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Since the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act ) came into effect, all gene therapy research involving human subjects must be assessed by the CCMO Central Committee on Research involving Human Subjects (Central Committee on Research involving Human Subjects) in accordance with the Central Review of Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Decree.
The reason that gene therapy research is assessed by the CCMO – and not by (local) medical research ethics committees – is that the developments in the field of gene therapy are so new that there is little relevant expertise.
The CCMO assesses the research proposal according to the criteria of the WMO. For gene therapy research the assessment focuses primarily on the risks involved in the treatment, both for the human subject and for society. Should the CCMO conclude that it does not have the necessary expertise to complete the assessment, it can seek advice from external experts for those aspects where its expertise is lacking.
Definition of parties associated with the clinical research
- Sponsor: an individual, company, institution or organisation which takes responsibility for the initiation, management and/or financing of a clinical trial.
- Investigator: a person responsible for the conduct of a clinical trial at a trial site. If a trial is conducted by a team of individuals at a trial site, the investigator is the leader responsible for the team and may be called the principal investigator. | <urn:uuid:a7de2924-283d-4831-bcc4-cef8f04e6ec8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.loketgentherapie.nl/en/gene-therapy-office/overview-of-assessment-bodies/ccmo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.948079 | 281 | 2.25 | 2 |
For the first time, scientists have designed an insect-like robot smaller than a paperclip that can both fly and swim - paving the way for future dual aerial aquatic robotic vehicles. The biggest challenge is conflicting design requirements: aerial vehicles require large airfoils like wings or sails to generate lift while underwater vehicles need to minimise surface area to reduce drag.
To solve this engineers at the Harvard University's John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) took a clue from puffins. The birds with flamboyant beaks are one of nature's most adept hybrid vehicles, employing similar flapping motions to propel themselves through air as through water.
"Through various theoretical, computational and experimental studies, we found that the mechanics of flapping propulsion are actually very similar in air and in water," said Kevin Chen, a graduate student at the Harvard Microrobotics Lab at SEAS. The RoboBee, designed in postdoctoral fellow Robert J Wood's lab, is a microrobot, smaller than a paperclip, that flies and hovers like an insect, flapping its tiny, nearly invisible wings 120 times per second.
In order to make the transition from air to water, the team first had to solve the problem of surface tension. The RoboBee is so small and lightweight that it cannot break the surface tension of the water. To overcome this hurdle, the RoboBee hovers over the water at an angle, momentarily switches off its wings, and crashes unceremoniously into the water in order to sink.
Next the team had to account for water's increased density. "Water is almost 1,000 times denser than air and would snap the wing off the RoboBee if we didn't adjust its flapping speed," said graduate student Farrell Helbling, the paper's second author. The team lowered the wing speed from 120 flaps per second to nine but kept the flapping mechanisms and hinge design the same.
A swimming RoboBee changes its direction by adjusting the stroke angle of the wings, the same way it does in air. Like a flying version, it is still tethered to a power source. The team prevented the RoboBee from shorting by using deionised water and coating the electrical connections with glue.
While this RoboBee can move seamlessly from air to water, it cannot yet transition from water to air because it can't generate enough lift without snapping one of its wings. Solving that design challenge is the next phase of the research, according to Chen. | <urn:uuid:7ecfb2b5-57df-4792-9e27-986e90960567> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.gizbot.com/news/first-insect-size-robot-that-can-fly-swim-029017.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280730.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00250-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953422 | 513 | 3.734375 | 4 |
St. Augustine and Monica
by Charles Tennyson Turner
When Monica's young son had felt her kiss --
Her weeping kiss -- for years, her sorrow flowed
At last into his wilful blood; he owed
To her his after-life of truth and bliss:
And her own joy, what words, what thoughts could paint!
When o'er his soul, with sweet constraining force,
Came Penitence -- a fusion from remorse --
And made her boy a glorious Christian saint.
Oh ye, who tend the young through doubtful years
Along the busy path from birth to death,
Parents and friends! forget not in your fears
The secret strength of prayer, the holy breath
That swathes your darlings! think how Austin's faith
Rose like a star upon his mother's tears!
Charles Tennyson Turner is the older brother (the middle son) of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. | <urn:uuid:7888864d-7c72-435e-b9af-f10cba6c0ec1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://branemrys.blogspot.com/2014/07/like-star-upon-his-mothers-tears.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00078-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934409 | 193 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Tomaso Boano, Jonas Prišmontas
Special thanks to:
Will London still be the capital of creativity, arts and crafts in 10 years time? With the significant increase in educational fees and rental prices, both residential and work spaces, London seems to be heading towards an era of a relentless battlefield for its citizens.
London has always represented a hub for creative minds, but recently these financial pressures have turned 'creativity' into an industry that can only be joined by people who are able to afford an education and pay the rent without a fixed work income.
Creativity should not be linked to a social status. It rises within people and therefore anyone should be granted the opportunity to investigate, experiment, rehearse and play. To do this we need affordable spaces.
Mimima Moralia is a critical installation, a manifesto of social hope with no political intention. Inspired by our namesake, T. Adorno 1951's masterpiece, it investigates and reflects our "damaged lives" in nowadays London condition.
Minima Moralia offers tiny, cellular pop-up spaces to be inhabited by designers, sculptors, painters, musicians and other creatives.
Minima Moralia is a naked minimalistic structure. It comprises a structural skeleton, a roof, a floor and a translucent external skin that is able to communicate and establish a holistic relationship with its surroundings. Acting as a window into an artistic mind, the space allows a glimpse into the creative processes and the crafting abilities that take place inside.
Minima Moralia interacts with the context. Openings are designed to give a range of options for interactions with the outside world:
- The window: an elegant vertical unfolding opening with a "feel at home" quality. It is a subtle but direct contact with the external world allowing people to "take a peek".
- The canopy: a folded opening that lifts to reveal one side of the workspace. It fully exposes the internal space and the activity happening within. At the same time it creates an inhabitable threshold between the structure and the surroundings.
- The skylight: an opening where sunlight flows freely inside. It is a little glimmer to a constant connection with the stars and the sky above.
Minima Moralia is a programmatic vision for London's backyards and interstitial spaces.
Each of them will be temporarily occupied by artists. Workshop and live/work studio spaces have potential of creating new typologies for creative communities that would pop up in unused public or private spaces around London.
Minima Moralia investigates the process of inhabiting a space.
Each artist will bring their tools and have the opportunity to reveal, if reckoned, the secrets of their making and crafting. The tight space will filter out uselessness. Only what is essential to produce their art can be hosted and used.
Minima Moralia is a design piece.
Modular steel frame creates an empty grid with multiple potential for internal configurations. Shelves, desks, artificial lights and curtains can be provided, to meet the user’s needs.
Minima Moralia is social experiment. It promotes human interaction and interconnection between private spaces and public use. London Housing typology often includes green areas and backyards, which are sometimes abandoned or misused. This project is a type of urban acupuncture that targets those places and effectively brings life into them. | <urn:uuid:e2966170-8dd0-477f-ac50-cc4ccef8e047> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.tomasoboano.com/minima-moralia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571692.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812105810-20220812135810-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.929427 | 707 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Handling and modelling intensive longitudinal data
9th May 2022 : 12:45 - 14:00
Research Group: Quantitative Methods Hub
Speaker: Professor Lars Malmberg (Department of Education, University of Oxford)
Location: Online & in-person - Seminar Room D, Department of Education, or via Zoom
Convener: Ariel Lindorff
All welcome to join in person. Register to join events online via Zoom
There is large interest in intensive longitudinal data analysis in the social, educational and health sciences. Datasets can include (1) self-reports or multiple-reporter data (e.g., observed on-task behaviour, self-reported situation-specific competence) collected using diaries, experience sampling, or ecological momentary assessments, (2) task-data (e.g., trace-data, executive functioning), (3) real-time ambulatory data (e.g., accelerometer, electrodermal activity, eye-tracking), or mixtures of these. In the talk I will focus on challenges researchers face when they (i) handle and aggregate data, (ii) consider the time-structure for analysis, and (iii) specify statistical models. Time-series-based Dynamic Structural Equation Models (DSEM) using the Bayesian estimator are emerging, allowing researchers to switch focus from modelling fixed and random effects, to modelling individual processes over time. In the talk, I will illustrate intensive longitudinal data handling and modelling with on-going research, in order to highlight its relevance for understanding intraindividual processes in educational research. | <urn:uuid:fe3504e6-b5af-4439-8dab-4aefb57a6ad5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/events/handling-and-modelling-intensive-longitudinal-data/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573163.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818033705-20220818063705-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.840674 | 338 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Nerves play an essential part in almost every body function, so nerve damage can be widespread and affect entire organ systems. Eric Blanson, DPM, has helped countless patients reduce nerve pain and address any ongoing issues that are causing the pain. To learn more, call the PMC Foot and Ankle Clinic office in Spring, Texas, or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment and start treatment today.
Nerve pain, also called neuropathic pain, refers to nerve damage or diseases that affect your nerve function.
Nerves are specialized cells that carry nerve impulses, which are messages from your brain to other parts of the body. These impulses control muscle movement and relay sensory information back to the brain, among many other functions.
Damaged nerves can send false signals that your brain interprets as pain, even if there is none. Each patient’s symptoms may vary, but common signs of neuropathic pain are:
Conversely, damaged nerves can also result in numbness and no feelings of pain, even when you have an injury.
Your provider at PMC Foot and Ankle Clinic performs a physical exam, asks questions about your symptoms, and assesses your overall reflexes and sensitivity to touch.
They may also order additional blood, imaging, or nerve tests to assess the extent of your condition and determine its underlying cause.
Once they determine you have nerve pain, they can suggest medication to reduce pain, treat mild symptoms, and address any complications, physical or mental, that arise because of your condition.
If you suffer from a chronic disease like gout or arthritis, your provider may suggest regenerative medicine like stem cell therapy or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy to treat any resulting nerve pain.
During these treatments, your provider injects either stem cells or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) obtained from your own blood directly into the affected nerve.
Stem cells have the ability to regenerate as any type of specialized cell the body needs, and blood platelets with their strong reparative qualities are the frontline defense against wounds.
Both stem cells and PRP therapy harness the body’s own regenerative abilities to reduce inflammation and pain that results from nerve damage.
If you’re experiencing nerve damage because of lupus, you may also benefit from stem cell therapy because the stem cells can revitalize damaged cells and restore normal function to organs.
To learn more about the various treatments for nerve pain, call the office or use the online booking tool to make an appointment at PMC Foot and Ankle Clinic right away. | <urn:uuid:9d3181a7-1e23-44ae-9d17-be73de6249fc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.pmcfootandankleclinic.com/services/nerve-pain | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570741.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808001418-20220808031418-00067.warc.gz | en | 0.930396 | 528 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Sib pair linkage analysis of renin gene haplotypes in human essential hypertension
- Cite this article as:
- Jeunemaitre, X., Rigat, B., Charru, A. et al. Hum Genet (1992) 88: 301. doi:10.1007/BF00197264
- 40 Downloads
Although essential arterial hypertension is believed to have a strong genetic predisposition, the gene(s) responsible are unknown. The mechanisms underlying the regulation of blood pressure and experimental studies place the renin gene among the main candidate genes that need to be tested in humans. We tested the hypothesis of a linkage between the renin gene and essential hypertension using the affected sib pair method. Siblings (133 subjects, 52.1±10.9 years) from 57 families were selected for sustained hypertension (160.7 ± 22.9/99.5 ± 12.8 mmHg with 80% of patients under antihypertensive treatment), of early onset (40.7 ± 12.0 years), in the absence of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and secondary hypertension. Eight renin haplotypes were generated from three diallelic renin restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) (TaqI, Hinfi, HindIII) located throughout the renin gene. The allelic concordance between the sib pairs was analyzed by identity by state relationships for 98 sib pairs (41 for 41 couples, 39 for 13 trios, 18 for 3 quartets). Allelic frequencies in the 57 hypertensive probands were similar to those observed among 102 hypertensive subjects studied previously. Six of eight possible haplotypes were observed, the informativity of the marker corresponded to 70% of heterozygosity. Allelic concordance for all sib pairs according to sibship size was not significantly different from that expected under the hypothesis of no linkage (t = 0.52, P = 0.15) reflecting only a small excess of renin alleles shared by the hypertensive sibs (1.44 ± 0.6 vs 1.36 ± 0.6). Likewise the linkage hypothesis was unsupported by weighted estimates to correct for possible bias due to large sibship size. Thus, the sib pair analysis suggests that the renin gene does not have a frequent role in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension; further more powerful linkage studies or other approaches will be needed to detect contributions at the renin locus to the heritability of essential hypertension. | <urn:uuid:d9938805-354a-44e3-856b-35e79f831338> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00197264 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720845.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00087-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913064 | 516 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Purohit Aastha, Paul Rahul, Golchha Vineet*, Yadav Deepti, Gupta Mudita and Sharma K Ish
Department of Orthodontics and Orthopaedics, Inderprastha Dental College and Hospital, Ghaziabad, India
*Corresponding Author: Golchha Vineet, Department of Orthodontics and Orthopaedics, Inderprastha Dental College and Hospital, Ghaziabad, India.
Received: June 20, 2022; Published: June 30, 2022
Context: Model analysis is an important diagnostic tool and aids in framing dental treatment, but consumes a significant time. Mamillapalli., et al. the creators of application iModelAnalysis2 which performs mathematical calculations easily and accurately as part of model study analysis, claims to be faster, accurate and user friendly than conventional method.
Aims: This in-vitro study evaluates the efficacy and efficiency of the results achieved by iModelAnalysis2 application and compares it with the conventional method.
Methods and Material: Bolton analysis, Ashley Howes Analysis, Pont analysis, Linder Harth Analysis, Carey’s Analysis, Arch Perimeter Analysis model were performed on 30 casts. The duration of the count model analysis using conventional methods and app was recorded with a stopwatch. The results obtained were statistically compared for accuracy.
Results: The test results were non significant with p value of >0.05. This indicates that the overall results of analysis through both conventional and application means are equally accurate. The result of the comparison in the time taken to do the analysis through conventional means and application was highly significant with p value of 0.000.
Conclusions: This application has a great potential to aid clinician in quick calculations and thereby quicker diagnosis and treatment planning saving their crucial time with accurate result.
Keywords: Model Analysis; iModelAnalysis2; Bolton analysis; Ashley Howes Analysis; Pont; Carey’s Analysis
Citation: Golchha Vineet., et al. “Accuracy and Efficiency of Model Analysis Using an App Based Model Analysis Software ". Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 6.7 (2022): 140-146.
Copyright: © 2022 Golchha Vineet., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | <urn:uuid:5f996c5f-9f18-4951-9231-fc908aa53190> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://actascientific.com/ASDS/ASDS-06-1418.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570765.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808031623-20220808061623-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.916455 | 507 | 1.5625 | 2 |
TLR9 is a cellular DNA-receptor, which is widely expressed in breast and other cancers. Although synthetic TLR9-ligands induce cancer cell invasion in vitro, the role of TLR9 in cancer pathophysiology has remained unclear. We show here that living cancer cells uptake DNA from chemotherapy-killed cancer cells. We discovered that such DNA induces TLR9- and cathepsin-mediated invasion in living cancer cells. To study whether this phenomenon contributes to treatment responses, triple-negative, human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells stably expressing control, or TLR9 siRNA were inoculated orthotopically into nude mice. The mice were treated with vehicle or doxorubicin. The tumor groups exhibited equal decreases in size in response to doxorubicin. However, while the weights of vehicle-treated mice were similar, mice bearing control siRNA tumors became significantly more cachectic in response to doxorubicin, as compared with similarly treated mice bearing TLR9 siRNA tumors, suggesting a TLR9-mediated inflammation at the site of the tumor. In conclusion, our findings propose that DNA released from chemotherapy-killed cancer cells has significant influence on TLR9-mediated biological effects in living cancer cells. Through these mechanisms, tumor TLR9 expression may affect treatment responses to chemotherapy. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York. | <urn:uuid:b09d8a6d-61fd-4e99-b20d-126b37c74cd1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://scholars.uab.edu/display/pub1551154 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572221.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816060335-20220816090335-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.946647 | 288 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Super Bowl edition: How parity in MLB matches up with NFL
One of the great myths about the NFL is that the salary cap affords the league much better competitive balance than is possible in the cap-less Major League Baseball. This would not be a good week to be promoting that myth, seeing that the New York Giants and New England Patriots have become what Meryl Streep and George Clooney are to the Oscars. Ho-hum. The Giants and Patriots have filled one-third of the available spots over the past 12 Super Bowls.
In baseball, the prevailing thought is that the Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox spend their way to dominance while the "even playing field" of the NFL gives more teams a pathway to compete for the championship. It's simply not true. And it's not true whether you go back a decade, or all the way back to 1995 (the last time baseball expanded the postseason) or even all the way back to 1970 (the year of the NFL-AFL merger).
Take a look at how many franchises reached the Super Bowl and reached the World Series according to those timelines:
What you find is that despite very different economic systems, there is no discernable difference in parity when it comes to playing for the championship in each sport.
What about teams that won the Super Bowl or World Series? Again, you won't find a noticeable difference in the spread of championships. Since 1995, 10 franchises have won the World Series, including four that have done so more than once. In that same period, 11 franchises have won the Super Bowl, including four that have done so more than once.
So go ahead and complain all you want about baseball's economic system. It has its flaws, including the gap in payroll disparity. But when it comes to getting teams through to the championship round, it is no different than the hallowed system in the NFL.
The Montreal Expos used two of their first 18 picks in the 1995 draft on left-handed hitting high school catchers. The first, taken in the fifth round, is still playing in the majors: Brian Schneider of the Phillies. The other, taken in the 18th round, is playing Sunday in the Super Bowl: Tom Brady of the Patriots, formerly of Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif.
Dating to the likes of Andrew Dawson, the Expos had a strong tradition of taking multi-sport athletes and turning them into full-time ballplayers. With Brady, they could not convince him to give up the chance to play quarterback at the University of Michigan. Brady and his parents had made it well known that he preferred football over baseball. Otherwise, he would have been drafted much higher.
John Hughes was Montreal's local scout who recommended Brady to national crosschecker Dave Littlefield (now with the Cubs) and scouting director Ed Creech (now with the Giants). Hughes (now with the Marlins) even arranged to have Brady visit the Expos' clubhouse when the team played at Candlestick Park in June that year.
"He was a tall, kind of lanky lefthanded hitting catcher who already had signed to go to Michigan," Littlefield said. "He was a smooth, fluid athlete with a big athletic body. He had that nice, rhythmic, smooth swing you see from lefthanded hitters at 18 and you know with time they get bigger and stronger and add more power and snap to their swing.
"He was probably 6-foot-3, about 190 pounds. He definitely projected as a catcher. He threw well. Really, he did everything pretty well. He wasn't a great runner, but he was a very good athlete."
Among the future big leaguers drafted after Brady were Aaron Miles, Mike Lowell and Juan Pierre. It was a big draft for quarterbacks. Another future NFL quarterback, Chad Hutchinson, was taken in the first round by Atlanta, but did not sign. And former Tennessee quarterback Todd Helton went in the first round to Colorado.
Last year I told you before the Super Bowl about the key factor to the game: Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers was a far better indoor quarterback than Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. I wrote, "The splits suggest that Rodgers, the better pure passer, gains a big edge over Roethlisberger with the Super Bowl being played indoors. Advantage, Packers."
Rodgers outplayed Roethlisberger by a wide margin (111.5-77.4 in passer ratings) and Green Bay won. Rodgers was the MVP.
So what will happen this year as the Super Bowl, to be played in Indianapolis, once again is an inside job? I don't see a wide gap between Tom Brady and the Giants' Eli Manning, but I do see how the Super Bowl could turn into a shootout. Only four teams ever have lost the Super Bowl scoring at least 25 points (1978 Cowboys, 1994 Chargers, 2003 Panthers, 2010 Steelers), and we just might see it for a second straight year.
Let's face it, the NFL has built its growth on quarterback play and, understanding that, has facilitated rules changes (severely enforced roughing, allowing receivers to run unimpeded, etc.) to keep quarterbacks healthy and footballs flying.
Defense does not win championships anymore. The Patriots and Giants rank among the worst defenses in the 32-team NFL in points allowed (15th and 25th, respectively), pass defense (31st, 29th), passing touchdowns allowed (22nd, 25th), yards per pass attempt (29th, 23rd) and quarterback rating against (21st and 20th). And it's not as if they force teams into the air by stopping the run (24th and 22nd in yards per rushing attempt). The Patriots and Giants are in the Super Bowl because they make more plays on offense than their opponents. Each team has an elite pure passer who especially can thrive indoors.
When you take this wide-open game of modern football and remove all field and weather elements, you get a sanitized, studio version of the sport that favors the forward pass. This is the 15th Super Bowl to be played indoors (all but two of those on artificial surfaces).
I do wish the NFL and the people who cover it did more in highlighting the difference between football in the elements and football with the elements removed. For instance, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner are masters of the indoor game, but combined they never won a postseason game in freezing temperatures. Brady is 9-2 in postseason games played at 32 degrees and colder.
The Giants and Patriots don't seem to have enough history to allow a really good handle on how they fare indoors. New York played three indoor games this year (at Arizona, Dallas and New Orleans) and its defense got scorched for an average of 36 points and 463 yards per game. But Manning lit it up under domes: 376 yards passing per game with six touchdowns and two interceptions.
It's a small sample, but still bigger than the one New England affords. The Patriots did not play indoors all year and had only one such game last season. But dating to the Super Bowl XLII loss to the Giants, the Patriots are 1-5 in their last six games indoors. (Brady missed one of those games with a knee injury.)
So without the kind of obvious edge the last Super Bowl provided, this time expect a battle of quarterbacks that could go either way. And keep this in mind when it comes to the star of the game: Between them Brady and Manning already have three Super Bowl MVP awards -- all of them won indoors. | <urn:uuid:cb9a5eca-eaec-4954-81ee-72124d35304c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.si.com/more-sports/2012/02/03/super-bowledition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00325-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973593 | 1,562 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Before a small-level business endeavor or project takes off, companies with limited funds ensure they do not move forward with a business strategy without a contingency plan. With a contingency plan, companies put certain conditions before the endeavor gets a green-flag. A contingency plan helps in recognizing specific parameters which promise the project would deliver returns on investment. If you have to make a contingency plan, templates are easily gettable.You can also see Strategy Plan Templates.
tsif.com | The purpose of the document is to guide a business to a continuity plan development .The document is given in pdf format. It also finds “cookie cutter” approaches in effective .They insist in risk assessment prior to completion of plan which should be done annually .The plan are divided in the following sections; plan objectives, scope of plan and plan assumption.
hhs.gov | This plans purpose is to help in recovery of after disruption .The plan maximizes effectiveness of contingency operation .It also identifies the activities, resources, and procedures needed to carry out processing requirement during prolonged interruption to normal operations .The file in word format also assigns and provide guidance to designated OPDIV for recovery of .
unidocs.org | The document in pdf format contains a form to be filled that consists of a facility identification and operations overview .This contains the facility ID , CTRS ID and date of preparation vision. It also contains the business name, site address ,site city and type of business .the second section is the internal response .The third section is the emergency communications phone numbers and notification.
disastersrus.org | This contingency plan example is in PDF format. This sample deals with the national oil and hazardous substance pollution contingency plan. There is a section in the document where a citation is featured, and the revised parts are displayed as sub-section A (introduction and outline), B (responsibility and organization for response), C and D.
ndma.gov.pk | This is another contingency plan sample which you could refer to and create and customize one on your own. This is a word format sample and shows an executive précis of the NDMA’s plans and measures to tackle monsoon hazards. The document highlights the contingency planning processes as a preparedness measures.
deq.state.ms.us | This integrated contingency plans aims at providing information and plans for preventing and responding to potential spills, accidents ,fires and other emergencies .The pdf format plan is for incidents that require pre-planned preventatives.it is in three sections .The first is the introduction it contains the information regarding the general facility .Second is the emergency response action plan .The final section includes eight supplemental annexes.
Plan templates help companies and organizations to prepare methods by which they would be able to cut short or prevent financial damages or losses in case a particular does not pan out the way it was expected to. Moreover, a plan template essentially helps in forecasting future risks associated to a certain project, and how the organization intends to shield its interests and itself in case of revenue regression. Plan Templates. | <urn:uuid:456bad3b-a95a-4a8c-a456-af2fb0470530> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.template.net/business/plan-templates/contingency-plan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00308-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922391 | 629 | 1.890625 | 2 |
JUST over a year after her son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer a Worcester mum is planning on completing a marathon on a cross trainer to raise money for the charity that helped them through a difficult year.
Tristan Hislam was diagnosed with synovial cell sarcoma cancer in January last year aged just 22.
He discovered the cancerous growth in his leg after eventually going to the doctors, having put it off for a while. But after a few hospital appointments Mr Hislam discovered he had the rare form of cancer and under had to undergo two operations.
Thankfully more than a year on Mr Hislam is recovered but his mum Sarah Hislam wants to do something for CLIC Sargent, a charity which worked with the family through the ordeal.
So on Saturday (May 24) the midwife, who works at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, will be doing a marathon distance of 26.2 miles on her cross trainer in the CrownGate Shopping Centre.
"I just wanted to say to people don't ignore lumps," said 49-year-old Mrs Hislam, who lives with her family in Waterworks Road, Barbourne. "Tristan had a lump after he hit his leg on a coffee table when he was 16. He used to say, oh yeh I still have that lump.
"It wasn't until last year, all those years later, when he started going to the gym it became painful."
When Mr Hislam went to the doctors they didn't recognise the lump but did refer him to a specialist. Ultimately it was removed and Mr Hislam, now aged 23, is recovered and is training in a motorbike mechanics course as well as working at a bakery in Worcester.
But Mrs Hislam said throughout the whole process CLIC Sargent were there.
"We were allocated a CLIC Sargent social worker," said Mrs Hislam. "She was just great and really supportive. I had never even heard of them until this started.
"It was a very difficult year. I was going to go the Brighton Marathon but I discovered I had this pain in my leg, so I am now going to do a marathon distance on the cross trainer.
"I am nervous. I am hoping to raise at least £500 so there will be collection buckets on the day, it will take about three hours starting from 11am."
To support Sarah Hislam visit CrownGate in Worcester next Saturday morning. | <urn:uuid:e83516e0-11bd-4e8f-8ff1-2b5ecae3601c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/NEWS/11219565.Mum_to_take_on_marathon_charity_event_to_say_thank_you/?ref=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00045-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990969 | 507 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Just 3 months back I wrote the very first Itty Bitty Bonzai about the dangers of bleach, and included a simple recipe for a homemade substitute. Since then, I’ve been sort of obsessed with diy, non-toxic cleaning solutions. I’ve tinkered and tested and mixed (and messed) so much, I feel like a modern alchemist! But the work has paid off, and so finally I’m proud to share this, the first of my many concoctions: Sayward’s Homemade Laundry Soap
This stuff works great! It’s so much safer than synthetic chemical cleaners, and it’s also quite a bit cheaper than pre-made ‘eco-friendly’ detergents. It’s just five simple, all-natural ingredients.
White Vinegar – Vinegar is simply acetic acid: diluted, mild, and edible, but acid nonetheless. As such, it will dissolve dirt, mildew, mineral build-up, and soap scum. Vinegar is something of a wonder cleanser, and you’ll be seeing a lot more of it around here in the near future. Available everywhere.
Baking Soda – Baking soda is another amazing all-purpose cleaner, but it’s also an excellent deodorizer. As well, it softens water and helps to maintain neutral pH so that detergent can work more efficiently. It keeps your colored clothes from fading and also gets whites brighter. Available everywhere, but check the bulk bins at your local co-op.
Washing Soda – Baking soda’s badass cousin. Washing soda is much more alkaline and cuts oils like a pro, so it’s great in the laundry. It also helps to deodorize, but fighting grease and stains is the primary purpose. Look for it in the drug store or supermarket, in with the laundry and cleaning supplies.
Borax – Borax is awesome! It’s a natural stain remover and an excellent alternative to bleach, because it’s an anti-fungal/anti-mold and all-around disinfectant. Coupled with regular soap, it greatly increases cleaning power. Look for it in the drug store or supermarket, in with the laundry and cleaning supplies.
Castile Soap – ‘Castile’ isn’t a brand, but a type of soap: one that is made using only vegetable oils (as opposed to most soaps which render from animal fat). So not only is it vegan and cruelty-free, but it’s much easier on the environment as well. Castile soap is a superior gentle cleanser, and quickly biodegrades. I use Dr. Bronner’s lavender scented soap, and I absolutely adore it. Available at most ‘natural’ stores, and many Trader Joe’s.
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1 cup baking soda
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
Mix in a large, non-metal bowl. I re-used (and decorated!) my previous soap tub, which worked great. Start with the vinegar and continuously stir as you add each powder. Try to stir out and break up any clumps. Finish with the liquid soap. It will seem wet, like a thick paste, but keep stirring and it will begin to flake and crumble into a moist ‘powdered detergent’. KEEP STIRRING! If you quit too early, you’ll find a very hard mass the next time you go to use it. So use them biceps and stir it to completion. You’ll end up with a sort of soft clumpy cake-y ‘loaf’, that will easily crumble off for use.
If you use plain non-scented castile soap, you may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.
Store in a lidded container and use about 1/4 cup per load.
Enjoy, and happy green laundering! | <urn:uuid:d1f4a926-373a-46fe-822d-c789f01cf362> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/04/natural-homemade-laundry-detergent/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279224.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00485-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926256 | 859 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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A sinusitis headache differs from other types of headache because it causes pain around the eyes, in the face and in the forehead. Sinus pressure can be the result of viruses, bacterial infections, allergies or even fungal infections. The best treatments for a sinusitis headache include over-the-counter medications to relieve the pain, homeopathic remedies, using warm compresses to apply heat, taking a hot shower and drinking hot tea.
Relieving the pressure on the sinuses will most likely relieve the sinusitis headache pain. There are over-the-counter medications to relieve the pain of a sinus headache, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen or, for those age 18 or older, aspirin. Homeopathic remedies also work well to alleviate the pressure, which is the root cause of a sinusitis headache.
One easy way to relieve sinus pressure is sitting upright instead of lying down. When one does this, gravity works to help alleviate the pressure, which helps ease the pain. Drinking hot tea can also help. The steam produced while drinking hot, non-caffeinated tea can help loosen sinus congestion.
Warm compresses applied under the eyes, on the cheeks or wherever the pain exists can help reduce pressure as well. A washcloth or other small towel can be heated in a microwave for 10-20 seconds. Caution should be used when removing it from the microwave to avoid burns. Also, one should make sure that the cloth is warm and not too hot before using it as a compress.
A steamy shower can also help to relieve pressure by unclogging the sinus ducts. Clogging the shower drain and adding some eucalyptus oil can help in cases of severely clogged sinuses. If standing in a shower is not an option, one can also boil a pot of water, remove it from the stove and drape a towel over his or her head while breathing in the steam. A humidifier used in the bedroom at night can help relieve sinusitis headache pressure while one sleeps.
Many people find relief from allergies and chronic sinusitis headaches by using the neti pot. The method uses a saline solution to cleanse the sinuses and help alleviate the bacteria or allergens that might cause congestion. An Internet search for "neti pot" will yield numerous results that explain how to properly use the system.
When sinusitis headache pressure and pain is not alleviated using an at-home remedy, or if the nasal discharge is rust-colored, green or yellow, this likely indicates a serious infection. Medical attention is needed, and the sufferer should contact his or her doctor. The doctor will be able to diagnose the condition and determine the proper treatment.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:7620877d-7419-4069-8ab0-30084fdd3f99> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.wisegeek.net/what-are-the-best-treatments-for-a-sinusitis-headache.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721595.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00477-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910131 | 622 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Context and objectives
The intertidal beach is a dynamic environment, characterized by morphological changes driven by several meteo-marine processes such as wind, waves, currents. In numerous sandy intertidal beaches around the world, sand bars are present. They are a key component of beach systems, as they are a primary source of sediment supply and storage for the beach. Most studies on intertidal bar morphodynamics have focused on short-term: daily, weekly, and sometimes monthly changes of the morphology of the intertidal bars. Due to the numerous challenges associated with a dynamic environment where the morphological response influences the driving factors, limited studies have tried to compare bar morphodynamics at different time scales. Besides, the long-term evolution of the bars is also rarely studied. The RS4MoDy study aims to investigate the morphodynamics of a macro-tidal barred beach from short (storm event) to long-term (>20-years), and to address the relative roles of meteorological‐marine forcing factors in driving bar behaviour and evolution. Specifically, the main objectives of the work packages have been:
WP1: To survey the barred beach system using high resolution orthophotos, digicam images and DTMs from new (short-term) and historical (long-term) data.
WP2: To determine the morphodynamic components of the model of barred beach.
WP3: To determine hydrodynamic and sedimentary components of the 3D model of barred beach.
WP4: To develop a conceptual model of intertidal bar morphodynamics incorporating forcing factors and sediment characteristics from short to long-term (>25 years).
Results of the bar morphology, based on the automatic bar extraction using LiDAR and UAV surveys developed in Python, indicate that the multiple intertidal bars are permanent but dynamic features at Groenendijk beach. They experience temporally and spatially variability from season to years. A homogenous distribution of these features across the intertidal beach is observed with an abundance just above the mean sea level. Also, higher and steeper bars are present on the upper-beach, while a decrease in height and slope is observed in the seaward direction. Although marine forcing is characterized by a seasonal variability, a low degree of seasonal coherence is found between marine forcings and bar morphological response.In addition, the internal sedimentary structures of the inner bars indicate that a clear vertical accretion which in agreement with the longer-term beach morphological evolution.Spatial and temporal variograms were generated to describe the spatial and temporal dynamics of beach elevation for multibarred beach environment. The developed space-time stochastic model based on spatial and temporal variograms successfully predicts the average distribution of sand volume change over time. Thismodel makes possible to predict over time the evolution of integrated beach morphological characteristics.
Societal (including environmental) relevance
Bar morphological results have revealed how intertidal bars behave at Groenendijk after storm and over the long term. This provides useful insights for the authority that manages the coast and coastal safety, i.e. Coastal Division. Also public awareness of the natural dynamics was raised using the Coastsnap stand and application.
Products and services
Developed an automatic bar extraction Python toolbox will be published and made open-access to scientists.
Coastal Division, VLIZ, Flanders Hydraulic Research scientists will be immediate potential users. The developed automatic bar extraction tool will be made open-access to scientists. In addition, data could be further use for future MSc and BSc dissertations.
|Project leader(s):||VUB - Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering (HYDR)| | <urn:uuid:561d28e3-e20f-4ef6-8271-a87bced2e114> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://eo.belspo.be/nl/stereo-in-action/projects/remote-sensing-data-investigating-morphodynamics-belgian-multi-barred | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572021.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814083156-20220814113156-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.887022 | 823 | 2.84375 | 3 |
What is Digital Marketing ?
In Simple Words, The Art of getting customers for a Business via Online and Digital Mediums is Digital Marketing.
This Includes, Social Media, Search Engines, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Mobile Marketing and So on…
Is Digital Marketing Complex ?
Yes, Digital Marketing is slightly complex compared to Traditional Marketing Like Tv, News Paper Ads, Radio Ads Etc., But that is the reason for having a huge demand for Digital Marketers.
Why Digital Marketing is the Next Big Thing ?
That is Because, People Used to Consume content on Television, Radio, News Papers. But, Now majority of the people are consuming the content on YouTube, Facebook, Blogs Etc.,
Companies need Digital Marketing experts like SEO’s, PPC experts to manage their Organic Growth or Ad campaigns.
Why Only Digital Marketing?
India has 2nd Largest Internet User Base, It is about 34.8% According to Wikipedia.
Do You Know : Indian Internet User Base is More than US Population !
In Developed Countries like :
United States : The ad spends on Digital Channels is more than 37% !
China : More than 40% of the Advertising spends were on Digital Channels.
What are the Opportunities in Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing Helps in Developing Personal Branding, Getting Jobs & also helps in Entrepreneurship.
Here are 3 Simple Ways
How Much do Digital Marketing Jobs Pay ?
For Freshers : The Salary Starts from INR 3.6 Lakh / Year and Goes Upto 5 Lakh / Year.
For 5-10 Year Experience: The salary Ranges from INR 12 Lakhs – 20 Lakhs / Year.
For 10+ Years of Experience: The salary Ranges from INR 20 Lakhs to 50 Lakhs / Year.
Yes, Not only that, you will also Receive Future Course Updates 🙂
Anyone can Learn Digital Marketing, you just need a Computer / Laptop with an Internet Connection 🙂
Yes Absolutely! In fact, Our Servers are Optimized for WordPress
We know How Important is the Website Uptime, Speed & Security…So We Guarantee a Real 99.9% Uptime and Scans your cPanel with Imunify360 to Detect any Malware / Viruses
Not to Forget: We do have Free Daily & Weekly Backups, so Sleep Tension-Free 🙂
Deepak Kanakaraju, Popularly called as Digital Deepak is a Digital Marketing Consultant from Bangalore, India. Deepak is also an Author, Speaker and Trainer in the field of Digital Marketing. He worked with Amazing StartUps Like Instamojo, Razorpay & More… | <urn:uuid:37c252a9-493a-435c-a30b-1830d28b1881> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.rankme1.com/digital-marketing-basics-course/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.8596 | 568 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The Psychometrics/Research (P/R) team is responsible for all psychometric analyses of ACCESS for ELLs® and other preK-12 ELL tests. The P/R team carries out annual equating, participates in the analysis of the field test forms, and produces a comprehensive annual technical report. In addition, the P/R team meets twice a year with a technical advisory committee to report on a variety of psychometric issues and receive expert guidance.
The P/R team also works closely with test developers during the development process of all tests, including MODEL, Alternate ACCESS, and PODER. The P/R team helps inform test specifications, participates in the design and analysis of field tests, and helps conduct standard setting studies. In addition, the P/R team produces reports detailing the development and psychometric properties of the tests.
To carry out its work, the P/R team consists of psychometricians, quantitative analysts, and content-area experts. In addition, we take on PhD candidates from top measurement programs across the country annually as summer interns. These interns carry out special projects assigned to them, and help us keep abreast in cutting edge issues in psychometrics.
The work of the P/R team is crucial in developing high-quality tests and ensuring their continuing success.
David MacGregor, PhD
Director, Psychometrics/Research Activities | <urn:uuid:5bb8b50e-3b32-491f-b303-2e70b329899c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.cal.org/wida/ae/psychometrics-and-research.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00282-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924511 | 290 | 1.789063 | 2 |
A recent article published in Youth Today might interest you: “Child Maltreatment History Should Be a Bar to Being a Foster Parent.” The authors are Daniel Pollack and Noy Davis.
It’s just common sense: An adult's past criminal history or history of child maltreatment is not to be balanced against the safety of a child. This is not to say a person with any criminal record should be barred as a foster parent, but certainly an applicant with a substantiated history of child maltreatment, no matter how far in the distant past, should be permanently barred.
Foster care agencies have a legitimate reason to inquire about a prospective foster parent’s criminal and child maltreatment history, be it an inquiry, arrest, charge or conviction. Why? Quite simply, the agency seeks to maximize child safety.
The entire article may be read on the website of Youth Today at this URL:
Daniel Pollack, MSSA (MSW), JD is a professor at Yeshiva University, School of Social Work, in New York City and a frequent expert witness in child welfare cases. Contact information: email@example.com, 212-960-0836 | <urn:uuid:996cd8a1-6a73-4c4f-bdfe-a9ff3a5e3f92> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://jeannehannah.typepad.com/blog_jeanne_hannah_traver/child-sexual-abuse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719468.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00529-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.888857 | 244 | 1.601563 | 2 |
June 16, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Creating Indexed Views - SQL School Video
AndySQLAndy - My Blog!Connect with me on LinkedInFollow me on Twitter
June 30, 2009 at 8:04 am
Great job! This does a real good job of explaining indexed views!
June 30, 2009 at 10:17 am
Thank you for this great explanation.
I will start looking for views that may be useful to change.
July 31, 2010 at 10:07 pm
I loved this video!
Finally ... Someone explained it in a way that I could understand.
You're awesome! 😀
Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply | <urn:uuid:7e01013c-a5d9-4995-89bd-aba4f12b2a31> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.sqlservercentral.com/forums/topic/creating-indexed-views-sql-school-video | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572581.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816211628-20220817001628-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.830617 | 254 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Buy this item and earn 195 reward points.
A THREE-PHASE MENTAL ROUTINE
You borrow a watch (or use your own), place it face down and step away from it. Then you tell your spectators that you can keep accurate time in your mind and know exactly to the second what the time will be whenever your volunteer looks at the watch. You then proceed to demonstrate this uncanny ability with all the flair of the most amazing magician on this planet.
"Ok, that was impressive but I'd like to take this even further..."
You ask your volunteer to write down (or just name) any number between 1 and 60, lets say they name 16. You place the watch face down, step away from it and tell your volunteer that they can look at the watch whenever they like and that you will try and influence them to look at it exactly when the second hand is at 16 seconds past. Of course when they look at the watch the location of the second hand exactly matches the number they chose and your reputation grows... but there is more!
"This time, let's make it really impossible..."
This time they secretly write down a number between 1 and 60 without showing it to you; let us say they write down 47. Again, you are able to influence them to look at the watch exactly at 47 seconds past.
Pages: 16 - Saddle Stitched, Glossy Cover. | <urn:uuid:3e158a57-8daa-41f8-a442-c4ea57279b35> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.magictrickstore.com/time-zone-john-vincent-alakazam-magic-p-32746.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281424.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00333-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953796 | 289 | 1.648438 | 2 |
A rice steamer must be allowed to cool before it's cleaned, and the interior pot's rim should be wiped before removal to keep particles from falling inside the cooker. The removable pot is then soaked in water and washed with soap, but the electronic base must stay dry.Continue Reading
The base and the lid come clean when wiped with a damp rag. Removing the steam vent and the evaporation chamber allows for a thorough rinsing of those pieces. Some models include parts that are dishwasher-safe, such as basket inserts and scoops.
Once all pieces are clean, they should be dried, and the steamer should be reassembled for the next use.Learn more about Appliances | <urn:uuid:d27946f3-0894-490f-b8a6-322d3a03f91c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.reference.com/home-garden/tips-cleaning-rice-steamer-28b08d08e9e89640 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00455-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94067 | 143 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Investors focused on U.S. packaged food stocks have been largely concerned with inflation since roughly 2004-2005. This is in contrast to the 20 years prior where benign to no inflation in agriculture existed. But with persistent inflation over much of the last 10 years, management teams and investors have come to expect mid-single digit increases in cost each year. Pricing has been taken and productivity programs ramped up to deal with the challenge of inflation. Yet with emerging markets slowing and possibly less consumers entering the middle class (typically with richer diets), improving stocks-to-use ratios for major crops and the potential for a stronger $US dollar along with moderating corn-based ethanol usage, it appears that 2014 and beyond could bring about no agriculture-based inflation and, in fact, a high likelihood of deflation.
Given this potential scenario, we decided to examine the issue of deflation in more detail. This report includes the following: (1) historical graphs that present data from 1995 to the present with periods of inflation and deflation as measured by moves in the corn crop, (2) U.S. packaged food stock performance versus the S&P500, (3) examination of select company gross and operating margins over the long term, (4) a closer look at 2010 which was the last period of material deflation for the industry, (5) implications to 2014 stock performance and discussion on valuation. In summary the data suggests that deflation is consistently negative for U.S. packaged food stock relative performance while periods of inflation are consistently positive.
Looking back over the last 20+ years, U.S. packaged food stocks have only moderately out-performed vs. the S&P500. While there are many reasons for the sluggish relative performance during extended periods, one critical question has been whether food brands still have pricing power? This is a key question given the rise of WalMart, increase in private label market share, fragmentation of consumer purchase behavior (i.e. low income dollar stores vs. high income organic-focused retailers) and lingering impact from the last U.S. recession (less pantry loading)
Eoin Treacy's view In an environment where prices for food commodities have been at historically high levels for a sustained period, packaged food companies increased margins by reducing the size of products and to a lesser extent passing on costs through higher prices. Additionally, globally oriented companies in the sector have benefitted enormously from the growth in the number of people with disposable income in Asia and the associated demand growth for snack foods. Logically, the extent to which lower future commodity prices impact consumer perceptions of food prices is likely to have a bearing on the ability of processed foods companies to continue to increase margins.
Campbell Soups (Est. P/E 17.62, DY 2.52%) generated 69.5% of its revenue from the US in 2012. The share posted a large weekly downside key reversal in May and continues to range below that peak. It will need to continue to hold above the 200-day MA if the benefit of the doubt is to continue to be given to medium-term upside.
Hershey (Est. P/E 25.3, DY 2.06%) generated 83.9% of its revenue from the US in 2012. The share encountered resistance below the psychological $100 last week, following an impressive rally, and a process of mean reversion appears to be unfolding. JM Smucker (Est. P/E 18.54, DY 2.15%) generated 90.1% of its revenue from the USA in 2012. The share has a similar pattern to Hershey.
Kellogg (Est. P/E 16.55, DY 2.94%) generated 67.2% of its revenue from North America in 2012.The share completed a multi-year base last year and has been consolidating that advance since May. It found support this week in the region of the 200-day MA and a sustained move below $60 would be required to question medium-term potential for additional upside. Conagra Foods (Est. P/E 14.33, DY 2.88%) generated 90% of its revenue from North America in 2012 and has a similar pattern to Kellogg.
Mead Johnson Nutrition (Est. P/E 23.58, DY 1.77%) generated 25.3% of its revenue from North America in 2012. The share has been largely rangebound for the last year following a sharp pullback in 2012. It will need to continue to hold above $65 if medium-term potential for additional higher to lateral ranging is to be given the benefit of the doubt.
Kraft Foods Group (Est. P/E 18.42, DY 3.77%) spun off its international operations into Mondelez International (Est. P/E 20.1, DY 1.79%) last year. Kraft Food Group has returned to test the region of the 200-day where it has found at least short-term support. Mondelez International has found support in the region of the 200-day on successive occasions since 2009 and a sustained move below the trend mean would be required to question the consistency of the medium-term advance.
Dean Foods (Est. P/E 19.19, no dividend) generated 97.1% of its revenue from North America in 2012. The share bottomed in 2011 following a steep decline and has trended higher for almost two years. It posted a large downside weekly key reversal three weeks ago and is now testing the region of the 200-day MA. It will need to find support in the current region if the medium-term uptrend is to continue to be given the benefit of the doubt.
Flowers Foods (Est. P/E 22.6, DY 2.04%) derives all its revenue from the USA. The share held a relatively mild upward bias from its IPO and accelerated higher October. It has at least paused in the region of $24 since May in what has been a relatively steady process of mean reversion. The benefit of the doubt can probably continue to be given the medium-term upside potential provided it continues to hold above the 200-day MA.
Regardless of whether the above companies are US or internationally focused, the most relevant consideration is that a process of mean reversion is underway and that valuations are comparatively high. This could potentially lead to some relatively lengthy ranging. | <urn:uuid:982ba934-55c2-4596-becc-e27f7bd7d4e1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.fullertreacymoney.com/general/deflation-friend-or-foe-6799/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00494-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950468 | 1,313 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Finance and Economics Discussion Series
Sarena F. Goodman and Adam M. Isen
Abstract: We study how randomized variation from the Vietnam draft lottery affects the next generation�s labor market. Using the universe of federal tax returns, we link fathers from draft cohorts to their sons and offer two primary findings. First, sons of men called by the lottery have lower earnings and labor force participation than their peers. Second, they are more likely to volunteer for military service themselves. Similar but smaller effects are uncovered for daughters. Our findings demonstrate that manipulating parents� circumstances can alter children�s later-life outcomes and, more specifically, are consistent with two separately operating channels: (1) parental inputs as important determinants of human capital development and (2) intergenerational transmission of occupation.
Keywords: Vietnam War draft lottery, household environment, intergenerational mobility, labor supply, military service, occupational transmission, parental inputs
Jacob Adenbaum, Adam Copeland, and John J. Stevens
Abstract: The U.S. federal government enacted fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy trucks for the first time in September 2011. Rationales for using this policy tool typically depend upon frictions existing in the marketplace or consumers being myopic, such that vehicle purchasers undervalue the future fuel savings from increased fuel efficiency. We measure by how much long-haul truck owners undervalue future fuel savings by employing recent advances to the classic hedonic approach to estimate the distribution of willingness-to-pay for fuel efficiency. We find significant heterogeneity in truck owners' willingness to pay for fuel efficiency, with the elasticity of fuel efficiency to price ranging from 0.51 at the 10th percentile to 1.33 at the 90th percentile, and an average of 0.91. Combining these results with estimates of future fuel savings from increases in fuel efficiency, we find that long-haul truck owners' willingness-to-pay for a 1 percent increase in fuel efficiency is, on average, just 29.5 percent of the expected future fuel savings. These results suggest that introducing fuel efficiency standards for heavy trucks might be an effective policy tool to raise medium and heavy trucks' fuel economy.
Keywords: fuel efficiency standards, durable goods, discrete-choice demand estimation
Abstract: This paper considers the impact of how human capital is accumulated on optimal capital tax policy in a life cycle model. In particular, it compares the optimal capital tax when human capital is accumulated exogenously, endogenously through learning-by-doing, and endogenously through learning-or-doing. Previous work demonstrates that in a simple two generation life cycle model with exogenous human capital accumulation, if the utility function is separable and homothetic in each consumption and labor, then the government has no motive to condition taxes on age or tax capital. In contrast, this paper demonstrates analytically that adding either form of endogenous human capital accumulation creates a motive for the government to use age-dependent labor income taxes. Moreover, if the government cannot condition taxes on age, then a capital tax can be optimal in order to mimic such taxes. This paper quantitatively explores the strength of this channel and finds that, including human capital accumulation with learning-by-doing, as opposed to exogenously, causes the optimal capital tax to increase by between 7.3 and 14.5 percentage points. In contrast, introducing learning-or-doing causes a much smaller increase in the optimal capital tax of between 0.7 and 3.7 percentage points. Taken as a whole, this paper finds that the specific formulation by which human capital is accumulated can have notable implications on the optimal capital tax.
Keywords: Optimal Taxation, Capital Taxation, Human Capital.
Estimating (Markov-Switching) VAR Models without Gibbs Sampling: A Sequential Monte Carlo Approach (PDF)
Mark Bognanni and Edward P. Herbst
Abstract: Vector autoregressions with Markov-switching parameters (MS-VARs) fit the data better than do their constant-parameter predecessors. However, Bayesian inference for MS-VARs with existing algorithms remains challenging. For our first contribution, we show that Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) estimators accurately estimate Bayesian MS-VAR posteriors. Relative to multi-step, model-specific MCMC routines, SMC has the advantages of generality, parallelizability, and freedom from reliance on particular analytical relationships between prior and likelihood. For our second contribution, we use SMC's flexibility to demonstrate that the choice of prior drives the key empirical finding of Sims, Waggoner, and Zha (2008) as much as does the data.
Keywords: Bayesian Analysis, Regime-Switching Models, Sequential Monte Carlo, Vector Autoregressions
Minchul Shin and Molin Zhong
Abstract: We suggest using "realized volatility" as a volatility proxy to aid in model-based multivariate bond yield density forecasting. To do so, we develop a general estimation approach to incorporate volatility proxy information into dynamic factor models with stochastic volatility. The resulting model parameter estimates are highly efficient, which one hopes would translate into superior predictive performance. We explore this conjecture in the context of density prediction of U.S. bond yields by incorporating realized volatility into a dynamic Nelson-Siegel (DNS) model with stochastic volatility. The results clearly indicate that using realized volatility improves density forecasts relative to popular specifications in the DNS literature that neglect realized volatility.
Keywords: Dynamic Nelson-Siegel Model, Dynamic factor model, Forecasting, Stochastic volatility, Term structure of interest rates
Hanming Fang, You Suk Kim, and Wenli Li
Abstract: We present a dynamic structural model of subprime adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) borrowers making payment decisions taking into account possible consequences of different degrees of delinquency from their lenders. We empirically implement the model using unique data sets that contain information on borrowers' mortgage payment history, their broad balance sheets, and lender responses. Our investigation of the factors that drive borrowers' decisions reveals that subprime ARMs are not all alike. For loans originated in 2004 and 2005, the interest rate resets associated with ARMs, as well as the housing and labor market conditions were not as important in borrowers' delinquency decisions as in their decisions to pay off their loans. For loans originated in 2006, interest rate resets, housing price declines, and worsening labor market conditions all contributed importantly to their high delinquency rates. Counterfactual policy simulations reveal that even if the Libor rate could be lowered to zero by aggressive traditional monetary policies, it would have a limited effect on reducing the delinquency rates. We find that automatic modification mortgage designs under which the monthly payment or the principal balance of the loans are automatically reduced when housing prices decline can be effective in reducing both delinquency and foreclosure. Importantly, we find that automatic modification mortgages with a cushion, under which the monthly payment or principal balance reductions are triggered only when housing price declines exceed a certain percentage may result in a Pareto improvement in that borrowers and lenders are both made better off than under the baseline, with a lower delinquency and foreclosure rates. Our counterfactual analysis also suggests that limited commitment power on the part of the lenders to loan modification policies may be an important reason for the relatively small rate of modifications observed during the housing crisis.
Keywords: Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, Automatic Modification with a Cushion, Default, Loan Modification
Matilde Bombardini, Gianluca Orefice, and Maria D. Tito
Abstract: Does opening a market to international trade affect the pattern of matching between firms and workers? This paper answers this question both theoretically and empirically in three parts. We set up a model of matching between heterogeneous workers and firms in which variation in the worker type at the firm level exists in equilibrium only because of the presence of search costs. When firms gain access to the foreign market, their revenue potential increases. When stakes are high, matching with the right worker becomes particularly important because deviations from the ideal match quickly reduce the value of the relationship. Hence, exporting firms select sets of workers that are less dispersed relative to the average. We then document a novel fact about the hiring decisions of exporting firms versus non-exporting firms in a French matched employer-employee dataset. We construct the type of each worker using both a traditional wage regression and a model-based approach and construct measures of the average worker type and worker type dispersion at the firm level. We find that exporting firms feature a lower type dispersion in the pool of workers they hire. This effect is comparable and larger than the common finding in the literature that exporters pay higher wages because, among other factors, they employ better workers. The matching between exporting firms and workers is even tighter in sectors characterized by better exporting opportunities as measured by foreign demand or tariff shocks. Finally, we show that revenue loss is lower relative to the optimum allocation for exporting and more productive firms. This analysis is suggestive of the potenti al presence of additional gains from trade due to improved sorting.
Keywords: International Trade, Search frictions, Worker-Firm Matching
Abstract: We reexamine the relative effects of credit risk and liquidity in the interbank market using bank-level panel data on Libor submissions and CDS spreads. Our model synthesizes previous work by combining the fundamental determinants of interbank spreads with the effects of strategic misreporting by Libor-submitting firms. We find that interbank spreads were very sensitive to credit risk at the peak of the crisis. However, liquidity premia constitute the bulk of those spreads on average, and Federal Reserve interventions coincide with improvements in liquidity at short maturities. Accounting for misreporting, which is large at times, is important for obtaining these results.
Keywords: Bank Funding, Credit Risk, LIBOR, Liquidity, Misreporting
Abstract: This paper characterizes the deposit runs that occurred in the commercial banking system during 2008 and compares them with deposit runs during the 1930s. The importance of withdrawals by large depositors is a strong source of continuity across the two eras and reflects the longstanding concentration of deposit holdings. Runs occurred during 2008 despite the presence of national deposit insurance, which does not fully cover large accounts and therefore has limited impact on the incentives of those account holders. Large depositors continue to represent a source of both market discipline and financial instability.
Keywords: Bank runs, deposit insurance, large depositors
Abstract: Two key channels that allowed the 2007-2009 mortgage crisis to severely impact the real economy were: a housing net worth channel, as defined by Mian and Sufi (2014), which affected the wealth of leveraged households; and a bank net worth channel, which reduced the ability of financial intermediaries to provide credit. To capture these features of the Great Recession, I develop a DSGE model with balance-sheet constrained banks financing both risky mortgages and productive capital. Mortgages are provided to agents facing idiosyncratic housing depreciation risk, implying an endogenous default decision and a link between their borrowing capacity and house prices. The interaction among the housing net worth channel, the bank net worth channel and endogenous foreclosures generates novel amplification mechanisms. I analyze the quantitative implications of these new channels by considering two different shocks linked to the supply of mortgage credit: an increase in the variance of housing risk and a deterioration in the collateral value of mortgages for bank funding. Both shocks are able to produce co-movements in house prices, business investment, consumption and output. Finally, I study two types of policy interventions that are able to reduce the severity of a mortgage crisis: debt relief for borrowing households and central bank credit intermediation.
Keywords: Financial frictions, Housing, Mortgages, Banking, Unconventional Monetary Policy
Welfare Evaluation in a Heterogeneous Agent Model: How Representative is the CES Representative Consumer? (PDF)
Abstract: The present paper investigates the impact of asymmetric price changes on welfare in a model with heterogeneous consumers. I consider consumer heterogeneity a la Anderson et al. (1992). The standard welfare equivalence between the CES representative consumer and the discrete choice model breaks down in presence of asymmetric price changes. In fact, asymmetric variation in prices produce differential gains among heterogeneous consumers. I show that there exists no feasible Kaldor-Hicks income transfer such that the gains are equally redistributed. Intuitively, in presence of decreasing marginal utility, aggregation creates an insurance mechanism: the CES representative consumer softens the impact of price changes reallocating consumption among the available varieties. Individual consumers, instead, purchase a single product and do not internalize the effects of changes in prices of other available varieties. This result suggests that only symmetric policy-induced price changes minimize the utility losses across heterogeneous consumers.
Keywords: Asymmetric Price Changes, CES representative consumer, Discrete Choice Model
Lisa J. Dettling, Sarena F. Goodman, and Jonathan Smith
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of high-speed Internet on students' college application decisions. We link the diffusion of zip code-level residential broadband Internet to millions of PSAT and SAT takers' college testing and application outcomes and find that students with access to high-speed Internet in their junior year of high school perform better on the SAT and apply to a higher number and more expansive set of colleges. Effects appear to be concentrated among higher-SES students, indicating that while, on average, high-speed Internet improved students' postsecondary outcomes, it may have increased pre-existing inequities by primarily benefiting those with more resources.
Keywords: Broadband, College Choice, Undermatch
Michael M. Batty and Benedic N. Ippolito
Abstract: It is often assumed that financial incentives of healthcare providers affect the care they deliver, but this issue is surprisingly difficult to study. The recent enactment of state laws that limit how much hospitals can charge uninsured patients provide a unique opportunity. Using an event study framework and panel data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we examine whether these regulations lead to reductions in the amount and quality of care given to uninsured patients. We find that the introduction of a fair pricing law leads to a seven to nine percent reduction in the average length of hospital stay for uninsured patients, with no corresponding change for insured patients. These care reductions are not accompanied by worsening quality of inpatient care. Overall, our results provide strong evidence that hospitals actively alter their behavior in response to financial incentives, and are consistent with the laws promoting a shift towards more efficient care delivery. The findings also add to the growing evidence that hospitals can, and do, treat patients differently based upon insurance status.
Keywords: Health care, insurance, public economics
Brett McCully, Karen M. Pence, and Daniel J. Vine
Abstract: We use data from three nationally representative surveys to document that very few households report purchasing cars with home equity lines of credit or the proceeds from a cash-out refinancing. Households that do report using these sources of funds to purchase cars tend to be affluent and appear to have ample access to credit. These findings suggest that an easing of home-equity borrowing constraints was not the major factor driving any relationship between home prices and car sales during the housing boom in the 2000s. We discuss other mechanisms that might underlie this relationship.
Keywords: Auto loans, auto sales, cash-out refinancing, home equity, home equity lines of credit, mortgage refinancing, motor vehicles
A. Ronald Gallant, Mohammad Jahan-Parvar, and Hening Liu
Abstract: We confront the generalized recursive smooth ambiguity aversion preferences of Klibanoff, Marinacci, and Mukerji (2005, 2009) with data using Bayesian methods introduced by Gallant and McCulloch (2009) to close two existing gaps in the literature. First, we use macroeconomic and financial data to estimate the size of ambiguity aversion as well as other structural parameters in a representative-agent consumption-based asset pricing model. Second, we use estimated structural parameters to investigate asset pricing implications of ambiguity aversion. Our structural parameter estimates are comparable with those from existing calibration studies, demonstrate sensitivity to sampling frequencies, and suggest ample scope for ambiguity aversion.
Keywords: Ambiguity aversion, Bayesian estimation, Equity premium puzzle, Markov switching
Abstract: This paper investigates the causal effects of voluntary information disclosures on a bank's expected default probability, enterprise risk, and value. I measure disclosure via a self-constructed index for the largest 80 U.S. bank holding companies for the period 1998-2011. I provide evidence that a bank's management responds to a plausibly exogenous deterioration in the supply of public information by increasing its voluntary disclosure, which in turn improves investors' assessment of the bank risk and value. This evidence suggests that disclosure may alleviate informational frictions and lead to a more efficient allocation of risk and return.
Keywords: Disclosure, default probability, firm value, risk management, asymmetric information, corporate governance
Abstract: How do lenders of unsecured credit use screening and contract design to mitigate the risks of information asymmetry and limited commitment in the absence of collateral? To address this question, we take advantage of a unique dataset of over 200,000 credit card mail solicitations to a representative sample of households over the recent credit cycle--a period that includes the implementation of the CARD Act. We find that while lenders use credit scores as a prominent screening device, they also take into account a wide array of other information on borrowers' credit histories and financial and demographic characteristics. For instance, the likelihood of receiving an offer is sensitive to the exact timing of a prior bankruptcy filing. We also find that credit market conditions affect the marginal information used in lenders' offer decisions, as lenders sharply reduced credit supplied to subprime borrowers during the crisis and in response to the CARD Act. Finally, we document that lenders extend multiple distinct offers to the same consumers over a relatively short period, likely designed such that consumers reveal private information in their choice of contract.
Keywords: Credit supply, information asymmetry, credit cards, mail solicitation, personal bankruptcy, CARD Act, household finance
Measurement Error in Macroeconomic Data and Economics Research: Data Revisions, Gross Domestic Product, and Gross Domestic Income (PDF)
Andrew C. Chang and Phillip Li
Abstract: We analyze the effect of measurement error in macroeconomic data on economics research using two features of the estimates of latent US output produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). First, we use the fact that the BEA publishes two theoretically identical estimates of latent US output that only differ due to measurement error: the more well-known gross domestic product (GDP), which the BEA constructs using expenditure data, and gross domestic income (GDI), which the BEA constructs using income data. Second, we use BEA revisions to previously published releases of GDP and GDI. Using a sample of 23 published economics papers from top economics journals that utilize GDP as a key component of an estimated model, we assess whether using either revised GDP or GDI instead of GDP in the published paper would change reported results. We find that estimating models using revised GDP generates the same qualitative result as the original paper in all 23 cases. Estimatin g models using GDI, both with the GDI data originally available to the authors and with revised GDI, instead of GDP generates larger differences in results than those obtained with revised GDP. For 3 of 23 papers (13%), the results we obtain with GDI are qualitatively different than the original published results.
Keywords: Data Revisions, Gross Domestic Income, Gross Domestic Product, Latent Output, Measurement Error, National Income and Product Accounts, Real-Time Data
Naoki Aizawa and You Suk Kim
Abstract: We study impacts of advertising as a channel of risk selection in Medicare Advantage. We show evidence that both mass and direct mail advertising are targeted to achieve risk selection. We develop and estimate an equilibrium model of Medicare Advantage with advertising to understand its equilibrium impacts. We find that advertising attracts the healthy more than the unhealthy. Moreover, shutting down advertising increases premiums by up to 40% for insurers that advertised by worsening their risk pools, which further reduces the demand of the unhealthy. We argue that risk selection may make consumers better off by improving insurers' risk pools.
Keywords: Advertising, Health insurance, Medicare, Risk selection
Matteo Luciani, Madhavi Pundit, Arief Ramayandi, and Giovanni Veronese
Abstract: We produce predictions of the current state of the Indonesian economy by estimating a dynamic factor model on a dataset of eleven indicators (also followed closely by market operators) over the time period 2002 to 2014. Besides the standard difficulties associated with constructing timely indicators of current economic conditions, Indonesia presents additional challenges typical to emerging market economies where data are often scant and unreliable. By means of a pseudo-real-time forecasting exercise we show that our model outperforms univariate benchmarks, and it does comparably with predictions of market operators. Finally, we show that when quality of data is low, a careful selection of indicators is crucial for better forecast performance.
Keywords: Dynamic Factor Models, Emerging Market Economies, Nowcasting
Abstract: In the context of a stylized New Keynesian model, we explore the interaction between imperfect knowledge about the state of the economy and the zero lower bound. We show that optimal policy under discretion near the zero lower bound responds to signals about an increase in the equilibrium real interest rate by less than it would when far from the zero lower bound. In addition, we show that Taylor-type rules that either include a time-varying intercept that moves with perceived changes in the equilibrium real rate or that respond aggressively to deviations of inflation and output from their target levels perform similarly to optimal discretionary policy. Our analysis of first-difference rules highlights that rules with interest rate smoothing terms carry forward current and past misperceptions about the state of the economy and can lead to suboptimal performance.
Keywords: discretionary policy, imperfect information, monetary policy rules, zero lower bound
Abstract: The recent significant increase in student loan delinquencies has generated interest in understanding the key factors predicting the non-performance of these loans. However, despite the large size of the student loan market, existing analyses have been limited by data. This paper studies predictors of student loan delinquencies using a nationally representative panel dataset that anonymously combines individual credit bureau records with Pell Grant and Federal student loan recipient information, records on college enrollment, graduation and major, and school characteristics. We show that borrower-level credit characteristics are important predictors of student loan delinquencies. In particular, credit scores of young borrowers are highly predictive of future student loan delinquencies, even when measured well before borrowers enter repayment. In marked contrast, our results point to only a limited power of student debt levels in predicting future student loan credit events. Our findings have potentially useful practical implications. For example, access to credit file information when borrowers exit school could help to more effectively target student loan borrowers who might benefit from enrolling in income-driven repayment or loan modification plans.
Keywords: Credit Scores, Delinquencies, Student Loans
Abstract: This paper studies financial market volatility and jump responses to macroeconomic news announcements. Based on two decades of high-frequency data, we finds that there are significantly more jumps on news days than on no-news days, with the bond market being more responsive than the equity market, and nonfarm payroll employment being the most influential news. Both the first moment of news surprises and the second moments of disagreement and uncertainty affect financial market responses, with their impact significance changing over different market and response types. Market responses to news vary with economic situations, financial systemic risk and the zero-lower-bound policy.
Keywords: Macroeconomic news announcements, realized variance, jumps, disagreement and uncertainty, economic derivatives, financial systemic risk.
Vojislav Maksimovic, Mandy Tham, and Youngsuk Yook
Abstract: We examine the transmission of liquidity across the supply chain during the 2007-09 financial crisis, a period of financial market illiquidity, for a sample of unrated public firms with differential demand shocks. We measure differential demand by comparing firms that primarily supply to government customers with those that primarily supply to corporate customers. A difference-in-difference analysis shows little evidence that relatively high demand firms provide more or less liquidity to their own suppliers. The main determinant of the usage of short-term financing is a product market shock. Firms with relatively high demand have higher raw-material inventory and use more trade credit. There is little evidence that the amount of credit usage per unit of raw-material inventory changes with firms' demand shocks. These outcomes are consistent with theories of trade credit that stress the use of trade credit in financing inputs rather than providing efficient monitoring of creditors by suppliers. The lack of liquidity provision to suppliers by high demand firms is likely due to the high opportunity costs they face: We show that such firms become more investment-constrained over the crisis and engage in more acquisition activities once the liquidity crunch dissipates.
Keywords: Financial crisis, demand shock, liquidity management, trade credit, inventory
Olesya Grishchenko, Zhaogang Song, and Hao Zhou
Abstract: Bond returns are time-varying and predictable. What economic forces drive this variation? To answer this long-standing question, we propose a consumption-based model with recursive preferences, long-run risks, and inflation non-neutrality. Our model offers two important insights. First, our model matches well the post-1990 nominal upward-sloping U.S. Treasury yield curve. Second, consistent with our model's implication, variance risk premium based on the U.S. interest rate derivatives data emerges as a strong predictor for short-horizon Treasury excess returns, above and beyond the predictive power of other popular factors. In the model equilibrium, the variance risk premium is related to the short-run risks in the economy, while standard forward-rate-based factors are associated with long-run risks in the economy.
Keywords: Long-run risk, economic uncertainty, term structure of interest rates, bond risk premium, variance risk premium, predictability, interest rate derivatives
Input Linkages and the Transmission of Shocks: Firm-Level Evidence from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake (PDF)
Christoph E. Boehm, Aaron B. Flaaen, and Nitya Pandalai-Nayar
Abstract: Using novel firm-level microdata and leveraging a natural experiment, this paper provides causal evidence for the role of trade and multinational firms in the cross-country transmission of shocks. Foreign multinational affiliates in the U.S. exhibit substantial intermediate input linkages with their source country. The scope for these linkages to generate cross-country spillovers in the domestic market depends on the elasticity of substitution with respect to other inputs. Using the 2011 Tohoku earthquake as an exogenous shock, we estimate this elasticity for those firms most reliant on Japanese imported inputs: the U.S. affiliates of Japanese multinationals. These firms suffered large drops in U.S. output in the months following the shock, roughly one-for-one with the drop in imports and consistent with a Leontief relationship between imported and domestic inputs. Structural estimates of the production function for all firms with input linkages to Japan yield disaggreg ated production elasticities that are similarly low. Our results suggest that global supply chains are sufficiently rigid to play an important role in the cross-country transmission of shocks.
Keywords: Multinational firms, international business cycles, business fluctuations, elasticity of substitution
Abstract: This paper constructs regime-switching models for estimating the probability of inflation returning to its relatively high levels of variability and persistence in the 1970s and 1980s. Forecasts and probabilities of extreme events from the models are evaluated against comparable estimates from other statistical models, from surveys, and from financial markets. The paper then uses the models to construct prediction intervals around Federal Reserve Board staff forecasts of PCE price inflation, combining the recent non-parametric forecast error distribution with parametric information from the model. The outer tails of the prediction intervals depend importantly on the probability inflation is in its high-variance, high-persistence regime.
Keywords: Inflation, Markov-Switching, Uncertainty
Abstract: A well-established result in the literature is that Social Security tends to reduce steady state welfare in a standard life cycle model. However, less is known about the historical effects of the program on agents who were alive when the program was adopted. In a computational life cycle model that simulates the Great Depression and the enactment of Social Security, this paper quantifies the welfare effects of the program's enactment on the cohorts of agents who experienced it. In contrast to the standard steady state results, we find that the adoption of the original Social Security tended to improve these cohorts' welfare. In particular, we estimate that the original program benefited households alive at the time of the program's adoption with a likelihood of over 80 percent, and increased these agents' welfare by the equivalent of 5.9% of their expected future lifetime consumption. The welfare benefit was particularly large for poorer agents and agents who were near retirement age when the program was enacted. Through a series of counterfactual experiments we demonstrate that the difference between the steady state and transitional welfare effects is primarily driven by a slower adoption of payroll taxes and a quicker adoption of benefit payments during the program's phase-in. Overall, the opposite welfare effects experienced by agents in the steady state versus agents who experienced the program's adoption might offer one explanation for why a program that potentially reduces welfare in the steady state was originally adopted.
Keywords: Social Security, Recessions, Great Depression, Overlapping Generations.
Abstract: Interest rate spreads are widely-used indicators of funding pressures and market functioning in money markets. Using weekly data from 2002 to 2015, we analyze money market dynamics in a long-run equilibrium framework where commonly-monitored spreads serve as error correction terms. We find strong evidence for nonlinearities with respect to levels of the spreads. We provide point and interval estimates for spread thresholds that quantify funding pressure points from a long-run perspective. Our results indicate significant asymmetry in the adjustment toward long-run equilibrium. We show that economically and statistically significant adjustments occur only following large shocks to risk premia. Additionally, we quantify shifts in interest rate volatilities in high spread regimes characterized by elevated funding stress as well as declining correlations between risky funding rates and relatively safe base rates in such environments.
Keywords: Money markets, Cointegration, Threshold models, GARCH, Constant conditional correlation model.
Celso Brunetti, Jeffrey H. Harris, Shawn Mankad, and George Michailidis
Abstract: We study the behavior of the interbank market before, during and after the 2008 financial crisis. Leveraging recent advances in network analysis, we study two network structures, a correlation network based on publicly traded bank returns, and a physical network based on interbank lending transactions. While the two networks behave similarly pre-crisis, during the crisis the correlation network shows an increase in interconnectedness while the physical network highlights a marked decrease in interconnectedness. Moreover, these networks respond differently to monetary and macroeconomic shocks. Physical networks forecast liquidity problems while correlation networks forecast financial crises.
Keywords: Interconnectedness, correlation network, financial crisis, interbank market, physical network
Identification and Estimation of Risk Aversion in First Price Auctions With Unobserved Auction Heterogeneity (PDF)
Serafin J. Grundl and Yu Zhu
Abstract: We extent the point-identification result in Guerre, Perrigne, and Vuong (2009) to environments with one-dimensional unobserved auction heterogeneity. In addition, we also show a robustness result for the case where the exclusion restriction used for point identification is violated: We provide conditions to ensure that the primitives recovered under the violated exclusion restriction still bound the true primitives in this case. We propose a new Sieve Maximum Likelihood Estimator, show its consistency and illustrate its finite sample performance in a Monte Carlo experiment. We investigate the bias in risk aversion estimates if unobserved auction heterogeneity is ignored and explain why the sign of the bias depends on the correlation between the number of bidders and the unobserved auction heterogeneity. In an application to USFS timber auctions we find that the bidders are risk neutral, but we would reject risk neutrality without accounting for unobserved auction heterogeneity.
Keywords: Estimation, First Price Auction, Identification, Risk Aversion, Unobserved Heterogeneity
Jonathan Spader, Jenny Schuetz, and Alvaro Cortes
Abstract: The relationship between neighborhood physical environment and social disorder, particularly crime, is of critical interest to urban economists and sociologists, as well as local governments. Over the past 50 years, various policy interventions to improve physical conditions in distressed neighborhoods have also been heralded for their potential to reduce crime. Urban renewal programs in the mid-20th century and public housing redevelopment in the 1990s both subscribed to the idea that signs of physical disorder invite social disorder. More recently, the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provided funding for local policymakers to rehabilitate or demolish foreclosed and vacant properties, in order to mitigate negative spillovers--including crime--on surrounding neighborhoods. In this paper, we investigate the impact of NSP investments on localized crime patterns in Cleveland, Chicago and Denver. Results suggest that demolition activity in Cleveland decreased burglary and theft, but do not find measurable impacts of property rehabilitation investments--although the precision of these estimates are limited by the number of rehabilitation activities.
Keywords: Crime, broken windows, foreclosures, neighborhood revitalization
Anthony M. Diercks
Abstract: In this study I examine the welfare implications of monetary policy by constructing a novel New Keynesian model that properly accounts for asset pricing facts. I find that the Ramsey optimal monetary policy yields an inflation rate above 3.5% and inflation volatility close to 1.5%. The same model calibrated to a counterfactually low equity premium implies an optimal inflation rate close to zero and inflation volatility less than 10 basis points, consistent with much of the existing literature. Relatively higher optimal inflation is due to the greater welfare costs of recessions associated with matching the equity premium. Additionally, the second order approximation allows monetary policy to have positive welfare effects on the labor share of income. I show that this channel is generally absent in standard macroeconomic models that do not take risk into account. Furthermore, the interest rate rule that comes closest to matching the dynamics of the optimal Ramsey policy puts a sizable weight on capital growth along with the price of capital, as it emphasizes stabilizing the medium to long term over the very short run.
Keywords: Asset Pricing, Long-run risk, Monetary policy
Comparing Micro and Macro Sources for Household Accounts in the United States: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances (PDF)
Lisa J. Dettling, Sebastian J. Devlin-Foltz, Jacob Krimmel, Sarah J. Pack, and Jeffrey P. Thompson
Abstract: Household income, spending, and net worth are key inputs in macroeconomic forecasting and economic research. Macro-level data sources are often used to measure household accounts, but lack important information about heterogeneity across different types of households that can be found in micro-level data sources. This paper compares aggregates computed based on one micro-level data source--the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF)--with macro-level sources of information on household accounts. We find that on most measures, aggregates computed from the SCF line up well with macro-level data sources once we construct comparable series. Our results imply that researchers and policy makers can be confident in making macroeconomic inferences from household-level surveys like the SCF.
Keywords: Income, Spending, Survey of Consumer Finances, Wealth
Rebecca E. Zarutskie and Tiantian Yang
Abstract: We examine the evolution of several key firm economic and financial variables in the years surrounding and during the Great Recession using the Kauffman Firm Survey, a large panel of young firms founded in 2004 and surveyed for eight consecutive years. We find that these young firms experienced slower growth in revenues, employment, and assets and faced tighter financing conditions during the recessionary years. While we find some evidence that firm growth picked up following the recession, it is not clear that it returned to the levels it would have been absent the recessionary shock. We find little evidence that financing conditions for young firms loosened following the recession and show that financing constraints, in addition to diminished demand, may have contributed to these firms' slower growth. We discuss the strengths and the limitations of the Kauffman Firm Survey in measuring the impact of the Great Recession on young firms and their founders and consider features of future data collection and measurement efforts that would be useful in studying entrepreneurial activity over the business cycle.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Financing constraints, Firm performance, Great Recession, Young firms
Large-Scale Buy-to-Rent Investors in the Single-Family Housing Market: The Emergence of a New Asset Class? (PDF)
James Mills, Raven S. Molloy, and Rebecca E. Zarutskie
Abstract: In 2012, several large firms began purchasing single-family homes with the stated intention of creating large portfolios of rental property. We present the first systematic evidence on how this new investor activity differs from that of other investors in the housing market. Many aspects of buy-to-rent investor behavior are consistent with holding property for rent rather than reselling quickly. Additionally, the large size of these investors imparts a few important advantages. In the short run, this investment activity appears to have supported house prices in the areas where it is concentrated. The longer-run impacts remain to be seen.
Keywords: Institutional investors, buy-to-rent, ownership structure, real estate investors, rental housing, securitization, single-family rental
Is Economics Research Replicable? Sixty Published Papers from Thirteen Journals Say "Usually Not" (PDF)
Andrew C. Chang and Phillip Li
Abstract: We attempt to replicate 67 papers published in 13 well-regarded economics journals using author-provided replication files that include both data and code. Some journals in our sample require data and code replication files, and other journals do not require such files. Aside from 6 papers that use confidential data, we obtain data and code replication files for 29 of 35 papers (83%) that are required to provide such files as a condition of publication, compared to 11 of 26 papers (42%) that are not required to provide data and code replication files. We successfully replicate the key qualitative result of 22 of 67 papers (33%) without contacting the authors. Excluding the 6 papers that use confidential data and the 2 papers that use software we do not possess, we replicate 29 of 59 papers (49%) with assistance from the authors. Because we are able to replicate less than half of the papers in our sample even with help from the authors, we assert that economics research is usually not replicable. We conclude with recommendations on improving replication of economics research.
Keywords: Data and Code Archives, Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Journals, Macroeconomics, National Income and Product Accounts, Publication, Research, Replication
Pietro Bonaldi, Ali Hortacsu, and Zhaogang Song
Abstract: Auction theory has ambiguous implications regarding the relative efficiency of three formats of multiunit auctions: uniform-price, discriminatory-price, and Vickrey auctions. We empirically evaluate the performance of these three auction formats using the bid-level data of the Federal Reserve's purchase auctions of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from June 1, 2014 through November 17, 2014. We estimate marginal cost curves for all dealers, at each auction, based on structural models of the multiunit discriminatory-price auction. Our preliminary results suggest that neither uniform-price nor Vickrey auctions outperform discriminatory-price auctions in terms of the total expenditure. However, they do outperform in terms of efficiency, with efficiency gains around 0.74% of the surplus that dealers extract. We caution that our empirical estimation and analysis involve technical assumptions made about the specific auction mechanism the Federal Reserve uses and how auction participants perceive the auction mechanism, both of which may be distinct from practice and may alter the conclusions substantively.
Keywords: Agency MBS, Auction, Nonparametric
Jane Dokko, Geng Li, and Jessica Hayes
Abstract: This paper presents novel evidence on the role of credit scores in the dynamics of committed relationships. We document substantial positive assortative matching with respect to credit scores, even when controlling for other socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. As a result, individual-level differences in access to credit are largely preserved at the household level. Moreover, we find that the couples' average level of and the match quality in credit scores, measured at the time of relationship formation, are highly predictive of subsequent separations. This result arises, in part, because initial credit scores and match quality predict subsequent credit usage and financial distress, which in turn are correlated with relationship dissolution. Credit scores and match quality appear predictive of subsequent separations even beyond these credit channels, suggesting that credit scores reveal an individual's relationship skill and level of commitment. We present ancillary evidence supporting the interpretation of this skill as trustworthiness.
Keywords: Credit scores, Committed relationships, Assortative matching, Household finance, Trustworthiness
Abstract: I study the effect of investment in young, private firms by venture capitalists (VC) on public firms in the same industry. I construct an instrument for VC investment that relies on individual VC's investment histories, holdings of equity stakes in IPO firms, and aggregate market returns immediately following those IPOs. I find that increased VC investment has a large effect on incumbent profitability. The effect arises due to higher costs and not depressed sales. The effect is short lived as firms respond by reallocating resources away from treated markets and by reducing their use of labor.
Keywords: Corporate finance, Financial markets, Venture Capital
Emanuele Brancati and Marco Macchiavelli
Abstract: The recent Global Games literature makes important predictions on how financial crises unfold. We test the empirical relevance of these theories by analyzing how dispersed information affects banks' default risk. We find evidence that precise information acts as a coordination device which reduces creditors' willingness to roll over debt to a bank, thus increasing both its default risk and its vulnerability to changes in expectations. We establish two new results. First, given an unfavorable median forecast, less dispersed beliefs greatly increase default risk; this is consistent with incomplete information models that rely on coordination risk while in contrast with a wide range of models that neglect this component. Second, less dispersion of beliefs amplifies the reaction of default risk to changes in market expectations; importantly, precise information raises banks' vulnerability by more than standard measures of banks' fragility. Taken together, our results suggest that enhanced transparency, by providing agents with more precise information, increases banks' vulnerability to changes in sentiment and raises the default risk of weaker banks. Finally, we address concerns of endogeneity of market expectations by introducing a novel set of instruments.
Keywords: CDS Spreads, Coordination Risk, Dispersed Information, Financial Crisis, Global Games
Optimal Monetary and Macroprudential Policies: Gains and Pitfalls in a Model of Financial Intermediation (PDF)
Abstract: We estimate a quantitative general equilibrium model with nominal rigidities and financial intermediation to examine the interaction of monetary and macroprudential stabilization policies. The estimation procedure uses credit spreads to help identify the role of financial shocks amenable to stabilization via monetary or macroprudential instruments. The estimated model implies that monetary policy should not respond strongly to the credit cycle and can only partially insulate the economy from the distortionary effects of financial frictions/shocks. A counter-cyclical macroprudential instrument can enhance welfare, but faces important implementation challenges. In particular, a Ramsey planner who adjusts a leverage tax in an optimal way can largely insulate the economy from shocks to intermediation, but a simple-rule approach must be cautious not to limit credit expansions associated with efficient investment opportunities. These results demonstrate the importance of considering both optimal Ramsey policies and simpler, but more practical, approaches in an empirically grounded model.
Keywords: Bayesian estimation, DSGE models, Macroprudential policy, Monetary policy
Abstract: The equilibrium real interest rate (r*) is the short-term real interest rate that, in the long run, is consistent with aggregate production at potential and stable inflation. Estimation of r* faces considerable econometric and empirical challenges. On the econometric front, classical inference confronts the "pile-up" problem. Empirically, the co-movement of output, inflation, unemployment, and real interest rates is too weak to yield precise estimates of r*. These challenges are addressed by applying Bayesian methods and examining the role of several "demand shifters", including asset prices, fiscal policy, and credit conditions. We find that the data provide relatively little information on the r* data-generating process, as the posterior distribution of this process lies very close to its prior. This result contrasts sharply with those for the trend growth or natural rate of unemployment processes. Second, credit spreads are very important for the estimated links between output and interest rates and hence for estimates of r*. Estimates of r* that account for this range of considerations are more stable than other estimates, with r* at the end of 2014 equal to approximately 1-1/4 percent.
Keywords: Bayesian Methods, Equilibrium real interest rate, Potential Output
Abstract: This paper studies the racial wealth gap using data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances from 1989 to 2013. We document that the mean and median wealth (net worth) of white families has consistently been much greater than that of black and Hispanic families, and the gap between them has increased in recent years. We use reduced-form OLS regressions and non-parametric decomposition techniques to assess the contribution to the racial wealth gap of life-cycle patterns, educational attainment, inheritance, attitudes toward saving and investing, and a number of additional factors. Our analysis indicates that the wealth gap between white and Hispanic families can be almost entirely attributed to differences in observable variables. Observable factors account for most of the gap between white and black families, but a substantial unexplained portion remains. Wealth differences between black and white families are completely due to different asset holdings, while wealth differences between black and Hispanic families are mostly a result of different debt holdings. The unexplained portion of the wealth gap, for white families relative to black and Hispanic families, is greater at the top of the wealth distribution.
Keywords: Inequality, Racial Wealth Gap, Saving
September 2015 (revised September 2015)
Does Salient Financial Information Affect Academic Performance and Borrowing Behavior among College Students? (PDF)
Maximilian Schmeiser, Christiana Stoddard, and Carly Urban
Abstract: The rising incidence and amount of student loan debt among young adults has significant implications for their economic well-being. However, students are generally provided little information on how to finance postsecondary education and how much to borrow. This paper studies how information can change student loan behavior among college students. We exploit a natural experiment across two large public colleges in which some students at one institution above a specific loan amount received "Know Your Debt" letters with information about their student loan debt, suggestions on how to manage their debt, and incentivized offers for one-on-one financial counseling, while the remainder did not. Using a difference-in-difference-in-difference strategy and a rich administrative dataset on individual-level academic records and financial aid packages, we find that students receiving the letters borrow an average of $1,360 less in the subsequent semester--a reduction of one-third. This reduction in borrowing does not adversely affect academic performance. In fact, those who receive the intervention take more credits and have higher GPAs in the subsequent semester.
Keywords: student loans, higher education, information, financial cues
Alessandro Barbarino and Efstathia Bura
Abstract: Factor models have been successfully employed in summarizing large datasets with few underlying latent factors and in building time series forecasting models for economic variables. When the objective is to forecast a target variable y with a large set of predictors x, the construction of the summary of the xs should be driven by how informative on y it is. Most existing methods first reduce the predictors and then forecast y in independent phases of the modeling process. In this paper we present an alternative and potentially more attractive alternative: summarizing x as it relates to y, so that all the information in the conditional distribution of y|x is preserved. These y-targeted reductions of the predictors are obtained using Sufficient Dimension Reduction techniques. We show in simulations and real data analysis that forecasting models based on sufficient reductions have the potential of significantly improved performance.
Keywords: Diffusion Index, Dimension Reduction, Factor Models, Forecasting, Partial Least Squares, Principal Components
Abstract: An important question in the household finance literature is whether a change in required debt payments affects borrower behavior. One challenge in this literature has been identifying whether higher default rates observed after an increase in debt payments stem from the inability of borrowers to pay the higher amount, or the attrition of better borrowers in advance of the payment change. A related question is whether the higher default rate is a result of specific features of the debt product, or the type of borrower who chooses the product. We address both of these questions as they relate to a scheduled increase in payments on home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). Many existing HELOCs are structured such that when they reach the end of the draw period, they convert from open-ended, non-amortizing lines of credit to closed-end, amortizing loans. We compare the performance of HELOCs reaching end of draw with those not reaching end of draw and find that HELOCs that reach end of draw have a significantly higher cumulative default rate in the following months. We also show that, at end of draw, borrowers who have a HELOC with a balloon feature are more likely to have lower credit scores and higher LTVs than borrowers who have HELOCs with longer amortization periods. However, even controlling for borrower and loan characteristics, HELOCs with a balloon payment are more likely to default. This result provides evidence that HELOC defaults can be influenced both by the features of the product and the characteristics of borrowers who choose those features.
Keywords: HELOC, consumer credit, end of draw, home equity, payment changes
Jacob P. Gramlich and Korok Ray
Abstract: Despite the clear prescription from economic theory that a firm should set price based only on variable costs, firms routinely factor fixed costs into pricing decisions. We show that full-cost pricing (FCP) can help firms uncover their optimal price from economic theory. FCP marks up variable cost with the contribution margin per unit, which in equilibrium includes the fixed cost. This requires some knowledge of the firm's equilibrium return, though this is arguably easier a lower informational burden than knowing one's demand curve, which is required for optimal economic pricing. We characterize when FCP can implement the optimal price in a static game, a dynamic game, with multiple products, and under a satisficing objective.
Keywords: Full Cost Pricing, Marginal Cost Pricing, Optimal Pricing, Pricing
Abstract: This paper proposes a new collection of affine jump-diffusion models for the valuation of VIX derivatives. The models have two distinctive features. First, we allow for a positive correlation between changes in the VIX and in its stochastic volatility to accommodate asymmetric volatility. Second, upward and downward jumps in the VIX are separately modeled to accommodate the possibility that investors react differently to good and bad surprises. Using the VIX futures and options data from July 2006 through January 2013, we find conclusive evidence for the benefits of including both asymmetric volatility and upward jumps in models of VIX derivatives pricing. We do not, however, find evidence supporting downward jumps.
Keywords: VIX options, VIX futures, jump-diffusion, stochastic volatility, volatility smile
How House Price Dynamics and Credit Constraints affect the Equity Extraction of Senior Homeowners (PDF)
Stephanie Moulton, Samuel Dodini, Donald R. Haurin, and Maximilian D. Schmeiser
Abstract: Households can borrow against equity through different channels, including home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), second liens, cash-out refinancing, and--for senior homeowners--reverse mortgages. We use data from the New York Federal Reserve/Equifax Consumer Credit Panel, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other sources to jointly estimate the decision to extract equity through these different channels. Specifically, we identify the influence of credit constraints, house price dynamics and their interactions on the proportion of seniors in a ZIP code extracting through a given channel each year from 2004 to 2012: the boom and bust period in the U.S. housing market. Prior research finds credit constrained households were more responsive to house price gains than non-constrained households. Our results suggest that this response varies depending on the borrowing channel. As house prices increased, cash-out refinancing increased in credit-constrained areas, but HELOCs increased in less-credit-constrained areas. Further, when house prices fell, reverse mortgage originations increased--particularly in credit-constrained areas. We also observe differential responses to credit constraints and house price changes in minority versus non-minority neighborhoods.
Keywords: Home Equity Extraction, Mortgages and credit, Reverse Mortgages
David M. Byrne and Carol A. Corrado
Abstract: Communication equipment plays as large a role in high-tech investment as computers, yet prices for communication equipment have not been studied as extensively as prices for computers and electronic components. Prices for satellites, cell phones, and the ground stations for these systems--important components of a nation's communications infrastructure--are difficult to locate in official statistics. This paper develops new price measures for 16 types of communications equipment from 1963 to 2009. Indexes for some (e.g., cellular phone systems) experience declines of 15-20 percent per year, similar to the decline in quality-adjusted prices for computers, and suggest that advances in wireless communications technology have been very rapid. All told, our price index for domestic production falls 4.8 percent per year on average over the time period we study and 9.8 percent per year on average since 1985--nearly 10 percentage points faster than the official U.S. producer price index introduced in that year.
Keywords: ICT, communications equipment, price measurement, technical change, wireless technology, communications technology, communications equipment industry
Abstract: We use supervisory data to investigate risk taking in the U.S. syndicated loan market at a time when longer-term interest rates are exceptionally low, and we study the ex-ante credit risk of loans acquired by different types of lenders, including banks and shadow banks. We find that insurance companies, pension funds, and, in particular, structured-finance vehicles take higher credit risk when investors expect interest rates to remain low. Banks originate riskier loans that they tend to divest shortly after origination, thus appearing to accommodate other lenders' investment choices. These results are consistent with a "search for yield" by certain types of shadow banks and, to the extent that Federal Reserve policies affected longer-term rates, the results are also consistent with the presence of a risk-taking channel of monetary policy. Finally, we find that longer-term interest rates have only a modest effect on loan spreads.
Keywords: Risk-taking channel of monetary policy, Search for yield, Shadow banking, Shared National Credit Program, Syndicated loans, Zero lower bound
Abstract: Due to frictions like informational externalities, firms invest too little in learning the productivity of newly available technologies through small-scale experimentation. I study the effect of investor sentiment on the relation between technological innovation and future firm-level R&D expenses, which include the resources used for small-scale experimentation. I find that rapidly improving investor sentiment strengthens the effect of technological innovation on one-year-ahead R&D expenses, and that the effect is more pronounced for high-tech firms with tighter financing constraints. The results are not driven by sentiment proxying for technological innovation or by sentiment and R&D expenses being jointly determined. The evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that sentiment counteracts frictions in the process of technology diffusion.
Keywords: Investor sentiment, R&D, Technological innovation
Antonello D'Agostino, Domenico Giannone, Michele Lenza, and Michele Modugno
Abstract: We develop a framework for measuring and monitoring business cycles in real time. Following a long tradition in macroeconometrics, inference is based on a variety of indicators of economic activity, treated as imperfect measures of an underlying index of business cycle conditions. We extend existing approaches by permitting for heterogenous lead-lag patterns of the various indicators along the business cycles. The framework is well suited for high-frequency monitoring of current economic conditions in real time - nowcasting - since inference can be conducted in presence of mixed frequency data and irregular patterns of data availability. Our assessment of the underlying index of business cycle conditions is accurate and more timely than popular alternatives, including the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI). A formal real-time forecasting evaluation shows that the framework produces well-calibrated probability nowcasts that resemble the consensus assessment of t he Survey of Professional Forecasters.
Keywords: Current Economic Conditions, Dynamic Factor Models, Dynamic Heterogeneity, Business Cycles, Real Time, Nowcasting.
August 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Kartik Athreya, Felicia F. Ionescu, and Urvi Neelakantan
Abstract: Portfolio choice models counterfactually predict (or advise) almost universal equity market participation and a high share for equity in wealth early in life. Empirically consistent predictions have proved elusive without participation costs, informational frictions, or nonstandard preferences. We demonstrate that once human capital investment is allowed, standard theory predicts portfolio choices much closer to those empirically observed. Two intuitive mechanisms are at work: For participation, human capital returns exceed financial asset returns for most young households and, as households age, this is reversed. For shares, risks to human capital limit the household's desire to hold wealth in risky financial equity.
Keywords: Human capital investment, life-cycle, financial portfolios
Pier Lopez, David Lopez-Salido, and Francisco Vazquez-Grande
Abstract: A downward-sloping term structure of equity and upward-sloping term structures of interest rates arise endogenously in a general-equilibrium model with nominal rigidities and nonlinear habits in consumption. Countercyclical marginal costs exacerbate the procyclicality of dividends after a technology shock, and hence their riskiness, and generate countercyclical inflation. Marginal costs gradually fall after a negative technology shock as the price level increases sluggishly, so the payoffs of short-duration dividend claims (bonds) are more (less) procyclical than the payoffs of long-duration claims (bonds). The simultaneous presence of market and home consumption habits allows for uniting nonlinear habits and a production economy without compromising the ability of the model to fit macroeconomic variables.
Keywords: Equity and bond yields, habit formation, nominal rigidities, structural term structure modeling
Abstract: Which financial frictions matter in the aggregate? This paper presents a general equilibrium model in which entrepreneurs finance a firm with a long-term contract. The contract is constrained efficient because firm revenue is costly to monitor and entrepreneurs may default. The cost of monitoring firms and the entrepreneurs' outside options determine the significance of moral hazard relative to limited enforcement for financial contracting. Calibrating the model to the U.S. economy, I find that the relative welfare loss from financial frictions is about 5 percent in terms of aggregate consumption with moral hazard, while it is 1 percent with limited enforcement. Reforms designed to strengthen contract enforcement increase aggregate consumption in the short-run, but their long-run effects are modest when monitoring costs are high. Weak contract enforcement contributes to aggregate fluctuations by amplifying the effect of aggregate technological shocks, but moral hazard does not.
Keywords: Business cycles, financial contracting, financial development, firm dynamics, limited enforcement, private information
Andrew C. Chang and Tyler J. Hanson
Abstract: We analyze forecasts of consumption, nonresidential investment, residential investment, government spending, exports, imports, inventories, gross domestic product, inflation, and unemployment prepared by the staff of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee from 1997 to 2008, called the Greenbooks. We compare the root mean squared error, mean absolute error, and the proportion of directional errors of Greenbook forecasts of these macroeconomic indicators to the errors from three forecasting benchmarks: a random walk, a first-order autoregressive model, and a Bayesian model averaged forecast from a suite of univariate time-series models commonly taught to first-year economics graduate students. We estimate our forecasting benchmarks both on end-of-sample vintage and real-time vintage data. We find find that Greenbook forecasts significantly outperform our benchmark forecasts for horizons less than one quarter ahead. However, by the one-year forecast horizon, typically at least one of our forecasting benchmarks performs as well as Greenbook forecasts. Greenbook forecasts of the personal consumption expenditures and unemployment tend to do relatively well, while Greenbook forecasts of inventory investment, government expenditures, and inflation tend to do poorly.
Keywords: Bayesian model averaging, Federal Open Market Committee, forecast accuracy, Greenbook, NIPA, national income and product accounts, real-time data
Jeff Larrimore, Jacob Mortenson, and David Splinter
Abstract: We use a large panel of federal income tax data to investigate intragenerational income mobility in the United States. We have two primary objectives. First, we explore the determinants of two-year changes in individual labor earnings and family incomes, such as job or industry changes, marriage, divorce, and geographic mobility. Second, we evaluate how federal income taxes stabilize or destabilize post-tax income changes relative to pre-tax changes. We find a relatively high degree of income mobility, with almost half of workers exhibiting earnings increases or decreases of at least 25 percent, and two-fifths of tax units experiencing income changes of this magnitude. Male and female labor income mobility patterns are remarkably similar, though marriage is associated with earnings gains among men, but is associated with modest earnings declines among women. We also observe that large income gains are most likely among families that add workers � either through marria ge or through a second family member entering the workforce.
Keywords: Administrative data, income mobility, post-tax income
Abstract: I apply latent semantic analysis to Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) transcripts and minutes from 1976 to 2008 in order to analyze the Fed's responses to calls for transparency. Using a newly constructed measure of the transparency of deliberations, I study two events that define markedly different periods of transparency over this 32-year period. First, the 1978 Humphrey-Hawkins Act increased the degree to which the FOMC used meeting minutes to convey the content of its meetings. Historical evidence suggests that this increased transparency reflected a response to the Act's requirement that the Fed provide greater detail in reporting with respect to its goals and objectives. Second, the 1993 decision to publish nearly verbatim transcripts also increased transparency. However, the cost was an increasing degree of conformity at each meeting, as evidenced by lower variance in content disagreement at the member level.
Keywords: Federal Open Market Committee, transparency, latent semantic analysis, deliberation, natural language processing, conformity, central bank
David Aikman, Michael T. Kiley, Seung Jung Lee, Michael G. Palumbo, and Missaka N. Warusawitharana
Abstract: We provide a framework for assessing the build-up of vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system. We collect forty-four indicators of financial and balance-sheet conditions, cutting across measures of valuation pressures, nonfinancial borrowing, and financial-sector health. We place the data in economic categories, track their evolution, and develop an algorithmic approach to monitoring vulnerabilities that can complement the more judgmental approach of most official-sector organizations. Our approach picks up rising imbalances in the U.S. financial system through the mid-2000s, presaging the financial crisis. We also highlight several statistical properties of our approach: most importantly, our summary measures of system-wide vulnerabilities lead the credit-to-GDP gap (a key gauge in Basel III and related research) by a year or more. Thus, our framework may provide useful information for setting macroprudential policy tools such as the countercyclical capital buffer.
Keywords: Early warning system, financial crisis, financial stability, financial vulnerabilities, heat maps, macroprudential policy, systemic risk, data visualization, countercyclical capital buffers
Changes in the Distribution of After-Tax Wealth: Has Income Tax Policy Increased Wealth Inequality? (PDF)
Adam Looney and Kevin B. Moore
Abstract: A substantial share of the wealth of Americans is held in tax-deferred form such as in retirement accounts or as unrealized capital gains. Most data and statistics on assets and wealth is reported on a pre-tax basis, but pre-tax values include an implicit tax liability and may not provide as accurate a measure of the financial position or material well-being of families. In this paper, we describe the distribution of tax-deferred assets in the SCF from 1989 to 2013, provide new estimates of the income tax liabilities implicit in those assets, and present new statistics on the level and distribution of after-tax net worth. The results of our analysis suggest that, relative to published statistics on pre-tax net worth, the distribution of after-tax wealth is slightly less concentrated at each point in time and the effectiveness of the income tax system in reducing wealth inequality has decreased during the last decade. We find the reduction in the long-term capital gains rate is the primary reason for the muted effectiveness of the income tax system in reducing wealth inequality.
Keywords: Inequality, taxation, wealth
July 2015 (revised January 2016)
Paolo Surico and Riccardo Trezzi
Abstract: A sudden change of government in Italy at the end of 2011 prompted the legislation of a large fiscal consolidation plan. A major intervention of this plan was a temporary change (referred in the law as 'experiment') to the property tax system, generating significant variation in the amount of housing taxes paid across home-owners. Using new questions appositely added to the Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW), we exploit this cross-sectional variation to provide an unprecedented analysis of the effects of a fiscal consolidation policy on consumer spending. A tax hike on the main dwelling leads to large expenditure cuts among mortgagors with low liquid wealth but generates only small revenues for the government. In contrast, higher tax rates on other residential properties reduce private savings and yield large tax revenues.
Keywords: Fiscal consolidation, housing taxes, marginal propensity to consume, mortgage debt, tax hike
Revised Paper DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2015.057r1
Original Paper: Full paper (PDF)
Original Paper DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2015.057
Serafin J. Grundl and Yu Zhu
Abstract: This paper exploits variation in the number of bidders to separately identify the valuation distribution and the bidders' belief about the valuation distribution in first-price auctions with independent private values. Exploiting variation in auction volume the result is extended to environments with risk averse bidders. In an illustrative application we fail to reject the null hypothesis of correct beliefs.
Keywords: Biased beliefs, first-price auction, nonparametric identification, risk aversion
Daniel O. Beltran, Valentin Bolotnyy, and Elizabeth C. Klee
Abstract: Using a network approach to characterize the evolution of the federal funds market during the Great Recession and financial crisis of 2007-2008, we document that many small federal funds lenders began reducing their lending to larger institutions in the core of the network starting in mid-2007. But an abrupt change occurred in the fall of 2008, when small lenders left the federal funds market en masse and those that remained lent smaller amounts, less frequently. We then test whether changes in lending patterns within key components of the network were associated with increases in counterparty and liquidity risk of banks that make up the core of the network. Using both aggregate and bank-level network metrics, we find that increases in counterparty and liquidity risk are associated with reduced lending activity within the network. We also contribute some new ways of visualizing financial networks.
Keywords: Banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions, counterparty credit risk, data visualization, network models
Abstract: Leverage is often seen as villain in financial crises. Sudden deleveraging may lead to fire sales and price pressure when asset demand is downward-sloping. This paper looks at the effects of changes in leverage on asset prices. It provides a historical case study where a large, well-identified shock to margin credit disrupted the German stock market. In May 1927, the German central bank forced banks to cut margin lending to their clients. However, this shock affected banks differentially; the magnitude of credit change differed across banks. Using the strong connections between banks and firms in interwar Germany, I show in a difference-in-differences framework that stocks affiliated with affected banks decreased over 12 percent during 4 weeks. Volatility of these stocks doubled. Relating directly bank balance sheet information to asset prices, this paper finds that a one standard deviation decrease in lending to investors increased an affected stock's volatility by 0.2 2 standard deviations. These results are robust to the problem that banks' lending decisions may be influenced by asset prices. The Reichsbank threatened banks to cut their short-run funding. Using the differences in exposure towards this threat, an instrumental variable strategy provides further evidence that a sharp decrease in leverage may lead to stock price fluctuations.
Keywords: Asset pricing and bonds, banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions, economic history, equity
Geert Bekaert and Eric Engstrom
Abstract: We introduce a "bad environment-good environment" (BEGE) technology for consumption growth in a consumption-based asset pricing model with external habit formation. The model generates realistic non-Gaussian features of consumption growth and fits standard salient features of asset prices including the means and volatilities of equity returns and a low risk free rate. BEGE dynamics additionally allow the model to generate realistic properties of equity index options prices, and their comovements with the macroeconomic outlook. In particular, when option implied volatility is high, as measured for instance by the VIX index, the distribution of consumption growth is more negatively skewed.
Keywords: VIX, equity premium, habit, risk aversion, skewness
Etienne Gagnon, David Lopez-Salido, and Jason A. Sockin
Abstract: Coibion, Gorodnichenko, and Hong (2015) argue that the CPI underestimates the deceleration in consumer prices during economic downturns because the index fails to account for the reallocation of consumer spending from high- to low-price stores. We show that these authors' measures of inflation with and without store switching suffer from several methodological deficiencies, including an excessive truncation of price adjustments and the lack of a treatment for missing observations. When we address these deficiencies, the authors' key regression results no longer suggest that greater store switching during downturns is a statistically or economically significant phenomenon.
Keywords: Outlet substitution bias, effective prices, inflation measurement
Dong Hwan Oh and Andrew J. Patton
Abstract: This paper presents flexible new models for the dependence structure, or copula, of economic variables based on a latent factor structure. The proposed models are particularly attractive for relatively high dimensional applications, involving fifty or more variables, and can be combined with semiparametric marginal distributions to obtain flexible multivariate distributions. Factor copulas generally lack a closed-form density, but we obtain analytical results for the implied tail dependence using extreme value theory, and we verify that simulation-based estimation using rank statistics is reliable even in high dimensions. We consider "scree" plots to aid the choice of the number of factors in the model. The model is applied to daily returns on all 100 constituents of the S&P 100 index, and we find significant evidence of tail dependence, heterogeneous dependence, and asymmetric dependence, with dependence being stronger in crashes than in booms. We also show that factor copula models provide superior estimates of some measures of systemic risk.
Keywords: Copulas, correlation, dependence, systemic risk, tail dependence
Dong Hwan Oh and Andrew J. Patton
Abstract: This paper proposes a new model for high-dimensional distributions of asset returns that utilizes mixed frequency data and copulas. The dependence between returns is decomposed into linear and nonlinear components, enabling the use of high frequency data to accurately forecast linear dependence, and a new class of copulas designed to capture nonlinear dependence among the resulting uncorrelated, low frequency, residuals. Estimation of the new class of copulas is conducted using composite likelihood, facilitating applications involving hundreds of variables. In- and out-of-sample tests confirm the superiority of the proposed models applied to daily returns on constituents of the S&P 100 index.
Keywords: Composite likelihood, forecasting, high frequency data, nonlinear dependence
Sebastian J. Devlin-Foltz and John Sabelhaus
Abstract: Large swings in aggregate household-sector spending, especially for big ticket items such as cars and housing, have been a dominant feature of the macroeconomic landscape in the past two decades. Income and wealth inequality increased over the same period, leading some to suggest the two phenomena are interconnected. Indeed, there is supporting evidence for the idea that heterogeneity in economic shocks and spending are connected, most notably in studies using local-area geography as the unit of analysis. The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) provides a household-level perspective on changes in wealth, income, and spending across different types of families. The SCF confirms that inequality is indeed increasing in recent decades, and the data provide support for the proposition that shocks to income and wealth are indeed related to large swings in spending across and within birth cohorts. However, the economic shocks associated with the Great Recession and changes in spending and debt to income ratios are widespread, and inconsistent with a narrow focus on the experiences and changes in behavior of particular (especially low- and modest-income) households.
Keywords: Consumption, lifecycle, synthetic cohort
Abstract: Expansionary monetary policy can increase household leverage by stimulating housing liquidity. Low mortgage rates encourage buyers to enter the housing market, raising the speed at which properties can be sold. Because lenders can resell seized foreclosure inventory at lower cost in such a hot housing market, ex-ante they are comfortable financing a larger fraction of the house purchase. Consistent with this mechanism, this study documents empirically that both the housing sales rate and loan-to-value ratios increase after expansionary monetary policy. Calibrating a New Keynesian macroeconomic model to fit the response of housing liquidity to monetary policy, the interaction between credit frictions and housing market search frictions generates endogenous movements in the loan-to-value ratio which amplify the economy's response to monetary policy.
Keywords: Credit frictions, housing market, monetary policy, search frictions
Abstract: The Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy in order to achieve its statutory mandate of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates as prescribed by the Congress and laid out in the Federal Reserve Act. For many years prior to the financial crisis, the FOMC set a target for the federal funds rate and achieved that target through purchases and sales of securities in the open market. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, with a superabundant level of reserve balances in the banking system having been created as a result of the Federal Reserve's large scale asset purchase programs, this approach to implementing monetary policy will no longer work. This paper provides a primer on the Fed's implementation of monetary policy. We use the standard textbook model to illustrate why the approach used by the Federal Reserve before the financial crisis to keep the federal funds rate near the FOMC's target will not work in current circumst ances, and explain the approach that the Committee intends to use instead when it decides to begin raising short-term interest rates.
Keywords: FOMC, Federal Reserve, liftoff, monetary policy implementation, monetary policy normalization, monetary policy tools
June 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Is the Intrinsic Value of Macroeconomic News Announcements Related to their Asset Price Impact? (PDF)
Thomas Gilbert, Chiara Scotti, Georg Strasser, and Clara Vega
Abstract: The literature documents a heterogeneous asset price response to macroeconomic news announcements: Some announcements have a strong impact on asset prices and others do not. In order to explain these differences, we estimate a novel measure of the intrinsic value of a macroeconomic announcement, which we define as the announcement's ability to nowcast GDP growth, inflation, and the Federal Funds Target Rate. Using the same nowcasting framework, we then decompose this intrinsic value into the announcement's characteristics: its relation to fundamentals, timing, and revision noise. We find that in the 1998-2013 period, a significant fraction of the variation in the announcements' price impact on the Treasury bond futures market can be explained by differences in intrinsic value. Furthermore, our novel measure of timing explains significantly more of this variation than the announcements' relation to fundamentals, reporting lag (which previous studies have used as a measure of timing), or revision noise.
Keywords: Macroeconomic announcements, central bank policy, coordination role of public information, learning, macroeconomic forecasting, price discovery
Damjan Pfajfar and Blaž Žakelj
Abstract: Using laboratory experiments within a New Keynesian framework, we explore the interaction between the formation of inflation expectations and monetary policy design. The central question in this paper is how to design monetary policy when expectations formation is not perfectly rational. Instrumental rules that use actual rather than forecasted inflation produce lower inflation variability and reduce expectational cycles. A forward-looking Taylor rule where a reaction coefficient equals 4 produces lower inflation variability than rules with reaction coefficients of 1.5 and 1.35. Inflation variability produced with the latter two rules is not significantly different. Moreover, the forecasting rules chosen by subjects appear to vary systematically with the policy regime, with destabilizing mechanisms chosen more often when inflation control is weaker.
Keywords: Inflation expectations, laboratory experiments, monetary policy design, New Keynesian model
Abstract: The macro spillover effects of capital shortfalls in the financial intermediation sector are compared across five dynamic equilibrium models for policy analysis. Although all the models considered share antecedents and a methodological core, each model emphasizes different transmission channels. This approach delivers "model-based confidence intervals" for the real and financial effects of shocks originating in the financial sector. The range of outcomes predicted by the five models is only slightly narrower than confidence intervals produced by simple vector autoregressions.
Keywords: Bank losses, banks, capital requirements, DSGE models
Abstract: A V-shaped price pattern is often observed in financial markets - in response to a negative shock, prices fall "too far" before reversing course. This paper looks at one particular channel of such patterns: the link between a liquidity provider's balance sheet and asset prices. I examine a well-identified historical case study where a large exogenous shock to a liquidity provider's balance sheet resulted in severe capital constraints. Using evidence from German universal banks, who acted as market makers for selected stocks in the interwar period, I show in a difference-in-differences framework that binding capital constraints made stocks 15-20 percent more likely to be illiquid if they were connected to the distressed liquidity provider. This resulted in V-shaped price patterns during times of illiquidity, where prices declined on average 2.5 percent and reversed over the next one to three days. Investing in these particular stocks would have yielded substantial gains. These findings can be rationalized by a model that incorporates imperfect competition and asymmetric information. Under this model, banks' market-making reduces price volatility (and uninformed traders' reactions to price movements) in normal times whereas in distressed times, the price impact of noise trading is high and leads to sharp price declines that are unrelated to fundamentals.
Keywords: Asset pricing and bonds, banks, credit unions, other financial institutions, economic history, equity, liquidity
Abstract: We use a time-varying parameter/stochastic volatility VAR framework to assess how the passthrough of labor costs to price inflation has evolved over time in U.S. data. We find little evidence that changes in labor costs have had a material effect on price inflation in recent years, even for compensation measures where some degree of passthrough to prices still appears to be present. Our results cast doubt on explanations of recent inflation behavior that appeal to such mechanisms as downward nominal wage rigidity or a differential contribution of long-term and short-term unemployed workers to wage and price pressures.
Keywords: Prices, business fluctuations, and cycles, wages, and compensation
Abstract: This paper discusses various methods for assessing group differences in academic achievement using only the ordinal content of achievement test scores. Researchers and policymakers frequently draw conclusions about achievement differences between various populations using methods that rely on the cardinal comparability of test scores. This paper shows that such methods can lead to erroneous conclusions in an important application: measuring changes over time in the achievement gap between youth from high- and low-income households. Commonly-employed, cardinal methods suggest that this "income-achievement gap" did not change between the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY) 1979 and 1997 surveys. In contrast, ordinal methods show that this gap narrowed substantially for reading achievement and may have narrowed for math achievement as well. In fact, any weighting scheme that places more value on higher test scores must conclude that the reading income-achievement gap decreased between these two surveys. The situation for math achievement is more complex, but low-income students in the middle and high deciles of the low-income math achievement distribution unambiguously gained relative to their high-income peers. Furthermore, an anchoring exercise suggests that the narrowing of the income-achievement gap corresponds to an economically significant convergence in lifetime labor wealth and school completion rates for youth from high- and low-income backgrounds.
Keywords: Achievement inequality, anchoring, human capital, measurement of inequality, ordinal statistics
Abstract: This paper assesses the sensitivity of standard empirical methods for measuring group differences in achievement to violations in the cardinal comparability of achievement test scores. The paper defines a distance measure over possible weighting functions (scalings) of test scores. It then constructs worst-case bounds for the bias in the estimated achievement gap (or achievement gap change) that could result from using the observed rather than the true test scale, given that the true and observed scales are no more than a fixed distance from each other. The worst-case weighting functions have simple, closed-form expressions consisting of achievement thresholds, flat regions in which test scores are uninformative, and regions in which the observed test scores are actually cardinally comparable. The paper next estimates these worst-case weighting functions for black/white and high-/low-income achievement gaps and gap changes using data from several commonly employed surveys. The results of this empirical exercise suggest that cross-sectional achievement gap estimates tend to be quite robust to scale misspecification. In contrast, achievement gap change estimates seem to be quite sensitive to the choice of test scale. Standard empirical methods may not robustly identify the sign of the trend in achievement inequality between students from different racial groups and income classes. Furthermore, ordinal methods may be more powerful and will continue to have the correct size when the test scale has been misspecified.
Keywords: Achievement gaps; econometrics; health, education, and welfare; inequalty; measurement; robustness
Small Businesses and Small Business Finance during the Financial Crisis and the Great Recession: New Evidence From the Survey of Consumer Finances (PDF)
Arthur B. Kennickell, Myron L. Kwast, and Jonathan Pogach
Abstract: We use the Federal Reserve's 2007, 2009 re-interview of 2007 respondents, and 2010 Surveys of Consumer Finances (SCFs) to examine the experiences of small businesses owned and actively managed by households during these turbulent years. This is the first paper to use these SCFs to study small businesses even though the surveys contain extensive data on a broad cross-section of firms and their owners. We find that the vast majority of small businesses were severely affected by the financial crisis and the Great Recession, including facing tight credit constraints. We document numerous and often complex interdependencies between the finances of small businesses and their owner-manager households, including a more complicated role of housing assets than has been reported previously. We find that workers who lost their job responded in part by starting their own small business, and that factors correlated with the survival of a small business differed greatly depending upon whether the firm was established or new. Our results strongly reinforce the importance of relationship finance to small businesses, and the primary role of commercial banks in such relationships. We find that both cross-section and panel data are needed to understand the complex issues associated with the creation, survival and failure of small businesses.
Keywords: Great Recession, small business
Abstract: This paper analyzes the implications of distortionary taxation and debt financing for optimal government spending policy in a sticky-price economy where the nominal interest rate is subject to the zero lower bound constraint. Regardless of the type of tax available and the initial debt level, optimal government spending policy in a recession is characterized by an initial increase followed by a reduction below, and an eventual return to, the steady state. The magnitude of variations in the government spending as well as their welfare implications depend importantly on the available tax instrument and the initial debt level.
Keywords: Commitment, distortionary taxation, government spending, liquidity trap, nominal debt, optimal policy, zero lower bound
Balance-Sheet Households and Fiscal Stimulus: Lessons from the Payroll Tax Cut and Its Expiration (PDF)
Claudia R. Sahm, Matthew D. Shapiro, and Joel Slemrod
Abstract: Balance-sheet repair drove the response of a significant fraction of households to fiscal stimulus following the Great Recession. By combining survey, behavioral, and time-series evidence on the 2011 payroll tax cut and its expiration in 2013, this papers identifies and analyzes households who smooth debt repayment. These "balance-sheet households" are as prevalent as "permanent-income households," who smooth consumption in response to the temporary tax cut, and outnumber "constrained households," who temporarily boost spending. The asymmetric spending response of balance-sheet households poses challenges to standard models, but nonetheless appears important for understanding individual and aggregate responses to fiscal stimulus.
Keywords: Fiscal stimulus, balance sheets, marginal propensity to consume, payroll tax, survey responses
Abstract: How do dividend taxes affect stock volatility? In this paper, I use a decrease in dividend taxes as a natural experiment to identify their impact on firm's price volatility. If a risk-averse executive faces price risk through his incentive contract, changes in stock volatility due to dividend taxes may increase agency costs and therefore decrease overall welfare. Stock volatility decreased after the tax cut for firms where an executive has large holdings of shares and options relative to firms where an executive has small holdings of shares and options. Therefore, with a risk-averse executive and risk-neutral shareholders, dividend taxes may exacerbate agency costs. The increase in agency costs will decrease shareholder welfare, which can be partially offset by the use of options in the employment contract.
Keywords: Corporate finance and governance, taxation
Lena Drager, Michael J. Lamla, and Damjan Pfajfar
Abstract: In this paper we analyze whether central bank communication can facilitate the understanding of key economic concepts. Using survey data for consumers and professionals, we calculate how many of them have expectations consistent with the Fisher Equation, the Taylor rule and the Phillips curve and test, by accounting for three different communication channels, whether central banks can influence those. A substantial share of participants has expectations consistent with the Fisher equation, followed by the Taylor rule and the Phillips curve. We show that having theory-consistent expectations is beneficial, as it improves the forecast accuracy. Furthermore, consistency is time varying. Exploring this time variation, we provide evidence that central bank communication as well as news on monetary policy can facilitate the understanding of those concepts and thereby improve the efficacy of monetary policy.
Keywords: Macroeconomic expectations, central bank communication, consumer forecast accuracy, macroeconomic literacy, monetary news, survey microdata
Li Lin, Dimitrios P. Tsomocos, and Alexandros P. Vardoulakis
Abstract: We examine the role that credit risk in the central bank's monetary operations plays in the determination of the equilibrium price level and allocations. Our model features trade in fiat money, real assets and a monetary authority which injects money into the economy through short-term and long-term loans to agents. Short-term loans are riskless, but long-term loans are collateralized by a portfolio of real assets and are subject to credit risk. The private monetary wealth of individuals is zero, i.e., there is no outside money. When there is no default in equilibrium, there is indeterminacy. Positive default in every state of the world on some long-term loan endogenously creates positive liquid wealth that supports positive interest rates and resolves the aforementioned indeterminacy. Hence, a non-Ricardian policy across loan markets can determine the equilibrium allocations while it allows the central bank to earn profits from seigniorage in order to compensate for any losses.
Keywords: Collateral, Default, Determinacy, Liquid wealth, Monetary policy
Abstract: During the financial crisis of 2008, origination and trading in asset-backed securities markets dropped dramatically. I present a model with ambiguity averse investors to explain how such a market freeze could occur and to investigate how ambiguity affects origination and securitization decisions. The model captures many features of the crisis, including market freezes and fire sales, as well as the timing and duration of the freeze. The presence of ambiguity also reduces real economic activity. Lastly, I consider the differing implications of ambiguity and risk, as well as the role of policies that reduce ambiguity during market freezes.
Keywords: Structured finance, ambiguity aversion, market freezes
Abstract: The interaction of worsening fundamentals and strategic complementarities among investors renders identification of self-fulfilling runs challenging. We propose a dynamic model to show how exogenous variation in firms' liability structures can be exploited to obtain variation in the strength of strategic complementarities. Applying this identification strategy to puttable securities offered by U.S. life insurers, we find that 40 percent of the $18 billion run on life insurers by institutional investors during the summer of 2007 was due to self-fulfilling expectations. Our findings suggest that other contemporaneous runs in shadow banking by institutional investors may have had a self-fulfilling component.
Keywords: Shadow banking, funding agreement-backed securities, life insurance companies, self-fulfilling runs
Original DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2015.032
Abstract: We present a model where endogenous liquidity generates a feedback loop between secondary market liquidity and firms' financing decisions in primary markets. The model features two key frictions: a costly state verification problem in primary markets, and search frictions in over-the-counter secondary markets. Our concept of liquidity depends endogenously on illiquid assets put up for sale relative to the resources available for buying those assets in the secondary market. Liquidity determines the liquidity premium, which affects issuance in the primary market, and this effect feeds back into secondary market liquidity by changing the composition of investors' portfolios. We show that the privately optimal allocations are inefficient because investors and firms fail to internalize how their behavior affects secondary market liquidity. These inefficiencies are established analytically through a set of wedge expressions for key efficiency margins. Our analysis provide s a rationale for the effect of quantitative easing on secondary and primary capital markets and the real economy.
Keywords: Capital structure, market liquidity, quantitiative easing, secondary markets
Jesse Bricker, Alice M. Henriques, Jake A. Krimmel, and John E. Sabelhaus
Abstract: Administrative tax data indicate that U.S. top income and wealth shares are substantial and increasing rapidly (Piketty and Saez 2003, Saez and Zucman 2014). A key reason for using administrative data to measure top shares is to overcome the under-representation of families at the very top that plagues most household surveys. However, using tax records alone restricts the unit of analysis for measuring economic resources, limits the concepts of income and wealth being measured, and imposes a rigid correlation between income and wealth. The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) solves the under-representation problem by combining administrative and survey data (Bricker et al, 2014). Administrative records are used to select the SCF sample and verify that high-end families are appropriately represented, and the survey is designed to measure comprehensive concepts of income and wealth at the family level. The SCF shows high and rising top income and wealth shares, as in the ad ministrative tax data. However, unadjusted, the levels and growth based on administrative tax data alone appear to be substantially larger. By constraining the SCF to be conceptually comparable, we reconcile the differences, and show the extent to which restrictions and rigidities needed to estimate top income and wealth shares in the administrative data bias up levels and growth rates.
Keywords: Administrative data, survey data, top income shares, top wealth shares
Inflation Expectations and Recovery from the Depression in 1933: Evidence from the Narrative Record (PDF)
Andrew Jalil and Gisela Rua
Abstract: This paper uses the historical narrative record to determine whether inflation expectations shifted during the second quarter of 1933, precisely as the recovery from the Great Depression took hold. First, by examining the historical news record and the forecasts of contemporary business analysts, we show that inflation expectations increased dramatically. Second, using an event-studies approach, we identify the impact on financial markets of the key events that shifted inflation expectations. Third, we gather new evidence--both quantitative and narrative--that indicates that the shift in inflation expectations played a causal role in stimulating the recovery.
Keywords: Great Depression, inflation expectations, liquidity trap, narrative evidence, regime change
May 2015 (Revised: January 2017)
David Lopez-Salido, Jeremy C. Stein, and Egon Zakrajsek
Abstract: Using U.S. data from 1929 to 2015, we show that elevated credit-market sentiment in year t-2 is associated with a decline in economic activity in years t and t+1. Underlying this result is the existence of predictable mean reversion in credit-market conditions. When credit risk is aggressively priced, spreads subsequently widen. The timing of this widening is, in turn, closely tied to the onset of a contraction in economic activity. Exploring the mechanism, we find that buoyant credit-market sentiment in year t-2 also forecasts a change in the composition of external finance: Net debt issuance falls in year t, while net equity issuance increases, consistent with the reversal in credit-market conditions leading to an inward shift in credit supply. Unlike much of the current literature on the role of financial frictions in macroeconomics, this paper suggests that investor sentiment in credit markets can be an important driver of economic fluctuations.
Keywords: Business cycles, credit-market sentiment, financial stability
An agency problem in the MBS market and the solicited refinancing channel of large-scale asset purchases (PDF)
Abstract: In this paper, we document that mortgage-backed securities (MBS) held by the Federal Reserve exhibit faster principal prepayment rates than MBS held by the rest of the market. Next, we show that this stylized fact persists even when controlling for factors that affect prepayment behavior, and thus determine the MBS that are delivered to the Federal Reserve. After ruling out several potential explanations for this result, we provide evidence that points to an agency problem in the secondary market for MBS, which has not previously been documented, as the most likely explanation for the abnormal prepayment behavior of Federal Reserve-held MBS. This agency problem--a key feature of the MBS market--arises when originators of mortgages that underlie the MBS no longer share in the prepayment risk of the securities, thereby increasing incentives to solicit refinancing activity. Therefore, Federal Reserve MBS holdings acquired from originators as a result of large-scale asset purchases can help stimulate economic activity through a so-called "solicited refinancing channel." Finally, we provide an estimate of the additional refinancing activity resulting from the solicited refinancing channel in the years after the Federal Reserve's first MBS purchase program, demonstrating that this channel conveyed savings on monthly mortgage payments to homeowners.
Keywords: Federal Reserve, LSAP, Monetary policy, QE, mortgage, mortgage-backed securities, prepayment rates
Peter Carr and Samim Ghamami
Abstract: We consider risk-neutral valuation of a contingent claim under bilateral counterparty risk in a reduced-form setting similar to that of Duffie and Huang and Duffie and Singleton . The probabilistic valuation formulas derived under this framework cannot be usually used for practical pricing due to their recursive path-dependencies. Instead, finite-difference methods are used to solve the quasi-linear partial differential equations that equivalently represent the claim value function. By imposing restrictions on the dynamics of the risk-free rate and the stochastic intensities of the counterparties' default times, we develop path-independent probabilistic valuation formulas that have closed-form solution or can lead to computationally efficient pricing schemes. Our framework incorporates the so-called wrong way risk (WWR) as the two counterparty default intensities can depend on the derivatives values. Inspired by the work of Ghamami and Goldberg on th e impact of WWR on credit value adjustment (CVA), we derive calibration-implied formulas that enable us to mathematically compare the derivatives values in the presence and absence of WWR. We illustrate that derivatives values under unilateral WWR need not be less than the derivatives values in the absence of WWR. A sufficient condition under which this inequality holds is that the price process follows a semimartingale with independent increments.
Keywords: Basel III, Counterparty Risk, Credit Value Adjustment, Reduced-Form Modeling, Wrong Way Risk
The Effect of Shocks to College Revenues on For-Profit Enrollment: Spillover from the Public Sector (PDF)
Abstract: This paper investigates whether declines in public funding for post-secondary institutions have increased for-profit enrollment. The two primary channels through which funding might operate to reallocate students across sectors are price (measured by tuition) and quality (measured by resource constraints). We estimate, on average, that a 10 percent cut in appropriations raises tuition about 1 to 2 percent and decreases faculty resources by 1/2 to 1 percent, creating substantial bottlenecks for prospective students on both price and quality. These cuts, in turn, generate a nearly one percentage point increase in the for-profit market share of "elastic" enrollment (i.e. attendees of community colleges plus for-profit institutions), owing entirely to students who, in a better funding environment, would have attended a public institution. We estimate an elasticity of for-profit enrollment with respect to state and local appropriations of 0.2. Finally, we extend our analys is to show that for every 1 percent increase in flagship tuition generated by funding shortfalls, for-profit attendance increases by 1-1/2 percent.
Keywords: enrollment, for-profit colleges, public colleges, state appropriations
Original Version: PDF
Javed I. Ahmed, Christopher Anderson, and Rebecca E. Zarutskie
Abstract: Estimates of investor expectations of government support of large financial firms are often based on large financial firms' lower borrowing costs relative to smaller financial firms. Using pricing data on credit default swaps (CDS) and corporate bonds over the period 2004 to 2013, however, we find that the CDS and bond spreads of financial firms are no more sensitive to borrower size than the spreads of non-financial firms. Outside of the financial crisis period, spreads are more sensitive to borrower size in several non-financial industries. We find that size-related differences in spreads are partially driven by higher liquidity and recovery rates of larger borrowers. Prior to the financial crisis, we also find that financial firms exhibited generally lower spreads that were less sensitive to size than spreads for several other industries. Our results suggest that estimates of implicit government guarantees to financial firms may overemphasize size-related borrowing cost differentials. However, our analysis also suggests that, prior to the financial crisis, investor expectations of government support, or generally reduced risk perceptions, may have reduced borrowing costs for the financial industry, as a whole.
Keywords: Borrowing costs, credit default swaps, financial industry, implicit government guarantee, size effect, Too-Big-to-Fail
Abstract: I study a labor market in which identical workers search on- and off-the-job and heterogeneous firms employ using either posted wages or wage contracts contingent on outside options. Firm level costs for contingent contracts generate a separating equilibrium in which less productive firms post wages. The model with heterogeneous contracts can achieve wage dispersion, labor share, employment transitions, and flow value of unemployment that are simultaneously consistent with empirical observations even when most firms post wages. Using German employee-level administrative data, I estimate roughly 70 percent of firms post wages and employ nearly 50 percent of workers under such contracts.
Keywords: Labor supply and demand, Market structure and pricing, Wages and compensation
Abstract: This paper presents a model of repo rehypothecation in which dealers intermediate funds and collateral between cash lenders (e.g., money market funds) and prime brokerage clients (e.g., hedge funds). Dealers take advantage of their position as intermediaries, setting different repo terms with each counterparty. In particular, the difference in haircuts represents a positive cash balance for the dealer that can be an important source of liquidity. The model shows that dealers with higher default risk are more exposed to runs by collateral providers than to runs by cash lenders, who are completely insulated from a dealer's default. In addition, collateral providers' repo terms are sensitive to changes in a dealer's default probability and its correlation with the collateral's outcome, whereas cash lenders' repo terms are unaffected by these changes. This paper rationalizes the difference in haircuts observed in bilateral and tri-party repo markets, reconciles the partial evidence of the run on repo during the recent financial crisis, and presents new empirical evidence to support the model's main prediction on haircut sensitivities.
Keywords: bankruptcy, haircuts, liquidity, prime brokerage, rehypothecation, repo
Abstract: I develop a macroeconomic model with a financial sector, in which banks can finance risky projects (loans) and can affect their quality by exerting a costly screening effort. Informational frictions regarding the observability of loan characteristics limit the amount of external funds that banks can raise. In this framework I consider two possible types of financial intermediation, traditional banking (TB) and shadow banking (SB), differing in the level of diversification across projects. In particular, shadow banks, by pooling different loans, improve on the diversification of their idiosyncratic risk and increase the marketability of their assets. Due to their ability to pledge a larger share of the return on their projects, shadow banks will have a higher endogenous leverage compared to traditional banks, despite choosing a lower screening level. As a result, on the one hand, the introduction of SB will imply a higher amount of capital intermediated. On the other han d it will make the economy more fragile via three channels. First, by being highly leveraged and more exposed to risky projects, shadow banks will amplify exogenous negative shocks. Second, during a recession, the quality of projects intermediated by shadow banks will endogenously deteriorate even further, causing a slower recovery of the financial sector. A final source of instability is that the SB-system will be vulnerable to runs. When a run occurs, shadow banks will have to sell their assets to traditional banks, and this fire sale, because of the limited leverage capacity of the TB-system, will depress asset prices, making the run self-fulfilling and negatively affecting investment. In this framework I study how central bank credit intermediation helps reduce the impact of a crisis and the likelihood of a run.
Keywords: Bank Runs, Financial Frictions, Shadow Banking, Unconventional Monetary Policy
Bruno Feunou, Mohammad R. Jahan-Parvar, and Cedric Okou
Abstract: We propose a new decomposition of the variance risk premium in terms of upside and downside variance risk premia. The difference between upside and downside variance risk premia is a measure of skewness risk premium. We establish that the downside variance risk premium is the main component of the variance risk premium, and that the skewness risk premium is a priced factor with significant prediction power for aggregate excess returns. Our empirical investigation highlights the positive and significant link between the downside variance risk premium and the equity premium, as well as a positive and significant relation between the skewness risk premium and the equity premium. Finally, we document the fact that the skewness risk premium fills the time gap between one quarter ahead predictability, delivered by the variance risk premium as a short term predictor of excess returns and traditional long term predictors such as price-dividend or price-earning ratios. Our resul ts are supported by a simple equilibrium consumption-based asset pricing model.
Keywords: Downside variance risk premium, realized volatility, risk-neutral volatility, skewness risk premium, upside variance risk premium
Brian K. Bucks and Karen M. Pence
Abstract: Several U.S. panel surveys measure household wealth. At the same time, many important questions about household wealth accumulation remain somewhat unresolved. We consider whether measurement error on the existing suite of longitudinal surveys hinders their usefulness for addressing these questions. We review the features of wealth data that make it difficult to collect and assess which assets and debts households are more likely to report accurately. We suggest several considerations in choosing between improving existing surveys and starting a new one.
Keywords: Measurement error, survey methods, wealth
Abstract: This paper develops a framework to study the interaction between banking, price dynamics, and monetary policy. Deposit contracts are written in nominal terms: if prices unexpectedly fall, the real value of banks' existing obligations increases. Banks default, panics precipitate, economic activity declines. If banks default, aggregate demand for cash increases because financial intermediation provided by banks disappears. When money supply is unchanged, the price level drops, thereby providing incentives for banks to default. Active monetary policy prevents banks from failing and output from falling. Deposit insurance can achieve the same goal but amplifies business cycle fluctuations by inducing moral hazard.
Keywords: banking panics, deflation, deposit insurance
Abstract: We present evidence that binding mortgage processing capacity constraints reduce mortgage originations to borrowers of low to modest credit quality. Mortgage processing capacity constraints typically bind when the demand for mortgage refinancing shifts outward, usually because of lower mortgage rates. As a result, high capacity utilization leads mortgage lenders to ration mortgage credit, completing mortgages that require less underwriting resources, and are thus less costly, to produce. This is hypothesized to have a particularly adverse impact on the ability of low- to modest-credit-quality borrowers to obtain mortgages. What is more, we show that, by lowering capacity utilization, a rise in interest rates can, under certain circumstances, induce an increase in mortgage originations to borrowers of low to modest credit quality. In particular, we find fairly large effects for purchasing borrowers of modest credit quality, in which we find that a decrease in capacity utilization of 4 applications per mortgage employee (similar to that observed from 2012 to 2013) could result in increased purchase mortgage originations, as the relaxed capacity constraint at least partially offsets the higher cost of mortgage credit.
Keywords: Mortgages and credit, capacity constraint, refinancing
Jenny Schuetz, Jonathan Spader, and Alvaro Cortes
Abstract: During the 2007-2009 housing crisis, concentrations of foreclosed and vacant properties created severe blight in many cities and neighborhoods. The federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) was established to help mitigate distress in hard-hit areas by funding the rehabilitation or demolition of troubled properties. This paper analyzes housing market changes in areas that received investments during the second round of NSP funding, focusing on seven large urban counties. Grantees used NSP to invest in census tracts with high rates of distressed and vacancy properties, and tracts that had previously received other housing subsidies. The median NSP tract received quite sparse investment, relative to the overall housing stock and the initial levels of distress. Analysis of housing market outcomes indicates the recovery has been uneven across counties and neighborhoods. In a few counties, there is some evidence that NSP2 activity is correlated with improved housing outcomes.
Keywords: Foreclosures, Neighborhood revitalization, economic recovery, federal housing policy, housing markets
Michael Ehrmann, Damjan Pfajfar, and Emiliano Santoro
Abstract: This paper studies consumers' inflation expectations using micro-level data from the Surveys of Consumers conducted by University of Michigan. It shows that beyond the well-established socio-economic factors such as income, age or gender, other characteristics such as the households' financial situation and their purchasing attitudes are important determinants of their forecast accuracy. Respondents with current or expected financial difficulties, pessimistic attitudes about major purchases, or expectations that income will go down in the future have a stronger upward bias in their expectations than other households. However, their bias shrinks by more than that of the average household in response to increasing media reporting about inflation. Equivalent results are found during recessions.
Keywords: Consumer Attitudes, Inflation Expectations, News on Inflation
Sirio Aramonte, Mohammad Jahan-Parvar, and Justin Shugarman
Abstract: We study whether stock market returns in oil-exporting countries can be predicted by oil price changes, and we investigate the link between predictability and the quality of each country's institutions. Returns are predictable for half the countries we consider, and predictability is stronger when institutional quality is lower. We argue that the relation between predictability and institutional quality reflects the preference of countries with weaker institutions to consume oil windfalls locally rather than smooth out the impact of windfalls by, for instance, investing the proceeds through a sovereign wealth fund.
Keywords: Country studies, Quality of institutions, Return predictability
Antonello D'Agostino, Michele Modugno, and Chiara Osbat
Abstract: We propose a model for analyzing euro area trade based on the interaction between macroeconomic and trade variables. First, we show that macroeconomic variables are necessary to generate accurate short-term trade forecasts; this result can be explained by the high correlation between trade and macroeconomic variables, with the latter being released in a more timely manner. Second, the model tracks well the dynamics of trade variables conditional on the path of macroeconomic variables during the great recession; this result makes our model a reliable tool for scenario analysis. Third, we quantify the contribution of the most important euro area trading partners (regions) to the aggregate extra euro area developments: we evaluate the impact of an increase of the external demand from a specific region on the extra euro area trade.
Keywords: euro area trade, factor models, nowcast, conditional forecast, scenario analysis
Simon Gilchrist, Raphael Schoenle, Jae W. Sim, and Egon Zakrajsek
Abstract: Firms with limited internal liquidity significantly increased prices in 2008, while their liquidity unconstrained counterparts slashed prices. Differences in the firms' price-setting behavior were concentrated in sectors likely characterized by customer markets. We develop a model, in which firms face financial frictions, while setting prices in a customer-markets setting. Financial distortions create an incentive for firms to raise prices in response to adverse demand or financial shocks. These results reflect the firms' reaction to preserve internal liquidity and avoid accessing external finance, factors that strengthen the countercyclical behavior of markups and attenuate the response of inflation to fluctuations in output.
Keywords: Deflation, monetary policy, prices, business fluctuations, and cycles
Why Do We Need Both Liquidity Regulations and a Lender of Last Resort? A Perspective from Federal Reserve Lending during the 2007-09 U.S. Financial Crisis (PDF)
Abstract: During the 2007-09 financial crisis, there were severe reductions in the liquidity of financial markets, runs on the shadow banking system, and destabilizing defaults and near-defaults of major financial institutions. In response, the Federal Reserve, in its role as lender of last resort (LOLR), injected extraordinary amounts of liquidity. In the aftermath, lawmakers and regulators have taken steps to reduce the likelihood that such lending would be required in the future, including the introduction of liquidity regulations. These changes were motivated in part by the argument that central bank lending entails extremely high costs and should be made unnecessary by liquidity regulations. By contrast, some have argued that the loss of liquidity was the result of market failures, and that central banks can solve such failures by lending, making liquidity regulations unnecessary. In this paper, we argue that LOLR lending and liquidity regulations are complementary tools. Liquidity shortfalls can arise for two very different reasons: First, sound institutions can face runs or a deterioration in the liquidity of markets they depend on for funding. Second, solvency concerns can cause creditors to pull away from troubled institutions. Using examples from the recent crisis, we argue that central bank lending is the best response in the former situation, while orderly resolution (by the institution as it gets through the problem on its own or via a controlled failure) is the best response in the second situation. We also contend that liquidity regulations are a necessary tool in both situations: They help ensure that the authorities will have time to assess the nature of the shortfall and arrange the appropriate response, and they provide an incentive for banks to internalize the externalities associated with any liquidity risks.
Keywords: Lender of last resort, central banks, financial crises, liquidity regulation
Josh Frost, Lorie Logan, Antoine Martin, Patrick McCabe, Fabio Natalucci, and Julie Remache
Abstract: We review recent changes in monetary policy that have led to development and testing of an overnight reverse repurchase agreement (ON RRP) facility, an innovative tool for implementing monetary policy during the normalization process. Making ON RRPs available to a broad set of investors, including nonbank institutions that are significant lenders in money markets, could complement the use of the interest on excess reserves (IOER) and help control short-term interest rates. We examine some potentially important secondary effects of an ON RRP facility, both positive and negative, including impacts on the structure of short-term funding markets and financial stability. We also investigate design features of an ON RRP facility that could mitigate secondary effects deemed undesirable. Finally, we discuss tradeoffs that policymakers may face in designing an ON RRP facility, as they seek to balance the objectives of setting an effective floor on money market rates during t he normalization process and limiting any adverse secondary effects.
Keywords: Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve System, monetary policy, interest on excess reserves, money market funds, overnight RRP, repo, reverse repo
Sebastian Devlin-Foltz, Alice M. Henriques, and John Sabelhaus
Abstract: Is the current mix of tax preferences for employer-sponsored pensions and individual retirement saving in the U.S. delivering the best possible retirement-preparedness across and within generations? Using data from the triennial Survey of Consumer Finances for 1989 through 2013, cohort-based analysis of life-cycle trajectories shows that (1) overall retirement plan participation was relatively stable or even rising through 2007, though participation fell noticeably in the wake of the Great Recession and has remained lower, (2) participation is strongly correlated with income, and the shift in the type of pension coverage occurred within--not just across--income groups, (3) relative to previous cohorts and a counterfactual lifecycle benchmark, the recent decline in retirement plan participation and defined contribution (DC) retirement account balance-to-income ratios is concentrated among younger families and lower-income families.
Keywords: Lifecycle, pension, retirement
Joanne W. Hsu and Brooke H. McFall
Abstract: Web-based surveys have become increasingly common in economic, marketing, and other social science research. However, questions exist about the comparability of data gathered using a web interview and data gathered using more traditional survey modes, particularly for surveys on household economic behavior. Differences between data from different survey modes may arise through two different mechanisms: sample selectivity due to (lack of) web access and mode effects. This study leverages the randomized experimental design of the mixed-mode Cognitive Economics Study to examine mode effects separately from sample selectivity issues. In particular, we examine differences in survey response rates, item nonresponse, and data quality due to mode effects. Our results indicate that, in contrast to mail mode, web mode surveys (1) attain higher response rates among web users, (2) display lower item nonresponse, and (3) elicit more precise values for financial measures. We conclude that, for web-using populations, web mode surveys appear to result in more usable data than mail mode surveys, and these data appear to be of high quality. However, we also find no systematic mode differences in the categorical distributions of responses to items, providing no evidence that pooling data from the two modes is inadvisable.
Keywords: Data quality, household surveys, mode effects, response rates
Abstract: Do firms use credit line drawdowns to finance investment? Using a unique dataset of 467 COMPUSTAT firms with credit lines, we study the purpose of drawdowns during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Our data show that credit line drawdowns had already increased in 2007, precisely when disruptions in bank funding markets began to squeeze aggregate liquidity. Consistent with theory, our results confirm that firms use drawdowns to sustain investment after an idiosyncratic liquidity shock. Using an instrumental variable approach based on institutional features of credit line contracts, we find that a one standard deviation increase in credit line drawdown is associated with an increase of 9 percent in average capital expenditures. Low aggregate liquidity amplifies this effect significantly. During the financial crisis, the effect of drawdowns on investment increased to 16 percent. The effect was even larger for smaller and financially constrained firms. We find only limited evidence, mostly for large and investment grade firms, that drawdowns were used to boost (precautionary) cash holdings during the crisis.
Keywords: Credit Lines, Financial Crisis, Investment, Liquidity Management
Maximilian D. Schmeiser and Matthew B. Gross
Abstract: We examine the evolution of mortgage modification terms obtained by distressed subprime borrowers during the recent housing crisis, and the effect of the various types of modifications on the subsequent loan performance. Using the CoreLogic LoanPerformance dataset that contains detailed loan level information on mortgages, modification terms, second liens, and home values, we estimate a discrete time proportional hazard model with competing risks to examine the determinants of post-modification mortgage outcomes. We find that principal reductions are particularly effective at improving loan outcomes, as high loan-to-value ratios are the single greatest contributor to re-default and foreclosure. However, any modification that reduces total payment and interest (P&I) reduces the likelihood of subsequent re-default and foreclosure. Modifications that involve increasing the loan principal--primarily through capitalized interest and fees--are more likely to fail, even controlling for change in P&I.
Keywords: Mortgage Modification, Subprime, Mortgage Default, Foreclosure, HAMP
Eric M. Engen, Thomas Laubach, and David Reifschneider
Abstract: After reaching the effective lower bound for the federal funds rate in late 2008, the Federal Reserve turned to two unconventional policy tools--quantitative easing and increasingly explicit and forward-leaning guidance for the future path of the federal funds rate--in order to provide additional monetary policy accommodation. We use survey data from the Blue Chip Economic Indicators to infer changes in private-sector perceptions of the implicit interest rate rule that the Federal Reserve would use following liftoff from the effective lower bound. Using our estimates of the changes over time in private expectations for the implicit policy rule, and estimates of the effects of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programs on term premiums derived from other studies, we simulate the FRB/US model to assess the actual economic stimulus provided by unconventional policy since early 2009. Our analysis suggests that the net stimulus to real activity and inflation was limited by the gradual nature of the changes in policy expectations and term premium effects, as well as by a persistent belief on the part of the public that the pace of recovery would be much faster than proved to be the case. Our analysis implies that the peak unemployment effect--subtracting 1-1/4 percentage points from the unemployment rate relative to what would have occurred in the absence of the unconventional policy actions--does not occur until early 2015, while the peak inflation effect--adding 1/2 percentage point to the inflation rate--is not anticipated until early 2016.
Keywords: Monetary policy reaction function, federal funds rate, forward guidance, large-scale asset purchases, zero lower bound
Jenny Schuetz, Jonathan Spader, Jennifer Lewis Buell, Kimberly Burnett, Larry Buron, Alvaro Cortes, Michael DiDomenico, Anna Jefferson, Christian Redfearn, and Stephen Whitlow
Abstract: To help communities recover from the foreclosure crisis, Congress enacted a set of policies known as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). NSP's objective was to mitigate the impact of foreclosures on neighboring properties, through reducing the stock of distressed properties and removing sources of visual blight. This paper presents evidence on production outcomes achieved through the second round of NSP funding (NSP2), and discusses the housing market context under which the program operated from 2010 to 2013. Two key findings emerge. First, local grantees undertook quite different approaches to NSP2. The type and scale of activity, expenditures per property and spatial concentration vary widely across grantees. Second, census tracts that received NSP2 investment had poor economic and housing market conditions prior to the program, but generally saw improved housing markets during the program's implementation period, as did non-NSP2 tracts in the same counties. Based on these findings, we outline topics and suggested approaches for additional research.
Keywords: Urban redevelopment, mortgages, housing markets, federal housing policy, fiscal federalism
Abstract: I examine the effect of a firm's tradability, the proportion of output that is exported abroad, on its stock returns. There are three novel empirical findings: (1) firms with higher tradability have more cyclical asset returns; (2) firms with higher tradability have more cyclical earnings growth; (3) returns of a portfolio long on firms with the highest tradability and short on firms with the lowest tradability can predict the real exchange rate. The empirical patterns are consistent with the relative price adjustment of tradable and non-tradable goods to business cycles driven by endowment shocks.
Keywords: Asset returns, cyclicality, tradability
Abstract: We estimate a reduced-form model of credit risk that incorporates stochastic volatility in default intensity via stochastic time-change. Our Bayesian MCMC estimation method overcomes nonlinearity in the measurement equation and state-dependent volatility in the state equation. We implement on firm-level time-series of CDS spreads, and find strong in-sample evidence of stochastic volatility in this market. Relative to the widely-used CIR model for the default intensity, we find that stochastic time-change offers modest benefit in fitting the cross-section of CDS spreads at each point in time, but very large improvements in fitting the time-series, i.e., in bringing agreement between the moments of the default intensity and the model-implied moments. Finally, we obtain model-implied out-of-sample density forecasts via auxiliary particle filter, and find that the time-changed model strongly outperforms the baseline CIR model.
Keywords: Bayesian estimation, CDS, CIR process, credit derivatives, MCMC, particle filter, stochastic time change
Rustom M. Irani and Ralf R. Meisenzahl
Abstract: We examine the impact of banks' liquidity risk management on secondary loan sales. We track the dynamics of bank loan share ownership in the secondary market using data from the Shared National Credit Program, a credit register of syndicated bank loans administered by U.S. regulators. We analyze the 2007-2009 financial crisis as a market-wide liquidity shock and control for loan demand using a loan-year fixed effects approach. We find that banks with greater reliance on wholesale funding at the onset of the crisis were more likely to exit loan syndicates during the crisis. Our analysis identifies the importance of bank liquidity risk management as a motivation for loan sales, in addition to the credit risk transfer motive emphasized in prior literature.
Keywords: Bank risk management, financial crisis, loan sales, wholesale funding | <urn:uuid:0d2fd9c5-9c08-4617-8bf5-98afaf9d9aba> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/feds/2015/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00546-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91196 | 26,185 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Make Yourself an Industry Expert with these Tips!
To begin with, I want to try and define what exactly a blog is. The dictionary defines blog as:
blog. noun : a web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis.
Which is fine, if you're using a mirco-blogging site like Twitter to just spout out 140 characters and hope people see them. But for a business, a blog can be a vital way to engage with not only current customers, but potential customers/clients.
A blog can be used as a free, but potentially extremely effective self marketing tool when executed correctly. It allows business to promote themselves and their services as industry-leading, or as experts. The benefit of being considered an expert in your industry is that people not only listen to what you have to say, they actively go to you for business. It brings trust, credibility and most importantly, increased profit margins!
The general consensus is that if somebody puts aside the time to subscribe to your blog, and read what you publish, they must have some level of interest in your business and what you have to offer to them. Reading a post is one thing, engaging with it in the form of commenting and sharing it with friends or colleagues takes it to another level, if people are commenting on your post, interacting with each other, it's just as powerful as word of mouth, (people will always believe other consumers before they believe the brands or businesses).
Your blog should ideally follow the brand of your company, so that it appeals to the same people your business does (if you're an accountancy or payroll firm, people will most likely expect a formal, technical blog, not a fun, informal blog with a lot of pictures or even video embedded).
If you're not already an expert in your industry, which judging by the fact you're reading a post entitled “How to use your blog to make yourself an expert in your industry”, then the best possible people to read and engage with your blog, (besides potential new customers) are the people who are currently regarded as the experts in your industry. If the people above you in your industry are reading what you post, and engaging with it, then you can learn from them. Posting your views, opinion and information from your point of view without absorbing information from others won't move you up to being seen by others as an expert in your industry. Even once you are at the 'top' of your industry, it is important not to become complacent when it comes to sharing information and learning through your blog. Everybody still has things to learn. | <urn:uuid:c30c2a29-a752-45d9-87b4-ff6b5406b5b2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://giraffesocialmedia.co.uk/how-to-use-your-blog-to-make-yourself-an-expert-in-your-industry/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00212-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96402 | 547 | 1.648438 | 2 |
This song is based on the pasuk “…Es Shivas Tzion HAYINU KICHOLMIM” , upon our return to Yerushalayim, we will be like dreamers. We will be in a state of euphoria, and we’ll realize that we don’t remember any part of our old lives… all the pressing issues of today will seem like a joke in comparison to the bigger, spiritual picture. May we all be Zoche to see Moshiach speedily, in our times.(on a normal key this time for all the “normal key requester’s”)
Music produced by Yaakov Klein at YSK studios.
Yaakov Klein is a up-and -coming composer who has already written several original compositions which you can find on Youtube.
(LYRICS)It’s a regular day in the middle of december. Its been raining all day and you’re wishing the sun would come out… who wouldve known. That today would be the day, today would be the day, that life began. And suddenly the sound that fills the air… its hard to believe but you know its true he’s finally here. and the ground shakes, and the time stops, and the light flows, and the shofar blows, and you know…
You’re a dreamer with open eyes, you’re going home, hearts soaring high, so join the crowds break out in song, we’ve all waited so very long, you’re a believer, with a smiling soul, you jump and dance, you’ve become whole, and it occurs to you, as you hear others say, that not one of you, remembers yesterday.
In the brilliant light so many familiar faces… yellow stars on the floor, the 6 million have come back… and a flash of light… and you’re marching on your way, you’re marching on your way, to the holy land.. and there he is up on the roof he stands, you try as hard as you can, but you cant remember your previous lifes demands… all the sick healed, all the low raised, the leviim sing, and you’re stunned, amazed and you know… you know… (back to chorus)
Comments will be approved before showing up. | <urn:uuid:a0a78d09-188c-42f7-bc89-174582624c6b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://mostlymusic.com/blogs/z-report/15618709-dreamer-yaakov-klein | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00565-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937861 | 498 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Russia and Turkey are taking steps to improve ties and work together in Syria after talks between the Russian and Turkish leaders.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday.
Putin announced that Russia would begin easing sanctions designed to punish Turkey. The move would include restarting work on energy projects, such as work on Turkey’s first nuclear power center and a pipeline from southern Russia to the Black Sea.
Russian officials said trade with Turkey could return to normal by the end of the year.
The Hurriyet Daily News reported that the two sides agreed to set up a direct telephone line between their militaries to prevent incidents in Syrian airspace.
Relations strained by downing of Russian bomber
In November, Turkey shot down a Russian jet bomber near its border with Syria. Turkish officials accused the airplane of violating Turkish airspace.
Russia denied the plane had been over Turkey and called the act a planned provocation by supporters of terrorism.
Russian officials answered the Turkish move by ordering economic and diplomatic sanctions on its neighbor. In June, the Turkish president apologized for the incident, and the two sides agreed to hold direct talks.
Russia supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has supported groups trying to force him from power.
The two sides have been fighting in Syria for more than five years. The violence has caused more than 2.5 million refugees from Syria to enter Turkey.
Russia increased its involvement in the fighting last year by carrying out bombing raids on Syrian rebel targets.
Cooperation or compromise?
Some observers, however, are questioning how much Turkey and Russia can cooperate. They say the two sides have little common ground in Syria’s civil war.
Military expert Alexander Golts says, “I think until now they have no clear decision because it’s clear that their interests are colliding in Syria.” Golts currently works as a visiting researcher at Uppsula University in Sweden.
However, the talks between the two presidents could be a sign that Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants compromise on the issue of Syria. The meeting also could show Western allies that the Turkish leader has several options available to him.
Ishat Saetov directs the Modern Turkey Studies Center in Moscow. He said Erdogan was surprised by the effect Russian economic actions had on Turkey. The “loss of more than 4 million tourists made quite a blow on the economy,” he said.
The coup attempt partly changed relations
Although the two countries disagree about Syria, Russia supported Erdogan after members of Turkey’s military attempted to overthrow his government.
The United States and European countries have criticized Turkey’s reaction to the failed overthrow attempt. The Turkish government has arrested thousands of people, including many reporters.
Turkey accuses clergyman Fethullah Gulen of plotting the failed coup. Gulen lives in the American state of Pennsylvania. Turkish officials want him extradited to Turkey for trial. The U.S. government has refused to do this without evidence.
Turkey is also in disagreement with Europe over payments for accepting Syrian refugees and other migrants. The government wants the European Union to permit visa-free travel for Turkish citizens.
“Syria is one of the issues that Erdogan may trade upon,” said Saetov. He said Erdogan may be willing to negotiate on the issue.
Yet Turkish officials say Assad must leave office eventually and that Russia will not take the place of its western allies.
I’m Mario Ritter.
Daniel Schearf reported this story for VOANews. Mario Ritter adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
Words in This Story
sanctions – n. measures taken to punish a country for something it has done such as restrictions on trade or financial transactions
collide – v. the act of two things crashing into each other
options – n. two or more possibilities or opportunities to take action
coup – n. an attempt by a small group to take control of a country or large organization
extradite –v. to send someone to another country where they are charged with a crime for trial
provocation – n. an act meant to cause anger or a harsh reaction | <urn:uuid:4ae55c2f-4eb3-46e2-8c7a-7daa35557f9e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.21voa.com/VOA_Special_English/turkey-russia-hold-talks-ease-tensions-over-syria-14084.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280364.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00033-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96605 | 860 | 2.125 | 2 |
One of the reasons for low and stagnant literacy scores in the United States is the influence of prevailing education philosophies on instructional practice. In the absence of competition, public schools have not had strong incentives to base their methodologies on sound research. Instead, they have adopted unproven and sometimes even empirically discredited methods solely because these methods have fit nicely with the notions of influential education philosophers. This pattern has been well documented, particularly in the United States over the past 75 years. Under markets, by contrast, decisions are based more on results and less on ideology.
Competition not only ensures that all schools strive to improve student outcomes, but also forces them to maintain their facilities in good repair and to offer an environment conducive to learning. In the United States, the level of disrepair of public school buildings is epidemic, despite funding levels far higher than better-maintained non-government facilities. There are 17,200 U.S. public schools with defective or inadequate electrical systems, 19,500 with plumbing problems, and 22,700 with inadequate or malfunctioning heating, ventilation or air-conditioning systems. All tolled, half of our public schools have at least one (but usually more than one) major building feature in less than adequate condition. And all that with an average per pupil expenditure of $10,000 a year.
The benefits of competition increase in proportion to the number and variety of competitors, and hence to the number of students participating in a given education marketplace. In rural Northern India, where many families cannot afford tuition at fee-charging schools and population density is low, private schools typically have few competitors. Their greatest competitive threat comes not from other schools, but simply from the need to demonstrate that their services are worth the forgone value of their students’ labor (or parents might not send their children to school at all). That modest competitive density leads these schools to be only moderately better than their “free” public school counterparts. The situation is utterly different in densely populated Japan, where virtually all children attend for-profit tutoring schools at some point in their educational careers, and where most families can choose from dozens if not hundreds of competing service providers. These juku, as they are known in Japan, are incredibly diverse, flexible, responsive, and dynamic, and are credited for much of that nation’s strong performance on international tests of mathematics and science. The most recent evidence from Chile’s national pseudo-voucher program (see the “Policies” section below) confirms the positive effects of competitive density not just on student achievement but on school efficiency as well.
With that knowledge in mind, we can now return to the very first bifurcation point we struck in the Goals section, above. Since the effectiveness of markets depends on maximizing the number of students for whom schools compete, we can conclude that market reforms targeted only at poor families, or, for that matter, at any subgroup of families, will necessarily be less successful in their aims than otherwise similar reforms that allow all families to participate in the education marketplace. | <urn:uuid:534bdf8b-d6f3-47a5-bfd9-0b3e1f14f669> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.mackinac.org/6532 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00572-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962243 | 626 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Step Out of Line with Lixel
Introducing the world's first full color multi-dimensional laser array. The Lixel from Lightwave International is a full color mixing laser array. Lighting designers can create spectacular laser effects in endless geometric patterns or even full pixel mapping! Vibrant color and industry leading beam quality is created by the internal Lightwave Prism Laser Engine by Arctos.
- FULL Color Mixing Lasers
- Dimensions: 39.37″ L x 3.94″ W x 6.06″ H (100cm x 10cm x 15.4cm)
- Lightweight Aluminum Construction
- Adjustable yolk and clamp design for versatile mounting
- Signal Input/Output: DMX 512 Operation
- Lamp Source: Lightwave Prism Laser Engine by Arctos
- Power Supply: Auto-Universal PowerCON Input/Output
- Lixel Array Mapping Over Multiple Dimensions
- The Lixel takes the next step forward from linear laser arrays. Designers can combine multiple Lixels to map individual full color diodes like pixels. Lixels are born... the first multi-dimensional laser screen!
- Lighting professionals will feel at home using Lixel's native DMX control with their favorite lighting consoles.
- Adjustable yolks fitted to the precision machined housing of Lixel allows for quick rigging and stage integration. | <urn:uuid:2ba68e3d-aa54-4a9c-9f76-8cdf0aae33e6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://lasershows.net/lixel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573029.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817153027-20220817183027-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.818591 | 283 | 1.609375 | 2 |
I was born in a small mountain village high above Lake Garda and have been dedicated to the interpretation of Early Music for more than fifteen years now playing early harps without mechanical parts and with my singing.
The instruments I use are the Gothic harp (Medieval), the Arpa Doppia with two rows of strings (Renaissance) and the Arpa Doppia with three rows of strings (Baroque) whilst my voice range is a Mezzo-soprano for chamber music.
During my career, which has spanned the last fifteen years or so, I have played Basso Continuo in Europe, Africa and South America in accompaniment to renowned singers of Early Music among which are Cyril Auvity, Gemma Bertagnolli, Rosa Domínguez, Adriana Fernandez, Montserrat Figueras, Mariana Flores, Fernando Guimarães, Philippe Jaroussky, María Cristina Kiehr, Emma Kirkby, Guillemette Laurens, Josè Maria Lo Monaco, Martin Oro, Nuria Rial, Victor Torres, Jan Van Elsacker and Furio Zanasi.
For the last few years, as well as accompanying on the harp, I have been playing solo with an authentic solo harp repertoire, with popular repertoires suitable for several types of audience, for educational projects, with "therapeutic listening" repertoires in several different social sectors and have also performed duets with myself with the intention of reviving the ancient practice of accompanying oneself while singing.
The Arpa Doppia in the Representation of Antiquity
In the last few decades, numerous models of historical harps without mechanisms have been brought to use again. The most popular among these is without doubt the Arpa Doppia, the Italian Baroque chromatic harp with three parallel rows of strings, an instrument which has attracted new generations of harpists and a learned audience interested in performances on original instruments.
In depth research carried out in recent decades has established that harps with several rows of strings existed as early as the XIV century but it was at the end of the XVI century that harps with more than one row of strings started to acquire their own precise standing.
In Italy the harp aptly met the musical needs of that particular moment in history and on acquiring an ever greater number of strings it became known as the Arpa Doppia and soon two types were distinguished although they both maintained the term "Doppia" even in light of their differing structure.
The first model of which detailed annotations are made in Dialogo della musica antica et della moderna of 1581 by V.Galilei (1520-1591), was equipped with two rows of strings; the second model represented a natural progression from the former and had three rows of strings thus offering harpists more freedom of technique than the earlier version.
Many scholars of past times highlighted the qualities and peculiarities of the Arpa Doppia, to name but a few:
A.Agazzari (1578-1640), in his Del sonare sopra'l basso con tutti li stromenti e loro uso nel Concerto of 1607, offers us his description: "L'Arpa Doppia, qual è stromento che val per tutto, tanto ne soprani, come ne bassi, devesi tutta ricercare, con dolci pizzicate, con risposte d'ambi le mani, con trilli ect: insomma vuol buon contraponto".(translation: The Arpa Doppia is an instrument of broad texture which works well both on the high notes and the low ones and it must be played with a delicate touch, aiming for the imitations and the trills etc. In short, it must be played according to the rules of counterpoint.)
P.Trichet (1586-1644) in his Traité des Instruments de Musique of 1640, makes a precise distinction between the two models: between the harp "à double rang" and the harp "à triple rang" and regarding the harp with three rows he adds:
"…il faut avoir beaucoup d'adresse pour toucher subtilement les chordes du milieu engangées parmi les autres…" (translation: ... one must have had much practice in order to delicately pluck the strings of the inner row retained between the others …).
According to B.Giobenardi (1604-1668), harpist and scholar who also pursued interests in the field of organology (Tratado de la musica, 1634), the Arpa Doppia possessed great potential of expression due to the intrinsic possibility the instrument had of executing dynamics within each individual part of the polyphony, an effect he described as being "marvellous".
Moreover, Giobenardi tells us how, in contrast with instruments with keyboards where the sound is only obtained via the keys and pipes, or with plucked instruments where the sound may sometimes be compressed due to the touching of the strings themselves, with the harp the relationship of the interpreter with the sound is direct and not compromised in any way by external mechanisms as with the harp sound is produced in a natural way, by plucking the strings with the fingertips.
M.Mersenne (1588-1648) also left us some good words about our instrument; in his Harmonie universelle published in Paris in 1636, he infers that the Harpe à trois rangs (triple-strung model) seems to have reached its high point.
E G.B.Doni (1595-1647) in his Trattato della Musica Scenica of 1635, includes the Harp along with the Viola, among those musical instruments which for their qualities best represent Antiquity, also declaring that a suave voice, accompanied by the sweetest sound of the Harp, is the most beautiful thing one may happen to hear…
- The passion I have for harp music was transmitted to me by Mirella Vita (1919-2012), a concert performer, teacher and researcher dedicated to seeking out pieces written for the harp and to building up an authentic and philologically sound repertoire.
- My Baroque harp has ninety strings distributed among three rows and is played with a technique based on inserting the fingers into the strings.
- If a time machine existed I would like to travel back to 24th February 1607 to witness the premiere in Mantua of the "L'Orfeo" by Claudio Monteverdi.
- Unlike other instruments, the harp can be played standing up with the advantage of being able to move freely around the whole structure of the instrument.
- The term "Arpa Doppia" indicates both models of harp which appeared successively in Italy between the Renaissance and the Baroque periods; on the first, two rows of strings are available to the harpist, on the second there are three rows.
- Perhaps not everybody knows that printed on the one thousand Italian lira banknote issued between 1969 and 1981, next to Giuseppe Verdi, is an image of the earliest known arpa doppia with two rows of strings: the "Arpa estense" (the harp the Duke of Este had specially made for the harpist and singer Laura Peverara in 1581).
- My trusted harp maker, Enzo Laurenti from Bologna, builds Baroque harps with creative flair alternating his work as an ethnic percussionist with his passion for cats, animals which he finds inspirational. | <urn:uuid:f4af091d-54cb-4534-b76d-453a3eb64dfc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://marinabonetti.com/arpa-barocca-di-marina-bonetti.php?lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573533.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818215509-20220819005509-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.941071 | 1,632 | 1.65625 | 2 |
It was a problem that remained unsolved for 50 years: Aberrations made the images produced by electron microscopes "fuzzy." But in the mid 1990s, a team led by Ondrej Krivanek designed and built a practical aberration corrector to improve the resolution of electron microscopes, making it easier for researchers around the world to image and analyze matter – atom by atom.
Krivanek, an adjunct physics professor at Arizona State University who has a reputation on campus and off as a "brilliant designer of scientific instruments," was recently elected a fellow of the Royal Society, the U.K.'s national academy of science.
"Should Superman become interested in nano-objects, he would do well to supplement his X-ray vision with electron vision," Krivanek quipped when describing his research last month during the Royal Society's new fellows seminars, which were followed with a ceremony admitting this year's 44 distinguished scientists into the exclusive and world's oldest scientific academy.
Krivanek has dedicated some 30 years of his career to building better electron-optical instruments, improving them to the point where they can resolve and identify individual atoms.
Some of his early work focused on improving an existing electron microscope and using it to directly image, for the first time, the atomic structure of defects in semiconductors. He also designed numerous instruments for electron energy loss spectrometry (EELS), now used worldwide.
Krivanek's work on the aberration corrector led to the establishment (with co-founder Niklas Dellby) of the Washington state-based company Nion, of which he is president. The company develops advanced scanning-transmission electron microscopes and other electron-optical instruments.
The self-described hands-on researcher holds a doctorate in physics from Cambridge. He first worked at ASU in the early 1980s as an assistant professor in the LeRoy Eyring Center for Solid State Science and as associate director of the John Crowley Center for High Resolution Electron Microscopy.
From 1985-1995, Krivanek was an adjunct professor in ASU's Department of Physics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It's a position he again holds at ASU.
Krivanek is one of 1,300 fellows in the Royal Society, which has been at the forefront of inquiry and discovery since its foundation in 1660. New fellows were officially welcomed during an admission ceremony July 16, which included a signing of the society's Charter Book that contains the signatures of almost all the fellows in its 350 year history, all the way back to Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke. | <urn:uuid:8c0278ad-9443-4af7-a387-02cf99ea22ff> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.azonano.com/news.aspx?NewsID=19054 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00302-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964014 | 547 | 2.75 | 3 |
I’m not related to any member of this family.
1940 is the last available census at this time.
DOB's + birthplaces are needed for all family members in order to search.
Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1948 and 1954-1957
Name: Marcin Mikolajczyk
Arrival Date: Nov 1907
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1882
Port of Departure: Bremen, Germany
Ship Name: Breslau
Port of Arrival: Baltimore, Maryland
Friend's Name: Adam Nitch
Last Residence: Galicia
Name: Martin Mikolajozyk
Birth Year: abt 1882
Birthplace: Russia Poland
Home in 1920: Milwaukee Ward 11, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Immigration Year: 1911
Relation to Head of House: Boarder
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Russia Poland
Mother's Birthplace: Russia Poland
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Victoria Chojnacki 26, Russia/Poland - widowed, immigrated 1913
Anna Chojnacki 3, WI
Helen Chojnacki 1, WI
Stanley Chojnacki 29, Russia/Poland - brother, immigrated 1908
Martin Mikolajozyk 38, Russia/Poland - immigrated 1911; listed as boarder
Martin does not appear on any other census.
Last name could be mispelled.
WHO did he marry??
Need her 1st name + DOB + birthplace.
Need same info for all children. | <urn:uuid:78a5f21e-56e3-41c1-af40-0fe10893df8f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.michigan.counties.wayne/18955.1/mb.ashx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00082-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.735847 | 344 | 1.5 | 2 |
Looking ahead to the U.S. election, blogger Yoani Sanchez asks whether the United States should “raise a fist or offer a hand” to Cuba. Whoever wins, she says, will encounter a changing Cuba, and the key issues to be resolved are among Cubans themselves. Her discussion of U.S. policy is a little elliptical, but when she says that the embargo-forever crowd sees Cubans on the island as “guinea pigs” in a “pressure cooker,” her views are clear enough:
With the increased cash from remittances, the small businesses that emerged from Raul Castro's reforms were able to use the money coming from the north for start-up capital and to position themselves. Meanwhile, thousands of Cuban-Americans arrived at José Martí airport every week loaded with packages, medicine and clothes to support their relatives on the island.
Those who see the Cuban situation as a pressure cooker that needs just a little more heat to explode feel defrauded by these “concessions” to Havana from the Democratic government. They are the same people who suggest that a hard line – belligerence on the diplomatic scene and economic suffocation – would deliver better results.
Sadly, however, the guinea pigs required to test the efficacy of such an experiment would be Cubans on the island, physically and socially wasting away until some point at which our civic consciousness would supposedly "wake up." As if there are not enough historical examples to show that totalitarian regimes become stronger as their economic crises deepen and international opinion turns against them. | <urn:uuid:1cae8f1c-a629-4dff-9d5f-459cbe5f537a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://cubantriangle.blogspot.com/2012/07/guinea-pigs-in-pressure-cooker.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00558-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969938 | 324 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Stress: to have or not to have – that is the question!
Some people say that they work better when confronted with stress, such as meeting a big deadline.
This is due to increased levels of such hormones as adrenaline and cortisol being produced in the adrenal glands; the adrenaline serves to cause the heart to beat faster and increases blood flow to the brain, enabling us to concentrate much better. It improves our reaction time as well as dramatically increasing body strength.
Cortisol releases sugar in the form of glucose, to fuel our muscles and mind in times of stress.
So does that mean that stress is good for us?
In the good old days, stress was great – if you survived it!
Generally, stress functions to heighten all our biological systems allowing us to deal with an impending threat such a frightening situation, a disaster … or a looming deadline.
Fortunately for our ancestors, stress was more fleeting which allowed the body plenty of time to recuperate.
Today, so many people are drowning in a sea of stress. All too often, we feel that our attention is being pulled in ten different directions all at the same time – from demanding kids, bosses, meetings, deadlines, traffic jams, slow drivers, bills that arrive relentlessly, and that’s after you’ve been awake half the night with a sick child. Oh, and I nearly forgot, the washing machine just stopped working. Not too much energy left for romance is there?
We can see that the stress response triggered by a threatening situation is essential in short spurts, and some level of cortisol is absolutely essential for proper brain and body functioning.
Nevertheless, stress has been labelled the villain and blamed, rightfully, for numerous medical conditions and significantly contributing to mental decline. The heightened biological reactions are only meant to work in our favour for a short period at a time.
Unfortunately, it’s when stress continues unabated, that it turns into the nasty guy. This is due to our stress circuit – the interaction between our nervous system and our stress hormones. The stress hormones cycle among the hypothalamus, the pituitary in the brain and the adrenal glands in a feedback loop to help us respond to emergencies. Cortisol is responsible for closing the loop, but to do so, the stressful situation needs to stop, allowing all biological systems to return to normal.
The Dangers of Ongoing Stress
But what happens if the stress is ongoing? The body is unable to turn off our stress response, and our system is flooded with stress hormones.
Excessive amounts of cortisol bathes the brain, causing the cells to shrink. The damage to these nerve cells in the brain blocks their ability to absorb glucose, the brain’s sole fuel. Chronic exposure to high levels of cortisol due to ongoing stress injures and kills our brain cells. As a result, the brain function becomes more sluggish, leading to erosion of memory and the ability to concentrate. We start to forget names and faces, and are more prone to depression.
Thus too much cortisol over an extended period accelerates brain aging, and impairs various kinds of learning and memory.
Further, in response to stress, the high levels of stress hormones flooding the body significantly impact on other hormones in the body as well as drastically increasing the production of free radicals. Cortisol prevents the release of chemicals that strengthen your immune system, thus decreasing our ability to fight infection. That’s why we tend to get sick when we are stressed.
Overall, all these body triggers decrease the body’s ability to repair itself, resulting in reduced well-being, lowered sex drive, numerous and even deadly health issues, such as heart attacks. Stress breaks down protein at an amazing rate and deregulates all our systems, leading to every age-related disease of our time.
Stress: the Mind/Body Link
The field of Psychoneuroimmunology has provided startling insights into how our central nervous system, brain, immune system and endocrine glands are all linked. As a result of this mind-body connection, there is interplay between what we consciously and unconsciously think and feel, and the condition of our bodies. The cells of our body are aware of and respond to our every thought.
Chemical and physical stressors impact on us directly and more predictably. However, with psychological stress, all events and situations are filtered through the lens of perception.
Consequently, how we perceive an event determines how we respond to it. Thus our subjective assessment of a threat and our perceived ability to handle it, impacts on how stressed we feel and how much of the stress response is triggered – and for how long.
Further, our beliefs, whether we are aware of them or not, profoundly influence the stress response and its impact on our bodies.
Some of our many negative beliefs about ourselves, about others and even about the affairs of the world, are a source of emotional distress and increased vulnerability to disease. Toxic emotions where we feel wounded by circumstances, even from childhood, can continue to trigger the body’s ongoing stress response, and seriously impact on our health.
Getting Control of Stress
Additionally, the level of control that we feel we have to handle a stressful situation also triggers the stress response and affects our health.
People who feel they have little control over a situation are more stressed and more susceptible to illness. All those employees, for example, who feel they have little control at work, have a higher incidence of illness such as heart disease and cancer.
In fact, control factors play a more significant role in the levels of stress experienced than such issues as overwork and the amount of income received! The health risks of being chronically unhappy, where one has little control and little meaningfulness in work, have been known for many years now.
It has been shown that three major life events in a one year period will make your body feel and act as though it were thirty-two years older in the following year. This means that it’s important to develop coping strategies and support systems to sustain you in times of crisis.
Thus, stress isn’t just something we can write off and simply snap out of, nor can it be solved by a quick visit to the beauty parlour. It’s a major biological driver of life-altering and life-ending health issues. We all do need to stop and think just how we are handling it.
There are many techniques that can help you reduce ongoing stress, and such related concerns as anger, anxiety and depression. If you are finding everything a bit too challenging and you would like some support to better handle the ongoing stress in your life, please feel free to make an appointment with me today.
Author: Dr Jan Philamon, PhD, BA (Hons) Psychology, C Teach, JP (Qual) Qld, MAPS.
As a registered teacher and psychologist, Dr Jan Philamon has a wealth of experience with children, however she enjoys helping individuals and couples at any stage of life. Jan aims to help people to be the best they can be and find success: improved wellbeing, gaining a sense of empowerment that allows them to actively problem solve and manage obstacles constructively, as well as positively plan and achieve their personal and career goals.
To make an appointment with psychologist and hypnotherapist Dr Jan Philamon, try online booking – Loganholme or call M1 Psychology (Loganholme) on (07) 3067 9129. | <urn:uuid:d114e758-46f2-4845-b648-013066b23bbb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://m1psychology.com/how-to-handle-ongoing-stress/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00429-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954268 | 1,536 | 2.5 | 2 |
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Mitrochondrial Cytopathies
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF HYPERBARIC OXYGENATION IN CERTAIN MITROCHONDRIAL CYTOPATHIES
“All life takes place on a cellular level. This is the first scientific proposal that hyperbaric oxygenation may selectively turn mitochondrial genes on and off.”
- Richard A. Neubauer, M. D.
The simplest life on earth, as we know it, occurs in cells. Over the millennia, as cells evolved into more complex organisms, the new life depended upon the integrated and coordinated activities of thousands, millions and even billions of cells, each one requiring appropriate oxygen and glucose for respiration, metabolism, production of energy, adaptation, reproduction and overall survival.
For cells to carry out their unique functions they require a variety of foods with which to build their various cellular structures as well as their unique proteins, lipids and carbohydrates and from which the cells extract the energy to carry on all their vital activities.
The energy is derived in a series of biochemical reactions which involves the burning of sugar (glucose) in the foods animals eat with the oxygen they breathe. Normally when animals living on land, including humans, take a deep breath they inhale air containing 19-21% oxygen. From here on we will limit the discussion to humans, keeping in mind that similar activities, with variations in the details, also occur in other living organisms, especially mammals, the group of organisms to which humans belong.
The inhaled oxygen is not only dissolved in the bloodstream but it also binds to a molecule in the red blood cell called hemoglobin. The dissolved and bound oxygen is then transported through all of the blood vessels down to the tiniest capillaries. The bound oxygen is released, and along with the dissolved oxygen, diffuses to the individual cells of tissues and organs. Then the carbon dioxide, produced by the metabolism of the cells, is bound to the hemoglobin and transported to the lungs for elimination from the body.
THE AMAZING EXPERIMENT
Before discussing the transport of oxygen and its utilization by the cells, it is important to note that if the circulation is blocked such as it is in gangrene, myocardial infarction (heart attack) or in stroke, the consequences are deleterious. Even small reductions in blood flow will reduce the delivery of oxygen to the tissues and organs. Dr. Ite Boerema of Holland, in 1960, took a group of pigs from a farm and removed every drop of blood from them. He then substituted an artificial blood plasma to keep the circulation working and the heart pumping and put them into a hyperbaric chamber. Under hyperbaric oxygen conditions, even without a drop of blood, every organ functioned normally. Being frugal, he re-transfused half of the pigs and returned them to the farm. The other half were subjected to organ examination. Even with the total lack of blood there were no abnormalities in any organ: heart, lung, brain, kidneys, spleen, bone. This was an extremely important observation and showed clearly that life could be supported in a mammal without blood (red blood cells). This remarkable observation was very influential in the development of the field of hyperbaric medicine. It also introduced the use of hyperbaric oxygen as a substitute for blood transfusion to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Let us now return to the release of oxygen from the hemoglobin in the capillaries. Each step in the process of transporting oxygen to cells is important. The last step, the breaking off of the oxygen from the hemoglobin and its subsequent diffusion to the cells and their utilization of it is very important. It is at these last stages that the cells are going to use the oxygen to convert the energy from glucose into a chemical compound that drives the life processes. This last step is energy laden.
Cells are the building blocks of all living organisms. Each cell has a center called the nucleus containing the genetic information for building and repairing and functioning of the cells. The rest of the cell, the material outside the nucleus to the edge of the cell (the cell membrane) is called the cytoplasm (the liquid-gel portion of the cell). The cytoplasm contains essential sub- cellular structures (organelles); one of the most important being the mitochondria, where energy is obtained in a form that can be utilized by the cell.
The nucleus of every human cell (except the mature red blood cells which have no nucleus) contains 46 chromosomes (23 pairs); one chromosome of each pair is derived from each parent. The only other exception to the 23 pair distribution is the reproductive cells. The male sperm and female egg each contain 23 chromosomes. During fertilization one of the chromosomes from the mother pairs up with its corresponding chromosome from the father to produce a cell containing 23 pairs of chromosomes. Twenty two pair are autosomal chromosomes and one pair are the sex chromosomes. Each chromosome contains genes which direct growth, development and function of the human body.
The genes, located on the chromosomes are the basic units of hereditary. One of the major functions of genes is to direct the synthesis of proteins. Thus, genes create proteins and proteins create us. Proteins are formed on the instructions found within the specific genes and consist primarily of amino acids. Proteins are the body’s work horse, carrying out chemical structural function within the cells and on higher levels of biological complexity, tissues and organs. Like DNA and RNA, (to be discussed below) proteins are three dimensional. A faulty gene can create a misshapen protein which, in turn, alters its function.
DNA & RNA
Genes are composed of a complex chemical called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA is the chemical basis of genetics and heredity. DNA is in the form of a double helix molecule which encodes the unique genetic blueprint of cells’ individual traits. DNA is composed of four compounds called nucleotides. These nucleotides consist of two purine and two pyrimidine containing compounds. The purines are Adenine (A), and Guanine (G) and the pyrimidines are Thymine (T) and Cytosine (C). These four compounds fit together in a special way: The A always pairs with T. The G pairs with C. Any disarrangement of this complex puzzle may represent a misspelling of the message thereby sending wrong instructions to the cell leading to a mis-wired development or function.
Every human baby is 99.9% identical in DNA make up to every other human baby. It is the slightest deviation of only 0.1% that makes us unique individuals. In fact we are 98% identical in DNA to the great apes (chimpanzees). Even after billions of years of evolution we are 97% identical to the DNA in the yeast molecule. From comparative physiology and biochemistry we learn that what occurs in other organisms, especially on the molecular level of biologic
organization, may well occur in other living species as well. Thus, studies in yeast could profoundly influence our understanding of what happens in mammals, including humans.
RNA (ribonucleic acid) is an information encoded strand of nucleotides similar to DNA but with two slight changes; one of the pyrimidines, thymine, is replaced by a different one, uracil, and deoxyribose is replaced by a different five carbon sugar, ribose. DNA needs RNA in order to carry out it’s instructions. There are several types of RNA, each with a slightly different function. For example, mRNA (messenger RNA) mediates between DNA and proteins. tRNA (transfer RNA) works to line up the amino acids correctly. These amino acids are bound together to form proteins. The process of protein synthesis occurs in cellular organelles called ribosomes. Ribosomes are composed of protein and a third kind of RNA, rRNA (ribosomal RNA).
Genes are composed of segments of long DNA molecules which have their sequences transcribed onto messenger RNA, which then serves as a template for protein symthesis. Basically, DNA codes for the structure of messenger RNA, and mRNA codes for the structure of the specific proteins. Each gene is responsible for the structure of a specific protein.
In the 1990s another type of RNA, microRNA, was discovered. (The basic structure of DNA had not even discovered until 1953). MicroRNA is a very short and unusual piece of RNA. Instead of synthesizing proteins, this tiny molecule latches onto messenger RNA, causing its destruction. Without messenger RNA no protein is produced. In effect the gene for that particular protein has been silenced. Micro RNA was originally thought to be an oddity or anomaly in a single species but has now been identified in various plants and animals - 200 in humans alone.
Protein production is a highly regulated process. The process of turning a gene on or off, depending on the cell’s need for a particular protein, is called regulation of gene expression. Gene regulation is an essential part of life and is also critical for cellular response to metabolic needs. Since every cell in an organism contains the same genetic blueprint, different cell types are created by turning on and turning off different genes at different times during development. It is gene expression that allows stem cells to become unique cell types by being turned on (“expressed”) or off (“silenced”) in just the right combinations resulting in stem cells producing either heart cells, bone cells or brain cells, etc. The discovery of microRNA helps us to begin to understand these complex biological processes. It is now suspected that silencing particular genes at just the right times - a process called RNA interference - will push genetically identical cells down different paths of development, enabling some to perceive light while others digest food.
One of the important areas of research in modern biochemistry and developmental biology is learning about conditions and factors that turn genes on and off. In yeast it has been learned that oxygen is one of these factors.
THE MITOCHONDRIA & ENERGY SYNTHESIS
Oxygen is utilized in the cell primarily in the organelle called a mitochondrion (singular). Cells have many mitochondria (plural) depending on the specific function(s) of the cells and the amount of energy they require to carry out their functioning. Mitochondria are essential to every cell in the body. In 1963, it was discovered that mitochondria even contain their own genetic material (mtDNA) which is separate from the genetic material found in the cell nucleus (nDNA). Mitochondria are responsible for processing oxygen and converting the energy stored in the chemical structure of the foods we eat into a form that cells can use as a driving force for
all essential cell functions. Energy is produced in the form of a chemical compound called Adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
ATP is the universal currency of energy for all living organisms, i.e. all living organisms convert the energy in food to ATP. ATP is transported from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm (the liquid-gel portion of a cell) for its use in multiple cell functions.
Mitochondrial diseases - now known as mitochondrial cytopathies - vary in clinical conditions depending upon the disturbance in the genetic make up of the mitochondria. Much information has been discovered since the 1940's and 50's when the first patient was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease. Currently, there are over 40 known (identified) mitochondrial cytopathies . The main factor among these diseases is that the mitochondria are unable to completely burn the food with oxygen in order to generate sufficient energy (ATP) to sustain the integrated and coordinated functions of the cells and, thereby the functions of tissues and organs. These processes require numerous chemical reactions, all exquisitely coordinated, in order to have a continuous supply of energy to sustain life.
Incompletely burned food that accumulates may act as (a) poison(s) inside the body. These poisons can stop other chemical reactions that are essential for cell survival, making the energy crisis worse. In addition, some of these poisons can act as free radicals, highly reactive chemicals which readily form harmful compounds with other molecules. Free radicals can damage the mitochondrial DNA which has very limited repair abilities.
Mitochondrial diseases are classified according to the organ systems affected and the symptoms that are present. In certain cases only one organ is involved while in other patients multiple organs may be affected, and each system may have a wide variance of dysfunction. Depending upon how severe the mitochondrial disorder is, the illness may range in severity from mild to fatal. Mitochondrial cytopathies may affect any system of the body from the brain to the eyes, ears, gastrointestinal system, muscles, heart, liver, pancreas, thyroid, immune system, etc. or any combination of the above. This essentially creates an infinite number of manifestations of mitochondrial disease.
In the United States, by the age of 10, approximately 4,000 children will be diagnosed with or develop mitochondrial diseases. Between one thousand and four thousand children per year are born with some type of mitochondrial disease in the US.
Many diseases of aging have also been found to have defects in mitochondrial function in adults; including, but not limited to Type II diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, artherosclerosis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and cancer. It must be noted that many medications and toxins may injure mitochondrial function at any stage of life. In many patients, mitochondrial disease may be an inherited condition, i.e., it runs in families (genetic), with an uncertain percentage of patients acquiring symptoms due to other factors.
TYPES OF MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASE INHERITANCE:
AUTOSOMAL RECESSIVE INHERITANCE
Autosomal recessive inheritance may be the most common of the mitochondrial disorders. Remember that we all have two copies of every gene; one from our mother and one from our father. Only one of the two genes randomly enters an egg or sperm as it is formed. One gene from both egg and sperm results in the baby having two copies of that gene. In autosomal
recessive inheritance, both parents are carriers of the defective gene, but they each have only one copy. The parents are not affected because they also have a normal copy of the same gene. If both the egg and sperm carry the defective (bad, mutant) gene, then the child will have no working (normal) copies and will thereby manifest the disorder. Autosomal recessive inherited mitochondrial disorders usually result in severe disease with infantile onset.
Therefore, there is only a 25% chance that a child will inherit the defective gene from both parents and manifest the disease; (the same percentage applies to other siblings). Fifty percent of the children will inherit the defective gene from only one parent and will become unaffected carriers (like their parents) and 25% of the children will not inherit either copy of the defective gene.
AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT INHERITANCE
With dominant inheritance, only one copy of the defective gene is required in order for the associated disorder to develop; any child that inherits the defect theoretically should manifest symptoms of the disease. Occasionally this may not occur. In children who do show symptoms of the disease, the severity can vary markedly. Both autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant inheritance are similar in regards to the highly variable manifestations of the problems caused by the defective gene. If the trait is dominant, however, there is a 50% chance of it occurring in other siblings.
Both male and female children inherit their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) only from their mother, unlike the inheritance of nuclear DNA which comes from both the mother and the father. Maternally inherited mitochondrial disorders are not rare and possibly are as common as autosomal recessive inherited disorders. All mitochondrial disorders are maternally inherited.
While each of our cells contains exactly 2 copies of virtually every nuclear gene, each cell contains varying numbers of mtDNA copies, often several thousand per cell. People with maternally inherited mitochondrial disease may have any number of defective mtDNA cells. While one might assume that the more mutant mtDNA a cell contains, the more problems it will have; actually, the cell works quite well until the proportion of mutant mtDNA reaches a threshold (which varies among different tissues and by the nature of the different mutation)s. MtDNA inheritance has a more serious prognosis for the family than autosomal inheritance since there is a 100% chance of the trait occurring in other siblings, although the effects may be more or less severe. This means that the symptoms, severity, age of onset, etc,. may vary tremendously within a family. Again, such variations could create an almost infinite number of manifestations. Unlike autosomal recessive inheritance, the onset of maternally inherited disorders is usually seen somewhat later in life, with the manifestations occurring anywhere from toddler age well into adulthood.
The combination of mtDNA and nDNA defects and their correlation in mitochondrial formation and function is as yet unknown.
The diagnosis of mitochondrial disease, at times, is extremely evasive and invasive; not to mention time and labor intensive and in most cases extremely expensive. A single muscle biopsy may cost in the range of $26,000.00, so many insurance providers refuse to reimburse for this potentially important and powerful diagnostic technique, especially when it may require multiple biopsies for a specific diagnosis to be obtained. Some doctors and/or medical centers may even be unwilling to recommend this testing, since all mitochondrial diseases are thought to
be untreatable and are lump-summed into a vague category of incurable disorders for which the only treatment options are to try to ameliorate some of the symptoms, keep the patient comfortable, and/or to perhaps delay or prevent progression of the disease. Current treatment usually involves intensive vitamin and enzyme therapies along with occupational and physical therapy. The rationale seems to be that it is not worth the time, trouble or expense to specifically identify a disease which the medical community basically has no idea how to treat. Unfortunately, from a variety of perspectives, diagnosis thereby becomes irrelevant and unnecessary. It is often due to the parents’ tenacity in pursuit of a definitive diagnosis that the more intensive tests are performed.
It is usually the “ruling-out” of the obvious simple causes of multiple, often extremely serious symptoms, that finally initiates the quest for a diagnosis of a possible mitochondrial disorder. Sometimes problems are noted by almost every doctor the child visits, i.e., neurologist, pediatrician, ophthalmologist or orthopedic specialist, etc. However, these observations may never be brought together into a coherent theory of diagnosis. It is especially true in the evaluation of the infant or child with the possible risk of mitochondrial disease that medicine should not be “cubby-holed” by specialty. I would therefore, urge all parents to discuss all aspects of their child’s health with each medical professional; mention your child’s change in vision or bowel/bladder habits to your child’s neurologist and the opthalmologist’s or gastroenterologist’s concerns to your neurolgist or pediatrician. Hopefully, by so doing you will be giving all of them all a path of discovery into your child’s problem.
Just as in any medical evaluation, diagnosis of mitochondrial disease begins simply with a family history and physical/ neurological examination of the patient. From that point, metabolic examinations will include blood, urine and spinal fluid tests (if necessary). If there is neurologic involvement, testing should include SPECT brain imaging to ascertain brain blood flow/metabolism or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine anatomic problems in the brain. Retinal or electroretinogram might be ordered for detection of a visual disorder and EKG or echocardiogram might be called for if cardiologic symptoms are present. Evoked potentials, which measure the nerve conduction from the brain back and forth to the eyes (VEP: visual evoked potentials), and the ears (BAER: brain auditory evoked response), may also need to be tested. Blood tests may be needed to determine thyroid function, and also to perform genetic DNA testing. The more invasive tests, such as biopsy of skin, muscle or brain, as earlier stated, are invasive and expensive, and are only performed as needed.
In this chapter we present one of the most complex mitochondrial disorders ever described with a totally remarkable outcome resulting from hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This is the case of little Gracie.
Mitochondrial cytochrome c reductase deficiency is an extremely rare condition. Only five cases ever diagnosed and cited in medical reviews worldwide could be found. Life expectancy is considered to be virtually zero. In four of the cases identified, the children died as infants (at < 15 months). The fifth case is Gracie.
Gracie spent the first year and a half of her life in hospitals being flown all over the country at an expenditure of over $10 million dollars. She eventually had over 15 biopsies including tissue samples taken from brain, muscle and rectum. Gracie’s final diagnosis was that she had a disorder of oxidative phosphorylation, a mitochondrial function. The intense vitamin therapy
program which allowed her to survive as long as she had consisted of sixteen vitamins that were given every two hours costing $4,000.00 per month.
When first seen at the Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Center (03/28/02) Gracie was 3 years old, weighed 11 pounds and was diagnosed “failure to thrive”. She was in a vegetative-like state, blind from optic atrophy, G-tube dependent, hypotonic, speechless, unable to crawl, unable to sit up and she lacked both fine and gross motor control. She had seizures and central apnea. Gracie had no sensation to pain and did not respond to touch or voice. There was severe cognitive deficit and she was physically and developmentally at an infant (3 months) stage.
Although we had never treated a case of this disorder (there being no other survivors), HBO is known to increase O2 availability to the mitochondria and to have a positive effect on cytochrome c oxidase function when used as the primary treatment for severe carbon monoxide intoxication. On these theoretical bases, we agreed to attempt a trial of hyperbaric oxygen treatments for Gracie.
Prior to the initiation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a baseline SPECT brain scan was obtained at an independent institution. It showed a severe anoxic ischemic encephalopathy (AIE). This neurologic aspect of Gracie’s condition had never been diagnosed before (as every other aspect of her health seemed to take precedence over concern with her brain function). Since hyperbaric oxygen treatments are a principle treatment of AIE, they were started immediately. Gracie’s gradual physical improvement following 20 hyperbaric oxygen treatments was correlated with an improvement in her April 2002 repeat brain SPECT scan done at Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. The radiologist’s report states: “There has been a dramatic improvement in the appearance of the perfusion pattern to the brain.”
Over a two month period Gracie received 63 hyperbaric oxygen treatments (1 hour at 1.5 ATA) and she began making surprisingly rapid developmental progress. She began to use her hands meaningfully. She learned to not only sit upright but to hold her balance and could pull up in her crib to standing. She began to say "Mama", "baba" and other meaningful vocalizations. She passed her swallow study, all nutrition was now being taken orally and she began to eat solid foods. The medications she was on for seizures, reflux and mitochondrial patterns were being tapered off. The intense vitamin program was no longer necessary as her body began to maintain these levels naturally, thus saving the family over $28,000.00 (to date). All visual impairment disappeared and she began to see things and reach for them. A pivotal moment, says her mom was when the family was at a Greek restaurant and everyone began to throw plates to celebrate the ambience after the meal. Gracie actually reached out for a plate, grabbed it and threw it onto the floor like everyone else (with great delight, it might be added). Subsequently, two independent ophthalmologists confirmed no evidence of optic atrophy and confirmed that she now appeared to be, at least visually, a normal child. Hyperbaric oxygen treatments were continued. Final SPECT scans after 235 treatments (2/10/03) showed dramatic improvement with a complete normalization of all previous perfusion/metabolism deficits.
On March 20, 2003, after 238 treatments Grace’s feeding tube was removed. Grace was on her way to a more normal life. The hyperbaricist and pediatric intensivist were of the opinion that with continued hyperbaric oxygen treatment and intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy, Gracie could reach limits never thought or dreamed possible.
Another muscle biopsy taken after 242 HBOT treatments (5/11/03) confirmed that Grace’s muscle showed no evidence of cytochrome c reductase deficiency. As stated on the report by
Georgirene D. Viadutiu, Ph.D. at Buffalo Children’s hospital: “No abnormalities were found among the enzymes analyzed. Succinate cytochrome c reductase moved from 14% in the respiratory chain to 82%. Medical genetics report states "Dramatic significant developmental achievements in the last 3 months coincident with treatment of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.”
An important component of any assessment of the therapeutic efficacy, especially in young children, should include it’s impact on the family: This is what Gracie Kenitz’s family had to say:
“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has changed our whole life. We will be forever grateful for the people who believed that Grace should live, and who supported us in a decision that so many physicians were against.
We have seen so many changes in Gracie’s life - ones we only dreamed of and never thought possible. Grace is catching up daily in her developmental milestones. She now responds to touch, voices and music. Our older daughter, Lily, now has a sister she can grow up with, and Gracie has grandparents who can spoil her, a father who looks to the day he can teach her to drive and someday walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. We are indebted to Dr. Raul Ponte, Grace’s pediatric intensivist from St. Mary’s Hospital, for stepping out of the role of modern medicine and telling us to try HBOT when most of his collegues were against it, and to our hero, Dr. Richard A. Neubauer who is not only an exceptional physician but an extraordinary human being who gave us a glimpse of hope when so many others did not.
Because of HBOT our daughter can now laugh, smile and play - the three things that are so vital to childhood remembrance. HBOT gave us the opportunity to be a complete family again, to look into the future with hope and dreams instead of confusion and sadness. We now don’t recall what we missed and lost with her in her first three years, but rather what we have gained from her such as unconditional love and joy and a future with unlimited possibilities. Grace is now age 5 and has had 384 hyperbaric oxygen treatments. On August 23, 2004 Grace will start kindergarten.”
Summer was 4 years old when first seen in April of 2004. She was delivered at 36 weeks and stopped breathing twice during the process. At birth she was apneic (hypoxic). At one year of age she had 39 seizures in three days and developed apnea. The seizures started on one side of the head and progressed to the other. She finally had three types of seizures: grand mal, shuttering and staring. The mother was told at this time that Summer had heart defects and a liver abnormality. Summer ate a normal diet but remained very thin. She was given a working diagnosis of Angelman’s disease. It remains highly frustrating to the family to later find that out that the symptoms for Angelman’s and Leigh’s were almost identical and that Summer’s pattern of symptoms perfectly fit both diagnoses, yet she was only tested for one (Angelman’s) and it was over a year later that she was finally tested and diagnosed with Leigh’s. It was not until she was two years old that they could even arrange for the biopsy to discern the ultimate answer. The final diagnosis of Leigh’s was made by a single muscle biopsy sent to Horizon Molecular in Atlanta in 2002.
Leigh’s disease is a rare inherited neurometabolic disorder characterized by degeneration of the central nervous system caused by either mutations in the mitochondrial DNA or by deficiencies of an enzyme called pyruvate dehydrogenase. Symptoms usually begin between the ages of 3 months to 2 years and progress rapidly. The first signs may be poor sucking ability and loss of
head control and motor skills and may be accompanied by continuous crying, vomiting, loss of appetite and seizures. Symptoms may later include generalized weakness, lack of muscle tone and episodes of lactic acidosis, which can lead to impairment of kidney and respiratory function. Leigh’s disease can also begin during late adolescence or early adulthood and progress more slowly.
It was initially thought that Summer might be developmentally delayed, although she could say over 45 words. The family had even started teaching her how to feed herself and drink from a regular cup, but within a two month period all of this progress disappeared. She could suddenly no longer feed herself, nor could she say a word. It was postulated that her brain processing had stopped and that she might from now on simply mumble a few words now and then. The doctors now felt that there was no hope and that her life expectancy would be 5-7 years. They told the mother that Summer would need a g-tube and trach and would probably die at home. The records showed that she was also diagnosed with atrial septal defect, and ventricular portal ductus arteriosis. The mother was told that the mitochondrial disease would attack every part of Summer’s body.
When seen at the Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Center, Summer’s medical evaluation noted hypotonia particularly in the hips and the legs, although she was very mobile and active. The heart defects had been surgically repaired in Atlanta. A VSD patch was in place and the cardiologist said that the leakage associated with the patch would eventually heal itself. A year prior to being seen at OHNC it was thought that she was having “break-through” seizures. Summer was hospitalized for a 48 hour EEG; yet there was no seizure activity. She did, however, suffer from insomnia; sleeping approximately two hours at a time and then staying awake and active for two or three days without a break.
When first seen she was on multiple seizure medications including Topamax (as well as Klonopin for sleep and Resperdal for ADHD). The last seizure, however, was 2-2 1⁄2 years previously, yet the medications were continued even though Summer demonstrated a normal sleep EEG. She was also on Carnitor and CoQ 10 for mitochondrial disease and Zantac prescribed for GI problems. Although she remained very active and mobile, the main physical problem was still the hypotonia of the hips. She was flat footed with no arc, her upper motor coordination was poor, but weight was acceptable for size. Secondary diagnoses included epilepsy, sensory integration deficits and autistic behavior.
The results, following 19 hyperbaric oxygen treatments, have thus far been dramatic. Summer can now walk up and down stairs with one hand on the railing; something she had never been able to do before. In fact, she gets annoyed when someone tries to help her (which she absolutely needed before). Now it’s “No, Mom, I do it!” and she runs up and down the stairs. She is learning to feed herself. Her speech is improving and she is saying meaningful 3-4 word sentences. Cognitive improvements include better understanding and response to commands. Her attentiveness is improving as she learns to use her visual skills and integrate them with her surroundings . She is being taken off the Klonopin at this point. Her basic coordination is greatly enhanced in activities such as pulling string toys and putting blocks in matching holes. Summer, for the first time has developed not only the ability but the initiative to do things like put her shoes and socks on by herself. The first time, admittedly, it was the right shoe on the left foot, but at least she put the socks on first. Small steps perhaps, but great leaps when you are a Mom.
The following is observations of Brooke’s history prior to hyperbaric oxygen treatment in her Mom’s own words:
“Brooke was born in April of 1999 via C-section at 32 weeks gestation, and had a twin brother. Brooke weighed 3.8 pounds at birth and stayed in the hospital 3 1⁄2 weeks following birth.
Her development was slower than her twin in all areas, but was considered within normal limits by her pediatrician. She had two seizures in one day at age 5 months. She had another seizure a month later. She had a normal Brain MRI in September 1999. Her neurologist followed her for approximately a year and a half. When he dismissed her, he felt she would need no further neurological treatment.
All of Brooke’s Well-baby check-ups were normal. At her four-year check-up, she was referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist. It was found that she had accommodative esotropia. She was prescribed glasses. She was also given her four-year immunizations (2 in the left leg and 1 in the left arm) at this check up in May of 2003.
Brooke was very verbal before she became ill, at times we complained that she talked all the time. In the latter part of May, after the vaccines, we noticed that she was drooling more than normal and her speech, at times, seemed to be strained. An even more dramatic development was that she didn’t talk very much anymore. During this time frame, she vomited on several occasions with no apparent illness. She also felt a little warm from time to time, and people would comment that she felt like she had a fever.
Around the middle of June she had a bowel movement in our above ground pool; this was very unusual because she was potty trained at the time. We just assumed this was an accident (but now, we’re not so sure). The last four times she got in the pool, she had a BM in her swimsuit. When asked why she did not tell us she had to go, she said, “I was in a hurry”, or “it was an accident”. Also while riding in the car she would suddenly announce, “I wet my panties”. I don’t think she can control her kidneys and bowel functions at this time.
Later in June, she started really having trouble with her speech. Her twin had gone through two spells of stuttering that were short lived, so we assumed that’s what was going on with Brooke. It was as though she knew what she wanted to say but couldn’t get her words out.
One day in July of 2003, she got up and couldn’t bend her left leg. She was walking stiff legged. We panicked and took her to her pediatrician’s office. He said he felt some clonus in her left leg/ankle and referred her to a pediatric orthopedist. Her appointment was two weeks later. The only thing we mentioned to him was her walk. We didn’t realize the other issues could possibly be related. He looked at her history and told us he thought she had a mild case of cerebral palsy. We were devastated. He referred us to her previous neurologist, but as it was two weeks before she could be seen, we asked for an MRI of the brain so that we could have the results before our appointment. This was done. It was at least four weeks from the time we noticed her awkward gait; her condition was worsening and she was receiving no treatment, however, she did begin physical therapy for CP. It was during this time frame that her hands and arms began to shake when she tried for fine motor control in the act of picking up anything. On August 21, 2003, we returned to the neurologist. He immediately told us that it was not CP, but that her brain MRI was “very disturbing”. He admitted her to Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital the next morning. They performed a spinal MRI, spinal tap and numerous blood test and had a pediatric ophthalmologist look at her. The neurologist told us that the best case
scenario would be an encephalitis or brain inflammation. He also told us that he could not rule out a metabolic or mitochondrial cause. He informed us that he would treat her with IV steroids for a 5 day regimen. He stated that if she responded to the steroids, it would be a good sign and that hopefully it was only an inflammatory problem. The steroids were started that day. By the next morning, her speech had improved tremendously, and during the course of the steroids,she continued to improve. Her neurologist had by then called a geneticist in on the case. She told us that since Brooke had responded to the steroids, she didn’t think we needed to do the genetic testing at that time. She told us to call her if Brooke didn’t improve. Brooke was released following the five day steroid treatment and went home on a steroid weaning schedule.
Back at physical therapy, her therapist was very impressed. She said that Brooke’s tone had decreased from 80-90% to 10% and that the clonus was almost gone. Brooke continued to progress, but slowly. Two days after she was completely off the steroids she began regressing. Her gait worsened as well as her speech and drooling. Now the neurologist stated, “This is not encephalitis.”. He also said that it was more like a bulbar myelitis. He stated that he did not know what was wrong with her; he had no definite diagnosis. He started her on Prednisalon twice a day; 5 ml in the morning and 5 ml at night. He told us we would wean her off over a 10- week period or so. He said if she continued to progress; great. If not, the next step would be a muscle biopsy. She continued to progress; for awhile.
I had been noticing that her urine was very cloudy, and thought the steroids were probably causing it. I called the doctor’s office to see if that could be the case. They told me no, the steroids shouldn’t cause it. I was told to bring her in for a urine test. They found white cells and blood in the urine. They sent me home with two samples of the antibiotic Cefzi., They told me they would culture it, but they felt sure she had a urinary tract infection. To everyone’s surprise, the culture was negative, so nothing further was done. That afternoon about 1:00 Brooke started complaining of stomach pain. We were on the way to physical therapy, so I guess she was preoccupied and forgot about it. By 4:00 she was doubled over complaining of pain in her right side. I took her back to the doctor’s office. He said her white cells were 12,000 (8,000 is normal). He sent her to the Medical Center of Central Georgia for an abdominal x-ray. Once we got to the hospital she got much worse and vomited 5 times in an hour time frame. She was very shaky and still doubled over with pain. They did another white cell count and it had skyrocketed to 27,000 (while another test done at 5:00 a.m. the following morning revealed a count of 11,000). She was admitted with appendicitis in mind. At his point, Brooke was very unresponsive to everything and everyone. Surgeons came in and decided that it probably was not appendicitis but wanted to watch her overnight, and order a CAT scan if warranted. It was decided that the CAT scan was not needed. Although they had no diagnosis, appendicitis was ruled out. They did find that she was dehydrated and gave her two bags of fluid. She was better the next day and no further testing was done. They started her on 2 broad-spectrum IV antibiotics. The urine they collected at the hospital was cloudy. The nurse even commented on it. The nurse told me it had white cells and protein in it. However, the attending doctor said it was fine. The culture was negative. She was released from the hospital about 6:00 p.m. on October 17th again with no diagnosis.
On October 12, just prior to her hospitalization, her therapist had been quite pleased with progress. She then had good balance (for her), and was able to walk the balance beam while holding the therapist’s hand. After this latest illness, however she continued to regress. Her balance worsened to the point that she could not walk without holding on to someone or something. When she took two or three steps on her own, she would veer to the right and could not walk in a straight line.
By now the shaking of her hands and arms was at times uncontrollable and she would drop what she was holding. Much of the time she could not even pick up a glass or feed herself because of the shaking.
On the afternoon of October 25, while trying to get her Papa to sleep, after a few minutes of silence she said, “Papa, I can’t walk.”. Her mind is very keen and she knows exactly what is happening but she is slow in phrasing her thoughts and responding. However, she is very quick to grasp what is going on. Unlike most four year-olds, Brooke worried about her condition and all that was happening.
I called and talked to the neurologist (on call) on October 25. I explained most of the above and told him that Brooke will not (or cannot) walk on her own, she has to hold on to something or someone to ambulate; that this was frightening and worse than before. Brooke was once again admitted to the hospital. By this point we were desperate for answers and a diagnosis.” Finally, a muscle biopsy was performed and it appeared to be a mitochondrial disease, most probably Leigh’s.
When seen at the Ocean Hyperbaric Neurologic Center in January of 2004, the mother stated that Brooke, now 4 3/4 years old, had continued to deteriorate. She could no longer talk at all. She could no longer walk, turn or crawl. In appearance, she was a well-developed, well-nourished child with a slight “moon face” secondary to the cortisone. She was small and very alert, but was unable to express herself in any way. Both lower extremities were positive for low grade clonus with slight clonus of the right hand. There was generalized severe weakness of all 4 extremities. She could not hold her head up nor her torso erect. Baseline SPECT brain scan revealed multiple areas of hypoperfusion and patchiness indicating decreased blood flow and thereby limited oxygen metabolism. The patient was begun on hyperbaric oxygen treatments at 1.25 ATA concomitant with all standard modalities of PT, OT, and speech therapy. Following 74 HBO treatments, repeat SPECT scanning demonstrated significant improvement in the cerebral cortical flow. The previous occipital defects had disappeared and these regions were now well perfused.
As of April, 2004, she had received 78 hyperbaric oxygen treatments with dramatic results. Brooke is now back in school. She is walking and feeding herself and continues to improve. Her speech and mentation have improved and she is now speaking in full sentences and continues to improve cognitively. Brooke now takes steps independently and can bend her knee; neither of which she was able to do prior to the hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Brooke is able to control her bowel/bladder independently and is now consistent with her bowel movements. Emotionally, she is able to giggle and laughs appropriately; in fact, she has quite a sense of humor. Her parents report that her overall stability is becoming closer to normal and both her independent neurologist and physician feel that the hyperbaric oxygen played a definite role in her amazing progress.
Explanations for the phenomena herein observed on the admittedly few cases of mitochondrial cytopathies treated with HBO remain somewhat elusive, but the most likely conclusions are that hyperbaric oxygen exerts a positive effect on the mitochondria in their production of ATP, utilization of glucose, amino acids, oxygen and cell respiration. HBOT apparently rectifies certain problems in the mitochondrial function by either increasing cytochrome production, altering the structure of proteins or increasing the efficiency of the cytochromes already present.
In all probability it also has the ability to selectively turn mitochondrial genes on and off. The emerging understanding of the mechanisms of HBOT in treating mitochondrial cytopathies is generating new and exciting concepts for the use of the ever expanding field of hyperbaric oxygenation in the treatment of the brain injured child.
With more recent scientific evidence in mitochondrial studies and imaging, multiple diseases are now linked to mitochondrial failure not only in children, but also adults in the liver, cardiac, renal system and brain (including Alzheimer’s, etc.). Previously mentioned was the recognized effect of carbon monoxide on cytochrome c, but a recent paper in the Journal of Neurosurgery (2004) clearly shows the effect of mitochondrial damage in traumatic brain injury in the experimental animal. This parallels the work with hyperbaric oxygen that that we have been doing for years in humans and the logic of this approach becomes even clearer.
Mitochondria, however, is its own worst enemy. Organs which require more energy (brain, heart, etc.) have more mitochondria and are more susceptible to its damage Electron transport, hydroxyl radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are routinely formed as basic mechanisms of the cell, yet they tend to destroy the mitochondria. The body has produced mechanisms to try to defeat this with UCP (uncoupling) enzyme which has recently been found to have been a basic defense in both animal and plants for centuries. When they are released, ROS supercedes mitochondrial function. Mitochondrial failure results in many disease states, and is even found in the basic human aging process. Thus, mitochondrial disorders are not simply limited to inherent genetic diseases in children. This is a whole new field of medical research and this chapter is the first publication to suggest that hyperbaric oxygenation may indeed turn on good genes, turn off bad genes and positively alter and enhance the function of the mitochondria and the production of ATP.
I am indebted to my daughter, Virginia Neubauer, for extrapolating my knowledge and expressing it in understandable terms, and to Sheldon Gottlieb, Ph.D. for his scientific input. | <urn:uuid:e9c14191-7e7a-4ea6-9976-f6508a14d806> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hbot.com/blog/edward-lucarini/hyperbaric-oxygen-treatment-mitrochondrial-cytopathies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00469-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974121 | 9,878 | 2.625 | 3 |
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) (Certificate)Course Format: Public Course / Instructor-Led / Open Enrollment V
Occupational Health & Safety is concerned with the safety and security of both the worker and the employer.
This program is designed for people employed in, or interested in, safety in the workplace. To be eligible for the OH&S certificate, students must complete 20.0 credits of required courses, 25.0 credits of elective courses for a total of 45.0 credits.
Employment for trained safety professionals is available in a variety of industries including: Oil and Gas; Forestry; Manufacturing; Health Care; Municipalities; Education; Construction; Hospitality and Tourism.
BCIT has offered a Certificate in Occupational Health & Safety for over 25 years! We currently have students throughout Canada learning to work effectively as safety professionals.
Students who register into the program typically are already working in safety-related positions, are planning to move into safety positions at their current workplace, or wish to develop their career in safe... [Read More] | <urn:uuid:765c2d08-92aa-46b3-9885-f3f15422222d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ca.askedu.net/courses/IOSH_1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00401-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958085 | 218 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The aim of the Tel Dor joint Sea and Land Project is to reassess and expand understanding of the maritime interface of Iron Age Dor. During 2016 and 2017 five features excavated under water provided new data about the development and chronology of this interface. The results support a revised dating and interpretation of previously excavated structures and the identification of several new stone-built coastal fortification and maritime features, dating to the Early Iron Age. A later phase of construction attributed to the 7th century BCE Assyrian period at Dor was also documented. The outcome of the excavation is the introduction of new aspects of the development of Dor in the Iron Age, including what is likely part of the Iron Age II city's harbour. This may encourage revisiting current views of harbour evolution in the eastern Mediterranean.
Bibliographical noteFunding Information:
This underwater field project for this research was carried out as part of the Tel Dor Joint Land and Sea Project, co-directed by Ilan Sharon of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Ayelet Gilboa of the University of Haifa, Assaf Yasur-Landau of the University of Haifa and Rebecca S. Martin of Boston University. Excavations were conducted by student divers from the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa as well as by volunteer divers, for whose participation we are grateful. Underwater operations were conducted with the help of the maritime workshop of the Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies at the University of Haifa. All work was carried out by kind permission of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, via excavation permits number G-73/2016, G-2/2017, 018/16 and 011/17. We thank Jacob (Koby) Sharvit and Jon Seligman of the IAA, and Tzvika Tzuk of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for their kind support and cooperation. We thank Kibbutz Nahsholim for their kind support and co-operation, and are grateful to the Mizgaga Museum of Nautical and Regional Archaeology at Kibbutz Nahsholim for their hospitality and assistance. Support for this project was provided through a grant from the Honor Frost Foundation. The processing of the finds was assisted by ISF 495/18 ?The Maritime Interface in the Bronze and Iron Ages: An Underwater Study of Tel Dor Anchorages and Harbor Infrastructure?. The land excavations were supported by the Goldhirsh-Yellin foundation (California) and by the Berman Foundation of Biblical Archaeology.
© 2019 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2019 The Nautical Archaeology Society.
- Assyrian period
- Coastal fortifications
- Iron Age
- Levantine harbours
- Tel Dor
ASJC Scopus subject areas | <urn:uuid:918743f6-30dc-4875-a20b-209a1c0116c1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://cris.haifa.ac.il/en/publications/the-iron-age-maritime-interface-at-the-south-bay-of-tel-dor-resul | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808213349-20220809003349-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.925638 | 619 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Joseph O'Farrell searched the crowd of cheering same-sex marriage proponents for his husband.
Before the couple connected, O'Farrell sent Rafael Ramirez a quick text message: "Yay!"
For the Laurel couple, the high court decision to strike down the law that barred federal recognition of same-sex marriage means that O'Farrell will finally be able to sponsor his Mexican spouse in his efforts to become a U.S. citizen.
"It really is a weight lifted off our shoulders," O'Farrell, 28, said Wednesday evening. "We can actually sit down and plan a future now."
For binational same-sex couples across the United States — including those legally married in Maryland — the court's 5-4 ruling offered the prospect of relief from an immigration quagmire that has disrupted lives, threatened relationships and wrought havoc on their emotional and financial stability.
Under the Defense of Marriage Act, gay and lesbian citizens could not sponsor their foreign spouses for citizenship, a right granted to heterosexual binational couples. Now that the court has found the law unconstitutional, activists, lawmakers and analysts expect a wave of applications.
The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles estimated this year that there are nearly 25,000 binational same-sex couples living in the country.
Sirine Shebaya, directing attorney of immigrant rights advocacy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, said the ability to sponsor one's spouse for citizenship is "one of the core ways people are able to maintain their core unity and stay together in the United States."
Spouses of U.S. citizens may receive a provisional green card quickly and apply for citizenship after three years under an "expedited path" that isn't available to foreign nationals seeking citizenship through other means.
"It's cleaner and easier and it's based on family unity rather than any other merit," Shebaya said. She said the inability of gay partners to use the expedited path has torn couples apart.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had sought to allow gay citizens to sponsor foreign spouses as part of the immigration overhaul now in Congress. The Vermont Democrat said Wednesday that the court ruling had rendered his effort "moot."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano applauded the ruling Wednesday and said her department would work to implement it in the immigration process.
Gay couples in Maryland said they could now relax after years of living in limbo.
Kelly Cross lives with his Polish husband, Mateusz Rozanski, in the Old Goucher neighborhood of Baltimore.
"We were kind of just going forward with the life we wanted to live and what we wanted to do here, but we always had this hanging over our heads," said Cross, 34. "I imagine for most Americans it's just another Supreme Court decision, but for us it was about our ability to just exist here, our fundamental ability to live in Baltimore."
Rozanski, 35, who has been in the country illegally since September, has largely confined himself to the couple's large home for months. Rozanski holds three master's degrees, but has not been able to work or fly on airplanes, for fear of running into immigration officials.
Cross and Rozanski, who have been together for nearly seven years, say they have spent thousands of dollars on legal fees and missed out on tax deductions that would otherwise be theirs.
They say they have known couples who have left the country. For a time, they left too, moving to Germany and Poland and struggling to remain together.
"It's not easy to change your place or where you want to live because of political situations," Rozanski said. "When you are forced, it's not always comfortable and it can impact your career, your life and even the relationship."
Ramirez, 27, has been married to O'Farrell for two years, but said he has not been able to get a driver's license or hold a job.
"It's hard," he said. "You're not free."
He said it has been difficult to watch as his brother and sister gained U.S. citizenship through heterosexual marriages. They were then able to sponsor his mother for citizenship.
He is excited to become the last in his family to obtain citizenship.
He has hopes of going back to school, of becoming a social worker, of working with other immigrants who don't know where to turn for help.
Even couples not facing deportation said the decision was validating.
Balazs Vagvolgyi, a 36-year-old Hungarian living with his husband in Mount Vernon, is a permanent resident working in bioengineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Mike DiJulia, Vagvolgyi's 33-year-old husband, works as a nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Their life in Baltimore wasn't threatened, Vagvolgyi said, but the ruling could mean a quicker path to citizenship.
"It's a huge decision," he said. "I need to still figure out how it applies to me."
ure out how it applies to me." | <urn:uuid:9bb8433f-47ff-4eac-85cc-1bc526bd6630> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.dailypress.com/bs-md-scotus-doma-immigration-20130626-story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00266-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979105 | 1,054 | 1.859375 | 2 |
The House Energy and Commerce Committee published a draft of the discourse regarding a new bipartisan data privacy bill. The draft bill was about the national criteria for privacy and security and the recommendations to set limitations on U.S. organizations that collect, utilize, and hold on to consumer information.
There must likewise be data security measures put in place, which are best suited to the size of the business and the nature of its data activities. In case of a breach of consumer information, businesses ought to submit a report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC will create a Bureau of Privacy to make rules, provide guidance, and execute compliance. The FTC will put a data retention time frame and create regulations that deal with the disclosure of personal data to third parties.
The bill will give consumers more control over their private data and the way it is used by businesses. Consumers could exercise their right to data access and correction; right to control who is able to access their personal information, and right to tell businesses to remove their personal information.
So that consumers would know which organizations have their personal information, the draft bill calls for the creation of a consolidated repository of data brokers. Consumers can access this repository to know who holds a copy of their data and know how to access that data, make changes, and demand the removal of their personal data.
An Energy and Commerce Committee representative said that the purpose of this draft is to take care of consumers and make transparent rules for data collectors. It took a few months of hard work and close collaboration between the Democratic and Republican Committee staff.
The draft release became available after hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee on the two data privacy bills proposed by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman, Roger Wicker (R-Miss) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash). There’s no agreement yet on what to put in the bill, but a bipartisan legislation was agreed upon.
The two vital points from the rival bills are the following:
- Should the federal privacy bill preempt state regulations
- Should there be a private cause of action
Sen. Cantwell’s bill recommended a private cause of action allowing consumers to sue companies that violate their privacy. Congressman Wicker does not agree with this. Wicker’s bill recommended the replacement of state laws with the new federal privacy law. Sen. Cantwell proposed to maintain the state laws to give consumers more protection. The bill discussion draft moves away from tackling the two concerns.
Industry stakeholders can submit their feedback on the draft legislation until mid-January 2020. | <urn:uuid:c398e4a3-26ee-4b3d-95d6-b792004c585d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.hipaaguidelines101.com/house-energy-and-commerce-committee-will-draft-a-bipartisan-federal-data-privacy-bill/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573163.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818033705-20220818063705-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.945676 | 571 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Alabama's SAIL network helps students see record gains in summer learning, academic performance
Updated: Oct 29, 2021
This morning, Our 360 News spoke with Suzy Harris, Program Director for the Birmingham-based Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL) network, and Sheryl Threadgill-Matthews, Executive Director of BAMA Kids and SAIL participant, about SAIL's record-breaking success in helping students combat summer learning losses that were worsened by the pandemic.
Check out our interview above and read more about the SAIL network below.
The SAIL network was founded in 2012 to build support for rigorous summer learning across the state. SAIL facilitates assessments, peer learning, and funding opportunities for summer learning programs to ensure high-quality summer learning camps thrive in Alabama. SAIL also helps educational groups, faith-based foundations, and other community organizations to invest in rigorous summer learning programs, expand access to high-quality programs, and foster a culture of collaboration and cooperation between providers.
This summer, SAIL supported 35 independent summer learning programs enrolling more than 2,000 students across the state. Of those, 30 offered in-person classes, and five were virtual-only. Eighty-five percent of students who enrolled in a SAIL program this summer completed it, and the programs reported an average daily attendance of 84 percent. On average, SAIL students gained 3.2 months in math and 2.6 months in reading. Both totals represent record highs for academic growth since SAIL began testing students.
“Students, teachers, and families were eager to participate in a summer learning camp this year, and their enthusiasm translated into outstanding academic outcomes,” said Jim Wooten, chair of Summer Adventures in Learning.
“Like most school programs, SAIL is still feeling the impact of the pandemic. Enrollment was still below pre-pandemic levels, and we are increasing our use of online learning strategies into in-person programs. However, this summer demonstrates that blending the best approaches from summer camp with summer school appeals to students and families, and it works.”
This year’s students’ success is especially significant due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the 2020-2021 school year. According to pre-camp assessments, students began the summer with the lowest reading and math proficiency rates in SAIL’s history.
SAIL programs meet the gold standard for summer learning because they blend the best elements of traditional schools and summer camps to produce academic growth as the students enjoy camp. SAIL does not require its programs to follow a specific curriculum. This flexibility allows each site to design a summer learning program that meets students where they are academically, is tailored to the child’s interests, and addresses the needs of the whole child. On average, SAIL students received 35 hours in reading and 43 hours in math instruction this summer.
To view a list of programs receiving SAIL funding in Birmingham: https://sailalabama.org/birmingham/
To view a list of programs receiving SAIL funding in Blackbelt: https://sailalabama.org/blackbelt/
To view a list of programs receiving SAIL funding in Huntsville/Madison County: https://sailalabama.org/north-alabama/ | <urn:uuid:7784b6f9-d505-4189-bb8d-eac3abacefa8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.our360.news/post/alabama-s-sail-network-helps-students-see-record-gains-in-summer-learning-academic-performance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572063.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814173832-20220814203832-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.943539 | 685 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Taekwondo Red Belt - Red is for Danger
On this page
- We explain what your taekwondo red belt represents.
- We give you training tips for working towards your taekwondo black belt.
- And we talk about handling some of the pressure you might face as a senior grade.
Your taekwondo red belt represents danger.
There are 2 kinds of danger here.
The first is your ego. Some red belts get a little over confident to say the least(!) They are by now quite skilled in their taekwondo and this can make them think they are better and more important than they really are.
Ego is a problem because it makes you less open to learning new things and more prone to losing self-control and causing harm to others.
So if you feel your ego rise... try to reign it in.
The second danger is the danger of quitting. Lots of people quit around green belt. And another huge batch seem to give up around red belt.
There are lots of reasons why this happens. Sometimes it's fear of taking the final steps to black belt - a fear of success itself. And sometimes it's boredom and failing to find the persistence to push through the final stages.
Once you reach taekwondo red belt your relationship with your instructor will probably change. Most instructors push red belts hard and stop giving so much help.
It seems tough - but what they are doing is teaching you to find your own way forward. You have to start thinking for yourself and find your own ways of training both inside and outside the Dojang.
Red Belt Patterns
For red belt the taekwondo patterns move up another level.
Instructors are now looking for power combined with relaxation in your techniques.
And of course by now you know where your weak areas are. You just need to work on them.
Sparring at red belt level
Once you reach red belt level your instructor is likely to put you under a bit more pressure with your taekwondo sparring.
You'll be asked to fight tougher opponents and you will spar against multiple attackers.
This is a test of whether you can stay calm under pressure. Coping with emotions like fear and anger and thinking clearly are the kind of qualities you need to build if you're going to make it to black belt.
As always ... have faith in yourself. Remember you have faced lots of similar hurdles before.
Dealing with the pressure
It goes without saying that your taekwondo red belt brings pressure with it.
You're working towards the front row of the dojang. Fellow students expect you to be good and look up to you as a role model. You have to fill those shoes.
There will be days where it's hard to live up to your belt. Days when a junior grade does better kicks than you. And days when you forget a pattern you know inside out.
In time you'll find out how to deal with this. You'll learn to give off a self-confident attitude but without ego. Trust yourself.
And don't be too hard on yourself if you find this time tough - everyone does. Keep training and keep learning from your mistakes and in time you will find your black belt attitude appears all on it's own. | <urn:uuid:b326f8e3-05ed-4404-a6db-4fee02d235dd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.taekwondo-information.org/taekwondo-red-belt.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719908.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00158-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959513 | 683 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Exploring Ardross Heritage [Ardross]
- ARCH Highland
16 September 2021, Starts: 19:00, Ends: 21:30
Exploring Ardross Heritage
Join us at Ardross Community Hall to share memories or learn about sites and heritage of the local area! We will explore what remains, what has changed and what has disappeared. Informal and lively, this course assumes no previous knowledge. Free – and includes tea and coffee. All welcome!
Please book on 077888 35466 or email@example.com.
When booking we will discuss Covid measures and any concerns you might have.
This course is funded by Historic Environment Scotland, Ardross Community Council (Beinn Tharsuinn Benefit Fund) and ARCH. | <urn:uuid:99d5bc92-69ba-4307-91be-d8eff5414de6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://archhighland.org.uk/calendar.asp?intent=details&eventID=4791 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00268.warc.gz | en | 0.878088 | 164 | 2 | 2 |
This spring my banana trees have already started to come up from the ground about a foot or so. Last night it dropped to freezing temperatures and they are now starting to brown. What can I do to save them?
The Gardener’s Answer
Hi, Madison: I received a very similar question from another reader just the other day. Here is what I told her…
Some varieties of bananas are more cold tolerant than others but anytime tender, new groth is exposed to freezing temperatures it will cause damage. The good news is that the roots should be fine but everything aboveground will be injured. You will want to cut back the damaged foliage and cover the plant with additional soil or mulch. Heavy mulching is a common practice for protecting bananas in the landscape during the winter months. It should be pulled back after our frost-free date passes (May 10th). With the freezing nighttime temperatures in the forecast you will want to add some protection to prevent any more damage. Mulch works great but a blanket or bucket will work too. Anything you can put over the foliage will give protection. Keep an eye on the nighttime lows and cover when necessary for the next few weeks.
Ketnucky Living-Ask the Gardener | <urn:uuid:22111235-72b2-43d0-a7a3-2e3d584eb5c8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.kentuckyliving.com/home-garden/ask-the-gardener/banana-trees-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570871.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808183040-20220808213040-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.944005 | 259 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Student or Learner
well i have some difficulty in understanding this sentence
the train ran out of puff
what does it mean?
and can you give me any example related to this word * puff*
but i need an explanation
I went jogging this morning, but after 10 minutes I ran out of puff and walked home.
"Puff" is like "sufficient energy" in that example. When a person "puffs" they breathe heavily due to exertion. A steam train is said to "puff" - it's the little clouds of steam that come from it, as well as being used as the sound it makes when moving.
thank u i got it now | <urn:uuid:c0542708-7f2b-459d-8c4c-b4375d3ef17b> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/120877-confused | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988725475.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183845-00509-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977854 | 141 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Speaking Event: On the Green Beat in the Developing World — Internews
Liu Lican, Journalist, China
Gustavo Faleiros, Journalist, Brazil
Imelda Abano, Journalist, Philippines
Michael Simire, Journalist, Nigeria
James Fahn, Executive Director, Internews' "Earth Journalism Network" – Moderator
Home to 80 percent of the world's population, the fastest growing economies and most of our remaining biodiversity, the developing countries of the world are key to our planet's environmental future. Even more than in the U.S., the countries’ local media plays a crucial role in framing the debates over environmental issues and challenges, promoting behavior changes and occasionally swaying policies. Come hear the views of these highly respected and experienced leading environmental journalists about the current possibilities of environmental failure or progress in China, Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria and other developing countries.
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, STUDENTS FREE (with valid ID) | <urn:uuid:6fa7257a-1ff1-4a1a-9cdd-11ec1180104a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.globalexchange.org/events/speaking-event-green-beat-developing-world-%E2%80%94-internews | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00158-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.863834 | 210 | 1.664063 | 2 |
After a long hard winter, I washed my motorcycle and went to start the engine, and found the battery in my 2005 Yamaha VSTAR was about dead. I had it on the trickle charger for most of the winter, but eventually it had to die on me. For a six year battery, I guess it had a good life.
I thought I'd walk through the process of battery replacement since I had my camera handy. It's actually quite simple.
The tools you need for the job are:
You will not need to remove the seat to gain access to the battery. There is a battery compartment underneath the seat, on the right (The right side of the bike if you were sitting on it). You can access the cover to the battery compartment by removing the single 5mm Allen head screw. The right side of the cover pops off will a little tug.
After you remove the cover, you will need to remove the rubber restraining band that is securing the battery. Remove this by pulling on the bottom down and out.
Unplug the two wiring harnesses and unsrew the positive and negetive leads.
Remove the plastic harness plate by pulling it off.
You can now pull the batter completely out. Install a new battery by putting it in in the reverse order as battery removal.
The following pictures might help you out if you need a visual aid. | <urn:uuid:37614280-9043-46fc-bf35-755403b9c559> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.motorcyclesites.net/yamaha_vstar_650/replacingbatteryinvstar650.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00127-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973946 | 280 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Of the four most common hosta plants species in Japan, Montana is the most consistent, even over a broad range of habitats. The four most common are Montana, Sieboldii, Kikutti, and Longpipes. Some of our best hosta plants today started from Montana. This is the generic common hosta species and can vary some from a large range of forms. Such as flower habits. Basic common description is large, vase shaped mound of medium green foliage. Ovate shaped with long thin tips and deeply veined and moderately wavy, smooth textured. Slightly corrugated when mature. Very shiny on the underside. Of good substance. Open funnel shaped, very pale lavender flowers. Fertile seed. Matures 28 inches high and 78 inches wide. You will receive a common generic form of this hosta. Zones 3-9. | <urn:uuid:6142a70c-8b94-4226-b096-51782db03b6a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://hostas-store.com/product/montana-hosta/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.91382 | 179 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Stress-Strain Diagrams for Engineering Materials
Figure illustrate typical stress-strain diagrams for common engineering materials. Diagram for ductile materials are depicted in Figure, while Figure shows the same for brittle materials. These two sets have the same strain scale and it can be seen that a ductile materials shows considerable deformation before it fails while a brittle material illustrated little deformation. To distinguish between these two types of material, materials with strain less than 5% at fracture are regarded as brittle and those having strains greater than 5% at fracture are called ductile.
The type A ductile materials include steels, aluminium alloys, copper alloys etc., while type B ductile materials are mild steel and structural steels. The difference between type A and type B ductile materials must be noted carefully. In both cases the stress and strain vary linearly upto strain a. This region of deformation is elastic in the sense that if load is removed at any point before reaching point a, the specimen will regain its original length and area of cross-section. Beyond point a, ductile material of type A changes the relationship which is more linear. During this deformation, the strain changes at a faster rate than stress, although this rate tends to decrease. Type B of ductile material shows distinctly different between behaviour than that shown in Figure. From a slightly higher point b (Figure the stress drops suddenly to point c, remains approximately constant over a range, and then follows a pattern similar to that of type A.
(a) Type A (b) Type B
Figure: Stress-strain Diagram for Ductile Materials
The sudden drop in stress from b to c, increase in strain from c to c′ while stress remains approximately constant is known as "yielding". The point b from which the stress drops to point c, is known as "upper yield point" while point c is known as "lower yield point". The deformation at about constant stress is termed as yield deformation.
Once a ductile material has exceeded the elastic deformation it enters into plastic deformation range. During this deformation, the stress reaches maximum value at d, where necking in the specimen begins.
The stress at point d (the engineering stress) is termed as "Ultimate Tensile Strength" which is an extremely significant property. If loading is continued, the specimen fails eventually at e and stress reduces from point d to e. the stress at point e is called "fracture stress".
(a) Type A (b) Type B
Figure: Stress-strain Diagram for Brittle Materials
The deformation between point d and e in Figure is plastic in the sense that if the specimen is unloaded at any point between d and e the specimen will not regain its original size. Figure shows the range of elastic and plastic deformations. The unloading of a specimen from any point f between a & d is known in Figure. Unloading follows a curve which is somewhat parallel to original elastic line. When specimen is fully unloaded to point g, some strain still remains in it. This residual strain is the plastic component of strain by δp, a part of strain between f and g has been recovered and this is elastic part of strain at point f and denoted by εe. Thus, strain at point f,
= ε fp + ε fe | <urn:uuid:8aef240f-bf15-4f6e-9675-400635cb1c1e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.expertsmind.com/topic/stress-strain-diagram/stress-strain-diagrams-for-engineering-materials-913981.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721027.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00549-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951141 | 694 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Now University of Washington scientists have found that a previously unappreciated aspect of those reactions could be key in developing more efficient energy systems.
Such systems could include, for example, solar cells that would produce more electricity from the sun's rays, or hydrogen fuel cells efficient enough for use in automobiles, said James Mayer, a UW chemistry professor.
"As we think about building a better energy future, we have to develop more efficient ways to convert chemical energy into electrical energy and vice versa," said Mayer, the corresponding author of a paper about the discovery in the June 8 edition of Science.
Chemical reactions that change the oxidation state of molecules on the surface of metal oxides historically have been seen as a transfer solely of electrons. The new research shows that, at least in some reactions, the transfer process includes coupled electrons and protons.
"Research and manufacturing have grown up around models in which electrons moved but not atoms," Mayer said. The new paper proposes a different model for certain kinds of processes, a perspective that could lead to new avenues of investigation, he said.
"In principle this is a path toward more efficient energy utilization."
Coupling the transfer of electrons with the transfer of protons could help reduce the energy barriers to chemical reactions important in many technologies. For example, using solar energy to make fuels such as hydrogen requires that electrons and protons be coupled.
The new perspective also could be important for photocatalytic chemical processes, including those designed for wastewater remediation or to create self-cleaning surfaces, such as the outside of buildings in areas with heavy industrial air pollution.
The research focused specifically on nanoparticles, measured in billionths of a meter, of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Titanium dioxide is the most common white pigment, used in paints, coatings, plastics, sunscreen and other materials. Zinc oxide also is used in pigments, coatings and sunscreens, as well as white athletic tape, and also is used in the manufacture of rubber, concrete and other materials. Nanocrystals were used to closely examine chemical processes at the material's surface.
Mayer said the goal of the work is to get those working in various technological areas involving metal oxides to think in different ways about how those technologies work and how to make them more efficient.
The work also could prove important in finding more efficient ways to fuel vehicles of the future, he said. Fuel cells, for example, transform atmospheric oxygen into water by adding both electrons and protons. Coupling those added electrons and protons could make fuel cells more efficient and allow replacement of costly materials such as platinum.
"Chemical fuels are very useful, and they're not going away," Mayer said. "But how do we utilize them better in a non-fossil-fuel world?"
Co-authors of the Science paper are Joel Schrauben, a UW postdoctoral researcher; Rebecca Hayoun, who since has received a doctorate from the UW and is working in the private sector; UW graduate students Carolyn Valdez and Miles Braten; and Lila Fridley, an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who participated as a summer researcher at UW.
The work was funded by the UW, the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, the National Science Foundation through the UW-based Center for Enabling New Technologies through Catalysis, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
For more information, contact Mayer at 206-543-2083 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Vince Stricherz | EurekAlert!
Nanoparticle Exposure Can Awaken Dormant Viruses in the Lungs
16.01.2017 | Helmholtz Zentrum München - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt
Cholera bacteria infect more effectively with a simple twist of shape
13.01.2017 | Princeton University
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
At TU Wien, an alternative for resource intensive formwork for the construction of concrete domes was developed. It is now used in a test dome for the Austrian Federal Railways Infrastructure (ÖBB Infrastruktur).
Concrete shells are efficient structures, but not very resource efficient. The formwork for the construction of concrete domes alone requires a high amount of...
Many pathogens use certain sugar compounds from their host to help conceal themselves against the immune system. Scientists at the University of Bonn have now, in cooperation with researchers at the University of York in the United Kingdom, analyzed the dynamics of a bacterial molecule that is involved in this process. They demonstrate that the protein grabs onto the sugar molecule with a Pac Man-like chewing motion and holds it until it can be used. Their results could help design therapeutics that could make the protein poorer at grabbing and holding and hence compromise the pathogen in the host. The study has now been published in “Biophysical Journal”.
The cells of the mouth, nose and intestinal mucosa produce large quantities of a chemical called sialic acid. Many bacteria possess a special transport system...
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
05.01.2017 | Event News
17.01.2017 | Earth Sciences
17.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
17.01.2017 | Architecture and Construction | <urn:uuid:c1ed1bba-7790-4f93-af26-b54da827f60e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/life-sciences/twist-chemical-process-boost-energy-efficiency-196923.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00077-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924186 | 1,435 | 3.625 | 4 |
by Rich Wills, former Assistant Underwater Archaeologist, Naval Historical Center
(Material contained herein is made available for the purpose of peer review and discussion and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.)
In the past century of naval warfare, the submarine has emerged as one of the world's premiere weapons of military combat and deterrence. However, it wasn't until the end of the nineteenth century that the U.S. Navy truly began to recognize the submersible vessel for its potential as an undersea weapon and provided it with an operational role within its strategic organization. This enhancement of status was made possible by a series of decisive events in which American technological and tactical experimentation figured prominently. Significantly, Americans were involved in the first use of a submersible vessel in combat against an enemy warship (David Bushnell's Turtle), the development of the first practical navigable submersible vessel (Robert Fulton's Nautilus), and the first successful use of a submersible to destroy an enemy naval vessel under combat conditions (James McClintock's H. L. Hunley).
At the outset of the Civil War, the U.S. Navy and the Southern Confederacy embarked on parallel paths of submersible craft development which, while they may have differed in the manner in which they were executed, in retrospect essentially comprised a race of sorts to produce a successful offensive submersible weapon. While vessels like Pioneer, American Diver, H. L. Hunley, and others were being built by enterprising individuals within the struggling Southern Confederacy, similar efforts were being undertaken within the Union in the form of Brutus de Villeroi's Alligator, and later the Intelligent Whaleof Scovel S. Meriam and Oliver Halstead (indeed, one of the original missions outlined for Alligator was for it to be transported to Hampton Roads in order to face the ironclad CSS Virginia, and if not for logistical problems, the history of the Hampton Roads engagement may have borne itself out in a quite different manner). But while the Federal efforts did not prove themselves to be as successful as those of the Confederates, they did capture a substantial degree of official naval interest in terms of funding, research, and development. By the late nineteenth century the submersible vessel, once mated with the self-propelling torpedo, finally achieved recognition as a viable (though still often misunderstood) component of naval warfare. The record of American Civil War submersibles on both sides inspired the next generation of American submarine visionaries, namely John Phillip Holland and Simon Lake, and set the stage for the future emergence of an American naval-industrial complex capable of designing and delivering operational submarines to the U.S. Navy and foreign navies, including those of Britain, Russia, and Japan.
Prelude: Antebellum American Submersible Vessel Development
The Circumstances Which Produced the H. L. Hunley and its Predecessors
McClintock, Watson, Their Coalition of Supporters, and their Boats
The First Attempt: Pioneer
The Second Attempt: American Diver
The Third Attempt: H. L. Hunley
Prelude: Antebellum American Submersible Vessel Development
The concept of a vessel capable of submerged navigation was not a new idea in America at the time the Civil War began. Americans had previously attempted to use submersible vessels to help fulfill military aims with varying degrees of unsuccessful performance in both the War for Independence (Abbot 1966; Morgan 1972, 1499-1511; Roland 1978, 62-88) and the War of 1812 (Field 1908, 73-76; DeKay 1990, 131; Dudley 1992, 211-212). Nevertheless, between the wars it was Robert Fulton's Nautilus which successfully demonstrated that a stable platform capable of controlled underwater navigation could be constructed and employed to meet limited military objectives (Parsons 1922, Hutcheon 1981). However, before the concept of employing a manned submersible vessel in combat could fulfill its potential, three parallel concepts needed to reach maturity: the design and construction of a submersible platform, the design and construction of the weapon to be employed by the platform, and the tactical system of weapon delivery. The definition of the submersible's role relative to the larger military and naval strategy within which it was to be operated remained largely unchanged. That is, such weapons were generally considered as compatible with either riverine and coastal defense, or with attempts to sink enemy blockading naval vessels, as had been the objective of such vessels in both the War for Independence and the War of 1812, and would be again in the Civil War.
Between 1814 and 1861, work to improve upon Fulton's fundamentally sound design continued through the efforts of the American shoemaker Lodner Phillips (Field 1908, 80-82; Gruse Harris 1982), the French engineer Brutus de Villeroi (Luraghi 1996, 251), and others. The concepts of air supply storage and replenishment, ballast arrangement and regulation, configuration of movable surfaces for steering and depth control, and instrumentation for navigation and depth determination had all seen varying levels of advancement in these intervening years. Perhaps the greatest problem was the recurring inability to devise a self-powered propulsion system capable of operation while running submerged. Bushnell had designed into his vessel the new innovation of hand powered "oar[s]...based upon the principle of the screw" (Morgan 1972, 1503). Significantly, this appears to have been the earliest use of screw propulsion in watercraft (Abbot 1966, 44). Better means of propulsion than hand power were subsequently sought, and although several dual propulsion systems were experimented with (including Fulton's auxiliary sail concept, and McClintock's electromagnetic drive unit), hand power remained the primary means of propulsion for the American vessels built before and during the war. During this time work also progressed considerably in regard to weapons systems. Far-reaching advancements on developing galvanically controlled underwater explosive weapons were made by Samuel Colt in the 1840s, building upon the work of Bushnell, Fulton, Elijah Mix, Moses Shaw, Robert Hare, and their European contemporaries. Among other things, Colt made progress in the development of contact detonators, remote electrical fire control systems, and multicell voltage storage batteries (Lundeberg 1974).
In terms of tactical delivery of the explosive weapon, three general methods were recognized as viable delivery systems: the use of a time-delay explosive charge (basically a limpet mine) carried on the outside of the boat and manually attached to the hull of the enemy vessel, such as was employed by Bushnell's Turtle; the towing of a contact torpedo in the wake of the torpedo craft in which the idea was to detonate the charge by diving beneath the target in such a way that the charge would collide with the target; and variations upon the bow-mounted spar torpedo concept originated by Fulton. McClintock's series of boats would utilize all three of these methods at various stages of their progression.
The Circumstances Which Produced the H. L. Hunley and its Predecessors
The American Civil War was the first major armed conflict to significantly reap the benefits of the industrial revolution on a large scale. It saw the practical utilization of screw- propelled warships powered by steam, ironclad warships, torpedo craft, underwater and subterranean mines, rifled ordnance, rapid troop movements by rail lines, telegraphic lines of communication, and reconnaissance aviation. Additionally, this war has been succinctly described by one historian as "the only occasion in the course of history when at the beginning of a conflict between two nations facing the ocean, one of the two had incontestable and total dominion over the waters" (Luraghi 1996, 61). To counter the overwhelming naval presence arrayed before him, the strategy ultimately formulated by C.S. Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory was a four-fold one based upon "technical surprise" which utilized armored vessels, rifled naval guns, steam-driven commerce destroyers, and submarine torpedoes, or what we today would call mines (Luraghi 1996, 68). The development of specialized vessels to act as offensive torpedo delivery platforms can be categorized as a variation upon the employment of submarine torpedoes. Three general classes of such craft emerged, comprised of traditional surface craft modified to some extent, steam-powered semi-submersible boats (or "david boats"), and hand-powered boats capable of complete submergence such as H. L. Hunley.
Submersible efforts on both sides began as early as 1861. Whereas the U.S. Navy's submersible development efforts were laboriously slow and generally less successful than those of their Southern counterparts, within the Confederate States there rapidly emerged a somewhat more widespread and independant interest in submersible construction which localized in a number of coastal and riverine cities. One reason for this more rapid progression might have been that while Federal development efforts were burdened with conventional naval bureaucratic processes of contracting and evaluation, the Confederate efforts were able to benefit from a quick application of private initiative, which was in turn met with swift support from a government unburdened with the traditional bureaucracy of the type extant in the North. This is not to say that the Confederate Navy Department was without involvement in such efforts; it initiated its own program as well, centered at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia. However, the C.S. Navy's program was not as successful as those projects which were initiated with private funding.
The private Confederate initiatives were primarily spurred by motives of both nationalism and profit. A fading but still remembered tradition of government-sanctioned privateering was revitalized through congressional legislation providing for the issuance of letters of marque by the Confederate government. This feeling was further encouraged by the actions of Southern corporations such as John Fraser & Company, which placed individual and blanket bounties on the warships of the U.S. Navy blockading squadrons that were gradually gaining an ever-tightening stranglehold on Confederate maritime commerce. One of the approximately 50 Confederate privateers ultimately authorized by the government was James McClintock and Baxter Watson's New Orleans-built Pioneer, which, while unable to fulfill its intended mission, in hindsight can be seen to have essentially comprised an experimental prototype for the H. L. Hunley. The Pioneer also owned the distinction of being the only submersible provided with a letter of marque and reprisal by the Confederate States. Some Southern submersible efforts ultimately found cooperative partner in the Confederate military. At least four Confederate boats, American Diver, H. L. Hunley, St. Patrick, and the unnamed vessel or vessels constructed at the Tredegar Iron Works, were either built at government facilities or with the assistance of military personnel. However, this cooperation may have later caused unforeseen ramifications for the initial sponsors when some of the boats, namely McClintock's Hunley and John P. Halligan's St. Patrick, were subjected to complete military seizure as a result of the military's disenchantment and impatience with their civilian operators. The vessel (or vessels) built at Tredegar appear to have been the only boats constructed under a full-fledged Confederate Navy Department building program, and they evidently did not prove successful.
It is important to view the work of McClintock and Watson's coalition within the larger context of such projects undertaken within the Southern Confederacy. Based upon our present understanding of historical records, submersible construction efforts in that nation were basically centered in four areas: at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia (Harper's Illustrated Weekly, 2 November 1861; Pinkerton 1888, 395-403; Dew 1966, 123; Coski 1996, 116-121), at the Leeds Foundry in New Orleans, Louisiana (Robinson 1928, 166-167), at the Park & Lyons Machine Shops in Mobile, Alabama (Perry 1965, 96; Ragan 1995), and at the Confederate naval facilities at Selma, Alabama (Schell 1992, 178-181). The most successful of these initiatives would ultimately prove to be the effort begun in New Orleans by McClintock, Watson, and their core coalition of financial backers. Upon the fall of New Orleans and the loss of their first boat, some of the members of this group relocated to Mobile where they built and lost a second boat, and ultimately gained a tactical success off Charleston at the expense of their third boat and some or all of at least three crews.
One of the most valuable sources of information on McClintock's submersible boatbuilding activities has turned out to be several documents and sketches recently uncovered at the Public Record Office (PRO) in London (the author was apprised of their existence by archaeologists Peter Hitchcock and Brett Phaneuf during their 1996 research activities on the Intelligent Whale). According to these records, in late October of 1872 McClintock journeyed from Mobile to Halifax, Nova Scotia to attend a discreet meeting with Royal Navy officers aboard the HMS Royal Alfred. The purpose of the trip was to discuss his work in submarine warfare and express his wish to build a submersible torpedo vessel for the Royal Navy. Captain F. Nicholson, RN and Chief Engineer J.H. Ellis, RN of the Royal Alfred were instructed to meet with him, gather information, and report their findings and recommendations to the Admiralty in writing. The meeting was secret, probably at least partly for McClintock's sake, as divulging such sensitive technical information to a foreign power could have been construed as treasonous (especially if he had been required to swear an oath of allegiance following Appomattox). In their subsequent report, Nicholson and Ellis recorded that they were:
...thoroughly impressed with the intelligence of Mr. McClintock, and with his knowledge of all points chemical and mechanical connected with torpedoes and submarine vessels...He is, I believe, entirely self-taught, and was much employed by the Confederates on torpedo work, on which he has much practical information which he seems ready to communicate. He hates his countrymen, Americans, and hopes to some day be a British subject ("Report on a submarine boat invented by Mr. McClintock of Mobile, U.S. of America," PRO, Adm. Series 1/6236, File 39455).
Accompanying the report and enclosures are three detailed sketches showing different views of a boat of McClintock's design (Figures 1 and 2). An obvious question to be asked is, what is the identity of the particular vessel depicted in this representation? It appears to have the Hunley's overall dimensions, but possess elements of the American Diver's internal arrangements. Essentially, it comprises the vessel McClintock desired to build, incorporating what he considered as the best elements of all his boats. Basically, McClintock admitted that his boats suffered from three basic problems: the lack of a self-propelling motive power, inaccurate compass readings, and an inability to measure the horizontal movement while running submerged. Nicholson and Ellis qualified the drawing as follows:
The drawing we enclose is a representation of the boat that effected this destruction [of USS Housatonic], it is not drawn to scale, nor did the original boat contain any engine, the only motive power then available being manual labor...It will be seen by the enclosures that the attempt to attain a proper motive power resulted in failure, only about two knots being accomplished. Mr. McClintock now proposes to use an engine [illegible, possibly "driven"] by ammoniacal gas, which he explained to us, and which he has seen in successful operation as a propelling power for street cars in New Orleans; as a very fair description of this invention is given in "The Engineer" of "Aug 70" and "January 72"...One difficulty which Mr. McClintock very frankly pointed out was the uncertain action of the compass in such a vessel...He also pointed out another requirement which he had not succeeded in applying - rather from want of means than from want of skill, or from any great difficulty in the requirement [illegible]. He states that when under weigh beneath the surface, it is quite impossible to ascertain whether the vessel is progressing as there are no passing objects by which to recognize the fact of motion; on several occasions when experimenting with his boat they continued working the crank while all the time the boat was hard and fast in the mud ("Report on a submarine boat invented by Mr. McClintock of Mobile, U.S. of America," PRO, Adm. Series 1/6236, File 39455).
Years after the war, Alexander made a sketch of the third vessel's construction (Figure 5) and described the boat as follows:
We decided to build another boat, and for this purpose took a cylinder boiler which we had on hand, 48 inches in diameter and twenty-five feet long (all dimensions are from memory). We cut this boiler in two, longitudinally, and inserted two 12-inch boiler-iron strips in her sides, lengthened her by one tapering course fore and aft, to which were attached bow and stern castings, making the boat about 30 feet long, 4 feet wide and 5 feet deep. A longitudinal strip 12 inches wide was riveted the full length of the top. At each end a bulkhead was riveted across to form water-ballast tanks (unfortunately these were left open on top); they were used in raising and sinking the boat. In addition to these water tanks the boat was ballasted by flat castings, made to fit the outside bottom of the shell and fastened thereto by "Tee" headed bolts passing through stuffing boxes inside the boat, the inside of the bolt squared to fit a wrench, that the bolts might be turned and the ballast dropped, should the necessity arise.
In connection with each of the water tanks there was a sea-cock open to the sea to supply the tank for sinking; also a force pump to eject water from the tanks into the sea for raising the boat to the surface. There was also a bilge connection to the pump. A mercury gauge, open to the sea, was attached to the shell near the forward tank, to indicate the depth of the boat below the surface. A one and a quarter shaft passed through stuffing boxes on each side of the boat, just forward of the end of the propeller shaft. On each side of this shaft, outside of the boat, castings, or lateral fins, five feet long and eight inched wide, were secured. This shaft was operated by a lever amidships, and by raising or lowering the needs of these fins, operated as the fins of a fish, changing the depth of the boat below the surface at will, without disturbing the water level in the ballast tanks.
The rudder was operated by a wheel, and levers connected to rods passing through stuffing-boxes in the stern castings, and operated by the captain or pilot forward. An adjusted compass was placed in front of the forward tank. The boat was operated by manual power, with an ordinary propeller. On the propelling shaft there were formed eight cranks at different angles; the shaft was supported by brackets on the starboard side, the men sitting on the port side turning the cranks. The propeller shaft and cranks took up so much room that it was very difficult to pass fore and aft, and when the men were in their places this was next to impossible. In operation, one- half the crew had to pass through the fore hatch; the other through the after hatchway. The propeller revolved in a wrought iron ring or band, to guard against a line being thrown in to foul it. There were two hatchways - one fore and one aft -- 16 inches by 12, with a combing 8 inches high. These hatches had hinged covers with rubber gasket, and were bolted from the inside. In the sides and ends of these combings glasses were inserted to sight from. There was an opening made in the top of the boat for an air box, a casting with a close top 12 by 18 by 4 inches, made to carry a hollow shaft. This shaft passed through stuffing boxes. On each end was an elbow with a 4 foot length of 1 1-2 inch pipe, and keyed to the hollow shaft; on the inside was a lever with a stop-cock to admit air (Alexander 1902).
It was decided that the boat should be shipped by flatcar to Charleston, South Carolina for anti-blockade duty under the command of General P.G.T. Beauregard, CSA. Whereas Mobile's defenses were well fortified, Charleston was suffering under a siege of more serious proportions. Charleston's coastal waters may also have presented a more desirable operating environment, especially in terms of providing greater depth. Furthermore, General Beauregard in Charleston looked favorably upon unconventional weapons, while General Dabney H. Maury and Admiral Franklin Buchanan in Mobile may not have been so willing to embrace such unproven forms of naval warfare. Finally, the move was undoubtedly encouraged by the high bounties being placed upon the naval vessels of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The result was that the submersible was shipped to Charleston by flatcar in August 1863.
In a letter "inflicted" upon his fiancé, Lieutenant George Gift, CSN of the CSS Gaines described how he had "been employed during the past day or two in hoisting out of the water and sending away toward Charleston a very curious machine for destroying vessels" which he describes as follows:
In the first place imagine a high pressure steam boiler, not quite round, say 4 feet in diameter in one way and 3-½ feet the other -- draw each end of the boiler down to a sharp wedge shaped point. The 4 feet is the depth of the hold and the 3-½ feet the breadth of beam. On the bottom of the boat is riveted an iron keel weighing 4000 lbs which throws the center of gravity on one side and makes her swim steadily that side down. On top and opposite the keel is placed two man hole plates or hatches with heavy glass tops. These plates are water tight when covered over. They are just large enough for a man to go in and out. At one end is fitted a very neat little propeller 3-½ feet in diameter worked by men sitting in the boat and turning the shaft by hand cranks being fitted on it for that purpose. She also has a rudder and steering apparatus.
Embarked and under ordinary circumstances with men ballast &tc she floats about half way out of the water & resembles a whale. But when it is necessary to go under the water there are apartments into which the water is allowed to flow, which causes the boat to sink to any required depth, the same being accurately indicated by a column of mercury. Air is supplied by means of pipes that turn up until they get below a depth of 10 feet, when they must depend upon the supply carried down which is sufficient for 3 hours! During which time she could have been propelled 15 miles!
Behind the boat at a distance of 100 to 150 feet is towed a plank and under that plank is attached a torpedo with say 100 lb of powder. The steersman has a string by which he can explode the torpedo by giving it a jerk. I saw them explode a vessel as an experiment. They approached within about fifty yards of her keeping the man holes just above water. At that distance she the submarine sank down and in a few minutes made her appearance on the other side of the vessel. He pulled the string and smashed her side to atoms...(Turner 1995, 5-8).
Alexander later indicated that this towed torpedo arrangement proved unworkable, recording that:
The torpedo was a copper cylinder holding a charge of ninety pounds of explosive, with percussion and friction primer mechanism, set off by flaring triggers. It was originally intended to float the torpedo on the surface of the water, the boat to dive under the vessel to be attacked, towing the torpedo with a line 200 feet long after her, one of the triggers to touch the vessel and explode the torpedo, and in the experiments made in the smooth water of Mobile River on some old flatboats these plans operated successfully, but in rough water the torpedo was continually coming too near the wrong boat. We then rigged a yellow pine boom, 22 feet long and tapering; this was attached to the bow, banded and guyed in each side. A socket on the torpedo secured it to the boom (Alexander 1902).
As can be seen from some of the previous accounts, the dimensions of Hunley vary somewhat depending on which historical source is consulted. When put into a table form alongside the dimensions recorded for McClintock's other boats, and compared to reliable documented measurements, it may be possible to draw some conclusions regarding the relative accuracy of these dimensions (Figure 6). McClintock's descriptions of circa 1871 and 1872 descriptions emerge as being consistently near the mark, if not perhaps slightly conservative as in the case of Pioneer. Gift is not far off, while Alexander (who in all fairness cautioned 40 years after the fact that "all dimensions are from memory") seems to be somewhat further off the mark.
|Figure 6. A table comparing the dimensions of the three McClintock-built Confederate submersible boats, using historical and archaeological sources.
"34 feet" (Letter of Marque, 1862)
"35 feet" (USN drawing, 1862)
"30 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871
"30 feet" (McClintock's Royal Navy Narrative, 1872)
"30 feet" (Baird, 1902)
"4 feet"(Letter of Marque, 1862)
"4 feet diameter" (USN drawing, 1862)
"4 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871
"4 feet"(Letter of Marque, 1862)
"4 feet diameter" (USN drawing, 1862)
"36 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871)
"36 feet" (McClintock's Royal Navy Narrative, 1872)
"about 25 feet" (Alexander, 1902)
"3 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871)
"3 feet across top and bottom" (McClintock's Royal Navy Narrative, 1872)
"[about] 5 feet" (Alexander, 1902)
"4 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871)
"4 feet high" (McClintock's Royal Navy Narrative, 1872)
"[about] 6 feet" (Alexander, 1902)
|H. L. Hunley
"40 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871)
"40 feet long, top and bottom" (McClintock's Royal Navy Narrative, 1872)
"about 30 feet" (Alexander, 1902)
approx. 39 feet 5 inches (1996 survey)
"3 1/2 feet...breadth of the beam" (Gift, 1863)
"31/2 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871)
"42 inches wide in the middle" (McClintock's Royal Navy Narrative, 1872)
"about 4 feet" (Alexander, 1902)
approx. 3 feet 10 inches (1996 survey)
"4 feet depth of hold" (Gift, 1863)
"4 feet" (McClintock to Maury, ca. 1871)
"48 inches high" (McClintock's Royal Navy Narrative, 1872)
"about 5 feet" (Alexander, 1902)
between 4 and 5 feet (1996 survey)
Sometime during its operations in Charleston, the boat became the object of an artistic study by the famed artist Conrad Wise Chapman. Chapman has left us two informative depictions of the boat: his pencil study and his finished oil portrait (Figure 7).
Following its arrival in South Carolina, the boat experienced a number of operational difficulties. The Army became increasingly unhappy with McClintock's management of the boat, and as a result seized it, replacing the civilian crew with C.S. Navy personnel. It was following this transition that the boat was twice accidently lost in Charleston Harbor with fatalities, being both times subsequently salvaged. The first incident killed five members of the crew of nine, most of whom were volunteers from the CSS Chicora and CSS Palmetto State. Lieutenant C.L. Stanton, CSN provides the background of this misfortune:
One day when Lieutenant Payne, my friend and shipmate, was aboard the Chicora I arranged to go down under the water with him; but as the boat was obliged to leave before my watch on deck was over, Lieutenant Charles H. Hooker [sic, he means Hasker] took my place. She dived about the harbor successfully for an hour or two and finally went over to Fort Johnson, where the little steamer Etiwan was lying alongside the wharf. She fastened to her side with a light line with the fins in position for diving... (Stanton 1914).
Lieutenant Charles H. Hasker, CSN (a former U.S. Navy hand who had been the boatswain on the CSS Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads) was sitting immediately behind Payne in the lead cranksman's position at the time of the accident, and related the following experience:
We were lying astern of the steamer Etowah [one of several names by which the CSS Etiwan was known], near Fort Johnson, in Charleston Harbor. Lieutenant Payne, who had charge, got fouled in the manhole by the hawser and in trying to clear himself got his foot on the lever which controlled the fins. He had just previously given the order to go ahead. The boat made a dive with the manholes open and filled rapidly. Payne got out of the forward hole and two others out of the aft hole. Six of us went down with the boat. I had to get over the bar which connected the fins and through the column of water which was rapidly filling the boat. The manhole plate came down on my back; but I worked my way out until my left leg was caught by the plate, pressing the calf of my leg in two. Held in this manner, I was carried to the bottom in forty-two feet of water. When the boat touched bottom I felt the pressure relax. Stooping down, I took hold of the manhole plate, drew out my wounded limb, and swam to the surface. Five men were drowned on this occasion (Fort 1914).
Payne and Hasker escaped the forward hatch, while the team's explosives expert, Charles L. Sprague, and another unidentified crewmember managed to fight their way out through the aft coaming. Carried to the bottom and drowned were sailors Frederick (Frank) Doyle, John Kelly, Nicholas (Nick) Davis, and Michael Kane (or Cane) of the Chicora, and Absolum Williams of the Palmetto State (Ragan 1995, 54). Following this tragedy, the military sent a request to Mobile asking for people more familiar with the boat to come to Charleston to take over its operation upon its recovery. Horace Hunley, Thomas Park's son Thomas W. Park (often misidentified as his father), and approximately six or so other volunteers, probably mechanics from the Park & Lyons shop, answered the call, journeyed to Charleston, and spent some time putting the boat through "diving and raising" tests, possibly for the purpose of testing a new adjusted compass (Ragan 1995, 66). When it finally appeared to observers that all the vessel required was experienced hands, the boat suffered another terrible disaster. While running submerged, Hunley, acting as vessel commander, made a simple error in regulating the water contained within the forward ballast tank, and the boat buried its bow in the harbor mud, stuck fast, and partially flooded, killing the entire crew of eight. In addition to Hunley, Park, and the stout-hearted Sprague, this crew contained Mobilians Robert Brockbank, Charles McHugh, John Marshall, Henry Beard, and Joseph Patterson (who may be the individual identified as "White" in Alexander's narrative). Even after the passage of nearly fifteen years, General Beauregard's recollection of the events surrounding the recovery of the boat and crew three weeks after the sinking was still vivid when he set it to paper:
Lieutenant Dixon made repeated descents in the harbor of Charleston, diving under the naval receiving ship which lay at anchor there. But one day when he was absent from the city Mr. Hunley, unfortunately, wishing to handle the boat himself, made the attempt. It was readily submerged, but did not rise again to the surface, and all on board perished from asphyxiation. When the boat was discovered, raised and opened, the spectacle was indescribable and ghastly; the unfortunate men were contorted into all kinds of horrible attitudes; some clutching candles, evidently endeavoring to force open the man-holes; others lying on the bottom tightly grappled together, and the blackened faces of all presented the expression of their despair and agony. After this tragedy I refused to permit the boat to be used again; but Lieutenant Dixon, a brave and determined man, having returned to Charleston, applied to me for authority to use it against the Federal steam sloop-of-war Housatonic, a powerful new vessel, carrying eleven guns of the largest calibre, which lay at the time in the north channel opposite Beach Inlet, materially obstructing the passage of our blockade-runners in and out (Beauregard 1878, 153-154).
The divers hired to locate and rig the boat for salvage found it buried bow-first in the mud. Alexander's insightful attempt to reconstruct the accident provides some detail of the crew's standard operating procedures:
The position in which the boat was found on the bottom of the river, the condition of the apparatus discovered after it was raised and pumped out, and the position of the bodies in the boat, furnished a full explanation for her loss. The boat, when found, was lying on the bottom at an angle of about 35 degrees, the bow deep in the mud. The bolting-down bolts of each hatch cover had been removed. When the hatch covers were lifted considerable air and gas escaped. Captain Hunley's body was forward, with his head in the forward hatchway, his right hand on top of his head (he had been trying, it would seem, to raise the hatch cover). In his left hand was a candle that had never been lighted, the sea-cock on the forward end, or `Hunley's' ballast tank, was wide open, the cockwrench not on the plug, but lying on the bottom of the boat. Mr. Park's body was found with his head in the after hatchway, his right hand above his head. He also had been trying to raise the hatch cover, but the pressure was to great. The sea-cock to his tank was properly closed, and the tank was nearly empty. The other bodies were floating in the water. Hunley and Parks were undoubtedly asphyxiated, the others drowned. The bolts that held the iron keel ballast had been partly turned, but not sufficient to release it.
In the light of these conditions, we can easily depict before our minds, and almost readily explain, what took place in the boat during the moments immediately following its submergence. Captain Hunley's practice with the boat had made him quite familiar and expert in handling her, and this familiarity produced at this time forgetfulness. It was found in practice to be easier on the crew to come to the surface by giving the pumps a few strokes and ejecting some of the water ballast, than by the momentum of the boat operating on the elevate fins. At this time the boat was under way, lighted through the deadlights in the hatchways. He partly turned the fins to go down, but thought, no doubt, that he needed more ballast and opened his sea-cock. Immediately the boat was in total darkness. He then undertook to light the candle. While trying to do this the tank quietly flooded, and under great pressure the boat sank very fast and soon overflowed, and the first intimation they would have of anything being wrong was the water rising fast, but noiselessly, about their feet in the bottom of the boat. They tried to release the iron keel ballast, but did not turn the keys quite far enough, and therefore failed. The water soon forced the air to the top of the boat and into the hatchways, where captains Hunley and Parks were found. Parks had pumped his ballast tank dry, and no doubt Captain Hunley had exhausted himself on his pump, but he had forgotten he had not closed his sea cock (Alexander 1902).
McClintock's caution with the boat may have been excessive, but in hindsight it seems to have been justifiable in light of the two tragedies which subsequently befell the boat. Both accidents seem to have been in some way attributable to personal errors on the part of the vessel commanders; in Payne's case the result was that five of the crew drowned, whereas Hunley's actions may have resulted in not only his own death but also his entire crew. In addition to these operational casualties, one of the boat's investors, Gus Whitney, also died during this period, possibly from exposure related to the operations of the boat (Duncan 1965, 66).
Upon the salvage of the boat, Dixon and Alexander saw their fellow submariners buried in Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery. The surviving members of the group memorialized Hunley's efforts by naming the boat H. L. Hunley after him. Saddened but undaunted, Dixon and Alexander enlisted another volunteer crew, which ultimately came to include naval personnel James A. Wicks, Arnold Becker, C. Simkins, F. Collins, (first name unknown) Ridgeway, and (first name unknown) Miller, as well as Corporal C. F. Carlson, CSA, of Company A, South Carolina Light Artillery (Ragan 1995, 90, 126). The group moved their operations to Battery Marshall, on Sullivan's Island, where between November 1863 and February 1864 they frequently fought foul weather to cast off on night cruises on the seas off Charleston. On 5 February, fate touched Alexander in the form of orders received to report to another project, and he reluctantly bid Dixon and the crew a farewell. He never saw his friends again.
On 17 February, Corporal Donald W. McClaurin of Battery Marshall was summoned to the boat in order to make adjustments to the on-board machinery, during which time he made note of the Hunley's third and final torpedo configuration:
As I recall, the torpedo was fastened to the end of an iron pipe, about two inches in diameter and twenty to twenty-five feet in length, which could be extended in front and withdrawn at ease by guides in the center of the boat to hold it in place.
Lieutenant Dixon landed and requested that two of my regiment, the 23rd South Carolina Volunteers, go aboard and help them to adjust the machinery, as it was not working satisfactorily. Another man and I went aboard and helped propel the boat for some time while the Lieutenant and others adjusted the machinery and the rods that held the torpedo and got them to working satisfactorily (Ragan 1995, 130).
The manner in which the spar was rigged has been the matter of some debate. Lieutenant Stanton recorded his views on this subject as follows:
Lieutenant Payne, although a willing volunteer for this dangerous service, never at any time had faith in the success of the enterprise. I heard him say time and again that if he struck a vessel with the torpedo staff projecting horizontally he feared the boat would enter the hole made by the explosion in the ship's side, and the machinery would not be powerful enough to back the boat out before it was carried down by the wreck. His idea was that if the torpedo staff was lowered to an angle of forty-five degrees when the ship was struck the torpedo would explode near the keel, and the Fishboat's bow, striking the solid planking of the ship, would recoil sufficiently to make the machinery effective in backing out of danger of being drawn down by the wreck. I have always felt very certain that the torpedo staff was in this position when the Housatonic was struck...Besides, when the boat lay alongside the Chicora on the night of 14th of February, I examined it closely...(Stanton 1914).
On that same day as Corporal McClaurin was helping to fine-tune the boat's machinery, a recognition signal using a blue lamp was arranged between Dixon and the men of Battery Marshall for the purpose of guiding the boat back to port after dark:
The day of the night the perilous undertaking was accomplished, the little war vessel was taken to Breach Inlet. The officer in command [Dixon] told Lieutenant-Colonel Dantzler [in command of Battery Marshall] when they bid each other good-by, that if he came off safe he would show two blue lights (Cardozo 1866, 124, cited in Ragan 1995, 132).
On the evening of 17 February 1864, with Dixon at the helm, Hunley set out on patrol. Approximately two and a half miles off Charleston Bar, the Hunley observed and shaped a course for the screw sloop-of-war USS Housatonic, which lay at anchor on blockade duty. The Housatonic's lookout spotted the Hunley and voiced a warning, but the ship's attempt to get underway was not timely enough to prevent contact and detonation. The Housatonic sank in approximately three minutes. The subsequently convened board of inquiry into the Housatonic's loss provides a good amount of detail regarding the Hunley's audacious attack. Acting Master John Crosby, who was the Officer of the Deck on that moonlit eight to twelve watch, related the following:
I took the deck at 8 P.M. on the night of February 17th. About 8:45 P.M. I saw something in the water, which at first looked to me like a porpoise, coming to the surface to blow. It was about 75 to 100 yards from us on our starboard beam. The ship heading northwest by west ½ west at the time, the wind two or three points on the starboard bow. At that moment I called the Quartermaster's attention to it asking him if he saw anything; he looked at it through his glass, and said he saw nothing but a tide ripple in the water. Looking again within an instant I saw it was coming toward the ship very fast. I gave orders to beat to quarters slip the chain and back the engine, the orders being executed immediately (Ragan 1995, 136).
Lieutenant F.J. Higginson, the ship's executive officer, recorded that upon hearing the alarm for general quarters:
I went on deck immediately, found the Officer of the Deck on the bridge, and asked him the cause of the alarm; he pointed about the starboard beam on the water and said "there it is." I then saw something resembling a plank moving towards the ship at a rate of 3 or 4 knots; it came close alongside, a little forward of the mizzen mast on the starboard side. It then stopped, and appeared to move off slowly. I then went down from the bridge and took the rifle from the lookout on the horse block on the starboard quarter, and fired at this object. It had the appearance of a plank sharp at both ends; it was entirely on awash with the water, and there was a glimmer of light through the top of it, as though through a dead light (Ragan 1995, 136- 138).
The Housatonic's commanding officer, Captain Charles W. Pickering, stated that:
On reaching the deck I gave the order to slip, and heard for the first time it was a torpedo, I think from the Officer of the Deck. I repeated the order to slip, and gave the order to go astern, and to open fire. I turned instantly, took my double barreled gun loaded with buck shot, from Mr. Muzzey, my aide and clerk, and jumped up on the horse block on the starboard quarter which the first Lieutenant had just left having fired a musket at the torpedo.
I hastily examined the torpedo; it was shaped like a large whale boat, about two feet, more or less, under water; its position was at right angles to the ship, bow on, and the bow within two or three feet of the ship's side, about abreast of the mizzenmanst, and I supposed it was then fixing the torpedo on. I saw two projections or knobs about one third of the way from the bows. I fired at these, jumped down from the horse block, and ran to the port side of the Quarter Deck as far as the mizzen mast, singing out "Go astern Faster" (Ragan 1995, 136).
The ship's Assistant Engineer, Mr. Mayer, related his experiences as follows:
The engine was immediately backed, and had made three or four revolutions when I heard the explosion, accompanied by a sound of rushing water and crashing timbers and metal. Immediately the engine went with great velocity as if the propeller had broken off. I then throttled her down, but with little effect. I then jumped up the hatch, saw the ship was sinking and gave the order for all hands to go on deck (Ragan 1995, 138).
Ensign Charles Craven also managed to lay down fire at the attacking vessel, recording that:
I heard the Officer of the Deck give the order "Call all hands to Quarters." I went on deck and saw something in the water on the starboard side of the ship, about thirty feet off, and the Captain and the Executive Officer were firing at it. I fired two shots at her with my revolver as she was standing toward the ship as soon as I saw her, and a third shot when she was almost under the counter, having to lean over the port to fire it (Ragan 1995, 138).
The Housatonic took five of its crew to the bottom, including Ensign E.C. Hazeltine, Quartermaster John Williams, Fireman Second Class John Walsh, Landsman Theodore Parker, and Pickering's erstwhile yeoman Charles O. Muzzey (Ragan 1995, 142). But a final toll was exacted in exchange for the submersible's tactical victory. The Hunley and its crew never returned to Sullivan's Island, even though the prearranged lamp signals were believed to have been received from Dixon's crew and interpreted as a request for a light to guide them safely back into port (ORN I, 15, 335). The vanishing of the Hunley with all hands subsequently became one of the sea's greatest mysteries, remaining unsolved until the wreck was definitively relocated in 1995 by archaeologists Ralph Wilbanks, Wes Hall, and Harry Pecorelli III of best-selling author Clive Cussler's National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA).
A number of theories have been put forward regarding when, where, and how the boat was lost. Alexander for a long time believed that Hunley had been caught in or beneath Housatonic as the Navy warship rapidly sank (Alexander 1902), this belief being based partially upon the incorrect observations of government divers. But upon hearing from authoritative Navy sources that these reports were not authentic, Alexander still continued to believe that the wreck must have nevertheless come to rest not far away, having like Housatonic rapidly settled five feet beneath the seabed. Alexander noted that an agreement existed between the crewmembers that if the boat should for any reason be unable to surface, "the sea cocks were to be opened and the boat flooded" in order to prevent the suffering of slow asphyxiation known to have been experienced by Hunley's crew (Alexander 1903). It has been theorized that the agreement Alexander spoke of may have represented the romanticized interpretation of a practical last-ditch escape strategy, in which an attempt would be made to equalize the pressures on the hatch surfaces in order to allow the crew to open them and ascend from the wreck (Ragan 1995, 168).
It has also been conjectured that the boat succumbed to structural damage or crew injuries sustained as a result of the contact and explosion, or from the Housatonic's defending gunfire. While the potential effects of the detonation on the submersible's hull integrity remain a question, it seems very likely that the Hunley did absorb some degree of projectile damage from small arms fire, in light of the degree of fire and the close range of the two vessels at the time the defending fire was laid down. The boat drew fire from a variety of light weapons, including Higginson's rifle, Craven's revolver, Pickering's double-barrelled shotgun (presumably fired at the conning towers, based upon his testimony), and possibly the musketry fire of several other lookouts. It seems feasible that Pickering's spread of buckshot at the "two projections" may have provided a good chance for damage to occur to some of the deadlights, and perhaps even caused crew injury.
Another theory put forward to account for the boat's disappearance is that swift seas and worsening weather prevented the exhausted crew from successfully regaining port, and ultimately caused their delicately balanced boat to founder. McClintock's opinion, recorded in 1872, is as follows:
I would here state that I do not believe that the Sub Marine Boat was lost in the operation of destroying the Housatonic, but was lost in a storm which occurred a few hours after. I am aware that the Federals has made diligent search for her, and have made three different reports of having found her, yet no descriptions that I have ever heard are correct (McClintock Narrative, PRO, Adm. Series 1/6236, file 39455).
During the late 1950s researcher Louis Genella conducted research into the climatological conditions of the night of 17 February, 1864, and concluded that on the 17th tidal conditions in the vicinity of Fort Sumter were probably as follows (all times are local): high water occurring at 3:40 PM, low water occurring at 9:45 PM; beginning of ebb current occurring at 4:30 PM, maximum ebb occurring at 7:45 PM; and the beginning of flood current occurring at 10:50 PM (Letter, Chief, Tides & Currents Division, U.S. Coast Geodetic Survey, Department of Commerce to Louis J. Genella, 13 March 1958; in the Louis J. Genella Collection, Tulane University Library). The attack took place between approximately 8:45 and 9:00 PM. The time that the blue signal light was witnessed and answered by Battery Marshall may have been sometime around 9:30 PM, which is when a blue light was observed on the water near the assisting USS Canandaigua by Seaman Robert Flemming, who had climbed up into the rigging of the settling Housatonic (Ragan 1995, 139-140, 170). It may be likely that the cause of the Hunley's loss was attributable to more than one of these factors.
In addition to the question of combat-related damage, a number of other questions also remain unanswered. Were eight or nine crewmen aboard for the final mission? Is the crew still aboard, or did they manage to escape the boat only to be lost at sea? If they are still aboard, did any suffer injuries in the explosion and gunfire? Are the hatches still bolted from the inside, or are they merely resting in a closed position? Are all of the keel ballast elements present, or was there any attempt to jettison the keel ballast? Are the seacocks still shut, or was there any attempt to purposefully open them? Exactly how was the spar torpedo assembly rigged, and does any evidence of it remain? What is the identity of the third magnetic anomaly located during the 1996 National Park Service remote-sensing survey between the wrecks of the Hunley and Housatonic? Could it be an element of the Hunley's keel ballast, or perhaps the Housatonic's slipped anchor? Based upon Assistant Engineer Mayer's testimony, the force of the detonation may have either disengaged or completely blown off the Housatonic's propeller. Could it be a portion of the Housatonic's drive train? These are only a few mysteries which await an answer.
In retrospect, the Confederate submersible operations, and specifically H. L. Hunley's successful engagement of Housatonic, had several significant effects on U.S. Navy operations. They acted as a powerful pyschological warfare tool, causing fear among the squadrons, particularly within the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron following the Hunley's action. They caused expensive and logistically intensive modifications to Federal blockading strategies through causing heightened security in the vessels on station, requiring them to be ready to get underway at all times, and forcing them to be redeployed further offshore at night, which in the case of Charleston perhaps allowed a greater possibility for blockade runners to get through to that besieged port. Finally, they may have provided the impetus for accelerated Federal attempts to gather intelligence on such craft, conduct their own research, and develop similar weapons. But while such attempts had been underway as early as 1861, it was the H. L. Hunley's attack on the Housatonic that defined to the U.S. Navy the danger of the submersible torpedo craft in Southern waters, and demonstrated to the world the vast potential of the submersible vessel in future naval strategy.
"Letters received by the Secretary of the Navy from Officers Below the Rank of Commander, 1802-1884," National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 45, Microfilm M148.
"Proceedings of the Naval Court of Inquiry, 26 February 1864, Case #4345," National Archives and Records Administration. Record Group 45.
"Submarine Warfare" (Report on Intelligent Whale by Rear Admiral E.A. Inglefield, RN, 4 March 1872; report on Mr. McClintock's Submarine Torpedo Boat by Captain F. Nicholson, RN and Chief Engineer J.H. Ellis, RN, with enclosures, 21 October 1872), Public Record Office (London, Great Britain), Admiralty Office Series 1/6236, File 39455.
Louis J. Genella Collection (M-64), Manuscripts Department, Tulane University Library. Letter, Chief, Tides & Currents, U.S. Coast Geodetic Survey, Department of Commerce to Louis J. Genella, 13 March 1958.
Matthew Fontaine Maury Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, volume 46, items 9087-9094. Undated letter from James McClintock to Matthew F. Maury, ca. 1871.
Eustace Williams Collection, Woodruff Library Special Collections, Emory University Library. Transcript of a talk given by William A. Alexander to the Iberville Historical Society, Mobile, Alabama, 15 December 1903.
Abbot, Henry L. The Beginning of Modern Submarine Warfare under Captain Lieutenant David Bushnell. Archon Books, Hamden, Connecticut, 1966.
Alexander, William A. "The True Stories of the Confederate Submarine Boats," New Orleans Picayune, 29 July 1902.
Arthur, Stanley C. "Pioneer: The First Submarine Boat Now on Exhibition in Jackson Square, New Orleans," Alabama Historical Quarterly 9 (Fall 1947) 405-410.
Baird, G. W. "Submarine Torpedo Boats," Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers 14.2 (1902) 845-855.
Cardozo, J. N. Reminisces Charleston. Joseph Walker, Charleston, 1886. Cited in Ragan.
Coski, John M. Capital Navy: The Men, Ships, and Operations of the James River Squadron. Savas Woodbury Publishers, Campbell, California, 1996.
De Kay, James Tertius. The Battle of Stonington: Torpedoes, Submarines, and Rockets in the War of 1812. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1990.
Dew, Charles B. Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson and the Tredegar Iron Works. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1966.
Dudley, William S. (ed.). The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History Volume 2 (1813). Naval Historical Center, Washington D.C., 1992.
Duncan, Ruth H. The Captain and Submarine CSS H.L. Hunley. S.C. Toof & Company, Memphis, 1965.
The Engineer. "Apparatus for applying and using mechanism for electromagnetism as a motive power" (11 May 1860, 309); "Electromagnetic engines" (29 March 1861, 201); "Class 1 Prime Movers: Electromagnetic engine for obtaining and applying power" (4 April 1862, 216); "Electromagnetic engine" (5 September 1862, 148); "Electromagnetic motive power engine" (19 September 1862, 177).
Field, Cyril. The Story of the Submarine from the Earliest Ages to the Present Day. Sampson Low, Marston & Company, London, 1908.
Fort, W. B. "First Submarine in the Confederate Navy," Confederate Veteran 22 (1914) 459.
Gruse Harris, Patricia A. Great Lakes' First Submarine: L.D. Phillips' Fool Killer. Michigan City Historical Society, Michigan City, Indiana, 1982.
Harper's Illustrated Weekly. "A Rebel Infernal Machine." 2 November 1861, 701; 10 June 1864.
Hutcheon, Wallace S., Jr. Robert Fulton, Pioneer of Undersea Warfare. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1981.
Kloeppel, James. "The Mystery Sub of Jackson Square," Civil War Times Illustrated 28 (September/October 1989) 20-22.
Kloeppel, James. Danger Beneath the Waves: A History of the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley. Sandlapper Publishing, Inc, Orangeburg, South Carolina, 1992.
Lundeberg, Philip K. Samuel Colt's Submarine Battery: The Secret and the Enigma (Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology Number 29). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1974.
Luraghi, Raimondo. A History of the Confederate States Navy. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1996.
Morgan, William J. (ed). Naval Documents of the American Revolution Vol. 6. Department of the Navy, Naval History Division, Washington, D.C., 1972.
New Orleans Daily Delta. 17 August 1861.
New Orleans Picayune. 15 February, 1868. Morning and afternoon editions.
Parsons, William B. Robert Fulton and the Submarine. Columbia University Press, New York, 1922.
Perry, Milton F. Infernal Machines: The Story of Confederate Submarine and Mine Warfare. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1965.
Pinkerton, Allan. The Spy of the Rebellion. Kansas City Publishing Company, Kansas City, 1888.
Ragan, Mark. Submarines, Sacrifice, & Success in the Civil War. Narwhal Press Inc., Charleston, 1995.
Robinson, William M., Jr. The Confederate Privateers. Yale University Press, New Haven, 1928.
Roland, Alex. Underwater Warfare in the Age of Sail. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1978.
Scharf, J. Thomas. History of the Confederate States Navy. Joseph McDonough, Albany, 1887.
Schell, Sidney H. "Submarine Weapons Tested at Mobile During the Civil War," The Alabama Review 54.7 (July 1992) 163-183.
Stanton, C. L. "Submarines and Torpedo Boats," Confederate Veteran 22 (April 1914) 398-399. (Transcript on file at The Mariner's Museum Research Library, Newport News, Virginia, dated 1966).
Turner, Maxine. "The Hunley: A Very Curious Machine," The Confederate Naval Historical Society Newsletter 16 (July 1995) 5-8.
U.S. Department of the Navy, Office of Naval War Records. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1901.
Wills, Richard. "The Confederate Privateer Pioneer and the Development of Confederate Submersible Watercraft," The Institute of Nautical Archaeology Quarterly 21 (Spring/Summer 1994) 12-19. | <urn:uuid:673e9e0a-3f29-40f6-9fd7-ebbe71abfe5f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.history.navy.mil/research/underwater-archaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wrecksites/hl-hunley/the-h-l-hunley-in-historical-context.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571745.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812170436-20220812200436-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.966826 | 12,775 | 3.5625 | 4 |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zydelig (idelalisib) to treat patients with three types of blood cancers.
Zydelig is being granted traditional approval to treat patients whose chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has returned (relapsed). Used in combination with Rituxan (rituximab), Zydelig is to be used in patients for whom Rituxan alone would be considered appropriate therapy due to other existing medical conditions (co-morbidities). Zydelig is the fifth new drug with breakthrough therapy designation to be approved by the FDA and the third drug with this designation approved to treat CLL.
The FDA is also granting Zydelig accelerated approval to treat patients with relapsed follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (FL) and relapsed small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), another type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Zydelig is intended to be used in patients who have received at least two prior systemic therapies.
"In less than a year, we have seen considerable progress in the availability of treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia," said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Zydelig's approval to treat CLL reflects the promise of the breakthrough therapy designation program and represents the FDA's commitment to working cooperatively with companies to expedite a drug's development, review and approval."
The FDA approved Gazyva (obinutuzumab) in November 2013, Imbruvica (ibrutinib) in February 2014 and a new use for Arzerra (ofatumumab) in April 2014 to treat CLL. Both Gazyva and Arzerra also received breakthrough therapy designation for this indication. Like the other two drugs, Zydelig was also granted orphan product designation because it is intended to treat a rare disease.
Zydelig's safety and effectiveness to treat relapsed CLL were established in a clinical trial of 220 participants who were randomly assigned to receive Zydelig and Rituxan or placebo and Rituxan. The trial was stopped for efficacy following the first pre-specified interim analysis point, which showed participants treated with Zydelig and Rituxan had the possibility of living at least 10.7 months without their disease progressing (progression-free survival) compared to about 5.5 months for participants treated with placebo and Rituxan. Results from a second interim analysis continued to show a statistically significant improvement for Zydelig and Rituxan over placebo and Rituxan.
Zydelig's safety and effectiveness to treat relapsed FL and relapsed SLL were established in a clinical trial with 123 participants with slow-growing (indolent) non-Hodgkin lymphomas. All participants were treated with Zydelig and were evaluated for complete or partial disappearance of their cancer after treatment (objective response rate, or ORR). Results showed 54 percent of participants with relapsed FL and 58 percent of participants with SLL experienced ORR.
The FDA is approving Zydelig to treat FL and SLL under the agency's accelerated approval program, which allows approval of a drug to treat a serious or life-threatening disease based on clinical data showing the drug has an effect on a surrogate endpoint reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit to patients. This program provides earlier patient access to promising new drugs while the company conducts confirmatory clinical trials.
Zydelig carries a Boxed Warning alerting patients and health care professionals of fatal and serious toxicities including liver toxicity, diarrhea and colon inflammation (colitis), lung inflammation (pneumonitis) and intestinal perforation that can occur in Zydelig-treated patients. Zydelig is also being approved with a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) comprised of a communication plan to ensure healthcare providers who are likely to prescribe Zydelig are fully informed about these risks.
Common side effects include diarrhea, fever (pyrexia), fatigue, nausea, cough, pneumonia, abdominal pain, chills and rash. Common laboratory abnormalities include decreased levels of white blood cells (neutropenia), high levels of triglycerides in the blood (hypertriglyceridemia), high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and elevated levels of liver enzymes.
Zydelig is marketed by Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences. Rituxan and Gazyva are marketed by Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, based in South San Francisco, California. Imbruvica is co-marketed by Sunnyvale, California-based Pharmacyclics and Raritan, New Jersey-based Janssen Biotech, Inc. Arzerra is marketed by Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based GlaxoSmithKline.
July 24, 2014 | <urn:uuid:485efd1e-4167-4548-89cc-8fdbdba372e5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.rxlist.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=179660 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.938551 | 1,057 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Concerning autism, my work has explored mentalising and central coherence to explain the social and non-social features of autism. Concerning dyslexia, my work has explored access to phonological and orthographic representations to explain the delay in reading and spelling development.
In 2012 wrote a review paper of autism research from a personal perspective: Why we need cognitive explanations of autism. It can be downloaded from file archive.
In autism my work has explored a failure in intuitive mentalizing and how compensatory learning about mental states proceeds slowly and in an effortful fashion. This work indicates that adults with high-functioning autism who can understand mental states and can use a theory of mind to explain other people’s behaviour, still bear signs of the struggle to learn these skills which come effortlessly to normally developing individuals. Their intuitive mentalising ability remains poor. This is revealed in reduced activation in the brain’s mentalising network.
Concerning dyslexia, my work has explored difficulties in a start-up kit that leads to rapid speech processing. Here it can be shown that compensatory learning leads to perfectly adequate speech processing, and to adequate processing of written language. However, even well-compensated adults show that the skill they acquired is fragile and lacks the intuitive underpinning of phonology. In particular, it seems that dyslexics never gain the immediate access to the mind’s store of word sounds and word images that represent their letter-by-letter pattern (orthography). Brain imaging shows that well compensated adults have reduced activation in areas of the brain critically involved with rapid access to phonological and orthographic forms of words.
The definition and diagnosis of autistic disorders at present has led to a very heterogeneous population. We tested the widely held belief that Asperger Syndrome may predispose to antisocial and callous acts of behaviour and showed that this is not the case (Rogers et al. 2007). Our results indicate that antisocial and callous behaviour was unrelated to severity of autism, and unrelated to core autistic cognitive deficits, specifically in 'mind-reading' or executive function. Instead the cognitive profile of boys with co-occurring autistic disorder and psychopathic tendencies resembled that of boys who have psychopathic tendencies alone. We therefore proposed that callous and psychopathic acts, which are regrettably observed in a small number of individuals with ASD, reflect an additional impairment of empathic responsiveness which is not part and parcel of autism itself. This finding has implications for forensic cases.
Elisabeth Hill. We investigated the neurophysiological underpinnings of alexithymia in an fMRI study (Silani et al. in press). The results showed that when monitoring inner feelings evoked by pictures as compared to judging the colour content of the pictures, the brain’s mentalising system (Castelli et al. 2002) was activated. This activation was reduced in individuals with ASD. Quite independently, the degree of alexithymia and lack of empathy correlated negatively with degree of activation in the anterior insula (AI). This is a region of the brain that has been previously found to be involved in the processing of internal arousal and bodily states. Our results confirm that the AI may serve the awareness of own feeling states, and may also underlie the capacity to empathize, that is to share the feelings of others who are, for example, in pain or experiencing disgust (Singer et al., 2004). Further fMRI studies on empathy in autism are continued by Tania Singer.It is widely believed that individuals with autistic spectrum conditions see the world differently. Stimuli appear to be salient that are not very salient to other people, and vice versa. The lack of salience of social stimuli is particularly noticeable. We have pursued the hypothesis that these stimuli are normally enhanced. This hypothesis fits into a wider theory of lack of top-down control. Such a high-level failure would cause a lack of the enhancement of stimuli that are relevant to social communication. Likewise it would cause a lack of suppression of stimuli that are not currently relevant. Thus, lack of top-down modulation can explain perceptual overload.
As an example, one of our recent studies, led by Geoff Bird, attempted to find out to what extent selective attention to social and non-social stimuli modulates brain activity in autism. Normally, modulation occurs such that brain areas known to be active during face processing and object processing show enhanced activity when attention is directed to a location where these stimuli are going to appear. This modulation was almost absent in autistic adults when faces were compared with houses (Bird et al., 2006).An additional study on text comprehension (Saldana and Frith, 2006) yielded results that are consistent with this conclusion. We found that, surprisingly, autistic readers with comprehension problems were primed by implicit inferences while reading just like normal readers. Thus their comprehension problems cannot be attributed to an inability to make implicit inferences or an inability to draw on relevant world knowledge. Instead their poor comprehension must be due to problems at the discourse level of text processing. This has educational implications as it questions the widely-held belief that poor comprehension is caused by lack of low-level inferences. Instead, it appears that the poor comprehenders fail to make use of their perfectly adequate inferences. This work and work on hyperlexia is being continued by David Saldana at the University of Seville.
In one of our neuroimaging studies with normal adults (Kampe et al, 2003) we attempted to delineate brain regions that support the initiation of communication by making eye contact or by calling someone by name (see right). Increased activity in MPFC and temporal poles was found in a conjunction analysis for both modalities. A lack of orientation to direct gaze and to hearing one's own name called is one of the earliest signs of autism (Osterling et al 2002). Hence understanding the circuitry involved in this process should aid our understanding of possible neurological dysfunction in autism.
This study also resulted in a serendipitous finding: The effect of eye gaze is modified by facial attractiveness. Thus, brain regions associated with reward expectation are activated only in the condition where an attractive person is gazing at you (Kampe et al 2001).In a collaboration with Larry Hirschfeld we found an important islet of social ability in children with autism (Hirschfeld et al. 2007). While understanding others in terms of their mental states was impaired in these children, understanding others in terms of their group membership was not. We used the PRAM, which presents pictures and vignettes of males and females, brown and white, to assess social stereotypes in children. Surprisingly, given their lack of interest in social information and limited opportunities for social learning, autistic children showed good knowledge of gender and racial stereotypes.We have used a variety of types of stimuli to examine brain activation associated with mentalising in healthy volunteers, including short stories (Fletcher et al 1995; Vogeley et al 2001), cartoons (Gallagher et al 2000), animated shapes (Castelli et al 2000). A meta-analysis of mentalising studies revealed remarkable convergence (Frith & Frith, 2003) in three key regions of theory of mind-associated activity: a) medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), b) temporal poles and c) superior temporal sulcus (STS).
In a structural MRI study of high-functioning individuals with autistic disorder, whole brain voxel morphometry (VBM) revealed abnormalities in grey matter volume in a number of cortical and subcortical regions, including MPFC, temporal poles, and cerebellar regions (Abell et al 1999). The coincidence of two of these regions with two components of the mentalising system is striking. These are preliminary results, as this technique is still undergoing development. However, unlike other types of structural analysis, VBM is entirely objective and not confounded by brain size. We plan to apply the technique in future imaging studies.Surprisingly, despite the vast amount of research published on theory of mind (numbering more than 1,500 papers to date), most of it concerns young children, and it remains unclear whether stable individual differences in social insight can be measured in ordinary adults. We have been working on developing new tasks to probe mentalising abilities in adults. Some examples are:
The theory of weak central coherence attempts to account for the amazing talents that can occur in people with autism. An example of an artist illustrating a detail-focussed processing style is Gilles Trehin, who creates imaginary vistas of the ever expanding city of Urville.
A comparison of current theories of dyslexia
Our studies allowed us to conclude that sensorimotor dysfunctions have only a limited prevalence in dyslexia (about one third for each of auditory, visual and motor deficits) and are not universal (White et al., 2006, Ramus et al., 2003). Thus, low level sensorimotor deficits cannot explain the phonological and literacy deficits in dyslexia.
In one study where reading was compared between children with autism and children with dyslexia, a double dissociation was found between phonological and sensorimotor abilities (White et al., 2006).
Studies on reading, phonology and dyslexia are continued by Franck Ramus.
In collaboration with educational psychologists, we developed a standardised test of phonology (Frederickson, Frith & Reason, 1997) which is now widely used. Our experimental studies showed that the tests in this battery are powerful indicators of dyslexia, with phonological ability being a strong predictor of literacy skill. We have also developed phonological tests for adult dyslexics.
In collaboration with Maggie Snowling at York University we carried out a study that has yielded new information about the course of dyslexia over the crucial period from preschool to school age (Snowling, Frith & Gallagher, 2000; Snowling, Gallagher & Frith, 2003). 60% of the 56 children at familial risk had significant literacy impairments at age 8.
This project, which Uta Frith coordinated with collaborators Eraldo Paulesu (Milan) and Jean-Francois Démonet (Toulouse), was partially funded by the European Biomed programme.
In the first study, normal skilled Italian and English readers (using respectively a shallow and deep orthography) were compared during word reading or simple exposure to print (Paulesu et al 1999). PET scan results revealed an
extensive reading system in the left hemisphere that was common to both groups. However, the different components of this system were weighted differently. Italian readers showed comparatively stronger activation of the planum temporale, which has been linked to grapheme- phoneme decoding. Conversely, readers of English relied more strongly on the inferior-posterior temporal gyrus (BA 37), a region linked to the orthographic lexicon.
The main aim of the project was to investigate the neurophysiological basis of dyslexia in speakers of different languages. We designed matched phonological and reading tasks in different languages and established that on these measures a striking deficit is found when dyslexics in all three languages were compared with normal controls. The results revealed a common pattern of reduced activation, which may represent a neural signature for dyslexia (Paulesu et al 2001). This work is being continued by Eraldo Paulesu. | <urn:uuid:291f099a-b99d-49dd-8354-05b54c51a73f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://sites.google.com/site/utafrith/research | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00230-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940767 | 2,325 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Bitcoin places of work in Istanbul, Turkey, on Could 11, 2022.Umit Turhan Coskun/NurPhoto by way of Getty ImagesNew York State Assemblymember Anna Kelles is bored with all of the fear-mongering concerning the invoice she wrote — and sponsored — to position a two-year moratorium on sure varieties of new cryptocurrency mines within the state. The destiny of the measure, which handed the state senate within the wee hours of Friday morning, rests within the palms of Governor Kathy Hochul, who may signal it into legislation or veto it.”It is essential to grasp that it is not a ban,” Kelles mentioned in a name with CNBC on Friday.”It is like a three-page invoice. So it might be fantastic to only have folks learn it, nevertheless it typically finally ends up being an interpretation primarily based on feelings.”The laws goals to curb the state’s carbon footprint by cracking down on crypto mines that meet very particular standards.For one, they should use the energy-intensive proof-of-work authentication technique to validate blockchain transactions. Second, they have to draw electrical energy from energy vegetation that burn fossil fuels. Inside that subcategory of mines, the measure solely applies to these seeking to broaden or renew permits, whereas new entrants wouldn’t be allowed to come back on-line.Proof-of-work mining, which requires refined gear and a complete lot of electrical energy, is just about synonymous with bitcoin. Ethereum is switching to a much less energy-intensive course of, however will nonetheless use this technique for not less than for one more few months.”If there’s a cryptocurrency mining operation, like there may be one in Syracuse, the place there are literally thousands of cryptocurrency mining pc processors, and they’re instantly tied into the grid: It’s not a moratorium on that facility,” defined Kelles, who disclosed to CNBC that she doesn’t personal any cryptocurrencies however actively researches the sector.As well as, it will not have an effect on present operations in energy vegetation as a result of it is not retroactive, nor will it affect “boutique or small-scale cryptocurrency miners which can be doing, you understand, 4, 5, ten, twenty computer systems of their basement,” she mentioned.Kelles says that her invoice is actually only a massive pause button, designed to halt the actions of a nook of the state’s crypto mining trade operating on coal- and pure gas-based energy vegetation. These vitality sources intervene with the state’s aggressive local weather legal guidelines requiring it to change into net-neutral in its greenhouse fuel emissions by 2050.”It’s extremely slim, and it will not, in any means, have an effect on anybody’s means to purchase, use, promote or spend money on any cryptocurrency, together with any cryptocurrency that’s primarily based off of proof-of-work validation strategies like bitcoin,” continued Kelles.Crypto bloc blowbackThe crypto mining trade has banded collectively to problem the laws.Miners inform CNBC that although this invoice is comparatively slim, they’re involved about the potential of regulatory creep.”A moratorium and ban on how a miner sources vitality — behind the meter versus grid — just isn’t hospitable to miners,” mentioned Marathon Digital’s Fred Thiel.”New York has a grid congestion problem which isn’t in any respect impacted by behind-the-meter vitality consumption,” continued Thiel. “Ultimately, that is sending a message to miners to avoid New York, as a result of these are solely the primary steps in what could change into a wholesale ban of mining within the state.”Miners make massive capital investments that may require as much as 5 years to supply a payback, plus return on funding. Thiel says that no firm is prepared to threat investing in a state the place after two years, and even sooner, they could be compelled to close down and relocate. Kelles tells CNBC that crypto miners difficult the invoice sound a complete lot just like the oil and fuel trade. She says each use traces, corresponding to, “For those who do that, sooner or later, it is going to put a damper on free commerce and free commerce – and any regulation is dangerous.”She additionally is not fearful about crypto miners leaving New York as a result of finally, like several firm, their curiosity is income. Miners at scale compete in a low-margin trade the place their solely variable price is usually vitality, so they’re incentivized emigrate to the world’s most cost-effective sources of energy – which additionally are usually renewable. New York is a bastion of low cost and renewable vitality, which is a large draw for the trade.A 3rd of New York’s in-state era comes from renewables, in line with the newest accessible information from the U.S. Vitality Data Administration, and the state produces extra hydroelectric energy than some other state east of the Rocky Mountains.”The oldest and largest cryptocurrency mining operation within the nation is in New York State, and it’s totally on hydroelectric. Hydroelectric cannot be picked up and moved,” mentioned Kelles, who additionally famous that hydropower is the most cost effective type of renewable vitality.As well as, the state has a cold local weather, which suggests much less vitality is required to chill down the banks of computer systems utilized in crypto mining. New York has a variety of deserted industrial infrastructure that is ripe for repurposing, as nicely. “To say that miners can choose up and go away and go to any state and have entry to that type of vitality…I believe that it’s fear-mongering to say that,” mentioned Kelles.It is like a 3 web page invoice. So it might be fantastic to only have folks learn it, nevertheless it typically finally ends up being an interpretation, you understand, primarily based on feelings.Anna KellesAssemblymemberHowever, some information suggests miners started leaving New York for friendlier political jurisdictions like Wyoming and Texas final yr, forward of the anticipated crackdown. Knowledge from digital foreign money firm Foundry exhibits that New York’s share of the bitcoin mining community dropped from 20% to 10% between Oct. 2021 and the tip of January.”Our prospects are being scared off from investing in New York state,” mentioned Kevin Zhang of crypto mining pool Foundry.”Even from Foundry’s deployments of $500 million in capital in the direction of mining tools, lower than 5% has gone to New York due to the unfriendly political panorama,” continued Zhang.Deciding who to regulateThe actual sticking level of the laws comes right down to the query of who to control: The proof-of-work crypto miners or the vitality mills.”It’s a two-year moratorium on the usage of energy vegetation,” Kelles mentioned. “A few of my colleagues say, ‘, that is actually an influence plant invoice.'”That logic irks some crypto miners.”If this was solely about refiring coal-fired vegetation then it might be a lot simpler – and extra truthful – to only ban refiring coal-fired vegetation,” mentioned Thiel. “Drawback solved.”A few of the greatest names in bitcoin — together with Jack Dorsey, Tom Lee, Nic Carter, and Michael Saylor — lately co-signed a letter to the Environmental Safety Company wherein they took problem with congressional Democrats conflating information facilities with energy era services. The problem was completely separate from New York’s moratorium invoice, however the identical reasoning applies.The rebuttal letter mentioned information facilities that include “miners″ aren’t any totally different than information facilities owned and operated by Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. In line with the letter, every is only a constructing wherein electrical energy powers IT tools to run computing workloads.”Regulating what information facilities enable their computer systems to do could be a large shift in coverage in america,” the letter learn.Kelles says the New York invoice is not singling out crypto miners over different massive vitality customers — it is simply that “there aren’t any different vitality customers which can be shopping for energy vegetation.””This isn’t concerning the trade, that is about the usage of energy vegetation,” she mentioned.However Fort Island Enterprise’s Nic Carter makes the case that New York is now “regulating the contents of the information heart” and has successfully “banned a sort of computation.””They’re instantly controlling what constitutes a legitimate use of energy,” Carter wrote in a tweet.Unemotional coverage decisionsKelles says the important thing right here is to verify the state is not making emotionally or politically primarily based choices. She says that is why the second half of the invoice, which requires the state authorities to guage the affect of the trade, is an important a part of it.”Our scientific consultants and environmental consultants shall be gathering information concerning the trade’s affect on our means to succeed in our CLCPA targets,” she mentioned, referring to the Local weather Management and Group Safety Act. The CLCPA is “among the many most bold local weather legal guidelines on the earth” and requires New York to cut back economy-wide greenhouse fuel emissions 40% by 2030 and a minimum of 85% by 2050 (from 1990 ranges). Kelles says the two-year moratorium on the buying of fossil fuel-based energy vegetation in New York will give scientists and consultants from the Division of Environmental Conservation the time they should full a complete and clear environmental affect assertion.”The cost for them, as outlined within the invoice, is to guage the affect of the cryptocurrency mining trade on our means to succeed in our CLCPA targets,” continued Kelles.It’s unclear whether or not the investigation may also study the methods wherein proof-of-work miners may assist with grid resilience and incentivizing the buildout of renewable infrastructure.Texas, for instance, has served as a case research in how bitcoin mines can assist stabilize energy grids by guaranteeing that demand is all the time even with provide.Bitcoin miners have additionally improved the economics of renewables. When these vitality consumers co-locate with renewables, it creates a monetary incentive for buildout and improves the core economics of renewable energy manufacturing, which has been fraught with volatility. | <urn:uuid:509ab342-57d8-44b6-ab1d-2fe6b3e82647> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://epunjabi.in/new-york-crypto-mining-invoice-senator-anna-kelles-interview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.946314 | 2,204 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Consumer Scammers Use New Health Insurance Measure to Target Seniors
COLUMBIA - The University of Missouri Extension said scammers are using the President's health care act to target seniors.
"The affordable health care act is a little complicated, actually its probably a lot complicated, and anytime you have a complicated subject come up, there's a lot of room for people to come in and make up information to scam people," said assistant professor Andrew Zumwalt.
The new measure allows Americans without health insurance to sign up in online exchanges until March. Coverage begins January 1st for those who sign up by December 15th.
Scammers are using phone calls and e-mails to go after seniors on Medicare.
"I've seen a lot of scams where people will call up and say oh I need your personal information to confirm, or I need a credit card to insure that you get this benefit, whether it be a prescription benefit card or something else," said Zumwalt.
He added, "a lot of people think its very confusing, and they'll just give their credit card number."
Zumwalt said the calls tell seniors they need to sign up for something new before their health care coverage expires or in order to keep it current.
"Medicare is something that's very important to seniors, they don't want to lose their Medicare, or they don't want to lose out on any of the benefits, so it's a way for people to prey on their emotions and get that information," said Zumwalt.
The University of Missouri Extension said it's also important to watch out for scams that come online. Some sites may pose as though they're helping you sign up for health care, when they're really attempting to steal personal information.
"Some emails have come out and they've said oh you click here to confirm and then it takes you to a website that tries to collect your personal information," said Zumwalt.
According to Zumwalt, the safest place for people to sign up for health insurance is at HealthCare.gov.
The nursing director at Phoenix Home Care said the best way to prevent being scammed is to confirm all information.
"Always verify that the person who is there to do service is from the company that they say they are," said Trish Rockers of Phoenix Home Care. Rockers added, "Never give your personal information over the phone or to a person unless, you've called a company's number yourself to talk to them."
Tips about buying health care insurance are available at HealthCare.gov.
Select a station to view its upcoming schedule: | <urn:uuid:e3df3c51-04f7-417d-8386-adcc59966e56> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.komu.com/news/consumer-scammers-use-new-health-insurance-measure-to-target-seniors/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00489-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975183 | 541 | 2.0625 | 2 |
A burning and discomforting feeling in the eyes is described as burning eyes, an infection is more often the reason burning eyes occurs with discharge or itching. Teaching, itching and discharge are usually the symptoms of burning eyes. These symptoms can put one’s eyes at the risk of damaging the eyes and even render one blind if not attended to, so its best to seek a doctor once you notice the symptoms.
Causes of burning eye
Eye infections: Symptoms like discharge, itching, burning eyes is usually caused by a viral or bacterial eye infection. Conjunctiva or pink eye is among the most common eye infections, which targets the conjunctiva, a thin membrane found along the part of the eye as well as the eyelid. Watery eyes and intense itching are among the symptoms of this infection which are usually accompanied with discharge that leaves a brittle covering on the eyelashes and in the eye corners. Blepharitis is also a common disorder of the eye that is generally not contagious and affects both sexes and people of all ages,this eye problem can be associated with skin disorders like seborrhea, rosacea or bacterial infection. It causes inflammation of the eyelash follicles present on the eyelid’s edge, resulting in the formation of a scales on the eyelashes that look like dandruff. Crusty discharge, itching, burning, lid redness of the eyelids or the eye and excessive tearing are among the most common signs of Blepharitis.
Dry eyes: Is a condition in which the tears produced in the eye fail to offer enough moisture to the eyes, there are a number of reasons for the inadequateness of the tears. For instance, one may get dry eyes if the tears produced are of a poor quality or if one’s eyes are not producing the required amount of tears. Dry eyes can be extremely irritating, having stinging and burning sensations in the eyes are common in people with dry eyes. The symptoms of dry eye are commonly experienced when one is in an air-conditioned room, have remained in front of a computer screen for 2-3 hours, travelling via airplane or riding a bike.
Foreign bodies in the eye: Discharge, burning eyes, and itching can also be caused if a foreign body has been launched into the eyes. The foreign bodies which might cause these symptoms are: Spices, plant material, insects, pollen,dirty etc.
Allergies: Burning eyes can be caused due to inflammation that results from allergies, both localized and airborne allergens can irritate and inflame your eyes. Moisturizers and makeup are examples of localized allergens while animal dander and pollens are examples of airborne allergens.
Eye Injury: An injury to any part of the eye that occurs while working with chemicals in the laboratory or playing any activity sports can also cause watery burning eyes. This is the reason why wearing protective eyewear is considered very important while performing such activities. A sharp fingernail can also result in an eye injury if you poke your eye with it while wearing your contact lenses.
Exposure to pollutants present in the atmosphere like dust, smog or tobacco smoke is also among the causes of burning eyes. Shampoo, bleach, soap and other household cleaning solvents contain chemicals that can also cause eye burning.
Eye burning can sometimes be caused by the chlorine present in swimming pools.
Dry air that is either extremely hot or cold can also cause the eyes to burn.
Eye burning can occur due to the prolonged use of contact lenses, too.
Treatments of burning eyes
The itching in the eyes can be soothed by applying a cool compress, you may also find the crusts that form on the eyelashes can be softened by applying a warm compress. The crusts can also be removed by washing the eyelids with a cotton applicator coated with baby shampoo.
Simply removing yourself from the environment or situation that is causing the burning sensation can be a great relief, and avoiding these types of situations can be helpful for instance smoke.
Dry eyes and other causes of eye irritation and eye burning can be treated through the use of artificial tears for around 4 to 6 times a day.
Itching and eye inflammation can be relieved by using steroid eye drops as well. The ulcers that have formed on the eye because of the damage caused by the infection can be treated very effectively by these eye drops, these eye ulcers are dangerous as they can cause serious harm to your eyesight.
Prescription of antibiotics in the shape of eye drops is often a treatment option for eye infections caused by bacteria. The doctor might prescribe oral antibiotics too if the drops are not enough for fighting the eye infection.
Avoid contact with allergens like cosmetic, pets and grasses can help you in treating eye burning. Antihistamine eye drops are usually prescribed by doctors to deal with allergies.
Most importantly visit an eye doctor for examination of the eye and treatment. | <urn:uuid:352b632c-be31-4a92-8538-7f8b9888e54b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://howng.com/causes-treatments-burning-eyes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00516-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944199 | 1,017 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Today in hockey history, we have a player that extended his career through 5 decades in the NHL, a crazy trade, and a few records.
January 2, 1980 – While playing for the Hartford Whalers, Gordie Howe became the first player in league history to appear in an NHL game in FIVE different decades. Yes, FIVE different decades, meaning he played in the 1940s AND in the 1980s (and in between). He played in 1,767 NHL games in addition to 419 World Hockey Association (WHL) games through his career. He also played one game for the Detroit Vipers (International Hockey League) at the young age of 69, also making him the only player ever to have played hockey at the professional level in six decades.
January 2, 1988 – Washington Capital’s goaltender Clint Malarchuk recorded the team’s first shutout in 22 months, beating the Edmonton Oilers 2-0. That’s right, 22 months, which, in non-lockout times, is essentially a season and a half. The streak lasted 138 games and spanned across three seasons. To be fair, though, they were shutout just twice themselves in that span.
January 2, 1992- One of the craziest trades in league history occurred: Toronto sent Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, Craig Berube, Jeff Reese, and Alexander Godynyuk to Calgary in exchange for Doug Gilmour, Ric Nattress, Jamie Macoun, Rick Wamsley, and Kent Manderville. For those keeping score at home, that’s a 10-player trade. | <urn:uuid:a668f1e2-2f11-48e4-aa93-dd0a8d93d641> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.hookedonhockeymagazine.com/this-day-in-hockey-history-january-2nd/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00133-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967263 | 333 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Hong Kong (CNN Business)WeChat has deleted more than a dozen LGBT accounts run by university students, sparking fears that safe spaces for China’s sexual and gender minorities are going to shrink even further.
On social media Tuesday, LGBT rights supporters protested the abrupt closure of these accounts by the Tencent-owned company. The deleted accounts were run by students across universities in China, including prestigious institutions such as Peking University and Tsinghua University in Beijing, and Fudan University in Shanghai.
While CNN Business was unable to access these deleted accounts, several followers posted screenshots of the notice that greeted them when they landed on the accounts’ empty pages.
“After receiving relevant complaints, all content has been blocked and the account has been put out of service,” the notice read, citing violation of a government regulation on the management of online public accounts.
WeChat did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN Business.
China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and removed it from its official list of mental disorders in 2001. But same-sex marriage is still illegal in the country, and people who identify as LGBT continue to face discrimination in both personal and professional spheres. Activists fear that the Communist Party may further clamp down on safe spaces for sexual minorities in the country.
Some of the deleted LGBT groups were registered as student clubs at their universities, while others operated unofficially. Most of them had existed for years, offering students a sense of community and much-needed support, with posts ranging from LGBT-themed book and movie recommendations to resources for psychological assistance.
Cathy, a manager of one of the deleted LGBT groups of a university in Beijing, said the account had thousands of followers. Cathy — who requested to use a pseudonym fearing retribution from authorities — has seen discussions on sexuality become more guarded at her university over the last few years.
In the past, her group could openly advocate for LGBT rights on campus and hold small seminars for sexual minorities to share their stories. Now, their offline activities are limited to private gatherings, such as sharing a meal or watching a movie together, she said.
“In recent years, our goal is to simply survive, to continue to be able to serve LGBT students and provide them with warmth. We basically don’t engage in any radical advocating anymore,” added Cathy.
Last August, Shanghai Pride, China’s longest-running and only major annual celebration of sexual minorities, abruptly announced its shutdown after facing mounting pressure from local authorities.
Last month, soccer star Li Ying officially came out as a lesbian in a post on Weibo, becoming the first high-profile Chinese athlete to do so. Li, who plays for the national football team, later deleted the post, which drew wide support but also a wave of homophobic attacks.
The blocking of WeChat accounts triggered an outrage on Chinese social media.
“The era is regressing. China wasn’t like this 10 years ago. Gradually we’re losing all our freedoms,” said a comment on Weibo.
But the move has been welcomed by online nationalists, some of whom claimed, without evidence, that these LGBT groups have been infiltrated by “foreign forces.”
“I support the blocking of the accounts…why should we keep these public accounts run by anti-China forces in our higher education institutions? Are we waiting for them to brain wash university students who have yet to form their values?” said one comment on Weibo.
Cathy, from the LGBT group in Beijing, called the claim “completely ridiculous.”
“Sexual minority groups have long existed in China, not because of any incitement from so-called foreign forces,” she said. “They do not understand [the LGBT community] at all, and have no intention to understand [us].”
Source: Read Full Article | <urn:uuid:ab641e64-40c2-436a-a2b5-19acd47485c5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://histarmar.net/business/china-widens-crackdown-on-lgbtq-groups-and-content-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00271.warc.gz | en | 0.967554 | 803 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The Boston Police Strike in 1919 was justified.
In my opinion the Boston Police Force's decision to go on strike was justified. The policemen were not being unreasonable with their demands. Before the strike Boston police had inadequate salaries, long hours and decrepit working conditions. To say that the police were obligated to do their job is not a valid reason to blame them. If the city of Boston were really that concerned with the welfare of Boston they would have agreed with the Police's demands. The event is one of the first good examples of workers being denied their rights unjustly by a government that doesn't want them to…
E-pasta adrese, uz kuru nosūtīt darba saiti:
Saite uz darbu: | <urn:uuid:957a2cce-46a7-41ee-8c50-d30d7a7da9b1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.atlants.lv/eseja/the-boston-police-strike-in-1919-was-justified/264295/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00230-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982458 | 157 | 2.296875 | 2 |
By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor
US astronomers say they have found two more Neptune-sized planets orbiting stars beyond our Solar System.
It is the fourth planet found around 55 Cancri
They say their discovery of the smallest worlds yet seen circling other stars is a breakthrough in the search for other Earths and for life in space.
They are only about 15 times more massive than the Earth. Previously known worlds were Jupiter-class, some 318 times more massive than the Earth.
One of the new planets is in the first four-planet system ever discovered.
Down to Earth
"We are poised to find true Earth-sized worlds," says planet-hunter Dr Geoff Marcy, of the University of California, Berkeley.
Using telescopes in Hawaii, California and Texas, the astronomers have found the first Neptune-size planets outside our Solar System.
One of them could be only 14 times the mass of the Earth, which may be small enough to have a solid surface and possibly temperatures conducive to life.
"As a result of these observations, we believe that there are 20 billion planetary systems in our Milky Way galaxy " Dr Marcy added.
"It sounds a bit strange, but we're not thinking in terms of Jupiter masses or Saturn masses anymore, but Earth masses."
The new planets are only about 20 times the mass of Earth
They could be rocky, like Earth, or gaseous, like Jupiter
He continued: "All so-called exoplanets found so far are almost certainly gas giants, but these new ones are a puzzle - they could be gaseous like Jupiter, but they also could have a rock-ice core and a thick envelope of hydrogen and helium gas, like Neptune, or they could be a combination of rock and ice, like Mercury."
Dr Marcy and planet-hunting colleague Dr Paul Butler, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, along with Dr Barbara McArthur, of the University of Texas, leader of the second team, announced their discoveries at a US space agency (Nasa) press conference.
Two papers detailing the find were submitted to the Astrophysical Journal in July and accepted for publication later this year.
The detection of a third Neptune-sized extrasolar planet, not yet peer-reviewed in a journal, was announced by European astronomers last week.
All the planets were discovered using the familiar "wobble technique": a planet's gravitational tug on its parent star will produce changes in the star's velocity. This can be picked up as a Doppler shift in the light emitted by the star.
The nature of that signal can reveal details such as the mass and orbital period of the planet.
The US researchers point out that their new planets, although approaching the Earth in size, are far from Earth-like.
Both whip around their stars in a few days and are so close as to be roasting on the side facing the star.
Astronomers are edging down in size for the exoplanets
The smaller of the two planets, with a minimum mass of 14 Earth masses, was discovered by Dr McArthur and her team around the star 55 Cancri.
It is the fourth planet found around 55 Cancri, a yellow G-class star not unlike the Sun and only 41 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cancer. "There could be other planets in this system as well," Dr McArthur said.
The larger planet, with a minimum size 21 times the mass of the Earth, orbits a red M star, Gliese 436, which is about 50 times dimmer than our Sun and located 33 light-years away in the constellation Leo.
It orbits very close to its star. If the planet has little atmosphere to spread the heat around, it is likely to have temperatures of 377C on the side facing the star, where it would be perpetual noon, and a frigid few tens of degrees above absolute zero where it is perpetual midnight.
However, temperatures on the twilit border could be more comfortable, at least from an Earthling's perspective, Dr Marcy said.
"The front is hot and the backside is probably cold, but the region in between could have moderate temperatures between 0 and 100 degrees Celsius," he added.
The near-simultaneous discovery of these smallest-yet planets indicates they could be common, Dr Marcy believes.
"If you look at the 135 or so extrasolar planets found so far, it's clear that nature makes more of the smaller planets than the larger ones," he explained.
"We've found more Saturn-size planets than Jupiter-size planets, and now it appears there are more Neptune-size planets than Saturn-size. That means there's an even better chance of finding Earths, and maybe more of them than all the other planets we've found so far.
"This is a real breakthrough," Dr Marcy added. "We should be able to easily detect planets only 10 times the Earth's mass. I expect we'll find dozens of planets between 10 and 20 Earth masses in the next few years." | <urn:uuid:5693581d-7d31-4df6-af56-0415f103aa42> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3615940.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00076-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949218 | 1,049 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Broken or worn stair treads are a giant safety hazard. Stair treads covered with rubber or vinyl can become cracked or warped due to the environment and temperature. Wooden stair treads can wear down, crack and become slippery. Stair treads can loosen over time and become uneven. Replacing a single stair tread is a difficult task that can sometimes mean disassembling a good part of the stairs. A good alternative repair measure is to install new replacement treads to the entire staircase directly over the existing ones.
Things You'll Need
- Replacement stair treads
- Eye protection
- Nose, mouth protection (optional)
- Construction nails
- #110 Epoxy nose caulk (optional)
- Hand-held circular saw
- Rough sandpaper (optional)
- Tape measure
- Straightedge level
- Angle finder
- Construction glue
- Finish nails
- Fast-drying wood putty
- Wood stain (match finish on stairs)
Pull up and remove any existing stair tread covering, such as carpet or vinyl, to expose the underlying tread base. Clean off debris and inspect for damage. Nail down any loose or squeaky areas, and fill cracks or splits with epoxy nose caulk. Allow the caulk to dry completely before proceeding.
Using a circular saw, cut away the part of the tread base (bull nose) that extends past the riser. When finished, it should be flush with the riser. Use a chisel to chip off the tread base area closest to the baseboard. Use sandpaper to smooth out rough areas, if necessary.
Measure each tread base individually and, if necessary, cut the new tread to size using the circular saw. Pre-made stair treads come in a standard width of 11½ inches that fits most staircases, but you may need to make a few minor adjustments to fit your stairs.
Use the angle finder to determine whether you need to make any specialty cuts. An angle finder sits on top of a straightedge level and displays the degree of any existing angles.
Before finishing, set the tread in and check for fit.
Apply a good coating of construction glue to the underside of the new stair tread and set in place. Secure with finishing nails.
Seal nail holes with wood putty. Once it is dry, stain the putty to match so it matches the finish of the stairs.
Tips & Warnings
- Replacement stair treads come in a wide variety of styles and finishes. While all are a standard 11½ inches wide, lengths vary greatly to suit your needs.
- Epoxy caulk is toxic. Consider wearing nose and mouth protection. Keep the area you are working as well ventilated as possible.
- Be careful when working around power tools. Keep children and pets away from the area you are working in.
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Small cracks can develop in wooden stairs over time. While these cracks will not cause an unsafe stairway, it is important to...
How to Fix Noisy Stairs
Noisy stairs aren't a cause for alarm. Often, the squeak is the result of a loose stair tread. Stair treads can be... | <urn:uuid:de483a28-7dba-4343-a9b9-58367cd81937> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ehow.com/how_5674206_fix-stair-tread.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00184-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899266 | 928 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Drawing inspiration from “A Long Walk to Water,” a book they read in English class about a Sudanese refugee whose mission is to provide clean water to sub-Saharan African communities, students at Riverhead Middle School recently launched a “Water Challenge” — a venture that has raised more than a thousand dollars.
As part of the challenge, English teacher Mindy Benze’s students pledged to drink only water for two weeks to raise awareness about the clean water crisis affecting countries around the world, a Riverhead Middle School spokeswoman said. The challenge was also extended to teachers and staff.
Students then donated the money they and school employees would have spent purchasing soft drinks and juices over the course of those two weeks to The Water Project, a non-profit organization that provides sustainable water to communities in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to clean water and proper sanitation.
The money raised by Riverhead Middle School students will be used by The Water Project to help cover the $15,000 cost of building a deep-water well in an African country, according to a press release.
Author Linda Sue Park’s 2011 book “A Long Walk to Water” is based on the true story of Salva, a Sudanese boy who spent years on the run after his school was attacked by rebel soldiers in 1985 and was brought to the United States in the mid-1990s.
Salva eventually returned to Africa to establish a foundation that installs deep-water wells in remote villages in desperate need of clean water, according to the release.
To contribute to “The Water Challenge,” contact Mindy Benze at [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:f6d9e162-405a-4d20-abdf-e6ba183affdf> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com/2014/02/51370/riverhead-students-launch-water-challenge/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718285.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00106-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963317 | 341 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Meaning: From Gil+taur (Star-mighty?), or Gil+dor (Star-dwelling?)
Other Names: Inglorion = scion of Inglor (Q. Ingalaure), 'golden prince/chief'
Location(s): Valinor, Eriador
Dates: I-III or IV
"I am Gildor," answered their leader, the Elf who had first hailed him. "Gilder Inglorion of the House of Finrod. We are Exiles,..."
Book 1, Ch 3, Three is Company, FoTR, LOTR
*As Inglorion means 'scion of Inglor', at one stage of composition he may have been intended to become the son of Inglor Felagund son of Finrod, later Finrod son of Finarfin. This idea was probably abandoned.
Lyllyn 1.3.02, Finch, 01.08.03 | <urn:uuid:b6505195-50dc-4716-a013-4a72c5ebcf10> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://henneth-annun.net/bios_view.cfm?SCID=120 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00079.warc.gz | en | 0.894361 | 236 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Abstract—This paper introduces the design of an enhanced gain compact circular antenna for personal communication systems (PCS). The antenna is designed to operate at 1.8GHz which shows an impedance bandwidth of 100MHz. The return loss and radiation characteristics of the proposed microstrip antenna are compared with that of the reference antenna, which is the conventional circular antenna. A gain enhancement of 3.8dB is achieved by vertically stacking a circular ring shaped parasitic element. The spacing between the driven patch and parasitic element (h) is optimized to maximize electromagnetic coupling between the two, which results in enhancement of the antenna gain. Parametric study of the proposed antenna is also carried out. The results are validated using two different structure simulation methods based EM simulators viz Finite Integration Technique (FIT) based CST and Method of Moment (MOM) based IE3D. A good agreement is obtained in the results from both techniques which verifies the antenna design and strongly recommend the proposed structure for commercial applications.
Index Terms—FIT, Gain, MOM, Parasitic radiator, PCS.
Pramendra Tilanthe is with the Electronics and Communication Engineering Department, TRUBA College of Engineering and Technology, Indore, Senior member IEEE， India. (phone: +91-731-3240041-42; fax:+91-731-2306687; e-mail: pramendra20@ yahoo.com).
Dr. P. C. Sharma, is with SD Bansal College of Technology, Indore, Senior member IEEE, India. (e-mail: email@example.com).
Dr. T. K. Bandopadhyay is with the Bansal Institute of Science and Technology, Senior member IEEE, Bhopal (e-mail:firstname.lastname@example.org).
Cite: Pramendra Tilanthe, P. C. Sharma, and T. K. Bandopadhyay, "Gain Enhancement of Circular Microstrip Antenna for Personal Communication Systems," International Journal of Engineering and Technology vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 175-178, 2011. | <urn:uuid:b96cb517-ece6-4d7b-96ba-529c1f49cd5b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ijetch.org/show-36-172-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00407-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.885025 | 449 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Running Forum. enable mod rewrite in xampp.
and solve all you errors.
apache uses htaccess’ to protect directories.
I find the default installation of xampp a bit of lacking it.
Thought it’s only because I do have with me the lite version of it (xampplite).
But I have with me a full installed xampp better yet check it.
So I did a little poking into configuration file of apache that came bundled with it.
This is what I found out. By default mod_rewrite module is not enabled by default so I took the following steps.
To enable mod_rewrite in xampp first go to the directory of installation <xampp-directory>\apache\conf and edit httpd.conf. Find the line which contains
#LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
uncomment this(should be):
LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
Also find AllowOverride None | <urn:uuid:f3b6ee7f-4cf0-4db4-b2c1-3ed3464d694d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://community.apachefriends.org/f/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31404 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00114-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.811596 | 219 | 1.554688 | 2 |
PLEASE DO NOT PROVIDE AN EXACT POST OF ANYTHING THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN POSTED
What are the primary differences between face-to-face and virtual teams?
Can the Aberdeen model be implemented in organizations that rely heavily on virtual teams?
Why or why not?
Thank you very much!
Please see response attached (Posting 69406.doc) (also below) including two relevant articles as well. I hope this helps and take care.
1. What are the primary differences between face-to-face and virtual teams?
The most obvious difference is that face-to-face teams are exactly that, they meet face to face, whereas virtual teams work at a distance. However, time differences also exist (8 hours versus 24 hours) and different geographic boundaries (same location versus different geographic location).
Definition: Virtual Teams is a group of individuals who work across time, space and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by links of web technologies. They have complimentary skills and committed to a common goal (similar to face-to-face) and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Geographically dispersed teams allow organizations to hire and retain the best people regardless of location.
In contrast, the face-to-face teams usually are from the same (or near) location.
A virtual team does not always mean a teleworker (individuals who work from home). In fact, many virtual teams in organizations today consist of ...
In reference to the Aberdeen model, this solution explains the primary differences between face-to-face and virtual teams and if the Aberdeen model could be implemented in organizations that rely heavily on virtual teams (why or why not). Supplemented with two articles on virtual teams and participatory management. | <urn:uuid:6a8e1ea3-8ce7-4a46-b0f5-b56ecd95b1b6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://brainmass.com/business/managing-teams/aberdeen-model-and-virtual-teams-69406 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00284-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948339 | 361 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Komline-Sanderson’s Rotary Atomizers are used in:
- Coal fired power plants – flue gas desulfurization systems
- Municipal waste combusters – (municipal waste to energy incinerators), semi dry scrubbers
- Mineral smelting – off-gas treatment plants
- Coke Ovens – off-gas treatment facilities
- Spray drying – plants in chemical and minerals industries
Komline-Sanderson’s variable-speed Rotary Atomizers represent a dependable approach to atomization and spray drying. The compact, rugged, direct-drive, high-speed motor, utilizing only a few parts in one rotating assembly (no gear, pulley, gearbox or coupling), reduces the need for traditional mechanical maintenance. High quality, oil-mist lubricated precision bearings (ABEC-7), of ceramic-ball design, provide maximum reliability for flue gas desulfurization or spray drying applications.
Our Rotary Atomizer units can handle any pumpable feed material, solution or slurry, covering a wide range of feed characteristics in terms of solids content, density, and viscosity. Process material can be fed to the atomizer by a low-pressure positive displacement pump, or even by gravity flow from a head tank. The atomizer converts the feed into a spray or atomized cloud of fine droplets, typically 30-50 microns in size, suitable for spray drying.
All systems are provided with an atomizer control panel/lubrication stand, housed in a NEMA-4 (IP66 equiv.) enclosure, and designed for location adjacent to the operating atomizer. The panel permits control of the oil mist generation system for the lubrication of the atomizer bearings, and flow control for the cooling water to the atomizer stator. The panel also includes all start/stop controls and monitoring functions, including an optional PLC-based atomizer control and system monitoring capability.
K-S Rotary Atomizers feature a variable frequency drive (VFD), using the state-of-the-art pulse width modulation principle for generating a high frequency power supply. The VFD is in a NEMA-1 (IP20) or NEMA-12 (IP55 equiv.) enclosure, intended for location in a remote electrical equipment room area. | <urn:uuid:e46ac2e0-9d45-4069-822a-63cd719f9d00> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.komline.com/products/rotary-atomizer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573399.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818185216-20220818215216-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.855204 | 480 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Before there was Mother Dirt, there was AOBiome, now our research partner. AOBiome was founded in 2013 to explore the impact of Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB) on the skin microbiome and overall skin health.
Following an entertaining (and controversial) NYTimes article about our research, we got an unexpected amount of interest about how products and habits could create a healthier skin microbiome.
DEMAND FOR AO+ MIST:
Inspired by these conversations, we launched our AO+ Mist in June 2014, the first product for the skin made with live bacteria. We were unable to produce enough for the demand, but more importantly, we were truly moved by the stories we heard from users. We knew there was a bigger mission at work here: to create a world where clean comes with healthy.
A NEW CHAPTER:
We created Mother Dirt to rethink health. It's the first time anyone has created products to nurture the good bacteria of the skin. Our AO+ Mist is now followed up with other products that have been formulated, screened and tested for their friendliness to the skin biome. More importantly, we hope to build awareness and camaraderie across the industry as a whole to help more companies formulate with a healthy biome in mind.
Within two weeks of use, the AO+ Mist improves the appearance of skin issues including sensitivity, blotchiness, roughness, oiliness, dryness, and odor by replacing essential bacteria lost by modern hygiene & lifestyles. | <urn:uuid:6f92f3c0-9659-4456-a290-ae58f1830eeb> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://motherdirt.com/story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00018-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964125 | 312 | 1.570313 | 2 |
It’s been a busy five years at the Hallie Ford Center. This hub of research activity increasingly is a gathering place for faculty, staff and students to connect, learn and discover. And it’s just getting started.
The center aligns its work around four core areas of research:
- Parenting and Family Life
- Healthy Eating and Active Living
- Early Childhood
- Youth and Young Adult
What follows is a brief snapshot of some of the impactful work being done in this vibrant, young center.
Parenting and Family Life
In addition to groundbreaking research, the center has expanded its parenting resources, hosting an annual Oregon Parenting Educators Conference in recognition of Oregon Parenting Education Week (OPEW) and building a statewide infrastructure to support professionalization of the parenting education field.
Shauna Tominey joined the center in 2016, serving as principal investigator for the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative (OPEC), which aims to expand access to parenting education opportunities across Oregon. OPEC, a collaboration between OSU and Oregon’s four largest foundations, includes 15 hubs serving 29 Oregon counties and Siskiyou County in California.
These hubs have increased availability and access to high-quality parenting education programs, have helped de-stigmatized parenting education, and have increased collaboration among agencies focused on parenting outcomes.
In December 2016, Assistant Professor John Geldhof found that parenting education can improve parenting skills and children’s behavior for families universally and that it particularly benefits families from low-income or otherwise underserved populations. The study was part of a partnership between the college and OPEC.
Healthy Eating and Active Living
In 2015, the center launched the Family Impact Seminar Series to facilitate learning among policymakers and experts in a nonpartisan, solution-orientated way with the goal of promoting policies that affect the well-being of families and children.
In the series, top researchers share information in or near the Capitol building, making it easy for policy leaders to participate. The topic of the 2015 seminar was “Two-Generation Approaches to Poverty,” which helped shaped the 2016 statute that increased the Earned Income Tax Credit value for parents with children under 3. The 2016 seminar, “Childhood Obesity: School and Community Solutions,” featured Kathy Gunter from the HFC and Craig Gunderson from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. Their presentation revealed that policies that support access to physical activity and healthy food, such as physical education and SNAP program policies, are crucial for obesity prevention.
The following day, Kathy presented her research in front of the Senate Committee on Health Care on the outcomes of House Bill 3141. Signed by the governor in 2007, the bill requires that K-5 students receive physical education 150 minutes per week and that students in grades 6-8 receive 225 minutes.
The Oregon School Readiness Research Consortium is led by Megan McClelland, Katherine E. Smith Endowed Professor in Child Development; Andy Mashburn, PSU; and Katherine Pears, Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene. The consortium focuses on research to inform current early childhood education evaluation and policy efforts, and to disseminate results from research and evaluations to policy-makers and practitioners in Oregon and beyond.
Megan has received numerous grants for her work in kindergarten readiness and wrote a book in 2015 with former OSU grad student Shauna Tominey, who was then an associate research scientist at Yale University, titled “Stop, Think, Act. Integrating Self-Regulation in the Early Childhood Classroom.”
In addition, Megan is part of a larger group of researchers also looking at kindergarten readiness, self-regulation and early learning. In 2015, OSU-Cascades researcher Shannon Lipscomb received a four-year, $1.5 million grant to develop and test a program to help teachers improve the school readiness of preschoolers exposed to trauma. Together with colleagues, Megan and Shannon have secured more than $6 million in research funds related to school readiness and early learning.
Youth and Young Adults
Workers younger than 25 are twice as likely to be injured on the job as other workers. Reasons include that young people are more likely to try something they don’t know how to do, switch jobs more frequently than adults, are motivated to prove themselves, and may not ask questions to avoid looking inexperienced.
Enter Assistant Professor Laurel Kincl, whose research aims to improve safety among youth. One project focuses on fishermen and families engaged in the West Coast Dungeness crab fleet. She and her team have analyzed the injury characteristics of injuries reported to the U.S. Coast Guard and completed a survey of injuries and fishermen’s opinions on safety. They are now developing and testing targeted injury prevention strategies with fishermen.
In addition, she helped to develop an online young employee safety awareness training with two Oregon State public health students and the nonprofit Oregon Young Employee Safety Coalition, O[yes]. The interactive training covers topics such as finding and controlling hazards, young worker rights and responsibilities, and how to speak up for safety and prepare for emergencies at work.
Professor Rick Settersten is endowed director of the Hallie E. Ford Center. About these projects, he says: “These are all such wonderful examples of our shared commitment to doing research that makes meaningful contributions to the lives of Oregon’s children and families.” | <urn:uuid:4acfdb33-d48d-44ed-94af-369c828f07ad> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://synergies.oregonstate.edu/2017/our-home-for-research-on-children-and-families/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.953598 | 1,111 | 2.140625 | 2 |
About 40,000 seniors from more than 130 Orange County public and private high schools are preparing to receive their diplomas in the next few weeks – the last milestone before many of them head off to college.
But, despite those diplomas, the opinions of their teachers and state records, college professors say that when they arrive, just 1 in 4 will be prepared for the rigors of higher education.
And, while local students are still flushed with pride in their high school degrees, they also are aware of the challenges that college will bring – from academics to handling the distance from family and friends.
"It's kind of a moment of mixed feelings, to be honest," said Guillermo Perez, 17, who graduates from St. Michael's Preparatory Academy on Monday.
Perez said he's sad to leave his friends.
"But at the same time, I'm excited for this new challenge, this new life that's coming up."
Ready for a challenge
The ACT National Curriculum Survey, conducted every three to five years, found that 26 percent of responding college instructors found students prepared or well prepared for university-level work – as compared with 89 percent of high school teachers.
"When high school teachers believe their students are well prepared for college-level courses, but colleges disagree, we have a problem," Jon Erickson, ACT's president of education, said in a statement.
California calculates college readiness based on the classes students take to qualify for University of California and California State University system acceptance.
In Orange County, those numbers are growing annually, jumping from 40.7 percent in 2008 to 43.3 percent in 2012.
Kayla Bui, 17, of Huntington Beach High is one such graduate – she will move into the dorms at San Diego State in the fall.
She's taken Advanced Placement courses, participated in Model United Nations and student government. Those activities prepared her for making new friends and speaking knowledgably about world topics, she said.
"I think I'm ready for a totally new educational experience," Bui said. "I think I'm ready for college level courses."
At Huntington Beach High, all students take college prep classes with a goal to be college or career ready, assistant principal Kevin Seidel said. That way, all students have the required classes if they decide to attend college.
Bui anticipates college challenging her work ethic and time management skills without her parents around to provide reminders in the face of social distractions. She worries about being away from home and becoming homesick. She plans to study business and eventually open her own dermatology office.
Bui will graduate June 12 at Huntington Beach High's Sheue Field.
"We're leaving a place that's shaped us into who we are. We're all excited to graduate and start new lives, but we're always going to have the memories we've shared together," Bui said.
Perez is among 13 students graduating from St. Michael's Prep. It's a slightly larger class for the small all-boys boarding school – its average graduating class has 11 students, said headmaster Fr. Victor Szczurek.
Perez, originally from Spain, said he feels strong academically and is looking forward to starting college. When he moved to California, Perez said he was timid about speaking English, being miles from his parents and making new friends.
College will be the second time he starts over. He plans to attend St. Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula and go on to study law, possibly at a public university in Spain.
"It's not that hard. I feel really prepared," Perez said.
St. Michael's students are well-versed in time management due to the rigors of schoolwork and living away from home, Szczurek said.
"When you see them grow up and when they graduate you think, 'Wow, they really got it together,' " Szczurek said.
Common core may help
New national standards, known as the Common Core, may help to close the gap between what high schools teach and colleges desire.
"One of the reasons Common Core is being put in place now is because of complaints from two- to four-year universities" reporting high numbers of students taking remedial classes, said Christine Olmstead of the Orange County Department of Education.
The new Common Core standards, which will be rolled out across the state over the next two years, focus on critical thinking and higher cognitive skills.
The College Board helped draft the new educational standards, which Orange County teachers are learning now in professional development and training, Olmstead said.
Under common core, "standards are more rigorous as well, so there's an expectation for kids to be able to do more and perform better," she said.
Other efforts are also underway.
This summer, the county Department of Education and the College Board will be holding Advanced Placement class training for teachers, Olmstead said.
High schools across Orange County are putting more emphasis on getting students eligible for higher education.
"They're up to the challenge," Olmstead said.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7949 or firstname.lastname@example.org
- 6 restaurant closures include Cinnamon Productions, Wokcano, Curry House
- Carl's Jr. owner will exit California in March with 24 local jobs cut
- Man's arm freed from dump truck in Lake Forest
- Cyclist dies after hit-and-run with car in Stanton
- Family of 4 displaced after fire burns through their Garden Grove home | <urn:uuid:be353820-d16a-44fe-94b0-d3f1183b2440> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ocregister.com/articles/college-510058-students-high.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280410.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00453-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970178 | 1,153 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Soy milk is a healthy substitute for cow’s milk. Found in the dairy section of most supermarkets, it is consumed not only by those who are allergic to regular milk, but also by those interested in its many health benefits.
Completely dairy free, soy milk is made from soybeans. Many people consume it because it is a natural source of both calcium and protein. Often, manufacturers add other nutrients to their soy milk, including vitamin D, E and B12, making it even more beneficial for the human body.
Soy milk is a source of calcium and may prove beneficial for those who have trouble getting enough of it from other foods. However, it does not contain as much calcium as cow’s milk, at least not in its natural state. Manufacturers may add calcium to their soy milk products in order to get them closer to the calcium content of cow’s milk. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that research shows calcium that is naturally present in food is healthier and more readily absorbed by the body.
Soy milk contains isoflavones, which are chemical compounds found exclusively in plants. Research shows that isoflavones can help lessen menopause symptoms and prevent bone loss that may lead to osteoporosis. They may also lower the risk of both breast and prostate cancer. Since they’re antioxidants, they can even help the body to fight cell-damaging free radicals.
Low in Fat and Cholesterol Free
One of the benefits of soy milk is that is low in fat and free of cholesterol. This makes it a good choice for people who are trying to lose weight or even just stay fit. Consuming low-fat food and beverages can also help people to avoid serious conditions like heart disease and certain cancers. Soy milk may even contribute to lower cholesterol levels when consumed as part of a diet that is low in saturated fat.
Many people express concern about the hormones, both natural and synthetic, that are typically present in cow’s milk. Some theorize that these hormones contribute to a number of health problems, including hormone fluctuations in the human body, early puberty and cancer. While some wait for research to prove whether the hormones in cow’s milk cause significant health problems or not, others opt to drink soy, which is entirely hormone free.
Unfortunately, many people struggle with lactose intolerance, which leaves them unable to consume cow’s milk comfortably. A person who is lactose intolerant cannot digest lactose, which is a type of sugar that is naturally present in cow’s milk. When a lactose intolerant person does drink cow’s milk, he experiences such unpleasant symptoms as gas, abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea.
Soy milk doesn’t contain lactose, which makes it a good alternative for those who are lactose intolerant. However, it does contain stachyose and raffinose, which are prebiotic substances that help to stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the body, giving a boost to the immune system. | <urn:uuid:4ccf5df0-351b-40a7-afde-bc8ed0f9a96c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.3fatchicks.com/is-soy-milk-good-for-you/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00160-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960645 | 630 | 2.9375 | 3 |
PRWeb - Telemedicine in Space
Nigerian space agency conducts telemedicine program using orbiting satellite and AMD telemedicine equipment
November 11, 2007AMD telemdicine (www.amdtelemedicine.comwww.amdtelemedicine.com) today announced that its telemedicine equipment is helping to improve health care delivery in Nigeria through a nation wide telemedicine program that is using a Nigerian satellite to relay medical data and images.
Nigeria's telemedicine project is a nine-site program, funded by the country's National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) for the Ministry of Health. NASRDA has installed telemedicine equipment in two Nigerian hospitals, Ibadan Teaching Hospital and Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, as well as some additional, federal clinics throughout the country. Additionally, NASRDA provided a working telemedicine clinic in a bus that will travel to the most remote parts of Nigeria to provide primary healthcare services.
Furinshing connectivity for the program, Nigcomsat-1, Nigeria's advanced communication satellite, links the medical data sent from the bus to the in-country hospitals, giving patients and doctors in remote areas access to expert care.
On Oct. 19, Professor Robert Boroffice, director-general of NASRDA told Wired.com, "Telemedicine is now possible, thanks to Nigeria's new bird in the sky. Most of our doctors don't want to go to rural areas. So, we have created primary health-care centers, and we link them to two teaching hospitals. And these two hospitals, with videoconferencing, can provide high-quality medicine to these remote (areas)."
The Nigerian telemedicine project is equipped with AMD Telemedicine's state-of-the-art stethoscopes (for heart and lungs), opthalmosopes (for eyes) , dermascopes (for skin), otoscopes (for ear/nose/throat), and general examination cameras, making it possible for remote patients to be examined for a wide range of conditions.
"Using AMD's standard-setting equipment and the services of Nigcomsat-1, the telemedicine program promises to provide great benefits for the people of Nigeria," said Karl Teller, Managing Director in Nigeria for CIT Ltd, an ICT solutions company headquartered in Nigeria and advising NASRDA and the Ministry of Health on the telemedicine project equipment selection, installation, and training.
"The Nigeran telemedicine project is an example of how telemedicine can really shine," said Steven Nomandin, president of AMD Telemedicine. "In Nigeria, with the help of our equipment and the Nigerian telemedicine project team, many people who ordinarily would not be able to receive medical care, will now be able to be seen by a specialist who can address their specific needs with the most current treatment for their conditions. We are very happy to play a part in such a worthwhile initiative."
About AMD Telemedicine
AMD Global Telemedicine is the leading, worldwide supplier of telemedicine equipment and technology devices used in telemedicine with more than 5,000 installed sites in 74 countries. AMD devices and tConsult™ software products offer clinically acclaimed, cost-effective solutions for the most challenging medical applications. AMD also provides complete technical support in program design, device integration, training, and remedial service to assure a successful program implementation. For more information on AMD Telemedicine, please visit www.amdtelemedicine.com, email email@example.com,or call 866-511-0923. | <urn:uuid:047a5673-c1e6-48ad-93e0-f350b45f5142> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.amdtelemedicine.com/media/press-071111.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00301-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914022 | 777 | 2.265625 | 2 |
General Education Core Curriculum
General Education refers to the broad spectrum of knowledge that serves as a foundation for quality of life for all students. This knowledge base draws from skills in the areas of communications, social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and lifetime wellness.
General Education concepts and skills include, but are not limited to, the following:
Written and Oral Communications
- Develop skills required for effective written and oral communications.
Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Develop insights into personal and group psychology.
- Acquire greater insights into one's culture, the culture of others, and the interrelationships among them.
Science and Math
- Gain an awareness of the fragile nature of one's environment and how to protect it.
- Acquire skills in the use of various mathematical concepts for personal, business, and technical applications.
- Process information by determining relevant from non-relevant data and drawing sound conclusions.
Arts and Humanities
- Become responsible citizens who understand the scope of human experience, human diversity, and creativity.
- Search, process, and present information electronically using current digital technology.
College Orientation I and II
- Formulation of personal goals and pursuit of those goals.
- Develop more effective study skills needed for success in college.
- Review fundamental skills in reading, writing, and math.
The General Education curriculum includes the following:
- An integrated, multi-disciplinary outcomes-based, sequential course of study.
- Pre and post assessment of academic gains.
- Faculty-wide development, commitment and support.
- A process for continuous improvement of curriculum and operation.
Specific courses designated as Coffeyville Community College's Core General Education Curriculum are as follows:
|English Composition I||3 credit hours|
|Public Speaking||3 credit hours|
|Computer Concepts and Applications
Computer Information Systems
or higher level computer course
|3 credit hours|
|An introductory social science course||3 credit hours|
|An introductory lecture art, music, theatre, humanities, philosophy, or literature course||3 credit hours|
|A natural science course with lab||5 credit hours|
|Math course appropriate with placement according to ACT/ACCUPLACER* scores||3 credit hours|
|College Orientation I
(Required for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students)
|1 credit hour|
|College Orientation II
|1 credit hour|
|Total||25 credit hours|
|*SAT and ASSET scores are also accepted.| | <urn:uuid:6c49fb40-d5fc-4b2b-8383-19daf439984a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.coffeyville.edu/academics/college-catalog/general-education-core-curriculum | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571719.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812140019-20220812170019-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.886341 | 551 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Since its introduction in Windows Server 2012, Hyper-V Replica has provided a way for users to exclude specific virtual disks from being replicated. This option is rarely exercised but can have a significant benefits when used correctly. This blog post covers the disk exclusion scenarios and the impact this has on the various operations done during the lifecycle of VM replication. This blog post has been co-authored by Priyank Gaharwar of the Hyper-V Replica test team.
Why exclude disks?
Excluding disks from replication is done because:
- The data churned on the excluded disk is not important or doesn’t need to be replicated (and)
- Storage and network resources can be saved by not replicating this churn
Point #1 is worth elaborating on a little. What data isn't “important”? The lens used to judge the importance of replicated data is its usefulness at the time of Failover. Data that is not replicated should also not be needed at the time of failover. Lack of this data would then also not impact the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) in any material way.
There are some specific examples of data churn that can be easily identified and are great candidates for exclusion – for example, page file writes. Depending on the workload and the storage subsystem, the page file can register a significant amount churn. However, replicating this data from the primary site to the replica site would be resource intensive and yet completely worthless. Thus the replication of a VM with a single virtual disk having both the OS and the page file can be optimized by:
- Splitting the single virtual disk into two virtual disks – one with the OS, and one with the page file
- Excluding the page file disk from replication
How to exclude disks
Application impact – isolating the churn to a separate disk
The first step in using this feature is to first isolate the superfluous churn on to a separate virtual disk, similar to what is described above for page files. This is a change to the virtual machine and to the guest. Depending on how your VM is configured and what kind of disk you are adding (IDE, SCSI) you may have to power off your VM before any changes can be made.
At the end, an additional disk should surface up in the guest. Appropriate configuration changes should be done in the application to change the location of the temporary files to point to the newly added disk.
Excluding disks in the Hyper-V Replica UI
Right-click on a VM and select “Enable Replication…”. This will bring up the wizard that walks you through the various inputs required to enable replication on the VM. The screen titled “Choose Replication VHDs” is where you deselect the virtual disks that you do not want to replicate. By default, all virtual disks will be selected for replication.
Excluding disks using PowerShell
The Enable-VMReplication commandlet provides two optional parameters: –ExcludedVhd and –ExcludedVhdPath. These parameters should be used to exclude the virtual disks at the time of enabling replication.
After running this command, you will be able to see the excluded disks under VM Settings > Replication > Replication VHDs.
Impact of disk exclusion
|Enable replication||A placeholder disk (for use during initial replication) is not created on the Replica VM. The excluded disk doesn’t exist on the replica in any form.|
|Initial replication||The data from the excluded disks are not transferred to the replica site.|
|Delta replication||The churn on any of the excluded disks is not transferred to the replica site.|
|Failover||The failover is initiated without the disk that has been excluded. Applications that refer to the disk/volume in the guest will have their configurations incorrect.
For page files specifically, if the page file disk is not attached to the VM before VM boot up then the page file location is automatically shifted to the OS disk.
|Resynchronization||The excluded disk is not part of the resynchronization process.|
Ensuring a successful failover
Most applications have configurable settings that make use of file system paths. In order to run correctly, the application expects these paths to be present. The key to a successful failover and an error-free application startup is to ensure that the configured paths are present where they should be. In the case of file system paths associated with the excluded disk, this means updating the Replica VM by adding a disk – along with any subfolders that need to be present for the application to work correctly.
The prerequisites for doing this correctly are:
- The disk should be added to the Replica VM before the VM is started. This can be done at any time after initial replication completes, but is preferably done immediately after the VM has failed over.
- The disk should be added to the Replica VM with the exact controller type, controller number, and controller location as the disk has on the primary.
There are two ways of making a virtual disk available for use at the time of failover:
- Copy the excluded disk manually (once) from the primary site to the replica site
- Create a new disk, and format it appropriately (with any folders if required)
When possible, option #2 is preferred over option #1 because of the resources saved from not having to copy the disk. The following PowerShell script can be used to green-light option #2, focusing on meeting the prerequisites to ensure that the Replica VM is exactly the same as the primary VM from a virtual disk perspective:
The script can also be customized for use with Azure Hyper-V Recovery Manager, but we’ll save that for another post!
Capacity Planner and disk exclusion
The Capacity Planner for Hyper-V Replica allows you to forecast your resource needs. It allows you to be more precise about the replication inputs that impact the resource consumption – such as the disks that will be replicated and the disks that will not be replicated.
- Excluding virtual disks from replication can save on storage, IOPS, and network resources used during replication
- At the time of failover, ensure that the excluded virtual disk is attached to the Replica VM
- In most cases, the excluded virtual disk can be recreated on the Replica side using the PowerShell script provided | <urn:uuid:c186c84b-e41d-4594-9b24-d17023d3c2c4> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/virtualization/2014/05/11/excluding-virtual-disks-in-hyper-v-replica/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720941.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00518-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915026 | 1,319 | 2.390625 | 2 |
This book analyses the process of peacemaking in the Angevin world and the kingdom of Denmark in the period when they were ruled, respectively, by Henry II and his sons (1154–1216) and Valdemar I and his (1157–1241). The conjoining of these two zones is justified by the author on the grounds that their rulers, Henry II and Valdemar I, each came to power after bitter civil conflicts, faced problems with the Church, and owed allegiance for some of their lands to a powerful neighbour; in the case of Denmark this was the Emperor. However, as Benham readily admits, they were very different entities, with England being ‘one of the richest and most highly bureaucratised kingdoms of the medieval West’, while Denmark was ‘an upstart’ (p. 7). This seems to undermine the very basis of the book’s focus, especially as it is made very clear that only exiguous documentation on diplomacy has survived from Denmark. Moreover, the book considers events both earlier than 1216 and later than 1241. In fact, there is quite a lot of reference to other parts of Europe so that when this somewhat eccentric focus is reasserted the reader may be rather surprised. The book appears to be founded upon the author’s doctoral thesis, so this focus was presumably intended to make it ‘doable’, an important characteristic of such an undertaking. However, the author at times demonstrates much wider knowledge and her scholarship, with references to early medieval, late medieval and even Roman peacemaking practices, is very impressive. It is a pity, therefore, that this study is so confined because a wider take on the subject, of which she is demonstrably capable, could have produced a better-balanced study.
The book takes as its point of departure (p. 4) the notable article by C. W. Holdsworth, ‘Peacemaking in the twelfth century’ (1), which drew attention to the very limited modern work on peace-making in the Middle Ages. In fact, since it was published rather more studies, even in the two areas under consideration, have appeared, notably the work of Eickels and Gillingham, so that the relatively empty landscape remarked on at the start of this book is now rather more populated.(2) Benham’s book, however, is a noteworthy contribution to this growing literature, especially in its emphasis on the personalised nature of the process, and the need to see it through the eyes of the individual rulers.
The main thrust of the book lies in understanding the principles and practice of peacemaking. Her perception that making peace, like making war, was an essentially personal function in which high-ranking individuals came together and entered into a relationship is a reflection of her accurate knowledge of the nature of the medieval ‘state’. One aspect of this is made very clear in part one (pp.19–68) where Benham demonstrates the care with which sovereigns selected places to meet. The underlying concern was that each needed to avoid any appearance of subordination or weakness such as would be apparent if one crossed into the lands of the other. As a result, rulers often chose to meet on islands in a river, on bridges or even on boats. Very different considerations came into play when it was a case of a meeting between a superior and one of inferior rank, in which case the latter was expected to approach the former in his territory. This process had its subtle variations. English kings did not always demand that Welsh princes come to their heartlands, and used places like Worcester and Gloucester in acknowledgement of the high status of those with whom they were treating. It might be added that even to this apparent principle of preserving the sense of equality there were exceptions. Benham alludes (pp.75–6) to the meeting of the Emperor Henry II and Robert II of France on the Meuse in 1023, which advisors on both sides felt should take place on an island or on boats. However, Glaber tells us that Henry took the initiative and crossed to Robert who returned the visit on the morrow.(3) This could surely be seen as a subtle assertion of supremacy by Henry. In this discussion Benham shows herself to be well aware of the weak structure and diversity of the medieval state which ruled out frontiers in the modern form of ‘lines on a map’, and she points out that kings chose to meet where their spheres of influence came together: the Elm of Gisors was one of these for the French and English kings. And she further points out that territorial agreements were made in terms of delineating which important vassals and holders of castles were subordinate to whom. There is, however, little stress on the internal effect of this in subordinating vassals to rulers by, as it were, narrowing their options. The interplay between peace-making and state-building, which has been explored in a notable article by E. Pascua, is therefore not really discussed in this book.(4)
In part two (pp. 69–114) Benham discusses the rituals of peacemaking. She accords such acts as gift exchanges and gestures of submission some importance, but intelligently emphasises that they have to be seen in the context of the numerous other activities which surrounded making peace. Prominent amongst these, as she shows in part three (pp.115–42), was the role of envoys and negotiators. Here Benham is sceptical of the idea that in the 12th century there was a distinction between plenipotentiary envoys whose masters were bound by their decisions and others who needed to seek ratification for their agreements. There were always, she suggests, escape clauses by which royal masters could renege on unwelcome agreements. This description of realpolitik is surely correct. When, after the battle of Hattin, Saladin reproached Raynald of Châtillon, for breaking treaties, he responded: ‘This is how kings have always behaved: I have only followed the path of custom’.(5) In fact what was most important, as Benham says, is that envoys were very important figures: ‘Quite simply, envoys and mediators were the most trusted servants of their masters’ (p.137). In part four (pp.143–78), ‘Guaranteeing the peace’, the ubiquity of the oath, with its appeal to worldly and religious piety, is stressed, but of course it was never enough, and in the second chapter of this section she traces the way in which territorial sureties tended to replace hostages in the process of reaching agreements, and connects this with the rise of Roman law. In part five (pp.179–200), ‘Treaties, terminology and the written word’, Benham argues very soundly that far more treaties were made than have survived, and goes on to stress the sheer difficulties of medieval terminology. The words used by chroniclers and those in actual surviving documents are very varied, and this makes defining a ‘treaty’ remarkably difficult – a problem which, it must be said, afflicts many fields of study.(6) Further, many treaties have been preserved only in the works of chroniclers, and here the historian needs to disentangle their take on the subject from what may or may not have been contained in the original. This point is very well made in Benham’s extremely able discussion of the treaty between Richard of England and Tancred of Sicily (pp.74–8). In her conclusion (pp. 201–16) Benham argues that historians have too often judged the success or failure of treaties with the benefit of hindsight, and makes a plea for them to be seen through the eyes of the makers and in their immediate context. Thus in 1177 Henry II and Louis VII came to terms on some matters, while simultaneously disagreeing and even fighting about others, but clearly, because they avoided a general conflagration, this was seen by both parties as in some sense satisfactory. Similarly she argues that Le Goulet was quite a success for John and Phillip II, and that only hindsight has led to its damnation by historians. Benham makes a very good case for seeing peace-making as provisional and conditional, and as something which was intended to meet the needs of the moment rather than to provide a long-term framework for relations, and in this she is surely right.
This is an interesting and perceptive book, and the author is capable of very careful and subtle analysis, demonstrating an excellent knowledge of the realities of European politics and recognising that peace and war were not opposites. Yet one is obliged to ask how far the evidence it cites is representative of European practice and how far, therefore, the book merits its title. It is at its strongest on the Capetian-Angevin world, and it might have been better to make that the sole focus, but perhaps over a longer period. The evidence for the Danish experience is very limited, and while in itself interesting, contributes little to the general picture. Moreover, the issue of time-span is important, because change and development over time may have occurred. Benham suggests that knowledge of Roman law became critical, and she at least implies that practice in Italy was more advanced because the practice of Roman law was more widely diffused there. It is surely the case that there is something in that idea, but it is here simply left hanging. This is largely because of the self-imposed limitations of the book, but it is also because the highly analytic pattern adopted tends to obscure any pattern of change over time.
In the 12th century war and peace were inevitable concomitants. No European power, royal or other, could avoid war, but nor could any wage total war or even sustain it uninterruptedly over long periods. Clausewitzan triumphs on the field of battle were rare, and much conflict resembled a process of bloody nagging, interrupted by truces and peaces but rarely given a decisive end. Benham clearly understands this and given the evident intelligence of the book and the importance of its subject it is to be hoped that she will return to peacemaking because there is plenty of evidence. A key source is Gilbert of Mons, for he was at the very centre of European diplomacy in the late 12th century and his Chronicle of Hainaut is valuable for an understanding of peacemaking of war and peace in Western Europe.(7) Moreover, Gilbert’s master was not a king and this directs attention to peacemaking in Europe at a very different but still very important level. The later stages of the English civil war under Stephen saw major nobles negotiating treaties amongst themselves and this pattern may have been more common than we think. At a quite different level, the Crusades witnessed frequent peace-making and the development of agreements of friendship such as those which established Italy city-states in the major cities of the Holy Land. In addition, even there, and despite the driving hatred generated by crusade and jihad, peace had to be made because, as in Europe, no power could wage anything like total war, and the process of peace-making has begun to command substantial academic attention.(8) Benham’s Peacemaking in the Middle Ages is best regarded as a very valuable reconnaissance of an important topic. It is to be hoped that the author will return in force for a more discursive treatment.
- C. W. Holdsworth, ‘Peacemaking in the twelfth century’, Anglo-Norman Studies, 19 (1998).Back to (1)
- Notable recent works are K.van Eickels, Vom Inszenierten Konsens Systematisierten Konflict (Stuttgart, 2002); J.Gillingham, ‘The meetings of the Kings of France and England, 1066–1204’, in Normandy and its Neighbours, 900–1250, ed. D. Crouch and K. Thompson (Turnhout, 2010).Back to (2)
- Rodulfus Glaber, The Five Books of the Histories, ed. J. France (Oxford, 1989), pp. 108–1.Back to (3)
- E. Pascua, ‘Peace among equals: war and treaties in twelfth-century Europe’, in War and Peace in Ancient and Medieval History, ed. P. de Souza and J. France (Cambridge, 2008), 193–210.Back to (4)
- Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani (1125/519 – 1201/597), Ciceronian Eloquence on the Conquest of the Holy City (translated), in Arab Historians of the Crusades, ed. F. Gabrieli (New York, NY, 1957), p.134.Back to (5)
- See for example, D. Bachrach, ‘English artillery 1189–1307: the implications of terminology’, English Historical Review, 121 (2006), 1408–30.Back to (6)
- La chronique de Gislebert de Mons, ed. L. Vanderkindere (Brussels, 1904) has recently been translated into English by L. Napran as Gilbert of Mons, Chronicle of Hainaut (Woodbridge, 2005).Back to (7)
- Y. Friedman, Encounter between Enemies: Captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Leiden, 2002).Back to (8) | <urn:uuid:c29ac721-5c46-4927-88df-55796b21267d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/print/review/1069 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00572-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97256 | 2,815 | 2.5625 | 3 |
We broke ground in early April 2014, which in Colorado is like playing Russian roulette with the weather. I anticipated we would need about eight months to complete the project before the winter cold and storms would prevent contractors from getting to the site. Favorable weather prevailed, and we were able to meet that timeline.
The house is single-level, with two bedrooms and two baths, and a rectangular shape for optimal passive solar gain. A floating slab foundation was selected (with a thermal break from the stem wall). The wall design differed from the main living area and the garage (a choice I would regret later). The main living area is a double wall—an advanced framed 2-by-6 exterior wall separated by a 3-inch space from a 2-by-4 interior wall—while the garage walls are an advanced framed 2-by-6 wall with 1.5 inches of EPS foam on the exterior.
Meticulous attention was given to air-sealing and minimizing penetrations through the building envelope. Knowing that proper sealing is as important as good insulation, I spent many hours in the evenings foaming and caulking gaps. I performed two blower door tests—one before the drywall was installed to identify missed penetrations and the second when the house was complete. There were a few electrical penetrations I had missed, but the majority was improper sealing of the plastic vapor barrier in the main ceiling area by my framers. The final blower door test resulted in a reading of 161 CFM at 50 pascals, much better than the related Passivhaus standard of 280 CFM.
The slab is insulated underneath to R-20 (5 inches of high-compression-strength EPS) and the external side of the stem walls were covered with 1.5-inch EPS board for another thermal break. The main living area walls have a weighted value of R-45.4 provided by 3 inches of closed-cell spray foam and 9 inches of dense-pack cellulose fill. The garage area walls are R-25.3 with 5.5 inches of dense-pack cellulose and 1.5-inch EPS foam board on the external face. The attic is R-60 from 18 inches of blown-in cellulose.
We built the walls 24 inches above the ceiling level, which allows full ceiling insulation depth all the way to the edges of the walls. I also incorporated dropped ceilings in northern sections of the house which simplified wiring, HVAC, and plumbing runs while minimizing penetrations. We choose fiber cement board on the exterior for wildfire protection and ability to install it ourselves to cut costs.
All the doors are insulated, even the interior ones, for thermal and acoustic separation. For optimal temperature management, the two exterior doors both open to a buffer room that is separate from the main living area. Triple-locking exterior doors increase air sealing and security.
All windows are fiberglass-clad, triple-pane units, but air-filled, instead of gas-filled (given the elevation gain, gas fill would have been lost in transit). There are few windows on the east, west, and north sides; and most windows are non-operable (“fixed”) for the best insulation. The majority of operable windows are awning type, which offer the best air-sealing. Casements were used only where required for emergency egress.
Rolling exterior insulated metal shutters by Rollac were installed for all windows. The economic justification was their additional insulation of about R-1.2 to R-2 to the thermally weakest spaces in the walls, providing security when we are away, and providing wildfire protection. To further decrease the risk of fire damage, all external surfaces are non-flammable.
The standing-seam metal roof met our requirements for ease of maintenance, wildfire protection, and effective rain harvesting. Most roof pitches in Colorado are 6:12 or greater to shed snow, but that was too steep to maximize rainwater harvesting. A 3:12 pitch was selected and snow guards added to “hold” snowfall until it melted and could be captured. Continuous soffit and ridge ventilation help prevent ice damming. A 3-foot overhang provides seasonal shading for the windows.
During the winter months, the average night temperature inside the main living area is in the high 60s to low 70s. Over an average winter night (anywhere from the teens to single digits), that space will lose 3°F to 4°F by morning. In general, with the house temperature “charged” with a couple of days’ worth of winter sun, it can sustain three days of cold temperatures in the low teens and no sunshine before dropping into the very low 60s. | <urn:uuid:97c77c7e-4fec-493c-ba69-4969b8700d03> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.homepower.com/articles/home-efficiency/design-construction/capturing-sun-water-high-rockies/page/0/1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00212-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948056 | 976 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Washington's trick of 'thief crying stop thief' on South China Sea
Updated: 2015-04-11 15:54
BEIJING -- The United States, the world's leading superpower which believes policing the world is its destiny, sometimes however seems to have a penchant for playing the trick of thief crying "stop, thief."
On Thursday, US President Barack Obama said his country is concerned that China is using its "sheer size and muscle" to bully smaller claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam in the South China Sea disputes.
"We think this can be solved diplomatically, but just because the Philippines or Vietnam are not as large as China doesn't mean that they can just be elbowed aside," Obama told reporters while on a visit to Jamaica.
Such finger-pointing laid bare again the mind-boggling hypocrisy of the United States, which takes habitual tactics of standing facts on their heads as well as blame-shifting.
Arbitrarily exercising its mighty military power, the United States is the real bully in the world who has rarely missed an opportunity to stoke tensions between China and its neighbors.
Just as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Friday, "everybody can see who has the biggest size and muscle in the world."
China is "elbowing aside" no one by carrying out construction and maintenance work on some islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands, which fall entirely within its sovereignty.
It is the United States that has been busy elbowing countries like the Philippines into deliberate and serious provocations against China, triggering conflicts and undercutting regional stability.
As a matter of fact, Washington has long been adopting double standards on this issue, as it chooses to totally ignore the building work by other countries on islands owned by China, while showing "concerns" over China's activities on islands and reefs over which it has indisputable sovereignty.
China has reiterated its adherence to the path of peaceful development and a defensive national defense policy, stressing that the construction work is "not targeted against any country."
As a friendly gesture, the Chinese government has also disclosed the full details of the construction work on its territory to reassure its neighbors and remove understandings.
However, the United States seems to have been turning a blind eye towards China's sincerity and ceaseless efforts to solve disputes through friendly negotiations with countries concerned.
China sincerely hopes that the United States can genuinely do its part to promote peace and stability in the region.
If it is just hard for Uncle Sam to stop bullying others and play a constructive role, it can at least cease acting as the only righteous judge and blaming those who actually fall victim to its daunting "size and muscle."
- Clinton launches 2016 run, says wants to be Americans' champion
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- Obama, Castro hold historic meeting, vow to turn the page
- Washington's trick of 'thief crying stop thief' on South China Sea
- Evacuation from Yemen ending as situation deteriorates
- Burnaby signs 'art' bridge | <urn:uuid:95b9926d-b303-4a2e-bd8b-8f50212d6bcb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2015-04/11/content_20411838.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.962281 | 646 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Sep 18, 2018
Part 2 of a conversation with Dr. Bob Dillon about learning spaces.
Dr. Robert Dillon is an author, speaker, educator, and a lifelong learner. His twenty plus years in education has seen him serve kids and families as a teacher, principal, technology director, and innovation leader. His primary focus is working to bring synergy to instructional design, technology infusion, and learning space design. He believes that in this synergy is the educational gold that students need to be successful citizens in a modern world. He works through an equity lens and looks to bring excellence to every classroom. For this work, he has been honored by Common Sense Media, The Center for Green Schools, the dSchool at Stanford University, the Buck Institute for Education, and Future Ready Schools. Dr. Dillon has had the opportunity to work with teachers and leaders throughout the country, and he continues to speak at local, regional, and national conferences. Dr. Dillon is the co-founder of ConnectED Learning, a Saint Louis non-profit dedicated to affordable, quality professional learning for teachers. He is the author of four books including his latest, The Space: A Guide for Educators. He is supported in his work by his wife and two amazing daughters.
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After you listen please share your thoughts on Twitter with Jennifer and Bob by using #AssistLearning in your tweets.
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Connect with Jennifer Cronk on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:20412c72-f621-4319-b761-c9c3ffb15132> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://assistlearning.libsyn.com/its-all-about-that-space-with-dr-bob-dillon-part-2-alp019 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.972481 | 297 | 1.875 | 2 |
Because alcoholism has an associative and memory disorder component, family and other social gatherings during the holidays can result in stressors that may lead to relapse. With summer nearly here and holidays such as the 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends on the way, recovering alcoholics may be placed in situations that could pose a real threat to their sobriety. Unfortunately, most people who are in recovery could never be expected to completely avoid gatherings like these. After all, quality time with family and friends is important to a healthy recovery program. Therefore, spending time with family and friends during holidays or other gatherings where alcohol might be involved should be done with a little bit of planning and a lot of assertiveness.
As if being around alcohol isn’t enough of a threat to a person’s recovery, family gatherings and holidays can be stressful. Traveling with pets and children is tough and expensive, planning parties or making arrangements for guests is time-consuming and intensive work, and being around family isn’t always…ideal. Old family feuds, drama between certain family members, or disapproval concerning things that happened in the past are often aired during what would otherwise be harmless social functions. All of this can be extremely stressful, and it’s likely that some of these factors contributed to a person’s alcoholism in the first place.
The real problem with alcohol use during holidays is that people tend to drink regardless of what’s going on: “It’s a wedding – have a drink!” And “It’s a funeral – have a drink.” Therefore, drinking is encouraged whether what’s going on is a negative or positive experience. For people not in recovery this might not pose a problem, but for people who are it can be extremely difficult to engage people in social situations when their solution to everything is to drink.
If you are a recovering alcoholic and you struggle with family gatherings and holidays, you should know that you’re not alone. The following are a few tips to help you better cope with these situations:
*Plan your visit. Having a solid plan can help keep you on track. Following a schedule is useful regardless of whether you’re traveling to or hosting a family or social gathering yourself. Relapse is often an opportunistic beast – meaning that if your schedule doesn’t allow an opportunity to drink, then you won’t slip.
*Have an escape. Sometimes, the simple temptation to drink can just be too much or the stresses of a family gathering too high. Make sure that you have a way to remove yourself from the situation, even if you must excuse yourself with a line that isn’t exactly true. Indicating that you’re just not feeling well is a great way to accomplish this and really isn’t that far from the truth.
*Be assertive. Don’t be afraid to say no to a drink. You shouldn’t have to hide who you are. If you’re amongst family and friends, then everyone present probably already knows you’re in recovery. Any of these people who would seek to break the sanctity of your sobriety do not have your best interests in mind and must be responded to assertively. If that doesn’t work, you can always fall back on your escape plan.
If you’ve recently relapsed as a result of a family gathering or holiday or you fear that you are on the verge of relapse right now, then you need to pick up the phone and call us. We can talk to you about inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment and other options to get you back on track. Day or night, we’re here to help you prevent what could be the worst mistake of your life. Call us now. | <urn:uuid:71bac53a-a8ce-42a1-898b-a9e822dbc380> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.recoveryfirst.org/alcoholism-relapse-abstaining-during-the-holidays/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00342-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960409 | 789 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Editing NTFS Alternate Streams
If you run Windows XP SP2, you may have noticed that it displays a warning
every time you try to run a file, downloaded from the Internet. Ever wondered
how it tells downloaded files from local ones? Let's open a downloaded
file in FlexHEX:
That's it! You can see that the Internet Explorer added a stream named 'Zone.Identifier',
containing file zone ID. Easy to guess, 'ZoneId=3' means 'danger'. Delete this stream,
and the file will magically become a good old local file, not in any way suspicious.
If you are interested to learn more about NTFS named streams, you can find a detailed discussion in the article
NTFS Alternate Streams: What, When, and How To. | <urn:uuid:c47f17f2-e2b7-455f-8571-570da2086f1e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.flexhex.com/product/tour/alternate_streams.phtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280791.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00362-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900652 | 170 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Pearl is formed in the body of the oyster when an irritant like sand or a parasite enters it. It is an aquatic material, also called biomineral, that is used for ornamental and medicinal purposes. The pearl contains different carbonates in a minute crystalline form, deposited in concentric layers. It is crushed to powder and added in several products or used alone to obtain the health benefits.
Pearl is renowned in traditional Chinese medicine and is recommended for the treatment of several skin and bone-related disorders for it contains ample proteins and mineral contents.
Studies have proven that pearl powder has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties, and that makes it excellent for skin and overall health. Also, it helps a lot in alleviating bone-related issues and wounds.
Owing to its immense health benefits, many pharmaceutical companies have started producing dietary supplements and nutraceuticals containing pearl powder. These products are popular for improving several age-related degenerative disorders apart from beauty and health purposes.
History of pearl powder
The first ever-known use of pearls comes from 3200 BC Egypt. People deemed it as a celestial spider, as pearls shine without requiring polishing. The ancient queen, Cleopatra, used to add crushed pearls to wine or vinegar, marking it as a sign of beauty and wealth. The only female emperor of China, Wu Zetian (武則天), is also reported to use pearl powder as a secret to retain her skin’s beauty and health.
A piece in Pilnius’s Natural History Magazine also mentioned the use of pearl powder in drinks by the Tang Dynasty (唐朝) and the Qing Dynasty (清朝). The most significant Encyclopedia of Herbs written in Chinese history, called “Compendium of Materia to Medica” (本草綱目) written by a famous physician Li Shizhen (李時珍) during Ming Dynasty (明朝) has already included Pearl as one with impressive medical benefits. Mikimoto Kōkichi (御木本 幸吉), a Japanese entrepreneur and the inventor of cultured pearls, also used to eat two pearls every day to maintain his health.
Some of the oldest books of Classic Japanese History, like Nihonshoki, Kojiki (日本書紀), and Manyoshu (万葉集) mention the use of pearls. The use of pearls also got a mention in the biography of Zushi Yinjin, which states that Taiyo from Evil Taisai sent pearls.
Experts have found the use of pearls as jewelry and medicine in China since 2300 BC. In Persia, pearls are being used from the 7th century BC and in Rome, from the 3rd century BC as medicine and ornament.
The medicinal use of pearl is also reported to exist in the 13th century in the Western society. Albertus Magnus, a German monk, stated that pearl could heal lovesickness, mental diseases, dysentery, and hemorrhage. Moreover, historians found that the King of Castile recommended pearl for fighting depression or any ailment resulting from sadness. He believed that pearls cleaned and purified the blood. In the 17th century, an elixir called ‘Aqua Peralta’ was used to restore strength and combat fever. It was deemed as strong enough for ‘resuscitating the dead.’ This medicine was made of pearls dissolved in vinegar and fresh lemon juice.
Composition of pearl
Pearl mainly consists of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, which form 91 percent of its components. Other compounds present in pearl are silica, aluminum oxide, calcium phosphate, and ferric oxide along with some trace elements like selenium, copper, aluminum, magnesium, and manganese. The trace elements also augment the antioxidant property, as they act as cofactors to antioxidant enzymes.
It also contains essential amino acids like lysine (Lys), histidine (His), arginine (Arg), valine (Val), threonine (Thr), proline (Pro), leucine (Leu), methionine (Met), phenylalanine (Phe), and tryptophan (Trp). The non-essential amino acids in pearl include glycine (Gly), aspartic acid (Asp), alanine (Ala), glumatic acid (Glu), serine (Ser), and tyrosine (Try). All these compounds possess antioxidant properties and can treat oxidative damage and delay skin aging .
Pearls are beneficial for health because protein has a major share in their composition. Its protein content includes conchiolin, which is believed to have an antioxidant effect. It removes excessive oxygen generated in the body because of stress or ultraviolet rays. This increased oxygen causes skin aging and wrinkles.
The antioxidant activity of conchiolin prevents aging and wrinkling. It also helps reincarnate skin cells in just 28 days. The reincarnation of skin cells is called turnover, which declines with age. Conchiolin helps accelerate the process.
Benefits of pearl powder
The medicinal use of pearl roots back to the mainland of China and Taiwan where it is called ‘Ranju Powder.’ In these countries, the pearl has wide use as a beauty ingredient. In Taiwan, pregnant women take pearl powder to improve the beauty of fetal skin.
Several animal experiments show that pearls have a lot of pharmaceutical properties like anti-osteoporosis, anti-aging, anti-oxidation along with immune-modulatory and wound-healing activities. That is why several pharmaceuticals add pearl powder as an ingredient to their products.
1. Anti-aging effects
Pearl powder tends to activate cells and helps with cellular turnover. Usually, a disturbance in the turnover cycle causes skin problems like dullness, wrinkles, and sagging. Pearl powder helps alleviate this issue by reincarnating the skin cells and normalizing turnover.
Another main culprit behind skin aging is cellular oxidation. Pearl powder contains many compounds, such as conchiolin, that not only reduce the effects of oxidative damage but also fight it. Moreover, it increases the production of superoxide dismutase (SOD), which is one of the premier antioxidant enzymes. SOD neutralizes the free radicals, slows down the signs of premature aging, and preserves the youthfulness of the skin.
2. Wound healing
Pearl powder is used to alleviate the effects of gastric ulcers, aphthous ulcer, and duodenal ulcer because of its wound healing properties. Nacre, a.k.a. the mother of pearl, is the outer coating of pearls, which enhances the cell adhesion and tissue regeneration of skin fibroblast. Researchers deem fibroblast as an indispensable component in the wound healing process. And as the pearl powder helps in the regeneration of skin fibroblast, it ultimately helps with the wound healing process.
3. Other benefits
Pearl powder is known to increase longevity and overall health. Evidence has it that a consistent use of pearl powder helps with skin issues, such as colored spots, blemishes, pimples, boils, cysts, sunspots, scars, and acne. It also stimulates the skin’s natural moisturizing factor (NMF) and prevents excessive dryness. Regular use of pearl powder ensures that the skin will not be easily harmed by harsh external environment or time.
BLACK PAINT pearl powder products
BLACK PAINT offers a variety of products that contain natural ingredients with no artificial compounds. Based on the skin-related benefits of pearl powder, BLACK PAINT has created White Paint Soap for daily use.
White Paint Soap
White Paint Soap is a facial cleansing soap well suited for wrinkled and dry skin. Unique from other soaps in this brand, White Paint Soap contains pearl powder. It helps in reducing wrinkles and fine lines while rendering the skin smoother and whiter.
The soap incorporates the antioxidant benefits of pearl powder and thus, helps preventing skin aging, scarring, and rejuvenate the skin. The pearl powder also stimulates the skin’s natural moisturizing factor (NMF).
NMF is a natural moisturizing agent present in the stratum corneum on the skin’s surface. It retains the moisture of the cells, keeping the skin moisturized. It also acts as a barrier against external stimuli like ultraviolet rays.
Pearl powder augments the function of NMF and moisturizes the skin further. It helps the soap lock the skin’s moisture while removing active oxygen in the skin cells – therefore, addressing the needs of dry, wrinkled skin.
In order to fully benefit from the use of White Paint Soap, you need to soak the soap in warm water till its surface melts. Apply directly on to face like painting. Do not go near the eye area. Massage for around 30-40 seconds and rinse off. For best results, use the soap daily. | <urn:uuid:cfe631cc-1c33-49c7-bbdb-d2d17599f30c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://blackpaint.sg/pearl/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572215.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815235954-20220816025954-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.923662 | 2,272 | 2.953125 | 3 |
« PreviousContinue »
IONE L. JONES.
They are sweetly sleeping,
ONE ELIZABETH LUSK was born at Cox
sackie, on the Hudson, and wa the eldest of a family of six girls. Her mother, dreaming over her first child, used to wish there might be a writer in the family, and, as if in response to the unspoken desire, Ione began scribbling verses at an early age. She is a person of warm sympathies, ready tact, possessing much of that charity which in the Book of books is writ “Love." In 1872 her parents removed to Catskill village, N. Y., and shortly after, Ione was married to G. Howard Jones, a young lawyer of that place, where, with their two children, aged nine and eleven, they now reside.
Mrs. Jones is one of the best of companions, possessing a keen and ready wit and a quiet sense of humor, appreciating all that is interesting in human life. From childhood she has indicated the possession of many gifts, and now uses pen, brush, and piano or violin (and housewifely broom,) with readiness. Her first verses were published in 1884, and though she has written chiefly in a lighter vein, some of her unpublished poems show deeper channels of thought which speak of wider scope for her future work.
E. F. B.
So now. Listen to the clatter! Pink Arbutus stirs in bed And wonders what's the matter. All the icy fleets set free, Down the streams are rushing ; Toward the everlasting sea Wildly, madly pushing. Blow, then, blow! Let them go! Winter's reign is o'er, we know.
Up hill, down dale,
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS.
Brown leaves are prest against the pavements
wet, O'er which, with cumbrous tread The coal man, with his load on shoulder set,
Goes to and from the shed.
Ah, doleful noises, mist and falling leaves,
I turn me from the pane: Her passing scepter sobbing Fall bereaves,
And Winter wails again.
Blaze thou! and warm my saddened heart, O fire,
Light up this shadowy room; With books, and friends, and logs piled high and
higher, Let old King Winter come.
SONNET-A KINDLY LOOK. A KINDLY look, a word of commendation,
A sympathetic pressure of the hand;
A smile to those who journey o'er the land Aweary of life's toil and degredation, While struggling on 'gainst trials and temptation, Give thou, O brother. For the Father planned That we should love all men. Heed His com
mand, And pour into these sad hearts consolation. Grim poverty thou sufferest not; ah! then
Have mercy on the poor, for deep their woe. Let gentle pity plead for fallen men,
For reclaimed sinners shall be white as snow. And may God's blessings rest upon thee, when
And where thy ministering footsteps go.
ILLIAM BUTLER YEATS was born in
a suburb of Dublin, on the 13th of June, 1865. His birthplace, the residence of his father's uncle, was a quaint, castellated house, in a park full of beautiful forest trees, and containing within its limits a lake and an island. Here the future poet's childhood was spent in part, and it was an ideal home for a dreamy imaginative child. It was an intellectual centre in its day.
Mr. Yeats' father is an artist, who having been at the Bar for some years and with great distinction, gave up the profession, where he was safe to gain honor and wealth, for Art, in the following of which he has no doubt been happier, for he is a born artist. Springing from a very ancient and distinguished family he married the daughter of a race of English settlers in Ireland, -people who have brought with their English blood certain honorable qualities of seriousness, of determination, of mercantile probity and mercantile success, to add on to the Celtic qualities gained by intermarriage with the fascinating Irish. Of this marriage there are two daughters and a son, be-. sides the poet, who is the eldest born.
Mr. Yeats was at school in London and Dublin. He did not enter a university, and curiously enough, his first bias was for scientific pursuits,-it must have been for those things which appeal to the faculty of wonder. However, he, soon turned to poetry, pure and simple, and though his performance as an art student promised great things, he has rather neglected art for poetry. He dreamed away his later boyhood a good deal, which perhaps was wise, for he is of delicate physique. His first poetry published was in the Dublin University Review, and excited wide-spread interest. In the present year he has published a volume of poems, which has at once given him a position; it has been received as the work of a new poet promising great things by all the important London reviews. At present he is editing some of the Camelot Classics; his “Irish Fairy and Folk Lore" has appeared, and it is to my mind, the best edited of the whole series. He is engaged also on literary work for many magazines and newspapers. His is a subtle genius, rejoicing in the strange and the exotic, but withal, having such a virile quality behind it, such a faculty of delight in the deeds of heroes, that he will be saved from the pitfalls of those who seek the marvellous. In looks Mr. Yeats is as picturesque as one could desire,-hair, beard, and beautiful eyes of a southern darkness, with a face of a fine oval, and a clear, dusky color. Nature has written the poet upon his face. And his poetry is enhanced in beauty if read to you by his own voice, which has a thousand qualities of richness, of softness, and of flexibility. K. T.
No door so thick, no bolt so strong,
But that Death enters in at last. Then watch with care; repent thy sin, Lest unaware he enters in
When time for penitence is past.
When I'am a man-
My love hath many a ruthless mood,
Ill words for all things soft and fair; I hold him dearer than the good
My fingers feel his amber hair.
No tender wisdom floods the eyes
That watch me with their suppliant light; I hold him dearer than the wise,
And for him make me wise and bright.
“ A storm of birds in the Asian trees
Like tulips in the air a-winging,
That raise their heads and wander singing,
touches Stroked the young winds as they rolled on the
plain, The osprey of sorrow goes after and clutches, And they cease with a sigh of ‘Unjust! unjust!' And A weariness soon is my speed,' says the
mouse, And the kingfisher turns to a ball of dust,
And the roof falls in of his tunnelled house.
" But never the years in the isle's soft places
Will scatter in ruin the least of our days, Or the softness of youth be gone from our faces
Or love's first tenderness die in our gaze.
KANVA, THE INDIAN, ON GOD. I PASSED along the water's edge below the humid
trees, My spirit rocked in evening's hush, the rushes
round my knees, My spirit rocked in sleep and sighs; and saw the
moorfowl pace All dripping on a grassy slope, and saw them cease
to chase Each other round in circles; and I heard the eldest
speak:“Who holds the world between His bill and makes
us strong or weak Is an undying moorfowl, and He lives beyond the
sky, The rains are from His dripping wing, the moon
beams from His eye.” I passed a little further on and heard a lotus
talk:Who made the world and ruleth it, He hangeth
on a stalk,
"Old grows the hare as she plays in the sun, And gazes around her with eyes of bright
ness; Ere half the swift things that she dreamt on
were done, She limps along in an aged whiteness. And even the sun, the day's castle's warder,
That scares with his bustle the delicate night, I
VII. The heart of noon folds silence and folds sleep, For noon and midnight from each other borrow, And Joy, in growing deeper and more deep, Walks in the vesture of her sister Sorrow,
- The Wanderings of Oisin.
LIFE Placid as a homeward bee, Glad, simple-nay, he sought not mystery, Nor, gazing forth where life's sad sickles reap, Searched the unsearchable-why good men weep: Why those who do good often be not good, Why they who will the highest sometimes brood, Clogged in a marsh where the slow marsh clay
clings, Abolished by a mire of little things, Untuned by their own striving.
-How Ferencz Renyi Kept Silent.
QUATRAINS AND APHORISMS.
I. The child who chases lizards in the grass, The sage who deep in central nature delves, The preacher watching for the ill hour to passAll these are souls who fly from their dread selves.
II. Two spirit-things a man hath for his friendsSorrow, that gives for guerdon liberty, And joy, the touching of whose finger lends To lightest of all light things sanctity. | <urn:uuid:6c52c373-507c-4782-9d86-7aff86c61bba> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=syA6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA456&vq=%22Far+in+a+wild,+unknown+to+public+view.+From+Youth+to+age+a%22&dq=editions:HARVARDHN3BEF&lr=&output=html_text&hl=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.967239 | 2,124 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Solitary Proprietorship- Form 1040 filing with Pricing C
To be precise, a sole proprietorship is a business which is owned by a single individual only. In other words, there is a single owner who is responsible for conducting the entire business operations. Unlike other business structures, the sole proprietorship business entity requires minimum paperwork. Quite interestingly, it is also subjected to minimum business restrictions and laws. So as you can see, this type of business structure is a popular model as it is simple and there is ease of setup. A sole proprietor needs to register his or her name and get local licenses.
Partnerships or Collaborations- Form 1065 and Pricing K-1
In usual terms, partnership refers to the relationship which is existent between any two individuals and who desire to setup a business. Note that a business modeled on partnership doesn’t have to pay taxes on the profits garnered. However, it declares its operational losses and profits to IRS via Form 1065. It is worth noting here that the partnership also sends the K-1 form to the owners which states profits and losses provided to each partner. Through these forms, the IRS would know how much money or taxes you owe to the IRS.
“C” Corporation- Form 1120
You should note that the “C” Corporation is a separate entity from its shareholders. Moreover, the “C” Corporation offers liability security in limited quantities to the shareholders and the directors. Note that the “C” Corporations are different payers of taxes. Further, a “C” Corporation files its own return and is liable to pay its own income. This is quite similar to an individual who pays his/her own taxes from his earnings.
“S” Corporations- Form 1120S and Pricing K-1
“S” Corporations are corporations which are elected to pass corporate income, credits and deductions. This is usually done for federal tax purposes. Also note that the shareholders of the “S” Corporations give a thorough insight on the flow of the income and losses on their personal tax returns. With the help of this mechanism, the “S” Corporations can avoid hefty deductions on grounds of taxes on corporate income. | <urn:uuid:a8bf5379-1205-4971-b73e-82352769ea2a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ustaxations.com/services.php?titile=corporate-tax-filing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.967008 | 469 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Submitted by viper2c2 on Wed, 2013-03-20 20:16
Since I never read anything in the users manual about the 12 volt battery, I had no clue the Roadster had one until my car doors wouldn't open electronically. Once I was in the car and turned it on, there was a warning about the 12 volt battery. After a call to the nearest Tesla service department, they came to my house to replace it under warrantee. It's in the right, front wheel well and is a commercial motorcycle battery that operates various accessories. Next time you say there are 6831 battery cells in the Roadster, qualify it with lithium ion so you won't be wrong. | <urn:uuid:2ab01733-66ed-43c3-80d0-66a7f425b70d> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://forums.tesla.com/fr_CA/forum/forums/12-volt-battery | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719547.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00395-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981193 | 143 | 1.882813 | 2 |
In this, the week of th 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to put humans on the moon and return them safely to Earth, I am covering some of the common arguments offered with respect to space exploration and development.
One of my qualities that I dislike it when people agree and defend the same conclusion that I defend, but they use poor reasoning in its defense. One reason is because I worry that somebody would see the flaws in the other person's arguments and attribute those flaws to me. Another is because I think that sloppy reasoning is itself something to avoid, and I prefer to be associated with people who also prize sound reasoning.
A poor argument in defense of the space program has been the value of spin-offs. The American people acquired a lot of benefits from the technology that came from the Apollo project.
The reason that this is a poor argument is because spin-offs are going to be spin-offs any time the government puts a lot of money into a project.
An excellent example of this is war. Look at the spinoffs that came out of World War I and World War II. I am not talking about advances in military technology. I am talking about advances in technology that ended up providing benefits to the civilian population.
A prime example of this are the advances in aeronautics that came out of the two world wars. World War I took aviation out of its infancy. World War II gave us the jet engine. We got better radar which went into the tracking storms. Military research gave us the microwave oven, the global positioning systm, and the internet.
Even the space program itself is a spinoff of military research. Rockets were invented to deliver destruction behind enemy lines. This technology was then put to use putting a man on the moon.
If the government were to spend $100 billion digging a hole from Los Angles to New York, that would produce spin-off benefits. This is not a special property of the space program that it produces side effects. Therefore, it is not a reason to recommend space development over any other potential use for $100 billion.
Even $100 billion on a nonsense project such as digging a hole from Los Angeles to New York would produce spin-off effects.
So, while I like it that others are defending th space program, because I consider it well worth defending, I would prefer it if those defending the space program offered reasonable arguments in defense. The demand for better arguments shows a respect for reason over rhetoric.
It is also the case the people tend to do a much better job seeing through their opponents’ argument rather than flaws in their own. So, while the defenders of the space program uses the argument from spinoffs in its defense, the opponents of space development are nodding their heads thinking to themselves, "These people aren't thinking too clearly. I think all of that space as gone to their heads."
The question to ask is not whether it is possible to name some spinoffs from a particular multi-hundred-billion-dollar project. The question is whether or not the costs exceed the benefits. Are the spinoffs worth the $100 billion investment?
If we look around us we find ourselves surrounded by benefits from all sorts of private expenditure – from newer and better search engines to cleaner ways of burning coal to new drugs to help fight disease. These benefits did not require a multi-billion dollar government project. It required private companies wanting to make a little money.
So, the spin-off argument for the defense of space exploration is a bogus argument. It is one that a friend of reason will not use. | <urn:uuid:802d565c-3b06-41ab-8227-0f28842e2136> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://atheistethicist.blogspot.com/2009/07/apollo-spinoffs.html?showComment=1265045740885 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00120-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960376 | 735 | 2.609375 | 3 |
(Presseportal openBroadcast) - 20, September 2016: This summer, no one can ignore the influence of the Rio Summer Olympic Games. Rio has elevated the Olympic spirit to a higher level, that is the environmental protection concept. Airwheel is a firm practitioner of the eco concepts.
Have interest and click the website to consult:
The 2016 Rio Olympic Games have drawn worldwide attention. There are disputes as well as touching moments that accompany each game. The traditional Olympic spirit “Higher, Stronger, Faster” has inspired generation after generation while the Rio’s environmental protection proposal has also roused people’s eco awareness. Airwheel, as a manufacturer of eco-friendly transportation devices is a firm practitioner of the eco concept.
In a bid to save the worsening environment and ease traffic congestion, Airwheel has persisted in producing portable and eco commuting vehicles, like electric scooters and electric skateboards. This year, the release of a folding electric bike E3 has an epoch-making significance for the company. The vehicle is powered by electricity and is an absolutely eco-friendly product. It is made of the minimized materials to achieve the maximized bearing capacity. The adoption of less materials mean less energy consumption. The vehicle is a perfect combination of structure and material. E3 weighs 11.1kg, with a battery weighing 1.4kg. But it can bear an incredible 100kg load. This unique design has enabled its portability, and demonstrated its energy-saving effect.
Airwheel backpack e bike E3, in some other ways, have reinterpreted the higher, stronger, faster spirit. For E3, “higher” means longer running distance. It is coupled with car-level branded Li-ion battery set, which generates sufficient power supply. As the whole vehicle is light-weighted, it consumes less energy than other bulky ones running the same distance. Thus, the vehicle can enjoy longer distance of running after a full charge. “Faster” is not always what Airwheel pursues. In ideal conditions, Airwheel E3 can achieve a maximum speed of 20 km/h. That is definitely acceptable for urban traffic environment. Faster sometimes mean insecure. Airwheel E3 is designed to achieve an optimized speed on the premise of safety. The tougher materials chosen and the special shape design have made the vehicle “stronger”.
Airwheel folding electric bike E3 can be widely applied to daily commuting. Let the vehicle guide people to feel the charm of Olympic spirits.
For Media Contact:
Company: Airwheel Holding Limited
Contact Person: Eric
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- Über unser Netzwerk 1 Million Page Impressions monatlich | <urn:uuid:a99ca37d-020a-47ac-a1de-649b6bf3fde2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.openbroadcast.de/article/458862/airwheel-2016-new-smart-electric-bike-e3-demonstrates-olympic-spirit.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00388-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.852012 | 626 | 1.789063 | 2 |
18.104.22.168 What Was the Magnitude of Glacial-Interglacial Sea Level Change?
Model-based palaeo-sea level analysis also helps to refine estimates of the eustatic (globally averaged) sea level rise that occurred during the most recent glacial-interglacial transition from the LGM to the Holocene. The extended coral-based RSL curve from the island of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea (Fairbanks, 1989; Peltier and Fairbanks, 2006) is especially important, as the RSL history from this site has been shown to provide a good approximation to the ice-equivalent eustatic curve itself (Peltier, 2002). The fit of the prediction of the ICE-5G(VM2) model to the Fairbanks data set, as shown in Figure 6.8b, constrains the net ice-equivalent eustatic rise subsequent to 21 ka to a value of 118.7 m, very close to the value of approximately 120 m conventionally inferred (e.g., Shackleton, 2000) on the basis of deep-sea O isotopic information (Figure 6.8b). Waelbroeck et al. (2002) produced a sea level reconstruction based upon coral records and deep-sea O isotopes corrected for the influence of abyssal ocean temperature changes for the entire glacial-interglacial cycle. This record (Figure 6.8a) is characterised by a best estimate of the LGM depression of ice-equivalent eustatic sea level that is also near 120 m. The analysis of the Red Sea O isotopic record by Siddal et al. (2003) further supports the validity of the interpretation of the extended Barbados record by Peltier and Fairbanks (2006).
The ice-equivalent eustatic sea level curve of Lambeck and Chappell (2001), based upon data from a variety of different sources, including the Barbados coral record, measurements from the Sunda Shelf of Indonesia (Hanebuth et al., 2000) and observations from the Bonaparte Gulf of northern Australia (Yokoyama et al., 2000), is also shown in Figure 6.8b. This suggests an ice-equivalent eustatic sea level history that conflicts with that based upon the extended Barbados record. First, the depth of the low stand of the sea at the LGM is approximately 140 m below present sea level rather than the value of approximately 120 m required by the Barbados data set. Second, the Barbados data appear to rule out the possibility of the sharp rise of sea level at 19 ka suggested by Yokoyama et al. (2000). That the predicted RSL history at Barbados using the ICE-5G(VM2) model is essentially identical to the ice-equivalent eustatic curve for the same model is shown explicitly in Figure 6.8, where the red curve is the model prediction and the step-discontinuous purple curve is the ice-equivalent eustatic curve.
Figure 6.8. (A) The ice-equivalent eustatic sea level history over the last glacial-interglacial cycle according to the analysis of Waelbroeck et al. (2002). The smooth black line defines the mid-point of their estimates for each age and the surrounding hatched region provides an estimate of error. The red line is the prediction of the ICE-5G(VM2) model for the Barbados location for which the RSL observations themselves provide an excellent approximation to the ice-equivalent eustatic sea level curve. (B) The fit of the ICE-5G(VM2) model prediction (red line) to the extended coral-based record of RSL history from the island of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea (Fairbanks, 1989; Peltier and Fairbanks, 2006) over the age range from 32 ka to present. The actual ice-equivalent eustatic sea level curve for this model is shown as the step-discontinuous purple line. The individual coral-based estimates of RSL (blue) have an attached error bar that depends upon the coral species. The estimates denoted by the short error bars are derived from the Acropora palmata species, which provide the tightest constraints upon relative sea level as this species is found to live within approximately 5 m of sea level in the modern ecology. The estimates denoted by the longer error bars are derived either from the Montastrea annularis species of coral (error bars of intermediate 20 m length) or from further species that are found over a wide range of depths with respect to sea level (longest error bars). These additional data are most useful in providing a lower bound for the sea level depression. The data denoted by the coloured crosses are from the ice-equivalent eustatic sea level reconstruction of Lambeck and Chappell (2001) for Barbados (cyan), Tahiti (grey), Huon (black), Bonaparte Gulf (orange) and Sunda Shelf (purple). | <urn:uuid:b3ff2c4a-b5ef-4660-9621-dc03448ddaaf> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch6s6-4-3-2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00503-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.8815 | 1,056 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Solomon Kugel is a compost salesman living in an old farmhouse in upstate New York. He moved there with his wife, Bree, and his son, Jonah, and brought with them his mother, who, although she was raised happily in the United States, believes she is a Holocaust survivor.
Solomon's mother has two vegetable plots that she obsessively rakes. Nothing grows, so Solomon places supermarket produce onto the bare dirt every morning -- eggplant, pineapples -- for her to collect. He keeps a notebook with ideas for what his last words before dying should be. An arsonist is burning down farmhouses nearby, and in the attic, Solomon finds an elderly, hunchback woman writing a book. She tells him she is Anne Frank.
That is the absurdist, hilarious premise to Shalom Auslander's "Hope: A Tragedy." Part Sholom Aleichem, part Woody Allen, part homage to Philip Roth's "The Ghost Writer," it is a story of neurotic Jews, the problem of memory and the solace of suffering.
"It's funny," begins the novel, and it is. As long as you like your comedy pitch black. When Solomon tries to decide what to do about Anne Frank living in his attic, he wonders, "How difficult could it be to get an elderly Holocaust survivor out of your house? He'd play Wagner. He'd get a German shepherd. When the UPS man had gone, he'd tell her it had been a man from the Gestapo, asking a lot of question. A lot of questions. Did you shower yet, honey? He would call downstairs to Bree. Because if you showered already, I'm going to shower now."
Speculating about what to bring to the attic in the case of another Holocaust, Solomon keeps revising his list: "Kugel wondered if in these days of the Internet you would even need a Miep Gies anymore, if you could make it through a genocide these days with just a smartphone and a credit card, and he was hopeful that in the event of another Holocaust, he would have some sort of broadband Internet access."
Solomon has been told by his therapist, Professor Jove, that the source of the world's misery is hope: "Give up, read the sign on the wall behind Jove's book-covered desk, You'll Live Longer." His mother, though, who constantly blames "those sons of bitches" Nazis for everything, has hope: She hangs a poster of Alan Dershowitz on her wall and believes watermelons grow overnight in her garden. Hope is what leads a family to start anew by relocating -- or a people to start a new nation.
The analogy to Israel is sheltered in the farmhouse. When the Kugels first arrive, they need tenants to help with the mortgage, so they rent a room to a Muslim man, "Haman or Pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar or something." Sick of hearing Solomon's mother in the morning, "with her daily morning screams of her not-traumatic-enough-stress disorder," and the stench coming through the heating vents, the tenant moves out. Anne Frank moves the attic boxes about to create walls. At the western one, Solomon's mother cries and leaves Post-it notes.
The house was inspected by Promised Land Fine Properties and Estates, but Eve, the real estate agent, cannot help Solomon with the smell coming from the vents. The problem with building anything, Eve says, lies in architects, who are "professional liars." Blueprints are "dreams and hopes and lies," she continues: "the sunroom will go here, and we'll have the neighbors over for dinner here, and we'll put the Jacuzzi out back, and the kids' rooms upstairs, right next to ours, so they know that we're there, beside them, forever and always and more. So you shake hands, sign some checks, break ground, and that's when it all goes wrong. That's where the stress starts, when the fiction is revealed . . . it turns out there are drainage issues. The well's run dry. The foundation isn't level."
That's the tragedy of hope. But, like Anne Frank, like Israel, it lives, despite wretchedness, as Solomon's mother knows (and her hero, Alan Dershowitz, makes a brilliant cameo at the novel's end).
To hope, we must misremember. So we build structures of misremembering: We build fictions. Auslander's first novel, "Hope: A Tragedy: A Novel" is a beautiful one. Anne Frank in the attic? It's funny.
By Anne Trubek
Anne Trubek is the author of "A Skeptic's Guide to Writers' Houses.' | <urn:uuid:4bed8f34-c824-40fe-a197-82472b37819e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2012/01/shalom_auslander_gives_his_fun.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721595.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00479-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968814 | 1,000 | 1.546875 | 2 |
With the help of the osteopathic clinic Surrey you can easily gain the natural balance of your body. It’s basically a physical therapy that mostly comprises of massaging soft, connective tissues, articulating limbs, or the manipulation of muscles, joints and tendons. However, osteopathy is mostly considered as a gentle and a non-invasive form of healing process that consists of a holistic approach to achieving a good and sound health without any kind of undue discomfort.
If you go to the osteopathic clinic Surrey , the osteopath in the clinic will surely ask you about your previous medical history that will help them in understanding your body structure. Everything is done under proper supervision and every aspect is taken seriously with great care. Various kinds of tests are conducted to make many other aspects that are related to each other in our body.
There are other very important and effective one called Pilates classes Surrey which can help you drastically in achieving a fit body and mind. Pilates classes are a complete exercise that can help you in achieving the best physical and mental health. It is very good for those who are looking to achieve high strength, flexibility and posture.
There are several health benefits derived from Pilates classes Surrey if attended on a regular basis and some of the important ones are:
1. Your body posture will improve.
2. Drastic improvement and change in the mobility and flexibility of the spine.
3. There will be a visible enhancement in the muscle tone and flexibility.
4. This is sure to provide you with an efficient and supportive body core.
5. This can be good complementary training for the athletes and various sportspeople.
Osteopathic Clinic and Pilates Classes in Surrey for a Healt | <urn:uuid:e7ca7c71-3cfe-4457-90d0-107396f41af5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://copytaste.com/a3089 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00528-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952539 | 350 | 1.515625 | 2 |
• Pray for persecuted believers and the growing underground house church movement.
• Pray for the release of over 3,000 imprisoned and tortured believers.
• Pray for open doors for Christian workers to return to Eritrea.
Nestled snuggly on the Horn of Africa between the larger nations of Sudan and Ethiopia, Eritrea is the product of Italian colonization and British occupation. But what has more recently defined this nation’s progress and struggle is the fragile relationship with its southern neighbor, Ethiopia, and the decades of conflict between them. Though Eritrea currently experiences peace, past conflict hinders economic and political progress.
Conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia was exacerbated by the UN establishment of Eritrea as an independent federation of Ethiopia in 1952. The settlement disregarded Eritrea’s desires for complete autonomy and proved unfavorable to Ethiopian leaders who annexed the nation ten years later. This marked the beginning of Eritrea’s 30-year struggle for independence. Ethiopian political reform in 1993 would open the door for Eritrea to gain independence as a nation. In 1998, border conflict resurfaced, and two years of fighting claimed the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. Since peace agreements were established in 2000, Eritrea has faced numerous skirmishes but continues to maintain control of its borders. Due to years of intense military investment, the general welfare, basic systems, and infrastructure of the nation were not maintained. Improper agricultural management left two-thirds of its population dependent on food aid and created an economy with few skilled workers.
With four government-recognized religions--Sunni Islam, Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Lutheran--Eritrea is especially hostile to non-approved religious affiliations. Some estimate that over 3,000 Christians are imprisoned in Eritrea for adhering to evangelicalism, many of those facing crippling torture and even death. Full religious freedom is desperately needed. Even so, churches in Eritrea are growing despite sanctioned opposition, and many believers have moved underground with the establishment of house churches. Pray that the Lord would preserve his people in Eritrea and grant them freedom from the strong grasp of political and religious oppression.
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. - John 14:14
Source: Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church From Asmara; EitreanOrthodoxTewdo
Capital City: Asmara
Government: Transitional Government
Major People Groups: 78% Semetic 16% Cushitic, 5% Sudanic
Religion: 47% Muslim, 47% Christian, 4% Non
GDP Per Capita: $1,000
Literacy Rate: 58.6% | <urn:uuid:cacefe68-35f4-4886-a471-82901d75b890> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://prayercast.com/eritrea.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00322-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94184 | 554 | 2.109375 | 2 |
By Jason T.
Does any of this sound familiar?:
- There are lots well-known people who don’t use or understand guns who wish to regulate or control them.
- As soon as violence occurs that can be linked (even tangentially) to guns, certain people will raise a media ruckus, using the tragedy to enact stronger laws against the types of guns they don’t like.
- There are people who make a living off of the fear of guns. They’ve been doing it for years.
- The gun community is a large, diverse group, yet the “average American” has a caricature in their mind of what a gun owner looks like.
- Guns can help start discussions of what beliefs we hold dearest. They can be used as tools to teach responsibility, our heritage, and can also be used as a catalyst for conversations with friends and family.
- When someone commits a crime with a gun, the gun community as a whole is often blamed.
- Those who enjoy guns in the US point to one of our first ten Constitutional Amendments as a clear reason why their legal ownership and use of guns is protected by the Constitution . . .
Now, all of those will seem pretty obvious to most gun owners. But you can take any or all of those points and replace the word “guns” with “videogames” and the points remain the same. For those who don’t know, gamers’ bete noir, their Dianne Feinstein, is a man named Jack Thomson, who’s tirelessly accused certain games of causing murders. Where gun owners point to the Second Amendment, many of those who play videogames point to the First.
As I entered college, I got into Fallout 3. The setting is a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., and the player takes the role of someone looking to survive and ultimately find their father. And while some may scoff, it’s the reason I am so interested in guns today.
The game first taught me that people without guns tended to die much quicker than those with them. It taught me that after firing many rounds without proper care, your weapon will probably malfunction, and almost certainly break. After two hours of playing, I had added several weapons to my backpack. I had to make a decision which guns to sell. Two of the guns took the same caliber round, so I sold the outliers and learned a valuable lesson about caliber commonality.
That lead to reading Jeff Cooper’s thoughts on “Ballistic Wampum”, which (invariably) brought me to gun and survival websites. That’s where I learned how invaluable medical care is after getting shot, which got me to take an EMT basic course. There I met a future mentor of mine who talked at length about different weapons and taught me the skill of shooting. And I haven’t looked back since.
Many of us have been at the range and heard a young adult or two excitedly talking about how a certain gun looked like one in a videogame they had played. You might have even scoffed when they called the magazine a “clip” or dismissed using an AR pattern rifle past 100 yards.
While it might seem strange, these people who are new to the gun culture are some of our strongest allies. The newer generation (those born in the 90’s and younger) is strongly pro-freedom and generally wish those in power would quit mindlessly regulating things they don’t understand. They’re people who fought for freedom on the internet when the US Senate tried to enact both SOPA and PIPA. They argued against California regulating their pastime more strongly than any other state, specifically because they thought the manufacturers did a good enough job self-regulating. Imagine if gun companies were supported in the same way. Magazine capacity restrictions might be manufacturer-dependent and you would hardly see state-specific guns being made (like the Seecamp .32CA).
Guns, like videogames, are mere tools. We who enjoy them responsibly should make it a point to teach as many young newcomers as we can. The alternative is even more laws made by those who don’t understand what they’re regulating. | <urn:uuid:44e254fb-d2cb-430b-9be1-c83963e5f6a7> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/games-lead-to-guns-and-thats-a-good-thing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571758.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812200804-20220812230804-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.97319 | 889 | 1.960938 | 2 |
The writing of a bio is an imaginative as well as difficult process. As a non-fiction book, it must recreate the subject’s life, describe their role worldwide, and also address the concerns that the target market might have about the individual. It is also an art kind, as well as requires dedication. A biographer should carefully select and also assess resources. Listed below are some ideas for creating a bio. These tips can assist you produce an entertaining, well-researched book that will certainly delight your visitors.
A biography is written about an individual’s life. It is normally a narrative. An autobiography is a book that explains a person’s life. A memoir is written by the individual who has actually lived it. For example, a publication regarding Head of state Obama’s life would be a bio of his life. Nevertheless, there are various other forms of writing a biographical job, such as a collection of poems written by the author, which are not a history of the president’s life.
While a biography is intended to be real, the writer might compose facts or miss out on crucial occasions. A biographer’s goal is to delight readers by evaluating the person’s life. Utilizing a plot structure offers the tale a particular form and also helps it stream more smoothly. A bio that adheres to the ebb and flow of the author’s life is not enjoyable. The author’s purpose is to give the reader understanding right into the subject’s personality and also way of life.
While biographies are expected to be true, there are likewise many instances of biographers developing truths. For example, John Hersey’s Hiroshima turned into one of one of the most prominent books of the battle, as well as Alex Haley’s The Memoir of Malcolm X came to be an immediate standard. These are examples of biographical books that make the subject seem current, and their tales are thought about biographical. It is not unusual for a biographer to decorate their subject’s bio, specifically when attempting to represent an individual in a modern light.
Bios have a selection of uses. While the key purpose of a biography is to present visitors to a person’s life, it can also be an overview for living. It can supply the viewers with information regarding a person’s experiences and also activities. Regardless of its omnipresence, a biography can be an extremely individual as well as intimate piece of writing. There are several examples of individuals that composed biographies, including stars and award-winning writers.
A biography can be a novel, however it is more than just a publication about a person’s life. It can be a guide to a person’s life or a guide to a particular job. Unlike a novel, a memoir can be extremely entertaining. A biographer may likewise have to write it in the initial individual. A biographer may need to design details, such as a marriage, in order to make the tale fascinating and appealing.
A biography is a publication composed by somebody else concerning their very own life. While a historical bio focuses on an individual’s life, a literary biography will certainly consider the author’s innovative outcome. A literary bio will include details about the writer’s interests, likes, and failures. While a historical biography may focus on a person’s accomplishments, a literary bio will certainly define their whole life. The objective is to offer an individual guide to the subject.
A biography is a book concerning a dead individual. A biography can be considerate to the subject or be entirely unbiased. A bio might be a simple sequential account of an individual’s life. It can likewise be deeply logical as well as explore the person’s motivations. A biography can concentrate on the subject’s life, their work, and also their connections. Along with being a satisfying read, it can also inform the visitor concerning an individual’s life.
A biographer’s bio must hold true, but the author should be able to provide the reader with a complete photo. A biography ought to be without prejudices, and must be as accurate as feasible. The subject of a bio is commonly a living person, but it can be a historic figure, a fictional personality, or an one-of-a-kind team of individuals. The writer’s point of view is very important, yet it should not be based entirely on a bachelor’s life.
A bio can be created from an unbiased point of view or from a sympathetic point of view. The author can be a living individual, a centuries-old individual, or a member of an uncommon team of individuals. A bio normally consists of facts about an individual’s life, from birth to fatality. It is frequently an overview to an individual’s life. Numerous authors have composed autobiographies to share their experiences and learn more about others.
A biography attempts to offer a person’s life in context. It can show their motivations and how they relate to others. The topic’s emotional background might also be explored in a bio. If a subject had stayed in a globe without the demand for a bio, the subject would certainly not have actually lived this way. A biography can be a representation of their lives. If this is the case, it’s a biography.
A bio can be real or incorrect. A biographer can make up truths as well as lose out on information. A biographer ought to constantly be a neutral onlooker of the subject. The writer ought to not censor the subject’s character as well as background. It must be a sincere account of their lives. An excellent bio is a reflection of an individual’s worths. This is an important book for every person. This type of literary works is the most typical type of nonfiction in English. Continue reading
The subject of a biography should be an individual. He or she might have a statement or a story that makes him or her appear like an outcast. A biography must be truthful to avoid being biased. The subject ought to be straightforward about their experiences. If the subject is sincere, it is possible for the reader to read their sensations. If a writer has individual bias, the topic might appear to be biased. A prejudiced biographer will not have a balanced account. | <urn:uuid:e505eb87-8be9-4808-91c7-268d79fb0b8a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://eclecticthreadsclothing.com/2022/04/03/the-tale-of-bio-has-actually-simply-gone-viral/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571472.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811133823-20220811163823-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.96334 | 1,324 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Files DC, Matthay MA, Calfee CS, Aggarwal NR, Asare AL, Beitler JR, Berger PA, Burnham EL, Cimino G, Coleman MH, Crippa A, Discacciati A, Gandotra S, Gibbs KW, Henderson PT, Ittner CAG, Jauregui A, Khan KT, Koff JL, Lang J, LaRose M, Levitt J, Lu R, McKeehan JD, Meyer NJ, Russell DW, Thomas KW, Eklund M, Esserman LJ, Liu KD, ISPY COVID Adaptive Platform Trial Network , undefined
BMJ Open 12 (6) e060664 [2022-06-06; online 2022-06-06]
The COVID-19 pandemic brought an urgent need to discover novel effective therapeutics for patients hospitalised with severe COVID-19. The Investigation of Serial studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging And moLecular Analysis (ISPY COVID-19 trial) was designed and implemented in early 2020 to evaluate investigational agents rapidly and simultaneously on a phase 2 adaptive platform. This manuscript outlines the design, rationale, implementation and challenges of the ISPY COVID-19 trial during the first phase of trial activity from April 2020 until December 2021. The ISPY COVID-19 Trial is a multicentre open-label phase 2 platform trial in the USA designed to evaluate therapeutics that may have a large effect on improving outcomes from severe COVID-19. The ISPY COVID-19 Trial network includes academic and community hospitals with significant geographical diversity across the country. Enrolled patients are randomised to receive one of up to four investigational agents or a control and are evaluated for a family of two primary outcomes-time to recovery and mortality. The statistical design uses a Bayesian model with 'stopping' and 'graduation' criteria designed to efficiently discard ineffective therapies and graduate promising agents for definitive efficacy trials. Each investigational agent arm enrols to a maximum of 125 patients per arm and is compared with concurrent controls. As of December 2021, 11 investigational agent arms had been activated, and 8 arms were complete. Enrolment and adaptation of the trial design are ongoing. ISPY COVID-19 operates under a central institutional review board via Wake Forest School of Medicine IRB00066805. Data generated from this trial will be reported in peer-reviewed medical journals. NCT04488081. | <urn:uuid:9e276ccf-17bf-4a26-9617-0e94ce76073e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://publications-covid19.scilifelab.se/publication/a01b9a875b2a471eb4148059febe5472 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.886619 | 583 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Territorial A-ZA | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0-9
69 results for Lecompton Constitution: |
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Authors: Greenwood, Daniel ; Hamilton, George P.; Head, Joseph W.
Date: December 21, 1857
Election returns and actual elections ballots cast in Fort Scott Precinct, Bourbon County, Kansas Territory during the December 21, 1857, election on ratification of the Lecompton Constitution "with slavery" or the constitution "without slavery." Because a vote "for the constitution without slavery" meant Kansans could keep the slaves they already owned, free staters refused to participate. In this election, the "constitution with slavery" won 6,226 to 569. Results in Fort Scott were 318 to 19 in favor the the "constitution with slavery." Note that the largest ballot (No. 1) was signed by J. C. Head, whose name also is listed first on the election returns for Fort Scott.
Keywords: Ballot; Bourbon County, Kansas Territory; Election, Lecompton Constitution ratification, December 1857; Elections; Fort Scott, Kansas Territory; Greenwood, Daniel; Hamilton, George P.; Head, J. C.; Head, Joseph W.; Lecompton Constitution
Letter, Walter Oakley, et al, to Charles Robinson
Authors: Oakley, Walter ; Ritchie, John , 1817-1887; Ross, William Wallace
Date: December 26, 1857
Walter Oakley, W. W. Ross, and John Richey wrote from Topeka to invited Robinson to attend and address the "Mass Meeting" to be held in their city on Monday, December 28, for the purpose of endorsing "the action of the Convention at Lawrence. These men and the community held Robinson in the highest "esteem" but they differed with him "upon the question of voting for state officers under the Lecompton Constitution."
Keywords: Free State Convention; Free State Party; Free state supporters; Lawrence, Kansas Territory; Lecompton Constitution; Oakley, Walter; Ritchie, John, 1817-1887; Robinson, Charles, 1818-1894; Ross, William Wallace, 1828-1889; Topeka, Kansas Territory
Letter, C. K. Holliday, et al, to Charles Robinson
Authors: Crane, Franklin L.; Dickey, Milton C.; Farnsworth, Loring ; Giles, Frye W.; Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900
Date: December 26, 1857
In this brief letter from Topeka, signed by C. K. Holiday, M. C. Dickey, F. L. Crane, Loring Farnsworth, and F. W. Giles, "Governor" Robinson was "respecfully and cordially" invited to participate in a "mass convention" at Topeka (December 28, 1857) convened "to deliberate upon the political questions of the day; and more especially upon the action of the late 'Lawrence Convention.'"
Keywords: Crane, Franklin Loomis; Dickey, Milton C.; Farnsworth, Loring; Free State Party; Free state cause; Free state supporters; Giles, Frye W.; Holliday, Cyrus Kurtz, 1826-1900; Lawrence, Kansas Territory; Lecompton Constitution; Robinson, Charles, 1818-1894; Topeka, Kansas
Letter, I. T. Goodnow to Friend Sherman
Authors: Goodnow, Isaac T., 1814-1894
Date: April 1 & 3, 1858
Isaac Goodnow wrote from Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, to a friend, expressing his excitement and support for the Leavenworth Constitution. The status of the Lecompton Constitution was currently being debated in Congress, but Goodnow predicted its "destruction". Goodnow described the events of the Constitutional Convention, which had first convened in Minneola, but had been removed to Leavenworth. He stated that the finished constitution was" the best Constitution in existence", and remarked at James Lane's leading role in its development.
Keywords: Conway, Martin Franklin; Lane, James Henry, 1814-1866; Leavenworth Constitutional Convention, March-April 1858; Leavenworth County, Kansas Territory; Leavenworth, Kansas Territory; Lecompton Constitution; Minneola, Kansas Territory; Prohibition; Topeka Constitution
Letter, Wm. Stanley to Dear [John A.] Halderman
Authors: Stanley, William
Date: January 12, 1858
Shortly after Halderman left Leavenworth for a trip east (Washington, D. C., it is nearly certain), William Stanley wrote him from Leavenworth regarding some "excitement" that had occurred there the very day Halderman left. Many were fearful of "attack" and thus the alarms were "sounded. . . . Hundreds of free state men were soon in arms, and the proslavery party exhibited more of apprehension than I have ever witnessed before." He mentions proslavery men leaving for Shawnee, the fact that many free-state men had recently been driven out of nearby Kickapoo, that John Calhoun was given a military escort to Lecompton, and his confidence that the [Lecompton] constitution would pass the Congress.
Keywords: Calhoun, John; Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861; Free state; Free state militia; Halderman, John Adams; Kickapoo, Kansas Territory; Leavenworth, Kansas Territory; Lecompton Constitution; Parrott, Marcus J., 1828-1879; Proslavery; Stanley, William
|See previous results||See results 21 - 25| | <urn:uuid:53f5e27f-4284-45b3-80c2-5b01696d540e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/~imlskto/cgi-bin/index.php?SCREEN=keyword&selected_keyword=Lecompton%20Constitution&sort_by=true&submit=Go&startsearchat=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988722459.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183842-00344-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911183 | 1,255 | 1.953125 | 2 |
According to the BBC
, “trade unionists representing about half of Greece’s workforce gathered for marches in the main cities”. Public services were closed for the day, as were Greece’s rail and ferry services. The country’s airports, the Athens metro, and the Greek stock exchange remained open.
The 24-hour general strike is the first major test for Greece’s new unity government led by Papademos. Following the €8 billion ($10.8 billion) aid package approved for Greece by European leaders earlier this week, the Greek government is expected to implement major spending cuts and increase taxes in the upcoming year.
Some of the conditions that must be met before Greece receives another bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund include “fresh cuts to state-employee wages and pensions, higher taxes including a property charge levied via power bills, and 30,000 job cuts” according to the San Francisco Chronicle
Demonstrations like this have become commonplace in Greece since the 2008 financial collapse, as the country “has seen about a dozen general strikes in the past two years.” Some have been less peaceful than others, most notably during “a 48-hour stoppage in October [that] degenerated into violence with clashes between rival groups and police” according to a report from Reuters
. Today’s demonstrations remained peaceful however, as “the sour public mood over austerity has been tempered by knowledge that elections are around the corner in February.”
European leaders have watched Greek politics anxiously in past weeks. Poor economic performance combined with an uncertain political situation can provide a dangerous foundation for civil unrest. What makes the problem even worse is “an unemployment rate at 18% - and nearly 43% among youth – the highest in the Eurozone after Spain” according to the Guardian
. The volatile situation has “unions, left-wing politicians, analysts and economists predicting that the country is poised for a social explosion.”
Papademos replaced former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on November 11th after Papandreou agreed to step aside and allow a new unity government to implement necessary E.U. austerity measures. The country has already received a number of bailouts from the European Union. Mr. Papademos’ mandate is to ensure Greece continues to receive the money it needs to avoid default and to keep the Eurozone intact. | <urn:uuid:374cd3e6-71c7-4ec7-b16e-a43b3237e65a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/315394 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00303-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966548 | 499 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Jack Devine is 32 year veteran of the CIA, working on the operations side. He helped oust Allende from Chile; he gave the mujahedin the stingers with which they shot down the Russian helicopters. He trained with traitor Aldrich Ames. But in his new book Good Hunting, he also talks about being a family man, a father of six.
He developed a method for the delicate job of explaining to his kids what he really did. (Officially, he was "a diplomat"). He liked to have "the talk" in the U.S., to prevent unanticipated leakage, and he had to catch each kid at just the right age. But for his middle daughter, he didn't get the timing quite right.
In the interview, which is available to subscribers here, Devine also talks about what spies do when they don't agree with their mission, how they get people to betray their countries and the mishap he had with invisible ink. (HINT: it involves a receipt for a payoff.)
Here's a longer version of Devine's chat with Time. | <urn:uuid:b7f1c80a-9ba9-4240-b9b9-8811868a5257> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://time.com/2823495/my-father-is-an-assassin-how-a-cia-spy-told-his-kids-about-his-job/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00307-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98785 | 224 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Night Vision Cameras
Night vision cameras have many uses for the military, law enforcement and private enterprise. For example, it can be used to find or record people, animals or objects in the dark. It's also helpful for navigation and surveillance. Night vision can also be used for hunting and watching animals after dark with Trail Cameras. | <urn:uuid:5c05b871-76f8-4262-be79-da943729c0f1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://spynuts.com/surveillance/night-vision-cameras/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571150.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810070501-20220810100501-00677.warc.gz | en | 0.90771 | 68 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Master-level studies involve specialized study in a field of research or an area of professional practice. Earning a master’s degree demonstrates a higher level of mastery of the subject. Earning a master’s degree can take anywhere from a year to three or four years. Before you can graduate, you usually must write and defend a thesis, a long paper that is the culmination of your specialized research.
Master Programme in Molecular Biology will result in a wide-ranging knowledge and understanding of the field of molecular biology. Graduates are prepared for careers in several aspects related to molecular cell biology, biomedical research and biotechnology.
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic within the European Union, located in Southern Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia along the Alps.
Turin is one of the business cities of Italy. The universities in this city strive to provide quality education in Italy. This place is a hub of top notch international schools such as the University of Turin that are dedicated to shaping up good career for the students.
Top Masters Program in Molecular Biology in Turin in Italy
The Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology and the Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences offer a Master Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB). CMB is a two year (S1-S4) second level degree (Biology class) entirely taught in English, and designed for BA graduates who are seeking an in-depth knowledge in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and the ability to exploit this knowledge in... [+] | <urn:uuid:ee7fd7c6-06ff-469b-ad36-65833b9f6b6c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.masterstudies.co.uk/Masters-Degree/Molecular-Sciences/Molecular-Biology/Italy/Turin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00067-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937381 | 320 | 2.125 | 2 |
No pill, potion, lotion or cosmetic surgery can make you look and feel like you’ve taken a dip in the fountain of youth. However, as I write in my new book, Use Your Brain to Change Your Age, there are several natural ways to live longer, better and happier. As I researched material for the book, I discovered a remarkable longitudinal study that identified as one of the main predictors of longevity an intangible character quality that results from healthy brain function: conscientiousness.
(MORE: The Latest Buzz From Bees May Be the Secret to Reversing the Brain's Aging Process)
The study was launched in 1921 by Dr. Lewis Terman of Stanford University, who began evaluating 1,548 bright children born around 1910. Now spanning 90 years, Terman’s study (he died in 1956, but it was continued by other researchers) has led to many fascinating findings that clearly point to a relationship between healthy brain function and longevity. And the common denominator among subjects who lived full, happy and successful lives was their level of conscientiousness.
6 Key Traits of Conscientiousness
What is conscientiousness? It concerns the way we manage our impulses, and so it's a reflection of our self-discipline and ability to think before we act. Managing your impulses is a sign of good brain health, and will serve you in the long haul of life. Our impulses are not inherently good or bad; it's whether or not we act on them, and under what circumstances, that makes the difference. For example, sometimes we need to make a snap decision because time does not allow for in-depth consideration of the consequences. Other times we want to be spontaneous and fun. But when succumbing to impulses becomes your way of life, it can take a serious, negative toll on your health. In general, conscientiousness includes the following traits:
- True confidence. You have a true feeling of being self-efficacious. You know you can get things done.
- Organized, but not compulsive. You keep an orderly home or office, keep lists and make plans.
- A high sense of duty. You have a strong sense of moral obligation.
- Achievement-oriented. You have a strong sense of direction and the drive to be successful at whatever you do.
- Persistence. You have the ability to stay on track despite the obstacles that come your way.
- Thoughtfulness. You are disposed to think through possibilities, and the consequences of your behavior, before acting.
Can You Change Your Level of Conscientiousness?
In the Terman study, researchers found that people could increase or decrease their conscientiousness over time. Changing our personality traits is never easy. I have witnessed this with patients in my practice and experienced it myself. But as I have learned more about brain function — and even developed "brain envy," or the desire to have a better brain, and a better life — I have changed my habits and my behavior has become more consistent. I feel much more in control of my own behavior than I did even four or five years ago. For example, I'm exercising more regularly and vigorously and following a stricter diet. I have also, however, seen people's conscientiousness deteriorate, after a head injury, binge drinking or drug use; exposure to an environmental toxin; or at the onset of developing dementia.
The quality of your conscientiousness is a direct reflection of the physical health of your brain, specifically your prefrontal cortex (PFC). Neuroscientists call the PFC "the executive" part of the brain because it functions as the CEO inside your head, making decisions about every aspect of your life. A healthy PFC leads to good decisions and conscientiousness. An unhealthy or damaged PFC leads to poor decisions, a likely miserable life and even an early death.
Effective decisions usually involve forethought in relation to your goals, organizing and planning, which helps you live well not only in the moment, but also 10 or even 50 years from now. Being prudent is another way of describing conscientiousness. It means being wise and cautious. If you are conscientious, you are more likely to avoid dangerous situations and to be perceived as intelligent and reliable by others.
(MORE: How Plastic Is Your Brain?)
8 Tips to Boost Your Brain and Live Longer, Better
You can optimize your PFC and your level of conscientiousness, to boost the control you have over your life, make beneficial decisions and behave in ways that benefit your health. Trying to use willpower to control your behavior when key traits of conscientiousness are absent, though, is nearly impossible. Here are eight tips to boost your brain so you can live longer, better:
- “Then what?” Always carry this question with you. Think about the consequences of your behavior before you act.
- Protect your brain from injury or toxins. Even though it is housed inside the skull, the brain is vulnerable. Concussion, whiplash and other trauma can have long-lasting impacts. Toxins from exposure to smoke and fumes, and even from eating some fruits and vegetables that may have had high exposure to pesticides, can also damage the brain, leading to poor decision-making.
- Get eight hours of sleep every night. Less sleep equals lower overall blood flow to the PFC, and more bad decisions.
- Keep your blood sugar balanced throughout the day. Low blood sugar levels are associated with lower overall blood flow to the brain, poor impulse control, irritability and bad decisions. Have frequent, smaller meals throughout the day, each including some protein.
- Optimize your omega-3 fatty acid levels by eating more fish or taking a supplement. Low levels of omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with ADHD, depression, Alzheimer’s disease and obesity.
- Keep a "One-Page Miracle." On a single piece of paper, write down the specific goals you have for your life, including your relationships, your career, your finances and your health. Ask yourself every day, "Is my behavior today getting me what I want?” I call this exercise the One-Page Miracle, because it makes such a dramatic difference in the lives of those who practice it. Your mind is powerful and it can make what it sees happen. Focus and meditate on what you want.
- Practice using your PFC. Self-control is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. This is why good parenting is essential to helping children develop self-control. If we gave in to our eight-year-old every time he or she wanted something or threw a temper tantrum, we would raise a spoiled, demanding child. By saying no, and not giving in to tantrums, we teach the child to be able to say no to himself or herself. To develop your own PFC, you need to do the same thing. Practice saying no to the things that are not good for you, and over time you will find it easier to do.
- Get the help you need. Illnesses such as ADD, anxiety and depression decrease self-control. Whether you visit the Amen Clinics or another clinic, getting the help you need for these conditions is essential to being in control of your life. Understanding and optimizing your brain can be the key to a long, happy, healthy life, with you in control. | <urn:uuid:4335757d-5449-451a-b4f1-0fcca2b33ccd> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.nextavenue.org/daniel-amen-secret-longevity-conscientiousness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717963.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00375-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955443 | 1,511 | 2.3125 | 2 |
If you had chickenpox as a child, the virus that caused it can re-emerge later in life — out of the blue — to cause shingles. This condition, also known as herpes zoster, consists of a rash on one side of the body, often accompanied by excruciating pain. The rash typically goes away in about a month, but in some people, the pain lingers for weeks, months, or even years. This chronic pain is called post-herpetic neuralgia.
The virus that causes chickenpox, known as varicella-zoster, doesn’t necessarily disappear from the body after the chickenpox rash fades away. Instead, the virus can go into hiding, taking up residence in the nerve roots coming off the spinal cord. As the immune system becomes weaker with age, varicella-zoster may “wake up,” start to grow in a nerve root on one side of the body, and cause shingles.
A vaccine called Zostavax can help prevent shingles. It is recommended for people ages 60 and older. The vaccine is produced by treating live varicella-zoster virus in ways that weaken it but don’t kill it. This is what’s known as a live attenuated vaccine. Though Zostavax works reasonably well to prevent shingles, it tends to be less effective in older people. And because it contains live virus, it should not be given to people with weak immune systems.
An experimental new vaccine which goes by the name HZ/su, just described in The New England Journal of Medicine, seems to get around these problems. This vaccine consists of just a single protein of the virus. Zostavax contains all of the viral proteins.
In the international Zoster Efficacy Study in Adults 50 Years of Age or Older (ZOE-50), the new vaccine appeared to be effective even in older people. It may, however, cause more pain at the injection site and also more frequent muscle pain and headache than the current vaccine.
HZ/su still faces more testing. The University of Colorado, for example, has mounted a head-to-head test of Zostavax and HZ/su in younger (ages 50 to 59) and older (ages 70 to 85) adults. And even if the new vaccine performs well, FDA approval would still be a few years away.
Shingles, and the all-too-common complication of post-herpetic neuralgia, can be such debilitating conditions that a new, more effective vaccine would be a very welcome addition. It could help prevent more cases of shingles in older adults. And since HZ/su can’t cause infection, it could be given to people with weakened immune systems. | <urn:uuid:4a80947f-def5-444a-b15d-ffe798328fa9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/experimental-new-vaccine-may-help-in-the-fight-against-shingles-201505047978 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279189.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00063-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956986 | 581 | 3.625 | 4 |
3rd July 2015
Pensions minister Ros Altmann has thrown her weight behind plans for a ‘default drawdown’ plan set out by the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest).
Nest set out a ‘blueprint’ for retirement income that it believes could be the answer for retirees who don’t know what to do with their money. It wants to automatically default its members into a default drawdown scheme when they get to retirement if they fail to make a decision about their money.
The scheme would see 90% of the money invested in drawdown to provide an income and 10% available to take as cash. Members of the scheme would also automatically pay towards an annuity using the income generated in drawdown which they would then take at age 85 and it would provide a guaranteed income for the rest of their life.
In response to the blueprint, Altmann (pictured) backed the scheme as a way to protect members against the risk of old age and illness.
‘For the first 20 years of retirement, pensioners should have room for investment growth to enhance their later life income, however, from age 80 or 85, buying an annuity of having funds to pay for long-term care will become increasingly attractive,’ she said.
‘Products could be designed which take part of the initial pension fund and use it to purchase an advanced life deferred annuity that would start paying out a specified income if the person lived for 20 years. The annuity income that would be promised for 20 years’ time would be much better value because the probability of living to such as advanced age is smaller, so many people will not be paid at all.’
However, Altmann said more than one default drawdown strategy was needed.
‘Default strategies tend to be ‘one size fits all’ but this approach will not fit all,’ she said.
‘Therefore, more than one default strategy will be important.’
Nest believes it may take up to three years to develop the blueprint. | <urn:uuid:1ea44b17-ab39-44d8-8cbb-32fbace84a10> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.mindfulmoney.co.uk/mindful-news/pensions-minister-backs-nest-retirement-blueprint-to-provide-cash-and-income/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00538-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972811 | 424 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Regions / European Union
For leftist critics of the EU, reform looks unlikely — but aligning with right-wing Euroskeptics looks worse. Maybe there's a third option.
Has society let go of the belief that disparate communities can be brought together for a common goal without one absorbing the other or both tearing each other apart?
Shifting alignments in the aftermath of the failed coup could bring peace to Yemen and Syria—but only if regional leaders can agree on some rules.
Both phenomena are products of an idyllic restoration of a lost order, using regressive arcadias as a defense mechanism that can lead to radicalism and extremism.
The decisive role of collective action in undermining neoliberal ideology and the continuing structural power of capitalism.
European elites are blaming "stupid" voters for turning against an economic system that hasn't worked for them.
Why are voters here and in the UK abandoning "reality-based" politics? Because the elites who proclaim them abandoned the voters.
Far-right nationalists and neoliberal capitalists will survive the demise of institutions like the EU. What about the rest of us?
Can the EU still unite a continent shattered by world wars, or is it little more than a vehicle for austerity capitalism?
From the comfortable alt-rock of PJ Harvey to the hypnotic antagonism of Anohni, new protest music offers a relief from the official rhythms of war and peace. | <urn:uuid:5ec804c1-f7e7-457e-92bd-42b46fb87a0f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://fpif.org/regions/european-union/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282140.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00129-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91537 | 289 | 1.632813 | 2 |
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