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Over the years, countless papers and articles have been written on enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation project success rates and why ERP projects fail. Interestingly enough, the reasons that projects fail are the same today as they were 10 years ago: lack of top management commitment, unrealistic expectations, poor requirements definition, improper package selection, gaps between software and business requirements, inadequate resources, underestimating time and cost, poor project management, lack of methodology, underestimating impact of change, lack of training and education, and last, but not least, poor communication.
In short, ERP projects will continue to fail due to human factors. This is especially true today where ERP system implementations cross many internal and external organizational boundaries. However, the fact is that most organizations do not anticipate project failure. Instead, they plan for success, governed by budget, next step deliverables, executive expectations, and go-live deadlines. Heads-down to the task at hand, the project manager and team have little visibility and less control over potential risks within the project - until it's too late.
Preempting project failure begins with understanding that there is a preventative approach that can provide planned project assurance at critical points in the project's evolution. It begins with clear understanding of expectations - from the executives, to the business and IT management, to the software vendors and end users.
Why? Because clarity in expectations translates to clarity in both system requirements and business analysis. Consider these key findings from the report, The Impact of Business Requirements on the Success of Technology Projects from IAG Consulting:
- Companies with poor business analysis capability will have three times as many project failures as successes
- 68% of companies are more likely to have a marginal project or outright failure than a success due to the way they approach business analysis
- Companies pay a premium of as much as 60% on time and budget when they use poor requirements practices on their projects
- Over 41% of the IT development budget for software, staff and external professional services will be consumed by poor requirements at the average company using average analysts versus the optimal organization
As indicated by the findings above, project failure can happen early in the project lifecycle, causing a ripple effect on your project. In planning your project, you have calculated your project budget, resource / staffing needs and your projected ROI. However, if there is a gap in your requirements that causes delay during the acquisition phase of your project, or worse yet, you leave out key requirements from the strategy phase because of a rushed assessment, the resulting impact will be seen downstream - causing the extension of subsequent project phases. The ripple effect of missing project gaps early during the project will not only create vulnerability and weakness in the project plan integrity, it affects the time line, the overall project cost, realized benefits / ROI calculations and the project team's credibility.
The need for project assurance
Project assurance is about making sure that projects are delivered on time, on-budget, with client acceptance. Having project assurance as part of a large-scale business system implementation helps you: control/reduce project costs; ensure milestones are met; minimize surprises; provide objective analysis; and provide peace of mind and trust among executives and project team members
Project Assurance methodologies are based on the following best practices:
1. Having an on-going executive dialog to manage expectations
At the leadership level, objective project assessments establish an executive dialog that allows business and organizational issues to be identified and analyzed with clarity and without emotion. By continuing this dialog throughout the implementation process, you will eventually remove organizational barriers both within the organization and with third party vendor and align all the parties with the common goal of project success. This process will also help set realistic expectations upfront and keep expectations current in the mind of project team members so that they don't lose sight of the forest while maneuvering around a tree.
2. Proactive monitoring of work-streams interdependencies.
Many organizations will set overly optimistic go-live dates in spite of the realities and limitations of the actual project. For example, the design phase extends ... but the time line doesn't. By monitoring project progress throughout the implementation, you can start discussions regarding key project dates early in the project's lifecycle to avoid downstream impacts.
This can be achieved by identifying, aligning and continuously monitoring work streams to ensure smooth progress throughout the organization. Understanding the dependencies between work streams during project plan development can help ensure proper resource allocations and project time frames.
3. Looking beyond the project dashboard
Realistic monitoring and analysis of progress of the implementation can show that even though all project management indicators are green, warning signs indicate endangered components. If indicators are only addressing past phases, but not addressing readiness for upcoming project tasks and activities, they are definitely trailing indicators and not trustworthy predictions of the future.
To assist in the process, seek objective project assessments from someone outside the project team. This person can be either internal to the organization or an independent expert. In either case, the assessments should be conducted by an executive project manager who has managed enough projects successfully to know how to recognize subtle indicators, intervene to accommodate the situation, and adjust expectations accordingly. These assessments will add value to the project implementation and protect against project failure by delivering the know-how and objective oversight through a fresh set of eyes.
Incorporating a project assurance methodology into your ERP implementation helps you to identify and resolve the strategic, tactical and intangible issues - and manage the human factors - before project gaps become chasms. The incremental costs you will incur by having an additional resource periodically conduct project assessments will be far less than the cost of project delays caused by unrealized project gaps and will provide the peace of mind that the project is on the right track. | <urn:uuid:b89bb9f3-2e9b-4a4e-9480-802dd42b8d04> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.dbta.com/Editorial/Trends-and-Applications/Attaining-ERP-Implementation-Success-through-Project-Assurance-77041.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570921.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809094531-20220809124531-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.931266 | 1,169 | 1.53125 | 2 |
When Pope Benedict XVI visited the Holy Land five years ago, Israel heightened its security, gladly emphasising the potential threat he supposedly faced in Israel from Muslim extremists.
As his successor, Pope Francis, arrived in Israel late on Sunday, security was no less strict. Some 9,000 police had been drafted in to protect him, Christian institutions were under round-the-clock protection, and the intelligence services were working overtime. According to a Vatican official, Israel’s preparations had turned “the holy sites into a military base”.
On this occasion Israel was less keen to publicise the source of its fears, because the most tangible threat came not from Islamists but Jewish fanatics linked to Israel’s settler movement.
Last month they issued a death threat to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Nazareth and his followers, while recent weeks have seen clergy attacked, churches and monasteries defaced with offensive graffiti, and cemeteries desecrated.
The building where the Pope was due to meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu today was daubed with “Death to Arabs and Christians”. Last Friday, a church in the city of Beersheva was sprayed with “Jesus is a son of a bitch”.
Israeli police have arrested or issued restraining orders on several dozen Jewish extremists in the past few days.
Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has warned that “acts of unrestrained vandalism are poisoning the atmosphere”.
Indeed, the mood of intolerance has spread beyond a dangerous fringe. Hundreds of Israeli Jews demonstrated angrily in Jerusalem last week against the Pope, while police barred Catholic authorities from putting up banners celebrating his visit, apparently fearful it could trigger wider protests.
The local Palestinian Christian population, both in the occupied territories and inside Israel itself, is feeling more embattled than ever – and not just from settlers.
In Bethlehem on Sunday the Pope made an unscheduled stop to pray at the monstrous concrete wall that has turned Jesus’ birthplace into a prison for its modern inhabitants. At a nearby refugee camp he was reminded that Israel bars residents from ever returning to homes now in Israel.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has provided his personal backing to a plan whose barely concealed goal is to divide the large Palestinian minority inside Israel – pitting Christian against Muslim – by seeking to draft the former into the Israeli military.
Despite this Pope’s popularity, there have been rumblings of dissatisfaction at his priorities on this brief, three-day trip.
The official purpose is to mark the 50th anniversary of a meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras that ended of a 1,000-year schism between Rome and the Orthodox Church.
The Vatican has emphasised that Francis’ trip is “absolutely not political”. His itinerary, which did not include time for a visit to the Galilee, where most Palestinian Christians are located, suggested the Pope was not likely to offer his flock solace beyond the general hope he expressed in Bethlehem for a “stable peace” in the region.
The Holy Land’s Christians are an increasingly vulnerable minority. Inside Israel, for example, their proportion has fallen from nearly a quarter of the Palestinian minority in the early 1950s to just 10 per cent today. A similar decline has taken place in the occupied territories.
Although Israel blames Muslim fanaticism for this decades-long trend, the truth is different. In repeated surveys, only a small minority of Christians blame Muslims for the exodus.
In part, the proportion of Christians has fallen over time simply because of their tendency to smaller familes than Muslims. But equally significant are Israel’s oppressive twin policies of belligerent occupation in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem and a political system of exclusive Jewish privilege inside Israel.
All Palestinians, Muslim and Christian alike, have been harmed by Israeli rule. But Christians have been better able to exploit connections to Western communities, giving them an easier passage out.
None of this fits well with Israel’s narrative of a clash between the Judeo-Christian world and Islam, or its desire to present itself as a unique haven as neighbouring Arab states sink into sectarian conflict. On Sunday Netanyahu claimed Israel was the only Middle East country to offer “absolute freedom to practice all religions”.
The reality, however, is that the settlers’ violence feeds off a religious and ethnic intolerance cultivated on many fronts by the Israeli state itself.
It starts early, with a majority of Jewish children educated in religious schools that scorn a modern curriculum. Instead they drill into pupils literal interpretations of the Bible that encourage Jewish chauvinism.
Israel’s programme of Holocaust education rejects universal lessons, preferring to nurture a sense of Jews as history’s eternal victims. Many Israelis believe they should be constantly on guard – and armed – against a world of anti-semitic gentiles.
Hardline Orthodox rabbis, given control over large areas of Israeli life, have become the sole arbiters of moral values for many Israelis.
The government’s latest effort to pass legislation affirming Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people” is designed to stymie any hope of a multi-cultural future.
And finally, decades of rule over Palestinians have been exploited by Israel to invest ever greater Jewish religious symbolism in contested or shared holy places, most notably the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. Slowly a territorial conflict is gaining the attributes of a religious war.
Local church leaders understand this well. In the run-up to the Pope’s visit, Twal asked pointedly: “What effect is created by [an] official discourse on Israel being a state for one group only?”
The Pope noted in Jordan on Saturday that religious freedom was a “fundamental human right”. That is certainly a message Israel’s leadership needed to hear stressed when Francis met them today.
A papal visit that eschews politics to focus only on religion – elevating holy sites above the people who live next to them – betrays a Christian community that needs all the help it can get as it fights for its continuing place in the Holy Land. | <urn:uuid:07d05271-c3fa-4f4f-aa91-9b9c481b1ffa> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://dissidentvoice.org/2014/05/palestinian-christians-need-a-political-pope-too/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721141.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00415-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959369 | 1,278 | 1.734375 | 2 |
After three months and over 100,000 visitors FIELD TEST closed last Sunday. In case you missed it one of our awesome TY students, Sam, caught the final week of the exhibition and wrote up his thoughts.
The Science Gallery Dublin’s recently closed exhibition FIELD TEST focuses on agriculture while investigating innovative new ways of farming efficiently and sustainably. These new ways consist of brand new technology and biological experiments to enhance production on the farm, and make life easier for farmers and animals. Some of these advancements include ‘microgreens’- plant shoots used to produce more proteinous plants, and aquaponics, a method in which fish fertilise soils with waste to help growth above the tank.
As well as this, a state of the art food lab has been introduced. The LOCI Food Lab is a high tech snack store where you choose three attributes out of 15, and you receive a range of snacks, based on the attributes you put in. Some of these attributes include ‘delicious’, ‘vegan’ and ‘affordable’. Some of the available snacks include Irish cooking apples and black pudding. It is a cool new way of ordering food.
The actual items on show are quite interesting. On the ground floor, there are some high-tech gadgets on show including a sensor used to notify when a cow is giving birth, and an oculus rift for chickens, conveying a virtual reality to keep them happy while in confinement. As you make your way upstairs, you’ll find a range of plants and their respective seeds, describing the transition between. After that, you’ll see the AQUALab, where the previously mentioned aquaponics are used. But before you witness fish feces fertilising soil, you’ll find a small scale city, in which urban life is combined with agricultural. It’s an interesting concept designed by architects, with potential to slow down urbanisation, if something similar is developed.
Some nutrient-filled microgreens and a hypothetical virtual reality headset for happy chickens
Personally, my favourite piece was RoboBees. I could already tell from the title that it was going to be interesting. It’s fairly self-explanatory, a robotic bee. This miniature aircraft was designed and produced by Harvard University and Centeye, a micro-electronics firm. It weighs in at just 0.1 grams, yet could have many potential functions. These consist of pollinating (like a real bee), search and rescue, military surveillance and weather and climate mapping. This tiny flying robot could certainly become useful in the future, and if they do become available, I know I’ll be looking to purchase a swarm.
Overall, I think this is an intriguing exhibition with some clever and extraordinary ideas that could potentially enhance agriculture worldwide. It was definitely worth a visit. | <urn:uuid:cc240497-6511-4b17-94a6-c0cdabdb93e2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://dublin.sciencegallery.com/blog/2016/06/fieldtesttyguestblogpost | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284405.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00041-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954954 | 589 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Creative and Beautiful Photography ideas With Little Cars
The world of photography is very wide, and is not limited by anything. you can make your own photography with something simple, like a toys. Just need creativity to be create beautiful photography . Look around and make your world with different viewpoint, I give a little example of this, we have found inspiration from a talented artist.
Meet Kim Leuenberger, the traveler and also wonderful photographer. fresh ideas that you can see from his work, in this case she uses miniature photography concept, using a small replica of the Volkswagen minivan and took her travel time, take the photograph with the natural background. She put the car in stone, grass, even surf and take photos closely to show the detail effects.
Each little car has got its own personality and face, and they’re all unique characters. The process of creating these images is a sort of self-therapy for me, enabling me to enter my bubble and forget everything around that worries me, I just fall back into that innocence of childhood and everything is so easy. I love to play with water especially, reflections, out of focus areas.
Not only that, she also took another car to become an icon in her photography. If you are a person who likes are traveling, Creative idea like this could you practice with your toys, not limited with the car. if you like her project hope you share with other, Enjoy!! | <urn:uuid:c6eb2098-7f48-4f3f-947b-41f459fdec2c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.99inspiration.com/2016/05/creative-and-beautiful-photography-ideas-with-little-cars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280899.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00576-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973634 | 293 | 1.570313 | 2 |
LONG-TERM cohabitation does not provide the stability of marriage, says the Mothers’ Union (MU), in response to the latest findings of the British Social Attitudes survey.
The survey, published last week, suggested that two-thirds (66 per cent) of people believed there was little difference socially between being married and living together. Seven in ten of those questioned thought there was nothing wrong with sex before marriage, compared with nearly five in ten (48 per cent) in 1984. Only about one in four (28 per cent) thought married couples made better parents than unmarried ones.
Views became more traditional where children were concerned, the report suggested, especially where less traditional arrangements, such as single or gay parents, were involved. “When [children] are involved, alternative family arrangements are seen as less acceptable,” said Professor Simon Duncan, co-author of the report.
Only about four in ten people (42 per cent) thought one parent could bring up a child as well as two parents. The same percentage of those questioned disagreed with the view that a gay male couple were as capable of being good parents as a man or a woman. But, although nine in ten (90 per cent) thought donor insemination should be allowed for a couple who could not have children naturally, this fell to six in ten (61 percent) in the case of single women.
The report said that half of those questioned (51 per cent) still wrongly believed there was such a thing as “common-law marriage”. Professor Anne Barlow, its co-author, commented: “The myth that there is something called common-law marriage that gives cohabiting couples legal rights lives on, despite the media exposure of the last few years. There is little appetite for maintaining the deep legal division drawn between married and cohabiting families.”
The MU is calling for greater economic and social support for marriage. Its chief executive, Reg Bailey, said: “If the ‘average person’ quoted as opinion-former in the British Social Attitudes survey believes that marriage and cohabitation provide the same degree of stability for adult relationships, for children, and for society, they are being seriously misled.
“We want to stand against media-encouraged expectations of marriage, which depict unrealistic fairytale hopes and peddle a salacious focus on celebrity weddings and marriage breakdowns. We want to help people get real about how relationships need to be worked at.”
Tax benefits for married couples would send a signal that marriage was beneficial to society, says the MU. It is launching a training initiative, Loving for Life, later this year.
Civil partnerships, which became legal in December 2005, had an initial rush during 2006, but fell back last year, according to a survey of 40 councils by the Local Government Association. The trend was confirmed by the Office for National Statistics. Its figures showed that 16,000 couples entered a civil partnership in 2006, and 4060 in the first half of 2007. | <urn:uuid:f3f8c318-3f53-43b0-a889-b825760e7ff4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2008/8-february/news/uk/mu-criticises-salacious-media-view-of-marriage | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.981615 | 626 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Wasn’t the live Introduction to Dorico stream just fantastic! Congratulations to Daniel and the whole team!
My question is: I’m working on a piece at the moment which uses a very similar system to John Cage’s Number Pieces. So rather than standard notation, he uses small ‘cells’ that have time markings indicating when a player should start and stop playing their pitches etc. Catching the last half of the introduction video (so apologies if something like this might have been demonstrated near the beginning of the video), it would be presumed I could set up these ‘cells’ using flows and lay them out on the page accordingly?
I’m really interested to hear how I would go about achieving something like this in Dorico. I’ve attached a .jpg so hopefully you can see the sort of thing I’m after.
I think you could reproduce that page pretty easily in Dorico, by creating each cell as its own flow, and then positioning music frames just where you want them on the page. If I get a minute (probably unlikely today as it looks like it will be a busy day) I will try to set out that page in Dorico and attach the project here so you can see for yourself.
Excellent! Well, when I caught the last half of the presentation last night, Dan had placed a very small flow above a block of text at the bottom of a page of music. Furthermore, he was saying how short or long flows can be, so by the sounds of it it would be just a case of organising the cells/flows how I see fit! I’ll soon find out when I get home and purchase it! Thank you!
Being a pretty proficient cough sibelius cough user, I knew that it would take more than minutes to produce something like that in that program! Thank you for the attached document, super helpful for the project I’m working on!
this seems not unlike how I would do it in Andreas Press’ score: put each cell on its own track with its own left to right margins for the staff or staves and move it to anywhere you would want it to be on the page.
worked through placing fragments into separate flows and placing them on the page as layout frames in engrave mode. wow. never got into understanding this until now. wonderful. it took me a bit to figure out what ma and la, lb, lc were, but pretty obvious once it was understood. when putting a frame on the page I could choose any one of the frames to be placed but can simultaneously check any or all of them; yet only one shows. I assume that not one flow can be displayed per frame.
next, want to understand master pages and pages much better. looking forward to hiding staves within a single flow a la stravinsky, boulez, stockhausen, etc. it’s like waiting for the morning to come on christmas eve. | <urn:uuid:1f7a4436-8d36-48ff-9801-85e56ee573ba> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://forums.steinberg.net/t/number-pieces/666541 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571097.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810010059-20220810040059-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.957478 | 615 | 2.015625 | 2 |
For the last few days, we’ve been exploring the attributes of a good leader.
E – Leaders know the importance of equipping their team for success.
The 5th Attribute of a Good Leader is understanding the importance of equipping your team for success.
Equipping the recruited is a formula for success. Recruiting without equipping leads to poor engagement and productivity.
Does it come to you naturally in equipping your team for success?
As a business development coach and trainer I sometimes observe that the right type of equipping can be missed. The way to do this well is not to presume what a team member may need or want – but rather to sit down with them and find out what they feel they really need.
Great connecting in this area will set your team up for success.
I share more about this in the attached video. | <urn:uuid:2ddc9e2d-59ec-4678-aca0-aca8b2836581> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://keepthinkingbig.com/leaders-equip-their-team/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.954736 | 178 | 1.523438 | 2 |
A clear thesis that takes a position on an issue within the narrowed subtopic is the basis for the Paper, do not simply state a “purpose” such as “to investigate” or “to overview” or “to examine” the topic. Content: • Title page: Use the one in the School of Divinity’s Writing Guide under “Formatting.” • Table of Contents: Show major headings • Thesis Statement: Under the heading “Thesis Statement” provide the single sentence that states your position on a relevant issue in the topic/subtopic area as discussed by theologians. *Need for the Study—This section explains why the topic/subtopic is discussed in journal articles and books, questions still remain. So state here what is keeping the issue alive, who is discussing it, etc. DO NOT overstate the “need” as if Christianity’s survival depends on it—that would indicate that your effort is too general, overly broad, unfocused—narrow it! • Introduction: A strong paragraph to introduce the topic, its relevance, why the thesis statement answers some important question or addresses some important issue. Overview the basic argument you will be make so any reader can tell where the paper is going to go. I prefer the Thesis Statement and Introduction texts be all on the first page numbered “1.” • Body of the Paper: Argue for your thesis position, interact with scholars on the issues. Allow for opposing views, try to answer their objections. Make your voice heard by moderating the “discussion” between the scholars. Explain why a view prevails as each point is discussed. Proper headings in the text will guide your reader. Use good transitional sentences between paragraphs. Footnotes must be accurate, giving full info and reference actual page numbers where readers can find the original material you quoted/paraphrased. • Conclusion: Avoid devotional statements, instead, for academic papers summarize the force or strength of the arguments you made, thus why your thesis position is justified. Offer further considerations, implications, or applications the research effort could lead to. • Bibliography: List the scholarly sources cited in the footnotes (but omit from the Bibliography any Bibles, websites, general dictionaries, or devotional material if cited in the body text—Bibliographies list the scholarly material you researched). Also, even if you cited the textbook for the course it is not counted toward the 10 sources required. DO NOT include material consulted, those would be considered “padding”—list only works cited. Formating: The format must be Turabian’s “Notes & Bibliography” style (chs. 16-17) in the latest edition1 subject to the School of Divinity’s Writing Guide. The following is the basic format: 1. Footnotes are in the footer section of the paper’s body, NOT at the end (endnotes) or in parenthetical references (i.e., APA or MLA styles not allowed). 2. Please avoid quoting out passages of Scripture in your academic theology papers. Just make your point then place the Scripture reference in parentheses as in this example: “The apostle John notes that God’s love for us is expressed by giving (Jn 3:16).” I prefer you not use footnotes to refer to Bible passages, just place them in parentheses.
https://homeworkmarkets.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/logo1-300x75.png 0 0 Mike https://homeworkmarkets.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/logo1-300x75.png Mike2021-08-19 23:50:462021-08-19 23:50:46WriterRasuschenbusch Liberal Theology: Children Are Born Good and Can Be Taught to Grow in Christianity. Are Children born good or are we all born in Sin’s Choice
The products and services provided by this website are for research and guidance purposes only. Students are solely responsible for doing their own work and using the materials provided as a reference. | <urn:uuid:57417de0-bcab-45cb-ba46-ad60ab438747> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://homeworkmarkets.com/writerrasuschenbusch-liberal-theology-children-are-born-good-and-can-be-taught-to-grow-in-christianity-are-children-born-good-or-are-we-all-born-in-sins-choice/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572163.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815085006-20220815115006-00669.warc.gz | en | 0.897252 | 871 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Telling Time to the Half Hour 1st Grade Video
Come learn what numbers are hiding in the number 5 with our introduction to the break apart line. Students will learn how the number 5 is made up of other numbers.
Some Great Content for This Video
360 VR Math Escape Room Games
You will notice that in the video above we cover similar problems in the worksheets. You can have students work the problems while watching the video or any way you would like to.
We will continue to add content here so check back for more awesome stuff! | <urn:uuid:ea996dac-6bbf-4b81-a5f8-42b4e194ac21> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.magemath.com/time-to-the-half-hour/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00474.warc.gz | en | 0.847953 | 131 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Melbourne is the city where people are amazed by the varied seasons and unpredictable climatic conditions. The climate is generally warm in summer, gentle in autumn, crisp in winter and enjoyable in spring. Due to these changeable climatic conditions, it becomes essential to maintain your home and surroundings. The first step towards home maintenance is roof gutter cleaning.
Importance of Roof Gutter Cleaning in Melbourne
As the climate of Melbourne changes frequently, regular maintenance of your home becomes the necessity. It is the long way to preserve the value of your investment. A well-maintained roof gutter system is the way towards the healthy condition of roof, walls, and landscape. Also, it is responsible for controlling the flow of rainwater in order to protect your house foundation.
If you ignore maintaining your gutter it can cause you a lot of money in future, so remember to add roof gutter cleaning on your maintenance calendar at least once a month.
Why Climate Change Affects Your Gutter?
It is the proven fact that climate change is influenced by the number of factors such as human activities, volcanic eruptions, movements of plates tectonics on the earth surface and other biological processes can cause climate change. This changing climate is responsible for affecting the roof gutters. So, it is essential to opt for gutter cleaning in Melbourne eastern suburbs.
Many Melbournians gets frustrated when it comes to maintaining their gutters because despite taking essential care gutters get clogged. This happens because of weather change and the falling leaves collected in your gutter. They remain in your gutter till the winter sets in.
During winter roof gutters get a freeze and as soon as spring enters it melts. So, if you ever ignored your gutters over the last, eventually it causes the damage to your house. The siding of the house, foundation and even the landscaping can be ruined if you don’t maintain your gutters. Check out the effective tips and tricks of spring gutter cleaning. There are numbers of factors which are responsible for affecting your roof gutter through due to the changes in climate including:-
Roof Gutter Size
When it comes to climate change, size of your roof gutters matters. This is because every gutter is built differently and they might have been made to handle a lot of rainfall or downpour. Therefore, if the weather condition is harsh for a long period of time, your roof gutter might start wearing out quickly. Contact professional roof gutter cleaning service provider to help you with all the gutter cleaning needs.
Rainfall And Clogging
The gutter system is designed for preventing rainwater away from your roof, siding, bricks and landscaping. However, with changing climate many leaves, mud or other debris are responsible for the clogged gutter. The water will be stuck in the gutters which will make it heavy and it might pull away from the anchoring. So, opt for regular roof gutter cleaning in Melbourne in order to check the shape and position of your gutters after heavy rainfall and also to observe that the water is flowing freely from the downspout.
Effect Of Ice And Snow
One of the most dangerous elements of your roof gutter is ice and snow. With the changing climate, there is the possibility of the ice and snow to settle down inside your gutters. Due to this, it adds weight to the gutter and it might get separated from your house. Also, it has been noticed that the freezing water and melting process leads to cracks between sections of gutters. Therefore, it is important to observe your gutters on a fixed interval of time and ensure that the sides are not bulging our or sagging downward.
From heavy rainfall, snow to a large amount of sunlight, are considered as the essential aspects of frequent changing climate, which results in corrosion and rusting on the gutters. Corrosion occurs when the gutters are made up of iron and come in contact with water elements, producing a chemical that might be harmful to your health when consumed.
Climate change is the natural consequence which can’t be handled. Therefore, all you can do is to have a regular roof gutter cleaning in Melbourne and avoid the further damage to roof gutters due to changing climate. Also, for proper gutter repair and maintenance service, it is essential to contact professionals to get the job done right. Valium https://www.ncahcsp.org/buy-valium-online/ is a benzodiazepine-type anxiolytic (tranquilizer). It has a sedative-hypnotic, anticonvulsant and central muscle relaxant effect. Always keep in mind, never try to repair or install roof gutter by yourself, when you don’t have prior experience. | <urn:uuid:6cf88719-679d-4e67-af0f-5a2ae254bb5e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.directoryau.com.au/climate-affecting-gutters/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00473.warc.gz | en | 0.94284 | 1,001 | 2.25 | 2 |
Molecular Circuitry: Coming soon?
Subject: General Tech | March 27, 2006 - 05:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Researchers in the US have built the first logic circuit on a molecular scale (18 µm) according to this story on nanotechweb. This seems to reinforce the idea that circuits will not always be etched out of existing material, but grown one molecule at a time. Small Form Factor indeed!
Researchers at IBM, the University of Florida and Columbia University, all in the US, have
created a logic circuit on a single-walled carbon nanotube. This is the first time that an
integrated circuit has been made on a single molecule.
"Our successful integration demonstrates the compatibility of carbon nanotubes with conventional
circuit architectures," Joerg Appenzeller of IBM told nanotechweb.org. "Our circuit uses a
conventional CMOS-type architecture that ensures, in principle, low power consumption. It
emphasizes that the use of nanomaterials does not automatically imply that well established
circuit concepts have to be abandoned."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
TARGET="_blank">Keeping It Cool Contest 2006 @ MODTHEBOX.COM
Cooler Master "Aqua Gear" @ Bigbruin.com
HD160 HTPC Chassis Giveaway @ Virtual-Hideout
TARGET="_blank">Actiontec VoSKY Call Center @ Hardware Pacers
TARGET="_blank">Colossus the worlds first electronic programmable computer @ A1 Electronics
etwork.html" TARGET="_blank">Firefox versus Internet Explorer in a Corporate Network @ Digital
Intel Developers Forum @ The TechZone
Dead? DOA! @ ThinkComputers.org
stful_and_Lame_200603272254/" TARGET="_blank">Microsoft: Irresponsible, Distrustful and Lame @
ag=html.alert" TARGET="_blank">Microsoft creates public bug database for IE @ CNET | <urn:uuid:1e9b54b9-7d31-4f80-bac9-6c956f407a8f> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Molecular-Circuitry-Coming-soon?pcper_ajax_tabs_block_tab=1&referer=node%2F42328&args= | 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 | 0.730987 | 427 | 2.984375 | 3 |
3D printing is a controversial old thing. Amongst its much-repeated list of key benefits, there is one to that’s a bone of contention for enthusiasts and cynics alike – waste.
Promoted as a technology that reduces waste due to its additive nature, meaning only the required amount of material is used, critics would argue, and rightly so, that plastic 3D printers do produce a lot of excess waste. I myself even have a nice little pile of models at home that eventually are going to end up in a landfill somewhere.
So what can be done? Currently there are recycling policies in place with major 3D printer manufacturers and machines like the EKOCYCLE that can turn plastic bottles into 3D printing filament. Now a new machine has stepped up to the plate on a mission to turn this promising technology green – and even save you money along the way.
The ProtoCycler is a product of 2 years development that claims to be able to recycle waste plastic into valuable 3D printer filament.
Currently in the last few days of a successful Indiegogo campaign, the ProtoCycler claims that, in just a few simple steps, it is capable of producing up to 10 feet of filament a minute in any given colour.
Essentially the process works by depositing any waste material, prototypes and support material into an integrated grinder, which is then extruded by MixFlow technology into usable filament, pre-spooled and ready to go.
According to its designers, ProtoCycler will “pay for itself in just 10-20 spools” allowing the user to make a typical $30 spool for just $5 at home.
The campaign page states the ProtoCycler is the “world’s first fully integrated, fully automated, safety certified filament recycler” and having raised $89,000 already – that’s almost $20,000 over its target – it looks like it might get the chance to prove it.
With just a few days left to back the project, 3D printer users keen to save on filament and a little bit of the planet in the process, can get their hands on a ProtoCycler for $699 delivered by August. | <urn:uuid:4a6a71b5-21fd-4232-aff7-2c76cd03e6fd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.tctmagazine.com/prsnlz/3d-printing-filament-recycler-saving-pounds-and-planet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00206-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944148 | 457 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Broadband Census Maryland
This is the 12th of a series of articles surveying the state of broadband, and broadband data, within each of the United States.
September 11 – Being a first-mover is a blessing and a curse. When it comes to state-led broadband initiatives, Maryland has been an early innovator at confronting the long road towards state-wide universal broadband access.
Among the most recent accomplishments for the state was, two months ago, Gov. Martin O’Malley’s approval of a license allowing the Maryland Broadband Cooperative to begin installing broadband fiber up the eastern shore of Maryland and across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
It’s another milestone in a road that is now over a decade long.
In 1998, the Maryland General Assembly created the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) “as a public instrumentality of the state” and tasked it with funding technology-focused programs and initiatives contributing to Maryland’s economic and business development.
By 2002, TEDCO had completed a comprehensive state-wide eReadiness study. It led to TEDCO’s recommendation that Maryland develop a broadband task force to address deficits in broadband connectivity in rural parts of the state. The legislature accepted TEDCO’s recommendation, approving funding for the Task Force for the Development of Broadband in Rural Maryland in 2003.
The task force attempted to divide and conquer Maryland’s broadband deficits. It focused on rural regions in the southern and western parts of the state, as well as the Eastern Shore, and on coordinating efforts among public and private partners on the local level.
From 2004 to 2006, the task force said it helped expand broadband deployment in these regions. It helping out with applications for federal and state loan and grant programs, and investing public funds into the infrastructure necessary for last-mile delivery – or delivery to individual residential customers – by private sector partners.
In 2006, state Sen. E.J. Pipkin, who chaired the task force, supported a new effort by United States Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Gov. O’Malley and others to develop the Maryland Rural Broadband Coordination Board.
By May of 2006, that board was officially established through O’Malley’s approval of Senate Bill 753, which also delivered funding for the Maryland Broadband Cooperative, the member-owned and operated network responsible for insuring that state investments meet the goal of completing last-mile service in cooperation with private sector organizations.
Today, the Maryland Broadband Cooperative continues to provide key investments in digital infrastructure to support consumer- and business-level broadband connectivity. One local government group responsible for facilitating these on the ground investments is the Tri-County Council of Southern Maryland.
Council Executive Director Wayne Clark said that the work of the 30-member Broadband Cooperative is “critical to making all parts of Maryland a part of the national superhighway.”
Maryland’s extensive efforts will likely be faced by other states that set out on the road toward universal broadband service. But Maryland’s long haul may be leading the state closer to its goals.
“We’ve gone as far as we can go with the unregulated free market,” said Del. Tom Hucker, who represents District 20 in Montgomery County. “Now, we as a government have a responsibility to make sure there are not gaps in coverage areas.”
One of the remaining efforts to “fill the gaps” in Maryland centers around legislative initiatives seeking to map out broadband availability and determine exactly where such gaps are. Since 2006, the General Assembly has considered many bills to fund broadband data and mapping projects – but none has passed.
“It’s a relatively complicated issue,” says Del. Hucker. “When you have part-time legislators it’s not uncommon for complex bills to take two or three years to pass.”
Art Brodsky, a communications policy analyst and Maryland constituent who helped craft one of the broadband data bills sponsored by Del. Herman Taylor (District 14, Montgomery County), lamented the failure of the General Assembly to move faster on the issue of broadband data collection.
“It would have been nice if Maryland were a national leader in broadband mapping, but that opportunity went down with the defeat of Del. Herman Taylor’s bill,” he said.
Del. Hucker is confident that Maryland will move forward on broadband mapping. “Broadband will be as important in the next hundred years as the telephone and electricity were over the last hundred.”
Broadband Census in the States:
- 1. In Massachusetts, Governor to Sign $40 Million Broadband Bill Aimed at Spurring Investment
- 2. Task Force to Debate Whether A Gigabit Per Second is Too Fast for Minnesota
- 3. Relaunched Oklahoma City Wi-Fi Network Showcases City-Services Model
- 4. New York City and State Each Craft Broadband Policies; City Nixes Muni Wi-Fi
- 5. With Large Underserved Areas, Idaho Seeks to Establish Statewide Educational Network
- 6. Hawaii Broadband Task Force Aims to Tackle Problems of Speed, Competition
- 7. Modern-Day Alaskan Broadband Benefits from Satellite Earth Station Competition
- 8. First in Broadband Mapping, North Carolina’s e-NC Now Wants Faster Speeds
- 9. Colorado Innovation Council Seeks to Make Good on State’s Promise of Better Broadband
- 10. New Mexico Infrastructure Report Fails to Incorporate Broadband Access
- 11. Illinois Plants ‘Johnny Appleseed’ Projects Promoting Broadband in State
- 12. Maryland Continues on Long Haul Towards Universal Broadband
Broadband Census Resources:
- The Maryland Broadband Cooperative: The group’s website includes a coverage map detailing the initiatives fiber deployment.
- Senate Bill 753, 2006: Rural Broadband Communication Services bill establishing the Maryland Rural Broadband Coordination Board.
- Del. Tom Hucker’s HB 1144 [PDF]: A bill to establish a public private partnership to lead a broadband mapping project and manage the data.
- Del. Herman Taylor’s HB 987 [PDF]: Requires broadband providers to report their deployment to the state Public Service Commission. | <urn:uuid:6ddb65a5-8cc0-4473-a284-eaeb2294f24b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://broadbandbreakfast.com/2008/09/maryland-continues-on-long-haul-towards-universal-broadband/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00179-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904652 | 1,313 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Clinical Evidence Concise
A Publication of BMJ Publishing Group
Asthma and Other Wheezing Disorders in Children
Am Fam Physician. 2006 Dec 1;74(11):1901-1905.
What are the effects of treatments for acute asthma in children?
Oxygen (in the Absence of Evidence From Randomized Controlled Trials, Categorization Is Based on Observational Evidence and Strong Consensus Belief That Oxygen Is Beneficial)
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing oxygen treatment and no oxygen treatment for acute severe asthma would be considered unethical. One prospective cohort study and clinical experience support the need for oxygen in patients with acute asthma.
Inhaled Ipratropium Bromide Plus a Beta2 Agonist (in the Emergency Department)
One systematic review showed that, compared with a beta2 agonist alone, multiple doses of inhaled ipratropium bromide plus an inhaled beta2 agonist (fenoterol or salbutamol) reduced hospital admissions and improved lung function in children 18 months to 17 years of age with severe asthma exacerbations. In children with mild to moderate asthma exacerbations, a single dose of inhaled ipratropium bromide plus a beta2 agonist (fenoterol, salbutamol, or terbutaline) improved lung function for up to two hours but did not reduce hospital admissions compared with a beta2 agonist alone.
Metered Dose Inhaler Plus Spacer Devices for Delivery of Beta2 Agonists (as Effective as Nebulizers)
One systematic review including children with acute but not life-threatening asthma who were old enough to use a spacer showed no significant difference in hospital admission rates with a metered dose inhaler plus a spacer compared with nebulized beta2 agonists (fenoterol, salbutamol, or terbutaline) or beta agonist (orciprenaline). Children using a metered dose inhaler with a spacer may have shorter stays in emergency departments, less hypoxia, and lower pulse rates compared with children receiving nebulized beta2 agonists.
One systematic review showed that, compared with placebo, adding systemic corticosteroids to usual treatment with salbutamol, terbutaline, or theophylline increased the likelihood of hospital discharge after four hours and reduced the frequency of relapse within one to three months in children hospitalized with acute asthma.
Inhaled Corticosteroids (High Dose)
We found one systematic review that identified four RCTs comparing high-dose inhaled corticosteroids with oral corticosteroids in children. Three RCTs showed no significant difference in hospital admissions between nebulized budesonide or dexamethasone and oral prednisolone plus other routine treatment in children with mild to moderate asthma. One RCT including children with moderate to severe asthma showed that oral prednisolone reduced hospital admissions and improved lung function at four hours compared with inhaled fluticasone. A subsequent RCT including children four to 16 years of age showed that nebulized fluticasone improved lung function over seven days compared with oral prednisolone. One RCT including children five to 16 years of age hospitalized with severe asthma showed no significant difference between nebulized budesonide and oral prednisolone in lung function after 24 hours or 24 days of hospitalization.
LIKELY TO BE BENEFICIAL
One systematic review examined adding intravenous theophylline to the treatment of patients one to 19 years of age hospitalized with severe asthma who were receiving oxygen, using bronchodilators, and taking glucocorticoids; it improved lung function and symptom scores six to eight hours after treatment compared with adding placebo, but it showed no significant difference in the number of bronchodilator treatments required or length of hospital stay. A subsequent RCT including children one to 17 years of age admitted to the intensive care unit with severe asthma showed that adding intravenous theophylline decreased the time it took to reach a clinical asthma score of 3 or less compared with salbutamol, ipratropium, and methylprednisolone alone, but it showed no significant difference in length of stay in the intensive care unit. Theophylline can cause serious adverse effects if therapeutic blood concentrations are exceeded.
Inhaled Ipratropium Bromide Plus Salbutamol (After Initial Stabilization)
One RCT including children hospitalized with initially stabilized severe asthma showed no significant difference in clinical asthma scores during the first 36 hours of hospitalization between nebulized ipratropium bromide and placebo plus salbutamol (a beta2 agonist) and a corticosteroid (hydrocortisone or prednisone). The RCT showed a significant increase in heart rate after the addition of ipratropium bromide compared with placebo.
What is the effect of single-agent prophylaxis in children taking inhaled beta agonists as needed for asthma?
One systematic review showed that prophylactic inhaled corticosteroids improved symptoms and lung function compared with placebo in children with asthma. Several RCTs showed that inhaled corticosteroids slightly reduce growth rate compared with placebo, although studies with long-term follow-up suggest attainment of normal adult height. Inhaled corticosteroids have been associated with rare reports of adrenal suppression. One RCT including children six to 16 years of age showed no significant difference in improvement of asthma symptoms between inhaled beclomethasone and theophylline but found less use of bronchodilators and oral corticosteroids with inhaled beclomethasone. Small RCTs have shown inhaled corticosteroids to be more effective than sodium cromoglycate in improving symptoms and lung function. RCTs in children five to 16 years of age have shown that inhaled corticosteroids (beclomethasone, budesonide, or fluticasone) were more effective than an inhaled long-acting beta2 agonist (salmeterol) or inhaled nedocromil at improving symptoms and lung function in children with asthma.
Two RCTs including children six to 12 years of age taking usual medication showed that adding inhaled nedocromil reduced asthma symptom scores, asthma severity, and bronchodilator use and improved lung function compared with placebo. One large RCT including children five to 12 years of age with mild to moderate asthma showed no significant difference in lung function, hospital admission rates, or symptom scores between adding nedocromil and adding budesonide or placebo, but it showed that budesonide was superior to nedocromil and that nedocromil was superior to placebo in several measures of asthma symptoms and morbidity.
Oral Leukotriene Receptor Antagonists (Montelukast)
One RCT including children six to 14 years of age showed that oral montelukast (a leukotriene receptor antagonist) increased from baseline the mean morning forced expiratory volume in one second and reduced total daily beta2 agonist use compared with placebo, but it showed no significant difference in daytime asthma symptom score or in nocturnal awakenings because of asthma. Another RCT including children two to five years of age showed that oral montelukast improved average daytime symptom scores and reduced the need for rescue oral steroid courses compared with placebo, but it showed no significant difference in average overnight asthma symptom scores. We found no RCTs directly comparing oral montelukast with inhaled corticosteroids.
TRADE-OFF BETWEEN BENEFITS AND HARMS
Inhaled Long-Acting Beta2 Agonist (Salmeterol)
Two RCTs including children four to 14 years of age showed that inhaled salmeterol (a long-acting beta2 agonist) improved lung function compared with placebo, and it provided limited evidence that inhaled salmeterol reduced the need for inhaled salbutamol. One RCT comparing inhaled salmeterol with beclomethasone showed that salmeterol was associated with a significant deterioration in bronchial reactivity. Another RCT showed that inhaled beclomethasone was more effective at increasing lung function and reducing rescue use of salbutamol than salmeterol.
One small RCT including children six to 15 years of age receiving usual care showed that oral theophylline increased mean morning peak expiratory flow rate and reduced the mean number of acute nighttime attacks and doses of bronchodilator used compared with placebo. Another RCT including children six to 16 years of age showed no significant difference in improvement of asthma symptoms between oral theophylline and inhaled beclomethasone, but it showed greater use of bronchodilators and oral corticosteroids with theophylline over one year. Theophylline has serious adverse effects (e.g., cardiac arrhythmia, convulsions) if therapeutic blood concentrations are exceeded.
Inhaled Sodium Cromoglycate
One systematic review provided no evidence that inhaled sodium cromoglycate prophylaxis was effective in reducing asthma symptoms in patients one to 18 years of age. Several small comparative RCTs showed that sodium cromoglycate was less effective than inhaled corticosteroids in improving symptoms and lung function.
What are the effects of additional prophylactic treatments in patients with childhood asthma that is inadequately controlled by standard doses of inhaled corticosteroids?
Increased Dose of Inhaled Corticosteroid (Beclomethasone)
One RCT including children six to 16 years of age taking inhaled beclomethasone that compared a double dose of inhaled corticosteroid (beclomethasone) with placebo showed no significant difference in lung function, symptom scores, exacerbation rates, or bronchial reactivity but found a reduction in growth velocity at one year.
Adding Long-Acting Beta2 Agonists
One RCT including children six to 16 years of age showed that adding inhaled salmeterol (a long-acting beta2 agonist) to the patient’s treatment increased peak expiratory flow rates in the first few months, but it showed no increase after one year. A second short-term RCT including children four to 16 years of age also showed increased morning peak expiratory flow rates and more symptom-free days at three months with the addition of salmeterol. A third RCT showed that adding formoterol to the patient’s treatment improved lung function after three months of treatment compared with placebo but showed no significant difference in symptom scores or use of rescue medication.
Adding Oral Theophylline
One small RCT showed that, compared with adding placebo, adding theophylline to previous treatment increased the proportion of symptom-free days and reduced the use of additional beta agonists (orciprenaline) and additional corticosteroids (beclomethasone or prednisolone) over four weeks. We found insufficient evidence to weigh these short-term benefits against possible long-term harms. A second small RCT using lower-dose theophylline showed no benefit.
Adding Oral Leukotriene Receptor Antagonists (Montelukast)
One crossover RCT including children six to 14 years of age with persistent asthma who had been taking inhaled budesonide for at least six weeks showed that adding oral montelukast (a leukotriene receptor antagonist) reduced asthma exacerbations over four weeks compared with adding placebo. This difference was statistically significant but modest in clinical terms.
What are the effects of treatments for acute wheezing in infants?
LIKELY TO BE BENEFICIAL
Short-Acting Beta2 Agonists (Nebulized Salbutamol)
One RCT including infants three months to two years of age showed that nebulized salbutamol improved respiratory rates and clinical symptom scores compared with placebo but showed no significant difference in hospital admission. Another RCT including infants younger than 18 months and children 18 to 36 months of age showed no significant difference in change from baseline clinical symptom scores between nebulized salbutamol and placebo. Nebulized beta2 agonists may cause tachycardia, tremor, and hypocalcemia.
Short-Acting Beta2 Agonists Delivered by Metered Dose Inhaler Plus Spacer vs. Nebulizer
Two RCTs including children five years or younger showed no significant difference in hospital admission with salbutamol delivered through a metered dose inhaler plus spacer and nebulized salbutamol. Another RCT in infants one to 24 months of age showed no significant difference in symptom improvement between terbutaline delivered through a metered dose inhaler plus spacer and nebulized terbutaline. Nebulized beta2 agonists may cause tachycardia, tremor, and hypocalcemia.
Inhaled Ipratropium Bromide
One systematic review of RCTs provided insufficient evidence about the clinical effects of inhaled ipratropium bromide compared with placebo or added to beta2 agonists.
Oral Corticosteroids (Prednisolone)
One small RCT showed no significant difference in daily symptom scores between oral prednisolone and placebo.
Inhaled Corticosteroids (High Dose)
One systematic review showed that high-dose inhaled corticosteroids reduced the requirement for oral corticosteroids compared with placebo, but the difference was not statistically significant. It also showed that the children’s parents had a clear preference for inhaled corticosteroids over placebo. The clinical importance of these results is unclear.
What are the effects of prophylactic treatments for wheezing in infants?
LIKELY TO BE BENEFICIAL
Oral Short-Acting Beta2 Agonists (Salbutamol)
One RCT identified by a systematic review including infants three to 14 months of age showed that oral salbutamol (a short-acting beta2 agonist) reduced treatment failures compared with placebo.
TRADE-OFF BETWEEN BENEFITS AND HARMS
Inhaled Corticosteroids (Higher Dose)
One systematic review and two additional RCTs provided evidence that higher-dose inhaled corticosteroids reduced the severity and frequency of acute wheezing episodes in infants compared with placebo. Higher doses of inhaled corticosteroids have the potential for adverse effects.
Inhaled Ipratropium Bromide
One small RCT identified by a systematic review showed no significant difference in symptom relief between nebulized ipratropium bromide and placebo. The study may have lacked power to exclude a clinically important difference between treatments.
Inhaled Short-Acting Beta2 Agonists (Salbutamol)
Two RCTs identified by a systematic review including infants two years or younger showed no significant improvement in symptoms with inhaled salbutamol compared with placebo.
Inhaled Corticosteroids (Lower-Dose Budesonide)
Two RCTs showed no clear evidence of effectiveness with lower prophylactic doses of inhaled budesonide (a corticosteroid) in children one week to six years of age with recurrent wheezing.
Differentiation between asthma and nonasthmatic, viral-associated wheezing may be difficult; persisting symptoms and signs between acute attacks are suggestive of asthma, as is a personal or family history of atopic conditions such as eczema and hay fever.Childhood asthma is characterized by chronic or recurrent coughing and wheezing. The diagnosis is confirmed by demonstrating reversible airway obstruction, preferably on several occasions over time, in children old enough to perform peak flow measurements or spirometry. Diagnosing asthma in children requires exclusion of other causes of recurrent respiratory symptoms. Acute asthma is a severe exacerbation of asthma symptoms accompanied by tachycardia and tachypnea. The aim of prophylactic treatments of asthma is to minimize persistent symptoms and prevent acute exacerbations.Wheezing in infants is characterized by a high-pitched purring or whistling sound produced mainly on exhalation and commonly is associated with an acute viral infection (e.g., bronchiolitis) or asthma, which are not easily distinguished clinically.
Incidence and Prevalence
Surveys have shown an increase in the proportion of children diagnosed with asthma. The increase is higher than can be explained by an increased readiness to diagnose asthma. One cross-sectional questionnaire study from Aberdeen, Scotland, surveyed children eight to 13 years of age: 2,510 children in 1964 and 3,403 children in 1989. Over 25 years, asthma diagnoses increased from 4 to 10 percent.1 The increase in the prevalence of childhood asthma from the 1960s to the 1980s was accompanied by an increase in hospital admissions over the same period. This was a sixfold increase in England and Wales.2
Wheezing in Infants
Wheezing is common and seems to be increasing, although the magnitude of any increase is not clear. The Scottish cross-sectional study showed that the prevalence of wheezing rose from 10 percent in 1964 to 20 percent in 1989, and episodes of shortness of breath rose from 5 to 10 percent over the same period.1 Difficulties in defining clear groups (phenotypes) and the transient nature of the symptoms, which often resolve spontaneously, have confounded many studies.
Asthma is more common in children with a personal or family history of atopy, increased severity and frequency of wheezing episodes, and presence of variable airway obstruction or bronchial hyper-responsiveness. Precipitating factors for symptoms and acute episodes include infection, house dust mites, allergens from pets, exposure to tobacco smoke, and anxiety.
Wheezing in Infants
Most wheezing episodes in infancy are precipitated by viral respiratory infection.
A British longitudinal study of children born in 1970 showed that 29 percent of five-year-olds who were wheezing in the previous year were still wheezing at 10 years of age.3 Another study followed a group of children in Melbourne, Australia, from seven years of age (in 1964) into adulthood. The study showed that a large proportion (73 percent) of 14-year-olds with infrequent symptoms had few or no symptoms by 28 years of age, whereas two thirds of 14-year-olds with frequent wheezing still had recurrent attacks at 28 years of age.4
Wheezing in Infants
One cohort study (826 infants followed from birth to six years of age) suggests that there may be at least three prognostic categories for wheezing in infants: (1) persistent wheezers (14 percent of total, with risk factors for atopic asthma such as elevated immunoglobulin E levels and a maternal history of asthma) who initially suffered wheezing during viral infections that persisted into school age; (2) transient wheezers (20 percent of total, with reduced lung function as infants but no early markers of atopy) who suffered wheezing during viral infections but stopped wheezing after three years of age; and (3) late-onset wheezers (15 percent of total) who did not wheeze when they were younger than three years but had developed wheezing by school age.5 Another retrospective cohort study showed that 14 percent of children with one attack and 23 percent of children with four or more attacks in the first year of life had experienced at least one wheezing illness in the previous year by 10 years of age.3
Administering inhaled treatments to young children can be difficult. Inconsistencies in results could reflect the effects of the different drugs, delivery devices, and dosages used and the differences in the pattern of wheezing illnesses and treatment responses among young children.
editor’s note: Fenoterol is undergoing investigation in the United States as a bronchodilating agent. It has been available outside the United States as a metered dose inhaler, a solution for nebulization, a powder for inhalation, and an oral preparation. Salbutamol is called albuterol and orciprenaline is called metaproterenol in the United States. Sodium cromoglycate commonly is called cromolyn sodium in the United States.
search date: October 2004
Adapted with permission from Keeley D, McKean M. Asthma and other wheezing disorders in children. Clin Evid. 2006;15:68–3.
REFERENCESshow all references
1. Russell G, Ninan TK. Respiratory symptoms and atopy in Aberdeen school children: evidence from two surveys 25 years apart. BMJ. 1992;304:873–5....
2. Kabesh M, Von Mutius E. Epidemiology and public health. In: Silverman M, ed. Childhood Asthma and Other Wheezing Disorders. 2nd ed. London, U.K.: Arnold, 2002.
3. Park ES, Golding J, Carswell F, et al. Pre-school wheezing and prognosis at 10. Arch Dis Child. 1986;61:642–6.
4. Kelly WJ, Hudson I, Phelan PD, et al. Childhood asthma in adult life: a further study at 28 years of age. BMJ. 1987;294:1059–62.
5. Martinez FD, Wright AL, Taussig L, et al. Asthma and wheezing in the first six years of life. N Engl J Med. 1995;333:133–8.
This is one in a series of chapters excerpted fromClinical Evidence Concise, published by the BMJ Publishing Group, Tavistock Square, London, U.K.Clinical Evidence Concise is printed twice a year and is updated monthly online. Each topic is revised every 12 months, and subscribers should view the most up-to-date version athttp://www.clinicalevidence.com. If interested in contributing toClinical Evidence Concise, e-mail:CEcommissioning@bmj.com. The complete text for this topic also is available as a PDF athttp://www.aafp.org/afp/20061201/bmj.html. The evidence on this topic is available athttp://www.clinicalevidence.com/ceweb/conditions/chd/0302/0302.jsp.
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The truffle, known as the “black diamond”, is a subterranean edible fungus that is harvested mostly in winter. Three conditions have to be met to ensure the optimum development of the truffle: a chalky soil, a Mediterranean climate and a host tree. The truffle is most commonly associated with the roots of oak trees but the level of production is uncertain, varying from one year to another.
The truffle is undeniably the jewel in the crown and the most symbolic of French gourmet products, lending a unique flavour to fine culinary skills.
Over the seasons, truffles are available in brushed and extra quality. White, black, summer or winter, a simple phone call can provide information about the availability of this product with so refined taste. Our range also includes mushrooms such as morels, porcini and chanterelles in dehydrated or frozen bags. | <urn:uuid:648d28ca-0ade-482e-b51e-139efc3b6c88> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.blackalmas.com/en/product/black-summer-truffles-tuber-aestivum-fresh-truffle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571472.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811133823-20220811163823-00674.warc.gz | en | 0.939329 | 181 | 2.25 | 2 |
COLORADO SPRINGS. Sometimes success comes with being presented the right opportunities. Alexander Hamilton is a prime example, achieving great things thanks to the generosity of sponsors who provided him an education he couldn’t have accessed without financial assistance from generous benefactors. Now St. Mary’s High School is providing similar opportunities to students through its new Hamilton Scholar program.
The program will serve students who have what it takes to be high achievers but haven’t had access to opportunities that allow them to live out their full potential. These students — identified based on financial need and an aptitude test — will receive full tuition scholarships to attend St. Mary’s High School. Applications for the 2018-2019 Hamilton Scholars program are due Feb. 28. Interested families will find more information on the school’s website or can contact Jane Cummings, associate director of Admissions, at email@example.com or 719.635.7540.
“We at St. Mary’s recognize that there is a segment of the population that would benefit from a St. Mary’s education but cannot access it because of financial constraints,” said Patrick Carter, president of St. Mary’s High School. “The Hamilton Scholars program provides St. Mary’s a way to bridge the divide for families that our current financial aid program, which provides roughly $225,000 per year to students in need of assistance, cannot.”
Each year St. Mary’s will award to new students a limited number of full scholarships, which will be good for the duration of the students’ enrollment as long as the recipients meet the expectations of a St. Mary’s education. Those expectations include academic performance, participation in theology programs, and fulfillment of community service requirements. For the 2018-2019 school year, scholarships will be available to rising freshmen, sophomores and juniors who are new to St. Mary’s.
Families interested in accessing the Hamilton Scholar program will need to submit financial aid forms to establish financial need. Once need has been established, the student will take an aptitude test to identify academic ability.
The Hamilton Scholars program was the brain-child of Robert Delfeld, who graduated from St. Mary’s in 2015 and is now attending Williams College in Massachusetts. Delfeld said that the idea came to him during a gap year he was forced to take after high school graduation as he recovered from a bone marrow transplant.
“At core, the idea had its roots in both the love I have for the St. Mary’s family and my persistent belief that we can always be better,” he said. “Bringing in students of great promise who might not have otherwise had the means to attend [St. Mary’s] would be a win-win for everybody.”
Delfeld meant the naming of the program after Alexander Hamilton to be a reminder that community holds immense power in helping individuals succeed.
“Alexander Hamilton is rightly celebrated as the original American ‘self-made man,’ but we shouldn’t neglect the crucial role that community played in his meteoric rise,” Delfeld said. “Local leaders in St. Croix, recognizing him as a youth of promise, pulled together the funds to send Hamilton to school in the American colonies — the rest, quite literally, is history.”
The Hamilton Scholars program is also a way that St. Mary’s High School is staying true to its Catholic roots. The “Report on K-12 Catholic Schools in the U.S. and Underserved Populations” presented to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by its Committee on Catholic Education and Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church noted that making Catholic education available to families who cannot otherwise afford access to such schools reflects Pope Francis’ exhortation in Evangelii Gaudium to look for means to reach-out and serve the underserved in our communities.
“It’s another way we can live out our faith,” Carter said. “It also enhances the experiences of our students by expanding the socio-economic diversity of the school.”
While Delfeld put the initial proposal together for the St. Mary’s Board of Directors, he said that the program has become a collaborative effort between the faculty, staff, administration, and board. As the program gains momentum, Delfeld said he certainly hopes it will be successful, but that ultimately the success of the scholars themselves is what is most important.
“This program is the product of the whole St. Mary’s community working together — a true team effort, just as it should be,” he said. “The long-term success of the students who will soon be a part of the program requires a joint effort — on the part of both school and student — in the present; if we get that right, I’m absolutely certain it will bear great fruit in the future.”
St. Mary’s High School received a significant contribution to get the program started. To ensure the long-term viability of the program, St. Mary’s asks that donors interested in sponsoring a Hamilton Scholar student contact Joe Trechter, associate director of advancement, at firstname.lastname@example.org or by calling 719.635.7540.
(Amy G. Partain is director of communications for St. Mary’s High School.) | <urn:uuid:79094043-df4a-479b-888a-334a8540a90d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.diocs.org/Herald/Article/ArticleID/584/St-Mary%E2%80%99s-to-introduce-new-scholarship-program | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817001643-20220817031643-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.955378 | 1,151 | 1.625 | 2 |
Clinical Application of Brain MRI in the Diagnostic Work-up of Parkinsonism
Frederick J.A. Meijer a, Bozena Goraj a,b, Bastiaan R. Bloem c, Rianne A.J. Esselink c
aDepartment of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands bDepartment of Diagnostic Imaging, Medical Center of Postgraduate Education, Warsaw, Poland cDepartment of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Keywords: Atypical parkinsonism, brain, magnetic resonance imaging, Parkinson’s disease
Background: Differentiating Parkinson’s disease and atypical parkinsonism on clinical parameters is challenging, especially in early disease courses. This is due to large overlap in symptoms and because the so called red flags, i.e. symptoms indicating atypical parkinsonism, have not (fully) developed. Brain MRI can aid to improve the accuracy and confidence about the diagnosis. Objective and Methods: In the current paper, we discuss when brain MRI should be performed in the diagnostic work-up of parkinsonism, our preferred brain MRI scanning protocol, and the diagnostic value of specific abnormalities. Results and Conclusions: The main purpose of brain MRI is to assess cerebrovascular damage, and to exclude other possible – and sometimes treatable – causes of parkinsonism, such as normal pressure hydrocephalus. Furthermore, brain MRI can support the possible or probable diagnosis of a specific form of atypical parkinsonism.
INTRODUCTION OF THE CLINICAL DILEMMA
Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the different forms of atypical parkinsonism (AP) are clinical diagnoses. Differentiating PD and AP on clinical parameters is challenging, especially in early disease courses. This is due to (1) large overlap in symptoms and (2) because the so called red flags, i.e. symptoms indicating AP, have not (fully) developed [1, 2]. Brain MRI can aid to improve the accuracy and confidence about the diagnosis, which is relevant for treatment decision making and for prognosis estimation. The main purpose of brain MRI is to assess cerebrovascular damage, and to exclude other possible – and sometimes treatable – causes of parkinsonism, such as normal pressure hydrocephalus. Furthermore, brain MRI can support the possible or probable diagnosis of a specific form of AP . More advanced MRI and functional neuro-imaging techniques, including functional-MRI and nuclear imaging techniques such as PET and SPECT, have provided a more comprehensive understanding of the complex neurobiological changes in PD and AP and are expected to provide new neuroimaging biomarkers . These techniques are, however, beyond the scope of this paper. Clinical practice guidelines recommend to perform a brain MRI once in the course of the disease [5–8]. MRI is superior to CT, because of a better resolution and sensitivity to identify structural brain pathology and is therefore the preferred imaging modality . A brain CT can be considered in case MRI cannot be (safely) performed, for example in case of an implanted pacemaker or claustrophobia. In the current paper, we discuss when brain MRI should be performed in the diagnostic work-up of parkinsonism, our preferred brain MRI scanning protocol, and the diagnostic value of specific abnormalities. This is of relevance both for neurologists and radiologists, as either can signal the presence of sometimes subtle abnormalities on brain MRI. These techniques are, however, beyond the scope of this paper.
Clinical practice guidelines recommend to perform a brain MRI once in the course of the disease [5–8]. MRI is superior to CT, because of a better resolution and sensitivity to identify structural brain pathology and is therefore the preferred imaging modality . A brain CT can be considered in case MRI cannot be (safely) performed, for example in case of an implanted pacemaker or claustrophobia.
In the current paper, we discuss when brain MRI should be performed in the diagnostic work-up of parkinsonism, our preferred brain MRI scanning protocol, and the diagnostic value of specific abnormalities. This is of relevance both for neurologists and radiologists, as either can signal the presence of sometimes subtle abnormalities on brain MRI.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST
A routine brain MRI study, at 1.5T or 3T magnetic field strength, takes about 30 minutes and includes different acquisitions, also referred to as sequences. We recommend to include T1-weighted and T2 FLAIR, either as 2D or 3D acquisitions. Both transversal and sagittal planes should be available. Furthermore, the protocol should include diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and a susceptibility sensitive sequence, either T2* or susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). For a more detailed evaluation of the basal ganglia and small areas of tissue loss, it is advisable to also include a T2-weighted sequence. The purpose and limitations of these various sequences are described in Table 1.
Conventional brain MRI lacks a specific diagnostic marker for PD . Cortical atrophy may be related to the development of dementia in PD, especially when the temporal, occipital and subcortical structures are involved [10, 11].
In patients with specific forms of AP, the cortex, basal ganglia, brainstem and cerebellum are the main cerebral areas of interest as they can be affected by atrophy or signal intensity changes [3, 12, 13]. Examples are provided in Figs. 1–4.
Atrophy and T2 hyper-intensity changes of the pons (‘hot cross bun’ sign) and middle cerebellar peduncles are suggestive of the cerebellar form of multiple system atrophy (MSA). Atrophy and T2 hypo-intensity of the putamen may be seen in both the parkinsonian and cerebellar forms of MSA. The putaminal rim sign, seen as a T2 hyper-intense rim along the outer border of the putamen, is considered to be suggestive of MSA on 1.5T MRI but a normal finding on 3T MRI . Severe hypo-intensity of the putamen on SWI or T2*, combined with atrophy, is commonly seen in MSA even in early disease stages, and differentiates MSA from other forms of parkinsonism [3, 15].
Atrophy of the midbrain (‘hummingbird’ sign in the sagittal plane, or ‘morning glory’ sign in the transversal plane), and atrophy with signal intensity changes of the superior cerebellar peduncles are typically observed in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). MRI-based measurements of the midbrain in relation to the pons can be applied for the diagnosis of PSP [16, 17]. Hypo-intensity changes of the red and dentate nuclei on SWI or T2* could possibly provide a new diagnostic marker for PSP, but this observation remains to be assessed in a larger cohort .
There is a strong correlation between clinically diagnosed corticobasal syndrome and asymmetric atrophy of the cerebral hemispheres. Although corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is characterized by asymmetrical cortical atrophy affecting the parietal lobe, the possible underlying pathology of corticobasal syndrome also includes PSP, frontotemporal dementia or Alzheimer disease .
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) lacks specific diagnostic markers on brain MRI, although mild general atrophy can be seen in some cases. In case of pronounced ventricular dilatation and enlargement of the Sylvian fissure, normal pressure hydrocephalus should be included in the differential diagnosis (Fig. 5). A decreased angle of the corpus callosum in the coronal plane (<80◦) can distinguish normal pressure hydrocephalus from ex-vacuo venticulomegaly .
The FLAIR sequence is useful for the evaluation of tissue loss and gliosis commonly seen in vascular brain damage, which can support the diagnosis of vascular parkinsonism [20–22]. Vascular parkinsonism should be considered in case of lacunar infarctions and white matter lesions (signs of small vessel disease), and is less frequently associated with large vessel infarctions . Differentiation with Parkinson’s disease can be challenging, as concurrent vascular lesions are relatively common in patients with PD . The evaluation of signal intensity changes of the thalamus, brainstem and white matter lesions using a 3D FLAIR sequence is superior to a conventional 2D FLAIR sequence [24, 25].
The DWI sequence is sensitive to early ischemic changes after stroke, identification of which can have immediate consequences for secondary prophylaxis. DWI can also be evaluated in a quantitative manner, as changes in diffusivity seem to represent a quantitative measure of microstructural integrity of white matter tracts and gray matter structures, and accordingly microstructural damage in neurodegenerative disorders such as PD and AP . Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides additional directional information of tissue diffusivity, and hence more detailed measures of microstructural integrity. Previous studies indicate that DWI and DTI measures of the basal ganglia, brainstem and cerebellum seem to be able to accurately identify subjects diagnosed with PD and different forms ofAP, even when no abnormalities are seen on conventional MRI sequences [3, 26, 27]. An important drawback of quantitative DTI is that patterns derived from group-wise comparisons cannot be applied directly to individual patients, asvalidated diagnostic criteria are generally lacking. The exact role of diffusional changes in the diagnostic process of PD or AP is therefore still under debate.
We have provided an overview of clinical brain MRI scanning protocol requirements in the diagnostic work-up of patients with parkinsonism. Importantly, the diagnosis of PD and specific forms of AP remain clinical diagnoses according to the current diagnostic criteria/standards. Ancillary investigations can yield specific clues and can be of supportive value for a specific possible or probable diagnosis. Currently, a definite or even a probable diagnosis cannot be made based on brain MRI alone. Moreover, sensitivity and specificity of certain specific abnormalities on conventional brain MRI for the different forms of AP are variable and depend on disease stage, ranging from reasonably good (e.g. pontocerebellar atrophy in advanced stage MSA-C with reported specificity of 90–100%) to rather poor (e.g. cortical atrophy with reported sensitivity and specificity for AP of 40–70%) . Clinically as well as in brain MRI, the diagnostic uncertainty is largest in early disease phases, because abnormalities may not et have developed. This is supported by the few longitudinal imaging studies that performed serial MRI scans in one individual over time [29, 30].
It is therefore appropriate to critically review the common recommendation that brain MRI should be performed as a standard procedure in all patients presenting with a form of parkinsonism [5–8]. At our center, we refrain from brain MRI in patients presenting with classical symptoms of idiopathic PD, i.e. an asymmetric pattern without any red flags and – preferably – a satisfactory response to a normal dose of dopaminergic medication. We do perform a brain MRI in patients with an atypical disease course, since finding a specific abnormality might suggest (a specific form of) AP, at the same time realizing that MRI without abnormalities does not exclude any form of AP. The added value of brain MRI is greatest in patients with a possible underlying treatablecause of their parkinsonism, such as patients suspected of having normal pressure hydrocephalus or patients who might have underlying cerebrovascular pathology.
Finally, it is necessary to briefly mention the importance of brain MRI as part of the pre-operative work-up in PD patients scheduled to undergo a deep brain surgical procedure. Appropriate patient selection for this procedure is of critical importance . Performing MRI after deep brain stimulation surgery with an implanted electrode is restricted, and feasible only under stringent conditions.
How can we increase the diagnostic value of brain MRI? A first approach is to further evaluate the merits of existing MRI protocols. Performing more longitudinal imaging studies along with detailed clinical follow-up allows us to determine when in the course of the disease specific abnormalities are likely to emerge. Ideally MRI findings should be correlated with a “silver standard” diagnosis (based on clinical parameters at long term follow-up) and if possible the gold standard diagnosis (based on post-mortem brain examination). We used this former approach in a follow-up study of 156 patients presenting with parkinsonism, and showed that a comprehensive set of clinical tests provides good accuracy to differentiate PD from AP, and that the added diagnostic value of brain MRI is relatively highest for those patients where the baseline clinical diagnostic certainty is lowest [28, 32].
A second approach is to deploy more advanced MRI techniques – including DTI, magnetization transfer imaging and (resting state) functional MRI – which have become available over the last decade for potential use in clinical practice. These advanced MRI techniques have proven to be helpful in further exploring and understanding the pathophysiologic changes, mainly in PD and to a lesser extent in AP [3, 4, 26, 27, 33]. A prerequisite for clinical application is standardized data-processing and the availability of well-defined imaging criteria. Combined application of PET and MRI scanners could possibly aid in determining diagnostic criteria based on these advanced MRI techniques . An increase in magnetic field strength enables improved tissue contrast and better spatial and temporal resolution, with reported higher accuracy in detecting more subtle pathologic changes and improved evaluation of smaller brain structures such as the substantia nigra [35, 36]. However, few hospitals are equipped with a 7T MRI scanner, which are currently used almost exclusively for research purposes.
A third approach is to combine the diagnostic value of the structural and functional imaging markers by further developing machine-learning algorithms for advanced MRI techniques. These machine-learning techniques rely on algorithms analyzing imaging data without a-priori hypotheses, based on which classifiers can be constructed for pattern recognition at the individual level [37, 38]. Compared with a single imaging technique, the advantage of using multiple techniques is to extract more features in order to more accurately profile specific neurodegenerative pathology .
Finally, besides optimizing the MRI scanning protocol and applying new neuro-imaging techniques, the level of experience of the physician reading the study needs to be taken into account and optimized accordingly.
This work was supported by an unrestricted center grant of the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF). We thank Yvonne Hoogeveen and Dr. Stefan Steens for proofreading of the manuscript.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have no conflict of interest to report.
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Read the full article published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease here: | <urn:uuid:47ee974b-5042-4f14-8ea8-575b2ff5df4a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.journalofparkinsonsdisease.com/clinical-application-brain-mri-diagnostic-work-parkinsonism | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.84302 | 5,542 | 1.703125 | 2 |
versión impresa ISSN 0213-9111
JIMENEZ-MURO, Adriana et al. Prevalence of smoking and second-hand smoke exposure: differences between Spanish and immigrant pregnant women. Gac Sanit [online]. 2012, vol.26, n.2, pp.138-144. ISSN 0213-9111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0213-91112012000200008.
Objectives: To identify differences in the prevalence of smoking and second-hand smoke exposure between Spanish and immigrant pregnant women, as well as the factors associated with continued smoking during pregnancy. Methods: An epidemiologic cross-sectional study was carried out in women attended at delivery in Zaragoza (Spain). A smoking questionnaire was used to collect the following variables: the women's and partners' sociodemographic factors and smoking behavior, second-hand smoke exposure and perception of the risks of this exposure. Results: We included 2440 women (35% immigrants). A total of 31.1% smoked before becoming pregnant and 18.2% during pregnancy, with significant differences between Spanish and immigrant women (21.9% versus 8.7%; p<0.001). Immigrant women lived with a greater number of smokers, smoked more inside the home, were exposed to second-hand smoke for a greater number of hours per day, avoided public places with second-hand smoke less, and more often worked in bars and restaurants. The following factors were associated with smoking during pregnancy: being Spanish, smoking a greater number of cigarettes before pregnancy, being exposed to second-hand smoke at home for a greater number of hours, having a low perception of risks and having a partner with lower educational attainment. Conclusions: The prevalence of smoking is higher among Spanish pregnant women than immigrant women, although the immigrant population is more exposed to second-hand smoke at home and at work. There are socio-cultural differences that should be taken into account when carrying out interventions in women of reproductive age.
Palabras clave : Women; Smoking; Pregnant; Immigrant; Second-hand smoke. | <urn:uuid:e1aacaba-81a1-467f-80a3-0342f6a82a99> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0213-91112012000200008&lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280825.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00204-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954187 | 445 | 2.28125 | 2 |
We all have stress that overtakes us from time to time, stress that comes with changes in our lives. Recently, I have been facing the care of my aging mother and it has caused me stress in ways I never imagined.
My guest this week is Dr. Rich Blonna. He is a world renowned expert in understanding how the mind and body work together in creating and managing stress. He is a noted writer and trainer in the area of acceptance and commitment therapy.
Dr. Rich explains that stress is a combination of 3 things:
- A potential stressor
- What your mind tells you about the threat and your ability to cope with it
- Response that kicks in if you feel threatened and unable to cope
We learned that stress is unique to each of us and we all handle it differently, as well as how our values play into our stressors.
I encourage you to listen to this phenomenal podcast so you can learn more about your values and how you can stay true to them and live a less stressful life. | <urn:uuid:1905afa4-22e8-4988-bd7d-47a97236a23b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.joycebufordempowers.com/stress-less-live/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00479.warc.gz | en | 0.967473 | 209 | 1.625 | 2 |
As hot-button campaign issues go, international free trade agreements aren’t exactly sexy. During most U.S. election campaigns, trade is a relatively minor concern.
But in 2016, as the two party nominees emerge from their conventions to face off in the general election campaign, free trade has emerged as one of the most important issues. It is especially crucial in a tier of northern states in the middle of the country that many say could decide the next president.
The debate has focused on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a sweeping, 12-nation trade deal that would encompass 40 percent of the world’s economy.
Supporters say the TPP would loosen trade barriers and spur global economic growth. Opponents argue it would mainly support big businesses, and send jobs overseas to low-wage countries.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump both oppose the TPP. The Democratic runner-up Bernie Sanders was also an outspoken opponent.
At this week’s Democratic convention in Philadelphia, Sanders supporters have cited the trade deal as an example of how government policies have ignored the U.S. worker.
They have used the issue as a rallying cry, wearing buttons, holding signs and repeatedly interrupting speeches with chants against the free trade deal.
“It’s an absolute disaster,” says Guy Anthony, a retired machinist and union organizer. “It’s bad for working people.”
Anthony is a delegate from Pennsylvania, which lies on the eastern edge of the so-called Rust Belt states where manufacturing plays a key role in the economy.
FILE - Opponents of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement protest outside the White House in Washington, Feb. 3, 2016.
The states that have lost a large number of jobs overseas as manufacturing declined in recent decades are set to play a key role in the November general election.
For the last 20 years, the Rust Belt has leaned toward the Democratic Party. Last election, five states in the region – Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa – all voted for President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
But this year, in part because of his fierce opposition to the TPP and other free trade agreements, the region has been unexpectedly receptive to Trump.
Polls show that Trump is competitive with Clinton throughout the Rust Belt, and in some cases is even ahead. If Trump takes all or some of the states, many analysts have said it could be enough for him to win the election.
One of the most strategic states in the region is Ohio. Dennis Kucinich, a former Democratic congressman and presidential candidate, told VOA free trade deals are among the reasons why his state is up for grabs. He said workers have been “sold out by both political parties.”
“Trade agreements … have cost this country millions of jobs, lowered the standard of living, knocked down wages, cut benefits and reduced pensions,” said Kucinich, a liberal with a long record of opposing free trade agreements.
FILE - Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill.
Another reason why the region is leaning more toward Trump may be Clinton’s record on trade.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, in 1993. Some have blamed it for a loss of jobs.
Some also worry Hillary Clinton will reverse her position and eventually back the TPP, since she was one of the deal’s main architects during her time as secretary of state.
“I’m pretty confident she’ll flip her position back on it” if she becomes president,” says Susan Hall, a Sanders delegate from Pennsylvania.
Clinton’s team has denied that accusation, saying the TPP does not meet her standards for protecting U.S. workers.
But that hasn’t stopped Trump from claiming Clinton is only temporarily opposed to the deal.
“We all know it is going to happen if she won,” Trump said during a press conference Wednesday.
TPP Countries and Other Global Trade Agreements
But for all the attention the TPP is getting on the campaign trail, there is evidence to suggest that many Americans don’t even know what it is.
“I’ll bet if we asked a sample of people what the TPP is, a lot would say, ‘Toilet paper something,’” says Charley Ballard, who teaches economics and conducts opinion surveys at Michigan State University.
Before the election, the TPP was not at all well known to Americans, Ballard says. “I think it probably still isn’t well-known,” even with all the attention during the campaign, he adds.
A poll earlier this year suggested that 72 percent of Americans either hadn’t heard of the TPP or had heard “not much about it.”
Gary Hawley, a Wisconsin delegate and retired union carpenter, concedes many in his state may not even see the TPP as a key issue.
“I don’t think people know enough about the TPP, and you’ve got to know about something before you can agree or disagree with it,” he says.
Another Rust Belt delegate, Tom Richey of Ohio, says he is ambivalent on the trade deal, saying other issues are a bigger concern.
“I think folks ought to focus instead on all the jobs Donald Trump has sent out of the country with his businesses,” he says. | <urn:uuid:57edc648-72fc-4aa4-ae52-a7e8e1ca3e97> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.voacambodia.com/a/tpp-emerges-as-key-issue-in-vital-us-rust-belt-states/3440133.html | 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 | 0.967588 | 1,157 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The aims of this research project are:
- to better understand factors influencing the safety of bicycle food delivery riders (BFDRs) and other road users they interact with.
- to provide guidance to road safety agencies and industry for programs to improve BFDR-related safety.
Bicycle food delivery riders (BFDRs) are one of the newest and fastest growing cohorts of riders. App-based home delivery of meals was already growing but has boomed under COVID-19 conditions and this trend is expected to continue beyond the current crisis. The total number of bicycle food delivery riders is not known, but Deliveroo Australia alone reported over 6,500 riders in February 2019, an increase of more than 50% from the previous 12 months. There has been little research focused on the riding patterns of Australian BFDRs and the road safety risk to them, pedestrians and other riders. This project aims to contribute to reducing road trauma by conducting cutting-edge research in this new niche area.
Funding / Grants
- IHBI Strategic Development Grant (2020 - 2021) | <urn:uuid:85d79511-fe4c-4fcf-899c-fcb5fe39540c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://research.qut.edu.au/carrsq/projects/bicycle-food-delivery-riders-an-emerging-road-and-work-safety-issue/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572163.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815085006-20220815115006-00675.warc.gz | en | 0.945967 | 218 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Native American Recipes
Come view some authentic Native American Indian recipes here at TheWildWest.org.
Native Americans looked to the earth for their foods and ate things that may not be considered common today. For example, acorns were a major North American Indian Food. California's Native American Indians were mostly hunters and gatherers. Throughout California, there was a steady supply of deer, fish, rabbits, foul, vegetables and fruits in the form of native plants and seaweed. And they made good use of all of it. Still, acorns are believed to have been a main food source for many native California Indians. Acorns were everywhere from north to south, were easy to gather and stored quite well as long as storage containers and places were squirrel resistant. Some clans buried baskets of acorn nuts until they were needed. White acorns, it was also believed, were the most preferred because they were sweet and could be eaten without leaching, a processing method traditionally used to remove the acidic tannins of the acorns. In any case, read through the Indian recipes you find here to discover some unique hearty meals. In some cases, though, you may note that ingredients had to be exchanged to meet the times. Otherwise, many are as authentic as when originally conceived. Enjoy our Native American food recipes. | <urn:uuid:72039752-36e9-44fc-8850-2780d40c0df3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://thewildwest.org/nativeamericans/nativeamericanrecipes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00457-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98868 | 267 | 2.859375 | 3 |
We believe that people affected by conflict and armed violence should play a central role in deciding their aid. They know their environment and what they need. After all, they’re the ones concerned.
Today, people can convey their needs and ask for help thanks to new technologies. SMS or social media for example permits beneficiaries in certain situations to communicate with aid organizations from anywhere. Technology can support the humanitarian response, ensuring a two-way dialogue between people affected by conflict and those trying to help them. But technology should not replace vital face-to-face discussions.
With reliable, first-hand information, we tailor our activities according to people’s needs and vulnerabilities and seek to strengthen their ability to rebuild their lives and cope with future crises. We also seek their feedback on whether their needs are met.
But empowering people and communities is easier said than done. It requires the capacity to listen to all those involved, to understand the culture and mores and to carefully consider local dynamics. If we can achieve this then we can truly partner with beneficiaries and know that our help is what will provide the greatest, long lasting benefit. | <urn:uuid:122069a4-f49e-4b73-b563-11f499322a7b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.icrc.org/eng/who-we-are/history/150-years/challenges/challenge-2-empowering-people.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00274-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963343 | 229 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Efficient washing of magnetic beads
Application Note Feb 27, 2014
Tecan Group Ltd.
Cytokines are soluble proteins acting as cell-signalling proteins to modulate the functional activities of immune cells and other tissues. Analyzing cytokines increases our understanding of the immune system and its multifaceted response to most antigens, especially those responses that make up the inflammatory process.
To identify specific cytokines involved in any inflammatory or immune response, screening panels of cytokines is of high importance.
Advantages over common ELISA assays include an increased available surface area as well as an even distribution of beads throughout the sample, providing rapid and sensitive detection of low analyte concentrations. EMD Millipore's MILLIPLEX® MAP Human Cytokine/ Chemokine Magnetic Bead Panel enables to focus on the therapeutic potential of cytokines, as well as on the modulation of even low levels of cytokine expression. Based on the Luminex xMAP® technology in a magnetic bead format, this kit allows the quantitative, multiplexed detection of dozens of analytes in parallel, helping to increase productivity. This application note describes the outcome of a successful evaluation study of Tecan’s new HydroSpeed plate washer for efficient washing of magnetic beads using EMD Millipore’s MILLIPLEX® MAP Human Cytokine/Chemokine Magnetic Bead Panel. | <urn:uuid:02d04d3c-9da5-4bdf-a18b-a5fb5bfe450a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.technologynetworks.com/drug-discovery/application-notes/efficient-washing-of-magnetic-beads-228669 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279933.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00125-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.894222 | 292 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Israel fears being branded an "apartheid state" at the UN.
US human rights group says the “peace process” has fostered a culture of impunity.
Bill sets $3.8 billion in weapons as yearly floor rather than ceiling.
Initiative backed by congressional progressives would deny funding to Israel.
US lawmakers aim to stop Palestinians seeking justice for war crimes.
Nonbinding resolution a stepping stone to harsher and more brazenly unconstitutional legislation to penalize BDS.
Pro-Israel Trump supporter with record of bigotry leading “anti-discrimination” effort.
Peter King, a veteran member of Congress, issues new threat to leaders in Dublin.
Palestinian American congresswoman faces smears from left and right.
New law will effectively disqualify Palestinian Authority from receiving US money.
Upstart challenger of Senator Ted Cruz abandons Palestinian rights.
Despite Trump, it remains useful to put pressure on members of Congress.
Nearly half of all Democrats believe Israel is a “racist country.”
Belgium, Ireland summon Israeli ambassadors to protest Gaza massacre.
Video shows activists confronting US ambassador Nikki Haley over Gaza killings.
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) sounded like grizzled gunslingers last week when they discussed the upcoming congressional battle on the 2018 omnibus spending bill.
Democrats performed well in state and local elections in 2017 and held a large lead in generic polls heading into this year. But voters expecting a Democratic wave that wins them the House in 2018 may be in for a surprise.Winning the majority of votes in a state, or in the country as a whole, doesn’t guarantee victory.
Yet party’s “progressive” leaders remain fearful of fully embracing Palestinian rights.
Palestinian demands for their rights are finally being heard in the halls of power.
Baby steps from liberal lawmakers on Palestinian rights.
Ten members of Congress cosponsor bill focused on protecting Palestinian children.
Conservatives pushing Trump administration to move US embassy from Tel Aviv.
Faith groups say boycott, divestment are nonviolent ways to achieve peace and justice
Charges are baseless, according to Amnesty International.
Legislation backed by AIPAC aims to thwart international measures to hold Israel accountable.
Newsbud presents major new revelations by former FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. Edmonds, known as the most classified and gagged person in US history, takes on the US Congress and the culprit media in one of the most significant and longest ongoing political/criminal cover-ups involving the FBI, a notorious political mob in Chicago, a well-known elected official and her convicted criminal spouse. Further, she renews her public call for joint testimony under oath before the US Congress.
Israel's campaign against the BDS movement threatens basic freedoms all over the world.
Despite the boasts by its lobby, Israel is a very small, barely significant US client state.
US has penalized settlement products labeled “Made in Israel” for 20 years.
Peter B. Collins Presents Podcaster Jennifer Briney
Peter B. Collins Presents Russell Tice As the political theater in Washington fades, we talk about the phony reforms of the “USA Freedom Act” versus the ongoing, expansive surveillance by NSA and FBI, with recent revelations of the FBI’s fleet of Cessna planes with high tech monitoring capabilities and the warrantless interception of internet signals at borders that Obama information’s going to use it for their benefit”.
A new bill before Congress would make any trade deal with Europe conditional on a crackdown against the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
Peter B. Collins Presents Sam Oakford | <urn:uuid:91417413-ba92-4094-829d-bf6c36e39836> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://iftbqp.com/tags/us-congress | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571538.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812014923-20220812044923-00467.warc.gz | en | 0.919134 | 771 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Crucial viaduct-tunnel vote today
Council to decide what, if anything, to put on ballot
Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, January 18, 2007
Seattle city officials insisted Thursday that a new plan for a four-lane tunnel will work and that state Department of Transportation staff members agree, despite statements by the governor and legislators that there hasn't been enough time to study the option comprehensively.
The disagreement came at a crucial time -- on the eve of a City Council vote to put a viaduct-replacement measure on the ballot. Council members plan to convene this afternoon to decide what, if anything, should be put to a Seattle vote.
And there was another complication with the new, hybrid tunnel concept -- offered Wednesday to Gov. Chris Gregoire, then promptly shot down the same day -- as two Seattle port commissioners announced they won't approve an expected $200 million port contribution to fund the new plan.
The city was told "there were no fatal flaws" in the four-lane tunnel proposal, developed by city and state engineers and consultants as a fallback to a far more costly six-lane waterfront tunnel, said Bob Powers, major projects director for the Seattle Transportation Department. Following a week of project analysis by the state and its consultants, "there is validation for the project feasibility, its capacity and cost," said Michael Mann, deputy director of the city's Office of Policy and Management.
To say otherwise, Mann said, "does not add up."
But the governor's chief of staff disagrees, saying the project couldn't be completely studied by the state before today, when the council must decide whether to put viaduct-replacement options up for a vote in March.
The city's questions came less than a day after Gregoire and legislative leaders rejected the new tunnel proposal pursued by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. The new four-lane tunnel is estimated to cost $3.4 billion, more than $1 billion less than the $4.6-billion "most likely" estimate for the six-lane tunnel.
Nickels said the four-lane tunnel would carry as many vehicles per day as the current elevated viaduct, by dispersing traffic onto Alaskan Way and into expanded bus service. It also includes ramps to Elliott and Western Avenues, something not included in an earlier four-lane tunnel design.
City officials said the state, working with the city on the new option, used the same modeling and estimating methods used for other viaduct-replacement options and came up with the $3.4-billion price tag for the smaller tunnel, totaled in a large spread sheet they provided.
Tom Fitzsimmons, Gregoire's staff chief, confirmed he told the city the state was halting analysis of the smaller tunnel, but said it was because the state had "a lot of questions about the design and the cost, and by the time you get to your decision about the ballot measure we're not going to be able to verify (and) validate."
He said after Gregoire in December called for an advisory vote between a six-lane tunnel and a new viaduct, the state continued refining designs for those alternatives. But the city then began working on a new tunnel design, which Fitzsimmons said the state hadn't fully vetted before halting its analysis.
"They (the city) believe it's valid. The state does not," Fitzsimmons said of the new tunnel design. "It is not the state's view that the (new) project was validated by the state."
State department officials did not return phone calls requesting comment on Thursday.
Fitzsimmons said Gregoire still wants Seattle voters to choose between the elevated road and his six-lane tunnel design in an advisory ballot. He said both are deemed viable projects.
But Nickels wants City Council members to put the four-lane plan on an advisory ballot, which council members will discuss today at 12:45 p.m. They must decide today on whether to approve a public vote March 13, the date Gregoire requested.
Nickels once supported the six-lane tunnel, but stopped because of the most recent, high cost estimates.
"That's not an affordable option. Why put something on the ballot that's not going to get built?" said Nickels' spokeswoman Marianne Bichsel.
Council President Nick Licata said he expects the council will approve the ballot measure, but he said there may be an attempt to add to the ballot a surface-transit option -- a plan to reroute viaduct traffic onto surface streets rather than replacing the structure. The governor opposes that option.
Licata also predicted Thursday that pro-tunnel council members will try to put the hybrid tunnel on the ballot as Nickels wants, despite the governor's opposition.
Port of Seattle Commissioners Bob Edwards and Lloyd Hara announced their opposition to the mayor's latest proposal Thursday, saying they would vote against authorizing $200 million in port funds for it.
"Now there is all this talk about a shrunken version of the tunnel, which hasn't had the proper level of analysis," Edwards said. "I don't want anyone to think that the $200 million is available for that option."
Their position effectively pulls the plug on the port's financial support of the hybrid tunnel, which would be subject to a vote by the five-member port commission.
That doesn't leave Commission President John Creighton and past President Pat Davis much room to maneuver, especially since Commissioner Alec Fisken recused himself because of his employment by the city of Seattle.
Creighton said he would have preferred the commission wait to weigh in, but agreed with Davis that it is open to new options, with some caveats.
"The problem with the four-lane option is capacity, and they need to do traffic modeling to show us if it can work," Davis said, naming mitigation and access to the terminals as chief port concerns.
Bichsel said the city will talk to Hara and Edwards and "address any concerns that they have."
She said the smaller tunnel plan is expected to handle as much traffic as the six-lane tunnel. "We don't think it interrupts (the port's) business operations," she said. | <urn:uuid:ce363cf4-04b5-4477-bac0-af02739e7bb7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/Crucial-viaduct-tunnel-vote-today-1225865.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00327-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971667 | 1,298 | 1.5 | 2 |
A Japanese Buddhist temple is refusing to host the Olympic torch relay when it comes to Japan next week, to protest China's crackdown on Tibetan unrest.
The Zenkoji Temple officials say monks at the temple are concerned about the way fellow Buddhist monks are being treated in China and about the safety of the temple and its worshippers. The temple is located in Japan's northern city of Nagano, and was originally to be the starting point of the relay in Japan.
With China hosting this year's Olympics, the torch has drawn large and sometimes chaotic protests around the world, forcing organizers to beef up security, shorten or even re-route the relay to protect the flame.
The torch is now in Thailand, where it arrived Friday on a chartered flight accompanied by heavy security.
After its arrival, the torch was taken to a luxury hotel, where it will remain until Saturday's scheduled 10-kilometer torch relay.
Thailand's Olympic Committee president, General Yuttasak Sasiprapha, says any foreigners attempting to disrupt the torch relay will be expelled from the country. One of the 80 Thai torchbearers withdrew in protest last month over China's crackdown in Tibet.
On Thursday, the Indian leg of the Olympic torch relay ended after a short run through New Delhi. Anti-Chinese protests took place in parts of the country, but public access was limited along the torch route.
The Olympic torch, which symbolizes the spirit of the Olympic Games, began its worldwide six-continent trek from ancient Olympia in Greece on March 24.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP. | <urn:uuid:7e4e8b1f-d9fd-4811-b242-06c64692a7d5> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2008-04-18-voa25-66815022/256195.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720972.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00250-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965072 | 328 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Battalgazi was the original location of Malatya, as implied by its local (and formerly official) name, Eski Malatya (i.e., "Old Malatya").
The settlement in the vicinity—the Arslantepe mound (Arslantepe Höyüğü) in particular, which lies to the southeast of Battalgazi, close to the town of Orduzu—dates back to the 4th millenium BCE. However, it was the Hittites, originated from Central Anatolia and conquered the area in 14th century BCE, who gave the area its name—Malidiya, possibly related to the Hittite word of melid, which means "honey".
The area was subsequently ruled by Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Armenians, Crusaders, Seljuk Turks, Mamluk Turks, and Ottoman Turks.
In 1838, during a war between Ottoman Empire and the forces of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, the Ottoman army seized the town, forcing the local population to nearby Aspuzu, then a collection of cottages amidst the orchards in the outskirts of the town. After the war, the people decided not to return to their battered town, settling permanently in Aspuzu, and renaming it to Malatya.
The abandoned old town has later been re-populated, and after being called as Eski Malatya for more than a hundred years, officially renamed as Battalgazi in 1987, after a legendary warrior who is thought to have borned in the region.
Today, with its 14,000 inhabitants, Battalgazi is a typical Turkish provincial town with mostly concrete low rise buildings and some faint remnants from its past.
Battalgazi lies 10 km north of Malatya, and a wide avenue free of potholes and with seperated directions through lush apricot groves connects each other.
It's possible to catch public buses (run by Malatya City Council–Malatya Belediyesi, lines #B1, #25, #251) and minibuses (recognizable by large banners saying Battalgazi Koop in front of them, which is the name of the company that runs them), which depart every 15 minutes, from various stops in downtown Malatya. However, to avoid long de-tours through the city, it is best to wait for them in the stop just off the roundabout where the road to Battalgazi branches off the main highway. (Directions from the central square: walk east along Cumhuriyet Caddesi and Kışla Caddesi for 500 mt. You will arrive at an intersection, turn left into Sivas Caddesi here; look for the sign saying Aslantepe Höyüğü in the centre of that intersection. After a walk of about a kilometre along Sivas Caddesi, past a stadium, you will arrive at a large roundabout with traffic lights on the main intercity highway. Cross the highway at those traffic lights, and there you have the bus stop on the right, 50 metres down the street.)
A one-way ride on both the buses and minibuses costs 1.25 TL. Minibuses can be a little crowded on the weekends, but it's a 15-minute ride maximum anyway.
Once you step out of the bus/minibus at the town's central square, you have no other option but to walk. But note that while signage for street names is adequate (usually on small blue signs on the walls of the buildings on the corners of the streets), the signage for interesting sights is woefully rare or even totally non-existant, so either have a print-out of a detailed map of the area before you go, or trust your luck on finding the sights.
You will see lots of local kids around the main sights of interest, and be ready to be shouted at by them ("hello, tourist!" seems to be their favourite phrase). Some will (persistently) try their broken and limited English on you, and might recite what the buildings were used for, etc. You may accept their guidance but keep in mind that they are doing this in the expectation of a tip, so do return the favour if you chose to take a tour with them.
They may keep following you for a while even if you are clearly disinterested, but be patient and they will give up sooner or later. A kind "good bye!" might help.
The town is littered by many historic structures, most of which date back to Seljuk era, and some of which were renovated recently, while others waiting for the same favour in a halfly ruined state.
Of these, "must-see"s include:
A neighbourhood between the Great Mosque and the central square consists of whitewashed houses and streets surfaced by large stones, creating a nice but faux preserved townscape, as none of those buildings are actually historic.
Ruins of Roman-built city walls, including a re-built arch gate, can be seen just off the road from Malatya.
The area code of the town is (+90) 422.
There is a small postoffice (PTT) in the town, open M-F 8:30AM-5PM. | <urn:uuid:62715c02-0c48-48fa-a763-81d7ef0e045e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Battalgazi&oldid=1694243 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720000.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00025-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963964 | 1,109 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, email@example.com
COLLEGE STATION – Paul Schickler, DuPont Pioneer president, said there’s no doubt that grand challenges face production agriculture in the future to meet the needs of an expanding global population.
“The challenge is significant and you could say overwhelming,” Schickler said in a recent visit to Texas A&M University, prior to speaking to students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as part of the Blue Bell Lecture Series.
To meet these challenges, Schickler said it will require the use of “all capabilities when it comes to modern science, technology, people and policy. All of them will have to come together.”
It is projected that there will be 2 billion more people to feed globally in the coming decades and the challenge lies in the hands of students of agriculture.
“It’s up to them and they need to be part of this,” he said. “What we need is their enthusiasm and commitment not only dedicated to the field of agriculture, but getting others interested.”
Schickler said students need to “open up their eyes” and broaden their interests of study.
“They may have an academic area they are focused upon or a hobby they have been focused upon. That’s great. But they need to look a bit more broadly,” he said. “Maybe take a double major or at least get interested in some other aspect of agricultural food science so that you’ve got different perspectives.”
He said it might even be as simple as, ‘I’m going to focus on plant improvement in rice,’ but take a foreign science to go with it, or molecular biology with a computer background. Those kind of combinations are great.”
Schickler said there’s not a better combination than an agriculture background with an international business interest. He said students or individuals interested in pursuing a career in agriculture should consider “broadening their lens.”
“It’s the same for DuPont Pioneer,” he said. “We need skills across the spectrum – we need marketing and sales people. We need agronomists, biologists, pathologists; we need patent experts, financial experts – any career whether agriculture or food science or traditional disciplines, we need all of them. And all of those careers can find a home in agricultural and food production.”
Schickler said DuPont Pioneer continues to innovate and help farmers become more profitable. Issues such as drought and scarce water supplies continue to put stress on plant crops. That’s where the company continues to invest heavily in research experiments with cutting-edge varieties.
“Today we have ability to go after specific issues such as water and heat. On drought, a perfect example is the Texas Panhandle where it has undergone devastating drought. Subsoil moisture is nonexistent. As a result, cropping practices have changed, moving away from corn and going to sorghum or wheat.”
Schickler said through advanced breeding practices and other technologies, the company has been able to anticipate traits in a corn plant that can better adapt to stressful conditions such as drought.
Optimum AQUAmax corn hybrids were introduced by the company in 2010, expanded in 2011 and in 2012 some 2 million acres were planted, Schickler said. He noted it was a good time to be testing drought tolerance in a year like 2012.
“And they performed exceptionally well,” he said. “The yield was 9 percent better than the products they were tested or compared against. That’s a nice advantage for a farmer in a year like we just got through with, to get a 9 percent advantage by products tolerating drought.”
He said even under irrigation and adequate rainfall, they performed equally well, not giving up anything “even when conditions are favorable.”
He said the company will double acres to 5 million with the Optimum hybrid this year. The company’s development program is moving east in the heart of the Corn Belt and “applying the same technology there” as the concern over drought expands. Texas drought testing was done in Taft and in Plainview.
In all, 44 hybrids total will be sold under the Optimum Aquamax brand and will be taken to Europe.
In summary, Schickler said students of agriculture need to bring public awareness about the merits of agriculture and its critical implications to human life.
“For students studying agriculture, I say ‘spread the word’ about getting into this industry and how agriculture improves lives throughout the world,” he said. | <urn:uuid:41d2f099-f561-4a72-94d0-4acf940a1db7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://today.agrilife.org/2013/03/29/dupont-pioneer-leader-encourages-students-to-spread-the-word-about-agriculture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279915.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00284-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955839 | 999 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Have you ever seen the advertisements on social media websites? Have you noticed that they sometimes seem to be targeted toward you? This is a fairly common advertising practice. Advertisers will collect information about your online activity to tailor ads to your personality.
An example of this is using Google to search for tickets to a Blue Man Group concert and then logging onto Facebook and seeing that all of the advertisements on the side of the page are for the Blue Man Group.
PAID ADVERTISING AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Paid Advertising through social media has become a critical strategy in the online marketing industry. It presents unique opportunities for businesses to target different, specific demographics in the ways that appeal most to them.
This type of advertising is called interest-based advertising. Essentially, depending on a user’s privacy settings, social media sites will build profiles of each user designed to predict their interests. The profile is assembled with the user’s activity on the site. For instance, if someone “likes” a post about the election of a certain official, he or she may begin receiving advertisements from the political party of that official. Another example is if a user joins a certain group focused on car-shows, he or she may start seeing advertisements related from car part stores or dealerships.
APPEALING TO YOUR TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC
A more direct type of advertising involves describing a certain target demographic and then studying that group’s behaviors in order to tailor the advertisements toward them. If you’re selling video games, you probably want to focus on a young adult male market and then study that demographic for what types of ads are most effective, as well as learn where that group is spending their online time. After that, you’ll begin creating your own advertisements which will be displayed in the most trafficked online locations for that particular demographic.
COALITION AND SOCIAL MEDIA PAID ADVERTISING
These are just two of many different paid advertising approaches, and it is important to keep in mind that each one has its own set of positives and negatives but our expert team will be able to select the solution that best matches your individual needs as a business. Our team’s familiarity with these different approaches allows us to provide a unique and powerful flexibility when attaining your goals.
Paid advertising through social media platforms can initially appear like a daunting and unfamiliar route for your business to take, but the team at Coalition Technologies has been able to forge creative campaigns that have yielded huge benefits to our clients.
Of course, if a particular marketing technique (like using paid advertisements on social media sites) isn’t in your business’s best interest, we will not try to push or upsell you. We measure our success off of your success as a company, and while some marketing tactics will work for one business, they might be detrimental to the growth of another. We have our eye on the long game and want to invest in your relationship with us. This stance is what makes the relationships we share with our clients so strong.
Social media has become a trendy buzzword, and a lot of SEO companies are trying to get in on the action by offering low-quality and lazy services that don’t give you the benefits you would expect from such high fees.
Coalition Technologies strives to ensure our clients get the attention they deserve, and their results deliver real, positive impacts upon their revenue and online profitability. Social media paid advertising has done a lot of great work for our clients, and it might be good fit for your business too.
Our Work Includes 600+ Websites Built
Coalition Technologies isn’t in the business of peddling cheap gimmicks for outrageous prices. We offer high quality services that have delivered incredible results to hundreds of businesses. Contact us today, and let’s have a conversation about how we can help you too.
That’s the Coalition Difference. | <urn:uuid:94ea5f38-8104-4a12-9c11-970d4da53687> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://corbetcontracting.com/social-media-paid-advertisements.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571719.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812140019-20220812170019-00267.warc.gz | en | 0.949712 | 809 | 1.804688 | 2 |
I love Scrabble. I’m a so-so player by competitive standards- when I succumb to my online addiction, I can’t seem to keep my TWL rating over 1600 for more than a few games at a time. But I love the game and nobody was sadder than me when Facebook Scrabble dissolved. (Don’t talk to me about that Wordscraper crap, either. It’s just not the same. Round tiles, PAH.)
Anyway, hot and fresh from the internet, here is a great compendium of Scrabble tips. What’s good about this page is that the tips come from many players at many different skill levels, and many are specifically geared to a method of playing the game that will impress a new girlfriend- in other words, play flirtily, not nerdily.
To play for real, here are my personal top 5 Scrabble tips:
Remember that Scrabble is a math game masquerading as a word game. Don’t look at the letters in your rack to try to make an impressive word: instead look at the available spaces on the board and try to create ways to get your highest-valued consonants on the colourful squares.
Never play a word with an S unless using the S adds at least 12 points.
Aim for 20 points per play. Keep looking until you find that 20+ point word.
Play parallel to a word already on the board, not intersecting it. Parallel plays mean many more points.
M I L E
Playing the word ED in the above example gives you points for ED, ME, and ID– more than triple the points the letters are worth.
If you do choose to play your word at right-angles to an existing word, try to “hook” onto it to get more points. So if the word RAIN is on the board, and you want to play a word like AYE, don’t play it like this:
A Y E
instead, use the Y to “hook” onto the end of RAIN, and play it like this:
A Y E
Hooking the Y onto the end of RAIN gives you points for AYE as well as points for RAINY, and will more than double your play. This is why you save your S tiles- they can hook onto the end of almost any word. When your opponent plays ZIGGURAT, you whip out that S and hook it right on there with a new word, and watch the points pour in. It’s the Scrabble equivalent of that Price Is Right strategy where you guess a price just $1 above the sucker who had to guess first.
And oh hey, did you know you can play Scrabble online in real-time with other
obsessives people online? At Scrabulous. Some of us would rather do that than write our screenplays, but that’s totally okay and it’s a personal life choice so stop judging me those people. | <urn:uuid:dc7fa4e7-27cf-4ccf-955f-19f98f5f64be> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://pageslap.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/scrabble-tips-from-teh-internets-and-me/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00170-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941312 | 638 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Syria: No aid without permission
Syria has said any attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to rebel-controlled areas without government approval is tantamount to "an attack on the state" as well as its territorial integrity and political independence.
The country's United Nations ambassador Bashar Ja'afari sent a letter to the world body's secretary general Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council from Syrian and Arab lawyers protesting against a draft council resolution that would authorise the delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria through four border crossings without approval from President Bashar Assad's government.
Currently, all UN aid must go through Damascus - a practice which UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has repeatedly criticised.
Key council members have been negotiating the text of the draft - initially circulated by Australia, Luxembourg, and Jordan - for several weeks.
Australia's UN ambassador Gary Quinlan has said 90% of aid currently "goes to government-held areas" and Syrians in opposition-controlled zones are not getting food and medicine.
Authorising humanitarian access at two crossings from Turkey, one from Jordan and one from Iraq would help more than two million people who have not received aid, he said.
But the lawyers sharply disagreed.
"The sole purpose of the initiative is to use United Nations auspices for the delivery of logistical backing to the terrorists, in preparation for the establishment of 'humanitarian corridors' under the protection of those very states that brought terrorism on to Syrian national territory," they said.
The Syrian government calls all opposition groups and al Qaida-linked extremists "terrorists".
The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, said all humanitarian aid must be delivered with the agreement of the government.
"Importing aid in co-ordination with terrorist organisations and without consultation with the Syrian state would amount to an attack on the Syrian state and on its territorial integrity and political independence," the lawyers said.
"Not only would it violate the (United Nations) charter, it would use the charter as a pretext for aggression."
The resolution was initially drafted under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which means it could be enforced militarily, but that was dropped at the insistence of Russia, Syria's most important ally.
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow came up with "an elegant, innovative formula" that would allow humanitarian supplies to go through the four crossing points "which will simplify the humanitarian procedures when the goods are actually on the territory of Syria".
He said Western members of the council had been examining the draft since Tuesday and expressed hope that the resolution would be adopted quickly.
"Frankly, my suspicion is that their main interest very often ... (is) to produce some kind of a political big bang," Mr Churkin said. "When the political big bang is not there, when in fact we focus on the humanitarian situation, then quite often they'll lose interest in the entire exercise. So we'll see what comes out of this discussion on the resolution."
Mr Quinlan said on Thursday that the latest revised Russian draft "is not good enough and can take us backwards potentially".
"We need to make sure it works on the ground and generates greater access, but we are not convinced it is the case," he said.
All 15 council members voted for a resolution in February demanding that all sides in the Syrian conflict allow immediate access for aid. UN officials have said the resolution has failed to change the dire humanitarian situation.
Meanwhile Mr Ban says the humanitarian situation in Syria is worsening and the number of people needing urgent help has now reached 10.8 million - almost half of Syria's population of 22 million.
Mr Ban's monthly report to the Security Council said the current estimate of 3.5 million people living in areas that are difficult or impossible for humanitarian workers to reach was also likely to have increased to 4.7 million people.
"Efforts to expand humanitarian assistance to those most in need have been met with continued delays and obstruction," he said.
The UN chief also reported severe levels of violence including intensified use of barrel bombs by government forces against civilian areas, and suicide attacks, reported executions and other acts of terrorism by extremist groups. | <urn:uuid:1ca991ff-2407-4217-a266-fa0962ae7f00> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/syria-no-aid-without-permission-30372891.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283689.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00356-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968561 | 845 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Item description for Mrs. Keckly Sends Her Regards by Tim Jorgenson...
Overview In this work, Elizabeth Keckly, born a slave and selected to be Mary Todd Lincolns dressmaker, describes the 40 days preceding President Lincolns assassination--and the days following--when friendship, faith, and secrets were tested by events.
Publishers Description Elizabeth Keckly was one of the more remarkable Americans of the 19th Century. Born as a slave, gifted as a dressmaker and entrepreneur, she purchased her freedom as the Civil War was about to begin. Moving to Washington, she became one of the city's pre-eminent dressmakers. When Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln settled in the White House in 1861, Mary Todd chose Mrs Keckly as her primary dressmaker. Elizabeth soon became a dear friend of both Lincolns. Mrs Keckly Sends Her Regards is a story of the 40 days preceding President Lincoln's assassination and of the days following, when friendship and faith and secrets were tested by events. It is a story of the profound love Elizabeth Keckly had for both Lincolns, a love that sought to hear and heal the hurts of each as two wars - in the nation and in the White House - drew to an end. Tim Jorgenson, the author of Mrs Keckly Sends Her Regards, lives with his wife and two daughters in the Midwest, where he works as a consultant and works even harder at being a father and writer. His play Bonhoeffer, published by Xulon Press (ISBN-13 978-1591603436), was first performed by the Acacia Theatre in Milwaukee in 2004.
Promise Angels is dedicated to bringing you great books at great prices. Whether you read for entertainment, to learn, or for literacy - you will find what you want at promiseangels.com!
Availability 146 units. Availability accurate as of Jan 16, 2017 06:10.
Usually ships within one to two business days from La Vergne, TN.
Orders shipping to an address other than a confirmed Credit Card / Paypal Billing address may incur and additional processing delay. | <urn:uuid:8edf591f-7b0b-4314-b09e-b3c0c1815d49> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.promiseangels.com/tim-jorgenson/mrs-keckly-sends-her-regards/SKU/97580 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00221-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963716 | 452 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Bernards: Workshop on basic horse care offered
Somerset County Park Commission Lord Stirling Stable is offering Horse Care Workshop 101 for adults and youth seeking to gain experience and confidence around horses through a combination of non-riding activities and hands-on practice.
Horse Care Workshop 101 will be held at Lord Stirling Stable, 256 S. Maple Ave. in the Basking Ridge section of the township, beginning Saturday, Jan. 7. Classes run from 1 to 3 p.m. for five consecutive weeks.
Participants will learn the basics of horse care including the proper way to safely handle a horse, groom, and tack up. The parts of the horse, saddle and bridle are discussed, in addition to horse breeds, colors and basic horse care. There is no riding involved in this program.
Registration is available in person at the stable office and will be accepted up to the opening day of the Workshops as space permits. The fee is $60 for Somerset County residents and $90 for nonresidents.
For additional information, call Lord Stirling Stable at 908-766-5955. Individuals with a hearing or speech impairment can call NJ Relay Service at 711.
Information on this event and other Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found at www.somersetcountyparks.org. | <urn:uuid:71eeae74-78ce-4d8c-a550-c2bff3f2d449> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/how-we-live/2016/12/30/bernards-workshop-basic-horse-care-offered/95956288/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571190.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810131127-20220810161127-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.906817 | 278 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Last week, thousands of Atlanta drivers found themselves stuck in vehicles that weren’t going anywhere. About two inches of snow had abruptly paralyzed the city. Cars were abandoned on highways. Thousands of schoolchildren spent the night away from their parents, many sleeping in classrooms or buses.
The incident, dubbed "Snow Jam" by local news outlets, drew national attention to that region’s lack of preparedness for the storm. It also exposed the challenges facing urban areas in Texas and other southern states in planning for the kind of severe winter weather that doesn't come often.
In Atlanta, the problems developed after local officials did not close schools or encourage residents to stay home the day of the bad weather. That afternoon, as a wintry mix accumulated, schools and government offices were let out early, as were tens of thousands of private workers. Major highways fell to gridlock.
The situation ended up as the kind of worst-case scenario that is not out of the question in Texas, said Tim Lomax, a research engineer with the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
“If any metropolitan region made the kinds of unfortunate decisions that happened there, everybody would be in that same position,” Lomax said.
Every year, at least some Texas urban areas will shut down in response to a small scattering of snow or ice. While some might dismiss the outcome as an overreaction, it is largely tied to the limited infrastructure and supplies that state and local officials have to de-ice and later clear roads in such weather, which can pale in comparison with what an area in New England has at the ready.
"Cities don’t invest the kinds of money in trucks or snow plows that you need if it’s going to happen a couple of times a decade," Lomax said. "It seems like the bigger Texas cities tend to take the 'Geez, it looks like it could be bad. Let’s tell everyone to stay home' approach."
That approach was on display Thursday morning in Central Texas as winter weather led to delays at schools and government offices.
As with the rest of the country, this winter has been more challenging for public officials in Texas. Between September and December of last year, TxDOT spent more than $5 million on materials for snow and ice removal, spokesman Bob Kaufman said. The agency spent about $1 million on those materials for the same periods in 2011 and 2012.
“So clearly this winter has been unique,” Kaufman said.
A 2011 study by the Texas Transportation Institute found 642 “winter weather events” in Texas between 2000 and 2010. West Texas drew more than 50 percent of the storms, while about one-third hit North Texas. The Panhandle tended to draw mostly snow, while Dallas-Fort Worth and Waco were more likely to see a mix of snow and ice. Further south in Austin and San Antonio, winter weather is typically a mixture of ice and freezing rain.
To augment its equipment, the Texas Department of Transportation will frequently move its snowplows, graders and other winter weather equipment around the state depending on local needs.
“I think an Atlanta situation can occur anywhere and does occur anywhere,” said Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. “The question in my mind is the preparation and communication if it does happen.”
The Atlanta region and the area of North Texas overseen by Morris share some commonalities: Both are represented by dozens of towns and cities, making coordination a challenge. Because of decades of suburban sprawl, both regions have more than 5 million residents spread out over thousands of square miles. And in both areas, personal vehicles are the dominant form of transportation and public transportation options are limited.
Yet when Dallas-Fort Worth was hit with a severe ice storm in December, the region did not see the kind of mass calamity that occurred in Atlanta. TxDOT mobilized 1,100 pieces of equipment and 1,700 employees to aid impacted cities “from El Paso to Texarkana,” Kaufman said. The region essentially shut down for a week as a prolonged stretch of subfreezing weather made it tougher to clear the roads.
“You can’t ask the taxpayer and the policy official to fund 100 percent of the needs and 98 percent of the time. They’re not going to be used,” Morris said. “That final 2 percent, you just shouldn’t go outside.”
Often the decision of whether a school district should close in response to a weather forecast is one of the most complicated for local officials. The decision goes beyond the impact on school instruction, Paul Whitton, the associate executive director with the Texas Association of School Administrators, said this week. Closing schools complicates things for working parents as well, he said, as well as low-income families in which the children rely on the breakfasts and lunches they receive at school.
“It’s not something that any superintendent takes lightly, because canceling school just affects so many different things and so many different people,” Whitton said.
On Wednesday afternoon, officials in the Austin Independent School District closely monitored the overnight weather forecast. Emergency Management Coordinator John Gaete said he and other officials would confer that evening and probably again at around 3 a.m. before a final decision was made.
Among the complicating factors is that the roads could be fine for driving after sunrise but impassable beforehand, he said.
“One of the things we consider heavily here when we make these decisions is the thousands of the employees we have coming in really, really early in the morning,” Gaete said. “There’s just a lot of moving parts to retract if the weather doesn’t do what we’re expecting it to do.”
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here. | <urn:uuid:3bdfb023-e8db-4a33-96da-f8c604e4698b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.myhighplains.com/news/state/could-atlantas-snow-jam-happen-in-texas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00235-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964105 | 1,252 | 2.265625 | 2 |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Petit Branch Library in Syracuse’s Westcott neighborhood has plans to expand.
“We’re adding a community room to the library, about 2,000 square feet,” said Branch Manager Carol Johnson.
They’ve been planning for this for a while. Work is set to begin next spring. Johnson said the branch is one of two in Syracuse that does not have a community room, so this is a welcomed addition.
“When we do have community meetings or library programs, they happen in the library so often people have to come and pick out books around you,” Johnson explained. “It’s, it’s tight it’s a little bit difficult.”
The community room is going to be added to the back of the building and it’s going to expand where the park spots in the parking area. But just a few feet away, one of the biggest challenges in the process is an old tree.
“They don’t want to come out,” said Bee Keeper Bob Faulkner. “I’ve got to find a way to get them out. Through trickery, I get them out of the tree.”
Faulkner is talking about these honey bees that have made this tree their home. “They’re 60 to 80 maybe 90,000 bees. There’s a lot of bees in the tree,” Faulkner said.
With that many, it’s going to take Faulkner about three months to get them all out. He’s been passionate about bees his whole life. He worked in IT, eventually deciding to become a beekeeper.
“I’ve saved 90 colonies last year,” he said. It’s an important task.
“I’ve heard a number somewhere in the range of 93% of all the food that we eat is influenced or touched by a honey bee. If they don’t pollinate, if they don’t germinate, if they don’t take care of what’s out there, then we’re not going to have any food.”Bob Faulkner, Bee Keeper at Syracuse Honey
That’s why when the library reached out, he gladly answered the call.
If you have honey bees on your property, Faulkner urges you not to spray or kill them. He says instead to call a beekeeper to safely relocate them. You can learn more about his work here. | <urn:uuid:520ddcc4-6e77-49e7-9630-b662bd485ba5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/petit-branch-library-parking-lot-is-buzzing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817001643-20220817031643-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.964637 | 556 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Wahconah graduates urged to believe in the power of 'change'
Photo Gallery | 2014 Wahconah Regional High School Graduation
DALTON -- The older folks in attendance on Sunday at the Wahconah Regional High School gymnasium understood. This year's high school graduating class will be celebrating its 10th reunion in the blink of an eye. Time, it's been said, waits for no man.
But the Warrior seniors were indeed resolute, and prevailed collectively, at this final and full gathering. Father Time, with a frown upon his hurried face, was given a short detention by this robust group of teens, which froze the tortured soul, if only for an instant. The time, the moment you could say, was all theirs. And the kids weren't going to let it slip away quickly without a fight.
So, when the final trick that was hidden up their blue-and-white sleeves was finally unleashed -- stopping time is no easy illusion -- the seniors allowed their own hearts to race at an unabashed pace as they embraced what was a final chapter in the early part of the book that on another day will tell the story of their lives.
Class of 2014 valedictorian Rose May spoke both candidly and pointedly. She put the responsibility of the future on the accepting shoulders of her classmates, and by extension, her generation.
"Change," she said, "is something we need to want. We have to believe in its power. Our generation has been called selfish. But I believe we are determined."
Whatever the word is that defines the moment when a young man or woman segues into the next chapter of that book, it was evident on Sunday during an alternately fun and emotional afternoon of pomp and circumstance. The festivities left all with a feeling that this class had turned in a job well done.
The educational harmony put forth by the 132 seniors sent this clear message: "Hey world, here we come."
While some jaws were set strongly to prevent tears of relief and joy from flowing, other eyes dripped with delight. Regardless, the seniors, perhaps for the first time in four years, were all on the same page. Ear-to-ear smiles were plentiful and eyes sparkled like stars on a clear Central Berkshire night.
The students were the pudding, the diplomas were the proof.
Class salutatorian Eleanor Cherry paralleled her four years at Wahconah with the four laps required on the school track in the mandated mile run during physical education class.
Sprinting, jogging and even walking slowly were all elements of that exercise, she said, the comparison to academic rigors ringing a strong chord with her peers.
"I urge you to remember the struggles," said Cherry, who then emphasized the fact that she and her classmates had overcome many.
Wahconah Principal James Conro drew a chuckle from the throng when he called the Class of 2014 "wicked awesome."
Dominic Carnevale, class president, lauded the Wahconah faculty for their above-and-beyond approach to education, and the Wahconah choir helped set the mood for the day by performing superbly.
Wahconah Regional High School Class of 2014
Jackson Alberti, Codi Arthur, Colin Auger, Jacob Barcher, Jasper Basiliere, MaKenna Brewer, Darrow Brown, Emily Budd, Kristy Burris, Samantha Camp, Dominic Carnevale*, Joseph Castagna, Mitchell Chapman, Lucas Charland, Eleanor Cherry, Paige Chiaretta*, Olivia Clark, Haley Conner.
Hunter Conrow, Austin Cooney*, Emma Cornwell, Patrick Culliton, Abigail Danforth, Christopher Dapson*, Ryan DeChaine, Eric Desautelle, Jenna Disbrow, Curran Doyle, Ryan Dufour*, Marcus Duncan, David Fairchild*, Morgan Francese, Catherine Fusini.
Adam Galliher, Tyler Garrett, Justin Geyer*, Matthew Geyer, Hayley Gingras, Nicole Gingras, Jacob Greene, John Greene, Hjalmar Gustafsson, Caleb Hall, Thomas Hamilton, Paige Harrington, Jeffrey Hebert, Ryan Hebert, Brianna Herforth.
Shawn Hopkins, Kate Hopper*, Alexander Horton, Amy Iwanowicz*, Adrianna Jagiello, Eric Jamross, Patrick Jamross, Joshua Kisselbrock, Stefan Kosof, Kevin Kowalczyk, Austin Labelle, Dylan Larochelle, Liam Lonergan, Albert Loveless, Heather Lucaroni.
Olivia Lussier, Mariah MacDowell, Elyshia Macphail, Matthew Maffuccio, Marley Makes, Rose May*, Caitlin McCarthy, Colin McMahon, Rachel McMahon*, Kyle Miller*, Brandan Morgan, Emily Murrin, Divya Muruga*, Holly Myers, William Myers, Benjamin Nguyen.
Zachary Ostellino, Ryan Parker*, Eli Pease, Christian Pickwell, Hannah Powell, Curran Pularo, Ryen Quail, Alexander Quintero, Alexander Reiter, MacKenzie Rice, Zoe Roberts, Jensynn Rocke, Cory Roos, Ellen Ross*, Mikaela Sadlow, Mitchell Salvini, Renee Saville.
Nathan Sears*, Michael Shaughnessy, Matthew Sheehan, Jesse Shorey, Sara Silvernail, Melissa Sirikan, Tabitha Smith, Samantha Smithies*, William Sondrini, Rachel Soules, Roger Stedman, Shannon Steele*, Monica Stegemann, Joseph Szczepaniak.
Alexys Tarjick, Austin Taylor, Kyle Taylor, Kyrsten Thibodeau*, Caterina Torchia, Jakob Touponce, Crystal Townsend, Sara Trova, Rechael Valentine, Connor Van Dyke, Jason Wagner, Ethan Wells*, KimberlyWells, Victoria White, Allyson Wood.
* National Honor Society
Wahconah Regional High School Awards & Scholarships
American Legion Auxiliary Benjamin F. Sullivan Unit #155: Medal & Award: Shannon Steele. Scholarship: Kate Hopper.
American Legion Benjamin F. Sullivan Post #155 Scholarship: Ryan Parker.
Emma Bailey Scholarships: Eric Desautelle, Cory Roos.
Town of Becket Scholarships: David Fairchild, Alexys Tarjick.
Berkshire Community College Foundation Grace Hampel Scholarship: Monica Stegemann.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation James E. "Jamie" Bugley Scholarship Fund: Justin Geyer.
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Zenus Crane Fund Scholarships: Mitchell Chapman, Eleanor Cherry, Paige Chiaretta, Austin Cooney, Justin Geyer, Kate Hopper, Patrick Jamross, Marley Makes, Divya Muruga, Ryan Parker, MacKenzie Rice, Ellen Ross, Melissa Sirikan, Shannon Steele, Joseph Szczepaniak, Ethan Wells.
Central Berkshire Education Association Scholarships: Kate Hopper, Sara Trova.
Central Berk. Reg. School District General Academic Excellence Scholarship: Rose May.
Cora Kirchner Cooney Health Career Scholarship: Rachel McMahon.
Dalton Lions Club Scholarship: Divya Muruga.
Dalton Rotary Berkshire Community College Scholarship: Rechael Valentine.
Dalton Volunteer Fire Department Scholarships: Kate Hopper, Kyrsten Thibodeau.
Jacqueline Harrison Memorial: Alexander Horton.
Kathryn A. Hutwelker Memorial: Kyrsten Thibodeau.
Gilbert D. Kittredge Memorial: Paige Chiaretta, Emma Cornwell, Rachel McMahon, Matthew Sheehan, Kyrsten Thibodeau.
William H. and Marion D. Manning Memorial: Christian Pickwell.
Patrick J. Muraca Memorial: David Fairchild.
Velma M. O'Connell Memorial: Emily Murrin.
Robert "Boog" Powell Memorial: Patrick Jamross, Rachel McMahon, Ethan Wells.
Robert R. Powell & Joseph D. Robins Memorial: Alexys Tarjick.
Kay Sanford Memorial: Mariah MacDowell.
Dorothy Shepard Memorial: Kate Hopper.
Helen Shepard Memorial: Olivia Clark.
James "Jim" Soluri Memorial: Kyle Miller, Christian Pickwell.
Rick Stracuzzi Memorial: Patrick Jamross.
Harry A. Walton Memorial: Brianna Herforth, Sara Trova.
Carl Willey Memorial: Albert Loveless.
Richard M. Bellinger Memorial: Ethan Wells.
Sally (Nama) Billick Memorial: Mitchell Chapman.
Charles and Sadie Boraski Memorial: Dominic Carnevale, Austin Cooney, Amy Iwanowicz, Sara Trova.
William Boraski Memorial: Joseph Szczepaniak.
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Thomas and Elaine Callahan Sr. Memorial: Shannon Steele.
William and Patricia Carey Memorial: Ellen Ross.
Peter R. Cimini Memorial: Morgan Francese.
Frank N. Costa Memorial: Amy Iwanowicz.
Chester H. Dodge Jr. Memorial: Ethan Wells.
Harold "Hal" Douville Memorial: Kimberly Wells.
James H. Duquette Memorial: Morgan Francese.
James Raymond Earley Memorial: Emma Cornwell.
Judith A. Farley Memorial: Eleanor Cherry.
Lindsey M. Ferrell Memorial: Morgan Francese.
Ida Flynn Memorial: Zoe Roberts.
David B. Grunow Memorial: Jakob Touponce.
Daughters of the American Revolution Award: Ethan Wells.
Western Massachusetts Council Boy Scouts' Scholarships: Curran Doyle, Marcus Duncan, Tyler Garrett, Joshua Kisselbrock, Alexander Reiter.
Greylock Credit Union "Treat Everyone Better Than They Expect" Scholarship: Sara Silvernail.
Hill Engineering Scholarship: Austin Cooney.
Hillside Agricultural Society Scholarship: Melissa Sirikan.
Ivanowsky Family Scholarship: Eric Desautelle.
Knights of Columbus #411 (David H. Carmel) Scholarships: Shannon Steele, Kyrsten Thibodeau.
Pittsfield Cooperative Bank Centennial Scholarships: Austin Cooney, Patrick Jamross, Kevin Kowalczyk.
Quail and Associates Insurance LLC Scholarship: Ryen Quail.
United States Army R.O.T.C. Scholarship: Curran Doyle.
Town of Washington Scholarships: Eric Desautelle, Cory Roos.
Art Department Award: Abigail Danforth.
Attendance Award: Austin Cooney.
Business Department Award: Kimberly Wells.
Emerging Technology Department Award: Lucas Charland.
English Department Award: Ellen Ross.
Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators' Association Student Achievement Award: Rose May.
Mathematics Department Award: Dominic Carnevale.
Modern and Classical Languages Awards: French: Christian Pickwell. Latin: Dominic Carnevale. Spanish: Ellen Ross.
Music Awards: Choral Award: Ryan Hebert. Louis Armstrong Jazz Award: Justin Geyer. John Philip Sousa Award: Christian Pickwell.
National Merit Program, Letter of Commendation: Caitlin McCarthy.
Physical Wellness Department Awards: Ryan DeChaine, Amy Iwanowicz.
Positive Options Program Award: Albert Loveless.
Principal's Leadership Award: Dominic Carnevale.
Reading Award: Jesse Shorey.
Science Department Award: Dominic Carnevale.
Social Studies Department Award: Rose May.
Student Council Awards: Dominic Carnevale, Kyler Miller, Divya Muruga, MacKenzie Rice, Zoe Roberts, Nathan Sears, Matthew Sheehan, Sara Silvernail, Shannon Steele, Ethan Wells.
Technology Education Department Award: Colin Auger.
Wahconah Regional High School Booster Club Awards: Curran Doyle, Morgan Francese, Nicole Gingras, Brianna Herforth, Patrick Jamross, Eli Pease, Kyrsten Thibodeau, Ethan Wells.
Wahconah Regional High School
(formerly Dalton High School) Class of 1959 Scholarships: Alexander Horton, Victoria White.
Wahconah Regional High School Class of 1970 Scholarships: Kyle Miller, Shannon Steele.
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Wahconah Regional High School Class of 2012 Scholarships: Christopher Dapson, Caleb Hall, Alexander Quintero, Samantha Smithies, William Sondrini.
Wahconah Regional High School Inspiration Award: Austin Taylor.
Wahconah Regional High School Spirit of Inclusion Award: Benjamin Nguyen.
Salvatore Abbate Memorial: Dominic Carnevale, Eleanor Cherry, Rose May, Ellen Ross, Nathan Sears.
Mary T. Ano Memorial: Renee Saville.
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TALK TO US
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. | <urn:uuid:97fd4a59-cee7-4d53-a86b-fb9a00af8e63> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/wahconah-graduates-urged-to-believe-in-the-power-of-change,371265 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280483.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00291-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.795508 | 2,752 | 1.5 | 2 |
This release is available in Chinese.
Phenytoin is a well known antiepileptic agent widely used throughout the world. Recent clinical studies in patients with bipolar disorder have suggested that, as for other anticonvulsant drugs commonly used in the treatment of bipolar patients including valproate and carbamazepine, phenytoin may have mood-stabilizing effects in addition to its well-known anticonvulsant properties. In a study published in the March 2010 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine Veronica Mariotti and colleagues utilized DNA microarrays to investigate the molecular underpinnings of the potential mood-stabilizing action of phenytoin by looking at its effect on gene expression in the rat brain.
As compared with untreated animals, rats treated for a month with phenytoin had 508 differentially expressed genes in the hippocampus and 62 in the frontal cortex, including genes involved in GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission, neuroprotection and other genes thought to be crucial for mood regulation. Furthermore, some of these same genes have been shown to be modulated by classical mood-stabilizer agents, like lithium and valproate.
Thus, the findings of this study indicate that chronic phenytoin administration modulates the expression of genes involved in mood regulation and genes that are targets of established mood stabilizers. Dr Mariotti noted that "The results of this study provide preliminary insights into possible molecular mechanisms of action of phenytoin as a potential mood stabilizer and, more in general, the pathophysiology of bipolar disorders".
The study is the product of a fruitful collaboration between the Molecular Biology Laboratory of Dr. Silvia Pellegrini at the Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Pisa Medical School, Pisa, Italy and the Laboratory of Professors Galila Agam and R.H. Belmaker at the Psychiatry Research Unit at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine, said "Mariotti and colleagues have provided very interesting results on the changes in gene expression in rats treated with phenytoin. There findings shed significant light on the mood altering effects of this antiepileptic drug".
|Contact: Dr. Silvia Pellegrini|
Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine | <urn:uuid:b5322f1b-aa63-4ffc-9389-749f2a0c2a13> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/From-the-clinics-to-the-bench-and-back----phenytoin-as-a-mood-stabilizer-3F-12543-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00495-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908509 | 504 | 2.5 | 2 |
Uniform – “una” (one) / “forma” (form). Clothing that is assigned to members of the same military unit to show or demonstrate that the people wearing the uniform belongs to the armed forces of a particular State (capital S, meaning country).
A military or police uniform is used to separate them from the rest of the civilian population. During armed conflict they can lawfully take part in combative action.
Obviously, the lack of a uniform indicates a person is a civilian and therefore cannot be attacked.
The armed forces in the United States have very specific regulations regarding uniforms. In fact, the regulations are hundreds of pages long (369 at last count).
Distinctive signs on the uniform, like rank, lanyards and arm patches can be removed in combat situations for covert operations.
Undercover work or espionage mostly take place without proper identifying clothing even though it may be unlawful under international law.
International Humanitarian Law Article 44(7) mandate the wearing of identifiable uniforms during conflict.
Article 48 of the Geneva Convention states the military must wear distinguishable uniforms and “… must conduct their operations only against military objectives”.
The 1907 Hague Regulations Article 1(2) and Article 4(A)(2)(b) of the 3rd Geneva Convention of 1949 mandate the need for elements of affiliation (shoulder patches, badges, unit designators).
The failure of a military member to distinguish himself (by removing his patches and other identifying marks) is in breach of the law of war in violation of Article 37 (1)(c) and Article 23 (b) of the 1907 Hauge Regulations.
The military units that fired tear gas at the demonstrators in Washington DC remain, to this day, even in the age of aggressive investigative journalism and the internet, unidentified.
The Trump Administration is in violation of the Hague Regulations, the Geneva Convention, and International Humanitarian Laws of War. This is not even to mention the violation of Posse Comitatus Act, 18 U.S.C. Section 1385 that states the military does not take place of civilian law enforcement.
Finally, were those “military personnel” really military? Or, were they private contractors like Black Water?
Did the Trump Administration just declare war on the civilians of the United States? | <urn:uuid:f645ff66-9626-43c3-a9c5-e3d6fadbd93b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://kevindriscoll70.com/2020/06/04/trump-administration-violates-geneva-convention/?shared=email&msg=fail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573029.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817153027-20220817183027-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.945663 | 475 | 3.40625 | 3 |
for Teaching Appalachian Folktales and Dramatizations by the Jack
by Tina L. Hanlon,
Ph.D. and R. Rex Stephenson,
Drama, Discussion and Writing Activities
Dramatization in the Classroom
| Back to Jack
Tale Players Study Guides
|| AppLit Home
also Teacher’s Study Guide for the Jack Tale Players and "Two Lost Babes”
Activities for Three Folktales ("Ashpet," "Wicked
John and the Devil," "Whitebear Whittington")
Four "Jack" Books
Write Jack Tales
Activities in Unit
Lesson Plan on Mountain Humor in Folktales and Other Media
The Jack Tale Players Web Site
Guide for "Ferradiddledumday" and Other "Rumpelstiltskin"
West Virginia's Appalachian Music and Literature,
a teaching unit in AppLit
John and the Devil Crossword Puzzle
of Fantasy: Game on Language in The Jack Tales
Activities for Three Appalachian Folktales, including
Ashpet jump rope chants
on Appalachian Language in Jack and the Three
Appalachian Music and Literature contains introductions
for children to folk instruments with pictures and audio files, activities
with audio on singing ballads and dance tunes, online quizzes (one
labeled a play-party game) on the state of WV and Appalachian folklore,
and discussion questions following reading and writing activities.
The Teacher's Guide has a list of Additional
- Have children draw
pictures of characters or scenes from one folktale after seeing
a performance. Then discuss any of the following issues:
the children explain why they chose the details in their picture.
the different choices of scenes or characters by different children.
the different ways that children depicted the same scene or
scene(s) were the most popular when the children decided what
to draw? Why?
Have children draw
pictures of characters or scenes based on their memories of
different versions of one folktale they have seen or heard. How
are the visual images in their drawings from the stories different? See
also ART in Teaching
Four "Jack" Books.
Compare the illustrations
in different picture
books or folktale collections,
or compare the visual effects in a dramatization
or film with a picture book version of the same tale. Have
students pick a picture book they like and illustrate another
scene or folktale in the same style. AppLit's Annotated Index
of Tales by Title can help you find different versions of
the same tale from Appalachia and other regions.
- Mutsmag is AppLit's online picture book adaptation by R. Rex
Stephenson, with illustrations drawn in 2000 by children in grades
K-3, Franklin County, VA, after they saw the Jack Tales Players'
dramatization of the tale. The children's drawings are cropped
and some animation is used; compare this format to reading other
folktale picture books, or to your students' drawings. Some of
the original drawings by the children are being placed on various
AppLit folktale pages and there are some observations about the
children's drawings on the Introduction to Mutsmag page
and in AppLit's Picture Gallery.
- If you are studying
artistic styles or techniques in enough depth, extend activity
3 by comparing the styles of particular folktale illustrations
with other artistic trends. Which artists use cartoonlike styles?
Which ones use realistic styles? How do they emphasize the realistic
or comical or magical elements of the tales? For example,
Owen Smith's illustrations in The Jack Tales by Ray Hicks
and Brad Sneed's illustrations in Smoky Mountain Rose by Alan Schroeder are reminiscent of the style of American painter
Thomas Hart Benton. Kenn Compton says he was influenced by cartoon
characters, including Dudley Do-Right, in his illustrations. (Watch
for Judy Teaford's analysis of picture book illustrations and
fine art styles in future AppLit pages.)
If your students
hear Jack tales before seeing illustrated or dramatized versions,
have them draw their own pictures of Jack and discuss the differences
in their images. Do they picture Jack differently depending
on which tales they hear?
If you have a collection
tale books, or you can copy images from a variety of books,
have students discuss or write a comparison of the different
images of Jack by various artists. Which one(s) fit their own
idea of Jack best? Why? Activities 7 and 8 could also be done
Henry (although he isn't the hero of so many different tales),
or Ashpet and Cinderella characters from different places, or Mutsmag/Muncimeg
and Molly characters, or antagonists such as the giant or witch
in many tales.
See also Appalachian Storytelling Event. Appalachian Studies Program. Virginia Tech, 2013. Organized by Robin Kaufman and Anita Puckett. Children made quilt squares and recorded their own audio stories or responses to Jack Tales after seeing Rex Stephenson and Emily Blankenship-Tucker tell stories (photos of storytelling at this link). Some of the children added another animal into "Jack and the Robbers," such as an owl that is stuck in its nest and then after Jack helps it out, the owl helps Jack scare the robbers. One child imagined Jack living in the robber's house and another mansion until he was 111 years old! Some drew the devils in "Soldier Jack," and some made up their own stories. This site includes review of the day's activities with tales and quilts, reading list, and links. Pdf flyer for this Appalachian Studies event for children.
background and ideas on illustration, see Appalachian Picture
Book in AppLit's Short
Teaching Tips; What's
in a Picture Book? in Unit
Lesson Plan on Mountain Humor in Folktales and Other Media; and Assignments
and Study Guide on Contemporary American Picture Books.
AppLit's Picture Gallery
Top of Page
Other Dramatic, Discussion,
and Writing Activities
After Watching a Dramatization or Reading or Listening to Folktales
discussion questions at Jack Tale
Players Study Guides.
a modern version of the folktale that could happen in your county.
- Try acting out
a version of the folktale. (See below for more detailed
suggestions for classroom dramatizations.)
- Place the names
of characters, or simple drawings or photographs of characters
on the board. For example: Ashpet,
Stepsisters, Stepmother, Mrs. Sigmon/magic godmother character,
Prince. Give individual students or groups colored chalk or
marking pens and ask students to write descriptive adjectives
about each character on or under the picture or name. After
everyone has had a chance to write at least one adjective, stop
and discuss the characters. Have students add more descriptive
adjectives or characteristics after asking questions such as
do you like or dislike this character?
- How do his or
her actions affect other characters?
- Is he or she
a good person? Would you like him or her to spend the
night with you and your family? What would you talk about?
Either after activity
4, or as a separate activity, have each group of students
construct a new scene in which characters in the story interact. For
example, what would Mutsmag's sisters do after they leave
Mutsmag to fend for herself? What if they encountered a giant
or a witch without Mutsmag there to help them? See also Creative
Activities for Three Appalachian Folktales.
Add new characters
to the tale and construct a new scene. For example, add
some other people that Jack might trade with in "Jack
and his Lump of Silver," or other animal characters
and the Robbers," or new characters with extraordinary
powers in "Hardy
Hard Head." Divide
the students into groups of three and have them take turns
pretending to be Mutsmag or Ashpet and her sisters. Or create groups of six with
children taking the roles of Mutsmag, her two sisters, and
the giant's three daughters. Improvise a conversation they
might have while eating dinner together, or doing chores,
or talking to the prince.
the children explain how they would cast the folktale using
characters from their favorite cartoons.
a "sequel" or "prequel," a scene that
takes place before the folktale begins or after the ending
of the folktale. For example, create a scene between
Wicked John and the neighborhood kids who bother him before
he meets St. Peter. Or improvise one of Mutsmag's adventures
after she goes off with her reward of gold. See also Creative
Activities for Three Appalachian Folktales.
a debate about how and why people like to be scared by stories.
How do some tales, such as "Jack
and the Hainted House," scare us? How much disagreement
is there among students about what frightens them? How does
humor relieve or undercut the horror in some tales, such as
and the Robbers"? How does the performance create
differences between scaring the characters and scaring the
audience? For more examples and teaching ideas, see Ghosts in West Virginia's
Appalachian Music and Literature. This topic can lead
to further comparison of how book illustrations, performance
methods, animation, or live-action films create frightening
activity 11 by debating how and why people have different
responses to humor in folktales (and other stories in different
media). How is humor different in tales with foolish or "noodlehead"
main characters, such as "Foolish
Jack," and in tales with more clever or heroic main
characters, such as Mutsmag or Jack in other tales? Does humor
prevent some tales, such as "Wicked
John and the Devil," from becoming too scary or sacrilegious?
For more examples and ideas, see Humor in the West Virginia's
Appalachian Music and Literature.
Advanced Discussion and Writing Topics
Read or retell a
version of "Mutsmag" or "Ashpet," or watch
Tom Davenport's film Mutzmag or Ashpet. How
does watching a film or reading a story, or hearing the tale
being read, compare with watching the story theatre dramatization
by the Jack Tale Players? (See pages on "Mutsmag"
and "Ashpet"; Davenport
Script as Story Theatre.)
Have each student,
or group of students, select one folktale and read, view or
listen to several variants of the same tale. Each student
or group can then report to the class orally, or construct
an outline, poster, or report on what they learned from their
research. This activity could be helpful for introducing,
or reinforcing, different types of folktales; examining universal
features of folktales and culturally specific details; comparing
Appalachian tales with parallel tales from other cultures;
and practicing close analysis of themes and motifs. AppLit's Annotated Index
of Folktales lists many variants of individual Appalachian
to Online Texts leads to many tales on the Internet from
other traditions. David Russell's Literature for Children:
A Short Introduction has a good overview of types and
features of folk literature.
Do they agree
that Mutsmag and Ashpet are more clever and independent than their predecessors in
older tales such as "Molly Whuppie" and "Cinderella"?
the students know other stories (including modern films or
cartoons) with heroic female characters comparable to these,
or with tricks like those depicted in "Mutsmag"
Three Old Women's Bet"?
would you compare the encounters with giants in "Mutsmag"
and the Bean Tree," or other tales with giants?
do the women in "The Three Old Women's Bet" use
their husbands' quirks and weaknesses to play tricks on them?
How does this tale compare with other stories of "war
between the sexes"?
Top of Page
For more ideas on
paper topics involving folktales and adaptations, see Comparing Folktales (a comparison/contrast
paper) and Fairy Tale Resources and Assignments (a
short research paper assignment for Tina Hanlon's English 102
- For additional ideas
on studying folktales and their influence in other literature,
see World Folktales and Literature (Tina Hanlon's
sophomore-level college literature course).
are a variety of ways that a performance of the Jack Tales can serve
as a springboard for dramatic activities in the classroom. You may
start with a warm up. This time is used to allow the children to make
the transition from classroom activity to dramatic play.
Up: First, have students move their desks so that there
will be a large free space. This can be done quickly. Tell the children:
"You are Jack and your desk is a valuable chest of gold. With
a partner, hide the treasures on the outskirts of the roomquietly,
so that no one will know you've hidden it."
children return to the center of the room and ask them to choose roles
as animals. Suggest some, such as:
Dog - cat
- cow - duck
Frog - chicken - fox
important at the beginning of the session that all participate as
a group. If students are enjoying this, you may want to have them
join in pairs to create other animals, such as:
- donkey - camel
Pig - horse - sheep
the children to show their animals to each other. You may also want
to create an animal parade or a zoo. If the children are enjoying
being animals, you may want them to react to details about the environment,
Dramatization: When the warm-up session is over, return the children to the center
of the room and have them sit on the floor. Pick one of the stories
to dramatize. Since the warm-up session was about animals, you may want
to work on "Jack
and the Robbers." Ask the children to retell the story to you. Be
sure that each incident is retold. You may want to question the
group to get the correct sequence or to insure that they understand
the motivation of the characters.
"It is dark."
"It is raining."
do you think Jack left home?"
"What is the first animal he met?"
"If you were the rooster, would you go with Jack? Why?"
"Why did Jack go back home?"
like these until the story is in the detail you think suitable for
your grade level. You may want to have them act out various scenes
as they retell them.
me how you think the dog would walk."
"Show me what would happen when a robber entered the house."
also ask them to make the sounds of the various animals in the story,
or to dramatize a short scene like the one between Jack and his father.
are satisfied that the children know the story and are anxious to
dramatize it, divide them into groups of five or six and ask each
group to play through the story. You may want to act as the storyteller
or let children volunteer for this important role.
Top of Page
Some of these activities
are based on ideas in Creative Drama in the Classroom and Beyond by Nellie McCaslin. (7th ed. New York: Longman, 2000). See this book
for many other ideas for using dramatization in the classroom.
Some of these activities
were previously printed in "Teachers' Guide for Use in Conjunction
with the Performance of Jack Tales," by R. Rex Stephenson (Hurt, VA: Artistic Printing,
1994; revised as A
Study Guide For The Jack Tales: Dramatizing Traditional Folklore Of The Blue
Ridge Mountains. Orem, UT: Encore Performance Publishing, 2003).
Others are reprinted and
adapted with permission from Journey Through Fantasy Literature:
A Resource Guide for Teachers. Vol. I. Ed. Roberta
T. Herrin. Developed during a Teachers Institute sponsored by East
Tennessee State University and the National Endowment for the Humanities,
Lowell Swortzell, Cinderella: The World’s Favorite Fairy Tale (Charlottesville, VA:
New Plays Inc., 1992) contains an excellent introduction to fairy
tales and theatre, and a Multicultural Study Guide by Nancy Swortzell
with exercises involving drama and cultural traditions. The script
combines Cinderella tales from France, China, Russia, and the Micmac
tribe of North America.
Types of folk literature
are explained in "Chapter 8, Folk Literature," Literature
for Children: A Short Introduction by David Russell (4th ed.
New York: Longman, 2001), pp. 148-73 (includes a bibliography). See also Judith V. Lechner's textbook on different types of folk
literature, Allyn & Bacon Anthology of Traditional
Literature. New York: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2004.
Women in Appalachian Folktale Dramatizations by R. Rex Stephenson is an essay by Tina L. Hanlon.
Guide for "Ferradiddledumday" by Becky Mushko gives
responses of third and fifth graders to an Appalachian adaptation
of "Rumpelstiltskin," and teaching ideas related to Virginia
Appalachian Music and Literature is a teaching unit for third
through fifth grade, formerly in the West Virginia World School web
site and now reprinted in AppLit. It contains three lists of resources
on Appalachia, folklore, music and literature.
of Appalachian Folktales in Children's Literature includes pages
of Student Writing and Illustration in AppLit links to samples
of student work at all levels through M. A.
List of AppLit Pages on Folklore
Timeline of Appalachian Folktales | <urn:uuid:7fcd2c2e-d2d4-4913-b07e-9e2dd26bdac0> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit/studyg/JackTaleAct.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00424-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905401 | 3,825 | 3.09375 | 3 |
filmy fern, piripiri
Mecodium sanguinolentum (G. Forst.) C. Presl; Trichomanes sanguinolentum G.Forst.; Hymenophyllum polyanthos var. sanguinolentum (G.Forst.) Hook. ex Hook.f.; Hymenophyllum sanguinolentum var. lophocarpum (Colenso) Domin; Hymenophyllum polyanthos sensu Raoul; Sphaerocionium sanguinolentum (G.Forst.) C.Presl; Hymenophyllum cristulatum Rosenst.; Hymenophyllum lophocarpum Colenso
Vascular – Native
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
2n = 72
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2017 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2012 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: By Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, John W. Barkla, Shannel P. Courtney, Paul D. Champion, Leon R. Perrie, Sarah M. Beadel, Kerry A. Ford, Ilse Breitwieser, Ines Schönberger, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Peter B. Heenan and Kate Ladley.
2012 | Not Threatened
Previous conservation statuses
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Indigenous. New Zealand; Three Kings, North, South, Stewart Islands. Also Cook Islands (Rarotonga). Previously regarded as endemic to New Zealand, Hymenophyllum sanguinolentum was discovered on Rarotonga in July 2010.
Coastal to subalpine. A very common and widespread species of closed or open forest and shrub-land. Also a common species of shaded canyon walls, cliff faces, rock tors, boulder-field and talus slopes. Hymenophyllum sanguinolentum is extremely drought resistant and as such one of the few filmy ferns to grow within drought-prone habitats.
Terrestrial or epiphytic fern forming dense patches on suitable substrates. Rhizomes long-creeping, slender. Frond dark green, strongly aromatic, scent somewhat sanguinely metallic (especially when dry). Stipes 20-90 mm long, slender; stipes and rachises sparsely hairy especially toward and at base, narrowly winged for most of length, black, wing often zig-zagged in upper portion. Laminae 50-250(-300) × 30-120 mm, ovate, elliptic to elliptic-deltoid, 3-4-pinnate, glabrescent. Ultimate segments 8-12 mm wide, oblong, margins entire though often slightly undulose toward distal portion of frond. Sori on short branches in distal portion of frond, many borne on each primary pinna. Indusium ovoid to ovoid-elliptic, abaxially crested by 3(-5) longitudinal ridges; indusial flaps entire. Receptacle included.
Easily distinguished when fertile by the crest backs of the indusium. Sterile material can be recognised by the black zig-zagged rachis wing and smooth pinna margins. Sodden or dried material smells strongly like dried blood (or as some people sense it like wet rusted iron). Pressed specimens stain paper yellow-brown or dark brown. Hymenophyllum sanguinolentum is very similar to H. villosum. Hymenophyllum villosum is restricted to upper montane and subalpine habitats but it may be found growing with H. sanguinolentum. From that species H. villosum differs by its hairy lamina and ellipsoid indusia whose abaxial surfaces are smooth, never crested like those of H. sanguinolentum.
Minute spores are wind dispersed (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Difficult - should not be removed from the wild
hymenophyllum: Membranous leaf, from the Greek humen and phullon
sanguinolentum: Smelling like blood; from the Latin sanguis and olere; fern’s smell especially when dried
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Fact sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (21 April 2011). Description adapted from Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000).
References and further reading
Brownsey, P.J.; Smith-Dodsworth, J.C. 2000: New Zealand Ferns and Allied Plants. Auckland, David Bateman
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Hymenophyllum sanguinolentum Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/hymenophyllum-sanguinolentum/ (Date website was queried) | <urn:uuid:61ea33ad-caa8-4946-a1f1-fa726d864da8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/hymenophyllum-sanguinolentum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.774372 | 1,387 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Word Craze Answers Level 98
All the questions of Level 98 in Word Craze are listed below with their respective accurate solution. We play each new level ourselves and it’s probable that mistakes can happen. In case of spotting an error or a missing answer, you are kindly invited to comment in the comment section below and help us notice and fix it, so we can help our visitors and community around here. The answers are sorted either alphabetically or according to their length (of the answers, shortest first).
Alright, here are the solutions:
Word Craze Answer Level 98
- 1: Something you say when it’s time to leave A: GOODBYE
- 2: What are these tough nuts? A: WALNUTS
- 3: Large Mexican tortilla wrap; Spanish for “little donkey” A: BURRITO
- 4: James _____, US actor who played Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist” A: FRANCO
- 5: Something damaged and in need of repair is this A: BROKEN
- 6: Something you shouldn’t do to a wound, but can for french fries A: ADDSALT
- 7: Type of malicious software that may harm your computer A: MALWARE
- 8: A person who is not a member of the armed forces A: CIVILIAN
For more Word Craze Answer open the homepage link. | <urn:uuid:c9314ac0-17f2-4c17-9cd0-7f28886250bf> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wordscrazeanswers.com/word-craze-level-98-answer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.909349 | 302 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Wee Care International Preschool
They provide early childhood, creative enrichment and early intervention programmes in various locations in Singapore and Indonesia and they are involved in multiple educational and humanitarian projects in Asia too. They stand for being Caring, Competent, Creative, Communicative, Sincere and Trustworthy.
Address: 56 Tanglin Road, #02-03 Tanglin Post Office, Singapore 247964
Contact No: 6836 1450
Stamford American International School
At Stamford American International School they believe the success of our program is based on teamwork, collaboration and the broad participation of their international community. All their students are unique individuals, with equal potential to make a positive contribution to the school and society. Their goal is to instill an enthusiasm for lifelong learning and a sense of global awareness in each student, along with the necessary skills to prepare them for the challenges and changes which lie ahead.
Address: 3 Chuan Lane, Gate 4, Singapore 554350
Contact No: 6602 7258
Rosemary Hall Montessori
Rosemary Hall Montessori offers a high level of one-on-one interaction between children and their teachers. Their children benefit from individualized attention and learning programmes and their progress and development is rigorously documented and shared with parents.
Address: 17 Rambai Road, Singapore 424336 (Katong Branch)
14 Robinson Road, Far East Finance Building, #05-01, Singapore 048545 (Raffles Branch)
Contact No: 6221 8638 (Raffles)
6445 5765 (Katong)
MindChamps PreSchool offers learning and enrichment programmes for children from 18 months to 6 years old, in the playgroup, nursery, and kindergarten levels.
Their unique ‘S.M.I.L.E.S.’curriculum brings together Research & Development from the 3 distinct domains of Neuroscience, Child Psychology, and Theatre, synthesized with Education. Their bilingual curriculum nurtures all aspects of your preschooler’s development, facilitating the transition from pre-school to primary school.
Address: 480 LORONG 6 TOA PAYOH, LEVEL 17 HDB HUB EAST WING, SINGAPORE 310480
Contact No: 6828 2688
Montessori For Children
They are a group of private schools exclusively offering Montessori education to young children in; Hong Kong, Singapore and in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Montessori For Children exclusively adopts the MONTESSORI METHOD of education as the curriculum, observing standards set by the ‘Association Montessori Internationale’ (AMI).
Address: 43, Newton Road Singapore 307970 (Newton Campus)
11, Broadrick Road Singapore 439476 (Broadrick Campus)
Contact No: 6256 3952 (Newton Campus)
6345 0087 (Broadrick Campus)
Australian International School
At AIS, they have the vision to be known internationally as an institution which represents educational excellence in all aspects of our operation. Their philosophy commits them fully to the notion of a holistic, rounded education, which cherishes the arts and sports as well as academics essential to each student’s education.
Address: 1 Lor Chuan, Singapore 556818
Contact No: 6664 8127
St. James’ Church Kindergarten
St. James’ Church Kindergarten, established in 1977, is a Christian Pre-school registered with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and is certified under the Singapore Preschool Accreditation Framework (SPARK).
Address: 29 Harding Road Singapore 249537
Contact No: 6476 6026
Brainy Child Montessori
Their international preschool is a place full of happy children who are on a fun-filled journey to become lifelong learners. Their specialized programs are suited for preschoolers (18 months to 6 years) and primary school students from Singapore and all over the world. Their mission has been to provide a superior educational experience by utilizing the Montessori methods of teaching and learning. They believe every child is a unique individual with varying needs. It is their goal to address the intellectual, emotional, physical, and social growth of each child entrusted to their care.
Address: 150 Orchard Road, Orchard Plaza #05-38 to 43, Singapore 238841
Contact No: 6690 2963
Their Kindergarten provides a supportive and conducive environment in which children can learn and practice behaviors which are appropriate and acceptable in social situations.
The children will have opportunities to gain self-confidence and develop positive characteristics through the established and efficient teaching foundations created towards a healthy development.
Address: Marina Country Club #02-01 No. 11 Northshore Drive Off Punggol Way Singapore 828670
Email: [email protected]
JHS Montessori Kindergarten
At JHS Montessori Kindergarten, children always come first. Their every aspect of growth and achievements are important to us and celebrated with joy. Their total holistic development, learning experience, and well-being are always our utmost priority.
Address: 491B River Valley Road, Valley Point Office Tower #02-01 Singapore 248373
Contact No: 6887 4876 | <urn:uuid:7bedf1c5-535f-4188-a40f-5bd47dfe0d4b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.singaporeurgentloanlenders.com/list-of-top-private-preschools-in-singapore/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571993.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814022847-20220814052847-00670.warc.gz | en | 0.89922 | 1,095 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Fall and Rise of the Jewish People
To Request a FREE hard copy of this booklet, please write to: email@example.com
The cover image for this booklet features the national flag of the State of Israel. Against seemingly impossible difficulties, the Jewish people returned to their ancestral homeland—becoming a nation on May 14, 1948. As this booklet shows, great trials still lie ahead for this persecuted people, but God’s deliverance and an unending future of peace are also prophesied.
Uncountable history books have been written about the Jewish people, most notably in regard to their oppression. It seems that very few ethnic groups have been maligned, persecuted and murdered to such an extent, often by professing Christians. Yet, the Judeo-Christian religion acknowledges that Christianity has its roots in the Old Testament of the Bible (actually preserved by the Jewish people). We even read in the Holy Scriptures that true Christians must become spiritual Jews. What does this mean? Will there ever come a time when anti-Semitism belongs to the past?
There is certainly great confusion about who the Jews are. Most people believe, erroneously, that “the house of Israel” of the Old Testament is identical with the Jews, or the “house of Judah.” What is the true history of the Jewish people, and perhaps more importantly, what is their prophesied future?
Will the present-day State of Israel soon be occupied and terrorized by Western powers—huge armies under a political and religious leadership? What is meant by the proverbial phrase “abomination of desolation” and who is the “man of sin” who will sit in the temple of God, claiming to be God?
In this booklet, we will address these questions, and more, as we discuss the largely misunderstood history and future of the Jews, the city of Jerusalem and the State of Israel. We will make the case that the ancient throne of David still exists today, and we will show where it can be found. We will prove from Scripture whether the Jews will yet build a third temple—in light of Ezekiel’s millennial temple—before Christ returns, and we will clear up the misunderstandings regarding the famous “red heifer” ritual.
We will also answer the important question as to why the Jewish people, as a whole, have rejected and still do reject the Messiah—Jesus Christ—and what was, and is the consequence, if any, of the famous saying by the Jews to Pilate: “His blood be on us and our children.”
We will explain God’s present anger with the Jewish people and His pronouncements of their horrible future—their national fall—in a devastating World War, but also their tremendous rise and ultimate worldwide positive influence in the soon-coming Millennium, a time when God will ultimately bestow honor, mercy and grace upon them.
It is important to note that the modern “Israelites” are NOT the Jewish people. As will be explained in detail in this booklet, the Jewish people comprise just ONE tribe of the original TWELVE tribes of Israel. The present-day Jewish people are the descendants of the tribe of Judah. They, together with the tribe of Benjamin and parts of the tribe of Levi, formed the original house of Judah (1 Kings 12:21, 31), which is altogether different from the house of Israel. The people of the present-day Jewish nation—known by the name of Israel, with its capital in Jerusalem—are actually descendants of the house of Judah, NOT the house of Israel.
The ten tribes of the house of Israel were lost from public view by the time of Jesus. Jesus referred to them as the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). Today, most people have no idea where these “lost” tribes of the house of Israel are located. Interestingly enough, the modern nations of the United States and the British Commonwealth—mainly Great Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand—have been identified as being the major tribes of the house of Israel. As the Jewish Encyclopedia points out: “If the ten tribes… have not disappeared, obviously they must exist under a different name.”
Under both King David and King Solomon, the house of Israel and the house of Judah—all the twelve tribes—were united as one nation. It is critical to understand, however, that under King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, the nation of Israel became divided following the death of Solomon.
Two separate nations developed, known as the “house of Israel,” with Samaria as its capital, and the “house of Judah,” with Jerusalem as its capital. We read in 1 Kings 12:19–20 (Authorized Version): “So Israel [being reigned by King Rehoboam, son of King Solomon] rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam [a prominent officer] was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.”
The two houses or kingdoms did not unite again throughout their history. They remained as two separate kingdoms—the “house of Israel,” consisting of the ten northern tribes, and the “house of Judah,” consisting of the southern tribe of Judah (the priestly tribe of Levi followed Judah, as noted in 2 Chronicles 11:13–14). We read in 2 Kings 16:5–8 about a war between Israel and Judah, or the Jews. Later, the ten tribes, led by the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, became “lost” from public view.
Many people believe that the Jews are identical with the modern house of Israel, but this is not true. Christ spoke of the “LOST” sheep or tribes of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6; 15:24). James referred to all of Israel and Judah as the “twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1; compare Revelation 7:4–8). We read that in the FUTURE, a unification of the houses of Israel and Judah will occur—under Christ’s rule—when they come out of a (still future) captivity and return to the Promised Land (Jeremiah 30:3; 33:7).
In due time, the ancient house of Israel went into captivity (721–718 B.C.) by the hand of the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:5–6, 23). The house of Judah did not go into captivity until more than one hundred years later, by the hand of the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1–10). Eventually, the house of Judah returned to the Promised Land, and many descendants of the house of Judah can still be found today in the present State of Israel. The house of Israel never returned.
At the time of Paul, the house of Judah politically consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, as well as part of Levi.
We read in Acts 21:39 where “Paul said, I am a man which am a JEW of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.” However, in Romans 11:1, Paul explained: “I also am an ISRAELITE, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Notice that Paul called himself a Jew and an “Israelite”—a descendant of ancient Israel or Jacob. All Jews are Israelites [excluding of course “proselytes” or “Gentiles,” who became religious “Jews” by choice], but most of the Israelites are not Jews. We will further explain what is meant by this statement because it is important to understand this distinction.
Chapter 1 – A Brief History of Judah
The term “Jew” is found in both the Old and New Testaments, and primarily refers to the descendants of only ONE of Jacob’s sons. Jacob had twelve sons by four wives (Genesis 35:22–26), and these are the ones who became the nation of Israel, with each son becoming a distinct tribe, and eventually, individual nations. However, in keeping with the subject of this booklet, we will focus on the lineage, the history and the future of the Jews through Jacob’s son Judah.
Genesis 29, verse 35, records the birth of the fourth son of Jacob by his wife Leah. His given name was Judah, which means, “praise.”
Out of all of Jacob’s sons, it appears that Joseph was favored by his father, but was disliked by his brothers to such an extent that they contemplated killing him (compare Genesis 37:18–20). First, his brother Reuben, and then Judah, intervened to save Joseph’s life. We find Judah’s “financially lucrative” suggestion for rescuing Joseph in Genesis 37:26–28:
“So Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.’ And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.”
In due time, when Joseph’s brothers stood before him, accused of theft, it was Judah who offered himself as a substitute for Benjamin:
“‘For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, “If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.” Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?’” (Genesis 44:32–34).
Another recorded incident regarding Judah involved his daughter-in-law (compare Genesis 38). This occurred following the death of two of the sons of Judah, both of whom were successively married to Tamar, but the sons were evil, so God killed them. Tamar disguised herself as a harlot and Judah lay with her, not knowing that she was his daughter-in-law. Judah’s subsequent hypocritical and repentant conduct is described in verses 24–26 of Genesis 38.
Twins, Perez and Zerah, were born to Judah by Tamar. Shelah was Judah’s son by his wife, Shua, but it is from the lineage of Perez that David was born (Ruth 4:18–22), and from David’s lineage, Jesus Christ was born (Luke 3:23–38).
Prophecies About Judah’s Descendants
On his deathbed, Jacob blessed his twelve sons, and specifically spoke of their circumstances “‘…in the last days’” (Genesis 49:1). Here is what he said about Judah:
“‘Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh [the Messiah] comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk’” (Genesis 49:8–12).
The “scepter”—signifying kingship—was given to the tribe of Judah. The Bible establishes this fact in the unfolding history of the Jews. David [of the tribe of Judah] understood this:
“‘However the LORD God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel’” (1 Chronicles 28:4).
In Psalm 78:67–71, we find this further acknowledgement:
“Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever. He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.”
Separation Between Israel and Judah
A momentous event occurred when Judah and Israel became SEPARATE nations. The reason for this separation was because of Solomon’s disobedience—especially his idolatry—as we read in 1 Kings 11:11–13:
“Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.’”
From this point forward, ten tribes of Israel and the tribe of Judah were separate, and have remained so throughout history. At times, violent wars were fought between the kings of Israel and Judah. Ultimately, Israel was taken into national captivity by the Assyrians (about 722 B.C.). That record is found in 2 Kings, chapter 17.
Likewise, Judah rebelled against God, so they also were sent into national captivity, to Babylon (just before 600 B.C. and culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple of God in 587 B.C.).
After a seventy-year period, the Jews were allowed to return. They rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and the temple of God. Judah once again became a nation in their homeland. This set the stage for the prophesied appearance of the Messiah, which would occur several hundred years later.
Christ Was a Jew
When Jesus was born, Judah was a nation under Rome’s dominion. Jesus preached to the Jews of that time, but He was rejected by all but a very few of that generation. They did not believe that He was the Messiah:
“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11; compare Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 13:54–58; Acts 3:11–15).
Many Old Testament prophecies reveal that the Messiah would come from King David’s lineage. Note this example in Jeremiah 23:5–6:
“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is identified as a Jew, and this is confirmed by what is written in the Book of Hebrews, “For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah…” (7:14).
Paul presents more proof of the lineage of Jesus Christ in Romans 1:1–4:
“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
As the promised “Messiah,” Jesus has been appointed ruler over all things:
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).
At this time, the Jewish people reject Jesus Christ as being the hoped–for Messiah. However, Jesus has promised to return to the earth, and at that time, the Jews will accept Him, as will be explained in this booklet.
Jesus made a remarkable statement about Jews when He told a Samaritan woman, “‘…SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS’” (John 4:22).
Yes, the Messiah—God’s Son—was a Jew.
Chapter 2 – Judaism and the Oracles of God
Even though salvation is of the Jews, we must understand a very important distinction, and a warning.
In Romans 3:2, we are told that the “oracles of God” were committed to the “circumcision” or the Jews. At the same time, we are told that “their unbelief” did not make “the faithfulness of God” without effect (verse 3). The Greek word for “oracles” is “logion.” It is also used in Acts 7:38; Hebrews 5:12; and 1 Peter 4:11. In all these passages, the oracles or “sayings” must originate from God. If something is being said or written which is contrary to God’s Word, it does not constitute the “oracles of God.”
When referring to the oracles that God committed to the Jews, or the “circumcision,” the Nelson Study Bible states: “The oracles of God refer to the entire Old Testament, the laws and the covenants that had been given by God Himself to the nation of Israel. This phrase [in Romans 3:2] reaffirms the belief of the apostles in the inspiration of the Old Testament. The Bible is God’s Word for us.”
These “oracles of God” included the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the knowledge of the Sacred Calendar, the seven-day week, and the knowledge of which day is the Sabbath—the seventh day of the week.
The preservation of the Old Testament by the Jews (as well as the knowledge of the Sabbath and the Hebrew Calendar) is not the same, however, as Jewish practice.
The Jewish scribes were meticulous in writing down and making copies of these Words of Truth given to them, thus passing these Words on so that we have them today. It was an advantage to the Jews in that God gave them His Words, along with the responsibility of preservation of His Words. Having the written Word of God, however, placed another grave responsibility on their shoulders. They were to observe these Words and to keep them. They were to walk in them! Unfortunately, only a few did so.
The Jews today do many things that are not in conformity with Scripture. In fact, even at the time of Christ, the Jews were DIVIDED among themselves as to how to apply Scripture. While the Pharisees accepted both the written and the “oral” law—a collection of Jewish traditions—the Sadducees only accepted the written law, but they did not understand that correctly either, as Christ pointed out to them on several occasions. Christianity is not the same as Judaism.
Jesus instructed His own disciples about the problems inherent within Judaism at that time. Note this quote in Matthew 16:12: “Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Paul also warned of possible wrong influences from Judaism in Titus 1:14: “…not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.”
We must take our direction from God’s Holy Word—the Bible—not from human traditions. If there is a conflict between the two, we must follow God! Christ warns us clearly not to follow human traditions that are contrary to the Word of God. He told the Jews of His time: “‘“This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the traditions of men… All too well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:6–9).
Modern Judaism includes many man-made traditions and rituals that are contrary to the Word of God. We are to follow the “oracles” of God, not those human inventions.
Chapter 3 – Prophecies Concerning the Modern State of Israel
The modern State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948. This event was the culmination of a vote in 1947 by the newly formed United Nations. The Israeli nation was born in spite of international opposition and the bitter resentment of Israel’s Arab neighbors.
The Bible reveals an earlier occurrence in history, which finds parallels when some captive Jews were allowed to return from Babylon to rebuild the temple and the Jewish nation. In this case, God very specifically told the Jewish people that He would make it possible for them to return:
“For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10).
Fulfillment of Prophecies
Daniel the prophet came to understand this prophecy, as he stated in Daniel 9:1–2:
“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”
The fulfillment of God’s promise is recorded in the Book of Ezra (Ezra 1:1–4).
God prepared for these events! The Book of Isaiah contains an astounding prophecy which actually names Cyrus and commissions him to perform God’s Will regarding Judah’s return from captivity and the re-establishment of the Jewish nation (compare Isaiah 44:28; 45:1–5, 13). Isaiah prophesied over 150 years before the time of Cyrus!
Now why was it important to God that the Jewish remnant should return to the land of Israel following the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple of God? The answer centers on the first appearance of the Messiah.
Jesus Christ was born of a human mother of the tribe of Judah (Luke 3:23–38; Hebrews 7:14). Many Old Testament prophecies point to Jesus, and they are very specific about Him coming to His own people of Judah to begin His redemptive work:
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:10–11; compare Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30; Acts 3:12–18).
Even though the entire world rejected Him, special emphasis is also being given here to the Jewish people—“His own”—who did not, and still do not, accept Him.
The rejection of Jesus Christ by the rulers of Judah proved to be devastating to the nation, just as it was in the time of Jeremiah’s warnings to the people of God’s impending judgment! Note what Jesus prophesied for the city of Jerusalem because of their refusal to repent:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”(Matthew 23:37–39).
The Modern Nation of Judah
It is in these verses that Jesus provides a key to begin unlocking the answer as to whether or not a modern nation of Judah would once again be established. Jesus metaphorically addresses the city of “Jerusalem” as representative of the seat of government for the nation of Israel, specifically, the ruling tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; 1 Chronicles 28:4). By what He said then, we can understand that Jerusalem WILL exist at the time of Jesus’ return to earth.
History gives us a record of the destruction of the temple that occurred in 70 AD. Subsequently, the entire Jewish nation was driven out of the land of Israel, and the Jews became a scattered, remnant people, grouped together by ethnicity and religion in countries all around the world. However, the prophecies of Jesus must and will be fulfilled!
In Genesis 49, Jacob presented to his twelve sons the prophecies concerning their circumstances “in the last days,” which prophecies included the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:1; verses 2–28). In Revelation 7, twelve of the tribes of Israel are sealed for special protection from God during the horrific events leading to the return of Jesus Christ. Among those sealed is the tribe of Judah (verse 5). By these references, we can establish the continued existence of the tribe of Judah. Regardless of the mindless hatred against Jews, they have existed and will continue to exist. In fact, during the future reign of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords over all the earth, Jews will be among the most highly cherished and respected people (Zechariah 2:12; 8:23).
Now let us examine some more remarkable prophecies about the existence of a Jewish nation, with the capital of Jerusalem, in our time:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:2–3).
At no other time in history have “all nations of the earth” gathered against Jerusalem as is now happening! We also find in Psalm 83 that Gentile nations will conspire to destroy the State of Israel. (This will be further explained in this booklet, and it is also discussed in our free booklet, Germany in Prophecy, on page 16.) Jerusalem, ruled by the Jewish people, has become the object of world attention, and it is obvious that prophecy will be fulfilled.
The State of Israel Versus the UK and the USA
Another critical prophecy that is finding fulfillment is the deteriorating relationship between the State of Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States—three key nations among the modern descendants of the sons of Jacob:
“Manasseh (USA) shall devour Ephraim (UK), and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah (State of Israel). For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still” (Isaiah 9:21).
The strategic ties between these sons of Jacob are further described in a prophecy in Zechariah 11:14 in which the “brotherhood” between Israel and Judah is broken.
These, along with many other prophecies in the Bible, attest to the existence of a modern nation of Jewish people—now called Israel—with Jerusalem as its capital city.
Finally, there remains an ominous fact for the people of the State of Israel and for Jerusalem—destruction and captivity will come! Consider this end-time prophecy, something that has not yet happened, and the scale described is nothing short of global war:
“Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The CITY shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the CITY shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the CITY” (Zechariah 14:1–2).
The Bible speaks in many places of Jesus Christ returning to this earth, and He will return to the city of Jerusalem—to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11). And although great trials are ahead before this occurs, the Holy Land will then find peace—for the Jews and for all the house of Israel (Zechariah 1:17).
Consider, also, how God’s peace will then be available to EVERYONE:
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).”
The modern State of Israel with its capital of Jerusalem is fulfilling and will continue to fulfill prophecies leading to the return of Jesus Christ, and THEN, the Jewish people will recognize Him for Who He is—their only Savior and the Savior of the World!
Chapter 4 – The City of Jerusalem in History and in Prophecy
The Bible speaks of Jerusalem as the future capital of the world, yet today, the world does not even want to acknowledge the city of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.
Jerusalem stands as one of the most contested cities on earth. It is divided politically, economically and culturally. The religions of Islam, Judaism and Christianity all claim holy sites within the city—especially, the Old City, which is in East Jerusalem.
The Arab-Israeli conflict that dominates today’s world news is growing more and more volatile as Palestinians and Israelis vie for control of Jerusalem. The prophetic importance of what is happening right now in Jerusalem must not be underestimated!
First, though, a review of Jerusalem’s historical and foundational relevance to Christianity is necessary.
A little over four hundred years after the Flood, Abraham was told by God to move to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:1–7)—the area in which modern-day Jerusalem now exists.
In the Bible, we are first introduced to Jerusalem when it was called by another name, Salem. Melchizedek, the king of Salem, met with Abraham (Genesis 14:18–20). This king of Salem is identified in the Book of Hebrews as none other than Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7).
A later reference to Salem is found in Psalm 76:
“…In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. In Salem also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion” (Psalm 76:1–2).
Next, we find a very specific place mentioned that can be shown to be a part of the city of Jerusalem. God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice “‘in the land of Moriah’” on a specific mountain (Genesis 22:2)—called by Abraham “‘the Mount of the LORD’” (Genesis 22:14).
Note how this location emerges as the same place in which Solomon was instructed to build the temple of God:
“Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (2 Chronicles 3:1).
When Israel entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, Jerusalem remained under Gentile control:
“But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day” (Judges 1:21).
Jerusalem Under David and Solomon
It was not until the time of King David—hundreds of years after Israel possessed Canaan—that Jerusalem was captured and then became the capital of Israel:
“And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, ‘You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,’ thinking, ‘David cannot come in here.’ Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). Now David said on that day, ‘Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain.’ Therefore they say, ‘The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.’ Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward” (2 Samuel 5:6–9).
It is important to note that God rejected Shiloh, which was in Ephraim, and He chose Jerusalem and Judah for Himself:
“And he [Solomon] said: ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His hands what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying, “Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there; and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel”’” (2 Chronicles 6:4–6; compare Psalm 78:60, 67–69).
Jerusalem Destroyed and Rebuilt
The Bible relates that God punished Jerusalem and Judah because of their flagrant sins against Him (compare 2 Chronicles 36:15–21), but He did not utterly reject and abandon His city. Jerusalem and the temple of God built by Solomon were destroyed, but God provided for the restoration of Jerusalem, even before it was devastated by the Babylonian empire. Note this remarkable prophecy given about a future ruler some one-hundred-fifty years before his birth and long before Jerusalem’s fall:
“‘Who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ And to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid’”’” (Isaiah 44:28).
Even in their captivity, God caused the prophet Jeremiah to write to the Jewish captives in Babylon to assure them that they would return to Jerusalem and the land of Judah (compare Jeremiah 29:1–11).
In both the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we have a record of the remnant of the house of Judah who returned to the land of Israel and rebuilt the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem, including its defensive walls. The Gentile rulers of that time who were neighboring Judah stood in opposition and tried to stop the Jews. They failed, for the Jews re-established the city of Jerusalem, the temple of God and other cities in the land of Judah.
Jerusalem at the Time of Christ
It was approximately 500 years later that Jerusalem became the focus of the life and work of Jesus Christ, as well as His death. The New Testament of the Bible records detailed accounts of those events, but let us also consider the dramatic prophecies Jesus gave in Luke 19:41–44, concerning Jerusalem:
“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’”
Historically, that did occur! In 70 A.D., the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the magnificent temple of God. Judah, as a nation, ceased to exist.
Of note, also, is that Jesus established the Church of God in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. (compare Acts 2). Following His resurrection, Jesus specifically instructed His disciples “‘…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name in all nations, BEGINNING AT JERUSALEM’” (Luke 24:47).
The Signs of Our Time
Consider the fact that for almost nineteen hundred years following this prophecy by Jesus Christ, the Jews were without a country. However, against seemingly impossible obstacles, the Jewish people formally re-established their homeland in Palestine on May 14, 1948, calling it, “the State of Israel.” At that time, Jerusalem remained a divided city, partially controlled by the Jordanians (East Jerusalem and the Old City) and the Israelis (West Jerusalem).
As a result of the Arab-Israeli war in 1967 (called the “Six-Day War”), the State of Israel gained full control of Jerusalem, and on June 28 they declared Jerusalem unified and announced free access to holy sites of all religions. Ironically, while the State of Israel designates Jerusalem as its capital, no other major nation in the world recognizes this claim! The Palestinians continue to demand an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and there is growing international support for their cause.
In the Book of Luke, Jesus is quoted concerning the signs of the times and the end of the age. His answers include events that are prophesied to take place at Jerusalem but have not yet been fulfilled—events that we should certainly anticipate:
“‘But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled’” (Luke 21:20–24).
When Jerusalem is under the control of nations other than the State of Israel, two “witnesses” will prophesy with great power from God. However, they will be killed in Jerusalem once their work is finished:
“And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:8–10).
Only in the last few decades has it become possible for people all over the earth to be aware of the death of two people in Jerusalem! With the advances in media technology, people can see live broadcasts from around the world. Cell phones are now possessed by over ninety percent of the world’s population, and gifts can indeed be sent using a cell phone.
Carefully bear in mind what Jesus specifically said—to Christians:
“‘Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man’” (Luke 21:36).
“‘Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is’” (Mark 13:28–33).
Events in Jerusalem grip the attention of the world. In the meantime, many of the neighboring countries of the State of Israel continue to openly call for Israel’s outright destruction. What is happening right now in Jerusalem is the fulfillment of prophecy!
When Jesus Christ comes to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, He will return to an area from which He also ascended to Heaven—the Mount of Olives. It was specifically at Bethany, which is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, that Jesus Christ left His disciples (Luke 24:50–51).
More details of this event are provided in Acts 1:9–12:
“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.”
Consider also what is prophesied in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ’s future return:
“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south… Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with [Him]” (Zechariah 14:4–5).
In the New Testament Christ’s return is similarly described:
“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).
Mount Zion is closely identified with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This verse in Revelation 14 seems to indicate a time immediately following that of Zechariah 14, as quoted above. Some have suggested that Revelation 14 describes saints in heaven. However, Revelation 14 only states that the Lamb and 144,000 of those “who were redeemed from the earth” stand on Mount Zion (verse 1), and that they are “without fault before the throne of God” (verse 5). Although “Mount Zion” can refer to a spiritual mountain in heaven (compare Hebrews 12:22), it can also refer, of course, to the physical mountain here on earth. The saints might be standing, on Mount Zion, before God’s transportable throne, which was on earth before (compare Ezekiel 1). Or, verse 5 might just express the thought that they are without fault “in the sight of” God. The Greek word for “before,” i.e., “enopion,” literally means, “in the sight of” or “in the face of.” (Compare, Luke 1:15; 16:15; Acts 4:19). Even today, we appear daily “before” God’s throne in heaven, through prayer.
Then, in Ezekiel’s vision of the future temple of God, Jesus Christ is described as having entered the temple:
“Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever…’” (Ezekiel 43:1–7).
Important considerations confront us! These verses that have been referenced show that Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 17:14; 19:16), will return to the Mount of Olives and to Jerusalem. He will have the saints—the then immortal Christians who will be part of the first resurrection, the “firstfruits”—with Him (Revelation 14:4; 17:14; compare 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17)!
Heaven Not the Reward of the Saints
Deceived, self-appointed ministers teach that the reward of Christians is to go to Heaven “to be with the Lord.” The idea that some will be “raptured” and protected in Heaven while those left behind suffer miserable retribution is widely believed by many. Yet, depending on which denomination or group one might consult, there is little consistency on the details of what Christians are to experience, especially when their doctrines are measured against the Word of God!
Jesus said that His servants would be with Him, but His promise was for a future time—in the Kingdom of God. On this point it is critical that we understand that no Christian is NOW with Jesus Christ!
Note what Jesus told the people who heard His preaching:
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come’” (John 7:33–34).
And what He told His own disciples:
“‘Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, “Where I am going, you cannot come,” so now I say to you… Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, where are You going?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward’” (John 13:33, 36).
“‘In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also’” (John 14:2–3).
Jerusalem Future Center of World Government
As we have already established, Jesus will return to the earth, and Jerusalem will then become the center of world government:
“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2–4).
“‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem’” (Zechariah 2:10–12).
The Kingdom of God will replace all governments on the earth (Daniel 2:44). In this context, consider that Jesus promised the apostles who had followed Him that they would rule the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28–29; Mark 10:29–30; Luke 22:28–30). Rulership—with Jesus—is the promise given to Christians:
“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6; also, Revelation 5:10).
How, then, is the city of Jerusalem important to Christians?
First, Jerusalem is a KEY for watching prophesy in our generation. All-important, crucial events in Jerusalem will be among those indicating the imminent RETURN of Jesus Christ.
Second, Jerusalem will be WHERE Jesus Christ establishes God’s government in His millennial rule. Christians will be WITH Him.
Third, Jerusalem—created anew by God—will exist FOREVER as a spiritual city. Christians, as born-again sons and daughters of God, will be with God the Father and Jesus Christ—ETERNALLY!
Chapter 5 – The Throne of David—Today!
God promised David that one of his descendants would always sit on his throne to rule over Israel (Jeremiah 33:17); therefore, David’s occupied throne must exist somewhere on earth today. Where can it be found?
To determine where it is located, let us consider the following facts:
(1) We are told that the scepter, a symbol of kingship (compare the margin in the New King James Bible), was given to Judah:
Genesis 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah… Until Shiloh [the Messiah, Jesus Christ] comes.”
Judah to Rule Over Israel
(2) We are told that David’s “seed,” or descendants, would rule, or have dominion, over Israel. This could be fulfilled in ANY of the tribes of “Israel”—the name given to Jacob by God (compare Genesis 32:28; 35:10). We are specifically told that God would establish the throne of David’s kingdom forever over Israel:
2 Samuel 7:12–13: “…I will set up your [David’s] seed after you, who will come from your body… and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
2 Chronicles 13:5: “…the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons…”
Psalm 89:4: “Your seed [David’s seed] I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.”
(3) When Christ returns, He will take over and sit on an existing throne of David, here on earth (compare Luke 1:32).
(4) Until the last King of Judah—Zedekiah—the descendants of David ruled as kings over the house of Judah. The house of Judah consisted of the tribes of Judah, Levi and part of Benjamin—they are the “Jews” and are called “Jews” in the Bible.
(5) The Babylonians killed all the sons of Zedekiah, and placed Zedekiah into captivity. There has not arisen since then a descendant of David to rule as king over the house of Judah—the Jews. Today, the State of Israel is not ruled by a king. Where, then, is the throne of David today? In which country do we find a descendant of David ruling as king?
The Role of Jeremiah
(6) The prophet Jeremiah lived during the time the Babylonians enslaved the house of Judah, and when the last king of the house of Judah—King Zedekiah—was captured. God gave Jeremiah the commission to uproot the throne of David, but also to plant it:
Jeremiah 1:10: “I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”
(7) God gave Jeremiah a prophecy regarding the kingship or throne of David, which was to be transferred from the nation or house of Judah to the house of Israel. [The house of Israel, the “Northern Kingdom,” consisted of descendants from the other sons of Israel or Jacob, including Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. The house of Israel had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians more than 100 years prior to Jeremiah. They never returned to the Promised Land and have become known as the “Lost Ten Tribes.”]:
Jeremiah 33:17, 21, 26: “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel… he shall [always] have a son to reign on his throne… [David’s] descendants [will be] rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Jeremiah was to be instrumental in uprooting the throne over the house of Judah, and to plant it over the house of Israel. Prior to this, it was said that David’s descendants were to rule over Israel [or Jacob; that is, ANY of the descendants of Jacob]. That INCLUDED the house of Judah, of course. But from the time of Jeremiah’s prophecy, David’s descendants were to rule over the HOUSE of Israel—which EXCLUDED the house of Judah.
Jeremiah “uprooted” the throne of David over the house of Judah by bringing the last remaining descendants of King Zedekiah—his DAUGHTERS [compare Jeremiah 43:6]—to IRELAND [where some of the “lost tribes” of the house of Israel had settled. For proof that the people of England, Scotland and Ireland are, in fact, descendants of the ancient house of Israel, please read our free booklet, The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.]
According to historical records of Ireland, one daughter, Tea, married the Irish king, who was a descendant of Judah, but not of David. In this way, through the son of the king and of the daughter of Zedekiah, Jeremiah “planted” the throne of David and the scepter of Judah over a tribe of the house of ISRAEL—in Ireland. Historical records confirm that subsequent kings of Ireland KNEW that they were descendants of King David through one of Zedekiah’s daughters. While the Irish king was not of the house of David, the daughter of Zedekiah was, and through their marriage and their offspring, the house of David continued to rule over a tribe of the house of Israel.
Zedekiah’s other daughter, Scota, married into a noble family and gave the name Scotland to the land where they settled.
Transfer of the Throne of David
(8) The throne of David was to be transferred three times before Christ would return to occupy it.
Ezekiel 21:27: “Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it [the crown, compare verse 26] overthrown!” The Authorized Version renders it even clearer: “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it…”
The crown or throne of David was first overthrown in Judah and transferred to or planted in Ireland.
(9) The throne or rule of David’s descendants was later overthrown in Ireland and transferred to Scotland [where some of the tribes of the house of Israel had settled]. It was transferred to the royal house of the descendants of David in Scotland—to the offspring of Scota, the other daughter of Zedekiah.
(10) Thirdly, it was overthrown in Scotland and transferred to England where the Stewart line of David had settled around 1600, in the person of James I. Also, descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh—the sons of Joseph—had settled there. The subsequent royal rulers in England all descended from King David, and so the throne of David is today in England. Queen Elizabeth sits on that throne, and it is expected that Prince Charles or his firstborn son William will sit on it soon.
We are told that the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed on May 1, 1707, with the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which had been in personal union under the House of Stuart since 1603. In 1801 Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland left the union in 1922, and its name was amended to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927.
Nowhere else could the existing throne of David be today but in England. It is not in the State of Israel [which is part of the house of Judah], and neither is it vacant. Jesus Christ will occupy it when He returns (compare Luke 1:32; Isaiah 9:6–7); He has not occupied it so far. And it is a throne here on earth—not somewhere in heaven. Yes, Christ—from the house of Judah—will come back to this EARTH, and He will then SIT on the throne of His father David here on earth! Jesus will once again establish rule over Israel, in Jerusalem (compare Zechariah 1:17; 2:12)! Remember, it was prophesied that the scepter would not depart from Judah.
Chapter 6 – A Temple in Jerusalem Prior to Christ’s Return
So far in this booklet, we have alluded to the building of the third temple in Jerusalem, but will the Jews actually build a temple prior to Christ’s return?
Some historical and contemporary background will shed light on the ongoing desire of the Jews to once again establish a temple in Jerusalem, which would include daily animal sacrifices in accordance with Old Testament guidelines. This is revealed to commence soon in Jerusalem, before they are suppressed again by an invading power (compare Daniel 12:11).
The Temple Mount
Jerusalem itself has become a focal point of international concern, and the Temple Mount is considered the most contested religious site on earth. For centuries, various factions have challenged control of this area. Up until the Six-Day War in 1967, Jews did not even have access to the area called the Temple Mount.
Considered to be the site of Solomon’s temple, as well as that of the second temple, the area is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock (built in 691 A.D.) and the Al Aqsa Mosque (built in 720 A.D.), both of which are considered sacred to Muslims.
As never before, there is rising sentiment advocating the building of another temple in Jerusalem, both from Jews and Christians, whose views are generally considered extremist by most of the political leadership in Israel. Nonetheless, the movement is gaining support.
The complexities that surround this small parcel of land are staggering!
Although Jerusalem is under Israel’s political control, Muslims hold religious sovereignty over the Temple Mount. However, many religious Jews feel that Jews must be allowed to worship on the Temple Mount. At the present time, the chief Rabbinate of Israel forbids access to the Temple Mount by Jews, because the area once occupied by the Holy of Holies is believed to be there (although the exact location is unknown). No one, according to their reasoning, should therefore enter this area, hearkening back to the biblical prohibitions established by God about anyone other than the High Priest being allowed access to this area—and that only once a year (compare Leviticus 16:1–2, 34; Exodus 30:10).
Preparations for a Third Temple
Today, there are numerous and varied individuals and organizations who are taking steps to bring about a new temple in Jerusalem. While this cannot be deemed a unified effort because of the conflicting views underlying these endeavors, the net effect is giving rise to a movement with the common goal to reestablish a temple, inclusive of animal sacrifices and formal temple worship. The genealogy of the Levites has been preserved, and there are lists of living Levites who would be qualified to perform the sacrifices and to serve in that capacity at the temple.
Education about temple service has already been established in Israel. This includes rabbinic schools dedicated to researching and developing the necessary training for service in the temple. The thought among those engaged in this endeavor is that they must be prepared for what they consider to be a certainty—the rebuilding of the temple! In addition, contributions and gold have been received from national and international sponsors for the building of the temple, and replicas of certain furnishings and utensils for the temple have already been prepared in accordance with the descriptions of the Old Testament Tabernacle in the wilderness and Solomon’s temple. The replicas of those vessels and vestments include, among many other items, the golden lampstand, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, the Ark of the Covenant, and the crown and ephod for the High Priest.
Great fervor among evangelical Christians for a new temple has added support, if not confusion, to the prospect of what might be in store for the Temple Mount! Numerous Christian publications, sermons and personal contacts promote the idea that another temple is prophesied in both the Old and New Testament. This fervent attention adds weight to the international support that Israel enjoys, and, even more, it fuels the idea that the Israelis will soon begin to build on the Temple Mount!
While only rudimentary evidence of the former structures remains on the Temple Mount, the Bible contains detailed documentation of the plans for both the historic temples and that of a future temple that will exist in the Millennium. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness is described in great detail; Solomon’s work in building the temple of God in Jerusalem provides extensive descriptions; and, the very intriguing “building plans” presented, beginning in Ezekiel 40, have inspired some to believe that they can effectively reconstruct the temple prior to Christ’s return.
For reasons that may well transcend the troubles of the moment confronting the tiny nation of Israel, world attention will focus on Jerusalem!
When Christ returns (compare Zechariah 14:4), He will go to a very specific place once He is on this earth (compare Ezekiel 43:1–7). Then will be the ultimate fulfillment of Malachi 3:1:
“‘And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple.’” Although this passage speaks primarily of Christ’s spiritual temple—His true Church (compare 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16)—it might also refer to an existing literal temple in Jerusalem.
Prophecies About a Third Temple
Numerous prophecies indicate that a new temple of God will arise in Jerusalem, a task which the Jews will complete, just as they have done in the past.
Note the physical setting and the prophetic timeframe described by Jesus:
“‘Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened’” (Matthew 24:15–22).
Holy Place and Inner Rooms
Jesus continued to warn His disciples in verse 26:
“‘Therefore if they say to you, “Look, He is in the desert!” do not go out; or “Look, He is in the INNER ROOMS!” do not believe it.’”
“INNER ROOMS,” along with what Jesus said about “the abomination of desolation… standing in the HOLY PLACE,” gives strong evidence that a temple of God will exist in the city of Jerusalem at the time leading up to Christ’s return, and that the “inner rooms” might refer to the section of the Tabernacle—and later the temple—called the “Holiest of All” (Hebrews 9:3)!
To repeat: The “holy place” can only refer to an area within the temple of God as existing in the city of Jerusalem. “Inner rooms” might refer to the inner sanctuary in the temple of God, which is behind the veil and which is also called “the Most Holy Place” (Ezekiel 41:4). This has not yet been fulfilled!
Also, a prophecy in Matthew 24:16 addresses those “in Judea.”
Yet, the Temple Mount, situated in the Old City and administered by Jordan, is off limits for Jewish worship to this day! Nonetheless, the Bible gives clear evidence that Jews will once again gain control of this area and that a temple of God will be built!
The Abomination of Desolation
When Christ spoke in Matthew 24 about the future “‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (verse 15; compare, too, Mark 13:14, adding, “where it ought not”), He said: “‘But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near’” (Luke 21:20).
From these passages, we see that the abomination of desolation refers to foreign armies that will desolate Jerusalem.
But is this ALL that the term, “abomination of desolation” refers to?
The prophet Daniel spoke about the “abomination of desolation” on three occasions—Daniel 9:27; 11:31 and 12:11. (An additional similar reference can be found in Daniel 8:13). The way those passages are worded, they seem to refer to more than just armies. Daniel 11:31 states that a king of the North shall muster forces, “and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and PLACE THERE the abomination of desolation.” Daniel 12:11 speaks about “the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is SET UP…”
These end-time prophecies predict that a future “king of the North” will invade Jerusalem and take away daily sacrifices, indicating that the Jews will, in the future, begin again the daily sacrifices in Jerusalem. It is true that the Jews don’t need to have a temple in order to bring daily sacrifices (compare Ezra 3:6), but this does not mean that the Jews will NOT build a temple and bring daily sacrifices there.
Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabees
Returning to the prophecy in Daniel 11:31, most commentaries agree that this particular passage refers to Antiochus Epiphanes, at least as a forerunner for another end-time fulfillment. As The Nelson Study Bible points out, “Antiochus polluted the altar by offering a sow upon it. He declared the daily sacrifices and other Mosaic ceremonies illegal and committed an abomination of desolation by erecting an image of Zeus in the holy place (9:27; 12:11). Jesus said a similar thing would happen just prior to His return (see Matt. 24:15).”
We should take note of the fact that at the time when the first “abomination of desolation” was set up, Antiochus overran Jerusalem with armies; did away with the daily sacrifices that were brought TO THE TEMPLE; and erected an image of Zeus (or Jupiter) in the “holy place”—the TEMPLE.
Please note the following comments published on June 24, 2004, by the Arutz Sheva National News:
“After their conquest and occupation of Judea, the Syrian Greek Hellenists (c. 168 BCE) attempted to ‘break’ the Jews. They set up an idol and began offering pigs to their pagan deity in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When they began to spread their heresy among the Jews, they started in a small town called Modi’in. They set up an altar in the town square and instigated some weak Jew to offer a pig up as a sacrifice in plain public view. Public acceptance was meant to imply that the Jews were repudiating the Torah and their covenant with the [God] of their fathers. But in a clear example of the ‘Law of Unintended Consequences’, it sparked a national revolt instead, when a priest by the name of Matityahu took a sword, stabbed the turncoat Jew and the Syrian Greek officials, and declared, ‘Whoever is zealous for the Torah and is steadfast in the Covenant, let him follow me.’ The revolt spread, and ultimately was successful, leading to a liberation of the Judean homeland from occupation. The Jews cleaned-up the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and re-lit the menorah. And Hanukah is celebrated until this day, throughout the Jewish world as a holiday of the liberation of the Jews and Judaism from pagan culture.”
As referred to by Jesus, Daniel speaks of someone who will be “on the wing of abominations… who makes desolate,” and he refers to the “abomination of desolation” in the visions given to him by God (compare Daniel 9:27; 11:31; and 12:11). As mentioned, the temple of God constructed by Zerubbabel suffered a prefiguring of this prophecy when Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled over the Jews in the second century B.C.
Let us review additional information about Antiochus Epiphanes and the revolt against his actions from the Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible; Herbert Lockyer, Sr., Editor; Antiochus, page 69:
“Antiochus IV (175–164 B.C.), surnamed Epiphanes (God manifest) but called by his enemies Epimanes (madman). Antiochus IV was one of the cruelest rulers of all time. Like his father, Antiochus III the Great, he was enterprising and ambitious; however, he had a tendency to cruelty that bordered on madness. His primary aim—to unify his empire by spreading Greek civilization and culture—brought him into direct conflict with the Jews. This conflict broke into open rebellion in 167 B.C. Accounts of these conflicts are found in the apocryphal Book of 2 Maccabees.
“The revolt began with Antiochus’ edict that sought to unite all the peoples of his kingdom in religion, law, and custom. The Jews were the only people who would not adhere to this edict. Antiochus issued regulations against observing the Sabbath, practicing circumcision, and keeping all food laws. These regulations were followed by the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ (Dan. 11:31)—the erection of the altar of the Greek god Zeus over the altar of the burnt offering in the Temple. Jews were forced to participate in heathen festivities and were put to death if they were caught with the Book of the Law in their possession.
“As the revolt, led by Judas Maccabeus, gained momentum, the people of Israel united to overthrow Seleucid domination of their land. The Syrians were routed and the Temple was cleansed on the 25th of Chislev, 165 B.C. This cleansing is now observed by the Jews as the Feast of Lights (Hanukkah), around December 25. According to ancient writers, Antiochus IV withdrew into the East following his defeat. He died in Persia a madman…”
Since the original abomination spoken of by the prophet Daniel involved the existence of the temple, it is reasonable to conclude that the final abomination of desolation will likewise involve an existing temple.
The Man of Sin
Another Scripture that points to the existence of a future temple in Jerusalem, just prior to Christ’s return, can be found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4. Paul writes:
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day [of Christ’s return] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
This “man of sin,” who is also called “the lawless one” in verses 8 and 9, is identified in the Book of Revelation as “the false prophet” (compare, for example, Revelation 16:13; 19:20; see also Revelation 13:13–14). This religious figure will deceive people through “great signs” (Revelation 13:13; 19:20). We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 that the coming of the lawless one is “according to the working of Satan, with all power, SIGNS and lying wonders.” This false prophet will receive his powers to perform great signs from Satan and his demons (compare Revelation 16:13–14).
The False Prophet and His Religious System
The Book of Revelation, written well after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., gives us more detail about “the man of sin” or the “false prophet,” as well as the religious system that he will represent and lead:
“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Revelation 13:11–18).
(Please read our free booklets, The Mystery of the Book of Revelation and The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire, for further information on the beast, the false prophet, the speaking image, and the name and number of the beast.)
The fate of this individual is to be thrown alive into a burning lake of fire (compare Revelation 19:20; 20:10). This serves to confirm that the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2 is uniquely singled out for the horrific actions he will commit, including his pretense of being “God” and of daring to enter into the inner rooms of the temple of God!
The Man of Sin in the Temple of God
Herbert W. Armstrong wrote the following about the man of sin, in the Plain Truth of June 1967:
“This European power, resurrecting for a VERY short while the Roman Empire, will take over the city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2.) They will take the Temple, and plant the palace of their headquarters there. With this coming military leader, pictured in Revelation 17 as the symbolic ‘beast,’ will be a supreme religious leader, called ‘the False Prophet,’ [Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10] and the ‘man of sin.’ So will you turn next to II Thessalonians 2:3–4: ‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day’ — the Day of the Lord, verse 2 — ‘shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and THAT MAN OF SIN be revealed, the SON OF PERDITION; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.’ So there will have to be the Temple there!”
The Ryrie Study Bible comments:
“… the Antichrist [this is an incorrect designation; rather, the passage speaks about the false prophet] will desecrate the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem by placing himself there to be worshipped… This will be the climax of man’s great sin of self-deification, in open defiance of God.”
The Nelson Study Bible adds:
“The man of sin will proclaim himself to be divine and will sit in the temple of God, acting as if he were a god… The man of sin will probably stand in a physical temple in Jerusalem, and declare himself to be a god [better: “God”, see below], the ultimate fulfillment of the ‘abomination of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel (Dan. 7:23; 9:26, 27; 11:31, 36, 37; 12:11) and Jesus (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). These prophecies may have been partially fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes erected a pagan altar to Zeus in the temple of Jerusalem in 167 B.C. (175–164 B.C.), or when Titus destroyed the temple in A.D. 70. Others have interpreted Paul’s reference to the temple of God as a reference to the church.”
However, we read that the returning Christ will consume the man of sin “with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Therefore, this man of sin will exist at the time of Christ’s return. He will proclaim himself to be God, not just “a god.” It is highly unlikely that Paul was talking about the Church as the temple of God in this context. There is no biblical evidence that the false prophet will be sitting in God’s true Church, proclaiming himself to be God. However, Christ warned His Church in Matthew 24:11 that “many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”
A Literal Temple in the Book of Revelation
One argument that has been advanced for the idea that the “man of sin” is or will be a religious leader within the true Church of God is that he allegedly has to fall away from the truth he once knew. This is, however, not in accordance with Scripture. Note that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 does not say the end-time “man of sin” must fall away from the truth he once understood. Rather, the passage only states that Christ will not return “unless the falling away comes first, AND the man of sin is revealed.” It does not say that that man of sin once knew the truth and that he will fall away from the truth.
Just before the two witnesses, identified in Revelation 11, begin their prophesying for a period of one thousand two hundred and sixty days, mention of an existing temple of God is made:
We read in Revelation 11:1–2 that an angel of God tells John: “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months [or 3-1/2 years].” Some rightly point out that the term “temple” or “temple of God” in the New Testament can refer to God’s Church [compare Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17]. They claim that the reference in Revelation 11:1–2 speaks exclusively to the Church. Although the Church might be included here, the more obvious and intended meaning is a reference to a literal temple in Jerusalem. After all, the Gentiles will tread the holy city underfoot for three-and-a-half years, and the court which is outside the temple will be given to those Gentiles. It is difficult to see how all of these references could exclusively refer to the Church. Especially the reference to the holy city includes more than just a temple.
The Nelson Study Bible comments: “John is given a reed like a measuring rod, much like that used by Ezekiel (see Ezek. 40:3, 5) in his vision of the measuring of the temple (see Ezek. 40–48)… This is the temple of the tribulation period that will eventually be desecrated (see 13:14, 15; Dan. 9:27; Luke 21:24; 2 Thess. 2:4)… Luke 21:24 prophesies that the Gentiles will tread the holy city underfoot until ‘the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’ Apparently the period of forty-two months is the conclusion of ‘the times of the Gentiles.’ ‘Gentile’ here may also be translated ‘nations’ (v. 9; 10:11).”
Further Biblical Evidence in Psalms and Ezekiel
An additional passage that suggests the Jews will build an end-time temple in Jerusalem, just prior to Christ’s return, is Psalm 79:1–7. This is an end-time psalm, as verse 6 shows. God is asked to pour out His wrath on the nations—a reference to God’s pouring out of the end-time plagues of His wrath, as described in Revelation 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19. In this context, Psalm 79:1 says: “O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.”
Another Scripture that seems to make reference to a future physical temple in Jerusalem, can be found in Psalm 122:1: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the LORD.’ Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem!” David wrote this psalm before there ever was a temple—the house of the LORD—in Jerusalem.
Other prophetic references to a future temple in Jerusalem could perhaps be found in Ezekiel 8:5, 16, as well as in Ezekiel 9:1–7. All of these Scriptures are prophecies for the end-time, and they seem to refer to a physical temple and the abominations that will be practiced in it.
Finally, we find detailed descriptions of a future physical temple in Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel, beginning in chapter 40. We know from those Scriptures that a literal temple will be in Jerusalem after Christ’s return. Ezekiel 40–46 does not tell us, however, when this future temple will be built. Is it possible that these chapters in Ezekiel describe the very same temple that the Jews will begin to build just prior to Christ’s return?
We will discuss this question in the next chapter.
Chapter 7 – Who Will Build the Temple of Ezekiel?
In the Book of Ezekiel, a millennial temple is described. The question is whether this temple will exist prior to the Millennium, and if so, whether it will be built by the modern Jewish State of Israel. In spite of the current seemingly overwhelming obstacles, a temple dedicated to God is destined to once again arise in Jerusalem!
Ezekiel Describes a Future Temple
The setting for the Book of Ezekiel is of particular interest.
Ezekiel, a member of the priestly family of Buzi (Ezekiel 1:3), was taken to Babylon from Judah in 597 B.C. It was in this period of captivity that Ezekiel received visions from God. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 586 B.C., and some of Ezekiel’s prophetic messages addressed these events; however, the greater part of his prophecies were for future fulfillment!
The fact that God was sending Ezekiel “‘to the children of Israel’” (Ezekiel 2:3), and that God had made him “a watchman for the house of Israel’” (Ezekiel 33:7), points to a period that far transcends his own lifetime.
The house of Israel, as the tribes exclusive of Judah, Levi and parts of Benjamin were known, had been removed from their land long before Ezekiel lived. We find in 2 Kings, chapter 17, the record of this occurrence, culminating in approximately 721 B.C.
Yet, Ezekiel’s messages from God were to be proclaimed to Israel and to Judah in spite of the fact that both nations were, at that time, devastated and scattered as captives among other empires.
Couched in the oftentimes enigmatic context of prophecy, the visions Ezekiel witnessed have very specific application for our time, especially those found beginning in Ezekiel 40.
While much of the last eight chapters of Ezekiel very clearly depict the beginning period following Jesus Christ’s return and the establishment of His rule in Jerusalem, great detail is rendered concerning the temple He will enter. In fact, there is what amounts to an architectural plan one could use to actually build this structure.
Note these specific instructions given to Ezekiel:
“And the man said to me, ‘Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see’” (Ezekiel 40:4).
“‘Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them’” (Ezekiel 43:10–11).
Patterns Under Moses and David
Before the Tabernacle was constructed by the Israelites, Moses was given very exact details by God concerning how it was to be done:
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying… ‘And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it’” (Exodus 25:1, 8–9; compare verse 40; Numbers 8:4; also note Hebrews 8:5).
Before the temple was constructed, God revealed the plans to King David, who, in turn, gave them to his son, Solomon:
“‘Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.’ Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the articles of service in the house of the LORD… ‘All this,’ said David, ‘the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans.’ And David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD’” (1 Chronicles 28:10–13, 19–20).
Even before this magnificent temple of God was destroyed by the Babylonian Kingdom, God revealed through the prophet Isaiah that His House would stand again in Jerusalem, and He did perform this, even calling by name the yet unborn Gentile king who would implement this:
“‘… Who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ And to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid’”’” (Isaiah 44:28).
The Second Temple
In the beginning of the Book of Ezra, we find the fulfillment of this prophecy:
“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem’” (Ezra 1:1–4).
God had also caused Jeremiah to write to the captives in Babylon to assure them that their nation would be restored:
“‘For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place’” (Jeremiah 29:10).
Location of the First and Second Temples
In both the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we have a record of the remnant of the house of Judah who returned to the land of Israel and rebuilt the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem, including its defensive walls. The Gentile rulers neighboring Judah stood in opposition and tried to stop the Jews. Among their many opposing actions, they complained in a letter sent to King Darius, but the king’s answer was in support of the rebuilding:
“Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God ON ITS SITE” (Ezra 6:7).
While the temple of God was rebuilt on the original location as that of Solomon’s construction, it did not compare in size and grandeur:
“But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off” (Ezra 3:12–13).
God, through the prophet Haggai, responded to those who were so disappointed with the temple then being constructed:
“In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying: ‘Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,” says the LORD; “and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,” says the LORD, “and work; for I am with you,” says the LORD of hosts’” (Haggai 2:1–4).
Now the place for the building of Solomon’s temple had been clearly manifested by God. This happened when David numbered Israel. However, David’s foolish action in numbering the people was a great sin before God:
“So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the LORD looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, ‘It is enough; now restrain your hand.’ And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (1 Chronicles 21:14–15).
This account also states that David was instructed to “…go and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (verse 18).
God accepted David’s offerings, and in the events of this occurrence, the location for the temple of God was revealed to David:
“Then David said, ‘This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel’” (1 Chronicles 22:1).
Solomon followed his father’s instruction and built the temple of God where God had revealed that it should be placed:
“Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite” (2 Chronicles 3:1).
As we have seen, Mount Moriah is also linked to Abraham, for it was to this area of what would become part of the city of Jerusalem that Abraham brought his son Isaac to offer in sacrifice.
We also pointed out that Jerusalem is associated with Melchizedek in an earlier account involving Abram’s rescue of Lot. (Regarding the identity of Melchizedek, please refer to our free booklets, God Is a Family and Jesus Christ—a Great Mystery.)
We must understand from the foregoing accounts that the place where God’s temple will be built in the future (Psalm 76:2) has historical precedence! Even more importantly, the Word of God shows that He very specifically chose the site that would be His dwelling place, and prophecy indisputably establishes that this will not change!
Temple Enlarged Through Herod
Before going into the prophecies about a future temple being built in Jerusalem, let us examine the temple of God that was enlarged through Herod.
“In the 18th year of his reign (20–19 B.C.) Herod obtained the reluctant consent of his subjects to his ambitious scheme for [enlarging and beautifying] the temple [and] its courts. The former was finished in eighteen months by a thousand priests trained for this special purpose, the courts in eight years, but the complete reconstruction occupied more than eighty years, lasting almost till the final breach with Rome, which culminated in the destruction of the sacred edifice by the soldiers of Titus in A.D. 70” (Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, The Temple of Herod, page 607).
“The Jerusalem temple is the focus of many NT events. The birth of John the Baptist was announced there (Luke 1:11–20). The offering by Joseph and Mary [after] the circumcision of the baby Jesus was brought there. Simeon and Anna greeted Jesus there (2:22–38). Jesus came there as a boy of 12 (2:42–51) and later taught there during His ministry…” (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Herod’s Temple, page 1567).
A point to be made about the temple of God that existed during the lifetime of Jesus Christ is that Jesus recognized this structure as God’s or the Father’s House. We have two examples of Jesus forcefully defending the temple, one in the beginning of His ministry and another shortly before His death:
“Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with [better: both] the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’” (John 2:13–16).
“So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”? But you have made it a “den of thieves”’” (Mark 11:15–17).
Because of the terrible sins of the nation of Judah, Jesus foretold that Jerusalem would soon be destroyed (Luke 19:41–44).
Destruction of the Second Temple
In addition, Jesus revealed that the temple of God would suffer the same fate in the first century:
“Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down’” (Mark 13:1–2).
That destruction came upon the city of Jerusalem, along with its temple, in 70 A.D. Judah, as a nation, ceased to exist at that time. Throughout the centuries several attempts have been made to re-establish the temple in Jerusalem, but all have failed!
The Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock, completed about 691 A.D., is considered to be one of Islam’s most important shrines. Along with the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock now occupies the place that is biblically known as Mount Moriah—the very same location of the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, and the place where the temples built by Solomon and Zerubbabel, as well as the additions done by Herod, once existed.
Now surrounded by the Jewish State of Israel, the Dome of the Rock is also the place where the future temple of God prophesied by Ezekiel is appointed to stand!
When focusing on the prophecies in the Book of Daniel, we read that Daniel was told to “‘shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end…’” (12:4); and, that “‘the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end’” (12:9). Then, in verse 11 of Daniel 12, we find this extraordinary statement:
“‘And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.’”
This prophecy is speaking of a situation that will occur in the final generation, the one to be living just before the return of Jesus Christ! It addresses the forceful cessation of daily sacrifices, something that could only rightfully be happening at the site of the temple of God. It is true that in the past, the Jews sacrificed at the temple site before the temple was actually built, but they did so after the foundation of the temple had been laid, and in anticipation of the final completion of the structure. This prophecy also reveals that a yet future idolatrous act of sacrilege will take place—the very thing we have already cited from what Jesus warned and the apostles Paul and John wrote.
Desecration of the Third Temple
Jeremiah also addresses the desecration of the temple of God.
In chapters 50 and 51 of the Book of Jeremiah, God’s judgment on Babylon is proclaimed. While parts of this prophecy pertain to Babylon during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar, there is duality in applying and understanding what is written.
Focusing on the future fulfillment of this prophecy, carefully consider the following:
“‘In those days and in that time,’ says the LORD, ‘The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, “Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten”’” (Jeremiah 50:4–5).
This is an event that has never happened, but it will in the future, as many other Scriptures support!
“‘The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon Declares in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, The vengeance of His temple’” (Jeremiah 50:28; compare 51:11, 24).
“You who have escaped the sword, Get away! Do not stand still! Remember the LORD afar off, And let Jerusalem come to your mind. We are ashamed because we have heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, For strangers have come into the sanctuaries (better, Holy places) of the LORD’S house” (Jeremiah 51:50–51).
Again, what Jesus indicated would happen regarding the defilement of the temple of God finds mention in prophesied events at the close of the age!
There is great significance to the temple of God that has yet to arise in Jerusalem; prophecies from both the Old and New Testaments make mention of it! And while this temple will again become part of Jewish life, it will also be profaned when it is seized and occupied by the final resurrection of the Roman Empire—Babylon the Great!
Temple in Jerusalem at the Time of Christ’s Future Rule
Jerusalem is designated to be the royal city of Jesus Christ’s future reign on the earth! Ezekiel’s presentation of the temple he saw has its setting in the future, in the city of Jerusalem: “In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city” (Ezekiel 40:2).
Another prophecy that speaks of Jesus Christ establishing Jerusalem as the place of His future rule is found in Zechariah 1:12–17:
“Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?’ And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words. So the angel who spoke with me said to me, ‘Proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.’ “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.’” ‘Again proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.’”’”
The LORD’s return to Jerusalem is described further in Zechariah 2:10–12:
“‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem.’”
Zechariah Announces the Third Temple
The time settings throughout the chapters of Zechariah reveal events occurring immediately before, during and following the return of Jesus Christ. Joshua and Zerubbabel led the rebuilding of the temple of God following the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity after the “seventy years.” However, these two men also serve as prophetic types—representative of individuals who will live and accomplish God’s Will in the future.
In chapter 3 of Zechariah, “Joshua” is cleansed and restored, and note that this has to do with his priestly role in the “house” or temple of God:
“Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here. Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH”’” (Zechariah 3:6–8).
As we point out in our free booklet, The Book of Zechariah—Prophecies for Today, pages 31 through 37, the references to the temple of God in the context of Joshua refer primarily to the spiritual temple—the Church of God (compare 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 and many additional references, proving that God’s Church is called the temple or the House of God). However, they may also refer to the building of a physical temple just prior to Christ’s return.
In Zechariah 4:6–9, “Zerubbabel” is promised that he will both start and finish the building of the temple:
“So he answered and said to me: ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” ‘ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.’”
However, let us also consider what is said about the “BRANCH” in regard to the temple in Zechariah 6:12–13:
“Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: “Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD; Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, And shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both [margin: both offices].”’”
The One called the “BRANCH” is the Messiah—the One who will return to occupy the temple of God (as we will see in Ezekiel). From other references in this booklet, we noted that God gave the plans for the Tabernacle’s construction and of the temple built by Solomon, that served to also guide those in Zerubbabel’s time. The future temple will be built according to the plans given in Ezekiel’s description, along with what is recorded about the previous houses of God.
In our aforementioned publication, The Book of Zechariah—Prophecies for Today, we state on page 42:
“Even though the vision is talking about the construction of a physical temple at the time of Zerubbabel, it also applies to the end time. As explained above, one application must be seen in the reference to the spiritual temple—the Church. But it is also possible that another physical temple will be built prior to Christ’s return—and that a modern ‘Zerubbabel’ will be used in some way for the accomplishment of that task.”
In this context, we find an additional striking proclamation in Zechariah 6:15:
“‘Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.’”
Also in Zechariah 8:9:
“‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, You who have been hearing in these days These words by the mouth of the prophets, Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid For the house of the LORD of hosts, That the temple might be built.”’”
Again quoting from our booklet, The Book of Zechariah—Prophecies for Today, we explain on pages 62 through 63 that the building of the temple could refer to the spiritual temple of the Church or the physical temple in the Millennium. However, we continue to state on page 64:
“It is also possible that the reference to a future temple, which will be built by the BRANCH, could relate to a physical temple still to be built in Jerusalem—just prior to the return of Christ. We know from Scripture that the Jews will bring sacrifices to Jerusalem. If there is a physical temple, then these sacrifices would be brought to that temple, until they are—temporarily—abolished by a European power.
“As we discussed in our free booklet, ‘Is That in the Bible?—The Mysteries of the Book of Revelation?,’ … strong biblical evidence exists for the rebuilding of a temple in the modern Jewish nation of Israel.
“It would also be possible that it is THAT temple which will survive the partial end-time destruction of the city of Jerusalem, which is described as the millennial temple in the [Book] of Ezekiel.”
The Third Temple in the Book of Haggai
In the Book of Haggai, a prophecy is given that still has to find its fulfillment, and it may be in a physical temple of God, which must yet materialize:
“‘For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,” says the LORD of hosts. “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,” says the LORD of hosts. “The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,” says the LORD of hosts. “And in this place I will give peace,” says the LORD of hosts”’” (Haggai 2:6–9).
In what way will “the glory of this latter temple… be greater than the former”? It will be because the glorified LORD—Jesus Christ—will come to this temple:
“‘Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the LORD, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ Says the LORD of hosts. ‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness’” (Malachi 3:1–3).
As we have understood for a long time, the above-quoted references in the books of Haggai and Malachi refer foremost to Christ’s Second Coming to His spiritual temple—the Church. However, purifying the sons of Levi will go hand-in-hand with a ceremonial cleansing of the altar in the temple of God, which is prophesied to take place AFTER Jesus Christ has returned to the earth (compare Ezekiel 43:18–27)! In fact, in the vision given to Ezekiel, it is the LORD who delegates the purging of the temple and who rebukes those who have defiled His House:
“And He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever’” (Ezekiel 43:7–9).
Purging of the Temple in the Millennium
Now carefully note what the LORD says about what has been allowed to take place in the temple of God:
“Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “O house of Israel, let us have no more of all your abominations. When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.” Thus says the LORD God: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel”’” (Ezekiel 44:6–9).
This recounting of the detestable shame that will have happened to the temple finds its parallel in the prophecies of Jesus from Matthew 24 and that of Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, as we have already shown. The purging of the temple at the time of the Millennium proves that prior desecration (including the occupation of the temple by the man of sin) must have occurred in an existing physical temple, prior to Christ’s Second Coming. These Scriptures, along with the many others we have cited, point to the fact that a temple of God will be built BEFORE and NOT AFTER Christ’s appearance!
There is no clear implication that the modern Church of God will have direct involvement in this endeavor. However, every indication—both by precedence and by the reality of having a restored Jewish nation in the State of Israel—is that the Jews and the Levites with them will find a way to once again erect the temple of God, the very one that is so meticulously revealed in the Book of Ezekiel!
Considering the precarious situation of the State of Israel, we can understand that there will be violent resistance to any effort to build a temple to God, especially on the biblically revealed area now known as the Temple Mount, and occupied by the Dome of the Rock along with the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Exactly how circumstances may play out, we do not precisely know! What we do know, and believe, is that this will unquestionably take place, and that through the providence of God!
Chapter 8 – Does the Bible Require the Birth of a “Red Heifer” Prior to the Coming of the Messiah?
Since the Jews will begin offering sacrifices in Jerusalem in the near future, will they first require the birth of a “red heifer” to purify the area?
No Biblical Requirement
There is nothing in the Bible demanding that a red heifer be born prior to the return of Jesus Christ. It is true, however, that some Jews and Christians have attached an end-time application to the Old Testament ritual of the killing of a red heifer for purposes of purification. As will be explained herein, this ritual is no longer in force. But some Jews and Christians believe that the ritual must be applied today as a prerequisite for the commencement of sacrifices and the building of a third temple, and they do expect a red heifer to be born soon. (In fact, when conducting a Yahoo search on the Internet, one receives over one million results for “red heifer.”)
History of the Red Heifer Ritual
To obtain a better understanding as to the rationale behind this expectation, let us first review the rituals pertaining to the red heifer, as described in Numbers 19.
The Wikipedia Encyclopedia informs us that “The Red Heifer… was a sacrificial cow whose ashes were used for the ritual purification of people who came into contact with a corpse. According to Numbers 19:2: ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came [a] yoke’… The heifer is then slain (Numbers 19:3) and burned outside of the camp (Numbers 19:3–6)… the remaining ashes are placed in a vessel containing pure water (Numbers 19:9).
“In order to purify a person who has become ritually contaminated by contact with a corpse, water from the vessel is sprinkled on him, using a bunch of hyssop, on the third and seventh day of the decontamination process (Numbers 19:18–19)… The kohen [Levitical priest] who performs the ritual must… bathe himself and his clothes in water. He shall be deemed impure until evening.”
Based on this description alone, it is indeed difficult to see at first how the ancient “red heifer” ritual could have anything to do with the coming of the Messiah or even a purification ceremony pertaining to a third temple. However, we should take note of the fact that the ritual was applied in conjunction with the Tabernacle in the wilderness—the predecessor of the temple (compare Numbers 19:4, 13).
Jewish Traditions Regarding Red Heifer and Water of Purification
Based on their “interpretations,” the “oral law” and other traditional “additions” to the Law of God, Judaism has established all kinds of requirements in relationship to the “red heifer” and the “water of purification.”
The Wikipedia Encyclopedia explains:
“… the presence of two black hairs [or two white hairs, see below] invalidates a Red Heifer [as the Jews understand the requirement that the red heifer must be “without spot” as meaning, “without any other color but red,” or “having no mixture of any other color but red”]… there are various other requirements, such as natural birth (Caesarian section renders a Heifer candidate invalid). The water must be ‘living’ or spring water… Rainwater… cannot be used in the Red Heifer ceremony. The Mishnah reports that in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, water for the ritual came from the Spring of Shiloah…
“To ensure complete ritual purity of those involved, enormous care was taken to ensure that no-one involved in the Red Heifer ceremony could have had any contact with the dead… The Mishnah recounts that children were used to draw and carry the water for the ceremony, children born and reared in isolation for the specific purpose of ensuring that they never came into contact with a corpse…
“According to the Mishnah, the ceremony of the burning of the Red Heifer itself took place on the Mount of Olives. A pure priest slaughtered the Heifer, and totally sprinkled of its blood in the direction of the Temple seven times… In recent years, the site of the burning of the Red Heifer on the Mount of Olives has been tentatively located by archaeologist Yonatan Adler…
“The existence of a red heifer that conforms with all of the rigid requirements [of Jewish tradition] is a biological anomaly. The animal must be entirely of one color, and there are a series of tests listed by the rabbis to ensure this, for instance, the hair of the cow must be absolutely straight (to ensure that the cow had not previously been yoked, as this is a disqualifier). According to Jewish tradition, only nine Red Heifers were actually slaughtered in the period extending from Moses to the destruction of the Second Temple…
“The absolute rarity of the animal, combined with the mystical ritual in which it is used, have given the Red Heifer special status in Jewish tradition… Because the state of ritual purity obtained through the ashes of a Red Heifer is a necessary prerequisite for participating in any Temple service, efforts have been made in modern times by Jews wanting to rebuild the Temple to locate a red heifer and recreate the ritual…”
Gershom Gorenberg writes the following in “The End of Days,” copyright 2001:
“… this sacrifice [of the red heifer] must be performed outside the Temple, yet the heifer’s ash becomes the key to the sanctuary: It alone can cleanse a man or woman tainted by contact with human death… anyone who touches a corpse, or bone, or grave, anyone who even enters the room of a dead body, is rendered impure, and must not enter the Temple. Yet proximity to death is an unavoidable part of life… So to free a person from impurity… mix the heifer’s cinder with water, and sprinkle the mixture on him… Two white hairs would disqualify [the heifer]… The last ashes of the last heifer ran out sometime after the Romans razed the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70. Every Jew became impure by reason of presumed contact with death…”
Red Heifer Rituals Superseded
We need to understand that the temporary ritual pertaining to the red heifer pointed at and foreshadowed the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which superseded the red heifer ceremony. Paul writes in Hebrews 9:9–10 that the Old Testament rituals and fleshly ordinances were only imposed until the time of reformation. In this context, he says in Hebrews 9:11–14:
“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come… Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and THE ASHES OF A HEIFER, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”
Paul made it very clear that Christ came to “take away” sacrifice and offering (Hebrews 10:8–10), and that there is no longer a requirement of offering for sin (Hebrews 10:18). He wrote that the Old Covenant with its rituals has been made obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). Rather than being purified with water mixed with ashes from a red heifer, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). Paul also explains in Galatians 3:24–25 that we are no longer under the tutor of the ritual law.
It is also interesting to note that the procedures for the inauguration of the millennial temple, which are outlined in Ezekiel 40, beginning with verse 18, do not mention a red heifer or water of purification.
In conclusion, the red heifer ritual is no longer biblically commanded, and the Bible does not demand the birth and sacrifice of a red heifer and its ashes as a requirement for the return of Christ. However, it is very likely that Jewish clerics may insist that the sacrifice of such a heifer for the purpose of producing the ashes for the water of purification of the Temple Mount, and the temple itself, will be essential for the reconstruction of the temple and the coming of the Messiah. We can therefore expect that the diligent search for a “pure” and “spotless” red heifer will continue; but this is NOT to say that Jews will abide by the interpretation of some clerics and that they will not begin with the construction of the temple and the offering of sacrifices before they “find” such a red heifer.
Chapter 9 – Why Did the Jews Reject Jesus?
The house of Judah rejected Jesus Christ when He first came to them, a fact foretold and indeed fulfilled! Yet, it was from among His countrymen—Jewish men and women—that Jesus first found those who came to believe that He was “‘…the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Mathew 16:16).
There was a sense of expectancy for the appearing of the Messiah in the time of Herod the king. Luke, chapter 2, and Matthew, chapter 2, both recount events that occurred in the land of Judea following the birth of Jesus, all pointing to prophecies about the Messiah. These things were known—they were spoken of by many people (compare Luke 2:17).
It was knowledge of the Messianic prophecies that drew the attention of those who did follow Christ:
“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’” (John 1:45).
The apostle Paul identified himself as “‘…a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee’” (Acts 23:6). For a time Paul did not believe Jesus to have been anything more than a dangerous cult leader. Note what he says of himself:
“For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (Galatians 1:13–14).
However, when Jesus miraculously appeared to Paul, He commissioned him to proclaim the gospel:
“Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul (Paul) increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 9:20–22).
Note how Paul proved what he taught:
“[F]or he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 18:28).
Some Jews Believed in Christ
Some Jews believed what Paul taught, as noted in Acts 17:1–4:
“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.”
Most Jews Did Not Believe
Most Jews rejected what Paul taught:
“On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles’… But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region” (Acts 13:44–46, 50).
Later in his ministry, being a prisoner, Paul was taken to Rome. Nonetheless, he was still able to teach those who came to him. Among those were leaders of the Jews in Rome (Acts 28:17), and Paul spoke to them:
“So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved” (Acts 28:23–24).
Why the Rejection?
Paul explained why most of the Jews rejected Jesus, using the analogy of the veil that Moses had to place over his face, due to the glory of his countenance, following his presence before God:
“But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:14–16).
Paul made it clear that the rulers killed Jesus because they did not understand the wisdom of God, as written in 1 Corinthians 2:7–8:
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
Christ confirmed this fact, praying to God the Father to forgive His murderers, because “they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).
On the other hand, it is true that the Pharisees had some knowledge about the person of Christ. Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, came to Christ by night and told Him: “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him” (John 3:2).
Still, most Pharisees rejected Him because they were envious and did not want to lose their positions in the community (Matthew 27:18; John 11:48). They even accused Him of casting out demons through the power of Satan, which caused Christ to give them a stern warning, since they knew better (Matthew 12:22–32).
The apostle Peter boldly preached to the Jews about Christ, showing again that the Jews were “ignorant” as to who Christ was:
“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses… Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:13–15, 17–18).
The people did not really understand who Christ was. Christ asked His disciples: “What do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” The disciples answered: “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or some of the prophets.” When Jesus asked them: “But who do you say that I am?”, Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ responded that this revelation had to come from God the Father; otherwise, he would not have understood this either (compare Matthew 16:13–17).
Because of the healing of a man who had been lame from his birth, Peter and John were arrested and brought before Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 4:5–12:
“And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, ‘By what power or by what name have you done this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the “stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.” Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’”
Stephen was brought before the council of the Jews for preaching about Jesus (Acts 6:15), and in his address to these leaders of the Jewish nation, he sharply rebuked their obstinate rejection of God:
“‘You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it’” (Acts 7:51–53).
What Stephen said so enraged the Jews that they murdered him (compare Acts 7:54–60). The Jewish leaders had also opposed what Jesus said, and they plotted His death, which was agreed to by the Jewish people (compare Acts 2:23, 36) and carried out by the Romans. The New Testament records the fact that Jesus was rejected by the house of Judah.
In responding to the Jews and their leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus challenged their lack of understanding, for He consistently revealed Himself by referring to prophecy:
“‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me… Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?’” (John 5:39, 45–47).
Jesus Proves His Identity
Following His resurrection, Jesus proved His own identity by what was written in the Old Testament. Here is what Jesus said to His disciples: “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27); and, “Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’” (Luke 24:44).
In unsparing words, Jesus denounced the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees—the religious leadership in Judea (compare Matthew 23). Even in His blistering rebuke, Jesus also pointed to a future time when “His own” (John 1:11) would not reject Him:
“‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”’” (Matthew 23:37–39).
Indeed, the Jewish people who lived under the rule of the Roman Empire looked for a Savior for deliverance, and they applied the Messianic prophecies to their own circumstances instead of what was actually revealed in the Word of God. Also, the religious leaders in Judea were unwilling and unable to turn to God. They failed to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” at the preaching of John the Baptist (compare Matthew 3:7–10). With premeditated evil, they plotted the death of Jesus (compare Matthew 26:3–4) and rejected Him as their King (compare John 19:1–22).
Most of the Jewish people and their leaders rejected Christ because of a lack of understanding as to who He was. They were “willfully ignorant” (2 Peter 3:5, Authorized Version).
Today’s Rejection of Christ
It is the same today. Most Jews, as well as most people around the world, do not really know God the Father and Jesus Christ, because the true knowledge as to who and what God is has been hidden from them (John 16:3). As a consequence, just as Christ was rejected and persecuted, so Christ’s true disciples are rejected by the world and will have to endure persecution (Matthew 24:9; John 15:18–21).
Chapter 10 – “His Blood Be On Us and On Our Children”
What is the significance of the saying of Jews at Jesus’ time that “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25)?
As will be explained in this chapter, many have taken this statement to justify anti-Semitic sentiments, or to explain horrible incidents, like the Holocaust, when millions of Jews were killed in gas chambers. But is it possible that a “curse” placed by parents on their children and future generations can automatically bring about such terrible results? Some turn for an explanation to the “curse” which God placed on parents and children who “hate” Him.
Visiting the Sins of the Fathers Upon the Children?
What does it mean that God will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him (compare Exodus 20:5)? This passage cannot contradict Scripture, such as Deuteronomy 24:16, where it states that children are not to be put to death for their fathers, but that a person “shall be put to death for his own sin.”
The explanation is that children will only be punished if they themselves are sinning. The Companion Bible comments on Ezekiel 18:4, 20 as follows: “Descendants were not punished for the sins of their ancestors unless they persevered in their ancestors’ sins.” The same thought is expressed in Exodus 20. Note that Exodus 20:5 speaks of those “who hate Me.” Soncino points out that the phrase, “of those that hate Me,” applies to the children, i.e. God will punish the children if they [the children] hate Him. Soncino comments, too, that the punishment will be brought upon the children, “when they retain the evil deeds of their fathers.”
The conduct of the parents may have a lot to do with whether their children or grandchildren love or hate God. The sins of the fathers do affect future generations, and so does the penalty for sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, the penalty imposed on them affected ALL of mankind. Through their sin, they cut themselves—and man—off from God. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1–2), and since ALL have sinned, ALL have incurred the death penalty for sin (Romans 5:14). One might say that the sin of Adam and Eve affected, at the very least, the third and fourth generations, but since Cain sinned, his sin affected the next four generations, and so on. The effect of sin is cumulative. And finally, sin had become so all-encompassing that God decided to destroy the entire world in a flood.
Christ, in showing the evil influence of their parents and their own culpability in their continued hate of God, pointed out in Matthew 23:31–36, how the principle of Exodus 20:6 was fulfilled in the persons of the scribes and Pharisees at Christ’s time.
The vicious cycle of sin, penalty, and death can be interrupted, however, when a person turns to God, repents, and obtains forgiveness. God is determined to call some in this day and age to have a special relationship with Him, and this includes the children of called-out parents. Whether they may realize it or not, parents have a tremendous influence on their children and grandchildren—in good and bad ways.
Automatic Consequences for Children?
In light of this concept, let us return to Matthew 27:25. In the context of this passage, Pilate washed his hands and stated that he was “innocent of the blood of this just Person,” Jesus Christ. In response, the crowd yelled, “His blood be on us and on our children,” demanding His death by crucifixion.
Many commentaries feel indeed that this saying had automatic consequences for their future generations.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary writes: “The Jews’ curse upon themselves has been awfully answered in the sufferings of their nation.”
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says: “To this day… the curse has remained. They have been a nation scattered and peeled; persecuted almost everywhere, and a hissing and a byword among people. No single nation, probably, has suffered so much…”
Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible says: “They were visited with the same kind of punishment; for the Romans crucified them in such numbers when Jerusalem was taken, that there was found a deficiency of crosses for the condemned, and of places for the crosses. Their children or descendants have had the same curse entailed upon them, and continue to this day…”
The People’s New Testament says: “His blood be on us. That is, let us have the responsibility and suffer the punishment. A fearful legacy, and awfully inherited. The history of the Jews from that day on has been the darkest recorded in human annals.”
This will suffice. Even though the human mind might hastily conclude that the sufferings of the Jews are the direct result of a curse uttered by parents for them and future generations, such interpretation is not biblical. However, the consequences of this kind of interpretation have indeed been terrible. Adolf Hitler used this Scripture and the concept that the “Jews killed Christ” to exterminate millions of them during the Holocaust. Others, prior to Hitler, had used the same “justification” for their horrible and ungodly deeds toward the Jews. But what is forgotten is the fact that the Jews were persecuted long before the death of Christ. Recall that in the Book of Esther, all the Jews would have been killed if it had not been for Esther’s intervention. Clearly, Satan was behind that attempt to exterminate the Jewish people to make prophecy “fail” by trying to prevent the birth of Jesus Christ, knowing that He would be a descendant of the house of Judah.
The Nelson Study Bible comments that “The destruction of Jerusalem was one of the results of this sin [the curse uttered by the parents].” For proof, the commentary points at Matthew 23:32–39. However, that passage describes the results of the sins of those who were involved—it does not inflict a curse on innocent children who do not participate in the evil lifestyle of their parents. In addition, we should realize that this was not a curse uttered by God, but a curse uttered by ignorant people. God is not bound by such a curse. To the contrary, we read that no one can curse or effectuate a curse on someone whom God does not curse (Numbers 23:8).
Some Commentaries Reject False Interpretation
Recognizing the injustice of categorically condemning all future generations to a terrible curse uttered by some of their ancestors, some commentaries take a different point of view.
The New Bible Commentary: Revised states that the “saying has been wrongly used in later generations to persecute the Jews.”
The Broadman Bible Commentary agrees, saying: “Verse 25 has unfortunately been used in anti-Semitism, and such use is to be deplored. Jesus was crucified by Romans at Jewish initiative, but not all Jews then supported the crime, and Jews today are no more guilty than any other people. Jesus died on account of the sins of the world, not of the Jews alone.”
This is indeed true. Christ came to die for all men—Jews and Gentiles—and ALL of us are guilty of His death, because ALL of us have sinned, and the wages of sin is death! Christ came to free us from sin and the death penalty through the shedding of His precious blood, and to remove from us the curse of eternal death. (For more information, please read our free booklet, Jesus Christ—a Great Mystery.)
It is also a fact that this is Satan’s world, and that Satan is anxious to destroy all of mankind. Millions of people have died in wars, famines, disease epidemics and “natural” catastrophes, and millions of Christians were murdered during the time of the Inquisition. We suffer the consequences of our own misconduct, and we are only responsible for the misconduct of our parents if we adopt their life style and make it our own. To say that Jews were singled out by God and persecuted and killed throughout history because of a curse uttered by some Jews at the time of Christ’s death, is equally as wrong as to hold the current generation of Germans responsible for the crimes of some of their fathers and grandfathers against the Jews and others during Nazi Germany.
How It Could Also Be Understood
We should also focus on another possibility as to how to understand Matthew 27:25. Even though the Jews who uttered these terrible words were misled and meant them as a rejection of Christ to be applied to them and their children—apparently not realizing what they were saying—God might have inspired the recording of these statements to point out quite a different concept. For instance, we read that the high priest recommended the death of Jesus Christ, as “it is expedient to us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:49–50). He meant that Jesus should die so that the Romans would not come in to destroy Judah, but God inspired this saying for quite a different reason. As John 11:51–52 explains: “Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.”
In that sense, some commentaries understand the saying in Matthew 27:25 in a similar way. The One Volume Bible Commentary by J.R. Dummelow refers to the Jews’ saying also as “a blessing upon believers, on whom the blood of Jesus came for sanctification, and the remission of sin, compare John 11:50.” Indeed, when the blood of Jesus covers our sins, this will have a positive influence on our children. When a parent is becoming converted and accepts the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the remission of his sins, his children become “holy” or “sanctified” (1 Corinthians 7:14); that is, they are being set aside for the holy purpose of realizing their potential of entering into a relationship with God. In that sense, the “curse” of the parents in Matthew 27:25 could perhaps be understood, in God’s eyes, as the (unrealized) cry for a blessing for them and their children.
God will answer that cry. He will soon send Jesus Christ to this earth to offer all of mankind—Jews and Gentiles alike—the gift of eternal life and freedom from sin and the curse of eternal death. That is why we are to pray daily for the coming of God’s Kingdom (Matthew 6:10).
Chapter 11 – God’s Anger Against, and Mercy for, Judah
The Bible tells us that in the near future, God will bring terrible punishment on the modern descendants of the ancient house of Judah, not because of the conduct of ancients, but because of their own conduct.
Defeat in War and Captivity Prophesied for Judah
In speaking of OUR day, God tells us that modern Jews WILL repent and accept the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, but only AFTER they have been held captive by foreign invaders. We read in Zechariah 8:7–17:
“(7) Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east And from the land of the west; (8) I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people, And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness… (10) For before these days… There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in; For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor… (13)… just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing… (14) Just as I determined to punish you When your fathers provoked Me to wrath… And I would not relent, (15) So again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah… (16) These are the things you shall do; Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; (17) Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate…’”
Why Is God Angry With Modern Judah?
One aspect of God’s anger today over sinful Judah is their willingness and eagerness to fight wars that are not approved of nor endorsed by God. But God says this will be changed and this will be accomplished by Jesus Christ: “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim [Great Britain] And the horse [symbolic for war machines like tanks] from Jerusalem [the State of Israel]; The battle bow shall be cut off” (Zechariah 9:10).
An ungodly sexual lifestyle is also clearly one reason for God’s punishment of Judah. God calls the leaders and the people of Judah “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10); and He refers to modern Jerusalem “spiritually” as “Sodom” (Revelation 11:8).
The State of Israel is viewed by many in the Middle East as the “capital” of homosexual conduct and other prohibited sexual activities, including the approval of same-sex marriages and transgenderism. Some cities of the State of Israel have actually become the center for such activities and parades in the Middle East.
Another reason for God’s coming punishment is Sabbath-breaking. Even though the Jews have preserved the knowledge as to when to observe the Sabbath, only very few do so. Rather than being a positive example, they either disregard the Sabbath altogether, or they follow a radically restrictive and pharisaical interpretation, making a yoke and a burden of the Sabbath (exactly as was the case in Christ’s day). In addition, they do not keep the annual Holy Days in the manner in which God has prescribed, having even changed the ordained times and seasons in some cases.
We should also remember that Judaism has rejected Jesus Christ by refusing to accept clear passages of the Old Testament, and as long as they do not embrace Christ as their personal Savior, they cannot have forgiveness for their sin and relief from their suffering. Our free booklet, Do You Know the Jesus of the Bible?, explains in detail how the Jews have misinterpreted the clear statements in Isaiah 53 that prophesy Christ’s First Coming.
God pronounces His punishment against the religious leaders of ancient and modern Judah in Zechariah 10:3: “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds [leaders]… ” The context with verse 2 indicates that those religious leaders were engaged in (and that they approved of) idolatry, divination and the preaching of a false hope.
God continues to explain in Zechariah that He allowed His people to be defeated in war and become captives of war. This prophecy is most certainly dual in that it also refers to our time and age, as God points out that He will free them from their captivity and bring them back to the Promised Land. Notice in Zechariah 10:6–11:
“(6) I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph [the modern English-speaking nations of the USA and the British Commonwealth]. I will bring them back [out of captivity and slavery], Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside… (9) I will sow them among the peoples, And they shall remember Me in far countries; they shall live together with their children, And they shall return. (10) I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria [modern German-speaking peoples]… (11) Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart.”
When God intervenes, He will cleanse the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their sin and uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1). He will wipe out idolatry and cause the false prophets and their evil demonic spirits to depart from the land (verse 2). This shows the depth of depravity that will have overtaken the land prior to Christ’s return. That is WHY God made the following terrible pronouncement for our time and age in Zechariah 13:
“(8) And it shall come to pass in all the land, Says the LORD, That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it: (9) I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested.”
Continuing in Zechariah 14:2: “For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity.”
Modern Assyria Will Not Help
In our booklet, Germany in Prophecy, we state the following:
“The prophet Hosea… describes the futile undertaking of modern Israelites and Jews, at the time of godly punishment, to try to obtain protection and help from human powers, especially the modern Assyrians… We read God’s words in Hosea 5:9–14:
“Ephraim [modern Great Britain and possibly, by extension, the USA] shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure. The princes of Judah [modern Jews] are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out My wrath on them like water. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, Because he willingly walked by human precept. Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth, And to the house of Judah like rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And [the Menge Bible says: “…and Judah…”] sent to King Jareb [Note that the “Elberfelder Bibel” explains that “Jareb” means, “fighter; or one who seeks quarrels”]; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound. For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue…
“As in the past, modern Assyria will also (in the near future) wage war against the Jews (the State of Israel in the Middle East), as clearly revealed in Isaiah 8:7–8: ‘… The king of Assyria… will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; And the stretching out of his wings Will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.’
“Enslavement and mass deportation of peoples will be the result. Assyria, which will invade the territories of the modern Israelites and Jews, will bring some of the prisoners into its own country (as in the Second World War many of the imprisoned Poles and Yugoslavs were deported to Germany as forced laborers). Other Israelite and Jewish prisoners of war will be deported to various countries…
Psalm 83 for Us Today
“In Psalm 83:4–8 a remarkable prophecy is found about a multilateral agreement of many nations that will ally against Israel—apparently against the modern descendants of the house of Israel as well as the Jews. Note who is being mentioned here, by name:
“‘They have said, “Let us come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy [literally, “cut a covenant”] against You: The tents of Edom [Turkey] and the Ishmaelites [Saudi Arabia]; Moab [parts of Jordan, perhaps also Western Iraq] and the Hagrites [originally cattle breeding nomads in East Canaan]; Gebal [originally a city in Phoenicia, Ezekiel 27:9, perhaps today, Lebanon], Ammon [Jordan], and Amalek [perhaps modern description for PLO]; Philistia [modern Palestinians from the Gaza Strip] with the inhabitants of Tyre [city of the Phoenicians, Joshua 19:29; 2 Samuel 24:7; today perhaps a label for Rome, Italy and the political Babylonian system]; Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot [Jordan].’”
We continue to describe in our aforementioned booklet the future of Assyria and how God will deal with the king of Assyria, AFTER He has used him to punish the Jews.
But as we saw, modern Assyria [Germany] is not the only country that will behave with hostility toward the Jews.
In our free booklet, Middle Eastern and African Nations in Bible Prophecy, we said this about Edom or Esau—modern Turkey:
“Psalm 83:6 tells us about a future confederacy of nations against ‘Israel.’ This confederacy will consist of Edom (including Amalek, today’s PLO and other violent groups, one of Edom’s grandsons) and other Middle Eastern nations, as well as modern Assyria (Germany) and the revived Babylonian system (‘Tyre’). The goal of that confederacy is to cut off Israel, so that ‘the name of Israel may be remembered no more’ (verse 4). A reference to that conspiracy is alluded to in Amos 1:6, 9 where we read that ‘Gaza’ and ‘Tyre’ will be punished because they ‘took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom’ and because ‘they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom.’
“The reference to the ‘captivity’ is to the enslavement of the modern descendants of the house of Judah and perhaps some from the modern house of Israel. In addition to bringing about slavery, we are specifically told in Amos 1:11 (among many other places) that Esau will pursue his brother (Israel) with the sword and cast off all pity, keeping his wrath against Jacob forever.
“In fact, we read in Obadiah 11–14 that Edom was as one of them who carried captive the forces of Israel, and who gazed on or gloated over the day of his brother’s calamity in the day of his captivity; that Edom rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; and that they entered the gate of God’s people in the day of their calamity and laid hands on their substance. We even read that Edom stood at the crossroads to cut off those among them who escaped and delivered those up who remained in the day of distress (verse 14), or, as the Menge Bible puts it, at the time of the Great Tribulation.”
Modern Judah Will Become a Blessing
But then, so we are told, beginning in verse 3 of Zechariah 14, God will intervene and fight for the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the modern people of Judah who have been brought into slavery and have become captives of war.
The LORD—Jesus Christ, the Messiah—tells us that He will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and that His house shall be built in it (Zechariah 1:16). He assures us that Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls; that is, it will be peaceful (2:4). When God dwells in Jerusalem, it shall be called the “City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain” (8:3). Then, “Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem… The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets…” (8:4–5). The captives of Israel and Judah will be brought back to Jerusalem “from the land of the east and from the land of the west… And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people, And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness” (8:7–8).
As the modern nations of Israel and Judah will become a curse among the nations just prior to Christ’s return [remember, not because of any statements of the parents toward their descendants regarding the death of Christ, but because of their own sinful conduct], so they will become a blessing when Christ saves them (8:13). Christ is determined to do good to Jerusalem in the end (8:15). Then, “many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem And to pray before the LORD” (8:22). The Jews will be respected at that time, and rather than continuing to harbor anti-Semitic feelings, the Gentile nations will ask the Jewish people to show them the way to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (8:23).
When Christ returns to Jerusalem, He will “cut off the names of the idols from the land” and He will “cause the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land” (13:2). As you will recall, we also read that two-thirds of all the inhabitants of the land of Judah will die, and that the remaining one-third will be refined in fire—that is, they will repent during the “Great Tribulation” and the “Day of the Lord,” and become converted (13:8–9).
Chapter 12 – Spiritual Jews
Today, the Jewish people are rejected or looked down on by far too many people. This may even include Christians, but we must realize that a true Christian IS a spiritual Jew. Paul states in Romans 2:28–29 that a Christian “is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter.”
What did Paul mean by this?
The underlying point of this statement centers on Paul’s explanation about true Christianity. Note these opening comments in the Book of Romans: “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called… saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1–7).
In this introduction Paul establishes that Jesus Christ was a Jew by birth. This is confirmed in Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 11:1; Micah 5:2; Luke 3:23–38; Hebrews 7:14; and Revelation 5:5. Furthermore, Jesus Himself revealed that “‘salvation is of the Jews’” (John 4:22).
Continuing in the first chapter of Romans, Paul states:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
When it came to the promises of God, the issue of “Jewishness” was a source of great contention in the society of Paul’s day—and in the Church of God.
The most obvious physical identification of male Jews was circumcision. Gentiles did not generally practice circumcision. However, the rite of circumcision in the first century A.D. had become ritualistic for Jews. This physical procedure was viewed as securing their relationship with God—a false confidence and an empty profession of religion.
Circumcision, as Paul explains concerning Abraham, was merely an outward sign:
“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:11–12).
The true intention of this “sign of circumcision” was revealed in the Old Testament:
“‘Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer’” (Deuteronomy 10:16; also: Jeremiah 4:4; Deuteronomy 30:6).
Paul carries forward this teaching in Romans 2:28–29, which reads in its entirety:
“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
The pride of the religious leaders in Judaism had blinded them. When John the Baptist encountered Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him for baptism, he said:
“‘Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones’” (Matthew 3:8–9).
When Jesus taught the Jews who followed Him that they could learn the truth and become free, their response was one of arrogance:
“They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, “You will be made free?”’” (John 8:33).
Jesus responded, “‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham’” (John 8:39).
Salvation Not Based on Physical Lineage
From these two examples we see that being in the physical lineage of righteous Abraham did not fulfill the inward requirements for repentance or for understanding the Truth of God on the part of the Jews. Furthermore, the hope of eternal salvation is not based on physical lineage. Note what is promised to those who live “in the Spirit”; that is, who are “inwardly” true Christians:
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26–29).
The New Testament makes reference to circumcision to show that this physical action was no longer necessary (compare Acts 15:1–29), but there was a strong demand by some Jewish Christians to require the Gentile converts to be circumcised. The Book of Galatians addresses this false teaching. While it is not wrong to circumcise newborn babies on the eighth day (understanding however that circumcision is not and never has been a physical health law), it would be wrong to circumcise if it is believed that it is a biblical requirement today, and that one can thereby obtain justification and salvation. Paul made it very clear that if we think and act that way, “Christ will profit [us] nothing” (Galatians 5:2) and we “have fallen from grace” (verse 4)—the need for God’s help and forgiveness—while rejecting forgiveness of sin through Christ’s Sacrifice (compare our comments to Galatians 5:2–4 in our free booklet, Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.)
Let us note Paul’s conclusion:
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:15–16; compare Romans 9:6).
Of this “Israel of God,” Paul further describes what being a Jew “inwardly” means:
“For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).
True Christians are “inward Jews” because they are spiritually circumcised in their hearts, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.
When Christ returns and opens the minds of the Jewish people to the truth, and when they respond, repent, believe in their Savior and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, then they—being physical Jews or Jews “outwardly” (Romans 2:28) and in accordance with the flesh—will also have become “Jews inwardly”—spiritual Jews.
God reveals to us in His Word both the history and the future of the Jewish people. The warning is very serious: Repent of your sins and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in Him as your personal Savior, or suffer the consequences! This message is not limited to the Jews; it is directed at ALL peoples—the entire world! While most will not heed the warning now, some might. Even “a great company” of the Jewish “priests” became obedient to the faith after Christ’s resurrection when they realized what had happened (Acts 6:7).
The Jewish people, the city of Jerusalem and the State of Israel will be the focus of many world events in the not-too-distant future. Ongoing developments show us that the prophesied “Great Tribulation” is not far away. If Christ were not to intervene, no human being would survive. However, for the elect’s sake, God the Father will send His only-begotten Son to this earth to shorten those days (Matthew 24:21–22). The nation of Judah will fall in the hands of their enemies, but it will rise again when Jesus proceeds to bring them out of captivity and open their minds to the Truth. Then most Jews will repent; we pray that at least some will repent before then.
We also pray that you, the reader, will recognize the seriousness of our time, and understand and heed God’s admonition, as recorded in Isaiah 62:6–7:
“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
May God grant that this will happen very soon! | <urn:uuid:44d69a3b-b3b4-4765-a416-14924bb02a60> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk/the-fall-and-rise-of-the-jewish-people/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.962717 | 38,316 | 2.828125 | 3 |
You might be surprised to know that spices were once as important as currencies. Nowadays they are not as scarce as they were in those days, it is possible to consume and still have some to spare for another day. This means that we should have proper storage skills or else they will not be potent for use. Spices need some protection so that they can retain their potent and actually be of help when we consume them. By now, you may have known that spices rarely go bad or spoil but they can easily loose their potency especially when they are not stored in the right manner. It is recommended that spices be consumed within a particular period; we should avoid keeping them for long as this also leads to reduction of potency. You do not want to consume spices only to find out later that they are not giving you the kind of results that you are looking for, this can be avoided through making sure that they are always stored safely.
Whole spices can stay fresh for a period of up to four years; ground spices on the other hand can last up to two years before loosing their potency. It is not recommended to keep dried herbs for more than one year since their delicate flavor is known to wane quickly. Although it is best to keep your spices in a dry cabinet, there is no harm if you keep them in large containers in the freezer. Whole spices can be kept here and still retain their color and flavor four years down the line while the ground spices will only last for six months. It is not recommended to keep small amounts of spices in the freezer as they may trap in humidity especially when opened, making them loose their potency.
Although spices do not spoil easily if they are stored in the right conditions, it is important to know that they have an expiry date which can be as long as four to five years depending on the type of spices you are talking about. It is always advisable to check the expiry date when storing so that when it come to use them you can start with those that has a recent expiry date. This will make sure that you do not consume something which has already expired. When store properly, spices can last long enough to give us the kind of flavor that we have always wanted in our food. If you happen to buy more than you need within a short time apply the best storage method and you will not regret.
Do you have a special place or container that you hold your spices in? Share it with us; we'd love to know! | <urn:uuid:d5cf546b-fbce-435c-b03a-2611df8081ef> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.spicely.com/blogs/news/14926209-best-way-to-store-spices | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279224.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00483-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982134 | 504 | 2.171875 | 2 |
The tourbillon, invented over 200 years ago by the brilliant watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet in order to improve the precision of pocket watches, is still considered the pinnacle of precision watchmaking. The filigree mechanism, with its balance and escapement permanently rotating in a cage to defy the influence of gravity, literally makes the hearts of aficionados and connoisseurs beats faster, as the choreography of the itsy-bitsy rotating mechanism is almost hypnotizing and captivates the observer. This rings especially true for the flying tourbillon, a particularly refined form that Alfred Helwig, a master watchmaker and teacher at the Glashütte School of Watchmaking, developed around 1920 in the famous German watch town. Thanks to the special bearing with just one bridge, it creates the impression of flying above the dial.
With gyroscopic designs and creations mounted on multiple axes, a few long-established and modern luxury manufacturers, as well as independent watchmakers, have taken the “whirlwind,” as the tourbillon is affectionately called by enthusiasts, to literally new dimensions in the wake of the renaissance of mechanical wristwatches.
For its first tourbillon, the Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon, Grand Seiko drew inspiration from the beauty of the original mechanism, but equipped it with an ingenious design that likewise has a long tradition in fine watchmaking, yet is nonetheless very rare: the constant force. The patented mechanism was first introduced in 2020 in a concept movement called the T0 Constant Force movement. To bring this to the market, the team of designers, engineers and craftsmen entrusted with assembling and completing the movement and case required two years. Every single one of the fully 340 components of this caliber was re-examined and, if necessary, redesigned or reworked. The effort paid off: the 9ST1 caliber is not only smaller than the previous concept movement, but also delivers greater accuracy, as the constant-force mechanism has been optimized.
This novel system ensures an even distribution of energy to the escapement, regardless of the status of the mainspring. The technical sophistication of Grand Seiko’s Caliber 9ST1 is that the hand-wound movement combines the constant-force mechanism with the tourbillon on the same axis. The tourbillon eliminates the precision drop caused by gravity by incorporating the escapement and balance in a rotating cage. Since there are no wheels or other components between the two mechanisms, there is no loss or change in the transmission of torque from the constant-force mechanism to the balance. This provides the mechanism with a longer power reserve of 50 hours and the balance with a more stable amplitude. Together, these features ensure the movement’s highly consistent rate accuracy.
The combination of the two mechanisms not only results in higher precision in the Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon, but is further a feast for the eyes. The inner tourbillon cage rotates smoothly while the balance oscillates constantly at eight beats per second, and the outer constant-force cage follows this rotational motion at precise one-second intervals. This sequence, which can also be followed by ear, led Grand Seiko to name this bravura piece which translates to “heartbeat.”
The watch also features a stop-seconds mechanism. This enables the rotating tourbillon cage to be stopped by pulling out the crown for precisely setting the seconds. Speaking of accuracy, to meet the company’s high standards, each movement is tested for a full 48 hours in a total of six positions at three different temperatures.
This is twice the length of testing that is standard at Grand Seiko and other industry norms. In addition, each caliber is tested for 34 days to ensure the precision rate, which Grand Seiko quantifies as +5 to -3 seconds per day, over an extended period of time. Once testing is complete and this new standard has been met or exceeded, the movement’s individual performance characteristics are documented in a certificate that Grand Seiko includes with each of the 20 models.
Grand Seiko wouldn’t be Grand Seiko if the brand hadn’t created the appropriate setting for this mechanical masterpiece. As is de rigeur at Grand Seiko, the 950 platinum case of the Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon — which is pressure-resistant to ten bars — and the Brilliant Hard Titanium coating — which is developed in-house — are finished with the time-honored Zaratsu technique that is signature to the brand. Many surfaces, such as the case flanks and lugs, are polished to a distortion-free mirror finish, creating a sophisticated interplay of light and shadows.
Thanks to its open architecture, the essential components, such as the tourbillon, the off-centered time indication and the power reserve display, can be admired from all sides. A look through the sapphire crystal case back also reveals the high standard of finishing, such as the meticulously beveled edges as well as the plate and winding wheels decorated with striped finishes. This has a similar high-quality feel than the Swiss and Glashütte luxury brands.
The strap of the elevated model also impresses with its sophistication. Made of calfskin, it is treated with a traditional method that was once used on samurai armor, among other things. Another nod to Japanese arts and crafts is the Urushi lacquer, which is applied by hand in several layers to the finely polished surface of the strap. This coating has a luster and depth that even modern resin lacquers cannot match. On top of that, the watch comes with an interchangeable crocodile leather strap.
Limited to 20 total editions, the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon will retail for $350,000.
To learn more, visit Grand Seiko, here. | <urn:uuid:21b23f0a-1957-429d-bf8b-240a17bd2eb4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.watchtime.com/featured/mechanical-masterpieces-a-closer-look-at-the-grand-seiko-kodo-constant-force-tourbillon/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573118.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817213446-20220818003446-00676.warc.gz | en | 0.936539 | 1,211 | 2.296875 | 2 |
My perspective on tribes changed several times during our trip. We saw a lot of Masai on the first part of our trip. Later on a friend who grew up in the Datoga tribe took us to meet his family. This experience changed my perspective again. I still find forcing education on tribes a difficult subject, but here’s my take on it.
Are there real Masai left?
The Masai we met didn’t look like the nomadic folk we’d heard about. It seemed like all the Masai wanted to do was make money of tourists, so we avoided the Masai Tours. We asked our guide Richard and he explained that they are real Masai. A lot of them are just no longer nomadic. The government requires the kids to go to school and the Masai have to settle somewhere. Our guide Richard thinks this is a good development, because no one should be left behind. I had a hard time deciding if it was a good thing or not.
The tribes are vanishing, because there is more and more contact with the ‘civilized’ world. Our society feels the need to convert the tribes to our ways. We see ourselves as civilized and them as primitive. But are we really better off? Our lives have become so much about work and doing as much as possible. If you’re not busy you’re doing something wrong. Even though the tribes don’t have it easy, they might be a lot happier. There is a lot we can learn from them. Living in the moment, connecting with each other and learning to slow down. It’s really all about perspective. They probably think we’re all crazy for putting so much pressure on ourselves. (and they would be right)
So should tribes be educated?
So there are a few reasons why ultimately I do think education for these tribes is a good thing. While visiting I discovered that in the Datoga tribe young girls still get circumcised. It is done to control the women’s sexuality. It is painful and can be really harmful and cause short and longterm problems. The only way to change deeply rooted traditions like this, is education. I sincerely hope for the sake of these girls that something changes. I do however also hope that some of their traditions survive and they don’t completely lose their lifestyle. There is a lot of beauty there too.
What is your take on this issue? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. | <urn:uuid:05ccb374-184e-4615-9c62-f13955a4625d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://brunetteatsunset.com/tribes-forced-to-get-education/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571719.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812140019-20220812170019-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.979748 | 522 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The Emperor's New MindSubtitle is: concerning computers, minds, and the laws of physics. By the former Oxford don Sir Roger Penrose.
Penrose is one of the greatest theoretical physicists of the twentieth century. This book came out in 1989 and I acquired it and read it not long after. It is due for a second read, something I aim to do in the next year or so.
The book is long, big, quite complex, and if you're not scientifically equipped to handle such thinking, difficult.
His main thesis is a powerful argument that minds are not just computers writ complex. Therefore the hope of the artificial intelligence advocates would be waylaid, as their attempts to think their way towards an ever more complex computer, via robotics, etc., will not result in a simulation of the human mind.
He takes us on a journey through some interesting mathematics, Turing machines, quantum theory, the lot, to demonstrate his case.
Worth a read if, like me, you find this sort of stuff fascinating. | <urn:uuid:2eed66b4-7e44-4680-92b1-d05bdd4909e0> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Found-This-Book-Fascinating/2314514 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00423-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952584 | 212 | 2.015625 | 2 |
The eye is a marvelous tool that is unique to each individual patient and requires dedicated attention. An eye exam is an assessment of the visual health of the eye as well as a non-intrusive insight to other potential silent issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. As with any important procedure, every eye exam has a fundamental path to addressing healthy vision and helping to identify other potential health issues that may need attention.
There are many facets to an eye exam that help our optometrists address individual patient needs and goals. Below you will find a breakdown of different types of eye exams and ‘frequently asked questions’ to address the important procedures performed when undergoing each type of eye exam. This will help to understand the technical side and depth of eye exams that optometrists use to help you maintain healthy vision. Feel free to contact The Optometrists at World Optic to help with any questions you may have.
Anaheim, a city so warm and dry, holds many adventures in the hottest weather from May to August and minutes away from Fulleton. People from many countries visit this city in the summer to enjoy a number of places, activities, and experiences.
From Disneyland and the Honda Center to the indoor arena where the Anaheim Ducks plays hockey, there’s a lot for Anaheim residents to be proud of.
People often ask, ‘What’s there to do in Anaheim besides going to Disneyland?”
Folks who live here, know the answer!
Anaheim has a lot to offer, starting with the GardenWalk; the perfect destination if you like shopping, eating, or live music. It’s always bustling with people come night or day and offers some really good dining and buying experiences.
But if you want to experience something off the beaten path, visit the Flightdeck Flight Simulation Center in Anaheim. If you are 11 years old at least and want to know what it feels like to fly a plane, this is the place to be. The simulator lets you virtually experience flying aircraft, and you can even test your knowledge of airplanes.
The locals here support two pro sports teams, the Anaheim Ducks and Anaheim Angels. Whether you love hockey or are a baseball fanatic, experience a game here to see how much fun it is to be a part of the local crowd in the sports season.
But if you’d rather experience nature in all its glory, head on over to the Yorba Regional Park to check revel in some of that Southern California sunshine. The other option is the Oak Canyon Nature Center, where you can be all by yourself as you go on an easy introspective hike through the greenery.
To enjoy Anaheim, you have to experience it through all of your senses. It would be a shame if one day, you woke up and found you couldn’t see it all the way it is.
Sense of sight is a blessing we often take for granted until it is too late. Good quality eye-care is the best way to be grateful for the eyes you have. With good eyesight you can enjoy the sights and views to the fullest.
To maintain the health of your eyes, it is essential that you get in touch with the best optometrist you can and get routine checkups.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could find the optometrist you trust? – That too, nearby? There’s no risking when it comes to eyes.
Just ten minutes’ drive from Anaheim, you will find World Optic at Chapman Avenue Shopping Center in Fullerton. It is a place where you can get your eyes tested, and find the right eyeglasses for yourself and your loved ones.
We can repair, and modify eyeglasses and sunglasses for you. What’s more? We have got beautiful frames to suit your needs and looks. We can ship your ordered eyewear to your place and offer a warranty on different types of eyeglasses. | <urn:uuid:7f66a0e9-5949-43ed-b4a9-2a74bd1866b1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://worldoptic.com/eyes/eye-exam/near-me/anaheim-california-eye-test-eyeglasses-contact-lens-prescription/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570692.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807181008-20220807211008-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.939203 | 818 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Every month, scientists, government agencies, and other groups request raw data from REEF’s Fish Survey Project database. Here is a sampling of who has asked for REEF data recently and what they are using it for:
- Researchers at the World Resources Institute are using western Atlantic REEF data in an analysis of threats to the world’s coral reefs called Reefs at Risk Revisited.
- A scientist from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is evaluating population trends of rock scallop in preparation for harvest rule updates.
- Researchers from the Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands GAP Analysis Project are creating species range maps that will be used with habitat information to model species distributions. The goal of this project is to keep common species common by identifying those species that are not adequately represented in existing conservation places.
- A researcher from Cascadia Consulting Group is using data on three invasive tunicate species collected by REEF surveyors in the Pacific Northwest to prepare for a baseline assessment for the Washington Invasive Species Council.
REEF members are at the heart of our grassroots marine conservation programs. Over 43,000 divers, snorkelers, students, and armchair naturalists stand behind our mission.
This month we highlight Flo Bahr (REEF member since 2001). Flo lives in Kihei, Hawaii, has conducted 186 REEF surveys, and is a Level 5 Expert surveyor. Along with Rick Long and Liz Foote, Flo helps organize the Fish Identification Network (FIN) on Maui. FIN provides an opportunity to join friends and fellow fish lovers in exploring the coral reefs of Hawaii. Maui's original FIN founders, Mike and Terri Fausnaugh, have since started FIN on Oahu. There are monthly, sometimes weekly, dives at various beaches. At every event, volunteers set up a REEF station with survey materials and identification reference guides in an attempt to lure in new afishionados! Here’s what Flo had to say about diving with REEF:
When and how did you first volunteer with REEF or become a REEF member? How did you first hear about REEF?
Way back in 2001, Liz Foote introduced me to REEF. She was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the ocean and fish that it encouraged me to learn more. Being relatively new to living on Maui, I had a lot to learn. Fish card in hand, I tried to identify and learn at least two new fish each time I went snorkeling or diving. I had a screensaver on my computer that flashed fish pictures and their names, the latest fish identification books and friends to debrief with after snorkeling and diving.
What is your favorite part about being a REEF member?
The friendships I have developed and “talking fish” with friends has become my favorite part of doing REEF surveys. We even started a club called FIN, for Fish Identification Network, and we meet once a month for REEF surveys, socializing, and FOOD. The club is open to anyone who has an interest in fish, and we have a nice, flexible group. New people swim along with more experienced surveyors, and we all have fun after with eating and talking about what we saw that day.
In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of REEF’s projects and programs?
The fun and friendships are great, but the REEF surveys are so valuable to scientists, students, and other avid fish folks. There is just not a wealth of information about what fish are where and in what quantities, so our data can be helpful in determining the health of our declining reefs and can also give swimmers an idea of what might be seen in different areas.
What is the most fascinating fish encounter you’ve experienced? Is there a fish you haven’t seen yet diving, but would like to?
There are so many cool and surprising things to see in the ocean. Just last week, at Maonakala while snorkeling, we saw a Coronetfish taking a ride on a turtle. A couple of months ago while diving at Wailea Point, we saw a turtle with a strange lump on its back that turned out to be a resting Flowery Flounder. As for what I want to see -- a seahorse! Recently we were diving Wailea Point because of reports of seahorses being seen by a few divers. We searched and searched while diving in just 10-15 feet of water. We couldn’t find them but will keep on looking until we do. It will be so cool when I find a seahorse and get to add it to my survey!
REEF is proud to partner with over 130 dive shops, dive clubs, individuals, and other organizations as REEF Field Stations.
This month we feature Horizon Divers in Key Largo, FL. Just down the street from REEF Headquarters, they have been a long-time supporter of REEF’s efforts. One of their hallmark efforts is supporting the REEF Marine Conservation Internship Program by allowing REEF Interns to come out on the boat for free and conduct fish surveys. Horizon dive instructor, Mike Ryan, says, “It’s a lot of fun having them out on the boat regularly and getting to know them. When other divers see their slates and see them tallying fish underwater, they become curious and often ask the interns what they are doing and why count fish. The interns are great because they have the ability to inspire divers to learn fish names and start surveying which, in turn, brings us more business!” Mike also gets into REEF surveying himself. When asked about his best lifetime sightings, he quickly said they were a Manta Ray at one of their popular dive sites and a resident Longlure Frogfish that was regularly surveyed on the Speigel Grove for nearly a two-year timespan.
Horizon Divers regularly teaches fish identification specialty courses and always encourages their students to become REEF surveyors. The shop is also very active in REEF’s Lionfish Control Program in the Keys. Most of their staff have been through REEF’s Lionfish Collection and Handling Workshop and they hold current permits to collect lionfish in the no-take Sanctuary Preservation Areas (SPAs). The dive shop also serves as a Lionfish Collection Bank, collecting, labeling, and storing collected lionfish until they pass them to REEF for research purposes. Mike recently developed a “Lionfish Safari” PADI specialty course. Mike says, “Although lionfish are an ecological nightmare, we are trying to make the best of it by engaging divers in lionfish control efforts and drumming up business at the same time.”
World-wide declines in shark and ray populations have prompted the need for a better understanding of their patterns of distribution and abundance. While much of the focus has been on the larger species of sharks, little attention had been paid to the most frequently sighted elasmobranch species in the greater-Caribbean, the yellow stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis). Despite being relatively common and listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, little was known about the status of this species. Unfortunately, it has been quietly declining. Dr. Christine Ward-Paige and her colleagues at Dalhousie University worked with REEF's Director of Science, Dr. Christy Pattengill-Semmens, to examine the status of yellow stingray. The results of this study were recently published in the scientific journal, Environmental Biology of Fishes. Click here to read the paper.
The study used 83,940 surveys collected by REEF surveyors in the western Atlantic. In total, yellow stingrays were observed on 5,658 surveys (6.7% sighting frequency) with the highest occurrence in the regions surrounding Cuba. Overall, sighting frequency declined from 20.5% in 1994 to 4.7% in 2007. However, these trends were not consistent in all regions. The strongest decline occurred in the Florida Keys, the most sampled region, where trends were similar among all areas, habitats and depths. Possible explanations for these changes include habitat degradation, exploitation (this species is collected for medical research and the aquarium trade), and changes in trophic interactions. The results of the study suggest large-scale changes in yellow stingray abundance that have been unnoticed by the scientific community. This study also highlights the value of non-scientific divers for collecting data that can be used to understand population trends of otherwise poorly studied species.
To see this and other scientific papers that have been published using REEF data, check out the Publications page on the REEF.org website here.
Some of the best dive sites for fishwatching are in the least obvious places. The Blue Heron Bridge in Palm Beach, Florida, is one such biological hotspot. This is a top dive destination for sighting unusual species that can be added to your lifelist. Mike Phelan, REEF Expert surveyor, and two other REEF members, often dive this site. The day before Thanksgiving, they were treated to quite a sight – a large school of Cownose Rays! This is a rare sighting in Florida, but it’s just another day at the Blue Heron Bridge. Some of the more unusual and recent sightings include the Blackwing Searobin, Roughtail Ray, Northern Stargazer, Orangespotted Blenny, Polkadot Batfish, and the Chain Pipefish. The bridge traverses a small island located in the inland waterway near the Lake Worth inlet. The dive sites consist of a variety of eco-niches such as sand, shell rubble, sea grass, algae hydroid fields, sailboat mooring lines and anchors and of course bridge pilings and concrete rubble. The Blue Heron Bridge has over 282 species recorded in the REEF database and the number is increasing monthly (click here to see the full list).
The actual dive site is a local county park named Phil Foster Park that is protected with a no-take ordinance. All dives are shore-based and must be timed with the high tide. The dive can be safely done by entering the water one hour before high tide and exiting one hour after high tide. Depths range from 8 -17 feet and the water is usually clear even if the off-shore ocean is rough. Remember to bring a dive flag. Many divers combine their Blue Heron trip with some local Jupiter off-shore diving to witness the Goliath grouper aggregations in August or September, Loggerhead, Green, and Leatherback turtle nesting during the spring or the Lemon shark aggregation in the winter. This is certainly a dive site to be thankful for!
Do you have a dive site story that you would like to share? Email us. | <urn:uuid:b8469129-1275-4ebc-8da2-98cb89bca443> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.reef.org/enews/making-it-count-november-2010 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00556-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955568 | 2,233 | 2.703125 | 3 |
EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION TERMINOLOGY
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The action of a person hurting or not caring for another
person who generally is younger or weaker.
(one does abusing)
When a child has difficulty keeping up with others in
an educational program.
(schooling/education, having difficulty)
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
A disease of the human immune system that is caused by
HIV infection. The infection is transmitted in blood and bodily secretion
and can become life threatening.
(infectious disease, preventing it, fights, on it, hampered)
Development of self-help skills such as sucking, feeding,
dressing, and toileting.
(just one, takes care of self; just, him/herself, care
of self, he/she learned)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Diagnosis used for children who are overly energetic or
hyper and have trouble staying focused on one thing.
(a child, in vain, sit still, usually, toward him/her,
spoken, but, somewhere, his/her thoughts, will be)
(full attention, not, able to do)
To provide resource information, support services and/or
educational opportunities for children with special needs and their families
to assure that those needs are made known to professional care-givers,
service providers, and others as well as the general public.
(speaking out for oneself, when difficult, for him/her,
Initiating and acting with hostile behaviors. A behavior
aimed at causing either physical or psychological pain by biting, hitting,
and /or throwing objects.
(one's anger, one is)
American Sign Language
A sign language for the deaf in which communication is
conveyed by a system of articulated hand gestures and their placement
relative to the upper body.
(when one does jestering/motioning, story/information
A state of uneasiness.
(with self, anxiety disorder)
Difficulty producing deliberate, volitional movements, even
though there is no weakness, slowness, or incoordination resulting from
muscular impairment. The programming of the muscles by the brain is imprecise.
(one's mouth, difficulty, not, very well, speaking/talks)
Movement of the lips, tongue, teeth, and palate into specific
patterns to produce speech sounds.
(language, not hard/difficult, consonant, and vowels,
sounds, with it one speaks, will be)
Formal and informal methods used by trained personnel
to measure a child's ability, growth and development (strengths and weaknesses).
This may involve discussions, observations, and testing. The family's
input and ideas are very important to anyone using assessment tools with
any young child.
(children, growing, just now, with them, developing, with
Any item, piece of equipment, or product system used to
increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children
with special needs. These items may be acquired commercially, off the
shelf, modified, or customized.
(something, just, designed, body, helps/assists it, using
Devices and materials used to assist or to help increase,
maintain, or improve the functional abilities of children with disabilities.
(something, body, assist it, how it is use)
At Risk for Delay (due to biological/medical factors)
The presence of early conditions which are known to produce
developmental delays in some children.
(his/her, on it, something the matter, because, in their
future, normal being, with it, toward them, at risk)
Children acting in ways to focus others on their behavior
or themselves. Seeking attention by acting out.
(about me, everyone is aware of, the one who wants attention)
(attention seeking, only, wanted)
Standard graph used to record hearing thresholds by frequency
and hearing level.
(one's hearing, for one, evaluation of it, paper, on it,
Procedures used by appropriate/qualified personnel to
determine the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss and/or communication
function of a child. The evaluation is used to design intervention/prevention
services for hearing loss.
(children, his/her hearing, examination)
One who holds a degree and/or certification in audiology,
and whose specific interest is in identification, measurement, and rehabilitation
of persons with hearing impairments.
(children, his/her hearing, one who does examination)
Study of hearing and hearing disorders; it is concerned
with assessment of the nature and degree of hearing loss, and rehabilitation
of individuals with hearing impairments.
(ear, at that area/place/space/service, sutdy and working
Auditory (Hearing) Impairment
Damage of the hearing organs or sensors, which results
in temporary or permanent loss of hearing of a person. | <urn:uuid:b6d4d278-2168-40fc-a324-bc48954c0c1b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://cdd.unm.edu/cspd/navajo_glossary/navajo_glossary_a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00072-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9212 | 1,133 | 3.578125 | 4 |
In Orange Visual Visualisation Tool, I posted some introductory notes on using the Orange “visual visualisation” tool. Whilst crossing the Solent last week, I had another little play and discovered a few more compelling features about this application.
First up relates to the problem of merging data sets with a common column, for example where you have a common identified appearing in two different data files (e.g. school, council or university ID appearing in different sorts of report). I’ve described several different approaches to this in the past, such as using Google Fusion Tables, for example, but none of them are ideal. But here’s how to do it the Orange way:
Even though there appears to be only one input element to the Merge Tables widget, there are actually two…
Here’s how we choose which columns to merge on:
Just to prove we’ve merged the data…
Looking at the data, the original files include x and y columns that were used to represent scaled versions of other columns, headed using the Gephi reserved column names x and y.
It’s easy enough to remove these columns within the Orange environment – simply use the Select Attributes widget.
The column selection itself is made within the Select Attributes dialogue:
As well as merging by column, it’s easy enough to concatenate data from several input files that share the same columns.
Looking at the dialogue for this wdget, we see it’s also possible to use it to merge data tables sharing common columns/attributes (such as a unique identifier), although where tables are joined with uncommon columns, unknown (?) values will be entered in cells for each column where the original data table did not contain that column.
As well as filtering whole columns out of a table using the Select Attributes widget, we can also filter rows based on one cell entries matching specified conditions within particular columns.
It’s also worth mentioning that for large data sets, Orange can generate samples of your data for you:
And finally, once you’ve manipulated your data set, you’ll probably want to save it? That’s wire it in easy too:
So, pretty impressive, huh? And drop dead easy… or should that be: “click and wire” easy, particularly the data merge on a common column…:-)
Completely OUseless, of course…. If you’ve read this far, I apologise for wasting your time… | <urn:uuid:218804b3-7adc-4799-8312-8980b48d99d2> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://blog.ouseful.info/2010/10/12/a-further-look-at-the-orange-data-playground-filters-and-file-merging/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00384-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.888122 | 518 | 1.90625 | 2 |
dimensions of the inner tube are standard dimensions for heat exchanger tubes. Type L/C Trufin is used when corrosion or pressure considerations require the use of a special material in contact with the process fluid. The aluminum assures good heat conductance through the fins into the air, as well as excellent resistance to atmospheric corrosion.
5 Tips how to choose your most suitable fin tube heat Nov 05, 2020 · The fin tube heat exchanger is a device in which air is used as the heat exchange medium, and the temperature is transferred from one object to another. There are two types of steam heat exchangers, heating air and cooling air. The heat exchange process is divided into two stages.
An aluminum alloy fin material for heat exchanger use excellent in buckling resistance which, even if the fin material is reduced to a final sheet thickness of 30 to 80 m, is excellent in formability at the time of corrugation, has a suitable strength before brazing enabling easy fin formation, exhibits a suitable self corrosion resistance and sacrificial anode effect, and is high in
Aluminum Fin Heat Exchanger factory, Buy good quality Sep 25, 2020 · Custom Aluminum Fin Heat Exchanger / Frost Free Refrigerator Evaporator Product Description Fin evaporator mainly consists of aluminum tubes, aluminum fin, left and right bracket, heating deforsting syste.
This type of heat exchanger consists of a tube bundle inserted inside a shell. One of the fluids circulates inside the tubes and the other around them inside the shell. The number of baffles and their geometry are optimized in order to improve the heat transfer.
Fin and Tube Heat Exchangers - polestarindFinned tube heat exchangers with 7.00 5/16, 3/8 and1/2 diameter copper / Aluminum and Aluminum Claded Copper tubing. Tubes are fabricated from Seamless Copper / Aluminum / Aluminum Claded Copper Tubings with either smooth or internally enhanced surfaces.
At the heart of most Thermofin heat exchangers technology, like in our famous line of generator and motor coolers, lies Thermofins aluminum extruded finned tubes, the lead actors on which rests the efficiency and longevity of our units. Their particular design, mono or bimetal, provides great resistance (fin stiffness) as well as exceptional heat transfer characteristics (longevity, temperature, range, etc.).
WO2012018536A2 - Aluminum fin and tube heat exchanger A heat exchanger is provided including at least one aluminum alloy tube and a plurality of aluminum fins arrayed on the aluminum alloy tube. The aluminum tube | <urn:uuid:39bc6cee-5f35-40a4-b759-59594aa3230c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://www.ciaow.nl/news/Aluminum-Fin-Tube-Heat-Exchanger-for-Coo_4128.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570651.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807150925-20220807180925-00467.warc.gz | en | 0.889818 | 536 | 2.109375 | 2 |
Senedd Members from across West Wales have joined forces with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to launch an emergency humanitarian appeal for the people of Ukraine.
DEC Cymru and its member charities today held an event on the steps of the Senedd to launch their financial appeal to the general public.
It is estimated that 4 million people are set to be displaced due to the war in Ukraine, with a further 18 million projected to become affected by the conflict.
Speaking about the matter, Senedd Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Samuel Kurtz MS said:
“The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is becoming ever-more worrying as Putin continues his assault on the independent, sovereign Ukrainian people.
“It’s innocent men, women and children who are suffering the consequences and we’re all too aware of the harrowing stories and images coming from Eastern Europe.
“It is important that we show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and help those brilliant charities who are getting much needed aid, medical supplies, food, clothing, toiletries and much more, to the front line.
“Welsh people are desperate to help and hopefully today’s event will help signpost people to where and how they can support.”
To donate to the humanitarian effort, please visit: https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal | <urn:uuid:69ee29b9-79e5-41b8-92ab-3de20ba78c47> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.samuelkurtz.wales/news/politicians-make-plea-donations-ukraine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572908.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817122626-20220817152626-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.95211 | 297 | 1.625 | 2 |
The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of Women's Medicine by University of Pennsylvania Press (Hardback, 2001)
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- DescriptionThe Trotula was the most influential compendium on women's medicine in medieval Europe. Scholarly debate has long focused on the traditional attribution of the work to the mysterious Trotula, said to have been the first female professor of medicine in eleventh- or twelfth-century Saler, just south of Naples, then the leading center of medical learning in Europe. Yet as Monica H. Green reveals in her introduction to this first edition of the Latin text since the sixteenth century, and the first English translation of the book ever based upon a medieval form of the text, the Trotula is t a single treatise but an ensemble of three independent works, each by a different author. To varying degrees, these three works reflect the synthesis of indigeus practices of southern Italians with the new theories, practices, and medicinal substances coming out of the Arabic world. Arguing that these texts can be understood only within the intellectual and social context that produced them, Green analyzes them against the background of historical gynecological literature as well as current kwledge about women's lives in twelfth-century southern Italy. She examines the history and composition of the three works and introduces the reader to the medical culture of medieval Saler from which they emerged. Among her findings is that the second of the three texts, On the Treatments for Women, does derive from the work of a Salernitan woman healer named Trota. However, the other two texts- On the Conditions of Women and On Women's Cosmetics -are probably of male authorship, a fact indicating the complex gender relations surrounding the production and use of kwledge about the female body. Through an exhaustive study of the extant manuscripts of the Trotula, Green presents a critical edition of the so-called standardized Trotula ensemble, a composite form of the texts that was produced in the mid-thirteenth century and circulated widely in learned circles. The facing-page complete English translation makes the work accessible to a broad audience of readers interested in medieval history, women's studies, and premodern systems of medical thought and practice.
- Author BiographyMonica H. Green is Associate Professor of History at Duke University.
- PublisherUniversity of Pennsylvania Press
- Date of Publication19/03/2001
- SubjectMedicine: General
- Series TitleThe Middle Ages Series
- Place of PublicationPennsylvania
- Country of PublicationUnited States
- ImprintUniversity of Pennsylvania Press
- Content Note9 illus.
- Weight625 g
- Width155 mm
- Height235 mm
- Spine22 mm
- Format DetailsWith printed dust jacket
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Thanks, we'll look into this. | <urn:uuid:b5b98a24-208d-4797-8d5a-1e7ad59ba30c> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.ebay.com.au/p/The-Trotula-A-Medieval-Compendium-of-Womens-Medicine-by-University-of-Pennsylvania-Press-Hardback/104695674 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719416.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00365-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904916 | 917 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The ErP (Energy Related Products) Directive was introduced in 2015 by the European Union to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental impact of energy products. The directive enforces the development and improvement of energy-related product design to improve their energy efficiency.
Under UK law, the directive is part of our Energy Related Products Regulations 2010 legislation – later amended by the Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations in 2016.
For an energy-related product to become regulated under this directive, they would have to reach 200,000 sales per year within the EU market. Once they reach this volume of sales, it is in the interest of the directive to step in and ensure the product is performing how it should be.
If it’s found that a product is performing poorly and poses a great risk to the environment, the ErP directive will inform the manufacturer of the potential to improve their products, without increasing their costs drastically.
The main objective of the directive is to cut greenhouse emissions and improve energy efficiency each by 20% and have 20% of all EU energy come from renewables by 2020. This is also known as the 2020 climate & energy package.
In part, this is to be achieved through the continued efforts to improve the energy efficiency of products, with an emphasis on design and development through their lifecycle. Since the introduction of ErP, it’s become illegal to continue to manufacture or import poor performing products which do not meet the energy efficiency requirements laid out in the directive.
The introduction of energy labels has meant that manufacturers are able to use efficiency levels to take on their competition. This presents an opportunity for boiler suppliers to up-sell customers from lower efficiency-band boilers to high efficiency options, while selling the fact that their new modern condensing boiler will save them money in the long run. Some healthy competition will undoubtedly lead to more highly efficient boilers appearing on the market over the next decade, which makes the energy labelling extremely effective.
As of 2015, all products must be labelled with their efficiency levels rated from G to A+++. It’s the responsibility of the manufacturer to improve their grading under the guidance of this directive. In terms of boilers, if they are using up to 70kW of energy along with storage tanks up to 500 litres, they will be supplied with an energy label. If a boiler is reaching up to 400kW, the ErP will step in to set new energy targets, later providing energy labels.
It’s the responsibility of your boiler manufacturer to supply an energy label which displays the efficiency grade for heating and (in the case of combi boilers) hot water production. Boilers are all rated from A++ to G, while also taking into consideration their sound output and their rated output.
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The Gaddlight is an item used in Mario Party 4. When an opponent sends a Boo (from a Boo's Crystal Ball) to steal coins or a Star, the targeted player can automatically use it to flash light at the Boo, scaring it away (making the opponent unable to steal Coins or a Star from them). It serves the same function as the Boo Repellent from Mario Party 3. The Gaddlight can be thrown away to free up space in the player's inventory, though this counts as the player using an item on that turn. On Boo's Haunted Bash when a player lands on a Happening Space and summons the Big Boo, when the Big Boo steals coins or stars from the other players, this item for chasing the Boo away does not work for the Big Boo.
The item's name seems to indicate that it was invented by Professor Elvin Gadd, although a symbol of his head (seen on most of his inventions) is absent from the item.
Names in other languages | <urn:uuid:853b2f84-36fc-4014-89ce-2943c7f7bfe6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.mariowiki.com/Gaddlight | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279224.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00480-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941797 | 205 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Team Building: High and Low Ropes
Here's a fun way to boost your group's productivity in a very unique place. From traditional courses to the extreme treks, we have what your group needs!
Is your organization looking for ways to build a strong team oriented group of people with the ability to adapt to the ever changing business environments?
Do you need to get your people to think “outside of the box” while looking for solutions to difficult problems?
Our low and high ropes team building and GPS trek courses can help you and your team. We can take groups as small as 6 and groups of up to 150 out on our courses. Our courses are set in the beautiful and historic Snake Creek Gorge and historic township of Banning Mills.
This is a safer and fun way to increase your organization’s productivity!
Effective business teams can build their skill sets with training and experience by participating in our program designed to challenge them both physically and mentally.
Our Team Building Low - High Ropes Courses (called challenge courses) are a series of constructive, interactive tasks that will help the team address issues of communication, goal setting, teamwork, relationships, risk, trust, time management, self-confidence and commitment.
Your group learns valuable skills that can be easily applied to the workplace, home and personal relationships.
Groups of six or more are needed to experience our team building course. Team needs and goals are assessed so that participation will be productive.
Your organization can overcome interdepartmental communication and trust issues, develop better time management, strengthen teamwork, and more. The facilitators will create experiences on a course that require these skills to be tested, so that your team will achieve goals. The courses build self-confidence, trust and the commitment to meet the challenges of working in adverse conditions.
Team building courses can help individuals in the team accomplish what seems impossible and give them the courage to go beyond what they thought they could not do. It emphasizes that each individual offers something to make the team productive. These fun team-building courses are offered in a supportive, safe and picturesque environment. Ask about our- HIGH Adventure - Zip Line Team Building Programs!
- Team building events are memorable.
- Most classroom lectures on goal setting, bonding, working through problems, and morale building can all be met on a team building course.
- Lessons are learned in a safe and fun environment.
- Skills that are developed easily transfer to everyday situations.
Some of our participates include -
NASA, Porsche, Coca-Cola, UPS, US Army, US Army National Guard, Marriott, US Air Force, US Marines, Georgia Tech, UGA, Georgia State, Auburn University, Alabama University, most of the West Georgia Chamber Leadership Academies and more.
Call - 770-834-9149 - You MUST make Reservations!!
It's TIME for Gift Certificates!! | <urn:uuid:b1124984-32db-46ef-b94c-2219bb603115> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://historicbanningmills.com/adventures/team-building/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00519-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939819 | 595 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Far from being a picture project, far from being lightweight and even still farther from being a folio of feminist bleatings, this book is a powerful, important and damn beautiful book about (1) architecture (2) women.
Breaking Ground, Architecture by Women has been orchestrated for Phaidon by Jane Hall, a founding member of the Turner prize-winning English studio, Assemble, who also happens to be a very engaging writer.
Turner calls the book a ‘global survey’, which somehow denudes it of any sort of magic, marginalising the wonder of the work in favour a more clinical descriptive. However, her passion for the women, the work and the struggle for recognition is unveiled in her must-read forward.
Here Turner’s discussion of partnerships – and the blurring of the sometimes-conflicted needs of the private versus professional relationships is both fabulous and eye opening. Part of the invisibility of female architects has caused by the lack of recognition of the female partner in collaborative design.
Just ask Marion Mahony Griffin (if one could), a name familiar to Australians, and a woman who stood in the shadow of more than one great designer. Romantic, marital, spiritual – whatever the extra layer of involvement between practice partners is, it too often blurs the ability to clearly see who did what. And for whatever reason, it seems the woman is the one who sort of disappears.
“In many ways,” writes Hall “the synchronicity of architecture husband-and-wife teams makes it futile task to separate individual contributions from the collective identity for which their work is known.”
Similarly, in large design firms extruding the female input, even for this book, is too often an awkward assignment,
“This posed a real problem when researching this book,” writes Hall “with many practices themselves rejecting inclusion of certain works due to their female partner’s lack of involvement in a buildings design, overlooking the fact that her role enables design activity simply to take place.”
Jane Hall’s knowledge of architecture and insight into the workings of practices both past and present gives her a very much informed lens through which she focuses on the work, and the architects featured in Breaking Ground.
From a reader’s point of view the layout of this book is a sheer delight, almost all full colour images attest to the architects’ works, arranged in alphabetical order.
It was with deep personal guilt that I realised how few of these great architects were familiar to me – even when the buildings themselves were familiar.
The futuristic, languorous and almost reptilian Belarus football stadium – so very much a male dominated sport, was designed by Spela Videcnik.
The Ordos Museum in China, created by Dang Qun, Kazuyo Sejima’s furutistic Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo and Di Zhang’s Museum of Contemporary Art in Yinchuan. All amazing, all female driven.
And what of the wonderful Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang? Creator of many buildings including the Writer’s Theatre, Glenoce, Illinois. She was the only architect of any gender to be included in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2019.
Sprinkled throughout the book are quotes that reflect the difficult climb many architects have suffered, a punctuation in the book that adds both reflection and self-deprecating humour.
Most reviewers have included the Zaha Hadid line “Would they still call me a diva if I were a man?”, an excellent line however I feel the other quote from Hadid says a little more.
“As a woman in architecture you’re always an outsider. It’s okay, I like being on the edge.”
In time, and maybe not far from now, women in architecture won’t be ‘outsiders’, they’ll be seen and heard and recognised just as architects. No gender, just outrageous talent. | <urn:uuid:6a849e1d-5848-41fa-a3b7-fab7ab6e6bc8> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/news/breaking-ground-architecture-by-women | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.964645 | 847 | 1.914063 | 2 |
When you purchase, we donate 50% of our earnings to our Featured Cause above.
Want to benefit a different cause?
When buying tickets on our site, we safeguard your transaction.
You will receive a 100% refund for your tickets if:
(1) Verified proof must be provided in letter form from the venue. Written or stamped "voids" do not constitute verified proof.
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from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014. Johnson, Zach (April 23, 2015). "Elizabeth Olsen Will Star in Captain America: Civil WarThe Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in The X-Men #4 (March 1964) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. Originally said to have the ability to alter probability, the Scarlet Witch has been depicted as a powerful sorceress since the 1980s and on occasion has become powerful enough to alter reality by tapping into greater energy sources. Since her debut, the Scarlet Witch has been labelled as one of the most notable and powerful characters from the Marvel Universe.The Scarlet Witch is first depicted as a reluctant supervillain along with her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver, both founding members of the Brotherhood of Mutants. A year after her debut, she joined the Avengers superhero team and ever since has often been depicted as a regular member of that or related teams (such as the West Coast Avengers and Force Works). In 1975, she married her android teammate Vision, later using borrowed magical forces to make herself pregnant, resulting in twin sons William ("Billy") and Thomas (“Tommy”). Stories in 1989 wiped Tommy and Billy from existence (they would later reappear as the heroes called Wiccan and Speed) and removed Vision's emotions, leading to the annulment of his and Wanda's marriage. For most of her comic book history, the Scarlet Witch is portrayed as a mutant, a member of a fictional subspecies of humans born with an "X-gene" that grants superhuman abilities and traits, although multiple stories also said the nature of her mutant powers were influenced by the High Evolutionary experimenting on her when she was a child. A 2015 storyline revised Wanda's origin, establishing that her superhuman traits are entirely a result of experimentation done by the High Evolutionary and on inherited magic abilities. Like Franklin Richards and other characters, her genetics were such that standard X-gene tests gave a false positive, meaning she was never actually born a mutant.The character's in-universe backstory and parentage have changed more than once. During the 1960s, she and Quicksilver are said to be the mutant twin offspring of two human Romani parents, Django and Marya Maximoff. Later, it is said the children were adopted, given to the Maximoffs by the geneticist called the High Evolutionary, leaving their true parentage a mystery. In 1974, it is said their parents are Golden Age heroes Bob Frank / Whizzer and Madeline Joyce Frank / Miss America. Wanda then refers to herself as Wanda Frank for a time. In 1982, Magneto concludes he is Wanda and Pietro's father. In 2014, the AXIS crossover revealed Pietro and Wanda are not related to Magneto. In 2015, the twins discover they are not mutants and their superhuman traits are the result of the High Evolutionary's experiments. The 2015–2017 Scarlet Witch series reveals Wanda and Pietro's adopted parents Django and Marya Maximoff are biologically their aunt and uncle. Their real mother is confirmed to be Natalya Maximoff, the previous Scarlet Witch, a sorceress whose father was the Scarlet Warlock. Since 2014, Elizabeth Olsen has portrayed Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. | <urn:uuid:5f48bf5d-a880-4227-a393-59a5cfed00fc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.tix4cause.com/events/zach-deputy/25245877 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571147.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810040253-20220810070253-00470.warc.gz | en | 0.972491 | 812 | 1.90625 | 2 |
New Life Stories is a charity which helps incarcerated mothers in prison stay connected to their children.
Salma (not her real name) is one such beneficiary from the programme. Salma was imprisoned for approximately 5 years for drug trafficking in 2010. Her husband was also incarcerated. 2 relatives took care of Salma’s children who were aged between 20 months and 10 years old. For the first 4 years of imprisonment, Salma had little news of her children. She only saw them 3 times during that period.
Volunteers from New Life Stories visited her regularly and updated her with happenings in her children’s lives. Volunteers even taught her to read children’s stories which they recorded and sent to her children.
The charity has helped many women like Salma who:
- Are divorced;
- Are unmarried;
- Have no contact with the other parent; or
- Have husbands in jail.
Many of these women are jailed for drug-related offences. More often than not, the grandparents are the ones who look after the children while the women are incarcerated.
Salma’s child said of Salma: “I missed her. At times, I forgot what she looked like so I imagined (her appearance). My younger sister always asked me, where’s mother? I explained to her that she’s in prison but she did not understand.”
According to co-founder Saleemah Ismail, the charity was formed to “heal strained ties between mother and child” with the hope that “this would help the women to change for the better and stay out of trouble.”
Other than helping the incarcerated mothers reconnect with their children, volunteers would visit the children to read to them in the hope of helping them pick up the English language. They would also teach the children positive values.
See: Theresa Tan, “Connecting mums in jail with their kids”, The Straits Times, 27 November 2016
Children of Incarcerated Parents Singapore
In my years as a divorce lawyer in Singapore, I have represented incarcerated parents who do not have access to their children. Many of them are genuinely concerned about their children and blame themselves for not being able to care for them.
While it is impossible for such parents to have care and control of their children, it may not be a bad thing for them to have regular and reasonable access to their children provided that they are genuinely interested in the well-being of their children. After all, parents will always be parents. They are a part of the child’s life and it is healthy for children of incarcerated parents in Singapore to get to know their parents.
On a final note, the charity may wish to extend the goodwill to fathers in the future.
You may also be interested to read more about:
For more information, please contact us here. | <urn:uuid:cf7236de-e865-4e0f-8322-bb5c9421a0a0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://divorcelawyer-singapore.sg/2016/12/04/helping-children-of-incarcerated-parents-reconnect-with-their-parents/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571056.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809155137-20220809185137-00667.warc.gz | en | 0.98412 | 595 | 1.898438 | 2 |
What the heck is molecular sculpting?
Molecular sculpting works like a real-time energy minimizer, except that it isn't minimizing the energy. Instead, its just trying to return local atomic geometries (bonds, angles, chirality, planarity) to the configuration the molecules possess when they were first loaded into PyMOL.
To actually use this feature:
- Load a PDB file.
- Configure the mouse for editing (Mouse menu) or click in the mouse/key matrix box.
- Select Sculpting from the Wizard menu. (or: Select auto-sculpting from the Sculpting menu.)
- Ctrl-middle-click on any atom in your protein to activate sculpting. The green part will be free to move. The cyan part will be a fixed cushion to provide context. The grey part will be excluded.
- Now perform any conformational editing operation in the green region such as:
- ctrl-left-click-and-drag on an atom
- ctrl-right-click on a bond, then ctrl-left-click-and-drag about that bond.
You can adjust the radius and cushion using the blue pop-up menus.
Right now I'm not sure the sculpting feature is more than entertainment, but my expectation is that it will become part of PyMOL's crystallographic model building system in the future.
Warren DeLano's reply to the question "molecular sculpting" in PyMOL mailing list. | <urn:uuid:b9c9e6cd-2fe1-4d82-b5df-c881fbd7801e> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://pymolwiki.org/index.php?title=Molecular_Sculpting&oldid=11446 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.850466 | 334 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Asia Pacific - Why are there more land fires in Indonesia before an election? Why are oil palm plantations burned also? Why does everyone involved see the fires differently?
And what do elephants have to do with any of it?
The devastating land and forest fires in Indonesia begin long before someone lights a match: They start with a complex entanglement of politics, economics, power and practice.
And so, researchers argue, avoiding further fires means understanding these root causes and helping everyone involved see how they fit in.
In this video, scientists from CIFOR describe some of the intriguing and as yet unexplained elements emerging from their research into the causes of Indonesia’s fires. | <urn:uuid:bd93766e-9308-45eb-a205-a36c79262dcd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.cifor.org/39008/waiting-exhale-politics-fire-indonesia?fnl= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283008.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00081-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934083 | 138 | 3.140625 | 3 |
On January 6th in Washington, D.C.
Tell Bush: We Will Stop Voter Disenfranchisement!
Tell Congress: Stand Up for Democracy!
On January 6th, 2005 Congress will meet in joint session to certify the 2004 presidential election. On that day, if one member of the House and one member of the Senate object to the certification of the vote, then all members of Congress will finally discuss these issues. On January 6, 2001, not a single Senator would join with the Representatives who demanded an inquiry into the Florida recount. This year, let's make our Senators take a stand!
Join Medea Benjamin, John Bonifaz, David Cobb, Congressman John Conyers (invited), Alysia Fischer, George Friday, Rev. Jesse Jackson (invited), Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (invited), Rev. Lennox Yearwood and many others as we: Rally at 10:00 a.m. in Lafayette Park across from the White House. We will then march to Capitol Hill to join with others at the U.S. Capitol at noon.
We need an investigation into the Ohio vote on November 2, the seriously problematic "recount," partisan, discriminatory decisions made by the Secretary of State, electronic voting machine fraud, not enough machines in predominantly Black precincts, and all of the other ways that voters were disenfranchised in the USA.
While our Senators and Representatives are inside Congress, tallying the electoral college vote, We the People must have a presence outside, bringing attention to the disenfranchisement, suppression and fraud that pervaded the 2004 election - and demanding real reforms to extend and protect democracy in the U.S. Please join us on January 6 in Washington, DC. Check www.votecobb.org, or www.pdamerica.org for more information.
Leading up to the January 6th events there will be a major rally in Columbus, Ohio on January 3 at 2 p.m. organized by Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and other groups. For more information go to www.rainbowpush.org.
If you can't come to DC, we urge you to organize an action on January 4th or 5th at a Senator's office in your community. And on January 6th let’s flood the Senate with calls all morning and afternoon; the Capitol Hill information number is 202-224-3121.
If the Ukraine can have a re-vote,
why can't the U.S. have at least an investigation into vote suppression?
This call to action is initiated by United Progressives for Democracy, the Cobb/LaMarche campaign, Code Pink, D.C. Anti-War Network, Green Party of the U.S., Independent Progressive Politics Network, International Labor Communications Association, No Stolen Elections, Progressive Democrats of America, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Truth in Elections. To add your group send your endorsement to email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:a55d2f69-3bc3-4b03-b50f-59f168f7a239> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/01/january-6-2005-washington-dc-lafayette.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00510-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936072 | 613 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Authors & Events
Jun 11, 2002
| ISBN 9780375760495
Jun 23, 2010
| ISBN 9780307758491
Buy from Other Retailers:
Jun 11, 2002 | ISBN 9780375760495
Jun 23, 2010 | ISBN 9780307758491
In the late 1800s, John Muir made several trips to the pristine, relatively unexplored territory of Alaska, irresistibly drawn to its awe-inspiring glaciers and its wild menagerie of bears, bald eagles, wolves, and whales. Half-poet and half-geologist, he recorded his experiences and reflections in Travels in Alaska, a work he was in the process of completing at the time of his death in 1914. As Edward Hoagland writes in his Introduction, “A century and a quarter later, we are reading [Muir’s] account because there in the glorious fiords . . . he is at our elbow, nudging us along, prompting us to understand that heaven is on earth—is the Earth—and rapture is the sensible response wherever a clear line of sight remains.”This Modern Library Paperback Classic includes photographs from the original 1915 edition.
JOHN MUIR was born in 1838 in Scotland, and immigrated with his family in 1849 to the United States. In 1892, he and his colleague Robert Underwood Johnson founded the Sierra Club, of which Muir was president until his death; he… More about John Muir
“Probably no other man in this country has his enthusiasm for mountains and glaciers . . . united with so rare a literary gift.”—John Burroughs
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Start earning points for buying books! Just for joining you’ll get personalized recommendations on your dashboard daily and features only for members. | <urn:uuid:8aed8984-5e85-47bf-9e12-5d55707f51e1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/118385/travels-in-alaska-by-john-muir-introduction-by-edward-hoagland/9780375760495/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570692.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20220807181008-20220807211008-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.936322 | 430 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Probio-Intensive. Did you know that more than 80% of our immune system is dependent on our intestinal health? This well-researched, high potency, new probiotic is specifically designed for use during and after antibiotics, to inhibit pathogens and to help restore a healthy gut flora. Each of the three bacterial strains: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium longum have been chosen for their ability to inhibit the most frequent intestinal pathogens, including E. coli, S. aureus, Candida albicans and C. difficile, and the combined strains act synergistically to combat intestinal infections more effectively. The formula is highly stable, being resistant to stomach acids and bile salts, which means that the bacteria do reach the colon alive. It is also heat resistant, travels easily and needs no refrigeration. Three vegetarian capsules supply 9 billion viable organisms. Tests show that more is not necessary.
Bulking agent: potato starch; vegetarian capsule: hydroxypropyl methylcellulose; probiotic mix: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium longum (from milk and soya), flow agent: magnesium stearate. (vegetarian source), (from milk).
Three capsules provide: In the order of 9 billion viable organisms at time of manufacture. Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium longum 135mg.
Adults take 1 capsule 3 times a day ( children over 8 years, take 1 capsule up twice a day), with a glass of water immediately before a meal, or as your health professional advises. Do not exceed recommended daily intake.
Do not refrigerate.
Always read product information, including warnings, directions and ingredients contained on actual product labels before using. If you have any safety concerns regarding a product contact the manufacturer. WWSM accepts no liability for inaccuracies in information given, or provided by manufacturers, nor for any loss or damage that may arise from use of the information contained within material on this website. Read our full Legal Disclaimer | <urn:uuid:e2f6a877-5b4b-4733-abeb-3bc3f32aa364> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.worldwideshoppingmall.co.uk/body-soul/probio-intensive.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00280-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903959 | 454 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Friday, September 12, 2008
"California lawmakers passed a bill aimed at cutting carbon-dioxide emissions by requiring cities and counties to prevent urban sprawl and improve public transportation. ... Transportation experts say they expect the bill to become a model for state and national policy makers. ... Compact projects built close to public-transportation options are rewarded with fewer regulatory hurdles. ... The bill is an example of how environmental concerns--and the regulatory burdens they entail are forcing opposing factions to hammer out compromises. ... At first, city governments opposed the bill, fearing it would encroach on their authority to determine land use. Home builders said it would raise the costs of bulding and owning a home. But after tough negotiations and much back-and-forth on the bill's wording, both groups are now among the legislation's supporters", my emphasis, Ana Campoy at the WSJ, 2 September 2008.
The bill will do nothing if it does not override local zoning restrictions. Why do small houses west of the Los Angeles "405" sell for $700,000+? Because of their site values! For the state of California to reduce urban sprawl, it must relax zoning restrictions and let multiple dwellings replace one-family homes. "Home builders ... are now among the legislation's supporters". Wow! If home builders support the bill, how can it serve the "people" of California's interests? | <urn:uuid:ce20a411-6913-4d28-81bf-c95ab6308677> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://skepticaltexascpa.blogspot.com/2008/09/california-sprawl.html | 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 | 0.922448 | 282 | 2.09375 | 2 |
The fact that NZ First was born in a hurry had important ramifications for the subsequent development of the party. In a matter of months, a party organisation had to be formed, policy developed, candidates selected and a general election fought. These formidable tasks were only ever partially achieved. The start-up was generally viewed as having been botched-up, as everything before and after the launch seemed to be mishandled. [Read more below]
In the tradition of Peters, there was a long build-up to the launch of the party – with Peters assiduously cultivating media interest and speculation. The new party was formally launched on Sunday 18 July 1993, at Alexander Park Raceway in Auckland. The launch was probably not as successful as Peters had expected it to be, especially since 'the projected 10,000-plus audience failed to materialise’ (Laws, 1998: p.233).
The event itself involved very little substance. Peters was unable to provide more than the most basic information about the new party. There was no naming of candidates, little information about the key figures in the party organisation and no policy details. The 15 so-called ‘policy principles’ included platitudes such as ‘putting New Zealand First’, ‘investing in health and education’, and ‘placing top priority on employment’. Peters continued to respond to questions about the party with the answer that all would be revealed ‘in due course’. This lent a certain irony to the launch, as Peters had previously ‘made so much mileage out of openness and democracy’ (Small, 23 July 1993:p.15).
The single biggest impression to come out of the launch – through the media – was that Peters was clearly pitching the party as one of populist nationalism:
There was no small measure of populist xenophobia in Peters' address. He told his audience the government had sold assets to people who did not even speak our language. Even the name of Peters' new party – New Zealand First – was implicitly a message of insularity: it was NZ against the world (Hames, 1995: pp.192-193).
The new name of the party was reminiscent of far right political parties such as “Australia First”. The title was also the same name as "New Zealand First" – the publication put out by the far-right League of Rights in Auckland in the early 1980s. However, the source of the name was probably from the New Zealand Liberal Party who used the slogan: "New Zealand First" in much of their political propaganda. The party colours – black and white – and party logo were also unveiled at the Alexandra Park Raceway launch – fitting in with the dominant nationalistic image.
In setting up NZ First, Peters did little to dispute the idea that he was a one-man band. There were few other prominent individuals associated with the party, and in the end, only one other parliamentarian joined the party: 'Gilbert Myles, having been in turn a National MP, an independent MP, a Liberal MP, and a Alliance MP, now discovered his true philosophical home as an NZ First MP' (Hames, 1995: p.195).
Two prominent individuals that became involved at this early stage were Cheryl and Ian Shearer who were key figures because of their significant political experience. Ian Shearer had been a Cabinet minister in the third National government, and was probably a conservative influence of the direction of the party (in particular with his early advocacy of an anti-immigration stance). Ian Shearer became party president and Cheryl Shearer became NZ First's office manager at Parliament.
[This blog post is part of a series about the history of the New Zealand First party. These posts are being published following the recent decline and then defeat of the party at the 2008 general election. Little academic research has been published on the Winston Peters phenomenon, despite the fact that he and his party have been central to parliamentary politics in New Zealand since the 1980s. Although this series focuses on the early years of New Zealand First, the later years will be dealt with in the future. Considered feedback from readers is very welcome.] | <urn:uuid:06daa9ab-f143-49cf-9847-313f90091f9f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2008/11/nz-first-party-history-4-the-launch.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00400-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986054 | 854 | 1.914063 | 2 |
The goal of the PlaySay Survival app is to take learning out of the classroom and make learning a language more fun.
You can learn pronunciation by using the app to complete a series of real-world missions in scenarios such as ordering food, introducing yourself, delivering a pick-up line, or asking someone for help.
In the app, which is the culmination of four years of work, you can open a conversation with someone in the network. If you are learning Spanish, the app asks you to say an introduction in that language. If you pronounce the greeting correctly, you can send the message to the other person, who then sends a reply.
San Francisco-based PlaySay uses speech-recognition technology from Nuance to evaluate your pronunciation and provide feedback. The app enables a conversation between people who are interested in language learning. PlaySay keeps score and tracks your points over time for the phrases you have learned. That adds a game-like element which can make learning more fun.
PlaySay contends that rivals such as Rosetta Stone, Voxy, MindSnacks, and LiveMocha haven’t kept learners engaged with language learning the way that Facebook has with its audience.
PlaySay has also secured a $250,000 funding as a follow-on to its earlier funding, and a licensing deal with HarperCollins, the largest foreign-language dictionary publisher in the world.
PlaySay has four employees and was founded in 2008. Ryan Meinzer, founder and chief executive of PlaySay, started the company out of his own need to learn Japanese (and speak to Japanese women).
“Technological advances in speech recognition and cloud technologies have enabled us to create this iPhone app that I am most proud of,” Meinzer said. “It will truly change the way people learn and communicate in foreign languages worldwide.”
The company has raised $820,000 to date from Novak Biddle Venture Partners, Kevin Yu (former director of PayPal Japan, and Sean Glass (founder of Higher One).
PlaySay previously tried to improve language learning by communicating in that language via pictures. That didn’t work out so well, since the learning wasn’t verbal and the options for extending the learning were limited. But the company learned a lot and it turned to the speech recognition technology. | <urn:uuid:81e86c4d-d31a-4689-be63-3665cc12ff9e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/01/playsay-gamifies-language-learning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279489.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00010-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950001 | 478 | 1.984375 | 2 |
This Week in AG History — September 17, 1927
By Darrin Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, Mon, 16 Sep 2013 – 4:24 PM CST
Stanley H. Frodsham, in a September 17, 1927, Pentecostal Evangel article, weighed in on the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy that was dividing mainline Protestant churches in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy referred to the debate sparked by theological liberals who sought to undermine traditional views on doctrine, ethics, and the authority of Scripture. Frodsham viewed this debate as evidence of a great “falling away” from the Christian faith.
Frodsham quoted extensively from an article by a liberal Protestant minister who praised efforts by theologians to reject “antiquated hokus-pokus” and “hallowed tradition” in their search for “truth and freedom.” The liberal minister approvingly noted that theologians were working to supplant “superstitious reverence” for the Bible.
What resulted from this spread of theological liberalism? The liberal minister admitted that these beliefs were responsible for the decline of mainline churches. He wrote, “Protestantism as an organized religious force shows signs of rapid disintegration.”
Frodsham warned that Pentecostal churches could easily become “contaminated with germs of faithlessness.” He wrote, “Church history gives us the story of declension after declension…We need to pray that we do not become lukewarm.” Frodsham admonished Pentecostals to avoid the mistakes of the mainline churches by continuing to offer “pure religion” and “spiritual food.”
Pentecostals, according to Frodsham, are “a people who stand for the absolute verbal inspiration of the Bible, and who accept that Book as the all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. When ungodly critics are denying all the miracles recorded in His Word, God is once more confirming His Word with signs following as at the beginning, witnessing to the truth of the Scriptures with both signs and wonders, and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost.”
Most mainline Protestant denominations experienced divisions in the 1920s and 1930s over the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy. Many conservatives who left mainline denominations helped to form what became the fundamentalist and evangelical movements. In the early 1940s, the Assemblies of God solidified its relationship with the broader evangelical movement and became a founding member of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Read the article by Stanley H. Frodsham, “From the Pentecostal Viewpoint,” on pages 2 and 3 of the September 17, 1927, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.
Also featured in this issue:
* “Soul Winning Methods” by Charles E. Robinson
* “What Hinders Your Healing?” by Carrie Judd Montgomery
And many more!
Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.
Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200 | <urn:uuid:9fde070e-e2d0-49b7-ae19-4a57cb6aed20> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://ifphc.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/the-fundamentalist-modernist-controversy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00113-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942476 | 772 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Its been 29 years since The Jamaican Bobsled teams historic Olympic debut made history in Calgary. History returned to Calgary on Thursday when three Nigerian women finished fifth in their qualifying race and will represent Nigeria as the first-ever African bobsled team to qualify for the Olympics, and the countrys first-ever representatives at the Winter Olympics.
Driver Seun Adigun (middle) and her brakewomen, Ngozi Onwumere (right) and Akuoma Omeoga (left), having a little fun dancing in an exclusive behind the scenes shot from their first ever photo shoot at a team! Photographer: Obi Grant Videographer: Obi Grant Song: Drake ft Big Sean – All Me
To put the magnitude of the accomplishment into perspective, there have been 22 Winter Olympics held in 19 cities dating back to 1924.
Nigerian Women Bobsled Team has qualified for 2018 Winter Olympics, first bobsled team ever to qualify from the African continent. Already sponsored by Under Armour & VISA.
As the world continues to shrink and color lines, categories and cultures are more frequently shared and hard to restrict, the changing landscape is often reflected in athletics. Over the past 25 years we have had an influx of people of color participating in sports that were traditionally and almost exclusively played and dominated by whites, from golf to fencing to tennis, rugby and auto racing. And now bobsledding.
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil was a showcase of firsts for African-American women in myriad sporting events. The 2018 Winter Olympics in Calgary has the potential to be groundbreaking as well.
Fighting freezing winds, bone-breaking speed and up to five g-force, the Nigerian women’s bobsleigh team are training hard in western Canada. Driver Seun Adigun and brakewomen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga are all former professional track and field athletes. Their practice times on the ice run are fast – and they are aiming for a historic first.
When the mens Jamaican Bobsled team debuted in the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, despite not placing well, they were the first of their kind in the history of winter sports and gained fame and recognition for breaking color barriers. The squad was an inspiration to athletes and one of the major storylines of that Olympic Games. A movie starring Malik Yoba was even made about their journey, Cool Runnings.
Expect the same for the team of Seun Adigun, a former Olympic hurdler in 2012 and former track and field athletes Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga. The women will head to Pyeongchang in South Korea in February of 2018 – ironically on the 30th anniversary of Jamaicas Bobsledding debut. Pyeongchang is the third Asian city to host the Winter Games after Sapporo, Japan (1972), and Nagano, Japan (1998).
The Texas-based trio will try to dethrone two-time defending gold medalist Canada. That will be a tough task and no one is expecting the women to ace their first Olympics, but don’t count out a group of strong women that have already broken into a market that is inconceivable and inaccessible to athletes from tropical areas with no snow. They are already legends and have finally put the great continent of Africa into the Winter Olympics mix. If they have any success at all, the cameras across the world will be there to capture and post their journey step by step. | <urn:uuid:7b0b2b44-cc4f-46af-a140-5b18af70eafe> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://theshadowleague.com/nigerian-women-s-bobsled-team-qualifies-for-2018-winter-olympics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571982.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813172349-20220813202349-00076.warc.gz | en | 0.959247 | 721 | 1.625 | 2 |
There is very nice example of pun and the many meanings of सुवर्ण in Hindi:
subirana ko DhoonDhata-phirata kavi, vyabhichArI, chora
subirana (hindi) = suvarNa (sanskrit)
kavi = poet
vyabhichArI = licentious person (one whose conduct is wanton)
chora (hindi) = chaura (sanskrit) = thief
So the saying goes, all of them are looking for सुवर्ण - the poet (looking for good letters/words/sounds), the wanton man (for the fairer complexion, women) and the thief (for gold).
Here are names of some of the colors as in Sanskrit. These are in masculine form. Most feminine are made by changing the last -aH to -aa, and neutral by changing it to -am like, श्वेत, श्वेता, श्वेतम् (shvetaH, shvetA, shvetam) or रक्तः, रक्ता, रक्तम् (raktaH, raktA, raktam).
|कापोत||kApotaH||dull white grey|
And the rainbow is called 'इन्द्र-धनुष' (indra-dhanuSha) or the bow of 'indra' - the king of the gods.
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(c) shashikant joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।
Practical Sanskrit. All rights reserved. Check us on Facebook | <urn:uuid:1b807257-435d-4fce-80b1-e7ee174cf35d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.practicalsanskrit.com/2010/08/how-colorful-is-your-life-colors-in.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00567-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.657225 | 526 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Screen Time Near Bedtime Means Less Sleep for Kids
MONDAY, Jan. 14 -- Children and teens who spend time watching television, playing video games or using the computer right before bedtime are likely to take longer to fall asleep than those who watch less or none, according to new research.
And that could add up to a sleep deficit, experts said.
"Reducing screen time in this pre-sleep window could be a good strategy for helping kids go to sleep earlier," said study leader Louise Foley, who was a researcher at the University of Auckland in New Zealand at the time of the study.
Foley and her team zeroed in on how much TV watching and video game playing children and teens, 5 to 18, did in the 90 minutes before their bedtime. They also looked at how long it took them to fall asleep. The more screen time, the longer it took to doze off.
The study was published online Jan. 14 and in the February print issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The findings are no surprise, said Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a distinguished professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, in Seattle. Christakis has studied the effects of media use on children.
"There is growing evidence that media use around sleep time is bad for sleep initiation," Christakis said.
The new study, he said, suggests that "it's not so much having a bedtime for your children. You have to have a bedtime for their devices."
Although previous research has found that television viewing and other "screen-time" activities are linked with a decline in the length of time children and teens sleep, the new study is believed to be the first to look at the pre-bedtime period by asking youth (or their parents, for the younger children) to account for their time in detail.
In the new study, the researchers found that about one-third of the 90 minutes before bedtime, on average, involved watching television, playing video games or working at the computer.
Engaging in such screen time, experts say, can cause arousal, making sleep difficult. The blue light from screens can affect circadian rhythms and adversely affect falling asleep.
Differences found between sleep onset were wide-ranging. For instance, those in the late group spent 13 more minutes of screen time before bed than did those in the early-to-sleep group.
Although the difference may seem small, it adds up to an hour less sleep over the school week.
The new study findings add to accumulating evidence about the problem of too little sleep in children and teens, said Dr. Roya Samuels, an attending pediatrician at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.
"We've seen so many studies over the past couple years that have concentrated on the effects of inadequate sleep," she said. It has been linked with "all sorts of detrimental consequences on kids' behavior patterns the next day -- increased aggression, being hyperactive."
Samuels blames lack of sleep in children and teens on a lack of proper winding-down activities -- and often that's because they are busy watching television or using the computer.
"Sleep is just as important in terms of growth and development as nutrition," she said. "Kids need adequate sleep to grow emotionally, physically and mentally. Two hours before bedtime should be calm time."
She said she realizes this is a challenge, with many parents juggling work and household and parenting demands, including homework supervision.
Foley suggested encouraging kids to try activities that don't take place on-screen. The entire family could participate in a non-screen activity such as arts and crafts together right before bedtime, she said.
"It's a lot easier for a child to reduce screen time if the whole family has made a commitment to watching less TV," she said.
How much sleep is enough? Although people vary in their needs, the National Sleep Foundation suggests preschoolers need about 11 to 13 hours, elementary school children about 10 or 11 hours and teens 8.5 to 9.25 hours.
To learn more about sleep needs, visit the National Sleep Foundation.
Posted: January 2013 | <urn:uuid:3c389c8c-b50c-40a0-9d2f-257e72b70643> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.drugs.com/news/screen-time-near-bedtime-means-less-sleep-kids-42542.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00548-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971159 | 856 | 3.3125 | 3 |
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Remaindered books are printed books that are no longer selling well and whose remaining unsold copies are liquidated by the publisher at greatly reduced prices. While the publisher may take a net loss on the sales of these books, they are able to recover at least some of their sunken costs on the sale and clear out space in the warehouses.
Copies of remaindered books may be marked by the publisher, distributor or bookseller, to prevent them from being returned. "Remainder marks" have varied over the years, but today most remainders are marked with a stroke with a felt-tipped marker across the top or bottom of the book's pages, near the spine.
Only hardcovers and trade paperbacks (paperback books, often larger than "pocket" paperbacks, sold "to the trade" or directly to sales outlets) are typically remaindered. Mass market paperbacks ("pocket" paperback books sold through a third-party distributor) usually become stripped books rather than remaindered books. A book that might retail for $20 will typically be purchased by someone specializing in remainders for $1 and resold for approximately $5.
In the United States
Since the Thor Power Tool Company v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue decision of 1979 in the United States and its adverse effects on the keeping of inventories for several years, books in the United States have been remaindered much earlier and in greater quantities than prior to the decision. Since that 1979 decision, the number of unsold books that have simply been destroyed (by being burned or recycled into paper or cardboard) instead of being sold at a large reduction has also risen greatly.
- Remainder Marks (from the International On-Line Booksellers Association)
- Cohen, Roger (1991-08-07). "Book Notes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- Kevin O'Donnell, Jr, "How Thor Power Hammered Publishing" in The Bulletin of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Spring 1993.
|This publishing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.| | <urn:uuid:ff354626-ef67-40fc-ae9f-1066a3b19c4a> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remaindered_book | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988717954.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183837-00508-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946402 | 474 | 2.125 | 2 |
Background Dental caries is the result of a complex interplay among environmental, behavioral, and genetic factors, with distinct patterns of decay likely due to specific etiologies. Therefore, global measures of decay, such as the DMFS index, may not be optimal for identifying risk factors that manifest as specific decay patterns, especially if the risk factors such as genetic susceptibility loci have small individual effects. We used two methods to extract patterns of decay from surface-level caries data in order to generate novel phenotypes with which to explore the genetic regulation of caries. Methods The 128 tooth surfaces of the permanent dentition were scored as carious or not by intra-oral examination for 1,068 participants aged 18 to 75 years from 664 biological families. Principal components analysis (PCA) and factor analysis (FA), two methods of identifying underlying patterns without a priori surface classifications, were applied to our data. Results The three strongest caries patterns identified by PCA recaptured variation represented by DMFS index (correlation, r = 0.97), pit and fissure surface caries (r = 0.95), and smooth surface caries (r = 0.89). However, together, these three patterns explained only 37% of the variability in the data, indicating that a priori caries measures are insufficient for fully quantifying caries variation. In comparison, the first pattern identified by FA was strongly correlated with pit and fissure surface caries (r = 0.81), but other identified patterns, including a second pattern representing caries of the maxillary incisors, were not representative of any previously defined caries indices. Some patterns identified by PCA and FA were heritable (h2 = 30-65%, p = 0.043-0.006), whereas other patterns were not, indicating both genetic and non-genetic etiologies of individual decay patterns. Conclusions This study demonstrates the use of decay patterns as novel phenotypes to assist in understanding the multifactorial nature of dental caries. | <urn:uuid:2fa08165-b43e-4735-ba27-18c01eb7259e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.mysciencework.com/publication/show/f142a9350b05165aacd692e0b3bc020b | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00540-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952431 | 416 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Rosalind Resnick is a New York-based freelance writer, entrepreneur, investor and author of The Vest Pocket Consultant's Secrets of Small Business Success.
It may be time to stop taking those longstanding relationships for granted.
Maintaining a diverse portfolio helps to insure both you and your investment portfolio will live to fight another day.
Starting a Business
While online stores appear to have the low-cost advantage over brick-and-mortar locations, looks can be deceiving.
Make More Happen
If you know your price is right, it's smarter to add a few useful extras than it is to charge less. Added value is worth more than a sale any day.
Unless you have other income streams, yes, you should.
As with any other investment, understand the risks before putting money in the pot.
Entrepreneurs with asset liquidity will be able to get loans in a tough environment.
Make sure your risk tolerance and investment strategy align.
What if an investor wants a role in running the business?
There are alternate places to find the working capital you need.
Think long-term when it comes to refinancing.
You have to build your experience before you can build your budget.
What you need to know about hiring a CFO. | <urn:uuid:5a9470f1-c44c-4bae-85fa-74e0748ef2ac> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/rosalind-resnick/5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282926.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00394-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907833 | 264 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Chemistry I: Balancing Equations Sample Problems
In this equations activity, students write formulas for reactants and products and balance the equations they write by placing the proper coefficients in front of the reactants and products.
10th - 12th Science 3 Views 5 Downloads
Fun with Predicting Reaction Products
Predict the product of these chemical reactions! Using hints on one page, chemists analyze 8 sample chemical reactions, predicting the products of the given reactants. If a reaction will not occur, students explain why. Answers are not...
9th - Higher Ed Science
Limiting Reactant Example Problem 1
Another problem from a chemistry textbook is utilized to illustrate the concept of Limiting Reactants. Sal sets up a reaction between carbon monoxide and hydrogen in order to produce methanol - which is the fuel used in race car engines....
19 mins 7th - 10th Science | <urn:uuid:6786aab2-603d-4141-9c06-f32f4371f889> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.lessonplanet.com/teachers/chemistry-i-balancing-equations-sample-problems | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718285.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00105-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.881573 | 182 | 4.15625 | 4 |
Robert Jay Lifton is well-known for his studies of the psychological processes of people involved in terrible events – from Nazi doctors to A-bomb survivors – and in this book he takes his studies further by looking at Aum ShinrikyÅ, its orientations, members and activities. Lifton sees the affair primarily in psychological terms (there is little chronicling of events or analysis of how the historical development of Aum impacted on its activities) and seeks to identify in particular the characteristics and psychological orientation of its guru, Asahara, as a dominant theme in the affair. Valuable as a study of how people involved in such events might think, Lifton’s work is especially helpful in identifying the ways in which people might engage in what to a rational outsider would look to be wholly implausible (as with Aum’s apparent plans to make chemical weapons and fight a cosmic war against much of the world) but that makes ‘sense’ from within the milieu and cultural orientations of those involved. He emphasises Asahara’s evident megalomania, and argues that he basically was something of a conman who put together a religious system by plundering ideas from across the religious spectrum – a view that does not wholly accord with how Aum developed, and with the reality that it had a core set of doctrinal positions from early on (critical of the material world, focused on the notion of world salvation and transformation) that were grounded in a religious world view not borrowed from elsewhere but developed from within Asahara’s beliefs. His portrayal of Asahara as a madman also is problematic on the level that, while Asahara had clearly suffered a breakdown as his self-proclaimed mission began to unravel in the period before the subway attack, and as he became more disturbed after his arrest in 1995, there is little cogent evidence from disciples to indicate he was mentally deranged at earlier phases of his leadership.
As such Lifton treats Aum’s religious nature more sceptically than many other commentators. The strengths of his work lie more in his discussions of how enclosed groups can create a ‘reality’ within their environment that becomes an overriding force and impels them towards actions that would appear crazy from a rational perspective. He provides a striking assessment of how an intelligent and highly educated group of elite Aum disciples were able to create and exist in a fantasy world in which they were detached from the realities of life and became increasingly embroiled in a world view centred on the creation of weapons with which to fight a war against the rest of humanity. Here Lifton can draw on his own extended and copious previous studies of groups (for example, the Nazi doctors he studied), that have created their own worlds (of delusion) and frameworks of justification and legitimation for their deeds, to show how such processes occurred also in Aum. Lifton’s title captures a key aspect of Aum’s fantasy, in which the world needed to be destroyed in order to purify it of what Aum saw as its evil, poisonous and threatening nature, and in which destruction and killing became legitimate acts designed, in the minds of their perpetrators, to save the very people who were being killed. Although he emphasises the Japanese social and cultural characteristics that he sees evident in Aum, he does not see Aum as simply a Japanese phenomenon, but shows how the patterns and themes it evoked are found in apocalyptic thinking elsewhere. In particular he links the Aum case to a variety of other examples well-known to scholars of religion, such as the denouement of Heaven’s Gate in California, the Jonestown murder-suicides of 1978, the Branch Davidians at Waco, and the apocalyptic aspects of the Christian Identity movement in the USA. As such, Lifton views Aum as an example of a wider pattern of violent fanatical attempts to inflict annihilation and destruction on the world. As he notes, these attempts are intensified by the potential availability of weapons of destruction in the modern world. As such, rather than being able to write Aum off as an isolated case occurring in a society rather distant culturally from the West, he argues that it serves as a warning and as evidence of the potentiality of such forms of violence that can be produced globally by other groups with similar apocalyptic orientations and with similar fascinations with the mechanisms of destruction.
- Author : Robert Jay Lifton
- Date : 1999
- Publisher : Metropolitan Books
- Place : New York
- Reviewer : Ian Reader | <urn:uuid:94c5f403-3bab-442b-b2c8-408ea4558ae6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.radicalisationresearch.org/research/lifton-1999-destroying/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.974375 | 933 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Easy Dos and Don'ts -
- Know emergency work procedures for electrical emergencies.
- Use ground fault circuit (GFCIs) receptacles.
- Remove plug from receptacle by pulling on the plug, not the cord.
- Wipe up spills immediately.
- Wear appropriate waterproof non-slip footwear.
- Be aware of hot equipment and steam.
- Use faulty equipment or damaged receptacles or connectors.
- Plug in electrical equipment with wet hands or while touching a wet or damp surface.
- Put your fingers on the prongs while you are inserting it into an outlet.
- Pull on cords to unplug them.
- Overfill carts or containers. | <urn:uuid:3a4b3a30-dfcc-453e-883d-eb5ab59d312e> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/youth/restaurant/poster_cleanup_text.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720962.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00386-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.715189 | 143 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Cashill's first point is that "Dreams From My Father" is just too damned good to have been written by someone who had not previously demonstrated literary promise. (Cashill dishes up a college-era poem -- about apes! -- that Obama himself calls "very bad.") This, of course, only goes to the issue of whether Obama had a ghostwriter (or a strong editor).
I read "Dreams From My Father" -- that is, I listened to Obama read it -- and I didn't think it was so brilliantly written. It had a creative-writing-class feeling to it that often made me feel a little embarrassed for the novice writer. There were so many times when the leaves or the sky were expressing his feelings and so forth. It was good, but earnest.
So where does Ayers come in? Cashill says "Ayers had the means, the motive, the time, the place and the literary ability to jumpstart Obama's career." That is, Ayers was there at exactly the time when Obama had been failing to produce the manuscript he contracted to write. Again, that's not much.
The most interesting part of Cashill's analysis compares the literary style of "Dreams" and the Ayers memoir "Fugitive Days" and notes a lack of similarity between "Dreams" and Obama's second book "The Audacity of Hope."
Ayers and Obama have a good deal in common. In the way of background, both grew up in comfortable white households and have struggled to find an identity as righteous black men ever since. Just as Obama resisted "the pure and heady breeze of privilege" to which he was exposed as a child, Ayers too resisted "white skin privilege" or at least tried to....Listening to "Dreams," what I heard was the sound of elite education, the way professors present race and gender issues. I wondered -- prompted by Obama's own new foreword to his book -- why he didn't tell us much more about his mother and why the father who contributed almost nothing to his life got to be the central figure in the story. My theory was that Obama was echoing professors and determined to produce a book about race. As he highlighted everything that had to do with race, I never trusted him to be telling us what his life really felt like to him at the time. The most honest admission in the book, to my ear, was the confession that he spent a huge chunk of his formative years watching TV sitcoms with his (white) grandfather.
Tellingly, Ayers, like Obama, began his career as a self-described "community organizer," Ayers in inner-city Cleveland, Obama in inner-city Chicago. In short, Ayers was fully capable of crawling inside Obama's head and relating in superior prose what the Dreams' author calls a "rage at the white world [that] needed no object."
Indeed, in Dreams, it is on the subject of black rage that Obama writes most eloquently. Phrases like "full of inarticulate resentments," "unruly maleness," "unadorned insistence on respect" and "withdrawal into a smaller and smaller coil of rage" lace the book.
In Fugitive Days, "rage" rules and in high style as well. Ayers tells of how his "rage got started" and how it evolved into an "uncontrollable rage -- fierce frenzy of fire and lava."
Cashill puts some stock in quantitative analysis:
The "Fugitive Days" excerpt scores a 54 on reading ease and a 12th grade reading level [in the Flesch Reading Ease Score]. The "Dreams'" excerpt scores a 54.8 on reading ease and a 12th grade reading level. Scores can range from 0 to 121, so hitting a nearly exact score matters.When I first read that, I asked my son John (by IM):
A more reliable data-driven way to prove authorship goes under the rubric "cusum analysis" or QSUM. This analysis begins with the measurement of sentence length, a significant and telling variable. To compare the two books, I selected thirty-sentence sequences from Dreams and Fugitive Days, each of which relates the author's entry into the world of "community organizing."
"Fugitive Days" averaged 23.13 words a sentence. "Dreams" averaged 23.36 words a sentence. By contrast, the memoir section of [Cashill's own memoir] "Sucker Punch" averaged 15 words a sentence.
Interestingly, the 30-sentence sequence that I pulled from Obama's conventional political tract, Audacity of Hope, averages more than 29 words a sentence and clocks in with a 9th grade reading level, three levels below the earlier cited passages from "Dreams" and "Fugitive Days." The differential in the Audacity numbers should not surprise. By the time it was published in 2006, Obama was a public figure of some wealth, one who could afford editors and ghost writers.
do you think it's significant that Obama's first book is measured as written at the 12th grade level but his second book is at the 9th grade level?John said:
I'm not suggesting that he got dumber or anything
it's about the issue of ghostwriting
I think if he wrote it all himself both books would be at the same level
maybe he had more desire to simplify the book that involved policy, and took more liberties with the more novel-like book.Yes, that's the answer, of course. In "Dreams," Obama was trying to be literary, trying to impress elite readers with language, descriptions, and insight. And "Audacity" is trying to spell out policy for everyone.
I downloaded a Flesch Reading Ease Score calculator and put a lot of my blog text through it -- just my writing, no quoted stuff -- and then did a few my law review articles. The blog is written at the 9th grade level and all the articles were at the 11th grade level. The same person, writing for different purposes, writes at different grade levels.
The most interesting part of Cashill's analysis has to do with seafaring imagery. Ayers worked at sea for a time. "'I'd thought that when I signed on that I might write an American novel about a young man at sea,' says Ayers in his memoir, Fugitive Days, 'but I didn't have it in me.'" Though Ayers didn't write that seafaring novel, he brought a lot of seafaring imagery to Fugitive Days, Cashill shows. Then, oddly, there's a lot of seafaring imagery in "Dreams."
Ayers and Obama also speak often of waves and wind, Obama at least a dozen times on wind alone. "The wind wipes away my drowsiness, and I feel suddenly exposed," he writes in a typical passage. Both also make conspicuous use of the word "flutter."Mere confirmation bias? Or is Cashill onto something?
Not surprisingly, Ayers uses "ship" as a metaphor with some frequency. Early in the book he tells us that his mother is "the captain of her own ship," not a substantial one either but "a ragged thing with fatal leaks" launched into a "sea of carelessness."
Obama too finds himself "feeling like the first mate on a sinking ship." He also makes a metaphorical reference to "a tranquil sea." More intriguing is Obama's use of the word "ragged" as an adjective as in the highly poetic "ragged air" or "ragged laughter."
Both books use "storms" and "horizons" both as metaphor and as reality. Ayers writes poetically of an "unbounded horizon," and Obama writes of "boundless prairie storms" and poetic horizons-"violet horizon," "eastern horizon," "western horizon."
Ayers often speaks of "currents" and "pockets of calm" as does Obama, who uses both as nouns as in "a menacing calm" or "against the current" or "into the current." The metaphorical use of the word "tangled" might also derive from one's nautical adventures. Ayers writes of his "tangled love affairs" and Obama of his "tangled arguments." | <urn:uuid:0fcd764e-7596-41ee-82b6-c6cf2fcd40cd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://althouse.blogspot.com/2008/10/jack-cashills-strange-notion-that-bill.html?showComment=1223823120001 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00165-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980058 | 1,720 | 1.617188 | 2 |
LIMP: Large Image Manipulation Project
Library design is an imprecise art. It would be impractical to include in a design all possible uses for a library of any sufficient size or complexity. Thus, it is inevitable that many libraries (and programs) reach evolutionary dead ends, where newly anticipated uses or algorithms can no longer fit nicely into the existing architecture.
The quickest short term solution is usually to hack in new interfaces, but over time the accumulation of hacks tends to reduce the stability, understandability and maintainability of code. The software industry comes up against this problem often, but fortunately has found a simple yet elegant solution—start over. Usually, rewriting lower- to middle-level interfaces can remove the accumulation of hacks. However, if the design criteria in question are incorporated throughout the code, sometimes only a total rewrite can truly help.
This is not solely a trait of software design. Software engineering is an expression of mathematics in a confined space (your computer). Through this heritage, it shares traits with other inexact sciences such as physics, where rewriting or reworking theories is not uncommon.
During the last five years, I've written many image-processing algorithms, from specialized routines for machine vision to complete libraries for commercial video and aerial image-processing software. The last commercial library has been in use for three years and has weathered many interface changes and enhancements. But just as each library was in some ways an improvement over previous attempts, I saw ways to improve performance and capability. Following in the footsteps of the makers of the six million dollar man—I wanted to make it faster, smarter and better than before and at significantly reduced cost.
My commercial library had a large amount of code tied to it, so simply modifying the existing code was not an option. It seemed as if I would never be able to incorporate a new library into my commercial work because of enormous design incompatibilities. Rather than have this new library be destined to collect electronic dust on my hard drive, I decided to start completely from scratch as open source. In late November 1998, the Large Image Manipulation Program (LIMP) was born.
It's likely that even as open source, this library would have been inconspicuous enough to draw little, if any, attention. However, after a few months spent developing LIMP in my spare time, Open Source Remote Sensing (OSRS, http://remotesensing.org/) was born. I was thrilled at the thought of having an open source library that was actually useful to someone, so LIMP was moved to OSRS for public development.
The purpose of LIMP is to allow the processing of large images using a minimal amount of memory. A number of available libraries can be used for image processing, any of which could be used to give identical results. The differences between these libraries can often be summed up by answering a few questions:
Can the data be processed on demand, or must all the processed data be in memory or on disk?
How easy is it to write new algorithms for the library?
How efficient is it?
The simplest image processing library would first allow loading an image into memory, then provide pixel-level access to the data (read and write), and finally allow storing the data back to disk. Advantages of such a scheme include a simple set of interfaces and (given enough memory or small enough images) nearly optimal computational efficiency. Disadvantages include high memory usage and therefore poor scaling with image size or number of images.
If memory usage is not a problem, this would be the optimal way of dealing with images. Unfortunately, memory cannot yet be considered infinite for many image-processing demands. As an example, the very first test of my last commercial library was to load 1200 images consisting of 300 gigabytes of data and display them at once. Actual processing was done in blocks of images to avoid having a failure wipe out weeks of processing time. In an attempt to avoid repeating historical blunders, I would never say that no one will ever have several hundred gigabytes of memory. I imagine when that time comes, people will work with even larger data sets.
In handling large images, many proprietary libraries reduce memory usage by sacrificing ease of use and efficiency. Great lengths can be taken to reduce the loss, but all such libraries are at a slight disadvantage in these areas and LIMP is no exception.
By learning from past experiences, many interfaces in LIMP have been designed to promote speed-enhancing optimizations as well as to group complex code into a few internal locations, where they can be more easily maintained. Because complex code is grouped into reusable templates, many types of functions and conversions can be written without having to deal with any complexity that would normally be encountered in large image processing.
- A Switch for Your Pi
- Papa's Got a Brand New NAS
- Applied Expert Systems, Inc.'s CleverView for TCP/IP on Linux
- Returning Values from Bash Functions
- Simplenote, Simply Awesome!
- Rogue Wave Software's TotalView for HPC and CodeDynamics
- Tech Tip: Really Simple HTTP Server with Python
- Panther MPC, Inc.'s Panther Alpha
- Debugging Democracy
- NethServer: Linux without All That Linux Stuff | <urn:uuid:2eaeb390-f6cc-4602-9784-1292c871d643> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3492?quicktabs_1=1 | 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 | 0.952252 | 1,075 | 1.9375 | 2 |
If you need staircases in your home, office, or business premises, installing steel ones is a great way to add a contemporary look to your space. Other than the aesthetics that come with steel staircases, they’re also durable. This means you won’t need to replace them for years to come.
For people who choose to install steel staircases on the external part of a building to connect different floors, the best option to use is galvanized steel. This type of steel has a zinc coating that protects it from rust and other elements, which can corrode it over time. For interior staircases, most people use powder-coated steel, which is available in different colors.
Whether you have steel staircases inside or outside a building, here’s how you can maintain them and ensure that they’re in good shape throughout:
1.Wash Exterior Staircases With Powder Wash
If your steel staircases are outside the building, maintaining them is pretty easy. To clean them up, get a powder wash and use it to remove debris or any other dirt that may have accumulated on the stairs. As you clean the staircases, focus more on welded and joint areas as those can hide dirt. You can use an industrial machine or a household machine to clean the staircases.
However, this mode of cleaning is best suited for staircases that are made from galvanized steel. If your steel staircases are coated with a powder coating, avoid using industrial machines to clean them. Doing so will remove the powder coating off the steel.
To avoid this kind of damage, consider using a bucket with warm soapy water and a sponge or a microfiber cloth to scrub grim or dirt off the steel staircases. Once you’re done scrubbing, rinse the staircases off using an ordinary hosepipe.
2.Clean Your Staircases Regularly
You can keep your interior steel stairs in good shape by simply cleaning them regularly. Whenever you’re cleaning staircases, always begin from the top moving down. Using a broom, sweep the staircases to remove any debris or dust as you move downwards. When you get the dirt to the last step, you can use a vacuum cleaner to pick it up.
After sweeping the staircases, use a mop to clean them thoroughly. To do this, you’ll need to fill your mopping bucket with a mix of warm water and a cleaning liquid that’s designed for metals.
Using the solution, mop the staircases. As you do the mopping, pay attention to any rust stains that may have formed on the staircases and remove them using the mop.
3.Avoid Harsh Cleaning Products
When cleaning steel staircases, it’s important that you avoid the use of rough or harsh cleaning products. Using abrasive powders, metallic scourers, and silver or brass cleaners will spoil the finishing that you have on steel.
Also, don’t use steel wool, sandpaper, chlorine, or hydrochloric acid to clean steel staircases. These cleaning agents will interfere with the finishing on the steel surfaces, either staircases or windows. To maintain your steel staircases properly, use mild but quality cleaning products, keeping your staircase surfaces in good condition.
4.Protect Steel Staircases From Rust
If there are air-borne pollutants where you live, there’s a high possibility that your steel staircases will begin to corrode and rust. This happens because the dust that lands on the steel surface is gradually absorbed by moisture. The moisture then causes the steel to rust. If left unattended, the rust begins to corrode the surface with time.
To keep your steel staircases from rusting, you’ll need to add a protective coating to keep the moisture away. Car wax is a great coating to use because it’s readily available and easy to apply. Consider using this product to maintain your steel staircases and considerably extending their lifespan.
5.Apply Fresh Coatings
After using steel staircases for a long time, there’s a high likelihood that the coating will start to come off. This will make the steel surface to become rough. The staircases will also begin to look old due to corrosion that occurs over time. Look out for all the corroded areas and sand them away to remove dust.
Using a microfiber cloth, clean the grit off before applying a primer. Allow the primer time to dry up before applying metal vanish that works well in restoring the patch. To give the staircases a new visually appealing look, apply a new coat of varnish on the staircases as well as staircase railings. Doing this will restore the quality and appearance of the staircases.
6.Fix Any Loose Nuts
With time, the welded and joined parts of steel staircases are bound to become loose. The nuts may come off, causing the staircases to loosen up. To maintain steel staircases and ensure that they serve you for a long time, you’ll need to check the staircases for any loose nuts and fasten them accordingly.
As you look for loose nuts, pay attention to the welded sections and have them welded back if they’re loose. Fixing any loose nuts and welded portions will ensure that your steel staircases serve you for a long time, without requiring extensive restoration or replacement works.
Steel staircases are among the most functional stairs that you can install in your home, business premises, or office. These types of staircases offer several benefits to home and business owners. Also, they’re highly affordable, durable, and easy to maintain compared to other staircases in the market.
However, you’ll need to maintain steel staircases well in order to enjoy these benefits. If they’re not maintained properly, steel staircases can get stained, rusty, and corroded with time. This makes them lose their appeal and functionality.
To keep this from happening, ensure that you clean your steel staircases regularly. Avoid using harsh cleaning products. Instead, use mild detergents to clean your stairs. Also, keep your steel stairs looking sleek and fresh by applying a fresh coating occasionally. Lastly, get any loose nuts and welded joints fixed. | <urn:uuid:e15e7056-18d3-4a05-928f-4b4779b8dd56> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://abbywebservices.com/blogs/news/6-maintenance-tips-for-steel-staircases | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572043.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814143522-20220814173522-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.927398 | 1,305 | 1.929688 | 2 |
Shadow of Mordor lengthens
Event Type: Military/Strategic
Age: 3rd Age - The Stewards
Sauron extends his evil influence to Saruman, who in turn begins to trouble Rohan:
The shadow of Mordor lengthens. Saruman dares to use the palantír of Orthanc, but becomes ensnared by Sauron....
The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Tale of Years: The Third Age
At that time Sauron had arisen again, and the shadow of Mordor reached out to Rohan. Orcs began to raid in the eastern regions and slay or steal horses. Others also came down from the Misty Mountains, many being great uruks in the service of Saruman, though it was long before that was suspected. Éomund's chief charge lay in the east marches.... If news came of a raid he would often ride against them.... Thus it came about that he was slain in 3002; for he pursued a small band to the borders of the Emyn Muil, and was there surprised by a strong force that lay in wait in the rocks.
Not long after Théodwyn took sick and died.... Éomer and Éowyn grew up at Edoras and saw the dark shadow fall on the halls of Théoden.
The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: The House of Eorl: The Kings of the Mark
Elena Tiriel 21Oct05 | <urn:uuid:947e59c0-cd43-46e4-8dd5-d35cdae0c84b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://henneth-annun.net/events_view.cfm?EVID=834 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00210-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948241 | 313 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Now that you've studied the concepts on which Direct3D operates, let's start diving into the practical end of things by building a simple Direct3D program. In this program we'll just initialize Direct3D. It isn't much, it's not even "Hello World", but it's a good start.
Before we get to the actual Direct3D code, let's talk about code organization. Let's make a file for all our DirectX code, and a separate file for all the window code we've written so far.
I'll make it quick. We'll add two files: Game.cpp and Game.h.
Game.h should have:
using namespace Microsoft::WRL;
using namespace Windows::UI::Core;
using namespace DirectX;
Inside our header we have a few namespaces we'll need access to, and a simple class called CGame to organize our game code.
In Initialize() we'll put our startup code. We'll be dealing with this function in this lesson.
Update() is where we'll put any code that manipulates your game, such as timing and input.
Render() is where we'll draw graphics.
Of course, you can add anything else you want, and you will as we go on.
Game.cpp should have:
// this function initializes and prepares Direct3D for use
// this function performs updates to the state of the game
// this function renders a single frame of 3D graphics
Nothing exciting here.
In our main source file (which I've been calling App.cpp) we should add some things. First of all, game.h:
Next, add a Game class to our App class:
ref class App sealed : public IFrameworkView
And also update the Run() function:
virtual void Run()
CoreWindow^ Window = CoreWindow::GetForCurrentThread();
What we are doing here is calling Initialize() when we start our program, then calling Update() and Render() repeatedly, one after the other, until we quit.
Okay, back to the lesson now.
And COM is what?
COM stands for Component Object Model. COM is a method of creating very advanced objects that, well, they act a lot like Legos actually.
Legos, as you know, can be stuck together to create more advanced shapes. No single Lego actually cares about any other Lego in the set. They are all compatible with each other, and all you have to do is stick them together to get them to work. If you want to change pieces, all you have to do is unplug one piece and put another in its place.
And so it is with COM. COM objects are actually C++ classes or groups of classes from which you can call functions and achieve certain aims. No class requires another to operate, and they don't really need to work together to get things done together, but you can plug them in or unplug them as you desire without changing the rest of the program also.
I won't get too detailed into COM, because it is far too complex for what we need. It's job is to get all the complex stuff out of the way so that you have an easy time. And if that's its job, what would be the purpose of learning all that complex material?
So why COM? Well, DirectX is actually a series of COM objects, one of which is Direct3D. Direct3D is a COM object that has other COM objects inside it. Ultimately, it contains everything you need to run 2D and 3D graphics using software, hardware, or whateverware.
So because Direct3D is already stored in classes, don't be surprised when you see Direct3D functions being called like this:
We use the indirect member access operator to access the functions CreateRenderTargetView() and Release() from a Direct3D class. We'll get more into this when we see how it is applied in practice. I'm going to try to avoid unneeded theory from here on out.
Even though COM's job is to hide all the complexity, there are a few things you should know about it.
1. A COM object is a class or set of classes controlled by an interface. When we create an instance of a COM object, we don't create it directly, we create an interface, and access the object through that.
2. Interfaces are easy to identify, because they typically start with an 'I', such as 'IMyCOMObject'.
3. Under the hood, COM can get quite complex and be a real pain in the ass. Fortunately COM makes use of something called a smart pointer, which is really just a special class that understands COM and takes care of the whole mess for us.
Creating and using a COM object is simple. Creating one looks like this:
// Create a pointer to the COM interface
// Create the COM object
Here, we are creating an IMyCOMObject and naming it MyObject. We then create the object using the CreateObject() function.
In the first line, we create a pointer to the COM interface. ComPtr is a smart pointer for COM objects. We'll use this a lot in DirectX.
Inside the template parameters, we put what kind of COM interface we are creating. In this case, it's IMyCOMObject.
In the second line, we create the COM object and store the interface address in MyObject. To clarify, CreateObject() is a made-up function. Each COM object type has its own way of being created, and we'll learn what these are as we move forward.
This section barely scratches the surface of COM. It really is a full subject of its own and deserves intesive study by any serious programmer.
However, we'll stop here and get on with the lesson.
At the very core of Direct3D are two COM objects. These are called the device and the device context.
The device object is a virtual representation of your video adapter. Through it we access the video memory and create other Direct3D COM objects, such as graphics and special effects.
The device context object is a sort of "control panel" for the GPU. Through it we control the rendering sequence and the process that translates 3D models into a final, 2D image on the screen.
The interfaces for these objects are called ID3D11Device1 and ID3D11DeviceContext1. The '1' at the end of each indicates that the interface is used with DirectX 11.1 apps. DirectX 11 apps use ID3D11Device and ID3D11DeviceContext.
Let's start by defining these two interfaces inside our Game class. It will look like this:
ComPtr<ID3D11Device1> dev; // the device interface
ComPtr<ID3D11DeviceContext1> devcon; // the device context interface
In case you missed it, a ComPtr is a special class that wraps up a lot of the complexities created by COM. It acts like a pointer, but does some other neat tricks too.
The first step to actually coding Direct3D is to create the above two COM objects and initialize them. This is done by using a single function. Let's take a look at this function here, then go over its parts. I didn't bother to bold the new parts, because the entire thing is new.
// this function initializes and prepares Direct3D for use
// Define temporary pointers to a device and a device context
// Create the device and device context objects
// Convert the pointers from the DirectX 11 versions to the DirectX 11.1 versions
The comments are rather vague, so I've described each part of this code below.
There is no function that directly creates ID3D11Device1 and ID3D11DeviceContext1 interfaces. Instead the function creates their Direct3D 11 equivalents: ID3D11Device and ID3D11DeviceContext, without the 1 at the ends.
We'll create the objects using the Direct3D 11 interfaces, then convert them to the 11.1 versions later.
This is a long function. Its job is to initialize Direct3D and to create the device and device context objects. As simple as its job is, it has many parameters, but it's not hard to use.
Here is the function prototype:
Like I said, a lot of parameters. Now let's go into them and find out what they do.
This is a pointer to an interface that describes the graphics adapter, or video card, Direct3D should use. We could get detailed here and try to find the better graphics card, but we'll let Direct3D take care of that for us (because in most cases there's only one anyway). To tell Direct3D that it needs to decide for us, we put into this parameter the value nullptr, indicating that we are not providing a graphics adapter. If there is more than one, Direct3D will figure it out for us.
While there are six possible values for this parameter, we are only going to be concerned with one of them, and stay away from the others until later. The one we will use is D3D_DRIVER_TYPE_HARDWARE.
D3D_DRIVER_TYPE_HARDWARE tells Direct3D to use the hardware accelerated graphics chip to process graphics (and we would use...what else?)
One of the options in the driver type parameter allows us to build our own software engine. This parameter is where we include that software engine. However, we want hardware and so we'll just insert another nullptr here.
Flags are typically predefined integers which can be combined using a logical OR (like, FLAG1 | FLAG2 | FLAG3). This makes them handy for setting advanced customization in a function call.
None of the flags that this function accepts are useful to us right now, and so we'll set this parameter to a simple '0'.
If you're interested, the flags can be found here.
Each major version of Direct3D has a series of video card features that are required. If you know what version your hardware meets the requirements of, you can more easily understand the capabilities of the hardware (given that your customers will have different video cards).
This parameter allows you to create a list of feature levels. This list tells Direct3D what features you are expecting your program to work with.
For this tutorial you will not need any advanced hardware, and so we will not get into this parameter. We can set it to nullptr, and we won't have to worry about it.
This parameter indicates how many feature levels you had in your list. We'll just put 0.
This parameter is always the same: D3D11_SDK_VERSION. Why is this? Well, it really only matters for compatibility on other machines. Each machine will usually have varying minor versions of DirectX. This tells the user's DirectX which version you developed your game for. The user's DirectX can then look back and properly execute your program without implementing the changes that have occurred since then.
In different versions of the SDK, this value returns different numbers. Note that you should not change this value, as it causes confusion and isn't really needed anyway. Just use D3D11_SDK_VERSION, and everything will work out all right.
This is a pointer to a pointer to the device interface. This function will create the object for us, and the address of the interface will be stored in our smart pointer. All the work is done for us!
All we do here is put the location of the smart pointer: '&dev11'
Remember, we are using our temporary pointer, not the actual pointer in our class definition.
More about feature levels. This is a pointer to a feature level variable. When the function is completed, the variable will be filled with the flag of the highest feature level that was found. This lets the programmer know what hardware is available for him to use. We'll just set this to nullptr, because we don't care at this point.
This is a pointer to a pointer to the device context object. We defined this pointer as 'devcon11', so we'll put '&devcon11' in this parameter. It will then be filled with the address of the device context interface.
Well! That was quite a function! But it wasn't too hard. Most of the parameters were left blank.
The As() function is a member of the ComPtr class. Its job is to store the interface it represents into another ComPtr.
The ID3D11CreateDevice() function created an ID3D11Device and an ID3D11DeviceContext, but we need ID3D11Device1 and ID3D11DeviceContext1. We use the As() function in dev11 and devcon11, use '&dev' and '&devcon' as parameters, and presto! Our original ComPtrs point to our Direct3D interfaces!
Well, that was quite a start, but it will go downhill from here.
Let's take a look at what we just did. Following is the code we added to our program. The new parts are now in bold.
And that's it! If you run this program you should get...a simple blank screen, just like before. Only this time, Direct3D is running in the background!
Well, are you ready to go on?
It isn't much yet, but you have begun the journey into the near-infinite depths of 3D game programming. You've created a window and gotten DirectX start up.
At the end of each lesson, I'll ask a few questions and give a few exercises. If you can do these, you'll be ready for the lessons to come.
1. What is COM? How do you create new instances of COM objects?
2. What is the difference between the device and the device context?
1. Instead of creating an ID3D11Device1 and an ID3D11DeviceContext1, create their Direct3D 11 equivalents.
Next Lesson: Preparing the Swap Chain
GO! GO! GO!
© 2006-2017 DirectXTutorial.com. All Rights Reserved. Expand | <urn:uuid:5bced38d-2341-49e5-9644-425867da5d2a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://directxtutorial.com/Lesson.aspx?lessonid=111-4-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280065.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00550-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898952 | 2,977 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Amity Law School Lucknow’s National Seminar on “Right of Child & The Future of India: Don’t employ us, empower us.”
Amity Law School , Amity University Uttar Pradesh Lucknow Campus.
26th September 2016
- The proposed seminar will strike a fine balance between:
- Taking care of the protection of the children by their parents and;
- Taking extra care about the recognition of rights including legal, civil, cultural, economic rights independent of their parents.
- This seminar will focus on critical evaluation of the existing mechanism which has been put in place for the protection of children.
- As the children form the future of the country, this seminar aims at making effective child care structure after analysing the socio-economic factors which prompt then to come in conflict with law.
- This seminar will give voice to the children and enable them to feel safe by speaking for themselves and by reporting abuse, exploitation and injustice they are suffering from.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Academicians, Professionals and Students.
The Seminar will be divided into two interactive sessions/focused group discussions, each session shall have Chairman and Co-Chairman and key theme paper presentation by the participants.
SESSION 1: CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
a. Criminal Liabilities of Children & Juvenile Justice in India.
b. Recent Criminal Amendments relating to Juveniles.
c. Drug Addiction & Crimes.
d. A Critical Analysis of POCSO Act.
SESSION 2: CONSTITUTIONAL PROSPECTIVE OF RIGHTS OF CHILDREN: ISSUES & CHALLENGES
a. Child Rights Covered under Indian Constitution.
b. Rights of Child in Global Context.
c. Right to Education: 86th Indian Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002
d. Protection from Child Labour & Exploitation: Critical Examination.
GUIDELINES FOR PAPER SUBMISSSION
- Abstract should not be more than 250 words and a maximum of 5 (five) relevant keywords.
- Full paper – 2500 words minimum excluding references and footnoting (Descriptive footnotes and substantive text in the footnotes is not permitted).
- Footnotes must follow The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Harvard, 19th Edition).
- Abstract & Full Paper is to be submitted as soft copy only in MS Word format (Typed in Times New Roman, 14 point Heading and 12 point normal text with 1.5 spacing & 10 point with 1.0 spacing for footnotes).
- A separate MS Word file should be submitted which contains the article title, followed by author’s name, affiliation, communication address, e-mail and phone details.
- A declaration waiving the copyright by author and stating that all submissions are original and bona fide work of the author.
- No part of the submitted paper should contain any form of identification of the author or any such information if found would lead to disqualification.
- Only 1 (one) co-author is permitted.
- All papers (abstract and full) must be submitted on [email protected] under the subject name: “NATIONAL SEMINAR, 2016- TITLE –AUTHOR’S NAME”.
CERTIFICATE OF PARTICIPATION
- Certificate of participation/paper presentation will be issued to those who participate/present paper themselves.
- Those whose paper are accepted, but do not attend the seminar will not get the certificate.
- Last date of registration (Abstract & Author’s details via e-mail): 15th September, 2016 (23:59 hrs.)
- Last date for Full Paper Submission via e-mail: 22nd September, 2016 (23:59 hrs.)
Professional participants : ₨ 1500 /-
Students participants: ₨ 1000 /-
Amity University, Lucknow Campus: ₨ 800 /-
Registration fee can be submitted during on campus registration through cash or Demand Draft only.
Demand Draft should be in favour of “Amity University Uttar Pradesh” payable at Lucknow.
ACCOMMODATION & TRAVEL
No accommodation or travel will be provided to any of the participants.
- Ms. Shashaya Mishra : +91 9454362378 [email protected]
- Mr. Abhishek Bhardwaj : +91 7376072211 [email protected]
- For any further clarification: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:a6b85a03-f4ba-426d-b30b-e4bc53aa8f3c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.lawctopus.com/amity-law-school-lucknows-national-seminar-right-child-future-india/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280761.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00089-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.843892 | 941 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Spark interest in STEM with your elementary and middle school students! All our solutions use interactive curriculum, virtual reality, eLearning and hands-on technology to make learning fun.
We offer a wide range of products that introduce basic concepts in science, robotics, computer science and programming, engineering, Industry 4.0, 3D printing and more.
Our solutions include interactive online eLearning, project kits, classroom equipment, software and curriculum. Our team will work with you from consultation, to choosing the right curriculum and equipment for your program, to installation and instructor training. | <urn:uuid:f18bc48c-29ca-4ae3-95a5-4335ce696cc0> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://atsmich.com/programs/k-8/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573172.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818063910-20220818093910-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.909745 | 115 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Mary Lou Vallano
Arts and Science
Capstone Prize Winner
Won Capstone Funding
Sciences and Engineering
Biology | Laboratory and Basic Science Research | Neuroscience and Neurobiology
In January 2010, I started work as an undergraduate research assistant at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Dr. Mary Lou Vallano’s laboratory in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology. My research project was part of a collaborative effort with the laboratory of Dr. Eric Deshaies, a vascular neurosurgeon at Upstate. The goal was to establish a rodent model of subarachnoid hemorrhage and delayed vasospasm, and to test possible protective strategies. We used an adult rat model, in which two injections of autologous blood were given in the cisterna magna region of the brain. Analysis was done using a combination of histology, immunohistochemistry, and molecular biology to examine vasospasm in the basilar artery, and changes in the surrounding neural tissues. Based on Dr. Deshaies’ patient information and clinical work, we examined whether exercise preconditioning or the injection of stannous chloride would decrease the inflammatory response and the occurrence or intensity of vasospasm. Our results indicate that the model is working, and they point to the possible protective effect of stannous chloride.
Wendel, Sarah Katherine Jane, "Modeling Hemorrhagic Stroke and Vasospasm in the Rodent" (2011). Honors Capstone Projects - All. 256.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. | <urn:uuid:1d9aac69-cde8-468d-aff2-39478de7a77a> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/256/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00078.warc.gz | en | 0.855241 | 427 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The International Code flags and pennants enable mariners to communicate regardless of differences of language. In the armies and navies of the various nations of the world, flags are used for signaling. The white flag is used universally for truce; the black in early times was a symbol for piracy; the red symbolizes mutiny or revolution; the yellow is a sign of infectious diseases. Shipping lines have their own flags. Striking a flag signifies surrender, and the flag of a victor is hoisted above that of the vanquished. A flag flown at half-mast is the symbol of mourning. The inverted national ensign is a signal of distress.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:a297dfd7-6344-4b99-967a-ae772db5e3cc> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/history/flag-symbolic-cloth-signaling-communication.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00521-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.875758 | 152 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Irish midlands set to supply UK with up to 5,000MW of wind energy from 2017
At the official opening of its new office in Edenderry, Co Offaly Eddie O’Connor’s global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power has unveiled its plans for the 5,000MW “Energy Bridge” wind park in the midlands which will export power to plug the UK’s energy gap starting in 2017. The Company has already invested over €500,000 to secure a grid connection to the UK and has identified 900 eligible landowners in the midlands to site the wind turbines.
Last week Ireland’s Energy Minister Pat Rabitte met with the UK’s Energy and Climate Change Minister Charles Hendry to discuss the opportunity and have agreed to have a Memorandum of Understanding in place by October of this year.
The wind farms and the cables will be completely separate to Ireland’s existing electricity system and will not be paid for by the Irish consumer. All of the cables will be entirely underground so will not be visible at any point. Once fully operational “Energy Bridge” will bring the following benefits:
• €34 million every year in County Council rates.
• 54,000 new jobs in manufacturing, construction and operations & maintenance.
• €2.5 billion every year in export revenue.
• €12 billion in tax revenues over 25 years.
Commenting at the opening in Edenderry Eddie O’Connor said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Ireland and especially the midlands; we’re going to supply the UK with a big chunk of its electricity needs, generating €2.5 billion per annum in revenue which is almost the same as our dairy exports last year.
He continued: Let me stress that this will not be paid for by the Irish consumer but the benefits to Ireland will be enormous. Germany today creates eight direct jobs for each MW installed and then another two to three indirect jobs. We’re talking about 5,000MW so we can realistically create 54,000 new jobs through manufacturing, construction and long-term operations and maintenance.”
Also at the opening, Mainstream’s Development Manager for Ireland Diarmuid Twomey said:
“We’ve spent the past year undertaking analysis to identify the most appropriate areas to site the onshore wind farms. These areas are already designated for wind farm development by the local authority, are in sparsely populated areas and have good wind speeds. We have identified about 900 eligible private landowners, half of which are required to make the project viable. A big advantage for farmers is that the land can continue to be used for farming purposes when the turbines are erected. Animals can continue to graze around them and crops can be sewn right up to the base of the turbine, which occupies less than half an acre. This is an opportunity to generate a very substantial and guaranteed revenue stream over a 25 year period which will have minimal impact on the land, providing an additional revenue to future generations of farmers. There are strict guidelines in terms of where we can site the turbines, only in certain places according to the county development plan. Now that we have our office in Edenderry we’d like to invite people to drop in if they have any questions or even if they just want to know more about wind energy.” | <urn:uuid:b04ce0b5-6ca3-47a8-aad2-33d9282e6e3b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://mainstreamrp.com/mega-scale-energy-bridge-to-transform-irish-midlands-into-europes-renewable-energy-hub/ | 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 | 0.934966 | 700 | 1.820313 | 2 |
|Bookshelf Home | Contents | Index | PDF|
Creating and executing a query is the fundamental task associated with the Log File Analyzer (LFA). Creating saved queries is a task in the Process for Analyzing Log Files with LFA.
The LFA saves the results of each query to memory or saves it to a text file. See Displaying Saved Query Output for details on displaying saved queries. For details on saving output to a text file, see Saving Log File Analyzer Output to Text Files.
To stop a query before it finishes, see Interrupting Log File Analyzer Queries.
|Siebel System Monitoring and Diagnostics Guide||Copyright © 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.| | <urn:uuid:276f3fbe-9152-41e6-8f85-4a4dc9aba2f5> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B40099_02/books/SysDiag/SysDiagLogAnlzr10.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279410.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00173-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.840637 | 158 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Firemen, medics, police and soldiers drilled for multiple emergencies at Chonburi’s Disaster Prevention Day.
Deputy Gov. Chawalit Saeng-Uthai presided over the Dec. 26 drills outside Chonburi City Hall.
The Cabinet in 2005 designated the day after Christmas as Disaster Prevention Day and all provinces undertake emergency-preparedness drills before launching campaigns to cut road deaths during the “seven dangerous days” of the New Year’s holiday.
Siwakorn Buapong, head of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said the campaign aims to raise awareness of road hazards to prevent casualties through Jan. 4. This also includes natural disaster response, how to act and handle such situations.
At the drill, fire trucks were present to conduct life-like fire disasters as well as evacuations from high-rise buildings. Lessons were given on proper fire extinguisher and equipment use.
Additionally, a group of medics from the Queen Savang Vadhana Hospital in Sriracha demonstrated how to treat patients affected by various disasters or those in road accidents.
Chawalit said New Year’s Eve is considered the busiest time of the year when people are traveling to spend time with their families and it is also holiday season for people from other countries to escape the cold.
Therefore, the risks of accidents and disasters are considered high and local authorities must practice regularly in case of real-life disasters and urge residents to follow safety regulations. (CPRD) | <urn:uuid:872d4fb2-aabe-4953-958b-923cf40a0449> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.pattayamail.com/news/chonburi-practices-disaster-response-160446 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00530-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95455 | 315 | 2.015625 | 2 |
It's difficult to go into any building these days--residential or commercial--without seeing a lot of melamine cabinetry and shelving. It's cheap, durable and straight with clean lines. Advances in medium density fiberboard (MDF)--the particle board under the melamine sheeting--have only heightened the appeal of melamine cabinets. The problem is that melamine can be a little dry aesthetically. However, it is easy and inexpensive to add a few accent details, and molding is a great place to start.
Things You'll Need
- Melamine Paint (optional)
Choose a molding that accents but doesn't overwhelm your cabinet. Real wood looks great next to melamine, but you may also opt for a unified look by purchasing melamine molding. Either way, choose a strategy and sketch out what you want the finished product to look like.
Clean your cabinet thoroughly. Consider using trisodium phosphate (TSP)--a heavy duty multi-purpose cleaner and degreaser--to ensure that all debris, dirt and grease are removed.
Cut your trim pieces using your miter box and saw. If you opted to add a rectangular molding to the door faces, for example, bevel each piece at 45 degrees to get a professional looking fit. Finish that with a matching trim at the top of the cabinet facing by mitering those pieces at 45 degrees. To bevel a trim piece, place the flat side down on the bottom of the box. To miter, place the flat side down against the rear fence.
Paint the cabinet before attaching your trim pieces, if you like. Begin by scuff sanding the cleaned surface with a 240 grit sandpaper and wipe away the dust. Apply a multi-surface primer or melamine primer and finish with melamine paint in the color of your choice. Follow the paint manufacturer's instructions for application. Some melamine paints call for a natural bristle brush, some work better with a foam brush and still others with a roller.
Measure for even placement of your trim accents, then liberally apply adhesive to the pieces. Press the molding into place on your door facings first, then weight them with a large, flat item like a coffee table book. Allow the adhesive to dry completely, then repeat these steps for the crown pieces. A clamp is a helpful way to hold the crown trim in place while the adhesive drys.
Tips & Warnings
- Create a more dramatic look by outlining the door facings with molding, then create an additional, smaller rectangle centered on each door.
- Always wear rubber gloves when cleaning with TSP.
- Use oil-based products in a well ventilated area.
How to Install Crown Molding for Kitchen Cabinets
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How to Install Molding Trim on Kitchen Cabinet Doors
You started with flat front cabinets because they were inexpensive and served their purpose, but now you want to jazz up your... | <urn:uuid:3041d82b-8e86-4c11-a637-7723bf4d7c6e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.ehow.com/how_5687504_add-molding-melamine-cabinets.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00490-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908776 | 785 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Economic Survey of Haryana
- Economic Survey of Haryana is a Budget Document which is presented to Haryana Vidhan Sabha at the time of Budget Session every year.
- It is a profile of key socio-economic activities and achievements in different sectors of the State Economy.
- It is prepared on the basis of responses received from various departments and other official publications.
Coverage of Economic Survey
1.Review of State Economy
- Primary Sector which comprises of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fishing and Mining Sectors.
- Secondary Sector which covers Manufacturing, Construction, Electricity, Gas and Water Supply Sectors.
- Tertiary Sector which comprises of Trade, Transport, Storage & Communication, Banking, Real Estate & Ownership of Dwellings, Public Administration and other Services Sectors.
- Index of Area, Yield and Agricultural Production.
- Index of Industrial Production.
- Price Situation.
- Public Distribution System and Procurement of Food Grains.
2. Achievements Under Poverty Alleviation & Welfare Schemes
Progress made under various Poverty Alleviation and Welfare Schemes.
3. Sectoral Review
Depicts the review of the performance of various sectors of the economy like Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Forest, Energy, Industries, Health and Education etc.
4. State Finances
Presents picture of the State Finances by depicting the various items of Revenue Receipts and Expenditure.
5. Banking and Credit
Provides Credit Plan and Information about deposits of Commercial Banks and advancing by various Banks.
6. Plan Strategy and Review
Presents the Outlay and Expenditure of Plan Schemes under various Five Year/Annual Plans and performance in different sectors such as development of Infrastructure, Social Services, Agricultural and Allied Activities etc. | <urn:uuid:eaff0222-e85d-4e26-b1ae-4045e1aeece9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://esaharyana.gov.in/economic-survey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571909.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813051311-20220813081311-00266.warc.gz | en | 0.884979 | 385 | 2.546875 | 3 |
By Matt Collette | Northeastern News | September 18, 2012
Matthias Ruth had long been interested in environmental issues but found it hard to use his own discipline—economics —as a tool to unite economic decision making with industrial and urban constraints. “Economists are really good at developing models of things that are traded in markets, but a lot of things we value—like the environment—have no market and no price,” said Ruth, who is joining Northeastern’s faculty this fall as a professor with joint appointments in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities’ School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs and the College of Engineering.
Ruth quickly found himself at the forefront of a new field, ecological economics, and discovered he would need to move from the development of theoretical models that do justice to core principles in economics, ecology and physics to models useful to decision makers. Much of his work uses real data to help industries reduce their carbon footprints while remaining competitive.
But he also investigates how cities plan for the next century because, he says, even if global carbon emissions were cut overnight, the earth will suffer the consequences of climate change for at least the next two centuries. While much attention is given to emissions from the industrial and transport sector of regional and national economies, comparatively little research is done on the options for cities to reduce the climate impacts and other environmental insults.
“We build infrastructure to last 100 years, but we build it with criteria based on the past,” Ruth said. “Climate is going to change—is already changing—the environment in which we live. We need to plan for the new conditions under which cities must operate.”
Ruth joins Northeastern from the University of Maryland, where he was the Roy F. Weston Chair in Natural Economics, founding director of the Center for Integrative Environmental Research, director of the Environmental Policy Program in the School of Policy and founding co-director of the Engineering and Public Policy Program in the A. James Clark School of Engineering and the School of Public Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in economics from the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg in Germany.
He hopes to continue his interdisciplinary approach to sustainability at Northeastern, working with a broad constituency to address climate and sustainability issues.
“These are problems that cannot be solved by one person in one discipline,” Ruth said.
Instead, he plans to engage people from across the university community to create new and innovative approaches to environmental challenges facing urban areas.
“I’m a firm believer that you have to live what you preach,” Ruth said. “Our own campus is a microcosm of the city. We must engage students, faculty, staff and the organizations in the community around campus to continue Northeastern’s commitment to sustainability research and practice, both on campus and across the globe.” | <urn:uuid:56ec10f5-2e3a-4320-9248-0c438731e62f> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.northeastern.edu/matthiasruth/an-economics-approach-to-sustainability/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00227-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961053 | 625 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Science: Y7 Exams
Year 7 will be doing a formal 1 hour exam in the first week of July. Content could include anything they have studied this year, and will be selected from the following topics: Particles, Separation techniques, Cells, Interdependence, Space, Earth, Acids, Metals, Reproduction.
Revision tasks have been set on the Doddle website.
Institution: Ralph Thoresby
Username: fullname18 Password: ralph | <urn:uuid:7f04189b-e885-49a9-a3ac-7bf5bbfd4002> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ralphthoresby.co.uk/science-y7-exams/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571222.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810222056-20220811012056-00678.warc.gz | en | 0.935821 | 101 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Confocal microscopy, most frequently confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), is an optical imaging technique for increasing optical resolution and contrast of a micrograph by means of adding a spatial pinhole placed at the confocal plane of the lens to eliminate out-of-focus light. It enables the reconstruction of three-dimensional structures from sets of images obtained at different depths (a process known as optical sectioning) within a thick object. This technique has gained popularity in the scientific and industrial communities and typical applications are in life sciences, semiconductor inspection and materials science.
A conventional microscope "sees" as far into the specimen as the light can penetrate, while a confocal microscope only "sees" images one depth level at a time. In effect, the CLSM achieves a controlled and highly limited depth of focus.
- 1 Basic concept
- 2 Techniques used for horizontal scanning
- 3 Resolution enhancement
- 4 Uses
- 5 Variants and enhancements
- 6 Images
- 7 History
- 8 See also
- 9 External links
- 10 References
The principle of confocal imaging was patented in 1957 by Marvin Minsky and aims to overcome some limitations of traditional wide-field fluorescence microscopes. In a conventional (i.e., wide-field) fluorescence microscope, the entire specimen is flooded evenly in light from a light source. All parts of the specimen in the optical path are excited at the same time and the resulting fluorescence is detected by the microscope's photodetector or camera including a large unfocused background part. In contrast, a confocal microscope uses point illumination (see Point Spread Function) and a pinhole in an optically conjugate plane in front of the detector to eliminate out-of-focus signal - the name "confocal" stems from this configuration. As only light produced by fluorescence very close to the focal plane can be detected, the image's optical resolution, particularly in the sample depth direction, is much better than that of wide-field microscopes. However, as much of the light from sample fluorescence is blocked at the pinhole, this increased resolution is at the cost of decreased signal intensity – so long exposures are often required. To offset this drop in signal after the pinhole, the light intensity is detected by a sensitive detector, usually a photomultiplier tube (PMT) or avalanche photodiode, transforming the light signal into an electrical one that is recorded by a computer.
As only one point in the sample is illuminated at a time, 2D or 3D imaging requires scanning over a regular raster (i.e., a rectangular pattern of parallel scanning lines) in the specimen. The beam is scanned across the sample in the horizontal plane by using one or more (servo controlled) oscillating mirrors. This scanning method usually has a low reaction latency and the scan speed can be varied. Slower scans provide a better signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in better contrast and higher resolution.
The achievable thickness of the focal plane is defined mostly by the wavelength of the used light divided by the numerical aperture of the objective lens, but also by the optical properties of the specimen. The thin optical sectioning possible makes these types of microscopes particularly good at 3D imaging and surface profiling of samples.
Successive slices make up a 'z-stack' which can either be processed by certain software to create a 3D image, or it is merged into a 2D stack (predominately the maximum pixel intensity is taken, other common methods include using the standard deviation or summing the pixels).
Confocal microscopy provides the capacity for direct, noninvasive, serial optical sectioning of intact, thick, living specimens with a minimum of sample preparation as well as a marginal improvement in lateral resolution. Biological samples are often treated with fluorescent dyes to make selected objects visible. However, the actual dye concentration can be low to minimize the disturbance of biological systems: some instruments can track single fluorescent molecules. Also, transgenic techniques can create organisms that produce their own fluorescent chimeric molecules (such as a fusion of GFP, green fluorescent protein with the protein of interest).
Techniques used for horizontal scanning
Four types of confocal microscopes are commercially available: Confocal laser scanning microscopes use multiple mirrors (typically 2 or 3 scanning linearly along the x and the y axis) to scan the laser across the sample and "descan" the image across a fixed pinhole and detector.
Spinning-disk (Nipkow disk) confocal microscopes use a series of moving pinholes on a disc to scan spots of light. Since a series of pinholes scans an area in parallel each pinhole is allowed to hover over a specific area for a longer amount of time thereby reducing the excitation energy needed to illuminate a sample when compared to laser scanning microscopes. Decreased excitation energy reduces photo-toxicity and photo-bleaching of a sample often making it the preferred system for imaging live cells or organisms.
Microlens enhanced or dual spinning disk confocal microscopes work under the same principles as spinning-disk confocal microscopes except a second spinning disk containing micro-lenses is placed before the spinning disk containing the pinholes. Every pinhole has an associated micro-lens. The micro-lenses act to capture a broad band of light and focus it into each pinhole significantly increasing the amount of light directed into each pinhole and reducing the amount of light blocked by the spinning disk. Microlens enhanced confocal microscopes are therefore significantly more sensitive than standard spinning disk systems. Yokogawa Electric invented this technology in 1992.
Programmable array microscopes (PAM) use an electronically controlled spatial light modulator (SLM) that produces a set of moving pinholes. The SLM is a device containing an array of pixels with some property (opacity, reflectivity or optical rotation) of the individual pixels that can be adjusted electronically. The SLM contains microelectromechanical mirrors or liquid crystal components. The image is usually acquired by a charge coupled device (CCD) camera.
Each of these classes of confocal microscope have particular advantages and disadvantages. Most systems are either optimized for recording speed (i.e. video capture) or high spatial resolution. Confocal laser scanning microscopes can have a programmable sampling density and very high resolutions while Nipkow and PAM use a fixed sampling density defined by the camera's resolution. Imaging frame rates are typically slower for single point laser scanning systems than spinning-disk or PAM systems. Commercial spinning-disk confocal microscopes achieve frame rates of over 50 per second – a desirable feature for dynamic observations such as live cell imaging.
In practice, Nipkow and PAM allow multiple pinholes scanning the same area in parallel as long as the pinholes are sufficiently far apart.
Cutting-edge development of confocal laser scanning microscopy now allows better than standard video rate (60 frames per second) imaging by using multiple microelectromechanical scanning mirrors.
CLSM is a scanning imaging technique in which the resolution obtained is best explained by comparing it with another scanning technique like that of the scanning electron microscope (SEM). CLSM has the advantage of not requiring a probe to be suspended nanometers from the surface, as in an AFM or STM, for example, where the image is obtained by scanning with a fine tip over a surface. The distance from the objective lens to the surface (called the working distance) is typically comparable to that of a conventional optical microscope. It varies with the system optical design, but working distances from hundreds of micrometres to several millimeters are typical.
In CLSM a specimen is illuminated by a point laser source, and each volume element is associated with a discrete scattering or fluorescence intensity. Here, the size of the scanning volume is determined by the spot size (close to diffraction limit) of the optical system because the image of the scanning laser is not an infinitely small point but a three-dimensional diffraction pattern. The size of this diffraction pattern and the focal volume it defines is controlled by the numerical aperture of the system's objective lens and the wavelength of the laser used. This can be seen as the classical resolution limit of conventional optical microscopes using wide-field illumination. However, with confocal microscopy it is even possible to improve on the resolution limit of wide-field illumination techniques because the confocal aperture can be closed down to eliminate higher orders of the diffraction pattern. For example, if the pinhole diameter is set to 1 Airy unit then only the first order of the diffraction pattern makes it through the aperture to the detector while the higher orders are blocked, thus improving resolution at the cost of a slight decrease in brightness. In fluorescence observations, the resolution limit of confocal microscopy is often limited by the signal to noise ratio caused by the small number of photons typically available in fluorescence microscopy. One can compensate for this effect by using more sensitive photodetectors or by increasing the intensity of the illuminating laser point source. Increasing the intensity of illumination laser risks excessive bleaching or other damage to the specimen of interest, especially for experiments in which comparison of fluorescence brightness is required. When imaging tissues which are differentially refractive, such as the spongy mesophyll of plant leaves or other air-space containing tissues, spherical aberrations that impair confocal image quality are often pronounced. Such aberrations however, can be significantly reduced by mounting samples in optically transparent, non-toxic perfluorocarbons such as perfluorodecalin, which readily infiltrates tissues and has a refractive index almost identical to that of water .
CLSM is widely used in numerous biological science disciplines, from cell biology and genetics to microbiology and developmental biology. It is also used in quantum optics and nano-crystal imaging and spectroscopy.
Biology and medicine
Clinically, CLSM is used in the evaluation of various eye diseases, and is particularly useful for imaging, qualitative analysis, and quantification of endothelial cells of the cornea. It is used for localizing and identifying the presence of filamentary fungal elements in the corneal stroma in cases of keratomycosis, enabling rapid diagnosis and thereby early institution of definitive therapy. Research into CLSM techniques for endoscopic procedures (endomicroscopy) is also showing promise. In the pharmaceutical industry, it was recommended to follow the manufacturing process of thin film pharmaceutical forms, to control the quality and uniformity of the drug distribution.
Optics and crystallography
Variants and enhancements
Improving axial resolution
The point spread function of the pinhole is an ellipsoid, several times as long as it is wide. This limits the axial resolution of the microscope. One technique of overcoming this is 4π microscopy where incident and or emitted light are allowed to interfere from both above and below the sample to reduce the volume of the ellipsoid. An alternative technique is confocal theta microscopy. In this technique the cone of illuminating light and detected light are at an angle to each other (best results when they are perpendicular). The intersection of the two point spread functions gives a much smaller effective sample volume. From this evolved the single plane illumination microscope. Additionally deconvolution may be employed using an experimentally derived point spread function to remove the out of focus light, improving contrast in both the axial and lateral planes.
There are confocal variants that achieve resolution below the diffraction limit such as stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED). Besides this technique a broad variety of other (not confocal based) super-resolution techniques is available like PALM, (d)STORM, SIM, and so on. They all have their own advantages like ease of use, resolution and the need for special equipment/buffers/fluorophores/... .
To image samples at low temperature, two main approaches have been used, both based on the laser scanning confocal microscopy architecture. One approach is to use a continuous flow cryostat: only the sample is at low temperature and it is optically addressed through a transparent window. Another possible approach is to have part of the optics (especially the microscope objective) in a cryogenic storage dewar. This second approach, although more cumbersome, guarantees better mechanical stability and avoids the losses due to the window.
The beginnings: 1940 - 1957
In 1940 Hans Goldmann, ophthalmologist in Bern, Switzerland, developed a slit lamp system to document eye examinations. This system is considered by some later authors as the first confocal optical system.
In 1943 Zyun Koana published a confocal system. A figure in this publication clearly shows a confocal transmission beam path. In 1951 Hiroto Naora, a colleague of Koana, described a confocal microscope in the journal Science for spectrophotometry.
The first confocal scanning microscope was built by Marvin Minsky in 1955 and a patent was filed in 1957. The scanning of the illumination point in the focal plane was achieved by moving the stage. No scientific publication was submitted and no images made with it were preserved.
In the 1960s, the Czechoslovak Mojmír Petráň from the Medical Faculty of the Charles University in Plzeň developed the Tandem-Scanning-Microscope, the first commercialized confocal microscope. It was sold by a small company in Czechoslovakia and in the United States by Tracor-Northern (later Noran) and used a rotating Nipkow disk to generate multiple excitation and emission pinholes.
The Czechoslovak patent was filed 1966 by Petráň and Milan Hadravský, a Czechoslovak coworker. A first scientific publication with data and images generated with this microscope was published in the journal Science in 1967, authored by M. David Egger from Yale University and Petráň. As a footnote to this paper it is mentioned that Petráň designed the microscope and supervised its construction and that he was, in part, a "research associate" at Yale. A second publication from 1968 described the theory and the technical details of the instrument and had Hadravský and Robert Galambos, the head of the group at Yale, as additional authors. In 1970 the US patent was granted. It was filed in 1967.
1969: The first confocal laser scanning microscope
In 1969 and 1971, M. David Egger and Paul Davidovits from Yale University, published two papers describing the first confocal laser scanning microscope. It was a point scanner, meaning just one illumination spot was generated. It used epi-Illumination-reflection microscopy for the observation of nerve tissue. A 5 mW Helium-Neon-Laser with 633 nm light was reflected by a semi-transparent mirror towards the objective. The objective was a simple lens with a focal length of 8.5 mm. As opposed to all earlier and most later systems, the sample was scanned by movement of this lens (objective scanning), leading to a movement of the focal point. Reflected light came back to the semitransparent mirror, the transmitted part was focused by another lens on the detection pinhole behind which a photomultiplier tube was placed. The signal was visualized by a CRT of an oscilloscope, the cathode ray was moved simultaneously with the objective. A special device allowed to make Polaroid photos, three of which were shown in the 1971 publication.
The authors speculate about fluorescent dyes for in vivo investigations. They cite Minsky‘s patent, thank Steve Baer, at the time a doctoral student at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York City where he developed a confocal line scanning microscope, for suggesting to use a laser with ‚Minsky‘s microscope‘ and thank Galambos, Hadravsky and Petráň for discussions leading to the development of their microscope. The motivation for their development was that in the Tandem-Scanning-Microscope only a fraction of 10−7 of the illumination light participates in generating the image in the eye piece. Thus, image quality was not sufficient for most biological investigations.
1977 – 1985: point scanners with lasers and stage scanning
In 1977 Colin J. R. Sheppard and A. Choudhury, Oxford, UK, published a theoretical analysis of confocal and laser-scanning microscopes. It is probably the first publication using the term "confocal microscope".
In 1978, the brothers Christoph Cremer and Thomas Cremer published a design for a confocal laser-scanning-microscope using fluorescent excitation with electronic autofocus. They also suggested a laser point illumination by using a „4π-point-hologramme“. This CLSM design combined the laser scanning method with the 3D detection of biological objects labeled with fluorescent markers for the first time.
In 1978 and 1980, the Oxford-group around Colin Sheppard and Tony Wilson described a confocal with epi-laser-illumination, stage scanning and photomultiplier tubes as detectors. The stage could move along the optical axis, allowing optical serial sections.
In 1979 Fred Brakenhoff and coworkers demonstrated that the theoretical advantages of optical sectioning and resolution improvement are indeed achievable in practice. In 1985 this group became the first to publish convincing images taken on a confocal microscope that were able to answer biological questions. Shortly after many more groups started using confocal microscopy to answer scientific questions that until now had remained a mystery due to technological limitations.
In 1983 I. J. Cox und C. Sheppard from Oxford published the first work whereby a confocal microscope was controlled by a computer. The first commercial laser scanning microscope, the stage-scanner SOM-25 was offered by Oxford Optoelectronics (after several take-overs acquired by BioRad) starting in 1982. It was based on the design of the Oxford group.
Starting 1985: Laser point scanners with beam scanning
In the mid-1980s, William Bradshaw Amos and John Graham White and colleagues working at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge built the first confocal beam scanning microscope. The stage with the sample was not moving, instead the illumination spot was, allowing faster image acquisition: four images per second with 512 lines each. Hugely magnified intermediate images, due to a 1-2 meter long beam path, allowed the use of a conventional iris diaphragm as a ‘pinhole’, with diameters ~ 1 mm. First micrographs were taken with long-term exposure on film before a digital camera was added. A further improvement allowed zooming into the preparation for the first time. Zeiss, Leitz and Cambridge Instruments had no interest in a commercial production. The Medical Research Council (MRC) finally sponsored development of a prototype. The design was acquired by Bio-Rad, amended with computer control and commercialized as ‘MRC 500’. The successor MRC 600 was later the basis for the development of the first two-photon-fluorescent microscope developed 1990 at Cornell University.
Developments at the University of Stockholm around the same time led to a commercial clsm distributed by the Swedish company Sarastro. The venture was acquired in 1990 by Molecular Dynamics, but the clsm was eventually discontinued. In Germany, Heidelberg Instruments, founded in 1984, developed a clsm which was initially meant for industrial applications, rather than Biology. This instrument was taken over in 1990 by Leica Lasertechnik. Zeiss already had a non-confocal flying-spot laser scanning microscope on the market which was upgraded to a confocal. A report from 1990, mentioning “some” manufacturers of confocals lists: Sarastro, Technical Instrument, Meridian Instruments, Bio-Rad, Leica, Tracor-Northern and Zeiss.
In 1989, Fritz Karl Preikschat, with son Ekhard Preikschat, invented the scanning laser diode microscope for particle-size analysis. He and Ekhard Preikschat co-founded Lasentec to commercialize it. In 2001, Lasentec was acquired by Mettler Toledo (NYSE: MTD). About ten thousand systems have been installed globally, mostly in the pharmaceutical industry to provide in-situ control of the crystallization process in large purification systems.
- Two-photon excitation microscopy: Although they use a related technology (both are laser scanning microscopes), multiphoton fluorescence microscopes are not strictly confocal microscopes. The term confocal arises from the presence of a diaphragm in the conjugated focal plane (confocal). This diaphragm is usually absent in multiphoton microscopes.
- Total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRF)
- Virtual CLSM (Java-based)
- animations and explanations on various types of microscopes including fluorescent and confocal microscopes. (Université Paris Sud)
- Pawley JB (editor) (2006). Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy (3rd ed.). Berlin: Springer. ISBN 0-387-25921-X.
- Filed in 1957 and granted 1961. US 3013467
- Memoir on Inventing the Confocal Scanning Microscope, Scanning 10 (1988), pp128–138.
- Fellers TJ, Davidson MW (2007). "Introduction to Confocal Microscopy". Olympus Fluoview Resource Center. National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- "Data Sheet of NanoFocus µsurf spinning disk confocal white light microscope".
- "Data Sheet of Sensofar 'PLu neox' Dual technology sensor head combining confocal and Interferometry techniques, as well as Spectroscopic Reflectometry".
- Vincze L (2005). "Confocal X-ray Fluorescence Imaging and XRF Tomography for Three Dimensional Trace Element Microanalysis". Microscopy and Microanalysis. 11 (Supplement 2). doi:10.1017/S1431927605503167.
- Patel DV, McGhee CN (2007). "Contemporary in vivo confocal microscopy of the living human cornea using white light and laser scanning techniques: a major review". Clin. Experiment. Ophthalmol. 35 (1): 71–88. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9071.2007.01423.x. PMID 17300580.
- Hoffman A, Goetz M, Vieth M, Galle PR, Neurath MF, Kiesslich R (2006). "Confocal laser endomicroscopy: technical status and current indications". Endoscopy. 38 (12): 1275–83. doi:10.1055/s-2006-944813. PMID 17163333.
- Le Person S, Puigalli JR, Baron M, Roques M Near infrared drying of pharmaceutical thin film: experimental analysis of internal mass transport Chemical Engineering and Processing 37 , 257-263 , 1998
- Hirschfeld, V.; Hubner, C.G. (2010). "A sensitive and versatile laser scanning confocal optical microscope for single-molecule fluorescence at 77 K". Review of Scientific Instruments. 81 (11): 113705. doi:10.1063/1.3499260.
- Grazioso, F.; Patton, B. R.; Smith, J.M. (2010). "A high stability beam-scanning confocal optical microscope for low temperature operation". Review of Scientific Instruments. 81 (9): 093705–4. doi:10.1063/1.3484140.
- Hans Goldmann (1939). "Spaltlampenphotographie und –photometrie". Ophthalmologica. 98 (5/6): 257–270. doi:10.1159/000299716. Note: Volume 98 is assigned to the year 1939, however on the first page of the article January 1940 is listed as publication date.
- Colin JR Sheppard (3 November 2009). "Confocal Microscopy. The Development of a Modern Microscopy". Imaging & Microscopy.online
- Barry R. Masters: Confocal Microscopy And Multiphoton Excitation Microscopy. The Genesis of Live Cell Imaging. SPIE Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA 2006, ISBN 978-0-8194-6118-6, S. 120-121.
- Zyun Koana (1942). Journal of the Illumination Engineering Institute. 26 (8): 371–385. Missing or empty
|title=(help) The article is available on the website of the journal. The pdf-file labeled „P359 - 402“ is 19020 kilobyte in size and contains also neighboring articles from the same issue. Figure 1b of the article shows the scheme of a confocal transmission beam path.
- Naora, Hiroto (1951). "Microspectrophotometry and cytochemical analysis of nucleic acids.". Science. 114 (2959): 279–280. Bibcode:1951Sci...114..279N. doi:10.1126/science.114.2959.279. PMID 14866220.
- Marvin Minsky: Microscopy Apparatus. US Patent 3.013.467, filed 7. November 1957, granted 19. December 1961.
- Marvin Minsky (1988). "Memoir on inventing the confocal scanning microscope". Scanning. 10 (4): 128–138. doi:10.1002/sca.4950100403.
- Guy Cox: Optical Imaging Techniques in Cell Biology. 1. edition. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, USA 2006, ISBN 0-8493-3919-7, pages 115-122.
- Egger MD, Petrăn M (July 1967). "New reflected-light microscope for viewing unstained brain and ganglion cells". Science. 157 (786): 305–7. Bibcode:1967Sci...157..305E. doi:10.1126/science.157.3786.305. PMID 6030094.
- MOJMÍR PETRÁŇ; MILAN HADRAVSKÝ; M. DAVID EGGER; ROBERT GALAMBOS (1968). "Tandem-Scanning Reflected-Light Microscope". Journal of the Optical Society of America. 58 (5): 661–664. Bibcode:1968JOSA...58..661P. doi:10.1364/JOSA.58.000661.
- Mojmír Petráň, Milan Hadravský: METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR IMPROVING THE RESOLVING, POWER AND CONTRAST. online at Google Patents, filed 4. November 1967, granted 30. June 1970.
- Davidovits, P.; Egger, M. D. (1969). "Scanning laser microscope.". Nature. 223 (5208): 831. Bibcode:1969Natur.223..831D. doi:10.1038/223831a0. PMID 5799022.
- Davidovits, P.; Egger, M. D. (1971). "Scanning laser microscope for biological investigations.". Applied Optics. 10 (7): 1615–1619. Bibcode:1971ApOpt..10.1615D. doi:10.1364/AO.10.001615. PMID 20111173.
- Barry R. Masters: Confocal Microscopy And Multiphoton Excitation Microscopy. The Genesis of Live Cell Imaging. SPIE Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA 2006, ISBN 978-0-8194-6118-6, pp. 124-125.
- Shinya Inoué (2006). "Chapter 1: Foundations of Confocal Scanned Imaging in Light Microscopy". In James Pawley. Handbook of Biological Confocal Microscopy (3. ed.). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. pp. 1–19. ISBN 978-0-387-25921-5.
- C.J.R. Sheppard, A. Choudhury: Image Formation in the Scanning Microscope. In: Optica Acta: International Journal of Optics. 24, 1977, S. 1051–1073, doi:10.1080/713819421.
- C. Cremer, T. Cremer: Considerations on a laser-scanning-microscope with high resolution and depth of field. In: Microscopica acta. Band 81, Nummer 1, September 1978, S. 31–44, ISSN 0044-376X. PMID 713859.
- Amos, W.B.; White, J.G. (2003). "How the Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope entered Biological Research". Biology of the Cell. 95 (6): 335–342. doi:10.1016/S0248-4900(03)00078-9. PMID 14519550.
- Cox, I. J.; Sheppard, C. J. (1983). "Scanning optical microscope incorporating a digital framestore and microcomputer.". Applied Optics. 22 (10): 1474. Bibcode:1983ApOpt..22.1474C. doi:10.1364/ao.22.001474. PMID 18195988.
- White, J. G. (1987). "An evaluation of confocal versus conventional imaging of biological structures by fluorescence light microscopy". The Journal of Cell Biology. 105 (1): 41–48. doi:10.1083/jcb.105.1.41. ISSN 0021-9525. PMC . PMID 3112165.
- Anon (2005). "Dr John White FRS". royalsociety.org. London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17.
- Brent Johnson (1 February 1999). "Image Is Everything". The Scientist. online
- Diana Morgan (23 July 1990). "Confocal Microscopes Widen Cell Biology Career Horizons". The Scientist. online
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Confocal microscopy.|
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In the BACkground :: Reflection on Void
A series from Phil Reville, M. Arch Candidate
“I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty.” - John F Kennedy
Last weekend I took a bike ride down Mass. Ave, out along the Harborwalk trail through South Boston to the JFK Memorial Library at Columbia Point. The just under five mile ride from the BAC was a scenic one that I suggest everyone take, especially for a pitstop at Carson Beach. As you approach the Library from the Harborwalk, you can see what appears to be a giant black box bisected by an even larger white triangle. That… is the library. If you know anything about the architect, I.M. Pei, you know that he has a penchant for geometry. Designer of the famous pyramids at the Louvre, the Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and our very own Hancock Tower here in Boston, I.M. Pei is for many a household name. The 98 year old Chinese-American architect traces his own architectural roots back to Boston, as a graduate of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design under the direction of Walter Gropius. Since then, Pei has gone on to design dozens of the world’s most notable buildings. Yet, of all of the buildings he has ever designed, Pei considers the JFK Memorial Library the most important commission of his life. | <urn:uuid:be26312c-c962-48c0-83d9-e2fbd64247bd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.the-bac.edu/2015/06/in-background-reflection-on-void.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284352.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00188-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956936 | 298 | 1.90625 | 2 |
There's a documentary show called Taboo, which i haven't seen in years but was the first thing i thought of for this theme. The general premise of the show is some things are forbidden, disgusting, or just plain weird to our culture but normal, everyday, or downright required for others. One episode covered rites of passage - everything from facial tattoos to something i'm not sure i can describe accurately, but it involved bulls and lots of running, and not the logical away-from-the-bulls running you'd normally think of.
One particular rite of passage took place near one of the major rivers in Africa. The tribe living there believed crocodiles were incredibly powerful (okay, who doesn't?), but they also believed making themselves look like a particular animal would imbue them with the power of said animal. For a boy to be considered a man, he had to submit to being covered with cuts meant to resemble crocodile scales; then he and the other boys going through the ritual would temporarily move into a hut which would be constantly filled with smoke, designed to irritate the cuts as they healed so they would be guaranteed to form clear scars.
For my faeries, i imagine a hunting tribe passing down the idea of the dangerous fae-eating snakes from the times before St. Patrick drove them out of Ireland, who still insist anyone who wants to be considered a proper hunter (or huntress) must alter emself to have the appearance of snakeskin. The real old-school traditionalists go so far as to bind their legs in imported snakeskin whenever they aren't busy cutting up said legs.
Keelan Rosa, Pennsylvania Member Since May 2008 Artist Statement
Keelan Rosa first became interested in art when he was two years old and has been fascinated by art, illustration, and design ever since (the unhealthy obsession with all things sci-fi came a bit later). He's especially fond of figure art, and the challenge which goes along with trying to show a complex personality in a simple image.
Keelan was trained in traditional media but prefers working with a combination of traditional and digital media. He has also worked in a variety of subjects and styles, but is currently focused on finding the union between humans and other aspects of nature.
Started with pencil-scribbles at the kitchen table, then studied at Sue Hand's Imagery throughout most of his school years. Keelan also spent all of two years as an art major at Syracuse University and Sage College before dropping out of art school to study business (aka, How to Make Enough Money to Continue Being an Artist). He still attempts to learn new art techniques on a regular basis, but this now comes primarily in the form of ImagineFX magazines instead of studio classes.
Website - You can see larger versions of Keelan's artwork at his main site, illo.KeelanRosa.com - and can even get some cool freebies while you're there. | <urn:uuid:413fa159-b151-401c-8704-97b94b191be4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.imagekind.com/M-is-for-Modify_art?imid=cdbf7d61-7c57-48b4-8364-014119c73b01 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00557-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977043 | 604 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The SRC, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Nagpur
The Students’ Council is an amalgam of diverse students, bringing a unique perspective and opinion to construct a thoughtful bridge between the administration and the students. The purpose of the student council is to give students an opportunity to develop leadership and team building by organizing as well as carrying out co/extra-curricular activities and service projects. It enhances service learning. The council is responsible for the organised and graceful functioning of various events.
The Primary Objectives:
- To provide a platform where the students can showcase their talent without hesitation.
- To be the voice of the students to the administration and vice versa as well.
- To create an environment where every student can voice out their concern or need. | <urn:uuid:9bdec9ac-e444-4391-a37e-bf186242bf96> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sitnagpur.edu.in/student-council | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570741.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808001418-20220808031418-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.947344 | 160 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Understanding the Role of the X Chromosome During Cancer Progression
Half a century ago, Mary Frances Lyon postulated that, to compensate for the difference in chromosomes between females (XX) and males (XY), one X chromosome in female cells during early embryonic stem-cell differentiation is randomly silenced (rendered inactive). The X chromosome inherited from each parent is silenced in 50 per cent of females cells, i.e. 50 per cent of female cells have an active X chromosome of maternal origin and 50 per cent have an active X chromosome of paternal origin. This process is memorized so that it is heritable through subsequent rounds of cell division.
Dr. Alan Spatz, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Pathology, hypothesized that a gene defect would have a different impact on tumour growth depending on whether it affects the active or the inactive X chromosome of a cell. In cutaneous melanoma—the most lethal cancer of the skin—Spatz showed that melanomas in females who died of the disease more frequently have losses on the active X chromosome than melanomas in females who had good clinical outcome. This hypothesis has also been validated in several other types of cancer.
Spatz’s research seeks to gain better insight into the role of the X-chromosome inactivation during the progression of cancers, to study the biological function and regulation of tumour-suppressor genes located on the X chromosome and to identify new X-chromosome-related targets for cancer treatment.
Dr. Alan Spatz’s research on the X-chromosome genetics could open up a new avenue in cancer therapy by identifying new pathways of cancer progression and new therapeutic targets. It is expected that this innovative approach will lead to significant improvements in patient health and treatments that are better adapted to each person. | <urn:uuid:f21d1690-41dd-4f60-9f1a-a144570fbf94> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileId=2651 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00409-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943806 | 363 | 3.375 | 3 |
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