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Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
If the teens in your Youth Sabbath School were to pass on any words of wisdom to a younger person about to start their teen years, what would they say? Start by putting a few one-liners on a screen or board in your Sabbath School room, then ask the participants to add their own. Give them a few minutes to think about it. After each person has added a phrase of their own to the list, allow them to modify it if they want or even add a second one. Let them know that halfway through Sabbath School, you’ll take a vote on which of these phrases sounds the wisest. (Make sure not to forget about it!)
Here are a few sample phrases to help get them started:
OPTION 2: I’VE NEVER…
Arrange some chairs in a circle and ask a volunteer to sit in the middle of them. If you have three or fewer participants in your class, have one person stand in front of the others in a half-circle. If you have 10+ people, divide them into more than one group/circle.
The person standing in the middle of the circle or in front of the others makes a statement starting with “I’ve never…” and then completes the sentence by filling in something they’ve never done before. Anyone else in the group who also hasn’t done it either must stand up and find different a place to sit than where they were sitting before. Whoever is left standing by the time everyone is done scrambling for a new chair goes and stands in the center of the circle or up front, and makes another statement starting with “I’ve never…” and the game begins again.
Here are some examples of statements your participants could use:
You can come up with many more if you want!
As we consider our lesson for today, keep in mind that it might be difficult for you to identify with Moses since none of us here is 120 years old! We’ve probably all had the opportunity to hear some words of wisdom from someone older than us, however. It’s not always easy to listen to wisdom when we hear it—the Israelites certainly struggled with it in Moses’ time. But perhaps we can be different today and learn from the wisdom and instructions God gave them through Moses prior to his death on the edge of the Promised Land.
This is a short video clip you can show your Youth Sabbath School to illustrate this week’s topic, plus a few follow-up questions to spark discussion afterwards.
Create a video that relates to Moses’ final days and actions on behalf of the Israelites he led through the desert for 40 years. Remember to create a list of follow-up questions based on the video as well.
This 3:35-minute video makes statements about life. You may want to pause it occasionally so participants can jot down notes or comment on it.
This is a 2:33-minute video about the stages of life.
Three Chapters of Life
BASED ON DEUTERONOMY 34:7, 10-12; ACTS 7:20-36
Developmental psychology divides a person’s life into several stages. These include childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, adulthood, and old age (also known as the “senior years”). Some adolescents seem to get stuck developmentally at that point even when they grow to reach 50 years old, and no one is guaranteed to live past retirement!
For the past few months we’ve been following the children of Israel through their experiences in the wilderness. More recently, we’ve focused on the book of Deuteronomy—the second giving of the law—in which Moses passed on God’s instructions to the second generation of Israelites before his eventual death and their entry into the Promised Land.
7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.
10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Hundreds of years later, after Christ had come to earth, a character in the New Testament gave Moses’ entire life a quick overview. The character in question was Stephen—the first Christian martyr—and he gave this overview during a speech just before he was stoned to death. You can read the entire story in Acts 7, but today we’ll just focus on a few verses that deal with Moses’ story. Here’s Acts 7:23, 30, and 36, in which Stephen divides the life of Moses into three stages:
23 When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?” 27 But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
30 After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.” 35 This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, “Who made you ruler and judge?” He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.
Line up three empty glasses (or containers) and a pitcher of water (or a larger container) somewhere the participants can see. Pour an equal amount of water into each glass. Then add a different color of food coloring to each one, so all three are a different, distinct color.
Then have the Youth Sabbath School participants pour their own amount of water into three different glasses to represent three different stages in their lives—anywhere from birth to the present moment. Some might only be able to think of one stage, or maybe even two. Others might come up with 5-10 stages. Try to limit them to just three (or adapt the activity to your group, if you prefer). They may also choose to pour different amounts of water into each stage. For example, their first stage might have been just their first year of life, which would make up less than 10% of their live so far. Their second stage might last from ages 2-12, which would be the majority of their life so far. And the last stage might their teen years. When they’re done pouring the water, have them pick the colors of food coloring they want to use for each glass (or stage) of their life so far.
Just as it’s easy to see the many similarities between the different stages of life, it’s also easy to see the differences between each of us. God is certainly creative! And even though he is the sovereign ruler over everything, he still gives us the freedom of choice. No wonder there is both predictability and uncertainty in our lives!
Moses died at the age of 120. That would be quite rare today! We have much more detail about his last 40 years than his first 80 years, and we know very little about his middle 40 years. Abbreviating a person’s life into stages gives us a short and limited perspective on their life, but it does tell us some things about them. It does for Moses, and it does for us. The rest of our lives are still to be lived, so join God and choose to live for him!
Take a digital or physical copy of the book My Stages of Life and use it as a starting point to ask someone who has known you your entire life for input. Ask them to their divide your life so far into three stages. Then ask them to dream with you about what your entire life could look like in those same three stages. Pray together, thanking God for his love and involvement in each step of your life. Ask for his guidance as you live for him.
BASED ON DEUTERONOMY 32:1-43
Music has been important and impactful to people all throughout history. Not only has music always had an ability to resonate with our emotions, it can also make the lyrics in songs more memorable.
And yet, music itself is constantly changing. The book of Psalms even references the phrase “sing a new song” several times (for example, Psalm 33:3; 96:1; 144:9). Music artists are always releasing new songs or making covers of old ones. It’s as if new generations need to come up with their own story to tell through music and add it the collection that the generations before them left behind.
As Moses drew his final presentation of God’s laws to the second generation of Israelites to a close, he shared his own song with them. As is true with all songs in the Bible, we have the lyrics, but no record of the music that accompanied it.
You can read the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:1-43 (it’s pretty long). But it’s not the only one recorded in Scripture. The first Song of Moses occurred when the first generation of Israelites left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. You can find it in Exodus 14:1-18.
There’s another found in Revelation 15:3-4, which the redeemed sing after their victory of over the beast and its image. But unlike the other two, this one is called the Song of Moses and the Lamb. Because the book of Revelation begins with “The revelation of Jesus Christ…” (Revelation 1:1 NKJV), this song of victory hearkens back to the victory songs Moses sang in the Old Testament and the victory Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God—accomplished when he took away the sins of the world (John 1:29). This song in Revelation is actually a combination of multiple Old Testament passages, namely Psalm 111:2-3, Deuteronomy 32:4 (which is part of our passage today), Jeremiah 10:7, Psalm 86:9, and Psalm 98:2.
It’s time to name your song! Do you have a song that expresses any spiritual landmarks in your life? It might be a song you heard while you were on a retreat, or a song that epitomizes a spiritual highlight of that weekend for you. It could be a song that you often sing in Youth Sabbath School and has meaning for you. It could be the tune that you like about it, or the words, or even a combination of both.
Keep in mind, your goal is not to convince everyone else here to like your song. Instead, it’s to share a song that’s related to your spiritual life and journey as a form of testimony, just like Moses did with the Israelites. If you have a song like this, feel free to share it with the group now.
As leader, feel free to start by sharing a song of your own. Here are some examples of songs you could use: “The Revelation Song,” “Is He Worthy?” by Christ Tomlin , and “What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship . Keep in mind that you might not need to play the entire song for the group. Afterward, follow it up with a few words based on the Holy Spirit’s leading if you want, but try to keep it brief and encourage others to do as well. (If everyone takes a long time to introduce or follow up their song, this activity could take quite a while.)
A note from Steve Case: About eight years ago I rediscovered the book of Revelation in a new and living way. Instead of just seeing beasts and fear like I had before, I began to see a depiction of Jesus as our overwhelming master, king, sacrifice, and loving God I’d never noticed previously. About that same time a song simply called “The Revelation Song” was released. Kari Jobi was probably the best-known recording artist to sing it, but my favorite rendition of it is Meredith Andrews’ live performance at the Harvest Bible Chapel in Elgin, Illinois.
Because it’s a praise-style song and repeats a lot, the video is about six minutes long. For me, the lyrics are references to key phrases from Revelation and build to a worshipful response—a key theme of Revelation. My favorite part happens about 20 seconds around the 5-minute mark. The music builds to a crescendo and punctuates the lyrics that so perfectly reflect the feelings of my heart:
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord, God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise be to the King of kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You!
Music is potent. When Moses gave his final address about God’s instructions to his people, he included the Song of Moses. The first generation of Israelites had already heard a version when they crossed the Red Sea. The second generation heard a new version before they entered Canaan. And the last book of the Bible introduces the Song of Moses and the Lamb. What is your song of testimony—of your journey or some step along the way? Share it with someone else this week.
Today we shared songs that have special spiritual significance to us. Share your song with someone outside of Youth Sabbath School this week. It could be somebody your same age, someone older, and/or someone younger. Then ask them to share a song they would identify with their spiritual journey. If they haven’t thought of one yet, don’t make a big deal of it. Simply invite them to give it some thought and share it with you when they have identified one, whether that will be later that day, week, or even month.
BASED ON DEUTERONOMY 31:9-13
The book of Deuteronomy literally means “the second giving of the law.” In it, Moses shares God’s laws in summary form. Some may wonder why he repeated what he had already told the Israelites previously—like in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. We already studied the Ten Commandments God gave at Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20), so why does Moses give them again in Deuteronomy 5?
One reason could be because the Israelites’ forgot it so quickly when they created and worshipped the golden calf just days after God gave them the Ten Commandments. Another reason could be that everyone who was 20 years old and older had died since Mount Sinai (except for Caleb, Joshua, and Moses). This was the presentation of the Ten Commandments for the younger generation.
One part of the instructions Moses left with the Israelites before he died and before they entered Canaan was to do a public reading of God’s laws every seven years. You can read about it in Deuteronomy 31:9-13 (TLB).
9 Then Moses wrote out the laws he had already delivered to the people and gave them to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Ark containing the Ten Commandments of the Lord. Moses also gave copies of the laws to the elders of Israel. 10-11 The Lord commanded that these laws be read to all the people at the end of every seventh year—the Year of Release—at the Festival of Tabernacles, when all Israel would assemble before the Lord at the sanctuary.
12 “Call them all together,” the Lord instructed, “—men, women, children, and foreigners living among you—to hear the laws of God and to learn his will, so that you will reverence the Lord your God and obey his laws. 13 Do this so that your little children who have not known these laws will hear them and learn how to revere the Lord your God as long as you live in the Promised Land.”
Moses told the Israelites to read God’s entire law as a community at a national gathering known as the Feast of Tabernacles. That would mean reading at least the entire book of Deuteronomy. That would take some time! If you were to publicly read some of God’s laws, which law (or laws) would you choose, since we have so many more to choose from in the Scripture than Moses did when he wrote the first five books of the Bible?
Invite the participants to give their input on which law(s) they think should be read periodically at a special gathering of God’s people. Here are three short versions for them to choose from. Depending on the size of your group, have them do this individually, then discuss it in small groups. Once they have reached a conclusion, do a public reading of the laws they chose. Then make plans for them to do this in their families and/or with the entire church as well. You can download these three sets of laws below.
God has given his laws to his people multiple times. He instructed Moses to have the Israelites repeat a reading of those laws periodically as a community to strengthen their faith. This practice can be helpful for us today too, but often it can fall on deaf ears even when we do try it. When we hear a rerun of God’s laws, it’s important to keep our minds open to it and allow it to solidify our faith as a community.
Take the choice of the options provided for the “God’s Laws” handout and arrange to have a public reading of it. You could do this in your church, with your family, or both. Afterward, invite individuals to share their own paraphrases of different portions of God’s law, including how they have lived it in their own lives and how they want to continue living it. Conclude with prayers of commitment and request that God’s Spirit activate these laws in all our lives.
This is a bonus just for the youth leader—a quick tip and an illustration to enhance your youth leadership. You may already know this idea, have learned it through trial and error, or just need a quick reminder.
When someone says, “When I was your age…” it usually means they’re about to cherry-pick a memory from their past and hold it over a younger listener’s head. This is called selective memory, and people use it when they select things they want to remember happening in their lives (usually good things they did) and things they don’t (usually bad things they did). While it can be helpful to share one’s experience with young people, we should be careful never to do it in a way that exclusively makes us look good and them look bad. Neither view is completely accurate, and it separates generations rather than bringing them together.
If Sabbath School is just for us, we will spiritually die. We must share what we’ve been given, and we can do this both locally and globally. Listed below are several options you can put into practice over 3-4 weeks of reaching out.
Jesus told his disciples that they would “be witnesses” when they received power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Their witnessing would happen right where they were, and would spread out like rings when you throw a pebble into a pond. Here’s how you can make that happen by taking the words of Jesus and relating them to your Youth Sabbath School outreach and mission.
When you receive power from the Holy Spirit, you will be Christ’s witnesses in:
Jesus’ Day Today
Jerusalem Your Youth Sabbath School
Judea The church where you attend
Samaria The community around your church
To the ends of the world The world beyond your community
Much like Jesus’ love can cover our sins, paint can give many things a finished or fresh look!
Consider how painting the Youth Sabbath School room could help to make it look fresh and clean, as well as give the youth a chance to add their own personal touch. If you share this space with others, you’ll need to work with them to come to an agreement on the color(s), etc. There will be some cost. Often those who pay for the paint have significant say/influence in things, so encourage the youth to step up and earn the money to pay for the paint. And make the painting process a “painting party.” Remind the young people that most of the time spent painting a room is spent in preparation, which includes cleaning, scraping, taping, and covering before you actually paint. And don’t forget the cleanup! You might even be able to include a mural on one wall, or something that can be added to overtime as part of your Youth Sabbath School.
Just as the participants in your Youth Sabbath School can paint their room, they can ask and see if there’s a part of your church that needs a fresh coat of paint as well. Maybe it’s the bathrooms; maybe it’s one of the children’s Sabbath School rooms. If you have a church fellowship hall that gets used a lot, it probably needs fresh paint more often than other areas. Make the offer to paint whatever area is needed. Invite others to join, either by showing up to clean and paint, or by donating, or both. Make this intergenerational if you can, but even if others don’t show up, the youth can still paint other parts of the church. It’s their church, too. But be sure you get permission from the church board, which means going and meeting with them and presenting your idea for their approval. Hint: Work with a church board member in advance and have them present it with you so you have an automatic “in” from the start. Another option is to paint something at a nearby Adventist school. It is usually better to get painting projects done before the school year begins. You have only a week or two until that happens. But even if you don’t get it done now, you still have vacation times in the future to schedule it.
Open your eyes to what spaces in your community need a fresh coat of paint. Check with parks that are run by either the city or the county. They will have specifications and may need to provide supervision. If they’ve had bad experiences with volunteers in the past, they may also be hesitant to have volunteers “help” again. Developing a positive relationship might be the most important part of this endeavor. Park bathrooms often need a fresh coat of paint (remember the need to clean and prep in advance of putting on fresh paint). So might various outside walls of buildings, or parking curbs or playgrounds. If you’re turned down at one place, go in search of another. When you finish at one spot, consider moving to another one next month (or make this freshly painted spot your spot to maintain upkeep).
All over the world there are buildings or simply rooms in buildings that need to be painted. It can be a matter of nobody choosing to paint them, people being too busy, or perhaps nobody having the money to pay for paint and paint supplies. You may know of somebody in another part of the world who needs a little boost to get a building painted or freshly painted. Maranatha Volunteers International (Maranatha.org) has construction projects for short-term mission trips. Some of these are actually devoted to painting newly constructed churches or schools. For example, after putting in a concrete foundation and laying block walls, frequently those walls are stuccoed and then need to be painted. Some groups don’t think this is physical enough to be a mission trip, but it certainly gives a beautiful finished looks to newly constructed buildings. Maybe you can’t actually go on a short-term mission trip, but you could contact Maranatha and offer to donate for the paint supplies for one of the projects. Call Maranatha at 916-774-7700. | <urn:uuid:f9cf5258-ca24-4a58-868d-11c1b12b43dd> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.youthsabbathschoolideas.org/weekly-lessons/2019/august-3-2019 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337371.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003003804-20221003033804-00117.warc.gz | en | 0.97404 | 5,390 | 3.265625 | 3 |
NERO (37-68), Roman emperor 54-68, was born at Antium on the 15th of December 37. He was the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the younger, and his name was originally L. Domitius Ahenobarbus. His father died when Nero was scarcely three years old. In the previous year (39) his mother had been banished by order of her brother Caligula (Gaiis) on a charge of treasonable conspiracy, and Nero, thus early deprived of both parents, found shelter in the house of his aunt Domitia, where two slaves, a barber and a dancer, began his training. The emperor Claudius recalled Agrippina, who spent the next thirteen years in the determined struggle to win for Nero the throne which had been predicted for him. Her first decisive success was gained in 48 by the disgrace and execution of Messallina (q.v.), wife of Claudius. In 49 followed her own marriage with Claudius, and her recognition as his consort in the government.1 The Roman populace already looked with favour on Nero, as the grandson of Germanicus, but in 50 his claims obtained formal recognition from Claudius himself, who adopted him under the title of Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus2 Agrippina's next step was to provide a suitable training for her son. The scholar L. Annaeus Seneca was recalled from exile and appointed his tutor. On the 15th of December 51 Nero completed his fourteenth year, and Agrippina, in view of Claudius's failing health, determined to delay no longer his adoption of the toga virilis. The occasion was celebrated in a manner which seemed to place Nero's prospects of succession beyond doubt. He was introduced to the senate by Claudius himself. The proconsular imperium and the title of princeps juvenlutis were conferred upon him .3 He was specially admitted as an extraordinary member of the great priestly colleges; his name was included by the Arval Brethren in their prayers for the safety of the emperor and his house; at the games in the circus his appearance in triumphal dress contrasted significantly with the simple toga praetexta worn by Britannicus. During the next two years Agrippina followed this up with energy. Britannicus's leading partisans were banished or put to death, and the all important command of the praetorian guard was transferred to Afranius Burrus, a Gaul by birth, who had been the trusted agent first of Livia and then of Tiberius and Claudius. Nero himself was put prominently forward. The petitions addressed to the senate by the town of Bononia and by the communities of Rhodes and Ilium were gracefully supported by him in Latin and Greek speeches, and during Claudius's absence in 52 at the Latin festival it was Nero who, as praefect of the city,
administered justice in the forum. Early in 53 his marriage with Claudius's daughter Octavia drew still closer the ties which connected him with the imperial house. Agrippina determined to hasten the death of Claudius, and the absence, through illness, of the emperor's trusted freedman Narcissus, favoured her schemes. On the 13th of October 54 Claudius died, poisoned, as all our authorities declare, by her orders, and Nero was presented to the soldiers on guard as their new sovereign. From the steps of the palace he proceeded to the praetorian camp to receive the salutations of the troops, and thence to the senate-house, where he was promptly invested with all the honours, titles and powers of emperor.4
1. Tac. Ann. xii. 26, 36; see also Schiller, Nero, 67.
2. Tac. Ann. xii. 26; Zonaras xi. 10
3. Tac. Ann. xii. 41.
4. Tac. Ann. xii. 96; Suet. Nero, 8.
Agrippina's bold stroke had been completely successful. Only a few voices were raised for Britannicus; nor is there any doubt that Rome was prepared to welcome the new emperor with genuine enthusiasm. His prestige and his good qualities, carefully fostered by Seneca, made him popular, while his childish vanity, ungovernable selfishness and savage temper were as yet unsuspected. His first acts confirmed this favourable impression. He modestly declined the title of pater patriae; the memory of Claudius, and that of his own father Domitius were duly honoured. The senate listened withh delight to his promises to rule according to the maxims of Augustus, and to avoid the errors which had rendered unpopular the rule of his predecessor, while his unfailing clemency, liberality and affability were the talk of Rome. Much no doubt of the credit of all this is due to Seneca and Burrus. Seneca had seen from the first that the real danger with Nero lay in the savage vehemence of his passions, and he made it his chief aim to stave off by every means in his power the dreaded outbreak. The policy of indulging his tastes and helping him to enjoy the sweets of popularity without the actual burdens of government succeeded for the time. During the first five years of his reign, the golden quinquennium Neronis, little occurred to damp the popular enthusiasm. Nero's promises of constitutional moderation were amply fulfilled, and the senate found itself free to discuss and even to decide important administrative questions. Abuses were remedied, the provincials protected from oppression, and the burdens of taxation lightened. On the frontiers, thanks chiefly to Corbulo's energy and skill, no disaster occurred serious enough to shake the general confidence, and even the murder of Britannicus seems to have been accepted as a necessary measure of self defence. But Seneca's fear lest Nero's sleeping passions should once be roused were fully verified, and he seems to have seen all along where the danger lay, namely in Agrippina's imperious temper and insatiable love of power. The success of Seneca's own management of Nero largely depended on his being able gradually to emancipate the emperor from his mother's control. During the first few months of Nero's reign the chances of such an emancipation seemed remote, for he treated his mother with elaborate respect and consulted her on all affairs of state. In 55, however, Seneca found a powerful ally in Nero's passion for the beautiful freedwoman Acte, a passion which he deliberately encouraged. Agrippina's angry remonstrances served only to irritate Nero, and caresses equally failed. She then rashly tried intimidation and threatened to espouse the cause of Britannicus. Nero retaliated by poisoning Britannicus. Agrippina then tried to win over Nero's neglected wife Octavia, and to form a party of her own. Nero dismissed her guards, and placed her in a sort of honourable confinement (Tac. Ann. xiii. 12-20). During nearly three years she disappears from the history, and with her retirement things again for the time went smoothly. In 58, however, fresh cause for anxiety appeared,
when Nero was enslaved by Poppaea Sabina, a woman of a very different stamp from her predecessor. High-born, wealthy and accomplished, she was resolved to be Nero's wife, and set herself to remove the obstacles which stood in her way. Her first object was the final ruin of Agrippina, and by rousing Nero's jealousy and fear she induced him to seek her death, with the aid of a
freedman Anicetus, praefect of the fleet of Misenum. Agrippina was invited to Baiae, and after an affectionate reception, was conducted on board a vessel so constructed as, at a given signal, to fall to pieces. But Agrippina saved herself by swimming, and wrote to her son, announcing her escape, and affecting entire ignorance of the plot. A body of soldiers under Anicetus then surrounded her villa, and murdered her in her own chamber. Nero was horrorstruck at the enormity of the crime and terrified at its possible consequences. But a six months' residence in Campania, and the congratulations which poured in upon him from the neighbouring towns, where the report had been officially spread that Agrippina had fallen a victim to her treacherous designs upon the emperor, gradually restored his courage. In September 59 he re-entered Rome amid universal rejoicing. A prolonged carnival followed. Chariot races, musical and, dramatic exhibitions, games in the Greek fashion rapidly succeeded each other. In all the emperor was a prominent figure, but these revels at least involved no bloodshed, and were civilized compared with the gladiatorial shows.
A far more serious result of the death of Agrippina was the growing influence over Nero of Poppaea and her friends. In 62 Burrus died, it was said by poison, and Seneca retired from the unequal contest. Their place was filled by Poppaea, and the infamous Tigellinus, whose sympathy with Nero's sensual tastes had gained him the command of the praetorian guards in succession to Burrus. The haunting fear of conspiracy was skilfully used by them to direct Nero's suspicions against possible opponents. Cornelius Sulla, who had been banished to Massilia in 58, was put to death on the ground that his residence in Gaul was likely to arouse disaffection in that province, and a similar charge proved fatal to Rubellius Plautus, who had for two years been living in retirement in Asia .1 Nero's taste for blood thus whetted, Octavia was divorced, banished to the island of Pandateria and barbarously murdered. Poppaea's triumph was now complete. She was formally married to Nero; her head appeared on the coins side by side with his; and her statues were erected in the public places of Rome.
1. Tac. Ann. xiv. 59.
In the course of the year 61 Rome was startled by the news of a disaster in Britain. At the time of the Claudian invasion of Britain in A.D. 43 Prasutagus, the king of the Iceni, had concluded a treaty with Claudius, by which no doubt he recognized the suzerainty of Rome and was himself enrolled among "the allies and friends of the Roman people." The alliance was of value to Claudius, for the territory of the Iceni (Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire) lay immediately north of the new province and its capital town Colchester, and Prasutagus had loyally kept faith with Rome. But in A.D. 61 he died. leaving no male heir. His kingdom therefore lapsed to Rome, and Prasutagus, anxious that the transfer should be effected in an orderly way, divided his accumulated wealth between his two daughters and the emperor. His plan failed, for the local Roman officials acted as though the kingdom had been conquered in war; they seized on the property of the late king and his chiefs and insulted his family. Fearing that worse might follow when the kingdom should be annexed, and encouraged by the absence of the legate and his legions, the Iceni, led by Prasutagus's. daughter Boudicca (Boadicea) rose in revolt and were joined by the Trinobantes in Essex, who had been long subject to Rome and had their own grievances to redress. Colchester, since A.D. 5o a Roman colony, was sacked. The ninth legion which had hurried from Lincoln was cut to pieces, and the insurgents prepared to march on London. The news of the outbreak found the legate Suetonius Paulinus engaged in attacking Anglesey. His resolution was at once taken. At the head of such light troops as he could collect, he marched in haste along the Watling Street, leaving orders for the legions to follow. ough the tribes along the road were rising Suetonius succeeded in reaching London, only however to find himself too weak to hold it. He was obliged to fall back along the road by which he had come. London first, and then Verulam, were abandoned to the Britons. At last at some undefined point on the Watling Street his legions joined him. Thus reinforced he turned to face the enemy. The engagement was severe but, the Roman victory was decisive, and Roman authority was restored throughout central and southern Britain.
The profound impression produced in Rome by the "British disaster" was confirmed two years later in A.D. 63 by the partial destruction of Pompeii by an earthquake, and the news of the evacuation of Armenia by the Roman legions. A far deeper and more lasting impression was produced by the great fire in Rome. The fire broke out on the night of the 18th of July, 64, among the wooden booths at the south-east end of the Circus Maximus. Thence in one direction it rapidly spread over the Palatine and
Velia up to the low cliffs of the Esquiline, and in another it laid waste the Aventine, the Forum Boarium and Velabrum till it reached the Tiber and the solid barrier of the Servian wall. After burning fiercely for six days it suddenly started afresh in the northern quarter of the city and desolated the regions of the Circus Flaminius and the Via Lata, and by the time that it was finally quenched only four of the fourteen regiones remained untouched; three had been utterly destroyed and seven reduced to ruins. The conflagration is said by all authorities later than Tacitus to have been deliberately caused by Nero himself.1 But Tacitus, though he mentions the rumours, declares that its origin was uncertain, and in spite of such works as Profumo's Le fonti ed i tempi dello incendio Neroniano (1905), there is no proof of his guilt.2 By Nero's orders, the open spaces in the Campus Martius were utilized to give shelter to the homeless crowds, provisions were brought from Ostia and the price of corn lowered. In rebuilding the city every precaution was taken against the recurrence of such a calamity. Broad regular streets replaced the narrow winding alleys. The new houses were limited in height, built partly of hard stone and protected by open spaces and colonnades. The water-supply, lastly, was carefully regulated.
1. Tac. Ann. xv. 38; Suet. Nero, 38; Dio Cass. lxii. 16; Pliny, N.H. xvii. 5.
2. This work is a reply to C. Pascal's L'Incendio di Rome e i primi Cristiani (Milan, 1900), which throws the guilt on the Christians.
There is, however, no doubt that this great disaster told against Nero in the popular mind. It was regarded as a direct manifestation of the wrath of the gods, even by those who did not suspect the emperor. This impression no religious ceremonies, nor even the execution of a number of Christians, as convenient scapegoats, could altogether dispel. But Nero proceeded with the congenial work of repairing the damage. In addition to the rebuilding of the streets, he erected a splendid palace, the "golden house," for himself. The wonders of his Domus aurea were remembered and talked of long after its partial demolition by Vespasian. It stretched from the Palatine across the low ground, afterwards occupied by the Colosseum, to the Esquiline. Gold, precious stones and Greek masterpieces adorned its walls. Most marvellous of all were the grounds in which it stood, with their meadows and lakes, their shady woods and their distant views. To defray the enormous cost, Italy and the provinces, says Tacitus, were ransacked, and in Asia and Achaia especially the rapacity of the imperial commissioners recalled the days of Mummius and of Sulla.1 It was the first occasion on which the provincials had suffered from Nero's rule, and the discontent it caused helped to weaken his hold over them at the very moment when the growing dissatisfaction in Rome was gathering to a head. Early in 65 Nero was panic-stricken by the discovery of a formidable conspiracy involving such men as Faenius Rufus, Tigellinus's colleague in the prefecture of the praetorian guards, Plautius Lateranus, one of the consuls elect, the poet Lucan, and, lastly, not a few of the tribunes and centurions of the praetorian guard itself. Their chosen leader, whom they destined to succeed Nero, was C. Calpurnius Piso (q.v.), a handsome, wealthy and popular noble, and a boon companion of Nero himself. The plan to murder Nero was frustrated by a freedman Milichus, who, in the hope of a large reward, disclosed the whole plot. Piso, Faenius Rufus, Lucan and many of their less prominent accomplices, and even Seneca himself (though there seems to have been no evidence of his complicity) were executed.
1. Tac. Ann. xv. 42; Suet. Nero, 31; cf. Friedlander, Sittengeschichte, iii. 67-69.
But, though largesses and thanksgivings celebrated the suppression of the conspiracy, and the round of games and shows was renewed with even increased splendour, the effects of the shock were visible in the long list of victims who during the next few months were sacrificed to his restless fears and resentment. Conspicuous among them was Paetus Thrasea, whose unbending virtue had long made him distasteful to Nero, and who was now suspected, possibly with reason, of sympathy with the conspirators. The death of Poppaea in the autumn of 65 was probably not lamented by any one but her husband, but the general gloom was deepened by a pestilence, caused, it seems, by the overcrowding at the time of the fire.
Early, however, in the summer of 66, the Parthian prince Tiridates visited Italy. This event was a conspicuous tribute to the ability both as soldier and statesman of Cn. Domitius Corbulo. As long ago as 54 the news reached Rome that the Parthian king Vologaeses had expelled the king recognized by Rome from Armenia and installed in his place his own brother Tiridates. Orders were at once issued to concentrate all available forces on the Cappadocian frontier under Corbulo, the first soldier of his day. After some time spent in making his army efficient, Corbulo invaded Armenia and swept victoriously through the country. Armenia was rescued and Corbulo proposed that Tiridates should become king of Armenia on condition of his receiving his crown as a gift from Nero. But the government in Rome had a plan of its own, and a certain Tigranes, long resident in Rome, but a stranger to the Armenians, was sent out, and Corbulo was obliged reluctantly to seat him on the Armenian throne. Tigranes's position, always insecure, soon became untenable, and it became necessary for Rome to intervene once more. A Roman force under Caesennius Paetus was sent to restore Tigranes and re-establish Roman predominance. Paetus, however, was no Corbulo. He was defeated, and Corbulo, now legate of Syria, was obliged to come to his rescue. The result was the final triumph of Corbulo's policy. Tiridates agreed to accept the crown of Armenia from the hands of Nero. In royal state he travelled to Italy, and the ceremony of investiture was performed at Rome with the utmost splendour. Delighted with this tribute to his greatness, Nero for a moment dreamt of rivalling Alexander. Expeditions were talked of to the Caspian Sea and Ethiopia, but Nero was no soldier and quickly turned to a more congenial field. He had already, in 64, appeared on, the stage before the half-Greek public of Naples. But his mind was now set on challenging the applause of the Greeks themselves in the ancient home of art. Towards the end of 66 he arrived in Greece with a retinue of soldiers, courtiers, musicians and dancers. The spectacle presented by Nero's visit was unique .1 He went professedly as an enthusiastic worshipper of Greek art and a humble candidate for the suffrages of Greek judges. At each of the great festivals, which to please him were for once crowded into a single year, he entered in regular form for the various competitions, scrupulously conformed to the tradition and rules of the arena, and awaited in nervous suspense the verdict of the umpires. The dexterous Greeks humoured him to the top of his bent. Everywhere the imperial competitor was victorious, and crowded audiences importuned him to display his talents. The emperor protested that only the Greeks were fit to hear him, and rewarded them when he left by the bestowal of immunity from the land tax on the whole province, and by the gift of the Roman franchise; he also planned and actually commenced the cutting of a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. If we may believe report, Nero found time in the intervals of his artistic triumphs for more vicious excesses. The stories of his mock marriage with Sporus, his execution of wealthy Greeks for the sake of their money, and his wholesale plundering of the temples were evidently part of the accepted tradition about him in the time of Suetonius, and are at least credible. Far more certainly true is his ungrateful treatment of Domitius Corbulo, who, when he landed at Cenchreae, fresh from his
successes in Armenia, was met by an order for his instant
execution and at once put an end to his life.
1. Suet. Nero, 19-24; Dio Cass. Epit. lxiii. 8-16.
Meanwhile the general dissatisfaction was coming to a head, as we may infer from the urgency with which the imperial freedman Helius insisted upon Nero's return to Italy. Far more serious was the disaffection which now showed itself in the rich and warlike provinces of the west. In northern Gaul, early in 68, the standard of revolt was raised by Julius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, and himself the head of an ancient and noble Celtic family. South of the Pyrenees, P. Sulpicius Galba,
governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and Poppaea's former husband, Marcus Salvius Otho, governor of Lusitania, followed Vindex's example. At first, however, fortune seemed to favour Nero. It is very probable that Vindex had other aims in view than the deposition of Nero and the substitution of a fresh emperor in his place, and that the liberation of northern Gaul from Roman rule was part of his plan.1 If this was so, it is easy to understand both the enthusiasm with which the chiefs of northern Gaul rallied to the standard of a leader belonging to their own race, and the opposition which Vindex encountered from the Roman colony of Lugdunum and the legions on the Rhine. For it is certain that the latter at any rate were not animated by loyalty to Nero. Though they defeated Vindex and his Celtic levies at Vesontio (Besancon), their next step was to break the statues of Nero and offer the imperial purple to their own commander Virginius Rufus. He declined their offer, but appealed to them to declare for the senate and people of Rome. Meanwhile in Spain Galba had been saluted imperator by his legions, had accepted the title, and was already on his march towards Italy. On the road the news met him that Vindex had been crushed by the army of the Rhine, and for the moment he resolved to abandon his attempt. Meanwhile, Nero had reluctantly left Greece, but returned to Italy only to renew his revels. When on the 19th of March the news reached him at Naples of the rising in Gaul, he allowed a week to elapse before he could tear himself away from his pleasures, and then contented himself with proscribing Vindex, and setting a price on his head. The revolts in Spain and Germany terrified him too late into something like energy. The senate almost openly intrigued against him, and the populace were silent or hostile. The fidelity of the praetorian sentinels even was more than doubtful. When finally the palace guards forsook their posts, Nero despairingly stole out of Rome to seek shelter in a freedman's villa some four miles off. There he heard of the senate's proclamation of Galba as emperor, and of the sentence of death passed on himself. On the approach of the horsemen sent to drag him to execution, he collected sufficient courage to save himself by suicide. Nero died on the 9th of June 68, in the thirty-first year of his age and the fourteenth of his reign, and his remains were deposited by the faithful hands of Acte in the family tomb of the Domitii on the Pincian Hill. With his death ended the line of the Caesars, and Roman imperialism entered upon a new phase. His statues were broken, his name everywhere erased, and his golden house demolished; yet, in spite of all, no Roman emperor has left a deeper mark upon subsequent tradition. The Roman populace for a long time reverencedd his memory as that of an open-handed patron, and in Greece the recollections of his magnificence; and his enthusiasm for art, were still fresh when the traveller Pausanias visited the country a century later. The belief that he had not really died, but would return again to confound his foes, was long prevalent, not only in the remoter provinces, but even in Rome itself; and more than one pretender was able to collect a following by assuming the name of the last of the race of Augustus. More lasting still was the implacable hatred of those who had suffered from his cruelties. Roman literature, faithfully reflecting the sentiments of the aristocratic salons of the capital, while it almost canonized those who had been his victims, fully avenged their wrongs by painting Nero as a monster of wickedness. In Christian tradition he even appears as the mystic Antichrist, who was destined to come once again to trouble the saints. Even in the middle ages, Nero was still the very incarnation of splendid iniquity, while the belief lingered obstinately that he had only disappeared for a time, and as late as the 11th century his restless spirit was supposed to haunt the slopes of the Pincian Hill.
1. Suet. Nero, 40; Dio Cass. Epit. lxiii. 22; Plut. Galba, 4; cf. also Schiller's Nero, pp. 261 seq. ; Mommsen in Hermes, xiii. 90.
The chief ancient authorities for Nero's life and reign are Tacitus (Annals, xiii.-xvi., ed. Furneaux), Suetonius, Dio Cassius (Epit. lxii., lxiii.), and Zonaras (Ann. xi.). The most important modern work is that of B. W. Henderson, The Life and Principate of the Emperor Nero (London, 1903; see an important notice in Class. Rev. vol. xviii. p. 57), which contains complete bibliography of ancient and modern writers; see also H. Schiller's Nero, and Geschichte d. Kaiserzeit; Lehmann, Claudius und Nero; histories of Rome in general. (H. F. P.) | <urn:uuid:d6e57a5a-7d27-46d2-bc05-20d1b929e897> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.humanitiesweb.org/spa/rai/ID/1804 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661763.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00271-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985114 | 5,785 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Natural History of the Kitchen: Stoves
Welcome to Natural History of the Kitchen, by EMD's Stephanie Butler. Each week, Stephanie explores the background of an appliance, gadget or product that helped to make cooking what it is today. This week: Stoves.
If you're like most Americans, you probably don't think about your stove much. Sure, you know the difference between gas and electric, and you might have even passed a few stray minutes staring into the window of a fancy kitchen store, imagining yourself at a professional-grade range complete with flattop and water feature. You'd have a very different attitude if you had to hunch over a fireplace at five in the morning, or light an antique gas range before your morning coffee. This week we're taking a look at the history of the stove, from wood burning to electric.
Early American kitchens were centered around the hearth, a monster of a fireplace that could dominate entire rooms: some were so large that seats were built in around the edges. Cooking fires were continually fueled throughout the day, by hickory and applewood long before they were trendy fuels for smoked foods. After supper, cooks kept fading embers alive with a brass cover called a curfew (our modern use of the word comes from this antique appliance). The dying fire was kept alive until the next morning, when the stoking/feeding/cooking cycle began anew.
Huge, hot, and very smoky, colonial stoves were unpractical at best. They were still used up until the 1790s, when a Massachusetts-born physicist named Count Rumford noticed the inefficiency of the fireplace and invented a better alternative. The Rumford stove had shallower fireplaces, and a more streamlined chimney that forced out smoke but not heat. Across the new United States and Britain, bricklayers were kept busy making Rumford's modifications to existing fireplaces. A Rumford fireplace became a sort of status symbol: Henry David Thoreau mentioned it, as did Jane Austin, referring to the "elegance of modern taste" in her book Northanger Abbey. Thomas Jefferson even had them installed at Monticello. [Photograph: squidoo.com]
Cooking with Gas (and Electricity)
The first gas stove was patented in England in 1826, but it took years for infrastructure to catch up with the promise of gas cooking. At the World's Fair in London in 1851, a number of gas stoves were exhibited, but gas wasn't routinely piped into homes until late in the century. By the time WWI came around, the new gas ovens permanently extinguished fireplace cooking.
Electric stoves also have a surprisingly long history. A Canadian named Thomas Ahearn invented the electric cook top in the late 19th century, and became the first person to cook an entire meal on the range in 1892, which he then delivered personally to waiting eaters at the Windsor Hotel in Ottawa. Like gas fifty years before, the new stoves were forced to wait while technology caught up to them. When cities got electricity around the Depression, the ease and simplicity of electric cooking caught on.
Creamed Celery with Pecans
This is a look back at the fireplaces, pokers, and bellows of yore, with a trip to the King's Arms Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia for Creamed Celery with Pecans.
- 4 cups celery, cut diagonally in ½-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup pecan halves
- buttered breadcrumbs
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease a 1 ½-quart casserole.
Boil the celery in enough water to cover until tender; drain. Melt the butter over medium heat; stir in the flour and slowly add the milk to make a cream sauce, stirring until thick and smooth. Add the salt and well-drained celery. Spoon into the prepared casserole, top with pecans, and cover with buttered breadcrumbs.
Bake at 400° F. for 15 minutes.
- Install a genuine Rumford Stove in your home! Bellows not included.
- This October, take a colonial cooking class in Connecticut.
- An article on colonial foodways in Williamsburg, and the way docents and artisans recreate them today.
- A great piece from Plow and Hearth detailing how to cook on woodstoves and fireplaces. | <urn:uuid:93f13724-a56d-4821-8680-64b62bd8c7ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.eatmedaily.com/2010/05/natural-history-of-the-kitchen-stoves/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386164981569/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204134941-00070-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961408 | 940 | 2.875 | 3 |
Pesticides & Health
In the United States, the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates around 10,000 and 20,000 agricultural-related poisoning and injury incidents occur through skin exposure and absorption. A growing body of evidence shows long-term health effects of pesticides, including neurological issues and some cancers. Special concerns are directed toward children whose pesticide exposure and absorption rates are greater due to their size and developing systems.
PNASH PESTICIDE RESOURCES & TOOLS
- Practical Solutions for Pesticide Safety (English & Spanish)
- Download a fact sheet of this page (English pdf)
- Take Home Exposure (Maria Tchong, Kit Galvin, Richard Fenske, pps presentation in Spanish)
- Risk Factors for Pesticide Exposure (Agricultural Safety Day, Yakima, WA February 20, 2008 English Session: Ofelio Borges and Jon Hofmann, Spanish Session: Matthew Keifer and Flor Servin, English pps presentation)
- Minimizing Worker and Family Exposures to Agricultural Pesticides: Effective Workplace Interventions (EPA Pesticide Health and Safety Conference October, 2003: Kit Galvin, Rich Fenske, Marcy Harrington, and Maria Tchong)
- The Long Term Effects of Pesticide Exposure on Human Health: An Update on Recent Studies (Helen Murphy, pps presentation)
- Pesticide Diagnostic Testing: Give Me a Test: I’ll Give You a Diagnosis (2010 Western Migrant Stream Forum: Matthew Keifer, Amy K. Liebman, and Barbara Morrissey)
- Cholinesterase Inhibition, Good Fruit Grower Magazine | March 2009
- Ag Study Offers Data on Pesticides, Cancer Western Farmer-Stockman | January 2008
- Take Heed in Contact With OP Pesticides, Western Farmer-Stockman | September 2007
Pesticide Worker Education Packet - Make Your Own!
- Aunque Cerca...Sano (in Spanish) is a pesticide related comic book available on the Migrant Clinician's Network web site.
- La Loteria de los Pesticides (in Spanish) is distributed through the University of California IPM Program.
- Poco Veneno...¿No Mata? (in Spanish) is a pesticide related comic book available on the Migrant Clinician's Network web site.
- Protect Yourself from Pesticides - Guide for Agricultural Workers (bilingual in English and Spanish) from the US EPA(pdf)
- WPS Jeopardy is a bilingual game (English and Spanish) from WSU's Pesticide Education Program. It is an easy and fun way to reinforce pesticide safety training. To order a copy of Pesticide Jeopardy contact the PNASH Center at email@example.com(800) 330-0827. A limited number of games are available.
Or download and create your own copy: | <urn:uuid:86add600-6aac-413d-a807-8ae025d74740> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://depts.washington.edu/pnash/pesticides_health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422122276676.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124175756-00079-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.840183 | 618 | 3 | 3 |
IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE — WATER RIGHTS AND RECLAMATION
APPROPRIATION OF WATER — PERMITS, CERTIFICATES, AND LICENSES — SURVEY
42-230. Definitions. (a) "Ground water" is all water under the surface of the ground whatever may be the geological structure in which it is standing or moving.
(1) All ground water having a temperature of greater than eighty-five (85) degrees Fahrenheit and less than two hundred twelve (212) degrees Fahrenheit in the bottom of a well shall be classified and administered as a low temperature geothermal resource pursuant to section 42-233, Idaho Code.
(2) All ground water having a temperature of two hundred twelve (212) degrees Fahrenheit or more in the bottom of a well shall be classified as a geothermal resource pursuant to section 42-4002, Idaho Code, and shall be administered as a geothermal resource pursuant to chapter 40, title 42, Idaho Code.
(b) "Well" is an artificial excavation or opening in the ground more than eighteen (18) feet in vertical depth below land surface by which ground water of any temperature is sought or obtained.
(c) "Well driller" is any person or group of persons who excavate or open a well or wells for compensation or otherwise upon the land of the well driller or upon other land. Well driller does not include those persons who construct a well on their own property for their own use without the aid of any power driven mechanical equipment.
(d) "Well drilling" or "drilling" for purposes of this chapter is the act of constructing a new well or deepening or modifying an existing well by any percussion, rotary, boring, digging, jetting, or augering method.
(e) "Water right" is the legal right, however acquired, to the use of water for beneficial purposes.
(f) "Operator" is the employee of the well driller who, through his work at the drilling site, causes the well to be drilled.
(g) "Low temperature geothermal resource well" means a well which is capable of producing a low temperature geothermal resource from which fluids can be produced which have value by virtue of the heat contained therein.
[42-230, added 1951, ch. 200, sec. 5, p. 423; am. 1970, ch. 187, sec. 3, p. 541; am. 1971, ch. 149, sec. 1, p. 739; am. 1980, ch. 209, sec. 1, p. 479; am. 1987, ch. 347, sec. 2, p. 743; am. 1990, ch. 319, sec. 3, p. 872.] | <urn:uuid:3228efdf-f6cd-4afb-bb72-acea826937fd> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title42/T42CH2/SECT42-230/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00377.warc.gz | en | 0.901888 | 587 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Emerging from a period of strong censorship under military dictatorship, it is only in the last decade that access to information as a right (in its different forms) has become a serious concern for the Chilean government and society in general. Access to public information and the consequences of intellectual property rights are now the topics of ongoing debates.
New legislation regarding access to public information has recently been adopted, creating challenges in its implementation for government, citizens, the media, civil society and the different actors in this arena. With very concentrated and monopolised traditional media, the internet and other new information and communications technologies (ICTs) have provoked an important break with the past, opening up new possibilities to amplify the diversity and pluralism of voices. A very strong debate over intellectual property rights and data protection in new media platforms has emerged in the last two years, raising the need to update old legislation relevant to the issues. As in other countries, positions are divided between those sectors wanting to reinforce copyright and those that defend the “fair use” and “public domain” approaches.
Chile lacks a public policy on access to information. From 1973 to 1990, the country was governed by a military dictatorship with severe constraints on human rights, including communication rights and access to information. When the Constitution of 1980 was adopted, it emphasised economic liberties and a free market, instead of social, economic and cultural rights. Public transparency and access to information were not mentioned in the new constitution.
There have been some successes in dealing with censorship. However, there have been fewer successes in dealing with data privacy and intellectual property, and ongoing work on public transparency, off and online.
Since 1999, Chile has had a personal data protection act that regulates the processing of personal information by both the public and private sector. However, the European Union (EU) has categorised Chile as a non-secure country, because the data protection act does not contain restrictions for cross-border flow of personal data to other countries, and the country does not have a data protection authority. This year (2009), the Chilean government introduced a draft data protection act that follows EU and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards.
The copyright act, adopted in the early 1970s, does not guarantee access to or use of public works, because their copyright is owned by the respective public service. There is no adequate copyright exception that authorises access by citizens, even for non-profit purposes. There is also no law that guarantees access to and use of copyrighted works for educational purposes, including e‑learning. In May 2007 the government introduced draft legislation that modified the current act by setting norms regarding the responsibility of internet service providers (ISPs) for copyright infringement, new copyright exceptions and limitations, and norms related to piracy and judicial procedures.
In August 2006, the government had established standards that state administration websites must follow. The standards require that the websites ensure the availability and accessibility of information and the proper protection of personal data. In January 2008, the government adopted the Digital Development Strategy, a working plan to build the information society in Chile from 2007-2012. The strategy includes the idea of adopting a new set of laws on data protection, cyber crime and intellectual property, among others. As part of this strategy, the government is promoting local government services online, as well as an electronic register of services and service providers (such as notaries and a real estate register).
In August 2008 a new law dealing with access to public information was adopted, which will become effective in April 2009. This law significantly strengthens citizen control and accountability. The law recognises most of the principles established by the OECD recommendations on the matter. Additionally, the new law creates the Transparency Council, a public and independent entity that supervises the fulfilment of the law. This includes punishing any infringements, resolving complaints, and making recommendations to the president and the Congress on the matter.
Today, the main criticism against the Chilean media industry (and the role of the government in the sector) is the concentration of ownership. This has had a pernicious effect on public deliberation as well as on accessing content and information. In December 1999, the so-called Transparency Act secured the right to access state-held information, with some exceptions. However, it was only in August 2005 that a constitutional modification was published guaranteeing access to state-held information.
There are many questions emerging regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the new access to information legislation. There are some grey areas, especially in how information is being made accessible, the process of requesting the information, and how it is provided.
Civil society organisations like Proacceso, CIPER Chile, the freedom of expression programme at the University of Chile, and the NGO coalition ACCION have been monitoring and evaluating the mechanisms for accessing information, and educating civil society leaders (especially at the local level) and journalists in how to use the new legal framework.
The Transparency Council is also monitoring how public services, ministries and state secretaries make their information accessible through websites. The Council is working on the development of an electronic platform that will facilitate online access, regardless of the operating system used. However, it remains necessary to modify the intellectual property rights act to guarantee the appropriate reuse of state documents.
Current debate about intellectual property legislation has included discussions on what to protect, piracy and illegal distribution, how to protect copyright holders, and how to ensure public access and fair use of content. In many universities or public schools it is common to have access to photocopies of books, since many students cannot afford them because value-added tax (VAT) is included in the final price, making them very expensive to buy. Another practical example is the case of public libraries for blind people where it is common to have access to audio books that in most cases do not have legal authorisation to use the original material. In these cases, being able to access e‑books or audio books through electronic online libraries for free would improve the situation.
Here positions have been divided. On the one hand there is the private sector, and related copyright organisations working in the music and entertainment industry, which want to ensure the protection of their works and the enforcement of the existing legal and regulatory framework that punishes illegal downloading, or the illegal distribution of copyrighted digital content. On the other hand there are citizen’s movements that claim their right to access cultural productions and information, based on the “fair use” or “public domain” approach, and reject the idea that people are committing a crime when they download, share or copy content from websites or peer-to-peer networks.
In July 2009, the Chilean Senate proposed the introduction of “fair uses” for educational, academic and research purposes, but the proposed text has not been approved yet.
Over the coming years, the government should concentrate its efforts on the implementation of free trade agreements with the United States and EU, and adopt public policies according to the requirements of the OECD in order to become a member. This situation will imply an awareness of global debates and trends.
There is an impressive growth in the number of open access and open culture initiatives, most of them related to universities (e.g., access to theses, websites and journals), but also in media blogs. Several new net labels are creating new distribution platforms for independent musical groups and bands. Most of these initiatives use the Creative Commons licence, available in Chile since 2005. Several public service websites have also adopted Creative Commons licences, such as the Library of the National Congress and the website for the Modernisation of State Programme.
Because of these developments, the country has a good opportunity to improve and develop a high quality legal framework in the area of accessing online information and intellectual property rights. Political will, more knowledge in the area and a civil society prepared to take action are critical ingredients to leveraging this opportunity.
While important improvements have been discussed and implemented in national law relating to access to public information, there are still two main challenges: improving the enforcement of the current legislation, and citizens’ awareness of the right to access information and its value as a public good (and not only a commodity that can be purchased). Education to strengthen public advocacy from civil society and citizens groups must be developed, as well as a strong information campaign at the national level in order to decentralise the current debate.
A critical problem in the Chilean legal system is the lack of public authorities that supervise the adequate fulfilment of legislation, especially those laws related to civil rights and public liberties. This is the case, for example, in a decree related to public services websites. In these cases, those affected can sue, but this is a highly expensive procedure. The Transparency Council is a newcomer in this field, but its capacity is limited. There is also a need for a body to supervise the data protection act, as well as citizen rights when it comes to accessing personal data.
Law 20.285 on Public Transparency and Access to State Administration Information, published 20 August 2008:
reports and legislative discussion about the new act are available at | <urn:uuid:b5e761f8-619e-49df-ba30-6b1092e1f7a7> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://www.giswatch.org/country-report/20/chile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982965886.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200925-00255-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940994 | 1,847 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Now is a great time to get out and take a look at your soybean fields and do some scouting for soybean aphids. If they are present, you will see very small pale green insects on the underside of the soybean leaves. Look at the top newer leaf growth first. Check the end of this article for threshold levels.
Soybean aphids have been around now for a few years. We have learned a lot about them since then. They were particularly devastating in 2003 when they had their first real year of infestation in south-central Minnesota. Since then we have been developing strategies to control them. However, research continues to see what we can do to control them without having to use as much insecticide as we have in the past.
Soybeans originated in China and other parts of Asia. They were imported here many years ago because of their versatility and many uses both as livestock feed and human food. For many years soybean plants were used as hay on area farms. For the past 40 years or so they have become an important crop and most farms have significant acreages of soybeans.
Soybean aphids made the jump from China within the past ten or so years. No one is absolutely sure just how they made this jump. The problem here is that while the aphids were able to make the transition, the insect predators that help control them in their native land were not able to make the jump and thus soybean aphids have been able to cause a lot of problems and have not had as many predators to help control population as are needed. In the Asian countries that raise soybeans, soybean aphids are almost none existent or at very low numbers due to these predators. One predator that is here (in the U.S.) in great numbers is Asian Lady Beetles. These insects look like and are related to the common Lady Bug. They are more aggressive and when we have a year where we have a lot of soybean aphids, we will see a lot of these insects. Most homeowner, especially in rural areas can tell you that they can be a real nuisance especially in the fall of the year when they come out of the fields and are looking for a place to over winter. They will look for a place to spend the winter and often times will come into your house and make a mess.
So where does that leave us in 2011? Well, the aphids are definitely here. If you haven't checked your fields to determine whether or not you have aphids, now is the time to do so. The threshold that we are looking at is 250 aphids per plant. This may be less (or more) than you think. It is not necessary to count each one. If there are a lot of aphids scattered around the plant, it is probably time to spray. Scouting is necessary because the kind of typical summer weather that we have is not always conducive to aphid survival. Aphids need warm weather and moisture, but they have a fairly narrow range of temperatures before funguses can set in and kill most or all of the population. Aphids are incredibly resilient. As a matter of fact, aphids are all females and are born pregnant. They can have many babies in a few days and can double and quadruple their populations in just a few days. However, this can also turn around just as quickly as the weather changes and temperatures and moisture levels allow aphid levels to plummet. That is why you need to spend some time in your fields looking at plants and seeing what is actually out there. | <urn:uuid:2b734c26-8fd8-4513-917e-21a24dc36c00> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.nujournal.com/page/content.detail/id/525298/Soybean-Aphids---2011--Check-your-fields.html?nav=5001 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257825124.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071025-00184-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981792 | 725 | 3.171875 | 3 |
BKSB Basic, Key and Functional skills assessments
This is one of many Harvard references to useful online references that I used in the Level 5 Maths ADTLLS, Meeting a learner’s needs / case study assignment (Part of Module 1: Approaches to Mathematics learning and teaching).
BKSB. (2008), Interactive Initial Assessment. Viewed 29 October 2008, http://www.bksblive.co.uk
Here’s how I used the reference in my essay:
IA (initial assessment) in September showed conflicting results (appendix A). On-screen numeracy IA (BKSB, 2008) suggested that student X was working towards E2 (Entry 2) whereas paper-based IA (Tools Library, 2008) described X as ‘working towards Entry 1’ for both literacy and numeracy. Such disparate results are unsurprising: BKSB assessment includes audio and non-readers can access each question.
The other reference in this excerpt is:
Tools Library. (2008), Skills for Life Assessment Materials, Standard Initial Assessment (literacy and numeracy). Viewed 29 October 2008, http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/toolslibrary
See our separate Tools Library listing for more information. | <urn:uuid:d1d7060c-0abb-4a6f-ab57-2724f67b21a2> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://www.skillsworkshop.org/node/3624 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802770324.129/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075250-00090-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.891319 | 265 | 3.25 | 3 |
Primary versus secondary gushing and assay procedures used to assess malt/beer gushing potential.
MBAA TQ vol. 33, no. 4, 1996, pp. 229-235. VIEW ARTICLE
The causes and prevention of beer gushing are discussed on the basis of a review of the literature. The author distinguishes between "primary" gushing, associated with the use of malt made from barley (or wheat) contaminated by mould fungi, especially certain species of the genus Fusarium, and presumed to be caused by some substance (still unidentified at the time of writing) produced either by the mould or by the effects of mould infection on the barley grain's own biochemistry, and "secondary" gushing caused by solid particles or adsorbed gas residues acting as nuclei for bubble formation, which may arise from various sources (dust contamination of containers, faulty filtration, haze particles developing in aged beer, etc.). In primary gushing, the bubble nuclei are composed of a surface active material (thought to be the unknown mould product) forming a pellicle enclosing some carbon dioxide gas. While agitation is necessary to trigger primary gushing, and it can be controlled to some extent by repasteurizing or chilling the remaining containers in an affected batch of beer, the only reliable means of prevention is to avoid the use of mould contaminated barley in malting and brewing. Methods for evaluating the likelihood of gushing on the basis of malt, wort or beer analyses are described. While most of these involve the physical testing of malt extracts, worts or beers after treatments intended to accelerate the development of the gushing factor if it is present, the Carlsberg Brewery in Denmark subjects barley and malt samples to a selective plating procedure to detect Fusarium contamination, and the brewery's scientists have also developed an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit for detecting antigens arising from the current or former presence of Fusarium (although it is pointed out that some species in other mould genera, e.g. Aspergillus, can also cause primary gushing, but would not be detected by this test). The presence in malt of ergosterol and/or of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), which are products of mould infection, is regarded by the author as the most reliable indicator (though still not as reliable as the industry requires) of a possible propensity towards gushing.
Keywords : analysis barley beer contamination fungi gushing malt prospect wort | <urn:uuid:4dcd5dea-3df9-4b79-b23d-a6f8e7627130> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.mbaa.com/publications/tq/tqPastIssues/1996/Abstracts/tq96ab29.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507445159.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005725-00244-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933371 | 515 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. It is the principal cause of death from cancer among women. A according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 500,000 deaths from breast cancer was reported globally in 2012 and the prevalence and mortality has increasing.
In 2016, an estimated 246,660 cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. alone. So no matter who you are or where you live, understanding breast cancer is important. But the most important thing to know is this: a diagnosis of Breast Cancer is not a death sentence. Breast cancer can be treated, when diagnosed early. The Catche here is EARLY.
Breast Cancer?Breast cancer occurs when normal Breast Cells divide and grow abnormally without their normal control. What triggers this abnormal behavior of the cells remain elusive to scientist and research is ongoing to unravel this puzzle. If the abnormal cells grow inside the milk ducts, but do not spread to nearby tissue, the condition is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Invasive breast cancer occurs when cancer cells spread to grow beyond the ducts, spreading to local, regional and distant organs. Invasive breast cancer that spreads to other parts of the body is called metastatic breast cancer. The target organs for mastitis are;
The warning signs of breast cancer are not the same for all women. The most common signs are a change in the look or feel of the breast, a change in the look or feel of the nipple and nipple discharge. Due to the use of regular mammography screening, most breast cancers in the developed countries are found at an early stage, before any clinicalism. However, not all breast cancers are found through mammography. If you have any of the warning signs described below, see a health care provider.
In some cases, these changes are not cancer.
For example, breast pain is more common with benign breast conditions than with breast cancer.
However, the only way to know for sure is to see a doctor or breast health nurse.
Early Detection And Prompt Action Is Equal To Prevention.
Breast lumps or lumpiness
Many women may find that their breasts feel lumpy.
Breast tissue naturally has a bumpy texture. Some women have more lumpiness in their breasts than others. In most cases, this lumpiness is no cause to worry.
If the lumpiness can be felt throughout the breast and feels like your other breast, then it is probably normal breast tissue.
Lumps that feel harder or different from the rest of the breast (or the other breast) or that feel like a change should be checked. This type of lump may be a sign of breast cancer or a benign breast condition (such as a cyst or fibroadenoma).
Learn more about benign breast conditions.
See a health care provider if you:
- Find a new lump (or any change) that feels different from the rest of your breast
- Find a new lump (or any change) that feels different from your other breast
- Feel something that is different from what you felt before
- It’s best to see a provider if you are unsure about a new lump (or any change).
Although a lump (or any change) may be nothing to worry about, you will have the peace of mind it was checked.
Fluid leaking from your nipple (nipple discharge) can be troubling, but it’s rarely a sign of breast cancer.
Discharge can be your body’s natural reaction when the nipple is squeezed.
Signs of a more serious condition (such as breast cancer) include discharge that:
- Occurs without squeezing the nipple
- Occurs in only one breast
- Is bloody , blood stained, greenish, black etc. (not milky)
Nipple discharge can also be caused by an infection or other condition that needs treatment. If you have any nipple discharge, see a health care provider | <urn:uuid:13826920-e3d9-47f8-ae66-f4b34e85d9f5> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://breastcareinternational.org/breast-cancer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572408.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20220816151008-20220816181008-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.935418 | 836 | 3.4375 | 3 |
"False Negative Reactions" is a descriptor in the National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary thesaurus,
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Descriptors are arranged in a hierarchical structure,
which enables searching at various levels of specificity.
Negative test results in subjects who possess the attribute for which the test is conducted. The labeling of diseased persons as healthy when screening in the detection of disease. (Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)
|False Negative Reactions
- False Negative Reactions
- False Negative Reaction
- Reaction, False Negative
- Reactions, False Negative
Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more general than "False Negative Reactions".
Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more specific than "False Negative Reactions".
This graph shows the total number of publications written about "False Negative Reactions" by people in this website by year, and whether "False Negative Reactions" was a major or minor topic of these publications.
To see the data from this visualization as text, click here. | <urn:uuid:fd278d47-f187-43ea-b678-66563390de53> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://profiles.wakehealth.edu/display/96034 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662578939.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525023952-20220525053952-00564.warc.gz | en | 0.886476 | 265 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The Studebaker Manufacturing Company may be considered the godfather of Indiana auto makers, a cadre that once included such names as Stutz, Cord, and Duesenberg.
The company was started by a family of Pennsylvania Germans, who set up a blacksmithing shop at the corner of Michigan and Jefferson Streets in downtown South Bend in 1852.
Soon, the company was producing the horse-drawn carriages that delivered a nation of pioneers to their new life out West. Outfitting the government with vehicles during the Civil War, Studebaker emerged as the world’s top producer of wooden wagons.
The company further distinguished itself in the early twentieth century as the only wagon builder to make a successful transition to the manufacture of electric and gas-powered vehicles.
Two highly collectible automobiles manufactured by the South Bend-based company were, nonetheless, born of desperate moments in its 114-year history.
When the Great Depression brought the luxury car craze of the twenties to a halt, Studebaker introduced a low-cost model to be named after their company spokesman, legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. The coach never lived to see the car, however—he was killed in a plane crash months before the first Rockne rolled off the line in 1931.
Studebaker went into receivership two years later. When the company recovered, French-born designer Raymond Loewy was engaged to create such popular models as the 1939 Champion.
It was Loewy’s ingenuity that was called upon again in 1962, when the South Bend manufacturer found itself in dire financial straits. When the Avanti was unveiled, orders for the streamlined, supercharged sports car exceeded production capabilities; but ultimately problems with the fiberglass chassis doomed the hot rod.
The Avanti name and its production were taken over by a couple of South Bend auto dealers; and subsequent entrepreneurs have given the model extended life in the limited production automotive market.
Studebaker, however, never quite recovered from its eleventh-hour solution. Manufacturing moved to Ontario in 1963 and ceased for good in 1966.
Visitors to South Bend may learn more about the company’s legacy at The Studebaker National Museum, whose new facility opened in October of 2005 at 201 South Chapin Street.
Planes flying over South Bend still treat passengers to a view of the world’s largest living sign, 5000 pine trees planted in 1937 in the shape of the name STUDEBAKER. | <urn:uuid:054805ff-1dcb-4ae9-b7dc-4e287e2f693f> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/studebaker/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398465089.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205425-00028-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963643 | 513 | 2.546875 | 3 |
The Open Source Way
If you’re like me, then you don’t know much about software; if you’re not like me, then you know about software but not much about open source software (OSS). Regardless of which camp you fall into, there’s good news—you can learn about open source software (and help others learn about it) through open educational resources on OSS online. Practical Open Source Software Exploration: How to be Productively Lost, the Open Source Way is teachingopensource.org‘s new textbook to help professors, or anyone for that matter, teach or learn about open source software. “It’s a book that works like an open source software project. In other words: patches welcome.”
For those needing something quick and simple to hand out to their classes, educators can contribute to or adapt this textbook (it’s licensed under CC BY-SA so you can share, translate, remix as long as you share alike) or search for other OER online. One K-12 educator developed this resource under CC BY, A K-12 Educator’s Guide to Open Source Software.
Via CC licenses, both resources enable a community of educators and learners to contribute to, edit, and improve them, especially Practical Open Source Software Exploration which invites people to edit the wiki directly. But fostering a community around open resources to keep them up-to-date and relevant isn’t something that just magically happens, which is why Red Hat, a successful business built around OSS, developed this meta-resource: The Open Source Way: Creating and nurturing communities of contributors. The book is available in wiki-form also under CC BY-SA, and “it contains knowledge distilled from years of Red Hat experience, which itself comes from the many years of experience of individual upstream contributors who have worked for Red Hat.” Basically, it’s a guide “for helping people to understand how to and how not to engage with community over projects such as software, content, marketing, art, infrastructure, standards, and so forth.” Of course none of this is set in stone (literally), since what works for some might not for others, but it’s worth taking a look and adapting to your own needs.Comments Off | <urn:uuid:83b2e7b8-9dc1-41e6-8950-2d93b7ee7b9c> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://creativecommons.org/tag/the-open-source-way | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535922763.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909044519-00158-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923219 | 480 | 2.890625 | 3 |
A Third of Reef-Building Corals at Risk of Extinction
for National Geographic News
|July 10, 2008|
A third of the world's major reef-building coral species are in danger of extinction, an international team of scientists warns in a study published today.
Because coral reefs are home to more than a quarter of all marine species, their loss could be devastating for biodiversity in the world's oceans.
"If corals themselves are at risk of extinction and do in fact go extinct, that will most probably lead to a cascade effect where we will lose thousands and thousands of other species that depend on coral reefs," said the study's lead author Kent Carpenter, a zoologist at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
The rate at which reefs have been besieged is most troubling, the scientists say.
Of the 704 corals classified in the study, 231 were listed as "vulnerable," "endangered," or "critically endangered" according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
A decade ago just 13 species met the same criteria.
The study appears in the online journal Science Express.
On The Brink?
Studies around the globe have made the news of coral reef declines distressingly commonplace, the researchers say.
"What we did was use that information about decline to ask the question, What is the consequence of this on the potential loss of biodiversity?" Carpenter said.
"It's easy for people to understand that coral reefs are at risk, but it's gotten to the point now where the risk of extinction is a reality for the actual species that form the coral reefs. That could be devastating to biodiversity in the ocean."
Some reef locales are faring worse than others, the paper said.
"Caribbean reefs appear to be the worst off in terms of numbers of important species that have a very high risk of extinction," Carpenter reported.
By contrast the "Coral Triangle" region of the Indo-Malay Philippine Archipelago—an area of high marine biodiversity—has the highest number of species appearing on the list, but many are at a lower level of extinction risk.
"It's potentially the next big problem area," Carpenter said. "If conditions worsen, we're talking about the most important marine biodiversity area in the world potentially becoming a big problem."
Meanwhile, areas of the Pacific Ocean stood out as regions where corals are faring better. Reefs among the Pacific's tens of thousands of isolated islands are scattered and relatively unaffected by human activity.
What is Killing Coral?
Experts generally agree that large scale die-offs from bleaching and disease have increased in frequency during recent decades—due at least in part to warming sea-surface temperatures linked to global climate change.
(Related story: "Soft Corals 'Melting' Due to Warming Seas, Expert Says" [July 13, 2007])
When sea temperatures rise for a sustained period of time by even a small amount, corals may expel their symbiotic food-producing algae, which turns reefs a sickly white.
A massive bleaching event in 1998 related to the El Niño weather phenomenon was the worst coral die-off ever observed. In the succeeding years such events have occurred with increasing frequency and severity.
The impact of disease or bleaching events is even worse when corals are weakened by local impacts such as overfishing, which sometimes targets species that protect reefs. Sedimentation and pollution from coastal development also harm coral health.
Corals do show some capacity to bounce back from bleaching and other destructive events. But if their overall declines are to be reversed, people must address the threats that have landed so many species on the IUCN list, scientists stress.
|© 1996-2008 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.| | <urn:uuid:d6461828-ccdb-4893-b768-0d880c075b57> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/61830395.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997890181.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025810-00030-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939785 | 780 | 3.453125 | 3 |
How well can you hide your age? Computer scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a software program that estimates age based solely on someone’s facial appearance, suggesting that in the near future you won’t be able to fool either Mother Nature or that video camera verifying your ID at the local bar.
Beyond more accurate age estimates, the technology suggests a way for ads to target passersby with age-appropriate pitches, for face-based security systems to improve their accuracy, and for robots to become more adept at responding to human needs.
“Definitely for human-robot interactions, the robot would like to know as much about humans as possible,” said Thomas Huang, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois who led the research.
Correctly guessing someone’s age is a huge challenge even for humans, a problem that can be complicated by cosmetic interventions, genetics, gender, ethnicity, drug or alcohol consumption, and even relative sun exposure. Computer algorithms based on appearance can only guess a person’s perceived age, but even rough estimates could be a boon for electronically managing customer relations or compiling demographic data.
Imagine, for instance, a strategic camera and age-recognition model calculating the percentage of McDonald’s Big Macs bought by males of a certain age group. Likewise, an interactive ad could be tailored to tempt older pedestrians with a McCafe hazelnut cappuccino instead of, say, a Happy Meal.
“I think we are moving closer and closer to ‘Minority Report,’ where we have these systems that look at you and can generate some demographic information automatically,” said Karl Ricanek Jr., director of the Face Aging Group at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
In the science fiction movie, shoppers are greeted by advertisements that know plenty about their personal tastes. Israel-based YCD Multimedia has already taken several steps toward turning fiction into fact with customized in-store ads based in part on each viewer’s perceived age.
Japanese company Fujitaka has taken a different tack by equipping some vending machines with video cameras and age-recognition software to prevent underage teens from buying cigarettes, though several news accounts suggest the system can be tricked by a picture of an older person taken from a magazine.
Huang said his software isn’t yet ready to tackle such a sensitive age-verification issue, and he conceded that even marketing applications may need more sophisticated programs. Identifying the right target audience among passing shoppers, after all, likely requires advertising software that can guess ages based on side profiles as well as frontal views.
Beyond busting underage drinkers or smokers and startling shoppers with eerily precise cosmetic or clothing ads, Ricanek said age prediction technology could be combined with facial recognition systems to improve border security.
Ricanek, whose work is independent of the University of Illinois research, proposed the following scenario: Suppose a terrorist had his passport photo taken when he was 30. Based on that photo, would surveillance cameras be able to recognize him when he crosses the border 8 years later? A method that takes aging into account just might.
Facing the signs of aging
Huang’s group approached the general aging problem with a “black box” approach that relied on computer algorithms to establish connections among people of the same or similar ages. For one study, an algorithm divided each face into 10,000 pixels and asked which pixels clustered among people of the same age group. Another algorithm looked for similarities and differences in the geometry of key facial features, and a third measured texture as a way to quantify the amount of age-related wrinkling.
In two separate papers, published earlier this year in the journals IEEE Transactions on Multimedia and IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, Huang and his colleagues trained and tested separate algorithm combinations primarily on a database of 1,600 individuals ranging in age from 1 to 93 (each person was represented by five pictures taken around the same time, for a total of 8,000 images).
The programs’ guesswork on new faces, while besting other available techniques, has been far from infallible. So far, Huang said, the software can accurately estimate age to within five years only half the time, though it correctly assigns ages to within a decade about 80 percent of the time. For one face shot of Albert Einstein taken when he was 33, the computer model was right on the money, while another estimate of his age when he was 55 was off by 15 years.
Huang said his group is refining the two algorithm approaches and hopes to improve their accuracy by training both on far larger databases, like the MORPH archive of 55,000 faces from 13,000 people maintained at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Even the primary morphological mechanisms behind aging have been difficult to discern, said Ricanek, whose group manages the MORPH database. In children, the apparent aging process is mediated primarily by skeletal growth and development, while in adults, changes in soft, non-bony tissues predominate.
“If we lived in an ideal world — a perfect world — the only effects would be from our genes and gravity,” Huang said.
Effects of aging
But in the real world, aging can be easily affected by behavior as simple as raising your eyebrows. Over time, raising your brows gradually creates what are known to scientists as hyperdynamic facial lines in your forehead (wrinkles for the rest of us). Younger, more elastic skin can erase the creases, but after a while, older adults are stuck with the kinds of laugh lines, crow’s feet and yes, forehead folds that have sent celebrities running for their Botox injections.
Similarly, photoaging, or sun exposure, can begin to crack and crease someone’s skin as if it was a cowhide left out in the sun. Tanning while taking some prescription drugs can lead to even faster photoaging.
Ricanek is developing models to simulate the aging process and produce images of how someone might look 20 years later, though like Huang, he has based his research on estimating someone’s apparent rather than actual age. He figures his group’s methods can estimate age to within four or five years of the truth more than half the time, but he cautioned that his analysis cannot be directly compared with Huang’s methods.
As age-verification applications become more prevalent, privacy concerns are bound to spring up, though Ricanek and Huang both said computer software can address those concerns by capturing only data on gender and age and not the individual’s identity.
Consumers in the U.S. may still have some time to get used to the idea. For an age-identification system to be reliably used for something like detecting underage drinkers, Ricanek estimated it would need to have no more than one false alarm per every 100,000 tries — a success rate he believes will require a decade or so to achieve.
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints | <urn:uuid:b9e0c310-12a6-4759-b926-f5ccb14062fa> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26963524/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/t/lying-about-your-age-computer-can-tell/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414119646008.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20141024030046-00017-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957026 | 1,454 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Scholars Now Argue that Art Did not Evolve--It was in Evidence from the Beginning of Human Development 30,000 Years Ago
Guy Gugliotta, writing in the Washington Post (Jan. 12, 2004):
What does it take to become an artist?
Do you need to study it first, or do you just pick up a brush or a knife and do it?
This question lies at the heart of a prolonged debate among archaeologists and anthropologists over the origin of figurative art -- drawing, sculpting or otherwise creating recognizable images of figures or objects -- and what it implies about human cultural development.
For years, scholars regarded the appearance of figurative art as the initiation of an evolutionary process -- that art became progressively more sophisticated as humans experimented with styles and techniques and passed this knowledge to the next generation.
But a growing body of evidence suggests that modern humans, virtually from the moment they appeared in Ice Age Europe, were able to produce startlingly sophisticated art. Artistic ability thus did not "evolve," many scholars said, but has instead existed in modern humans (the talented ones, anyway) throughout their existence.
Last month in the journal Nature, anthropologist Nicholas J. Conard, of Germany 's University of Tuebingen , added to this view, reporting the discovery in a cave in the Jura Mountains of three small, carefully made figurines carved from mammoth ivory between 30,000 and 33,000 years ago.
The artifacts at Hohle Fels Cave -- of a water bird, a horse's head, and a half-human, half-lion figure -- made up the fourth such cache of ancient objects found in Germany . All are more than 30,000 years old, and, taken together with cave paintings of a similar age in France 's Grotte Chauvet, constitute the oldest known artworks in the history of modern humans. A handful of other sites more than 30,000 years old are under study.
"It was a big cave, filled with ivory-making debris," Conard said in a telephone interview from his Tuebingen office. "We found 270 pieces of ivory waste, a half-dozen beads and a good number of bone and ivory tools. Whoever made the figurines spent a lot of time there."
And did remarkable work with primitive implements. All three figurines are skillfully shaped, and the water bird is exquisite -- its long neck extended in flight and its wings swept back with decorative ridges to mark layers of feathers.
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- Did a historian who said he’s a victim of McCarthyism get the story wrong?
- Stephanie Coontz’s work on the history of marriage cited by the Supreme Court.
- How Does It Feel To Have One’s Work as a Historian Cited by the Supreme Court? Cool. Very Cool. Thank You Very Much.
- NYT History Book Reviews: Who Got Noticed this Week?
- David Hackett Fischer wins $100,000 prize for lifetime achievement in military writing | <urn:uuid:f0351150-ef95-4a86-9513-4e077a582550> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/3028 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375097512.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031817-00027-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944584 | 628 | 3.46875 | 3 |
When people first come to us, they are usually desperate for change. A recent autism diagnosis sends conscientious parents looking for anything that will help their family regain some sense of normalcy. This quest for answers and the normal desire to fix things can escalate to a frenzied pace and a flurry of activity that increases everyone’s anxiety. Too often, this leads to a ‘crisis’ mindset that can be the first obstacle many parents have to conquer.
To become an effective Mindful Guide you must be able to move out of this mental state where you are looking everywhere and anywhere for solutions, where you are living day-to-day and where you are unable to gain the perspective you vitally need to see down the road.
Effects of Being in a State of Crisis:
- We lose perspective
- We can only focus on the short term
- We become focused on immediate problems
- We spend our energies putting out fires
- Our pace becomes too rapid
- We do not dare to stop and reflect
- We are unable to learn from our experience
- We use our resources inefficiently
- We try to go everywhere and try everything
When parenting a typically developing child, we take the background elements of our relationship for granted.
- We assume that we will be able to interpret the child’s moment-to-moment reactions to make ongoing adjustments, ensuring that we can provide productive challenges
- We assume the child will be highly motivated to seek out to engage with us in a growth-promoting activities
- We do not have to worry that the child will suddenly disengage for no apparent reason, or withdraw if we introduce something new
With Relationship Development Intervention, our consultants help parents move from this difficult place and gain the tools to become an effective guide to your child. | <urn:uuid:9bcd73f2-aad0-47f0-8a77-ce6a40df350f> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://www.rdiconnect.com/moving-out-of-crisis-the-first-step/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912203438.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20190324103739-20190324125739-00058.warc.gz | en | 0.9368 | 371 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Green Strategy focuses on how to build a massive worldwide movement to create fundamental change, the only way to solve climate change and our environmental crises in general.
Addressing the fundamental problems of our time by linking environmental issues to other struggles, Green Strategy argues that allied social and political movements can transform our politics, our economy and protect our species.
Green Strategy explores:
- The interwoven environmental problems caused by the imbalance between humanity and the natural world on which it depends.
- The roots of our environmental crises in capitalism.
- The lessons of past struggles such as the civil rights movement.
- How to build the necessary coalitions and alliances with other movements.
- Short-term and long-term goals for the environmental movement and allies.
- A philosophical approach to environmental issues. | <urn:uuid:19aeedb0-930d-4a5e-9881-e5c43ffb1d03> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.intpubnyc.com/product/green-strategy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141213431.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130100208-20201130130208-00105.warc.gz | en | 0.869221 | 162 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Article at a Glance
According to a new report, there are three things you can do to help boost your child’s IQ—preschool, interactive reading, and fish oil.
Interested in learning what actually does increase people’s intelligence, researchers at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development decided to pull together existing studies into a “Database of Raising Intelligence.” They then used a technique called meta-analysis to study the data.
Previously many of the studies and their findings have been too disconnected to give a comprehensive look at what works and what doesn’t. This has been a first step in better understanding the nature of intelligence and how it can be nurtured.
The results of the meta-analysis found that there were three interventions that were effective in raising a child’s IQ.
Preschool and Early Education: Researchers found that going to preschool could raise a child’s IQ by more than four points. If a language development component was included at the preschool, it could raise it more than seven points.
In studies for children who were economically disadvantaged, it was found that early education interventions could also raise a child’s IQ by four points—and by more than seven points if the intervention included a center-based education component. Center-based learning involves using learning centers to allow children to learn independently with hands-on activities.
Researchers believe that preschool and early education helps to boost intelligence by giving children more exposure to language and complex environments.
Interactive Reading: Teaching parents how to interact with their children while reading to them increased children’s IQ by over six points. But it no longer had an effect for children over four years old. Researchers believe it is because the intervention speeds up language development, which can then increase IQ. For tips on how to engage your child while reading to them visit readingtokids.org.
Fatty Acids: Supplementing the diets of pregnant women and newborns with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and foods rich in Omega-3 was found to increase children’s IQ by more than 3.5 points. Fatty acids cannot be produced by your body, but can only be obtained through your diet. They provide important elements for nerve cell development and are important for brain development and function. The best way to increase your fatty acid intake is by eating oily fleshed, cold-water fish like mackerel, wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, black cod, and herring two to three times a week. You can also take a daily Omega-3 supplement. | <urn:uuid:17e2ea9c-3139-464c-9e9e-2749adc48b30> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://www.uvpediatrics.com/topics/three-ways-to-boost-your-childs-iq/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224654097.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20230608035801-20230608065801-00158.warc.gz | en | 0.968862 | 537 | 3.375 | 3 |
The most common flea species that humans come into contact with is the cat flea, which despite its name is commonly found on dogs. Even if you no longer have a cat or dog in your house fleas can remain dormant for up to 18 months.
The adult fleas live exclusively as parasites of warm-blooded animals, and wall to wall carpeting and soft furnishings provide a relatively undisturbed environment for fleas to develop. They can also live in cracks and crevices in bare floors. Fleas are not thought to transmit any serious illnesses to humans.
Although not all people are affected by flea bites, the bites produce inflamed dark red spots and can cause severe irritation in some people.
Dealing with the problem yourself
We would always advise that you seek professional help when dealing with fleas as they are difficult to eradicate. | <urn:uuid:c82fde51-653f-49c0-a4d4-e74f93a96831> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | http://www.trafford.gov.uk/residents/environment/pest-control/pest-information/fleas.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934808260.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20171124161303-20171124181303-00481.warc.gz | en | 0.963844 | 175 | 3 | 3 |
Leading Manufacturer & Exporter of Pipe Fittings
By Rela International StaffNo Comments
So, you are looking for the difference between duplex stainless steel and 316-stainless steel. Before grabbing knowledge about those steel, the user or seeker should know what stainless steel is and why it has different types? Stainless Steel is the general name of steel that uses for their corrosion resistance. There are many differences in its kind, but the similarity in every stainless steel includes a low amount of chromium. Stainless Steel is divided into few types, such as Ferritic, Martensitic, Austenitic, and Duplex. As we are considering on Duplex and 316-stainless Steel in this article, both have their specific qualities. It is the reason both are used in a wide range of applications in different industries.
Duplex Stainless Steel: Duplex Stainless Steel contains two-phase of microstructure consists of grain that is ferritic and austenitic stainless steel. As it has the capability of cooling to room temperature, half of the ferritic grains convert to austenitic grains. When duplex steel starts melting, it solidifies from liquid state to the ferritic phase.
316 Stainless steel:This grade of stainless steel comes under the austenitic form of stainless steel. 316 stainless steel is known for its 2-3% molybdenum content. Molybdenum is the reason that makes the metal stronger or gives resistance to corrosion and to beat elevated temperature.
Difference between Duplex Steel & 316 Stainless Steel:
How it relates to Energy Industries? Stainless Steel is one of the most significant metals that have many beneficial properties for the power and energy industries. Among all qualities, the corrosion resistance capacity of stainless steel is very much needed in this field in any environment. Another most useful ability of stainless steel in the power energy world is when dealing with electrical components; it can transfer heat, whether it is a matter of high temperatures and extreme pressure. From traditional coal industries to renewable energy industries, it is being used. These are also a reason stainless steels are known as pressure tubes, transformer enclosures, heat exchangers, and more. For more information on different types of stainless steel, contact us. | <urn:uuid:ba46fe27-cbc3-4bd5-bd5f-478b22763ecc> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | http://relainternational.com/comparison-between-duplex-steel-and-316-stainless-steel/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585025.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20211016200444-20211016230444-00146.warc.gz | en | 0.939923 | 459 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Our final port on the Alaska cruise was Seward, a town of just under 3,000 residents on the Gulf of Alaska. Seward is the ninth most lucrative fisheries port in the United States and the harbor was full of fishing boats.
Seward is also the beginning of the Seward Highway, one of the most beautiful drives in the United States. Our trip from Seward to Denali would begin along the Seward Highway.
Fifty years after the 1964 earthquake that devastated Alaska from Anchorage to Seward there are still signs of damage. The land dropped six to eight feet and was flooded with salt water. Along the highway you can see “ghost forests” of trees that were killed by the salt water.
Just five miles from Seward the highway passes through the Chugach National Forest. Alaska. The trip to Denali passes through some truly beautiful wilderness areas. The largest state in the country, Alaska is also the most sparsely populated state, and has relatively few highways. Most of the population of Alaska live in the coastal regions, so much of the interior of the state is wilderness. It seemed that everywhere we looked there were beautiful vistas.
Our trip took us along the Turnagain Arm, a waterway running inland from Cook Inlet, and the location of the second highest tides in North America. Tides can reach forty feet and come in so quickly that they form a wave called a tidal bore. The bore can be dangerous if you’re caught unaware when it comes in, but it is also a favorite with kayakers and surfers who like to ride the wave as an extreme sport. Our trip did not let us witness the tidal bore but Turnagain Arm is quite beautiful, with high and rugged lining the north side of the Arm.
We stopped for lunch in Palmer, Alaska, in the Matanuska Valley. During the Great Depression the U.S. government began offering families the opportunity to move to the Matanuska Valley as a way out of the hardships of the depression devastating the country. Each family who relocated was offered forty acres of land. All they had to do was build a house and farm the land. The valley is well suited for dairy farming and vegetables such as potatoes and cabbage grow well in the valley.
The experiment was not very successful. The climate, while mild by Alaska standards, was much harder than many of the colonists were used to, and by 1940 over half of the original families had returned home.
We still had a few hours before reaching Denali. This final stretch was where we saw our first moose, two of which came out of the woods and ran along the highway for several yards. We were to see several more moose at Denali.
Finally, we reached our destination, the McKinley Chalet Resort. Located along the Nenanha River, the location of the resort is quite beautiful. The cabins were rustic yet comfortable and the scenery was awe inspiring. The land around us changed literally overnight. When we awoke the after our first night the mountains behind our cabin were covered with a fresh snow. It was beautiful.
Denali is pretty remote as far as destinations go, but we were to experience firsthand how small the world can be. The first evening we went to Karsten’s Pub, a new restaurant at McKinley Chalet. Our waitress was a young lady from Marietta, Georgia. Marietta was our home for many years before we relocated to North Carolina.
While our Alaska adventure was nearing its end, we still had two days and enjoyed two great excursions, a visit to the National Park Service sled dogs and the Tundra Tour, a bus excursion that took us deep into the park. | <urn:uuid:a60652d2-f4cc-4fdf-a204-154397d20942> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://mostlytrue.blog/2018/03/02/seward-to-denali-may-2016/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038077810.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20210414095300-20210414125300-00025.warc.gz | en | 0.983386 | 764 | 2.515625 | 3 |
By: Nancy Kalish
This winter, a whopping 20 percent of Americans will come down with a bad case of the flu. But you don’t have to be one of them! Research shows that, in addition to getting your flu shot, eating certain foods can help you avoid the flu -- as well as colds and illness in general. Here’s what to add to your grocery cart.
Probiotics, the healthy bacteria in yogurt, literally crowds out invading bad bacteria that’s trying to get into your system. That’s why, in one study, people who consumed a yogurt drink that contained Lactobacillus reuteri over an 80-day period took 33 percent fewer sick days. To make sure you’re getting a good dose of probiotics, look for the words “live bacteria” and “active cultures” on the label. Bonus: Yogurt is rich in calcium, which is essential for strong, healthy teeth.
This favorite flavor-booster contains allicin, a compound that fights off bacteria. According to a large British study, people who downed a daily garlic capsule for three winter months were two-thirds less likely to catch a cold. If they did get sick, they suffered for about four fewer days. Adding cooked garlic to your food might be even more effective.
According to a Harvard study, drinking black or green tea can rev up your immune system’s T cells so they destroy bacteria more quickly. And the antioxidants in green tea are great for your teeth. A large Japanese study found that every cup reduces gum inflammation.
Omega-3 fatty acids, found in this flavorful fish, help cells remove toxins and take in nutrients more efficiently. And a recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that people who consumed the most omega-3s decreased their risk of gum disease by 22 percent.
Don’t wait until you’re sick to serve up some soup. Cysteine, an amino acid released from chicken during cooking, helps calm the usual over-the-top response your immune system has to cold germs that causes many of the worst symptoms from a stuffed-up nose to a wracking cough. And it doesn’t have to be homemade. A University of Nebraska study published in Chest found that most supermarket brands prevented and alleviated cold symptoms just as effectively.
Nancy Kalish is a certified health coach, and an editor and writer with more than 20 years of experience. She has covered health, nutrition and oral health for Prevention, Health, SELF, Real Simple, The New York Times, Completely You and more.
Do you double-dip at summer parties?
How much does your weight fluctuate in a year? | <urn:uuid:82d7a80a-2f02-41b9-807f-810a943b5084> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.completelyyou.com/worldnowweb/feature/health/winter_food/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00256-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955933 | 572 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Chemical Equlilbria Essay, Research Paper
Work to be done: *By experiments find out how chemical equilibria works. Chemicals and apparatus: *Two beakers *Five test-tubes *Kaliumtiocyanat, KSCN *0.002M Kaliumtiocyanatsolution, KSCN + H2O *Dinatriumfosfat, Na2HPO4 *0.002M Iron(III)nitratesolution, FeNO3 *0.2M Silvernitratesolution, AgNO3Lab: Lab 1 One test-tubes is filled half of distilled water (A) and another with kaliumtiocyanatsolution (B). Both solutions are colorless. Solution (B) contains SCN-. I add five drops of iron(III)nitratesolution to both test-tubes and the kaliumtiocyanatsolution turns dark-red. The explanation is that there has been a reaction in solution (B), Fe3+ + SCN- à FeSCN2+, where FeSCN2+ has a dark-red color. Lab 2 The solution in test-tube (B) is placed in five other test-tubes. I will now perform four different experiment and then compare with the original solution, and therefor I label the test-tubes a, b, c, d and e.In test-tube (a) I add some KSCN (cristals) and therefor raise the concentration of SCN- in the solution. The visible change is that the solution turn darker red. And since FeSCN2+ is red, the conclusion is that the solution contains more FeSCN2+.To test-tube (c) I add some FeNO3 and the concentration of Fe3+ is increased and the solution turns darker red à the concentration of FeSCN2+ is higher. Since no more SCN- has been added the ratio Fe3+ and SCN- must be in equilibrium. The solution now contains Fe3+, SCN-, FeSCN2+, NO3- and K+.To test-tube (d) I add five drops of silvernitrate, AgNO3, and the solution is turning brighter – the concentration of FeSCN2+ must decrease. There seems to be a fight about the SCN-ions, both Ag+ and Fe3+ want them, but the Ag+ions seems to win and form a salt, AgSCN, that is hard diluted in water. The effect is, as described earlier, that the concentration of FeSCN- has decreased and the color of the solution is lighter red. The reaction formula is Fe3+ + SCN- à FeSCN2+, the reaction is to the left and the reaction is reversible.In the last test-tube I add some dinatriumhydrofosphate, Na2HPO4, and the solution becomes colorless, there is no more FeSCN2+. The concentration of Fe3+ has decreased. In the reaction Fe3+ + SCN- à FeSCN2+, the reaction is to the left. CONCLUSION: In the reactions above I have changed the equilibrium by changing the concentration of different substances. | <urn:uuid:95ecdaf2-1a93-4f56-8e04-3dee4b603cdd> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://mirznanii.com/a/91384/chemical-equlilbria-essay-research-paper-work-to | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917123172.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031203-00110-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.852944 | 682 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Lab 3: Normal Climate Patterns
This activity has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.
This activity has been extensively reviewed for inclusion in the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network's collection of educational resources. For information the process and the collection, see http://cleanet.org/clean/about/selected_by_CLEAN.
This page first made public: Aug 12, 2008
The lab activity described here was created by Betsy Youngman of Phoenix Country Day School and LuAnn Dahlman of TERC for the EarthLabs project.
Summary and Learning Objectives
Students generate and explore a variety of graphs, charts and map images in order to better understand the concept of normal climate. Ideally, students should work in pairs on this lab. Consider assigning each student team to investigate the climate of a single region or state and then having all the teams share their results with the entire class.After completing this investigation, students will be able to:
- Access and interpret online climatographs of temperature and precipitation.
- Use data and map images to describe the climate patterns of a given region.
Context for Use
This lesson is a fundamental piece in the overall drought unit. It can also serve as a stand-alone lesson on climate patterns. Rather than presenting a general definition of climate, it develops student's understanding by having them make in-depth examinations of historical climate patterns using both graphical and map image formats.
Estimated Time Required
- Part A: 20 minutes
- Part B: 30 minutes
- Part C: 20 minutes to explore, 30 minutes to prepare a product or presentation plus additional time for sharing results.
Activity Overview and Teaching Materials
Part A begins with the question, "What's it like at your location during May?" Students access online graphs from NCDC's Divisional Data Selection interface to generate and view temperature and precipitation measurements for single years, multiple years, and for a single month across a decade or more.
In Part B, students investigate classic climograms, charts that show long-term averages of temperature and precipitation for cities across the U.S. They also explore daily mean maximum and minimum temperatures (daily highs and lows) by interpreting climotology graphs for several locations.
In Part C, students use an online map generator, the Climate Atlas of the United States, to explore temperature and precipitation patterns across the continental United States. The lesson concludes by assigning students to prepare a presentation, poster, or paper, illustrated with annotated graphs and/or maps, that describes the climate of one area of the United States.
You may want to provide a hard copy of the activity sheet (Acrobat (PDF) 40kB Aug3 08) on which students can record their answers. A
This file is only accessible to verified educators. If you would like access to this file, please enter your email address below. If you are new to the site, you will be asked to complete a short request form. If you have already been verified by the EarthLabs project, you will be taken directly to the file download page.
Teaching Notes and Tips
Engage student interest in the lab by discussing pen pals or other visitors (relatives, for instance) from distant places. If students have traveled, especially internationally, you may ask them to describe how they knew what to take along for clothing for their trip. In this age of instant information, it might be interesting to challenge students to brainstorm how they might find out about historical climate patterns without using the Internet.
This lab involves the use of several dynamic data portals. Though the sites are relatively stable government-sponsored projects, it is imperative to check that the sites are functioning properly on student computers before you commit a class period to using them! Depending on your students, you may want to practice the step-by-step instructions as a whole class before assigning students to work on their own computers. Be aware that Part C uses PDF files; if student computers can not accommodate PDF, you can prepare the maps ahead of time and project or print them for the teams.
Decide ahead of time about the resources that students will have for producing their climate descriptions. You might choose a prescriptive approach, for instance asking each student to submit the one or two maps or graphs (with descriptions) that they feel best describes the climate of their assigned location, or you can leave the assignment open-ended, providing a rubric to students to guide their work.
One way that you might display students' climate descriptions is by posting a map of the United States and using string or yarn and push pins to connect climate descriptions to the region of the country that they represent. This product can provide points of discussion and evidence for how weather patterns vary across the country. You can use the map to explore the effects of latitude and proximity to mountain ranges and large bodies of water on a region's climate.
Options for assessment include comparing student answers to the Stop and Think questions with the answers provided, collecting student's presentations of climate patterns for a region, and reviewing their return letters to their pen pal.
State and National Science Teaching Standards
Applicable California Science Teaching Standards
Earth Science - Energy in the Earth System
Climate is the long-term average of a region's weather and depends on many factors.
g. Recognize the usefulness and limitations of models and theories as scientific representations of reality.
- Select and use appropriate tools and technology (such as computer-linked probes, spreadsheets, and graphing calculators) to perform tests, collect data, analyze relationships, and display data.
Applicable Massachusetts Science and Technology Standards (PDF - 1.3 Mb)
Earth and Space Science - Earth Processes and Cycles
- None identified.
Applicable New York Core Curricula
Physical Setting/Earth Science (PDF - 135 Kb)
STANDARD 4 - Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
- Key Idea 2. Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components of air, water, and land.
- 2.1g Weather variables can be represented in a variety of formats including radar and satellite images, weather maps (including station models, isobars, and fronts), atmospheric cross-sections, and computer models..
STANDARD 6 — Interconnectedness: Common Themes. Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.
- Key Idea 2. Models are simplified representations of objects, structures, or systems used in analysis, explanation, interpretation, or design.
Applicable North Carolina Earth and Space Science Standards
1.02 Design and conduct scientific investigations to answer questions related to earth and environmental science.
- Analyze and interpret data.
- Communicate findings
5.02 Evaluate meteorological observing, analysis, and prediction; meteorological data depiction.
5.03 Analyze global atmospheric changes; changes in weather patterns.
Applicable Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)None Identified.
Applicable National Science Education Standards (SRI)
Science as Inquiry (12ASI)
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- 12ASI1.3 Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications. A variety of technologies, such as hand tools, measuring instruments, and calculators, should be an integral component of scientific investigations. The use of computers for the collection, analysis, and display of data is also a part of this standard. Mathematics plays an essential role in all aspects of an inquiry. For example, measurement is used for posing questions, formulas are used for developing explanations, and charts and graphs are used for communicating results.
Understandings about Science and Technology
- 12EST2.2 Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.
Background InformationClimate and Weather Basics
Content ExtensionSatellites collect a broad range of climate and weather data. Students may wish to explore temperature and precipitation data generated from satellite-based instruments. These data are available through the NASA Earth Observations (NEO), along with an analysis tool called ICE. Download a word document (Microsoft Word 460kB Aug3 08) of instructions for exploring temperature and precipitation using NEO.
Climate maps of the United States provides PDF files of prepared climate maps.
PRISM data Climate mapping data from Oregon State University
NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service Precipitation data Excellent source for archived precipitation data.
Climate Powers of Ten provides an excellent overview and vision of climate variability on large scales. | <urn:uuid:97d2762c-660b-44d1-8f29-bb6b96f264bc> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/drought/3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662159.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00036-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.897133 | 1,795 | 3.703125 | 4 |
Organic Self Raising White Flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures. Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe.
Cereal flour consists either of the endosperm, germ, and bran together (whole-grain flour) or of the endosperm alone (refined flour). Meal is either differentiable from flour as having slightly coarser particle size (degree of comminution) or is synonymous with flour; the word is used both ways. For example, the word cornmeal often connotes a grittier texture whereas corn flour connotes fine powder, although there is no codified dividing line.
A type of flour that contains an agent, such as baking powder, which makes baked goods expand and rise when cooked. | <urn:uuid:c57b8926-0d54-4d81-ac77-199dffe62171> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://thamesorganic.com/products/organic-self-raising-white-flour | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337631.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20221005140739-20221005170739-00187.warc.gz | en | 0.953142 | 227 | 3.109375 | 3 |
The order of operations of multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction (MDAS) seems a very basic concept, but it is one of the source of misconceptions. The two errors below are very common.
Error 1: Addition must be performed before subtraction.
This is not always the case. If addition and subtraction are adjacent operations, the operations must be performed from left to right. For example, although addition and subtraction are both present in
subtraction must be performed first. Performing the operation, we have
Error 2: Multiplication must be performed before division.
Similar to addition and subtraction, if multiplication and division are adjacent operations, the operation which comes first must be performed. For example, in
you must divide by first, before multipying it by . | <urn:uuid:2ca86937-8b32-4c2f-baa0-7d6538c33563> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://mathandmultimedia.com/2012/08/03/mdas-order-of-operations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500822053.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021342-00158-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954158 | 165 | 3.53125 | 4 |
The sun continues to shine in beautiful California! The heat continues to rise, also. The summer months are surely scorching and the sun is at its strongest.
While it is important to protect your skin all year long, it is especially important during the hot summer months. Californians are no strangers to the sunshine, but that does not mean that they do not need a refresher course on sun safety and skin cancer prevention. After all, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the nation.
Here are just a few ways to prevent skin cancer this summer:
• Wear the right articles of clothing and accessories! This means wearing a t-shirt to cover up your skin; a wide-brim hat to protect your face, ears, and neck; sunglasses to protect your eyes and surrounding skin.
• Generously apply sunscreen at least 20 minutes before stepping into the sun and reapply at least once every 2-3 hours (especially if you are swimming and toweling off.) SPF should be at least 30.
• Seek shade as often as possible, especially between 10AM-4PM. During this time frame, the sun’s rays are at their strongest!
• Never turn to tanning beds or sun lamps. Many people believe that these are safer than the sun but this is not true. It is just as dangerous—if not more dangerous!
Follow the above safety precautions and you may be able to enjoy a scare-free summer!
If you begin to notice skin cancer symptoms, do not hesitate to call your doctor or a professional skin doctor. Symptoms may include changes in spots/moles, new spots/moles, itchiness, sore areas, and more. | <urn:uuid:0091e684-b0d3-4bc9-9b4d-9f7bb5b7a72f> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://cpaprotect.com/?p=221 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039743247.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20181116235534-20181117021534-00357.warc.gz | en | 0.946502 | 349 | 2.53125 | 3 |
While most children have "learned to read" by age eight, they are still building confidence in their fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills as they grow into strong readers. Create a playful reading atmosphere at home by encouraging your child's curiosity about books and the world around them. Your example and interest in them will leave a lasting impression.
Literacy Helping Your Eight-Year-Old Become a Reader
Simple and fun ways to help your child build reading skills:
Reading Fort Day!
Kids love tearing the living room apart and turning it into a cozy fort of their own making. Spend a weekend or holiday creating the coolest fort you can and declare it the reading fort. No need to buy anything, just use pillows, sheets and blankets you have around. But in order to sit inside, you have to be looking at (or listening to) a book! This simple activity can make reading a special adventure.
Arthur and his friends each want different decorations for their treehouse. Your child can help design each treehouse by picking interior and exterior design elements to match the characters' requests.Play This Game
Find Funny Books
Kids like to read funny books! A whopping 70 percent of kids say they want books that make them laugh, according to Scholastic's Kids and Family Reading Report. Check out this list of fifteen books to get the whole family giggling.
Comic Strip Capers!
WordGirl is fighting villians in these fun comic strips. Your child can choose the words to create his or her own comic strip story and help WordGirl defeat these troublesome characters.Play This Game
Follow Their Interests
Your child's interests can be the hook to dive into reading. If dinosaurs excite your child's imagination, look for short online videos about dinosaurs, take a virtual tour of a natural history museum, check out dinosaur books from the library, read dinosaur facts together and let your child share what she's learned with Grandma the next time they talk or visit. On the flip side, let a favorite book lead to a special activity: if your child reads a book about butterflies, find a caterpillar and watch it grow into a butterfly. If your child likes a book about trains, arrange to ride a train or visit a train station.
Your child can help Special Agent Jack Bowzer fill in the missing words in the sentence to crack the code.Play This Game
Read to Your Child
Reading aloud to kids is "the single most important activity for building knowledge for their eventual success in reading," according to a landmark study. When kids sit next to a caring adult and hear engaging stories, they develop positive associations with books and build their vocabulary and comprehension skills. For helpful hints about how to make the most out of read-aloud time, click here.
Sunflower Biscuit Bones
In this interactive book, your child can learn how to follow a recipe and use measurement skills to bake bone shaped dog treats.Play This Game
Be a Role Model
Finally, don't forget to be a reader and writer yourself. One of the most effective ways to help children become readers and writers is to show them through your own example that you value literacy — and that reading and writing have useful purposes. Keep books and writing materials in the home, and talk to your child about what you are doing when you read and write.
Craft Peg’s Writing Twig
Building a fun writing utensil can make writing and solving problems more fun. Follow these steps to make your own writing twig.Do This Activity
Keep Books in Easy Reach
Make it easy for your child to explore books. Keep a basket of books at kid level or in a "book bag" in the car for kids to flip through on rides. Place a couple of books at the foot of the bed for your child to look at first thing in the morning. Make a small reading corner or nook for your child — something as simple as a few pillows, soft blanket and a stack of library books. In other words, make books an ordinary and essential fixture in your home.
Getting To The Game
Your child can follow along as Martha reads about different ways to travel and learn about how different forms of transportation work.Play This Game
Connect Books to Real Life
Skilled readers make connections between what they read in books and the world around them. When you read books with your child, look for connection points.
- That character reminds me of your Uncle Juan! They both love telling funny stories.
- She's sure a picky eater — just like your little brother.
- He's afraid there's a monster under his bed. When I was little, I used to think a monster lived in the washing machine because it made loud noises when my mom turned it on!
- Oh, they are going to the hospital. Do you remember when you went to the hospital to get stitches?
Taking a trip to the grocery store can provide many opportunities for your child to practice math, literacy, and science skills. In this activity, your child can help pick out vegetables at the store and then sprout some vegetables at home.Do This Activity
Get Your Child a Library Card
Stocking your home with kid-friendly books doesn't take a lot of money — just some trips to the library. Take a walk around the library with your child and look at the book collections. In the children's section, read the signs on the shelves. Look for words like "fiction," "nonfiction" and "biography" and help your child discover what a few of these words mean. Check out the children's programs and special events your library offers.
Your child can build self-confidence, reading, and performance skills as she uses printables and props to perform the play "D.W. Gets Her Library Card."Do This Activity
Don't Forget Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Lots of kids love comic books because they often have exciting plots, and they combine pictures and text in a way that is accessible to many different levels of readers. Graphic novels are similar to comic books in that visuals are used to guide the story, adding text only to fill the gaps. Not familiar with this genre? Explore this list of kid-friendly graphic novels by Reading Rockets.
WordGirl needs to stop the Butcher from stealing from the museum. Your child will learn new words while reading this wacky comic book adventure.Play This Game
Raise a Reader with Martha Speaks
Martha is an honest, smart, confident dog who loves to eat -- and talk! Through stories and games, Martha and her friends help your child learn new words and begin to understand what those words mean.Find Activities
Activity Finder: Learn With Your Eight-Year-Old
ActivitiesView All Activities
Find the Ugly Duckling
Using words from the Ugly Duckling story, you can make a customized word search to help your child practice identifying letters and reading words.
AppsView All Apps
Martha Speaks Word Spinner
Help your child build storytelling and oral vocabulary skills while playing six interactive mini-games with the whole family.
GamesView All Games
VideosView All Videos
WordGirl's Robot Buddy
Word Girl has to team up with Tobey to defeat the Coach! But first she has to explain the word "CACKLE" when she hears his evil laugh. | <urn:uuid:29e91bbe-2e53-4406-8444-8ea5cd030acc> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/age-8-literacy/reading | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267164469.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20180926081614-20180926102014-00030.warc.gz | en | 0.937438 | 1,508 | 3.734375 | 4 |
In Statistics there are generally speaking two types of analysis, broken down between Descriptive and Inferential statistics. The difference has to do what what claims you are making about the data. If you are simply stating something about the data (e.g. there were more men than women in the sample) that is descriptive. But if you make a claim that something is not likely to occur by chance, for instance, or that something is statistically significant (and both of those statements are essentially the same thing) then you are in the realm of inferential statistics. Calc has functions to do both kinds of analysis, and this tutorial will examine some of the common descriptive statistics in Calc and how they are used.
Calc offers many statistical functions, of course, that you might want to make use of. These let you get some analytics on data that you have. But you need to have some data to start with. And to do that I am going to make use of the Random function to make up some numbers. In Cell A1&B1 I set up a header by clicking Merge and Center, making the font Arial 12, bold, and giving a colored background through the formatting cells option. Then I select cells C1 and D1, merge and center, and do the same formatting. For column A&B I give the column name “Data”, and for the combined C1D1 I enter “Statistics. In Cell A2 I use the RAND function (Found in the Mathematics category), which gives me a random number between zero and one. I then multiply by 100 to get numbers a little bigger, then I click-and-drag through the column to get 30 numbers.
When you start working on this you will encounter an interesting problem, which is that the random numbers keep changing when you change other cells. What is happening here is that the formulas are recalculating every time the sheet recalculates. But we can use a trick to get around this. Highlight all of the numbers, and select Copy. Then, with the same area highlighted, paste onto itself by right-clicking, selecting Paste Only, then selecting Number. This takes the result of the function and turns it into a raw number which replaces the function in each cell. Now you have your data locked in and you are ready to do some statistics.
Measures of Central Tendency
In statistics we distinguish several different measures of central tendency. Essentially, this is an attempt to answer the question “What does the most representative member of this group look like?” There is more than one answer depending on the data. First is the question does the data represent a qualitative or quantitative variable? Yes, that question does keep keep coming up. For quantitative data there are several likely answers. One is the average, also referred to in statistics as the mean, and another is the median. Which one do you use? Basically, it comes down to how symmetric the distribution is. When it is symmetric the two measures will be very close. But when it is skewed, they will diverge a lot. For instance, if you have a group of ten people in a room and ask what the typical person’s wealth is, if all ten people have similar circumstances you could just use the average and get a good answer. But if one of those people was Bill Gates, you might get an extremely high and unrepresentative number. In that case, you should use the median, which divides the sample into two groups and asks where is the boundary between the top 50% and the bottom 50%.
Go to the Function Wizard, select Statistical as your category, and Average as the function. Click Next. The window for putting in arguments opens with a space for each number. You could enter each number one at a time, one per field, but that is not optimal. Instead, click on the field for the first number, then click on Cell A2. You will see that the field now has that cell address. But now hold down the Shift key and click on cell A31, which selects the whole column of numbers. Now the field will read “=AVERAGE(A1:A31)”. That gives you the whole range of numbers, and when you click OK you will get the average of this group of numbers. In this case, we generated data using the RAND function, multiplied by 100, which should mean random number between 0 and 100. So you should not be surprised if your answer comes pretty close to 50 (mine came out to 49, but your number could be slightly different).
The Average, also called the Arithmetic Mean, is calculated by adding up the measurements and dividing by the number of measurements. The Geometric Mean is calculated by multiplying the numbers together, then taking the nth root, where n=the number of measurements. The function is the GEOMEAN function, and you use it just like the AVERAGE function
This one is fairly complicated to describe, but it is used in scientific applications. The 3 types of mean (Arithmetic, Geometric, and Harmonic) are called the Pythagorean means. The harmonic mean is used, for example in evaluating computer algorithms. It is called the HARMEAN function, and is used just like the AVERAGE function. The rule of the three measures is that the Arithmetic mean is always the largest, the Geomtric Mean is in the middle, and the Harmonic Mean is the lowest.
As above go the Statistical functions, but this time select Median. As above, select the range for the first field. This may be a little farther from the middle, depending on your numbers (mine was 42).
The Mode is the most common value, and this is what you use for Qualitative data. For example, if you had a sample of people where you recorded their hair color as black, blonde, or red-headed, and wanted to know what was most representative, it makes no sense to use arithmetical measures like average. Mode simply looks for the most common observation in the sample. But note that it expects the data to be numerical, so you would need to encode the data with something like 1=Black, 2=Blonde, and 3=Redhead. Do that, and you can put in a range of data into the Mode function and get your answer.
Measures of Dispersion
These measures tell you how much variation there is in a group of numbers. Two different groups of numbers could have a similar average or median, and yet be very different when you look at the degree of variation. As an example, the number 4 and 6 have an average of 5, but so do the numbers 0 and 10, and yet it is clear that they are very different groups of numbers. So to address this we need to look at a few related measures of dispersion. But to use these functions we need to first discuss the difference between a population and a sample. A population means that you have the entire group measured, while a sample means you have some fraction of the group measured and want to use that to make a claim about the population. And this matters because the way you measure dispersion is very slightly different depending on which case you have. I won’t go any further into this right now, as it more appropriately a topic for a class on statistics, but you have slightly different functions for that reason.
If you want a short description of Variance, it is the average of the squared deviations from the mean. You have four possible functions here, but two of them are somewhat more specialized so I will skip over them for this tutorial. The ones I will demonstrate are VAR and VARP.
- VAR – This one assumes that you have a sample, and will produce a slightly larger number on that account because of assumed sampling error. Go to the Function wizard, to Statistical, and select the VAR function. Click Next, then in the first of the number fields click to place your insertion mark there. Then click on cell A2, then hold down the Shift key and click on cell A31. This will put the range A2:A31 into your function. Click OK and get your number.
- VARP – This one assumes you have a population. Procedure is same as above, except you select the VARP function
This is strongly related to Variance, since it is the square root of the variance. Again, you have four possible functions, but I will only cover the two more common ones. And again, there is one each for a sample and for a population. The Standard Deviation can be considered a type of measurement of the average deviation of each measurement from the mean.
- STDEV – This is the function to use if you are measuring the Standard Deviation of a sample. The procedure for using it is identical to the Variance.
- STDEVP – This is the function to measure Standard Deviation for a population. Again, the same procedure is followed
Other Descriptive Statistics
A few other measures can be useful as well. They are the Minimum and the Maximum of a group of numbers.
- MIN – Measures the minimum. Usage is the same as all other functions we have discussed.
- MAX – Measures the Maximum. Usage is the same as all other functions we have discussed.
- A very useful trick is to use the Paste Only, Number trick to convert the contents of a cell or a range of cells into the numbers that result. Recall that earlier in our series we emphasized the difference between the contents of a cell (frequently a formula or cell address if you are a skilled builder of spreadsheets) and the visible results, which are generally a number. If you ever want to get just the number and lose the underlying formulas, this is how it is done.
- To use some of these functions it helps to have a little background in the theory, such as why samples and populations are treated differently, or why there are three different ways of measuring the mean. Going any further here is beyond the scope of these tutorials, but is left as an exercise for the reader.
- Descriptive statistics simply describe what we see in a group of numbers. There is a branch of statistics that goes further, and it is called inferential statistics. In the next tutorial we will look at a few of the more common inferential statistics functions
- One big takeaway from this lesson is that all of these functions are used in similar ways. The procedures for using a function are very standardized. So the key is not figuring out the mechanics, it is understanding which function to use, and why that is the correct function. The single most common error I see is people using the wrong function because they don’t understand why they should be using one function rather than another.
The spreadsheet containing the examples for this tutorial can be found here.
Listen to the audio version of this post on Hacker Public Radio! | <urn:uuid:ff12f246-b88e-446f-9db0-3da28bb62166> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.ahuka.com/libreoffice-3-5-tutorials/libreoffice-calc/libreoffice-calc-simple-descriptive-statistics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296949009.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20230329151629-20230329181629-00626.warc.gz | en | 0.94835 | 2,284 | 3.78125 | 4 |
The Principles and Methods of Christian Apologetics
The foundation of Christian theology and apologetics is propositional revelation alone, and if there is both written and oral revelation, written revelation is the foundation. All the content of apologetics, including the laws of logic, are found in propositional revelation. Apologetics rests on Scripture alone.
The methods of Christian apologetics may be divided into two parts, logical and rhetorical. The logical methods are sometimes stated, most often illustrated, by Jesus and Paul (and the other Biblical writers as well), as are the rhetorical methods. The logical methods include deduction in the forms of immediate inference, syllogism, and sorites; apagogic, sometimes called ad hominem, arguments (not to be confused with abusive ad hominem arguments) in which an opponent’s point of view is adopted for the purpose of demonstrating the logical absurdity of his view; dilemmas, and arguments a fortiori. The rhetorical devices include sarcasm, ridicule, kindness, courtesy, paradox, and questions. – The Apologetics of Jesus and Paul (by John W. Robbins)
Ad hominen: An argument in which an opponent’s point of view is adopted for the purpose of demonstrating the logical absurdity of his view. Some forms of the ad hominen argument are: the Reductio Ad Absurdum and the apogogic argument. It is important that this is not confused with the abusive ad hominem which many erroneously equate with the ad hominem probably due to the fact that many reference books abridge, without warrant, the semantic range of the term “ad hominem” .
A fortiori: Arguing from the greater to the lesser or the lesser to the greater.
Rhetorical Question: A statement that is formulated as a question but that is not supposed to be answered. In logic, the meaning of the complete answer (a non-elliptical answer) to a rhetorical question is a proposition. (e.g. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Answer: Yes, the life is more than meat and the body is more than raiment.)
Syllogism: Deductive reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises; a major and a minor premise.
Dilemma: An argument requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
-A fortiori, Rhetorical Device
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
-A fortiori, Ad hominem
What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
-Dilemma, Ad hominem
The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.
-Contradiction, Reductio Ad Absurdum, Necessary inference (deduction)
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. | <urn:uuid:601dcde5-fad7-49b5-8d35-ebe3a3e1171a> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | https://christpluszero.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/logic-in-the-scriptures-part-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886110774.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822123737-20170822143737-00087.warc.gz | en | 0.964104 | 2,614 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Research into the Mental Lexicon Representation of Chinese English Learners Based on Spreading Activation Model
Nowadays, the main idea regarding the organization of the lexicon is that words are stored in an organized intertwined semantic network. However, relatively little is known about the actual process that takes place during the course of activation production. Therefore, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the problems in question, this study conducted word association test to 150 sophomores in Dalian University of Technology (DUT) and tried to show the internal relations of mental lexicon in data by calculating the word frequency between certain words through a computer program which is written based on the actual calculating steps. And the innovation of this study is to show the abstract lexicon relation in data and illustrate the mental lexicon representation in three-dimensional figures by Netdraw software. Through the study we find: (1) The responses with higher frequency in the first few positions may not ensure themselves high association strength to the stimuli. And the current research also proves that activation of mental lexicon is not a “one stop” process but a linear forward one. (2) The data of association strength obtained from this study may help us convert the abstract lexicon relation into concrete statistical facts and establish representation of the mental lexicon network model. At last, the mechanism of Spreading Activation Model is illustrated and the implications for future English teaching are provided. Key Words: Mental lexicon; Word association test; Mental lexicon representation; Association strength
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Find Out Which Drugs Are Anticholinergic
You may not be familiar with the term anticholinergic when it comes to medication. But this type of pharmaceutical medication is very common, and you might even have some in your home right now. They block the chemical acetylcholine from transmitting messages from nerve cells to other cells of the body, which affects muscle contractions and areas of the brain involved in learning and memory.
Milder anticholinergic drugs include those used to treat gastrointestinal disorders and antihistamines like Benadryl. But those are less worrisome at this point, since they were not found, at least in this study, to raise dementia risk. Cognitive problems, however, were shown to be associated with the longer-term use of stronger forms of anticholinergic medications, such as antidepressants, bladder antimuscarinic drugs, epilepsy medications, and drugs to treat Parkinsons disease symptoms.
Is Loratadine An Anticholinergic
. Correspondingly, does loratadine cause dementia?
Long-term use of Benadryl, an over-the-counter allergy medication, has been linked to an increased dementia risk. In lieu of Benadryl, possible alternatives include cetirizine , fexofenadine and loratadine .
Beside above, which antihistamines are anticholinergic? Antihistamines with anticholinergic properties include the following:
Similarly one may ask, is Claritin an anticholinergic?
And when it comes to allergies, there are many alternatives to Benadryl, an anticholinergic and so-called first generation antihistamine. Second- and third-generation antihistamines, including brands such as Claritin, Zyrtec and Allegra, are not anticholinergics. But talk to your doctor before switching to a new drug.
Which antihistamines are linked to dementia?
Some specific anticholinergic drugs are:Older antidepressants like doxepin Antimuscarinics for bladder control like oxybutynin First generation antihistamines like diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine .
What Should You Do About Benadryl And The Risks Of Dementia
In 2008, Indiana University School of Medicine geriatrician Malaz Boustani developed the anticholinergic cognitive burden scale, which ranks these drugs according to the severity of their effects on the mind. Its a good idea to steer clear of the drugs with high ACB scores, meaning those with scores of 3. “There are so many alternatives to these drugs,” says Dr. Berry. For example, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors like citalopram or fluoxetine are good alternatives to tricyclic antidepressants. Newer antihistamines such as loratadine can replace diphenhydramine or chlorpheniramine . Botox injections and cognitive behavioral training can alleviate urge incontinence.
One of the best ways to make sure youre taking the most effective drugs is to dump all your medications prescription and nonprescription into a bag and bring them to your next appointment with your primary care doctor.
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Can Allergy Medications Harm Your Brain
It’s allergy season and many of us will be reaching into the medicine cabinet for relief. But it is important to choose wisely, as some allergy medications can harm brain health and increase dementia risk.
Diphenhydramine is a first-generation antihistamine medication . In addition to treating allergy and cold symptoms such as sneezing and watery eyes, it also blocks the actions of acetylcholine. This is a neurotransmitter that is important for brain functions including learning and memory. Diphenhydramine is classified as an anticholinergic drug, and a study of this class of drug found that increased use is associated with an up to 54% increased risk of dementia .
The good news is that newer antihistamines equal the effectiveness of diphenhydramine with few or no cognitive side effects. These medications were developed to minimize adverse events common to diphenhydramine and other older antihistamines .
If you’re older or have concerns about brain health, consider an allergy medication other than diphenhydramine. In addition to the medications above, topical nasal sprays and allergy shots are available by prescription and can also help alleviate symptoms. As always, it’s a good idea to discuss your options with a medical professional.
Antihistamines Part Ii: Long
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The last Pharmacology Consult column, Antihistamines for the common cold: Wheres the evidence? , reviewed recently published data suggesting that antihistamine product use may be increasing for the treatment of common cold symptoms. Because recent recommendations and regulations have decreased the use of cough/cold products in the pediatric population, pediatric health care providers may be turning to antihistamine-based products instead. Commonly used first-generation antihistamines have strong anticholinergic properties, and recently published data from the adult population have suggested that long-term use of these drugs may increase the risk for developing dementia. As summaries of these publications find their way to the lay media, it is understandable that parents may wonder about the long-term safety of using antihistamines in children. Although the diagnosis of dementia is certainly not associated with the pediatric population, parents may still express concern about the adverse effects and long-term safetyof antihistamines.
Second-generation antihistamines , considered nonsedating because of their relative lack of CNS penetration, are commonly prescribed to children and adults for allergic conditions. Second-generation antihistamines display no significant anticholinergic pharmacologic actions.
Anticholinergic drugs and dementia risk
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People Should Not Stop Their Therapy But Talk To Their Health Care Provider
Prof. Gray urges people not to stop their therapy based on the findings of this study they should talk to their health care provider, and also tell them about all their over-the-counter drug use.
Health care providers should regularly review their older patients drug regimens including over-the-counter medications to look for chances to use fewer anticholinergic medications at lower doses, she says.
If providers need to prescribe anticholinergics to their patients because they offer the best treatment, then they should use the lowest effective dose, monitor the therapy regularly to ensure its working, and stop the therapy if its ineffective, she adds.
Although the link between raised risk of dementia and anticholinergics has been found before, the new study uses more rigorous methods including over 7 years of follow-up to establish the strength of the link. By accessing pharmacy records, the researchers were also able to include non-prescription use of anticholinergics in their data.
It is also the first study to show a dose-response effect, note the authors. That is, the higher the cumulative amount of drug taken, the higher the risk of developing dementia.
And another first for the study, is that it also shows that dementia risk linked to anticholinergics may persist long after people stop taking the drugs.
Benadryl Still Widely Used After Study Linked It To Alzheimer’s
Benadryl is still widely used six years after a study linked it to Alzheimer’s disease.
Given how much excitement there’s been about Aduhelm, a new drug recently approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease and how much money people spend on all kinds of unproven treatments, you’d think strong evidence linking certain popular drugs to the dread disease would get a lot of attention.
But strangely, that’s not the case. It’s been more than six years since researchers in Seattle found a “significantly increased risk” of Alzheimer’s and other dementias among people who have taken Benadryl , a popular over-the-counter drug used for the relief of allergy symptoms. But instead, sales of the venerable drug continue to be robust, ranking number five among OTC antihistamines, according to Statista.
“Older adults should be aware that many medications–including some available without a prescription, such as over-the-counter sleep aids–have strong anticholinergic effects,” said Shelly Gray, PharmD, MS, when the report was issued in January 2015. “And they should tell their health care providers about all their over-the-counter use,” she added, in a news release.
Anticholinergic drugs block the action of neurotransmitter chemicals released by nerve cells to send signals to other cells, possibly interfering with memory and cognition.
“No one should be using Benadryl as a routine allergy medication.” — Roy Benaroch, M.D.
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Which Drugs Are We Talking About
Anticholinergic drugs include the antipsychotic clozapine the bladder drug darifenacin the anti-nausea drug scopolamine the bronchodilator ipratropium the muscle relaxant tizanidine antihistamines such as diphenhydramine , and antidepressants such as paroxetine .
These medications work by blocking a chemical called acetylcholine, which acts as a neurotransmitter and is involved in many nervous system functions including muscle movements, heart rate, the widening of blood vessels, respiratory functions and muscle contractions in the stomach during digestion.
Older adults are more likely to be prescribed many of these medications, simply because they tend to have more health issues. Some experts say that because people produce less acetylcholine as they age, drugs that inhibit that neurochemical can have a stronger effect on older people.
What The Study Found Regarding Benadryl And Dementia
A team led by Shelley Gray, a pharmacist at the University of Washingtons School of Pharmacy, tracked nearly 3,500 men and women ages 65 and older who took part in Adult Changes in Thought , a long-term study conducted by the University of Washington and Group Health, a Seattle healthcare system. They used Group Healths pharmacy records to determine all the drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter, that each participant took the 10 years before starting the study. Participants health was tracked for an average of seven years. During that time, 800 of the volunteers developed dementia. When the researchers examined the use of anticholinergic drugs, they found that people who used these drugs were more likely to have developed dementia as those who didnt use them. Moreover, dementia risk increased along with the cumulative dose. Taking an anticholinergic for the equivalent of three years or more was associated with a 54% higher dementia risk than taking the same dose for three months or less.
The University of Washington study is the first to include nonprescription drugs. It is also the first to eliminate the possibility that people were taking a tricyclic antidepressant to alleviate early symptoms of undiagnosed dementia the risk associated with bladder medications was just as high.
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Benadryl And Other Common Medications Are Linked To Dementia In Men And Women
Many people turn to over-the-counter medicines when they need relief from allergy and cold symptoms or have trouble falling asleep. Thats why you might be concerned about a 2015 study showing that one of the most common of those drugsBenadrylcould lead to serious health problems, including dementia.
Benadryl has many uses. Although often taken for allergy symptoms, the same dose of the same ingredient is used in most over-the-counter sleeping pills, and also used for motion sickness. Weve known since 2012 that people who regularly take Benadryl or other sleeping pills to fall and stay asleep are more likely to get cancer and tend to die earlier than people who dont take sleep medication. A 2015 study, however, found that taking Benadryl also seems to increase a persons chances of developing dementia.
Most people who take Benadryl dont even know it, since the pills they buy in their local drug stores have many different names . Drugs containing diphenhydramine arent the only ones linked to an increased risk of dementia. The 2015 study, led by a researcher from University of Washington, found an increase in dementia linked to a type of drug known as anticholinergics. These drugs are known to help dry out a runny nose or tearing eyes and also to make you sleepy they work by blocking acetylcholine, a chemical that sends messages to and from the brain and helps start muscle contractions.
Considerations For Future Research
Adjusting for time varying confounders is difficult in a matched case-control study.3146 We measured covariates at the start and end of the drug exposure period . Since there was little difference between these estimates in most cases we are confident that the effect of time varying covariates does not considerably affect our findings. Secondly, to be certain that potential confounders preceded drug initiation and not vice versa, we further excluded patients who were prevalent users at the start of each DEP, again with little difference in results. We suggest that authors undertaking case-control studies comparing cumulative exposure over a long period carefully consider how time varying covariates and exposure before the period in which they are being directly measured might affect study findings. Future research into the potential harms of anticholinergics must consider differential effects of individual drug classes and their potentially different mechanisms of action. Carefully conducted prospective studies in specific cohorts of patients comparing the long term cognitive effects and neuropathological correlates of specific drug classes are needed.
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Confirmed Earlier Alzheimer’s Studies
Earlier studies had found the link between Benadryl and Alzheimer’s but the Seattle study used more rigorous methods, longer follow-up , and better assessment of medication use via pharmacy records to confirm the link.
The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, was also the first to show a dose response, linking more risk for developing dementia to higher use of anticholinergic medications. And it was also the first to suggest that dementia risk linked to anticholinergic medications may persist–and may not be reversible even years after people stop taking the drugs.
Are Anticholinergic Drugs Harmful
Scientists and doctors have known for quite some time that anticholinergics carry risks in seniors, according to Gray.
” can cause a range of side effects such as constipation, difficulty with bladder control,” she said. “They can cause acute changes in cognition, meaning slight changes in cognition, and delirium. More recently, there is mounting evidence that they might be linked to dementia.”
The risk, according to the study, is only associated with 1,095 daily doses taken within a 10-year period, which is equivalent to taking a strong anticholinergic medication daily for at least three years.
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What Did The Research Involve
The research team analysed data on 3,434 US people aged over 65. These people had no dementia at the start of the study.
The study’s participants were tracked for an average of 7.3 years to see who developed dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers also gathered information on what anticholinergic medications they were prescribed in the past as well as a partial record of past OTC use.
The researchers’ main analysis looked for statistically significant links between these prescribed medications taken in the past 10 years and the likelihood of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s were first picked up using a test called the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument, which was given every two years.
This was followed up with investigations by a range of specialist doctors, and laboratory tests, to arrive at a consensus diagnosis.
Medication use was ascertained from a computerised pharmacy dispensing database that included the name, strength, route of administration , date dispensed, and amount dispensed for each drug. This was linked to each individual’s electronic record at Group Health Cooperative, a US health care and insurance system, plan so it was personalised.
This cumulative exposure was defined as cumulative total standardised daily doses .
The statistical analysis adjusted for a range of potential confounders identified from past research, including:
Higher Dementia Risk Linked To More Use Of Common Drugs
- Group Health Research Institute
- A large study links a significantly increased risk for developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, to taking commonly used medications with anticholinergic effects at higher doses or for a longer time. Many older people take these medications, which include nonprescription diphenhydramine .
A large study links a significantly increased risk for developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, to taking commonly used medications with anticholinergic effects at higher doses or for a longer time. Many older people take these medications, which include nonprescription diphenhydramine . JAMA Internal Medicine published the report, called “Cumulative Use of Strong Anticholinergic Medications and Incident Dementia.”
The study used more rigorous methods, longer follow-up , and better assessment of medication use via pharmacy records to confirm this previously reported link. It is the first study to show a dose response: linking more risk for developing dementia to higher use of anticholinergic medications. And it is also the first to suggest that dementia risk linked to anticholinergic medications may persist — and may not be reversible even years after people stop taking these drugs.
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Q If Youre Someone Who Is Taking These Medications What Should You Do
A. We recommend you takethese steps if you have any concerns:
- Speak to your doctor or geriatric team before you stop taking these medications: If you suddenly stop taking certain medications, you may experience worsening effects. Your provider can determine whether the medication should be tapered and may also be able to recommend safer substitutions you can use in their place or non-medication treatment options you can try.
- Be informed and ask questions: You may have been on a medication for years that youve tolerated well. But its fair to continually reevaluate your medications. Your body doesnt metabolize and respond to medications the same way it did 30 years ago. So bring your questions to your provider to help start the conversation.
- Speak with your provider about any over-the-counter medications youre taking: Those medications still can have side effects and may be doing more harm than good. You can either ask your geriatrician or your pharmacist.
Devastating Consequences Of Dementia
“Given the devastating consequences of dementia, informing older adults about this potentially modifiable risk would allow them to choose alternative products and collaborate with their health care professionals to minimize overall anticholinergic use,” the JAMA report cautioned.
But for whatever reason, the study didn’t receive the front-page attention normally devoted to promising new treatments for dementia, many of which never get beyond the promising phase. It is mentioned now and then, but mostly in publications for medical professionals and those in related fields, like a 2019 article in the Harvard Health Blog.
“One long-ago summer, I joined the legion of teens helping harvest our valleyâs peach crop in western Colorado,” wrote Beverly Merz, executive editor of Harvard Women’s Health Watch. “My job was to select the best peaches from a bin, wrap each one in tissue, and pack it into a shipping crate. The peach fuzz that coated every surface of the packing shed made my nose stream and my eyelids swell,”
Merz’s family doctor fixed her up with some Benadryl and Merz wrote that she was very thankful for the relief it offered.
“Today, Iâm thankful my need for that drug lasted only a few weeks,” she wrote, saying that Gray’s study offered “compelling evidence of a link between long-term use of anticholinergic medications like Benadryl and dementia.” | <urn:uuid:2e41b9bd-fa49-4561-8ec9-d58e20cbf673> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.dementiatalkclub.com/which-antihistamines-are-linked-to-dementia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499890.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20230131190543-20230131220543-00499.warc.gz | en | 0.93719 | 4,332 | 2.515625 | 3 |
A 26 slide teaching presentation to use when investigating texture in Visual Art.
This teaching presentation includes key information about texture, discussion points related to artworks, and links to resources.
Download this resource as part of a larger resource pack or Unit Plan.
National Curriculum Curriculum alignment
- Key Stage 2 (KS2) – Upper
Key Stage 2 (KS2) - Upper covers students in Year 5 and Year 6.
- Art and design
Pupils should be taught to develop their techniques, including their control and their use of materials, with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design. Pupils should be taught: to create sket...
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You must be logged in to report an error. Sign up now! | <urn:uuid:ddb6f28d-41bd-4a58-90bf-0fb88cb29ff6> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.teachstarter.com/gb/teaching-resource/visual-arts-elements-texture-powerpoint-upper-years-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107884322.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20201024164841-20201024194841-00371.warc.gz | en | 0.910106 | 204 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Sometimes your household air is too dry and you need to add moisture.
Sometimes your air is too soggy and you need to subtract some moisture.
What is a DEhumidifier?
A dehumidifier is a device to strain some of the excess water out of the surrounding air.
If you have an air conditioner, you already have a dehumidifier.
Dedicated dehumidifiers work on the same principle as an air conditioner.
Much like air conditioners, they also come in whole-house and room versions.
You set a dehumidistat (which is the same device as a humidistat, only it’s attached to a dehumidifier rather than to a humidifier), and it detects when the local air is at a higher relative humidity than the current setting. When that happens, the dehumidistat causes the dehumidifier to begin working. When the relative humidity of the air drops to the level on the control, the dehumidistat causes the dehumidifier to stop working.
How does a dehumidifier work?
As we said, it works pretty-much like an air conditioner – a compressor compresses some refrigerant, the refrigerant is run through an evaporator coil or radiator, where it expands rapidly, sucking the heat out of the radiator, which sucks the heat out of any air that touches it. A fan blows air across that radiator. As the air cools, it loses its ability to hold water, and the water is either collected in a bucket or directed down a drain.
A portable dehumidifier unit can be wheeled to any room in the house. It doesn’t chill the room where it’s working, because while one side of it is being made cold, to precipitate water from the air, the other side of the same unit is spilling the compressor heat into the same room. On average, the room heats up a bit.
You could do basically the same thing by running a window-mount air conditioner in the middle of a room, rather than in a window. When it’s mounted in a window, the compressor heat gets exhausted to the outdoors, while the radiator coil faces indoors. A fan keeps room air moving across the coil. Any water that precipitates out of the indoor air is directed outside by a short hose or pipe.
Again – just to reinforce the notion that it’s all the same technology, just tweaked for a particular purpose, think of your car’s climate-control system. If you live in Texas, you won’t have much experience with this part, but if you live in Ottawa, Canada (or even Ottawa, Illinois, we suppose…) then in the cold days of winter your car windows get frosty. You can run your heater to slowly get rid of the frost, but it actually works faster in the “Defrost” setting, which uses your car’s air conditioner to dry the air. The “Defrost” setting blows the driest possible air onto your windshield and your side windows, and none of it at your feet. The frost clears quickly.
[Click below for the second page in this discussion] | <urn:uuid:4ef1e56b-7cbb-42e6-8622-770104600901> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.furnacerepairottawa.com/dehumidifiers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910434 | 678 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Ecotourism, or ecological tourism, is a type of tourism in which the travelers visit fragile, relatively pristine natural environments in such a way as to both minimize the impact on the environment and to actually benefit the environment and the local communities, with the later helping to provide an economic and social incentive to keep these local areas pristine. The term differs from sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, green tourism, and nature-based tourism in that ecotourism has the added dimension of actively benefiting the environment and the local communities (see below).
Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. This low-impact, typically small-scale tourism supports conservation through education by offering tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment and fostering a greater appreciation of natural habitats. By improving the well-being of the local people, the communities have a vested interest in keeping the natural areas attractive to tourists. And ecotourism may also benefit the environment through direct financial contributions toward conservation.
Given that ecotourism offers substantial economic incentives to protect environmental areas, it is often looked at as a great hope for both conservation and helping people, countering the exploitation of natural areas for personal economic gain. However, the term often is used simply as a marketing tool for practices that actually harm the environment or do not benefit the local communities. Furthermore, the success of ecotourism may also have unintended negative consequences for the environment or the local communities, unless responsibly managed. There also are intrinsic problems whereby "ecotourism companies" that keep more of their profits or pursue less environmentally friendly actions can gain competitive advantage over companies that invest more of their profits for conservation and helping the local communities.
Definition and overview
Ecotourism is a type of tourism. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a United Nations agency, defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited."
Ecotourism lacks a universal definition. However, common elements include
- (1) visiting natural areas, which commonly are remote, virtually untouched, often protected ecosystems, but can include a natural area in an urban setting;
- (2) having low impact on the environment, and often involving tourism of small scale as opposed to mass tourism;
- (3) contributing to conservation of the natural environment visited, such as building awareness or providing direct funds for environmental conservation; and
- 4) benefiting the local communities, such as providing economic value through hiring guides, consuming local products, or staying at local facilities.
"That form of environmentally responsible tourism that involves travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas with the object of enjoying, admiring, and studying the nature (the scenery, wild plants and animals), as well as any cultural aspect (both past and present) found in these areas, through a process which promotes conservation, has a low impact on the environment and on culture and favors the active and socioeconomically beneficial involvement of local communities."
According to the definition and principles of ecotourism established by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) in 1990, ecotourism is:
"Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people."
TIES also recognizes the following six principles of ecotourism: (1) "minimize impact"; (2) "build environmental and cultural awareness and respect"; (3) "provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts"; (4) "provide direct financial benefits for conservation"; (5) "provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people"; and (6) "raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate."
The Australian Commission on National Ecotourism Strategy defines ecotourism as:
"Nature-based tourism that involves education and interpretation of the natural environment and is managed to be ecologically sustainable."
Martha Honey, in her book Ecotourism and Sustainable Development, lists seven characteristics of ecotourism:
- Involves travel to natural destinations.
- Minimizes impact.
- Builds environmental awareness
- Provides direct financial benefits for conservation
- Provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people
- Respects local culture
- Supports human rights and democratic movements
The seven defining points that Honey raises form the working definition of ecotourism for many treatises on ecotourism and several university programs.
Although the terms are often treated as if synonymous, ecotourism differs from such terms as sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, nature-based tourism, and green tourism. Sustainable tourism refers to tourism that does not deplete the natural resources and allows future generations to have the same opportunity as current tourists. Responsible tourism is one that minimizes negative impacts on the environment. Nature-based tourism is travel with a focus on nature, whether or not such activity is sustainable or responsible. Green tourism, while often used interchangeably with ecotourism, is travel, activity, or facility operating in an environmentally friendly manner. Ecotourism differs from these in including not just travel to natural destinations and minimizing impact, but providing benefits for the environment in terms of conservation (education, direct financial), as well as economic and social benefits for the local communities, such that the local people have a vested interest in protecting their environment.
For many countries, ecotourism is not simply a marginal activity to finance protection of the environment, but is a major industry of the national economy. For example, in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, Kenya, Madagascar, and Antarctica, ecotourism represents a significant portion of the gross domestic product and economic activity.
Hector Ceballos-Lascurain popularized, and he also claimed to have coined, the term 'ecotourism' in July 1983, when he was performing the dual role of Director General of Standards and Technology of SEDUE (the Mexican Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology) and founding president of PRONATURA (an influential Mexican conservationist NGO). PRONATURA was lobbying for the conservation of the wetlands in northern Yucatán as breeding and feeding habitats of the American Flamingo.He also claimed to have provided the preliminary definition for ecotourism later that year, at a presentation in Mexico City for PRONATURA.
Others claim the term was in use earlier: Claus-Dieter (Nick) Hetzer, an academic and adventurer from Forum International in Berkeley, CA, is said to have coined the term in 1965 and ran the first ecotours in the Yucatán during the early 1970s.
Ecotourism, responsible tourism, jungle tourism, and sustainable development have become prevalent concepts since the mid 1980s, and ecotourism has experienced arguably the fastest growth of all sub-sectors in the tourism industry. The popularity represents a change in tourist perceptions, increased environmental awareness, and a desire to explore natural environments. At times, such changes become as much a statement affirming one's social identity, educational sophistication, and disposable income as it has about preserving the Amazon rainforest or the Caribbean reef for posterity.
Challenges, negative impacts, and pseudo-ecotourism
There have been a number of negative impacts and challenges associated with ecotourism. Often, the negative impacts are associated with the fact that "ecotour" companies may be promoting a form of tourism that is not true ecotourism according to the definitions presented above.
Definitions and pseudo-ecotourism
In the continuum of tourism activities that stretch from conventional tourism to ecotourism proper, there has been a lot of contention to the limit at which biodiversity preservation, local social-economic benefits, and environmental impact can be considered "ecotourism." For this reason, environmentalists, special interest groups, and governments define ecotourism differently. Environmental organizations have generally insisted that ecotourism is nature-based, sustainably managed, conservation supporting, and environmentally educated. The tourist industry and governments, however, focus more on the product aspect, often treating ecotourism as equivalent to any sort of tourism based in nature.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag The development and success of such large scale, energy intensive, and ecologically unsustainable schemes are a testament to the tremendous profits associated with being labeled as ecotourism.
In other words, the concept of ecotourism is often misunderstood and used as a marketing tool to promote tourism that is related to nature, but does not promote conservation of the environment or improvement of the well-being of people in the local communities. For example, the tourism company may use tour guides, transport, and hotels from outside the area, perhaps in the nearest big city, and thus the local people do not gain economically. Sometimes, the term ecotourism is used for the placing a hotel in a splendid landscape, to the detriment of the ecosystem. According to the definition of ecotourism presented above, such practices are not true ecotourism, and may be referred to as "pseudo-ecotourism."
Responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for local communities.
Negative environmental impacts
Ecotourism operations occasionally fail to live up to conservation ideals, even where efforts are being made to meet many of the conditions for ecotourism. At the local level, ecotourism has become a source of conflict over control of land, resources, and tourism profits, which has led to harming the environment and the local people. Ecotourism also may have more limited potential for protecting the environment than is assumed. Although ecotourism is intended for small groups, even a modest increase in population, however temporary, puts extra pressure on the local environment and necessitates the development of additional infrastructure and amenities. The construction of water treatment plants, sanitation facilities, and lodges come with the exploitation of non-renewable energy sources and the utilization of already limited local resources. The conversion of natural land to such tourist infrastructure is implicated in deforestation and habitat deterioration of butterflies in Mexico and squirrel monkeys in Costa Rica. In other cases, the environment suffers because local communities are unable to meet the infrastructure demands of ecotourism. The lack of adequate sanitation facilities in many East African parks results in the disposal of campsite sewage in rivers, contaminating the wildlife, livestock, and people who draw drinking water from it.
Although ecotourists may be considered to be educationally sophisticated and environmentally concerned, the reality is that many do not understand the ecological consequences of their visits and how their day-to-day activities append physical impacts on the environment. As one scientist observes, they "rarely acknowledge how the meals they eat, the toilets they flush, the water they drink, and so on, are all part of broader regional economic and ecological systems they are helping to reconfigure with their very activities." Nor do ecotourists recognize the great consumption of non-renewable energy required to arrive at their destination, which is typically more remote than conventional tourism destinations. For instance, an exotic journey to a place 10,000 kilometers away consumes about 700 liters of fuel per person. Aside from environmental degradation with tourist infrastructure, population pressures from ecotourism also leaves behind garbage and pollution.
Ecotourism activities are, in of itself, issues in environmental impact because they disturb fauna and flora. Ecotourists believe that because they are only taking pictures and leaving footprints, they keep ecotourism sites pristine, but even harmless sounding activities such as a nature hike can be ecologically destructive. In the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, ecotourists have worn down the marked trails and created alternate routes, contributing to soil impaction, erosion, and plant damage. Where the ecotourism activity involves wildlife viewing, it can scare away animals, disrupt their feeding and nesting sites, or acclimate them to the presence of people. In Kenya, wildlife-observer disruption drives cheetahs off their reserves, increasing the risk of inbreeding and further endangering the species.
The number of motor vehicles crossing a nature park increases as tour drivers search for rare species. The number of roads can disrupt the grass cover, which impacts plant and animal species. These areas also have a higher rate of disturbances and invasive species because of all the traffic moving off the beaten path into new undiscovered areas. Ecotourism also has an effect on species through the value placed on them, and if valued, there may be an overproduction of them.
Insufficient benefits and negative impacts for local communities
While ecotourism technically involves providing benefits to the local communities, these benefits may be very limited. Most forms of ecotourism are owned by foreign investors and corporations that provide few benefits to local communities. An overwhelming majority of profits are put into the pockets of investors instead of reinvestment into the local economy or environmental protection. The limited numbers of local people who are employed in the economy enter at its lowest level, and are unable to live in tourist areas because of meager wages and a two market system. Furthermore, the lack of local infrastructure, local guides that know the flora and fauna or have the requisite skills, and so forth, may lead the ecotour company to utilize facilities and people from outside the local area.
Ecotourism often claims that it preserves and "enhances" local cultures. However, evidence shows that with the establishment of protected areas local people have illegally lost their homes, and most often with no compensation. Pushing people onto marginal lands with harsh climates, poor soils, lack of water, and infested with disease does little to enhance livelihoods even when a proportion of ecotourism profits are directed back into the community. The establishment of parks can create harsh survival realities and deprive the people of their traditional use of land and natural resources. Ethnic groups are increasingly being seen as a "backdrop" to the scenery and wildlife. The local people struggle for cultural survival and freedom of cultural expression while being "observed" by tourists. Local indigenous people also have strong resentment towards the change, "Tourism has been allowed to develop with virtually no controls. Too many lodges have been built, too much firewood is being used and no limits are being placed on tourism vehicles. They regularly drive off-track and harass the wildlife. Their vehicle tracks criss-cross the entire Masai Mara. Inevitably, the bush is becoming eroded and degraded."
One of the most powerful examples of communities being moved in order to create a park is the story of the Masai. About 70% of national parks and game reserves in East Africa are on Masai land. The first undesirable impact of tourism was that of the extent of land lost from the Masai culture. Local and national governments took advantage of the Masai’s ignorance on the situation and robbed them of huge chunks of grazing land, putting to risk their only socio-economic livelihood. In Kenya, the Masai also have not gained any economic benefits. Despite the loss of their land, employment favors better educated workers. Furthermore the investors in this area are not local and have not put profits back into local economy. In some cases game reserves can be created without informing or consulting local people, who come to find out about the situation when an eviction notice is delivered. Another source of resentment is the manipulation of the local people by their government.
In some cases, the resentment by local people results in environmental degradation. As a highly publicized case, the Masai nomads in Kenya killed wildlife in national parks to show aversion to unfair compensation terms and displacement from traditional lands. The lack of economic opportunities for local people also constrains them to degrade the environment as a means of sustenance. The presence of affluent ecotourists encourage the development of destructive markets in wildlife souvenirs, such as the sale of coral trinkets on tropical islands and animal products in Asia, contributing to illegal harvesting and poaching from the environment. In Suriname, sea turtle reserves use a very large portion of their budget to guard against these destructive activities.
Mismanagement and intrinsic problems of cost-benefit
While governments are typically entrusted with the administration and enforcement of environmental protection, they often lack the commitment or capability to manage ecotourism sites effectively. The regulations for environmental protection may be vaguely defined, costly to implement, hard to enforce, and uncertain in effectiveness. Government regulatory agencies, as political bodies, are susceptible to making decisions that spend budget on politically beneficial but environmentally unproductive projects. Because of prestige and conspicuousness, the construction of an attractive visitor's center at an ecotourism site may take precedence over more pressing environmental concerns like acquiring habitat, protecting endemic species, and removing invasive ones. Finally, influential groups can pressure and sway the interests of the government to their favor. The government and its regulators can become vested in the benefits of the ecotourism industry which they are supposed to regulate, causing restrictive environmental regulations and enforcement to become more lenient.
Management of ecotourism sites by private ecotourism companies offers an alternative to the cost of regulation and deficiency of government agencies. It is believed that these companies have a self interest in limited environmental degradation, because tourists will pay more for pristine environments, which translates to higher profit. However, theory suggests that this practice is not economically feasible and will fail to manage the environment.
There also is an issue of the cost-benefit ratio creating a pressure away from using profits for environmental conservation and the benefit of the local communities.
For example, the model of monopolistic competition states that distinctiveness will entail profits, but profits will promote imitation. A company that protects its ecotourism sites is able to charge a premium for the novel experience and pristine environment. But when other companies view the success of this approach, they also enter the market with similar practices, increasing competition, and reducing demand, and with reduced demand, reduced economic profit. A cost-benefit analysis shows that the company bears the cost of environmental protection without receiving the gains. Without economic incentive, the whole premise of self interest through environmental protection is quashed; instead, ecotourism companies will minimize environment-related expenses and maximize tourism demand.
The tragedy of the commons offers another model for economic unsustainability from environmental protection, in ecotourism sites utilized by many companies. Although there is a communal incentive to protect the environment, maximizing the benefits in the long run, a company will conclude that it is in their best interest to utilize the ecotourism site beyond its sustainable level. By increasing the number of ecotourists, for instance, a company gains all the economic benefit while paying only a part of the environmental cost. In the same way, a company recognizes that there is no incentive to actively protect the environment; they bear all the costs, while the benefits are shared by all other companies. The result, again, is mismanagement.
In other words, competition can lead companies toward practices that are less favorable for the environment and the local communities. If the ecotourism company finds it is losing its competitive advantage to companies that are keeping more of their profits or using more economical facilities, guides, etc., from outside the area, then it will also feel pressure to keep profits that it may pour into conservation or the local communities.
Taken together, the mobility of foreign investment and lack of economic incentive for environmental protection means that ecotourism companies are disposed to establishing themselves in new sites once their existing one is sufficiently degraded.
Regulation and accreditation
Because the regulation of ecotourism is poorly implemented or nonexistent, and the terminology is used imprecisely, ecologically destructive operations like underwater hotels, helicopter tours, and wildlife theme parks often are categorized as ecotourism along with canoeing, camping, photography, and wildlife observation. The failure to clearly identify responsible, low impact ecotourism as such, versus "pseudo-ecotourism," puts true ecotourism companies at a competitive disadvantage.
Many environmentalists have argued for a global standard of accreditation, differentiating ecotourism companies based on their level of environmental commitment. A national or international regulatory board would enforce accreditation procedures, with representation from various groups including governments, hotels, tour operators, travel agents, guides, airlines, local authorities, conservation organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The decisions of the board would be sanctioned by governments, so that non-compliant companies would be legally required to disassociate themselves from the use of the ecotourism brand.
Another suggestion is a Green Stars System, based on criteria including a management plan, benefit for the local community, small group interaction, education value and staff training. Ecotourists who consider their choices would be confident of a genuine ecotourism experience when they see the higher star rating.
In addition, environmental impact assessments could be used as a form of accreditation. Feasibility is evaluated from a scientific basis, and recommendations could be made to optimally plan infrastructure, set tourist capacity, and manage the ecology. This form of accreditation is more sensitive to site specific conditions.
Guidelines and education
An environmental protection strategy must address the issue of ecotourists removed from the cause-and-effect of their actions on the environment. More initiatives should be carried out to improve their awareness, sensitize them to environmental issues, and care about the places they visit.
Tour guides are an obvious and direct medium to communicate awareness. With the confidence of ecotourists and intimate knowledge of the environment, they can actively discuss conservation issues. A tour guide training program in Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park has helped mitigate negative environmental impacts by providing information and regulating tourists on the parks' beaches used by nesting endangered sea turtles.
Small scale, slow growth, and local control
The underdevelopment theory of tourism describes a form of economic domination by multinational corporations that control ecotourism resources. These corporations finance and profit from the development of large scale ecotourism, which causes excessive environmental degradation, loss of traditional culture and way of life, and exploitation of local labor. In Zimbabwe and Nepal's Annapurna region, where underdevelopment is taking place, more than 90 percent of ecotourism revenues are expatriated to the parent countries, and less than 5 percent go into local communities.
The lack of sustainability suggests the need for small scale, slow growth, and locally based ecotourism. Local peoples have a vested interest in the well being of their community, and are therefore more accountable to environmental protection than multinational corporations. The lack of control, westernization, adverse impacts to the environment, and loss of culture and traditions outweigh the benefits of establishing large scale ecotourism.
The increased contributions of communities to locally managed ecotourism create viable economic opportunities, including high level management positions, and reduce environmental issues associated with poverty and unemployment. Because the ecotourism experience is marketed to a different lifestyle from large scale ecotourism, the development of facilities and infrastructure does not need to conform to corporate Western tourism standards, and can be much simpler and less expensive. There is a greater multiplier effect on the economy, because local products, materials, and labor are used. Profits accrue locally and import leakages are reduced. However, even this form of tourism may require foreign investment for promotion or start up. When such investments are required, it is crucial for communities to find a company or non-governmental organization that reflects the philosophy of ecotourism; sensitive to their concerns and willing to cooperate at the expense of profit.
The basic assumption of the multiplier effect is that the economy starts off with unused resources; for example, that many workers are cyclically unemployed and much of industrial capacity is sitting idle or incompletely utilized. By increasing demand in the economy, it is then possible to boost production. If the economy was already at full employment, with only structural, frictional, or other supply-side types of unemployment, any attempt to boost demand would only lead to inflation. For various laissez-faire schools of economics, which embrace Say's Law and deny the possibility of Keynesian inefficiency and under-employment of resources, therefore, the multiplier concept is irrelevant or wrong-headed.
As an example, consider the government increasing its expenditure on roads by $1 million, without a corresponding increase in taxes. This sum would go to the road builders, who would hire more workers and distribute the money as wages and profits. The households receiving these incomes will save part of the money and spend the rest on consumer goods. These expenditures in turn will generate more jobs, wages, and profits, and so on with the income and spending circulating around the economy. Tax revenues would also increase with the increased jobs, wages, and profits.
The multiplier effect arises because of the induced increases in consumer spending that occur due to the increased incomes—and because of the feedback into increasing business revenues, jobs, and income again. This process does not lead to an economic explosion not only because of the supply-side barriers at potential output (full employment) but because at each "round," the increase in consumer spending is less than the increase in consumer incomes. That is, the marginal propensity to consume (mpc) is less than one, so that each round some extra income goes into saving, leaking out of the cumulative process. Each increase in spending is thus smaller than that of the previous round, preventing an explosion. Ecotourism has to be implemented with care.
- ↑ World Tourism Organization, [http://pub.unwto.org/WebRoot/Store/Shops/Infoshop/Products/1034/1034-1.pdf "Collection of tourism expenditure statistics," UNWTO Technical Manual No. 2 (1995). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ Ecotourism In America, Terms and definitions: Ecotourism," Ecotourisminamerica.com (2011). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 R. Mader, "Conversation with Hector Ceballos-Lascurain," Planeta.com (2000). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ International Ecotourism Society, "What is ecotourism," TIES (2011). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 M. Merg, "Defining ecotourism," Untamed Path (2007). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ M. Honey, Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2008). ISBN 1597261254.
- ↑ M. Merg, "What is ecotourism," Untamed Path (2007). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 A. Tuohino, and A. Hynonen, "Ecotourism: Imagery and reality. Reflections on concepts and practices in Finnish rural tourism," Nordia Geographical Publications 30(2001)(iss. 4):21–34.
- ↑ W. R. Eadington, and V.L. Smith, "The emergence of alternative forms of tourism," in W. R. Eadington, Tourism Alternatives: Potentials and Problems in the Development of Tourism (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992). ISBN 0812231481.
- ↑ D. B. Weaver, The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism (New York: Cabi, 2001). ISBN 0851993680.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 A. Randall, Resource Economics, 2nd edition. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1987). ISBN 047187468X.
- ↑ R. Buckley, "Research note: A framework for ecotourism, " Annals of Tourism Research 21(1994), issue 3:661–669.
- ↑ L. Vivanco, "Ecotourism: Paradise lost. A Thai case study," The Ecologist 32(2002),iss. 2:28–30.
- ↑ J. C. Isaacs, "The limited potential of ecotourism to contribute to wildlife conservation," The Ecologist 28(2000): 61–69.
- ↑ D. Mellgren, "Travel experts see worrisome downside to ecotourism," Environmental News Network" May 16, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ D. McLaren, Rethinking Tourism and Ecotravel: The Paving of Paradise and What You Can Do to Stop It (West Hartford, CT: Kamarian Press, 1998). ISBN 1565490665.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 O. Kamauro, Ecotourism: Suicide or Development? Voices from Africa #6: Sustainable Development (UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service, United Nations News Service, 1996).
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 E. Cater, and G. Lowman, Ecotourism in the Third World: Problems and Prospects for Sustainability," in E. Cater and G. Lowman, Ecotourism: A Sustainable option?" (United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons, 1994). ISBN 0471948969.
- ↑ W. J. Baumol, W. E. Oates, and S. A. Batey Blackman, Economics, Environmental Policy, and Quality of Life (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1979). ISBN 0132313650.
- ↑ G. Hardin, "The tragedy of the commons," Science 162(1968): 1243-1248.
- ↑ M. Elper-Wood, "Ecotourism at a crossroads: Charting the way forward," The Final Report from the Conference of Ecotourism at the Crossroads (Nairobi, Kenya, 1998).
- ↑ D. Crinion, "South Australian tourism strategy and the role of ecotourism," Down to Earth Planning for an Out-of-the-Ordinary Industry (Adelaide, Australia: South Australian Ecotourism Forum, 1998).
- ↑ S. K. Jacobson, and R. Robles, "Ecotourism, sustainable development, and conservation education: Development of a tour guide training program in Tortuguero, Costa Rica," Environmental Management 16(1998), iss. 6:701–713.
- ↑ K. Ziffer, Ecotourism: The Uneasy Alliance (Conservation International/Ernst and Young, 1998).
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Summary: Gravetter and Wallnau's proven best-seller offers the straightforward instruction, accuracy, built-in learning aids, and wealth of real-world examples that professors AND students have come to appreciate. The authors integrate applications to ensure that even students with a weak background in mathematics can achieve mastery of statistical concepts. They skillfully demonstrate that having an understanding of statistical procedures will help them not only understand p ...show moreublished findings, but also become savvy consumers of information. Known for its exceptional accuracy and examples, this text also has a complete supplements package to support instructors with class preparation and testing.Edition/Copyright: 6TH 04
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THIS IS NOT AN ACTIVITY PACKET ON WORD FAMILIES; THIS IS AN INTERACTIVE, STUDENT CENTERED LESSON PLAN USING LITERATURE, HOP ON POP BY DR. SEUSS, TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT WORD FAMILIES. ACTIVITY SHEETS ARE INCLUDED AS WELL AS TEACHING TECHNIQUES TO AID IN STUDENT UNDERSTANDING.
-Students will learn about word families; segment rimes and onsets
-Students will learn how to identify rhyming words
-Students will learn how to create rhyming words
-Language is used to communicate and deepen understanding
-Spoken language can be represented in print
-Effective use of vocabulary builds social and academic knowledge
-How can the knowledge of language help us to communicate and understand?
-Word choice and sentence structure are used to express ideas.
-Letters are used to represent sounds and are combined to form words that convey meaning.
-Words have various forms.
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Great architects have distinctive style and technique. Though their designs are based upon core laws of physics and engineering, each architect applies those principles differently. It is that marked design variation that makes an architect unique.
My three favorite architects are masters of the trade, each being distinctively different. Antoni Gaudí, a Spanish Catalan architect, designed unique buildings and outdoor areas including Casa Batlló, Park Güell, and his masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia church. Gaudí’s style was influenced largely by nature and religion. Architect Frank Gehry designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Gehry’s designs incorporate metal, showing as immense works of abstract art. American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed structures to be in harmony with mankind and their environment, is best known for his Prairie School style.
My interest in architecture extends into the Scriptures. Old Testament passages that record the blueprints, materials, and construction of projects such as the tower of Babel, the tabernacle, the temples of Israel, and the walls of Jerusalem are fascinating. If I could go back in time, these projects would be first on my list to visit.
The New Testament church is very different in form and purpose from those Old Testament building sites, yet is still described in architectural terms. Jesus unveiled His plan for a global construction project by announcing, “I will build My church.” Often, epistle writers appealed to construction metaphors to describe the church and the work of erecting it.
One way of thinking about church history is to view it as the development of distinctive designs of theological architects, with schools of thought that perpetuate each of these designs. Church history could be categorized into theological constructs such as Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, etc.
I am in the theological construct referred to as “Baptist.” I was born into a Baptist family. As a Baptist pastor’s son, I attended a Baptist church every week during childhood and adolescence. When I went off to college, I attended a Baptist school. In my Baptist foundation class, I memorized the Baptist distinctives, using an acronym to help my recall. Over the next few years, God used my valuable education to show me that my Baptist identity is more than a family tie or the name on a church sign. Baptist is the theological construct by which I, and those who follow that same premise, do the work of building local churches.
A Baptist construct
A Baptist construct is not meant to mass produce an assembly line of identical churches. Each pastor and congregation incorporates their own style and ministry methods. However, a Baptist construct does provide a church with a design for systematic and consistent building.
For instance, the distinctive of Biblical authority means that the Bible alone provides the content and instruction for church ministry. For a Baptist, the design for church ministry is based on New Testament teaching. When pastors, deacons, youth leaders, and Sunday School teachers commit to following this divine design, the church has an unshakable foundation on which it can be built. A pastor has as his assignment the work of practicing and teaching the Bible to his congregation so they will fully function on the basis of Biblical authority.
As a Baptist, I am committed to regenerate church membership. This means that the gospel is at the heart of all we do in the church. A truly Baptist church will long to see people saved and progressively sanctified. The testimony of God’s grace in new and growing believers is the centerpiece of congregational life. A commitment to a regenerate membership impacts the preaching and teaching from the pulpit and in the classroom. The gospel shapes the content of “welcome” classes and new-member orientation. The church uses the criterion of sharing the gospel for evaluating its missionaries and for measuring its own growth in godliness.
Local church autonomy, two offices of pastor and deacon, two ordinances, soul liberty, separation of church and state, and the other distinctively Baptist marks, provide an infrastructure around which a congregation and pastor build. Without a theological construct, the danger exists that the church will end up a hodgepodge with little symmetry, efficiency, or sustainability.
To be Baptist means more than having a phone listing using that name. Baptist is a theological design by which a church is built. The interesting phrase that often appears at the end of a Baptist church covenant, “Should we leave this church, we will join a church of like faith and practice,” refers to finding a church of similar theological construct. It is a Biblical theology that truly identifies a Baptist.
As a student of religion, I enjoy learning about other constructs designed by theological architects. I have chosen to follow a Baptist construct in the work of the ministry. What construct are you using? Think Biblical, think Baptist.
John Greening is national representative for the GARBC. | <urn:uuid:f0dd4408-6eec-46cb-b1f6-c0b68c690f14> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://baptistbulletin.org/the-baptist-bulletin-magazine/marapr-12-issue/a-baptist-construct/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257939.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20190525084658-20190525110658-00406.warc.gz | en | 0.965062 | 1,019 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Pain hurts less when it is inflicted by a woman, researchers have found.
Men and women reported similar levels of pain
Students were asked to put their fingers in a clamp which was tightened until the pain was unbearable.
Researchers from the University of Westminster found that people allowed women to turn the clamp much further than men.
Dr David Williams, who led the research said the study suggested people do not expect women to inflict as much pain.
He said: "This effect is likely to be a result of what participants subconsciously expect, based on socially acquired gender stereotypes - people feel that they are less likely to experience intense pain from a stimulus given by a woman rather than a man.
"This effect is less likely to be down to males trying to appear macho in front of a female - a conscious and deliberate act - as the result applied to both genders."
He said the fact there were no differences in how men and women responded to the test suggested women do not actually handle pain better.
Dr Williams said people's sensitivity to pain was also shown to depend on their surroundings.
In the study, people appeared to suffer more if there was a poster on the wall which might trigger negative feelings, such as a chart of wounds or a poster calling for blood donors.
Dr Williams, who carried out the research for his PhD, said: "People subconsciously evaluate their environment.
"This evaluation can result in identical stimuli being perceived as more or less painful for the same participant or, in some cases, an innocuous
stimulus being perceived as painful or a relatively intense stimulus perceived as innocuous."
He said the finding could have implications for how patients are given potentially painful treatments.
"Individuals can be 'primed' for pain by qualities of their environment and, as a result, may suffer unnecessarily during acutely painful clinical procedures.
"Awareness of these principles may be useful in developing methods of reducing suffering in those situations." | <urn:uuid:326abebb-5684-43e1-8f43-4b6643653879> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3461591.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500808153.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021328-00165-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978588 | 396 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Whether it’s a painting on the wall of a cave or an 18th-century novel, women have always been depicted as curious creatures, constantly seeking knowledge and new experiences. And there’s a lot of truth to that. In the past, however, social restrictions kept many women from truly fulfilling their curiosity.
Today, women are free to explore the world and satisfy their thirst for knowledge and thanks to this newfound freedom, women are now able to travel the world, pursue challenging careers, and try new things without judgment. This curiosity has led to incredible discoveries and achievements by women across the globe. From finding new cures for diseases to climbing the highest mountains, there is no limit to what women can do when they set their minds to it. Thanks to their curiosity, modern women are changing the world in powerful and positive ways.
VR and women
The way we interact with the world around us is constantly evolving, thanks in large part to advances in technology. One of the most significant changes in recent years has been the rise of virtual reality (VR). This new form of technology has had a profound impact on many aspects of our lives, including the way women live and experience the world and even in terms of SexLikeReal.
In the past, women have been largely underrepresented in the field of technology. However, with the advent of VR, that is beginning to change. Women are now able to explore and experience new worlds in ways that were previously not possible. This has led to a greater sense of empowerment and independence among women.
One study found that female participants who experienced virtual reality felt more connected to their bodies and less self-conscious about their physical appearance. They also felt more confident and competent in various situations. The study concluded that VR could be a valuable tool for improving self-esteem and body image among women.
Other studies have found that VR can help women with anxiety disorders reduce their symptoms. It can also help them deal with fear and stress in healthy ways. For example, one study found that participants who used VR therapy learned how to control their fear through cognitive strategies such as relaxation techniques. This helped them manage anxiety disorder effectively without using medication or other treatments that can be harmful.
Overall, the impact of VR on the lives of modern women is positive. It has helped them overcome various psychological issues and improved their overall well-being.
VR has also had a positive impact on the way women interact with each other. Thanks to VR, women are now able to connect with each other in ways that are more intimate and personal. This has led to a deeper sense of connection and understanding between women.
Do women like virtual reality?
As for the more mature content, it is a widely held belief that men are the only ones who watch and enjoy this material. However, this is simply not true. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of women who engage with this kind of video. There are a variety of reasons why women may enjoy experiencing it in VR.
For some, it is a way to explore their sexuality in a safe and consensual way. For others, it is simply a matter of visual stimulation. Whatever the reason, there is no shame in it and society is, at last, coming around to this notion. Naturally, we should all be free to watch whatever type of content we find pleasing and satisfying.
What are some female-focused criticisms of VR?
When it comes to VR, women have a wide range of opinions. Some find it empowering, as it allows them to explore their desires in a safe and private setting. Others find it objectifying, as the more adult-oriented material sometimes features women who are passive and submissive. And still, others find it simply uncomfortable, as early VR headsets could be cumbersome and the experience can be disorienting.
However, these criticisms are less and less valid as time goes on. Indeed, modern VR headsets are incredibly comfortable and there is a range of feminist-friendly VR video that showcases the woman as the star of the show – just as in real life – without resorting to outmoded stereotypes.
One thing that we all can agree on is that VR is likely to become more popular with women as the range of content grows and an increasing number of female creators enter the industry. Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that VR is here to stay and is becoming more progressive and more considerate of different people’s needs every day.
Challenges Facing Women in the Age of VR
One of the most positive aspects of virtual reality is that it has allowed people from all over the world to experience new worlds and explore them in ways they never could before. However, there are also some challenges facing women in the age of VR that need to be addressed.
One issue is that VR can be isolating. If someone is using it to escape their daily life, they may not be able to cope with challenges or social interactions when they return to reality. Additionally, some women feel like they need to dress a certain way or act a certain way in order to fit into a virtual world, which can be challenging if they don’t feel comfortable or confident doing so in reality.
Another challenge facing women in the age of VR is that many people still perceive them as being primarily responsible for taking care of others. This can make it difficult for them to feel powerful or autonomous in VR. Additionally, many people are still learning about and accepting the idea of virtual reality, which means that there may still be some misconceptions about what it can and cannot do. Until these misconceptions are cleared up, it will be difficult for women to fully enjoy the potential benefits of VR.
Virtual Reality has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the lives of modern women. From helping those with social anxiety disorder feel more comfortable in groups to providing a new way for veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder to experience life outside of their traumatic experiences, VR is proving to be one of the most valuable tools available to women today. | <urn:uuid:931b4d40-cbba-418f-9f0a-25e5fd13e78a> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.pensacolavoice.com/how-has-vr-affected-lives-of-modern-women/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500719.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20230208060523-20230208090523-00546.warc.gz | en | 0.97306 | 1,322 | 2.890625 | 3 |
France and the Origins of the Second World War
France's drift into war and subsequent collapse have often been attributed to her level of confidence. Either she had too much, or too little. This work contends that these two moods were not mutually exclusive, that they coexisted throughout the interwar years, sustained by competing visions of the Republic and of the best way to ensure national security. Early chapters describe the tensions within French interwar foreign policy, as well as the ensuing historiographical tensions among scholars intent on interpreting the French experience. Subsequent chapters explore tensions in defence and economic policies, domestic politics and ideological allegiance, public attitudes and opinion. | <urn:uuid:6c0dd152-87c4-48cc-9d8b-2652c7d8d521> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.history.ac.uk/history-online/book/isbn/0333575539 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719815.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00292-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962171 | 131 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Bay leaf used in ancient Mediterranean cuisine is the aromatic leaf of the plant Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis). It is also known plainly as Laurel.
There are a few different trees from many different countries from which Bay Leaves that are sold in supermarkets are from. In order to make authentic ancient recipes from the Mediterranean region only the Laurel leaf can be used. Sometimes the Bay Laurel Leaf is called Turkish Bay Leaf and you will see this label on packaging from many companies.
Dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavor and fragrance. The fresh leaves are very mild and do not develop their full flavor until several weeks after picking and drying.
The leaves should be removed from the cooked food before eating, because they remain stiff even after cooking, and if swallowed can scratch the digestive tract or cause choking. Most recipes that use bay leaves will recommend their removal after the cooking process has finished.
Buy Bay Laurel Leaves here: | <urn:uuid:ce2ff04b-0377-497e-8c83-867424940e9a> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.ancientrecipes.org/bay-leaf-laurel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178361849.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20210301030155-20210301060155-00447.warc.gz | en | 0.97357 | 189 | 2.671875 | 3 |
View in Java Collections Framework is a lightweight object which implements Collection or Map interface but is not a real collection in a traditional sense. In fact, view does store objects inside but references another collection, array or a single object and uses it to provide the data to a user.
To start with views let’s take a look at the simplest ones which represent empty collections. In Collections class you can find emptyList(), emptySet() and emptyMap() methods which create empty instance of List, Set or Map respectively:
List<String> clearList = Collections.emptyList(); Set<String> clearSet = Collections.emptySet(); Map<String, Integer> clearMap = Collections.emptyMap();
The returned instance is actually immutable so trying to add an element into it will result in an exception. However, this kind of empty collection is very convenient if some API requires a collection but for some reason we don’t want to pass any objects there.
View of a single object
Very often we need a collection with only one element. Achieving this with views is very easy. We can create such list, set or map by calling singletonList(), singleton() or singletonMap() methods respectively:
List<String> oneList = Collections.singletonList("elem"); Set<String> oneSet = Collections.singleton("elem"); Map<String, Integer> oneMap = Collections.singletonMap("one", 1);
It is also possible to create a list which contains specified element given number of times:
List<String> nTimesList = Collections.nCopies(9, "elem");
The created collections are immutable similarly to empty views. Additionally, the views does not have the overhead of a typical collection and are easier to create.
View of an array
If you ever needed to repack elements from an array into a list just to call a single method, you may appreciate asList() method from Arrays class which creates a list view backed by an array:
String monthArray = new String; List<String> monthList = Arrays.asList(monthArray);
For obvious reasons the returned collection is immutable which means it is impossible to add or remove elements from it. But it is still possible to modify the elements inside the view using get() or set() methods.
Since Java 5 it is also possible to use varargs in asList() method:
List<String> months = Arrays.asList("July", "August");
View of a portion of a collection
We can also create a view of a portion of a list:
List<String> nextFive = list.subList(5, 10);
The returned view contains 5 elements of the original list between index 5, inclusive, and 10, exclusive. The view is also mutable so any modification on the view (e.g. adding or removing elements), will also affect the original list.
The similar functionality is also possible on SortedSet using methods:
SortedSet<E> headSet(E toElement); SortedSet<E> subSet(E fromElement, E toElement); SortedSet<E> tailSet(E fromElement);
and on SortedMap:
SortedMap<K,V> headMap(K toKey); SortedMap<K,V> subMap(K fromKey, K toKey); SortedMap<K,V> tailMap(K fromKey);
Views of keys, values and entries
You should be probably aware of keySet(), entrySet() and values() methods of Map interface. They also return views instead of real collections which make them very efficient.
Class Collection provides methods which create immutable view for many collections types:
List<T> unmodifiableList(List<? extends T> list); Map<K,V> unmodifiableMap(Map<? extends K,? extends V> m); Set<T> unmodifiableSet(Set<? extends T> s); SortedMap<K,V> unmodifiableSortedMap(SortedMap<K,? extends V> m); SortedSet<T> unmodifiableSortedSet(SortedSet<T> s);
If somebody tries to add or remove elements from the view, it will throw an exception. This kind of behaviour is very useful if we want to ensure that given method will not modify the collection. However, it is still possible to modify the elements inside the collection.
Creating unmodifiable view does not make the original collection unmodifiable. It is still possible to change it using the original reference.
Similarly to unmodifiable views we can create synchronized views using methods:
Collection<T> synchronizedCollection(Collection<T> c); List<T> synchronizedList(List<T> list); Map<K,V> synchronizedMap(Map<K,V> m); Set<T> synchronizedSet(Set<T> s); SortedMap<K,V> synchronizedSortedMap(SortedMap<K,V> m); SortedSet<T> synchronizedSortedSet(SortedSet<T> s);
Every method of synchronized view is synchronized which make the view thread-safe. Of course, you should no longer hold or use the reference to the original collection because it would allow unsynchronized access to it.
I tried to mention most popular and useful views in Java Collections Framework. They greatly simplify some common tasks, reduce the number of times when repacking is needed and also reduce the amount of code to type. I hope you will find them useful too. | <urn:uuid:2bd8fc64-691c-4c07-8d25-d4e4e5212921> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://softwarecave.org/2014/03/19/views-in-java-collections-framework/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583743003.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20190120224955-20190121010955-00415.warc.gz | en | 0.748635 | 1,178 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Except: there is no measurement that confirms either higher temperatures, or more heat measured in joules, on the globe as a whole over the last few years. In fact we've had a "reprieve ... from warming temperatures in the last few years," and:
Until 2003, the measured heat increase was consistent with computer model expectations. But a new set of ocean monitors since then has shown a steady decrease in the rate of oceanic heating, even as the satellite-measured imbalance between incoming and outgoing energy continues to grow.
Trenberth again has the honesty to say that measured temperature increases, and even known measures of heat in the oceans, have levelled off in the last decade, and this change is not trivial; among other things, it is contrary to the official global warming computer models.
So is one specific measure--energy in vs. energy out--either mistaken or misleading (I suppose it may be capturing natural changes that have happened before)? Or are a whole bunch of other measures--actual, you know, temperature and heat, mistaken? We can guess the answer: "Either the satellite observations are incorrect, says Trenberth, or, more likely, large amounts of heat are penetrating to regions that are not adequately measured, such as the deepest parts of the oceans."
And of course there is a warning: because of the uncertainty as to what is happening with global energy glows, it may be a mistake to practice geoengineering to mitigate such things as warming. This is to fend off the heretical thought that there are less expensive alternatives to carbon trading, "investing" in windmills and solar panels, etc.
Trenberth is a great example of honestly showing some of the key uncertainties, on the one hand, yet insisting that the dogma must be true on the other. I assume he's not being deliberately dishonest--he just betrays the group think of a lot of scientists and academics on this issue.
Once again he lists the "usual suspects": Arctic, Antarctic, remote glaciers, sea level. But if sea level has been newly been put in doubt, and the other things are subject to distinct local factors, do we really have a global theory here?
Roger Pielke responds (h/t Watts Up With That); and gets some e-mail replies from Trenberth--once again, being relatively courteous.
Meanwhile, Scientific American continues to disgrace itself. The present volcano in Iceland is not directly linked to global warming (and of course has caused more destruction than anyone thinks global warming has done so far), but, but: someday the melting of a huge Icelandic glacier might make warming worse!!!
Er, probably not.
It's as if a lot of otherwise reputable people have gone mad. | <urn:uuid:54f0418a-8a6a-4b3c-96d0-8dcd796378df> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://lloydtown.blogspot.com/2010/04/trenberth-again.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221216051.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20180820082010-20180820102010-00025.warc.gz | en | 0.952432 | 568 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The one absolutely and infinitely perfect spirit who is the Creator of all. In the definition of the First Vatican Council, fifteen internal attributes of God are affirmed, besides his role as Creator of the universe: "The holy, Catholic, apostolic Roman Church believes and professes that there is one true, living God, the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. He is almighty, eternal, beyond measure, incomprehensible, and infinite in intellect, will and in every perfection. Since He is one unique spiritual substance, entirely simple and unchangeable, He must be declared really and essentially distinct from the world, perfectly happy in Himself and by his very nature, and inexpressibly exalted over all things that exist or can be conceived other than Himself" (Denzinger 3001).
Reflecting on the nature of God, theology has variously identified what may be called his metaphysical essence, i.e., what is God. It is commonly said to be his self-subsistence. God is Being Itself. In God essence and existence coincide. He is the Being who cannot not exist. God alone must be. All other beings exist only because of the will of God. | <urn:uuid:972b418a-d730-4158-b015-837776d022fa> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=33757 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948585297.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20171216065121-20171216091121-00080.warc.gz | en | 0.965932 | 241 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral was officially inaugurated November 21, 1940 in the presence of Cardinal Villeneuve, Primate of the Canadian Catholic Church and Archbishop of Québec. The building is one of the most majestic in the city, by its architecture and decorative appeal. It holds rich works of art that recall the life and the Faith of the Acadian people. Four white marble statues and two mural mosaics are the works of Acadian artist, Claude Roussel. The stained glass windows in the transept of the Cathedral evoke the religious and civic history of the Acadian people.
Archbishop Melanson himself designated the new temple as the Monument of Acadian Recognition in homage to the Blessed Virgin, Patron of Acadia. | <urn:uuid:02f45137-540f-4e36-8c10-60fdb8284977> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | http://www.diomoncton.ca/en/notre-dame-de-lassomptions-cathedral | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587593.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20211024173743-20211024203743-00181.warc.gz | en | 0.959772 | 151 | 2.609375 | 3 |
- That children who are lonely in the playground have a safe and risk free option of children to go to for company and potential friendship guidance.
- That the Pink Brigade are role models to others to remind them that we should be aware of others and look out for children who look lonely or confused. We should often look past our friendship groups.
- That in isolated cases the PB can be responsible for certain individuals at play and lunchtimes and directly impact on their feeling of self worth and belonging.
- PB’s will not enter into discussions involving gossip. PB’s will not contribute to negative discussion with peers.
- That the PB will always say yes to anyone who wants to play with them.
- That the PB is vigilant towards issues in the playground, specifically loneliness.
- When we sit to eat, we consider others FIRST. Chn sitting on their own to eat is unacceptable. | <urn:uuid:778b2ee9-98f3-4ea5-9dc6-bc7c0fee60d3> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://patumahoe.school.nz/pink-brigade/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038863420.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20210419015157-20210419045157-00227.warc.gz | en | 0.94773 | 185 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Child Protection Fund
Lend a helping hand to protect at-risk and vulnerable children and youth. Your gift through our preventive and restorative programs will help protect children from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
These programs include:
- Educational support: Our beneficiaries access education from early childhood education to tertiary education based on their needs. Education is indisputably a major contributor to curbing the cycle of poverty as well as that of abuse.
- Guidance and Counseling: Exposed to adverse experiences before their rescue our beneficiaries need psychosocial support to cope and rise above their past.
- Healthcare: Physical wellness is very important.
- Sensitization training: Apart from the care and protection of at-risk children and youth, we conduct sensitization training among different stakeholders including community members to educate and empower them.
- Community partnerships: Unity is power; we, therefore, strive to cultivate working relationships with different agencies including government institutions for effective and efficient service delivery.
In the words of Nelson Mandela, our children are our greatest treasure, they are our future. Therefore, as a society, we owe it to ourselves to love them and keep them safe because they are a reflection of who we are.
Welcome home package:
Give a loving hand of hope to newly rescued children.
Most of our beneficiaries are rescued with nothing but the clothes on their back which are often tattered and dirty. The first step to their healing is restoring their dignity by giving them a welcome home package: something to call their own, something that shows them they are cared for and that someone values and sees them.
The welcome home package includes bedding, essential pieces of clothing, a towel, a pair of comfortable multi-purpose shoes, a bucket and personal hygiene supplies.
Your gift will contribute towards the health and social wellness of our beneficiaries. Maintaining proper hygiene helps prevent illness and infection from bacteria and viruses. It will also help build confidence as well as positive self- image, which is half the battle during rehabilitation.
This kit is provided to each and every child at the beginning of every month. It includes soap, body oil, tissue papers, toothpaste and sanitary napkins for the girls.
Sleep is an important aspect of human life; it has many benefits that promote wellness. It is therefore very important for the children to have proper bedding which will enable them to rest peacefully. Well-rested children are more receptive to learning both in and out of class; they are also more pleasant in social interactions and have the energy to cultivate their talents/ gifts.
Your gift will help ensure that our beneficiaries have access to a warm, comfortable and accommodative place to rest at the end of every day. Items needed to provide this include: beds, blankets, bedsheets, mattresses, treated mosquito nets and mackintoshes for children who wet the bed.
Referral and Advocacy kitty:
At rescue, individual care plans are formulated. Our beneficiaries present varying needs which call for different intervention measures. Some of the specialized needs that require referral and advocacy include:
- Medical needs, for example, some of our beneficiaries especially those who are victims of physical and sexual abuse, as well as tragedy often need to visit referral hospitals severally.
- Psychosocial support, for example, some children especially those who were previously living on the streets may be addicted to drugs and other substances, most commonly in our case, drugs and they need referrals for specialized care.
- Legal support, for example, some children especially those who are victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation need assistance in ensuring the perpetrator is apprehended.
For children and young persons who were repeatedly made to feel inferior, worthless or unappreciated, these celebrations show that they are valued and loved. These celebrations help improve their self- worth which in turn motivates them to put in the work to foster positive growth.
Your gift will not only put a smile on a child’s face through a birthday celebration but it will also reassure them of their value in the society thus motivate them to strive to be the best they can be.
Your contribution towards our contingency kitty will be greatly appreciated. Life is a roller coaster at times it is up and other times it is down. This fund helps us in the low moments by ensuring that even at difficult times such as during famine, floods, drought and political instability our quality of care is not compromised.
During such times we also use the said funds in reaching out to the affected community with support to minimize the influx of children and youth to our Child development and protection centres.
Spread love by sponsoring a child through our programs. Our sponsorship program creates a platform for you to select a child you would want to support through his/her rehabilitative and developmental stages. Your contribution will go towards ensuring they access their needs as outlined in their individual care plans. Child- sponsor relationship is fostered through letter writing and exchange of photos or video.
Give towards our Christmas celebrations and be our Santa.
Christmas is a time to be merry and celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Your gift will go towards purchasing food items, gifts, games, clothing and decorations for the celebrations. As we are called to share what we have with those without, our celebrations are usually open to the community. Gifts from the Santa basket also help us reach out to needy families and give them care packages during the holidays that they too may be able to celebrate. | <urn:uuid:eab4ba62-1af1-4389-a53c-cc0132507965> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://www.mullychildrensfamily.org/get-involved/child-protection/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710931.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20221203111902-20221203141902-00831.warc.gz | en | 0.963742 | 1,149 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Philadelphia Jazz Appreciation Month is in full swing.
In a recent interview, I noted that jazz musicians performed in nightclubs where they couldn’t sit and hotels where they could not stay. The jazz legends whose music paved the way for the Civil Rights movement were subjected to racial discrimination as they traveled while black.
In 1936, Victor H. Green, a postal worker and civil rights activist, published the first edition of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide to navigate Jim Crow laws in the South and de facto segregation in the North.
“The Green Book,” as it was called, lists tourist homes, restaurants, nightclubs, beauty parlors, barber shops and other services. Philadelphia hotels in the 1949 edition include the Attucks, Chesterfield and Douglass.
The list of taverns includes Emerson’s, the setting for the Tony Award-winning play, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.
The Café Society and Watts’ Zanzibar are listed.
After passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, “The Green Book” was no longer published. As All That Philly Jazz breathes life into the city's jazz heritage, my appreciation of jazz is increasing exponentially. | <urn:uuid:0f9cb4c0-96f1-433c-a9ab-e45584577279> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://andersonatlarge.typepad.com/andersonlarge/civic-innovation/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660709.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00021-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944096 | 260 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This post is as much about wine as it is about machine learning, so if you enjoy wine, like we do, you may find it especially interesting. Here’s some R and Matlab code, and if you want to get right to the point, skip to the charts.
There’s a book by Philipp Janert called Data Analysis with Open Source Tools, which, by the way, we would recommend. From this book we found out about the wine quality datasets. There are two, one for red wine and one for white wine, and they are interesting because they contain quality ratings (1 - 10) for a few thousands of wines, along with their physical and chemical properties. We could probably use these properties to predict a rating for a wine. We’ll be looking at white and red wine separately for the reasons you will see shortly.
Principal component analysis for white wine
Janert performs a principal component analysis (PCA) and shows a resulting plot for white wine. What’s interesting about this plot is that judging by the first two principal components, a quality is very much correlated with alcohol content and fixed acidity (or pH - it’s basically the same thing).
Moreover, these two properties are easily obtained for other wines, and hence may be of practical value. It is true especially for alcohol content, which is listed on every bottle. Fixed acidity can be measured with a pretty low-cost electronic pH meter. Just dip it and you’re done.
Here’s the plot with PC1 on the horizontal axis and PC2 on the vertical axis:
Bear in mind that the plot only shows the first two principal components, so what we see here is not the whole story, because there are more components:
PCA for red wine
The picture suggests that for red wines, alcohol content is just as much important for quality, while fixed acidity is not.
Now let’s do some more analysis involving quality, alcohol content and fixed acidity.
Assumptions and terminology
We make two main assumptions:
- That the information about Portuguese vinho verde could be generalized to other wines
- That the ratings are trustworthy
If they hold, turns out we can tell a lot about a wine just knowing its alcohol content and fixed acidity. It’s not enough to predict a rating, but enough to provide some guidelines for selecting wines.
Let’s introduce some terminology:
- good means rating seven or higher
- bad means rating four or lower
- mediocre means rating five
- OK means rating six.
We don’t show OK category on the charts, because it’s all over the place.
Good and bad
Red means good. Blue means bad. Horizontal axis is alcohol content, vertical axis is fixed acidity.
If alcohol content is at least 11%, or better yet, 12%, you are very likely to have a good wine. On the other hand, if it’s 10% or less, don’t set your hopes too high.
But that’s not the whole story. There’s another factor: the less acidity, the better. Basically, you can get away with lower alcohol content if the wine has relatively less fixed acidity. That’s the space between 10 and 12 percent alcohol.
Overall, one can draw a line. If you see a wine on the right side of that line, it is very likely to be good. If it’s on the other side, than you don’t know.
The Good, The Bad, and The Mediocre
This picture also shows mediocre examples, in green. As you can see, there are a lot of them and they are distributed similarly to bad ones. This is also the case with red wines (see the chart below).
Alcohol OR acidity, please
Similarly to white wines, if alcohol content is 12% or more, probably you’re all set. Also, you want a wine which is either high in alcohol or highly acidic. In other words, there are quite a lot good wines with less than 12% alcohol; what they have in common is high fixed acidity and some mediocre ones between them.
Note the slope of the separating line. Compare with a white wine case - it’s the other way around. There, it’s high alcohol AND low acidity. Here, it’s OR.
To sum up, judging a wine on just two properties is rather simplistic. There are other factors to consider, for example age. All other things being equal, we much prefer a two year old wine to a one year old wine. Still, those charts do tell a story, don’t they? | <urn:uuid:b5a2df03-fe51-4b03-89ce-6354a985e2a8> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://fastml.com/predicting-wine-quality/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583656577.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20190116011131-20190116033131-00448.warc.gz | en | 0.94916 | 993 | 2.578125 | 3 |
By Kim Miklusak
I am currently taking an assessment course to finish up my ELL endorsement, and our course textbook has me thinking about overall validity of assessments that we give in our subjects--not only with ELL students, but with all students.
Specifically I have been reflecting on three major areas:
1. Do our assessments actually assess what we want them to, or do other aspects get in the way? For example, do students struggle with vocabulary in our directions or questions? Sometimes students cannot demonstrate what they know accurately because they are held back by not only the words we use, but also our sentence structure and writing style. To what degree do we balance words we feel students "should" know with making it as clear as possible for them to demonstrate what they do know?
2. How are our assessments visually arranged? Multiple choice answers, for example, are best read vertically, but frequently to save paper, we may arrange them horizontally or some other order. At other times it may be hard for a student to tell where one section ends and another begins. Are our fonts and font sizes clear enough? Are sections spaced well? All of these factors make affect validity.
3. Are our directions clear enough? For example, when appropriate, are we telling students how many sentences they should write or what types of words they should use in their responses? If we are not getting back the information we want from an assessment, if students don't know what they're being assessed on and what to expect, then perhaps we are not clear in what we are asking for in the first place.
I'd be very interested in doing lesson studies with people on assessments. I think this also becomes increasingly important as some of our assessments move digital--what does that change for validity of responses! Stop down to the CollabLab if you're interested in this or other lesson study ideas. | <urn:uuid:94963ede-81ce-43f2-bded-342d6446ea53> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://www.egcollablab.org/2015/02/reflecting-on-assessment-validity.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195525659.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20190718145614-20190718171614-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.963035 | 382 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Hybrid cars are powered by combined fuel technologies. Learn how the Tesla Roadster or the Ford Escape hybrid technologies work and see what tax credits hybrid owners receive.
Are all-electric cars a smart investment of resources for automakers -- and the governments that sometimes subsidize them?
So you've done everything you can think of: You've checked your tire pressure, carpooled, telecommuted -- maybe you even bought a hybrid. Learn more about how electric cars run cheaper.
Cars are dangerous machines. They kill more than 30,000 people per year in the United States alone. Learn more about electric cars safety issues.
Happily, the answer is yes -- the batteries that power electric cars (and hybrids, for that matter) can be recycled. Learn more about recycling electric car batteries.
It's tough to get a new business off the ground. Learn more about the challenges facing the electric car industry.
Most people know by now what an electric car is. It's a car that runs on a battery-powered electric motor. Learn more about the difference between electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars.
Just like a gasoline-powered internal combustion engine, an electric car's motor generates power that drives the wheels to put things in motion. Learn more about how horsepower figures into electric cars.
Coming soon to a garage near you: Electric vehicles! Big-name auto makers like Nissan, Ford, and Mitsubishi are scheduled for major EV releases in the next year or so, while small car makers are busy building small electric vehicles for short trips around the neighborhood. Learn more about how long it takes to charge an electric car.
Electric cars that run only on power stored in their batteries -- no gasoline required -- are going to hit the mass market in the United States over the next few years, thanks to the likes of Ford, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mini and a slew of others with plans on the drawing board. Learn more about charging your electric car.
The electric car is sure to figure prominently in any conversation about green vehicles. Learn more about the top 10 electric car frequently asked questions.
In the beginning, your main problem in keeping your electric car well-maintained is going to be finding a mechanic who knows how to do it. Learn more about more maintenance with electric cars.
I'd really like to take credit for the information below, but the truth of the matter is it comes from my friends at Plug In America. Learn more about the 12 myths about electric vehicles.
For about as long as cars have been around, the thing to say when a powerful car rolls by has been: "How much horsepower are you running?" Learn more about AC Motors.
A potentiometer is one of the parts an electric car needs to transfer power to the motor. Learn what a potentiometer in an electric car is in this article.
Vermot AG, a German auto manufacturer, resurrected the Veritas nameplate when it introduced the Veritas RS III Roadster in 2008. And now Vermot is building the fastest plug-in hybrid on the planet.
Like most cars, a hybrid car's power output is measured in horsepower. And since hybrid car engines tend to be smaller than most standard car engines, hybrid cars are underpowered -- right? Maybe not.
The U.S. government is investing billions of dollars in an effort to allow American industries to develop more hybrid and electric vehicles. But car companies aren't the only ones to benefit.
The hybrid cars that we're familiar with use nickel metal hydride battery packs. But the next generation of hybrids, like the Chevy Volt and Fisker Karma, will use Li-ion battery cells. What's the difference?
For more than a decade now, people have debated the economic impact of hybrid vehicles. Will the fuel savings offset the difference in sticker price? What about expensive repair bills? What's the answer?
Advanced hybrid systems build on current traditional hybrid technology by improving battery power, fuel efficiency, on-demand vehicle output and driver conveniences, too. But how do they do it?
Once upon a time, an eco-friendly car buyer could go green and save money on taxes at the same time. You could still do that -- to an extent -- but the rules have changed.
Several energy experts have made headlines for suggesting that lessening U.S. dependence on foreign oil via the purchase of electric cars is the patriotic thing to do. That may be true, but what about hybrid cars?
Motor vehicles emit several different pollutants, including particulate matter and volatile organic compounds. But just how much pollution do cars produce?
Imagine a day when you could go out to the garage and add more power to your vehicle in a matter of minutes. It could be possible with a modular hybrid. Never heard of one? This could be what's next with hybrid vehicles.
That smell of a new car never seems to get old. But the car itself will. When it does and it's time to sell it, you may not get much for that old conventional vehicle. But will you do better with a hybrid?
Why Countries Use Economic Sanctions to Prevent Conflict
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January 17, 2020
What Are the Different Types of Life Insurance?
January 17, 2020 | <urn:uuid:210efef9-62ec-47b0-9488-c6af4e82c27f> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car-information-channel.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250590107.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20200117180950-20200117204950-00088.warc.gz | en | 0.941468 | 1,099 | 2.6875 | 3 |
I just stumbled upon a nice new initiative called frontiers for young minds. There is by now a relatively large collection of frontier journals that cover most fields of science. All their journals are open access which means that they are available to everyone for free when published and the authors maintain copyright. Their peer review system is also different in that the identity of the reviewers is revealed when a paper has been published. This probably reduces ad hominim attacks and instead encourages a respectful tone, which is unfortunately not something that can be taken for granted.
The frontiers for young minds is a new journal where children, together with scientists, review the articles. This has the benefit that it forces scientists to write in such a way that children can understand it. I think that having such a journal could really help children and also adults who find it hard to read traditional science journal, get into science in the first place. I am not arguing that traditional journals only contain unessecary jargon, but rather that this type of journal is probably needed. I will keep checking the page and probably read some of the articles as well.
As an example, see this article: Do you feel lonely? You are not alone: lessons from social neuroscience. | <urn:uuid:bb49abac-8c0b-43c9-8db8-2d17b193f5d6> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://rasmussenanders.blogspot.com/2013/11/frontiers-for-young-minds.html?showComment=1385412439998 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112682.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822201124-20170822221124-00319.warc.gz | en | 0.958463 | 247 | 2.765625 | 3 |
National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Hodgkin Disease is the National Cancer Institute
Hodgkin disease is a type of lymphoma. Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymph system. The first sign of Hodgkin disease is often an enlarged lymph node. The disease can spread to nearby lymph nodes. Later it may spread to the lungs, liver, or bone marrow. The exact cause is unknown.
Hodgkin disease is rare. Symptoms include
To diagnose Hodgkin disease, doctors use a physical exam and history, blood tests, and a biopsy. Treatment depends on how far the disease has spread. It often includes radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the more effective the treatment. In most cases, Hodgkin disease can be cured.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine) | <urn:uuid:fe604d21-f9bb-49bf-9b08-8b8bc6f3643b> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hodgkindisease.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1398223206147.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20140423032006-00117-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923804 | 196 | 3.671875 | 4 |
In the old times, Arabs spread their language wherever they traveled. They exported many Arabic words to other languages; some of these words are still used until today. Here are some English words with Arabic origins:
“Amir”, a common Arabic word, means a commander on land. The word was used in medieval Latin for “Muslim Leaders”. It later became a title for Knights- called amiratus- then a title for navy officials, and then it was said a general compliment. It changed from amir to ammiratus, ammirandus, amirallus, admiratus, admiralius, to finally admiral.
The word “Brick” or toba originates from the Coptic language. It later changed from A-toba to adobe.
-Arsenal: دار صناعة
“Dark el Sena’a” translates to “house of manufacturing”, but in medieval Arabic it meant “government-run manufacturing” for the military and the navy. During the Arabs’ frequent travels to Italy in the 12th century, the word evolved to darsena and later arsena. In the 15th century, the word moved to France as tarcenale. Finally, during the 16th century, it became an English word- arsenal.
The word ‘Check’ in the English language has multiple words related to it including: check, chess, exchequer, cheque, and pretty much anything that has the word in it or sounds like it. The origin of the word comes from the Persian shah, meaning King. In the 12th century it became eschac in the French language, plural eschec. Hence, the word Chess came from eschac and Check from eschec. Check mate also comes from Shah mat, meaning the king is dead.
Makhzan translates to storage in the Arabic language. It migrated to the Latin language as khazan. It was used and sometimes still used, in Arabic, French, Italian, Catalan, and Russian. It originally meant a storage for military equipment, then later military information. It started to be used in the English language during the 17th century; meaning a store of information about military or naval matters.
The Arabic word “Matrah” now means, place, but it originally means something to lie on, like rugs or cushions. It was used in the Latin language as matta. When it spread to the French and English language it evolved to mattress which specifically meant an under blanket cushion.
The numerical value Zero was introduced to the Hindu-Arabic numeral system as sefr. It was used as zefiro in the old Italian numeral system, then later changed to Zero. | <urn:uuid:2a8ae740-0cc8-458b-bef0-14b55c8b1881> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://identity-mag.com/english-words-arabic-origins/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439741154.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20200815184756-20200815214756-00570.warc.gz | en | 0.95355 | 583 | 3.453125 | 3 |
We love the summer, and so does your horse - if you protect it from the heat, that is. As with us humans, the sun can do damage to our four-legged companions, something you have to avoid at all costs. In this blog post, we share our best tips on the topic, so that even the hottest days can go down cool.
For us humans, it is generally easier to deal with the heat. Horses do not tolerate it as well as people, since horses overheat up to 10 times faster than us: They have a larger percentage of active muscles. Once they are moving, they produce heat and the horse sweats. You should be especially careful on those hot and sticky summer days, which are particularly hard on horses.
How does this affect training your horse?
It is very important that the rider does not use his own perception of the heat as an indicator whether it is still ok to work the horse or not. Generally speaking, it is better to work the horses in the morning or evening.
If you can only ride at noon, don't work your horse in the outdoor arena: Ride in the forest, go to the lake or have an easy indoor session.
We also recommend ground work as an alternative.
Adjust the training to the temperature: walk more, have regular breaks and avoid long canters.
In general, keep your training sessions shorter.
Horses and Sweat: Electrolytes are important
In cold weather, the horse produces about 20 liters of sweat during a hard training session. If it's hot and sticky, this can go up to 25-30 liters – the same amount the horse is sweating on a particularly tough show day. During an endurance ride in summer, the horse produces about 35 liters of sweat.
Horses lose lots of electrolytes when sweating which can cause the body’s water balance to change drastically as well as pH-value changes in the blood. The interactions of nerves and muscle cells are strongly dependent on the electrolyte and water balance.
The performance of a healthy horse already suffers up to 20 percent when losing only 5 to 10 liters of sweat.
Give your horse access to salt immediately in order for it to restore any sodium loss.
A Horsey Summer: Some Basic Facts
Even if you don't ride or work your horse, it needs at least 10 grams of sodium per day, which is the equivalent of two leveled teaspoons. If you increase the workload, you can raise the sodium intake of your horse to up to four teaspoons a day, but spread it over several meals during the day. On hot and sticky days, you might even have to supplement more sodium.
If you work your horse harder than usual or during heat waves, you should not only pay attention to the sodium loss, but take the loss of other electrolytes into consideration. Electrolytes (including sodium) are minerals that regulate the amount of blood in the body, and muscle and nerve functions. They also balance the blood pH.
The most important electrolytes are sodium and chloride. Other electrolytes include potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, copper and manganese.
If your horse’s muscles start trembling and / or cramping, you should give your horse an electrolyte mixture immediately. You will also have to provide salt at the same time. Very often "over the counter" electrolyte mixtures do not contain enough sodium to meet the horse's needs.
When horses are deficient in electrolytes, they usually refuse to drink. This is a protective mechanism of the body to avoid further loss of liquids and electrolytes. Make sure that your horse drinks enough.
Horses outside : provide shelter
If your horse spents lots of time out on pasture, make sure to provide shelters and plenty of shade. Make sure that there is enough shade for every horse even for those at the bottom end of the herd’s hierarchy. If you cannot provide enough shelter, it is better to put the horse back into the stables and let it out to graze only after sunset.
In addition to shade and shelter, easy access to fresh water in sufficient quantities is key. Horses should be able to drink whenever they want. A horse normally drinks between 20 and 40 liters of water per day, but during heat waves this amount can double.
Horse colors : Different coats, different requirements
During the summer months, your horse’s coat color can make a difference. Bright horses easily sunburn, especially on their soft, pink noses. Put sunscreen on them, but buy a product without any harmful ingredients.
If your horse does not have a lot of hair on its head, you should protect the front head from the sun. Intense sun rays may cause the brain to swell, which can have serious consequences on your horse's health. The horse may start staggering or not be able to get up or even start convulsing.
In general, dark colored horses overheat much faster than grey horses, since the dark coats attract more sun radiation.
If you see your horse panting heavily, sweating hard in the field or if you notice dry mucous membranes, you should act immediately. Take your horse out of the sun. Spray the horse's legs with lukewarm water, and check if the cardiovascular system calms down.
Do not use cold water. Overheated muscles can go into shock and start contracting uncontrollably. The horse's heart doesn't handle sudden temperature changes very well, so you should rather use lukewarm water. Start with the legs and work your way up.
Protection from flies and other annoying insects
Just some basics about how to protect your horse from insects. First, let's talk about bug spray.
If you are using bug spray, always read the label and check the ingredient list. Many bug sprays contain harmful ingredients that can harm you and your horse. Use natural fly protection: 100% natural horse care products only.
If you do not want to rely on chemical bug sprays and you do not have a 100% natural product on hand, we recommend that you use fly-blankets and/or fly-masks. They provide reliable protection against all sorts of insects and they don't harm the horse's liver and system as toxins would.
Conclusion: A long, enjoyable summer is waiting for you and your horse. But please pay attention to your horse's wellbeing. Too hot to work your horse? Maybe go on a hack in the woods. Also, always protect your horse from bugs. We recommend blankets and masks as well as natural horse care products.
Be back next week, greetings from Switzerland, Nicole | <urn:uuid:4fd641c7-daca-4711-9ef5-92078fb089a2> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.kikolily.com/post/keep-it-cool-stay-fresh-and-protect-your-horse-from-the-summer-heat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107863364.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201019145901-20201019175901-00662.warc.gz | en | 0.942272 | 1,368 | 2.796875 | 3 |
We treat most malocclusions (bad bites) with braces or clear aligners. But not all malocclusions are alike — some can require extra procedures to achieve successful results.
One such example is when incoming teeth crowd other teeth and cause them to erupt abnormally. The crowding also reduces the space needed to move the misaligned teeth to better positions. To make more room we'll often remove some of the teeth before undertaking orthodontics.
The key is to extract the right teeth. The best candidates are those whose absence will have minimal effect on both appearance and dental function. That's commonly the bicuspids, located right on the edge of the “smile zone” (the teeth most visible when we smile) between the cuspid (eye) teeth and the back molars.
Once we choose and remove the teeth our next concern is to protect the bone at the extraction site. The bone in our jaws benefits from the pressure created when we bite or chew. This stimulates new bone cells to form and replace older cells. Without it, as when we have a missing tooth, the amount of bone can diminish over time and affect the success of any future orthodontics.
To prevent this, we take care not to damage the gums and bone removing the tooth. We may also install a graft under the empty socket to encourage bone growth.
If we've removed teeth outside the smile zone, the resulting orthodontics will move teeth into the opened space. In the end, you won't even notice they're gone. Teeth lost or congenitally missing in the smile zone, though, may eventually require a replacement tooth. A dental implant is the best choice, but it should be put on hold for a younger person until their jaw has fully developed.
In the meantime, we can install a spacer or a temporary restoration to hold the empty space and prevent other teeth from drifting into it. This can be incorporated into braces or aligners, or with a removable partial denture or a temporary modified bridge.
Extracting teeth to aid orthodontics first requires a well-laid plan that could encompass several years. The end result, though, can be well worth the time and effort — better function and a new, attractive smile.
If you would like more information on the process of straightening teeth, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Tooth Removal for Orthodontic Reasons.”
Celebrities’ controversial actions and opinions frequently spark fiery debates on social media. But actress Dakota Johnson lit a match to online platforms in a seemingly innocent way—through orthodontics.
This summer she appeared at the premier of her film The Peanut Butter Falcon missing the trademark gap between her front teeth. Interestingly, it happened a little differently than you might think: Her orthodontist removed a permanent retainer attached to the back of her teeth, and the gap closed on its own.
Tooth gaps are otherwise routinely closed with braces or other forms of orthodontics. But, as the back and forth that ensued over Johnson’s new look shows, a number of people don’t think that’s a good idea: It’s not just a gap—it’s your gap, a part of your own uniqueness.
Someone who might be sympathetic to that viewpoint is Michael Strahan, a host on Good Morning America. Right after the former football star began his NFL career, he strongly considered closing the noticeable gap between his two front teeth. In the end, though, he opted to keep it, deciding it was a defining part of his appearance.
But consider another point of view: If it truly is your gap (or whatever other quirky smile “defect” you may have), you can do whatever you want with it—it really is your choice. And, on that score, you have options.
You can have a significant gap closed with orthodontics or, if it’s only a slight gap or other defect, you can improve your appearance with the help of porcelain veneers or crowns. You can also preserve a perceived flaw even while undergoing cosmetic enhancements or restorations. Implant-supported replacement teeth, for example, can be fashioned to retain unique features of your former smile like a tooth gap.
If you’re considering a “smile makeover,” we’ll blend your expectations and desires into the design plans for your future smile. In the case of something unique like a tooth gap, we’ll work closely with dental technicians to create restorations that either include or exclude the gap or other characteristics as you wish.
Regardless of the debate raging on social media, the final arbiter of what a smile should look like is the person wearing it. Our goal is to make sure your new smile reflects the real you.
If you would like more information about cosmetically enhancing your smile, please contact us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Space Between Front Teeth” and “The Impact of a Smile Makeover.”
Losing a tooth from disease or accident can be traumatic. The good news, though, is that it can be replaced with a life-like replica that restores your smile. One of the most popular and durable solutions is a dental implant, which replaces not only the root of the tooth but the crown as well.
But there's a possible wrinkle with implants — for accurate placement there must be a sufficient amount of bone around it. This could be a problem if you've been missing the tooth for sometime: without the stimulus provided by a tooth as you chew, older bone cells aren't replaced at an adequate rate. The bone volume gradually diminishes, as up to 25% of its normal width can be lost during the first year after tooth loss. A traumatic injury can damage underlying bone to an even greater extent.
There is a possible solution, but it will require the services of other specialists, particularly a periodontist trained in gum and bone structure. The first step is a complete examination of the mouth to gauge the true extent of any bone loss. While x-rays play a crucial role, a CT scan in particular provides a three-dimensional view of the jaw and more detail on any bone loss.
With a more accurate bone loss picture, we can then set about actually creating new bone through grafting procedures. One such technique is called a ridge augmentation: after opening the gum tissues, we place the bone graft within a barrier membrane to protect it. Over time the bone will grow replacing both the grafting material and membrane structure.
Once we have enough regenerated bone, we can then perform dental implant surgery. There are two options: a “one-stage” procedure in which a temporary crown is placed on the implant immediately after surgery; or a “two-stage” in which we place the gum tissue over the implant to protect it as it heals and bone grows and attaches to it. In cases of pre-surgical bone grafting, it's usually best to go with the two-stage procedure for maximum protection while the bone strengthens around it.
Necessary preparation of the bone for a future dental implant takes time. But the extra effort will pay off with a new smile you'll be proud to display. | <urn:uuid:495591fe-5fba-4a55-83de-6fac23131d1c> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.dwoodill.com/blog/date/2020-03-01.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178363072.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20210301212939-20210302002939-00014.warc.gz | en | 0.938277 | 1,547 | 2.546875 | 3 |
PRODUCTS - QUICK TIPS
- Buy fewer things that are high quality and will last.
- Buy things that are used or have recycled components.
- When you are done with something, pass it on to a new owner.
- Recycle trash.
Globally, one fourth of all green house gas emissions are associated with making stuff. 10% is for construction and 15% is for physical products. Many of these products end up in a landfill when they could have been reused or recycled. When you avoid buying a new product, you save on emissions from sourcing virgin materials, from manufacturing and from distribution.
Buy quality, not quantity. Say "no" to junk, even if it is a deal. Buy something that will last and that can be repaired. Enjoy less clutter and spend less time cleaning.
Choose low carbon designs. If a product uses energy, look for efficiency. For example, a laptop or tablet computer uses less energy than a desktop. Choose sleek designs that make spare use of materials. Support designs that incorporate reclaimed materials or recycled content. Pick products made out of materials that don't require high carbon processing like clay and wood over carbon intensive materials like metal, glass and stone.
Buy used goods. You can look online to find exactly what you want. You will get better stuff for the same budget, and produce less carbon. The next time you need furniture, sports equipment, or a costume, give it a try.
Recycle. When a product is made of recycled paper, aluminum, plastic or glass, carbon emissions are much lower than if it is made of virgin materials. Landfill emissions are also avoided.
Share or rent products you don't need all the time.
Upcycle. Use old materials to make new things. An old quilt can become a shopping bag; a wooden palette can become a bookcase. Let your creativity flow. | <urn:uuid:35937901-5c58-484a-a55b-a040efc21953> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | http://healthyclimatecommunities.org/consumer-items/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703536556.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20210123063713-20210123093713-00731.warc.gz | en | 0.940539 | 388 | 3.015625 | 3 |
San Diego biotechnology and civic leaders threw their support behind stem cell research eight years ago, when the state’s voters approved Proposition 71, the $3 billion state stem cell initiative.
Californians were promised that the research would lead to therapies for diseases and injuries that had no cure, such as spinal paralysis and diabetes. Once scientists had done the research, biotech companies in the field known as regenerative medicine would take over and bring the therapies to market.
San Diego research centers banded together to bring in stem cell grants, getting more than $261 million. Local leaders calculated there would be commercial benefits as well, reinforcing San Diego’s stature as one of the world’s top biotech centers.
Now, that commercialization is starting to take place. Local biotechs are testing stem cell therapies in patients, in the United States, in Europe and in China.
Cures for diabetes, heart failure, and even baldness are being developed by San Diego companies; the last two already being tested in patients. While these treatments are still experimental — success is far from certain — they provide a preliminary indication that regenerative medicine is on the road to becoming a new growth area for the region’s large biotechnology industry.
About a dozen San Diego-based companies, such as ViaCyte, Histogen and Medistem, are working on treatments with various kinds of stem cells, the “ancestral” cells that give rise to the various cells in the body. Some are using cells derived from human embryos, still a controversial practice to many. But most others are using cells derived from nonembryonic sources, such as skin and umbilical cord blood.
These treatments are mostly in the early stages of clinical trials; meaning they will take years to get approval. But at least one local company, Cytori Therapeutics, has begun a “pivotal” trial of its stem cell treatment for heart failure, in Europe. A pivotal trial is designed to get the statistically significant evidence of effectiveness needed for regulatory approval.
Other San Diego stem cell companies conducting clinical trials include Medistem, for heart attack and heart failure patients; Fate Therapeutics, for blood stem cell transplantation; and Stemedica for heart attacks. ViaCyte is preparing to start a clinical trial with its own stem cell-based diabetes treatment, bolstered by a $10.1 million grant last month from the state’s stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
To illustrate the challenges and opportunities facing local stem cell companies, the stories of Histogen, Medistem and Cytori are instructive. Histogen combines scientific acumen with hard-won business experience; Medistem has developed a technology around a special kind of stem cell; and Cytori has turned fat into something to be desired.
Histogen: First, find the market
Gail Naughton, Histogen’s chief executive, learned about the promise and pitfalls of regenerative medicine at Advanced Tissue Sciences. Naughton, who holds a doctorate in hematology, founded the privately held company in New York in 1986 and later moved it to San Diego.
Advanced Tissue Sciences successfully developed a living skin replacement called Dermagraft now used to treat diabetic ulcers. But the company ultimately went bankrupt because of delays in getting insurer approvals for reimbursement. (Dermagraft is being sold today by Shire Regenerative Medicine, which makes it in San Diego.) | <urn:uuid:864695bb-2b58-4f25-84c3-1e4bf9783023> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/nov/14/tp-showtime-for-stem-cells/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394010484313/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305090804-00047-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942372 | 722 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Angina (also called angina pectoris) is chest pain that appears when the muscle cells of the heart don't get enough blood to properly carry out their pumping function. The lack of blood supply is most likely to cause pain during physical activity, when the heart pumps fastest and needs the most oxygen. Stopping the activity normally relieves the pain. This may help to distinguish angina from other types of chest pain.
Most of the time, angina is caused by coronary artery disease (CAD). The coronary arteries are the heart muscle's blood and oxygen supply. In CAD, the coronary arteries become narrowed by fatty, fibrous deposits. This means that less blood can pass through them. During exercise or exertion, the cells in the heart (the myocardium) may need more oxygen (and therefore more blood) than the coronary arteries can handle. As these cells are forced to work without enough oxygen, the nervous system complains by sending pain signals to the brain.
When tissue doesn't get the oxygen it needs, this is called ischemia. Angina is usually caused by myocardial ischemia (not enough oxygen in the heart muscle). This isn't the same as myocardial infarction (heart attack). Infarction means permanent cell death caused by long-lasting and severe ischemia. In angina, the cells aren't usually so starved of oxygen that they die. This is why rest or medication is usually effective in relieving the pain.
Heart attacks are normally brought on by events that completely block blood flow in a coronary artery. These events may include travelling blood clots or peeling off of fatty plaques inside the arteries. In angina, there's no sudden blockage, but the artery has become so narrow that it cannot carry the blood needed to handle the demands of strenuous exercise. This usually means it has narrowed to less than half of its original width. It follows that people who suffer from angina are at higher risk of heart attack.
Risk factors for angina are basically the same as risk factors for coronary artery disease. They include:
- being male
- being postmenopausal
- excessive alcohol use
- family history of early CAD, stroke, or other circulation-related medical conditions
- high blood pressure
- high salt intake
- low fitness
- poor cholesterol profile
Not all cases of angina are due to CAD. A minority of cases are caused by spasms in coronary arteries that constrict them enough to seriously reduce blood flow. This can be caused by drugs, especially cocaine. In most such cases, however, the cause is unknown. This condition, known as variant angina, isn't usually a sign of high heart attack risk on its own, but it generally occurs in people who also have coronary artery disease.
Symptoms and Complications
The pain of angina comes from the heart, but it's not generally felt exactly over the heart. The most common focus of pain is under the sternum (breastbone), midway between the breasts or pectoral muscles.
Often the pain is not localized to just the sternum and it spreads, commonly down the left arm but also to the back, sides, upper abdomen, right arm, neck, jaw, or even the teeth. Sometimes the pain can occur in these places without occurring in the chest. Any pain in these areas that occurs during exercise and improves with rest should be evaluated by a doctor.
Not everyone with ischemia will experience angina. If there is no angina, it is referred to as "silent ischemia." More commonly, however, people will experience chest pain.
The pain isn't a sudden, shooting, or stabbing type. It's often described as either a dull ache, pressure, heaviness, or a crushing sensation. Pain that comes and goes over a few seconds is also unlikely to be angina, which is steady and often predictable.
Women may experience different symptoms. Women often experience pain in the neck, jaw, throat, abdomen, or back.
Angina is often predictable in the sense that a pattern may emerge after a few attacks. Some people will come to learn that a certain level of exertion is likely to trigger pain. In most cases, the pain will start when expected and slowly ease when exertion is stopped. It is often worse when exertion follows a meal, in cold weather, and in times of emotional stress. Not all angina is predictable.
Unstable angina is the name given to chest pain that:
- unexpectedly becomes worse than usual at a given level of exertion
- starts with lower levels of exertion
- starts while resting
- continues after stopping exercise or taking nitroglycerin medication
Unstable angina can be a warning of an imminent heart attack. In fact, until being assessed by a doctor at a hospital, there's no way to be sure it isn't a heart attack. If you usually experience steady or predictable symptoms and notice an unexpected change in this pattern, you should seek immediate medical attention.
Making the Diagnosis
To diagnose angina, a doctor will evaluate the symptoms and the triggers (e.g., exercise, meals). Certain tests may also be performed. Because angina in most people occurs during exertion, the most common test for angina involves running on a treadmill or performing some other exercise while hooked up to an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor. This simple device can show changes in the heart's electrical activity, which signals ischemia. This is called an exercise stress test. Some people with angina show normal results on these tests; such people are far less likely to suffer a fatal heart attack than those whose ischemia can be detected.
In some cases, people are injected with a mildly radioactive dye for pictures of the heart to be taken before and after exercise. (This is safe, except for pregnant women or the rare person who is allergic to the special dye.) The procedure allows the blood supply through the heart muscle to be seen by a rotating camera in a test called a nuclear stress test.
The insides of the coronary arteries can also be seen directly in a procedure called coronary angiography.
Treatment and Prevention
There are 3 complementary approaches to treating angina. One is to reduce angina pain with medications. Another is to treat the narrowed arteries with operations such as coronary artery bypass graft surgery or angioplasty (stenting). The third is to eliminate the risk factors that are causing coronary artery disease, of which angina is a symptom.
Several types of medications are available for managing angina: beta-blockers, nitrates, calcium channel blockers, and antiplatelet medications.
- Beta-blockers and some calcium channel blockers reduce the demands put on the heart by decreasing the heart rate and lowering the blood pressure.
- Nitrates, such as nitroglycerin,* help to open the coronary arteries, which then supply more blood to the heart. A tablet or spray of fast-acting nitroglycerin can be placed under the tongue (this is called sublingual) to provide rapid relief of angina pain. Longer-acting nitrates can be given in tablet form from 1 to 3 times a day to help control and prevent angina attacks. Nitroglycerin is also available in patches and ointment that can be applied to the skin for continuous control. With longer-acting nitrates, most physicians advise an 8- to 12-hour period where no nitrates are used or taken, as continuous use causes the nitrates to be less effective at the same dose.
- Antiplatelet medications such as ASA* (acetylsalicylic acid), clopidogrel or prasugrel are given as "blood thinners" to prevent blood clots from forming and blocking the coronary arteries.
In addition to these medications, cholesterol-lowering medication may also be recommended for people with angina. A family of cholesterol-lowering medications, referred to as "statins," has been shown to best reduce the occurrence of heart attacks in people with angina even if their cholesterol profile is normal. Similarly, a group of blood-pressure-lowering medications called ACE-inhibitors, has also been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks in people with angina, even if their blood pressure is normal.
Sometimes, narrowed arteries can be fixed with invasive procedures such as angioplasty (stenting) or bypass surgery. The artery may be opened with angioplasty, a procedure which can directly open the narrowing by inflating a tiny balloon under high pressure. After the balloon is deflated and removed, a metal mesh called a stent is usually left in place to prevent the widened artery from narrowing again. Bypass surgery improves blood flow to the heart by removing blood vessels from elsewhere in the body (usually leg veins or arteries from the inside of the chest) and attaching them to the narrowed coronary arteries.
However, angioplasty and bypass surgery do not get rid of the plaques entirely. If the risk factors which caused the plaques in the first place are not eliminated, the arteries may clog up again. People with coronary artery disease should quit smoking, drink alcohol in moderation, maintain a low salt intake, and control high blood pressure with lifestyle changes and medications.
Exercise can go a long way in treating angina. Angina can make people want to avoid exercise because it's painful, but it's worth adding exercise to your lifestyle because it can encourage the growth of new blood vessels to compensate for existing blockages. Some people whose angina didn't improve with medications and even bypass operations have become pain-free after a sensible exercise program.
People with angina should begin an exercise program only under medical supervision. It's important to start slowly, especially if the person has previously had unstable angina or a heart attack. Exercise has additional benefits to relieving the pain of angina - it will also reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2018. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/condition/getcondition/Angina | <urn:uuid:c009802b-10ab-450f-87de-a64e615c1a7a> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://chealth.canoe.com/channel/high-blood-pressure/related-conditions/angina | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221219495.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20180822045838-20180822065838-00170.warc.gz | en | 0.950375 | 2,129 | 3.71875 | 4 |
This Month In Automotive History: July
Although a highly debatable topic, it’s been nearly 130 years since Karl Benz invented the first gasoline automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. In that relatively short period of time in human history, the automobile has come an awfully long way. Although automotive history has certainly had its share of key players, thousands of people have contributed to the evolution of the automobile. This month we decided to highlight the achievements in automotive history that haven taken place in the month of July.
July 3, 1886: Invention of the Automobile
Karl Benz is often credited as the inventor of the automobile, as he created the first gasoline-powered auto in 1885. On July 3rd, 1886, Benz unveiled his invention to the world in Mannheim, Germany.
July 5, 1865: Locomotive Acts Enacted in Britain
The Locomotives and Highway Act, commonly known ass the Red Flag Act, restricted automobile speed to a maximum of four MPH speed limit in the country for all automotive vehicles. This law actually required someone to walk ahead of the vehicle with a red flag or lantern for safety reasons.
July 11, 1916: Federal Road Act Enacted (also known as the Bankhead-Shackleford Act)
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Road Act to improve road quality and encourage the building of a national highway system. Evidently, most of the Midwest still hasn’t received this memo.
July 12th 1933: First Dymaxion Car
Innovative and influential automobile inventor Buckminster Fuller’s company Dymaxion produced the first Dymaxion car.
July 16, 1935: Birth of the Parking Meter
Much to the dismay of drivers everywhere, the first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City, invented by Carl C. Magee.
July 17, 1923 Lincoln Trademark Registered:
Just over a year after purchasing Lincoln, Ford registered the Lincoln Motorcar Company trademark.
July 21, 1904 First Car to Top 100 mph:
In Ostend, Belgium, Lous Rigolly achieves a speed of nearly 104 mph, becoming the first person to drive a car over 100 mph.
July 23 1903: First Ford Car Sold
Ford sells its first car, the Model A. The car was sold to Dr. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois.
July 24, 1910: Alfa Romeo Founded
A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili) was founded in Milan, Italy. By 1920, the company would officially be known as Alfa Romeo.
July 27, 1888 Electric Tricycle Demonstration:
The first electric tricycle is unveiled to the public by Philip W. Pratt in Boston, Massachusetts.
July 29, 1909: Buick Buys Cadillac
Buick acquires Cadillac on behalf of General Motors for nearly $5 million.
July 30, 1898: First Printed Car Ad
Scientific America features the first car advertisement in print, promoting the Winton Motor Car Company.
July 31, 1928: Chrysler Acquires Dodge Brothers
For a staggering $170 million, the Dodge Brothers Company are acquired from investment bankers Dillon Read by the Chrysler Corporation. | <urn:uuid:1d423348-bfe0-4b31-b2f2-41b86fb5c427> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.blackburnwheels.com/this-month-in-automotive-history-july/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371656216.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20200406164846-20200406195346-00543.warc.gz | en | 0.936567 | 662 | 3.328125 | 3 |
The emergence of behavioral states is one of the most significant aspects of development. The rat is very immature at birth and in some structural and functional aspects of CNS (central nervous system) development it is comparable to a 7-month-old human fetus. At this stage of development synchronization of different state criteria is poorly organized. Infant rats spend very little time in wakefulness and, once asleep, they still display a very high level of motor activation, with frequent rapid eye movements and uncoordinated myoclonic jerks. Although it is questioned whether the activated state of sleep in the newborn rat is comparable to rapid-eye movement sleep (REM) in adults, it has been shown that the CNS displays an increased level of endogenous neuronal activation even in very immature animals during this state. To study the functional significance of REM in early life, rat pups were deprived of this state from 1 to 3 wk of age and tested as adults. In the rat, chronic suppression of REM by interfering with monoamines during early development induced hyperactivity, hyperanxiety, attentional distractability, sleep disturbances, reduced sexual performance and reduced cerebral cortical size. In studies using instrumental, surgical or other pharmacological treatments to suppress REM similar effects on the development of brain and behavior were found. Taken together, these findings point to a role for REM during early development, so that more attention should be given to the potential hazards of medicines (and/or pathologic conditions) which induce reduced levels of REM and or disturbed monoamine activities in the brain during late prenatal and early postnatal life. | <urn:uuid:63246b2b-68c2-48c4-a7ec-db035c3e6ec1> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | https://www.mysciencework.com/publication/show/importance-fetal-neonatal-rem-sleep-b21e4086 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676591837.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20180720213434-20180720233434-00335.warc.gz | en | 0.946573 | 316 | 2.734375 | 3 |
The fate of the Clovis people remains one of the great mysteries of North American anthropology. The Clovis were a civilization which spread across the Americas 13,000 years ago and left behind sophisticated stone tools. The Clovis were once thought to be the first North American civilization, but recent discoveries have shown that this may not have been the case. Nevertheless, the Clovis remain a fascinating subject of study due to their sudden and unexplained disappearance. There are many theories surrounding the rapid decline of Clovis culture, but conclusive evidence for any of them has yet to be found.
However, a new study in Scientific Reports published by researchers from the University of South Carolina (UofSC) claims to have possibly solved the mystery of the Clovis people. According to a UofSC press release, a period of global cooling 13,000 years ago known as the Younger-Dryas event coincides with the estimated dates of platinum samples discovered throughout the Americas. Since platinum is rare on Earth but abundant in asteroids and meteorites, these samples likely came to Earth from space.
UofSC archaeologist and lead author Christopher Moore believes an impact of a platinum-rich asteroid likely caused both the Younger-Dryas event and the end of Clovis civilization:
[…] the most likely source of such platinum enrichment was from the impact of an extraterrestrial object. Our data show that this anomaly is present in sediments from U.S. archaeological sites that date to the start of the Younger-Dryas event. It is continental in scale — possibly global — and it’s consistent with the hypothesis that an extraterrestrial impact took place.
The decline of the Clovis culture also coincides with the extinction of over thirty species, thus lending more evidence that some type of cataclysmic event wreaked havoc on ecosystems around the planet. Similar evidence of another common asteroid element, iridium, has been used to support the hypothesis that an impact 65 million years ago likely wiped out the dinosaurs. With each new asteroid-impact-related discovery, scientists keep proving that it’s not a question of ‘if,’ but of ‘when.’ Carpe diem.
Where will YOU be when the next one strikes? | <urn:uuid:7c75afcc-0ca2-4e55-989c-1a74c7afadea> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://unsolvedmysteries.info/ancient-platinum-asteroid-wiped-clovis-people/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247526282.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20190222200334-20190222222334-00293.warc.gz | en | 0.94809 | 461 | 4.09375 | 4 |
Repair California has offered a limited Constitutional Convention as the best opportunity for the people of California to step forward and reclaim their state government. While the movement has the support of 70 percent of voters, as well as thousands of volunteers and many public leaders, some naturally express skepticism.
Constitutional conventions have been common throughout U.S. history, but California has not had one in 130 years. This extraordinary lapse of time without a serious citizen-review of government could understandably breed fear. Indeed, such trepidation accompanied the lead up to many of the 232 successful state Constitutional Conventions. For instance, in the 1963 black & white documentary of Michigan’s Constitutional Convention, held in that year, the narrator aptly summarized this unease:
“There had been fears the convention would be too conservative; fears that it would be too liberal; fears that it would be racked by politics…Pro-labor or pro-farmer or pro-business. Favoring the present, trapped in the past, lost in the future…”
Yet Americans are optimists with a propensity to overcome their fears and to emerge from trial and ordeal stronger than before – just as they did in 1963 Michigan, and just as they have done during each of the 232 state constitutional conventions in U.S. history.
Furthermore, a sober analysis of some of the most recent constitutional conventions demonstrates that these fears consistently fail to materialize. When reviewing recent state constitutional conventions it becomes clear that when given the chance, the American people see this venue as something beyond regular politics, and they seem naturally inclined to check partisanship at the door for the sake of carrying out the people’s business.
Constitutional conventioneers have proven particularly willing and capable of making the type of important compromises and decisions that commonly elude regular legislatures. The 1978 Hawaii Convention established term limits for state office holders, and required the legislature to produce an annual balanced budget. Delegates to the 1970 Illinois Convention actually took power from the state capitol and delivered it to local governments, closer to the watchful eyes of the voters. Michigan’s 1963 convention resolved the thorniest of issues: reapportionment for legislative districts.
The ability of delegates to agree on common-sense reforms is often explained vis-a-vis the fundamentally different incentives driving convention delegates vs. regular politicians. Among these are party politics, delegate demographics, and the unique nature of the constitutional convention venue itself.
First, constitutional convention delegates aren’t driven by re-election. As such, delegates aren’t burdened by the incentive to appease a particular party’s activist base, raise money or secure endorsements. For similar reasons, delegates have no electoral incentive to cower from important decisions.
Second, Constitutional Convention delegates are often “outsiders.” The Repair California delegate selection model brings in an equal number of experts and everyday Californians as voting delegates, but prohibits individuals who serve in a state-level elected office, their staff, lobbyists, employees or businesses that rely on state government. This mimics the approach of several states, including Montana. According to the official history of Montana’s 1971 Constitutional Convention:
“The delegates brought none of the acrimony and bitterness to the Convention that sometimes develops between seasoned politicians with preconceived positions on major state issues. Thus, the delegates were able to approach the principle issues before the Convention in an objective manner, and they also avoided a good deal of the pressures to which legislators are subjected. The probable unforeseen result…was a constitutional body relatively free from influence and dedicated to basic changes in Montana’s constitutional framework.”
Finally, conjuring images of powdered wigs and founding fathers and mothers, Constitutional Conventions occupy a special place in the American psyche; a place Americans have historically proven unwilling to spoil with partisan bickering and electoral posturing.
After describing the fears which had preceded Michigan’s march towards its 1963 Convention, the documentary went on to explain how Michiganders eventually reconciled their fears.
“The convention…was not an assemblage of angels. It was a convention of men and women. Taking the best it could agree on for our time and for our people…This was the process. Sometimes calm, sometimes not so calm. Either way, it was the people’s way. It was the way of a free democracy.” | <urn:uuid:6ff21d87-1d0f-46fd-9503-b247bdc33156> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | https://pacificvs.com/2009/10/24/pondering-the-power-of-a-constitutional-convention/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171834.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00501-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9539 | 896 | 2.640625 | 3 |
How wind farms and wave and tidal energy devices can endanger navigation, emergency response operations, marine radar and GPS communications.
In the UK, there is an increasing number of Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREIs) including wind farms, and wave and tidal energy devices. This forms part of the government’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and tackling climate change.
The location, size and irregular shape of OREIs present new challenges to the safe navigation and communication of shipping and emergency rescue. These difficulties could contribute to a marine casualty leading to injury, death or loss of property, either at sea or among the population ashore.
This guide provides details on the impact of OREIs on navigational safety and emergency response. The information is particularly useful for OREI developers. It also provides information on navigation and voyage planning to help you assess all risks and plan safe passage. Finally, this guide includes research on the impact of OREIs on marine radar, communications and positioning systems and search and rescue helicopter operations.
Offshore Renewable Energy Installation impact on navigational safety and emergency response
Existing or proposed OREIs in UK internal waters, territorial sea or in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) beyond the territorial sea have the potential to affect marine navigation and safety.
The impact must be assessed and mitigation measures put in place to ensure the safety of life at sea. Assessments need to be made of the consequences of ships deviating from normal routes and recreational or fishing vessels entering shipping routes in order to avoid proposed sites. As an OREI developer, you will need to ensure that you minimise the impact of your developments.
OREIs can include:
- offshore wind farms
- marine current turbines
- wave generators
- any other installation
Recommendations for OREI
If you are an OREI developer seeking formal consent for marine works, you will need to consider recommendations from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). If you fail to consider these recommendations, there may be objections to your proposal on the grounds of navigational safety or emergency response preparedness. Download Marine Guidance Note (MGN) 543 (M+F) Navigational, safety and emergency response guidance for OREIs.
You can find information on development consents and licensing for OREIs over 100 megawatts in England and Wales on the Infrastructure Planning Commission website and for OREIs in Scotland on the Marine Scotland website.
The recommendations also include information to address the navigational impact and emergency response of proposed OREI sites. The development of an OREI requires a clear consent process to deal with potential detrimental effects and should take account of local factors, national standards and international aspects which could influence the establishment of an OREI.
The Energy Act 2004 also established a regulatory regime for OREIs beyond territorial waters, in the UK’s EEZ. This supplements the regime which already applies in UK internal and territorial waters and Section 99 deals specifically with navigation. Read the Energy Act 2004 on the Legislation.gov website.
How and when the OREI recommendations should be used
If you are an OREI developer, you and your contracted environmental and risk assessors should take the recommendations into account for all sites within the jurisdiction of port limits or in open sea areas for the preparation of:
- Scoping Reports
- Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)
- Environmental Statements (ES)
You may also be required to comply with specific criteria from port authorities. Also, where proposals within port limits could affect navigation or emergency planning or response, the port authorities will be under an obligation to review its safety management system, in accordance with the Port Marine Safety Code. You should undertake such reviews in parallel with your EIA, with the outcome addressed in the resulting ES.
You should comply with the recommendations during all phases of:
During these phases, you should immediately send information concerning the navigational impact to all relevant mariners, organisations and authorities.
You should plan and practice contingency arrangements to deal with marine casualties in or adjacent to sites, including responses to environmental pollution, to test their efficiency.
These recommendations can be changed or modified by the MCA - on the basis of experience or in accordance with internationally recognised standards - in the interest of safety of life at sea and protection of the marine environment.
You should assess navigational and communication impacts or difficulties around the site area and surroundings to determine any potential obstruction of, or danger to, seafarers or emergency response services. This assessment will also help to establish the best options to be adopted, including those of operational site monitoring.
You should consult with local and national search and rescue authorities, and consider the types of aircraft, vessels and equipment which might be used in emergencies. This should include the possible use of OREI structures as emergency refuges and any matters that might affect emergency response within or close to the OREI.
You should also assess the consequences of ships deviating from normal routes and recreational or fishing vessels entering shipping routes in order to avoid proposed sites. It is important to consider any situation which could lead to safety of navigation being compromised, eg:
- an increase in end-on or crossing encounters
- reduction in sea-room or water depth for manoeuvring - leading to choke points
When considering navigational priority, you should treat all seagoing water craft, operations and mariners as the same.
Navigation and voyage planning around Offshore Renewable Energy Installations
Around the UK, the number of Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREIs) is increasing and they may be close to shipping routes.
You should be aware that there is no right of access to any type of OREI. They are private property and appropriate warning signs are displayed. Access to an OREI requires skill and is limited by the state of the sea, and should only be undertaken in controlled circumstances by trained personnel.
The visibility of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy installations will depend on the device type as some installations are totally submerged while others may only protrude slightly above the sea surface. The marking of offshore wave and tidal energy installations will be based on recommendations of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). Download offshore structures marking guidance from the IALA website
When planning a voyage, mariners should assess all hazards and associated risks, including the proximity of wind farms and turbines, for example:
- spacing - wind farm turbines are usually spaced 500 metres or more apart depending on the size of the turbine
- depth of water - most wind turbines operate in relatively shallow water though new generations of wind farm will be constructed in deeper water, possibly restricting navigable channels
- seabed changes - wind farm structures could, over time, affect the depth of water in their vicinity through scouring of the seabed making depth information unreliable
- tidal streams - wind farm structures may obstruct tidal streams locally, creating eddies nearby
- small craft - vessels involved in turbine maintenance and safety duties may be encountered or obscured within or around a wind farm - fishing vessels may also operate and be obscured in the area
- shore marks - in coastal areas shore marks may also be obscured by wind farm structures
- electrical transformer stations - can be found in or adjacent to larger wind farms
- rotor effects - can change the flow of the wind and impact on a vessel
[Download MGN 372 (M+F) guidance for mariners on operating in the vicinity of OREIs in the UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-372-guidance-to-mariners-operating-in-vicinity-of-uk-oreis).
Offshore wave and tidal energy installations
Unlike wind farms, you may have difficulty seeing systems using wave or tidal energy as they are likely to be located at or near the surface, for example:
- point absorbers
- oscillating wave surge converters
- oscillating water columns
- overtopping devices
- submerged pressure differentials
There are also many other devices that may have unique and very different designs to the more well-established types of technology, for example:
- tidal energy convertors (TECs)
- horizontal axis turbines
- horizontal axis turbines (enclosed blade tips)
- vertical axis turbines
- oscillating hydrofoils
The visibility of offshore wave and tidal energy installations will depend on the device type as some installations are totally submerged while others may only protrude slightly above the sea surface. The marking of offshore wave and tidal energy installations will be based on recommendations of the IALA. Download offshore structures marking guidance from the IALA website
Methods for fixing wave energy convertors (WECs) and TECs to the seabed
You will need to know the various methods by which WECs and TECs can be fixed to the seabed, as it will affect their visibility above the surface, for example:
- seabed mounted/gravity base devices - physically sit on the seabed by virtue of the weight of the combined device/foundation - some may also have additional fixing to the seabed
- pile mounted - attached to a pile penetrating the ocean floor
- floating flexible mooring - tethered via a cable/chain to the seabed, allowing considerable freedom of movement
- floating rigid mooring - secured into position using a fixed mooring system, allowing minimal movement
- hydrofoil inducing down force - uses a number of hydrofoils mounted on a frame to induce a positioning down force from the tidal current flow
- transformer station or hub - a special structure containing power conversion equipment either within or outside the wave/tidal energy group to which individual generators are connected via a power cable - a submarine cable transfers the power ashore from the hub, which may be a separate fixed or floating platform
There are a few safety zones in place around some UK offshore wind farms currently under construction, with more likely to be introduced in the near future, all of which will be monitored and policed.
A temporary safety zone may be established during the construction, major maintenance and decommissioning of OREIs and therefore should be avoided. Notices to mariners and radio navigation warning broadcasts may be used to inform people of such a zone, and chart and hydrographic publications will be used. These zones will be monitored by support craft which may include fishing vessels employed by developers as guard vessels.
Permanent safety zones are not expected to be established around entire wind farm groups, though single installations may be considered.
The effect on navigation and communication systems of OREIs
OREIs can be large and there could be several of them within a particular area. As a result, OREIs that cover large areas of open water can present potential hazards to navigation. This is particularly dangerous if there are a number of OREIs close to or encroaching into waters where there is a high density of shipping movements, fishing vessels and recreational craft usage.
Because of their nature, OREI positions are exposed to weather conditions and are often in shallow water, which could affect the navigation of vessels, particularly small craft and inshore shipping, gaining access to ports or to waters that provide a more sheltered passage required in bad weather and sea conditions. Also, tidal streams of varying sets and rates pass through all wind farm sites and some sites are within port limits or lie within Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) operational limits.
Mariners and organisations require consistent and effective radio communications systems.
If you are within close range of an OREI, you should be able to rely on marine navigation systems as much as if you were in open sea. However, those requiring line of sight promulgation may be affected by wind turbines. You will also need to be able to detect other craft in the area and to take appropriate avoiding action.
Port authorities and VTS operators require effective detection, identification and tracking of vessels navigating in their areas to:
- organise traffic
- provide traffic information
- provide navigational assistance services to vessels operating within port approaches
- prescribe routing schemes to meet their statutory responsibilities in respect of the safety of navigation
Emergency services such as Royal National Lifeboat Institution vessels and HM Coastguard require the ability to rapidly detect and react to maritime casualties.
If there is a failure of any radar, navigation or communication system it could:
- reduce safety levels
- lead to marine casualties
- reduce the effectiveness of emergency service operations
If an incident involves a passenger vessel, or a vessel carrying dangerous and polluting cargo, it could have serious consequences for the public and the environment, both at sea and ashore.
Theoretical studies into the impact of OREIs on radio systems
Experiments were carried out to test the theoretical results from an earlier study that predicted the impact on marine radio systems by the North Hoyle wind farm, off the North Wales coast.
In the theoretical study, results showed that wind turbines have very large radar cross-sections, which scatter a large proportion of any incident electromagnetic energy. The turbines also cast shadows behind themselves, looking from the direction of the transmitter.
The study suggested that small vessels within the North Hoyle wind farm would be detectable with marine radar - both 3 gigahertz and 9 gigahertz - if they were not in the shadow of a turbine. However, detection of the vessel could be compromised if it was very close and directly behind a turbine. The effect of the shadow at 3 gigahertz was found to be much less severe than at 9 gigahertz.
The impact on Global Positioning Systems (GPS) was found to be minimal, with any interference very rarely causing any corruption to the GPS data. Unless a GPS receiver was within 70 metres (based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 15 decibels) of a wind turbine then any interference would be insignificant.
The study looked at very high frequency (VHF) communications and concluded that due to the wavelength of the VHF systems, any interference caused by wind turbines would be negligible.
Scientific and practical research
The North Hoyle wind farm research tried to obtain scientific and practical operational data on the performance of various navigation and communications systems within and in the vicinity of offshore wind farms. The research focused on how the performance of systems would be adversely affected, with cost effective solutions recommended.
Four different trials were designed to test the validity of the results from the theoretical study and indicated that there is minimal impact on:
- VHF radio
- GPS receivers
- cellular telephones
- automated identification system
Ultra high frequency and other microwave systems suffered from the normal masking effect when turbines were in the line of the transmissions.
The turbines produced strong radar echoes giving early warning of their presence.
At close range, turbines may produce multiple reflected and side lobe echoes that can mask real targets. These develop at about 1.5 nautical miles, with radar displays becoming worse as the range closes.
Where a shipping lane passes within this range, considerable interference may be expected along a line of turbines.
The target size of the turbine echo increases close to the turbine, with target definition and bearing discrimination becoming worse on both 3 and 10 centimetre radars.
Following on from these trials, a critical assessment of search and rescue (SAR) activities within and close to offshore wind farms was carried out. This outcome may be used to inform the consents process of offshore wind farm applications. | <urn:uuid:663b85a2-f86e-42af-9cbf-9e7e27f2056c> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/offshore-renewable-energy-installations-impact-on-shipping | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948214.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20180426125104-20180426145104-00062.warc.gz | en | 0.927171 | 3,193 | 2.515625 | 3 |
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Not everyone with a disorder has each and every known manifestation of that disorder.
End result of Bayesian analysis is a ______
Several physicians may use the same ovservations to arrive at differing "degrees of belief"; patients want to know if they have a disorder, not our belief system
Screening tests shoud have high __________
Confirmatory tests should have high ________
A test often dow not prove or rule out the presence of a disorder (it may change the probability)
Informed consent issues
Basis of Baye's Theorem:
There is no certainty
Begin with a model that limits all possibly hypotheses to a constrained subset in the model: typically two or more ________ hypotheses; each with its own prior probability
Probability obtained from the pedigree
Appears normal at age 34, given either genotype (in relation to the problem)
How well the test detects affected people. Formula?
How well the text excludes unaffected people. Formula?
How often the test misclassifies affected people as "not affected"?
How often the test misclassifies affected people as "not affected". Formula?
If the test result is positive, what's the probability the patient has the disease?
If the test result is normal, what's the probability the patient does not have the disease?
What values help answer the above questions?
Two important questions sensitivity and specificity don't answer.
____ and _____ are very dependent on the disease prevalence, in addition
PPV and NPV
What type of test is used to "rule out" a diagnosis and hsould have a high sensitivity?
What type of test is used to "rule in" a disease and should have a high specificity?
Explain to a family that neither a normal or an abnormal test result has 100% predictability. This should have been explained to the family prior to initiating the consent. When specifically?
While obtaining informed consent
What fraction of offspring from two carrier parents will be unaffected in autosomal recessive traits?
Of the unaffected offspring, 2/3 of the offspring will be heterozygotes.
- 3/4 will be unaffected
What is the study of the frequency of alleles and traits in a population; and the study of the factors that affect gene or genotype frequencies.
What can provide the carrier frequency in a population, making possible genetic counseling about recurrence risks in a kindred?
How many mutations are present for an AR disorder?
How many lethal equivalents?
______ is a fallacy. We can eliminate all deleterious genes from a population only by eliminating completely that population.
Eugenic policies curtail individual freedom, claiming to promote the interest of a future society.
Promotes propagation of more "desirable people" types
Seeks to decrease propagation of more "undesirable people" types
Improvements in medical management do lead to increased biological fitness of _________
Hardy-Weinburg Law assumes
- Mating is random and in a large population
- No selection for or against any genotype
- No migration into or out of the population
- No new mutations
(These are never completely met.)
Relates the genotype frequencies at a Mendelian locus to the phenotype frequencies in that population.
- p2 + 2pq + a2
- p + q = 1
The values of p and q are the same in males and females since we share all X chromosomes. This is in relation to?
X-linked Recessive Traits
But affected males are more frequent than affected females.
Non-random mating (2 examples):
Leads to increased ______
Exposes _______ traits to selection
- 1) Assortative Mating, 2) Consanguinity and incest
- increased homozygosity
- recessive traits
Selection for a similar mate based upon ethnicity, religion, stature, deafness, etc.
Relationship between cloose blood relatives.
Incidence in US?
Risks in offspring:
- 1st = 50; brother- sister, parent-child
- 2nd= 5-10; uncle-niece
- 3rd= 3-5; first cousins
A union between individuals so closely related that the union is illegal. It is between?
1st Degree (brother-sister, parent-child)
10-15% of mothers of sporadic cases are
What mutations are more frequent among children born of older fathers?
New single gene dominant mutations (apert sydrome, achondroplasa)
Acrocephalocyndactyly, craniosyntosis, mid-face hypoplasia, prominence of orbits
An equilibrium may exist between new mutations and selection for or against a mutant allele, tending to maintain allele frequencies constant.
What disorders are not often recognized because all cases are sporadic.
Autosomal dominant, complete genetic lethal disorders
Migration of people changes the allel frequency in a region (ie. hispanics into USA)
Small "isolated" population effects
Allele frequency can occur in small populations by chance.
- Random fluctuation
- Leads to extinction, fixation, and the founder effect on some alleles.
A case of genetic drift in which a small founder population with limited genetic variation derives from a larger population, resulting in a large change in allele frequencies. | <urn:uuid:a8ea91f9-3ba5-4b5f-9708-964fc48e8d96> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.freezingblue.com/flashcards/print_preview.cgi?cardsetID=181004 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424088.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170722162708-20170722182708-00145.warc.gz | en | 0.891565 | 1,140 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Web users can type Russian letters with an English keyboard using an online Russian keyboard layout. Users of the Windows operating system can also change the language by adjusting the language input.
Online Russian keyboards, such as those at WinRus.com and Branah.com, are digital interfaces that translate what you type on your English keyboard into Cyrillic letters. Some online Russian keyboards offer the option of a phonetic or standard layout. The phonetic layout aligns the Cyrillic alphabet as closely as possible to an English QWERTY format based upon similar sounds of certain English and Cyrillic letters. This layout is best for native English speakers.
If you speak Russian but have an English keyboard, a standard layout allows you to type as you normally would with a Russian keyboard without having to install any additional language packs or software. The interface translates each keystroke on an English keyboard into the Cyrillic letter that occupies the same position on a Russian keyboard, which has a different layout than an English keyboard.
To change the input language of your English keyboard in Windows XP, go to Control Panel. Click Date, Time, Language and Regional Options. Click Regional and Language Options, Languages, then Details. Under Installed Languages, click Add, and then add Russian as the Input Language. The input language displays within the task bar. Change it to Russian. The keyboard layout is standard.
Instructions for changing the input language within other Windows operating systems are available at ConversationExchange.com. | <urn:uuid:ab4857d4-ef6e-48ec-be29-c3fc64a31db7> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://www.reference.com/world-view/type-russian-letters-english-keyboard-d58b9767b2ee2a86 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540519149.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20191209145254-20191209173254-00218.warc.gz | en | 0.894284 | 302 | 2.75 | 3 |
When applying for naturalization, there are multiple requirements related to residence in the United States. And one of the most important ones is the physical presence requirement.
Many applicants often confuse the physical presence and continuous residence requirements. Although they are related, they are not the same thing. And just because you meet one of them does not mean that you will meet the other.
Here, we’ll discuss the physical presence requirement and how it differs from the continuity of residence requirement.
What Is Naturalization?
Before diving into the specifics of the physical presence requirement, it’s worth first reviewing the naturalization process.
So, what exactly is naturalization? Naturalization is another name for officially becoming a United States citizen.
The main form that you’ll fill out for this application is called Form-400. The naturalization process usually takes around a year or so once you’ve completed the main requirements.
Physical Presence Requirement: The Basics
Physical presence is fairly straightforward. It refers to the number of a days the applicants was physically present within the United States. If you travel abroad, USCIS will count the day you leave and the day you return when calculating how many total days you spent in the country.
What is the usual physical presence requirement? In most cases, it is half of the time that you live continuously in the United States. For a typical applicant, this means 30 months of a 60 month continuous residency.
Distinguishing Between Physical Presence And Continuous Residence
Continuous residence refers to the period in which you maintain your primary residence in the United States. That means that you have some form of residence in the United States that you consider your main home.
Physical presence, as we saw above, refers to the proportion of your time that you actually spent in the United States. It is counted by USCIS in days, so that they know exactly how much time you spent in the United States. It’s usually proved with a Permanent Residence Card, in addition to a wide range of supporting documents.
Why is it important to distinguish the two requirements? Because meeting one of the requirements does not mean you meet both.
Some people believe that they met all requirements, assuming that completing one automatically means you’ve completed the other. But there are cases where applicants met one requirement but failed to meet the other.
For example, an applicant could be present in the United States for more than half of a five year period, meaning that they’ve met the physical presence requirement, while still failing to meet the continuous residence requirement due to a prolonged trip outside of the country. In this case, USCIS would almost always reject the application.
Or you could meet the continuous residence requirement by living in the United States for at least five years, but not meet the physical presence requirement because you spent too much time out of the country.
Remember, just owning a property in the United States is not enough to prove that you are a continuous resident. You have to demonstrate that this residence is your primary residence, not just a place you spend part of your time.
Defining Physical Presence And Continuous Residence
Physical presence is also easier to define than continuous residence. Physical presence simply refers to the number of days you were in the country. It’s easy to keep track of, and there is usually little confusion with the requirement.
Continuous residency, however, can be difficult to track. Many applicants leave the country for prolonged periods, but still maintain a property in the United States. Depending on the specific cases, USCIS may still count this period as part of the continuous residence.
Because these two requirements can often be confusing, it is worth speaking to an experienced immigration attorney. They can help you figure out what your specific requirements are, and make sure that you have met them.
Proving Physical Presence
Many applicants think that possession of a Permanent Resident Card is enough to prove physical presence. This card is given to Lawful Permanent Residents, (LDRs) and is a way of documenting that they are legal residents of the United States.
Although you should always make sure you have your Permanent Resident Card, it is important that you have additional supporting documentation to prove that you were present within the United States. This can help improve your case, and clarify any periods where USCIS believes you might have left the country.
What type of information will you need to provide to prove physical presence? There’s a wide range of different documentation that you can provide, such as school transcripts, tax returns, pay stubs, letters of employment, receipts for rent payments, and credit card statements.
The best way to convincingly prove that you were physically present is to have a mix of different documents. This will confirm your presence in the country, and make it hard for even the most skeptical immigration agent to reject your application.
USCIS will then review the documentation you provide, as well as your testimony, to decide if you have met the physical presence requirement. Try to find information that is as exact as possible. If USCIS has any doubts about your application, these specific details could make a big difference in your case.
And always make sure that any information you provide is completely accurate. Even if most of the documents you give are correct, mistakes can cost you, and can make USCIS doubt your testimony.
Reapplying After Failing To Meet Physical Presence Requirement
If you submit an application for naturalization and are rejected because you failed to meet the physical presence requirement, you may wonder how long you have to wait to reapply. The usual time period is four years and a day after the initial application was submitted.
However, there may be some exceptions to this. If you are worried that your application may be rejected because you failed to meet the physical presence requirement, you should speak to an immigration attorney.
They can help you decide what your next steps should be, as well as see if you fall under any of the exemption categories.
Exceptions To The Standard Physical Presence Requirement
Although the requirements for most applicants is 30 months of physical presence within a five year period of continuous residence, there are some special cases where the requirements are different, and you don’t have to be physically present in the United States.
Applicants who are married to someone serving in the U.S. Armed Forces may be able to get an exemption to the physical presence requirement. If you have been authorized to live abroad with a member of the Armed Forces, you can count this time as time spent within the United States. Do note, however, that any time spent travelling while abroad may not be counted toward your physical presence requirement.
If you are applying for naturalization as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, you may be able to receive an exemption and apply for naturalization after three years of continuous residence, with a requirement of 18 months of physical presence.
Any applicant who receives LPR status as a result of domestic abuse also has shorter requirements for continuous residence and physical presence. These requirements are usually a physical presence of at least 30 months throughout a continuous residence of 60 months. These numbers, however, might vary depending on the case.
Other Exceptions To The Physical Presence Requirement
There are other cases where the amount of time that you have to spend in the United States may be less than what would be required from a standard application. Such cases included applicants who have served in the Armed Forces or are married to someone who has served, certain government employees and contractors, and specific members of the media.
The naturalization process can be quite complicated. That’s why it’s always a good idea to speak to a skilled immigration attorney. They can walk you through any questions you might have about physical presence requirements, a
In almost every case, an applicant will have to be physically present in the United States for at least 30 months of a 60 month period of continuous residence in the country. But there are many exceptions to this rule.
That’s why you should consider speaking to a skilled immigration attorney about your case. They can help ensure that your case is handled properly and that you take advantage of any exemptions that may be available to you.
At Monument Immigration, our only focus is immigration law. We work with you directly to build a strong application. We can also prepare your application within two days of receiving all of your documents, ensuring that you never miss a deadline.
We know that finding the right immigration attorney can be stressful. That’s why we offer free consultations, where we advise you on what legal options you have.
If you have any questions about the physical presence requirement, or about any part of the immigration process, contact us today. | <urn:uuid:593445f0-627a-4e85-9565-b542bc8a9ef4> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://www.monumentimmigration.com/blog/2019/april/do-you-really-meet-the-physical-presence-require/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320304309.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20220123202547-20220123232547-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.960426 | 1,794 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Area vs. Perimeter of Rectangles
Date: 03/19/2000 at 16:19:30 From: Melissa Subject: Perimeter and area I don't understand how two rectangles with exactly the same perimeter can enclose different areas. Can you explain that to me? Thank you, Melissa
Date: 03/19/2000 at 23:15:36 From: Doctor Peterson Subject: Re: Perimeter and area Hi, Melissa. I can start by convincing you that it's really true. A mathematician often looks at a question like this by thinking about the extreme cases, to get a feel for how far things can go. So let's think about extreme rectangles. Suppose you make a loop of string, say 24 inches long, and try to make a rectangle of it, by putting four fingers into the loop and moving them around. What's the widest rectangle you can make? Pull your fingers as far as they can go, and you'll have something like this: ________________ (O________________O) If you imagine your fingers having no width, you can see that the widest rectangle possible would have zero height (or as little as you are willing to have and still call it a rectangle) and width 12 inches. Its area will be zero. At the other extreme, of course, you can stretch your rectangle vertically so that it is 12 inches high with no width, and again has zero area. Yet you know that in between you do have a positive area, and in fact it will turn out that a square (with the width and height the same) will have the greatest area you can make. So how can area change when the perimeter stays the same? Here's one way to look at it, suggested by a problem someone sent in recently. Let's reverse the question and try to build a rectangle out of 12 one-inch squares (a fixed area) and see why we won't always get the same perimeter. The 12 squares will have a total perimeter of 48 inches (4 inches each). If I line up the squares in a row, only two or three sides of each square will be part of the perimeter, while the others will be shared with neighbors: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| Each of the 11 "interior edges" between two squares takes away two inches from the perimeter (one side of each square), so the perimeter of this rectangle will be 48 - 22 = 26. Since the height is 1 and the width is 12, that's right: 1 + 12 + 1 + 12 = 26. Now let's stack the squares closer together, in two rows of 6: _ _ _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|_| Now there are 16 interior edges, because more of the squares are touching, so we subtract not 22 but 32 inches from the perimeter, which is now 48 - 32 = 16. Yes, this is 2 + 6 + 2 + 6. Now let's lump them even closer together (more squarish), as a 3 x 4 rectangle: _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| Now there are 17 interior edges, so the perimeter is 48 - 34 = 14 inches, which is equal to 3 + 4 + 3 + 4. Do you see what's happening? The more squarish the rectangle is, the more edges the squares share, and the less they contribute to the perimeter, so the less the perimeter will be. The same sort of thing happens with three-dimensional shapes, and this effect is important in such questions as how your body dissipates heat: if we picture our squares as cells, then a flat shape will let each cell be close to the surface and cool itself off, while a roundish shape will force more cells into the interior, where they won't be part of the surface, and also won't lose heat easily. Lumpy things have less "outside" for the same amount of "inside." (That's why elephants have thin ears, to radiate more heat, and why cactuses have thick stems, to retain more moisture.) So the basic answer to your question is that area measures the "inside" of a shape and perimeter measures the "outside," and by changing the shape we can move outside parts to the inside without changing the outside. Or, if we keep the perimeter the same as you originally asked, we can keep the same "outside" but pack more "inside" into it, which will puff it up. Thanks for the question - it's fun to think about this sort of thing! - Doctor Peterson, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
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© 1994- The Math Forum at NCTM. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:90e2693c-ebcf-4897-ba25-5339131f2dc9> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57820.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105326.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170819070335-20170819090335-00059.warc.gz | en | 0.937405 | 1,035 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Herbert Frisby and the crew of the B-29 just before the flight that took Frisby directly over the geographic North Pole. Frisby dropped a steel box containing a U.S. flag and a bronze memorial plaque to Matthew Henson, the first African-American to reach the geographic North Pole. The geographic North Pole is the northernmost point of the earth, and is the direction of true north. The North magnetic pole is the point where the earth’s magnetic field points vertically downward and is where traditional magnetic compasses point towards. The magnetic pole is located some 200 miles south of the geographic North Pole and is constantly moving. | <urn:uuid:70b9a4bf-a37c-4e26-bf74-f97b80ace37b> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | https://mdhslibrary.wordpress.com/2012/12/27/sitting-on-top-of-the-world/frisby-flight/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398445080.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205405-00355-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936718 | 133 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Generally the terms “job”, “occupation”, and “profession” are made use of interchangeably. Having said that, in actual reality, these terms have rather various meanings so it is significant to distinguish involving these terms.
A “job”is function for which you obtain spend. It is hence a implies to reside and may possibly or may possibly not be extended-term or lead to something else by way of function. For this cause a job can be noticed as one particular massive activity or a series of tasks that is normally performed in return for revenue. Contract function and project function frequently include “jobs” that have to be accomplished, ordinarily on a fixed-term basis (even if they are repeated more than a lot of months and even years). Folks have a tendency to speak about their function as “just a job” when it does not give them significantly extended-term profession satisfaction.
An “occupation” is a wide category of jobs with equivalent traits. In other words, an occupation is a broad title for what an individual does on a continual basis. This implies that all of their function tends to match into a specialist category that most folks recognize. There are a lot of examples in this category but some may well be an accountant, medical professional, engineer, nurse, plumber, police officer, scientist or teacher. As you can see, most occupations are pretty properly-understood in notion, if not particular terms, and there is hence lots of very good info to be gathered on them (on the net, for instance) as a future profession alternative. Job satisfaction is frequently higher in an occupational part, but in contemporary occasions, it is far significantly less most likely than it made use of to be that folks keep in only one particular occupation. Now, a lot of of us will transform occupations various occasions in our lives.
Lastly, a “profession” is a lifetime journey of creating and creating very good use of your expertise, know-how and experiences (wherever these are invested). Place one more way, a profession is a period of extended-term employment ordinarily in a offered region or sector. An person will hence normally commit a lot of years in an region or sector and carry out what may possibly be various various roles. A profession is consequently equivalent to an occupation but is frequently significantly broader, as it may possibly involve various linked occupational jobs in the identical or equivalent fields. For instance, a medical professional may well commence as a resident at a hospital, grow to be a surgeon, act as a specialist, grow to be a healthcare director and lastly grow to be a hospital administrator. These are 4 pretty straight linked occupations but can be deemed a profession in the healthcare field.
Of course, in a a lot more basic sense, there is practically nothing stopping people from pursuing rather a varied profession in which he or she begins as an accountant for instance, performs his or her way up to a Chief Economic Officer, later becoming a Chief Executive. S/he may possibly even finish his or her profession on the board of an totally various organization in an unfamiliar field — nonetheless pretty significantly a profession!
So in summary, a job is function for which you obtain spend, an occupation is a variety of jobs with equivalent traits and lastly a profession is a lifetime of creating very good use of your expertise, know-how and experiences.
Why does it matter? If you just want a job, you may possibly be content to gather your revenue as a return for the hours you place in and not be concerned that significantly about exactly where it may possibly lead you in the future. Each younger and older personnel frequently really feel that this is totally acceptable, as they either want to get some practical experience for their résumé or have to earn revenue to fund their out-of- function activities or interests. Having said that, as quickly as you commence to feel about other concerns such as higher job interest, development, finding out and improvement, and collaboration possibilities, you are beginning to feel in a lot more occupational terms (a field of activity in which you may well flourish) and profession terms (exactly where one particular job may possibly properly lead to one more that you may possibly delight in even a lot more). For this cause, we will be examining how to appear at occupations and careers that offer the greatest prospective for enjoyment for people. And in order to do this we initially have to know rather a lot about ourselves. | <urn:uuid:1befdd58-83c7-401e-94d1-f5a0921ebcc6> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | http://www.real-cashs.com/what-is-the-distinction-in-between-a-job-an-occupation-and-a-profession/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540517156.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20191209013904-20191209041904-00400.warc.gz | en | 0.967407 | 926 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Experienced foragers often say, if you want to familiarise yourself with only a few mushrooms, it’s always best to recognise the deadly ones! Wise words indeed.
The Fool’s Funnel (Clitocybe rivulosa aka C.dealbata) is one of the more common poisonous species to be found in the UK, as well as in Europe and North America. It appears, alarmingly enough, in some very ‘people orientated’ places such as lawns, parks, road sides etc; in sandy soil, during late summer to late autumn.
The toxic culprit here is muscarine (found in many other poisonous fungi), and with a good dose it can cause some very unpleasant symptoms, and in some cases – death. So it goes without saying, don’t be too hasty in picking these innocent looking mushrooms. Here’s what to look out for:
Although not that large (around 4-6cm when mature), they often grow in small to medium groups and sometimes partial or full rings in grass. One of the largest partial rings I found were right in the middle of a local park.
The cap is powdered white often with concentric rings or blotch marks which show the darker buff coloured flesh beneath (or even cracking, depending on condition). This is a good identification marker to note. The shape is initially rounded but it soon flattens out, usually developing the common ‘funnel shape’ and the margin remains slightly inrolled.
I stipulated on my mushroom identification page that there are no ‘golden rules’ or ‘one tip fits all’ in identifying different species, but if you want a good rule, then always be extremely wary of white gilled mushrooms. Several deadly species have white gills, but then again they can also have different coloured gills! So I guess what I’m trying to say is – ‘If you don’t know it, then don’t eat it‘ – simple. (I’m not sure if that was pointless and wasted paragraph! But there you go…)
In this case (typical for a funnel mushroom) the white/whitish-buff gills run decurrently down the stem (which share the same colour as the cap). They are quite crowded and turn more buff coloured as the fungi ages.
Last but not least; the flesh, if crushed between the fingers, will deliver a ‘sweetish’ smell, but I’d advise you wash or wipe your hands afterwards, and make sure you’re not tempted to a little nibble!
QUICK ID TABLE: FOOLS FUNNEL Clitocybe rivulosa / C.dealbata
CAP / FLESH
3-6cm diameter. Initially convex, then flattened out, often funnel shaped. Powdered white, often with concentric or buff flesh markings. Flesh is buff; smells sweet.
2-4 x 0.5-1cm; similar colouring as cap. Often slightly woolly at the base.
GILLS / SPORE PRINT
White/Whitish-buff, decurrent and crowded.
HABITAT / SEASON
In small-medium groups, full or partial rings in grass of gardens, parks, roadsides, path edges (sandy soil). Summer – autumn.
Deadly poisonous. Contains muscarine. | <urn:uuid:9218e26b-7bad-4fc1-b37e-dbcfd9250985> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://www.mushroomdiary.co.uk/tag/uk-poisonous-fungi/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496670162.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20191119172137-20191119200137-00375.warc.gz | en | 0.93071 | 719 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Iron is a necessary mineral for the functioning of the body. It is estimated that around 20% of women, 3% of men, and 50% of pregnant women are iron deficient. Symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, pallor, and cravings for non-food items like ice or dirt.
©Evan Lorne / Shutterstock.com
Fortunately, it is abundant in many common food sources. Dietary iron is typically found in two forms. Heme iron is a form in which the iron ion is surrounded by a ring-shaped molecule called porphyrin. Iron is absorbed primarily in the small intestine.
People at Risk of Iron Deficiency
Some people are at a higher risk of being deficient in iron, including:
- Poor or homeless people
- People with an eating disorder
- Elderly people
- Children who drink a lot of cow’s milk
- People on a diet to lose weight
- People who don’t eat fruits, vegetables and meat
- People who consume a lot of caffeine
- People who take antacids
Heme iron is found in animal-based foods. Some foods rich in heme iron are:
- Beef liver
- Chicken liver
- Canned sardines
At the high end, beef liver offers 3.5 milligrams of heme iron per serving. Chicken has 0.7 milligrams of iron per serving.
Plant foods contain non-heme iron. Good sources of non-heme iron are:
- Enriched cereals
- Cooked beans
- Pumpkin seeds
- Canned lima beans
- Dried apricots
- Baked potato
- Nuts (peanuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, etc.)
People with iron deficiency anemia should consume at least three 4-ounce portions of red meat each week. After the iron balance is restored, an adequate daily intake of protein should be continued, while reducing or eliminating refined sugar.
Improving Iron Absorption
The body’s absorption of iron can be increased or decreased by the presence of other nutrients consumed with it. It is important to get enough vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to aid absorption of iron. Many fruits and vegetables are high in vitamin C.
On the other hand, coffee, tea, and calcium-rich foods can block absorption of iron. If your iron levels are low, such items should be consumed at least two hours before or after iron-containing foods.
Non-heme iron is not absorbed as well by the body as heme iron, so vegetarians tend not to store as much iron in their bodies as people who eat meat. Again, phytates, which are present in whole grains and legumes - the staples of a vegetarian diet - can block iron absorption.
Vegetarians need to pay particular attention to combining foods rich in iron with vitamin C to enhance absorption. People who don’t eat meat may need twice as much iron per day as those who eat meat.
Some people may need to take an iron supplement on a regular basis in order to maintain iron levels in the body. A daily multivitamin that contains iron should be adequate for most people. Taking a separate iron supplement can have harmful side effects, and should only be done under a physician’s supervision. | <urn:uuid:a80f41ba-1fd4-4aa6-b7a5-1fe9ebea1f9d> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.news-medical.net/health/Sources-of-Iron.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00752.warc.gz | en | 0.940727 | 781 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Large white stork with a yellow bill and reddish face and legs. Extensive black on the wings and tail only prominent in flight; a little of this black edging on the wings occasionally visible when the bird is foraging. Inhabits coastal mangroves, marshes, and mudflats; very rare far inland. Painted Stork is fairly similar but has multiple small dark spots on the wings which are easily visible on a perched bird; hybrids usually have scattered black spots as well. Rather uncommon and declining; reintroduced in parts of Singapore and Malaysia. | <urn:uuid:444cdd5f-04c8-4798-944b-6d4af807c911> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://ebird.org/species/milsto1/L2594066 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141191692.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127103102-20201127133102-00336.warc.gz | en | 0.945275 | 116 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Business cycle can be identified as a sequence of four phases that were classified and studied in their most modern sense by American economists Arthur Burns and Wesley Mitchell in their text Measuring Business Cycles. The four primary phases of the business cycle include:
Expansion: A speedup in the pace of economic activity defined by high growth, low unemployment, and increasing prices. The period marked from trough to peak.
Peak: The upper turning point of a business cycle and the point at which expansion turns into contraction.
Contraction: A slowdown in the pace of economic activity defined by low or stagnant growth, high unemployment, and declining prices. It is the period from peak to trough.
Trough: The lowest turning point of a business cycle in which a contraction turns into an expansion. This turning point is also called Recovery.
These four phases also make up what is known as the "boom-and-bust" cycles, which are characterized as business cycles in which the periods of expansion are swift and the subsequent contraction is steep and severe. | <urn:uuid:99aff85f-ce52-42c2-b30e-3baf3a3ca913> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | https://business.queryhome.com/2265/what-are-the-main-phases-of-the-business-cycle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818687324.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170920142244-20170920162244-00393.warc.gz | en | 0.97059 | 213 | 3.765625 | 4 |
By Catie Duckworth
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Affecting 0.3 percent of the population, HIV is only half as prevalent in Mexico as it is in the United States. However, experts have noted an increase in cases in Mexico following the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.
Researchers have linked HIV/AIDS in Mexico to migration since these rates only recently started to rise. In the 1980s and early 1990s, studies showed that between 41 and 79 percent of Mexicans with AIDS had spent time living in the United States. Unfortunately, these statistics have not been updated since 1992, highlighting a lack of attention to this serious issue.
Increased migration from Mexico to the United States has corresponded with a 7.8 percent annual increase in HIV diagnoses along the U.S.-Mexico border. At this rate, in the next 15 to 20 years the number of AIDS cases may overwhelm Mexico’s limited capacity to address them.
Both Mexico and the United States, therefore, have a joint responsibility to increase their efforts to combat AIDS. Mexico needs to uphold its promise to treat every AIDS case in the country while, across the border, the United States must expand the health care services it provides for migrant workers, especially AIDS treatment for farm workers.
Cultural Perceptions Affecting Infection Rates
Most migrant farm workers are men, many of whom left wives and girlfriends behind in Mexico. Their attempts to deal with loneliness and harsh conditions on the farms often lead to high-risk behaviors associated with HIV infection. George Lemp, director of the University of California’s AIDS research program, has noted among Mexican migrant workers in the United States rates of infection have increased with drug consumption, multiplicity of sex partners and utilization of sex workers.
Language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and insensitivity on the part of health care professionals can impede efforts to provide preventative education for migrants once they successfully migrate to the United States. Many migrant workers who seek services through government-funded health clinics often have a very limited Spanish vocabulary and must rely on a third party translator. At times, when health workers attempt to use Spanish with the migrants, it is often in a disrespectful manner.
Men living at the farming camps often become embarrassed when volunteers from free health clinics visit to distribute condoms, and most refuse to take them. In many clinics, nurses make little attempts to communicate in Spanish with workers and have been known to simply throw condoms in men’s faces yelling “condones, condones!”
Such approaches fail to get the point across to the workers about the importance of protection. They also illustrate how even on the rare occasions when health professionals use Spanish words they may still be ineffective in conveying the role of condoms in disease prevention. Training health care workers to increase their Spanish health vocabulary and comprehensively articulate the risks of unprotected sex would break down the communication barrier between the farm workers and the nurses.
Additionally, a study on perceptions of AIDS prevention among Hispanic men in California found that many participants believed that the farther north one is, the higher his or her chances of contracting HIV. Therefore, even though some men in the study did report using condoms in the United States, their usage was sporadic and they did not believe it was necessary to do so with their sex partners in Mexico.
The pattern is that workers then carry the virus back to Mexico, where they do not wear condoms with their wives out of fear of admitting to their infidelity and having to face the societal consequences. According to the aforementioned study on perception of AIDS among Hispanic men, some males said they would prefer to commit suicide rather than live with the disgrace of being HIV positive.
Commenting on his reservations for getting tested, one participant in the study even claimed, “The fear of knowing we have it. All of us, after we were married [experience it] …we remain blind, wondering if we have it. To be blind or to know?” Clearly, many deem it better to live in ignorance than with an HIV positive diagnosis.
This negative mindset stems from the fierce taboo and misconceptions surrounding AIDS in Mexico as well as the rest of Latin America. The strong Catholic tradition in the region stigmatizes contraceptives, and therefore condom use, meaning that when migrants return to their own village neither they nor their partners use condoms.
Due to this Vatican-ordained stigma, most men reject HIV/AIDS testing when they return home from the United States and they often infect their partners with continuous unprotected sexual activity.
Health Care Opportunities Not Cutting It
On both sides of the border measures have been taken to improve migrant health, such as the Vete Sano, Regresa Sano (VSRS) program in Mexico. The VSRS program claims to draw attention to every single HIV/AIDS case detected. However, little evidence exists to confirm the effectiveness of such efforts.
Furthermore, as of 2002, there were approximately 50,000 known AIDS cases in Mexico with an additional estimated 150,000 individuals living with HIV. In 10 to 15 years, when these potential HIV positive cases turn into AIDS, Mexico may not be able to fully combat these cases as promised.
In Mexico, government and private sector employees have access to free health care through social security programs, including the necessary treatment required for AIDS treatment. However, informal sector workers do not reap the same benefits, leading to an uneven distribution of health care.
According to a national survey in 2000, 60 percent of the population lacked access to social security programs. Clearly, the Mexican government should focus its health care reform efforts on providing the greater part of the population with the proper tools to combat this plight.
Mexican migrant farm workers usually have far less health care coverage than their counterparts in the United States. About half of all migrant and seasonal workers in the United States are undocumented and the median annual income for these farm workers is $6,250 USD with 85 percent of them remaining uninsured.
Therefore, expensive medical care, including AIDS treatment, is normally out of reach. Additionally, due to a lack of information about available options, inconvenient hours, and the fear of deportation, only about 20 percent of migrant workers utilize the health care services of free clinics.
The free clinic that services migrant workers in South Central Pennsylvania, for example, is only open one evening a week, severely limiting options in case of emergencies. Additionally, the services available invariably turn out to be very minimal; free clinics most often do not even offer basic services such as dental care, let alone AIDS treatment.
Washington should seriously consider increasing the resources available to these clinics so as to widen the services that can be offered. By doing so, the United States would in turn be providing further health benefits to its own citizens.
An AIDS epidemic among Mexican migrant workers is a matter of health concern for citizens on both sides of border. These workers are not only taking the disease home to their wives in Mexico, but they have the potential to spread the disease to their sex partners in the United States, many of whom may be permanent residents or citizens.
On the other side of the border, even though Mexico has been noted for effectively tackling treatment of AIDS in the past, it could be unlikely that it will be able to do so in the future. The relatively low number of AIDS cases in Mexico does not guarantee there will not be increases in the infection rate in the future.
With the drug war appropriately at the top of the national agenda, Mexico is unlikely to allocate the resources necessary to treat the problem of HIV/AIDS. Even though the drug war is now of primary focus in Mexican politics, the country also needs to begin to focus on other aspects of its citizens’ wellbeing, including increased health care options.
If an AIDS epidemic is truly brewing in Mexico, the responsibility to attack it should not remain on one side of the border when the disease originates on the other and has the potential of harming both sides. Both the U.S. and Mexico must step up in a united front against AIDS.
Catie Duckworth is research associate at Council on Hemispheric Affairs | <urn:uuid:7b3be001-7574-4e24-bcf0-954baa9a60a2> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://latinalista.com/2012/08/both-the-u-s-and-mexico-must-step-up-in-a-united-front-against-aids/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398447773.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205407-00313-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96435 | 1,645 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Cyber warfare is the study of the various cyber spies infesting computers and systems of defense institutions of a country.
The previous decade has seen some of the highest incidences of cyber warfare. The first one was in 2006 planned by the USA against Iran's Uranium enrichment program.
In 2007, USA and Israel collaborate to develop the most complicated worm ever used. They penetrated Iran's Natanz plant that developed nuclear arsenal. In 2008 all the centrifuges at the plant began crashing. In 2009, outgoing president Bush urged Obama to continue this warfare as it had set back Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons by more than 2 years.
By the summer of 2010, almost 130,000 computers globally were infected by this Stuxnet virus that resulted in escape of the virus from the plant. Many of the centrifuges continued to be affected by this virus. But in early 2012, this virus was discontinued. DUQU was developed with high resemblance to Stuxnet, but more powerful. | <urn:uuid:0874757a-cb12-4fe1-9d8f-82734ddbaee0> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://graphs.net/cyber-warfare.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320057.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170623114917-20170623134917-00177.warc.gz | en | 0.973023 | 201 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Reunion, a small island lying about 500 miles east of MADAGASCAR, is ruled as an overseas territory of France. Along with the islands of MAURITIUS and Rodrigues, it forms a region of great natural beauty known as the Mascarene Archipelago.
Land and Peoples
Despite its small size, Reunion has a diverse geography. Three peaks of over 9,000 feet form wide valleys drained by several rivers. The southern and eastern portions of the island receive up to 300 inches of rain per year, while the north and west receive only about 25 inches. The climate is tropical in low-lying regions and much cooler and drier in the mountains. Forests cover one-third of the country.
Arriving in the early 1600s, the French were the first people to live on Reunion. Dutch, Italian, English, and African settlers soon joined them. The Europeans imported slaves from India and Africa until the practice was outlawed in the mid-1800s. Later, they brought indentured laborers from Asia and Africa. The island's current population is mostly descended from African slaves who intermarried with other groups. Most citizens are Catholics and speak both creole and French, the nation's official language.
History, Government, and Economy
In the 1700s the French used the island, then called Ile de Bourbon, as a naval base from which to attack India. After the French Revolution, the island's name was changed to Reunion and a colonial assembly was created. However, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte soon restored royal control of the island's government. Britain seized the island during the Anglo-French War of the early 1800s but returned it to France after Napoleon was defeated in 1814. In 1848 France abolished slavery and gave colonial subjects the right to elect deputies to the National Assembly.
Since 1946, Reunion has been an overseas territory of France with its own elected assembly. France provides welfare payments and other forms of social relief to many islanders. However, these benefits are less than those paid to French citizens in France, and islanders have sometimes protested this unequal treatment with demonstrations, strikes, and riots.
Sugarcane dominates Reunion's economy, with almost 70 percent of the arable land dedicated to sugar cultivation. This is still true even though old laws regarding land use, aging plants, droughts, and tropical storms have greatly reduced the sugarcane output on the island. The sugarcane trade is dominated by 10 sugar estates that are controlled by roughly five large sugar companies. Smaller sugar planters used to play an active role in the economy, but the high cost of buying mechanized equipment and the rising prices charged for imported fertilizers drove out all but the largest companies. Other important crops include vanilla and various plants used in making perfumes. Declining sugar prices and high unemployment have led to widespread poverty. The government has taken steps to diversify the economy, with limited success. The tourism industry also brings revenue to Reunion, which is a popular vacation spot. (See also Colonialism in Africa.) | <urn:uuid:d3ef1dea-73f6-4e4b-b66c-87804986c2bd> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://geography.name/reunion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593657169226.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20200716122414-20200716152414-00525.warc.gz | en | 0.968114 | 629 | 3.71875 | 4 |
ARM processors are used in low-powered devices, such as hand-held terminals. Battery-life is a key property to protect. Consequently, some sacrifices were accepted by ARM in order to save a lot of transistors, translating into less power usage.
As a general requirement, program for low-powered devices must also keep in mind the battery-life requirement, and designed in a power-conscious manner. Hence, trade-off will almost always favor memory savings and speed over raw precision.
It's possible to use high-level languages for ARM, such as LUA, or Java. Obviously, these languages will try to mask ARM shortcoming, providing a universal interface to programmer. But that's also why it's so difficult to optimize them.
So we'll settle on C programming language, which is much closer to metal.
The most critical restriction to consider when designing an ARM-compatible program is the strong requirement on aligned data. What does that mean ?
The smallest memory element that can be manipulated is a byte, like most other processors of these last 30 years (Saturn being a very rare exception). Reading and writing a byte can be done anywhere in memory.
However, things change when dealing with Short types (16 bits, 2 bytes).
Such data must be read or written on even addresses only (0x60h is okay, 0x61h is not).
Same restriction apply when dealing with Long types (32 bits, 4 bytes). These data must be written or read from a memory address which is a multiple of 4 (0x60h is okay, 0x61h 0x62h 0x63h are not).
Failing this condition will almost certainly result in a crash, since most OS don't want to handle these exceptions for performance consideration.As long as you are dealing with Structured data, there is no issue : the compiler will take care of this for you.
Now, when dealing with a data stream, this is no longer a compiler job : you have to make sure that any read or write operation respects this restriction.
Guess what ? A file is such a giant data stream.
As a consequence, making your file format ARM friendly may require to change it. PC-ARM format compatibility is not guaranteed without this.
Forget about float
Programming with float is indeed supported by ARM compiler. But this is just a trick : hardware does not really support it, so a little program will take care of the calculation adaptation for you.
This has an obvious drawback : performance will suffer greatly.
Therefore, favor your own "fixed point" calculation instead, using a 32bit long as a container for your format. 16/16 is quite easy to come up with, but you may need another distribution, such as 22/10 for example. Don't hesitate to select the most suitable format for your program.
To give an example, i made a simple DCT implementation several months ago, using float (or double), as a "reference" starting point. It resulted in a speed of one frame per second.
I then simply replaced the "float" type with a fixed point implementation. This new version would only need 20ms to achieve the same job. Now, 50x is a huge enough performance delta to be seriously considered.
Cache is your (little) friend
Ensuring that data you need is fetched from cache rather than main memory is key to the performance of your application, and therefore to its impact on battery life.
Compared with PC, cache is a scarce resource for ARM. While modern x86 CPU tend to have multi-megabytes Level 2 caches on top of Level 1 caches, you end up with just a Level 1 cache with ARM, and generally a small one (size vary depending on implementations ; look at the technical doc of your model, 8KB or 16KB being very common).
Making sure your frequently accessed data stay in this cache will provide terrific performance boost.
As a consequence, a real difficulty is that your set of data has to remain small to match the cache size. This can change dramatically your algorithm trade-off compared with a PC version.
A lot of other performance optimizations advises are also valid, such as "read I/O in 32bits instead of 8bits at a time", but these ones are pretty much the most important ARM specific ones.
I have to thank int13 for providing me the opportunity to have a quick peek into this field. | <urn:uuid:d1ae8ad9-73c2-41a3-94a4-9cde57c0fc9c> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://fastcompression.blogspot.fr/2011_01_23_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049275328.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002115-00044-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942159 | 916 | 3.328125 | 3 |
About thirty species of Duranta
are native to the American tropics. This species is native to the Caribbean,
Central America and South America. The golden
dewdrop is the only species commonly cultivated in the U.S. It is evergreen in the
tropics. Flowers in white, blue or purple appear throughout the summer and fall
until frost. It flowers on new growth so pruning may remove flower buds. Fruits
are small, fleshy, and yellow when mature. Chemicals called saponins make the
fruit potentially toxic for people but edible for birds.
Plants can be seen at the entrance to parking lot 7.
This plant has the potential to reach about ten feet tall. Where it dies to the ground each winter, it is more likely to reach five or six feet tall. It may be trimmed down at the end of each winter to maintain the lower height.
Light: full sun to part shade
Water: average water requirements, drought tolerant
Soil: very adaptable
In north Florida,
a cold winter may kill it to the ground and it will recover the following
spring. It is an easy plant for gardens in this area. It flowers seem
particularly attractive to the bright yellow sulfur butterflies.
Copyright © 2017 University of North Florida1 UNF Drive | Jacksonville, FL 32224 | Phone: (904) 620-1000
RegulationsConsumer Information | Disability Accommodations | <urn:uuid:6436bc0a-63c8-46a1-b04b-0f472dd8c353> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://www.unf.edu/physicalfacilities/landscape/plants/Duranta_erecta_-_Golden_dewdrop.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886112533.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822162608-20170822182608-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.879371 | 296 | 3.53125 | 4 |
The 27 minute film created within the programme targets secondary school students essentially, with the most important aim of supporting the responsiveness to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) with audiovisual tools. The above is realised primarily through the demonstration of the fundamental principles of ADR in educational situations, moreover, the film also cites a non-violent resolution of a specific in-school case, presenting the steps, methods and tools applied in the process. We intend to make the audience think and reflect on their own conflict resolution practices: to re-enforce their positive practices and to face ‘violent’ dispute resolution routines either applied or sustained by them.
The film is presented by trained moderator pairs in the frame of a film and discussion workshop, through a pre-defined theme.
Why is the film illustration effective?
The performers of the film are the students of Tanext Academy, the educational support professionals and teachers working with them and the experts of KLIMA+. The film was directed by Mária Takács.
We are glad if the film is showed by many people, in many countries, for many viewers. This is exactly the way in which wide dissemination and awareness-raising can be realised.
Anyone can see and use the film free of charge. The only request we would like to ask from those showing the film to others is to mention that the film was produced by the Hungarian Foresee Research Group .
The film can be downloaded from here. | <urn:uuid:2b14b506-114f-4d9b-8392-8549d7d0d6e4> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://klima.foresee.hu/en/filmrol/?tx_felogin_pi1%5Bforgot%5D=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738425.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20200809043422-20200809073422-00265.warc.gz | en | 0.968832 | 298 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Even an orangutan can do it.
So why don’t we do it more often? The thumbs up is a simple gesture of acknowledgment. It doesn’t take much energy. Heck, it even feels good. Just ask The Fonz.
But, when it comes to the work we do, a thumbs up (or any sort of acknowledgment) is a rarity. That’s a shame. And not just for touchy-feely reasons. It turns out that simple acknowledgment can have a disproportionate impact on motivation.
A Clever Experiment
Duke Professor Dan Ariely conducted a revealing experiment that showed the power acknowledgment can have. Or, more precisely, the danger of doing nothing.
In the experiment, MIT students were asked to complete a menial task — circle repeating pairs of letters on a page full of random letters. For every 10 pairs found, they turned in the page for a nominal amount of pay ($0.55). They were then asked to repeat the task for slightly lower pay ($0.50). This cycle would continue (complete a page, do another for slightly less pay) until the participant decided to stop.
In short, it’s a nice experiment design that gets at how motivated a person is to continue doing a meaningless task.
Yet, what’s particularly clever is how those participants were treated for completing their work. One group was acknowledged. One group was ignored. And, one group had their work run through a paper shredder. That’s right. A shredder. Right in front of their eyes.
You can likely guess how the results turned out.If you guessed that the Acknowledged Group remained motivated and the Shredded Group was demotivated (if not horrified), you’d be right. The Acknowledged Group was 90% more motivated.
But, what about the Ignored Group? How did they fare?
Not well. It turns out they were only 8% more motivated than the Shredded Group. Their work may as well have been shredded! At least it would have been more dramatic.
The Cost of Doing Nothing
Let that sink in for a second. Ignoring work is motivationally equivalent to destroying it.
Unfortunately, ignoring work is what we do most often. It’s not a malicious thing. It’s inertia. It’s easier to keep doing what we’re doing so that’s exactly what we do.
Over time, we become disenchanted. Disengaged. Disconnected from the impact of the work we do.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to fight the inertia and motivate those around us.
Three Easy Ways to Stop Ignoring and Start Acknowledging Great Work
• Make an effort to say “Good Job” to at least one of your coworkers each day this week
• Think back over the last month to identify any outstanding work that has gone by unnoticed. Then, let them know you noticed.
• Channel your inner Fonz and give someone a thumbs up. Bonus points if you make the “Ayyyy” sound. Double bonus points if this is done while wearing a leather jacket. | <urn:uuid:57608160-c2ab-4b12-aab5-cc169c697b49> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | https://payable.com/blog/the-surprising-power-of-a-thumbs-up | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794864186.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20180521122245-20180521142245-00313.warc.gz | en | 0.959321 | 665 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Let’s start with what ethically eating meat actually means: ethical meat eating is about making sure that the animal – any animal – has had a happy, healthy life with a diverse diet and plenty of land in which to display its natural behaviour. We should never take the life of an animal lightly, and when we do take its life, it should be as fast and stress free as possible. If you eat meat, you should be willing to eat lots of different cuts of animals, ensuring you appreciate every part and waste nothing.
This month, we’re going to delve into some confusing terminology and what the words mean when it comes to meat. I’m always a little cautious of using terminology as a way to win guests’ trust, because many labels and stamps of approval mean very little. Each country governs its own farming standards, and usually there are a lot of loopholes in the legislation. Sometimes we read a label and then automatically stop questioning, saying, Oh phew, it’s organic. Once upon a time, everything really was organic.
Here are some terms you’ll see all the time:
This literally means a free-ranging animal. To me, this means the animal should be outside running around on grass. In reality, some bodies stipulate that the animal only needs to have access to pasture, which could mean a tiny door that they can’t fit through, as nothing in the legislation states that the door must be open, only that there must be access. So it doesn’t always mean a happy animal.
The definition of organic as per Wikipedia is: organic food is food produced by methods that comply with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but in general, organic farming features practices that strive to recycle resources, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity. Organisations regulating organic products may restrict the use of certain pesticides and fertilisers in farming. Organic foods are also usually not processed using irrigation, industrial solvents or synthetic food additives.
For me, organic means it should be grown naturally, with no chemicals or pesticides at all. For example, in the US you can lock a cow in a shed, feed it organic grain and then sell the milk as organic. Yet when most people think of something organic, they think of free-roaming, happy animals.
Organic is now a brand in itself. The only way to get to the truth is by truly knowing where the things you eat come from. This means initial research and then staying loyal to the brands you trust.
Grass-fed vs grain-fed
For me, it’s grass-fed meat all the way. The problem we face is the previous generations who have been raised on grain-fed meat; nothing annoys me more than guests who complain that their meat has a chew to it – it’s supposed to have texture; that’s why we have teeth and a jaw in the first place. Grain feeding is the equivalent of being locked up and fed McDonald’s all day. You’re going to end up as big as a house, very unhealthy and probably very unhappy, but you will melt in the mouth because your muscles have never done any work and are full of fat. Grass-fed meat, on the other hand, is the equivalent of you going to the gym; your muscle fibres are going to be stronger and firmer and your meat will have a lot of flavour from the diversity of your diet. The trick with grass-fed meat is that it should always be dry-aged, as this is an important part of helping to tenderise the meat in order to make it more palatable.
All this means is that it’s from Iberia, so Spain and Portugal. Most people think it means they are eating Pata Negra, which is a breed of black pig that eats acorns. Most Ibérico now is actually Pata Negra crossed with Duroc, as the cross-breeding produces bigger litters of pigs as the demand for Ibérico grows.
While it’s great in context, when I look at meat, I always look at the cooking method of the country of origin, as this generally shows you the best way to use a certain breed. Being from Japan, Wagyu is great when served thin; it works well for grilling and things like shabu-shabu, but I would never want to eat a steak of it. There are also actually some very good grass-fed Wagyus from New Zealand and Australia as well.
For more articles like this, like Foodie on Facebook | <urn:uuid:11b82d5e-d7aa-4b3b-924a-fed97a7780fd> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://www.afoodieworld.com/foodie/9644-ethical-meats | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195524502.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20190716035206-20190716061206-00464.warc.gz | en | 0.964415 | 956 | 2.75 | 3 |
Sickle cell disease is a life-long illness. The severity of the disease varies widely from person to person.
In high-income countries like the United States, the life expectancy of a person with SCD is now about 40–60 years. In 1973, the average lifespan of a person with SCD in the United States was only 14 years. Advances in the diagnosis and care of SCD have made this improvement possible.
At the present time, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the only cure for SCD. Unfortunately, most people with SCD are either too old for a transplant or don’t have a relative who is a good enough genetic match for them to act as a donor. A well-matched donor is needed to have the best chance for a successful transplant.
There are effective treatments that can reduce symptoms and prolong life. Early diagnosis and regular medical care to prevent complications also contribute to improved well-being.
Cells in tissues need a steady supply of oxygen to work well. Normally, hemoglobin in red blood cells takes up oxygen in the lungs and carries it to all the tissues of the body. Red blood cells that contain normal hemoglobin are disc shaped (like a doughnut without a hole). This shape allows the cells to be flexible so that they can move through large and small blood vessels to deliver oxygen. Sickle hemoglobin is not like normal hemoglobin. It can form stiff rods within the red cell, changing it into a crescent, or sickle shape.
Sickle-shaped cells are not flexible and can stick to vessel walls, causing a blockage that slows or stops the flow of blood. When this happens, oxygen can’t reach nearby tissues.
Normal Red Cells and Sickle Red Cells
The term sickle cell disease (SCD) describes a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. People with SCD have abnormal hemoglobin, called hemoglobin S or sickle hemoglobin, in their red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. The most common type is known as sickle-cell anaemia. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found in red blood cells. This leads to a rigid, sickle-like shape under certain circumstances. Problems in sickle cell disease typically begin around 5 to 6 months of age. A number of health problems may develop, such as attacks of pain, anemia, bacterial infections, and stroke. Long term pain may develop as people get older.
The lack of tissue oxygen can cause attacks of sudden, severe pain, called pain crises. These pain attacks can occur without warning, and a person often needs to go to the hospital for effective treatment.
Most children with SCD are pain free between painful crises, but adolescents and adults may also suffer with chronic ongoing pain.
The red cell sickling and poor oxygen delivery can also cause organ damage. Over a lifetime, SCD can harm a person’s spleen, brain, eyes, lungs, liver, heart, kidneys, penis, joints, bones, or skin.
Sickle cells can’t change shape easily, so they tend to burst apart or hemolyze. Normal red blood cells live about 90 to 120 days, but sickle cells last only 10 to 20 days.
The body is always making new red blood cells to replace the old cells; however, in SCD the body may have trouble keeping up with how fast the cells are being destroyed. Because of this, the number of red blood cells is usually lower than normal. This condition, called anemia, can make a person have less energy. | <urn:uuid:cbae1698-d4ce-46a0-85bf-39b2274e07b2> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://www.sicklecellbham.com/home.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794865863.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20180523235059-20180524015059-00145.warc.gz | en | 0.944068 | 761 | 3.859375 | 4 |
In September 1942, while the Maus super-heavy tanks was being designed by Porsche, Krupp decided to submit a competitive design. It was suggested to use components from the Tiger II chassis, including the Maybach HL 230 engine, for a 150 ton tank. The turret was planned to be the same as that of the Maus.
While the use of already existing components made Krupp's Tiger-Maus more feasible, the Maybach HL 230 meant that it was significantly underpowered. As a result, Krupp's design developed as a somewhat lighter vehicle, at 130 tons, compared to the Maus' then-projected weight of 170 tons. The reduced weight gave additional advantages of superior speed, ground pressure, and fuel consumption, as well as decrease raw material usage. In addition, a supercharged version of the HL 230 was considered, which would have an output of 1000 horse powers. Nevertheless, Hitler favored the more technically complex Maus. As a result, on 15 December 1942, Krupp was informed that the Tiger-Maus should cease, and on 5 January 1943, the Maus was chosen for production.
After the Maus had been chosen for production, Waffenamt Prüfwesen 6 (Weapons Testing Office 6, the office responsible for armor design) copied Krupp's Tiger-Maus for their E-100 design. Adler, who had no prior experience in armor design, was awarded the contract for a single E-100 prototype during 1943. Krupp designed a new turret in 1944, closely resembling the Maus turret, the only difference being somewhat thinner armor. As the war situation deteriorated, work on the E-100 stopped. By the time the war ended, an only partially assembled E-100 chassis was found by Allied forces.
|Firing height||2.45 m|
|Ground clearance||50 cm|
|Ground contact length||4.9 m|
|Ground pressure||1.26 kg/cm²|
|Hull, front||150-200 mm|
|Hull, sides and rear||120-150 mm|
|Hull, top||40 mm|
|Hull, bottom||40-80 mm|
|Turret, front||200 mm|
|Turret, sides and rear||80-150 mm|
|Turret, top||40 mm|
|Maximum speed||23 km/h|
|Trench crossing||2.9 m|
|Vertical obstacle||85 cm|
|Fording depth||165 cm|
|Fuel capacity||2050 l|
|Mileage (road)||12.81 l/km|
|Mileage (cross-country)||20.5 l/km|
|Cruising range||160 km|
|Cross-country range||100 km|
|Make and model||Maybach HL 230 P 30|
|Displacement||23 000 cc|
|Max. governed speed||2500 rpm|
- Pz Kpfw Maus
- Information about the Panzerkampfwagen Maus.
- JENTS, Thomas L. & DOYLE, Hilary Louis. Panzer Tracts No. 6-3 - Schwere Panzerkampfwagen Maus and E 100 : Development and production from 1942 to 1945. Boyds, MD : Panzer Tracts, 2008. 72 p. ISBN 0-9815382-3-1. | <urn:uuid:dfdb6546-0d7a-4b7e-9d7d-1c696e9eaeef> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://www.panzerworld.com/e-100 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300031.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00261-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.868521 | 718 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Woods University works to alert students of fire dangers. The furnished “room”
will be torched Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 3:30 p.m. at the Fulton Fire Station.
morning of Jan. 19, 2000, when a fire killed three students and injured 58
others in a Seton Hall University dormitory in New York. After the fire,
colleges and universities were forced to ask themselves, “How do you get
students to understand the importance fire safety?”
have provided their time and labor to construct a mock residence hall room. The
room contains the basics of a college dorm: computer, bed, posters, etc.
memory for students. When we create a memory, it gives them something to pull
from if a situation like this were to happen,” said Mike Wills, director of
residential life and campus safety. “The speed at which things burn really
validates steps and procedures taken to enhance fire safety on the Woods
will be provided this year to provide students a better view of the burn.
educate students about what they can and cannot have in their dorm rooms. We
plan to provide alternatives and inform students where they can find these
products,” Wills said.
structure fires in dormitories, fraternities, sororities and barracks are more
common between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m., and on weekends.
experience. Fire safety and life safety are the last things on their minds
until it happens to them,” said Todd Gray of the Fulton Fire Department.
works to ensure that campus safety officers and student community advisers are
aware of fire dangers. Before the start of school each fall, student community
advisers participate in a fire safety course offered by the Fulton
oversee residence halls at the Woods, get hands-on training in the proper use
of a fire extinguisher, followed by a simulation that includes smoked-filled
hallways and blocked exits.
in Raleigh. If anything is detected, the Fulton Fire Station will receive a
call before campus security.
is early detection. Typically, a fire will double in size every 60 seconds,”
be sent to Raleigh. Therefore, the campus is monitored 24/7 to ensure the
safety of Woods students, faculty and staff.
Mike (Wills) who is very aggressive about safety and makes sure everyone’s kids
students to understand it can happen to them,” says Wills. “Everything I do, I
do like it’s my own children in those halls.”
put out a mock residence hall room fire in 2008 to show William Woods
University students the dangers of fire.
mock residence hall room after a demonstration in 2008. | <urn:uuid:07378e0d-8122-45d4-a370-fc18a98ccd03> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | http://news.williamwoods.edu/index.php/wwu-creates-mock-fire-to-alert-students-of-dangers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376823710.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20181212000955-20181212022455-00148.warc.gz | en | 0.943788 | 587 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Britain and Ireland have a long and bloody mutual history. They've ended open hostility and the neighboring nations now share and compete with a possible future energy source: the restless waves of the North Atlantic. Both Ireland and the United Kingdom are looking to waves and sea winds as a source of future electricity generation.
My colleague, Michael Kanellos, was recently in Ireland to look at their planning and prototypes for using wave energy. One prototype buoy had to be recovered from the Atlantic due to 18-foot swells. That's a mountain of oceanic energy.
In Ireland the wave power projects are a combo of governmental support, university research and private investment. The CEO of privately owned Wavebob told Kanellos that Ireland has the best wave resources on the planet. He also said the wave power tech is about where wind was fifteen years ago. I would add that man has been using sails and windmills for thousands of years. Waves in the past have been primarily a source of seasickness, not useful energy.
Just to the north of Ireland in Northern Ireland the United Kingdom tidal power industry plans to launch its first working ocean-going generator this week. Technology's not always what its engineers may hope. The Belfast dock from which the SeaGen device, 122-feet long, will launch is the same that once saw the infamous launch of the "Titanic." I must hope that this new tech is more seaworthy and longer-lasting than that.
There are numerous plans for using tidal or wave power. SeaGen will work like an inverted windmill, with its blades under ocean's surface, thus being driven by the force of tide rushing in, then rushing out. A floating, independent device that can be assembled on the nearby shore, the SeaGen is expected to be easily deployed, not requiring years of construction and placement. | <urn:uuid:4c61ec18-40bc-4fb8-aa2e-c23f5188069e> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://www.zdnet.com/article/islands-of-hope-in-an-ocean-of-energy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583671342.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20190119160425-20190119182425-00427.warc.gz | en | 0.961204 | 374 | 2.921875 | 3 |
In school, we are taught some basic things that never seem to change, like the fact that one plus one equals two, there are five (or is it six?) vowels in the English language, and there are seven continents on Planet Earth.
But the last of those examples is getting a major makeover thanks to a team of 11 researchers who found that Earth has a concealed continent called “Zealandia” that’s hidden in the Pacific Ocean and attached to New Zealand.
The newly published research concluded that New Zealand and New Caledonia are actually part of a huge 4.9 million sq km (1.89 million square-mile) single slab of continental crust that is unhinged from Australia.
Published by the Geological Society of America, the study discovered that the region is 94% submerged, mostly due to crustal thinning before the supercontinental break-up. For their findings, the team used upgraded satellite-based elevation and gravity map technology.
“The scientific value of classifying Zealandia as a continent is much more than just an extra name on a list,” the scientists explained. “That a continent can be so submerged yet unfragmented makes it a useful and thought-provoking geodynamic end member in exploring the cohesion and breakup of continental crust.”
This kind of reminds me of hearing that Pluto was a planet, and then that Pluto wasn’t a planet, and then… it’s hard to keep up. However, the team says Zealandia should be considered a geological continent, which really just makes me question everything we think we know about geology. But really, how human of us to not have all the answers, right?
The researchers said the continent used to be considered a collection of continental islands and fragments.
“Based on various lines of geological and geophysical evidence, particularly those accumulated in the last two decades, we argue that Zealandia is not a collection of partly submerged continental fragments but is a coherent 4.9 Mkm2 continent,” the study said.
So does this mean their are eight continents? Not exactly. According to geologists, Europe and Asia are one giant continent they refer to as “Eurasia,” which means the new addition of Zealandia brings the number of continents to seven — which is the number we’ve become accustomed to.
Geophysicist Bruce Luyendyk coined the name Zealandia back in 1995 to refer to the two islands and other submerged pieces of crust that once separated from Gondwana. Of the new findings, in which he did not take part, he said, “These people here are A-list earth scientists. I think they have put together a solid collection of evidence that’s really thorough. I don’t see that there’s going to be a lot of pushback, except maybe around the edges.”
The researchers are referring to Zealandia as a “realization” rather than a “discovery,” since New Zealand has been considered a continent by some experts in the field for years.
“This is not a sudden discovery but a gradual realisation; as recently as 10 years ago we would not have had the accumulated data or confidence in interpretation to write this paper,” the study’s authors said. “Zealandia illustrates that the large and the obvious in natural science can be overlooked.”
Your life path number can tell you A LOT about you.
With the ancient science of Numerology you can find out accurate and revealing information just from your name and birth date.
Get your free numerology reading and learn more about how you can use numerology in your life to find out more about your path and journey. Get Your free reading. | <urn:uuid:d741838e-5634-423a-9312-aebb7b09da4d> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | http://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/02/20/entirely-new-continent-discovered-on-earth-its-huge-hidden-in-the-pacific-ocean/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549425751.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170726022311-20170726042311-00377.warc.gz | en | 0.959532 | 789 | 3.6875 | 4 |
The Melting of the Greenland Ice, Seen Up Close
Just north of the Arctic Circle in southwest Greenland is a spot at the end of a rugged tundra road where one can step directly off the edge of the earth as most of us know it, and onto the Greenland ice sheet. In summer, hike out a few miles into the jagged, rising surface, and you will hear only wind, the gurgle of running meltwater, and the occasional boom of an ice mass fracturing underfoot somewhere nearby. Amid the 24-hour daylight and seasonal warmth, the ice is rotting. Water ripples in pools and flows through ephemeral streams. In places, the water may plunge and disappear into a moulin–a potentially deadly hole that resonates with the deep-throated thrum of an invisible under-ice river.
Glaciologist Marco Tedesco and a few colleagues walked here this July to study how warming climate is fueling the accelerating decline of the Greenland sheet–the second-largest ice mass on earth. Specifically, he was investigating cryoconites–curious little cylindrical melt holes filled with microorganisms and dust. Often no bigger than a fist, they are part of a much larger natural system that may be magnifying the human forces tearing at the ice.
Tedesco works at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, home to many ice and snow scientists. A dedicated student of all things frozen, he has a series of snowflakes tattooed on his right bicep, each dedicated to a different person, including his mom. One morning near the start of this latest expedition, he was standing next to a vigorous meltwater stream cutting the ice. “To build an ice sheet is a very long, elaborate process. But it could take really a very short time to melt it all,” he said. “This water flowing here, it has a long memory–it probably froze before Rome was born. What boggles me is the power we humans have to squeeze changes into such a small amount of time. This blanket of ice, it’s like an elephant’s skin. It’s a very powerful dormant animal. But when we wake it up, it has the power to destroy everything it runs through.”
Behind him loomed 660,000 square miles of frozen water. At the edge, it might be only tens of feet thick; in the faraway interior, nearly two miles. If all of it were to melt, it would raise global sea levels about 20 feet. Most scientists think that if this comes to pass due to human-induced climate change, it will take centuries or millennia. But no one really knows. Some of Tedesco’s colleagues recently published geologic evidence that Greenland’s ice did in fact largely disappear sometime in the last million years, during one or more past warm periods quite similar to our own.
In any case, sea-level rise is already gnawing at coastal areas and islands around the world, and Greenland is partly responsible. Seasonal melting there has increased by about a third since 1970, in tandem with a 2.2-degree Fahrenheit increase in summer temperatures. It is now losing about 270 billion tons of ice each year. About 70 percent of this loss comes from meltwater runoff; the rest is caused by icebergs discharging directly into the ocean. In 2016, parts of Greenland saw a melt season 20 to 40 days longer than the 1979-2015 average. Largely as a result of this, between 1993 and 2014, yearly global sea-level rise accelerated from 2.2 millimeters to 3.3 millimeters.
Most projections of 21st-century sea-level rise range around two to four feet–but these projections generally do not take into account the melting of Greenland, nor the even bigger mass of Antarctica, because the processes there are still too poorly understood. Considering those factors, some scientists say the rise could be up to 10 feet. That is why it is important to try and figure this out now, says Tedesco.
Climate-related darkening of the ice may be one major factor helping drive the accelerating melt. Windblown dust from natural erosion and human pollution lands on the snowy, naturally reflective surface. In winter, snow covers this up. But because summers are hotter now, come each summer, the surface melts more quickly and extensively, exposing and distilling residue from previous years. Thus the summer surface is becoming progressively darkening. Darker surfaces absorb more solar radiation, so this leads to faster melting. This leads to more darkening. And so on. “It’s a vicious circle,” says Tedesco.
And, it is only part of the circle. Hardy photosynthetic algae and other tiny organisms that specialize in growing within ice and meltwater are basking in the increased warmth, and also building up. To protect themselves from the sun, they develop dark pigments–and this darkens the ice even more. This may be adding greatly to the melting; in fact, recent research suggests that such organisms may have now become the primary source of ice darkening. Scientists are only just beginning to appreciate this interplay of ice physics and ice biology. Cryoconites are hot spots of such activity.
Tedesco’s trip began at Kangerlussuaq, a speck of a settlement built around an airstrip that links it to the outside world. In summer the town becomes a staging area for scientists, and for tourists willing to pay the steep cost of getting there for a glimpse of the far north.
Here Tedesco hooked up with Matthew Cooper, a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies the hydrology of the ice; Dan Bennett, a member of Lamont’s advisory board who had volunteered to come along; and myself. After a couple of days spent sorting out equipment and supplies, we headed out in a rented four-wheel drive pickup along Greenland’s longest road–a rough, 16-mile dirt ribbon following the Akuliarusiarsuup Kuua River, which drains a tongue of the ice sheet.
On the way, Cooper told me that studies by his group have shown the river grows as summer progresses, and melting gathers speed; it also waxes and wanes daily as the sun rises higher in the sky during the day and drops lower at night. Near Kangerlussuaq–in Greenlandic, the name means Big Fjord–the river joins other melt streams, and the water flows out said big fjord to the ocean. In recent particularly warm weeks, it has washed out the few crude bridges around town–a real-time, hyperlocal effect of climate change.
Before we even reached the ice, there were reminders that the climate is changing. The road wound through green tundra hills punctuated by raw rock outcrops. In one protected spot we passed a small patch scraggly spruce trees–unremarkable anywhere else, but practically unknown this far north, because it is, or was, too cold. Rumor had it that someone planted these as an experiment some years back. Now they were reaching skyward–not the only place in the Arctic where trees are poised to invade the tundra ecosystem. Tedesco and Cooper’s more immediate concern: polar bears. Normally they live on sea ice, hunting seals, but now the sea ice is melting too, and the 1,000-pound predators are moving onto land–even into the largely lifeless ice sheet, where they have never before been seen. Two had been spotted just weeks before at research stations deep in the ice. One menaced scientists for a day and half before it was shot and killed. We came armed only with pepper spray and air horns.
At first, what appeared to be a low-lying cloud bank loomed on the horizon. This, Tedesco told me, was the Russell Glacier, an outlier of the ice. As we approached, the landscape became ever bigger and grander. Towering, heavily crevassed ice tongues lapped into the river valley’s sides. Creeks gushed out of them and into the river, which raged over rapids and waterfalls.
The road dead-ended at a series of bare hills made of loose dirt and giant boulders–the Russell’s terminal moraine, where advancing ice had previously pushed on the earth like a giant plow. Now, with the glacier in retreat, the ice edge sat low on the other side of the moraine. We made camp nearby. Harried by mosquitoes and distracted by caribou galloping by, the scientists readied instruments and equipment to carry in.
Next day, we hiked over the moraine and descended onto the ice. Here at the edge, it looked more like a dirt sheet than an ice sheet; mud and pebbles coated the crunchy, fast-melting surface. Much of this debris was probably blown off the moraine onto the ice. Jumping the first of dozens of shallow meltwater streams, we walked inward. The ice sloped up in fits and starts. The topography roughened, devolving into hummocks, gullies, hills, pinnacles, cracks, rivulets, puddles, pools and waterfalls. As we ascended, the surface became progressively whiter. It was cold, but the sun was blinding; without sunglasses and sunblock, we would have fried.
After an hour or so, the land behind us was no longer visible. Cracks and meltwater ponds revealed ice that gleamed bright blue–a sign that it had been once deeply buried and heavily compressed, probably over thousands of years. Now the blue ice was exposed to the sun. At one crack, a modest meltwater stream suddenly disappeared into a hole, producing a distant low-frequency gargle. It was a small moulin. “Oooh, that’s creepy,” said Tedesco. “Stay away from that, guys.” Up ahead somewhere, we could hear the distant roar of a much larger one.
We stopped at an irregular swale. Here, the scientists spotted hundreds of circular holes drilled into blue ice. Cryoconites. Ranging from finger- to soccer ball-size, many were filled with crystal-clear meltwater. At the bottoms, a few inches or a foot down, lay a coat of dark ooze. Cooper and Tedesco set up shop here.
Cryoconites exist in icy environments across the world. Biologists have shown the bottom ooze is an admixture of dust, soot and dozens of organisms. These may include photosynthetic algae, bacteria that feed off the dust itself, protozoa, yeasts, microscopic eight-legged rotifers, jellyfish-like tardigrades, and lots of viruses. In many of the cryoconites, small bubbles were forming at the bottoms and ballooning to the surface–methane and other gases produced by this metabolic stew, said Tedesco. He cautioned me not to fill my water bottle from the cryoconites.
No one is exactly sure how they evolve, but somehow, dust and organisms concentrate in one spot. The organisms deposit their byproducts and dead bodies, eventually in enough quantity to form a slime that binds themselves and the dust into a muck that becomes increasingly coherent and efficient at attracting solar energy, melting out a little hole. Little holes become bigger holes. Holes may grow into each other, forming a pond. Liquid in a pond tends to melt out its sides, and if this progresses outward to a low spot, this spot may become the headwaters of an erosive melt stream.
Tedesco and Cooper had come equipped with sterile bottles, a big syringe and a long spoon to sample the cryoconites’ water and ooze for a biologist at Montana State University. Tedesco deposited a dollop of the ooze on the end of yardstick and offered it to me like a sample of fresh fudge. “Here, you have to feel it!” he said. I did, and it felt like fine, slippery swamp slime. From somewhere nearby came a muffled thunderclap within the ice–a slight adjustment, with no visible results. Everyone looked at each other, then went back to work.
Tedesco had lugged up a heavy, breadbox-size spectrometer in a backpack. With Bennett holding a laptop to record data, he walked around pointing an attached sensor at the sky, then at the surface, to measure incoming light, and the amount and colors being reflected back. Such measurements are routinely made by satellites on a much larger scale. Comparing ground data with these should help researchers understand how to interpret the satellite imagery, and how small features like cryoconites feed into the overall picture. As a side project, Tedesco is in on a NASA effort to study Mars, where cryoconite-like features are thought to exist. Do they hold liquid water, like those on earth? Do they have living ecosystems? Comparing the light signatures of earthly cryoconites with Martian ones might help address these questions.
Cooper, for his part, had carried up a small drone equipped with a camera. With a portable joystick setup, he launched the helicopter-like machine. It flew a series of grids over the study area with a sound like a giant hummingbird. The images would later be stitched together to make a highly detailed map of the area.
As the evening sun dipped toward the horizon, we made our way back to camp, Tedesco lugging a now-loaded picnic cooler holding water and ooze samples. It was 8:00 p.m. by the time we returned and getting quite cold. A young caribou trotted by. After a quick dinner heated up on a portable stove, Tedesco and Cooper were up until midnight checking out their data and recharging batteries.
During the following few days, Cooper tested out an instrument to measure light penetration under the ice. One day, fog rolled in, and we did not venture out; too easy to get lost out there. Occasionally, a few hardy tourists showed up in rented vehicles. Most just stepped briefly onto the ice edge to take selfies, and turned around.
On the final day of fieldwork, we hiked back to the initial study site. This time, Cooper and Tedesco lugged in a 10-foot pole and tripod in order to mount the spectrometer well above the ice. The apparatus was unwieldy, and it took them several hours to wrestle it into position in several spots.
It was getting late, but we decided to do some extra scouting. Following the distant roar of water we had heard the first day, we hiked deeper into the ice. Past a series of ridges, we came upon a clear river running in a blue-ice canyon maybe a hundred feet deep. At one sharp bend, a whirlpool churned. Upstream, to our right, the river wended its way out of sight through a series of loops reminiscent of the Grand Canyon. To our left, it entered a snow-roofed tunnel and abruptly swirled down the lip of a giant, roaring hole. We knew enough not to get too close. It was time to stop doing science, and just stand back in fear, and awe.
— Kevin Krajick, Earth Institute | <urn:uuid:5a354cd6-b500-4435-9ab9-3671caf2ddf7> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://science.fas.columbia.edu/news/the-melting-of-the-greenland-ice-seen-up-close/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178373761.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20210305214044-20210306004044-00540.warc.gz | en | 0.957379 | 3,222 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Extreme Project Management (XPM) and Event Chain Methodology (ECM) are both considered uncertainty methodologies. Both approaches are aligned to projects that are complex, defined by speed, ambiguity, and fast changing needs, and therefore also characterised by rapid change. This is where the term ‘uncertainty’ emerges, as these project management methodologies are about managing the unknown. Let’s review what types of projects are characterised under each of them and what comprises each methodology.
Extreme Project Management
Extreme refers to a result that must be accomplished in a very short time. XPM, also known as eXtreme, is a method for managing projects that are chaotic and done just-in-time in a responsive format. The nature of the project is messy and uncertain. Therefore, the need for speed, time management, and creativity in planning is paramount. The degree of predictability that surrounds an extreme project is far lower than that of a traditional project, which is one of the primary distinctions between the two types of projects. Extreme projects are carried out in tumultuous environments that feature a great deal of change and uncertainty, such as, for example the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirements of an extreme project are subject to constant change throughout the entire project life cycle, accommodating both internal and external factors. These factors change the objective(s) of the project and can include moves made by competitors, the introduction of new technology, shifts in customer needs, changes in regulatory requirements, response to environmental natural disasters, response to a pandemic, and general shifts in economic and political conditions (for example, the war between Russia and Ukraine).
Extreme projects evolve at a quick pace despite always having a task that needs revising, a technology that needs updating, or a competitive strategy needing to be redesigned in response to a new environmental demand. In most cases, these types of projects include deadlines and timetables that appear to be difficult to adhere to. Therefore, the most common response is to design a very detailed planning phase. Under this detailed planning phase, the tendency for most project managers is to give themselves enough time to methodically prepare each task of the process; however, by the time the task is completed, it is likely to be no longer relevant. The challenge or opportunity that it sought to solve will have taken a new shape – one that may not be easily planned and could, therefore, potentially trigger project failure. This is one of the main reasons why XPM is an increasingly important concept in today’s society, which is characterised by globalisation, a rising digital economy, and Industry 4.0 – all of which are generating new environments in which businesses must learn to operate and readapt (Hoyer et al. 2020). In order to keep up with these new demands and apply XPM, project managers must focus their complete attention on developing new approaches that are responsive, flexible and adaptable to the ongoing changing conditions of today’s business environment.
As changes occur due to the dynamic nature of market conditions and customers’ ongoing evolving needs, the types of changes impacting the project’s management processes are marked by frequent shifts (for example, cyclical scope creep scenarios). This in turn generates a very unpredictable working environment. In such circumstances, it will be impossible to create a comprehensive project plan or project strategy in advance. Such scenarios call for an adaptable management approach. XPM is one such method of managing projects which are immense in uncertainties and ongoing changes. Hence why XPM is also known as ‘the flexible project model’.
Unlike traditional project management methods, XPM enables you and your stakeholders to maintain project control and produce asset management value in the face of uncertainty. According to DeCarlo (2004:34), ‘Extreme project management is the art and science of facilitating and managing the flow of thoughts, emotions, and interactions in a way that produces valued outcomes under turbulent and complex conditions: those that feature high speed, high change, high uncertainty, and high stress’. Figure 3 is graphical representation of the key difference between traditional and XPM.
Figure 3. Examples of XPM vs traditional project management methods, by Carmen Reaiche and Samantha Papavasiliou, licensed under CC BY (Attribution) 4.0
Since we have stablished that XPM is not a plan-driven approach, but rather an adaptable and self-correcting project method, it is necessary for us to understand the differences between a traditional versus an extreme management approach as listed in Table 2.
Table 2. XPM vs traditional management, by Carmen Reaiche and Samantha Papavasiliou, licensed under CC BY (Attribution) 4.0
|Adaptive cyclical management systems||Plan and organisation design|
|Self-organised management||Top-down management|
|Manages the unknown and ongoing changes||Predictable management processes|
|Result-driven: outputs achieving the right self-organised result||Process-driven: outputs achieving planned inputs|
|Oriented by management||Oriented by leadership|
|KPIs: efficiency- and effectiveness-focused||KPIs: efficiency-focused|
From a project management methodology viewpoint, there are some other differences shown in Table 3 below.
Table 3. XPM vs traditional project management, by Carmen Reaiche and Samantha Papavasiliou, licensed under CC BY (Attribution) 4.0
|XPM||Traditional Project Management|
|Methods target future outcomes: forecasting||Past oriented: lessons learned|
|Leading schedule and project execution||Managing schedule and project execution|
|Manages internal and external problems around project’s world current exposure||Targets changing internal and external problems around project’s world current exposure|
|Equal distribution of roles and responsibilities||Centralises project control and responsibilities|
XPM offers benefits in 3 key areas:
- It enables project managers to manage the unexpected during uncertain times.
- It focuses on securing and sustaining stakeholders’ commitment to the project’s objectives and strengthens their trust in the project and the way in which project managers operate.
- It is a complete, realistic plan based on a just-in-time schedule of events developed by project managers who are ongoing ambassadors of change management.
XPM process: a brief overview
As described above, XPM is an incremental and iterative approach to project management and development. This is the notion of gradual planning and scheduling recommended for project management. In XPM, the development of the schedule will occur in cycles of approximately 3 to 6 weeks. At each iteration, stakeholders will be presented with a fully functional report that includes roles and responsibilities, activities changed and the revised risk management plan for the reported iteration. Doug DeCarlo (2004), the founder of XPM, identified 4 phases: INitiate, SPeculate, Incubate, and REview (INSPIRE). Each iteration of development will increase the clarity of succeeding iterations.
XPM is initiated by gathering and integrating a willing and prepared team. Once formed, the team will follow these steps, which are closely aligned with the standard of the project life cycle, as a process guideline:
- Project design: keep the concept of XPM in mind, for example, by anticipating change, recognising that the timeline may vary, and having a degree of allowance for errors.
- Address key questions: What needs to be done? Who and why? How long will it take? Can we get the desired result? More importantly, is it worthwhile?
- Timeframe management is critical: tasks must be arranged in cycles lasting no longer than a few weeks.
- Responsibility matrix: establish a daily communications responsibility matrix.
- Engagement: frequently engage with clients, gain clarification and consensus about their needs and communicate these to the project team.
- Review sessions: when the project looks to be drifting, schedule review sessions and rearrange project tasks accordingly.
- Project celebration upon conclusion: As per phase 4 of the project life cycle, close the project and celebrate.
Now remember, XPM can only be achieved with extreme self-management. Every team member must have a strong sense of responsibility and proactivity, and the team should foster an atmosphere of openness, encouragement, and trust: good project governance. In addition, we advise adopting XPM only when circumstances are highly unexpected, unknowable, and subject to constant change. Use this method only for specific projects for which it is impossible to develop a formal plan outlining the project’s scope, time, and cost limitations in phase 1 and 2 of the project life cycle. For XPM to be effective, the project manager, as well as each member of the project team, needs to have to a radical mindset and working behaviour that allows them to embrace a high degree of uncertainty.
Event Chain Methodology
ECM is a network analysis technique which addresses event variations and aims to control these variations by managing the relationships between events. ECM focuses on the relationships (event chains: predecessors and dependencies) that impact project timelines and highlight risks. Therefore, we can define ECM as a scheduling network analysis method that allows us to model and visualise risk events. Figure 4 provides an overview of the ECM process. The ECM is also defined as an extension of the classic Monte Carlo simulations and project risk assessment (Agarwal and Virine 2017). The ECM emerged as a recommendation from the Project Management Institute to use a variety of approaches for risk analysis, including estimated cost value, sensitivity analysis, and the Monte Carlo analysis. Hence, ECM is recognised as an extension of these approaches as they form the basis for the application of the ECM.
The ECM is based on 6 main principles:
- Timing of risk and state of activity. As discussed earlier, most real-world project activities are not uniform or continuous, and they are influenced by events that alter their states and potentially impact the project activities while in progress, changing the finishing time or delaying it. These external events occur randomly and can be triggered by, for example, changes in supplies, materials, or labour, that can affect the length of one or more activities. Events can be categorised as positive or negative, and can completely transform an activity from the start to the end, as well as vice versa (referring to mitigation efforts, if facing risk).
- Event chains. An external event might result in subsequent events, forming event chains. Event chains have a substantial effect on project progress. Event chains are developed when one risk event (a trigger) generates another risk event, which typically results in a cascade of effects and major repercussions across the project. A single event might have many effects on distinct project activities or resources, resulting in a ‘burst’ effect. An example of a trigger event could be a delay in the supply chain of materials, which will result in various activities being delayed.
- The Monte Carlos simulation. This simulation is applied to quantify the accumulated effects of the events. It uses the probability that risks will eventuate and looks at their impacts as input data. This computerised, mathematical approach provides a probability curve for project planning.
- Event chain diagrams. These diagrams highlight the link between external events and tasks, their effects, and how they mutually influence one another. Event chain diagrams are derived from Gantt charts with certain changes. An example is presented in Figure 4. On a Gantt chart, the chains are represented by arrows that correspond to a specific activity or time period.
- Critical event chain. This enables visualisation of those events that are likely to impact the project the most. By anticipating their degree of impact, it is feasible to minimise or mitigate these. However, to be able to achieve this, the project manager must examine the connections between the primary project parameters, such as project time duration, cost and events.
- Performance measurement with event chain. Using real performance data ensures the use of up-to-date information and the recalculation of event probabilities and moments of events. It is therefore essential for project managers to monitor live progress of an activity. This guarantees that the most recent data is used for the Monte Carlo analysis.
An event chain approach facilitates the description and analysis of complicated scheduling problems, such as event correlations and resource levelling. According to Virine and Trumper (2019), the algorithms designed to address these issues are known as ECM phenomena. They are founded on fundamental event chain methodology ideas, and we will highlight a few of these next:
- Repeated activity: certain external factors promote the recurrence of previously accomplished activities.
- Event chains and risk mitigation: when an event happens over the course of a project, it may require a mitigation strategy, which is a detailed plan process that is only executed for certain risk events. Multiple events may use the same mitigating plans.
- Resource allocation based on occurrences: the ECM also results in the reallocation of resources from one activity to another.
A brief guide to the key steps for project scheduling and analysis which have been discussed earlier in the integrated six principles of ECM are summarised in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Steps for project scheduling and analysis using ECM, by Carmen Reaiche and Samantha Papavasiliou, licensed under CC BY (Attribution) 4.0
The white paper titled, ‘Event Chain Methodology in detail’, by Virine and Trumper (2019) presents an extended explanation of each of the steps discussed above. Please click on the link below.
In sum, ECM is a strategy for uncertainty modelling and schedule network analysis that focuses on finding and controlling events and event chains that have an impact on project timelines. It is a great methodology if it is applied correctly and if the project manager has a good understanding of the quantitative skills underpinning this approach. From a pragmatic perspective, ECM generates quantifiable evidence that helps to minimise our cognitive biases. ECM also has other great advantages:
- It incorporates ongoing actual information about the project performance into the original project plan.
- It simplifies the process of determining risks and uncertainties in project schedules, focusing on enhancing the capacity to conduct reality checks and visualise various events.
- It performs a more precise quantitative analysis.
Using the original schedule baseline as a starting point, the ECM technique enhances the current methodologies with new information on risk occurrences and their repercussions and by incorporating useful historical data.
Both ECM and XPM are related to the Agile system, which we will review in later modules. Yet, both approaches target different needs. When deciding which is the right project management method for your project, there are many things to consider. However, to conclude this section, consider these final two guiding principles:
- Use ECM for projects that require a chain of events and risk analysis. ECM will be the best fit as it is used to simplify the process of defining risks and uncertainties in our project schedules.
- Use XPM for projects that require ongoing scope changes. XPM functions well in development contexts, where project needs are in continual flux. It is an incremental and iterative strategy of development and management. It is beneficial when the project’s scope, timeline, and budget cannot be determined in advance.
Test your knowledge
- XPM serves as the foundation for innovation and creative thinking in project managers.
- Extreme projects move very quickly and allow teams to operate in shorter durations due to the fact that objectives are always shifting and technology is growing rapidly. As a result, the team is better able to grasp and appreciate one another’s ideas and efforts.
- For XPM to have a quick impact and outcome, all team members must be able to communicate well and have a thorough comprehension of the project environment.
- ECM helps to mitigate the impact of motivational and cognitive biases in cost, time estimation and scheduling.
- ECM is a statistical, quantitative approach.
Agarwal R and Virine L (2017) ‘Monte Carlo project risk analysis’, in Raydugin Y (ed) Handbook of research on leveraging risk and uncertainties for effective project management, IGI Global.
DeCarlo D (2004) eXtreme Project Management: using leadership, principles, and tools to deliver value in the face of volatility, Jossey-Bass.
Hoyer C, Gunawan I and Haule Reaiche C (2020) ‘The implementation of industry 4.0: a systematic literature review of the key factors’, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 37(4): 557–578.
Virine L and Trumper M (2019) Project decisions: the art and science, 2nd edn, Random House. | <urn:uuid:96a49da2-a19f-4b95-b7f2-9323f182e668> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://jcu.pressbooks.pub/pmmethods/chapter/the-uncertainty-methodologies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030336978.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20221001230322-20221002020322-00540.warc.gz | en | 0.925739 | 3,455 | 2.59375 | 3 |
PAX Comprehension Task Cards
Self-checking —with or without QR codes!
Use these cards for a 6-week study of the novel Pax by Sara Pennypacker.
Task cards are divided into six sections, one section for each week of reading. A tracking sheet is also included for students to keep track of the cards they have finished.
To prep your cards, use the question on one side, and on the answer side, use either the plain text option or the QR code for students to check their responses.
QR coded activities are great because they give students instant feedback on their responses, are self-correcting, and most of all, FUN to use!
Use the task cards in different ways, including:
• Reading Centers
• Bell work
• Early Finishers
• Bulletin Boards
• Small group instruction
• Scavenger Hunts
PAX is a beautiful, heart wrenching story about the powerful friendship between a boy and his pet fox.
Visit my TPT store for more PAX activities and other products, many of them for 4th grade California history! | <urn:uuid:d2462ca0-290c-492e-beb2-fa96f2d32e78> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/PAX-by-Sara-Pennypacker-Comprehension-Task-Cards-with-or-without-QR-codes-2714209 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917118831.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031158-00276-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949279 | 227 | 3.078125 | 3 |
1. a hollow in the earth, especially one opening more or less horizontally into a hill, mountain, etc.
2. a storage cellar, especially for wine.
Dating from antiquity, one of the oldest typologies in western civilization has endured several overhauls. Metaphorically, it lends itself to time and slow transformation done in privacy: resting place, time capsule, collector’s safe…and even hedonistic bunker can all be attributed to the wine cellar. No drink has been so deeply intertwined in humankind’s cultural, religious and gastronomic history.
For thousands of years, humans have recognized the need for a space with architectural features that accommodate minimal light, cool temperatures and a constant humidity as the resting place of choice when it comes to wine: ‘Le Cave’. Indeed it is a cave of sorts. But even with these constants, this ‘cave’ can be transformed into an archive, tasting room, exhibition space or even a modest home DIY project for the family. It becomes a different space for different people – contemporary viticulture is losing its status-conscious character, and is less western-centric than ever before.
The brief is a reinterpretation of the wine cellar, or cave – for a contemporary owner, designed for the present and future. The reduced light and cool temperature can be used as conditions that do not revolve around solely storing wine, what could those be today? Would the program be meditative or active? Analog or digital? Addressing privacy, atmosphere and materials, challenge its purpose and use. Question how a space dedicated to time and transformation can adapt for future years through its architecture. | <urn:uuid:a69a4e20-0340-448c-a67e-5bb449a57513> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://volume64blog.com/2017/05/04/brief-6/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125945317.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20180421184116-20180421204116-00614.warc.gz | en | 0.944922 | 340 | 2.765625 | 3 |
One of the unmistakable hallmarks of the digital age is the existence of airplane mode. You’ll find airplane mode on just about all your digital devices, from phones to tablets to laptops, and you’ll know what it’s for when you get on a plane and the flight attendant announces that all phones must be put into the aforementioned mode or turned off. Why does airplane mode exist, though? What are the benefits of putting a phone on airplane mode, and is airplane mode necessary on planes anymore?
Why Do Phones Have Airplane Mode?
When you put your phone on airplane mode, you are able to access most of the features that do not involve getting a cellular or wireless signal to the phone. The idea is to prevent cellular signals from interfering with the plane’s own sensors and navigation systems. But, is airplane mode really safer than using your phone normally while taking off/landing or in-flight? Here’s the truth about airplane mode.
You Don’t Have to Use Airplane Mode, but You Should
Today’s commercial airplane equipment is sophisticated enough that even multiple cell phones trying to catch a signal mid-flight won’t create more than a minor nuisance for those navigating the aircraft. However, you should go into airplane mode as a courtesy for a number of reasons.
First, because the flight attendants asked you to, and they’re doing their best to make sure the flight is pleasant and agreeable for everybody. Second, because you’re unlikely to get a useful signal up there anyway. Third, your efforts to get a signal could quickly kill your phone’s battery life, as your cell signal jumps from tower to tower trying to connect while your plane speeds along. Finally, why cause even a minor inconvenience to the flight crew? It’s unlikely you’d receive any benefit from searching for a signal mid-flight and airplane mode helps save your battery. It’s designed to shut off a lot of non-essential, battery-draining operations you might not need or be able to use up there anyway.
Will We Need Airplane Mode in the Future?
Even now, many airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi that you can re-enable after you put the phone in airplane mode, so even if you have to use airplane mode, you might not even notice it. However, airplanes in the future may come equipped with what are called picocells, which are basically mini cellular stations that cell phones can use to safely connect to communications satellites and cellular networks.
Widespread use of these devices won’t be the end of airplane mode, however, as you’ll still need to keep those cell signals muted during takeoff and landing. Don’t forget: Even if you’re not on a plane, airplane mode is a great, quick and easy way to save some battery life if you want to stretch out your juice without going into power-saving mode.
If you’re looking to unload your old cell phone, The Whiz Cells offers great deals on used cell phones with quick, easy cash payments. If you’re in the market to buy an affordable, refurbished cell phone that works like new, check out The Whiz Cells eBay store. | <urn:uuid:f999b37e-0c9d-4452-9e21-4ea0237b2a1e> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://www.thewhizcells.com/airplane-mode-exist-cellphones/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446711552.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20221209213503-20221210003503-00044.warc.gz | en | 0.93654 | 679 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Wed November 6, 2013
How Many Americans Live In Poverty?
Originally published on Wed November 6, 2013 3:11 pm
As we reported earlier this year, there are some big problems with the way poverty is measured in this country. So we were interested to see a Census report out today based on the "supplemental poverty measure" — a newer, unofficial method that figures in the value of many government benefits, the cost of living in different cities, and health-care costs.
A few of the report's key findings:
- Almost 50 million people in the U.S. are poor using the supplemental measure, compared to the 47 million using the official measure.
- Food stamps (formally known as SNAP) keep about five million people out of poverty, according to the supplemental measure.
- Without Social Security more than half of all Americans 65 and over would be in poverty. (Both supplemental and traditional poverty measures include Social Security benefits.)
- Under the supplemental measure, which includes cost-of-living differences, poverty is much higher in expensive states like California and New York, and lower in places like Alabama and Kentucky.
- The poverty rate for children goes down under the supplemental measure and it goes up for those 65 and older. That's because the supplemental measure includes the impact of out-of-pocket medical expenses (which are high for senior citizens) and of certain government benefits that go disproportionately to children.
In other supplemental-poverty-related news, a study out of UC Berkeley finds that using the supplemental measure is especially useful in identifying the most serious cases: families that are chronically poor.
Sara Kimberlin, author of the Berkeley study, used the supplemental poverty measure to look at poverty over an 11-year period. She found that chronic poverty — those who were poor for more than half that time — was lower than previously thought. Only about two percent of people were chronically poor under the supplemental measure, compared with 3.3 percent under the official rate.
This is important, because research shows that chronic poverty does the most long-term harm to people, especially children.
Kimberlin says most people in poverty are poor for a short period of time, because government benefits help lift them back above the poverty line. And it's only a big setback — like a job loss or unexpected medical bill — that pulls them back down.
The supplemental measure "makes it easier to think about solutions," Kimberlin says, because you can get an idea which programs are doing the most good. | <urn:uuid:537de029-3fb5-4684-849f-f1b677fd2b2a> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://wfpl.org/post/how-many-americans-live-poverty | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1398223206647.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20140423032006-00385-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966711 | 516 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Senators, Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize Winners have all been people with Dyslexia. So are kids with Learning Differences budding geniuses and leaders, or are they victims of metastasized educational neglect?
Both are true.
Carol Mosely Brown, African American former Senator and US Ambassador, Philip Schultz, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Dr. Carol Grieder Nobel Prize recipient, and Charles Schwab all belong to the first prestigious group.
However on the underside, up to 80 percent of incarcerated juveniles suffer from learning disabilities, and belong to the second group. (Center for Substance Abuse at Columbia University)
A metastasized growth is defined as “the development of secondary malignant growths at a distance from a primary site of illness/cancer.” Having known and lost family and friends to stage four cancer I don’t use this term lightly when referring to the effects of educational neglect.
Children with learning differences such as dyslexia are misunderstood, often poorly educated and are victimized daily from the shame of feeling the very real protective need to hide their struggles. To hide who you are diminishes a healthy self. Daily trauma and wounding leads to a type of helplessness and hopelessness that can later metastasize into depression, anxiety, self-harm and addiction. Often the success stories we often (and thankfully) hear about, are the result of achievement “in spite” of one’s education or because a kid’s been fortunate enough to be born into a family that can afford the right private school or expensive educational therapists.
FACT: Individuals in substance abuse treatment have a higher incidence of learning disabilities than the general population. One study revealed that 40 percent of people in substance abuse treatment have a learning disability, while another indicated that in residential substance abuse treatment programs, the percentage of people with LD has been found to be as high as 60 percent.
Educational Traumas like these result in behaviors mentioned above, that get the treatment attention, but we need to acknowledge and treat the underlying wounds.
Hidden Reality: Educational Trauma and Wounding happen on a regular basis to students with Learning and Developmental Differences | <urn:uuid:8408c7dc-0551-4743-8858-b7ddbbb819f8> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | http://www.ldresources.org/page/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655902377.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20200709224746-20200710014746-00353.warc.gz | en | 0.95528 | 449 | 2.953125 | 3 |
New studies, launched ahead of London summit on nutrition, call for massive increase in funding to reduce number of babies and children killed every year by malnutrition or stunted.
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly half of all deaths among children under five - 3.1 million deaths a year - are caused by malnutrition, according to a new series of reports released on Thursday.
The 2013 Lancet series on maternal and child nutrition also estimated that stunting, a form of malnutrition which causes a child to be too small for his or her age, affected at least 165 million children worldwide in 2011, with Africa and Asia showing the highest prevalence.
"Countries will not be able to break out of poverty or sustain economic advances when so much of their population is unable to achieve the nutritional security that is needed for a healthy and productive life," said Professor Robert Black, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the leading author of the Lancet reports.
“Understanding that 45 percent of all child mortality (under) five is underlined by undernutrition is major,” Sandra Matuma, senior nutrition adviser at charity Action Against Hunger told Thomson Reuters Foundation at the launch of the study in London.
“We need to know that to push governments, to invest in treatments, prevention, strategies... (This series) provides evidence-based information for advocacy.”
Following a 2008 study that put the issue of nutrition on the global development agenda, this year’s Lancet research re-evaluated problems of maternal and child malnutrition - such as poor breastfeeding practices and vitamin and mineral deficiencies - and provided a framework to achieve optimal fetal and child growth.
The series of reports highlights, for example, how child undernutrition has permanent and impairing physical consequences, affecting children’s growth and development and possibly resulting in poor school performance and increased vulnerability to diseases.
It produced new findings which show that children born too small for their gestational age – over a quarter of births in low- and middle-income countries – face an increased risk of dying. Restricted growth in the womb, due to maternal undernutrition, is estimated to be responsible for more than a quarter of all newborn deaths.
In its 2008 study, the Lancet estimated that malnutrition was the cause of 35 percent of all deaths in children under five, a sharp decrease from previous estimates of 50 percent. “We now believe we had underestimated and also some of the risk factors have changed in the background, so our current estimation is a lot closer to that 50 percent,” Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta, of Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.
MORE FUNDING NEEDED
The British and Brazilian governments and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) are co-hosting a summit in London on Saturday at which donor countries are expected to pledge more funding for nutrition which, at present, is left with the crumbs of official development assistance (ODA).
Aid campaigners gathering in London’s Hyde Park on Saturday will call for action and more funds for hunger and malnutrition, ahead of a G8 meeting on June 17. The Enough Food for Everyone IF, a campaign backed by more than 200 NGOs, is calling for $1 billion in annual funds to tackle malnutrition.
Even this amount falls far short of the $9.6 billion the Lancet said is needed to reduce by 1 million the number of deaths from malnutrition among children under five.
“(Nutrition) is still on the global agenda in terms of what’s being said, but if you follow the money in terms of what’s being done, I think there’s a long way to go,” Matuma said. "Since 2011, we've been spending about $143 million," she added.
A recent report by Action Against Hunger said that funding for effective nutrition programmes represents just 1.2 percent of the estimated $11.8 billion that is needed annually to tackle child hunger.
Addressing maternal malnutrition is paramount, not only to lower child mortality but also to save the lives of the mothers. Undernourished women are more likely to die in pregnancy, to give birth prematurely, and to have babies who are born premature or too small for their gestational age, the report said.
Reproductive rights and nutrition go hand in hand, experts said.
“Empowering women, educating girls, also providing them with the economic opportunity to look after themselves, in terms of impact … on their own health is huge compared to what we can do by delivering pills,” said Bhutta.
“These are investments that need to be made,” he added, knowing that comprehensive policies that include nutrition, reproductive rights and sexual education among others are “not something you can achieve in a two-three year political time frame.”
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | <urn:uuid:8c8bbed5-22a1-4c14-8eb9-59e22c15d69e> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://news.trust.org/item/20130606171117-f1bwl/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178364764.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20210302190916-20210302220916-00328.warc.gz | en | 0.953186 | 1,009 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Today is National Book Lover's Day, and it is a great opportunity to read an old classic or something totally new. It is also a great time to encourage children to turn off the television and pick up a book to read.
With the increase in electronic books and digital content, some have argued that it is taking away from the essence of reading. Electronics can hindering the joy that comes with picking up a book, embracing the feeling and scent of it, and it also takes away the ability to turn the pages, making the physical book your own.
Whether you prefer to read online, on an electronic reader or still enjoy turning your own pages in a book, today is a great opportunity to not only exercise your imagination, but also that of a child's. This is also a great day to volunteer at library or even spend an hour reading to children- the point is to pick up a book and read.
Libraries and book stores across the nation are inviting children to pick up a book and read and encouraging them to take a break from the television, computer, tablet and smartphone.
Historians will tell you that he first books were written on papyrus rolls, the earliest of which dates back to around 2,900 B.C. As literacy advanced, so too did the medium for which it was expressed. The natural progression of book development led to stone tablets and the first known dictionary to be recorded was on a cuneiform tablet around 2,300 BC.
While the origins of this annual holiday are unknown, today is the perfect opportunity to start that new novel or that classic you have read countless times before. Whichever you prefer, it is important to remember the good reading has done and also embrace reading because it is just so much fun. | <urn:uuid:7a305067-c346-4403-a65c-98d077208973> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.christianpost.com/news/book-lovers-day-on-august-9-the-importance-of-reading-79738/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1413507443438.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20141017005723-00339-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974445 | 357 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Aire expression in the thymus contributes to immune tolerance by eliminating auto-reactive T cells; insufficient elimination causes autoimmune disorders. The Aire gene was thought to be expressed only in the thymus, but recently, researchers reported Aire expression in peripheral lymph nodes. Researchers have now identified the cells expressing Aire in 0.01 percent of lymph node cells to be ILC3-like cells using Aire-reporter mice and flow cytometry. The results may lead to elucidation of the causes of autoimmune disorders and treatments.
The thymus is the organ in which T cells differentiate. T cells express receptors that react with pathogenic microbes and viruses. However, the thymus generates auto-reactive T cells that react with self antigens, which must therefore be eliminated in the thymus. The mechanism for elimination of auto-reactive T cells is referred to as central tolerance.
Medullary thymic epithelial cells play key roles in central tolerance. These cells express organ-specific antigens (tissue-restricted antigens). For example, insulin is produced only by pancreatic β cells and C-reactive protein is produced only in the liver. The medullary thymic epithelial cells produce and present such proteins to T cells and eliminate those T cells that react with them, i.e. auto-reactive T cells (Figure 1).
Aire is a gene that regulates expression of tissue-restricted antigens in medullary thymic epithelial cells. Mutation of Aire causes decreased expression levels of tissue-restricted antigens in the thymus, and consequently, elimination of auto-reactive T cells becomes insufficient. This is thought to lead to autoimmune disease pathogenesis in multiple organs such as ACEPED. It was believed that Aire was expressed only in the thymus, but several research groups recently presented evidence that some cells in peripheral lymph nodes express Aire; peripheral lymph nodes are the organs in which immune reactions take place. However, there is disagreement between research groups on Aire-expressing cell types.
A scientist from Kanazawa University played a central role in this immunological study as a member of an international collaborative research group, which has been engaged in studies on the mechanism of central tolerance induction in the thymus. During the course of their research, the group found Aire gene expression in lymph nodes; researchers previously believed the Aire gene was expressed only in the thymus. Thus, cells expressing the Aire gene in lymph nodes were analyzed in detail using two strains of Aire-reporter mice and high sensitivity flow cytometry using Aire antibody. This confirmed that a very small number of cells, 0.01 percent of the population of all the cells in lymph nodes, did indeed express Aire.
These cells were found to express a high level of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, which is expressed on antigen presenting cells. They also showed a high level of expression of costimulatory molecules necessary for T cells to be activated, which suggested Aire-expressing cells might play roles as antigen presenting cells. These Aire-expressing cells were analyzed in terms of cell morphology, cell surface molecules and gene expression profile, by which these cells were found to show characteristics similar to those of group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) that play important roles in maintaining homeostasis and the inflammation reaction of the gut. The present research group named these cells Aire ILC3-like cells. A previous study detected Aire mRNA in a cell fraction, which was confirmed in this study, but the cells in the fraction expressing Aire protein were Aire ILC3-like cells only.
Next, the gene expression profile of Aire ILC3-like cells was studied using wild-type mice and Aire knockout mice, which indicated that about 700 genes were regulated by Aire. In experiments using mice whose Aire-expressing cells were made to express hemagglutinin-antigen (HA antigen) of influenza virus, Aire ILC3-like cells were found to eliminate HA-reactive T cells in lymph nodes (Figure 3). These results indicate that Aire ILC3-like cells play a part of the role of immune tolerance in lymph nodes.
Source: Read Full Article | <urn:uuid:906ba769-d45a-40d9-979e-f40d349656fe> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://fitnessbossflorida.com/personal-health/identification-of-lymph-node-cells-that-may-play-important-roles-in-immune-tolerance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103324665.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20220627012807-20220627042807-00603.warc.gz | en | 0.951354 | 899 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Earle McBride and Dane Picard were traveling across France conducting geologic field work in 1988 when they took time out to play tourists at Omaha Beach, site of one of the most ferocious battles during the D-Day invasion more than 40 years earlier. It was a miserably cold and blustery day. They tarried just long enough to scoop a sample of beach sand into a little baggie.
McBride, a professor emeritus in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin, collects sand pretty much any chance he gets. By analyzing sand from modern dunes, beaches and rivers from a wide range of sites around the world, he can link the mineral compositions of ancient sandstones to the kinds of environments that forged them.
A few years after the French trip, he put the beach sand under a microscope and discovered tiny metal shards mixed in with the ordinary bits of quartz and other materials that he expected to see. Those shards turned out to be shrapnel from the famous World War II invasion. On closer examination, he also found iron and glass beads that had resulted from the intense heat unleashed by explosions in the air and sand.
“It is of course not surprising that shrapnel was added to the Omaha Beach sand at the time of the battle, but it is surprising that it survived 40-plus years and is doubtless still there today,” wrote McBride and Picard, currently a professor emeritus at the University of Utah, in an article for Earth Magazine last year.
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops poured from planes and ships onto the heavily fortified shores of Normandy, France. Omaha Beach was one of five Allied landing points along a 50-mile (80-kilometer) stretch of coastline.
“The battles were bloody and brutal,” wrote McBride and Picard, “but by day’s end, the Allies had established a beachhead.”
It proved to be the turning point of the war. McBride was just 12 years old in 1944.
“We’d hear daily reports on the progress of the war in Europe,” he said. “It was all so far away. I knew where France was, but I didn’t know where Normandy was.”
To analyze the sand, McBride first mixed the tiny grains with a blue epoxy, making what amounted to artificial sandstone, and then sliced it into thin sections. Under an optical microscope operating in transmission mode (in which light passes through the sample), he could see opaque grains.
Adding another light source to see reflected light, the grains appeared shiny, an unusual feature for naturally occurring minerals. The shard-like angularity of the grains suggested these were not naturally formed. Ordinary ocean wave action along the shore tends to blunt sharp edges. Other tests showed the metal shards contained large amounts of iron and were magnetic. At this point, he had no doubt these were pieces of shrapnel.
McBride reported that 4 percent of the sand is made up of these bits of shrapnel ranging in size from very fine to coarse (0.06 to 1 millimeter). Because the beach surface is continually being reworked by wind and waves, a sample taken on another day might have yielded a different abundance.
He also found trace amounts of spherical iron beads and glass beads. Some iron beads were broken, revealing hollow centers. Using a scanning electron microscope, he was able to study the shape, texture, and size of all three explosively-produced structure types in greater detail.
McBride and Picard published their full results in the September 2011 edition of The Sedimentary Record, a quarterly journal of The Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM).
“Today, the only visible indications of the horrific battles fought at Omaha Beach are some concrete casements above the beach and nearby cemeteries that quietly mark the thousands of lives lost,” wrote McBride and Picard.
Gone are the wrecks of planes, ships and tanks, the shell casings, the scraps of rotted boot leather, and all the other detritus of war long since spirited away by generations of beachcombers. And so it fell to a pair of geologists to pluck one last relic from the sand, hidden under the feet of thousands of tourists every year.
Unlike the global layer of radioactive fallout from the 1950s atomic bomb tests that geologists and others now use to calibrate their tools for dating geologic materials, the microscopic fingerprint of the D-day invasion probably won’t endure long.
McBride says the iron-rich shrapnel shards could probably withstand the scouring action of waves alone for hundreds of thousands of years. But studying the shrapnel grains under high magnification, he observed particles of iron oxide, or rust, created by a chemical reaction between saltwater and iron. Waves churn the iron fragments, which rubs off some of the rust and exposes fresh material, which is more amenable to rusting, which in turn gets rubbed off, and so on.
“The net result is these things will get smaller and smaller and then finally get carried away by storms or hurricanes and be taken out of the beach,” says McBride. “So their time is numbered.”
“[T]he combination of chemical corrosion and abrasion will likely destroy the grains in a century or so,” wrote McBride and Picard, “leaving only the memorials and people’s memories to recall the extent of devastation suffered by those directly engaged in World War II.”
Home page banner photograph: “D-Day Rescue, Omaha Beach.” American soldiers on Omaha Beach recovering fallen soldiers after the D-Day invasion of France. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. | <urn:uuid:aa8f3b44-9915-4ba1-bae4-3c8eb320e04f> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://www.utexas.edu/know/2012/05/25/geosciences_war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163039773/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131719-00003-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958445 | 1,206 | 3.65625 | 4 |
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