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An indoor sundial!
The Sun Tracker is a colorful window decoration and specially-designed sticker set that helps you keep track of the Sun’s changing position.
It’s a clever tool for doing science at home or in the classroom – it’s also a beautiful window decoration that pays tribute to Kepler’s Great Stellated Dodecahedron!
Place it on your window and watch it glisten and glow. Then follow the Sun’s shadow and mark its motion with the enclosed (removable) stickers.
You will learn how the Earth moves and makes the Sun change position in the sky.
It’s “Stonehenge for your window.”
Sun Tracker User Guide
- Put the Sun Tracker on a sunny window.
- Put a sticker where the Sun Tracker’s shadow falls.
How to pick a window. Find any window where the Sun shines through at some point during the day. This is a window that faces east, south, or west.
A floor or wall where the shadow will fall. The window should allow sunlight to shine through the Sun Tracker. The sunlight will shine through the Sun Tracker on to a wall or floor and make a shadow.
Place small, removable sticky-notes to mark the position of this shadow each day. The Sun Tracker should remain in the same place during an entire year if possible!
However, if the first placement is not good for some reason, you can easily move the Sun Tracker… just make sure to remove any stickers you have placed already.
Basic Sun Tracking – Hour by Hour
Each hour – starting in the morning, once per hour, place a sticker to mark the Sun Tracker shadow location. Notice how the shadow gets shorter (closer to the window) as the Sun goes higher. You can do this basic hour-by-hour tracking every day! It’s a fun activity in itself, and it naturally leads into the more advanced usage.
Advanced Sun Tracking – Day by Day
Each day – at exactly the same time of day – place a sticker to mark where the shadow is. Notice how at the same time the next day, the Sun Tracker shadow has moved!
Make sure you write the date and time on the stickers. You need to record the times to be able to accurately track and understand the day-by-day motion of the Sun.
If it is cloudy, just skip marking for the day.
It’s likely that after a few weeks the Sun Tracker shadow will move far away from the first marked point. It is likely to move so far that the shadow will no longer be “markable.” This is perfectly normal! The Sun Tracker shadow will eventually return to the spot again. So, keep tracking!
Why do the shadows move?
The Earth moves in two main ways:
- The Earth rotates like a spinning top on an axis that goes between its north and south poles (you can think of the North Pole as the handle of the top). This daily movement is what causes day and night and makes shadows change hour-by-hour.
- The Earth travels in an orbit (a oval-shaped path through outer space) around the Sun – the orbit of the Earth causes monthly and yearly changes to the Sun’s motion and shadows.
Because of these two motions, the Sun “moves” along a slightly different path through the sky each day. The path the Sun follows depends on what part of the year it is. In summer it is a high path that causes short shadows. In winter it is a low path that causes long shadows.
Each year the motions of the Sun repeat. There are 2 Solstices and 2 Equinoxes.
Follow up activities
The Sun Tracker is like a giant, immersive sundial. You are “inside” the sundial and experience the shadows.
Winter and summer solstice. If you are marking the Sun’s movement during the winter or summer solstice you will notice that the Sun seems to stand still over a few days. This is the meaning of the word “solstice” – sun standstill! | <urn:uuid:e1150dc1-e6ff-455c-97c1-2ffc2a5fc14c> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://starinastar.com/science-gifts/sun-tracker/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195526940.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20190721082354-20190721104354-00333.warc.gz | en | 0.913449 | 865 | 3 | 3 |
Stay on target
New research suggests prehistoric Britons traveled far and wide for a good party.
Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of the earliest large-scale celebrations in the UK, attracting people and animals from across the country.
A study, published this week in the journal Science Advances, examined the bones of 131 pigs from four Late Neolithic (c. 2800-2400 BC) complexes: Durrington Walls, Marden, Mount Pleasant, West Kennet Palisade Enclosures.
The sites served nearby monuments Stonehenge and Avebury in the south of England.
“Arguably the most startling finding is the efforts that participants invested in contributing pigs that they themselves had raised,” Richard Madgwick, who led the study from Cardiff University’s School of History, Archaeology, and Religion, said in a statement.
Unlike cattle, pigs are not well-suited to movement over distance; transporting the animals—either slaughtered or on the hoof—over tens or hundreds of miles would have required “a monumental effort,” according to Madgwick.
Researchers believe it was important that guests brought meat raised locally to them, meaning swine may have traveled from far-away lands like Scotland, North East England, and West Wales.
“The central role of pigs at these communal events must have been given a special meaning by the remarkably diverse geographic origins of the animals, which reflected the cultural diversity of the people who brought them to the ceremonial places,” study co-author Umberto Albarella, professor of zooarchaeology at the University of Sheffield, said.
One of the most famous landmarks in the UK, Stonehenge features a ring of standing stones, each about 13 feet tall by 7 feet wide, weighing around 25 tons.
And while we still don’t know why or how Stonehenge was constructed, recent research shines light on who built it: A study published last year suggests a number of people buried at the Wessex cemetery did not live nearby prior to death. Rather, they likely helped transport the crags used in early stages of construction.
These results emphasize the importance of “inter-regional connections” in the Neolithic—as early as 5,000 years ago.
The same can be said about Stonehenge’s ancient raves.
“These gatherings could be seen as the first united cultural events of our island,” Madgwick said, “with people from all corners of Britain descending on the areas around Stonehenge to feast on food that had been specially reared and transported from their homes.”
More on Geek.com: | <urn:uuid:91d1b7d4-911e-4b7f-bb4a-5fc32d910ba4> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://www.geek.com/news/ancient-britons-traveled-hundreds-of-miles-for-stonehenge-pork-roasts-1778460/?source | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912203755.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20190325051359-20190325073359-00230.warc.gz | en | 0.942306 | 554 | 3.890625 | 4 |
A small auxiliary engine.
More example sentences
- Astern of the engine-room area is a short gap where the ship broke her back, then you reach the propshaft, suspended above the seabed by the remains of the donkey engine.
- Amidships on the upper deck was the dredging platform itself, flanked by zinc specimen boxes and with a small steam donkey engine to one side to pull up the dredge with its precious cargo of samples.
- I take a few photos and walk the long trail back to the gate by the firehouse, where a huge steam donkey engine is displayed.
Definition of donkey engine in:
- The US English dictionary | <urn:uuid:0602454c-c27c-44ef-a3c5-f727cc05020d> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/donkey-engine | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535919886.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909044017-00132-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926647 | 139 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The Study Of Ecology
By Henry Gage
Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment.Commensalism,mutualism,and parasitism are all examples of interspecies interactions.That is also a good example of ecology.
Individual & Population
The picture of the falcon is an individual animal.The second picture is of an individual cow in its population.In this example the falcon is individual because he is separate from the rest of his group.With the cow it is an individual in its population because there is a whole group of cows with it.Over the years the falcon has had to adapt to the growing cities.Now they are mostly found on the city skyscrapers in big cities.They adapted to their environmental changes.
Organisms interact in many different ways to make up a community.Sometimes its predator and prey.Other times its interspecies interactions.Commensalism,mutualism,parasitism.
Commensalism- where one organism benefits while the other is not affected.(Ex.Cattle egrets moving with the cow herd to eat the bugs that the cattle disturb from the grass)
Mutualism - where both organisms benefit from the relationship.(Ex.Bees getting nectar from flowers to make honey and the flowers get pollinated)
Parasitism - where one organism benefits while the other is harmfully affected.(Ex.Ticks suck the blood of animals and give them harmful diseases)
A group of organisms living in a certain area together is a community.An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.Organisms depend a lot on abiotic and biotic factors in their ecosystems.Predators need prey,and the prey needs food aswell.That's where plants come in.Plants can serve as food,a source of oxygen,and a shelter.Water is also very important survival.You would die without it.The sun is also very important.There are a lot more examples, but we have to move on.
Six Kingdom Classification System
The four pictures i have here are of four out of the six kingdoms.The first one is of a euglena which is in the Protista kingdom.Picture two is of a tree which is in the Plantae kingdom.The third picture is of a mushroom which is in the Fungi kingdom.The forth and final picture is of a cat which is in the Animal kingdom.Three characteristics of the Protista kingdom are the way they move,Unicellular or multicellular,and they are eukaryotic.Three for Plantae are eukaryotic,do not move,and they have a cell wall.A few characteristics of Fungi are eukaryotic,heterotrophs,and no cell wall.Three characteristics of an animal are multicellular,ability to move,and they are heterotrophs.
Food Chain and Food Web
To me one of the most important creatures in the ecosystem is the mushroom which is considered a decomposer.This type of organism decomposes the dead bodies.Without these organisms there would be dead bodies everywhere.They are heterotrophs because they can not produce their own food.They don't have chloroplasts like plants do.
Producer-an organism that contains chloroplasts and produces food through the process of photosynthesis(Ex.plants)
Consumer-an organism that eats other organisms or other organic matter(Ex.most animals)
Decomposer- organisms that break down dead and decaying organisms(Ex.mushrooms)
I chose rock,water,and sunlight for my three abiotic factors.These things are abiotic because they are nonliving.Living things need these things to survive.The rock for shelter,the water to drink for survival,and sunlight to see during the day, as well as getting producers the necessary sunlight they need to produce food and grow.Without these things there would be no life. | <urn:uuid:5fa8ff36-ecda-4e84-bba5-8b244e6ca0b3> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | https://tackk.com/9g8e3y | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320130.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170623184505-20170623204505-00023.warc.gz | en | 0.940762 | 817 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Problem A1: Let and be positive integers such that
If , prove that the polynomial
has no positive roots.
Solution A1: We appeal to a similar strategy that is used in IMO 2012-2. Write
In particular, for , this implies
so with equality only at . Thus , which is equivalent to has no positive roots. | <urn:uuid:261c3106-2aa5-4237-a953-a60f28873049> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | https://www.incertia.net/blog/isl-2017-a1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247481249.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20190216230700-20190217012700-00534.warc.gz | en | 0.920429 | 74 | 2.71875 | 3 |
According to the Los Alamos National Labs, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. In fact, hydrogen makes up an estimated 90 percent of all atoms. In most cases, when you hear about hydrogen, it is usually in the context of outer space, military weapons or fuel sources for cars. However hydrogen is also a crucial element in the operation of the human body.
One of the major ways that hydrogen is used in the body is in water. Water is made up of two-thirds hydrogen atoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, water is so important that it makes up over 60 percent of your body. Because of hydrogen, the cells are able to remain hydrated, toxins and waste are able to be eliminated from the body, nutrients are able to be transported to the cells that need them, your joints are lubricated, and your body's immune system is able to send defensive cells to fight of infection-causing fungus, bacterias and viruses.
Hydrogen also plays a crucial role in energy production in the body. For our bodies to function, they must have energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Your body gains energy through consuming foods rich in substances such as carbohydrates. Once ingested, the body uses enzymes to break down your food into more basic substances such as glucose. These basic parts are then further broken down through glycolysis and beta oxidation, leaving your body with acetyl CoA. Acetyl CoA is then broken down into hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. The hydrogen ions are transported to the mitochondria of the cells, which then uses the hydrogen to create ATP.
According to Dr. Patrick Flanagan, hydrogen may also be the missing link in slowing down the aging process. The aging of tissues in the body is believed to be caused by substances called free radicals in the body. Inside many of the tissues in the body are stored (pooled) supplies of hydrogen. According to Dr. Flanagan, this hydrogen protects us from free radical damage. Unfortunately, as we age, these storages dry up. This leaves the tissue exposed to free radicals, which leads to the tissue damage seen with aging. | <urn:uuid:2305f72b-a6bb-4d18-8138-1cb27dd411dd> | CC-MAIN-2019-30 | https://healthfully.com/how-is-hydrogen-used-in-the-body-3513968.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-30/segments/1563195525587.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20190718083839-20190718105839-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.958069 | 443 | 3.6875 | 4 |
What is a School Accountability Report Card (SARC)?
Since November 1988,state law has required all public schools receiving state funding to prepare and distribute a SARC. A similar requirement is also contained in the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The purpose of the report card is to provide parents and the community with important information about each public school. A SARC can be an effective way for a school to report on its progress in achieving goals. The public may also use a SARC to evaluate and compare schools on a variety of indicators.
What information does the SARC contain?
Although there is great variation in the design of school report cards, they generally begin with a profile that provides background information about the school and its students. The profile usually summarizes the school's mission, goals, and accomplishments. State law requires that the SARC contain all of the following:
- Demographic data
- School safety and climate for learning information
- Academic data
- School completion rates
- Class sizes
- Teacher and staff information
- Curriculum and instruction descriptions
- Postsecondary preparation information
- Fiscal and expenditure data
In addition, NCLB requires that SARCs contain reports concerning the "adequate yearly progress" of students in achieving state academic achievement standards; Title 1 Program Improvement; graduation rates at the secondary level; and,starting with the SARCs to be published in 2004–05, the extent to which "highly qualified" teachers are teaching core academic subjects.
How often must a SARC be updated?
School report cards must be updated annually.
How are schools required to distribute the SARC?
State law generally encourages schools to make a concerted effort to notify parents of the purpose of the report cards and to ensure that all parents receive a copy of the report card for the school their child attends. Specifically, schools are required to notify all parents about the availability of the SARC and to provide parents with instructions about how the SARC can be obtained both through the Internet(if feasible) and on paper (by request). If a sufficient number of a school's enrolled students speak a single primary language other than English, state law requires that the SARC be made available to parents in the appropriate primary language.
A Parent’s Guide to the SARC.(2013). California Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/parentguide.asp
To view McAuliffe's Accountability Report Card please click here. | <urn:uuid:b8a1a268-0427-4949-9729-88174a41e2f4> | CC-MAIN-2019-18 | https://www.losal.org/Domain/504 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-18/segments/1555578806528.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190426133444-20190426155444-00515.warc.gz | en | 0.941424 | 515 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Smart IoT Gateway Products
What is an IoT Gateway?
An IoT gateway device bridges the gap of communication that exists between IoT devices, equipment, sensors, and the cloud. It systematically connects the cloud and the field by offering storage solutions to local processing. Also, it can independently regulate field devices based on the sensor’s data input.
An Edge Gateway assembles at the edge systems intersection, amongst the local and external internet and the local intranet used by the other devices in an environment. Therefore, an edge gateway acts as a network connectivity entrance point, both inside and outside the device environment.
How does an IoT Gateway Device work?
It is impossible for devices to directly communicate with systems as their capabilities and requirements often proliferate. Energy-incentive protocols such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are unsupportable by some sensors and controllers. When they connect to a range of private and public networks, they aggregate data to be vast and helpful in its raw form.
Nowadays, the majority of IoT gateway devices in a network are proficient in gathering collective data. For instance, the car traffic sensors aggregates and sends data to an AI analysis service in the cloud. However, all the raw data is first sent to the IoT gateway before it reaches the cloud.
1. Pre-processing, cleaning, and filtering raw data.
2. Translating protocols for better communication and encryption.
3. Sending data to an internet or intranet target.
The Best IoT Gateway Examples in 2021
The Internet of Things is the important thing motive force at the back of a brilliant and safe home. IoT delivers total security by bonding a variety of sensors, alarms, cameras, lights, and microphones. All of this can be done using a smartphone.
Farming may be a particularly advanced endeavor these days. An accumulative number of farmers use IoT-enabled tools to look out for the weather, soil structure, wet soil levels, crop well-being and development, and stock activity.
Industrial Security and Safety
Sensors and cameras can be used to observe the perimeter of restricted areas and sense trespassers in non-authorized zones. Small leakages of hazardous chemicals or pressure build-ups can be recognized and stabilized before they turn into serious problems.
Using sensors to word movement or vibration in large-scale structures, which include; buildings, bridges, and dams, can apprehend the minor disturbances and designs that might lead to catastrophic failures. Networks of sensors are also utilized in regions at risk of landslides, avalanches, and earthquakes.
Ingestible digital devices, unevenly the scale of a tablet and organized with a strong source, microprocessor, controller, and sensors, may be absorbed to screen infection situation and switch records from in the gastrointestinal tract—for instance, to sense hemorrhage or absorption of pharmaceuticals.
Google Glass is a minor, lightweight computer tattered like a pair of eyeglasses for hands-free effort. The data is presented inside the “lenses” of the specs, which can admit various Internet applications, comprising Google Maps and Gmail.
The Power of IoT Gateway
With the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), most businesses have been at risk of find integrating multiple devices and protocols. An IoT Gateway has become an indispensable component in structuring a healthy IoT. It also provides computational power in edge computing scenarios. Here at MOKOSmart, we have the best world-class IoT gateways that can easily connect on various projects.
Strategies of Secauring an IoT Gateway
To keep your gateway IoT secure, you must ensure that all your communications that arise between the gateway and the devices are in line with the three fundamental security core principles. They include; integrity, confidentiality, and authentication. This applies to every communication that happens in external and internal networks.
Also, it is essential to note that an IoT gateway is likely to be attacked due to two reasons:
- It uses advanced processing power to run more demanding applications. Better software comes with more power; hence most IoT gateways are more vulnerable to exploitation by hackers.
- Due to the location of the edge device location, an IoT gateway is a possible menace path point of entry
We recommend you keep an eye on the following steps to secure your IoT gateway device fully.
Establish the Gateway Device
To establish your gateway device, apply the X.509 Digital Certificate. After this, all the external entities connected to the gateway will enable the HTTPS or NTLS protocols. With all this, you will be certain that you are using a trusted device that hands out all instructions to devices or sensors in the ground.
Establish Accord a ‘Strong’ Identity for the Gateway Device
Use additional security measures to protect your IoT gateway devices. Clone and extract private keys from your gateway device as it is at risk of physical tampering. This makes it unquestionable that all the digital certification is properly stored and can’t dispatch the gateway.
Provide Identity to Your Ecosystem Using the Gateway
IoT gateway devices can be used as a reliable security mechanism for securing anything connected to the intranet. The gateway performs the role of a proxy between the devices in a field and the platform.
IoT Gateway vs. IIoT Gateway
IoT gateway devices aggregate and transmit sensor data, thereby end up managing and controlling complex connected surroundings. Their vigorous growth is predicted to rise as they assist in translating communication protocols.
The IoT Gateway
It is estimated that security market components and home automation are likely to account for more than half of overall shipments by the end of 2021. Sections of mobility and transportation create the most returns in the industrialized sector.
In the rising IoT gateway market, most suppliers gradually turn to software and services to differentiate, although no consolidation is anticipated anytime soon. The reason is, most industrial and commercial settings with IoT gateways have distinctive approaches to requirements of the processor, antenna designs, and ruggedness.
The Industrial IoT gateway
By the end of 2021, the industrial IoT gateway market is anticipated to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of more than 15 percent. The expected growth rate is considerate, considering that perspective, industrial markets with IoT spending are still at the top.
Before the year ends, the industrial IoT gateway market research is anticipated to have a total value of USD 1,390.2 million. The IIoT gateway market has the largest end customers covering more than 68% of the total market.
Main Function of IoT Gateway
> Acts as a network router – IoT gateway routes data between the cloud and the IoT devices.
> Pre-processing and filtering local data – Before local data is transferred to the cloud, it is preprocessed at the edge by an IoT gateway device.
> Provides extra security – IoT gateways offer additional security for the data transmitted by the IoT network.
> Establishes a communication bridge – An IoT gateway establishes some communication bridge that occurs between the IoT devices and the router.
> Performing data aggregation.
> Responsible for verifying protocols. | <urn:uuid:449db059-8672-4ca4-ad90-cdafb38bae08> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://www.mokosmart.com/iot-gateway/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320302723.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220121040956-20220121070956-00346.warc.gz | en | 0.910536 | 1,465 | 2.921875 | 3 |
"Super Typhoon Haiyan was a terrifyingly intense storm…and so were many others around the globe in the last decade."
"Earlier this month, Super Typhoon Haiyan stunned the meteorological community. The Navy’sJoint Typhoon Warning Center, which tracked the storm, estimated its maximum 1-minute sustained wind speeds at more than 195 miles per hour based on satellite imagery. If confirmed, that would exceed the official wind speed estimates for all other hurricanes and typhoons in the modern period. (Prior to 1969 some Pacific storms were recorded as stronger, but these measurements are now considered too high).
But here’s the thing: Haiyan isn’t the globe’s only record-breaking hurricane in recent years. Even as scientists continue to study and debate whether global warming is making hurricanes worse, hurricanes have continued to set new intensity records. Indeed, a Climate Desk analysis of official hurricane records finds that many of the globe’s hurricane basins—including the Atlantic, the Northwest Pacific, the North Indian, the South Indian, and the South Pacific—have witnessed (or, in the case of Haiyan and the Northwest Pacific, arguably witnessed) some type of new hurricane intensity record since the year 2000. What’s more, a few regions that aren’t usually considered major hurricane basis have also seen mammoth storms of late." | <urn:uuid:43cac1d6-2967-4cc6-b2bd-eacaadb54d7b> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://www.sej.org/print/headlines/all-over-world-hurricane-records-keep-breaking | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917118831.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031158-00430-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954829 | 278 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Over the weekend, top economic officials from around the world gathered at the Toki Messe Convention Center and Hotel Okura in Niigata Prefecture to discuss pressing global issues such as the war in Ukraine and climate change. However, the talks were overshadowed by concerns about the debt ceiling in the United States. Many people, including U.S. allies, have asked Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen for updates on the negotiations between the White House and House Republicans. A default would have devastating global impacts, so resolving the debt ceiling is a top priority for the administration. The situation has forced President Biden to cancel his plans and return to Washington early. The prospect of a U.S. default is unnerving to many allies, as the U.S. dollar is seen as a reliable and safe investment. Experts warn that even the talk of a default could shake markets around the world, potentially triggering a global recession and undermining U.S. economic leadership and national security interests.
The debt ceiling debate is not just a concern for U.S. allies but also for economists and policymakers worldwide. Many countries look to the U.S. for leadership in world affairs, and a weakening of U.S. power on the geopolitical stage could have negative consequences for other nations, particularly in Eastern Europe. Skeptics wonder why the U.S. has imposed limits on debt in the first place, while others note that other developed countries typically set debt ceilings relative to GDP. The vast majority of countries, however, have no debt limits at all. Regardless, the situation unfolding in Washington may serve as a cautionary tale for other nations considering similar policies.
Overall, the debt ceiling issue is an important topic of concern for many across the globe, as it has the potential to disrupt financial markets, hit the dollar hard, and jeopardize many jobs. U.S. allies and foreign economists alike are watching carefully to see how the situation unfolds and hoping for a swift resolution. | <urn:uuid:79f0cc30-9ef3-4e01-8f13-dbf05ea1f8df> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://newseyeo.com/imminent-default-looms-as-us-debt-ceiling-debate-draws-global-attention/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224653608.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20230607042751-20230607072751-00539.warc.gz | en | 0.962444 | 398 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Italy’s efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease has led to a decrease of boat traffic in Venice’s famous waterways – as captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
The Italian government imposed a nationwide lockdown on 9 March 2020, drastically reducing the movement of Venice’s boats including the ‘vaporetti,’ or water buses, as well as cruise ships.
These images show one of the effects of the locked-down city of Venice, in northern Italy. The top image, captured 13 April 2020, shows a distinct lack of boat traffic compared to the image from 19 April 2019.
The Grand Canal and the Giudecca Channel appear almost empty compared to last year, and traffic from Venice to the island of Murano appears to be non-existent. Two large cruise ships can be seen in the U-shaped Port of Venice in 2019, west of the city, while this year the port appears empty.
According to the Italian news agency, ANSA, the streets and canals of Venice remained almost empty over Easter – with only police officers patrolling the streets and waterways.
Meanwhile, the lockdown has led to a sharp decline in air pollution across Europe – particularly in Rome and the Po Valley in northern Italy.
About the Copernicus Sentinels
The Copernicus Sentinels are a fleet of dedicated EU-owned satellites, designed to deliver the wealth of data and imagery that are central to the European Union's Copernicus environmental programme. The European Commission leads and coordinates this programme, to improve the management of the environment, safeguarding lives every day. ESA is in charge of the space component, responsible for developing the family of Copernicus Sentinel satellites on behalf of the European Union and ensuring the flow of data for the Copernicus services, while the operations of the Copernicus Sentinels have been entrusted to ESA and EUMETSAT. | <urn:uuid:395d8c8a-c85e-4fc2-94e9-6417703b06a6> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/04/Deserted_Venetian_lagoon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655911896.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20200710175432-20200710205432-00073.warc.gz | en | 0.935898 | 394 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Why do I get tiny text when I forward something in Microsoft Word 2007? I was having this problem myself. Not sure where it came from but I finally figured out any easy way to fix it.
Open an email formatted with HTML.
Press ALT-F. You will see a choice of options.
Look for the “Editor Options” at the bottom lower right.
Click on it!
Choose the advanced option from the left hand side bar.
Under the grey bar named Cut, Copy and Paste
Within the same e-mail – Choose “Matching Formatting”
Pasting Between e-mails – Choose “Matching Formatting”
Pasting from Other Program – Choose “Match Destination Formatting”.
Choose “OK”. Now when you forward a message it will forward the original HTML. When pasting you should now see readable formatting. Hope this helps. Happy forwarding!
Howard Sobel, Tips Editor | <urn:uuid:1c6a7e96-fa5e-494d-aa5e-5e8d922ea43f> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://wugnet.remotto.com/2920/tip_2915-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794865702.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20180523180641-20180523200641-00540.warc.gz | en | 0.816982 | 203 | 2.640625 | 3 |
After centuries of animal captivity, poaching, and urban expansion, animals are now actively trying to avoid our presence by becoming more nocturnal. With flashing lights, harsh noises and urbanization we have become master destroyers of their natural habitats, leaving them vulnerable and homeless.
Lead author Kaitlyn Gaynor explains that “human activity is creating a more nocturnal natural world” and adds that the trend is both “powerful and striking.”
Gaynor goes as far as to compare us to the dinosaurs, explaining that “mammals were active entirely at night because dinosaurs were the ubiquitous terrifying force on the planet” but now “humans are the ubiquitous terrifying force on the planet.”
Even the fiercest animals, such as coyotes and tigers, are becoming more nocturnal just to avoid the threat of Homo sapiens.
There are a plethora of reasons why animals want to avoid us; the most obvious being our incessant need to harm, capture and even cull them. The government in Colorado is spending 4.5 million dollars to kill black bears and mountain lions on a mere whim that this may increase numbers of deer, purely so they can continue to hunt the deer. All this time and money is spent not on conserving their habitats, but on killing and killing alone.
We cull species of animals when their impact on the environment is not suitable to us. For example, one beaver is killed every 22 minutes because of “destructive” behaviors like building dams — despite the fact that we humans are far more destructive to the environment than them.
As a species ourselves, we are violent and ruthless. Animals of prey, such as the antelopes in Zimbabwe, would rather take their chances venturing to waterholes at night with lions, hyenas and other predators than take the trip during the day and run the risk of coming into contact with trophy hunters. We poach rhinos to extinction, put elephants into captivity and split orangutans from their mothers. Meanwhile, we tear down forests and live unsustainably thinking of only of ourselves.
Not only are we a violent species, we are a noisy one, too. The amount of sound we produce from traffic has detrimental effects of the wildlife we share the land with. The unrelenting droning from cars and airplanes deafens South African dwarf mongooses to the sound of approaching predators. Meanwhile, the 24/7 noise produced by oil and gas operations such as fracking and drilling scare away grasshoppers, crickets and other insects, which massively affects the ecosystem. Even underwater species of animals can’t escape the loudness of the human race. From generators to sea craft engines and propellers, there is little peace and quiet even in the deep blue, and whales have been known to become deafened by the ongoing noise.
So, could this distance between animals and humans divided by day and night be a good thing? Gaynor speculates that “It’s a way to share space on an increasingly crowded planet…We take the day and they take the night.”
While animals becoming more nocturnal may give them distance from dangerous human activity, “not all animals are willing or able to just switch to a nocturnal lifestyle around people” reminds Gaynor. After all the irreversible damage we have committed to the environment, it would be purely selfish and lazy to expect the very species we have endangered to change their survival strategies to fit our needs. | <urn:uuid:86ef98ba-1e9f-444e-bfdb-3693e7aa9a88> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://ladyfreethinker.org/animals-becoming-nocturnal-just-avoid-humans/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764500456.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20230207102930-20230207132930-00822.warc.gz | en | 0.95487 | 719 | 2.859375 | 3 |
This Unit highlights the importance of ensuring that communication response activities are accompanied by Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART) communication objectives that are measured by appropriate SMART indicators.
Indicators are succinct measures that aim to describe how the program is performing. As such, they allow programmers to assess what is working and what needs to be improved. Importantly, communication objectives and indicators should be part of an M&E plan that supports the communication response.
Having completed this unit, you will have the following tools to assist you in establishing SMART communication objectives with appropriate indicators. These will support the development of your M&E plan.
What Are Communication Objectives and Indicators? Why Are They Important?
Communication objectives are the desired results of an SBCC intervention, and are generally related to changes in the audiences’ knowledge, thoughts, beliefs, feelings, skills or behaviors. Communication objectives are used to guide the development and direction of an SBCC intervention. The objectives should contribute to achieving the goal of bringing the emergency under control.
Indicators reflect how the SBCC interventions will be measured, and include variables that mark the change or progress toward achieving the objectives. For example, indicators can be used to measure factors such as the reach and quality of the intervention, and any influences on behavior such as knowledge, beliefs, feelings or practices. Indicators can therefore provide valuable information as to how the SBCC response is progressing, and they can highlight areas for improvement or change that need to be made to obtain the desired results. In an emergency, attention should be given to establishing indicators that can be collected easily.
Key Steps for Developing Communication Objectives and Indicators | <urn:uuid:5dfd06ac-0076-46ae-8009-ac5376fb3c41> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://sbccimplementationkits.org/sbcc-in-emergencies/lessons/unit-6-developing-communication-objectives-and-indicators/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656104678225.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20220706212428-20220707002428-00650.warc.gz | en | 0.932997 | 353 | 3.375 | 3 |
16-06-10 // ME(U)TROZONE
As transitional areas between different parts of a city, metrozones are without doubt closely related to the transit routes that link entire cities with one another. As with the regions along transit routes, we are largely familiar with metrozones from travelling through them and they are usually perceived in the background from the car, aircraft, or train window and as part of a remote landscape. The fact that both metrozones and transit route regions are traversed on a regular basis makes both of them participants in oscillating urban systems. In this regard, therefore, the nature of metrozones and/or transit route regions is characterised not so much by spatial features but more especially by their capacity to be part of a dynamic system that vacillates between two or more states in a more or less regular form. The place between the two poles thus has the potential to merge the qualities of both sides in one area, thus achieving a new degree of wholeness and quality.
An extreme example of this type of oscillating urban system is to be found between the German city of Duisburg and the Turkish city of Istanbul. Every year, thousands of people of Turkish descent commute along the route, about 2,400 kilometres long, between Duisburg and Istanbul. It is only at an initial glance that the many Turkish immigrants appear to be firmly domiciled in their host country Germany; they are in fact highly mobile, making the most of both cultures on a parallel basis and as such for years now have been living as binational urbanists in a progressive and future-oriented culture. The transit route between the two cities traverses seven European countries, crossing diagonally across Europe and linking Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria with Turkey. The German city of Duisburg is made all the more interesting by the fact that it has the highest proportion of Turkish residents of any city in Germany. Around 40,000 people of Turkish descent live there, corresponding to about 8 per cent of the city’s overall population, compared with around 4 per cent on average in Germany’s major cities. According to the Socio-Economic Panel, 93.5 per cent of all Turks living in Germany travelled to and from Turkey at least once in 2006, corresponding to a total of 1,625,807 people. It can be assumed that about 40 per cent of them travel by car, around 35 per cent fly, around 20 per cent travel by ferry and car, and only a small proportion, around 5 per cent, travel by bus and train. The figure of 1,625,807 is approximately equal to the number of residents in the city of Hamburg in 2006 (1,754,317). Every year, therefore, a crowd of people roughly equal to the population of Hamburg travels from Germany to Turkey and back.
Project: Urban Research Study
Date: June 2010
Type: Commissioned study
Programme: Study on transitional urban zones
Client: International Building Exhibition (IBA), Hamburg, 2011
Publications: 4th Volume of the Internationale Bauausstellung
(International Building Exhibition) entitled Metropolis: Metrozones.
Team: Bernd Upmeyer, Fotini Gouveli, Dirk Gießmann | <urn:uuid:ac8f4807-4fe3-4d4d-b261-0a07dda97620> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://b-o-a-r-d.nl/?p=209 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583510969.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20181017023458-20181017044958-00293.warc.gz | en | 0.946223 | 677 | 2.59375 | 3 |
What is mediation?
Mediation is one of the three different forms of resolving civil disputes through Alternative Dispute Resolution:
- neutral case evaluation, and
The mediation process is purposely informal and may begin with an informal presentation by either party as to the merits of their case, followed up by the mediator talking with the parties either in front of each other or individually. The sole purpose of mediation is to see if the mediator can help the parties reach a settlement. A skillful mediator can provide a great deal of assistance in helping the parties bridge the gap between what one party may want and what the other party is willing to offer.
If the mediation process is not successful in reaching a settlement, then frequently it is followed by a neutral case evaluation wherein the mediator changes the hat that is being worn and provides a neutral case evaluation as to what the case may be worth.
Some state laws mandate ADR before certain civil suits may be filed. In particular, this is seen in regards to medical malpractice actions where some states require mediation or non-binding arbitration as a prelude to filing suit.
Ask an Attorney
Feel free to ask a legal questions that you would like answered. Your question will go directly and only to Deskin Law Firm, a professional law corporation. Deskin Law Firm will contact you directly to discuss your situation, usually via telephone, so please provide multiple ways to reach you via phone. Your situation will be kept confidential. There is no cost to discuss your situation and no attorney-client relationship is created by simply filling out the form and sending it. | <urn:uuid:59490278-9062-4cae-9f97-60cccb7a6643> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://openjurist.org/law/what-is-mediation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982974985.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200934-00266-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945603 | 322 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Benefits of Arts Education
The Arts Education Partnership has newly launched ArtsEdSearch.org, a digital clearinghouse of research and policy information about the educational outcomes of arts learning, both in and out of school. ArtsEdSearch.org contains 200 summaries of high quality research studies that include all arts forms and all levels of education.
Music Matters: How Music Education Helps Students Learn, Achieve, and Succeed
Building on the first release of Music Matters in 2011, the Arts Education Partnership reviewed multiple research studies identified within ArtsEdSearch — the national clearinghouse of rigorous arts education research — to explore the importance of music on student learning outcomes. This updated resource explores the demonstrated effects of music education and how it helps students develop the foundational capacities for lifelong success. Download a free PDF version of this publication and add it to your arsenal of music education advocacy tools today!
The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth
The National Endowment for the Arts released a research report indicating several positive outcomes associated with high levels of arts exposure for youth of low socioeconomic status. According to a study led by James S. Catterall of four separate longitudinal studies, at-risk students who have access to the arts in or out of school appear to have better academic results, better workforce opportunities, and more civic engagement than at-risk students who do not.
Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art
In this report, James Catterall presents empirical evidence demonstrating the important role of the arts in student success in school and in life. Examining an additional ten years of data on 12,000 students originally studied in the 1999 AEP publication, Champions of Change, Catterall produces longitudinal data demonstrating the significant impact of an “arts rich” education on underserved students and English language learners. | <urn:uuid:84aa0134-be79-4613-9445-3d6b6a70bb32> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://www.americanorchestras.org/advocacy-government/music-education/music-education-advocacy-tools/benefits-of-arts-education.html?task=view&id=149 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986688826.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20191019040458-20191019063958-00091.warc.gz | en | 0.916121 | 366 | 3.4375 | 3 |
From Forschungszentrum Juelich , comes what looks to be a pretty important discovery about how plant emitted aerosols like Great Smoky Mountains National Park haze comes about and grows large enough to reflect significant sunlight, something climate models don’t yet fully account for.
Major enigma solved in atmospheric chemistry
Nature: Researchers discover source of climate-active organic aerosol particles
According to their results, these extremely low-volatile organic compounds consist of relatively large molecules which contain an almost equal number of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms. The scientists present a plausible explanation supported by numerous experimental findings of how these vapours are formed almost immediately when plant emissions (e.g. monoterpenes) are released into the air. The vapours can then condense on small aerosol particles (starting from clusters of only a few nanometres in diameter) suspended in the air, causing them to grow to around 100 nanometres – at which size they can reflect incoming sunlight and act as condensation nuclei for cloud formation in the atmosphere.
The researchers’ findings have bridged a major gap in knowledge in atmospheric and climate research. “Thanks to our much improved understanding of the role that naturally occurring substances in the atmosphere play in the formation of organic aerosol particles, we will in future be able to make more reliable assessments of their impact on cloud formation and sunlight scattering, and thus on climate,” says Dr. Thomas F. Mentel from Jülich’s Institute of Energy and Climate Research – Troposphere (IEK-8).
The findings are based essentially on measurements performed at Forschungszentrum Jülich in a special 1450 litre glass chamber using a combination of several recently developed mass spectrometry methods, with instruments from Jülich, the University of Helsinki (Finland), and the University of Washington (Seattle, USA). Combined, these produced one of the most comprehensive data sets ever acquired, showing how organic emissions from trees can oxidize to form organic aerosols.
Experts consider a good understanding of the relationship between the increase in soil temperature, plant emissions, aerosol formation, and cloud formation to be essential for predicting future climate development correctly. “Our current research findings will help to improve computer models of the atmosphere and reduce existing uncertainties in climate prediction,” says Prof. Andreas Wahner, director at IEK-8.
“What really made these new findings possible were the new mass spectrometry methods, together with the combined efforts and expertise of all the international collaborators involved”, says the article’s lead author Dr. Mikael Ehn, currently university lecturer at the University of Helsinki. In addition to the institutions at Jülich, Helsinki, and Seattle, the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (Leipzig, Germany), the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), Aerodyne Research Inc. (USA), and Tampere University of Technology (Finland) contributed to the study.
A large source of low-volatility secondary organic aerosols, Mikael Ehn et al; Nature 506, DOI: 1038/nature13032 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v506/n7489/full/nature13032.html
Forests emit large quantities of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the atmosphere. Their condensable oxidation products can form secondary organic aerosol, a significant and ubiquitous component of atmospheric aerosol1, 2, which is known to affect the Earth’s radiation balance by scattering solar radiation and by acting as cloud condensation nuclei3.
The quantitative assessment of such climate effects remains hampered by a number of factors, including an incomplete understanding of how biogenic VOCs contribute to the formation of atmospheric secondary organic aerosol. The growth of newly formed particles from sizes of less than three nanometres up to the sizes of cloud condensation nuclei (about one hundred nanometres) in many continental ecosystems requires abundant, essentially non-volatile organic vapours4, 5, 6, but the sources and compositions of such vapours remain unknown.
Here we investigate the oxidation of VOCs, in particular the terpene α-pinene, under atmospherically relevant conditions in chamber experiments. We find that a direct pathway leads from several biogenic VOCs, such as monoterpenes, to the formation of large amounts of extremely low-volatility vapours. These vapours form at significant mass yield in the gas phase and condense irreversibly onto aerosol surfaces to produce secondary organic aerosol, helping to explain the discrepancy between the observed atmospheric burden of secondary organic aerosol and that reported by many model studies2.
We further demonstrate how these low-volatility vapours can enhance, or even dominate, the formation and growth of aerosol particles over forested regions, providing a missing link between biogenic VOCs and their conversion to aerosol particles. Our findings could help to improve assessments of biosphere–aerosol–climate feedback mechanisms6, 7, 8, and the air quality and climate effects of biogenic emissions generally.
UPDATE: Figure 4 courtesy of Lance Wallace, who writes in comments:
This does seem to be a blockbuster from Kulmala’s group and others. They used various time-of-flight mass spectrometers to identify what they call ELVOCs (extremely low volatility organic compounds) that are created in the atmosphere and immediately condense on nano-condensation nuclei (nano-CN) particles irreversibly, such that the nanoparticles can grow to eventually become CCN (cloud condensation nuclei) and create clouds. These ELVOCs are large molecules, with example formulae of C10H15O10 or C20H32O12. The main mass spectrometer employed nitrate ions to collide with the particles. Since HNO3 is a pretty common atmospheric constituent, the authors conclude that once the nanoparticles grow to about 1.5 nm (say from a cosmic ray collision or a radon decay) the ELVOCs can continually condense on them to grow them to 50 nm (CCN size) in a matter of hours.
The authors do not mention Kirby or Svensmark, but I wonder if this is the missing mechanism from Svensmark’s 2013 study allowing cosmic-ray-initiated particle growth to proceed to CCN size. | <urn:uuid:e16e7443-772a-4d7a-b85a-9f0062afabbf> | CC-MAIN-2016-07 | http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/02/26/a-case-of-the-vapours-source-of-climate-active-organic-aerosol-particles-pinned-down/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701162035.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193922-00259-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900181 | 1,334 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Monday, April 15, 2013
Genetic counselor Megan Harlan Fleischut discusses hereditary cancers and the services offered by Memorial Sloan Kettering’s clinical genetics experts.
Some people are genetically predisposed to developing certain types of cancer because they have a genetic mutation inherited from one of their parents — or sometimes both parents. These people have a higher risk of developing the disease than those in the general population.
If you have a family history of cancer, physicians and genetic counselors at Memorial Sloan Kettering are available to help you understand your risk of developing cancer.
What percentage of cancers are inherited?
While all cancers are caused by genetic changes (mutations) in tumor cells, most cancers are not hereditary. Only about 5 to 10 percent of cancers — including breast, ovarian, colorectal, and prostate — are thought to be inherited, meaning that they are due to gene mutations passed down in one’s family.Back to top
What do we know about the link between inherited genetic mutations and cancer?
With some cancers, there are known mutations for which we can screen patients. Two of the most well known are mutations in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. These mutations have been linked to some, but not all, hereditary cases of breast and ovarian cancer as well as other cancers.
For cancers for which no tests are currently available, family history is the strongest risk factor.
Our laboratory investigators are working to identify previously unknown hereditary mutations that may predispose people to developing these and many other types of cancer. We are also performing genetic epidemiologic studies to explore how such mutations may contribute to disease in families and in populations.Back to top
If someone has a few relatives with cancer, should he or she consider genetic counseling?
Genetic counseling may be useful for you if you answer yes to any of the following questions:
- Have you or a close relative been diagnosed with cancer at an early age?
- Do you have more than one blood relative with the same type of cancer? If yes, is the same type of cancer found in more than one generation?
- Has anyone in your family had more than one type of cancer, not counting basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers?
- Some organs, such as the breast, kidney, and eye, come in pairs. Has anyone in your family had cancer on both sides of a pair of organs?
- Are you related to someone who is known to have an inherited mutation that can cause cancer?
Genetic counseling is typically recommended for individuals who are diagnosed with cancer at a very young age and for families with multiple cases of cancer. If you are interested in learning about your hereditary risk for cancer, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with us.Back to top
What happens during genetic counseling?
Your initial genetic counseling session will focus on your or your family’s risk for cancer. We will tell you about the scientific concepts that relate to genetic testing to help you decide which genetic tests, if any, might be useful for you. Our goal is to provide clear and relevant information about genetic risk factors in a supportive and educational environment.
As part of a genetic counseling session, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss many topics including your individual cancer risk assessment, personalized cancer screening recommendations, and options for participating in research taking place at Memorial Sloan Kettering.Back to top
How should a person decide whether to have genetic testing?
Genetic testing is not the right choice for everyone. Your personality, your coping style, and your family’s experience with cancer may influence your decisions about whether to have a genetic test.
For many people, a cancer risk assessment can be provided through genetic counseling alone, without the use of genetic tests. However, in some cases, genetic testing may help you and your physician make important decisions about your medical care.Back to top
What can a person do if they are at higher risk of developing a certain cancer or cancers?
If there is a history of cancer in your family, we recommend you undergo regular cancer screening, regardless of whether you have received genetic testing. The goal of screening is to prevent cancer or to find the disease at an early stage, increasing the chance that it can be treated. Screening may include colonoscopies for colorectal cancer and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests for prostate cancer. You may also wish to enroll in our Special Surveillance Breast Program, which provides services for the prevention and early detection of breast cancer.
Our doctors and genetic counselors are available to discuss other options that may be available to you, including preventive surgery such as removal of the breasts or ovaries.
In addition, you may be able to participate in a clinical trial focusing on the study of hereditary cancers. Most of our protocols are registries or long-term follow-up studies to learn more about individuals with a family history of cancer. For example, you and your family members may also be able to enroll in a registry that tracks families who are affected by certain kinds of cancer.Back to top
How can someone make an appointment to speak with an expert in the Clinical Genetics Service?
For more information about Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Clinical Genetics Service and to schedule a consultation, please call us at 646-888-4050.Back to top | <urn:uuid:e09d19da-0906-4935-af66-f8ab8c898bb8> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | https://www.mskcc.org/blog/genetic-counseling-and-genetic-screening?glossary=on | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917123530.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031203-00636-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959336 | 1,092 | 3.078125 | 3 |
- Open Access
Factors affecting mental fitness for work in a sample of mentally ill patients
International Journal of Mental Health Systems volume 3, Article number: 25 (2009)
Mental fitness for work is the ability of workers to perform their work without risks for themselves or others. Mental fitness was a neglected area of practice and research. Mental ill health at work seems to be rising as a cause of disablement. Psychiatrists who may have had no experience in relating mental health to working conditions are increasingly being asked to undertake these examinations. This research was done to explore the relationship of mental ill health and fitness to work and to recognize the differences between fit and unfit mentally ill patients.
This study was cross sectional one. All cases referred to Al-Amal complex for assessment of mental fitness during a period of 12 months were included. Data collected included demographic and clinical characteristics, characteristics of the work environment and data about performance at work. All data was subjected to statistical analysis.
Total number of cases was 116, the mean age was 34.5 ± 1.4. Females were 35.3% of cases. The highly educated patients constitute 50.8% of cases. The decision of the committee was fit for regular work for 52.5%, unfit for 19.8% and modified work for 27.7%. The decision was appreciated only by 29.3% of cases. There were significant differences between fit, unfit and modified work groups. The fit group had higher level of education, less duration of illness, and better performance at work. Patients of the modified work group had more physical hazards in work environment and had more work shift and more frequent diagnosis of substance abuse. The unfit group had more duration of illness, more frequent hospitalizations, less productivity, and more diagnosis of schizophrenia.
There are many factors affecting the mental fitness the most important are the characteristics of work environment and the most serious is the overall safety of patient to self and others. A lot of ethical and legal issues should be kept in mind during such assessment as patient's rights, society's rights, and the laws applied to unfit people.
Mental fitness to work is the ability of workers to perform their work without risks for themselves or others . It is an important issue as same as physical fitness. Nevertheless, it is a neglected area of practice and research. Mental ill health at work seems to be rising as a cause of disablement . Assessment of mental fitness is carried out to prevent future health and safety risks for the worker, coworkers and the public. With the increasing economic burden nowadays and increased awareness by rights of employees, assessment of mental fitness must be performed with great competence and objectivity; otherwise, the concerned subjects will feel unfairly treated and will distrust the outcome of the examination . A good balance is needed between job opportunities, health and safety risks. The assessment of fitness for work is not a universal or static concept as there are a lot of factors that may impact it. Nevertheless, the absence of adequate training in this particular field and lack of any published guidelines, psychiatrists who may have had no experience in relating mental health to working conditions are increasingly being asked to undertake these examinations. Many psychiatrists sought empirical ways of assessment and decision making to achieve this mission and gained experience with time. Motivated by all the above issues, this study was done to; a) explore the relationship between mental illness and fitness to work, b) detect the important factors affecting mental fitness to work, c) identify the differences between fit and unfit mentally ill patients and lastly this study was a trial to translate the experience gained during years of work in such field into objective guidelines for assessment and decision making.
This study was a cross-sectional one and was done in Al-Amal Complex for Mental Health, located in Dammam. The complex belongs to the Ministry of health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The forensic psychiatry committee is one of the important units inside the complex. The committee has a dual obligation work, toward the patient and the referring agency. Among the reasons of referral to this committee are forensic problems, cases in need for legal guardian and assessment of mental fitness to work. Yearly, there are about 1000 cases received for assessment from different sources. The committee is operated by a multidisciplinary team. All the investigators are members in this team for many years. This study was approved by the scientific and ethical committee of Al-Amal Complex for Mental Health and informed consent was taken from the all subjects. All cases referred to the committee for assessment of mental fitness during a period of 12 months were recruited into the study. Data was obtained from interviews with patients themselves, caregivers, psychiatric files and reports from the employers. Information obtained included sociodemographic data, clinical variables, and history of treatment including previous hospitalization. Moreover, global assessment of function (GAF) scale was applied for all subjects. To assess the work environment characteristics and behavior at work, the investigators included both subjective and objective data. The subjective data was obtained through application of some items from world health organization health and performance questionnaire (WHO-HPQ) which was designed originally to provide information to employers about the indirect costs of untreated and under-treated employee's health problems. It is a brief self-report questionnaire that obtains information about sickness absence, productivity, critical incidents and work related accidents. The objective data was obtained through a list of items created by the investigators after reviewing the literature related to this topic [2, 3, 6, 7]. The list included: level of productivity at work, level of disturbed relationships with colleagues, risk of physical hazards at work, level of public communications needed at work, degree of dealing with finances, degree of supervision over work, work load, and presence of disturbed behaviors at work. Each point was scored by the investigators low, intermediate or high according to information obtained from all sources listed above. Also, the list included; years of experience, distance between home and work in kilometers, presence of afternoon and night shifts, and absenteeism in the last year in days. All diagnoses were made according to mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (M.I.N.I.) which is a short structured diagnostic interview . However, diagnoses of organic mental disorders and personality disorders were based on ICD-10 research diagnostic Criteria and were validated by two consultant psychiatrists with good inter-rater reliability. In case of comorbidity, the investigators identified the primary diagnosis and comorbid diagnosis. Each subject was interviewed by the investigators at least once and some patients needed more sessions to finalize their assessment. At the first assessment visit, all patients were informed of 6 important issues; 1) who invited the committee to see him/her, 2) what the committee does professionally (team and different specialties), 3) the purpose of the examination. 4) What information the committee has already been given, 5) what is known and relevant to the report may not be regarded as confidential between patient and committee (the right of the committee to disclose information to employer), and 6) how the report may be used with or against the person. At the end of assessment, each subject was asked to rate his/her satisfaction level with decision of the committee and scored appreciating, not appreciating, or indifferent.
All the data was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS version 10.0. The main findings are presented as proportions with 95% confidence intervals. According to the decision of the committee, the subjects were further classified into three groups; fit, unfit, and modified work groups. Comparisons were done using means, standard deviations, frequencies, Kruskal Wallis and ANOVA. Level of significance was detected at p value 0.05.
Total number of cases recruited through 12 months duration was 234 cases, of which, only 116 cases agreed to give consent and their data was completed. The mean age was 34.5 ± 1.4 years. Characteristics of the sample and diagnoses are presented in table 1 and 2. The decision of unfit to work was temporary in 10 cases (43.5%) and permanent in 13 cases (56.5%)while the decision of fit for modified work was temporary in 21 cases (65.6%) and permanent in 11 cases (34.4%).
Comorbidity was found in 49 cases; psychiatric comorbidity in 34 cases (29.3%) and physical comorbidity in 15 cases (12.9%).
There were significant differences between fit, unfit, and modified work groups in a number of parameters as shown in table 3, 4 and 5. There were no statistically significant differences between groups as regard GAF, working hours, work load, deal with finances, years of experience and number of workers supervised by the patient.
All patients diagnosed as conversion or somatoform disorders and all malingerers were fit. There were no significant differences between groups regarding the following diagnoses; anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and organic mental disorders. Also, there were no statistically significant differences between groups as regard duration of treatment, use of mood stabilizers, atypical antipsychotic drugs or polypharmacy.
Assessment of mental fitness for work is considered in three main conditions; return to work after being off work for a period of time due to mental illness, request from the employee or employer for assessment and lastly recruitment of new staff. The current study has focused on the first and second conditions because they are the most sensitive and the most commonly referred cases to the forensic committee. In this study, the goal of assessment of each subject was to reach one of three decisions either fit for regular work, unfit for work, or lastly fit for wok with certain modifications in the work environment. The forensic committee took the decision of fitness to work according to consensus of all members of the multidisciplinary team including the investigators that's why this study is a trial to translate this experience into guidelines that are as objective as possible for such assessment and decision making.
The ways in which subjects are assessed for mental fitness are always questionable as there are conflicts of interest in the sources of data (the patient and the employer). That's why the investigators listened to patients and asked the employers for reports and put their own assessment of the work environment characteristics. Nevertheless, 56.9% of the subjects didn't appreciate the decision of the committee. This is an important aspect of dual obligation work as always there is unsatisfied side. Lack of appreciation may lead in many cases to lawsuits against the team.
Characteristics of the sample
The mean age of the subjects referred was 34 ± 3.8 years. This age is the most productive time of the person's life . It means that each subject has at least an average 25 years till the age of retirement which makes the decision of unfit to work difficult and expensive decision. Men constitute 64.7% of the sample and women 35.3%. This difference is not significant because the rate of employment for women is much less than employment for men in KSA . Also, 32% of the cases were single which may be attributed to delayed marital age especially in mentally ill patients. Although the sample included subjects from all educational levels, 50.8% of referred cases were highly educated. This sounds logic as subjects who are highly educated usually work in important positions and are more easily detected when they become mentally ill . While mentally ill patients with low educational level usually take longer time to be detected because they commonly work in simple jobs.
Substance abuse and dependence was the most prevalent diagnosis (20.7%) among the referred sample. These patients are usually disturbing for others, irresponsible and have a lot of troubles at work [13–15]. Moslem's culture strictly prohibits use of all substances including social drinking. That's why many employers can tolerate presence of some mentally disabled workers but never to accept substance users.
The second common diagnoses were schizophrenia and delusional disorders (14.7%). This may be explained by failure of schizophrenic subjects to adapt to their work. Their disturbed behaviors are easily detected and consequently they lose their jobs. Schizophrenics are among the most discriminated against of all disabled people. In the current study, unfit schizophrenic cases constituted 47% which is similar to the rate of unemployment among schizophrenics in a British study .
The most commonly presented anxiety disorder was social phobia (n 12 = 10% of the sample). This rate is accepted due to increased rate of social phobia reported in Saudi Arabia . The rate of major depressive disorder was unexpectedly low (13.8%) in comparison to western studies of functional impairment of mentally ill people [13, 17]. This result may be explained culturally as many cases of depression respond well to traditional treatments and adapt easier than patients with schizophrenia, substance abuse or social phobia.
There was a high rate of comorbidity (42.2% of cases) which was consistent with Gerkin's study who reported that combinations of mental ill health, substance misuse, and chronic physical illness produce more disability days than would be predicted by adding their component effects.
Despite the majority of mental patients in this sample were addicts and schizophrenics, yet, the tendency of committee decision was towards fitness to work (either full fitness or modified fitness) more than unfitness. This may emphasize that having mental illness in a subject doesn't necessarily indicate that he/she is unfit to work. It further points to the notion that there are other capability factors that affect the ability of the person to work rather than just having mental illness per se.
Comparisons between groups
The productivity of all groups was impaired but relatively the fit group had less impairment than other groups. The most common psychiatric disorders reported among the fit group are adjustment, personality and depressive disorders with the least comorbidity rates. While the unfit group consisted mainly of schizophrenic subjects and reported the highest comorbidity rates. Meanwhile, the modified fitness group was mainly substance use subjects. These findings suggest that the type of psychiatric diagnosis may have direct relation to fitness to work. Furthermore, Bullying is often identified especially in malingerers and minor psychiatric disorders. This explains why 100% of subjects with conversion and somatoform disorders in addition to malingerers in the current study were given fit decision.
The fit group had significantly shorter duration of illness, younger mean age, shorter mean hospitalization time, less frequent hospitalization in the last year and less frequent absenteeism. These findings could be simply explained by differences in the stage of illness that might disappear after few years of chronicity. Also, these findings might indicate less severity of illnesses, hence less impairment of function. Moreover, the fit group was significantly more educated, had little physical hazards in their works, and little afternoon or night shifts. These data appear logic as educated people have more reserve and more power of adaptation to illnesses and usually work in better positions with less physical hazards and work is only one morning shift.
Interestingly, 40 cases of the fit group used antidepressant drugs while actually only 25 cases diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorders. This is explained by either increased use of antidepressant drugs in cases like conversion, substance abuse and adjustment disorders or due to actual improvement in function with use of antidepressants .
The unfit group had more duration of illness, more frequent hospitalizations in the last year, more hospitalization days, more need for communication with the public during work, more disturbed relationship with their colleagues, less productivity, more comorbidity and more diagnosis of schizophrenia. These results seem to be related to each other. In contrast to the fit group, the unfit group had less use of antidepressant drugs and more use of conventional antipsychotic drugs which may be due to either overrepresentation of subjects with psychosis in the group or actual impairment in function by conventional antipsychotic drugs and lack of antidepressant drugs .
The decision of unfitness to work was either temporary or permanent. Temporary unfit means the patient will be given sick leave and reassessed again after suitable time. Permanent unfit is the most difficult decision as it means that the employee will never be fit for the job and that employee is unable to do any available job, with or without work modifications.
On the other hand, the decision of work environment modification was given to those patients who had controversies between the two other groups. This group significantly had more physical hazards in work environment, more afternoon and night shifts and more frequent diagnosis of substance abuse and dependence. Actually, diagnosis of substance abuse is a serious diagnosis hindering any work as patients may abuse drugs during work and became dangerous to themselves and others. It is worth mentioning that the commonest substance of abuse in the current study and in the region was amphetamine, with relatively high rate of amphetamine induced psychosis . Also, a judgment in this category means the employee would be a hazard to self or others if employed in the job as described by his/her employer but would be considered fit to do the job if certain working conditions were modified. The modifications required must be clearly described. Again, the decision is either temporary or permanent. Temporarily means that if the person's condition improves with time, the decision may be lifted. Permanent work modification means that the employee will never be fit for the job without these modifications. Unfortunately, there is no uniformly applicable psychiatric wheelchair ramp . Modifications might include shortening of working hours, reduction of work load, graded resumption of responsibilities, working away from physical hazards or providing strict supervision for those who abuse substances [23, 24]. Nevertheless, work modification may interfere with the schedule of others and add to their workload and may lead to further discrimination by co-workers. That's why this decision should be time limited as much as possible.
Surprisingly, it was found that 65.2% from the unfit group scored 7 or more out of 10 for their job performance during the last year in comparison to 11.5% and 15.6% for the fit group and the modified work group respectively. Also, 62.3% of the fit group and 68.8% of the modified work group had an experience of work failure in the last month while only 34.8% of the unfit group had the same experience. These results express the way each subject evaluates him/herself and the degree of the discrepancy between the decision of the committee and patients' satisfaction and expectations. They also reflect to what extent subjects may distrust such assessment. For instance, most unfit schizophrenics have high expectations to work, in contrast to most of fit non psychotic patients. The same issue was repeated again in answer to a question "how would you compare your overall job performance during the past year with the performance of other workers who have a similar type of job? The answer was better than other workers in 69.6% for the unfit group. This indicates that self rating questionnaires are not valid or reliable ways to assess mental fitness. Another finding from the WHO health and work performance questionnaire was that 52.2% of the unfit group and 62.5% of the modified work group had an event that caused either damage, work delay or safety risk in the last month. This finding supports the decision of the committee. Moreover, in answer to the question "How often did you do no work at times when you were supposed to be working?" 78.3% of the unfit group found themselves doing no work when they were supposed to be working. This denotes the degree of tolerance in the work environment, either these patients don't really work or their supervisors don't rely upon their work most of time, which again supports the decision of the committee.
There are many other factors that are difficult to measure and should be considered in assessing mental fitness to work. One important factor is the ethical factor, balancing between patient's rights, employer's rights and society's rights. Another factor is the impact of decision on patients' lives like the maximum duration of sick leave that can be given, the extent to which patients will be compensated if they become unfit for work and the social influences on the employee upon given this decision. Lastly, there are a lot of cultural differences in tolerating mentally ill people in different jobs. Generally, the Arab culture is more tolerant for mentally ill people and the concept of work productivity is not clear for workers or employers especially in governmental jobs which again explain why 78.3% of the unfit group found themselves without work most of the time in the last year. In addition, Arab countries usually allow for over-employment in simple jobs, hence productivity is compromised even in healthy people. That's why the fitness decision is related to the culture, the place of work and the nature of employer.
Although there seems to be a growing interest in the field of assessment of fitness for work , yet, the literature is still very scarce and rarely based on experimental design . One of the difficulties encountered in this study is the unclarity of research designs in this area. This could probably be owing to the complexities of such assessment with regard to its conceptual constraints, ethical implications and difficulties related to methodological aspects. Many subjects refused to give consent for the study which represented a challenge for such kind of research. One of the problems that faced the investigators is the underdevelopment of risk management strategies in different associations in addition to lack of occupational health staff which made the communication with employers difficult and time consuming. Also, data presented to the committee team usually deficient and incomplete. Moreover, lack of satisfaction of patients is an important problem in this field. Another limitation is that the current study didn't pay attention to the level of stress outside the work which is an important influential factor. Although this study presents a general cross-sectional design, the tools used are used for the longitudinal evaluation of past functioning. It would be interesting to take into account the fact that retrospective data might be memory biased. Occupations were not listed in the results as the investigators gave more importance to characteristics of work environment and found this easier to do comparisons. Many occupations were presented in the current study as teachers, soldiers, engineers, technicians, machinists, nurses, etc. But the number of subjects in each occupation was too little to do analytical statistics. However, there are many influential factors related to occupation and need attention in separate studies.
There is a general belief that the psychiatrist should find the balance between loyalty to the patient and the duty of employers to offer safe effective service. System with greater communication, cooperation and understanding between the psychiatrist, the personnel department, the supervisor and other health professionals is strongly recommended but confidentiality is often reported as a barrier. Legislation shows that employers need to be aware of the relapsing and remitting nature of mental disorders and the potential for adjustments. Psychiatrists should bear in mind that the validity and effectiveness of judgments on unfitness for work are still doubtful and inconsistent. Standardized criteria are strongly needed and enabling options should always be considered.
The assessments of fitness for work should focus on job requirements more than focusing solely on medical diagnoses. So before assessment of the patient, data about characteristics of working environment must be available. The most specific and important information according to the current study were level of physical hazards, presence of afternoon and night shifts, level of public communication needed, relationship with colleagues, productivity and absenteeism. However, other factors cannot be excluded by only one study on 116 cases. That's why factors like working hours, work load, leadership skills needed, work in finances, duration of service, job location and degree of supervision should be considered. At the same time, the criteria used to evaluate fitness should include ethical, economic and legal considerations. Being unemployed is associated with high level of psychiatric morbidity as the working environment can be an important determinant of both mental ill health and, for many, wellbeing.
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The authors acknowledge the efforts of all the staff of the forensic committee of Al-Amal Complex For Mental Health, Dammam, KSA in particular the dedicated efforts and support of Dr Waleed Al-Mulhim and Dr Mohamed Shaaban. The study was presented and published as an abstract in 162nd Annual meeting of American Psychiatric Association in San Francisco in May 2009.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
All authors conceived of the study and participated in its design and coordination. YAE administered the instrument and collected the data. MAA directed and oversaw the statistical analysis. MMR participated in data collection and conducted statistical analysis. All authors participated in the writing and revision and approved the final manuscript.
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Elsayed, Y.A., Al-Zahrani, M.A. & Rashad, M.M. Factors affecting mental fitness for work in a sample of mentally ill patients. Int J Ment Health Syst 3, 25 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-4458-3-25
- Social Phobia
- Night Shift
- Delusional Disorder
- Schizophrenic Subject
- Organic Mental Disorder | <urn:uuid:8c03b9ee-32de-4e3c-ad48-36dceea27c80> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1752-4458-3-25 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593657140746.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20200713002400-20200713032400-00055.warc.gz | en | 0.954073 | 6,341 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Digital image-processing techniques have been developed to make shaded-relief images from digitized topographic data. The resulting images have at least two advantages over aerial photographs: (1) The images are true map projections containing no relief-induced distortion, and (2) tonal variation is unambiguously identified with relief, rather than with snow, vegetation, or other albedo variations. Parallax can be introduced into these images in the computer, and stereoscopic pairs can thus be created.
|Title||Computer-generated shaded-relief images|
|Authors||R. M. Batson, Kathleen Edwards, E. M. Eliason|
|Publication Subtype||Journal Article|
|Series Title||Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey|
|Record Source||USGS Publications Warehouse| | <urn:uuid:afc1cd5f-10a6-4e3a-a604-4167ce5edf53> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://www.usgs.gov/publications/computer-generated-shaded-relief-images | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296949573.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20230331051439-20230331081439-00452.warc.gz | en | 0.791548 | 205 | 3.4375 | 3 |
In this representative image, a woman can be seen sleeping in a hotel room Photograph:( Reuters )
Sleep is known to be critical to physical and mental health, essential for tissue repair, cell regeneration, immune function, memory, and for regulating mood and emotions
A researcher called Roger Ekirch has said that insomnia is the remnant of biphasic sleep rather than a disorder.
Ekirch is a university distinguished professor in the department of history at Virginia Tech. He has published the details of his findings in his book called "At Day's Close: Night in Times Past."
Widespread beliefs about sleeping include advice on how much sleep is enough, what quality sleep means and how to achieve it, but when these pronouncements are wrong, they can do more harm than good, researchers argue.
About one-third of adults in the US report sleeping less than the recommended seven hours, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are basically two types of sleep, each tied to specific brain waves and neuronal activity. Rapid eye movement REM, with the eyes moving quickly from side to side behind closed eyelids, is deep sleep with vivid dreams. Non-REM sleep is largely dreamless.
During REM sleep, the brain forms new neural connections by building and strengthening synapses - the junctions between nerve cells, or neurons - that enable them to communicate, reinforcing learning and consolidating memories. During sleep, the brain also repairs the modicum of daily neurological damage it typically experiences to genes and proteins within neurons as well as clearing out byproducts that build up.
With many people anecdotally reporting sleep problems due to the new coronavirus - including difficulty falling asleep, trouble staying asleep and vivid dreams, Ekirch investigated their impact on people’s health and daily rhythms.
''A large number of people who today suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia, the primary sleep disorder in the United States and I dare say in most industrialised countries, rather than experiencing a quote-unquote, disorder, are in fact, experiencing a very powerful remnant, or echo of this earlier pattern of sleep,'' said Ekirch.
Sleep is known to be critical to physical and mental health, essential for tissue repair, cell regeneration, immune function, memory, and for regulating mood and emotions.
(With inputs from agencies) | <urn:uuid:3e3af2aa-9d20-437a-9d29-fd627b9e19c7> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://www.wionews.com/science/researcher-says-insomnia-is-remnant-of-biphasic-sleep-not-a-disorder-443715 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320305141.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220127042833-20220127072833-00373.warc.gz | en | 0.952963 | 478 | 3.40625 | 3 |
Sustainable sourcing is a new approach to outsourcing services that prioritizes not only the financial impact, but also the social and environmental impact of outsourcing. Compared to conventional corporate social responsibility policies, sustainable sourcing involves mapping out the social and environmental impact of outsourcing starting from the value chain of the company itself, and not as a parallel activity that is unrelated to the business or market in which the company operates. Human development is significantly affecting the planet. One of the main drivers of this change is our growth-based model of economic development. Moreover, society is increasingly concerned about troubling environmental issues coming to light such as, for example, the rise in global warming. In line with this new growth model, the private sector must see sustainability as a priority and not as an issue external to the business, thus moving away from the type of company that focuses only on profits. Nowadays, corporate social responsibility (CSR) departments – which in the past attempted to make an impact mainly through donations – are evolving, trying to go beyond the simple goal of “donating to a cause”: they are now incorporating social and environmental responsibility within the company strategy, considering the impact on people and the planet above potential financial benefits. They are suggesting strategically integrating sustainability and social responsibility within the company value chain.
In this new approach, sustainability is integrated in the value chain and plays a key role in companies becoming truly sustainable. This is easier to implement in the primary (agriculture, livestock, fishing, etc.) and secondary sectors (industry, construction, energy, etc.) of the economy. In the tertiary sector (services, trade, communications, etc.), and particularly in the knowledge economy, the provision of services by third parties makes it more difficult to control sustainability across the value chain, due largely to the relocation and intangibility of services. How do we manage sustainability if a large part of a company’s operations is outsourced?
All outsourcing processes have associated environmental and occupational risks, which sustainable sourcing attempts to mitigate. The impact of these risks is not readily visible and may increase depending on location. In the IT sector, an IT Service Management company can outsource maintenance to another company that may, for example, have a team operating in a country such as India, where environmental and labor standards are different. This is where sustainable sourcing comes in—a tool that helps us select suppliers with values and policies that are in line with our company’s definition of sustainability as concerns environmental and labor issues. Reducing these risks, in conjunction with aligning social responsibility and sustainability policies, will have a direct impact on the quality of outsourced services – it has been proven that better working conditions lead to greater customer satisfaction – and, consequently, will help enhance the reputation of our company. Moreover, sustainable sourcing increases the impact of our social and environmental policies, benefiting many more people. If my organization believes that certain labor standards and environmental conditions must be met in order to provide a quality service, does it not make sense to ask that the companies to which we outsource services meet the same requirements? Sustainable sourcing increases the impact of social and environmental policies.
We have included sustainability as one of the aspects to consider when developing our sourcing strategy, taking it into account at all stages of the process: strategy, initiative and management. Naturally, when implementing this tool, we will always bear in mind the main objective of the sourcing processes: improving the efficiency of the organization. A first step during the sourcing initiative stage is to prepare a business case that incorporates sustainability as a key principle. Based on this, we move forward with the sourcing process, using sustainability as an important criterion in the selection of suppliers. Additional sustainability requirements can also be introduced during the RFP (request for proposal) processes. Once the sourcing initiative has been completed, the concept of sustainability is also present at the management stage, when it should be implemented during the service transition or transformation. We must also ensure that the objectives of the contract have been met and monitor supplier performance from the point of view of sustainability. The implementation of a sustainable sourcing model at all stages of the process (sourcing strategy, initiative and management) ensures that this is not only a tool for transformation, but that it also becomes a way of integrating sustainability principles into our value chain, thus maximizing the impact of our sustainability strategy. In addition, it is very possible that this will result in our suppliers providing better services in the future.
Many of the sourcing decisions of a company have a key ethical component that ends up resting with those who take the final decision. This is especially relevant when speaking, for example, of outsourcing processes where a service is outsourced to a company located in another country. In these scenarios there are always people and organizations that benefit from these decisions, as well as people and organizations that are harmed by them.
A recent study conducted by Quint Wellington Redwood shows that, when it comes to taking sustainability into account, managers or employees responsible for making sourcing decisions are more influenced by their personal beliefs than the sustainability policies of their company. This shows that conventional sustainability policies are not delivering the expected results. It’s time to opt for sustainable sourcing as a means of ensuring that the sustainable values of a company are transmitted through its value chain. Sustainable sourcing goes beyond providing tools for facilitating decision making and mitigating the risks arising from the lack of visibility in the processes of third-party service providers. Taking sustainability issues into account requires a re-evaluation of sourcing processes to ensure that we maximize the positive impact we can have on society and the environment through our value chain. This will, in turn, pay dividends in the future by increasing the quality of outsourced services. | <urn:uuid:3f30daa4-044b-4e4b-8ea1-712b0e2b06e8> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://www.quintgroup.com/en/insights/sustainable-sourcing-sustainability-integrated-within-the-value-chain/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107874637.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021010156-20201021040156-00382.warc.gz | en | 0.955094 | 1,150 | 2.578125 | 3 |
In a previous blog post, I surveyed the highlights of statements made by presidents of the United States regarding America’s efforts to be a blessing to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.
Our nation has a rich legacy of support for Israel, for which we should be very thankful. Many have conjectured that this may ultimately be the reason that God has blessed the United States so abundantly over the course of so many years.
This begs the question: What is the source of this centuries-long focus on Israel? What was the foundation that gave rise to this concept of support for Israel, which—despite the winds of political change—has endured consistently throughout our history?
Our historical search for the answer to that question must take us back to the 16th century and the city of Geneva, Switzerland, where English Reformers gathered after fleeing the persecution advanced by Bloody Mary Tudor, who ruled in England from 1553 to 1558. A number of these men (including Miles Coverdale and John Foxe) congregated in the city where John Calvin preached and there—for the first time in history—translated the Bible completely from the original languages into English. The work they produced is called the Geneva Bible.1
But as important as the translation itself was, this Bible was invaluable for another reason: It was truly the original study Bible. Foremost among the array of materials it offered were its annotations regarding the Biblical text.2 In fact, the explanatory notes greatly upset King James I, who later authorized a new English translation that famously bore his name, which was published, of course, in 1611 and ultimately surpassed the Geneva Bible in popularity—even in the New World.3
But how does the Geneva Bible tie back to America’s love for Israel? We must realize that the Geneva Bible was the Bible of both the Pilgrims and the Puritans who came to these lands, beginning with the arrival of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower at Provincetown Harbor in Cape Cod on November 9, 1620, and continuing later with the arrival of the first Puritans in the 1630s.4
The Geneva Bible’s notes on Romans 11:25 and 11:28 jump out as being light years ahead of their time with regard to the future prophesied for the Jewish people. It is amazing to think that these notes could have been written just 43 years after Martin Luther first posted the 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, officially (albeit unwittingly at the time) launching the Reformation.
Those verses, and the Geneva Bible notes regarding them, are as follows:
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (Rom. 11:25).
The blindness of the Jews is neither so universal that the Lord hath no elect in that nation, neither shall it be continual: for there shall be a time wherein they also (as the Prophets have forewarned) shall effectually embrace that which they do now so stubbornly for the most part reject and refuse.5
Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers (Rom. 11:28).
Again, that he may join the Jews and Gentiles together as it were in one body, and especially may teach what duty the Gentiles owe to the Jews, he beateth this into their heads, that the nation of the Jews is not utterly cast off without hope of recovery…. In that, that God respecteth not what they deserve, but what he promised to Abraham.6
In the providence of God, the authors behind these notes in the Geneva Bible summarized two overarching truths regarding God’s Chosen People—namely, that their current state of unbelief is neither complete nor permanent. Rather, as a well-known and much-beloved (to dispensationalists) contemporary study Bible puts it:
Israel’s blindness is partial (Jews are being saved today) and temporary (until they acknowledge Jesus at His second coming).7
While we may not see direct evidence of a belief in the future restoration of Israel taking hold among the Pilgrims,8 we do know that the sentiment behind these particular notes in the Geneva Bible began to have an influence upon the Puritans who followed them.
Dr. William C. Watson, in his groundbreaking book Dispensationalism before Darby, makes these astounding statements to summarize his vast research on this subject:
Most seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century colonial ministers did not see America as “the New Jerusalem” but expected the Jews to return to the biblical Jerusalem in preparation for the last days.9
… New England Puritans understood Israel as the focal point of the future millennial reign.10
Dr. Thomas Ice likewise concludes:
Within the English-speaking world, the most pro-Israel element has been American Christianity, starting with Colonial America and up to our present time. The reason appears to be the fact that America was primarily founded, not just by Christians, but by Protestant Christians who were clearly philo-Semitic – the Puritans.11
As you take time to reflect on how God has blessed you, I encourage you to thank Him for a heritage of understanding the promises that He has made to the nation of Israel—along with a determination to bless the Jewish people—which was built into the very foundation of the United States of America.
- For more information, see “The Geneva Bible, A Bible of Firsts”; <https://www.olivetree.com/blog/geneva-bible-bible-firsts/>; Internet; accessed 13 July 2019. See also Roger Nicole, “The Original Geneva Bible”; https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/the-original-geneva-bible/; Internet; accessed 13 July 2019.
- Dr. David L. Brown notes: “The Geneva Version quickly became very popular in England. Here is why. It was backed by the great reformers Knox, Calvin, Beza, and others. It was a very handy size. But, the primary reason it was so popular with the people was because it was the first ‘study Bible’ filled with copious [sic] by the Reformers.” The Incomparable Book – The Holy Bible: Examining the History of the English Bible (Oak Creek, WI: David L. Brown, 2000), p. 177.
- For more information, see “The Geneva Bible and Its Influence on the King James Bible”; < https://founders.org/2011/10/12/the-geneva-bible-and-its-influence-on-the-king-james-bible/>; Internet; accessed 13 July 2019.
- “The Geneva Bible was the ‘Bible of the Protestant Reformation’, and the Bible of the Puritans and Pilgrims. It was the first Bible taken to America, brought over on the Mayflower. The Geneva Bible is the Bible upon which America was founded.” (“Geneva Bible History”; <http://www.geneva-bible.com/geneva-bible-history.html>; Internet; accessed 13 July 2019.)
- 1599 Geneva Bible note on Romans 11:25; <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+11&version=GNV>; Internet; accessed 12 July 2019.
- 1599 Geneva Bible notes on Romans 11:28; <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+11&version=GNV>; Internet; accessed 12 July 2019.
- Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible: Expanded Edition (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), p. 1,714 (KJV).
- Gov. William Bradford’s 1592 edition of the Geneva Bible is said to have “journeyed with him from England to Holland and eventually to Plymouth.” (“About the Pilgrims”; <http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/ap_religion.htm>; Internet; accessed 13 July 2019.
- William C. Watson, Dispensationalism before Darby: Seventeenth-Century and Eighteenth-Century English Apocalypticism (Silverton, OR: Lampion Press, 2015), p. 203.
- Ibid., p. 329. See also Watson’s instructive comments about Theodore Beza, John Calvin’s disciple and a leading influence behind the notes in the Geneva Bible, on pp. 14-15 and 47-48.
- Thomas Ice, The Case for Zionism: Why Christians Should Support Israel (Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Publishing Group, 2017), p. 30. | <urn:uuid:9b3af9aa-9fa9-4c69-93bd-962d289749ad> | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | https://www.foi.org/2019/08/23/the-source-of-americas-love-for-israel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875145818.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20200223154628-20200223184628-00344.warc.gz | en | 0.943555 | 1,885 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Moving in an ellipse around Earth, the Moon completes one orbit a month. Once a month the Moon is full, or opposite Earth. Once each month a new moon rises at a point between Earth and the Sun. At closest orbital position to Earth a Moon is called perigee, farthest away is an apogee Moon.When full moons coincide with perigee, a Supermoon is born. At perigee the Moon is 50,000 Km closer to Earth than at apogee.
Supermoon used to be known as full perigee moon. 30 years ago astrologer Richard Nolle coined the phrase and it stuck. On Monday November 14 the Moon becomes full 2 hours away from perigee, a circumstance not witnessed since January 28, 1948 and not duplicated until November 25, 2034. Best seats for supermoon’s 14% larger, 30% brighter show should be secured at Moon rise or set, time-frames when “Moon Illusion” is star of the show.
Moon illusion is an optical illusion – ponder http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/blogs/why-nobody-can-explain-the-moon-illusion
Understanding optical trickery satisfies the curious, supermoon illusion tickles the soul. No other illusion stirs inexplicable wonder, smacks consciousness without warning or possesses the power to stop witnesses in their track. Watch Full Moon Silhouettes below, it’s breathtaking. | <urn:uuid:f84f2afa-4ff8-454b-b39a-84f0fa476047> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://notestoponder.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496670389.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20191120010059-20191120034059-00007.warc.gz | en | 0.853784 | 310 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Dry eye syndrome occurs when there is a decreased production of tears that moisten, protect and cleanse the eyes. Dry eye syndrome is one of the most common eye problems, and it becomes more common as people age because tear production can diminish as part of the aging process. More women are affected than men, and the syndrome is more likely to flare up at times of hormonal change such as after menopause or during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Birth control pills can trigger dry eye syndrome, and so can many other medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines, decongestants, antianxiety agents and diuretics or other blood pressure pills. Some medicines that are used in the eye also can cause dry eyes as an allergic reaction.
Several autoimmune disorders also can affect the body's ability to produce tears, including Sjögren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and myasthenia gravis, as well as other conditions such as Bell's palsy and thyroid dysfunction.
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Subscribe to Harvard Health Online for immediate access to health news and information from Harvard Medical School. | <urn:uuid:dfa189e5-e717-4485-ba30-ecb36929f269> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/dry-eye-syndrome | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738662321.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173742-00225-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950347 | 229 | 3.578125 | 4 |
It has become abundantly clear, without a shadow of a doubt, that rising CO2 emissions are problematic for the climate as it currently exists. More CO2 not only leads to increased temperatures, due to the greenhouse effect (hence the term “greenhouse gas”), but it also creates shifts in other climate-related areas. Droughts and desertification are increasing; so are severe rainstorms and flooding. Polar ice caps are melting, but winter temperatures in many places are actually getting colder. This is not contradictory – it is what happens when the amount of atmospheric CO2 increases more over the past few decades than over the previous 10,000 years.
Carbon dioxide is not something evil: Without CO2 in the atmosphere, global average temperatures would be below freezing instead of around 18 degrees Celsius. It is a much-needed component of the atmosphere to sustain life as we know it. The problem is with the rate of increase; current CO2 levels are higher than they have ever been at any point in human history. And while climate models cannot agree on exactly how bad things will get if we keep going down the path of sustained carbon emissions, they all do agree on the fact that changes will be forthcoming – and they will not be pleasant for people, wildlife, and most living things on the planet.
There is good news, though. While it might seem that there is nothing but doom and gloom on the horizon, we have the power to influence our future. By ceasing to emit carbon from here on out, right now, we would avoid most of the worst that would likely result from a changing climate. Warming would still increase from the more than 400 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 that currently sits in the atmosphere, up from a little under 300 ppm at the beginning of the previous century. Cutting all emissions tomorrow is impossible especially if the current standard of living or quality of life is desired. If we were to take a little bit more time, however, we would still be able to avoid most of the worst that climate change could bring – and we would have a shot at getting emissions to net-zero and reaching carbon neutral status. Three main things must be addressed to adequately get us there: carbon reductions at the source, carbon offsetting and insetting, and proper calculation of emissions that need to be removed, with an emphasis on including Scope 3 emissions. If these can be properly understood and implemented by all companies and governments around the world, it just might make it possible to become a carbon neutral society.
Carbon reductions at the source
Reducing carbon emissions from areas that are under organizational control are straightforward, if not always easy. If a company runs on coal power, switching to any form of renewable energy instantly negates all the emissions associated with energy usage. Switching to electric vehicles negates emissions from internal combustion engines, as does switching from energy-intensive to energy-efficient machinery. Reducing CO2 in this way is critical because it is impossible, at least currently, to avoid all emissions. This means that offsets will need to be utilized to negate the unavoidable carbon that is released from these activities.
Carbon offsetting and insetting
For individuals that do their best to reduce their carbon-emitting habits, offsets are probably the best way to reduce the excess carbon that cannot be avoided in everyday modern life. For businesses, on the other hand, there is a sustainable supply chain management strategy that can reduce emissions without relying on others to make up your carbon overshoot.
Unlike carbon offsets, where companies simply pay for projects to capture CO2 somewhere else, carbon insets are when companies invest in sustainable practices inside their own supply or value chains to reduce emissions from within. This way, emissions are avoided, captured, or at least reduced either upstream or downstream from the company’s main products or services.
Carbon insets are advantageous for several reasons: they sequester carbon, promote climate resilience, protect biodiversity, and restore ecosystems, usually in the form of afforestation (planting new forests), reforestation (restoring previously forested areas), or forest preservation. This is great for indirect emissions from employees and supply chain activities, which are notoriously difficult to track and offset. Companies also gain the knowledge that their carbon avoidance and sequestration will be reliable, as they directly participate in the sustainable practices that deliver insets for their business.
Carbon inset projects provide a much more holistic approach than offsets because they take into account more than just carbon sequestration or avoidance elsewhere – they support entire ecosystems, as well as the communities involved in creating the insetting projects. Some carbon offset projects also do this, but, unlike with insetting, it is not the norm. For a carbon neutral future, it is important to utilize both offsets and insets, with as much focus on holistic solutions as possible.
Proper calculation of emissions that need to be removed
No carbon reduction plan and carbon offset scheme can be done correctly without proper, accurate emissions calculations. It is impossible to know if you have reached carbon neutral without knowing the amount of carbon that you are responsible for emitting – even aiming to go carbon negative cannot happen without first establishing the baseline CO2 level to go below.
When it comes to calculating emissions for organizations, there are three main types, known as Scopes:
Scope 1 includes all direct emissions from organizational activities. These are directly under the organization’s control, such as fuel use on site for equipment, fleet vehicles, and air-conditioning.
Scope 2 includes indirect emissions specifically from electricity purchased and used by the organization.
Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions from organizational activities. These occur from sources that the organization does not own or control, such as GHGs from business travel, waste, water, employee commuting, and more.
Though it may seem that Scope 1 and 2 would make up the largest share of organizational emissions, Scope 3 usually accounts for the greatest share of most companies’ carbon footprint – as well as the least measured and reported. It is typically quite straightforward to calculate direct emissions and indirect electricity emissions, but calculating all the emissions associated with the areas of business that are not under direct control – from employee energy usage all the way through entire supply chains – is much more difficult. Some companies do not even realize that Scope 3 emissions are a part of their carbon footprint, let alone that they are responsible for mitigating them.
Including and offsetting Scope 3 emissions is essential for becoming carbon neutral. Since these emissions are out of any organization’s direct control, it is necessary to offset them or, if possible, use insetting to mitigate them in a way that is more holistic and more beneficial overall. TerGo is spearheading the ability for companies to implement insetting projects all over the world, helping them reach their carbon neutral goals while contributing even further to sustainable development and the UN SDGs. TerGo also works with companies to properly calculate and report emissions, including Scope 3 emissions – and for those companies that are able to reduce and offset the equivalent amount of CO2 that they emit, also prepares carbon neutral reports. You can view TerGo itself is a carbon neutral company, and you can view the inaugural TerGo Carbon Neutral Report here: LINK.
The world is intertwined with carbon in a way that can never be broken – it is, after all, the basic element that is the basis for all life. Carbon dioxide is needed for tree growth and for keeping our planet hospitable, but too much of a good thing can often be bad. Carbon is a good thing; the rate at which we are injecting it into the atmosphere is not. TerGo has a mission to work with as many companies, organizations, and individuals as possible to recognize where emissions are coming from, eliminate the ones that can be eliminated, and offset the ones that cannot.
We can live in balance with the planet – it just takes a cohesive plan and a lot of effort. | <urn:uuid:adf075f8-4dd6-4d87-960d-da43b5a4a6f0> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | https://tergo.io/blog/carbon-footprint/our-common-goal-for-a-carbon-neutral-future/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947474674.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20240227085429-20240227115429-00662.warc.gz | en | 0.958162 | 1,617 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Social work requires patience and empathy
Drug trafficking, teenage pregnancy, suicide, bullying – the list of the city’s youth problems is endless, and schools and parents must join hands to tackle them. Social workers are the bridge between schools and families to help students get back on the right track.
Social workers can be employed by social service groups such as the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) and Caritas, and then be assigned to work at schools, or they can be employed directly by schools.
In 2000, the profession got a boost when the government spent a lot of money on its “one school social worker for each secondary school” policy.
“Teaching staff will refer students to be counselled and the social worker will also discover cases on their own,” says Carrie Leung, unit in charge for school social work at HKFYG.
“Counselling is done individually or in groups. The social worker also needs to be in contact with the student’s parents, teachers and classmates to find the best way to help,” she says.
Social workers also lead personal growth development activities, such as civil education, sex education seminars and leadership training. They need to love working with people, and be caring and proactive.
“A social worker has to be patient to handle demands from students, parents and the school authority. Things can be complicated if the students or family refuse the social worker’s assistance,” says Leung.
Social workers based in schools work from 9am to 5pm, but may need to do overtime shifts occasionally. They must register with the social workers’ registration board, and have a bachelor’s degree in social work.
After some years of experience on the frontline, the next step is as a team leader, supervising other social workers and handling administration duties. | <urn:uuid:fe67e1ea-379c-4119-b065-e7aa5e9b297e> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | http://www.cpjobs.com/hk/article/social-work-requires-patience-and-empathy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469257821671.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723071021-00057-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964335 | 387 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Some quick definitions of random terms used on this site.
The gateway is a server that controls all wireless access on campus. All wireless connections flow through the gateway, and the gateway ensures that all wireless users are authorized to use it.
In order to secure the wireless system here at Williams and to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the Williams Network, we have implemented a gateway server that sits between our users and our network. This server requires users to log in and authenticate themselves as members of the Williams community.
Insecure applications send passwords and data over clear text (unencrypted). Anyone with a wireless card can “sniff” traffic from insecure applications travelling over wireless airwaves and capture passwords/passphrases. Purple Air is the only available wireless network that will make secure the use of insecure applications, such as telnet, POP etc.
Secure applications encrypt at least the authentication information (usernames and passwords/passphrases) and may also encrypt the data itself. This prevents others from capturing your login information.
A Service Set IDentifier. All wireless devices are assigned an SSID (it’s basically a name). The SSID for the Williams Wireless Network is Purple Air. We also others for Guests, and special purposes. | <urn:uuid:94d49199-ab75-43d3-8993-37e4ec8cd7de> | CC-MAIN-2020-10 | https://oit.williams.edu/help-guides/wifi-and-wired-connections/wireless-glossary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-10/segments/1581875143373.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20200217205657-20200217235657-00377.warc.gz | en | 0.880854 | 258 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Country, Date of election
Johannes Linder is changing the way children are taught inside and out of the classroom in order to inspire and institutionalize social entrepreneurship as a means to achieve effective citizenship for students.
The Austrian education system unequally supports children raised in families of disadvantaged social standing. Only one third of Austrian students attend High school (=Gymnasium). The remaining two thirds of Austrian students, who are often raised in low income or migrant families, attend occupational schools such as Handelsakademie and Handelsschule and rarely have the capacity to seek higher education. Teachers lack creative approaches and are unaware and disinterested in the consequences of these top-down methods for teaching. Many teenagers loose interest in learning new concepts, which limits their knowledge intake and ability to recognize their own capacities to change the status quo.
Johannes’ creative materials are reaching about 20,000 students every year and are used in three to eight hours of the curriculum each week.
He has trained a total of 400 teachers and 2,700 business teachers in Austria as well as instructors in ten South East European countries.
Each year, 2,500 students participate in competitions, which encourage young people to combine their entrepreneurial thinking with self-driven action – Two third of them turned their ideas into reality.
Johannes believes that entrepreneurship education is indispensable for empowering students to become active citizens. The earlier these young people are given the space to develop their own initiatives, the more they are able to define themselves personally and professionally. Johannes developed a set of strategies which helps him to include entrepreneurship education in the regular school curriculums. He offers regular entrepreneurship competitions, workshops, debate programs for students and trains teachers domestically and Europe-wide to carry on his idea.
Johannes’ strategy is to spread his idea internationally.
He has already been approached by countries in CEE, in addition to Germany and France, with requests to introduce his methods and mobilize the necessary resources.
He has worked with ministries and government officials all over the region. Furthermore, he has the methodic lead within the EU-project “Youth Start”, where he is developing an innovative, transferable and scalable program for practical entrepreneurial experience at school, which will be tested in field trials in Austria, Luxemburg, Portugal, Spain and Slovenia. The “Youth Start Entrepreneurial Challenge Program” is also planned to be applied in Bulgaria and outside of Europe.
During his studies in business pedagogy, he was increasingly astonished by the fact that facilitating student led ideas and entrepreneurial creativity were completely neglected in business administration curricula. He decided to dedicate his life to becoming a teacher in order to inspire widespread participation in and innovation throughout society. He realized that this meant that he had to base his approach on a philosophy of education as an instrument of liberation, not assimilation. In this pilot he understood that he had to change not only the curricula, but also provide new teaching tools and textbooks to advance full and active citizenship. Johannes wanted schools to become pioneers in effective citizenship and changemaking. | <urn:uuid:73f70d82-8f31-4c33-b623-563d3ba5d92a> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | http://ashoka-cee.org/slovakia/fellow/johannes-lindner-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514576965.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20190923125729-20190923151729-00117.warc.gz | en | 0.972326 | 633 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Potential Complications of Assisted Reproduction Technologies
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome
Gonadotropins stimulate the ovaries to produce many follicles and therefore the ovaries may increase in size. Mild hyperstimulation may be seen in up to 10 to 20% of women undergoing treatment. In most cases, the ovaries are slightly enlarged, causing mild abdominal tenderness and bloating. However, in 1% of patients, severe hyperstimulation can occur. The ovaries can increase in size in some cases causing fluid to accumulate around the ovaries, dehydration, swelling of the abdomen, and tenderness. Rare cases of blood clots, kidney damage, ovarian twisting, chest and abdominal fluid collection have also been reported. Bed rest and hospitalization with careful monitoring of fluids is sometimes required when severe hyperstimulation occurs.
Hyperstimulation symptoms tend to resolve in 7 to 10 days, however if the patient becomes pregnant, the condition can last 4 to 6 weeks.
The key to controlling the hyperstimulation syndrome is in its recognition and prompt medical intervention. Therein lies the importance of frequent office visits for ultrasounds and blood test throughout the stimulation period so that the physician may adjust medication dosages as needed and assess the patient.
Bleeding and Infection
Egg retrieval by ultrasound guidance is a minor surgical procedure that allows most patients to return to work the following day. Removing the eggs with a special needle entails a slight risk of bleeding, infection, and damage to the bowels, bladder, or nearby blood vessels. Approximately 1 patient in 1,000 will require major surgery to repair damage from complications related to eggs retrievals. Ultrasound guidance, however, aids the highly skilled physician to visualize the ovaries and as well as surrounding organs to perform the retrieval with the outmost care. Our patients are carefully monitored after the procedure to promptly detect possible complications. All patients also receive intravenous antibiotics during the egg retrieval to reduce the risk of infection. The combined use of these preventative measures have been extremely effective at preventing the occurrence of pelvic infection.
There is a potential for multiple pregnancy whenever more than one embryo is transferred into the uterus. While with the transfer of 3 embryos, the multiple pregnancy rate is 15-30 %, with 5 or more embryos this can increase to more than 40 %. Most of the multiple pregnancies are twins, but triplets, quadruplets, and more have been described.
Controversial studies link gonadotropins to the development of ovarian cancer. Although the studies are contradictory, some researchers have reported an increase in ovarian cancer in women who use injectable gonadotropins, while others show no such correlation. Until further research is available, it is the Center’s feeling that all the fertility drugs need to be used prudently and be appropriately monitored for limited amounts of time.
Couples undergoing assisted reproduction procedures have described the experience as an “emotional roller coaster”. The treatments are time-consuming, costly, and are more likely to fail than to succeed in a given cycle. Couples may become frustrated, angry, and resentful in their quest for pregnancy. At times, these feelings can lead to depression and feeling of low self-esteem; especially in the immediate period following a failed attempt at pregnancy. The support of family members and friends is very important at this time, however some couples may wish to seek psychological counseling as an additional means of support. Our Center has available an experienced psychologist specializing in infertility to help couples deal with the grief, tension, and anxieties associated with assisted reproduction treatment.
Selective reduction is a technique that is used when multiple embryos have implanted as the result of assisted reproductive technologies. The procedure is usually performed between 9 to 12 weeks gestation to selectively abort the extra embryos. Selective reduction is performed by a perinatologist on an outpatient basis by inserting a needle guided by ultrasound either through the abdomen or vagina to inject potassium chloride into the fetus. The incidence of miscarriage associated with this procedure is felt to be 4 to 5%.
The decision of whether or not to undergo selective reduction can be a traumatic one, and couples who have invested time and effort to achieve pregnancy may often be unprepared to make this choice. If this procedure is morally or ethically unacceptable, then the number of embryos transferred should be strictly limited. It is helpful for couples considering selective reduction to undergo professional counseling prior to the procedure. | <urn:uuid:24bc515d-31b9-4923-9587-b6b54e3c7978> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | http://www.miami-ivf.com/potential-complications-of-assisted-reproduction-technologies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864257.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20180621192119-20180621212119-00337.warc.gz | en | 0.938512 | 898 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The Power of Religion
In a very rapidly evolving economy and society the power of religion, culture and politics are making a major effect on the world that everyone today calls home. The power of religion, culture and politics relate to the post colonial literary lens and can be synced into creating the definition of what the post colonial literary lens means. In the New York Times bestseller written by John Updike titled Terrorist, the post colonial lens is evident throughout the novel as there is a continuous struggle of religion, culture and politics. The power of religion and culture is shown as individuals are willing to risk their lives for their own religion. In the United States of America members of the Muslim religion are not always treated as equally as the average American and this creates a struggle. The effects and struggles are shown throughout the novel from three of the main characters Ahmad Mulloy, Jack Levy and Shaikh Rashid. Ahmad Mulloy is an eighteen year old boy who is about to graduate high school and is strongly influenced by his Muslim religion and background beliefs. Jack Levy is the guidance councilor at the school that Ahmad attends and sees the intelligence in Ahmad when others do not including Ahmad himself. Shaikh Rashid is the leader of the local mosque that Ahmad attends frequently for advice and to pray. Through these three very different characters the post colonial lens is shown in different ways.
At the beginning of the novel it is evident that the Muslim religion is not welcomed and appreciated in the American society of Patterson, New Jersey where Ahmad has been raised. Ahmad has a hatred for his mother Teresa Mulloy who raised him from a child, but on the flip side he idolizes his absent father who left Ahmad and his mother when he was only three years old. The power of the Muslim religion on Ahmad is present right from the beginning of the novel as he has sexual impulses towards another girl at his high school named Joryleen. The power of the Muslim religion on Ahmad can be seen when “Ahmad knows it is a sin to be vulgar towards his own god and that is why his sexual impulses for Joryleen dissipated,” (Updike, 18). Ahmad had sexual impulses towards a fellow schoolmate Joryleen who he had a crush on but God instructed him to repress them as it is a sin to have thoughts like this occupying your head. The power of religion is shown as he forces himself to give up thoughts that make him happy and excites him because it is not welcomed by the God in which he finds himself in the arms of. Moving through the novel Ahmad who is a very intelligent young adult has a desire to be a truck driver as he is convinced that it is a practical skill of good merit. Ahmad is also very frightened by the thoughts that continuing his academic studies in high school will strengthen his occasional religious doubt. While Ahmad is sitting in class his thoughts are doubtful, “sitting in class listening to his fellow classmates discuss what they are doing on the weekend, he realizes that he is not doing as much to keep up with his religion as he did in the past,” (Updike, 64). Ahmad has been in school and is realizing that the effects of an American public high school is changing his views on his religion and in his mind he believes he is betraying his God and this frightens him. He realizes that he needs to get out of school because it is manipulating him into a non-Islamic minded American like all of the others. He decides to drop out of school and become a truck driver and focus more on his religion and practicing the Muslim religion and this is why he begins going to a local mosque frequently. Moving on towards the ending of the novel Ahmad has become a very big believer in the Muslim religion and it is overpowering his thoughts on what is politically right and right in his religion. Ahmad’s involvement in the local mosque that he attends has got him involved in a terrorist plot against American...
Please join StudyMode to read the full document | <urn:uuid:f494459a-06e6-41ec-b0a8-3cae19c47a04> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.studymode.com/essays/The-Power-Of-Religion-1376683.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891816370.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20180225110552-20180225130552-00276.warc.gz | en | 0.987904 | 810 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Mini-Encyclopedia of Papermaking Wet-End
Part Two: Definitions and Concepts
The word "fibrillation" refers to both a process and the result of that process. Refining can be defined as the passage of a slurry of papermaking fibers between plates in relative motion to each other that have raised bars on their surfaces. The fibers are subjected to shearing and compression forces. One of the things that happens during refining of fibers is fibrillation, the partial delamination of the cell wall, resulting in a microscopically hairy appearance of the wetted fiber surfaces. The "hairs" are also called fibrillation. The smallest microfibrils may be as small as individual cellulose chains. Fibrillation tends to increase the relative bonded area between fibers after the paper has been dried.
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RETURN TO INDEX PAGE OF ENCYCLOPEDIA
This page is maintained by Martin hubbe, Associate Professor of Wood and Paper Science, NC State University, email@example.com . | <urn:uuid:5246867e-ef35-45e4-b972-063dde7de81b> | CC-MAIN-2016-07 | http://www4.ncsu.edu/~hubbe/Defnitns/Fibrilzn.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701154682.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193914-00292-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922569 | 267 | 3.5 | 4 |
Gov. Rick Perry’s Tenth Amendment Stance: Principle or Political Pandering?
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. – Amendment X – Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791.
Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) in his support of HCR 50, a resolution reaffirming Texas’ Tenth Amendment rights has reinvigorated not only the debate over state’s rights but also the ultimate “nuclear” option of a state’s right to secede from the U.S.
On April 9th, Gov. Perry explained his reasoning behind supporting the resolution.
- Gov. Rick Perry’s Tenth Amendment Stance: Principle?
Gov. Perry, speaking at a Tea Party event on April 15th went a step further telling the crowd that the day could come where Texas could decide to secede.
“We’ve got a great union. There’s absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot.”
Christy Hoppe, writing for The Dallas Morning News, calls the notion that Texas has a right to secede a “mythology.”
“The fact is, the treaty under which Texas joined the U.S. provides that it could be divided into five separate states. But it is not empowered to leave the union, a question that the Civil War seems to have settled once and for all.”
Left leaning blogs such as Texas Liberal also agree that the question of secession was “settled” with the Civil War and goes even further stating that Gov. Perry’s statements are “treasonous.”
On further inspection, the idea that individuals on the Left would call the question of secession settled should not be surprising at all. When taken to its ultimate conclusion, the philosophy of the Left is “might makes right.” If a majority of people can be convinced they have the right to pick the pockets of a minority of taxpayers, for example, then by all means. In their collectivist world view, “the majority rules;” individual rights must always take a back seat to the will of the majority.
The question of secession was by no means “settled” by the Civil War (or the War Between the States if you prefer), at least not in a sense which recognized the rule of law. Abraham Lincoln made a choice between upholding the U.S. Constitution and preserving the Union. With his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and other civil liberties we normally take for granted, Lincoln chose the latter*. The state’s rights issue was “settled” from the barrel of a gun in a period of U.S. history we now call “Reconstruction.”
Beyond this “settled history” argument, it seems to me that if the federal government violates the Tenth Amendment and ignores the sovereignty of the states, it stands to reason that the states can ignore the dictates of the federal government (which is really all Gov. Perry is trying to do). The Tenth Amendment was a guarantee to those who were concerned about states losing sovereignty to a stronger federal government. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that they had secured their independence form Great Britain, why would they want to surrender sovereignty to a new authority?
Over time, the Tenth Amendment was ignored by the courts and the congress. The aftermath of the Civil War practically changed the term “The United States” from an “are” to an “is.” And with the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, the states lost the ability to be represented at the federal level. For all practical purposes, the “United States of America” could be more accurately referred to as “The United State of America.”
These facts of history do not make the notion of either state’s rights or secession “mythology” by any means. The Declaration of Independence makes the case for “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…” Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” makes a similar case as does John Locke in his “Two Treatises of Government.” There is no shortage of political theory which supports Gov. Perry’s claim that states (and people for that matter) have the right to seek self determination and dissolve or separate themselves from oppressive government.
Gov. Rick Perry’s Tenth Amendment Stance: Political Pandering?
Gov. Perry’s sudden concern for state’s rights does have me wondering about his motives. As I’ve pointed out above, this erosion of Tenth Amendment rights has been happening since before the text of the amendment’s ink dried. The federal government did not just start undermining state sovereignty when Barack Obama was sworn into office on January 20, 2009.
I can’t help but wonder how concerned Gov. Perry was when his predecessor, George W. Bush, moved from the Texas Governor’s Mansion and into the White House imposing unfunded federal mandates such as No Child Left Behind? On what side of the state’s rights debate did Gov. Perry fall when the Ashcroft/Gonzales Justice Department argued successfully before the Supreme Court that Angel Raich could not use marijuana for her medical conditions pursuant to California law on the theory of interstate commerce**?
Some of Perry’s critics believe that his sudden Tenth Amendment convictions have more to do with political pandering than principle (and they may have a point). Gov. Perry is looking to face Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the 2010 Republican Primary Governor’s race. What better way to win support than to promote state’s rights at a Tea Party event? Who knows, perhaps with all of the state’s rights and small government rhetoric he’s espousing, small government minded Texans will forget about his executive orders forcing 11 year-old girls to receive HPV vaccinations?
While it is great to hear someone of Gov. Perry’s stature stating that there are limits to federal power, it would be a lot easier for me to accept as genuine if it wasn’t his party that was out of power in Washington.
*This is not to say that slavery should have remained legal by any stretch. It should be noted that Lincoln’s main objective was preserving the Union, not ending slavery.
** Marijuana that she cultivated and used herself and provided to no one else. I still fail to see how this constitutes “interstate commerce.” | <urn:uuid:ec94bb8b-040e-446b-8a1f-49b58d84c82e> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2009/04/18/gov-rick-perry%E2%80%99s-tenth-amendment-stance-principle-or-political-pandering/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00311-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967671 | 1,456 | 2.640625 | 3 |
This paper describes the convergence of environmental and financial markets, reviews the evolution of market–based environmental programmes as an example of the seven–stage evolutionary process witnessed in a variety of markets and summarizes the emergence of greenhouse–gas–mitigation markets and their potential role in advancing land stewardship, biodiversity and other environmental services.
Emissions trading has been developed to meet the demand to reduce pollution while avoiding economic disruption. Consistent with the seven–stage pattern of market evolution, the US programme to reduce the damage from acid rain established a standardized environmental commodity, developed ‘evidence of ownership’ necessary for financial instruments and provided the infrastructure to efficiently transfer title. The success of the system in reducing pollution at low cost has provided a model for other market–based environmental protection initiatives.
The demand for cost–effective action to reduce the threat of climate change has initiated the same evolutionary process for markets to reduce greenhouse–gas emissions. Many of the land– and forest–management practices that can capture and store atmospheric CO2 can also provide other environmental benefits, such as biodiversity preservation and enhanced water quality. The presence of a carbon–trading market will introduce a clear financial value for capture and mitigation of CO2 emissions, thus introducing a new source of funding for land stewardship and forest rehabilitation. The market is now emerging through a variety of ‘bottom–up’ developments being undertaken through governmental, multilateral, private–sector and non–governmental–organization initiatives.
The extension of markets to other emerging environmental issues is now underway, and the linkages between environmental sustainability and capital markets are being more deeply understood. The early evidence indicates that environmental sustainability can be compatible with maximization of shareholder value. | <urn:uuid:cfdd61f2-fc12-4ceb-be78-8861a3353cbe> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/360/1797/1607 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218188914.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212948-00615-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924441 | 343 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Herniations of spinal discs are very common in daily life and sporting injuries. The end result is the same but the cause varies depending on activity.
The intervertebral discs are the pivotal axis of movement for the spinal column and have fibers (roots) that join into the vertebrae above and below. The disc is made up of two components, the nucleus pulposus (center 1/3) and the annulus fibrosis (outer 2/3) .The nucleus pulposus is a soft jelly like substance. The outer annular fibers circulate the nucleus and act like rubber bands to provide a boundary wall for the disc. The disc provides shock absorption and the ability for the vertebrae above and below to move. However, the major role of the outer annular fibers is to restrict excessive rotation.
A herniated disc will therefore occur more often when the spinal column is stressed in forward flexion and rotation, tearing the outer fibers (annulus fibrosis) causing the central nucleus to protrude into the annular wall causing a ‘’protrusion or bulge’’. This protrusion will then possibly touch or compress the spinal nerve root and or the spinal cord producing moderate to severe pain. The degree of protrusion will determine the severity of the condition.
The symptoms experienced may include; numbness and tingling, burning, weakness, referred pain down the leg following the specific nerve affected as in sciatic neuralgia, and groin pain. If you have any problems with bowel and bladder function you must seek medical attention immediately.
Specific examination and diagnostic principles are utilised including X-Rays and MRI Scans are in order to ensure patient safety, and a speedy resolution of your pain.
We treat the Mechanical Joint Dysfunction which can be the cause of the resultant pain pattern. X rays and MRI’s may be used to assist in the diagnosis if needed.
In order to effectively manage your condition, the Spine Clinic may also implement spinal stabilization exercises and massage therapy to address the muscle spasms.
The sooner you receive treatment the more successful the outcome. | <urn:uuid:463c6881-9ff9-473f-a8cb-3617b58689d1> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.spineclinic.org.uk/injuries/herniated-slipped-disc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103573995.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20220628173131-20220628203131-00764.warc.gz | en | 0.900758 | 446 | 2.640625 | 3 |
In a new report, dozens of scientists, health practitioners and children’s health advocates are calling for renewed attention to the growing evidence that many common and widely available chemicals endanger neurodevelopment in fetuses and children of all ages.
The chemicals that are of most concern include lead and mercury; organophosphate pesticides used in agriculture and home gardens; phthalates, found in pharmaceuticals, plastics and personal care products; flame retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers; and air pollutants produced by the combustion of wood and fossil fuels
“These chemicals are pervasive, not only in air and water, but in everyday consumer products that we use on our bodies and in our homes,”
“The human brain develops over a very long period of time, starting in gestation and continuing during childhood and even into early adulthood,” Schantz said. “But the biggest amount of growth occurs during prenatal development.
The report criticizes current regulatory lapses that allow chemicals to be introduced into people’s lives with little or no review of their effects on fetal and child health.
“We shouldn’t have to wait 10 or 15 years — allowing countless children to be exposed to it in the meantime…” | <urn:uuid:192a9c6f-6cfb-4466-a9b5-8411129e3623> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | https://www.parent.com/what-our-kids-play-with-needed-new-focus-on-regulatory-groups/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187824570.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20171021043111-20171021063111-00181.warc.gz | en | 0.957942 | 258 | 3.0625 | 3 |
It’s extremely essential to protect pharmaceutical products from damage during shipping and distribution, as faulty medication could have disastrous consequences for consumers. That’s why the drug packaging process is so important, and must be carried out correctly.
Primary packaging is the first step in the drug packaging process. Packing materials that come in direct contact with pharmaceutical products—such as blister packs, bottles, vials, and ampules—are all examples of primary packaging. As the main line of defense between a drug and its environment, primary packaging must be able to prevent contamination and chemical alterations.
Once a drug has undergone primary packaging, secondary packaging can begin. Usually some form of box or carton, secondary packaging’s main purpose is to provide printing space for both company branding and product information. Secondary packaging plays an important role in making products consumer friendly, as it is typically used to display useful drug facts, directions, and warnings.
Tertiary packaging (packing for transportation) is generally the final step in the drug packaging process. Tertiary packaging is usually removed by retailers before the product is placed on shelves, so it doesn’t need to be pretty, but it does need to be sturdy enough to protect the product in question throughout the shipping process.
In some instances, the drug packaging process involves the additional step of serialization. Pharmaceutical serialization makes it possible to track products through the entire supply chain, and can be used for tracing everything from individual bottles (primary packaging) to cases and pallets (tertiary packaging). It is often necessary for both regulatory compliance and consumer protection.
Tjoapack US has the capacity to handle every stage of the drug packaging process, from start to finish. For more information, contact us today at (865) 494-6000 or firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:f6ec6e3e-a223-4886-9fb9-b7e60d0f5954> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://pharmapackagingsolutions.com/blog/2022/09/08/the-drug-packaging-process-from-start-to-finish/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224655143.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20230608204017-20230608234017-00156.warc.gz | en | 0.940739 | 381 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.Ezra 3:8(NASB)
The people of Judah had been exiled in Babylon for 70 years, but as Scripture foretold, Cyrus the Great, issued a proclamation, at the end of the 70-year long exile. He explained that the Lord, the God of heaven, had appointed him to build Him a house at Jerusalem, in the land of Judah, and at that time, the Jews were permitted to return to their promised homeland, to carry out the rebuilding work.
Although Israel were back in the land, it would not be until the Temple was rebuilt and functioning once more, with the Aaronic priesthood, the appropriate sacrifices and appointed feast-days, that true fellowship with God could be restored. Israel had a covenant relationship with the Lord, but until they fulfiled the terms of the covenant and obeyed His laws and statutes, which included the reinstatement of Temple worship, they would remain out of fellowship with God, while their blessings would be withheld.
Although the foundation of the Temple had been started and generous donations had been made to cover the cost of its construction, there were various reasons that the building work was placed on hold. The returnees became discouraged by their neighbours, who had moved into the area following their prolonged exile... and perhaps a failure to remember the importance of honouring God and obeying His commandments played a part in the delay.
But in the second year of their return, Zerubbabel the governor, and Joshua the High Priest were challenged by Haggai the prophet, to complete the good work they had started. He reminded them that while they were living in lovely, panelled houses, the House of the Lord continued to lie in ruins... and together with all who returned to Jerusalem, from their Babylonian captivity, the rebuilding work was resumed once more.
The return of the exiles to their land to restore their Temple, had been prophesied by men like Jeremiah and Isaiah... while those that returned were encouraged and challenged by people like Haggai. But as we compare the chequered history of Israel with the never-failing faithfulness of God, there are many lessons we can learn from their behaviour, and many pitfalls we should avoid.
One priceless thing that rejoices our soul is the utter faithfulness of God to His people. Despite Israel's apostasy and her ungodly ways He never failed them nor forsook them. Their lack of faith and foolish choices caused them to feel the sting of God's chastening fist, but He is long-suffering and kind, merciful and of great goodness.. and His providential hand was always there to protect and guide them back into the way of peace.
As we consider the world in which we live and the ungodly behaviour of many in the corridors of power today, we can give thanks that God is always in control of our lives, and the sovereign ruler of all, just as He was during the time when Israel returned to Jerusalem, to rebuild their Temple.
Another wonderful truth is that God can use the most unusual people and the most difficult situations in the fulfilment of His plans and purposes. In times past He used men like Pharoah and Herod, Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus the Great. He even uses the enemy of our soul to forward His purposes and plans, and we should be alert to His working in our lives, even those times when we don't understand or when He seems far away.
When we think how quickly Israel's joy in hearing that Cyrus allowed them to return to their homeland and supported them in the rebuilding of the Temple faded, how important it is that we do not allow the criticism and scorn of our immediate neighbours or the wider community to interfere in the good work that God is doing in our lives. How foolish to allow discouragement to adversely influence our Christian testimony.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the many lessons we can learn from the history of Israel - from both their failures, when they doubted Your word, to their successes when they trusted Your promises. Help me to grow in grace and mature in the faith and keep me from allowing the circumstance of life to affect my faith in You. Thank You that You are always in control and that You are a faithful God Who keeps His promises. Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning and I pray that You would use me in the furtherance of the gospel for Your greater praise and glory - this I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. | <urn:uuid:243a23a3-96ad-4a7a-ad06-a133b2ef5975> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/ezra-3-8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496665575.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20191112151954-20191112175954-00147.warc.gz | en | 0.979027 | 1,000 | 2.6875 | 3 |
n Wonderland a baby changes into a beast, but in Jane Eyre babies do not become animals, but foreshadow the presence of bestial humans. Jane believes that it is bad luck to dream of infants, and she seems to be right. She dreams, that she, like Alice, is carrying a baby. While the pig-child" . . . was snorting like a steam-engine . . . and kept doubling itself up and straightening itself out again," Jane's phantom 'shivered in my cold arms and wailed piteously in my ear" The outcome for both the babies is the same. They are dropped, Alice's because it has turned into a pig, Jane's because "I was shaken; the child rolled from my knee"
Alice is finished with her human-animal experience when she drops the baby, but Jane's is just beginning. She wakes to see "A discoloured face - it was a savage face. I wish I could forget the roll of the red eyes and the fearful blackened inflation of the lineaments. This [thing]. . . was purple: the lips were swelled and dark; the brow furrowed; the black eyebrows widely raised over the bloodshot eyes." That is a very non - human description of what turns out to be a woman. A previous week, Jane dreamed of babies for seven nights in a row, at the end of which she found out that John Reed had killed himself and his mother was dying. Carroll and Brontë both make the baby — human — animal connection, but to extremely different ends; Carroll to make fun and entertain, Brontë to convey terror and shock, and hint at the supernatural.
Whereas Carroll's treatment of babies in the text hints at his view that they were less adorable and precious than contemporary doctrines might insist, Brontė steers clear of contemporary baby-doctrines altogether by treating babies as less than unimportant. The baby in Jane's dream is by far the most attention - worthy infant in the book - otherwise babies are simply things that various women have, which usually grow into children, and are only then deserving of interest. Except for her dream-children, the most that babies do in Jane Eyre is get put in their beds — "Bessie laid her sleeping child in the cradle." By the time they are three and four they "play[(ed] quietly in a corner," and by the time they reach Adèle's age — seven — they possess characters.
Content last modified December 1993 | <urn:uuid:31b9c92a-7274-4ea0-87b2-bc7e57781eed> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/61brnt9.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267157351.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20180921170920-20180921191320-00505.warc.gz | en | 0.974687 | 518 | 2.5625 | 3 |
If you recall your high school chemistry, mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells. Their production of cellular energy, or adenosine triphosphate (ATP), depends primarily upon fuel derived from nutrients including vitamins D3 and K2. These two nutrients are co-factors, or partners, synergistically ensuring strong bones and teeth as well as a cardiovascular system void of lingering, plaque-induced calcium.
Why Is Vitamin D3 Important?
Adequate vitamin D3 is essential to our health and quality of life. Every cell in our body contains a vitamin D receptor (VDR). When a VDR is activated by a sufficient intake of vitamin D3, a number of good things happen. Vitamin D3’s mechanisms of action include: anti-microbial, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory. Moreover, scientific research suggests that vitamin D3 deficiency is connected to a wide array of serious medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, mental health disorders as well as multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.
Due to our modern lifestyles and conventional medical practices, we tend to get little vitamin D3 from its natural source, the ultraviolet B, or UVB, light of the sun. From living, commuting, and working indoors to fretfully slapping sunscreen all over our skin, we appear intent on denying ourselves this essential nutrient.
The re-emergence in the twenty-first century of rickets, a Victorian-era disease causing soft bones primarily in children, calls to action the need for adequate vitamin D3 supplementation. As most diets are severely lacking in vitamin D3, the most practical way of getting adequate amounts of this nutrient is by taking an inexpensive daily, oral D3 supplement. My Facebook support group called “Vitamin D Wellness” provides information about an easy-to-follow protocol designed to increase D3 levels to an optimal value of 100 ng/mL (250 nmol/L).
The Importance of Vitamin K
Before discussing vitamin K2, I would be remiss if I did not mention the first form of vitamin K. Vitamin K1 is literally a vital nutrient. Without vitamin K1 our blood would not clot, and we could bleed to death. The good news is that vitamin K1 (or phylloquinone) is present in all green plants that acquire energy from sunlight. Green leafy vegetables including spinach, kale, collards, broccoli, and brussel sprouts abound with vitamin K1. Better news: vitamin K1 constantly recycles in our bodies so deficiency is rare.
Vitamin K2 (or menaquinone) however differs greatly from K1. There are two forms of vitamin K2: menaquinone-4 (MK-4) found in grass-fed animal protein including meat, egg yolk, butter, some cheeses, and calf’s liver.
A fermented soybean called natto, commonly consumed in Japan, is abundant in the more potent form of vitamin K2 called menaquinone-7 (MK-7). For those who do not want to consume soy, vitamins K2 MK-7 supplements made from chickpeas and formulated with coconut oil are readily available. My Facebook group protocol “Vitamin D Wellness” includes guidance on K2 MK-7 supplementation.
Health benefits of adequate vitamin K2 levels include potential prevention of osteoporosis, arterial plaque, and dental issues. Vitamin K2 moves calcium to the bones and teeth, as well as sweeps calcium from soft tissue lining such as arteries. Specifically, vitamin K2 activates proteins (osteocalcin and matrix gla protein) produced by vitamin D3 that facilitate moving calcium to where it belongs: the bones and teeth.
Low vitamin K2 levels are common. First, unlike vitamin K1, vitamin K2 is not recycled in the body. Second, the vitamin’s natural sources are lacking in most diets. Owing to the preponderance of industrial farming in many parts of the world, many people are low in vitamin K2. When insufficient vitamin K2 is in the blood stream, calcium can linger along arterial pathways potentially causing calcification, the process whereby calcium deposits form plaque accumulating in the cardiovascular system. These calcium deposits can cause heart disease.
The Vitality of Vitamins D3 and K2
Specific research on vitamin D3 and vitamin K2’s association with mitochondrial function remains limited yet fruitful:
Published in a 2013 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, a Newcastle-upon-Tyne University, UK study led by Dr. Akash Sinha demonstrated, for the first time, a connection between vitamin D3 intake and mitochondria function in human skeletal muscles. Sinha and his team concluded that muscle function, including muscle fatigue, improved with vitamin D3 supplementation.
The positive effect of vitamin K2 on apoptosis, or natural cell death, in various types of cancer cells has been established. For example, researchers in China discovered the apoptotic influence of vitamin K2 on bladder cancer cells through mitochondrial pathway. Their findings are reported in an August 2016 edition of the journal PLoS One.
In summary, the powerful partnership of vitamins D3 and K2 is essential to mitochondrial health. By enjoying optimal daily intake of D3 and K2, you are more likely to have strong bones, teeth, and muscles as well as a calcium-free cardiovascular system. Oh, and your risk of developing cancer is diminished!
Do You Need to Supplement Vitamin D3 and K2?
Given the paucity of vitamins D3 and K2 in our diets, I think daily supplementation provides the most effective way to increase and maintain these nutrient levels. I find taking a daily dose of 10,000 iu of vitamin D3 and 90-120 mcg of vitamin K2 MK-7 soft gel capsules with or after breakfast works best for me. What an easy way to enjoy the benefits of this powerful partnership of mitochondrial nutrients!
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More people than ever are reading Hormones Matter, a testament to the need for independent voices in health and medicine. We are not funded and accept limited advertising. Unlike many health sites, we don’t force you to purchase a subscription. We believe health information should be open to all. If you read Hormones Matter, like it, please help support it. Contribute now. | <urn:uuid:462251c4-0a57-4c34-86f3-253652663650> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://www.hormonesmatter.com/vitamin-d-vitamin-k-power-partners-mitochondrial-health/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257845.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20190525004721-20190525030721-00333.warc.gz | en | 0.915734 | 1,314 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Genome instability (also genetic instability or genomic instability) refers to a high frequency of mutations within the genome of a cellular lineage. These mutations can include changes in nucleic acid sequences, chromosomal rearrangements or aneuploidy. Genome instability does occur in bacteria. In multicellular organisms genome instability is central to carcinogenesis, and in humans it is also a factor in some neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or the neuromuscular disease myotonic dystrophy.
The sources of genome instability have only recently begun to be elucidated. A high frequency of externally caused DNA damage can be one source of genome instability since DNA damages can cause inaccurate translesion synthesis past the damages or errors in repair, leading to mutation. Another source of genome instability may be epigenetic or mutational reductions in expression of DNA repair genes. Because endogenous (metabolically-caused) DNA damage is very frequent, occurring on average more than 60,000 times a day in the genomes of human cells, any reduced DNA repair is likely an important source of genome instability.
Usually, all cells in an individual in a given species (plant or animal) show a constant number of chromosomes, which constitute what is known as the karyotype defining this species (see also List of number of chromosomes of various organisms), although some species present a very high karyotypic variability. In humans, mutations that would change an amino acid within the protein coding region of the genome occur at an average of only 0.35 per generation (less than one mutated protein per generation).
Sometimes, in a species with a stable karyotype, random variations that modify the normal number of chromosomes may be observed. In other cases, there are structural alterations (chromosomal translocations, deletions ...) that modify the standard chromosomal complement. In these cases, it is indicated that the affected organism presents genome instability (also genetic instability, or even chromosomic instability). The process of genome instability often leads to a situation of aneuploidy, in which the cells present a chromosomic number that is either higher or lower than the normal complement for the species.
In the cell cycle, DNA is usually most vulnerable during replication. The replisome must be able to navigate obstacles such as tightly wound chromatin with bound proteins, single and double stranded breaks which can lead to the stalling of the replication fork. Each protein or enzyme in the replisome must perform its function well to result in a perfect copy of DNA. Mutations of proteins such as DNA polymerase, ligase, can lead to impairment of replication and lead to spontaneous chromosomal exchanges. Proteins such as Tel1, Mec1 (ATR, ATM in humans) can detect single and double-stranded breaks and recruit factors such as Rmr3 helicase to stabilize the replication fork in order to prevent its collapse. Mutations in Tel1, Mec1, and Rmr3 helicase result in a significant increase of chromosomal recombination. ATR responds specifically to stalled replication forks and single-stranded breaks resulting from UV damage while ATM responds directly to double-stranded breaks. These proteins also prevent progression into mitosis by inhibiting the firing of late replication origins until the DNA breaks are fixed by phosphorylating CHK1, CHK2 which results in a signaling cascade arresting the cell in S-phase. For single stranded breaks, replication occurs until the location of the break, then the other strand is nicked to form a double stranded break, which can then be repaired by Break Induced Replication or homologous recombination using the sister chromatid as an error-free template. In addition to S-phase checkpoints, G1 and G2 checkpoints exist to check for transient DNA damage which could be caused by mutagens such as UV damage. An example is the Saccharomyces pombe gene rad9 which arrests the cells in late S/G2 phase in the presence of DNA damage caused by radiation. The yeast cells with defective rad9 failed to arrest following radiation, continued cell division and died rapidly while the cells with wild-type rad9 successfully arrested in late S/G2 phase and remained viable. The cells that arrested were able to survive due to the increased time in S/G2 phase allowing for DNA repair enzymes to function fully.
There are hotspots in the genome where DNA sequences are prone to gaps and breaks after inhibition of DNA synthesis such as in the aforementioned checkpoint arrest. These sites are called fragile sites, and can occur commonly as naturally present in most mammalian genomes or occur rarely as a result of mutations, such as DNA-repeat expansion. Rare fragile sites can lead to genetic disease such as fragile X mental retardation syndrome, myotonic dystrophy, Friedrich's ataxia, and Huntington's disease, most of which are caused by expansion of repeats at the DNA, RNA, or protein level. Although, seemingly harmful, these common fragile sites are conserved all the way to yeast and bacteria. These ubiquitous sites are characterized by trinucleotide repeats, most commonly CGG, CAG, GAA, and GCN. These trinucleotide repeats can form into hairpins, leading to difficulty of replication. Under replication stress, such as defective machinery or further DNA damage, DNA breaks and gaps can form at these fragile sites. Using a sister chromatid as repair is not a fool-proof backup as the surrounding DNA information of the n and n+1 repeat is virtually the same, leading to copy number variation. For example, the 16th copy of CGG might be mapped to the 13th copy of CGG in the sister chromatid since the surrounding DNA is both CGGCGGCGG..., leading to 3 extra copies of CGG in the final DNA sequence.
In both E. coli and Saccromyces pombe, transcription sites tend to have higher recombination and mutation rates. The coding or non-transcribed strand accumulates more mutations than the template strand. This is due to the fact that the coding strand is single-stranded during transcription, which is chemically more unstable than double-stranded DNA. During elongation of transcription, supercoiling can occur behind an elongating RNA polymerase, leading to single-stranded breaks. When the coding strand is single-stranded, it can also hybridize with itself, creating DNA secondary structures that can compromise replication. In E. coli, when attempting to transcribe GAA triplets such as those found in Friedrich's ataxia, the resulting RNA and template strand can form mismatched loops between different repeats, leading the complementary segment in the coding-strand available to form its own loops which impede replication. Furthermore, replication of DNA and transcription of DNA are not temporally independent; they can occur at the same time and lead to collisions between the replication fork and RNA polymerase complex. In S. cerevisiae, Rrm3 helicase is found at highly transcribed genes in the yeast genome, which is recruited to stabilize a stalling replication fork as described above. This suggests that transcription is an obstacle to replication, which can lead to increased stress in the chromatin spanning the short distance between the unwound replication fork and transcription start site, potentially causing single-stranded DNA breaks. In yeast, proteins act as barriers at the 3' of the transcription unit to prevent further travel of the DNA replication fork.
In some portions of the genome, variability is essential to survival. One such locale is the Ig genes. In a pre-B cell, the region consists of all V, D, and J segments. During development of the B cell, a specific V, D, and J segment is chosen to be spliced together to form the final gene, which is catalyzed by RAG1 and RAG2 recombinases. Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase (AID) then converts cytidine into uracil. Uracil normally does not exist in DNA, and thus the base is excised and the nick is converted into a double-stranded break which is repaired by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). This procedure is very error-prone and leads to somatic hypermutation. This genomic instability is crucial in ensuring mammalian survival against infection. V, D, J recombination can ensure millions of unique B-cell receptors; however, random repair by NHEJ introduces variation which can create a receptor that can bind with higher affinity to antigens.
Of about 200 neurological and neuromuscular disorders, 15 have a clear link to an inherited or acquired defect in one of the DNA repair pathways or excessive genotoxic oxidative stress. Five of them (xeroderma pigmentosum, Cockayne's syndrome, trichothiodystrophy, Down's syndrome, and triple-A syndrome) have a defect in the DNA nucleotide excision repair pathway. Six (spinocerebellar ataxia with axonal neuropathy-1, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Down's syndrome and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) seem to result from increased oxidative stress, and the inability of the base excision repair pathway to handle the damage to DNA that this causes. Four of them (Huntington's disease, various spinocerebellar ataxias, Friedreich's ataxia and myotonic dystrophy types 1 and 2) often have an unusual expansion of repeat sequences in DNA, likely attributable to genome instability. Four (ataxia-telangiectasia, ataxia-telangiectasia-like disorder, Nijmegen breakage syndrome and Alzheimer's disease) are defective in genes involved in repairing DNA double-strand breaks. Overall, it seems that oxidative stress is a major cause of genomic instability in the brain. A particular neurological disease arises when a pathway that normally prevents oxidative stress is deficient, or a DNA repair pathway that normally repairs damage caused by oxidative stress is deficient.
In cancer, genome instability can occur prior to or as a consequence of transformation. Genome instability can refer to the accumulation of extra copies of DNA or chromosomes, chromosomal translocations, chromosomal inversions, chromosome deletions, single-strand breaks in DNA, double-strand breaks in DNA, the intercalation of foreign substances into the DNA double helix, or any abnormal changes in DNA tertiary structure that can cause either the loss of DNA, or the misexpression of genes. Situations of genome instability (as well as aneuploidy) are common in cancer cells, and they are considered a "hallmark" for these cells. The unpredictable nature of these events are also a main contributor to the heterogeneity observed among tumour cells.
It is currently accepted that sporadic tumors (non-familial ones) are originated due to the accumulation of several genetic errors. An average cancer of the breast or colon can have about 60 to 70 protein altering mutations, of which about 3 or 4 may be "driver" mutations, and the remaining ones may be "passenger" mutations Any genetic or epigenetic lesion increasing the mutation rate will have as a consequence an increase in the acquisition of new mutations, increasing then the probability to develop a tumor. During the process of tumorogenesis, it is known that diploid cells acquire mutations in genes responsible for maintaining genome integrity (caretaker genes), as well as in genes that are directly controlling cellular proliferation (gatekeeper genes). Genetic instability can originate due to deficiencies in DNA repair, or due to loss or gain of chromosomes, or due to large scale chromosomal reorganizations. Losing genetic stability will favour tumor development, because it favours the generation of mutants that can be selected by the environment.
The protein coding regions of the human genome, collectively called the exome, constitutes only 1.5% of the total genome. As pointed out above, ordinarily there are only an average of 0.35 mutations in the exome per generation (parent to child) in humans. In the entire genome (including non-protein coding regions) there are only about 70 new mutations per generation in humans.
The likely major underlying cause of mutations in cancer is DNA damage. For example, in the case of lung cancer, DNA damage is caused by agents in exogenous genotoxic tobacco smoke (e.g. acrolein, formaldehyde, acrylonitrile, 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde, ethylene oxide and isoprene). Endogenous (metabolically-caused) DNA damage is also very frequent, occurring on average more than 60,000 times a day in the genomes of human cells (see DNA damage (naturally occurring)). Externally and endogenously caused damages may be converted into mutations by inaccurate translesion synthesis or inaccurate DNA repair (e.g. by non-homologous end joining). In addition, DNA damages can also give rise to epigenetic alterations during DNA repair. Both mutations and epigenetic alterations (epimutations) can contribute to progression to cancer.
As noted above, about 3 or 4 driver mutations and 60 passenger mutations occur in the exome (protein coding region) of a cancer. However, a much larger number of mutations occur in the non-protein-coding regions of DNA. The average number of DNA sequence mutations in the entire genome of a breast cancer tissue sample is about 20,000. In an average melanoma tissue sample (where melanomas have a higher exome mutation frequency) the total number of DNA sequence mutations is about 80,000.
The high frequency of mutations in the total genome within cancers suggests that, often, an early carcinogenic alteration may be a deficiency in DNA repair. Mutation rates substantially increase (sometimes by 100-fold) in cells defective in DNA mismatch repair or in homologous recombinational DNA repair. Also, chromosomal rearrangements and aneuploidy increase in humans defective in DNA repair gene BLM.
A deficiency in DNA repair, itself, can allow DNA damages to accumulate, and error-prone translesion synthesis past some of those damages may give rise to mutations. In addition, faulty repair of these accumulated DNA damages may give rise to epigenetic alterations or epimutations. While a mutation or epimutation in a DNA repair gene, itself, would not confer a selective advantage, such a repair defect may be carried along as a passenger in a cell when the cell acquires an additional mutation/epimutation that does provide a proliferative advantage. Such cells, with both proliferative advantages and one or more DNA repair defects (causing a very high mutation rate), likely give rise to the 20,000 to 80,000 total genome mutations frequently seen in cancers.
In somatic cells, deficiencies in DNA repair sometimes arise by mutations in DNA repair genes, but much more often are due to epigenetic reductions in expression of DNA repair genes. Thus, in a sequence of 113 colorectal cancers, only four had somatic missense mutations in the DNA repair gene MGMT, while the majority of these cancers had reduced MGMT expression due to methylation of the MGMT promoter region. Five reports, listed in the article Epigenetics (see section "DNA repair epigenetics in cancer") presented evidence that between 40% and 90% of colorectal cancers have reduced MGMT expression due to methylation of the MGMT promoter region.
Similarly, for 119 cases of colorectal cancers classified as mismatch repair deficient and lacking DNA repair gene PMS2 expression, Pms2 was deficient in 6 due to mutations in the PMS2 gene, while in 103 cases PMS2 expression was deficient because its pairing partner MLH1 was repressed due to promoter methylation (PMS2 protein is unstable in the absence of MLH1). The other 10 cases of loss of PMS2 expression were likely due to epigenetic overexpression of the microRNA, miR-155, which down-regulates MLH1.
In cancer epigenetics (see section Frequencies of epimutations in DNA repair genes), there is a partial listing of epigenetic deficiencies found in DNA repair genes in sporadic cancers. These include frequencies of between 13-100% of epigenetic defects in genes BRCA1, WRN, FANCB, FANCF, MGMT, MLH1, MSH2, MSH4, ERCC1, XPF, NEIL1 and ATM located in cancers including breast, ovarian, colorectal and head and neck. Two or three epigenetic deficiencies in expression of ERCC1, XPF and/or PMS2 were found to occur simultaneously in the majority of the 49 colon cancers evaluated. Some of these DNA repair deficiencies can be caused by epimutations in microRNAs as summarized in the MicroRNA article section titled miRNA, DNA repair and cancer.
Cancers usually result from disruption of a tumor repressor or dysregulation of an oncogene. Knowing that B-cells experience DNA breaks during development can give insight to the genome of lymphomas. Many types of lymphoma are caused by chromosomal translocation, which can arise from breaks in DNA, leading to incorrect joining. In Burkitt's lymphoma, c-myc, an oncogene encoding a transcription factor, is translocated to a position after the promoter of the immunoglobulin gene, leading to dysregulation of c-myc transcription. Since immunoglobulins are essential to a lymphocyte and highly expressed to increase detection of antigens, c-myc is then also highly expressed, leading to transcription of its targets, which are involved in cell proliferation. Mantle cell lymphoma is characterized by fusion of cyclin D1 to the immunoglobulin locus. Cyclin D1 inhibits Rb, a tumor suppressor, leading to tumorigenesis. Follicular lymphoma results from the translocation of the immunoglobulin promoter to the Bcl-2 gene, giving rise to high levels of Bcl-2 protein, which inhibits apoptosis. DNA-damaged B-cells no longer undergo apoptosis, leading to further mutations which could affect driver genes, leading to tumorigenesis. The location of translocation in the oncogene shares structural properties of the target regions of AID, suggesting that the oncogene was a potential target of AID, leading to a double-stranded break that was translocated to the immunoglobulin gene locus through NHEJ repair. | <urn:uuid:f46dba1e-1541-4c61-9759-a3107f7d9e1a> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://popflock.com/learn?s=Genome_instability | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487641593.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20210618200114-20210618230114-00109.warc.gz | en | 0.934083 | 3,824 | 3.65625 | 4 |
One of the more enigmatic questions posed by our understanding of the cosmos is this: Why is there something instead of nothing?
Some people might think this is a dumb question, but to many scientists, it is of major importance, along with two related questions: Why does matter exist at all? And given that it does exist, where did it come from?
The Bible’s first words inform us that God created the heavens and the earth. This fundamental revelation guided the children of Israel away from Egypt’s false gods toward the true Lord God of all creation. Through prophetic revelation, God taught Israel foundational truths in language they could understand. Those truths concerned his identity and the nature of his relationship with all of creation.
Genesis was not intended to be the last word about the inner workings of the cosmos. Modern scientific methods and tools help us research such details. However, the biblical revelation has not been superseded as a first word and starting point for this research. The biblical revelation presents theological/philosophical presuppositions that science cannot provide on its own. Grounded upon these presuppositions, scientific research concerning the cosmos can proceed in fruitful ways.
Of course, many scientists scoff at the biblical and Christian answer as to why there is a cosmos at all, considering it to be science fiction (with an emphasis on fiction). Now, I enjoy good science fiction, particularly the Star Trek series. Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisko and Janeway tackled all kinds of social and moral issues with a backdrop of all kinds of imaginative devices to beam them from one place to another, travel at warp-speed, eat and drink items synthesized from a machine and explore all kinds of life forms.
What makes Star Trek so good is that it has a real basis in science. You can read about it in the book The Physics of Star Trek, by theoretical physicist Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss. Krauss also wrote A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing. Krauss is one of several scientists who try to prove that every particle and force in the universe sprang into being from nothing, without God being part of the process. To reach this conclusion, Krauss theorizes three kinds of nothingness.
The nothingness of empty space
The first kind is a concept inherited from Greek thought, which Krauss refers to it as The nothingness of empty space. Today we know that this “nothingness” is not empty — rather it is teeming with energy and particles. We currently have the ability to detect about 6% of what is there. The remaining 94% we refer to as “dark matter” and “dark energy,” which are beyond the reach of our physical senses and scientific instruments. We can’t explain exactly what these features of the cosmos are or how they work. However, we know that they exist, based on their effect on what we can directly detect.
The nothing without space and time
Krauss then refers to a second kind of nothingness, which he calls The nothing without space and time. His conjecture is that whole universes bubble up out of this kind of nothingness. Each bubble has its own space-time and simply pops into existence. But even if this is true, as Krauss notes, we are left wondering, where did this bubbling something come from?
Krauss’s third kind of nothingness is a more profound kind in which even the laws of physics are absent. He attempts to explain how this happens by saying that an infinite assembly of universes (what he calls the multiverse) exists in this nothingness. Each universe has its own randomly determined rules, particles and forces. For Krauss, this is where the story ends. But does it? If the multiverse contains an infinite assembly, we still must ask, “Where did that infinite assembly come from?” And furthermore, what empirical scientific research has provided any evidence for the multiverse?
Science fiction author Theodore Beale addresses a fatal flaw in Krauss’s thinking:
There is, of course, a fourth type of “nothingness.” And that is the amount of scientific validity contained in Krauss’s desperate attempt to use a fraudulent veneer of science to avoid the obvious conclusions driven by the relevant philosophic logic. This isn’t even science fiction; it’s just purely evasive fantasy. If I were to seriously propose that full-grown unicorns, little rainbow-colored horned equines, could simply pop into existence, like bubbles in boiling water, ex nihilo, people would rightly dismiss me as a fantasist and a possibly insane one at that. But substitute “universes” for “unicorns” and suddenly, we’re talking science!
As Beale notes, Krauss’s position is not the result of scientific experiment, but rather of philosophical speculation. His theory amounts to saying nothing more than that there has always been something of some sort, and that the universe we currently know came from other stuff that simply existed in a different form. Krauss is unable to answer the question, Why is there something rather than nothing?
The biblical and Christian approach to the question is entirely different. Its answer is theological, based on God’s revelation to particular people — a revelation preserved in Scripture that begins with Genesis 1, but does not end there. In the Gospel of John we read that, “all things came into being through him [the Word of God], and without him not one thing came into being” (John 1:3, NRSV).
Speaking of Jesus, Paul notes: “for from him and through him and to him are all things (Romans 11:36), and “in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers — all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17, NRSV). Paul also proclaims that, “for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6, NRSV).
The author of Hebrews states that, “by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3, NKJV).
Creation ex nihilo
Considering this scriptural testimony (and more), a consensus of theological understanding has developed throughout the church that all that has ever existed was created by God from nothing (theologians refer to this as creation ex nihilo). Other biblical authors speak of all that is by using words such as “all things,” “worlds,” “creation,” “heaven and earth,” “cosmos” and “the universe.” The point is that all created “things” (including any “bubbles,” “multiverses,” and time and space itself!) did not exist prior to God beginning to create. God did not make the universe from anything that preexisted nor did he make things out of himself. So we say, God made it from nothing.
The sum of biblical revelation is that there was a time when the cosmos was not. There was only God and nothing else in any form. This means that creation has not existed eternally along with God. God does not exist alongside or within the time and space of any universe or multiverse. Time and space are created things that came into being by the agency and act of God. So the Christian answer is neither that the cosmos existed eternally, nor that it was generated by nothing. God, who alone is eternal, gave existence itself to all that exists, and in fact, continues to hold everything in existence. If God forgot about the universe even for a nanosecond, all that is not God would cease to exist! Now there is an answer to the question of why there is something instead of nothing!
We continue to make astounding scientific discoveries that increase our understanding of the cosmos and its history. But those working at the leading edges of these investigations — at both the macro and micro scales — admit that they are just scratching the surface. Each breakthrough seems to open up new phenomena to investigate. In describing their work, quantum physicists must resort to language that is more metaphysical than scientific. Some admit that, scientifically, there may be a limit to “knowability.” And it is widely acknowledged, especially by philosophers of science, that the entire scientific enterprise is based on philosophical (or theological) assumptions that the scientific method itself cannot provide.
That is why those first words of Genesis should be taken seriously. God told us something we cannot discover for ourselves, and cannot disprove. Why is there something rather than nothing? Because, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, making a cosmos that we can touch, feel and measure — all out of, well, nothing.
Author: Joseph Tkach | <urn:uuid:a11515b3-2edf-4a58-af16-775f6c688567> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://archive.gci.org/articles/creation-out-of-nothing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496664437.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20191111191704-20191111215704-00293.warc.gz | en | 0.968393 | 1,930 | 3.078125 | 3 |
HOW would you like to be quantum? It would certainly have its advantages. Imagine, for a start, if you could be in two places at once. Jet off to the beach and stay in the office at the same time. Do the weekend shopping and mow the front lawn simultaneously. Sure, you say, dream on.
Well then, here’s the shocking bit: you really could be quantum. After all, you are made of atoms and molecules that obey the rules of quantum theory. They can be in different states, spinning this way and that, all at the same time. They can be here, there and everywhere in between. The big question is why atoms can experience the full weirdness of quantum mechanics, whereas you and I evidently cannot. “In short, how does the well-behaved, everyday classical world emerge from the schizophrenic quantum realm,” asks Johannes Kofler, a specialist in quantum theory from Caslav Brukner’s group at the University of Vienna, Austria.
We may finally have the answer. For years physicists have tried to pin down the elusive boundary between the quantum and classical worlds. Now Kofler, Brukner and others have shown that this boundary may not exist. That’s right, the quantum world never breaks down. If that’s true, we’re left with a mind-numbing prospect: the world could be quantum, but we are blind to it. This result challenges our very notions of how classical reality arises.
Quantum theory, for its part, is a supremely effective description of the microscopic world of atoms and their constituents. Disturbingly, however, it also reveals a profoundly counter-intuitive reality in which, for instance, a particle can | <urn:uuid:d5b2107a-66e9-4c16-ba85-874387d40a75> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325951.900-the-illusion-of-reality-in-a-quantum-world | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501170708.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104610-00374-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949218 | 362 | 2.515625 | 3 |
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Next: Outlook on the Following Up: Maintaining Your System Previous: Maintaining Your System
Another very important aspect of system administration in a network environment is protecting your system and users from intruders. Carelessly managed systems offer malicious people many targets: attacks range from password guessing to Ethernet snooping, and the damage caused may range from faked mail messages to data loss or violation of your users' privacy. We will mention some particular problems when discussing the context they may occur in, and some common defenses against them.
This section will discuss a few examples and basic techniques in dealing with system security. Of course, the topics covered can not treat all security issues you may be faced with exhaustively; they merely serve to illustrate the problems that may arise. Therefore, reading a good book on security is an absolute must, especially in a networked system. Simon Garfinkel's ``Practical UNIX Security'' (see ) is highly recommendable.
System security starts with good system administration. This includes checking the ownership and permissions of all vital files and directories, monitoring use of privileged accounts, etc. The COPS program, for instance, will check your file system and common configuration files for unusual permissions or other anomalies. It is also wise to use a password suite that enforces certain rules on the users' passwords that make them hard to guess. The shadow password suite, for instance, requires a password to have at least five letters, and contain both upper and lower case numbers and digits.
When making a service accessible to the network, make sure to give it ``least privilege,'' meaning that you don't permit it to do things that aren't required for it to work as designed. For example, you should make programs setuid to root or some other privileged account only when they really need this. Also, if you want to use a service for only a very limited application, don't hesitate to configure it as restrictively as your special application allows. For instance, if you want to allow diskless hosts to boot from your machine, you must provide the TFTP (trivial file transfer service) so that they can download basic configuration files from the /boot directory. However, when used unrestricted, TFTP allows any user anywhere in the world to download any world-readable file from your system. If this is not what you want, why not restrict TFTP service to the /boot directory?
Along the same line of thought, you might want to restrict certain services to users from certain hosts, say from your local network. In chapter-, we introduce tcpd which does this for a variety of network applications.
Another important point is to avoid ``dangerous'' software. Of course, any software you use can be dangerous, because software may have bugs that clever people might exploit to gain access to your system. Things like these happen, and there's no complete protection against this. This problem affects free software and commercial products alike. However, programs that require special privilege are inherently more dangerous than others, because any loophole can have drastic consequences. If you install a setuid program for network purposes be doubly careful that you don't miss anything from the documentation, so that you don't create a security breach by accident.
You can never rule out that your precautions might fail, regardless how careful you have been. You should therefore make sure you detect intruders early. Checking the system log files is a good starting point, but the intruder is probably as clever, and will delete any obvious traces he or she left. However, there are tools like tripwire that allow you to check vital system files to see if their contents or permissions have been changed. tripwire computes various strong checksums over these files and stores them in a database. During subsequent runs, the checksums are re-computed and compared to the stored ones to detect any modifications.
Next: Outlook on the Following Up: Maintaining Your System Previous: Maintaining Your System Andrew Anderson
Thu Mar 7 23:22:06 EST 1996 | <urn:uuid:cbae9b14-71cf-4bba-9fdf-ff9acb8f6c4b> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | http://rus-linux.net/MyLDP/BOOKS/nag/node21.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496670597.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20191120162215-20191120190215-00139.warc.gz | en | 0.933499 | 845 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount dismantled Jewish religious leaders’ status quo. Their status quo was based on a bunch of rules, laws, works and good deeds. Jesus taught that only faith could define our destiny and that living outside our faith is foolish.
Their status quo taught that happiness was about accumulating personal possessions and wealth.
In the Beatitudes Jesus taught that blessings come from being poor in spirit.
Living by the status quo meant not showing negative emotions. Appearing as having it all together. It still works that way today.
But Jesus said those who mourn would be blessed. His idea of mourning was a deep sadness and grief directly related to a brokenness that leads to repentance. He taught without brokenness we can not be blessed. The religious status quo turned a blind eye to repentance.
The status quo of religion was about being right no matter what. Jesus taught a blessed life was about being righteous and holy. That the evidence of our holiness was in our gentle and caring acts of kindness to others.
As we read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew we understand something. What Jesus taught in His day we can apply to our lives today. The ones who will truly be blessed in our day are the ones who live diametrically opposed to the rules of performance-based religion.
Today's post was inspired by a message from Gearl Spicer, Pastor at One Heart Church, Norcross, Georgia | <urn:uuid:8b9f58b4-034f-4563-9864-f151508d6456> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://stevensawyer.wordpress.com/2015/06/11/jesus-dismantled-religions-status-quo/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057615.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20210925082018-20210925112018-00571.warc.gz | en | 0.974171 | 292 | 2.828125 | 3 |
A study published in the journal Nature Communications, called ‘The genomic and functional landscapes of developmental plasticity in the American cockroach,” found that cockroaches have a unique set of genes that gives them the capacity to thrive almost anywhere.
The several types of cockroaches used by the team from the South China Normal University had their essential building blocks drilled down. After the animal’s DNA was sequenced, the researchers observed that the American cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, have the second most significant known genome sequence of all insects.
These American cockroaches were found to be more genetically alike to some termite species than to other cockroach species.
Among other types, the DNA of the Australian cockroaches and smoky-brown cockroaches were sequenced as well. The team proceeded to compare them with already existing genetic informati0n from German cockroaches and termites.
The American Cockroach
Also called the ship cockroach, kakerlac, or waterbug, this species of insect is often considered a pest. Its origin dates back to the Carboniferous period, about 300 million years ago. It is mostly considered by the science community that its emerge occurred on the Pangea, or maybe in Gondwana. As it is a highly adaptative animal, it overcame the changes on Earth in those years, making it able to survive the massive extinction that other species did suffer.
Nevertheless, like many other species, the cockroach had to evolve to survive over the years, meaning its organism is a thoroughly modern developed one. This happened during the Quaternary period.
The cockroach is divided into three sections. The first part, the body, is a flat, broad oval, with a shield-shaped pronotum that covers its head. The second one is the pronotum, a plate-like structure which includes all or part of the dorsal surface of the thorax. The third and last section is the abdomen.
Besides a chewing mouth, long, segmented antennae, and leathery forewings with delicate hind wings, it also has a pair of large compound eyes, and each of them has over 2000 individual lenses. Compound eyes have reduced image resolution. However, the view angle is substantial, and they allow to have the capability to detect swift movement and the polarization of light.
The American cockroach is one of the fastest running insects. An experiment studied the record speed of one cockroach, and it reached 5.4 km/h (3.4 mph) – which translates into 50 body lengths per second. This was then estimated on human speed, which would represent a human being running at 330 km/h (201 mph).
Dissecting the cockroaches
The team found that the cockroaches had nearly as twice as many olfactory receptors (OR) as other insect species, making them have an incredible sense of smell. This, according to the study, represents a more accessible detection of traces of food, especially fermenting foods, which are the ones preferred by the Periplaneta americana.
The researchers explained that the examination showed that the American cockroach had over 500 gustatory receptors, which gives them the ability to withstand a more diverse diet, eventually helping the species to adapt.
The cockroaches adapted quickly as well when living in urban environments, considering the team found that the insects had several genes that allow them to face toxic environments. They also described how these cockroaches had more enzymes, making them capable of breaking down toxins and helping their immune stronger. In the research, the team explained:
“Our genomic and functional analyses in the American cockroach provided insights into its success in the adaptation to urban environments and the biology of developmental plasticity in cockroaches. Our study may shed light on both controlling and making use of this insect.”
So what does this all mean?
The final characteristic the team was able to found in the cockroach’s DNA was the genes that are responsible for re-growing broken limbs. The researchers amputated, systematically, the insects’ limbs and observed they were, in most cases, able to regrow. However, it also depended on the severity of the injury.
This inspiring and hope-giving trait delighted the science community, as the found-DNA immediately started a process of healing and tissue regrowth – which later led the scientists to open a new path to further research, which will be studying how the cockroaches generate new tissue.
The team expects to discover the full potential of the healing properties of the cockroaches’ DNA, especially the “growth factor.” In the traditional Chinese medicine, these insects are ground up and use for several kinds of treatments because of this overwhelming regenerative power.
“We’ve uncovered the secret of why people call it ‘xiao qiang’. Now we want to know the secrets of Chinese medicine,” claimed the led author of the study, Sheng Li. | <urn:uuid:dd98759e-1004-4d85-92b2-d8591c138c73> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://www.pulseheadlines.com/study-shows-cockroaches-almost-impossible-kill/71091/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038098638.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20210417011815-20210417041815-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.964837 | 1,037 | 3.890625 | 4 |
For pet owners with both dogs & cats at home, you would agree that cats are prone to dehydration. It happens especially when they aren’t properly cared for. Cats don’t like drinking water as much as dogs do. So, there is a fair chance that your cat might avoid drinking enough water for days and get dehydrated. Just like humans, the feline body is comprised mostly of water.
So, water is no doubt a vital requirement for cats as well. Lack of appropriate water can lead to improper functioning of the body organs & other crucial body structures. A dehydrated cat can suffer mentally as well as physically.
Even though a veterinary visit is crucial for a dehydrated cat, you must understand that you can try several home remedies to help your pet especially the homemade electrolytes for cats.
But, before we help you understand the process of preparing these homemade electrolytes, you need to understand the right way to detect whether your cat is dehydrated.
Note: A best automatic cat water fountain is a device that provides fresh, moving water for cats. A cat’s instinctual response to a running stream of water is to drink from it, and the sound of flowing water may entice your pet to use the fountain.
How to detect if your cat is suffering from dehydration?
Water is essential for the healthy growth of your cat. If the cat doesn’t ingest enough water, vomits caused by illness, or suffers from extreme heat exposure, it could lead to disastrous consequences. This reduction in water intake causes a serious drop in the animal’s body water levels & electrolyte levels.
Consecutively, the animal’s body will struggle to distribute the nutrients needed for the body tissues properly. It will result in a moisture imbalance for the organism, which will show up as physical signs such as:
- Dry gums
- Constant tiredness
- Appetite loss
- Decaying gums
If the dehydration isn’t treated properly and quickly, the cat can suffer from severe kidney damage. In time, the animal’s body immunity shall collapse and cause the demise of the cat.
Your veterinarian would conduct a complete urine and blood analysis to get a medical diagnosis of your dehydrated cat. It will help determine the dehydration severity.
However, as an owner, you should also do your part to check whether the feline is dehydrated. It will help you provide the initial home therapy before a vet visit.
To check whether the cat is dehydrated, you need to pinch the skin of the cat. Now, see if the skin returns immediately to its original state.
If it takes time, it is likely a sign of dehydration. However, this technique isn’t foolproof. In overweight or obese cats, the skin returns easily to normal even when the feline is dealing with dehydration.
Additionally, if you see that the cat’s eyes have sunken & the mouth feels dry, both can point towards dehydration.
Once dehydration is confirmed, you can start using home remedies to help your cat feel better before a veterinarian visit.
Practice Caution When Providing Water to Your Cat
Your dehydrated feline must consume water right away to recover its health. As a pet owner, you must provide water to your cat immediately but gradually. Here, the word gradually is the key. A dehydrated cat would want to drink as much water as possible. However, this is something you must avoid at all costs.
Ingesting bulk of water in one go can result in vomit. In addition, it would cause more fluid loss and irritate the digestive tract.
So, offer water to your cat in small amounts and a slow yet gradual manner.
Ice Chips for Your Dehydrated Cat
As explained earlier, dehydrated cats must consume water but in small amounts. Thus, it will avoid stomach irritation or vomiting. So, an excellent way to help your cat is by providing them some ice chips.
In this way, the cats can consume the required amount of water without being too heavy on the stomach.
Try to scrape the ice into small bits. It will help your cat suck in the water easily. However, giving them complete ice cubes could lead to issues like choking.
Electrolytes: What are they?
Electrolytes are minerals or chemical elements that form the necessary ions in the body fluids. These electrolytes are essential for body cells that need to function normally.
There are several benefits of providing electrolytes to your cats.
Benefits of Electrolytes for Cats
Electrolytes are important for your cats because they help in regulating muscle and nerve functions. It also helps balance the blood acidity & allows the bodily processes to function in a glitch-free manner. When cats receive inadequate water, the body responds by extracting the fluid from the cells.
It leads to electrolytes loss such as calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
The presence of an appropriate amount of electrolytes helps the body cells function normally. But, on the other hand, the imbalance in bodily functions can affect the organs and other systems.
So, giving your cat the right amount of water and electrolytes is essential or rather crucial.
How do veterinarians diagnose dehydration in cats?
It isn’t wise to self-diagnose your cat, and a veterinary visit is a must. Loss of electrolytes or dehydration could be caused due to various reasons. Your cat might have an undiagnosed condition with electrolyte disturbance as a symptom of the same. A veterinarian can guide you well in terms of the treatment needed.
Your veterinarian will diagnose the dehydration in any of the ways described below:
The first thing your veterinarian would do is a physical examination of the cat. The doctor will examine the cat’s heart rate, skin, respiratory rate, eyes, hair, and other reflexes to check whether it is an underlying condition or just dehydration.
Your veterinarian might order a CBD or Complete Blood Diagnosis to check out which electrolyte has been off balance due to dehydration. Your veterinarian might also discover similar underlying conditions such as anemia or kidney disease that could contribute to dehydration.
Your veterinarian might also want to collect some urine samples to analyze the electrolyte composition and determine what’s wrong.
If there is no clear indication from urine or blood tests, your veterinarian might conduct a radiograph, ultrasound, or X-ray. It will help determine the underlying conditions that could cause dehydration in cats.
Electrolytes for Cats: A Healthy Homemade Start (MAking)
Apart from consuming clean and fresh water, your cat must get a gradual boost of electrolytes. To help your cat, you can purchase oral serums or fluids from your local veterinary clinic. However, it is not always possible for pet owners to get these clinical serums or electrolytes. So, you can prepare your very own electrolyte for the cat.
Here is a quick recipe for your cat to help them replenish the electrolyte.
- 1-liter mineral water (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon salt (check with your vet and use potassium salt only if suggested)
- Half teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoon honey
How to make the homemade electrolyte for your cat?
To create this serum, you must start by boiling the water. Next, turn off your heater, and now slowly add other ingredients. Finally, let it stand untouched in the kitchen until it attains room temperature. This concoction is usable for a maximum of 24 hours & must be stored in the refrigerator covered with a re-sealable lid to keep away any contamination.
Make sure you offer this solution to your cat in small amounts. If your cat doesn’t like the taste, try to provide it via the syringe feeding technique. If this doesn’t work for your cat, make sure you immediately contact your veterinarian.
The Pedialyte Home-Made Electrolyte
According to the WHO, the Pedialyte recipe gives your cat the necessary electrolytes and sugar to boost energy. However, as this formula doesn’t have any preservatives, it can only last 2 to 3 days maximum. It should also be refrigerated to keep it fresh for a long time.
Things You Will Need:
- 11/2 Cups of Water
- ¼ Tablespoon of Salt
- 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
- ¼ Tablespoon of Baking Soda
Feeding Your Dehydrated Cat
When talking about feeding a dehydrated cat, one should be cautious. Such cats lose their normal appetite & develop digestive disorders as they lose the water in their body. So, dehydration is closely associated with the onset of malnutrition.
A dehydrated feline must stick to a cautious diet to ensure the condition doesn’t get aggravated. If you have been giving your cat some dry food, it is better to switch to moist options that contain a good amount of water. You can also prepare food for the cat at home, rich in nutrition and water content.
How Can You Avoid feline Dehydration?
Diagnosing the presence of dehydration in your cat can be a complex process, especially if they suffer are overweight or obese. In most cases, the symptoms are only visible when the condition becomes very severe. So, prevention is undoubtedly the best strategy to help keep up the health quotient for your pets.
No home remedy is better than ensuring that your cat drinks fresh and clean water daily. Also, keep in mind to wash the bowl or fountain regularly to keep off any contamination. Finally, it is important for cats that drink less to provide wet food to keep up the water quotient.
Remember that these remedies do not serve as a substitute for veterinarian attention. So, always visit the veterinarian for a quick health check for the cat.
Our 9 ways to encourage your cat to drink more water help your a lot in keeping your cat hydrated while on the other side if you know how to disinfect cat water fountain then you can keep it clean and tidy which naturally cats love.
Electrolytes or water per se is important for a cat to be healthy. In most cases, your cat avoiding a quick sip could just come from the lack of taste in plain water. The key is to make things interesting for the cats. You could either switch those plain, old water bowls with cat water fountains or add flavors that cats love.
Always remember, clean and fresh water is all your cat needs. So, change the water regularly and avoid any algae or slime formation as it could deter your cat from drinking water. | <urn:uuid:ac0ef3e2-8137-4837-ae79-e9a1f26f6cc4> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://catsfountains.com/homemade-electrolytes-for-cats/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510454.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20230928194838-20230928224838-00097.warc.gz | en | 0.932849 | 2,221 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The Raspberry Turk is a robot that can play chess. It is completely open source and the methods for building it are documented on this website. The project is written almost entirely in Python, runs on a Raspberry Pi, and incorporates aspects of computer vision, data science, machine learning, robotics, 3D printing, and—of course—chess.
The Raspberry Turk is inspired by the Mechanical Turk, a chess-playing machine constructed in the late 18th century. I learned about this fascinating device years ago, and recently read The Turk by Tom Standage. After having recently studied machine learning, I decided a chess playing robot could be a fun project to apply some learned material.
The Mechanical Turk won most of its games, touring through Europe and America and playing famous people of that time, such as Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte. The device, which was claimed to be a purely mechanical creation, remained a mystery to spectators for most of its lifetime. Famously, Edgar Allan Poe wrote an article speculating on how it could work.
Wherever seen it has been an object of intense curiosity, to all persons who think. Yet the question of its modus operandi is still undetermined. Nothing has been written on this topic which can be considered as decisive — and accordingly we find every where men of mechanical genius, of great general acuteness, and discriminative understanding, who make no scruple in pronouncing the Automaton a pure machine, unconnected with human agency in its movements, and consequently, beyond all comparison, the most astonishing of the inventions of mankind. And such it would undoubtedly be, were they right in their supposition. | <urn:uuid:e71e07fa-f4ce-40f4-985c-fab39fc7b3d0> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | http://www.raspberryturk.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439738913.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20200812171125-20200812201125-00024.warc.gz | en | 0.972441 | 338 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Consumer Reports is following the trend of recent exposes on fish fraud. In a new investigation, the magazine uncovered that one in five pieces of fish for sale are mislabeled.
The findings complement our own: Earlier this week, Oceana found a similar fraud rate in the Boston area, and in a separate Boston study, the Boston Globe found that almost half of tested fish samples were being sold under a false name.
Here’s what Consumer Reports discovered by doing DNA testing on fish samples from restaurants and grocery stores in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut:
It’s easy for dishonest businesses to pull off fish fraud. Rules about labeling leave wiggle room, and hardly any seafood is inspected for fraud. Investigations like this one are crucial for raising awareness about the issue and making sure government officials know we care about what’s on our plates. After all, seafood fraud hurts our wallets, our health, and our oceans.
Oceana is calling on the government to stop seafood fraud by enforcing current laws, inspecting more fish, and making sure agencies work together to stop dishonest businesses from ripping consumers off. You can help by telling your Senators to fight seafood fraud!
We’re down to the last sea turtle in our trivia series, and it’s the least understood species of all – the flatback.
Flatback sea turtles nest only in Australia, and as a result of their limited range they are are poorly understood and at serious risk. Fortunately, Australia is working hard to protect large portions of the flatback’s habitat.
In addition to their namesake flat shells, flatbacks can be recognized by their olive-grey tops and yellow bellies. These turtles are known to float on the surface of the ocean, sunning their shells, often with birds on their backs. Flatbacks eat primarily fish, mollusks, and sea squirts.
Flatback turtles are caught accidentally in fishing nets, and they made up the majority of turtle bycatch in the Northern Prawn Fishery until turtle excluder devices – i.e. escape hatches -- were introduced. Other threats to flatbacks include coastal pollution and habitat degradation.
Oceana’s sea turtle campaign focuses on preventing sea turtle bycatch, protecting habitat, and promoting legislation that keeps turtles safe. You can learn more about flatback sea turtles from Oceana’s marine wildlife encyclopedia.
If you can tweet us the name of every type of sea turtle, you could win a tote bag. That’s it for our sea turtle themed trivia! We’ll be back next week with more fun facts about other ocean animals.
Every year, our research vessel, the Oceana Ranger, explores new areas of the ocean and collects scientific data – and incredible photos! -- to help protect vulnerable marine habitats.
This week, our colleagues in Europe presented their findings to an environmental rule-making body in the Northeast Atlantic, and we’re hopeful that it will lead to exciting new ocean protection measures.
Europe’s Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) offers guidelines about threatened species and habitat types that should be protected. However, these principles rely on old and incomplete data, so countries have had trouble using them effectively.
Although Norway, the UK, and Germany have already taken steps to explore and protect their seafloor communities, Spain and Portugal have had much less information about their oceans and so have been less active in preserving it.
But thanks to our expedition findings, that might change. Oceana presented OSPAR with findings about coral gardens, deep sea sponges and seapen communities from our expeditions in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. In total, our scientists presented 28 previously unknown areas that have these types of habitats.
These habitats are home to some of the most diverse and unique communities in the oceans. Creating marine protected areas to preserve them can go a long way in keeping the oceans and everything that lives in them healthy.
Here’s hoping that today’s presentation will pave the way for both continued scientific study and additional protections.
Oceana in Chile has been working for several years to keep bottom trawlers out of the most vulnerable marine ecosystems in the nation’s waters.
Back in 2009, we proposed a bill that would close all 118 seamounts in Chile to bottom trawlers, and this week our staff participated in a discussion of the bill by the Chilean Senate’s Fisheries Committee.
Bottom trawling, one of the most destructive forms of fishing, uses a huge, heavy net to scrape the seafloor. Trawlers are indiscriminate, which results in overfishing and the accidental entanglement of animals including sea turtles and marine mammals. And these heavy nets destroy everything in their paths, including coral reefs.
Chile’s seamounts are home to jewel-toned coral reefs and fish, mammals such as fur seals and sea lions, and many more beautiful and unusual creatures. Some of these seamounts are home to species that can be found no where else in the world. Every pass of a bottom trawler turns swaths of these seamounts into barren wastelands.
Oceana’s 2009 proposal would ban bottom trawling on all 118 seamounts until this fishing technique is scientifically proven not to damage the ecosystems in question. Estimates suggest that this ban would have affected only 0.09% of Chile’s seafood exports in 2009.
Alex Muñoz, Oceana’s Vice President for South America, said about the bill, “Protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems that are threatened by trawling not only is important from an ecological point of view but also enhances the productivity of the fisheries that depend on these habitats.”
South America has been making important strides to protect their vulnerable ecosystems. Last year, Chile created a 150,000 square kilometer no-take marine reserve around Sala y Gómez Island and Belize banned bottom trawling throughout its waters.
Editor's note: October is National Seafood Month, and to celebrate, we’ll be featuring a series of blog posts about seafood, sustainable fishing and health. Today we’re taking on mercury.
Maybe when you think of mercury you think of old thermometers. But did you know that mercury in seafood can affect your health?
As a result of antiquated manufacturing techniques, a few chlorine factories release mercury pollution into nearby rivers and streams, which ends up in the ocean, where it travels up the food chain, becoming more and more concentrated in larger and larger fish, including favorites such as tuna and swordfish.
What’s the danger of mercury in fish? Mercury is a neurotoxin and can cause symptoms such as headaches, foggy thinking, muscle stiffness, dizziness, nausea, and hair loss. Mercury is dangerous for women who are or may become pregnant because children are particularly susceptible to the effects of mercury poisoning.
The best way to protect yourself and your family is to learn what kinds of seafood have high mercury levels and to consume these only in moderation. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide contains information about mercury levels as well as about sustainability.
We’ve made progress over the years, both in requiring stores to provide information about mercury and in getting companies to switch to less dangerous ways of producing chlorine. However, mercury in fish remains an issue. Just this summer, Oceana was instrumental in convincing the Spanish government to release a study finding that more than half of mako shark and swordfish samples had dangerous levels of mercury.
You can learn more about mercury and you can also take action by asking Walmart and Sam’s Club to post safety notifications about mercury in fish.
Today’s trivia post is about an animal we talk about a lot: the loggerhead sea turtle.
Loggerheads are named for their broad heads and strong jaws, which they use to force open even large hard shellfish like conchs and giant clams. Loggerheads are found throughout tropical and warm temperate waters, and are the most common sea turtle in the Mediterranean. Loggerheads have a redder hue than most sea turtles, and they are often coated in barnacles and algae.
Because they drink salty sea water, they have developed glands near their eyes that can get rid of this salt, which makes females onshore to nest look like they’re crying. Scientists theorize that adult loggerheads use the Earth’s magnetism to navigate – how cool is that?
Loggerheads, which are considered endangered, are frequently caught accidentally by the fishing industry; other threats include beach erosion and development, pesticides, and oil spills. Oceana’s sea turtle campaign focuses on preventing sea turtle bycatch, protecting habitat, and promoting legislation that keeps turtles safe.
You can learn more about loggerhead sea turtles from Oceana’s marine wildlife encyclopedia.
Who doesn’t love the unicorns of the sea?
Narwhals, like dolphins and whales, are cetaceans, although they are found almost exclusively in the Arctic Ocean. Because narwhals spend so much time in icy waters, about a third of their weight is blubber to stay warm.
Narwhals are known for their unicorn-like tusk — which is actually a tooth! All narwhals have two teeth, but in most male narwhals, one of these teeth grows through the upper lip and can be as long as ten feet. Sometimes males will have two tusks or none, and occasionally females grow tusks.
Scientists aren’t quite sure why narwhals grow tusks. One idea is that males use them to prove their worth as mates and compete with other males. Another theory is that narwhals use their tusks to skewer food or mix up bottom sediments, but this doesn’t explain why female narwhals typically don’t have horns.
Just like human teeth, narwhal tusks contain blood vessels and sensory tissue—but on the outside of the tusk, so other scientists think they may be used to figure out where ice is forming, how salty water is, or what prey is nearby.
Narwhals eat squid, octopus, fish, and shellfish. Because they have only two teeth (and one usually can’t be used to chew), they usually swallow their food whole. They have also developed a special hunting technique that uses suction and water jets to pull fish and mollusks off the seafloor.
These mammals can live for as long as 50 years. They spend most of their time in small groups of less than ten narwhals, typically of only one gender, but these small groups can join forces in herds of hundreds.
Scientists believe there are about 80,000 narwhals in the Arctic right now, but are not sure whether these animals are thriving. In addition to subsistence hunting by Inuit for their skin and blubber, narwhals are also hunted for their horns. And climate change could cause serious disruptions to their lives, which are based around pack ice.
Learn more about narwhals and other fascinating sea animals at Oceana’s marine encyclopedia.
Editor's note: October is National Seafood Month, and to celebrate, we’ll be featuring a series of blog posts about seafood, sustainable fishing and health. Today we’re schooling you on bottom trawling.
When you’re enjoying a tasty seafood meal, you’re probably not thinking about habitat destruction and accidentally caught marine animals. (Or at least I hope you’re not, it might give you indigestion.) But unfortunately, in many cases, before seafood gets to your plate, those two things may have been part of the equation.
Take bottom trawling, which is the most destructive commercial fishing method on the planet. Bottom trawlers scrape huge, heavy nets across the seafloor, destroying everything in their path. Trawling destroys more seabed habitat each year than the world’s annual loss of tropical rainforest. One study found that trawling destroys 16 pounds of marine animals for every pound of sole brought to markets.
Trawling is designed to catch as many fish as possible, and is used particularly to target shrimp, cod, haddock, flounder, and rockfish. Dredging, which is a similar practice, is used to catch shellfish like scallops and clams. Currently, more than half the fish eaten in the US is the product of trawling.
Fishermen have been trawling for years, but in the 1980s, technological advances allowed them to begin trawling through coral reefs, which they previously had to avoid to protect their fishing gear.
Unfortunately, we know now the huge damage that even one pass of a trawler can cause reefs. In one study in Alaska, as much as two-thirds of some sponges damaged by one pass of a trawler had not recovered a full year later.
Reefs are an important home for fish, so trawling can also ruin fish stocks into the future – even for responsible and recreational fishermen.
Recently, we’ve seen important measures to stop trawling. Earlier this year, a group of North Pacific nations, including the US, agreed to protect more than 16.1 million square miles of seafloor from trawling. Just a month later, Belize banned trawling from its waters.
We’ve made a lot of progress to stop this destructive fishing method. You can help by paying attention to the seafood you buy. Check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch site to get their guide to sustainable seafood, also available on paper or your smartphone, and tasty recipes to make with these fish.
Leatherback sea turtles are the largest species of marine turtle and the only one to lack a hard shell made of scales.
Instead, these gentle giants have a softer shell made of bone and skin with seven ridges along their backs. Also unlike other sea turtles, leatherbacks do not have claws on their front flippers.
Even more unusual is that leatherbacks, unlike most reptiles, have some control over their body temperatures, making them warm-blooded. They have a thick layer of fat under their skin and a special blood supply system in their shoulders that can keep them warmer than the water around them, which means they can live both further away from the tropics and in deeper waters than other sea turtles.
Leatherback sea turtles eat mostly jellyfish, and are equipped with special spikes in their throats to keep the slimy creatures from escaping. Their jellyfish-heavy diet probably contributes to reports of leatherback turtle flesh sometimes being toxic to humans.
Like other sea turtles, leatherback turtles lay their eggs on sandy beaches, however, about 20% are “vanos,” or small, yolkless eggs that will never hatch. All the eggs in a clutch are either masculine or feminine—do you know what determines the gender of the eggs? It’s this week’s trivia question on Twitter, so if you live in the US answer now for your chance to win!
Leatherback sea turtles are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN. Threats include being entangled in fishing gear; human collection of eggs and hunting of adult turtles for meat and shell; ingestion of plastic bags, which they mistake for jellyfish; and the effects of climate change on nesting behavior and success. Atlantic populations are considered slightly healthier than Pacific populations, which have seen several important collapses since scientists began tracking sea turtles.
Oceana’s sea turtle campaign focuses on preventing sea turtle bycatch, protecting habitat, and promoting legislation that keeps turtles safe.
You can learn more about leatherback sea turtles from Oceana’s marine wildlife encyclopedia.
Unsurprisingly, the Caribbean reef octopus is found throughout the Caribbean, deep within coral reefs. It can grow up to 40 inches long, including its tentacles. As a defense mechanism, it can change color—from blue-green and brown to shimmery red—as well as texture.
Caribbean reef octopuses establish lairs in the reef, which they often disguise with rocks and coral. Although they move their dens regularly, they protect them fiercely. If a strange octopus does not retreat, the defender will sometimes even strangle and eat it.
The same fate awaits unlucky male octopuses who try to mate with uninterested females. If attacked when hunting, the Caribbean reef octopus can pull water into itself, then shoot it out to speed the other way, often also releasing a cloud of ink to confuse predators.
Octopuses hunt at dawn or dusk, which is typical for crustaceans like crabs and shrimp. These cephalopods are fished locally, but not on a large scale, and they are not believed to be at risk of extinction, although they may struggle if the reefs they call home disappear.
Learn more about the Caribbean reef octopus and other fascinating animals at Oceana’s marine life encyclopedia. | <urn:uuid:fc2cab03-8d76-444c-8897-8a572934417e> | CC-MAIN-2013-48 | http://oceana.org/en/print/blogs/meghan-bartels?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-48/segments/1386163054000/warc/CC-MAIN-20131204131734-00098-ip-10-33-133-15.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951152 | 3,584 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Religious Beliefs. The supernatural world of the Iroquois included numerous deities, the most important of which was Great Spirit, who was responsible for the creation of human beings, the plants and animals, and the forces of good in nature. The Iroquois believed that Great Spirit indirectly guided the lives of ordinary people. Other important deities were Thunderer and the Three Sisters, the spirits of Maize, Beans, and Squash. Opposing the Great Spirit and the other forces of good were Evil Spirit and other lesser spirits responsible for disease and other misfortune. In the Iroquois view ordinary humans could not communicate directly with Great Spirit, but could do so indirectly by burning tobacco, which carried their prayers to the lesser spirits of good. The Iroquois regarded dreams as important supernatural signs, and serious attention was given to interpreting dreams. It was believed that dreams expressed the desire of the soul, and as a result the fulfillment of a dream was of paramount importance to the individual.
Around 1800 a Seneca sachem named Handsome Lake received a series of visions which he believed showed the way for the Iroquois to regain their lost cultural integrity and promised supernatural aid to all those who followed him. The Handsome Lake religion emphasized many traditional elements of Iroquoian culture, but also incorporated Quaker beliefs and aspects of White culture. In the 1960s, at least half of the Iroquoian people accepted the Handsome Lake Religion.
Religious Practitioners. Full-time religious specialists were absent; however, there were part-time male and female specialists known as keepers of the faith whose primary responsibilities were to arrange and conduct the main religious ceremonies. Keepers of the faith were appointed by matrisib elders and were accorded considerable prestige.
Ceremonies. Religious ceremonies were tribal affairs Concerned primarily with farming, curing illness, and thanksgiving. In the sequence of occurrence, the six major ceremonies were the Maple, Planting, Strawberry, Green Maize, Harvest, and Mid-Winter or New Year's festivals. The first five in this sequence involved public confessions followed by group Ceremonies which included speeches by the keepers of the faith, tobacco offerings, and prayer. The New Year's festival was usually held in early February and was marked by dream interpretations and the sacrifice of a white dog offered to purge the people of evil.
Arts. One of the most interesting Iroquoian art forms is the False Face Mask. Used in the curing ceremonies of the False Face Societies, the masks are made of maple, white pine, basswood, and poplar. False Face Masks are first carved in a living tree, then cut free and painted and decorated. The masks represent spirits who reveal themselves to the mask maker in a prayer and tobacco-burning ritual performed Before the mask is carved.
Medicine. Illness and disease were attributed to supernatural causes. Curing ceremonies consisted of group shamanistic practices directed toward propitiating the responsible Supernatural agents. One of the curing groups was the False Face Society. These societies were found in each village and, except for a female keeper of the false faces who protected the ritual paraphernalia, consisted only of male members who had dreamed of participation in False Face ceremonies.
Death and Afterlife. When a sachem died and his successor was nominated and confirmed, the other tribes of the League were informed and the League council met to perform a condolence ceremony in which the deceased sachem was mourned and the new sachem was installed. The sachem's condolence ceremony was still held on Iroquois reservations in the 1970s. Condolence ceremonies were also practiced for common people. In early historic times the dead were buried in a sitting position facing east. After the burial, a captured bird was released in the belief that it carried away the spirit of the deceased. In earlier times the dead were left exposed on a wooden scaffolding, and after a time their bones were deposited in a special house of the deceased. The Iroquois believed, as some continue to believe today, that after death the soul embarked on a journey and series of ordeals that ended in the land of the dead in the sky world. Mourning for the dead lasted a year, at the end of which time the soul's journey was believed to be complete and a feast was held to signify the soul's arrival in the land of the dead. | <urn:uuid:f3747443-87ee-41e7-92d3-bb5b379d9d49> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | http://www.everyculture.com/North-America/Iroquois-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818687606.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170921025857-20170921045857-00402.warc.gz | en | 0.981089 | 899 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Driving is serious business, requiring concentration, caution, and common sense. Isn't that what we tell 16-year-olds as they get their licenses?
Unfortunately, it isn't what a lot of their elders practice. Recent evidence of that comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issued an advisory about the hazards of mixing cellphones and other gadgetry with driving.
The agency cited growing data that drivers distracted by phone conversations or on-board computer screens can cause collisions. It also warned the manufacturers of such equipment that they should take safety into account in designing their products.
An official warning is not a law, and efforts to pass laws regarding cell-phone use while driving have failed in the United States, though a number of other countries have such laws. But the warning should cause people to reconsider their habits on the road.
At the least, it may be best to forget the phone when the traffic is bad or the weather severe.
Certainly the phones can be useful, and probably even safety-enhancing when employed as really needed. That's a judgment call. But judgment is the essence of good driving.
In that regard, judgment ought to dictate obedience to traffic laws. Speed limits, stop signs, etc. exist for good reasons. But highway-safety institutes, state police departments, and others report a serious lack of respect for these laws among Americans. People appear ready to take chances and risk fines in order to save a few minutes. Many drivers, according to research, feel no compunction about breaking traffic laws.
But they ought to. Traffic safety is a community effort that enhances everyone's well-being. There is a moral obligation to stop at stop signs, stay focused on the road, and set a good example for tomorrow's drivers.
(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society | <urn:uuid:a3e32a5b-fa34-484f-b7fc-117f09523d86> | CC-MAIN-2016-18 | http://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0728/p10s2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461864121714.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428172201-00004-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965516 | 374 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Technology News 514 - the air quantity estimator (AQE): a new computer software tool for large-opening mine ventilation planning.
Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2006-124, (TN 514), 2006 Mar; :1-2
In 2002, regulatory standards were enacted in the United States that limit the allowable diesel particulate matter (DPM) concentrations in underground mines. Mine operators have several engineering controls available to reduce DPM emissions from engine exhaust, including the use of catalytic converters, filters, low-sulfur fuel, and cleaner burning engines. In addition, administrative controls, such as regulating the length of time a diesel-powered vehicle operates underground, may also effectively reduce DPM concentrations. Finally, DPM concentrations can be reduced by increasing the overall ventilation airflow in the mine. Increased ventilation airflow can be achieved by installing large-volume fans and using stoppings or auxiliary fans to direct this ventilation air to the working face of the mine. To help mine operators evaluate their site-specific conditions for DPM control as part of the mine planning process, NIOSH engineers have developed a computer software tool called the Air Quantity Estimator (AQE). The AQE addresses the ventilation needs of large-opening (typically at least 40-ft-wide and 20-ft-high) metal/nonmetal mines.
Computer-software; Ventilation; Mining-industry; Underground-mining; Ventilation-systems; Diesel-emissions; Air-flow; Nonmetal-mining; Stone-mines; Health-hazards; Occupational-health; Hazards
NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
Technology News; Numbered Publication
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2006-124; TN-514
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health | <urn:uuid:77531dc1-c431-4a7f-a9ac-2d8019c39a2c> | CC-MAIN-2017-43 | https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nioshtic-2/20029714.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-43/segments/1508187825889.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20171023092524-20171023112524-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.855653 | 421 | 2.6875 | 3 |
24 March 2020
New Delhi: As novel coronavirus wreaks havoc on the world and its economy, China is apparently witnessing resurgence of another virus -– this time from rodents that reside in the dark underbelly of our world.
Global Times tweeted on Tuesday that a person from "Yunnan Province died while on his way back to Shandong Province for work on a chartered bus on Monday. He was tested positive for #hantavirus. Other 32 people on bus were tested".
The tweet went viral on various social media platforms, with people saying does ‘coronavirus needs a backup now?"
"I think am ready to move to another planet. Honestly," tweeted one user.
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease in humans caused by infection with hantaviruses.
Early symptoms of HPS include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders.
An infected person may also experience headaches, dizziness, chills, and abdominal problems.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes in people worldwide.
Infection with any hantavirus can produce hantavirus disease in people.
Hantaviruses in the Americas are known as "New World" hantaviruses and may cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Other hantaviruses, known as "Old World" hantaviruses, are found mostly in Europe and Asia and may cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).
Each hantavirus serotype has a specific rodent host species and is spread to people via aerosolized virus that is shed in urine, feces, and saliva, and less frequently by a bite from an infected host.
Anyone who comes into contact with rodents that carry hantaviruses is at risk of HPS. Rodent infestation in and around the home remains the primary risk for hantavirus exposure. Even healthy individuals are at risk for HPS infection if exposed to the virus.
In Chile and Argentina, rare cases of person-to-person transmission have occurred among close contacts of a person who was ill with a type of hantavirus called Andes virus, according to the CDC.
However, not all were impressed by the news.
"Hanta virus has been around since the 1970s. Human-to-human spread is possible, but very rare. Let's not add fuel to the flame," tweeted one user on Global Times' Twitter handle. | <urn:uuid:7f2a4460-42ef-484c-a440-3f1340e82d76> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.ommcomnews.com/world-news/hantavirus-kills-a-man-in-china-people-frantic-on-social-media | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371893683.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20200410075105-20200410105605-00274.warc.gz | en | 0.966419 | 562 | 2.75 | 3 |
In many respects, the “information age” is anything but. An overwhelming supply of data, powered by advances in technology that ignore the needs and abilities of humans, can do more harm than good. Because of what we’re learning through brain research, which has made great strides in the last decade, we now have an opportunity to do much better. Perhaps no one does a better job of explaining in broadly accessible terms what we now know about the human brain and how it works than developmental molecular biologist John Medina. What’s special about Medina’s work is that he isn’t just delivering the facts; he’s applying them in practical ways to improve our lives.
In Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, Medina takes us on a fascinating journey through the brain, expressing what research has revealed in the form of simple rules that we can follow to live smarter and better, and help others do the same. In the book’s introduction, Medina writes:
Most of us have no idea how our brain works.
This has strange consequences. We try to talk on our cell phones and drive at the same time, even though it is literally impossible for our brains to multitask when it comes to paying attention. We have created high-stress office environments, even though a stressed brain is significantly less productive. Our schools are designed so that most real learning has to occur at home. This would be funny if it weren’t so harmful. Blame it on the fact that brain scientists rarely have a conversation with teachers and business professionals, education majors and accountants, superintendents and CEOs. Unless you have the Journal of Neuroscience sitting on your coffee table, you’re out of the loop.
This book is meant to get you into the loop.
Our classrooms, workplaces, and homes are in many ways designed to thwart brain health, effective learning, personal fulfillment, and overall progress as a species. In many ways, the information technologies that dominate our lives today have contributed to this sad state of affairs, not because of anything inherently wrong with technology, but because most of it was developed without understanding how our brains work. As such, reliance on technology can actually make us unhappy and dumb. This is true of most business intelligence (BI) technology, which is my professional domain. All business intelligence professionals, especially those who develop BI tools, should read this book. You’ll enjoy the process, learn how to live a happier, smarter, and more productive life, and develop an understanding of the brain that will help you more effectively support the goals of business intelligence.
P.S. The website www.brainrules.net provides a great deal of information, including videos, which you can use to preview the book. Also, Garr Reynolds, the author of Presentation Zen, put together a wonderful slideshow that you can view to get the gist of the book, especially as it applies to presenters. | <urn:uuid:88792c3c-8fdf-4254-bd8c-87ae2ab2aaea> | CC-MAIN-2014-52 | http://www.perceptualedge.com/blog/?p=591 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-52/segments/1418802770324.129/warc/CC-MAIN-20141217075250-00036-ip-10-231-17-201.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951686 | 614 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Best of Sicily
Food & Wine
Map of Sicily
B.C. - Before the traditional birth of Jesus Christ. Also B.C.E., before the "common" era.|
Bronze Age - Era of first tools and weapons made from copper and bronze, in Greece
beginning around 3000 BC, prior to Iron Age.
Copper Age - Earliest period of the Bronze Age, varying by region, before copper was alloyed with tin to form bronze for tools and weapons.
Early Minoan - Minoan (Cretan) civilization from 4000 BC to 2100
Indo-European - Many societies of Europe, southern Asia and southwest
Asia, identifiable by 1000 BC based on linguistic similarities.
Iron Age - Era of tools made from iron, beginning around 1200 BC, in Greece around 1100 BC, in Sicily probably with Greeks circa 700 BC. Followed Bronze Age.
Late Bronze Age - In Sicily the era from about 1270 BC until circa 650 BC, immediately prior to Iron Age introduced by Greeks.
Late Minoan - Minoan (Cretan) civilization from 1550 BC to 1100 BC.
Middle Minoan - Minoan (Cretan) civilization from 2100 BC to 1550
Minoan - Aegean civilization of ancient Crete, from 4000 BC to 1100
Mycenean - Late Bronze Age civilization of ancient Peloponnese contemporary to Late Minoan (Cretan) development. Relating to ancient Mycenae.
Phoenician - Semitic language of ancient Phoenicians.
Sicanian - Native people of Sicily, from "sika" for chalcedony
(Italian "selce") found in valleys they inhabited. Origins identified from 2000-1600 BC following Proto-Sicanian cultures.
Sicels - Also Sikels from Greek "Si'Keloi," Italic people
arriving in eastern Sicily circa 1200 BC.
is the world's. Their empire --though vast-- was only half as large as the Mongol
Empire, but more than twice as influential in shaping society on a global
scale long after its demise. It is the standard by which other societies
are measured. At its greatest extent, it encompassed Italy and every land
touching the Mediterranean (Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, Albania, Egypt,
Palestine and Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria,
Libya), Austria, Armenia, most of Britain (including Wales and part of Scotland),
Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria and most of the Balkans, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and
Kuwait, small parts of Persia (Iran) and Arabia, southern Ukraine, Switzerland
and half of Germany. Its sphere of influence was far wider, extending into
Germany, Denmark, Poland, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Language, the calendar, the alphabet, art, architecture, literature, forms of government,
legal systems and even our eating utensils were influenced by Roman civilization.
Despite medieval (post-Roman) influences, the rudimentary blueprint for
what we now call "Western Civilization" was the society of the
ancient Romans. While it presents a balanced view and takes into account
the fundamental equality of diverse peoples, today's multicultural perspective
of world history often overlooks the pre-eminent importance of Rome's defining
role in the history of humanity. During the Renaissance, Italy breathed
new life into the classical Roman tradition. Through colonial expansion,
the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch brought Western European
culture and traditions around the world. The results were not always positive
but they could rarely be ignored.
Influenced by the Etruscans of central Italy and the Greeks of the south,
Roman society evolved from a tribal Italic culture (akin to those of the
Ligurians and Lucanians) to become one of the most sophisticated societies
of all time. European culture was --and is-- defined by its Roman heritage.
It is the single historical influence that all Europeans share, even if
(as in the case of Scandinavians and Slavs) indirectly. Constantinople (capital
of the Eastern Roman Empire) considered herself the second or "new"
Rome and Moscow claimed to be the third. In the early Christian Church,
the Patriarch of Rome was "primus inter pares" (first among equals)
among patriarchs. The medieval rulers of a realm extending from Saxony to
Sicily were "Holy Roman Emperors" crowned by the Pope of Rome
even if, as has been observed, their domain was not holy, Roman or even an empire. In the United States,
modern structures built in imitation of ancient Roman ones house legislative
bodies whose elective representatives are called "senators."
The Romanesque and Neo Classical styles preserved Roman architectural traditions long after the fall of Rome. The English language
(now the world's most widely spoken tongue) is peppered with Latin legal
phrases and numerous words bearing Latin roots, and the page you're reading
is written using the Roman alphabet. Every day, speakers of Spanish, French,
Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and even English and German, use words which
would be perfectly recognizable to the ears of Julius Caesar, though he
would be surprised to witness the enduring influence of his Empire's culture.
The annals of history themself were defined by Romans, with years based
on the birth of Jesus in the Roman province of Judea. Rarely (with the possible
exception of today's Americans) has a single --and singular-- people ever
influenced the lives of so many others. Without doubt the Romans were a
singular people, at once unspeakably cruel and compassionately democratic.
Barbaric and intolerant yet creative and intellectual. The epitome of contradiction.
Willing to embrace foreign cultures but underestimated only at their adversaries'
Sicily became the first Roman province in 227 BC (BCE), although it remained
essentially Greek for centuries. True, the Romans Latinized Sicilian society,
though perhaps not as much as is often believed. However, the accomodation
of local cultures was a key factor in preserving the vast Roman Empire for
a thousand years, and this experiment was first attempted (with success)
in Sicily. In many ways, Greek civilization represented the Romans' mother
culture. Though Latin was introduced, Greek (the "intellectual"
language of upper-class Romans) continued to be widely spoken throughout the Roman rule of Sicily and the regions to
the east. In most cases, bilingual societies emerged, with Latin used by
the invading Romans and in official inscriptions but the local vernacular
being preserved in everyday speech, though perhaps influenced by Latin.
Initially, Latin seems to have had a more general influence in western regions
where there was previously no widely-used written language or where there
was high illiteracy. In its final centuries the Roman Empire, divided into
East and West, continued in Byzantium (Constantinople) long after these
western regions had fallen to invaders.
To understand the Romans' role in Sicily and elsewhere, it is necessary to understand Rome, the people of Rome and the Roman world. (This very concise survey concentrates on Roman Sicily without seeking to present a detailed history of the Roman Empire, which would require volumes.)
Ancient Rome emerged around 700 BC on seven wooded hills along the River
Tiber in Latium in south-central Italy. The earliest Romans, Latins present
in settlements such as the Palatine Hill from about 1000 BC, were greatly
influenced by the more advanced Etruscans, who ruled the territories to
the north and east of Rome, with a capital at Felsina (now Bologna). Little
is known of the origins of the Etruscans, whose language, though probably
not Indo-European, made use of an alphabet influenced by Phoenician and
Greek. Present in Italy from at least 800 BC, the Etruscans knew of the
cultures to the south, including those of the Greeks (Magna Graecia) and
Carthaginians. By 275 BC, the Romans had assimilated with the Etruscans,
as well as various Italic peoples, and controlled the Italian peninsula.
This became the "home" province of Rome, and by AD (CE) 117 as
many as six million people lived there, with at least ten times that many
in the entire Empire. In time, most were granted Roman citizenship, and
among Rome's emperors were citizens born in various parts of the Empire;
in this respect overt ethnic bigotry was not a serious social problem in
Roman society, though religious and cultural differences certainly existed
among its diverse peoples. The Romans frequently left local rulers in nominal
control of conquered lands. Despite uniform standards of law and even architecture,
the far-flung provinces of the Empire often enjoyed localized (ethnic) social
practices such as the continued practice of local religions.
By 300 BC, as Rome enjoyed ever more contact with Greece, particularly
through the Sicilians, Roman society began to imitate Greek society in many
ways. Romans worshipped the Greek gods, albeit under different names and
with less devotion than the Greeks, and imitated Greek architecture and
urban planning. Greek literature and science greatly influenced Roman ideas.
The Romans built upon what they learned from the Greeks and others. (Christianity
began to make serious inroads into Roman society by AD 100, though it was
still outlawed at that time.) Roman engineering was sophisticated, but the
Romans are credited with few insights into pure science and mathematics.
Life in the cities didn't change very much, but Roman agricultural policy
differed somewhat from that of the Greeks. Under the Romans, Sicily's forests
gave way to the first large grain farms. As a source of hard wheat, Sicily
became the "granary of the Roman Empire." The Empire grew and
Sicily, near its geographical center, became a crossroads of the Mediterranean;
Saint Paul preached in Syracuse on his way to Rome. Never in its long history
has Sicily known peace for as long as it did during the Roman period. This
followed the second and third Punic Wars against the Carthaginians,
with the virtual destruction of the north-African city in 146 BC.
Administration was generally efficient and problems few. The Syrian slave
Eunus led a celebrated revolt suppressed in 131 BC, and another slave revolt
--by Trifon-- was suppressed in 99 BC. These revolts lasted for years. In
70 BC, the praetor Verres was accused of fraud by several Sicilian towns
but decided to flee when he learned that their legal case was to be argued
by Cicero, the greatest orator of his time. When Tauromenion (Taormina)
sided with Pompey against Augustus (Octavian), the latter retaliated by
seizing the town for his soldiers. In general, the influx of Romans into
Sicily was more peaceful. The Roman villa near Piazza Armerina, built around
AD 300, is an exceptional example of aristocratic architecture, but its
splendor probably was not unique in its time. Owing partly to its earlier
existence as a highly-advanced Greek region, Sicily required little additional
architectural "development" by the Romans. Yet cities which were
quite unimportant under the Greeks grew considerably under the Romans. Panormus
(Palermo) comes to mind; the large Roman city was built upon a Punic-era settlement. The Roman theatres in Catania are
still largely in tact.
It was during the Roman era that the foundation of a Sicilian vernacular
language was established. Initially, this was a blend of Latin and Greek,
both widely spoken throughout Sicily's Roman era. Sicilian is a Latin (Romance)
language, but by the end of the Middle Ages it had many French, Germanic
and Arabic characteristics.
Except for some initial revolts in Syracuse during the Punic Wars, the
Sicilians did not actively resist the Roman annexation. The island's population
grew under the Romans, but it is difficult to ascertain the number that
immigrated. There was not a mass colonization, but rather pockets of immigration
activity over the centuries. Syracuse remained the most important city,
and perhaps the most populated, but it was not always the capital.
Established in 509 BC, the Roman Republic shed the leadership of Etruscan
kings in favor of a more democratic system of government. In time, this
was modified and corrupted, but its fundamental structure remained in place
for centuries. Roman society was structured fairly rigidly, with patricians
at the top and plebians, the majority of the populace, beneath them. By
287 BC, the plebians had achieved rights almost equal to those of the patricians.
Slaves, a kind of underclass, could gain citizenship --and freedom-- under
certain conditions. In 27 BC, following two decades of civil war, the Empire
succeeded the Republic. This led to less actual democracy for many, but
the Empire was generally prosperous for several centuries to follow, supported
by an extensive network of conquered lands.
Rome defeated Carthage and began a rapid expansion both eastward and
westward. Julius Caesar brought Gaul (France), Iberia (Spain) and Egypt
under Roman influence. Eventually, these became part of the Empire. Caesar's
growing power brought about his assassination. In 27 BC, following a civil
war against Mark Antony, Caesar's nephew, Octavian, became emperor as Augustus
Caesar, though he preferred the title of "princeps" (first citizen).
The Pax Romana (Roman Peace) begun under Augustus lasted two centuries,
with the addition of various territories, such as Britain in AD 43 and Dacia
(now Romania and part of Hungary) in AD 106. At its greatest extent, the
Roman Empire encompassed lands from Scotland to the Persian Gulf.
After AD 300, despite the efforts of enlightened emperors such as Constantine
I, who relocated the capital to Byzantium in 330, the empire began to disintegrate,
especially in its western regions. Barbarian raids and localized uprisings
became more prevalent, while a stagnant, corrupt centralized government
found itself ill-prepared to meet new threats. It has been suggested that
excessive assimilation with "foreign" cultures, and assumption
of soldiers from these societies, was a key reason for Rome's fall. While
such factors cannot be ignored, the greatest shortcoming of Rome was itself.
The empire destroyed itself from within. By 400, the end was near, at least
in the west. The Roman Empire split in 395, with the eastern half preserving
its great culture and traditions.
Officially, Sicily was part of the Western Empire after AD 395, but following
the fall of centralized power in Rome (the city was sacked in 410 and Odoacer
formally assumed power in 476), a period of foreign rule by Vandals and Ostrogoths (from AD 468 until 535) ensued in Sicily. It was then annexed to the Byzantine Empire, a medieval state (ruled from Constantinople until
1453) which evolved from the Eastern Roman Empire.
About the Author: Palermo native Vincenzo Salerno has written biographies of several famous Sicilians, including Frederick II and Giuseppe di Lampedusa. | <urn:uuid:d1392bf7-2a6e-4496-abd9-dd2a623fc657> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art159.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501174167.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104614-00333-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955981 | 3,283 | 3.078125 | 3 |
But did you know that children can be out of order, too? The boy has grown Fi real, im big-big! For example: Jamaican Creole Standard English Im a run He is running Im a guh fi it He is going for it Mi a teacha I am a teacher 5. All attempts to evade this are weasel words. A small population of the Aboriginal people referred to as the Taino people trace their ancestry to the first settlers of the island. Here are 15 Jamaican Patois phrases to know and use on your next visit to. Similarly there is the tendency to hyper-correct and pronounce the 'h' sound at the beginning of words that do not require it, therefore English 'egg' becomes 'hegg' and 'exam' becomes 'hexam' and so on.
Box Aggressive, but often hilarious, box is one of those ageless Jamaican Patois slangs that have been passed down for generations. It flavours the ocean and our food. London Jamaican: Language Systems in Interaction. Prior to British dominance, it was used by Portuguese masters to refer to black slaves, who picked up the word and began using it to refer to their own children. African Retentions in Jamaican Creole. Her response was because the students said they would not understand her. To distinguish the Jamaican Patios from this historical connotation, most researchers refuse to consider it as a Patois whatsoever, but rather a Creole.
But the European population grew to 12 million while the black slave population shrank to 6 million. The very same slave ancestors of 90-odd percent of the current Jamaican populace that might trace i. Jamaican Creole Syntax: A Transformational Approach. Anglophiles call patois lazy Englishand dismiss it as a vernacular. There is no reason to do this, since the pronunciation is always im and never him8, and even though a standardized system was developed and is used by linguists, the entries in the Dictionary of Jamaican English are in both spellings.
However, this almost exclusively applies to children. The language is distinct from Jamaican Patois and is a reserve for the Maroons of Moore Town situated in Eastern Jamaica. But in almost any country, including Jamaica, bun is a type of pastry. Nearly all Jamaicans, regardless of class, speak patois. Those who speak the basilectal i.
Conditions imposed on survivors were unimaginable. Many words, phrases, and structures have an interesting etymology. A Creole-dominant speaker will choose a higher variety for formal occasions like official business or a speech, and a lower one for relating to friends; a Standard-dominant speaker is likely to employ a lower variety when at the market than at her workplace. The wide appeal of Jamaican music, poetry, and Rastafarian religion has spread the throughout the Caribbean region as a widely heard though frequently ill-understood form of folk speech. The first Africans were brought to the island by the Spaniards, who left them behind when they were ousted by the British. Another word for friend in Jamaican Patois is parri.
Deaths started immediately, as many as 5% in prisons before transportation and more than 10% during the voyage - the direct murder of some 2 million people. The main immigrant languages in the nation are Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic. Jamaicans stretch their imaginations much farther with this one. I joined your site to learn something about your country. Learning to Read in Jamaica. This situation typically results when a Creole language is in constant contact with Standardised English superstrate or lexifier language and is called a.
One sad testament to how off track we are in this matter is reflected in the state of what used to be a useful and dynamic Writing Centre at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Answered by Kadian Clarke Have you thought about moving to Jamaica in the near future? In America, it even flavours feelings. Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, some 1,725 miles 2,775 kilometers southeast of the United States. The general and technical term for the English-based vernacular of Jamaica, a Caribbean country and member of the. Culturally, Jamaican men and women alike will stand their ground, so this is one of those threats you might not want to make when visiting the island. In me world salty means curmudgeonly. Just as you par with your parri, in Jamaica, you linkup with your links sometimes called linkies.
Alduo hInglish a di hofishal langwij a di konchri, ahn dehn aal ab wa dehn kaal Jumiekan hInglish, a muosli bakra ahn tapanaaris yu hie widi iina hofishal serkl, anles smadi waahn himpres wid piiki-puoki. Just think of grizzled old sailors on the high seas. Formation of Plurals One common method of forming plurals in standard English is by adding 's' or; 'es' to the end of a word. Jamaican Patois subsequently developed throughout the nation and also borrowed from the Aboriginal, Irish, Scottish, and Spanish languages. Please by the claims made and adding. I asked a few Jamaican friends to explain what comes to mind when they hear the word swarthy.
In fact Jamaican Creole behaves like Japanese for the most part in that it does not generally mark the plural of nouns. Her appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, currently Sir Patrick Allen. Patrick 2007 and Farquharson 2013 are short technical linguistic descriptions of the language. Most of the words in Jamaican patois, like other English Caribbean patois, are English words filtered through a distinct phonetic system with fewer vowels and different consonant sounds. Jamaicans choose from the varieties available to them according to the situation. | <urn:uuid:429e562b-c0b2-4e93-b8ba-e132cb63656b> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://cerg.eu/jamaican-creole-english-language.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912203464.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20190324165854-20190324191854-00315.warc.gz | en | 0.952162 | 1,231 | 2.515625 | 3 |
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- adj. Having good cleavage. Used of minerals.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- adj. Having good cleavage.
- adj. Having attractive cleavage of the breasts.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- adj. Like spar; foliated or lamellar; spathose.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In mineralogy, having an even lamellar or flatly foliated structure.
Diamond, sir, in extraordinary evidence! in conjunction with specular iron ore, commonly called the red haematite, and the ferrous carbonate, or spathic iron.
Siderite or spathic iron ore occurs as a gangue mineral in some of the gold quartz veins in the central part of the State, but owing to its limited quantity, it is of little economical importance for the manufacture of iron.
The mineralogical character of the iron ores found in the State includes magnetite, red hematite, brown hematite (limonite), siderite (spathic ore), and black band ores.
Again, many minerals, such as crystals, are bounded by plain surfaces, and, with very few exceptions (spathic and hematite iron and dolomite are such exceptions) none are bounded by curved lines and surfaces, while living organisms are bounded by such lines and surfaces.
Throughout the coal-measures of the commonwealth there are vast beds of spathic ore, which will serve when the more available deposits have been exhausted.
The Great South; A Record of Journeys in Louisiana, Texas, the Indian Territory, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland
At Pillersee, in Austria, spathic iron ore has been reduced by a mixture of fir-wood charcoal, and air-dry peat in the proportions of three parts by bulk of the former to one of the latter.
It contains, as substances accidentally disseminated in the mass, brown iron-ore, spathic iron, even rock-crystal.
The property of the spathic acid, to corrode flinty substances, has been lately applied by a Mr. Puymaurin, to engrave on glass, as artists engrave on copper, with aquafortis. | <urn:uuid:4cbaf1c0-3e9c-4041-a573-064f0e5db615> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | https://www.wordnik.com/words/spathic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982939756.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200859-00175-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892679 | 526 | 2.921875 | 3 |
America’s Obesity Problem: Is the Food Industry to Blame?
Hardly a day goes by where we aren’t reminded about America’s expanding obesity rate. Though many like to blame the media for exaggerating stories, it’s hard to refute numbers about our ever-expanding waistlines. The most recent data suggest things are worse than ever. According to the latest publication of The State of Obesity: Policies for a Healthier America, 68.6% of adults are overweight and 34.9% are obese. The report also explained an average American is more than 24 pounds heavier today compared to 1960.
Clearly, something happened because an epidemic of such grand proportions is no coincidence. Taking a closer look at Americans in the 1960s, far fewer had struggles with their weight. Even in the 1970s, the rates of people who were overweight or obese remained relatively steady. It wasn’t until the 1980s that Americans started having troubles. A report from the Surgeon General’s office revealed the obesity rate was just 13.4% in 1980, but reached 34.3% by 2008. Interestingly, 1980 was also the first time the government published the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The guidelines were designed to help Americans make smarter food choices, likely in reaction to the high risk of death by heart disease, which peaked in 1968. This first installment focused on cutting fat, cholesterol, and sugar while making sure to incorporate enough carbohydrates. Though this report has been updated every five years since its installment, it hasn’t done anything to keep our pant sizes from increasing. Eating habits have definitely changed, but not for the better.
For starters, most people really don’t cook anymore. A 2013 study published in Nutrition Journal reported adults in the U.S. spend drastically less time cooking their own meals and consume far more food prepared outside the home than they did in the 1960s. While prepared foods can include salads or other nutrient-dense items, most people aren’t reaching for such healthy eats when they’re in a hurry. Often, we go for processed foods filled with refined grains and sugars. In fact, one 2014 study highlighted America’s drastic increase in sugar intake, which includes corn syrup and other sweeteners.
Oddly, many processed foods we don’t think of as being sweet are still pumped full of sugar. Take pasta sauce, for example. One popular brand lists sugar as the fourth ingredient, leading to a whopping 10 grams of the sweet stuff per serving. You might find yourself wondering why on earth food companies would start incorporating sugar into such foods, and it all has to do with creating something you find irresistible that makes you want to come back for more.
It’s called the bliss point. In a video from The New York Times, food scientist and market researcher Howard Moskovitz described the term as “that sensory profile where you like food the most.” Much of his research has dealt with sweet flavor profiles, but the concept applies to any type of food. The idea is you vary the amounts of different ingredients until you achieve the most desirable flavor.
Though Moskovitz denied such flavor optimization leads to addiction, some research suggests otherwise, particularly when it comes to sweet foods. One 2013 study reported sugar may actually be more addictive than drugs. The study illustrated, given the choice, rodents preferred the high from sugar over that of cocaine.
If these foods truly are addictive, it can easily lead to overconsumption. Many sweet snacks come in pre-portioned pouches limited to 100 to 150 calories, but no one’s going to stop you if you reach for another bag after polishing off the first. Furthermore, eating too much of even the healthiest foods is going to lead to weight gain. Almonds are a healthy snack, but if you find a flavored variety to taste so enticing that it leads you to eat an entire cup, your waistline is going to suffer.
It’s frustrating, to say the least. And once again, the government has updated recommendations for what types of foods we should and shouldn’t eat. The latest report now says we should shift from solid fats to oils, increase produce consumption, aim to make at least 50% of the grains we consume whole, and drastically reduce sugar. Additionally, the report said male teens and adults are eating too much protein.
Even if these suggestions are on point, it’s foolish to think food companies will rush to make healthy changes. A better bet? Dusting off your kitchen equipment and figuring out how to do a bit more than boil water. | <urn:uuid:d8f0eca2-1e85-42ed-961e-097939eacff9> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/americas-obesity-problem-is-the-food-industry-to-blame.html/?a=viewall | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540482038.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20191205190939-20191205214939-00012.warc.gz | en | 0.96113 | 955 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Many children have suffered lead poisoning. Find out the symptoms and complications and how you can go about getting compensation if your child has suffered lead paint poisoning.
Despite implementation of regulatory preventative measures, lead poisoning remains a chronic health issue, particularly for children. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 310,000 children have elevated lead levels. The US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Agency approximates one in 6 children has a high lead level in their blood.
Children are vulnerable to lead poisoning as their absorption rate is much higher than adults. Gastrointestinal absorption in children is 40 to 50 percent, versus 3 to 10 percent in adults.
Chronic lead paint poisoning is cumulative over a long period of time. Toxic concentration may occur after many years of a minimal degree of exposure to lead paint. Chronic lead poisoning is the most common form. Acute lead poisoning infrequently occurs due to the large amount of lead intake required over a relatively short period of time.
Lead paint was banned in 1978 after scientists discovered its harmful effects. However, low income children still tend to have higher susceptibility to lead paint poisoning. They typically reside in older homes or buildings that pre-date the prohibition of lead paint and whose building owners may not have deleaded their properties. Federal law requires states lead paint hazards known by sellers, landlords and realtors must be disclosed.
However, it is not necessary for children to live in a building containing lead paint to suffer poisoning. Regularly visiting a home which has lead paint or is in the process of being remodeled or deleaded poses a risk.
Lead paint becomes brittle over time and deteriorates. This disintegration produces lead dust, particularly around windowsills and door frames where friction is caused by the opening and closing of windows and doors. The dust settles on surfaces children come in contact with, such as floors and toys, and is transferred to their mouths by hands and toys.
Another factor in lead paint poisoning is chipping or peeling. A child who eats a chip the size of a thumbnail will have ingested enough lead to be life endangering.
Children suffering from lead paint poisoning may exhibit any of the following symptoms:
- Learning disabilities
- Mental retardation
- Kidney malfunction
- Hearing Loss
Infants in utero exposed to lead may have the additional concerns of:
- Low birth weight
- Low gestational age
- Growth retardation
- Delayed sexual maturation in females
A blood test is the only conclusive method to diagnose lead poisoning. For children at risk from lead paint poisoning, it is recommended blood tests be performed at six months of age. All other children should be tested at one and two years old. Testing is vital as the child may not demonstrate any symptoms of lead poisoning.
Some states have mandatory lead poisoning blood tests for children. The ages of testing may vary according to the state.
If you have any further questions regarding lead poisoning, contact Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP at 888-244-5480. | <urn:uuid:f2d8f5c7-e9fe-4d3b-aa7b-ad00661881bb> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.hcwlaw.com/blog/2015/september/lead-paint-poisoning-a-chronic-health-issue-chil/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125948125.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20180426090041-20180426110041-00347.warc.gz | en | 0.956232 | 614 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Tracking down the history of a star is no easy matter, but a supernova called SN 1979C is providing unexpected assistance. Just as researchers can study ancient climates by examining the concentric rings inside a tree, astronomers using the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton space observatory have found a way to study the rings around a star. SN 1979C, it turns out, produced huge stellar winds late in its life that flung particles into space over a period of millions of years. The result: a series of concentric rings lit up by x-rays when the star exploded.
“We can use the X-ray light from SN 1979C as a ‘time machine’ to study the life of a dead star long before it exploded,” says Dr Stefan Immler, leader of the team, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, USA. “All the important information that usually fades away in a couple of months is still there.”
Image (click to enlarge): XMM-Newton image of X-ray light from the galaxy M100. Credit: European Space Agency.
Immler and colleagues have found they can study the star’s stellar wind back to a time fully 16,000 years before the supernova explosion that took its life. What happened at SN 1979C is that the star, some 18 times more massive than the Sun, produced x-rays when the supernova shock heated the rings of stellar wind material to a temperature of several million degrees. The x-ray light illuminates the life of the star before it exploded, providing scientists with 25 years of data to work with not only in x-rays but in wavelengths ranging from radio waves to optical/ultraviolet.
How could a supernova continue shining so brightly in x-ray light? Normally, an object like this fades quickly — the usual pattern is for a supernova to be half as bright after ten days and to fade steadily after that in all wavelengths. But this star, while it has faded dramatically in optical light, is still the brightest x-ray object in its host galaxy (M100, in the constellation Coma Berenices).
One theory is that the stellar wind was so abundant around SN 1979C that it provided the needed material to keep the object glowing in these wavelengths. Compared to our Sun, the star’s circumstellar material is dense indeed. It covers a region 25 times larger than our Solar System, with a density of some 10,000 atoms per cubic centimeter (about 1000 times denser than Sol’s solar wind).
The paper is Immler, S., Fesen, Robert, Schuyler, D. Van Dyk et al., “Late-time X-Ray, UV and Optical Monitoring of Supernova 1979C,” available as a preprint on the arXiv site, and slated to appear in the 10 October issue of the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ 10 October 2005, v632 1). | <urn:uuid:9daaff70-18ad-4288-b92c-884236608c3a> | CC-MAIN-2016-18 | http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=118 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461860110372.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428161510-00153-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919239 | 621 | 4.15625 | 4 |
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who drink regularly, especially heavy drinkers, may be more likely than teetotalers to suffer the common heart-rhythm disturbance atrial fibrillation, a new research review suggests.
In an analysis of 14 past studies, researchers found that the heaviest drinkers were more likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation than people who drank little to no alcohol.
The studies differed in how they defined "heavy" drinking. At a minimum it meant two or more drinks per day for men, and one or more per day for women; in some studies, heavy drinkers downed at least six drinks per day.
When all the study results were combined, heavy drinkers were 51 percent more likely to suffer atrial fibrillation, or AF, than either non-drinkers or occasional drinkers.
Doctors have long known that a drinking binge can trigger an episode of AF, in which the heart's upper chambers begin to quiver chaotically instead of contracting normally.
But the new findings suggest that people's habitual drinking habits may also matter, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Satoru Kodama of the University of Tsukuba Institute of Clinical Medicine in Ibaraki, Japan.
"What we revealed in the current (study) is that not only episodic but habitual heavy drinking is associated with higher risk of AF," co-researcher Dr. Hirohito Sone told Reuters Health in an e-mail.
But the study, reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also found evidence linking fairly moderate drinking to a higher AF risk, compared with abstinence.
Overall, the risk of AF crept up eight percent for every increase of 10 grams (about a third of an ounce) in study participants' daily alcohol intake.
That might sound surprising, Sone said, since moderate drinking -- up to one or two drinks per day -- is thought to be protective against coronary heart disease, in which plaque builds up in the arteries.
But moderate drinking has never been linked to a decreased risk of AF.
Atrial fibrillation arises from a problem in the heart muscle's electrical activity. Unlike ventricular fibrillation, which affects the heart's lower pumping chamber, AF is not immediately life-threatening. In some cases, an AF episode is short-lived and goes away on its own -- in what's called paroxysmal AF.
But in some people, AF becomes recurrent or permanent, raising their risk of heart failure and of blood clots that can travel to the brain and cause a stroke. So lowering the risk of developing AF in the first place is important.
More than 2.6 million Americans will suffer AF this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition becomes more common with age and additional risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and hyperthyroidism.
The current findings do not mean that cutting out alcohol altogether is a good way to lower one's risk for AF.
Since coronary heart disease is a much more common cause of death than AF, Sone said, moderate drinking is still probably a heart-healthy habit for most people. But, he added, people who have ever had an episode of paroxysmal AF might benefit from not drinking.
Studies are still needed to show whether that is indeed the case, the researcher added.
It's not surprising that moderate drinking appears to offer no protection from AF, said Dr. Kenneth J. Mukamal of Harvard University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
"The ways in which alcohol might prevent coronary heart disease -- like better HDL cholesterol and less clotting -- are irrelevant for risk of AF," Mukamal said in an e-mail.
He expressed doubts, however, that moderate drinking would increase the risk of AF.
Mukamal led two of the studies included in the current analysis. One found a connection only between heavy drinking and AF: men who had five or more drinks per day had a higher risk of developing AF over time than occasional drinkers.
Mukamal also pointed out that of the studies in the current analysis, it was the so-called "case-control" studies that showed the strongest link between drinking and AF. Those kinds of studies -- which compare AF patients with healthy individuals -- are not well-designed for showing cause-and-effect.
A better way to show that is with studies that measure people's drinking habits, then follow them over time to see who develops AF.
Based on those types of studies, Mukamal said, "there's little risk from chronic drinking in moderation, but heavier drinking -- even rarely -- acutely increases risk."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/guqxql Journal of the American College of Cardiology, online January 17, 2011.
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Are YouMoney Smart? | <urn:uuid:49c02db9-6f3d-4486-9d32-2691ee788efc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lifescript.com/health/centers/copd/related_conditions/atrial_fibrillation_articles/drinking_may_raise_risk_of_abnormal_heart_rhythm.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382185/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951384 | 1,093 | 2.515625 | 3 |
TIM PENELITI, TIM PENELITI (1994) PENGUASAAN KOSA KATA BAHASA INGGRIS PADA MAHASISVA JURUSAN FISIKA F MIPA UNDIP ANGKATAN 1993. Documentation. FAKULTAS SASTRA.
|PDF - Published Version|
|PDF - Published Version |
Restricted to Repository staff only
This research is aimed at knowing the mastery of English vocabulary of the 1993 students of the Natural Sciences Faculty (MIPA) of Diponegoro University who have taken English I and II. To reach the objective, the research team has observed the sum of 21 respondents by giving them tests and questionaires to collect data. The tests and questionaires include productive and receptive vocabulary. The collected data are grouped and analyzed based on their kids (such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. and function words) and they are also analyzed in terms of their usage in various constractions, such as in phrases, clauses, and sentences. The result of the reasearch shows that the vocabulary mastery of the respondents can be classified as follows : 1. The vocabulary of the first thousand word list dominates the other words both in receptive use and productive use almost in every kinds of words. 2. The vocabulary of the university word list is greater in number than that of the second thousand and the third thousand word list. 3. Most of the respondents are not able to use the mastered vocabulaery to write sentences.
|Item Type:||Monograph (Documentation)|
|Subjects:||P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics|
|Deposited By:||Mr UPT Perpus 2|
|Deposited On:||07 Sep 2010 13:58|
|Last Modified:||07 Sep 2010 13:58|
Repository Staff Only: item control page | <urn:uuid:cbd72ada-f019-4b8a-92fd-53e0575e9958> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | http://eprints.undip.ac.id/22076/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676593223.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20180722120017-20180722140017-00504.warc.gz | en | 0.864267 | 407 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Written for Philosophy of Biology (PHIL565 at the University of Calgary)
Professor: Marc Ereshefsky <http://people.ucalgary.ca/~ereshefs/>
Beatty discusses and attempts to reconcile two views of contingency in historicity in evolutionary biology generated by Gould, namely its unpredictability and causal-dependent structures. What Beatty seeks to do is reconcile these structures by claiming that they are complementary to one another and will give us a complete picture of historical contingency when applied to natural selection. I will assess the unpredictability structure of contingency and why, counter to at least Gould’s ignorance on the matter with respect to random drift, that unpredictability does represent a stochastic effect, and evolutionary outcomes are part of an historical network where gene frequencies can be used as a marker for assessing multiple pathways of evolution.
Contingency is the notion that an event X may lead to event Y in an arrow of time, but that the event Y is not certain to occur. In the unpredictability case, Gould presents a thought experiment about a “tape of life”, where replaying such a tape could actually lead to novel evolutionary pathways as opposed to replaying it in the precisely same sequence leading up to the same structures (2). This view of contingency shares parallels to two concepts. Namely, Waddington’s epigenetic landscape (3) and the arrow of time (4). The epigenetic landscape is compared to a marble rolling down the hill, where, despite dropping the marble from the same starting position in each instance, it will actually take on a new path to reach the basin of the landscape. Once the marble is in motion, time represents an arrow – a direction – in which evolution will direct itself. Instances of Newtonian physics would actually tell us that the process of such a marble rolling down the hill is quite deterministic, that an equation of force would generate a distinct result for what path the object would take once in motion. However, although it is clearly seen that new paths will be generated, the result is still the same based on the initial condition: a timely attraction to the bottom of the landscape.
The tape of life also experiences such an end, at the bottom of the basin where it can continue to play no longer. Keeping this in mind, I move onto Travisano et al.’s microevolutionary experiment. Focusing on random drift as a marker, we see that the experiment actually generates profiles of gene frequencies acquiring independent and distinct stable-states after x generations (x > 0) from a single initial condition (genetic homogeneity). Stochastic processes comes into play at the level of resolution of a concert of genes, where a series of experiments in parallel actually shows those factors such as mutation and the frequency of change for mutations lead to divergence. There are two intriguing effects of this divergence: (i) homogenous genotypes and experimental conditions can lead a living system to novelty even within the same system (genetically identical E. coli, in this instance) and (ii) genes as bodies in motion do not conform to fixed net results during evolution at the level of point mutations.
Although I do concede that multiple stable states could actually mean that the dynamics are the “same” in the Newtonian sense, what is actually seen is that individual members of a genetically identical population will definitely exhibit signs of non-genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity (1). As Beatty does point out, this is clearly by definition a sign of stochasticity in nature. However, I will take it a stretch further to say that historical constraints impose themselves on the epigenetic landscape in the movement of time by physically creating restrictions on which “direction” a structure can actually find its niche in and ultimately carve out a novel lineage. Clearly, using the marble metaphor, the marble will not move back up the hill – however, it can go “backwards” in time if we consider contingency as a type of enablement for all possible structures (although, not worlds). This gives us evidence for why vestigial structures may re-appear in nature, called atavism, even though these structures may be considered “obsolete” or entirely primitive in the past. By saying that a marble can go backwards in time is not to say it will actually move backwards in a predestined sequence, only that the stochastic processes which weigh into evolution go above the level of resolution of the gene by carving out a distinct set of behaviours for that marble in each experiment. As was pointed out earlier, the bottom of the hill is still the ultimate resting point for all life (death), although this perspective sought to address how stochasticity can actually manifest itself independent of genes.
1. Huang, S. (2011) “Systems biology of stem cells: three useful perspectives to help
overcome the paradigm of linear pathways,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society B, 366, 2247-2259.
2. Beatty, J. (2006) “Replaying Life’s Tape,” The Journal of Philosophy, 103, 336-362.
3. Goldberg, DA., Allis, CD., Bernstein, E. (2007) “Epigenetics: A Landscape Takes
Shape,” Cell, 128, 635-638.
4. Wang, J., Xu, L., Huang, S. (2010) “The potential landscape of genetic circuits imposes
the arrow of time in stem cell differentiation,” Biophysical Society, 99(1), 29-39. | <urn:uuid:0f87b352-1ca9-4365-bb84-f8a5ad2be6d2> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://kphilosophie.blogspot.com/2012/10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948579564.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20171215192327-20171215214327-00628.warc.gz | en | 0.926352 | 1,162 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Establish a Lifetime of Good Dental Care Habits with Pediatric Dentistry
Oral health starts early. Pediatric dentistry in our El Dorado dental office helps your child prioritize and maintain their oral health into adulthood.
Your Child’s First Dental Appointment
Their first visit to the dentist can shape your child’s oral health. Our goal is to provide them (and you) a positive, anxiety-free experience.
- Get acquainted and build their confidence
- Assess the health of their developing teeth and gums
- Answer their questions and yours
Common Pediatric Dentistry FAQ’s
Questions about pediatric dentistry are common. Here are a few. And feel free to ask for more information as necessary.
What age should my child be for their first dental visit?
“First tooth or First Birthday.” Children should be seen when the first tooth erupts or at least by their first birthday according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Early oral health evaluations can help prevent future dental problems for your child.
How often should my child brush their teeth?
Brushing is optimum 30 minutes after each meal. That’s not always realistic, so twice a day and especially after eating sugary foods and at bedtime. Flossing should be done at least once a day, preferably at bedtime. Children should be assisted with brushing and flossing at least until they are 9 years old.
Can cavities be prevented for my child?
Tooth decay happens when bacteria attack your child’s teeth. Plaque and tartar build-up is the problem when sugar is consumed. Routine brushing and flossing help remove the plaque and sugar from your child’s teeth. Fluoride toothpaste can be started at age 1 which will strengthen enamel against acidic attack.
When are braces necessary for my child?
Orthodontic treatment is typically used to straighten and move your child’s permanent teeth into a healthy position. Age 12 is common for beginning orthodontics. Your child’s tooth development condition helps determine the need for braces or aligners.
What should I do if my child’s tooth is damaged or knocked-out?
If your child’s “baby” tooth is dislodged apply pressure to the socket and call our dental office. A lost permanent tooth should always be gently rinsed and reinserted ASAP. If that is not possible, then the tooth should be located, gently handled, placed in milk or saline solution and delivered to our dental office. Contact us immediately for necessary instructions to preserve the tooth.
If Your Child Needs a Dental Filling
Dental fillings are designed to fill cavities and prevent further decay. Your child’s filling is crafted for strength and to handle daily function.
A dental examination is necessary to identify the presence of cavities. Safe, digital x-ray technology is used to pinpoint the areas of decay that are causing your child’s cavity.
A dental filling will be placed within their tooth. The procedure is fast and pain-free when using a local anesthetic. Nitrous oxide, laughing gas, is commonly used for children to provide a relaxing visit.
When a Dental Crown is Best for Your Child
Sometimes a dental filling cannot provide enough tooth coverage to treat your child’s cavity. A dental crown can be placed to provide a strong, new tooth structure.
A children’s dental crown restores your child’s tooth function and their tooth’s appearance. Their crown can also prevent further tooth damage and help with bite alignment.
Children’s Oral Surgery can Improve Their Health and Treatment Experience
Like your adult teeth and gums, your child’s can often require repair and restoration beyond standard treatment. Pediatric oral surgery follows an evaluation of your child’s dental condition.
Children’s oral surgery can be provided for:
- Tooth Extractions
- Dental injuries and dental trauma
- A frenectomy
- Cleft lip and cleft palate
- And more…
Sedation is provided for each procedure. Often the use of sedation during an oral surgery procedure gives your child the best option for your child to receive necessary dental treatment.
Keep Your Child’s Teeth in a Healthy Position with Space Maintainers
Baby teeth are designed to stay in place unless they are “pushed” out of position by an emerging permanent tooth. Your child’s baby teeth can fall out too early causing problems for their developing, new teeth.
Treatment with a space maintainer solves the issues associated with early tooth loss. The oral device creates a necessary room in their mouth (between their teeth) allowing their permanent (adult) teeth to emerge properly. | <urn:uuid:ae4ce868-a3ee-47fc-a0ca-2b9e707d8266> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://ziesefamilydentistry.com/dental-services/pediatric-dentistry/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178362899.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20210301182445-20210301212445-00087.warc.gz | en | 0.915704 | 1,004 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Lesson 20 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maximilian Kolbe
Scope: Although the age of martyrdom ended in the 4th century, there have always been Christians who have died because of their fidelity to their Christian belief and vocation. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran minister who was placed in a concentration camp by the Nazis and died there shortly before the camp’s liberation in 1945. Documents that he wrote in captivity, had smuggled out, and were later published as Letters and Papers from Prison form a moving collection of thoughts about what it means to be a Christian and live in a world with so much evil. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan priest, sacrificed his life at Auschwitz to save that of a man who was the father of young children. He has been formally canonized by the Catholic Church. The stories of Bonhoeffer and Kolbe give us glimpses of modern people willing to sacrifice everything for the truth as they understand it.
Although the so-called age of martyrdom ended for Christians in the 4th century with the triumph of Christianity in the Roman Empire, there have been martyrs all over the world and in every age.
Over the centuries, many men and a few women who tried to bring Christianity to areas where it was not established have been martyred.
- We find such people in central Europe and Scandinavia as Christianity expanded beyond the frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Especially beginning in the 16th century, there have been martyrs in the New World, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
- The Catholic Church has canonized groups of martyrs in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, and Uganda.
- A good example in what is now the United States is the Jesuit Isaac Jogues, martyred in upstate New York in 1646.
There have also been martyrs in Christian areas.
- During the Protestant Reformation, both Protestant and Catholics died at the hands of hostile Christians.
- There were numerous deaths of clergy and laity in repressive regimes, such as the Soviet Union and other countries of the Warsaw Pact, some of which we are just beginning to learn about.
- This lesson focuses on two men who were martyrs during the Third Reich in Germany, one Protestant and one Catholic.
- Over the centuries, many men and a few women who tried to bring Christianity to areas where it was not established have been martyred.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an important Christian figure and writer in Germany before and during World War II.
- Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran minister.
- He studied theology in Germany and at the Union Theological Seminary in the United States, traveled to Italy, and served as a pastor to congregations in Spain and England, as well as Germany.
- His pastoral work made him somewhat suspect of even the most authoritative modern theologians, for example, Karl Barth.
- After Hitler took power, Bonhoeffer was active in what was called the Confessing Church, which rejected the Nazi-dominated state church.
- He was a leader of an underground seminary.
- Two of his influential books were The Cost of Discipleship and Ethics.
- Bonhoeffer was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, and he was arrested by the Gestapo in the spring of 1943.
Bonhoeffer remained in prison until he was hanged by the Nazis in April 1945.
- Most of his time in prison was in Berlin, and he was thus occasionally able to see his parents, friends, and fiancée.
- He wrote many letters and poems, and quite a few of them were smuggled out of the prison by a sympathetic guard.
These documents, as well as letters written to Bonhoeffer, were collected after the war and published, in several iterations, as Letters and Papers from Prison.
- Many of these letters dealt with matters of the moment, such as requesting certain foods or telling friends and family about his health.
- In general, they were upbeat, suggesting that his arrest was a misunderstanding that would be cleared up.
- A few months before his arrest, Bonhoeffer had written that the man who stands fast in difficult times is the one whose standard is not reason or conscience or freedom but who is willing to make any sacrifice in exclusive allegiance to God.
- His arrest taught him the necessity to live a life of trust (faith).
- Bonhoeffer became increasingly wary of what he called “religiosity,” recalling that the Hebrews did not utter God’s name.
- He found himself reading the Old Testament more than the New and pondered why behavior that is praised in Hebrew scripture is ignored or condemned in the New Testament.
Bonhoeffer, in his later letters, introduces an idea that seems oxymoronic to many – religionless Christianity.
- The world has “come of age” and is a secular world.
- What do God and Christianity mean in a secular world, a world without the religious premise?
- Bonhoeffer draws a comparison of circumcision as a requirement for salvation for the Jews and religion as necessary for salvation in modern times.
- He feared that God was viewed as a God of the gaps, and as the gaps narrow, so God is squeezed out of modern life.
- Are most modern people concerned about the concept of the salvation of the individual?
- It is wrong and un-Christian to attack modernity; the question is: Who is Christ in this world come of age?
- For many Christians, redemption has come to mean freedom from cares and fears because of the promise of a better world beyond the grave.
- The biblical God is a weak and suffering God.
- Maximilian Kolbe, another martyr of the Third Reich, was a Polish Franciscan who was starved at Auschwitz in 1941; in 1982, he became St. Maximilian Kolbe when Pope John Paul II canonized him.
- Kolbe joined the Franciscan Order (Conventuals) as a young man and received a doctorate in Rome.
- He had a deep Marian devotion and founded an organization called Knights of the Immaculate (Mary).
Kolbe realized the importance of media and founded a newspaper for Catholics in Poland.
- It later reached a circulation of hundreds of thousands.
- Eventually, the newspaper was published in other countries.
- Kolbe decided to found a new Franciscan monastery near Warsaw known (in English) as Marytown, and it soon became the largest Franciscan house in the world.
- Kolbe set out to establish a mission in Japan and to print a newspaper there, eventually settling on the outskirts of Nagasaki.
- He returned to Poland and, continuing to believe in the value of new media in the spread of Catholic piety, he established a radio station.
- By this time, the Nazis were in control of neighboring Germany, and in his newspaper columns, Kolbe criticized the Third Reich for its persecution of Jews and establishment of concentration camps; he also criticized Stalin for the horrors that were occurring beyond Poland’s eastern border.
- In 1939, Kolbe was arrested but set free.
In 1941, he was arrested and transported to Auschwitz.
- Kolbe, like other detainees, was known by his number 16670.
- Despite prohibitions of prayer, he heard confessions, prayed with inmates, and even held masses.
One day, one of the men in Kolbe’s barracks escaped, which meant that 10 men would be selected to be starved to death in a hellish dungeon.
- One man chosen to die was Francis Gajowniczek, who cried out that he had a wife and two children.
- Kolbe asked to take this man’s place and was allowed to do so.
- With the other nine, Kolbe was left to starve to death; he was the last to die, killed by a lethal injection, comforting the others and praying to the end.
- Francis Gajowniczek survived past the end of the war and spent many years telling Kolbe’s story.
Maximilian Kolbe was canonized by his fellow Pope John Paul II in 1982, and Francis Gajowniczek was present for that ceremony.
- The martyrs of the Third Reich discussed here are only two of many who were killed for their beliefs. They show us the truth of Tertullian’s belief that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church in modern times as well as in the early Christian centuries.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison.
- Diana Dewar, The Saint of Auschwitz.
Question to consider:
1. Should all Christians be conscious of the possibility that they will be called to sacrifice their lives in order to remain faithful to God?
Next Lesson: From Slavery to Martin Luther King. | <urn:uuid:f42894d3-900b-41a2-b6f5-3758816000ae> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://www.buckhall-umc.org/index.php/worship/14-ministries/104-dietrich-bonhoeffer-and-maximilian-kolbe | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202003.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20190319163636-20190319185636-00528.warc.gz | en | 0.980376 | 1,853 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Wien | Website
The collection "Neuropterida and affiliated collections" of the Natural History Museum comprises a large number of smaller insect orders and consists mostly of dry material of historical and recent collections from all biogeographical regions of the earth. The oldest specimens date from the mid-19th century. Particularly noteworthy are the Orthoptera collection of Karl Brunner von Wattenwyl (1823-1914), rich in type material, and the Neuropterida collection of Herbert Hölzel (1925-2008). New collections have been and are being stored in alcohol for molecular biological studies.
Dr. Susanne Randolf
Visiting researchers have access to the collection and library, as well as suitable technical equipment. A stacking photography equipment of the department can also be used. If necessary, curators provide support on nature conservation and educational issues. Digitised species inventories are available.
Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure
The collection "Neuropterida and affiliated collections" can be used for classical morphological-taxonomic studies on the one hand, and for molecular analyses on the other hand. Research focus lies in the investigation of the head morphology of the Neuropterida using microcomputer tomographic scans and histological section series to answer questions about the evolution and relationship of this group. The results of these studies will be used to show effects of miniaturization in very small species.
Allocation to Core Facility
BROCK P. D., 1998: Catalogue of type specimens of Stick- and Leaf-Insects in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (Insecta: Phasmida). Kataloge der wissenschaftlichen Sammlungen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, 13: 3-72. | <urn:uuid:8026441f-0d23-4401-bfe2-1205574c660f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://forschungsinfrastruktur.bmbwf.gv.at/en/mapping/?id=4558 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571086.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809185452-20220809215452-00273.warc.gz | en | 0.812037 | 379 | 2.875 | 3 |
Antibiotic resistant bacteria is one of the biggest issues we facing in the coming decades, but there's one type of spread that isn't getting enough attention, says a new study – antibiotic resistance genes are spreading through the air.
If that sounds terrifying to you, you're not alone.
Bacteria's antibiotic resistance genes aren't just inherited through reproduction – in the case of bacteria that's asexual reproduction, where one parent cell becomes two daughter cells, also known as vertical gene transfer.
Unlike humans, bacteria can also spread their genes through something called horizontal gene transfer, where bacteria will replicate and then gift genes to other bacteria through a needle-like mechanism called a pilus.
But bacteria don't even need to be alive to pass their genes on horizontally, because once they die they release their entire insides into their environment – leaving little DNA packages around for other bacteria that happen to pass by.
The act of bacteria literally reaching out, picking up DNA from its environment and hauling it back into itself with its pilus, was recently captured on camera for the first time.
To make matters worse, both dead and alive bacteria can easily become airborne, moving to new locations and spreading their genes further abroad.
An international collaboration led by researchers from Peking University in Beijing, wanted to take a survey of just how prevalent and varied these airborne genes are.
The bad news: they're everywhere.
Between 2016 and 2017, the team surveyed 30 different types of airborne antibiotic resistance genes across 19 cities around the world, including San Francisco, Paris and Melbourne.
They found that Beijing, China and Brisbane, Australia had the most different types of airborne antibiotic resistance genes, but San Francisco had the highest level overall.
The researchers believe that inhaling the airborne antibiotic resistance genes could lead to the spread of this resistance in our lungs and end up affecting our immune system.
"Due to aerial transport, remote regions even without using antibiotics could be exposed to the 'second hand' antibiotic resistance genes, which are initially being developed in other regions but transported elsewhere," the team wrote.
Even more worrying, low levels of genes resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic of last resort for MRSA treatment, were found in the air of six cities.
So how do areas with relatively low air pollution end up with so many bacterial genes in the air? The researchers think it has to do with wastewater treatment plants, hospitals or animal feeding operations.
Wastewater, specifically, can be treated with antibiotics that, can lead the survivors to pass on their antibiotic resistance genes. Wastewater is also likely to become aerosolised, which could be a problem if it then spreads to neighbouring areas.
The team stresses that this isn't the only or most important thing to look at when investigating antibiotic resistance in populations, but it has been something that's been typically overlooked, which this research shows might need to change.
"Among the detected cells in urban air, those airborne viable bacteria carrying different antibiotic resistance genes can certainly cause more harm than genes itself and those gene-carrying dead cells," the researchers added.
"However, the long-term microecological consequences for both atmosphere and human respiratory system resulting from exposure of airborne antibiotic resistance genes remain to be further explored."
The research has been published in Environmental Science and Technology. | <urn:uuid:60844b8a-d3e9-4fa1-b2a4-7420dd2f4b2c> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://www.sciencealert.com/antibiotic-resistance-genes-can-travel-through-the-air-and-we-re-slightly-terrified | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780058552.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20210927211955-20210928001955-00048.warc.gz | en | 0.957534 | 676 | 3.78125 | 4 |
The JFK Library is shut down,but its website remains operational. Many more Peace Corps items have been digitalized from the Kennedy years and can be read, heard or viewed. Among them is this gem: Kennedy speaking about the creation of the German Peace Corps. It is all the more powerful because it occurred during JFK’s trip to Europe at the height of the Cold War. Surrounded by displays of military machinery and flanked by armed soldiers, JFK spoke of Peace and how unarmed Volunteers might win it, not with bombs, but with helping hands. To listen to the audio, here is the link
Kennedy’s tour of Europe, June 23 to July 2, 1963, is captured on film and available to view. Kennedy visited Germany, Ireland, Britain and Italy.
The film records his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. No one knew that this was to be Kennedy’s farewell tour.
The film runs about 80 minutes. Here is the link:
Because the Library is closed, there is no technical help available. This film did stall. I solved the problem by escaping out and starting all over.
To see all the Peace Corps items that have been digitalized, here is the link:
At this time, I think it is good to be reminded of Robert Frost’s charge at the Inauguration: “We were the land’s before the land was ours” and
that there is still much work to be done to fulfill the promise of “what we are to become.” | <urn:uuid:9f0b2c9c-aa53-477b-a89f-46b033855939> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/remarks-in-bonn-at-the-signing-of-a-charter-establishing-the-german-peace-corps-24-june-1963-president-kennedy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046151638.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20210725045638-20210725075638-00243.warc.gz | en | 0.971785 | 322 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Ironically enough, even though you can get tapeworms from food, tapeworms themselves are unable to eat because they don't have digestive systems. Among people in some parts of the world, especially those living in places without efficient sanitation systems, tapeworm infestations are very common. However, poor sanitation isn't the only way these parasites can get inside your body. In North America, tapeworms aren't common, but when people do get them, it's usually from eating under-cooked meat and fish.
Tapeworms are parasites, meaning that they live inside other creatures, called "hosts," and receive all their nourishment from them. They belong to a group with about 5,000 different species, and can infect all vertebrates, including humans. With their long, flat bodies, tapeworms look a lot like ribbons. Their heads contain tiny suckers or hooks that they use to anchor themselves to their host's intestines. Their bodies consist of a chain of segments, ranging from as few as three to as many as 4,000. When these segments become separated from the tapeworm, each one is capable of growing into a new tapeworm.
How Tapeworms Get Nourishment
Digesting food takes a lot of work but tapeworms have evolved an ingenious way to avoid doing it -- they let their hosts digest food for them. On the outside of their bodies, tapeworms have a skin-like covering tough enough to withstand being dissolved by digestive juices, yet porous enough to allow tiny bits of food to pass through. Even though they lack digestive systems as we know them, with mouths, stomachs and intestines, tapeworms have a primitive gut extending throughout their bodies. When muscles in the upper part of the gut contract, food gets sucked into the tapeworm's body, where cells lining the gut gobble them up like a Pac-Man, extract the nutrients, and deliver them all over the body.
How Tapeworms Reproduce
Most tapeworms are hermaphroditic, meaning that they have male as well as female reproductive organs. Each segment, or proglottid, of the tapeworm is capable of both producing and fertilizing eggs. When new segments form at the base of the tapeworm's neck, existing ones move back, so the oldest are found at the very end of the body. After fertilization, the eggs hatch and become embryos, as many as 40,000 to a segment. These embryos break free of the segment wall and are excreted in the host's feces into water or dry land, waiting to be ingested by another animal. When the embryos are swallowed and reach the new host's intestines, the larvae emerge. Some kinds stay there, but others bore through the intestinal wall to blood vessels, and are carried to muscle tissue by the circulatory system.
Getting Rid of Tapeworms
The best time to get rid of tapeworms is before they have a chance to enter your body by practicing good personal hygiene, washing food thoroughly and cooking it long enough to kill any larvae that might be present. Like most other parasites, tapeworms benefit from healthy hosts, so most infections cause little serious harm, although symptoms sometimes include nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and anemia. When humans and domestic animals have tapeworms, drugs that target the suckers and hooks they use to attach themselves to the walls of intestines are often prescribed. If tapeworms can't hold on any longer, they get eliminated in bodily wastes. | <urn:uuid:c30583e9-ae5b-497a-93e2-597dbbab5503> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://animals.mom.me/tapeworms-obtain-food-digestive-system-11144.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221211664.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20180817025907-20180817045907-00538.warc.gz | en | 0.96156 | 745 | 4.03125 | 4 |
In this lesson, we will post-process the numerical results generated in the previous step and analyze the flow field. We will start by loading the saved data and plotting velocity vectors in 3D space. We will then add particle pathlines and animate them to visualize the flow. We will also plot and animate the shear stresses experienced by the arterial walls due to the pulsatile blood flow. Lastly, we will create a sweep of velocity profiles at different cross-sections. | <urn:uuid:21216371-6941-49d2-b724-4ca19a5fef02> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://courses.ansys.com/index.php/courses/fluent-3d-bifurcating-artery/lessons/numerical-results-lesson-7-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323584567.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20211016105157-20211016135157-00142.warc.gz | en | 0.889042 | 95 | 2.859375 | 3 |
To write your 500 word essay on the racism in Heart of Darkness you must look at many factors of the story. One of these factors being the time period in which it was set. The African natives are referred to as "niggers" and "savages". The white European colonizers treat them horribly and never feel any guilt or shame in doing so.
The white European colonizers feel it is their right to use the African natives to accomplish their goals. The colonizers also feel that they are working toward the advancement of civilization. They see themselves as "something like an emissary of light, something like a lower sort of apostle." They believe that they are bringing the much needed civilization to the natives.
Kurtz showed this attitude of white dominance in the report that he wrote for the "International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs" who "had entrusted him with the making of a report, for its future guidance." Kurtz wrote it and "began with the argument that we whites, from the point of development we had arrived at, 'must necessarily appear to them [savages] in the nature of supernatural beings--we approach them with the might of a deity,' and so on, and so on. 'By the simple exercise of our will we can exert a power for good practically unbounded,'". This quote explains a great deal about the racism in this novel. The white culture felt a superiority over the natives to such a degree that it made them feel like Gods. They could use them and do as they wished without ever fearing punishment because they knew what was best. | <urn:uuid:e6709cb8-acda-4c47-835b-ed14fb822d2d> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/heart-darkness-392287 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549427749.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170727062229-20170727082229-00132.warc.gz | en | 0.976041 | 325 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Gerda Lerner, the founder of University of Wisconsin’s Gender and Women’s studies graduate program, died this month at age 92, leaving behind a strong history and legacy with her students and the university.
Lerner, who was formerly a UW women’s studies professor, Holocaust escapee and author, died Jan. 2 in an assisted living facility in Madison, according to longtime friend and UW Professor Florencia Mallon, who chairs the history department.
“Gerda Lerner was the single most important person in the creation of women’s history as a field,” New York University professor and colleague Linda Gordon said.
Gordon taught with Lerner from 1984 until Lerner’s retirement from UW’s Program in Gender and Women’s History in 1991. The two continued working together until 2000.
According to Gordon, Lerner began her efforts to create a women’s history field before coming to UW, but made the biggest impact in Wisconsin.
At UW, Lerner established a graduate doctorate women’s history program that produced a whole generation of scholars who are now the leaders in the field, Gordon said.
“They were extraordinarily successful,” Gordon said.
As directors of UW’s women’s history program, Gordon and Lerner produced more than 40 graduates, the majority of which are professors at other colleges and universities.
Gordon said Lerner’s students’ achievements helped overcome what she said were the sexist undertones of opposition to her program.
Lerner, who was born to a Jewish family in Vienna in 1920, and was imprisoned by Nazis before immigrating to the U.S. in 1939, began as a pioneer in the field of women’s studies in the late 1950s, according to Mallon.
Earning her masters and doctorate from Colombia University in 1966, Lerner became a founding member of the National Organization of Women, Mallon said.
“She was really one of the first people who studied women’s history, who considered the possibility women’s history could be a field,” Mallon said. “She was the kind of person who basically made the path for the rest of us. She essentially led the charge to create the field itself.”
The opportunity to initiate a women’s history program at UW opened when the university needed to fill its vacant Robinson Edwards Chair in the history department, which was reserved for a female, Mallon said. Having already established a women’s history program at Sarah Lawrence College, Lerner emerged as the best candidate for the position.
Mallon said to this day, and largely because of Lerner’s legacy, women’s history remains an integral field of study for UW and other colleges worldwide.
“[Women's history] is about half of the human race,” she said. “It’s about the story of half of the human race that for many, many years was sidelined or marginalized, and whose story is absolutely central to how human history has evolved.” | <urn:uuid:7916075d-b620-40f3-addc-4f9b9db2e348> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://badgerherald.com/news/2013/01/22/women-studies-pionee/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999679204/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060759-00098-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972921 | 641 | 2.546875 | 3 |
How to Play the Arithmetic Game
Learn how to play and teach this great game for practicing arithmetic with an expert teaching tips in this kids math games video clip. This game can be played for practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division skills. A fun game that is easily learned and played.
Measuring length is a straightforward process, but the individual doing the measuring must be able to use different units of length. Discover how to relate inches to other length units. The instructor uses a document camera to demonstrate and model using a ruler.
Serving Size Activity
Video involves students in an activity that applies estimation and measurement skills. The video explores estimations of serving sizes for different foods. 2:38 min.
Proper Nouns and Capitalization Herman's Chow Down Nouns, Part 2 of 6
In this segment of "Herman's Chow Down Nouns", proper nouns are the main topic. The video defines proper nouns, discusses how to properly capitalize proper nouns, and gives examples. Lesson plans, quizzes, black line masters and full transcripts of the cartoon are available at http://www.schoolvideos.com/tgs/E4037TG.pdf (1:19)
Spoutin' Fountain Demo
This is a fun demonstration with explanations about steam, water vapor, condensation and air pressure. You will need a flask, water, stopper, tubing, and bunsen burner. For more information, go to www.montanascience.org and select LESSON PLANS. Run time 02:45
Video shows how warm fronts are shown on weather maps and what warm fronts are. The video also includes the cloud types that are seen before a warm front occurs, the temperature changes, the wind changes, and the air pressure changes. Video gives all basic information needed to understand warm fronts. Video is of good quality and appropriate for elementary age students, especially for students who are studying weather in science.
After Beethoven's father started drinking, the income his young son generated was the family's main source of support. The days were dark, and dreadful, for the young musician.
"You have nothing more to teach me," an exasperated, impertinent Beethoven once told his father.
Escaping the turmoil in his own house, Beethoven found peace at the home of friends - Eleonore and Stephan von Breuning - whose mother (Helene) understood the growing child was fragile, ne
Autism Symptoms & Treatments : How Is Autism Treated?
Video is presented by Dr. David Hill. The treatment options for autism are limited, but one of the most common methods is applied behavioral analysis. In applied behavior analysis a behaviorist studies the child and sees what parts of the environment work and what doesn’t and then restructures the environment. The teach method is another method, which is a structured teaching approach involves a high degree of structure to teach and learn new
Video Documentary- Gay couples struggle with the values of family and society as they make plans to walk down the aisle.(Caution: This video concerns non-traditional relationships.)
British Empire during Victorian Era - slide show
A slide show with background music. It shows images of queen Victoria and maps of the places that became part of the British Empire during the Victorian era. There are events listed and the dates when the occupations took place.(Amateur video)
(1/9) The Warsaw Uprising
The Normandy beaches were chosen by planners because they lay within range of air cover, and were less heavily defended than the obvious objective of the Pas de Calais, the shortest distance between Great Britain and the Continent. Airborne drops at both ends of the beachheads were to protect the flanks, as well as open up roadways to the interior. Six divisions were to land on the first day; three U.S., two British and one Canadian. Disorganization, confusion,
Solving Calculus Word Problems Involving Rate of Change
When solving calculus word problems, it's important to know that the slope of the tangent line and the slope of the curve are the same thing. Discover how rate of change refers to the derivative. The instructor uses a document camera to aide in his presentation.
Civil War Map
Civil War Maps that progress through the Civil War
The Graveyard Book Trailer Narrated by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens is an unusual boy. He was raised in a graveyard by
ghosts and has learned the secrets they keep, like the ability to fade
and dream walk. And he'll need all of those skills to face what is
waiting for him on the outside. This book trailer, narrated by Neil
Gaiman with illustrations from the book by Dave McKean, will give you a taste of Gaiman's novel, The Graveyard Book.
Time Management Skills for Teachers
Time Management Skills for Teachers. Part of the series: Teaching & Writing. Teachers can assess their time management skills by keeping a log of their activities, reorganizing their work spaces to make things easier to find and using valuable tools that can make each task...
Parenting Basics : Educational Games for Toddlers
Any game can be education for a toddler, as they absorb an immense amount of information and skills from simple tasks, such as stacking blocks or singing songs. Make games educational for toddlers with advice from a clinical psychologist in this video on parenting.
Math Games for Kids-Improve Math Skills Bonnie Terry, M. Ed. shows a variety of math games to improve math skills. There are two levels of play, primary and middle grade. These card games make learning math facts fun. The game is for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division practice. The cards used in the game would be easy to make. Video is of good quality and the game is a good idea for parents and teachers.
Bonnie Terry, M. Ed. shows a variety of math games to improve math skills. There are two levels of play, primary and middle grade. These card games make learning math facts fun. The game is for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division practice. The cards used in the game would be easy to make. Video is of good quality and the game is a good idea for parents and teachers.
The 8 Spelling Patterns Lesson 1
Teach Spelling-Learn to Spell with the 8 Spelling Patterns. Make Sense of Spelling and learn how easy spelling can be with this video. We put letters together 8 ways to make words. Learning spelling skills becomes easy when you learn these 8 ways of putting letters together. This is a great video to help teachers and students clearly understand those 8 ways.
Teaching Tips : How to Set Up a Kindergarten Class
A kindergarten classroom should include at least three to five different play areas, including an art section, a reading and writing section, a cognitive skills section and a puppet area. Arrange a kindergarten classroom that encourages fun and creativity with tips from an educator in this video on general education.
Teachers Trade Secrets - Seating Plan
"A look at how seating plans can be used to encourage integration and to help group children according to their needs and requirements." Not much here, but it does raise some ideas of why to use a seating chart. Run time 0:56. | <urn:uuid:c73a857c-b7fc-4d80-be65-3231b568e3d3> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xpert/scoreresults.php?keywords=Document%20skills%20:%20maps%20and%20plans&start=7080&end=7100 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285244.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00232-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941918 | 1,499 | 3.46875 | 3 |
“Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” (Romans 9:21)
Pottery comes in various sizes, shapes, and styles. Some pottery is deigned to function as dinnerware, while a lot of pottery is ornamental in nature. The value of pottery is often appraised by its quality and beauty. After all, pottery is considered as an art-form. For this reason, those pieces demonstrating the greatest skill and beauty are proudly showcased and prized by collectors.
Consider then the work of a potter: of his own will, he gathers the clay, and works it through the various stages, until it is acceptable to himself. That which he produces is fit to the work he has purposed. There can be no doubt that the pot would not be what it is, if not for the power of the potter. Even the most beautiful pot is a mere product of its creator. Yet we esteem the created pot more than the creator potter. This should not be so.
In our text, the Apostle Paul uses the analogy of a potter to expound upon the election of Grace, emphasizing the prerogative of the Sovereign God to do that which He chooses. This is not a new illustration. The Prophet Jeremiah used the potter as a type to show God’s absolute power in disposing of nations (Jeremiah 18:1-6). As a Potter, the Lord has absolute right to mold us as clay into the fashion of His choosing.
Even those people who dispute Sovereign Grace will make a profession of faith, and acknowledge that the Lord had been ‘dealing with’ them for a period of time prior to their conversion. These ‘dealings’ are nothing other than Sovereign movements of God’s Spirit – first in quickening, then in drawing, finally in revealing Christ in them.
These dealings, or movements, are also experienced in the day-to-day sanctifying of the Elect, whereby we are conformed to the Image of Christ. This is the molding of the clay, so-so-speak, by which the Potter prepares us for His use.
Yet we so often fall into the snare of rejoicing over the work the Lord has done in our lives more that His working in our lives. When we testify: “I’m not the person I was,” we bear witness to a work done by God in our lives; but this testimony is always self-centered – “look at me” – pointing to the pot more than the Potter.
When the Apostle Paul bare witness to the work of God in his own life – from being a persecutor of the Church to being as Apostle thereof – he was ever-careful to say: “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10); thus giving Glory to God.
Our text poses a question: “Hath not the potter power over the clay…?” The answer is a resounding ‘Yes.’ He alone is Sovereign, and every knee bows to Him. Our God has absolute power over our entire beings, and we are but the work of His hand (Isaiah 64:8). For this reason, our rejoicing should not be over the work done in our lives (the pot); but rather let us rejoice over the One who does the work (the Potter). | <urn:uuid:72261b2a-201b-4ca3-a71b-f89595655f87> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://www.houseofhopeprisonministry.org/christian-growth/the-pot-or-the-potter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243988831.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20210508001259-20210508031259-00322.warc.gz | en | 0.960534 | 733 | 2.734375 | 3 |
In the United States more than 30,000 people are killed every year by gun violence; many more are wounded. The disaster caused by gun violence is seen in almost every community. We may hear briefly about the victims and survivors of these shootings, but what happens after the media attention moves on and the wider public becomes numb to “just another shooting”?
At the forefront of this effort is the documentary Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence, which examines the ripple effect that one shooting has on a survivor, family, community, and society. It is a story told from the perspective of those who have been directly impacted and those who are called daily to respond to this ongoing tragedy.
The documentary frames gun violence as both a disaster and a public health issue. It addresses the critical issue of gun violence prevention by moving the conversation away from the polarizing extremes that have long dominated the debate and lifting up the voice and experiences of those who seek common ground and a new way forward.
Presented by Woodinville Meaningful Movies. | <urn:uuid:738984e9-3f5a-4a64-9109-3171c9c0ac6b> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://thechurchcouncil.org/event/screening-of-trigger-the-ripple-effect-of-gun-violence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446710829.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20221201153700-20221201183700-00683.warc.gz | en | 0.973979 | 211 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Sea salt: Facts and Myths
It is believed that sea and plain, common table salt - is a different matter. Where the first is much more useful and more natural second. Salt and truth are from two different sources: underground mines and seawater. But this fact alone does not make them fundamentally different.
The underground salt deposits left us a legacy from ancient seas dried up, disappeared at a particular stage in the history of our planet - from several million to hundreds of millions of years ago. Then, due to geological processes, some salt deposits were closer to the ground, and now they exist in the form of original domes. Other salt deposits are located hundreds of meters deep, and therefore more difficult to obtain.
rock salt ground large machines in the cavities cut into the thickness of the salt arrays. However, rock salt is not suitable for human consumption, as kept the mud and a variety of organic residues by drying the ancient sea.
Therefore, table salt is produced differently: the water is pumped into the mine shaft to dissolve the salt, the salt water is pumped out (brine) onto the surface, settled all the impurities and, finally, evaporated via vacuum now pure saline. The result is the familiar tiny crystals of table salt.
In the coastal areas dominated by sunny weather, the salt can be obtained to allow the sun and wind evaporate the water from shallow ponds or "islands" of sea water. There are many kinds of sea salt extracted from the water expanses of the planet and purified to some extent.
Known, for example, gray and pink-gray species of sea salt from Korea and France, as well as black sea salt from India, the color of which is determined by local varieties of clays and algae that are present in evaporation ponds, rather than salt (sodium chloride) which they contain. Black and red types of sea salt from Hawaii owe their color random blotches of fine black lava and red baked clay. These rare and exotic types of salt are sold in specialized stores and willingly used by adventurous chefs. Naturally, they undeniably unique flavor similar to a mixture of salt with different types of clay and algae. Each type of salt has its supporters.
If evaporate all water from the ocean (removing therefrom fish), it remains tacky, gray and bitter mass of sludge, consisting of 78% of sodium chloride - common salt. The remaining 22% to 99% are composed of magnesium and calcium compounds, which are responsible for bitterness. In addition, in very small amounts are present there are at least 75 chemical elements. It is this last fact is the basis for the widespread allegations of "mass nutritional minerals" in sea salt.
However, chemical analysis subtract our enthusiasm: minerals, even in this raw and untreated sludge, are present in minor amounts. For example, you would have to eat two tablespoons of this mass to get the amount of iron that you get from a single grape.
Sea salt that falls in shops, comprises only a tenth of the mineral in comparison with unpurified sludge. Here's why: in the process of production of food of sea salt to the sun is allowed to evaporate water from the ponds, but in any case not all - and this is an important clarification. In the evaporation residue water it becomes more and more concentrated sodium chloride solution. When the salt concentration in the pond is greater than the content in seawater is about nine times, the salt begins to transform into crystals. crystals were then scraped or raked to subsequent washing, drying and packaging. (As you can rinse the salt does not dissolve it? It is washed with a solution, which already contains so much salt that it can not dissolve it. Scientists call it saturated solution.)
It is important that this "natural" crystallization itself is extremely effective purification process. Evaporation and subsequent crystallization of the sun heating make sodium chloride in 10 times cleaner - that is freer of other minerals - than it was in the ocean.
Whichever aqueous you take, if it is dominated by a single chemical substance (in our case - sodium chloride) along with a plurality of other minerals, albeit in much smaller quantities (in our case - other mineral salts), evaporative salt predominant crystal form acquire substance and all other ingredients stay in solution. This is the cleaning process, which is always used in chemistry. For example, Marie Curie used it for separating pure radium from radium ore.
The salt obtained through the solar evaporation of sea water, contains 99% of pure sodium chloride, wherein further processing is required. The remaining 1% is composed almost entirely of magnesium and calcium compounds, and all of the other 75 "of minerals" substantially absent. To obtain the amount of iron contained in a grape, now I have to eat about 100 g of the salt.
In this context, the notion that sea salt contains iodine from the outset, is a myth. Due to the fact that certain types of sea vegetation rich in iodine, some people find the ocean a kind of "iodized broth." As for the chemical elements present in seawater, it contains 100 times more boron than iodine, but we have never heard of sea salt of advertising as a source of boron.
About sea salt is often written that there is no "additives with an unpleasant taste," as in table salt. However, whatever its origin, in any case salt contains additives anti-caking (e.g., calcium silicate), so that it easily granules were poured; salt crystals, in fact, small cubes, and they tend to stick to each other. Due to the fact that the calcium silicate (like all the other anti-caking additives) is not soluble in water, table salt, when dissolved in water give off-white solution. Among other anti-caking additives may be mentioned magnesium carbonate (E504), calcium carbonate (E170) and calcium phosphate (E341). All these chemicals have no taste or smell.
But even if they were taste and smell and professional tasters can distinguish subtle flavors in the solid salt caused by the introduction of these additives (in a volume less than 1%), still dilution factor which occurs with the addition salt according to any recipe , would not allow tasters to achieve its goal. It can not be denied that some of the smaller varieties of sea salt (read: more expensive) have interesting taste characteristics. But it depends on how they are used, and from what we understand by taste.
Food Taste consists of three components: a flavor, odor and texture. In the case of salt, we can eliminate odor because neither sodium chloride or magnesium sulphate or calcium which may be present in some varieties less purified sea salts are odorless. Nevertheless, our sense of smell is very sensitive, and perhaps because of it, we smelled these less refined types of salt. In addition, when the salt is inhaled and it gets into the nose as a fine dust, some people are able to feel a slight metallic smell.
What really feel the taste buds and what are the tactile sensation of the salt in your mouth? Depending on how the salt was collected and processed, the crystals of different brands of sea salt can be very different in shape from the flakes to pyramids and fragments of irregular shape (you can see this, if you take a magnifying glass). Crystal size also varies - from very small to large, although they are larger than ordinary table salt.
when they relate to the language and then dissolved or when they get on the teeth and crushed -
If a salt sprinkled relatively dry food, such as, for example, a slice of tomato, the larger and more scaly crystals can create small areas of salinity. That is why the chef is so appreciated sea salt: just for these small "flash" a salty taste. Table salt is unable to, because of its compact small crystals dissolve on the tongue much more slowly. Thus, it is a complex form of crystals, rather than their marine origin, determines the taste characteristics of many kinds of sea salt. The reason that the majority of species is sea salt large, irregularly shaped crystals, is the following: it is the result of slow evaporation process, while fast process evaporation under vacuum (i.e. subatmospheric pressure), which was used for the production of table salt, leaves tiny crystals of regular shape - those that can be easily poured from the salt shaker. This phenomenon is well known to chemists: the faster the crystal growth process, the less will be their size.
The size and shape of the crystals have no significance when the salt is used in cooking, because they dissolve and disappear in the liquid. And when they are dissolved, then the difference in the texture is already insignificant. The taste of the food is not affected by any form of crystals were to dissolve. This is another reason why it makes no sense to specify in the recipe some special kind of sea salt, if in the process of preparation of this dish will be present moisture. And in what recipe it not?
Widespread belief that sea salt is saltier than the dining room. However, since both types of salts composed of 99% of pure sodium chloride, it is not true. This view arose from the fact that one of the tests scaly and irregularly shaped crystals of sea salt dissolved in the language immediately, quickly bringing a sense of salinity that set them apart from small and slowly dissolving crystals of table salt. But then again the ocean is not to blame the whole thing in the form of crystals.
The idea that sea salt is saltier, has led to claims that when brining it can be used in smaller amounts. Since sea salt is usually composed of large crystals of complex shape, which is not very tight lie in a teaspoon. In a teaspoon sea salt will have less sodium chloride than the same spoon of table salt to its small crystals. It turns out that when compared with identical teaspoons different sea salt content is less salty than table salt. In comparison, by weight, they are identical - for each gram of sodium chloride a salty, like any other grams of the same substance. You can not reduce salt intake, eating the same amount of salt, but just in a different form. | <urn:uuid:ccc8c7bb-babe-4856-a625-ab2ac5c67137> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://congo-mbclub.org/post/1383578/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030338280.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20221007210452-20221008000452-00458.warc.gz | en | 0.955037 | 2,115 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Posted in Finance, Accounting and Economics Terms, Total Reads: 158
Definition: Cash on Cash Return
Cash on Cash Return is defined as a commonly used rate of return computed during real estate transactions which evaluates the cash flow from income-producing assets. However, cash-on-cash return can be used in general investing terms as well, it qualifies as a quick handy test to determine if the asset qualifies for further analysis and review.
It is also known as the equity dividend rate in some contexts, when referring to non-real estate related investments.
Common utility of the cash-on-cash return formula is to evaluate properties in real estate transactions and also investments where cash flow is the critical factor. At times, this parameter can be used to determine if an asset or property is underpriced, i.e it is a benchmark indicator.
The Cash-on- cash return is computed as = Annual Dollar Income/Total Dollar Investment, expressed as a percentage. This formula determines the cash income on the cash invested. The cash-on-cash return measure can be calculated on both pre-tax and after-tax basis for the annual income
For example, consider person A purchases a rental property, and puts down 10% of the cost as a cash down payment. Hence here cash on cash return would measure the actual return made on the property in relation to the down payment.
Advantages of the Cash-on-cash return measure
• It shows the effect of leverage well, especially in the case of mortgage as in the case of real estate transactions.
• Quick and handy measure to access investment suitability.
Limitations of the Cash-on-cash return measure
• The formula does not take into account, appreciation and depreciation, hence the return on capital computed, can be a deceptive indicator.
• It does not account for extraneous risks
• Ignores the effect of compounding, in returns.
• Does not take into account, the income tax effects, resale implications, reductions in loan principal or future cash flows. | <urn:uuid:cbbd00fd-6190-4e49-b2bd-604a50c9655a> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.mbaskool.com/business-concepts/finance-accounting-economics-terms/15375-cash-on-cash-return.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988722459.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183842-00041-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915746 | 418 | 3.140625 | 3 |
MTC’s resilience and planning efforts help protect the Bay Area from earthquakes, floods, landslides and fires — as well as prepare for climate change hazards like sea level rise, extreme storms and drought.
In response to the growing threat from natural disasters in Bay Area communities, MTC and its partners continue in their collaborative efforts to plan for a region that can better adapt, and be more resilient, to future hazards.
MTC and its partners are working to make State Route 37 more resilient against chronic traffic congestion, flooding and sea level rise, in order to preserve vital connections between jobs and housing.
The Dumbarton Bridge carries more than 81,000 vehicles a day. MTC initiated the Dumbarton Bridge West Approach and Adjacent Communities Resilience Study to address the threat of sea level rise on the western approach.
Plan Bay Area 2050 is a long-range regional plan that includes future efforts and possible solutions for ongoing resilience projects.
Resilience also underpins many other goals in Plan Bay Area 2050, such as housing, infrastructure and economic development. These issues could be significantly compromised by the impacts of disasters or climate change.
By planning now, we save money in the future.
The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) assists local governments and residents in planning for earthquakes, the effects of climate change and other hazards.
The Hazard Viewer is a mapping tool that provides information and data related to natural hazard potential in the Bay Area.
MTC partners with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) and other agencies to create resilient communities that can better adapt to future hazards. | <urn:uuid:6a435b90-e257-42c6-84a9-5855d1c55f2a> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://mtc.ca.gov/planning/resilience | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103271763.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20220626161834-20220626191834-00564.warc.gz | en | 0.934338 | 347 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The river is simply part of the New Orleans heritage, and is simply nothing new to its residents. Does the water temperature affect how much the balloon fills up? The concept of demands is seen when the customer go to the stores and demand the bears that will give them satisfaction because. Step 5: Note is you see any difference in the reaction. Thanks for visiting my teaching blog. It is this instinct that is responsible for the survival of all animals on earth. The stuff left in the bottle has turned into other chemicals, mostly water, so it can't be used again.
Carefully pour the vinegar into the bottle. . Step 3: Once the water bottle is filled with some vinegar, and the balloon has some baking soda in it then you attach the balloon to the mouth of the water bottle as tight as possible. You can use any shape and color of balloon. Step 8: Take the 50 ml of the heated vinegar to a fresh plastic glass. Also, he dives into looking at the issue from an international perspective. What to do: Step 1: Find a water bottle and carefully pour ½ a cup of vinegar into the water bottle.
I tested two balloons, the second one was bigger. Does the sign of the bottle affect how much the balloon fills? After being mixed with baking soda, it smells much less strongly and is no more effective at cleaning than water is. The baking soda that you dropped into the vinegar makes an acid-base reaction. The gas expands, filling the bottle before moving into the balloon and inflating it. Fit a funnel into the neck if you have one, then pour about two tablespoons 30 mL baking soda into the balloon, or just fill the balloon about halfway full. And then gently lift up the balloon so that the baking soda can fall into the bottle. The man is strong and smart but nature humbled him during his quest to reach his friends.
The United States is a democratic country where everyone has the same opportunity to gain acclamations. In this science activity, the baking soda and vinegar are our reactants. I chose to stick with 's directions. After being mixed with baking soda, it smells much less strongly and is no more effective at cleaning than water is. Balloons are fun to play with, but Inflating a balloon is truly a pain when you have dozens of them to do. This will also start inflating the balloon. Often, two kinds of molecules react with each other, breaking up and forming different molecules out of the pieces.
When man heeds the warning signs that nature has to offer and those warnings of other men, he is most likely to conquer nature. During my search for alternative methods for inflating a balloon, I found this interesting science activity. Choose a plastic water bottle, or another bottle with a narrow neck. But the common want that all the customers can have is the one of spending time with their kids and creating that special union through the making of the bear. Baking soda is a type of substance called a base. I've taught 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Stretch the balloon a little bit and make it ready to be able to put baking soda inside of it.
This is quite a terrifying point of view. Pour the baking soda through the funnel into the balloon. Therefore, it is very important to surmount the language barrier and build a stout bridge to connect people's heart in order to accomplish achievement here in the United States. You can use any shape and color of balloon. Use white vinegar, also called distilled vinegar, for the best result. Using baking soda, vinegar, an empty plastic bottle, and a balloon, we were able to build fizz inflators and conduct scientific method experiments that tested different variables and their effects on the chemical acid-base reactions! Carefully pull the opening of the balloon over the opening of the bottle.
This is also known as Online Behavioural Advertising. In Fizz Inflator experiment we are using baking soda and vinegar to inflate balloons so easily. So, if you liked our self-inflating balloon or fizz inflator experiment, please write your experience in the comments below. Give examples of needs, wants, and demands that Build-A-Bear customers demonstrate, differentiating each of these three concepts. Loosen up the balloon by stretching it a few times and then use the funnel to fill it a bit more than half way with the baking soda. No because the amount of baking soda and vinegar is the same.
Learn about baking soda and vinegar. It's something that's easy and fun for parents and kids. Once they fill up the bottle, they will move into our balloon and cause it to inflate! Lift the balloon and allow the baking soda to fall into the vinegar. Carefully pull the opening of the balloon over the opening of the bottle. Does water temperature affect how fast the balloon fills up? Try it and enjoy the fun. The concept of wants may differ between clients because of their culture and personality, so the way they personalize their toy is kind of unique. Neither you, nor the coeditors you shared it with will be able to recover it again.
Fit a funnel into the neck if you have one, then pour about two tablespoons 30 mL baking soda into the balloon, or just fill the balloon about halfway full. To determine the fall down in the revenue first of all we have to clear all the research questions and by taking timely and focused marketing research. Does the size of the bottle affect how much the balloon fills? This river is the same river that helped impregnate and vitalize the soil of early settlers. Variables Independent Variable The baking soda, vinegar, balloon, and water bottle. Also, there´s the essential need of humans that is to interact with someone else. | <urn:uuid:38b73d0e-c9d4-44b0-84d9-84656bbbe188> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://ivanenviroman.com/balloon-fizz-inflator.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202530.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20190321172751-20190321194751-00386.warc.gz | en | 0.953195 | 1,180 | 2.765625 | 3 |
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From Wired How-To WikiHold on to your passwords if you want to stay safe on the internet. Of course, you need those passwords to access your bank, your e-mail and sites where you connect with friends. There are people out to trick you into giving those private codes away using a scam called "phishing." Let's look at how to identify and avoid falling for one yourself.
What is Phishing?The strange name sounds a lot like the fishing you do in a lake with a pole. That's because it's a similar process: phishers apply bait and wait for a bite. They want you to be the fish.
These scams find ways to get you to a page that looks like the login to a financial institution or other site where knowing your credentials can benefit them in some way. Many times the "hook" comes in the form of an e-mail that appears to be from a trusted source. Also in the e-mail is a call to click a link to go to a site that is made to look like the one you know.
Another common phishing scheme, especially on social networks, is to take advantage of messaging systems built into the products. The messages may even come from trusted friends, who have themselves fallen pray to the scam.
Once you are on the phishing site, if you type your login information, it will be sent to the bad guys, even though it looks just like a site you trust.
Read on to learn some ways to identify a scam before you fall for it.
Your friend may be touting a get-rich-quick scheme. Even if this friend usually shares completely reliable information, be wary. Your friend may have fallen victim to a scam himself. If you have his phone number, pick up the phone and get to the bottom of it. He may appreciate you alerting him to the scam.
Since we've all become fairly resistant to this "too good" scam, many phishers use the opposite approach. If it sounds too bad to be true, such as an unexpected large payment from your account being processed by your bank, watch out. The scammers are preying on your desire to fix the problem immediately.
The same goes for unexpected payments or charges with online wallet services like Paypal. When it comes to your money, especially, you can't be too skeptical. Read on for other ways to identify whether there's a scammer on the other end of that login form.
Your location bar is usually up at the top of the window you use for web browsing. The text inside starts with http:// or https://. The part that comes immediately after that is the host name, like /wired.com/. Sometimes, instead it has extra words up front, like /howto.wired.com/. That's called a sub-domain.
Whoever owns the main .com (or .net, .org, etc.) can make as many sub-domains as they want. Scammers use a simple trick to include your bank's name in front of their own web site name.
Let's say your bank's website is yourbank.com. A scammer might use yourbank.securebank.com, which looks pretty good. But remember, your bank can own anything ending in .yourbank.com. But whoever owns securebank.com (the scammer in this case) can put anything in front of securebank.com, including the name of your bank.
Using the URL to identify the scam means you have to understand the difference between securebank.yourbank.com and yourbank.securebank.com. If they look the same to you, know that makes you extra vulnerable. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse: often the scammers get really devious and use yourbank.com.securebank.com. The URL begins with your bank's complete web site name, but it's still a scam!
Some browsers identify the main part of the host name by bolding it in the location bar. That can make it easier to figure out whether or not you're looking at the real site. Even with the visual aid, it's still all too easy to misread the text in the location bar.
You need to visit your bank, or whichever site this is, directly. Don't click links in e-mails or messages, but preferably type the address of the site you usually use into the location bar. Alternatively, you can search for the name of the bank and click the search result.
Once you are on the site itself, log in there. Doing this will ensure that you are really on the correct website and not sending your credentials to a third party. When you have logged in, look to verify the information you were told in the potential phishing scam. For example, if your bank e-mailed you about a bounced check, wouldn't there be some sign of that on the site itself, too?
If you still aren't sure, you can go old school: Pick up the phone. If the site is a financial institution, there's got to be a way to call them. Remember to get the number from the real site, not from the site you visit by clicking a link.
Following this and other tips in this article should keep you safe from phishing scams. Healthy skepticism and a little technical know-how go a long way to keeping your personal data secure.
Bolding the important part of the URL is one way we're starting to see the steps toward putting phishing scams behind us. Why couldn't it also determine from the text on the scam site that it's pretending to be another site? If scammers aren't able to use the name or logo of your bank without triggering a red flag, that would take away their most important weapon.
To completely be safe from phishing will require much larger changes. For example, some financial institutions use physical "fobs" with encrypted data to prove your identity. Though implementations aren't widespread, you can now install a fingerprint scanner on your computer. Devices for facial recognition and retina scans can't be far behind.
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Boulder, Colorado. July 8, 2014 – The Golden Spike Company and Honeybee Robotics have completed a preliminary design study for unmanned rovers capable of enhancing the next human missions to the moon.
In partnership with technical staff at Golden Spike, Honeybee engineers conducted trade studies of both flight-proven and promising technologies to design configurable robotic rovers that can collect and store several kilograms of scientific samples from the Moon’s surface in advance of, or in conjunction with, Golden Spike’s human expeditions.
“We’re excited to add the possibility of extending human lunar expedition productivity with precursor sample cache rovers that can make longer traverses than a human expedition can. Honeybee’s rover design study for us forcefully demonstrates the promise that such rovers can be accomplished with modest resources,” said Dr. S. Alan Stern, Golden Spike’s President and CEO.
In 2013, an international scientific workshop led by Golden Spike proposed new concepts for lunar missions, including robotic-human expeditions. The proposal envisions sending robotic systems to the Moon to collect samples ahead of a crewed Golden Spike expedition to retrieve the robot’s cache. The concept allows the scientific return of a mission to be more extensive, since it would include samples collected by the rover many miles (kilometers) away from a landing site.
Honeybee has a heritage in planetary sampling and geotechnical analysis, having delivered systems for the last three of NASA’s Mars landers, including the Rock Abrasion Tool for the Mars Exploration Rovers; the “Phoenix Scoop” for the Phoenix Mars Lander; and the Dust Removal Tool and Sample Manipulation System for the Mars Science Laboratory. The company’s facilities are equipped with NASA-certified clean rooms and unique space environment simulation chambers.
“Our 25 year history developing space systems, including contributions to several Mars landers, enabled Honeybee to deliver an innovative but reliable rover design for Golden Spike’s lunar exploration program,” said Steve Gorevan, co-founder and Chairman of Honeybee Robotics. “Our experience includes developing dozens of planetary sampling, sample processing, instrumentation and mobility technologies for missions to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids, and we are proud we can contribute to both the scientific and commercial applications that Golden Spike is pursuing with its human and robotic lunar exploration.”
Honeybee Robotics met Golden Spike’s Science Advisory Board requirements with a design for a teleoperated rover that can traverse 10-100 km and collect both regolith and rock samples from multiple sites, storing them in individual bins for later analysis. The rover weighs just 77 kg as designed, with a stereo camera for enhanced imaging and navigation. The rover is designed with additional capacity to accommodate various payloads, such as Honeybee’s NanoDrill rock coring drill and other science instrumentation.
The study with Honeybee is one of a number that Golden Spike is undertaking with industry partners in preparation for future flight system procurements. Market studies conducted for the company show the possibility of 15-25 or more expeditions in the decade following a first landing. | <urn:uuid:6a1be324-7fe4-4f0c-adcd-0f90225af470> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://www.coloradospacenews.com/golden-spike-honeybee-robotics-unveil-lunar-rover-design/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703522150.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20210121004224-20210121034224-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.910458 | 648 | 2.921875 | 3 |
of West Milford
Practice Wildfire Safety
People start most wildfires. . . find out how you can promote and practice wildfire safety.
· Contact your local fire department, health department or forestry office for information on fire laws. Make sure that fire vehicles can get to your home. Clearly mark all driveway entrances and display your name and address.
· Report hazardous conditions that could cause a wildfire.
· Teach children about fire safety. Keep matches out of their reach.
· Post fire emergency telephone numbers.
· Plan several escape routes away from your home — by car and by foot.
· Talk to your neighbors about wildfire safety. Plan how the neighborhood could work together after a wildfire. Make a list of your neighbors’ skills such as medical or technical. Consider how you could help neighbors who have special needs such as elderly or disabled persons. Make plans to take care of children who may be on their own if parents can’t get home.
FIRE STOPS WITH YOU
Landscaping Can Save Your Home: A Factsheet on Rural Fire Safety
fires destroy hundreds of homes and acres of land every year across the country.
Fire-safe landscaping is an effective tool that creates an area of defensible
space between your home and flammable vegetation that protects against
The United States Fire
Administration (USFA) encourages you to keep fire safety at the forefront by
learning how to landscape and maintain your property to minimize possible fire
damage and slow fires if they start. Remember, fire safety is your personal
responsibility... Fire Stops With You!
During the 1993 raging
Malibu fires, a number of homes were saved as a result of the owners’ careful
pruning and landscaping techniques that protected their homes. In a fire
situation, the deed trees and shrubs surrounding your home act as fuel for fire.
Removing flammable vegetation reduces the threat of fire. Follow these basic
rules to create defensible space that-works.
Remove all dead plants, trees and shrubs from the site.
Reduce excess leaves, plant parts and low-hanging branches.
Replace dense flammable plants with fire-resistant plants.
The choice of plants, spacing and maintenance are crucial elements in any
defensible space landscaping plan.
for a Fire-safe Landscape
Create a defensible space perimeter by thinning trees and brush within 30
feet around your home.
Beyond 30 feet, remove dead wood, debris and low tree branches.
Eliminate small trees and plants growing under trees. They allow ground
fires to jump into tree crowns.
Space trees 30 feet apart and prune to a height of 8 to 10 feet.
Place shrubs at least 20 feet from any structures and prune regularly.
Plant the most drought-tolerant vegetation within three feet of your home
and adjacent to structures to prevent ignition.
Provide at least a 10 to 15 foot separation between islands of shrubs and
plant groups to effectively break-up continuity of vegetation.
Landscape your property with fire-resistant plants and vegetation to
prevent fire from spreading quickly.
Check your local nursery or county extension service for advice on fire
resistant plants that
are suited for your environment.
Create fire-safe zones with stone walls, patios, swimming pools, decks
Use rock, mulch, flower beds and gardens as ground cover for bare spaces
There are no ‘fire-proof’ plants. Select high moisture plants that
grow close to the ground
and have a low sap or resin content.
Choose plant species that resist ignition such as rockrose, iceplant and
Fire-resistant shrubs include hedging roses, bush honeysuckles, currant,
sumac and shrub apples.
Plant hardwood, maple, poplar and cherry trees that are less flammable
than pine, fir and
Your Home and Surrounding Property
Maintain a well-pruned and watered landscape to serve as a green belt and
protection against fire.
Keep plants green during the dry season and use supplemental irrigation,
Trim grass on a regular basis up to 100 feet surrounding your home.
Stack firewood at least 30 feet from your home.
Store flammable materials, liquids and solvents in metal containers
outside the home at
least 30 feet away from structures and wooden fences.
No matter where you live, always install smoke alarms on every level of
your home. Test
them monthly and change the batteries at least once a year. Consider
installing the new
long-life smoke alarms.
More Information Contact:
The United States Fire Administration
of Fire Management Programs
16825 South Seton Avenue
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
Print out the following fact sheets and checklists:
Check here for more wildfire information on this site: Wildfires
To send email to Emergency Services please click here: firstname.lastname@example.org
Mailing Address: 1480 Union Valley Road West Milford NJ 07480
Site location: 13 Edgar Drive West Milford NJ 07480 | <urn:uuid:5ba43dd1-55fc-4ec0-b38a-4d85d47fa5ef> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://www.wmoem.org/OEM/wildfiresafetysheets.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948512121.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20171211033436-20171211053436-00305.warc.gz | en | 0.88828 | 1,071 | 3.125 | 3 |
Youth & Community
ACES Social History Project
The ACES group was a social group for older residents. It met regularly for many years, helping to combat social isolation and forge new friendships. The group met weekly at the Pembroke Street estate office and took part in a wide range of social and educational activities.
Notable amongst these activities was a social history project called ‘Shadow over Devonport which took place in the late 1990’s. This project captured memories of the Second World War and the German blitz raids over Devonport from the perspective of some of the Devonport women who had lived through the war. The finished version of the project was handed over to the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre based at HMS Vivid in the Dockyard.
The group also went on several UK excursions and two residential trips to France. For many of the group this was the first time in their lives that they had applied for a Passport and ventured outside of the UK. (See the picture gallery below).
Also pictured here is the group learning how to use computers and the Internet, just one of many educational projects they took part in.
The group also attended youth club sessions to build links between young and old, sharing stories of their own childhoods. | <urn:uuid:7a466a5b-2969-4c2d-bcfb-97f7ec41363f> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | http://www.pembrokestreet.co.uk/aces-social-history-project/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487608856.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20210613131257-20210613161257-00107.warc.gz | en | 0.979965 | 257 | 2.515625 | 3 |
On January 18:
1670 Henry Morgan captured Panama.
1779 Peter Mark Roget, British lexicographer, was born.
1813 Joseph Glidden, American farmer who patented barbed wire, was born.
1849 Sir Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia, was born.
1854 Thomas Watson, American telephone pioneer, was born.
1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany was proclaimed the first German Emperor in the ‘Hall of Mirrors’ of the Palace of Versailles towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire was known as the Second Reich to Germans.
1882 A. A. Milne, English author, was born.
1884 Dr. William Price attempted to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.
1886 Modern field hockey was born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
1903 President Theodore Roosevelt sent a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
1904 Cary Grant, English actor, was born.
1913 Danny Kaye, American actor, was born.
1916 A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite struck a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.
1919 The Paris Peace Conference opened in Versailles.
1919 Ignacy Jan Paderewski became Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
1919 Bentley Motors Limited was founded.
1933 Ray Dolby, American inventor (Dolby noise reduction system), was born.
A group of SS men on the street of Warsaw Ghetto during the uprising
1944 Paul Keating, twenty-fourth Prime Minister of Australia, was born.
1944 The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosted a jazz concert for the first time. The performers were Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
1944 – Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
Diorama of the Siege of Leningrad, in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, in Moscow
1945 Liberation of the Budapest ghetto by the Red Army.
1955 Battle of Yijiangshan.
1958 – Willie O’Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut.
1969 United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay resulting in the loss of all 32 passengers and six crew members.
1977 Scientists identified a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires’ disease.
1977 – Australia’s worst rail disaster at Granville, Sydney killed 83.
1978 The European Court of Human Rights found the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
1980 Upper Hutt’s Jon Stevens made it back-to-back No.1 singles when ‘Montego Bay’ bumped ‘Jezebel’ from the top of the New Zealand charts.
2000 The Tagish Lake meteorite hit the Earth.
A 159 gram fragment of the Tagish Lake meteorite
2002 Sierra Leone Civil War declared over.
2003 A bushfire killed 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
2005 The Airbus A380,, the world’s largest commercial jet, was unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse.
2007 The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years killed 14 people, Germany’s worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill, caused at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe. Other losses included the Container Ship MSC Napoli destroyed by the storm off the coast of Devon.
Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia | <urn:uuid:47f235b2-b1b4-4332-b532-6fb96f1178ba> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://homepaddock.wordpress.com/tag/francisco-pizarro/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780060677.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20210928092646-20210928122646-00044.warc.gz | en | 0.938168 | 806 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Seasonal Winter Maintenance Guide: Keep your Garden and Water Systems in Top Condition!
Winter usually means that you can put the mower away and enjoy a rest from the garden, as grass growth has slowed down significantly and the lawn requires less thorough care to keep it in check. However, although the garden may not require as much ongoing maintenance as during the warmer months, there are still steps you can take to ensure it is ready to begin thriving once spring comes back around.
Depending on your lawn type, grass will respond and grow differently throughout the winter months. Cool-Season grasses (such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and creeping bent) come from temperate to cold areas where the highest rainfall is in winter or spring, and as a result, they handle the cold weather much better. Warm-Season grasses (including couch, kikuyu, buffalo and zoysia) hail from tropical climates which experience the most amount of rainfall in the warmer months.
While cool-season turf prefers temperatures between 10-19°C to grow, warm-season turfs slow down or enter dormancy until soil temperatures reach or exceed 23°C.
Over Winter, you don’t need to provide your lawn with as much water as during the hot, arid months of the year. This means you can switch off your timers and water on an as-needed basis for the season! Putting excess moisture into the soil can be detrimental to your lawn during this time, so it is best to avoid watering unless it is essential (such as when the lawn dries out completely and leaves begin curling.)
If encouraging strong colour by preventing frost forming is essential to you, it is best to apply water in the early hours of the morning before the sun rises.
Now is the time of the year to allow your lawn to grow out and reap the benefits of having a longer leaf, especially in shaded areas. By leaving extra leaf surface, your lawn can take greater advantage of photosynthesis, which helps to keep your lawn healthy while reducing the likelihood of winter weeds popping up.
This is also a fantastic opportunity for any homeowner or gardener to perform some basic maintenance on garden equipment – such as the mower – to ensure your tools are in top working condition for the spring.
There are benefits to fertilising your lawn during the winter months, but the process and products aren’t the same as those implemented during the summer. Once soil temperatures drop low enough, grass growth begins to slow and enter semi-dormancy: a protection method warm-season grasses use to defend themselves from winter’s harsh conditions. They are still able to absorb essential nutrients, but at a slower rate. Winter fertilisers feature iron as a key ingredient, as it assist in strengthening the leaf and improving colour.
However, to ensure your lawn stays strong and healthy through the cold winter months, it is best to fertilise your lawn regularly throughout the year (especially during autumn.)
Winter can be a difficult time for plants, especially in colder areas. It is typical for growth to slow right down during this period, so ensuring you are treating your plants correctly is vital for their survival.
Water is essential for the health of your plants, but equally so is the process of delivering that water. Garden plants require approximately 2.5-3cm of water to remain adequately hydrated through the year, and a lot of these plants are able to survive off rainfall alone during the winter months. However, due to soil retaining water (as evaporation occurs less during winter than summer) there is an increased risk of water logging.
In order to ensure you are watering your plants as frequently or rarely as required, it is important to analyse both the plants being grown and the weather patterns that occur in your area, as well as regularly testing moisture levels in the soil. One of the best options for ensuring accurate moisture readings is investing in a soil moisture meter (available as simple probe-type units or permanently installed sensors.)
This is also a great time to check your watering and irrigation systems to ensure all parts and fittings are working correctly, and are in good condition for the coming season.
Although applying fertiliser to your lawn during winter may prove redundant (due to dormancy, specifically in warm-season turfs), fertilising your winter flowering bulbs and vegetables can be vital for proper establishment.
Utilising a fertiliser high in potash or potassium is recommended, as it promotes the development of deep green leaves, improves plant strength, and encourages vigour throughout the cool season.
Depending on the size of your garden and how much of a problem weeds present, you may require weeding more frequently during these months (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.) Regularly checking your yard for weeds also allows the chance to check for insect attack or disease.
If regularly trekking out into your yard during the colder days of winter doesn’t interest you, there is always the option of applying a quality herbicide that won’t damage your lawn or garden plants.
Winter has arrived, which means you can alter how often you irrigate your lawn and garden, or stop irrigation altogether. Depending on the area you live, your garden may be capable of surviving off rainfall alone, which offers the time to carry out basic maintenance tasks on your irrigation system, install a new system, or update your existing one.
Now is the ideal time to change the seasonal adjustments on your smart controller (if installed) and/or reduce the frequency of watering. Check your rain or moisture sensors to ensure they are in the correct position for collecting data and not blocked by eaves, overhanging trees, or any other obstacles.
If you have an old controller, now is the time to consider making the upgrade to a newer system. By introducing the new features offered by smart controllers and installing a rain sensor, you can save money and time tending to your yard! This is also a fantastic time of year to consider installing a rainwater harvesting system to supply your garden.
Assessing & Servicing:
Now that winter has arrived, your irrigation system is finally getting a rest; it is the ideal time to book an irrigation service for assessment, maintenance and upgrades on your system.
Our friendly team at Smart Water can visit you on site to ensure everything is in working order when the warm season comes around again.
Winter is the ideal time to put your rainwater harvesting system to use as rainfall increases during the cool months. By ensuring your tank is clean and up to standard in time for regular rain, you are able to collect and store valuable resources for use when the spring and summer return.
You should regularly check the quality of your water supply regardless of the season, and the beginning of winter is an ideal time as any to ensure the smell, taste, and look of your water is up to standard. The easiest way to identify whether you have a serious issue with your rainwater harvesting system or not is to test the quality of the water you have collected.
Use this time to check for signs of corrosion on or in your tank, look for evidence of animal or insect access, and ensure debris has not accumulated in your gutters or filters.
Frequent cleaning of your rainwater harvesting system’s components is recommended to ensure you are receiving the best quality water possible. Inspecting and maintaining your gutters, first flush diverters, downpipes and other fittings seasonally (or after storms) helps to prevent debris – such as leaf and plant materials – accumulating and polluting your supply. Trimming overhead branches and carrying out other garden maintenance tasks can also help to prevent the likelihood of materials building up.
Checking your tank for the accumulation of sludge is also essential for water quality. If sludge is covering the bottom, siphon it out or completely empty the tank. Professional tank cleaners operate in most areas and are able to empty your tank quickly and efficiently.
If you use your rainwater harvesting system to collect drinking water, using treatments to destroy any harmful bacteria and viruses present is essential. Animal and bird droppings, dust, dirt and decaying vegetable matter (such as leaves) can contaminate tank water and lead to the presence of dangerous bacteria, such as E Coli and streptococci.
Most water tanks experience some issues throughout their working life. Some of these problems you can resolve on your own, while other problems may require an experienced pump technician to remove the unit for repair. If your water tank pump experiences any significant issues, you will likely lose water pressure or water flow.
If you notice any of the following problems, contact Smart Water Shop for advice:
Reduced Water – If your water pump runs but doesn’t deliver water, there may be a fault within the pump. Pump impellers and seals may fail, and foreign matter or debris from the tank can clog the pump internals. Low water levels within a tank can also cause dry-run failure.
Stopped Pump – If your pump/motor system stops running, you may have an electrical fault or foreign matter seizure. These problems are often repairable.
Cycling – One of the most common problems with water pumps is shortened run cycles. If you notice your pump used to run for longer amounts of time and has recently started to run shorter or more rapid cycles, call Smart Water for service and support. Short cycles are often the result of faults within the pumps auto-pressure control or an indication of leaky pipes/taps. Over their lifetime, too many stops or starts will limit the reliability of the pressure control and pump.
Whether you have a productive ecosystem with fish and edible plants or enjoy the simple beauty of an ornamental water garden, winter is the ideal time for some pond maintenance.
It is important at the beginning of the season to inspect the overall condition of your pond or water garden. Each piece of equipment should be thoroughly checked for wear and damage (including pumps, filters, lights, all cables, tubing, and connections.) If significant damage or wear is found, repairing or replacing the damaged components prior to winter arriving is recommended.
For ponds with fish or other wildlife present, giving your filters and filtration system a thorough clean can help prevent significant issues popping up later on during the year. If string algae or green water algae’s begin to appear, check your filtration system to return your water to a healthy state.
Winter is also a fantastic time to install a pond or water feature, as it allows time for the system to be settled and running smoothly by the time the warmer months set in.
Be sure to remove all decaying leaves and flowers, accumulated sediment, soils and debris from your pond (as well as areas directly surrounding your pond) before they have the chance to decay and pollute your water.
If your pond or water garden is populated by fish, now is the time you should switch them to a lower protein diet as their metabolism slows with the approaching cold weather. They will eat less and less winter, also decreasing the amount of waste produced as a result. As your fish’s metabolism decreases, they will slow down and become easy prey for other wildlife, such as birds. Adding a pond net or guard to your ecosystem can help prevent bird predation.
Now is a good time to move your pond pump closer to the surface of the water garden, as mixing deep cold water with the warmer water at the pond’s surface can cause fish unnecessary stress.
You should conduct seasonal inspections and maintenance on your outdoor entertaining or landscape lighting fixtures to ensure a beautiful and well-lit outdoor area year around. As the summer weather calms down and colder temperatures arrive, there is no better time than now to check that your lighting system is in top condition to survive the winter months.
Inspecting your lighting fixtures can help you identify which ones are broken, failing, or aging, and allow you the time to upgrade or replace the units before winter sets in. Pay particular attention to the wiring – check for signs of wear and replace any damaged sections of wire or heat drink joints, in order to ensure your system remains waterproof in the wetter months.
If you notice that your fixture is too far gone – there’s excessive corrosion, the mechanical integrity has been compromised, or the lens has broken or is missing – then replacing the light may be more cost effective than having it repaired.
Checking if any lights have been accumulating excess dirt and dust is a quick and easy way of brightening up your yard. Lumens can be lost from dirt and bug matter building up on the globe and lens, so ensuring you keep your landscape lighting fixtures clean also ensures you’re receiving the most efficient light possible.
Replace your cheap fixtures, burned out globes, or broken lamps with long-lasting LED options – their long lifetime means they require less frequent replacement, and the ensuing labour savings and low-energy consumption justify the slightly higher input cost.
You can help prevent globes burning out from unnecessary over-use by installing timers and sensors to activate the lights automatically. | <urn:uuid:8e106bcb-9390-4e08-8542-74a4424e3763> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://smartwatershop.com.au/blog/seasonal-winter-maintenance-guide-keep-your-garden-and-water-systems-in-top-condition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593657140746.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20200713002400-20200713032400-00369.warc.gz | en | 0.945624 | 2,684 | 2.6875 | 3 |
by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh
All human beings during their lives experience love and friendship to some extent. Human love can be classified into three basic categories according to its intensity, quality and limitations.
The first form of love is friendship based on social conventions where two people behave in accordance with the principle: "I for myself, you for yourself; we love each other, but we have no expectations of each other." This form of love is that of ordinary people, whose love relationships tend to be of this nature.
The second form of love is based on a more solid foundation, and those who live together usually experience this kind of love: "I for you, you for me; we love each other, having mutual expectations of each other." This form of love includes profound love as well as the love found within most families, involving emotional give and take on a more or less equal footing.
The third kind of love transcends all conventions based on mutual expectations, being founded on the following principle: "I am for you, you are for whoever you choose; I accept whatever you want without any expectations whatsoever."
The sufi's devotion to God and to the master of the Path exemplifies this latter form of love. This third kind of love is not based upon any constraints or conditions; the sufi who possesses this kind of love says with contentment and submission to God: "I am satisfied with whatever You want, without any expectations, and love You without any thought of reward."
The sufi's love of God involves no expectation of reward or fear of punishment, for the sufi does not have any wishes and demands. The sufi embraces and loves God's wrath as much as His grace, His hardheartedness as much as His fidelity.
Only a few sufis have managed to annihilate themselves in the Beloved through the path of such love and friendship. It is about these sufis that Rumi has said:
Everything is the Beloved,
and the lover but a veil;
The Beloved is alive,
while the lover is dead.
Thus, we see that the highest form of human love is 'sufi love'. Alas, it is a polo ball that only the most distinguished and perfected of humans are worthy of putting into play.
Article taken from Discourses on The Sufi Path
Other Articles in this Category
The Message of Sufism
The essential message of Sufism, a message holding true for all sufis, is this; to remember God and serve others.
Who is a Sufi?
The sufi is a lover of God, and like any other lover, he proves his love by constant remembrance of his Beloved. This constant attention to God has two effects: One outward and the other inward.
In view of the common misunderstandings that exist today regarding Sufism, Dr. Javad Nirbakhsh decided it would be appropriate to provide some clarification of certain fundamental points. People should be aware that Sufism today differs considerably from that of a thousand years ago.
The capital of the Path is, in truth, nothing other than sincerity. Sincerity has been defined as 'showing yourself as you really are' and 'being inwardly what you show yourself to be'. | <urn:uuid:c2a97430-5ddf-492f-88ea-985b815b5e88> | CC-MAIN-2016-36 | http://www.nimatullahi.org/what-is-sufism/discourses/love.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-36/segments/1471982967797.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160823200927-00142-ip-10-153-172-175.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956127 | 675 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Burnout (n.) A post-traumatic stress disorder caused by excessive investment in an imbalanced project.
Most individuals who undertake significant projects undergo burnout, though few would formalize their symptoms as such. The stages of burnout, from start to finish, are expressed by clear emotional states as follows:
- Naive enthusiasm, in which the individual undertakes a project of heroic impossibility. This phase can last for a year or so.
- Brave optimism, in which the individual works on the project, understaffed and undercompensated. This phase can last for a few months to several years depending on how successful the project is. Note that project success often just makes the burnout deeper.
- Cynical abandonment, in which the individual suddenly and without warning abandons his project. At the least, the individual "drops off the radar" with no explanation. In the worse cases the individual tries actively to destroy the project so that no-one else can take it over.
- Active disinterest, in which the very mention of the project raises urges to vomit and break things. This usually lasts about the same as the period of brave optimism.
- Cautious reawakening, in which the individual tries to re-engage, hopefully with some new knowledge of wtf happened.
Rules for avoiding burnout:
- Don't work alone on killer projects.
- Delegate so you are replaceable.
- Take breaks when you feel you need them, don't be a hero.
- Don't work with or for exploitative b*!*!*!ds. | <urn:uuid:ae6e47e3-c4ca-49b5-860c-fc60958bf7ff> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://wiki.hintjens.com/wiki:burnout | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218186895.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212946-00150-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941544 | 331 | 3.125 | 3 |
To view an abstract, select an author from the vertical list on the left.
2017 Grants - Lim
Cognitive and Biological Changes in APOE4 Carriers: Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease
Yen Ying Lim, Ph.D.
The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
2017 Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant (AARG)
What are the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged adults who carry the APOE-e4 genetic variation?
The apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene codes for the production of ApoE protein, a naturally occurring protein in the brain. There are different versions of the APOE gene, and one of those versions, known as APOE-e4, is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Carrying APOE-e4 can hasten the rate of cognitive decline and promote formation of abnormal beta-amyloid “plaques” in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Recent studies suggest that Alzheimer’s-associated brain changes can be detected many years prior to the onset of clinical symptoms, but most studies of APOE-e4 carriers have been in people aged 65 years and older. Studying middle-aged individuals who carry APOE-e4 offers the opportunity to detect the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease and inform future prevention or treatment strategies.
Yen Ying Lim, Ph.D., and colleagues have planned a study to look for the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease in a large group of middle-aged individuals (aged 40-60) who have the APOE-e4 genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. The study participants are part of the Healthy Brain Project and will include 1,000 people who carry at least one copy of the APOE-e4 gene and 3,000 who carry forms of the APOE gene that do not increase risk (i.e. non-carriers). The participants will be assessed for changes in memory function, mood and lifestyle factors over several years. A subset of the participants will also have cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected for measurements of beta-amyloid and abnormal tau. Changes in the levels of abnormal proteins in the CSF have been shown to be effective “biomarkers” for Alzheimer’s disease progression.
These studies could allow us to detect the earliest signs of cognitive decline and biomarker changes in individuals at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, this study will help determine how lifestyle factors may influence these changes over time. A better understanding of these mechanisms is critical for designing treatment strategies (lifestyle changes and/or drug treatments) that could potentially slow, halt or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. | <urn:uuid:998bf765-f99b-4aeb-be7d-361344e71052> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | https://www.actionalz.org/research/alzheimers_grants/for_researchers/overview-2017.asp?grants=2017lim | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583511216.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20181017195553-20181017221053-00323.warc.gz | en | 0.890869 | 580 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Newly published studies by researchers at the BYU School of Exercise Science provide crucial, rarely-available data detailing the extent of America’s obesity epidemic. The paper, published in The Journal of Obesity, examined long-term weight gain among over 13,800 American adults, a rare data point uncovered in obesity studies.
They found that over half of American adults in the study gained 5% or more of their body mass in ten years.
More than one-third of American adults gained 10% or more body weight, and nearly one-fifth gained 20% or more.
If adults gained an average weight in each decade of their adult lives, they would gain over 45 pounds, pushing many into the obesity category. According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services and CDC, 42.4% of American adults are now obese, up significantly from 30.5% in 2000. | <urn:uuid:5f1db5e8-1e6b-468f-9a7d-1fc0db7d7f89> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://christmasincanberra.com.au/many-in-us-study-shows-gaining-weight-over-the-last-decade/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00365.warc.gz | en | 0.954981 | 181 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Using Have, Has, Had
So far, you've learned that verbs can describe actions in the past, present or future.
The verb have is a bit special.
It has special forms in the present and past tense.
Have in the Present Tense
When the subject is singular, use has.
Take a look:
Elsa has many apples in her farm.
Tip: singular means just one. It's the opposite of plural, which means more than one.
The rule is the same for the singular pronouns he, she, and it.
It has many black spots on its body.
It is a singular pronoun, so we used has. ✅
When the subject is plural, we use have.
These cats have soft fur.
Cats is a plural subject, so we used have.
We also use have for the pronouns I, you, we, and they.
I have many friends.
You have many friends.
We have many friends.
They have many friends.
We used have in all these examples because the subjects are the pronouns I, you, we, and they.
Have in the Past Tense
The past tense of have is had.
Had is used for both singular and plural subjects.
Carl had a lot of work to do.
They had to pack all our things.
The subject in the first sentence is Carl. It's singular.
The subject in the second sentence is they. It's plural.
We used had for both.
Great job learning about the irregular verb have.
Now, complete the practice to help you remember everything you learned for longer! 💪 | <urn:uuid:33c239b7-1bbd-4c70-b477-6fd05cbfcf2f> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://classace.io/learn/grammar/3rdgrade/verb-have-has-had | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487626122.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20210616220531-20210617010531-00301.warc.gz | en | 0.967154 | 345 | 3.46875 | 3 |
On Friday, President Joseph Biden approved more than $3.46 billion to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change nationwide. This significant investment will be available for natural hazard mitigation measures across the 59 major disaster declarations issued due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
With the growing climate change crisis facing the nation, FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program will provide funding to states, tribes and territories for mitigation projects to reduce the impacts of climate change. Every state, tribe, and territory that received a major disaster declaration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible to receive 4% of those disaster costs to invest in mitigation projects that reduce risks from natural disasters.
This influx of funding will help communities prioritize mitigation needs for a more resilient future, including underserved communities that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. These projects can help address effects of climate change and other unmet mitigation needs, including using funds to promote equitable outcomes in underserved communities.
“The Department of Homeland Security is committed to helping build stronger and more resilient communities that are prepared for future disasters,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “States, tribes, territories and localities will now receive the funding needed to treat the climate crisis with the sense of urgency it demands. Through this funding, communities across the nation will have the critical resources needed to invest in adaptation and resilience, and take meaningful action to combat the effects of climate change. This funding will also help to ensure the advancement of equity in all communities, especially those that are disproportionately at risk from climate change impacts.”
“Climate change is our country’s biggest crisis. Our communities will continue to suffer from losses caused by extreme weather events unless we invest in mitigation efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change. This new funding is a tangible solution that we can implement today to help prevent future disasters. It will allow us to provide direct aid to states, tribes and territories to complete mitigation projects, strengthen our infrastructure, identify long-term solutions to these hazards and ultimately make a real difference in our communities,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Communities across the country have been impacted by the enormous effects of hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and other events. The increasing duration, intensity and severity of such disasters — which are exacerbated by climate change as well as changes in population, land use, and weather patterns — are alarming and devastating, especially for underserved populations.
For eligible mitigation projects, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding can cover 75% of total project costs; states or communities cover the remaining share. Preparing and mitigating for the impacts of climate change, which is one of the most important threats facing the United States, requires the full collaboration of the federal government to support state, local, tribal and territorial governments.
The FEMA Mitigation Action Portfolio includes examples of innovative mitigation projects that address many types of natural hazards and emphasize the importance of collaboration between governments, private sector entities and non-governmental organizations in order to achieve effective hazard mitigation and disaster resilience. For example, mitigation projects can:
- Reduce risks associated with climate change, such as wildfires, drought, increased flooding and coastal erosion, through the use of nature-based features, such as storm water parks, living shorelines and land conservation
- Address persistent residential vulnerabilities by mitigating repetitive loss structures affected by flooding
- Help utilities or other critical facilities adapt to future conditions and reduce risks, through microgrids, seismic and wind retrofits, flood protection, and other infrastructure protection measures.
This one-time investment represents a 23% increase in the funding made available for declared disasters since the program’s inception. Over the past 30 years, this program has made more than $15 billion available to states, tribes and territories to make communities more resilient and reduce risks from future disasters. | <urn:uuid:a785ffea-6c1f-49de-b9a6-067510f55623> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://stjohntradewinds.com/biden-administration-commits-3-46-billion-for-hazard-mitigation-to-reduce-climate-change/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571869.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813021048-20220813051048-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.936058 | 793 | 2.53125 | 3 |
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2018. Term Papers. | <urn:uuid:58deacfd-1c34-4216-b2de-3d95f4ad6658> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | http://vpassignmentncxu.representcolumb.us/character-analysis-of-jack-in-lord-of-the-flies-a-novel-by-william-golding.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676588972.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20180715203335-20180715223335-00240.warc.gz | en | 0.952566 | 843 | 3.328125 | 3 |
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Researchers in the laboratory of Andrew J. Caton, Ph.D., aim to illuminate the mechanisms that govern the immune system’s ability to react against viruses and other pathogens, and to prevent responses against “self”--the human body’s own tissues. The laboratory strives to define the mechanisms by which T cells and B cells are regulated, and to understand how these processes fail and/or can be manipulated in infections, and in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and cancer.
The microscope in the image belonged to William E. Horner, M.D., a collaborator with Caspar Wistar, M.D., in the early 1800s.
Dr. Horner, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, was a pioneer of the use of microscopes in anatomical and medical research. He authored Special Anatomy and Histology, a seminal text on the subject. | <urn:uuid:5977cf8f-3534-41cf-acc5-70f86969be33> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://wistar.org/lab/andrew-j-caton-phd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1393999666921/warc/CC-MAIN-20140305060746-00027-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919916 | 221 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Basins 20-, 10-, and 4-m wide were excavated 15 to 20 cm into cutover peat fields near Lac Saint Jean, Québec, Canada to facilitate the establishment of Sphagnum mosses. Sphagnum diaspores (fragments) and straw mulch were spread over the excavated surfaces, a control peat field, and a mulch-protected site without basins. Mean water tables in the 20-, 10-, and 4-m wide basins and the mulch-protected site were 27.2, 8.3, 11.4, and 9.7 cm higher, respectively, than in the control peat field in May to August 1996. Similar improvements were observed in 1997 (a drier summer). The higher water table was due to lowering of the peat surface with respect to the local water table, retention of meltwater and stormwater by the peripheral ridges formed during excavation, retention of water during drier periods by the groundwater mound beneath the ridges, and mulch. Soil moisture was always higher in the experimental basins than in the control peat field or in the mulch-protected site, demonstrating the superior soil wetness characteristic of sites with basins and straw mulch. Water tension data signaled the absence of the capillary fringe (i.e., capillary drainage) near the surface for some finite period, thus possibly limiting water for best Sphagnum growth. At the experimental basins and mulch-protected site, 100% of these periods lasted four or fewer days. In the control peat field, 20% of the periods when capillary drainage had occurred lasted more than four days, with one period of 17 days. The mulch protection alone provided considerable improvement in hydrological conditions compared with the control peat field, but the additional water retained in the experimental basins protected against Sphagnum desiccation and loss during more extreme dry periods. | <urn:uuid:efd2fc37-b2cf-4bf4-b6d4-7597a24106b4> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1526-100X.2002.09997.x/abstract?globalMessage=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660602.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00065-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948449 | 395 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Today is the distinguished Samuel Johnson’s 308th birthday. Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England on 18 September 1709, Johnson is described by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as “arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history”. He is undoubtedly a key figure in the Enlightenment and the development of the modern English language.
When I was pondering the remarkable work of Johnson, I recalled a story within an oration by Christopher Hitchens. Addressing the issue of free speech, Hitchens describes a curious exchange shortly after the publication of Johnson’s first dictionary. The following short passage is from a transcript of Hitchens’ speech, made at Toronto’s Hart House Debating Club in November 2006.
When it was complete, Dr. Johnson was waited upon by various delegations of people to congratulate him, of the nobility, of the quality, of the Commons, of the Lords — and also by a delegation of respectable ladies of London, who tended on him at his Fleet Street lodgings, and congratulated him.
“Dr. Johnson,” they said, “we are delighted to find that you have not included any indecent or obscene words in your dictionary.”
“Ladies,” said Dr. Johnson, “I congratulate you on being able to look them up.”
To be clear, we undoubtedly live in a world in which there is great injustice, hatred and bigotry. But we spend far too much time arguing about trivialities, rather than focusing on what really matters. If you actively seek offence, then you shall surely find it.
#16 – On Liberty and Free Speech
‘The Skeptical Libertarian’, Christopher Hitchens: “Freedom of speech means freedom to hate.”, https://blog.skepticallibertarian.com/2014/09/30/christopher-hitchens-freedom-of-speech-means-freedom-to-hate/ [accessed 18 September 2017]
‘Who was Samuel Johnson? The father of the modern dictionary’s funniest entries’, The Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/samuel-johnson-father-modern-dictionary-funniest-entries/ [accessed 18 September 2017] | <urn:uuid:e03d5364-327b-4a9b-bc5c-4419cc2d1182> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://theaidanproject.org/2017/09/18/seek-and-ye-shall-find/?shared=email&msg=fail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583660139.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20190118131222-20190118153222-00023.warc.gz | en | 0.942877 | 490 | 2.734375 | 3 |
The Naked Mole Rat's Secret to a Long and Healthy Life
Naked mole rats live approximately 30 years, which doesn't seem too big of a feat to humans, but compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, this is an exceptionally long time. What's also impressive is that these mole rats pretty much stay healthy until the end of their lives. Reports even say that this species is cancer-proof. So what's their secret?
According to new research conducted by biologists at the University of Rochester, better-constructed proteins provide the key to this species' longevity.
Proteins are involved in nearly all functions of an animal cell, and consequently, are essential to all organisms. But before proteins can do their job, they must fold into the appropriate shapes that allow them to connect to and interact with other structures in the cell. In a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vera Gorbunova and Andrei Seluanov describe their discovery of the process in naked mole rats that leads to virtually perfect proteins.
"While this is basic research," said Gorbunova, "we hope our findings encourage further studies on better protein synthesis."
Their work focused on naked mole rat ribosomes—the site of protein creation in the animal's cells. After applying a dye to a sample, researchers found three dark bands—representing concentrations of different rRNA molecules. What is different about this is that all other animals are characterized by two bands. This suggests that there is a "hidden break" in the naked mole rat rRNA.
Since rRNA is an essential part of the protein-creation mechanism, the two biologists decided to see if the broken rRNA affects the quality of naked mole rat proteins.
Gorbunova and Seluanov discovered that the naked mole rat's rRNA scaffold is indeed unique. The rRNA strands split at two specific locations and discard the intervening segment. Instead of floating off on their own, the two remaining pieces from each strand stay close to each other and act as a scaffold on which ribosomal proteins are assembled to create a functional ribosome—a molecular machine that puts amino acids together to create proteins.
Gorbunova and Seluanov found that the proteins made by naked mole rat cells are up to 40 times less likely to contain such mistakes than the proteins made by mouse cells.
"This is important because proteins with no aberrations help the body to function more efficiently," said Seluanov.
Read more at the University of Rochester.
Naked mole rat image via Shutterstock. | <urn:uuid:c2fbb22b-12c6-4e49-aed4-8600eceba1a0> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/46485 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1405997883466.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20140722025803-00136-ip-10-33-131-23.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957845 | 530 | 3.203125 | 3 |
EDITOR'S NOTE –
Improvements in technology remain inevitable and its progression critical. In 1984, the personal computer was not even available in South Africa. A telex was the preferred method of document transfer in 1985 and only in 1987 did it become the norm for a business to communicate via fax.
By using the Internet, the first IP connection in South Africa was made between Rhodes University and Oregon in the United States in 1991. Business and private use of the Internet began in 1992 with the advent of the subdomain .co.za.
In 1994, the first cellular phones were introduced on commercial scale in the country. Even though they were the size of a brick (Ericsson GH197), it was an amazing technological advance. Two decades later the use of smartphones in South Africa reached nine million; it then exploded to an estimated 20 million in 2018.
Technology and agriculture
The ability of agricultural producers to monitor live prices and do transactions on futures exchanges with mobile devices anywhere in the world, is but a small example of how we have progressed. Social media as a means of communicating has also become part of our daily lives.
At Tesla, Elon Musk is changing the future of power with leading battery technology. Overcoming the challenge of powering homes in South Australia by making use of solar and battery technology seems a logical contribution to global power demands.
Desalination technology has also improved and reduced rapidly in cost. The Sorek desalination plant in Israel is the world's largest, with a seawater capacity of 650 000m3 per day.
Water resources are a challenge
Using available technology to recover used water and processing this resource back to potable water must receive urgent attention, and it seems logical that this advanced technology is being embraced across the world where water resources are a challenge. South Africa, however, is lagging behind – it may take the Cape Town crisis to embark on a new path.
Accurate forecasting of the effect of climate change on weather patterns, incorporating the ability of early and long-term predictions, seems a challenge. Cloud seeding to induce rainfall at appropriate times, while having received major attention and funding in the past, seems to have fallen by the wayside.
Effect on oilseed production
The progressive attitude of many South African farmers has been a large part of their success, and the reason why they have been able to adapt to countless challenges. Embracing technology on many fronts will make a significant contribution to success in the future.
We salute all companies/institutions that are assisting to empower producers with technology that will result in a mutually beneficial partnership. The Protein Research Foundation and Oilseeds Advisory Committee are proud to be partners in this process.
DR ERHARD BRIEDENHAN | <urn:uuid:a52ab16d-0078-4fc7-ab96-fe95e7fc44ca> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://opot.co.za/index.php?dirname=newsletters-and-magazines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257649961.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20180324073738-20180324093738-00656.warc.gz | en | 0.959328 | 560 | 2.75 | 3 |
The steepest descent algorithm is an old mathematical tool for numerically finding the minimum value of a function, based on the gradient of that function. Steepest descent uses the gradient function (or the scalar derivative, if the function is single-valued) to determine the direction in which a function is increasing or decreasing most rapidly. Each successive iteration of the algorithm moves along this direction for a specified step size, and the recomputes the gradient to determine the new direction to travel.
The method of steepest descent is a useful tool for signal processing because it can be applied iteratively.
We can apply the steepest descent algorithm to the Wiener filter in such a way that at each new step we can calculate a new set of filter coefficients. Using the steepest descent method, we can approach a minimum error value in relatively few iterations, and we can track a signal that changes in time to apply new minimum coefficients to each new version of the signal. It is important to use a steepest descent, or other fast minimization algorithm so that the filter coefficients can be updated more quickly then the next input sample is received.
Steepest Descent AlgorithmEdit
The steepest descent algorithm can be formulated as follows:
[Steepest Descent Algorithm]
For mathematical convenience, it is often useful to add in an additional 1/2 term:
Steepest Descent Wiener FilterEdit
We can apply the steepest descent algorithm to the Wiener filter so that at each iteration the tap-weight vector a will approach the optimum Wiener tap weight vector ao. If p is the cross-correlation vector between the filter input x(n) and the desired response d(n), and if R is the cross-correlation matrix of the filter input u(n), then applying the steepest descent algorithm we obtain:
This update algorithm is especially convenient since it is possible to parallelize large portions of the correlation calculations.
The steepest descent algorithm has the potential to diverge or become unstable unless:
Where λk are the eigenvalues of R. If these two conditions are satisfied, the algorithm should converge towards an optimal value.
A higher value of μ will cause the algorithm to converge more quickly. | <urn:uuid:c6147339-5f0b-4087-91a0-4f119e971424> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | https://en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/Signal_Processing/Steepest_Descent_Algorithm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438044160065.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728004240-00147-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.865542 | 460 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Woman of Lefkandi
The Dark Ages are characterized by a period of lack of information and depopulation, as well as by a shift in burial practices. The shift towards ornate burials and “hero graves” is most obvious at Lefkandi, where an intricate tomb is contingent to a large cemetery. Within the tomb, or “Toomba,” are remains of a woman, presumably a rich woman. Interestingly, her remains were not cremated and were buried along side those of a cremated man, his remains bundled in linen and within an amphora. Whether or not she was “superior” per say to the man is up for debate; some archaeologists believe that she was buried as a companion for the man, while others believe that the man was her protector to the under-World (Musgrave).
Her high status is indicated by firstly her expensive jewelry adornments, including pieces with precious jewels, as well as a gold brassiere. Also found in her grave was an ancient Babylonian gorget, and an iron knife with an ivory handle, perhaps an hint of her status, occupation, or family ties. Another indication of the ritualistic nature of this grave is the presence of four horse skeletons within the grave. Still preserved are their iron bits; their existence suggests some kind of sacrifice or other god-focused offering (Musgrave).
This particular burial suggests that Dark Age life achieved a higher level of civil discourse than previously thought. The well-crafted jewelry indicates that ancient Greeks of the Dark Ages achieved a higher level of industrial success than previously indicated. Furthermore, the variety of jewelry and metalwork could mean that these Greeks had more international or non-local contact than formerly believed. The ornamentation of the body, along with the precision and carefulness of artifacts accompanying the body suggest that burial practices and the afterlife were pinnacles of ancient Greek civilization. Also, the richness of the grave as a whole leads us to believe that there was a definitive hierarchical pyramid for Greeks at this time, with elites or royalty receiving great treatment and adornment in their burials, whereas commoners or plebeians were publicly buried. The site of Lefkandi preserves some of the most remarkable artifacts and telling details of life in the Dark Age period.
Biers, William R. The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Ithaca:
Cornell UP, 1996. Print.
British School of Athens. “Jewelry from a female burial.” Early Excavations at
|Fitzsimons, Rodney. “Lefkandi.” Hierarchy and Diversity: Iron Age Burial
Practices. Champlain College, 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. | <urn:uuid:579493d4-257a-442e-a5a6-5f6d8314c07f> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://cciv214fa2012.site.wesleyan.edu/the-dark-ages/exhibit-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500834663.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021354-00104-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962548 | 570 | 3.4375 | 3 |
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