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10 April 2010
Jazz...a musical genre born out of rebellion!!!!
Jazz is actually a music genre that originated in the US as a form of confrontation by the blacks who were forced to listen & learn European music. The music has a special relationship to time, called as 'swing' & requires one to constantly improvise, be able to accept & be open to different kinds of music, thus developing ones own individuality. Thus we find that a skilled performer can interpret a tune in many different ways, never playing the same composition exactly the same way twice. This may be the reason why we find different variations of the same song!!!!
This music genre has also given rise to its own dance form, called 'swing', the steps of which were used in our very own old hindi movies. Although at first Jazz was mainly played by the African american community, due to the fall of aparthied, other European singers too began to sing in the style thus making its usage more widespread. It can single-handedly be credited with giving rise to other musical genres like European Jazz, Dixieland music, Bebop music, Latin Jazz, soul, funk, punk, smooth & acid jazz etc which was mostly done by mixing jazz with various other musical forms.
Posted by Charmaine D'souza | <urn:uuid:8e15921e-7dfe-469b-bff9-9b9d62871fa1> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://artc-arts.blogspot.com/2010/04/jazza-musical-genre-born-out-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794868248.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20180527111631-20180527131631-00056.warc.gz | en | 0.977574 | 268 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Computer scientist Carolyn McGregor has developed a disruptive technology utilising big data, that is set to start a new era in personalised medicine. Her life-saving Artemis IT platform analyses patterns in data such as heartbeats and breathing in newborn babies and spots problems before they are apparent to medical staff. The approach has great potential to save lives and is now being applied beyond the neonatal intensive care ward to astronauts and tactical response units.
Carolyn was the winner of the 2015 Advance Global Australian Award for Technology Innovation. Check out her acceptance speech at the Awards Gala Dinner where she discusses her refusal to plateau.
Article by Christopher Niesche for Australia Unlimited
Photo credit Kalvin Taylor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
In 1999, computer scientist Carolyn McGregor found herself in a neonatal ward in Sydney’s Nepean Hospital, surrounded by newborn babies, each connected to a range of medical monitoring devices.
“I was watching all of these medical devices flash different numbers, alarms going off, and I was just looking at the sheer volume of the data and thinking there’s just such a rich source of data here and wondering what was happening with all the data that was on the screen,” she recalls.
McGregor, Canada Research Chair in Health Informatics based at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Canada discovered that measurements were being jotted down on paper charts every 30 or 60 minutes. “I thought, these numbers are changing every second or even faster. There’s so much we could potentially do with all of that,” she says.
That meeting was the spark for McGregor’s work in the use of big data in neonatal health and she is now a leading international researcher in critical-care health informatics. Before moving to Canada in 2007, McGregor established, grew and led Health Informatics Research at the University of Western Sydney, where her internationally recognised research was supported by over $1 million in grant funding from sources such as the Australian Research Council and the Telstra Broadband Fund. This was foundational research that led to her going on to establish her award winning Artemis Platform.
Typically a nurse in an intensive care ward watches a patient’s breathing and heartbeat, essentially to make sure they’re still alive and haven’t gone into cardiac arrest or another life threatening situation. But as McGregor suspected, the data can tell doctors and nurses so much more than that, when harnessed and analysed properly.
Subtle changes in the pattens of breathing, heart rate and other indicators can all show changes in the patient’s condition that might indicate something more serious, but are undetectable from traditional observation.
For instance, neonatal sepsis is the leading cause of death among new-born babies in both the developing and developed world.
“If you watch the behaviour of the heart, the heartbeat actually starts to become very regular or more regular if the body’s coming under stress, like it does when you have an infection. So because we watch every beat of the heart, we can tell if we’re starting to see a regular heart rate. Couple that with some other indicators and it gives doctors a better tool to help them to say this is probably infection,” says McGregor.
The Artemis platform which McGregor and her research team have developed records more than 1,200 readings every second, helping doctors harness and manage all of the information that the medical devices produce, and providing a mechanism to analyse all that information in complex ways. It allows them to choose which indicators and conditions they want to monitor, and track those important subtle changes.
It is a lifesaving technology for the tiny patients where a few hours can make a major difference in recovery rates. “We can see these patterns sometimes 24 hours before the baby starts to really succumb and show signs of an aggressive infection,” McGregor says. Neonatal infections can cause lifelong health care issues for sufferers, such as with their lungs.
Along with improving outcomes for individual patients, the technology has the potential to help health care systems save money. For instance, if a baby acquires an infection in the neonatal unit then the length of their stay is typically doubled – a two-month stay becomes a four-month stay. Identifying and treating these infections earlier has the potential to slash these times.
So far the Artemis platform is being used in partnering hospitals in Canada, China and the United States. It has developed to the point where it is scalable and will be rolled out to more hospitals in the near future.
McGregor says neonatal babies are arguably the most complex patient population, so solving a problem for them first, means it will be easier to solve for other populations. Indeed, McGregor’s work has applications beyond neonatal critical care. Variations in the heartbeat, for instance, can indicate a viral or bacterial infection, the onset of depression, drowsiness, or post-traumatic stress disorder.
It also has application beyond the traditional healthcare sector. A conversation with former Canadian astronaut Dave Williams led to a joint project with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA on how the technology can be used to monitor the health of astronauts when they travel into space.
Astronauts share several similarities with neonatal babies, McGregor says. “Both have to do with adaption. There’s a physical body change when a baby is born, and when it’s born early the change happens before the body’s ready. The lungs have to start to functioning to provide oxygen to the body and the heart changes its function when you’re born. And when an astronaut goes into space, they have to deal with weightlessness, there is a risk from radiation and the impact of weightlessness on the body can cause problems. We need monitoring systems to help watch the body adapt,” she says.
There are plans to use the system on NASA’s planned journey to Mars in the next couple of decades, because there will be weeks at a time when the alignment of the moon and the planets cut the astronauts off from communication with Earth.
McGregor is also working with tactical response teams.When soldiers or police have to clear a building or rescue a hostage, their adrenalin can surge and their heart rate can accelerate to such an extent that they’re at risk of passing out. A platform called Athena gathers and monitors the soldiers’ physical indicators as they complete virtual reality training and provides analytics of how their body is behaving during the training activity. In this way they can understand how they are behaving in those scenarios which helps them learn how to control their physical reactions.
McGregor grew up in the Hills district of Sydney’s north-west and says she always had an affinity with maths and enjoyed logic puzzles, so her maths teacher suggested she study computing after finishing school.
She enrolled in computer science at the University of Technology, Sydney and at the same time worked at St George bank as a computer science cadet. Following her studies, she joined and ultimately led a project at St George to set up what was then called an executive information system and would now be referred to as big data. “It was the first of the new type of computing systems to analyse the way the business ran as opposed to the computing systems that we originally had which were systems to help the company run,” she says.
After a stint at Woolworths using data to understand what customers were buying and how to group products in the store to induce them to spend more, McGregor enrolled at the University of Technology, Sydney to do her PhD in computer science, and then began to teach part time at the University of Western Sydney (now Western Sydney University)
It was then that Dr Mark Tracy, a neonatologist from the Nepean Hospital, approached the University of Western Sydney and said he’d like to work with the computing and maths departments because he had more data than he knew what to do with – a visit that set McGregor on her current path.
McGregor says the practical experience that many Australians gain during education by being required to spend time working in companies while they study, is invaluable and an opportunity that many other countries do not provide.
As McGregor completed her undergraduate degree, she was one of only five women in a class of around 100. Sometimes women in science and IT can have inferiority complexes she says. But a well-functioning innovative environment needs different perspectives and people of different backgrounds, genders and cultures, she says. “So for women I would say, acknowledge the skill set that you have and the abilities that you have. You have a fantastic potential to make a significant difference in the technology space.”
Australian workers are highly regarded overseas, she says. “I think the Australian culture is to just get in, contribute, make a difference, get it done. We have a very good reputation as a highly skilled workforce to come into companies, whether you’re bringing innovation or you’re just bringing commitment,” says McGregor.
While McGregor currently bases herself in Canada, she is is an honorary professorial fellow at the University of Wollongong, south of Sydney which enables her to supervise students in Australia and also to bring her research to Australia.
McGregor says she is inspired by the possibilities for further innovations in the use of big data for medical research.
“I really think we’re just at that tip of the iceberg of a whole new wave of doing research in the medical space,” she says. “
“This is the new face of health care. In partnership with genomics, for every individual using fitbits and other personalised devices, the way forward will be to manage your own health and wellness. We are building the platforms and tools to do this.”
Source: Licensed from the Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence.
The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the content of this publication. | <urn:uuid:dbaf8c54-ffd6-4b39-8f82-dedb12b9279c> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://advanceawards.com/blog/2016/6/1/using-big-data-to-save-tiny-lives | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676594954.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20180723051723-20180723071723-00507.warc.gz | en | 0.962971 | 2,064 | 2.59375 | 3 |
As Hurricane Sandy bore down on the East Coast of the United States, the worst fears became reality for many residents of Maryland, New Jersey and New York. While some property damage and elimination of some services were expected, few anticipated the enormous impact the storm and its consequences would have on public school students and educators in the region hit hardest by the hurricane. As of December 4, 2012, 11 schools remained closed in New Jersey, and more than 100 were significantly damaged. In New York City alone, 48 schools were closed due to storm damage. Many students who returned to schools in the weeks after the hurricane found they needed to bundle up in winter clothing because their buildings remained unheated.
There appeared to be a rush to get children back into schools even though buildings remained unheated and without electricity, portions of some buildings were unsafe and air quality was questionable. Some students were temporarily reassigned to different schools. This was no small matter as classrooms rosters needed to be changed, teachers reassigned, new transportation arranged and lunchtime and dismissal procedures altered.
Some school buildings served as emergency shelters weeks after the storm. At Brooklyn Tech High School in New York City, more than 250 evacuees were moved to the top two floors of the school so that students could resume classes. The principal, Elizabeth Johnson, reported that the school smelled of garbage and human waste because the evacuees, many of them psychiatric patients, were sleeping in classrooms. The school requested extra security.
In an ironic twist of fate, many school and public officials publicly expressed concern about how to make up lost time, by which they meant corporate time – time dedicated to serving the interests of a market-driven culture and mode of learning. Schools in New Jersey and New York require public schools to meet for 180 days. Rather than use such time to connect what students learn to the pressures and issues that bear down on their lives, many school officials were more concerned about how to make up for lost time in in order meet the demands, if not the pressure, to demonstrate student performance on standardized tests. The stories that connect students and teachers to the outside world, even in the midst of a major crisis affecting the lives of students and their families, became irrelevant as the major concern that emerged in the aftermath of the storm was to speed up particular demands on teachers to deliver curriculum based on instruction geared to high-stakes testing. What boggles the mind and reveals how distorted priorities have become in many public schools is that while schools in New York City were overcrowded, unstaffed, and on lists of failing schools in advance of the storm, these issues were either downplayed or were absent in the post-Sandy discussions about the need to address the problems immediately posed by the tragic fury of Hurricane Sandy.
Heated concerns about empirically-driven modes of teaching, testing and evaluation have stripped public schooling of any concern about developing pedagogies that are critical and socially responsible. Caught up in a market-driven notion of pedagogy that emphasizes testing, competition, and enshrines a kind of pathological individualism, public schools are being emptied of public values and an ethical grammar that allows students to think about what it means to be critical citizens and civic agents willing to help others. Preparing students for high-stakes testing and reducing teacher evaluations to empirically-driven tests are more than reckless, they reveal that the new educational reforms are not reforms at all, but basically a full-fledged attack on schools as places where students learn the knowledge, skills and values that enable them to be reflective about themselves, their relations to others, the history that informs who they are and their relationship to others and the world. Education has become flat-lined, a race to the bottom, and a place where dreams and the imagination come to die. Needless to say, focusing on mathematically based objectives, instrumental rationalities, memorization, isolated bits of knowledge and imagination-stripping modes of teaching seem like minor details when the enormity of what students experienced in the aftermath of the storm is taken into account. Many students had family members, property and homes, and countless numbers survived for days or weeks without electrical power or basic amenities. Students witnessed the anger of adults in their neighborhoods who faced long lines at gas stations and wrestled with a sense of abandonment as services and support was delayed. In the midst of such a crisis, public officials expressed a concern about public education that revealed how much they actually detest it.
Let’s be clear. The education of public school students is critical to a democracy and important to resume, even in the wake of a natural disaster. Yet, no public official quoted in the news reports expressed concern about students’ education and how it would be situated in any ethic of caring, given what students and teachers endured. No one spoke of the problematic learning environments or the effects of the trauma students would experience when they returned to some of the schools. Instead, their quotes expressed concern about students and teachers doing time, reflecting neoliberalism’s ongoing hollow conceptualizations of education. Whether this is a function of the media’s errors in reporting or the public officials’ limited understanding of education is irrelevant. Their comments, or lack thereof, reflect a broader crisis of public misunderstandings of education in a democratic society.
Neoliberalism has ravaged any public vestige of what it means to be educated or educating, and this is yet one more tragic example. As officials rush to reopen schools, teachers, school counselors and principals are left to pick up the pieces and care for the children in their midst, in spite of the trauma they may have experienced and in the face of what most adults would find to be unacceptable conditions for learning. Steve Light reported in the World Socialist web site that thousands of teachers had served as volunteers, helping to fill the gap in government services in the aftermath of the hurricane, and he astutely notes that this is no small irony as they continue to be blamed for the problems of public education. It’s time blame is placed elsewhere and education is taken up seriously as an intellectual, ethical and social good. Teachers have become the new welfare queens, public servants are reduced to moochers who exploit government services, and students are merely clients reduced to statistical graphs that allegedly measure what it means to be educated. What Sandy revealed is that the corporate-driven culture that failed to protect many of the poorest victims of the storm, also failed to identify and address what matters in education, especially in the midst of a storm that not only destroyed classrooms but eliminated the possibility of rethinking what matters in education and what it takes to provide support for its most basic constituencies, teachers and students. Losing time for those teachers and students who felt the brunt of Hurricane Sandy ultimately translated into doing time, being subjected to a mode of corporate time that undermined the quality of teaching, learning and administration. Major crises generally offer a chance to rethink priorities, address important social issues, connect schools to everyday life, rethink the purpose and meaning of what education means. But in this case, public school officials simply allowed another disaster to serve as an excuse to mimic and reproduce the worst dimensions of an educational policy that wages war on the democratic values, ideals and values that offer the promise of a public education that truly educates, rather than trains and punishes. | <urn:uuid:ae15f468-abeb-43e3-b487-b6fc3941d03d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://truthout.org/articles/losing-time-or-doing-time-drowning-public-education-in-the-wake-of-hurricane-sandy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141184123.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125183823-20201125213823-00192.warc.gz | en | 0.974362 | 1,486 | 3.125 | 3 |
It takes time and a bit of know-how to cultivate some spectacular plants and crops in your garden, but if you are missing a few links in your education how do you fill those gaps?
One way to do this would be to take advantage of modern technology and a few apps on your smartphone to give you the information and guidance you need to achieve a better harvest every time.
Here is a look at some tools and apps that could help cultivate your gardening skills as well as your crops, including a way to communicate with your plants, an almost failsafe way to cultivate herbs, and an app that tries to answer any gardening questions you have.
If only they could talk
Imagine if your plants could tell you how they are feeling and what they need to grow as healthily as possible.
Technology has yet come up with a way to get a vocal response when you talk to your plants but there is a way to give your plants a voice of sorts and tell you how it is doing. PlantLink is an interesting development as it uses a sensor that is capable of working with any plant type and when it needs some more water it will tell you.
You might think it a bit weird to get an email from your Oregano plant telling you how thirsty it is but if it takes the guesswork out of the job and improves the chance of maintaining a healthy and thriving herb, it could be a good way to interpret how your plant is feeling.
You might also want to factor in the latest weather in your area to see if the rain is going to arrive shortly, so consider downloading a weather app on the Google App store to see if nature is about to intervene and give your plants a soaking.
If you don’t have much in the way of garden space or just like the idea of growing some fresh herbs close to hand in the kitchen, you can take advantage of technology to get excellent growing results every time.
The indoor garden created by Herb:ie is a mixture of hydroponics and energy-efficient lighting that delivers the perfect combination of light and nutrients to encourage your herbs to thrive.
The unit looks good and the results taste good, plus you can take all the credit for producing excellent results from your window box if you want.
Mobile growing guide
If you want a handy reference to planting and growing on your smartphone the Pocket Garden app could be the answer.
You can browse through a wide range of common gardening questions and answers to some concerns that you might have and there are some useful guides to follow on when to plant, soil depth, and germination.
With the assistance of some helpful tech and useful apps, you could become a more accomplished gardener. | <urn:uuid:aacb5b35-9d79-45c5-93d9-125e4059065f> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://hdmhome.com/how-does-your-garden-grow-modern-tools-and-apps-for-a-better-harvest.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948597485.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20171217191117-20171217213117-00630.warc.gz | en | 0.962536 | 548 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Nevertheless the experiment is interesting and has taken the fancy of some scientists who have not entirely forgotten the Latin they were taught at school and who now rejoice to find that they can read most of this Latin without being bothered with irregular verbs and difficult rules of syntax. The facility, however, with which this Latin is read is largely a delusion: for myself, though I have read a good deal of Latin in my life, I have found sentences which I could not make out except by translating them into the mother-tongue of the writer, Italian or French, and others which I was not able to understand even in that way. "Illo es nunc facto plus facile gratias ad factos" - does that mean "this is now an easier fact," or "more easily a fact," or "made easier"? I suppose the last. "Cresce impossibilitate de resana et illo procedi usque ad securo morte"; in the next following sentence "nam Volapük more tunc certo" I first took more to be "custom," but then discovered that it was Latin morior, and that the mark of past time was left out in consequence of the adverb tunc, so that the whole meant "V. died certainly."
This, or rather most of this, may be all very well for those who have learnt Latin, even if they have forgotten most of it; but what about the majority who have never had the benefit of a classical education? It is said that they can understand this Interlingua by means of a Latin dictionary - but how are they to know that when they see more, they are sometimes to look under mos, and sometimes under morior? Or where to look for homine, pote ("can"), etc.? It is, of course, much worse when it comes to writing (or speaking!) the language oneself: what is the use of telling a man who has learnt no Latin grammar that he is simply to take the ablative, when his dictionary gives him only the nominative and genitive? The interlanguage of the future must necessarily be autonomous and have its own grammar and dictionary: it cannot be dependent on reminiscences of other languages - though it may, and must, turn to account the fact that the majority of users have at any rate a smattering of some language or languages besides their own.
Peano is quite right in saying that when we say "Two boys came yesterday," we express both the plural and the time idea twice, and that it would be just as clear to say "Two boy come yesterday," but this is not the same as saying that a sign for the plural and for past time is generally, or even always, superfluous. Peano's ideal would be no grammar, or what he thinks is the same thing, the Chinese grammar; but no language can do entirely without grammar, however true it is that the grammar of an interlanguage can be made much simpler than that of our usual languages. Chinese grammar is simplicity itself, in so far as it has no inflexions of the European kind, but it uses other grammatical means, as when wang with one tone means "king" and with another tone "to be king," or when the rules for word-order show whether ta is to mean "big," or "bigness," not to mention the numerous particles used for grammatical purposes. In imitating the latter feature, and in using word-order to distinguish subject from object we are in perfect agreement with the whole trend of the development of West-European languages.
Return to Contents Page | <urn:uuid:3086e794-6585-47ed-839a-1c0980bb44c4> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://interlanguages.net/AILlsf.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370497301.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20200330181842-20200330211842-00318.warc.gz | en | 0.977482 | 742 | 2.625 | 3 |
The simultaneous need for work experience and the right qualification has introduced the concept of distance education in India. This mode of learning chiefly aims at breaking the barriers of time and distance, allowing the individuals to avail the benefits of both the worlds.
What is Distance Learning
Distance learning or D learning is a learning medium for acquiring a certain degree without being physically present in a classroom. However, this does not compromise on the knowledge of the candidate. The source of learning and the candidate may be far apart in distance, but regular interactions facilitates that they do not miss anything. Some of them need the candidate's physical presence for taking examinations.
Dealing with the Dilemma
After the exam results, the biggest challenge at hand is what next, where to study and how do we go about it. The education sector is booming with interesting courses. Distance education ensures that you enroll into the best of colleges and enjoy the benefits sitting right back at home while you gain some work experience.
Admissions and other criteria
In fact, with internet and the cloud computing facilities, the learner can also enroll into foreign universities. This works especially well for candidates who want to study abroad but cannot do so because of financial constraints or family responsibilities. Most of the institutes offering such courses either have an entrance exam of their own or select the candidates based on any common entrance examination like AIEEE (for engineering courses.) etc.
The most reputed universities in the country and abroad offer distance learning courses these days. This narrows down the chances of being conned to almost zero. The degrees are hundred percent genuine. Contrary to popular belief, the candidate has a proper say in the professional world. These individuals are no different from the regular students.
Only Pros and no Cons
The personal interactive sessions are an added benefit to the reduced course fee. The course materials and digital textbooks are available at a reduced cost or even free due to the institute's ties with the publishers. The biggest advantage however is the flexibility of the course and the schedules. There are no age limits and the approaches of the courses are highly professional. According to their own needs, the learner can choose to emphasize on concepts that they find difficult to grasp. When they learn to do so, they can control their own pace and take charge of the complete situation. This also improves their communication skills and at some level, helps them develop a personality of their own. Is there anything more one can ask for?
Distance learning may be fairly a new concept to a country like India where we believe old is gold. However, keeping in tandem to what the situation is in the country and the needs of the citizen, this could prove to be a boon. This growing trend provides you with the best of the technology and the knowledge so that you are never stuck with your career. | <urn:uuid:062fd17b-7bea-4121-9593-5ef79c2a8e04> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | https://www.brainbuxa.com/blog/distance-education-the-concept-and-its-prospects-in-india | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886133449.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170824101532-20170824121532-00322.warc.gz | en | 0.95955 | 568 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The wikipedia and basic definition is this:
Guaranteed issue is a term used in health insurance to describe a situation where a policy is offered to any eligible applicant without regard to health status.
So, let’s take a few examples that apply currently:
– If you work for an employer that offers a group health insurance plan, you have guaranteed issue coverage.
– If you are self employed and getting coverage in the individual market for whatever reason (unemployed), there is guaranteed issue coverage, but not for a Major Medical plan. You will pay more for this type of coverage and you will pay more for your health insurance.
One thing that changed in September of 2010 is that children 18 and younger are eligible for guaranteed issue coverage. So, for example, if you have a child with Diabetes, which would normally be uninsurable under a major medical plan, but you and your spouse are healthy, your would be able to get a major medical plan for your family. Taking it a step further, your child would not affect your health insurance premium because they are guaranteed issue.
Lastly, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), everyone will have Guaranteed Issue coverage available in either the Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum policies. So, if you currently have an “uninsurable” medical condition, you will have coverage at the same cost as someone else in your area with the same age.
More info to come: Next I will define pre-existing condition and how it relates to Guaranteed Issue and PPACA. | <urn:uuid:f52be30d-c446-44b2-ba06-1c72d349d372> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://healthcareinsurancereform.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/definition-monday-guaranteed-issue/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647838.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20180322092712-20180322112712-00494.warc.gz | en | 0.963899 | 319 | 2.6875 | 3 |
In a speech in 2011 to the Empire Club of Canada and the Canadian Club of Toronto, Mark Carney, then governor of the Bank of Canada and present governor of the Bank of England, speaking of the international monetary system, said that the Minsky moment had arrived. A Minsky moment is a sudden major collapse of asset values, which is part of the credit cycle or business cycle. Such moments occur because long periods of prosperity and increasing value of investments lead to increasing speculation using borrowed money. Governor Carney said, “Debt tolerance has decisively turned. The initially well-founded optimism that launched the decades-long credit boom has given way to a belated pessimism that seeks to reverse it.” He also added, “As a result of deleveraging, the global economy risks entering a prolonged period of deficient demand. If mishandled, it could lead to debt deflation and disorderly defaults, potentially triggering large transfers of wealth and social unrest… History suggests that recessions involving financial crises tend to be deeper and have recoveries that take twice as long.”
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King writes in a new book that, "Without reform of the financial system, another crisis is certain, and the failure... to tackle the disequilibrium in the world economy makes it likely that it will come sooner rather than later."
According to Mr. William White, former chief economist at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and now chairman of the OECD's Review Committee, as reported by the International Business Times, "global debts have built up to such an extent that the world is facing another financial crash, worse than the one in 2007-08. It will become obvious in the next recession that many of these debts will never be serviced or repaid, and this will be uncomfortable for a lot of people who think they own assets that are worth something.” Mr. White also added that, "The situation is worse than it was in 2007. Our macroeconomic ammunition to fight downturns is essentially all used up… The only question is whether we are able to look reality in the eye and face what is coming in an orderly fashion, or whether it will be disorderly." Not to forget the past chairman of the U.S. Fed, Ben Bernanke, who recently said that “the system is incoherent”, speaking of the international monetary system. Now these are not your typical fear-mongering gold bugs. These are insiders, recent past and present managers of the international monetary system.
As you can see in the charts below, U.S. debt increased constantly since the collapse of the gold exchange system in 1971 and accelerated after the 2008 financial crisis. This is unsustainable. Worse is that it is not only U.S. debt but global debt. Since 2000 global debt more than doubled, and since the 2008 financial crisis, it increased by 40%. Fiat currencies depend on trust and when trust collapses they depend on state coercion and repression. In the last two years we have seen central bankers and economists proposing banning cash for the purpose of imposing negative interest rates or, in other words, to be able to confiscate savings without citizens being able to protect themselves.
But people are not stupid and we have seen recently a substantial increase in gold and silver purchases, going from the one-gram bar up to the 12.5 kg bar. Recent data also indicates a substantial increase in gold coin buying worldwide. At the same time developing countries’ central banks have been accumulating gold on a constant basis, trying to hedge their fiat Forex holdings and mostly in US dollars and euros. Ronald-Peter Stoeferle and Mark J. Valek, in the In Gold We Trust 2015 Report, say that, “As a market-chosen medium of exchange, gold is the antithesis to paper money. Debts are claims on future paper money payments.” And Prof. Antal Fekete says that gold is the ultimate extinguisher of debt. As people and central banks accumulate gold they are, at the same time, taking it off the market until at least the crisis ends with a reset of the international monetary system.
Prof. Fekete also says, “It is also ignored that the debt crisis is a direct consequence of exiling gold from the international monetary system. It cannot be replaced by the dollar or any other irredeemable currency. Under the dollar system debt simply cannot be extinguished.”
Still in February we found out that Canada liquidated what little gold (3 tonnes) it still held in its foreign exchange reserves. Don Drummond, a former high-ranking bureaucrat at Finance Canada, who helped start the policy for Canada to gradually sell off its gold reserves, is quoted by CTV News as saying that the sale was intended to diversify Canada’s US$81.5 billion in reserves with various foreign currencies. How can you call this decision diversification when 60% of Canada’s reserves are in US dollars and the rest in currencies linked to the US dollar? Isn’t it this kind of diversification that produced the CDS crisis in 2008 that almost took the international financial system down? Canada’s Finance Department, according to CTV News, said also that the sale was part of a long-standing policy of diversifying its portfolio by selling physical commodities like gold in order to invest instead in assets that are more easily traded. The word “trade” comes up again. It sounds very much to me like gambling for short term potential profit as it was done in the ‘90s by hedging official gold reserves. Portugal’s citizens are paying dearly today for this gambling called “trading”.
Prof. Fekete says, "Gold that circulates inspires confidence; gold kept locked indicates lack of confidence”. As I mentioned above, gold is presently being accumulated and taken out of circulation. This indicates a lack of trust in the present financial system. Soon there will be no gold available at least at this ridiculous price. Once the international monetary system is reset then gold will start circulating again. Until then smart money is accumulating gold and silver outside of the financial system from the Chinese housewives to the rich Londoners and most of the central banks that don’t already have some, except Canada. Gold is money but especially so in extreme circumstances. | <urn:uuid:d6c7b659-630a-4f01-a1ad-83b77f66efec> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://www.goldbroker.com/news/gold-and-the-minsky-moment-924 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347388012.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20200525063708-20200525093708-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.958015 | 1,300 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The following people are involved with this project:
Nature Locator is a "project team" that designs and creates smartphone applications to involve the public with the collection of ecologically related data. We are lauching a dedicated website for our projects very soon:
Our inaugural project “Leaf Watch” developed an app to “crowd-source” information on the UK distribution of the invasive horse-chestnut leaf miner moth (Cameraria ohridella). 5500 records were collected from all over the UK in the four month recording period.
We also developed a website application to enable us to crowd source the validation of the collected records. This further increased public engagement and enable us to assess the appropriateness of this technique for future projects.
Nature Locator’s second project “PlantTracker” is a collaboration between the University of Bristol, the Environment Agency, the NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat.
The app is being used to crowd-source data on the distribution of 14 priority invasive plant species in the UK.
The project website has further information and also displays the results collected so far.
This innovative project proposes to design a smartphone app to enable people to ID bats on their phone.
Bats are important biodiversity indicator species that help us to keep track of the health of our environment, but as cryptic nocturnal mammals, researching their distributions and the status of their populations is scientifically challenging. Current bat detecting equipment is expensive and methods for call identification require specialist knowledge, are time- consuming and often subjective. We propose to develop an innovative prototype smartphone application which will:
Coupled with the GPS signal from the smartphone, this will provide researchers with much needed accurate information about species distributions that can feed into national research programmes and inform conservation policy.
The smartphone user will get instant feedback from the app, engaging and retaining public participation in this vital research. The app and algorithms will be made available to the wider FE/HE community for use in other institutions with the potential to be applied to a number of other research domains.
You can see the project blog here: http://batmobile.blogs.ilrt.org/
The Nature Locator team is working with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology to produce a smartphone app to expand their already highly successful Ladybird Survey (http://www.ladybird-survey.org/). The app will be available from Spring 2013.
The Nature Locator team has just been commissioned to produce a smartphone app for the European RINSE (Reducing the Impacts of Non-native Species in Europe) project. This will see European partners in France, Holland, Belgium and the UK working together to tackle invasive species. At its core will be an ongoing data gathering exercise powered by our app.
You can follow the progress of Nature Locator and our projects in a number of different ways.
Visit the Nature Locator website:
Visit our individual project websites:
Become a friend on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NatureLocator
Follow us on Twitter - @NatureLocator
For further information, see the project's website: | <urn:uuid:d9b87440-5453-4447-b4f9-3702e6a6baa4> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://www.bris.ac.uk/ilrt/people/project/967 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464052946109.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524012226-00058-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909952 | 656 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Positive effect of climate change on cotton in 2050 by CO2 enrichment and conservation agriculture in Cameroon
- First Online:
- Cite this article as:
- Gérardeaux, E., Sultan, B., Palaï, O. et al. Agron. Sustain. Dev. (2013) 33: 485. doi:10.1007/s13593-012-0119-4
- 438 Downloads
This article predicts an unexpected positive effect of climate change on cotton production in Cameroon. Global warming could threaten cotton production in Africa due to increasing temperature and CO2, and rainfall uncertainties. This situation is worsened by the fact that most African farmers grow cotton as their cash crop and have few or no possible alternatives. Assessing the impact of climate change on cotton production is therefore critical. Here, we used CROPGRO, a process-based crop model that can simulate the main features of cotton growth and management. We applied this model to two regions in North Cameroon and a set of six regional climate projections combining general climate models and regional climate models from the ENSEMBLES project. The model was calibrated and validated with a data set of observations made in farmer fields from 2001 to 2005 and at an experimental station in 2010. Our results show unexpectedly that climate change from 2005 to 2050 in North Cameroon will have a positive effect on cotton yields with an increase of 1.3 kg ha−1 year−1 in yield, especially if conservation agriculture systems are adopted. The predicted increase of 0.05 °C year−1 in temperature will shorten crop cycles by 0.1 day year−1 with no negative effect on yields. Moreover, the fertilizing effect of CO2 enrichment will increase yields by approximately 30 kg ha−1. The rainfall pattern is likely to change, but the six regional models used to generate future weather patterns did not predict a decrease in rainfall. One model even forecast an increase in rainfall amounts. According to our findings, climate changes in North Cameroon can be anticipated by tailoring alternative cropping systems and adaptation techniques to cope with climate change. | <urn:uuid:326e22fa-b8b4-4070-8ce4-dee6502364fe> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13593-012-0119-4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719960.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00135-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909625 | 424 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Why do female migratory birds arrive later than males?
Hanna Kokko, Laboratory of Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65 (Viikinkaari 1), FIN−00014 Helsinki, Finland. Tel: +358 9 1915 7702; Fax: +358 9 1915 7694; E-mail: email@example.com
- 1In migratory birds males tend to arrive first on breeding grounds, except in sex-role reversed species. The two most common explanations are the rank advantage hypothesis, in which male–male competition for breeding sites drives stronger selection for early arrival in males than females, and the mate opportunity hypothesis, which relies on sexual selection, as early arrival improves prospects of mate acquisition more for males than for females.
- 2To date, theoretical work has focused on selection for early arrival within a single sex, usually male. However, if fitness depends on territory quality, selection for early arrival should operate on both sexes. Here we use two independent modelling approaches to explore the evolution of protandry (male-first arrival) and protogyny (female-first arrival) under the rank advantage and mate opportunity hypotheses.
- 3The rank advantage hypothesis, when operating alone, fails to produce consistent patterns of protandry, despite our assumption that males must occupy territories before females. This is because an individual of either sex benefits if it out-competes same-sex competitors. Rather than promoting protandry, the rank advantage mechanism can sometimes result in protogyny. Female–female competition is stronger than male–male competition early in the season, if females compete for a resource (territories occupied by males) that is initially less common than the resource of interest to males (unoccupied territories).
- 4Our results support the mate opportunity hypothesis as an explanation of why protandry is the norm in migratory systems. Male-biased adult sex ratios and high levels of sperm competition (modelled as extra-pair young: EPY) both produce protandry as a result of sexual selection. Protogyny is only observed in our models with female-biased sex ratios and low EPY production.
- 5We also show that the effects of sex ratio biases are much stronger than those of EPY production, explore the evidence for sex ratio biases and extra-pair paternity in migratory species and suggest future research directions. | <urn:uuid:81c9954b-9908-4bb9-91de-bf97b22775ac> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01151.x/abstract | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218195419.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212955-00422-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899623 | 501 | 3.375 | 3 |
We recently got a new, super-duper photocopy machine at the office. It has so many different functions, I'm surprised it hasn't replaced one of us already. I remember when copy machines just made copies. And if that wasn't exciting enough for you, you could copy things other than documents and images.
|Kathryn Antyr likes making handmade books with office supplies.
This technique for making inside pages for handmade books
brings back the fun and excitement of making photocopies. The technique is quite simple, writes Kathryn Antyr in PAGES
magazine: "Collect objects, photocopy them, and paint the copy with watered-down acrylics."Step 1: Locate a photocopier or laser printer and some paper.
You need a copy machine that uses heat and toner to make the copies. If you use an inkjet printer where the pigment is sprayed onto the paper and sits on top, the ink may smear when you apply the paint.
Step 2: Collect found objects. Flatter objects work better than bulky ones because the copier cover and close over them, letting in less light when scanning. Paper clips, shredded paper, brads, pencils, safety pins, and buttons all work well. But use your imagination!
Step 3: Make your copies. Be sure to make several copies of each object so you have plenty of material to play with. Adjust the density to make the image darker or lighter. Vary the size using the zoom controls. Go large!
Step 4: Paint! Kathryn says inexpensive acrylics found at most craft and hobby stores work best. Water them down slightly and apply two or more colors in circular motion with a makeup sponge. You are going for a sheer watercolor effect.
|Kathryn made the background for this book
page by photocopying brads under a
spiral bound notebook.
Step 5: Layer. Apply another color or a darker shade of paint with a sponge, dry brush, or other tool that will add interest and texture. You can also pounce paint through a stencil (such as sequin waste) and use metallic or spritz paints.
- If your page gets too wet, it may curl. To flatten the paper, iron it between two pieces of paper towel on a cool setting.
- Group the same objects to give a sense of repetition, rhythm, and overall unity to the composition.
- Notice how overlapping the paper clips holds the individual objects together visually. Avoid a scattershot effect where the composition has the objects loosely covering the entire page.
- Consider the white space when cropping. Crop the pages to include some white space, and think of an asymmetrical balance. These spaces provide great openings for quotes.
Now that you have your pages, you're ready to make a book. You can add writing, collage, and stamping to your pages. If you want sturdier pages, mount them on watercolor paper or matte board. Then bind your book.
If you want more ideas for how to make a book, check out our new eBook, Bound and Beautiful: One-of-a-Kind Handmade Books, now available for download.
P.S. What office supplies would you use for your pages? Leave your answer below. | <urn:uuid:b84b676b-56a2-4592-8b76-76c1fffc9674> | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/blogs/clothpaperscissorstoday/archive/2012/12/19/handmade-books-easy-inside-pages-from-office-supplies.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931010792.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155650-00038-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908328 | 681 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Ethical Religion/Moral Action?
When can it be said that a particular action is moral? In asking this question, the intention is not to contrast moral with immoral actions, but to consider many of our everyday actions against which nothing can be said from the conventional standpoint and which some regard as moral. Most of our action are probably non-moral; they do not necessarily involve morality. For the most part we act according to the prevailing on conventions. Such conventional behaviour is often necessary. If no such rules are observed, anarchy would be the result, and society-social intercourse would come to an end. Still the mere observance of custom and usage cannot properly be called morality.
A moral act must be our own act; it must spring from our own will. If we act mechanically, there is no moral content in our act. Such action would be moral, if we think it proper to act like a machine and do so. For in doing so, we use our discrimination. We should bear in mind the distinction between acting mechanically and acting intentionally. It may be a moral of a king to pardon a culprit. But the messenger bearing the order of pardon plays only a mechanical part in the king's moral act. But if the messenger were to bear the king's order, considering it to be his duty, his action would be a moral one. How can a man understand morality who does not use his own intelligence and power of thought, but let himself be swept along like a log of wood by a current? Sometimes a man defies convention and acts on his own with a view to [doing] absolute good. Such a great hero was Wendell Phillips1. Addressing an assembly of people, he once said," Till you learn to form your own opinions and express them, I do not care much what you think of me." Thus when we all care only for what our conscience says, then alone can we be regarded to have stepped on to the moral road. We shall not reach this stage, as long as we do not believe-and experience the belief-that God within us, the God of all, is the ever present witness to all our acts.
It is not enough that an act done by us is in itself good; it should have been done with the moral or otherwise depends upon the intention of the doer. Two men may have done exactly the same thing; but the act of one may be moral, and that of the other contrary. Take, for instance, a man who out of great pity feeds the poor and another who does the same, but with the motive of winning prestige or with some such selfish end. Though the action is the same, the act of the one is moral and that of the other non-moral. The reader here ought to remember the distinction between the two words, non-moral and immoral. It may be that we do not always see good results flowing from a moral act.
1 (1811-84); American orator, social reformer and abolitionist.
While thinking of morality, all that we need to see is that the act is good and is done with a good intention. The result of an action is not within our control. God alone is the giver of fruit. Historians have called Emperor Alexander "great". Wherever he went [in the course of his conquests,] he took the Greek language and Greek culture, arts and manners, and today we enjoy the benefits of Greek civilization. But the intention of Alexander behind all this was only conquest and renown. Who can therefore say that his actions were moral? It was all right that he was termed "great", but moral he cannot be called.
These reflection prove that it is not enough for a moral act to have been done with a good intention. The result of an action is not within our compulsion. There is no morality whatever in my act, if I rise early out of the fear that, if I am late for my office, I may lose my situation. Similarly there is no morality in my living a simple and unpretentious life if I have not the means to live otherwise. But plain, simple living would be moral if, though wealthy, I think of all the want and misery in the world about me -and feel that I ought to live a plain, simple life and not one of ease and luxury. Likewise it is only selfish, and not moral, of an employer to sympathize with his employees or to pay them higher wages lest they leave him. It would be moral if the employer wished well of them and treated them kindly realizing how we owed his prosperity to them. This means that for an act to be moral it has to be free from fear and compulsion. When the peasants rose in revolt and with bloodshot eyes went to King Richard II of England demanding their rights, he granted them the rights under his own seal and signature. But when the danger was over, he forced them to surrender the letters. It would be a mistake for anyone to say that King Richard's first act was moral and the second immoral. For his first act was done only out of fear and had not an iota of morality about it.
Just as a moral action should be free from fear or compulsion so should there be no self-interest behind it. This is not to say that actions prompted by self-interest are all worthless, but only that to call them moral would detract from the [dignity of the] moral idea. That honesty cannot long endure which is practiced in the belief that it is the best policy. As Shakespeare says, love born out of the profit motive is no love.1
1 "Love is not love,
When it is mingled with respects that stand
Aloof from the entire point."
2 "Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ,
Shall I not love thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven,
Or of escaping hell;
Not with the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward-
But as thyself hast loved me,
O everlasting Lord!"
Just as an action prompted by the motive of material gain here on earth is non-moral. That action is moral which is done only for the sake of doing good. A great Christian, St. Franscis Xavier, passionately prayed that his mind might always remain pure. For him devotion to God was not for enjoying a higher seat after death. He prayed because it was man's duty to pray. The great saint Theresa wished to have a torch in her right hand and a vessel of water in her left, so that with the one she might burn the glories of heaven and with the other extinguish the fires of hell, and men might learn to serve God from love alone-without fear from hell and without temptation of heavenly bliss. To preserve morality thus demands a brave man prepared to face even death. It is cowardice to be true to friends and to break faith with enemies. Those who do good out of fear and haltingly have no moral virtue. Henry Clay, known for his kindliness, sacrifice his convictions to his ambition. Daniel Webster, for all his great intellect and his sense of the heroic and the sublime, once sold his intellectual integrity for a price. By a single mean act he wiped out all his good deeds. This shows how difficult it is to judge the morality of a man's action because we cannot penetrate the depths of his mind. We have also the answer to the question raised at the outset in this chapter: what is a moral action? Incidentally, we also saw which kind of men could live up that morality.
- (1782-1852); American statesman and lawyer; his "biographers insist that he was never personally dishonest"- Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Here follows a poem from Kavyadohan, an anthology of Gujarati verse, but it is not reproduced in this book. | <urn:uuid:32eb3b74-c5ca-40b2-b7c1-a90d6ae550b9> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ethical_Religion/Moral_Action%3F | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864919.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20180623015758-20180623035758-00583.warc.gz | en | 0.973596 | 1,611 | 2.765625 | 3 |
This sixtieth anniversary season of Jackie Robinson’s 1947 appearance as a Brooklyn Dodger will inspire many deserved accolades, but some praise may actually sell Jackie short.
Strictly speaking, Jackie Robinson did not change baseball—Branch Rickey did that by signing Robinson in the first place. Yet Jackie himself accomplished much more: Jackie Robinson changed America.
In Robinson’s day, baseball was the undisputed king of sports, and that platform could not have been lost on a 1954 Supreme Court looking to justify an assault on school segregation laws with its landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. On January 12, 1921, a federal judge in Chicago named Kenesaw Mountain Landis was named baseball’s first independent commissioner in the wake of the Black Sox gambling scandal. Landis, though, was a racist, so no black ballplayer ever saw a big league field under his regime—not even Jackie Robinson who had first tried out for the Chicago White Sox on March 18, 1942, but was rejected. Landis finally succumbed in a Chicago hospital on November 25, 1944, and the underpinnings of baseball racism died with him.
The Dodgers inked Jackie to a minor league deal in 1945. Then, on April 15, Jackie Robinson took the field in a Dodgers uniform. The racist diatribe that Robinson suffered is well documented, but he still slugged and ran his Dodgers into the World Series batting .297 with a league leading 29 stolen bases. Although the vaunted Yankees would take the Series in seven games, Jackie Robinson would be named the National League Rookie of the Year. It should have been Rookie of the Century.
Cleveland owner Bill Veeck then signed slugger Larry Doby, and on July 7, 1948, Veeck also hired aging Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige for a likely pennant run. Paige was at least 42 years old at the time, and may even have been 48 according to Negro Leaguer Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe. The Sporting News scoffed, “If Satchel were white he would not have drawn a second thought.” Veeck’s retort: “Had Satchel been white, he would have been in the majors 25 years ago.” In 1951, the Giants signed legend-in-waiting Willie Mays who won National League Rookie of the Year while Dodger catcher Campanella was nailing down the MVP award.
The very next year, the state of Kansas enacted General Statute 72-1724 validating “separate but equal” facilities for public school children, forcing a black 8-year-old girl in Topeka to travel several miles to school rather than attend a facility in her own neighborhood. Suit was filed on her behalf, and the Brown case—her case—clawed its way to a Supreme Court ruling in 1954. “Today … many Negroes have achieved outstanding success in the arts and sciences as well as in the business and professional world,” reasoned Chief Justice Earl Warren, who then struck down the Kansas segregation law.
Warren’s opinion did not specifically mention baseball, but it had to have meant baseball, at least in part, for the resounding success of blacks in our sacred national sport was inescapable front page news. On November 11, 1952, just 9 days before the Brown v. Board case was scheduled for argument before the Supreme Court, Jackie Robinson appeared on NBC television and ignited a firestorm by accusing the all-white New York Yankees of racism.
On October 8, 1953, Birmingham, Alabama blocked Robinson’s integrated all-star team from playing an exhibition game. This was two months before Brown v. Board would be argued for a second time on December 8, 1953, and by that time baseball was already on the Supreme Court front burner—on November 9, 1953, the Court had upheld the game’s bizarre antitrust exemption in Toolson v. New York Yankees and noting “…the high place [baseball] enjoys in the hearts of our people.”
The following spring, on May 17, 1954, the Brown ruling was finally issued. It followed Hank Aaron’s first big league home run by just 24 days. Could the Supreme Court have missed Robinson, Doby, Campanella, Mays, Aaron and the others? Certainly not. Jackie and those who followed may have played on a baseball field, but it was the American landscape they forever altered.
# # # #
Have PoliticalMavens.com delivered to your inbox in a daily digest by clicking here | <urn:uuid:de89bd52-2d84-43c4-a826-e825386fde44> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2007/04/09/jackie-robinson-did-not-change-baseball/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247490806.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20190219162843-20190219184843-00327.warc.gz | en | 0.975852 | 948 | 3.15625 | 3 |
EU-trophication: Linking tax money to eutrophication of the Baltic Sea
Over the last century mankind has transformed the Baltic Sea – a unique and highly vulnerable place – from a clearwater ecosystem into a eutrophic (nutrient-rich) marine environment. Today, it is heavily contaminated by nutrients that cause eutrophication, algal blooms and a range of serious problems for the ecosystem and for the people living around, and earning a living from, the Baltic Sea.
The main nutrients responsible for this pollution are nitrogen and phosphorus. Of the estimated 1,010,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 34,500 tonnes of phosphorus that are deposited annually in the Baltic Sea, roughly half come from the agricultural sector.
The European Union’s current agricultural policy promotes the intensification and concentration of agricultural production, and one of the results is to encourage the extensive use of artificial fertilisers. By giving large subsidies through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), without setting and enforcing strict environmental policies and measures against nutrient overload, the authorities are promoting nutrient-intensive farming – Eutro-farming – and in effect causing the problem.
In fact, by tracing the money from the tax-payer, via the EU CAP budget to agricultural subsidies in the Baltic Sea Countries, one can establish how much each tax-payer in each country around the Baltic is unwittingly contributing to Eutro-farming and ultimately to Baltic Sea eutrophication. On average, every single person in the region contributes €65 a year in taxes that promote Eutro-farming and the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. No one actually wants to cause the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea or to contribute to the kind of farming that plays a large part in creating it, but modern European farming operates in a subsidy-driven market where actors act rationally to increase yields and profits.
Numerous measures are needed to reverse the Baltic Sea’s increasing eutrophication. Even though there are areas where more research is required, we already know more than enough to start acting on the problem today. It is now a matter of the highest urgency that the EU and its Member States develop and implement regulations and policies that end subsidies to Eutro-farming and instead direct their support to sustainable farming methods that avoid nutrient run-off that is dangerous to the Baltic Sea.
This report summarizes and explains some facts and figures used in WWF’s eutrophication campaign. It is not an empirical analysis but rather a compilation of information that already exists in the public domain. | <urn:uuid:fdbe5689-8bf9-4008-983e-87789d33eb38> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?108060/EU-trophication-Linking-tax-money-to-eutrophication-of-the-Baltic-Sea | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187828189.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20171024071819-20171024091819-00720.warc.gz | en | 0.921501 | 528 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Cold adaptation: gut bacteria can make the difference
If someone told you that in our body we harbour billions of bacteria, surely you would feel mocked, but it's true! There is evidence showing that microbes colonize all the part of our body that are exposed to the external environment (like mouth and skin), with the greater portion of them residing in the gut. All the microorganisms, which are resident in our intestinal tract, are defined by scientists as gut microbiota. Importantly, gut microbiota is not a fixed group of microorganisms, but it may vary in its composition according to several factors e.g. food, age, health, antibiotic use (read also the Break: Collateral damage: antibiotics disrupt the balance in the gut).
In the past twenty years, interest has increased in science for the study of the interplay between the gut microbiota and our bodies. It is now clear that microbiota, also called "the forgotten organ", plays a major role both in physiological and pathological conditions. Gut microbiota has a variety of different functions, among which harvesting energy and providing information for the correct maturation of the immune system. Imbalance in the microbiota community, called dysbiosis, has been correlated with the development of different diseases like autoimmune and allergic diseases, obesity and diabetes1,2. However, the biological mechanisms and the factors that guide the effects of microbiota on the human metabolism are still poorly understood.
Recently, researchers from Dr. Trajkovski's lab described how cold exposure leads to a specific change in the composition of gut microbiota that favours energy absorption. After exposing lab-mice to cold for 10 days, they detected an increase in energy consumption and a decrease in body weight. Unexpectedly, despite the stable energy expenditure and food intake, the loss of fat decreased over time, leading the researchers to investigate the effects of prolonged cold exposure. In particular, focusing on the gut microbiota composition, they were able to observe a shift from "warm microbiota" to "cold microbiota" after 30 days of cold exposure. Interestingly, the transplantation of the "cold microbiota" into mice born without any microorganisms living in or on them (called germ-free mice), was sufficient to induce the metabolic changes needed to make these mice more resistant to cold. The researchers have shown that the above mentioned effects were promoted by the browning of the white fat depots (read also the Break: The colour beige: heating up the fat), in part mediated by the shift in the microbiota composition.
Furthermore, they investigated in detail the effect of cold exposure on the intestine. After prolonged cold exposure, the researchers observed a dramatic increase in intestinal surface area, which improves the mice's ability to get energy from food. This improvement in energy absorption explains the stabilization of the mice's body weight despite the increased energy consumption when exposed to cold. Remarkably, they also observed that one specific species of bacteria, Akkermansia muciniphila, is almost completely absent in the cold microbiota, and its transplantation into mice leads to a full prevention of their ability to enhance energy absorption and increase intestinal surface.
It is becoming clear that the relationship between host and gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the regulation of both physiological and pathological conditions. In their publication, researchers propose that the co-evolution between host and microbiome may have had a role during periods of increased energy demand, like winter, where changes in the gut microbiota composition were needed to increase the calorie absorption from food. The group of Trajkovski was able to show that the above mentioned increment in calorie absorption is in part due to the expansion of the intestine. Furthermore, one strain from the gut microbiota, Akkermansia muciniphila, was reported to revert some of the benefits of cold exposure, representing the first example of symbiosis able to affect body's energy utilization.
Original Article:Chevalier C, Stojanović O, Colin D et al. Gut Microbiota Orchestrates Energy Homeostasis during Cold. Cell. 2015;163(6):1360-1374. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.11.004
Dr. Carlos Javier Rivera-Rivera , Managing Editor
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Friday, May 20, 2016
by Guest Blogger Donna Wilson
Want to introduce a young child on a brand new adventure? There’s no better adventure to be had that what awaits them between the covers of great book.
Books are the gateways to new worlds, new experiences, new places, and new people that we otherwise might not have encountered. Adults hold an amazing responsibility as the literary guides who can help young children discover words and their meaning. Whether as parents, teachers, caregivers, or early childhood educators, we are the child’s conduit to magical places—both real and imagined—that are conveyed through the endless combination of 26 letters that young pre-readers are trying to master.
Long before children can read, adults can and should introduce them to books by reading aloud to them. Reading aloud is widely recognized as an important way of building an early and lifelong love of books, with research clearly showing that adults who read aloud to children form a connection and pave a path toward literacy. | <urn:uuid:db4b0eb8-df7b-4837-804d-6be33d76fceb> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://www.innovatingminds.org/2016_05_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257648113.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20180323004957-20180323024957-00376.warc.gz | en | 0.962521 | 206 | 2.875 | 3 |
What’s the Big Idea?
The human digestive system developed over 2.5 million years, with one simple underlying function: maximizing our chance for survival.
But then humanity jumped the curve – we invented agriculture. Through the processing of grain into bread, and through domestication and eventual industrialization of food production, we were soon consuming more and different types of fats and sugars than were possible to our cavemen ancestors.
Adherents of so-called Paleolithic diets believe that in the 10,000 years or so since the invention of agriculture, humans' digestive systems have still not adapted to these newly available foods. In response, they restrict their nutritional intake to foods that would have been available to our ancient ancestors in an effort to mimic what they believe is humanity's natural state.
Why Is It Groundbreaking?
Gastoenterologist Walter L. Voegtlin published “The Stone Age Diet” in 1975, becoming one of the first modern advocates for this dietary back-to-the basics approach. He has since received much scientific backing for the idea.
Last year, Dr. Staffan Lindeberg from the Department of Medicine at the University of Lund in Sweden published an article linking today’s modern diet to many of what he calls “Western diseases,” including coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, congestive heart failure, obesity, high blood pressure and acne. Based on his study of the isolated Kitava tribe near Papua New Guinea, who subsist exclusively on vegetables, fruit, fish, and coconuts, Lindeberg's findings demonstrated drastic reductions in some "Western diseases"; others were nonexistent. His prescription: paleo-dieting.
Caveman dieters vary in their rigor, but most agree on banning of grains, legumes, and refined sugars. Typical caveman ingredients include meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, offal, eggs, insects, vegetables, fruits, roots, squash, mushrooms, nuts (not peanuts!) and herbs and spices. But the preparation of these ingredients is where the camps divide, ranging from fully cooked and seasoned meals, to a raw chucks of grass-fed beef eaten with bare hands.
Why should you care?
We’re living longer and more productive lives than ever before, so what does it matter if we’re aligned with nature or not, you may ask. However, statistics show that chronic disease and obesity, particularly in western countries such as the United States, are on the rise. Interpret the numbers how you will (and every diet guru does), there’s something disarmingly simple and alluring about the caveman diet. | <urn:uuid:9d3cce3e-f167-4a8a-b8a2-53a4ec3aa302> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://bigthink.com/think-tank/the-caveman-diet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110792.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822143101-20170822163101-00145.warc.gz | en | 0.948701 | 549 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Line geometry, as its name indicates, studies systems of straight lines in 3-dimensional space. Like with Euclidean Geometry, Line geometry gets a better understanding when
studied in the extended space, viz. in the real projective space of dimension 3.
The subject was born, one could say, in 1868, when Julius Plücker finished the first
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By the way, above them reigns algebra. In this book geometric objects are treated as
algebraic ones, with the fundamental relation of containment (≺) or incidence, and
the basic operators meet (∧) and join (∨). In chapter 1 this is summarized, as are the
most important issues of elementary projective geometry. In the next two chapters
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Chapter 5 is about linear congruences, chapter 6 about linear complexes. Only then
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|Browse Bilingual |
How could this happen? The worker who mixed the solutions knew such a mixture was dangerous but did not recognize the drum and could not read the label to ascertain its contents. The drum was labeled in English, but the worker could read only Spanish. This incident underscores the danger posed by chlorine gas and the importance of employers providing adequate training and communication of health and safety precautions to employees. Multi-lingual safety labels could have prevented this incident.
OSHA issued the owner of the poultry plant a citation for not ensuring that chemical hazard communication training was understood by all employees. The OSHA Hazard Communication Standard states, "Employers shall provide employees with effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment, and whenever a new physical or health hazard the employees have not previously been trained about is introduced into their work area." Under the standard, employers are expected to communicate work instructions and information on workplace hazards to employees tailored to the employees' language and education level.
After an investigation, NIOSH recommended:
- Providing material safety data sheets and labeling in the languages spoken at the facility
- Ensuring that employee training programs regarding hazardous chemicals used on-site and needed protective measures comply with upcoming changes in the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard
- Installing special fittings to prevent inadvertent connections between the filling station and containers
- Keeping incompatible chemicals in different sized or different colored barrels to prevent them from being mixed together, and
- Establishing evacuation plans and drills appropriate for potential hazards at the facility
Visit the OSHA Hazard Communication page.
Browse GHS Chemical Hazard Labels at ComplianceSigns.com.
Browse Bilingual Chlorine Gas Safety Signs. | <urn:uuid:768656a4-564e-4f22-8b43-0c47b2ac7aec> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://safety-blog.compliancesigns.com/2013/01/language-barrier-results-in-chlorine.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440644064019.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827025424-00257-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937351 | 354 | 2.84375 | 3 |
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Volume 8 - 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2017.00847
Nootropic and Neuroprotective Effects of Dichrocephala integrifolia on Scopolamine Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease
- 1Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
- 2Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
- 3Department of Biological Sciences, Higher Teachers’ Training College, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
- 4Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
- 5Institute of Mines and Petroleum Industries of Maroua, University of Maroua, Maroua, Cameroon
Alzheimer’s disease the most common form of dementia in the elderly is a neurodegenerative disease that affects 44 millions of people worldwide. The first treatments against Alzheimer’s disease are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors; however, these medications are associated with many side effects. Dichrocephala integrifolia is a traditional herb widely used by indigenous population of Cameroon to treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and for memory improvement. In this study, we evaluated the effect of the decoction prepared from leaves of D. integrifolia, on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice. Seven groups of six animals were used. The first two groups received distilled water for the distilled water and scopolamine groups. The four test groups received one of the four doses of the decoction of the plant (35, 87.5, 175 or 350 mg/kg p.o.) and the positive control group received tacrine (10 mg/kg), a cholinesterase inhibitor used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, during 10 consecutive days. Scopolamine (1 mg/kg), a cholinergic receptor blocker, administered 30 min after treatments, was used to induce memory impairment to all groups except the distilled water group on day 10 of drug treatment. The behavioral paradigms used to evaluate the effects of the treatment were the elevated plus maze for learning and memory, Y maze for spatial short-term memory, the novel object recognition for recognition memory and Morris water maze for the evaluation of spatial long-term memory. After behavioral tests, animals were sacrificed and brains of a subset were used for the assessment of some biomarkers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione levels) and for the evaluation of the acetylcholinesterase activity. From the remaining subset brains, histopathological analysis was performed. The results of this study showed that, D. integrifolia at the doses of 87.5 and 350 mg/kg significantly (p < 0.01) improved spatial short-term and long-term memory, by increasing the percentage of spontaneous alternation in the Y maze and reducing the escape latency in the Morris water maze. Furthermore, the results of histopathological evaluation showed that D. integrifolia attenuated the neuronal death in the hippocampus induced by scopolamine. The main finding of this work is that D. integrifolia improves learning capacities and counteracts the memory impairment induced by scopolamine. Thus, D. integrifolia can be a promising plant resource for the management of Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) the most common form of dementia in the elderly, is a neurodegenerative disease that is clinically characterized by progressive memory loss, cognitive dysfunction and reduction of learning capacities with increase age (Baulac et al., 2003; Cheng et al., 2011; Terry et al., 2011; Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). The number of persons affected by dementia worldwide is estimated at 47 million and AD represents 60–80% of this number (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016; Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2016). Neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques are the two main pathological hallmarks of AD. The AD brain is also characterized by a reduction in cholinergic neurotransmission and an increase in oxidative stress (Francis et al., 1999). The evidence of oxidative stress in the brains of AD patients is the increase of the end products of lipid peroxidation, like malondialdehyde and a reduction in antioxidant enzymes: glutathione and superoxide dismutase (Christen, 2000; Padurariu et al., 2013). The reduction in the cholinergic transmission appears to be the critical element producing dementia. The first treatments against AD are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which enhance the cholinergic neurotransmission by increasing the availability of acetylcholine in cholinergic synapse (Giacobini, 2000). Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors have failed in the treatment of AD because of their limited efficacy and bioavailability and because they are associated which many side effects such as hepatotoxicity (Kulkarni et al., 2011). Due to the growing population and extended lifespan, dementia of the type Alzheimer have become a major health concern in the elderly in Africa (Kalaria et al., 2008; Olayinka and Mbuyi, 2014). Dichrocephala integrifolia is a plant of the family Asteraceae that is widely used in traditional medicine in Cameroon to treat and prevent dementia and Alzheimer disease (Ngueguim et al., 2016). In west Cameroon, D. integrifolia is known as “Mbag’api” and the decoction of its leaves is used to treat dementia. The indigenous populations of central region of Cameroon call it “Ngninada Elokn” and use the infusion of the whole plant to treat memory impairment. In far north Cameroon where D. integrifolia is called “Ganki” the decoction prepared from its leaves is used in the treatment of Alzheimer disease (Personal communication). Despite the vast empirical knowledge about the uses of D. integrifolia in the treatment of dementia in Cameroon, pharmacological studies to validate its use in the treatment of dementia are scarce. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the decoction of the leaves of D. integrifolia on scopolamine mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.
Materials and Methods
The animals used in this study were Swiss mice of either sex weighing 25–30 g. The mice were bred in the animal house of the Faculty of Science of the University of Buea, under a 12 h light/dark cycle. The mice, grouped 6 per cage had food and water available ad libitum. The mice were acclimatized to laboratory conditions for 24 h before the beginning of experimentations. The study was conducted in accordance with the Cameroon National Committee (Ref No. FW-IRB00001954), and was authorized under a number CEI-UDo/908/01/2017/T, and in conformation with the international regulation. All efforts were taken to minimizing the number of mice used and their suffering. Behavioral procedures were performed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Collection and Identification
Dichrocephala integrifolia leaves were harvested in April 2014 in the South–West Region of Cameroon. The harvesting coordinates are 4°15′30″and 9°25′48″. The botanical identification of the plant was done at the National Herbarium of Cameroon, where a voucher specimen was conserved under the reference number: 24276/SRFcam.
Preparation of the Decoction of D. integrifolia
The leaves of D. integrifolia were cleaned, shade-dried and ground. The decoction of D. integrifolia was prepared daily according to the instructions of the native doctor. Ten (10 g) of the leaves’ powder of D. integrifolia were introduced in 75 ml of distilled water, the mixture was then boiled for 20 min. After cooling, the mixture was filtered using Whatman N° 1 filter paper. The filtrate constituted the stock solution. In another experiment, 20 ml of the stock solution was evaporated to dryness and the dry residue obtained was 700 mg. The corresponding concentration of the stock solution was 35 mg/ml. The stock solution was diluted 2; 4; and 10 times in distilled water for less concentrated solutions. All solutions were administered to mice in a volume of 10 ml/kg body weight. The corresponding dose for the stock solution as described by the traditional healer was 350 mg/kg. The doses of the different dilutions were 175; 87.5; and 35 mg/kg.
Drugs and Chemicals
Tacrine (9-amino-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydroacridine hydrochloride), scopolamine hydrobromide, trichloroacetic acid and thiobarbituric acid were purchased from Sigma chemical, St. Louis, MO (United States). Acetylthiocholine iodide, and 5, 5′-dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid) (Ellman reagent) were purchased from Biochemica (China).
Study of the Effect of D. integrifolia on Memory Impairment Induced by a Single Dose of Scopolamine
This test was used to assess the effect of the decoction of D. integrifolia administered for 10 consecutive days against memory impairment induced by a single injection of scopolamine at the dose of 1 mg/kg i.p. The behavioral tasks used to evaluate the effect of the treatment were the Y maze, the elevated plus maze and the novel object recognition task.
General Experimental Design
In this part of the work, mice were randomly divided into seven groups of six mice each (three males and three females) and group as follow:
Group I: The distilled water group; which received only distilled water (10 ml/kg) orally;
Group II: Scopolamine group; which received distilled water (10 ml/kg) orally;
Groups III–VI: Tests groups; which received one of the four doses of the decoction of D. integrifolia; 350, 175; 87.5, or 35 mg/kg, orally
Groups VII: Tacrine group; which received tacrine at the dose of 10 mg/kg orally.
All these groups received the corresponding treatment for 10 consecutive days. On day 10, 30 min after the various treatments, scopolamine (1 mg/kg i.p.) was injected to all groups except the distilled water group that still received distilled water. The behavioral tests were performed 30 min after the injection of scopolamine.
Y-maze test was used to evaluate short-term memory of mice by recording spontaneous alternation in a single session on day 10. The maze used in this study was a Y-maze made of polywood with three identical arms (35 cm length × 8 cm height × 15 cm width) mounted at 120 degrees to one another in a single piece. Each arm of the Y-maze was decorated with a different letter (A, B, or C) in order to be differentiated (Ma et al., 2007). One hour after the last treatment and 30 min after scopolamine injection (except for the distilled water group), each mice, previously naive to the maze, was placed at the end of one arm and were allow to move freely through the maze during 8 min. The number of arm entries was recorded for each mouse. An arm entry was noted when a mouse entered an arm of the maze with all its paws. Specific sequences of arm transitions (ABC, BCA, or CAB but not BAB or CAC or CBC) were recorded as a spontaneous alternation that reflects short-term memory. The total number of arm entries reflects general locomotor activity. The arms of the maze were cleaned between sessions with 10% ethanol. The percentage of spontaneous alternation was defined according to the following equation:percentage of spontaneous alternation = [(Number of alternations)/(Total arm entries - 2)] × 100 (Ma et al., 2007; Hritcu et al., 2012; Beppe et al., 2014).
Elevated plus-maze test
Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) is an exteroceptive behavioral model used to evaluate learning and memory in rodents (Itoh et al., 1990; Sharma and Kulkarni, 1992; Kulkarni et al., 2011). The EPM was in plywood and comprised two open arms (30 cm × 5 cm) and two closed arms (30 cm × 5 cm × 15 cm) that extended from a common central platform (5 cm × 5 cm). The maze was elevated to a height of 50 cm above the floor level.
On the 1st day of the test (day 9 of drug treatment), 1 h after various treatments, each mouse was placed at the end of an open arm, facing away from the central platform for a learning trial. Transfer latency (TL) was taken as the time taken by the animal to move into any one of the covered arms with all its four limbs. The cutting time was 120 s after this time an animal that did not enter into one of the covered arms was gently push into one and the TL was assigned as 120 s. The mouse was allowed to explore the maze for another 2 min. On the 2nd day of the test (day 10 of drug treatment), during retention phase, retention transfer latency was recorded 1 h after the last treatment and 30 min after scopolamine injection (except for the distilled water group). Reduction in TL values of the 2nd day of the test in comparison to the 1st day test indicates improvement in memory (Itoh et al., 1990; Sharma and Kulkarni, 1992; Joshi and Parle, 2007; Kulkarni et al., 2011).
The novel object recognition test (NOR)
The NOR test was used to evaluate recognition memory of mice. This test was performed in an open field apparatus consisted of square plywood of dimensions (40 cm × 40 cm × 25 cm). The day before the test (day 8 of drug treatment), 1 h after drug treatment, each mouse individually was familiarized with the apparatus for 5 min. On the 1st day of the test (day 9 of drug treatment) 1 h after drug treatment, two identical objects were presented to each mouse for a 5 min session of exploration. An animal explores an object when it touches the object or it directs its nose at a distance less than 2 cm to the object. The 2nd day of the test (day 10 of drug treatment), 30 min after scopolamine injection (except for the distilled water group), a new object replaced one of the objects presented in the 1st day. The time spent by the animal for exploring the new object (tB) and the familiar (tA) objects was recorded during 5 min (Kulkarni et al., 2011). The discrimination index (DI) was calculated as (tB/tB+tA) (Ennaceur and Delacour, 1988; Rajendran et al., 2014).
Study of the Effect of D. integrifolia against Memory Impairment Induced by Repeated Doses of Scopolamine
To delineate the mechanism by which D. integrifolia exerts its protective effect, in a subsequent test, the mice were divided into seven groups of six as described above. Scopolamine (1 mg/kg i.p.) were injected to all the groups every day for 10 days 1 h after 30 min after drug administration except the distilled water which received injection of saline (10 ml/kg ip).
The behavioral task used to evaluate the effect of the treatment was Morris water maze task (MWM).
Behavioral Assessment: The Morris Water Maze Task
The MWM test was used to evaluate spatial long-term memory of mice. The MWM was performed as previously described by Morris in 1984 with little modifications (Morris, 1984; Parle and Singh, 2007). The MWM consisted of a brown circular pool (100 cm diameter, 50 cm height). The pool was located in a room with various visual cues (pictures, shelters, curtains, lamps, etc…). The position of the pool and that of the cues were maintained all the days of the experimentations. The pool was filled with water at the temperature of 25 ± 2°C. The MWM was virtually divided into four equal quadrants: North, South, East, and West. A platform of white color (11 cm diameter and 16 cm height) was centered in the South–East quadrant 1 cm below the water surface. The water was whitened by addition of liquid milk so that the platform was invisible at water surface. The position of the platform was kept unaltered during the training session. The 1st day of the MWM test (day 6 of drug treatment), 1 h after drug administration and 30 min after scopolamine injection, each mouse received an acclimatization session during which, the mouse was placed inside the MWM for swimming for 60 s. During the acquisition phase (days 7–9 of drug treatment), 30 min after scopolamine injection, each mouse was released into the pool, head facing the wall. The cutting time for each trial was 120 s. each mouse that did not find the platform during the time was gently guide to it and allowed there for 10 s. Each animal had four training sessions per day of 5 min interval. After each trial each mouse was taken to its cage and was allowed to dry up under a 60 watt bulb.
During each trial session, the time taken to reach the platform (escape latency) was recorded with stopwatches. In the retention phase (day 10 of drug treatment), the platform was removed from the pool. Each mouse individually was placed into the MWM. The latency time taken to reach the place of the formal platform and the time spent in the target quadrant was recorded during 120 s using stopwatches by experimenter researchers.
On day 11 following the MWM test, mice were decapitated under light ether anesthesia. In each group, the brain of a sub set of animal was used for histopathological analysis and the other for the dosage of brain malondialdehyde (a marker of lipid peroxidation), reduced glutathione (the principal antioxidant enzyme of the body) and acetylcholinesterase activity (which give an idea on brain acetylcholine level).
After sacrifices, the brains were immediately removed, from the skull, rinsed and weighed. Each brain was divided into two cerebral hemispheres. Brain homogenate was prepared from one half with 50 mM Tris/HCl buffer for the assessment of brain malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione levels. For the assessment of acetylcholine esterase activity, the other hemisphere of the brains was used to prepare 10% homogenate with 50 mM Tris/HCl buffer containing 1% Triton –X.
Estimation of protein concentration
The total protein of brains homogenate was determined by the method described by Bradford (1976). Five (5) μl of the brain homogenate was introduced in microplate wells and 250 μl of Bradford reagent was added. After agitation, the absorbance of the mixture was read using a microplate reader at 590 nm. The determination of the protein concentration was done using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as standard.
Determination of brain acetylcholinesterase activity
The determination of brain acetylcholinesterase activity was performs using acetylthiocholine iodide as artificial substrate based on the colorimetric method, of Ellman (Ellman et al., 1961). Briefly, 925 μL of 0.5 mM of Ellman reagent prepared in 100 mM Tris buffer (pH.8) was mixed with 50 μL of 20 mM acetylthiocholine iodide and 25 μL of supernatant. The change in absorbance was monitored using a spectrophotometer during 3 min at 30 s interval. The activity of AchE is expressed as AChE activity is expressed as micromoles of acetylthiocholine iodide hydrolyzed per milligram of protein per minute. Each assay was done in duplicate.
Brain reduced glutathione level
Reduced glutathione (GSH) level was estimate in the brain supernatant according to the method of Ellman (1959). Twenty (20) μl of brain homogenates were mixed with 3 ml of Ellman reagent prepared in phosphate buffer (0.1 M pH 7.2) at room temperature. After 1 h, the absorbance of the mixture was read at 412 nm. The amount of glutathione was calculated with the formula of Beer Lambert using the extinction coefficient value of 13,600/M/cm (Fotio et al., 2009). Each assay was done in triplicate.
Brain malondialdehyde level
The brain malondialdehyde (MDA) level was measured in the supernatant using the thiobabituric assay. One (1 ml) of brain’s supernatant was added to 0.5 ml of trichloroacetic acid (20%) and 1 ml of thiobarbituric acid (0.67%). The mixture was heated in a water bath at 100°C for 60 min. After cooling, the mixture was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 15 min. The absorbance of the supernatant was read at 530 nm. The amount of MDA was calculated with the formula of Beer Lambert using the extinction coefficient value of 1.56 × 105 M/cm. The concentration of MDA is expressed as μmol/g tissue (Nelson et al., 1994; Fotio et al., 2009). Each assay was done in triplicate.
After sacrifices, the brains were fixed in 10% formol for a week. Fifty (50) μm coronally sections were made from the brain in the hippocampus region using the mouse brain Atlas with the following coordinate (Anterior/Posterior = -2.0 mm, Medial/lateral = -1.5 mm, and dorsal/ventral AP = -2.0 mm) (Paxinos and Franklin, 2001). The brains sections were collected in nine well plates. The dehydration of brain section consisted in introducing brain session in ascending concentration of ethanol and then followed by immersion in xylol and then embedding in paraffin. Paraffin sections of the brain were deparaffinized and rehydrated through washes in descending concentration series of alcohol. Brain sections were then stained using the Nissl stain. After drying overnight, the brain sections were photographed and images were captured using a digital camera attached to a light microscope.
Statistical analysis was done using the software Graphpad Instat for windows. The differences amongst groups were analyzed using One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). P-values ≤ 0.05 were considered significant. Tukey post hoc test were used for multiple comparisons.
Effects of D. integrifolia on Spontaneous Alternation of Scopolamine Treated Mice in the Y Maze
The results of spontaneous alternation show that there was a significant difference among all the treatments groups (P < 0.0001). Scopolamine reduced the mice spontaneous alternation. Ten days treatment with D. integrifolia at all doses significantly reversed the effect of scopolamine and increased the spontaneous alternation percentage (P < 0.0001), when compared to scopolamine-alone treated group. Tacrine 10 mg/kg pre-administration also reversed the reduction of spontaneous alternation induced by scopolamine (Figure 1A). Tacrine reversed the effects of scopolamine at the percentage of 78.59% and the decoction at the dose of 87.5 mg/kg at a percentage of 80.21%.
FIGURE 1. Effect of Dichrocephala integrifolia on scopolamine-induced memory impairments in the Y-maze test. The spontaneous alternation percentage (A) and the numbers of arm entries (B). Each column represents mean ± SEM of six mice. Data analysis was performed using one way ANOVA followed by Tukey multi comparison test, ∗P ≤ 0.01, ∗∗∗P ≤ 0.001 vs. scopolamine treated group (DW + Sco); cP < 0.001 vs. distilled water group. DW, distilled water; DI, D. integrifolia; Sco, scopolamine; Tac, tacrine.
Dichrocephala integrifolia did not increased or impaired the locomotion of scopolamine treated mice in the Y maze (Figure 1B).
Effects of D. integrifolia on Transfer Latencies in an Elevated Plus Maze of Scopolamine-Treated Mice
As shown in Figure 2A, there was a significant difference among groups concerning the initial transfer latency. The decoction of D. integrifolia at the doses of 87.5 and 350 mg/kg decreased the initial transfer latency to 68.33 ± 3.33 s and 67.66 ± 3.04 s, respectively, against 97.5 ± 5.12 s in the distilled water group at day 9. Tacrine group had also a short initial transfer latency of 63.83 ± 3.39 s on day 9 when compared to distilled water group (P < 0.0001).
FIGURE 2. Effect of D. integrifolia on scopolamine-induced memory impairment on transfer latencies using elevated plus maze. Initial transfer latency (s) on day 9 (A) and retention transfer latency (s) on day 10 (B). Each column represents mean ± SEM of six animals. The data analysis was performed using one way ANOVA followed by turkey multiple comparisons test, ∗∗∗P < 0.001; vs. distilled water treated group that will not receive scopolamine on day 10 (DW0). cP < 0.01 vs. distilled water treated group that receive scopolamine on day 10 (DW1). DI, D. integrifolia; Sal, saline; Sco, scopolamine; Tac, tacrine.
A single administration of scopolamine significantly increased the retention transfer latency (RTL, recorded on the second testing day) of scopolamine alone treated group when compared to distilled water group. This RTL was 42.16 ± 2.07 s in the distilled water group against 76.16 ± 2.49 s in the scopolamine alone treated group. The decoction of D. integrifolia at all the doses significantly (P < 0.0001) reduced the RTL. Tacrine also reversed the retention deficit induced by scopolamine on day 10 of treatment (Figure 2B).
Effects of D. integrifolia on Recognition Memory of Scopolamine Treated Mice
The NOR test was used to assess recognition memory of mice after a single injection of scopolamine. The administration of scopolamine before the retention phase of the test resulted in a reduction of the exploration of the novel object in comparison with the ancient object (Figure 3). The discrimination index which is 0.62 ± 0.03 in distilled water group was significantly reduced (P < 0.0001) to a value of 0.014 ± 0.04 in the scopolamine-alone-treated group.
FIGURE 3. Effect of D. integrifolia on scopolamine-induced memory impairment on Discrimination Index in object recognition test. Each column represents mean ± SEM of six animals. The data analysis was performed using one way ANOVA followed by Turkey multiple comparisons test. ∗∗P < 0.01, ∗∗∗P < 0.001 vs. Scopolamine treated group (DW + Sco). DW, distilled water; DI, D. integrifolia; Sal, saline; Sco, scopolamine; Tac, tacrine.
Ten (10) days pretreatment of mice with the decoction of D. integrifolia at the dose of 87.5 mg/kg significantly (P < 0.01) increased the exploration of the novel object in comparison with the ancient object. Thus, the discrimination index rose from a value of 0.014 ± 0.04 in the scopolamine-alone group to 0.46 ± 0.10 at the dose 87.5 mg/kg of D. integrifolia. During the retention phase, tacrine significantly (p < 0.01) increased the exploration of the novel object in comparison with the ancient object presented during the acquisition phase. The discrimination index of the tacrine group was 0.51 ± 0.80 (Figure 3).
Effects of D. integrifolia on Acquisition and Retention Parameters of Scopolamine-Treated Mice in a Morris Water Maze Task
Dichrocephala integrifolia at all doses significantly reduced the acquisition deficit caused by scopolamine starting from the 2nd day of the acquisition phase (day 7) (P < 0.0001) (Table 1). The time to find the invisible platform in the 2nd day of the acquisition was 69.91 ± 4.41 s in the scopolamine alone against 14.58 ± 2.58 s at the dose of 87.5 of D. integrifolia.
TABLE 1. Effect of Dichrocephala integrifolia on Escape Latency (EL) of mice using morris water maze.
As shown in Figure 4A, D. integrifolia at all doses and also tacrine 10 mg/kg significantly reduced the latency time to the non-existing platform on the retention phase when compared to scopolamine-alone treated group (P < 0.0001). The latency time to reach the non-existing platform was 61.66 ± 9.83 s in the scopolamine alone treated group against 13.16 ± 2.48 s at the dose 87.5 mg/kg of D. integrifolia. Furthermore, D. integrifolia from the dose of 87.5 mg/kg and tacrine significantly increased the time spent in the target quadrant during the retention phase when compared to scopolamine–alone treated group (P < 0.0001) (Figure 4B).
FIGURE 4. Effect of D. integrifolia on scopolamine-induced memory impairment on retention parameters in the morris water maze. Latency to the non-existing platform (A). Time spent in the target quadrant (B). Each column represents mean ± SEM of six animals. The data analysis was performed using one way ANOVA followed by Tukey multiple comparisons test ∗∗P < 0.01, ∗∗∗P < 0.001; vs. scopolamine-alone treated group (DW + Sco). ap < 0.05, bp < 0.01, cp < 0.001 vs. distilled water group. DW, distilled water; DI, D. integrifolia; Sal, saline; Sco, scopolamine; Tac, tacrine.
Effects of D. integrifolia on Brain Acetylcholinesterase Activity, Malondialdehyde and Reduced Glutathione Levels
The activity on AChE was significantly reduced by D. integrifolia at the dose of 87.5 mg/kg, Tacrine also inhibited the effect of scopolamine induced increased in the activity of AChE when compared to scopolamine-alone treated group (P < 0.0001) (Table 2).
TABLE 2. Effects of Dichrocephala integrifolia on acetylcholinesterase activity, malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione levels of scopolamine treated mice.
The co-administration of D. integrifolia from the dose 87.5 mg/kg and scopolamine significantly reduced the level of brain malondialdehyde when compared to scopolamine-alone treated group (P < 0.0001) (Table 2). Tacrine also reduced the level of MDA (Table 2).
The level of GSH was lower in the scopolamine -alone -treated group. The administration of the decoction of D. integrifolia from the dose of 87.5 mg/kg significantly (P < 0.0001) reverses the reduction of GSH induced by scopolamine (Table 2).
Results of the Histopathological Studies
The histopathological analysis show that the dentate gyrus of distilled water group of mice is normal without any sign of neurodegeneration or necrosis (Figure 5A). The hippocampal sections of scopolamine-treated group show a significant reduction in the density of cells of all the layers of the dentate gyrus associated with the presence of apoptotic cells (Figure 5B). The decoction of D. integrifolia at the doses of 87.5, 175, and 350 mg/kg show a normal architecture of the cells layer of the dentate gyrus (Figures 5C–E, respectively). Tacrine group shows a dentate gyrus without any sign of necrotic or apoptotic cells (Figure 5F).
FIGURE 5. Effects of D. integrifolia on neuronal loss in the hippocampus dentate gyrus induced by scopolamine. Distilled water group (A); scopolamine alone treated group (B); D. integrifolia 87.5 mg/kg (C); D. integrifolia 175 mg/kg (D); D. integrifolia 350 mg/kg (E); tacrine (F). Nissl stain magnification (40).
Alzheimer’s disease is a deadly progressive neurodegenerative disorder of the elderly associated with loss of memory and cognitive dysfunctions (Behl, 2002; Madeo and Elsayad, 2013). Cumulative evidences have suggested that the cognitive symptoms of AD are a result of the impairment of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus (Demars et al., 2010; Lazarov and Marr, 2013). AD has become a public health burden due to the increase of aging population and increase lifetime expectancy (Kalaria et al., 2008; Olayinka and Mbuyi, 2014).
In this study, we evaluated the effect of the decoction of D. integrifolia against scopolamine model of AD. Scopolamine is an alkaloid extracted from the Solanaceae Datura stramonium and which impairs short-term and long term-memory in animals and humans (Rabiei et al., 2015). Through the interference with acetylcholine in the brain, scopolamine can cause oxidative stress leading to cognitive impairment (Rahnama et al., 2015). Thus, scopolamine-induced memory impairment is a valid model for the evaluation of anti – amnesic effects of new drugs. Diverse behavioral animal models are usually used for the evaluation and validation of new drugs against dementia (Rajendran et al., 2014).
In the present study, 10 days pretreatment of animals with D. integrifolia significantly counteracted the reduction of the percentage of spontaneous alternation induced by scopolamine suggesting significant improvement of space related short – term memory by the decoction of D. integrifolia (Hritcu et al., 2012, 2015; Beppe et al., 2014). The effect of D. integrifolia and that of tacrine a cholinesterase inhibitor used in the treatment of AD were comparables.
The EPM test was used for the evaluation of learning and memory. The EPM is based on the apparent natural aversion of rodents to open and high spaces, and originally, it is used for measurement of anxiety (Pellow et al., 1985; Pellow and File, 1986; Lister, 1987). Some parameters of the EPM such as retention transfer latency (the time take by the animal to move from the open arms to the enclosed arms) is used for the evaluation of memory. And an animal that has previously (acquisition trial) experienced entering the open arms have the shortened transfer latency in the retention trial (Itoh et al., 1990). In the EPM test, D. integrifolia significantly reduced the initial transfer latency on day 10. These results suggest that D. integrifolia has a nootropic effect because it ameliorates the retention of informations in absence of any memory impairment inducer (Itoh et al., 1990; Rajendran et al., 2014). Furthermore, D. integrifolia significantly reduced the retention transfer latency on day 10 after scopolamine injection suggesting that D. integrifolia ameliorates learning and retention of information and plays a role in memory formation (Itoh et al., 1990; Sharma and Kulkarni, 1992; Joshi and Parle, 2007; Kulkarni et al., 2011; Rajendran et al., 2014).
The NOR test was used to evaluate the effect of D. integrifolia on recognition memory. We found that, 10 days pretreatment of mice with D. integrifolia significantly reversed the reduction of the discrimination index induced by scopolamine suggesting the effect of the plant on recognition memory (Ennaceur and Delacour, 1988). All these above results clearly show that D. integrifolia has a neuroprotective activity in vivo by counteracting memory impairment induced by scopolamine in a variety of behavioral paradigms.
To delineate the mechanism by which D. integrifolia exerts his neuroprotective activity, D. integrifolia was administered during 10 days consecutively 1 h prior scopolamine (1 mg/kg i.p.) injection. The MWM task was used as behavioral task. The results obtained show that like tacrine, D. integrifolia significantly reduced the learning and retention deficits caused by repeated does of scopolamine. D. integrifolia reduced the time to the invisible platform during acquisition and the latency time to the non-existing platform during retention phase. D. integrifolia also significantly increased the time spent in the target quadrant during this retention phase. Our results with the MWM suggest that D. integrifolia improves spatial long-term memory (Cheng et al., 2011). The results of MWM confirmed that pretreatment with D. integrifolia counteracted scopolamine induced learning and memory deficit thus D. integrifolia is neuroprotective (Konar et al., 2011; Hritcu et al., 2015).
The results of biochemical assays show that 10 days administration of scopolamine increased the activity of AChE and the level of MDA, a measure of brain lipid peroxidation (Hritcu et al., 2015) and reduced the level of GSH, the main antioxidant enzyme of the body (Agarwal et al., 2011). Our results are in accordance with literature that shows that administration of scopolamine in rodents can lead to increase of AChE activity and oxidative status in the brain (Cheng et al., 2011; Konar et al., 2011; Baradaran et al., 2012; Rajendran et al., 2014). Pretreatment of mice with D. integrifolia reversed the increase of the activity of AChE and oxidative stress induced by scopolamine, thus protecting animals against learning and memory loss.
The results of histopathological studies demonstrated that 10 days administration of scopolamine resulted in neurodegenerative processes in the dentate gyrus when compared to naïve mice.
This cell death in the hippocampus dentate gyrus was significantly prevented by a pretreatment with D. integrifolia. The dentate gyrus is the part of the brain where adult neurogenesis takes place and it is also implicated in hippocampal neurogenesis and plasticity (Kempermann et al., 2015). Besides the facts that memory impairment induced by scopolamine is a result of an increase in AChE activity and brain oxidative status (Chen et al., 2008; Konar et al., 2011), it can be also assumed that scopolamine impairs neurogenesis in the brain which in turn leads to cognitive deficits as in AD (Demars et al., 2010; Lazarov and Marr, 2013). By antagonizing the cell death in the dentate gyrus induced by scopolamine, D. integrifolia can be a good treatment for cognitive deficits and AD. There are cumulative evidences in literature that scopolamine influences acquisition, consolidation and recall of informations and that scopolamine is a cholinergic blocker (Agrawal et al., 2009; Konar et al., 2011; Rajendran et al., 2014). By counteracting the effect of scopolamine, D. integrifolia can have the same mechanism of action, as tacrine wish is a cholinergic enhancer widely used in the treatment of AD. Furthermore, D. integrifolia had demonstrated many beneficial effects against others diseases such as hepatotoxicity probably due to its antioxidant properties (Ngueguim et al., 2016). This property of the plant may also be strongly involved in its neuroprotective effects observed in our study. This study shows that D. integrifolia has an ability to improve learning of information, ameliorates spatial short-term and long-term memory and recognition memory. The mechanism by which D. integrifolia exerts its effects may be related to the reduction of AChE level associated with antioxidant properties and improvement of adult neurogenesis. The overall results of this study can explain the wide usage of D. integrifolia in the treatment of dementia in Central Africa.
The results of this study shows that the decoction of D. integrifolia counteracted scopolamine-induced memory impairment and oxidative stress. Thus, it can be concluded that D. integrifolia can be a valuable plant resource for the management of dementia in general an age-related cognitive deficit of Alzheimer’s type in particular. Nevertheless, more studies with D. integrifolia targeting other hypotheses of AD are needed to clarify the exact mechanism of action of the plant.
NK, GT, SP, FM, GTN, and EB conceived and designed the work. NK, GT, SP, JN, GCNN, and DP collected and analyzed the data. NK, GT, and EB wrote and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
This research was supported by the University of Buea, the University of Ngaoundere and the University of Maroua. The authors acknowledged Drs. Manfo T. F. Pascal, Fotio T. Agathe, Dongmo N. Mireille, and Dzeufiet D. P. Desiré for their technical assistance during this work. A special acknowledgment goes to Mr. Egbe B. Besong who edited the manuscript.
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Keywords: Dichrocephala integrifolia, Alzheimer’s disease, memory impairment, behavior, scopolamine, acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, oxidative stress
Citation: Kouémou NE, Taiwe GS, Moto FCO, Pale S, Ngoupaye GT, Njapdounke JSK, Nkantchoua GCN, Pahaye DB and Bum EN (2017) Nootropic and Neuroprotective Effects of Dichrocephala integrifolia on Scopolamine Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Front. Pharmacol. 8:847. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00847
Received: 09 June 2017; Accepted: 06 November 2017;
Published: 21 November 2017.
Edited by:Nilesh Bhailalbhai Patel, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Reviewed by:Zhimin Song, University of Michigan, United States
Johanna Mahwahwatse Bapela, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Copyright © 2017 Kouémou, Taiwe, Moto, Pale, Ngoupaye, Njapdounke, Nkantchoua, Pahaye and Bum. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Elisabeth Ngo Bum, email@example.com | <urn:uuid:f7fa2061-128f-4097-a290-905dbe08ab9a> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.00847/full | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500058.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20230203154140-20230203184140-00738.warc.gz | en | 0.900739 | 11,675 | 2.75 | 3 |
Film: Papa Mau
Director: , 2010
USA I 2010 I 57 min I English and Satawalese with English subtitles
Summary: PAPA MAU: THE WAYFINDER recounts the fundamental role that master navigator Mau Piailug played in reawakening Polynesian pride by teaching Hawai'ians the dying art of traditional voyaging without the aid of instruments. While the art of non-instrument navigation was lost in Polynesia, it lived on in the tiny Micronesian atoll of Satawal, in a man named Mau. Chosen at birth and trained from an early age, Mau was not only destined to become a master of this dying tradition, but he also had the singular foresight to create a wayfinding legacy for all of Oceania by sharing his knowledge with a new generation of Hawaiian navigators. When Mau successfully guided Hōkūle'a to Tahiti in 1976, the voyage launched a collective reawakening of cultural pride and unity throughout the Pacific. PAPA MAU: THE WAYFINDER documents three decades of Mau's legacy through voyaging adventures. It is a story of great adversity, the testing and mending of relationships, and even loss of life, but ultimately, it is a story of collective courage and hope for Hawaiians. Sail along on this remarkable journey of an iconic voyaging canoe and of a renewed people, both guided by the wisdom of Papa Mau, the master wayfinder who breathed life back into the sails of Polynesia's voyaging tradition. | <urn:uuid:59f5d9ca-4546-44f9-b019-05b960f484aa> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | http://www.rpcvcalendar.org/micronesia-2017-films/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948549.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20180426203132-20180426223132-00078.warc.gz | en | 0.931483 | 315 | 2.609375 | 3 |
How has American capitalism evolved? When were banks introduced into our economy? How did the stock market come into existence and why is it so important today? Who were the pioneers of American industry and finance? How has government policy affected the economy in the past? In this issue of History Now, five noted scholars grapple with these questions. The result is a primer on the American economy, describing clearly and accessibly the origins and development of our most critical institutions. In addition, we have included a slideshow of images from financial scandals throughout American history in partnership with the Museum of American Finance.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
History Now: Shaping the American Economy
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has announced publication of Shaping the American Economy, the latest issue of History Now, a quarterly online journal for history teachers and students, available here. The Institute explains: | <urn:uuid:3386a5dd-13c8-4f06-b17f-2d9797b1fd03> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/history-now-shaping-american-economy.html?m=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818686077.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170919235817-20170920015817-00315.warc.gz | en | 0.959262 | 178 | 2.65625 | 3 |
The thetan (spirit) uses its mind as a control system between itself and the physical universe. The mind is not the brain. The brain is part of the body and does not determine intelligence. It can be likened to a switchboard. If one said that a telephone switchboard was the intelligence of the corporation it served, this would be like saying the brain was the intelligence of the person. It is just not true. The brain is simply a conduit that, like a telephone wire, carries messages.
The mind accumulates recordings of thoughts, conclusions, decisions, observations and perceptions of a thetan throughout its existence. The thetan uses its mind in the handling of life and the physical universe. The body (including the brain) is the thetan’s communication center. It is a physical object, not the being itself.
The thetan is the source of all creation and life itself. It becomes fully apparent for the first time in Man’s experience that the spirit is immortal and possessed of capabilities well in excess of those hitherto predicted.
The exteriorization of the thetan from its body accomplishes the realization of goals envisioned but rarely, if ever, obtained in spiritualism, mysticism and such fields.
Recognition of the thetan makes gains in ability and awareness possible—improvements that are not attainable in any practice that considers Man to be only a body and thus entirely subject to physical universe limitations.
Psychology, for instance, had worked itself into a dead end. Having no concept of the existence of an animating factor to life, it had degenerated into a practice devoted solely to the creation of an effect on living forms.
In Scientology, however, the thetan itself is directly addressed. Such an approach to improvement accomplishes increased spiritual freedom, intelligence and ability for the individual and clarifies any part of life. | <urn:uuid:b19969d0-57d5-45cf-94c5-c38a93bcba38> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.scientology-cambridge.org/what-is-scientology/basic-principles-of-scientology/the-thetan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296950110.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20230401160259-20230401190259-00663.warc.gz | en | 0.95016 | 385 | 2.5625 | 3 |
or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Big Bang
The new $600 million Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider could solve some of science's deepest secrets. It could also accidentally destroy the universe. Who says particle physics has lost its zing?
Ten years in the making, Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is the world's most powerful particle accelerator; when the Long Island, New York, facility (www.rhic.bnl.gov) fires up this month, it should vastly increase our understanding of the moments immediately following the Big Bang. That's the good news.
If everything goes right -please - RHIC should work like this: Near-light-speed collisions will smash gold ions into their component protons and neutrons, producing superintense heat that melts the particles into a soup of quarks and gluons. Quarks are the most basic unit of matter; under ordinary conditions, they never exist freely but are bound into larger particles by gluons. In the collider's high-pressure, high-energy conditions, the quarks and gluons form a plasma, known as QGP, believed to have existed at the birth of the universe.
Some scientists - among them Frank Wilczek of the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey - have said that, in theory, RHIC could trigger the runaway formation of a poorly understood breed of subatomic particle known as a strangelet, which "eats" all matter it encounters, a chain reaction that would consume everything everywhere. Fortunately, most experts aren't worried. MIT physicist Bob Jaffe says the chances of RHIC-induced Armageddon are "exceedingly rare" bordering on nil, but as he admits, "you never know." With that in mind, this is how the worst case could play out.
- Ivan Carvalho
GO! Whether the experiment works or anti-works, things begin the same way. Gold ions fired from a powerful tandem Van de Graaff accelerator travel through a particle booster and the alternating gradient synchrotron, which sends the ions through a magnetic switchyard at 99.995 percent of the speed of light. Two ion beams emerge from the switchyard and enter RHIC, traveling in opposite directions around the track. A magnetic field - created by superconducting magnets wrapped in niobium titanium wire carrying a 5,000-amp current - forces the beams to collide inside the monitoring stations, such as STAR.
WHAP! During the collisions, the kinetic energy of the ions (roughly 40 trillion electron volts) is converted into heat, with temperatures reaching 1 trillion degrees Kelvin - almost 1 million times hotter than the core of the sun. The blast melts the protons and neutrons.
EUREKA! The melting releases quarks and gluons that, for a fleeting 10 trillionths of a trillionth of a second, form QGP. As the temperature drops, the plasma coalesces to its original state, but not before RHIC's detectors record its properties and behavior. Each chamber focuses on a different aspect of the collision. STAR, for instance, detects the presence of QGP indirectly, by measuring the production of two- and three-quark bundles called hadrons.
EEK! Here's where things could start to go wrong. All atom smashers produce a mixture of the six flavors of quarks: up and down, charm and strange, top and bottom. Because RHIC will produce more collisions, chances are it will produce more strange quarks. Under normal conditions, these quickly decay to become lower-energy up or down quarks. But in RHIC's ultrahigh-pressure environment, those strange quarks could feasibly remain stable long enough to combine with up and down quarks to form a strangelet. If the strangelet contains more strange quarks than ups or downs, it will have a negative charge.
R.I.P. A negatively charged strangelet would trigger a relentless process of electron-positron pair creation. The strangelet would strip away the electrons of any normal atom it came in contact with and absorb the exposed nucleus. The process would continue until all matter was converted into strangelets.
Copyright © 1993-2004 The Condé Nast Publications Inc. All rights reserved.
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By Jonathan Pleasant
Since 1997 the United States Department of Agricultures (USDA) Wildlife Services program has been actively engaged in preventing and eradicating the deadly rabies virus utilizing a wide variety of technologies and techniques. One of the agencys most fascinating projects, and also the most successful, has been the Oral Rabies Vaccination Program or ORV, which focuses primarily on attacking the raccoon strain of the virus in its native environment.
A problem particularly in the Appalachian region of the Eastern United States, raccoon variant rabies was once one of the most common strains to affect local wildlife and pose a danger to humans and pets. As the name implies, raccoons are the most common carrier, making them the primary targets for research and testing as well as vaccination efforts. In fact, the main goal of the ORV program so far has been to strategically place environmentally friendly vaccine baits at locations all over the east coast.
Establishing a north to south zone running from Maine all the way to Alabama, the USDA has recently focused their efforts on trying to determine a solid western front for the disease. While this will likely be a long and difficult task, researchers and biologists like Erin Patrick from the agencys Knoxville office firmly believe that this will be a key point in the battle against rabies.
We look at it from a national perspective, Patrick said. We look at where we know raccoon variant rabies is and then we go to the western edge of that. Basically we want to get west of where we know that rabies front is, because that is how we determine where to drop the vaccines. The goal is to decrease or eliminate the raccoon rabies in that area and then start moving that whole barrier eastward. If you think of it like a squeegee, were slowly wiping it toward the East Coast. It does seem to be working, but we continue to identify exactly where that western boundary is.
Vaccines are delivered in the form of small, ketchup pack sized baits coated in fishmeal, a raccoon favorite. Dropped from aircraft over a specific area, the idea is that the attractant will entice the animal to eat the bait and, consequently, the vaccine along with it. Vaccinated animals then build up immunity to the disease and further help end its spread.
In addition to those dropped from planes over rural areas, the program also formerly placed baits in more urban areas by hand, but has recently found it much more efficient and cost effective to place these vaccines by helicopter. In all, between 6.5 and 9.5 million oral vaccines are dropped in the United States annually. Naturally other animals do find the baits as well, but the particular vaccine used has been safely tested on over 60 different species, including domestic dogs and cats, with no adverse effects.
Our focus is toward raccoon variant rabies, Patrick said, but if a skunk, fox, or coyote eat the vaccine they will also be vaccinated for rabies. Its not particular to that one species and will vaccinate other wild animals that eat it.
Drops have been conducted at various locations in more than 15 states, with Tennessee included. In fact, according to Patrick, Johnson County has been a recipient in the past, but as new cases of the disease were found even farther to the west, the boundaries of where the baits were being placed moved as well.
We do what we call enhanced rabies surveillance, Patrick explained. We do this all over East Tennessee and even several counties west of where we know raccoon rabies is, even down into Middle Tennessee. We want to know exactly where we are having positives and where were not. Thats the reason why Johnson County at one point was a vaccination area, but then cases were found west of it and so we had to move our barriers a little farther west. The goal now is to start moving that barrier eastward as we start to have more and more decreases in cases.
Even though Johnson County is not currently a targeted vaccination zone, that does not exclude the area from playing a role in the program. Regular testing of suspect animals, including skunks, foxes, and coyotes as well as raccoons, is ongoing, with an average of at least 15-20 tests conducted by the USDA each year. This does not include animals that had been in contact with humans or domesticated pets, as those tests are handled through the Tennessee Department of Health.
According to Patrick, while the USDA does work in partnership with other agencies, the ORV program focuses solely on animals that have not been exposed to humans. However, aside from samples taken from live traps and other testing done by the agency itself, the USDA does regularly take and test specimens brought in by the general public.
We want to know whats going on with the virus in Johnson County and we test animals for rabies right now all over East Tennessee, Patrick said. We havent had a positive raccoon rabies case since 2009 in Johnson County, but we are actively testing raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. If they were exposed to a human or a domestic animal they need to go to the health department, but if someone finds a sick acting raccoon in their front yard, or maybe a dead raccoon on their porch, those are the ones we want to test for rabies. We would love to get our numbers up in Johnson County and test more animals than we currently are for sure, because the more we test the more positive we are of where the rabies virus is currently active.
As a highly contagious and deadly virus, the USDA does caution the public about the dangers of contracting the disease. Strange acting animals should be reported to local animal control officers or wildlife officials who both deal directly with rabies testing procedures, but further questions can also be directed to the local Knoxville office at 865-588-0299. Submitted specimens or samples from the public are kept at a designated drop off point and picked up at least once a month. In Johnson Countys case, Mountain City Animal Control Officer Gary Phillips is the point of contact with the agency.
While Patrick cautions that the USDAs work focuses primarily on rabies impact on wildlife, she also expressed her excitement in the success of the program so far. Were not a public health agency, Patrick said. We work in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, so it is a multi-agency project. We combine data and we piggyback off of what theyre doing already and pick up animals with non-exposure. The health department is the one with the expertise and the knowledge to identify when post exposure rabies vaccinations are needed. We just deal with the wildlife side of things. But, that said, we havent had a case of raccoon variant rabies state wide in Tennessee since April of 2012, which is something were pretty excited about.
By Jonathan Pleasant | <urn:uuid:6425f8d6-b5a1-44a5-b11c-6d93f1439171> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.thetomahawk.com/local-news/rabies-vaccine-baiting-is-decreasing-spread-of-disease/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178359497.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20210227204637-20210227234637-00624.warc.gz | en | 0.971405 | 1,421 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Paper-based wireless sensor can detect explosive devices
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prototype wireless sensor capable of detecting trace amounts of a key ingredient found in many explosives. The device employs carbon nanotubes printed on paper or paper-like material by using standard inkjet technology, and it could be deployed in large numbers to alert authorities to the presence of explosives.
A resonant lightweight antenna, which is uses as the wireless component for communicating the sensor information, was printed on photographic paper using inkjet techniques developed by Professor Manos Tentzeris of Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The same inkjet techniques used to produce RF components, circuits and antennas can also be used to deposit the functionalized carbon nanotubes used for sensing.
Aside using of heavy photographic paper or plastics to make these components more water resistant, the inkjet component printing can also use flexible organic materials. For example, liquid crystal polymer (LCP) can be used to increase robustness and weather resistance. The resulting components are similar in size to conventional components but can conform and adhere to nearly any surface.
The “ink” contains silver nanoparticles in an emulsion that can be deposited by the printer are used to print components, circuits and antennas at relatively low temperatures around 100°C (212°F). A process called sonication helps to achieve optimal ink viscosity and homogeneity, enabling uniform material deposition and permitting maximum operating effectiveness for paper-based components. The optimization and fabrication of the system, as well as the tests for detection sensitivity were conducted by Xiaojuan (Judy) Song, a Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) research scientist.
“The optimized carbon nanotubes are applied as a sensing film, with specific functionalization designed for a particular gas or analyte”, said Song. “The GTRI sensor detects trace amounts of ammonia usually found near explosive devices, and it can also be designed to detect similar gases in household, healthcare and industrial environments at very low concentration levels.”
These nanoscale cylindrical structures, with a diameter as small as the 1/50,000th width of a human hair in diameter, are coated with a conductive polymer that attracts ammonia. According to researchers, the sensor has been designed to detect ammonia in trace amounts which are as low as five parts per million. Such sensitivity combined with RF technology, enable standoff detection – identification of explosive materials at a relatively safe distance.
The wireless sensor nodes require relatively low power, which could come from a number of technologies including thin-film batteries, solar cells or some other sort of energy-harvesting techniques. GTRI researchers are also investigating ways to make the sensor operate passively, without any power consumption.
“We are focusing on providing standoff detection for those engaged in military or humanitarian missions and other hazardous situations”, said Krishna Naishadham, a principal research scientist who is leading the work at the GTRI. “We believe that it will be possible, and cost-effective, to deploy large numbers of these detectors on vehicles or robots throughout a military engagement zone.”
Leave your response! | <urn:uuid:ce628b26-b523-4785-89a1-6575ed8ff46b> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://www.robaid.com/tech/paper-based-wireless-sensor-can-detect-explosive-devices.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224652235.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20230606045924-20230606075924-00789.warc.gz | en | 0.926139 | 653 | 2.796875 | 3 |
This publication by Zhi-chang, S., et al. was summarized by Jason Weiss, with edits by Utony Nguyen. The original paper can be accessed here.
To deal with concerns in China about environmental degradation and a growth in population accompanied by increased consumption of livestock products, a meat alternative is required. This study compared the environmental impacts of producing different protein sources for nutrition, including crops, livestock products, and cultured meat. The results showed that cultured meat has the lowest land use per unit of protein and unit of human digestible energy. China’s crops have the lowest energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of energy and protein. The energy use in cultured meat production is slightly higher than that of current pork production in China, whereas GHG emissions are lower. It is concluded that the overall impact of replacing livestock products with cultured meat would be beneficial for China's environment and would potentially improve food security because less land is needed to produce the same amount of protein and energy.
Livestock production is one of the major contributors to environmental degradation in China.
- China's livestock production contributes about 25% of total current green house gas emissions.
- Nearly 70% of China's arable land is dedicated to feed crops or grazing.
- 70% of the fresh water and 20% of the energy used by mankind is used in some way for China's food production, and a significant portion of this is meat.
China's population accounts for more than 20% of the global population, and will continue to grow. With the growing population and an increased meat consumption per capita China's overall meat consumption is expected to double by 2050. At the same time conventional meat production has come close to its maximum.
Meat is a valuable source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and highly bioavailable (easily absorbed) iron. Meat's proteins can be obtained through amino acids in a combination of plants. Another proposed alternative is cultured meat. Cultured meat is growing animal muscle tissue in vitro. It is currently in the research stage, and involves the extraction of cells from an organism and transfer onto a suitable growth medium.
There are several health issues associated with animal protein. Diets high in animal meat often exceed the daily recommended intake of saturated fats and cholesterol. They are also related to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which contributes to one third of global mortalities. Contaminated meat and animal products are also the most common cause of food-borne illnesses, which have increased six-fold in the last 20 years. The controlled conditions of cultured meat production can could mitigate these issues.
Why do we need meat alternatives in China
Meat alternatives are important because of the mentioned land, greenhouse gas emissions, water, and energy issues. Livestock production in China is also the main contributor to the eutrophication of water ways and loss of biodiversity. The global environmental costs of meat consumption related to greenhouse gas emissions are estimated over $140 billion per year. A preliminary analysis showed cultured meat could use 7 to 45% less energy, 99% less land, 82-96% less water, and emit 78-96% less greenhouse gases, depending on the animal product.
In addition to the environmental aspects of meat production, a growing public concern for animal welfare, with emerging standards for treatment also calls for meat alternatives. Chinese with the highest income, a third of China's total population, have shown increasing concern for a better world including animal welfare.
Finally there's the issue of the health problems associated with meat production, particularly the potential for infectious disease outbreaks. Regarding illness, stress, and growth rates, cultured meat offers a reliability that animals cannot. It also offers the opportunity to create novel meats, and to increase the health value of meat.
The ability to generate skeletal muscle tissue along with other tissue types been made possible by stem cell isolation and identification, ex vivo (out of the body) cell culture, and tissue engineering. Research has been done using collagen meshwork as well as beads for scaffolding. The products were limited to a thickness of 100-200 μm as a result of diffusional limitations, and lacked the structure of native muscle tissue. They could only be used for processed meat products. Other research has produced cultured meat by growing explants, such as one where fish muscle was grown in a medium containing a crude cell mixture. This method is also limited by diffusion and is likely not scalable.
Tissue engineering is a method used to mimic the creation of organs ex vivo. It has experienced uses in medicine ranging from in vitro models such as drug-screening, pressure sores, and physiology, to in vivo transplants. The same technique can be used to produce skeletal muscle for consumption.
Environmental Value of Cultured Meat in China
Energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and land data were taken from Yan et al. 2014 for potatoes, wheat, rice, pork, sheep, beef. The same data was taken from Tuomisto and de Mattos 2011 for cultured meat. Caloric and protein content for the food sources were taken from FSA 2002. To produce data per unit protein and per unit energy the land, emissions, and energy data were divided by the protein and caloric data. A constant was used for the meat produced to convert the carcass dead weight unit used in the Yan et al 2014 study to the mass of protein produced.
The analysis showed that replacing meat with cultured meat would substantially reduce GHG emissions and land use. On an energy basis only pork consumes less energy than cultured meat. Additional factors such as ancillary animal products and biodiversity should be considered in further analysis. Public acceptance presents an obstacle to cultured meat. | <urn:uuid:0c962877-a1dc-44fe-9b63-9c5926ba5d5e> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://www.new-harvest.org/the_environmental_prospects_of_cultured_meat_in_china_zhi_chang_s_et_al | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738727.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20200811025355-20200811055355-00407.warc.gz | en | 0.957914 | 1,159 | 3.65625 | 4 |
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Use this resource to help learners aged 11-16 explore the issue of girls’ access to education in Afghanistan, and be inspired to take action as active global citizens.
You will find:
- A presentation with accompanying script to introduce the issues around girl’s education in Afghanistan.
- A short activity which conveys what it must be like to go to school in Afghanistan.
Owing to the publication date of this resource, some of the content (including statistics and links) may need updating.
How to cite this resource
Citation styles vary so we recommend you check what is appropriate for your context. You may choose to cite Oxfam resources as follows:
Author(s)/Editor(s). (Year of publication). Title and sub-title. Place of publication: name of publisher. DOI (where available). URL
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Church of Colònia GüellEdit profile
Coordinates: 41°21′48.9″N 2°1′40.5″E / 41.363583°N 2.027917°E / 41.363583; 2.027917
The Church of Colònia Güell (Catalan: Cripta de la Colònia Güell, IPA: ) is an unfinished work by Antoni Gaudí. It was built as a place of worship for the people in a manufacturing suburb in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, near Barcelona (Spain). Colònia Güell was the brainchild of Count Eusebi de Güell. However with Güell losing profits from his business, the money ran out and only the crypt was completed.Gaudí's design
The technique Gaudí used to design the church was to hang little bags of birdshot from chains. Gravity would pull these bags downwards, giving even weight distribution and stretching the chains to form a model structure, thus showing him the shapes and angles his pillars would need to be. By using a mirror placed under the model, Gaudí could then see the model as it should look. A replica of his model for the crypt is in the Museum under the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. The model looks dated; however, this would allow Gaudí to perform designs only computers could do today. It put him a good 75 years ahead of the designs of the time.Recent history
In 2000, local architects set about repairing the crypt. This took away aspects of the unfinished nature of the buildings. However it did present a more tourist-friendly structure, and now visitors can stand on the roof, what would have been the church floor. | <urn:uuid:68bff275-e1fa-4f85-aa83-62297f25e420> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | http://openbuildings.com/buildings/church-of-col-nia-g-ell-profile-8024 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084891546.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20180122232843-20180123012843-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.953455 | 374 | 2.78125 | 3 |
With the growing number of electric vehicles on the roads, the question looms - what to do with the batteries when these vehicles reach the end of life? This webinar will explore the pathways to a circular economy of electric vehicle batteries, considering the reuse and recycling of lithium-ion batteries, different pathways for lithium-ion battery recycling and future directions for improving the processes used to treat electric vehicle batteries at the end of life as volumes of batteries needing to be recycled start to grow in the future.
The webinar will considered
- the current state-of-the-art technologies used to process electric vehicle batteries and asks participants to consider what needs to change as the industry scales into the future;
- the future demand for the critical raw materials used in electric vehicle batteries;
- how effective end of life management can assist in ensuring resilience for Western automakers by providing a source of key raw materials for battery manufacturing in the future. | <urn:uuid:6354f82f-a5f5-4e3c-ac56-9c21f5cde050> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.the-ies.org/analysis/towards-circular-economy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500094.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20230204044030-20230204074030-00079.warc.gz | en | 0.897961 | 186 | 2.78125 | 3 |
It’s thought that just seven hedgehogs were introduced to South Uist in 1974 – to control slugs and snails in a domestic garden. Since then the invasive carnivores have spread across South Uist and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Today, 15 years after work started to prevent hedgehogs from reaching North Uist, it’s estimated that they number around 5,000.
The Uists and Benbecula are home to internationally important wader birds, many of which nest in the islands’ machair – a globally rare habitat only found on the north-west coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Local wildlife is recognised as key to the Outer Hebrides’ growing £53 million per year tourism industry and the birds are a big attraction for many visitors to the islands.
As hedgehog numbers increased, ground nesting birds including lapwing, dunlin, ringed plover, snipe and redshank have seen their numbers decline. Research demonstrates this is mostly due to the non-native hedgehogs.
A 1983 survey found at least 17,000 pairs of waders nesting on the Uists, including around 25% of the UK’s breeding dunlin and ringed plover. But a repeat survey in 1995 found waders had fallen significantly on South Uist and Benbecula, while numbers on hedgehog-free North Uist remained stable or increased. Another 1995 study confirmed hedgehogs were common throughout areas of machair on South Uist and Benbecula and that they were preying on waders’ eggs.
Experimental use of hedgehog-proof fencing in 1998 found that keeping hedgehogs away from nesting areas doubled hatching success for the waders. However, fencing could only provide a short term solution over a limited area. The Uist Wader Project (UWP) was established in 2000 after a further study revealed the full extent of the declines and confirmed dramatic north-south differences in the fortunes of these birds.
Uist Wader Project partners included SNH, the Scottish Government, RSPB Scotland, Scottish SPCA and Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) – a coalition comprising Advocates for Animals, British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Trust and International Animal Rescue.
The 2000 study showed that in South Uist and Benbecula, numbers of breeding snipe, dunlin and ringed plover fell by 60%, redshank declined by 40% and lapwing by 30%. This contrasted with an increase in lapwing and redshank numbers on North Uist and although dunlin declined by 30% here, it was half the decline in the south.
The latest research shows this worrying pattern of decline to be continuing. Scientists believe the level of predation is so high that wader numbers will not recover unless the hedgehogs are removed. In response, we announced plans last month for a fresh programme of work that will aim for the long term recovery of the islands’ wader populations and support the local economy.
Animal welfare is at the heart of this work, which will continue to see hedgehogs safely trapped and humanely moved to their native range on the mainland over a 10 year period. The plans have been backed by a range of organisations and community leaders and we are now developing a detailed project proposal and an EU LIFE funding bid. If this is successful, work to remove the hedgehogs is expected to start in 2017.
For more information visit the Uist Wader Research pages on our website.
You must be logged in to post a comment. | <urn:uuid:f468383e-0af4-444b-beb4-22e0892befaf> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://scotlandsnature.blog/2015/03/11/the-prickly-issue-of-uists-waders/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224648000.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20230601175345-20230601205345-00710.warc.gz | en | 0.950911 | 741 | 3.140625 | 3 |
In a first-of-its-kind study comparing human walking and running motions -- and whether the hips, knees or ankles are the most important power sources for these motions -- researchers at North Carolina State University show that the hips generate more of the power when people walk, but the ankles generate more of the power when humans run. Knees provide approximately one-fifth or less of walking or running power.
The research could help inform the best ways of building assistive or prosthetic devices for humans, or constructing next-generation robotics, say NC State biomedical engineers Drs. Dominic Farris and Gregory Sawicki. The co-authors of a study on the mechanics of walking and running in the journal Interface, a Royal Society scientific journal, Sawicki and Farris are part of NC State's Human PoWeR (Physiology of Wearable Robotics) Lab.
A long history of previous studies have focused on the biomechanics of human locomotion from a whole-body or individual limbs perspective. But this study is the first to zoom in on the mechanical power generated by specific lower-limb joints in a single comprehensive study of walking and running across a range of speeds, Sawicki says.
The study shows that, overall, hips generate more power when people walk. That is, until humans get to the point at which they're speed walking -- walking so fast that it feels more comfortable to run -- at 2 meters per second. Hips generate 44 percent of the power when people walk at a rate of 2 meters per second, with ankles contributing 39 percent of the power.
When people start running at this 2-meter-per-second rate, the ankles really kick in, providing 47 percent of the power compared to 32 percent for the hips. Ankles continue to provide the most power of the three lower limb joints as running speeds increase, although the hips begin closing the distance at faster speeds.
"There seems to be a tradeoff in power generation from hips to ankles as you make the transition from walking to running," Sawicki says.
Both researchers are interested in how the study can help people who need assistance walking and running. Knowing which part of the lower limbs provide more power during the different activities can help engineers figure out how, depending on the person's speed and gait, mechanical power needs to be distributed.
"For example, assistive devices such as an exoskeleton or prosthesis may have motors near both the hip and ankle. If a person will be walking and then running, you'd need to redistribute energy from the hip to the ankle when the person makes that transition," Farris says.
Ten people walked and ran at various speeds on a specially designed treadmill in the study; a number of cameras captured their gait by tracking reflective markers attached to various parts of the participants' lower limbs while the treadmill captured data from the applied force.
The study examined walking and running on level ground in order to gauge the differences brought about by increased speed; walking and running on inclined ground is fundamentally different than walking and running on flat ground, the researchers say, and would likely skew the power generation results toward the hips and knees.
The joint Department of Biomedical Engineering is part of NC State's College of Engineering and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's School of Medicine.
Cite This Page: | <urn:uuid:621f03ca-99a5-4df7-957d-9ce6a03bc581> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110524191651.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398446248.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205406-00027-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933048 | 685 | 3.515625 | 4 |
The craft of handmade infographics is an art form seldom used by news designers. Thus far.
Handmade infographics are primarily created with with materials from the real world, instead of mainly digital, like most infographics. Handmades can be extremely attractive. With smart pre-planning, they easily rise above the average. Consider these three elements, and success is guaranteed:
- The context. If you write a story about education and draw a chart on a chalkboard, as a visualisation, then it’s in context. In similar fashion you could make a graffiti bar chart, if the story is about abandoned buildings.
- The story. The visualisation should not only be a part of the full story, but ideally also tells the story on its own (see example 3.)
- Aesthetic appeal. Needless to say, usually comes first with designers.
Example 1. Aesthetics, but no context or story
The handmade data visualisations by Jose Duarte are well-known among designers interested in visual storytelling. The visuals are compelling. In this picture the number of internet-users in the year 2000 and 2010 is visualised by balloon-like shapes. What does the surrounding – the context – add to that story? Nothing, actually. This would have been a fantastic visualisation, if the story was on deforestation, instead of on internet use.
Likewise News Knitter is more of an art project, than useful for storytelling (unless, the story is on fashion, or knitting for that matter). The News Knitter project shows infographics and news headlines on long sleeves. The story here is: news in a different context.
Ergo, it’s art.
Example 2. Context, but no story
This infographic, by Angelina Ignatova (her other work is very nice) is about vegetarianism, and shows… vegetables! Visualisation in context.
But let’s analyse the visualisation:
– The choice of veggies isn’t spot on (why are farm animals depicted as peppers, the ‘1.3 billion people that could be fed by grain and soybeans’ as tomatoes, and vegetarians either as seeds, plants or a potato disc?).
– The provided information is an arbitrary list of numbers on vegetarianism. That’s a bit thin for a story.
– The picture alone doesn’t immediately tell us that the main subject is vegetarianism. Without explanation this could be about cooking or home gardening.
Example 3. Aesthetics, context and story
Much more useful for storytelling purposes, is the work of the Danish designer Peter Ørntoft. The subject of the infographic is whether the Danes think it is ethical to wear religious symbols in public professions. Each picture tells a different story on what the Danes think about a specific religious object (a cross, a headscarf, and a Yarmulka (not depicted here) ).
Ørntoft won the Information is Beautiful award for his visualisation in 2012. | <urn:uuid:490ac75f-9136-41b9-b5e5-8f174f341d75> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://dutchnewsdesign.com/aesthetics/create-handmade-infographic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583728901.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20190120163942-20190120185942-00161.warc.gz | en | 0.912738 | 626 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Zigong dinosaur fans have time to follow these two simulation dinosaur production methods to produce their own miniature dinosaurs, so that they also have their own Quality The Fierce Dinosaur Fossils!
Zigong Quality The Fierce Dinosaur Fossils production of this dinosaur production method is sculpture dinosaur. As the name suggests is the sculpture out of the dinosaurs, its production process and materials are divided into two kinds, the first is glass fiber reinforced plastic material, the second is the cement sculpture. Steel is needed to make the dinosaur skeleton, because the skeleton of the dinosaur can support the weight of the dinosaur, and then use fiberglass or cement sculpture to make dinosaur skin. This method is produced by the simulation dinosaur production can be made into different gestures, lifelike. But it also has a big drawback is that this is not moving, will always be fixed. Can only be the beginning of the first design of their actions, and then produced. Because it is just a fixed dinosaur sculpture.
Zigong Quality The Fierce Dinosaur Fossils production can be more direct when people see the ancient dinosaurs look. Simulation dinosaurs also make people more direct and comprehensive understanding of dinosaurs. Coupled with text or commentary will be able to make people all-round production of dinosaurs. http://www.hldinosaur.com/ | <urn:uuid:ef11121c-8582-4090-89fd-1ecc0998a7c8> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://jiajusite.wordpress.com/2017/02/04/introduction-of-quality-the-fierce-dinosaur-fossils/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084891750.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20180123052242-20180123072242-00370.warc.gz | en | 0.922249 | 264 | 2.765625 | 3 |
(Protivín, Czech Republic 49°12' 14°13')
Compiled by specialist subject teacher František Krhoun, Protivín.
Translated from the original Czech by Jan O. Hellmann/DK
Edited in English by Dan & Rob Pearman/UK
According to its owner, the merchant Felix Richter, the oldest Jewish house in Protivín is probably house no. 111 in Blanická Street.
Mr. Richter is of the opinion that the house had a connection with the Jewish community in Protivín. According to him, the Richter family was apparently one of the ‘Schutzjuden’ (the families under the protection of the manorial authority). There were only a few such families, and only the oldest son in the family had the right to marry.
There was no synagogue in Protivín just a wooden prayer house. After this burned down in 1857, the Jews leased a room for praying in the house of Mr. Zelenka today this is no. 22. In 1889 or 1890, they bought house no. 113 in Blanická Street from the heirs of Salomon Ignác (Jonáš) Weil and adapted it for use as a prayer house. The cost is not known. It has not been in use since 1923; instead the prayer house in Vodňany is used.
There were no rabbis in Protivín, just teachers who also led the prayers, sung and carried out ritual slaughtering.
Until 1878, when the Jewish cemetery in Protivín was founded, Protivín Jews were buried in the Jewish cemetery at Pražák, near Vodňany.
On 13 April 1879, the Chevra Kadisha was established in Protivín. The founding 19 members were:
Salomon Jonáš Weil
Dr. Karel Löwenstein
Pepi (Josefa) Steinerová
In 1879 Emanuel Kohn was the chairman, while Wilhelm Klauber and Jakob Wagner were the assistants. Today (1932) Alfred Weil is the chairman.
The Jewish school in Protivín used to be at the old prayer house, which burned down in 1857. After that it was in the house of Mr. Zelenka at no. 22 on the square. From around 1889 the school was in house no. 113 Blanická Street, which is also where the prayer room was. There is still a classroom in the house, but it has not been in use for a long time; the schooling stopped some years before the war and the children of Protivin Jews now attend the public school. One of the most fondly remembered teachers at the Jewish school is Emanuel Traub who was a very good singer with a fine tenor voice. He lived here for a long time. After him came Schleisner, then some others, then Weis and finally Neu. After the last of these, there were probably no others. Some members of the Richter and Bloch families attended the private Jewish school in Dub at Vodňany, which was attended by Jewish children from all over the Vodňany area.
The majority of Jews in Protivín were poor. They were mainly small merchants, some were butchers and one was a glazier. According to the estimate of one of the oldest citizens, they did not own more than 100,000 guilders between them.
The relatively richest one was Vilém Platovský, a merchant of drapery goods. Around 1890, he founded the ‘Premo’ factory in Protivín, producing metal buttons. The factory was in the house of Mr. Böhm, on the square. Before the war a new building was constructed for it at the train station. Mr. Platovský sold the factory after the war.
An important person today is engineer František Holub, chief clerk at the Mine and Iron Works Company in Prague.
In 1870, the Jewish community had the following members:
Salomon Weil, senior
Salomon Weil, junior
the widow of Leopold Wagner
Leopold Mautner from nearby Myšenec
Ehrlich from nearby Skály
Leopold Fröhlich from nearby Heřmaň
Blumová, a widow from nearby Maletice
L. Koschitschek from Žďár at Protivín
Jewish families in Protivín in 1932 were:
Richard Weil, grain merchant and owner of house no. 34 Masaryk Square, Protivín
Lotty Weilová, his mother
Ida Weilová, his sister;
Felix Richter, merchant with a general store at no. 111 Blanická Street, in Protivín.
Lidka Richterová, his wife
Jiří Richter, their son;
Alfred Weil, merchant with a general store at no. 112 Blanická Street, in Protivín.
Olga Weilová, his wife
Hanička (Hana) Weilová, their daughter;
Jindřich Spiegel, merchant with a general store on Blanická Street, in Protivín.
Spieglová, his sister.
Jewish merchants and industrialists:
This information is based on conserved documents in the possession of Mr. Felix Richter, merchant in Protivín, and on his memory. A few details are based on information from Mr. František Janoušek, belt maker in Protivín.
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Jews and Jewish Communities of Bohemia in the past & present Yizkor Book Project JewishGen Home Page
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Updated 22 Apr 2014 by JH | <urn:uuid:c926891b-3ee6-4c01-add9-e3865468e208> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/bohemia/boh512.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440644066275.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827025426-00104-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935476 | 1,328 | 2.75 | 3 |
Global Warming, Technology Transfer and Trade in Carbon Energy: Challenge or Threat?
Is it possible to combat global climate change through North-to-South technology transfer even without a global climate treaty? Or do carbon leakage and the rebound effect imply that it is possible to take advantage of technological improvements under the umbrella of a global arrangement only? For answering these questions a world with full international cooperation is compared with a world, where countries act non-cooperatively. More precisely, in case of non-cooperation two cases are discussed. The first one is called Kyoto-plus and the second one labeled Kyoto-reversed. Kyoto-plus means that the North decides: (1) to unilaterally reduce its domestic greenhouse gas emissions and (2), to transfer technological knowledge to the South. If Kyoto-reversed is considered, the North decides on transferring technology while the South commits itself to reduce emissions. Rebound and leakage effects hinder a sustainable and welfare improving solution of the climate problem.
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Chichilnisky, Graciela & Heal, Geoffrey, 1994.
"Who should abate carbon emissions? : An international viewpoint,"
Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 443-449, April.
- Graciela Chichilnisky & Geoffrey Heal, 1993. "Who Should Abate Carbon Emissions? An International Viewpoint," NBER Working Papers 4425, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Bhagwati, Jagdish N & Brecher, Richard A & Hatta, Tatsuo, 1983. "The Generalized Theory of Transfers and Welfare: Bilateral Transfers in a Multilateral World," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(4), pages 606-618, September.
- Yang, Zili & Nordhaus, William D., 2006. "Magnitude and direction of technological transfers for mitigating GHG emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(5-6), pages 730-741, November.
- Brannlund, Runar & Ghalwash, Tarek & Nordstrom, Jonas, 2007. "Increased energy efficiency and the rebound effect: Effects on consumption and emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-17, January.
- Brännlund, Runar & Ghalwash, Tarek & Nordström, Jonas, 2004. "Increased Energy Efficiency and the Rebound Effect: Effects on consumption and emissions," Umeå Economic Studies 642, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
- Gillingham, Kenneth & Newell, Richard G. & Pizer, William A., 2008. "Modeling endogenous technological change for climate policy analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 2734-2753, November.
- Gillingham, Kenneth T. & Newell, Richard G. & Pizer, William A., 2007. "Modeling Endogenous Technological Change for Climate Policy Analysis," Discussion Papers dp-07-14, Resources For the Future.
- Scott Barrett, 2006. "Climate Treaties and "Breakthrough" Technologies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 22-25, May.
- John Stranlund, 1996. "On the strategic potential of technological aid in international environmental relations," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 64(1), pages 1-22, February.
- Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Matthieu Glachant & Ivan Haščič & Nick Johnstone & Yann Ménière, 2011. "Invention and Transfer of Climate Change--Mitigation Technologies: A Global Analysis," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 5(1), pages 109-130, Winter.
- Antoine Dechezlepretre & Matthieu Glachant & Ivan Hascic & Nick Johnstone & Yann Meniere, 2011. "Invention and transfer of climate change-mitigation technologies: a global analysis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 37667, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
- Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Matthieu Glachant & Ivan Hascic & Nick Johnstone & Yann Ménière, 2011. "Invention and transfer of climate change-mitigation technologies: A global analysis," Post-Print hal-00488214, HAL.
- Wolfgang Buchholz & Kai Konrad, 1994. "Global environmental problems and the strategic choice of technology," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 299-321, October.
- Aronsson, Thomas & Backlund, Kenneth & Sahlén, Linda, 2010. "Technology transfers and the clean development mechanism in a North-South general equilibrium model," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 292-309, August.
- Yang, Zili, 1999. "Should the north make unilateral technology transfers to the south?: North-South cooperation and conflicts in responses to global climate change," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 67-87, January. Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services. | <urn:uuid:2a119a86-4e04-407a-80f5-bfdf735a8693> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | https://ideas.repec.org/p/trr/wpaper/201205.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607862.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170524211702-20170524231702-00129.warc.gz | en | 0.790121 | 1,519 | 2.5625 | 3 |
If you ask a baker what protein does in dough, they'll tell you protein forms gluten, the stretchy web that's necessary for making bread (but a less desirable quality in things like cakes). Protein affects the amount of water that flour can absorb. It's thirsty. Dough made with high gluten flour will seem less wet than dough made from flour with a lower gluten content. This can be true even if the same brand of flour is used to make the same dough. While measuring errors are one common problem, even if the measuring is precise, doughs made from the same recipe can feel different. The reason being, protein levels can vary within the same brand of flour. Although usually the amount of protein is stated on the bag, the actual amount will fall within a range depending on the manufacturer's tolerances. Even a small variation in the amount of protein can produce very different outcomes. But how much difference could it make?
This test was easy. I started with four different types of flour in four bowls—100 grams each of bread flour, all-purpose flour, unbleached cake flour, and cake flour—and I added 90 grams of water to each bowl. The bleached cake flour (bottom left in photo above) looks thicker, but looks are deceiving. It wasn't thicker, it's just that the others were smoother. Bread flour, with the highest protein content, was the thickest dough. It was stirrable, but it started developing gluten right away. After a short rest, I could lift the whole clump of dough with the spoon.
All purpose flour was a little wetter, or less thick, if you prefer to think of it that way. It was much easier to stir, but started to develop gluten fairly quickly. After a short rest, I could pick up most of the dough ball on the spoon, but since it was looser and smoother, it flowed off the spoon.
Unbleached cake flour is new on the market; until recently, all cake flour was bleached. The unbleached cake flour is formulated to have the same protein content as the bleached cake flour, but without undergoing the chemical bleaching process. It was even looser than the all-purpose flour. There was less gluten development, so it fell off the spoon in ragged clumps. It's not as bright white, and there was some gluten development. Not nearly as much as the bread or all-purpose flours, but more than the bleached cake flour.
The bright white bleached cake flour, besides being the loosest, also resisted forming gluten, even after quite a long rest. I could pick up a spoon full of it, but it didn't hold together at all.
Using bleached cake flour in lieu of bread flour would be an extreme substitute, but even the difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour was significant. There's no one flour that's right for every purpose, and of course I didn't test every option. The point is that different flours will behave differently, so even if you weigh every ingredient, your results may not be consistent unless you're using the same flour—and if the flour itself is consistent from the manufacturers.
About the author: Donna Currie has been cooking for fun and writing for pay since the days when typewritten articles traveled by snail mail. When she combined those talents in a food column for a newspaper in her area, she realized that writing about food is almost as much fun as eating. You can find her on her blog, Cookistry or follow her on Twitter at @dbcurrie or @cookistry. | <urn:uuid:d8a97609-a7e5-4981-910f-56e988bf26d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-07 | http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/06/pizza-protips-gluten-and-water.html?ref=title | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701153323.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193913-00112-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978287 | 739 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Hammertoe Doctor St. Louis
Hammertoes are a contracture of the toes as a result of a muscle imbalance between the tendons on the top and the tendons on the bottom of the toe. They can be flexible or rigid in nature. When they are rigid, it is not possible to straighten the toe out by manipulating it. Frequently, they develop corns on the top of the toe as a result of rubbing on the shoe. They may also cause a bothersome callous on the ball of the foot. This occurs as a result of the toe pressing downward on the bone behind the toe. This area then becomes prominent and the pressure of the bone against the ground causes a callous to form. (Corns and Calluses)
They tend to slowly get worse with time and frequently flexible deformities become rigid. Treatment can be preventative, symptomatic or curative. (For information on hammertoe of the big toe see Hallux hammertoe)
Preventative Treatment of Hammertoes
A functional orthotic is a special insert that can be prescribed by your podiatrist to address the abnormal functioning of the foot that causes the hammertoe. Functional orthotics can be thought of as contact lenses for your feet. They correct a number of foot problems that are caused by an abnormally functioning foot. Our feet, much like our eyes, change with time. Functional orthotics slow down or halt this gradual change in the foot. Often when orthotics are used for flexible hammertoes, the toes will overtime straighten out and correct themselves. Calf stretching exercises are also helpful. Calf stretching can help to overcome part of the muscle imbalance that causes the hammertoe.
Symptomatic treatment of hammertoes consists of such things as open toed shoes or hammertoe pads. There are over the counter corn removers for temporarily reducing the painful callus often seen with the hammertoe. These medications must be used with caution. They are a mild acid that burns the callous off. These medications should never be used for corns or calluses between the toes. Persons with diabetes or bad circulation should never use these products.
Curative Treatment of Hammertoes
When the hammertoe is flexible, a simple tendon release in the toe works well. The recovery is rapid often requiring nothing more that a single stitch and a Band-Aid. Of course if several toes are done at the same time, the recovery make take a bit longer. For the surgical correction of a rigid hammertoe, the surgical procedure consists of removing the damaged skin where the corn is located. Then a small section of bone is removed at the level of the rigid joint. The sutures remain in place for approximately ten days. During this period of time it is important to keep the area dry. Most surgeons prefer to leave the bandage in place until the patient’s follow-up visit, so there is no need for the patient to change the bandages at home. The patient is returned to a stiff-soled walking shoe in about two weeks. It is important to try and stay off the foot as much as possible during this time. Excessive swelling of the toe is the most common patient complaint. In severe cases of hammertoe deformity a pin may be required to hold the toe in place and the surgeon may elect to fuse the bones in the toe. This requires several weeks of recovery.
Complications associated with the surgery are infection, excessive swelling leading to delays in healing and potential deviation of the toe. If excessive bone is removed during the surgery, the toe may be a bit floppy. The toe always has a floppy feeling for several weeks following the surgery. This is normal and generally not permanent.
If pinning the toe is not required during the procedure, then the surgery could be preformed in the doctor’s office under a local anesthesia. Some patients prefer the comfort of sedation during the surgery and if this is the case or if a pin must be placed, then the surgery could be preformed in an outpatient surgery center.
For help with hammertoes and other foot issues, contact Missouri Foot & Ankle today! | <urn:uuid:888a5528-581b-49a6-9db0-76fd5fdb1359> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://www.mofoot.com/hammertoes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257316.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190523164007-20190523190007-00379.warc.gz | en | 0.939616 | 848 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Cities for children: An overview of relevant issues
Child poverty and the violation of children’s rights are increasingly urban phenomena. An estimated billion people live in overcrowded, inadequate housing without basic services or secure tenure. More than a third are children and adolescents, living in conditions that challenge their rights, wellbeing, and long-term prospects. Yet urban children have surprisingly few global champions, and can often be overlooked in more general agendas. This briefing provides an introduction to the status of children in urban areas, focusing on the most marginalised and deprived children and the range of issues they face, including the impacts of migration, poverty, hunger, conflict, disease and vulnerability to disaster. But it also highlights the opportunities to manage urbanisation better so that children and adolescents in cities can survive, learn, contribute and thrive.
This paper is the first in the Research Series: Cities for Children and Youth. | <urn:uuid:9d365a2f-010d-43e3-943e-c9e16b895016> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://iied.org/20611x | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947476205.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20240303043351-20240303073351-00302.warc.gz | en | 0.933907 | 182 | 3.265625 | 3 |
The uprising photographed above is not Hungary, but Berlin, 1953, reduced to a parenthetical reference in this chapter. Berlin in 1953, Poland and Hungary in 1956 – what was happening?
In Berlin new policies were being implemented driving prices up, taxes up, quotas up and leaving pay the same, or even reduced if quotas not met. A mass exodus of the professionals to the west (pre-wall remember) was taking place but the policies also led to a massive worker uprising / strike which was crushed under the treads of Soviet tanks. The number killed, wounded and arrested remains difficult to say but we can say that there certainly were many.
Remember the little talk we had about diplomacy and language the other day? When Khrushchev goes to Poland this is the reason he is not recieved by the official party. When Eisenhower goes on the air to discuss world developments in Suez, diplomacy is the reason (though maybe mistakenly according to my read of Kissinger) that he says nothing of consequence about events in Hungary.
Remember the last elections in Iran? People in the Iranian government said, and probably still say that all the agitation was caused by the west (by the US). Obama was very careful in his language to try to show that the US was entirely hands off in the actions of the Iranian people and I think similarly here Eisenhower did not want there to be any semblence of a possibility that someone would believe the Hungarians were being aided by the US lest there be a discrediting of the movement and an excuse for the Soviets to treat the uprising as an international provocation. Of course it turns out the Soviets needed no such excuse.
It is interesting to note as well that Kissinger points out from the days of the Tsar, to the Soviets to the post Cold-War world Russians have treated bordering states similarly, or at least tried to. He was writing 15 years ago before the events in Chechnya.
So why did things go differently in Poland than in Hungary? Why did Soviet tanks turn around in Poland and why were leaders executed in Hungary? How might Eisenhower or the UN played things differently here? Please remember all of this when we get to “Prague Spring” of 1968 and the Solidarity movement in Poland in 1980. | <urn:uuid:db2dcc87-1443-4ac6-bcd5-865c1a9739b9> | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | http://www.ibhistorytopics.com/?p=1799 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416400379404.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20141119123259-00237-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983887 | 458 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Baby’s first breaths captured on ultrasound for the first time
Doctors at the Royal Women’s Hospital have for the first time, captured moving ultrasound images of the lungs of newborn babies as they take their first breaths.
The world-first research involving the Women’s and Monash University signals a breakthrough in understanding how human lungs transition from the womb to the first breaths at birth.
Researchers say the new information could lead to the diagnosis of severe breathing problems in very preterm babies in the first minutes of life, instead of the current several hours, allowing for live-saving treatment.
In the DOLFIN study researchers used ultrasound to captured images of 115 newborn lungs immediately after birth at the Women’s. This included images of 28 full-term babies before they took their first breaths after birth. The research has been published in Resuscitation and the BMJ’s Archives of Disease in Childhood.
“When looking at the lungs immediately after birth, they look more like liver and are filled with liquid, but as they fill with air for the first time, the liquid is pushed out and the lungs open as they aerate,” lead researcher Dr Douglas Blank from the Women’s and Monash University said. “Within 10 minutes, the lungs of these healthy babies appear to have nearly completed the adjustment needed after birth, although it does take, on average, up to four hours for all the liquid to be removed from the baby’s lungs.
“This research has important implications because the quality of the imaging and speed at which babies transition to normal lungs suggests we can make a diagnosis of lung problems in newborn babies within the first 20 minutes after birth using ultrasound. This is particularly important for premature infants as 50 per cent have severe breathing problems and require intensive treatment. Currently it takes several hours to assess the severity of breathing problems.”
Dr Blank is leading a new study, called DOLFIN Jr, to test whether it is possible to use imaging of the lungs in the first minutes of life to accurately predict which extremely pre-term babies (born before 29 weeks) need intensive breathing support and which babies will benefit from minimal breathing support.
Premature babies with severe breathing problems require lifesaving medication called surfactant. It is administered by placing a breathing tube into a tiny baby’s airway and putting the baby on a ventilator which is a machine that helps them breathe. This process can cause long-term damage to the fragile lungs so should only be done if the baby has severe breathing problems.
Babies without severe breathing problems do not need ventilation and can receive CPAP breathing assistance, which decreases the risk of lung damage and death.
The window to decide which respiratory treatment is best suited for the baby, is small.
Currently, extremely preterm babies receive minimal breathing support with CPAP to start. If their oxygen levels are too low, indicating they are struggling to breathe they are given surfactant and put onto a breathing machine.
“Ultimately, we aim for babies who need the surfactant and help via a breathing machine to receive that support much earlier, while those whose lungs are functioning better, will receive minimal breathing support,” Dr Blank said. “Lung ultrasound may be able to tell us which approach is suited for each baby. Targeting breathing support more accurately will reduce the risk of lung disease and death in both groups.”
The Women’s Director of Newborn Research Professor Peter Davis said the new research represented a breakthrough in understanding human lungs in transition at birth.
“We really didn’t understand what was happening in those first seconds of birth as the only way to do it would be to x-ray a baby every few seconds – something that is not beneficial to either mum or baby. But the ultrasound has allowed us to gain an insight and see what the lungs are doing.
“With this technology, we can now look at very preterm babies immediately after birth and see which ones are going to develop lung disease and given them the extra help of mechanical ventilation and surfactant,” Professor Davis said.
The DOLFIN Jr study is being funded by a US$50,000 General Electric grant and the Emergency Medicine Foundation. It is being undertaken at the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Monash Medical Centre. Partners include the Hudson Institute of Medical Science.
Concetta Tartaglia and her twin girls Marta and Sara are involved in the Dolfin Jr study. They were born at 28 weeks gestation, weighing just 1033 and 870 grams.
“I chose to be involved because it is a non-invasive study and will hopefully help babies receive the correct treatment much earlier in future,” Mrs Tartaglia said.
While Marta has progressed well, Sara needed some help breathing from a ventilator in the first five days. Now celebrating their 50 day milestone, both girls are progressing to less invasive breathing supports.
115 full term babies were involved in the study with ultrasound used to image their breathing in the first minutes after birth. The very first breath of 28 babies was captured on ultrasound with another 35 within the first four breaths.
Surfactant is a naturally produced substance, a kind of foamy, fatty liquid that acts like grease within the lungs. Without it, the air sacs open but have difficulty remaining open because they stick together. Surfactant usually appears in the fetus’ lungs at about the 24th week of pregnancy and gradually builds up to its full level by the 37th week. If a premature baby is lacking surfactant, artificial surfactant may be given. | <urn:uuid:e7835b54-de78-40fb-921c-afa533f7706a> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://thewomens.org.au/news/babys-first-breaths-captured-on-ultrasound-for-the-first-time | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233506420.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20230922134342-20230922164342-00323.warc.gz | en | 0.960423 | 1,167 | 3.34375 | 3 |
(a) A vision statement is a formal statement of what a business wants to be. According to Collins and Porras, a vision statement should have four parts. What are those four parts? (b) Differentiate between ‘process’ and ‘tasks’
The vision statement has to have four parts namely
Core values are the organization’s essential and enduring tenets—a small set of timeless guiding principles that require no external justification
Core purpose, the second component of core ideology, is the organization’s fundamental reason for being. In our hardcover edition of Built to Last, we did not give enough attention to purpose as distinct from core values and we under-emphasized its importance. Pushed to choose between core purpose and core values, we would likely choose core purpose as the more important of the two for guiding and inspiring an organization. It is also more difficult to identify than core values.
The BHAG is about having a goal which qualifies the purpose
Vivid description, the second component of envisioned future, is a vibrant, engaging, and specific description of what it will be like to achieve the BHAG. Think of it as translating the vision from words into pictures, of creating an image that people can carry around in their heads. We call this “painting a picture with your words.” This “picture-painting” is essential for making the ten- to thirty-year BHAG tangible in people’s minds. For example, recall how Henry Ford brought to life the BHAG to democratize the automobile with the vivid description: “I will build a motor car for the great multitude .... It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one—and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces .... When I’m through everybody will be able to afford one, and everyone will have one. The horse will have disappeared...
Please join StudyMode to read the full document | <urn:uuid:1da65bc8-bf19-4896-b2a1-e179273c1943> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.studymode.com/essays/Management-Process-And-Organization-Behavior-45341746.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313259.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20190817123129-20190817145129-00162.warc.gz | en | 0.941061 | 423 | 2.71875 | 3 |
THE power, energy and mineral resources ministry’s proposal to move from coal to liquefied natural gas for power generation appears to be a shift from one form of fossil fuel to another which will continue to take a toll on the environment and people. When experts have for long urged the government to switch to clean renewable energy for power generation, the plan to use liquefied natural gas is disappointing. A Centre for Policy Dialogue study has appreciated the power ministry’s proposal to abandon coal-based plants, but criticised the proposal, instead, for the use of liquefied natural gas, which cannot be an alternative to coal as environmental damage caused by the liquefied natural gas is almost equal to what coal causes. Besides, power generated from liquefied natural gas would be equally costly. The government which is reported to be disinclined towards renewable energy-based power generation on the grounds of cost should take into account the cost of fossil fuel-based projects and their environmental impacts.
The study shows that the government could save a huge amount of money by revising its power policy and by withdrawing from coal-based power. It says that about $3.3 billion could be saved if there is no coal import for power. Moreover, if the government can properly revise its power policy and sort out issues of overcapacity, capacity payment and the gap between power generation and distribution, it can save at least the subsidy it now pays. Bangladesh already has about 40 per cent overcapacity in generation, against a minimum of 15 per cent, which suggests a wide gap between power generation capacity, demand and transmission and distribution. Bangladesh has the capacity to generate about 21,000MW of electricity while the demand fluctuates between about 10,000MW and about 6,000MW. The government’s disproportionate attention to and investment on increasing generation capacity, neglecting the development of transmission and distribution infrastructure, has left the development of the power sector largely lop-sided.
Bangladesh, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, is meant to generate 100 per cent electricity from renewable energy by 2050 as it has pledged in the Climate Vulnerable Forum. While meeting the energy need is a high priority of the government, ensuring that energy generation has less disastrous impact on the environment should also be high on government agenda. The government must, in such a situation, set its power policy on the right track. As the country has a huge overcapacity in power, the government must not rush to select an alternative energy source which could harm the environment.
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More Stories from Editorial | <urn:uuid:2b2561bb-a09c-4dcd-9dc8-4a057feb6982> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.newagebd.net/article/116432/disinclination-to-renewable-energy-for-power-worrying | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600402130615.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201001030529-20201001060529-00018.warc.gz | en | 0.950774 | 535 | 3.21875 | 3 |
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Juris Medicus has addiction medicine specialists who are certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
Addiction is a treatable and chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among the brain’s circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction may use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences.
Addiction medicine is a medical subspecialty that deals with the diagnosis, prevention, evaluation, treatment, and recovery of persons with addiction, substance-related and addictive disorders, or who show unhealthy use of substances including prescription medication, alcohol, nicotine, or illicit and licit drugs. An addiction medicine specialist is a trained physician who can provide comprehensive care for addiction and substance related disorders. These physicians provide medical care within the bio-psycho-social framework for both the persons with addiction as well as the family members whose health and functioning are affected by another’s substance use or addiction. | <urn:uuid:e69f83c6-0a2a-40ea-a5b4-ad27ef3cf50f> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.jurismedicus.net/addiction-medicine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335034.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927131111-20220927161111-00318.warc.gz | en | 0.927333 | 211 | 2.515625 | 3 |
I stumbled across this great mapping system of CO2 emmisions over at Science Daily. Whilst previous estimates of CO2 levels have been calculated per capita in the US, a new map called ‘Vulcan’ created by biogeochemists at Purdue University shows the top local and regional carbon dioxide producers in high resolution.
In the past, CO2 levels have been calculated based on population, putting the Northeast at the top of the list. Now, a new map called Vulcan reveals for the first time where the top carbon dioxide producers are in the country. The answer surprised Kevin Gurney, Ph.D., a biogeochemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
“There are a lot more emissions in the Southeast than we previously thought, and a lot of that is because it’s not necessarily associated with where people live directly, but actually where industry and activities are,” said Dr. Gurney.
The high-resolution map shows 100 times more detail than ever before and zooms in to show greenhouse gas sources right down to factories, power plants and even roadways. An animated version of Vulcan reveals huge amounts of greenhouse gas gets blown toward the North Atlantic region.
“We’ve never had a map with this much detail and accuracy that everyone can view online,” Dr. Gurney said. (Read more @ Science Daily)
The official website (“The Vulcan Project“) has an amazing Google Earth interface, where you can map the emissions from US power producers, residential and commercial CO2 emissions at 100km2 local scale resolution. Perhaps the most interesting contrast is the maps of residential CO2 emissions when comparing Republican vs Democrat districts. Given the difference in population density between the US and Australia, it’d be interesting to see someone scale this effort to a continental scale, allowing regional comparisons and perspectives on global carbon budgets. | <urn:uuid:60875802-e84d-4671-a598-c991e7d7b6a0> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://climateshifts.org/tag/emissions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487600396.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20210613041713-20210613071713-00427.warc.gz | en | 0.930771 | 392 | 3.375 | 3 |
Urdu (/ˈʊərduː/; Urdu: اُردُو Urdū; [ˈʊrd̪uː]), or more precisely Modern Standard Urdu, is a standardized register of the Hindustani language. Urdu is historically associated with the Muslims of the region of Hindustan. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, and an official language of five Indian states and one of the 22 scheduled languages in the Constitution of India. Apart from specialized vocabulary, Urdu is mutually intelligible with Standard Hindi, which is associated with the Hindu community. Since the end of the Mughal period in the nineteenth century, varieties of Hindustani have been the lingua franca for much of South Asia.
Urdu and Hindi are nearly identical in basic structure and grammar, and at a colloquial level also in vocabulary and phonology. If considered the same language, the population of Hindi-Urdu speakers is the fourth largest of the languages of the world, after Mandarin Chinese, English and Spanish. (Wikipedia) | <urn:uuid:62a69ca1-c525-486c-95a8-51c82be41aa3> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | http://languagelandscape.org/language/Urdu | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703519843.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20210119232006-20210120022006-00542.warc.gz | en | 0.90588 | 229 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Technical note Open Access
Milovac, Željko; Petrović, Kristina; Tubić, Svetlana Balešević; Recknagel, Jürgen; Vasiljević, Marjana
Pests are generally not a problem in European soybean crops. Spider mites account for a large proportion of what pest damage there is. The risk of damage is high during dry and hot conditions in summer. Several mite species can damage soybean plants, but two are more harmful than others: the spider mite (Tetranychus atlanticus) and the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae). There are no acaricides available for use in soybean in the European Union (EU) and chemical control is not an option in the EU or for crops grown to EU standards elsewhere. | <urn:uuid:16551f95-3776-4638-8371-84fa87380a95> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://www.zenodo.org/record/5060691 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320303709.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220121192415-20220121222415-00518.warc.gz | en | 0.829667 | 188 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Along with The Bombing of Germany, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has produced several films on World War II. While we did not create a Teacher’s Guide specific to this film, we are confident you will find adequate resources in the Teacher’s Guides of the following related films:
The 1968 Democratic National Convention saw a clash of political visions on the convention floor and violence outside on the streets of Chicago.
Forever enshrined in myth by an assassin's bullet, Kennedy's presidency long defied objective appraisal. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
A president who rose from a broken childhood to become one of the most successful politicians in modern American history, and one of the most complex and conflicted characters to ever stride across the public stage.
In the summer of 1940, 10,000 children were sent from wartime Britain to the United States.
Harry Truman was responsible for finding America's place at the start of the Cold War. Part of the award-winning Presidents collection.
The thrilling true story of the American Olympic rowing team that triumphed against all odds in Nazi Germany in 1936.
Founding father Alexander Hamilton went up against political rival and former vice president Aaron Burr in one of history's most famous duels.
The first officially formed regiment of northern black soldiers who fought in the Civil War. | <urn:uuid:dd1db216-5dc0-4b32-a619-b64f9f04fd81> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/teachers-resources/bombing-teacher-resource/?flavour=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982290765.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823195810-00136-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944977 | 270 | 3.328125 | 3 |
-3 word cards to help students spell correctly the following words: tooth, toothbrush, and toothpaste
-Peer editing checklist
-4 Prewriting Organizers
-3 Rough draft and revising templates
-3 Editing templates
-3 Final Draft templates
-A writing process hanging chart to monitor where students are in the writing process. This could also be used as posters so students can read what they should be doing at each step.
About the Seller
I am third year teacher. My first year of teaching, I taught both kindergarten and first grade. What a challenge but also what fun! This year, I teach only first grade. I completed my student teaching in a second grade classroom but also have experience in pre-k and fourth grade. | <urn:uuid:bb224600-af07-40ed-a7fb-6dc51886475e> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.educents.com/how-to-writing-set-how-to-brush-your-teeth.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125946011.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20180423125457-20180423145457-00436.warc.gz | en | 0.924934 | 157 | 3.3125 | 3 |
The key difference between cast and wrought aluminium alloys is that the cast aluminium alloys have many internal and external defects whereas the wrought aluminium alloys are normally free of internal and external defects.
Aluminium alloys are the alloys of aluminium that contain aluminium as the predominant metal along with one or more alloying elements such as copper, magnesium, silicon and tin. There are two major forms of aluminium alloys. Namely, they are cast and wrought aluminium alloys.
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Cast Aluminium Alloys
3. What are Wrought Aluminium Alloys
4. Side by Side Comparison – Cast vs Wrought Aluminium Alloys in Tabular Form
What are Cast Aluminium Alloys?
Cast aluminium alloys are the alloys containing aluminium as the predominant metal and some other alloying elements. We can divide this group of alloys into two major groups as heat-treatable and non-heat-treatable forms. Also, the tensile strength of these alloys is lower comparatively, but they yield cost-effective products. It is because of their low melting point. The most commonly used form is aluminium-silicon cast alloy. There, high levels of silicon provide the alloy with great casting characteristics.
Figure 01: Aluminum Oil Bicycle Wheel
We can list out the favourable properties of aluminium alloys that make them useful as cast aluminium alloys.
- Low melting point
- Good fluidity
- Capability to control the grain structure
- Good surface finish
- Low solubility of gases
- Ability to strengthen by heat treatment
However, there are some disadvantageous properties as well. For example, these alloys show high shrinkage and susceptibility to shrinkage defects. Moreover, these alloys have a high solubility of hydrogen gas. And also, they are susceptible to hot cracking and has a low ductility as well.
What are Wrought Aluminium Alloys?
Wrought aluminium alloys are a form of aluminium alloys containing aluminium as the predominant metal. These alloys are mainly useful in shaping processes such as rolling, forging and extrusion. Also, we can divide this alloy form too into two major groups as heat-treatable and non-heat-treatable alloys. About 85% of the aluminium alloys are wrought alloy forms. They have a high tensile strength comparatively.
Figure 02: Aerospace Application of Aluminium-Scandium Alloy
Heat-treatable forms can be strengthened by heat treatment processes. It is because the solubility of alloying elements depends on the temperature. The initial strength of these alloys comes from alloying elements such as copper, silicon, magnesium and zinc. Non-heat-treatable forms, on the other hand, cannot be strengthened by heat treatment. Their initial strength is due to alloying elements such as manganese, silicon and magnesium. Since heat treatment does not work on them, cold work or strain hardening can be used to strengthen the alloy. Moreover, these alloys are ductile and moderately strong.
What is the Difference Between Cast and Wrought Aluminium Alloys?
Cast aluminium alloy is a form of aluminium-containing alloy that has casting characteristics whereas wrought aluminium alloy is a form of aluminium-containing alloy that is useful for shaping processes. The key difference between cast and wrought aluminium alloys is that cast aluminum alloys have many internal and external defects whereas wrought aluminium alloys are normally free of internal and external defects. Furthermore, a difference between cast and wrought aluminium alloys based on properties is that the cast aluminium alloys have a low melting point, hence, cost-effectiveness is high while the melting point is high for wrought form, thus, the cost-effectiveness is low.
Apart from that, there is also a difference between cast and wrought aluminium alloys based on their tensile strength. The tensile strength of cast alloy form is lower than that of the wrought form. The below infographic shows more details on the difference between cast and wrought aluminium alloys.
Summary – Cast vs Wrought Aluminium Alloys
There are two major types of aluminium alloys; cast and wrought aluminium alloys. The key difference between cast and wrought aluminium alloys is that the cast aluminium alloys have many internal and external defects whereas the wrought aluminium alloys are normally free of internal and external defects.
1. “Aluminium Alloy.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Oct. 2018. Available here
2. “Materials Engineering.” Cast Aluminum Alloys [SubsTech], 4 Apr. 2013. Available here
3. “Materials Engineering.” Wrought Aluminum Alloys [SubsTech], 28 July 2012. Available here
1.”Bootie bicycle frunt wheel balloon tyre bootiebike com”By Conollyb – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2.”Mig-29 on landing”By Dmitry A. Mottl – Own work, (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
The key difference between transcription and translation is that transcription refers to the process of producing a mRNA molecule for the DNA of a gene while translation refers to the process of synthesizing an amino acid sequence from the transcribed mRNA molecule. Genes are the units of heredity. Simply they are fragments of DNA. They contain the genetic information (genetic code) to make proteins. In order to produce proteins, they undergo gene expression. Hence, gene expression is the process of synthesizing a protein molecule (gene product) from the genetic information hidden in the gene. Gene expression occurs via two major steps such as transcription and translation. Transcription is the first step, and it is followed by the translation, which is the second major step of gene expression. CONTENTS 1. Overview and Key Difference 2. What is Transcription 3. What is Translation 4. Similarities Between Transcription and Translation 5. Side by.......READ | <urn:uuid:5abd7608-6c6d-403c-b9fd-5dcb5798d3ee> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://www.28ing.com/difference-between-cast-and-wrought-aluminium-alloys-l-cast-vs-wrought-aluminium-alloys/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039741324.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20181113153141-20181113175141-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.91801 | 1,238 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Artist: Girtin, Thomas
View of York Minster- the largest Gothic Cathedral in Europe. The Cathedral was built in the 13th century on the site of earlier ecclesiastical buildings. It is thought that there was a church here as early as the 7th century- although this would have been a considerably smaller building made from wood. The earliest parts of the present building of York Minster date from 1154 when Archbishop Roger of Pont l’Eveque built a choir and a crypt. In 1220 Archbishop Gray and the Dean and Chapter decided to rebuilt the Minster and the new church was developed in the fashionable Early English Gothic style. | <urn:uuid:a73b2c66-a61a-4e73-9510-c6e7a5c706c8> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/kinggeorge/y/003ktop00000045u007o0000.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661974.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00219-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980962 | 132 | 3.46875 | 3 |
C'mon, how big is the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, really?
Official estimates for the flow of oil out of the Deepwater Horizon well may be just a drop in the bucket. Critics call for release of worst-case scenario data to describe the oil spill disaster.
Calculating the exact flow of crude out of the bent Deepwater Horizon oil rig "riser" pipe on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is difficult. But it's now likely that the actual amount of the oil spill dwarfs the Coast Guard's figure of 5,000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons, a day.
Independent scientists estimate that the renegade wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf could be spewing up to 25,000 barrels a day. If chokeholds on the riser pipe break down further, up to 50,000 barrels a day could be released, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration memo obtained by the Mobile, Ala., Press-Register.
As estimates of the spill increase, questions about the government's honesty in assessing the spill are emerging. At the same time, pressure is building for the US to release worst-case scenario estimates so residents of the Gulf Coast can adequately prepare.
IN PICTURES: Louisiana oil spill
Meanwhile, BP is working furiously to do the unprecedented: Activate a faulty blowout preventer a mile under the Gulf to stop the leak at its source. If that fails, it could take three months, or more, to drill a relief well in order to plug the renegade well.
“In the environmental arena, risk modeling is done day-in and day-out for every type of pollutant, whether going in the water, earth or air," says Stuart Smith, an environmentl attorney in New Orleans, in a statement. "Why are BP and the Environmental Protection Agency not releasing such information to the public?
After originally saying the rig wasn't leaking at all, the Coast Guard originally used estimates in part provided by BP to describe the size of the spill as 1,000 barrels a day.
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 and injuring 17 of a 126-member crew. It exploded again and sank 36 hours later. The resulting leak has created a Jamaica-sized oil slick that is now whirling in a hurricane shape into sensitive marshes of the Louisiana coastline, endangering birds, fish, oysters, and many peoples’ livelihoods.
President Obama prepared to visit the affected area this weekend as the government began wresting control of the relief operation from BP, which leased the Deepwater Horizon rig, and which has so far provided leak estimates based on reconnaisance of the crumpled pipe done by remote-controlled mini-subs on the murky bottom.
Officials say measuring the outflow is extremely difficult – like trying to gauge by eye the amount of water spurting from a leaky garden hose.
The Obama administration, which only a month ago proposed opening up new coastal areas for oil exploration, has put on hold all new exploratory drilling along the US continental shelf and is now fighting to stay ahead of what sociologist Steven Picou at the University of South Alabama calls a "monster catastrophe that boggles the mind."
A government report obtained by the Mobile, Ala., Press-Register explains that "choke points" in the crumpled riser are controlling the flow from the so-called Macondo well at Lease Block 252 in the Mississippi Canyon. But scrubbing action from sand in the oil is further eroding the pipe. There are likely tens of millions of gallons in the deposit that BP tapped with the Deepwater Horizon.
"The following is not public," reads National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Emergency Response document dated April 28, according to the Press-Register. "Two additional release points were found today. If the riser pipe deteriorates further, the flow could become unchecked resulting in a release volume an order of magnitude higher than previously thought."
An order of magnitude is a factor of 10.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that John Amos, an oil industry consultant, said that NOAA revised its original estimate of 1,000 barrels after he published calculations based on satellite data that showed a larger flow.
The 5,000 barrels a day is the "extremely low end" of estimates, Mr. Amos told the Journal.
"There's a range of uncertainty, and it's very difficult to accurately gauge how much there is," BP spokesman John Curry told the Journal.
The Monitor's View
Obama and offshore drilling: a crude move | <urn:uuid:cc7ba463-c404-460d-a06a-010191e5a7b0> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0501/C-mon-how-big-is-the-Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill-really/(page)/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737896527.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221816-00243-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939597 | 940 | 3.34375 | 3 |
The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) is the first of a series of spacecraft that was launched under the Small Explorer (SMEX) mission of program for low cost spacecraft. The main objectives of SAMPEX experiments was to obtained data for several continuous years on the anomalous components of cosmic rays, on solar energetic particles emissions from the sun, and on the precipitating magnetospheric relativistic electrons. The orbit of SAMPEX has an altitude of 512 by 687 km and an 81.7 degree inclination. The spacecraft uses an on-board 3-axis stabilized solar pointed/momentum bias system with the pitch axis pointed to towards the sun. Solar panels provide power for operations, including 16.7 W for science instruments. An on-board DPU preprocesses the science and other data and stores them in a RPP unit of about 65 Mb, before transmitting in the S-band at a rate of 1.5 Mb/s over Wallops (or a back-up) station. The command memory can store at least a thousand commands. The science instruments generally point toward local zenith, especially over the terrestrial poles, for optimal sampling of galactic and solar cosmic ray flux. Energetic magnetospheric particle precipitation is monitored at lower geomagnetic latitudes. It carries four science instruments: (1) low energy ion composition analyzer (LICA); (2) heavy ion large telescope (HILT); (3) mass spectrometer telescope (MAST); and (4) proton electron telescope (PET). Estimated useful lifetime of the spacecraft was about three years; however, the data stream continue to July, 2004. In 1997, NASA Goddard transferred operation of SAMPEX to the Flight Dynamics and Control Laboratory (FDCL) housed within the Aerospace Engineering Department of the University of Maryland. For more details, see IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (Vol 31, Issue 3, May 1993, pp. 531-574).
1 22012U 92038A 12318.28641620 .12673776 -97779-6 12094-3 0 2024 2 22012 081.6091 297.8117 0006446 229.3870 130.9232 16.51348950127372 | <urn:uuid:c2182426-1dbd-4034-83c8-1296da15abba> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | http://www.infosatellites.com/sampex-satellite-information-norad-22012.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998716.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20190618103358-20190618125358-00175.warc.gz | en | 0.864531 | 478 | 3.03125 | 3 |
The omission wasn't purposeful. It wasn't until the 1800s that Louis Pasteur (yes, the father of pasteurization) discovered the role yeast performed in fermentation.This is an inaccurate, but almost ubiquitous statement. I googled "beer yeast discovery" and they blossomed like mushrooms after a spring rain:
"Without knowing its role or its existence, men have always used yeast." (Lesaffre yeast)
"The German Beer Purity Law of 1516 - The Reinheitsgebot, listed the only allowable materials for brewing as malt, hops, and water. With the discovery of yeast and its function in the late 1860's by Louis Pasteur, the law had to be amended." (John Palmer, How to Brew)
"Until the mid-19th century brewers knew very little about yeast. To make good beer they had to rely on ancient practice. With the aid of a microscope, Louis Pasteur discovered that yeast was responsible for beer fermentation in 1866." (Christopher White, Brew Your Own)And so on. If you think about this for more than five minutes, you realize it can't be true. When you brew, you get gobs of stuff boiling off the top of your fermenting wort and lots of "stuff" pooled in the bottom afterward. The single-celled organism is invisible, but in the billions they are quite a sight. We also know brewers regularly re-pitched that stuff centuries ago. Matthias Trum and I got off onto a long, interesting digression about brewing history in which he illuminated much about the German guild system for me. (He focused on brewing history when he was a student at Weihenstephan.) He pointed out the obvious and then added:
“About the yeast and the purity law. The yeast is in fact not mentioned, that is correct. You have, again, to put yourself in the mind of a medieval brewer. In the middle ages, they had a profession called the 'hefner.’ So they knew exactly. The purity law lists ingredients, right? Yeast I put in there and I get more out of it. I harvest the yeast at the end and I put it into the next batch. And that was actually the job of the hefner.”
I made my “stuff” point and he continued: “Zeug. Zeug was the German word, which is stuff. The hefner’s job was to harvest the yeast from the batches, to press out as much remaining beer as possible, which was sold at a low price to the poor, and then the yeast was added to the next batch. You started with a smaller amount of yeast and then you ended with a bigger amount of yeast.”Indeed, we have records of brewers using yeast from long ago. Richard Unger documents this in his indispensable Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance:
As early as the mid-14th century, a Flemish recipe book mentions adding yeast to beer, and it seems likely that already by 1300 brewers were using some of the foam skimmed off the top of the fermenting beer from the last brew to start fermentation with the next one. By the 16th century, brewers commonly added yeast to wort from cultures which they kept separate and which they controlled and maintained.And indeed, it had to be that early, because that's roughly the time when lagering began--a process not possible without knowledge of the function of yeast. He continues, making the point:
In 1420 a brewer in Munich got permission to use yeast that fell to the bottom and regulations from Nuremberg suggest that bottom yeasts which had been identified and to some degree isolated were already in use in the fourteenth century.Pasteur's role was observing the organism and explaining why it produced sour beer. (He was a big fan of bottom-fermentation and lagering.) It was a watershed. But humans, which even a thousand years ago were pretty clever beings, had a pretty good idea of what was causing the beer to ferment. My guess is that monks were the first to really develop a theory of yeast--they were the first great brewing innovators--but whoever it was came many hundreds of years before Pasteur. | <urn:uuid:b6dc2275-e07c-4bd2-a856-e5463beae277> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://beervana.blogspot.com/2013/01/pasteur-did-not-discover-yeast.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084886979.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20180117212700-20180117232700-00059.warc.gz | en | 0.980469 | 879 | 2.984375 | 3 |
COMMON NAMES: Aspand (Kurdish), Besasa (Egypt, ‘plant of Bes’), Churma, Epnubu (Egypt), Gandaku, Haoma (Persian), Harmal, Kisankur, Moly, Mountain Rue, Pegano, Sipand (Persian), Syrian Rue, Techepak (Ladakhi), Tukhm-i-isfand, Uzarih (Turkish), Wilde Raute
Growing from a perennial woody root, Peganum harmala is a bright-green, dense, herbaceous succulent. Although its smooth many-branched stems may have a spread of four feet or more, the plant is rarely over two feet tall and generally appears round and bushy. The leaves are two inches long, born singly and finely divided into long narrow segments (Ratsch 1998, 425).
Each year between June and August, P. harmala produces many single white flowers. Measuring one to one and one-half inches across, these relatively large and showy blooms have five oblong-eliptic petals as well as five narrow sepals of slightly longer length. Each flower has the potential to develop into a fruit –a leathery, three–valved seed capsule that stands erect on the stalk. Each capsule measures about three-eighths of an inch in diameter and contains more than fifty dark-brown, angular seeds (Ratsch 1998, 425).
Syrian rue grows in semi-arid conditions. It originated in Central Asia, and is held in high esteem throughout Asia Minor as a medicinal, aphrodisiac and dye plant. There is no solid historical evidence of ritual or religious use. It is sometimes known as “ruin weed” since it often grows on the tells covering the ruins of ancient cities in the Near East. It now grows wild in Eurasia and has recently been spread to Texas, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California (Ratsch 1998, 425).
TRADITIONAL USES: Syrian rue is one of the plants that has been suggested to be the original haoma plant of Persia. It may have also been used as an entheogen by the mystery religion that surrounded the god Mithras. In the Koran, it is stated that “every root, every leaf of harmel, is watched over by an angel who waits for a person to come in search of healing.” Therefore, dervishes in Buchara are said to worship and use P. harmala for its inebriating effects (Ratsch 1998, 426).
In Iran, incense balls made of syrian rue seeds are burned in great quantities as offerings for the festival of Nouruz. The smoke is said to keep away all misfortune and the evil eye, and is also thought to dispel outbreaks of disease. In North Africa, syrian rue has been used as a magical tool and a medicine for thousands of years. The seeds are used as an incense to ward off the evil eye and dispel disease, and a combination of syrian rue seeds, alum, and olibanum is burned on the wedding night to increase desire (vries 1985 cited in Ratsch 1998, 427).
In the Himalayas, shamans use syrian rue seeds as a magical incense, inhaling it to enter a trance state in which they can engage in sexual intercourse with divining goddesses, who are said to give them information and great healing powers (Ratsch 1998, 426-427).
TRADITIONAL PREPARATION: Reportedly, an especially effective smoking mixture may be made from 15 grams of the seeds and the juice of a lemon. The seeds were ground with a mortar and pestle, and then put into a boiling pot over an open flame with the juice of 1 lemon. This mixture is then boiled down until a resinous paste is left. It is then mixed with tobacco for a smoke that is both inebriating and a potent aphrodisiac (Ratsch 1998, 426).
In Morocco, the seeds are simply added to wine to make harmala wine, or are powdered to make a snuff that is supposed to cause a “clear mind”, according to some reports. Up to 20 grams of the seeds have been ground up and eaten in an attempt to gain psychoactive effects, but doing this can have very toxic consequences. Yes, the seeds can reportedly be hallucinogenic in large doses, but since syrian rue is a powerful MAO inhibitor, it can also cause serious reactions when combined with certain foods. Typically, when used as an MAO inhibitor, 3-4 grams are ground up and extracted into water. However, the seeds are rarely eaten. If you intend to eat syrian rue, please consult a list of foods which need to be avoided when taking an MAOI in order to avoid dangerous or uncomfortable effects (Roth et al. 1994 cited in Ratsch 1998, 426).
In recent years, modern psychonauts have been known to combine Syrian rue seeds with various DMT-containing plants to create ayahuasca analogs. It is important to be very, very careful when doing such experiments, and one should always remember that less is often better than more in these cases (DeKorne 1994).
MEDICINAL USES: As a medicine, syrian rue has primarily been used to ease the birthing process in women and to help with menstrual difficulties. It is usually administered as an incense. The smoke is also inhaled to cure all manner of other afflictions, as well. A tea made from 5-10 grams of seeds is taken after meals to help with digestion (Goodman & Ghafoor 1992).
In Asia Minor, syrian rue seeds are used as aphrodisiacs and purifiers. The herbage is also sometimes used to treat skin disorders, and a decoction of the seeds is taken for stomach troubles, heart troubles, and sciatica. A very strong decoction also acts as a tranquilizer. Syrian rue has been shown to be an antibiotic, and the stems and leaves are abortifacients (Ratsch 1998, 427).
TRADITIONAL EFFECTS: The seeds and root P. harmala contain a mixture of the harmala alkaloids, harmine and harmaline. These unusual alkaloids are psychoactive derivatives of B-carboline, When administered to humans, the harmala alkaloids act as serotonin antagonists, CNS stimulants, hallucinogens, and extremely potent, short term MAO inhibitors (Roth et al. 1994 cited in Ratsch 1998, 427).
The alkaloids in syrian rue occur in roughly the same proportions as in Banisteriopsis caapi. Ten grams of syrian rue seeds provide about 400mg of total beta-Carbolines, about the amount found in a typical dose of ayahuasca. The harmala alkaloids may be extracted from the seeds and roots of P. harmala and purified as crystalline bases. Hasenratz first described this process in 1927 (Most 1985).
Syrian rue seeds are said to have an anti-depressive effect, and are also reported to stimulate the imagination. Dreamlike states are said to occur when large quantities are consumed. The alkaloids in the seeds act as MAO inhibitors. In other words, they suppress the enzyme monoamine oxydase (MAO), which metabolizes neurotransmitters that are in the body but outside of the brain. Thus, ingesting syrian rue allows substances such as DMT to be orally active, as in ayahuasca preparations (Ratsch 1998, 427).
DeKorne, J. Psychedelic Shamanism. Port Townsend, Washington: Loompanics Unlimited, 1994.
Goodman, S.M., and A. Ghafoor. “The Ethnobotany of Southern Balochistan, Pakistan, with Particular Reference to Medicinal Plants.” Fieldiana (Botany) 31 (1992): 1–84.
Most, A. “Erowid Syrian Rue Vaults: Smoking Rue Extract / Harmala.” Erowid Vaults, 1985. https://www.erowid.org/plants/syrian_rue/syrian_rue_info9.shtml.
Ratsch, Christian., The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and its Applications. Rochester: Park Street Press, 1998. | <urn:uuid:047b4adc-5df6-4a5f-96f9-745f4fb2bc24> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | http://entheology.com/plants/peganum-harmala-syrian-rue/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662512249.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220516204516-20220516234516-00119.warc.gz | en | 0.940468 | 1,806 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Almonds good for diet
Research researcher Michelle Wien, DrPH, RD, CDE, a medical dietitian and research fellow at City of Hope National clinic in Duarte, Calif., calls this finding "exciting." "The almonds undoubtedly had a direct effect on blood sugar levels."
She claims that an effect of some diabetes medication is increased hunger, "so that the faster one can log off of medicines during weightloss, the greater since when you are taking away something generating hunger behind-the-scenes, it can cause higher success in weight-loss effort."
"When patients would visited myself and let me know they wished crunchy food with surface, we regularly recommend crunchy vegetables. Which means this study had been very nearly a feasibility study because i did not understand whether nuts could be gratifying and fulfill their needs [without losing their waist] - they did, " Wien claims.
Do Almonds Have A Magic Element?
The scientists speculate the fat in almonds may not be totally soaked up and suggest earlier analysis recommending that mobile wall space of almonds can act as a physical buffer to fat.
They even may make you're feeling fuller, longer.
"to become happy, there clearly was a necessity to eat foods containing fiber, necessary protein, and fat, and peanuts undoubtedly qualify in that respect, " says Wien.
"they might have an effect on satiety because in the event that you snack on peanuts, you are going to feel filler for a longer time period and may also assist suppress extra calories, " says Felicia Busch, RD, a St. Paul, Minn.-based nutritionist who evaluated the new results for WebMD.
Almonds Help Reduce Cholesterol, Too
In a study last year, scientists found that an eating plan that included about one couple of almonds diminished LDL "bad" cholesterol by 4.4%. Whenever diet included two handfuls of almonds - accounting for slightly lower than 25 % of the time's total calories - LDL cholesterol dropped by 9.4%. Once the diet had been supplemented with a low-fat, whole-wheat muffin that had equivalent number of calories, necessary protein, and fat (over loaded and polyunsaturated) as almonds, there was no significant change in cholesterol levels.
This research, funded by the Almond Board of Ca, starred in a current problem of Circulation: Journal of the United states Heart Association.
Although peanuts aren't precisely lower in calories or fat, nuts have high levels of unsaturated fats that are proven to lower LDL cholesterol levels inside blood and lower the risk of heart disease.
In fact, in July 2003, the Food And Drug Administration approved the initial qualified wellness claim for almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and peanuts for usage in advertising and bundle labels. Packages of insane that meet the FDA's requirements will today manage to carry the next claim:
"Scientific research shows but doesn't prove that eating 1.5 ounces daily of many nuts, as part of a diet lower in saturated fat and cholesterol levels, may decrease the risk of heart disease."
A 1.5 oz helping of nuts is about a third of a cup or a small few.
"Our epidemiological research indicates consuming about one ounce of peanuts each and every day wil dramatically reduce the possibility of cardiovascular illnesses over time by 30percent, " Frank Hu, MD, PhD, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology during the Harvard class of Public wellness, informs WebMD as a result to this statement.
Get Nuts - not Too Crazy
"If you would like begin to use more almonds or peanuts, sprinkle them on salad, which is great guidance, " claims Busch, who's in addition the author of .
"peanuts accustomed get a negative rap as a concentrated source of fat, " she states. In reality, Busch recalls asking clients, "Do you really would you like to waste those calories?"
But, she says, "we have been mastering that types of fat is more essential than total level of fat - as long as you don't overdo it." | <urn:uuid:be878091-ffdc-42e1-9d7d-11b7c85a9df1> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://joysrivervalleypecans.com/Diet/almonds-good-for-diet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583511175.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20181017132258-20181017153758-00185.warc.gz | en | 0.951333 | 845 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Course Hero. "Moby-Dick Study Guide." Course Hero. 13 Oct. 2016. Web. 8 May 2021. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Moby-Dick/>.
Course Hero. (2016, October 13). Moby-Dick Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved May 8, 2021, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Moby-Dick/
(Course Hero, 2016)
Course Hero. "Moby-Dick Study Guide." October 13, 2016. Accessed May 8, 2021. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Moby-Dick/.
Course Hero, "Moby-Dick Study Guide," October 13, 2016, accessed May 8, 2021, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Moby-Dick/.
Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Chapter 110 of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick.
Queequeg becomes very ill and asks for a canoe-shaped coffin to be made for him. He then asks to be laid in the coffin along with his harpoon and some other odds and ends. After a while, satisfied that he fits into his coffin, Queequeg lies in his hammock where he regains the will to live and so recovers. He begins to use his coffin to store things in, and he carves a copy of his tattoos into the lid.
Queequeg's coffin is a paradox in the novel: It is symbolic of death, yet it saves a life. This chapter relates the origin of the coffin, which gets special attention because Ishmael is telling this story after it is all over. He knows the ending, but the making of the coffin also allows Ishmael to consider the role of free will in a person's destiny again. This time, he seems to come down on the side of human will having the upper hand: "If a man made up his mind to live, mere sickness could not kill him." | <urn:uuid:4a2ca97d-40bf-4784-afe5-c75d50cff472> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Moby-Dick/chapter-110-summary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243988858.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20210508091446-20210508121446-00012.warc.gz | en | 0.941537 | 419 | 3.46875 | 3 |
--- Introduction ---
is an easy exercise on matrices:
one knows that any square matrix C of size
\ is the sum of a symmetric matrix
A and an antisymmetric matrix B.
Recall that a square matrix M is symmetric
if it equals its transpose and M is antisymmetric if
M plus its transpose is zero matrix.
The most recent version
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- Keywords: interactive mathematics, interactive math, server side interactivity, algebra, linear_algebra, matrix | <urn:uuid:eedef1ba-b727-4f78-be97-10017a81ad5a> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | http://wims.espe-nice-toulon.fr/wims/wims.cgi?lang=en&+module=U1%2Falgebra%2Fsymsplit.en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945279.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20230324082226-20230324112226-00212.warc.gz | en | 0.819047 | 231 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Here are the instructions to make a eyepiece with recycled parts, is easy and cheap to make and gives good quality images. this can be useful to people given courses on astronomy specially those where you make your own telescope.
Step 1: Get the parts
The first things is to get the lens from an old cd-rom or dvd, you will remove the lens, use a non working unit.
I use one from a dvd-rom, the lens was mounted on a square plastic this made easier to handle the piece, be careful, not no damage or scratch the glass
The cd-rom and dvd-rom are similar but they have different focus distance, keep this on mind, you can make two if you can dismantle one of each.
The lens can be mounted on a tube the size of the telescope barrel, searching for parts, i found one that i liked because the size was right, and need little work, the plastic bottle for35 mm film
The other main part is a small metal plate,
You will need 3 little fasteners and 3 little plastic washers. | <urn:uuid:71230866-cbf3-445e-a352-4b964dfd548a> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-eyepiece-for-telescope/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257826908.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071026-00031-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932107 | 226 | 2.671875 | 3 |
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA—Leaks at the President’s House commemorative site on Independence Mall threaten the archaeological remains of the home occupied by George Washington and John Adams during their presidencies, from 1790 to 1800. Nine of Washington’s enslaved servants also lived at the site. Despite repairs, glass panels, paving tiles, and a hatch into the site continue to leak. Underground water may be causing problems as well. Independent consultants for the city of Philadelphia, which has managed the building of the memorial, found that an underground drainage system called for in the original design had never been installed. A surface drain was found to be faulty and a gap along a wall may also be letting in water. “We’ve talked internally about a drastic step of filling it with sand and covering it over. It’s an option. It’s not a pleasant option. But in the name of preservation, it’s something we have to consider,” Cynthia MacLeod, superintendent of Independence National Historical Park, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
NAPLES, FLORIDA—A canal that was probably used as a shortcut for transporting goods by the Calusa has been dated to between 800 and 1100 A.D. Robert Carr, executive director of the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, said that the canal is part of a complex web of canals in southern Florida. This section of the canal was found with ground-penetrating radar in the center of modern Naples. “These canals are the only transportation canals in North America outside of Mexico. So, in that sense they are a major engineering marvel that indigenous people have constructed,” he told WGCU.
PIURA, PERU—Necklaces, pottery, and other artifacts have been unearthed at a site thought to have been an administrative center for the Tallan culture, which lived in northwestern Peru from 700 to 1400 A.D. “This would have been a large storage for corn, cotton and other products from the area. It would have also been a place where the Tallan lived,” archaeologist María Elena Nuñera told El Comercio. Many of the pre-Incan sites in the region have been destroyed by looters.
VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO—An analysis of bacteria and fungi found in coprolites, or fossilized human feces, supports archaeological evidence of the ancestries of two cultures that lived in the Caribbean more than 1,500 years ago. “One culture excelled in the art of pottery; in fact, their signature use of red and white paint helped identify them as descendants from the Saladoids, originating in Saladero, Venezuela. In contrast, the second culture had exquisite art for crafting semiprecious stones into ornaments, some of which represented the Andean condor. This helped archaeologists identify the Bolivian Andes as possible origins of this Huecoid culture,” Jessica Rivera-Perez of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, told Phys Org. Differences in the DNA from the coprolites from the two cultures, as well as their bacterial and fungal populations, indicated that they may indeed have had different origins. Fungal and corn DNA were also found in the Huecoid coprolite, suggesting that an Andean fermented corn beverage had been consumed.
EAST SUSSEX, ENGLAND—A skeleton bearing six fatal sword injuries to the back of the skull has been radiocarbon dated to 28 years on either side of 1063, suggesting that the man may have been involved in fighting at the time of the Norman invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The bones had been found in Lewes on the grounds of a medieval hospital, and so it had been thought that the man died at the Battle of Lewes, which occurred in 1264. “There is no record of any skirmishes happening in Lewes or any other towns in Sussex at the Norman Conquest, but this suggests that the Normans didn’t just turn up and say, ‘We’re in charge’ and everyone said, ‘OK, that’s fine.’ It begins to paint a picture of what might have happened in the aftermath,” Edwina Livesey of Sussex Archaeological Society told BBC News. The new dates make the bones the only human remains ever recorded that are related to the Norman invasion.
ORONO, MAINE—The Spanish conquest of the Inca empire in the sixteenth century had an unexpected impact on Peru’s northern coastline, according to a new study by Daniel Belknap and Dan Sandweiss of the University of Maine. They examined the massive sand dunes along the ridges of the coastline and found that millions of discarded mollusk shells had held sediments deposited by the combined effects of earthquakes and El Niño events in place for some 5,000 years. After the conquest, the local population was decimated by disease and those who survived were moved inland. New sediments deposited on the ridges were not protected from harsh winds. “You don’t think that pre-Columbian people can have such a significant effect on the landscape, but clearly they can,” Sandweiss told Science Now.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS—The presence of a ceremonial road running through the center of Cahokia has been confirmed by Sarah Baires of the University of Illinois. She uncovered distinct layers of fill dirt that resembles other monuments at the site. Known as the Rattlesnake Causeway, the elevated earthen road stretches from the Grand Plaza through the center of the city, and ends in Rattlesnake Mound. Cahokia’s buildings and the causeway may all have been constructed to align with the lunar standstill, when the moon rises at its southernmost point in the sky, every 18.6 years. “Why would Cahokians have built this one kilometer-long earthen feature after they constructed everything else? To me, it makes much more sense that this was one of the foundational pieces of the Cahokian landscape,” she told Western Digs. Traces of the road were first uncovered in 1927, but some thought it may have been a natural feature or an early railroad bed.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—Catherine Dejoie of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology led an international team of scientists in the analysis of the chemical composition of Jian bowls, made some 1,000 years ago in China’s Fujian Province. The bowls, which are known for retaining heat and for their patterned glaze, were made from local iron-rich clay and coated with a mixture of clay, limestone, and wooden ash. When the bowls were fired, the clay hardened, the coating melted, and oxygen within the glaze pushed iron ions to the surface. As the glaze cooled, molten iron flux flowed down the sides of the bowls and crystallized into iron oxides, forming the bowls’ characteristic patterns. X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and other techniques revealed that rare epsilon-phase iron oxide was formed on the bowls in two of the three patterns. This type of iron oxide is highly valued for its persistent magnetization, high resistance to corrosion, and lack of toxicity, but it is difficult to create with modern equipment. “The next step will be to understand how it is possible to reproduce the quality of epsilon-phase iron oxide with modern technology,’ Dejoie announced at the Berkeley Lab.
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—A tourist has discovered Neolithic artwork in a shallow cave in the Egyptian Western Desert that supports the suggestion that ancient Egyptian culture drew on cultural influences from Africa as well as the Near East. Giulio Lucarini of Cambridge University and co-director of the Archaeological Mission in the Farafra Oasis examined the etchings last month. He thinks the images, including a giraffe, a cow-like mammal, two boats, and a human hand, could date to between 6000 and 5,500 B.C. The drawings resemble those from another site in the region known as Wadi el Obeiyid Cave, discovered in 1995. “Our work shows that people living in the Eastern Sahara had a significant and developed culture which fed into the development of the Pharaonic civilization and beyond,” Lucarini announced at the University of Cambridge.
AL-GHAZALI, SUDAN—Polish archaeologists are excavating a large Byzantine-era church made of sandstone blocks in Sudan that was located on a busy trade route. “Along the east wall of the monastery we dug out a row of 15 toilets. However it may sound and look, it is an important discovery. Nowhere else in Nubia has such a large sanitary complex been discovered,” Artur Obluski of the University of Chicago told Science & Scholarship in Poland. The team also conserved the plaster walls of the church, which date to the first half of the seventh century and were decorated with Christian images and the names of the four archangels. “By removing a thick layer of mud, we restored part of the original appearance of the church, which is now glowing white from a distance,” added Cristobal Calaforra-Rzepka, head of the conservation team.
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS—Three burial chambers were discovered when the roof of a cave collapsed during landscaping work in southern Cyprus. The tomb, which dates to the second or first centuries B.C., contained seven sets of skeletal remains, amphorae, and small artifacts. “Archaeologically, it is a very interesting area,” archaeologist Yiannis Violaris of the Antiquities Department told the Cyprus Mail.
DEARBORN, MICHIGAN—Excavations in the British Virgin Islands have uncovered evidence of ritual practices of English plantation residents in the eighteenth century. At the first site, John Chenoweth of the University of Michigan-Dearborn and his team unearthed a cache of grape shot—small iron balls meant to be shot from a cannon—that had been buried in two postholes under a two-room sugar plantation house. Chenoweth thinks the iron grape shot may have served a magical purpose, since it was in short supply and valuable to the English who needed to protect themselves from the Spanish and were concerned about slave uprisings. On another island, the team recovered a whelk shell that had been modified to hold fish bones, pins, and the bones of a Puerto Rican racer snake. It had been placed in the foundation of another two-room plantation house, and resembles a witch’s bottle, found in England and America. Chenoweth told Live Science that witch’s bottles are “seen as an effort to protect the house against bad magic basically, spirits and spells that might seek to harm some of the occupants of the house.”
ÇORUM, TURKEY—A 1,900-year-old sarcophagus that was illegally unearthed from a tumulus in northern Anatolia has been moved to the Çorum Museum. “The two long sides of the tomb cover were broken by smugglers who wanted to enter it. One of the acroteria was also broken. Some pieces of this acroterion were found by experts and attached to their place by the conservator of the museum. Eros, the god of love in Greek mythology, is embroidered on the surface of the tomb. The head of Eros received damage because of smugglers,” museum director Önder İpek told Hurriyet Daily News. Bones thought to have belonged to a woman will be tested. A silver coin, a gold earring, and a ring were also recovered.
ESSEX, ENGLAND—The Guardian reports that climate change has brought ship-boring organisms to live in the warmer waters of the Thames, and they are damaging the London, a seventeenth-century vessel that had been well protected in the river’s thick silt. “It’s rare for wooden shipwrecks of this age and older to survive to this extent,” said Mark Dunkley, a marine archaeologist at English Heritage. The wooden ship was part of a convoy that transported Charles II to England from the Netherlands after the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658. A gunpowder explosion sank the London in 1665, an event that killed 300 people. Rescue divers carrying out emergency excavations at the site have recovered leather shoes, a bronze signet ring, clay pipes, navigational dividers, buckets, pots and cooking utensils, door latches, an anchor cable, and cannonballs, despite the poor visibility and strong currents.
HACHELBICH, GERMANY—A Roman military camp that held up to 5,000 troops has been discovered in central Germany. “People have been searching for evidence of the Romans in this part of Germany for 200 years. It took a long time before we realized what we had, and we wanted to be sure,” Mario Kuessner, and archaeologist for the state of Thuringia, told Science Now. The camp, shaped as a rough rectangle with round corners, was surrounded by a trench and had a gate on its northern edge. A low wall of dirt would have been placed behind the trench and topped with tall stakes. “It’s typically Roman—no Germans did that sort of thing,” Kuessner explained. Bread ovens, four nails from Roman boots, a piece of horse tack, and part of a scabbard have also been found. The camp may have been a stopover on the way to invade territory further east. “The best would be if we could find coins or something with the legion number written on it. That would help us pin down the date,” he said.
BOTHELL, WASHINGTON—Analysis of mitochondrial DNA taken from a tooth of a teenaged girl discovered seven years ago in Mexico’s flooded caverns of Hoyo Negro suggests that modern Native Americans are the descendants of the earliest Palaeoamericans, who migrated across the Bering land bridge from Siberia, despite the differences in their skull shapes. The girl, dubbed Naia after the water nymphs of Greek mythology, resembles the fossils of other Paleoamericans in that she had a small, projecting, angular face and pronounced forehead. Carbon dating of her tooth enamel and the ratio of uranium and thorium in the mineral deposits taken from her bones indicate that she died between 12,000 and 13,000 years ago. Naia’s skeleton is the first complete Palaeoamerican skeleton to have been found, but her remains were measured underwater and left in situ because it is impossible to recover them safely from the cave. “Naia, and the other animals, would have slipped through a hidden sink hole and fallen 30 meters into a shallow pool. There would have been no way out,” palaeontologist James Chatters of Applied Paleoscience told Nature News.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL—Haaretz reports that additional nineteenth-century wall paintings depicting images related to the Crusades were revealed during the repair of a broken water line at the Saint Louis French Hospital, located near the New Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City wall. The images were painted by Count Marie Paul Amedee De-Piellat, who established the French area of Jerusalem and saw himself as a “last Crusader” combating the influence of other colonial powers in the city. Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority assisted with the restoration of the artworks, many of which had been covered in paint over the years. The building is currently used as a hospice care facility.
SØBY, DENMARK—A thirteenth-century Christian statue of the Virgin Mary was discovered under the floor of a small church in eastern Jutland by archaeologist Hans Mikkelsen of Denmark’s National Museum, where the statue was cleaned and restored. The Limoges figurine, complete with halo, probably sat atop a crucifix that was used in a church processional. “I could see the colors—the red in the halo and the beautiful blue-green nuances in the clothing. It is absolutely fantastic,” conservator Signe Nygaard told The Copenhagen Post.
ITHACA, NEW YORK—Tree ring samples taken from an ancient Egyptian coffin in 1938 have been tested with “dendro radiocarbon wiggle matching” by Sturt Manning of Cornell University and an international team of scientists, who also examined wood from funeral boats that had been buried near the pyramid of Sesostris III. The technique calibrates radiocarbon isotopes in the tree rings with patterns known from other places in the world with identified chronologies and produces very precise results. The scientists were able to confirm that the “higher” Egyptian chronology for the time period is correct, and they also learned that a dry period occurred following the year 2200 B.C. “This radiocarbon anomaly would be explained by a change in growing season, i.e. climate, dating to exactly this arid period of time,” Manning told the Cornell Chronicle.
WIGTOWNSHIRE, SCOTLAND—Road construction in southwest Scotland has uncovered evidence of human settlement in the area dating back 9,000 years. Among the discoveries are two necklaces made of jet beads that date to 2000 B.C., a brooch dating to the Roman period, a Bronze Age cemetery complex, and an Iron Age village. The necklaces had been made in North Yorkshire and are the first of their kind to have been found in southwest Scotland. “In addition, numerous smaller sites have been discovered which seem to relate to the use and exploitation of the land both through hunting and farming,” Rod McCullagh of Historic Scotland told The Scotsman. | <urn:uuid:4f492b4a-8a51-458f-be54-c44843e76188> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.archaeological.org/aggregator/categories/1?page=12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500815991.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021335-00101-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967752 | 3,773 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Since its inception in 2004, September is annually observed as National Preparedness Month. What does that mean for you? September is an opportunity to remind everyone to prepare now for when a disaster happens. In today’s world, it’s not if a disaster happens, it’s when. And it is our responsibility to be prepared.
The 2018 overarching theme for National Preparedness Month is:
- Disasters Happen
- Prepare Now
- Learn How
With a wealth of resources and information available at www.ready.gov/September you can easily assemble appropriate information for a family plan. Review the plan with family members so everyone knows and understands expectations and roles. Sign up for local alerts and warnings in your area to keep you updated and abreast of any disasters that might be occurring. Once the family plan is in place, practice it with family members so they can be comfortable should the occasion arise.
That family plan should also include what to do should you need to evacuate the residence. Things like available exit routes and turning off utilities should be considered when developing this plan. Are utilities easy to reach? How difficult are they to turn off? Once it is in place, practice it so you know exactly what to do when time is of the essence.
Part of planning for a disaster can also include learning life-saving skills like CPR and first aid. These courses are available online through the American Heart Association with the check-off of skills done at a local certifying agency. Check with your local resources and sign up. You never know when those skills will be needed.
Preparation also includes reviewing insurance coverage. Insurance is there to help alleviate whatever financial burden may happen with a disaster. It’s not a bad idea to review your coverage and adjust whatever might be necessary to ensure minimal financial devastation should the disaster occur.
For additional information and resources, check: www.ready.gov/September
As part of National Preparedness Month, VPC is conducting a large-scale exercise in northeast Indiana across 19 providers in 11 counties. Read more about the September 10 exercise.
Are you signed up for the latest from Vantage Point? Join the email list to be notified of last-minute openings, upcoming training events, and helpful tips for workers and employers. | <urn:uuid:6dbbe421-ef1d-42ca-a32c-72ce00b9c20d> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://vantagepointc.com/september-is-national-preparedness-month/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296946637.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20230327025922-20230327055922-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.940668 | 476 | 3.25 | 3 |
|Basic Web Design|
In this course, students will learn how to design a beautiful and functional website. Students will learn how to take their design and translate it into a live website using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) programing languages. HTML5 and CSS3 will be the standard versions used in the class. Students will understand design components of websites, including the use of color, layout and when to use different techniques, typography rules, and the importance of imagery. At the conclusion of the course, students will present a website to the class. Upon completion of this course, each student will have hands-on experience creating a fully functioning website.
Students do not need to have a previous technical background with HTML or CSS prior to taking this course.
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
Software and Materials Required
Students will need a computer or laptop for this course; tablets are not sufficient. | <urn:uuid:7f24ce75-383c-4e58-90c6-d351839d9c32> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | http://accelerateeducation.com/course_descriptions/AE_BasicWebDesign.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267162563.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20180925222545-20180926002945-00112.warc.gz | en | 0.870748 | 199 | 3.5 | 4 |
Through an extremely in-depth report, paired with dazzling visual representations, design and think tank group Rollerhaus imagined an eco-centric future vision of Chicago that is without cars, with new systems for energy and water, and built in a whole new architectural language. Their project was started in response to the Living Future Institute’s Living Cities competition, whose challenge was to conceptualize what a city of the future may look like if it work like a certified Living Building. Their interpretation of a reclaimed eco-architecture city — featuring reused parts of building facades and billboards pieced onto skyscrapers — drew a lot of controversy, but we echo Rollerhaus in their proposal, which begged the question: Is a sustainable city really the picture perfect one we’ve seen in past architectural movements?
Their project received controversial feedback from the competition judges because it does not show the futuristic metropolis as a utopian paradise.”Rather is was an honest attempt to imagine how human behavior has evolved in order to arrive at a more sustainable lifestyle,” says Kevin Scott, Owner and Principal Designer at Rollerhaus. “We were trying to arrive at the next language after post-modernism…our argument was that the next movement is the sustainable one—in other words, the green revolution begins to have an identifiable language attached to it.”
Rollerhaus reference cities in India and Egypt that have tight knit, extraordinarily efficient communities built from the waste of others. Although some would call these slums built from necessity, Rollerhaus poses that in the future sustainable architecture may take a cue from this makeshift aesthetic.
Another highlight of Rollerhaus’s in-depth project was their suggestions for how Chicago could produce and conserve energy in the future. The outline looks at portions of energy coming from many sources such as wind farms, ground source heat pumps, and solar building retrofits. There is even a suggestion to put a glass box cap on some skyscrapers as a way to allow glass lined photovoltaics, and create greenhouse spaces.
The visualization that suggests another huge change to city dynamics is one where the streets are no longer corridors of vehicles, but are entirely green space transit routes above ground with public transit sub structures. It is very impressive to see a Chicago dominated by park and pedestrian space, but without lose of efficiency of getting around. Being able to travel primarily below ground during the chilly winter months would always be a great benefit. | <urn:uuid:025d80ef-b968-400a-ba6f-e2dc598e53ff> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://inhabitat.com/rollerhaus-re-imagines-chicago-as-a-futuristic-eco-metropolis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463612069.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20170529091944-20170529111944-00023.warc.gz | en | 0.954445 | 496 | 2.625 | 3 |
To Australians and New Zealanders, the differences between the two countries’ cultures, accents, and national characters are glaringly obvious. To the rest of the world, Australia and New Zealand can often get mentally mushed into one archipelago where everyone speaks with oddly shifted vowel sounds and uses the same inscrutable slang.
Add the fact that the countries’ flags are nearly identical—despite multiple campaigns to overhaul the design of each one—and you’re left with a high propensity for mistaken identity.
There are, however, some subtle yet easily spotted hallmarks of each nation’s accent and slang that will allow you to recognize the true home country of a suspected Auszealander.
The first clue is in the vowels. New Zealanders switch the “i” sound (as in “bit”) for something resembling a “u.” The classic example of this is that they say “fush and chups” instead of “fish and chips.” A New Zealand “e” also sounds like an “i”—“bed” will be more like “bid,” while “he may be dead” sounds like “he maybe did.” To make things extra challenging, the “i” sound in a New Zealand accent is more like an “e.” Watch out for the six/sex confusion. It has felled many.
Australian vowels tend to be more drawn out, with their pronunciation leisurely and flexible. This is particularly apparent in the word “no,” which can sound like “nor,” “nahhh,” or the multisyllabic “naaouuuo,” depending on how much time the speaker has available. The “i” sound for Australians can be closer to an “ee” or “oi.”
This video breaks down the vowel differences in a way that’s easy to hear:
If you don’t have an ear for accents, the easiest way to spot an Australian or New Zealander is the slang. Australians wear thongs on their feet in summer; New Zealanders wear jandals. Australians carry an esky to a picnic to keep their soft drinks cool; New Zealanders carry a chilly bin for their fizzy drinks. Both countries, however, say “bring a plate” to mean “bring food.” Commit this to memory before turning up to a picnic carrying only a piece of china.
Over-reliance on questions as statements is another way to spot an Australian. Phrases like “How good’s the weather today?” and “How tasty does that fairy bread look?” are not intended to garner responses, but merely function as statements of communal appreciation. (Fairy bread, incidentally, is sliced white bread spread with margarine, then covered in sprinkles. It is a staple at children’s birthday parties in Australia and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand.)
If vowel sounds and slang aren’t giving you any clues, there is one final way to determine the speaker’s home country: ask yourself whether you find their accent attractive. Time Out’s 2015 Global Dating Survey of 11,000 people found that Australian accents were ranked fourth most alluring in the world, right above French and Italian. New Zealanders, sadly, did not appear in the top 10. The accent may be enjoyable to listen to, but apparently it’s not that sixy. | <urn:uuid:9c04d8a0-a9e2-4782-93d0-4aad599b2470> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-tell-an-australian-from-a-new-zealander | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948738.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20180427002118-20180427022118-00075.warc.gz | en | 0.933638 | 757 | 2.546875 | 3 |
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Jump to main content. Contact Us. Reference Type. Journal Article. Indoor formaldehyde removal by three species of Chlorophytum comosum under dynamic fumigation system: part 2-plant recovery. Author s.
WATCH RELATED VIDEO: SPIDER PLANT CARE + PROPAGATION - why the tips of your spider plant are turning brown!Content:
- Healthy House Plants for Indoor Air Purification and Design
- Which plants produce oxygen at night?
- Top ten houseplants that literally clean the air
- Robot or human?
- 7 Spider Plant Benefits – What are They Good For?
- 11 Air Purifying House Plants to Freshen up Your Space
- 15 Indoor Air Purifying Plants According to NASA Study
- Bring Home Top 12 Air Purifying Plants in India
Did you know there are plants that produce oxygen at night? Not only can they do amazing things during the day, but our indoor friends are even helping us while we sleep! Indoor plants help filter the air and clean our space, and having a selection that can do that process at night will be beneficial for your environment. Spider plants will bring more oxygen into your home while filtering out carbon monoxide!
They need indirect lighting throughout the day and should be planted in a pot with good drainage. Under the right conditions, spider plants will also grow runners that produce small white flowers and grow spider plant pups. You can choose to leave them be or cut them off to keep the parent plant from expending energy; however, if you want more spider plants, the pups are perfect for propagation!
Wait until they begin to grow some roots, then pot them either separated or while still attached to the parent plant. Varieties to check out: Variegated spider plant, zebra spider plant, Hawaiian spider plant. General care tips: Prefers bright indirect light, weekly feedings and humid conditions. Pothos plants are a trailing vine plant and another hardy indoor plant for those who may not have a lot of experience.
Your pothos should be watered regularly , but be sure not to water until at least the top of soil is dry. Pothos will help filter formaldehyde from the air and increase the oxygen levels in your home overnight as well as during the day. This trailing vine plant is great in a pot on the shelf or in a hanging basket! General care tips: Feed with a mild diluted fertilizer throughout the growing season, give it plenty of bright indirect light, and let the soil dry out between waterings.
Philodendrons also help reduce the formaldehyde levels in the air while creating oxygen. There are also plenty of varieties to choose from, so you can always pick the one you like! As far as watering,. Varieties to check out: Philodendron brasil, philodendron micans, philodendron Xanadu.
General care tips: Likes warm temperatures and bright indirect light. Let the soil dry out between waterings. Peace lilies not only produce oxygen at night but have a beautiful bloom you can enjoy during the day! Their white blooms beautifully contrast their darker leaves, though they may only bloom once per year. Peace lilies will do best in bright indirect light and will start to droop a bit when they need water.
In addition to producing oxygen, these flowers remove a variety of harmful things from the air, including formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, and toluene. Peace lilies will bring a bit of elegance into your space while helping improve your air quality. Varieties to check out: Sensation peace lily, domino peace lily, piccolino peace lily.Areca palms are native to thick tropical forests, so they do fairly fine in lower light areas but will require a bit more humidity.
They have the ability to produce oxygen at night, but they also remove formaldehyde and benzene from the air. Overall, they do very well at helping to improve the air quality in your home and can be especially beneficial for those who suffer from sinus problems or other breathing issues.
General care tips: Prefers well-draining, moist soil and fertilizer during the growing season. Not only do aloe vera plants have benefits for burns and other skin problems, they also release oxygen at night and filter out formaldehyde and benzene to help improve the air. A general rule of thumb is to water at most once every two weeks; however, keep in mind that this can fluctuate, so you should water whenever the top inch or two of the soil is dry.
Each time the plant needs water, soak the soil until it starts to drip out the bottom. Then wait to water again until the top part of the soil is dry. Aloe plants should be kept in a sunny spot, like a windowsill, and prefer to be in a drier space. Each of these plants individually will help improve the air quality in your home.
If your space allows, you can keep each of these in a collection of plants that produce oxygen at night, purifying and brightening your space even more. Varieties to check out: Variegated spider plant, zebra spider plant, Hawaiian spider plant General care tips: Prefers bright indirect light, weekly feedings and humid conditions Pothos varieties Pothos plants are a trailing vine plant and another hardy indoor plant for those who may not have a lot of experience.
Varieties to check out: Golden pothos, neon pothos, jade pothos General care tips: Feed with a mild diluted fertilizer throughout the growing season, give it plenty of bright indirect light, and let the soil dry out between waterings.Philodendrons Philodendrons also help reduce the formaldehyde levels in the air while creating oxygen. As far as watering, Varieties to check out: Philodendron brasil, philodendron micans, philodendron Xanadu General care tips: Likes warm temperatures and bright indirect light.
Peace lilies Peace lilies not only produce oxygen at night but have a beautiful bloom you can enjoy during the day! Varieties to check out: Sensation peace lily, domino peace lily, piccolino peace lily General care tips: Likes bright indirect light and consistently moist soil Areca palms Areca palms are native to thick tropical forests, so they do fairly fine in lower light areas but will require a bit more humidity. Aloe plants Not only do aloe vera plants have benefits for burns and other skin problems, they also release oxygen at night and filter out formaldehyde and benzene to help improve the air.
Varieties to check out: Lace aloe, short-leafed aloe, golden toothed aloe Each of these plants individually will help improve the air quality in your home. Editors' Recommendations Drying herbs is easy and inexpensive. Drying herbs is easy and inexpensive. A complete guide to the best lights to choose for your greenhouse.
A guide to knowing how to identify the different types of cactus plants. Is it ever a good idea to use insects as pest control? What we know. Can you leave beets in the ground over winter? We have answers. Good, better, best: Portable greenhouses for your winter garden.
Wondering if peppers are fruits or vegetables? We have your answers. How to grow Greek oregano, a fragrant, zesty subspecies of oregano.
Selecting and positioning the right house plants could be more important than you thought. Getting the right plants for a space can ultimately make a home or office space more healthy and relaxing. Research has shown that houseplants can remove as much as 87 percent of airborne toxins in as little as 24 hours.They also improve concentration and productivity by up to 15 percent, reduce stress levels and boost your mood. Ready to have clean fresh air flowing through your home or office? Here's a list of five plants that are perfect to help purify the air.
Different plants are better at fighting different types of indoor air Spider plants are gorgeous, sprawling greens that clean the air.
Spider plants Chlorophytum comosum were among the top performing air-purifying plants in the early NASA studies. Even to this day, the potency of this particular plant continues to do well in research studies. But what makes the spider plant so effective at cleaning the air in our homes and what are all of its benefits? Additionally, the spider plant is an easy-to-maintain houseplant and is non-toxic to pets. The famous study from the s and s has sparked the idea of using plants to purify the air inside a home. The spider plant does this by also absorbing toxic substances in the process of taking carbon dioxide in. These substances are then filtered out through the leaves and roots of the plant, with the help of microorganisms that naturally exist on the roots of the plant. Two important toxins that the spider plant removed were formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene.
Polluted indoor air can create host of potential health problems, from asthma to hormone disruption to cancer. In , NASA studied houseplants as a way to purify the air in space facilities. Their research uncovered several potted plants that filter out common volatile organic compounds indoor air pollutants. Nephrolepis exaltata Bostoniensis The Boston fern is considered one of the most efficient air purifiers. Known for its ease of care, the fern has been a popular indoor plant since the Victorian era.
Chorophytum or spider plant is easiest to grow.
For the bathroom, consider English Ivy, which is effective at combating mold and reducing airborne fecal particles. Or, consider the Broad Lady Palm which not only loves humidity but reduces levels of ammonia in the air—a culprit found in a number of household cleaning products. In the bedroom, go with a snake plant. Both excel at removing benzene from the air—a VOC common in dyes, detergents and plastics. As beautiful and air friendly as houseplants are, not all of them are pet safe. What plants will give you a boost to clean air without making you worry if Fido will get sick if he happens to take a bite?
We all know that having indoor plants can instantly spruce up your home aesthetic, but greenery can have other benefits beyond looking great. In an often-cited study , NASA reported that indoor plants could help improve indoor air quality by removing trace organic pollutants — such as benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde — from the air. Plus, other studies have shown that indoor plants can also help reduce stress levels or attention capacity. Snake Plant. Succulents use reverse photosynthesis, meaning they CO2 from the air and give off oxygen. Parlor Palm. A bamboo palm is not actually bamboo but has all the vacation feels of a palm. Aloe vera, another succulent, needs sun but not a lot of water, and its spiky leaves will look great on any window sill.
LOW-LIGHT TOLERANT · Peace lily · English ivy · Snake plant · Devil's ivy (a.k.a. money plant, pothos) · Spider plant · Elephant ear philodendron.
Studies show plants can reduce stress and boost happiness, and thanks to NASA, we know which ones help fight indoor pollution, too. Here are the 10 air-purifying indoor plants that are easiest to keep alive. Research indicates that indoor plants can reduce stress and boost happiness.
Sure, houseplants can enliven an indoor environment, but can they actually alter it for the better? According to scientists and other lab coat types, certain ones can. Farmers for years have used phytoremediation techniques to combat contaminants and heavy metals in soils, growing specific plants in polluted soil to leach out the bad stuff. Once the soil is no longer harmful, the farmers then rotate crops back in. This concept also extends into the general population.
The plant is known for its ability to clean air and remove toxins from the environment. Spider plants also increase humidity in your home and also add a lot of life and color to any room.
By Amardeep Gulri. With most of us spending the majority of our time indoors, esepcially in these last couple of years, it is essential to ensure a comfortable, productive, and healthy indoor environmental quality by following well-regulated parameters and design practices that consider temperature, lighting, noise pollution, proper ventilation, and the quality of the air we breathe. The latter is especially important, since contrary to what we might think, air pollution is much higher indoors than outdoor. Most people, when they think of air pollution, think of smog and car emissions or grey smoke from factories. This is what is called outdoor air pollution, but indoor air pollution is just as pervasive.
Spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum , is one of the most common houseplants. Spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum , is one of the most common and well-known of all houseplants. It is especially popular with beginners, being easy to grow and propagate, tolerant of neglect, and able to thrive in nearly any type of condition. It gets its common name from the small plantlets produced on long trailing stems that vaguely resemble spiders. | <urn:uuid:e1896e47-5660-4dc1-a830-d14e773eb58d> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://bz.yumitoktokstret.today/8611-spider-plant-for-indoor-air.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104249664.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220703195118-20220703225118-00208.warc.gz | en | 0.931742 | 2,775 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Canada scored 8.14 out of a possible 9 in Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index, which put it fourth out of 140 countries in terms of how accepting each country’s population is of newcomers. Iceland was ranked first, followed by New Zealand and Rwanda.
Gallup says it created the index to assess people’s acceptance of immigrants based on what it calls “increasing degrees of proximity.” This is assessed through three questions that ask respondents whether immigrants living in their country, becoming their neighbours and marrying into their homes are “good things or bad things.”
Canada’s score is based on the answers of 2,000 Canadians aged 15 and older who were surveyed between August 10 and November 29, 2017. The summer of 2017 saw a significant spike in the number of people crossing into Canada from the United States and claiming asylum in response to immigration policies introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The United States ranked ninth on the index with a score of 7.86.
Acceptance ‘follows political fault lines’
Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index echoes a recent Environics Institute study that found a majority of Canadians continue to hold positive views about immigration.
In their report, Gallup researchers Neli Esipova, Julie Ray and Anita Pugliese said residents of both Canada and the United States “are still among the most accepting of migrants in the world” but noted that acceptance in both countries “largely follows political fault lines.”
“Both Canada and the United States have long histories as receiving countries, but in the past two years, one government has embraced that history, while the other has been trying to distance itself from it,” the authors wrote.
In the United States, where the Trump Administration has targeted immigration as a threat to national security and American workers, respondents who said Trump is doing a good job scored a 7.08 out of 9 on the index. Those who disapproved of Trump’s performance scored 8.54.
A parallel trend was observed in Canada when it comes to the performance of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose Liberal government has spoken favourably of immigration and taken steps to increase it. The study found those who approve of Trudeau’s performance scored an 8.64 on Gallup’s Migrant Acceptance Index, while those who disapprove of him scored 7.84.
Faith, age, education among determining factors
The survey also found that respondents in both the United States and Canada who said religion is an important part of their daily lives scored lower on the Migrant Acceptance Index than those for whom religion is not so important.
Those who support Trump and self-identify as religious scored 6.97 on Gallup’s index. Conversely, those who disapprove of Trump and are not religious scored 8.61.
“Americans who are highly religious are more likely to identify as Republicans — the party of the president — and as conservatives,” the study’s authors noted. “More-religious Canadians tend to affiliate with the Conservative Party more than Trudeau’s [Liberal] Party.”
The study found acceptance of immigrants in both countries was higher among younger residents, those with the most education and those living in urban areas. Levels of acceptance were also higher in both Canada and the U.S. among those currently working and those who reported being satisfied with their income and standard of living than among those who were not working or did not feel like they were getting their fair share. | <urn:uuid:00050267-558c-45a3-bc02-09a20df6e494> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://www.cicnews.com/2018/05/canada-ranked-fourth-most-accepting-country-in-the-world-for-immigrants-0510606.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195529480.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20190723151547-20190723173547-00363.warc.gz | en | 0.974395 | 731 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Mac users: Have you ever wondered what all that system memory stuff in the Activity Monitor was all about? Understanding the terminology – free, wired, active, and inactive RAM – can help you decide if your Mac has enough memory.
A quick peek at Mac OS X’s Activity Monitor to see how your system is performing can generate more questions than answers. The same thing goes for free Dashboard widgets like iStat Pro. That’s because the operating system categorizes system memory (commonly referred to as RAM) in a number of different ways, rather than just “used” and “free.” There’s a bit more going on behind the scenes, so we’re left to decipher the following terms: free, wired, active, inactive, page ins, page outs, etc. If you’ve ever wondered what all of this means and how it affects the speed & overall performance of your Mac, read on!
A vocabulary overview
When a Mac’s system memory is being used, OS X doesn’t just lump it all together. It’s very neatly organized, as you will soon find out. One thing to mention beforehand, though, is that information stored in RAM sometimes gets temporarily moved to and from the hard drive when there isn’t enough RAM available. Of course, this slows a Mac down considerably, so it generally only occurs as a last resort when the system runs out of RAM. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s continue!
As one might expect, this is the RAM that is sitting there with nothing to do. It is completely free for the system to use when needed.
Critical information stored in RAM by the system, its kernel, and some key application components. This stuff is basically frozen – it allocates its space and never moves to the hard drive or gets replaced with user-level data when RAM becomes scarce. An interesting thing to note about wired memory is that it scales based on how much total system memory is installed. For example, a Mac with 1GB of RAM may show 400MB of wired memory, while a Mac with 4GB of RAM may use 700MB. The more memory you have, the more your Mac wants to use it!
Information currently in use or very recently used. If you’ve got Safari, GarageBand, iTunes, and Photoshop all going at the same time, your active memory is likely fairly high. Quit one or two of these applications and active memory will shrink. But not all of it will go straight back to free memory… some goes to the next category.
One of the great things about Mac OS X’s memory management system is that it never stops working for you. Inactive memory is basically a handy storage space for convenient access to your most used tools. Let’s say you were working in iPhoto and decide to quit it. Some of the information that was stored in active memory by this application will be moved to inactive memory. This way, when you open iPhoto next time it will load up faster than before. Why? Because the computer is not reading everything from its slow hard drive again. I just ran a quick test myself to illustrate this point: After a system restart, I opened iPhoto and it took 3 Dock icon bounces to launch. I quit iPhoto, did some other stuff, and came back to it a few minutes later. This time it launched in 1 bounce.
The amount of information moved from the hard drive to RAM since the last system startup. Every time you open an application or file, this number goes up.
The amount of information moved from RAM to the hard drive since the last system startup. When RAM is running low or needs to be shuffled around to the hard drive to accommodate higher priority data, this number increases.
How do I know if I should upgrade my Mac’s RAM?
Now that we all better understand how our RAM is being used, it’s much easier to determine whether or not more system memory is needed. Most people look at the number next to free memory and think a low amount means they need more RAM. This isn’t always the case. As previously mentioned, active memory can get released to inactive memory when it’s no longer in use. And this is almost always a good thing, since it can increase speed and responsiveness. So low free memory is something to be happy about! Your RAM isn’t sitting there being wasted – Mac OS X is utilizing it for your benefit.
Instead, you should be concerned when free AND inactive memory are both very low on a regular basis. This situation means most of your RAM is going to wired & active memory because your running applications are demanding all of it right now. Wired & active memory hold precedence, therefore they can grab as much RAM as they need and can force free & inactive memory to give up their space.
Along the same lines, an even bigger indicator of a need for more RAM is if page outs are swelling up too. When your Mac has to keep writing information to the sluggish hard drive because it doesn’t have any fast system memory left to hold it, freezes and hangups will become common. If that’s the case, time for an upgrade! | <urn:uuid:d8240105-d36a-44f8-8cfe-4f48828200aa> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.macyourself.com/2010/02/17/what-is-free-wired-active-and-inactive-system-memory-ram/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660338.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00051-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943879 | 1,091 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Happy Spring! Why do we call this season spring? In the 14th century it was called “springing time” because plants “spring” from the ground. It was then shortened to “spring time” and now we call it “spring”.
Today is the vernal equinox. The day and night are the closet to equal duration in most time zones in the world. Sunrise 6:52 a.m. and sunset 7 p.m. | <urn:uuid:6827f6f2-9ae6-4260-bea3-e41498498dd4> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | https://nldesignsbythesea.com/category/birds/chickens/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187826642.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20171023202120-20171023222120-00119.warc.gz | en | 0.949318 | 103 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The lithosphere is the solid shell of a rocky planet called earth. That means the Crust and the upper part of the mantle which is joined to the crust (see picture on the right).
Under the lithosphere there is the asthenosphere, the weaker, hotter, and deeper part of the upper mantle.
The lithosphere is the surface layer of the fluid parts of the Earth's convection system, therefore it thickens over time. It is broken up into pieces called plates (shown in picture on the left), which move independently relative to one another. This movement of lithospheric plates is described as plate tectonics.
The division of Earth's outer layers into lithosphere and asthenosphere should not be confused with the chemical subdivision of the outer Earth into mantle, and crust. All crust is in the lithosphere, but lithosphere generally contains more mantle than crust.
There are two types of lithosphere:
- Oceanic lithosphere, which is associated with Oceanic crust
- Continental lithosphere, which is associated with Continental crust
Oceanic lithosphere is typically about 50-100 km thick (but beneath the mid-ocean ridges is no thicker than the crust). Continental lithosphere is thicker (about 150 km). It consists of about 50 km of crust and 100 km or more of uppermost mantle.
Oceanic lithosphere consists mainly of mafic crust and ultramafic mantle and is denser than continental lithosphere, for which the mantle is associated with crust made of felsic rocks. The crust is distinguished from the upper mantle by the change in chemical composition that takes place at the Moho discontinuity. Oceanic lithosphere thickens as it ages and moves away from the mid-ocean ridge. This thickening occurs by conductive cooling, which converts hot asthenosphere into lithospheric mantle, and causes the oceanic lithosphere to become increasingly dense with age. Oceanic lithosphere is less dense than asthenosphere for a few tens of millions of years, but after this becomes increasingly denser than asthenosphere. The gravitational instability of mature oceanic lithosphere has the effect that at subduction zones the oceanic lithosphere invariably sinks underneath the overriding lithosphere, which can be oceanic or continental. New oceanic lithosphere is constantly being produced at mid-ocean ridges and is recycled back to the mantle at subduction zones. As a result, oceanic lithosphere is much younger than continental lithosphere: the oldest oceanic lithosphere is about 170 million years old, while parts of the continental lithosphere are billions of years old.
Another distinguishing characteristic of the lithosphere is its flow properties. Under the influence of the low-intensity, long-term stresses that drive plate tectonic motions, the lithosphere responds essentially as a rigid shell and thus deforms primarily through brittle failure, whereas the asthenosphere (the layer of the mantle below the lithosphere) is heat-softened and accommodates strain through plastic deformation. | <urn:uuid:d266e68d-6b2f-473c-b3d8-68eeae866891> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://simple.wikibooks.org/wiki/Geology/Content/Lithosphere | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00275-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948834 | 617 | 4.5625 | 5 |
Mine Seed Banks to Feed Tomorrow’s World
News Jul 08, 2013
With fewer than a dozen flowering plants accounting for 80 percent of humanity’s caloric intake out of 300,000 species, people need to tap unused plants to feed the world in the near future, claims Cornell plant geneticist Susan McCouch in the Comment feature of the July 4 issue of Nature.
To keep pace with population growth and rising incomes around the world, researchers estimate that food availability must double in the next 25 years, according to the paper.
The biodiversity stored in plant gene banks coupled with advances in genetics and plant breeding may hold the keys for meeting the demands of more food in the face of climate change, soil degradation and water and land shortages, according to the paper.
“Gene banks hold hundreds of thousands of seeds and tissue culture materials collected from farmers’ fields and from wild, ancestral populations, providing the raw material that plant breeders need to create crops of the future,” said McCouch.
For example, after screening more than 6,000 varieties from seed banks, plant breeders identified and crossbred a single wild species of rice, Oryza nivara; the result is a variety that has protected against grassy stunt virus disease in almost all tropical rice varieties in Asia for the past 36 years, the paper states. Similarly, by 1997 the value of using crop wild relatives as sources of environmental resilience and resistance to pests and diseases led to an estimated $115 billion in annual benefits to the world economy.
Though seeds are readily accessible in 1,700 gene banks throughout the world, “they are not used to their full potential in plant breeding,” McCouch said.
At present, it is difficult for breeders to make use of the wealth of genetic material in seed banks because of a lack of information about the genes in most plants and the traits they confer, she said. Due to the time and effort required to identify and then use wild and unadapted genetic resources, “a breeder must have a good idea about the genetic value of an uncharacterized resource before attempting to use it in a breeding program,” McCouch said.
In the paper, McCouch and colleagues outlined a three-point plan to address these constraints:
• A massive genetic sequencing effort on seed-bank holdings to document what exists in the collections, to strategically target experiments to evaluate what traits a plant has (called phenotyping) and to begin to predict plant performance.
• A broad phenotyping initiative, not only of the gene bank holdings, but also of the progeny generated from crossing wild and exotic materials to adapted varieties targeted for local use.
• An internationally accessible informatics infrastructure to coordinate data that are currently managed independently by gene-bank curators, agronomists and breeders.
The estimated cost for such a systematic, collaborative global effort to help characterize the genetic resources needed to feed the future is about $200 million annually, according to McCouch.
“This seems like great value, given that as a society we spend about $1 billion each year to run CERN’s Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, and up to $180 million on a single fighter jet,” said McCouch.
Growing Issue of Pesticide Resistance - Action Needed!News
A review has found that large-scale studies are required to test new approaches for slowing pest resistance as herbicide and pesticide resistance is a growing problem.READ MORE
4000-Year Old DNA Helps Track the Spread of Rice Farming in AsiaNews
Rice farming spread far and wide in ancient Southeast Asia, but how it got there has been a mystery. Now, a study of 4000-year-old DNA—a rare find in this region—suggests it came with farmers migrating from China, where rice farming originated.
Island Life: Worm-eating Mice Hold Clues to EvolutionNews
How much space does a population need to branch out and form a new species? A small island in the Philippines, and four species of mice that live on it, have helped researchers work out the answer.READ MORE
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Epigenetics in the nervous system: development and disease
Oct 01 - Oct 03, 2018 | <urn:uuid:fd4f5e95-d300-4d34-afa3-d19690201559> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/mine-seed-banks-to-feed-tomorrows-world-201103 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794863662.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20180520170536-20180520190536-00396.warc.gz | en | 0.931797 | 880 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Robert Brevelle is the Managing Director and COO at Tech WildCatters. Tech WildCatters is a company that invests their money, time, and resources into startups. They launched an accelerator in 2009 entitled, “The Gauntlet,” which is a five-stage process of the company life-cycle, each focused on a different, key aspect. After their seven years of experience learning how to fine-tune their accelerator process, they have made 72 investments and created 450 jobs through one of the longest running accelerators in the world.
Brevelle recently shared a tweet including a picture of himself on the right, with Tech Edventures founder Allen Selis picture left. He said, “Congrats to Tech Edventures for achieving Level 4 in our Gauntlet accelerator program!”
Tech Edventures was created in Silicon Valley by Dr. Allen Selis. Their company believes that engineering, design, and computer programming are skills that kids should learn as early as elementary school. They began in a small, independent school in Silicon Valley before moving to Dallas, TX. In Silicon Valley, parents used, and some even created, new technologies, so to remain relevant for these tech families, Tech Edventures decided to offer their kids STEM skills.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, they explain the importance of STEM skills by saying, “In a world that’s becoming increasingly complex, where success is driven not only by what you know, but by what you can do with what you know, it’s more important than ever for our youth to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to solve tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of information. These are the types of skills that students learn by studying science, technology, engineering, and math—subjects collectively known as STEM.”
Tech Edventures offers classes to kids ranging in grades from Pre-K to the Ninth Grade. Some classes offered are: Tiny Tech, Robot Garage, Code Academy, Minecraft Mods, Digital Animation, and Computer Game Design to name a few.
To learn more about Tech Edventures, checkout our previous article over Coding and Robotics for Kids. Congratulations to Tech Edventures for making it to Level 4 in the Tech WildCatters Gauntlet – keep up the great work!
Comments are closed. | <urn:uuid:7f6c81bc-ee91-4ce7-9279-1f43cdd21003> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | http://launchdfw.com/2016/08/25/tech-edventures-hits-level-4-tech-wildcatters-gauntlet-program/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125945317.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20180421184116-20180421204116-00618.warc.gz | en | 0.958129 | 476 | 2.59375 | 3 |
This article has been authored by Satendra Singh, Abhay Saxena and Devyani Singh, students of Rizvi Law College.
“To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.”
-Charles de Montesquieu
The notion of Contempt of Court finds its roots in late 14th century Western Europe. It had initially found its place in King's Courts or mixed government i.e. Kings, aristocratic assemblies and popular assembly[i], where the administration of justice was done by the King and later by his judicial representatives. The concept was grounded on a popular belief that the King can do no wrong and hence disobeying the order passed by the king or his representatives was considered as contempt and was also punishable. The Doctrine of mixed government was later evolved into the Doctrine of Separation of powers propelled by Locke and Montesquieu[ii] and three branches were distinguished i.e. Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. The Separation of powers and independence of judiciary forms an integral part of the basic structures of the Indian Constitution[iii] and the sole purpose of laws on Contempt is to ensure the independence of the judiciary in a democracy.
The contempt laws act as sentinels protecting the sanctity of the temples of justice. The prowlers can possibly be Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India (hereinafter referred as COI) or Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Surprisingly the battalion of Sentinels is quite large which consists of doyen officers like Article 129, Article 142 and Article 215 of COI. The battalion was later enlarged in 1971 when a new force was set up and named as The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (hereinafter referred as CCA). Although there have been attempts by the prowlers to infuse a seed of ‘divide and rule’ between the Articles of COI and Sections of CCA but every time the efforts go in vain and the sanctity of the temples was retained. This article would be discussing the importance and the nature of the battalions to combat above mentioned prowlers as well as the roles and limitations of various stakeholders like Priests of the temples (Judges), Caretakers (Advocates), devotees (citizens) and International Temples like the Supreme Court of U.K. The entire discussion shall revolve around the recent battle fought between Activist- lawyer Mr. Prashant Bhushan (caretaker) and Retd. Justice Arun Mishra (Priest) of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
Contempt as an offence
Although there have been laws to penalise Contempt of Court since India became a republic, the offence was defined in 1971 through Contempt of Courts Act. There are two types of contempt i.e. civil and criminal. Civil Contempt has been defined under Section 2(b) of CCA which makes willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or willful breach of an undertaking given to a court a civil offense[iv]. A person who obtains an order from court is entitled to see that the order is enforced. The courts pass orders, decrees etc. having an intention that they would be obeyed by parties. Effective checking of violations is necessary to keep up the prestige and image of the courts and it is also necessary for maintaining an orderly society in a democratic set up.
No litigant should be allowed to go free by deliberately flouting the orders of courts. That is a matter affecting the administration of justice and courts cannot have a light hearted approach in such matters.[v] The definition under Section 2(c) of CCA states that if any act of the alleged contemnor scandalizes or tends to scandalize or lowers or tends to lower the authority of any court or if that act prejudices or interferes or tends to interfere with due course of any judicial proceeding or interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any manner shall be convicted and punished for criminal contempt.[vi] Scandalising the court is a form of contempt of court. It generally takes the form of a publication, though it can include statements published by other means, such as holding banners outside a court.[vii] Where one person makes a statement, whether in oral or in writing, and another publishes it, both can be guilty of scandalising.[viii] The statements must be derogatory of the judiciary: that is, either of individual judges or courts or of the judiciary in general or a section of it.[ix]
The Suo Motu cognizance of criminal contempt can be taken by the Supreme Court or High Court as mentioned under Section 15 of the said Act. Although the law of contempt is largely governed by the 1971 Act, it is now settled law in India that the High Courts and the Supreme Court derive their jurisdiction and power from Articles 215 and 129 of the Constitution. The said issue regarding the jurisdiction is no more res integra. This situation results in giving scope for “judicial self-dealing”[x] The language of Entry 77 of List I and Entry 14 of List III of the Seventh Schedule demonstrates that the legislative power of Parliament and of the State Legislature extends to legislate with respect to matters connected with contempt of court by the Supreme Court or the High Court, subject however, to the qualification that such legislation cannot denude, abrogate or nullify, the power of the Supreme Court to punish for contempt under Article 129 or vest that power in some other court.[xi]
In Sukhdev Singh Sodhi v. The Chief Justice of the Pepsu High Court, the Court held that:
“We hold therefore that the Code of Criminal Procedure does not apply in matters of contempt triable by the High Court. The High Court can deal with it summarily and adopt its own procedure. All that is necessary is that the procedure is fair and that the contemner is made aware of the charge against him and given a fair and reasonable opportunity to defend himself.”[xii]
In the Prashant Bhushan case, the three judges bench led by Retd. Justice Arun Mishra also made it clear that Section 17(2) of the CCA, 1971 which makes it mandatory for issuing a copy of petition to the Contemnor shall not be applied to the Suo motu Contempt proceedings. The sole criteria is of Form 1 which has been framed under Rule 6 of the Rules of Supreme Court which requires the court to briefly state the nature of Contempt. [xiii]
Freedom of Speech and Expression
Article 19(1)(a) of COI is one of the gems of the Magna Carta of the Indian Constitution. It is vital for the sustenance of democracy in a state yet there are some restrictions attached with the said right. It is one of the precious liberties in any democracy but equally important is the maintenance of respect for judicial independence, which alone would protect the life, liberty and reputation of the citizen. It is completely in the nation’s interest that criticism of the judiciary must be measured, strictly rational, sober and proceed from the highest motives without being coloured by partisan spirit or pressure tactics or intimidatory attitude. Even prior to the enactment of the CCA,1971 a fair and reasonable criticism of judicial act did not constitute contempt and this cherished and noble facet of the larger liberty of freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Art. 19(1)(a) of the Constitution has found its echo in Section 5 of the CCA, 1971.[xiv]
The flowers of ‘free speech and expression’ blossoming on the stem of Article 19(1)(a) comes with the thorns of ‘reasonable restrictions’ clamoring its voice from sub clause 2 of Article 19 of COI. The words of the said clause is quite precise regarding the subjects including contempt of court but vagueness of the phrase ‘reasonable restrictions’ has always been a matter of judicial scrutiny. The limit of fair comment mentioned in CCA 1971, cannot be put into a straight-jacket formula or converted into a master key which will open any lock. More or less it would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case, the situation and circumstances in which the act was done, the language employed the context in which the criticism was offered and the people for whose benefit the exercise was undertaken and the effect which it will produce on the litigants and society in relation to courts and administration of justice.[xv]
It is an established law that fair and reasonable criticism of a judgment which is a public document or which is a public act of a Judge concerned with administration of justice would not constitute contempt. In fact, such fair and reasonable criticism must be encouraged because after all no one, much less Judges, can claim infallibility. Such a criticism may fairly assert that the judgment is incorrect or an error has been committed both with regard to law or established facts. But when it is said that the judge had a predisposition to convict or deliberately took a turn in discussion of evidence because he had already resolved to convict the accused, or has a wayward bend of mind, is attributing motives, lack of dispassionate and objective approach and analysis and prejudging of the issues which would bring administration of justice into ridicule. [xvi]
The proponents of Article 19(1)(a) of COI shall read the said provision along with Article 121 of COI, which bars the Members of Parliament to discuss any conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of High Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of the Judge as provided under Article 124(4) and (5) and in the manner laid down under the Act, the Rules and the rules of business of Parliament consistent therewith.[xvii] It is quite obvious that if the Members of Parliament are not given due privilege to discuss any conduct of Judges then there is no other fora to have such discussion much less the Bar Council or a group of practicing Advocates.
Truth as a defense
One more commander was recruited in the battalion of CCA in 2003 through an amendment which added Truth as a defense in Section 13 of the said Act. The intent of the legislature in recognition of one of the fundamentals of our value system i.e. Truth must be applauded. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) had recommended the then government in 2003 to insert a provision in Section 13 of CCA, 1971 to enable the courts to permit justification by truth as a valid defense in any contempt proceeding if it is satisfied that such defense is in public interest and the request for invoking the defense is bona fide. If a speech or article, editorial, etc. contains something which appears to be contemptuous and the Supreme Court or the High Court is called upon to initiate proceedings under the Act and Articles 129 and 215 of the Constitution, the truth should ordinarily be allowed as a defense unless the Court finds that it is only a camouflage to escape the consequences of deliberate or malicious attempt to scandalize the court or is an interference with the administration of justice.[xviii]
Defamation or Contempt of Court?
Whether the derogatory comments made against the judges should be dealt under Contempt laws or defamation is dealt perfectly in the case of Baradakanta Mishra vs The Registrar Of Orissa High Court[xix] & another where the Constitution Bench held that that when proceedings in contempt are taken for vilification of the judge, the question which the court has to ask is whether the vilification is of the judge as a judge or it is the vilification of the judge as an individual and if the vilification of the judge is as an individual, then he is left to his private remedies and the court has no power to punish for contempt. A libel upon a Judge in his judicial capacity is a contempt, whether it concerns what he did in court, or what he did judicially out of it.[xx]
Scandalizing the court is a convenient way of describing a publication which, although it does not relate to any specific case either past or pending or any specific Judge, is a scurrilous attack on the judiciary as a whole, which is calculated to undermine the authority of the courts and public confidence in the administration of justice.”[xxi] The Committee was set up in U.K to revise the penal laws on Contempt which was headed by Sir Henry Josceline Phillimore. In 1967 which was completed in 1974 and subsequently led to Contempt of Court Act, 1981. The Committee in its report at one stage had affirmed that the judges do have the option of initiating defamation proceedings and there was no need for further protection. In Contrary to the opinion ,the committee concluded stating that some restraints were required in order to protect the administration of justice as well as preserving the public confidence in its honesty and impartiality.[xxii]
Judges’ only weapon
Intellectuals and Advocates across the world propagate and contend for one of the very popular principles of natural justice of the judicial battle i.e. Audi Alteram Partem which means that no party should be judged without being heard. Unfortunately, persons who are held responsible if the said principle is not followed are themselves denied the said right.
It will be relevant to refer to some of the clauses of the ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life’ adopted in the Chief Justices’ Conference at New Delhi in September, 1992. Under clause 8, a Judge is not expected to attend a public debate or express his views in public on political matters or on matters that are pending or are likely to arise for judicial determination. Likewise, as per clause (9) a Judge is expected to let his judgment speak for themselves.[xxiii] It is very easy to make any allegation against the Judges in the newspaper and media. Judges have to be the silent sufferer of such allegations, and they cannot counter such allegations publicly by going on public platforms, newspapers or media. Nor can they write anything about the correctness of the various wild allegations made, except when they are dealing with the matter. The sole medium of expression is through their judgments which are not accessed by the general public and hence are ignorant of the exact law. It is highly unfair to make scurrilous and scathing remarks on the judges in their official capacity when the contemnors know that they cannot respond and will suffer silently.[xxiv]
Contempt laws in United Kingdom
Indian contempt laws have been derived from U.K and its roots can be traced back to one of the earlier courts of record, if not the earliest, expressly created as such seems to be the Court of the Mayor and Corporation of Madras established under the East India Company's Charter of 1687.[xxv] The English law of contempt which itself had a haphazard growth came to be introduced in our country in a yet more haphazard manner. But amendments have been made to transform the Act as per the current needs of the country. Interestingly, the U. K’s House of Lords had passed Crimes and Courts bill abolishing ‘scandalizing the court’ in 2012. The bill was proposed by Lord Pannick, a barrister as well as a crossbencher in the House of Lords. The said decision was taken based on the findings of the Law Commission formed by the order of House of Commons in 2012 wherein the Commission had affirmed the view that there had been a change in attitude of the citizens and it was no longer a case where the authority figures were given immense respect.
The offence of scandalizing the court arose in an era where deferential respect to authority figures was the norm. This is clearly no longer the case to nearly the same extent as it was.[xxvi] In India however the situation is not the same. The citizens consider judges as priests of the temples of Justice. More importantly the literacy rate of U.K. is 99% as against 77.7% in India.[xxvii] Hence, chances of getting influenced due to any scurrilous or scathing remark against the judiciary and shaking the faith of the general public in such an institution is immense in India. As mentioned above only an independent judiciary is the sine qua non of a vibrant democratic system. Only an impartial and independent judiciary can stand as a bulwark for the protection of the rights of the individuals and mete out even handed justice without fear or favour.
In the U.K, however, the parliament is supreme. The judiciary, there, has not been separated from the legislature. In fact, the House of Lords acts as the highest Court of appeal.[xxviii] The amendment had only abolished scandalizing the court as an offence or form of contempt at common law. It would have no effect on statutory forms of contempt such as those under section 12 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 (relating to magistrates’ courts), section 118 of the County Courts Act 1984 (relating to county courts) or section 309 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 (relating to service courts). [xxix]
Devotees versus Caretakers
There seems to be a misconception regarding how judges deal with contempt cases. It is often believed that any citizen criticizing the court or making derogatory remarks against the judges or courts shall be prosecuted and convicted. It is indeed partially correct but recent judgments of Supreme Court have unfolded the interpretations of ingredients like interference in ‘administration of justice’.
The three-judge bench led by Retd. Justice Arun Mishra in In re Prashant Bhushan and Anr. held that the allegations made by the contemnor through two tweets on CJI as well as former CJIs were scandalous and were capable of shaking the very edifice of the judicial administration and also shaking the faith of the common man in the administration of justice.[xxx] It is important to note here that although two tweets seem trivial for shaking such an enormous institution for a common man, in reverse this is quite possible when the contemnor is an advocate of 35 years of standing and has filed several public interest litigations (PILs). When a man of such a stature raises allegations against an institution there are high chances that it would create distrust in the mind of the public and in the capacity to impart fearless justice. The consequences would not be the same if the same two tweets in question were done by an ordinary man. Hence, he would not have been prosecuted for scandalizing the court much less contempt of court.
Advocates unlike ordinary citizens are bound by the “Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette” of the Bar Council of India Rules. The rules clearly say that if there is any complaint against any judicial officer then it shall be his right and duty to submit his grievance to proper authorities. Though expectations from an ordinary citizen may be different, the duties and expectations that are expected from a lawyer of long standing are on the higher side. An advocate cannot forget his ethical duty and responsibility and cannot denigrate the very system of which he/she is an integral part. Fair criticism is not to be silenced, but an advocate has to remind himself/herself, where he/she crosses the zone of propriety, and the Court cannot continuously ignore it, and the system cannot be made to suffer. When the criticism turns into malicious and scandalous allegations thereby tending to undermine the confidence of the public and the institution as a whole, such a criticism cannot be ignored.
The courts in India have always been open to criticism and public scrutiny. Judges have always welcomed free flow of ideas and criticisms about the judicial system but as long as criticisms do not impair or hamper the administration of justice. Cognizance for contempt of court is taken by courts when the alleged contemnor had crossed the ‘lakshman rekha’ which divides “fair criticism and scandalizing the court”. In India more than a billion people from all walks of life rely on courts to get justice and show utmost faith in judges unlike U.K where judges or judiciary lack respect due to reasons like non independence of judiciary and alternatives like arbitration. It is beyond the doubt that like any other institution, the judiciary is not flawless and pious. Any proposition stating that an institution is or can ever be corruption free is quixotic. Any grievance against any judicial officer must be intimidated to the appropriate authority like the registrar of the court of Chief Justice of the High Court or Supreme Court. The aim is to protect the trust and faith of the devotees for the temples of justice. Unlike devotees (ordinary citizens), the caretakers of the temples (advocates), are expected not to cross the zone of propriety. The question whether temples of justice can survive without the battalions of CCA and COI? The answer would be No. As long as the existence of any law is benefitting the citizens of the country, omne bonum.
[i] M.CJ.Vile, Constitutionalism and Separation of Powers, (1967)2nd Edition Indian police .Liberty Fund, Online Library of Liberty accessed on 21 June 2010. [ii] https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/218008/9/09_chapter%202.pdf [iii] Indira Gandhi v Raj Narayan, 1975 SCC (2) 159 [iv] Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 [v] Krishnan Kesavan And Ors. vs Kochukunju Karunakaran, AIR 1988 Ker 107 [vi] Supra 4 [vii] CP para 17; Vidal, The Times, 14 Oct 1922 [viii] A-G v O’Ryan and Boyd (1) 1 IR 70. [ix] Infra 27 [x] Samaraditya Pal, The Law of Contempt Vol (1) Edn 5, (2012) [xi] Supreme Court Bar Association of India V. Union of India (1998) 4 SCC 409 [xii] Sukhdev Singh Sodhi v. The Chief Justice and Judges of the Pepsu High Court, 1954 SCR 454 [xiii] SC, Suo Motu Contempt Petition (Crl.) No.1/2020, 14th August, 2020 [xiv] SC, Suo Motu Contempt Petition (Crl.) No.1/ 2020, 31st August, 2020 [xv] Rama Dayal Markarha vs State Of Madhya Pradesh 1978 SCR (3) 497 [xvi] ibid. [xvii] Constitution of India, 1950 [xviii] Indirect Tax Practitioners’ Association v. R.K. Jain, (2010) 8 SCC 281 [xix] Baradakanta Mishra vs The Registrar Of Orissa High Court, 1974 SCR (2) 282 [xx] Oswald’s Contempt of Court (3rd Edn.), 1993, at p. 50 [xxi] Chokolingo v. Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago [(1981) 1 All ER 244, 248] [xxii] PhilliSir Henry Josceline Phillimore report on Contempt of Court, 1974 [xxiii] Restatement of Values of Judicial Life’ adopted in the Chief Justices’ Conference (1992) [xxiv] Supra 14 [xxv] Report of the Committee on Contempt of Courts, roruary 1963, (Sanyal Committee report) [xxvi] Munby LJ in Harris v Harris 2 Family Law Reports 895 at ; CP para 19. See also Lord Taylor, “Justice in the Media Age” (1996) 62(4) Arbitration 258. [xxvii]https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/international-literacy-day-2020-how-literacy-rate-is-calculated-in-india/articleshow/77991200.cms#:~:text=India's%20literacy%20rate&text=As%20per%20NSO%2C%20India's%20average,in%20the%20list%20with%2096.2%25. [xxviii] Santosh Kumar Pandey, 2018 “Independence of judiciary in India” Vol. IV, International Journal of Law, ISSN:2455-2194 [xxix] 335th Law Commission Report, Contempt of Court: Scandalising the Court. http://lawcommission.justice.gov.uk/areas/contempt.htm [xxx] Supra 14 | <urn:uuid:cfc853f9-45c8-46d1-9ac1-7c3a000dfeb8> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.iralr.in/post/contempt-of-court-an-eternal-battle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585405.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20211021102435-20211021132435-00323.warc.gz | en | 0.960848 | 5,122 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Telltales, tufts, indicators, flappers, woollies – a dear child has many names. No matter what you call them, they are an essential aid in steering and trimming.
The telltales make the trimming of the sails and the steering of the blokart® easier. You shouldn’t stick too many telltales on your sails – when sailing, the amount of information streaming in exceeds the capacity of the sailor, so keep it as simple as possible. In this article we explain which telltales are essential and sufficient at the same time. We recommend not having more telltales than that. The telltales in the leech should be made of a rather strong nylon strip. The telltales in the luff should be of woollen yarn glued onto the sail with a colourful sticky-back.
The telltales near the luff of the sail are used as a steering aid when sailing upwind. If you are pointing too high the windward telltales “stall”, i.e. point straight up or stream forwards or twirl around restlessly. If you are sailing too low the leeward telltales hang down and die, which is a sign of a serious steering error – the leeward telltales should always stream steadily aft.
The windward telltales indicate different things depending of the wind strength. In light winds your heading is correct when both the windward and leeward telltales stream steadily aft. The maximum speed is achieved by steering so high that the windward telltales are just about to twirl. In medium winds the best speed is achieved when the windward telltales jump up at steady intervals. Telltale 1, telltale 2, telltale 3 – jump – telltale 1…
steering for v.m.g. (velocity made good)
The steering telltales are most useful when sailing upwind. Steering according to the telltales in light and medium conditions normally maximizes VMG, i.e. your speed towards the mark is the greatest. A high VMG does not necessarily mean the highest speedometer values, but indicates the ideal combination of kart speed, pointing and leeway.
You should have two to four telltales on the leech, which used to monitor sheet tension. The leech tails, as well as the telltales for steering, are of the most value in light to medium air. The telltale at the end of the top batten pocket is essential when adjusting the proper twist for the main sail. When the telltale disappears behind the sail, the sheet is too tight and the sail has too little twist. In a light winds (5 to 10 knots) the top telltale should be flying for about half of the time. In less than about five knots the leech tails won’t work properly. When the wind picks up, the sail is flattened and all the telltales normally stream aft.
The two telltales below the top one tell us about the overall shape of the sail. When the top telltale streams steadily aft but the second one is stalling, your sail is either too full in the middle and /or too flat in the top. Bending the mid-section of the mast normally helps.
The main sheet is the most important trimming device on your blokart®, and the top leech tail is the best indicator of the main sheet tension. The required tension on the main sheet depends of the rig size and mast setup you have; use the top leech tail when you are looking for the right trim in different condition. In less than 5 knots of wind adjust the sheet so that the upper tail is visible only sometimes. In medium air the upper tail should show itself about 50% of the time, and in heavy air all leech tails must fly constantly.
on a reach…
… telltales are used for trimming the sail. As you steer the blokart® to the next mark of the course keep trimming the sail so that the telltales stream steadily aft. On a reach the top telltales are good value when determining the right amount of twist, which is otherwise very difficult. If the windward top telltales are stalling, ease the main sheet slightly to increase the sail’s twist. Remember that you can rely on the telltales only in light and medium conditions. In strong winds the heel becomes the main trimming indicator and the excess power has to be released by increasing the twist. Normally it is very difficult to get both the top and bottom telltales to work well together. Don’t use the luff telltales when looking for the right amount of main sheet tension – the information you get is often more harmful than beneficial.
below: If the leeward telltales are stalling or streaming forward, you are sailing too low. Come up a bit, or ease the sheet a bit. In light air, steer just on the verge of collapsing the leeward tails.
above: If the windward telltales are continuously jumping up but the blokart® isn’t trying to heel excessively, you are sailing too high. In medium air on an ideal heading the telltales jump up at three to four second intervals. In stronger winds (15 knots +) ignore the telltales and steer by the heel angle
Telltales make trimming and steering easier. One should not, however, stare his eyes out at them. If the cut of your sail is too flat, you will achieve the best speed by steering the blokart® so low that the leeward telltales are partly stalling. On the other hand, if your sail is too full (which inevitably happens to all sails at some stage when the wind picks up) you should steer the blokart® so that the windward telltales are twirling up. In strong winds, let the telltales live their own lives and steer the blokart® according to heel and track position.
flow separation & boundary layers
When the wind sweeps past the sail its velocity near the sail surface decreases because of the friction.
This so called boundary layer can be over 30mm thick in the middle on the windward side and in the leech on the leeward side of the sail. When the velocity of the air stream decreases to a certain point the boundary layer separates from the sail. The telltales indicate how the boundary layer is behaving at different moments in different parts of the sail. The separation of the boundary layer always means a significant loss in power and is to be avoided at all cost. This is why the telltales are so useful, and why we try to trim the sail so that they always stream steadily aft.
The sail is often compared to a wing of an airplane. A sail, however, has one aerodynamic characteristic that makes the comparison feeble. In the luff of a sail the airflow always gets separated from the sail surface on one side or the other, creating a separation bubble. The thick and round leading edge of a wing – or a keel of a sailboat – eliminates the separation of the boundary layer, which improves the efficiency of the foil considerably.
windward side bubble
When the airflow meets the luff of the sail in too steep an angle, it separates and a separation bubble forms. The bubble is like a small eddy where air circulates around in the same spot. The tighter the sail is sheeted the longer the separation bubble will be. The airflow reattaches to the sail behind the separation bubble.
Depending on the size of the bubble and the position of the steering telltales they either stream steadily aft, twirl in a funny way or in the worst case even stream forwards against the wind.
If you are pointing too high the bubble forms on the windward side of the sail. The bubble on the windward side is less harmful than the one on the leeward side; in heavy winds there is always a bubble of some length on the windward side of the sail
The very luff of the sail nearly always has a separation bubble on one side or the other which is why the telltales shouldn’t be installed too close to the luff. When the sail is sheeted properly and the boat is on its ideal course, the telltales on both sides of the sail stream steadily aft.
In this case, the separation bubble at the luff is then extremely small and alternates from one side to the other. The airflow meets the luff of the sail at an ideal angle and the flow is smooth at both sides of the sail.
leeward side bubble
If you are sailing too low, or if the sail is sheeted in too hard, a separation bubble forms on the leeward side. This is very harmful to the performance and should be avoided at all times.
Independently of the luff separation bubble, the airflow may get detached from the sail just before the leech on the leeward side. The eddy formed like this makes the leech telltale disappear behind the sail. For the sake of clarity, the size of the separation bubbles is exaggerated in the drawing. | <urn:uuid:d9ddc736-ae2f-4705-a17b-e4e820b94f76> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | http://capitalblokartclub.org.nz/blokart-sailing/tips-and-tweaks/telling-tales/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806736.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20171123050243-20171123070243-00304.warc.gz | en | 0.882982 | 1,918 | 2.53125 | 3 |
"The language is a code whose function is communication."
Translation:A língua é um código cuja função é comunicação.
Does cuja refer here to língua or função? I thought it would refer to the word código as in English but then it would be cujo so I'm confused :P
Cuja here refers to língua. But pay attention: cujo(s)/cuja(a) agrees with the following word: esta é a mulher cujos filhos são professores.
Although it may be required in the Portuguese version, I think the definite article at the start of this English sentence would not, as it appears to be a general statement about any type of language. | <urn:uuid:27b426ed-ecc0-4b74-b481-216f22c17024> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/594722/The-language-is-a-code-whose-function-is-communication | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912204969.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20190326095131-20190326121131-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.727143 | 169 | 2.8125 | 3 |
It is the intent of the Ellwood City Area School District that gifted students are provided with quality gifted educational services and programs. Gifted education is based on the unique strengths and/or abilities of the student.
In order to assist in the early identification of any student who may require differentiated instruction, the District has established screening procedures including, but not limited to, a review of the following information; standardized and criterion referenced test data, developmental checklists, anecdotal records, curriculum-based assessments, and formative evaluation procedures. Parents and teachers may also make recommendations for gifted identification. Determination of mentally gifted shall include a full assessment and comprehensive report by a public school psychologist specifying the nature and degree of the ability. There are multiple criteria for gifted support program placement:
- Outstanding intellectual and creative ability.
- Student profile indicates gifted ability.
- Teacher and parent recommendations suggest superior ability.
- IQ score of 130 or higher or when other educational criteria strongly indicate gifted ability and need for a gifted support program. Deficits in processing speed or memory, as indicated by testing, will not solely exclude an individual from gifted identification.
- The Gifted Multi-disciplinary Team (GMDT) determines that the student’s needs are currently not being met within the regular curriculum in identified areas.
The report will contain recommendations as to whether the student is gifted and in need of specially designed instruction. The GMDT will base educational placement decisions on the gifted student’s strengths.
For students who qualify for gifted education a Gifted Individualized Education Program (GIEP) will be written. The GIEP enables gifted students to participate in, but are not limited to, course acceleration, enrichment programs, grade advancement, independent study, Academic Games, and attending college classes. The District makes every effort to meet the needs of each gifted student both in and out of the classroom. | <urn:uuid:646a9f9d-9d1b-4855-9149-8d0628f907a7> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://www.ellwood.k12.pa.us/index.php/gifted/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583660258.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20190118172438-20190118194438-00403.warc.gz | en | 0.934389 | 382 | 3 | 3 |
Are you providing your cat with a healthy environment?
Providing a cat with a comfortable environment is linked with better physical, emotional, and behavioral health. All cats have the same essential environmental needs. Unfortunately, many cats live in homes that are missing some key elements and this results in stress-related disorders as well as unwanted behaviors.
Additionally, many cats can’t cope well in multi-cat households if their environmental needs aren’t being met. Thankfully, the American Association of Feline Practitioners and International Society of Feline Medicine have developed the following guidelines on the five pillars of a healthy feline environment to help cat owners and veterinarians meet these needs.
Pillar 1: Provide your cat with a safe place
Your cat’s safe place is a private area that provides him with a sense of security. It helps if this area is raised, which allows your cat to observe his environment, retreat, and feel protected. Options for safe places include cardboard boxes (which cat doesn’t love these?), perches or shelves, and even his carrier. If your cat is currently frightened of his carrier, it may need to be left out for a while to become part of the “furniture.” Read more.
Pillar 2: Provide your cat with multiple and separated key resources
Your cat’s key resources include her food, water, litter boxes, scratching areas, resting/sleeping areas, and elevated areas such as perches. Provide these in multiple locations to provide your cat with several choices. If you have multiple cats, provide these resources in multiple locations to help minimize competition, bullying, and social stress. Read more.
Pillar 3: Provide your cat with the opportunity for play and predatory behavior
Cats are active predators, and when given the opportunity to hunt outdoors will spend a significant amount of their day in hunt-related activities. Even well-fed cats will stalk, chase, and kill prey. Unfortunately, if you don’t provide your cat with opportunities for predatory-behaviors, he may become obese, bored, and frustrated. He may develop a stress-associated disease or respond aggressively toward you and other animals within your household. Thankfully, there are many options to provide even indoor cats with the opportunity for play and predatory behavior. Options include toys, regular play with you, and feeding toys that require him to actively acquire food. Read more.
Pillar 4: Provide your cat with positive, consistent, and predictable social interactions
All companion animals, including cats, benefit from regular, positive, consistent interactions with their human family members. Your cat will experience less stress when allowed to choose whether or not to interact with you, rather than having interactions forced upon her. Allow your cat to approach you rather than approaching her. If your cat appears relaxed and wants to interact, it’s best to focus petting around the head and cheeks. When your cat moves away, don’t force further contact by following your cat or picking her up.
Pillar 5: Provide your cat with an environment that respects the importance of his sense of smell
Cats depend much more on their sense of smell than we humans do. Your cat’s sense of smell provides him with important information, helping him to both detect potential threats and feel secure in his environment. Your cat marks his environment with pheromones by rubbing or scratching objects. These pheromones establish his core living area—where he feels most safe and secure—and communicate with other cats. Whenever possible, avoid interfering with your cat’s sense of smell. This includes avoiding use of strong cleaners, detergents, and scented litter and providing scratching posts or boxes.
This article gives you a brief overview of the five pillars of a healthy feline environment. If you have questions on your cat’s specific needs, please contact your veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist for assistance. In future articles, I will cover each pillar in more detail.
—Kelly Ballantyne, DVM, DACVB
Veterinary Behavior at Illinois | <urn:uuid:1d925e29-2420-4871-8e2d-5e2e4519e8c1> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://vetmed.illinois.edu/5-pillars-ensure-healthy-environment-cats/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195525659.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20190718145614-20190718171614-00442.warc.gz | en | 0.946594 | 841 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Physical abuse is any non-accidental physical injury (ranging from minor bruises to severe fractures or death) as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, hitting (with a hand, stick, strap, or other object), burning, or otherwise harming a child, that is inflicted by a parent, caregiver, or other person who has responsibility for the child.
Such injury is considered abuse regardless of whether the caregiver intended to hurt the child. Physical discipline, such as spanking or paddling, is not considered abuse as long as it is reasonable and causes no bodily injury to the child.
Signs and Behaviors of the Child or Teen
- Has unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, or black eyes
- Has fading bruises or other marks noticeable after an absence from school
- Seems frightened of the parents and protests or cries when it is time to go home
- Reports injury by a parent or another adult caregiver
- Abuses animals or pets
- Explanation of the injury does not seem consistent with the injury
Signs and Behaviors of the Parent or Caretaker
- Offers conflicting, unconvincing, or no explanation for the child’s injury, or provides an explanation that is not consistent with the injury
- Describes the child as “evil” or in some other very negative way
- Uses harsh physical discipline with the child
- Has a history of abuse as a child
- Has a history of abusing animals or pet | <urn:uuid:11f42b6e-dd7f-4bdc-af8e-eb4a69761b92> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | http://co4kids.org/physical-abuse | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187824068.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20171020101632-20171020121632-00881.warc.gz | en | 0.928078 | 318 | 2.9375 | 3 |
(Medical Xpress)—A team of British and Dutch researchers working out of Princess Anne Hospital in the UK have found evidence to suggest that the reason some women experience multiple miscarriages is because their wombs allow non-viable embryos to attach to the uterine wall long enough to pass a pregnancy test. The team says this new research, which they describe in their paper published in PLoS ONE, turns on its head conventional thinking that suggests women who miscarry multiple times are somehow rejecting embryos due to immunological issues.
For years, conventional thinking has suggested that women who experienced multiple miscarriages did so because their immune systems found an embryo to be a foreign body and went on the attack. Such thinking has led to feelings of failure in many women and the many emotional issues it entailed. This new research shows that, at least in some cases, it's quite the opposite. Rather than their bodies failing them, women who miscarry multiple times might be super fertile; their wombs attempt to carry embryos whether they are healthy enough to survive to term, or not.
To better understand what might be happening, the researchers enlisted two groups of female volunteers; women with a history of miscarriages, and women with no history of miscarriages. Both groups allowed eggs to be harvested from their bodies which were subsequently inseminated to create embryos. Each woman also had cells from her uterus harvested as well. The team placed the embryos in a container with a channel in it that led to the cells from the uterus then watched to see which group of cells grew towards the embryo, emulating that process that occurs inside the womb.
The team found that the cells from the group of women with a history of miscarriages grew towards the embryo in virtually all cases, while those from the group that did not have such a history did so only when the embryo appeared to be of high quality. If low quality embryos were allowed to attach to the uterine wall inside of a woman, the result would likely be a miscarriage.
The researchers say that it appears likely that now some instances of multiple miscarriages can be attributed to this super fertility in women, and thus a search will begin to find a less invasive way to test other women with such a history and then to see if there is a way to cause a discerning ability to come about as it does with women with no such history. In the meantime, they say, women can stop feeling like failures if they miscarry multiple times, instead it appears they might just be overachievers.
Explore further: New practice model may reduce miscarriage after assisted reproduction
More information: Weimar CHE, Kavelaars A, Brosens JJ, Gellersen B, de Vreeden-Elbertse JMT, et al. (2012) Endometrial Stromal Cells of Women with Recurrent Miscarriage Fail to Discriminate between High- and Low-Quality Human Embryos. PLoS ONE 7(7): e41424. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041424
The aetiology of recurrent miscarriage (RM) remains largely unexplained. Women with RM have a shorter time to pregnancy interval than normally fertile women, which may be due to more frequent implantation of non-viable embryos. We hypothesized that human endometrial stromal cells (H-EnSCs) of women with RM discriminate less effectively between high-and low-quality human embryos and migrate more readily towards trophoblast spheroids than H-EnSCs of normally fertile women.
Monolayers of decidualized H-EnSCs were generated from endometrial biopsies of 6 women with RM and 6 fertile controls. Cell-free migration zones were created and the effect of the presence of a high-quality (day 5 blastocyst, n = 13), a low-quality (day 5 blastocyst with three pronuclei or underdeveloped embryo, n = 12) or AC-1M88 trophoblast cell line spheroid on H-ESC migratory activity was analyzed after 18 hours. In the absence of a spheroid or embryo, migration of H-EnSCs from fertile or RM women was similar. In the presence of a low-quality embryo in the zone, the migration of H-EnSCs of control women was inhibited compared to the basal migration in the absence of an embryo (P<0.05) and compared to the migration in the presence of high-quality embryo (p<0.01). Interestingly, the migratory response H-EnSCs of women with RM did not differ between high- and low-quality embryos. Furthermore, in the presence of a spheroid their migration was enhanced compared to the H-EnSCs of controls (p<0.001).
H-EnSCs of fertile women discriminate between high- and low-quality embryos whereas H-EnSCs of women with RM fail to do so. H-EnSCs of RM women have a higher migratory response to trophoblast spheroids. Future studies will focus on the mechanisms by which low-quality embryos inhibit the migration of H-EnSCs and how this is deregulated in women with RM. | <urn:uuid:1d0a7afe-7855-4701-b092-f90c82e3ff84> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-recurrent-miscarriages-due-super-fertility.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948517181.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20171212134318-20171212154318-00245.warc.gz | en | 0.957285 | 1,075 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Tax justice: a human rights issue
If you ask the question “Is tax justice a human rights issue?” you tend to get one of two responses. Some people say of course it is; others can’t see the link at all.
But if you say there is a relationship between tax and poverty, people often see it more clearly. They understand that the more money a government can raise, the more funds it has at its disposal to help alleviate poverty.
There has been a lot of attention paid to the role of governments in raising revenue for poverty alleviation. But public discussion of the role that multinational corporations have to play in contributing to government coffers is only now gaining momentum.
UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural rights
Much of the impetus has come from the United Nations. In terms of state duties, the United Nations committee on economic social and cultural rights has taken important steps in recent years.
The committee has welcomed initiatives like United Nations Global Compact – a club for companies committed to adhering to corporate responsibilities covering human rights, labour, the environment, and anticorruption.
There is a long way to go, though. Since setting up in 2000, the Global Compact has about 7,700 members. It has a goal of 20,000 members by 2020, but that is still only around a quarter of the companies worldwide that could join
The committee has also welcomed the development of the UN Protect Respect and Remedy framework for business and human rights – which was unanimously endorsed by the Human Rights Council in June 2012.
Under this framework governments should ensure companies demonstrate due diligence, to ensure they do not impede the enjoyment of human rights. This means establishing appropriate laws, regulations and monitoring and investigating procedures, to set standards for corporate behaviour.
States must also ensure effective access to remedy for the victims of corporate abuse of human rights.
In May 2012 the committee addressed the effect of austerity programmes on human rights. It said that all states should avoid taking decisions that lead to the denial or infringement of human rights. This can lead to political instability and have a significant impact on disadvantaged and marginalised people.
It added that states should adopt laws and policies to improve universal access to basic goods and services such as health care, education, housing, social security and cultural life.
Any proposed policy change has to meet the following requirements:
First: policy must be temporary covering only the period of crisis
Second: it must be necessary and proportionate
Third: the policy must not be discriminatory and should comprise all possible measures including tax measures to support social transfers to mitigate inequalities that can grow in times of crisis
The committee acknowledges that international cooperation is fundamental to achieving human rights and mentioned financial institutions like the World Bank, IMF, regional financial institutions as key to this.
In September last year, the UN Human Rights Council adopted Guidelines on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. These say that states must take action to create an environment conducive to poverty reduction including matters relating to trade, investment, taxation and finance. It calls for states to co-operate to mobilize the maximum available resources.
The Ruggie framework
The Human Rights Commission has stressed that companies as well as states must pay attention to the human rights agenda.
You will recall that in 2012 the Human Rights Council unanimously approved John Ruggie’s Protect, Respect and Remedy framework. It is a set of voluntary guidelines to help businesses meet their human rights obligations.
Even though the guidelines are voluntary, they have already been incorporated in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility, International Finance Corporation frameworks, the EU’s 2011 communication on corporate responsibility.
Many multinational corporations have already started to issue hefty corporate citzenship reports to publicise their implementation of the Ruggie agenda. But as long as the guidelines are voluntary, we need to be aware of “whitewash” from the corporate sector.
Ruggie stressed that corporations need not just to know about the guidelines but also show what they were doing to put them into practice. This means they have to be transparent about the actions that they are taking.
One way is to conduct human rights impact assessments. This involves a detailed examination of their activities and the activities of everyone down their supply chain in order to make sure that their practices do not adversely affect human rights.
There is an interesting debate at the moment about how to align standards for auditing companies with the UNGPs. A two year project is underway to develop these standards. NGOs are urging full disclosure of corporate due diligence processes and policies, to ensure that assurance standards are fully transparent. I anticipate major corporations resisting this.
While the Ruggie framework is promoting greater transparency, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute has spent the last two years investigating the link between tax, illicit financial flows and poverty. What’s important about this report is that it’s been produced by lawyers. It can help to redefine the role that lawyers play in advising corporations on the tax affairs.
I came across this task force last year, as part of my research for TJN and for my Lawyers for Better Business website, into how lawyers can take a different approach to the advice they give companies on tax.
Lawyers will tell you that they’re taught in law school how to help corporations minimise their tax liability. But this is not in fact a legal obligation. The importance of the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute Report is that reflects a trend to examine the impact of ‘tax abuse’ – all tax practices that harm human rights, whether ‘avoidance’ (legal) or evasion (illegal).
The other important element of this report is reinforcing the link between tax abuse and poverty. It opens the way to asking what lawyers can do about it.
The first thing that can be done is to encourage lawyers and other advisers like accountants to alert corporations to the reputational harm that tax dodging can cause – think Starbucks.
This time last year, Starbucks was among multinationals asked to appear before the UK parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, to explain why its UK tax payments bore so little relation to its UK earnings. Starbucks said it was paying what was legally required. The subsequent public outcry prompted the company to offer to “voluntarily” pay more tax.
As the concept of due diligence gains hold, there is no reason why companies should not include the impact of their tax policies in human rights impact assessments. This will provide a yardstick by which corporate performance on tax can be evaluated.
At the moment there are few mechanisms for redress when companies harm human rights. One limited avenue is through the National Contact Points run by the OECD, in several countries around the world.
NCPs mediate in disputes over human rights impacts, and make recommendations that have no legal clout. But this can result in huge reputational damage, for companies criticised under this procedure.
There is another important lever that can be pulled. Recently institutional investors have been held to account through the NCP system, for the human rights abuses in the companies they invest in. For example earlier this year, Norwegian and Dutch pension funds were taken to their country’s national contact points for investing in a South Korea steel giant Posco, accused of violating human rights.
This points to way to putting pressure on institutional investors to make sure that the corporations in which they invest pay their fair share of tax, to avoid human rights abuses.
Another interesting development is Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, launched three years ago. It has eight members including the US, Brazil, South Africa and India. Companies must meet economic, social and governance criteria in order to register with these country’s stock exchanges.
Also, in 2012, the governments of Colombia, Brazil, Denmark, France, Norway and South Africa launched a corporate sustainability reporting initiative, stressing the importance of corporate transparency.
If corporate tax policies become one of the ESG criteria, this is another lever that can be pulled to encourage companies to pay their fair share of tax.
These are just some of the initiatives helping to raise the profile of tax justice as a human rights issue.
If you want to find out more, a good starting point is the Policy Brief published by Tax Justice Network Germany in February this year.
There is also information on my website about a conference I have helped to organize in Johannesburg on 21 November, Tax Justice: A Human Rights Issue.
There will be plenty to watch out for in 2014 – look out for a report from UN Human Rights Council mid year, for Tax Justice Network publications on this topic and the Spirit Level documentary that will paint the wider picture, explaining the trend towards increasing inequality in many countries around the world.
© Adrienne Margolis
Lawyers for Better Business | <urn:uuid:775c2025-f57d-4c24-9801-fa43585b17c4> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | http://www.taxjustice.net/2014/01/13/tax-justice-human-rights-issue/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187823282.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20171019103222-20171019123222-00503.warc.gz | en | 0.955771 | 1,803 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Zombies and botnets: Help keep your computer under your control
Online criminals can use a virus to take control of large numbers of computers at a time, and turn them into "zombies" that can work together as a powerful "botnet" to perform malicious tasks.
Botnets, which can include as many as 100,000 individual "zombie" computers, can distribute spam e-mail, spread viruses, attack other computers and servers, and commit other kinds of crime and fraud. Botnets are highly valued by online criminals, and have become a serious problem on the Internet.
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Reading our newsletter every Monday will keep you up-to-date with security news.
Receive a daily digest of the latest security news. | <urn:uuid:8e2dd282-4116-4d50-9979-84ef662d6025> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://www.net-security.org/news.php?id=13715 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802770071.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075250-00072-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955373 | 155 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Collective Bargaining 1: Historical Models of Collective Bargaining in the U.S. - Page 2
The economic framework for collective bargaining
The model of collective bargaining that has dominated American industrial relations since the 1930s relies on the relative economic power of employers and unions to establish wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment for workers covered by specific collective bargaining agreements. While bargaining structures and processes are regulated by pubic policy through the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the content of the employment contract beyond legislative minimums is determined by market factors and relative economic power. While the density of union labor in the United States has been declining in recent years, collective bargaining remains the primary method for determining working conditions for millions of American workers.
The actual impact of collective bargaining on wages and benefits is difficult to predict for a variety of reasons. However, most estimates suggest that wages in the union-represented sector are between 10 and 30 percent higher than they would be in the absence of unions. The fluctuation of the gap over time is attributable to various economic factors that tend to effect short and long-term bargaining power.
In the American industrial relations system, union bargaining power tends to be greatest when two factors are present. One is the ability of the employer to meet the wage and benefit demands of the union. The second factor is the ability of the union to make the employer pay, to direct its economic resources toward higher wages and better benefits rather than for other purposes. If either of these factors is not present, union bargaining strategy is unlikely to produce substantial benefits. At any particular time and in any particular setting, the critical abilities of the employer to pay and the union to make the employer pay will be influenced by a number of issues, some of which are discussed below. | <urn:uuid:46e21407-4b30-497a-8971-f1eee266ff87> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | https://extension2.missouri.edu/v7-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039748315.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20181121112832-20181121134832-00233.warc.gz | en | 0.958358 | 358 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The points for Person 1 and Person 6 are both above the line. Why is the point for Person 1 farther away from the line?
Person 1 has an arm span of 156 cm and a height of 162 cm, which is the coordinate point (156, 162) in the scatter plot. A hypothetical person represented by the coordinate point (156, 156) would be on the line Height = Arm Span, as shown below:
The vertical distance from a point to the line is the absolute value of the difference in y-coordinates from the first point and the point on the line directly above (or below) that point. In this case, Person 1's point (156, 162) is six above the line's point (156, 156). Therefore, the vertical distance from Person 1's point to the line is 6.
Put another way, the vertical distance from (156,162) to the line Height = Arm Span is the magnitude (or absolute value) of the difference between the height and the arm span.
The vertical distance is: |Height - Arm Span| = |162 - 156| = |6| = 6.
In a similar way, the vertical distance from the point for Person 6 (which is [161,162]) to the line Height = Arm Span is: |Height - Arm Span| = |162 - 161| = |1| = 1. | <urn:uuid:10e5d242-a438-412a-9c26-a4b1a8da0188> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://www.learner.org/courses/learningmath/data/session7/part_c/using.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663612.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00012-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.893021 | 284 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Saint Jerome Collection [5 Books]
SAINT JEROME COLLECTION [5 BOOKS]
Jerome was a presbyter, confessor, theologian and historian. He was the son of Eusebius, born at Stridon, a village near Emona on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia, then part of northeastern Italy. He is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin (the translation that became known as the Vulgate), and his commentaries on the Gospels. His list of writings is extensive. The protégé of Pope Damasus I, who died in December of 384, Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention to the lives of women and identified how a woman devoted to Jesus should live her life.
AGAINST THE PELAGIANS
SELECT LETTERS OF SAINT JEROME
THE LETTERS OF SAINT JEROME
PUBLISHER: AETERNA PRESS | <urn:uuid:d41ba553-2aeb-45ff-85ad-e27c0f88fb32> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://books.google.fi/books?id=lgpHDQAAQBAJ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827639.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216095437-20181216121437-00316.warc.gz | en | 0.97951 | 227 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Dene leaders in the Northwest Territories are calling for construction of the Site C Dam in northern British Columbia to be halted, calling the project both illegal and not part of a ‘green economy’.
Last week, Dene leaders met in Inuvik and voted unanimously to call for construction of the dam on the Peace River to be halted.
The $9 billion mega project was permitted by the federal government this summer, and was quickly criticized by environmentalists and First Nations groups.
Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus says the federal government has an obligation to respect land agreements, including the protection of water.
“[The dam] has not been planned out as part of a green economy,” Erasmus told Moose FM.
“We’re very concerned about this, and there’s a legal obligation on the part of Canada to have us directly involved and to have our consent.”
When an area is dammed, that land is flooded. That flooding releases mercury from the ground into the water that then goes downstream.
According to Erasmus, this could reach as far as Yellowknife and flow down the Mackenzie River.
“[The river] flows north, so it’ll affect the water system in the North,” says Erasmus. “You’ll notice that the water system up here is already being affected by previous dams and by the environment as it is.”
The BC Hydro Site C Dam constructed in the 1960’s has already ‘dramatically affected’ wetlands around Inuvik and surrounding communities, says Erasmus.
“The whole ecosystem has been dramatically affected,” he says, speaking about the muskrat population in Beaufort Delta.
Before the construction of the previous Site C Dam, people there would hunt up to one million muskrats in the area for income.
Now, he says, you’re lucky if you can get 5,000 muskrats in that same time – and he says it’s all because of the change to the water system.
Dene leaders want to discuss compensation for the negative state they claim the previous dam left their land in before another one is even considered.
“The [new] Site C Dam is really not a dam for a specific project,” Erasmus says. “It’s simply to create jobs and have power for the future.”
Erasmus calls the dam “not a legal project”, saying that the province and federal government have limited authority over that land.
“They need the Indian nation, who we are, to agree with them and we have not agreed.” | <urn:uuid:1470a6ca-1cb7-47d3-a05d-aa4e707fbf8e> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.mytruenorthnow.com/16749/news/dene-leaders-call-halt-bc-dam-construction/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335609.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001101652-20221001131652-00528.warc.gz | en | 0.952537 | 568 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Understand AI output and build trust
Explainable AI is a set of tools and frameworks to help you understand and interpret predictions made by your machine learning models. With it, you can debug and improve model performance, and help others understand your models' behavior. You can also generate feature attributions for model predictions in AutoML Tables and AI Platform, and visually investigate model behavior using the What-If Tool.
Design interpretable and inclusive AI
Build interpretable and inclusive AI systems from the ground up with tools designed to help detect and resolve bias, drift, and other gaps in data and models. AI Explanations in AutoML Tables, AI Platform Predictions, and AI Platform Notebooks provide data scientists with the insight needed to improve datasets or model architecture and debug model performance. The What-If Tool lets you investigate model behavior at a glance.
Deploy AI with confidence
Grow end-user trust and improve transparency with human-interpretable explanations of machine learning models. When deploying a model on AutoML Tables or AI Platform, you get a prediction and a score in real time indicating how much a factor affected the final result. While explanations don’t reveal any fundamental relationships in your data sample or population, they do reflect the patterns the model found in the data.
Streamline model governance
Simplify your organization’s ability to manage and improve machine learning models with streamlined performance monitoring and training. Easily monitor the predictions your models make on AI Platform. The continuous evaluation feature lets you compare model predictions with ground truth labels to gain continual feedback and optimize model performance.
Receive a score explaining how much each factor contributed to the model predictions in AutoML Tables, inside your AI Platform Notebook, or via AI Platform Prediction API. Learn how to understand these scores here.
Investigate model performances for a range of features in your dataset, optimization strategies, and even manipulations to individual datapoint values using the What-If Tool integrated with AI Platform.
Sample the prediction from trained machine learning models deployed to AI Platform. Provide ground truth labels for prediction inputs using the continuous evaluation capability. Data Labeling Service compares model predictions with ground truth labels to help you improve model performance.
Understanding how models arrive at their decisions is critical for the use of AI in our industry. We are excited to see the progress made by Google Cloud to solve this industry challenge. With tools like What-If Tool, and feature attributions in AI Platform, our data scientists can build models with confidence, and provide human-understandable explanations.Stefan Hoejmose, Head of Data Journeys, Sky
Introspection of models is essential for both model development and deployment. Oftentimes we tend to focus too much on predictive skill when in reality it’s the more explainable model that is usually the most useful, and more importantly, the most trusted. We are excited to see these new tools made by Google Cloud, supporting both our data scientists and also our models customers.Erik Andrejko, Chief Technology Officer, wellio
Model interpretability is critical to our ability to optimize AI and solve the problem in the best possible way. Google is pushing the envelope in Explainable AI through research and development. And with Google Cloud, we’re getting tried and tested technologies to solve the challenge of model interpretability and uplevel our data science capabilities.Aaron Davis, Chief Data Scientist, Vivint SmartHome
We are leveraging neural networks to develop capabilities for future products. Easy-to-use, high-quality solutions that improve the training of our deep learning models are a prerogative for our efforts. We are excited to see the progress made by Google Cloud to solve problem of feature attributions and provide human-understandable explanations to what our models are doing.Chris Jones, Chief Technology Officer, iRobot
Explainable AI tools are provided at no extra charge to users of AutoML Tables or AI Platform. Note that Cloud AI is billed for node-hours usage, and running AI Explanations on model predictions will require compute and storage. Therefore, users of Explainable AI may see their node-hour usage increase.View pricing details
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They may offer different latency or availability guarantees from other Google Cloud services. | <urn:uuid:7174ee7d-ab00-4cf9-bc89-bcd1ae651cc6> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://cloud.google.com/explainable-ai?hl=lt&skip_cache=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703506832.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20210116165621-20210116195621-00643.warc.gz | en | 0.89792 | 926 | 2.796875 | 3 |
It is generally accepted that on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America was adopted – all assembled, the president of the Second Continental Congress, John Hancock, and the secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson agreed to sign the document, and 13 colonies amicably freed from British oppression.
This is only partly true. First, this day was preceded by years of discussions and months of controversy. Not all delegates were ready for such a radical step. For total separation from the kingdom consistently upheld only Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, George Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
Secondly, in fact, the Declaration itself was not signed on July 4 – as an initial two months there was a collection of signatures and editing.
The most interesting is the status of the Declaration. Although on July 4, Americans traditionally gather together, drink beer and Coke and read out their declaration, legally this document is not part of the country’s legislation.
Many believe that, if to celebrate, it is not July 4, but July 2 – at least, there are exact records of delegates who came to a decision to emancipate from Britain. It is important that on this day the Resolution of Independence of 12 colonies was adopted.
The Americans celebrate this day on a grand scale – with parades, fireworks and abundant food, as well as sports events and recreational activities, residents sing patriotic songs.
But it becomes a little sad when we talk about independence in the context of America. First, by becoming independent, the US itself deprived many sovereign states of their liberty. American military operations and interventions do not leave small states with the slightest chance of independence.
Secondly, in just a couple of centuries, America has managed to form the concept of an “exceptional nation” and a unipolar world.
And, third, did America itself receive Freedom, Equality and the Brotherhood? America itself is not free today.
Recall that the US Federal Reserve has a debt of about 20 trillion dollars.
That America is dependent on oil fluctuations and agreements with the OPEC countries. On the same issue, Washington learned to find a common language with Saudi Arabia.
That the US depends on China (although they do not like to admit it). The US consumer market no longer dominates the world – and in this sense Beijing is the fiercest competitor. In addition, both countries have mutual financial dependence.
That Americans need Israel to promote their interests in the Middle East.
That the US needs the European Union to control the sanctions policy and the deployment of its own military bases in Europe.
The United States needs many allies and satellites.
And the most interesting is that the US needs Russia. As in an ideological rival, which you can always blame for your own failures.
Is it still possible to talk about the independence of the state, which itself launched the gears of globalization and mutual dependence? | <urn:uuid:402098db-fd72-4d55-b990-16322758402d> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | http://en.reseauinternational.net/dependence-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084886792.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20180117003801-20180117023801-00618.warc.gz | en | 0.961029 | 590 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition that greatly increases the risk for intestinal cancer. In this image, the drug rapamycin has eliminated differentiated tumor cells from the small intestine of a Lynch syndrome mouse model, but two types of cancer stem cells have resisted rapamycin: Lgr5+ (green) and Bmil+ (purple) stem cells. (Also visible are Lgr5+ stem cell–associated Paneth cells, in red.)
Tumors return when rapamycin therapy is stopped—and Lgr5+ cells, in particular, are suspected of regenerating tumors. Winfried Edelmann, Ph.D., and colleagues are studying a drug that makes Lgr5+ cells sensitive to rapamycin by inhibiting the membrane protein MDR1 (multi-drug resistance 1), which pumps out rapamycin and other anticancer drugs. Dr. Edelmann is a professor of cell biology and of genetics and the Joseph and Gertrud Buchler Chair in Transgenic Medicine at Einstein. | <urn:uuid:cca4784a-5370-4220-8015-0bbe3fedd15f> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://magazine.einsteinmed.org/summer-fall-2019/einstein-image-lynch-syndrome-edelmann/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400283990.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20200927152349-20200927182349-00129.warc.gz | en | 0.924722 | 209 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The New York Times says that the day is nearly here thanks to secret augmented reality glasses created in a Google lab.
First of all, let’s take a moment to digest the concept that Google has a secret lab. I imagine it to be like the Batcave, buried deep within a hillside in Mountain View, California.
Now imagine these Google scientists (I’m picturing brainy Oompa Loompas) working on all kinds of futuristic gadgets that they’ve seen in spy and scifi movies.
The data-display glasses comes out of both genres. Alien hunter, Gwen Cooper of Torchwood has a pair of contact lens that allow her to read messages typed in by a remote computer. Hopefully, the messages you get on your new Google Glasses won’t be as dramatic.
The Times says the glasses will most likely be used to feed entertainment and helpful information to the wearer. They could offer walking directions (please, no driving directions), data about a landmark, clips from a movie playing at a nearby theater and, of course, ads.
Just when I was getting used to giving the waitress my cell phone in order to use a coupon. . .
Obviously, the displays are designed to deliver information without impeding eyesight, but the experts say they’re not for 24/7 use.
What this means is that in the near future, not only will we have people walking down the street seemingly talking to themselves, but now they’ll be hopping over and dodging objects only they can see.
This could be very amusing. | <urn:uuid:01285c87-91d6-467c-be77-45f11211012b> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2012/02/ads-on-your-tv-your-phone-and-now-your-glasses.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500833115.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021353-00424-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932142 | 329 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Big Guns Coffee Farm
What is Hydroponic Coffee?
At its most basic level, Big Guns Coffee Farms hydroponic Coffee Plants are grown in a nutrient solution rather than soil right here North Carolina. Instead of the roots growing down into dirt and gaining nutrients that way, in a hydroponic system, the roots grow into a liquid solution that is fortified with all the essential nutrients for healthy Coffee plants.
While it is possible to grow Coffee plants hydroponically outside, our hydroponic Coffee plants are grown in greenhouses right here in North Carolina. This a first of it kind Coffee Farming. The United States is the second largest importer of Coffee in the world with suppliers that include Brazil (30 percent), Colombia (19 percent), Vietnam (10 percent), and Honduras (7 percent). One of our long term visions for Big Guns Coffee's is is to export North Carolina Hydroponic Grown Coffee to the world.
To fully answer the question of “What is Big Guns Coffee hydroponic farming?” we need to take a look at its surprisingly colorful history, which can be divided into ancient and modern.
While they may not have known the science behind it, ancient people figured out that you could grow hydroponic plants without the use of soil.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is perhaps one of the earliest examples of a hydroponic system. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it’s often cited as being the first known use of hydroponics to grow plants. Around 600 B.C. near modern day Baghdad in Iraq, the Gardens were said to have existed along the Euphrates River, although it’s likely they were made from terraces rather than anything hanging.
However, the use of hydroponics in these ancient gardens has been disputed. It should also be noted that the existence of the Gardens themselves is also disputed.
Other ancient growing techniques that definitely existed, but that are only hydroponic-adjacent, include the floating gardens of Mesoamerica in the 1100s, called Chinampas, and similar floating gardens in ancient China that were described by famed explorer Marco Polo in the 1300s (although they likely existed long before that).
The Chinampas, which were built in shallow lakes, consisted of areas of about 300 by 26 ft with underwater “fences” made of dead reeds that had been interwoven. The enclosed spaces were filled with a unique growing medium: alternating layers of rock, aquatic vegetation, natural waste, and lake bottom soil.
While not truly hydroponic, the Chinampas and floating gardens of ancient China can be considered a distant relative of hydroponics.
Jumping ahead a few hundred years, the first known published work to discuss a hydroponic system (growing plants without the use of soil) was Sylva Sylvarum, or, A Natural History in Ten Centuries by Francis Bacon and William Rawley, published in 1626.
Also in the 1600s, Belgian scientist Jan Baptista van Helmont conducted an experiment that demonstrated plants did not gain mass from soil, as many assumed at the time. He planted a five-pound willow tree in a growing medium of 200 pounds of dry soil. Over a five year period, he only added rain or distilled water into the pot, and after five years he weighed both the plant and the soil again. Van Helmont found that the tree then weighed 169 pounds while the weight of the soil only decreased by two ounces.
While van Helmont believed his experiment showed plants gained mass through water culture alone, English physician John Woodward published a scientific paper about his own experiments in 1699 that showed plants required more than just water as a growing medium to thrive.
In his experiments, Woodward grew spearmint using various types of water culture—from completely pure to water collected from the Thames River. He found that plants grown in less pure water grew better than ones in purer water, thus concluding that they required more than just water to grow.
Jumping ahead another century or so, German scientists Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop developed nutrient solution recipes in the 1860s and helped identify the necessary nutrients plants need to grow.
Another leap forward brings us to the 1930s and we finally get to the word “hydroponic,” stemming from the Greek words for “water” and “labor.” William Frederick Gericke, a plant physiologist at the University of California, Berkeley, coined the term, and this is where the history gets a bit colorful.
Gericke researched the growing of plants using only a nutrient solution, and he actually grew his own crops for personal use with the method. This was widely reported by books, newspapers and magazines at the time, which all hailed it as a revolution in agriculture. The University of California was besieged by requests from the general public to give them information on this new hydroponic growing method.
However, because Gericke researched hydroponics on his own time rather than as part of his job, he did not feel obligated to share his nutrient formulas or methods with his employers or the general public for free. This angered his employers at the University and they, in turn, appointed two of their top scientists to study hydroponics and write an information bulletin for the general public.
Gericke eventually left the University and wrote a book about his hydroponic growing methods.
Meanwhile, the secret was officially out and hydroponics evolved from there into its modern form (or, technically, several modern forms as described below).
How Does Big Guns Coffee Farm Hydroponics Work?
As the root of the word “hydroponics” implies, the water (hydro) does the work or labor (ponos) in hydroponic gardening.
To grow, Coffee plants need a few essential ingredients: light, carbon dioxide (which they usually get from general air flow in their environment), water, and nutrients. In traditional Coffee Farming, plants get the nutrients they need from soil.
In hydroponics, rather than plants absorbing nutrients from soil, they absorb those nutrients from a liquid nutrient solution, which is mixed in with the water.
Growing in soil can drastically affect a Coffee plant’s root architecture and its ability to produce food because nutrients may not be spread evenly throughout the soil.
On the other hand, growing in liquid solution guarantees that our Coffee plants’ roots all have consistent access to nutrients at all times, meaning their nutrient uptake and growth is more efficient. This causes our Coffee plants to grow quicker and larger than if they were grown in soil.
Big Guns Coffee Farm uses a Ebb and Flow Hydroponic System
In an ebb and flow hydroponic system, rather than having a continuous stream of water flowing over the roots, the Coffee plant roots are flooded with the nutrient/water mixture. The water is continuously emptied back into the reservoir to be reused.
Hydroponics vs Soil – What are the Advantages?
As mentioned previously, growing Coffee plants in a liquid nutrient solution affects the root architecture of plants, causing them to grow more efficiently than in soil. This is the most obvious advantage of Big Guns Coffee Farm's hydroponics system, but there are other advantages, as well.
Their unique nature gives Big Guns Coffee Farm's hydroponics systems an edge over traditional ways of growing Coffee.
More Plant Density
Because our plants aren't stuck in dirt, our plants can easily be moved as they grow. Our Hydroponic greenhouses have a room dedicated to germination and seedling production, so they can perform these preliminary steps before moving adult plants into the main growing area.
Growing Coffee plants in liquid also decreases the area required for them to grow than if they were grown in soil, meaning more plants can be grown in the same amount of space.
Higher Crop Yields
It is common for Big Guns Coffee's hydroponic greenhouses to report higher yields and better quality produce than traditional growing operations. This is especially achievable with the use of AI to monitor our plants.
Less Water Waste
In our hydroponics systems where the roots are encased in a closed trough, less water evaporates than in soil growing systems, meaning less water is wasted. In this regard, it is a closed system.
All our Coffee Plants are free from pesticides and herbicides, and our operation does not produce any fertilizer runoff, which is detrimental to local water supplies, local plant life and local wildlife.
The Coffee Fruit is purer and the surrounding area does not pay a heavy toll for the growing of it.
At Big Guns Coffee Farm, we are proud to continue the tradition of hydroponic farming while also looking for new ways to evolve the practice. Hydroponic Coffee farming allows for a unique method of growing food that uses space much more efficiently and provides healthier, more nutritious Coffee to more people. | <urn:uuid:ae4dbacb-14e7-486a-8cf8-28f2a83a5ff1> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.biggunscoffee.com/pages/big-guns-coffee-farm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337490.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004085909-20221004115909-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.959352 | 1,857 | 2.640625 | 3 |
There was a time when a cattle rancher in need of new shoes had to find a shoemaker who wanted a cow. This was the barter system which clearly impeded trade and specialization of labor (that cattle farmer may have given up and decided to make his own shoe).
To ease trade, mediums of exchange gradually became prevalent. Initially these were livestock, skins, weapons, then rare items such as seashells then to coins that contained precious metals. Currency had to store wealth to grease the wheels of trade.
Coins gave way to notes (easier to carry), then to electronically stored currencies (no need to carry). We could keep going to virtual currencies, like bitcoin, but that is not where we are going today.
The benefit of a medium of exchange, aka currency, is it can be exchanged for anything that is for sale. That is the amazing thing about money, and it unleashed much greater economic efficiencies. $10 can be spent on lunch, a beer or two, candy, gas, shoe repair, etc. This is where the value of fiat currencies comes from, everyone’s is in agreement as to what it can be exchanged for.
Even though $10 is $10 is $10, and you would not sell your $10 for less than $10 nor would a rational buyer pay more than $10, our minds do not treat every $10 the same. Our minds account for money and other assets differently, depending on how we earned it, in what form the money is and how we bucket it. Mental Accounting is a behavioral concept that attempts to explain how our minds value different things, money or asset, and how this impacts our behavior.
Why are individuals more willing to gamble $10 if it is given to them vs. if they worked to earn it? Why do we spend more if paying with a credit card compared to paying cash? $10 is still $10, yet we value and treat it differently. Money is fungible, as it can be used for anything and shouldn’t have labels. Yet, due to mental accounting we are more likely to label money, making it less fungible.
Mental Accounting When Investing
How we treat investment capital is also impacted by mental accounting. A popular scenario is when investors take the winning proceeds on a trade and invest more aggressively with it, treating the gains as free money compared to money earned and saved. In the investor’s mind, they are investing with ‘house money’, causing you to put less emphasis on your personal return objectives and risk aversion. Yet, what really matters is the whole portfolio, not the profit or loss on an individual trade or bucket of money.
Mental Accounting & Company Spin-offs
Behavioral finance is a growing discipline, with more research published regularly as it gradually enters the mainstream of the investment world. As managers of Canada’s first behavioral finance-based fund, we leverage much of this research to find what we believe are instances in the market when behavioral biases cause investors to make mistakes and assets to be mispriced. For an active manager, a mispriced asset is an opportunity to profit. One of the strategies in the fund targets mental accounting during company spin-offs.
Occasionally, companies will spin-off a division or business line. The motivation varies from sometimes being required by regulators for competitive reasons or because the company wants to become more a pure play in their core industry. Spinning off a division that is not core is often rewarded in the market place. These spin-offs are often done by distributing shares in the spun-off companies to existing shareholders of the parent.
Mental account arises when an investor or portfolio manager who owns the parent company receives shares of the spin-off. Depending on the size of the spin-off relative to the parent, this distribution can often be viewed as free since you never explicitly paid for it.
Our research found the way investors treat this spin-off was a function of the size of the spin-off relative to the parent company. Notably when the size of the spin- off position is materially smaller than the parent, it creates a perplexing problem for the investor. Suppose you own the parent company and its weight in your portfolio is 2%. They spin-off a division into your portfolio and it only has a weight of 0.3%. You now have a few choices. Keep in mind holding a 0.3% position will likely not have any material impact on your portfolio and you likely didn’t originally research much into this division given its size within the parent. You could complete due diligence on the spin-off and decide to build a larger meaningful position. Or, since you never really paid anything for it, just sell and move on. It seems many investors pick the latter path, which is also the easier one.
We analyzed spin-offs over the past seven years in the U.S. market and found if the spin-off was small relative to the parent, an interesting pattern emerged. Once the spin-off is complete, the shares typically see strong selling pressure on high volume. We assume this is due to investors simply blowing out their small position. After a number of days, this selling pressure and volumes often stabilizes, allowing the share price to recover. This creates an opportunity to buy during the weakness and wait for the shares to normalize.
This is a simplified description of our Neglect trading strategy that targets mental accounting. In reality, we incorporate several additional factors that we believe help improve the strategy’s risk/return characteristics. But at its core is this often- recurring pattern for spin-offs, weakness at first and then recovery. Equal, smaller and much smaller are the buckets for spin- offs as a function of the size of the spin-offs relative to the parent. This analysis covers the S&P 1500 over the past eight years.
We strongly believe behavioral biases can impact many investors during certain market situations, and this can create great investment opportunities.
Charts are sourced to Bloomberg unless otherwise noted.
Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity. | <urn:uuid:82c799fd-afac-495e-9c4d-0e9d29968deb> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.seeitmarket.com/investing-insights-mental-accounting-mind-games-17981/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027317274.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20190822151657-20190822173657-00365.warc.gz | en | 0.965769 | 1,270 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Skip to comments.Possible Mars Impact Highlights Risk To Earth
Posted on 01/03/2008 4:38:58 PM PST by blam
Possible Mars impact highlights risk to Earth
00:01 04 January 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Asteroid 2007 WD5's orbit takes it from just outside Earth's orbit through Mars's orbit to the asteroid belt (Illustration: JPL/NASA)Tools
An asteroid hurtling towards Mars has a 1 in 28 chance of walloping the Red Planet, according to the latest calculations.
The rock's discovery just a couple of months before a possible impact begs the question of what would happen if it were instead headed for Earth the only option, astronomers say, would be to evacuate any inhabited areas it might hit.
The asteroid, called 2007 WD5, was discovered on 20 November by a 1.5 metre telescope near Tucson, Arizona, US, that combs the skies as part of NASA's efforts to detect asteroids with a chance of hitting Earth.
It is an estimated 50 metres across, putting it in the same class as the Tunguska object that exploded over Siberia in 1908, flattening trees in an area extending many kilometres from the explosion.
Early calculations gave the asteroid a 1 in 75 chance of striking Mars on 30 January 2008.
Then, additional observations of the asteroid on 8 November were found in archival images from the 2.5-metre telescope at the Apache Point Observatory near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, US. As a result, NASA's Near Earth Object Program, based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, US, reported on 28 December that the impact probability had increased to 3.9%, or about 1 in 20.
But new observations taken between 29 December and 2 January using a 2.4-metre telescope at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico have revised the probability again, slightly lowering it to 3.6%, or about 1 in 28.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.newscientist.com ...
1 in 28? It was 1 in 25 last week...
Still got my fingers crossed. (for a mars impact)
One of those “sooner or later” things. Just like global warming and global cooling.
I suppose Chinese Fire Drills aren't like they used to be in the old silent movies, but this would be a lot like that.
Hope the Rovers don’t go the way of the dinosaurs . They should be able to get pictures if it hits in their vicinity .
The error radius will decrease in the days ahead but the center of most likely path will be about where it is now and the radius will not include Mars so the probability will go to zero.
You guys are getting slow.
MARTIAN WOMEN AND MINORITIES HARDEST HIT!!!
Could be, perhaps, maybe, could happen, sooner or later, possibility science at its best. ;-)
Maybe New Orleans will get a 2nd chance to do it right.
Life on Mars will not be the same.
Thing that freaks me out is this thing is only 150 feet wide, but could flatten a city. It’s almost “unfair” that due to the speeds one of these things doesnt have to be very big to wipe us out. A mile wide would be enough to mess up the planet. And if it’s several miles wide we are cooked.
I wonder why do they say the only option would be to evacuate? Why couldn’t we try to alter the course of a 50 meter wide rock?
Of course there is a greater risk for the Earth (than for Mars), we are a bigger target.
This is one of my favorite themes which I will not go into at this time, but we could capture such an asteroid and park it for later possible use for something else.
It would be utmost kool if it hit, but it looks like a miss.
I don’t suppose there’s any chance that Mars will perturb it enough to hit earth?
I’ve always liked the idea of using earth crossing asteroids as a means to transport supplies and equipment closer to places we needed them out in the solar system.
We should have a continuously operating shuttle system between earth and moon, and earth and Mars if we want to get serious about this space thing. Regular operation like a city bus system. Would cost something to set up, but once operating it would save beaucoup bucks.
If it were to hit Mars there would be a greater risk to productive life forms than if it hit the Ninth Ward dead-on.
I know that one of our former astronauts has proposed the idea of a series 4 or 6 of unmanned ships that continually orbit between earth and mars. Sort of an interstellar bus line.
Yeah, it’s an excellent plan if we are serious. This business of launching single flights like Apollo is way too expensive for a substantial continuing program.
Hillary’s campaign bus would make a good target. ;-)
Although it would work for Gummint science stuff, I wouldn’t see a commercial reason at all involving Mars; the asteroid belt is a different story.
Sticking with the space treaty is foolish. Anyone who believes that a nation like China would pass up the chance at the mineral wealth of the asteroid belt is fooling themselves.
The only thing stopping China from doing it now is the lack of ability. American corporations probably would have been well on their way without that damned treaty.
Agree on that. When the super huge pipelines are built for natural gas from Siberia or Alaska to markets thousands of miles away, or when water pipelines are built from Alaska/Canada to California or Georgia the steel requirement will be monstrous and a huge drain on the steel industry worldwide. Asteroid mining could supply that need, and already would be doing so except for the Treaty. Indeed.
How about a headline like “Mars turns Red over Asteroid; Moscow is happy.”
Do you know what Martian parents tell their children when they misbehave? “Don’t make an asteroid out of yourself.”
I know these are bad but what do you want so early in the year?
Where I went to school we were known as “The Comets” so yes we do indeed rule.
Maybe we can get Al Gore to start a “Save Mars!” campaign.
Let’s send Al Gore TO Mars to save it. I’ll pay for that trip. Probably would need a Saturn V rocket to launch that payload.
Or we could make him the third moon of Mars - Algore - along with Deimos and Phobos.
Dude, read (FReeper) Jeff Head's book where we harvest rocks in space and convert them into "Rods From God" against the hegemonistic Chinese. It's SO you.
....An asteroid strike.
If Algore really wanted to do something useful, he's promoting the wrong catastrophe.
After seeing FEMA in action before Katrina, we better get started now.
And that is a small one....
150 feet across will take out more than a city. Think about all of the volcanic ash for the last 25 years being tossed into the atmosphere within a millisecond. That would take the edge of global warming for a few months.
Get used to eating canned food. Nothing will grow for about year. A sunny day at the beach would be a memory for a few years.
Starving will take folks minds off Brittany though. So we got that going for us.
Daddy would have gotten us Uzis...
Better them than us...
Those odds are better than my picking the winner in any given football game on any given day. I think I'm about 0 fer 1000 over the last few years.
Not even close. Mining asteroids for steel to build pipelines for natural gas and water is my interest. Bombardment by arachnoids is somebody else’s pipedream.
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4 - 8 years. Hopping, crawling, twirling, and balancing are a few of the feats you will encounter while playing this game. You will flip over three cards to create a new challenge each time. There are hundreds of possibilities in every game. 2-4 players.
3 years & up. Cooperative games eliminate stress, build self-esteem, and teach kids that playing together can be fun! Unlike a traditional game where there is only one winner, in a cooperative game the players work as a team against a common obstacle, not against each other. Children learn to share, make decisions together, and play together in respectful and compassionate ways. Board games include: Feed The Wozzle, Hoot Owl Hoot, Stone Soup, and Count Your Chickiens. Set of 4 games.
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3 years & up. Reading is not required with these fun games that help build basic skills and support preschool themes. Enhance color recognition, matching skills, and picture sequencing. Set of 3 games.
5 years & up. From the classic tale of cooperation comes this simple game where players work together to "cook" a soup by making matches of ingredients. Match all of the ingredients before the fire under the kettle goes out and everyone wins! Unlike most memory matching games, Stone Soup encourages kids to help each other find the matches. In this way, kids work together, they help each other, and they practice just what the Stone Soup story is all about -- cooperation!
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Macbeth does murder sleep,' the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care." Although the pair were comrades in arms, after he becomes king, Macbeth remembers that the witches predicted that Banquoâs descendants would ultimately be crowned kings of Scotland. So why not use a great learning strategy for visual learning? Health and disease represent the state of Scotland Shakespeare's Macbeth is loaded with imagery. Sleep symbolises clear conscience which keeps one peaceful. There is use of weather throughout the text, especially when the witches appear in the scene. The reader experiences the thoughts, emotions, and actions through imagery in the play. This question brings into play the matters of fate and free will. Discover grammar tips, writing help, and fun English language facts. The witches predict that he would become thane of Cawdor, and soon after he is anointed that title without any action required of him. Imagery - "But in a sieve I'll thither sail, / And like a rat without a tail, / I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do" (Shakespeare 1.3.7-9) This line that the First Witch says, demonstrates figurative imagery through the use of a simile. Imagery is a figurative language that writers use. He goes on to compare sleep to a soothing bath after a day of hard work, and to the main course of a feast, feeling that when he murdered his king in his sleep, he murdered sleep itself. Blood also becomes a symbol of fear when Macbeth says after Banquoâs ghost is gone that âblood will have blood.â When both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth despair over their incapacity to wash the blood from their hands, it symbolises their inability to get over the guilt which haunts their conscience.Â, Finally, Macbeth realises that he canât retreat from the misdeeds he has begun and uses the image of blood to say, âI am in blood steppâd so far, that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go oâer.â. An imagery of a predator hunting down a prey. Imagery and Symbolism in Macbeth With its eye-opening plot and interesting cast of characters, William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth is one of the greatest works one could ever read. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use the imagery of water whenever they try to think of the possibility of purifying them of their evil crimes. Checkout English Summary's free educational tools and dictionaries. As a classroom activity, students could track the rich symbolism William Shakespeare uses throughout Macbeth. After committing the murder, he is horrified, and says: âWill all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? Throughout Shakespeare's Macbeth, the weather plays an important role.The rebelling nature of wind and lightning indicates the disruption within the natural order of society. Similarly, the witches utterances, such as âfair is foul and foul is fairâ, subtly play with appearance and reality. When Lady Macbeth displays her insanity, she wants to carry a candle with her, as a form of protection. Macbeth himself uses the imagery of stars and their light for his inner conflict when he says, âstars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires.â When Lady Macbeth starts disintegrating under the weight of her guilt, she enters the scene holding a candle. Early on in the play, the witches arrange for their meeting to take place “at the set of sun” (I, i). Similarly, after he sends killers to murder Banquo, Macbeth laments being constantly shaken by nightmares and by "restless ecstasy," where the word "ectsasy" loses any positive connotations. Night vs. Day is a very significant image reoccurring throughout the course of Macbeth. No.". Blood. Loyalty plays out in many ways in Macbeth. Images, Imagery, Symbols, and Symbolism in Macbeth Essay Essay on Images, Imagery, Symbols, and Symbolism in Macbeth. Death and killing happen in an instant, but blood remains, and stains. Since Macbeth says his own ideas and feelings alone, literal imagery is evident in his soliloquy. Guide students through the imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth, Acts 1 and 2. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Shakespeare uses imagery to bring life and imagination into the play. The guilt between them had switched from the beginning of the play to the end. WHAT DOES THE BLOOD SYMBOLIZE? He is defeated in battle and decapitated by Macduff, while Lady Macbeth succumbs to insanity and commits suicide. Imagery in Macbeth One of British literature’s most eerie settings is found in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, which deals with the theme of good versus evil and the results of when power and ambition get totally out of control. Imagery of Blood, Light and Clothing in Macbeth by William Shakespeare. But, above all, the aspect of the play is most impressive and overwhelming with imagery and symbolism that Shakespeare so brilliantly uses. Macduff, who suspects Macbeth once he sees the kingâs corpse, flees to England to join Duncanâs son Malcolm, and together they plan Macbeth's downfall. However, when Duncan names Malcolm his heir, Macbeth comes to the conclusion that he must kill King Duncan in order to become king himself. Blood symbolizes murder and guilt. Blood is always closely linked to violence, but over the course of Macbeth blood comes to symbolize something else: guilt. As a characteristic feature of Shakespeare, the play Macbeth is full of fundamental symbolisms and dense imageries. For Macbeth (thinking that he is a good character), eliminating his opponents is like wounding and killing snakes, which are considered “evil” animals. Blood symbolizes murder and guilt, and imagery of it pertains to both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Light and starlight symbolize what is good and noble, and the moral order brought by King Duncan announces that âsigns of nobleness, like stars, shall shine / On all deservers" (I 4.41-42).â. At the times… read analysis of Blood Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. The witches show Macbeth his future and his fate, but Duncanâs murder is a matter of Macbethâs own free will, and, after Duncan's assassination, the further assassinations are a matter of his own planning. In the play, Shakespeare also equates sleep with death. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, symbolism is abundantly used in exemplifying the overall theme of murder. Two factors stoke the flames of his ambition: the prophecy of the Three Witches, who claim that not only will he be thane of Cawdor, but also king, and even more so the attitude of his wife, who taunts his assertiveness and manhood and actually stage-directs her husbandâs actions. For example, before killing Duncan, Macbeth hallucinates a bloody dagger pointing towards the kingâs room. Throughout the play, Shakespeare depicts various types of symbolism and imagery that leads to the downfall of the protagonist, Macbeth. Symbolism & IMagery In Macbeth (u2A3) Act 1, Scene III - Macbeth meets the witches Imagery. The witches symbolize the following: (1) They symbolize the darkness and depravity of the human soul, the part of the soul that bends itself toward evil and darkness; (2) The witches influence the external forces that tempt humans; (3) More specifically, the witches symbolize the darkness that resides in Macbeth’s heart; (4) The witches are an outward manifestation of Macbeth’s wickedness and the … No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red. William Shakespeare, the author of Macbeth, uses an array of symbolism and motifs in Macbeth. This image is continued in Act 5, Scene 2, but now Macbeth is compared to the "weeds" and Malcolm is the "sovereign flower". Macbeth is complex play, filled with symbols that help develop the plot and themes. “ - William Shakespeare, Symbols In Macbeth. When Rosse greets Macbeth as ‘Thane of Cawdor’, Macbeth replies: It is found to be reoccurring throughout Macbeth because of the many events changing drastically throughout the play. When Macbeth murders Duncan, his conscience is haunted at the very moment. In the play “Macbeth” Shakespeare uses many types of imagery. This also applies to the other visions the witches conjure for Macbeth: he sees them as a sign of his invincibility and acts accordingly, but they actually anticipate his demise. Imagery visually describes many of the key ideas in Macbeth. Macbeth kills Duncan, king of … Macbethâs ambition is his tragic flaw. Shakespeare 's famous play, Macbeth contains a wide variety of theatrical and literary devices to enrapture his readers and develop the plot of this enticing story. Imagery … Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s guilt caused them to act differently and become different people. He feels that his power is threatened to a point where it can only be preserved through murdering his suspected enemies. Literal Imagery: Macbeth’s Soliloquy- In Macbeth’s famous soliloquy he reflects on the evil that resides within him, as well as the evil that surrounds him (scribd). Shakespeare uses the convention of light and darkness to symbolise good and evil respectively. Macbeth then decides to have him killed. Helping you understand Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory in Macbeth by William Shakespeare - but, in a fun way. The thematic concerns of the play such as guilt, the difference between appearances and their realities, supernaturalism and evil are shown through extended usage of symbolism and imagery.Â. For Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, blood shows that their guilt trajectory runs in opposite directions: Macbeth turns from being guilty into a ruthless murderer, whereas Lady Macbeth, who starts off as more assertive than her husband, becomes ridden with guilt and eventually kills herself. Plant imagery is used throughout the play - Duncan compares Macbeth and Banquo to plants that he will harvest. The supernatural presence of the three witches is symbolised by the climate in which they appear, the kind of weather which creates a very sombre and fearful feeling. At the beginning of the play, King Duncan rewards Macbeth with the title of thane of Cawdor, after the original thane betrayed him and joined forces with Norway, while Macbeth was a valiant general. Would Macbeth have become king had he not chosen his murderous path? When Macbeth sees Banquoâs ghost at the banquet, Lady Macbeth remarks that he lacks âthe season of all natures, sleep.â Eventually, her sleep becomes disturbed as well. This contrast shows how corrupt Macbeth has become. By contrast, the three witches are known as âmidnight hags,â and Lady Macbeth asks the night to cloak her actions from the heaven. In a series of bloody imageries, the vision of dagger comes to Macbeth which shows his free-floating guilt. In Macbeth’s soliloquy he states, “Thus to mine eyes. She becomes prone to sleepwalking, reliving the horrors of Duncanâs murder. 128 Unforgettable Quotes From Shakespeare's Macbeth, Tragic Flaw: Literary Definition and Examples, Top 5 Female Villains in Shakespeare Plays, Shakespeare Tragedies: 10 Plays With Common Features, A Critical Review of 'Death of a Salesman', 7 Types of Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays, M.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan, B.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan. Angus is saying that Macbeth’s responsibilities as King are too much for him: 1)” I had else been perfect. Weather is seen as a supernatural force; a force in which only witches or similar beings can take control of. Five different types he uses are blood, ill-fitting clothes, weather, darkness, and sleep. This symbolises the fact that the symbol of blood was more powerful of the symbol of water due to the fact that Macbeth says that the blood will turn the water from green to red. As a tragedy, Macbeth is a dramatization of the psychological repercussions of unbridled ambition. In fact, the play opens in the middle of a storm and this stormy weather continues for much for the play. In the play of Macbeth, imagery and symbolism is greatly used. "Blood" is used 109 times throughout Macbeth. Similarly, Shakespeare uses imagery and symbolism to illustrate the concepts of innocence and guilt. Whenever the witches appear, there… These symbols recur many times in the novel and show the guilt of the characters. He tells Lady Macbeth, âI am in blood / Step't in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'erâ. As a tragedy, Macbeth is a dramatization of the psychological repercussions of unbridled ambition. Symbolism and Motifs in Macbeth April 28, 2020 by Essay Writer In any story the use of symbolism helps create meaning and emotion to convey the message behind that story while a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Macbeth taking a leap of imagination compares his guiltâs intensity to such an extent that he says even Neptuneâs ocean canât wash away the blood from his hand. Teaching him this she says, “look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” The play basically repeats this particular vice in human beings to show us how it drives us into the tragic downfall in life. Sleep symbolises renewal when Macbeth says that sleep is âthe death of each dayâs life,â and âgreat natureâs second course.âÂ, Macbeth has a very fertile imagination. Devoid of any morality, it ultimately causes Macbethâs downfall. Eventually, ambition causes both Macbethâs and Lady Macbethâs undoing. When Macbeth ascends to the throne, his unworthiness is displayed through the imagery of clothing like ânew honors come upon him like strange garments, cleave not to their mould but with the aid of use.â. Macbeth Symbols Introduction Macbeth takes place in 11th-century northern Scotland. Firstly through the clothing imagery Shakespeare shows us his imaginative view of the hero, Macbeth. Firstly Shakespeare uses the imagery of light and darkness to display the good and the bad in the characters …show more content… A few important symbols in Macbeth include, the dagger, witchcraft, and dead children. This Macbeth teaching resource for themes, symbols, and apparitions is creative and filled with opportunities for differentiation. In Macbeth, sleep symbolizes innocence and purity. Their prophecy, stating that Macbeth canât be vanquished by any child âof woman bornâ is rendered vain when Macduff reveals that he was born via a caesarean section. The three symbols that represented guilt in Macbeth were blood, water, and hallucinations. In addition, the assurance that he would not be vanquished until âGreat Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against himâ is at first deemed an unnatural phenomenon, as a forest would not walk up a hill, but in reality meant that soldiers were cutting up trees in Birnam Wood to get closer to Dunsinane Hill. âFalse face must hide what the false heart doth know,â Macbeth tells Duncan, when he already has intentions to murder him near the end of act I. In the example storyboard above, the creator has focused on Shakespeare's use of visions in the play. The series of events which starts unfolding after the murder of Duncan is full of blood. Explore the different symbols within William Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth.Symbols are central to understanding Macbeth as a play and identifying Shakespeare's social and political commentary.. The play's main themes—loyalty, guilt, innocence, and fate—all deal with the central idea of ambition and its consequences. Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare uses imagery involving light and darkness to symbolize various concepts, such as the struggle between good and evil. What does clothing symbolize in Macbeth? Caroline Spurgeon considers the images in Macbeth more imaginative, subtle and complex than those of other plays. Nature. Even though Macbeth at his point has become rather evil, he considers his actions to be justified by the prophecy of the three witches. For instance, after murdering King Duncan, Macbeth is in such distress that he believes he heard a voice saying "Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more! In this essay one will look at how shakespeare uses imagery, soliloquies, and symbolism in Macbeth. Macbethâs ambition, however, soon spirals out of control. Blood also becomes a symbol of fear when Macbeth says after Banquo’s ghost is gone that “blood will have blood.” When both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth despair over their incapacity to wash the blood from their hands, it symbolises their inability … Imagery- similes: 1) Act 3, scene 4, Macbeth is saying that he was solid and grounded, like a rock before 2) Act 5, scene 2, Angus compares Macbeth to a thief as he has stolen the power from Duncan. Blood, sleep, and weather are three major symbols found in the … Trying to imagine Symbolism in Macbeth? The weather in this part of Scotland is often dark, cold, and damp, making for the perfect setting for this play about murder, intrigue, and madness. In another example of Shakespeare's loyalty and betrayal dynamic, Macbeth betrays Banquo out of paranoia. In Act One of Macbeth, there are many recurring symbols and imagery to notice. The Blood on Macbeth's Hands Pages: 5 (1155 words) Macbeth Blood symbolisms Pages: 2 (337 words) Macbeth - The Use Of Blood Imagery Pages: 3 (564 words) Macbeth..Who Killed Duncan Pages: 2 (418 words) William Shakespeares Macbeth Pages: 4 (814 words) The recurrence of this motif throughout the play proves its significance. Apart from his contribution, the play is otherwise full of significant imageries. in Classics from the Catholic University of Milan, where she studied Greek, Old Norse, and Old English. Similarly, Shakespeare uses imagery and symbolism to illustrate the concepts of innocence and guilt.Â. Check out Shmoop's visual take on what it's all about. Banquoâs ghost, who appears during a banquet, exhibits âgory locks.â Blood also symbolizes Macbethâs own acceptance of his guilt. Symbolism in Macbeth. It symbolises her flickering hope against the evil she has evoked beyond her control. Angelica Frey holds an M.A. Every time something evil is done, there comes a hint of light being blown out such as the murder of Duncan and presumed suicide of Lady Macbeth. Whenever blood is evoked in the play as a symbol, it tells us of the guilt. The play's main themesâloyalty, guilt, innocence, and fateâall deal with the central idea of ambition and its consequences. Macbeth taking a leap of imagination compares his guilt’s intensity to such an extent that he says even Neptune’s ocean can’t wash away the blood from his hand. Purposes of Imagery in Macbeth William Shakespeare's play Macbeth presents the story of Macbeth, a man driven by ambition. Similarly, once Macbeth becomes king, day and night become indistinguishable from one another. The Role of Imagery and Symbolism in Macbeth 1360 Words | 6 Pages. This evil that surrounds Macbeth transpires from his arrogant wife and the three evil witches (enotes). Across the play, such symbols and imagery create the overall tone which is tragic and forbidding. Imagery and Symbolism in Macbeth With its eye-opening plot and interesting cast of characters, William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth is one of the greatest works one could ever read. In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, symbolism and imagery are both widely used in illustrating the overall theme of murder. The three witches in a prophetic manner say that theyâll meet again with âthe set of sunâ and soon we see that the murder of Duncan happens. There are several prominent forms of this throughout the play. Once Macbeth and Lady Macbeth embark upon their murderous journey, blood comes to symbolize their guilt, and … The contrast of light and dark representing good and evil plays a major role in the advancement of events in the play. Blood eventually also affects Lady Macbeth, who, in her sleepwalking scene, wants to clean blood from her hands. Blood is everywhere in Macbeth, beginning with the opening battle between the Scots and the Norwegian invaders, which is described in harrowing terms by the wounded captain in Act 1, scene 2. But, above all, the aspect of the play is most impressive and overwhelming with imagery and symbolism that Shakespeare so brilliantly uses. | <urn:uuid:8e674b2b-0d55-46cc-987b-01c8a3d44767> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://mazur.eu/7e98780/archive.php?95f850=imagery-and-symbolism-in-macbeth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703522150.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20210121004224-20210121034224-00209.warc.gz | en | 0.943632 | 4,607 | 3.171875 | 3 |
by Shanay Shah, Advisory Partner
A sustainable supply chain in one that integrates environmentally sound and financially viable practices into the entire supply chain ecosystem, right from product design and development to distribution, consumption, return and disposal. A sustainable supply chain is imperative for the balance of economic development and environmental conservation.
The VW scandal can be considered as the biggest example of an unsustainable system. In September 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many Volkswagen cars being sold in America had a "defeat device" in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the diesel emission levels and improving performance accordingly to improve results. The German car giant admitted to cheating emissions tests in the USA. This scandal has tarnished the brand name of VW and caused a huge decline in its stock price. It also had to incur huge expenses in terms of replacing faulty cars and also had to compensate heavily (4.3 billion) for environmental damage. Similar incidents damaging the environment have strengthened the need for a sustainable supply chain system.
Growing concerns for the environment will cause companies looking to implement sustainable strategies along its supply chain to look upstream. Companies, having an option to choose from various suppliers, must use their purchasing power to select the ones that comply with green supply chain standards. Environmental laws are also being framed and implemented across various companies to create a balance between economic development and environmental deterioration. Over time, all companies will aim to streamline their supply chain systems, making their system more eco-friendly and sustainable for the long term.
You can download our full research paper on this for free here: | <urn:uuid:01d2663c-7cf9-4756-87db-92ad9b0919b9> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://www.peopleops.com/peopleops-blog/2017/10/24/sustainable-supply-chain | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376826354.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20181214210553-20181214232553-00504.warc.gz | en | 0.963153 | 321 | 3.125 | 3 |
Professional Reference articles are designed for health professionals to use. They are written by UK doctors and based on research evidence, UK and European Guidelines. You may find the Marfan Syndrome article more useful, or one of our other health articles.
Treatment of almost all medical conditions has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. NICE has issued rapid update guidelines in relation to many of these. This guidance is changing frequently. Please visit https://www.nice.org.uk/covid-19 to see if there is temporary guidance issued by NICE in relation to the management of this condition, which may vary from the information given below.
Synonyms: Marfan syndrome, MFS1
This is an inherited connective tissue disorder with characteristic skeletal, dermatological, cardiac, aortic, ocular and dura mater malformations. Although it is a severe, chronic and life-threatening disease, most patients with Marfan's syndrome (MFS) who receive optimal medical care now have a near-normal life expectancy.
MFS is caused by a variety of mis-sense mutations in gene encoding for fibrillin 1, an elastin-matrix glycoprotein essential for the formation of cellular microfibrils and regulation of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß), dysregulation of which leads to the morphological changes seen in MFS.The gene is located on chromosome 15q21. The pattern of transmission is autosomal dominant with complete penetrance. There are over 1,000 genetic mutations, almost all unique to an affected family. Phenotype varies within and between families with the same genetic abnormality, leading to protean and variable manifestations of the condition in given individuals.
This is 2-3 per 10,000 of population, affecting both sexes equally. The prevalence is similar worldwide, regardless of geography or ethnicity.It is the most common inherited disorder of connective tissue. Prior to the availability of treatment, life expectancy was severely curtailed: 50% of men died by the age of 40 and 50% of women by the age of 48; the average age of death was 32.Despite medical advances, the leading cause of death remains cardiovascular disease, primarily progressive aortic root dilation and dissection, which still occurs in about 1 in 10 patients and carries a high mortality.
Around two thirds of cases are due to familial transmission. In the remainder there are sporadic mutations, associated with advanced paternal age.
The diagnosis is usually established using the Ghent criteria, which were revised in 2010. The clinical diagnostic criteria are family history and systemic features, particularly the presence of ectopia lentis and an increased diameter of the aortic root, plus molecular genetic testing.Basing diagnosis solely on molecular data is not possible, as mutation detection is far from perfect and some mutations of fibrillin do not cause the syndrome.
The condition can be asymptomatic. Patients are disproportionately tall and thin with unusually long arms and legs compared to their trunk (dolichostenomelia) and a 'cadaverous' physique. They often have long 'spidery' fingers and toes (arachnodactyly).
The main clinical features are:
- Skin - striae, especially thoracolumbar and sacral.
- Cardiovascular - thoracic aortic dilatation/rupture/dissection (usually asymptomatic), aortic regurgitation, mitral valve prolapse, mitral regurgitation, abdominal aortic aneurysm, cardiac dysrhythmia.
- Lungs - pleural rupture causing pneumothorax
- Eyes - lens dislocation, closed-angle glaucoma, high myopia.
- Skeleton - arachnodactyly, hypermobility, arthralgia, joint instability, finger contractures, pectus excavatum or carinatum deformities, misshapen chest, kyphoscoliosis, protrusio acetabuli and hindfoot deformity.
- Nervous system - dural ectasia hernias presenting with low back pain and symptoms akin to cauda equina syndrome or chronic postural headache due to CSF leakage
- Facial characteristics - maxillary/mandibular retrognathia, long face (dolichocephaly) and high, arched palate, enophthalmos, downslanting palpebral fissures and malar hypoplasia.
Arachnodactyly - the following signs may be used to demonstrate this:
- Walker's (wrist) sign - the patient encircles the wrist of their opposite hand with the little finger and thumb, which overlap.
- Steinberg's thumb sign - a flexed thumb grasped within a clenched palm protrudes beyond the ulnar border of that hand.
- Echocardiography: repeated annually, with careful monitoring of aortic root width and the function of the heart valves is recommended. Echocardiography is also being used to evaluate the function of the myocardium which is also thought to be affected.
- Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) or computerised tomography (CT): should be performed in every patient, showing the entire aorta. This should be repeated every five years, or annually if there is aneurysmal formation beyond the aortic root.
- Ambulatory ECG monitoring: in symptomatic patients.
- MRI scanning of the spinal column: consider this if headache/sacral pain is potentially attributable to dural ectasia.
- Pelvic X-ray: this may demonstrate protrusion of the acetabulum into the pelvic cavity (protrusio acetabula). It is present in about 50% of cases.
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
- Fragile X syndrome.
- Gigantism and acromegaly.
- Klinefelter's syndrome.
- Loeys-Dietz aortic aneurysm syndrome.
- Sphrintzen-Goldberg syndrome.
- Other causes of arachnodactyly, aortic dissection, ectopic lentis and mitral valve prolapse.
Management requires a multidisciplinary team which should include a geneticist, an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist and an orthopaedic surgeon.
- Psychological support may be required in order to help patients cope with the fact that they have a chronic disease which may shorten their life and affect offspring. Many patients also have poor self-esteem and impaired relationships/sex lives due to concerns about their bodily appearance.
- The patient should be advised to avoid exertion at maximal capacity, vigorously competitive or contact sports (fatal aortic dissection and rupture in young adults is often due to MFS). Scuba diving, weightlifting, climbing steep inclines and gymnastics should be avoided due to dangers of raised intra-thoracic/intra-aortic pressures.
Prophylactic beta-blockers are used to reduce mean arterial pressure and pulse rate significantly.Studies have suggested that introducing them at an early age under the supervision of a paediatrician or cardiologist lowers the risk of aortic rupture and slowed aortic root dilatation. However, two meta-analyses have found conflicting results regarding the value of long-term beta-blockers.[13, 14]
The TGF-ß pathway is stimulated by angiotensin. The angiotensin-II receptor antagonist losartan has been shown to prevent and possibly reverse aortic root dilatation, mitral valve prolapse, lung disease and skeletal muscle dysfunction in a mouse model of MFS.In the same model losartan has also been shown to slow aortic root enlargement more effectively than propranolol.
A randomised controlled trial of 608 children and young adults under the age of 25 with MFS, compared losartan with atenolol over a three-year period.The primary outcome was the rate of aortic root dilation. Somewhat unexpectedly the study found no advantage of losartan over atenolol. There are several other similar trials underway and, to clarify what the effects are of angiotensin-II receptor antagonists and beta-blockers on patients with MFS, a prospective, collaborative meta-analysis based on individual patient data from these trials has been proposed.It is expected to include individual patient data from over 2,000 people.
With progressive aortic disease (dilatation of the ascending aorta and valve ring), composite valve conduit/aortic root graft replacement is the 'gold standard'. Some advocate medical therapy and aortic valve-sparing surgery where possible, due to the risks of having to anticoagulate after valve replacement.Indications for surgery are based primarily on the diameter of the aorta: repair advised if diameter ≥50mm (≥45 mm if there are other risk factors - for example, a family history of aortic dissection or a desire for pregnancy). Repair of a descending aortic aneurysm is generally recommended if the diameter is ≥55 mm but may be considered at lower diameters. Endovascular aortic repair in in MFS is not recommended.
Dislocated optic lens often occurs in early childhood. Removal of the lens is only indicated if cataract or secondary glaucoma intervenes or there is greatly reduced visual acuity which cannot be corrected with glasses. Anterior chamber intraocular lens placement is a technique often used following lens removal.
Surgery may be indicated for associated orthopaedic problems, including scoliosis.
Orthodontic treatment may be required to prevent or manage periodontal disease.
Expert input is required, as the risk of aortic rupture is vastly increased. There is also a 50% chance that the baby will be affected. Regular echocardiography (every 6-10 weeks) is recommended, along with adaptations of anaesthetic and intrapartum care. Where aortic root dilatation does occur, highly specialised surgical care and caesarean delivery are advocated.
Prognosis and complications
The main cause of death is cardiovascular disease and other vascular complications. Early use of propranolol and new surgical procedures have improved life expectancy substantially. Patients with MFS requiring surgery during childhood have a relatively favorable long-term outcome.Prophylactic surgery carries 5- and 10-year survival rates of 84% and 75% respectively but is significantly safer than emergency repair.
Further reading and references
External aortic root support in Marfan syndrome; NICE Interventional Procedure Guidance, May 2011
Healthcare Professionals; The Marfan Foundation (US)
Pyeritz RE; Marfan syndrome: 30 years of research equals 30 years of additional life expectancy. Heart. 2009 Mar95(3):173-5. doi: 10.1136/hrt.2008.160515. Epub 2008 Nov 10.
Management of grown-up congenital heart disease; European Society of Cardiology (2010)
Marfan Syndrome, MFS; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)
von Kodolitsch Y, De Backer J, Schuler H, et al; Perspectives on the revised Ghent criteria for the diagnosis of Marfan syndrome. Appl Clin Genet. 2015 Jun 168:137-55. doi: 10.2147/TACG.S60472. eCollection 2015.
Chiu HH, Wu MH, Chen HC, et al; Epidemiological profile of Marfan syndrome in a general population: a national database study. Mayo Clin Proc. 2014 Jan89(1):34-42. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.08.022.
De Coster P, De Pauw G, Martens L, et al; Craniofacial structure in Marfan syndrome: a cephalometric study. Am J Med Genet A. 2004 Dec 15131(3):240-8.
Kiotsekoglou A, Sutherland GR, Moggridge JC, et al; The unravelling of primary myocardial impairment in Marfan syndrome by modern echocardiography. Heart. 2009 Feb 17.
Rosser T, Finkel J, Vezina G, et al; Postural headache in a child with Marfan syndrome: case report and review of the literature. J Child Neurol. 2005 Feb20(2):153-5.
Judge DP, Dietz HC; Marfan's syndrome. Lancet. 2005 Dec 3366(9501):1965-76.
Raanani E, Ghosh P; The multidisciplinary approach to the Marfan patient. Isr Med Assoc J. 2008 Mar10(3):171-4.
Fusar-Poli P, Klersy C, Stramesi F, et al; Determinants of quality of life in Marfan syndrome. Psychosomatics. 2008 May-Jun49(3):243-8.
Williams A, Davies S, Stuart AG, et al; Medical treatment of Marfan syndrome: a time for change. Heart. 2008 Apr94(4):414-21.
Gersony DR, McClaughlin MA, Jin Z, et al; The effect of beta-blocker therapy on clinical outcome in patients with Marfan's syndrome: a meta-analysis. Int J Cardiol. 2007 Jan 18114(3):303-8. Epub 2006 Jul 10.
Gao L, Mao Q, Wen D, et al; The effect of beta-blocker therapy on progressive aortic dilatation in children and adolescents with Marfan's syndrome: a meta-analysis. Acta Paediatr. 2011 Sep100(9):e101-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02293.x. Epub 2011 May 5.
Matt P, Habashi J, Carrel T, et al; Recent advances in understanding Marfan syndrome: should we now treat surgical patients with losartan? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2008 Feb135(2):389-94.
Lacro RV, Dietz HC, Sleeper LA, et al; Atenolol versus losartan in children and young adults with Marfan's syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2014 Nov 27371(22):2061-71. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1404731. Epub 2014 Nov 18.
Pitcher A, Emberson J, Lacro RV, et al; Design and rationale of a prospective, collaborative meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials of angiotensin receptor antagonists in Marfan syndrome, based on individual patient data: A report from the Marfan Treatment Trialists' Collaboration. Am Heart J. 2015 May169(5):605-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2015.01.011. Epub 2015 Feb 12.
Zehr KJ, Matloobi A, Connolly HM, et al; Surgical management of the aortic root in patients with Marfan syndrome. J Heart Valve Dis. 2005 Jan14(1):121-8
Kim SY, Martin N, Hsia EC, et al; Management of aortic disease in Marfan Syndrome: a decision analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2005 Apr 11165(7):749-55.
ESC Guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of aortic diseases (covering acute and chronic aortic diseases of the thoracic and abdominal aorta of the adult); The Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Aortic Diseases of the European Society of Cardiology (Aug 2014)
Morrison D, Sternberg P, Donahue S; Anterior chamber intraocular lens (ACIOL) placement after pars plana lensectomy in pediatric Marfan syndrome. J AAPOS. 2005 Jun9(3):240-2.
Di Silvestre M, Greggi T, Giacomini S, et al; Surgical treatment for scoliosis in Marfan syndrome. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2005 Oct 1530(20):E597-604.
Utreja A, Evans CA; Marfan syndrome-an orthodontic perspective. Angle Orthod. 2009 Mar79(2):394-400.
Sakaguchi M, Kitahara H, Seto T, et al; Surgery for acute type A aortic dissection in pregnant patients with Marfan syndrome. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2005 Aug28(2):280-3
Everitt MD, Pinto N, Hawkins JA, et al; Cardiovascular surgery in children with Marfan syndrome or Loeys-Dietz syndrome. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2009 Jun137(6):1327-32 | <urn:uuid:f72c735c-e3e6-48ed-a3b6-2bd22a731313> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://patient.info/doctor/marfans-syndrome-pro | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703524270.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20210121070324-20210121100324-00488.warc.gz | en | 0.853011 | 3,567 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Impact Of Liberalization, Privatization, And Globalization On Indian Agriculture Sector
India is considered as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Agriculture is the mother of any economy, whether it is rich or poor. Much of its influence is on the other sectors of economy - industry and service. India is the second largest in farm output. Hence, India’s economic security continues to be predicated upon the agriculture sector, and the situation is not likely to change in the near future. The per capita availability of land, water, and other finite natural resources will decline and water stress would augment due to climate change. The specific objectives of the study is to study the current scenario of Indian agriculture sector and to understand the trends in agriculture exports and imports. the study is based on Secondary data was collected through various secondary sources namely Agriculture Statistical at Glance (2016), Agriculture censes Report(2016), and Various Government Reports,(2016-17) etc., The study was used appropriate statistical tool namely trend line. The study found that there has been a decline in contribution of agriculture sector in GDP along the years (2011-18). The study concluded that globalization plays a role just at international levels of trade and commerce but the fact is that it has played an important role in making our lives much more comfortable too. Indian agricultural markets are likely to get affected through various re-adjustments in the output-vector as it exists before and after trade liberalization both at global and Indian borders. India in which it chooses or chooses not to liberalize its own markets to provide market access. | <urn:uuid:6db972f9-b3e8-4570-b850-a039eb45c78d> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://sersc.org/journals/index.php/IJDRBC/article/view/30127 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046152156.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20210726215020-20210727005020-00586.warc.gz | en | 0.953472 | 322 | 2.71875 | 3 |
ECONOMIC GROWTH and technological innovation are directly related to the availability of low-cost electricity. Each percentage increase in real GDP between 1970 and 2000 has resulted in a 1 percent rise in demand for electricity. Not surprisingly, the price of electricity is one of the determinants of the competitiveness of industries, with the U.S. enjoying lower costs per kilowatt hour than, for example, Germany, Spain or the U.K. Coal currently supplies 51 percent of America‘s electricity, and because the U.S. has 250 years of proven reserves-more than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia-coal will be used for some time. The problem is that as a fossil fuel, burning coal contributes to greenhouse gases that affect climate change.
Nuclear power, which supplies 20 percent of the U.S.‘s electric power, is safe, reliable and free of carbon emissions. Yet it has been over 30 years since a nuclear power plant has been built. We’ve let the fears of 30 years and an endless squabble over waste storage make it almost impossible to build new plants. In New York State, for example, power demand is up more than 12 percent since 1993, while generating capacity is up only 2.6 percent. The state has built no power plants since 1994, and the one nuclear facility in the southern part of the state is the target of environmental jihadists, who want to replace it with solar and wind.
Sources such as solar and wind are intermittent and unreliable and cannot replace reliable base load sources such as hydro, fossil and nuclear. Yet many of our feckless politicians and folks in the environmental movement and in media say we can do without nuclear power. But as time goes on the logic has to emerge. It is not logical to assert that climate change is the most important issue of our time and that reducing fossil fuel usage is the principal aim and then thwart the very technology that best accomplishes that. From France to Finland, other countries around the world have concluded that there is at present no other technology that offsets as much carbon emissions as nuclear. It’s time we did as well.
The Long View
TURMOIL IN THE CREDIT MARKETS coupled with the implosion of housing has triggered a precipitous contraction of liquidity and concerns that a recession is upon us. Chief Executive’s own CEO Confidence Index showed the largest one-month drop in August since we began tracking sentiment in October 2002. Yet having endured six financial meltdowns since Penn Central’s demise in 1970, we should keep a perspective. A lack of liquidity in mortgage securities may depress housing prices further, but the impact may not be so severe as to force the economy into recession. Job growth has been positive, with even a modest decline in the unemployment rate. In prior housing downturns, the jobless rate peaked by 3 percentage points in the 1980s and 2.2 percentage points in the 1990s.
In addition, most analysts are sanguine about continued growth in the world economy. Given that the market capitalization of the U.S. stock market is almost $14 trillion, larger than most other markets combined, wealth in stocks is still rising as real estate falls. Our CEO Index also reveals that many CEOs still feel their businesses and many areas of the economy are fundamentally sound. Almost 46 percent of those responding said that the financial performance of their own companies increased their confidence this month, and an additional 13 percent said that it “significantly” increased their confidence. Tighter credit will force some sectors of the economy to hit an air pocket, but market turbulence also creates opportunity. | <urn:uuid:df460aeb-6fb3-4228-a4fb-718f996ecbab> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://chiefexecutive.net/safe-carbon-free-and-about-time/amp/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195530246.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20190723235815-20190724021815-00531.warc.gz | en | 0.96604 | 743 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Steve: Welcome to the Scientific American podcast Science Talk posted on June 29th, 2012. I am Steve Mirsky. On this episode:
Chamovitz: We touch all plants, they respond. If you touch certain plants, we see them respond. And the easiest way of seeing that is the Venus flytrap--we can see the movement. But anytime we touch any plant, there is a cellular and organismic response.
Steve: That's Daniel Chamovitz. He is Director of the Manna Centre for Plant Biosciences at Tel Aviv University. And he is author of the new book, What a Plant Knows. He was in New York City recently and dropped by the Scientific American offices.
Steve: Daniel Chamovitz--great to see you.
Chamovitz: Thanks for having me.
Steve: Sure, thanks for coming in. What a Plant Knows is the name of the book. Let's start there--what does a plant know?
Chamovitz: A plant knows quite a bit. A plant knows what color of light it's seeing--it knows because it can see it; it knows when you're standing on it, because it can feel it; it knows if its neighbor is sick because it could smell it. It knows quite a bit much more than we give them credit for.
Steve: Now, let's talk about the word "knows".
Chamovitz: Yeah, it's controversial.
Steve: Of course, but it's a very clear way of getting across to the reader that the plant has ways to appreciate--even the word "appreciate"--I mean, it's a linguistic, semantic minefield here. But what do we actually mean by "knows."”
Chamovitz: What I say "know", I am talking about "aware and being able to respond.” If you are aware that there is a red light on, you know that there is a red light on; you're aware of it. And then you're responding in a certain way. When you are crossing across the street in the middle of the night and you see a light coming towards you, when you see the light you're aware of the light, and you respond and you run away. When a plant sees a red light, it responds in a certain way. So I say, "It knows that the light is red, because if it would see a blue light or a green light it would respond differently."
Steve: And we're not saying the plant, maybe this is a way to get to it--the plant doesn't know that it knows.
Chamovitz: Now we're on a minefield here of philosophy. I don't think--now I'm saying think--that a plant is self-aware. Now one of my children, when he was 14, would claim that we only think we're self-aware, but we're not really either. We don't want to get into that question.
Steve: We'll bring in some philosophers to discuss this.
Chamovitz: Yeah, I am not claiming that a plant is-self cognizant.
Chamovitz: But on a very basic level, it knows what's going on, it knows what its environment was, and if it didn't it wouldn't survive.
Steve: And one of the really fascinating things about the book is that you discuss these conserved genetic programs; we have the same genes to do a lot of the same things. I mean, even the photoreceptor business--we have the same genes as plants have in some cases.
Chamovitz: Let's take this at two levels. One: Definitely, genetically at the level of the genes that are needed for a cell to function, plant cells and human cells are remarkably similar. You know, for example, one of the big surprises, when they sequenced the plant genome in the year 2000 for Arabidopsis, they found genes for breast cancer. You know, last time I looked at a plant, there weren't many of those breasts, you know. They found genes for mental retardation, they found genes for deafness. But it's sort of a misnomer calling it a gene for breast cancer or gene for deafness because we define these genes by what happens when there's a mutation in them. Gene didn't evolve to cause disease; when they're mis-expressed, then we get the disease. These are all genes that are necessary for the cell to function in a certain way, for example, for cell division. And since we all evolved from single cellular organisms, the same genes that would be necessary for cell division that were present before photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic eukaryotes diverged would also be found between humans and plants. It's, sort of, silly that we didn't even think that that would be the case.
Steve: Right. When you look at it from an evolutionary point of view, you would assume that that would be the case.
Chamovitz: Exactly, but because when we look at plants, we can't identify with them--they're so different. So, we assume that genetically, they're majorly different. Now, there are certain things, of course, that don't exist in animals and in plants that aren't conserved--genes for photosynthesis; genes for flower development; genes you need to make a leaf; just like you don't have genes that you need to make a neuron. But, for example, a gene that's needed to make a hair-like filament coming out of a cell, which make the hairs in our ears--what we call hairs; they're not really hairs.
You know, they're cellular projections. It's a myosin gene; a similar myosin gene in plant is involved in making the little hair-like structures that come out of roots.
Steve: Right, because that's a successful program that many different organisms need to make these kinds of structure, and so the gene which originated, what 2 billion years ago, maybe...
Chamovitz: You know, it's divergent at the nucleotide sequence, but in terms, we could still recognize that they're the same gene. And that's how I actually got to this question of conservation because I really was not interested in studying anything that could smell like medicine. And so when I was a postdoc at Yale University in the mid, early 1990s, I was studying what's called photomorphogenesis--how a plant changes its structure in response to light and dark signals. Nothing you could think up could be more plant-specific than a plant opening its leaves in the light. You know, we like to go to Florida and get a tan, but we don't really, you know, grow a new set of hands. When I cloned these first genes that were involved in photomorphogenesis, they were really unique in all of biology, which fit well to our hypothesis that this was a plant-specific process. But the kicker came one day when I was sort of bored, at the end of my postdoc, and I was just playing on the computer; and just then the early draft of the human genome, the cDNA sequences, were coming out. No on knew what these sequences were; I was just playing on the computer and put my genes in, and these plant-specific genes for photomorphogenesis were in the human genome.
Steve: And do we know what they were doing in the human genome?
Chamovitz: Then we didn't have any idea. It was a real kicker, because I didn't want to touch the human genome, I was just, sort of, playing. Now we know that these same proteins have the same biological function in cells between humans and plants. In plants, when there's a mutation in it, there's an effect in photomorphogenesis. In animals, when there's a defect in it, there's an effect, one of the outcomes in cancer.
Steve: Because all these things have to do with basic, basic processes like growth, and like you said before, cell division or the way cells talk to each other.
Chamovitz: Well, this particular protein is involved in what was called the ubiquitin proteasome pathway, how proteins are degraded. In plants, the main process is photomorphogenesis. In animals, maybe the main process is cell division.
Steve: Let's talk really quickly about the different sections of the book. You basically divide it up into our senses, the senses that we're familiar with--sight, smell, hearing, touch. So real quickly: What does a plant see?
Chamovitz: A plant sees what we see; a plant sees light. But plants don't see pictures. But on a certain level, plants might think that we're visually limited because plants see things that we can't see.
Steve: They see outside of our spectrum.
Chamovitz: They see UV light, and they see far red light and, you know, we can't see that at all.
Steve: Or to make some people happy, they have receptors that get activated by those wavelengths of light.
Chamovitz: I want to continue using the word “see.”
Chamovitz: And can I go on on that one second?
Steve: Sure, sure.
Chamovitz: So if you take someone who's completely blind, and by surgery, in some way giving them a camera, allow them to see just shadows, would we say that that person now has rudimentary sight? He doesn't see pictures, but for that person, being able to differentiate shadows is definitely sight. We would let them be able to differentiate between red and blue, that would be even slightly more sight; that's what plants do. They don't see pictures, but they see colors, they see directions, they see intensities. So I think we can say that plants see.
Steve: And smell?
Chamovitz: Smell yeah. Well, plants smell because we smell them.
Steve: How do you keep a fish from smelling? You cut off its nose.
Steve: But the other meaning--they can?
Chamovitz: They can, now if you want to become very scientific, they can detect volatile chemicals that are wafting through the air. You know, what is smelling? You know, that's some type of chemical in the air--ammonia, Chanel No.5, garlic. You know, it goes through the air, and our receptors in the nose, we smell it, and you get some type of response. Some of it we're cognizant of and some of them we're not. You know, when we start salivating, we haven't chosen to salivate when we smell a barbecue, it just happens. Same thing with the plant; it has well, we assume there are more, so far they have only found one receptor, but we know that plants do respond to more than one type of chemical. And when they get these chemicals through the air, they respond. One of the ways that they're responding is to their neighbor being sick. And so for example, if a neighboring leaf is eaten by an insect or bacteria, the plants would release a chemical in the air, the neighboring plants will absorb that chemical and immediately start making other chemicals that will kill the bugs, for example, it makes them resistant.
Steve: And you talk in the book about experiments to try to determine whether that's actually a communication device from one individual plant to another, and the outcome of those experiments leads researchers to believe it's really something else.
Chamovitz: That's probably a combination of two. On one hand, it probably evolved for communication between branches. There's no direct connection of tissues from one branch to the other. For them to be connected there's a lot of pipes you have to go through. But if one branch can warn its neighboring branch through a volatile signal, it's a much quicker thing. So, then you have a neighboring tree that's, sort of, listening in. Its eavesdropping on its plant, and it also benefits from this conversation. Now you can make all types of evolutionary models--is there an advantage for your neighbors to also know this so that he protects you? Evolutionists or ecologists are split on whether there's an advantage or disadvantage to this.
Steve: We need Bill Hamilton and a lot of intricate mathematics.
Chamovitz: Mathematicians love this type of work. And it also depends, you know, for example, if it's an aspen growth, that's actually all one plant.
Steve: Clearly plants feel something. I mean, if you touch certain plants they immediately respond.
Chamovitz: Well, first off, you touch all plants, they respond. If you touch certain plants, we see them respond. And the easiest way of seeing that it is the Venus flytrap, because we can see the movement; you know, less than one tenth of a second, then it closes. But anytime you touch any plant, there is a cellular and organismic response, and that's because when are plants touched? They're touched in the wind, for example. So, if you see a tree that's on the top of the mountain, and the same tree in a valley, the one on the top will be short and stunted, and the one in the valley will be long with beautiful foliage. If it's being shaken by the wind, it needs to put its energy into making a solid trunk. And that's what touch does--it helps it let know what its environment is.
Steve: You talk about the flytrap to a large extent in the book, and for calcium channel fans out there, you're really going to enjoy the explanations of what goes on. It's all chemical, electrochemical signaling.
Chamovitz: What's funny about this--yes, it is all electrochemical signaling--what's funny about that, is that we've known that for over a hundred years. One of the first people to study the electricity in that was actually the same person who studied potentials in frog nerves; a British scientist, I just drew a blank on his name. But somehow or another, like what often happens in plant biology--and I'm a little paranoid here--is that then the animal biologists just take it over and forget that the plants knew about this originally. It's really scary, you know--it's not scary, it's amazing--that there are no nerves, there are no neurons in plants, but you don't necessarily see neurons for communication. Neurons are one evolutionary adaptation to allow communication.
Steve: Right, we think of it as the one because it's the one we have, so it's our default for that, but we're another variation on a theme.
Chamovitz: Exactly. So, when you touch the hairs on a Venus flytrap, you're getting ion channels activated, which is causing a depolarization, and when the depolarization goes over certain threshold, then it closes, and you get the electric signal propagating throughout the entire leaves. So that's how it closes, that's very "neural", and I'm doing that in quotation marks.
Steve: Air quotes here.
Chamovitz: Yeah, air quotes. There are, I have to emphasize, there are no neurons, but the same basic mechanism is very similar.
Steve: Lets jump a couple of chapters, since we're talking about the flytrap, you have a chapter on plants and what they can remember, and the flytrap also was a great example of the kinds of memory and, it's all chemical functioning that plants can exhibit.
Chamovitz: Well, if we define memory as having some information, storing it and recalling; you know, plants don't remember being in the seed pod, you know, they don't yearn for this, you know, for last year's sunshine; but that's you know, we don't need to anthropomorphize when we say "memory." So, if we take the Venus flytrap, in order for it to close, a bug or a little animal has to touch two hairs; so one hair needs to be touched, it needs to remember that that hair was touched. Once the second one is touched, it'll close, but only if it's within about half a minute.
Steve: And that's the way that the trap knows it's the right size or something it wants.
Chamovitz: Right, because there's again a game. It "wants"--again air quotes--it doesn't want to close, which takes a lot of energy, if it's not going to get a lot of food, so it wants it to be a big bug; "wants" again in air quotes. I'm using these words because it challenges us to think, you know, about ourselves. So you get, really, some type of short-term memory. You touch one hair, wait 20 seconds, touch the other hair; it'll close, wait a minute, it won't close--it has forgotten that the first hair was touched. And the mechanism is all electricity. The potential has gone below the threshold.
Steve: Right. There's a buildup of ions in this channel that then dissipates, and once it gets below a certain level, the memory is lost.
Chamovitz: The memory is lost, which is similar to some of our memory, the way some of our memory mechanisms; there's many memory mechanisms in animals also, some electric, some genetic, some a mixture of both.
Steve: Interestingly, the chapter on hearing, sort of, comes out differently than all the other chapters.
Chamovitz: And because everyone assumes that plants hear.
Steve: And a lot of that comes from the '70s, when people were singing to their plants and playing Mozart for the plants.
Chamovitz: And using, you know, Indian music to their plants. I don't want to say that plants don't hear, but there is no hard evidence. If you look in PubMed database, look what has been published--and that's the only thing we can go on--there's no evidence that plants really respond to music. Now I want to differentiate here between music and hearing. Why would we think that a plant would care whether it's, you know, Meat Loaf, or Led Zeppelin or Bach. You know, when we're talking about plant vision, we don't show them an eye chart and say, "Read the bottom line." When we're talking about plant smelling, we don't say to them, "Differentiate between Chanel No. 5 and Dior." You know, so why would we think music? If we're going to think of plants hearing, we need to think of experiments that might be ecologically relevant, you know; maybe something like subsonic waves through the ground or the very high pitch of an insect. But music--what's the relevance? So, getting back to music, so many people have tried these experiments, and there's all types of new age experiments that say that plants are affected, but the interesting things is that in all those experiments, the plants grew better for the music that the experimenter liked better.
Steve: And to a large extent, these experiments collapse down to a sense that the sensation of the sound wave itself; it's the equivalent of being touched.
Chamovitz: And I will accept that, that auditory is sound waves, and if someone will show that a plant responds to sound waves that'll be great, but so far no one's been able to show that. I would actually predict that we will find that in the future.
Steve: Well, there's one experiment you talk about where there was speaker sound coming at the plant, and then the experimenters put in a fan so that...
Chamovitz: There was no heat coming off the speaker. So most of these experiments have just been done poorly. You know, these are classic experiments that are also done by kids in 6th grade.
Steve: For science projects.
Chamovitz: Yeah, for science projects. And you need to do a good control.
Steve: So when they put the fan in, and it blew the heat away that was coming from the speaker at the plant, the effect blew away.
Chamovitz: You know, one of the researchers into touch, a very good, excellent scientist named Janet Braam--who's now at Rice University, used to be at Stanford--she was one of the people who recognized genetically how plants respond to touch. And one of her experiments in this seminal paper was then to expose her plants--well I guess she likes the Talking Heads--and she exposed her plants to the Talking Heads, seeing if these same genes would go up, and they didn't.
Steve: You talk, one of the great parts of the book--there's a lot of Darwin in the book.
Chamovitz: Darwin is great.
Steve: Darwin was so much smarter than people even realized; but he played his bassoon to plants.
Chamovitz: Darwin played his bassoon. It was one of his experiments, one of his later experiments, but he was also smart enough to say, I think in his own words, that it was "a fool's experiment." And he didn't see any response; he tried to get them to bend towards his bassoon music. His final book was called The Power of Movement in Plants. We still teach that to freshman and undergraduate students. His experiments from 1880 are still being taught and validated. That was an amazing piece of work.
Steve: Yeah, he did such meticulous long-term work with his son on plant growth and discovered many of the basic things that we know about plants.
Chamovitz: And some of it is still being studied. For example, he was showing how a plant responds to gravity, and how plants move. Some of you may have seen or you may have seen time-lapse movies of the plants, sort of, what's called circumnutating--they turn around in circles. But you can only see this with time lapse photography. And Darwin was asking the question, "Is this an endogenous behavior of plants or is it a response to gravity?." Now he didn't have the way of answering those questions, but now his own hypotheses are being checked in the space station.
Steve: Right, that was a fascinating part of the book.
Chamovitz: Isn't that amazing? Yeah.
Steve: As you're reading the book, the thought occurs to you, well, if we could do these experiments in space, it would be really interesting way to figure out whether the plant can appreciate gravity. And then you talk about the fact that they did do these experiments in space.
Chamovitz: Right. And in space, what it ends up is that the movements are minute, but they still remain. Now, that could be because of micro, micro gravity; there's no way of controlling for that yet. There's minute movement, that when you then give a gravitational pull, become large. So, there seems to be an endogenous movement which is then enhanced by gravity.
Steve: You talk about this other experiment, in which the researcher basically, like if, you saw the movie 2001, and you see the guy running on the periphery, on the circumference.
Chamovitz: Around HAL.
Steve: Right, of the rotating wheel because that creates an artificial gravity and so this experimenter created a spinning wheel, spinning really fast, and put the plants in there to see if the acceleration, which would be the equivalent of gravity, would cause them to know up from down.
Chamovitz: And that's exactly what happened. Their movements became exaggerated as soon as they were put in this, sort of, centrifuge. So they had minute movements of one or two or even half a millimeter, which then increased to centimeter circumferences when you put a gravitational pull on it.
Steve: Let's take a minute to talk about Arabidopsis, because it's such a fascinating organism. It's the fruit fly of plants. And most people probably don't know how crucial it's been for botanical research, but genetic research in general also. So tell us about Arabidopsis--what is it and how did it become this lab rat?
Chamovitz: Arabidopsis is a little mustard plant. I think it's called in English thale cress--even if they know it, if you'd ask someone what the thale cress looks like, they wouldn't know. It's quite unremarkable except for a couple of things that botanists about a half a century ago recognized. One that it is small with a very quick generation time; that means it could go from seed to seed in about two months, even six weeks. Two, each plants gives out about 20,000 seeds. And three, it has a small genome, a very small amount of DNA. What this meant for plant scientists is that we could do amazing genetic and genomic experiments in a small amount of time, which means, if you wanted to do your Ph.D. on sequoias, you'd be 90 by the time you graduated, but with an Arabidopsis you could actually start asking amazing questions.
Steve: Ninety? You'd be 900.
Chamovitz: Okay 900, let's say. So, because of work of early botanists who understood this small plant, it was adopted by the molecular genetic community in the 1980s as a model plant. At that time, a lot of people derided it--"What're you going to do with that little mustard?" But now we know, because of the Human Genome Project, and all the work that's gone into Arabidopsis--when I say Human Genome Project, part of the Human Genome Project gave the resources and the money to sequence the Arabidopsis genome; because it was used as a model and from studies on this little plant, which it itself has no economic benefit has led huge, huge advances, both in agriculture and in human medicines. Because you can do experiments much quicker, clone genes, find out what they're doing in this plant, and then adopt it in other organisms. For example, the genes for flowering, what makes a plant flower, were all discovered in Arabidopsis. Some of it was then applied into tree breeding, for example, to cause poplar trees to flower at six months rather than at three years, so you could do breeding.
Steve: So, if you're trying to grow a crop that's resistant to a particular pest, for example, or a disease, a virus, Arabidopsis might be the organism that you try things out in.
Chamovitz: You would definitely try it in Arabidopsis. And until, you know, recently it was the only organism with a genome. Now we have other genomes of other plants; for example, the tomato genome was just published, which is immensely important because there's also diversity in plants. What's good for Arabidopsis isn't good for all plants. Tomato might respond differently. There are pathogens that are specific for tomato, the Solanum species; and there are pathogens that are specific for Arabidopsis, which are the Brassicaceae species in plants. But the basic paradigms that have been outlined in Arabidopsis have held for all plants. And it's also been used to study certain human diseases, like I mentioned earlier with our own research in Arabidopsis.
Steve: So, what is it you said in the book? You have how many MDs in your family--six to seven?
Chamovitz: Six, and two on the way.
Steve: Two are your sons?
Chamovitz: No, not mine. My niece and one of my cousin's children.
Steve: So, this is why you really wanted to not do medicine. You wanted...
Chamovitz: Yeah, my psychologist probably could tell you more about that, but you know, when your father is a doctor and your three uncles are doctors and your sister is a doctor, there's a little bit of familial pressure to go into medicine. And I was really looking to do something that was completely original. And also, when I was 18, I'd been working on a kibbutz, a farm in Israel, and I was really blown away by the idea that you could grow different crops in different ways. I knew nothing about plants, and I was working in alfalfa fields and when you cut alfalfa it grows back and I knew nothing about why. I said, "Wow, if you could put that trait into, like, wheat or corn, you could really solve world hunger." Well, that was a really naïve thing. It's all about where the growing part is--it's above ground, below ground. But that's what got me interested in the idea of how can we feed the world. And with all due to respect to cancer and Alzheimer's, which are hideous diseases that we have to cure, if we don't find a way of getting enough food to everyone in the year 2050, when there will be nine billion people in the world?
You know, we're going to be in major trouble.
Steve: You know, I had the opportunity to meet Norman Borlaug.
Chamovitz: The most important person of the past century.
Steve: Yeah, which, again--most probably never heard of him, but why don't you just briefly tell everybody what he did?
Chamovitz: You know, he really worked, he was wheat breeder, and he did the second Green Revolution in our understanding of how to control wheat growth and how to make the wheat breeding work for the modern times.
Steve: For which he won a Nobel Peace Prize.
Chamovitz: Exactly: not a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Nobel Peace Prize. And that's gone unnoticed by the scientific community at large. You know, many of my colleagues, they just don't want to accept the fact that plants are complex organisms or as important as human biology for the future of the world. I'm talking about, you know, professors, big professors in universities around the world. It's not specific for Tel Aviv University. It's also in, you know, NYU or Columbia, you know. Well, plant biology sometimes takes a second seat to human biology, and that's a shame because we might find ourselves in major troubles one day. And we need to encourage our best young minds to be going into these fields, to be solving these problems. Look by, again 2050, we're going to have to grow twice as much food but with less water, less fertilizer, less land--the amount of fertilizers we have, you know, is also limited. So, how are we going to do that? We really need to be able to understand at a very deep level--I would call it at systems level--how plants adopt and respond to their environment, so that we can manipulate this.
Steve: Tell us about your current research.
Chamovitz: So, in my lab we're working on two things. First, these genes that I identified and cloned over 20 years ago, when I was at Yale; yeah, we still don't know how this complex works. This is basic biology. We're trying to understand how a protein complex is built and why this protein complex needs eight sub-units in order to do what it does; maybe we don't even know everything it does. This is work that's being done in Arabidopsis and in Drosophila to do a, we're taking a comparative evolutionary, developmental approach and seeing what we can learn from both of them and then extrapolating one to the other. And in a new project in my lab which, sort of, started just by accident as, sort of, like a side thing, we're trying to figure out why Arabidopsis and other Brassicaceae make a drug that is used in cancer therapy. You know, plants make this thing called glucosinolates, which are a plant chemical which protects them against bugs. And some of these have been used in natural medicine against cancer, and some of them had been used--you know, we know that in cell cycle they stop; in research they can stop cell cycle. So the question I ask in my lab, using an Arabidopsis, is why do plants make these? Is just in case a bug comes? Or does it have a role also in the plant? Now we've found very preliminary results that it could also stop cell cycle in the plants, which is why you want for any other cancer drug.
Steve: You talk in the book about the broccoli; somebody with cancer was advised to use this broccoli extract.
Chamovitz: Right, so the chemical we're talking about comes from broccoli, but broccoli and Arabidopsis are both Brassicaceae; they're very, very, very similar genetically. Now first of all I should say: Do what your doctor says.
Steve: Right absolutely.
Chamovitz: Absolutely, you know.
Chamovitz: The fact that there are, what we call in Hebrew, "grandmother stories" that say, you know, these...
Steve: Buba myses.
Chamovitz: Buba myses--exactly. And some of those, there's truth behind them, but there's not been enough research done on it. A lot of the reason is you can't compound these things; you know, drug companies aren't interested in it. So we're trying to use plants as a model to understand what do these drugs are actually doing; what are these chemicals doing. And again, what we've shown in Arabidopsis is that when they're made, the cells stop dividing, which is exactly what you would want to happen. Now the question is why? What you would want to happen for a drug that would fight cancer.
Steve: Pretty exciting times to be a plant biologist with the genomic information that's available.
Chamovitz: Oh, it's amazing. Yeah it's, you know, I think this new genomic information that's coming out of tomato is going to revolutionize both science, our understanding of developmental biology and of agriculture, because now we'll be able to really do breeding at the level of the gene. It's going to be really a lot of fun going on.
Steve: By the way, Daniel Chamovitz's book, What a Plant Knows, is the first print title published by a new imprint called Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, because we and they have teamed up to produce popular science books. Other authors of the new SciAm-FSG books will appear on the podcast in the coming months. We'll be right back after this message from Geoff Marsh at The Nature Podcast:
Geoff Marsh: This week: the Australopithecus diet, five unknowns about bird flu and ambitious plants to save the Baltic Sea.
Steve: Just go to www.Nature.com/podcast.
Steve: That's it for this episode. Get your science news at our Web site: www.ScientificAmerican.com, where you can check out the slide show on the beauty revealed by science. It's called "Empirical Aesthetics." And follow us on Twitter, where you'll get a tweet when every new article hits the Web site. Our Twitter name is @sciam S-C-I-A-M. For Scientific American's Science Talk, I am Steve Mirsky. Thanks for clicking on us.
Voice 1: You're a tomato; a tomato doesn't have logic, a tomato can't move.Voice 2: That's what I said. So if he can't move, how's he going to sit down, George? I was a stand-up tomato, a juicy, sexy, beefsteak tomato; nobody vegetables like me! I did an evening of vegetables. I did the best tomato... | <urn:uuid:14614f52-ad0f-462e-ad7d-45e564cb79ad> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/plants-know-stuff-12-06-29/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207926964.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113206-00342-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973266 | 7,583 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Archaeologists have discovered the oldest prehistoric building ever found in the Stonehenge landscape – but fear a new road tunnel could severely damage the site.
Dating from around 6,300 years ago – at least 1,300 years before Stonehenge – it was built immediately adjacent to a sacred Stone Age spring.
Academics have dubbed it an “eco” house because the base of a fallen tree was used as one of the walls.
The building is important as it appears to have been constructed by indigenous Mesolithic hunter-gatherers at the time when the very first semi-agricultural European-originating Neolithic settlers were arriving in the area.
The tools found in the building are Mesolithic (ie, pre-Neolithic) – but the period they date from is the dawn of the early Neolithic. Archaeological discoveries are revealing that, within just a few generations, the population at the site had adopted Neolithic tool-making traditions – or alternatively had been physically displaced by Neolithic settlers.
The potentially semi-permanent nature of the newly discovered house is suggested by the deep post-holes used to construct it and by a large cobbled area (covering at least 90 square metres – and including a pathway), immediately adjacent to it.
The cobbled path led down to a spring which Mesolithic people used as a place for making ritual offerings.
So far, archaeologists at the site, just over a mile east of Stonehenge, have found tens of thousands of objects placed by these Stone Age people in the spring – including more than 20,000 flint tools, a large sandstone animal skin smoother, a slate arrow head from Cornwall or Wales, pieces of burnt flint and more than 2,400 animal bones .
Archaeologists are now worried that the Government’s plan to improve the Stonehenge landscape by putting the A303 in a cutting and tunnel, will change the local water level and thus destroy or severely damage the spring and any important and potentially unique water-logged archaeological remains.
“I am very concerned that any reduction in the groundwater level at the spring site and elsewhere in the Avon valley might potentially be a threat to archaeologically important waterlogged organic artefacts and ancient environmental evidence,” said University of Buckingham archaeologist David Jacques, directing the excavation.
The newly discovered Stone Age dwelling is believed to have measured around five by three metres and included a sunken area measuring five square metres where animal skins were scraped and cleaned and clothes were made.
The residents also developed an innovative way of keeping warm in winter. They used hot stones, pre-heated in a hearth, as a form of central heating.
In a joint statement, Historic England, English Heritage and the National Trust said: “Our understanding of the site will no doubt be enhanced by the work recently undertaken by the University of Buckingham and we are confident that its importance will be taken into consideration as the various options for the Government’s road scheme are developed. We look forward to hearing more about this important Mesolithic site and seeing the full academic results when available.” | <urn:uuid:06ea3384-8bdf-49d7-91b9-a390c7034c8b> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://stonehengesalisburyguidedtours.com/2015/10/29/prehistoric-eco-house-1300-years-older-than-stonehenge-discovered-by-archaeologists/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370497042.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20200330120036-20200330150036-00236.warc.gz | en | 0.964965 | 645 | 3.484375 | 3 |
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