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All of these books can be found at the main branch of the Humboldt County library.
Books for Younger Children
- Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles is a beautiful story of a little Navajo girl whose grandmother is very old. It is gently explained in the book that dying is a natural process.
- Everett Anderson’s Goodbye by Lucille Clifton is a picture book that illustrates the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) through the eyes of a five-year-old whose father has died.
- Saying Good-bye to Grandma by Jane Thomas helps children understand what goes on at a funeral. This book gives details of this event that seldom includes children.
- The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia uses a leaf named Freddie and his companion leaves to discuss natural change and is a gentle way of addressing the balance between life and death.
- The Mountains of Tibet by Mordicai Gerstein is a story about an old woodcutter and his choices when he faces the chance to live life over again. This story is a gentle look at one human being dealing with life’s choices and possibilities.
- The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst shows how remembering the good things about those we love, even a cat, can make their death less sad.
- When a Pet Dies by Fred Rogers deals with a child’s feelings about the loss of a beloved pet. Mr. Rogers is sensitive but clear and direct when he explains the finality of death.
- Where Is Grandpa? by T. A. Barron and Chris K. Soentpiet is a touching story of a boy and his family who remember Grandpa after his death by sharing special memories of him.
Books for Older Children and Teenagers
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White is the story of friendship. When Charlotte, the spider, dies at the fair grounds, her friends Templeton the rat and Wilbur the pig take her eggs back to the farm where they can safely hatch. (on video)
- Lifetimes by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen tells about plants, animals, and people all having a lifetime. This beautifully illustrated book lets children see how dying is as much a part of living as being born.
- Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle tells the story of Maggy, a child orphaned when her father is killed in a plane crash. Maggy is insolent and sullen when she comes to live with the Austins but eventually accepts the loss, aided by the warmth and security of the Austin family.
- The Two of Them by Aliki is about a little girl who takes care of her sick grandfather because of all the love and caring he had always given her.
- How It Feels When a Parent Dies by Jill Krementz includes the conversations of eighteen boys and girls from seven to sixteen years-old as they discuss their experiences and feelings about the deaths of their parents. The causes of the deaths include accidents, illness and suicide.
- Straight Talk about Death for Teenagers: How to cope with losing someone you love by Earl Grollman discusses normal reaction to the shock of death, how grief can affect a teen’s relationship with others, how participating in a funeral can help and how to work through the grief process. A journal section is included.
- The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and Their Friends by Helen Fitzgerald is a compassionate guide that pays attention to the special needs of adolescents struggling with death and gives them the tools to work through their pain and grief.
- Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume explains how a young girl and her brother cope with the murder of their father. This story is particularly useful in helping children deal with sudden and traumatic death.
- Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera and Bill Cleaver tells the story of a 14-year-old girl and her sibling who survive a bitter winter together after the death of their parents.
- How to Help Children Through a Parent’s Serious Illness by Kathleen McCue contains two chapters on death and grief. This book helps with children’s anticipatory grief by discussing what to tell the child about the illness; how children of different ages are likely to act; how to recognize early warning signs of grief; and how to find out what a child is really thinking or feeling.
- Talking about Death: A dialogue between parent and child by Earl Grollman is divided into three sections: a Children’s Read-Along picture book with large type and beautiful illustrations; a Parent’s Guide to Explaining Death which contains ways of answering children’s questions; and a Resources listing of professional organizations, self-help groups, and books as well as audio and video tapes.
Books for Adults and Caregivers
- Dying Well: Peace and possibilities at the end of life by Ira Byock, M.D. brings readers to the homes and bedsides of the dying and tells stories of love and reconciliation in the face of tragedy, pain, and conflict.
- Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley describes the “messages” that the dying give as they enter Near Death Awareness. This book helps caregivers to listen to those they love and become less fearful of what their loved one is saying.
- Who gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate? by M. Stum is a family-focused guide to transferring non-titled property such as Grandma’s yellow pie plate or Grandpa’s gold watch. It treats the matter with sensitivity, recognizing that belongings have different meanings to different individuals.
- I’m With You Now: A guide through incurable illness for patients, families, and friends by M. Catherine Ray teaches the communication skills necessary to deal with the frightening topics and situations that accompany incurable illness.
- The Dying Time: Practical wisdom for the dying and their caregivers by Joan Furman and David McNabb is a comprehensive and thorough handbook for the dying and their caregivers. It provides details on how to make the environment conducive to peace and tranquility, give physical care, and understand and respond to the emotional and spiritual crises that naturally occur.
- The Grace in Dying: How we are transformed spiritually as we die by Kathleen Dowling Singh describes phases that signal when a dying person is entering the final stages of spiritual and psychological transformation and through this understanding subdues the ultimate fear of the dying process.
Books about Grief and Recovery
- After Goodbye: How to Begin Again After the Death of Someone You Love by Ted Menten and Theodore Menten is designed to help the survivors find ways to grieve, let go, and move on after the death of a loved one.
- A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies by Anne McCracken and Mary Semel, two mothers who share that unfortunate experience of having a child die. The authors describe their grieving process and how it affected their lives. The book also includes excerpts from works by authors such as Melville, Frost, and Shelley about the death of a child.
- A Time to Grieve: Meditations for healing after the death of a loved one by Carol Staudacher begins with a quote from a survivor before each meditation then reflects upon the feeling and content of the quote. Affirmations follow to lead one forward in the grief process.
- Grieving the Death of a Friend by Harold Ivan Smith guides the reader to move with the natural process of one of the most significant but unrecognized experiences of grief, the death of a friend. The book explores the aspects of friendship, passing, burying, mourning, remembering, and reconciling.
- Swallowed by a Snake: The gift of the masculine side of healing by Thomas Golden blends folklore, cross-cultural analysis, and clinical advice to help both men and women understand the specific context and needs of grieving men.
- The Courage to Grieve by Judy Tatelbaum presents the three phases of grief, talks about unsuccessful grieving, children’s grief, and the recovery process. | <urn:uuid:d9fe2dc0-b8ac-4a57-a070-74757cf51454> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://www.hospiceofhumboldt.org/bereavement/books-that-may-help/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487621627.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20210615211046-20210616001046-00141.warc.gz | en | 0.937145 | 1,686 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Types of Dynamometersby Bradley Keist
The dynamometer is a machine used to determine the torque of any machine with rotating wheels. Torque is any force which tends to cause rotation around an axis and is measured in revolutions per minute, otherwise known as RPM. During testing, a dynamometer is coupled to a machine while the meter exerts a breaking force in order to calculate the RPM. Two basic types of dynamometers are the absorption or passive dynamometer and the universal or motoring dynamometer. The absorption dynamometer is used for driving purposes while the universal dynamometer is used for both driving and absorption purposes. Within these two categories various types of dynamometers exist for a myriad of applications.
Water Break Dynamometer
One of the most important types of dynamometers is the engine dynamometer. An engine dynamometer is hooked up directly to the engine of a car in order to measure torque. While there are a variety of engine dynamometer types, the two most popular are the hydraulic and electric configurations. The water break dynamometer is variety of the hydraulic type. A water break is an absorption dynamometer as it can only absorb power and cannot power an engine. This particular dynamometer is connected to the crankshaft of an engine and water is fed into the meter. A rotating blade inside the machine churns the water and creates the needed breaking force against the crankshaft. The power of the engine is determined by the resulting heat of the reaction. The more water injected into the dynamometer, the greater the breaking force.
AC and DC Dynamometers
An AC and a DC are both examples of electric engine dynamometers. A DC dynamometer is simply a direct current motor or generator that converts the energy created by the crankshaft of an engine into electricity. An AC dynamometer is simply an alternating current motor or generator. Both are universal dynamometers as they can both absorb power and power the engine. AC meters are state of the art and more frequently used on racing engines. The DC meter is not adept at measuring and powering a racing engine as it is designed for engines running at lower speeds. Because of this, AC dynamometers are extremely expensive and only a few AC testing facilities exist in the United States.
Eddy Current Dynamometer
The eddy current dynamometer is a type of Chassis dynamometer. That is, the instrument measures the twisting motion---and the subsequent power---generated by the wheels of an automobile. This type of dynamometer consists of an iron core or disc which rotates inside a magnetic field. The eddy currents that are subsequently generated act as the breaking force. This type of dynamometer requires an external cooling system to dissipate the heat generated by the breaking force against the apparatus being tested. An eddy current dynamometer is a type of absorption dynamometer as it can only absorb power and not power a machine.
- Vintage Car Engine image by itsallgood from Fotolia.com | <urn:uuid:ff55862c-86ba-4864-b28d-b6a1d1324471> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://itstillruns.com/types-dynamometers-6811900.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107911229.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030182757-20201030212757-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.895544 | 599 | 3.359375 | 3 |
The real causes of World War I included politics, secret alliances, imperialism, and nationalistic pride. However, there was one single event, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, which started a chain of events leading to war.
What were 3 causes of ww1 quizlet?
The main causes of WWI were nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the system of alliances.
What are the causes of ww1?
Six Causes of World War I
The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand.
Conflicts over Alliances.
The Blank Check Assurance: Conspired Plans of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Germany Millenarianism – Spirit of 1914.
What was the main cause of WWI?
The war started mainly because of four aspects: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism.The overall cause of World War was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Nationalism was a great cause of World War one because of countries being greedy and not negotiating.
What were 5 causes of ww1?
I use the acronym M.A.N.I.A to help my students remember the 5 major causes of WWI; they are Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism, and Assassination.
What were the 4 main causes of WW1?
The M-A-I-N acronym is often used to analyse the war – militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism.
What were the effects of WW1?
The war changed the economical balance of the world, leaving European countries deep in debt and making the U.S. the leading industrial power and creditor in the world. Inflation shot up in most countries and the German economy was highly affected by having to pay for reparations.
What was the most significant impact of WW1?
The most significant effect of World War I was World War II. The collapse of their economies and the demand for reparations caused intense hardship, with no end in sight. World War II was a direct outcome of the harsh treatment imposed by the peace treaty that ended World War I.
What were the causes and effects of WW1?
The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play (alliances, imperialism, militarism, and nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.Thus began the expansion of the war to include all those involved in the mutual defense alliances.
What were the long term effects of WW1?
A: It changed the world. It led to the Russian Revolution, the collapse of the German Empire and the collapse of the Hapsburg Monarchy, and it led to the restructuring of the political order in Europe and in other parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East.
What were the positive and negative effects of World war 1?
Negative effects of war can include loss of life, destruction of cities and the environment, and human suffering. Positive effects of war can include the defeat of problematic governments, the correction of injustices, advances in technology and medicine, and a reduction of unemployment.
Is war good or bad?
War is a bad thing because it involves deliberately killing or injuring people, and this is a fundamental wrong - an abuse of the victims' human rights.
How many died in ww1 total?
20 million deaths The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I, was around 40 million. There were 20 million deaths and 21 million wounded.
What was life like in WWI?
They were very muddy, uncomfortable and the toilets overflowed. These conditions caused some soldiers to develop medical problems such as trench foot. There were many lines of German trenches on one side and many lines of Allied trenches on the other. | <urn:uuid:28a2f605-491d-42ef-8d61-72eff6929041> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://lwgportlandharbor.org/what-were-the-three-causes-of-ww1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585290.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20211019233130-20211020023130-00219.warc.gz | en | 0.967698 | 780 | 3.484375 | 3 |
500+ Words Essay on Discipline. School discipline is the system of rules, punishments and behavioral strategies appropriate to the regulation of children and the maintenance of order in schools .
Long and Short Essay on Discipline in English
School discipline essay. Essay on Discipline– Discipline is something that keeps each person in control.It motivates a person to progress in life and achieve success.Everyone follow discipline in his/her life in a different form. Parents should make a point of understanding the discipline used at their child’s school so they know what to expect and teach their child what to expect. School Dicipline With a closer look into our educational system, it is clear that students are causing more trouble in schools today because of the lack of discipline.
154 Words Short Essay on Value of […] If there is no discipline in schools, it is not possible to imp education effectively. Discipline in High School and Elementary Education Essay 1209 Words | 5 Pages Discipline in High School and Elementary Education Grand Canyon University:
School Discipline Essay School discipline From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A Harper's Weekly cover from 1898 shows a caricature of school discipline . Discipline is very important in a civilized life. Here you can find some
Students in the school are generally assigned to write discipline essay. Discipline is one of the basic requirement of a civilized life. School Discipline Essays (Examples) Filter results by:.
Essay on discipline in life Here we are providing essays for children going to school in some numbers. This essay will explore the law and its applications to my school by examining key points and relevant issues related to these interactions.
Discipline is very important for everyone and won a successful life. It must begin at home and continued in school. In school education, discipline is a set of rules & regulations that remind us of the proper code of behavior.
Many people do not like to be told what to do and they most definitely do not like to be told what to read. (Introductioiscipline in nature, Importance, How to learn, Licence and freedom, Conclusion) Discipline Essay & Paragraph – We act according to certain rules and principles at all educational institutions, at home, in public life and everywhere. Essays and Paragraphs On July 4, 2017 By Khushboo.
The aim of classroom management and discipline is controlling students’ actions, habits, attitude and behavior in. So, you can help your kids using these essays. Everything in this world is governed by a definite set of laws.
Discipline in school…Discipline in school Namasthe principal mam, Head mistress mam and beloved teachers and my dear friends, today I am going to speak about the topic discipline in school. For example, if a school implements a tardy policy that all teachers and administrators follow, tardies will likely. If there is no discipline, there is confusion everywhere.
Without learning and the following discipline in school life can cost students later in their career. School Discipline Introduction The word discipline is a strong word for most of us. Paragraph on Discipline in School.
Discipline in schools can evoke the image of administrators stopping fights before they begin or dealing with hostile students in a classroom setting.However, effective discipline begins with the implementation of schoolwide housekeeping policies that all teachers must follow. Discipline is the training of the mind and character. Discipline is very necessary to all to live a successful and happy life.
Generally, in schools, students are asked to write an essay on discipline. A body cannot be survive without its spirit, a school. Here we have provided number of essay on discipline for your school going kids and children.
The purpose of this essay is to explore the relationship with both state and federal laws and School 1. Discipline in the 80's Classroom – Growing up as child of the 80's and early 90's, if I went to school and received a paddling or spanking for doing something wrong, I was quite aware of, or at least had the knowledge of the bad behavior that was disregarded and the consequences of my inappropriate action. Therefore, you can use the essays given in a contest.
Many Americans believe that zero tolerance and possibly corporal punishment are ridiculous and even to an extent, a form of abuse. Essay on Discipline in School Meaning, Definition & Concept. Discipline can be defined as control over one’s desires and obedient’ to codes of behavior.
We can’t be well educated without discipline. School discipline is only truly effective if parents are willing to back up the decisions made by the school and help their child learn the proper way to behave at school. It must be instilled in us from very young age.
Discipline in school life is very important for students. School discipline means a system consisting code of conduct, punishment and behavioral strategies to regulate students and keep school and classroom in order. Discipline is of great importance in school and at home.
Discipline Essay For School and College Students. Discipline is the habit of action according to some rules an regulations. In every school there is some fundamental discipline that the students ought to abide by.
Every society has to set certain norms for people to follow. Most experienced school administrators in charge of school discipline would say that students who continually disrupt classes make up less than 5% of students enrolled, but that 5% of enrolled students can take 90% of their time. | <urn:uuid:46e3422e-ca80-409f-939e-da80f5102fd4> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | http://roundsaturnseye.com/school-discipline-essay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107880519.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201023014545-20201023044545-00044.warc.gz | en | 0.95587 | 1,106 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Personal values reflect principles we use to govern how we ought to behave and represent a dimension of individual differences (Parks & Guay, 2009; Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1992, 2006). Values show robust associations with other individual differences, such as personality traits (Fischer & Boer, 2014; Parks & Guay, 2009; Roccas, Sagiv, Schwartz, & Knafo, 2002), and have been organized into summary categories – most notably, Schwartz’s circumplex taxonomy (2006). In addition to numerous studies examining values from a variable-centered approach, recent empirical attention has focused on adopting a within-person approach to examine value typology (Borg, Bardi, & Schwartz, 2015; Gollan & Witte, 2014; Magun, Rudnew, & Schmidt, 2016). These studies further validate the existing taxonomic distinctions proposed by Schwartz’s value theory (Schwartz, 1992, 2006). The present study seeks to replicate previously reported findings and further describe emergent classes on the basis of race/ethnicity and gender, as well as, associations with personality traits and psychopathology.
Two basic conceptualizations have been proposed for personal values: values as preferences and values as principles (Ravlin & Meglino, 1987). We focus here on the latter. Personal values reflect guiding principles that influence an individual’s behavior (Parks & Guay, 2009; Schwartz, 1992; Schwartz, 2006). Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values (1992; Smith & Schwartz, 1997) is perhaps the most widely used and extensively developed taxonomy for personal values. These personal values are conceptualized according to six tenets described by Schwartz (1992, 2006). (1) Values are beliefs linked to affect. When activated, they are imbued with feelings. (2) Values reference desirable goals that assist in motivating action. (3) Values transcend specific situations and actions. (4) Values serve as criteria or standards. (5) Values are ordered by importance relative to other values. (6) The relative importance of multiple values guide actions. Values can be distinguished from one another by the type of motivation or goal that the value expresses (Schwartz, 2006). Schwartz’s theoretical model is further composed of ten broad values: self-direction (choosing, creating, exploring), stimulation (excitement, novelty, challenge), hedonism (pleasure, sensuous gratification), achievement (personal success, competency), power (social status, prestige, dominance), security (safety, harmony), conformity (social norm-consistency), tradition (respect, commitment to customs), benevolence (concern over close other’s welfare), and universalism (concern over welfare of all people and nature). The taxonomy of the values is laid out in a circumplex (see Parks & Guay, 2009; Schwartz, 1992 for an illustration), with complementary values being closer to – and opposing values being further away from – each other. The values are divided into four quadrants along two bipolar dimensions: openness to change versus conservation and self-transcendence versus self-enhancement. Openness to change (self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism) and conservation (tradition, conformity, and security) values represent characteristics of individualism and collectivism, respectively.
Recently, there has been an increase in research examining values using a within-person approach. At least two studies have tested whether Schwartz’s value circumplex exists within individuals as well as across individuals (Borg, Bardi, & Schwartz, 2015; Gollan & Witte, 2014). Other studies have employed a wide variety of methods including data clustering techniques to evaluate the within-person structure of values (see Magun et al., 2016 for more details). Most recently, Magun and colleagues (2016) sought to use a typological approach to investigate the between and within country diversity of values. This approach identifies homogenous classes of individuals with similar value systems and can be tested using a variety of statistical methods including cluster, discriminant, and latent class analyses (Lee et al., 2011; Magun & Rudney, 2008; Magun et al., 2016; Moors & Vermunt, 2007). In Magun’s work, they sought to evaluate within and between country value heterogeneity of populations in Europe. The investigators identified five European value classes. The countries were internally diverse in their value class composition and most of them had a non-zero probability of having members in all of the classes. These results highlighted latent class analyses as an appropriate strategy for relating values to each other within Schwartz’s value taxonomy both within and between countries. A latent class approach can add valuable insight into how personality and values are related to each other within an individual. Presently, known associations between personality and values are based primarily on variable-centered analyses. Therefore, the current study seeks to identify values types in countries in North America and seeks to characterize emergent classes in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, personality traits, and psychopathology.
Values, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender
Culturally reflective demographic variables including race/ethnicity and gender likely relate to within-person configurations of personal values (Coon & Kemmelmeier, 2001; Gaines et al., 1997; Hofstede, 2001; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). Although the structure of value importance is near universal at the societal level, individuals from different cultural groups could be expected to differ substantially on the relative importance that they attribute to the ten values (Schwartz, 2006). The most robust racial/ethnic differences in personal values are seen when examining individualistic versus collectivistic orientations. Specifically, individuals of European descent tend to place a higher emphasis on values corresponding to individualism (e.g., self-direction, hedonism, and stimulation); whereas, individuals of African, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino descent tend to place a higher emphasis on values associated with collectivism (e.g., tradition and conformity; Cokely, 2005; Coon & Kemmelmeier, 2001; Gaines et al., 1997; Hofstede, 2001; Kim, Atkinson, & Yang, 1999; Kim & Omizo, 2005). However, there is also emerging evidence suggesting that African Americans score higher on individualism relative to their Asian and European American peers, likely a manifestation of a survival mechanism over time (Cokley, 2005). Overall, there are similarities and differences between racial/ethnic groups and personal value priorities.
When examining sex differences in personal value importance, the findings are often mixed. The most common sex difference found across cultures is that men tend to place a higher emphasis on self enhancement values (e.g., power and achievement) compared to women, whereas women tend to emphasize self-transcendence values (e.g., universalism and benevolence) compared to men (Bond, 1988; Di Dio, Saragovi, Koestner, & Aube, 1996; Feather, 1984, 1987; Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). There are findings that suggest that women place a higher importance on conservation values (e.g., security, conformity, and tradition) whereas men place a greater emphasis on openness to change values (e.g., hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction; Ryckman & Houston, 2003; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). However, there are also studies that find no sex differences among any of the ten personal values (Aygun & Imamoglu, 2002; Prince-Gibson & Schwartz, 1998) or no sex differences for specific values (e.g., tradition and conformity; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). Despite some inconsistences in the literature, previous research provides evidence of the presence of racial/ethnic and gender differences that may influence within-person configurations of personal values. As such, race/ethnicity and gender represent two meaningful ways to further characterize the value types that emerge. The current sample is particularly well suited to this goal as it offers racial/ethnic diversity in a large sample of individuals from two distinct geographic locations in North America.
Values and Personality
Associations between personal values and personality traits have been robustly documented in the literature (Bilsky & Schwartz, 1994; Fischer & Boer, 2014; Olver & Mooradian, 2003; Parks, 2007; Parks- Leduc, Feldman, & Bardi, 2015; Roccas et al., 2002; Vecchione, Alessandri, Barbaranelli & Caprara, 2011; Yik & Tang, 1996). Previous research has provided evidence that the strength of associations between values and personality varies as a function whether the traits are more cognitively based (with cognitive traits having a stronger association with values) and the amount of content overlap with between the values and traits (Parks-Leduc et al., 2015). Across studies, Openness to Experience and Agreeableness demonstrate the strongest associations with personal values, followed by Conscientiousness and Extraversion (Fischer & Boer, 2014; Parks, 2007; Parks & Guay, 2009; Parks-Leduc et al., 2015; Roccas et al., 2002). Agreeableness is positively correlated with benevolence, tradition, and conformity and negatively correlated with power and achievement; Openness to Experience is positively correlated with self-direction, universalism, and stimulation and negatively correlated with conformity, security, power and tradition; Extraversion is positively correlated with achievement, stimulation, and hedonism and negatively correlated with tradition; and Conscientiousness is positively correlated with achievement, conformity, and security and negatively correlated with stimulation. Higher order associations between Neuroticism and values are typically absent; however, facets of Neuroticism correlate with the values (e.g., impulsiveness correlates positively with stimulation; Roccas et al., 2002). Collectively, this work provides evidence supporting associations between personality traits and personal values.
Personal values and personality traits both represent two related but distinct domains of individual differences (Parks-Leduc et al., 2015). Personality traits are considered to be innate dispositions whereas values are learned beliefs that may reflect adaptation to personal and societal needs (Olver & Mooradian, 2003; Parks & Guay, 2009; Rokeach, 1972; Schwartz, 2006). In addition, personal values often conflict with each other, so that an individual often has to prioritize one value over another, whereas personality traits can be expressed simultaneously. Both personal values and personality provide meaningful information that can be used to help explain individual differences in behavior (Bilsky & Schwartz, 1994; Parks & Guay, 2009). Examining personality associations among the emergent value types will provide additional meaningful information that further distinguish the value types.
The Present Study
The primary goal of the present study was to identify emergent value types (within-person configurations) of values present in North America using two large, racially and ethnically diverse samples as a replication of previous research. We hypothesized that emergent latent classes would be consistent with Schwartz’s circumplex taxonomy of value configurations and that they should map onto existing values types identified in other samples (Magun et al., 2016). The secondary goal of the present study was to describe emergent latent classes by examining race/ethnicity and gender differences as well as associations with personality traits. We expected that emergent classes may vary in group membership such that value types characterized by values representing individualism (i.e., stimulation, hedonism, and self-direction) would be comprised of more individuals of European descent than those value types characterized by values representing collectivism (i.e., tradition and conformity). Given the lack of empirical work examining personality characteristics within value types, we did not generate a priori hypotheses.
Sample 1. Participants were 547 undergraduate students between the ages of 17–42 years (M = 19.59, SD = 2.95, three participants did not specify their age; 207 males (37.8%), five participants did not specify their gender) from a large public university in a major metropolitan area in southern Ontario, Canada. Participants self-identified as the following ethnicities: 34.7% East Asian, 17.7% South East Asian, 17.7% Western European, 9.9% Eastern European, 5.7% Multiracial/Mixed, 5.5% Middle Eastern, 4.9% African/Black, 2.6% Latino, 0.4% Native Canadian/Aboriginal peoples of Canada, and 0.9% did not specify (the current sample is representative of the population of the institution and not the larger Canadian population). Participants were recruited from an undergraduate participant pool that was limited to Introductory Psychology students and is a reflection of the makeup of the student body in the psychology department at the university. No other eligibility requirements, preparation, pre-requisites, disqualifiers, or course restrictions were imposed.
Sample 2. Participants were 938 undergraduate students between the ages of 17–58 years (M = 23.06, SD = 5.88, 160 males (17.1%), 74 participants did not specify their age and gender) from a large public university in a major metropolitan area in the Southern region of the United States. Participants self-identified as the following ethnicities: 24.6% Latino, 18.2% European American, 16.5% African American/Black, 15.1% South East Asian, 7.0% East Asian, 4.8% Multiracial/Mixed, 3.6% Middle Eastern, 0.4% Native American and 9.6% did not specify (due to rounding errors these percentages sum up to 99.8%). Participants were recruited from an undergraduate participant pool that was limited to undergraduates taking psychology courses and is a reflection of the makeup of the student body in the psychology department at the university. Participants were recruited from an undergraduate participant pool that was limited to undergraduates taking psychology courses. No other eligibility requirements, preparation, pre-requisites, disqualifiers, or course restrictions were imposed.
For the purposes of the remaining analyses, we combined the two samples (N = 1,308) after dropping participants that were missing information on their age, race/ethnicity, and/or their gender (n = 95) or those who self-identified as Mixed/Multiracial or Native American/Canadian given the small number of individuals in each ethnic group (n = 82). The following racial/ethnic groups were combined for analyses (and reflect slight differences in categorical options between the two samples): in Sample 1, individuals who self-identified as Western European, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern were combined to represent European Americans (n = 181) and in Sample 2 individuals who self-identified as Middle Eastern were combined with those who self-identified as European American (n = 205).1
Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue & Kentle, 1991). The BFI is a 44-item questionnaire that assesses a five-factor higher-order structure of personality: Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Openness to Experience (O), Agreeableness (A), and Conscientiousness (C). Participants rated each item on a five-point scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). In the current study, the BFI scales had coefficient alphas ranging from .72 (O) to .83 (E; average ∝ = .78) in the combined sample.
Schwartz Value Survey (SVS; Schwartz, 1992). The SVS is a 57-item questionnaire that assesses ten dimensions of universal values: power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, and security. The SVS presents two lists of value items: the first contains 30 items that describe potentially desirable end states in noun form [e.g., equality (equal opportunity for all)] and the other 27 items describe potentially desirable ways of acting in adjective form [e.g., honest (genuine, sincere)]. Participants rated each item on a nine-point scale (7 = of supreme importance to –1= opposed to my values). To account for individual and cultural group differences in their use of the response scale, Schwartz (2006) recommends that the values be corrected by centering each individuals’ response around the mean of their total score. As such, the ten values were all centered in this way. In the current study, the SVS value scores had coefficient alphas ranging from .64 (Hedonism) to .85 (Universalism and Benevolence; average = .78) in the combined sample.
Participants spent approximately one hour completing questionnaires in the lab (Sample 1) or through an online survey (Sample 2), including questionnaires not relevant to the current investigation. All participants gave informed consent prior to participation and were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any point in time without penalty or loss of course credit. Upon completion of the study, participants were presented with a research summary that contained background information as well as the research hypotheses. Participants were compensated with course credit according to the rules set by the respective psychology departments. Ethical approval for the study was acquired from the Research Ethics/Institutional Review Boards at both universities. Missing data (2% SVS and 0.6% BFI) were imputed using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm in SPSS 21 and the Little’s Missing Completely at Random test was not significant X2 = 28.19, p = 1.00. All analyses were conducted using the combined sample.
Latent Class Analysis of Personal Values
Latent class analyses were conducted in Mplus 5.21 to identify meaningful classes that differentiated personal values-based patterns among participants. Specifically, classes were identified based on patterns of responding to the 10 personal values: conformity, tradition, benevolence, universalism, stimulation, self-direction, hedonism, achievement, power, and security. Statistical indicators for model selection included Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), and entropy. For AIC and BIC, lower relative values indicate a better-fitting model. For entropy, absolute values closer to 1.0 indicate a greater classification certainty, with acceptable models typically showing entropy >.80.
Based on all three fit statistics, two classes’ best summarized the data (see Table 1 and Figure 1) and thus were examined for further analysis. The Lo-Mendell-Rubin Adjusted Likelihood Ratio Test suggested that the two classes fit significantly better than one class (1005.78, p < .001) and that three classes fit significantly better than two classes (499.42, p < .001); whereas, four did not fit significantly better than three (Lo-Mendell-Rubin Adjusted Likelihood Ratio Test = 335.18, p = .110). However, the entropy value in the three-class solution was below threshold at .76 thus the two-class solution was deemed more interpretable (entropy = .87). These classes were labeled: personal-focused and social-focused. Relative to the other class, the personal-focused class (16.1% of participants based on the estimated model) was characterized by high stimulation, self-direction, and hedonism, and low tradition and conformity. The social-focused class (83.9% of participants) was characterized by high conformity and tradition, and low self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism.2
|2-class model||3-class model||4-class model||5-class model|
Statistical fit indices|
Race and Gender Differences between Classes
Racial/ethnic and gender differences between the two groups were examined in SPSS 21 (see Table 2). Class membership significantly differed by both race/ethnicity (X2 (4) = 66.63, p < .001, w = 0.23) and gender (X2 (1) = 11.52, p = .001, w = 0.09). Unsurprisingly, given the differences in group sizes, many aspects of group membership further corresponded to overall group size (e.g., more participants in all racial/ethnic categories were assigned to the social-focused class). As can be seen in Table 2, Hispanic/Latino, East Asians, South East Asians, and African American/Canadians were most prevalent in the social-focused class relative to the personal-focused class. As can be seen in Table 2, males were more prevalent in the personal-focused, class whereas females were more prevalent in the social-focused class.
(n = 210)
(n = 1098)
|Sample site||62% Sample 1||34% Sample 1|
|Age||20.79 (3.84)||21.82 (5.32)|
|Male||76 (22%)||275 (78%)|
|Female||134 (14%)||823 (86%)|
|Extraversion||3.32 (0.88)||3.27 (0.74)||0.06 (0.07)|
|Agreeableness||3.61 (0.66)||3.84 (0.61)||–0.36 (–0.37)|
|Conscientiousness||3.35 (0.71)||3.54 (0.62)||–0.29 (–0.30)|
|Neuroticism||2.94 (0.82)||2.99 (0.74)||–0.06 (–0.07)|
|Openness||3.94 (0.54)||3.58 (0.56)||0.65 (0.65)|
|European Descent||110 (29%)||276 (72%)|
|Hispanic/Latino||23 (9%)||222 (91%)|
|East Asian||36 (14%)||220 (86%)|
|South East Asian||27 (11%)||212 (89%)|
|Black/African Descent||14 (8%)||168 (92%)|
Personality Differences between Classes
A multivariate linear model (GLM) was conducted to determine potential personality trait differences between classes in SPSS 21. The overall GLM indicated significant differences in personality traits between classes (Wilks’ λ = 0.90, F (5, 1302) = 27.56, p < .001). There were no significant class differences for N (F (1, 1306) = 0.98, p = .322) or E (F (1, 1306) = 0.79, p = .375; see Table 2 and Figure 2). Classes differed on O (F (1, 1306) = 71.83, p < .001) such that the personal-focused group (M = 3.94, SD = 0.54) scored higher on O than the social-focused group (M = 3.58, SD = 0.56). Classes differed on A (F (1, 1306) = 23.95, p < .001) such that the personal-focused group (M = 3.61, SD = 0.66) scored lower on A than the social-focused (M = 3.84, SD = 0.61) group. Classes differed on C (F (1, 1306) = 15.66, p < .001) such that the social-focused group (M = 3.54, SD = 0.62) scored higher on C than the personal-focused group (M = 3.35, SD = 0.71).
Schwartz’s taxonomy of global human values (Schwartz, 1992) has mobilized this area of research and grounded the field by offering a meaningful and compelling organization of human values. This area of research remains understudied relative to other domains of individual differences, such as personality. In particular, what has been especially lacking is an understanding of how human values co-occur and manifest within individuals (but see Magun et al., 2016 for a recent example of such an investigation). Thus, it was the primary goal of this study to identify value types present in a large and diverse North American college student sample. Results of latent class analysis supported the emergence of two classes: personal-focused (16.1% of the sample) and social-focused (83.9%; see Figure 1). The classes further exhibited differences based on racial/ethnic composition, gender composition, and personality trait association, further validating group differences and showing connections to previous variable-centered analytic approaches. These findings will be discussed in more detail below, but overall these findings offer additional support for the presence of value types at the within-person level. The classes were also distinguished by race/ethnicity, gender, and personality associations, which are in agreement with previous research.
The first primary goal of the study was to determine whether value types would emerge that were 1) consistent with Schwartz’s values taxonomy, and 2) consistent with previous research identifying value classes (see Magun et al., 2016). This goal was somewhat supported with the identification of two classes showing some overlap with Schwartz’s theorizin (Schwartz, 2006; see Figure 1). Schwartz (2006) proposed additional dynamic underpinnings of the universal values structure: 1) the interests that the value attainment serves (e.g., personal-focused versus social-focused) and 2) self-regulation systems (e.g., the avoidance of punishment and the goal of preventing loss versus the pursuit of reward and the promotion of gain; or prevention-focused versus promotion-focused based on Higgins (1998) self regulatory theory). Specifically, having a personal focus regulates how one may express personal interests and characteristics. The personal-focused class can be characterized by those who are much more likely to place greater importance on values relating to self-enhancement (e.g., achievement and power) and openness to change (e.g., hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction) and less emphasis on values relating to conservation (e.g., security, conformity, and tradition) and self-transcendence (e.g., universalism and benevolence). Social-focused individuals are concerned with regulating how one relates socially to others as well as how it affects them and can be characterized by those who place a higher emphasis on conservation and self-transcendence values and less emphasis on openness to change and self-enhancement values. In addition, these results can be examined in the context of another recent study identifying value types in multiple European countries (Magun et al., 2016). The authors identified five classes that were distributed across the European countries. Furthermore; most of the countries also had a non-zero probability to have members of all the five classes. Our study extends these findings by identifying value classes in North America and characterizing the classes using race/ethnicity, gender, and personality traits, which may further elucidate how sub-groups differ in their value profiles.
The two classes were further examined regarding subgroup composition for racial/ethnic subgroups and for gender subgroups. Although Schwarz’s values are hypothesized to be universal, such that all values should show endorsement across a variety of cultures, it is also expected that values, as culturally influenced individual differences, will show differences across major culturally distinct subgroups, as well (Schwartz, 2006). Although many previous empirical investigations have not specifically focused on using Schwartz’s values, empirical investigations have found mean-level differences in values across different racial/ethnic groups (Coon & Kemmelmeier, 2001; Gaines et al., 1997; Hofstede, 2001; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005) and between men and women (Bond, 1988; Di Dio, et al., 1996; Feather, 1984, 1987; Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). Thus, we sought to determine whether or not the racial/ethnic and gender subgroups were differentially represented among the value types and if so, whether they reflected known group differences in mean level patterns of endorsement.
Racial/ethnic differences emerged between the two groups in expected ways across all five racial/ethnic groups. Consistent with previous research examining individualistic versus collectivistic value orientations, European American/Canadians were more likely to be in personal-focused group (i.e., the values in this group most closely reflect individualism) compared to Hispanic/Latino American/Canadians, South East Asian American/Canadians, and African American/Canadians whereas Hispanic/Latino American/Canadians, South East Asian American/Canadians and African American/Canadians were more likely to be in the social-focused group (i.e., the values in this group most closely reflect collectivism) compared to European American/Canadians (Coon & Kemmelmeier, 2001; Gaines et al., 1997; Hofstede, 2001; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). The racial/ethnic differences between the classes supports previous findings and provides evidence that even in diverse environments (i.e., like the university settings) individuals are still maintaining their value preferences. Given the incredibly diverse nature of both countries in North American it is important to consider how race/ethnicity influences an individual’s experience. Future research may investigate these values types in the context of status in the country (i.e., citizen or immigrant) or look at other environmental factors like identity, level of acculturation, or experiences of discrimination to understand how racial/ethnic minorities function in society. It is possible that an individual’s level of acculturation may influence their values and that value importance could differ over time as a result.
Gender differences also emerged between the two groups in somewhat expected ways. In this sample males were more likely to be in the personal-focused group. Although inconsistent, previous research has suggested that men are more likely to endorse power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction (Bond, 1988; Di Dio et al., 1996; Feather, 1984, 1987; Ryckman & Houston, 2003; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). Given the likelihood that men are more likely to endorse values associated with individualistic orientations it was not surprising that men were more likely to be in the personal-focused group. Women in this sample were more likely to be in the social-focused group. The social-focused group was characterized by high conformity, tradition, and benevolence. Both of these groups are comprised of values that also reflect a collectivistic orientation. This is in line with previous research that has suggested that women place a higher value on universalism and benevolence, security, tradition and conformity (Bond, 1988; Di Dio et al., 1996; Feather, 1984, 1987; Ryckman & Houston, 2003; Schwartz & Rubel, 2005). Overall, both the racial/ethnic and gender differences found map onto existing findings using variable-centered approaches and help distinguish the classes from each other.
The final test was to evaluate personality differences among the value types that emerged. Personality traits are another major individual difference domain, and an area that has received more empirical attention than individual differences in values, to date. There are important theoretical distinctions between these constructs, with personality traits being conceptualized as more internal and stable, and values being conceptualized as more environmentally influenced and susceptible to change (Olver & Moordian, 2003; Rokeach, 1972). Furthermore, personality traits are associated with values in meaningful ways, and these patterns of association have been replicated across samples (Bilsky & Schwartz, 1994; Fischer & Boer, 2014; Olver & Mooradian, 2003; Parks, 2007; Roccas et al., 2002; Vecchione et al., 2011; Yik & Tang, 1996). For example, strong associations are often demonstrated between A and benevolence, O and stimulation, E and hedonism, and C and achievement (Parks & Guay, 2009). These associations provide some foundation for examining personality trait level composition of the values-based classes presented here.
There were some personality trait differences between classes (see Figure 2). Specifically, O, A, and C all showed clear patterns of differentiation between classes. N and E showed virtually stable levels across the two classes. In terms of class differences, the social-focused class endorsed higher levels of A and C, as would be expected, and lower levels of O. This may reflect lower levels of endorsement of stimulation, and self-direction in the social-focused class, both of which would be expected to show associations with O (Parks, 2007; Parks & Guay, 2009; Roccas et al., 2002).
In terms of those personality traits for which differences between values-based groups were found, the results are not surprising. Specifically, previous research and theory has implicated the personality traits O and A as having the strongest associations with values (Parks, 2007; Parks & Guay, 2009) followed by E and C who have modest associations with values. This is consistent with our findings, in that three of these four personality traits showed clear patterns of differentiating between the two values based groups. The personal-focused class is higher on O and the magnitude of the effect is large. Previous research has found associations between O and self-direction and universalism, two values that are higher in the personal-focused class. We get small effects for the class differences on A and C, which may be a function of the divergent profiles presented. For example, A is associated with both benevolence and tradition. While, tradition was higher in the social-focused class than the personal-focused class, benevolence did not show that exact same pattern. A similar picture emerged for C and it is possible that the magnitude of effects would have been larger if the difference between the classes on other values (for example benevolence) were larger. Additionally, previous research has failed to find associations between the ten values and the higher order trait N. However, examination at the lower-order facet level has revealed some associations (i.e., impulsiveness with stimulation). These findings help classify and differentiate the values classes that emerged in this sample.
Limitations and Future Directions
As with any empirical investigation, there are notable limitations of this research as well as exciting areas for future investigation. The strengths of the sample are especially relevant for the current research goals, which benefitted from a very large sample size, college students drawn from two different geographic regions of North America, and the presence of sizable subgroups reflecting major racial and ethnic categories in North America. Aspects of the sample also reflect limitations that should be considered in future studies. The study of college students allows easier access to particularly large (and in this case, diverse) samples, but also potentially impacts generalizability of such findings to non-college-student samples of adolescents and adults. Thus, future work extending this to individuals drawn from non-college-attending populations may prove highly valuable. Furthermore, mean level differences in acculturation were found, highlighting the importance of examining the role of acculturation in value profiles in future work. Furthermore, culture and race/ethnicity are often intertwined, future work should attempt to tease apart the unique contributions that each make to the endorsement of particular values. In addition, the pursuit of a college degree in itself likely reflects value-driven behavior, such that values endorsement among college students may differ from non-college students in meaningful ways. Other aspects of the sample that may limit generalizability are that data collection came from only two geographic regions in North America, so other parts of North America and regions around the world are obviously not reflected in these findings. The culturally specific nature of human values places great importance on replication of findings from different cultural regions.
Another exciting area for future studies lies in further identifying characteristics of values types in North Americans. We examined race/ethnicity, gender composition, and personality trait associations as initial variables as a means of further distinguishing classes. Future work might focus on expanding classification to other individual differences, such as motivational preferences and identity or personal narrative or behavioral outcomes such as academic achievement or occupational attainment. There is also a clear need for studies of incremental validity and practical utility of the model. For example, what important criteria do values predict, above and beyond other individual differences? What potential applications does the measurement of human values have? How might values be fully integrated into a comprehensive model of human individual differences (e.g., how do values function alongside personality traits in influencing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors)? Personality traits have proven useful in predicting a variety of behavioral outcomes, including physical and mental health, occupational status and achievement, and relationship success (Kotov, Gamez, Schmitdt & Watson, 2010; Ozer & Benet-Martinez, 2006; Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Capsi & Goldberg, 2007) – how can the inclusion of values further these efforts? We see these as some of the many exciting questions awaiting further study.
In summary, this study provided additional evidence for the within-person configuration of personal values. This study builds upon other studies that have done this (e.g., Magun et al., 2016) by identifying within person configurations of values in a highly diverse sample of North American college students. We specifically identified two classes: personal and social-focused. These two classes were further differentiated by race/ethnicity with more racial/ethnic minorities belonging to the social-focused class (i.e., the class that most resembles a collectivistic orientation) and gender (more females belonging to the social-focused class, which is also consistent with previous research examining gender differences). Furthermore, we identified personality profiles consistent with previous research (i.e., significant differences between the classes emerged on O, A, and C). These findings highlight the importance of within-person analyses and also highlight the importance of culture and personality in understanding values.
Data Accessibility Statement
Authors are happy to provide copies of the database used to analyze data published in the current manuscript upon request to the corresponding author. | <urn:uuid:14e13a78-469a-468d-b470-5c7e6095d5f8> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://www.collabra.org/articles/10.1525/collabra.114/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084890823.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20180121175418-20180121195418-00504.warc.gz | en | 0.919953 | 7,914 | 2.875 | 3 |
Insightful, accessible, and eye-opening essays consider the life journeys of Hmong-American individuals, families, and communities as they participate in creating the ethnic and social fabric of this nation.
Farmers in Laos, U.S. allies during the Vietnam War, refugees in Thailand, citizens of the Western world—the stories of the Hmong who now live in America have been told in detail through books and articles and oral histories over the past several decades. Like any immigrant group, members of the first generation may yearn for the past as they watch their children and grandchildren find their way in the dominant culture of their new home. For Hmong people born and educated in the United States, a definition of self often includes traditional practices and tight-knit family groups but also a distinctly Americanized point of view. How do Hmong Americans negotiate the expectations of these two very different cultures?
In an engaging series of essays featuring a range of writing styles, leading scholars, educators, artists, and community activists explore themes of history, culture, gender, class, family, and sexual orientation, weaving their own stories into depictions of a Hmong American community where people continue to develop complex identities that are collectively shared but deeply personal as they help to redefine the multicultural America of today.
“Hmong and American clearly articulates what it means to be Hmong in the U.S. context. The inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives makes for an illuminating volume.”
Chia Youyee Vang, author of Hmong in Minnesota and Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora
“A comprehensive set of essays on Hmong American identity, exploring the facets of gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, language, the arts, and transnational connections among Hmong communities. With both academic and community-based perspectives, this anthology provides a unique and valuable contribution to Hmong Studies, Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies.”
Mark E. Pfeifer, PhD, Editor, Hmong Studies Journal; Lecturer, State University of New York Institute of Technology
Contributors: Mary Louise Buley-Meissner, Amy DeBroux, Jeremy Hein, Vincent K. Her, Don Hones, Gary Yia Lee, Song Lee, Pao Lor, Bic Ngo, Keith Quincy, Chan Vang, Hue Vang, Ka Vang, Kou Vang, May Vang, Ma Lee Xiong, Shervun Xiong, Kao Kalia Yang, Kou Yang.
Vincent K. Her is an assistant professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. Mary Louise Buley-Meissner is an associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Since 2000 they have collaborated on many projects exploring the Hmong American experience.
Available March 2012 from Minnesota Historical Society Press
Format: $24.95 Paper, 288 pp, 6×9, 54 b&w illustrations, notes, index, bibliography, 1 table
Content by Alison Aten
Minnesota Historical Society Press Publicity Manager | <urn:uuid:787e0372-e608-41e8-bee0-52d0756a95f1> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | http://hmongasia.com/hmong-and-american-from-refugees-to-citizens/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027320734.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20190824105853-20190824131853-00443.warc.gz | en | 0.905474 | 636 | 2.53125 | 3 |
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The National Gallery of Art houses almost 4,000 paintings. Over time, they can be damaged by sunlight, humidity and grime. So every year, a team of eight conservators chooses approximately a dozen paintings to restore to their natural beauty.
In some galleries in Europe they like to display a painting in its natural state, with cracked paint, water damage, and faded colors, says Christensen
"They feel it's part of the history of the picture as an object," says Christensen. "But our philosophy is that the painting is a visual illusion and its function is impaired if you show all the damage."
That's why she and other conservators painstakingly work on tiny sections of a painting -- sometimes the size of a postage stamp -- for weeks at a time, trying to restore it to its original glory.
Today, she's working on a picture of monks.
"We are looking at a painting by an unknown 15th century painter from France and it shows one of the miracles of St. Benedict," says Christensen. As with most old paintings, there's a layer of varnish to remove.
"We use this thing that looks like a giant Q-tip, dip it in solvent and roll it against the picture," says Christensen.
Artists use varnish as a final coat to make colors look rich and as a protective layer. When natural varnish ages, Christensen explains, it creates a yellow film over the whole painting surface, and that's especially distorting on paintings with cool tones.
"Blue looks green and the white looks yellow," says Christensen.
She uses a gentle chemical that dissolves the varnish but not the paint.
"Before the 20th century, the kinds of things people used to take off these discolored varnishes were very harsh materials like lye, urine," says, Christensen.
Scientific advances, including x-radiography, have helped conservators immensely.
Christensen points to what looks exactly like an X-ray of the painting. You get a negative of the picture; the light blue sky looks white, the monk's black robe looks black.
It also shows what restoration has been done on the painting before it came to the National Gallery.
She points to an area of the sky on the painting that looks like clouds. But on the X-ray the damage can be seen because that cloudy area has a different texture than all of the other paint.
"This is actually a road map of where the damages are going to be," says Christensen.
Conservators also use infrared reflectography, which works on the principle that black absorbs heat and white reflects it. On a computer monitor reflecting the infrared image, the restorers can actually 'see through' the artist's drawing underneath all the layers of paint.
"There were two little monks drawn in here walking away and the artist decided to paint them out later on," says Christensen. "So you can sort of get into the artist's mind a little bit."
Unlike the artist who usually takes ownership of a painting by boldly signing his or her name on it, conservators are content to get no credit. Viewers will never know about the reams of research done, the millions of spidery cracks that have been filled or the colors that have been "in-painted" before the painting is displayed again. And that's fine with Christensen.
"Your own skills as a painter are not important unless they are in the service of getting the vision of the artist across," says Christensen. "So you have to sort of be humble in a way. There are some in the field who felt that really good artists don't make good restorers because they may be a little bit too free in rearranging what they don't like."
But her work on this particular monk painting has meant months and months on a painting for which the artist himself isn't well-known -- or known at all.
"It's not a Leonardo, yeah," Christensen says. But she adds that it's beautiful to look at. "And also, it's part of our history. It's evidence of our past, where we came from and I think that's important to all of us to know ... to know how we got from there to here. And that's part of the journey."
It's a journey that includes a stop in the hushed room where Christensen and her colleagues do the behind-the-scenes work that almost no art lovers will ever see. | <urn:uuid:dfaf590a-bfa1-48d4-963d-5c8e48890a99> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://wamu.org/news/11/07/28/national_gallery_conservators_painstakingly_revive_works_of_art.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394678704953/warc/CC-MAIN-20140313024504-00053-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972909 | 934 | 3.140625 | 3 |
- How do you convert direct speech to reported speech?
- What is son formula in direct and indirect speech?
- What is direct and indirect speech examples?
- What are the rules of changing direct speech to indirect?
- Where do we use direct speech?
- What is direct and indirect rule?
- How do you form an indirect speech?
- What are the two parts of direct speech?
- How many types of direct and indirect speech are there?
- What is the effect of direct speech?
- What is a indirect speech and examples?
- What is difference between direct and indirect speech?
- What is a direct speech and examples?
- What does direct speech mean?
- What is a reported speech and examples?
How do you convert direct speech to reported speech?
To convert direct speech to reported speech when the direct speech is in the form of a request or order, we use the suitable reporting verb in the reported speech (requested, ordered, etc.).
While reporting a command/order, we use the verb ‘told’.
While reporting a request, we use ‘asked/requested’..
What is son formula in direct and indirect speech?
When ‘to’ is added with the Reporting Verb, Object will always be there and in Indirect Speech after ‘Tell or Told’, Object must come. … For changing to Indirect Speech, Pronouns of Reported Speech are changed as per “S O N = 1 2 3” Rule.
What is direct and indirect speech examples?
Direct Speech: He says, “I am ill.” Indirect Speech: He says that he is ill. Direct Speech: She says, “She sang a song.” Indirect Speech: She says that she sang a song.
What are the rules of changing direct speech to indirect?
General rules for changing direct speech into indirect speech. Omit all inverted commas or quotation marks. End the sentence with a full stop. If the verb inside the inverted commas/quotation marks is in the present tense, change it into the corresponding past tense.
Where do we use direct speech?
Using direct speech means repeating the spoken phrase or word exactly as it was said. You can use this to repeat something that was said in the past – but you can also use it to express something being said in the present, too.
What is direct and indirect rule?
In contrast, direct rule imposed European leaders, laws, and institutions on indigenous populations. Indirect and direct rule thus had opposite effects on pre-colonial structures of power: indirect rule aimed to preserve them, while direct rule was intended to eradicate and replace them with a new colonial order.
How do you form an indirect speech?
When using indirect or reported speech, the form changes. Usually indirect speech is introduced by the verb said, as in I said, Bill said, or they said. Using the verb say in this tense, indicates that something was said in the past. In these cases, the main verb in the reported sentence is put in the past.
What are the two parts of direct speech?
Speech reports consist of two parts: the reporting clause and the reported clause. … A direct speech report usually has a reporting verb in the past simple. The most common reporting verb is said. The reporting clause may come first or second. …
How many types of direct and indirect speech are there?
twoThere are two main types of reported speech: direct speech and indirect speech. Direct speech repeats the exact words the person used, or how we remember their words: Barbara said, “I didn’t realise it was midnight.” In indirect speech, the original speaker’s words are changed.
What is the effect of direct speech?
However, our results do show that direct speech leads to a stronger mental representation of the exact wording of a sentence than does indirect speech. These results show that language has a more subtle influence on memory representations than was previously suggested.
What is a indirect speech and examples?
Indirect speech is a means of expressing the content of statements, questions or other utterances, without quoting them explicitly as is done in direct speech. For example, He said “I’m coming” is direct speech, whereas He said (that) he was coming is indirect speech.
What is difference between direct and indirect speech?
Direct speech describes when something is being repeated exactly as it was – usually in between a pair of inverted commas. … Indirect speech will still share the same information – but instead of expressing someone’s comments or speech by directly repeating them, it involves reporting or describing what was said.
What is a direct speech and examples?
Direct speech is a sentence in which the exact words spoken are reproduced in speech marks (also known as quotation marks or inverted commas). For example: “You’ll never guess what I’ve just seen!” said Sam, excitedly. “What’s that?” asked Louise.
What does direct speech mean?
Direct or quoted speech is spoken or written text that reports speech or thought in its original form phrased by the original speaker; in narrative, it is usually enclosed in quotation marks, but could be enclosed in guillemet. The cited speaker is either mentioned in the inquit (Latin “he/she says”) or implied.
What is a reported speech and examples?
Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech. direct speech: ‘I work in a bank,’ said Daniel. indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank. | <urn:uuid:a83b8c6c-efe0-4cd9-946c-521567676053> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://patrickmccallion.com/qa/quick-answer-what-are-the-parts-of-direct-speech.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400187390.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20200918092913-20200918122913-00544.warc.gz | en | 0.968035 | 1,204 | 3.921875 | 4 |
Large reservoirs of infection in apes may hamper ongoing attempts to permanently eradicate HBV infection from your human population through immunization . The prevalence of HBV among human and the nonhuman primates maybe speed up the evolution process. of the ultrastructure of the liver also found HBV-like particles in the nucleus of hepatocytes. Conclusion Our research result implies that SHBV could be a causative agent of swine. Thymalfasin The discovery of SHBV will unveil novel evolutionary aspects of hepatitis and provides new information for further hepadnavirus research. Background Viral hepatitis B remain a serious medical challenge worldwide . A strong epidemiological relationship has been established between prolonged hepatitis B computer virus (HBV) contamination and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) . HBV is one of the smallest enveloped animal viruses with a virion diameter of 42 nm. But pleomorphic forms exist, including filamentous and spherical body lacking a core. As most hepadnaviruses, HBV will only replicate in specific hosts, and this makes experiments using in Thymalfasin vitro methods very difficult. Formerly, hepatitis B was called serum hepatitis. Detection of HBV contamination entails serum or blood tests that detect either viral antigens (surface antigen HBsAg and e antigen HBeAg) and antibodies (anti-HBs, anti-HBc, anti-HBe), known as HBV serological marker. HBsAg is usually most frequently used to screen for the presence of this contamination, the presence of HBeAg in a host’s serum is usually associated with much higher rates of viral replication and enhanced infectivity. Nevertheless, interpretation of the assays can be complex. HBV may be the prototype person in a steadily developing category of Thymalfasin hepadnaviruses that exist in both mammals (orthohepadnaviruses) and parrots (avihepadnaviruses). Orthohepadnaviruses have already been identified up to now in woodchucks (WHV), floor and arctic squirrels (GSHV, ASHV), and primates including woolly monkeys (WMHBV), orangutans, gorillas, and gibbons [3-8]. Avihepadnavirus continues to be reported in a variety of duck varieties (DHBV), gray herons (HHBV), geese (GHBV), Ross’s goose (RGHBV), storks (STHBV), and cranes (CHBV) [9-11]. The finding of HBV-related infections offers ample possibilities for em in vivo /em research of various pets with naturally happening hepadnaviruses. It has been beneficial in identifying the systems of hepadnavirus replication, pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as well as for antiviral medication research. HBV-related hepadnaviruses in avian and mammalian species continues to be beneficial in HBV studies. Like identifying the systems of hepadnavirus replication, pathogenesis of HCC, and antiviral medication research . However, a lot of the related animals are challenging to take care of in captivity or not really easily available. Since none of them from the obtainable pet versions are ideal presently, the introduction of extra experimental pet models promises to supply answers for most HBV research queries . Analysts possess concentrated on the combined band of HBV-like infections in household pets since 1985 . Using human being HBV diagnostic products, a accurate amount of home pets are positive for HBV serological marker [15,16], electron microscope noticed HBV-like virion in HBsAg positive serum of swine, Holstein, cattle, sheep and canine; gene series highly homologous to HBV continues to be amplified [17-20] even. Nevertheless, Up for this time, none of them of the HBV-like infections been identified and related reviews found out only in China systematically. Right here we characterize the prevalence of HBV-like pathogen in swine which might offer an interesting model for comparative research of liver organ pathology and tumor connected with chronic hepadnavirus attacks. Outcomes Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay To research the existing prevalence of SHBV in swine herds, 416 examples of swine serum gathered from 5 chosen farms in Beijing arbitrarily, China, were examined for HBV serological markers utilizing a industrial ELISA kit. Quickly, general prevalence of HBsAg was 24.8%, and profoundly near anti-HBs (25.0%), while HBe and anti-HBe was hardly detected (0.5% and 0.7%), indicating zero common antigen existed in Thymalfasin HBe. The entire prevalence of anti-HBc was 63.9% (Fig. ?(Fig.1,1, Thbd Desk ?Table11). Open up in another window Shape 1 Prevalence of SHBV serological markers among 416 swine sera examples gathered from five farms in Beijing, China. Scatter graphs showed a one fourth from the swine have already been infected by SHBV almost. Prevalence prices of HBs had been near anti-HBs, while HBeAg and anti-HBe were detected hardly. Desk 1 Prevalence of SHBV serological markers among 416 swine sera examples gathered from five.
Accumulating evidence shows that BDNF is definitely from the pathophysiology of depressive disorder (15). PHQ-15 as well as the PHQ-9 before and after administration of eight weeks of tadalafil. Bloodstream samples useful for calculating serum BDNF amounts had been taken and assessed at baseline and after eight weeks of treatment. Outcomes The mean adjustments in the PHQ-9 and PHQ-15 ratings had been 3.603.27 and 2.002.98, respectively. Analyses from the mean adjustments in the PHQ-9 ratings revealed how the depressive symptoms from the topics had been considerably improved after administration of eight weeks of tadalafil (P 0.05). And, there is also a statistically significant upsurge in the PHQ-15 ratings (P 0.05). Serum degrees of BDNF had been higher after tadalafil treatment in comparison to before treatment; nevertheless, this difference had not been significant statistically. Conclusions The full total outcomes of the potential, clinical research claim that daily low dosage tadalafil may possess a potential function in the treating unhappiness in sufferers with ED. randomized 152 guys with ED into 12 weeks of treatment with sildenafil placebo and citrate groupings, and assessed the consequences of every on unhappiness. 85.8% received sildenafil in 58 treatment responders and mean reduces of 10.6 in Hamilton Unhappiness Rating Scale rating had been observed in treatment responders (11). In another scholarly study, sufferers who underwent 6 weeks of double-blind treatment with sildenafil also acquired significantly greater adjustments from baseline on Beck Unhappiness Inventory II ratings weighed against the placebo group (13). Rosen discovered that vardenafil was well tolerated and extremely efficacious in guys with ED and neglected mild main depressive disorder set alongside the placebo group through a 12-week, multicenter, randomized, flexible-dose, parallel-group, double-blind research (10). However, to your knowledge there possess only been several preclinical research, but no scientific studies, looking into the consequences of tadalafil in depression and ED. Baek reported that tadalafil improves depressive symptoms and alleviates storage impairment by suppressing apoptotic neuronal cell loss of life and improving cell proliferation in maternal-separated rat pups (14). Our present scientific research also revealed raising PHQ-9 ratings and serum BDNF amounts after tadalafil administration in comparison with baseline. Some reviews have showed the antidepressant aftereffect of PDE5 inhibitors through NO/cGMP/PKG/CREB signaling (22). And, CREB MK8722 was discovered among the transcription elements regulating BDNF appearance (16). Chronic unstable mild tension (CUMS) reduces phosphorylation of CREB, which regulates many elements involved with activity-dependent synaptic modulation normally, such as for example BDNF (23). Accumulating proof shows that BDNF is normally from the pathophysiology of depressive disorder (15). Decreased CREB/BDNF signaling MK8722 may donate to the pathophysiology of unhappiness and raising CREB/BDNF signaling in depressive disorder may be among the systems underlying the potency of PDE5 inhibitors for the treating unhappiness (24). Although there is no statistically significant transformation in serum BDNF amounts after tadalafil treatment, this primary research demonstrated a development towards raising serum BDNF amounts after tadalafil administration. We hypothesize that having less statistical significance could be due to restrictions afforded by the tiny sample size of the research. In addition, the improvement in depressive symptoms noticed after treatment with PDE5 inhibitors may be described by various other mechanism. There’s a relationship between improved erections as well as the improvement of unhappiness. While the specific system underlying this relationship remains unclear, it could partly be described by a matching improvement in self-confidence that comes after the improvement of erectile function (25). Today’s research has some restrictions that deserve talk about. First, this scholarly research can be an open-label, single-arm pilot research comparing adjustments in depressive symptoms before and after treatment with tadalafil, than a randomized rather, placebo-controlled research. And, our research acquired a little test size fairly, which rendered it underpowered showing distinctions in treatment response and indicator intensity. As a result, a large-sized, randomized, placebo-controlled research is required to confirm the potency of daily low-dose tadalafil for the treating unhappiness. Second, it’s important to regulate for Mouse monoclonal to CD8/CD45RA (FITC/PE) intensity of depressive symptoms also, that was not done in this scholarly study. Any other elements which have been been shown to be associated with distinctions in BDNF amounts should also end up being altered. Third, we MK8722 didn’t diagnose unhappiness via DSM-IV requirements; rather, we screened for the severe nature and presence of depressive symptoms through the use of PHQ-9 scores. Conclusions The outcomes of this potential, scientific study claim that daily low dose tadalafil may have a potential role in the treating.
Red displays up-regulated expression and green displays down-regulated expression as shown in the upper right corner of the picture. by WSSV infection. Furthermore, some genes were mapped to several typical processes in the NEI system, including proteolytic processing of prohormones, amino acid neurotransmitter pathways, biogenic amine biosynthesis and acetylcholine signaling pathway. Conclusions The data suggested that WSSV infection triggers the activation of NEI in shrimp, which throws a light on the pivotal roles of NEI system mediated by hemocytes in shrimp antiviral immunity. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5614-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. (during WSSV infection, with aims to identify the molecular components of NEI network in shrimp hemocytes and explore its potential roles during the early stage of WSSV infection. The data will not only increase Rabbit Polyclonal to CNGB1 our understanding on?the molecular mechanisms of the immune responses in?shrimp hemocytes to WSSV infection, but also be useful for developing anti-WSSV approaches. Results Minoxidil (U-10858) and discussion RNA-Seq and de novo assembly The detail information of sequencing and assembly of the transcriptome from hemocytes of?was shown in Table?1. Using Illumina HiSeq? 4000, a total of 304,011,446 raw reads were obtained from the Pacific white shrimp, of which 137,558,608 reads were from PBS-challenged hemocytes (PHc group) and 166,452,838 reads were from WSSV-challenged hemocytes (WHc group). After cleaning of these inappropriate reads, the percentage retained of reads from WHc and PHc group was 97.10 and 96.91%, respectively. A complete of 44,793 unigenes had been assembled, with fifty percent of the full total set up duration (N50) of 2406?bp and the average amount of 1273?bp. The distribution of forecasted coding series (CDS) measures was proven in Additional?document?1. Desk 1 Overview of assembly and sequencing from the transcriptome from . Our findings supplied a new knowledge of the allatostatin familys replies to viral attacks. General, these neuropeptides, stated in the hemocytes contaminated by WSSV, had been released in to the hemolymph to do something on various focus on tissues portrayed the matching receptors, which result in pathological features and death eventually. These data recommended that neuropeptides encoded precursors will tend to be controlled by WSSV, which facilitate viral replication. Desk 3 Putative neuropeptide precursors induced by WSSV in the hemocytes transcriptome of (bodyweight: 9C10?g) found in the analysis were collected from lab lifestyle tanks. The shrimp had been given thrice daily with artificial meals pellets for 3 times before digesting. For in vivo WSSV problem group, 15 individuals were and equally split into three parallel subgroups as biological Minoxidil (U-10858) replicates randomly. Each shrimp was injected into 1000 copies of live WSSV contaminants suspended in 10?l sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) in the website between abdominal sections III and IV. In the control group, 15 people split into three parallel subgroups had been injected using the same level of PBS. Test planning At 6 hpi, 500 approximately?l hemolymph was collected from each shrimp using syringe containing the same level of shrimp anticoagulant solution (450?mM NaCl, 10?mM KCl, 10?mM EDTA, 10?mM Tris-HCl, pH?7.5). Examples of the hemolymph from five shrimps were mixed and centrifuged in Minoxidil (U-10858) 1000 gently?g for 10?min in 4?C. After centrifugation, pellets had been present in the bottom of pipe and kept in liquid nitrogen for total RNA isolation. The examples from WSSV problem control and group group had been specified as WHc and PHc, respectively. Total RNA from iced hemocytes was isolated with RNAiso Plus (TaKaRa, Japan) following manufacturers instructions. The purity and yield of every RNA sample were evaluated utilizing a NanoDrop??2000 spectrophotometer (Thermo Scientific, USA), as well as the integrity of most RNA examples was assessed by gel electrophoresis with 1.5% (mix (Takara, Japan). A subset of DEGs mixed up in response to WSSV an infection had been chosen for validation and 18S rRNA gene was utilized as an interior regular. All primers had been made with PRIMER 5.00 (Premier Biosoft, USA) as well as the primers information was listed in Additional?document?11. Pre-experiments had been performed to quantify identical levels of template and explore the correct variety of amplification cycles. The amplified items of cDNAs from different examples had been evaluated by electrophoresis on 1.5%.
-tubulin and PARP were included seeing that nuclear and cytoplasmic markers, respectively. development of A549 steady cell lines was evaluated using an MTS assay. C. hARD1N-expressing Tiliroside cells demonstrated moderate G2/M arrest, that was rescued by hARD1+N appearance.(TIF) pone.0105185.s002.tif (824K) GUID:?6DEC7D7F-CBF9-452F-98C9-1E071AD96105 Data Availability StatementThe authors concur that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. All relevant data are inside the paper and its own Supporting Information data files. Abstract Arrest faulty 1 (ARD1) can be an acetyltransferase that’s extremely conserved across microorganisms, from yeasts to human beings. The high homology and popular appearance of ARD1 across multiple types and tissues indicate that it acts a fundamental function in cells. Individual ARD1 (hARD1) continues to be suggested to be engaged in diverse natural processes, and its own role in cell cancer and proliferation advancement provides been sketching attention. Nevertheless, the subcellular localization of ARD1 and its own relevance to mobile function remain generally unknown. Here, we’ve confirmed that hARD1 is certainly imported towards the nuclei of proliferating cells, during S phase especially. Nuclear localization Tiliroside indication (NLS)-removed hARD1 (hARD1N), that may no gain access to the nucleus much longer, led to cell morphology adjustments and mobile development impairment. Notably, hARD1N-expressing cells demonstrated modifications in the cell routine and the appearance degrees of cell routine regulators in comparison to hARD1 wild-type cells. Furthermore, these results had been rescued when the nuclear import of hARD1 was restored by exogenous NLS. Our outcomes present that hARD1 nuclear translocation mediated by NLS is necessary for cell routine progression, adding to proper cell proliferation thereby. Launch Cell routine development is certainly a purchased group of occasions, when a selection of regulatory protein cooperatively function. The cell routine has many checkpoints to avoid inappropriate department of broken cells, assisting to keep genomic stability therefore. Most cancer tumor cells Rabbit polyclonal to IL29 possess mutations in genes that regulate cell routine checkpoints, resulting in uncontrolled proliferation. As a result, cell routine regulation is very important to the introduction of anticancer therapies. The acetyltransferase, arrest faulty 1 (ARD1), was identified in fungus being a mating-type change that handles the mitotic cell routine and alternative advancement , . Further research show that ARD1 exists in various types, like the mouse, rat, chimpanzee, and individual, and has many variations, playing different assignments C. In human beings, individual ARD1235 (hARD1) may be the main form, involved with diverse biological procedures, such as for example cell proliferation, differentiation, autophagy, and cancers C. Recent research have recommended hARD1 to become oncogenic. Overexpression of hARD1 elevated cell proliferation, whereas hARD1 silencing inhibited mobile growth; furthermore, hARD1 is certainly portrayed in a number of types of malignancies extremely, including breasts, prostate, lung, and colorectal C. Nevertheless, conflicting outcomes demonstrate that hARD1 is certainly tumor suppressive, rendering it complicated to comprehend the useful consequences from the proteins in cancers , . The subcellular localization of ARD1 continues to be defined by several groups Tiliroside C previously. Though the existence of the putative nuclear localization indication (NLS) shows that ARD1 may be localized towards the nucleus, some scholarly research have got elevated queries about its real validity , . Previous observations in the subcellular localization of ARD1 are ambiguous and conflicting also. Arnesen et al. confirmed that most hARD1 exists in the nucleus, with low appearance Tiliroside in the cytoplasm, in HeLa, GaMg, HEK293, and MCF-7 cells . On the other hand, predominant cytoplasmic localization continues to be seen in LoVo and HeLa cells by various other groupings . In light of the discrepant outcomes, Kuo et al. recommended distinctive localization of hARD1 in various cell lines . It had been also recommended that different isoforms of ARD1 (hARD1, mouse ARD1 (mARD1225, mARD1235)) possess different mobile distribution, displaying the challenging properties of subcellular localization of ARD1 . Alternatively, another report suggested the fact that N-terminal area of Tiliroside ARD1 (a.a. 1C35) is in charge of its nuclear localization . As a result, the subcellular area of ARD1 and its own relevance to mobile function warrant more descriptive investigation. In today’s study, we discovered that hARD1 nuclear translocation was mediated by its useful NLS, which translocation helps correct cell routine progression, adding to cellular growth consequently. Results hARD1 is certainly imported towards the nucleus through the S stage To research the.
Furthermore, downregulation of LMTK3 promoted apoptosis in SW579 cells. with harmless thyroid tumors. Notably, LMTK3 knockdown retarded proliferation, migration and invasion in SW579 cells. Furthermore, downregulation of JAKL LMTK3 marketed apoptosis in SW579 cells. These results indicated that LMTK3 knockdown retards the development of thyroid cancers cells partially through inhibiting proliferation, invasion, inducing and migration apoptosis in SW579 cells. It may provide as a good diagnostic biomarker and a book therapeutic focus on for sufferers with thyroid cancers. and phosphorylation of ER by LMTK3 was uncovered to safeguard ER from proteosomal degradation (24). To other cancers Similarly, thyroid cancers initiation and development is certainly mediated through the deposition of multiple hereditary and epigenetic modifications of critical substances and signalling pathways (25). Id from the altered molecular manufacturers is essential for the procedure and medical diagnosis of thyroid cancers. LMTK3 continues to be named a potential biomarker or a prognostic marker for several malignancies, including breasts cancer, gastric cancers and colorectal cancers (26C28). Nevertheless, the clinical need for LMTK3 and its own association with thyroid cancers has yet to become identified. In today’s study, LMTK3 appearance in thyroid cancers was examined and its own associated scientific significance was explored. Components and strategies Cell lifestyle The individual thyroid carcinoma cell series SW579 was bought in the American Type Lifestyle Collection (American Type Lifestyle Collection, Manassas, VA, USA). SW579 was cultured in RPMI-1640 (Gibco Invitrogen; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA) with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS; HyClone?, Logan, UT, USA). Cells had been held at 37C within a humidified incubator formulated with 5% CO2. Sufferers and serum The serum specimens had been obtained from sufferers at the 4th Medical center of Harbin Medical School (Harbin, Heilongjiang, China) who hadn’t undergone medical procedures. All serum specimens had been produced from 106 thyroid carcinoma sufferers (26 male and 80 feminine; a long time: 25 to 72 years; typical age group: 48.2614.67 years) and 52 harmless thyroid tumor individuals. Patients who acquired undergone any type of pre-operative chemotherapy and/or rays therapy had been excluded. Nothing from the sufferers signed up for this scholarly research suffered from every other kind of cancers. The pathological and clinical features are presented in Table I. A complete of 52 harmless thyroid Aldicarb sulfone tumor sufferers and 50 healthful volunteers had been enrolled. A serum separator pipe was utilized to isolate serum. Bloodstream samples were permitted to clot for 2 h at area temperatures before centrifugation for 15 min at 1,000 g. Thereafter, serum was gathered and positioned at ?80C in order to avoid mRNA or proteins degradation. All procedures had been accepted by the ethics committee from the 4th Medical center Aldicarb sulfone of Harbin Medical School (Heilongjiang Province, China). Desk I. Clinical and histopathological features in sufferers with thyroid cancers. (32) indicated the fact that exogenous delivery of miRNA to focus on LMTK3 could inhibit cell proliferation in the individual breast cancers MCF-7 cell series. Recently, it’s been confirmed that LMTK3 co-localizes with ER in the nucleus, raising ER transcription, activity and stability, which is certainly closely connected with development and disease final result in breast cancers cells (24,27). Notably, in today’s study it had been shown the fact that increased occurrence of thyroid cancers is Aldicarb sulfone certainly closely connected with dysregulation of LMTK3 in females (Desk I). The outcomes also confirmed the fact that LMTK3 level was favorably from the disease stage and pathological type (Desk II). Considering the above outcomes and the advanced of ER receptor in thyroid cancers, it could be hypothesized that LMTK3 knockdown decreased proliferation, migration and invasion of thyroid cancers cells, by mediating ER activity partly. However, the root molecular mechanism regulating how LMTK3 mediates ER activity continues to be to become explored. To conclude, the outcomes of today’s study confirmed the fact that serum degree of LMTK3 is certainly connected with thyroid cancers and the condition stage, and therefore LMTK3 could be a good biomarker for the prognosis and diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Furthermore, LMTK3 knockdown could inhibit proliferation, invasion and migration of thyroid cancers cells. Therefore, LMTK3 might serve as a.
In vitro studies: prostate, ovarian, cervical and bladder cancer. in food ad libitum (29 days) tumor volume in food ad libitum (15 weeks)RE alone ? median survival time RE+VDA transferase), IR (ionizing rays), LPx (lipid peroxidase), GSH (glutathione), DEN (diethylnitrosamine), DMBA (7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene), NMN (RE within their meals advertisement libitum (29 times), researchers noted a substantial reduction in both tumor occurrence and quantity. Rosemary extract contains many polyphenols with carnosic Rabbit polyclonal to INSL4 rosmarinic and acidity acid solution within highest concentrations. Today’s review summarizes the prevailing in vitro and in vivo research concentrating on the anticancer ramifications of rosemary extract as well as the rosemary remove polyphenols carnosic acidity and rosmarinic acidity, and their results on essential signaling substances. L. an associate from the mint family members CA (sub-max) triggered maximal inhibition in comparison to various other REs in PANC-1 cells, considerably inhibiting cell viability to around 60% at 40 g/mL (48 h) . Desk 2 Anticancer ramifications of Rosemary Remove (RE). In vitro research: pancreatic and breasts cancer. tobacco smoke option for 2 h lacking any RE filtration system. The current presence of RE in the filtration system lead to significantly reduced benzopyrene amounts and linked DNA adduct formation (Desk 2). RE inhibited cell proliferation Purpureaside C in breasts cancers cells with an IC50 of 90 g/mL and 26.8 g/mL in MCF-7 (ER+) and MDA-MB-468 (TN) cell lines respectively (Table 2). In an identical research, dose-dependent inhibition of cell viability by 6.25C50 g/mL (48 h) RE was observed in MDA-MB-231 (TN) and MCF-7 (ER+) breasts cancers cells and MCF-7 cells had an IC50 of ~24.02 g/mL. There’s a discrepancy observed in the reported IC50 beliefs which might be related to the different removal methods employed for the planning of rosemary remove; supercritical CO2 and ethanol removal . Furthermore, MCF-7 cells had been found in 2 extra studies even though both were discovered to inhibit cell proliferation, the IC50 prices mixed from 187 g/mL to 9 greatly.95C13.89 g/mL (RE standardized to 25%C43% CA) . In contract with these research, the Purpureaside C RE producing a higher IC50 worth was extracted from an alcoholic beverages based, methanol removal . The consequences of RE at 1C120 g/mL (48 h) had been explored in every three breast cancers subtypes, ER+, TN and HER2+. RE triggered dose-dependent inhibition of cell viability in every subtypes of breasts cancers cells. Furthermore RE improved the potency of the Purpureaside C monoclonal antibody (mAb) trastusumab as well as the chemotherapeutic medications tamoxifen and paclitaxel, found in the treating breasts cancer . Used together, these research recommend a job for to inhibit pancreatic and breasts cancers cell viability and proliferation RE, and stimulate apoptosis at concentrations in the 10C100 g/mL range. Rosemary remove (6.25C50 g/mL; 48 h) inhibited viability of DU145 and Computer3 prostate cancers cells (Desk 3). In contract with these data, significant inhibition of LNCaP and 22RV1 prostate cancers cell viability and proliferation, and an induction of apoptosis had been noticed with RE (50 g/mL standardized to 40% CA; 24C48 h) . RE could combat the improved prostate particular antigen (PSA) amounts assessed in cell lifestyle mass media, indicative of prostate cancers, inhibiting amounts to significantly less than a 5th of that which was observed in the control group. Correspondingly, degrees of the androgen receptor, to which PSA binds, had been reduced by 50 g/mL RE significantly. The inhibitory results on both androgen delicate and insensitive cell lines are essential and recommend potential chemotherapeutic results in various prostate cancers subtypes. Desk 3 Anticancer ramifications of Rosemary Remove (RE). In vitro research: prostate, ovarian, cervical and bladder cancers. in meals advertisement libitum (29 times) tumor quantity in meals advertisement libitum (15 weeks)RE by itself ? median success period RE+VDA transferase), IR (ionizing rays), LPx (lipid peroxidase), GSH (glutathione), DEN (diethylnitrosamine), DMBA (7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene), NMN (RE within their meals advertisement libitum (29 times), investigators observed a significant reduction in Purpureaside C both tumor quantity and occurrence. Furthermore, RE demonstrated an additive impact when coupled with Supplement D analogues (VDA) . In WEHI-3BD xenografted mice implemented RE (4% in meals) for 15 weeks coupled with VDAs, median success time was considerably elevated and white bloodstream cell count reduced to levels much like those observed in the control band of healthful mice . Utilizing a 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced epidermis cancers nude mouse model, RE (500 or 1000 mg/kg/time; 15 weeks) implemented orally in drinking water resulted in a substantial reduction in tumor amount, diameter, reduce and fat in tumor occurrence and burden, and a rise in latency period in comparison to control mice treated with DMBA just [46,47]. One band of mice, that have been implemented for seven days before the initial program of DMBA RE, demonstrated a 50% decrease.
Supplementary Materialsijms-20-05242-s001. highly concordant with the immunohistochemistry methods currently used for assessing the prognosis of neuroblastoma, as demonstrated by the KaplanCMeier curves of patients ranked by tumor T cell infiltration. Moreover, T cell Rabbit Polyclonal to TR11B infiltration levels calculated Xanthopterin (hydrate) using signature-H correlate with the risk groups determined by the staging of the neuroblastoma. Finally, multiparametric analysis of tumor-infiltrating T cells based on signature-H why don’t we favorably forecast the response of melanoma towards the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab. These results claim that signature-H evaluates T cell infiltration degrees of tissues and could be used like a prognostic device in the accuracy medication perspective after suitable medical validation. = 1507) contained in released T cell and T cell subset signatures [22,23,24,25,27,28,29]. Specifically, manifestation degrees of these genes by purified human being T cells had been used like a research and weighed against the amount of the manifestation by purified human being B cells and non-lymphoid immune system cells, human being cell lines, and cells from healthful tissues. We utilized the Genevestigator Xanthopterin (hydrate) V3 collection absolute ideals of gene manifestation (log2 worth) which have been produced utilizing the Affymetrix Human being Genome U133 Plus 2.0 system had been downloaded . Gene manifestation data were from datasets which are publicly obtainable from Gene Manifestation Omnibus as well as the Western Bioinformatics Institute . The entire set of the genes examined is Xanthopterin (hydrate) demonstrated in Table S1. In the hypothesis that the more the genes are T cell specific, the better a T cell signature performs, we selected the genes expressed at a considerably higher level in T cells than non-lymphoid Xanthopterin (hydrate) cells/tissues via a six-round analysis. To establish the mean level of expression of the gene by T cells, all the available human T cells and T cell subsets were considered, including resting, memory, and activated T cells isolated from blood and lymphoid tissues. Through rounds 1 and 2, we excluded genes that were overexpressed by less than 3.32 log2 (corresponding to ten-fold overexpression) in T cells (mean expression level) as compared to other immune cells (mean expression level) Xanthopterin (hydrate) (Table S1) and non-lymphoid tissues (mean expression level) (Figure S2 and Table S2). From rounds 1 and 2, we excluded 1451 and 19 genes, respectively. All the genes selected from rounds 1 and 2 are supposed to be expressed at higher levels by tissue-resident memory T cells than by parenchymal cells. Since tissue-resident memory T cells are found at different densities in different non-lymphoid tissues, it is logical that differences in the expression of the genes in different tissues are found. However, we hypothesized that too big or too small differences between the maximum and minimum expression of a gene would indicate that the gene is constitutively expressed by parenchymal cells in a few or in many non-lymphoid tissues. Therefore, in the third round, we calculated the difference between the maximum and minimum expression of each gene in non-lymphoid tissues, and we excluded genes for which the difference was out of 2.5C8.5 log2 range (Figure S3 and Table S3). The range was chosen in the hypothesis that there is a difference between the highest and the lowest gene appearance level because of T cell infiltration in non-lymphoid tissues a lot more than 5.6 folds and significantly less than 363 folds. Oddly enough, the genes contained in the brand-new personal by the end from the six-step treatment were in the number 3C6 log2, matching to the number 8C64 folds. From circular 3, we excluded two genes. Within the 4th circular of selection, in line with the hypothesis that genes still within the personal are indicative of T cell infiltration in tissue, the difference between appearance in each non-lymphoid tissues and mean T cell appearance (nl/Tc) was examined, as well as the mean nl/Tc (M_nl/Tc) was computed for each tissues. When the difference between nl/Tc and M_nl/Tc ([nl/Tc]/[M_nl/Tc]) of the gene was higher than 3.32 log2 (representing a ten-fold difference), we figured the parenchymal cells of this tissues express the gene constitutively, and for that reason, excluded it (Figure S4 and Desk S4A). Quite simply, the 4th round examined in case a gene adjustments the amount of appearance in a tissues pretty much than the various other genes from the personal. Such behavior was thought to indicate the fact that gene had not been portrayed almost solely by T-cells. From circular 4, we excluded four genes. Oddly enough, the genes contained in the brand-new personal by the end from the six-step treatment got a mean SD [nl/Tc]/[M_nl/Tc] add up to 0.47 log2 (1.38) and therefore gene expression of the genes adjustments almost homogeneously across tissue, because they’re expressed with the equal cell inhabitants probably. On the other hand, the genes excluded from circular 4 had an increased SD [nl/Tc]/[M_nl/Tc]: 1.50 log2 (2.83),.
The pancreas became one of the first objects of regenerative medication, since other likelihood of coping with the pancreatic endocrine insufficiency were obviously fatigued. intrinsic adaptive systems triggering the spontaneous non– to -cell transformation. The replacement technique indicates transplantation of -cells (as non-disintegrated pancreatic material or isolated donor Rabbit Polyclonal to GIPR islets) or -like cells from progenitors or adult somatic cells (for example, hepatocytes or -cells) under the action of small-molecule inducers or by genetic modification. We believe that the huge volume of experimental and medical studies will finally allow a safe and effective treatment for a seemingly simple goal-restoration of the functionally active -cells, the innermost hope of millions of people globally. from progenitors or mature somatic cells (hepatocytes or -cells). We believe that the huge volume of experimental and medical studies currently under way will finally allow a safe and effective solution to simple goal-restoration of the active -cells. INTRODUCTION Development of methods and tools to stimulate regeneration of damaged cells and organs has always been a prominent theme in medical technology. However, only recently, in connection with the unprecedented development of biotech, regenerative Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride hydrate medicine has acquired self-employed significance. Our suggestions about reparative regeneration (repair of the structure and function of cells and organs damaged by pathology or stress) are constantly expanding and replenishing the existing medical strategies. The pancreas historically became one of the 1st objects of regenerative medicine, apparently in connection with notable inconsistency of additional approaches in relation to this organ. The 1st transplantation of pancreatic material to a patient took place in the University or college of Minnesota in 1966. Since then, 50000 diabetic patients received the transplants in 200 of medical centers; the global lead is definitely held from the United Claims. Despite the continuous technological upgrade, cadaveric donations are obviously a lifeless end. The general shortage of donor organs, as well as the difficulty and high costs of the procedure, will never meet the demand for such procedures. The pancreas consists of exocrine and endocrine portions. The exocrine function of the organ is to produce and excrete digestive enzymes in the form of inactive precursors into the duodenum, therefore ensuring the luminal digestion of basic nutrients (proteins, body fat and carbohydrates). The exocrine pancreatic deficiencies (up to comprehensive dysfunction) could be successfully treated with advanced enzyme formulations to supply acceptable lifestyle quality for the sufferers. Extremely critical problems occur using the endocrine failing caused by unusual functioning from the hormone-producing cells from the Langerhans islets. Each islet comprises at least five types of endocrine cells, including insulin-producing -cells (65%-80%), glucagon-producing -cells (15%-20%), somatostatin-producing -cells (3%-10%), pancreatic polypeptide-producing PP-cells (1%) and ghrelin-producing -cells. A number of the related hormonal deficiencies could be partly counteracted by improved function from the amine-precursor-uptake-and-decarboxylation endocrine cells distributed in the lamina propria mucosae from the gut. The amine-precursor-uptake-and-decarboxylation cells can handle making all pancreatic human hormones except insulin. Inadequate creation of insulin by pancreatic -cells, which can’t be relieved endogenously, leads to the introduction of the insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DM). At the same time, it is apparent that not merely insulin however the whole hormonal complicated released by amount total from the functionally united Langerhans islet cell types get excited about regulation from the nutritional and blood sugar homeostasis. Nevertheless, it really is useful evaluation of -cells (by evaluation from the insulin and C-peptide amounts) that acts an intrinsic diagnostic signal of DM advancement. The insulin-dependent DM grows without the operative typically, infectious or distressing harm to the pancreas, but like a hereditary autoimmune damage to the islet cells (DM type 1). However, many insulin-independent forms of diabetes (DM type 2) continue with progressive depletion of -cells, which in some cases prospects to insulin dependence. In the new-onset DM type 2, Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride hydrate -cell human population of the pancreas has been estimated to decrease by 24%-65%, whereas in DM type 1 it is decreased by over 80% (Table ?(Table11). A number of studies show that hormonal dysfunctions are standard for both types of diabetes and are not limited to insulin deficiency. Table 1 Assessment of type 1, Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride hydrate type 2 and surgically induced diabetes mellitus the highly branched ductal tree; the islets, which constitute about 1%C2% of the organ mass, are spread throughout its central areas. Both portions of the pancreas (exocrine and endocrine) arise mainly because thickenings (buds) in the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the posterior foregut, in the close vicinity of prospective.
There are simply no proven or approved treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID\19). make use of in?individuals with COVID\19, might, actually, undermine their energy in the framework of the treating this respiratory viral disease. Specifically, the effect of HCQ on cytokine creation and suppression of antigen demonstration may possess immunologic outcomes that hamper innate and adaptive antiviral immune system responses for individuals with COVID\19. Likewise, the reported in vitro inhibition of viral proliferation is basically produced from the blockade of viral fusion that initiates disease as opposed to the immediate inhibition of viral replication as noticed with nucleoside/tide analogs in additional viral infections. Provided these known information as well as the developing doubt about these real estate agents for the treating COVID\19, it is very clear that at least thoughtful preparing and data collection from randomized medical trials are had a need to know very well what if any part these real estate agents may have with this disease. In this specific article, we review the datasets that support or?detract from the usage of these real estate agents?for the treating COVID\19 and render a Kojic acid data informed opinion that they ought to only be utilized with caution and in the context of carefully considered clinical trials, or on the case\by\case basis after rigorous thought of the huge benefits and dangers of the therapeutic strategy. strong course=”kwd-title” Keywords: coronavirus, COV\SARS\2, immunology, immune, SARS AbbreviationsACE\2angiotensin\converting enzyme 2ARDSacute respiratory distress syndromeBIDbis in die (twice per day)COVID\19coronavirus disease 2019CQchloroquineCRPC reactive proteinECGelectrocardiogramHCQhydroxychloroquineICUintensive care unitIVIGintravenous immunoglobulinMERS\CoVMiddle East respiratory syndrome coronavirusPCRpolymerase chain reactionRT\PCRreverse transcription\polymerase chain reactionSARS\CoVsevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1.?BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID\19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS\CoV\2) infection, has caused a global pandemic that is severely straining health systems everywhere. 1 COVID\19 has an estimated symptomatic case fatality rate of approximately 1.4% which is around 15 times greater than that estimated for seasonal influenza. 2 , 3 , 4 The mortality rate rises dramatically for individuals with increasing age and comorbidities. 5 There are currently no proven or approved treatments for this disease, though numerous therapeutic agents are under investigation. The illness course is adjustable,: a lot of people?are asymptomatic, others encounter a mild, personal\resolving flu\like illness, while others progress to moderate or severe disease still. 6 For individuals who improvement to more serious disease, you can Kojic acid find four stages of the condition program typically, see Shape?1. The foremost is the incubation period which endures a median of 5.1?times, with a big range. 7 The second reason is a gentle symptomatic stage which endures around 5?times and includes flu\want symptoms including fever typically, coughing, myalgias, and exhaustion, though gastrointestinal symptoms want anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea aswell as anosmia could be prominent. 1 , 6 That is accompanied by development to a hyperinflammatory severe respiratory distress symptoms (ARDS). 8 The onset of the third stage can be designated by dyspnea typically, tachypnea, and intensifying, silent hypoxemia sometimes. This stage is designated by high fevers, raised inflammatory markers, as well as the intensifying development of bilateral diffuse pulmonary opacities on upper body radiographs and connected respiratory failure. A lot of people develop multisystem body organ failing with problems that may consist of micro and macro thromboses, myocarditis, elevated muscle enzymes suggestive of myositis, and Kojic acid kidney failure. 9 , 10 , 11 Open in a separate window Figure 1 COVID\19 clinical course of illness. The first phase of COVID\19 infection involves an incubation period of variable duration, with a median of 5.1?days. The second is an acute mild phase that most commonly includes flu\like symptoms like cough, fevers, and myalgias, but can also include gastrointestinal symptoms. Some patients progress to an ARDS hyperinflammatory phase that is often marked by dyspnea, tachypnea, and hypoxemia. The respiratory viral fill rises prior to the onset of peaks and symptoms across the onset of symptoms. It declines on the 1st week. Severe Itga10 instances possess higher viral lots compared with gentle cases. Long term viral dropping in serious and gentle instances can be reported Due to the severe nature of the condition course in? some cases of?COVID\19, effective treatments are desperately needed. Unfortunately, few high.
Supplementary MaterialsS1 Desk: Search terms for antigen identification. stage-shift at diagnosis and improve clinical outcomes. Tumor associated autoantibodies (TA-AAbs) have previously shown the ability to distinguish HCC from patients with high-risk liver disease. This research aimed to further show the power of TA-AAbs as biomarkers of HCC and assess their use in combination with Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for detection of HCC across multiple tumor stages. Methods Levels of circulating MK-8745 G class antibodies to 44 recombinant MK-8745 tumor associated antigens and circulating AFP were measured in the serum of patients with HCC, non-cancerous chronic liver disease (NCCLD) and healthy controls via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). TA-AAb cut-offs were set at the highest Youdens J statistic at a specificity 95.00%. Panels of TA-AAbs were formed using net reclassification improvement. AFP was assessed at a cut-off of 200 ng/ml. Results Sensitivities ranged from 1.01% to 12.24% at specificities of 95.96% to 100.00% for single TA-AAbs. An ELISA test measuring a panel of 10 of these TA-AAbs achieved a combined sensitivity of 36.73% at a specificity of 89.89% when distinguishing HCC from NCCLD controls. At a cut-off of 200 ng/ml, AFP achieved a sensitivity of 31.63% at a specificity of 100.00% in the same cohort. Combination of the TA-AAb panel with AFP significantly increased the sensitivity for stage one (40.00%) and two (55.00%) HCC over the TA-AAb -panel or AFP alone. Conclusions A -panel of TA-AAbs in conjunction with AFP could possibly be medically relevant as an alternative for measuring degrees of AFP by itself in security and medical diagnosis strategies. The elevated early stage awareness may lead to a stage change with positive prognostic final results. Launch Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the major issues of contemporary oncology. It’s the 6th most common cancers worldwide as well as the 4th most common reason behind cancer MK-8745 tumor related mortality . Nearly all cases take place in countries with high prevalence of viral hepatitis, such as for example China, Egypt and Japan. However; prices in traditional western countries are increasing, attributed to contemporary lifestyle changes such as for example elevated alcohol intake and poor diet plans. Current American Association for the analysis of Liver organ Disease (AASLD) tips about security of HCC are for ultrasound (US) imaging, with or without serum Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) dimension for only the best risk sufferers . The biggest randomised control trial (RCT) for security of HCC, using US and AFP, analysed 18,816 sufferers with HBV infections or a brief history of persistent hepatitis from China and demonstrated a clear advantage of decrease in stage at medical diagnosis and mortality prices for the sufferers undergoing security . Display at earlier stage is linked with improved overall survival, however this is not the only outcome required to implement testing strategies. A systematic review of HCC screening studies concluded that HCC screening by US is possible at a reasonable cost per quality modified life year gained (QALY), but the authors spotlight the need for an appropriate randomised controlled trial (RCT) to confirm the results . Whilst US centered surveillance strategies have shown improved overall survival rates at an acceptable cost per QALY, this type of imaging still suffers from a poor ability to detect early stage HCC. A meta-analysis found the pooled level of sensitivity of US for early stage HCC to be 45% at a high specificity of 92% with addition of AFP showing significant increase in early stage level of sensitivity to 63% but having a trade-off in reduced specificity to 84% . AFP screening only also struggles to detect early stage disease, with level of sensitivity typically below 50% [6,7] at specificities of 80C94% in non-cancerous chronic liver disease (NCCLD) control organizations . Autoantibody (AAb) production to tumor connected antigens (TAAs) has been extensively explained in cancer individuals and is thought to be triggered from the proinflammatory nature of tumor establishment and growth . These tumor connected autoantibodies (TA-AAbs) are primarily directed at three types of TAAs ; mutated protein, aberrantly expressed proteins and modified proteins post-translationally. However, the precise function of AAbs, as well as the immune system all together, in tumor control and development MK-8745 is debated . The TAAs which generate an AAb response in HCC, and various other malignancies, are far reaching and you’ll find so many studies that survey the life of different MK-8745 TAAs that may elicit an AAb response [12C21]. Rabbit Polyclonal to p47 phox In heterogeneous illnesses, such as cancer tumor, each subtype may possess its own group of exclusive biomarkers where in fact the awareness of an individual marker for the condition is capped with the prevalence of this subtype [22C25]. It’s been proven a -panel of multiple TAAs also, rather. | <urn:uuid:8846e011-7428-4508-900a-d093c3933d76> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://paccon2016.com/category/mdm2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104215805.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20220703073750-20220703103750-00379.warc.gz | en | 0.93198 | 11,148 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Manufacturing Matters: Ideas for a global economy
By Lisa Schroeter
Chocolate is everywhere in the U.S. It’s nearly impossible to go to a store or restaurant and not find some form of the dessert that would satisfy a chocoholic’s craving. Yet, if you try to find a cacao tree in the U.S., the tree whose seeds are a feedstock for chocolate, you’ll come up emptier than a heart-shaped candy box on February 15.
Cacao trees are native to Central and South America, yet we enjoy the same access to resources as if they were grown in the U.S. Once we have the beans, great American manufacturers can add value by turning beans into a wide range of products – creating jobs right here in the US. Exchanging goods and services through trade is what allows us to create global supply chains, ensuring access to resources, opportunity to add value, and ultimately improve products for consumers.
Using chocolate to illustrate the importance of international trade doesn’t even scratch the surface in terms of how vital trade is to our economy.
As a global company, Dow has manufacturing plants, employees and customers all over the world with products that move fluidly between countries, making trade critical to our company. Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business alone, operates 11 manufacturing facilities worldwide that deliver more than 300,000 shipments per year to its 2,000+ customers in 100 countries. Our products are an integral part of the global value chain – supplying customers, who in turn make products useful to consumers all around the globe. Trade policies help foster the interaction between countries and businesses.
Trade policies help Americans lead the global economy by setting fair, enforceable commitments between countries, and allowing companies competitive access to the more than 95% of the world’s consumers who live outside of the U.S.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are two examples of current negotiations that will open free trade agreements between the U.S. and EU and the U.S and 11 Asia-Pacific countries, respectively.
These negotiations would create significant new opportunities for the manufacturing industry. Specifically, the agreements would include the elimination of tariffs, removal of non-tariff barriers, efforts to streamline regulatory practices, more efficient customs processes, and the incorporation of 21st century issues such as investment and the treatment of state-owned enterprises to name a few.
The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) alone saved Dow more than $22MM in tariff reduction on U.S.-manufactured exports to Colombia. TTIP and TPP have the potential to save exponentially more in tariff elimination - moneys that could be better served on R&D, innovation and investment.
These agreements create a level playing field with the same rules, commitments and expectations for trade partners on both sides. And that gives room for companies to be more competitive, efficient and integrate their supply chains with foreign suppliers, domestic producers and ultimately satisfiy the customer.
These trade agreements are critical to manufacturers like Dow where high-tech, sophisticated processes and products are used and shipped all over the world. TTIP and TPP would eliminate major trade hurdles and help expand our capacity to innovate and share products, whether it’s with chocolate, plastics or the manufacturers who make them. | <urn:uuid:9f190314-9b3d-44b6-bcaa-b21caabbcc12> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.dow.com/advanced-manufacturing/expert-perspectives/20130820_TradeAgreements.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461647.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00272-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937884 | 700 | 2.625 | 3 |
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, generally known as FDIC, is a federal deposit insurance plan. The NCUA is also a federal deposit insurance organization similar to FDIC.
FDIC is the insurer or the regulator of banks, in the very same way NCUA is the insurer of credit unions.
All the banks are not FDIC – insured, and all the credit unions are also not NCUA insured. The federal government guarantees both FDIC and NCUA.
- FDIC insures deposits at commercial banks, while NCUA covers credit unions.
- Both offer a maximum insurance coverage of $250,000 per depositor per institution.
- FDIC is a federal agency, whereas NCUA is an independent federal agency.
FDIC vs NCUA
The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) is an independent agency of the U.S. government that provides deposit insurance to protect bank customers’ deposits in case of a bank’s failure. The NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) is an independent agency of the U.S. government that provides deposit insurance to protect credit union members’ deposits in case of a credit union’s failure.
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FDIC maintains a reserve of cash to pay off depositors in case of bank failure. It is generally an insurance program funded by all the banks that are insured by FDIC. Furthermore, FDIC also plays a role as a bank regulator.
It was founded in 1933, and thousands of banks are FDIC insured.
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is a deposit insurance program that regulates credit unions. It’s also in the hand of the NCUSIF, which utilizes tax dollars to ensure savings. NCUA was founded in 1970.
It’s a three-member board agency headquartered in Alexandria. In case of the failure of a credit union, the NCUA pays the deposit of insurance to the depositor.
|Parameters of Comparison||FDIC||NCUA|
|Stands for||Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.||National Credit Union Administration.|
|What is it||FDIC is a financial agency regulated by the government which insures customer deposits in banks.||NCUA is a nonprofit institution established to protect accounts at federal credit unions.|
|Insurance||The insurer of banks.||The insurer of credit unions.|
|Purpose||The purpose of FDIC is to maintain the confidence of the public in the financial system of a nation.||The purpose of NCUA is to regulate federal credit unions and to protect the funds of their members.|
|Establishment||FDIC was established in 1933.||NCUA was established in 1970.|
|Profit||It’s a for-profit financial organization, does not share its profit.||It’s a not-for-profit financial institution.|
What is FDIC?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a government department that insures bank deposits. It was founded in 1933 to maintain financial stability in public. If any FDIC-insured institution fails, then the FDIC steps in to protect the funds.
It maintains a reserve of cash to pay off depositors in case of bank failure. It also plays a role as a bank regulator. It was established during the years of the Great Depression when many American banks collapsed.
FDIC is not a bank. It is a government-owned insurance system for banks. Generally, FDIC insures bank deposits. If your bank is FDIC insured, it should indicate somewhere on its website.
FDIC insurance covers all types of deposits received at an insured bank, such as deposits in a checking account, savings account, money market account, and also financial items, including money orders, cashier’s checks, etc.
The FDIC does not cover money invested in bonds, mutual funds, equities, and life insurance policies.
The FDIC provides Bank Deposit Insurance to nearly all customers of Retail Banking in the USA. The FDIC offered deposit insurance at 5,256 institutions in September 2019. There are also some distance ownership categories applied for FDIC.
Account categories comprise joint accounts, single accounts, retirement accounts, revocable trust accounts, employee accounts, government accounts, and so on.
What is NCUA?
The National Credit Union Administration, or NCUA, supervises credit union funds. It protects the funds in savings, checking, and money market accounts. Credit unions are similar to banks in many ways, and it’s a not-for-profit financial institutions.
The NCUA, or the National Credit Union Administration, established in 1970, allows the customer to maintain savings and checking accounts.
It is important to note that the NCUA generally ensures all the credit unions under NCUA. Money market accounts, share certificates, revocable trust accounts, irrevocable trust accounts, and savings accounts are protected by federal share insurance.
It has a three-member board of directors who serve six-year of service after being appointed by the President.
The NCUSIF protects federal credit union accounts, and it insures about 98% of all credit unions in the US. It is backed by the government.
Additionally, Federal share insurance protects money in our accounts, and the NCUA frequently reviews how federal credit unions work.
If a credit union fails, the NCUA will transfer your money to another federally insured credit union.
Main Differences Between FDIC and NCUA
- Only credit institutions are handled through the FDIC and make use of the deposit insurance fund. NCUA, on the other hand, makes use of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.
- FDIC stands for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. On the other hand, NCUA stands for National Credit Union Administration.
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was established in 1933, on July 16. On the other hand, National Credit Union Administration was established in 1970.
- The FDIC regulates and insures bank deposits. On the other hand, the NCUA ensures credit union deposits.
- NCUA credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions that their members manage. On the other hand, FDIC is a for-profit institution that does not share its profit with the depositors.
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page. | <urn:uuid:89b67afb-6c87-456f-b4d1-d25687831a80> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-fdic-and-ncua/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224645810.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20230530131531-20230530161531-00604.warc.gz | en | 0.930896 | 1,488 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Researchers found that for nearly 36,000 Taiwanese adults with shingles, the chances of developing cancer over the next several years were on par with national statistics.
Shingles - formally known as herpes zoster - is a painful condition caused by a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox, which is known as varicella-zoster. Once you have chickenpox, the virus goes into a dormant state and dwells in the body's nerve fibers.
Varicella-zoster most often reactivates in the elderly or people with weakened immune systems, including some cancer patients.
Thus, years ago, doctors thought people with shingles might be at increased risk of having an undiagnosed cancer, or of developing cancer in the future. But research since then has indicated that's not the case.
The new findings, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, offer more reassurance.
The study is also one of the first to focus on an Asian population. In Taiwan, people with shingles still undergo more cancer testing than those without the condition, according to Dr. Yi-Tsung Lin, of Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
"Our findings suggest that the extensive cancer survey is not necessary," Lin told Reuters Health in an email.
In the U.S., doctors have already stopped routinely looking for cancer in patients with shingles, according to Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.
In theory, people with shingles could have an increased cancer risk: If having shingles is a sign that their immune defenses are down, then cancerous cells might be able to slip past the guards too.
And back in the 1970s, Lichtenfeld said, doctors thought people with shingles were more vulnerable to certain cancers. But then studies started to throw that idea into question.
"Now it's generally accepted that we should not be doing an extensive (cancer) workup on patients with shingles," Lichtenfeld said.
The main new piece from this latest study is the fact that it was done in Asia, according to Lichtenfeld - since past research on shingles and cancer has mostly come out of Western countries.
The findings are based on records from 35,871 adults treated for shingles between 2000 and 2008.
During that time, 895 people were also diagnosed with cancer at some point after their shingles diagnosis. That was a bit lower than the number that would be expected in the general population (905 cases).
The findings were similar when Lin's team looked at men and women separately, and at different age groups.
Lichtenfeld said that if people with a history of shingles are concerned about any new symptoms they are having, they should talk to their doctors.
But there's no reason that people newly diagnosed with shingles should be routinely evaluated for cancer - or undergo standard cancer screenings any more often than other people do.
Studies suggest that about 25 percent of people suffer from shingles at some point in their lives. It usually begins with a burning pain or itch in one location on one side of the body, followed by a rash of fluid-filled blisters.
Most shingles cases go away with medication, but occasionally people continue to feel nerve pain for months afterwards.
In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine against shingles, made from a weakened form of the chickenpox virus, for adults older than 60.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/Qg0hbq CMAJ, online September 17, 2012.Copyright © 2015, Daily Press | <urn:uuid:19795e7e-e18d-4599-8788-baff36f7d8b8> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://www.dailypress.com/health/sns-rt-us-shingles-cancer-riskbre88g13o-20120917-story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246656887.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045736-00063-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970465 | 757 | 3.171875 | 3 |
The shortage of nests by the progressive disappearance of preferred mature trees, habitat disturbance by tourism, and illegal poaching of chicks have previously damaged the Red-tailed Amazon population. The project has helped to reverse the trend and the population has grown from 2,500 individuals to at least 7,450 registered today. The project area has been in this case the state of Parana, on the south-east coast of Brazil.
Conservation status: Category VU (Vulnerable) in the Red List of the IUCN.
Wild population: 9.176, increasing.
Captive population: Total unknown. 51 in the European Species Programme (EEP)
Halting the loss of important trees and promoting the recovery of the habitat of the species, in order to enable recovery and growth.
The main strategy of this project has incorporated the monitoring and surveillance of nests, and the work with local communities to help provide alternative income to the felling of the trees needed for nesting, and the illicit removal of chicks.
In addition to installing a monitoring system and monitoring of nests to study the biology of the species and prevent theft of chicks, the project installs artificial nests that allow these birds continue their breeding process.
Raising awareness in the local communities of the risks of felling the nesting trees, mainly the guanandi. This presents difficulties spread unevenly across the different villages in the area. These are people that barely cover their basic needs with the over-exploitation of natural resources, and therefore need alternatives. A major initiative has been the promotion of beekeeping, using native, stingless bees, to generate income from the sale of honey. As the result of new nests, we can expect the fledging of 150 chicks per year.
Paraná (south-east coast)
Research organization for Wildlife and Environmental Education (SPVS)
Other organizations involved
Guaraqueçaba Beekeeping Association
Institute for Ecological Research (IPE)
State University of Sao Paulo
Natural History Museum, Curitiba
Funds since 1997: 561,409 $ | <urn:uuid:8866d4cd-46cb-45f5-b6d8-86ddaf54a59d> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | http://www.loroparque-fundacion.org/en/seguimiento-y-conservacion-de-la-amazona-colirroja/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187823284.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20171019122155-20171019142155-00232.warc.gz | en | 0.9236 | 423 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Author Donald Davidson wrote of the decline of Northern cities committed to progress and the past resistance of Southern cities like Charleston and Savannah to the relentless march of industrial capitalism. But, he observed the ruins all around us, “the ruins of societies no less than the ruins of cities. Over the ruins stream mobs led by creatures no longer really human – creatures who, whether they make shift to pass as educators, planners, editors, commissars, or presidents . . .” lead the way on the path to destruction.
Bernhard Thuersam, Circa1865
Southern Conception of the Good Life
“Continuity of family, of family life, and family position – irrespective of economic status – was in fact a great distinction of Charleston among old American cities; for elsewhere that continuity had been generally broken by one cause or another. With this continuity Charleston had a stability that expressed itself in the pattern of its streets and the conservatism of its architecture. The map of Charleston in 1948 was not substantially different from the map of Charleston two centuries before.
If John Stuart, whom George III in 1763 appointed superintendent of Indian affairs in the South, could have returned in 1948 to seek his home, he would have found it at 106 Tradd Street, just where he built it in 1772 – for a brief occupancy, as it happened, since the Revolution ejected him, as a Tory, rather speedily from his new house.
The secret of Charleston’s stability, if it was any secret, was only the old Southern principle that material considerations, however important, are means not ends, and should always be subdued to the ends they are supposed to serve, should never be allowed to dominate, never be mistaken for ends in themselves.
If they are mistaken for ends, they dominate everything, and then you get instability. You get the average modern city, you get New York and Detroit, you get industrial civilization, world wars, Marxist communism, the New Deal.
Historians, noting that the antebellum South was in a sense materialistic, in that it found ways of prospering from the sale of cotton and tobacco, and relied heavily upon slave labor, have had the problem of explaining why that same South developed a chivalrous, courteous, religious, conservative and stable society quite different from that which obtained in the also materialistic, but more industrialized, rational, idealistic, progressive North.
The planters’ “aristocratic” leadership was the result, not the cause, of a general diffusion of standards of judgment that all the South, even the Negro slaves, accepted a basic principle of life. Mr. Francis Butler Simkins, in his book The South Old and New, has taken securer than the average historian when he notes that the South at the outbreak of the Civil War was almost the only true religious society left in the Western world.
That old, religious South set the good life above any material means to life and consistently preferred the kind of material concerns that would least interfere with and best contribute to the good life. Its preferred occupations were agriculture, law, the church and politics – pursuits which develop the whole man rather than the specialist, the free-willed individual rather than the anonymous unit of the organized mass.
[With] reference to material means of existence, such as money, one could clinch the discourse by pointing out the traditional attitude of the Southern Negro toward work and wages. If you paid the Negro twice the normal wage for a day’s work, you did not get more work from him – that is to say, more devotion to work within a given period, with increased production as the result. Not at all.
The Negro simply and ingeniously worked only half as many days or hours as before – and spent the rest of the time in following his conception of the good life: in hunting, dancing, singing, social conversation, eating, religion, and love. This well-known habit of the Negro’s, disconcerting to employers and statisticians, was absolutely correct according to Southern principles.
The Negro, so far as he had not been corrupted into heresy by modern education, was the most traditional of Southerners, the mirror which faithfully and lovingly reflected the traits that Southerners once all but unanimously professed.
That had been the idea in Charleston too. It was what Mr. Simkins in his book, perhaps being misled by his historical predecessors, had called the “country gentleman” idea. But Charleston, which had always been urban, always a town or a city of counting-houses, warehouses, factors, bankers, financial agents, and the like, was not a city of country gentlemen, exactly.
It had agreed with the country gentleman and with others of every sort, including the Negro, on letting the relationship between work, wages and life be determined by the metaphysical judgment indicated above. That was what made Charleston Charleston and not “The Indigo City” or something of the kind.”
(Still Rebels, Still Yankees, and Other Essays, “Some Day in Old Charleston,” Donald Davidson, LSU Press, 1957, pp. 221-224) | <urn:uuid:9e6abad2-ca81-4cc5-a73d-4186b9133491> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | http://circa1865.org/2014/11/23/260/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315936.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821110541-20190821132541-00182.warc.gz | en | 0.971406 | 1,060 | 2.9375 | 3 |
With the launch today of its first Nuclear Energy Outlook, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) makes an important contribution to ongoing discussions of nuclear energy’s potential role in the energy mixes of its member countries. As world energy demand continues to grow unabated, many countries face serious concerns about the security of energy supplies, rising energy prices and climate change stemming from fossil fuel consumption.
In his presentation, the NEA Director-General Luis Echávarri is emphasising the role that nuclear power could play in delivering cost-competitive and stable supplies of energy, while also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In one Outlook scenario, existing nuclear power technologies could provide almost four times the current supply of nuclear-generated electricity by 2050. Under this scenario, 1400 reactors of the size commonly in use today would be in operation by 2050. But in order to accomplish such an expansion, securing political and societal support for the choice of nuclear energy is vital. An ongoing relationship between policy makers, the nuclear industry and society to develop knowledge building and public involvement will become increasingly important, the publication notes. Moreover, governments have a clear responsibility to maintain continued effective safety regulation, advance efforts to develop radioactive waste disposal solutions and uphold and reinforce the international non-proliferation regime.
The authors find that the security of energy from nuclear power is more reliable than that for oil or gas. Additionally, uranium’s high energy density means that transport is less vulnerable to disruption, and storing a large energy reserve is easier than for fossil fuels. One tonne of uranium produces the same energy as 10 000 to 16 000 tonnes of oil using current technology. Ongoing technological developments are likely to improve that performance even more.
Until the middle of the century the dominant reactor type in use is likely to be "Generation III+" light water reactors, the name referring to their further improved safety characteristics and economic performance in comparison with existing designs. By 2030, Generation IV energy system concepts offering competitively priced and reliable operations with minimised waste production, as well as opening up opportunities to produce hydrogen fuel for the transport sector, are expected to be commercially available.
Nuclear Energy Outlook
OECD, Paris, 2008 - ISBN 978-92-64-05410-3.
€ 105, £ 81, US$ 161, ¥ 16 800.
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NEA membership consists of 30 OECD countries. The mission of the NEA is to assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international co-operation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The NEA also provides authoritative assessments and forges common understandings on key issues, as input to government decisions on nuclear energy policy and to broader OECD policy analyses in areas such as energy and sustainable development. The information, data and analyses it provides draw on one of the best international networks of technical experts. | <urn:uuid:d2b41eda-026f-4907-94f6-14ddaabfda74> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.oecd-nea.org/press/2008/2008-05.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207925917.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113205-00139-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914113 | 746 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Effects of nano-structured silver layers on attachment and survival of bacterial cells
An increasing number of potentially pathogenic bacteria develop multidrug resistance and thus cause massive problems in health care. Consequently, alternative approaches to combat pathogens are sought. Recently, silver containing nano-polymer coatings for artificial transplants have been developed in order to reduce post-surgery infection rates. Our approach is to investigate the effects and inhibitory mechanism(s) of nano-structured silver on bacterial cells and their abilities to colonies surfaces. Silver particles are embedded in a nano-composite coating which has been developed to guarantee highest possible antibacterial effects without harming host cells. Silver ions are released and exhibit their antimicrobial properties on the coated surface. Bacterial resistance mechanisms – mainly heavy metal efflux systems – are being investigated and are thought to reduce or even overcome the cell-toxic effects of the released silver ions and thus give
rise to bacterial survival.
Effects of silver ions on disulfide bridge formation in bacterial as well as eukaryotic proteins. | <urn:uuid:d5104267-e2bf-4d60-bed4-780593a90113> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://mullrich.user.jacobs-university.de/former-group-members/poroshat-khalilpour/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912203493.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20190324210143-20190324232143-00386.warc.gz | en | 0.94981 | 214 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Irish High Crosses
A high cross is a freestanding Christian cross made of stone or wood. This unique Irish form of art was born and grew sometime between the ninth and the twelfth centuries A.D. The artists worked with wood, velum, and metal in addition to stone. During this time, Ireland experienced its greatest moments in art, known as The Golden Age of Ireland.
Many high crosses, at different stages of development were created throughout these centuries. At Monasterboice, County Louth there is Muiredach's Cross which is recognised as the best example of a High Cross in Ireland. It is covered in carvings of scenes from the bible. The first image to be illuminated by sunrise is Eve giving Adam the apple and the last scene illuminated during sunset is Jesus being crucified. There are also two other crosses at Monasterboice, The North and West Crosses as well as a round tower. Single high crosses still stand in many locations such as Drumcliff, County Sligo, Dysart O’Dea, County Clare.
It is not certain whether the earliest high crosses were created by the Irish or the British. Those early surviving crosses seem to have come from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. The native dwellers of this territory were converted to Christianity and influenced by Irish missionaries. These high crosses offer some of the strongest arguments and evidences of how powerful religious communities influenced, supported, and encouraged art in early Christian Ireland.
Early crosses were usually only about eight feet high. As time passed, the crosses of Ireland were created to be three times that height, and much bulkier in depth and width, to offer larger surface areas for decorative carving.
At Clonmacnoise near Athlone you can view a number of High crosses. The North Cross is the oldest of the four crosses, it was built c. 800. Only the sandstone shaft and base survive. The base is a former millstone. Cross of the Scriptures: This 4-metre high sandstone cross is one of the most skillfully executed of the surviving high crosses in Ireland, and of particular interest for its surviving inscription, which asks a prayer for Flann, King of Ireland, and Colmn who made the cross, both individuals who were also responsible for the building of the Cathedral.
The cross was carved from a single piece of sandstone c.900. The surface of the cross has been divided into panels, showing scenes including the Crucifixion, the Last Judgement, and Christ in the Tomb.
At Carndonagh in County Donegal there is a high cross which is also known as the Donagh or St. Patrick’s Cross. It is located in the town of Carndonagh on the Inishowen Peninsula.
Durrow Abbey and High Cross is a historic site located off the some 8 kilometres from the town of Tullamore in County Offaly. It is one of the most important monastic sites in all of Ireland.
To this day, the site remains a largely undisturbed early historic and medieval monastic site containing a complex of archaeological monuments, ecclesiastical and secular, visible and sub-surface.
Market Cross, Kells County Meath dating from the ninth century, is a one of the four surviving High Crosses of Kells. It was originally located at Cross Street but now is protected at the visitor centre nearby. Known as the “Cross of the Gate” of the monastery it is a Termon Cross, meaning that once inside the boundary of the monastic area, a fugitive could claim Sanctuary. The crosses were used primarily for religious instruction. Carved on the faces of the crosses are scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
In Kilcullen there are two distinct Irish High Crosses, and what may be the base of a third, at different locations within the churchyard. The "decorated high cross" has four illustrated faces, with a range of panels. It did not survive intact – it is known that it was leaning by 1862, and later lay on the ground for some years, and when it was remounted in the late 19th century, parts of at least one panel were lost, and parts of the panel which had been facing upwards had been badly eroded. The "plain high cross" may have had the beginnings of decoration, but has no finished ornamentation.
In Clones County Monaghan you will find the remains of a tenth century sandstone cross standing in the centre of the town called the Diamond.
Castledermot in County Kildare also has a tall high cross called the North Cross and is over 3m high. There is also the remains of another cross.
As you can see when you travel the roads across Ireland’s countryside, make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to experience the beauty and history of Ireland’s High Crosses. More info | <urn:uuid:b11f0c90-bb08-4552-aedf-995cd68c018b> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://www.lookaroundireland.com/in-focus/high-crosses/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398445208.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205405-00347-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979904 | 1,018 | 3.265625 | 3 |
RENÉ TAMPIER - ANOTHER FIRST FLYING CAR
Just like Glenn Curtiss, René Tampier was the hit of an aeronautics show, in his case the 1921 Salon de l'Aviation, held in awesome coincidence at the Grand Palais in Paris. One not-so-slight difference: Tampier flew his Avion-automobile, and not for short hops, and then drove the beast through the streets of Paris up to Montmartre.
Engineering inventiveness seems to run in families. (See Stanley Hiller.) Long before Tampier was born, in Bordeaux, France, in 1885, his great-grandfather was renowned as the inventor of the automatic revolver, according to a French newspaper at any rate. His father organized the Gordon-Bennett automobile races, although he had to wait until the automobile was invented. René was sent off to study engineering in Paris and Heidelberg. He met Wilbur Wright when he toured France in 1908 and caught the aviation bug. His best-known achievement was the invention of the bloctube carburetor, ubiquitous in the Great War in rotary-engined planes.
Military applications dominated the industry in post-war France and like so many other flying cars to follow, the Avion-automobile touted its nimbleness in switching environments as a prime attribute for both the Army and Navy. A brochure entitled An Aeroplane-Motor Car, written in English for American customers, has been preserved on the Corpus Historique Étampois site.
AN AEROPLANE-MOTOR CAR
René Tampier’s aeroplane-motor car marks a new epoch in the history of aviation as it attempts to solve important problems which may be summed up as follows:
1) Fog problem.
In case of a fog, the pilot who frequently finds that he has lost his bearing, cannot descend where he likes; the fastest solution is for him to try and find a high point, the nearest to his point of landing, which is not shrouded by fog, and to land there? Up to now, the aeroplane in such case had to stop there, but now it can get back to its landing point.
2) Garage problem.
The possibility of leaving the house in an aeroplane, reaching a starting ground, returning to the said place, bringing the aeroplane back and garaging it by the side of the motor car, opens new vistas to every one, the cost of hangar, mechanics, etc. being eliminated.
3) Problem of returning in case of a breakdown.
The very high cost of labour for dismantling, placing on truck and transporting the aeroplane in case of a breakdown, is now replaced by the low cost of returning by road.
4) Problem of starting.
The auxiliary petrol engine makes it possible to start at once the large engine. It does away with the necessity of employing a mechanic for starting the propeller; it avoids moreover the use of carbonic acid or compressed air car buoys or of accumulator batteries difficult to keep charged in a hangar.
5) Problem of control of the inner parts of the aeroplane.
a) In large aeroplanes, a greater force than that of a man will be useful for keeping the aeroplane in its direction, and it will be supplied by the small engine.
b) In the latest aeroplanes, the lighting is supplied by a dynamo driven by the large engine. The small engine avoids the necessity of using for that purpose part of that power of the large engine.
c) For operating certain apparatus intended for wireless telegraphy, photography, etc. propellers controlling the differences of speed of the aeroplane, are something used which produce resistance to the advance. The auxiliary engine allows a more mechanical control.
d) In case of control in the air of an aeroplane without a pilot by another, the small engine will be supply the necessary power.
e) In case of the use of stabilisers of any type, the small engine could be used for operating them.
f) The forced feed of the engines could be effected by means of a turbine driven by the small engine, the power of which will then increased.
When flying at high altitudes, the use of a source of power independent of that of the engines of the aeroplane, from the point of heating, ventilation, etc. is of great value.
6) Military problem.
a) The aeroplane-motor car can accompany cavalry or artillery.
This aeroplane with folding wings is more particularly valuable for the navy when it is desired to carry on board ship aeroplane ready to fly. The starting of the large engine by an auxiliary petrol engine is a useful on water as it is on land.
b) Squadron could be formed, capable of moving in case of fog for instance and changing several times a day the landing point, without it being necessary to dismantle the apparatus. Their camouflage becomes easy, they can be concealed in the first line in ruins.
c) An ordinary aeroplane of the size of that of Mr. René Tampier, requires several hours for erecting and adjusting it ; a squadron provided with Tampier machines is ready to fight in less than an hour. Moreover, ten aeroplanes-motor cars cab be stored where formerly there was room only for two or three ordinary aeroplanes.
d) The Tampier machine is easier to manage on the road than a lorry ; it runs faster, it can start on any ploughed ground, provided that the wheels do not skid ; it can climb any hills. It does with hand labour, tractors, etc. required in the case of long journeys. Machines of 10 and 15 tons can easily be moved with an auxiliary engine.
e) In large machines, the manipulation of bombs, torpedoes, etc. can be facilitated by the use of the auxiliary engine.
f) The controls of machine guns, guns, etc. could depend on the small engine, and will continue then work even in case of a breakdown of the large engine.
g) Either in the colonies or on long journeys, the starting engine will be a more reliable means of starting [p.12] the large engine than any other device. In case of a reconnaissance in uninhabited countries, of a breakdown or failure of fuel required for supplying the engines which consume 20 gallons per hour, the small engine with 2 gallons will sometimes enable the lost pilot to find human beings.
h) The folding cell has the advantage of not requiring a specialist for its re-erecting. A squadron without a specialist fitter of cell, could fly after the wings have been examined by its chief, any want of adjustment being clearly noticeable when they are folded.
i) A whole new organization of squadron could be provided with René Tampier’s machines: transport of tents, preparation of landing ground, hangars, etc. are simplified. The chances of destruction are reduced owing to the facility of movement of the machine, equal to that of a car.
j) The folding René Tampier cell, of excellent efficiency, can used with various bodies, even with different engines forming families of aeroplanes that can get into a shed or travel on road.
Mr. René Tampier has utilized on his machine a 300 H.P. Hispano-Suiza engine provided with the René Tampier feed by a pump in the tank, driven by the engine, bloctube carburetor without a float. His experience with the feeding of aeroplane engines has enabled him to do away with the variations due to defective carburetion, and to carry out quickly his program.
Mr. René Tampier has chiefly tried to produce an excellent aeroplane. He calls an excellent aeroplane that which obeys at once and in an absolute manner the pilot who must not have to make any effort for keeping his aeroplane in position, bringing it back to the said position or inclining it.
In spite of the addition of parts which do not exist in other aeroplane, the René Tampier two-seater has its masses very close together; its controls arranged at the end of the wings or of a light tail, are highly efficacious. Its load is less than 41 kilogs per square meter; its small tween plane compatible with the small width of the upper wings, makes it possible to bring the masses close together in the vertical direction. Its great wings spread of 13 meters makes it a real storm bird, with long and narrow wings. Mr. René Tampier who has been experimenting [p.16] for three years, in his work and in the air, with the same 300HP. Hispano-Suiza engine, provided it with a slightly larger propeller than that generally utilized on this engine. He has limited its speed to about 1.600 revolutions, instead of the 1850 which the 300HP. engine can give. At less than 1000 revolutions the aeroplane without descending. The throttle open, the machine exceeding 110 miles per hour, can resist any winds. In running order it weighs 1300 kilogs.
Mr. René Tampier who flies as a passenger with his pilot Meyniel, can operate, on his right, the starting magneto, on his left, the handles controlling the small engine, the change speed levers and the brake on the differential, the lever throwing into gear the large engine. At his feet are: on the right, the pedal of the brake on the wheels; on the left, the pedal for declutching the small engine. This engine is in one block with its clutch and change speed gear; it has 4 cylinders, is water-cooled; its cooling is ensured by the radiator of the large engine. The clutch is of multiple disc type. The differential is secured to the landing frame. Shafts with universal joint drive the wheels which when the aeroplane lands, are declutched and rotate loose on their spindles. They are provided with brakes.
The steering, inclined, by hand wheel, differs from those generally used. The axle is fixed; the adjustable journals are controlled by the connection bar, sandows forming spring, make it possible to move them up and down. The moving parts are light. When flying a part of the steering gear is folded under the body of the aeroplane, the other one, comprising the wheels, can be dismantled and securely fixed in the machine.
On the ground, the aeroplane is a easily managed as in the air. Having started from Buc, after two days flight, it passed through Versailles, Boulogne sur Seine and got into the Grand Palais on the eve of the opening of the aeronautics exhibition on the 11th November 1921. The day after closing, the aeroplane-motor car climbed Montmartre, moved about then for two hours in Paris proving that it could climb any gradients and move in the thickest traffic. Beautifully sprung, it exceeds 15 miles per hour.
To change from the wing spread of 13 meters in the air, to 2 meters 50 of the machine on the ground, Mr. René Tampier turns each half cell about the rear mast nearest to the fuselage, after having raised part of the lower wing, the ailerons intersect each other; the upper wings almost touch each other.
When the machine which has been running on the ground, is transformed in order to fly, the steering gear can be simply folded under the fuselage, without dismantling it; the time required for complete transformation, including the unfolding of the wings, is then about twenty minutes.
The machine was built in Mr. René Tampier’s workshop, 1 , rue de Bellevue, Boulogne sur Seine; where the following parts were machined on this machine tools: cylinder, gear cases, differential, landing frames, etc. A work shop has built for the first time the motor car part and the aeroplane part of a machine.
The quick getting ready of the machine is due to the fact it is the outcome of several years of study and of practical work placed at the disposal of a high conscience which has carried out its idea with devotion and all the time required.
Mr. René Tampier had collaborators of great value, and all their combined efforts have produced one of the finest works ever realized in aviation.
On the 9th October 1890 a mechanical bird ridden by a man, left the ground for the first time; it was animated by the genius of the great Frenchman, Ader. It took possession of the air, then it descended and stopped. It was then no longer anything but a poor thing made of wood, of metal and canvas, a body without soul, which was moved with difficulty, whilst around it jumped about its master : the bird.
At present, this corpse has moved; it vibrates, its heart is heard to beat; with the wings folded, it advance, turns, goes back…
The mechanical bird is now complete. It now knows how to use its feet.
Etampes 23rd October 1921.
Complete or not, new military ideas were not what governments wanted to spend money on in the 1920s. Tampier's folding wings remained influential for decades on designers of flying cars - something had to be done to reduce the width to a single auto lane - but the aeroplane-motor car received as much space in his obituary as his design for a pilotless craft control by radio. In the long run, his service to airplane history lay in incremental improvements, the small changes to universal joints and hinges that pilots thanked him for but fail to make headlines. He died in 1944 in Montreal while running a factory, Bloctube Controls - on Bordeaux St. for aficionados of irony - that made parts for Lancaster bombers.
René Tampier unquestionably drove and flew a machine designed for those dual purposes. Doesn't that make him the originator of the flying car? Well, check those pictures of the plane in flight and the car on the ground. The difference is subtle and easy to miss. The plane has two wheels and the auto has four. That second axle wasn't part of the plane assembly, and had to be brought in and attached after landing and consequently left behind while flying. That's the kind of critical technicality that gets buffs arguing long into the night. | <urn:uuid:55f5de27-5f68-4e3d-a297-d317f176086c> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.flyingcarsandfoodpills.com/ren-tampier---another-first-flying-car | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323585768.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20211023193319-20211023223319-00360.warc.gz | en | 0.95677 | 3,030 | 2.609375 | 3 |
For the first time, functional hair follicles have been grown in cultured skin. Researchers behind the advancement say this project will be useful for studying mechanisms of hair follicle induction, evaluating new drugs for stimulating or inhibiting hair growth, and for modelling skin conditions.
Published in Cell Reports (Jan. 2, 2018), the paper describes how the investigators derived skin organoids, comprised of both epidermal and dermal layers, from a homogeneous sample of mouse pluripotent stem cells, and how those organoids spontaneously produce new hair follicles in a way that mimics normal embryonic hair development.
“The skin is a complex organ that has been difficult to fully recreate and maintain in culture for research purposes,” said senior author Karl Koehler, PhD, assistant professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, in a press release. “Our study shows how to encourage hair development from lab grown mouse skin, which has been particularly troublesome for researchers to recreate in culture.”
In the cultured stem cells, the epidermal and dermal cells formed spheres—the organoids—with the epidermal cells on the inside, and the dermal cells on the outside.
The team identified the specific culture conditions that allowed these organoids to proceed through the stages of development much like skin in an embryo.
“After about 20 days, we were amazed to see that skin organoids sprouted hair follicles,” Dr. Koehler said. “The roots of the follicles protrude from the skin organoids in all directions.”
Researchers from Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., were able to confirm that the technique developed by Dr. Koehler and his team was reproducible with stem cells from other mouse strains.
“In addition to the major epidermal and dermal cell types we also found specialized cell types, such as melanocytes, Merkel cells, adipocytes, sebaceous gland cells, and hair follicle stem cells in organoids,” Dr. Koehler said. “This is fascinating because it shows that if we derive the basic building blocks of skin together in culture, then these diverse cell types will self-assemble on their own.”
Jiyoon Lee, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Koehler’s lab and lead author on the paper, said the findings are a blueprint toward building complete skin from stem cells, and might lead to reduced need for lab animals in research and improved quality of life for human patients with skin conditions. | <urn:uuid:723ce142-5d32-429b-9cd1-12d43e32dcdc> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://www.derm.city/post/hair-follicles-grown-from-cultured-stem-cells | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707948235171.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20240305124045-20240305154045-00638.warc.gz | en | 0.948287 | 537 | 3.21875 | 3 |
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By Brother André Marie, M.I.C.M.
Complementing Mr. Coulombe’s talk, Brother André introduced us to a great English martyr, Saint Robert Southwell. We learn from Brother that the saint was born into a wealthy family, his father being a courtier in Norfolk. Richard Southwell, his father, wavered between Catholicism and apostasy, drawn to the latter for a time, but dying with the Faith. His mother was a pious Catholic. At the age of fifteen, Robert entered the Jesuit English College of Douay in Flanders. He received a heavy cross however when he was rejected by the Society. Undaunted, he walked to Rome in order to apply directly to the Jesuit Novitiate there. Having been accepted in Rome he made his profession in 1580 continuing his studies there at the Gregorian University. Here is where he developed his prodigious skills in writing Latin poetry. One of his teachers was Saint Robert Bellarmine. Ordained a priest in 1584, Southwell, after reading about the martyrdom of Saint Edmund Campion, petitioned the Superior General to be sent to the English mission. As he and his companion, Father Garnet, left Rome, the General is said to have murmured, “lambs to the slaughter.” Arriving in England he took up residence in the home of Earl Phillip Howard, a convert, who would be martyred soon after Father Southwell. In London and its environs Father Southwell administered in secret to the English Catholics. When he could, he wrote poetry in English, concentrating heavily on spurring on the faithful to embrace perfect contrition for their sins. This, he believed, would prepare them for a possible imprisonment where they would not have the last rites. Our Jesuit was arrested in 1593 and was tortured by a horrible invention called “the manacles.” Brother André provides the details of his martyrdom three years later in 1595. Brother also shared some of Southwell’s exquisite and heart-rending poetry.
From 2016 SBC Conference
File Size: 52 MB
No posts found | <urn:uuid:a43a7824-3508-4900-a0b4-336bd411db84> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://store.catholicism.org/lessons-from-saint-robert-southwell-mp3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917119225.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031159-00285-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979439 | 446 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Earthquakes, wildfire, and blizzards are just some examples of how Mother Nature can fool with you. There isn’t much you can do to prevent them, but at least you can be prepared to deal with the consequences.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends that people do three things to prepare for and respond to a potential emergency situation: assemble an emergency supply kit; make a plan; and get informed about what types of emergencies may occur where you live and how to respond to them.
In general, FEMA recommends that home emergency kits contain enough food and water for three days per person. Keep the kit where you can get to it easily if you need it. It should be portable enough for you to take it with you if you have to evacuate.
Here are the items that FEMA recommends for a basic emergency supply kit:
One gallon per person per day for at least three days. Use for both drinking and sanitation.
At least a three-day supply per person of non-perishable food. This can be canned or dehydrated or a combination. Make sure to pick foods your family will eat and remember any special dietary requirements. Try to avoid foods that will make you thirsty.
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio
FEMA also suggests you include a NOAA Weather Radio. Make sure to include extra batteries.
Again, hand-crank or battery-powered and make sure to include extra batteries.
First aid kit
Basic stuff like bandages, antiseptic cream, pain relievers, and antacids. Also any routine medication for household members.
Used to signal for help.
Dust masks, plastic sheeting, and duct tape
The masks may be need to filter out dust or smoke. The plastic sheeting and duct tape may be used if you need to build a temporary shelter.
Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties
Use for personal sanitation.
Tools to turn off utilities
You may need to turn the natural gas, electricity, or water supply to your house. Learn how to do this and make sure you have the tools you need to do the job.
Can opener and matches
Does this go without saying.
FEMA also has developed a longer list of additional items to consider adding to the basic kits. Visit the ready.gov website for additional information and recommendations.
Commercial kits for up to two people are also available for $100 to $200. These kits typically contain water packets, dehydrated food, and most of the other supplies on this list packed into a small backpack that you can just grab and go if the need arises.
If you spend a lot of time driving, you might want to keep an emergency kit of this sort in your car as well. And for winter driving safety, take a look at our winter emergency kit for your car. | <urn:uuid:fdbf96e0-1620-4c53-98d1-44db98952cb6> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://247wallst.com/consumer-products/2016/11/27/putting-together-a-home-emergency-supply-kit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257648313.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20180323141827-20180323161827-00725.warc.gz | en | 0.937243 | 588 | 3.484375 | 3 |
A naumachia was the reenactment of a naval battle in a basin or on a lake, a popular albeit costly – and for the participants deadly – entertainment of the masses in ancient Rome. The term naumachia was also used for the location at which the games took place.
Our current read, Sand of the Arena, opens with an imaginative happening of the naumachia of Nero – “…he also exhibited a naval battle in salt water with sea monsters swimming about in it” according to Suetonius’ Life of Nero.
Smith's Dictionary via LacusCurtius has this to say (please note the many e-text links):
NAUMA‑CHIA was the name given to the representation of a sea-fight among the Romans, and also to the place where such engagements took place. These fights were sometimes exhibited in the Circus or Amphitheatre, sufficient water being introduced to float ships, but more generally in buildings especially devoted to this purpose. The first representation of a sea-fight on an extensive scale was exhibited by Julius Caesar, who caused a lake to be dug for the purpose in a part of the Campus Martius, called by Suetonius the “Lesser Codeta” (Dion Cass. XLIII.23; Suet. Jul. Caes. 39); this lake was afterwards filled up in the time of Augustus on the account of the malaria arising from the stagnant water in it (Dion Cass. XLV.17). Augustus also dug a lake (stagnum) near the Tiber for the same purpose, and planted around it a grove of trees (nemus) (Suet. Aug. 43; Tacit. Ann. XII.56, XIV.15). This naumachia was the first permanent one; it continued to be used after others had been made, and was subsequently called the “vetus naumachia” (Suet. Tit. 7; Dion Cass. LXVI.25; Ernesti, ad Suet. Tib. 72). Claudius exhibited a magnificent sea-fight on the lake Fucinus (Tacit. Ann. XII.56; Suet. Claud. 21 ; Dion Cass. LX.33). Nero appears to have preferred the amphitheatre for these exhibitions. Domitian made a new naumachia, and erected a building of stone around it, in which the spectators might sit to see the engagement ( Dion Cass. LXVI.8; Suet. Dom. 4, 5). Representations of naumachiae are sometimes given on the coins of the emperors. (Scheffer, de Militia Navali, iii.2 pp189, 191).
The combatants in these sea-fights, called Naumachiarii (Suet. Claud. 21) , were usually captives (Dion Cass. XLVIII.19) or criminals condemned to death (Dion Cass. LX.33), who fought as in gladiatorial combats, until one party was killed, unless preserved by the clemency of the emperor. The ships engaged in the sea-fights were divided into two parties, called respectively by the names of two different maritime nations, as Tyrians and Egyptians (Suet. Jul. 31), Rhodians and Sicilians (Suet. Claud. 21 ; Dion Cass. LX.33), Persians and Athenians (Dion Cass. LXI.9), Corcyraeans and Corinthians, Athenians and Syracusans, &c. (id., lxvi.25). These sea-fights were exhibited with the same magnificence and lavish expenditure of human life as characterised the gladiatorial combats and other public games of the Romans. In Nero's naumachia there were sea-monsters swimming about in the artificial lake (Suet. Nero, 12; Dion Cass. LXI.9), and Claudius had a silver Triton placed in the middle of the lake Fucinus, who was made by machinery to give the signal for attack with a trumpet (Suet. Claud. 21) . Troops of Nereids were also represented swimming about (Martial, de Spect. 26). I n the sea-fight exhibited by Titus there were 3000 men engaged (Dion Cass. LXVI.25), and in that exhibited by Domitian the ships were almost equal in number to two real fleets (paene justae classes, Suet. Dom. 4). In the battle on the lake Fucinus there were 19,000 combatants (Tacit. Ann. XII.56) and fifty ships on each side (Dion Cass. LX.33).
Known sponsors were Gaius Julius Caear and the emperors Augustus, (probably) Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Titus, Domitian, and Trajan. According to this Wikipedia article, Trajan's naumachia basin was discovered in the 18th century on the grounds of the Vatican City. It had bleachers and the surface was about one sixth the size of the Augustan naumachia. In the absence of any texts, it has to be assumed that it was only used at the time of Trajan. (see Naumachia Vaticana). Also, there, was a Naumachia Philippi (Philip the Arab), which may have been a restoration of the Naumachia Augusti.
Google Books has a related page from Daily Life in Ancient Rome: The People and the City at the Height of the Empire by Jerome Carcopino (revised 2003 with new material to the second edition 1968, Yale University Press, with an introduction & bibliographic essay by Mary Beard – neither of which, unfortunately, is online). Bryn Mawr Review.
Modern naumachiae were performed in France in 1550 in Rouen for Henri II and Catherine de' Medici – view the illustration at the bottom of Fête triomphale et naumachie sur la Seine pour l’entrée royale d’Henri II à Rouen en 1550 – and in Milan in 1807 for Napoleon (figures, doesn't it?). | <urn:uuid:f9428152-f1f1-4ff4-9be7-3afd408e6e59> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://romanhistorybooks.typepad.com/roman_history_books_and_m/2007/03/naumachia.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285315.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00081-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949235 | 1,298 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Limitations of carbon 14 dating
We will deal with carbon dating first and then with the other dating methods.Carbon has unique properties that are essential for life on Earth.Radiocarbon, or Carbon-14, dating is probably one of the most widely used and best known absolute dating methods. Radiocarbon dating relies on a simple natural phenomenon. This allowed for the establishment of world-wide chronologies.The method was developed immediately following World War II by Willard F.Libby and coworkers and has provided age determinations in archeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science.Basically, it is correct to suggest 50,000–95,000 years.
In this article, we will examine the methods by which scientists use radioactivity to determine the age of objects, most notably carbon-14 dating.
Familiar to us as the black substance in charred wood, as diamonds, and the graphite in “lead” pencils, carbon comes in several forms, or isotopes.
One rare form has atoms that are 14 times as heavy as hydrogen atoms: carbon-14, or C ratio gets smaller.
It is confusing when the maximum date for Carbon 14 is listed as 60,000 years and 80,000 years in the same article (Chapter 4 Dating Methods by Roger Patterson and the reference article summary 4.2 by Riddle.) and as 50,000 years in another (The Answers Book) as well as 95,000 years in the Creation College lecture by Dr. This is why there is the disparity in the quoted limits to radiocarbon dating, as highlighted by this inquirer.
This is due to the fact that the AMS instrument has to be calibrated, and yet the organic materials used for calibration (that are supposed to be so old they shouldn't have any detectable radiocarbon left in them) all contain so much radiocarbon that it means samples of unknown age can't yield dates above this radiocarbon barrier.
A child mummy is found high in the Andes and the archaeologist says the child lived more than 2,000 years ago. | <urn:uuid:e0dec1dd-4339-4421-a152-b60b40806b47> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://protcap.internetmagazin-ironiya-sudbyi.ru/limitations-of-carbon-14-dating-1239.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547584547882.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190124121622-20190124143622-00633.warc.gz | en | 0.954621 | 434 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Pickle Springs Natural Area is a deep, forested gorge consisting of geological formations and plants that are found in few other places. Visitors will find examples of a sandstone glade, talus, forest, savanna, as well as a number of rare species of plants and animals. The area is noted for its blooming wild azalea and wildflowers in the spring. Great after a beautiful snow fall as you see. According to local legend, the area is named after William Pickles, a settler from Illinois who owned the land until he was shot by a band of renegades during the Civil War. Pickle Springs and other area creeks flow into Pickle Creek, which in turn traverses into Hawn State Park.
The trail at Pickle Springs Natural Area may be short, but it packs in a ton of scenic beauty.
The 2 mile loop goes by sandstone canyons, glades, bluffs, waterfalls and wanders through a hoodoo complex. | <urn:uuid:b66f189f-adf1-4f08-aac7-bf520337f5a9> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://franzsfeaturedfotos.wordpress.com/tag/winter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154459.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20210803124251-20210803154251-00131.warc.gz | en | 0.958875 | 205 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Finding accurate information on the Internet
The Internet is a valuable source of information, however caution must be taken to assure the information is correct.
We’ve all heard the joke “If it’s on the Internet it must be true!” In reality, anyone can create a website and put information on the Internet whether it’s true or not. Often, entities that are selling a product will only list information that supports their products. It is important as consumers that we seek out balanced, factual information. As a Michigan State University Extension educator, I have worked with many farmers who use the Internet as a valuable resource to increase their knowledge on a wide array of subjects. But how do we sort through all of the correct and incorrect information available to us? Fortunately, there are some clues that can indicate whether the information is credible.
The author should be clearly identified and their credentials should be relevant to the topic. An author writing an informational piece will have their related credentials listed. Don’t be fooled by titles. A person with a PhD can be listed as Dr., but it does not mean he or she is an expert in all subjects. The PhD should be in a field related to the topic and the author’s current position should be clearly identified.
In general, websites with more citations and links will provide you with better information. On a website you are unsure of, it is a good idea to spot check facts with more reputable websites or research papers. Even in articles written by reputable sources, the author may show bias, so it’s still a good idea to look at multiple sources.
A website sponsor with a vested interest in making a profit is not likely to provide balanced information. Often website sponsors appear on the sidebars of a website or across the top. The “About Us” section of a website will often indicate who the website is sponsored by.
The ending of a web address can give you clues as to the reliability of the information.
The website ending .gov means that the website is owned and operated by the government. No one but the government can use .gov so you can feel safe about the content of the website.
The website ending .edu is always affiliated with universities, colleges and educational sites. Usually you can feel safe about the trustworthiness of the content, however, many universities let students host websites using .edu, so not every website is authored by an educator.
The website ending .org was originally set up for non-profit organizations, but the designation no longer exists today. This domain extension is often used for non-profits such as schools and communities, but is also used by for-profit entities.
The website endings .com or .net are open to the public to use. Keep in mind that some websites ending in .com or .net that offer scholarly advice are trying to sell you their product.
Be alert if ...
- The website sponsor is for-profit
- The authors’ credentials are not related to the topic
- The website address ending has .com, .net or .org
Be assured if ...
- The author is qualified to discuss the subject
- The information was reviewed by a qualified person
- The web address ending has .gov or .edu | <urn:uuid:d694988f-35b3-409d-9693-323a3076c9e8> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/finding_accurate_information_on_the_internet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257823947.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071023-00181-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948241 | 671 | 3.359375 | 3 |
2014 Virginia Waterways Cleanups: Volunteer this fall!
This annual cleanup of trash and litter in our rivers and on our beaches is part of the International Coastal Cleanup. If you would like to be a LEADER of a cleanup, please signup to be a Site Captain. Learn more about this statewide hands-on stewardship event.
What did our volunteers find last year?
Volunteers in the 2013 Virginia Waterways Cleanup removed 328,238 pounds of litter and trash from Virginia's rivers, beaches and coastal waters. Volunteers also collected valuable data about the debris found on our waterways in order to find solutions.
Balloons as Litter Research Project
Clean Virginia Waterways is partnering with the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Research Center in a study to better understand the sources, impacts and solutions to balloons as litter. You can help us collect data. Learn more about this study, or click here if you are ready to enter some data.
Media Coverage for Clean Virginia Waterways and our volunteers. | <urn:uuid:0898b5f7-3ebe-4772-83a9-b2e8bde3ebc6> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/WhatsNew.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414637904722.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20141030025824-00149-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899083 | 206 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Hubble delivers consistently beautiful images of the cosmos because its handlers point it to distant galaxies and star clusters, but its image capabilities were not always so breathtaking. The telescope was launched a long way back in the early 1990s, and in the early years of its life it has hardly underestimated its high expectations.
You see, an error in the telescope’s mirror led many of the images to blur and it was not until the lens was in a hurry that researchers understood how bad it was. In 1993, NASA decided to fix it, and now, as the agency celebrates the 25th anniversary of the first Hubble service mission, we can look back and see how well they did.
As NASA explains, Hubble was so groundbreaking that time when they did not know how much better the images would get after the mirror had been replaced with a new one. They knew that the pictures were bad at the time but only how much they could improve was still unknown. Then they took before and after shots of a number of remote sights in space to compare them side by side with both the wrong mirror and the new one.
As you can see both in the image at the top of the page and the one directly above it is a dramatic difference. On their own, the images on the left side of the trials are nice, but with the context of how well they could have been, we can see how much the wrong mirror held the telescope back.
“The image must be taken before the astronauts replaced the camera with the vision-corrected Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, in December 1993, explains NASA.” After the mission, Hubble photographed the galaxy again and it snapped into crystal clear focus. The public celebrated Hubble’s triumphant return to the clear vision that had been promised. Jaw-dropping images of the great universe that followed did not disappoint space enthusiasts. “ | <urn:uuid:34b0c061-c7ae-42f6-92b3-cd0f87c37a0a> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://mag.rjeem.com/just-look-at-how-much-better-hubbles-photos-look-after-it-was-serviced-bgr/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202125.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190319183735-20190319205735-00354.warc.gz | en | 0.979585 | 380 | 3.171875 | 3 |
June 24, 2012 | 6
Despite its many faults (see part I), the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) is considered an influential index to a journal’s quality, and publishing in high-impact journals is essential to a researcher’s academic career.
Reminder: to calculate, for example, the 2010 JIF for a journal -
JIF= (2010 citations to 2009+2008 articles)/(no. of “citable” articles published in 2008+2009)
The JIF did start as a tool helping librarians with subscription decisions, but its influence among authors, readers and editors has increased with time, and so has the scientific community’s interest. More and more papers have been written about the JIF throughout the last thirty years (graph 1).
Different field, different JIF
JIFs vary widely with the discipline. Journals dealing specialized or applied areas will have, on average, lower JIFs than those in pure or fundamental areas (graph 2). The average number of article references correlates with the citation impact of each field. Biochemistry articles, for example, have twice as much citation than mathematics articles.
JIFs also correlate with the number of authors per article, because the more authors an article has, the better the chances it’ll be self-cited. A study of Lancet articles found that even among articles published in the same journal, the most-cited articles had on average 3-5 times more authors than the least cited articles. So the social sciences, with about two authors per article, have less citation impact than fundamental life sciences, with more than four authors per article. The arts and humanities journals’ JIFs are quite pitiful, because scholars in those fields rarely cited journal articles. The highest 2010 JIF in the JCR Cultural Studies category is 0.867.
TR recently launched a new product, the Book Citation Index. It currently covers 30,000 books from publication year 2005 onwards, and 10,000 new books will be added every year. Of course, that means that all the book citations prior to 2005 will still go unnoticed, but at least it’s better than nothing, and we might finally see a bit of humanities coverage.
Drowning in a one-meter-deep (on average) pool.
When researchers publish in high-impact journals, even if their own articles are rarely cited, or not at all, they still enjoy the journals’ prestige. It also works the other way around: a well-cited article can make JIFs considerably higher, especially in small journals. A study done on three biochemistry journals showed that 50% of the journals citations came from the 15% top-cited articles, and that the top half of the most cited articles were cited ten times as much as the lower half. Articles can be published in the same journal and have a completely different scientific impact (as measured by citations, of course).
The two-year citation window
The regular citation window of the JIF is two years. It favors fast-moving fields, where articles are cited quickly but also obsolesce fast. Journals in slower-moving fields, where citations don’t accumulate quite as fast, will have higher JIFs in longer time frames. If we look at the graph of the average JIFs for 200 chemistry journals (graph 3) we see that the five-year JIF curve is smoother, while the two-year curve varies widely. It means that journals with different two-year JIFs might have more similar impact over time.
“Letters” journals, where articles are usually short, tend to receive more citations within the two-year window. On the other hand, the accumulation of citations for review journals is slower. However, reviews tend to get so many citations that even the fraction of citations they get in the short citation window give review journals relatively high JIFs. Campanario (2011) compared two-year and five-year JIFs and found that a longer citation window increased the JIFs of about 72% of the journals, but lowered them for about 27%.
The debate about whether journal self-citations should be included in calculations of the JIF is an old one. Currently, self-citations aren’t excluded from JIFs, but journals with an exceedingly high level of self -citations are sometimes “punished” and excluded from the index for a while. The rate of journal self-citations changes according to discipline and journal, but in general, it’s about 20%. If we’re talking about a specialized journal, the number might be higher. This is the reason why editors sometimes write editorials with dozens of self-citations…
The JIF is a crude index of a journal’s impact (I won’t go as far as to say quality). It was devised in a certain time in history for certain uses and, well, might have been blown out of proportions. Corrections have been suggested throughout the years, but most of them stayed in bibliometric journals rather than influence the general scientific community. Many researchers see the JIF as a definitive measure, but people have to remember that it’s is only one tool in the box of science measuring indices, and a journal JIF says very little of a single article, or researcher, quality. As Seglen (1997) said “Evaluating scientific quality is a notoriously difficult problem which has no standard solution.”
Amin, M, & Mabe, M (2007). Impact factors: use and abuse. Perspectives in Publishing.
Archambault, E., & Lariviere, V. (2009). History of the journal impact factor:
Contingencies and consequences Scientometrics (79), 635-649 DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-2036-x
Seglen, P. O. (1997). Why the impact factor of journals should not be used for evaluating research BMJ (314) DOI: 10.1136/bmj.314.7079.497
Kostoff, R. N. (2007). The difference between highly and poorly cited medical articles in the journal Lancet Scientometrics, 72`3, 513-520 DOI: 10.1007/s11192-007-1573-7
Campanario, J. M. (2011). Empirical study of journal impact factors obtained using
the classical two-year citation window versus a five-year citation window Scientometrics DOI: 10.1007/s11192-010-0334-1
Vanclay, J.K. (2012). Impact factor: outdated artefact or stepping-stone to journal certification? Scientometrics DOI: 10.1007/s11192-011-0561-0 | <urn:uuid:f92393aa-7ceb-4c9c-9e86-215d4cb035cb> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/information-culture/2012/06/24/understanding-the-journal-impact-factor-part-two/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510273766.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011753-00219-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932625 | 1,428 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Pollinators cause stronger selection than herbivores on floral traits in Lobelia cardinalis (Lobeliaceae)
Article first published online: 6 JAN 2012
© 2012 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2012 New Phytologist Trust
Volume 193, Issue 4, pages 1039–1048, March 2012
How to Cite
Bartkowska, M. P. and Johnston, M. O. (2012), Pollinators cause stronger selection than herbivores on floral traits in Lobelia cardinalis (Lobeliaceae). New Phytologist, 193: 1039–1048. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.04013.x
- Issue published online: 2 FEB 2012
- Article first published online: 6 JAN 2012
- Received: 26 September 2011, Accepted: 15 November 2011
- floral evolution;
- herbivore-mediated selection;
- natural selection;
- plant–animal interactions;
- pollen limitation;
- pollinator-mediated selection;
- selection gradients
- •Measures of selection on floral traits in flowering plants are often motivated by the assumption that pollinators cause selection. Flowering plants experience selection from other sources, including herbivores, which may enhance or oppose selection by pollinators. Surprisingly, few studies have examined selection from multiple sources on the same traits.
- •We quantified pollinator-mediated selection on six floral traits of Lobelia cardinalis by comparing selection in naturally and supplementally (hand-) pollinated plants. Directional, quadratic and correlational selection gradients as well as total directional and quadratic selection differentials were examined. We used path analysis to examine how three herbivores – slugs, weevils and caterpillars – affected the relationship between floral traits and fitness.
- •We detected stronger total selection on four traits and correlational selection (γij) on three trait combinations in the natural pollination treatment, indicating that pollinators caused selection on these traits. Weak but statistically significant selection was caused by weevil larvae on stem diameter and anther–nectary distance, and by slugs on median-flower date.
- •In this study, pollinators imposed stronger selection than herbivores on floral traits in L. cardinalis. In general, the degree of pollen limitation and rate of herbivory are expected to influence the relative strength of selection caused by pollinators or herbivores. | <urn:uuid:0c5d006e-2ec3-4ea8-a3f7-143c435707f7> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.04013.x/abstract | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997859240.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025739-00185-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.875423 | 514 | 3.125 | 3 |
In Texas, taking precautions when you go outdoors is especially important.
In May, the Centers for Disease Control released a report that found approximately one-third of the total confirmed 5,674 West Nile Virus cases nationwide, including Puerto Rico, happened in the Lone Star State during 2012.
How does West Nile Virus spread?
The CDC notes that the virus is not spread through casual contact like touching or kissing a person with West Nile Virus.
However, it can be spread from bites from mosquitoes infected with the virus. It can also be contracted through blood transfusions, organ transplants, breastfeeding, or from mother to fetus during pregnancy, though rare.
What are the symptoms?
- No symptoms in most people. For 80 percent of people infected with West Nile, no symptoms are noticed.
- Mild symptoms for some people. Around 20 percent of those infected will develop a mild febrile illness, with symptoms that can include fatigue, headaches, fever, swollen lymph nodes and rash.
- Severe disease for few people. Less than one percent of the total people infected with West Nile Virus may develop a more severe disease known as neuroinvasive disease, which means the virus has invaded the central nervous system and is causing encephalitis, meningitis, and/or paralysis. Those with neuroinvasive disease may experience high fevers, muscle weakness, stiff neck, change in mental status including increased sleepiness and delirium, severe headaches, paralysis, nausea, vomiting, and seizures.
Learn more about West Nile Virus
- Read a Q&A from BCM’s Kristy Murray, associate professor of pediatrics at BCM, and Angelene Superable, research assistant in pediatrics at BCM. Both are part of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine.
- Baylor College of Medicine experts recommends patients with West Nile disease get screened for kidney disease.
-By Audrey M. Marks | <urn:uuid:ebec6feb-55d1-4138-9c34-285c00118e0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://momentumblog.bcm.edu/2013/06/19/prevention-best-defense-for-west-nile-virus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163049340/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131729-00061-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936786 | 395 | 3.875 | 4 |
Shortage of Cholera Vaccine an Obstacle in Haiti Response
Ever since cholera began sweeping through Haiti in October, health officials have been drilling home the importance of sanitation practices and clean drinking water for slowing spread of the deadly disease.
But there has been little talk of immunizing Haiti’s population against cholera, even though there are two vaccines for the disease. The reason, according to health experts, is a global shortage of vaccine supply.
“We don’t even really have it as an option to consider,” said Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. “The supply is just so inadequate in terms of what’s available now.”
The Pan American Health Organization says 100,000 doses of the Swedish-made Dukoral cholera vaccine are currently available for shipment, which would cover 50,000 people (two doses are needed to provide protection). Another 1 million doses of Shanchol, a new, cheaper cholera vaccine produced in India, are stockpiled and could be shipped over the course of 2011, but the vaccine manufacturer would need to obtain an expedited approval from the WHO in order for international organizations to purchase it.
With more than 9 million people living in Haiti, and 10 million more in bordering Dominican Republic, the best-case scenario still falls woefully short of covering the population.
“Under no circumstances could there be enough vaccine-over 40 million doses-to vaccinate all the inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola over the next year,” said Jon Andrus, PAHO’s deputy director, at the conclusion of a high-level meeting on the issue in December.
He points to the fact that cholera usually affects very poor parts of the world, including Eastern and Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, creating little incentive for drug companies.
“Flu vaccine is a global strategy and there is a market for it, where with many diseases of poverty there is not that same market force driving the supply,” Andrus said.
PAHO is now calling for the creation of an international stockpile of cholera vaccine, as well as a small pilot cholera vaccine project in Haiti to begin in spring of 2011 and expand as more vaccine is available.
Such a pilot project could provide valuable in-the-field expertise on how to deploy a cholera vaccine on a large scale, said Stephen Calderwood, chief of infectious disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a cholera expert who is collaborating on a field trial of Shanchol in Bangladesh.
“Haiti does represent an opportunity, if vaccine is available, to answer some of the public health questions about how to use the vaccine in the best way,” he said.
Some of the concerns over the existing vaccines are that they provide only 60 to 80 percent protection, and last only two to three years, creating cost and logistical concerns over having to repeatedly immunize a population, said Calderwood. Dukol costs $40 per dose, while Shanchol, developed with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation*, is $6 a dose.
Full protection of the vaccine is also not conveyed until about three weeks after the first dose, and the need for a second dose creates complications in low-resource settings.
“We are still at the early stages of understanding how to use a vaccine like this in a reactive situation, after an epidemic has already broken out,” said Hotez, of Sabin Vaccine Institute, which has no ties to the cholera vaccine manufacturers.
The need for this type of field expertise has been emphasized by recent cholera outbreaks in Angola, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, which Hotez describes as “prolonged and protracted,” raising the stakes for finding effective ways to respond with vaccines.
“We normally think of [cholera] as a short term problem that will burn itself out in a couple weeks, so a vaccine wouldn’t be appropriate,” he said. “The length and scope of these epidemics has increased, so now it’s different.”
*For the record, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation underwrites the NewsHour’s global health coverage. | <urn:uuid:498a6d31-affa-450e-8613-99aef0d45e2a> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health-july-dec10-cholera_12-27/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1430448957257.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20150501025557-00088-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94945 | 909 | 3.0625 | 3 |
About a year ago, researchers reported that cannabinoid compounds may help heal bone fractures. This year, a new study contradicts the previous findings, arguing that heavy marijuana use weakens bone structures leading to increased fracture incidences.
The newest study, conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburg, found that people who smoke pot excessively are more than twice as likely to suffer from broken bones as those who smoke cigarettes.
"Our research has shown that heavy users of cannabis have quite a large reduction in bone density compared with non-users, and there is a real concern that this may put them at increased risk of developing osteoporosis and fractures later in life," said Stuart Ralston, a professor of rheumatology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and the study’s co-author.
The team examined 170 people who were regular marijuana smokers and 114 people who have only ever smoked cigarettes. They then compared bone fracture incidences and analyzed bone densities with X-rays between the two groups. Diets, calcium intake, and other factors influence bone health were also analyzed.
Indeed, those who smoke pot had a 5 percent lower bone density than those who have never smoked pot. Fractures were also reported at a higher rate in those who smoke pot. In addition, the team noted that body weight and body mass index – factors associated with bone health – were also lower in the marijuana users.
"We have known for a while that the components of cannabis can affect bone cell function, but we had no idea up until now of what this might mean to people who use cannabis on a regular basis,” said Ralston.
However, it’s important to distinguish that the findings only pertained to those who were classified as “heavy cannabis users.” And that was defined as those who have used the substance greater than 5,000 times during their lifetime. Furthermore, the average number of cannabis use from participants in the study was nearly 10 times that threshold, at greater than 47,000 times.
Finally, it’s also equally important to note that the study found an association between heavy cannabis use and decreased bone health. It does not offer causal evidence that cannabis use leads to thinner bones.
In any case, moderation may be best even if a causal relationship hasn’t been established, especially since pot use has been increasingly tied to other adverse health risks, such as periodontal disease and impaired blood vessel functions.
Additional sources: Live Science, MNT, CBS News | <urn:uuid:1ad4d67b-ae1c-4783-9006-b798f448486b> | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | https://www.labroots.com/trending/cannabis-sciences/4369/heavy-cannabis-linked-osteoporosis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875144498.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20200220005045-20200220035045-00453.warc.gz | en | 0.974074 | 516 | 2.859375 | 3 |
His research examines Asian immigration to Latin America, as well as the large population of “Asian-Latinos” in the United States. His first book, The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940 (2010), tells the forgotten history of the Chinese community in Mexico. The Chinese in Mexico received the Latina/o Studies Section Book Award from the Latin American Studies Association.
Drawing upon his background as attorney, Romero’s second area of research examines the legal history of Chicano/Latino segregation as well as immigration law and policy. His most recent research explores the role of spirituality in Chicana/o social activism.
Romero received his J. D. from UC Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Latin American history from UCLA.
Ph. D., Latin American History, University of California at Los Angeles, 2003.
J. D., University of California at Berkeley, 1998.
B. A., History, University of California at Los Angeles, 1994
The Chinese in Mexico, 1882-1940
Robert Chao Romero
University of Arizona Press (2010)
Recipient of Latina/o Studies Section Book Award, Latin American Studies Association
An estimated 60,000 Chinese entered Mexico during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, constituting Mexico’s second-largest foreign ethnic community at the time. The Chinese in Mexico provides a social history of Chinese immigration to and settlement in Mexico in the context of the global Chinese diaspora of the era.
Robert Romero argues that Chinese immigrants turned to Mexico as a new land of economic opportunity after the passage of the U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. As a consequence of this legislation, Romero claims, Chinese immigrants journeyed to Mexico in order to gain illicit entry into the United States and in search of employment opportunities within Mexico’s developing economy. Romero details the development, after 1882, of the “Chinese transnational commercial orbit,” a network encompassing China, Latin America, Canada, and the Caribbean, shaped and traveled by entrepreneurial Chinese pursuing commercial opportunities in human smuggling, labor contracting, wholesale merchandising, and small-scale trade.
Romero’s study is based on a wide array of Mexican and U.S. archival sources. It draws from such quantitative and qualitative sources as oral histories, interviews, and legal documents. Two sources, used for the first time in this kind of study, provide a comprehensive sociological and historical window into the lives of Chinese immigrants in Mexico during these years: the Chinese Exclusion Act case files of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the 1930 Mexican municipal census manuscripts. From these documents, Romero crafts a vividly personal and compelling story of individual lives caught in an extensive network of early transnationalism.
Articles and Book Chapters
“El Destierro de los Chinos”: Popular Perspectives of Chinese-Mexican Interracial Marriage in the Early Twentieth. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies 32, no. 1 (Spring 2007).
"Transnational Commercial Orbits," in A Companion to California History, eds. William Deverell and David Igler (Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008).
“Transnational Chinese Immigrant Smuggling to the United States via Mexico and Cuba, 1882-1916.” Amerasia Journal 30, no. 3 (2004/2005): 1-16.
“Fisher v. Texas': A History of Affirmative Action and Policy Implications for Latinos and Higher Education.” UCLA CSRC Research Report, Number 17, October 2013.
“Doss v. Bernal: Ending Mexican Apartheid in Orange County.” UCLA CSRC Research Report, Number 14, February 2012.
“Law, Social Policy, and the Latina/o Education Pipeline.” UCLA CSRC Research Report, Number 15, October 2012.
Asian-Latinos in the United States; Asians in Latin America; Chicano/Latino legal history | <urn:uuid:e77b0d27-3d37-4503-8e18-c2f57c429d21> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://chavez.ucla.edu/content/roberto-chao-romero | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662159.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00148-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.893625 | 836 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The Language Lab
"The problem of violence is inextricably linked to the problem of representation." | Dr Linda Coates & Dr Allan Wade
The Language Lab provides information on the role of language in representing violence and abuse, and tools to help us use language to more accurately represent violence and other adversities. It recognises that language can be used in restrictive or liberating ways to:
- conceal or reveal violence
- obscure or reveal offender responsibility
- conceal or reveal responses and resistance; and
- blame or contest the blaming of, victims (1).
Language Lab Resources and Tools
Example of the ideas applied
In the Media
1. Dr Linda Coates and Dr Allan Wade (2007), 'Language and Violence: Analysis of Four Discursive Operations', Journal of Family Violence, 22:511-522. | <urn:uuid:3d7d9e34-3804-4548-96bc-d66741dbfe85> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.insightexchange.net/exchange/language-lab/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178351134.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20210225124124-20210225154124-00247.warc.gz | en | 0.834295 | 168 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Hell's Backbone may not the last road ever built, but surely it was the last one that seemed nearly impossible to build. Hell's Backbone was another Civilian Conservation Corps engineering marvel that linked two of the most isolated communities in the country with that modern marvel– a road. Built to connect Boulder, the last frontier town in the state that still relied on mules to deliver the mail, with Escalante, made famous by its tortuous Hole-In-The-Rock Expedition.
The primitive road reaches into primal mountains that once were thought to be impassable. It lies like a serpent along the spine of the Aquarius Plateau, skirting the edge of The Box and Death Hollow and soars to over 9,000 feet. At one point it seems to flirt with the sky as it follows a narrow ridgeline that barely separates the sheer drop offs on either side. Hell's Backbone Bridge is another heart stopping stretch that seems to perch precariously at the pinnacle of the mountain. From there the mountain views stretch for miles with nary a sign of human inhabitants. Posey Lake and its campground are as pretty as you will find. In the fall, extensive stands of aspen turn lemon yellow. Check for weather conditions before attempting this road, or you may have to overwinter.
Boulder may have been the last outpost to civilization in the 1930s, but today it offers a unique blend of isolation and sophistication. Hell's Backbone Grill is Zagat-rated and worth the drive. Inspired by both Buddhist and Native American cultures and cuisine, it is part of the growing slow food movement. The Grille grows its own organic vegetables, raises its own bees for honey and chickens for eggs. They shop for Boulder-raised grass fed beef and lamb. They relocate pests and weed by hand. The Escalante River was the last region in the contiguous U.S. to be explored and mapped. | <urn:uuid:87470b7d-d2c8-47d2-8ba8-5a7e49221576> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.myutahparks.com/road-trips/hells-backbone-scenic-drive | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125946165.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20180423184427-20180423204427-00377.warc.gz | en | 0.964032 | 397 | 2.5625 | 3 |
You can achieve this by using particles to trace out the path of the motion and converting each particle system into a Curve object. The curves can then be used to draw the trails and animated using keyframes to match the motion.
Start by adding particle systems to the mesh. It's important to have a separate particle system for each 'trail'. The order the particles are emitted will control the order of the points in that trail.
There are two ways of achieving this.
Create a mesh with a single vertex and add a particle system. This can then be duplicated, positioned, and parented to the moving mesh so that it follows the motion. You can create as many of these 'trace' objects as are required.
Emit the particles directly from the mesh being traced. It's important that each particle system emits from a single vertex - so use Vertex Groups to limit the emission for each particle system, adding a particle system for each.
Ensure the particle systems are set to emit the particles with no initial velocity and that the relevant Field Weights are set to zero so they are not affected by any forces present. This should result in the particles 'hanging' at the point they are emitted.
Once you have the emitted particles, open a Text Editor window and paste the following python code :
def particles_to_path(objName, tracks=1, particleSystem=0, curveResolution=0, bevelDepth=0.1):
object = bpy.context.scene.objects[objName]
particles = object.particle_systems[particleSystem].particles
trackNo = 0
trackPoint = 0
curves =
splines =
for p in particles:
if trackPoint == 0:
# Create new track
curve = bpy.data.curves.new('particlePath', type='CURVE')
curve.dimensions = '3D'
curve.resolution_u = curveResolution
curve.bevel_depth = bevelDepth
spline = curve.splines.new('NURBS')
#set first point
spline.points.co = (p.location, p.location, p.location,1)
# Add point
splines[trackNo].points[trackPoint].co = (p.location, p.location, p.location,1)
trackNo += 1
if trackNo >= tracks:
trackNo = 0
trackPoint += 1
# deselect all
for curve in curves:
curveObject = bpy.data.objects.new('particlePath', curve)
The code defines a function (particles_to_path) which will use the particles emitted by a particle system on an object to create a Curve object. Note the last line in the script which invokes the function, specifying the object 'Trace'. This will use the first particle system on the 'Trace' object and will create a Curve. To invoke the function on multiple particle systems, simply duplicate the last line and change each as appropriate.
For example, for multiple objects named 'Trace', 'Trace.001', 'Trace.002', 'Trace.003', etc. use the following lines :
If you have multiple particle systems on the same object, each emitting from a single vertex then you can use the 'particleSystem' parameter to indicate which particle system to use (0 = the first one, 1 = the second one, 2 = the third one, etc.) :
Once you have generated the curves, simply adjust the curve properties to generate the required trails. For example, set Resolution and Fill in the Shape settings to generate a curved shape...
...and use the Geometry Bevel settings to adjust the 'trail' - setting Start and End to position it along the curve :
Note that the Taper Object can be used to specify an additional curve object which defines the shape of the bevel along the curve (with Map Taper enabled to taper the bevel along the Start-End interval rather than the whole curve).
Carefully keyframing the Start and End will allow the trail to be animating. Ensure to set the Interpolation of the animation curves to Linear so it matches the motion of the particle emitting mesh.
For the material, you can use a combination of Emission and Scatter on the Volume. This will allow the trails to be partially opaque while still emitting light. Mixing in a Transparent shader based on the light path allows them to be hidden from all but the camera (so they don't reflect off of the surfaces). Including variation based on the Random object info provides automatic variation for each trail (you could assign individual materials manually in you prefer more control).
This can produce the following result :
Blend file :
Applying this to the example 'dancer' mesh can produce the following effect :
EDIT: I have since packaged the above script as an add-on as part of this answer, available from here. This makes it much simpler to run and avoids the need to create and edit a custom script. | <urn:uuid:3a0a34e0-a78d-4ce6-95b0-b519c91b3a29> | CC-MAIN-2020-05 | https://blender.stackexchange.com/questions/93921/how-to-add-trailing-light-effect-to-finger-tips/147233 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-05/segments/1579250594662.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20200119151736-20200119175736-00386.warc.gz | en | 0.767288 | 1,076 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Modern fashion and fashions of the past are as different as night and day. The two are controlled by two main things; style and a person’s place in the world (their finances).
Today’s basic wardrobe will consist of whatever clothing a person needs for work ( a suit or nice dress, uniform, or work clothes), clothing for going out (party dresses, suits, etc.), clothing for sleeping or lounging, and clothing for when you are just living (tees, jeans, sports attire, etc.).
For the purpose of this comparison, the fashion of the Victorian period will be used. The Victorian wardrobe consisted of clothing for the day and clothing for sleeping. Many times the undergarments would be used for both purposes.
The designs of the fashions of today are very different from the designs of the past. Rather than having a few pieces of clothing for the entire year with the addition of a wrap for warmth in the winter, entire wardrobes are seasonal with one wardrobe for warm temperatures and another for the cool seasons. The designs now are basic with additions of ruffles, ribbon, pleats, and other things to decorate the basic items. An example would be the basic a-line dress for a girl. An a-line is a shift dress. It buttons at the shoulders and gradually increases its width to form a bell shape. But this basic shape is used by many children’s clothing designers. They make it their own by what they added to it. Accessories are used, but they tend to add to the style of the garment rather adding bulk.
The Victorian period used many elaborate ways of expressing themselves through their fashion. The women wore dresses that consisted of many yards of fabric covering them from neck to floor and from shoulder to wrist. Under these dresses were many slips, hoops and petticoats. The dress was adorned with vests, waist lets, large pleated collars, high, stiff hoods and trains. There were, also, pleats, ruffles, tapestries,... [continues]
Cite This Essay
(2010, 09). Comparing Modern Fashion to Fashion of the Past. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 09, 2010, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Comparing-Modern-Fashion-To-Fashion-Of-401040.html
"Comparing Modern Fashion to Fashion of the Past" StudyMode.com. 09 2010. 09 2010 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Comparing-Modern-Fashion-To-Fashion-Of-401040.html>.
"Comparing Modern Fashion to Fashion of the Past." StudyMode.com. 09, 2010. Accessed 09, 2010. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Comparing-Modern-Fashion-To-Fashion-Of-401040.html. | <urn:uuid:b44ef91a-d765-456a-aa0a-a98d3fcfa303> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.studymode.com/essays/Comparing-Modern-Fashion-To-Fashion-Of-401040.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698238192/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095718-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921565 | 610 | 2.8125 | 3 |
- Listed: October 24, 2014 8:38 pm
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Another variation for the vertical jump test is using the usage of a unique apparatus called the Vertec. This procedure is much more or much less comparable to the manual or approximate way of carrying out it. Jump height is measured using the use of a jump mat which efficiently measures the displacement in the hips. For accuracy,http://ageismodern.com/coralfreerunning.php, the athlete ought to ensure that his feet land back on the met with his legs totally extended. However, vertical jump height can generally be measured with the use of a timing mat.
How a vertical jump test is done is the fact that the athlete stands in the side of a wall and reaches up using the hand closest to the wall. The feet should be kept flat on the ground even though the points in the fingertips are marked or recorded. This measurement is called the standing reach height. Soon after that,http://hbeat.ru/neonflyruns.php, the athlete is then asked to step away from the wall and produced to leap vertically as high as possible making use of both arms and legs to help in projecting the body upwards. The jumping method could or could not use a counter-movement. It’s critical that the player attempts to reach the highest component of the wall at the time he or she jumps. The difference among the standing reach height along with the jump height ends up getting the score of the vertical jump test. The most effective in the three attempts is typically the one being taken down and recorded.
As usual,http://www.mconlineshop.it/freerun3.us.php, needless to say there are essential equipment involved. Since this really is some thing that involves measuring, it requires a measuring tape of a marked wall at the very least. A chalk is also required if you’re going to become making use of the marked wall. But if it is otherwise, go ahead and use the Vertec or jump mat instead.
1 in the regular tests employed to measure competency in playing basketball could be the vertical jump test. How this test functions is that it involves measuring the distance in between the floor along with the feet once a jump is initiated. To put it basically,http://www.chakrajewelleryandsilks.com/flexingrunnings.php, it directly measures the vertical height jumped. You’ll find also many timing systems that measure the time of the jump and from then on calculate the vertical jump height.
Like what was discussed earlier, the vertical jump test is generally performed with a counter movement exactly where there is certainly bending of knees instantly before the jump. It may also be initiated as a squat jump, starting from a position wherein the knees are bent. You will find other test variations wherein there are no arm movements involved. 1 hand is on the hip even though the other is usually above the head. This really is designed to isolate the leg muscles and lessen the effect of variations in coordination of the hand movements. And obviously,http://188.8.131.52/~x028vm22/freerun3mint.php, it may possibly also be performed off of one leg, having a step into the jump, may be a run-up off of two feet, or perhaps one foot. This depends on its relevance on the sport involved.
you can not afford to
If your answer is yes
3. Relieves Stress
acquire it and never ever let it go
you probably are only thinking 1 factor
3 – Bissell
using the rise of social media
Personal property will be the
26282 total views, 2 today | <urn:uuid:4a54e3d2-0624-4717-acff-3c0b166ea096> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://pasukanjudi.com/ads/like-what-was-discussed-earlier/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463609404.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170528004908-20170528024908-00491.warc.gz | en | 0.956313 | 769 | 2.96875 | 3 |
A New York High School Is Using Oysters In Its Curriculum–And To Protect The City’s Coastline #makereducation
Great piece from FastCoExist on a NYC high school that’s developed a curriculum which immerses students in the local ecosystem.
At the Harbor School, literature classes leaned to Life on the Mississippi, math problems ran to boats. Today, it’s forging a unique effort to make ordinary city kids thrive as leaders in and on the urban waterfront. It admits students by lottery, so a young person from landlocked Queens can as easily gain admission as anyone who grew up sailing. In 2010, the school moved its operations to Governors Island (it was founded in 2003), a cupcake-shaped former military base. Now it’s in the midst of rolling out a three-year curriculum that aims to lock in competitive skills through on-water experience.
Each Tuesday is EducationTuesday here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts about educators and all things STEM. Adafruit supports our educators and loves to spread the good word about educational STEM innovations!
Eink, E-paper, Think Ink – Collin shares six segments pondering the unusual low-power display technology that somehow still seems a bit sci-fi – http://adafruit.com/thinkink
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand. | <urn:uuid:da2c533a-2811-44eb-8932-93e1fc82ab14> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/09/06/a-new-york-high-school-is-using-oysters-in-its-curriculum-and-to-protect-the-citys-coastline-makereducation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703517559.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20210119011203-20210119041203-00610.warc.gz | en | 0.921863 | 475 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
1. The part of the human face or the forward part of the head of other vertebrates that contains the nostrils and organs of smell and forms the beginning of the respiratory tract.
2. The sense of smell: a dog with a good nose.
3. The ability to detect, sense, or discover as if by smell: has a nose for gossip.
4. The characteristic smell of a wine or liqueur; bouquet.
5. Informal The nose considered as a symbol of prying: Keep your nose out of my business.
6. Something, such as the forward end of an aircraft, rocket, or submarine, that resembles a nose in shape or position.
7. A very short distance or narrow margin: won the race by a nose.
v. nosed, nos·ing, nos·es
1. To find out by or as if by smell: nosed out the thieves' hiding place.
2. To touch with the nose; nuzzle.
3. To move, push, or make with or as if with the nose.
4. To advance the forward part of cautiously: nosed the car into the flow of traffic.
1. To smell or sniff.
2. Informal To search or inquire meddlesomely; snoop or pry: nosing around looking for opportunities.
3. To advance with caution: The ship nosed into its berth.
To defeat by a narrow margin.
down (one's) nose Informal
With disapproval, contempt, or arrogance: Year-round residents here look down their noses at the summer people.
on the nose
Exactly; precisely: predicted the final score on the nose.
under (someone's) nose
In plain view: The keys are right under your nose.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
See Also: FACIAL DETAILS
- A fabulous outsized nose attached to his face like a sheltering of stone —Pat Conroy
- A flattish nose like a prizefighter —Beryl Bainbridge
- His nose made two twists from bridge to end, like the wriggle of a snake —O. Henry
- His nose stuck out like the first joint of a thumb —Frederick O. Brien
- His nostrils heaved like a pair of blacksmith’s bellows —Isaac Babel
- A large nose like a trumpet —Edward Lear
- Little snub nose, like a bulldog’s —Colette
- A long narrow nose which clung against his face as if reluctant to leave it —MacKinlay Kantor
- A long nose flattened as if it had been tied down —Willa Cather
- A long pink nose like a crooked beckoning finger in the middle of his face —Sue Miller
- Nose … as big as an orange and the skin stretched over it was pebbled like an orange —François Camoin
See Also: SKIN
- Nose broad as a teacup —Carolyn Chute
- Nose … crackled with tiny veins, like the nose of a hardened boozer —Gavin Lyall
- A nose like a Bartlett pear —James Whitcomb Riley
- A nose like a battering ram —Ross Macdonald
- Nose like a bone —Ivan Bunin
- A nose like a boot —Michael Gilbert
- Nose like a butcher’s thumb —Mary Hedin
- Nose like a delicate scythe —Mary Hedin
- Nose like a duck’s bill —Ivan Turgenev
- Nose [of a heavy drinker] like a fire ball —Erich Maria Remarque
- Nose like a gherkin —Jonathan Valin
- Nose like a jungle-bird’s —William H. Gass
- Nose like a knife blade —R. Wright Campbell
- Nose like a letter opener —Jonathan Valin
- Nose [Julius Caesar’s] like an elephant’s trunk —George Bernard Shaw
- Nose like an engorged purple potato —Sarah Bird
- Nose like a parrot’s beak —Honoré de Balzac
- Nose like a scimitar —William H. Hallhan
- A nose like a spear in youth, in middle age becomes more like a shield, and in old age a little bit of a thing that looks like a button —William Saroyan
- Nose like a sponge —Maxim Gorky
- Nose like a turkey’s ass —Robert Campbell
- Nose like the beak of a bird —Anton Chekhov
A more specific variant by Donald MacKenzie: nose like a falcon’s beak.
- Nose … long, like the nose in some old Italian pictures —Walter De La Mare
- Nose … sharp as a pen —William Shakespeare
- Nose small and laid back with about as much loft as a light iron —P. G. Wodehouse
- A nose that seemed to have been bent by a tire iron —Jimmy Breslin and Dick Schaap
- Nose was like a wooden peg —Truman Capote
- Nose was very short, just like a baby’s —Joyce Cary
- Nostrils flaring like a colt’s in winter —Charles Johnson
- Nostrils flaring like a trotter —Joan Hess
- Nostrils heaving like a stallion’s —T. Coraghessan Boyle
- Nostrils … shaped like the wings of a swallow —Oscar Wilde
- Roman nose stuck up like the beak of a predatory bird —Carlos Baker
- A straight nose, like a crusader modelled on a tomb —Antonia Fraser
- An upturning nose like that of the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland —Frank Swinnerton
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:bc34fa7d-3779-4c7e-8539-191c1b192ec6> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Noses | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320299852.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220116093137-20220116123137-00576.warc.gz | en | 0.8929 | 1,348 | 3.140625 | 3 |
The homes where we stay get too cold or too hot during other times. Someplace in the world get too cold or too hot in individual seasons. Extremely high so freezing temperatures might lead to fatal effects on the health of human beings. There are apparatus which can be obtained to monitor the changes in the temperatures. There are specific changes in the cold when they rise too high or get very low although some machines can be installed to control the extreme differences. An air conditioner, on the other hand, is any form of heating ventilation and air conditioning. The working of the air conditioner is done by treating the air that is inside the conditioner; the heated air is replaced with better and much fresh air.The the primary objective of the air conditioner to supply more comfort and enhancing a cooling within a chamber.
The air conditioners are broadly divided into comfort and process. The comfort inside the rooms live under much better conditions even with too high temperatures outside.The the function of the conditioner to regulate the heat inside the room. The other strategy of making of the air efficient in the environment efficient of an industry is using the process air conditioners known as process applications.
During the purchase of an air conditioner, there are factors which have to be put in place to make sure that the conditioner is in the rightful working condition. to make sure that the best air conditioner is purchased, quality manufacturing companies are the best. A quality air conditioner should be bought from a trusted company. there are companies which give great benefits to their clients.Offering a conditioner warranty is a good way to ensure the customers have the best.Some air conditioners could fail not long after the time of purchase. It is good to make sure that you pick on the best air conditioner.
it is easy to select the best air conditioner which is supposed to work properly.Go for an air conditioner which is simple to operate. Make sure that the buttons that are fixed are working correctly. The air conditioner is supposed to give comfort and cooling effect to the environment.
Heating Walton is a machine which increases the temperatures and offering a warm feeling to the surrounding environment. The heating Walton should only aim at making the surrounding air fit and warm.Through selecting the heater about the size of the house is a way of enhancing the inner environment which is greatly important. a bigger size heater needs not to use an equivalent air conditioner.A small size heater is fit for the small room size. A better air conditioner enhances the long-lasting service provision. A good working air conditioner is long lasting. | <urn:uuid:b21a6f3d-1648-4eab-8e9a-d3e3c1b47622> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://www.viagracostr6gen.com/what-i-can-teach-you-about-professionals.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247479967.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20190216065107-20190216091107-00016.warc.gz | en | 0.948553 | 528 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Ovulation is an important part of becoming pregnant. It is the process your body goes through to release an egg into the uterus. The egg will then wait there until sperm fertilizes it or it expires. Usually, this process takes about 24-48 hours. If the egg does become fertilized, it will become an embryo and try to attach to your uterine lining.
Once you become pregnant, you may begin experiencing some side effects related to the pregnancy or a missed period. If you are trying to become pregnant, determining if your efforts have worked is exciting and stressful. It’s likely you are looking to find if you are pregnant as quickly as possible. However, you will need to wait a certain amount of time in order to take a pregnancy test.
HOW DOES A PREGNANCY TEST WORK?
When you take a pregnancy test, it will test your urine for a certain type of hormone. This hormone is only present when you are pregnant. Your body will begin secreting this hormone shortly after the embryo attaches to the uterine lining, but it will only do so in small amounts. This means you will not be able to take a test and get an accurate result the moment you become pregnant.
Instead, you will need to wait until the hormone has increased in your body. This is something that it will continue to do throughout your pregnancy. So, the closer you are to the day you miss your period, the more accurate your test will be.
Download Free The Report Pregnancy Miracle
WHEN DO I TAKE THE TEST?
The best time to take the test is on the day you expect your period or after. This is often the time that will produce the most accurate results on a pregnancy test. However, it is possible to take a test earlier than this and get accurate results.
For example, women who wait 14 days after ovulation will usually receive accurate readings. In fact, about 87% of women who are pregnant will test positive at this time. You can also take a test 10 days after ovulation and receive around a 67% accuracy reading. Only about 31% of women who are pregnant will receive a negative reading at this time.
Keep in mind that even if you do receive a negative reading when you take your test, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are not pregnant. Instead, you may simply need to wait a few days longer to take a test again when your hormones have adjusted to your pregnancy. | <urn:uuid:7671add4-d14a-43b0-aeae-c5dccf4c629b> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://infertilityinwomen.com/how-many-dpo-should-i-take-a-pregnancy-test/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578529962.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20190420180854-20190420202854-00166.warc.gz | en | 0.959694 | 504 | 2.71875 | 3 |
How Forced Induction Works
Air. Fuel. Spark. Take one away from your car and you’re going nowhere fast. Increase one, air for example, and things get interesting. More air equals more power -- the very principle behind forced induction. Two systems, supercharging and turbocharging, make this all happen. Take a deep breath and dive in. | <urn:uuid:0db617d0-7f3e-4dec-acef-1643b8333f62> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://gearpatrol.com/tag/forced-induction/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501172000.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104612-00349-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903794 | 74 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The net of a cube is to be cut from a sheet of card 100 cm square. What is the maximum volume cube that can be made from a single piece of card?
A right-angled isosceles triangle is rotated about the centre point of a square. What can you say about the area of the part of the square covered by the triangle as it rotates?
Can you work out the dimensions of the three cubes?
Find the ratio of the outer shaded area to the inner area for a six pointed star and an eight pointed star.
A spider is sitting in the middle of one of the smallest walls in a room and a fly is resting beside the window. What is the shortest distance the spider would have to crawl to catch the fly?
A 10x10x10 cube is made from 27 2x2 cubes with corridors between them. Find the shortest route from one corner to the opposite corner.
A ribbon runs around a box so that it makes a complete loop with two parallel pieces of ribbon on the top. How long will the ribbon be?
An observer is on top of a lighthouse. How far from the foot of the lighthouse is the horizon that the observer can see?
A ladder 3m long rests against a wall with one end a short distance from its base. Between the wall and the base of a ladder is a garden storage box 1m tall and 1m high. What is the maximum distance. . . .
Chris is enjoying a swim but needs to get back for lunch. If she can swim at 3 m/s and run at 7m/sec, how far along the bank should she land in order to get back as quickly as possible?
Shows that Pythagoras for Spherical Triangles reduces to Pythagoras's Theorem in the plane when the triangles are small relative to the radius of the sphere.
The largest square which fits into a circle is ABCD and EFGH is a square with G and H on the line CD and E and F on the circumference of the circle. Show that AB = 5EF. Similarly the largest. . . .
What is the ratio of the area of a square inscribed in a semicircle to the area of the square inscribed in the entire circle?
What is the relationship between the arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means of two numbers, the sides of a right angled triangle and the Golden Ratio?
If the hypotenuse (base) length is 100cm and if an extra line splits the base into 36cm and 64cm parts, what were the side lengths for the original right-angled triangle?
In a right-angled tetrahedron prove that the sum of the squares of the areas of the 3 faces in mutually perpendicular planes equals the square of the area of the sloping face. A generalisation. . . .
Which has the greatest area, a circle or a square inscribed in an isosceles, right angle triangle?
What is the volume of the solid formed by rotating this right angled triangle about the hypotenuse?
A ribbon is nailed down with a small amount of slack. What is the largest cube that can pass under the ribbon ?
Take any rectangle ABCD such that AB > BC. The point P is on AB and Q is on CD. Show that there is exactly one position of P and Q such that APCQ is a rhombus.
Stick some cubes together to make a cuboid. Find two of the angles by as many different methods as you can devise.
Four circles all touch each other and a circumscribing circle. Find the ratios of the radii and prove that joining 3 centres gives a 3-4-5 triangle.
Draw two circles, each of radius 1 unit, so that each circle goes through the centre of the other one. What is the area of the overlap?
If you continue the pattern, can you predict what each of the following areas will be? Try to explain your prediction.
What remainders do you get when square numbers are divided by 4?
This article is about triangles in which the lengths of the sides and the radii of the inscribed circles are all whole numbers.
Draw a square and an arc of a circle and construct the Golden rectangle. Find the value of the Golden Ratio.
What is the same and what is different about these circle questions? What connections can you make?
Sets of integers like 3, 4, 5 are called Pythagorean Triples, because they could be the lengths of the sides of a right-angled triangle. Can you find any more?
Can you find a relationship between the area of the crescents and the area of the triangle?
A circle touches the lines OA, OB and AB where OA and OB are perpendicular. Show that the diameter of the circle is equal to the perimeter of the triangle
ABC and DEF are equilateral triangles of side 3 and 4 respectively. Construct an equilateral triangle whose area is the sum of the area of ABC and DEF.
Find the sides of an equilateral triangle ABC where a trapezium BCPQ is drawn with BP=CQ=2 , PQ=1 and AP+AQ=sqrt7 . Note: there are 2 possible interpretations.
Is the sum of the squares of two opposite sloping edges of a rectangular based pyramid equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sloping edges?
Given any three non intersecting circles in the plane find another circle or straight line which cuts all three circles orthogonally.
Three circular medallions fit in a rectangular box. Can you find the radius of the largest one?
Semicircles are drawn on the sides of a rectangle. Prove that the sum of the areas of the four crescents is equal to the area of the rectangle.
The incircles of 3, 4, 5 and of 5, 12, 13 right angled triangles have radii 1 and 2 units respectively. What about triangles with an inradius of 3, 4 or 5 or ...?
Triangle ABC is an equilateral triangle with three parallel lines going through the vertices. Calculate the length of the sides of the triangle if the perpendicular distances between the parallel. . . .
Re-arrange the pieces of the puzzle to form a rectangle and then to form an equilateral triangle. Calculate the angles and lengths.
Two semi-circles (each of radius 1/2) touch each other, and a semi-circle of radius 1 touches both of them. Find the radius of the circle which touches all three semi-circles.
Prove that for every right angled triangle which has sides with integer lengths: (1) the area of the triangle is even and (2) the length of one of the sides is divisible by 5.
Medieval stonemasons used a method to construct octagons using ruler and compasses... Is the octagon regular? Proof please.
Equal touching circles have centres on a line. From a point of this line on a circle, a tangent is drawn to the farthest circle. Find the lengths of chords where the line cuts the other circles.
Cut off three right angled isosceles triangles to produce a pentagon. With two lines, cut the pentagon into three parts which can be rearranged into another square.
A square of area 40 square cms is inscribed in a semicircle. Find the area of the square that could be inscribed in a circle of the same radius.
A tetrahedron has two identical equilateral triangles faces, of side length 1 unit. The other two faces are right angled isosceles triangles. Find the exact volume of the tetrahedron.
A fire-fighter needs to fill a bucket of water from the river and take it to a fire. What is the best point on the river bank for the fire-fighter to fill the bucket ?.
Ten squares form regular rings either with adjacent or opposite vertices touching. Calculate the inner and outer radii of the rings that surround the squares.
The area of a regular pentagon looks about twice as a big as the pentangle star drawn within it. Is it? | <urn:uuid:7d926b19-270c-45ec-b8e2-d9d65ad038eb> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://nrich.maths.org/public/leg.php?code=124&cl=4&cldcmpid=2638 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027314904.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20190819180710-20190819202710-00130.warc.gz | en | 0.929252 | 1,700 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Samskaras are sacraments that pertain to the rites of passage in Hinduism. Sacraments are evident in many religious traditions, for example the baptismal rites within the Catholic Church. Sacrament refers to a “religious ceremony or act regarded as outward with a visible sign of inward and spiritual grace” (Pandey 15). As they appear in the Sanskrit language, sacraments are necessary for the successful membership of an individual into their society. Samskaras are important to orthodox Hindus, in that they certify one as a member of the tradition (Rodrigues 131). According to Sanskrit, scriptures such as the Grhya Sutras, the sacraments prepare an individual for the four stages of life, which are student, householder, forest-dweller and renouner. They form an important section of the “Karma-kanda or action branch since they mark the various occasions of one’s life from conception in the mother’s womb to the cremation of the body at death” (Sankar 4).
The Samskaras are said to be forty in number, beginning with the ceremonies that take place from conception (garbhadhana) and ending with the funeral (antyesti) (Sankar 4). However, the following article will describe those pertaining to the birth rites alone. The birth and babyhood of a Brahmin, as prescribed in the Grhya Sutras, present significant transitional points for children as they eventually grow to be independent of their parents’ care. The article will describe prenatal customs common among Indian women that include the simantonnayana sacrament, the welcoming of the newborn within the birthing rites (jatakarman) and the naming of the child (namakarana).
Prenatal Care and the Simantonnayana Samskara
In the nine months it takes to create a life there are many customs in which Indian women like to partake in order to make the pregnancy a happy and healthy one. In India, pregnant women will often find solace from strenuous work and potential harm within the walls of their family home. Not only may a pregnant women do no housework, “but she must do no sewing, or anything else that binds things together: for instance, she must not close up the outlet of the great grain jar, or replaster the earth” (Stevenson 1). Here she will get ready for the baby’s arrival, by preparing a birth chamber where the child will be welcomed into the world. There is much care taken in preparation of the room. The room, if possible, is separated from the common rooms of the home, with the blinds drawn and the bed carefully aligned. For example, “great care is taken that the bedstead not lie exactly under the great beam that holds the house together, since some Hindus believe that the god of death perches on this” (Stevenson 2). In order to ensure the longevity of the mother and child, evil spirits are warded off with the simantonnayana sacrament in which the hair of the wife is parted by her husband.
This sacrament is performed to ensure the physical and spiritual health of the baby by keeping the mother in good morale. In order to keep her content, “she is addressed as full moon and one with beautiful limbs” (Sankar 5). As the husband begins to part the hair of his wife, he ties a small branch of the fig tree around her neck with the words “Rich in sap is this tree; like the tree rich in sap, be thou fruitful” (Sankar 5). Then the following blessings are uttered, “be the mother of heroic sons and be the mother of living sons” (Sankar 5). The seemantonnayana samskara and the prenatal precautions that take place prior to birth promote the well being of both mother and child. The child is brought into the world through the delivery and the welcoming ceremonies which include the Jatakarman sacrament.
Welcoming the newborn: Jatakarman Samskara
Present at the birth is the women’s mother and midwife whom delivers the child and offers spiritual and medical remedies to ease the pain. A medical remedy the midwife may turn to may include, “tearing down the cobweb of a spider, which she will roll into a ball, fill with cloves and place in the womb” (Stevenson 3). After the birth the Jatakarman sacraments take place and are usually performed prior to the umbilical cord being severed. The ceremonies include a series of verses to inspire strength, intelligence, and long life. During this Vedic ceremony, the child is given a gold coin to lick, besmeared with honey and clarified butter (Stevenson 6). The father recites words of strength to his newborn child, “Be a stone, be an axe, and be an imperishable god. From each limb of mine you are born, you are born especially from my heart. You are my own self bearing the name ‘son’; may you live for a hundred years” (Sankar, 5).
It is important to note here that it is not common practice for the man to be present within the birthing chamber so often this ritual is omitted. However, one custom preceding the birth which continues to be popular is the three day feeding of molasses and water, referred to as galasodi. The woman who is in charge of preparing the mixture is evaluated based on her personal characteristics, since it is believed her qualities will be shared with the newborn. Later on in life “if the child turns out badly, its friends reproach it by reminding it of the noble character of the women who gave it its first molasses” (Stevenson 7). Preceding the three day feeding custom, the child is bathed and given to the mother to begin nursing.
As the child is welcomed into the world the precise date and time are carefully noted in order to foretell the child’s life path. Astrology plays a key role in deciding auspiciousness, that is, the fortitude of the child’s future endeavours. For example, a proverb claims “that a girl born on a Wednesday will result in her father or brother dying or suffering loss within a year (she is called their Bhara or burden), but she herself will be very rich” (Stevenson 8). Each day and month within the year is regarded as either auspicious or inauspicious depending on the various proverbs. Should the predictions assume misfortune the parents may take preventive action. For example, “a bronze cup is filled with clarified butter, and a silver coin is put in it. The child is made to look into the cup, which is then taken to the father, who also gazes at his reflection” (Stevenson 8). After which the cup is given to a Brahmin, is it safe for the father to embrace his son. This kind of preventative action allows the son or daughter to overcome their ill-fate of being born on an inauspicious day. Astrology also plays a vital role is determining an auspicious day for the wedding ceremony further on in the child’s life.
The birth of a child is always considered auspicious. However, historically in Hindu culture a first born male seems to induce a more positive celebration by the relatives and especially the parents. The desire for a boy results from the male’s ability to pass on the family name and his ability to save the father from hell by performing his funeral ceremonies. Therefore, the wife bearing a boy ensures her place within the home of her husband. Nevertheless the birth of a girl is also an auspicious event and the parents still rejoice and welcome her however differently. If the first born be a girl the parents will rejoice and claim “Laksmi has come” (Stevenson 4). Laksmi is the Hindu goddess of prosperity. When the girl later takes a husband this “brings her parents as much merit as the performance of a great sacrifice” (Stevenson, 4).
Naming of the Child: Namakarana Samskara
The naming ceremony namakarana occurs on the twelfth day after birth. However this can vary depending in gender as to which day is auspicious for the child whether it is an even or odd day. After the day is chosen the parents invite all the relatives over to share in ceremony, “where a mixture of millet, coconut and sugar is distributed amongst the guests present and sent to the houses of those who are not able to attend”(Stevenson 13). There is a threading procedure that takes place which joins the child to his/her cradle in protection against the Evil eye. The aunt who performs the threading also brings with her two pieces of gold, each weighing perhaps half a gram, one of which she ties on the cradle and one at the waist of the child for luck (Stevenson 13).
As this is taking place, within the common room of the house the family gathers to prepare for the aunt to announce the name of the child. Within the room a “square portion of the floor has been smeared with red clay, and on this pipal leaves have been placed” (Stevenson 13). The naming sacrament is also symbolic of the baby’s transition from the birthing room into the rest of the rooms within their new home. The baby girl is dressed in a red sari and placed in a hammock above the smeared red clay square. The corners of the sari “are held by the four nearest relatives of the child, they sing, and at the strategic moment the aunt pronounces the name” (Stevenson 14). The song runs (in Gujarati), “Cradle and pipala tree and leaves of the same, Aunt has chosen a name (Rama) as the baby’s name” (Stevenson 14). The child’s name takes much consideration. Not only do the first letters have to be synonymous with that belonging to the constellation under which he was born, it should also represent a great god. The child is given two additional names, one of which related to his fathers and that of his family.
The article has provided a detailed description of the preliminaries and celebrations that take place within a traditional orthodox Hindu household throughout birth and babyhood. The article only mentions three of approximately fifteen of those described/prescribed within the Dharma and Grhya Sutras. The first of which was the simantonnayana samskara which highlight the prenatal care of the mother and unborn child. More specifically, the protection of the pregnant mother is emphasized through the parting of the hair from superstitions and the promotion of longevity. As the child is welcomed into the world he/she is celebrated with the jatakarman samskara which inspires strength, intelligence and long life. The three day feeding ritual referred to as galasodi which often takes place after the jatakarman samskara is also a reflection of the child’s character. The final samskara mentioned in relation to birth rites is the namakarana samskara; the naming of the child. This sacrament provides the child with a name of which is symbolic of its astrological sign, the Hindu gods and his/her family name.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER RECOMMENDED READINGS
Pandey, Bali Raj (1969) Hindu Samskaras. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Rodrigues, Hillary (2006) Hinduism: The Ebook. Journal of Buddhist Ethic Online Books.
Saskar, Priyamvada (1992). “The Rites of Passage in Hinduism: Sacraments Relating to the Birth.” Ecumenism No. 108 p. 4-6.
Stevenson, Sinclair (1971) The Rites of The Twice Born. New Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation.
Related Topics for Further Investigation:
Laws of Manu
Noteworthy Websites Related to the Topic:
Article written by Barbara Edwards (March, 2008) who is solely responsible for its content. | <urn:uuid:cf38b764-ec30-4542-901c-768331a9ccac> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | http://www.mahavidya.ca/category/dharma-and-the-individual/hindu-rites-of-passage-samskara/householders-samskara/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371624083.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20200406102322-20200406132822-00172.warc.gz | en | 0.948972 | 2,563 | 3.359375 | 3 |
July 30th was the 70th anniversary of the death of Sir Flinders Petrie.
On [July 30, 2012] the Israeli Antiquities Authority conducted an unusual memorial service, to mark the 70th anniversary of the death of the British archaeologist and Egyptologist Flinders Petrie. Only one of the people who attended the ceremony at the Protestant Cemetery on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion, Israeli archaeologist Shimon Gibson, had ever met the deceased – or at least his head. In 1989, while Gibson was working at the Palestine Exploration Fund in London, he was contacted by the Royal College of Surgeons. “They asked me,” Gibson said at the ceremony, “to help identify a head preserved in a jar. They weren’t sure it belonged to Petrie,” Gibson related.
Gibson explains how he was able to identify Petrie’s head.
Petrie was born in England in 1853 and died in Jerusalem in 1942. His headless body was buried in the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion. He is widely regarded as the progenitor of modern archaeology. He laid the foundations for Egyptology, the study of ancient Egypt, and was the first biblical archaeologist in Palestine.
The story of how it came to be that Petrie’s body is in Jerusalem, and his head in London, is explained briefly in the Haaretz article here.
Petrie is sometimes described at the “father of archaeology.” He is noted for his discovery of the Merneptah Stele in Egypt. This is the stele that contains the name of Israel. For the importance of the stele to biblical studies, see here.
But Petrie’s most important contribution to archaeology is the knowledge that pottery can be used to date the layers of a tell (archaeological mound).
Today I visited the Jerusalem Protestant Cemetery to see the tomb of Petrie, as well as several other well-known persons of the past. Here is a photo of Petrie’s grave marker.
Besides the simplicity of the marker — only his name, there are two other things I find interesting. There is an ankh symbol (the life symbol) from ancient Egypt above the name. When Jews visit a tomb, small stones are left to show respect. Instead of stones, this marker has potsherds, pieces of broken pottery, on the top of it. I suspect that these were left by the visitors on the anniversary of his death.
In another post, perhaps later, I plan to tell you about some of the other persons of interest who are buried in the same cemetery | <urn:uuid:f5b9b0b1-ed5d-42fa-9a85-b9dfdc13409d> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/the-archaeologist-who-lost-his-head/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510257966.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011737-00034-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972311 | 548 | 3.4375 | 3 |
As you use your computer, you may notice that over time, its performance may degrade. This can be due to a variety of reasons such as hardware that may be outdated, some files may be corrupted, or worse, malware or viruses have invaded your machine. The latter cannot be helped with as many users continue to use the internet and may have accidentally infected their computer while downloading seemingly harmless files.
Signs of an infected computer
The signs that show when a computer is infected can be confusing with one that is simply slower because of hardware issues. These are some of them:
- Program crashing – Some programs which used to work normally whenever you use them may now be not functioning at all. Commonly, these are applications which have access to the internet. This is because some viruses may be targeting the data you store inside your computer and is using these applications to send it back to their database
- Slower computer performance – When almost all of the loading screens of your computer takes double the time it used to have back then without any gradual progress, it is almost assured that your computer is suffering from a virus. This is best seen with bitcoin viruses which convert your computer into a bitcoin manner. To make the online cryptocurrency, the virus uses the RAM of your computer. Other processes of it will then suffer an immense blow in terms of performance. Most often, the only solution left will be to do a full reformat
What are the dangers of having viruses on your computer?
There are a lot of dangers involved with having viruses on your computer. From significantly reducing the performance of your computer up to having your files taken by a third party, all of the possible effects of it on your machine are negative. These include the following:
- Significant decrease in performance – As stated above, viruses can significantly decrease the performance of your computer. This can be seen in a variety of ways including applications having a hard time in terms of processing, your computer opening very slowly, and some applications may even crash while you are using them. If the virus doesn’t intend to make your computer slower, it may do other malicious things to it instead
- Loss of information – Some malicious files are targeted towards your information. Because the computer is naturally stored with usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and other relevant information, some hackers put software that specifically targets these. Once they have access to this, they can then use steal your credentials for identity theft or credit card theft. This should be addressed immediately as a variety of acts can be done by the hacker if left unnoticed
- Bitcoin mining software – Some of these applications can turn your computer into a literal bitcoin miner. These are currencies which people use to transact online while hiding their identity. Although fully digital, the currency has real-world value and can be used to purchase things. To mine them, one must have several computers continuously processing with their RAM in an act called “mining”. Once your computer is turned into one of these, you may notice a severe decrease in computer speed mainly pointed to its memory
- Damaged files – The computer can also damage the applications that are currently installed in the PC. It can delete and rename specific files within the computer as to confuse its users. It can also open and close the program whenever it wants without the user’s consent. It may even begin typing random words while you are using the computer. In short, it can take away the freedom of the user to control the machine
- Total disable – The computer can also fully be disabled by the virus. The hacker can simply destroy the software of your computer without any reasons. Instead of tampering with your files, it can target its operating system instead and make it unable to be used. In this case, the only thing left to do is to do a full reformat which deletes all of the files inside the computer | <urn:uuid:efa11f24-2cf2-4a53-b778-ea86bbed29b0> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://www.bestreviewguide.com/en/articles/software/antivirus/does-having-a-virus-slow-down-my-computer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540507109.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20191208072107-20191208100107-00143.warc.gz | en | 0.957723 | 785 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Daniel Libeskind won a competition announced in 1988 for a Jewish museum in Berlin. His deconstructivist-style design was radical in the extreme compared to other cooler more neutral submissions. Libeskind’s zigzagging design was nicknamed “Blitz” (lightning) perhaps because of its lightning bolt shape in plan and also because of the building’s windows that look like diagonal scars on the façade.
Libeskind has commented on the basis for his design saying the design was based on, “… the necessity to integrate physically and spiritually the meaning of the Holocaust into the consciousness and memory of the city of Berlin. Third, that only through the acknowledgement and incorporation of this erasure and void of Jewish life in Berlin, can the history of Berlin and Europe have a human future.” This void is represented by a sequence of voids of empty space that slice through the entire building.
The architectural gesture of the “slice” is recurrent in the modern age of Diagonality. It seems to arise from a sense of protest against injustices that have become apparent throughout the era of Diagonality. The slice is a gesture of anger, outrage, protest, perhaps even despair. It may also be a rejection of conventionality and a desire to attract attention.
Daniel Libeskind’s Museum opened 2001 illustrates axial rotation in the extreme. In this early project and others that followed, Libeskind seems obsessed with axial rotation as any book on his work will confirm. In the Jewish Museum a central axis is encountered and reencountered as one moves through this unorthodox, zigzagging and unsettling building. | <urn:uuid:227ab3c9-6949-4dc3-823e-f93aa0301df9> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://ddvm.org/2020/08/03/jewish-museum-berlin-1999/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707948234904.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20240305092259-20240305122259-00618.warc.gz | en | 0.965195 | 343 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Piratas del Caribe y el Triángulo de las Bermudas – Reader
by Carol Gaab and Christine Tiday
280 Unique Words
Written in Past Tense
See details under ‘Description’.
$6 each for quantities of 25 or more.
When Tito and his father set sail from Florida to Maryland, they have no idea that their decision to pass through the Bermuda Triangle could completely change the course of their voyage, not to mention the course of their entire lives! They soon discover that rough seas and bad weather are the least of their worries, as they become entangled in a sinister plan to control the world and subsequently become the target of Henry Morgan and his band of pirates. Will they escape from the Triangle and from the pirates, and save their new friend, Carlos, in the process?
The low unique word count and high frequency factor (the number of times core structures are embedded in the text) make this an ideal read for advanced beginning Spanish students. Each page is loaded with cognates (words that are similar in English and Spanish), recycled vocabulary, and illustrations, which makes this read highly comprehensible. Enjoy the story! The more you enjoy it, the more you will acquire Spanish without even realizing it! Happy reading!
All Fluency Matters materials are protected by U.S. Copyright Law. No portion of any book, unless represented as reproducible, may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent from Fluency Matters. Unlawful duplication of materials and file sharing, including photo-copying, scanning, uploading to a server, disseminating materials via email, or posting on the internet, regardless if a site is password-protected, is strictly prohibited and punishable by law. Thank you for honoring our teacher-authors and respecting copyright. | <urn:uuid:b85b2448-3afe-47e6-9602-df26fab09dd4> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://fluencymatters.com/product/piratas-del-caribe-y-el-triangulo-de-las-bermudas-reader/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998580.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20190617203228-20190617225228-00543.warc.gz | en | 0.938475 | 369 | 3.015625 | 3 |
LOTF: Symolism, Imagery, & Allegory
Piggy and Ralph spot a conch and decide to use it to call a meeting. All right! Island society is off to a good start. The boys impose a “rule of the conch” on themselves, deciding that no one can speak unless he’s holding the conch. As a representative of law and order, the conch helps Ralph get elected: “The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart” (1.240).
Even Jack respects the conch. After he fails to stage a coup, he “laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet” (8.74). He doesn’t throw it or smash it; he sets it down carefully. He may not want to play by the rules, but he still respects the rules.
At the same time, the conch reminds us that the tools of power are, well, fake. Crowns and flags are no more meaningful than this random shell that Ralph spots in the grass. It’s the meaning people give them that matters. Rules are only powerful if people agree on them, and that’s why Ralph refuses to blow the conch when he knows that things are starting to break down: “If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued” (5). Because he doesn’t blow the conch, its power holds.
But finally, the conch is broken. Surprise, surprise: it’s broken when the brutal Roger pushes a rock over a cliff. When the conch is broken, Jack runs forward screaming that now he can be chief. With no conch, power is once again up for grabs—and Jack is feeling grabby.
One last thing: the conch is definitely associated with Ralph, but it’s also associated with Piggy. Piggy’s the one who recognizes it and knows how to blow it; he’s the one who keeps returning to its power; and they both die at the same time. Weird, right? Any ideas?
From the very beginning of the novel, Ralph is determined to keep a signal fire going, in case a ship passes near to the island. That’s all well and good, until the first signal fire the boys light begins burning out of control, and at least one boy is missing (read: burned up). As Piggy tells Jack, “You got your small fire all right” (2.210). The fire thus becomes a symbol, paradoxically, of both hope of rescue and of destruction.
Ironically, it is because of a fire that Jack lights at the end of the novel—in his attempt to hunt and kill Ralph—that the boys are rescued. And it makes sense. If the boys’ world is just a symbol for the real world, then they’re not being rescued at all; they’re just going on to a larger scale of violence—to grow up into soldiers getting sent off to war. Hence, rescue equals destruction.
While the boys on the island are busy stripping naked to hunt pigs with sharpened sticks, there’s still one symbol of advancement, innovation, and discovery: Piggy’s glasses.
On the one hand, the glasses are a pretty simple symbol. They’re intended for looking through, and looking = vision; vision = sight, and sight = a metaphor for knowledge. Piggy knows things the other boys don’t, like how to use the conch, and the necessity for laws and order. When the boys take his glasses, he can’t see anything. “Seeing” is Piggy’s greatest attribute. It’s the one reason the boys don’t ostracize him completely; it’s the one way he’s useful. Without his glasses, he’s useless—and the world he represents is useless, too.
At the beginning of their Outward Bound adventure, the boys think starting a fire is a great idea, but they’re stumped about how to do it. Jack mumbles something about rubbing two sticks together, but the fact is the boys just aren’t wilderness-savvy enough to do this. So, they rely on a remaining relic of their old world. When the glasses break, that’s one more link to civilization gone. Check out how it’s described:
The chief led them, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses. (10.296-302)
Dangling and broken, these glasses are being direly misused. They’re no longer a symbol of reason and smarts; they’re a symbol of just how far from civilization the boys have come.
We’ll let Golding start us off:
Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her. This dreadful eruption from an unknown world made her frantic; she squealed and bucked and the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror […]. The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream. Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them […].
At last the immediacy of the kill subsided. They boys drew back, and Jack stood up, holding out his hands.
He giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. Then Jack grabbed Maurice and rubbed the stuff over his cheeks . . . (8.191-196)
We talk about this scene in the “Primitivity” quotes, but it’s definitely worth a look at twice. This pighunt—and the other ones—symbolize man’s capacity for destruction and violence. In their bloodlust, these nice British boys become vicious monsters. It’s not about having meat to eat—it’s about exerting power over the helpless animal. Many critics describe this as a rape scene, with the excitement coming partly from the blood and partly from their newly emerging feelings of sexuality. (Also, the pig is a nursing female—so it’s almost as if the boys are killing their own mothers. Pretty grim.)
Later, the boys act out this pighunt over and over, in a sort of play-acting ritual that takes a horrifying turn when Simon is beaten to death by a mob of excited boys. If you ask us, these hunts might be a little too real to be just a symbol.
We know the hair has to be a big deal because the very first words of the novel are, “The boy with fair hair lowered himself down” (1.1). And it just keeps growing. Here’s a small sampling of what that “idiot hair” (8) gets up to: Ralph’s eyes “yearned beneath the fringe of hair” (6); “He would like to have a pair of scissors and cut this hair—he flung the mass back—cut this filthy hair right back to half an inch (7.2); “His hair was full of dirt and tapped like the tendrils of a creeper” (12.1). Trust us, there’s more.
In particular, Ralph is constantly playing with that hair. He “pushes” his hair off of his face twelve times in the novel. Doesn’t sound like that many? It is. If Golding takes the trouble to describe a character does something twelve times—in twelve chapters—believe us, it’s meaningful. And what it means is savagery. Ralph’s growing hair is a symbol for the gradual breakdown of law and order. It’s a reminder of just how far he is from civilization.
Golding isn’t exactly saying, “Cut your hair, you dirty hippy,” but he’s close.
Clothing is another relic of the old world that falls by the wayside in this new one. Clothes can be ominous, as when Jack and his choir boys appear to be one long, dark creature as they travel in a pack wearing their black choir robes at the beginning. At first, the boys need to wear their clothing to avoid getting sunburned (meaning they’re not yet ready for the full island lifestyle), but they’re soon running around in loin-cloths or less, their skin and their minds having adapted to the surroundings. We even see Ralph go from “the fair boy” to being downright “swarthy.” Change is in the wind, as is a dead parachuting man from the skies above.
The beast is easy enough: it represents evil and darkness. But does it represent internal darkness, the evil in all of our hearts, even golden boys like Ralph? Or does it represent an external savagery that civilization can save us from?
Now You See It
At first, the beast is nothing more than a product of the boys’ imaginations. The smaller boys are afraid of things they see at night; rather than be blindly afraid of The Great Unknown, they give their fear a name and a shape in their minds. You can’t defeat a “nothing,” but you can hunt and kill a “something.” (It’s kind of like how Voldemort was a lot scarier before we saw him as Ralph Fiennes.)
And then an actual “something” does show up: the dead parachuting man, who seems to come in response to Ralph’s request for a “sign” from the adult world. It’s ironic that the best the adults can come up with is a man dead of their own violence: maybe the beast isn’t just confined to the island.
Now You Don’t
And now we start getting some real insight into the beast. Piggy basically says the beast is just fear of the unknown: “I know there isn’t no beast—not with claws and all that, I mean—but I know there isn’t no fear, either” (5.99). Simon, on the other hand, insists that the beast is “only us” (5.195). Well, it is: it’s a person that fell from the sky. When the twins list off the horrible attributes of the creature they saw, they reveal that it has both “teeth” and “eyes”; Ralph and Jack see it as a giant ape. So the “beast” is a man-who-isn’t, the animal side in all of us.
But even that isn’t quite what Simon means. He’s talking about the beast being the darkness that is inside each and every one of us. If this is true, then, as the Lord of the Flies later suggests, it is absurd to think that the beast is something “you could hunt or kill” (8.337). If it’s inside all of us, not only can’t we hunt it, but we can never see it, never give it form, and never defeat it.
There’s a reason (some) women put on more makeup when they’re going on a job interview or a first date—and those neat-looking black stripes under football players’ eyes are more effective at looking awesome than guarding against the sun.
Jack (duh) is the first one to pretty himself up, and he does it because he figures out that his pig-prey keeps spotting him: “They see me, I think,” he says: “Something pink, under the trees” (4.2). And so he gets the bright idea to paint his face, “dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else” (4.24).
But the paint turns out to be more than camouflage. It doesn’t just make Jack look like something else (say, part of the forest); it actually makes him into something else. It makes him into a savage—and then the chief. When his face is finished, “the mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (4.34). With the paint on his face, Jack isn’t choir-leader Jack anymore; he’s a savage ready to be chief.
And Jack isn’t the only one who has an inner savage. Eventually almost all the boys paint their faces, too. Ralph and his tiny band of still-civilized boys know that it’s just paint, but that doesn’t change its power. When they plan to go take Piggy’s glasses back from Jack, Eric hesitates: “But they’ll be painted! You know how it is.” And everyone does: “They understand only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought” (11.66).
So there you have it. Golding isn’t being tricky with this symbol; paint “liberates” the boys into savagery, freeing them to act in a way that schools, parents, and policemen have never let them. In other words, the paint represents the savage within. It doesn’t disguise the boys’ true nature; it reveals it.
From the moment the boys land on the island, we begin to see signs of destruction. Over and over we are told of the “scar” that the plane leaves in the greenery (1.3). The water they bathe in is “warmer than blood” (1). The boys leave “gashes” in the trees when they travel (1). The lightning is a “blue-white scar” and the thunder “the blow of a gigantic whip,” later a “sulphurous explosion” (9).
If you’re trying to answer the big question of whether the boys are violent by nature or are made violent by their unfortunate situation, you could argue that (1) because the island/nature is already so violent (think the thunder and lightning), the boys couldn’t help but become part of its savagery when they arrived; or that (2) the boys are bringers of destruction, ruining the island paradise.
Us? We’d like to go with option 1, but we’re pretty sure Golding wants us to pick option 2.
The Lord of the Flies could be read as one big allegorical story. An allegory is a story with a symbolic level of meaning, where the characters and setting represent, well, other things, like political systems, religious figures, or philosophical viewpoints. Let’s try a sample:
- The island represents the whole world.
- Ralph’s conch-led Parliament represents democratic government.
- Jack’s tribalism represents autocratic government.
- Piggy represents the forces of rationalism, science, and intellect—which get ignored at society’s peril.
- Simon represents a kind of natural morality.
See how it’s done? Of course, you could argue with this breakdown. Maybe Simon represents the religious side of humanity; maybe Jack represents cruelty, or maybe Roger does. But the point is that they’re not fully developed and rounded characters so much as they are symbols.
The only time we pull out of the allegory is at the very end of the novel, when the other “real” world breaks through the imaginary barrier around the island. Yet this is also the moment when the real question of the allegory hits home: who will rescue the grownups?
Words to Define:
- Attribute (noun form)
Adapted from http://www.schmoop.com | <urn:uuid:d6ce08e1-601a-42d1-b1a6-4f3bdad34b62> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://bluesageacademy.com/2014/10/10/lotf-symbolism-imagery-allegory/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400227524.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20200925150904-20200925180904-00255.warc.gz | en | 0.951779 | 3,472 | 3.15625 | 3 |
A deep, 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit off the southern coast of Japan today, jolting buildings as far as downtown Tokyo, several hundred kilometers north of the seism’s epicenter. But ever prepared for heavy tremblors, the Land of the Rising Sun seems, once more, to have emerged without so much as a scratch.
There have been no immediate reports of damage or injury, let alone a tsunami warning, since the spasm struck at 12:25pm local time, its epicenter near the Ogasawara Islands, or the Bonin Islands, as they are known outside of Japan. Though Japan’s meteorological agency put the quake at a magnitude of 6.9, the U.S. Geological Survey has come out with a measurement of 6.6.
(See pictures of cities rebuilt after disasters.)
Perched on the Ring of Fire, an arc of seismic activity that encircles the Pacific Basin, Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. It’s also one of the best equipped to handle them. Since a 7.2-magnitude seism devastated the western port city of Kobe and its environs in 1995, killing upwards of 6,000, the country, a pioneer in earthquake engineering research, has passed laws to make urban structures more disaster-proof than ever. Groundbreaking (or quite the opposite, really) architectural techniques isolate buildings from the shuddering earth beneath them during quakes, preventing collapse. Japanese cities might easily be shaken up, but they’re rarely knocked down.
(See the top 10 deadliest earthquakes.) | <urn:uuid:9150aa42-1528-42b5-9c86-a9edc99c5425> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/11/30/disaster-proof-japan-endures-6-9-quake/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131295619.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172135-00220-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948259 | 336 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Mapping the distributions of blood-sucking mites and mite-borne agents in China: a modeling study
Infectious Diseases of Poverty volume 11, Article number: 41 (2022)
Emerging mite-borne pathogens and associated disease burdens in recent decades are raising serious public health concerns, yet their distributions and ecology remain under-investigated. We aim to describe the geographical distributions of blood-sucking mites and mite-borne agents and to assess their ecological niches in China.
We mapped 549 species of blood-sucking mites belonging to 100 genera at the county level and eight mite-associated agents detected from 36 species of blood-sucking mites in China during 1978–2020. Impacts of climatic and environmental factors on the ecology of 21 predominant vector mites and a leading pathogen, Orientia tsutsugamushi, were assessed using boosted regression tree (BRT) models, and model-predicted risks were mapped. We also estimated the model-predicted number, area and population size of affected counties for each of the 21 mite species in China.
Laelaps echidninus is the leading mite species that potentially affects 744 million people, followed by La. jettmari (517 million) and Eulaelaps stabularis (452 million). Leptotrombidium scutellare is the mite species harboring the highest variety of mite-borne agents including four Rickettsia species and two viruses, followed by Eu. stabularis (2 agents), L. palpale (2) and La. echidninus (2). The top two agents that parasitize the largest number of mite species are O. tsutsugamushi (28 species) and hantavirus (8). Mammalian richness, annual mean temperature and precipitation of the driest quarter jointly determine the ecology of the mites, forming four clusters of major mite species with distinct geographic distributions. High-risk areas of O. tsutsugamushi are mainly distributed in southern and eastern coastal provinces where 71.5 million people live.
Ecological niches of major mite species and mite-borne pathogens are much more extensive than what have been observed, necessitating expansion of current filed surveillance.
Vector-borne infections (VBI), which are defined as infectious diseases transmitted through the bites of blood-feeding arthropods (including but not limited to ticks, mosquitoes, mites, fleas, sandflies, etc.) , constitute a significant proportion of the global infectious disease burden. Ticks and mosquitoes are recognized as two major vectors in the transmission of pathogens to human and animals worldwide . Research has been prioritized for VBIs transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks, e.g., malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Zika, lymphatic filariasis, Lyme disease, tick-borne spotted fever, severe fever thrombocytopenia syndrome, and tick-borne encephalitis, while mite-borne infections were largely neglected. Blood-sucking mites play an important role in transmitting various pathogens to humans [3,4,5], including O. tsutsugamushi , hantaviruses and even Yersinia pestis , and some of these pathogens are distributed globally. Moreover, mites can parasitize a great variety of vertebrates including livestock, birds, rodents, and other wild life [9,10,11]. As a competent vector for transmitting various pathogens across multiple host species, mites are becoming a serious concern in agriculture, veterinary medicine and public health [12, 13].
Currently, more than 55,000 species of mites are known to exist in the world with complex habitation environment and feeding activities, afflicting human and animal health in different ways . Some of the domestic mite species such as house dust mites are found in indoor environments of warm or tropical regions and cause allergic disorders rather than infection via blood sucking. Among parasitic blood-sucking mites with medical implications [15,16,17], species or sub-species of gamasid mites, chigger mites and oribatid mites are considered as the most common mites that transmit pathogens .
Notably, the increasing incidence and spatial spread of mite-borne diseases in human beings have been related to the ongoing geographic expansion of mite species, possibly driven by climatic and environmental changes, with scrub typhus as the most prominent example [19, 20]. Scrub typhus has been historically considered native to the “Tsutsugamushi Triangle” bounded by Japan in the east, Pakistan in the west, Russia in the north and Australia in the south. However, recent reports of human cases/outbreaks went beyond the previously recognized endemic region, e.g., in Kenya and Chile [22, 23]. The potentially changing ecology of mites is calling for studies to update the diversity and distribution of mite species, in order to better understand the spatial distributions and levels of the risks of VBIs. Here we conduct an up-to-date review on the distributions of blood-sucking mites and mite-associated agents and build predictive models, designed to describe their most recent geographical distribution and to assess their ecological niches in China.
Data on blood-sucking mites and mite-associated agents
A comprehensive database of all blood-sucking mites and mite-associated agents that have ever been reported in China (the database is publicly available in Additional files 1 and 2 ) was assembled from two sources: (1) literature search in public databases in either Chinese or English (Additional file 3: Fig. S1), (2) collection of mite-related records from two books in Chinese: China Economic Entomology compiled by Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences ; and Atlas of Epidemiology of Natural Focus Diseases in China complied by Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology (Additional file 3: Table S1, S2). For the literature review, we searched four major electronic databases, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (http://www.cnki.net/), Wan Fang (http://www.wanfangdata.com.cn/), VIP (http://www.cqvip.com/), and PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) for studies published between 1978 and 2020, using the following keywords: (“mite” or “mites”) and “China” (Additional file 3: Fig. S1). Studies were eligible if they described identification of mites and/or laboratory detection of mite-associated agents. At the same time, we excluded studies that were: (I) not related to detection result of mite species and mite-associated agents; (II) testing insecticides, detection tools, drugs or vaccines; or (III) focusing on molecular research of mites and agents. Details on the inclusion and exclusion criteria can be found in Additional file 3: Table S3. Each article was screened by two team members independently to collect the following information using a standard form: study date, study location, spatial resolution of each record, blood-sucking mite species identified, laboratory methods and detection results for mite-associated agents. Data were checked carefully to ensure that standard extraction criteria were met, similar to the approach used in Herrera et al. .
The county or the finest available spatial resolution were extracted from each reported of blood-sucking mites or mite-associated agents. If a blood-sucking mite specie or a mite-associated agent was reported more than once in the same county during the study period (e.g., found by different study groups at different times or locations within the same county), only one record was counted for our analyses. If more than one pathogen were determined from the same mite, a record was created for each pathogen in our database. In addition, we collected 51 socioenvironmental and ecoclimatic factors that are potentially associated with the ecology of blood-sucking mite species and mite-associated agents (Additional file 3: Materials and Methods, Tables S4, S5). The spatial resolutions of the original socioenvironmental and ecoclimatic data are at the county or finer levels and are listed in Table S5. Data at finer resolutions were summarized at the county level to be used in the ecological models.
Ecological modeling of distribution of mites
Boosted regression tree (BRT) models were constructed to predict the distribution of 21 dominant blood-sucking mite species at the county level. Briefly, a case-control study design was applied to build predictive models, where counties having at least one record of occurrence serve as “cases” and those surveyed but yielding no evidence of occurrence serve as “controls” . The remaining counties where either no survey was conducted or surveys did not lead to conclusive findings were excluded from model-building but were included for risk mapping. To counterbalance the potential sampling bias of surveyed counties, we estimated the sampling probabilities of all counties by building a logistic regression with mite-survey history at the county level (1: yes, 0: no) as the response and ecoclimatic and socioenvironmental variables as predictors. Predictors were chosen using a backward procedure at the significance level of 0.05. The reciprocals of predicted sampling probabilities of all surveyed counties were used as weights (rescaled to have a mean 1) in the BRT models [29,30,31]. This weighting scheme creates a balanced pseudo-sample population when there is a sampling bias related to the outcome of interest , and it has been used in several ecological modeling studies [32,33,34]. In provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) where investigations of mites were scarce, e.g., in Guangxi, counties have been mostly assigned higher weights as they were under-sampled (Additional file 3: Fig. S2).
As eco-climatic predictors are often highly correlated with each other, we performed a clustering analysis on these predictors based on their pairwise correlation coefficients using the package “NbClust” of the R 4.0.3 software (Lucent Technologies, Jasmine Mountain, USA). Specifically, a binary distance matrix was formed with the distance between any pair of eco-climatic variables being 0 if the absolute value of correlation coefficient is bigger than 0.8 and 1 otherwise. The best number of clusters was chosen by the Krzanowski and Lai index . This clustering analysis found eight clusters of the ecoclimatic (Additional file 3: Table S4). A continuous distance matrix where the distance is one minus the absolute value of correlation coefficient also identified the same clusters. Only one predictor from each cluster was used for model-fitting (Additional file 3: Table S4). For each BRT model, a total of 40 variables including 30 environmental factors, 8 ecoclimatic factors, 1 economic factor and 1 demographic factor (Additional file 3: Materials and Methods, Table S4, S5) were used as predictors.
The BRT models were fitted with a tree complexity of 5, a learning rate of 0.005 and a bagging fraction of 75%, based on their satisfactory performance in our previous researches [36, 37]. The output of each BRT model consists of both predicted probabilities of occurrence and relative contributions (or influences) of predictors. A training set with 75% of data points was randomly sampled without replacement, and the remaining 25% served as a test set. A BRT model was built using the training set, and then applied to the test set for validation if needed. The model-fitted risks were plotted on each predictor. Furthermore, receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves and areas under the curve (AUC) were produced to assess the predictive power of the models. Considering the possibility of false negative and false positive counties in the observed data, we also calculated partial area AUC with a tolerance level of 0.2 for omission error as described in Peterson’s study .
Model-predicted probabilities of occurrence were mapped to demonstrate the risk distribution for each of the 21 blood-sucking mites. We chose maximizes sensitivity + specificity along the ROC curve as a cut-off value for each final BRT model [39, 40]. Counties with predicted probabilities above the cut-off value for a given model were considered as having a high risk of harboring the corresponding blood-sucking mite species. We further estimated the sizes of populations in high-risk regions. For each mite species, the number, area and population size of model-predicted high-risk counties were compared to the quantities of counties with observed occurrence (Table 1). All statistical analyses were performed using the dismo and gbm packages of the R 4.0.3 software (Lucent Technologies, Jasmine Mountain, USA).
Population at risk for emerging mite-associated agents
BRT models were also used to evaluate the risks and risk drivers for the presence of O. tsutsugamushi, the etiological pathogen for scrub typhus which is one of the reportable infectious diseases in China. The same 40 environmental and ecoclimatic variables used for modeling mite species were considered as potential predictors. In addition, the predicted occurrence probabilities of nine blood-sucking mite species, possible vectors of O. tsutsugamushi as reported in the literature were also included as potential predictors. All counties in the mainland of China where human cases of scrub typhus were reported during 2010‒2018 were regarded as “case” counties in the BRT model. In addition, those counties where no human case of scrub typhus was reported but the pathogen “O. tsutsugamushi” was detected in mites between 1978 and 2020 were also considered as “case” counties. For a county to be assigned as a “control”, the following conditions must be satisfied: (1) No human cases of the associated mite-borne diseases have been reported in the national surveillance system and no other evidence for the presence of the pathogen was found in the literature; (2) Either the primary mite vectors of O. tsutsugamushi for scrub typhus (including L. deliense, L. fuji, L. intermedium, Od. majesticus, L. rubellum, L. scutellare, L. palpale, As. indica, L. yui) were surveyed but not found, or the primary mite vectors were not surveyed and the model-predicted probability of existence of each primary vector is smaller than the cut-off that yields the best predictive performance of the ecological model for that vector (represented by the Youden’s index). The counties meeting neither the “case” nor the “control” definitions were excluded from modeling. In total, only 142 counties, about 5.0% of all counties in the mainland of China, were excluded.
Distribution of mite species
We compiled a database comprising 6,443 unique records on geographic distributions of 549 blood-sucking mite species belonging to 100 genera, which were recorded in 759 counties (27% of all counties in the mainland of China) (Additional file 3: Materials and Methods, Fig. S3, Table S1). Seven mite genera were found in > 200 counties and were considered as the common mites in China. The most widely distributed was Laelaps (detected in 362 counties), followed by Haemolaelaps (301), Eulaelaps (270), Hirstionyssus (242), Leptotrombidium (243), Haemogamasus (217), and Hypoaspis (208) (Additional file 3: Fig. S4–10, Table S1). At the species level, 10 were detected in > 100 counties, with Ha. glasgowf as the most predominant (in 259 counties), followed by La. echidninus (200), Eu. stabularis (188), La. jettmari (188), Hy. pavloskii (147), La. nuttall (140), L. delicense (126), Hi. sunci (117), Hy. lubrica (117) and Or. bacoti (113) (Additional file 3: Table S1).
We mapped all the recorded mite species on the seven biogeographic regions in China, four of which (Central China, North China, South China and Southwest China), hosting 251, 141, 88 and 60 mite species, respectively (Additional file 4). At the prefecture level, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture located in the Southwest China and Yan’an City located in the North China had the highest mite-richness, each reporting over 180 mite species (Fig. 1).
Risk mapping and risk factors for the predominant mite species
Most mite genera showed region-specific distribution (Additional file 3: Fig. S4–10). To determine the ecological suitability of blood-sucking mites, we performed ecological modeling for each of the 21 most predominant mite species. All models attained decent accuracy with the average testing AUC ranging from 0.76 to 0.95 (Table 1) and the testing partial AUC ratio ranging from 1.21 to 1.80, although the significant ecoclimatic and environmental variables differed between these species (Additional file 3: Table S6–S9).
Based on these models, mammalian richness and annual mean temperature were the two most common important predictors, contributing ≥ 5% to the ensemble of models for 18 and 15 mite species, respectively, followed by precipitation of driest quarter which contributed ≥ 5% to models for 10 mite species (Fig. 2, Additional file 3: Table S6–9). The same predictor, however, might have driven the risk in different directions for different mite species (Additional file 3: Fig. S11–31). For example, a high mammalian richness was associated with a high probability of presence for majority of the 18 mite species, e.g., Ascoschoengastia indica and L. rubellum, but with a low probability for L. palpale (Additional file 3: Fig. S18–S19, S29).
The model-predicted suitable habitats for the 21 mite species were much more spatially extensive than what was actually observed, 121‒885% greater in the number of affected counties, 92‒570% in the area, and 129‒795% in the population size (Table 1, Additional file 3: Fig. S32–35). La. echidninus was predicted to be the most influential species, potentially affected 744 million people in 1,493 counties, followed by La. jettmari and Eu. stabularis that affected 517 and 452 million people in 1,046 and 861 counties, respectively (Table 1). Areas with highly suitable habitats of these three mite species collectively covered nearly all densely populated areas in China, mainly involving PLADs in the central, eastern, northern and southwestern China (Additional file 3: Fig. S34–35). Ha. glasgowf, La. echidninus, La. jettmari, and Eu. stabularis mites were the top four mite species affecting largest areas ranging 2.1‒4.6 million km2 (Table 1).
Ecological clustering of mite species
Based on the ecological similarity represented by the environmental and ecoclimatic predictors, the 21 predominant mite species were grouped into four clusters with a clear pattern of spatial aggregation (Fig. 2). L. yui, L. scutellare, Or. bacoti, Od. majesticus and L. deliense constituted Cluster I that covered the vast region in northern China that stretched over biogeographic zones II, IV, V, VI and VII. This cluster was characterized by middle to high levels of elevation, mammalian richness and annual mean temperature, as well as relatively weak temperature seasonality and precipitation seasonality (Fig. 2A and B, Additional file 3: Fig. S11–15). L. intermedium, L. fuji, L. rubellum, As. indica, Tricholaelaps myonysognathus and La. nuttalli were grouped into Cluster II, which was mainly found in biogeographic zones I, IV, V, and VI in southeastern and southwestern China, featuring high levels of mammalian richness and isothermality, and low levels of temperature seasonality and max temperature of warmest month (Fig. 2A and C, Additional file 3: Fig. S16–21). Hy. lubrica, Hi. isabellinus, Ha. glasgowf, La. jettmari and Eu. stabularis were grouped into Cluster III that was mainly distributed in biogeographic zones I–VI, characterized by low-medium mammalian richness, low annual mean temperature and isothermally, high temperature seasonality, and medium coverage by forest and spinney (Fig. 2A and D, Additional file 3: Fig. S22–26). Cluster IV, composed of Hi. sunci, La. echidninus, Eu. shanghaiensis and Hy. pavlovskii, were mainly distributed in biogeographic zones I–VI in central and southwestern China, which are covered by spinney, open woodland and grasslands and characterized by high mammalian richness and medium annual mean temperature (Fig. 2A and E, Additional file 3: Fig. S27–30). L. palpale, although shared similar geographic distribution to Cluster III, was unique for its ecological niche and thus not clustered with others (Fig. 2A, Additional file 3: Fig. S31).
Distribution of mite-associated agents
A total of eight mite-associated agents were detected from 36 mite species in 170 counties in China, including five Rickettsia species, one Yersinia and two viruses (Figs. 3, 4A, Additional file 3: Table S2). L. scutellare is the mite species harboring the highest variety of mite-borne agents, including four Rickettsia species (O. tsutsugamushi, R. felis, R. australis and an unnamed Rickettsia sp. TwKM02) and two viruses [hantavirus and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV)]. Other competent mite species that carry two or more agents are Eu. stabularis (2 agents), L. palpale (2), and La. echidninus (2). Each of the other 32 mite species was found to carry only one agent (Fig. 3).
O. tsutsugamushi, the causative pathogen of scrub typhus, was detected from 28 mite species in 33 counties, mostly distributed in northeastern and southeastern China (Fig. 4B). The most frequently reported carriers of O. tsutsugamushi were L. delicense, located in 22 counties of Fujian, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces, and L. scutellare, located in 13 counties of Hebei, Henan, and Shandong provinces. Sporadic detections of O. tsutsugamushi were reported for the remaining 26 mite species, each of which was recorded in < 10 counties mainly in southeastern China.
In Rickettsia, besides O. tsutsugamushi, Coxiella burnetii also caused human disease, as the causative pathogen of Q fever and a tick-borne pathogen, which was also isolated from La. echidninus in Fujian Province (Fig. 3, Fig. 4A). One of the other three Rickettsia detected from mites, R. felis, originally detected in fleas, ticks and their parasitizing animal hosts, was additionally detected in Eu. stabularis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the Changbai County, Liaoning Province for the first time in the year of 2012. In addition, in Huangdao District (district is an urban administrative area equivalent to county) of Qingdao City, R. felis, R. australis and an unnamed Rickettsia sp. TwKM02 were detected in L. scutellare by one-step real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and nested PCR. The only Yersinia of mite-associated agents, Y. pestis, the causative pathogen of plague and commonly known as rodent-borne pathogen, was additionally detected in Eu. cricetuli in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in the year of 1989 (Fig. 4A). During 2004 ‒2018, totally 1,253 and 44 human cases had confirmed infections with C. burnetii and Y. pestis, respectively, in the mainland of China.
The two viruses that were detected in mites were hantavirus, the causative pathogen of HFRS, and SFTSV (Additional file 3: Table S2) . A total of eight mite species, including L. scutellare, L. palpale, Eu. stabularis, Eu. shanghaiensis, La. jettmari, Or. bacoti, Ha. glasgowf and Tr. myonysognathus, were reported to harbor hantavirus as determined by PCR, RT-PCR, or cultural isolation, but the detection was mainly limited to central and eastern China (Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Liaoning provinces) (Fig. 3, Fig. 4A). During 2004 ‒2018, in total 189,237 HFRS human cases with 1,772 deaths [case fatality rate (CFR): 0.94%] had been reported in the mainland of China, the highest disease burden of HFRS in the world. SFTSV, an emerging tick-borne pathogen that was firstly identified in China in 2010 , were detected in L. scutellare and La. echidninus in Donghai County, Jiangsu Province for the first time in the year of 2012. By the end of 2018, a total of 7,721 SFTS human cases with 810 deaths (CFR: 10.5%) had been confirmed in the mainland of China, and the interregional spread of the virus continued in recent years (Fig. 4A).
Ecological analysis and risk mapping for O. tsutsugamushi
Among all eight investigated mite-associated agents recorded, O. tsutsugamushi was selected for further study of its ecological niches and risk mapping using BRT models. Other agents were not modeled due to either an insufficient number of detections in mites or the incompetence of mites as transmission vectors, e.g., hantavirus and SFTSV. Based on the mapping of observed detections, a high spatial consistency was observed between the detection of O. tsutsugamushi in mites and the high incidence areas of human scrub typhus (Fig. 4B). At the county level, the distribution of model-predicted probabilities of occurrence of O. tsutsugamushi (Fig. 4C) largely resembled that of reported incidences of human scrub typhus (Fig. 4B). A total of 1,224 counties were predicted with probability of O. tsutsugamushi presence exceeding 50%, where approximately 71.5 million people reside. Five predictors significantly contributed to the presence of O. tsutsugamushi. Total precipitation was by far the most influential predictor with a relative contribution (RC) of 38.6% (Table 2), and it was also a leading predictor for the presence of major mite carriers of O. tsutsugamushi (Additional file 3: Table S6, S7). Other important contributors include mean diurnal range of air temperature (RC = 17.6%), distribution of L. deliense (RC = 10.3%), distribution of Od. majesticus (RC = 6.0%) and precipitation of driest quarter (RC = 5.3%).
O. tsutsugamushi ecologically prefers habitats with a total annual precipitation exceeding 800 mm, which covers all the provinces to the south of Qinling Mountains (latitude 32–34° N) in China. In addition, high-risk areas of O. tsutsugamushi presence also feature a low mean diurnal range and a high precipitation of driest quarter, as well as higher probabilities for the presence of L. deliense and Od. majesticus (Additional file 3: Fig. S36).
We assembled the most comprehensive records of blood-sucking mites and mite-associated agents in China covering more than 40 years of research. The cross-tabulation of 100 genera and 549 species of mites in association with the agents they harbor was established. Compared to a previous study that reviewed less than 300 mite species in single province , our study is not only more widely scoped but also more in-depth, as we used a robust machine-learning algorithm to predict the potential habituating regions of predominant mites (particularly L. palpale, L. intermedium, La. echidninus, Eu. shanghaiensis), which could be up to as tenfold large as what have been observed (Table 1). The ability of mites to feed on a wide range of domestic and wildlife hosts, to reproduce asexually, and to survive in various environmental conditions has likely contributed to their establishment throughout the country. The much wider model-predicted than observed spatial distributions could have resulted from limited field investigations or incomplete sampling; yet it is also possible that our models were missing unmeasured risk drivers and thus overestimated the scopes.
The BRT model, a machine learning algorithm, has been widely used for risk mapping of infectious diseases such as leishmaniasis , avian influenza and even COVID-19 , due to its advantages in allowing for nonlinear relationships between outcomes and covariates and multicollinearity among covariates . Based on BRT models, estimated ecological niches for mites are complex, and the key predictors differ even within the same genus. It is therefore critical to group mite species by their ecological characteristics, in addition to their genera, to better understand the overall risk of mite exposure at any given place. We found four clusters of mite species that share comparable ecological niches and geographic distributions. Such clustering offers additional information for risk assessment and field investigation of mite-borne agents. Among the ecoclimatic and socioenvironmental factors, the most influential for mite ecology are mammalian richness and annual mean temperature (Additional file 3: Table S6–9). The significant role of mammalian richness is expected, as availability of host species is the most important determinant in ectoparasite community assembly. The composition, richness and abundance of mites are highly influenced by host species . Meanwhile, mites have tiny body size and thin body wall, which determines their low ability to regulate internal temperature and high vulnerability to fluctuation of the ambient temperature. Moreover, temperature dramatically influences the developmental process of mites, e.g., the hatching duration is prolonged under low temperature. According to our modeling results, ambient temperature of 10 ‒20 ℃ might be optimal for mite propagation (Fig. S11–31). Our analyses also disclosed the nontrivial role of vegetation coverage. Forest, spinney, grassland and woodland constitute the suitable habitat types for mites and their hosts. Human settlements influence the distributions of some mite species as well. For example, the distributions of both Eu. shanghaiensis and Hy. pavlovskii were positively associated with the coverage of rural residential land and rainfed cropland, likely due to their tendency of parasitizing farming livestock. The potential preference of L. deliense, Od. majesticus, Hy. lubrica and L. yui for a high coverage of reservoir, was also associated with the need of these species for humid microclimates .
La. echidninus is by far the most widely distributed mite species in the mainland of China, affecting over 54% of the nation’s population in 1,493 counties of the central and southwestern provinces. La. echidninus harbors SFTSV, the etiological pathogen for a disease endemic in Central and Eastern China with a relatively high CFR. However, the competence of mites as a vector for SFTSV is likely low as detection in mites has been rare and there has been no evidence for transmission of SFTSV from mites to humans. Our study prompted the need for close surveillance and laboratory test of SFTSV in mites to monitor the evolvement of mites as a carrier of SFTSV. These findings may also be implicative for southeastern Asian countries where La. echidninus was frequently reported, including Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh [50,51,52]. In addition, studies have reported hantavirus detected in mites and laboratory evidence of bite transmission of hantavirus from mites to mice, indicating that mites might have been playing an untrivial role in the circulation of hantavirus between vectors and animal hosts [7, 18, 53].
During 2006 ‒2016, a total of 4,382 human cases infected O. tsutsugamushi, including 57 deaths (CFR: 1.30%), were reported, which were mostly distributed in coastal provinces in eastern and southeastern China and Yunnan Province of the southwestern China . In China, there has been increasing interest in the spatiotemporal patterns of human cases with scrub typhus [37, 54, 55]. Compared with previous studies, we investigated the ecological drivers and suitability for O. tsutsugamushi in a more general setting, i.e., our data incorporate not only human cases but also detections in vectors and animal hosts. In addition, our analysis was conducted at a more refined spatial resolution. Our findings bear some similarity with those from a previous ecological analysis on human cases of scrub typhus . For example, the previous study found precipitation, sunshine hour, temperature, relative humidity and percentage coverage of crop field to be key predictors for the scrub typhus incidence. However, the current work identified more precise climatic conditions, e.g., total precipitation, mean diurnal range and precipitation of driest quarter (Table 2). Moreover, this study uniquely identified the presence of two mites, L. deliense and Od. majesticus, as significant contributors to the ecology of O. tsutsugamushi.
The current study unfolded a wide geographic range of 1,224 counties (2,190,000 km2) with a large population (71.5 million people) at risk of potential O. tsutsugamushi occurrence, much more extensive than the observed range. Surveillance of scrub typhus and field monitoring of O. tsutsugamushi should be strengthened in high-risk areas in southern China, especially surrounding middle and downstream areas of the Yangtze River. On the other hand, ecological models are known to predict risk areas much larger than actual habitats, and therefore surveillance efforts need to be balanced between risk and cost, e.g., using sampling scheme informed by the risk map we produced.
These mite-associated agents have also been detected in ticks, rodents or human blood samples [56, 57]. Among mite-borne agents detected in China, SFTSV and an unnamed Rickettsia sp. TwKM02 were newly identified in the past two decades. Moreover, due to the geographic expansion of blood-sucking mites, increasing international travel and more advanced detection technology, more agents would be discovered in blood-sucking mites in the future . These mite-associated agents may not be transmitted to human through mites, but it is necessary to keep alert to mites for the probable vector competence.
Our study was subject to several limitations. Firstly, the survey locations of mites were extracted from literature and monographs, thus unlikely to be sampled randomly. However, the surveyed 759 counties cover 27% counties extending over all biogeographical zones in the nation (Additional file 3: Fig. S1), supporting the representativeness of the sampled sites. In addition, we used a statistical approach, weighting the counties by estimated probabilities of being surveyed, to reduce the potential sampling bias in the BRT models. Secondly, the high AUC values of the fitted BRT models do not necessarily reflect perfect goodness of fit and should be interpreted with caution, as the absence data are associated with high uncertainty . Such uncertainty is inherent in cross-sectional surveys. Thirdly, “county” is an administrative unit rather than a natural geographical unit, and some large counties may have variable ecological and environmental conditions. Our ecological modeling was based on the mean levels of predictors in each county, ignoring the potential variability and possibly leading to ecological fallacy. Nevertheless, most counties have sizes (inter-quartile range: 703–2,789 km2) appropriate for ecological studies of mites and associated agents, and county is the finest resolution to locate most reported detections of mites and agents. Finally, we only focused on blood-sucking mites for the current investigation, due to their implication for public health.
Our study provides a comprehensive update on the distribution of mites and mite-related pathogens that are relevant to public health in China. In particular, the risk map of O. tsutsugamushi can be useful for predicting the expansion of scrub typhus in the country, and the related methodology can be generalized to other regions of the world that might be ecologically suitable for blood-sucking mites. Our study also highlights the importance of integrating field survey, landscape, and meteorological data for risk assessment of mite-associated infection, especially when field surveillance data are limited. Given the popularity of outdoor recreational activities, more efforts should be dedicated to promote the public awareness of health risk posed by mites in high-risk areas.
Availability of data and materials
The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are included within the article and its additional files (Additional files 1, 2 and 4).
Boosted regression tree
Areas under the curve
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus
Polymerase chain reaction
Real-time polymerase chain reaction
Case fatality rate
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This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2302004), the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (81825019). YY was supported by the US National Institute of Health R56 AI148284.
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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
The dataset for mites.
The dataset for mite-borne agents.
Additional information includes additional materials and methods, additional results, 36 figures, 9 tables and additional references.
The number of mite species recorded in each county and seven biogeographic regions in China.
The code of BRT model.
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Cite this article
Wang, T., Meng, F., Che, T. et al. Mapping the distributions of blood-sucking mites and mite-borne agents in China: a modeling study. Infect Dis Poverty 11, 41 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-022-00966-0
- Mite-borne pathogen
- Mite-borne disease
- Risk determinant | <urn:uuid:6d702bc2-8c92-46c0-a384-2b3e4b532101> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://idpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40249-022-00966-0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510888.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20231001105617-20231001135617-00331.warc.gz | en | 0.904973 | 11,636 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Local Zika vaccine researcher shares what you should know about mosquito-borne illnesses
Facts and fiction continue to swirl about mosquito-borne illnesses like the Zika and West Nile viruses. On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air, we discussed what you need to know about such illnesses and how to prevent them.
Saint Louis University is currently at the forefront of trying to develop a Zika vaccine. Sarah George, a researcher with the Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, joined the program on Tuesday to discuss her research and prevention tips.
“There’s been West Nile transmission in the United States since 1999 and in Missouri, there are about 50 cases of West Nile per year reported to the Department of Health,” George said. “Zika has now been reported in every state in the union.”
Those cases of Zika have all been from returning travelers so far.
Zika transmission by mosquitoes has not occurred in the St. Louis area so far, although the mosquito that can transmit the disease is located here, George said. Zika has been transmitted sexually in the St. Louis area, however.
Saint Louis University is currently undertaking a National Institutes of Health-sponsored study of a potential Zika vaccine. The vaccine was developed by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and is being testing at four sites, including SLU, Harvard, Walter Reed Army Hospital and in Puerto Rico.
It is a whole virus, inactivated vaccine and participants in the study cannot get Zika from it. Thirty healthy adults have been enrolled in the study so far and George is currently looking for 60 more.
“Right now, the NIH and the FDA are hoping to have a Zika vaccine available for general use around 2020,” George said.
The difference between Zika virus and West Nile is that Zika attacks developing neurons in babies still inside their mothers. West Nile, on the other hand, preys on older adults, age 60 and older, and leads to meningitis and encephalitis.
Unfortunately, many of the preventative techniques used to allay mosquito-borne illnesses are not that comfortable in the summer, including wearing long sleeves and long pants. Insect repellants, such as DEET and Picaridin, are also recommended. George pointed to a full list on the CDC website, available here.
For those interested in learning more about mosquito-borne illnesses and what can be done about them, George will give an extended talk about the subject on July 12. Details on the event below.
What: Saint Louis University Presents "Zika: Fact, Fiction, and Tips for Prevention"
When: Wednesday, July 12 from 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Where: Center for Global Citizenship, 3672 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108
Registration required on website
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary Edwards, Alex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region. | <urn:uuid:43aa05d4-dde1-453a-9bdb-38d40d702e5c> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://www.stlpr.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2017-06-20/local-zika-vaccine-researcher-shares-what-you-should-know-about-mosquito-borne-illnesses | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100534.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20231204182901-20231204212901-00198.warc.gz | en | 0.946288 | 649 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Monday, March 12, 2007
Spring forward, falling back: Bad for your health?
When I was a kid, daylight-saving time was a glorious time of the year. It meant two things: warmer weather and more hours of schoolyard antics for me and my ball-playing buddies. I used to look forward to it. It used to make me as happy as a vacation day from school.
Now as an adult, daylight-saving time means one thing: one less hour of precious sleep. As I groggily dragged myself out of bed, I just had to wonder: Can one less hour in bed affect my health?
First, I had to find out a bit more about daylight-saving time itself. After all, it seems like a misnomer. You can't really save daylight. We can change, wind or even break the clocks as much as we want, but I'll still get about 12 hours of sunlight in New York today. One of the main purposes for DST is energy conservation. The idea is that daylight should coincide with peak activity times. So, we spring forward so that we don't sleep through that early morning daylight. Also, it gives us more natural light in the evenings. With the clocks moving forward, we use less energy, through acts such as lighting our houses later at night.
How and when did DST all begin? Well, with politicians, of course. Germany was the first nation to enact it in 1915. These days approximately 70 countries worldwide observe DST. Almost all of the United States practices DST except for parts of Arizona and Indiana. In 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the first DST law, but repealed it a year later. In 1966, the Congress enacted the Uniform Time Act which established a uniform DST throughout most of the country. This year, with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 going into effect, DST started three weeks early.
Does all this temporal law-making affect our health? The answer is a definitive maybe. On the bright side, it could mean good news for your oral health. The additional amount of daylight could stimulate your body’s vitamin D production and strengthen your teeth and bones according a study in the Journal of Periodontology. A small 2006 Finnish study found that people who regularly sleep less than eight hours or who are more active at night have a much harder time adjusting to the DST change.
There has also been a good deal of research looking into DST and traffic accidents. The reviews are mixed. In the long-term, DST has been shown to save lives through reduced automobile crashes. The researchers say accidents decrease because more people are traveling during daylight hours and fewer are driving during the accident-prone nighttime. But in the short-term, a Canadian researcher found that springing forward is associated with a slight increase in the number of accidental car deaths. Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia found a 6.5 percent to 8 percent rise on the Monday immediately following the time change. That's compared with no increases associated with the falling backward shift.
What do you think about daylight-saving time? Do you think it has any impact on our health? Is the practice useful to you? Do you think energy conservation is a direct result? Are there any harmful effects?
ABOUT THE BLOGGet a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends -- info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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• Tackling cancer with a vaccine is a good thing, ri... | <urn:uuid:33447f97-691f-4b31-a304-9b24b2450f9c> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.gupta/2007/03/spring-forward-falling-back-bad-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663467.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00092-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956657 | 860 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Just like you, I dream of quiet nights by a fire. There simply is no substitute for an evening in front of the fireplace with a loved one, or a night around a campfire with friends.
To get firewood for an amazing bonfire, you need the best log splitter.
Besides the length and diameter of the log you’re splitting, your choice of a log splitter depends on other factors:
Because of all these factors, one type of firewood might be denser and harder to split than others.
We have a way of measuring how hard and dense different kinds of wood are: the Janka hardness scale, which makes it easier to pick the right log splitter tonnage for the wood you plan to split.
The answer involves a little bit of science and a little bit of wood-seasoning know-how.
Certain types of trees produce more sap and retain less water than others. A walk in a pine forest will show you that pine trees, for example, produce a lot of sap, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for water.
Because pine lumber has a low moisture content, its spaces fill with air as the wood dries out during seasoning. This makes the wood less dense and easier to split.
It’s why pine and other cone-bearing trees are considered softwood.
The quality of the wood fibers that remain after lumber has been seasoned also affects hardness. No need to get too deep into the science; just know that certain trees produce a lot of a woody polymer called lignin that strengthens the walls of their cells.
The more lignin a tree’s cells contain, the closer that tree comes to hardwood.
All of it together shows why, when it comes to choosing a log splitter by tonnage, there’s much more than size that matters.
Talking about lignin and moisture content helps only so much. The Janka scale describes the hardness and density of different kinds of wood in a way that's easier for people with firewood to split to understand: with numbers.
Gabriel Janka, an Austrian researcher who worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, developed his lumber test and rating scale in 1906. The test was simple but standardized. It measured how much force it took to embed a steel ball 0.444” (11.28 mm) in diameter halfway into a plank of wood at least 2” by 2” by 6” in size.
The denser the wood, the more pressure it took to embed the ball.
Researchers have noted that the direction of the wood grain affects results. Embedding the ball into the plank’s smooth surface perpendicular to wood grain is known as a test of side hardness. In contrast, pressing the ball into either end of the plank is known as a test of end hardness.
Although the steps for testing wood hardness are standardized, the way of reporting the results is not. Today, the United States measures pressure in the Janka hardness test in pounds-force. Sweden, however, uses kilograms-force, while Australia uses a unit called the newton.
In the U.S., the Janka rating goes from 0 to 4000 pounds-force. The lower the number, the softer the wood.
That’s the number you need to know when choosing your log splitter.
A quick Internet search for “Janka scale” will get you a list of trees growing commonly in the U.S. along with a Janka rating for each tree’s lumber, like this:
That’s helpful for understanding which woods are denser and more difficult to split, or softer and easier to gouge and scratch. But those numbers don’t translate easily into log splitter tonnage.
Remember, the right log splitter tonnage depends on two factors:
A chart that assesses both of those factors would be a helpful, useful way to interpret the Janka hardness test.
Good thing such a chart exists.
(Note: the tonnage values above are for seasoned wood. You will need 50-75% more tonnage for splitting green wood.)
One important point you might realize after studying this chart: if you have a large log, but it’s cut from a softer wood, you might not need as high a tonnage or as powerful a log splitter as you think.
On the other hand, a small piece of a dense hardwood might require a little more power to split.
You'll see a lot of variety in the diameter of the logs you split from one type of tree to the next. While the trunks of red maple trees tend to be 18" to 30" across at maturity, for example, the trunks of ponderosa pines can grow over 48" in diameter.
However, some of your logs might actually be smaller branches from those larger softwood trees, which a less powerful log splitter can easily handle.
Also, the grain of the wood can affect how easily it splits. Often, woods that have a straight grain (like red oak) are easier to split than woods with a spiral grain (like sweetgum). You might even notice some variety within a species because of this; for example, some people find red oak easier to split than white oak.
All of that variety might make it seem difficult to choose the right log splitter. Based on this chart, though, it's easy to get ideas of which splitters are best for certain kinds of logs. For example:
It's always helpful to plan ahead. Take a look at the trees on your property. If you think you might be splitting larger logs in the future than you are now, it's better to buy the more power splitter ahead of time than to be stuck with the wrong tool.
That being said, no one wants to spend more money than they have to, even on necessary equipment. Choosing the most powerful log splitter to split nothing more than small pieces of softwood will only burn through your cash.
However, choosing a smaller, less powerful splitter when hardwoods are common in your area will have you burning through your time as you wait for your splitter to get the job done.
The best way to get warm is to sit by a toasty fire. The Janka hardness scale can help you make sure that you have the right log splitter to split all the firewood you need. | <urn:uuid:ce1bb1ad-5ac0-4b3d-8fec-6f0f40ab8f9d> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://www.powerequipmentdirect.com/stories/1641-Understanding-the-Janka-Scale.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583657867.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20190116195543-20190116221543-00096.warc.gz | en | 0.941792 | 1,348 | 2.546875 | 3 |
A Comparison of Dividend Cash Flow & Earnings Approaches to Equity Valuation
Original post by Herb Kirchhoff of Demand Media
There are many approaches to valuing a company's equity, more commonly known as its stock. A share of stock represents partial ownership of the company. Not all companies are worth buying an ownership share. Three common ways of determining whether a company's stock is a good investment are to look at dividends, cash flow and earnings per share.
Dividends are company profits that are shared with stockholders as a cash payment per share. Dividends are one of the two ways stocks reward investors. The other is selling your stock to someone else for more than you paid to buy it. Cash flow is the company's operating money. Earnings per share is the company's total net income divided by the number of shares outstanding. Each of these measures represents a different way of looking at a particular stock.
Companies determine their per-share dividend by dividing the profits going to the stockholders by the number of shares outstanding. Dividends typically are paid each quarter. In the dividend valuation method, you add together all the dividends you expect to receive over the span of years that you expect to own the stock, plus the projected increase in the per-share price over that time span. You divide that sum by the years you plan to own the stock to find your annual rate of return on the money you spend to buy the stock. You compare that return with the returns on other possible investments. Companies with a long record of paying large dividends tend to be good investments.
Cash flow is the amount of money that flows through a company's operations during a quarter or year. It's normally defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and this figure is public information. Interest and taxes affect net income, not available cash, while depreciation and amortization are tax- and cost-accounting conventions that are booked as expenses but don't represent actual cash outlays. Analysts use EBITDA operating cash flow to value company stocks in industries such as telecommunications with huge up-front capital costs and high amortization of valuable but intangible assets such as goodwill. Such companies may report losses on paper while they are building up the business but actually are generating huge amounts of cash. Companies that are cash-rich tend to be good investments.
The thing to look for with net earnings per share is whether the company over time consistently meets or beats its forecasts of per-share earnings or must frequently restate and lower its earnings forecasts. There are two ways of reporting earnings per share. One is the unadjusted figure computed according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The other is known as "pro forma" earnings per share, which has been adjusted to exclude one-time events and non-cash items like amortization of goodwill. The pro forma earnings figure is the one most stock analysts use. Companies with a consistent history of meeting net earnings forecasts tend to be good investments.
- ABC Stock Investing.com: Stock Valuation Methods, Earnings Per Share
- Stock Market Investors.com: Cash Flow Valuation
- James Madison University; Dividend Valuation Models; Pamela Drake, Ph.D., CFA; 2007
About the Author
Herbert Kirchhoff has over 35 years experience as a newspaper and newsletter reporter, writer and editor, with 27 of those years spent on telecommunications industry policy issues. Kirchhoff has a B.A. in journalism from Rider University in New Jersey and has been published in the "Trenton (N.J.) Times" and in "Communications Daily" and State Telephone Regulation Report, Washington, D.C. | <urn:uuid:325899fd-0386-4adc-9085-8cd5fea59d2f> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://wiki.fool.com/A_Comparison_of_Dividend_Cash_Flow_%26_Earnings_Approaches_to_Equity_Valuation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394010557037/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305090917-00058-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951548 | 764 | 2.53125 | 3 |
New Mexico was for hundreds of years as a place where many people fought to make it their own. Native American, Spanish and Mexican people all felt a connection and significance to this land.
The Native Americans have designated many places in the state as sacred. There are places in nature such as mountains, rock formations and caves that had been designated as having sacred powers. Man made structures (some that have become ruins) are also designated as having spiritual as well as historical significance.
The Spanish and Mexican cultures have designated many areas in this state as having historical as well as spiritual significance.
With that being said I will name and describe some of these places I think are of interest.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
These are the ruins of the Anasazi people. The Anasazi are said to be the oldest pueblo and the present day pueblos are all said to be descendents of the Anasazi.
This pueblo was huge. The floor of Chaco Canyon and the surrounding mesas have extensive ruins done with precise rock work.
The whole place is a spectacle of awe. You can spend a day or more here and take in a unique experience of an entire society that lived their lives communing and respecting nature.
There is a 300 foot tall group of rocks standing upright in front of two spiral petroglyphs. called Fajada Butte. This construction was done to allow light to shine thru the slabs onto the petroglyphs which depicts the yearly solar cycle as well as the lunar cycle.
Communities within Chaco Canyon were placed on precise locations of the equinox and solstices. Like the people who built Stonehenge and the Maya , Toltec civilizations, the people of Chaco Canyon created in their construction a timepiece of sorts measuring the cosmic movements.
At Chaco Canyon you can see petroglyphs that depict cosmic occurrences such as Haley Comet and a Supernova explosion.
There are 15 large Kivas (A round covered ceremonial chamber built into the earth) that were so big thousands of people could fit in here to worship.
The largest ruin is Pueblo Bonito which was once the size of the Roman Coliseum with 600 rooms and 40 kivas.
Remember there are very few facilities and the ride is 16 miles of dirt roads. You must bring water and food and remember there is no availability for gasoline. Come prepared with sun protection and water.
Chaco Canyon is a must to see in New Mexico
El Morro National Monument
Ramah, New Mexico
El Morro in Spanish means the bluff. You can see this nature spectacle from far away but as you get closer you will see it is even more beautiful. This is a 2 mile trail at 7,450 foot elevation and ascends about 200 feet.
For thousands of years people were drawn here because there are permanent water holes that connected the Zuni and Acoma Indian pueblos.
Near the visitor center you will find a silent pool. This is filled by snowmelt and rains and not a spring. This is unusual for New Mexico especially in the recent history of draught and little snowfall. When the pool is most plentiful, it is 12 feet deep and contains 200,000 gallons of water.
As people came to drink in history- the Indians, the Spanish, the Mexicans and American soldiers and early day businessmen on their way to California, they carved their record in the stone. You can read words of all these travelers and imagine their lives.
The path continues and ends in a Ponderosa pine area. Up the path again you come to the top where you will see a spectacle of beauty very difficult to describe. Here is where you will find Indian ruins of a pueblo that was estimated to have at least a thousand people.
Bathrooms and water are available here. Gasoline is a far drive from here. As in other hikes in this part of the country, remember to use sun protection and have water and beware of snakes.
Rocks with Wings
Shiprock, New Mexico
This rock structure to the Navajos is a centerpiece of sacred and mysterious stories. One myth is that very very long ago the Navajos were threatened by their enemies. As the healers prayed for their safety the ground broke open and the rock formation rose up releasing them from harm. Here is where they settled. They left the rock only to plant crops and collect water. One day a lightening storm hit the rock and formed a sheer cliff and many people were left on top trapped. They say their bodies and spirits still remain their today. Not to be disturbed.
Another belief is that the Navajo emerged at this spot where a stone ship stands as the symbol of their voyage.
This blood red sandstone formation is very powerful to look at and seems to connect heaven and earth.
This formation is off limits to all but the Navajo, but can be seen from a distance.
This is a driving site so hiking precautions do not need to be taken. Shiprock is a town a few miles away with all you need.
Rock with Wings a Navajo mystery and sacred ground to behold.
Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs
I have to put this fantastic place in the category of sacred places/retreat all by itself.
Although it is advertised as a spa with mineral waters that heal and relax and it has excellent spa services like the spas in Santa Fe, it too is a sacred area in New Mexico to the Tewa Indians. The Tewa Indians thought of this place as a gift from God.
Poseyemo a Tewa hero is said to live in one of the springs. Today a pool is set aside for tribal elders and other members of the Eight Northern Pueblos.
In the 1300 and 1400’s the Tewa lived in the pueblos alongside this area. The ruins still can be seen. A hike is required to check them out.
In the 1500s the Spanish rediscovered the springs and thought of them as a fountain of youth. In the late 1800 and 1900s it was thought of as a healing place where people came from afar to heal their ailments.
The springs themselves contain iron, arsenic, soda, and lithium. Iron they say is good for the blood when you soak in it. Soda is good for stomach problems. The Lithia spring is good for the stomach, kidneys and depression.
There is a modest hotel of significant historical value on the premises, as well as modest cabanas, and a restaurant.
Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs is an hour and a half north of Santa Fe.
I think Ojo Caliente is a great escape and spiritual experience for a day or a few. It truly is a combination of a retreat and sacred place.
I hope you have a chance to try these special sacred spaces of New Mexico and find a few of your own.
On this page you will find a great book about these sacred places plus, retreats and sanctuaries. We also have some beautiful calendars with New Mexico’s nature at its best and a great water bottle and carrier that you can take on your hikes of the Sacred Places of New Mexico. | <urn:uuid:ba2d6dc3-2062-4618-b4fe-0e0ef123610b> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://thesantafesite.com/articles-database/New-Mexico-s-Sacred-Places.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719468.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00038-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969079 | 1,487 | 2.921875 | 3 |
In this article Nathan Palmer discusses Viola Davis’s historic Emmy win, her powerful acceptance speech, and what both have to teach us about the racial structure of media in the United States.
Last week, Viola Davis the How to Get Away With Murder star became the first African American woman to win an Emmy for best leading actress in a drama. In her powerful acceptance speech, Davis made one of the clearest structural explanations of inequality I have ever heard:
- “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
Davis’s cogent argument illustrates the widely documented and long standing unequal racial structure within Hollywood. We’ll get to that in a minute, but first let’s take a step back and discuss what social structure is and how it affects our lives and our communities.
Structure is All About Opportunities
Sociologists are always talking about how social structure influences individuals and groups. However, despite sociologists incessant use of the concept, we have done a rather terrible job at defining what it means (Rubinstein 2001). In the absence of any awesome definition of what social structure is, I would like to offer you a very simple and useful way of thinking about it. Social structure describes how society affects the opportunities an individual/group has available to them. Now, let me back up and explain the concept in just a little more detail.
Social structure is built on a very simple idea. Our social circumstances affect our outcomes. For instance, if you go to an impoverished high school, you will be less likely to attend an Ivy League university. But where do our social circumstances come from?
Our social circumstances are the result of how society is organized. Societies are comprised of interconnected groups and organizations. For example, every society has social institutions like the government, economy, media, education system, religious groups, the health care systems, and family networks.
For instance, when families want to give their children an advantage, they press their government officials to adopt a school district system that funds schools based on the property taxes collected within each school district. As a result, wealthy neighborhoods collect more property tax dollars from their high value homes and the schools in their district have more money to spend on their student’s education. In this example, family networks, the government, and the education system interact with one another to ensure that the children of wealth will be able to get the best education and have every opportunity to get into an excellent university. Or put another way, school district funding systems organize society in ways that constrain the educational opportunities of poor students to provide relatively more educational opportunities to wealthy students.
The Racial Structure of Hollywood
Hollywood has for a very long record of not casting women, especially women of color, and most especially older women of color in film and television roles. For instance, in 1968 Diahann Carroll became the first African American female lead of a network television show. However, that feat wasn’t repeated until 2012 when Scandal premiered with Kerry Washington in the lead.
If we broaden our focus to include feature films, we find that movies too are disproportionately white. An analysis of the top-grossing 100 fictional films of the last 7 years by USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism found that only 30.2% of speaking characters were female. In 2014 only 21 of the top-grossing 100 movies featured a female lead and of those only 3 were women of color. Furthermore, not a single film in 2014 featured a woman over the age of 45. Turning to race, the Annenberg study found that of the 100 top-grossing films of 2014 only 17 had a lead or co-lead played by an actor of color, 17 films didn’t feature a single African American character, and over 40 films didn’t have a character of Asian decent in a speaking role.
Getting Over That Line
As Davis said, “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” In sociology speak we would say, the racialized structure of Hollywood constrains the opportunities for female actors and actors of color. The fact that Davis won has been interpreted by many as a step toward racial equity. However, the fact that Davis is one of the only women of color in a leading role suggests Hollywood has much father to go before we can say Hollywood has a racially equitable opportunity structure.
- In addition to be under cast, women are rarely employed as directors, writers, and producers. Look at the Annenberg report and find out what percentage of women are employed in each of these roles. How might these facts be connected to the fact that women are rarely cast in leading roles?
- How does the structure of Hollywood also affect the number of LGBT roles in film? Look at the Annenberg report, copy down the data they provide on this, and then explain what you think this suggests about the structure of Hollywood.
- This year movies featuring casts of mostly African American actors have done very well in the box office and many of the most popular TVs shows have also featured predominately non-white characters in leading roles. Do you see this as a further sign that things are changing?
- As a 50 year old female African American actor, Viola Davis breaks Hollywood’s casting norms for women, people of color, and women over 45. Sociologists argue that people experience discrimination on multiple levels simultaneously. How does Viola Davis’s experience support this idea?
- Rubinstein, David. 2001. Culture, Structure and Agency: Toward a Truly Multidimensional Sociology. Thousand Oaks, Calif: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Photo provided by Disney | ABC Television Gorup via Flickr and was not altered. | <urn:uuid:8edf59cd-e2e7-4f75-8d0c-e35b7043121e> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://sociologyinfocus.com/viola-davis-hollywoods-racial-structure-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400196999.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20200920062737-20200920092737-00332.warc.gz | en | 0.957916 | 1,193 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Restaurant Management Degrees
Dining out is one of life's great pleasures. When you go to a restaurant, you expect an inviting atmosphere, attentive service, and of course, fabulous food. The convenience of dining out is another attractive reason to head out for dinner. Whether it's a special occasion or a bite on the go, you expect certain standards from your restaurant of choice.
The Restaurant Manager's Role in Restaurant Ambience
The standards of service and quality at any given restaurant are set by the restaurant manager. The restaurant manager is responsible for managing every aspect of the restaurant's operation.
When opening a new restaurant, for example, restaurant managers determine the ambience of the restaurant. They may work independently or with interior designers to choose the décor, dishes, furniture and fabrics used in the restaurant. Another important factor in determining the restaurant's atmosphere and theme is the entertainment or music in the restaurant.
Managing Restaurant Staff and Business Affairs
The restaurant manger is also responsible for what goes on in the kitchen. As the manager, you must work closely with the chef on the menu and food preparation. You must hire and fire staff, hold meetings and set the standards of service for the restaurant.
The business affairs of the restaurant are also a part of the manager's job. The manager must oversee the ordering of supplies and materials and keep the books balanced.
Why Restaurant Management Degrees ?
Because the job of restaurant manager is so critical to a restaurant's success, restaurant owners are increasingly seeking candidates with restaurant management degrees. The education and experience that restaurant management degrees represent is important to employers. Because the trend toward eating out is increasing, individuals with restaurant management degrees can expect to have plentiful job opportunities in the foreseeable future. Would-be restaurant managers should look into investing in their education.
- Program areas include Culinary Arts, Culinary Management, and more
- Students are taught cooking styles from around the globe, including Classical European, Asian, and Latin cuisine
- Curriculum designed to prepare students for a career as a chef, with course topics that include Culinary Techniques, Management by Menu, and Nutrition
- Alumni have appeared in reality competition shows such as Top Chef
- Flexible Scheduling
- Financial Aid
- Transferable Credits
- Provides students the opportunity to train at home in their spare time to get their high school diploma, train for a new career, or enhance current skills.
- Offers programs in psychology/social work, business management, medical billing, criminal justice, and more.
- Member of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE), and the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).
- Features a fully flexible schedule with no classes to attend, leaving the study pace up to the student.
- Online Courses | <urn:uuid:ffab4c82-4c6b-4fd3-9aed-6a083d8b47aa> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.educationcenteronline.org/Hospitality-and-Tourism/Restaurant-Management-Degrees.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719273.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00258-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928558 | 583 | 2.640625 | 3 |
how to mesurement leghnth
Asked by lakshyagupta2807 | 9th Sep, 2020, 01:00: PM
The standard unit of length based on the metric system is a meter (m). According to the length that needs to be measured, we can convert a meter into various units like millimeters (mm), centimeter (cm), and kilometer (km).It can be measured with the help f variety of instrument for example meauring tape,meter Scale etc
Answered by Utkarsh Lokhande | 9th Sep, 2020, 03:36: PM
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Enter the OTP sent to your number | <urn:uuid:34fda8d5-1178-4327-97e2-1d33fa5d63dc> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://www.topperlearning.com/answer/how-to-mesurement-leghnth/vaelsv44 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178381230.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20210307231028-20210308021028-00427.warc.gz | en | 0.879221 | 377 | 3.75 | 4 |
Astronomers have announced two new moons discovered orbiting Jupiter bringing its total to 69, something to wonder about as you see it you sky this week. Meanwhile, Saturn reaches opposition on Thursday making it visible from sunset to sunrise. Here is your guide to the sky for June 12 to 1188, 2017…
Constellations – Aquila rising
Last of the constellations rounding out the Summer Triangle is Aquila the Eagle. This diamond shaped group of stars is marked by Altair the 12th brightest star in the sky which is only 16.8 light years from Earth making it one of our nearer stellar neighbors. In 2007 astronomers determined this star spins on its axis once every 10 hours compared to 24 hours for the Earth. This rapid rotation flattens the star a bit, making it an oblate spheroid, or a star with a middle-aged bulge. The star is also a variable one, but it requires advanced instruments to detect this. In Greek mythology Aquila was an eagle favored by Zeus who played a role in the abduction of Ganymede whom he carried off to Mount Olympus on Zeus’ command to become the cupbearer to the gods. In India, Altair with its two flanking stars, Tarazed and Alshain are thought to footprints of the god Vishnu in the stars. Do check out this rising eagle in your eastern sky after sunset.
Planets in the Sky – Two new moons for Jupiter, Saturn at Opposition
Monday morning try catching Mercury early just before sunrise. To find it look for the planet 5 degrees north of the bright red star Aldebaran in Taurus. Thursday evening Saturn reaches opposition meaning is 180 degrees from the Sun. It will rise at sunset and set at sunrise on that evening. Mars is lost in the glow of sunset, while Venus rises around 2:40 am and is bright in the sky before dawn. Jupiter is in the southwestern sky after sunset, and the brightest star like object visible in the evening sky. This week astronomers announced the discovery two new small moons bringing the giants total to 69. While these new moons are too small to be seen in backyard telescopes, it is amazing that we continue to find new ones around this gas giant. Both of these moons have retrograde orbits, with inclinations greater than 90 degrees, meaning that they move opposite that of the planet’s spin. These orbits imply that they formed elsewhere in the outer solar system and were captured by Jupiter.
Sun – Earth – Moon
Sunrise this week is 4:49 am and sunset at 8:23 pm, yet civil twilight begins at 4:11am. Last Quarter moon takes place on Saturday at 7:33 am.
Satellites to See – Tiangong 1 this week
Look for the Tiangong 1 on Monday morning from 3:51 am 3:57 am moving from west-southwest to east. See it again on Tuesday from 4:11 am to 4:17 am moving from west to east-southeast. On Thursday night it makes its brightest pass for the week from 3:17 am to 3:22 am moving from southwest to southeast. See it on Friday from 3:36 am to 3:41 am moving from west to southeast.
Look for the rising eagle of Aquila, check out Saturn and Jupiter and enjoy the warm weather outside under star lit skies. Happy stargazing and keep your eye on the sky! | <urn:uuid:f44f73ae-48e7-4410-bf80-fac0cfef7b8d> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://laatsch.bangordailynews.com/2017/06/11/home/two-new-moons-for-jupiter-saturn-at-opposition-and-an-eagle-rising/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202125.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20190319183735-20190319205735-00155.warc.gz | en | 0.939307 | 698 | 3.125 | 3 |
Fireweed grows up to three metres tall. It has clusters of pink four-petaled flowers and long, green leaves growing out of a single tall stem.
RANGE & HABITAT
It is common in open forests and disturbed areas, especially burned sites and ditches. It likes to grow along riverbanks and forests across many parts of B.C., and is very common in northern areas.
Fireweed flowers throughout the summer, and the pink flowers change into seedpods full of hundreds of fluffy seeds. The ground can be covered in the fluff from fireweed seeds.
Many animals eat fireweed, and the young shoots are especially tasty to sheep and deer. Bees are important to pollinate fireweed, and they collect the nectar from the flowers in return.
TRADITIONAL USES BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The shoots and stems can be eaten raw or boiled. The stem fibres are woven into fishing twine, and the fluff can be used for bedding. The leaves can also be put on sore spots to ease aches and pains.
The flowers are sometimes used for gardens, and produce nectar that makes good honey.
COSEWIC: Not at Risk | <urn:uuid:553d039e-9055-42e3-974c-9eb1f8276b81> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://sierraclub.bc.ca/fireweed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587608.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20211024235512-20211025025512-00578.warc.gz | en | 0.943345 | 253 | 3.546875 | 4 |
A flaming stand-up argument, a sulky ignoring, a two-faced seeming agreement undermined by continued belief in the opposite opinion. There are many ways for people to disagree – and when it comes to climate change, surely all of them have been used. These disagreements can be good. Through them the human race progresses, with some people proposing ideas and others questioning and finding holes in them until they are well refined and hard to break down.
Over the past year, I have been writing about the latest climate research and asking the scientists doing it questions on this blog. In that time I’ve learnt a lot about global warming, and it has become clear that the evidence showing that it is happening is robust enough to stand aggressive questioning. Most recently, it’s become more clear to me that the science on which predictions of how our behaviour will continue to affect climate is also well established, even though it is still being questioned and further refined. It’s right that we question it, but where the scientists I have been in touch with differ is in the fine details rather than on the overall picture.
That’s shown, in part, by the fact that many of the explanations of climate change that the scientists have given me are similar. In the past month Simple Climate readers have been voting to choose between them to help with one aim I had for the blog when I set it up in January: to produce a single, simple explanation of climate change. It’s fitting that the ultimate winner is one of the world’s leading climate researchers: Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.
His explanation was:
The Earth is habitable because of a natural greenhouse effect brought about mainly by water vapor (60%) and carbon dioxide (26%). Otherwise its average temperature would be below zero Fahrenheit. Humans are altering the composition of the atmosphere, mainly by burning fossil fuels. As a result carbon dioxide has gone up over 35% since pre-industrial times and over half of that is since 1970. This changes the greenhouse effect and traps radiation that would otherwise escape to space, producing warming. The warming is manifested in many ways, not just increasing surface temperatures, but also melting ice, and changing the hydrological cycle and thus rainfall. Since 1970 the effects are large enough to be outside the bounds of natural variability for global mean temperatures, but global warming does not mean inexorable increases in temperature year after year owing to natural variability.
I had thought that it might be necessary to merge different explanations, combining descriptions of the physical effects like this one with comments on the results of climate change. However, given the overwhelming majority that this answer gained in the final poll (over three-quarters of the votes) it seems fitting to use it as that one ultimate simple climate change explanation.
If you take one thing away from this blog, I would be happy if you absorb and understand that explanation. But over the year I have also been covering how research is advancing our understanding of climate change and what can be done about it. Some findings can contradict each other: that’s all a part of how science’s big argument helps humanity understand more. Even though I have now achieved my aim of a single explanation, I will continue to cover the emerging evidence right here every week.
What I’ve covered so far makes a convincing, perhaps even daunting, case. Climate change is serious – if it progresses far enough it will cause problems ranging from interfering with food supplies to death. Yet, despite that, I feel that there still remains hope. Global warming can be slowed if we cut our greenhouse gas emissions, and that can be done. If you take two things away from this blog, make that the second – and preferably encourage your friends, family and politicians to do something about it. | <urn:uuid:d8d8c5f0-e6d3-498f-9b43-23a2a2e9c68c> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://simpleclimate.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/climate-change-can-be-understood-and-tackled/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535921318.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909044937-00200-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958808 | 787 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Lottery is a process of randomly selecting numbers or names for various prizes. Many government agencies and private groups use lotteries to distribute goods and services, such as subsidized housing units or kindergarten placements in good public schools. Some lotteries dish out large cash prizes to paying participants, such as a lottery for the top draft pick in an NBA draft. Other lotteries are played for entertainment purposes, such as a drawing for a new automobile or a vacation home. In the latter case, the odds of winning are much lower than in a conventional lottery.
The lottery is a common form of gambling in the United States and around the world. In the United States, state-run lotteries offer a variety of games, including the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots. These games are usually offered once or twice a week. The odds of winning are very low, but the jackpots can be huge.
Some state-run lotteries are operated jointly with other states to increase the chances of a jackpot. These multi-state lotteries, like Powerball and Mega Millions, are the biggest games in the country with huge prize purses. In order to win a jackpot in these games, players must select five numbers from 0 through 70 and an Easy Pick number. Most modern lotteries also allow players to choose the option of letting the computer randomly select their numbers for them, which reduces their overall odds of winning but still gives them a decent chance of winning.
While some people who win the lottery are able to spend their money wisely and make sound investments, others are not so fortunate. One cautionary tale is the story of Evelyn Adams, who won a jackpot worth over $5.4 million in 1985 and 1986. She spent the money on bad investments and gambled it away and ended up living in a trailer.
In the past, the word lottery was used to refer to a public charity or almshouse raffle where prizes were drawn at random. Later the term came to mean an official public fund for the distribution of property or goods. In the US, the word was shortened to “lottery” in the 1800s and is still in common use. It is believed that the English word comes from the Dutch word lot, meaning fate or fortune, and is derived from the Middle Dutch verb loten (“to draw lots”).
While there are some societal benefits to lottery participation, there are also several negatives. In addition to the obvious gambling aspect, there is a risk of addiction. In addition, winning the lottery can have tax implications that should be carefully considered. If you are considering winning the lottery, it is a good idea to consult with a financial advisor who can help you decide how to invest your prize money. They can also give you advice about how to manage your expectations and avoid the temptations that come with sudden wealth. They can also help you create a budget that will help you stay in control of your spending. | <urn:uuid:dab9d6d6-46e2-464b-824b-e60c6f0c823a> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://www.zerisinnchrisandis.com/what-is-lottery-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224644915.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20230530000715-20230530030715-00526.warc.gz | en | 0.975188 | 609 | 2.9375 | 3 |
(WASHINGTON) — Leafy greens are good for you but they can make you sick when they’re improperly processed.
Every year, government doctors say, 48 million Americans get sick from eating contaminated food.
Tainted poultry can be deadly. Bad dairy can send you to the hospital. But leafy greens, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found, accounted for the most food-borne illnesses.
It’s not that lettuce, spinach and kale are risky — they’re quite good for you. It’s how they’re handled. The CDC said when people got sick from bad food the greens were the culprit 23 percent of the time.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio | <urn:uuid:89281bad-1516-4651-94dc-386752dc3b0c> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | http://www.eastidahonews.com/2013/01/leafy-greens-top-source-of-food-poisoning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207930866.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113210-00181-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934355 | 149 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Your answer is: Active voice : Who opened the door? Passive voice : The door was opened by whom?
Who was opening the door change into passive voice?
Open the door. :Active voice. Let the door be opened.:Passive voice. Let the be opened.
How do you change a door to passive voice?
The passive voice for shut the door would be ‘Let the door be shut’. In this sentence, ‘shut’ is the “past participle of the verb” shut and door is the object.
What do you want change in passive voice?
Answer Expert Verified
In order to convert active into passive, it is important to omit primary auxiliary verbs such as do, does or did. Words such as why, what and when remain at the same position as in the active voice. So, the correct answer is what is wanted by you.
What is the passive voice of she pays a lot of money?
‘A lot of money is paid by her’ is a passive voice of the given sentence.
What is the passive voice of always speak the truth?
The passive voice of “Always speak the truth” may have number of alternatives: 1)The truth must be spoken always. 2)The truth may be spoken always. 3)The truth ought to be spoken always.
What will be the passive voice of close the door?
Let the door close . Let the door be closed. Let the door closed.
Will U teach me in passive voice?
→ Active :- Will you teach me this lesson ? → Passive :- Will this lesson be taught to me by you ?
What is passive voice and give 5 examples?
With passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb.
Active and Passive Voice Comparison.
|Active Voice||Passive Voice|
|I will clean the house every Saturday.||The house will be cleaned by me every Saturday.|
Can English be spoken by you change the voice?
First you need to change it into assertive. 1) You can speak English. Now change it into passive. 2) English can be spoken by you.
Do you like music change into passive voice?
Answer: Music is liked by me. This should be the passive voice. | <urn:uuid:af6825fc-a9c1-40c4-810e-986e9aeeb133> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://richardraffan.com/choice-of-doors/who-opened-the-door-change-the-passive-voice.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323588113.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20211027084718-20211027114718-00219.warc.gz | en | 0.951894 | 478 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The 1940 U.S. census was released to the public on April 2nd. There still isn’t a complete index to it, but rural areas like Derinda Township in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, have a small number of pages that are easy to read through. The Hoffman farm family was counted on 12 April 1940. The household begins on the third sheet and continues onto the fourth.[i] The pages list many familiar names: Wurster, Endriss, Teichler, Dittmar, Krug, and Klopf.
Youngest in the family, John Hoffman (age 60) was the primary force in the family and was listed as head of household and person supplying the information. Next is oldest brother Henry (66) who only is listed as a laborer while William (64) is a brother and Minnie (62) is a sister and housekeeper. All were born in Illinois and lived in the same house five years earlier in 1935. The farm is reported with a value of only $1000 (perhaps that is just the house?) All reported fifth as the highest grade completed in school. None of them were on one of the two lines in each page for which supplemental questions were asked. Click on the image to see a larger version of some of the information.
|Combined parts of the two census pages, left side|
[i] 1940 U. S. Census, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, population schedule, Derinda Township, enumeration district (ED) 43-5, sheets 2A-B, dwelling 28, John Hoffman household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 27 May 2012). | <urn:uuid:5a7bd190-cde7-417f-88ab-52fc1255ce69> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://hoffman-news.blogspot.com/2012/05/1940-hoffmans-derinda-farm-in-us-census.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300222.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00182-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971781 | 352 | 2.578125 | 3 |
There can never be a better alternative than having vegetables in your own garden. By growing vegetables in your own garden, you can eat them fresh and have an assurance of eating vegetables which are free from harmful fertilizers and pesticides. You can choose the right time for growing which is between spring and summer and use a greenhouse to produce your own vegetables.
The type of vegetable you want to grow depends on the weather condition of the place you live at and hence, you need to finalize on the vegetable first. Once that is done, follow the below given steps which will help you know the procedure behind growing vegetables in a greenhouse.
- Choose to build a solar greenhouse according to the size of your garden and the type of greenhouse you want to build. The perfect location would be the one which allows low humidity, moderate temperature and bright light. You can build a small green house against an insulating brick wall.
- Look for an efficient water source for the crop moisture. Keep your garden hydrated all the time and look for alternatives like water filled milkugs in order to absorb sunlight so that the humidity is increased. Choose a greenhouse cover which allows the maximum entry of sunlight.
- Choose the right kind of vegetables. Broccoli and lettuce are the vegetables which grow best in a greenhouse. Other vegetables like peppers and cucumbers also grow well in green.
- While planting them, place the seeds into pots of soil which are filled more than half. After placing the seeds, fill the rest of the space with soil and water the plants when needed. They are indoor crops and hence they will not receive any advantage of the rain.
- Make sure that you keep ample of distance between two pots so that there is space for the crops to grow.
- You need to install two thermometers, one indoors and one outdoors in order to monitor the temperature. If you feel that the temperature is getting disturbed, you can open the doors to help the temperature to get regulated.
- Keep a check for fungal infections and diseases in your plants so that they are not attacked by them. User fungal cleaners and fertilizers so that there is no harm caused to the plants.
These steps will help you grow vegetables in a greenhouse successfully. | <urn:uuid:0a131d22-bb5b-4b1c-8581-089754b2c246> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://thegardencentral.com/greenhouse/about-growing-vegetables-greenhouse/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943625.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20230321033306-20230321063306-00586.warc.gz | en | 0.944642 | 452 | 3.34375 | 3 |
By combining micro-imprinting and electro-spinning techniques, researchers at Shanghai University's Rapid Manufacturing Engineering Center have developed a vascular graft composed of three layers for the first time. This tri-layered composite has allowed researchers to utilize separate materials that respectively possess mechanical strength and promote new cell growth -- a significant problem for existing vascular grafts that have only consisted of a single or double layer.
Vascular grafts are surgically attached to an obstructed or otherwise unhealthy blood vessel to permanently redirect blood flow, such as in coronary bypass surgery. Traditional grafts work by repurposing existing vessels from the patient's own body or from a suitable donor. However, these sources are often insufficient for a patient's needs because of the limited supply in a patient's body, and may be afflicted by the same underlying conditions that necessitate the graft in the first place. Accordingly, there has been a great deal of research towards developing synthetic vessels that can mimic natural ones, allowing new cells to grow around them and then degrade away, thereby creating new vessels.
"The composite vascular grafts could be better candidates for blood vessel repair," said Yuanyuan Liu, an associate professor at the Rapid Manufacturing Engineering Center. Liu's team had previously worked with bone scaffolds, which are used to repair bone defects, before turning their attention to cardiovascular disease, and thus vascular grafts. They describe their current research in the journal AIP Advances, from AIP Publishing.
As a rule, surrogate scaffolds need to mimic the natural vasculature of their targeted tissue as much as possible. For blood vessel surrogates, this structural mimicry can be fabricated by electrospinning, a process which uses an electrical charge to draw liquid inputs -- here a mixture of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol -- into incredibly fine fibers. Electrospinning also allows for a high surface-to-volume ratio of nanofibers, providing ample space for host cells to grow and connect. These components all naturally degrade within six months to a year, leaving behind a new, intact blood vessel.
The resulting structure, however, isn't very rigid -- the fly in the ointment for many previous models. To compensate for this, the researchers designed a three-layer model, in which the mixture was electrospun onto both sides of a microimprinted middle layer of poly-p-dioxanone, a biodegradable polymer commonly used in biomedical applications. The ends of this sheet were then folded and attached to make a tube-like vessel.
Liu and her team then seeded the scaffold with rat fibroblast cells, which are ideal candidates because of their ease of cultivation and quick growth rate, to test the scaffold's efficacy in promoting cellular expansion and integration. The researchers found that the cells on these composite scaffolds proliferated quickly, likely due to the functional amino and hydroxyl groups introduced by the chitosan.
While a good deal of work remains before the prospect of human trials, Liu and her group are optimistic about the future of their research. Their next project is to test the implants in an animal model, to observe the structure's efficacy with live vascular cells.
Cite This Page: | <urn:uuid:da8adb25-4659-423f-8363-7e6528ea76a9> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150203111912.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463608870.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20170527055922-20170527075922-00232.warc.gz | en | 0.947882 | 656 | 2.734375 | 3 |
DALLAS, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. neuropsychologist who helped design concussion testing programs for the NFL and NHL advises parents and athletes to take cognitive testing seriously.
Dr. Munro Cullum -- a professor of psychiatry, neurology and neurotherapeutics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas -- wrote in an online post that some athletes choose to "sandbag," to do poorly on their tests, establishing a low-performing baseline that is easier to emulate after they're taken out of a game with a suspected concussion.
"Post-concussion test results are compared with the baseline to help determine whether someone's cognitive function is back to normal. These athletes want to play no matter the cost -- even if it means returning to action with a brain injury," Cullum wrote. "Sandbagging isn't the only way to invalidate a cognitive test. At the high-school level, my colleagues and I often see invalid baseline results from computerized testing, as high as 20 percent in some samples. Among teenagers, invalid results can have a variety of sources: sandbagging, disinterest, being distracted during the test, or not understanding how important it is."
State legislatures and high-school athletic associations increasingly have become active in establishing concussion monitoring programs.
Many high school teams, especially football teams, now typically require their players to take 30-minute computerized tests to establish cognitive baselines.
"My son plays soccer, another sport that sees its share of head injuries," Cullum wrote. "Here's what I told him about the concussion testing:
-- Take it seriously in a quiet environment, away from your cellphone, family, friends and other distractions.
-- Make sure you give it your best effort. Treat these exams just as if you are seeing a doctor for a medical test.
-- Be as honest in your testing as you are with your physician.
-- There is still so much we don't know about the brain and the damage caused by concussions. We don't know what the risks of contact sports are. We know that multiple concussions aren't good for the brain, but we don't know how many is too many. We don't know why some children who get their bell rung are totally fine the next minute and others aren't OK for weeks.
-- Some kids are more vulnerable than others. Is it shape of the skull? Thickness of the skull? Nature of the hit to the head? Genetic risk factors? We simply don't know." | <urn:uuid:bf83b323-5cc8-4e89-b80f-074a6ed00372> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/08/25/Expert-Athletes-must-take-pre-season-brain-testing-seriously/UPI-17381377476931/?st_rec=78121382922213 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698542851.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170902-00335-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970469 | 520 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Umm Mawagir in Kharga Oasis: Implications of the Site
An ultimate implication of the new site is that the policies of Monthuhotep II at the dawn of the Middle Kingdom set into motion a series of events that resulted in the creation of an Egyptian — or at least Egyptianized — population center, with perhaps modest but temporally pervasive Nubian affinities, in Kharga and Dakhla. The similarities between the architectural forms, ceramic corpora, and overall activity patterns at Umm Mawagir and ‘Ain Asîl suggest that they may have formed a single administrative and economic unit, which was in contact with the other geo-political entities that existed during the Thirteenth through Seventeenth Dynasties. Neither the ceramic assemblage nor other artifacts at Umm Mawagir or ‘Ain Asîl provides evidence of a direct, hegemonic control of Kharga or Dakhla by another political power, as we see in evidence of the archaeological remains of the Second Cataract forts of the Middle Kingdom. An Upper Egyptian influence is the strongest of the overall relatively weak outer influences visible in the archaeological remains at Umm Mawagir. Although at the present time we do not yet know what specific political or economic ties the oasis “polity” may or may not have had with their neighboring powers, they were not a colony of the Hyksos or the Kermans, and thus far nothing suggests that they were a colony of Thebes. The oasis culture in evidence at Umm Mawagir and ‘Ain Asîl is sufficiently distinct from the other three entities of the period, and at the same time of such remarkable homogeneity in Kharga and Dakhla, to suggest a fourth distinct geo-political group in the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period in the Western Desert, perhaps centered at Kharga. The local production of ceramics and foodstuffs suggests that this group may have been economically self-sufficient, although additional excavations are needed to determine any political relationships and interdependencies, in addition to the positively attested trade connections with the far north and far south and some technological affinity to basic Upper Egyptian material.
The archaeological material presented above represents a small percentage of the vast extent of the site of Umm Mawagir and related material at Garn el-Ghinneh and Gebel Ghueita. However, much like the discovery of Old Kingdom material in Dakhla, the very existence of a substantial population center in Kharga Oasis during the late Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period allows for preliminary historical conclusions that will continue to be revised and refined as excavations proceed at Umm Mawagir and other Western Desert sites. The remains at Umm Mawagir and ‘Ain Asîl suggest that simple reconstructions of a weak, embattled Thebes sandwiched between Kerman and Hyksos states are untenable for three basic reasons: (1) during at least the initial stages of the Second Intermediate Period, a fourth major population group, and possible political entity — thus far unconsidered in most reconstructions — was present in the Western Desert; (2) evidence is lacking for direct Hyksos control of desert routes between the Upper Egyptian Nile Valley and Kharga, and indications of Hyksos activity is also absent in the Nubian oases of the Sinn el-Kaddab; (3) evidence from Western Desert road sites such as the Wadi el-Hôl and Tundaba reveal an expansion into the west by the Theban state during the late Seventeenth Dynasty. Although the Hyksos appear belatedly to have attempted to extend their influence into the Western Desert, via Bahariya Oasis,5 both the existing population group and possible political structure in the southern oases and the western expansion of the Seventeenth Dynasty left them little room to maneuver.
The Second Intermediate Period was not a time of only three warring parties in northeast Africa, with the Hyksos and Kerman worlds connected via the Western Desert roads, their emissaries and armies bypassing a weak and cowering Thebaid.6 Instead, a fourth group existed in the Western Desert: the Southern Oasis, capable of producing what must have been a considerable surplus of food. The nature of the organization of the apparently culturally homogeneous group in Kharga and Dakhla is uncertain, but the intensive nature of the baking activity at Umm Mawagir suggests a well-organized administration supporting at least some elements of the population — perhaps a combined Khargan/Dakhlan community, already technologically linked to Upper Egypt, an administrative and economic entity towards which the late Seventeenth Dynasty made a concerted effort to expand. Both the sites of Umm Mawagir in Kharga Oasis and ‘Ain Asîl in Dakhla Oasis reveal a marked decline in activity between the late Seventeenth Dynasty and the early New Kingdom. Whether this results from some disruption in occupation and activity during the time of the final conflict between the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties, or from a late transition from Middle Kingdom administration and settlement patterns in the oases, remains to be seen. A scattering of New Kingdom material atop some portions of the Umm Mawagir site and more substantial and continuous New Kingdom deposits at the nearby Gebel Ghueita,7 suggest a shift of focus south toward the hill of Ghueita at the time of transition from late Middle Kingdom/early Second Intermediate Period to high Second Intermediate Period in the area of Umm Mawagir and Gebel Ghueita. Future seasons of work in the great spread of ancient remains stretching between Garn el-Gineh and the southern environs of Gebel Ghueita in Kharga Oasis should reveal more about the mechanism of these changes in the oases, and shed new and welcome light on a period in need of clarification. | <urn:uuid:070e6406-0ccd-4689-bb9f-53bf2fd9552e> | CC-MAIN-2016-18 | http://www.yale.edu/egyptology/ummmawagir_implications.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461864953696.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428173553-00081-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942218 | 1,233 | 2.9375 | 3 |
The internet is unavoidable in education. Students go there to research, access homework, check grades, and a whole lot more. As a teacher, you do your best to make it a friendly, intuitive, and safe place to visit, but it’s challenging. Students arrive there by iPads, smartphones, links from classroom teachers, suggestions from friends–the routes are endless. The best way to keep the internet experience safe is to catch users right at the front door, on that first click.
How do you do that? By creating a class internet start page. Clicking the internet icon opens the world wide web to a default page. Never take your device’s default because there’s no guarantee it’s G-rated enough for a typical classroom environment. Through the ‘settings’ function on your browser, enter the address of a page you’ve designed as a portal to all school internet activity, called an ‘internet start page’. Sure, this takes some time to set-up and maintain, but it saves more than that in student frustration, lesson prep time, and the angst parents feel about their children entering the virtual world by themselves. They aren’t. You’re there, through this page. Parents can save the link to their home computer and let students access any resources on it, with the confidence of knowing you’ve curated everything.
In searching for the perfect internet start page, I wanted one that:
- quickly differentiates for grades
- is intuitive for even the youngest
- is customizable
- presents a visual and playful interface so students want to go there rather than find work-arounds (a favorite hobby of older students)
- includes an immediately visible calendar of events
- hosts videos of class events
- provides collaborative walls like Padlet
- includes other interactive widgets to excite students about technology
Here are four I looked at:
A logo-based curation tool with surprising flexibility in how links are collected and displayed. It’s hugely popular with educators because collections are highly-visual and easy to access and use. Plus, Symbaloo collections made by one teacher can be shared with the community, making link collections that much easier to curate.
The downside: Links are about all you can collect on Symbaloo and it’s not customizable enough for my varied needs.
Great for youngers with their big bold buttons, colorful interface.
The downside: Too often, I have technical glitches as I try to set up collections. Maybe it’s just me. Another downside: Like Symbaloo, Only2Clicks is focused mostly on link curation. If I want to add widgets, I have to select from their list. With kids, no matter how comprehensive the list, it misses the one I really really need.
Offers a good collection of useful webtools for students including links, news, calendar, notes, even weather. It provides tabs for arranging themed collections (like classes) and is intuitive to set up and use. It even includes options for embeddable widgets like Padlet. This is the closest to what I needed of all three.
Overall: This is a good alternative to the one I selected.
Protopage did everything on my list. It’s flexible, customizable, intuitive, and quick to use with a scalable interface that can be adjusted to my needs (2-5 columns, resize boxes, drag widgets between tabs). I set up a tab for each grade (or you can set up tabs for subjects). The amount of tabs is limited only by space on the top tool bar. Resources included on each tab can be curated exactly as you need. Mine includes:
- oft-used websites
- themed collections of websites
- a To Do list
- an interactive map
- a calculator
- a calendar of events
- edit-in-place sticky notes
- pictures of interest
- rss feeds of interest
- widget for polling the class (Padlet)
In addition, the Protopage folks are helpful. Whenever I have a problem (which is rare), they fix it quickly.
If you’re looking for more details on how to set up a Protopage start page, here’s a longish video with lots of details on setting up your Protopage internet start page:
I’d love to hear your experiences with class internet start pages. What works well for you?
–published first to TeachHUB
More on classroom management tools:
19 webinars on organizing your tech classroom (for one low price)
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, CSG Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, CAEP reviewer, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, and a weekly contributor to TeachHUB. You can find her resources at Structured Learning. | <urn:uuid:893a9a3b-67fb-40c0-8f24-afb380775e78> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | https://askatechteacher.com/2015/06/02/which-class-internet-start-page-is-best/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864303.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20180621231116-20180622011116-00125.warc.gz | en | 0.9225 | 1,079 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The Journal of the American Medical Association has published a new study that has claimed that respiratory infections in healthy adults have a direct association with a biological marker's length. Sheldon Cohen, Ph. D. and colleagues at the Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, had conducted the study.
They said that the ones with telomeres shorter in lengths in some cells were at higher risks of getting an upper respiratory infection. Telomere is a structure at the chromosome's end, the report has found in the meantime. These individuals were also administered a cold virus. In comparison to them, the risks were low in the partakers with longer telomeres.
As many as 152 healthy people were recruited and they were given nasal drops containing rhinovirus 39 in their own staying room. Some 69% developed respiratory infections.
It has been informed that telomeres tend to become short in length when cells divide. During cell division, telomeres act as protective caps that stop genomic DNA erosion. But their shortening in the white blood cells
(leukocytes) means weak reaction of antibody to vaccines. Also, the same hints immunocompetece.
However, it is yet to be found if the leukocyte telomeres' length affects healthy younger people with acute disease. "Shorter leukocyte telomere length also is associated with aging-related illness and death from conditions with immune system involvement, including infectious diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular disease", said the team.
- Samsung signs deal with Amazon.in to sell Galaxy K Zoom handset in India
- GE unveils smart LED light bulb – ‘Link’
- Report: iPhone 6 likely to be launched one month earlier than expected
- Huawei officially unveils its new high-end Ascend P7 smartphone
- Samsung launches its ‘Galaxy K zoom’ camera specialized-smartphone | <urn:uuid:481dd3b3-dc6e-4383-b141-08263d0da18b> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | http://topnews.us/content/253405-researchers-link-biological-marker-length-respiratory-infections | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375097246.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031817-00076-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965957 | 381 | 3.109375 | 3 |
One of the most important resources to question Darwinist theory in the face of scientific findings is the criteria put forward by Darwin himself!
In proposing his theory, Darwin also set out a number of concrete measures about how his theory might be disproved. There are passages beginning with the words “If my theory is true . . .”in many chapters of The Origin of Species, and in those passages, Darwin describes the findings needed to prove his theory. One of them reads:
If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find out no such case. 226
Darwinism accounts for the origin of living things in terms of two unconscious natural mechanisms: natural selection and random changes, caused by mutations. According to Darwinist theory, these two mechanisms gave rise to the complex structure of the living cell, the complex body systems of living things, eyes, ears, wings, lungs, bat sonar and millions of other complex and sophisticated designs.
However, it is unscientific and illogical to claim that all these systems with their exceptionally complex structures are the product of two unconscious natural phenomena. At this point, Darwinism resorts to the concept of reducibility. It is maintained that all the systems in question were once far simpler states, and that they then developed in stages. Each stage provided the living species in question with a slightly greater advantage, and it will thus be favored by way of natural selection. Yet another small, accidental change will later take place, and that will also constitute an advantage and improve the individual’s chances, and the whole process will continue running along those lines.
Thanks to this process, according to the Darwinist claim, a species that initially had no eyes at all would come to possess a flawless pair, and another species previously unable to fly would develop wings and take to the air.
These evolutionist scenarios are related in a very convincing and reasonable-seeming style. Examined in slightly greater detail, however, it appears that there is a major error in place. The first misconception is that mutations are destructive occurrences, rather than beneficial ones. In other words, the idea that random mutations affecting a species can endow it with some advantage—and continue to do so, thousands of times in succession—is a violation of all scientific observations.
However, there is a still more important error at work. Note that Darwinist theory requires every stage in the progression (for instance, from a wingless animal to a winged one) to be advantageous. Thus in any evolutionary process from A to Z, all the intermediate stages—B, C, D C9 through to W, X and Y— must all bestow separate advantages on the species that evolves. Since it is impossible for natural selection and mutation to consciously determine an objective beforehand, the whole theory depends on living systems being capable of “being reduced” to small, advantageous changes.
Given the primitive level of science in the 19th century, Darwin may well have thought that living things did have a reducible structure. However, 20th century scientific findings revealed that many systems and organs in living things were actually irreducible. This phenomenon, known as irreducible complexity, definitively demolished Darwinism in exactly the way that Darwin feared.
The human eye’s structure cannot be reduced to a more simple form, and is a clear example of such a system. The eye cannot function at all unless all its components exist together and function properly. The consciousness that produces such a complex structure needs to calculate beforehand the benefits to be obtained at the very final stage. It is absolutely impossible, however, for the mechanisms of evolution to produce complex organs through consciousness and will.
226 Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, p. 189.2009-08-15 15:06:04 | <urn:uuid:946f1292-6911-4928-81e6-bc11222ed375> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://www.harunyahya.com/en/works/16433/Irreducible_complexity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663637.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00311-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956694 | 799 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Your dentist in Newberg isn’t the only person who influences how you tend to your oral health. Your family and friends also play a role as well. That’s the conclusion of a recent study conducted by researchers at Boston University’s Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.
In 2008, researchers at BU’s Center for Research to Evaluate & Eliminate Dental Disparities started a new line of research with the goal of understanding disease and oral health issues among residents living in Boston’s public housing. The majority to the research to this point has focused on whether or not “motivational interviewing” can influence how mothers care for their kids’ diet and oral health, specifically on childhood tooth decay.
A growing amount of evidence suggests that one-on-one behavioral interventions, such as motivational interviewing, may actually alter short-term behavior, but the results don’t last for very long. Researchers began to suspect that they should consider influence that extends beyond just the individual. Researchers discovered that social networks – groups of family and friends, not the media platforms like Twitter and Facebook – may play an overlooked role in oral health care.
A Family That Brushes Together
Some of the women interviewed by researchers had been born and raised in the public housing unit they now raised their own children in. This allowed researchers the opportunity to interview families that had three generations all living in the same unit. Those close connections help to influence how people behaved, and to make significant progress against diseases like tooth decay, researchers believe reaching out to these types of communities could play an important role in improving oral health in low-income households.
People have a tendency to believe information more when it comes from someone they know, love, and trust. Further evidence also suggests that people are more likely trust people more like themselves. Too frequently, health information is disseminated to low-income communities by people on the outside, making the information less impactful.
Researchers want to spread resources about good oral health, not just to fight against tooth decay, but so that oral health begins to intertwine with other health concerns. One example of how better oral health information could improve community health is soda consumption. Not only does drinking soda – a commonly consumed beverage in many low-income communities – increase tooth decay rates, it also increases risk factors for obesity and diabetes.
To understand the connections that already exist within these communities, researchers needed to draw a social map. Since 2008, the team from BU has interviewed nearly 200 women living in public housing and identified close to 1,000 individuals who were influential in promoting better oral health in their household and community. Researchers are using these social network maps to find similarities about how information flows throughout these communities.
The ultimate goal, says researchers, is to use the map to introduce health information and resources into a community in ways that beneficially change long-term behaviors.
Researchers understand that to make an impact, they need to look for community members with the most personal connections or for people with large influence but fewer personal ties. It might take a village, but tooth decay is entirely preventable, especially in informed communities. | <urn:uuid:b4df1c3b-cfff-4c4f-8751-3e3b4cc1a632> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.newbergcommunitydental.com/social-networks-key-better-oral-health/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027315695.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20190821001802-20190821023802-00281.warc.gz | en | 0.958387 | 645 | 2.953125 | 3 |
This document presents the main concepts related to patents and to the patenting procedure. The goal is to provide expert and non-expert readers with concise information needed to interpret correctly patent analyses. The document explains what is a patent, the difference between a published patent application and a granted patent, and the patenting routes including regional, national and international phases. The document then focuses on PATSTAT, the European Patent Office’s (EPO) Worldwide Patent Statistical Database, and discusses the availability of patent data. This section indicates how to make the correct choice in terms of reference date and to answer the right research question. Every research question generates a different time lag in patent analyses. The documents concludes by presenting the JRC patent methodology, applied in the context of the Strategic Energy Technologies Information System (SETIS) of the European Commission, to monitor Research, Innovation and Competitiveness (RIC) in the energy sector. | <urn:uuid:26e57880-9013-499f-95fc-462acc170f01> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://setis.ec.europa.eu/publications/relevant-reports/patent-based-indicators-main-concepts-and-data-availability | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038069267.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20210412210312-20210413000312-00171.warc.gz | en | 0.855003 | 184 | 2.546875 | 3 |
How Do Electricity Shortages Affect Industry? Evidence from India
88 Pages Posted: 19 Mar 2014 Last revised: 2 Aug 2021
Date Written: March 2014
We estimate the effects of electricity shortages on Indian manufacturers, instrumenting with supply shifts from hydroelectric power availability. We estimate that India’s average reported level of shortages reduces the average plant’s revenues and producer surplus by five to ten percent, but average productivity losses are significantly smaller because most inputs can be stored during outages. Shortages distort the plant size distribution, as there are significant economies of scale in generator costs and shortages more severely affect plants without generators. Simulations show that offering interruptible retail electricity contracts could substantially reduce the impact of shortages.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation | <urn:uuid:1668af2b-16f4-4031-8f78-0fa1facdb85a> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2411280 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780058589.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20210928002254-20210928032254-00330.warc.gz | en | 0.905344 | 153 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Despite the fact that Julius Caesar is the play's title, Brutus is considered to be the hero of the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Why is that so?
In the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the title character is only alive for about half the play. He isn't considered the hero, or even one of the two main characters, because he isn’t the character that the audience watches struggle with internal conflict. Brutus and Cassius are the most human of the characters, in that they have goals and misgivings that develop throughout the play.
At first, Brutus cannot decide whether to join the conspiracy. Once he does, he conflicts frequently with his friend Cassius, and they argue violently at one point. In Cassius we see emotional turmoil as he doubts Brutus’ loyalty and friendship for a while.
Although the name Julius Caesar appears in the title, the word “tragedy” refers more to the fate of Brutus and Cassius than to him. Their motives are considered to be purer and more admirable than Caesar’s. The true tragedy is that Brutus and Cassius could not attain their goal of removing Caesar and keeping Rome free of tyranny. | <urn:uuid:337aa927-3da3-4233-b8c4-bfe5befe3fec> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/despite-fact-that-julius-ceasar-books-title-brutus-336203 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084887054.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20180118012249-20180118032249-00422.warc.gz | en | 0.954811 | 255 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Are look-alikes related?
My childhood best friend looked so much like me that our teachers, and even our friends, had a lot of trouble telling us apart. ‘Are you twins?’, we were often asked. However, there was no family connection as far back as anyone could trace. The similarity in our appearance was not due to being closely related—or, putting it another way—due to us having a recent common ancestor, like a common father, grandmother, or even great grandparent. It was just a ‘fluke’.
The main (only?) argument for evolution is that similarities between living things are due to relatedness, or common ancestry. If two kinds of animals share a lot of common features, then they are ‘obviously’ closely related and so must have had a recent common ancestor—or so the evolutionary reasoning goes.1,2 Birds, for example, all lay eggs, have feathers and a specialized lung comprised of interconnected air sacs, so the evolutionist would say all birds had a common ancestor which had these features. Creationists would say that birds have these similarities because they were created with a common basic plan. People would assume that because my friend and I were so similar we must have shared a very recent common ancestor—like the same parents. They were wrong. In like manner, the evolutionists are often—not always—wrong in assuming similarity is due to common ancestry.
Of course my friend and I are members of the same human kind and so we know that we had a common ancestor—who was a descendant of Japheth, in this case. However, the analogy is accurate—that the degree of similarity in appearance does not necessarily indicate the degree of genetic relatedness. As we shall see, evolutionists are forced to recognise this at times, but they (illogically) do not admit that such recognition undermines the main argument for evolution (if similarities occur that clearly are not due to common ancestry, how does the evolutionist know that any similarities are due to evolution?).
If living things had a common creator/designer, we would expect there to be many similarities—just like the early Porsche and VW ‘beetle’ have many similarities because they shared the same designer. If there were not these similarities in living things we might be inclined to believe in many creators, not just one. The Bible tells us that God’s very nature is revealed to us in what He has created (Romans 1:18–23). I believe that God created things in such a way that the patterns we see defy a natural explanation—such as evolution—but support a supernatural explanation. In other words, the patterns of similarity cannot be consistently explained by any naturalistic (everything–made–itself) theory.
Many creatures show similar features because their Creator used similar structures for similar purposes.
The more similar creatures are, according to the evolutionary argument, the more closely they should be related—that is, the more recent it is since they had the same ancestor. Take, as an example, the usual textbook illustration of the similarities between the limbs of animals with backbones (vertebrates) and people. Human beings have a five–finger/toe hand/foot pattern, and limbs with two bones attached to the hand/foot joined to a single other major limb bone. We share this pattern with bats and frogs and therefore, the evolutionist argues, we must share common ancestors with these animals. That explains the similarities, we are told.
However, if we look at the horse limb (right), we see that it is quite different to the human form. Frogs and people have remarkably similar limb structures, but horses, which are supposedly very much more closely related to humans, have a limb with little resemblance to the human limb. Just on the basis of limb structures, it might be reasonable to suppose that frogs and people are more closely related than people and horses.
However, horses, as mammals, share many similarities to humans which frogs, as amphibians, don’t share—horses, like us, are warm–blooded, give birth to live young, suckle their young, have hair, etc. The evolutionist claims that horses and humans must be more closely related than frogs and humans.
But what about the remarkable differences in the limbs of horses and humans? The evolutionist ‘explains’ the profound differences in the horse and human limbs as due to ‘adaptation’ in the horse. So, when the evolutionist confronts anomalies like the horse limb, a story is invented to ‘explain’ it. In this case the story is ‘adaptation’. The limb was supposedly ‘modified’ by natural selection to do a different job. However, this is a just–so story to explain away evidence which does not fit the common ancestry idea.
Quolls and cats
Marsupials are mammals which give birth to very immature babies which are suckled in a protective pouch. These include the kangaroos, koalas, wombats and possums of Australasia and the opossums of the Americas. Placental mammals nurture their young in the womb, which develops an elaborate nourishing structure called a placenta. The babies are born in quite a developed state compared to marsupials.
|Tasmanian ‘Tiger’ or Thylacine||Wolf|
|Feathertail Glider||Flying squirrel|
|Dunnart or Marsupial mouse||Mouse, Shrew|
|Marsupial mole||Golden mole of Africa|
|Table 1. Some marsupial and placental animals showing remarkable similarities.|
Nearly all the mammals in Australia are marsupials. Why is this so? The evolutionist claims to have an answer: the marsupials evolved in Australia from a common ancestor which just happened to be here.3 Placental mammals—such as dogs, cats, horses, squirrels, mice, etc., evolved on other continents. That’s the story.
However, there are many incredible similarities between marsupial and placental animals which defy this naturalistic story. Take the marsupial mouse, or dunnart, and placental mouse, for example. Some types are so similar it is difficult to tell them apart without close inspection to look for the pouch.
The marsupial mole from the Northern Territory of Australia is incredibly similar to the golden mole of Africa. When the cuscus was first discovered in Papua New Guinea it was mistaken for a type of monkey. It has a flat monkey-like face, opposable digits on front and hind limbs, and a prehensile (grasping) tail.
The number of similar marsupial and placental animals is astounding, if they just arose by the evolutionary processes of chance mutations and natural selection.
The list could be extended by including extinct types such as the marsupial diprotodon, a hippopotamus-like creature. So there are many similarities which are not due to common ancestry, or evolution. How does the evolutionist account for these similarities? Here another story comes into play: many of the marsupials and placentals ended up looking like one another because they happened to be in similar ecological niches and so evolved similarly to fill those similar niches. This is another ‘just–so’ story. Such similarities are said to be due to ‘convergence’ or ‘parallel evolution’. ‘Convergence’ is really just a grab bag to put similarities which cannot be explained through common ancestry (evolution). This is supposed to account for similarities which do not fit the evolutionary scheme of descent based on other similarities.
It stretches the bounds of credulity to believe that so many marsupials just happened, without any plan and purpose, to look so similar to their placental counterparts. It’s like trying to believe that two artists painted a series of almost identical paintings without reference to one another, or that the similarities between a VW and Porsche were not due to their having a common designer.
Also, if being in a similar ecological niche automatically generates similarities, why is the kangaroo not more like cattle, horses or deer—the kangaroo’s ecological counterparts on other continents? The kangaroo throws a spanner into the logic of the ‘convergence’ story used to explain similarities which do not fit the evolutionary story.4
God has indeed created things in such a way as to confound naturalistic (everything made itself) explanations for the origin of organisms. Various ad hoc, or just–so, stories have been invented in an attempt to explain the many things which do not fit the evolutionary scheme, but they are just that—stories. May God receive the glory that is His due for the marvelous things He has created!
Re-posted on homepage: 23 January 2013
References and notes
- In the case of my friend and me, we were related—having descended from Noah’s family, but the degree of similarity did not reflect the degree of relatedness. We looked like twins but we were not even cousins. That is the problem with the evolutionists’ argument: degree of similarity does not necessarily imply degree of relatedness. Return to text.
- Specialists in the classification of organisms (taxonomists) call the similarities between organisms which are thought to be due to relatedness ‘homologies’. This concept is quite valid for creationists to apply in defining what were the original created kinds—where there is genuine relatedness amongst the descendants. For example, the many different species of Eucalyptus trees could possibly represent one created kind. Likewise there are various types of cattle which are almost certainly the one biblical kind. See Re-creating the extinct aurochs? Creation 14(2):25–28, 1992, and Ligers and Wholphins: what next?. Return to text.
- Marsupial fossils have been found on all continents. Return to text.
- There are extreme examples of obviously non-homologous similarities being discovered at the molecular level. An example is the complex hemoglobin molecule found in the blood of vertebrates being also in some crustaceans (such as Daphnia, the water flea), and even in the roots of some plants (Nature 331:178, 1988). See Walter ReMine’s The Biotic Message for an in–depth treatment of the evolutionists’ selective use of similarities to argue for evolutionary relationships. Return to text. | <urn:uuid:fea69377-f0ac-47a7-8449-8068bd0ef2f0> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://creation.com/are-look-alikes-related | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764495012.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20230127195946-20230127225946-00609.warc.gz | en | 0.959764 | 2,266 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Cleaner Tailpipe Standards -- It's Time to Act
Although we've taken many steps to clean up our air over the last few decades, four in ten Americans still live in places where the air is sometimes dangerous to breathe. Our cars and trucks remain a leading source of smog-forming pollution such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These pollutants increase rates of asthma, respiratory disease, and premature death.
The Obama administration has the power to dramatically reduce pollution from our cars and trucks. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose "Tier 3" cleaner tailpipe standards. These standards would require refineries to produce cleaner-burning gasoline beginning in 2017 and automakers to phase-in advanced pollution control technology to reduce tailpipe pollution beginning in the 2017 model year.
Unfortunately, the oil industry is opposed to anything that would make them clean up their act. Groups like the American Petroleum Industry are asking their friends in Congress and the White House to delay cleaner tailpipe standards.
It is critical that the Obama administration stand up to the oil industry and move forward with cleaner tailpipe standards. Delay would mean that we won't get cleaner-burning gasoline in 2017 and the health benefits that come with it. This is a big deal -- in 2017 alone, cleaner-burning gasoline would keep 260,000 tons of nitrogen oxides out of the air, equivalent to taking 33 million cars off the road. The Obama administration has a choice to make -- either give in to oil industry pressure or stand up for public health and move forward with cleaner tailpipe standards.
You can help secure cleaner air for all of us to breathe. Call the White House today and tell President Obama to stand up to the oil industry and move forward with cleaner tailpipe standards!
-- Jesse Prentice-Dunn, Sierra Club Green Transportation Campaign | <urn:uuid:fa450eff-40fb-4d01-8a63-5ef334dd8728> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2013/03/cleaner-tailpipe-standards-its-time-to-act.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246651471.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045731-00264-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945298 | 366 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Strong statist positions and a fixation on state sovereignty once inhibited progress toward more just and effective models of global governance. However, there can be no denying that globalization has not only led to the unprecedented transformation of our societies, but also the role that states play in the international system. Yet, even as states gradually share more responsibilities with corporations, sub-national entities and international organizations, their structural significance still remains indisputable – particularly when it comes to finding near-term solutions for better modes of global governance. This should result in a more equitable and representative international state system to which global governing structures will remain accountable.
The Existing Structure and Its Limitations
Traditional paradigms typically reserved almost unequivocal attention to the narrow interests of states, even around issues that were global in nature. This understanding gradually grew obsolete and many of the post-war multilateral institutions were formed to address those challenges which cannot be solved by unilateral state decisions. With its numerous funds and programs, the United Nations is the best known and furthest reaching of these institutions – even though important work is increasingly being undertaken by a variety of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that are not directly influenced by national interests. Yet, such developments have by no means guaranteed a significant improvement in global governance as it is currently practiced. UN Resolutions continue to be violated and international laws are regularly breached. To take the most straightforward example, the UN Security Council (UNSC) remains structurally tethered to the interests of its five permanent members. And because these five states retain formidable veto powers, the threat of unilateral decision making remains very much in place.
Accordingly, the veto system in its current form is a major impediment to more effective forms of global governance and is ill-suited for the economic and political realities of our times. Moreover, international failure to reform the system is solidifying global governance around a paradigm that better reflects the power balances of the mid-20th century rather than the present day. Without immediate and profound reform, the credibility of the international community continues to be severely hamstrung. In order to overcome this, the effectiveness and influence of the UNSC can be enhanced in several ways, and states will have to reach a consensus over how it should be amended. Options include shifting to gaining the majority consensus of the five permanent members, extending veto powers to additional states and regional blocs, and abolishing the veto altogether.
Without meaningful reform, the present veto system will continue to impede timely prevention and/or intervention against large-scale human rights violations and war crimes. However, evidence has shown that making such changes will occur slowly over an indeterminate length of time[DA1] , despite intense political pressure. The call for reform of the UNSC was subtly initiated in the ‘90s and hit its stride in the last decade. It has concentrated around the efforts of groups like “Uniting for Consensus”, the G4 or the African Union’s Ezulwini Consensus which consecutively put forward proposals for a more representative UNSC. The process of reform remains to date “painfully slow” and a decisive structural change has yet to materialize. Consequently, it might be more realistic to push for changes within the existing system, such as those recently suggested by France. Earlier this year, Paris urged its fellow permanent Security Council members to refrain from using their veto powers in situations involving mass atrocities. In doing so, France has merely reconfirmed that the status quo might not only be harmful to the UN’s standing and legitimacy, but for humanity as well.
Creating the Right Conditions
A further challenge involves ensuring and enhancing the accountability of existing global governance institutions. Entities such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) continue to implement policies with far-reaching effects, whereas those most adversely affected by them quite often have little means of recourse. As Thomas Pogge has argued, WTO policies have systematically reinforced global inequality and thus exacerbated global poverty rather than ameliorating it. Poverty, marginalization, and huge gaps in socio-economic development all raise barriers to good global governance. Financial institutions and mechanisms have an important role to play in addressing these issues, but only greater levels of accountability and increased respect for human rights will overcome them. Quite often even NGOs, while not under the direct control of states, do an inadequate job of representing the most vulnerable members of society and instead take directives from its most favorably positioned members.
These considerations beg for the creation of two principal amendments to the current system. The first involves the creation of a universal citizens’ charter that guarantees human dignity regardless of ethnic, religious or national affiliations. The second is that states’ internal representational structures will have to be improved so that the fundamental rights of all sections of society are better protected. Because radical economic disparity within a nation compromises the capacity for representation and hence good internal governance, global governance will also subsequently be debilitated. Accordingly, improved internal governance within states will result in less economic disparity, and be a sine qua non for improved global governance and the upholding of human rights.
Setting Minimum Criteria
While attempts to promote human rights beyond the nation-state predate it, the 1948 UN Charter has led the way in formal efforts to recognize and protect them. Yet, it is only in more recent times that crises occurring outside of the spectre of warfare have been recognized as a fundamental challenge to global human rights. However, economic policies that systematically reinforce global disparities and actions that threaten global economic stability (like those leading up to the financial crisis of 2008) have always compromised human dignity and should be constrained by the aforementioned universal citizens’ charter. Cultural arrogance, marginalization and exclusionary practices also add to what is effectively a cluster of problems.
Historically entrenched divisions and transcultural misunderstandings perpetuate problems whose solutions must go beyond the national level. Such challenges to human welfare and dignity throw into stark relief the interconnectedness of all peoples and the remote consequences of local actions, as well as the need for efficient institutional solutions that are able to bypass long-standing power struggles between select nations. At its minimum, good global governance, as implemented by multilateral institutions, must work by a set of criteria that are general enough to allow for distinct cultural interpretations to coexist. A sustainable agenda for global governance must be clearly guided by:
- Effective multilateralism
- Effective multilateral institutions
- Representative multilateral decision-making structures
- Stronger partnerships between multilateral organizations and civil society
Global governance suffers from both ineffectiveness and a crisis of legitimacy. Credible and sustainable global governance requires that institutions cease to work predominantly to the advantage of those groups or nations already in positions of power. It must create the conditions for those in less fortunate positions to have stable and meaningful social lives. Progress has begun on these fronts with the partial integration of multilateral agencies and non-state governing bodies. However, progress continues to occur at a rate far slower than that of globalization and is inadequate to address the emerging global challenges. Placing these criteria at the centre of developing forms of global governance will assure that such institutions and partnerships do not lose sight of their intended purpose.
Nayef Al-Rodhan is an Honorary Fellow at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and Senior Fellow and Director of the Centre for the Geopolitics of Globalization and Transnational Security at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Author of: Sustainable History and the Dignity of Man. A Philosophy of History and Civilisational Triumph (Berlin: LIT, 2009). http://www.sustainablehistory.com/ & http://oxford.academia.edu/NayefAlRodhan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. | <urn:uuid:ad7be0c5-d61d-49a1-b05e-60fa0bdbdb2c> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://isnblog.ethz.ch/humanitarian-issues/minimum-criteria-for-sustainable-global-governance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00275.warc.gz | en | 0.940351 | 1,618 | 2.71875 | 3 |
National Slavery & Human Trafficking Awareness Month
January 17: MLK Day and the Day of Service
Signed into law in January 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday is a celebration of Dr. King’s contribution to the United States and to humankind. This American federal holiday is observed on the third Monday of each January, which is near King’s birthday, January 15, 1929.
NEW C-SPAN in the Classroom Podcast Episodes
Join us for Episode #5: Martin Luther King, Jr: Life and Legacy of the C-SPAN in the Classroom podcast. With the recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. this month, the team shares C-SPAN Classroom resources that reflect the life and legacy of this historic figure. Discover C-SPAN resources including eyewitness testimony, archival recordings, museum interviews, and contemporary commentary, among other resources to use in your classroom. Listen now at c-span.org/podcasts, on the free C-SPAN Now video app, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Be sure to also visit the Podcast Page on our Featured Resources Site for a selection of materials highlighted in the episode, including this small sample of what’s available to you and your students.
Literacy Week: January 24 - January 28, 2022
Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! is designed to raise awareness about the importance of reading and to inspire Florida's students and families to make reading part of their daily routines. Our Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! 2022 theme is Launch Into Literacy, Blast Off Into New Worlds!
Black History Month
Black History Month is officially celebrated in the month of February. However, throughout history, in every month, generations of African Americans struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. The credible resources on this page will help teachers and students learn more about this rich history. Decades of not treating people with equality and respect spawned the civil rights movement. The Civil War ended in 1865. Yet it took black Americans many decades and a long difficult fight to get what Abraham Lincoln had intended them to have: equality. Learn more with the informational texts referenced.
Teen Dating Violence Month
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, which is a national effort to raise awareness about abuse in teen and 20-something relationships and promote programs that prevent it. According to the website love is respect, “Every February, young people and their loved ones join together across the country for a national effort to raise awareness about the issue of teen dating violence through Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. This annual, month-long push focuses on advocacy and education to stop dating abuse before it starts. The theme for TDVAM 2021 is Know Your Worth. Know Your Worth is all about learning about healthy relationships and self-empowerment! Every young person is deserving of a healthy, loving relationship. Key dates are as follows: Respect Week begins February 8.
Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. “Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called ‘Washington’s Birthday’ by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.” Although some states honor the birthday of Lincoln, it was never a federal holiday. (Sources: The History Channel and Encyclopedia Britannica)
National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits. This year's theme, Celebrate a World of Flavors, embraces global cultures, cuisines and inclusivity, plus showcases the expertise of registered dietitian nutritionists.
Newspaper in Education Week
Newspaper in Education Week is commemorated and celebrated annually during the first full school week in March. Newspaper in Education (NIE) is an international program that encourages the use of the daily newspaper as a “living textbook” for students from primary through adult education levels. The Tampa Bay Times is pleased to commemorate Newspaper in Education Week 2021 and encourage students to read the newspaper daily in school and at home to enhance and enrich their lives.
Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. Women’s History Month began as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week." Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as "Women’s History Week." In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month." Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”
National Poetry Month was inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996. Each year the month of April is set aside as National Poetry Month, a time to celebrate poets and their craft. Various events are held throughout the month by the Academy of American Poets and other poetry organizations.
Read all about it: Front Page Breaking News!
Financial Literacy Month
The Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education at the University of South Florida created resources aligned to the Florida Financial Literacy Standards: Financial Investing, Saving, Using Credit, Earning Income, Protecting and Insuring, and Understand the fundamental concepts relevant to the institutions, structure, and functions of a national economy. Click here for the online materials.
In a partnership the Tampa Bay Times NIE and the Florida Press Educational Services, the Gus A. Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education at the University of South Florida created a blog that includes lesson ideas that use news texts (articles, videos, cartoons, images). CLICK ON the images below to access the texts and standards-based questions. (For more, check out the archives on the right side of the page).
Alcohol Awareness Month
Since 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) has sponsored Alcohol Awareness Month to “increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma and encourage local communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues.” This year’s theme is Changing Attitudes: It’s not a ‘rite of passage’.
Holocaust Remembrance Week
The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. On April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. By May 16, 1943, the Germans had crushed the uprising and left the ghetto area in ruins. Surviving ghetto residents were deported to concentration camps or killing centers.
According to the Earth Day Network, “Earth Day was a unified response to an environment in crisis — oil spills, smog, rivers so polluted they literally caught fire. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet.” The 2021 theme for Earth Day is Restore Our Earth. EARTHDAY.ORG along with lead organizers Education International, Hip Hop Caucus, and Earth Uprising are organizing three separate parallel climate action summits on April 20 and 21 ahead of the Biden Administration’s global leaders’ climate summit.
Law Day 2021
Law Day is May 1. The 2021 Law Day theme is Advancing the Rule of Law Now. The American Bar Association notes, “The rule of law is the bedrock of American rights and liberties—in times of calm and unrest alike. The 2021 Law Day theme—Advancing the Rule of Law, Now—reminds all of us that we the people share the responsibility to promote the rule of law, defend liberty, and pursue justice."
Law Day 2020 – Your Vote • Your Voice • Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100
Law Day is an annual celebration of the rule of law in a free society. The Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government notes, “Throughout May, the legal community reaches out in communities across the nation to simulate appreciation and critical thinking about the founding fundamentals that are so easily taken for granted.” Law Day 2020 celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. “The women’s suffrage movement forever changed America, expanding representative democracy and inspiring other popular movements for constitutional change and reform. Yet, honest reflection on the suffrage movement reveals complexity and tensions over race and class that remain part of the ongoing story of the Nineteenth Amendment and its legacies,” notes the American Bar Association.
Law Day 2019 – Free Speech, Free Press, Free Society
Law Day is an annual celebration of the rule of law in a free society. The Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government notes, “Throughout May, the legal community reaches out in communities across the nation to simulate appreciation and critical thinking about the founding fundamentals that are so easily taken for granted.
“Since 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the first Law Day, Americans have taken the opportunity to recommit themselves to remaining a nation of laws. The observance became official in 1961, when Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1 as Law Day. This year is the 50th anniversary of Tinker v. Des Moines and a time to revisit landmark Supreme Court cases that changed student free speech and free expression rights at school.”
American Founders’ Month, Constitution Day and Celebrate Freedom Week
Florida observes American Founders’ Month, Constitution Day (Sept.17) and Celebrate Freedom Week (Sept. 23-27). Section (s.) 683.1455, Florida Statutes (F.S.), designates the month of September as American Founders’ Month and s. 1003.421, F.S., recognizes the last full week of classes in September in public schools as Celebrate Freedom Week. During American Founders’ Month various groups, including public and private educational institutions, are urged to recognize and observe this occasion through appropriate programs, meetings, services or celebrations in which state, county and local governmental officials are invited to participate. Public schools are encouraged to coordinate instruction at all grade levels related to the nation’s founding principles of our nation.
Tampa Bay Times NIE publication: Celebrate Freedom
Center for Civic Education publication: We the People
Tampa Bay Times NIE publication: It’s All About the Benjamins
NIE publication: Time Stone Series of American Heroes Benjamin Franklin & Teacher Guide
Archives of Project Gutenberg: Original text of the Federalist Papers
National Archives: Correspondence and Other Writings of Six Major Shapers of the United States
National Archives: Lesson Plans: Teaching Six Big Ideas in the Constitution
Library of Congress: The American Founders Online: An Annotated Guide to Their Papers and Publications
PBS Learning Media: Alexander Hamilton | Lawyer, Writer, and Founding Father
PBS Learning Media: Benjamin Franklin | Writer, Inventor, and Founding Father
PBS News Hour: News for Students and Teacher Resources 7–12 Grade Level Founding Fathers
Learn more about the Founding Fathers:
Remembering September 11
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the tragic events that took place in American on September 11, 2001. On that date, militants associated with the Islamist extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane was crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed during the attacks, including more than 400 police officers and firefighters and 246 passengers and crew on the four planes. This was the most deadly terrorist attack in U.S. history
National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Childhood Obesity Is a Major Public Health Problem:
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15- October 15)
Hispanic Heritage Month, whose roots go back to 1968, begins each year on September 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period and Columbus Day (Día de la Raza) is October 12. The National Hispanic Heritage Month theme for 2020 is A History of Serving our Nation.
National Newspaper Week
Observance of National Newspaper Week will be take place Oct. 4-10. This 80th annual National Newspaper Week is a recognition of the service of newspapers and their employees across North American and is sponsored by Newspaper Association Managers, the consortium of North American trade associations representing the industry on a state and provincial, regional and national basis.
Substance Abuse Prevention Month
October is National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, an annual observance focused on raising the public awareness and encouraging communities to take action and get involved to prevent substance use. Each year families, communities, and organizations across the country come together to raise awareness about the importance of substance use prevention and the importance of investing in prevention.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the second-most common kind of cancer in American women. About one in eight women born today in the United States will get breast cancer.
Civic Education and Election Day
According to the Louis Frey Institute, research shows when students engage in simulated civic actions, they are prone to develop a positive political efficacy that contributes to lifelong engagement. Discussing Election Day is a perfect time to engage students in civic education. In addition, the local newspaper is a great teaching tool to engage your students in civics education. Engaged citizens participate in their communities by voting and practicing good citizenship.
Veterans Day Resources
National Native American Heritage Month
America Recycles Day – Nov. 15
America Recycles Day is November 15. Learn about the many recycling facilities, programs and events available to Tampa Bay residents with these NIE publications.
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, “was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces. Just before 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan,” posted on the History Channel.
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day takes place on December 1 each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died.
Lessons & Classroom Activities
Resources by grade level | <urn:uuid:3030367f-2524-4ee9-95c3-73cad38759b3> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://nieonline.com/tbtimes/event_calendar.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320305260.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220127103059-20220127133059-00101.warc.gz | en | 0.936723 | 3,354 | 3.8125 | 4 |
Wind is an increasing source of renewable energy, both domestically and internationally. In recent years, 30-40% of all new electric generating capacity constructed in the U.S. has involved wind energy. Texas, Iowa and California lead the U.S. in wind energy production, but China leads on the global stage. While the U.S. currently produces only 4% of its electric power from wind, a study by the Department of Energy concludes that a goal of 20% could be achieved by 2030. Barry Butler’s goal is to provide the audience with an understanding of wind energy as a global renewable energy source. Butler will give a brief history of the industry as well as illustrate its societal impacts and possible growth in the coming years.
Barry Butler is the Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Iowa. Prior to those appointments, Butler was dean of the UI College of Engineering, where he holds the rank of full professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1979 and 1981, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1984, also from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He joined the University of Iowa faculty in 1984. He currently serves as co-chair of the American Wind Energy Association’s research and Development Committee. | <urn:uuid:4b6ff158-a865-4449-9d1b-3d2a930e37db> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://icfrc.org/2014/07/10/barry-butler-july-9-2014/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424247.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20170723042657-20170723062657-00477.warc.gz | en | 0.974243 | 295 | 2.546875 | 3 |
- 1A person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from whom one is descended: he could trace his ancestors back to James the FirstMore example sentences
- A smaller unit is the lineage, a kin group of four or five generations descended from a male ancestor traced though the male line.
- Yet evolution predicts not just successions of forms, but also genetic lineages from ancestors to descendants.
- The family unit has at its head the ancestors followed by the grandparents, the father, the wives and then the children.
- 1.1An early type of animal or plant from which others have evolved: the ancestor of most dolphins is not clear both species of elephant have a common ancestorMore example sentences
- It is generally accepted that all multicellular animals have evolved from a common ancestor, which itself evolved from a single-celled organism.
- There are two main types, the dome heads and the horned dinosaurs, which evolved from a common ancestor during the early Cretaceous.
- Finally we get to the common ancestor of all animals, plants, protists, and fungi.
- 1.2An early version of a machine, system, etc.: this instrument is an ancestor of the luteMore example sentences
- This solution is the ancestor of many versions of platonism in mathematics.
- The oud is a popular instrument; it is an ancient stringed instrument that is the ancestor of the European lute.
- An ancient stringed instrument, it is an ancestor of the European lute.
Middle English: from Old French ancestre, from Latin antecessor, from antecedere, from ante 'before' + cedere 'go'. | <urn:uuid:ff24c76f-ecc0-4127-86c7-1854cbee5cc4> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/ancestor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609521512.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005201-00313-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935167 | 350 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Australian scientists are warning the world's oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem Cooperative Research Center have been collecting and analyzing water samples from the Southern Ocean.
They have found the level of carbon dioxide in the ocean has increased 50 percent over 100 years and predict it will double again during the next 50 years, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
Explore further: A new instrument to study the extreme universe—the X-Ray polarimeter X-Calibur | <urn:uuid:badbceb6-ccc7-4650-a3c1-d449748b8512> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://phys.org/news6874.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422121983086.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124175303-00101-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907977 | 122 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Water is the source of life — but when not properly managed, it can breed disease, create conflict and destroy communities. Around the world, one in nine people does not have access to the clean water they need — that's nearly 800 million people.
Mercy Corps works to increase access to safe water around the world, whether it's bringing relief during droughts or rebuilding wells in remote villages. We also help people learn proper sanitation, improve distribution and irrigation, and strengthen communities against flooding.
All stories about Water
Pakistan: Boy wading through floodwaters in Sindh September 19, 2011
Mercy Corps is responding to flooding in Pakistan's Sindh Province with emergency clean water for over 4,000 displaced families.
Pakistan: Another year of flooding in Sindh September 15, 2011
After barely getting back on their feet from the historic 2010 floods, Pakistan's monsoon season has deluged the same region again creating a health and housing crisis for over 5 million people according to the UN.
Somalia: Delivering clean water in Mogadishu September 15, 2011
Kenya: Collecting water in West Wajir September 9, 2011
In towns that are lucky enough to have boreholes, Mercy Corps is providing fuel subsidies so that pastoral families can water their herds and protect what livestock they have left.
Kenya: Without water in West Wajir September 9, 2011
"Look. Over there. See them?"
Colombia: New hope for flooded-out families September 8, 2011
Somalia: Update from Mogadishu September 8, 2011
I just returned from Mogadishu, where we're trucking clean water to three tent camps in Mogadishu, reaching more than 13,000 people every day.
Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya: Water delivery starts in Mogadishu September 2, 2011
Although the crisis in Africa's Horn has fallen off the front pages, the situation "continues to deteriorate," according to the latest UN report. Cholera, measles and malaria are on the rise. Food prices have shot up, livestock are withering, and water is scarce.
Reporting out from World Water Week in Stockholm September 2, 2011
Thirteen members of Mercy Corps representing five country programs, the United States and Scotland gathered in Stockholm last week to attend sessions and network with leading governmental representatives, private agencies, and non-governmental organizations working on issues related to water.
Somalia: Walking for weeks to reach Mogadishu's sprawling camps August 19, 2011 | <urn:uuid:92beffbc-2771-4f88-b453-a1b0c735a090> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.mercycorps.org/water?page=5&%3Bform_id=mc_email_interior_form&%3Bop=Go&%3Bsource=79700&email=bijanazad19%40yahoo.com&form_build_id=form-b1b13eb8025f0fffa8b4a4094f57f02e | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997894275.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025814-00111-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936635 | 520 | 3 | 3 |
Knowledge Management has a history. I wrote my first report on this subject back in 1996. Knowledge Management was then defined as a systematic approach to manage corporate knowledge to achieve business value. It is a general definition that still has merits. Some research and practices back then focused on managing knowledge assets with information technology and others on the dynamics of organizational collaboration.
Common practices to create, manage and transfer knowledge have been:
- Communities: Collaborative groups that span across organizational boundaries.
- Best-practice: Reusing knowledge via work descriptions, offerings and similar.
- Knowledge maps: Map knowledge to specific work processes or situations.
- Knowledge profiles: Describing knowledge workers’ roles and resources.
The above practices have often been enabled by means of content and collaboration technologies such as messaging, e-mail, document management, portals, enterprise content management, search and the like.
Content can be seen as a seed of knowledge. But extracting the knowledge and acting upon it require first, that people need to interpret the content to understand the intended information and second, people need to ponder the information for knowledge to emerge. As argued in a former post:
“Content can be managed with the means of (information) technology, but we cannot manage information and knowledge with technology alone since information and knowledge are created and exist only in the heads of humans.” (Back to Basics - Defining Data, Content, Experience, Information And Knowledge)
For Knowledge Management to succeed in an Enterprise it is, for the above reason, essential that appropriate roles, cultures, incentives etc are in place. This will encourage a knowledge sharing environment (knowledge market) necessary for better innovation, smarter services, increased learning, higher productivity etc.
So, what can Web 2.0 technologies and practices add to Knowledge Management?
Web 2.0 is fostered in an agile, open and distributed atmosphere. Recent social trends embrace more open collaboration where content is created and shared in self-organizing networks and communities. This attitude may be what is missing in many failed Knowledge Management initiatives, where company workers have been reluctant to join forces and share what they know.
Web 2.0 technologies for user generated content (e.g. wikis and blogs) and metadata (e.g. social tagging and bookmarks) will simplify the production and consumption of content. Other technologies such as feeds, mashups, web services, ajax etc will have a role in developing a more flexible and richer web user experience more suitable to the needs and preferences of knowledge workers.
Social interaction (e.g. profiles and social networks) has possibly the largest potential in adding something innovative to Knowledge Management. Knowledge workers may market their knowledge and interests and passively or actively strengthen their relationships across company borders.
I think it is safe to conclude that Web 2.0 will drive Knowledge Management to another level. | <urn:uuid:cb79dcd7-4ffa-4a87-a51a-2e650144fd44> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://www.oscarberg.net/2007/11/will-web-20-drive-knowledge-management.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049275181.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002115-00225-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921376 | 584 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Two words in the English language appear to be ambiguous and have over-lapping meaning: Hearing and Listening. Are they the same or do they mean different things? Let’s examine and understand.
Hearing is the act of perceiving sound and receiving sound waves or vibrations through your ear. Hearing simply happens and is involuntary. Hearing is a skill where you use your ears only and is one of the five senses. Listening, on the other hand, is the act of hearing a sound and understanding what you hear. Listening requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences.
All of us must have at some point or the other heard ourselves saying to someone – “Are you listening to me?” we often say this with impatience and a degree of frustration.
So why do we say this?
Perhaps because though we may not know the dictionary meaning of these words – hearing and listening – but in our sub-conscience minds, we know that hearing is different from listening. We know instinctively that someone sitting right across may be hearing what you are saying but may not necessarily be paying attention to what is being said. That is – not listening. And that makes us feel exasperated and helpless – because we also know that we may be able to make people hear, but we cannot forcefully ensure active listening.
According to Prof Claus Otto Scharmer, a senior lecturer at the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, listening is one of the most underrated skills and often taken for granted. Listening is most underestimated as one of the prerequisites for leadership roles. Lack of listening skills can often lead to a disconnect between team leaders and the situation.
Scharmer believes that listening is “at the root of everything”, and says there are four types of listening, two of which many are already familiar with – listening where “we attend to what we already know” and factual listening, where we learn something new. But according to Scharmer, people today need to master two more types of listening – empathic listening, where we are able to put ourselves in another’s place, and what Scharmer calls generative listening, where we see another person in terms of past, present and future possibilities.
Scharmer describes four levels of listening:
- LISTENING LEVEL 1: DOWNLOADING
When transferring information that is already largely familiar, people only listen to reconfirm what they already know. For example, listening to a familiar song on the radio. We tend to sing along with the lyrics we already know and fall silent when these become unfamiliar. Simply put, we are only listening to what has already been downloaded in our minds and are unwilling to memorize new lyrics.
This kind of listening is casual and lacks focus or the desire to learn anything new.
- LISTENING LEVEL 2: FACTUAL LISTENING
People only listen attentively when the information is different from what they know. This new information is added to the information that is already known. This might well apply to listening to the news or to a news podcast. For instance, would anyone ever listen to yesterday’s news broadcast with real interest? On the other hand, breaking news invokes immediate interest as we anticipate new and fresh information.
Most of us, as Scharmer says, often indulge in these two kinds of listening. But what he says most people need to work on are the following. As long as we operate from the first two types of listening, our listening originates from within the boundaries of our own mental-cognitive organization and remains largely limited to it.
- LISTENING LEVEL 3: EMPATHIC LISTENING
This is the third and deeper level of listening. By empathizing and seeing through someone else’s eyes, people are able to understand and respect the other person.
When we genuinely say to someone – “Oh, yes, I know exactly how you feel” we are being empathetic. This deeper level of listening is empathic listening. When we are engaged in real dialogue and are paying careful attention, we can become aware of a profound shift in the place from which our listening originates.
Our perception shifts from our own organization/agenda, to the other, to the place from which the other person is speaking. When moving into that mode of listening we have to activate our empathy by connecting directly, heart to heart, to the other person.
It requires an open heart to really feel how another person feels. An open heart gives us the empathic capacity to connect directly with another person from within. When that happens, we enter new territory in the relationship; we forget about our own agenda and begin to see how the world appears through someone else’s eyes…When operating in this mode, we usually feel what another person wants to say before the words take form.
- LISTENING LEVEL 4: GENERATIVE LISTENING
This is the fourth level of listening. People listen to create without their personalities getting in the way of results. By connecting their own intuition with the environment, they tap into pure thoughts and ideas.
When you operate from empathic listening, your perspective is redirected to seeing the situation through the eyes of another: “Yes, now I really understand how you feel about it. I can sense it now too.” And finally, when you operate from generative listening, you have gone through a subtle but profound change that has connected you to a deeper source of knowing, including the knowledge of your best future possibility and self.
“I can’t express what I experience in words. My whole being has slowed down. I feel more quiet, present and more my real self. I am connected to something larger than myself.” “…
So how do we use these 4 levels of listening in our work lives? Sharing some possibilities…
– Can empathetic listening help me better understand a client’s requirements?
– Can generative listening help in generating new ideas?
– Can new ideas lead to innovation?
– Can supporting and contributing to innovation make an ed-tech organization develop more robust products?
– Can sales teams perform better if they are empathetic?
– Can we develop improved marketing strategies once we have a clear understanding of what the market is looking for?
Food for thought…..!!!
More on this next week. Watch this space…..and keep listening…!!!
Sources and Further literature
Otto Scharmer on the 4 levels of listening: | <urn:uuid:a98616ee-b978-423d-bd7b-79b03eecd686> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.schoolnetindia.com/blog/four-levels-of-active-listening/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587770.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20211025220214-20211026010214-00450.warc.gz | en | 0.932482 | 1,351 | 3.25 | 3 |
1. A researcher studies the average distance that 130 people who are living in U.S. urban areas walk each week: What is the size of the sample? Identify the population.
2. Is the "average" calculated in #1 a descriptive statistic or an inferential statistic if it is used to describe the 130 people studied?
3. Referencing #1, how might you calculate the average distance walked in one week as a(n): (a) ordinal measure? (b) scale measure?
4. A study of the effects of skin tone (light, medium, and dark) on the severity of facial wrinkles in middle age might be of interest to cosmetic surgeons:
(a) what is the independent variable in this study?
(b) what is the dependent variable in this study?
(c) how many levels does the independent variable have?
1. The sample size is 130 people. The population is people who are living in U.S. urban areas that walk each week.
2. The "average" calculated in #1 is a descriptive statistic. This is because it ... | <urn:uuid:6b0e63a7-f44a-4e8b-b08e-8cc1be11aa21> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | https://brainmass.com/statistics/descriptive-statistics/oridinal-scale-measure-independent-dependent-variables-375162 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463608665.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20170526124958-20170526144958-00099.warc.gz | en | 0.944762 | 232 | 3.390625 | 3 |
McElligott, A G; Birrer, M; Vannoni, E (2006). Retraction of the mobile descended larynx during groaning enables fallow bucks (Dama dama) to lower their formant frequencies. Journal of Zoology, 270(2):340-345.
Full text not available from this repository.
A permanently descended larynx is found in humans and several other species of mammals. In addition to this, the larynx of species such as fallow deer is mobile and in males it can be retracted during vocalization. The most likely explanation for the lowered retractable larynx in mammals is that it serves to exaggerate perceived body size (size exaggeration hypothesis) by decreasing the formant frequencies of calls. In this study, we quantified for the first time the elongation of the vocal tract in fallow bucks during vocalization. We also measured the effect of this vocal tract length (VTL) increase on formant frequencies (vocal tract resonances) and formant dispersion (spacing of formants). Our results show that fallow bucks increase their VTL on average by 52% during vocalization. This elongation resulted in strongly lowered formant frequencies and decreased formant dispersion. There were minimal changes to formants 1 and 2 (−0.91 and +1.9%, respectively) during vocal tract elongation, whereas formants 3, 4 and 5 decreased substantially: 18.9, 10.3 and 13.6%, respectively. Formant dispersion decreased by 12.4%. Formants are prominent in deer vocalizations and are used by males to gain information on the competitive abilities of signallers. It remains to be seen whether females also use the information that formants contain for assessing male quality before mating.
|Item Type:||Journal Article, refereed, original work|
|Communities & Collections:||07 Faculty of Science > Institute of Zoology (former)|
|DDC:||570 Life sciences; biology|
590 Animals (Zoology)
|Deposited On:||11 Feb 2008 13:15|
|Last Modified:||23 Nov 2012 13:24|
|WoS Citation Count:||27|
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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas announced last week what they believe to be the first clinical application of a new imaging technique to diagnose brain tumors. The unique test could preclude the need for surgery in patients whose tumors are located in areas of the brain too dangerous to biopsy.
The new magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique provides a definitive diagnosis of cancer based on imaging of a protein associated with a mutated gene found in 80 percent of low- and intermediate-grade gliomas. Presence of the mutation also means a better prognosis, according to the researchers.
“To our knowledge, this is the only direct metabolic consequence of a genetic mutation in a cancer cell that can be identified through noninvasive imaging,” said Dr. Elizabeth Maher, associate professor of internal medicine and neurology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study (available online in Nature Medicine). “This is a major breakthrough for brain tumor patients.”
UT Southwestern researchers developed the test by modifying the settings of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to track the protein’s levels. Previous research linked high levels of this protein to the mutation, and UT Southwestern researchers already had been working on MRS of gliomas to find tumor biomarkers.
“Our next step is to make this testing procedure widely available as part of routine MRIs for brain tumors. It doesn’t require any injections or special equipment,” said Maher, medical director of UT Southwestern’s neuro-oncology program.
To substantiate the test as a diagnostic tool, biopsy samples from 30 glioma patients enrolled in the UT Southwestern clinical trial were analyzed; half had the mutation and expected high levels of the protein. MRS imaging of these patients had been done before surgery and predicted, with 100 percent accuracy, which patients had the mutation.
For Thomas Smith of Grand Prairie, the test helped determine the best time to begin chemotherapy. When a MRS scan showed a sharp rise in the 25-year-old’s protein levels, this indicated to his healthcare team that his tumor was moving from dormancy to rapid growth.
“We treated him with chemotherapy and his protein levels came down,” Maher said.
Before participating in the study, Smith had tumor removal surgery in 2007. Because part of the tumor could not be safely removed, however, he continued to suffer seizures and had other neurological problems. Since chemotherapy, his symptoms have diminished.
“I did six rounds of chemo, every six weeks,” Smith said. “My seizures stopped and all my symptoms improved. I am only on anti-seizure medication now.”
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health , the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and financial support from the Annette G. Strauss Center for Neuro-oncology at UT Southwestern. | <urn:uuid:9d7df558-9650-431a-88e4-199caacc6b7b> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://www.medicalpracticeinsider.com/print/456 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049278385.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002118-00173-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960263 | 602 | 3 | 3 |
English | Literatures in English, 1800-1900
E303 | 11255 | Richard Higgins
E303 LITERATURES IN ENGLISH, 1800-1900
11255 - 9:30a-10:45a TR (30 students) 3 cr. A&H.
TOPIC: "Histories of Feeling"
“The vehemence of emotion,” Jane Eyre declares, “was claiming
mastery, and struggling for full sway; and asserting a right to
predominate: to overcome, to live, rise, and reign at last.”
Sensational and melodramatic, unmistakably, but the passion comes
from a character described as “a little small thing,” who is “almost
like a child.” These are, however, not childlike emotions. They
are intense, threatening, and engulfing. Should they be feared,
Charlotte Brontë seems to ask, or embraced?
In this course, we will explore why emotions appear the way they do
in British and American texts from the nineteenth century, beginning
with an initial proposition: that emotions have histories. Rather
than see emotions simply as universal manifestations of human
nature, we will examine the ways in which they are historical and
ideological. We will be concerned with how feelings represent wider
cultural concerns and preoccupations and how these texts helped
their readers organize and make sense of their world. Among the
questions we will ask: When are emotions public and when private?
Are emotions tied to social life, “located,” as one literary critic
observes, “among rather than within people”? Can emotions be
cognitive or are they always involuntary and heedless? How
distinctive are the differences between feeling good and feeling
bad? Along the way, we will use this rubric to touch on many other
important social and literary themes during the period, including
class, identity, political reform, the politics of gender, the
traumas of war and slavery, industrialism, urbanization, and
We will most likely read three full-length novels: Jane Austen’s
Persuasion, Brontë’s Jane Eyre, and Charles Dickens’ Bleak House;
shorter works by Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Arthur Conan
Doyle; poetry by William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Christina Rossetti,
Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman; essays by Henry David Thoreau,
Charles Darwin, and William James; and excerpts from Frederick
Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Assignments will include
regular reading responses, quizzes, and in-class writing; three
medium-length analytical papers; and a midterm and a final exam.
Students should expect to engage in extensive discussion over the
course of the semester, with class participation counting toward the | <urn:uuid:b80c15c6-ea84-4264-8812-23e1c7300f8d> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/blspr10/eng/eng_e303_11255.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609533957.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005213-00640-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908109 | 618 | 3.546875 | 4 |
An MRI-guided laser system that allows surgeons to perform brain surgery on tumors and epileptic lesions in the brain is expected to become widely available to patients in need now that the technology has been acquired from Visualase Inc. by the global medical device company Medtronic, Inc., says a biomedical engineering professor from Texas A&M University who co-founded the company responsible for the technology.
The technology, says Gerard Coté, professor in the university’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Center for Remote Healthcare Technology, enables surgeons to pinpoint and destroy brain tumors and lesions with extreme precision and is a much less-invasive alternative to conventional surgery.
The advantage of this approach over other approaches for brain surgery, Coté explains, is that it can be performed while the patient is awake, requires no radiation and no skull flap (the large opening in traditional craniotomies), and is often performed in otherwise inoperable areas of the brain.
Traditional brain surgery, he explains, is usually a daylong operation that involves removing part of the skull, cutting through healthy brain matter and physically removing the problematic tissue. That procedure, he adds, can be followed by a weeklong hospital stay and prolonged recovery period.
The technology developed by former Texas A&M students Ashok Gowda and the late Roger McNichols, conversely, can be completed in about four hours, and most patients can return home the following day, Coté says.
Known as “Visualase,” the technology is already used in more than 45 hospitals, nationwide, including 15 pediatric hospitals. Before the surgical procedure, computer software first helps identify the targeted tissue so that it may be treated and the surrounding healthy tissue can be avoided, Coté explains. During the procedure, a small entry is made in the skull that allows a laser applicator (about the size of a pencil lead) to be inserted into the tissue. The patient is placed in the MRI, and a physician receives and reviews images to verify proper positioning of the laser applicator in the skull. The clinician then uses a laser to heat and destroy the problematic tissue while imaging the tissue being damaged in real time to ensure destruction of the problematic tissue and to avoid damaging healthy tissue. The laser applicator is then removed, and the scalp is closed with one stitch, Coté notes.
Medtronic’s acquisition of Visualase, Inc. (the privately held company co-founded by Coté and his colleagues Gowda, McNichols, and Sohi Rastegar, former Texas A&M Professor) means Medtronic will add the MRI-guided laser ablation system to its portfolio of therapies for treating neurological conditions and will integrate the technology into its broader neuroscience offerings.
“My colleagues and I are very excited about this acquisition and I truly believe it will provide more global access to this innovative technology that will ultimately help many more patients undergoing brain surgery for neurological conditions,” Coté said.
The all-cash transaction of up to $105 million includes an initial payment of $70 million plus additional payments of up to $35 million that are contingent upon the achievement of specific milestones, reads a release issued by Medtronic.
"The transaction with Medtronic is critical to ensure more patients have access to our beneficial technology," said William Hoffman, CEO of Visualase, in a release issued by Medtronic. "We are proud of the MRI-guided laser ablation technology and other products we have developed and their impact on the well-being of patients. Medtronic is clearly committed to the area of minimally invasive neurosurgery and we look forward to working as a team to innovate in this area."
Contact: Gerard Coté at (979) 845-4196 or via email: email@example.com or Ryan Garcia at (979) 847-5833 or via email: firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:1dec88c9-61dc-43bd-9544-ec9f8b13c8c9> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://engineering.tamu.edu/news/2014/08/04/laser-tech-global | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501170186.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104610-00052-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950353 | 817 | 2.84375 | 3 |
In most industries it is crucially important to know how things are made and what they are composed of. Elements are the basic ingredients of all molecules and knowing what elements are present in a sample is often the first step in looking at composition. We have a variety of tools and technologies available to allow us to handle elemental analysis of the most complex materials, even those containing trace levels of specific elements, and our years of expertise allow us to interpret results in terms of the properties of your materials.
Determining the elemental make up of a material can be exceptionally important information to define what a material is, how its been made or what its properties are. Elements present in soil can tell you which plants will grow well, those present in bodily fluid report on health whilst those present in a chemical compound give the first clues towards identity of that compound.
We have several techniques that can give qualitative or semi quantitative elemental composition, such as X-ray Fluorescence, or those that give either semi-quantitative or fully quantitative measures of elemental composition, such as Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy or Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. High Resolution Mass Spectrometry also provides accurate mass data on chemical compounds from which elemental compositions can be calculated.
Contact us for more information on how elemental analysis can help with your research or industrial problems.
Key industrial sectors that use elemental analysis
Tools and technologies of relevance include | <urn:uuid:2ba6bf63-2876-4174-9fbc-07cb90f72e22> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://jblscience.org/applications/elemental-analysis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593657146247.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20200713162746-20200713192746-00517.warc.gz | en | 0.931958 | 293 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Sun on the Mountains–Blue Sky Day–Happy Spring!!
Today is the first day of Spring! The Sun entered Aries at 4:29 am Mountain Time. Happy Vernal Equinox, the beginning of the year according to the Romans and by the Persians.
When Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar in 45 BC, he set 25 March as the date of the spring equinox. Because the Julian year (365.25 days) is slightly longer than the tropical year, the calendar “drifted” with respect to the two equinoxes — such that in 300 AD the spring equinox occurred on about 21 March. By 1500 AD, it had drifted backwards to 11 March.
This drift induced Pope Gregory XIII to create a modern Gregorian calendar. The Pope wanted to continue to conform with the edicts concerning the date of Easter of the Council of Nicaea of AD 325, which means he wanted to move the vernal equinox to 21 March, which is the day allocated to it in the Easter table of the Julian calendar. However, the leap year intervals in his calendar were not smooth (400 is not an exact multiple of 97). This causes the equinox to oscillate by about 53 hours around its mean position. This in turn raised the possibility that it could fall on 22 March, and thus Easter Day might theoretically commence before the equinox. The astronomers chose the appropriate number of days to omit so that the equinox would swing from 19 to 21 March but never fall on the 22nd (although it can in a handful of years fall early in the morning of that day in the Far East).
- Spring equinox and fall (or autumn) equinox: colloquial names based on the seasons. However, these can be ambiguous since the northern hemisphere‘s spring is the southern hemisphere‘s autumn, and vice versa. The Latinate names vernal equinox (spring) and autumnal equinox (fall) are often used to the same effect.
- March equinox and September equinox: names referring to the months of the year they occur, with no ambiguity as to which hemisphere is the context. They are still not universal, however, as not all cultures use a solar-based calendar where the equinoxes occur every year in the same month (as they do not in the Islamic calendar and Hebrew calendar, for example).
- Northward equinox and southward equinox: names referring to the apparent direction of motion of the Sun. The northward equinox occurs in March when the sun crosses the equator from south to north, and the southward equinox occurs in September when the sun crosses the equator from north to south. These terms can be used unambiguously for other planets.
- First Point of Aries and first point of Libra: names referring to the astrological signs the sun is entering. Due to the precession of the equinoxes, however, the constellations where the equinoxes are currently located are Pisces and Virgo, respectively. | <urn:uuid:cf903b8f-4290-4b6a-8ee7-06a014ac0027> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://durangodowntown.com/astrology/sun-mountains-blue-sky-day-happy-spring/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371880945.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20200409220932-20200410011432-00234.warc.gz | en | 0.945407 | 646 | 3.84375 | 4 |
In the scope of Indian agriculture, a variety of crops is cultivated in India due to the vastly distinct weather and soil conditions that are available in various topographies across the country. These crops are majorly divided into food grains, cash crops, plantation crops and horticulture crops. Water is one of the essential resources that are required for proper growth of these crops. The majority of the farmers are still dependant on growing water intensive crops. Irrigation water, exclusive of precipitation and stored moisture, is required to meet the consumption rate of a crop during its growth period. But the amount of irrigation water required differs for each plant, not only because different plants need to survive different environments, but also because each plant has its own unique physical features.The rural Indian population is largely dependent on agriculture as its primary source of livelihood. Agriculture is one of the major contributors to India’s GDP, with an 18% share (KPMG report), this population plays an integral role in the Indian Economy.
In this regard, we would like to highlight some of the most water intensive crops that are popularly grown by Indian farmers
Rice acts as one of the most important staple food in the world and India is one of its largest producers. However, its production requires a great quantity of water. The rise in population has led to an increase in the demand for food crops; in turn escalating the amount of water required for irrigating them. Traditional farming needs 3,000 to 5,000 liters of water to produce a kilo of rice. The crop requires flooded soil for its growth as it suppresses weed growth and increases the uptake of nutrients from the soil for better yield. In India, it is grown in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.
Also known as ‘white gold’, Cotton is a Kharif crop. India is one of the largest producers as well as exporters of cotton yarn. On an average, India uses 22,500 liters of water to produce 1 kg of cotton. Most Indian cotton is grown in drier regions. States cultivating this crop the most are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Orissa.
India is the second largest producer of this popular cash crop. It has one of the longest growing periods and its growth can come to an untimely halt if there is a shortage of water. Generally crops require 300-500mm of rainfall/water for their growth; however, sugar cane requires 1,500-2,500mm of rainfall/water to complete the growth cycle. Therefore, the crop requires 1500-3000 liters of water to produce a kilo of sugarcane! In India, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Punjab are the major producers of this crop.
With 12 million tons of production; Soybean is one of the fastest growing crops in India. The crop is considered to be well suited for Indian soil. A major source of protein, vegetable oil, and animal feed, the crop requires around 900 liters of water for 1 kilo worth produce. This crop is majorly grown in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
After the Green Revolution, wheat production in India has been on the rise. After rice, wheat is the most consumed crop by the Indian population. Not just that, our country is also one of the largest exporters of all varieties of wheat, making us the second largest producer of the crop worldwide. However, the fact that cannot be ignored is that 900 litres of water is required to produce 1kg of wheat. In India, this crop’s production is mainly in the northern region – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttarakhand are the major producers of this crop.
We can, therefore, see how Economic growth is indirectly dependent on fresh water. There needs to be an understanding that for greater agricultural productivity, for there to be a better harvest, there needs to be enough water. If water is used up by such water-intensive crops, there will come a time when there will be no water for agriculture. Most of these crops are grown in dry areas, which do not receive ample rainfall, and the farmers are either dependent on other freshwater sources or groundwater pumps. In a country like India, where 76 million people do not have access to safe drinking water, using up a great amount of water in such crops seems unfair. Water intensive agriculture takes away liters of water that can be used to help a significant population survive. Cultivation of these crops has even endangered some areas of water scarcity. In fact, due to intense drought conditions year after year, there have been multiple pleas by local officials for farmers to switch to pulses and oilseeds in Rampur. Tamil Nadu government has also asked farmers to switch to millets and pulses from rice, as the new crops will use less water and are as nutritious. However, in some areas, switching to different crops cannot be considered an ideal solution because of climatic limitations, soil requirements etc, therefore, a switch to better irrigation techniques like drip irrigation can be taken up. Furthermore, groundwater irrigation pumps are either dependent on irregular grid electricity or diesel, causing additional strain on the current environmental conditions. Solar powered pumps can be considered a model solution to overcome that problem. The water needs of these crops need to be considered to formulate an immediate solution.
Our water woes can be addressed by our own everyday use of water. Save water before it’s too late.
Written By: Prakriti Sharma
Edited By: Anirban Banerjee | <urn:uuid:4ec4b214-b6a1-415a-82f7-01861d4ab4e4> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://claroenergy.in/category/water/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474746.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20240228211701-20240229001701-00652.warc.gz | en | 0.943279 | 1,210 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Archivo de la categoría: Salud y medio ambiente
Publicado por omarmanny
EMMANUEL REID and JESUS ARAUJO
EL NUEVO SOL—SALUD
Preventative health care is a solid method to establish and maintain a healthy life-style. With backing from the Affordable Care Act, this concept of preventative health care may seem foreign to many, ultimately it means taking preventative measures when approaching one’s health. According to the US National Library of Medicine there is a four-tiered preventive classification system in place: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary Prevention. The U.S. Institute of Medicine, the NIDA and the European Monitoring Centre all use this classification system. Primary prevention involves methods to avoid occurrence of disease. Most population-based health promotion efforts are of this type. Secondary prevention involves methods to diagnose and treat disease in early stages before it causes significant morbidity. Tertiary prevention involves methods to reduce negative impact of extant disease by restoring function and reducing disease-related complications. Finally Quaternary prevention involves methods to mitigate or avoid results of unnecessary or excessive interventions in the health system.
The Agency for Health Research and Quality brings insight on prevented health for those that have Internet access this website is very user friendly and can also be translated from English to Spanish. The service that is provided is essential for human service, especially for those who are not able to help themselves. Having the symptoms of possible disease and injuries make it much easier to look up and find out what is going on with your body.
The clinical information that is given by this website is very helpful for those who want to find out what precautionary steps to take in case they cannot make it to the hospital that very second. The browse for information feature allows you to choose from a list of subject area of interest in alphabetical order. From AIDS, dental Health, and minority Health. ahrq.gov has a clinical section, which allows the reader to look at reviews to further educate yourself. The what’s new feature on the website stays up to date in the newest news, reports, clinical information, consumer & patients, funding opportunities, data & survey and research finding. www.ahrq.gov helps to put out funding information for people to look and also see if their cause in the medical field can have funding assistance.
The location of Agency for the Healthcare Research and quality office of communication and knowledge transfer is located at 540 Gaither Road, suite 200 Rockville, MD 20850. The inquire number is (301)427-1104.
by Manny Reid and Jesus Araujo
Publicado por jlb
MEND, a multi-service nonprofit located in Pacoima, offers a free women’s clinic twice a month for those in low-income cities in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles.By VIRGINIA ISAAD
EL NUEVO SOL——SALUD
Nestled in the heart of Pacoima, amid auto shops and taquerias (taco shops in Spanish) is the San Fernando Valley’s sole multi-service non-profit center, Meet Each Need with Dignity (MEND). Services range from educational to medical for residents of neighboring cities including Arleta, Sylmar, Lake View Terrace, San Fernando, North Hills, and Mission Hills.
Ed and Carolyn Rose along with three parishes located in Pacoima and North Hills began collecting clothing and furniture for the poverty stricken in the area. Initially working out of their garage, it officially became a non-profit organization in 1971.“We are the only agency that has so many unique services under one roof,” said Carolyn Rose.
Norma Ortiz, Intake Department Coordinator, said, “MEND helps 30,000 families a month, making sure they have a meal everyday and obviously clothing.”
See the full story at El Nuevo Sol: El Nuevo Sol. | <urn:uuid:22e67410-e311-47a0-81da-cf3698c04d58> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://elnuevosolsalud.net/category/salud-y-medio-ambiente/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115856115.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161056-00180-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933163 | 828 | 3.171875 | 3 |
The muscles around your scapular, specifically the rhomboid and trapezius muscles, are important yet often overlooked muscle groups. Training them improves your posture and strengthens the scapular area. Weak scapular muscles and tight chest muscles are often a cause of upper-crossed syndrome, or hunchback posture, which can lead to upper back pain. To strengthen your scapular muscles, follow a balanced exercise routine that targets your rhomboids and trapezius.
Perform single-arm bent-over dumbbell rows first in your upper body workout. Hold a dumbbell in one hand with your palm facing inward, and place your other hand on a bench. Walk your feet back until your upper back is flat, then bring your abdominals in to support your back. Pull the dumbbell up until it lightly touches your outer chest, keeping your elbow straight behind you. Pause briefly in the top position, then lower it again. Keep your head looking just in front of you the whole time. Perform four sets of eight repetitions and switch arms.
Move on to face pulls as your second exercise. Attach a rope handle to a cable station set at head height. Grasp both ends of the handle with your arms straight and brace your abdominals. Pull the handle toward you by flexing your arms and squeezing your shoulder blades together as hard as you can until your hands are in line with your ears. Pause for one second, then slowly straighten your arms. Aim for three sets of 12 reps. Face pulls promote correct upward scapular rotation and external shoulder rotation, both of which are vital for maintaining good posture.
Finish your workout with prone I, Y, T, W, O formations. Lie face down on a mat. Raise your arms up in front of you while keeping your elbows straight, until they are parallel to the ground, forming the letter "I." Move your arms outward to form the letter "Y," then straight out for the letter "T." Bend your elbows to form the letter "W," then complete the series by bringing your hands together at touch your fingertips and form the letter "O." Repeat the series four times.
In between your workouts, do four sets of 10 scapular wall slides every day. Weakness in the muscles around your scapular may be caused by poor scapular stability, which wall slides can correct. Stand against a wall with your heels, buttocks and upper back touching it. Hold your arms up so that your elbows are at 90 degrees and level with your shoulders. Slide your hands up the wall as high as you can, aiming to keep your elbows and wrists in contact with the wall at all times. As you progress, you should be able to increase your range of motion, which can aid in strengthening the scapular muscles.
- Edgardo Contreras/Photodisc/Getty Images
This article reflects the views of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Jillian Michaels or JillianMichaels.com. | <urn:uuid:77e88074-6b14-4534-b543-cc088149c320> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://getfit.jillianmichaels.com/strengthen-scapular-muscles-1127.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560628000367.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20190626154459-20190626180459-00426.warc.gz | en | 0.935043 | 620 | 2.953125 | 3 |
© BioMed Central Ltd 2005
Published: 1 March 2005
The photosensitive molecule rhodopsin and its relatives consist of a protein moiety - an opsin - and a non-protein moiety - the chromophore retinal. Opsins, which are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), are found in animals, and more than a thousand have been identified so far. Detailed molecular phylogenetic analyses show that the opsin family is divided into seven subfamilies, which correspond well to functional classifications within the family: the vertebrate visual (transducin-coupled) and non-visual opsin subfamily, the encephalopsin/tmt-opsin subfamily, the Gq-coupled opsin/melanopsin subfamily, the Go-coupled opsin subfamily, the neuropsin subfamily, the peropsin subfamily and the retinal photoisomerase subfamily. The subfamilies diversified before the deuterostomes (including vertebrates) split from the protostomes (most invertebrates), suggesting that a common animal ancestor had multiple opsin genes. Opsins have a seven-transmembrane structure similar to that of other GPCRs, but are distinguished by a lysine residue that is a retinal-binding site in the seventh helix. Accumulated evidence suggests that most opsins act as pigments that activate G proteins in a light-dependent manner in both visual and non-visual systems, whereas a few serve as retinal photoisomerases, generating the chromophore used by other opsins, and some opsins have unknown functions.
Opsins are membrane proteins with molecular masses of 30-50 kDa that are related to the protein moiety of the photoreceptive molecule rhodopsin; they typically act as light sensors in animals [1–4]. Photoreceptive proteins similar to the animal opsins in three-dimensional structure but not in amino-acid sequence have been found in archaea, bacteria, fungi, and a green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii [5, 6]. These non-animal opsins function as light-driven ion pumps or light sensors but there is no evidence that they are structurally related to animal opsins, so they are not considered further here.
Gene organization and evolutionary history
The visual and non-visual opsin subfamily contains vertebrate visual and non-visual opsins. The visual opsins can be further subdivided into cone opsins and rhodopsin, which have distinct molecular properties arising from differences in the residues at positions 122 and 189 of the amino-acid sequence [11, 12]. The cone opsins can be further divided into four subgroups, which correspond well with their absorption spectra: long-wavelength opsins (LW or red), short-wavelength opsins (SW1 or UV/violet and SW2 or blue), and middle-wavelength opsins (MW or green; see Figure 1) [1, 3, 13]. Note that other nomenclatures are also used to specify these four groups. Most vertebrates, including the lamprey , have four kinds of cone-opsin genes, whereas mammals lack the SW2 and MW genes. Interestingly, humans have regained the green-sensitive opsin by duplication of the LW gene, so the green cone opsins of humans and lower vertebrates belong to different opsin subgroups (LW and MW) [15, 16]. In the human genome, the red and green opsin genes are localized in tandem.
Lower vertebrates, including lampreys, have several non-visual opsin genes that are members of the same subfamily as the vertebrate visual opsins. The first non-visual opsin to be discovered was pinopsin , which is involved in photoreception in the pineal organs of birds [17, 18] and lizards . Parapinopsin was first found in the pineal complex of the catfish , and it has also been found in zebrafish and Xenopus and more recently in the lamprey pineal . 'Vertebrate ancient' opsin (VA-opsin) was first found in the salmon retina ; the lamprey also has an ortholog of VA-opsin, called P-opsin . The ascidian chordate Ciona has an opsin (Ci-opsin1) that is closely related to the vertebrate non-visual opsins .
Within the other six subfamilies of opsins, members of the encephalopsin/tmt-opsin subfamily were first found in mouse and human , and homologs were recently identified in the teleosts and interestingly in invertebrates, the mosquito Anopheles and the marine ragworm Platynereis . Phylogenetic analysis shows that encephalopsin/tmt-opsin subfamily probably clusters most closely with the vertebrate visual and non-visual opsin subfamily (see Figure 1). Melanopsin is an important vertebrate non-visual opsin, but because it is more similar in amino-acid sequence to invertebrate Gq-coupled visual opsins, it is not classified as a member of the vertebrate visual and non-visual opsin subfamily (see Figure 1); melanopsins have been found in many vertebrates, from fish to humans [29, 30]. Members of the Go-coupled opsin subfamily have been found in molluscs and in the chordate amphioxus [10, 31] but not in human, mouse, zebrafish or Drosophila. Neuropsins, recently identified in mouse and human , are phylogenetically distinguishable as a subfamily but little is known about them. Peropsins are known from a range of vertebrates, from fish to human , and an ortholog was recently found in amphioxus . Finally, members of the retinal-photoisomerase subfamily, which includes retinal G-protein-coupled receptor (RGR) and retinochrome, are found in vertebrates and molluscs [34, 35]; an RGR homolog has also been found in an ascidian .
Chromosomal locations and numbers of introns of the nine human opsin genes
Number of introns
Recent genome studies have also provided us with information on the loss of opsin genes during animal evolution. No opsin gene has been found in Caenorhabditis elegans [39, 40]. Drosophila has seven opsin genes, all of which belong to the Gq-coupled opsin/melanopsin subfamily . In comparison, humans have nine opsin genes (Table 1), which are spread over six of the seven subfamilies (Figure 1). A PCR study revealed that amphioxus has at least six opsin genes from four subfamilies (Figure 1); deuterostomes therefore appear to have opsins from more subfamilies than do protostomes.
Characteristic structural features
The crystal structure of bovine rhodopsin has been solved [44–46] (Figure 2c). K296 (in the single-letter amino-acid code) in helix VII binds retinal via a Schiff-base linkage, in which the nitrogen atom of the K296 amino group forms a double bond with the carbon atom at one end of the retinal (Figure 2d). The key residue K296 is important for light absorption and its presence or absence can be used to judge whether or not a newly found rhodopsin-type GPCR is really an opsin. The counterion is another important residue: it is a negatively charged amino acid that helps to stabilize the protonated Schiff base (see below). In the vertebrate visual and non-visual opsin subfamily, the highly conserved residue E113 serves as the counterion [47–49], whereas in other opsins position 113 is occupied by other amino acids (tyrosine, phenylalanine, methionine, or histidine) and the highly conserved E181 serves as the counterion. This difference suggests that counterion replacement has occurred during the molecular evolution of vertebrate visual and non-visual opsins [50, 51].
Localization and function
Functions of the vertebrate visual and non-visual opsins
Two photoreceptor cells are involved in vision in most vertebrates - rod and cone cells - and they are distinguishable by their shapes. The rod and cone cells contain different opsins: rods have rhodopsin, which underlies twilight vision, and cones have cone opsins, which underlie daylight (color) vision . When excited by light in rod and cone cells, rhodopsin and cone pigments drive an enzyme cascade involving G proteins and their effectors: the excited pigments activate the G-protein transducin, which stimulates cGMP phosphodiesterase, resulting in a decrease in intracellular cGMP concentration. This decrease leads to closure of a cGMP-gated cation channel, leading to the hyperpolarization of the visual photoreceptor cell. In general, rods and cones contain distinct sets of phototransduction molecules (transducin, phosphodiesterases and channels) . It should be noted that the visual opsins are also expressed in non-visual photoreceptor cells, including the pineal photoreceptor cells that are found in most non-mammalian vertebrates.
The lower-vertebrate non-visual opsin genes are expressed in photoreceptor cells other than rods and cones. For example, pinopsin is involved in photoreception in the pineal organs of birds [17, 18] and lizards . It is suggested to activate both transducin and the G-protein G11 and therefore to drive two different phototransduction cascades [53, 54]. The parapinopsin recently found in the pineal organ of the lamprey is a UV-sensitive and bistable opsin with stable dark and light-activated states. VA-opsin is found in the salmon retina but in amacrine and horizontal cells (two kinds of neural cell in the retina), not in rod and cone visual cells . A splice valiant of VA-opsin called VAL-opsin is localized to deep parts of the brain and the horizontal cells of the zebrafish .
Functions of other subfamilies
The visual opsins of arthropods and molluscs belong to the Gq-coupled opsin group, which is different from the vertebrate visual opsin group. They are localized to the microvilli of the rhabdomeric photoreceptor cells, which are typical visual cells of arthropods and molluscs and are morphologically different from vertebrate rods and cones. These opsins are coupled to the signal-transduction cascades involving the G protein Gq and phosopholipase C [2, 57–60] and leading to depolarization of the cells in response to light. The different subgroups of insect opsins have distinct absorption spectra; this underlies insect color vision. Vertebrate melanopsins are very similar to the Gq-coupled invertebrate opsins [29, 30]; mouse melanopsin has been reported from knockout studies to be involved in the response of the pupil to light and in the entrainment of circadian rhythm by light . As suggested by their close relationship to the Gq-coupled opsins, melanopsin can be coupled to a Gq/phosopholipase-C cascade, similar to that used by the invertebrate opsins [63–65].
Mouse encephalopsin (also called panopsin) is strongly expressed in the brain and testes and weakly in other tissues , and the teleost homologs are localized to multiple tissues (they are therefore named teleost multiple tissue (tmt) opsins) . The functions of the encephalopsins and tmt-opsins are unknown, but their close but distinct position in the phylogenetic tree relative to the vertebrate visual and non-visual opsins may mean that they are more llikely to have distinct functions.
Some invertebrates have photoreceptor cells - distinct from the rhabdomeric photoreceptors - that are called ciliary photoreceptors because their photoreceptive portions originate from cilia. Interestingly, the scallop (a bivalve mollusc) has both kinds, and in the ciliary photoreceptor cells a novel opsin has been found that is different from the Gq-coupled one . It colocalizes with a large amount of Go-type G protein and is thought to activate Go in vivo; it is therefore named Go-coupled rhodopsin (or Go-coupled opsin). Electrophysiological evidence suggests that scallop Go-coupled rhodopsin elevates the intracellular cGMP concentration through light-dependent activation of Go, which leads to hyperpolarization of the cell .
Neuropsins are localized to the eye, brain, testes and spinal cord, but their functions are unknown. Peropsin was first found in the RPE of the mammalian eye . It binds all-trans-retinal as a chromophore, and light isomerizes it to the 11-cis form (Figure 2b). This photochemical property indicates that peropsin may serve as a retinal photoisomerase, like retinochromes and RGRs [34, 35]. Retinochrome and RGR, the members of the retinal-photoisomerase subfamily, bind all-trans retinal (Figure 2b) as a chromophore [67, 68] and are not coupled to G proteins, unlike the visual opsins, which bind the 11-cis form of retinal. Retinochrome and RGR have been identified in the mollusc and vertebrate retinas, specifically in the inner segments of the visual cells [69, 70] and in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) , respectively. Irradiation of these two pigments causes the isomerization of all-trans retinal to the 11-cis form [67, 68], suggesting that these opsins enzymatically generate the chromophore and supply it to the visual opsins [70, 71].
The function of most opsins except for the photoisomerases can be divided into two parts: light absorption and G-protein activation. Most opsins function through absorption of visible light, but the chromophore retinal itself has an absorption maximum in the UV region, not in the visible region. This potential problem is solved by the opsins as follows. As previously described, retinal binds to K296 in helix VII through the protonated Schiff base (Figure 2d); the protonation, which results in the delocalization of π electrons within the retinal molecule, shifts its absorption spectrum towards visible light. In the protein, the proton on the Schiff base is unstable and a counterion, a negatively charged amino-acid residue, therefore needs to be present in order to stabilize it.
Absorption of light (a photon) by retinal results in its photoisomerization from the 11-cis to the all-trans form (Figure 2b). This is followed by a conformational change of the protein moiety, eventually resulting in activation of the G protein. Photochemical studies have identified some spectroscopically distinguished intermediates that form during bleaching of the vertebrate rhodopsin - 'batho', 'lumi', 'meta I', and 'meta II' - which appear on the picosecond, nanosecond, microsecond and millisecond timescales after light absorption, respectively . Many biochemical and biophysical studies have focused on the question of what conformational changes take place in the protein moiety during the formation of the active state of opsins, especially the meta II intermediate of bovine rhodopsin. The most notable hypothesis is that light triggers the relative outward movement of helices III and VI [72, 73] to form meta II, most likely following flipping-over of the retinal ring . This movement of the helices could expose G-protein-binding sites, such as the cytoplasmic loop between helices V and VI [75, 76]. This loop varies in sequence among the different subfamilies and underlies their selective coupling to different subtypes of G protein [77, 78]. It is believed that a similar helix motion occurs in most members of the rhodopsin superfamily.
There are many unanswered questions concerning the functions of the different opsins. Recently, genetic approaches using knockout and/or transgenic animals have been used to understand the function and/or the expression mechanism of some opsins. Recent progress with RGR knockout mice concluded that RGR serves as the photoisomerase of retinal in vivo , and the function of melanopsin in the circadian clock has been studied with mutant mice lacking photoreception through rods and cones . One interesting approach for investigating why there are so many kinds of opsins is functional replacement of one opsin with another and observing the altered phenotype. The first example of this approach was the experimental replacement of rhodopsin with cone opsin in transgenic Xenopus, by selective stimulation of the cone opsin in a single rod cell that contained both cone opsins and rhodopsins . The 'knock-in' technique could be most useful for this kind of opsin-replacement experiment (H. Imai and Y. Shichida, unpublished observations).
GPCRs are important targets for drug discovery, and the opsin family is currently a good subject for such studies because it is the only family for which the structure of a member has been solved at high resolution. Structural studies of opsins could provide valuable information for understanding how GPCRs in general activate G proteins. Okada et al. have investigated the photochemistry of the rhodopsin crystal, which raises the possibility of solving the structure of an active form of rhodopsin (meta II) at high resolution (2.5 Å). The crystal structure of the meta I photointermediate of rhodopsin has recently been solved to around 5.5 Å resolution . The crystallization of a complex of active rhodopsin (meta II) with a G protein could be one of the breakthroughs that help to elucidate the G-protein-activating mechanism.
The author thanks Yoshinori Shichida of Kyoto University for valuable comments on this manuscript, Mitsumasa Koyanagi of Osaka University for useful discussions and help in preparation of Figure 1, and Hisao Tsukamoto for help in preparing the manuscript. This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture and the Grant for the Biodiversity Research of the 21st Century COE (A14).
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Halfway through their first year, your 6-month-old is rapidly evolving from a newborn to an older infant. By the time they are six months old, newborns are becoming increasingly curious about and ready to engage with their environment. Toys and interactive play will have a significant influence on your baby’s development as they start to sit more confidently and move quickly through physical, emotional, and cognitive milestones.
The number of toy alternatives accessible to parents is constantly growing, making it difficult to select the ideal toys for your 6-month-old child. We have chosen the toys that will enable your baby to learn crucial skills while playing in order to help you narrow the list.
- Bead Pops
The coordination and use of extremely small muscles, including those in your baby’s hands and wrists, are a requirement for fine motor abilities. By playing with toys that they can grab, push, pull, and manipulate with their hands, babies may improve their fine motor abilities.
- Playing Cubes
The coordination of a baby’s major muscles, such as the legs, arms, and torso, is known as gross motor abilities. Babies are typically encouraged to move about and assume various postures when playing with toys that promote the development of gross motor skills.
- Stacking Cups
The ability to understand that things, like a beloved toy or mom and dad, still exist even when they are hidden is known as object permanence. Around five months old, newborns start to learn how to do this, which is why playing peek-a-boo with them is usually a success. Toys that need concealment will aid in the development of this ability.
- Pop-Up Toys
Simply said, your infant has to be able to grasp cause and effect to know that doing one thing causes another to happen. Around the age of five months, babies start to master this ability, which is why your baby may start to find it amusing when you drop a spoon or toy so they can watch you pick it up.
This ability is best developed using toys that your baby can push, pull, or spin to cause something else to happen in response.
- Touch & Feel Books
Regardless of how thrilled parents are to hear their child say their first word, every infant develops language and speech abilities at their own rate. Nevertheless, reading to your child and chatting to them frequently throughout the day will support the growth of their linguistic abilities. The ideal toy for promoting language development is a board book.
- Push Cars
Your infant can start to learn how to learn and solve issues with the use of cognitive skills. The imaginary play that these toys promote helps children start to assimilate information, reason, and express emotion.
- Textured Balls
Play that stimulates your baby’s senses, such as touch, smell, and taste, is referred to as sensory play. Your baby’s senses aid in their exploration of their surroundings. Playing with textures is best suited to toys with various textures. This collection of balls comes in a variety of textures, shapes, and sizes that you can get from sites like eBay and is intended to encourage tactile development and sensory exploration.
- Floor Mirrors
Our ability to read and understand communication as well as communicate with others is only possible because of our social skills. These abilities start to emerge at birth and keep expanding as the baby’s surroundings get bigger. The best toys for helping your baby learn social skills are those that enable her to watch other people’s conduct. An age-old favorite for fostering social skills is a floor mirror. | <urn:uuid:5339ff75-d151-4dad-9ad6-985823a672f4> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://blog.truegether.com/top-8-toys-to-encourage-learning-development-in-babies-under-6-months-old/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500671.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20230208024856-20230208054856-00414.warc.gz | en | 0.965575 | 735 | 2.90625 | 3 |
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