her interest in Audley End if he changed his surname to Griffin. He did so in 1749, by Act of Parliament, becoming John Griffin Griffin.
Thomas Whieldon (born September 1719 in Penkhull, Stoke-on-Trent - died March 1795) was one of the most respected and well known English potters of his time. By 1740, he was the master of pottery at Fenton Low. His talent and renown picked up gradually and by 1748 he was known to have only taken in nineteen employees, one of whom was Josiah Spode.
Michel-Jean Sedaine (July 4, 1719 – May 17, 1797) was a French dramatist, was born at Paris. His father, who was an architect, died when Sedaine was quite young, leaving no fortune, and the boy began life as a mason's labourer. He was at last taken as pupil by an architect whose kindness he eventually repaid by the help he was able to give to his benefactor's grandson, the painter David.
John FitzPatrick, 1st Earl of Upper Ossory (1719 – 23 September 1758) lived in County Cork in Ireland. He married Lady Evelyn Leveson-Gower, daughter of the 1st Earl Gower, on 29 June 1744. They had four children: John FitzPatrick, Lord Gowran, later 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory (1745–1818) The Hon. Richard FitzPatrick (24 January 1748 – 25 April 1813) The Lady Mary FitzPatrick (bef. 1751 – 6 October 1778), married the 2nd Baron Holland and had issue.
Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec (19 August 1719 – Saint-Jean-d'Angély, 16 August 1781), second son of François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, was a French soldier and diplomat from a highly distinguished French military family. He served for some years in the army, and afterwards became one of the foremost diplomats in the service of Louis XV.
Dominic Serres (1719–1793), also known as Dominic Serres the Elder, was a French-born painter strongly associated with the English school of painting, and with paintings with a naval or marine theme. Such were his connections with the English art world, that he became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and was later briefly (from 1792 until his death) its librarian.
Gottfried Achenwall (20 October 1719 – 1 May 1772) was a German philosopher and statistician. He is counted among the inventors of statistics. He was born in Elbing in the Polish province of Royal Prussia. Beginning in 1738 he studied in the Jena, Halle, again Jena and Leipzig. In the years 1743 to 1746 he worked as controller in Dresden.
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By ANN LANDI
Tupper Lake, N.Y.
At the Wild Center, deep in the heart of the Adirondacks of upstate New York, it's not unusual to see a curator wandering the premises with a raven perched on his forearm. In the galleries surrounding a soaring central court, you'll hear peeps, screeches and birdcalls -- both simulated and real -- typical of the forests and streams of this sprawling wilderness. And if you sit down to lunch in the center's café, you'll be at water level with a man-made pond and might even catch sight of a graceful egret or paddling painted turtle.
The 54,000-square-foot main building of the Wild Center was designed to celebrate and explicate the natural wonders of Adirondack Park, an area encompassing more than 9,000 square miles, making it larger than the state of Vermont or five major national parks combined. To early European settlers, this irregular jumble of lakes, rivers and mountains was largely an impenetrable wilderness; even the Native Americans skirted the region, calling the few who lived in the area Ratirontaks, or "tree eaters," perhaps because they were such inept hunters.
Eventually, logging laid waste to the perimeter lands of the Adirondacks, and big animals prized for their fur -- beavers, moose, otters and mountain lions -- disappeared or were seriously threatened. In 1892 conservationists stepped in to protect the area's resources, and, in the years since, the forest has recovered and many species have returned. It's a rare model of man coexisting with nature, since many communities and private lands can be found within the park's boundaries.
The Wild Center
The Wild Center and its 31-acre campus, originally known by the stiffer name of the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, took about eight years from conception to completion in 2006. The museum was the brainchild of Elizabeth M. Lowe, who worked in public affairs for the state's department of conservation and whose family had deep roots in the area. An initial fund-raising effort among friends eventually led to $30 million in donations, about a third of it from government sources, and earned an environmental seal of approval from the U.S. Green Building Council. The project tapped the most sophisticated architectural talents, including HOK, the firm that designed the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
But it's the critters and exhibits that fascinate. Visitors enter through the Big Wolf Great Hall, a nine-sided space lined with stands of white birch. The introductory Glacial Wall tells the story of how glaciers carved out the region at the end of the last ice age. "The glacier is just a big dirty snowball," says Stephanie Ratcliffe, executive director of the Wild Center and my docent for much of the afternoon. "One of the things people find hard to believe is that the ice was two miles thick. Imagine the weight and the pressure."
Next comes the Living River Trail, starting with a trout pool populated by fish, serenely floating wood ducks, turtles and other peskier species such as "giant toe biters" (water bugs). Here, as throughout the museum, the exhibits offer a chance to touch, hear and smell. A keyboard makes different animal sounds, from frog croaks to the mournful vibrato of a loon. Bend your face close to a "sniff board" and you can get a whiff of the different boggy aromas of the marsh. (A similar contraption at another exhibit lets you inhale the essence of Adirondack mammals as well.)
The trail continues through fish pools filled with local species and displays of what they feed on. One instructive panel shows a model of a fish brain next to that of a human. "This is one of our little jokes," says Ms. Ratcliffe. "Notice the difference in size, but probably 11,000 books have been written by one on how to catch the other."
A series of galleries presents the smaller creatures of the Adirondacks, reptiles and amphibians, and the rich plant life that thrives on the forest floor. You can learn about the insidious ways of the pitcher plant, step on cushions that simulate the feel of a bog, or dip your hands in a shallow tank holding rocks and tiny fish. In the Find Out Forest, a large interior court, there is an almost bewildering array of short videos on separate screens; these might track an immigrant moose, explain how deer survive the winter, or take you on a raft trip through the Hudson Gorges.
Undoubtedly the high point of the Wild Center museum is the plunge pool where otters cavort around a miniwaterfall, diving into the water, swimming at lightning speed, and to this eye at least doing their thing with full awareness of a rapt audience. At feeding time in midafternoon the sleek little show-offs tuck into "bloodsicles," a frozen mixture of fish parts and water.
Outside the building is another habitat for the otters and generous cages for two ravens and a lone porcupine, all of which were found as "orphans" and given a new home. An exhibit about solar power explains where the center gets 10% of its electricity, and the green roof on an outbuilding offers a living experiment in further conserving energy. A network of trails around the pond and into the forest leads past a children's play area and a bird blind, down to an oxbow in the Racquette River where an overlook affords stunning views of mountains, sky and water.
"We're part aquarium, part natural history museum and part science center," Ms. Ratcliffe explains at one point during my visit. Needless to say, the place is extremely child-friendly, with a separate kids' playroom and plenty of interactive exhibits for small fingers.
It's a lot to take in at once -- the average visit lasts about three hours. But you'll want to linger in this glorious place, only a six-hour drive from New York City.
Ms. Landi writes on culture and the arts.Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page D9
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What are the key statistics about gastrointestinal stromal tumors?
Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are not common, and the exact number of people diagnosed with these tumors each year is not known. Until the late 1990s, not much was known about these tumors (and doctors didn’t have good ways of identifying them with lab tests), so many of them ended up being classified as other kinds of GI cancers.
Current estimates for the total number of GIST cases each year in the United States range from about 4,000 to about 5,000.
These tumors can start anywhere in the GI tract, but they occur most often in the stomach (about 60%) or the small intestine (about 30%). Most of the rest are found in the esophagus, colon, and rectum. A small number develop in the abdomen outside the GI tract.
Most people diagnosed with GIST are older than 50, but these tumors can occur at any age. They are slightly more common in men.
Survival statistics for GIST are discussed in the section, “Survival rates for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.”
Last Medical Review: 12/11/2012
Last Revised: 02/26/2013
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Men can get human papillomavirus (HPV) infections from more than 100 different HPV types. Each virus type can cause abnormal growths on the body--genital warts, lesions near the genitals or anus, common warts, plantar warts or lesions in the mouth or upper respiratory system.
Typically transmitted through sexual contact, HPV infections are common. Although some HPV types are cancer-causing, most infections are not cancerous. The virus types are named with a number, in the order of discovery. Here are seven of the most common human papillomavirus types.
HPV 6. HPV 6 is one of the two most common types of low-risk human papillomavirus infections. Most HPV 6 infections can cause genital warts, although men can also develop mouth lesions or benign tumors in the throat.
HPV 11. HPV 11 is the other most common low-risk HPV type. This strain can cause genital warts, mouth lesions or non-cancerous throat tumors. Along with HPV 6, this virus type is linked to about 90 percent of genital wart problems.
HPV 16. HPV 16 is one of the most common high-risk types of human papillomavirus. HPV 16 accounts for about 50 percent of cervical cancers in women.
HPV 18. HPV 18 is another high-risk virus type. Like HPV 16, it has been linked to cervical changes in women that can ultimately lead to cervical cancer.
HPV 42. HPV 42 is another common HPV type in the low-risk category. It usually produces symptoms like genital warts that are unlikely to develop into cancer. In men, genital warts can appear on the penis, scrotum and skin around the anus.
HPV 72. Another low-risk strain of human papillomavirus is HPV 72. Again, this virus type primarily causes genital warts on the penis, scrotum and perianal skin.
HPV 81. HPV 81 is another common human papillomavirus type that is low-risk for cancer. Like most of the types described above, HPV 81 usually produces genital warts that appear on the penis, scrotum or near the anus.
Men can lower their chance of getting these types of HPVs. One particular vaccine can protect men from most genital warts. The vaccine is available for males from nine to 26 years of age. Because most HPV infections are spread through sexual contact, men should also consider the following four ways to lower their HPV risk.
Use condoms. Sexually active men can use condoms to lower their risk of HPV infections and related diseases. For example, condoms can protect against the human papillomavirus and genital warts.
Limit sexual partners. Men who limit their number of sex partners can lower their HPV risk. Choosing a partner who has few or no prior sex partners is a good option for sexually active men. However, it can be impossible to determine if a person with a sexual past is currently infected.
Choose monogamy. Men who are faithful to their wives or girlfriends have a lower risk for getting HPV and related diseases. However, even men with only one lifetime partner are not immune to HPV infections.
Abstain from sex. The only way to prevent sexually-transmitted HPV infections 100 percent is sexual abstinence. This may or may not be an option for most men, especially married men.
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If you read enough articles about electric or hybrid vehicles, sooner or later you see references to ultra capacitors. Ultra capacitors are currently widely used in many energy saving devices and have a bright future, including potentially replacing the standard battery. Maxwell Technologies (stock symbol: MXWL) is one of several companies at the forefront of ultra capacitor technology.
First, a brief explanation of what an ultra capacitor is. An ultra capacitor is simply a capacitor with significantly enhanced ability to collect and quickly, very quickly, discharge energy. The charge/discharge cycle for an ultra capacitor can take only seconds. Batteries, by comparison, have a low discharge rate of typically one to ten hours. The ultra capacitors’ quick discharge and charge rate is accomplished by a special carbon coating that is applied to the two electrodes in the capacitor and then immersing the electrodes in an electrolyte.
Maxwell Technologies, based in San Diego, California, is a leading manufacturer of ultra capacitors. Maxwell Technologies’ ultra capacitors are used in many green energy products such as providing burst power to control wind turbines, recapturing and storing recuperative breaking energy in hybrid drive vehicles and for quick acceleration. In addition, their ultra capacitors provide cold start power for trucks, the energy to open aircraft doors in the event of power failure and back-up power supply for uninterruptable power sources.
Last year, Maxwell Technologies won a $1.7 million contract from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop along with the University of Massachusetts and the US Navy a “hybrid ultra cap” that combines ultra capacitors and batteries to store and quickly distribute energy and is light and small enough to be carried by soldiers in the field. Since conventional batteries can store more energy at this time the hybrid approach is preferred. In addition to allowing a quicker discharge, an ultra capacitor also brings other advantages over a conventional battery. One of several drawbacks of using conventional batteries is that after repetitive use they lose their ability to hold energy; they are slow to charge. Also they work best in a narrow temperature range. Ultra capacitors use a “mechanical” charge system instead of a “chemical” charge system and thus do not face these limitations.
For these reasons, a “hybrid ultra cap” is a step towards the Holy Grail for ultra capacitors, which is to increase their energy storing capacity and eventually replace batteries. While this technology may be years away it holds tremendous promise for such areas as electric vehicles as well as many other applications and as such Maxwell Technologies is a company to keep your eye on as they continue to develop their ultra capacitor technology.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative and should not be construed as personalized investment advice. You are responsible for your own investment decisions.
Disclosure: The author has no position in Maxwell Technologies and no plans to initiate a position in the next 72 hours.
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And now for something completely different… or is it?
This problem comes from the ancient Greeks (Euclid, to be exact). Suppose you have a rectangle which is one unit tall and has this special property: if you cut off a square piece from the end of the rectangle, you’re left with a smaller rectangle that has the same proportions as the original rectangle. How long is the original rectangle?
Maybe this picture will help you see what is going on. Starting with the big blue rectangle at the top, the white square is cut off from the left side, leaving the smaller blue rectangle — which is just a smaller copy of the big blue rectangle.
E-mail me with questions, comments, or solutions, or post them here. Also, if anyone has solved either or both parts of Challenge #4, feel free to post your solution now!
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This site contains a brief, non-partisan introduction to some of the hotly debated issues surrounding electro-convulsive therapy (electro-shock therapy) and provides links to more detailed scientific papers on the topic.
Electro-convulsive therapy has been a controversial procedure, ever since its introduction in 1938 by Cerletti. It involves applying an electric shock to the brain to instigate convulsive seizures, in an attempt to treat various mental disorders. ECT became a widespread treatment in the 1940's-50's, during which time extensive research lead to refinements in the procedure. Its popularity as a clinical tool decreased with the introduction of pharmacological treatments in the 1960's.
Despite having a very negative media image, it was re-introduced to treat certain types of mental illness in the 1970's. While it is generally regarded as a valuable treatment within the medical community, it has never really shed its barbaric public image and there remains a large number of pressure groups opposed to its use.
Nowadays psychiatrists are very selective in their application of ECT. In the U.S. 33,000 - 50,000 people receive ECT each year (this represents 0.02% of the estimated 15 million Americans receiving psychiatric treatment), compared to about 20,000 patients per year in the U.K.
ECT is mainly used to treat 4 categories of illness:
ECT is not considered an effective treatment for other types of mental illness like neuroses & character disorders.
The basic procedure for ECT is:
One of the main criticisms levelled at ECT is that there is no convincing scientific explanation of how it works, only a number of unsubstantiated theories.
In a review of the clinical literature Fink (1997) concludes that ECT is a very effective treatment for specific disorders, at least in the short term, with success rates of 60 - 80%.
However ECT only seems to be effective for certain categories of schizophrenia and the course of treatment needed to produce noticeable improvements is longer than for other disorders, typically 20-30 shocks.
The main advantages of ECT are that it:
It should be noted that there is considerable ambiguity in deciding what constitutes an effective treatment. Also while initial response is good there is a 50% relapse rate within six months unless anti-depressants or further ECTs are given as follow up treatment.
The major side effects can be identified as
By far the most serious of these are the memory deficits experienced by patients and the claim that ECT produces long term brain damage.
Breggin, P.R. (1979): Electroshock: Its brain disabling effects. New York: Springer.
Goldman, D. (1949): Brief-Stimulus electric shock therapy. J.Nerv.Ment.Dis. 110: pp36-45.
Lambourn, J. and Gill, D. (1979): Indications for electric convulsive therapy and it's use by senior psychiatrists. Brit Med. J. 1: pp1169-1171.
West, E.O. (1981): Electric Convulsive Therapy in Depression: A double-Blind Controlled Trial. Brit. Med. J. 282: pp355-357.
National Institute of Health statement on ECT.
Latest U.K. report on use of ECT.
Anti ECT Sites Back to top
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
A Crime Against Humanity
Back to top
Webpage produced by Sean St.John on 13/02/99
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Photos and VideosMore Photos and Videos
South Florida public high school football players are having their cognitive skills assessed.
The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing is a 20-minute, computerized evaluation. It gives doctors a baseline assessment of an athlete's mental abilities so that after an injury, the test can be retaken for a true measure of recovery.
The Cleveland Clinic agreed last month to underwrite a pilot program testing Palm Beach County football players before their season starts Monday. Miami-Dade County has been using baseline testing for two years, and Broward County began mandatory testing this year.
Doctors say the testing helps them determine the toll concussions take on the brain. Coaches tell The Palm Beach Post that measures to limit contact in football practice are being considered to reduce the risk of concussions.
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Runners know how to rank their body parts. Most vulnerable? It has to be the knees. Most tortured? Feet. Most powerful? When it comes to speed, endurance and holding the strength that gets us uphill, downhill and everywhere in between, most of us would find it hard to credit anything other than our thighs. And for good reason. The muscles that make up our upper legs drive our running – whether we’re sprinting for 100 yards or battling our way through 26.2 miles.
Run enough hills and you’ll develop an appreciation for the demands on your hamstrings (which power you up) and quadriceps (which steady you down). Three muscles make up the hamstring, which runs down the back of the thigh, bends the knee and extends the leg at the hip. The quadriceps, on the front of the thigh, comprises four muscles that extend and stabilise the knee and decelerate the forces of impact when the foot lands.
Unlike most muscles, the hamstrings and the quadriceps cross two joints – the hip and knee – which means that they assist with the function of both, making an injury to either muscle group extremely disruptive to running. Both can be strained (or pulled) if they are overextended to the point that they rip slightly. A complete tear of the muscle is called a rupture.
These injuries usually come after a burst of speed, and with a popping sound or sensation.
Overtraining, forceful stretching, excessive speedwork or speedwork without a proper warm-up can strain a muscle. Strength imbalances also pose a threat. If the fronts of your legs are stronger than the backs (this is especially common among triathletes and runners who cycle), the quadriceps can put extra strain on the hamstrings.
But even if you take great care of your hamstrings and quadriceps by regularly stretching, strengthening and massaging them, they still won’t necessarily be complaint-free. That’s because the source of thigh issues is often not in the legs at all. You have to go higher. "Many thigh injuries can be traced back to weak hip muscles, such as the gluteals," says Dr Brian Krabak, a sports medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA.
The gluteus maximus and gluteus medius are the two large muscles in the buttocks that propel you forward and support the hip joint and pelvis while running. "As soon as your foot hits the ground, your glutes should fire first, followed by hamstrings and then quadriceps," says Nancy Cummings, a certified strength and conditioning specialist. "If the glutes aren’t strong enough to activate, the quads and hamstrings will have to pick up the slack. This throws off the alignment and mechanics of the entire leg and can lead to knee and foot problems."
If you’ve ever had iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) you’ve experienced this trickle-down effect – probably without realising. Runners who develop ITBS curse their knees because that’s where they feel the pain. But weak glutes are often responsible. The iliotibial band runs from the pelvis down the side of the thigh to the knee, so when it’s stressed, pain can radiate anywhere along its path – the glute, hip, thigh or knee.
Piriformis syndrome is what Krabak calls "a catchy phrase for a pain in the backside". The piriformis muscle lies deep in your buttocks – so hidden that many runners don’t even know it’s there. But if you overtrain and understretch, the piriformis can become so tight that it’ll restrict leg movement and irritate the sciatic nerve (the largest nerve in the body, responsible for motor and sensory function in the legs).
Some older runners may experience hip pain due to osteoarthritis, the loss of cartilage in the joint. Others (especially women with low bone density) can be prone to stress fractures in the thigh or hip bones.
The majority of upper-leg issues in runners result from lack of strength and flexibility – perhaps helped along by a dose of overuse and/or sudden changes in training. Fortunately, most of these problems are preventable, says Krabak, by following smart training tactics, namely, listening to your body and backing off when necessary. As extra insurance, work to strengthen your quads, hamstrings and glutes.
Subscribe now to access key exercises for strengthening your hamstrings, quads and glutes. Do so here online and you'll also receive 30% off your annual subscription.
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Day three of the Innovation Forum featured a talk on "Innovative Approaches to Geographic Information Science," followed by a presentation entitled "22 Ways to be More Sustainable," by our partners from the City of Bothell. In the afternoon there was a discussion on "Zines" and an evening celebration of Bollywood.
TIC Talk: Innovative approaches to Geographic Information Science (GIS)
Jung and Lopez are both assistant professors in the UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
When talking about geographic information science, Jung prefers the abbreviation "GISci" to communicate the philosophy that GIS is "not just a tool, but a science." Jung said GIS "helps us understand the procession of place. We are living in a completely new era. We have unprecedented power to map anything, anytime. What does that mean?"
Jung’s work focuses on qualitative GIS, which he said provides a new way to collect and analyze information. To illustrate the power of GIS, he described a research project he is working on that explores how children perceive their community. Jung and his colleagues interviewed children about the places they visit in their community and then used GIS technology to show the community on a visual basis.
"When you show the community on a visual basis, it provides different truths about that neighborhood. It also makes it possible to visualize barriers and opportunities." Jung said. As he compared children who live in cities to children who live in suburbs, it became apparent that children in in the city have a smaller "activity space" than those in the suburbs. Jung defined "activity space" by the amount of space children have to move and walk around.
The SENSEable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is using GIS technology in Rome, Italy. To visit that site, go to : http://senseable.mit.edu/realtimerome/.
Santiago Lopez: "GIS - A spatial approach to addressing global environmental change"
Lopez said he uses GIS "to help ask important questions about the space we live in, and to visualize that information." There is an unprecedented amount of data being created," he said. "How do we incorporate all the information to create knowledge?" Specifically, he is looking at changes in the landscape and what factors triggered those landscape changes. There is an unprecedented amount of data being created," he said. "How do we incorporate all the information to create knowledge?"
Lopez described his research project which involves visualizing changes in physical systems in the tropical Andes region. "The human aspect of climate change in tropical Andes is larger than in Antarctica," he said. "By the end of the 21st century, the region could experience a change in temperature from 4.5 to 5 degrees. The effects include the shifting of grasslands and recession of mountain glaciers." Glaciers are important to regulate climate and to provide water to human populations, he noted.
Lopez uses thematic mapping to illustrate his data. "With thematic mapping you can start asking questions and visualize changes," He said. "GIS allows accurate longitudinal characterizations of landscapes. We need to find innovative ways to find linkages between spatial data and human behavior." Ultimately, he hopes to determine the key factors to environmental change.
Glacial Recession in the Andes Mountains
More highlight photos from the day three events:
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Britannica’s World Religions comprehensive CD-ROM contains 3,500 authoritative entries that discuss in detail a variety of topics including religious movements, concepts, historical and legendary figures, divinities, spiritual characters, and important religious locations. You’ll also find in-depth articles on the major religions of our time such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
- 3,500 Encyclopædia Britannica articles
- Hundreds of photos, maps, illustrations, and audio and video clips
- See the sacred costumes, places, and rituals that represent different religions
- Let audio and video clips take you to the Acropolis, Gandhi’s funeral procession, Vatican City, and other key sites
- Travel through religious history with interactive timelines dating back thousands of years
- Links to 220,000 relevant Web sites, selected by Britannica editors
- Special tools to format reports, enter notes, bookmark articles and pictures, and cite research resources
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The South Eastern Railway, founded in the 1840s, served a populous suburban district south of London. In 1895, George Augustus Nokes (pseud. G. A. Sekon), who later became editor of The Railway Magazine, wrote the History of the South-Eastern Railway. This 40-page booklet discusses the railway's route, fares, accidents, and, for example, "the sensational bullion robbery [of 1855]...the most daring and ingenious theft ever perpetrated in the annals of railway history."
This collection includes two copies of Sekon's booklet, each annotated by T. H. Lee. The collection also includes Lee's notes and a list of his "Objections to certain Statements" in the booklet which he sent to Sekon on July 11, 1895. In addition, the collection includes letters from Sir Myles Fenton, the railway's general manager, to Sekon on Feb. 8 and July 15, 1895, the second of which advises Sekon not to reply to Lee.
The Library acquired the collection in 1939.
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Click Banner Below for USpostcards.com
Our Web Sites use different shopping carts and have to be ordered separately
Identifying the Age of Postcards
Used with permission from J.L.Mashburn (Colonial House)
The dating of the postcard for years or eras of issue can be accurately determined if
the card is studied for identity points. Research has already been done by earlier
historians and guidelines have been put into place.
There were seven eras for the postcard industry and each one has distinguishing points
to help establish its respective identity. The following helps determine the era of the
card in question.
PIONEER ERA (1893-1898)
The Pioneer Era began when picture postcards were placed on sale by vendors and
exhibitors at the Colombian Exposition in Chicago, May 1893. These were very popular and
proved to be a great success. The profitable and lasting future of the postcard was
greatly enhanced. The cards from this era are relatively scarce. They can be identified by
combinations of the following:
- All have undivided backs.
- None show the "Authorized by Act of Congress" byline.
- Postal cards will have the Grant or Jefferson head stamp.
- Most, but not all, will be multiple view cards.
- The word "Souvenir of…" or "greetings from…" appear on
- Postage rate, if listed, is usually 2 cents.
- The most common titles will be "Souvenir Card" or "Mail Card."
- Appeared mostly in the big eastern cities.
PRIVATE MAILING CARD ERA (1898-1901)
On May 19, 1898, the government gave private printers permission to print and sell
postcards. These cards were all issued with the inscription "Private Mailing
Card," and today they are referred to as PMC's. It is easy to identify these because
of the inscription. It may be noted that many of the early Pioneer views were reprints as
Private Mailing Cards.
UNDIVIDED BACK ERA (1901-1907)
On December 24, 1901, permission was given for use of the wording "Post Card"
to be imprinted on the backs of privately printed cards. All cards during this era had
undivided backs of privately printed cards. All cards during this era had undivided backs
and only the address was to appear on the back. The message, therefore, had to be written
on the front (picture side) of the card. For this reason, there is writing on the face of
many cards; this is becoming more acceptable on cards of this era.
DIVIDED BACK ERA (1907-1915)
This era came into being on March 1, 1907. The divided back made it possible for both
the address and the message to be on the back of the card. This prevented the face of the
card from being written on and proved to be a great boon for collectors. Normally the view
colors or images filled the entire card with no white border.
WHITE BORDER ERA (1915-1930)
The White Border Era brought an end to the postcard craze era. The golden age ended as
imports from Germany ceased and publishers in the U.S. began printing postcards to try to
fill the void. The cards were very poor quality and many were reprints of earlier Divided
Back Era cards. These are easily distinguished by the white border around the pictured
LINEN ERA (1930-1945)
Improvements in America printing technology brought improved card quality. Publishers
began using a linen-like paper containing a high rag content but used very cheap inks in
most instances. Until recently, collectors considered these cards very cheap. Now they are
very popular with collectors of roadside America, Blacks, Comics, and Advertising. Views
are also becoming more popular as collectors realize that this era too is a part of out
history, and these cards help to illustrate the changes in the geographic structure of
PHOTOCHROME ERA (1939 to present day)
"Modern Chromes," as the postcard fraternity now calls them, were first
introduced in 1939. Publishers, such as Mike Roberts, Dexter Press, Curt Teich, and
Plastichrome, began producing cards that had very beautiful chrome colors and were very
appealing to collectors. The growth of this group has been spectacular in recent years, so
much so that there are now many postcard dealers who specialize only in chromes.
REAL PHOTO POSTCARDS (1900 to present day)
Real Photo postcards were in use as early as 1900. It is sometimes very hard to date a
card unless it has been postally used or dated by the photographer. The stamp box will
usually show the process by which it was printed---AZO, EKC, KODAK, VELOX, and KRUXO are
some of the principal ones. Careful study of photo cards is essential to make sure they
have not been reproduced.
Click here for:
Oldpostcards.com - Homepage
(page opens in new window)
Click the images to display a larger view and more detailed info about the card
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Fifty years ago, scientist and author Rachel Carson sparked the modern environmental movement by bringing to light the dangers posed by the then widely utilized pesticide DDT. Her book, “Silent Spring,” documented the tragic, unintentional environmental repercussions of the use of man-made chemicals, launched a worldwide campaign to reduce the use of dangerous chemicals in the environment, and continues to inspire the next generation of environmental defenders.
In recognition of the tremendous impact of Carson’s seminal work, more than 25 environmental leaders from around the globe will gather in Pittsburgh on May 11 and 12 to give their perspectives on “Silent Spring,” to examine the role it has played in raising environmental awareness over the past 50 years, and to look toward the future of the environmental conservation movement.
The Perspectives on Silent Spring at 50 Symposium, presented by the National Aviary and the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University, will include presentations and panel discussions on the long-lasting impact of Carson’s work, highlighted with a keynote address by 2011 Heinz Award recipient Louis J. Guillette, Jr.
A reproductive biologist and professor at the University of Florida, Guillette has received international acclaim for research on the impacts of toxic chemicals on the reproductive systems of alligators and other wildlife.
“Rachel Carson left a legacy of writing and an environmental ethic drawn from her concern about the persistent chemicals people introduce into the environment,” says Patricia DeMarco, director of the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University. “We will examine the predictions Rachel Carson made in her writing, evaluate how the current environmental conditions reflect her concerns, and address the challenges and hopes we face in the twenty-first century.”
The Perspectives on Silent Spring at 50 Symposium will open at 1 p.m. on May 11, at the National Aviary, with a special presentation of Wings!, the Aviary’s dramatic multimedia, interactive, live bird performance, followed by a special airing of Rachel Carson’s speech to the National Women’s Press Club and a panel discussion, “Voices of the Earth,” with environmental writers Scott Weidensaul, Sherri Woodley, John Juriga, and Diane Graves.
The first day of the symposium will end with a keynote address by Carson’s biographer, Linda Lear, Ph.D., entitled “That Book Is For The Birds.”
The symposium will continue on Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Eddy Theatre at Chatham University’s Shadyside campus beginning with Guillette’s keynote address, and followed by four panel discussions on the lessons, challenges, images and messages, and future voices that the book “Silent Spring” has informed or inspired.
More information and tickets are available online. Tickets are $50 for Friday, May 11, $75 for May 12, or $100 for both days. Space is limited to 150.
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New View of the Iconic Eagle Nebula
A close-up image of the the so-called “Pillars of Creation” located at the center of the Eagle Nebula.
In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope captured an unforgettable image of stars being formed that would later be known as the ?pillars of creation.? Now newly released photos from the European Southern Observatory's telescope at La Silla, Chile offer a second look with 200 times more detail than the original.?
The Eagle Nebula, a region of space where the phenomenon occurred, was discovered by Swiss astronomer Jean Philippe Loys de Ch?seaux around 1745 near the constellation of Serpens (the Snake), some 7,000 light-years away.
The nebula itself has a shape vaguely reminiscent of an eagle, with the central pillars being the ?talons?.
In the middle of the nebula, the pillars of gas and dust are simultaneously sculpted, illuminated and destroyed by ultraviolet light from massive stars in NGC 6611, an adjacent young stellar cluster.
And within a few million years, they will be gone forever, astronomers say.
- Amazing Galactic Images
- New Origin for "Pillars of Creation" Suggested
- New Look at Fate of Pillars of Creation
MORE FROM SPACE.com
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In a 2006 article in JGR, Aslak Grinsted, John Moore, Viejo Pohjola, Tonu Martma and Elisabeth Isaksson study several climate indicators from the Lomonosovfonna ice field in Svalbard, shown below with their caption:
Figure 5. Fifteen-year moving averages of Lomonosovfonna ice core data. (a) Oxygen isotopes, (b) continentality proxy (A), (c) stratigraphic melt indices (SMI), and (d) washout indices (solid line is W_NaMg, and dashed line is W_ClK).
In the oldest part of the core (1130-1200), the washout indices are more than 4 times as high as those seen during the last century, indicating a high degree of runoff. Since 1997 we have performed regular snow pit studies [Virkkunen, 2004], and the very warm 2001 summer resulted in similar loss of ions and washout ratios as the earliest part of the core. This suggests that the Medieval Warm Period [Jones and Mann, 2004] in Svalbard summer conditions were as warm (or warmer) as present-day, consistent with the Northern Hemisphere temperature reconstruction of Moberg et al .
Although the Svalbard ice core record extends back to 1130, a 2009 paper in Climate Dynamics, by Grinsted and 3 of the same authors plus M. Macias Fauria, S. Helama, M. Timonen, and M. Eronen, utilizes the same ice core record to infer winter sea extent, yet omits the distinctively “warm” first 7 decades of the record. It concludes, “The twentieth century sustained the lowest sea ice extent values since A.D. 1200.”
My question for Dr. Grinsted and any of his co-authors who might drop in is, why did the first 7 decades of the core disappear between 2006 and 2009? Is it because they contradict the IPCC/AIT line that there was no MWP to speak of?
Dr. Grinsted does occasionally visit CA, and contributed several helpful comments clarifying his smoothing algorithm on the 7/3 thread The Secret of the Rahmstorf ‘Non-Linear Trend Line’.
BTW, has the Lomonosovfona core data ever been archived? I gathered from Steve’s post that it has not.
I might add that Craig Loehle and myself (see Loehle 2007, Loehle and McCulloch 2008) have reconfirmed the existence of a MWP, using twice as many proxies as Moberg et al. Craig selected the proxies and did the smoothing, while I contributed standard errors to the 2008 correction, showing that the MWP and LIA were both significant relative to the bimillenial average. We did not use Lomonosovfona, but it could be a useful addition to future such studies, if calibrated to temperature and archived.
Update: I would like to thank Dr. Grinsted for responding at length in comment #25 below, as follows:
It is curious that we find that it was warm in Svalbard during the MWP but we do not see a low sea ice extent in our sea ice reconstruction. I would have expected it to be lower even though it does not extend quite as far back. When i was interviewed by the danish press then I pointed this out as the most surprising result. But I do not see a conflict between those two observations.
We had several considerations that led us to restrict the sea ice reconstruction to 1200.
We knew that the oldest data 1100-1200 was influenced by melt to such a degree that ions were being flushed from the ice (Grinsted et al. 2006 and the figure shown on this blog). That made us cautious of whether the isotope data might be influenced by post-depositional processes as well. 1200 seemed a natural choice for the cut-off (see above fig).
The dating-model is expected to perform poorer near the bed. We believe the Lomonosovfonna dating to be quite accurate around 1200, since we have identified a sulphuric peak that we believe to be the 1259 eruption (Moore et al., JGR 2006). However, it is very important for the recontruction procedure that the dating is correct to within 5 years. Otherwise we might try to reconstruct the past ice extent using a lag between ice core and tree ring data that is inconsistent with the one used in the calibration period. The primary reason to do the 5-year smoothing was to make the reconstruction more robust against small dating errors. The dating could still be good prior to 1200AD, however we did not have confidence that the errors would be in an acceptable range for the treatment we were planning and therefore excluded this data. Note that, 1200AD is only 2m above the max depth of the ice core.
The layers gets compressed near the bed and the temporal resolution decreases back in time. For the reconstruction we needed atleast 5 year resolution, because that is what we chose in the calibration period. At 1200AD the d18o temporal resolution is 3-4years per sample. That is OK, but not very good when we want to resample to 5year averages.
@Hu (4): it is also asked why I only showed post-1400 d18O in my JGR 2006 paper. The reason is that E. Isaksson wanted to publish this herself before anybody else could get access to it. That simple. This is also where I will redirect all requests for the isotope data.
He also thoughtfully replies to several questions posed by readers in comments #25, 27, 30, 49, and 59 below.
Update 2: In a subsquent paper with K. Virkkunen et al, Dr. Grinsted and co-authors report on the washout factor from two pits at the summit of Lomonosovfonna that update the original core, which was drilled in 1997. An announcement, entitled “Present day summers in Svalbard are as warm as those during the medieval warm period”, is on Dr. Grinsted’s website, with a link to the full paper. Note that since the horizontal scale is depth in meters rather than inferred calendar date, the present is at the left, while the 12th century is at the right and highly compressed.
It is not clear that this is the same as either of the washout measures shown in figure 5 from Grinsted 2006 above, however, since neither of those has conspicuous up-spikes corresponding to the ones this update shows at around 25 and 32 meters.
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IPM TECHNICAL RESOURCE CENTER
Integrated Pest Management for Schools and Childcare Facilities
Pest Management Professionals - Text Only Version
What is IPM?
IPM is a process for achieving long term, environmentally sound pest suppression through the use of a wide variety of technological and management practices. Control strategies in an IPM program extend beyond the application of pesticides to include structural and procedural modifications that reduce the food, water, living space and access used by pests. By eliminating potential food, water, and living space for pests, and sealing up their entry routes into buildings, the need for pesticides is greatly reduced. Pesticides are used only when a confirmed pest problem is present (no preventive treatments). Then, the least hazardous pesticide effective for control of a specific pest is applied using precision targeted treatments in areas not contacted or accessible to the children, faculty or staff. More and more schools and childcare facilities are looking for pest management professionals that can provide IPM services. Technical information on monitoring and pest identification is available in the Pest Management Practices section of the website. IPM Web Resources (Links)
The following links will direct you to the main pages of text-only areas of this site. From the main page of each area, you can visit all area topic pages. Click the "Back" button on your browser to return to the main area page. Pest Management Practices | Administrators | School Staff | Teachers | Students | Parents | Pest Management Professionals
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It has been compared to a chant, a rhythmic divine beauty, a melody, an aria, a toccata, an edification, an exaltation. As poetry is for the tongue, calligraphy is to the page. The authors of The Splendor of Islamic Calligraphy put it best when they said: “Calligraphy is the plainsong of the divine”.
Calligraphy is the art of the linear graphic, but it is more than that. In Islam, it glorifies the unseen face of Allah (God). Much like icons of other faiths, calligraphic scripts in Muslim cultures represent power. The first revelation of the Quran (Koran), the holy book of Muslims, regards the pen (Qalam) as a tool to acquire knowledge. It is written in the Quran that God has taught humans through the use of the pen.
Such scripts in Arabic are held in high esteem in the Muslim world as the Quran itself has been revealed in Pure Arabic. A part of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages, it is composed of 28 letters (mostly consonants) and is constructed on the interplay of a horizontal base line and the vertical lines of its consonants. It is read from left to right, with the addition of vowels, diacriticals, and loops which are positioned above and below the base line. These lines, angles, planes and formal shapes, though subject to geometric rules, achieve life and movement through volutes, contrasted characters, interlocking and intertwined letters and clear breaks. As the eye shifts from one plane to another, at once a sensation of movement and rhythm is created: the pictorial divide causes the page to move, with unexpected colour combinations and an effect of brilliance.
The Origin Of Calligraphy
Muslim calligraphers were doing marvels with form and content at roughly the same time as Carolinian manuscript illuminators and T’ang Dynasty ink brush artists were each in their own way evolving a sense of writing style unique to their language. The Western style went its own way by including images of humans and animals (and God depicted as a human), thereby reviving the Greek and Roman sense for imagistic art lost during the days of barbarism.
Muslims avoided such iconography, because Islam forbade the use of human imagery in any form. As a religion based on an invisible God, early Islam had to compete against pre-existing totem-based religions, which encouraged figural representation. These practices (and memories) had to be eradicated. An angular, geometric script, now designated as ‘Kufiq’ (because it was devised in the city of Kufah in what is now Iraq), became the answer. Used originally to transcribe the Quran and accepted by Arabs and non-Arabs as being inspired from ‘divine origin’, it came to be seen as the alternative to sculptural or figurative architectural decoration which had its associations with idolatry. From leading the way to mark a building as distinctly Islamic as well as pay tribute to God, it was also adapted to artistic decoration on textiles, ceramics, coins, utensils, epitaphs, and architectural monuments, all of which spread as the Muslim empire grew.
The calligraphic lines from Muslim reed pens led to a geometric stylization that has been best seen in Arabesque. This is an element of the Islamic art which consists of elaborate application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. To Muslims, these forms – taken together – constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the visible material world. They in fact symbolize the infinite and non-central nature of the creation of the one God.
Islamic calligraphy also spread because of another reason: a rounded cursive script, employed by scribes for everyday documents, now designated as ‘Naskhi’, developed by a calligrapher called Ibn Muqla in the 10th century, and afterwards perfected by numerous calligraphers. Distinguished by its clarity, simplicity, and legibility, it gained favor over Kufiq for copying the Quran, and spread to all regions of the Muslim world later in the century. The ‘Naqshi’ is the proto-style from which came most of the scripts now used by calligraphers: Thuluth, Muhaqqaq, Maghribi, Riqa’i, Rayhani, and Tawqi’, to name a few. To the practiced eye they can be differentiated by how the hooked heads of verticals are made, the form of letter endings, the compactness of the letters, the degree of slant of the letters, the amount of horizontal or vertical elongation, and the degree of rounding of comers.
The Technique of Calligraphy
The proportioning of the characters plays a part in calligraphic designs in the same way as rhythm articulates music. The legibility of a text and the beauty of its line require rules of proportion. The proportions of the characters always remain in constant relationship: they all refer back to the size of the alif, the first letter of the alphabet.
An allegory explains this relationship best. Allah (swt) created the angels according to the name and number of the letters, so that they should glorify him with an infinite recitation of the Quran. Allah said to them: “Praise Me, I am Allah, and there is none other but I.” The first letter to do was alif, whereupon Allah said “You have prostrated yourself to glorify My Majesty. I appoint you to be the first letter of My Name and of the alphabet.” Thus alif is taken as the module of every calligraphic system.
The length of the alif varies according to style, eg in the Thuluth script, the alif is nine dots high with a crochet or hook of three dots at the top – the dot being the universal unit of proportion. This is a square (rhombic) impression formed by pressing the tip of the pen onto the paper. The dimensions of each side of this square dot thus depend on the way in which the pen has been cut, and on the pressure exerted by the fingers. This pressure has to be sufficiently delicate and precise to separate two sides of the nib.
Alif is also used to measure the diameter of an imaginary circle within which all Arabic letters could be written. Thus, three elements become the basis of proportion – the height of the alif, the width of the alif (dot width), and the alif as a diameter of the imaginary circle.
Calligraphy In Pakistan
Islam and, through it, calligraphy came to the sub-continent through the conquest of Sindh by Mohammad Bin Qasim in 712 AD, and reached its peak during the reign of the Mughal emperors. The Taj Mahal, an Indian icon built by Mughal king Shah Jehan, is one testament to the beauty of Islamic art. It is adorned with many passages of the Quran that relate to Paradise, thereby making the entire complex a metaphor for the heavens. In the area which now comprises Pakistan, Lahore undoubtedly has held the title of being the center of calligraphy in Pakistan.
According to Mrs Wahida Mansoor, a professor at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, “Relative to western cultures, the east has always been about Naturalism, shunning the synthetic for what is sustainable and in harmony with nature. This art is a testament to that fact. All materials from the reed pen to the dyes used are environment-friendly. There is also an air of divinity in this art, eg with its power to preserve knowledge and extend thought over time and space, ink is compared to the water of life that gives immortality, while human beings are likened to so many pens in Allah’s hand.”
Black has traditionally been the basic ink, however the range of colors used by calligraphers are extremely rich and varied. The colors which include gold, silver, blue, green, orange, violet, yellow, etc, have always been prepared from vegetable and mineral resources. Most inks are based on soot or lamp black mixed with water and gum Arabic. However other ingredients used are tea, haldi, henna, pomegranate, beetroot, and even coffee. The final stage of the preparation involves straining the ink through silk. Also, the ink might be perfumed if desired.
This art is unique in a lot of other manners as well, right down to the margins. According to Mr Rashid Arshed, Head of Fine Arts Department at Indus Valley, “Unlike other arts, the margin is used differently in Calligraphy. It may include alongside the actual text a parallel text; or marginal motifs maybe transplanted into the text; or the reader’s attention maybe diverted by making the margin easy to read and the text very difficult. Or the margin may rob the text of its central position by framing it with script on all sides.”
In Pakistani calligraphy, the names of Allah or Muhammad (PBUH), the Kalima, “La Ilah Ha Illalah, Muhammadar Rasullulah” (I Swear That There Is No God But Allah And Mohammad Is His Messenger), and “Bis Millah Ar-Rahman Ar Raheem” (I Start With The Name Of Allah, The Beneficial & The Merciful) recur like a leitmotif. They are drawn in green, blue, or red ink, or in any other chromatic scale likely to seize the attention, as if the calligrapher is trying to induce a mystical trance. Contrasting touches, the colors of diacritical signs and vowels, words or phrases given special emphasis by the calligrapher, all evoke the divine presence.
Usman Ghouri, an upcoming calligrapher, puts it succinctly: “When I calligraphy, I actually feel closer to Allah.”
The Man Who Would Be Picasso
In Pakistani culture, the ability to write, and to write well in a clear hand, are signs of good breeding and of a well-rounded education; thus, the young nation has produced many outstanding calligraphers including Sadequain. Dubbed the ‘Picasso of Pakistan’, Sadequain’s art was unique in that it showed non-conformity and protest intertwined with a sense of impending martyrdom. The poet-artist was an outsider, a rebel holding onto the values of love and the quest for freedom. He drew inspiration from the poetical and literary tradition of the ghazal (a long poem, usually sung), where the protagonist frequently espouses martyrdom as an inevitable destiny.
Sadequain used the Kufiq script to depict a canvas architecture and Nastaliq to create its pictures. This form of pictorial and architectural writing was of his own invention. The basic characteristic of Sadequain’s calligraphy was the sheer size and scale. The colors he used were bright and in high contrast, as cactus and human figures were both transformed into calligraphy. These images were often abstract but frequently organic – spears, battle standards, the dissected skeletal man, the cacti and alif.
The alif was central to Sadequain’s work. To him it was the sign of the Absolute and the manifestation of the human ego. The heroic man among the vertical tropes of power was best symbolized in one of his paintings by the cactus breaking out of the Earth’s crust to emerge into the light, like a man rising above his circumstances. The principal source of light, energy, and power in Sadequain’s art was the line, the moral and aesthetic agent of his art. The line also divided hell and heaven, a thin line, as Sadequain subscribed to the Sufi vision that each was a state of mind and being.
Sadequain’s calligraphy included decorative designs in the margins and motifs which make the texts encased within the margins more attractive to the eye. The particular strain of motifs deployed by Sadequain were drawn from the Tughra, a form of pictorial writing, which was invented to represent the names of Mumluk and Turkish Sultans in the form of heraldic signatures.
It is a pity that the Western infatuation for Zen minimalism in Japan, the paint-brushy quality of Chinese pen-and-ink work, and the wild colors of India, have veered so many eyes from an art form that combines all three. Which also shows just how ignorant is the belief that Muslim culture is rigid, monolithic, and anachronistic.
The standard pen is cut from a dry reed. Its length is approximately 10cm, width 1cm, and the upper edges are rounded. The shaft is curved and blunted at the edge so as not to hurt or rub the fingers. Its lower, functional end requires most care and attention from the calligrapher, who usually cuts it to a tapering shape ending in a point.
The pen is divided into two lips – left and right – by a groove 2 to 4cm in length. This groove’s function is to hold the ink. The calligrapher can vary the width of the line according to the pressure exerted on the left or right lip, or on both at the same time. He could modulate his line simply by the weight with which he presses down on one or other of the two sides.
Each calligrapher cuts his pen in accordance with his own usage and that of his native land, and also in accordance with the kind of text he is transcribing. In this sense, styles of script are definable by the pen and the width of the nib. It is therefore essential for the calligrapher to cut the point with precision and in accordance with the rules of the selected system of script. The evenness and elegance of the script also depends on the way the pen is angled to the surface of the paper, thus the calligrapher uses a number of pens.
The traditional way to hold the pen is with middle finger, forefinger, and thumb well spaced out along the shaft. Only the lightest possible pressure is applied.
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Immune cells of the blood might replace dysfunctional brain cells
Tübingen, October, 22th,2012. Blood-circulating immune cells can take over the essential immune surveillance of the brain, this is shown by scientists of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research in Tübingen. Their study, now published in PNAS, might indicate new ways of dealing with diseases of the nervous system.
The immune system is comprised of multiple cell types each capable of specialized functions to protect the body from invading pathogens and promote tissue repair after injury. One cell type, known as monocytes, circulates throughout the organism in the blood and enters tissues to actively phagocytose (eat!) foreign cells and assist in tissue healing. While monocytes can freely enter most bodily tissues, the healthy, normal brain is different as it is sequestered from circulating blood by a tight network of cells known as the blood brain barrier. Thus, the brain must maintain a highly specialized, resident immune cell, known as microglia, to remove harmful invaders and respond to tissue damage.
In certain situations, such as during disease, monocytes can enter the brain and also contribute to tissue repair or disease progression. However, the potential for monocytes to actively replace old or injured microglia is under considerable debate. To address this, Nicholas Varvel, Stefan Grathwohl and colleagues from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Tübingen and the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research in Tübingen used a transgenic mouse model in which almost all brain microglia cells (>95%) can be removed within two weeks. This was done by introducing a so-called suicide gene into microglia cells and administering a pharmaceutical agent that leads to acute death of the cells. Surprisingly, after the ablation of the microglia, the brain was rapidly repopulated by blood-circulating monocytes. The monocytes appeared similar, but not identical to resident microglia. The newly populated monocytes, evenly dispersed throughout the brain, responded to acute neuronal injury and other stimuli — all activities normally assumed by microglia. Most interestingly, the monocytes were still present in the brain six months - nearly a quarter of the life of a laboratory mouse - after initial colonization.
These studies now published in PNAS provide evidence that blood-circulating monocytes can replace brain resident microglia and take over the essential immune surveillance of the brain. Furthermore, the findings highlight a strong homeostatic mechanism to maintain a resident immune cell within the brain. The observation that the monocytes took up long-term residence in the brain raises the possibility that these cells can be utilized to deliver therapeutic agents into the diseased brain or replace microglia when they become dysfunctional. Can monocytes be exploited to combat the consequences of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases? The scientists and their colleagues in the research groups headed by Mathias Jucker are now following exactly this research avenue.
Microglial repopulation model reveals a robust homeostatic process for replacing CNS myeloid cells
Nicholas H. Varvel, Stefan A. Grathwohl, Frank Baumann, Christian Liebig, Andrea Bosch, Bianca Brawek, Dietmar R. Thald, Israel F. Charo, Frank L. Heppnerf, Adriano Aguzzi, Olga Garaschuk, Richard M. Ransohoff, and Mathias Jucker, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Dr. Nicholas Varvel
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases & Hertie-Institut für klinische Hirnforschung, Tübingen
+49 7071 / 29-81924
Dr. Dirk Förger
Head of Press Department
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases
+49 228 / 43302-260
Director of Communications
Hertie-Institut für klinische Hirnforschung, Tübingen
+49 7071 / 29-88800
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NICHCY Connections to...Including Students with Disabilities in State & District Assessments
NICHCY is pleased to connect you with sources of information on including children with disabilities in state and district-wide assessments. This is an area of considerable concern and endeavor for state and local education agencies, educators, and families alike. Federal law--specifically, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)--requires that students with disabilities be included in large state or district assessment programs. In order to enable children with disabilities to participate in such general assessments, appropriate accommodations may be made, as necessary, as well as modifications in how the assessments are administered (including individual modifications, as appropriate). The decision as to whether a particular child will participate in a particular assessment belongs to the IEP team. The IEP team also specifies what accommodations or modifications that child will need in order to participate.
However, a student's IEP team may also determine that the student cannot participate in a particular State or district-wide assessment of student achievement or part of such an assessment, even with modifications. If this is the case, the team must include a statement in the IEP as to why the assessment is not appropriate for the student and how he or she will be assessed. Under the law, the state or local education agency (SEA / LEA) must then assess the child using an alternate assessment.
It's complicated---and yet very important. There is enormous pressure for accountability, and states routinely use high stakes testing programs that require students to reach a specified competency level in order to graduate. Thus, how these tests affect students with disabilities is an area of continuing concern. We hope the resources we've listed below will be useful to parents and professionals alike. They focus upon discussions of what high stakes testing means for students, what types of accommodations and modifications states are using to enable their participation, and what alternate assessments are being designed for students whose IEP teams determine that they cannot participate in a particular state or district test.
The list below isn't intended to be exhaustive of the resources available on including children with disabilities in state and district assessments---it's ever-growing. We'll be adding to this page throughout the year, so check back now and again to see what's new!
Reprinted with the permission of the National Dissemination Center.
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Steps toward Large-Scale Data Integration in the Sciences: Summary of a Workshop
data in reusable form, such as by giving special consideration to proposals that include plans for careful data publication.
Moreover, funding agencies can encourage the establishment and maintenance of data repositories and work to improve the tools available for data curation and sharing.
An open-source tool-kit to assist with data transformations would be of immense value. This is something that agencies can budget for, solicit proposals for, and fund.
An open-source science-oriented DBMS would also be of immense value. Again, this is something that agencies can budget for, solicit proposals for, and fund.
Dr. Stonebraker offered his own thoughts on how to improve the software that enables data integration. Noting that scientists often build the entire software stack for each new project, he pointed out how this limits, even precludes, the reuse of software modules and the leveraging of well-established tools. Building afresh was followed by the Mission to Planet Earth a decade ago as well as more recently by the Large Hadron Collider project. In contrast, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) made data available in an SQL server database and allowed astronomers to run a collection of queries of interest.
Dr. Stonebraker suggested a number of ways to improve the common state of practice:
Send the query to the data, not the other way around. Currently, publication schemes typically send data sets to scientists who load these data into their favorite software system and then further reduce them to find actual data of interest. In effect, a central system sends data to scientists who query them locally to discover items of interest. This approach is an inefficient use of bandwidth, because large data sets are sent over networks only to then be reduced two or three orders of magnitude. It would be much more efficient to reduce the data upstream in response to a request and save the bandwidth.1 An alternate approach for saving bandwidth, which is sometimes practiced today, is to store the data in a processed form, so that their transmittal is easier. But this has the shortcoming that requesting scientists have different needs, so any
An anonymous reviewer pointed out that, in general, this approach may not scale, as some centralized stores will have to support an ever increasing number of queries. A complementary approach is to have replication on demand, where subsets of the data are replicated to secondary sites based on local demand. A form of this approach was taken by the LHC with its predetermined tier structure.
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Endodontic therapy in dental setup should be simple, predictable and of course the most wanted by patients that's painless and time saving. In recent dental advances RCT is the preferred management modality, for root canal infections.RCT for molars are more challenging and demanding, due to the multicanal system. Since we donot want you to loose your permanent molars which is a threat to occlusal bite.Single sitting RCT is the choice now a days
Why single sitting?
Persons with busy working hours feel this ideal.
To reduce multiple visits to dentist
Due to new recent advances with availability of latest equipment and materials,its in demand.
Need For Root Canal Treatment
Removal of bacterial infection from tooth
Removal of pain
Prevention of further spread of infection throughout tooth to periapical tissue and surrounding bone
Prevent further damage of tooth by infection.
Procedure for Endodontic Treatment
1. First Evaluation and endodontic tooth preparation
a small x-ray of the tooth is taken to check the tooth shape and root canals infection site
local anthesia is administered at the infected site
a canal is made in tooth to allow for removal of the damaged pulp
2. Clean root canal and pulp chamber
root canal may be cleaned once or several times to ensure infection is cleared
in some cases, medications may be placed to prevent infection by removing germs from the teeth
3. Root Filling
after root canal is check and cleared, the root canal is filled
the tooth tends to be brittle after root canal treatment.To bring back the teeth to normal form and function,the tooth is protected with the help of crowns that helps teeth to provide extra strength and protection.
With the help of endodontic treatment we target to create an absolutely infection free root canal system,which allows for healing of the periradicular tissues as well as the teeth is saved from being sacrificed. A successful procedure is one which has removed bacteria in the tooth and completely filled the canals. In single sitting RCT we, modern technological machines and units such as the Endomate unit and Root Apex locator are utilized to provide better prognosis and increase the long term success rate. This new system,which makes endodontics easy,and painless for patients.
Implants in todays dental trend advancements are titanium posts,which are tooth root substitute.These tiny posts areinserted into the jawbone where teeth are missing.They act as metal anchors are surgically placed into the jaw bones. The bone bonds with the titanium, creating a strong foundation for artificial teeth. Small posts are then attached to the implant, which protrude through the gums. These posts provide stable anchors for artificial replacement teeth.
The Surgical Procedure
Todays implant system is very easy procedure which includes two surgical procedure, First, implants are placed within your jawbone. For the first three to six months following surgery, the implants are beneath the surface of the gums,which helps in making a bond with the surrounding jawbone. During this time patient is given to wear temporary dentures and advised soft diet. After the implant to has formed a bond with the jawbone, the second visit the implants are uncovered and small posts are attached to which the artificial teeth are anchored.These posts protrude through the gums. When the artificial teeth are placed these posts will not be seen. The entire procedure usually takes six to eight months. Advances in dental implant technology have made it possible in select cases, to extract teeth, and place implants with crowns at one visit. This process, called "immediate loading" greatly simplifies the surgical process.
Who actually performs the implant placement?
Implants are a team effort between implantologist ,prosthodontist.,restorative dentist.
Why dental implants?
Implants are now for improved life style,quality of life. When you lose single teeth or multiple teeth you may not express but you have never become fully accustomed to losing such a vital part of yourself.Dental implants today is the new path way renewed self-confidence and peace of mind.Even older people want to maintain a good quality of life,and with dentures they don't get that satisfaction of there own teeth.For them its one morechance to restore your smile ,as your ability to eat and speak properly.Implants are definitely best solution for toothless jaw.
Are you a candidate for implants?
If you are considering implants, your mouth must be examined thoroughly and your medical and dental history reviewed.
What type of anesthesia is used?
The majority of dental implants and bone grafting can be performed in the office under local anesthesia, with or without intravenous sedation.
Care For Implants
Once the implants are in place,regular dental check ups are advised.Routine dental visits and proper tooth brushing,flossing,rinsing mouth helps in maintainence of implants.
What are porcelain veneers?
Porcelain veneers, are wafer-thin shells of porcelain that are bonded onto the front side of teeth so to create a cosmetic improvement for a tooth.These veneers are the latest advancement in dentistry which uses minimal tooth preparation giving your teeth a very natural looking smile.They are now a days widely used along with ceramic crowns for smile correction. Advantages of porcelain veneers
Create a very life-like tooth appearance.
Since porcelain veneers having the glass-like in the advantage is that they are translucent. When a porcelain veneer is bonded onto a tooth's surface it will closely mimic the light handling characteristics of dental enamel"One property of tooth enamel is that it's translucent. The translucency effect of a tooth's enamel, is an important aspect of what give teeth their characteristic lustrous appearance. . This translucency effect of the porcelain veneers creates a lustrous appearance for the tooth that very closely resembles the appearance of enamel.
Porcelain veneers resist staining.
As a group, cosmetic dental bonding materials have the shortcoming of being susceptible to staining and discoloring.. Since porcelain is a ceramic, and therefore glass-like, a veneer's porcelain surface will be extremely stain resistant. Indications for veneers
Porcelain veneers can be used to repair minor tooth imperfections and defects Porcelain veneers can be used to cover over and conceal fillings that have become stained or discolored Porcelain veneers can be used to make color changes for teeth that have permanent stains In some cases porcelain veneers can be used as an alternative to orthodontic treatment What steps does a dentist take when they make a porcelain veneer for a tooth?
1. .Before this preparation is started according to the need the area is anaesthetized. Usually the avery minimal of tooth preparation is done .5 to.7millimeters
2. The dentisrt takes impression to create dental molds of your tooth using impression putty.Shade selection is done to match your current tooth shade. This impression is sent to laboratory who will in turn make your porcelain veneer.
3.In second visit . First the porcelain veneer will be cleaned and prepared for the cementation process. Your tooth will also be cleaned, and the veneers are bonded to the tooth surface and polishing is done.
We in T32 Dental spa offer you two different tooth whitening treatments which we can adapt to suit your lifestyle and budget. Our 'at-home' tooth whitening treatment will give you whiter teeth in only two weeks and can be implemented entirely at your convenience. Alternatively, you can opt for Zoom Advanced Power the Wow! Factor professional tooth whitening system. Zoom Advanced Power is a scientifically advanced procedure that is carried out in less than one hour at our tooth whitening clinic.It is the brightest and most powerful chair side whitening. It is safe, effective and fast, making it the ideal tooth whitening procedure for busy individuals and for anyone looking for immediate results. With the new Zoom advanced system, patients experience up to 67% less sensitivity . And it is also 50% whitens up to B1 shade or better in just 45 mins The procedure is simple and take only one-hour. After doing the supragingival scaling and polishing, whitening gel containing hydrogen peroxide is placed over your teeth. The ZOOM advanced power lamp is used to act on your teeth to activate and break down the hydrogen peroxide. As the hydrogen peroxide breaks down, it allows oxygen to enter your teeth and bleach the dentin and enamel.This helps your teeth to have an instant bright teeth in just 45 minutes.Ceramic crowns and bridges
Crowns and bridges are techniques involving cutting down the tooth or teeth to be restored and covering them entirely with caps.It is basically refers to restoration of natural teeth that have been damaged decayed or lost.Crowns are made to restore individual tooth where as bridges are used to replace one or more missing teeth.Indications for crown or bridges
There are large fillings in tooth and covers most of the surfaces of teeth making the strength weaker.
Discolouration or compromised esthetics.
Lot of damage caused to the teeth due to decay.
Fractured tooth which cannot be restored with filling.
After root canal treatment teeth becomes brittle,to support the teeth crowns are given.
Gives you back your smile
Helps you properly chew and speak
Maintains the shape of your face
Distributes the forces in your bite properly by replacing missing teeth
Prevents remaining teeth from drifting out of position
Helps preserve the natural function and position of the teeth
Restores and maintains natural bite
1. Porcelain fused to metal dental bridges
2. All porcelain dental bridges
3. All metal dental bridges (Gold)
The all porcelain dental bridges and porcelain fused to metal (PFM) dental bridges are tooth colored bridges. Some porcelain crowns have metal inside which gives strength and support to the porcelain. PFM dental bridges are usually used to restore back teeth where the forces of chewing and grinding are strongest. Porcelain is usually always used for the front teeth but may be used for the back teeth..With recent newadvances there are porcelain that with stands stress more well and can be used in posterior teeth.
The Empress crown more like a glass. can be very beautiful. For appearance's sake, we prefer the Empress*
The Procera crown - Procera is a milled ceramic on the inside with a more traditional porcelain baked onto the outside. The advantage of Procera is its exceptional strength. An advantage of Procera is that it doesn't have to be bonded to the tooth but can be cemented with ordinary crown and bridge cement, a technique familiar to all dentists.
Zirconia crowns look beautiful and very natural. Zirconia is an extra tough ceramic material, and it can be made extra thin. They have no metal in them, and can be made translucent or opaque, depending on the demands of the situation
Today we are no more worried to get our teeth filled,as various tooth coloured fillings are present in recent times,which matches our tooth shade as well as helps us to smile confidently.Normally we use composite which is plastic resin which creates a strong bond with the dentin& enamel. The other important quality is the colour.These resins comes in variety of shades so it matches your particular tooth structure.These tooth coloured fillings are bonded to the tooth by procedure called Dental bonding in which a tooth-colored resin material is applied and hardened with a special light, which ultimately "bonds" the material to the tooth to restore or improve person's smile.Why Tooth coloured fillings
Repairs decayed teeth
Repairs small chipped or cracked teeth
Improves the appearance of discolored teeth
Closes minor gaps and spaces between teeth
Changes the color and shape of teeth
Corrects mild crooked teeth to a certain degree
A cosmetic alternative to amalgam fillings
Protects a portion of the tooth's root that has been exposed when gums recede
Steps dentist performs
1. Dentist may anastetize the tooth depending on the amount of tooth preparation.
2. Entire tooth surface is cleansed and isolated with cotton rolls to ensure a tooth surface which is plaque free. And debri free.
3. The dentist selects shade using shade guide which mimics your current tooth shade.
4. Tooth shaping is done according to damage caused.
5. The tooth enamel is treated with acidic conditioner which is called etching done at microscopic level to create enamel roughning, for perfect bonding.
6. Then etch tooth surface is treated with bonding agent a liquid that is able to seep in the microscopic roughness.
7. Once the initial bond with tooth established composite is added to the tooth surface layer wise to create chemical bond
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ATHANASIUS I, the Apostolic Saint, twentieth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (326-373). Athanasius' life has been treated in detail by numerous authors. These sources can be categorized as follows: (1) the writings of Athanasius himself, which should be considered the most authentic of the sources. These include his historical tracts, encyclicals, an apology to Constantine, another apology against the Arians, his letters to Serapion and to the monks, and his festal letters; (2) the works of contemporary church fathers, including Hilary of Poitiers, BASIL THE GREAT, GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, and Epiphanius; and (3) chronicles of older historians such as RUFINUS, SOCRATES, Sulpicius Severus, THEODORET, and SOZOMEN, whose authority on details must be taken with some caution. To these may be added the Arabic life
rendered by E. RENAUDOT but originally prepared for the pious Copts, which is simply a legendary account of little historical import. Of course, the official record of the church is represented in the Copto-Arabic SYNAXARION and cannot be overlooked.
The secondary literature on the great saint is profuse, and only a selection of the most prominent biographers may here be mentioned by way of introduction: B. Montfaucon, L. S. de Tillemont, J. A. Moehler, S. Cave, H. G. Opitz, E. Schwartz, L. Atzberger, H. M. Gwatkin, F. L. Cross, and G. Mueller.
Athanasius was probably born in Alexandria around the year 296, although, according to an Arabic document found in DAYR ANBA MAQAR, it is said that his parents originally came from the city of al-Balyana in Upper Egypt. It is possible that his early education took place in the CATECHETICAL SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA; it is also possible that he could have attended classes in the Museon where he became conversant with Neoplatonism. As a young man, he must have witnessed the later period of the age of persecutions, though he would have been far too young to recollect incidents related to Maximian's persecution of 303. After Constantine declared Christianity to be the religion of the state, in the Edict of Milan in 312, his family must have suffered through the nascent Arian heresy, a movement destined to be the focal point of his struggle throughout his life. Rufinus and subsequent historians relate a story about Athanasius' boyhood. It is said that Patriarch ALEXANDER I, watching the seashore from his window, saw a group of children playing at Christian baptism; one of the boys played the bishop. Intrigued by this sight, the patriarch summoned the children to his presence and recognized the authenticity of the baptism thus performed. He kept at his court the boy-bishop, Athanasius, who ultimately became his secretary and his closest companion.
The Council of NICAEA in 325 marked the inauguration of the ecumenical movement. The young Athanasius, as Alexander's secretary, was the power behind the throne, and his influence was felt in the composition of the Nicene Creed. Athanasius succeeded Alexander in 326. The new archbishop now faced alone the spreading doctrine of Arianism.
Arius was probably of Libyan origin and a pupil of Lucian of Antioch. He was first ordained by Achillas (d. 311) as presbyter of the important church of Bucalis in Alexandria. An eloquent speaker and a pragmatic thinker, Arius captivated a large congregation in Alexandria with his ideas. He denied the coequality and coeternity of Jesus with the Father and held that the Father created the Son from nothing, only in turn to create the world. Thus the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son was denied by Arius, whose position was supported by Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia. The idea was rejected by Alexander, and its vehement opponent was Athanasius, who defended his view at the Council of Nicaea using the famous term HOMOOUSION to describe the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son. The defeat of the Arians at that council did not end the controversy nor did it eliminate the Arian party, whose teachings continued to spread. This inaugurated a period of theological strife between Arius and Athanasius. The situation was aggravated by the infiltration of Arianism into the imperial court and its increasing popularity among the populace, whose thinking was more amenable to the simple and pragmatic ideas of Arius. In
addition, Arius expressed his ideas in a series of popular poetic hymns called Thalia (banquet), setting them to music adapted from old, familiar tunes of the ancient Egyptians. These could be heard in the shipyards and all over Alexandria.
Emperor CONSTANTINE I, eager to preserve the unity of his empire, first accepted the verdict of Nicaea, but later wavered in his judgment. He was probably influenced by his Arian sister Constantia and Eusebius of Nicomedia, as well as by the expanding number of Arian followers. At this point Arius seemed to soften his attitude toward the Nicene decision, and the emperor consequently wanted Athanasius to be reconciled with his enemies and to reinstate Arius in church communion. A synod of 335 formally confirmed the reconciliation movement, but Arius died mysteriously in the following year, while the suspicious Athanasius continued to refuse a dubious reconciliation. In the meantime, in 335 the emperor commanded Athanasius to go into exile at Trier in Germany. This proved to be only the first of a series of five exiles of this staunch archbishop, who stood fast by his theology against a movement that survived its author and kept expanding.
The Five Exiles
Athanasius remained in Trier a little more than two years, a period during which he must have composed and developed some of his theological works. With the death of Constantine I in 337, Athanasius and some of the banished Nicene bishops were free to return to their dioceses. Though the people of Alexandria hailed him, Athanasius' return was beset by intrigues from outside. Eusebius of Nicomedia was moved to Constantinople where, as a staunch supporter of Arianism, he had direct access to the imperial court and could influence the emperor against Athanasius. The Arians hoped to depose Athanasius, and in 340, they installed Gregory of Cappadocia in the archiepiscopal throne of Alexandria. Athanasius decided to go into hiding, while his new antagonist reveled in orgies and committed heinous crimes such as causing Philagrius to scourge thirty-four women at church and masterminding the incarceration of other pious Christians. In the midst of such Arian atrocities, Athanasius decided to flee at Easter of the year 340 from Alexandria to Rome.
Thus began his second exile, which lasted three years at the curia of Pope Julius I (337-352) in Rome. Apparently this time the exile was a voluntary one. He was accompanied by a number of Egyptian monks, and perhaps the most significant outcome of that exile was the introduction of the monastic system, which had originated in the Egyptian deserts, to the western Latins. The acceptance of the Egyptian monastic order by the Roman papacy must be regarded as a vital step in the development of Christianity in Europe and the preservation of the Roman heritage in the Middle Ages. On this occasion, too, Athanasius established friendly relations with the Roman see, which recognized his position as archbishop and offered him support throughout his reign. Finally, through the influence of Constantius II (337-361), he was restored to his diocese in Alexandria, now vacated from Arian vestiges by the murder of its Arian occupant, Gregory of Cappadocia, in February 345.
Athanasius' return proved to be an honorable one. He was given imperial letters of congratulations at Aquileia, from where he started the long journey home via Constance, Trier, with its memories of the first exile, and Rome, where Pope Julius offered him an eloquent letter of support. He passed through Hadrianopolis on his journey to Antioch, where he had another opportunity to see the eastern emperor Constantius, who received him with honor. Athanasius refrained from vilifying his opponents to the emperor, but took leave to confront his detractors carrying Constantius' letters to the clergy of Egypt pleading for a unified church. From Antioch Athanasius went to Jerusalem, where he attended a council held in his honor. Athanasius arrived in Alexandria on 24 Babah. Gregory of Nazianzus described the tumultuous welcome by the people, who streamed forth "like the river Nile." Even the dissenting Arian element of the population seemed, for the time being, to have faced the prelate's restoration with charitable clemency.
After these festivities, peace appeared to have reigned for a few years, and as many as 400 bishops, including those substituting for Arians, showered letters of support on Athanasius. Emperor Valens (364-378), it would seem, anathematized Arianism. Nevertheless, it would also seem that the Arians were only procrastinating in the face of irresistible support for Athanasius. Although the western emperor Constans (337-350) lent his support to the great prelate, the eastern emperor Constantius II, being greatly influenced by Eusebius in particular and the Arians in general, turned against him. Constantius condoned and even incited the persecution of Athanasius.
As the restoration festivities began to calm down, the pro-Arian military power started to maneuver against the reestablished orthodoxy. One story is told of a certain General Sebastian, a Manichaean, who came with a batallion of 3,000 soldiers to a cemetery where a company of virgins remained in prayer after the rest of the congregation had dispersed. Sebastian asked the virgins to embrace Arianism. When they refused, he had them stripped and they were thrashed so heavily that some of them died. Such incidents were reputed to have occurred around the churches of Alexandria where the Orthodox bishops were relentlessly pursued, and dozens of them fled. Athanasius stood firm against his opponents, who were led by a certain George the Cappadocian, who intended to replace him on the throne of Alexandria. Athanasius resisted until he could place his case before Constantius, but to his disappointment the emperor issued an imperial missive in which he described the orthodox prelate as a criminal fugitive. Constantius also advised the Ethiopian sovereign to send Frumentius (see ETHIOPIAN PRELATES) founder of the Ethiopian church, back to receive his new ordination, not from Athanasius, but from the Cappodocian George. Frumentius had been consecrated as bishop of Axum by Athanasius prior to 368. Cornered, Athanasius exiled himself from Alexandria again. He joined the increasing number of Coptic monks in the desert. During this exile, which lasted more than six years, he wrote most of his theological works. While keeping contact with his Alexandrian flock through letters of encouragement, he moved from the Nitrian Desert to the Thebaid and lived for a while in the Eastern Desert. He must have spent some time with Saint ANTONY THE GREAT before his death. And it was then that he was able to compose his classic work, the Life of Saint Antony.
With the death of Constantius II in 361, JULIAN THE APOSTATE (361-363) acceded to the imperial throne. Julian had long been contemptuous of the arguments of the Christians, whether orthodox or Arian. The immediate result of Julian's accession was the emergence of the pagan population, who were determined to avenge themselves on George the Cappadocian, who had been determined to exterminate them. The Arian bishop was murdered, and his body was then circulated through the city on a camel. Finally, he was cremated and his remains were thrown into the sea. Although Julian did not favor this gesture at the beginning of his reign, he issued an edict allowing all fugitive bishops to return peacefully to their dioceses. Seizing this opportunity, Athanasius returned to Alexandria on 22 February 362, where he was again met with tumultuous glee by his Orthodox followers.
On his return, Athanasius held a council to resolve all outstanding problems, whether in Alexandria or in Antioch. One of the decisions of that council provided that all who had forfeited their communion with the church could regain it by simply declaring their allegiance to the terms of Nicaea. Those who spoke of three hypostases were found to mean three persons, whereas the Nicene formula prescribed one HYPOSTASIS, the actual Incarnation of the Logos, or assumption of manhood by the Son. Athanasius issued a synodal epistle or tome to the Antiochians about the findings of the council in the hope of achieving church unity. He was unsuccessful because Paulinus, a dissenter, had already been elevated to the episcopate of Antioch, thus starting a schism. In the midst of these internal difficulties, Julian the Apostate denounced all Christian teachings, as well as the right of Athanasius to his episcopal throne. Julian issued a special edict for the expulsion of Athanasius, which was communicated to him by Pythiodorus, a pagan philosopher, on 23 October 362. Thus began the fourth exile of the great prelate. Athanasius left for Memphis and the Thebaid in the year 363. After Julian's death in 363 Athanasius
returned to his episcopal throne.
After his arrival at Alexandria via Hermopolis, where he was hailed by throngs of monks, he received an encouraging letter from the new emperor Jovian (363-364) instructing him to exercise the duties of his episcopal office and prepare a formal statement delineating the Orthodox elements of the faith. Athanasius at once summoned a council, which, under his leadership, framed a synodal epistle that affirmed the Nicene Creed and condemned Arianism and Semi-Arianism, while it denounced the triple definition of the hypostasis and maintained the coequality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son—positions that anticipated the terms of the creed of Constantinople (381).
Armed with these decisions, Athanasius sailed to Antioch, where he was enthusiastically received and where his principles were accepted. The church was consequently united, and even in the West, Pope Liberius (352-355 and 365-366) is known to have made a full declaration of orthodoxy in Rome. In 364, after writing another festal letter at Antioch, Athanasius safely returned to Alexandria shortly before Jovian's death. He was succeeded by Valens (364-378), who was confided the administration of the eastern empire by his brother Valentinian II (375-392). In 365, Valens ordered the expulsion of the bishops that had been allowed to return by Julian. The newly adopted Arian policy caused trouble for the orthodox population and in particular for Athanasius, who stood on the defensive, while the prefect of Alexandria mustered his forces to act against the prelate. Athanasius quietly made his escape through the Church of Saint Dionysius and took refuge for the next four months in a house outside the city. This short period might be considered a fifth and self-inflicted exile. It was terminated by the advent of an imperial notary named Barasides, who came forth with another imperial order for the release of the prelate and his return to his episcopal throne.
From the time of his return to Alexandria until his death in May 373, Athanasius was occupied by disputations against the Arians, by the building of new churches, and in writing some of his final works. He occupied the See of Saint Mark for a total of forty-six years during which he was subjected to persecution that bordered on martyrdom, but his faith in the Nicene Creed was never shaken. According to the Copto-Arabic Synaxarion, his commemoration date occurs on 30 Tut.
In his later years, Athanasius completed his triumph over Arianism, whose exponents were silenced in the Byzantine empire. With the extermination of their teachings from the empire, the splinter of their remaining representatives crossed the Byzantine borders to the realm of the barbarians where they could preach their Arian doctrines in peace to the Goths. Their apostle was ULPHILAS (c. 311-383), originally a Cappadocian, who was consecrated bishop by Eusebius, the Arian bishop of Nicomedia. The Goths remained faithful to Arian precepts even until they descended on the western Roman empire. Their conversion to orthodoxy was a lengthy process in subsequent centuries.
Together with the discomfiture of Arianism and the firm establishment of the Nicene Creed, Athanasius, through his relations with the Pachomian monks and Serapion, was able to give monasticism and ascetic life in Egypt tremendous encouragement and support. Moreover, he was directly responsible for the introduction of monastic rule in the West. As a biographer of Saint Antony, he dedicated his life of the great saint to the people of Gaul and Italy. His theology remained the solid rock on which future generations of theologians continued to build. He was canonized, and the next generation described him as the Apostolic and the Great.
Athanasius is known to have written most of his works in Greek and has been described in A Select Library of the Nicene and Post- Nicene Fathers (1953, p. ixvi) as a Greek father. In fact, the Greek fathers did not know Coptic, and Athanasius, like many educated Copts, was proficient in both Greek and Coptic. Antony and Athanasius must have communicated in Coptic, for Antony did not know Greek.
While Athanasius was still in his twenties, around the year 318, he wrote two short treatises: Against the Gentiles and De Incarnatione Verbi Dei, which became an authoritative theological classic. His thesis in the latter treatise is that by the union of God the Logos with manhood in the person of the Son, Jesus restored to fallen humanity the image of God in which it had been created (Gn. 1:27). By his death and resurrection, Jesus overcame death, which was the consequence of sin. Both treatises predated the outbreak of the Arian controversy in 319. Most of his subsequent work concentrated on the opposition to Arianism beginning with Nicaea.
It is not easy to present a complete bibliography of Athanasius, which has been progressively enriched by new discoveries. Attempts at a compilation of his works have been made by scholars since 1482 when, for the first time, a Latin version of some of his works appeared. Subsequently, two of his genuine works together with a group of spurious ones appeared in Paris in 1520. While rejecting the authenticity of the letters to Serapion, Erasmus edited another collection in 1527; an edition combining the collections of 1520 and 1527 appeared at Lyons in 1532. A more developed Latin edition of all his known works was published by Nannius in 1556, while the first Greek edition by P. Felckmann appeared at Heidelberg in 1608-1612. The Greek text with a Latin version published in Paris in 1627 seems to have superseded all others and may have been supplemented by the one dated 1681 in Leipzig. However, all were overshadowed by the Benedictine edition of 1698 to which B. Montfaucon juxtaposed the Life of the saint. Additional remnants by Montfaucon were compiled in 1707 within the series known as Nova patrum et scriptorum Graecorum collectio. Athanasius' work on the Psalms was edited by N. Antonelli at Rome in 1746 and republished in four folio volumes, which incorporated most of his previous works. Published in English at Oxford in 1842-1844 are the Historical Tracts of St. Athanasius as well as two volumes of Treatises in Controversy with the Arians. His works include the festal letters; his encyclicals; and his special letters to the monks, to Serapion, to the Egyptians and the Libyans, as well as: Apology to Constantius, Apology for His Flight, Apology Against the Arians, History of the Arians, Against the Gentiles, On the Incarnation, Orations and Discourses Against the Arians, Exposition of the Psalms, and Life of Saint Antony.
AZIZ S. ATIYA
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Cornelius, (Carl August) Peter
(Born; Mainz, 24 Dec 1824; Died; nr Copenhagen, 26 Oct 1874). German composer. Trained as actor and violinist, and friend of artists, poets and writers, he devoted himself to music from the 1840s, finding inspiration in Liszt and the New German School at Weimar in 1852. His first mature works were the lieder opp. 1 and 2 and the song cycle Trauer und Trost op.3, followed by the comic opera Der Barbier von Bagdad (1855-8); all show his literary skill, refreshing simplicity and musical independence from the Liszt circle. In Vienna (1859-65), he wrote his second opera Der Cid and enjoyed fruitful relationships with Brahms, Carl Tausig and above all Wagner, who summoned him to Munich in 1865 as his private répétiteur and teacher at the Royal School of Music. His third opera Gunlöd was never finished. He continued to write poetry and essays defending Wagner and Liszt and translated vocal works by Pergolesi, Berlioz, Liszt and others. Although he revered Wagner, he stood ethically and artistically apart, his work (especially Der Barbier) thus representing an original achievement.
© Groves Dictionaries, MacMillan Publishers Limited, UK
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As the U.S. tries to recover from the impact of Hurricane Sandy on our shores, Cuba is facing an immense humanitarian tragedy, with long-term implications for its economy, food security, and its future.
Sandy hit Cuba last Thursday, October 25th, staggering the Eastern side of the island with the knock-out punch of a Category 2 hurricane. Winds gusted in excess of 108 miles per hour. According to preliminary estimates, the storm killed 11 Cubans and caused more than $2 billion in losses.
The UN said the storm damaged at least 180,000 homes, affecting more than one million people, and ruined crops across nearly a quarter-million acres of farmland. State-run media said damage to homes in the provinces of Santiago and Holguin was actually higher.
The Associated Press reported that Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second largest city, most directly affected by Hurricane Sandy, lost power and running water for days. The wire service quoted reports in the Communist party newspaper Granma of “severe damage to housing, economic activity, fundamental public services and institutions of education, health and culture.”
“The reality is much worse than what you can see in the pictures or on TV,” said President Raúl Castro, who witnessed the storm’s aftermath. “Santiago is a moving sight,” he said, “it looks like a bombed city.”
The scope and size of the tragedy is so broad, that Cuba postponed a nationwide military drill, The Bastion 2012 Exercise, until the first half of 2013.
Instead, President Castro said “what was needed now was to ‘make a detailed plan for the recovery of the regions (affected by the hurricane) and make a collection of all the resources they may need’.”
News accounts portray utter devastation. Earlier this week, one Cuban wrote “The sight of women, elderly individuals and children sifting through debris to salvage whatever was left of their belongings was simply heartbreaking.”
In an interview with AP, Berta Serguera, an 82-year-old retiree said, “It’s indescribable. The trees have been shredded as if with a saw. My mango only has a few branches left, and they look like they were shaved.”
Cuba, which already buys over 80 percent of its food from suppliers abroad, is facing a food security nightmare. According to the BBC, first Vice President, Jose Ramon Machado said one of the biggest problems facing the government was guaranteeing food supplies for the people in the affected areas in the coming months.
According to AFP, the United Nations is reporting “The toll on the farm sector will have major repercussions around the country.” It added, “Sugar cane was the single hardest hit followed by plantain and bananas, vegetables and other basic crops” such as beans.
Reuters said the storm decimated the country’s coffee crop, leaving behind between “20 percent and 30 percent of the crop on the ground, damaged processing centers and roads and felled thousands of trees upon plantations as it pummeled the Sierra Maestra Mountains, where 92 percent of the crop is grown.”
Cubans accustomed to protections afforded by the nation’s storied civil defense system were reported to be shocked by the number of deaths, even though its procedures undoubtedly kept the death count from climbing higher. At least, fifty-two were lost in nearby Haiti.
“This is one of the most severe hurricanes to hit Eastern Cuba. Despite very good preparedness on the part of Cuban authorities, people were less prepared because the storm followed an unusual trajectory, and directly affected the city of Santiago de Cuba –which is not usually in the path of Caribbean hurricanes,” said Christina Polzot, CARE’s Representative in Cuba. “The Cuban Government coordinated the evacuation of 343,230 people, many of which remain seeking shelter with extended family, which creates significant over-crowding in these homes.
According to numerous reports, a recovery effort by Cuba’s government is underway. Prensa Latin said brigades of engineers and builders from provinces throughout Cuba were making progress in recovering electricity and communications. By Wednesday, “phones and electricity were gradually being restored with the help of workers brought in from other regions. In Holguin, 73 per cent of customers had the lights back on.”
In the meanwhile, when Santiago de Cuba was able to reopen its international airport on Tuesday, “one of the first arrivals was a Venezuelan aid flight carrying 14 tons of food,” and the government in Caracas announced that hundreds of tons more would be flown to Cuba as well as Haiti, also hard-hit by the storm. Bolivia has committed to sending 120 tons of humanitarian aid, as well.
But, there is no minimizing what lies ahead for the Cuban people. “The secretary general of Caritas Cuba said it will take years for the eastern section of the country to recover from Hurricane Sandy.”
Crops can take years to recover and homes years more to rebuild. And Cuba’s economy is very short of cash.
There is an unfortunate irony to this. Four years ago, Cuba suffered devastating blows from storms named Gustav, Ike, and Paloma which inflicted $10 billion in damage to housing and agriculture.
In 2008, U.S. policy barred Cuban Americans from rushing to the island to offer solace and assistance to their families. President Bush imposed a regulation limiting family travel and cutting down on the financial assistance Cubans living here could offer Cubans there. And, of course, there was the embargo which meant that another generation of Cubans watched their powerful neighbor to the north do nothing while they suffered and more distant countries rushed to their aid.
The good news is that President Obama lowered the gates on family travel in 2009 and by changing the rules enable Cuban Americans to visit the island and provide financial support to their families without limit.
Now, members of Cuba’s opposition are urging the government to eliminate taxes and fees which they say could inhibit Cuba’s access to relief supplies. It is important to note that such customs duties are only levied on items sent from person to person. Lifting them temporarily could cause an influx of goods onto the black market to be sold at high prices to those in need. Conversely, donations sent through established organizations are not subject to duties and these resources will be distributed free of charge and in an orderly and prioritized fashion.
We’d like to see the U.S. government act. It should punch a hole in the embargo, for at least six months, and authorize the sale of emergency building materials to Cuba for home construction. This wouldn’t be charity or cost taxpayers a dime. Legislation to make this change has already been drafted. In fact, it was introduced in 2008 by Representatives Delahunt (D-MA) and Flake (R-AZ) when Cuba was last pummeled by storms. But, of course, it died in committee, while American policy makers pretended not to notice that Cubans were suffering.
A friend of ours said at the time, “the test for all governments in a situation like this is to put politics aside and to do what has to be done in every possible way to help people.”
We don’t have to wait for the White House or the Congress to recover their conscience. We can make donations to Cuba ourselves. It’s time for US to be good Samaritans.
Read the rest of this entry »
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New Culture Movement
The New Culture Movement (simplified Chinese: 新文化运动; traditional Chinese: 新文化運動; pinyin: Xīn Wénhuà Yùndòng) of the mid 1910s and 1920s sprang from the disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture following the failure of the Chinese Republic, founded in 1912 to address China’s problems. Scholars like Chen Duxiu, Cai Yuanpei, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Hu Shih, had classical educations but began to lead a revolt against Confucianism. They called for the creation of a new Chinese culture based on global and western standards, especially democracy and science. Younger followers took up their call for:
- Vernacular literature
- An end to the patriarchal family in favor of individual freedom and women's liberation
- View that China as a nation among nations, not as a uniquely Confucian culture.
- The re-examination of Confucian texts and ancient classics using modern textual and critical methods, known as the Doubting Antiquity School
- Democratic and egalitarian values
- An orientation to the future rather than the past
On May 4, 1919, students in Beijing protested the Paris Peace Conference giving German rights over Shandong to Imperial Japan, turning this cultural movement into a political one in what became known as the May Fourth Movement.
Two major centers of literary and intellectual activity were Beijing – home to Peking University and Tsinghua University – and Shanghai, with its flourishing publishing sector. The founders of the New Culture Movement clustered in Peking University, where they were recruited by Cai Yuanpei when he became chancellor. Chen Duxiu as dean and Li Dazhao as librarian in turn recruited leading figures such as the philosopher Hu Shi, the scholar of Buddhism Liang Shuming, the historian Gu Jiegang, and many more. Chen founded the journal New Youth in 1915, which became the most prominent of hundreds of new publications for the new middle class public.
Yuan Shikai, who inherited part of the Qing dynasty military after it collapsed in 1911, attempted to establish order and unity, but failed to protect China against Japan and in his attempt to have himself declared emperor. When he died in 1916, the collapse of the traditional order seemed complete and there was an intensified search for a replacement which would go deeper than the changes of the previous generations which brought new institutions and new political forms. Daring leaders called for a new culture.
A substantial literary establishment – publishing houses, journals, literary societies, and universities – provided a foundation for an active literary and intellectual scene over the course of the following decades. The New Youth journal, which was a leading forum for debating the causes of China's weakness, laid the blame on Confucian culture. Chen Duxiu called for "Mr. Confucius" to be replaced by "Mr. Science" and "Mr. Democracy." Another outcome was the promotion of written vernacular Chinese (白话). Hu Shih proclaimed that "a dead language cannot produce a living literature." In theory, the new format allowed people with little education to read texts, articles and books. He charged that literary, or Classical Chinese, which had been the written language prior to the movement, was only understood by scholars and officials (ironically, the new vernacular included many foreign words and Japanese neologisms, which made it difficult for many to read). Scholars such as Y.R. Chao (Zhao Yuanren) began the study of the Chinese language and dialects using tools of western linguistics. Hu Shih was among the scholars who used the textual study of Dream of the Red Chamber and other vernacular fiction as the basic for the national language. Literary societies such as the Crescent Moon Society flourished.
The literary output of this time was huge, with many writers who later became famous (such as Mao Dun, Lao She, Lu Xun and Bing Xin) publishing their first works. For example, Lu Xun's essays and short fiction created a sensation with their condemnation of Confucian culture. Diary of a Madman directly implied that China's traditional culture was cannibalistic, and The True Story of Ah Q showed the typical Chinese as weak and self-deceiving. Along with this musicians such as Yin Zizhong joined the movement through music.
New Culture leaders and their followers now saw China as a nation among nations, not as culturally unique. A large number of Western doctrines became fashionable, particularly those that reinforced the cultural criticism and nation-building impulses of the movement. Social Darwinism, which had been influential since the late nineteenth century, was especially shaping for Lu Xun, among many others. and was supplemented by almost every "ism" of the world. Anarchism, which had been influential earlier in the century, was displaced by socialism and Marxism only later. The pragmatism of John Dewey became popular, often through the work of Hu Shi and Tao Xingzhi. Dewey arrived in China in 1919, and spent the following year lecturing. Bertrand Russell also lectured widely to warm crowds. Lu Xun was associated with the ideas of Nietzsche, which were also propagated by Li Shicen, Mao Dun, and many other intellectuals of the time.
New Culture leaders promoted feminism, even free love, as an attack on the traditional family, changing the terms in which the following generations conceived society. More specifically, the movement replaced sexuality over the traditional Chinese idea of kinship positionality. This substitution is a staple of the emerging individualistic theories that occurred during the era. Among the feminist writers was Ding Ling.
Development and breakup of the movement
The May Fourth Demonstrations of 1919 initially united these leaders but soon there was a debate and falling out over the role of politics. Hu Shi, Cai Yuanpei, and other liberals urged the demonstrating students to return to the classroom, but Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, frustrated with the inadequacy of cultural change, used their roles as Peking University faculty to organize Marxist study groups and the first meeting of the Chinese Communist Party. Li called for "fundamental solutions," but Hu criticized this as abstract, calling for "more study of questions, less study of isms." Many of their younger followers followed Li and Chen into organized politics, including Mao Zedong.
Others of the May Fourth students heeded Hu Shi's call to return to their studies, taking them in new directions which shaped scholarship for the next generation. The historian Gu Jiegang, for instance, pioneered the application of the New History he studied at Columbia University to classical Chinese texts in the Doubting Antiquity Movement. Gu also inspired his students in the study of Chinese folk traditions which had been ignored or dismissed by Confucian scholars. Education was high on the New Culture agenda. Cai Yuanpei headed a New Education Society, and many university students joined the Mass Education Movement of James Yen and Tao Xingzhi which organized literacy classes.
In 1924, Indian Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore held numerous lectures in China. Tagore argued the detrimental consequences China could encounter by integrating too much western civilization into Chinese society. In spite of Tagore's efforts, two western ideals were quickly garnering support throughout China. These two theories were democracy and science, both major components of the New Culture Movement. Democracy became a vital tool for those frustrated with the unstable condition of China, whereas science became a crucial instrument to discard the "darkness of ignorance and superstition."
In short, the New Culture Movement advocated and debated a wide range of topics that included science, technology, individualism, music and democracy.
Evaluations and changing views
Orthodox historians viewed the New Culture Movement as a revolutionary break with feudal thought and social practice and as the seedbed of revolutionary leaders who created the Communist Party of China and who went on to found the People's Republic of China in 1949. Mao Zedong wrote that the May 4th Movement "marked a new stage in China's bourgeois-democratic revolution against imperialism and feudalism," and argued that "a powerful camp made its appearance in the bourgeois-democratic revolution, a camp consisting of the working class, the student masses and the new national bourgeoisie."
Historians in the west also saw the movement as marking a break between tradition and modernity, but in recent decades Chinese and western historians now commonly argue that the changes promoted by New Culture leaders had roots going back several generations and thus were not a sharp break with tradition, which is in any case quite varied, so much as an acceleration of earlier trends. Research over the last fifty years also suggests that while radical Marxists were important in the New Culture Movement, there were many other influential leaders, including anarchists, conservatives, Christians, and liberals. This re-evaluation, while it does not challenge the high evaluation of the thinkers and writers of the period, does not accept their self-image as cultural revolutionaries.
Other historians further argue that Mao Zedong’s communist revolution did not, as it claimed, fulfill the promise of New Culture and enlightenment but rather betrayed its spirit of independent expression and cosmopolitanism. Yu Yingshi, a student of the New Confucian Qian Mu, recently defended Confucian thought against the New Culture condemnation. He reasoned that in fact late imperial China had not been stagnant, irrational and isolated, conditions which would justify radical revolution, but rather that late Qing thinkers were already taking advantage of the creative potential of Confucius.
Xu Jilin, a Shanghai intellectual who reflects present day liberal voices, agreed in effect with the orthodox view that the New Culture Movement was the root of the Chinese Revolution but valued the outcome differently. New Culture intellectuals, said Xu, saw a conflict between Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism in their struggle to find a “rational patriotism.” But the cosmopolitan movement of the 1920s was replaced by a “new age of nationalism.” Like a “wild horse,” Xu continued, “jingoism, once unbridled, could no longer be restrained, thus laying the foundations for the eventual outcomes of the history of China during the first half of the twentieth century.”
- Nishi, Masayuki. "March 1 and May 4, 1919 in Korea, China and Japan: Toward an international History of East Asian Independence Movements". The Asia Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- Joseph T. Chen, The May Fourth Movement in Shanghai; the Making of a Social Movement in Modern China (Leiden,: Brill, 1971)
- Furth, Charlotte (1983). "Intellectual change: from the Reform movement to the May Fourth movement, 1895-1920". In John K. Fairbank. Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1. The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 322–405. ISBN 978-0-521-23541-9.
- Schwartz, Benjamin (1983). "Themes in Intellectual History: May Fourth and After". In John K. Fairbank. Republican China 1912-1949, Part 1. The Cambridge History of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 406–451. ISBN 978-0-521-23541-9. Unknown parameter
- Chow, May Fourth Movement, pp. 277, 46, 59}
- Leo Ou-fan Lee, Voices from the Iron House: A Study of Lu Xun (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987), pp 53-77; 76-78.
- Erez Manela, The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), Ch 5 "China's Place Among Nations"
- James Reeve Pusey, China and Charles Darwin (Cambridge, Mass.: Council on East Asian Studies Distributed by Harvard University Press, 1983).
- Lee, Haiyan. 75cde3d961c531b3262e2 "Tears that Crumbled the Great Wall: The Archaeology of Feeling in the May Fourth Movement Folklore Movement". Journal of Asian Studies. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- Jerome B. Grieder, Hu Shih and the Chinese Renaissance: Liberalism in the Chinese Revolution, 1917-1937 (Cambridge,: Harvard University Press, 1970), p. 254.
- Laurence A. Schneider, Ku Chieh-Kang and China's New History; Nationalism and the Quest for Alternative Traditions (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971).
- Chang-tai Hung, Going to the People: Chinese Intellectuals and Folk Literature, 1918-1937 (Cambridge, Mass.: Council on East Asian Studies Harvard University : Distributed by Harvard University Press, 1985).
- Schoppa, R.Keith. Revolution and Its Past: Identities and Change in Modern Chinese History. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. p. 170.
- "The May Fourth Movement" (1939), Selected Works of Mao Zedong
- Paul A. Cohen, Discovering History in China: American Historical Writing on the Recent Chinese Past (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984), pp. 85–86.
- Introduction, Kai-wing Chow, Beyond the May Fourth Paradigm : In Search of Chinese Modernity (Lanham: Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefied, 2008) and Rana Mitter, A Bitter Revolution : China's Struggle with the Modern World (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).
- Schwarcz, Vera. The Chinese Enlightenment: Intellectuals and the Legacy of the May Fourth Movement of 1919 Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.
- "Neither Renaissance nor Enlightenment: a historian's reflections on the May Fourth movement," Ying-shi Yü, in Milena Dolezelová-Velingerová,Oldrich Král Graham Martin Sanders, eds., The Appropriation of Cultural Capital: China's May Fourth Project (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001).
- “Historical Memories of May Fourth: Patriotism, but of what kind?” Xu Jilin (translated by Duncan M. Campbell), China Heritage Quarterly, 17 (March 2009)
- Guy Alitto, The Last Confucian: Liang Shu-Ming and the Chinese Dilemma of Modernity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979). Biography of a conservative New Culture figure.
- Kai-wing Chow, Beyond the May Fourth Paradigm: In Search of Chinese Modernity (Lanham: Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefied, 2008). Essays on new aspects of the movement,including an Introduction which reviews recent re-thinking.
- Chow Tse-tsung, The May Fourth Movement. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1960. Standard comprehensive survey and analysis.
- Dirlik, Arif. Anarchism in the Chinese Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. Revisionist study showing the influence of anarchist programs.
- Doleželová-Velingerová, Milena, Oldřich Král, and Graham Martin Sanders, eds. The Appropriation of Cultural Capital: China’s May Fourth Project. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2001. Revisionist study.
- Jerome B. Grieder, Hu Shih and the Chinese Renaissance; Liberalism in the Chinese Revolution, 1917-1937 (Cambridge,: Harvard University Press, 1970). Careful study of central figure.
- Hayford, Charles W., To the People: James Yen and Village China. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990. Early chapters describe the role of popular education in the New Culture.
- Lanza, Fabio, Behind the Gate: Inventing Students in Beijing. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-231-15238-9. Study of student culture and institutions during the New Culture period.
- Leo Ou-fan Lee, Voices from the Iron House : A Study of Lu Xun (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987). Biography and literary analysis.
- Yusheng Lin, The Crisis of Chinese Consciousness: Radical Antitraditionalism in the May Fourth Era (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979). Early critique of the New Culture Movement as "iconoclastic."
- Manela, Erez. The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Describes the global influences on Chinese youth.
- Maurice J. Meisner, Li Ta-Chao and the Origins of Chinese Marxism (Cambridge,: Harvard University Press, 1967). Intellectual biography of key leader and co-founder of Chinese Communist Party.
- Rana Mitter, A Bitter Revolution: China's Struggle with the Modern World (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004). Traces the fate of New Culture ideals through the rest of the century.
- Schwarcz, Vera. The Chinese Enlightenment: Intellectuals and the Legacy of the May Fourth Movement of 1919. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986. Argues that May Fourth ideals were betrayed.
- Schwartz, Benjamin. "Themes in Intellectual History: May Fourth and After." In Cambridge History of China, Vol. 12, pt. 1: Republican China, 1912–1949, 406–504. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1983. Overview of intellectual and cultural history.
- Spence, Jonathan D. The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution, 1895-1980. Includes many New Culture leaders and their experience of revolution.
- Zarrow, Peter. Anarchism and Chinese Political Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990).
- "The May Fourth Spirit, Now and Then" China Heritage Quarterly, 17 (March 2009) A selection of opinions and views on the May Fourth and New Culture Movements from the 1920s to the present.
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The author covers both traditional and modern sail materials and sailmaking skills. He’s not so much about design as technique. I particularly liked the associations with the history and self-sufficiency aspects of learning a skill like sailmaking. The book talks you through a simple version of making a ditty bag while giving you the skills to do it up to your liking. I’ve made two. One’s served me well everywhere including at the top of my boat’s mast. Get the book and then buy the materials and tools from SailRite.com and make your own.
Holding the needle.
In a crosscut sail the first panel, or cloth, is laid along the tack seam, which is the perpendicular from tack to leech.
Let gravity help feed a large sticky-taped sail through the sewing machine. Building a temporary chute can be a fun challenge. Tables, boards, cloth–in the door, out the window, up the stairs, whatever it takes to get a big enough run on both sides of the machine. The less friction there is, and the fewer bumps, the more smoothly the cloth will slide.
Pass the twine repeatedly back and forth through thimble and ring.
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Do you wonder what the heck is going on in your cells that you never seem to have enough energy? Well maybe that’s not the first thing that comes to your mind, but that is where your energy ‘should’ come from. And what feeds the cells makes a difference.
This is a more technical explanation for how our bodies make and use energy. The post that will follow will contain more in terms of lifestyle choices that we can make to create more fuel and help us feel energized throughout the day, every day! And if you still struggle to have daily energy, or you simply want to have some extra energy that you can ‘chew on’ when you need a quick boost, we have a solution for that as well!
Did anyone ever tell you that what you feed your body can have a direct result in how you feel? Every cell in our body has to convert nutrients into energy in order to help do things like: grow hair, pump blood through arteries, send nerve signals to the brain, or move muscles.
How is energy produced in our body? Metabolism is the process where nutrients are converted to energy. Metabolism converts food into a constant supply of energy that every cell in the body needs.
We need a steady diet of energy foods that are converted into sustained energy that are used at e cellular level in order to feel like we have energy throughout the day.
In simple terms, metabolism refers to the rate at which we burn calories. And a more complex explanation – you may remember from high school biology class – is that metabolism is the sum total of all the complex chemical and hormonal processes related to digesting, absorbing, converting and ultimately using food to produce cellular energy.
So where do we get energy? It all starts with the food chain, and with photosynthesis – the way plants capture the sun’s energy from sunlight and combine with carbon dioxide from the air and water and minerals from the ground to create sugar which the plant stores for energy and oxygen which gets released into the atmosphere.
Whether you eat the plant matter directly, or animals that have consumed the plant matter, there are 3 basic classes of micro nutrients that are vital for life: amino acids from protein, mono and polysaccharides (sugars from carbohydrates), and fatty acids from fats.
All metabolic reactions fall into one of 2 categories: 1) catabolic – creation of energy from breaking down large complex compounds like proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into smaller units, and 2) anabolic – uses smaller building block compounds like amino acids, monosaccharides like glucose, and fats to build cells, tissues, and eventually organs.
The most important source of energy in human metabolism is glucose – when glucose is metabolized in the body it produces carbon dioxide, water, and a few nitrogen compounds, and most important, energy which can be utilized by the cells. Some of this energy is released as heat which is essentially the burning of calories – the rest is used to drive another process in the body called ATP (synthesis of adenosine triphosphate). ATP is the key molecular unit of currency that transfers the energy released by catabolic reactions to the energy requiring anabolic reactions.
In other words, catabolic reactions provide the chemical energy that anabolic reactions need to maintain and grow cells. What initiates catabolic reactions? Many different hormones in the body including cortisol and adrenaline.
This explains why stress impacts metabolism – there are also many other hormones and other processes that influence metabolism. And while metabolism occurs during the digestion of food, there are other catabolic reactions in the body.
If the body is not getting enough energy from food, the body will break down muscle protein and turn the amino acids into fuel while it holds on to fat. Fat stores are only used on pure starvation mode.
How do we store energy? If catabolic reactions break down matter into small units to produce energy, anabolic reactions will consume energy to construct tissues (build muscle and fat cells) that are stored as potential sources of energy if needed.
A processes that will influence energy production is blood glucose regulation – while low energy is frequently due to low blood sugar levels that can be effectively managed by daily diet, the entry of glucose into most tissues is dependent on the presence of the hormone insulin.
Insulin controls the uptake and metabolism of glucose in your cells and plays a major role in regulating blood glucose concentrations in the body which has a direct influence on a person’s energy levels.
Overeating – taking in more energy than your body needs – will, over time, lead to the cells of your body becoming insulin resistant. That results in cells not being able to utilize glucose which can lead to elevations in blood glucose circulating in body, and can be damaging to cells and tissue. Ultimately, this excessive energy intake will lead to Type 2 Diabetes which can damage arteries, lead to heart disease, kidney disease, and even blindness.
How is cellular energy produced? All cells of the body contain dozens to hundreds of mitochondria (organelles in the cell) – think of them as cellular power plants. They are what actually generates ATP to power cellular activities. The number and efficiency of mitochondria decline over time. As we age, our cells have both fewer and less efficient mitochondria. Current thinking is that this mitochondrial decline contributes to diseases of aging.
How is what we eat turned into energy? Macronutrieints are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Carbohydrates come in three forms: simple sugars, complex carbs (starch) and undigestible carbs (fiber). Our diets tend to contain plenty of sugars and starches but often not enough fiber.
Simple sugars and starches are most easily utilized as direct sources of energy for our cells. If your body takes in more carbohydrates than you actually need, these excess carbohydrates can be stored temporarily as glycogen – in either your liver or in your muscle – and this can be converted into fats, amino acids, and glucose as needed.
The body needs both simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbs are the simplest form of sugar and most basic building blocks. Complex carbs like starches and fiber form larger building blocks. Since body tissues need glucose at all times, diets need significant amounts of carbs to yield glucose through digestion and metabolism. Most diets contain carbs as more than half of daily diet.
Protein is the chief muscle and tissue builder of the body – and also helps to make hemoglobin in blood, carry oxygen to cells, form antibodies to fight infection, and supply nitrogen for the production of DNA and RNA. Protein also helps to supply energy for the body.
Digestion breaks protein down into its individual amino acids. If amino acids are in excess of the body’s requirement, they are metabolized to nitrogen and can be stored as fat – for later energy metabolism, or they are eliminated by the kidneys. The most common dietary protein sources are meat, fish, and dairy sources including milk. They can all be high in fat because they are all animal products. Soy beans and other legumes are vegetarian sources, have less fat, and are far more heart healthy.
Fats make up part of the structure of cells, form protective cushion and heat insulation around vital organs, carry fat soluble vitamins, and help store energy.
Many of us get too much fat in the diet. On a weight basis, they contain more than twice as much stored energy or calories as carbohydrates and protein. Fats provide 9 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein.
Other important nutrients that help energy in the body are B-Vitamins (also called the ‘happy’ vitamins), and Magnesium that is involved in 300 chemical reactions in the body, including the breakdown of glucose for energy. Women who have low levels of magnesium in their bodies may have higher heart rates and require more oxygen – their hearts and lungs will need to work harder to accomplish same amount of work. Zinc, potassium, and iron are other nutrients involved in energy production by the body.
When you can’t get enough energy from your foods and your lifestyle, and you want some extra natural energy for mid-afternoon when you are about to fall asleep on the job, or for a busy evening after a busy work day, or even for a long car ride so that you stay awake and alert, and for lots of other reasons you may need more energy, consider Shaklee Energy Chews – 100% satisfaction guaranteed, from the #1 Natural Nutrition Company in the U.S. – a safe and healthy energy booster that also improves alertness and focus without being high in sugar, caffeine and artificial ingredients.
Shaklee Energy Chews provide a clean burst of healthy energy to help you get that extra edge when you need it most. Each chew contains a scientific blend of caffeine from natural green tea extract, plus L-tyrosine, L-theanine, B vitamins and vitamin D. And there are no artificial flavors, sweeteners or added preservatives you’ll find in other energy products.
Also see our sister Energy article, and learn more here about a natural and healthy Energy Chew that gives a safe: BOOST of ENERGY. For sustained energy throughout the day, Natural Energy with Panax Ginseng, Cordyceps and Green Tea and Energy Tea , and CINCH SHAKES are all very beneficial.
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Chapter 7 Challenges
From Linux Shell Scripting Tutorial - A Beginner's handbook
- Decide whether the following sentence is true or false:
- Linux is rich with filter programs.
- A filter is a program that gets most of its data from its standard input and writes its main results to its standard ouput.
- A set of processes chained by their standard streams, so that the output of each process feeds directly as input to the next one is called Linux pipeline.
- You can run commands one after the other using ; operator.
- You can run commands one after the other using && operator.
- Second command only runs if first is successful when you use conditional or (||) operator.
- A filter is very useful as part of Linux pipes.
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Atomic Number: 27
Atomic Weight: 58.9332
Discovery: George Brandt, circa 1735, maybe 1739 (Sweden)
Electron Configuration: [Ar] 4s2 3d7
Word Origin: German Kobald: evil spirit or goblin; Greek cobalos: mine
Isotopes: Twenty-six isotopes of cobalt ranging from Co-50 to Co-75. Co-59 is the only stable isotope.
Properties: Cobalt has a melting point of 1495°C, boiling point of 2870°C, specific gravity of 8.9 (20°C), with a valence of 2 or 3. Cobalt is a hard, brittle metal. It is similar in appearance to iron and nickel. Cobalt has a magnetic permeability around 2/3 that of iron. Cobalt is found as a mixture of two allotropes over a wide temperature range. The b-form is dominant at temperatures under 400°C, while the a-form predominates at higher temperatures.
Uses: Cobalt forms many useful alloys. It is alloyed with iron, nickel, and other metals to form Alnico, an alloy with exceptional magnetic strength. Cobalt, chromium, and tungsten may be alloyed to form Stellite, which is used for high-temperature, high-speed cutting tools and dies. Cobalt is used in magnet steels and stainless steels. It is used in electroplating because of its hardness and resistance to oxidation. Cobalt salts are used to impart permanent brilliant blue colors to glass, pottery, enamels, tiles, and porcelain. Cobalt is used to make Sevre's and Thenard's blue. A cobalt chloride solution is used to make a sympathetic ink. Cobalt is essential for nutrition in many animals. Cobalt-60 is an important gamma source, tracer, and radiotherapeutic agent.
Sources: Cobalt is found in the minerals cobaltite, erythrite, and smaltite. It is commonly associated with ores of iron, nickel, silver, lead, and copper. Cobalt is also found in meteorites.
Element Classification: Transition Metal
Density (g/cc): 8.9
Melting Point (K): 1768
Boiling Point (K): 3143
Appearance: Hard, ductile, lustrous bluish-gray metal
Atomic Radius (pm): 125
Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 6.7
Covalent Radius (pm): 116
Ionic Radius: 63 (+3e) 72 (+2e)
Specific Heat (@20°C J/g mol): 0.456
Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 15.48
Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 389.1
Debye Temperature (K): 385.00
Pauling Negativity Number: 1.88
First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 758.1
Oxidation States: 3, 2, 0, -1
Lattice Structure: Hexagonal
Lattice Constant (Å): 2.510
CAS Registry Number: 7440-48-4
- Cobalt derived its name from German miners. They named cobalt ore after mischievous spirits called kobalds. Cobalt ores commonly contain the useful metals copper and nickel. The problem with cobalt ore is it usually contains arsenic as well. Attempts to smelt the copper and nickel typically failed and would often produce toxic arsenic oxide gases.
- The brilliant blue color cobalt gives to glass was originally attributed to bismuth. Bismuth is often found with cobalt. Cobalt was isolated by Swedish chemist, Georg Brandt who proved the coloring was due to cobalt.
- The isotope Co-60 is a strong gamma radiation source. It is used to sterilize food and medical supplies as well as radiation therapy in the treatment of cancer.
- Cobalt is a central atom in vitamin B-12.
- Cobalt is ferromagnetic. Cobalt magnets stay magnetic to the highest temperature of any other magnetic element.
- Cobalt has six oxidation states: 0, +1, +2, +3, +4, and +5. The most common oxidation states are +2 and +3.
- The oldest cobalt colored glass was found in Egypt dated between 1550-1292 B.C.
- Cobalt has an abundance of 25 mg/kg (or parts per million) in the Earth's crust.
- Cobalt has an abundance of 2 x 10-5 mg/L in sea water.
- Cobalt is used in alloys to increase temperature stability and decrease corrosion.
References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics (18th Ed.) International Atomic Energy Agency ENSDF database (Oct 2010)
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Despite recent drought, the study showed that the numbers of rare and endangered birds in Australia can increase when native trees are restored.
Australia has a very good chance of being able to save most of its endangered native woodland birds, the findings of one of the biggest field studies ever conducted in Australia suggest.
Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED), the Commonwealth Government’s National Environmental Research Program (NERP) and Australian National University have found that many native birds which were feared headed for extinction have shown remarkable rates of recovery on farms where regrowth and plantings of native trees are flourishing.
In a huge field science effort, the team monitored no fewer than 193 sites on 46 farms across southern NSW over ten years, to study the effect on native birds of different ways of managing native vegetation.
“It’s an extremely encouraging result,” says team leader Professor David Lindenmayer. “We’ve seen a big increase in numbers of rare and endangered birds on farms in southern Australia, despite the drought. It’s really good news, and a true credit to all the farmers who have worked so hard to protect and restore native vegetation.”
The team’s research, published in the online journal PloS One, indicates that plantings and regrowth areas, where grazing pressure has been reduced, have seen the biggest return of native birds – compared with ‘old growth’ areas still being heavily grazed.
“We think this is because, in both new planting and regrowth areas, there is an under-storey of young, vigorous trees and shrubs which is attractive to many woodland birds, including rare and endangered species such as the diamond firetail, hooded robin, flame robin and black-chinned honeyeater.
“In heavily-grazed old-growth areas, on the other hand the ground between the trees is more open and less attractive to these types of woodland bird.”
Though some regard them with a jaundiced eye, the scientific evidence suggests both regrowth and new planting areas provide a real lifeline for imperilled native birds. The survey found an average of 29 bird species in new planting areas, 25 in seedling regrowth areas and 20 in areas re-sprouting after fires or land clearing – compared with only 15 bird types in old-growth areas where trees were all mature or ageing.
“This means we now know how to do revegetation of the Australian landscape so that it is both more effective at bringing back native species – and costs less to do,” Prof. Lindemayer says. “There is now good science to say what should and should not be done.
“This calls for farm planning at a whole new level, but the hundreds of farmers who we are working with us are already into this. They are very excited by the results we’ve been seeing.
“For the first time there is a clear measure of the quality of their stewardship of the native landscape, they can see the benefits for themselves – and success is motivating them to try even harder.”
Prof. Lindenmayer says that every land holder who takes part in the research receives a book of practical advice based on the scientific observation of what works – and what doesn’t.
“From the government and taxpayer’s perspective, this finding means our environmental restoration programs can be a lot more cost-effective,” he adds.
The team’s findings suggest that a range of vegetation growth types are likely to be required in a given farmland area to support the diverse array of bird species that inhabit Australian temperate woodland ecosystems.
“Our results also highlight the inherent conservation value of regrowth woodland and suggest that current policies which allow it to be cleared or thinned need to be carefully re-examined,” they say.
The research paper “Not All Kinds of Revegetation Are Created Equal: Revegetation Type Influences Bird Assemblages in Threatened Australian Woodland Ecosystems” by David B. Lindenmayer, Amanda R. Northrop-Mackie, Rebecca Montague-Drake, Mason Crane, Damian Michael, Sachiko Okada and Philip Gibbons appears in the online journal PlosOne.
CEED is an Australian Research Council funded Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions and NERP is the Commonwealth’s National Environmental Research Program (NERP). Their research tackles key gaps in environmental decision-making, monitoring and adaptive management.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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California leads the nation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and is currently working to ensure that 33 percent of the state’s electricity is generated from renewable resources. The California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) is the state’s premier energy research, development and demonstration program, advancing science and technology in the fields of energy efficiency, renewable energy, advanced electricity technologies, energy-related environmental protection, transmission and distribution, and transportation technologies.1
PIER has invested more than $600 million over the last decade to bring to market energy technologies that provide environmental and economic benefits to California’s ratepayers. This is accomplished by enlisting businesses, utilities, energy companies, public advocacy groups, and world-class scientists at California’s universities and national laboratories.1
PIER’s State Partnership for Energy Efficient Demonstrations (SPEED) program in particular aims to demonstrate and apply new lighting and HVAC technologies throughout a wide range of California venues and campus settings. These demonstration projects highlight technologies developed through a unique collaborative process that leverages public research and development funds to help manufacturers bring innovative, energy-efficient products into the commercial marketplace.2
In partnership with PIER’s SPEED program, the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at the University of California in Davis has completed numerous lighting pilot projects that demonstrate how combining energy-efficient lighting technologies with smart sensor controls can reduce energy, save money, and improve safety. Recently, 100w bi-level induction shoe box fixtures from U.S. manufacturer EverLast® Lighting were installed in the California Department of Public Health parking lot in Richmond. When the lot is vacant, adaptive occupancy sensors dim the fixtures to 40 percent power, and when motion is detected the fixtures power back up to 100 percent.
Energy-efficient EverLast® induction shoe box parking lot fixtures with integrated controls that dim to low light levels during unoccupied periods were also installed at UC Davis’s School of Veterinary Medicine. This demonstration is part of a campus-wide commitment to reduce electricity use by 60 percent by the end of 2015.
EverLast® bi-level induction shoe box fixtures, California Department of Public Health
(Photo Credit: CLTC)
EverLast® bi-level induction shoe box fixtures, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
(Photo Credit: CLTC)
EverLast® Lighting is a subsidiary of Full Spectrum Solutions, Inc. and has quickly grown into the leading manufacturer of energy efficient lighting solutions for roadway, parking structure, facility and area lighting applications. For additional product information, visit www.everlastlight.com, call 888-383-7578, or email firstname.lastname@example.org. For press inquiries, contact Kyle Leighton at email@example.com.
PIER’s SPEED program is managed by the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE), which is a branch of the University of California Energy Institute at UC Berkeley. CLTC is subcontracted by CIEE to develop and implement lighting technology demonstrations. For more information about other PIER demonstrations, visit www.pierpartnershipdemonstrations.com.
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Referencing and using EndNote referencing software
In academic writing, when you refer to an idea or information created by someone else, you should always include a reference to the publication in which it appears. Normal practice is to include a citation within your text and then include a list of references at the end.
- To give academic credibility to your work: to show that you have consulted relevant sources and that you are familiar with the relevant research.
- To give due credit to the creators of ideas and information.
- To avoid being accused of plagiarism: representing someone else’s ideas as if they were your own. You can lose marks or even face serious sanctions if you plagiarise. For more information, see the library’s guide to plagiarism.
- To enable your readers to consult the works you have referenced.
- To enable your tutors to see that you have used genuine sources.
What is included in a reference?
Anyone who wants to consult any of the publications you have referenced will need information about who wrote it and where it can be found. You should reference any source of information you use, including web pages, emails, personal correspondence as well as books, chapters and journal articles.
- Use a standard referencing style to enable your readers to find the relevant information easily.
- The styles that are most commonly used in UK universities are Harvard (Author-Date) and Vancouver (numbered list). Arts students may be recommended to use the MRHA (Modern Humanities Research Association) Style. Law students may be asked to use Oscola (Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities). There are other styles in use as well, so do check with your tutors as to which style they want you to use. Most academic journals prefer you to use their own style: you can normally find out what they require on their web pages.
- It is important to be consistent: do not mix up styles.
- Referencing styles determine how your citation appears in the text and how you set out your list of references at the end of your work.
How to reference
- The Medical Library's Quick Guide on How to cite references (PDF, 332 KB) is a good starting point for most kinds of referencing.
- The Faculty of Arts has a detailed guide to referencing using MHRA and Harvard styles.
Detailed guidance on how to reference is available in these books, available from the Library:
These references are shown as they would appear in a reference list compiled according to the Harvard referencing style.
- Neville, C. 2010. The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism 2nd ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press
- Pears, R. and Shields, G. 2010. Cite them right : the essential referencing guide 8th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
- Williams, K. 2009. Referencing & understanding plagiarism Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
EndNote and EndNote Web
The University provides access to these two versions of the EndNote referencing software. EndNote Web is the recommended version for all undergraduate and taught postgraduate students . These enable you to keep track of the references you find as you research and to organise them so that you can find them again easily. They can also insert correctly formatted citations into your text and generate a list of references at the end of your work.
Note: some of the documents on this page are in PDF format. In order to view a PDF you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader
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Battleground for Empire and Independence
September 29–October 5, 2013
Historian Guide: Frank Ackerman
At the dawn of the 18th century, French colonies extended from the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. British colonies extended west from the Atlantic seaboard, and both sought to expand into the territory between. After the Treaty of Paris ended French imperial claims in North America, the British Empire found its authority challenged by rebellious American colonists.
Waterways were then the transportation arteries, and nowhere else in North America are there more 18th-century forts and battlefields than in the Upper Hudson River and Lake Champlain valleys. This corridor, from Albany through Lake Champlain to Canada, witnessed key battles in both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. At Fort Ticonderoga, France achieved its greatest victory, repulsing a much larger British army in the bloodiest battle on North American soil until the Civil War. To end rebellion in the American colonies, British General John Burgoyne considered the Lake Champlain-Hudson River Valley "precisely the route an army ought to take" to invade New York. He expected to isolate New England and then focus on crushing that seat of discontent. However, the Americans forced Burgoyne's army to surrender at the Battle of Saratoga, a crucial victory that renewed Patriots' hopes, secured essential foreign recognition, and forever changed the face of the world.
Historian Frank Ackerman will guide you through the crucible of North American wars for an exciting, in-depth look at independence from an empire.
7 Days / 6 Nights
Cost: $2,725 Single Occupancy, $2,325 Double Occupancy
Click to request a 2013 printed Travel Guide.
Sunday, September 29
Gather in Albany, New York for a briefing and welcome dinner hosted by Frank Ackerman and HistoryAmerica TOURS.
Monday, September 30
After a brief stop at the Phillip Schuyler Mansion, we will board Amtrak's Adirondack for a three-hour trip north from the Hudson River and along the west shore of Lake Champlain. This is regarded as one of the most scenic train rides in North America, with plenty of mountain scenery and many historic sites — including Fort Ticonderoga — visible from our windows. Our bus meets us in Plattsburgh and takes us to the Vermont side of Lake Champlain. Overnight in South Burlington.
Tuesday, October 1
We will spend the morning aboard the Amtrak Vermonter, traversing river valleys into the heart of the Green Mountains. We detrain at Windsor and tour the house where the Vermont Constitution was adopted in 1777. This was America's first Constitution that prohibited slavery, allowed men to vote without owning property, and created public schools. We continue by motor coach to Charlestown, New Hampshire, where we tour the reconstructed Fort at No. 4. Established in 1740 on land granted by the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, this fort was the northernmost outpost of Britain's New England colonies.
Wednesday, October 2
We begin the day by retracing the route of the Crown Point Military Road, started in 1759 by General Jeffery Amherst to connect His Majesty's Fort at Crown Point, New York, with the Fort at No. 4. Later we see reconstructed 18th-century vessels at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. After lunch in Middlebury, we visit the fort at Crown Point before our tour of reconstructed Fort Ticonderoga, a strategic spot in the American Revolution, as well as in the French and Indian War. Overnight in Rutland.
Thursday, October 3
Today we tour the two major Revolutionary War sites in Vermont. Directly opposite Fort Ticonderoga, Mount Independence was, with 12,000 American soldiers, one of the largest communities in North America in 1776. A year later British General Burgoyne easily captured it from a much-depleted garrison, which withdrew to Hubbardton, Vermont, to stand its ground. Overnight again in Rutland.
Friday, October 4
This morning we travel to Bennington. From the top of the Bennington Battle Monument, Vermont's tallest structure, we'll have an elevated view of the terrain where American General John Stark defeated Burgoyne's men in the Battle of Bennington. This afternoon we tour the Saratoga National Historical Park. General Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga in autumn 1777 turned the tide of the American Revolution. Return to Albany for our farewell dinner and final overnight.
Saturday, October 5
Depart at your leisure following breakfast.
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Apr. 18, 2005 Scientists recently discovered a new frontier in the race to find life outside our solar system. Dying red giant stars may bring icy planets back from the dead. Once-frozen planets and moons may provide a new breeding ground for life as their stars enter the last, and brightest, phase of their lives. Previous ideas about the search for extra-solar life had excluded these regions.
An international team of astronomers estimates that the emergence of new life on a planet is possible within the red giant phase. "Our result indicates that searches for life-giving worlds outside our solar system should include planets around old stars," said Dr. Bruno Lopez of the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, Nice, France. Lopez and his colleagues estimate that more than 150 red giant stars are close enough - within 100 light years - for upcoming or proposed missions to search for the signatures of life on distant worlds. A light year is the distance light travels in one year, almost six trillion miles!
Location, Location, Location
One of the secrets of Earth's success in producing life is its location within the sphere of the Sun's habitable zone. This sphere intersects the plane of the solar system to create a special donut-shaped boundary that outlines where water can exist as a liquid in our solar system, a necessity for the development of life. Get too far from the Sun - and it's a lonely icebox. Too close - and the water evaporates into space, never to return again.
While the Earth currently sits well within this donut of life, our Sun is evolving and will one day grow to be a red giant star. Its habitable zone will expand with it, changing the locales where liquid water can splash and life may one day thrive.
In Light of the Sun, Mars May Be a Sound Investment
Lying just inside the outer limit of our Sun's habitable zone, Mars remains a frozen world today because of its thin atmosphere. However, when the Sun becomes a red giant a few billion years from now, Mars may become the happening place to be. "Mars will be in the habitable zone for a couple billion years, so Martian life may get a second chance," said Dr. William Danchi of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
In 2003, researchers monitored the amount of ice on Mars during its winter and spring seasons. In some regions, the water-ice content was more than 90% by volume. Scientists suspect that this water used to fill the planet's now-dry lakes and seas. One day in the distant future, the frozen water on Mars may fill these dry basins again and bring forth new life in our solar system.
Red Giants Redefine the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life
The same holds true for planets and moons as they orbit their own red giant suns. Billions of years ago, these stars were similar to our Sun. Imagine the events as they unfolded: A Sun-like star explodes into its red giant phase, growing tremendously in size and brightness. Warm rays from the star reach out to a once-frozen and dead moon. The solitary satellite's icy top layer quickly melts into liquid water, which creeps across the surface and fills old dusty craters with warmer seas. The stage is set for the birth of new life in the moon's now-vibrant oceans.
Currently, there are at least 150 red giant stars within 100 light years of Earth and many of them may have orbiting planets capable of supporting life. A new frontier has opened for planet-hunters around the world.
One such endeavor, NASA's Kepler mission, hopes to discover smaller Earth-like planets outside our solar system. Looking for tiny dips in the brightness of a star when a planet crosses in front of it, researchers will observe about 100,000 stars in one small patch of sky for four years. Kepler is set for launch in 2007.
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Florian Breuer is a mathematician who teaches in South Africa. He’s also a photographer, and created this spectacular panorama of the Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop, Namibia.
[Click to embiggen and see the whole shot; I had to crop it a bit to fit here.]
Isn’t that gorgeous? The arch of the Milky Way behind the trees is beautiful, and when I look at this picture I can’t help but think of an array of radio telescope dishes turned toward the heavens.
By eye, the Milky Way is easily visible on a dark night from a dark site. The diffuse glow of the distant stars is interrupted by the accumulated absorption by clouds of dust between them and us, splitting the glow along its middle. In photographs like this, of course, those features leap right out.
Do you want to take pictures like this? Florian wrote up a pair of essays (first and second) describing how he made this and a few other images from his trip to Namibia. Of course, I suspect the first step is travel to Namibia, which may prove difficult for some of us. Still, there are plenty of places to take devastating pictures of the sky. Maybe even near you! So give it – haha – a shot.
Image credit: Florian Breuer, used by permission
Links to this Post
- Namibian quiver trees and the glow of a galaxy | Dr. Goulu | Scoop.it | October 28, 2012
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Nancy Flanagan has written another of her all-too-numerous to count insightful posts. This one is called I’m OK–You Have Self-Esteem. She approaches the concept of self-esteem in a thoughtful and balanced way, and it’s another of her “must-reads.”
In that post, she mentions a study that came out last year that, as she puts it, “dared to suggest that kids perform better when given the simple assignment of writing for fifteen minutes about their strengths, to re-affirm their competence.” I remember reading about it in the New York Times , and also remember thinking to myself that I needed to find out more about what exactly the researchers had the students do. That task has languished on my “to do” list until Nancy’s post prompted me to finally get around to doing some digging.
Here is my summary of what the researchers actually did (you can purchase the article here. I don’t think the article itself is very helpful, but the online addendum is).
They had students write three-to-five times during one school year about their values.
The first two times, students were given this list of values:
athletic ability, being good at art, being smart or getting good grades, creativity, independence, living in the moment, membership in a social group (such as your community, racial group, or school club), music, politics, relationships with friends or family, religious values, and sense of humor.
The first time, they were asked to circle one; the second time,they were asked to circle the two or three on the list that were most important to them.
Next, they were asked to think about times when those two or three values (the first time, they just wrote about the one they circled) were most important to them, and then to write a few sentences about why they were important to them.
Finally, students were asked to write if they agreed or disagreed with these statements (there were six levels of agreement/disagreement that students could check):
“These values have influenced my life”
“In general, I try to live up to these values”
“These values are an important part of who I am.”
In the third, fourth, and/or fifth times, researchers made minor changes such as giving a different list of values, or asking students to write about which values might be most important during a certain time period, like Winter Break.
Though the academic improvement among students wasn’t enormous, it was certainly measurable, and appeared to be sustained after they left the class.
The researchers started their experiment at the beginning of the school year, and spaced the exercises out every two or three months.
I’m certainly going to give it a try, and start now. I’m hopeful it will help, and reflecting on values is certainly never going to hurt. I’ll also have students share what they wrote with a partner, and invite class-wide discussion. We do reflective writing each Friday, so it should fit right in.
I’ll let readers know how it goes.
If you’ve tried something like this, or are now going to do so, please leave a comment now or in the future, too.
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Facts About Homelessness
NYC Homelessness in 2007:
More New Yorkers experienced homelessness
Homelessness continues at near-record levels
2007: Worst year for NYC family homelessness since the Great Depression
The Numbers – More New Yorkers Experienced
Homelessness in 2007, Homeless Population Still High
Last year, 102,187 different New Yorkers slept in homeless shelters, 5.8 percent more than the previous year and 23.4 percent more than six years ago.
The NYC homeless shelter population remained at near-record levels, with around 35,000 people in shelters each night.
2007 was the worst year for family homelessness in modern history, with more than 9,000 families in shelters each night.
Perfect Storm in 2007:
10.7 percent more NYC families entered the municipal shelter system.
6.9 percent fewer homeless families were relocated from shelter to permanent housing.
Highlights of the Year in Homelessness
More NYC families seeking shelter, fewer homeless families moved to permanent housing.
Bloomberg administration finally abandons “Housing Stability Plus” program – but replaces it with flawed “Work Advantage”
program and still denies Federal housing aid to homeless families and individuals.
City increases use of illegal boarding houses to shelter homeless adults, including many living with mental illness.
Data thanks to the Coalition of the Homeless' 2008 State of the Homeless Report
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Two complementary radar sounder instruments work together to discover hidden Martian secrets. They are the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) on the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter and the Shallow Subsurface Radar (SHARAD) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
MARSIS was designed to penetrate deep and it has delivered on its promise. This figure shows the base of Mars' south polar layered deposits at the deepest recorded point of 3.7 kilometer (2.3 miles).
In contrast, SHARAD was designed as a high-resolution radar for a maximum penetration of 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) has difficulty detecting the base of these layered deposits.
MARSIS was funded by NASA and the Italian Space Agency and developed by the University of Rome, Italy, in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Italy provided the instrument's digital processing system and integrated the parts. The University of Iowa, Iowa City, built the transmitter for the instrument, JPL built the receiver and Astro Aerospace, Carpinteria, Calif., built the antenna. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Additional information about Mars Express is at www.esa.int/marsexpress.
SHARAD was provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Its operations are led by the University of Rome and its data are analyzed by a joint U.S.-Italian science team. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
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This news is from the Bird Conservation Alliance listserv:
"Federal Court Orders Cell Tower Safeguards for Migrating Birds
Decision could save millions of birds killed each year in tower collisions
Washington, DC (February 19, 2008) – A federal court of appeals today issued a ruling ordering the Federal Communications Commission to carefully evaluate the potential adverse effects of communications towers on migratory bird populations of the Gulf Coast region. A panel of federal judges ruled that national environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act require the FCC to more carefully consider these possible adverse effects in its tower permitting process.
“We are very pleased by today’s ruling which will require the FCC to assess the environmental impacts of towers,” said Darin Schroeder, American Bird Conservancy’s Executive Director of Conservation Advocacy. “Given the large number of bird deaths caused by towers, an environmental review is long overdue. This is a huge victory for migratory birds and the millions of Americans who love to see them each year.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates between five million and fifty million birds are killed each year in collisions and other accidents caused by communications towers. In its decision, the court criticized the FCC for refusing to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service when approving such towers.
The court also said the FCC failed to sufficiently involve the public in its tower approval process.
“The Catch-22 … is that the Commission provides public notice of individual tower applications only after approving them,” the court wrote in its decision.
Tens of thousands of communication towers dot landscapes across the country. In Texas alone, there are over 10,000 of these towers. Each month, the FCC receives more than 20 new applications for tower construction.
The situation is critical along the Gulf Coast where thousands of communications towers dot the 1,000-mile stretch of coastline between Pt. Isabel, Texas and Tampa Bay, Florida. Towers along this major migratory bird route threaten many different bird species. Exhausted from their journey across the Gulf of Mexico, these migrating songbirds collide with towers or the accompanying guy wires. In some cases, the birds confuse the blinking lights atop the cell towers with the night stars they use to navigate their journey. The birds become disoriented and begin circling the tower until they collapse from exhaustion and plummet to the ground.
The public interest law firm Earthjustice brought the case to federal court on behalf of the American Bird Conservancy. Earthjustice attorneys argued that FCC violated federal law by approving dozens of new towers each year with little or no environmental review.
“The court has clearly directed the FCC to respect national environmental laws when handing out permits for these tower.” said Earthjustice attorney Steve Roady. “FCC now must go back and carefully evaluate the environmental impacts of these towers.”
A copy of the decision can be found at
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William Temple Hornaday was an early--and probably a founding--member of the American conservation movement, and was also director of the National Zoological Park. He wrote a tremendously bitter and accurate report for the U.S. National Museum in 1894 on the extermination of the American bison, an absolute head-shaker, detailing the history of the bison in North America and its destruction at the hands of sportsmen, hunters, mindless dolts and many others who massacred tens of millions of the animal ("murdered" is the word Hornaday uses constantly). To put the whole issue in perspective, Hornaday issued a famous map showing the shrinkage of the North American bison herd, setting out the enormity of the issue instantly on one piece of paper, a summary of hundreds of pages of bad stories and big numbers.
posted by Trurl
on Jun 15, 2011 -
of Americans say global warming is real and poses a threat to humanity. Which is good because if the global temperature raises by 4 degrees
we're all dead. However only 44 percent would be willing to face any financial hardship in the name of a solution.
posted by Artw
on Aug 10, 2008 -
Earth, 2100 AD.
has doubled to 1000 ppm. From shore to the horizon, there is but an unending purple color -- a vast, flat, oily purple. No fish break its surface, no birds. We are under a pale green sky, and it has the smell of death and poison.
Paleontologist Peter Ward's new book
links past mass extinctions to global warming and shows
, absent major changes, "Our world is hurtling toward carbon dioxide levels not seen since 60 million years ago, right after a greenhouse extinction."
Maybe it's time for a heresy
: nuclear energy's green, and renewables aren't.
posted by Bletch
on Oct 9, 2007 -
The 2004 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' Red List
of Threatened Species.
posted by Gyan
on Oct 20, 2005 -
The World Summit on Sustainable Development,
aka "Earth Summit II," will start soon in Johannesburg, ten years after the Rio Earth Summit
. Have things improved at all in the last ten years?
While there are some reasons to be optimistic
, the data isn't cheerful. Our climate is growing unstable
; tens of millions are dying or likely to die
, and hundreds of millions more likely to be made refugees, because of environmental pollution and degraded ecosystems; and half the plants and animals on the planet seem headed for extinction
over the next century. In short, things are grim.
What steps, big or small, are you taking to do your part for the environment?
posted by AlexSteffen
on Aug 17, 2002 -
The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
"Phasing out the human race by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth's biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense." More inside...
posted by Irontom
on May 30, 2002 -
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Women sorting freshly sprayed flowers in Columbia, Photo: Tim Ross, Christian Aid
At first glace Colombia’s flower sector
is a huge success story. In 25 years a handful of flower farms has
blossomed into an industry with 450 companies, making Colombia the
world’s second largest flower exporter after the Netherlands.
The plains surrounding the country’s capital, Bogota, provide a competitive advantage for flower growers—a perfect climate, rich soil, plentiful cheap labour and proximity to an international airport.
Britain is the largest single market in Europe for Colombia’s flowers. According to a 1994 Christian Aid report on working conditions in the flower industry, British consumers buy more than half of their carnations—about 33 million—from Colombia(1).
But there is a dark side to the flower sector’s success. To ensure that the flowers are not rejected by importing countries, Colombian flower farmers douse the plants in pesticides to prevent any disease or blemish. The result is poisoned workers, contaminated water and parched soil.
In general Colombia has excellent health and safety standards. But up to 20% of commonly used pesticides in Colombia are banned or not registered in Europe and the United States(2). The rules are changing, slowly. In 1993 and 1994, the Health Ministry added several new names to a list of banned organochlorines, including lindane, aldrin and dieldrin.
Poor health supervision
NGO workers and researchers investigating the pesticides used in the flower industry say the biggest problem is with control. An intramural study carried out between 1993 and 1995 by the National University, former flower workers, NGOs and trade unionists—the Inter-institutional Flower Committee (CIIF)—heavily criticized the government’s lack of supervision of the flower industry. “Worse still, is the absence of the state in terms of supervision and control of environmental and labour problems”(3). In its census of 56 flower farms near Bogota, CIIF discovered two companies selling zineb, a pesticide banned in Colombia. Workers regularly complain of nausea, dizziness, skin rashes and headaches. Some recount near-death experiences—women miscarrying in flower fields, children with respiratory problems and workers suffering from paralysing neurological illnesses.
One 27-year-old flower worker died in 1993 of a paralysing disease, similar to multiple sclerosis. Doctors said the disease was occupationally-related, but the company refused to take responsibility. According to medical experts, repeated exposure to certain pesticides can often produce a reduction in the cholinesterase level of humans. “This then causes nervous alterations and changes in the entire organism,” said one doctor(4).
Cholinesterase tests, measuring the level of contamination by organophosphate pesticides, are conducted regularly, according to workers. But workers rarely know the results of these tests. Some workers testified that they had been dismissed after tests apparently showed dangerously low levels of cholinesterase(5). Little empirical evidence has been gathered examining the direct effects of pesticides on the health of workers in Colombia’s flower industry. Dr Heriberto Pimiento Patino, director of Santa Matilde hospital in Madrid, a municipality in the Savannah of Bogota, says there is no proof linking the population’s illnesses to pesticide exposure. He says the cancer, miscarriages and neurological diseases suffered by Madrid’s inhabitants could be due to several factors other than pesticide poisoning—the dusty savannah, malnutrition, air pollution and contaminated water(6). Another doctor in the area, however said daily he treats up to five patients suffering from poisoning(7). Flower workers suggest that doctors are afraid to speak out against the powerful flower sector.
“The flower companies here have a lot of influence and it could cost a doctor his job if he speaks the truth, so the staff cover it up,” said Elvira Rincon, a former flower worker.
Adding together workers’ testimonies, research carried out on pesticides in other agricultural sectors and individual cases shows how Colombian flower workers are suffering from working with dangerous pesticides. On 28 and 29 December 1994 13 adult patients entered San Pedro Claver Clinic in Bogota with a loss of strength, muscular weakness and tingling in their legs. The doctors diagnosed periferal polyneuropathy. All the patients came from a flower farm where in the previous eight days they had been exposed to a product, Karate, whose active ingredient is lambda cyhalothrin(8).
A recent study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found that women agricultural workers exposed to certain pesticides during the first three months of pregnancy had double the risk of giving birth to deformed children. Some of the chemicals used in the study—dichlorvos, aldicarb, mancozeb, captan and naled—are used in the flower industry and other agricultural activities in Colombia. More than 60% of flower workers in Colombia are women(9).
Recently in Colombia there has been a vociferous debate about the organochlorine, endosulfan. Endosulfan has been severely restricted world-wide including in Britain. In Colombia it is used to stop broca (Hypothenemus hampei) and thrips, a leaf-destroying insect affecting flowers, cotton, rice, some fruit and vegetables.
The damaging effects of endosulfan can be seen in studies carried out in Colombia. A study in Risralda, a state in the south-west, found residues in the blood and urine of 18 out of 31 coffee workers(10). Another study shows that endosulfan has negative effects on the chromosomes of cells of the medulla ossea of living rats(11).
Although endosulfan was prohibited by Health Minister Alfonso Gomez Duque in January 1995, the law was never published in the Official Gazette, which means it cannot be enforced. Despite a series of legal wranglings, endosulfan can still legally be used in Colombia.
AgrEvo, the world’s principal producer of endosulfan, agreed to voluntarily withdraw Thiodan (endosulfan’s trade name in Colombia) from the flower industry and agreed not to sell the product in cold parts of the country. But in July 1995, CACTUS—a group providing support to flower workers—found Thiodan sold without restriction in agrochemical stores in the plains of Bogota(12).
|Box 1. Pesticides used on Colombian flowers, indicating WHO classification|
|acephate fungicide (III),
aldicarb insecticide (Ia), benomyl
fungicide, captan fungicide,
chlorothalonil fungicide, copper
hydroxide fungicide (III), copper
oxychloride fungicide (III), cypermethrin
insecticide (II), deltamethrin insecticide
(II), dichlorvos insecticide (Ib),
endosulfan insecticide (II), fenvalerate
insecticide (II), lambda cyhalothrin
insecticide (II), malathion insecticide
(III), mancozeb fungicide (III),
methamidophos insecticide (Ib), methyl,
bromide fumigant (in Montreal Protocol because of ozone
depleting effects), mevinphos insecticide
|(Ia=extremely hazardous; Ib=highly hazardous; II=moderately hazardous; III=slightly hazardous)|
|Source: Reference 2.|
The conditions in the greenhouses exacerbate the poisoning effects of pesticides. Companies usually provide equipment to protect the fumigation workers. A mask, boots, gloves, waterproof trousers and jackets are rotated around the sprayers—usually men—who complain that the equipment is often old and damaged, allowing the pesticides to seep in.
The unbearable humidity in the sweltering plastic greenhouses forces fumigators to cast off the uncomfortable equipment. There are numerous stories of workers who, in accidents, were sprayed in the face with the pesticide(13).
The US Environmental Protection Agency recommends that workers remain outside the greenhouses for between 24 and 48 hours after fumigation. But workers in Madrid said often they would return after 20 minutes, and resume their job with the pesticide-drenched flowers, while the acrid smell of chemicals hung in the air. Sometimes other workers would not leave the greenhouse at all when fumigators were spraying(14).
Fumigators and chemical mixers are given little training. The Colombian authorities recommend fumigators and mixers are given 60 hours training a year, but in reality this is a 15-minute session when a worker first starts the job. Some workers said that the length of stay outside the greenhouse was measured by how strong the pesticide smelled(15). The workers rarely know the health hazards of the chemicals they are handling.
The CIIF study found 65 children, mostly teenagers, working in the flower farms. A few were working with the pesticides, which is illegal in Colombia. Like a contagious disease, pesticide poisoning has spread to every part of the flower workers’ lives. Showers are rarely provided for workers, who end up washing their work clothes with other washing contaminating all their clothes.
Box 2. Worker’s Testimonies(17)
In one neighbourhood in Madrid, Sibate, the houses are surrounded by flower farms, which burn the residue, contaminating the air. During the investigation by CIIF, researchers took small samples of water in local rivers and water in the farms, and also samples of discarded flowers from the farms. Flower farmers deny channeling water into rivers and natural water resources after they have watered the flowers. But the investigators found that very few would treat water after it had passed over the pesticide-covered flowers.
A visit to any neighbourhood in the area reveals, yellow, putrid water resources, where once a fresh river flowed. In addition, there are water shortages in the towns and villages in the area because flower production requires its use in large quantities. In Sosiego, a small, dusty neighbourhood of Madrid, the inhabitants receive two to three hours of water a day. This is an improvement on a few years ago when they had to rely on trucks to bring it in barrels.
But the flowers never go short of water. “Flower farmers in Colombia don’t realise that the intensive use of the soil, the water and the intensive and excessive use of chemicals is going to convert the Savannah of Bogota into a sterile land,” said Dr Jairo Ernesto Luna, who worked on the CIIF study.
Local cattle owners often feed their livestock on discarded flower stalks, commonly carnations, which have been doused in pesticides. The inhabitants around Madrid eat the meat and drink the milk from these cows. Although this is illegal in many municipalities, it continues(16).
The protective masks, boots, gloves, trousers and jackets are rotated around the sprayers, who complain that the equipment is often old and damaged, allowing pesticides to seep in (Photo: Tim Ross)
ASOCOLFLORES, an association grouping together about half the flower companies which produce 80% of flowers exports, does not deny the industry has problems. Before companies join the association, they must meet certain health and labour standards.
“Flower farmers are now creating their own regulatory systems because they recognise the Colombian government has some deficiencies in inspection and control,” said Maria Isabel Patino, president of ASCOL-FLORES. But the association can only make recommendations to flower farmers, it has no power to enforce these regulations.
There are several showcase flower farms in Colombia, where workers are rotated every few weeks to make sure they are not over-exposed to pesticides, or strained by heavy work. Some have large signs outside greenhouses, where flowers have been recently sprayed, warning workers not to enter. To decompose the discarded stalks, some farms feed them to worms, which produce compost.
ASOCOLFLORES sends monthly newsletters to members advising them on the latest health and labour regulations. The association is also producing brochures to inform workers of their health and safety rights. In addition it has set up at least four crèches to help mothers working in flower farms.
Local lobby groups are encouraging international pressure on the farms which do not keep to the rules. CACTUS, a local NGO working with flower workers, is currently talking with European aid agencies about the possibility of producing a “quality seal”, which would prove to consumers their flowers are produced by workers whose health and labour rights are protected. The Environment Ministry is also studying the possibility of producing a similar seal involving only environmental issues, and which includes all agricultural products.
1. Stewart, Sarah, Report on the Flower Industry, Christian Aid, 1994.
3. National University of Colombia, Centro de Estudios Sociales, “Trabajo de ninos y jovenes en la floricultura en el municipio de Madrid, Cundinamarca,” 1995.
4. Op. cit 1.
5. Op. cit 1.
6. Interview with author, February 1996, and letter Maria Isabel Patino, 6 April 1994.
7. Op. cit 1.
8. Carrillo, Dr. Stella, Report to the Health Ministry, San Pedro Claver Clinic, Bogota.
9. Cactus, Information Newsletter about the Flower Industry, No.1, Sept. 1995.
10. Zobeyda, Victoria, Universidad del Valle. Graduate Thesis in Chemistry 1994.
11. Collazos, F., Y. Giraldo and N. Ospina, Graduate Thesis in Biology Universidad del Cauca, 1994.
12. Cactus, Urgent Action Newsletter: Endosulfan.
13. Interviews with flower workers, Sosciego, Madrid, February 1996.
15. Op. cit 1.
16. Op. cit. 13.
17. Interviews with author, El Sosiego. February 1996.
Mary Matheson is a freelance journalist based in Bogota, Colombia.
[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 32, June 1996, pages 3-5]
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Australia’s largest heron with a massive bill. Dark grey/brown with a paler throat and grey legs. Breeding plumage silvery on the foreneck, crest and back. Immature is browner and with no crest.
A shy, elusive bird, found in mangroves, tidal mudflats and lowland rivers of tropical Australia. Feeds at low tide by stalking in the shallows.
Low and heavy in flight with slow wing beats, neck folded in and with long trailing legs.
Call: loud, slow, ‘croaking’ and a deep rumbling ‘roar’.
Breeds: In solitary pairs spaced about 1 km apart, principally in spring and autumn. Nest deep in the mangroves in a fork, building a stick platform lined by finer twigs and leaves. Lays two eggs.
The Great-billed Heron can be found most of the year on the Daintree River, Barratt Creek or the Mossman River.
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Researchers in the lab of genome pioneer Craig Venter have built an artificial copy of a bacterium's genome from scratch in the lab. Last year Venter's team transplanted a bacterial genome from one cell into another. The new work, reported this week in the journal Science, marks another step towards being able to create artificial life by inserting an entirely synthetic genome into a bacterial cell. Is it possible to create life from scratch? And is it right?
Produced by Karin Vergoth
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The Cold War/Changes in the USSR
In 1984, Mikhail Gorbachev was unanimously elected leader of the USSR by the politburo. He was far younger (in his fifties!) than his predecessors, and, although still a committed Marxist-Leninist, was far more open to western ideas. When he came to power, he found out what had previously been kept from him: that the Soviet Union had massive financial problems:
- A high percentage of the budget was being spent on subsidies.
- The Afghanistan War was proving to be both expensive and unsuccessful.
- The USA was putting on the pressure in the Arms Race, and the USSR did not have the money to keep up.
- A large proportion of factories were running at a loss.
- Military spending was high, and was difficult to cut, as no premier could afford to risk offending the Army.
- The USSR, through COMECON, was supporting many other Communist states, and was entirely responsible for keeping the Cuban economy afloat.
Gorbachev, in an attempt to solve these problems by increasing efficiency and productivity, introduced two policies:
This meant 'openness'. People were allowed to criticize the way the country was run, the media were no longer controlled, political prisoners were released, and, in 1990, free elections were held, with non-Communist candidates.
This meant 'economic restructuring'. Gorbachev decentralized the economy, allowing small businesses, thus motivating people to produce more, more efficiently.
With regards to foreign policy, Gorbachev decided to let satellite states (such as those in Eastern Europe) go their own way - the USSR would not intervene in their affairs. One adviser called this the 'Sinatra Doctrine'.
Problems caused by the Solutions
These changes inevitably caused problems. Because of glasnost, people were, after years of repression under leaders like Stalin and Brezhnev, finally allowed to say what they thought about the government. Perestroika just was too little change, far too late to make any difference to the economy. Some good products were imported, but only enough to whet people's appetites so that they wanted more, but could not get it. People were still scared of the repression that they had lived under for so long, so not enough small businesses were created. In short, glasnost and perestroika meant that people started to protest more, paving the way to the breakup of the Soviet bloc in 1989, and the coup of 1991 which eventually lead to Gorbachev's resignation and the end of Communism in Russia.
The Cold War
Introduction - Background - Strategy - Truman Doctrine - Marshall Plan - Berlin Blockade - Korean War - Hungarian Uprising - Cuban Missile Crisis - USSR under Gorbachev - USA under Reagan - Arms Race - Space Race
Please read the page creation guidelines before creating a new page.
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Back to school time is about new beginnings. It is a chance to get started on the right foot or readjust habits that we have all slipped into.
Don't Text & Drive!
Texting while driving is dangerous and unfortunately incredibly common. In a recent survey, 97 percent of teens say that texting and driving is dangerous but 43 percent admit to doing it. And it isn't just teens, kids learn from their parents and their parents are texting. 77 percent of teens have seen their parents text and drive. AT&T is making a push to heighten awareness of the dangers of texting and driving called "It Can Wait". They will be promoting September 19th as "No Text on Board Day" with a pledge to not text and drive.
Take the time to talk to your whole family, those who drive and those who don't. Revisit your own habits. It is tempting in a region where we spend so much time on the road, so much time in traffic to use that time behind the wheel as a time to get in touch. Urgent messages of missed buses, forgotten lunches and unexpected overtime seem less urgent if the distraction from driving leads to disastrous consequences. Practice ways to confront a distracted driver from the passenger seat and have your family and friends promise to keep each other in check when it is hard to ignore the buzzing of an incoming text.
Be Smart Online
The focus on internet safety used to be on the dangers of strangers luring our children into dangerous situations but online safety is better served with an attitude of honesty, skepticism and forethought. It might be helpful to think that everything you are writing, sharing, tweeting or showing in photograph form is visible to your grandmother even if it is marked as private.
People often are lured into thinking their communication is private even when it isn't and relying on the privacy settings of app makers and social media sites to keep your interests at the forefront. Being anonymous also can encourage people to be meaner online to attract attention or to live out impulses that they would control if the conversation was face to face.
If you are a parent, remember that your kids aren't likely to be honest in describing their online life with you. If you are providing the internet connection, the computer, the data plan, the cell phone or the ride to the library, you should feel comfortable having "observer status" over their online life. That first Facebook page should include you as a friend. Don't assume that they will share all of their online life, but let them know that you do have ways to keep an eye out. Take a look at your monthly cellphone bill. Are they texting after bedtime? Should you take your internet connection down at night?
If you earn their trust on Facebook and other matters, you can talk about interactions you observe there. Questions like "Do you think what you said to Amanda was a little mean?" might help you understand bigger problems going on in their social circle. Seeing that your child is posting pictures that you think are crossing the lines of appropriateness can help you talk about setting boundaries and the messages conveyed by how you portray yourself.
Whenever you observe something that goes against your rules, you have the responsibility to address it and tighten the digital reins. But don't dismiss the important role that online communication plays in your child's life and in yours as well. You can talk about how an email often isn't the best way to deal with a complicated business or social matter and let them hear your experience in handling difficult situations.
The Family Online Safety Institute (fosi.org) is an excellent starting point for researching the best way to foster good online habits for users of all ages.
Protect Your Data and Your Privacy
Some quick tips to cover the basics of protecting your online life.
- Don't forget your backup regime! A failed hard-drive or lost smartphone can mean the loss of irreplaceable photos, months of hard work and access to your accounts.
- Use good passwords and don't use the same one everywhere.
- Don't fall for phishing scams in your email. Keep a skeptical eye.
- Ignore tweets or Facebook messages that say "You've won a new iPad" or "Is this video of you?"
- If a friend reaches out to you in need of quick money, call them. Scammers are pretty good at pretending to be someone else and are hoping to prey on your being a good friend.
- Check your financial accounts regularly, if you catch problems early they are much easier to fix then when things spiral out of control.
Got any other tips? Include them in the comments box below!
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HI 211 History of Latin America
Prerequisite: EN 101.
This survey of major themes in Latin America history covers the cultural, socio-political, and economic systems of pre-Columbian empires, Spanish and Portuguese conquest and colonization, the struggle for independence and integration in the world economy in the 19th century, and industrial and agricultural development to the present. Topics include the nature of encounters between indigenous populations, Europeans, and Africans; wars of conquest; colonial socio-political structures; labor systems; revolutions; neocolonialism; and the role of the military in Latin American politics. A library component is included.
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Events convened on Tuesday, 17 July 2001
Presentation on the IPCC Third Assessment Report - Climate Change
This event provided an overview of the contributions of IPCC Working Groups I and II to the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR).
Basis: Sir John Houghton, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group I,
outlined Working Group I's findings in the recent IPCC TAR. He
noted that the concentrations of CO2 and methane have risen greatly
since pre-industrial times. He emphasized that changing land use
could influence atmospheric CO2 concentrations. He noted that
one of most significant unknowns is influence of aerosols in cloud
formation. Recalling that the objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilize
greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations without jeopardizing sustainable
development, he emphasized that stabilizing emissions does not
stabilize atmospheric concentrations; emissions must be reduced
far below today's levels in order to stabilize concentrations.
Mitchell, Hadley Centre, addressed climate model evaluation,
detection and attribution of climate change. He explained that
climate modeling, as well as the realism of climate models have
improved, due to higher grid resolution, more physically-based
parameterization, and more complete coupling, though models
are still not perfect. He emphasized that the warming over the
last 100 years is very unlikely to be due to internal variability
alone, and reconstructions of climate data for the last 1,000
years also indicate that this warming was unusual and unlikely
to be entirely natural in origin. Mitchell highlighted differences
in recent surface and free atmospheric trends, the size of internal
variability, natural forcing, anthropogenic forcing, especially
aerosols, and the estimate of response (sensitivity) as primary
Watson, IPCC Chair, described the carbon cycle and the role
of carbon sinks in mitigating global climate change. He stated
that the next 100 years will see an upswing in the role of the
terrestrial biosphere as a sink, and highlighted the associated
importance of afforestation, reforestation and deforestation
activities. Emphasizing the importance of avoided deforestation
in stabilizing global CO2 levels, he noted mitigation potentials
in developing countries. He concluded that stabilizing global
climate change, in addition to land use, land use change and
forestry activities, requires a global reduction in fossil fuel
Cubasch, IPCC Working Group I, presented climate projections,
including regional projections and sea level rise. He described
different climate scenarios and impact models used for detecting
weather forecasting and events such as flooding for predicting
economic and social consequences. He concluded that further
research into uncertainties regarding extreme climate phenomena
RealAudio available soon
Adaptation and Vulnerability: Neil Leary, IPCC Working Group
II Technical Support Unit, presented an overview of Working
Group II's findings regarding the impacts of climate change,
adaptation and vulnerability. He underscored that temperature
changes have already affected many physical and biological systems.
He noted that catastrophic weather-related losses increased
tenfold since the 1950s. Some natural systems are at particular
risk, such as coral reefs, mangroves, and endangered species,
and many human systems are inherently sensitive, such as water
resources, agriculture, human settlements, energy, and financial
services. He emphasized that some changes will be beneficial,
while some will be harmful. He recalled that Working Group II
had identified risks to unique and threatened systems, risks
of extreme climate events, the distribution of impacts, and
aggregate impacts as major areas of concern.
Barry Smit, University of Guelph, defined adaptation as a means
to reduce vulnerability to climate change. He emphasized that:
climate change is not just about global warming but also about
changes in the frequency of extreme climate events; adaptation
must be tackled in the short term to avoid incurring long-term
costs; and Convention commitments to adaptation have been made.
He concluded by noting that: adaptive capacity varies depending
on the coping strategies of different countries and socioeconomic
groups; development activities tend to omit climate change risks;
vulnerability issues need to be addressed; and adaptation and
adaptive capacity require further research.
Paul Desanker, Global Environmental Change Program - Africa, spoke about climate change concerns for Africa. He highlighted a significant improvement in data on the impacts of extreme events such as floods, droughts, major storms and disease epidemics. He outlined key impacts of climate change in Africa, including: vulnerability to sea-level rise in Cairo; adverse impacts to fisheries in Morocco and southwest Africa; species loss and impacts on livelihoods in the Sahel; droughts and economic impacts in southern Africa; major impacts on agriculture in eastern Africa; and recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa. Desanker emphasized that LDCs have differentiated needs given the very low economic ability to implement adaptation activities. He underscored that overall vulnerability is high due to heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture, frequent droughts and floods, and poverty.
Osvaldo Canziani, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II, emphasized the interconnections between the economic, social and environmental elements of sustainable development. He stressed that climate change is not an isolated issue but is intrinsically linked to other environmental problems, which must be considered in an integrated fashion at the policy level. He recalled the need for work on sustainable development criteria that are particularly relevant to climate change.
Please visit the UNFCCC's "On Demand" Webcast Page for partial RealVideo coverage of this event
Developing and auditing a global GHG inventory for Texaco
Presented by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)
This event explored the experiences and outcome of the recent audit, conducted by the URS Corporation and KPMG, of Texaco's greenhouse gas (GHG) protocol and global emissions inventory.
Sarah Patel, Texaco, explained that Texaco's GHG management activities include seeking new market opportunities in the next generation of clean, efficient technologies, assessing emissions, promoting flexible market mechanisms, and investing in research and development of carbon sequestration. In 1997, Texaco began developing its GHG protocol, which was used to develop the emissions inventory.
Lisa Campbell, URS Corporation, noted that the review of Texaco's GHG protocol revealed that it is generally consistent with accepted calculation methodologies, is complete with respect to the constituents included, and includes all key material sources, although greater detail is needed on boundaries, equity share and management practices.
Melanie Eddis, KPMG, outlined the findings of the audit phase. She highlighted improvements in the quality of data from 1997 to 1999, although significant quantified deviations from GHG data totals did occur. She said KPMG and URS had recommended that Texaco embed improved systems and controls to collect and report data throughout the corporation; expand ownership of GHG data reporting to allow a more bottom-up approach; update the protocol to remove ambiguities; provide guidance on data and documentation retention; and correct and update emissions factors.
Campbell then highlighted lessons learned from the verification experience. She stressed the need to include all sources, including contracted emissions, and to take boundaries issues into consideration, particularly indirect emissions from imports and exports of electricity and steam. Regarding equity share, she advocated using a gross working share, rather than a net working share basis in order to ensure transparency and the accounting of all emissions. Campbell highlighted the importance of having effective data management systems and controls, providing clear guidance in protocols to ensure consistency across reporting units, and, in the absence of international rules, maintaining flexibility in inventory reporting.
Discussion: Participants enquired whether Texaco takes into account the effects of its marketing and lobbying on emissions, and urged Texaco to include company-wide product utilization emissions in its inventory.
Please visit the UNFCCC's "On Demand" webcast website for RealVideo coverage of this event
Russian-European cooperation on energy and climate
Presented by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) in collaboration with the Russian Ministry of Fuel and Energy
This event, which addressed the crucial importance of the Russian Federation in the climate change process and ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, was introduced by Michael Grubb, Imperial College of Science and Medicine.
Vrolijk, RIIA, described a recent workshop on "Energy and
Climate: Russian-European Partnership," and illustrated
existing cooperative efforts between the EU and the Russian
Federation in support of the Kyoto Protocol. He highlighted
the significance of the Russian Federation in the compliance
of Europe and other Parties through joint implementation (JI)
and emissions trading with recycling.
Kokorin, WWF Russia, noted that the Russian Federation supports
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, providing strict criteria
on compliance in emissions reduction targets, CDM and rules
for emissions trading. He said that a lack of good domestic
legislation on economic regulation in the Russian Federation
hinders implementation of good practice.
Blanson Henkemans, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, presented
the Netherlands' lessons from Russian-Dutch JI cooperation.
He described the experience of the Dutch ERUPT programme and
concluded that, despite the complexities of JI projects, the
Netherlands maintains a strong interest in developing JI with
the Russian Federation.
On JI and emissions trading and the role of the Russian Federation, Kristian Tangen, Fridtjof Nansen Institute of Norway, described some advantages of project-based mechanisms over emissions trading in the Russian Federation. He highlighted a current lack of institutional capacity and suggested that project success requires a clear institutional mandate.
The ensuing discussion noted the need for: a proper institutional framework for EU-Russian Federation cooperation; compliance on emissions trading; potential for a Greenfund with transparent monitoring and verification; and the importance of revenues from emissions trading in effectively developing the Russian Federation's energy sector.
The Chicago Climate Exchange: Creating a market for GHG emissions trading
Presented by the Joyce Foundation
Alice LeBlanc, Environmental Financial Products LLC, provided an overview of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). The CCX is a voluntary pilot GHG trading programme, funded by the Joyce Foundation, which targets emissions sources and offset projects in North America, with limited offset projects in Brazil. The primary objectives of the CCX are to demonstrate that a capped emissions trading approach supplemented by offsets can be effectively applied to achieve GHG emissions reductions, and to identify a representative price of reductions.
The CCX design includes: a voluntary cap and allowances for emitters; project-based offsets that include sinks, renewables, methane destruction and CDM projects in Brazil; all GHGs; a registry; and standardized rules for monitoring, verification, reporting and trade documents. The proposed reduction timetable is to reduce emissions to two percent below 1999 levels by 2002, with the target falling an additional one percent per year below 1999 from 2003-2005. The initial region of focus is a seven-state area in the midwestern US. The CCX is being launched in 2001, and plans to expand to commitments and trading by participants throughout the US, Canada and Mexico in 2003, and internationally in 2004. Thirty-three companies and organizations have signed up for the design phase, including thirteen Fortune 500 companies.
Please visit the UNFCCC's "On Demand" webcast website for RealVideo coverage of this event
|The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) on the side is a special publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat. The Editor of ENB on the side is Kira Schmidt <email@example.com>. This issue has been written by Emily Boyd <firstname.lastname@example.org> and Kira Schmidt <email@example.com>. The Digital Editors are Andrei Henry <firstname.lastname@example.org> and Kenneth Tong <email@example.com>. Photos by Leila Mead <firstname.lastname@example.org>. Funding for publication of ENB on the side at COP-6 Part II is provided by the UNFCCC Secretariat. The opinions expressed in ENB on the side are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD and funders. Excerpts from ENB on the side may be used in non-commercial publications only and only with appropriate academic citation. For permission to use this material in commercial publications, contact the Managing Editor at <email@example.com>. Electronic versions of these issues of ENB on the side from COP-6 Part II can be found on the Linkages WWW server at http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop6bis/enbots/.|
|� 2001, IISD. All rights reserved.|
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[ Home ] [ Lakhota Story ] [ Lakhota Hear_it ] [ Lakhota Syntax ] [ Lakhota Translation ] [ Signs ]
- "A Lakota Story" is a story that is presented in the
Lakota language as well as translated to English.
- "Lakota hear It!" is a page that features the playing
(by use of .mp3 audio files) of common words as well as phrases in the
Lakota - Sioux language. This way, by hearing, the student can get a
better "feel" of the language.
- The "Lakota Translation" page
is a dictionary of over 3300 words that are translated from English
to Lakota. Includes Lakota pronunciation guide.
- Lakota Language Syntax
- Signs - introduction to sign language used by the American
I would like to thank Native
Web for granting permission to host these web pages as a service to
promote the teaching and preservation of Native American languages; they
are the BEST!
Thanks, and credit, also goes out to "The Greasy
Grass" for most all of the graphics.
Please send all queries /
comments about these hosted web pages to:
Disclaimer: I am NOT a fluent Lakota speaker
or translator so please do not email me for translations!
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We acquired some 1st instar nymphs and some eggs from Martina about 3 weeks ago to begin our own captive population of these amazing insects.
Today the first of our hatchling (1st instar) nymphs has moulted. Here are some images of the moulting process.
|Several minutes into the moulting process and the insect is pumping itself steadily out of the old exoskeleton. The initial emergence point through a split that forms just behing the head|
|All the legs are now free.|
|The insect hanging by the end of its abdomen while the new exoskeleton hardens.|
|All complete, and now a 2nd instar nymph.|
The moulting process (ecdysis) is how arthropods achieve growth. Insects such as phasmids need to have a secure hold on a leaf or branch in order to extract themselves effectively from their old exoskeleton. If something goes wrong it can result in limb loss or even death. It is also a period where they are extremely vulnerable to predators.
This specimen moulted at 7am this morning. The temperature was 16.5°C and the process took around 20 minutes for the insect to completely free its limbs and the majority of its body. It then hung from the exuvia via the end of its abdomen for a further 20 minutes before pulling completely free and climbing back onto the leaf. Like most phasmids, it then proceeded to eat the exuvia.
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Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) was an educator and philosopher, mentor to African-American scholars, and founder of the African-American Historical Association. He believed that it is necessary for a race to have a history or it will be made insignificant, and that the study of African-American history would make for a better society. Initiated by Miss Gertrude McBrown and Mrs. Ruby A. Carter, officers of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, the Carter G. Woodson Reference Collection of African-American Culture and Life was dedicated at the Central Library in May 1968. It has grown to be a 4,000+ volume Reference collection covering different aspects of African-American culture and life. The entire Dewey subject range is included, and many volumes are duplicated in the regular circulating collection. The Woodson Collection is located in the History/Travel/Biography Division of the Central Library.
The collection includes the African-American experience, with emphasis given to slavery, contemporary African-American life, collected biographies, and subject bibliographies. The materials relating to slavery cover its history and impact on African-American life; the contemporary items concentrate primarily on the Civil Rights Movement. Collective biographies include Who's Who Among Black Americans, The Negro Almanac, and Black Biography. 1790-1950.
The thrust of the Woodson Collection is scholarly, and is aimed at high school and college students, researchers, and others with research needs.
Those who are interested in the Woodson collection may also be interested in the online database--the African American Experience, which is located in the "Research Databases" section of the Queens Library website. This database includes full-text digital resources that explore the history and culture of African Americans. Another great resource available to library customers is the Black Heritage Reference Center located at the Langston Hughes Cultural Center and Community Library.
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Eugène Boudin (July 12, 1824 – August 8, 1898) was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1824 ( MDCCCXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. For the art of designing external spaces see Landscape architecture.
Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores. Marine is an Umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the Sea or Ocean, such as Marine biology, Marine His pastels, summary and economic, garnered the splendid eulogy of Baudelaire, and Corot who, gazing at his pictures, said to him, "You are the master of the sky. Pastel is an Art medium in the form of a stick consisting of pure powdered Pigment and a binder Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot ( July 17, 1796 &ndash February 22, 1875) was a French landscape painter and Printmaker "
Born at Honfleur, Normandy, he worked in a small art shop where Claude Monet displayed his art work Le Havre and Honfleur across the estuary of the Seine. Honfleur is a commune in the Norman département of Calvados in France, located on the southern bank of the estuary Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. Le Havre is a city in the northwest region of France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it outlets into the Bay of the Seine The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie But before old age came on him, Boudin's father abandoned seafaring, and his son gave it up too, having no real vocation for it, though he preserved to his last days much of a sailor's character, frankness, accessibility, and open-heartedness.
In 1835 his family moved to Le Havre, where his father established himself as stationer and frame-maker. Le Havre is a city in the northwest region of France situated on the right bank of the mouth of the Seine River as it outlets into the Bay of the Seine He began work the next year as an assistant in a stationery and framing store before opening his own small shop. There he came into contact with artists working in the area and exhibited in his shop the paintings of Constant Troyon and Jean-François Millet, who, along with Jean-Baptiste Isabey and Thomas Couture whom he met during this time, encouraged young Boudin to follow an artistic career. Constant Troyon ( August 28, 1810 - February 21, 1865) French painter, was born in Sèvres, near Paris Jean-François Millet ( October 4, 1814 &ndash January 20, 1875) was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon Jean-Baptiste Isabey ( April 11, 1767 - April 18, 1855) French painter, was born at Nancy. Thomas Couture ( December 21, 1815 &ndash March 30, 1879) was an influential French history painter and teacher At the age of 22 he abandoned the world of commerce, started painting full-time, and traveled to Paris the following year and then through Flanders. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. In 1850 he earned a scholarship that enabled him to move to Paris, although he often returned to paint in Normandy and, from 1855, made regular trips to Brittany. Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into
Dutch 17th century masters profoundly influenced him, and on meeting the Dutch painter Johan Jongkind, who already made his mark in French artistic circles, Boudin was advised by his new friend to paint outdoors (en plein air). Johan Barthold Jongkind ( June 3, 1819 &ndash February 9, 1891) was a Dutch painter and printmaker regarded En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air" and is particularly used to describe the act of Painting outdoors He also worked with Troyon and Isabey, and in 1859 met Gustave Courbet who introduced him to Charles Baudelaire, the first critic to draw Boudin’s talents to public attention when the artist made his debut at the 1859 Paris Salon. For the French Admiral see Admiral Courbet (1828-1885 Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( 10 June 1819 &ndash The Salon (Salon or rarely Paris Salon (French Salon de Paris) beginning in 1725 was the official Art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts
In 1857 Boudin met the young Claude Monet who spent several months working with Boudin in his studio. Claude Monet ( French klod mɔnɛ also known as Oscar-Claude Monet or Claude Oscar Monet (14 November 1840 &ndash 5 December 1926 was a founder The two remained lifelong friends and Monet later paid tribute to Boudin’s early influence. Boudin joined Monet and his young friends in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, but never considered himself a radical or innovator. Impressionism was a 19th-century Art movement that began as a loose association of Paris -based Artists exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s
Boudin’s growing reputation enabled him to travel extensively in the 1870s. He visited Belgium, the Netherlands, and southern France, and from 1892 to 1895 made regular trips to Venice. He continued to exhibit at the Paris Salons, receiving a third place medal at the Paris Salon of 1881, and a gold medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. In 1892 Boudin was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur, a somewhat tardy recognition of his talents and influence on the art of his contemporaries.
Late in his life he returned to the south of France as a refuge from ill-health, and recognizing soon that the relief it could give him was almost spent, he returned to his home at Deauville, to die within sight of Channel waters and under Channel skies. For the motorcycle of the same name see Honda Deauville. Deauville is a commune in the Calvados département
The Eugene Boudin Prize is an award given by the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts ( SNBA) was the term under which two groups of French artists united the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s the second since 1890 Among the laureates of this award, the following painters were nominated:
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Death By Smog
On this day in 1948, an asphyxiating cloud of smog enveloped Donora, Pa., a Monongahela River town of 14,000 people and the location of the Donora Zinc Works and the American Steel and Wire Co. The sulfur dioxide-laden smoke blighted yards and hillsides, and sometimes even made driving difficult. Doctors urged people with breathing problems to leave town, but this was tough because driving was already prohibited. Twenty people were killed, and more than 7,000 were hospitalized or became ill. The event remains one of America's greatest environmental disasters. It spurred federal and state laws, such as the Clean Air Act of 1970, to curb air pollution and deal with health threats caused by pollution.
Copyright InteliHealth, Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.
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“Honor is a harder master than the law”
They thought Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) was too old to pay everybody back
Sam Clemens, true to his word.
Sam Clemens left his family’s Paris residence, went to New York, and on Wednesday afternoon, April 18,1894 filed for bankruptcy. “Cheer up,” he wrote his wife Livy, “the worst is yet to come.”
Although his travel books and novels were immensely popular, and he had published the bestselling memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, Clemens (which is how one refers to him about his personal life) was a poor businessman. Moreover, he invested such profits as he made in inventions which didn’t pan out. The worst was a typesetter invented by James W. Paige, an example of which can be seen in the Mark Twain Home, Hartford, Connecticut. If this typesetter had worked, it would have been a wonder, but it was so complicated that it could never be kept working for long. What hopes Clemens had of averting bankruptcy were dashed during the Panic of 1893 when some 16,000 businesses failed.
Clemens owed 96 creditors $94,000, plus $65,000 of his wife’s money which had been loaned to these ventures. This was an overwhelming amount of debt.
At the time of his bankruptcy, Clemens was 58 and in ill health, so his prospects for paying the debts looked bleak. He was fortunate that a friend, Henry Rogers, a partner in Standard Oil, offered to help deal with creditors and handle his finances. One of Rogers’ achievements was to keep the literary copyrights out of creditor negotiations and in Livy’s name. The Clemens and Rogers agreed that the creditors must be repaid in full. As Clemens explained, “honor is a harder master than the law.”
By February 1895, Clemens finished two books: Tom Sawyer, Detective and Joan of Arc. He told Rogers, “I am in a sort of physical collapse.”
Rogers negotiated the publishing contracts, but it soon became clear that publishing income alone wouldn’t be enough to keep creditors at bay. Clemens had to go back on the lecture circuit which he had done successfully before. A world tour was the best bet to pay off his creditors, but such tours were exhausting. Travel was slow. There were many connections to make, and every connection meant hauling lots of luggage, especially for women – because of Sam’s poor health, it made sense for him to have Livy and daughter Clara along.
“Most grime on clothing was external, caused by street filth and air pollution,” explained scholar Robert Cooper who chronicled the itinerary of the world tour in Around the World with Mark Twain (2000). Horse-drawn vehicles splashed clothes with mud. Horse droppings, which were hard to avoid, and the dirt and mud of the streets, then mostly unpaved, soiled trouser cuffs or the hems of long dresses. Coal smoke, from cooking and heating as well as from industrial users, smudged clothes as well. So the Victorian custom of changing for the evening meal was not an affectation…
“When washing or cleaning a dress, it was common practice to open up the seams, even elaborate garments with forty or fifty yards of fabric, lay out all the sections on a clean table, smooth out the creases, scrub each side with soapy water and then rinse (or, if the dress could not be washed, apply a cleaning agent such as gin), before sewing the sections back together. Since cleaning was often time-consuming, travelers had to pack enough garments so that they could wear clean clothes while dirt was being removed from the soiled ones.” As a result, a tour such as Clemens contemplated meant going around the world with 16 pieces of hand luggage and many large steamer trunks.
His daughter Clara later recalled how he anguished about “the hellish struggle it was to settle on making that lecture trip around the world? How we fought the idea, the horrible idea, the heart-breaking idea…I am almost an old man, with ill health, carbuncles, bronchitis and rheumatism…with patience worn to rags, I was to pack my bag and be jolted around the devil’s universe…”
Clemens wrote his friend James B. Pond, one of America’s most successful lecture who had arranged a previous tour for him in 1884 and 1885. Pond agreed to range another one across the northern United States and to accompany him, so he could concentrate on his presentations. Pond would get a quarter of the profits. As biographer Justin Kaplan reported in Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain (1966), “confined to his bed for three weeks with carbuncles and gout and half expecting to start his travels on a stretcher, Clemens prepared his programs and worked over his itinerary.” He said, “I am confident that if I live I can pay off the last debt within four years.
What would the program be? A lecture? A reading? Earlier in his career, he recalled in his autobiography (Charles Neider edition), “I supposed it would only be necessary to do like Dickens – get out on the platform and read from the book. I did that and made a botch of it. Written things are not for speech; their form is literary; they are stiff, inflexible, and will not lend themselves to happy and effective delivery with the tongue – where their purpose is to merely entertain, not instruct; they have to be limbered up, broken up, colloquialized and turned into the common forms of unpremeditated talk – otherwise they will bore the house, not entertain it…I memorized those pieces, and in delivering them from the platform they soon transformed themselves into flexible talk, with all their obstructing preciseness and formalities gone out of them for good.”
He added, “in reading from the book you are telling another person’s tale at secondhand; you are a mimic and not the person involved; you are an artificiality, not a reality; whereas in telling the tale without the book, you absorb the character and presently become the man himself, just as is the case with the actor.”
Fred W. Lorch, whose book The Trouble Begins at Eight (1968) chronicled Mark Twain’s lecture career, reported that he knew “people wanted a lecturer to give them something solid, something educational, something that would improve them. And that was what he had come to do. He proposed to teach morals by the use of illustrations. He had a theory that a person should prize as priceless every crime, every transgression he commits – that is, the lesson he derives from it. By impressing the lesson of the crime upon his mind and heart, a person would never commit that crime again…
“Mark Twain then proceeded to illustrate some of the principles which he asserted he had learned in his own rise toward moral perfection (he was now, he said, more than two-thirds on his way up there and had not much further to go) by introducing various stories and anecdotes from his own writings.” Since he would be scheduled to lecture two or three times in some cities and towns, he needed an adequate repertoire of stories.
“The Jumping Frog and the story of the Mexican Plug,” Lorch continued, “were offered to teach a person never to put faith in a passing stranger; Jim Baker’s Blue Jay, whatever you do, do with all your heart; The History of a Campaign Trail That Failed, discretion is the better part of valor; Tom Sawyer’s Crusade To Rescue the Holy Land, don’t argue matters beyond your comprehension; the Corpse in His Father’s Office, learn to gauge you courage early; The Awful German Language, the necessity of teaching patience; Huck Helps Jim Escape, a sound heart is better than a deformed conscience; The Christening of Mary Ann, don’t jump to conclusions; The Smallpox story, a fellow has to start early in life if he wants to do right…”
On July 14, 1895, Sam, Livy and Clara Clemens boarded a train from Elmira, New York, where the family spent summers, to Cleveland where the tour would begin the next day. Then they went to Sault Ste. Marie, Mackinac and Petoskey, Michigan; Deluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Butte, Anaconda, Helena, Missoula and Great Falls, Montana; Spokane, Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Ill health plagued Clemens much of the way, and he missed many dinners which had been planned in his honor. But he played to packed houses, sometimes over a thousand people at a time, and by the time he was done with the U.S. leg of his tour he was able to remit some $5,000 to his creditors.
People welcomed him everywhere, which helped lift his spirits amidst the crisis of bankruptcy. Everybody knew his books Innocents Abroad (1869), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). And of course, Mark Twain had become a famous attraction on the lecture circuit ever since his first lecture in San Francisco back on October 2, 1866. As he told a newspaper reporter at the end of his U.S. tour, “Lecturing is gymnastics, chest-expander, medicine, mind healer, blues destroyer, all in one.”
Mark Twain on stage was quite a sight. According to Lorch, “For a man sixty years of age and recently ill, his appearance was truly impressive. Bushy white hair circled his head like a halo. The brows were shaggy and thick, the mustache dropped, strongly aquiline, the thin delicate nostrils suggesting nervous sensibility. The eyes, wonderfully keen and piercing, looked out gently from a furrowed, intellectual face. He appeared in full evening dress with a wide unornamental expanse of white shirt, and it occurred to some in the audience that he looked far too civilized to be the author of Roughing It.
“Emerging from the wings, his left hand thrust deep into his trouser pocket, he sauntered slowly toward the reading stand like a man out for a stroll who presently looks up and finds he has company. At times he walked out on stage carrying a glass of water in such a casual and unstudied way as to appear that it was a perfectly natural thing for him to do. Then, stepping to the side of the stand, he stood with folded arms gazing at the audience with quizzical look that betrayed no hint of a smile, and waited for the audience to quiet down…
“His speech was so distinct, clear, and penetrating that he could be heard everywhere in the hall, except occasionally when he lowered his voice. What impressed his audiences most, however, about his manner of speech was his slow, leisurely drawl (a Yankee drawl, as reporters characterized it) and his measured manner of speaking, never repeating or withdrawing a word once uttered.”
From Victoria, British Columbia, the Clemens sailed for Australia. They stopped at Hawaii but couldn’t get off the ship because of a cholera outbreak in Honolulu. Carlyle G. Smythe, one of Australia’s best-known theatrical managers, had arranged a lecture tour through the British Commonwealth. The Clemens arrived in Sydney, Australia on Monday, September 16, 1895. He performed there, in Melbourne, Adelaide, Horsham, Stawell, Ballarat, Bendigo, Maryborough, Geelong and Prahan. On to New Zealand where he performed in Invercargill, Dunedin, Timaru, Oamaru, Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington. Then back to Melbourne and Sydney for more “At Homes.” According to biographer Kaplan, the first two weeks in Australia netted $2,200 for creditors.
“Foreign audiences, like those at home,” Lorch wrote, “were greatly impressed by the distinguished humorist’s subtle and masterful resources for capturing and holding audience interest. They noted, for example, the skillfully used pause, after which invariably followed a graphic word or a meaningful phrase purposely withheld; the serious, imperturbable demeanor; the dead pan expression; the occasional groping for a word, though no one imagined that the word was not instantly at his command; and finally the complete naturalness and simplicity of manner by which he concealed the devices which made them laugh.
“Try as they might, reporters confessed they found it almost impossible adequately to describe the effect which Mark Twain’s performance exerted upon them. What was the magic, they asked themselves, which enabled him for nearly two hours to keep them under his sway? As a lecture it was so utterly out of the ordinary, so unique in material, so delightfully rambling and inconsequential in treatment that no standard came to mind with which it could be critically compared. Even if one were to reproduce his talk verbatim, the magic would be lost; for the reporters quickly sensed that the charm was not primarily in the stories themselves, but rather in the manner of telling, in the techniques and in the whole speaking personality of the humorist. All these blended themselves together so simply and naturally and effortlessly that no amount of specification could supply a true and adequate notion of the effect.
“That Mark Twain was not merely a funny man, a mere laughter-maker, they also perceived. This man sensed the tears in human affairs. He perceived the acute suffering that afflicted the souls of men."
Especially on his overseas tour, Clemens insisted on having time between performances when he could go sight-seeing, because he intended to write a book about his experiences, expected to bring in some money. His book Innocents Abroad, about a tour he took to the Holy Land, had been his first bestseller. Roughing It (1872), another chronicle of his travels, had done well.
At every stop, Clemens met reporters, and many of the details of his world tour came from local newspaper accounts which Fred Lorch pieced together. “The reporters,” he wrote, “frequently observed that he spent a great deal of time in collecting information about the localities he visited and in writing and assembling his notes.”
He found it tough to work because so many people wanted to meet him. Lorch reported, “American consular agents, prominent local and state officials, high ranking military personnel, clubs and organizations which had sponsored his lectures – all invited him to dinners, receptions, and other affairs, often late in the evening after the lecture. If he accepted, it usually meant exhausting hours that robbed him of rest and drained his energies.”
From Australia, the Clemens sailed to Colombo (Ceylon), then India. He performed in Bombay, Poona, Baroda, Allahabad, Calcutta, Darjeeling, Muzaffapur, Lucknow, Cawnpore, Agra, Lahore and Rawalpindi. On to South Africa and performances in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Krugersdorp, Bloemfontein, Queenstown, King William’s Town, East London, Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, Kimberly and Cape Town.
The Clemens sailed for Southampton, England on July 15, 1896. Three weeks after they arrived, there was terrible news: daughter Susy, who with her sister Jean had remained in the states with their aunt, had died of meningitis at their Hartford, Connecticut home. She was just 24. Clemens didn’t have the heart to give any more lectures. “It is one of the mysteries of our nature,” he said, “that a man, all unprepared, can receive a thunder-stroke like that and live.”
He poured his energies into Following the Equator which he finished in May 1897. More than 30,000 copies were sold, and Clemens remarked, “Land, we are glad to see those debts diminishing. For the first time in my life I am getting more pleasure from paying money out than from pulling it in.” Clemens repeatedly thanked Rogers for his help.
By January 1898, Rogers cabled Clemens: “The creditors have all been paid a hundred cents on the dollar.” So Clemens had stepped up to take responsibility for his financial crisis and come through it with his integrity and peace of mind.
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August 10, 2010
After ten years of spirited debate and extensive compromise, it was on August 10, 164 years ago today, that President James K. Polk signed a bill presented by the United States Congress establishing the Smithsonian Institution. Bequeathed to the United States by British scientist James Smithson, the Institution was an amalgamation of research, museums and publications, aimed at promoting “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
Smithson, the illegitimate child of a wealthy Englishman, had traveled much during his life, but had never once set foot on American soil. Why, then, would he decide to give the entirety of his sizable estate—which totaled half a million dollars, or 1/66 of the United States’ entire federal budget at the time—to a country that was foreign to him?
This is just one in a multitude of mysteries about the Smithsonian’s namesake; but thanks to architectural historian Heather Ewing, we can learn more about Smithson’s world, and the circumstances of his life that would lead him to present the United States with an unprecedented gift. Ewing, who first worked at the Smithsonian as an intern researching the history of the National Zoo, is the author of The Lost World of James Smithson: Science, Revolution and the Birth of the Smithsonian (Bloomsbury, 2007) and A Guide to Smithsonian Architecture (Smithsonian Books, 2009).
What was it about the United States, or about Smithson’s life or background that made him want to give everything he had to the foundation of this institution?
Smithson came of age in a time of tremendous excitement around science, and also a belief in usefulness, this idea that you could make the world a better place, and that man was perfectible. He believed very strongly that scientists were benefactors of all mankind. It is interesting to look at what the United States was at that time, and especially to this person who had never actually seen it. Many of the statesmen who were representing the United States in the beginning, such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, were scientists as well, and they were also founders of philosophical societies.
There are also a lot of things going on with Smithson personally, such as his illegitimacy, and his feeling disenfranchised or not fully accepted by this society that was very based on status and hierarchy and who your family was. He sees, across the ocean, this country that is trying to establish a new kind of government based on law and science, where what you contribute is how you’re valued. It’s supposedly a meritocracy, which is very much what science was at that time as well.
How did Smithson conceive of “knowledge” originally, and how does it compare to the Smithsonian’s definition of knowledge today?
Smithson felt that all knowledge was useful, and he felt that everybody could make a contribution. It’s curious—there were institutions that used similar language in their founding mandates, like the Royal Institution of Great Britain, of which Smithson was a founding member. They were also about the promotion of knowledge, but they were much about doing laboratory work and publishing papers, and Smithson might have had that as a model for what his Smithsonian should be. He was very interested in posterity as well, so I think he’d be delighted that the Smithsonian Institution is as huge and well-known as it is today.
What are some of the primary mysteries behind Smithson and his life?
He traveled a lot, and always seems to have stayed kind of portable. He always rented, never actually owned, and his library, which is one of the only things we actually have about him is interesting because it’s a working library. At that time when you bought your books, they weren’t bound, they just had a paper wrapper so that you could take them to the book binder and have them done with the leather and the design that you wanted. Smithson never did that. So he had this library that’s not something you wanted to show off. It’s also quite small compared to what it could’ve been, given his wealth, and certain books that you might expect to be in there are not.
Smithson had 8,000 to 10,000 minerals. That was here at the Smithsonian and we lost it in the fire of 1865. But if he collected other objects or paintings or things like that, there’s no evidence of it. So it seems curious for a man of his station and the way he wanted to carry himself that he didn’t do some of the things that we would expect him to do.
What would Smithson think of the Smithsonian Institution today?
Before I started writing the book, I thought, well, the Smithsonian is so American-focused now, and it’s not at all what he would have imagined or wanted. Now, I don’t feel that way so much. Now I think the breadth of the work that’s being done here…I mean when you think about the Chandra X-ray telescope out in space, and people working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute down in Panama, and the kind of work that’s going on behind the scenes here, and then the unbelievable collections… there’s a vastness to it that is very Smithson-like. He had so many different interests, and if you look at his papers you can see that everything captivates him. So he’s analyzing a lady’s tear, and then he’s looking at Egyptian paint colors, and then he’s studying mulberry juice. Everything that he comes across is fascinating to him, and I think the Smithsonian, unlike anywhere else in the world, reflects those kind of diverse interests. In a lot of ways, I think he would be completely amazed and happy.
Sign up for our free email newsletter and receive the best stories from Smithsonian.com each week.
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Office of Citizen
Rest in Peace,
Igloo - building with water crystals in compression
Submitted by Jeff Buster on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 15:36.
The recent snows in the North East Ohio area have stimulated children (and perhaps adults, in the case of the very cleanly expressed example in the image above) to creative play involving no commercial components.
Ice has about zero strength in tension, so this igloo relies solely on compression of the snow for its stability. If this dome/parabolic shape were used for lightly reinforced thin skin concrete structures in re-building efforts in Haiti, would the resulting structure have adequate seismic resilience and be hurricane tolerant?
Construction of a concrete igloo could be very inexpensively done with the use of inflatable forms and shotcreting. Even dirt can be used for the form - and then removed from the inside of the igloo after the concrete has been applied and cured.
Can you imagine a Caribbean "village" of igloos all painted in bright topical tones!
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ALTHOUGH the existence of aboriginal earthworks in the Western country has been known for almost a century, no mounds of imitative design intended to represent animal figures were observed, until a very recent period, when the territory now constituting the State of Wisconsin began to attract the attention of emigrants. This was in the year 1836, and I then made known through the newspapers of the day the fact of the existence of the turtle-mound at Prairie Village, now Waukesha, and of other animal effigies at various places. Since that time every opportunity has been embraced to make examinations and surveys of these highly interesting relics of the past, which have been thus not unfrequently saved from oblivion. In some instances, they were destroyed immediately or within a few days after my survey.
The American Antiquarian Society having placed at my disposal the means of paying the actual travelling and other expenses, these investigations were greatly extended; and the results are now presented, in the hope that they may have their use in the settlement of many archaeological and ethnological questions of great interest and importance.
But little effort has been made to construct hypotheses in explanation of the facts observed, or by an extended comparison with the results recorded by others, to arrive at general conclusions. The want of extensive collections of books and other facilities at the West may long prevent our inquirers, here, from entering upon such speculations.
My office has been faithfully to fulfil the duties of the surveyor: to examine and investigate the facts, and to report them as much in detail as may be necessary; leaving it to others with better opportunities, to compare them, and to establish, in connection with other means of information, such general principles as may be legitimately deduced.
I. A. LAPHAM.
|Lapham, Increase Allen, 1811-1875. The antiquities of Wisconsin. Washington : Smithsonian Institution, 1855. p. v.
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|The ternary calculating machine of Thomas Fowler|
Fowler's Binary and Ternary Tables
One of Thomas Fowler’s many professions was as Treasurer of the Poor Law Union. This was an organization that collected fees (establishment charges) from each parish in the Union to aid the poor in the community. The amount of the fee was proportional to the value (assessment) of the parish. Thus, Fowler had to calculate the value of each parish relative to the Union as a whole, and then knowing the overall fees to be collected by the entire Union, calculate the fraction that each parish owes.
This task was made much more complicated by the pre-decimal English currency (abbreviated as £sd after the symbols for pounds, shillings and pence). There were twenty shillings to a pound, twelve pence to a shilling and four farthings to a penny. When calculating proportions as Fowler needed to do, each monetary value would be converted into farthings before doing any calculations. With 960 farthings to the pound, these numbers became very large. The process was tedious, but decimal British currency was still over 130 years away.
When faced with this huge task, Fowler developed a system which used lower bases to ease his calculating burden. In 1838, he published his Tables for Facilitating Arithmetical Calculations with the subtitle Intended for Calculating the Proportionate Charges on the Parishes in Poor Law Unions. This book contains a table of binary numbers for values from decimal 1 to 130048, and a table of balanced ternary numbers from decimal 1 to 3985807. Fowler also describes in detail how he uses these tables to simplify the particular type of calculations required for Poor Law Unions. Details of Fowler’s method are given here.
A sample page of the ternary tables is shown at the left. For each decimal number in the leftmost column, the next two columns identify the powers of three, both positive and negative, to express that number in balanced ternary. The column at the far right is used to expand the range of the table by a factor of 3^6. Each number in the center of the block of three can be expressed in balanced ternary by adding six to the value of the indicies shown to the left. The number directly above and below indicate the range over which this value can be used. For example, numbers between 1094 and 3280 can be determined by converting the middle number, 2187, into balanced ternary, and then looking up the remainder in the leftmost columns of the table, keeping in mind that the remainder may actually be a negative value.
publication of his book preceded his calculating machine by two years.
The machine is clearly designed as a mechanical aid to
this particular technique of calculation. Fowler’s technique has
definite advantages for the repetitive calculations required at the Poor
Law Union, but for less repetitive problems, the conversion to and from
balanced ternary might be more difficult than calculating the problem
directly in decimal.
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Welcome to a photographic glimpse into the complex world of the Inupiat people. On the North Slope Borough land high in the Arctic Circle, the Inupiat continue their unique cultural heritage. Barrow is the northernmost city in Alaska, looking out over the Arctic Ocean to the north. February in Barrow is the time for the Inupiat to begin preparations for their spring whaling season.
NativeTech is fortunate to be able to share some photographs of traditional activities going on right now in 2006 at the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska. Many thanks go out to Mary Sage for providing these wonderful images and her story, which truly demonstrate the knowledge, artistry and cooperation required for this work. These pages will grow to include more on this seasonís traditional hunting as it progresses.
"There are approximately 55 whaling crews in Barrow. Spring whaling usually starts in early May, and preparing for the spring season begins in February. We hunt for the bowhead whale, which are usually 22 to 60 feet long, and one ton per foot. Smaller whales are favored for their tender muktuk (skin and fat). From the whale, we eat the muktuk, meat, tongue, kidney, heart, flippers, tail, and intestines. We use the liver membrane for our traditional drums. We use the excess fat to feed our dogs in the winter. Our babies are given the tough parts of the flipper for teething. Nothing goes to waste. Our average quota for the bowhead whale is usually about 22 whales per year".
~ Mary Sage February 2006
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? — 1618
?) was a Portuguese-Brazilian
poet. He is considered to be the introducer of Baroque
and the first Brazilian poet — however, this last affirmation is contested by many historians.
Details about Teixeira's life are very sparse. His birthplace is most commonly accepted to be Porto
, to Manuel Álvares de Barros and Lianor Rodrigues. He moved to Brazil in 1567(?), most precisely to Bahia
, but he had to flee to Pernambuco
when he revealed he was Jewish
In Pernambuco, he became a teacher of Arithmetics
. Returning to Bahia, he married Filipa Raposa in the city of Ilhéus
, in 1584(?).
Allegedly, Teixeira murdered
his wife under suspects of adultery
, what made him flee to Pernambuco once more. Refugiated at the Monastery of São Bento
, he wrote his masterpiece Prosopopeia
Another version tells that Teixeira's wife accused him of being Jewish. After being interrogated and absolved in 1589, he was intimated by the caller of the Inquisition
, and Teixeira then confessed that he was a follower of the Judaism
. Enraged by his wife's delation, he murdered her and fled to the aforementioned monastery. However, he was found, arrested and sent to Lisbon
in 1595(?), staying there until his death.
Many works were attributed to Teixeira, such as:
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Posts Tagged ‘green growth’
CSR Research Digest – June 2012
In the 2012 report Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development, World Bank economists set out an economic argument and framework for countries to begin greening their growth. This report argues that sustained growth is necessary to achieve the urgent development needs of the world’s poor and that there is substantial scope for growing cleaner without growing slower.
- To get to sustainable development, we need well-designed, inclusive green growth policies that can improve social welfare for all, promote careful stewardship of natural resources, and respect the delicate balance of the planet.
- Greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable.
- It is critical to achieving sustainable development and mostly amounts to good growth policies.
- Obstacles to greening growth are political and behavioural inertia and a lack of financing instruments—not the cost of green policies as commonly thought.
- Green growth should focus on what needs to be done in the next five to 10 years to avoid getting locked into unsustainable paths and to generate immediate, local benefits.
- The way forward requires a blend of economics, political science, and social psychology—smart solutions to tackle political economy constraints, overcome deeply entrenched behaviors and social norms, and develop the needed financing tools.
- Green policies can contribute to growth through four effects:
- an input effect (increasing production factors),
- an efficiency effect (bringing production closer to the production frontier),
- a stimulus effect (stimulating the economy in times of crisis), and
- an innovation effect (accelerating development and adoption of technologies).
- Green policies can also contribute to welfare through direct environmental benefits, through distributional effects (including poverty reduction and job creation), and through increased resilience to shocks (including natural disasters and commodity price volatility).
- Welfare impacts will be greater if efforts are made to make green policies inclusive.
- Because economic incentives promote efficient solutions, “getting the prices right” is key to greening growth without slowing it.
- Complementary policies will be needed to mitigate negative distributional impacts.
- Economic incentives cannot induce all of the changes needed to protect the environment, given market failures, behavioral biases, and political economy considerations.
- Other tools—such as information judiciously deployed to influence economic actors, and norms and regulations—are also needed.
- Innovation and industrial policies are potentially useful tools to spur green growth, as they can correct market (environmental and non-environmental) failures, but they should be designed to minimize risks from capture and rent-seeking behaviors.
- In some cases, growth and green outcomes— such as cleaner air, cleaner water, less solid waste, and more biodiversity—will involve tradeoffs.
- But not all of these tradeoffs are inevitable: innovation, which can be supported through smart subsidies, can help minimize or eliminate some of them.
- Infrastructure policies are central to green growth strategies, because of the huge potential for regret (given the massive infrastructure investments required and the inertia they create) and substantial potential for co-benefits (given the current gap in infrastructure service provision).
- The infrastructure gap offers opportunities to “build right” and leapfrog; but huge unmet needs also can imply difficult trade-offs between “building right” and “building more,” particularly given financing and fiscal constraints.
- A framework for green infrastructure must build on efforts to address overall constraints on infrastructure finance (including cost recovery issues) and must develop strategies to both minimize the potential for regrets and maximize short-term co-benefits to address social and political acceptability constraints.
- A green growth strategy needs to be designed before individual projects are assessed and selected.
- Project assessments need to account for uncertainty and diverging world views.
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National Wetlands Update September 2012
Issue No. 21, September 2012
Rewetting - response of arid floodplain wetlands following extensive drought
Cherie Campbell, Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Mildura
Abundant aquatic macrophytes following
environmental watering at Scotties Billabong.
Management intervention, in the form of environmental watering during the drought, may have enabled wetlands to respond more favourably to the 2010–11 flood. However, other processes associated with the flooding, such as sediment deposition, may have inhibited the development of submerged macrophyte communities. This article reports on monitoring of vegetation communities in the lower Murray-Darling Basin, specifically at two of The Living Murray (TLM) icon sites, Hattah Lakes and Lindsay-Mulcra-Wallpolla Islands (LMW), as well as wetlands in New South Wales (NSW) downstream of the confluence of the Murray and Darling Rivers.
Prior to the flooding in 2010–11 the last overbank flow in this region of the Murray River was in 2000-01, which inundated most wetlands and low-lying parts of the floodplain. During the drought, environmental water was delivered to a number of wetlands to maintain ecological values, with individual wetlands receiving between one and 10 watering events from 2004 until spring 2010.
Following inundation in 2010–11 there was mass germination of wetland species as the floodwaters receded. Positive signs of resilience and recovery potential include the establishment of swamp lily (Ottelia ovalifolia ssp. ovalifolia) at a wetland site dry for 10 years; high plant species diversity, including a relatively large number of flow-dependent plant species listed as vulnerable in Victoria, such as lagoon nightshade (Solanum lacunarium) and jerry-jerry (Ammannia multiflora); and a large number of river red gum and black box seedlings.
Germination of River Red Gum seedlings and a
diversity of wetland plants following flood
recession at Mulcra Island flood plain. (C.Campbell)
Preliminary results indicate wetlands that received environmental water during the drought typically responded to the 2010–11 flood with greater abundance and diversity of wetland plants than wetlands without management intervention. However, a paucity of submerged macrophytes were observed following flooding, including at wetlands known to have developed very abundant and diverse macrophyte communities following environmental watering. One potential explanation is sediment deposition during the recent flood. Dense mats of nardoo (Marsilea spp.) rhizomes could be felt underneath about 50 centimetres of sediment at Scottie's Billabong on Lindsay Island.
It is hoped that on-going monitoring will help identify how management intervention during the drought may be influencing the response of successional wetland vegetation communities as the sites continue to draw-down and dry.
LMW and Hattah Lakes monitoring is funded by The Living Murray program which is a joint initiative funded by the NSW, Victorian, South Australian, Australian Capital Territory and Australian governments, coordinated by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. The provision of environmental water and associated monitoring of wetlands in the NSW Lower Murray-Darling Catchment has been funded by Murray-Darling Wetlands Ltd. (formerly the Murray Wetlands Working Group) and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.
For further information contact: Cherie Campbell, Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, Mildura, email@example.com.
Jerry-Jerry (Ammannia multiflora), vulnerable in
Victoria, was frequently observed post-flooding at
Mulcra Island flood plain. (C.Campbell)
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The Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) deals with the rules on the conduct of warfare, the rules relating to the rights and dutes of armed forces during a conflict, and the rules that protect potential or actual victims of armed conflict. LOAC is often also referred “international humanitarian law” or IHL.
For a basic introduction to LOAC/IHL, see International Humanitarian Law: Answers to your Questions, published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Research Guides & Bibliographies
These resources are good starting points for most research projects. They will identify relevant books, articles, and websites.
ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law, Humanitarian Law.
Harvard Law Library, International Humanitarian Law research Guide.
Globalex, research guides on international, foreign and comparative law topics.
The Peace Palace Library has a number of research guides on the topic of War, Peace and Security, which include citations to books and articles, along with links to online sources of interest.
Research Guide: International Humanitarian Law.
United Nations Documentation: Research Guide.
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Horsing Around for the Home Planet
A friend who is an aficionado of classical music described rock and roll as “a man who got on his horse and rode off in all directions." In my version of the saying, about climate change and our dependence on fossil fuels, I think we all need to get on our horses and ride off in all directions.
Gov. Schwartzenegger has pushed a number of initiatives in California and all of them are good. His plan to create a “hydrogen highway” up and down the state, to provide hydrogen fuel for cars running on fuel cells is a great idea, but won’t likely pay off in the near term. Hydrogen is an energy carrier and not an energy source, so what you do with that energy determines whether it will improve or hurt the environment. And fuel cells still depend on expensive metals such as gold, platinum, or palladium as a catalyst. When fuel cell technology becomes less expensive, then the hydrogen highway will make more sense. In the meantime we can create more energy using renewable sources such as solar and wind.
The Governor's California Solar Initiative (CSI), however, is an idea whose time has come— with an immediate pay off for the environment and for California’s bank accounts. The CSI puts nearly $3 billion over 11 years into the state’s efforts to promote solar energy. The initiative requires that homes meet certain energy efficiency standards before builders and homeowners get a rebate from the state for solar electric installations. In the home performance community, we call this “insulating before insolating.”
An efficient home will use much less energy — requiring a much smaller and less expensive photovoltaic (PV) system — than a typical home to meet at least 50% of its electricity needs. However, energy efficiency is un-sexy compared to the very sexy solar technology found on the roofs of celebrities, green architects, and first-adopters of technology. PV panels get even more attractive when they make the homeowner’s PG&E meter go backwards, which is what happens when there is power going to the grid and not from the grid. Making energy efficiency more alluring will go a long way towards greening the home front in the Golden State.
Home Energy magazine has a couple of horses, going in different directions of course, in this race to save the planet. Along with the usual six bimonthly issues this year, we have published a couple of special issues. The first one, which came out in March, covers the solar power/energy efficiency nexus. The second issue, which came out in May, tackles the water/energy connection. Most homeowners know that water heating can contribute up to 20% of the typical home's energy uses. But did you know that California uses about 10% of the state’s total energy to move and heat water?
To solve our problems here in California, and to help save the planet, I think we need a variety of approaches. When we talk about solutions to global warming and the state’s energy needs, “either/or” solutions don't go nearly far enough. We need solutions that include “both/and.”
Up next from Home Energy is a special issue exploring climate solutions (due out in January, 2008).
What approaches are working for you?
Please comment below.
Enter your comments in the box below:
(Please note that all blog entries and comments are subject to review prior to posting.)
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Henry Highland Garnet
Garnet, Henry Highland (gärˈnĭt) [key], 1815–82, American abolitionist clergyman, b. Kent co., Md. Born a slave, he escaped in 1824 and was educated at the Oneida Institute, Whitesboro, N.Y. He was an eloquent speaker, but his radicalism, particularly in a speech at Buffalo in 1843, in which he called upon slaves to rise and slay their masters, caused his influence to decline. He was opposed and superseded in leadership by the more moderate Frederick Douglass. Garnet served as a Presbyterian pastor in Troy, N.Y., in New York City, and in Washington, D.C. In 1881 he was appointed minister to Liberia, but he died two months after his arrival there.
See study by E. Ofari (1972).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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Definition of Human T-lymphotropic virus type I
Human T-lymphotropic virus type I: (HTLV-I) A virus often referred to simply as the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV).
HTLV-II stands for human T-lymphotropic virus type II, which is closely related to HTLV-I.
HTLV-III is now known as the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.
Last Editorial Review: 6/14/2012
Back to MedTerms online medical dictionary A-Z List
Need help identifying pills and medications?
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE!
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"The 20th century is full of ambitious engineering projects that gave us false hope," said Bill Solecki, head of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College.
In the Netherlands, spaces like parks and parking garages are specifically designed to take on water in the event of a flood, diverting it from more crucial areas, said Daniel Yeh, a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida Tampa.
To make buildings without grid power more resilient, Yeh suggested greater deployment of rooftop wind and solar systems, as well as devices that can collect rainwater for drinking or bathing.
For new construction, designers should consider the possibility that buildings might not always have electricity, Yeh said. Too many buildings nowadays are designed with the assumption that air conditioning will always be available. Some don't even have windows that open. Buildings should instead be constructed with an eye toward natural air flow and shading, said Yeh.
Others argue that such measures are a side show to what really has to be done -- limiting the amount of heat-trapping gases entering the atmosphere each year.
"The best way to do this is to grab the bull by the horns and deal with the issue, which is the changing climate in the long run" New York's Democrat Senator Charles Schumer said at a press conference last week.
But even if limiting greenhouse gases is desirable -- a subject for debate -- gathering the political will to do so isn't likely to happen any time soon.
Did you sustain damage to your home due to hurricane Sandy and file a claim with your insurer? Email Les Christie if you want to share your story.
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Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
|Part of a series on|
In Buddhism, consciousness-only (Sanskrit: vijñapti-mātratā, vijñapti-mātra, citta-mātra; Chinese: 唯識; Pinyin: wei shi; Japanese: yuishiki) is a theory according to which all existence is nothing but consciousness, and therefore there is nothing that lies outside of the mind. This means that conscious-experience is nothing but false discriminations or imaginations; a provisional antidote; thus, the notion of consciousness-only is an indictment of the problems engendered by the activities of consciousness. This was a major component of the thought of the school of Yogācāra, which had a major impact on subsequent schools after its introduction in East Asia.
- redirect Template:Disputed-section
According to the Vijñānavādins, embedded at the heart of Buddhism lies a seeming paradox. In contrast to the Brahmanic teachings of the Upanishads, the Buddha stated quite clearly that the self (atman) is an illusion and that man thus has no soul (anatman). However, there is transmigration (samsara) from one body to another. This poses a difficult question: "If there is no soul, what is it that reincarnates?"[dubious — see talk page]
The theory of consciousness-only starts by explaining the regularity and coherence of sense impressions as due to an underlying store of perceptions (ālaya-vijñāna) evolving from the accumulation of traces of earlier sense perceptions. These are active, and produce "seeds" (bija) similar to themselves, according to a regular pattern, as seeds produce plants. Each being possesses a store of perceptions and beings which are generically alike will produce similar perceptions from their stores at the same time. The external world is created when the store consciousness (ālaya) is "perfumed" (薰) by seeds, i.e. the effects of good and evil deeds.
To summarize, the seeds interact in three ways:
- Seeds produce the external world.
- Seeds are perfumed by the external world.
- Seeds produce seeds.
And this gives the solution to the original paradox. The conception of "self", the false atman, is produced from seeds. Actions in this world, good, bad and neutral deeds, perfume (or mutate) these seeds. The seeds then produce new seeds, with some seeds tainted by your actions, and others unaffected. Even after death, the impressions of deeds — their karma — linger on in the seeds of alaya consciousness. Since the seeds have a natural affinity to join together (pratisamdhi), reincarnation occurs when seeds fuse and new states of seventh consciousness (delusions of "self") form. A Buddha is someone who has managed to obliterate all impressions of himself, all his perfumings of the seeds, and escape the wheel of samsara. Such alaya consciousness fully cleansed of karmic sediment is known as amalavijñâna, or "pure consciousness".
The doctrine of consciousness-only thus reduces all existence to one hundred dharmas (法 factors) in five divisions 五位, namely, mind, mental function, material, not associated with mind and unconditioned, dharmas. The consciousness-only school thus sets out to enumerate and describe all these dharmas in detail.
An alternative explanation to the truism that "man has no soul" lies in a simple but powerful extension and paradigm shift: "man has no soul, rather, the soul has man." In other words, we are spiritual beings having a human experience, not human beings having a spiritual experience. Assertions that "man" has a "soul" are necessarily false because man's physical existence, which "man" most predominantly identifies with, is merely an observable artifact of the true spiritual reality.
Another important contribution of the consciousness-only thinkers was that of the three natures of imaginary, provisional and real. See three natures for details.
The major framework of Yogācāra theory was developed by the two brothers Vasubandhu 世親 and Asaṅga 無著 in such treatises as the Abdhidharma-kośa-bhāsya 倶舍論, the Triṃśikā Vijñaptimātratāsiddhiḥ (Thirty Verses on Consciousness-only) 唯識三十頌, Mahāyāna-saṃgraha 攝大乘論, and the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra 瑜伽師地論. Dharmapala's Vijñaptimâtratâsiddhi-shâstra is an important commentary that resolved several doctrinal disputes that had risen out of the original texts.
Consciousness-only doctrine was also defined in sutras such as the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra 解深密經 and Śrīmālā-sūtra 勝鬘經. The Mahāyāna-saṃgraha, for example, says, "All conscious objects are only constructs of consciousness because there are no external objects. They are like a dream." (如此衆識唯識 以無塵等故 譬如夢等) 〔攝大乘論T 1593.31.118b12 〕.
- Artificial consciousness
- consensus reality
- Dharma character school
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- George Berkeley
- German idealism
- Hindu idealism
- Woncheukvi:Duy thức
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Jupiter's New Red Spot
NASA Science News
March 3, 2006
March 3, 2006: Backyard astronomers, grab your telescopes. Jupiter is
growing a new red spot.
Christopher Go of the Philippines photographed it on February 27th
an 11-inch telescope and a CCD camera:
The official name of this storm is "Oval BA," but "Red Jr." might be
better. It's about half the size of the famous Great Red Spot and
exactly the same color.
Oval BA first appeared in the year 2000 when three smaller spots
collided and merged. Using Hubble and other telescopes, astronomers
watched with great interest. A similar merger centuries ago may have
created the original Great Red Spot, a storm twice as wide as our
and at least 300 years old.
At first, Oval BA remained white - the same color as the storms that
combined to create it. But in recent months, things began to change:
"The oval was white in November 2005, it slowly turned brown in
2005, and red a few weeks ago," reports Go. "Now it is the same color
the Great Red Spot!"
"Wow!" says Dr. Glenn Orton, an astronomer at JPL who specializes in
studies of storms on Jupiter and other giant planets. "This is
convincing. We've been monitoring Jupiter for years to see if Oval BA
would turn red - and it finally seems to be happening." (Red Jr? Orton
prefers "the not-so-Great Red Spot.")
Curiously, no one knows precisely why the Great Red Spot itself is red.
A favorite idea is that the storm dredges material from deep beneath
Jupiter's cloudtops and lifts it to high altitudes where solar
ultraviolet radiation--via some unknown chemical reaction - produces
familiar brick color.
"The Great Red Spot is the most powerful storm on Jupiter, indeed, in
the whole solar system," says Orton. The top of the storm rises 8 km
above surrounding clouds. "It takes a powerful storm to lift material
high," he adds.
Oval BA may have strengthened enough to do the same. Like the Great Red
Spot, Red Jr. may be lifting material above the clouds where solar
ultraviolet rays turn "chromophores" (color-changing compounds) red. If
so, the deepening red is a sign that the storm is intensifying.
"Some of Jupiter's white ovals have appeared slightly reddish before,
for example in late 1999, but not often and not for long," says Dr.
Rogers, author of the book "Jupiter: The Giant Planet," which recounts
telescopic observations of Jupiter for the last 100+ years. "It will
indeed be interesting to see if Oval BA becomes permanently red."
See for yourself: Jupiter is easy to find in the dawn sky. Step outside
before sunrise, look south and up: sky map
<images/redjr/skymap_north.gif>. Jupiter outshines everything around
Small telescopes have no trouble making out Jupiter's cloudbelts and
four largest moons. Telescopes 10-inches or larger with CCD cameras
should be able to track Red Jr. with ease.
What's next? Will Red Jr. remain red? Will it grow or subside? Stay
tuned for updates.
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Ecological Footprint (EF) measures how fast we consume resources and generate wastes compared to how fast nature can absorb our waste and generate new resources. In this way the EF indicates what we need to do in order to live in balance with natural systems. It can be calculated for an activity, an individual, a family, a city, or a nation. This allows us to compare the difference in environmental impacts between individual lifestyles, between nations, or between biking versus driving.
The Ecological Footprint is very valuable for creating resource use goals and making decisions about how to reduce our negative impacts in terms of waste and pollution. The EF also offers a larger perspective in which we can see our own consumption compared to others, and indicates what our fair share of global resources is. (We once asked a group of about 10 sustainability consultants what framework they used for making personal decisions and every one of them said the Ecological Footprint.)
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Good news: cancer incidence is declining for all Americans. Sobering and perplexing fact: African-Americans are more likely than white Americans to be diagnosed with, and die from, cancer. In fact, the mortality rate for blacks has been higher for years. In 2010 the trend continued; 216 of every 100,000 blacks died of cancer, compared to 177 of every 100,000 whites.
The disparity is unexplained but researchers suspect economic, cultural and medical factors. Today’s infographic lays out the numbers; click on the image above to see it full-size. And for a deeper dive into the issues surrounding cancer in America, see “What Do Others Say?” below.
On another note, Face the Facts USA offers you issue briefs and discussion guides produced with our associate, AmericaSpeaks. Visit the Discussions page to browse and download.
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Friedreich's ataxia is an inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system resulting in symptoms ranging from muscle weakness and speech problems to heart disease. Ataxia results from the degeneration of nerve tissue in the spinal cord and of nerves that control muscle movement in the arms and legs. Symptoms usually begin between the ages of 5 and 15 but can appear as early as 18 months or as late as 30 years of age. The first symptom is usually difficulty in walking. The ataxia gradually worsens and slowly spreads to the arms and then the trunk. Foot deformities such as clubfoot, flexion (involuntary bending) of the toes, hammer toes, or foot inversion (turning in) may be early signs. Rapid, rhythmic, involuntary movements of the eyeball are common. Most people with Friedreich's ataxia develop scoliosis (a curving of the spine to one side), which, if severe, may impair breathing. Other symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. Some individuals may develop diabetes. Doctors diagnose Friedreich's ataxia by performing a careful clinical examination, which includes a medical history and a thorough physical examination. Several tests may be performed, including electromyogram (EMG) and genetic testing.
|Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)
P.O. Box 1537
Springfield, VA 22151
Tel: (703) 426-1576
Fax: (703) 425-0643
4301 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008-2369
Tel: 202-966-5557 800 336-GENE (4363)
|Muscular Dystrophy Association
3300 East Sunrise Drive
Tucson, AZ 85718-3208
Tel: 520-529-2000 800-572-1717
|National Ataxia Foundation (NAF)
2600 Fernbrook Lane North
Minneapolis, MN 55447-4752
|National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
55 Kenosia Avenue
Danbury, CT 06810
Tel: 203-744-0100 Voice Mail 800-999-NORD (6673)
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
NINDS health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or any other Federal agency. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.
All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated.
Last updated August 16, 2011
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Medicare, established in 1965, is a federal health care plan for those 65 and older, in addition to certain persons under 65 (e.g., the disabled). In the event a Medicare recipient is injured through the fault of another, he or she may have the right to recover from the person causing injury (or his or her insurance company).
Medicare was initially the "primary payer" for medical services to beneficiaries, meaning that it paid first for medical costs, even where other sources existed. However, high costs led Congress, beginning in 1980, to enact "Medicare Secondary Payer" (MSP) laws. The MSP legislation sought to reduce Medicare costs by requiring beneficiaries to first exhaust other sources of payment before resorting to Medicare.
Medicare Payment for Treatment of Injuries
Federal law generally prohibits Medicare from paying for any item or service where payment can reasonably be expected from another "primary" source within 120 days. Primary sources include the following:
- Automobile insurance
- Liability insurance (including self-insurance)
- No fault insurance
When payment from another source is probable, yet not likely to occur within 120 days, the law allows "Conditional Medicare Payment" for medical costs. Although Medicare providers are often required to question patients regarding possible alternative sources of payment, as a practical matter, the agencies that run Medicare have little way of knowing about such alternatives. As a result, "conditional payment" is often made.
Medicare Reimbursement: Rights and Duties
The MSP system includes provisions for reimbursement and "subrogation." In other words, Medicare succeeds to the rights of the injured party to sue the injuring party, or others, for recovery. Further, the administration of enforcement efforts of Medicare reimbursement rights has been contracted out to HGS Administrators (HGSA).
Debate has taken place over the nature and extent of Medicare's right to recover. Some commentators, for example, have called it a "super lien" against any settlement or judgment in a personal injury lawsuit. Strictly speaking, the right to recover does not technically constitute a lien (i.e., not a right to recover from specific property or funds). However, the MSP program grants extensive powers and specifies broad rights and duties related to reimbursement of "conditional payments." These include, but are not limited to:
- A duty on the part of the beneficiary (and perhaps his or her attorney) to notify HGSA of any lawsuit and pending or possible settlement or recovery.
- The beneficiary (and perhaps his or her attorney) has a statutory duty to reimburse Medicare for its "conditional payments" within 60 days of receipt of a "third party-payment" (e.g., a settlement or collection on a judgment). If payment is not timely made, Medicare may begin charging interest.
- HGSA and Medicare have the right to seek repayment (e.g., bring a collection action) from a wide range of individuals who receive payment, but fail to reimburse Medicare (including the injured party and his or her attorney). Although it is not clear whether Medicare can proceed directly against the injured person's attorney after the money has been distributed, at least one court has affirmed this right. In general, however, it appears that if the money has been distributed and spent, the injured person's future Social Security benefits will be used to reimburse Medicare.
- As part of Medicare's right of action, it may recover double the amount of the conditional payments from an insurance company that is a "third-party payer" and "primarily liable" for the damages. This is true even if payment has already been made to the injured party. As a consequence, the insurance company may end up paying the injured person and Medicare (resulting in triple payment). Furthermore, Medicare has the right to deduct the amount from Medicare payments owing to the third-party payer.
- Medicare is deemed to have a "priority right of recovery;" i.e., it takes precedence even if state law or the third-party payer asserts otherwise.
Waiver or Compromise
Depending on the circumstances, Medicare may waive its right to reimbursement, though it is more likely to compromise the amount. Under applicable regulations, Medicare will reduce its recovery to allow for the cost of procuring the settlement or judgment, including attorneys' fees.
© 2012 NextClient.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Description - Touching four of the five Great Lakes, Michigan's 3,288-mile shoreline consist of two separate areas, Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula. Along Michigan's western shore lies the Great Lake Michigan. The southeastern shore fringes Lake Erie and the northeastern shore borders Lake Huron. Along the Upper Peninsula, Lake Superior dominates. Michigan's Great Lake harbors are an area of domestic and international commerce and also a rich haven for recreation. Popular destinations include Tawas Bay, Saginaw Bay, and Traverse Bay. Compounding the rich natural resource of the Great Lakes, Michigan has over 11,000 smaller lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams. As a result, the state is one of the leading industrial, farming, tourist, and mining states in the nation.
Copyright: Michigan State Parks & Forests
Duck Lake State Park features a towering sand dune and ideal water sports.
- Michigan has several nicknames; one such name is The Water Wonderland. With lands that share the Great Lakes, Michigan has more fresh water than any other state in the United States. Outdoor enthusiasts descending on Michigan's waters are limited only by their imagination. State parks, national parks and forests, national wildlife refuges, and a host of other public lands border both the interior waters and the Great Lakes.
Popular destinations include Lake Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where visitors enjoy beautiful coastal forests, white sand beaches, and towering 460-foot dune formations. Sterling State Park, sitting on the shores of Lake Erie's Brest Bay, provides good wildlife and bird life viewing opportunities amid the marshland habitat. Lake Huron is a Mecca of destinations including Tawas Point and Harrisville State Parks, Huron National Forest and Harbor Island National Wildlife Refuge. Situated along the rugged shores of Lake Superior, well known hiking parks include Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, and Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Michigan is also home to the only seasonal national park in the country, Isle Royale National Park. Located approximately 50 miles north of the mainland via a 6-hour ferry ride, Isle Royale is surrounded by Lake Superior and is recognized as the best backpacking park east of the Rockies. Rivers and streams are a major contributor to Michigan's popularity. The Black River, which passes through the Ottawa National Forest, has been designated a National Wild and Scenic River attracting thousands of nature lovers each year. Found in the Lower Peninsula, the scenic Au Sable River is a major tributary to Lake Huron providing an array of experiences that include everything from power boating to viewing migrations. The Big Sable, Presque Isle, and Pine rivers are just three more waterways amid a lengthy list of recreation attractions.
Recreation - Much of Michigan's recreation centers on its most plentiful natural resource. Water sport enthusiasts can water ski, sail, scuba dive, swim, freshwater fish, hunt for waterfowl, canoe, kayak, ice fish, enjoy the thrill of wave running or just kick back and relax while floating on a pontoon and houseboat.
Climate - This state normally experiences mild summers with average temperatures near 70 to 80 degrees F. Nights can be cool in the northern reaches of the state with lows dipping near 50 degrees F. August and September are the wettest months on average. Fall temperatures begin to cool in mid September, which brings a spectacular fall foliage color change. Days are crisp and nights chilly during this time of year. Winters can be brutal in Michigan with lake-effect snows bringing 200 inches of snow to some areas in the Upper Peninsula. Spring reaches the southern regions of the state in late March and a few weeks later in the north. This time of year is also very wet with snow melt and spring rains.
Michigan Lakes are scatttered throughout the entire state.
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Gulf Coast oysters unsafe (but not for the reason you think)
Deadly Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria, not oil, contaminate Gulf oysters every summer.
Gulf coast politicians are tripping over themselves to assure consumers that seafood from the Gulf is safe to eat. And to be sure, some shrimp and finfish may not be contaminated by the petroleum gushing from the Deepwater Horizon spill. But those statements from officials obscure the real danger presented to some consumers by Gulf Coast oysters—nearly all of which are contaminated with deadly Vibrio vulnificus bacteria during warm summer months, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. CSPI is calling on federal and state government officials to remind consumers that the normal risks associated with Gulf oysters are still present.
“We’ve seen several reassuring statements that seafood from the Gulf on the market is safe,” said David W. Plunkett, a CSPI staff attorney. “While some Gulf oysters may be ‘safe’ from oil contamination, that doesn’t mean they are ‘safe’ to eat,” he explained. At risk populations should not eat raw oysters from the Gulf, Plunkett said.
Vibrio vulnificus is a common bacterium that thrives in warm Gulf waters in the spring and summer and contaminates Gulf oysters. While it may cause mild illnesses in healthy individuals, it can kill people who have diabetes, liver disease, hemochromatosis or compromised immune systems.
Last year, serious Vibrio vulnificus infections from eating raw oysters claimed 26 victims, 10 of whom died, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In any year, half the people who develop serious symptoms die, and many of those who survive live with the scars from the skin debridement or amputation that may have been necessary to keep them alive.
It is especially shocking to see statements on the Food and Drug Administration’s website that shellfish harvested from areas unaffected by the spill are safe to eat, Plunkett said. Only last fall, Mike Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods at FDA, called Vibrio vulnificus a significant hazard, saying that “seldom is the evidence on a food safety problem and solution so unambiguous,” and announced plans to require post-harvest processing of Gulf oysters to destroy the bacteria.
FDA eventually backed down from its plans under pressure from Members of Congress who responded to industry posturing over potential job losses. To date, only California has implemented an effective control plan to protect its consumers, according to CSPI.
“While everyone wants to support people in the Gulf right now, government statements that ignore well-known risks only mean that more could suffer unnecessarily,” Plunkett said.
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“The Old Granite State,” The Hutchinson Family, 1843.
1 item, 10pp.
The Hutchinson Family Singers were an American family singing group from Milford, New Hampshire, who became the most popular American entertainers of the 1840s. The group sang in four-part harmony a repertoire of political, social, comic, sentimental and dramatic works, and are considered by many to be the first uniquely American popular music performers. John Hutchinson orchestrated the group’s formation with his brothers Asa, Jesse, and Judson Hutchinson in 1840; the Hutchinsons gave their first performance on November 6 of that same year. Jesse Hutchinson quit the main group to write songs and manage their affairs; he was replaced by sister Abby Hutchinson. When a member of the group wrote a new song, each of the four singers individually decided his or her own part to create the harmony. The Hutchinsons performed across New England in 1842, taking in as much as $130 per performance. In 1843, Jesse wrote “The Old Granite State”, a song about the Hutchinson family, their origins in New Hampshire, and their itinerant lifestyle. The song became their signature number.
The sheet music is dated 1843 and was published by Firth & Hall in New York with a cover showing the four singers Judson, Abby, John and Asa.
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Brick Stacking and Composite Bricks
Brick Stacking is a way of making new bricks from existing ones. You simply place one on top of the other in a single grid square. Usually you will only stack two or three bricks at a time, but you can put up to twelve in a stack.
To start stacking, go to the "Advanced" menu, choose "Mode" and then "Stack" (or just press Shift+3) Your cursor will become a pen with a little stack icon next to it.
Choose the first brick for your stack and place it on the canvas. Then choose the second brick and place it in the same square. You have a stack.
You'll notice that the stack appears in your "My Bricks" panel so you don't need to repeatedly build these stacks. Once they are in "My Bricks" you can use stacked bricks like any other brick - drawing with the normal pen, the rectangle or the line tool.
You can copy and paste stacked bricks, both within a FontStruction, and between FontStructions in separate browser windows.
You can also make new bricks from a selection of existing ones.
Select between two and four bricks in adjacent grid squares, and then go to the "Advanced" menu, choose "Modify" and then "Make Composite" (or just press Shift+G).
Your new composite brick should appear in "My Bricks". Click the pen tool, or any other drawing tool and start drawing with it. Composite bricks can also be copied and pasted.
Note that the components of composite bricks are always stretched to fit exactly in one grid square. This allows you to distort bricks.
Combining Stacks and Composites
You can stack with composites. But you cannot make composites out of stacked bricks.
Editing Composite Bricks
Sometimes you need to be able to create a composite that contains some “padding” or empty space on one side or the other. This is possible by creating a composite with dummy "padding" bricks which you remove later. A full explanation with examples of how to edit composite bricks to remove component bricks can be found in this blog post.
Please contact us if you can’t find the information you’re looking for here.
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| 0.900839
| 470
| 3
| 3
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We have within the modern period very many examples which enable us to study the evolution of legendary miracles. Out of these I will select but one, which is chosen because it is the life of one of the most noble and devoted men in the history of humanity, one whose biography is before the world with its most minute details - in his own letters, in the letters of his associates, in contemporary histories, and in a multitude of biographies: this man is St. Francis Xavier. From these sources I draw the facts now to be given, but none of them are of Protestant origin; every source from which I shall draw is Catholic and Roman, and published under the sanction of the Church.
Born a Spanish noble, Xavier at an early age cast aside all ordinary aims, devoted himself to study, was rapidly advanced to a professorship at Paris, and in this position was rapidly winning a commanding influence, when he came under the sway of another Spaniard even greater, though less brilliantly endowed, than himself - Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. The result was that the young professor sacrificed the brilliant career on which he had entered at the French capital, went to the far East as a simple missionary, and there devoted his remaining years to redeeming the lowest and most wretched of our race.
Among the various tribes, first in lower India and afterward in Japan, he wrought untiringly - toiling through village after village, collecting the natives by the sound of a hand-bell, trying to teach them the simplest Christian formulas; and thus he brought myriads of them to a nominal Confession of the Christian faith. After twelve years of such efforts, seeking new conquests for religion, he sacrificed his life on the desert island of San Chan.
During his career as a missionary he wrote great numbers of letters, which were preserved and have since been published; and these, with the letters of his contemporaries, exhibit clearly all the features of his life. His own writings are very minute, and enable us to follow him fully. No account of a miracle wrought by him appears either in his own letters or in any contemporary document. At the outside, but two or three things occurred in his whole life, as exhibited so fully by himself and his contemporaries, for which the most earnest devotee could claim anything like Divine interposition; and these are such as may be read in the letters of very many fervent missionaries, Protestant as well as Catholic. For example, in the beginning of his career, during a journey in Europe with an ambassador, one of the servants in fording a stream got into deep water and was in danger of drowning. Xavier tells us that the ambassador prayed very earnestly, and that the man finally struggled out of the stream. But within sixty years after his death, at his canonization, and by various biographers, this had been magnified into a miracle, and appears in the various histories dressed out in glowing colours. Xavier tells us that the ambassador prayed for the safety of the young man; but his biographers tell us that it was Xavier who prayed, and finally, by the later writers, Xavier is represented as lifting horse and rider out of the stream by a clearly supernatural act.
Still another claim to miracle is based upon his arriving at Lisbon and finding his great colleague, Simon Rodriguez, ill of fever. Xavier informs us in a very simple way that Rodriguez was so overjoyed to see him that the fever did not return. This is entirely similar to the cure which Martin Luther wrought upon Melanchthon. Melanchthon had broken down and was supposed to be dying, when his joy at the long-delayed visit of Luther brought him to his feet again, after which he lived for many years.
Again, it is related that Xavier, finding a poor native woman very ill, baptized her, saying over her the prayers of the Church, and she recovered.
Two or three occurrences like these form the whole basis for the miraculous account, so far as Xavier's own writings are concerned.
Of miracles in the ordinary sense of the word there is in these letters of his no mention. Though he writes of his doings with especial detail, taking evident pains to note everything which he thought a sign of Divine encouragement, he says nothing of his performing miracles, and evidently knows nothing of them. This is clearly not due to his unwillingness to make known any token of Divine favour. As we have seen, he is very prompt to report anything which may be considered an answer to prayer or an evidence of the power of religious means to improve the bodily or spiritual health of those to whom he was sent.
Nor do the letters of his associates show knowledge of any miracles wrought by him. His brother missionaries, who were in constant and loyal fellowship with him, make no allusions to them in their communications with each other or with their brethren in Europe.
Of this fact we have many striking evidences. Various collections of letters from the Jesuit missionaries in India and the East generally, during the years of Xavier's activity, were published, and in not one of these letters written during Xavier's lifetime appears any account of a miracle wrought by him. As typical of these collections we may take perhaps the most noted of all, that which was published about twenty years after Xavier's death by a Jesuit father, Emanuel Acosta.
The letters given in it were written by Xavier and his associates not only from Goa, which was the focus of all missionary effort and the centre of all knowledge regarding their work in the East, but from all other important points in the great field. The first of them were written during the saint's lifetime, but, though filled with every sort of detail regarding missionary life and work, they say nothing regarding any miracles by Xavier.
The same is true of various other similar collections published during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In not one of them does any mention of a miracle by Xavier appear in a letter from India or the East contemporary with him.
This silence regarding his miracles was clearly not due to any ``evil heart of unbelief.'' On the contrary, these good missionary fathers were prompt to record the slightest occurrence which they thought evidence of the Divine favour: it is indeed touching to see how eagerly they grasp at the most trivial things which could be thus construed.
Their ample faith was fully shown. One of them, in Acosta's collection, sends a report that an illuminated cross had been recently seen in the heavens; another, that devils had been cast out of the natives by the use of holy water; another, that various cases of disease had been helped and even healed by baptism; and sundry others sent reports that the blind and dumb had been restored, and that even lepers had been cleansed by the proper use of the rites of the Church; but to Xavier no miracles are imputed by his associates during his life or during several years after his death.
On the contrary, we find his own statements as to his personal limitations, and the difficulties arising from them, fully confirmed by his brother workers. It is interesting, for example, in view of the claim afterward made that the saint was divinely endowed for his mission with the ``gift of tongues,'' to note in these letters confirmation of Xavier's own statement utterly disproving the existence of any such Divine gift, and detailing the difficulties which he encountered from his want of knowing various languages, and the hard labour which he underwent in learning the elements of the Japanese tongue.
Until about ten years after Xavier's death, then, as Emanuel Acosta's publication shows, the letters of the missionaries continued without any indication of miracles performed by the saint. Though, as we shall see presently, abundant legends had already begun to grow elsewhere, not one word regarding these miracles came as yet from the country which, according to later accounts accepted and sanctioned by the Church, was at this very period filled with miracles; not the slightest indication of them from the men who were supposed to be in the very thick of these miraculous manifestations.
But this negative evidence is by no means all. There is also positive evidence - direct testimony from the Jesuit order itself - that Xavier wrought no miracles.
For not only did neither Xavier nor his co-workers know anything of the mighty works afterward attributed to him, but the highest contemporary authority on the whole subject, a man in the closest correspondence with those who knew most about the saint, a member of the Society of Jesus in the highest standing and one of its accepted historians, not only expressly tells us that Xavier wrought no miracles, but gives the reasons why he wrought none.
This man was Joseph Acosta, a provincial of the Jesuit order, its visitor in Aragon, superior at Valladolid, and finally rector of the University of Salamanca. In 1571, nineteen years after Xavier's death, Acosta devoted himself to writing a work mainly concerning the conversion of the Indies, and in this he refers especially and with the greatest reverence to Xavier, holding him up as an ideal and his work as an example.
But on the same page with this tribute to the great missionary Acosta goes on to discuss the reasons why progress in the world's conversion is not so rapid as in the early apostolic times, and says that an especial cause why apostolic preaching could no longer produce apostolic results ``lies in the missionaries themselves, because there is now no power of working miracles.'' He then asks, ``Why should our age be so completely destitute of them?'' This question he answers at great length, and one of his main contentions is that in early apostolic times illiterate men had to convert the learned of the world, whereas in modern times the case is reversed, learned men being sent to convert the illiterate; and hence that ``in the early times miracles were necessary, but in our time they are not.''
This statement and argument refer, as we have seen, directly to Xavier by name, and to the period covered by his activity and that of the other great missionaries of his time. That the Jesuit order and the Church at large thought this work of Acosta trustworthy is proved by the fact that it was published at Salamanca a few years after it was written, and republished afterward with ecclesiastical sanction in France. Nothing shows better than the sequel how completely the evolution of miraculous accounts depends upon the intellectual atmosphere of any land and time, and how independent it is of fact.
For, shortly after Xavier's heroic and beautiful death in 1552, stories of miracles wrought by him began to appear. At first they were few and feeble; and two years later Melchior Nunez, Provincial of the Jesuits in the Portuguese dominions, with all the means at his command, and a correspondence extending throughout Eastern Asia, had been able to hear of but three. These were entirely from hearsay. First, John Deyro said he knew that Xavier had the gift of prophecy; but, unfortunately, Xavier himself had reprimanded and cast off Deyro for untruthfulness and cheatery. Secondly, it was reported vaguely that at Cape Comorin many persons affirmed that Xavier had raised a man from the dead. Thirdly, Father Pablo de Santa Fe had heard that in Japan Xavier had restored sight to a blind man. This seems a feeble beginning, but little by little the stories grew, and in 1555 De Quadros, Provincial of the Jesuits in Ethiopia, had heard of nine miracles, and asserted that Xavier had healed the sick and cast out devils. The next year, being four years after Xavier's death, King John III of Portugal, a very devout man, directed his viceroy Barreto to draw up and transmit to him an authentic account of Xavier's miracles, urging him especially to do the work ``with zeal and speedily.'' We can well imagine what treasures of grace an obsequious viceroy, only too anxious to please a devout king, could bring together by means of the hearsay of ignorant, compliant natives through all the little towns of Portuguese India.
But the letters of the missionaries who had been co-workers or immediate successors of Xavier in his Eastern field were still silent as regards any miracles by him, and they remained silent for nearly ten years. In the collection of letters published by Emanuel Acosta and others no hint at any miracles by him is given, until at last, in 1562, fully ten years after Xavier's death, the first faint beginnings of these legends appear in them.
At that time the Jesuit Almeida, writing at great length to the brethren, stated that he had found a pious woman who believed that a book left behind by Xavier had healed sick folk when it was laid upon them, and that he had met an old man who preserved a whip left by the saint which, when properly applied to the sick, had been found good both for their bodies and their souls. From these and other small beginnings grew, always luxuriant and sometimes beautiful, the vast mass of legends which we shall see hereafter.
This growth was affectionately garnered by the more zealous and less critical brethren in Europe until it had become enormous; but it appears to have been thought of little value by those best able to judge.
For when, in 1562, Julius Gabriel Eugubinus delivered a solemn oration on the condition and glory of the Church, before the papal legates and other fathers assembled at the Council of Trent, while he alluded to a multitude of things showing the Divine favour, there was not the remotest allusion to the vast multitude of miracles which, according to the legends, had been so profusely lavished on the faithful during many years, and which, if they had actually occurred, formed an argument of prodigious value in behalf of the special claims of the Church.
The same complete absence of knowledge of any such favours vouchsafed to the Church, or at least of any belief in them, appears in that great Council of Trent among the fathers themselves. Certainly there, if anywhere, one might on the Roman theory expect Divine illumination in a matter of this kind. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of it was especially claimed, and yet its members, with all their spiritual as well as material advantages for knowing what had been going on in the Church during the previous thirty years, and with Xavier's own friend and colleague, Laynez, present to inform them, show not the slightest sign of any suspicion of Xavier's miracles. We have the letters of Julius Gabriel to the foremost of these fathers assembled at Trent, from 1557 onward for a considerable time, and we have also a multitude of letters written from the Council by bishops, cardinals, and even by the Pope himself, discussing all sorts of Church affairs, and in not one of these is there evidence of the remotest suspicion that any of these reports, which they must have heard, regarding Xavier's miracles, were worthy of mention.
Here, too, comes additional supplementary testimony of much significance. With these orations and letters, Eugubinus gives a Latin translation of a letter, ``on religious affairs in the Indies,'' written by a Jesuit father twenty years after Xavier's death. Though the letter came from a field very distant from that in which Xavier laboured, it was sure, among the general tokens of Divine favour to the Church and to the order, on which it dwelt, to have alluded to miracles wrought by Xavier had there been the slightest ground for believing in them; but no such allusion appears.
So, too, when in 1588, thirty-six years after Xavier's death, the Jesuit father Maffei, who had been especially conversant with Xavier's career in the East, published his History of India, though he gave a biography of Xavier which shows fervent admiration for his subject, he dwelt very lightly on the alleged miracles. But the evolution of miraculous legends still went on. Six years later, in 1594, Father Tursellinus published his Life of Xavier, and in this appears to have made the first large use of the information collected by the Portuguese viceroy and the more zealous brethren. This work shows a vast increase in the number of miracles over those given by all sources together up to that time. Xavier is represented as not only curing the sick, but casting out devils, stilling the tempest, raising the dead, and performing miracles of every sort.
In 1622 came the canonization proceedings at Rome. Among the speeches made in the presence of Pope Gregory XV, supporting the claims of Xavier to saintship, the most important was by Cardinal Monte. In this the orator selects out ten great miracles from those performed by Xavier during his lifetime and describes them minutely. He insists that on a certain occasion Xavier, by the sign of the cross, made sea-water fresh, so that his fellow-passengers and the crew could drink it; that he healed the sick and raised the dead in various places; brought back a lost boat to his ship; was on one occasion lifted from the earth bodily and transfigured before the bystanders; and that, to punish a blaspheming town, he caused an earthquake and buried the offenders in cinders from a volcano: this was afterward still more highly developed, and the saint was represented in engravings as calling down fire from heaven and thus destroying the town.
The most curious miracle of all is the eighth on the cardinal's list. Regarding this he states that, Xavier having during one of his voyages lost overboard a crucifix, it was restored to him after he had reached the shore by a crab.
The cardinal also dwelt on miracles performed by Xavier's relics after his death, the most original being that sundry lamps placed before the image of the saint and filled with holy water burned as if filled with oil.
This latter account appears to have deeply impressed the Pope, for in the Bull of Canonization issued by virtue of his power of teaching the universal Church infallibly in all matters pertaining to faith and morals, His Holiness dwells especially upon the miracle of the lamp filled with holy water and burning before Xavier's image.
Xavier having been made a saint, many other Lives of him appeared, and, as a rule, each surpassed its predecessor in the multitude of miracles. In 1622 appeared that compiled and published under the sanction of Father Vitelleschi, and in it not only are new miracles increased, but some old ones are greatly improved. One example will suffice to show the process. In his edition of 1596, Tursellinus had told how, Xavier one day needing money, and having asked Vellio, one of his friends, to let him have some, Vellio gave him the key of a safe containing thirty thousand gold pieces. Xavier took three hundred and returned the key to Vellio; whereupon Vellio, finding only three hundred pieces gone, reproached Xavier for not taking more, saying that he had expected to give him half of all that the strong box contained. Xavier, touched by this generosity, told Vellio that the time of his death should be made known to him, that he might have opportunity to repent of his sins and prepare for eternity. But twenty-six years later the Life of Xavier published under the sanction of Vitelleschi, giving the story, says that Vellio on opening the safe found that all his money remained as he had left it, and that none at all had disappeared; in fact, that there had been a miraculous restitution. On his blaming Xavier for not taking the money, Xavier declares to Vellio that not only shall he be apprised of the moment of his death, but that the box shall always be full of money. Still later biographers improved the account further, declaring that Xavier promised Vellio that the strong box should always contain money sufficient for all his needs. In that warm and uncritical atmosphere this and other legends grew rapidly, obedient to much the same laws which govern the evolution of fairy tales.
In 1682, one hundred and thirty years after Xavier's death, appeared his biography by Father Bouhours; and this became a classic. In it the old miracles of all kinds were enormously multiplied, and many new ones given. Miracles few and small in Tursellinus became many and great in Bouhours. In Tursellinus, Xavier during his life saves one person from drowning, in Bouhours he saves during his life three; in Tursellinus, Xavier during his life raises four persons from the dead, in Bouhours fourteen; in Tursellinus there is one miraculous supply of water, in Bouhours three; in Tursellinus there is no miraculous draught of fishes, in Bouhours there is one; in Tursellinus, Xavier is transfigured twice, in Bouhours five times: and so through a long series of miracles which, in the earlier lives appearing either not at all or in very moderate form, are greatly increased and enlarged by Tursellinus, and finally enormously amplified and multiplied by Father Bouhours.
And here it must be borne in mind that Bouhours, writing ninety years after Tursellinus, could not have had access to any new sources. Xavier had been dead one hundred and thirty years, and of course all the natives upon whom he had wrought his miracles, and their children and grandchildren, were gone. It can not then be claimed that Bouhours had the advantage of any new witnesses, nor could he have had anything new in the way of contemporary writings; for, as we have seen, the missionaries of Xavier's time wrote nothing regarding his miracles, and certainly the ignorant natives of India and Japan did not commit any account of his miracles to writing. Nevertheless, the miracles of healing given in Bouhours were more numerous and brilliant than ever. But there was far more than this. Although during the lifetime of Xavier there is neither in his own writings nor in any contemporary account any assertion of a resurrection from the dead wrought by him, we find that shortly after his death stories of such resurrections began to appear. A simple statement of the growth of these may throw some light on the evolution of miraculous accounts generally. At first it was affirmed that some people at Cape Comorin said that he had raised one person; then it was said that there were two persons; then in various authors - Emanuel Acosta, in his commentaries written as an afterthought nearly twenty years after Xavier's death, De Quadros, and others - the story wavers between one and two cases; finally, in the time of Tursellinus, four cases had been developed. In 1622, at the canonization proceedings, three were mentioned; but by the time of Father Bouhours there were fourteen - all raised from the dead by Xavier himself during his lifetime - and the name, place, and circumstances are given with much detail in each case.
It seems to have been felt as somewhat strange at first that Xavier had never alluded to any of these wonderful miracles; but ere long a subsidiary legend was developed, to the effect that one of the brethren asked him one day if he had raised the dead, whereat he blushed deeply and cried out against the idea, saying: ``And so I am said to have raised the dead! What a misleading man I am! Some men brought a youth to me just as if he were dead, who, when I commanded him to arise in the name of Christ, straightway arose.''
Noteworthy is the evolution of other miracles. Tursellinus, writing in 1594, tells us that on the voyage from Goa to Malacca, Xavier having left the ship and gone upon an island, was afterward found by the persons sent in search of him so deeply absorbed in prayer as to be unmindful of all things about him. But in the next century Father Bouhours develops the story as follows: ``The servants found the man of God raised from the ground into the air, his eyes fixed upon heaven, and rays of light about his countenance.''
Instructive, also, is a comparison between the successive accounts of his noted miracle among the Badages at Travancore, in 1544 Xavier in his letters makes no reference to anything extraordinary; and Emanuel Acosta, in 1571, declares simply that ``Xavier threw himself into the midst of the Christians, that reverencing him they might spare the rest.'' The inevitable evolution of the miraculous goes on; and twenty years later Tursellinus tells us that, at the onslaught of the Badages, ``they could not endure the majesty of his countenance and the splendour and rays which issued from his eyes, and out of reverence for him they spared the others.'' The process of incubation still goes on during ninety years more, and then comes Father Bouhours's account. Having given Xavier's prayer on the battlefield, Bouhours goes on to say that the saint, crucifix in hand, rushed at the head of the people toward the plain where the enemy was marching, and ``said to them in a threatening voice, `I forbid you in the name of the living God to advance farther, and on His part command you to return in the way you came.' These few words cast a terror into the minds of those soldiers who were at the head of the army; they remained confounded and without motion. They who marched afterward, seeing that the foremost did not advance, asked the reason of it. The answer was returned from the front ranks that they had before their eyes an unknown person habited in black, of more than human stature, of terrible aspect, and darting fire from his eyes.... They were seized with amazement at the sight, and all of them fled in precipitate confusion.''
Curious, too, is the after-growth of the miracle of the crab restoring the crucifix. In its first form Xavier lost the crucifix in the sea, and the earlier biographers dwell on the sorrow which he showed in consequence; but the later historians declare that the saint threw the crucifix into the sea in order to still a tempest, and that, after his safe getting to land, a crab brought it to him on the shore. In this form we find it among illustrations of books of devotion in the next century.
But perhaps the best illustration of this evolution of Xavier's miracles is to be found in the growth of another legend; and it is especially instructive because it grew luxuriantly despite the fact that it was utterly contradicted in all parts of Xavier's writings as well as in the letters of his associates and in the work of the Jesuit father, Joseph Acosta.
Throughout his letters, from first to last, Xavier constantly dwells upon his difficulties with the various languages of the different tribes among whom he went. He tells us how he surmounted these difficulties: sometimes by learning just enough of a language to translate into it some of the main Church formulas; sometimes by getting the help of others to patch together some pious teachings to be learned by rote; sometimes by employing interpreters; and sometimes by a mixture of various dialects, and even by signs. On one occasion he tells us that a very serious difficulty arose, and that his voyage to China was delayed because, among other things, the interpreter he had engaged had failed to meet him.
In various Lives which appeared between the time of his death and his canonization this difficulty is much dwelt upon; but during the canonization proceedings at Rome, in the speeches then made, and finally in the papal bull, great stress was laid upon the fact that Xavier possessed the gift of tongues. It was declared that he spoke to the various tribes with ease in their own languages. This legend of Xavier's miraculous gift of tongues was especially mentioned in the papal bull, and was solemnly given forth by the pontiff as an infallible statement to be believed by the universal Church. Gregory XV having been prevented by death from issuing the Bull of Canonization, it was finally issued by Urban VIII; and there is much food for reflection in the fact that the same Pope who punished Galileo, and was determined that the Inquisition should not allow the world to believe that the earth revolves about the sun, thus solemnly ordered the world, under pain of damnation, to believe in Xavier's miracles, including his ``gift of tongues,'' and the return of the crucifix by the pious crab. But the legend was developed still further: Father Bouhours tells us, ``The holy man spoke very well the language of those barbarians without having learned it, and had no need of an interpreter when he instructed.'' And, finally, in our own time, the Rev. Father Coleridge, speaking of the saint among the natives, says, ``He could speak the language excellently, though he had never learned it.''
In the early biography, Tursellinus writes. ``Nothing was a greater impediment to him than his ignorance of the Japanese tongues; for, ever and anon, when some uncouth expression offended their fastidious and delicate ears, the awkward speech of Francis was a cause of laughter.'' But Father Bouhours, a century later, writing of Xavier at the same period, says, ``He preached in the afternoon to the Japanese in their language, but so naturally and with so much ease that he could not be taken for a foreigner.''
And finally, in 1872, Father Coleridge, of the Society of Jesus, speaking of Xavier at this time, says, ``He spoke freely, flowingly, elegantly, as if he had lived in Japan all his life.''
Nor was even this sufficient: to make the legend complete, it was finally declared that, when Xavier addressed the natives of various tribes, each heard the sermon in his own language in which he was born.
All this, as we have seen, directly contradicts not only the plain statements of Xavier himself, and various incidental testimonies in the letters of his associates, but the explicit declaration of Father Joseph Acosta. The latter historian dwells especially on the labour which Xavier was obliged to bestow on the study of the Japanese and other languages, and says, ``Even if he had been endowed with the apostolic gift of tongues, he could not have spread more widely the glory of Christ.''
It is hardly necessary to attribute to the orators and biographers generally a conscious attempt to deceive. The simple fact is, that as a rule they thought, spoke, and wrote in obedience to the natural laws which govern the luxuriant growth of myth and legend in the warm atmosphere of love and devotion which constantly arises about great religious leaders in times when men have little or no knowledge of natural law, when there is little care for scientific evidence, and when he who believes most is thought most meritorious.
These examples will serve to illustrate the process which in thousands of cases has gone on from the earliest days of the Church until a very recent period. Everywhere miraculous cures became the rule rather than the exception throughout Christendom.
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John Millington Synge
Synge, John Millington (sĭng) [key], 1871–1909, Irish poet and dramatist, b. near Dublin, of Protestant parents. He was an important figure in the Irish literary renaissance. As a young man he studied music in Germany and later lived in Paris, where he wrote literary criticism. In Paris he met his compatriot W. B. Yeats, who persuaded Synge to live for a while in the Aran Islands and then return to Dublin and devote himself to creative work. All of Synge's plays reflect his experiences in the Aran Islands. Intense and poetic in style, his works depict the bleak and tragic lives of Irish peasants and fisherfolk. His first two one-act plays— In the Shadow of the Glen (1903), a comedy, and Riders to the Sea (1904), a tragedy—were presented by the Irish National Theatre Society. In 1904 this group, with Synge, Yeats, and Lady Augusta Gregory as codirectors, organized the famous Abbey Theatre. Two of Synge's comedies, The Well of the Saints (1905) and The Playboy of the Western World (1907), were presented by the Abbey players. The latter play created a furor of resentment among Irish patriots stung by Synge's spoof of heroic ideals and nationalism. His later works were The Tinker's Wedding, published in 1908 but not produced for fear of further riots, and Deirdre of the Sorrows, a tragedy unfinished at the time of his death but presented by the Abbey players in 1910. The Aran Islands (1907) is Synge's journal of his stay on the islands.
See biographies by D. H. Greene and E. M. Stephens (1959) and D. Gerstenberger (1964); studies by D. Corkery (1931, repr. 1965), M. Bourgeois (1913, repr. 1969), W. B. Yeats (1911, repr. 1971), R. Skelton (1971), and M. C. King (1985).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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