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• Susan E. Sutherland, DDS •
MeSH Key Words: dentistry; evidence-based medicine; Internet © J Can Dent Assoc 2001; 67:320-3
• Stephanie Walker, MA, MLS •
This article has been peer reviewed.
MeSH Key Words: dentistry; evidence-based medicine; Internet
© J Can Dent Assoc 2001; 67:320-3
This paper will help you to become a “power surfer” in your quest for answers to clinical questions. A number of the sites discussed in this paper make for interesting browsing at your leisure; at the same time, this introduction to evidence-based Internet sites should facilitate the “hit and run” searches1 needed for the pragmatic, realistic practice of evidence-based dentistry on a daily basis.
Quality of Information on the Internet Seeking information on the Internet can be time consuming, confusing and frustrating. For instance, at the time of this writing, there were 1,330 Web sites in 383 categories relating to dentistry listed on Yahoo ( www.yahoo.com ). Busy practitioners looking for evidence for patient care need resources that have been identified and validated if the Internet is going to be a practical tool for evidence-based dentistry.
Because the quality of information is so variable on the Internet, some criteria have been suggested to assess Internet sites.2 These include the attributes and affiliations of the authors, the disclosure of funding sources, the regular updating of material, statements or (even better) linked citations leading to supporting evidence, endorsement by respected individuals or organizations, and common sense, coupled with your own experience and expertise. For a comprehensive discussion of this problem, the document Criteria for assessing the quality of healthcare information on the Internet from the Health Information Technology Institute is available online ( http://hitiweb.mitretek.org/docs/policy.html ).
An interesting site that takes a look at the other end of the quality spectrum is called Health Care Reality Check ( www.hcrc.org/ ). This site has links to a number of interesting sites, including the National Council for Health Fraud, the National Council for Reliable Health Information and Quackwatch. While fun to browse, these sites are quite sobering in terms of the quantity of disreputable and unethical practices and they reinforce the need for dentists to become skilled at delivering evidence-based care.
A Guide to the Evidence The best sites that we have found are those produced by academic centres, including university and hospital sites, government-sponsored and professional organization sites and the sites of several medical search engines.
Academic Centres Academic centre sites generally feature many useful resources. These include not only ways to find valid, up-to-date clinical information, including links to MEDLINE and the Cochrane Collaboration, but also tools to help you learn to practise evidence-based care and to teach it to others. Many of these sites are linked to each other and to a number of other useful sites as well. The following list is by no means comprehensive, but represents some of the sites that we have found most useful.
The Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry ( www.ihs.ox.ac.uk/cebd/ ) is located at the Institute of Health Sciences, Oxford University, United Kingdom. At this site, among other things, you will find 2 particularly useful sections: “Evidence-based links” and “Evidence-based tools.” Under the former are links to other centres, books and journals, teaching tools, guidelines sites, search sites and discussion lists. In the tools section are aids for teaching and learning evidence-based skills, pre-constructed search filters for MEDLINE, Palm Pilot tools for evidence-based medicine and more. A wealth of resources is available through this highly recommended site.
The School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom has a comprehensive document entitled Netting the evidence: A ScHARR introduction to evidence based practice on the Internet on their Web site ( http://www.shef.ac.uk/~scharr/ir/netting ). This document is an alphabetical compilation of links to numerous multilingual and international resources. Two especially interesting features are a set of self-assessment exercises and a link to a current awareness service that allows users to browse articles on evidence-based medicine from the MEDLINE database.
The Health Information Research Unit at McMaster University ( http://hiru.hirunet.mcmaster.ca ) in Hamilton, Ontario, has become internationally famous. This extensive, detailed site features many useful resources. It includes links to information and abstracts from the Cochrane Collaboration and the Canadian Cochrane Centre, notes from a workshop on how to teach evidence-based clinical practice and a guidelines appraisal project (GAP) with full listings of ongoing and completed projects.
The library of the Ottawa General Hospital ( www.ottawahospital.on.ca/professionals/library ) provides a large collection of links to resources for evidence-based health care. In January 1998, this collection was recognized for excellence by the editors of Medicine on the Net. It includes links grouped under the headings of the Cochrane Collaboration, clinical trials and systematic reviews, critical appraisal, educational resources, searching and tutorials, guidelines, health technology assessment, journals and publications, and resources. Resources are further subdivided into a number of specialties, including dentistry.
The University of Toronto Centre for Evidence-based Medicine ( www.library.utoronto.ca/medicine/ebm/) is based at Mount Sinai Hospital — part of the University Health Network. It has several useful features, including a large set of links to useful evidence-based medicine resources on the Internet (including journals, CDs, textbooks and Web sites), syllabi and a glossary of evidence-based terms. The resources do focus on medicine, but most are quite relevant to dentists.
The Canadian Centres for Health Evidence ( www.cche.net ) is a project based out of hospitals in Alberta and Winnipeg but having numerous other partners. Within a centre, staff monitor knowledge-based software and literature from a variety of public and private sources. Significant resources are identified, and for these items, structured summaries are developed to alert the user to the quality of evidence supporting health recommendations, the relative importance of recommendations and how the needs of specific patients, practitioners and settings are addressed. This site includes many users’ guides to evidence-based practice and users’ tools for the health literature.
Government-Sponsored and Professional SitesThe best known sites in this category are the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Library of Medicine databases, particularly MEDLINE via PubMed ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ) and NLM Gateway http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/ , both of which were discussed in the previous paper in this series.3 For anyone with specific clinical or research interests, a very useful site is MedFetch: Automated Medline Queries ( www.medfetch.com ). Free registration and a licence agreement are required, but a privacy statement stresses the confidentiality of your information. To set up an Automated Medline Query, you are advised to refine your search terms using PubMed. You then enter your terms, select a frequency (weekly or monthly) and select a citation format (just titles or titles plus abstracts), and the most recent (up to 20) citations are e-mailed to you on a regular basis until you cancel the search.
Other useful sites are those that compile evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and those that list clinical trials.
Evidence-based Guidelines At the time of this writing, there are few published evidence-based guidelines available in dentistry, although there is strong interest and some significant efforts are underway.4,5
One of the most extensive collections of guidelines can be found in the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC). This database can be accessed through the Web site of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( www.ahcpr.gov/clinic/cpgsix.htm ) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A search of the NGC using the term “dentistry” yielded 26 guidelines, 15 of which were developed by or with input from the dental profession. Only 2 of the 15, both of which were done in Canada, used evidence-based methods; the remainder were based on group consensus and expert opinion.
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network ( www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sign/ ) has published 43 guidelines, including one dental topic on the removal of third molars. Another guideline specific to dentistry is in preparation and relates to caries prevention in children. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) ( http://www.nice.org.uk/ ) in the United Kingdom has also published a guideline on the management of third molars.
There are several other sites of interest, which, although they do not contain guidelines for dental topics, provide an excellent introduction to the philosophy and methods of evidence-based guideline development. For instance, the Canadian Medical Association clinical practice guidelines site ( www.cma.ca/cpgs/ ) provides methodological guidance for the development of guidelines, as well as a handbook on the implementation of guidelines. The German Guidelines Information Service ( www.leitlinien.de/gergis.htm) has evaluation criteria, as well as an appraisal instrument to evaluate the methodological quality of published guidelines.
Clinical Trials in Progress NIH Clinical Trials ( http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ ) is a searchable site where you can do a broad search in a subject area to find clinical trials in progress or those recently closed to accrual. If you prefer, you can click on “focused search” to limit your search to a particular trial site, age group, study type (phase I, II, III, etc.), specific disease or condition, or funding body. There are also links on the site to other resources. Dental information is available: a quick, unfocused search on “oral cancer” located 7 clinical trials in progress.
Although not related to a government agency or professional organization, the Current Controlled Trials site ( www.controlled-trials.com ), developed by Current Controlled Trials Ltd., is a reputable commercial site, part of the Current Science Group of companies. Registration is required to access this site. Advisors to the site are senior academics, clinicians and health care specialists. The site contains a meta-register of controlled trials (mRCT), which contains 6,373 trial records in 15 registers at the time of this writing. It has an excellent search capability, with a “Tips” link that provides advice on search strategies. The site links to PubMed and over 85 other online registers of controlled trials.
Medical Search Engines There are several excellent medical search engines with remarkable search and retrieval capabilities for relevant health care information. Two particularly good sites are CliniWeb International and Medical Matrix.
CliniWeb International ( www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/ ) is a multilingual index and table of contents to clinical information on the Web. It is produced and maintained by medical informatics specialists at the Oregon Health Sciences University. CliniWeb has identified and indexed by topic over 10,000 clinically oriented Web pages, using the national Library of Medicine’s Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) vocabulary. The focus of the site is clinical information relevant to health care education and practice; consumer-oriented information is filtered out. Each MeSH disease term links to PubMed. For each term, there are 4 links with ready-made searches for therapy articles, disease articles, reviews or all articles.
Once you have found evidence that looks promising, you need to assess its credibility and its usefulness for your patients. To critically appraise clinical studies, a basic knowledge and understanding of research design is helpful. In the next article in the series, an introduction to the types of research designs commonly encountered in the dental literature will be presented.
Dr. Sutherland is a full-time active staff member of the department of dentistry at the Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
Ms. Walker is the faculty librarian in the faculty of dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
Correspondence to: Dr. Susan E. Sutherland, Department of Dentistry, Suite H126, Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON M4N 3M5. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of the Canadian Dental Association.
References 1. Sackett D, Richardson W, Rosenberg W, Haynes R. Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM. London: Churchill Livingstone; 1997.
2. McGibbon A, Eady A, Marks S. PDQ Evidence-based principles and practices. Hamilton: B.C. Decker; 1999.
3. Sutherland SE. Evidence-based dentistry: Part II. Searching for answers to clinical questions: how to use MEDLINE. J Can Dent Assoc 2001; 67(5):277-80.
4. Leake JL, Main PA, Woodward GL. Developing evidence-based programme guidelines for children’s dental care in a dental public health unit in Ontario, Canada. Community Dent Health 1996; 14(1):11-7.
5. Canadian Dental Association. Canadian Collaboration on Clinical Practice Guidelines in Dentistry. Report on the initial meeting. October, 1999. Halifax, Canada. 2000.
CDA Resource CentreThe Resource Centre information package on evidence-based dentistry is available to CDA members at a cost of $10.00 (plus applicable taxes). To obtain the package, contact us at tel.: 1-800-267-6354 or (613) 523-1770, ext. 2223; fax: (613) 523-6574; e-mail: email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:e8b9d3b3-43a7-4087-a9d9-9e9c5ddd3bc8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cda-adc.ca/jcda/vol-67/issue-6/320.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911928 | 2,968 | 2.078125 | 2 |
First Martyr for Human RIghts? Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
(CHAKRA) Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur is a religious observance for the Sikhism followers. Sikhism followers remember the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur on November 24. He was beheaded as he refused to be forced to accept Islam as his religion and now stands as an example of freedom of choosing each one’s religion. Guru Tegh Bahdur Martyrdom Day is one of the ten most important festivals observed by all Sikhs. Like in the other festivals it is custom for all Sikhs in a community to organize a procession, a Prabhat Pherys, where the Panj Pyares lead the procession and are followed by musicians, dancers and gatka teams performing martial arts.
Guru Tegh Bahadur became the 9th Guru of Sikhi on 20 March 1665 , following in the footsteps of his grand-nephew, Guru Har Krishan. Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed on the orders of Islamic Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi
In 1675, some Kashmiris sought Guru Tegh Bahadur’s help. The Mughal emperor was forcibly converting them to Islam under the threat of torturous death. Even though the Guru followed a different faith than many other Kashmiris, he believed in everyone’s right to practice one’s own religion freely, a core principle of his Sikh faith. The same principle is now espoused in the First Amendment (1791) to the U. S. Constitution, allowing free exercise of religion.
The Guru advised theKashmiris to tell the emperor that they would embrace Islam if the Guru did so. He also encouraged people of all faiths to stand up to oppression and practice their faiths freely without fear. One of the Guru’s hymns says: Neither frighten anyone, nor be frightened (translated from Siri Guru Granth Sahib).
As anticipated, the Guru was arrested. When lavish incentives and extreme threats failed to sway the Guru and his companion Sikhs, the Sikhs were burnt alive, boiled alive and sawed alive in front of the Guru by Muslims. On still refusing to waver from his principle, the Guru himself was martyred. | <urn:uuid:bf539f1b-aa64-41c3-ba18-e4b4b04432c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chakranews.com/the-martyrdom-of-guru-tegh-bahadur-november-24/1821 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961454 | 480 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Gone To The Country: The New Lost City Ramblers & The Folk Music Revival
Author: Ray Allen
Music In American Life
Publication date : 2010
University of Illinois Press
From the back cover:
Gone to the Country chronicles the life and music of the New Lost City Ramblers, a trio of city-bred musicians who helped pioneer the resurgence of southern roots music during the folk revival of the late 1950s and 1960s. Formed in 1958 by Mike Seeger, John Cohen, and Tom Paley, the Ramblers introduced the regional styles of southern ballads, blues, string bands, and bluegrass to northerners yearning for a sound and an experience not found in mainstream music.
Ray Allen interweaves biography, history, and music criticism to follow the band from its New York roots to their involvement with the commercial folk music boom. Allen details their struggle to establish themselves amid critical debates about traditionalism brought on by their brand of folk revivalism. He explores how the Ramblers ascribed notions of cultural authenticity to certain musical practices and performers and how the trio served as a link between southern folk music and northern urban audiences who had little previous exposure to rural roots styles. Highlighting the role of tradition in the social upheaval of mid-century America, Gone to the Country draws on extensive interviews and personal correspondence with band members and digs deep into the Ramblers' rich trove of recordings.
|Buy from amazon.com| | <urn:uuid:759d9a56-e589-42b5-ab39-4cc298db7f7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.deaddisc.com/books/Gone_To_The_Country.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923781 | 299 | 2.078125 | 2 |
By For more information, contact firstname.lastname@example.org or 978-934-3224
Nutrients in Apples Improve Memory and Learning
* M E D I A A D V I S O R Y *
TODAY - MARCH 4, 2004
WHAT: UMass Lowell Prof. Thomas Shea will release the results of his new research which indicates that eating apples and drinking apple juice may protect brain health and mental acuity throughout life. Shea's animal studies show that apple juice protects against Alzheimer's-like cell damage and maintains brain performance.
WHERE: MIL Conference Center, Wannalancit Mills, 600 Suffolk St., Lowell
WHY: At the press conference, Shea will detail his studies which showed that mice on diets augmented with apple juice tended to perform better on maze tests and had less oxidative brain damage than control groups. His research suggests that the antioxidant potential of apple juice was responsible for the beneficial effects. The findings of Shea, who is director of the University's Center for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research in addition to being a biology professor, are published in February's issue of the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging. | <urn:uuid:3d83512a-2433-402a-ad62-b5c2978411a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uml.edu/News/press-releases/2002-05/release226.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931635 | 239 | 2.625 | 3 |
PANNA: EPA hesitates on methyl iodide; Chloropicrin poisons dozens; PAN's 25th party; and more...
A Weekly News Update on Pesticides, Health and Alternatives
See PANUPS updates service, for complete information.
October 4, 2007
EPA delays approval of carcinogenic methyl iodide: Responding to an outcry from scientists and physicians, EPA delayed approval for registration of Midas, a fumigant pesticide marketed to be a replacement for ozone depleting methyl bromide. Midas contains methyl iodide, a chemical that has been used to induce cancer in laboratory experiments, and chloropicrin, another fumigant pesticide recently responsible for a mass poisoning incident (see below). In a letter signed by 54 leading scientists from across the U.S., including 6 Nobel Laureates, EPA director Stephen Johnson was strongly urged to not allow use of the dangerous chemical. The Associated Press has the story.
130 workers poisoned by chloropicrin: A cloud of the pesticide chloropicrin sent farmworkers to a hospital and affected several students at a boarding school near Yerington, Nevada last week. Chloropicrin is a fumigant pesticide used to sterilize soil before planting. The Reno Gazette reported, "The chemical was considered to be a 'choking agent' by the military in the early 20th century and was used in artillery shells by the French during World War I. During that war, it was considered by the U.S. military to be among the top four chemical warfare agents.... David Schooley, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Nevada, Reno, said chloropicrin 'is a really nasty chemical.'" Chloropicrin is up for re-registration in the EPA Fumigant Cluster Assessment. Find out how you can tell EPA to phase out fumigants.
PAN North America celebrates 25th! A party honoring Pesticide Action Network's birthday will be held October 14, 3pm - 7pm, at the San Francisco Ferry Building. You can meet our board, staff and many partners and join in celebrating 25 great years of working toward ecological farming and alternatives to pesticides. There will be local food and wine, a terrific raffle -- and best of all, a chance to meet community activists, dedicated supporters and visionaries from movements for social justice, environmental protection and fair and sustainable food systems. Tickets are $35 -- click to find out more.
Ban on aerial spraying upheld in Davao City, Philippines: Banana plantation owners petitioned a local court in March to lift a city ordinance banning aerial spraying of pesticides. The Filipino Inquirer reported, "The ordinance was passed... after investigations revealed that the health of residents near banana plantations here deteriorated due to aerial spraying activities." On September 22, a local judge ruled that the ordinance would be upheld, citing testimony in the plantation owners' petition: "When confronted with the label of the fungicide Dithane, [a scientist] admitted that his company, Dow AgroSciences European Development Center, has warned the public users of its dangerous effects to human health with a disclaimer of responsibility of the company in case any untoward incident resulting in the adverse effect of said fungicide." The active ingredient of Dithane is mancozeb, a PAN "Bad Actor" chemical that is a probable carcinogen and suspected endocrine disruptor, linked to neurological, reproductive and developmental toxicity.
Ecuadorian agroecologists organize against highly toxic pesticides: Andes representative for World Neighbors, Stephen Sherwood, and others write in LEISA Magazine, "Highly toxic pesticides are associated with suicides, nervous system and mental health problems, not just among those who spray the products but also among the entire family... While difficult to demonstrate scientifically, continual exposure to neuro-toxins produces symptoms of depression. Depression often leads people to commit self-harming acts. This has led some medical experts to argue that exposure to highly toxic pesticides may contribute to the climbing number of suicide attempts worldwide." The authors argue that corporate influence over policymakers has led to the failure of traditional regulatory measures. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has joined the call to eliminate extremely and highly hazardous pesticides altogether. The national agroecology movement in Ecuador is taking action to realize this goal. Read more.
Precautionary principle needed to support healthy children: European researchers report in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health that public health professionals should adopt a precautionary approach--taking preventative action in the face of uncertainty--when considering environmental risks to children's health. "New methodological and scientific approaches are necessary to make use of scattered, but potentially relevant clinical evidence in providing 'early warnings' of health hazards." Read the abstract. For more information on the Precautionary Principle, visit the Science and Environmental Health Network.
UK scientist presents ethics code: BBC news reports that Sir David King, one of the most esteemed scientists in the UK (and Chief Scientific Advisor to H.M. Government), thinks an ethics code is important "to outline responsibilities and values in order to encourage researchers to reflect on the impact their work would have on wider society." King gave this example of how the code would work: "Place yourself in the position of a scientist who works for a tobacco company, and the company asks you to counter evidence about the health impacts of tobacco. That scientist would be able to look at the code and say, 'I can't do that'." UK scientists have adopted the code nationally and plans are to launch it internationally next year. Read more from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Canadian pesticides bans are successful: Canada's national statistical agency issued a new report revealing that average pesticide use has decreased since the wave of pesticide bans across Canada. The report analyzed water and pesticide use across Canada for 2006. Quebec had the biggest drop in residential pesticide use, down to 15% for all households from 30% in 1995. The authors warn, "...pesticides can have negative effects on human and ecological health through the contamination of air, water, soil and food sources. In addition to killing target insects such as chinch bugs, insecticides can also kill other species that are beneficial to lawns and gardens. Insects may also be a source of food for birds, but this food source can be contaminated or reduced by pesticides." Read the report. The New Brunswick Environmental Network counts 129 municipal bans of cosmetic (landscape) pesticides throughout Canada. | <urn:uuid:39a0d77b-315b-4a96-a8b5-e26abed15c04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.panna.org/legacy/panups/panup_20071004.dv.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936913 | 1,320 | 2.25 | 2 |
Five Things Pathologists, Laboratory Professionals
and Patients Should Question
The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) list was developed under the leadership of the chair of ASCP’s Institute Advocacy Committee and Past President of ASCP, Lee H. Hilborne, MD, MPH, FASCP, DLM(ASCP)CM. Subject matter and test utilization experts across the fields of pathology and laboratory medicine were included in this process for their expertise and guidance.
Visit www.choosingwisely.org to learn more.
Representing ASCP at the Choosing Wisely campaign news
conference for the media on Feb. 21, ASCP Executive Vice
President Dr. E. Blair Holladay answered a question from
Naomi Sunshine of Consumer Reports about one of the
five tests that ASCP recommends physicians and patients
Don't perform population based screening for
25-OH-Vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D deficiency is common in many populations, particularly in patients at higher latitudes, during winter months and in those with limited sun exposure. Over the counter Vitamin D supplements and increased summer sun exposure are sufficient for most otherwise healthy patients. Laboratory testing is appropriate in higher risk patients when results will be used to institute more aggressive therapy (e.g., osteoporosis, chronic kidney disease, malabsorption, some infections, obese individuals).
Don't perform low risk HPV testing.
National guidelines provide for HPV testing in patients with certain abnormal Pap smears and in other select clinical indications. The presence
of high risk HPV leads to more frequent examination or more aggressive investigation (e.g., colposcopy and biopsy). There is no medical
indication for low risk HPV testing (HPV types that cause genital warts or very minor cell changes on the cervix) because the infection is not
associated with disease progression and there is no treatment or therapy change indicated when low risk HPV is identified.
Avoid routine preoperative testing for low risk surgeries without a
Most preoperative tests (typically a complete blood count, Prothrombin Time and Partial Prothomboplastin Time, basic metabolic panel and
urinalysis) performed on elective surgical patients are normal. Findings influence management in under 3% of patients tested. In almost all
cases, no adverse outcomes are observed when clinically stable patients undergo elective surgery, irrespective of whether an abnormal test
is identified. Preoperative testing is appropriate in symptomatic patients and those with risks factors for which diagnostic testing can provide
clarification of patient surgical risk.
Only order Methylated Septin 9 (SEPT9) to screen for colon cancer
on patients for whom conventional diagnostics are not possible.
Methylated Septin 9 (SEPT9) is a plasma test to screen patients for colorectal cancer. Its sensitivity and specificity are similar to commonly
ordered stool guaiac or fecal immune tests. It offers an advantage over no testing in patients that refuse these tests or who , despite aggressive
counseling, decline to have recommended colonoscopy. The test should not be considered as an alternative to standard diagnostic procedures
when those procedures are possible.
Don't use bleeding time test to guide patient care.
The bleeding time test is an older assay that has been replaced by alternative coagulation tests. The relationship between the bleeding time
test and the risk of a patient's actually bleeding has not been established. Further, the test leaves a scar on the forearm. There are other
reliable tests of coagulation available to evaluate the risks of bleeding in appropriate patient populations.
Download and/or print this list to start the conversation with your patients.
While ASCP has taken a bold step in identifying and developing this list, our work does not stop here. Over the coming months and years, ASCP will be working with the ABIM Foundation, Consumer Reports, and a variety of Choosing Wisely campaign stakeholders to raise awareness of these lists and make them accessible to patients and the public. While the items on the lists are crucial and should be discussed between doctors and patients, the most important aspect of the effort is the conversation itself.
Learn more about Choosing Wisely and read all 26 lists released to date at www.choosingwisely.org. | <urn:uuid:8a5351da-1e8f-4207-af92-329ebb0bccfc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ascp.org/Functional-Nav/The-Choosing-Wisely-Campaign/Five-Things-Physicians-and-Patients-Should-Question | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90967 | 885 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Sophia: Explaining Genderqueer
It’s a term being used quite a bit these days, especially on campuses, but what the heck does it actually mean? For those who live on planet YUSU, Trans issues have taken on added importance in recent weeks, with a Gender Neutral Toilets (GNT) motion being passed by the union a week ago. Originally written for Cambridge University SU by the person Wikipedia cites as the first to get a students union to pass a GNT motion, here’s a readable take on the concept of Genderqueer.
Even while you are still in the womb, society starts to try and put you into one of two boxes: boy or girl? From the moment you are born and the doctor checks between your legs and cries out “It’s a beautiful baby girl/bouncing baby boy(delete as appropriate)”, your fate is supposed to be sealed. Society will tell you what colour your clothes will be, what games you will like, who you can be friends with, even what you are good at.
Genderqueer says fuck that! Life isn’t so simple. Contrary to popular opinion, there are more than two sexes and as many genders as you can imagine: earth mother, metrosexual, tomboy, drag queen, butch, femme…
In fact, there are so many different masculinities and femininities that one day I realised I couldn’t think of a single thing that ALL women have in common (other than the label ‘woman’ obviously). Possessing a vagina? That both wrongly excludes some transwomen and wrongly includes some transmen. Liking pink and wearing skirts? I hope everyone knows that that is a ridiculous suggestion. But then, what do all men have in common? Fancying women? I know some gay guys who would object to that idea. (For me, being Genderqueer affects my sexuality too. What do ‘straight’ or ‘bi’ or ‘gay’ mean if you yourself aren’t male or female?)
Genderqueer is about being who you are and doing what you want and being aware that this can change.
People might be surprised to see me sewing patchwork in my army boots but I’m comfortable, and I’m just as happy cooking on a stove or a barbecue. When I fill in forms and the person behind the counter looks at me and says “You ticked Mr, surely that’s a mistake?”, I grin back and say “Nope, Mr Sophia, that’s me!”
Genderqueer is freeing, confusing, challenging, transgressive, comfortable, radical, normal and fun.
As well as wearing army boots and doing cooking various amazing veggie and vegan food, Sophia also co-authors a new blog entitled “Daleks Love Crafting”
T’s and C’s: You send me the post or a link to it, and if I decide to include it, I copy and paste it across to my blog. Please supply a name to be posted under (pseudonyms are fine), or state a desire for anonymity, and tell me whether or not to link back to an original post/your blog. Posts can be either freshly written or previously published, must be substantially your own work, and broadly fit the Feminism/Gender theme. | <urn:uuid:31e0b92c-87d0-433c-82e7-9281c8de1343> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://grahamsgrumbles.wordpress.com/2009/06/13/sophia-explaining-genderqueer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956177 | 717 | 1.859375 | 2 |
On June 29, 2012, Congress approved legislation to stop the interest rate on federal subsidized Stafford Loans from increasing from the current 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1, 2012, for new college borrowers. The rate had been scheduled to increase under provisions in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. The rate freeze is effective for one year – and will (unless extended) increase to 6.8% on July 1, 2013.
Under the new legislation:
- Rates on subsidized Stafford Loans will remain at 3.4% for undergraduates for one more school year, until July 1, 2013.
- As of July 1, 2013, undergraduate students with a subsidized Stafford Loan will have a maximum of six year of in-school status when the federal government will pay the interest on the loan while the student is in school. Previously, the government paid the interest for as long as it took a student to get a diploma. | <urn:uuid:d96b9ed8-771b-4e49-816c-8fa02f2e312f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://financialducksinarow.com/5521/student-loan-interest-rates-wont-increase-for-now/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976134 | 192 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Addressing the nettlesome question of what race people will be considered if they check more than one racial category on their census forms, the Clinton administration declared today that those listing themselves as white and a member of a minority will be counted as a minority.
The 2000 census will be the first that allows people to check more than one category under race.
''The first allocation rule is that if you are white and anything else, you are allocated to the minority,'' said Anita Hodgkiss, deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights.
Guidelines issued today by the Office of Management and Budget are intended to clarify the confusion sown by the administration's decision last October to allow people to identify themselves as members of more than one race.
The new policy was hailed at the time by groups representing parents of mixed-race children who disliked the old rule that forced them to pick one race for their offspring.
But civil rights groups expressed concern that the new policy would reduce the number of people who are officially considered black or Asian or American Indian, and would harm minorities when it came to enforcing civil rights and voting rights laws.
In announcing the new guidelines, Sally Katzen, counsel to the director of the budget office, said the decision to consider those who check the white and minority categories as being minorities reflected a determination that people who have suffered discrimination in the past should be subject to certain protections.
As a result of last fall's decision, people can now list themselves on census forms that are just now being mailed out as members of any one or more of five racial categories: American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, African-American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or white.
The new policy means that there are 63 racial combinations that the federal government will officially recognize. And, because Hispanic is considered an ethnic group, not a race, the policy also means there are 63 racial classifications for non-Hispanics and 63 ones for Hispanics.
The guidelines issued today also seek to clarify the responsibilities of businesses or state and local government agencies that are required to provide the federal government with a racial breakdown of their work force, student body or clientele.
Rather than asking these entities to provide data on all 63 racial permutations, the budget office said it would require a breakdown of a smaller set of categories. Five will be the already-recognized single-race categories: American Indian, Asian, African-American, native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and white.
Numbers would also have to be supplied on people who listed four racial combinations: American Indian/Alaskan Native and white, Asian and white, African-American and white and American Indian/Alaskan Native and African-American.
Budget office officials said these four categories were the most commonly selected combinations in tests conducted by the Census Bureau.
Finally, institutions reporting to the federal government will also have to provide numbers on any other combination of people that make up 1 percent of their work force, student body or clientele.
Some intellectuals who oppose policies like providing preferences based on race and sex in college admissions see the efforts as a dual-edged sword.
''I think it's a step forward to stop forcing every American into one racial box, which the Census Bureau has always done,'' said Stephan Thernstrom, a Harvard history professor who is a caustic critic of affirmative action. ''On the other hand, in some ways it's even worse. It's not just one of four or five boxes they're putting you into, it's 63!''
''And that's not even counting Hispanics,'' Professor Thernstrom continued. ''I just think the absurdity and byzantine complexity of this will become so cumbersome that people will say, 'Let's forget about this stuff.' ''
But the budget office guidelines were praised as a necessary step, but only an initial one, by civil rights groups that had lobbied the administration to make sure the new racial classifications did not dilute the power and protection of minorities in the enforcement of anti-discrimination and voting rights laws.
''This is an important first step to make sure that civil rights enforcement is not compromised by the implementation of these racial classification guidelines,'' said Todd Cox, a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. ''However, it's just the beginning of the process. We're looking forward to have further conversations on the actual implementation of the guidelines.'' | <urn:uuid:9033f3d3-7825-44f4-90e0-2e81818a19f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/11/us/new-policy-census-says-those-listed-white-minority-will-be-counted-minority.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960083 | 896 | 2.765625 | 3 |
February 11, 2011
The study of fetal programming is the focus of a two-day course Feb. 17-18 at the Emory Conference Center.
"Predicting Lifespan Health" will give a broad introduction to fetal programming, the process whereby environmental influences acting during development alter gene expression and program the body's structures and functions for life.
A body of evidence shows that adult chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, originate through this process by adverse influences during development.
Sponsored by Emory's Office of the Provost and the Emory College, and the office of the British Consulate-General, Atlanta, the conference is intended for postgraduates from a wide range of disciplines, including basic science, clinical science, anthropology, economics, nutrition and public health. | <urn:uuid:460afb9a-d58c-4373-b705-90a42838901a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/stories/2011/02/advance_notice_fetal_programming.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941516 | 166 | 2.15625 | 2 |
YouTube has announced that they have increased the size limit of uploaded videos.
The new limit for standard videos is set to 2GB, twice that of the previous limit. YouTube says the change means that users will be able to upload longer videos at higher resolutions, and maybe even some large HD files direct from the camera.
For those that are linking to YouTube videos, the YouTube team has also offered a tip concerning how to make sure a link starts playing a video in HD should it be available. Simply tack an "&hd=1" to the end of the URL and when it is clicked on it will begin to play in HD instead of standard definition. Follow the directions and you get a beautiful video just like the one above.
Further Reading: Read and find more Online Video news at our Online Video news index page. | <urn:uuid:90ca6bc2-b43e-496c-b803-260cc78bc34b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tweaktown.com/news/12700/youtube_doubles_size_for_uploaded_videos/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945256 | 167 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Portland, Oregon Depression Support Groups
An Educational Support Group for Living Optimally and Managing the Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety and Manic Depression
by Douglas Bloch M.A., author of Healing From Depression: a Body, Mind and Spirit Recovery Program
If you do not live in the Portland metropolitan area,
please click here to learn about long-distance telephone coaching.
If you have visited this web site, it is no doubt because either you or someone you love is in pain. I understand that pain. I know what it is like to feel the despair, the torment, the hopelessness of major depression. Over the past three decades I have had four major depressive episodes and have been hospitalized four times. I have experienced depression and have survived. My message is that you can survive, too.
The purpose of a depression support group is to impart practical tools and coping strategies in a caring and supportive environment that will allow members to live optimally and to reduce their symptoms of anxiety and depression. Studies have shown that experiencing social support has a positive effect on a person's ability to heal from depression and to remain well after a depressive episode.
A depression support group is designed to serve those individuals:
- who are currently experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or manic depression.
- who have already experienced an episode of anxiety or depression and wish to stay well.
- express their feelings in a safe environment.
- learn that they are not alone.
- feel understood by others who are dealing with the same issues.
- give and receive support.
- learn valuable tools for alleviating the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
- reduce negative self-talk.
- learn stress-reduction skills.
- feel empowered to create their own personalized recovery program.
In addition to receiving social support, group members will learn a "better mood recovery program” that treats depression on all fronts—physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Here is how some recent members describe their experiences of a Portland, Oregon Depression Support Group:
"Douglas' group provides a safe and encouraging environment for those of us who are dealing with depression."
"Douglas has an intuitive awareness of what people need. With love and humor, he guides us onto a healing path, and creates an opportunity for us to walk that path together."
"A long overdue and much needed recovery program for those suffering from anxiety and depression."
ONGOING PORTLAND GROUPS AVAILABLE
Groups meet once a week, Tuesday 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.
PLACE: 4226 NE 23rd Ave., Portland,
For information, call 503-284-2848 or email DouglasBloch(at)gmail.com.
If you would like to submit an online application for this course, please click here.
If you would like to ask a question or receive more information, please send me an email by clicking here.
Douglas Bloch is an author, counselor, and teacher who writes and speaks on the subjects of psychology, healing and spirituality. He obtained his B.A. in Psychology from New York University and his M.A. in Counseling from the University of Oregon. He is the author of “Words That Heal,” “Listening to Your Inner Voice,” and “When Going Through Hell…Don’t Stop! A Survivor’s Guide for Overcoming Anxiety and Clinical Depression.” For the past year, Douglas has been teaching his "better mood recovery program” to workshop participants around the country. | <urn:uuid:cc9152fd-f872-4626-b26b-ce96cb102fd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healingfromdepression.com/portland-oregon-depression-support-groups.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93809 | 736 | 1.609375 | 2 |
During the early 1980′s international students from countries like Morocco and Indonesia first began arriving at KSU. As the number of Muslims started growing in Manhattan the need for a masjid where the Muslim community could perform their five daily prayers as well as other Islamic activities was increasing. By the grace of Allah the Muslim community took an active role in helping establish the first masjid ever built in Manhattan. On July 2, 1982 the Muslim community was able to acquire a two-story house at the corner of Sunset and Anderson, in which they renovated and converted into a Masjid.
By 1993 the Muslim population in Manhattan increased to about 350 brothers and sisters. By this time the already established Masjid could no longer accommodate the larger Muslim community. With determination and the Help of Allah (SWT), a new Islamic Center project was launched. Hundreds of letters were sent to individuals asking for donations. Brothers were sent to different cities around the U.S. to give Khutbas and collect donations. Many brothers also worked tirelessly overseas to get donations from friends and relatives. After one year of intensive searching for an appropriate Islamic Center location, the community agreed on a one-acre site of land located on the corner of Claflin and Hylton Heights. Our Islamic Center features separate prayer halls for men and women, a library, classes for Children’s Islamic school and a social area.
Today our beautiful Islamic Center is still standing. Our community is very culturally diverse with brothers and sisters from just about every continent. The growing number of Muslims in our community range from countries like, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, Pakistan, Jordan, India, and Turkey to name a few. Our Muslim community enjoys taking part in Islamic cultural and dawah activities throughout each year. The Muslim Community Association is also actively involved in campus activities such as a once a week Dawah table set it in our wonderful KSU student Union and lectures given approximately three times during each semester. Many social events such as picnics, soccer games and open house are apart of what strengthens and bonds this Muslim community. | <urn:uuid:035eff55-5c1d-4af1-bc94-b62b6fa1a0d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://icmmanhattan.org/web/about-us/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970007 | 424 | 1.804688 | 2 |
I had to post this wonderful piece of information about yeast and yeast starters. A great great brewer friend of mine, Wade, over at the BKB forums posted a reply to a discussion we were having about yeast starters and cell #s provided in the yeast packages we all typically buy from WhiteLabs and Wyeast.
Wade, a.k.a. 1n1m3g in cyber-land, is currently working on his PhD in the biological sciences arena and works exclusively with yeast for his research. He and I have talked in the past about yeast; and he really knows his stuff. When Wade is not working in the lab or being a great father and family man he can be found bumming around with the Boston Wort Processors, a homebrew club here in the Boston area. (Please consider checking out their upcoming Homebrew Competition)
So please take a minute to read and digest the post I have copied below. Its a bit long, but it’s amazingly informative.
“OK, OK, i guess I can try to make some sort of contribution to this discussion here. I think there is a bit of confusion here about the yeast that come in the liquid from the homebrew stores, either smack packs or vials. There are two key terms everyone should be aware of and the differences between the two. One is yeast viability and the other is yeast vitality. Viability is easy to define as it basically describes the overall number of yeast cells that are alive. If you were able to count the cells under a microscope and then plate out a small, countable number of cells onto an agar plate the viability of the yeast would be the number of cells that actually form a colony as compared to the number of cells you plated. Vitality, on the other hand, is a more ambiguous term that describes the overall health of those viable cells. In brewing terms, it could be described as how fast the cells could divide and as well as how efficient they are at fermenting sugars. Cells will have high vitality if they have sufficient fermentation precursors stored up. For example, oxygen is required to build up sufficient cell wall components prior to fermentation because during fermentation (in the absence of oxygen) these cell wall components are not synthesized and are depleted upon every cell division until a lower limit threshold is reached and the cells can no longer divide thereby decreasing fermentation efficiencies. So, even before you pitch your yeast, you can easily have a population of cells with high viability but low vitality if not properly prepared. For example, the older a vial or smack pack is the lower the viability is as well as the vitality, but I think that vitality drops off much faster than viability over time.
So back to the question of starters. Creating a population of cells with high vitality requires that you give the yeast the proper nutrients that prime them for fermentation. I think this is where Wyeast smack packs are superior to White labs yeast vials. When you pop the smack pack you release vital nutrients to the yeast so the somewhat dormant yeast greatly increase their vitality. There is no way to do this for White labs unless you use a starter to wake them up. A starter is useful for both because depending on the starter technique you use you can greatly increase the total number of viable cells while at the same time increase the overall vitality of the entire population. The most important component for the starter is oxygen. Why force the cells to start fermentation in a starter when you are just going to pitch them into an oxygen rich wort, which inhibits fermentation, only to have that oxygen quickly depleted requiring a switch back to fermentation? If you use a stir plate to add oxygen continuously to the starter you can greatly increase the overall numbers of cells in a smaller volume of starter wort. These cells will have built a nice ample store of the cell wall components required for proper attenuation of your beer. If you prefer the more traditional method of a still starter you will be better off if you give the starter a stir twice a day or so to scrub out the built up CO2 and introduce more O2.
I think a better place to add things like yeast nutrient (i.e. Servomyces) would be at pitching or a day or two into the fermentation. The yeast nutrients add things like metal ions required for enzyme function as well as free nitrogen required to synthesize these enzymes. Adding this to the fermenting wort of your beer will give the yeast a boost as they use up the limited nutrients that come from the malt.
I use a stir plate for my starters because I don’t use smack packs or vials, but am instead building up my population step by step from literally a single yeast cell. I need the extra oxygen to get to the proper number of viable cells with the added benefit of also getting high vitality. Either way, though, if you are using store bought liquid yeast, make sure the package is as close to the manufactured date as possible and if you have the capability, use a starter of any technique (stir plate of otherwise) to increase cell vitality.
Wow, is that enough of an explanation? Cheers!”
(Standing) BREW ON! | <urn:uuid:b4c86bb9-7fa5-4e54-9885-44056ad9a768> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brew-dudes.com/what-happens-in-a-yeast-starter/644 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958094 | 1,060 | 2.125 | 2 |
People who are ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are severely taxed in the energy department. Some have about enough energy to breathe and that's about it. Others are in somewhat better fettle than this.
But even the most hearty have a small energy package to work with and this must be considered at every turn by the people in their lives.
If you know someone with CFS and want to be there for them, you must be aware of some things if you want to help and not harm.
Visits are a double-edged sword for many with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. We are often a lonely bunch, and long for some company. But social experiments must be carefully designed.
Here are some things to keep in mind if you want to visit a person who has CFS.
1. Be prepared to keep it short.
Really short, like maybe twenty minutes. And even with that in mind, be on the lookout for earlier indications of exhaustion.
If their head begins to droop, your time is running out. If they seem dazed, and not comprehending your words, it is time to smile and embrace and say 'bye for now.
2. Avoid numbers.
For some reason, number cogitation creates a mental vacuum in short order for someone with CFS.
Even people who used to be great in math may become stumped by things like how much something cost, or how many miles there are from Point A to Point B. You can derail a visit abruptly with no hope for repair if you venture into the world of numbers.
3. Make it count.
Most people can wander into assorted small talk that doesn't really interest the listener, and still be able to have a successful visit. But these CFS folks have a fragile energy stream.
Don't talk about people they don't know or places they aren't familiar with. When you've only got a few minutes of real comprehension time, don't waste it.
4. Make it personal.
People in the CFS ghetto are lonely. Big time. They feel invisible to the rest of the world. Your visit should counter, not contribute to, more of the same.
If you are going to use up their energy, make it about them. All about them. | <urn:uuid:7315b427-e872-4a51-b3fa-5dacadded9fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.empowher.com/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/content/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-what-constitutes-good-visit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975499 | 465 | 2.15625 | 2 |
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Britain & Ireland:
Contemporary Art and Architecture Handbook
Sidra Stich's guide to contemporary art, architecture and design in
Britain and Ireland offers an accessible, reasonably full overview of the national
cultural scene. The London section is the largest and the most useful, ensuring that the
London art scene, with its maze of small and often intimidating galleries in Hoxton and
Soho, is demystified successfully. Opening times, website addresses and other useful data
are provided, emphasizing that this books strength lies in its utility as a guide
book rather than in any strong statement it has to make about the nature of the
contemporary British art scene.
One of the best parts of this book is its fluent and lengthy invective regarding the elitism and ugliness of the new British Librarys design. It indicates that this guide aims at comprehensive coverage rather than panegyric, and the critique of the alienating entrance hall and the tedious reading rooms in comparison to the beautiful former reading room at the British Museum rings all too true for anyone familiar with the British Library. The inclusion of entries on The Courtauld Gallery and The Ivy restaurant are dubious but in general this book provides a hundred genuinely useful pages on London art.
Indeed, the book has a comprehensible but striking London bias. For Londoners this is a plus point but it may prove vexing for those seeking really in-depth coverage of the art scene in, for example, Belfast. Entries such as that for Oxford are mystifyingly eclectic and too brief, suggesting that this book is somewhat insecure in its own mandate to focus upon the contemporary cultural scene in Britain and Ireland. Naturally Oxfords highly important Museum of Modern Art is included, but the inclusion of Blackwells Art Bookshop is rather odd, and that old stalwart the Ashmolean Museum is not renowned as an up-and-coming center for modern art. The Florey Building is the only structure singled out as of sufficient architectural merit to deserve inclusion in the section on Oxford, despite Stichs acknowledgement that it is mannered and lifeless. Nearby Henley-On-Thames gets a much more interesting mention for its new River and Rowing Museum, and the imposing Henley Royal Regatta Headquarters also justifiably appears.
The least useful and most irritating components of this work are the brief introductory paragraphs on regional centers. There is really no need to be told that a visit to historic Cambridge, with its stately buildings, courtyards, perfectly trimmed lawns is a delight, nor does it seem especially pertinent that Temple Bar in Dublin dates back to the first Celtic settlements. These redundant entries have the air of space-fillers and are not required in such a rigorously researched book, focused on a particular cultural aspect. Generally, though, the book is geared towards maximum convenience and pleasure for the reader. Inclusion of both thematic and alphabetical indices is a useful way in to a crowded range of entries. The black and white photos, though hardly a visual feast, suit their subject matter, looking suitably cool, modern and minimalist.
This guide inevitably becomes something of a jack of all trades, master of none. The book would benefit from a stronger eye to either avid contemporary art lovers or tourists seeking an introductory guide. Nevertheless it is far better on practicalities such as journey times and entry prices than most other guides of its ilk, and it highlights new cultural spaces worth viewing for even the most jaded British and Irish culture vultures.
- Emma French | <urn:uuid:b4c46ac0-ca10-4bd6-aaf4-665c9d74dd5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://culturevulture.net/Books/Art-SitesBritain.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935605 | 746 | 2.09375 | 2 |
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First Tunisia. Now Bahrain? As unrest spreads, here's what you need to know.
Egyptian demonstrators protest near Egyptian police to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak on Jan. 25, 2011.
(Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)
Egypt's now former president, Hosni Mubarak, took office in 1981, the same year Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency in the United States. Mubarak served first as an Air Force pilot and later as vice president under Anwar Sadat. His rise to power, however, was somewhat unexpected — Mubarak assumed the post when Islamic fundamentalists assassinated Sadat.
In his three decades of rule, Mubarak is credited for leading Egypt through a period of relative peace and stability following four wars with Israel. Mubarak’s police forces crushed an Islamic insurgency in the 1990s, ending most threats to the country’s vital tourism sector. He also honored his predecessor’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel, earning the favor of successive American administrations, and the billions of dollars in U.S. economic and military aid that comes with it.
In Cairo, the super wealthy live side-by-side with the desperately poor. Imported European sports cars vie for space alongside 40-year-old taxis and donkey carts. Critics argue that Mubarak’s reforms have served the rich well, while Egypt's poor get even poorer. About 20 percent of Egypt’s population still lives close to the poverty line, on $2 per day.
And for the opposition, change never came easy. Political competition in Egypt was virtually non-existent. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party had won landslide victories in every election since their inception in 1976, often amid allegations of vote-rigging and official intimidation by riot police and plainclothes security forces.
To say that Egyptians have been inspired by recent events in Tunisia would be an understatement. Many activists in Egypt are hoping to duplicate the Tunisia scenario that saw President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flee his 23-year-old seat of power after weeks of popular anger and protests.
The first round of protests in Egypt were planned to coincide with Police Day, a national holiday celebrating the country’s security forces. It’s somewhat of an ironic tradition, critics say, for a country rife with human rights abuses directed at minorities, refugees and political opposition.
Also, a focal point of the Jan. 25 protests, which sparked the week-long uprising that culminated Tuesday with hundreds of thousands flooding Cairo's Tahrir Square, was Khaled Said, a young man allegedly tortured and killed last year by police in Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city. A group on the social networking site Facebook titled “We are all Khaled Said” has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.
The unrest that has engulfed Cairo since has been larger than the country has seen in decades. Tens of thousands have overwhelmed the country's security forces, which have now largely withdrawn. The country's military announced Monday it would not fire on protesters, dealing a perhaps fatal blow to Mubarak. But in a speech Mubarak tried to meet protester demands by announcing he would not run September's elections. Demonstrators, however, said the concession wasn't enough — they want Mubarak to step down immediately.
Protests in Egypt are nothing new. But security forces typically arrive on the scenes hours early in numbers three to four times that of protesters. Cordons are set around the dozens of regular activists, and protests usually fizzle from exhaustion and impatience on both sides.
But on Jan. 25, tens of thousands of Egyptians poured into the streets, leading to a week of demonstrations. Hundreds of thousands flooded Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Tuesday. Police appeared completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who dared to challenge them.
Initially, police tried to crush the uprising with beatings, tear gas, water cannons and rubber-coated bullets. More than 150 people have so far been killed and thousands more injured during the clashes over the past week.
Violence erupted again on Feb. 2 when supporters of Mubarak clashed with anti-government demonstrators in Tahrir Square. The two sides tossed rocks and chunks of asphalt back and forth, causing numerous injuries.
Peace returned to the square after Friday prayers on Feb. 4 as anti-government demonstrators regrouped. The protests persisted in the square until Feb. 11, when Mubarak finally resigned.
Mubarak is 82 years old and his health rumored to be in decline. Speculation over the future of the nation’s leadership has become the parlor game of choice in Egypt, and even more so now that Mubarak has resigned. Many had worried that Mubarak’s son Gamal had been being groomed for the job. But he is has now fled to London.
An election for Egypt’s presidency is scheduled for September. What happens in the meantime is yet to be seen. The military has assumed power, a situation that will likely only temporarily appease the protesters, who have always demanded that Egypt move to a western-style democracy.
Whoever leads Egypt next will inherit the region’s most important diplomatic power, both geographically and historically. They will have to appease 80 million in Egypt — the largest population in the Middle East. And they will also control the Suez Canal — the gateway to international commercial shipping and naval power in the Mediterranean and beyond.
Egypt's future, meanwhile, will have major implications for the United States and regional governments.
— Jon Jensen | <urn:uuid:2086f080-8c47-452f-8ebf-2e967bc42aaa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/110126/protests-riots-tunisia-egypt-lebanon-middle-east-north-africa?page=0,1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957326 | 1,130 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The WNYGS microfilming program is an effort to preserve old church and cemetery records in Western New York. WNYGS will microfilm any records that have not previously been microfilmed. WNYGS will pay for the filming and will furnish the holder of the records with a copy of the film. Please contact anyone on the WNYGS board of directors if you have any information about Western New York church or cemetery records that have not been microfilmed.
The purpose of the surname list is to provide every member of the society with the New York State connected surnames that other members are researching. Each member upon joining the society receives a form to fill out with their family surnames that have New York State connections. Every name submitted is indexed with the member's membership number. If you are researching ALLEN, check the list for the name ALLEN. Next refer to the current membership directory for the name and address of the member you wish to contact. Please note that the membership directory is available to WNYGS members only as one of the benefits of membership.
A locality list, similar to the Society surname list, has been established as a member-only benefit to help WNYGS members contact other Society members researching in the same location. This list is for locations outside the eight county focus of the Western New York Genealogical Society. Additions to the list will be mailed to all members annually with the June issue of the JOURNAL.
1865 Census Index
The WNYGS has recently revived its long standing project of indexing the 1865 New York State Census for the eight counties of Western New York. Please check the census index page for current availability.
Last updated: Saturday, October 30, 2010 | <urn:uuid:77e10b97-e8fb-4edb-828b-76eb369f6d3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wnygs.org/projects.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957938 | 353 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Apple recently rolled out its new family of Macbooks with a bold claim: The World’s Greenest Family of Notebooks. The new Macbooks are lighter, less toxic, and more energy efficient than previous generations, but are they really the greenest laptops in the world?
Two years ago, Greenpeace challenged Apple and other major laptop producers to reduce the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which are commonly found in electronics. PVC is made from a known carcinogen, and can release chlorinated dioxins when burned for disposal or leach chemicals if buried in a landfill. BFRs bioaccumulate and can release bromine in hazardous forms when burned for disposal. Children in India and China who dismantle our used electronics are then exposed to these toxins.
After Greenpeace determined Apple to be one of the electronic companies that were least responsive to their concerns about electronic waste, Greenpeace launched its “Green My Apple” campaign specifically targeting Apple’s environmental policy and asking for greater transparency.
Steve Jobs issued a statement in May of 2007 titled “A Greener Apple,” pledging to reduce the BFR and PVC content of its products by the end of 2008 and “explore the overall carbon ‘footprint’ of our products.” To evaluate the verdancy of the new Macbook, I looked at five things: toxic content, carbon footprint, recycling potential, energy efficiency and commitment to continued progress.
While Apple has not reduced the use of BFRs and PVC to zero as they promised, they have reduced the allowable level of bromine and chlorine to 900 parts per million, or .09% of the product’s weight. This level is low enough that it becomes impractical to rely on BFRs, which are normally used to prevent fire, because they are ineffective in such small volume. Producers that use BFRs to fireproof their electronics add 50,000 ppm of bromine on average, so 900 ppm is a large reduction. Still, the company is careful to say “No BFRs in logic boards and all internal cables are free of PVC” instead of claiming that the entire Macbook is BFR- and PVC-free.
The battery is lead, cadmium and mercury free, which complies with EU directives. The Macbook display contains no mercury or arsenic, which are still found in other notebooks (including some made by Apple). In September, Dell announced it would transition to mercury-free displays.
The new Macbook is lighter and its packaging has been reduced by 41%, allowing the company to transport more units at a time. Apple would not release specific information about where its products are made, how far they travel or by what method, but the company is claiming that transport only accounts for 10% of the product’s carbon footprint, while production accounts for 50%, customer use for 39%, and less than 1% for recycling, for a total of 460 kg of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of about 52.2 gallons of gasoline.
It surprised me that Apple says transport is such a small part of the carbon cost, since the company has factories in China and transports its Macbooks at least part of the time by air.
Apple has a fairly convenient (you have to pack it and FedEx it) recycling program for anyone buying a new Mac in 95% of the regions where Apple products are sold. If you are buying a new Apple, you can recycle your old computer, even if it’s a PC. All the recycling collected in North America is processed in North America, not shipped overseas. In contrast, Dell will recycle any old Dell product without requiring a new purchase.
The new Macbook body is made from a single piece of aluminum, which makes it “highly recyclable.” The Macbook got full points for recyclability from the EPA’s EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) rating system, which declared the laptop to be at least 90% recyclable, however it received 0 out of 3 points for materials selection from EPEAT for not using any post-consumer recycled content or bio-based plastic.
“The use of aluminum for the body takes it up a notch or two – plastics can be difficult to recycle, and demand for the recycled material fluctuates,” points out Thomas Tierrney, of Paydirt, a consulting firm that teaches businesses how to go green. “Aluminum, on the other hand, is highly recyclable and is in relatively constant demand – it’s one of the few materials where production of virgin stock is more costly than recycling.”
Apple hopes to recycle 30% of the weight of the products it sold in 2003 – presuming a 7-year average life span for its products – and figures it has recycled 83 million pounds of electronic waste to date.
The new Macbooks are ENERGYSTAR 4.0 compliant and Apple brags that the Macbook can run on a quarter of the power needed for one lightbulb. Its LED-backlit display uses 30% less power than conventional LCD displays. Apple is claiming a battery life of up to 1,000 charging cycles (complete charge and discharge of the notebook battery), up from 200 to 300 cycles for existing Apple batteries, which is fantastic if true.
COMMITMENT TO PROGRESS:
Apple is vague about its plans for the future and seems reluctant to set concrete goals, but says they are “continually striving to reduce the environmental impact of the work we do and the products we create.” The strongest evidence of this is that they are now preparing and releasing “environmental status reports” for all Apple products. These reports include an estimate each product’s carbon footprint.
Is it the Greenest Laptop In the World?
Apple is not just calling the new Macbooks green – it’s saying they are the greenest laptops in the world. However there are 113 laptops that received EPEAT’s Gold rating. The highest-ranked notebook is the Toshiba Portege R500, which received an extra point for “energy conservation” because it has a solar charger.
Toshiba’s new Portege R600 was named the greenest notebook in Greenpeace’s second annual “Green Electronics: The Search Continues” survey, and the HP Elitebook 2530p was a close second. ASUS has a notebook with a bamboo case.
But when it comes to green laptops, I remain unconvinced that the Macbook or any laptops built for American consumption can beat the solar cell and hand-cranked powered XO, which has a battery that decomposes into fertilizer. | <urn:uuid:53749515-4504-4e1e-9c76-cf184c0f1c2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://inhabitat.com/is-it-green-the-new-macbooks/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949159 | 1,406 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Print version ISSN 0042-9686
JOOSTE, Pieter L.; WEIGHT, Michael J. and LOMBARD, Carl J.. Iodine concentration in household salt in South Africa. Bull World Health Organ [online]. 2001, vol.79, n.6, pp. 534-540. ISSN 0042-9686. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0042-96862001000600009.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the iodine concentration in household salt, the coverage of adequately iodized salt, the use of non-iodized agricultural and producers salt, and the usefulness of salt as a carrier of iodine, and to relate these observations to socioeconomic status in South Africa. METHOD: The iodometric titration method was used to analyse 2043 household salt samples collected using a national, multistage, stratified, cluster survey. FINDINGS: The national mean and median iodine concentrations of household salt were 27 mg/kg (95% confidence interval (CI): 25-29 mg/kg) and 30 mg/kg (range = 0-155 mg/kg), respectively. There was considerable variation within and between geographical areas. Coverage of adequately iodized household salt, i.e. iodized at >15 mg/kg, was 62.4% of households (95% CI: 58.8-66.0%) two years after the introduction of compulsory iodization at a level of 40-60 mg/kg. A total of 7.3% of households used non-iodized agricultural salt and salt obtained directly from producers. People at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum were more likely to suffer the consequences of using under-iodized salt because more of them used agricultural or coarse salt than did people in the higher socioeconomic categories. The iodine concentration in salt was lower in rural areas than in urban and periurban areas. CONCLUSIONS: The consequences of using under-iodized or non-iodized salt were most likely to be experienced in the countrys three northern provinces, among people in the low socioeconomic categories, and in rural households. Since 95.4% of households in South Africa use salt regularly and 2.9% use it occasionally, the national iodization programme has the potential to meet the iodine requirements of the population. However, this can only be achieved if the primary reasons for the inadequate iodization of salt are eliminated and if special attention is given to vulnerable groups.
Keywords : Sodium chloride; Dietary [analysis]; Iodine [therapeutic use]; Households; Socioeconomic factors; Cross-sectional studies; South Africa. | <urn:uuid:d98f7180-7a36-4c8b-bcff-244b917af88c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0042-96862001000600009&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918305 | 555 | 2.796875 | 3 |
What We Would Learn From Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka provides a solid example of how to most effectively deal with terrorists. After decades of facing some of the most brutal terror tactics, Sri Lanka adopted tactics sufficient to quell the terrorists. Robert Kaplan at The Atlantic gives us the lessons:
The insurgents are using human shields? No problem. Just keep killing the innocent bystanders until you get to the fighters themselves.
Bad media coverage is hurting morale and giving succor to the enemy? Just kill the journalists.
The international community disapproves of your methods and cuts off military aid because of the human rights violations you’ve committed? Again, no problem. Get aid from China.
The international system created largely by western nations has produced these lessons. While democrats and liberty-minded people would rightly feel shame at learning these lessons, most nations have no problem adopting such Machiavellian approaches. Indeed, failing to adopt such amoral policies attracts terror and other vicious methods for obtaining political goals. We need to rethink the system that encourages terrorism and offers only such fascist responses as effective tools to combat it. | <urn:uuid:ed275e4e-b215-41ed-989a-3142cd7907be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.jamesej.com/2009/07/07/what-we-would-learn-from-sri-lanka/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918325 | 224 | 1.960938 | 2 |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Health officials in communities digging out from severe flooding are urging residents and recovery workers to take advantage of free tetanus shots, even as supplies dwindle.
The shots are important because of the twisted metal and glass buried in muck and debris that is being shoveled from homes and businesses from New York's Adirondacks to Catskills.
More than 1,200 people received the free shots from Schoharie County public health nurses since Tropical Storm Irene hit last week and cleanup continues.
County health programs spokeswoman Asante (uh-SAHN'-tee) Shipp-Hilts says most adults don't have updated tetanus protection and are at risk for exposure.
If a public health nurses at a recovery sites are out of supply, residents and workers should contact county health departments.
The Greene County Department of Health is sponsoring free tetanus immunization clinics on Monday, September 12, 2011 in two locations. The clinics are for adults only, ages 18 or older who have not received a tetanus vaccine in the last 10 years.
1. FEMA Tent, Main Street, Prattsville on Monday, Sept. 12 from 11am-1:30pm, call 719-3600 with questions.
2. HD Lane Fire Company, State Route 214 Lanesville NY on Monday, Sept. 12 from 3-5pm, call 719-3600 with questions. | <urn:uuid:70830050-474a-4785-a737-87cf5e0c5587> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news10.com/story/15419008/free-tetanus-shots-offered-in-flooded-communities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949817 | 300 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Virgin Money Climate Change Fund
Make a difference with the Virgin Money Climate Change Fund
We all know that we need to combat the causes of climate change, but it’s difficult to make a big difference on your own. That’s why we came up with the Virgin Money Climate Change Fund where you can choose to invest in businesses that are making the right decisions for the environment. Here are just some of the reasons to choose this fund.
Global warming and climate change have been on the political agenda for a long time, but it’s pressure on business that can really begin to make a change. The Virgin Money Climate Change Fund invests in companies that show a good potential for profit alongside a sound commitment to the environment. We look at the high performers and then filter out the companies that don’t measure up to our benchmark for global climate change, so only those with good environmental credentials make it into our portfolio.
Climate change facts
According to UK Government climate change statistics, the Earth has warmed by 0.74°C over the last 100 years. An alarming 0.4°C of this climate change has occurred since the 1970s. The main contributor is of course, human activity. As the cost of this environmental pollution mounts up, our expectation is that regulators and legislators will start to force companies to foot the bill. This will give a competitive edge to businesses with a lighter environmental footprint, which the Virgin Money Climate Change Fund is well positioned to take advantage of.
Choosing a ‘green’ fund
It’s an unfortunate fact that many ‘green’ funds do not perform well for their investors. The environmental credentials inevitably exclude some of the most profitable sectors, such as gas and oil. But unlike other ‘green’ funds, the Virgin Money Climate Change Fund invests in all sectors, cherry picking those with a lighter than average environmental footprint as well as those providing climate change solutions. Read more information about our different approach.
Helping businesses to help the environment
By supporting the companies that adopt greener solutions we can show that addressing the potential impacts of climate change is best for their financial future, as well as our planet. Learn more about how the Virgin Money Climate Change Fund works and see how you can invest in high performing companies while helping to protect the planet.
As most of the companies included in our climate change fund are based in the UK and Europe, many are affected by the UK’s climate change levy. This is a tax on business consumption of energy. At Virgin Money, we agree that businesses should be persuaded to reduce their carbon footprint. We think that only investing in companies with above average environmental credentials is the ‘carrot’ to the Government’s ‘stick’.
Solution adopters and providers
Up to 25% of the fund is invested in what we call ‘solution adopters’ and ‘solution providers’. Solution adopters are companies leading by example in their fields, actively seeking out new ways to lower their environmental footprint. Solution providers are companies developing and manufacturing solutions to environmental problems, including alternative energy sources.
Choosing the right ISA for you
We’ve told you all about our climate change fund here, but it’s not your only Virgin Money investment option. If you like the idea of investing with Virgin Money but haven’t yet made your final choice, then you can read about your other fund options. If you’ve already used your ISA allowance, you could take a look at the unit trusts we offer.
Investing in stopping climate change
The Virgin Money Climate Change Fund is perfect for an investor who wants to tap into profit growth, while helping to stop environmental climate change. You can apply online for a Virgin Money ISA and start making your money work for you, and the environment.
Investing in the stock market is riskier than other ways of saving such as a deposit account. Your money can go up and down in value and your returns are not guaranteed. You may not get back all you invest. This is a medium to long term investment so you should be prepared to invest your money for at least five years. The value of the tax benefit depends on individual circumstances and may change in the future. A copy of the full prospectus is available on request. | <urn:uuid:9aa6db92-1d00-491b-843a-dee44ce58f9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/isa/virgin-money-climate-change-fund.jsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942606 | 889 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Out of academic interest I’ve been trying to research the Fisher 37 Pilot House Motor Sailer. This follows two previous articles featuring yachts suitable for living aboard. I looked at a Botter* and a Hartley Fijian 43 Mk 1.**
The Fisher range of yachts were first manufactured in the early 1970s by Fairways Marine, and three of the more popular models can still be built today by Northshore Yachts, namely the Fisher 25, 34 and 37.
Altogether at least 140 Fisher 37 ketches came off the moulds, which is a measure of their popularity. They are extremely robust, able cruising yachts that have been thoroughly tested through extensive cruising; hence they can be found in many parts of the world. Over the years they have been developed and improved since the first one was launched in 1973. Very early models did not have an extended bow platform for mounting a very large furling jib forward of the staysail, in the style of a cutter.
It is most unlikely that I shall ever abandon my land-based lifestyle in exchange for that of a liveaboard, but if I did, I might well choose a Fisher 37 as my new abode, assuming I could find the dosh!
Length Overall 11.33 m (37'2")
Length Waterline 9.91 m (32'6")
Beam 3.66 m (12'0")
Draught 1.60 m (5'3")
Text for the Day
Philippians 4:5 ‘Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.’
**Hartley Fijian 43 Mk 1
The Fisher Owners’ Association
Southerly Fisher Range of Yachts
Fisher 37 Mk 111 for Sale - £84,950
Fisher 37 Pilothouse Ketch for Sale – US $ 79,000
Fairways Marine Fisher 37 for Sale - £84,995
1974 Fisher 37 Pilot House Ketch for Sale - £66,990 | <urn:uuid:9e376757-e439-4620-aefb-aab329210b2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bills-log.blogspot.com/2011/12/fisher-37.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911429 | 431 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The facts concerning treatment for bacterial vag (vaginosis or BV) are many, but it all comes down to the fact that this disease is not curable, simply treatable. Educated physicians know and understand the symptoms yet have not been able to determine a real cause. The most important thing any woman can do, is to set up regular check ups with her obstetrician in order to detect any abnormalities.
Detection of this particular disease is really easy due to the intense odor of the discharge associated with it. Women will experience abnormal discharge that has an intense fishy odor to it if this disease is present. But in order for it to be properly diagnosed, a scheduled doctor visit is highly recommended.
At the physician’s office, the patient will be examined and the test results diagnosed. There are different ways to test the samples taken, but even if one of the tests prove positive, the patient is given treatments that are unique to their body and life style. Patients also sit down with their physicians and discuss treatments, as well as prevention and flare ups.
The typical method of treating any type of vaginal disease, is by prescribing antibiotics. These medications can be taken in pill form or by vaginal creams, but do not cure the problem. Antibiotics for these issues simply mask the symptoms for as long as the patient uses the medication. Recurrences are very probable when it comes to vaginal illnesses.
It is important for all females to learn and know the symptoms of all vaginal diseases, just in case they were to develop one or more. Knowing when to schedule obstetrician appointments to get checked is important and can help prevent serious complications or the full development of any possible life threatening diseases. Women are recommended to have these check ups every six months.
Going to the doctor always helps to detect any signs of unhealthy issues, and because of early detection, doctors can help their patients get a head start on curing or at least reducing any symptoms. Although there are no real cures for this type of vaginal issue, there are antibiotics prescribed that help soothe the uncomfortable symptoms, so that ladies can get on with their lives.
Finding a treatment for bacterial vaginosis starts by visiting a health professional. Anyone interested in this topic, especially women, are urged to do their own research online before calling the doctor. Getting regular check ups is a good start to prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treating, so these appointment are highly recommended to all females.
Our Author Susan Jones says; If you’re sick and tired of the cycle of GP visits and antibiotics and want a permanent treatment for bacterial vag then visit her site www.treatmentforbacterialvag.com/articles for all the help you need to defeat BV fast. | <urn:uuid:7414190d-fb24-4e2d-9415-27217afc6c50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kardashians.com.au/beauty/finding-a-treatment-for-bacterial-vag/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953799 | 559 | 2.078125 | 2 |
July 27, 2010
Back in the 1970s, David Ahl wrote a new game program each month for Creative Computing magazine. Those were the days of all-caps teletypes (if you were rich you could get a new-fangled “glass teletype”) and punched paper tapes (it was fun to play with the confetti they made). MS-BASIC permitted twenty-six single-letter variable names; later they also allowed a single letter followed by a single digit. There were no user-defined functions and no recursion. GOTO was common, resulting in a phenomenon called “spaghetti code.” There was good news, however: it was acceptable programming practice to GOTO the middle of a FOR loop and run the code there, as long as you jumped back out of the loop before the corresponding NEXT — try to do that in your favorite functional language!
One of Ahl’s most memorable games was Hamurabi, in which the player took the role of the administrator of the ancient city of Sumeria, managing the grain and land resources of the city and trying to keep the residents from starvation. It is typical of the genre, with simple numeric input and scrolling text output. Here is a description and sample game, and the original BASIC source code is reproduced on the next page. By my count, there are fourteen lines that are unreachable except by an IF…THEN, GOSUB or GOTO, forty-three lines that redirect control flow away from the line below, and four instances (line 555 to 215, bypassing line 210, 453 and 479 to 440, bypassing 430, 441 to 511, bypassing 510, and 880 and 885 to 565, bypassing 560) of jumping into the middle of a block of code; that’s a fine bowl of spaghetti, considering the entire program is only 120 lines. Variable P represents the current population, S is the number of bushels in stores, and A is the number of acres of farmland owned by the city, but other variables are used inconsistently — for instance D sometimes represents the number of deaths in the current year, but other times it represents the current input value, and other times Q is used to represent the current input value.
Your task is to reimplement HAMURABI.BAS in a more modern computer language. Don’t peek at the solution unless you want to deprive yourself of the sheer joy of working out the spaghetti code and figuring out what the variables really stand for. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below. | <urn:uuid:178b363c-4035-4285-a760-5132d7d94db3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://programmingpraxis.com/2010/07/27/hamurabi-bas/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=0c985fc400 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949445 | 557 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Conflict occurs in any environment where two or more people engage with one another on topics they care about. While most of us do not look forward to conflict, in many instances, conflict can be a path to growth and learning both for the individuals involved and for the organization. Learning to engage and constructively manage conflict is an important skill for anyone working in a group setting.
In this module we address different types of conflict that typically occurs in small organizations and committees along with when and how to intervene. We explore different personality types and learn to recognize how personality type impacts the nature and severity of organizational conflict.
Last modified October 23 2012 01:45 PM | <urn:uuid:fd941c19-e263-440e-8a02-c76195b4decc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uvm.edu/extension/community/buildingcapacity/?Page=conflictmanagement.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945679 | 132 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Image by rezlab
1. Cloth diaper your baby.
2. Buy in bulk whenever possible.
3. Shop with an eye for packaging, and try to buy only products with minimal or recyclable packaging.
5. Switch to mama cloth (or reusable feminine products).
6. Go paperless in your kitchen.
7. Eat whole foods, not packaged ones.
Image by andrewarchy
11. Have less stuff (and learn to love it)!
12. Buy reusable water bottles (for your kids, too), rather than buying water in plastic bottles.
13. Learn to creatively re-purpose things you don't need anymore.
14. Before recycling household paper, turn it into note-sized paper for grocery lists, to-do's, etc.
15. When something is broken, try to repair it before buying a replacement.
16. If you must use disposables, try sustainable and earth-friendly varieties.
17. Bring your own travel mug to your local coffee shop (and when you're planning to sit and sip, ask for a mug rather than a paper cup).
18. Use rechargeable batteries.
19. Use a battery operated razor (or at least use razors with replaceable heads, rather than disposables).
Image by Steve Snodgrass
20. Choose to have your bills and bank statements sent to you online, instead of by mail.
21. Breastfeed your baby.
22. Have your printer ink cartridges refilled instead of purchasing new ones.
23. Consider your current recycling habits and see if there's anything else you could add to what you're already doing.
24. If you need an item for a short time only, see if you can borrow it from someone.
25. Get a reusable coffee filter to replace your paper filters.
26. Use loose leaf teas with a french press instead of tea bags.
27. Save and reuse all gift bags and tissue paper from gifts that you receive.
28. Make your own baby food.
29. Give away or sell things you don't need. | <urn:uuid:e0dbf8f3-030e-4111-9429-35bfcb29c73c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2010/03/29-ways-to-reduce-waste-in-your-home-and-save-money-while-youre-at-it.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903483 | 439 | 2.296875 | 2 |
In the first study to systematically investigate genome-wide epigenetic differences in a large number of psychosis discordant twin-pairs, research at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London provides further evidence that epigenetic processes play an important role in neuropsychiatric disease.
Published in Human Molecular Genetics, the findings may offer potential new avenues for treatment.
Previous quantitative genetic analyses of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder reveal strong inherited components to both. However, although heritability for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is estimated at 70%, disease concordance between twin-pairs is far from 100%, indicating that non-genetic factors play an important role in the onset of the diseases.
Dr. Jonathan Mill, lead author of the study at the IoP says, ‘We studied a group of 22 identical twin-pairs, so 44 individuals in all, one of the largest twin studies performed for any complex disease to date. In each twin-pair, one had either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Because we know that twins are genetically identical, we can rule out any genetic cause of illness in the affected twin — the aim of our study was to investigate epigenetic variations associated with these disorders.’…
by ScienceDaily staff | <urn:uuid:afdb99f0-338a-4bd7-b783-3db3cd2f15fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sardaa.org/2011/10/10/twin-study-reveals-epigenetic-alterations-of-psychiatric-disorders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917067 | 254 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Beginning in 1998, state or local governments can issue qualified zone academy bonds to raise funds for the use of a "qualified zone academy." However, these bonds require a private business contribution. Certain banks, insurance companies, and corporations actively engaged in the business of lending money can receive a tax credit as an incentive to hold these bonds. For more information about claiming the credit, see Form 8860.
The national qualified academy zone bond limit for 2003 was $400 million, but is zero for 2004 (excluding any carryover limitation). However, at the time this publication was issued, Congress was considering legislation that would establish a national limitation amount for 2004. See What's Hot in Tax Forms, Pubs, and Other Tax Products at www.irs.gov/formspubs to find out if this legislation was enacted.
Contact the appropriate state or local government agency to find out if qualified zone academy bonds are available in your area.
A qualified zone academy is a public school (or academic program within a public school) at the secondary level or below that meets certain requirements. It must be located in either an empowerment zone or an enterprise community, or there must be a reasonable expectation when the bonds are issued that at least 35% of the school's students (or program's participants) will be eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches under the school lunch program established under the National School Lunch Act. A qualified zone academy must also meet other requirements.taxmap/pubs/p954-007.htm#TXMP4bb84713
Before qualified zone academy bonds can be issued, the local educational agency (as defined in section 14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) must obtain written commitments from private entities for qualified contributions with a present value (as of the bond issue date) of not less than 10% of the proceeds of the bond issue.
A qualified contribution is a contribution made with the approval of the local educational agency of any property or service from the following list.
- Equipment for use in the qualified zone academy.
- Technical assistance in developing curriculum or in training teachers to promote appropriate market driven technology in the classroom.
- Services of employees as volunteer mentors.
- Internships, field trips, or other educational opportunities outside the academy for students.
- Any other property or service specified by the local educational agency.
- A donation of cash is generally a qualified contribution if it is to be used to buy any property or service described in this list.
For more information about qualified zone academy bonds, see section 1397E of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations under that section. | <urn:uuid:6f2dde13-93b9-46a2-b509-6e4bcb9dc15c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://taxmap.ntis.gov/taxmap/archive2008/taxmap/pubs/p954-007.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932175 | 533 | 1.882813 | 2 |
People who illegally share music files online are also big spenders on legal music downloads, research suggests.
Music fans prefer dedicated music players to MP3 phones
Digital music research firm The Leading Question found that they spent four and a half times more on paid-for music downloads than average fans.
Rather than taking legal action against downloaders, the music industry needs to entice them to use legal alternatives, the report said.
According to the music industry, legal downloads have tripled during 2005.
In the first half of 2005, some 10 million songs have been legally downloaded.
More needs to be done to capitalise on the power of the peer-to-peer networks that many music downloaders still use, said the report's authors.
The study found that regular downloaders of unlicensed music spent an average of £5.52 a month on legal digital music.
This compares to just £1.27 spent by other music fans.
"The research clearly shows that music fans who break piracy laws are highly valuable customers," said Paul Brindley, director of The Leading Question.
"It also points out that they are eager to adopt legitimate music services in the future."
"There's a myth that all illegal downloaders are mercenaries hell-bent on breaking the law in pursuit of free music."
In reality hardcore fans "are extremely enthusiastic" about paid-for services, as long as they are suitably compelling, he said.
Carrot and stick
The BPI (British Phonographic Industry) welcomed the findings but added a note of caution.
"It's encouraging that many illegal file-sharers are starting to use legal services," said BPI spokesman Matt Philips.
"But our concern is that file-sharers' expenditure on music overall is down, a fact borne out by study after study.
"The consensus among independent research is that a third of illegal file-sharers may buy more music and around two thirds buy less.
"That two-thirds tends to include people who were the heaviest buyers which is why we need to continue our carrot and stick approach to the problem of illegal file-sharing," he said.
Music to go
The Leading Question survey also asked 600 music fans what devices they would be buying in the next year.
A third planned to buy a dedicated MP3 player, while just 8% said they would be buying an MP3-enabled phone.
Reasons cited for not purchasing a music playing phone included worries about battery life and concerns about losing the handset, and potentially their music collection.
The fact that phones tend to be frequently replaced also meant people had a low emotional attachment to them.
"The phone is not ready to replace the iPod as a serious digital music player just yet," said Tim Walker, director of The Leading Question.
"One of the challenges will be to develop the perception of the phone as a credible entertainment device," he said.
Providers need to look at features such as dual download to mobile and PC, back-up facilities and improved interfaces between PC and mobile, he said.
There is a huge potential market for MP3 phones. The survey found that 38% were interested in downloading full tracks to their mobile phones.
And people are happy with the storage possibilities of phones with only 4% wanting to store more than 1,000 songs to take on holiday. | <urn:uuid:f7bf0cb6-713b-404d-8f79-1b12aa011970> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4718249.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97322 | 690 | 1.703125 | 2 |
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?"
But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?"
So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me."
The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
He called the place Massah a and Meribah, b because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some men for us and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."
So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
But Moses' hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set.
And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this as a reminder in a book and recite it in the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."
And Moses built an altar and called it, The Lord is my banner.
He said, "A hand upon the banner of the Lord! c The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. (New Revised Standard Bible Version Online) | <urn:uuid:94a8e8f9-9430-467b-93ba-a2a516779242> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biblestudytools.com/nrs/exodus/17.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968796 | 589 | 1.921875 | 2 |
The first ever NFL Pro Bowl game was played at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 1939.
The NFL All-Stars defeated the Washington Redskins in the last Pro Bowl game before World War II interrupted the series.
The Pro Bowl began again in 1951. Otto Graham led the American Conference to a 28-27 win over the National Conference.
Two Colts' players - Johnny Unitas and "Big Daddy" Lipscomb paced the West to a 38-21 win.
Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton led the West to a 34-14 win over the East.
A pair of Chiefs Hall of Famers - Jan Stenerud and Willie Lanier - earned outstanding player awards as the AFC beat the NFC, 26-13.
The Pro Bowl moved to Hawaii in 1980. The NFC defeated the AFC, 37-27.
The AFC downed the NFC in this game by a score of 22-14.
Eagles QB Randall Cunningham was named Player of the Game as the NFC crushed the AFC, 34-3.
Class of 2007 inductee Michael Irvin earned Player of the Game honors as the NFC won, 21-15.
The AFC won this shootout, 38-30. Raiders QB Rich Gannon was named Player of the Game for the second straight year.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
2121 George Halas Dr NW
Canton, OH 44708
© 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame All rights reserved. Do not duplicate in any form without permission of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Website Design and Development by Americaneagle.com | <urn:uuid:9a0324a8-f59e-41e2-a684-7727ee8b1cfc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.profootballhof.com/photos/473/2011/1/26/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938044 | 329 | 1.585938 | 2 |
I have always loved John Dewey’s statement:
Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplike passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.
It’s eloquent, hard-hitting and uses the word gadfly in a sentence—something you just don’t see every day. However, as I look at conflict through the lens of Dr. Elias Porter’s Relationship Awareness Theory, I must humbly suggest that Dr. Dewey’s use of the language of conflict could be more precise. Bold as it may be to challenge an intellectual giant of his stature, a more accurate definition of our terms determines whether conflict is a creative spark or a cold bucket of water that extinguishes people’s desire to engage in imaginative problem solving in the first place.
The English word conflict has a wide range of meanings. Everything from all-out war to marital discord and quarrels in the workplace are often referred to as conflicts. Using Relationship Awareness Theory as a guide, I define conflict as an emotional reaction to perceived threat to self-worth. In short, conflict is when it gets personal. We experience conflict. On the other hand, opposition is about disagreement, different points of view, and the stimulation of the intellectual powers of problem solving. More than mere semantics, these definitions are crucial if we hope to fan the creative fires of creativity.
Conflict usually begins as a disagreement. For example, my wife and I generally like different types of movies. She is the romantic comedy type and I’m more of an action adventure, shoot-‘em-up, kind of guy, so often times we don’t agree on which movie we want to see. Of course, there is nothing wrong with respectful disagreement; whenever two people are together, there will be disagreements. However, it’s when rationale discussion over the merits of the films devolves into accusations of “you always get your way” or “before we were married, you liked seeing romantic movies…have you lost your romantic sense?” or even the infamous question, “don’t you care what I want?” we’re at risk of entering into real conflict and ruining a cherished date night.
Simply put, we’re not at our best in conflict. The reason for this is because motivation, the reasons people do what they do, changes in conflict. The same drives we experience when things are going well are supplanted by a predictable sequence of motivational changes that drive changes in behavior. In conflict, people often report much higher degrees of stress, anxiety, and disengagement. Whenever motivation changes in this way, the people involved are in defensive mode with less capacity to contribute to creative solutions.
Initially, people tend to react to conflict in one of three ways. They assert themselves by rising to the challenge and wanting to address the issue immediately. Other people will try to accommodate. They want to smooth things over and keep the peace. Still others, will pull away to analyze the situation. If the conflict remains unresolved, motivation can shift again and the other parties involved fall out of view and solutions based solely on self-interest are sought. The key to managing conflict then is the ability to spot these changes quickly and give others what they need in the moment.
Putting our new definitions aside for a moment, my sense is that Dewey was endorsing healthy debate and the respectful presentation of opposing views as an approach that almost always leads to better results. After all, no one has a corner on good ideas. However, the key is to prevent our communication from creating negative perceptions that violate others’ sense of self-worth, thereby triggering conflict. Fortunately, we can learn to have nice conflicts with a healthy dose of self-awareness, a proactive approach and by applying a defined set of skills. I call these skills the five keys to having a nice conflict.
The real answer to the question of whether conflict can spark creativity or drive people away from the table is determined by how well it is managed. If we can prevent people from feeling exposed and at risk, we keep them engaged and pushing for answers. In those moments, new ideas are developed and creativity reigns. A proactive approach to managing conflict, coupled with the application of a solid set of skills, can be the difference between having a roaring fire of creativity or a pile of smoking embers. | <urn:uuid:6cab7835-65b1-4c15-a0b9-fe18d984cc88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hogafish.com/2011/05/16/conflict-spark-for-creative-fires-or-cold-bucket-of-water/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958901 | 926 | 2.578125 | 3 |
A place for moms to connect
How furious would you be if your child come home from school with horrible chemical burns on the back of his/her legs!?!? This happened to a 5-year-old in Clovis, N.M., and apparently the burns are from acid-based chemicals the school was using to clean the toilet seats.
From the sounds of this article (click here), it doesn't sound like the school is saying much or is being too apologetic.
A couple of years ago our son developed a horrible rash--huge red welts. It started at school and got worse. I don't clean or wash with anything that is chemical because my oldest 2 are asthmatic and the one also has roscea so I'm very careful about what I use around the house. As it turns out--after the school insisted it must have been a plant outside (all of which I inspected and none were anything he had not come into contact with or that would cause a reaction) the teacher mentioned that they had just cleaned the carpet the night before (after a school party in which there was a spill)--that was the key. Whatever that chemical was in their cleaner set him off--got a sample and ped. did a skin test and it was immediate. Never did get an apology--I did almost have a police officer take him from school because at the end of the reaction his welts turned to black and blue bruises (he was in the library as he wasn't allowed out in the heat)-it took them calling the ped. who told the police officer that the child's appearance was not the parents fault but the schools. It doesn't surprise me this poor child got burned--they use the cheapest products to clean with and most of them are highly toxic and dangerous.
The state of Florida has strict laws about cleaning products that can be used in schools. They have to be from an approved list of non-toxic products. So if your school is using toxic products they are not following the law.
That makes me think the people cleaning aren't doing their job. Once at a past job, the cleaners kept leaving this gritty residue on the toilet seats and everyone was kind of grumbling about the aftereffects :) but if they would just wipe off the cleanser well enough, there shouldn't be anything left to irritate the skin, should there? | <urn:uuid:c9682858-eaaa-489e-8d03-a8b402ef29ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gainesvillemoms.com/forum/topics/child-burned-by-school-s-toilet-seats?commentId=4920691%3AComment%3A118389&xg_source=activity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991491 | 488 | 1.703125 | 2 |
, of Allendale and Hexham in the County of Northumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
. It was created on 5 July 1911
for the Liberal
politician and former Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard Wentworth Beaumont, 2nd Baron Allendale
. The title of Baron Allendale
, of Allendale and Hexham in the County of Northumberland, had been created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
on 20 July 1906
for his father, the Yorkshire
mining magnate and Liberal Member of Parliament Wentworth Beaumont
. The first Viscount's son, the second Viscount, notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland
between 1949 and 1956. As of 2006 the titles are held by the latter's grandson, the fourth Viscount, who succeeded his father in 2002.
Another member of the Beaumont family is Timothy Beaumont, Baron Beaumont of Whitley. He is the grandson of Hon. Hubert George Beaumont, third son of the first Baron Allendale.
The family seats are Bywell Hall, in Bywell and Stocksfield Hall, in Stocksfield, both in Northumberland.
Barons Allendale (1906)
Viscounts Allendale (1911)
The Heir Apparent is the present holder's son Hon. Wentworth Ambrose Ismay Beaumont (b. 11 June 1979) | <urn:uuid:21066c92-c376-4c95-8a6f-14e18c2a08ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Viscount_Allendale | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963853 | 305 | 2.015625 | 2 |
gforce 6800 vs newer models
Lately, i've been bugged by my single core processor and want to upgrade, but to do that, i need a new motherboard and i'm finding that many motherboards don't support agp (which is what my card is) anymore, so I think I may just upgrade to pcie.
In researching new cards, I've found cards like the gforce 8600. Not top of the line, but still seems very good.. an upgrade in most cases as compard to the older 6800 i have (despite it being slightly lower end). However, the prices for my card are still in the hundreds: eVGA e-GeForce 6800 Graphics adapter - 128 MB - DDR SDRAM
while I found the 8600 for only $35 here!: eParts and More
So whats the deal. I compared some of the specs based on this: Comparison of Nvidia graphics processing units - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and the 8600 looks better in almost every respect. I'm no techy, but am I missing something? Any suggestions? Thanks
Re: gforce 6800 vs newer models
Let's check for GeForce 6800 and GeForce 6800 Ultra.
GeForce 6800 card requires only one direct power-supply connection, and it also takes up the space of a single expansion card, while the 6800 Ultra requires two power connections from a dedicated cable.
With respect to speed, the GeForce 6800 Ultra runs at a core clock speed of 400MHz and a memory clock speed of 550MHz, compared to the 475MHz core and memory speeds from Nvidia's previous high-end card, the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra.
The GeForce 6800 graphic card supports the next-generation pixel-shading technology; faster, more-realistic shadow rendering; and other advanced technologies are also impressive...
Re: gforce 6800 vs newer models
Oh okay, I see what your saying, so models like the gt and ultra are significantly improved over the standards in these cases, and the high prices i'm seeing are for the high end models of the 6800.
Okay so just looking at the 6800, which I have, would you say a card like the 8600 would be a good choice of upgrade for the price? Not speaking to anything fancy. Basically I want a card that can handle some newer games and such but nothing top of the line because i'm not willing to spend hundreds again and I don't keep up with games or demanding media like that. And I was hoping I could upgrade to a more powerful card for less than $100, banking on the fact that since I waited i could get a good one for cheap. Any other suggestions?
by the way, thanks for the quick reply! I'm sure you guys get dumb dumbs like me asking simple questions all the time, but it is very much appreciated
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VATICAN CITY, NOV. 10, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the address Benedict XVI gave today when he received at the Vatican members of the Israel Council of Religious Communities.
* * *
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you, the members of the Israeli Religious Council, representing as you do the religious communities present in the Holy Land, and I thank you for the kind words addressed to me in the name of all present.
In our troubled times, dialogue between different religions is becoming ever more important in the generation of an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect that can lead to friendship and solid trust in each other. This is pressing for the religious leaders of the Holy Land who, while living in a place full of memories sacred to our traditions, are tested daily by the difficulties of living together in harmony.
As I remarked in my recent meeting with religious leaders at Assisi, today we find ourselves confronted by two kinds of violence: on the one hand, the use of violence in the name of religion and, on the other, the violence that is the consequence of the denial of God which often characterises life in modern society. In this situation, as religious leaders we are called to reaffirm that the rightly lived relationship of man to God is a force for peace. This is a truth that must become ever more visible in the way in which we live with each other on a daily basis. Hence, I wish to encourage you to foster a climate of trust and dialogue among the leaders and members of all the religious traditions present in the Holy Land.
We share a grave responsibility to educate the members of our respective religious communities, with a view to nurturing a deeper understanding of each other and developing an openness towards cooperation with people of religious traditions other than our own. Unfortunately, the reality of our world is often fragmentary and flawed, even in the Holy Land. All of us are called to commit ourselves anew to the promotion of greater justice and dignity, in order to enrich our world and to give it a fully human dimension. Justice, together with truth, love and freedom, is a fundamental requirement for lasting and secure peace in the world. Movement towards reconciliation requires courage and vision, as well as the trust that it is God himself who will show us the way. We cannot achieve our goals if God does not give us the strength to do so.
When I visited Jerusalem in May 2009, I stood in front of the Western Wall and, in my written prayer placed between the stones of the Wall, I asked God for peace in the Holy Land. I wrote: "God of all ages, on my visit to Jerusalem, the ‘City of Peace’, spiritual home to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, I bring before you the joys, the hopes and the inspirations, the trials, the suffering and the pain of all your people throughout the world. God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hear the cry of the afflicted, the fearful, the bereft; send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East, upon the entire human family; stir the hearts of all who call upon your name to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion. ‘The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him!’" (Lam 3:25).
May the Lord hear my prayer for Jerusalem today and fill your hearts with joy during your visit to Rome. May he hear the prayer of all men and women who ask him for the peace of Jerusalem. Indeed, let us never cease praying for the peace of the Holy Land, with confidence in God who himself is our peace and consolation. Entrusting you and those whom you represent to the Almighty´s merciful care, I willingly invoke upon all of you divine blessings of joy and peace.
For more info visit: zenit.org | <urn:uuid:28d2f076-a596-4491-bc6d-ee61eaffdc9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.notredamecenter.org/articulos/articulo.phtml?se=290&ca=769&te=578&id=14251 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951345 | 796 | 1.835938 | 2 |
NASA Thinking Ahead to Keep Up Launch Schedule
News story originally written on February 17, 1999
NASA has asked the U. S. Space and Rocket Center museum to return parts
from one of their displays. NASA had donated parts from two solid rocket
boosters to the museum in 1988. They were used in a full-size space
shuttle exhibit. Now NASA can use the parts again for the real shuttle.
NASA will build copies of the parts for the museum. It will be cheaper
than building new parts for the shuttle. NASA needs the parts even
through the solid rocket boosters are reusable. Some of the original
boosters were damaged or ruined during launches.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our online store
includes fun classroom activities
for you and your students. Issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist
are also full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science!
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There is something special happening in the night sky. Through mid-May, you will be able to see five planets at the same time! This doesn't happen very often, so you won't want to miss this. Use the links...more | <urn:uuid:1d860620-cac8-4a2d-8269-625d8b2c31df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.windows2universe.org/headline_universe/srb.html&edu=elem | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948066 | 516 | 3.09375 | 3 |
System for housing allows radical programmatic possibilities
With the growing desires of modern life, which changes within no time, the need for some highly flexible structures has been felt more than ever before, so we could alter our work or living space to catch up with the fast pacing world. Addressing the issue, designer David Eskenazi has developed a multiple-use “System for housing,” by analyzing permutations to a 3D grid, to meet the varied or multifaceted needs of contemporary as well as futuristic life. Featuring a webbed circulation system to support many social encounters and programmatic possibilities, the revolutionary system for housing also allows typological variations within the matrix to diversify public spaces. The dense and thick housing block, though, looks messy from the outskirt, montage exterior spaces one on the top of the other, which can be arranged to accommodate different occasions and events without shifting the venue. | <urn:uuid:fed85055-1745-4425-b373-5a896faa9da8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fndn.tumblr.com/page/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947282 | 186 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Is Recycling a Waste of Time, Money and Energy?
UK households generate a staggering thirty million tonnes of rubbish a year, of which sixty per cent comes from packaging. There has been a lot of publicity recently about waste that has been place out for recycling ending up in landfill sites. It is also clear that an increasing amount is being shipped to other countries to dispose of. It can be cheaper to transport it to other countries than to recycle it or fill up the landfill sites in the UK.
The European Union (EU) has recently ordered the citizens of the United Kingdom to roughly double their recycling rates by 2008. Governments across the European Union and America have announced plans to require more recycling. Unless the UK hits these targets, local council tax bills across the UK will soar unless local authorities hit their recycling targets to enable the UK to hit their targets set by the EU. The UK government already charges tax for dumping waste in landfill sites to encourage us to recycle more and this tax is due to increase.
This will punish local councils which continue to use landfills and council tax payers will pay the price for poor performance by not recycling themselves or by not having the facilities to do this. It’s therefore cheaper to recycle then to dump in the landfill sites. The UK currently recycles 22 per cent of its household waste while some other EU countries recycle more than half. The UK proposes cutting the amount of waste place into landfill sites from 72 per cent today to 25 per cent by 2020.
Some Thing to Reckon About -The Future?
- Why do we use all that energy recycling paper to save the trees? There is the argument that paper should be recycled so that we save trees and forests but we now grow trees just to produce newsprint and other items. Is it a sustainable resource already?
- New landfills are constructed in the USA and this should happen in the UK on a large scale which would enable the UK to pipe the methane gas that they produce to local power plants supplying homes in a green and eco way.
- We need to ensure that any recycling programmes that are run are delivered effectively. That means tracing waste down the chain to its ultimate destination. Transparency should inform the whole waste management industry.
- If a study in undertaken and it concludes that it costs more to recycle than to bury the used and manufacture the new from scratch, then we could start landfills just for plastic, one for glass etc. then if we do run out of them we can dig them all up in one go for recycling. For example, if the throwing away of plastic continues and continuing oil shortages mean that it is more cost effective we can recycle them all at once by mining the landfills and it would be cheaper and simpler then continuous recycling.
- At present, only an estimated fifteen per cent of UK households have access to kerbside collections, if they these collections do not cover glass, paper, plastic etc. then how far do you have to drive to the nearest recycling centre and how much do you have to collect at home to ensure that you are not making more hurt by driving then the amount of energy you are saving by recycling? What about the financial cost to collect the recycling or to take it to the recycling centre? What about the energy taken to recycle it? Is oil really running out? How much landfill is available? | <urn:uuid:0e76a267-519a-4865-a5e2-74789d166408> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.southwestplasticsrecycling.com/tag/waste/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949021 | 683 | 3.328125 | 3 |
By Nabila El-Bassel
The theme of World AIDS Day 2012 is “Getting to Zero” because HIV scientists now believe that the end of the AIDS epidemic may occur within our lifetimes. This theme came about due to several recent prevention and treatment advancements that provide concrete hope:
- Rapid scale-up of Anti-Retroviral Therapy and prevention efforts have saved millions of lives.
- HIV infection rates have decreased in many heavily affected countries.
- The number of AIDS-related deaths have also decreased.
- And, most importantly, research findings have shown that Anti-Retroviral Therapy can prevent new infections. “Treatment as prevention” is our strongest weapon to stop the spread of HIV.
Nevertheless, I have concerns about our ability to achieve “Getting to Zero” for the population of women and girls who use or inject drugs (IDUs), female sex partners of male IDUs, and sex workers. More than 30 million people are living with HIV worldwide, over half of whom are female. Despite a decline in new infections over the past decade, 2.5 million people were infected with HIV last year alone. HIV infections continue to rise among drug-involved women, especially in Asia, Eastern Europe, and other countries.
AIDS sufferers and potential AIDS victims who are female face stigma, discrimination, gender-based violence, gender inequality, financial dependencies, incarceration and less access to employment. Drug-involved women and girls face economic difficulties: unemployment rates are high, job access is limited, and income-generating interventions are rarely incorporated into services to prevent HIV infection.
Given the size of the population and its unique needs, what does “Getting to Zero” mean for at-risk women and girls?
The strategy elucidated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at last summer's International AIDS Conference in Washington emphasized a serious commitment to vulnerable women and girls. Yet it remains to be seen whether resources for this new prevention strategy will address the structural and macro risk environments that increase their HIV vulnerabilities.
Thursday's report from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) outlined how progress could continue at current spending levels—and how faster progress would be possible if other donors and hard-hit countries could increase investments. But it did not provide satisfying answers to my questions about why at-risk women and girls haven't received as much attention as other key populations in the past, and what portion of HIV prevention funding will be spent on prevention, access to treatment and research for them in the future.
Without addressing such factors affecting this key population in the fight against HIV, the epidemic becomes much harder to fight. The "Getting to Zero" goal mandates a call to action for this often hidden and neglected population.
Dr. Nabila El-Bassel is the Willma and Albert Musher Professor of Social Work at the Columbia University School of Social Work. She leads the Social Intervention Group and the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, which have a research mission of targeting women and girls, along with other key underserved populations, in the US and other countries.
Img: AIDS ribbon photo courtesy of Lammy831 on Flickr. | <urn:uuid:f72231a1-7cd7-4277-af12-8c4ce489c601> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://socialwork.columbia.edu/news-events/world-aids-day-2012-what-does-getting-zero-mean-women-and-girls | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946221 | 651 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Since I do a fair amount of designing and repairing of tube
based amplifiers,I decided to build a simple tube tester.It tests output tubes
such as 6L6,6550,EL84,EL34,and 6V6.The circuit is very simple.
A transformer powers the filament ,while the plate voltage comes from the
rectified and filtered power line.The switch in front selects the different
grid voltages needed for the
different tubes. I've found the tester very useful in matching output tubes for
amplifiers since it shows me the actual current through the tube.
The wood is redheart and the top is black acrylic.cost:$93.74
Here are some microphones that I have designed and built.
A.a scratch built ribbon mic.(shown in the center)
This is the first and probably the last microphone I will ever build from scratch.
Construction is pretty simple and straight forward.A thin piece of aluminum foil
is suspended between two steel bars with two very strong magnets behind them.
The output goes to a small step up transformer.
Even with the 20db preamplifier,E, I'm amazed how low the output is.The overall sound is good.the bass is low but the midrange has good detail and the treble is good.
Unfortunately, the ribbon element is mounted to the back of the enclosure which does ring on loud passages.Gluing a piece of thick rubber with silicon glue reduces the problem.
B.stereo electret microphone.
pair of electret microphone elements are mounted on a piece of acrylic suspended in a pencil holder I bought at an office supply store.A nine volt battery powers the circuit.Close up of the interior at the far right. sound:The sound is very good.Can be used for serious recording.
C.stereo dynamic mic.
This microphone uses two 1" dynamic elements.
The two elements are glued to a thick piece of plastic and held inside with
Like the stereo electret mic before,the top of the case is a pencil holder and the bottom is a paper clip holder I bought at a local office supply store.
sound: The sound of this mic is ok at best,I've tried many different elements and found them all quit disappointing in the sound.The only thing good I can say, is it doesn't need a power supply, and it was cheap to make.
D.stereo electret mic.
Two electret elements mounted on the left and right side
of a plastic case.A 9v battery powers the circuit.
This is a very good sounding mic. the bass is good and the midrange has very nice detail in it and the treble is very extented.the only negative point is the case is not a dead as I would like it,and it does color the sound a bit.
total cost for all mics $52.08
conclusion B was the best sound and can be used for pretty serious recordings.D was a close second ,the only different between this mic and B was that case doesn't color the sound.A the ribbon came in a distant third,it has a nice detailed sound but the output is just too low, the preamplifier I built boosts the output to a usable level but adds a noticable bit of hiss to the sound.Dead last was C.I've tried many elements and I found them all at different levels of disappointment.
All microphone sound tests were done with me playing my yamaha acoustic guitar at a distance of about 2 ft,with mics plugged directly into a TEAC tape deck.
My latest mic.I used very thin ,small loudspeakers that use a piezo cermaic diaphram element. They are very bad as speakers, but they make good mic elements.I epoxied them on some oak and mounted them in a blumlein pattern(crossed figure 8).It does have a little more hum than I like, but over all the sound is very good.
Another stereo electret mic.The elements are from digi-key.And I'm using
a regulated power supply in a seperate case,not a battery.The mic case is from an old mic from the 50's.The sound is very good.
Although I have many digital meters,I felt it would be interesting to have an
old fashioned analog meter. The design is about as simple as you can get.The meter
itself is a center type, this way I dont have to switch the leads around if
I'm measuring a negative voltage.The DC voltage ranges are:5V,50V,500v. And the AC
voltage range is:50V,500V.The top is acrylic and the wood is wenge.cost:$25.61
I've made many electronic projects,but never the components that make then up,so I decided to delve into this area.On the right, are some resistors I made.Making resistors is easy , there are many items that exhibit resistance. The two I used are conductive foam and nichrome wire.Nichrome wire makes very accurate resistors but not very large in value.Conductive foam create large values but are very difficult to get a exact value.Both are coated in an acrylic paint which when dry provides a nice protective layer.On the right is some capacitors I made.The 20 pf is 2 pennies with a thin plactic wrap material as the dielectric.The 800 pf and the orange cap is wax paper as the dielectric and aluminum foil as the plates.Each was a foot long and then wrapped in to a coil.Both the 20pf and the 800pf uses black paint as the protective layer while the orange cap uses wax.The last is a much larger value. I used a much wided and longer strip of wax paper.Its encases in a cigar holder potted with wax.
Many musicians have requested that I make a solid state version of the famed 5U4 recifier.This was very easy, I simply used 2 1N4007 silicon diodes in an octal base.The other is the same except I've included a 200 ohm resistor in series to simulate the natural resistance the 5U4 tube has.
click here for pictures of my vacuum tube collection.
Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. | <urn:uuid:03646c4f-02a0-4195-80b1-035d596aeec8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.angelfire.com/in3/hifijohn/misc.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944301 | 1,337 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Under the Sea 3D
Three-dimensional movies have had a recent resurgence in theaters - like horror remake "My Bloody Valentine" and special screenings of "Coraline" - but they've been playing steadily on IMAX screens for years.
The latest 3-D IMAX offering, "Under the Sea," seems more appropriate for a science museum than the Metreon, but that's not the film's problem. The problem is that oceanic movies in actual science museums are far more interesting and nuanced than this documentary - not to mention the wildly popular "Planet Earth" series, which even in 2-D looks better.
"Under the Sea" is not a bad time, exactly. Occasionally, as in a segment with sea snakes, the clunky glasses are actually worth it and, thrillingly, the ocean seems to be coming through the screen. But there's so little new stuff here - the predictable nods to dying coral reefs and the obligatory great white shark shots. At only 40 minutes, there's not much time to really build up a narrative or give insights into the immense life on the ocean floor.
Focusing on the coastal regions of Southern Australia, New Guinea and the Indo-Pacific areas, "Under the Sea" opts to showcase a few species rather than, say, follow one animal from birth to death. Jim Carrey, thankfully, takes a minimalist rather than manic approach to his narration.
Like with human animals, the main drama from this nature documentary comes from how sea creatures perform their hunting and mating tasks. "Under the Sea" doesn't skimp on either: The Australian giant cuttlefish, in particular, gets great deal of screen time doing both. It snatches up smaller fish with impressibly large and gross tentacles and then devours them with lots of sharp teeth but also has an elaborate mating ritual, with the actual coitus taking "minutes."
The movie gets wrapped up with some cuteness from Australian sea lions, who have had to alter their migration patterns because of rising ocean temperatures. The language on global warming was deliberately muted; no one wanted to make "Under the Sea" a downer. However, leaving viewers with a bland statement that it is hopeful that humans are changing their behavior is unnecessarily insipid. "Under the Sea" borrows liberally from the Jacques Cousteau playbook, but Cousteau never would have been so timid. This 3-D IMAX film isn't really worth the trouble. Stay home with "Planet Earth" instead. | <urn:uuid:7e10cda0-910d-4491-a5b8-2a02b731d754> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Movie-review-Under-the-Sea-3D-3172632.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958975 | 512 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Karibib - City of Namibia
Karibib is a constituency in the Erongo Region of western Namibia . It lies on the Trans-Namib Railway, the Khan River and the B2 road. It is known for its aragonite marble quarries.
NAMIBIA National Animal : Oryx (antelope)
The town of Karibib is situated on the main road between Windhoek and Swakopmund and is best known for its gold mine. The earliest settlers in the Karibib district were missionary Johannes Rath and his family, who arrived in Otjimbingwe on 11 July 1849. Six years later, in 1855, rich copper deposits were found in the Khomas Highlands, and the Walwich Bay Mining Company was founded in Cape Town, with its offices in Otjimbingwe, to exploit the deposits at the Matchless Mine, which then were transported from Otjimbingwe to the port at Walvis Bay. By 1860, the copper deposits were yielding too little for further mining activities, and subsequently the mine closed down and sold its buildings in Otjimbingwe to Charles Andersson for £1500.
Originally, Karibib was nothing but an unknown waterhole belonging to the Hereros. The waterhole and the surrounding 200 square kilometres was later sold by treaty by the Herero headman of Otjimbingwe to Mr Eduard Hälbich of Otjimbingwe. In addition to the settlement of debt, Zeraua received two ox-wagons with 36 oxen and some other compensation in consumable and clothing.
In 1902, the railway was continued from Karibib towards Windhoek, and as the mammoth of the railway building process and all the workers moved toward Windhoek, business slowed down in Karibib. Two factors had a detrimental effect on the flourishing of Karibib before 1904. For one, large areas of the Karibib district were in the hands of the Deutsche Kolonial-Gesellschaft, who was not eager to let got of their vested interests easily. Secondly, Karibib was in the traditional area of the West-Hereros, who were equally not very keen on selling land to settlers and traders.
NAMIBIA National Bird : Crimson-breasted Shrike | <urn:uuid:93477646-13f8-43ae-8ab7-65dbbfa430aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sphereinfo.com/namibia/karibib.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978533 | 479 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Well, now you have gotten yourself a good education in graphic design, perhaps even a degree, and trying to explore your opportunities in the job market. Soon enough you realize that your portfolio is just not enough to land you a great job with the best firm. Your skills, work history, presentation and even the quality of your social network and online footprint can make a difference in landing you that dream job or one you’re forced to take just so you can pay the bills.
When it comes to presenting yourself as a graphic designer, your visual graphic design resume’ can make a huge impact and even the choice of paper you print your resume on will reflect on how you plan/present things through to completion.
Amidst all the creative elements, below are some of the must-haves in any creatively designed resume’s:
Write something pleasant that is inviting and encourages the reader to further read and explore your CV. You can also list your objectives as to why you are applying for such position.
Clearly list all possible ways you can be reached. Here is where you can showcase your online footprint by providing listing your blog, website, online resume, online portfolio, social media presence and more.
Define your skills
Break down your skill sets to a few simple categories. Make it easier for reader to understand your expertise, specialties and capabilities. For example if you have done some great print design for most of your career, you can visually show that 60% of your history involves print design.
List your educational achievements complete with your accomplished degree or certificate, date of graduation, list awards and recognitions you’ve received that are noteworthy.
Every hiring manager is interested to know where have you worked, your responsibilities there and how you contributed to these companies. Provide details and state, if not show, how you were a valuable contributor – information that all hiring managers are looking for/want to see in resumes.
Mentioning that you have great references will also help you land great positions. Of course, your references must be credible, real people in order for these information to matter on your CV.
There are a whole bunch of other useful information that you can add to your resume. However which way you design and organize yours, ensure that the presentation is concise, clear and, aligned with your objectives. Break information in smaller chunks and utilize your creative talents in doing so.
Banner Image Credits: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Curriculum-Vitae/5915795 | <urn:uuid:38819f3f-2243-4e21-a899-f81bd62e7281> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theprintblog.com/graphic-design-resume/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934978 | 517 | 1.648438 | 2 |
A frontline memoir by Daily Telegraph correspondent Poole, the sole UK journalist to be embedded with American forces in the Iraq campaign.
Being British bought Poole plenty of love, he recalls, and even if some of the troopers who served in the armored infantry unit called the Black Knights seemed to think his accent funny and his skills as a touch typist just short of magic, most appreciated the support that Tony Blair’s government was affording them. Says one tough sergeant, “It could feel lonely out in this desert if you Brits weren’t here with us.” The British soldiers he encounters during the invasion of Iraq take a different view, complaining that the fight is America’s and that British boys should not be dying in the desert to satisfy George Bush’s grudges. Many Americans Poole interviews agree—one tells him, “I have no beef with the Iraqis. This is Bush’s war. . . . It’s all for political reasons”—but most seem convinced not only of the righteousness of their cause, but also of the self-evident nature of the proposition that the world is America’s to rule. Whether pro or con, one surprise is to find that American grunts were comparing the war in Iraq to Vietnam the minute it started; Ted Kennedy is far from alone in making the analogy. One soldier worries—and this is in 2003—that the antiwar movement was rapidly growing: “What if this is like Vietnam,” he asks, “where we go back and they throw rocks at us?” Another, crossing into Iraq, says glumly, “I sure hope we haven’t just walked straight into a new Vietnam.” Such sentiments, it would seem, fly in the face of the brass’s efforts to uproot the “Vietnam syndrome,” but that news apparently hasn’t reached the dogfaces, ready to believe every rumor (that J.Lo. has been killed in a car wreck, that Jessica Lynch is being gang-raped by Republican Guards) and to kill everything that moves before them.
A worthy companion to Rick Atkinson’s outstanding In the Company of Soldiers (p. 115). | <urn:uuid:7d267834-6327-4325-a301-480261dd0189> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/oliver-poole/black-knights/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964233 | 467 | 1.632813 | 2 |
A New Corporate Philanthropy
Thursday, December 15, 2011
By Christopher Haight
Corporate philanthropy has long been a staple of the more socially-inclined aspects to running a company. Cash or in-kind donations to schools and nonprofits brings multiple benefits to the donor, including helping to make a positive contribution to the communities in which they do business, improving brand image and loyalty, and helping provide a small tax write-off.
According to a survey earlier this year by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, corporate giving is expected to be flat for 2011 and 2012. Unsurprisingly, some of the biggest earners also rank among the biggest givers, with Wal-Mart and Goldman Sachs each donating over $300 million in cash. Although the overall level of giving may not change dramatically in the coming year, the way in which these funds are disbursed may be.
The typical corporate giving pattern is relatively simple: applications are restricted to communities in which a company has operations and employees, or giving is provided on a matched basis to employee donations (for example, an office of employees collects $5,000 to donate to a local school and the company provides an additional $5,000 to match their efforts). Corporate giving programs also tend to focus on programs related to the sector of the economy specific to the business - such as pharmaceutical giant Pfizer providing medical education grants or international carmaker Honda offering support for science education programs.
Now, corporate philanthropy may be taking a more socially engaging turn as the charitable and marketing arms of these companies seek to leverage social media outlets like Facebook or Twitter to award grants. The most prominent leader within this field has been Pepsi Co., with its Pepsi Refresh Project launched in 2010. While Pepsi still manages a standard giving program through the Pepsi Corporate Foundation, the more high-profile Refresh Project uses funds formerly directed to company marketing expenses and allocates them to nonprofits.
The Refresh Project garnered national attention because it was just as much social as it was philanthropic. In awarding the grants (ranging from $5,000 to $250,000), Pepsi solicited ideas online and then put the first 1,000 ideas selected to a national vote. Backers and supporters of ideas then took it upon themselves to promote their cause any way possible -helping local projects not only gain a more prominent national voice, but also giving Pepsi a new marketing ploy through philanthropy.
Another company getting in on the social giving game is J.P. Morgan Chase, which launched its own social philanthropic effort that relies on crowd-sourcing ideas and votes for funding. The Chase Community Giving Program reports over $18 million in donations to 500 organizations since its inception in October 2009.
Target Corporation has offered customers an even more direct influence on where dollars are directed through the use of its credit card program, Take Charge of Education. Users of Target's designated credit card can designate a school of their choice to receive donations based on their credit card use at Target stores or online. Schools can receive one percent of a buyer's credit card purchases. Target also offers resources and tools to school to help them promote this feature, allowing them to maximize donations.
Not all corporations are likely to be as effective in utilizing this kind of interactive giving, however. Companies that conduct a majority of business-to-business relationships (that is, selling to other companies or agencies, rather than to individual consumers) are less able to capitalize on this form of giving as both a charitable and marketing endeavor. They certainly may garner some public goodwill, but it will be more difficult to translate that into customer loyalty and sales. In addition, companies that may be in sectors held in less esteem by the public also may benefit from a low-key giving style instead of the splash made by crowd-sourcing.
Ideal candidates for engaging in this arrangement are those that directly sell to consumers and have a national reach, such as Pepsi Co. Selling a consumer product, rather than a service, is also better suited to leveraging the excitement generated from donations into sales. Consumers can more easily switch brands of products than they can with most services (i.e. cell phone carriers).
In many ways, these are not entirely novel concepts. For many years before the internet became widespread, parents cut box tops from cereal boxes that they then sent into the company in order to generate charitable donations. Yoplait yogurt has also used a similar scheme with yogurt tops to raise money for breast cancer. However, what these new models of giving (and marketing) do offer is a more exciting way to allow customers to participate in and not just accept corporate philanthropy. | <urn:uuid:ed4e50ba-f0a1-4128-9f20-b67b5b774470> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grantsoffice.com/Media/FUNDED/FUNDEDArticles/tabid/867/EntryId/73/A-New-Corporate-Philanthropy.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965662 | 936 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Voice of Change
Singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte, Jr., exhorts students to extend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy
By Tom Weaver Article published January 23, 2008
While launching into a story of his recent social justice work, Harry Belafonte, Jr., halted mid-sentence and shifted to an anecdote about a visit he made to a record store in the Caribbean. Incognito, wearing a wig on his bald dome, Belafonte browsed the bins in search of local music only to find mostly American artists. With a sly smile, he told the capacity audience in Ira Allen Chapel on Tuesday afternoon that he then decided to “look for one name in particular. But I didn’t see it. Maybe it was sold out?”
He asked the woman at the counter. “Do you have any Harry Belafonte?”
“No,” Belafonte said, mimicking the woman’s Jamaican accent. “A lot of people come in this island off the boat, and they come in here lookin’ for that man. And I got to tell you somethin’. I think he long time dead.”
After the laughter quieted, Belafonte said, “You’re not going to hear much about what I do, because the media in America doesn’t go where I go.”
Belafonte’s talk, the keynote event of this week’s UVM celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., took the audience many of those places and into the ardent heart and provocative mind of the 81-year-old artist and activist, a man who is clearly very much alive.
A close associate of Martin Luther King’s through the nation-changing events of the American civil rights movement, Belafonte shared the one question he is invariably asked: “What would Dr. King say if he were here today?”
With his eyes alight, his humor quick, and his passion palpable, Belafonte took his audience in search of the answer in a wide-ranging talk touching on America’s prison population, Iraq and Colin Powell’s role in that “war of no righteousness, illegal, fraught with dishonor.”
Belafonte once figured at this time of life he’d be on a Caribbean beach, rum and book in hand. But he is “not doing those fanciful things,” in part because of the galvanizing moment in 2005 when he stumbled upon a television news report showing Ja’eisha Scott, a five-year-old black girl in St. Petersburg, Fla., being subdued and handcuffed by three white policemen. Her offense: being “unruly in school.”
Because the school lacked the resources for counseling or to take other measures, they simply called the police. Belafonte was shocked that he heard no voices raised in protest. He wondered, “Where are the leaders to shape the society and make a different world?”
He gathered longtime friends, advocates for civil rights and social justice, for what Belafonte dubbed a “Gathering of the Elders.” But it fell short. “At the end of the day, I didn’t hear any sense of clarity,” Belafonte said. “Everybody was somehow stuttering and trapped in their own place — busy with their own traditional patterns of engagement, patterns that had long since frustrated the appetite for success.”
What would Dr. King say? He would look to the young, Belafonte suggested, and reminded his listeners of the remarkable youth of the leaders at the outset of the civil rights movement. King was 24; Belafonte, 26; Julian Bond, 17; Diane Nash, “17-and-a-half years old with child”; and John Lewis (UVM’s 2007 Commencement speaker) a budding seminarian who “practiced his preaching to the chickens in the backyard.”
“These were the young people who sat on the buses and decided to step into the fray,” Belafonte said.
A half-century later, Belafonte remains unafraid of the fray and committed to the power of youth. “I had to look to the young,” he said. “I had to go to the places where all this mischief was taking place and see what they had to say.”
Deeply troubled by American society’s violent spiral, Belafonte sat down with members of the Crips and Bloods gangs seeking common ground. Early on, Belafonte said they were skeptical. “Mr. B., what’s the agenda here?” they asked. Belafonte told them the agenda was their own and set out a challenge. “Be responsible. Find the high ground. Seize the solution. There will not be change when people are concerned only with the I of the world, not the we of the world.”
That discussion would eventually broaden to include the Hispanic Gladiators gang, white teenagers in impoverished Appalachian communities, Native American and Asian youth. (For more on this work, see The Gathering For Justice.)
'It's not about color'
Speaking to students on college campuses is another central way that Belafonte looks to capture the imagination and energy of youth. “Coming to Vermont is a chance to reap a harvest of young people,” Belafonte said. “What is being taught here? What will these students be when they leave? Will they be great bankers, bookkeepers, scientists? What will their humanity reveal? What will be their social sensibility?”
Such minds are needed to rejuvenate and continue the work of Dr. King, work that Belafonte feels has languished, given over to complacency. “The enemy never sleeps,” Belafonte said. “We left the back door open and here they come again.”
Following his talk, Belafonte fielded questions from UVM students Channel Hamilton, DaVaughn Vincent-Bryan and Amanda Wong. The heated race for the presidential nomination was much on the students’ minds and Vincent-Bryan posed the question “Is America ready for a black president?”
After a long pause and a wide grin, Belafonte shouted, “No!” Then he added, “Should it? Could it? It shouldn’t even be a question. It’s not about color. It’s about the human heart and mind.”
The university's King celebration continues this week with several more events. On Thursday, Jan. 24, community members are invited to sign up for community service from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Living & Learning Fireplace Lounge, the Davis Center atrium, Waterman (near College St. entrance), and the Rowell/Given common entrance at the College of Medicine. Also slated for Jan. 24 is a social justice and equity fair that begins at 11 a.m. in the Living & Learning Fireplace Lounge. Antropologist Jonathan Marks will discuss "Is Race Real: Fact or Illusion?" at 6 p.m. at Carpenter Auditorium, Given. Information: UVM King Celebration. | <urn:uuid:4bd73568-738b-4b7a-9ce2-87a5a6ecc7e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=article.php&id=2578 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958511 | 1,549 | 2.125 | 2 |
The 1955 World Series matched the Brooklyn Dodgers against the New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in 7 games to capture the first championship in franchise history. It would be the only Series the Dodgers won in Brooklyn. The two teams were meeting in a World Series for the fifth time in nine years, with the Yankees having won in 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953. For the first time in Series history, an MVP was selected.
MVP: Johnny Podres
Quote of the Series
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Brooklyn Dodgers are the champions of the world."--Vin Scully, announcing that the Dodgers had won the World Series.
- 1955 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
- Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Brooklyn wins the World Series
|Major League Baseball World Series| | <urn:uuid:485a4975-131f-421e-8b9a-728651aae5b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://armchairgm.wikia.com/1955_World_Series | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934741 | 164 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Pro Grade (3D Printer-Made?) ATM Skimmer
Krebs On Security
Dec 11, 2011
In July 2011, a customer at a Chase Bank branch in West Hills, Calif. noticed something odd about the ATM he was using and reported it to police. Authorities who responded to the incident discovered a sophisticated, professional-grade ATM skimmer that they believe was made with the help of a 3D printer.
Below is a front view image of the device. It is an all-in-one skimmer designed to fit over the card acceptance slot and to record the data from the magnetic stripe of any card dipped into the reader. The fraud device is shown sideways in this picture; attached to an actual ATM, it would appear rotated 90 degrees to the right, so that the word “CHASE” is pointing down.
On the bottom of the fake card acceptance slot is a tiny hole for a built-in spy camera that is connected to a battery. The spy camera turns on when a card is dipped into the skimmer’s card acceptance slot, and is angled to record customer PINs.
The bottom of the skimmer device is designed to overlay the controls on the cash machine for vision impaired ATM users. On the underside of that space is a data port to allow manual downloading of information from the skimmer.
Looking at the backside of the device shows shows the true geek factor of this ATM skimmer. The fraudster who built it appears to have cannibalized parts from a video camera or perhaps a smartphone (possibly to enable the transmission of PIN entry video and stolen card data to the fraudster wirelessly via SMS or Bluetooth). It’s too bad so much of the skimmer is obscured by yellow plastic. I’d welcome any feedback from readers who can easily identify these parts based on the limited information here.
Here’s a closer look at the circuit board on top, which looks like some type of Flash storage device:
Here’s another look at the electronic parts wedged into the back of the skimmer:
It appears from the following image that the data storage capacity on the device is connected directly to the mag stripe reader (top, silver wire), while the device’s video camera is wedged behind the pinhole (bottom, gold wires).
The investigator I spoke with about the incident didn’t know much about the innards of the device, and said that those responsible have not yet been caught. But he did have something interesting to tell me about the origins of the skimmer: “It is believed that the green skimmer was made with the Stereolithography process.” Translation: The cops think thieves produced the card skimmer molds with the help of 3D printers.
These hi-tech and costly machines take two dimensional computer images and build them into three dimensional models by laying down successive layers of powder that are heated, shaped and hardened. In September, I detailed how U.S. investigators had arrested four men in Texas who allegedly built their ATM skimmers using a 3D printer they’d purchased with the proceeds of their skimming business.
In related news, New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance earlier this month announced an 81-count indictment against three men suspected of planting skimmers at ATM machines in Manhattan. The indictment alleges that the men used the skimmers to steal the debit card numbers of nearly 1,500 individuals, and then exploited the stolen debit card numbers to make more than $285,000 in fraudulent transactions.
In the press release that accompanied the indictment, the district attorney released several images of the skimmer devices allegedly planted by the Manhattan trio. While these devices relied on a separate façade that held a hidden video camera to record customer PINs, there is little question that the same Chase ATM design was targeted. In the picture below, the hidden camera is the squarish silver block mounted vertically to the left of the PIN pad. An enlarged picture of the camera façade follows this one.
If you visit a cash machine that looks strange, tampered with, or out of place, then try to find another ATM. And remember, the most important security advice is to watch out for your own physical safety while using an ATM: Use only machines in public, well-lit areas, and avoid ATMs in secluded spots. Also, cover the PIN pad with your hand when entering your PIN: That way, if even if the thieves somehow skim your card, there is less chance that they will be able to snag your PIN as well.
If you liked this post, consider checking out the other stories in my ATM skimmer series, All About Skimmers. | <urn:uuid:fb15411d-31a7-499d-a9c9-bf477ab9eb23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://geinvestigations.com/blog/tag/green-skimmer-was-made-with-the-stereolithography-process/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946513 | 966 | 1.796875 | 2 |
19 April 2012
As part of Globe to Globe, Deafinitely Theatre will perform Love’s Labour’s Lost in British Sign Language. By translating the rich, pun-riddled text of Love’s Labour’s Lost into the physical language of BSL, Deafinitely Theatre create a new interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy, accessible to theatregoers of all backgrounds. Deafinitely, who have worked at the Soho Theatre and the Tricycle Theatre, aim to build a bridge between deaf and hearing worlds by performing to both groups as one audience. This is the first time this has been attempted with a full Shakespeare play.
Here is a video giving you a taste of the play as performed in BSL.
This video originally featured on the blog ‘Loving and Labouring’ by Deafinitely Theatre
Photo credit (c) Simon Kane | <urn:uuid:f67bfdf2-9114-4fb9-ba9f-b9fbde01d193> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.shakespearesglobe.com/deafinitely-theatre-shakespeare-in-bsl/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955612 | 182 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Proprietors from Hartford, those whose names appeared on the tax lists of 1720 were originally given the western land grants called Hart(ford)land,
now known as the Town of Hartland. The Town of Hartland was incorporated in 1761.
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On behalf of the residents of the Town of Hartland and all of its officials, please accept our warmest of welcomes. We hope that you will come to know and love this community as much as we all do. Hartland offers the very best of small town living: an excellent school system, strong church and community organizations and a friendly neighborhood atmosphere.
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This page last updated 1/1/2009 Top of the page
# of visitors since 1/1/09 | <urn:uuid:a199ab88-6863-4171-9bc2-bf2cd8839d7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.munic.state.ct.us/HARTLAND/hartland.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937689 | 262 | 1.625 | 2 |
Click on link for information on Free Whooping Cough Booster
What is Maternity/Obstetrics?
Maternity/Obstetrics is the area of health concerned with the care of women during pregnancy (antenatal), labour and birth, and the 6 weeks after childbirth (postnatal).
Once pregnancy is confirmed, regular antenatal checks should be performed by a midwife, GP or obstetrician (doctor who is specialised in obstetrics). In the first 28 weeks, these checks are every 4 to 6 weeks but will increase as the pregnancy progresses.
Maternity Services Provided by Counties Manukau Health
Counties Manukau Health maternity services are located at
- Middlemore Hospital
- Botany Downs Primary Birthing Unit
- Papakura Primary Birthing Unit
- Pukekohe Primary Birthing Unit
Primary Birthing Units
Primary maternity services (for women with low risk pregnancies) are offered at Botany Downs, Papakura and Pukekohe Primary Birthing Units.
Antenatal care is offered from onsite clinics and out of hours for any concerns related to the pregnancy. Labour/birth care is provided by experienced midwifery staff in the unit or by your self employed midwife who has access to use the facility. These midwife-led units offer pools for labour and/or water birth as an option during childbirth.
Many women transfer to one of the units soon after birth for their post natal stay if they did not birth there. All units have BFHI accreditation recertified in 2011 (since 2007).
Options for Maternity Care with Counties Manukau Health:
- Counties Manukau Health Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) Team
These employed midwives provide continuity of care throughout your pregnancy, labour and postnatal period. A team midwife is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The midwives have easy access to consultation with obstetricians and may continue care if your pregnancy becomes high risk.
- Shared Care
A small number of family doctors (GPs) contract with our maternity services to provide some of the care during your pregnancy. You visit your GP antenatally plus have 3 scheduled appointments with a CMDHB named midwife at 31, 34 and 36 weeks pregnant. You birth at the unit of your choice with the unit staff in attendance and are then visited at home after the baby is born, by the same midwife you saw during your pregnancy.
- Primary Maternity Services
You are allocated a named midwife/back up midwife for each appointment and will have all of your antenatal care with the midwife. Antenatal clinics are held in community clinics often at GP surgeries or the three primary birthing units in Pukekohe, Papakura and Botany Downs. Birthing for low risk women is encouraged at one of these primary birthing units, but for the women who live near to it, Middlemore Hospital offers primary care too.
- Obstetrician Review
An obstetrician is a specialist doctor who provides care for women with complications from the last pregnancy, during this pregnancy, childbirth or the postnatal period. If you require this level of care during antenatal, labour or postnatal periods, your midwife/GP will discuss referral with you. You may see the obstetrician once or multiple times depending on the circumstances. Obstetrician clinics are offered at Manukau and Botany SuperClinics™ as well as Pukekohe and Papakura Maternity Units.
Birthing for women who require secondary care will usually be at Middlemore Hospital.
- Young Mums Pregnancy Service
This service is provided for pregnant adolescent women who are under 18 years at the time of booking in their pregnancy. The service works alongside Te Kaha Rangatahi Trust and provides continuity of midwifery care during the antenatal and postnatal period together with social and peer support services provided by the Trust. There are dedicated social workers and community health workers.
- Obstetric Medical Clinic (OMC)
This is a service for women with very complex medical problems before or during pregnancy. Women are seen by a specialist team and, if required, monitored closely during their pregnancy and postnatally. Continuity of care is provided either with the self employed midwife or by the obstetricians, specialist midwives and physicians (medical doctors) who make up OMC.
- Diabetes in Pregnancy Service
This service provides close monitoring of your pregnancy if you have pre-existing diabetes or if diabetes occurs during pregnancy. The service consists of midwives, obstetricians, diabetologists, and dietitians. Continuity of care may still be provided along with your self-employed or named midwife in many cases.
Services Provided by Middlemore Hospital
- Primary, secondary and tertiary inpatient and outpatient services
- Antenatal appointments in outpatient clinics
- Assessment, Labour and Birthing Unit (ALBU) - a 24-hour unit for emergency antenatal/postnatal assessments, labour and birthing for women with high risk pregnancies, and low risk women living in the Mangere, Otahuhu, Papatoetoe areas.
- Maternity Ward - antenatal and postnatal inpatient services for those who have risk factors or a baby requiring hospital care. The emphasis is on families, education and self care.
- Neonatal Unit - intensive or special care for babies requiring additional services after birth
- Gynaecology Care Unit and Early Pregnancy and Assessment Clinic (EPAC) - provides assessment and care for women up to 21 weeks pregnant with GP or LMC referral
- Postnatal home visits service from the day after you go home up to 6 weeks
Middlemore site facilities:
Assessment, Labour and Birthing Unit (ALBU)
Located on the 2nd floor of the Galbraith Building (adjacent to the main road next to the Emergency Department). The entrance for labouring women/urgent antenatal problems is from the main road (signed Birthing Unit) opposite the train station, straight ahead to the lifts and up to 2nd floor reception.
For all other women coming to the Unit and visitors, please drive to car parking behind the building and follow directions from the main hospital entrance.
The facilities at Middlemore Hospital were relocated in October 2007 and offer up-to-date technology within modern rooms.
Facilities in ALBU are:
- 17 birthing rooms, all with ensuites
- 4 birthing rooms with baths (there are no birthing pools at MMH)
- 5 assessment rooms
- 4 multi-purpose flexi-rooms, used for assessment, induction, or other procedures
Following birth, early discharge home or to one of the primary birthing units is an option in the absence of complications.
Located on the 4th Floor of the Galbraith Building (see directions above). A 45-bed ward for high risk antenatal/postnatal women requiring inpatient care, low risk postnatal inpatient services for women who live locally to Middlemore Hospital and new mothers whose baby has been admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Advice with breastfeeding from lactation consultants and experienced staff is also available and BFHI accreditation was achieved in 2011. | <urn:uuid:3d4700b6-bb4f-4135-b82e-6c2f056ca64d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthpoint.co.nz/specialists/maternity/counties-manukau-health-maternity-services/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939588 | 1,507 | 1.953125 | 2 |
The River Dolphin got the national aquatic animal status
The docile, friendly but endangered species of river Ganges Dolphins, that is endemic to Indian Sub continent's river systems have been declared as the national aquatic animal by the Union Government. This decision has been taken in the first meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority chaired by PM in wake of conserving the ridiculously dwindling population of Ganges Dolphins in the past few years.
These dolphins have viewed by the conservationist as the bioindicators of the pollution levels in Ganges. According to them the step taken would help protecting these lovable creatures. | <urn:uuid:924750e6-b5e1-494c-b57b-aabaa60425b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/river-dolphin-got-national-aquatic-animal-status | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959172 | 121 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Dr. Edward Lamadrid's New Study Advances Link Between Weight Loss and Acupuncture
CHICAGO, Nov. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Could a few pinpricks make someone thinner? Evidence weighs heavily in favor of that proposition, according to the results of a new study to be presented at the Pacific Symposium in San Diego this week. The groundbreaking study, "The Effects of Acupuncture on Weight-Loss in Over-Weight and Obese Adults Over 24 Years Old," reports that 95 percent of its subjects lost weight in a six-week period after receiving regular acupuncture treatments. Of those subjects, another 50 percent continued to lose weight after treatments stopped.
Dr. Edward Lamadrid , a doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine (DAOM), conducted the study and authored its findings. As one of the country's approximately 100 DAOMs, Lamadrid has treated thousands of patients with a variety of problems and health conditions, and he has long suspected that acupuncture assists in weight loss. However, it wasn't until this controlled, scientific study that the Chicago-based expert could positively confirm a more formal hypothesis and the positive conclusions.
"What's particularly interesting and somewhat shocking about the study's findings is that weight loss occurred across the board without much exercise or dieting, something everyone believes is essential to trimming down," Lamadrid says. "I certainly don't want to discount the importance of healthy habits such as good fitness and eating nutritionally, but this study confirms that acupuncture is a viable tool for successful weight loss."
Key conclusions found that 81 percent of participants in Group A, which received three weeks of acupuncture treatments, lost weight, averaging 2 lbs. per week for men and 1 lb. per week for women. After the treatments ceased, 54 percent continued to lose weight. Meanwhile, 79 percent of those in Group B, the control group, which didn't receive acupuncture, gained weight over the three-week period. At the end of those three weeks, this control group then received regular acupuncture treatments, and 77 percent then lost weight at a rate similar to Group A.
Feedback from the subjects noted significant improvements both physically and emotionally. Said Wanda T ., "The study helped with my energy levels and with my appetite. I now sleep soundly and wake up refreshed." And Nancy S. commented, "I feel much more balanced, focused and positive!"
"Patients understand the importance of preventative medicine and a holistic approach to treatment," Lamadrid says. "This body of evidence on the acupuncture-weight loss link is groundbreaking for the worldwide healthcare and fitness community, considering obesity is now a global epidemic."
Because of his comprehensive and integrated background - everything from bodywork to energy therapies, professional consulting and even Feng Shui - Lamadrid is considered a renaissance healer. Bridging the ancient and contemporary medical systems, he continually strives to represent his practices with the highest degree of integrity and understanding.
Lamadrid's Pacific Symposium presentation, covering his recent acupuncture and weight-loss study, takes place November 4, 7-9 p.m., at San Diego's Catamaran Resort Hotel & Spa. For details, visit http://www.pacificsymposium.org.
SOURCE Dr. Edward Lamadrid , DAOM, L.Ac., LMT
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Request more information about PR Newswire products and services or call us at (888) 776-0942. | <urn:uuid:8b0cb4b3-c31c-4c0e-bb1b-03be185565be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dr-edward-lamadrids-new-study-advances-link-between-weight-loss-and-acupuncture-106442278.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944589 | 734 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Scientists who are proponents of catastrophic global warming now admit there has been no warming since 1998. They blame increased aerosol pollutants from China as being the reason why temperatures are cooling versus warming. Unfortunately, actual air quality measurements reveal the galactic bogosity of that claim. (click on charts to enlarge)
For example, U.S. air quality since 1990 has improved tremendously with vast reductions in air aerosols and particulates as the chart on left reveals. While aerosols/particulates over the U.S. were dramatically decreasing, the U.S. surface temperatures were falling as shown in the chart on the right.
The lack of warming due to increased aerosols is regurgitated lameness that "climate scientists" always attempt to fall back on when actual empirical evidence invalidates the AGW hypothesis. It's more bogus science from the 'Twilight Zone' of the climate science establishment. | <urn:uuid:eb489bf0-5d66-407e-a996-9e29c12e83ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.c3headlines.com/2011/07/global-warming-alarmists-again-try-the-lame-aerosol-masking-excuse-to-explain-cooling-us-data-refute.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9329 | 182 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Though no longer a household name, his works (particularly his fairy tales and fantasy novels) have inspired deep admiration in such notables as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. C. S. Lewis wrote that he regarded MacDonald as his "master". Picking up a copy of Phantastes one day in a train station, he began to read; "a few hours later," said Lewis later, "I knew I had crossed a great frontier." G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence". Elizabeth Yates wrote of Sir Gibbie that "[i]t moved me the way books did when as a child ... Now and then a book is read as a friend, and after it life is not the same ... Sir Gibbie did this to me." Even Mark Twain, who initially despised MacDonald, became friends with him upon their meeting for the first time, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald (see links below for an article on the subject).
The man who was to inspire such feeling was born on December 10, 1824 at Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His father, a farmer, was one of the MacDonalds of Glen Coe, and a direct descendant of one of the families that suffered in the massacre of 1692. MacDonald grew up influenced by his Congregational Church, with an atmosphere of Calvinism. But he was never entirely happy with Calvinism; legend has it that when the doctrine of predestination was first explained to him, he burst into tears (although assured that he was one of the elect). Later novels, such as Robert Falconer, show a similar distaste for many Calvinist ideas.
He took his degree at the University of Aberdeen, and then migrated to London, studying at Highbury College for the Congregational ministry.
In 1850 he was appointed pastor of Trinity Congregational Church, Arundel, but his sermons (preaching God's universal love and the possibility that none would, ultimately, be damned) met with little favour and his salary was cut in half. Later he was engaged in ministerial work in Manchester. He left that because of poor health, and after a short sojourn in Algiers he settled in London and had taught for some time at the University of London. MacDonald was also for a time editor of Good Words for the Young, and lectured successfully in the United States during 1872-1873.
His best-known works are Phantastes, The Princess and the Goblin, At the Back of the North Wind , and Lilith, all fantasy novels, and his fairy tales — "The Light Princess", "The Golden Key", and "The Wise Woman", to name a few. "I write, not for children," he wrote, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five." MacDonald also published some volumes of sermons (the pulpit not having proved an unreservedly successful venue).
MacDonald also served as a mentor to Lewis Carroll; it was MacDonald's advice, and the enthusiastic reception of Alice by the MacDonald children that convinced Carroll to submit Alice for publication. MacDonald was also friends with John Ruskin and acquainted with most of the literary luminaries of the day; a surviving group photograph shows him with Tennyson, Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Trollope, Ruskin, Lewes, and Thackeray.
As hinted above, MacDonald's use of fantasy as a literary medium for exploring the human condition greatly influenced a generation of such notable authors as C. S. Lewis (appearing as a character in The Great Divorce), J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. MacDonald's more realistic novels, such as Alec Forbes, had their influence as well; they were among the first realistic Scottish novels, and as such MacDonald has been credited with founding the "kailyard school " of Scottish writing.
Partial list of works
- Within and Without (1856)
- Poems (1857)
- Phantastes (1858)
- David Elginbrod (1862)
- Alec Forbes of Howglen (1865)
- Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood (1866)
- Robert Falconer (1868)
- The History of Gutta-Percha Willie, the Working Genius (1873)
- Malcolm (1875)
- The Wise Woman, or The Obstinate Princess: A Double Story (1875)
- The Marquis of Lossie (1877)
- Donal Grant (1883)
- The Princess and the Goblin (1888 or earlier)
- The Princess and Curdie (1883, sequel to the former)
- Lilith (1895)
- George MacDonald on The Victorian Web
- Mark Twain and George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet
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 | <urn:uuid:832018bb-0bc8-45b6-bcd8-d5805f5a7c92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/George_MacDonald | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974064 | 1,075 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Of all the planets in the solar system other than Earth, Mars has arguably the greatest potential for life, either extinct or extant. It resembles Earth in so many ways: its formation process, its early climate history, its reservoirs of water, its volcanoes and other geologic processes. Microorganisms would fit right in. Another planetary body, Saturn's largest moon Titan, also routinely comes up in discussions of extraterrestrial biology. In its primordial past, Titan possessed conditions conducive to the formation of molecular precursors of life, and some scientists believe it may have been alive then and might even be alive now.
To add intrigue to these possibilities, astronomers studying both these worlds have detected a gas that is often associated with living things: methane. It exists in small but significant quantities on Mars, and Titan is literally awash with it. A biological source is at least as plausible as a geologic one, for Mars if not for ¿Titan. Either explanation would be fascinating in its own way, revealing either that we are not alone in the universe or that both Mars and Titan harbor large underground bodies of water together with unexpected levels of geochemical activity. Understanding the origin and fate of methane on these bodies will provide crucial clues to the processes that shape the formation, evolution and habitability of terrestrial worlds in this solar system and possibly in others. | <urn:uuid:3b11d0d0-b7a7-4c73-a03b-eb11c286e3e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-mystery-of-methane-on-mars-and-titan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941819 | 272 | 4.0625 | 4 |
The aggressive 5ft-long sea creatures, which can weigh more than seven stone (45 kilograms), arrived off the city's shores last week.
Divers have reported being attacked by the Humboldt squid, with tentacles enveloping their masks and pulling at their cameras and gear.
The squid are more commonly found in the deep waters off Mexico, where they have been known to attack humans and are nicknamed "red devils" for their rust-red colouring and aggressive streak.
Those who dive with them there fill the water with bait and sometimes get in a metal cage or wear chain mail to avoid being lashed by tentacles. The squid hunt in schools of up to 1,200, can swim up to 15mph and skim over the water to escape predators.
The creatures stay too deep to bother swimmers and surfers, but many longtime divers in San Diego have said they will stay out of the surf until the sea creatures clear out.
Mike Bear, a local diver, said: "I wouldn't go into the water with them for the same reason I wouldn't walk into a pride of lions on the Serengeti, For all I know, I'm missing the experience of a lifetime."
Shanda Magill was surprised by a large squid which hit her from behind and grabbed at her with its arms, pulling her sideways in the water. It ripped her buoyancy hose away from her chest and knocked away her light.
"I just kicked like crazy. The first thing you think of is, 'Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm going to survive this'. If that squid wanted to hurt me, it would have," she said.
Scientists are not sure why the squid have started appearing in the water off the Southern California coast and say they are concerned.
One theory is that their prey has moved to shallow waters due to changes in sea temperatures and the squid have followed. One biologist estimated there could be hundreds, or possibly thousands. | <urn:uuid:fb2686e3-576a-457f-9d3d-83b741318fcb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5852051/Jumbo-flying-squid-attack-scuba-divers-in-San-Diego.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98265 | 403 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Bladder cancer is usually transitional cell carcinoma. Symptoms include hematuria; later, urinary obstruction can cause pain. Diagnosis is by cystoscopy and biopsy. Treatment is with fulguration, intravesical instillations, surgery, chemotherapy, or a combination.
In the US, > 70,000 new cases of bladder cancer and about 14,700 deaths occur each year. Bladder cancer is the 4th most common cancer among men and is less common among women; male:female incidence is about 3:1. Bladder cancer is more common among whites than blacks, and incidence increases with age.
Risk factors include the following:
Types of bladder cancer include
In > 40% of patients, tumors recur at the same or another site in the bladder, particularly if tumors are large or poorly differentiated or if several tumors are present. Bladder cancer tends to metastasize to the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and bone. Expression of tumor gene p53 may be associated with progression.
In the bladder, carcinoma in situ is high grade but noninvasive and usually multifocal; it tends to recur.
Symptoms and Signs
Most patients present with unexplained hematuria (gross or microscopic). Some patients present with anemia, and hematuria is detected during evaluation. Irritative voiding symptoms (dysuria, burning, frequency) and pyuria are also common at presentation. Pelvic pain occurs with advanced cancer, when a pelvic mass may be palpable.
Bladder cancer is suspected clinically. Urine cytology, which may detect malignant cells, may be done. Cystoscopy (see Genitourinary Tests and Procedures: Cystoscopy) and biopsy of abnormal areas are usually also done initially because these tests are needed even if urine cytology is negative. The role for urinary antigen tests is still evolving, particularly for low-grade tumors.
For low-stage (superficial, stage T1) tumors, which comprise 70 to 80% of bladder cancers, cystoscopy with biopsy is sufficient for staging. If a tumor is found to invade muscle (≥ stage T2), abdominal and pelvic CT and chest x-ray are done to determine tumor extent and evaluate for metastases. Patients with invasive tumors undergo bimanual examination (rectal examination in men, rectovaginal examination in women) while under anesthesia for cystoscopy and biopsy. The standard TNM (tumor, node, metastasis) staging system is used (see Table 1: Genitourinary Cancer: Genitourinary Cancer Staging ).
|PrintOpen table in new window
Superficial bladder cancer (carcinoma in situ, stage Ta or T1) rarely causes death. For patients with invasion of the bladder musculature, the 5-yr survival rate is about 50%, but adjuvant chemotherapy may improve these results. Generally, prognosis for patients with progressive or recurrent invasive bladder cancer is poor. Prognosis for patients with squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of the bladder is also poor, because these cancers are usually highly infiltrative and detected only at an advanced stage.
Superficial cancers can be completely removed by transurethral resection or fulguration. Repeated bladder instillations of chemotherapeutic drugs, such as mitomycin C, may reduce risk of recurrence. Doxorubicin and thiotepa are alternatives but rarely used. For carcinoma in situ and other high-grade, superficial, transitional cell carcinomas, immunotherapeutic treatments, such as BCG instillation, alone or in conjunction with interferon alfa-2b, after transurethral resection is generally more effective than chemotherapy instillations.
Tumors that penetrate the muscle (ie, ≥ stage T2) usually require radical cystectomy (removal of bladder and adjacent structures) with concomitant urinary diversion; partial cystectomy is possible for < 5% of patients. Cystectomy is being done with increasing frequency after initial chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced disease. Urinary diversion traditionally involves routing urine through an ileal conduit to an abdominal stoma and collecting it in an external drainage bag. Alternatives such as orthotopic neobladder or continent cutaneous diversion are very common and are appropriate for many, if not most, patients. For both procedures, an internal reservoir is constructed from the intestine. For the orthotopic neobladder, the reservoir is connected to the urethra. Patients empty the reservoir by relaxing the pelvic floor muscles and increasing abdominal pressure, so that urine passes through the urethra almost naturally. Most patients maintain urinary control during the day, but some incontinence may occur at night. For continent cutaneous urinary diversion, the reservoir is connected to a continent abdominal stoma. Patients empty the reservoir by self-catheterization at regular intervals throughout the day.
If surgery is contraindicated or refused, radiation therapy alone or with chemotherapy may provide 5-yr survival rates of 20 to 40%. Radiation therapy may cause radiation cystitis or proctitis or bladder contracture.
Patients should be monitored every 3 to 6 mo for progression or recurrence.
Metastatic and recurrent cancers
Metastases require chemotherapy, which is frequently effective but rarely curative unless metastases are confined to lymph nodes. Combination chemotherapy may prolong life in patients with metastatic disease.
Treatment of recurrent cancer depends on clinical stage and site of recurrence and previous treatment. Recurrence after transurethral resection of superficial tumors is usually treated with a 2nd resection or fulguration.
Last full review/revision December 2007 by David A. Swanson, MD | <urn:uuid:4b3e42bb-a98c-4ba6-ac10-89e66cdeb018> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/genitourinary_disorders/genitourinary_cancer/bladder_cancer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918563 | 1,200 | 3.3125 | 3 |
President: Abdullah Gul
Abdullah Gul was chosen as president by parliament in August 2007, after months of controversy over his nomination. He is Turkey's first head of state with a background in political Islam in a country with strong secularist principles.
The months leading to his eventual election saw street demonstrations, an opposition boycott of parliament, early parliamentary elections and warnings from the army, which has ousted four governments since 1960.
Turkish secularists, including army generals, opposed Gul's nomination, fearing he would try to undermine Turkey's strict separation of state and religion. Secularists also did not want Turkey's First Lady to wear the Muslim headscarf.
The army top brass and the main opposition Republican People's Party, stayed away from Mr Gul's swearing-in ceremony.
Mr Gul started in politics in an Islamist party that was banned by the courts, but later renounced the idea that Islam should be a driving force in politics. In 2001, along with other moderate members of the Islamist movement, he founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and distanced himself from his past political leanings.
The party won elections in 2002 and Mr Gul served as stand-in prime minister before stepping aside for Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Gul served as foreign minister under Mr Erdogan and cultivated an image as a moderate politician, acting as an impassioned voice for reforms to promote Turkey's EU bid.
The government holds most power but the president can veto laws, appoint officials, and name judges. Voters in a referendum in October 2007 backed plans to have future presidents elected by the people instead of by parliament.
Prime minister: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a third term of office in June 2011, following a resounding general election win for his Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Prime Minister Erdogan is in his third term
The election gave the AKP its highest electoral score since coming to power in 2002, and put Mr Erdogan on course to become the most successful leader in Turkey's democratic history.
His party nonetheless fell just short of the majority it was seeking to press ahead with a major constitutional overhaul without the support of other parties in parliament. Mr Erdogan in his victory speech promised to seek compromise with the opposition over the issue.
Mr Erdogan has brought economic and political stability to Turkey and faced down the country's powerful military establishment, which previously had a history of overthrowing elected governments that it saw as challenging either the secular constitution or national security.
Steady military pressure combined with negotiations also brought the Kurdish rebel PKK group to a truce that provided for a withdrawal of all PKK fighters to Iraq from May 2013.
In September 2010, his government won resounding public approval for its plans to change the 30-year-old constitution. The amendments to the constitution were aimed at reducing still further the power of the military and meeting the requirements for EU membership.
Opponents accuse the government of authoritarianism and point to growing intolerance towards critical journalists and media. The Journalists Union of Turkey says 94 were in jail for carrying out their professional duties - the highest number in the world. More than half are members of the Kurdish minority.
Mr Erdogan hinted in October 2012 that he might stand for the presidency in 2014, and is widely expected to made renewed efforts to boost the constitutional powers of the head of state ahead of the vote in order to turn Turkey into a presidential republic.
Mr Erdogan first became prime minister several months after his party's landslide election victory in November 2002. He had been barred from standing in the poll because of a previous criminal conviction for reading an Islamist poem at a political rally. Changes to the constitution paved the way for him to run for parliament in 2003.
He identified EU entry as a top priority and introduced reforms which paved the way for the opening of membership talks in October 2005. although these have run into the twin pillars of widespread European opposition and the eurozone crisis.
Since then Mr Erdogan's foreign policy has concentrated as seeking a role as honest broker in the Middle East by building bridges to Iran and Arab states, while adopting a stridently hostile tone towards Turkey's longstanding ally Israel - albeit falling short of severing diplomatic relations.
The popularity of his "Turkish model" among liberals and moderate Islamic groups in Arab countries has boosted Turkey's prestige, although this has yet to translate into tangible foreign-policy gains for the country. | <urn:uuid:881cdd1d-a6a8-482f-ba36-06d51bf990bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17992010 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978345 | 887 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Monday, January 7, 2008
DPP Solutions: Get Into Multimedia
Giving new life to still photos with Apple Final Cut Pro 6
|Apple Final Cut Studio 2 may have been designed for videographers, but it's a valuable tool for still photographers looking to expand into multimedia.|
It's not difficult to produce a great multimedia presentation of your still images. The first step is to come up with a concept. A random selection of nice photos is nice—but it's not the most effective package. The concept could be the story of an event you've covered or are about to cover, a human-interest feature, a presentation of the birds in a local natural area, a client's classic car or motorcycle collection (the sounds are as important as the looks to many vintage vehicle buffs!) or a collection of images that demonstrate what sets your photography apart—there are many ways to organize a selection of photographs into a cohesive whole. You might even write a “shooting script,” positioning the narration, music and effects with the images.
Choose the images and the order in which you wish to present them. Then gather the audio files. You can present a fine-art collection to classical music, write and produce narration or interviews with subjects in the photos and include ambient sounds (such as the calls of the pictured birds).
Once you have all of your elements for the project, transfer the files to a project folder on your hard drive. Put the photos into a folder called Photos or Images and the audio files in a folder called Audio or Sound. (In Final Cut Pro 6, folders are called bins.) You can further organize files in each bin; for example, the Audio bin might contain subfolders called Narration, Music and Effects; the Narration bin might contain subfolders for Voiceover, Interviews and Photographer's Comments. The Interviews subfolder could contain individual sub-subfolders for each interviewee.
Now it's a matter of transferring the files to Final Cut Pro 6's browser window (by dragging and dropping or using the Import command) and then placing the photos and audio clips on the Timeline where you want them. You can decide when and how long each image will appear, how to transition between images (simple straight cuts or dissolves are generally best, but Final Cut Pro 6 provides a variety of effects), and where and how loudly narration, music and other audio will appear. The Timeline accepts multiple image and audio tracks; the Canvas window shows you, in detail, the active items in the Timeline.
For excellent examples of Final Cut Pro 6 multimedia presentations of still images, go to www.mediastorm.org and click on a Project. Also check out Brian Storm's free Final Cut Pro tutorial at http://seminars.apple.com/seminarsonline/richmediafcp/apple/index1.html.
In addition to Final Cut Pro 6, the Final Cut Studio 2 suite includes Motion 3, Soundtrack Pro 2, Compressor 3, Color and DVD Studio Pro 4.2. It sells for $1,299, and is available for Mac only (OS v10.4.9 or later). Visit www.apple.com/finalcutstudio.
Page 2 of 2 | <urn:uuid:db2dc423-d764-45b5-8d93-8732fdd0a3d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.digitalphotopro.com/technique/software-technique/dpp-solutions-get-into-multimedia.html?start=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912099 | 668 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Kingwood Township residents with children who will be five years old on or before Thursday, Oct. 1, should notify Kingwood Township School to register their children for kindergarten by calling 908-996-2941 ext. 517 to pre-register them. Packets will be mailed out in February. Kindergarten screening for the 2013-2014 school year will be held in March.
The Kingwood Township School District provides a small, nurturing preschool program that facilitates language, motor, social and academic development. In addition to providing a quality program for special needs children ages 3 and 4, the district accepts a limited number of regular education students from the township on a tuition basis.
The program begins in September and runs until the end of the school year. The class begins at 8:45 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m.
Parents are responsible to transport regular education preschoolers to and from the district. Admission to the program is based on available space. Call Leslie Callanan at 908- 996-2941 ext. 510 for more information.
Normal development is delayed for some children. If there are concerns about child’s walking, talking, thinking, seeing, or hearing the school district may be able to help. Many problems can be improved with understanding and assistance. Call Kingwood Township School at 908-996-2941, ext. 508 for more information. A free evaluation for the child may be available. This notice also applies to migrant and homeless individuals. | <urn:uuid:27038617-c5ec-47ba-aa99-e00fa2bc595c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2013/01/kingwood_asks_parents_to_pre-r.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933921 | 309 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Instead of firing teachers, closing libraries and senior centers, and cutting bus routes, let’s put the Pentagon on a diet.
Some Americans want to starve our cities, close our schools, and knock away the ladder that our children are supposed to climb to economic security. Your lawmakers may be among them.
To appreciate how truly loony this is, consider how much we’re already hurting.
U.S. cities and towns have fired half-a-million workers since 2008, and another quarter-million municipal employees may lose their jobs by the end of this year. Venice, Florida is losing its fire marshal, deputy fire chief, and fire inspector. San Jose, California may have to shut down all its libraries and community center programs. Gardner, Massachusetts has one clerk running its municipal grounds, parks, playgrounds, cemetery, forestry, flood control, insect control, golf course, and swimming pool. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin cut city inspectors, police, and crossing guards.
Los Angeles, like hundreds of other cities, is cutting back bus service and raising fares. Lincoln, Nebraska is deciding whether to close a fire station and leave one end of town without rapid fire and medical emergency responders. Baltimore has debated closing five of its firehouses. Other cities across the country are debating similar choices in their worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Our cities and towns need a helping hand from Washington. Instead, Congress is cutting funding they depend on. Under last year’s deficit-reduction deal, domestic spending is dropping about one-quarter from 2010 levels. Meanwhile, military spending, which is supposed to be cut equally, is barely being nicked.
Now a crack team led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) is trying to exempt the Pentagon from further cuts.
What are they thinking?
Just before Christmas, the Iraq War officially ended. That was a very important moment for millions of Iraqis and thousands of our soldiers and their families. It could have been an important moment for taxpayers too. The war cost us $800 billion, and we could do a lot with that kind of money.
But if McCain and McKeon have their way, our cities aren’t going to be hiring back elementary school teachers, firefighters, or police offers, or providing more VA care to veterans or healthcare for millions of low-income kids. Instead, the Pentagon will continue to develop its F-35 stealth fighter, which costs $156 million per jet but can’t provide a steady stream of oxygen to the pilot. It will continue to build a new fleet of aircraft carriers at $9 billion apiece when no other country in the world has more than one.
It will spend several hundred billion dollars “modernizing” a nuclear weapons stockpile that Washington has committed to reducing. It will build new military bases in places like South Korea and Guam, where people don’t want them, even though the United States has more than 1,000 military installations around the world. We have so many overseas bases that there’s no agreement on how to count them all.
The Pentagon can cut these programs and more without endangering our security or reducing healthcare and pensions for those serving in the military. In fact, we’ll be safer if budget cuts force the Pentagon, Congress, and the White House to focus on programs that actually improve our well-being instead of trying to police every corner of the world. And we’ll be a lot more secure if Washington shifts the savings to us and helps us get out of this Great Recession.
President Ronald Reagan had some advice for confronting bureaucracies like this: “Starve the beast.” It’s time for those who call themselves Reagan’s heirs to take his advice and put the Pentagon on a diet. | <urn:uuid:4ba021c1-77c6-41e1-821e-baa6bd5cea25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bostonoccupier.com/starve-the-beast-the-pentagon/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950757 | 794 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Inspired by Mcor Technologies’ CEO Dr. Conor MacCormack, in his recent Executive Interview, we decided to kick off the weekend by taking a closer look at the Mcor 3D printing technology and how their 3D printers work. Mcor 3D printers follow the same logic as any other 3D printer – turning 3D designs into physical objects – but what differentiates Mcor from other 3D printers is that their machine is relatively low cost and has the highest colour resolution in the industry. On top of that it is an extremely eco-friendly solution, using standard A4 paper as the raw material.
In the featured video, Mcor’s Chief Marketing Officer Deidre MacCormack demonstrates how the Mcor Iris True Colour 3D Printer operates at SolidWorks World 2013:
Below is the transcript for those unable to view the video:
Hi my name is Deidre MacCormack from Mcor Technologies. Here we are at SolidWorks 2013, and I’m here to explain a little bit about our 3D printer. We are actually launching this machine, the Mcor Iris at the show. This is a full colour 3D printer that operates with regular letter size paper. So obviously the difference is this machine is very inexpensive to run. Its high quality eco-friendly, and its full color. So, I will explain a little bit how the machine works.
You load your paper in here on the left. And the difference about this machine its two-step process. These pages here in the machine have been pre-printed on an absent 2D printer. So you can see that the ink has been applied on the cut lines. So now every pages is pulled in one at the time on to the build plate in the center.
There is a multifunction head at the top. One side actually cuts with a tungsten carbide blade around the 2D profile and then… see now the sheet will be fed in, I’ll explain that in a bit… it’s gonna move up next to secure the bond, and when it comes down, it starts the process. This is actually the cutting process. So there is the tungsten carbide blade in this holder and it sets the correct depth so it cuts through the page, which is about 1 millimeter. That’s the kind of the lurk thickness of the resolution we have achieved: 1.1 millimeter.
On the other side of the multifunction head is the glue up head. It is a little wheel that applies really small droplets of adhesive – a water based adhesive. More on the part that aren’t support material around, so when the part is finished printing, you remove the block of paper, and then you weed away the actual support material and reveal the part.
So each page as you can see, it keeps repeating the process until the full build is complete. Today we are printing – it’s on the screen, If you want to see it – its our sales director Bryan Ferrand, and the actual part that we are printing is at the back, I can show you. So this is the end product. It’s a full colour 3D part. These parts are probably about the quarter of the price they are on alternative colour printers available.
And the ethos of our company is based to provide an accessible 3D printer at low cost, eco-friendly and full colour. So of the parts in this cabinet most are less than ten [US] dollars to print. So they are a fraction of the cost of competitors’ prices. We also sell these products in quite a different way. You can buy this prototype range, but you can also buy a print service planned. So bundled in you acquire the machine and acquire enough material to print for the length of the plan. So you get all blades and glue needs – you acquire the paper yourself – for, lets say, three year period. So what we are really doing here is to give access and ability to everybody to do 3D printing themselves at a low cost way. | <urn:uuid:f7a61c0e-3de2-43ea-826b-563f9e5a1d43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://3dprintingindustry.com/2013/02/16/how-mcor-3d-printers-work/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945308 | 844 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Credit default swaps are blamed for instigating the nation’s financial crisis, helping to bring companies like American International Group (AIG) to its knees after it could no longer pay the many claims it owed on the swaps contracts. Nearly three years after the fact, credit default swaps and other complex derivative instruments are still a booming fixture on Wall Street and, unexplainably, largely untouched by financial reform efforts.
This irony is the subject of Gretchen Morgenson’s Feb. 28 column in the New York Times. In the article, she writes that Congressional reform plans for credit default swaps are “full of loopholes,” a fact that almost guarantees “that another derivatives-fueled financial crisis” is right around the corner.
According to the Bank for International Settlements, credit default swaps with a face value of $36 trillion were outstanding in the second quarter of 2009.
Morgenson’s article includes comments from Martin Mayer, a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and a noted author on banking and finance-related issues. On the subject of credit default swaps, Martin says the following:
“Credit default swaps are a way to increase the leverage in the system, and the people who were doing it knew that they were doing something on the edge of fraudulent… They were not well-motivated.
Mayer’s criticism of credit default swaps dates back several years. On May 20, 1999, he penned an Op-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, titled The Dangers of Derivatives. Some of his selected comments include the following:
“These over-the-counter derivatives – created, sold and serviced behind closed doors by consenting adults who don’t tell anybody what they’re doing – are also a major source of the almost unlimited leverage that brought the world financial system to the brink of disaster last fall. These instruments are creations of mathematics, and within its premises mathematics yields certainty. But in real life, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, “certainty generally is an illusion.” The derivatives dealers’ demands for liquidity far exceed what the markets can provide on difficult days, and may exceed the abilities of the central banks to maintain orderly conditions. The more certain you are, the more risks you ignore; the bigger you are, the harder you will fall.
“Meanwhile the rules of this game – adopted and enforced by the world’s banking supervisors – further shrink what are already low time horizons in the financial markets. Measuring their positions every day through the algorithms of “value at risk” analysis, players must make constant adjustments of hedges and options to control the losses they may suffer from unanticipated volatility of market prices. In real markets, often enough, you can’t do that.
“The current [plat du jour] – the credit derivative – is the most dangerous instrument yet, and neither the risk controllers at the big banks nor the bank examiners seem to have any good ideas about how to handle it. A vehicle by which banks can swap loans with each other apparently gives everybody a win – banks can diversify their portfolios geographically and by category with the click of a mouse.
“But the system is easily gamed, and it sacrifices the great strength of banks as financial intermediaries – their knowledge of their borrowers, and their incentive to police the status of the loan.
“When a loan is securitized, nobody has the credit watch. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York concluded that in the presence of moral hazard – the likelihood that sloughing the bad loans into a swap will be profitable – the growth of a market for default risks could lead to bank insolvencies.”
Fast forward to 2008 and 2009 and Mayer’s predictions became reality. Morgenson contacted Mayer for her Feb. 28 column, asking for his thoughts on solutions to the problems that credit default swaps have produced. Among his recommendations:
- Companies that trade in credit default swaps should be required to put up more capital to back them, Mayer says. That way, if a client asks for payment, the issuer actually has the funds available to make good on the payment.
- Increased regulatory oversight of credit default swaps needs to become the rule, according to Mayer. In addition, he suggests that credit default swaps must be exchange-traded so that their risks are more transparent.
“The insistence that you mustn’t slow the pace of innovation is just childish,” Mayer said in the NYT’s article. “Innovation has now cost us $7 trillion,” a price tag that refers to the loss in household wealth resulting from the financial crisis. “That’s a pretty high price to pay for innovation.” | <urn:uuid:9bbd413f-4bba-4d8a-8011-220c27a8b2fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.investorprotection.com/blog/2010/02/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956384 | 990 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Rise in families battling internet addiction
- From: News Limited Network
- January 21, 2013
AN ADELAIDE mother's harrowing story of her teenage son's addiction to online gaming has prompted a flood of responses from News Limited readers reporting children as young as eight being addicted to the internet.
Readers around Australia have described their own battles with internet addiction in dozens of comments on the story of Karen*, whose 17-year-old son is addicted to online fantasy game Runescape.
One father, who did not wish to be named, said his eight-year-old daughter spent "80 per cent of her summer holidays'' on the family's Playstation, and hides her iPad so she can play games when they are asleep.
"If we don't hide our laptop with 'guest log-in' and password protect our other computers, she will play internet games on these in between times on the Playstation 3,'' he said.
"She has hidden our iPad in her bed to play when we are asleep, as we found out, and doesn't have meals with us when asked.
"It is just a force beyond our reckoning. At first it allowed us to get our ridiculously busy work lives in order but now I am concerned that, with ourselves psychologically wedded to our work and investments, she is psychologically wedded to her games.''
Another parent of a teenager addicted to the internet wrote that she was "helpless and living in a nightmare with absolutely no support for me son, who is on a fast downward spiral.''
Another commenter said they knew a middle aged woman who ``neglected her daughter and threw away her 20 year marriage'' to play online for up to 20 hours a day.
South Australian 17-year-old Melanie Bennett said she dropped out of school at 15 and developed an eating disorder after becoming addicted to shooting game Counter Strike Source, which exacerbated her underlying obsessive compulsive disorder.
Ms Bennett said she played the game every day before and after school for up to six hours at a time before her father cut off her game account, sending her into a spiral of depression which culminated in anorexia.
"I was failing school and I needed to feel achievement in another aspect of my life,'' she said.
"The real issue was having something I was good at and when I could no longer play the game and be good at it, I turned to losing weight as the thing that I could be good at.
"The game was addictive because there was a ranking system and I was addicted to being one of the top ranking players.
"I felt like nothing was good enough so no matter how much I lost or how good I was at the game; I would never be satisfied.
"I could never stop playing or stop starving because I couldn't feel satisfaction.''
Ms Bennett, who is still recovering from her anorexia and planning to return to school this year, said she sympathised with Karen's story, saying that internet addiction needed to be taken more seriously.
"Internet addiction isn't the illness; it is a symptom of a mental illness,'' she said.
"In my case, it was a symptom of my obsessive compulsive disorder. But with that being said, internet addiction needs to be taken more seriously.
"I still feel drawn to the game and very addicted but I am not allowed to play which is very frustrating. Some people can play those types of games and not get addicted but not for me.''
Associate Professor Paul Delfabbro from the University of Adelaide's school of psychology, who has co-authored a report with Dr Daniel King on the psychological effects of internet addiction, said video games can be as addictive as pokie machines because they operate on the same brain processes.
"Because of the similarities between video games and pokie machines, there's a likelihood there are similar processes involved,'' he said.
"All forms of addiction you look for two things: pathological behaviour and evidence of harm. The typical characteristics of pathological behaviour is the loss of control, you can't resist the urge to start the behaviour and you find it very difficult to stop once you've started.
"In video games people have the sense that ... the next event or outcome or solution is just around the corner, so they keep on going back to it all the time.
"That's one of the similarities between pokie machines and video games - is that people have to keep on doing it.''
Mr Delfabbro said certain personality types were more prone to video game addiction than others.
"The sort of characteristics we're looking at are things like perfectionism, obsessiveness, proneness to rumination, the sort of things that make people dwell on things,'' he said.
"Also procrastination, people who use video games as a way of getting away from responsibility.''
More technology news
AUSTRALIA'S most advanced commercial satellite developer has put South Australia at the heart of its ambitions, outlining plans to control a satellite fleet from Mawson Lakes. | <urn:uuid:35c01185-4c10-48e3-b93f-45d82e538443> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news.com.au/technology/rise-in-families-battling-internet-addiction/story-e6frfro0-1226558321480?from=public_rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976919 | 1,032 | 1.875 | 2 |
The Self-Employment Tax Initiative (SETI)
What is SETI?
The Self-Employment Tax Initiative (SETI) is a small business development strategy that takes advantage of the tax code to help low-income, self-employed individuals formalize and grow their businesses, create jobs and access tax-based asset-building opportunities. SETI recognizes the tax season as an incredibly opportune time to introduce self-employed business owners to a host of products and services that support small business development and asset building.
- SETI awards grants to community-based organizations that offer free or affordable tax preparation assistance to low-income, self-employed individuals.
- SETI conducts research and facilitates field building among our local partners to identify optimal ways to serve self-employed people.
- SETI promotes sound tax policy as it relates to the self-employed.
What Opportunities Are We Creating with This Approach?
- Asset building for low-income households.
- Growing and expanding micro businesses and creating jobs.
- Building a more sustainable economy.
More About SETI
- Click here to download the SETI Program Overview, which provides an overview of the SETI strategy and the program's history.
- Click here to download the SETI Fact Sheet, with data about self-employed individuals, the value of their contributions to the American economy and the opportunity to help them grow at tax time.
- Click here or download the SETI Tax Year 2011 Partners & Programs Summary to learn more about the work we're supporting during the 2012 tax season.
- CFED and the National Community Tax Coalition partnered to develop the Fundamentals of Recordkeeping course on the NCTC Online University. The course takes self-employed individuals from start to finish through the recordkeeping process. The material guides the client from the basics of determining their self-employed classification, to the rationale behind keeping good records, the types of necessary supporting documents, the details of tracking expenses, depreciation, business use of home and more, testing their comprehension through quick quizzes along the way. Check it out! | <urn:uuid:385a8461-fac6-41ee-9788-a08a340b3db3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cfed.org/programs/seti/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946083 | 427 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Pickrell, J., Coop, G., Novembre, J., Kudaravalli, S., Li, J., Absher, D., Srinivasan, B., Barsh, G., Myers, R., Feldman, M., & Pritchard, J. (2009). Signals of recent positive selection in a worldwide sample of human populations Genome Research DOI: 10.1101/gr.087577.108
I pointed yesterday to a new paper in Genome Research taking a genome-wide look at the signatures of recent natural selection in a worldwide sample of humans.
I promised a more thorough analysis of this paper today, but I see Razib at Gene Expression has already done a fine job of that. Razib’s post covers the bulk of the most important findings of this paper in detail, so you should go read it now; I’ll really just be expanding on what I see as some of the most interesting nuggets of data.
I also mentioned the paper’s rather indirect critique of John Hawks’ “recent acceleration” hypothesis, which proposes that humans have experienced very rapid evolutionary change over the last 40,000 years. John Hawks responded to that critique last night, pointing out that the paper does not explicitly test the acceleration hypothesis and that its major findings are in fact consistent with his theory. The paper’s lead author, Joe Pickrell, has a quick comment on my post yesterday clarifying his position.
Now, onto what I see as some of the most interesting results from the paper.
Different populations show different signals of selection
This isn’t a new finding, but it’s much more striking in this study compared to previous analyses due to the massively increased number of populations studied. Basically, this tells us that different human populations have responded to their local environment in different ways – either because their environments were different, or because they had different genetic variants available to fuel the process of adaptation. In other words, not all humans share the same evolutionary history.
This figure from the paper (which I’ve reformatted slightly) shows the degree of sharing between the top 10 signals of selection from each of the 8 broad population clusters defined in the paper (from top to bottom: Biaka Pygmies, Bantu speakers, Europe, Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Oceania and the Americas). The colour of the boxes ranges from red (strong evidence for selection) to white (no evidence). There is considerable sharing between Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, but the top hits in the other populations tend to be largely restricted to that group:
This pattern is even clearer in some of the expanded Supplementary Figures (see the example right at the end of the post).
Some of the population differences make perfect sense. The fact that the genes underlying skin pigmentation have been under different selective pressures in Africans and Europeans, for instance, is readily apparent from the strikingly different skin colours of individuals from these populations. What scans for selection (and other evidence) suggest is that these local adaptive differences go deeper than skin colour, likely affecting many different aspects of human biology. Of course that would come as no surprise to most mainstream biologists.
Despite the broad-scale differences between continental groups, the authors found little evidence for differences in targets of selection between closely-related populations; in other words, populations that live close together and share relatively recent common ancestry tend to have experienced similar selective pressures. However, the team did identify signals of highly local adaptation in a few genes, mostly involved in the immune system – presumably reflecting adaptation to geographically restricted infectious diseases.
Regions associated with type 2 diabetes risk show evidence of positive selection
The study looks at regions associated with a whole range of common diseases and other traits (e.g. height), but doesn’t find much of a striking signal for any of them. For type 2 diabetes, however, there is evidence that the regions associated with disease risk are also significantly more differentiated than expected between African and non-African populations – a pattern suggestive of recent adaptive evolution. Several of these regions also show linkage-based signals of selection (see below).
What does this mean? It’s hard to say precisely, and the authors avoid speculating too wildly about the implications. Because the precise genetic variants that alter type 2 diabetes risk in these regions are yet to be identified it is difficult to determine if selection is acting on these variants, or on other independent variants in the same gene. Still, this is a tantalising clue to the evolutionary origins of one of the most common modern diseases, which I’m sure we’ll hear more about in the near future.
We don’t understand the function of most genes under selection
As is the case for recent genome-wide association studies for common diseases, the majority of the signals emerging from this study localise to regions that contain either no genes, genes of unknown function, or genes with no obvious link to recent human adaptation. Although the functional basis for some of the signals is clear (e.g. pigmentation genes), most of them currently defy explanation.
A good example is the region that emerges as one of the clearest regions of positive selection in non-African populations, which contains one protein-coding gene and three non-protein coding RNA genes. The protein-coding gene, C21orf34, is just one of the thousands of functionally uncharacterised genes in the genome – essentially nothing is known about its biological role. There are no known genetic variants in any of these genes that could explain the striking evidence for recent selection.
That’s the beauty of unbiased genome-wide scans: you don’t need to have a hypothesis to find something interesting. The data from this study will serve to guide further downstream analyses exploring the function of the genes in human biology and recent adaptive change.
Power to detect recent selection is still far from complete
Most genome scans for positive natural selection work by looking for unusually strong patterns of association between genetic variants stretching over a long region of the genome. These patterns of association (called linkage disequilibrium) tend to decay over time through the process of recombination. That means that you can use the length of the region of strong association as an indirect measure of how old a variant is; if you find something at high frequency that looks very young, it must have increased in frequency very rapidly and recently.
There are two possible explanations for a variant increasing in frequency very rapidly. The boring explanation is pure chance: random genetic drift, facilitated by demographic changes like population bottlenecks. The more interesting explanation is that the variant increased the reproductive fitness of the individuals that carried it, and thus increased in frequency through positive natural selection.
One of the nice things about this study is that the authors have explicitly examined the power of their algorithms to discriminate selection from the random noise of genetic drift. Here’s a figure from the Supplementary Data based on some complex simulations to estimate the power of their two linkage-based methods to detect positive selection:
These two methods are the integrated haplotype score (iHS; top) and cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity (XP-EHH) tests. The authors have simulated the power of these tests to detect positive selection on a variant with a selective advantage of 1% in three populations: East Africans (YRI), Europeans (CEU) and East Asians (ASN), for genetic variants at various frequencies in these populations (frequency is the horizontal axis).
There’s a lot that could be said about these graphs, but I’ll just make two points: (1) the tests are nicely complementary, with iHS having maximum power for variants at around 70% frequency whereas XP-EHH is well-powered for very high-frequency variants; and (2) even so, there are a lot of positively selected variants that these tests would miss. In East Asia and Europe, for instance, both tests would miss a large majority of selected variants with a current frequency below 50%. That means that extremely recently selected variants in these populations (which are still at a low frequency) would be essentially invisible to these tests.
This problem is especially acute for populations that have been subject to very strong recent bottlenecks (e.g. Native Americans), where the noise arising from the bottleneck can largely confound signals of selection.
All this means that there are a lot of signals of selection out there yet to be found. Increasing sample sizes and exploring more varied populations will help a little, but will bring diminishing returns; for low-frequency selected variants there may well be no feasible way to distinguish them from background noise.
Possibly the most successful strategy will be combining signals from these types of scans with functional information to detect clustering of weak signals in particular biological pathways; this study uses this type of approach to find a compelling signature of selection acting on the NRG-ERBB4 pathway in non-African populations.
Anyway, I gather that a second paper on the same data-set is also awaiting publication, which will have more juicy data to explore. I’ll also be following the dialogue between John Hawks and the authors of this paper with some interest.
As promised above, here’s the expanded signal-sharing chart for Bantu-speaking Africans from the paper’s supplementary data; the extraordinarily low degree of sharing (even with the other African cluster, Biaka Pygmies) is readily apparent: | <urn:uuid:dc67c92b-d7f8-4939-bcda-805e68ad2081> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scienceblogs.com/geneticfuture/2009/03/24/genetic-signatures-of-recent-h/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936375 | 1,955 | 2.296875 | 2 |
“There’ll be plenty of Skylab for everyone!”
An ad hoc Spokane, Wash., group called the Skylab Self-Defense Society hung a 15-ft. bull's-eye on the side of a downtown office building and suggested, "Make Spokane the target for Skylab's landing. If you give the Government a target to shoot at, it's bound to miss. That is our greatest protection."-TIME Magazine, July 16, 1979
I remember that banner. It said "Official U.S. Government Skylab Target" in red above a big, red bullseye. They also sold t-shirts and posters. I bought a poster (heck, it was only a buck) and brought it with me to Maine that summer. I put it outside the bunkhouse where my cousins and I slept.
Hey...it worked. No pieces of Skylab came down in either Spokane OR Maine.
A Skylab in every pot. | <urn:uuid:c66b2ad4-e4aa-430c-a7e4-a1985d7cb190> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2774943/replies?c=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938054 | 200 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Dunham’s baseball training aids can aid in the development of baseball skills — in both the backyard and the team’s training facility.
Baseball is America’s game, and learning to play it well can be very beneficial for young men and women. Baseball provides exercise opportunities while improving muscle coordination and mental concentration, but it’s not an easy game to master, so a bit of extra help can go a long way in terms of building skills.
Dunham’s stocks a wide range of baseball training aids, ranging from inexpensive exercise devices to pro-caliber pitching machines. Dunham’s can supply training products suitable for college or semi-pro training camps as well as basic equipment meant for use in the backyard. Product choices include training aids designed specifically for both hardball and softball.
Among the Pik training aids that Dunham’s stocks is the Arm Strong muscle developer, which is designed to improve throwing arm strength. Another Pik
offering is the Power Trigger, a device that can help hitters develop a strong and balanced swing (shown at left). Pik’s patented EZ Tee batting tee (shown above) is the company’s top-selling product. Designed for simple adjustment the EZ Tee has a rubber topper that won’t damage a bat. Pik’s Swift Stik is a lightweight training bat that gives aspiring hitters lots of extra swings without the muscle fatigue that a game-weighted bat can cause.
Of course, Dunham’s carries a wide selection of products from other manufacturers as well. With everything from pitcher’s targets to portable backstops, and ball-return nets, Dunham’s has the training aids that can help any young man or woman fully develop their natural baseball skills.
-Home Run Hitter
*To receive Dunham’s coupons and information on new products, events and sales, sign up for Dunham’s Rewards. | <urn:uuid:259e573d-f916-41b4-9141-43a4191d970c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dunhamssports.com/2012/02/spring-training/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940745 | 401 | 1.523438 | 2 |
SafeAssign is a plagiarism prevention tool which is integrated with the FerrisConnect course management system. Students may submit written assignments within their FerrisConnect course using the SafeAssign tool and SafeAssign automatically compares the document with documents across the Internet, including Webpages, electronic reference databases, as well as institutional and global SafeAssign databases. An originality report is generated which will provide information about any matching source material and its location.
Instructors add the SafeAssign tool to a content page or folder within their FerrisConnect course. Once the tool is added the instructor may create assignments. As the assignments are created columns are automatically added to the course.
Last modified: 8/30/2011 | <urn:uuid:35cce306-50c9-49d1-b035-ce338359c49a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/mytechsupport/servicecat/learningtools/safeassign/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912123 | 145 | 1.78125 | 2 |
THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN [DER ZAUBERBERG]
THE STORY of Hans Castorp, which we would here set forth, not on his own account, for in him the reader will make acquaintance with a simple-minded though pleasing young man, but for the sake of the story itself, which seems to us highly worth telling—though it must needs be borne in mind, in Hans Castorp’s behalf, that it is his story, and not every story happens to everybody—this story, we say, belongs to the long ago; is already, so to speak, covered with historic mould, and unquestionably to be presented in the tense best suited to a narrative out of the depth or the past.
That should be no drawback to a story, but rather the reverse. Since histories must be in the past, then the more past the better, it would seem, for them in their character as histories, and for him, the teller of them, rounding wizard of times gone by. With this story, moreover, it stands as it does to-day with human beings, not least among them writers of tales: it is far older than its years; its age may not be measured by length of days, nor the weight of time on its head reckoned by the rising or setting of suns. In a word, the degree of its antiquity has noways to do with the passage of time—in which statement the author intentionally touches upon the strange and questionable double nature of that riddling element.
But we would not wilfully obscure a plain matter. The exaggerated pastness of our narrative is due to its taking place before the epoch when a certain crisis shattered its way through life and consciousness and left a deep chasm behind. It takes place—or, rather, deliberately to avoid the present tense, it took place, and had taken place—in the long ago, in the old days, the days of the world before the Great War, in the beginning of which so much began that has scarcely yet left off beginning. Yes, it took place before that; yet not so long before. Is not the pastness of the past the profounder, the completer, the more legendary, the more immediately before the present it falls? More than that, our story has, of its own nature, something of the legend about it now and again.
We shall tell it at length, thoroughly, in detail—for when did a narrative seem too long or too short by reason of the actual time or space it took up? We do not fear being called meticulous, inclining as we do to the view that only the exhaustive can be truly interesting.
Not all in a minute, then, will the narrator be finished with the story of our Hans. The seven days of a week will not suffice, no, nor seven months either. Best not too soon make too plain how much mortal time must pass over his head while he sits spun round in his spell. Heaven forbid it should be seven years!
And now we begin. | <urn:uuid:e613b1e8-46fa-4db2-9396-6d50195870d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.naderlibrary.com/lit.magicmountainmann.for.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969827 | 622 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Grace community groups are small spiritual communities where we continue to learn what it means to love each other as Jesus commanded. The meetings typically involve Bible study relating to the teaching from Sunday mornings, prayer, mutual support and making friends.
We feel that community groups are at the heart of who we are as Grace Church. These groups provide a place for us to develop close friendships, to learn and to grow together. They also serve as a place for those who have not accepted Christ to learn more about what it means to be a Christian and to experience the reality of what it means to be a passionate follower of Christ. Community groups are also the primary place where every member finds encouragement and opportunity for ministry and leadership development. They provide a place for us to live out our faith as we learn to minister and care for each other.
The small groups are a place where you can challenge, be challenged and learn. | <urn:uuid:cd63d5d4-501d-46ae-9fcc-b0155f1adf8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gracechurchnwa.org/community-groups/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971345 | 183 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Ian Thorpe won five Olympic gold medals, the greatest total of any Australian. Thorpe first grabbed world attention when he won the 1998 world 400m freestyle title in Perth, becoming, at 15, the youngest world champion in history. At the age of 12, he competed in 13 events at a state meet, and set under-age NSW records in all of them. Fully grown, he had a large frame, an arm span of 190cm and size 17 feet. As his first Olympics approached, in Sydney, he had broken 10 world records - four of them in four days at the 1999 Pan Pacific titles. On the first night of Olympic competition in Sydney he won the 400m freestyle, shaving his own world mark, then combined with Michael Klim, Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus to inflict the United States’ first defeat ever in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay, setting another world record. In the individual 200m freestyle, the Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband beat him into second place. Later Thorpe featured with Klim, Todd Pearson and Bill Kirby in another world-record relay victory winning the 4 x 200m.
Between the Sydney and Athens 2004 Games, Thorpe split with his veteran coach Doug Frost and joined Tracey Menzies. He almost lost the chance to defend his 400m title when he toppled from his starting block in the Olympic trials - but survived and went on to win the Olympic final. He later won the 200m freestyle - billed as “the race of the century” - against Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband and American Michael Phelps.
Harry Gordon, AOC historian | <urn:uuid:d72fa788-9ba3-4885-8767-15ab19cdc60c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://corporate.olympics.com.au/athlete/ian-thorpe | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958598 | 342 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The rabbit doesn’t seem to have a good understanding of himself or his relationship with other members of the household. If he were human, we might diagnose him as having dissociative identity disorder……He seems to think he is a dog, and in some ways he is a better dog than the dogs. With apologies to the dogs, but really, they should lift their game.
1. he eats dog food – and he is first at the bowl. The dogs stand back and watch him. Not sure what the vet will think about this diet.
2. he is house trained. It was remarkably easy. The only problem is he does like to scratch and dig in the litter tray.
3. he comes when he is called. He also answers to a variety of nicknames. (dogs are not reliable for this)
4. he attacks the dogs – he is the alpha of the pack. This may be a pre-emptive strike, but he seems to ignore the dogs’ attempts to scare him.
5. he thinks it is OK to hop onto your lap. Even when you are eating at the dinner table. (This is not tolerated in the dogs – or from the rabbit.)
6. He hops on the bed. Again – this is not tolerated, but it doesn’t stop him. It’s a bit of a shock when you are lying down and a rabbit suddenly lands on your stomach.
7. he thinks it is his right to be picked up, held and patted. All the time.
8. he has been microchipped. First time the vet had microchipped a rabbit! He had his nails trimmed at the same time. Just like the dogs.
9. he understands “no”. Again, the dogs are not reliable on this one.
10. he thinks he should have the run of the house. Despite being held captive in the tiled area of the house, every time a door is opened he makes a run at it. He is fast, but not has fast as me. No! rabbit.
To subsribe to this blog and get regular updates, please click the email subscription button on the right of the page, or go to the Mudmap facebook page. | <urn:uuid:8626a0d5-7b48-44ae-a91e-fe7519aa6025> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mudmap.wordpress.com/tag/dog/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987192 | 466 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Do you want to install iOS 5 beta to iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad and try out the top 10 features of iOS 5 including the new 200 new features?
You need to be enrolled as Apple iOS Developer Portal and activate device ID also known as UDID into iOS provisioning portal by adding device ID to iOS Provisioning Portal.
How much will it cost to register as iOS developer? Is it free?
No, it’s not free. You will be charged for $99 annual fee to be registered as iOS developer.
If you enroll yourself into iOS developer portal for $99 only to try out iOS 5 beta, you made a mistake. Instead registering your UDID into iOS Provisioning Portal yourself, you can find many cheap UDID activation service that will only charge you for a few bucks and you are ready to install iOS 5 into the device.
Yes, you don’t need to pay $99 for developer account and you may activate udid without developer account through these online services. If you are looking for free udid activation service, these websites may also offer you free udid activation by making your feedback on several social network such as facebook, twitter, youtube. Also free udid activation for a few first customers (but you may too late).
registerudid.com offer quick activation but seems the owner wanted to sell this website
iosactivations.com often sold out all slots quickly and you need to wait on the line (limited slots)
If you have websites that offer UDID activation and want it to be here, please contact me through the top menu.
Follow and subscribe!
If you found this post useful, please share it via Google +1, Twitter, or Facebook. | <urn:uuid:a03139c6-6943-4690-90b5-2fa2d487b34c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://iphoners.org/best-cheap-udid-activation-service/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939537 | 354 | 1.507813 | 2 |
||This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (May 2013)|
Jeri Ellsworth, 2008
|Born||1974 (age 38–39)
|Known for||Entrepreneur and self-taught computer chip designer|
Jeri Ellsworth (born 1974) is an American entrepreneur and self-taught computer chip designer. She is best known for creating a Commodore 64 emulator within a joystick, in 2004, called Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV. That "computer in a joystick" could run 30 video games from the early 1980s, and was very popular during the 2004 Christmas season, at peak selling over 70,000 units in a single day via the QVC shopping channel. Ellsworth currently lives in Seattle.
Ellsworth was born in Yamhill, Oregon, and grew up in the town of Dallas, Oregon, where she was raised by her father, a local Mobil service station owner. As a child, she persuaded her father to let her use a Commodore 64 computer which had been originally purchased for her brother. She taught herself to program by reading the C64's manuals. While at high school, she drove dirt-track race cars with her father, and then began designing new models in his workshop, eventually selling her own custom race cars. This allowed her to drop out of high school to continue the business.
In 1995, at the age of 21, she decided that she wanted to get away from the race car business, and she and a friend started an early Intel 486-PC-based business, assembling and selling computers. When she and her partner later had a disagreement, Ellsworth opened a separate business in competition. This new business became a chain of four stores, "Computers Made Easy", selling computer equipment in towns in Oregon. She ran that chain until selling it in 2000, at which point she moved to Walla Walla, Washington and attended Walla Walla College, studying circuit design for about a year. She dropped out due to a "cultural mismatch"; Ellsworth said that questioning professors' answers was frowned upon.
In 2000, Ellsworth attended her first Commodore exposition, where she unveiled a prototype video expansion for the C64. This project later evolved to become the CommodoreOne, a.k.a. the C-One, and C64-DTV.
Ellsworth then began designing computer circuits that mimicked the behavior of her first computer, the Commodore 64. In this way, in 2002, she designed the chip used in the C-One, a board which was co-designed and manufactured by Jens Schönfeld, as an enhanced Commodore 64 which could also emulate other home computers of the early 1980s, including the VIC-20 and Sinclair ZX81. She displayed the C-1 at a technology conference, and she and Schönfeld received enough business to sell a few hundred units. This also led to Ellsworth receiving a job offer from Mammoth Toys, a company which hired her to design the "computer in a chip" for the Commodore-emulating joystick. She began the project in June 2004, and had the project ready to ship by that Christmas. It sold over a half-million units, in the USA, Europe, and elsewhere.
Ellsworth is a pinball machine expert and owns over 90 full sized pinball arcade games. Ellsworth lists some of the pinball machines she owns (at 7:37). She runs the business, Ricochet Pinball.
On December 3, 2010 she released information on how to build a TSA "naked" scanner using repurposed satellite antenna parts.
Ellsworth has published numerous technical articles online regarding subjects as diverse as homemade semiconductors (2009), homemade electroluminescent (EL) displays (2010), EL phosphor manufacture from common ingredients and ways to make transparent EL backplanes without using expensive indium-tin-oxide coated glass.
Ellsworth was a keynote speaker at the Embedded Systems Conference on May 5, 2011.
In early 2012 Ellsworth was hired by Valve Corporation (along with several other notable hardware hackers) to work on gaming hardware. Ellsworth was fired the following year, along with several other Valve employees.
On May 18, 2013, Ellsworth revealed that she had developed an Augmented Reality development system named castAR with fellow ex-Valve engineer Rick Johnson , with the blessing of Valve's Gabe Newell. and would be funding it via Kickstarter later in the year. Her start-up company, Technical Illusions, is developing castAR.
- "Demo Coding with FPGAs: We Don't Need No Stinking CPUs". Notacon 5. April 4, 2008.
- Markoff, John (December 20, 2004). "A Toy with a Story". New York Times.
- Ellsworth, Jeri (November 4, 2012). Short Circuits - One Bit ADC.
- "Jeri Ellsworth, self-taught engineer, talks about her career". youtube.com.
- Monahan, Matt (January 25, 2005). "Joy of electronics sticks with woman, sparking invention". Statesman Journal. Archived from the original on 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
- "C-One website". C64upgra.de. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
- "Events filled with DIY projects, science, demos, recycling, entertainment, and fun". Makerfaire.com. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
- Torrone, Phil (February 25, 2010). "MacGyver of the Day: Electronics Hacker Jeri Ellsworth". Lifehacker.com.
- "Make Your Own TSA "Naked" Scanner". Hack a Day. December 3, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
- "Make: Online | Jeri Ellsworth turns an LCD into an EL display". Blog.makezine.com. June 11, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
- ""I'm working at Valve on nextgen gaming hardware" - Jeri Ellsworth". valvetime.net.
- Gamasutra: Several out of work as Valve makes 'large decisions' about its future
- Engadget: Valve's Gabe Newell on reported layoffs
- "How two Valve engineers walked away with the company's augmented reality glasses"
- "cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013"
- "Technical Illusions"
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeri Ellsworth|
- Official website
- Jeri Ellsworth on Twitter
- Jeri Ellsworth's channel on YouTube
- Jeri Ellsworth's channel on YouTube (Less formal companion channel.)
- Jeri Ellsworth's channel on Vimeo
- Jeri Ellsworth on Flickr
- Jeri Ellsworth at the March 2010 Portland Linux General Meeting on Ustream
- Stanford lecture, May 18, 2005 in video stream | <urn:uuid:f3e74611-6c4f-45bb-a032-049928f93aee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeri_Ellsworth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94059 | 1,440 | 2.0625 | 2 |
More complications for Japan’s shippers
March 18, 2011
Japan’s supply chain continues to be disrupted by the ongoing consequences of last week’s earthquake and tsumami.
Maersk Line and other global vessel operators are avoiding some Japanese ports to mitigate the risk of contamination from damaged nuclear reactors. U.S. multinationals were shifting some critical cargoes from ocean to air carriage a few days ago, but that strategy may become complicated due to a shortage of fuel.
“We use a combination of both air and ocean to transport parts from Japan,” said Larry Wilson, a spokesman for Boeing’s supplier management division. “We have not made any changes in shipping, and are continuing to monitor the situation.”
Brandon Fried, executive director of the Air Forwarders Association, told LM that air carriers are flying into Japan fully fueled, but must stop at Honolulu or Anchorage before arriving at the U.S. mainland.
“That, of course, displaces the cargo payload substantially,” he said.
Japan produces 3-4 percent of the global jet fuel supply, some of which is exported to Asia. Some of this refinery capacity has been lost due to damages caused by the earthquake. This supply restriction could lead to higher jet fuel prices. Meanwhile, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has mobilized its resources to support the aviation industry in several critical areas including procurement of fuel.
“Some key fuel infrastructure facilities in Japan have been damaged,” said IATA spokesmen. “Most Japanese airports have fuel supplies for the next 10 days. IATA is coordinating actions among airlines to maximize existing fuel supplies, including voluntary tankering of jet fuel.”
IATA is also briefing airlines and officials on industry agreed rationing regimes should supply shortages arise.
“It is too early to assess the long-term impact of the Japanese tragedy on the global air transport industry,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “However, understanding the structure of the Japanese air transport industry does give insight on the potential short-term impact of a major slowdown in Japanese air travel.”
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entire logistics operation. Start your FREE subscription today! | <urn:uuid:56b5e008-cadb-4c21-8b90-db935a8fc91b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/more_complications_for_japans_shippers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939478 | 481 | 2.109375 | 2 |
In 1984, following approaches by the Women's Tennis Association, the ITF agreed to take the responsibility for the development of an apprenticeship circuit for women on a worldwide basis. Efforts by the European Tennis Association and the United States Tennis Association prior to this time had achieved a total of $340,000 in low level prize money events during 1983 offering some 26 tournaments in Europe and 14 in the USA. Only 3 other events of $10,000 existed elsewhere and these were in Australia.
It was clear that in order to encourage the establishment of events at this apprenticeship level, there was a need for a comprehensive initiative by the ITF. Firstly, National Associations had to be encouraged to allocate resources to the women's game and before this could be done effectively, standard Regulations and organisational guidelines needed to be devised which could be used by all tournaments.
Several sets of rules were already in effect but these differed and were hard to understand by anyone not previously well-versed in women's tennis. Also, the benefits of staging such events had to be conveyed as widely as possible, particularly with regard to providing young players with the opportunity to play events through which to achieve an initial computer ranking.
The first priority was to draw up one set of Regulations and Code of Conduct for applicability to all nations, and although simple in concept, this proved to be a difficult and awkward task in practice. Throughout 1985, continuing discussions took place with the ETA and the USTA in cooperation with the WTA and finally, in early 1986, the first edition of the ITF Regulations for Approved Women's Events with Prize Money between $5,000 and $50,000 was published and circulated to all member nations of the ITF.
A contribution from the Championships at Wimbledon of £100,000 which led the way to establishing the Grand Slam Trust Fund was to prove the vital stimulus; a cash incentive to assist with increasing competitive opportunities worldwide was the key to establishing a truly comprehensive approach to tennis development.
In 1986, the French and US Open Championships joined Wimbledon in creating the Grand Slam Trust Fund by contributing to this on-going project. The Australian Open pledged its support once the tournament was on a firm financial footing in its spectacular new facility in Melbourne.
By the end of 1986, some 12 weeks of tennis in South America had been launched, primarily through the Grand Slam Trust Fund initiative, offering $60,000 in prize money. More importantly, this circuit provided opportunity for the wealth of talented junior players, nurtured by the successful COSAT Junior Circuit, with a means to progress into the professional game.
For the first time it became possible for these home-grown players to earn computer points in their own region before embarking on the more competitive circuits in Europe and the USA. Asia responded with a 14 week circuit offering $115,000 in prize money while the growth in Europe and the US continued to show expansion.
The million dollar threshold was broken by the end of 1986 when a total of 108 events worldwide offered $1,075,000 by way of tournaments and circuits with $25,000 or less in prize money and the Circuit has continued to grow ever since.
The WTA singles ranking list for the end of 2012, released on 31 December, showed that all but two players have, at some point during their career, competed on the ITF Pro Circuit! | <urn:uuid:3fa3a0a2-79cf-426f-ae53-9442247d24f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/about-pro-circuit/women's-history.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976821 | 688 | 2.375 | 2 |
Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/19
Annual Reunion of Pegram Battalion Association. 13
were admirably served, his loss was proportionally very nearly as great as at Mechanicsville.
But he was resolute to push on with the rest of the army to Ma- nassas, where, for the second time, his guns did good service on* that glorious field.
In the investment of Harper's Ferry, where all the artillery was served with marked efficiency, his battery and that of Crenshaw won especial attention owing to their good fortune in occupying a position deemed inaccessible and very near the town. In his official report of the capture of the place, General Jackson says : " Lieutenant- Colonel Walker opened a rapid enfilade fire from all his batteries at aboutone thousand yards range. In an hour the enemy's fire seemed to be silenced, and the batteries of General Hill were ordered to cease their fire, which was the signal for storming the works. Gene- ral Pender had commenced his advance, when the enemy again open- ing, Pegram and Crenshaw moved forward their batteries, and poured a rapid fire into the enemy. The white flag was now displayed, and shortly afterwards Brigadier- General White, with a garrison of eleven thousand and ninety men, surrendered as prisoners of war."
On the capitulation of the post, Pegram was enabled to refit his battery thoroughly from the vast quantity of captured munitions of war, and moved with Walker's Battalion up to Sharpsburg. Here he received his first wound, a fragment of shell striking him on the head. He refused, however, to avail himself of leave of absence, and within a fortnight was on duty with his battery.
After "Sharpsburg" came a period of rest, grateful beyond ex- pression to the worn veterans of Jackson's corps. Recrossing the Potomac, they went into camp, after the brilliant combat at Shep- herdstown, along the Opequan in the lovely valley of the Shenan- doah.
Thus passed October.
In November, Jackson moved slowly in the direction of Millwood, and early in December was ordered to rejoin Lee in the neighbor- hood of Fredericksburg. Here, in the action of the 13th, Pegram bore his usual part. Jackson, riding along the front of Lane and Archer, said curtly: "They will attack here." On the right of that front, crowning the hills nearest Hamilton's Crossing, ioxxrieGn picked guns were posted by his order. These guns consisted of the batteries of Pegram and the intrepid Mcintosh, of South Carolina, with a sec- tion each from the batteries of Crenshaw, Johnson and Latham. On the left were posted twenty-one guns, among them the " Letcher | <urn:uuid:e85fd4e7-5a23-4613-8cc1-b621d241b2c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Southern_Historical_Society_Papers_volume_14.djvu/19 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981137 | 594 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Internet Anonymity - Anonymizer vs Steganos
Last week, we took a look at what Internet Anonymity is, and how it works. Today, we will be taking a hard look at two of the most popular Anonymity tools out there.
Check out the full article here, and then discuss it here! This time was only Internet Anonym and Anonymizer, but I'm definitely going to be looking at more in the future. If you have a recommendation, let me know!
Nice review - thanks
I'm just starting to look into these types of services/programs. Your review was very helpful. One question... Do these programs prevent my ISP from logging my surfing?
In order to see anything on the internet, you have an IP address that is assigned to your ISP, so technically anything that Stegenos or Anonyimizer sends to your IP, your ISP could technically see.
I believe that both programs encrypt the data though, which is decrypted on your local computer, which would make it clearly impossible for your ISP to understand. You may want to dealve deeper to see if it's true for either programs.
You may also want to give Tor a try, as that's a very quick immerging technology.
Some more info...
Cheers Rob - I checked out Tor, but I don't think that's for me. I am prepared to pay for a premium product or service, that works transparently, but protects my IP address, and my surfing habbits from advertising & marketing companies, ISP's and hackers, BUT not one that slows down my surfing by 50% - which I have found with the Internet Anonym free trial.
Have you had any experience with web-based services like www.primedius.com or www.findnot.com?
Great site by the way!
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Successful writers remember that people will read a book one person at a time. Some say they write for themselves, others have a real or imagined individual in mind as their reader.
By imagining one person as your reader you avoid a danger: trying to write to please everyone.
To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you can please some of the readers all of the time, and all of the readers some of the time, but you cannot please all of the readers all of the time.
If you doubt it, read people's comments about the most popular books on Amazon; there are those who hate even the great classics.
Trying to please everybody will make you censor anything that might offend anybody--which won't leave you with anything but the blandest prose imaginable. It can also be the cause of writer's block.
Who to choose as your imagined reader? If you're happy writing for yourself, that's an easy choice. Otherwise pick someone, real or imagined, who:
* enjoys the genre in which you write
* is intelligent (never underestimate the intelligence of your audience)
* is friendly but not uncritical (in other words, they'll notice mistakes)
* is someone whose company you enjoy (or would if they were real)
* is eager to read your book
Having this kind of individual in mind makes the writing process more enjoyable and keeps you on track.
(Do you want a writing coach but are not prepared to spend the kind of money that requires? The next best thing is my book: "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite book seller.) | <urn:uuid:51e32184-baac-4426-bcf8-0248eb52e7cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2012/07/52-tips-for-writing-success-16-write-for-one-person.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969675 | 334 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Universal health care is the overwhelming choice of readers responding to a Sun-Sentinel Feb. 9 write-in poll on health care reform.
``Universal health care is the only viable alternative -- a program similar to the Canadian system,`` wrote Jeffrey Nelson, a Coral Springs vocational and rehabilitation counselor.
Of the 278 ballots returned, 201 backed universal care. Scoring at the bottom were a tax incentives plan offered by President Bush and employer-mandated health coverage supported by some Senate Democrats.
Many of the people who responded work in the health care field. Retired people also were heavily represented.
Those who favor universal health care often mentioned their support for bills in the Florida Legislature sponsored by state Sen. Eleanor Weinstock, D-West Palm Beach, and state Rep. Elaine Gordon, D-Miami Beach.
Harriet Sofman, of Tamarac, said universal care is her choice.
``Any plan that leaves out those with pre-existing conditions is repugnant, unethical and inhuman. Therefore, you can rule out the insurance company plans.``
Temple Szoke, of Delray Beach, another universal care supporter, said after she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago her insurance premiums were raised to $12,000 a year and she had to let the policy lapse. Now she is uninsurable.
``Floridians have an opportunity to lead the United States in health care reform,`` she wrote.
Postal worker Henriette M. Daulton, of Plantation, wrote: ``Universal health care is the only answer. If all of Europe and Canada can manage it, can`t we?``
But some readers took issue with the notion of ``socialized medicine.``
Cathy Whalen, of Fort Lauderdale, backs reforms based on tax incentives, such as Bush proposed.
``So many say they want a health care system like the Canadians. Those people never mention that at least 15 percent of Canada`s taxes go for health care,`` she wrote.
R.J. McCourt, a Margate contractor, is among those who backs an expansion of the Medicare and Medicaid programs to cover the uninsured and suggests money be shifted from the defense budget to pay for it.
Jeff Caminiti, of Wilton Manors, an insurance agent, said he thinks employer- mandated coverage would work, in combination with some other changes. Linda DePoalo, a Tamarac cook, also backs such a plan.
``If companies provided insurance, the low pay wouldn`t seem as bad,`` she wrote.
Others who responded did not like any of the choices.
``Nothing will work until greed in the medical industry is discouraged,`` wrote Fran Nelson, a Fort Lauderdale legal assistant.
How readers responded to a Sun-Sentinel poll on plans to reform the nation`s health care system:
-- 201: Universal health care
-- 29: Miscellaneous
-- 18: Expansion of Medicaid/Medicare
-- 18: Hawaiian plan
-- 7: Tax-incentive programs
-- 5: Employer-mandated coverage | <urn:uuid:2c8ba1ec-d216-4432-b419-5483952c933e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-02-23/news/9201100181_1_universal-care-health-care-universal-health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957551 | 637 | 1.773438 | 2 |
In economics, the term economies of scale refers to a situation where the cost of producing one unit of a good or service decreases as the volume of production increases. The converse situation in which the cost of producing a good or service increases as the volume of production increases is known diseconomies of scale. Economies of scale tend to occur in industries with high capital costs in which those costs can be distributed across a large number of units of production.
The exploitation of economies of scale helps explain why companies grow large in some industries, why marketplaces with many participants are sometimes more efficient, and how a natural monopoly can often occur. It is also a justification for free Economies of scale policies, under the idea that a large unified market presents more opportunities for economies of scale.
Network externalities resemble economies of scale, but they are not considered such because they are effects of the number of users of a good or service, not of efficiency within a business. On the other hand, Economies of scale external to the firm are not considered examples of network externalities despite the fact that they arise from similar non-market interactions with external resources. There is something arbitrary about this, to the extent that either approach may be used if corresponding definitions are used. The most important thing is be consistent about it, which means respecting the established convention.
Back to Marketing Guide Index | <urn:uuid:c37ef44b-2d17-4d65-8628-45e358505b70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nowsell.com/marketing-guide/economies-of-scale.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935316 | 275 | 3.453125 | 3 |
HARTFORD, CT - Gasoline stations in Connecticut might get stiffed by the state on funds owed for environmental spill clean-up, the Hartford Business Journal reports. The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection has proposed closing the Underground Storage Tank Fund because of its $98.6 million deficit.
The plan would give gasoline stations only a small portion of the monies due them for cleaning up leaks from underground petroleum tanks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said it might refuse to recognize the fund€™s viability because of its huge deficit.
With that fund defunct, retailers would have to increase insurance coverage in order to add spills cleanup. That higher cost would force a third to a half of the state€™s gasoline stations to close, the Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association (ICPA) reported.
"It is unacceptable," said Gene Guilford, president of ICPA. "The state has an obligation, as uncomfortable as that is. That obligation needs to be paid."
When the UST fund was founded in the early 1990s, the gross receipts tax on vehicle fuel channeled monies into it. But the state government started repurposing that tax money, which has depleted the fund. The bill before the Connecticut Senate would phase out the UST fund within two years, and give approved claimants only a fraction of what is due.
Nationally, Congress is considering moving $3 billion from LUST to the Highway Transportation Fund. NACS is urging the Senate to keep LUST intact. | <urn:uuid:41df9846-9341-4d0c-b60b-7fe859448678> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nacsonline.com/News/Daily/Pages/ND0309125.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968072 | 314 | 1.929688 | 2 |
I talked about quantum field theories with a minimal length scale, their interpretation, application, and their relation to Deformed Special Relativity (DSR). The talk is mainly based on my recent paper:
And the basics of the model are from our '03 paper
Here is a brief summary about the main statements. In 2003 my collaborators and I worked out a model that includes the notion of a fundamental minimal length into quantum mechanics and quantum field theories. It builds up on earlier works, most notably by Achim Kempf, but extends these approaches -- and is less mathematical but instead focused on applications. The model turned out to be useful to derive modifications to Feynman rules, and allowed us to compute cross-sections (at least at tree level).
Modifications of such a minimal length should become important at energies of about the inverse of that length. The Planck length is expected to play the role of such a minimal length. In case there exist large extra dimensions, the 'true' Planck length might be about 10-4 fm and be testable at the LHC. Actually, what one would find in this case is that there is nothing more to find. Once one reaches the minimal length scale, it is not possible to achieve a higher resolution of structures, no matter what. (And thus there's no point in building a larger collider.)
The motivations for the existence of such a minimal length are manifold, you can e.g. look up my brief review
Essentially the reason for the emergence of a fundamentally finite resolution is that at Planckian energies spacetime gets strongly distorted and it's not possible anymore to resolve finer structures. Also, such a minimal length acts as a regulator in the ultra-violet, which is a nice thing.
The basic idea of my model is to effectively describe such a finite resolution by assuming that no matter how high the energy of a particle gets, it's wavelength never becomes arbitrarily small. To do so, just drop the usual linear relation between wave-vector and momentum. With this, one can then quantize, 2nd quantize, etc. Note, that in my model, there is no upper bound on the energy. There is instead a lower bound on the wave-length. The energy and the momentum of the particles have the usual behavior and interpretation.
While writing the paper in 2003, I could not avoid noticing some kind of a problem with Lorentz-invariance. Apparently, a minimal length should not undergo a Lorentz-contraction and become smaller than minimal. However, it turned out that the quantities with the funny transformation behaviour never entered any observables. It was thus completely sufficient to assume that such a transformation exists, without knowing how it actually looked like.
It was only 2 years later that I realized the connection of this model to DSR which apparently has become enormously fashionable over the last years. (I just found that by now there is even a textbook on DSR available.) By now there are a vast number of papers on the subject. The one half are very phenomenological, the other half are very algebraical investigations. However, as far as I am aware, DSR-theories are still struggling to formulate a consistent quantum field theory. (There was a very notable recent attempt by Tomasz Konopka to set up a field theory with DSR, but imo the model has more than one flaw.)
Most importantly, DSR faces two problems: the one is the soccer-ball problem, the other one is the question of conserved quantities. To briefly address those:
- In DSR there is an upper limit on the energy of the particle. Such a limit should not be present for macroscopic objects (e.g. a soccer-ball). The problem is how to get the proper multi-particle limit for which the deformed Lorentz-transformation behaviour should un-deform. (There has been recent progress towards this direction, see. e.g. Joao's paper, but I think the issue is far from being solved).
- The second problem is that since in DSR the 'physical' momenta do not transform linearly, they do not add linearly, and thus one has to think about what quantities are conserved in interactions - or, how they are defined in the first place. To take a very simple example: usually, the square of the center of mass energy s for two particles with momenta p and q is s = (p+q)^2. Usually, s is Lorentz-invariant (its a scalar), and since the tranformation is linear on p and q, the result of boosting p+q is the same as boosting p, boosting q and then adding both. Not so in DSR. So, which quantity is the center of mass energy? Is it still a scalar? Is it conserved? The situation gets worse for more particles. (Again there has been progress, see e.g. the paper by Judes and Visser, but I think the issue is far from being solved.)
I should admit that I maybe just don't understand that. At least, it is confusing to me, and even after thinking about it several months, I still can't make sense out of it.
Therefore, lets get back to what I understand and that is how things work in my model. Free particles do not experience any quantum gravitational effects. They behave and propagate as usual. When they make an interaction with high center of mass energy and small impact parameter, quantum gravitational effects can strongly disturb the spacetime. An exchange particle in this region then experiences the effects of DSR. It's wavelength has a lower bound, and there is a limit to the resolution that can be reached in such an interaction. This is schematically shown in the figure below
The quantities that are conserved are as usual the asymptotic momenta of the particles. Composite objects do not experience any effects since they are not usually bound such that the gravitational interaction is very strong. Thus, both of the above mentioned problems of DSR are not present using this approach.
I should be so fair to point out that in my scenario there is no modification of the GZK-cutoff, which is the most popular prediction from DSR.
To briefly recall the problem: protons propagating through the universe can make cosmic rays when they hit the earth's atmosphere. The total energy of these events can be measured (at least a lower bound). A proton with very high energy however, should be able to make pions by interacting with photons of the CMB. If the energy of the proton is such high, it can not travel far enough, will not reach the earth, and can not produce a cosmic ray. This cutoff is expected to occur at a certain energy, the so-called GZK-cutoff. There are some events that seem to indicate that cosmic rays above this cutoff have been detected (data has to be confirmed). This has lead to a huge amount of speculation for the cause of the non-presence of the GZK-cutoff.
To come back to main subject, the reason why there is no modification of the GZK-cutoff in my model is very easy to see: the cutoff is a sudden increase in a cross-section as a function of the center of mass energy. Both, the center of mass energy and the cross-section are Lorentz-scalars. The cut-off has been measured on earth at a certain center of mass energy (about one GeV). Boosting it into the reference frame of the fast proton does not change the necessary center of mass energy.
Here is something that still puzzles me: DSR is argued to be observer independent. Now I wonder how can it be that in the one system the cut-off is at a different center of mass energy than in the other system. And if it was so, couldn't one then use exactly this to distinguish between observers?
Anyway, the bottomline is that my model is an alternative interpretation of DSR. It has less problems, but is also less spectacular. I am a particle physicist, and I would really like to see a self-consistent formulation of a QFT with the 'usual' DSR interpretation - maybe that would help me to understand it.
Update Dec. 9th 2006: see also Deformed Special Relativity | <urn:uuid:40841f7c-62e7-4806-a0fc-23d50afbc8f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2006/05/minimal-length-scale.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956962 | 1,740 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Cultúr Cois Cuain
Pól Ó Muirí
Culture vultures in Belfast are spoilt for choice for tomorrow night. Éigse Loch Lao begins with the Robert MacAdam Memorial Lecture (in Irish) by Doctor Diarmaid Ó Doibhlin at 7pm in the William Conor Theatre, University of Ulster, York Street. (Conor being another famous son of Belfast and one of its finest painters.)
Ó Doibhlin’s talk is entitled “Gan tuisle, gan tibeadh – seachadadh an traidisiúin sa Naoú hAois Déag”. Ó Doibhlin is a former lecturer of Irish in UU and an expert on Irish-language literature and always someone worth listening to. Éigse Loch Lao will continue in Belfast over the weekend with more lecturers and a poetry/musical trip down the Lagan.
Meanwhile – as they say – in another part of the city, the literary journal, Irish Pages, will hold its fifth annual lecture at 7.30 pm in Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street. Writer and critic, Patricia Craig, will talk on “To Scullabogue Backwards from Belfast: Against Sectarian Preconceptions”.
All very learned and the chance of one of Belfast’s famous pasty suppers afterwards. What more could a culture vulture ask for? | <urn:uuid:eec3646a-a88d-431b-8ca4-14542c3b38ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ultach/2010/05/06/cultur-cois-cuain/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905527 | 310 | 1.53125 | 2 |
- published: 24 Jan 2012
- views: 35
- author: Rejuv Medical
Hello, I am Joel Baumgartner, M.D. from Rejuv Medical. When you hear the word malnutrition, what do you think of? Is it the person that is gaunt, anorexic, o...
|Classification and external resources|
The overweight range according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) is the area on the chart where BMI > 25.
A healthy body requires a minimum amount of fat for the proper functioning of the hormonal, reproductive, and immune systems, as thermal insulation, as shock absorption for sensitive areas, and as energy for future use. But the accumulation of too much storage fat can impair movement and flexibility, and can alter the appearance of the body.
The degree to which a person is overweight is generally described by body mass index (BMI). Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 or more, thus it includes pre-obesity defined as a BMI between 25 and 30 and obesity as defined by a BMI of 30 or more. Pre obese and overweight however are often used interchangeably thus giving overweight a common definition of a BMI of between 25 -30. There are however several other common ways to measure the amount of adiposity or fat present in an individual's body.
The most common method for discussing this subject and the one used primarily by researchers and advisory institutions is BMI. Definitions of what is considered to be overweight vary by ethnicity. The current definition proposed by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) designates whites, Hispanics and blacks with a BMI of 25 or more as overweight. For Asians, overweight is a BMI between 23 and 29.9 and obesity for all groups is a BMI of 30 or more.
BMI, however, does not account extremes of muscle mass, some rare genetic factors, the very young, and a few other individual variations. Thus it is possible for an individuals with a BMI of less than 25 to have excess body fat, while others may have a BMI that is significantly higher without falling into this category. Some of the above methods for determining body fat are more accurate than BMI but come with added complexity.
If an individual is overweight and has excess body fat it could, but won't always, create or lead to health risks. Reports are surfacing, however, that being mildly overweight to slightly obese – BMI being between 24 and 31.9 – may be actually beneficial and that people with BMI between 24 and 31.9 could actually live longer than normal weight or underweight persons.
While the negative health outcomes associated with obesity are accepted within the medical community, the health implications of the overweight category are more controversial. The generally accepted view is that being overweight causes similar health problems to obesity, but to a lesser degree. Adams et al. estimated that the risk of death increases by 20 to 40 percent among overweight people, and the Framingham heart study found that being overweight at age 40 reduced life expectancy by three years.
Flegal et al., however, found that the mortality rate for individuals who are classified as overweight (BMI 25 to 30) may actually be lower than for those with an "ideal" weight (BMI 18.5 to 25).
Being overweight does not increase mortality in older people.
Being overweight is generally caused by the intake of more calories (by eating) than are expended by the body (by exercise and everyday living). Factors which may contribute to this imbalance include:
People who have insulin dependant diabetes and chronically overdose insulin may gain weight, while people who already are overweight may develop insulin tolerance, and in the long run type II diabetes.
A large number of people undergo some form of treatment to attempt to reduce their weight, usually either in an attempt to improve their health, to improve their lifestyle, or for cosmetic reasons. The generally recommended treatment for being overweight is a modified or controlled diet in conjunction with increased physical exercise. For those who are obese rather than overweight, more intensive therapies such as anti-obesity drugs and/or bariatric surgery are sometimes used.
Studies suggest that reducing calorie intake by itself (dieting) may have short-term effects but does not lead to long-term weight loss, and can often result in gaining back all of the lost weight and more in the longer term. For this reason, it is generally recommended that weight-loss diets not be attempted on their own but instead in combination with increased exercise and long-term planning and weight management.
The health benefits of weight loss are also somewhat unclear. While it is generally accepted that for obese patients, losing weight can reduce health risks and improve quality of life, there is some evidence to suggest that for merely overweight patients, the health effects of attempting to lose weight may actually be more detrimental than simply remaining overweight. Also, for both overweight and obese individuals, repeatedly losing and regaining weight ("weight cycling" or "yo-yo dieting") may cause additional health problems beyond those associated with weight loss and being overweight or obese.
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As we continue to develop our business, we might sell certain aspects of our entities or assets. In such transactions, user information, including personally identifiable information, generally is one of the transferred business assets, and by submitting your personal information on Wn.com you agree that your data may be transferred to such parties in these circumstances. | <urn:uuid:6a85e846-7190-453a-a920-e365f6017d46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://article.wn.com/view/2013/03/01/Malnourished_overweight_need_A_Place_at_the_TableReview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9477 | 1,712 | 3.5 | 4 |
*A cell phone (obviously with a camera on it)
*A case that fits snugly on said cell phone
*A floppy disk
*A pair of scissors
IR photography requires an immense amount of sunlight (or IR lights) to properly expose shots. That being said, do not look into the sun, with or without the filter on your phone.
*This isn't technically a true IR filter. However, for the price it does the job well enough.
Step 1: Camera Check
So how do you know if your camera has a blocking filter? Turn the camera on, get a remote control of some kind (TV/DVR/etc etc...), point the end of the remote with the IR LEDs in it (the end you point towards whatever you are trying to control/the end that has little LED bulbs on it) towards the camera lens, and press buttons. You should see them light up (probably purple). If you don't see anything, make sure the remote isn't dead and that you are pressing a button. If you still don't see anything, then you have a good camera and unfortunately the only way to continue is to take it apart. If you do see them light up, congrats! You have a camera capable of taking IR pictures. | <urn:uuid:07a27c35-ead1-4f61-87cf-4b292dad5bfd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.instructables.com/id/Poor-Mans-Cell-Phone-IR-Filter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948823 | 264 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Ed. Note: Television news here reported today that this individual who was captured while entering Venezuela illegally from Colombia is a US Marine.
- Les Blough in Venezuela
"A group of the bourgeoisie is preparing to reject the people's triumph, that's very clear. [They] are going to try to plunge the country into a political crisis and fill the country with violence. I urge everybody to be very alert."
-President Hugo Chavez Frias
President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez says security forces have detained a US citizen under suspicion that he is a mercenary or foreign agent, and insinuated the man could be part of a possible future effort to destabilize the South American nation if the opposition’s candidate loses in the upcoming presidential election.
|Hugo Chávez has claimed an American mercenary is being interrogated after trying to enter the country from Colombia. (Photograph: AFP/Getty)
"He has the look of a mercenary. We are interrogating him," Chavez said during a public speech, adding that the man had stamps in his passport from visits to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. In addition, Chavez said, the man had a notebook containing geographical coordinates which he attempted to destroy after being detained.
"We have reconstructed the pages," he said. "He says he was fleeing from someone ... It's a powerful sign. This citizen wanted to enter the country illegally, for who knows what reason. He cannot say where he was going, or who was waiting for him."
Chavez, who has recently battled cancer but says he is healthy, holds a formidable two-digit lead against his rival Henrique Capriles in most polls.
US embassy officials have not yet responded to media requests for more information.
"Since taking office in 1999, Chavez has reveled in his role as a global champion against U.S. power in fiery rhetoric and frequent accusations that play well with his power-base among Venezuela's poor majority.
"There is no love lost between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments, and Washington was quick to recognize Chavez's short-lived replacement after a 24-hour military coup in 2002. But President Barack Obama's administration has been avoiding direct confrontation during an election period in both nations."
Source: Common Dreams | <urn:uuid:d8b7763d-9515-47d1-8a9a-e90108d3fd4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_64853.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9741 | 459 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The ubiquity and consequences of childhood growth stunting (<-2 SD in height-for-age Z score, HAZ) in rural areas of low-income nations has galvanized research into the reversibility of stunting, but the shortage of panel data has hindered progress. Using panel data from a native Amazonian society of foragers-farmers in Bolivia (Tsimane'), we estimate rates of catch-up growth for stunted children. One hundred forty-six girls and 158 boys 2 < or = age < or = 7 were measured annually during 2002-2006. Annual Delta height in cm and in HAZ were regressed separately against baseline stunting and control variables related to attributes of the child, mother, household, and village. Children stunted at baseline had catch-up growth rates 0.11 SD/year higher than their nonstunted age and sex peers, with a higher rate among children farther from towns. The rate of catch up did not differ by the child's sex. A 10% rise in household income and an additional younger sibling lowered by 0.16 SD/year and 0.53 SD/year the rate of growth. Results were weaker when measuring Delta height in cm rather than in HAZ. Possible reasons for catch-up growth include (a) omitted variable bias, (b) parental reallocation of resources to redress growth faltering, particularly if parents perceive the benefits of redressing growth faltering for child school achievement, and (c) developmental plasticity during this period when growth rates are most rapid and linear growth trajectories have not yet canalized.
Article Archive: South American
Researchers have shown interest in the relation between (a) social capital and individual income and (b) the individual health of people of industrial nations. The socioeconomic complexity of industrial nations makes it difficult to arrive at firm conclusions. We circumvent the obstacle by using data from a small-scale rural society of foragers-farmers in the Bolivian Amazon (Tsimane'). We examine the interactions between the outcome (BMI) and relative income, relative social capital, village income, and village social capital. We test three hypotheses: people in villages with more social capital should have higher BMI, the positive association between social capital and BMI will be more marked among the less well-off, and better-off people who display generosity will have higher BMI than better-off people who do not. On the methodological side we show the importance of: focusing on relative measures of income and social capital, estimating interaction between community and relative measures of income and social capital, and showing results through contour plots that summarize the relation between BMI and pairs of explanatory variables. On the substantive side we find evidence that village social capital and village income complement each other and are associated with higher BMI, the rich who are stingy have lower BMI than the rich who display generosity, and increase in village income might reduce individual incentives to invest in social capital. We explore interactions between explanatory variables and their influence on BMI, and end by recommending the use of an experimental research design to obtain unbiased estimates of causal effects.
Researchers have found a positive association between income inequality and poor individual health. To explain the link, researchers have hypothesized that income inequality erodes community social capital, which unleashes negative emotions, stress, and stress behaviors that hurt health. Few studies have tested the hypothesized path. Here we estimate the association between (a) village income inequality and social capital, and (b) three distinct negative emotions (anger, fear, sadness) and one stress behavior (alcohol consumption). We use four quarters of panel data (2002-2003) from 655 adults in 13 villages of a foraging-farming society in the Bolivian Amazon (Tsimane'). We found that: (1) village income inequality was associated with more negative emotions but with less alcohol consumption, (2) social capital always bore a negative association with outcomes, and (3) results held up after introducing many changes to the main model. We conclude that village income inequality probably affects negative emotions and stress behaviors through other paths besides social capital because we conditioned for social capital. One such path is an innate dislike of inequality, which might have pre-human origins. Our prior research with the Tsimane' suggests that village income inequality bore an insignificant association with individual health. Therefore, village income inequality probably affects negative emotions and stress behaviors before undermining health.
BACKGROUND: New quantitative methods to collect and analyze data have produced novel findings in ethnobiology. A common application of quantitative methods in ethnobiology is to assess the traditional ecological knowledge of individuals. Few studies have addressed reliability of indices of traditional ecological knowledge constructed with different quantitative methods.
METHODS: We assessed the associations among eight indices of traditional ecological knowledge from data collected from 650 native Amazonians. We computed Spearman correlations, Chronbach's alpha, and principal components factor analysis for the eight indices.
RESULTS: We found that indices derived from different raw data were weakly correlated (rho<0.5), whereas indices derived from the same raw data were highly correlated (rho>0.5; p < 0.001). We also found a relatively high internal consistency across data from the eight indices (Chronbach's alpha = 0.78). Last, results from a principal components factor analysis of the eight indices suggest that the eight indices were positively related, although the association was low when considering only the first factor.
CONCLUSION: A possible explanation for the relatively low correlation between indices derived from different raw data, but relatively high internal consistency of the eight indices is that the methods capture different aspects of an individual's traditional ecological knowledge. To develop a reliable measure of traditional ecological knowledge, researchers should collect raw data using a variety of methods and then generate an aggregated measure that contains data from the various components of traditional ecological knowledge. Failure to do this will hinder cross-cultural comparisons.
We analyze anthropometric variables of a society of forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon (Tsimane') in 2001-2002. Community variables (e.g., inequality, social capital) explain little of the variance in anthropometric indices of nutritional status, but individual-level variables (schooling, wealth) are positively correlated with nutritional status. Dietary quality (foods high in animal proteins), access to foraging technology, and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants are related to better anthropometric indices.
Evidence has been accumulated about the adverse effects of income inequality on individual health in industrial nations, but we know less about its effect in small-scale, pre-industrial rural societies. Income inequality should have modest effects on individual health. First, norms of sharing and reciprocity should reduce the adverse effects of income inequality on individual health. Second, with sharing and reciprocity, personal income will spill over to the rest of the community, attenuating the protective role of individual income on individual health found in industrial nations. We test these ideas with data from Tsimane' Amerindians, a foraging and farming society in the Bolivian Amazon. Subjects included 479 household heads (13+ years of age) from 58 villages. Dependent variables included anthropometric indices of short-run nutritional status (body-mass index (BMI), and age- and sex-standardized z-scores of mid-arm muscle area and skinfolds). Proxies for income included area deforested per person the previous year and earnings per person in the last 2 weeks. Village income inequality was measured with the Gini coefficient. Income inequality did not correlate with anthropometric indices, most likely because of negative indirect effects from the omission of social-capital variables, which would lower the estimated impact of income inequality on health. The link between BMI and income and between skinfolds and income resembled a U and an inverted U; income did not correlate with mid-arm muscle area. The use of an experimental research design might allow for better estimates of how income inequality affects social capital and individual health.
Infectious disease, such as diarrheal disease, respiratory infections, and parasitic infections, are an important source of nutritional and energetic stress in many populations. Inspired by the research and methodological innovations of A. Roberto Frisancho, this work considers the impact of childhood environment and local disease ecology on child health and nutritional patterns among an indigenous group in lowland Bolivia. Specifically, we examine the association between soil-transmitted helminth infection, especially hookworm species, and anthropometric markers of short- and long-term nutritional status. Fecal samples, anthropometric dimensions, and health interviews were collected for 92 children ranging in age from 2.0 to 10.9 years. Microscopic examination revealed high levels of parasitic infection, with 76% of children positive for hookworm species infections (77% of girls and 74% of boys). Less common infections included Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichurius trichiura, and Strongyloides stercoralis with only 15% of children positive for multiple-species infections. After adjusting for sex and age, no statistically significant associations were observed between helminth infections and the frequency of reported illness or anthropometric measures of nutritional status. These data demonstrate the difficulty of assessing nutritional impacts of endemic infections.
BACKGROUND: Global climate change and recent studies on early-life origins of well-being suggest that climate events early in life might affect health later in life.
AIM: The study tested hypotheses about the association between the level and variability of rain and temperature early in life on the height of children and adolescents in a foraging-farming society of native Amazonians in Bolivia (Tsimane'). SUBJECT AND METhods: Measurements were taken for 525 children aged 2-12 and 218 adolescents aged 13-23 in 13 villages in 2005. Log of standing height was regressed on mean annual level and mean intra-annual monthly coefficient of variation (CV) of rain and mean annual level of temperature during gestation, birth year, and ages 2-4. Controls include age, quinquennium and season of birth, parent's attributes, and dummy variables for surveyors and villages.
RESULTS: Climate variables were only related with the height of boys age 2-12. The level and CV of rain during birth year and the CV of rain and level of temperature during ages 2-4 were associated with taller stature. There were no secular changes in temperature (1973-2005) or rain (1943-2005).
CONCLUSION: The height of young females and males is well protected from climate events, but protection works less well for boys ages 2-12.
Among adults of industrial nations, growth stunting (<-2 SD height Z score) is associated with worse indicators of adult well-being (e.g., income). Does adult stunting also inflict private costs in traditional societies? Adult stunting penalties or height premiums might only emerge when traditional societies modernize. Here we estimate the association between adult stunting and indicators of adult well-being using data from a panel study in progress among the Tsimane', a foraging-farming society of native Amazonians in Bolivia. Subjects included 248 women and 255 men >or=age 22 measured annually during 5 consecutive years (2002-2006). Nine outcomes (wealth, monetary income, illness, access to credit, mirth, schooling, math skills, plant knowledge, forest clearance) were regressed separately against a stunting dummy variable and a wide range of control variables. We found no significant association between any of the indicators of own well-being and adult stunting. Additional analysis showed that stunting bore an association only with poorer mid-arm muscle area. Height premiums and stunting penalties, though evident and marked in modern societies, might not be common in all traditional societies. | <urn:uuid:02c264d1-0694-4018-bb2b-d60ff089e530> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://globalhealthportal.northwestern.edu/category/article-tags/south-american | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938222 | 2,406 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Healthy Living: New procedure for vastectomy reversal
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While vasectomies are meant to be a permanent, many men decide to reverse the procedure, and over the past few decades, vasectomy reversal techniques have evolved greatly.
Recently, Urologist Dr. Andrew McCullough has begun using the da Vinci Robot to perform the complex procedure. Although using the da Vinci in vasectomy reversal is a technique that is less than a year old, the success rate is proof that it is working. Dr. McCullough says that ten out of the twelve patients on which he has performed the procedure have had positive results.
Some people are better candidates for the procedure than others, as the success of the reversal depends on the condition of the patient's tissue after the original vasectomy and how long ago the vasectomy was performed.
Learn more about the procedure in the video above. | <urn:uuid:a002c42c-5d98-49fe-bb5e-43bdd7f7459b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://austin.ynn.com/content/health/286076/healthy-living--new-procedure-for-vastectomy-reversal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937881 | 209 | 1.890625 | 2 |
WALKING IS BETTER FOR YOU THAN THE GYM, REVEALS NEW RESEARCH
A leisurely walk is better for your health than short bursts of exercise in the gym. New research from Maastricht University has revealed that you cannot compensate for a sedentary lifestyle by doing short bursts of exercise and that prolonged exercise such as walking is better for lowering cholesterol levels.
By monitoring insulin and lipid (fat) levels in young adults, researchers found that those who walked for four hours and stood for two had significantly lower levels of cholesterol and lipids than those who did short bursts of intensive exercise.
Gareth Williams, founder of the national outdoor and walking club, Large Outdoors said, “Walking is an excellent way of keeping fit and healthy and is accessible for people of all ages and abilities. To help our members to get fit and stay active we run social walks and walking weekends across the country, making walking easy, accessible and safe and helping people to get out and enjoy the British countryside.”
Up and coming Large Outdoors events include walks through the Derwent Valley, Castleton, the Chilterns and a Snowdon Climb Challenge. For further information or to book your place on a Large Outdoor event, see www.largeoutdoors.com. | <urn:uuid:b3616f9b-f7dd-48e4-8f3e-25eb75d93f78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oe-mag.co.uk/oemag/?p=2175 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950118 | 266 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Water’s Fine! - Penguins spend nearly 75% of their
life in the water hunting for food.
All Ears. - While penguins don’t have visible ears,
they do have very good hearing. An ear canal under their
feathers allows these birds to hear on land and under water.
Hearing is very important to penguins so they can zero in
on their mates or chicks within a colony that could have
80,000 or more birds.
Can Call Me Sweetheart. - Many penguin species are monogamous
and may stay with the same mate for several breeding seasons.
And penguins make very good parents. Both the male and female
care for eggs and chicks.
For Success. - Penguins have a black and white tuxedo look
for protection. From above, their black back blends in with
the dark waters below. From underwater looking up, a penguin’s
white belly tends to match the lighter sky.
Plump. - Most penguins are a bit on the chubby side for
good reason. Their fat layer insulates them from the cold
and provides an energy reserve when food is scarce.
Your Mark, Get Set, Go! - When Adelie penguins hop off the
ice and into the ocean, they accelerate from 0 to 16 mph
in less than one second. That’s important to avoid
leopard seals that swim at an average speed of 4 mph.
- The color intensity of a macaroni penguin’s yellow
feathers, its red eyes and beak help attract a mate. More
vivid yellows and reds tend to indicate a bird’s overall
health and disease resistance.
Me. - All 17 penguin species are remarkable divers without
scuba tanks. Emperor penguins are the champion at holding
their breath. They can stay under water for up to 15 minutes.
don’t just waddle. - On land, penguins waddle, hop,
and slide around on their bellies. They also have three
ways to move through water: they swim near the surface;
they “fly” underwater; and they sometimes swim
along repeatedly popping out of the water like dolphins.
You Spare A Bite? – Gentoo chicks beg their parents
for food by pecking on their beaks and making a special
sound. The parent then opens up and regurgitates food into
the chick’s mouth.
she happy? - The Adelie penguin was discovered by French
Explorer Julies-Sebastien-Cesar Dumont d’ Urville
when he visited the Antarctic in 1840. He named the penguin
after his wife Adelie. No word on whether or not she approved.
Mom? – Rockhopper males stay on land with their chicks
while the females go out fishing. Female rockhopper penguins
will spend almost all day gathering food making an average
of 44 dives an hour.
This! – Archaeologists have uncovered fossilized penguins
that date back 58 to 62 million years ago. That means somehow
penguin ancestors survived after the mass extinction of
the dinosaurs. The largest penguin fossils were as large
as a human.
Divers. – Several species of penguins routinely dive
to depths between 300 and 500 feet. Scientists attached
recording instruments on an Emperor penguin that once dove
to an incredible depth of 1800 feet!
Choppers? – Penguins don’t have any teeth, but
they do have barbs on their tongue and throat. These barbs
point backwards helping penguins swallow slippery fish,
squid and krill.
Play Charades. – Penguins are very loud birds, calling
to each other frequently throughout the day. Watch closely
and you’ll also see a lot of body language. Penguins
communicate by dipping their heads down and bobbing them
back up as their flippers flap at one another.
Torpedoes. – All penguins are built for speed under
water. They are very streamlined with strong flippers that
can propel them through the water with ease. Some species
are capable of short bursts of greater than 20 mph and can
maintain speeds of 9 mph. They use bursts of speed to launch
themselves onto steep rocky shorelines or icebergs.
To Chill Out. – Galapagos penguins live right on the
Equator in a very tropical climate. To keep cool they hold
their flippers out. This allows heat to escape their bodies.
It also shades their feet, helping them to avoid sunburn. | <urn:uuid:fa65de1c-8016-430d-8c73-747b6cb5c242> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tennis.org/Newsroom/Penguin_Fun_Facts.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91647 | 980 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Emissions from Hybrid and Plug-In Electric Vehicles
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and all-electric vehicles (EVs) typically produce lower emissions than conventional vehicles do. When measuring well-to-wheel emissions, the electricity source is important: For PHEVs and EVs, part or all of the power comes from off-board sources of electricity. There are emissions associated with the majority of electricity production in the United States.
Electricity Sources and Emissions
EVs and PHEVs running only on electricity have zero tailpipe emissions, but emissions may be produced by the source of electrical power, such as a power plant. In geographic areas that use relatively low-polluting energy sources for electricity generation, PHEVs and EVs typically have a well-to-wheel emissions advantage over similar conventional vehicles running on gasoline or diesel. In regions that depend heavily on conventional fossil fuels for electricity generation, PEVs may not demonstrate a well-to-wheel emissions benefit.
Comparing Well-to-Wheel Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Compare greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs for a selection of common conventional and electric drive vehicles for a 100-mile trip in the table below.
|Emissions and Fuel Cost for a 100-Mile Trip|
|Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(pounds of CO2 equivalent)
|Total Fuel Cost
|Conventional||87 lb CO2||$13.36|
|Hybrid Electric||57 lb CO2||$8.78|
|Plug-in Hybrid Electric||62 lb CO2||$7.10|
|All-Electric||54 lb CO2||$3.74|
Direct and Well-to-Wheel Emissions
Vehicle emissions can be divided into two general categories: Air pollutants, which contribute to smog, haze, and health problems; and greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide and methane. Both categories of emissions can be evaluated on a direct basis and a well-to-wheel basis.
Direct emissions are emitted through the tailpipe, as well as through evaporation from the vehicle's fuel system and during the fueling process. EVs produce zero direct emissions. PHEVs produce zero tailpipe emissions when they are in all-electric mode, but they do produce evaporative emissions. And when using the internal combustion engine, PHEVs also produce tailpipe emissions. However, their direct emissions are typically lower than those of comparable conventional vehicles.
Well-to-wheel emissions include all emissions related to fuel production, processing, distribution, and use. In the case of gasoline, emissions are produced while extracting petroleum from the earth, refining it, distributing the fuel to stations, and burning it in vehicles. In the case of electricity, most electric power plants produce emissions, and there are additional emissions associated with the extraction, processing, and distribution of the primary energy sources they use for electricity production.
Learn more about electric drive vehicle emissions in Argonne National Laboratory's report: Well-to-Wheels Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles. | <urn:uuid:dafcda63-3abe-4531-9f89-fdf9ae17370b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_emissions.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902597 | 646 | 3.84375 | 4 |
Backup and Restore
As contact info is valuable asset of yours, you may want to backup the data regularly, at least weekly. Computer may malfunction, and data may be corrupted or deleted accidentally. You want to bear the loss to minimum in case of disaster.
Open Contacts provides convenient methods of backing up. It is important that you store at least one copy of the backup data outside your computer, for example, in a CDR or external hard disk. In addition, if you need to move your data between your desktop PC and laptop, between PCs at home and at work, or archive and optimize your database, all you need is to backup and then restore.
By default, Open Contacts uses "default.gdb" in the Data directory. You may simply copy the file to an external media to backup, after closing Open Contacts.
The recommended method of backing up the database is to use the built-in backup function of Open Contacts. In the Tools menu, run the Backup command, and save the backup file of the database to a local drive or an external media.
In general, the size of the backup file is around 1/10 of the database file.
As the backup file created by Open Contacts is so small, it is handy to store the file in your Web virtual harddisk, or your Webmail account, so you can retrieve the file anywhere.
To use the backup file, simply restore it into the database file. | <urn:uuid:e8c62e6b-d697-486b-a040-19b4e75dc2ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fonlow.com/opencontacts/Manual/Edit_backup.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910993 | 301 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Tuesday, 24th February 2009 by Ian Brown
Today we have a trio of mysterious water-based sightings. First up, these strange pools in Arizona.
With all the other weirdness in Arizona, these symbols could only be alien communications, right? The reality is that they were created by Forest Service employees. While they were indeed thinking of how they looked from the air (do I see a face with a Picasso influence?), the intent was to improve water collection in this mostly dry pond known as Duck Lake.
Secondly, in central New Brunswick we find this network of varying zigzag lines:
I cannot come up with any explanation for this one. Aliens again? Some kind of scientific research?
Lastly, a triangular network of ponds in Maryland:
Occult practices? Yet more aliens?
If you have explanations for the last two, do let us know. And of course if you know of weird waterways in your part of the world, we’d love to see them!
Thanks to Sean McCabe, Bully, Bob and Troy Stanley. | <urn:uuid:85f15664-bb99-46fb-9034-0f243fcf52b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://googlesightseeing.com/2009/02/weird-waterways/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952294 | 217 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Environmental Issues: Water
All Documents in Water Tagged low impact development
- Out of the Gutter
Reducing Polluted Runoff in the District of Columbia
- Every time it rains, Washington, D.C., like most major cities, is plagued by stormwater runoff, which has gravely contaminated the city's three major rivers. To clean up the pollution, the city's Water and Sewer Authority is relying on costly and outdated stormwater management practices. In this July 2002 report, NRDC recommends instead that WASA adopt low-impact development, as well as other measures to encourage water conservation and the protection of sensitive lands.
- Rooftops to Rivers
Green Strategies for Controlling Stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflows
- This May 2006 report is a policy guide for decision makers looking to implement green stormwater strategies to stop water pollution at its source. It includes nine case studies of cities that have successfully used green infrastructure techniques to reduce runoff and combined sewer overflow (CSO) pollution to create a healthier urban environment.
- Water Saving Solutions
Stopping Pollution at its Source with Low Impact Development
- America's urban landscape is affecting our cities' water supply and water quality. Runoff from urban areas is a leading cause of water pollution in the United States, and in many areas people are using water faster than it can be replenished. More than 100 million acres of land have been developed in the United States, and with development and sprawl increasing faster than population growth, the risks to water supply and quality are growing. Low impact development, or LID, is a simple and cost-effective green development strategy that can help cities, states, and even individuals meet the water supply challenge, clean up our existing water resources, and, in many places in the West, curb global warming pollution by reducing the amount of electricity used to supply water. Get document in pdf.
- A Clear Blue Future
How Greening California Cities Can Address Water Resources and Climate Challenges in the 21st Century
- This NRDC and UCSB analysis shows that implementing low impact development, or LID, practices at new and redeveloped residential and commercial properties in parts of California can increase water supplies by billions of gallons each year, providing an effective and much-needed way to mitigate global warming’s impact on California.
For additional policy documents, see the NRDC Document Bank.
For older publications available only in print, click here.
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Water on Switchboard
NRDC experts write about water efficiency, green infrastructure and climate on the NRDC blog.
Recent Water Posts
- USAID Releases Water Strategy
- posted by Elizabeth Shope, 5/22/13
- New Draft Fracking Rules Give Industry a Free Pass
- posted by Frances Beinecke, 5/17/13
- Voices for America's Wildlife - Fishermen Know that Protecting Endangered Salmon Protects Fishing Jobs
- posted by Doug Obegi, 5/16/13
NRDC Gets Top Ratings from the Charity Watchdogs
- Charity Navigator awards NRDC its 4-star top rating.
- Worth magazine named NRDC one of America's 100 best charities.
- NRDC meets the highest standards of the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau. | <urn:uuid:32e1396f-397e-46a0-9a9b-2ee76993e700> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nrdc.org/documents.asp?topicid=3&tag=low+impact+development | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905091 | 679 | 3.78125 | 4 |