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Globally, it is estimated that there are over 1 billion persons with disabilities, as well as more than 2 billion people, such as spouses, children and caregivers of persons with disabilities, representing almost a third of the world’s population, are directly affected by disability. While this signifies a huge potential market for travel and tourism, it still remains vastly under-served due to inaccessible travel and tourism facilities and services, as well as discriminatory policies and practices.
Accessible tourism enables all people to participate in and enjoy tourism experiences. More people have access needs, whether or not related to a physical condition. For example, older and less mobile people have access needs, which can become a huge obstacle when traveling or touring. Thus, accessible tourism is the ongoing endeavour to ensure tourist destinations, products and services are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical limitations, disabilities or age. This inludes publicly and privately owned tourist locations, facilities and services.
Accessible tourism involves a collaborative process among all stakeholders, Governments, international agencies, tour-operators and end-users, including persons with disabilities and their organizations (DPOs). A successful tourism product requires effective partnerships and cooperation across many sectors at the national, regional and international levels. From idea to implementation, a single destination visit normally involves many factors, including accessing information, long-distance travel of various sorts, local transportation, accommodation, shopping, and dining. The impact of accessible tourism thus goes beyond the tourist beneficiaries to the wider society, engraining accessibility into the social and economic values of society.
International action and normative frameworks
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006. CRPD Article 9 on Accessibility calls for State Parties to take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to the physical environment, information, transportation and other facilities and services open or provided to the public. It also calls for the elimination of obstacles and barriers to accessibility, including all transportation and facilities. Furthermore, Article 30 on Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport also calls for State Parties to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy the benefits of tourism.
At the 2013, historic UN High-level Meeting on Disability and Development, which included several Heads of State, the link of disability and development was discussed and the meeting called for enhanced action to mainstream disability in the global development agenda. In the outcome document of the meeting, accessibility was identified as a key area for action.
Furthermore, in his message for the 2013 World Habitat Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community to make towns and cities accessible to all.
In the recent 2030 Agenda for Global Action containing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2015), Goal 11 focuses on principles to “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. This goal captures tourism and recreation through its call for the provisions of universal design for accessible and sustainable transport systems, inclusive urbanization, and access to green and public spaces. In its 2011 Declaration,The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) predicted tourism will increase and experience sustained development, reaching 1.8 billion international tourists by 2030. Accessible cities and tourism provisions therefore ensure the full social and economic inclusion of all persons with direct benefits of promoting more sustainable travel habits among users.
What are the barriers to travel and tourism for persons with disabilities?
For persons with disabilities, travelling can be a challenge, as finding the information on accessible services, checking luggage on a plane, booking a room to fulfil access needs, often prove to be difficult, costly and time consuming.
Challenges for persons with disabilities include:
• Untrained professional staff capable of informing and advising about accessibility issues
• Inaccessible booking services and related websites
• Lack of accessible airports and transfer facilities and services
• Unavailability of adapted and accessible hotel rooms, restaurants, shops, toilets and public places
• Inaccessible streets and transport services
• Unavailable information on accessible facilities, services, equipment rentals and tourist attractions
Why is accessible tourism important?
Accessibility is a central element of any responsible and sustainable development policy. It is both a human rights imperative, as well as an exceptional business opportunity. In this context, accessible tourism does not only benefit persons with disabilities, it benefits all of society.
To ensure that accessible tourism is developed in a sustainable manner requires that tourist destinations go beyond ad hoc services to adopting the principle of universal design, ensuring that all persons, regardless of their physical or cognitive needs, are able to use and enjoy the available amenities in an equitable and sustainable manner. This approach foregoes preferential or segregated treatment of differently abled constituents to permitting uninhibited use of facilities and services by all, at any time, to equitable effect.
I am not a person with a disability – how does this affect me?
Accessibility is also an important aspect of realizing the rights of the world’s ageing population. As we grow older, our chance of experiencing a permanent or temporary disability is increased. A focus on accessibility can therefore ensure that we are able to participate fully in our societies well into our older years. Accessibility also benefits pregnant women and persons who are temporarily rendered immobile.
The improvements to physical and service infrastructure that come with a focus on accessibility also encourage a more multigenerational focus in development planning. For families with small children, accessible infrastructure – particularly in transportation, city planning and building design – improves the ability of these families to participate in social and cultural activities.
The United Nations is committed to sustainable and equitable development. Certainly, making basic adjustments to a facility, providing accurate information, and understanding the needs of disabled people can result in increased visitor numbers. Improving the accessibility of tourism services increases their quality and their enjoyment for all tourists, as well as improving quality of life in the local communities.
- UN News Centre: Accessible tourism will benefit everyone, say senior UN officials on World Day
- World Tourism Day 2016 Theme: Promoting Universal Accessibility
- UN Environment: #Tourism4All videos 1, 2, 3
- The UNWTO General Assembly adopts Recommendations on Accessible Information in Tourism
- UN World Tourism Organisation Accessible Tourism Manuals
- Disabled World Travel Documents
- European Commission Improving Accessibility
- Sustainable Tourism Online
- 7th Session of the Conference of State Parties to the CRPD
- United Nations World Tourism Organisation Best Practice Guide
- European Network for Accessible Tourism – World Summit in Montreal, October 2014
- Centre of Excellence for Destination
- European Network for Accessible Tourism
- Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality
- Capitalising on the Grey-haired Globetrotters Economic Aspects of Increasing Tourism among Older and Disabled People | <urn:uuid:cf761590-d01a-412a-9a40-f3663f14c99b> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/issues/promoting-accessible-tourism-for-all.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202572.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20190321193403-20190321215403-00210.warc.gz | en | 0.92094 | 1,387 | 3.375 | 3 |
There's an old comedy cliché about firemen holding a big net and asking people to jump to safety. Is this a fictional invention, or was there really a time when this was how we rescued people from burning buildings? If there was, what was the highest someone could leap from and be saved by a net being stretched between human hands??
Illustration by Slug Signorino
Fictional invention? Comedy cliché? Spoken like a true child of our coddled age. You think life nets are mythical because jumping into a patch of canvas from (say) 75 feet up seems insanely dangerous. Dangerous, sure, but insane? I don’t think so. Years ago those trapped in the upper stories of blazing buildings often faced a simple choice: leap or fry.
Life nets were one of many gambits by which the urbanites of a century ago coped with the joys of city life. If disease, filth, or poverty didn’t get you, there was a good chance fire would. The ability to construct tall buildings profitably far outstripped the means to make them safe. Fatal fires were an everyday occurrence. Newspapers and reformers campaigned for tougher laws and better firefighting equipment, but it took decades before these improvements had any effect.
In the meantime inventors came up with quick fixes, most based on the practical observation that if all else failed you could jump. People have been improvising nets since the first multistory hovel went up in flames, of course — I find reports of rescues using rugs, tarps, even a raincoat. Now more elaborate gimmicks were proposed, some of them fanciful. One basically consisted of two giant mattresses.
The device that caught on was the Browder life net, named for the fellow who patented it in 1887. This is the iconic net of the cartoons, consisting of a rigid circular frame with a round sheet of fabric stretched across the middle from springs, like a trampoline. You unfolded the net on arrival at the fire scene, got 10 to 16 firemen to hold it at shoulder height below a trapped victim, and hoped for the best.
The good thing, judging from old press accounts, was that a lot of times life nets worked. The bad thing was that seemingly just about as often they didn’t — deaths and injuries were common. The practical limit was believed to be six stories; New York City firefighters in 1900 routinely jumped into a net from that height during their training. Surviving a leap from a taller building wasn’t out of the question. In a 1930 Chicago fire three people jumped eight stories into a net: two suffered minor injuries, one bounced out and fractured her skull. One daredevil LA firefighter tested a life net from ten stories and landed without a scratch.
But that was rare. In the infamous Triangle garment factory fire of 1911, flames raced through the top three floors of a ten-story building in lower Manhattan. Scores of panicked workers, mostly young women, leaped from the windows. Some plummeted to the sidewalk even before firefighters arrived and set up their nets. Two women who had jumped together ripped through one net, followed close after by a third. Another woman landed in a net but died of internal injuries later. Deliverymen stretched out a tarp hoping to save some of the leapers; the first hurtling body ripped it from their grasp. With corpses literally piling up at the foot of the building, nets were soon abandoned as futile. In all, 146 people died.
Jumping from lower heights wasn’t much safer. Leapers sometimes struck something on the way down, landed on a fireman, or missed entirely. Things could go wrong even if you were on target. In 1910 four women made the mistake of clinging to one another as they jumped from a burning four-story factory in Newark, New Jersey. They tore through the net and were killed.
Despite these drawbacks, life nets remained a standard piece of firefighting equipment for years. As late as 1960 the Boston Globe saw fit to spend a full page explaining optimal leaping technique. (Hint: Jump in a seated position with your limbs out in front of you, trying to land on your butt or the small of your back.)
By the 1970s, though, life nets were on their way out. Hundred-foot aerial ladders had made rescue a less perilous proposition. The last mention of a net I could find was from 1983; current firefighting manuals don’t discuss them at all.
Still, the fundamental problem remains unsolved. Improvements notwithstanding, people still sometimes get trapped by fire in tall buildings — witness the desperate souls who leaped from the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. Surely, you think, that qualifies as insane.
Maybe not. There you are on the hundredth floor, with a choice even starker than the one facing somebody staring down at a life net. If you jump, your chances of surviving are infinitesimal but arguably not zero. If you stay you have no chance at all. What do you pick?
Send questions to Cecil via email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:50d55596-a7c1-4bc1-ace5-1b74cc4fd973> | CC-MAIN-2018-05 | https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3004/did-firemen-once-use-nets-to-rescue-people-from-burning-buildings/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-05/segments/1516084889798.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20180121001412-20180121021412-00793.warc.gz | en | 0.971528 | 1,058 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The 1st International Biennial of Education in Architecture for Children and Young People is an event which seeks to gather experiences related to this topic from around the world. It is also a platform from which education and research projects – which are concerned with the use of (domestic, urban, communal and natural) spaces and those in which the child or young person is the protagonist – can be shared, broadcast, experienced and debated.
The biennial celebration is one of the projects that emerged from the 3rd Education in Architecture International Meeting. This meeting was organised by the Playgrounds Group (currently the Ludantia Architecture and Education Association), and was held in the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid on 16 and 17 January, 2016.
One of the aims of the people dedicated to education in architecture is to include the child/young person in debates about the city and to act as intermediaries who ensure that their opinion is heard, with the firm belief that this will lead to a better environment. With this in mind, the theme chosen for this first biennial event is that of public spaces under the heading: “Living with fun in mind: a games board from the school playground to the city.”
The Biennial seeks to be an opportunity for individuals to exchange experiences on education in architecture and to deeper understanding of methodology and research in the field. It is also a way of showing the enormous potential children and young people have as regards transforming our cities. And the best tool for doing this is educational projects.
It is an event which is open to schools, architects, professionals involved in education, artists, central and local government organisations, not-for-profit organisations and individuals and groups throughout the world interested in education through the medium of construction. Whilst there have been other educational projects presented in architecture or art biennials, Ludantia makes education the end in itself with architectural and artistic processes the medium for achieving this. The first Biennial event – the brainchild of Jorge Raedó – will be held in Pontevedra, from 10 May to 17 June, 2018.
‘Public spaces’ are understood as those communal urban spaces (streets, squares, parks, playgrounds), rural, natural, school-related (playgrounds or other communal spaces) environments or even places temporarily provided for communal use (industrial buildings, vacant building plots, etc.) | <urn:uuid:0b723a28-ea9c-4575-a1ee-b686e7b9baed> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://ludantia.wixsite.com/bienal-internacional/what-is-it | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337428.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20221003164901-20221003194901-00638.warc.gz | en | 0.959158 | 493 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Aims: To investigate the prevalence of overweight according to nationality in preschool children living in Germany, and to establish the determinants responsible for differences in body mass index.
Methods: The study was performed within the context of the 2001/2002 obligatory health examination before school entry in the city of Aachen, Germany. Of 2020 eligible children 1979 children were recruited (participation rate: 98%). Children's height and weight were measured using a standardised protocol. The parents completed a standardised questionnaire on sociodemographic factors and possible determinants of nutritional status. Being overweight was defined according to age and sex specific reference values for German children as well as according to international reference values.
Results: The study population included 452 (22.9%) children with other than German nationality. Among these children the prevalence of overweight was twice as high than among German children (14.8% v 7.2%). Prevalence of most known risk factors for overweight, such as low physical activity, high consumption of soft drinks, and frequent visits to fast-food restaurants was higher in the children with other nationalities than in the German children. Multivariate analyses revealed that most of the difference in prevalence of obesity by nationality is explained by known risk factors of overweight, especially education of mother and watching TV.
Conclusions: The apparent ethnic differences could be explained by two non-ethnic but socioeconomic factors. In preventing overweight in children, there is the need to identify and deal with high risk environments rather than high risk ethnic groups. | <urn:uuid:dcccde63-26c1-4dc1-9fed-1dc237cd921c> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC1720338/?lang=en-ca | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1404776429773.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20140707234029-00027-ip-10-180-212-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965788 | 306 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Hugh Boyes, cyber security chief at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, said: "Changing the password before the bug is fixed could compromise your new password."
He said they should only be changed on websites that had implemented a patch to fix the bug.
Blogging website Tumblr, owned by Yahoo!, has previously told users to change all their passwords, including those for sensitive data like email and bank accounts.
Independent security expert Bruce Schneier called for calm, but said the security breach was serious.
"Catastrophic is the right word. On the scale of 1 to 10, this is an 11. Half a million sites are vulnerable, including my own."
Users can test a site’s vulnerability to the Heartbleed bug by visiting a site created by developer Filippo Valsorda where you can enter web addresses and find out if the bug has been fixed.
If it says that the site has been patched, it is safe to change your password.
Mr Boyes added: "Regularly change your passwords.
"Depending on how sensitive the application/website is, passwords typically ought to be changed monthly or quarterly.
"Don't reuse the same passwords on different websites. Try to use a separate password for each website."
The Heartbleed bug was discovered on Monday by a team of security experts and had gone undetected for more than two years.
The bug is a flaw in the encryption that protects data as it is sent between computers and servers.
This has meant that personal and sensitive data was left vulnerable.
The encryption is best-known for the closed padlock that appears in the corner of a web browser to show a connection is secure.
- Related Stories
- 'Stay Off The Internet' To Avoid Major Web Bug | <urn:uuid:66e10b5c-292e-49a7-889f-e07081c2e20f> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://news.sky.com/story/dont-change-passwords-over-heartbleed-bug-10410118 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501171271.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104611-00342-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96011 | 366 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Gourds are a staple in autumnal centerpieces on dinner tables, while their cousins like pumpkins and melons more often make it to the dinner plate. Many gourds are best left to fall crafts, but a few are edible and flexible enough to be used in a variety of dishes. Cooking gourds isn't as much work as you might think, and since they're fat-free and filling, the end result is worth the effort.
Gourds belong to the plant family known as Cucurbits. Most gourds aren't for eating. Hardshell gourds are the type used to make bowls and musical instruments; they're green on the vine but turn tan or brown as they age. Ornamental gourds are the type you'll usually see for sale around Halloween; they come in colors like green, orange and yellow and are used as decoration. Both hardshell and ornamental gourds come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Luffa gourds are cucumber-shaped and, if left on the vine for long enough, turn hard and can be used as sponges.
While the fully ripened luffa gourd is inedible, young luffa can be eaten. It's also known as Chinese okra. Choose a luffa gourd that is no longer than 6 inches to ensure it's young enough to be eaten; its peel should be green. Another type of edible gourd is the bottle gourd, also known as calabash. The bottle gourd is considered a hardshell gourd, but the flesh is edible. Bottle gourds are green and often resemble either a fat cucumber or an eggplant. A longer, thinner version of the bottle gourd is called the cucuzzi, or "Italian edible" gourd. Edible gourds have a mild, zucchini-like flavor.
Peel your gourds carefully to ensure you don't leave any bitter skin behind. Try using a vegetable peeler, but if the skin is too hard, use a paring knife to remove the gourd's skin from its white flesh. Slice the peeled gourd in half and scoop out the spongy, seed-filled center, then chop the rest of the flesh into cubes the size of sugar cubes or slice it thinly. Cook the pieces in boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they're fork-tender.
Edible gourds are commonly used in Asian cuisine. Add the cooked chunks to dumpling filling or toss them with Chinese noodle dishes. Use gourd pieces in an Indian curry to spoon over rice, or add them raw to a pot of vegetable soup seasoned with Indian spices and let the pieces cook in the stock. If you prefer crisp pieces of gourd, add the raw slices to a wok along with carrots, onions, peapods or any other veggies you like. Drizzle in a tablespoon of oil and and saute the mixture until everything starts to brown. Finish the dish with a bit of soy sauce and sesame seeds and serve the stir-fry over brown rice. | <urn:uuid:070935ba-2f1d-438a-91c3-789d20879bf7> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://www.livestrong.com/article/556418-how-to-eat-gourds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463608870.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20170527055922-20170527075922-00463.warc.gz | en | 0.937177 | 661 | 2.921875 | 3 |
by Sally Colby
By this time of year, keeping cows comfortable in the heat challenges most dairy farmers. Dr. Pete Hansen, professor of animal science at the University of Florida, says heat stress is a major problem for dairy cows and can impact milk yield and fertility.
“Cows that produce more milk are more sensitive to the effects of heat stress,” said Hansen. “As we continue to improve milk yield per cow genetically, nutritionally or through other management strategies, we’re also making cows that are more susceptible to heat stress. The cow of tomorrow will be more sensitive to heat stress than the cow of today.”
Hansen compares the dairy cow to a furnace. “Just like a furnace, she takes fuel sources (feed) and burns that fuel to produce heat,” he explained. “The dairy cow uses that heat to power all the actions in body to remain alive and produce milk. If cows produce more milk, they need to burn more fuel and more energy to power the synthesis of milk, and as a result, the heat production of the cow increases.”
To clarify cow cooling, Hansen explains four modes of heat exchange: radiation, conduction, convection and evaporation. Radiation is the transmittal of heat by infrared radiation; mostly from the sun. Cows also acquire heat from hot concrete and hot roofs.
Conduction is the transfer of heat from one substance at a high temperature to another at a lower temperature. “Typical types of conductive heat exchange are heat loss to air heat that isn’t moving around the cow, heat exchange between the cow and the ground, and heat exchange with surface water,” said Hansen. “When a cow is wet and the air surrounding the cow is replaced by water, the cow loses heat 22 times faster than if surrounded by air.”
Heat loss through convection involves two substances are moving past each other, increasing the rate of heat loss. For cows, convection is facilitated by wind. In contrast, evaporative heat doesn’t depend on air temperature. The rate of heat loss depends on the humidity of the air – the more humid the air, the lower the rate of heat loss via evaporation.
Cows can effectively lose heat by sweating and respiration. When cows take air into their lungs, the air is humidified. The heat required to humidify the air comes from the body temperature of the cow. For a cow in severe heat conditions (94 degrees F and higher), conduction and convection ability is greatly reduced. If humidity is also high, the cow can’t lose heat through sweating or panting. Cows in the sun gain heat through solar radiation. The result is that the cow can’t lose body heat resulting from milk production, and her body temperature rises.
Heat stress is usually measured by a temperature/humidity index, but Hansen says such charts don’t provide sufficient information. “What’s more important is whether cows can keep their body temperature low enough to prevent effects on milk yield or conception rate,” said Hansen. “The critical number is a body temperature of 102.2 degrees F. Milk yield and conception rates decline in cows with rectal temperatures above this.” Hansen noted that high-producing cows can become hyperthermic when barn or outdoor temperatures range from 75 to 80 degrees F.
The best way to cool the hyperthermic cow is a combination of shade and evaporative cooling via sprinklers or foggers. Evaporative cooling increases evaporative heat loss as water evaporates from the cow.
“A sprinkler or soaker system is designed to wet the cow,” said Hansen. “Put enough water on the back of the cow to penetrate into the hair and allow heat loss by conduction, convection and evaporative heat loss. In contrast, a fogger system is not designed to wet the surface of the cow — it increases the evaporation of water into the air surrounding the cow.” Hansen added that fogger systems are like primitive air conditioning where evaporation cools the air, and are ineffective when humidity is high.
Not all shade is equal — the key is providing sufficient shade to effectively block solar radiation. Allow about 50 square feet per cow to prevent animals from crowding. Crowded cows cannot effectively lose heat to the air because they’re in contact with each other.
Fans used along with water help increase the rate of heat loss by convection and prevent the build up of humidity that occurs when animals are sprinkled or fogged. The cow might still be hyperthermic due to a very high air temperature, but to a lesser degree.
Tunnel ventilation to facilitate evaporative cooling can lose effectiveness depending on where cows are located. The main consideration is airflow and whether cows or equipment are blocking that flow. Cross-ventilated barns offer the advantages of tunnel ventilation and reduce the problem of airflow. Fans are located on the side of the barn and push air across the barn rather than through it. The downside of cross-ventilation is higher cost.
Although lactating dairy cows are the most sensitive to the effects of heat stress, other animals including dry cows, calves and growing heifers are affected by heat stress.
It’s important to keep dry cows cool because the mammary system is in the final stages of preparing for lactation. Hansen’s research on reproductive performance showed that heat stress during this period has a long-term effect on the upcoming lactation. He says pre-fresh cows housed in barns with sprinklers and fans had significantly higher milk yields.
University of Wisconsin research on lactating cows showed that as air temperature increases, body temperature increases. “We think of infertility occurring at body temperature of 102.2 degrees F,” said Hansen. “These cows were getting that hot in an air temperature less than 75 degrees F.”
Heifers are more resistant to heat stress, but heat abatement is still important because elevated body temperature can lead to fertility issues. Young calves in hutches or transition groups also require cooling. In studies, body temperatures of calves in hutches in summer measured as high as 106 degrees, which influences long-term growth.
Hansen encourages dairy farmers to monitor cows’ body temperatures. He uses iButton®, a thermal-sensitive computer chip that records body temperatures at intervals throughout the day. “The iButton® can be used over and over again, and you can download the data to a laptop,” said Hansen. “Put it in an empty CIDR, pop it in the vagina and measure body temperature over a 24-hour period to see when cows are becoming heat stressed.”
Information from the chip will help identify times of day or physical locations when cows are not sufficiently cooled. Hansen also suggests tracking differences in lactation and reproduction performance between summer/winter to determine the effectiveness of cooling systems.
Cool cows are productive cows
by Sally Colby | <urn:uuid:c4e986a3-d3d2-4aa8-bc8b-7294a234d2a9> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://countryfolks.com/cool-cows-are-productive-cows/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038088471.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20210416012946-20210416042946-00212.warc.gz | en | 0.941008 | 1,458 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Catholic Political Thought & John Locke: Part II
by Joe Hargrave
In the previous part I showed how Locke’s argument for government by consent was similar to, and may have even been influenced by, that of St. Robert Bellarmine. I also showed how some of the more well-known early-modern political theorists who dreamed of powerful authoritarian regimes also dreamed of obliterating the Church as an obstacle to their fruition. Now I will argue that there is a clear overlap between the political theory of John Locke, and that of Pope Leo XIII, the pope who is responsible for Catholic social teaching as we know it today. In the final part of this series I will address why these overlaps are important, and what they mean in our contemporary political situation.
On the State of Nature & The Purpose of Government
Critics of Locke, and other social contract theorists for that matter, often put forward as one of the first arguments that there was never a historical “state of nature”; that is, a time before the existence of states and governments in which men lived as free individuals. Some commentators have pointed out that states of nature are just rhetorical devices used to illustrate what society would look like without the state. It is usually bad enough to justify some sort of government, hence its value in any work seeking to justify the existence of government as such (or in Rousseau’s case, good enough so that the modern state should be remade on some of its principles). On the other hand, it is clear that Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, all social contract theorists in spite of their differences, looked to the indigenous peoples of America as illustrations of their points.
I don’t see this dispute as particularly relevant, however. I think it is an evident truism that man does indeed exist prior to the state, and that while authority in general flows from God, any particular state exists by, for and of the men who create them. As we shall see, both Locke and Leo share this premise contra Aristotle, who writes in book I of his Politics:
Locke’s state of nature, in the first place, is much different than that of Hobbes. The Hobbesian state of nature is a never-ceasing war of “each against all”, described in famous terms in ch. 13 of Leviathan. It is a state in which all of the things we think normal and proper to civilization are impossible, and in which “the life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” This state of nature is so bad (and remember, it is more of a device than a historical reality) that men are deterministically compelled to exit it and surrender virtually all of their natural rights, as understood by Hobbes, by way of contract to a sovereign power they artificially create.
The Lockean state of nature, on the other hand, is populated not by violent automatons, but rather men endowed with both reason and dignity by God. In sec.15 of the ST, Locke writes:
[B]ut forasmuch as we are not by ourselves sufficient to furnish ourselves with competent store of things, needful for such a life as our nature doth desire, a life fit for the dignity of man; therefore to supply those defects and imperfections which are in us, as living single and solely by ourselves, we are naturally induced to seek communion and fellowship with others: this was the cause of men’s uniting themselves at first in politic societies.
Locke adds, and this is what appears to have become a source of contention:
But I moreover affirm, that all men are naturally in that state, and remain so, till by their own consents they make themselves members of some politic society…
There is a very interesting commentary on Locke that I think surmises my own view as well, namely that Locke took it for granted that men always would exit the state of nature and enter into “communion and fellowship” with others. This is from Peter Laslett’s Introduction to the Cambridge edition of the ST:
As early as 1798 Bishop Elrington reproached [Locke] for not declaring that man had a duty to set up the state and leave the condition of mere nature. But… this appears, perhaps, as the greatest of all misapprehensions about him. Natural political virtue can only work if we obey the tendency within all of us, for it is a tendency, not a full description of ourselves. Trust is a matter of conscience… which operates because of the sense of duty which Locke dogmatically, unthinkingly assumes in every man he contemplates. (121)
In other words, Locke did not assume that man would want to stay in a state of nature, which while not as violent as Hobbes’, is nonetheless full of inconveniences that rational men would want to avoid. Locke’s natural man is not deterministically compelled as a man running from a tiger in the jungle, but he is moved, we might say inevitably, by a reasonable contemplation of his circumstances to leave the natural condition and establish the political community. Now is not the time, because it simply isn’t relevant (as will become more clear in part III of this series), to address whatever contradictions may exist in Locke’s overall corpus with regard to free will, reason, etc. and to what extent these other writings may have been closer to Hobbes’.
Now I turn to Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum (RN), which has as its goal in the opening sections to defend the natural right to private property (which I will cover in more detail below). In defending the right to private property, Leo practically reverse-engineers Locke’s arguments about the state of nature. First, I will note Leo’s on man’s existence prior to the state:
Man precedes the State, and possesses, prior to the formation of any State, the right of providing for the substance of his body. (7)
Having established that man, in a general sense, precedes the state, Leo is even more specific later in the encyclical about the implications of this truth:
[T]he family has at least equal rights with the State in the choice and pursuit of the things needful to its preservation and its just liberty. We say, “at least equal rights”; for, inasmuch as the domestic household is antecedent, as well in idea as in fact, to the gathering of men into a community, the family must necessarily have rights and duties which are prior to those of the community, and founded more immediately in nature. (13)
That the state is instituted to secure the conditions needed for individuals and families to thrive, and not vice-versa (the perverse notion that we exist to serve the state), is further established right after:
If the citizens, if the families on entering into association and fellowship, were to experience hindrance in a commonwealth instead of help, and were to find their rights attacked instead of being upheld, society would rightly be an object of detestation rather than of desire. (13)
Finally, in another encyclical, Immortale Dei, Leo explains why, in more specific terms, and in terms nearly identical to those of Locke as quoted above, why individuals or families would want to, or even need to, exit the state of nature and form political communities:
Man’s natural instinct moves him to live in civil society, for he cannot, if dwelling apart, provide himself with the necessary requirements of life, nor procure the means of developing his mental and moral faculties. Hence, it is divinely ordained that he should lead his life-be it family, or civil-with his fellow men, amongst whom alone his several wants can be adequately supplied. (3)
So I think what we have here is a clear argument: men, and specifically families exist prior to the state; they have rights that exist prior to the state, derived from natural and divine law. They establish political communities to secure these rights: “the State has for its office to protect natural rights, not to destroy them”, Leo writes in RN. (51) We also find this idea in the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence, itself considered a derivation of Locke’s ST.
To those who might make a fuss about the difference between individuals and families, with Locke focusing on the former and Leo on the latter, it should be noted that Locke recognizes parental authority and has an entire chapter of the ST devoted to it. He argues, reasonably and not contrary to Catholic teaching as far as I can see, that this authority is temporary, and when a person reaches adulthood they are freed from it. I think it is quite possible and quite reasonable to interchange Locke’s “man” with Leo’s “family”, since all would agree that men and women are as naturally inclined to form bonds and raise children as they are to enter into political communities. Leo even states that “the rights here spoken of, belonging to each individual man, are seen in much stronger light when considered in relation to man’s social and domestic obligations.” (12) So the rights of individuals and families are inextricably bound up with one another.
For the quibblers, I could quote the Gospels:
Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female? And he said: For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. (Matt. 19:4-6)
What it is that men establish a political community to secure and protect? At the most basic level, and this is not exclude other functions that the state might legitimately carry out, it is property, or life, liberty and estate (though for our purposes, given the modern usage of the words, property will generally signify “estate”).
On Private Property
Locke’s theory of private property is what is now known as a labor theory of property, though it is quite distinct from the theory Marx would later develop, as Marx himself acknowledges in Theories of Surplus-Value.
To begin with, in chapter on property in the ST, sec. 26, Locke posits that God “hath given the world to men in common”, and because man is also endowed with reason, it follows that “the earth, and all that is therein, is given to men for the support and comfort of their being.” Naturally, though, there is a problem, for if “no body has originally a private dominion, exclusive of the rest of mankind” to the fruits of the Earth, how is it that any one individual can lay claim to any particular portion of them?
The answer is as follows:
[E]very man has a property in his own person: this no body has any right to but himself. The labour of his body, and the work of his hands, we may say, are properly his. Whatsoever then he removes out of the state that nature hath provided, and left it in, he hath mixed his labour with, and joined to it something that is his own, and thereby makes it his property. It being by him removed from the common state nature hath placed it in, it hath by this labour something annexed to it, that excludes the common right of other men: for this labour being the unquestionable property of the labourer, no man but he can have a right to what that is once joined to, at least where there is enough, and as good, left in common for others. (Sec. 27)
In Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII presents a theory of private property that is identical to Locke’s. Because I want to follow Locke’s line of argumentation, it is necessary to reorder Leo’s presentation a bit, but this is only for convenience; all of the premises and conclusions of Locke are present. For instance, Leo too acknowledges that “God has granted the earth to mankind in general.” (8) He also holds that man is endowed with reason by God, and that this is particularly relevant to his right to property: “And on this very account – that man alone among the animal creation is endowed with reason – it must be within his right to possess things not merely for temporary and momentary use, as other living things do, but to have and to hold them in stable and permanent possession.” (6)
Leo is confronted with the same “problem” as Locke – how to create private property out of God’s common gift – and responds to it in exactly the same way:
The fact that God has given the earth for the use and enjoyment of the whole human race can in no way be a bar to the owning of private property. For God has granted the earth to mankind in general, not in the sense that all without distinction can deal with it as they like, but rather that no part of it was assigned to any one in particular, and that the limits of private possession have been left to be fixed by man’s own industry, and by the laws of individual races…
Now, when man thus turns the activity of his mind and the strength of his body toward procuring the fruits of nature, by such act he makes his own that portion of nature’s field which he cultivates – that portion on which he leaves, as it were, the impress of his personality; and it cannot but be just that he should possess that portion as his very own, and have a right to hold it without any one being justified in violating that right. (8-9)
To briefly surmise, from the following we see that both Locke and Leo hold that:
a) God creates and grants the fruits of the Earth for all men in common.
b) God endows men with reason, which separates him from all of the animals.
c) It follows that God intended for men to make use of the fruits of the Earth for his needs and enjoyments.
d) It follows that there must be a way for men to remove from nature, from the common possession of humanity, a private and exclusive portion of his own.
e) This way is labor. Thus Locke and Leo share the same labor theory of property. (See my footnote for further information)
Delving deeper into both texts, we would also find that apart from the natural right to property, Locke and Leo are in concord over the practical, or perhaps utilitarian benefits of private property. When men cultivate the Earth, it is generally to the benefit of other men as well. Labor takes what would otherwise be useless and makes it useful. In sec. 40 Locke writes: “I think it will be but a very modest computation to say, that of the products of the earth useful to the life of man nine tenths are the effects of labour.” And Leo writes in paragraph 9: “Truly, that which is required for the preservation of life, and for life’s well-being, is produced in great abundance from the soil, but not until man has brought it into cultivation and expended upon it his solicitude and skill.” On and on I might go, but for want of space and your generous attention, I will stop here.
Moral Obligations With Respect to Property
So far, readers may be with me on the undeniable similarities between Locke and Leo on the origins of political societies and of private property. But surely, some may be thinking, Locke and Leo differed with respect to how private property ought to be used? Some have argued that Locke, for instance, justified the unlimited and selfish acquisition of wealth when he introduces the invention of money into his historical/logical narrative. For originally, Locke holds that a person can only take from the natural state so much as would a) leave enough for other men, and b) would not go to waste or spoil in his possession. Locke later argues around this by introducing money, which can be justly acquired without limitation because it does not spoil. From this some (such as C.B. Macpherson) have deduced that Locke was a sort of “proto-capitalist” who was seeking to justify massive disparities in wealth.
My first response to objections of this sort is that not even Pope Leo appears to place any limitations upon how much property a person can acquire in RN. It is, as we saw, fixed only by “man’s own industry” and the particular laws and customs of various nations. What he does do, however, is set down rules on how the property one justly acquires is to be used. As I think will become clear, the quantity is really irrelevant, for someone with a great deal of property can either use it for good, or for evil; they can use it for some social good, or they can horde it and waste it on themselves. First I’m going to look at how Leo outlines the responsibilities that come with property, and then compare to Locke, who says nothing about it in the ST but does in his First Treatise (FT).
Leo quotes Thomas Aquinas in paragraph 22 of RN on the use of private property:
“It is lawful,” says St. Thomas Aquinas, “for a man to hold private property; and it is also necessary for the carrying on of human existence.” But if the question be asked: How must one’s possessions be used? – the Church replies without hesitation in the words of the same holy Doctor: “Man should not consider his material possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.
I want to be clear that I share this conception of private property myself. Without hesitation, having cultivated a healthy spiritual detachment from the material goods of the world, we ought to be ready and willing to share with those who are in need. The burning question is, should this moral duty be enforced by the State? And on this question, Leo is quite clear:
But, when what necessity demands has been supplied, and one’s standing fairly taken thought for, it becomes a duty to give to the indigent out of what remains over. “Of that which remaineth, give alms.”(14) It is a duty, not of justice (save in extreme cases), but of Christian charity – a duty not enforced by human law.
I don’t see how this can be much more clear. It is absolutely illegitimate for the state to force people to be charitable with their property, save in extreme cases, and naturally we will have disputes on just how many scenarios fall within that description. Keep in mind the bold text when come to Locke below.
It should also be readily conceded that Leo takes the justice of taxes as a given, though he is clear to establish that taxes must be reasonable:
The right to possess private property is derived from nature, not from man; and the State has the right to control its use in the interests of the public good alone, but by no means to absorb it altogether. The State would therefore be unjust and cruel if under the name of taxation it were to deprive the private owner of more than is fair. (47)
At this point I will add that anyone who believes in the legitimacy of even a minimal state has to assent to the necessity and justice of some level of taxation.
What about Locke? Here I wish to turn, in the first place, to commentator Jeremy Waldron, who notes that the utter absence of Locke’s reference to charity in the ST, while finding such a reference in the FT, “is the strongest evidence for the independence of the two Treatises.” (God, Locke & Equality, 183). Waldron and others note that the two Treatises were “written at different times and for somewhat different purposes.” This accounts, I think, for the absence of charity in the ST. In the FT, Locke’s discussion of charity again is surprisingly similar to what we saw from Leo/Aquinas above, which suggests to me that there is contradiction in neither. Waldron also concludes, by the way, and for similar reasons, that it is justifiable to combine the following account of charity with the ST’s account of property.
In the FT, Locke is refuting the notion of absolute monarchy held by his opponent, Robert Filmer. In sec. 41, he his specifically refuting the notion of “Adam’s monarchy”, and putting aside much that is unnecessary, the basic idea that the absolute monarch would have possession of all property on the Earth. He argues,
The most specious thing to be said, is, that he is proprietor of the whole world, may deny the rest of mankind food, and so at his pleasure starve them, if the will not acknowledge his sovereignty and obey his will. If this were true, it would be a good argument to prove that there never was any such property, that God never gave any such private dominion; since it is more reasonable to think, that God who bid mankind to increase and multiply, should rather himself give them all a right [to private property]… than to make them depend on the will of a man for their sustenance…
Again we see Locke arguing for the necessity of and the right to private property. But his focus is different, as we shall see. From sec. 42:
But we know that God hath not left one man so to the mercy of another, that he may starve him if he please: God the Lord and Father of all, has given no one of his children such a property in his peculiar portion of the things of this world, but that he has given his needy brother a right to the surplusage of his goods; so that it cannot be justly denied him, when his pressing wants call for it…
As justice gives every man a title to the product of his honest industry, and the fair acquisitions of his ancestors descended to him; so charity gives every man a title to so much out of another’s plenty, as will keep him from extreme want, where he has no means to subsist otherwise; and a man can no more justly make use of another’s necessity, to force him to become his vassal, by with-holding that relief God requires him to afford the wants of his brother… (italics in the original)
Is this not the same argument? Down to the very same concepts, the distinction between justice which entitles a man to property and charity which obliges him to use it in a certain way, there is a total convergence of thought between Leo and Locke, and we might add Aquinas whom the former quoted. There is no contradiction here at all. They even agree that extreme cases actually would become matters of justice. Thus I must conclude that though the two Treatises may have been written at different times, and for “somewhat” different purposes, taken as a whole they present a theory of property that is no different in its essentials than the one found in Rerum Novarum.
In part III, I will explain why I find these similarities and overlaps are important today.
Historical footnote: I wasn’t going to include this originally, in order to keep the post as short as possible, and also because I thought it was evident from an honest comparison of the texts. However, since challenges have been raised, and some have argued that there is no Locke at all in Rerum Novarum, I’m going to further substantiate my argument with some historical evidence. In a paper for the Journal of Markets & Morality, Fall 2005, Manfred Spieker, a professor of Christian Social Thought in Germany, claims that Locke had a direct influence on RN. He writes,
The classical thinker who founds the individual right to property on human work is John Locke (1632-1704). In his Second Treatise of Government, 1689, he writes that the earth and all lower beings belong to all men in common, but “each man has property of his own person.” Therefore, “the work of his body and the work of his hands are also, properly speaking, his.” Therefore, whatever man wrests from the state of nature and mixes with his work, “is consequently made his property.” (5) Although John Locke is neither a church father nor a church teacher, his justification of private property played a major role in the nineteenth century, in which the Christian theory of society arose.
Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler (1811-1877) in 1848–two years before his appointment as Bishop of Mainz, in his famous Advent sermon in the Cathedral of Mainz, in which he set off the Catholic theory of property from liberalism, on the one hand, and communism, on the other–still followed Thomas Aquinas entirely. (6) Luigi Taparelli, Matteo Liberatore, and Tommaso Zigliara, who prepared the social encyclical Rerum Novarum for Pope Leo XIII, also relied on John Locke’s property theory. Two aspects exert substantial influence on this first and ground-breaking encyclical: Locke’s individualism and work as the criterion for legitimacy of the right to private property.
Spieker goes on to note that by the 1970’s the Lockean elements of RN came under criticism for various reasons. But if what he argues is true, then there are absolutely no grounds to reject the presence of Locke in RN, no matter what one thinks of it, for better or for worse. The entire article can be read here: | <urn:uuid:e00e0daf-0d98-41e2-a967-6c93a7c3ab3d> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://the-american-catholic.com/2010/10/23/catholic-political-thought-john-locke-part-ii/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936464123.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074104-00279-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973975 | 5,411 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Bill Would Ban Furniture with Toxic Flame Retardants
March 8, 2017
PROVIDENCE — The evidence against chemical flame retardants has been mounting for decades. Not only do they not prevent fires, but these synthetic additives to furniture and plastics are dangerous to human health and the environment.
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, some of the most common flame-retardants have been linked to cancer, lower IQ and reduced fertility, and they can harm fetal and child development.
While some chemical flame retardants have been banned, others remain in regulation limbo. A Senate bill is attempting to ban the sale of bedding and furniture in Rhode Island that contain a class of chemicals known as organohalogens. Specifically, the bill would prevent the use of flame-retardants that contain bromine and chlorine.
The powerful lobbying group American Chemistry Council (ACC), however, testified that a ban on organohalogens is too broad and includes chemicals that may not be harmful. Senators and witnesses at the March 7 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee said the bill must include a broad class of flame-retardants to prevent the chemical industry from making comparable chemicals that skirt the law.
“They take a chemical off the market; they tweak the formula a little bit; they change one little aspect of it and that chemical goes right back into mattress pads, nursing pillows, crib mattresses that children are sleeping on,” said David Gerraughty, an organizer for Clean Water Action of Rhode Island.
It’s not the first time a bill has been filed to ban flame-retardants, but this year some compelling witnesses testified in favor of the ban.
Donna MacDonald was Providence firefighter for 15 years, until she retired in 2016 because of occupational cancer. MacDonald testified that flame retardants may slow fires but the smoldering of fabric and furniture releases a harmful concentration of toxins. The chemicals are ingested by firefighters and the public through breathing or touching the invisible emissions.
“If we can limit the amount (of exposure) by limiting the fire-retardant chemicals and lowering the cyanide levels it’s going to be a big help,” she said.
Hannah Gardener, an epidemiologist from the University of Miami, testified that this class of flame-retardants leaks over time from furniture and other household products. They migrate into the air or collect in dust, which are ingested by children, adults and pets.
Members of the Judiciary Committee challenged the testimony of Stephen Rosario, an ACC lobbyist. Sen. Frank Lombardi, D-Cranston, compared flame retardants to the fight against cigarettes and asbestos.
“I can only help but feel we are having an asbestos debate again like they did in the ’30s, ’40 and ’50s,” Lombardi said. “They talked about this wonder product called asbestos that was going save houses from fires and be the greatest thing since slice bread. And we know the rest of the story.”
Rosario said the bill is broader than other bans by prohibiting an entire category of chemicals rather than specific flame-retardant’s. He said studies show that individual chemicals can’t accurately be attributed to cancer, especially in firefighters who are exposed to numerous elements.
If passed, the ban would make it unlawful for a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer in Rhode Island to sell residential upholstered bedding or furniture that contains 100 parts per million or greater of any organohalogen flame-retardant chemical.
The bill was held for further study. A companion House bill is expected to have a hearing this month.
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Your support keeps our reporters on the environmental beat.
Reader support is at the core of our nonprofit news model. Together, we can keep the environment in the headlines. | <urn:uuid:9ec3eb27-9ea4-41f0-b07c-24297647e9b7> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://ecori.org/2017-3-8-senate-bill-bans-toxic-flame-retardants/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103322581.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220626222503-20220627012503-00542.warc.gz | en | 0.941454 | 806 | 2.75 | 3 |
We’ve noted here before the many ways in which solar power is blowing up in the United States: Adding tons of jobs, driving progressive policies, and attracting millions of dollars in investment from major corporations. It’s not slowing down anytime soon: New data from market analysis firm GTM Research finds that 2014 was solar’s biggest year ever, with 30 percent more photovoltaic installations installed than in 2013. Check it out:
Those numbers are even more impressive when you compare them to other types of energy sources. Even though solar still accounts for a small share of US electricity generation (less than 1 percent), last year it added nearly as many new megawatts to the grid as natural gas, which is quickly catching up on coal as the country’s primary energy source. (Coal, you can see, added almost nothing new in 2014.)
The report points to three chief reasons for the boom. First, costs are falling, not just for the panels themselves but for ancillary expenses like installation and financing, such that overall prices fell by 10 percent compared to 2013. Second, falling costs have allowed both large utility companies and small third-party solar installers to pursue new ways to bring solar to customers, including leasing panels and improved on-site energy storage. Third, federal incentives and regulations have been relatively stable in the last few years, while state incentives are generally improving, particularly in states like California and Nevada that have been leading the charge.
One more chart worth pointing out: Rooftop solar tends to get the most press because that’s where homeowners and solar companies get into tussles with big incumbent power companies and the state regulators that often side with them. And it’s true that a new home gets solar more often than a giant solar farm gets constructed. But on a sheer megawatt basis, utility-scale solar is still far and away the leading source, with a few notable projects coming online in 2014, like the Topaz Solar project in the California desert, the largest solar installation in the world. | <urn:uuid:1968b80e-36c2-4728-ac23-107f45c209ee> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://preprod.motherjones.com/politics/2015/03/2014-was-biggest-year-solar-power-ever/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780057882.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20210926144658-20210926174658-00554.warc.gz | en | 0.959217 | 422 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Did you know that 28 percent of smokers report moderate or severe tooth discolouration, compared to just 15 percent of non-smokers? A 2005 study uncovered these statistics, along with additional information about the lifestyle, perception, and dental issues of smokers.
The Study Sample
The cross-sectional study took place in the United Kingdom, from a random sampling of 6,000 adults. Of those adults, 3,384 were interviewed. In addition, the research team recorded information about the individuals’ smoking habits and collected responses about how satisfied the smokers were with the colour of their teeth.
To gauge the accuracy of each smoker’s perception of their own teeth, the study team prepared a set of photos, showing different levels of discolouration and staining due to smoking. Then, each smoker participating in the study was asked to point to the photo that most closely matched their own teeth, specifically with regard to the level of discolouration.
A Smoker’s Stains
A smoker’s teeth often develop spots and stains, which can be yellow, light brown, dark brown, or black. The intensity and number of the stains usually depends on the smoker’s habits. The more a person smokes, the darker the stains become; and smokers who have continued the habit for many years are more likely to have deep staining than those who just started. The study discovered that about 30 percent of the smokers in the study were unhappy with their tooth colour. In contrast, only 15 percent of the non-smokers were unhappy with their tooth colour.
Another Kind of Discolouration
It is noteworthy that some tooth discolouration may occur in childhood if a young person is exposed to too much fluoride. This kind of discolouration is known as dental fluorosis. However, dentists can generally tell the difference between the two types of discolouration. Also, the risk of fluorosis is very low for individuals in the United Kingdom, so the possibility did not impact the results of the study.
More Oral Health Risks Associated with Smoking
In addition to the pervasive staining that tobacco and tobacco smoke can cause, smoking often leads to other serious medical conditions. Smokers can develop periodontal disease, tooth loss, oral cancer, lesions in their oral mucosa, throat cancer, or lung cancer.
The Importance of Immediate Action
According to the researchers, one of their goals for the study was to inspire smokers to quit for their own benefit— not only because of the cancer risk but also because of the aesthetic toll that smoking takes on a person’s smile. If you or someone you know is beginning to suffer the ill effects of smoking, contact Orchard Scotts Dental right away. The first step towards better oral health is to quit smoking, with the help of family, friends, your doctor, and an addiction support group. Then, your Singapore dentist can begin to evaluate your current situation, including the level of staining, tooth decay or oral disease that the smoking has inflicted. Dental veneers, frequent cleanings, teeth whitening and other methods can be effective in completing the smile makeover and restoring your mouth and teeth to good health.
Original Source: “Smoking and Tooth Discoloration: Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study,” Mhd N Alkhatib,2 Ruth D Holt, and Raman Bedi, BioMed Central, March 2005. | <urn:uuid:db49a9b6-6321-49eb-85fe-4799cfcfbf26> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://www.orchardscottsdental.com/how-does-smoking-affect-your-teeth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247481992.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20190217111746-20190217133746-00494.warc.gz | en | 0.961892 | 715 | 3.515625 | 4 |
|← Honor Crimes||Preliminary Findings of a Crime Scene →|
Crime scene investigators in America work toward investigating all kinds of crimes. They visit the scene in which the criminals accomplish their mission. They gather evidence which they find available in the place where the crime occurs. The people who work as crime scene investigator get employed by the government. They work as police officers and with their skills they get deployed to investigation department. This is a police department and the investigator works together with the police.
The details of this career can be found in htpp//www.crime –scene investigation-net/ or from the article written by Paul B. Weston on crime scene investigator. Those sources give detailed information on the career of a crime scene investigator.
After graduation, I will get the certificate which will assist in getting the employment because a college diploma is required for one to become a crime scene investigator. Secondly, I have a significant health and I am physically fit. Physical fitness is a mandatory requirement for this career, because it takes climbing mountains in search of evidence. Finally, I am a talented photographer and this requirement is mandatory since people take photos of the crime scene (Weston, 2004).
Individuals in this profession have significant health, and they have a minimum of college diploma. A crime scene investigator works from Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm and takes home an average of $ 40,000 in a year. The profession has a code of ethics which respects the Constitution of America.
Police officer is another profession close to this because one has to become a police office before being promoted to the crime scene investigator department. The forensic investigator works in cooperation with crime scene investigator. The details on the career can be found in htpp//www.crimescene.com. Those professionals work towards gathering evidence and investigating to arrest the perpetrated (Weston, 2004). | <urn:uuid:4d88c47b-dcc5-45a4-892a-fcddad04e648> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://essaysprofessors.com/samples/justice/crime-scene-investigator.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583705091.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20190120082608-20190120104608-00173.warc.gz | en | 0.954508 | 388 | 2.828125 | 3 |
This Week on NeuroScientistNews: 18 May – 22 May
News May 22, 2015
The neural highway; multiple sclerosis treatment; nature versus nurture, and more.
All neurons in the brain belong to complex neural circuits, typically receiving and transmitting activity from and to multiple brain areas. A critical question in systems neuroscience is whether a brain region broadcasts the same information to multiple downstream areas, or if activity to distinct brain areas somehow conveys different information. Understanding this question is a key step forward in understanding the circuitry underlying cognition.
A drug that could halt the progression of multiple sclerosis may soon be developed thanks to a discovery by a team at the CHUM Research Centre and the University of Montreal. The researchers have identified a molecule called MCAM, and they have shown that blocking this molecule could delay the onset of the disease and significantly slow its progression.
A new drug developed at Lancaster University in the UK that may help to prevent the early stages of Alzheimer's disease is to enter clinical trials. The number of people with dementia is steadily increasing. Currently there are about 850,000 cases in the UK, with numbers expected to reach over a million by 2021. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. It begins when a protein called beta-amyloid forms senile plaques that start to clump together in the brain, damaging nerve cells and leading to memory loss and confusion.
Duke and MIT scientists have discovered an area of the brain that is sensitive to the timing of speech, a crucial element of spoken language. Timing matters to the structure of human speech. For example, phonemes are the shortest, most basic unit of speech and last an average of 30 to 60 milliseconds. By comparison, syllables take longer: 200 to 300 milliseconds. Most whole words are longer still. In order to understand speech, the brain needs to somehow integrate this rapidly evolving information.
One of the great tussles of science – whether our health is governed by nature or nurture – has been settled, and it is effectively a draw. University of Queensland researcher Dr Beben Benyamin from the Queensland Brain Institute collaborated with researchers at VU University of Amsterdam to review almost every twin study across the world from the past 50 years, involving more than 14.5 million twin pairs. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, reveal on average the variation for human traits and diseases is 49%, and 51% due to environmental factors and/or measurement errors. | <urn:uuid:eef3386d-8ab2-46d9-b40d-57826e0a4e7b> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://www.technologynetworks.com/proteomics/news/week-neuroscientistnews-18-may-22-may-283268 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998986.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20190619123854-20190619145854-00480.warc.gz | en | 0.931 | 498 | 2.875 | 3 |
3 edition of Addresses delivered before the Franklin literary society found in the catalog.
|Contributions||Winters, Jacob, 1826-1873|
|LC Classifications||LD2601.J341 F77|
|The Physical Object|
|LC Control Number||42047862|
Sales tax will be added to orders shipped to Pennsylvania addresses. We sell good books at good prices and want you to be satisfied with your purchase. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods. Franklin Library Children's Antiquarian & Collectible Books, Franklin Library Literature & Fiction Antiquarian & Collectible Books,Seller Rating: % positive. Before Franklin can begin to write his narrative, he has to conjure up an imaginary audience for it. Franklin doesn't just say what his favorite book is, he explains in a smart, literary way just why Bunyan's book works so well. What's more, he shows himself to be kind of ahead of his time by engaging in a sort of "rise of the novel.
History of publishing - History of publishing - Magazine publishing: Though there may have been published material similar to a magazine in antiquity, especially perhaps in China, the magazine as it is now known began only after the invention of printing in the West. It had its roots in the spate of pamphlets, broadsides, ballads, chapbooks, and almanacs that printing made possible. While the Franklin claims in his prologue that his story is in the form of a Breton lai, it is actually based on two closely related tales by the Italian poet and author appear in Book 4 of Il Filocolo, , and as the 5th tale on the 10th day of the both stories, a young knight is in love with a lady married to another knight.
Decadent, any of several poets or other writers of the end of the 19th century, including the French Symbolist poets in particular and their contemporaries in England, the later generation of the Aesthetic movement. Both groups aspired to set literature and art free from the materialistic. Maria W. Stewart (Maria Miller) ( – Decem ) was a free-born African American who became a teacher, journalist, lecturer, abolitionist, and women's rights activist. The first known American woman to speak to a mixed audience of men and women, white and black, she was also the first African-American woman to make public lectures, as well as to lecture about women's rights and.
The future of political science in America
environmental role of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard in the Persian Gulf conflict
An inquiry into the relative mortality of the principal diseases of children, and the numbers who have died under 10 years of age, in Glasgow, during the last thirty years
Consumer responses to incentives to reduce plastic bag use
Modern Greek-English dictionarywith a Cypriote vocabulary
100 years of collectible jewelry (1850-1950)
Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords, Bound Volumes, 1995-96, 5th Series, 1 April - 2 May, 1996
Report of the Commonwealth Education Conference
Royal Australian Navy, 1914-1918
Minutes of meeting of February 2 and 3, 1940 ...
FACSIMILE: Reproduction Addresses delivered before the Franklin literary society [FACSIMILE] Originally published by Wash ington, Pa., printed by J. Bausman in Book will be printed in black and white, with grayscale images.
Book will be 6 inches wide by 9 inches tall and soft cover bound. Any foldouts will be scaled to page : Winters, Jacob.
Get this from a library. An address delivered before the Washington and Franklin literary societies of La Fayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, at the eighth annual commencement, Septem [William Augustus Porter; Lafayette College (Easton, Pa.).
Franklin Literary Society.; Lafayette College (Easton, Pa.). Washington Literary Society.]. The superiority of the present age: an address delivered before the Franklin Literary Society of Mr. Horner's School, Oxford, N.C., Item Preview remove-circle.
The conservative elements of American civilization: an address before the Philo and Franklin Societies of Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pa. delivered third of August, Find a copy online Links to this item Full text online.
Addresses delivered before the Franklin literary society, By Author: W. (William Alfred) Passavant. The literary progress of Georgia An address delivered in the college chapel at Athens, before the society of alumni, and at their request, on Thursday, August 7th,being the semi-centennial anniversary of Franklin College.
Guaranteed 3 day delivery. Herman Melville: Moby Dick Vintage Limited Edition Book Franklin Library Franklin Library Literature & Fiction Antiquarian & Collectible Books. The Franklin Library Great Books 25th Anniversary Aristophanes 2-Volume Set. $ The Franklin Literary Society, also called Franklin or Frank Hall, functioned mainly as a debating club.
It provided the student with the opportunity to develop his oratorical, arguing, and writing skills outside of the classroom. Frommeetings were held in a hall in South College. About Classic Editions. Classic Editions specializes in antiquarian and custom leather bound books, fine art photography featuring classic photobooks and original signed photographs, and the book as focus is to offer books that are truly beautiful as well as being significant literary works.
As a member of the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) and the ILAB. Search the world's most comprehensive index of full-text books. My library. In order to grow the number of members in their societies, the Franklin Literary Society and Philo Literary Society at Jefferson College and Union Literary Society and Washington Literary Society at Washington College sent letters to influential men inviting them to join their organizations.
The Franklin Library was a division of The Franklin Mint that produced fine collector edition books over three decades ending in All Franklin Library editions are now considered out-of-print and many are scarce and highly collectible -- but that doesn't mean you can't find treasured past and present editions on the marketplace.
An address delivered before the two literary societies, of the University of North Carolina, in Gerard Hall, on the day preceding the annual commencement, in Juneunder the appointment of the Dialectic Society (Book, ) . Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (Janu [O.S. January 6, ] – Ap ) was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
Franklin was a leading writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and a scientist, he was a major figure in the American.
Franklin Library Limited First Edition Society Books ( - ) Full Leather. Click on the book title to see a picture. Alcestiad - Thornton Wilder - Frank Norris, byname of Benjamin Franklin Norris, (born March 5,Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died OctoSan Francisco, California), American novelist who was the first important naturalist writer in the United States.
Norris studied painting in Paris for two years but then decided that literature was his vocation. He attended the University of California in –94 and then. The Franklin Library Greatest Books of All Time series includes leather bound books, and was published by Franklin Library from to All books in the Greatest Books of All Time series were bound in genuine leather binding with 22k gold accents and sewn-in bookmarks.
It’s important to note that the Franklin Library did. THE GREAT GATSBY. Author: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Description: The Greatest Books of All Time. The Franklin Library, pp.
8vo. Full leather stamped in gold, raised bands on spine, gold titles and decorations within the compartments, silk moire end papers, all edges gilt, ribbon marker.
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 17 VOLUMES OF THE FRANKLIN LIBRARY SIGNED FIRST EDITION SOCIETY - LEATHER/SIGNED at the best online prices at eBay. The Franklin Library Signed First Edition Society Books.
$4, 0 the shipping service selected, the seller's shipping history, and other factors. Delivery Seller Rating: % positive.
Franklin Library produced three types of books; 1) full leather bound, 2) ¼ bound leather with cloth covers, and 3) faux leather sometimes referred to as leatherette which is not leather at all. By in large, the majority of their series were done in full leather and a much smaller percent were done in ¼ leather and simulated (faux) leather.
Get this from a library! Eulogium on Benjamin Franklin, L.L.D., president of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia, for Promoting Useful Knowledge, fellow of the Royal Society of London, member of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, of the Royal Society at Gottingen, the Batavian Society in Holland, and of many other literary societies in Europe and America, late.Two Years Before the Mast, Notes from the Editors, from the Limited Edition Collection, The Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature Dana, Richard Henry Published by The Franklin Library, Franklin Center, PA ().A Matter of Simple Justice: The Untold Story of Barbara Hackman Franklin and a Few Good Women by Stout, Lee and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at | <urn:uuid:3a73ca80-8adc-48b2-811e-3b709b532a78> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://cypypekytexuwoc.elizrosshubbell.com/addresses-delivered-before-the-franklin-literary-society-book-39749qp.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323587655.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20211025061300-20211025091300-00341.warc.gz | en | 0.937326 | 1,983 | 2.59375 | 3 |
DENISON, TEXAS -- According to the CDC, it's peak time for the flu virus and the majority of Americans haven't received a flu shot. Many who are sick or are nursing a sick loved one are finding it hard to identify between the flu and the common cold.
Allison Harris spoke with a local doctor today to find out the difference.
"It hits like a ton of bricks. You're feeling fine one minute and then, all of a sudden, you can barely move, you're body's aching. The cold -- it's not like that," Dr. Duke Carlson at Texoma Medical Plaza said.
Carlson says the cold and flu are both viruses, but they attack your system in very different ways.
"The cold virus kind of sneaks up on you. You maybe have a little sore throat; usually that's how it starts: sore throat, a little bit of cough, but not this abrupt change in your health that occurs with the flu," Carlson said.
The viruses also differ in how they can evolve into other illnesses.
"With the flu you can get things like pneumonia, whereas the cold virus, sometimes you might get a sinus infection or an ear infection, maybe a strep throat," Carlson said.
WebMD says flu symptoms include sore throat, headache, muscle aches, soreness, congestion, coughs and fever.
With the cold, you might have a low grade fever, but the thermometer shouldn't read above 101. The flu will get into your whole body and likely give you a high fever.
"And then headache. People with colds will have some sinus congestion, but with the flu, it's a headache," Carlson said.
Stocking up on vitamins might help you ward off the cold and flu, but it's more important to wash your hands and not touch your eyes or mouth.
"Don't forget about stress: reducing stress in your life, getting plenty of sleep, good nutrition, exercise. These are the things that are going to really boost your immunity and help you not be vulnerable to disease," Carlson said. | <urn:uuid:ce2db1ec-f4ad-4442-80da-a099370b1cad> | CC-MAIN-2015-35 | http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/Cold-versus-flu-do-you-know-how-to-tell-the-difference-187032491.html?site=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-35/segments/1440644065375.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20150827025425-00194-ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969312 | 434 | 2.875 | 3 |
Ready for your little ones to write their own equations? This is the perfect activity for you! Just copy and go...
You get TWO pages of equations... 1 addition and 1 subtraction
Students use the Groundhog Shadow Spots to write corresponding numerals and complete simple addition and subtraction equations with sums to 5. Go one step further at the end and have them make up equations of their own. What a great way to incorporate HIGHer level thinking and differentiate student learning, while you build that MATH VOCABulary.
A perfect ADDition to your Groundhog Unit!
Check out my store for a FREE Ladybug Addition printable.
FREE Ladybug Equations SAMPLE | <urn:uuid:aa311bf0-ab7c-47d0-90b1-ee81bd98dc5e> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Groundhog-Equations-for-K-1-No-Prep-2988684 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886109893.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170822031111-20170822051111-00304.warc.gz | en | 0.899604 | 144 | 3.203125 | 3 |
What is a Genetic Variant?
Our DNA is organized into genes. Each gene influences different aspects of how our body develops, grows, and functions. Genes influence things like our hair color, our height, and also our risk of getting certain diseases, such as cancer or heart disease. The collection of all the genes in our body is called our “genome.” You share the majority of your genome with every other human. Each individual has enough differences in their genes to make them unique. Certain versions of specific genes, or genetic variants, can be unique to your family.
Genetic Variants and Disease
Having genetic variants is normal. Most variants will not make any difference in a person’s health. However, some genetic variants can increase or decrease the chances of disease. For example: You may have chosen to get a DNA test for variants known to cause increased cancer risk. This genetic testing would look for specific changes or types of changes in your DNA that have been studied in other families with the same disease to see if you have any variants that are known to increase disease risk. If a variant is known to cause an increased disease risk, it may be called a pathogenic mutation or pathogenic variant. If it is highly likely to cause increased disease risk it may be called a likely pathogenic (disease-causing) variant. If this is the case, your family members may be tested to see if they also have the variant. Individuals with variants that increase their disease risk can often take actions that decrease their risk; for example: individuals with genes that increase their risk of colon cancer can make regular appointments for early colon cancer screening.
Understanding Rare Variants
Most genetic variants are benign. In other words, they do not change the risk of disease. Even in genes that are known to cause specific diseases, most variants do not cause any change in disease risk. Recent advances in genetics, enabled by knowing the complete human genome sequencing, have identified common variations that change risk for most common diseases. However, new genetic variants happen every generation, so every person has rare variants that are unique to their family. There are few variants that are unique to you, and you inherited additional variants that were unique to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents. Scientific studies and advanced computer algorithms allow geneticists to confidently classify some variants as benign or likely benign even if they are unique. However, if there is insufficient or conflicting evidence about whether a variant will cause disease risk, it will be initially termed a variant of uncertain clinical significance, often referred to as a VUCS or VUS.
Medical Care and VUS
The American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) suggests that individuals with VUS should not alter their medical decisions because of their VUS. They should use family history and other risk factors do make medical decisions. For example: if an individual has a VUS in a gene known to be associated with cardiomyopathy, they should base their medical decisions entirely on other known risk factors, such as family history and diabetes. ACMG suggests that an individual with a VUS could revisit the variant every year or two to determine if there is additional information about their variant.
If there is sufficient evidence to determine if a VUS does or does not cause disease in the family, the VUS may be reclassified. It may be classified as pathogenic (disease-causing), likely pathogenic (likely disease-causing), likely benign (likely not causative), or benign (not causative). If a variant is determined to be likely benign or benign, medical decisions for you and your family members might be based on lifestyle choices and personal medical history rather than genetic risk. However, if a variant is classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic, you will be counseled about higher disease risk and possible actions to test for or prevent future disease based on your genetic risk. Families of individuals with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants also benefit from knowing about their relatives genetic risk. Family members who are at risk of inheriting the same variant can be tested for that specific variant and take actions to decrease their disease risk. The family members without the variant may not have any increase in disease risk. | <urn:uuid:eba4753c-8378-4503-bda7-77b2c346cb82> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://findmyvariant.org/what-does-vus-mean/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662577259.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20220524203438-20220524233438-00605.warc.gz | en | 0.956813 | 873 | 3.71875 | 4 |
PHOTOS - Duffy's Cut - Irish laborers’ burial site in Pennsylvania slideshow
Brothers Frank and Bill Watson are seeking help from the public in locating any members of the Ruddy family or anyone who has information relating to the body of John Ruddy, the 18-year-old laborer buried at Duffy’s Cut in 1832.
They identified the man based on his bone size and by using the passenger list of the ships that came from Ireland to Philadelphia just before he died.
The Watson brothers first located the remains of Irish railroad workers through historic documents handed down through their family. They believe that the 57 Irish emigrants from Donegal, Derry, and Tyrone were likely victims of lynch mobs driven by anti-Irish sentiment and fear of cholera which was widespread at the time.
The Philadelphia and Columbia line was originally a horse-drawn train, and work began in 1828.
Three years later, an Irish contractor named Philip Duffy won the contract to construct Mile 59, one of the toughest stretches. The project required leveling a hill, which was known as making a cut; it was nasty work.
The dirt was “heavy as the dickens,” railroad historian John Hankey, who visited the site, told the Smithsonian Magazine. “Sticky, heavy, a lot of clay, a lot of stones—shale and rotten rock.”
The men Duffy hired were described as “sturdy looking band of the sons of Erin,” in an 1829 newspaper article. They were paid about ten dollars a month and lived in shacks. They were probably Irish speakers and had few possessions.
These Irish people had only arrived to the United States. Researchers believed that some of the group may have died from cholera, they also believe that some of them died violent deaths as evidence of trauma on the skeletons proves.
Speaking to IrishCentral.com Frank Watson explained that that they are continuing to work on DNA examinations. Their aim is to identify the remains and give the Irish immigrants proper burials. They hope to bury John Ruddy’s body around St Patrick’s Day 2012.
He explained that their “forensic dentist, Dr. Matt Patterson, is trying to trace a genetic anomaly that we found in the first man we uncovered at Duffy's Cut, whom we have tentatively identified as 18 year old John Ruddy from Donegal (born 1814).
More news stories on the Duffy’s Cut dig from IrishCentral
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“We are trying to see how extensive that anomaly is within the larger Ruddy family, including the Ruddy family who migrated to the US.
John Ruddy had a one in a million genetic dental abnormality, which he shares with all of his descendant Ruddys. He is missing his upper right front molar. If you believe you could be related to this man or have any information on members of the Ruddy family who may be connected to this man please contact Duffy’s Cut (see contact details below).
Sean Beattie, who worked on the Tile Film “The Ghost of Duffy’s Cut”, has been aiding the group in their search for the Ruddy clan. He said, “There are 15 Ruddys in the telephone directory for the entire county [of Donegal] and all are related except one family.
“In the past there were many Ruddys but emigration has taken its toll.
“In the 1830s there was a Ruddy family living in Ruddytown but no one of the name lives there today. There is a chance that family contacts of the Ruddy you have traced may be in America. John Ruddys family involved three brothers who came from west Inishowen in the 1850s and settled in east Inishowen.”
Sadly, the dig at Duffy’s Cut is currently being wound down as the rest of the mass grave is 30 feet below ground on property owned by Amtrak. They will not permit digging in the area as it is close to working train tracks.
The Watson brothers plan to continue working on their investigations. Their next project is a site just ten miles away where they believe there is another Irish mass grave.
If you have any information on the Ruddy family in the United States, contact Frank Watson ([email protected]) or Dr. Matt Patterson ([email protected]). | <urn:uuid:84d75f8b-7b09-4b85-9db8-3cd6d57f2501> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://www.irishcentral.com/news/duffys-cut-archaeologists-search-for-descendants-of-murdered-john-ruddy-135237548-237743301 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463607636.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170523122457-20170523142457-00093.warc.gz | en | 0.978186 | 934 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Which documentation style is appropriate according to International System of Units (SI) rules of notation?
Correct Option/Answers: 4
Rationale: Option 1: The unit symbol should be written in the singular form; therefore, it is inappropriate to document it as “8.5 mgs of medication.” Option 2: The unit symbol should not be followed by a period unless it is the last word in a sentence; therefore, it is inappropriate to write as “5 mg. of medication.” Option 3:There should be a space between the number and the unit symbol; therefore, “2mL IV injection” is inappropriate documentation. Option 4: The documentation “5 mg of medication” recorded by student nurse D is correct notation according to the International System of Units (SI) rules of notation.
Medical Terminology is more than just a weed out course you have to take before getting to the core of the training in your chosen field. Medical Terminology is part of learning medical language and essential for any health care professional to be able to communicate effectively and establish credibility with colleagues and patients alike.
Perhaps you’ve already started your journey toward a career in health care, or you’re thinking about it. Can you formulate a succinct and accurate response to the patient in the scenario here?
Ready or not, nurses entering the profession at every level will be expected to take on leadership roles. In complexity leadership, the style is transformational, self-reflective, collaborative, and relationship-based. The Personal Being and Awareness component includes the use of self-reflective and self-care practices for mind, body, and spirit. Distancing oneself from linear leadership and employing complexity leadership can require personal strength, courage, and self-awareness.
Just in case the photo above didn’t give it away, this month is all about GRADUATION and CAREER PREPARATION.
So instructors, while we still recommend snooping around for the great content we’ll be dishing out this month, many of our posts will be geared toward the next steps students will be taking as they leave your classrooms, pass their certification exams, and begin their careers in their chosen health profession. | <urn:uuid:541ae7fb-f9df-44b0-ad99-a7c276dfa51e> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://fadavisblog.com/tag/career-preparation-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891814493.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20180223055326-20180223075326-00779.warc.gz | en | 0.930675 | 460 | 2.8125 | 3 |
The method of preservation of strategic oil reserves.
Seizure of oil from the spill to use. without recycling pay.
Photograph courtesy Tesla Motors
Published June 29, 2010
At a day-long forum here devoted to probing every aspect of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, activists and scientists saved discussion of alternative energy technology for last, but they agreed it could be the most important focus for public policymakers.
“Opportunity is dressed up like a crisis,” said Jigar Shah, chief executive of the Carbon War Room, the climate change advocacy organization founded by Virgin Atlantic billionaire Richard Branson. Shah, who founded the solar energy service company SunEdison before joining Carbon War Room, said that both the oil spill and the threat of global climate change should be providing the impetus to move toward a cleaner energy future. “There is no Planet B,” he said.
(Related: Quiz: What You Don’t Know About Oil Spills)
Shah was one of about 30 speakers on topics ranging from oil dispersant science and marine biology to electric cars at the TEDxOilSpill forum, organized by technology entrepreneurs who felt that despite media saturation coverage of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, there was a need for a greater exchange of information and ideas on the crisis. Nate Mook, founder of Betanews, and Dave Troy, a Baltimore entrepreneur and software developer, took the conference idea just four weeks ago to TED, a nonprofit that organizes conferences and posts videos on its popular website dedicated to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” A TEDx is an event independently organized with a license from TED. Mook reported on his Twitter feed that more than 20,000 people tuned into the live Internet feed of the event Monday at Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
The speakers, who all volunteered their time, included Sylvia Earle, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and world-renowned oceanographer, who told the gathering she thought the Gulf whale shark may be “on death row,” and Wolcott Henry, an underwater photographer who has collaborated with her, who emphasized the importance of recording images beneath the sea.
But in the end, the focus shifted from the tragedy unfolding in the Gulf to the search for solutions for oil dependence. Shah—putting his emphasis on the issue of greenhouse gases—argued that much of today’s emissions could be eliminated with existing technologies, but a lack of clear policy and investment has prevented the technologies from being brought to the needed scale.
His point was driven home by the speaker who followed him, Diarmuid O’Connell, vice president of business development for Tesla Motors, the Palo Alto, California-based electric car company famous for its electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster.
The Roadster now costs $101,500. But O’Connell suggested that as production of electric cars scales up, prices would drop. And in fact, the company recently announced it would roll out the Model S sedan in 2012 at a price of $49,900.
“It’s not just about sports cars and movie stars,” said O’Connell. He argued that the United States, the largest world consumer of oil, should focus on alternative energy for transportation as a security issue as well as to address climate change.
Just hours after O’Connell’s speech, Tesla had a unique opportunity to test enthusiasm for an alternative energy future. The TEDx oil spill event happened to come one day before Tesla Motors went public in what some analysts were calling a referendum on the electric car. Even though the company hasn’t had a profitable quarter since it was founded in 2003, and even with the broader market slumping, shares of the company devoted to a petroleum-free transportation solution soared 41 percent in its trading debut.
Rebecca Dolan is a reporter for the Medill News Service in Washington, D.C.
Many railroad companies want more time to retrofit cars in the U.S. and Canada, but some are forging ahead.
With the Keystone XL in limbo, a fight is brewing over another proposed pipeline that would carry oil-sands crude across Canada to the Atlantic coast.
The Nobel Prize in physics goes to three scientists who invented blue LED lights, which paved the way for tremendously greater lighting efficiency.
Join the debate over whether we should view natural gas as a transitional fuel that eventually gives way to renewables, or whether it is blocking the way forward.
From better mass transit to a stronger mix of renewable energy, what is the most important thing we can do to make cities smarter when it comes to energy use?
As shipping and energy activity increase in the region, what do we urgently need to learn more about? Vote and comment on the list.
The Great Energy Challenge is an important National Geographic initiative designed to help all of us better understand the breadth and depth of our current energy situation. | <urn:uuid:7838f530-ddde-4be9-9a98-11fa822f3d23> | CC-MAIN-2014-49 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100629-energy-tedxoilspill-solutions-tesla/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-49/segments/1416931010631.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20141125155650-00091-ip-10-235-23-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95094 | 1,030 | 2.515625 | 3 |
English 110 – Martin
About this Guide
This guide provides students with recommended resources for the research assignments in English 110 with Professor Martin. Use the tabs to navigate through the pages of the guide.
First research paper: Discuss the causes and consequences of a national, local, or global social issue of your choice.
Second research paper: Building upon the first assignment, explore the same social issue in greater depth, following the instructions your instructor provides.
Paper Writing Assistance
Need More Help?
If you need more help with research, ask a librarian! Stop by the Reference Desk, or contact a librarian by phone, email, or chat for more help. Find our contact information on the right side of this page.
Interested in learning more about the library on your own?
Explore the library’s online tutorials.
Choosing a Topic
The following reference sources provide you with background information on your topic, and can help in the process of picking a topic, narrowing a topic, and finding keywords and subject headings. These resources are available in the Luria Library Reference section.
Print Reference Sources
- American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History — R 306.1 M678a
- American Immigration: An Encyclopedia of Political, Social, and Cultural Change — R 304.873 C573e 2013
- Crime and Punishment in America: An Encyclopedia of Trends and Controversies in the Justice System — R 364.973 F513c 2017
- Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste: The Social Science of Garbage — R 363.72803 Z76e 2012
- Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Social Issues — R 306.0973 S528e
- Encyclopedia of Politics — R 320.03 C283e
- Encyclopedia of Racism in the United States — R 305.800973 M663e
- Encyclopedia of Social Problems — R 361.1 P261e
- Violence in America: An Encyclopedia — R 303.6 G685v
Online Reference Sources
These resources are available online and will require your Pipeline account information when you access them off campus.
- Credo Reference: Contains the full text of nearly 600 encyclopedias, dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, and other reference books.
- The Official Guide to American Attitudes: Who Thinks What About the Issues That Shape Our Lives: Ebook
- Encyclopedia of Gangs: Ebook
- Social History of the United States: Ebook
Search the library catalog (books+) for books you can check out on your topic.
If you add the phrase “Social Conditions” to your searches, you will have more successful results.
Use the “Advanced Search” feature to search by SUBJECT. Choose “subject” from the drop-down menu, then enter your terms in the search box.
These resources are available online and will require your Pipeline account information when you access them off campus:
- Academic Search Complete: Provides full text for more than 8,500 periodicals (magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals), including full text for nearly 7,300 peer-reviewed titles, in all subject areas.
- CQ Researcher: An excellent source of pro/con information, containing single-themed reports on issues in the news. Provides in-depth, unbiased coverage of both sides of controversial issues related to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
- Opposing Viewpoints: Provides opinions and other information on hundreds of social issues.
- US Newsstream: Provides full-text access to current U.S. news content from newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites. Archives dating back to the 1980s are also included. Specific titles include: New York Times; Los Angeles Times; Wall Street Journal; Christian Science Monitor; Washington Post; and USA Today, as well as hundreds of local and regional newspapers.
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Copyright © 2001-2014 Nick Anthony Fiorenza, All Rights Reserved
Objects lying outside the orbit of Neptune are called "Trans-Neptunian Objects" (TNOs). So TNOs include those of the Kuiper Belt as well as those further distant in the Oort Cloud, like Sedna.
Chart Courtesy NASA
Dwarf Planets and Minor Planets of the Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud that have been named include: Pluto & Orcus, Haumea & Makemake; Eris, Quaoar, Ixion, Varuna & Sedna. Pending is 2012 VP113, temporalily named Biden, discovered near Sedna in 2012.
There are currently five Dwarf Planets: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.
Links to individual articles about each one are listed below.
These objects lie beyond the orbit of Neptune and have orbtial inclinations that cut through the plane of our solar system. This is a trait they have in common and one that makes them unique compared to the main planets in our solar system. This sugests they thend to interceed in our lives and in the fundamental workings of our consciousness.
The principles outlined in Exploring the Astrology of Newly Discovered Objects in Our Solar System are often applied in the articles below. You may wish to read that first.
Orcus - Oath of the Soul
Although Orcus is a bit smaller than Pluto, Orcus has a nearly identical orbital size, orbital period (year), and orbital inclination, and it has a moon like Pluto. However, Orcus' orbital plane's orientation in our solar system is tilted in the opposite direction from Pluto's. Orcus is clearly Pluto's compliment. Due to their complimentary relationship, I present them together to reveal their astrological similarities and differences. Orcus was discovered on Feb 19, 2004 by Mike Brown, a professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology, and colleagues Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz. Pluto, of course, was discovered in 1930 from the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff Arizona.
Haumea - A New Birth in Consciousness
Makemake - In Search of the Golden Egg
(pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh - "e" is pronounced "ay" in Polynesian)
Due to the similar orbits and sizes of Haumea and Makemake, I discuss them together on this web page. Haumea was discovered on Dec 28, 2004 by Mike Brown of CalTech using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Makemake was discovered on March 31, 2005 also by Mike Brown; et.al. Haumea is the goddess of childbirth and fertility in Hawaiian mythology. Haumea has two moons, called
Hi'iaka (discovered on Jan 26, 2005) and Namaka (discovered Nov 7, 2005), both discovered by Mike E. Brown, A.H. Bouchez, and the Keck Observatory Adaptive Optics teams. Makemake was discovered on March 31, 2005, also by Mike Brown. Makemake is the Polynesian name for the creator god of humanity found in the mythology of the South Pacific island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).
2009 YE7 was discovered by David Rabinowitz on December 17, 2009 at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. 2009 YE7. Mike Brown suggests that 2009 YE7 is a remnant of Haumea, thus 2009 YE7 is Haumea's offspring, like her two moons. A preliminary exploration of 2009 YE7 is presented, including 2009 YE7 's discovery star chart. 2009 YE7 was discovered in Eridanus near the stars Beid, Zurak and Rana, and its discovery location enters the ecliptic in the first degree of sidereal Taurus, conjoining Algol of Perseus.
Eris was discovered in Cetus, the Technobureaucratic Monster of Collective Human Consciousness on Jan 5, 2005 by Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz. Eris is larger than Pluto. Eris has and extreme orbital inclination as well as a greater eccentric orbit and is slower moving than Pluto—suggesting it may cut through our consciousness in an even sharper, more intense and dramatic way than Pluto, but in a longer process. Eris's year is equivalent to 560 Earth years, whereas Pluto's is about 248. Eris was responsible for the formation of the new "Dwarf Planet" classification and the reclassification, some say demotion, of Pluto—which caused quite an commotion in both the astronomical and astrological communities.
Quaoar (pronounced kwah-whar) was the name given to the "creation force" by the Native American Tongva tribe who were the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles basin in Southern California. Quaoar was discovered by Mike Brown and Chad Trujillo in a digital image taken on June 4, 2002 from the Palomar Observatory 48-inch Oschin telescope in California. Names are often taken from the mythology native to the places where they were discovered. Quaoar is about 1,200 kilometers in diameter—about one-tenth the diameter of Earth, about half the size of Pluto, and larger than the four primary asteroids combined. Quaoar has an orbital period of 288 years, orbiting the sun in a near perfect circle and it has the smallest orbital inclination of the objects discovered so far, lending to its rather harmonious nature.
Varuna is the all-knowing creator god in the mythology of India: "He knows the pathway of the wind" (Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas and the oldest book in Sanskrit). Varuna upholds cosmic law (not man's law) and a path of order. Varuna is considered to be the protector of people, keeping them from evil.
Varuna was detected on November 28. 2000 by Arizona-based astronomers in the Spacewatch Project, led by David Jewitt of the Institute of Astronomy in Honolulu. Varuna has an estimated diameter of 900 kilometers, which makes it slightly smaller than Charon (Pluto's moon). Its orbtial period is 282.04 years with an orbital inclination of 17.181°.
Varuna was discovered when it was making passage in sidereal Gemini, near the foot of Castor but conjoining the principal star Alhena, the foot of Pollux.
Ixion was discovered on May 22, 2001 in sidereal Scorpio, on the left foot of Ophiuchus and over the head of the Scorpion. Ixion was discovered by a group of American astronomers lead by Robert L. Millis of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Ixion is similar in size to Ceres (the largest of the four primary asteroids). Ixion's orbital period is 250.05 years and it has a 19.598° orbital inclination.
Set aloft in the cold icy distant Oort Cloud, Sedna makes her presence known.
A quote from NASA: "In March 2004, a team of astronomers announced the discovery of a planet-like object, or planetoid, orbiting the Sun at an extreme distance, in the coldest known region of our solar system. Mike Brown, along with Doctors Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and David Rabinowitz of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., originally found the "planetoid" on November 14, 2003, using the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory near San Diego. Within days, the object was observed by telescopes in Chile, Spain, Arizona and Hawaii, and soon after, NASA's new Spitzer Space Telescope looked for it."
The planetoid was named Sedna, an Inuit goddess who lives at the bottom of the frigid Arctic ocean. Sedna approaches the Sun only briefly during its 10,500-year solar orbit, but never travels inside the Kuiper Belt. Sedna curiously has a peculiar reddish color, like that of Mars. Sedna was discovered south of the ecliptic in Cetus, just past the jaws of ole' Cetus (Menkar) in late sidereal Aries.
2012 VP113 (temporarily named Biden) is the second minor planet discovered after Sedna, in the same distant region of our solar system. 2012 VP113 was discovered in 2012 by Chadwick Trujillo, an astronomer at Gemini Observatory in Hilo, Hawaii, and Scott Sheppard, an astronomer of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC.
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The above picture is not a picture of a child in Sub Saharan Africa but it is in fact a picture of a child in the Netherlands in 1944/45.
The Netherlands is a country divided by rivers and in the winter 44/45 ,what side of the river you were would determine whether you would have food or not.
The Dutch famine of 1944, known as the Hongerwinter (“Hunger winter”) in Dutch, was a famine that took place in the German-occupied part of the Netherlands, especially in the densely populated western provinces north of the great rivers, during the winter of 1944–45, near the end of World War II. A German blockade cut off food and fuel shipments from farm areas. Some 4.5 million were affected and survived because of soup kitchens. As many as 22,000 may have died because of the famine. Most of the victims were reported to be elderly men.
Towards the end of World War II, food supplies became increasingly scarce in the Netherlands. After the landing of the Allied Forces on D-Day, conditions grew increasingly worse in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The Allies were able to liberate the southern part of the country, but their liberation efforts came to an abrupt halt when Operation Market Garden, their attempt to gain control of the bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem, failed. The seizure of the approaches to the port of Antwerp (the Battle of the Scheldt) was delayed due to Montgomery’s preoccupation with Market Garden(a Bridge too far).
The southern provinces had already been liberated in September 1944.
After the national railways complied with the exiled Dutch government’s appeal for a railway strike starting September 1944 to further the Allied liberation efforts, the German administration (under Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Friedrich Christiansen) retaliated by placing an embargo on all food transports to the western Netherlands.
In response to the railway strike, food transports to the western Netherlands were banned. After six weeks the ban was withdrawn, but the supply remained frozen because of the dismantled railway network and the German requisitioning of goods. During the harsh winter of 1944/45, the socalled hungerwinter, there were severe food shortages in the cities.
The transport of coal from the liberated south also ceased. Gas and electricity were shut off. People chopped down trees and dismantled empty houses to get fuel. The amount of food available on ration dropped steadily.The unusually early and harsh winter had already set in. The canals froze over and became impassable for barges.
City dwellers went on hunger expeditions to the countryside. They traded their valuables with the farmers for food.
Food stocks in the cities in the western Netherlands rapidly ran out. The adult rations in cities such as Amsterdam dropped to below 1000 kilocalories (4,200 kilojoules) a day by the end of November 1944 and to 580 kilocalories in the west by the end of February 1945.Over this Hongerwinter (“Hunger winter”), a number of factors combined to cause starvation of the Dutch people: the winter itself was unusually harsh and the retreating German army destroyed docks and bridges to flood the country and impede the Allied advance. As the Netherlands became one of the main western battlefields, the widespread dislocation and destruction of the war ruined much of its agricultural land and made the transport of existing food stocks difficult.
As an alternative to onions , tulip bulbs would be used as a source of food.
Various initiatives were taken to deal with the severe food shortages. The churches of the northern and eastern Netherlands together found lodgings for 50,000 malnourished children from the cities.
At the end of January 1945, the Red Cross imported flour by ship from Sweden. It would be another month before the legendary Swedish white bread could be distributed.
A letter of commemoration given to a grocer whose shop served as a Red Cross point giving out the “Swedish bread”
In April, Allied planes dropped food parcels over the Netherlands with the permission of the Germans.
On May 2nd, Allied lorries carrying food were also allowed in. But organising a fair distribution was not easy. Most of the food could not be distributed until after the liberation.
An Amsterdam resident wrote:
‘… today again the engines of the heavy bombers could be heard over a jubilant Amsterdam, When will this food be distributed? A start has already been made on handing out the items from parcels damaged after they were dropped. For the moment, 7,000 parcels have been distributed among those suffering from hunger oedema.”
The German occupiers allowed coordinated air drops of food over German-occupied Dutch territory by the Royal Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force from 29 April to 7 May, and by the U.S. Army Air Force from 1 to 8 May. This was Operation Manna (RAF/RCAF) and Operation Chowhound (USAF).
The Germans agreed to not shoot at the planes flying the mercy missions, and the Allies agreed not to bomb German positions. Operation Faust also trucked in food to Rhenen beginning on 2 May, utilizing 200 vehicles. Rhenen was also occupied by the Germans.
The Dutch famine of 1944 was a rare case of a famine which took place in a modern, developed and literate country, albeit one suffering under the privations of occupation and war. The well-documented experience has helped scientists to measure the effects of famine on human health.
My family had move from the northern Province Friesland to the south eastern Province Limburg a few years before the war, so they escaped the hunger winter.
The sad thing is that this famine could have been avoided. Although there were many aspects and parameters that caused the famine, the real trigger was the failed Operation Market Garden.Not only did it cause the death of 20,000 citizens it also caused the death of a great number of allied troops.
I am passionate about my site and I know a you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2 ,however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thanks To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the paypal link. Many thanks | <urn:uuid:50273590-7ac4-4c6c-b62c-462b95c7b125> | CC-MAIN-2019-22 | https://dirkdeklein.net/2016/05/25/hunger-winter-the-dutch-famine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-22/segments/1558232257396.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20190523204120-20190523230120-00186.warc.gz | en | 0.972863 | 1,345 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Mexicanos, Second Edition
A History of Mexicans in the United States
Publication Year: 2009
Newly revised and updated, Mexicanos tells the rich and vibrant story of Mexicans in the United States. Emerging from the ruins of Aztec civilization and from centuries of Spanish contact with indigenous people, Mexican culture followed the Spanish colonial frontier northward and put its distinctive mark on what became the southwestern United States. Shaped by their Indian and Spanish ancestors, deeply influenced by Catholicism, and tempered by an often difficult existence, Mexicans continue to play an important role in U.S. society, even as the dominant Anglo culture strives to assimilate them. Thorough and balanced, Mexicanos makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of the Mexican population of the United States—a growing minority who are a vital presence in 21st-century America.
Published by: Indiana University Press
Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
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I continue to be in the debt of all those friends and colleagues who contributed their time and effort to the first edition of Mexicanos. In addition, I wish to thank the many individuals—some of them repeat offenders—who aided me in updating this new edition. These include professors Elizabeth Coonrod Martínez, California State University...
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Today the systematic study of Mexicanos in the United States is known as Chicana/o studies.1 Its genesis is to be found in the turbulent decade spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Mexican American students at California and Texas colleges and universities, inspired by the tenets of Chicanismo, hence calling themselves Chicanos, initiated...
1 Spaniards and Native Americans, Prehistory–1521
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Mexican American is a term devoid of meaning before 1848. The number of Mexicans residing in the United States before the Mexican Cession was negligible. Yet it would be a mistake to begin this history with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, for the roots of Mexican American history are buried in the distant past. In order to understand the people...
2 The Spanish Frontier, 1521–1821
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On 12 July 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner (1861–1932), a young professor from Wisconsin, gave a scholarly presentation entitled “The Significance of the Frontier in American History” at the annual convention of the American Historical Association in Chicago. The most influential work ever written by a U.S. historian, this seminal essay proposed...
3 The Mexican Far North, 1821–1848
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The Mexican period of Southwest History was very brief, lasting from 1821, when Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, to 1848, when the fledgling republic lost its northern territories to the United States with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.1 The most fateful trend in the Far North during this period was the continuing influx, in ever increasing numbers, of norteamericanos. Beset with a multitude...
4 The American Southwest, 1848–1900
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Chicano historians have tended to neglect the second half of the nineteenth century. When they began their work in the late 1960s, this period was generally viewed as a hiatus between two much more promising epochs: the age of Mexican sovereignty before and the decades of massive Mexican immigration afterward. It was the latter period, the twentieth...
5 The Great Migration, 1900–1930
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The dominant theme of Mexican American history in the twentieth century was immigration. With the one exception of the 1930s, every decade witnessed a substantial increase in the number of Mexican immigrants entering the United States, and there is little reason to believe that this movement will be stemmed in the near future. The first major push of immigrants occurred during the first three decades of the twentieth...
6 The Depression, 1930–1940
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The 1930s was a decade of economic hardship for the United States. All segments of the American population suffered from the shrinking job market. Mexicanos were no exception. Material deprivation was only part of the story. Prior to this decade, anti-Mexican sentiment had been on the rise, but in many parts of the country “the Mexican...
7 The Second World War and Its Aftermath, 1940–1965
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In the annals of American history, the Second World War was probably not as momentous in its consequences for many Americans as had been the Great War a generation before, but such is not the case for Mexicanos in this country. World War II altered life in the Mexicano community profoundly. Its heaviest impact was on the nascent middle...
8 The Chicano Movement, 1965–1975
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The decade comprising the midsixties to the midseventies was a period of extraordinary ferment in the Mexicano communities of the United States. Fateful social changes were in the air. Immigration from Mexico, for example, increased markedly, a trend that tended to push many of the older residents of the Southwest into other parts of the country. The most memorable changes, though, were political and psychological...
9 Goodbye to Aztlán, 1975–1994
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The political generation that emerged in barrios after the mid-1970s, labeled by Chicano historians the Post-Chicano Generation—or the Hispanic Generation, given its more conservative nature—lived in a time of rapid and confusing change. Most Chicano scholars, swayed by the high expectations of the preceding decade, have tended to be critical...
10 The Hispanic Challenge, 1994–Present
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Unlike other social scientists, historians approach the study of contemporary events with some trepidation.1 While the factual record may be relatively clear, it is difficult to interpret significant trends. Nevertheless, in this chapter an attempt will be made to discover these major currents after 1994 as they relate to Mexicanos in the United States. Since the mid-1990s, a general awareness of Mexican-origin people, who presently represent...
Appendix A. National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies Scholars of the Year
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Appendix B. Hispanic American Medal of Honor Recipients
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Appendix C. Mexican American Historical Novels
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Select Bibliography of Works since 1985
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About the Author
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Manuel G. Gonzales is Professor of History at Diablo Valley College. A specialist in both modern Europe and the American Southwest, he has been a visiting professor of Chicano history in the ethnic studies department at the University of California, Berkeley....
Page Count: 424
Publication Year: 2009
Edition: Second Edition | <urn:uuid:7cf52953-3068-4194-8697-c3c6d6eb23fa> | CC-MAIN-2015-22 | https://muse.jhu.edu/books/9780253007773 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-22/segments/1432207926620.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20150521113206-00013-ip-10-180-206-219.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929176 | 1,492 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Samuel Barrett (August 16, 1795-June 24, 1866) was an active and much respected Unitarian minister in the early days of the organized American Unitarian movement.
Young Samuel's family belonged to the Congregational Society in Wilton, New Hampshire. Their minister was the liberal preacher Thomas Beede, who had been a classmate of William Ellery Channing at Harvard. Beede helped Samuel prepare for college, as he had other young menamong them Ephraim Peabody, Joseph Hale Abbot, Warren Burton, and Abiel Abbot Livermoreall of whom, like Barrett, went on to serve as distinguished Unitarian ministers. After graduating from Harvard in 1818, Barrett joined the Wilton church. Because he was allowed to become a member without subscribing to the statement of faith, the orthodox members members departed, leaving the Unitarians in possession of the old parish church.
After teaching for a year, Barrett returned to Harvard to study for the ministry, and was licensed to preach in 1823. He turned down invitations from several churches in order to accept a call in late 1824 from the Twelfth Congregational Society of Boston, a newly organized church in a growing area of the city. As the first church built in Boston after the Unitarian schism, Twelfth Congregational represented the new denomination's hopes for the future. All the most notable Unitarian worthies had been present for the laying of the cornerstone in May 1824, among them William Ellery Channing, Henry Ware, Jr. and Andrews Norton.
Theologically, Twelfth Congregational was to be a broad church, not based on any narrow interpretation of Christianity. They welcomed to their communion all who would join them "on the broad ground of the sufficiency of the Scripture, the right of private judgment, the divine authority of Christ, and the purpose of a holy life." Barrett viewed further reform and liberalization of Christianity as good and necessary, a sign of great hope for the future of humanity. After many centuries of superstition and the "corruption" of Jesus' teaching, he believed, scholarship was beginning to make plain the great and simple truths of the gospel.
Barrett joined enthusiastically in the effort to establish the institutional base of the Unitarian faith. He was among the foremost of the younger ministers urging the organization of the American Unitarian Association. He served on the Executive Committee of the AUA from its founding in 1825 until 1841, and was for a time its secretary. In 1839, during a short leave of absence from his church, he served as a missionary for the AUA in the south and west. He was an associate editor of the Christian Register, a founder of the Unitarian Book and Pamphlet Society, and wrote numerous tracts for AUA distribution.
Barrett was also an organizer and promoter of Unitarian efforts in religious education and social action. In 1825 his congregation pioneered one of the earliest Sunday Schools in the city of Boston. Two years later, in order to foster cooperation among Unitarians in developing Sunday School materials and teaching methods, Barrett led the effort to organize the Boston Sunday School Society, which in a few years had its own staff and an impressive publishing record. Barrett was a founder of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches, an organization still in existence, devoted to the religious, social and financial needs of Boston's poor. He served as its president from 1852 to 1858.
Despite his devotion to the Unitarian cause, Barrett saw himself as part of the larger Christian community. He was active in, and often served as an officer of, interdenominational organizations working for religious reform, such as the Massachusetts Evangelical Missionary Society, the Society for Propagating the Gospel, and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Piety and Charity. Like many of the Unitarian leaders of his generation, he hoped that other Christians would follow the Unitarians' lead, turning away from divisive creeds and embracing social reform. Addressing the Ministerial Conference in 1847, he reflected on the Unitarian mission: "Amid the confusion of many conflicting creeds ... it is our aim and endeavor to bring back the minds of men to the few great principles which, proceeding from the divine fullness of the Master Jesus, converted the souls of the first disciples... which our own times especially need, to disarm skepticism and to conduct the process of social regeneration." He continued, "If Christians are ever to be one, as Jesus prayed they might be, they will become so under the banner of love... [T]hey must agree, like us, to lay stress, not on what is outward, but on what is inward ... on the unseen, unwritten sentiment of love in the heart."
Samuel Barrett expressed the profound optimism of the liberals who saw themselves as the party of hope and progress, speaking to his colleagues at Berry Street on "the remarkable hopefulness for the future that distinguishes our time." The minister of neighboring West Church, Cyrus Bartol, said of Barrett, "In the darkest of time he never despaired. I suppose there never was profounder faith in the future of mankind, and the immortal destiny and bliss of the children of men."
After twenty-five years at Twelfth Congregational, Barrett expressed himself "happy, possibly too happy" as he looked back at the growth of the church from its small beginnings. Yet demographic forces were already beginning to erode the basis of its success. The founding generation of the church was beginning to pass away, and few of their children had settled in the neighborhood. In twenty-five years, 450 families had left the parish, two thirds of them moving out of Boston. In their place came immigrant families, who brought their own religious traditions and established their own new churches. By 1852 the church had begun to operate at a deficit. An economic depression in 1857 deepened the crisis. In 1858, after serving the parish for thirty-five years, Barrett resigned in the hope that "a younger hand and a fresher spirit than I now possess" would be able to bring new life to "our beloved parish." But the church, founded with such great hopes, was unable to cope with the rapid economic and demographic change. The society was dissolved in 1863.
In 1832 Barrett was married to Mary Susan Greenwood, the sister of Francis W. P. Greenwood, the Unitarian minister serving at King's Chapel, Boston. They had four daughters and four sons. Samuel Barrett died in Roxbury, Massachusetts in June, 1866.
Barrett was the author of a number of American Unitarian Association (AUA) tracts including One Hundred Scriptural Arguments for the Unitarian Faith (1825), Apostle Peter a Unitarian (1828), Doctrine of religious experience explained and enforced (1829), Excuses for the neglect of the communion considered (1829), and Apologies for indifference to religion and its institutions examined (1834). Many of his sermons were published. Some of these are available at the Andover-Harvard Theological Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A few were included in Lewis G. Pray, Memoir of the Rev. Samuel Barrett, D.D. (1867). Pray also wrote Historical Sketch of the Twelfth Congregational Society in Boston (1863). Information about Barrett's early life can be found in Abiel Abbot Livermore, History of the Town of Wilton, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire (1888). There is a short biographical article about Barrett in Samuel Atkins Eliot, Heralds of a Liberal Faith, Volume 2 (1910).
Article by Frank Carpenter - posted July 29, 2000
For about 25 years, throughout roughly the first quarter of the 19th century, most of New England was caught up in a tangle of theological arguments, since known as the Unitarian controversy. The controversy engaged the best minds of Harvard and Yale and, equally as much, tens of thousands of lay church members. Today most Unitarian Universalists have never heard of the Unitarian controversy, and its themes and threads are still hard to sort out and relate to one another. Yet 21st century Unitarian Universalist congregations are what they are, in large part, due to the historical consequences of those same themes and threads, which so occupied, and shaped the lives of, our North American ancestors.
To tell this 19th century tale, one must begin with an understanding of the churches of 17th century Puritan New England. For the Unitarian controversy grew out of the religious concerns and practices of all the 17th century New England churches.
During the "Great Migration" of the 1630s some 20,000 English Puritans settled in New England and established independent parish (neighborhood) churches. They practiced congregational polity, that form of church governance in which members of the local church are united on an equal footing, not by assent to a creed, but by "entering the covenant." That is, by signing a promise. Each church wrote its own covenant. Some were long. Most were very short. The covenant of the Salem Church, written in 1629, is a good example. "We Covenant with the Lord and one with an other; and doe bynd our selves in the presence of God, to walke together in all his waies, according as he is pleased to reveale himself unto us in his Blessed word of truth."
The revolutionary thrust of the Puritan covenant and polity is given voice especially in two words, "unto us." This is because the issue of the Puritan mind and heart was contained in a set of closely related questions: Where is authentically commanding religious authority to be found? How is it known? And what are the conditions of its appearing "unto us?" The Puritansí answer to those questions found expression in the covenant of the local church. They granted ultimate religious authority solely to that convincing power of truth evident in the understandings reached and tested over time by a body of loving individuals mutually pledged faithfully to seek and to heed truth together, in ongoing community, so long as their earthly life should last.
Therefore, the Puritans rejected, on deeply held theological principle, the authority of bishops or any ecclesiastical or civil body politic whatsoever other than the local church. Each church elected and ordained its own officers, ministerial and lay. So constituted, all their churches together formed "the Standing Order" of "the New England Way": a community of independent churches, each governed solely by the decision of its own members, yet in "fellowship" with all other churches so constituted. | <urn:uuid:1cee99a3-7abd-4502-a89f-3c7b2010685d> | CC-MAIN-2015-06 | http://uudb.org/articles/samuelbarrett.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-06/segments/1422115865010.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20150124161105-00025-ip-10-180-212-252.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971256 | 2,181 | 2.515625 | 3 |
In a world that seems increasingly polarized, business owners and managers need to be alert to the threat of employee harassment in the forms of bullying and mobbing in the workplace.
What is Bullying and Mobbing? Is it the Same Thing as Harassment?
Social interactions and the language we use to describe them keep changing over time.
If you were to take a poll 30 or 40 years ago asking people to provide a definition of the term bullying, most would describe something along the lines of an altercation on the playground at school – often leading to an uncomfortable visit to the principal’s office for a warning or threat of detention, followed by a strongly worded parent-teacher conference.
In the 1980s, the late BBC journalist, Andrea Adams, host of the radio program An Abuse of Power, began an extensive campaign against the phenomenon of what she termed “workplace bullying” – a topic she wrote about extensively in her 1992 book Bullying at Work: How to Confront and Overcome It.
This expression, workplace bullying, encompasses a whole range of negative behaviors, instigated by either an individual or a group of employees against another employee.
Bullying in the workplace can lead to various forms of victimization, ranging from physical assault, verbal badgering (such as insulting remarks), emotional abuse, intimidation, aggression, psychological or sexual harassment, to negative social interactions, such as isolation, shunning or spreading false rumors to discredit an individual.
What about this term mobbing?
While workplace bullying or harassment are the predominant terms used in the U.S. and the U.K. to describe this type of malevolent behavior at work, another term for workplace bullying has emerged in other parts of the world — mobbing. It’s derived from the concept of mob rule, e.g. a crowd that engages in lawless, violent behavior directed against individual victims.
While the terms mobbing and bullying are generally considered equivalent, it’s more common to find the term mobbing used in scholarly works, government documents or among English-speakers outside the U.S. and the U.K. (particularly in Scandinavia and Australia, where there have been extensive campaigns to reduce workplace harassment.)
What are the Ways Bullying/Mobbing Negatively Impact Employee Development?
Companies invest a lot of time and resources recruiting, hiring, and training their employees, so from a purely economic cost basis, any instance of workplace bullying can be costly — from losing a valued employee to defending a labor law legal challenge brought by a victim (more on these business impacts later).
But for the employees that get singled out for harassment, workplace bullying can be devastating — with consequences ranging from a serious disruption to their path up the career ladder to more serious psychological complications that can even affect their mental and physical health.
Signs of workplace bullying can range from absenteeism, lack of organizational commitment, anxiety, depression, job burnout, to varying degrees of psychological distress.
In fact, some researchers contend that in extreme cases, victims of workplace bullying can be as psychologically and physically debilitated as those who have been diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) — such as military veterans, or those who have survived acts of terrorism or severe natural disasters.
What are the Risks to Business that Arise from Bullying/Mobbing in the Workplace?
If you are a business owner or a manager, and you haven’t given much thought to what can happen when you allow cases of workplace bullying to persist in the office, consider some of these potential negative consequences for your company:
Bullying at work can diminish both individual employee and overall project performance:
- Increased absenteeism of bullying victims
- Less commitment from employees who sense a hostile work environment
- Distraction to employees who ‘witness’ harassment, potentially leading to less focus on tasks / more mistakes and quality defects
- Project delays caused by reduced motivation, increased absenteeism, and/or employee turnover
Bullying at work can significantly increase management costs:
- Overall productivity decline due to perceived toxic work culture
- Management time spent intervening in bullying cases not caught early
- Expense of recruiting, training, and developing new employees to replace those lost to high turnover
Bullying at work can lead to a potentially severe negative impact on your customer reputation and/or leave you exposed to legal action:
- Potentially tarnished company reputation in the marketplace
- Negative impact on customer relationships
- Cost of defending potential lawsuits brought on by bullying victims
How Does Workplace Bullying Come About and What Can You Do If You Feel You are a Victim of Bullying?
1. Learn to recognize bullying behavior patterns and their underlying causes.
Are you being singled out from your peers and subjected to aggressive behavior by a colleague or manager?
Shouting, name-calling and derogatory comments are common signs of workplace bullying, particularly at lower level or entry-level positions. As one advances up the career ladder, workplace bullying often takes the form of actions designed to block career advancement; examples of these range from exclusion from project assignments that would lead to higher-level responsibilities to cases of constructive dismissal (where levels of harassment at work become so unbearable that the employee is compelled to quit).
What are the reasons for this behavior? Psychologists believe that in many cases, the underlying cause for the bullying behavior is actually insecurity and jealousy on the part of the instigator, which in turn, causes them to try to achieve perverse satisfaction by tormenting, controlling, or blocking the success and career advancement of their targeted victims.
2. Decide if this is just an unpleasant work situation or a true case of workplace bullying.
How can you be sure you are a target of bullying?
If you are truly being victimized at work, your friends and family or doctor may be the first to know.
Often, targets of bullying cannot stop talking about what is happening to them at work. Discuss the situation with trusted contacts outside of work to evaluate if you are truly being singled out for harassment or if the situation is just an unpleasant work situation.
As bullying victims often suffer from sleep deprivation, nausea, and dread about returning to work, a visit to your doctor may help diagnose health issues brought about by excessive stress at work, ranging from increased blood pressure to signs of PTSD.
3. Get your ducks in a row: be prepared for multiple outcomes.
Even though you didn’t choose the situation, you will need to take action. Don’t assume things will get better on their own over time; research indicates otherwise.
The sobering statistic from the Workplace Bullying Institute is that once you have been targeted for bullying, you have a 66% chance of losing your job.
Since it takes time to find new employment, lining up a new work opportunity should be very high on your priority list. Even if you don’t end up moving to another company, it’s better to be prepared.
You should also begin to document all interactions between yourself and the bully. If the harassment occurs via email, texting or social media, be sure to print out or save extra copies of these materials.
As hard as it may be, you need to avoid becoming emotional at work; be discreet with the information you are collecting at this stage.
If you are unsure how to proceed, consider having a preliminary consultation with an outside employment attorney.
Take care of your health. Eat right, exercise, and get enough rest. Get support from family and friends. Consult with your own physician or counselor if needed.
4. Confront the bully directly. If that’s not effective, make a business case to your boss and HR department for their removal.
This is possibly the hardest step. You need to confront the situation in a non-emotional manner.
You need to give each responsible party an opportunity to assist with correcting the situation.
Start by confronting the bully. Maintain a professional tone, while declaring to them that their behavior is inappropriate. Reinforce your words with strong body language, such a raising your hand to gesture ‘stop!’
A simple declaration, such as, “I think your comments to me are inappropriate,” is best. Avoid getting into an argument.
If the bully changes his or her behavior, reinforce the positive changes, but keep documenting and monitoring the situation.
If not, you need to take this issue to the next level — to your boss, or if the boss is the one bullying you — to another more senior person at the company. This time you need to make a sober, emotion-free business case argument that the status quo is not only unacceptable, it’s also economically detrimental to the company.
Don’t be surprised if the reaction is indecisive. Unfortunately, companies often promote bullies rather than fire them. Why? Managers might also be afraid of the bully, or they may choose to actively overlook bad behavior because they consider the employee in question to be ‘indispensable’ (”Oh, that’s just how Steve acts, he’s a bit aggressive at times, but this department couldn’t survive without him.”).
If you are still unsuccessful, you need to give the HR (human resources) professionals at your company one chance to intervene in the situation.
5. Accept the consequences and move on
If you are successful in negotiating a change in the organization that stops the workplace harassment, congratulations to you! Try your best to let go of any negative feelings, avoid discussing the details of the situation at work, and resume your career with renewed vigor.
If however, after unsuccessfully pursuing your grievance all the way up to the HR department, it’s most likely time to exit the company gracefully, secure in the knowledge you did your best to shine a light on the problem. Then, convert your pent up stress and frustration into positive energy at your next company.
How Companies Can Build a Healthy Culture that Confronts Workplace Harassment Pro-actively
1. Watch for indications of bullying behavior (Caution: they may come too late to take action)
Management needs to be on the lookout for signs of bullying behavior in the workplace. However, due to the very personal nature of bullying, many incidents of harassment occur in situations where they cannot be observed directly.
Sudden drops in quality of work, as well as a slow decline, can be indications of poor morale and motivation caused by bullying. Increased employee turnover can be another indication.
In one case, a department of fifty people, which normally had an annual turnover rate less than 5%, experienced a spike where 40% (nearly half) of the employees resigned during a 12-month period. A post-mortem revealed that the source of the problem was a line manager who bullied one employee after another. Unfortunately for the affected employees and the company, these metrics came to light far too late for upper management to intervene in time.
2. Be proactive: establish company values that promote teamwork over competition, with a zero tolerance policy for bullying
Instead of waiting for bullying issues at the workplace to show up as an employment statistic, company leadership needs to take a proactive approach.
Industrial psychologists recommend establishing core company values that promote collaboration and teamwork over individual competition — this is thought to reduce the incidence of bullying.
Executive management also needs to be crystal clear with all employees that there is zero tolerance for bullying in the workplace and that any incidents will be dealt with on the spot.
Employers also need to make employees aware that these rules of professional behavior extend to communications on social media platforms (as well as email and texting).
3. Establish an internal communication program to promote company values through town hall / all hands meetings
It’s not sufficient to have a core set of company values sitting on the shelf.
Company leadership needs to establish an effective internal communications program that emphasizes the importance of a healthy work environment that is free from harassment — as well as the organization’s strict policies on unacceptable behavior.
Depending on the size of your organization, you may want to establish an internal cascading communication program on preventing bullying, introduce on-going employee and management anti-bullying training, or conduct regular company-wide town hall / all hands meetings that reinforces the organization’s core values to make sure that every employee gets the message that bullying at the workplace is unacceptable.
Turn to Formaspace for Office Solutions
Our goal here at Formaspace is to build office furniture solutions that will help your office be a happier, healthier, and more productive place to work.
That’s why companies of all industry sectors, ranging from high-tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Twitter, finance leaders like CapitalOne, pharma and healthcare companies like GlaxoSmithKline and Quest Diagnostics, as well industrial manufacturing companies like 3M, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin to choose Formaspace furniture solutions.
Want to learn more? A Formaspace design consultant is just a phone call away. | <urn:uuid:d959a1a2-0d11-4003-b8e2-fea313a7667e> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | https://formaspace.com/articles/office-furniture/prevent-bullying-mobbing-in-the-workplace/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934804680.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20171118075712-20171118095712-00659.warc.gz | en | 0.950762 | 2,693 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Number Of Wild Trolleys In Natural Habitat Reaches All Time Low
A NEW study has revealed that the number of wild trolleys living in their natural habitat has reached an time low in the last 12 months, WWN can reveal.
International wildlife researchers conducted the study throughout 2017 and in publishing their results can confirm a historic low of just 170 shopping trolleys now live urban rivers and streams.
“You can draw your own conclusions on what this says about how Ireland as a country treats its trolleys, but it’s clear a repopulation programme is needed,” shared lead researcher involved in the study, Angela Telemans.
Once a common sight that many people treated as an irritant, shopping trolleys have been driven out of their natural habitat by a number of local authorities seeking to appease residents who treat their presence as a nuisance and inconvenience, meaning one of nature’s most beguiling sights; majestic trolleys launching themselves off bridges into rivers, could be consigned to the history books.
“We appreciate that they might not be the most beloved of wildlife, but we can’t ignore the fact we are driving them out of their natural habitat and if this continues at the rate it’s going wild trolleys will be extinct in no time,” added Telemans.
The numbers make for stark reading when compared with the neighbouring UK where wild trolley numbers have continued to flourish.
Telemans and her team warned that soon it could be the case that the cruel practice of seeing trolleys chained up in shopping centre car parks would be the only way to see and experience trolleys. | <urn:uuid:e89802c5-e02a-4818-94a0-3e27c0a5c10c> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2018/02/02/number-of-wild-trolleys-in-natural-habitat-reaches-all-time-low/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100626.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20231206230347-20231207020347-00051.warc.gz | en | 0.949327 | 347 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Unleashing the innovative potential of the Outsider – Insights from the Quest for Longitude at Sea
How an 18th century scientist’s success in cracking a problem that had defeated many in the established scientific order could be instructive for modern innovators seeking to break into a market.
It is well-known that innovations with the potential to subvert the established order of a given market are often promoted by figures who reside at the margins of that field, or even outside of it. Yet the ‘outsider’ position that helps them pursue innovations which depart from prevailing social and cognitive categories also hampers their ability to obtain support and recognition for them. They lack crucial markers of credibility, social ties to insiders, and expert authority. How then can outsiders stake out some ground on the insiders’ own turf when their claims to novelty clash with the status quo?
In the study Deconstructing the outsider puzzle: The legitimation journey of novelty, Simone Ferriani, Professor at Cass Business School and Bologna University, together with Gino Cattani, Professor at NYU, employ a historiographic approach to trace a story of outsider-driven innovation that unfolded throughout a large portion of the 18th century. In 1714, a few years after the Scilly naval disaster claimed the lives of up to 2,000 seamen, the British Parliament offered a huge financial reward to stimulate a solution to the problem of longitude, and to ultimately improve navigation at sea. Although many of the brilliant minds of the day engaged in the problem in the years following, it was an outsider who eventually solved it. His name was John Harrison – a self-taught craftsman of humble origins – and with the invention of the marine chronometer he challenged the leading academic community with his novel approach, and beat them to the goal.
Drawing on the story of John Harrison, the research highlights some key points of how contemporary outsiders can succeed in their efforts to promote their innovative work.
Reframe your initial disadvantages: outsider-driven innovations typically fail to gain recognition because the outsiders are unable to mobilise the necessary resources or persuade powerful incumbents to support their efforts to instigate change. Harrison himself spent forty seven years striving to solve the longitude problem, encountering many setbacks on the way. Yet he did not lose hope or confidence and reframed his disadvantages as sources of meaning and motivation.
Leverage your positional advantages: being on the outside “looking in” frees outsiders from the norms and expectations of insiders, and sets them at a certain social distance from others in the field. Harrison’s outsider’s perspective gave him the freedom to explore solutions to the longitude problem in an unconventional away. His lack of formal, conventional training may explain why many of his ideas differed from the received wisdom of the time. Yet his unconventional thinking yielded success.
Understand audience heterogeneity: different audiences use different evaluation criteria. What does not appeal to one audience may appeal to another. Harrison’s efforts would have been in vain had it not been for the varying dispositions of his heterogeneous audiences. Whereas the astronomer community endorsed the astronomical lunar distance method, the navy and politicians preferred a proprietary technology that was easier to use. This discrepancy in expectations amongst multiple audiences affords the opportunity for outsiders to select niches in which they can satisfy certain expectations while being shielded, at least temporarily, from others.
Refuse to be deterred by rejection: outsiders often face stern opposition from those intent on defending the status quo. Coping with this level of resistance requires stamina, fervour and a degree of visionary obsession. Harrison himself displayed a tenacity bordering on fanaticism. Not only did he obstinately experiment with the marine clock for over 40 years, making various versions of it and testing it in multiple trials at sea, but he also devised and circulated contentious and accusatory texts against those who opposed him. His stubbornness and refusal to be cowed were part of his success.
Translation matters: outsiders are unlikely to master the vocabulary needed to engage insiders with elaborate rhetoric. Therefore, they must engage in a process of “translation”. In other words, they must try to frame their novel ideas in a way their target audiences can understand. As a self-taught man, Harrison struggled to express himself clearly in writing or to communicate his ideas to the astronomer community. To overcome this shortcoming, he relied on people who could speak the insiders’ language and who were sufficiently familiar with his own language to be able to translate for him. He received help from eminent figures such as Royal Society Fellows and even the King himself.
Look for and exploit available ‘entry ports’: one of the most crucial problems outsiders face is how to gain an ‘entry port’ into an audience’s attention. As outsiders lack status, insiders do not regard them worthy of their time and attention. Unless audiences are exposed to sufficient stimulus, outsiders’ innovative efforts are unlikely to be noticed. In the quest for longitude, the Scilly disaster was the stimuli that produced this attention enabling effect. It catapulted the longitude problem into the public sphere, raising an unparalleled level of attention across multiple constituencies. Harrison exploited this to transcend the constraints of his outsider position and gain an ‘entry port’ to the longitude arena.
Evidence tells us that the very traits that put outsiders at a disadvantage within established occupational structures and categorical systems are often exactly what is required for exceptional entrepreneurial achievements in art, science, and business. These traits may transform outsiders into outliers: high impact actors outside of the norm, residing at the tail of distribution, and able to change our expectations about what is possible. By understanding the conditions and forces shaping this transformative journey, innovators can learn how to use it to their own advantage.
The original, full article “Unleashing Outsiders’ Innovative Potential – Insights from the Quest for Longitude at Sea” is available for download at the link below.
The research paper Deconstructing the outsider puzzle: The legitimation journey of novelty is also available for download below. | <urn:uuid:e217b2f8-1856-4b91-9eba-2392218b87b9> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://www.cass.city.ac.uk/faculties-and-research/research/cass-knowledge/2018/october/unleashing-the-innovative-potential-of-the-outsider | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038084601.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20210415065312-20210415095312-00546.warc.gz | en | 0.960249 | 1,258 | 2.9375 | 3 |
The use of variable-frequency drives (VFDs) to control ac motors has increased dramatically in recent years. In addition to their low operating cost and high performance, they save energy.
Today, the challenge facing system designers and engineers is to minimize damage to ac motors from shaft current. From its first minute of operation, a VFD induces destructive voltages that build up on the motor shaft until they find discharge paths to the frame (ground). In most cases, the motor bearings present the path of least resistance.
Once voltage is sufficient to overcome the resistance of the oil film layer in the bearing, shaft current discharges, causing electrical discharge machining (EDM) pits and fusion craters in the race wall and ball bearings.
This phenomenon continues until the bearings become so severely pitted that fluting, excessive noise, and failure occur. Mitigation of this damage is possible through various strategies.
Some are narrow in application, and most are costly; many are not technically feasible. However, a new technology employs a circumferential ring of conductive microfibers to discharge harmful currents and provide a low-cost solution to the problem.
Variable Frequency Drives Induce Shaft Currents in AC Motors
Due in large part to an increased focus on energy savings, the use of pulse-width-modulated (PWM) variable-frequency drives (VFDs) to control ac motors has grown dramatically over the last few years. While they offer low operating costs and high performance, VFDs are not without their problems. (Shown here, the AEGIS™ SGR™ with NEMA adaptor plate, discussed below.)
Shaft currents induced by VFDs can lead to motor failures. Without some form of mitigation, shaft currents travel to ground through bearings, causing pitting, fusion craters, fluting, excessive bearing noise, eventual bearing failure, and subsequent motor failure.
This is not a small problem. Consider:
- Most motor bearings are designed to last for 100,000 hours, yet motors controlled by VFDs can fail within one month (720 hours).
- An HVAC contractor recently reported that, of the VFD-controlled 30-60 hp vane axial fan motors he installed in a large building project, all failed within a year (two within 6 months). Repair costs totaled more than $110,000.
- Several large pulp and paper companies surveyed noted that the VFD-controlled ac motors used in their plants typically fail due to bearing damage within six months.
- The largest motor manufacturer in the United States has cited eliminating drive-related motor failures as its number-one engineering challenge.
- Today, there are almost a dozen blogs on the Internet focused on discussing the problems presented by VFD-induced shaft currents, sharing information and experiences, and suggesting solutions.
- Motor failures caused by VFD-induced shaft currents result in hundreds of thousands of hours of unplanned downtime, in the United States alone, each year. In addition, these failures affect the performance and mean time between failure (MTBF) of the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) systems in which they are used.
- With recent motor-price increases (approximately 16% over last year) due to rising copper prices, this problem will become even more costly.
Electrical Damage to Bearings
Due to the high-speed switching frequencies used in PWM inverters, all variable frequency drives induce shaft current in ac motors. The switching frequencies of insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) used in these drives produce voltages on the motor shaft during normal operation through electromagnetic induction. These voltages, which can register 70 volts or more (peak-to-peak), are easily measured by touching an oscilloscope probe to the shaft while the motor is running.
Once these voltages reach a level sufficient to overcome the dielectric properties of the grease in the bearings, they discharge along the path of least resistance -- typically the motor bearings -- to the motor housing. (Bearings are designed to operate with a very thin layer of oil between the rotating ball and the bearing race.) During virtually every VFD cycle, induced shaft voltage discharges from the motor shaft to the frame via the bearings, leaving a small fusion crater in the bearing race. These discharges are so frequent that before long the entire bearing race becomes marked with countless pits known as frosting. As damage continues, the frosting increases, eventually leading to noisy bearings and bearing failure.
A phenomenon known as fluting may occur as well, producing washboard-like ridges across the frosted bearing race. Fluting can cause excessive noise and vibration that, in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems, is magnified and transmitted by the ducting. Regardless of the type of bearing or race damage that occurs, the resulting motor failure often costs many thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in downtime and lost production.
Failure rates vary widely depending on many factors, but evidence suggests that a significant portion of failures occur only 3 to 12 months after system startup. Because many of today''s ac motors have sealed bearings to keep out dirt and other contaminants, electrical damage has become the most common cause of bearing failure in ac motors with VFDs. If half of all ac motor failures are due to bearing failure, almost 80% of these are caused by electrical damage to bearings.
Strategies for Mitigating Shaft Current Damage
As demonstrated above, electrical damage to VFD/ac motor bearings begins at startup and grows progressively worse. As a result of this damage, the bearings eventually fail. To prevent such damage in the first place, the induced shaft current must be diverted from the bearings by insulation and/or an alternate path to ground.
Insulation: Insulating motor bearings is a solution that tends to shift the problem elsewhere as shaft current looks for another path to ground. Sometimes, because of the capacitive effect of the ceramic insulation, high-frequency VFD-induced currents actually pass through the insulating layer and cause bearing failure. If attached equipment, such as a pump, provides this path, the other equipment often winds up with bearing damage of its own. Insulation and other bearing-isolation strategies can be costly to implement.
Alternate discharge paths: When properly implemented, these strategies are preferable to insulation because they neutralize shaft current. Techniques range in cost and sometimes can only be applied selectively, depending on motor size or application. The ideal solution would provide a very-low-resistance path from shaft to frame, would be low-cost, and could be broadly applied across all VFD/ac motor applications, affording the greatest degree of bearing protection and maximum return on investment.
Shaft-Current Mitigation Technologies
Although there are a number of technologies now available to protect ac motor bearings from damage due to shaft currents, few meet all the criteria of effectiveness, low cost, and application versatility.
- Faraday shield: The shield prevents the VFD current from being induced onto the shaft by effectively blocking it with a capacitive barrier between the stator and rotor. However, this solution is extremely difficult to implement, very expensive, and has been generally abandoned as a practical solution.
- Insulated bearings: Insulating material, usually a nonconductive resin or ceramic layer, isolates the bearings and prevents shaft current from discharging through them to the frame. This forces current to seek another path to ground, such as through an attached pump or tachometer or even the load. Due to the high cost of insulating the bearing journals, this solution is generally limited to larger-sized NEMA motors. Sometimes, high-frequency VFD-induced currents actually pass through the insulating layer and cause bearing damage anyway. Another drawback is the potential for contaminated insulation, which can, over time, establish a current path through the bearings.
- Ceramic bearings: The use of nonconductive ceramic balls prevents the discharge of shaft current through this type of bearing. As with other isolation measures, shaft current will seek an alternate path to ground. This technology is very costly, and in most cases motors with ceramic bearings must be special ordered and have long lead times. In addition, because ceramic bearings and steel bearings differ in compressive strength, ceramic bearings must be resized in most cases to handle mechanical static and dynamic loadings.
- Conductive grease: In theory, because this grease contains conductive particles, it would provide a lower-impedance path through the bearing and would bleed off shaft current through the bearing without the damaging discharge. Unfortunately, the conductive particles in these lubricants increase mechanical wear to the bearing, rendering the lubricants ineffective and often causing premature failures. This method has been widely abandoned as a viable solution to bearing currents.
- Grounding brush: A metal brush contacting the motor shaft is a more practical and economical way to provide a low-impedance path to ground, especially for larger NEMA-frame motors. However, these brushes pose several problems of their own:
- They are subject to wear because of the mechanical contact with the shaft.
- They collect contaminants on their metal bristles, which destroys their effectiveness.
- They are subject to oxidation buildup, which decreases their grounding effectiveness.
- They require maintenance on a regular basis, increasing their cost.
Shaft grounding ring (SGR)
This innovative new approach involves the use of a ring of specially engineered conductive microfibers to redirect shaft current and provide a reliable, very low impedance path from shaft to frame, bypassing the motor bearings entirely.
The ring's patent-pending Electron Transport Technology™ uses the principles of ionization to boost the electron-transfer rate and promote extremely efficient discharge of the high-frequency shaft currents induced by VFDs.
Electron Transport Technology was invented by engineer William Oh of Electro Static Technology (EST), an Illinois Tool Works company and a leader in the development and application of passive ionization technology solutions for industry.
With hundreds of thousands of discharge points, the SGR channels shaft currents around the ac motor bearings and protects them from electrical damage. The AEGIS SGR™ is a low-cost solution that can be applied to virtually any size ac motor in virtually any VFD application.
A More Complete Solution
The AEGIS SGR Conductive MicroFiber Shaft Grounding Ring offers a unique combination of benefits unmatched by other technologies, including:
Scalability: AEGIS technology is scalable to all sizes of NEMA-frame and larger motors regardless of shaft size or application. Introduced to the market in May 2005, the SGR was designed for motors with shafts from 0.311 in. to 6.020 in. including NEMA and IEC frames as well as high-horsepower ac and dc motors. AEGIS SGRs have been applied to power generators, gas turbines, wind turbine generators, ac traction and break motors, clean rooms and HVAC systems, and a long list of other industrial and commercial applications.
Installation and maintenance: The SGR is easily installed by sliding the ring over either end of the motor shaft and locking it in place with simple screw-on mounting brackets. Because no machining is required, the SGR can be installed in minutes -- even in the field. Once installed, the AEGIS SGR requires no maintenance. With no parts to wear out, the SGR lasts as long as the bearings. A split-ring design allows installation around the shaft without disassembling attached equipment.
Low cost and high return on investment: One of the key goals in the design of the AEGIS SGR was to create a true value for the customer. Typically, an ac motor coupled with a VFD costs from $2,400 to $100,000 or more and may be part of a manufacturing process that generates revenues from $10,000 to $1,000,000 or more per hour. The cost of installing an AEGIS SGR in a VFD/ac motor system is very low when compared to the cost of the overall system, usually less than 1% of the equipment cost.
By preventing electrical damage to bearings, the SGR protects the VFD system from the costly downtime of unplanned maintenance. In some production applications, even a momentary stoppage due to motor failure can cost more than $250,000, excluding the cost of repairing the motor.
Motor manufacturers and process engineers in industries where VFDs are used are keenly aware of the problems and expense caused by electrical damage to bearings. They have expended significant time, effort, and money to find a solution to this problem. The AEGIS SGR™ Conductive MicroFiber Shaft Grounding Ring is one such solution. | <urn:uuid:d90192f1-8d06-4f3e-bad1-fbb1572dadbb> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.ien.com/product-development/article/20851029/preventing-vfdac-drive-induced-electrical-damage-to-ac-motor-bearings | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600402093104.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20200929221433-20200930011433-00123.warc.gz | en | 0.939598 | 2,617 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Last modified: 2010-11-13 by ivan sache
Keywords: county of nice | comte de nice | nice | eagle (red) | rocks: 3 (green) | waves: 3 (blue) |
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Flag of County of Nice - Image by Pierre Gay, 26 May 2003
External site of interest:
The County of Nice (Italian, Nizza), limited by the Mediterranean Sea (south), the Alps mountains (north and east) and the river Var (west), forms the southeasternmost part of France.
Remains of human settlements, dated back to 400,000 years have been found on the fossil beach of Terra Amata, now in the center of the town of Nice. The area was subsequently occupied by the Ligurians,
who mixed with the Celts in the 8th century BC to form
the Celto-Ligurian civilisation.
In the 4th century BC, Greeks colonists from Massilia ( Marseilles) founded the counter of Nikaia (Nice). In 154 BC, the Romans intervened against the Oxybians and the Deciats, who threatened the colonies of Nikaia and Antipolis (Antibes, on the other side of the river Var). This started the process of Roman colonization, which led to the formation of the Provincia, later Provence. In 6 BP, Emperor Augustus built in La Turbie the Trophy or the Alps, commemorating the pacification of the southern Alps and the submission of the tribes. Augustus previously expelled the Vediantii from their fortress of Cemeneleum (Cimiez), located in the upper part of Nice. The province of Southern Alps was created in 69, with Nice as its capital.
In the 9th century, Provence (then including Nice) became an
independent state, nominally vassal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. The towns of Grasse and Nice increased their wealth due to commerce with the Italian towns of Pisa and Genoa, elected their own Consuls and hardly recognized the authority
of the Count of Provence. In 1166, Count Raymond Béranger III
was killed during an expedition against Nice. In 1215, Nice
acknowledged the protection of Genoa. Count of
Provence Raymond Béranger V eventually submitted Nice in 1229.
In 1380, Countess Joan I of Provence (1348-1382, better known as Queen Jeanne, from several apocryphal stories) adopted Louis of Anjou. Louis' cousin, Charles of Duras (or Durazzo), led the Union of Aix, the Provencal anti-Anjou party, and strangled Jeanne. In 1388, the Anjou party won. Taking advantage of the troubles, Count of Savoy Amadeus VII negociated with John Grimaldi, Governor of Nice, the so-called dédition de Nice, by which Nice and its viguerie (administrative division), the town of Puget-Théniers and the valley of Lantosque formed the terres neuves de Provence (new lands of Provence), also called simply terres de Provence, and were incorporated into Savoy.
The name of County of Nice did not appear before the reign of Charles of Savoy (1504-1553).
In 1543, Nice was besieged by an
Ottoman fleet commanded by
Barbarossa, following the alliance
between the Sultan and King of France Francis I against the
German Emperor Charles V. The lower town was seized after twenty days but
the last defendors resisted in the castle, causing the Ottoman fleet
In 1614, Duke Charles Emmanuel I established in Nice a free port and a Senate. The revolt of Count of Beuil was stopped in 1621. The County of Nice was relatively stable compared with the neighbouring Provence, where revolts and riots were common. The war between France and Savoy resumed at the end of the 17th century and the County of Nice was occupied by France from 1691 to 1697 and 1707 to 1713.
In 1789, Nice became a center of counter-revolutionary activity.
The Southern Army (Armée du Midi) of the French
Republic entered Nice on 29 September 1792. On 31 January 1793, the
Convention ordered the incorporation of the County of Nice to France
as the department of Alpes-Maritimes
(Southern Alps). The barbets carried on the struggle against the
French occupation in the hinterland of Nice. A place located near
the village of Duranus is named Saut des Français (French's Leap) because a group of barbets captured here French soldiers and pushed them down into the river Vésubie.
During the First Empire, Prefet Dubouchage developed Nice with the support of the notables of the town.
On 23 April 1814, the County of Nice was given back to King of
Sardinia Victor Emmanuel I (1759-1824, King 1802-1821). In 1859, France and Sardinia set up an alliance to expell Austria from northern Italy. France would receive Savoy and the County of
Nice as a reward for its help. The same year, Napolèon III
signed the Treaty of Villafranca di Verona, which ended the Italian
campaign. However, Venetia remained Austrian and England opposed to the incorporation of Savoy and Nice to France.
In 1860, Napoléon III and Victor Emmanuel II signed the Treaty of Turin, which prescribed the reincorporation of Nice to France "without any pressure, from the will of the inhabitants". The plebiscit yielded 25,743 "yes" and 260 "no". The County of Nice, increased with the arrondissement of Grasse, formed the new Department of Alpes-Maritimes. On 14 June 1860, the French troops entered Nice and the annexation was celebrated. On 12 September, Napoléon III and Eugénie de Montijo were offerred by the Mayor of Nice the gilded keys of the town. The Treaty of Turin stated that the municipalities of Tende and La Brigue should remain Italian for 87 years (mostly because they were the favourite hunting places of Count Cavour). These municipalities were eventually incorporated to France on 10 February 1947, so that the French-Italian border matches now the natural border constituted by the top of the Alps mountains.
Ivan Sache, 26 May 2003
The flag of the County of Nice is a banner of the arms< I>D'argent à l'aigle couronnée de gueules au vol abaissé, empiétant une montagne de trois coupeaux de sable issant d'une mer d'azur mouvant de la pointe et ondée d'argent (Argent, an eagle displayed gules crowned or standing on three rocks vert rising from water barry wavy azure and argent).
In his Notice historique sur les blasons des anciennes provinces de France (Historical note on the coats of arms of the ancient French provinces, 1941), Jacques Meurgey, recalling that the County of Nice never had specific arms, assigned to the province the old arms of Nice, D'argent à l'aigle essorante sur une montagne de sable (Argent an eagle rising on a mount sable), after Bara, Blason des Armoiries, Paris, 1628). The sea (labelled au naturel, "proper", by Meurgey) is a recent addition to the arms.
Ivan Sache, 14 June 2009 | <urn:uuid:ec894a9f-5c75-49d1-a211-3bba3eefd80a> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://fotw.info/flags/fr-ctnic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514575674.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20190922201055-20190922223055-00028.warc.gz | en | 0.926048 | 1,640 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Join Dr. Don Winget on Tuesday, January 14, for a Distinguished Lecture Series presentation at The Houston Museum of Natural Science celebrating McDonald Observatory's 75th anniversary. A free 5 p.m. reception will be held prior to his 6:30 p.m. lecture on white dwarf stars and their many uses. Tickets are required for the lecture, and are available from the museum.
Dubbed “Impossible Stars” by the famous astronomer Arthur Eddington, white dwarfs are the simplest stars with the simplest surface chemical compositions known. At McDonald Observatory's May 5, 1939, dedication, it was announced that, "One of the first tasks to be undertaken by the staff of the McDonald Observatory will be to investigate further the mysteries of the white dwarfs.” Today, as the observatory prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary, McDonald leads in investigating white dwarfs along several avenues: telescope observations, theory, and most recently, the making of star-stuff using the most powerful X-ray source on Earth at Sandia National Laboratory. This talk by McDonald Observatory astronomer Don Winget, one of the world's leading experts on white dwarfs, will examine the how studies of these stars can shed light on everything from the age of the universe to the understanding of dark matter and dark energy.
Don Winget is the Harlan J. Smith Centennial Professor in Astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses the burnt-out stars called white dwarfs and their many uses as cosmic clocks, dark matter detectors, and more. He recently received a Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Texas System Board of Regents.
Tickets for this event are available from the museum's online box office. | <urn:uuid:4921db80-42bf-4e79-b2d5-fd4741fc1213> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/calendar/75th-anniversary/small-stars-large-context-all-things-white-dwarf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049270798.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002110-00085-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945766 | 357 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Imagine if the windows in your home or automobile weren’t just windows, but transparent solar panels collecting light energy and converting it into electricity? Such a concept could have a monumental impact on future hybrid cars, and could potentially shave your monthly electricity bill. If transparent solar cells existed, of course. Well guess what? Not only do they exist, but researchers at UCLA say they’ve developed a new kind of transparent solar cell that’s better than anything out there.
The team of researchers constructed a new kind of polymer solar cell (PSC) that collects mostly infrared light as opposed to visible light, and that little trick results in cells that are almost 70 percent transparent.
“These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics and in other applications,” said study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, who also is director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).
It isn’t quite the Holy Grail of solar technology, but it’s definitely worth noting that past attempts at creating transparent solar cells have always fallen short in one way or another. Some were never very transparent to begin with, and others fell short on the efficiency scale due to the materials used.
The team at UCLA figured a way around these types of problems by turning their attention to infrared light. They also claim a breakthrough in developing a transparent conductor made of a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium dioxide nanoparticles, which effectively replaces the opaque metal electrode common in past attempts. The upshot is that the composite electrode is economically viable to fabricate by way of solution processing.
Image Credit: UCLA
Original Post by Paul Lilly, Reposted Courtesy of Maximum PC – Covering everything from hi-end gaming PCs to tablets, peripherals and home theater rigs, Maximum PC’s print and Web editions stay one step ahead of the fast-changing world of everything computer and computing related. Whether its the latest on building your own desktop system, reviews of the latest laptops and accessories, or roundups of the games and software that make your machine go, Maximum PC brings it to you with news, reviews, and years of expertise. TechnoBuffalo is thrilled to bring you the best of Maximum PC right here on our own pages to keep you immersed in all things digital. | <urn:uuid:4aa8daaf-fe6d-4699-823e-7f648fa34aaf> | CC-MAIN-2014-42 | http://www.technobuffalo.com/2012/07/28/researchers-at-ucla-develop-see-through-solar-cells-for-windows/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-42/segments/1414119648008.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20141024030048-00157-ip-10-16-133-185.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924057 | 502 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Test your Jewish knowledge!
Can you tell your hummus from your shakshuka?
It comes every Friday night with its own set of rules, special songs, and foods. How much do you know ...
How much do you know about the contents of the Bible and about biblical scholarship?
How much do you know about this environmentally friendly holiday?
Test your knowledge of Purim foods and food traditions.
How well do you know Jewish magic, and the debates around it?
How much do you know about the main Jewish figures and events, from the Bible to the dawn of modernity?
How much do you know about this spring holiday?
By Nora Katz and Josh Parshall
How much do you know about LGBTQ Jewish history?
By Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Where you fall on a scale from sweet haroset and bitter herbs.
Match the ritual object to its corresponding holiday.
Sephardic Jews have a rich history, and over time they have developed their own traditions, customs, and laws.
Heroes, villains, prophets and problem children, we've got 'em all. Test your knowledge of them. | <urn:uuid:a839bcce-6727-47d9-a9be-3911110fe862> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://www.myjewishlearning.com/category/study/quizzes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046150129.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20210724032221-20210724062221-00490.warc.gz | en | 0.947888 | 237 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Most of the new cars in dealer showrooms in Missouri and around the country feature an impressive array of advanced safety features, and some of them are even equipped with sophisticated autonomous crash prevention systems that monitor traffic and road conditions and can take over the driving duties in an emergency. Road safety experts say that recent advances in electronic safety equipment could save thousands of lives each year, but some scientists and academics are not so sure.
In an article published in the March edition of the Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, a University of California San Diego professor and a NASA scientist argue that modern passenger vehicle safety features could actually make some types of car accident more likely because drivers are not yet familiar with them. They say that the aviation industry experienced a similar safety setback in the 1930s when the first automatic pilot systems were introduced.
The biggest problem according to these dubious experts is that many motorists overestimate the capabilities of electronic safety features and turn their attention to tasks other than driving when they are engaged. This can be particularly dangerous when adaptive cruise control systems are used to maintain a safe distance at highway speeds. If the car ahead veers to avoid a disabled vehicle or debris in the roadway, drivers who are not paying proper attention are likely to crash.
Modern automobile electronic systems can also provide crucial clues to accident investigators because they keep detailed records of both vehicle speed and driver behavior. When their clients suffered injuries in an accident that may have been caused by a distracted driver, experienced personal injury attorneys may seek to have the vehicles involved inspected so that this information can be retrieved and examined. Inspections might also reveal evidence of shoddy repairs, neglected maintenance or malfunctioning safety systems. | <urn:uuid:2dccb0d3-94ca-42f2-bbb5-b7f5771e81b4> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://www.niesenlaw.com/blog/2019/05/experts-question-the-safety-of-modern-car-safety-systems/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499819.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20230130133622-20230130163622-00142.warc.gz | en | 0.960418 | 333 | 3.1875 | 3 |
With the recent release of the National Climate Assessment, the threat of climate change has never been clearer. Addressing this will require a fundamental transition away from fossil-fuel sources of energy in favor of renewable energy technologies like wind and solar power. Electric utilities vary in their progress towards delivering a future powered by clean energy. Notably, Central Texas, with its combination of energy know-how, creative thinking, and technology entrepreneurship, is home to many utilities leading the way in clean energy resources and smart grid technology.
Austin & San Antonio are leading the pack
Although Texas has a deregulated, competitive electricity market where most energy companies compete for customers, the San Antonio-Austin-Hill Country corridor is mainly comprised of public electric utilities, like municipals and cooperativ
The City of Austin passed its landmark Austin Climate Protection Plan in 2007, well ahead of most other utilities. The plan calls for 35 percent of Austin Energy’s electricity generation to come from renewable sources by 2020. Austin Energy’s forward-looking policies have made them a leader in clean energy. Recently, Austin Energy unveiled its largest downtown solar array ever, and made national news by purchasing 150 megawatts of utility-scale solar power at an unprecedentedly low price.
The City of San Antonio’s CPS Energy is another Central Texas clean energy leader. The utility already has nearly 90 megawatts of solar generation online – enough to power over 14,700 homes – and is constructing another 400 MW of solar power, which will catapult Texas into the top five solar-producing states.
Furthermore, CPS is a long-time investor in the smart grid technologies needed to maximize renewable energy. Ten years ago, CPS worked with Honeywell to implement a residential demand response program for its customers. Demand response is an invaluable component of the smart grid that relies on people, not power plants, to meet electricity demand. Through this innovative tool, utilities reward people or businesses who use less electricity during times of high energy demand. This prevents utilities from having to turn on ‘peaker power plants,’ which only operate for a few hours each year and emit tons of harmful air pollution. Since 2004, 81,000 homeowners have signed up for CPS’s residential demand response program. Recently, CPS announced it would work with Honeywell to expand its demand response program to commercial and industrial customers. Already, their demand response program averts up to 130 megawatts of electricity. By 2020, CPS hopes to grow that number to 771 megawatts—nearly the capacity of an entire coal power plant.
Rural electric co-ops are as advanced as ever
While San Antonio and Austin lead the way on the municipal utility front, rural electric cooperatives, Pedernales and B
Despite having limited resources and rural obstacles, co-ops still take on leadership roles and, in fact, co-ops lead the nation in smart meters and demand response. Co-ops are deploying infrastructure for their customers/owners so they can be integrated with smart appliances, thermostats, rooftop solar, and other technologies that allow rural communities to be self-reliant and resilient. This is a good hedge when you’re miles away from nowhere, but cooperatives still need to be further enabled by better policy and more investment.
Bluebonnet was one of the first electric utilities to provide comprehensive electricity use data to their customers by installing thousands of smart electric meters. Bluebonnet’s innovative web portal uses smart meter data to show customers exactly when they use the most energy and how much it costs them—empowering customers to reduce both their energy use and their electricity bill. Similarly, Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s uses smart meters to provide daily energy reports to customers through its MyUse Energy Analyzer.
With clean energy, comes tremendous growth
Not only do Austin and San Antonio have rich culture, nightlife, and charm, but their economies are booming. Austin is ranked at the top of many desirable lists, including the number one economy in the U.S., and has “enjoyed double-digit growth in GDP, jobs, population and birthrate since 2007.” San Antonio, not to be outdone, ranks as the number two city in Texas for economic momentum. CPS Energy, under CEO Doyle Beneby, has used its buying power to lure corporate relocations and investments from renewable energy companies, including KACO and OCI Solar, the developer of San Antonio’s massive solar project that pledged to create 800 jobs.
To further enable Texas’ clean energy ecosystem is CleanTX, a non-profit organization focusing on Central Texas’ clean energy innovators. Through its efforts, CleanTX is able to foster a community of entrepreneurship that will catalyze innovation for utilities and municipalities.
As you drive between these two cities through the rolling Hill Country covered in prickly pears and centuries-old oak trees, it is comforting to know that city leaders are making the right decisions to advance energy resources that preserve this vast landscape (home to one endangered songbird EDF works to protect, the golden-cheeked warbler). As the price of renewable energy steadily decreases and smart grid technologies develop, Texas needs to remain steadfast in removing the barriers that inhibit this growth, lest we fail to transition away from climate-disturbing fossil-fuel energy. | <urn:uuid:8bd26c95-4793-478f-b931-3d27f26acacf> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://cleantechies.com/topic/austin-energy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178376006.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20210307013626-20210307043626-00456.warc.gz | en | 0.936399 | 1,086 | 2.765625 | 3 |
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The Marriage of the Virgin
Raphael - 1504
In a way analogous to “The Dead Christ” by Mantegna, Raphael’s Marriage (Lo Sposalizio della Vergine) is one of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance perspective painting.
Signed and dated “RAPHAEL URBINAS / MD IIII,” the painting comes from the church of San Francesco in Città di Castello. The painting was part of the Lechi collection in Brescia, and in 1805 it reached the Brera Gallery, though the latter would only be officially inaugurated a few years later, in 1809.
The scene of the marriage is in the foreground of the painting. There is a group of young women on the left, while the young suitors, holding rods, are on the right. The artist repeated a subject that had previously been depicted by Perugino, on a panel that was originally in the Cathedral of Perugia (now at Caen, Musée des Beaux-Arts), but it has recently been suggested that the Raphael painting may have been earlier.
Beyond the semicircle of figures is a vast square of coloured marble tiles which leads to the steps of a large, 16-side, arched temple. The architecture shows the influence of Bramante or Piero della Francesca.
The building is a good expression of the young Raphael’s fascination with architecture. In this context, the building seems to form a central focus around which to arrange the human figures. Its central position makes it the source of a spatial concept that seems to irradiate outwards, inverting the usual concept of a central vanishing point.
The “Wedding” marks the high point of the Brera Gallery’s itinerary. It is shown close to the Montefeltro altar by Piero della Francesca, and this demonstrates the features shared by the two artists born in the perspective traditions of the city of Urbino. It also suggests the characteristic of universal knowledge, that was adopted and mastered by Raphael.
This, the jewel in the Gallery’s crown, is a masterwork by the young Raphael. It has been recently restored, and is has a Neoclassical frame by Albertolli. | <urn:uuid:42c1c40a-add6-4881-827c-041a2cce93be> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | http://www.palazzorealemilano.it/wps/portal/tur/en/arteecultura/capolavorieopere/pittura/Lo_Sposalizio_della_Vergine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547584350539.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20190123193004-20190123215004-00593.warc.gz | en | 0.962798 | 487 | 2.796875 | 3 |
CRISPR -- clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats -- is a potent genetic-editing tool. It's called this because each CRISPR unit is made of repeated DNA base-pair sequences that can be read the same way forward or in reverse and are separated by "spacer" pairs. Think of it like an organic Morse code palindrome.
With CRISPR we can now edit any genetic code -- including our own. In the three years since its advent, researchers have used CRISPR to investigate everything from sickle-cell anemia and muscular dystrophy to cystic fibrosis and cataracts. One group has even used it to snip off the cellular receptors that HIV exploits in order to infect the human immune system. If the disease is caused by your genetics -- doesn't matter if it's due to a single malformed gene, as is the case with Huntington's or sickle cell, or if it's the byproduct of hundreds mutations like diabetes and Alzheimer's -- CRISPR can conceivably fix it…
These CRISPR units can easily slice through DNA and replace nucleotide bases with others, but they aren't accurate enough to consistently aim at specific locations. For that, each CRISPR needs an RNA-based "guide," called a Cas (CRISPR associated) gene. These guides search for a specific set of nucleotides, usually a 20-pair sequence, and bind to the site once they locate it. That's a pretty impressive feat, given that the human genome contains around 20,000 genes. Working in unison, a CRISPR/Cas system can target and silence the expression of single genes anywhere along a given strand of DNA about as easily as you can edit a Word document. It's basically "find-and-replace" for genetics…
The biological mechanism behind CRISPR is actually quite ancient. See, scientists used to think that bacteria were equipped only with innate immunity -- the lowest, most budget form of biological defense around. Since a microbe's restriction enzymes will blindly attack and destroy any unprotected DNA they come in contact with, scientists figured that it was just automatic, a simple reflex. Multicellular organisms, conversely, enjoy acquired immunity, which enables them to mount specific counters to different threats. It wasn't until they discovered CRISPR that researchers figured out bacteria and archaea have been leaning on acquired immunity for eons. They'd been using it as a rudimentary adaptive immune system against viruses…
"I would bet that within 20 years, somebody is going to make a unicorn," Hank Greely, director of Stanford University's Center for Law and the Biosciences, told me during a recent phone call. "Some Silicon Valley billionaire with a 12-year-old daughter will get her a unicorn for her birthday. It will involve taking genes that grow horns and moving them into a horse."…
In 2014, a team of geneticists in China managed to give wheat full immunity against powdery mildew -- one of the most common and widespread plant pathogens on the planet -- by cutting just three genes out of its DNA. Similarly, researchers at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology's Center for Desert Agriculture have used CRISPR technology to "immunize" tomatoes against the yellow leaf curl virus while a team from the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) in Pakistan has done the same for cotton leaf curl. And just last year a Japanese team drastically increased the shelf life of tomatoes by editing the gene that controls the rate of their ripening…
What you will see is an explosion of novel uses for the technology. Gene editing is quickly moving from the realm of pure academia and into the hands of the general public and private enterprise. This transition resembles that of another transformative technology: personal computers. Computers went from being, essentially, toys for adults to a keystone of the modern era. CRISPR has the potential to do the same but for biology.
Take Ethan Perlstein for example. "I initially wanted to be a professor," he explains. "Like a lot of people who get trained in graduate school, especially in biomedical sciences, are thinking we're going to be professors ... that's how you can be a scientist professionally." However, the nation's glut of postgraduates has long outpaced the supply of available professorships. "My goal was academia; reality suggested that I take another path. And actually through my explorations on Twitter, I learned about rare diseases." His subsequent interactions with the social media communities that spring up around these rare diseases led him to found Perlstein Lab.
This San Francisco-based biotech startup is using CRISPR technology to drastically accelerate research into some of humanity's least-studied diseases. "There are about 4,000 inherited diseases that are caused by a single broken gene," Perlstein said, with roughly 5 percent of those manifesting during childhood and nearly all of which have no known pharmaceutical treatment. Specifically, Perlstein's team is working on drugs that can treat Niemann-Pick Type C, a lysosomal storage disorder that causes a buildup of toxic material within cells; and N-glycanase 1 Deficiency, a congenital glycosylation disorder that causes a whole host of issues, from cognitive impairment to joint deformities. Both of these devastating illnesses are caused by a single recessive gene, potentially by just one incorrect base pairing.
"These rare diseases, especially the ones that are caused by a single broken gene, tend to involve pathways and networks within the cell that are very ancient," Perlstein explained. What's more, those primal genes are disproportionately more likely to "break" than, say, the relatively new genes that control your autoimmune system. Their ancient nature enables the lab to effectively model them in simple animals -- specifically, fruit flies, zebrafish and yeasts.
"In the past, there have been technologies available with which to make disease models but that would essentially require taking a sledgehammer to the genome," Perlstein said. "CRISPR changes the situation as it allows for very elegant and precise changes to happen -- down to a single letter change." So once researchers identify the genetic source of the disease, they're able to "program" that same fault into their animal models and measure the effect of the disease in them.
By using CRISPR to break a test animal's genes in the exact same place and the exact same way as in the patient, Perlstein's researchers are able to create a perfectly customized model. Plus they can do so far more quickly than traditional methods would allow. "Depending on the kind of mutation you're trying to create [using CRISPR], it can be quite fast," Perlstein said. "You're only really limited by the breeding time of the animal."
Since the diseases that Perlstein's team research are recessive, the lab can't introduce these gene breaks directly into the models and then immediately study them. Instead, the team introduces these breaks into an organism and then breeds a second generation. Those organisms are then screened those that possess both copies of the recessive gene. Once a sufficient population of models that carry the gene defect has been bred, the lab leverages an automated system to expose them to thousands of chemicals and compounds to see if they have any positive effect -- reversing, or at least reducing the disease's symptoms. | <urn:uuid:2ef1cdff-6ecf-453b-8e9c-e294f8fe426a> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | http://childnervoussystem.blogspot.com/2016/07/crispr.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662580803.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220525054507-20220525084507-00706.warc.gz | en | 0.950312 | 1,628 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Wayne Kilcollins remembers picking potatoes by hand while growing up in Aroostook County.
Things are getting a little more high-tech these days. This past summer the Northern Maine Community College instructor of wind power technology found himself back in — and above — the northern Maine potato fields using cutting edge drone technology to record variations in potato crop yields and quality.
“It had been ages since I had done anything with farmers,” Kilcollins said. “This is what is going on in the future of agriculture and it is so cool to be a part of it.”
What’s going on is the combining of aerial, unmanned drone technology and computer-based global information systems — or GIS — to give farmers real time information that can be used to treat current crops and plan for future plantings.
The system is the brainchild of Raptor Maps, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is the future of farming, according to founder and CEO Nikhil Vadhavkar.
“I had seen drone technology being used in agriculture but the farmers were not getting a ton of value from it,” the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate and engineer said. “They would get these maps with colors like ‘red means bad’ and ‘green means good’ on their fields, but no other information articulating what the data was saying.”
The company got its start in 2015 when it won the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition and $100,000.
“With Raptor Maps, we wanted a ‘grower first’ mentality,” Vadhavkar said. “We wanted to work directly with growers on what were the problems costing them money and how can we build a system around solving them.”
The MIT crew, which includes Vadhavkar’s fellow MIT alumna Eddie Obropta and Mike Klinker ultimately developed a system which is now tracking potatoes, onions, tomatoes, beets, carrots and citrus in Maine, Idaho, Washington and California.
“We started working in Maine because it is so accessible from where we are in Cambridge,” Vadhavkar said. “And I work with several MIT students who grew up in Maine, so there was this great connection.”
On the ground in Maine, Raptor Maps installs a computerized monitoring sensor system directly on the “boom” — the conveyor belt that transports freshly dug potatoes from the harvester to a truck — that tracks each tuber as it rushes by and records size, weight and quantity.
This information is then paired with data recorded by drones flying over the same fields.
Once correlated, a farmer has a detailed analysis of how the potato crop did over every inch of the fields and what may need to be done to improve certain areas.
To get their start in Maine, Raptor Maps used a $25,000 Maine Technology Institute grant to develop some pilot projects in Aroostook County.
“The potato industry is adapting to new technology,” Jay LaJoie, business manager and fifth-generation farmer at LaJoie Growers LLC in Van Buren, said. “When I met with raptor maps, it was clear that their focus was to develop the tools that our industry needs.”
Working with LaJoie Growers, Raptor Maps conducted drone flyovers of the potato fields this past growing season and placed the computer sensors on the farm’s equipment.
“Now we have a ton of really good data from the drones,” Vadhavkar said. “What we do now is combine it with the information from the ground and the farmer can use that when they start to think about next year.”
Kilcollins, a certified pilot who flies for the Maine Civil Air Patrol, said he was thrilled to be a part of Raptor Map’s summer project. Working with former NMCC wind power student Caleb Gordon and current student Alex Dubay, the team covered 45 northern Maine potato fields with weekly data collecting trips.
“We worked with growers from the moment the potatoes emerged in the fields through harvest,” Kilcollins said. “We could count how many plants were coming up and followed that with weekly surveys to track how the crop was progressing and if there was any stress due to insects, fungus or from a virus [and] the farmer could use that information to establish spray or fertilizing cycles.”
With his FAA certification — required for commercial drone flights — and love of radio controlled airplanes, Kilcollins was a perfect fit for Raptor Maps, Vadhavkar said. So were the students, who he called “incredibly bright.”
“The two students were a really big part of this,” Kilcollins said. “I was in charge of the drones but they programmed the GPS autopilots and did all of the map surveys for the field to set the drones’ turn points [and] at the end of the flights they would download the data to a computer and then that night upload it to Raptor Map’s server.”
For his part, Kilcollins made sure the drones — a small ‘helicopter’ style craft and a larger, fixed-wing craft with a seven-foot wingspan — took off and landed safely.
“They fly under autopilot,” he said. “We’d set it to do its thing but if something went wrong, I was there to fly it.”
Since this was the first season for the project, Kilcollins said a lot of baseline information was recorded and combined with observations made by state potato inspectors walking the same fields.
“It was almost a perfect match with what [the inspectors] found and counted on the ground,” he said. “But we can set up and cover in 15 minutes the same area it takes human counters an hour to cover.”
This growing season LaJoie said Raptor Maps used the technology to examine his farm’s plant stand counts, fertilization, pest management and crop yields.
“Since this was more of a research project all information has not yet been attained, but we did receive a formal report on our stand and planter accuracy in certain fields,” he said. “Any data accumulated pertaining a crop can be useful, the technology will only get better from here and it will definitely be implemented on our farm in the future.”
For years farmers like the LaJoies have relied on human experts who visit and walk the fields for the information they need to improve crops, but he sees the time coming when that may not be enough.
“We currently have a great deal of resources for hands-on work such as field testing and assessment done by [Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry] employees who have been working on potatoes their whole lives virtually scanning our seed crops for virus and disease as well as assessing product quality and grading,” he said. “The true challenge is going forward, with these seasoned and well experienced employees getting ready for retirement it worries me as a grower who will take their place and what resources will we have at that point.”
At a current base rate of $11 per acre, Vadhavkar believes the Raptor Maps technology is the best and affordable answer.
“What I love about farmers is they are incredibly business oriented and it comes down to the return on investment,” he said. “We quantify that return on investment and can provide growers the information they need to make business decisions.”
He also sees the drones having applications in Maine’s forestry industry.
“There are huge amounts of land in Maine and people making big decisions on the wood there,” Vadhavkar said. “Having the additional insight that can be gathered and automatically analyzed by our systems could be very valuable for foresters.”
It marks what could be the start of a brave new world in Maine’s agricultural industry.
“Technology is changing so fast,” LaJoie said. “My grandfather Normand LaJoie was one of the first farmers to have a conventional harvester in our area in 1966 [and] before he passed away he often commented on how impressive it was the way that technology has changed our way of farming.” | <urn:uuid:4caee64b-53f9-489d-a1b0-4ecb305ece60> | CC-MAIN-2021-04 | https://bangordailynews.com/2016/10/12/homestead/drone-technology-computers-ushering-in-a-brave-new-world-for-northern-maine-potatoes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-04/segments/1610703521139.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20210120151257-20210120181257-00510.warc.gz | en | 0.967525 | 1,764 | 2.953125 | 3 |
User ID: 59537
Ferret owners need to be very attentive to the state of their animals. If you suddenly notice that your ferret has started vomiting, it has become lethargic, the stool is not of normal shape (contains mucus), your body temperature has decreased and your appetite has disappeared, you must be especially careful - it is possible that the ferret has a blockage of the digestive tract by a foreign body.
Many ferrets are not indifferent to materials such as rubber, rubber, latex, often nibble them and swallow pieces that can clog the lumen of the esophagus and pose a serious danger to life. Unsafe pieces of fruit, especially dry. Bones of fruits and berries, nuts and seeds. There have been cases of clogging with raw potatoes, carrots, and even persimmons. Therefore, one must be especially careful when giving your pet such a treat. This applies to any hard fruits and vegetables. Some ferrets like to eat ropes and rags, cardboard, objects made of cork.
It happens that a foreign body comes out with feces, but in some cases, stuck in the small intestine, causes severe pain and in the absence of surgical intervention can lead to death within 1-2 days. Therefore, in case of suspicion of blockage, do not waste time! It in this case plays against you and the animal "fades away" in a matter of hours. It is recommended to immediately take the animal to a veterinary clinic. Or call a doctor to advise you on an action plan.
Most often, foreign bodies are found in the stomach or small intestine. To diagnose a foreign body, you need to do an x-ray in the clinic. On x-rays you can see gas in the stomach, as well as some types of foreign bodies. Foreign bodies of natural origin very often do not produce gas. Also, sometimes foreign bodies can be palpated by hands. In any case, this can only be determined in the clinic.
The ingestion of inedible objects is mainly characteristic of young ferrets (up to two years old), in adult ferrets, bezoars are more often diagnosed.
Bezoar is a “food stone” containing food debris, mucus, plant fibers, hair or other components that cannot be digested in the stomach; the presence of bezoar can cause obstruction, ulcer or bleeding.
Clogging is also common when eating fabrics, ropes, seeds from fruits, nuts, seeds, and polystyrene.
When a ferret has a bowel obstruction, a decrease in rectal body temperature is below normal (normal ferret temperature is about 38.4 degrees Celsius), a decrease in appetite, up to its complete disappearance, drowsiness, weakness, diarrhea, a sharp increase in abdominal volume. Less commonly observed is vomiting, gnashing of teeth, and salivation. The ferret lies or moves reluctantly. The amount of feces is reduced. In the feces, more mucus appears. Desires for bowel movements are becoming more frequent.
If the foreign body is in the rectum, then blockage of the intestine can sometimes be diagnosed with the help of pin palpation. But more often, an X-ray with contrast is used to confirm the diagnosis. On x-rays you can see gas in the stomach, as well as some types of foreign bodies. Most often, foreign bodies are found in the stomach or in the small intestine. A foreign body in the stomach should be distinguished from the initial stage of adenocorcinoma or lymphoma of the stomach.
In most cases, ferrets need surgery to block the intestines. But if the swallowed object is small or the owner saw that the ferret swallowed a foreign object, then you can try to help the object out of the body on its own.
Attention! If a hard object with uneven edges caused blockage of the intestine, the ferret should be immediately shown to the veterinarian to avoid damage to the intestinal wall.
1. Let's ferret Vaseline oil (in no case vegetable, only mineral oil) - 3 ml per 1 kg of body weight every 2-3 hours. Vomiting when giving petroleum jelly oil indicates a foreign body in the stomach. In this case, the dose of oil should be halved, and the period of giving up to 30 minutes.
2. To avoid dehydration, the ferret must be pricked saline solution subcutaneously (Acesol, Trisol, etc. ..), 5 ml every 10-15 minutes. The total volume of saline per day is 100-150 ml. Recommended injection No-shpa 0.2 ml
3. Watch the oil out of the ferret. Oil goes out on an empty stomach in 40-60 minutes. If the stomach is full, then the oil output is observed after 1.5 -2 hours. If the ferret swallows a liquid-absorbing object, then oil may not be released. If the oil does not come out URGENTLY We bring the ferret to the doctor.
4. Follow the composition of the feces (the output of a swallowed foreign object). If the item does not come out within 24 hours or the ferret’s condition worsens, then the ferret urgently needs to be shown to the veterinarian.
It is necessary to measure the temperature periodically, if the temperature drops from measurement to measurement and falls below 36 degrees - urgently to a doctor!
Attention! When blocking the intestine with a foreign body, it is strictly forbidden:
1. Do not respond to the deterioration of the ferret. If the state of the ferret worsened, then, in spite of the measures taken, the animal must be urgently shown to the veterinarian.
2. Do not respond to bloating. The increase in the volume of the abdomen in the ferret after taking vaseline oil indicates complete blockage. In this case, the oil intake must be stopped and the ferret urgently taken to the veterinarian.
3. To give sorbents (smecta, activated carbon, enterodesis, etc.). Sorbents also contribute to the removal of fluid from the digestive tract, which significantly reduces intestinal motility and prevents the foreign body from moving to the anus. This will immediately cause the ferret to worsen.
4. Give a laxative or antiemetic (cerucal). Drugs cause an increase in intestinal motility, which can lead to rupture of the walls of the stomach or intestines.
5. Give probiotics. They can cause additional bloating or soreness.
6. Feed plentifully. Excessive feeding of a ferret during an obstruction of the intestine can cause rupture of the walls of the intestine or stomach. Ferrets are allowed to give small amounts of vitamin paste or warm baby food.
7. Forcefully feed the animal or feed the animal if vomiting occurs. The presence of vomiting when taken orally indicates a foreign body in the stomach. In this case, oral administration must be stopped, and the ferret urgently taken to the veterinarian.
If wool became the cause of bowel blockage, then the ferret can be given paste for cats to remove wool from the body.
When the intestines are blocked in ferrets, if the measures taken do not lead to the desired result, in most cases surgical intervention is required. If the ferret is too weak, then before the operation he needs to put a dropper with supporting solutions. To make sure the condition of the animal, it is good to do a general blood test before surgery. Gastrointestinal tissue necrosis is less common in ferrets than in cat or dog bowel obstruction. Usually, the prognosis of an operation to remove a foreign body from the intestine of a ferret is positive, provided there is no intestinal perforation and peritonitis.
So, always remember that the best treatment is prevention! Try to predict what might be of interest to the ferret and put such items out of the reach of the ferret.
And if the trouble still happened, do not waste time and urgently contact a veterinary clinic. Timely treatment largely determines the successful outcome of the operation.
Gastrointestinal obstruction in ferrets
Obstruction - violation of the patency of food masses (lump) through the gastrointestinal tract. The main causes of obstruction in ferrets are swallowed foreign bodies.
Ferrets eat various objects, the main thing is:
- Rags are often underwear, tights, socks, bedding. Or indiscriminately
- Rubber / latex / silicone are toys, rubber gloves, condoms, earplugs, shoe soles, erasers, baby soothers, various overlays that are used to protect parquet or furniture from scratches, decorative patches / tags on clothes, shoes, often sportswear / shoes, window and door gaskets, buttons on remotes and telephones, television and radio equipment, computers ... straps on a bra, elastic bands on clothes, plasticine, weight for modeling and much more ...
- May be swallowed: seeds from fruits, seeds, nuts, beads, small balls.
- Foam rubber / synthetic winterizer - sponges / washcloths, furniture, bedding / lodges, sunbeds, clothes.
- Polyfoam - the back panel of the refrigerator, cooler, boxes from under household appliances (foam inserts to prevent equipment from breaking), many insulate balconies, inserts into shoes so that they do not crumple (some companies put foam inserts).
- Partial obstruction is a foreign object of small size (less than the diameter of the intestine), and it freely moves through the digestive tract. It can be small pieces of foam rubber, rubber, small wool bezoars.
- Complete obstruction - a foreign body is voluminous / solid / (usually larger than the diameter of the intestine) occupies the entire lumen of the intestine and does not move through the intestine. It can be seeds, nuts, large pieces of rubber, ear plugs, large beads, rhinestones, large pieces of fabric, large pieces of cellophane.
- Against the background of a general good condition - vomiting, after vomiting the animal, as a rule, continues to be active and asks for food, if vomiting is repeated, then the animal becomes lethargic.
- Forced posture (stretched in length, but not curled up in a ring).
- Soreness of the abdomen (abdominal wall) with light pressure on it.
- Sometimes uncharacteristic moans.
- Reducing the amount of feces.
- The appearance of a large amount of mucus instead of feces (usually tight, dark green or beige). THIS IS NOT CAL!
- Frequent urge to defecate (defecate), with the absence of feces or its reduced amount.
- Lethargy, lack of interest in conventional stimuli (toys, walks, food.
- Decreased appetite and water intake.
- Temperature drop below 38 degrees (measured rectally, preferably with an electronic thermometer).
- A sharp increase in the volume of the abdomen and at the same time there is difficulty breathing (overstretching of the stomach with gases or contents).
If you saw how the ferret ate something inedible with you or you suspect it, then:
What you DO NOT DO if you suspect a foreign body:
- Feed the animal - if the animal has vomiting or diarrhea.
- Give water by force - if vomiting is repeated after taking water or liquid paraffin, stop giving water and oil and immediately contact a clinic.
- Do not react to a worsening condition - if, despite the measures you have taken, the animal’s condition worsens, then consult a doctor immediately.
- Do not respond to bloating - if after giving petroleum jelly oil the volume of the abdomen increases - immediately see a doctor.
- GIVE SORBENTS - do not give sorbents (smecta, activated carbon, enterodesis) since they absorb liquid in the gastrointestinal tract, which helps reduce intestinal locomotor activity, a foreign object simply does not push through, stands still and worsens.
- GIVE Laxative or antiemetic (Cerucal) - they cause an increase in the motor activity of the gastrointestinal tract, which can lead to rupture of the wall of the stomach / intestine.
- GIVE PROBIOTICS - they can cause additional bloating and soreness.
Also remember that each clinical case is individual.
What happens to the animal’s body when a foreign object enters the gastrointestinal tract if:
I. The animal swallowed a foreign object of small diameter
- Light objects (gum, foam, bottle caps) may not exit the stomach into the intestine and continue to “float” in the stomach, which will cause the ferret to periodically worsen and periodically vomit. Moreover, the animal is often active, eats, and formed feces and liquid paraffin leave it.
- Small objects got into the stomach when eating, and from the stomach with the contents into the intestine, and if the object is smaller than the diameter of the intestine, without sharp edges, then when you give petroleum jelly oil, it “lubricates” the intestine and allows the foreign body to easily pass through the entire intestine .
II. the animal swallows a foreign body of large diameter, solid (with / without sharp edges), absorbing water
- It got into the stomach, but because of the large size it cannot pass into the intestine, you give petroleum jelly + gastric juice is secreted, the stomach is stretched, presses on the diaphragm and lungs, which leads to an acute painful expansion of the stomach and shortness of breath.
- The large body passed through the stomach and entered the intestine, but the diameter of the intestine is smaller than the foreign body, or the foreign body has sharp edges, thus forming a “plug” through which the food lump / petrolatum cannot pass. The stomach and intestine, lying above the foreign body, are overgrown with gases and liquid, and below the foreign body, on the contrary, the intestine continues to absorb fluid through the intestinal wall, thereby dehydrating the intestinal lumen, which leads to a stop of the intestinal motor activity (peristalsis), dehydration and greater deterioration of the animal.
In especially severe cases, a standing foreign body damages the intestinal wall, which leads to the release of a large number of bacteria and intestinal enzymes that lyse it ("corrode"), which leads to a violation of the integrity of the intestinal wall and its perforation (rupture). Perforation of the intestinal wall entails the penetration of intestinal contents into the peritoneum and entails inflammation (peritonitis). With peritonitis, it is extremely difficult to save the animal.
We will separately talk about bezoars.
When taking care of himself, as well as in games with other ferrets, the ferret swallows a large amount of wool, especially during molting, which can sometimes lead to the accumulation of this wool in the stomach and its compaction due to absorption of gastric juice. Thus formed BEZOAR. Small bezoars pass from the stomach to the intestine, while large ones can cause the same clinical picture as a foreign body!
The same thing happens sometimes when eating chickens whose feathers can also form bezoar. To prevent the formation of bezoar, it is worth giving a ferret a paste to dissolve hair in cats.
- A large amount of matter that can clog long sections of the gut
- A large amount of foam
- Ear plugs | <urn:uuid:331eefb3-fdad-4fbe-8ea4-eb725b9a7fa1> | CC-MAIN-2020-34 | https://ls.entusiastaspastoraleman.com/420-vomiting-lumps-of-hair-and-other-foreign-bodies-in-fe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-34/segments/1596439737168.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20200810175614-20200810205614-00307.warc.gz | en | 0.912715 | 3,251 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Many injuries occur due to excess use of the body. If you train for marathons or bicycle for extended durations of time each day it is possible for your body to degrade over time. It is essential that you know the basics of sports medicine.
In elite sports, athletes constantly try to gain an advantage in their game by having the correct mix of genetics, nutrition as well as training. Furthermore, they need to stay up to date with the most recent technologies and equipment in order to perform at the top level. It is essential that they utilize their gloves, helmets, and shoes along with bicycle frames and bikes. It is essential for athletes to know the basics of the field of sports medicine to prevent injuries and stay fit throughout competition.
What Is Sports Medicine?
The specialization of medicine in sports medicine focuses on the diseases and injuries athletes are afflicted with, regardless of whether they are in one-on-one or team sporting activities. The medical field studies prevention and treatment of injuries among athletes. Also, it is focused on athletes with chronic illnesses seeking to perform their highest. It focuses on preventing and diagnosis of injuries, rehabilitation of injured athletes, and caring to patients suffering from chronic or acute injuries. Sports medicine experts include cardiovascular, orthopedics, neurology and Ophthalmology. Also, sports medicine specialists are educated about nutritional supplements for athletes. They are able to help athletes gain proper fuel to their bodies while not putting themselves in danger of an injury or a poor performance.
What are Sports Medicine Specialists?
Specialists in Sports Medicine are physicians who have successfully completed their residency in sport Medicine. They also have the board’s certification. These specialists are board-certified for their specialization and are given additional training via the clinical clerkship or CME or continuing professional education in medicine (CME). | <urn:uuid:e28d260c-3984-48d3-8548-e2cf1af1cfb6> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://rochestersource.com/2022/07/why-athletes-should-know-all-about-sports-medicine-610-sports-radio/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224646076.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20230530163210-20230530193210-00308.warc.gz | en | 0.961332 | 405 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Learn the important role this super precious metal plays in technology, health care and medicine. Read how our lives are better today, and will continue to be, because of the precious metal silver.
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Learn How to Avoid Costly Rookie Mistakes & Invest in Gold Like a Pro!Get Free Gold Investor Guide
Silver, whose chemical symbol is Ag (Greek: άργυρος árguros, Latin: argentum, both from the Indo-European root *arg- for “grey” or “shining”), is one of the most versatile elements we know. It has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal. Silver occurs in pure form, as an alloy with other metals or in minerals. The white, shiny metal has been long valued as a precious metal, thus used for silver coins, bullion, bars, ornaments, jewelry, and tableware.
Yet, silver is also a crucial component in technology. In fact, 7,916,000 ounces of silver were produced globally in 2011. It is used in the photographic industry, as well as for electronic devices like switches, superconductors or circuit boards. Moreover, silver ions and compound can kill bacteria, algae, and fungi; therefore, silver helps purify, sanitize, and filter water. The pharmaceutical industry makes use of silver’s antibacterial qualities, too. Amazingly, silver is also applied in innovative fields like green technology and nano technology.
Whether we turn on the light, go to the spa, fly on a plane or get a bandage at the hospital, silver is becoming an increasingly vital part of our daily lives.
Have a fun fact about silver that you would like to add? Please share below in the comments. | <urn:uuid:40a54935-f779-431b-9913-d53ced41543d> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://www.sbcgold.com/blog/facts-about-importance-of-silver-in-technology/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585371803248.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20200407152449-20200407182949-00538.warc.gz | en | 0.924496 | 397 | 2.75 | 3 |
LIXIL is the most comprehensive and connected global company in the housing and building industry, delivering human-centric innovation that enhances people's living spaces.
Updated: Dec 13, 2016
Poor sanitation is a leading cause of child mortality. Today, an estimated 800 children under five years of age die every day from diarrheal disease caused by lack of hygienic water and sanitary living situations. Approximately 950 million people also still defecate in the open. This exposes areas to the risk of disease and results in a range of social and economic problems.
The gravity of the situation has elevated the topic to the top of the global agenda. In September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by world leaders. Goal 6 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for access to water and sanitation for all.
LIXIL is at the forefront of a movement addressing this pressing global problem. One solution that has already been commercialized is the affordable plastic SATO (Safe Toilet) series. First developed by LIXIL's American Standard Brands with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, SATO products are designed to cover open pit latrines and feature a counterweighted trapdoor that allows waste to flow through, while sealing shut to keep out flies, other insects and odors. This helps prevent the spread of disease, as well as improve both the safety and user experience of open pit latrines.
As of mid-2016, over 1 million SATO units have been installed in over 14 countries. Of these, some 500,000 SATO toilets were donated to nongovernmental organizations for installation in homes and schools in Bangladesh, and another 300,000 have been sold in Bangladesh for as little as $2 each.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has supported various toilet projects, funded through its Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. Many involve complex and expensive concepts that aim to generate energy and fuel sources from waste. But Jim McHale, who has a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry and was leading research and development for American Standard, favored a surprising solution that leveraged what LIXIL does best: developing efficient toilets.
LIXIL is among a growing number of companies turning their attention to low-income or "bottom of the pyramid" consumers in developing countries. With their extensive knowledge and skills, these companies seek innovative and inexpensive solutions for societies that lack access to sanitation, water, education and technology.
Widely known as frugal innovation, this design approach means going for affordable, simple and sustainable solutions. "With SATO, they didn't try to reinvent the wheel," says Navi Radjou, an innovation strategist and the author of the book Frugal Innovation: How to Do More With Less.
"In emerging markets," he explains, "you don't want product innovation that radically changes the customs and traditions of a community. The magic is selectively changing something for the better." The design process for the SATO was similar to creating a product for the U.S. market. During dozens of iterations, the core team of 10 people experimented with the shape of the trapdoor and the flush mechanism.
They analyzed computational fluid dynamics to ensure good water flow. Many prototypes later, the SATO was successfully field-tested in Bangladesh in late 2012.
Specialists in design for developing markets say the SATO works well for users and the environment. Mariana Amatullo, vice president of the Designmatters program at Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California, was especially struck by its simplicity. "It's not overly designed or engineered and is appropriate to the context," she notes, adding that American Standard introduced innovation by strengthening an existing product while keeping the price low.
Projects like SATO, which won a "Patents for Humanity" award in 2015 from the U.S. Department of Commerce, have helped improve sanitation along with initiatives from other companies as well as NGOs and United Nations' agencies, including SATO partner UNICEF.
The number of children dying from diarrhea and other diseases associated with inadequate sanitation has fallen from 1.5 million in 1990 to just above 600,000 in 2012, according to the World Health Organization. Over roughly the same time period, nearly one third of the global population, or 2.1 billion people, has gained access to an improved sanitation facility, and diarrhea is no longer among the five leading causes of death worldwide for the total population. Policy makers agree that the pace of change must be accelerated, but there is debate about the best method.
Some experts argue that traditional efforts through charities and foundations are hampered by short-term planning and lack of sufficient funding, and therefore struggle to reach the scale needed to effect broad-based change. Innovation strategist Radjou explains, "There are a lot of pilot projects with good intentions, but then nobody is there to maintain them and be accountable." Corporations like LIXIL can play a bigger role in helping to solve the problem. In addition to SATO, LIXIL is building a number of sanitation products to fit different markets and income levels in developing nations. "The global sanitation crisis is so large and complex that one solution isn't really going to solve the entire problem," says McHale.
With a second grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for instance, American Standard conducted field-testing for three retooled versions of the SATO in Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. These toilets provide the same benefits—eliminating the smell and sight of waste—but fit the constraints of sub-Saharan Africa, where concrete can be more expensive and water is too precious a commodity to use for toilet flushing. LIXIL is now scaling up its SATO business and fast-tracking commercial sales in developing countries at a viable price point for low-income consumers, and in 2016 received a third grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support this acceleration.
LIXIL is also working in Kenya on two other sophisticated projects. One is the Micro Flush Toilet System, which significantly improves the water efficiency of toilet and sewage systems. Another is the Green Toilet System, designed to treat human waste in an environmentally friendly way by separating liquid and solid waste. The solid waste is then treated with an organic enzyme to kill pathogens. Users are encouraged to complete the recycling process by bringing the solid waste to a nearby composting site and then using the compost to fertilize farmland.
Commenting on the potential of the Green Toilet System to make a difference, Yu Yamakami of LIXIL's Social Sanitation Initiatives Department says, "We are developing concept toilets for places without water and sewage systems so we can expand our market and bring sanitation and hygiene to more people". | <urn:uuid:00173f71-3964-4305-8a58-df0c46ab4d59> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | http://www.lixil.com/en/stories/stories_02/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806708.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20171122233044-20171123013044-00357.warc.gz | en | 0.956073 | 1,388 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Cultural Heritage and the War in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine is the latest example of the role cultural heritage can play in violent conflicts and war. When Ukrainian cultural heritage is destroyed to be replaced by Russian cultural heritage, it is an attempt to make the population feel cut off from Ukraine and closer to Russia. The reverse also happened on the Ukrainian side after the fall of the Soviet Union, when thousands of Soviet monuments were taken down. Cultural heritage is an important issue of identity. The destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage shows that the war in Ukraine is not just about security and economic issues. Destroying tangible, and also intangible cultural heritage by, for example, banning traditions, languages or even an emotive word, is a form of psychological, moral and political warfare. And it is effective .
International initiatives to protect cultural heritage in Ukraine are numerous, and many actors are involved with overlapping mandates. These initiatives focus on monitoring damages, emergency relief measures, training of heritage professionals, digitization of inventories and archives, support of the cultural sector and awareness raising . UNESCO published a statement calling for the protection of cultural heritage, with specific emphasis on World Heritage Sites, and condemning any attacks against cultural property. The statement by ICOMOS reiterated the fragility of cultural heritage and the responsibility of care concerning the relevant international conventions. The Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk in Ukraine was issued by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in 2022 summer to present those types of objects such as manuscripts, icons, religious artefacts, and jewellery, in total more than 50 object types, that are the most likely to be looted and sold on the international art market .
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the Historic Centre of Odesa (Ukraine) on the World Heritage List in January 2023 as the 8th World Heritage Site of Ukraine, despite the opposition of Russia. Part of the site was immediately added to the List of World Heritage in Danger. The listing is not just a symbolic act though. UNESCO implemented emergency measures such as repairing damage to the museum buildings to protect the collections and digitization of artworks and archival materials. This is just a part of UNESCO activities in Ukraine: in partnership with local authorities and non-governmental organizations, they monitor damage and loss in terms of heritage assets, the impact of war on the cultural sector, support artists, and so on .
Within this context, various solutions were proposed by the international community:
(1) States should have measures in place before a conflict breaks out.
(2) Cultural heritage protection should be integrated into the international system for humanitarian aid and peacekeeping.
(3) Independent monitoring of the impact of armed conflicts on cultural heritage would enhance accountability for war crimes, as well as post-conflict peacebuilding efforts .
The debate unfortunately remains relevant. When national and cultural infrastructure is attacked, people become afraid and risk losing their sense of existing as a group or nation. Social resources are part of the cultural heritage that is threatened in war: the structures of society, contact with neighbours and the things that give people context. Moreover, protecting cultural heritage is important for the possibility of peace-building and reconciliation after a violent conflict. Evidence of the pre-war period is needed to learn from the past and to reflect on what has happened. If everything is torn down, there are no references any more. This is why cultural heritage also plays a major role in reconstruction processes . | <urn:uuid:999f2787-ebcd-4ea7-9898-143e5fd59e9b> | CC-MAIN-2024-10 | http://kiklo.eu/cultural-heritage-and-the-war-in-ukraine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2024-10/segments/1707947473824.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20240222161802-20240222191802-00810.warc.gz | en | 0.944413 | 693 | 3.375 | 3 |
DuPont™ Kevlar® is a para-aramid fiber developed by Stephanie Kwolek in the early 1960’s. Kevlar wasn’t introduced commercially until 1971. The chemical name of the brand Kevlar is Ploy-paraphenylene terephthalamide and was developed while researchers were looking for a light but strong fiber for use in tires in anticipation of a gas shortage and lack of petroleum by-products. The nearly accidental discovery that Kevlar solution could be spun to produce strong fiber gave rise to modern polymer science.
Kevlar has many applications in the world today such as tires, racing sails and body armor. Given its high tensile strength-to-weight ratio (5 times stronger than steel), it is also ideal for the manufacture of protective fabrics that are heat and abrasion resistant.
As a meta-aramid, Nomex cannot align during filament formation and has poorer strength than para-aramids, like Kevlar. But Nomex provides solid flame and heat resistance nonetheless. Nomex has a wide variety of applications in many industries where heat and flame resistance are important attributes. Used extensively in electrical insulation and aircraft construction, Nomex has provides the right combination of factors to be an excellent candidate for a fiber used in protective fabrics. Wildland firefighters wear Nomex shirts and trousers for flame and heat protection as do racecar drivers and military pilots. TenCate Protective Fabrics is the world’s largest manufacturer of Nomex fabrics and uses more Nomex fiber than any other company on the planet.
Lenzing FR is a registered trademark of the Lenzing Group, an international group of companies with headquarters in Austria.
Lenzing FR is manufactured from wood which is harvested from carefully managed forests and is a renewable source of fiber from a raw natural resource. By using the Lenzing Modal® process, the FR attributes are inserted permanently into the fiber and, thusly, into the fabric as well. In efforts to maintain an environmentally friendly, Green process, TenCate Protective Fabrics is proud to incorporate Lenzing FR fibers into our high-quality FR fabrics.
PBI fiber, chemically known as polybenzimidazole, is a fiber that goes into many blends for a variety of inherently FR fabrics. PBI fiber provides flame and heat resistance with the added bonus of good retention of both strength and flexibility after exposure to thermal events. PBI fibers can be used to make FR fabrics that provide excellent thermal protection as well being supple and comfortable. Used by TenCate Protective Fabrics in blends for the manufacture of fabrics that offer first-rate protection, PBI provides low heat transfer, FR protection and comfort all in one package, making it an ideal choice for the PPE that firefighters, military tactical personnel and other first responders need when the heat is on. PBI fiber is manufactured by PBI Performance Products, Inc. and TenCate has partnered with them for the development of several fabrics in the market today.
PBO fiber, known chemically as a Polybenzoxazole is a high tenacity fiber that has almost double the strength of para-aramids. PBO fiber provides high strength and excellent thermal stability. PBO fiber is used in tennis rackets, body armor and even the Mars rovers. TenCate uses PBO to manufacture outer shell fabrics for firefighters’ turnout gear. The obvious heat resistance properties of PBO fiber make it an ideal candidate for use in this application but the added bonus of its high tensile strength (when spun into yarn) make it immeasurably desirable to firefighters everywhere. This combination of high strength and thermal stability means that an outer shell fabric made with PBO fiber is less susceptible to tears, abrasion and break-open in a thermal event and, thusly, reduces the risk of burn injuries. | <urn:uuid:ae72a396-88c4-4e4b-ad1a-6d1f3cef084e> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | https://www.tencatefrfabrics.asia/fibers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221213508.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20180818075745-20180818095745-00564.warc.gz | en | 0.9399 | 790 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Deafness is a physical condition in human beings which prevents a person from hearing sounds. As per the definitions provided by medical practitioners, deafness and hearing impairment are two separate ailments. The severity of deafness may vary from one patient to another significantly. People suffering from mild deafness face problems in understanding speech, particularly in noisy surroundings.
People who are the victims of moderate level of deafness may not be able to hear anything without using hearing aids. On the other hand, people with extreme level of deafness and hearing problem have to depend on lip-reading techniques apart from wearing hearing aid instruments. Since it causes hardship in communication, people suffering from this menace may feel isolated both socially and physically. They are also more vulnerable to accidents than others.
Deafness can happen to people belonging to different age groups. There are some babies who are born with this disability. However, the most familiar cause of deafness is ageing and an overwhelming majority of all the deaf people are past their 60s.
The human ear’s external part behaves like the trumpets and gathers sound waves; an internal organ named cochlea converts the mechanical sound waves to audible sound signals which are then registered by the brain. When a part of the hearing organs can not function properly or gets obstructed a person suffers from deafness and other associated hearing problems.
There are many reasons which can cause deafness and loss of hearing capabilities. The accumulation of ear wax can cause loss of hearing in a person. It can also happen as a side effect of medication. Some children inherit the ailment from their parents. Even an infection at some stage in pregnancy can make the child deaf. There are some diseases that can make a person deaf after the attack. One such ailment is Meningitis.
Prolonged exposure to loud noise can also lead to deafness. On an average 50% of the hearing-impaired people acquire it for being exposed to noisy environment. The increasing tendency among people to listen to personal media players at high volumes by using headphones is blamed as the main reason for deafness caused by loud sounds.
According to the medical community, hearing loss can be divided into four categories. The instances of sensorineural hearing loss are caused by damage to the inner ear’s sensitive cells and nerves. This may result in mild to severe hearing loss. At the same time this malaise also reduces a person’s capability to hear sounds of audible frequencies. Even the use of hearing aid equipments does not help people suffering from this syndrome much.
The conductive hearing loss is caused by ailments or blockages in the middle or outer ear. However, this does not have as severe implications as Sensorineural hearing loss. A person afflicted with this disease can use the hearing aids without much hassle.
The amalgamation of the aforesaid ailments is known as the mixed hearing loss. When the central nervous system is damaged it can lead to central hearing loss.
People suffering from deafness and hearing problems can use several helpful devices meant for them. The text telephones are made for their use. These devices allow the deaf people to send and receive text based messages using the telephone network.
Immunization against infections and evading exposure to loud noise diminishes the danger of contracting deafness. The ear passage needs to be cleaned periodically with caution to prevent ear wax from accumulating. The hearing aid instruments have also become much more sophisticated and powerful compared to the devices from the earlier years. However, it should be kept in mind that they can not cure deafness and do not have the same beneficial effect on everyone.Children who suffer from hearing problems require specialized education to overcome their difficulties. Such children should be made to undergo speech therapy and auditory training from specialists. Resorting to an interpreter for helping the deaf children with learning sign languages may prove to be effective. | <urn:uuid:84b43af2-86cf-48c3-91ff-0c2bdae2d7c9> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://www.ayushveda.com/healthcare/deafness.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049276780.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002116-00108-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966092 | 785 | 4.15625 | 4 |
Information Security and Data Privacy Glossary
To better help you understand the terms we use Alchemer as we explain how we protect your information, we’ve created a glossary of terms. It’s by no means exhaustive, as new terms and types of attacks crop up constantly.
Access control — The means and mechanisms of managing access to and use of resources by users. There are three primary forms of access control: DAC, MAC, and RBAC. DAC (Discretionary Access Control) manages access through the use of on-object ACLs (Access Control Lists), which indicate which users have been granted (or denied) specific privileges or permissions on that object. MAC (Mandatory Access Control) restricts access by assigning each subject and object a classification or clearance level label; resource use is then controlled by limiting access to those subjects with equal or superior labels to that of the object. RBAC (Role Base Access Control) controls access through the use of job labels, which have been assigned the permissions and privilege needed to accomplish the related job tasks. (Also known as authorization.)
Anti-virus (anti-malware) — A security program designed to monitor a system for malicious software. Once malware is detected, the AV program will attempt to remove the offending item from the system or may simply quarantine the file for further analysis by an administrator. It is important to keep AV software detection databases current in order to have the best chance of detecting known forms of malware.
Antivirus software — A software program that monitors a computer system or network communications for known examples of malicious code and then attempts to remove or quarantine the offending items. (Also known as Malware Scanner.) Most anti-virus (AV) products use a pattern recognition or signature matching system to detect the presence of known malicious code. Some AV products have adopted technologies to potentially detect new and unknown malware. These technologies include anomaly detection (i.e. watch for programs which violate specific rules), behavioral detection (i.e. watch for programs that have behaviors that are different from the normal baseline of behavior of the system), and heuristic detection (i.e. watch for programs that exhibit actions which are known to be those of confirmed malware; it is a type of technological profiling).
APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) — A security breach that enables an attacker to gain access or control over a system for an extended period of time usually without the owner of the system being aware of the violation. Often an APT takes advantage of numerous unknown vulnerabilities or zero day attacks, which allow the attacker to maintain access to the target even as some attack vectors are blocked.
Asset — Anything that is used in and is necessary to the completion of a business task. Assets include both tangible and intangible items such as equipment, software code, data, facilities, personnel, market value and public opinion.
Authentication — The process of proving an individual is a claimed identity. Authentication is the first element of the AAA services concept, which includes Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting. Authentication occurs after the initial step of identification (i.e. claiming an identity). Authentication is accomplished by providing one or more authentication factors—Type 1: something you know (e.g. password, PIN, or combination), Type 2: something you have (e.g. smart card, RSA SecureID FOB, or USB drive), and Type 3: something you are (e.g. biometrics—fingerprint, iris scan, retina scan, hand geometry, signature verification, voice recognition, and keystroke dynamics).
Authorization — The security mechanism determining and enforcing what authenticated users are authorized to do within a computer system. The dominant forms of authorization are DAC, MAC, and RBAC. DAC (Discretionary Access Control) manages access using ACL (Access Control Lists) on each resource object where users are listed along with the permissions or privileges granted or denied them. MAC (Mandatory Access Control) manages access using labels of classification or clearance on both subjects and objects, and only those subjects with equal or superior clearance are allowed to access resources. RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) manages access using labels of a job role that has been granted the permissions and privileges needed to accomplish a specific job or role.
Backing up — Creating a duplicate copy of data onto a separate physical storage device or online/cloud storage solution. A backup is the only insurance against data loss. With a backup, damaged or lost data files can be restored. Backups should be created on a regular, periodic basis such as daily. A common strategy is based on the 3-2-1 rule: you should have three copies of your data – the original and 2 backups; you should use 2 different types of media (such as physical media (such as a hard drive or tape) and a cloud storage solution), and do not store the three copies of data in 1 plane (i.e. backups should be stored offsite). It is important to store backups for disaster recovery at an offsite location in order to ensure they are not damaged by the same event that would damage the primary production location. However, additional onsite backups can be retained for resolving minor issues such as accidental file deletion or hard drive failure.
BCP (Business Continuity Planning) — A business management plan used to resolve issues that threaten core business tasks. (Also known as Business Continuity Management.) The goal of BCP is to prevent the failure of mission-critical processes when they have be harmed by a breach or accident. Once core business tasks have been stabilized, BCP dictates the procedure to return the environment back to normal conditions. BCP is used when the normal security policy has failed to prevent harm from occurring, but before the harm has reached the level of fully interrupting mission-critical processes, which would trigger the Disaster Recovery Process (DRP).
Behavior monitoring — Recording the events and activities of a system and its users. The recorded events are compared against security policy and behavioral baselines to evaluate compliance and/or discover violations. Behavioral monitoring can include the tracking of trends, setting of thresholds, and defining responses. Trend tracking can reveal when errors are increasing requiring technical support services, when abnormal load levels occur indicating the presence of malicious code, or when production work levels increase indicating a need to expand capacity. Thresholds are used to define the levels of activity or events above which are of concern and require a response. The levels below the threshold are recorded but do not trigger a response. Responses can be to resolve conflicts, handle violations, prevent downtime or improve capabilities.
Blacklist — A security mechanism prohibiting the execution of those programs on a known malicious or undesired list of software. The blacklist is a list of specific files known to be malicious or otherwise are unwanted. Any program on the list is prohibited from executing while any other program, whether benign or malicious, is allowed to execute by default. (See Whitelist.)
Block cipher — A type of symmetric encryption algorithm that divides data into fixed-length sections and then performs the encryption or decryption operation on each block. The action of dividing a data set into blocks enables the algorithm to encrypt data of any size.
Botnet — A collection of innocent computers which have been compromised by malicious code in order to run a remote control agent granting an attacker the ability to remotely take advantage of the system’s resources in order to perform illicit or criminal actions. These actions include DoS flooding attacks, hosting false Web services, spoofing DNS, transmitting SPAM, eavesdropping on network communications, recording VOIP communications, and attempting to crack encryption or password hashes. Botnets can be comprised of dozens to over a million individual computers. The term botnet is a shortened form of a robotic network.
Bug — An error or mistake in software coding or hardware design or construction. A bug represents a flaw or vulnerability in a system discoverable by attackers and used as a point of compromise. Attacks often use a fuzzing technique (i.e. randomize testing tools) to locate previously unknown bugs in order to craft new exploits.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) — A company’s security policy dictating whether or not workers can bring in their own devices into the work environment, whether or not such devices can be connected to the company network, and to what extent that connection allows interaction with company resources. A BYOD policy can range from the complete prohibition of personal devices being brought into the facility to allowing any device to be connected to the company network with full access to all company resources. Generally, a BYOD policy puts reasonable security limitations on which devices can be used on company property and severely limits access to sensitive company network resources. BYOD should address concerns such as data ownership, asset tracking, geolocation, patching and upgrades, security applications (such as malware scanners, firewalls, and IDS), storage segmentation, appropriate vs inappropriate applications, on-boarding, off-boarding, repair/replacement due to damage, legal concerns, internal investigations, and law enforcement investigations and forensics.
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) — CCPA gives California consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them and the CCPA regulations provide guidance on how to implement the law. Privacy rights include the right to know about the personal information a business collects about them and how it is used and shared; the right to delete personal information collected from them (with some exceptions); the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information; and the right to non-discrimination for exercising their CCPA rights.
Ciphertext — The unintelligible and seeming random form of data that is produced by the cryptographic function of encryption. Ciphertext is produced by a symmetric algorithm when a data set is transformed by the encryption process using a selected key. Ciphertext can converted back into its original form (i.e. plain text) by performing the decryption process using the same symmetric encryption algorithm and the key used during the encryption process. (Also known as cryptogram.)
Clickjacking — A malicious technique by which a victim is tricked into clicking on a URL, button or other screen object other than that intended by or perceived by the user. Clickjacking can be performed in many ways; one of which is to load a web page transparently behind another visible page in such a way that the obvious links and objects to click are facades, so clicking on an obvious link actually causes the hidden page’s link to be selected.
Cloud computing — A means to offer computing services to the public or for internal use through remote services. Most cloud computing systems are based on remote virtualization where the application or operating environment offered to customers is hosted on the cloud provider’s computer hardware. There are a wide range of cloud solutions including software applications (examples include e-mail and document editing), custom code hosting (namely execution platforms and web services) as well as full system replacements (such as remote virtual services to host databases or file storage). (See SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.) Most forms of cloud computing are considered public cloud as they are provided by a third party. However, private cloud (internally hosted), community cloud (a group of companies’ privately hosted cloud), a hosted private cloud (the cloud servers are owned and managed by a third party but hosted in the facility of the customer) and hybrid cloud (a mixture of public and private) are also options.
CND (Computer Network Defense) — The establishment of a security perimeter and of internal security requirements with the goal of defending a network against cyberattacks, intrusions and other violations. A CND is defined by a security policy and can be stress tested using vulnerability assessment and penetration testing measures.
Cracker — The proper term to refer to an unauthorized attacker of computers, networks and technology instead of the misused term “hacker.” However, this term is not as widely used in the media; thus, the term hacker has become more prominent in-spite of the terms misuse. (See hacker.)
Critical infrastructure — The physical or virtual systems and assets that are vital to an organization or country. If these systems are compromised, the result would be catastrophic. If an organization’s mission critical processes are interrupted, this could result in the organization ceasing to exist. If a country’s critical infrastructure is destroyed, it will have severe negative impact on national security, economic stability, citizen safety and health, transportation and communications.
CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) — An online database of attacks, exploits and compromises operated by the MITRE organization for the benefit of the public. It includes any and all attacks and abuses known for any type of computer system or software product. Often new attacks and exploits are documented in a CVE long before a vendor admits to the issue or releases an update or patch to resolve the concern.
Cryptography — The application of mathematical processes on data-at-rest and data-in-transit to provide the security benefits of confidentiality, authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation. Cryptography includes three primary components: symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hashing. Symmetric encryption is used to provide confidentiality. Asymmetric encryption is used to provide secure symmetric key generation, secure symmetric key exchange (via digital envelopes created through the use of the recipient’s public key) verification of source, verification/control of recipient, digital signature (a combination of hashing and use of the sender’s private key) and digital certificates (which provides third-party authentication services). Hashing is the cryptographic operation that produces a representational value from an input data set. A before and after hash can be compared in order to detect protection of or violation of integrity.
Cyberattack — Any attempt to violate the security perimeter of a logical environment. An attack can focus on gathering information, damaging business processes, exploiting flaws, monitoring targets, interrupting business tasks, extracting value, causing damage to logical or physical assets, or using system resources to support attacks against other targets. Cyberattacks can be initiated through the exploitation of a vulnerability in a publicly exposed service, through tricking a user into opening an infectious attachment or even causing automated installation of exploitation tools through innocent website visits. (Also known as a drive-by download.)
Cyber ecosystem — The collection of computers, networks, communication pathways, software, data and users that comprise either a local private network or the world-wide Internet. It is the digital environment within which software operates and data is manipulated and exchanged.
Cyberespionage — The unethical act of violating the privacy and security of an organization in order to leak data or disclose internal/private/confidential information. Cyberespionage can be performed by individuals, organization or governments for the direct purpose of causing harm to the violated entity to benefit individuals, organizations or governments.
Cybersecurity — The efforts to design, implement, and maintain security for an organization’s network, which is connected to the Internet. It is a combination of logical/technical-, physical- and personnel-focused countermeasures, safeguards and security controls. An organization’s cybersecurity should be defined in a security policy, verified through evaluation techniques (such as vulnerability assessment and penetration testing) and revised, updated and improved over time as the organization evolves and as new threats are discovered.
Cyber teams — Groups of professional or amateur penetration testing specialists who are tasked with evaluating and potentially improving the security stance of an organization. Common cyber teams include the red, blue and purple/white teams. A red team is often used as part of a multi-team penetration test (i.e. security evaluation), which is responsible for attacking the target which is being defended by the blue team. A purple team or white team is either used as a reference between the attack/red and defense/blue teams; or this team can be used as an interpreter of the results and activities of the red and blue teams in order to maximize their effectiveness in the final results.
Data breach — The occurrence of disclosure of confidential information, access to confidential information, destruction of data assets or abusive use of a private IT environment. Generally, a data breach results in internal data being made accessible to external entities without authorization.
Data integrity — A security benefit that verifies data is unmodified and therefore original, complete and intact. Integrity is verified through the use of cryptographic hashing. A hashing algorithm generates a fixed length output known as a hash value, fingerprint or MAC (Message Authenticating Code), which is derived from the input data but which does not contain the input data. This makes hashing a one-way operation. A hash is calculated before an event, and another hash is calculated after the event (an event can be a time frame of storage (i.e. data-at-rest) or an occurrence of transmission (i.e. data-in-transit); the two hashes are then compared using an XOR Boolean operation. If the two hashes exactly match (i.e. the XOR result is zero), then the data has retained its integrity. However, if the two hashes do not match exactly (i.e. the XOR result is a non-zero value), then something about the data changed during the event.
Data mining — The activity of analyzing and/or searching through data in order to find items of relevance, significance or value. The results of data mining are known as meta-data. Data mining can be a discovery of individual important data items, a summary or overview of numerous data items or a consolidation or clarification of a collection of data items.
Data theft — The act of intentionally stealing data. Data theft can occur via data loss (physical theft) or data leakage (logical theft) events. Data loss occurs when a storage device is lost or stolen. Data leakage occurs when copies of data are possessed by unauthorized entities.
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Attack — An attack that attempts to block access to and use of a resource. It is a violation of availability. DDOS (or DDoS) is a variation of the DoS attack (see DOS) and can include flooding attacks, connection exhaustion, and resource demand. The distinction of DDOS from DOS is that the attack traffic may originate from numerous sources or is reflected or bounced off of numerous intermediary systems. The purpose of a DDoS attack is to significantly amplify the level of the attack beyond that which can be generated by a single attack system in order to overload larger and more protected victims. DDoS attacks are often waged using botnets. (See botnet.)
Decrypt — The act which transforms ciphertext (i.e. the unintelligible and seeming random form of data that is produced by the cryptographic function of encryption) back into its original plaintext or cleartext form. Ciphertext is produced by a symmetric encryption algorithm when a data set is transformed by the encryption process using a selected key. Ciphertext can be converted back into its original form (i.e. plaintext) by performing the decryption process using the same symmetric encryption algorithm and the same key used during the encryption process.
Digital certificate — A means by which to prove identity or provide authentication commonly by means of a trusted third-party entity known as a certificate authority. A digital certificate is based on the x.509 v3 standard. It is the public key of a subject signed by the private key of a certificate authority with clarifying text information such as issuer, subject identity, date of creation, date of expiration, algorithms, serial number and thumbprint (i.e. hash value).
Digital forensics — The means of gathering digital information to be used as evidence in a legal procedure. Digital forensics focuses on gathering, preserving and analyzing the fragile and volatile data from a computer system and/or network. Computer data that is relevant to a security breach and/or criminal action is often intermixed with standard benign data from business functions and personal activities. Thus, digital forensics can be challenging to properly collect relevant evidence while complying with the rules of evidence in order to ensure that such collected evidence is admissible in court.
DLP (Data Loss Prevention) — A collection of security mechanisms which aim at preventing the occurrence of data loss and/or data leakage. Data loss occurs when a storage device is lost or stolen while data leakage occurs when copies of data is possessed by unauthorized entities. In both cases, data is accessible to those who should not have access. DLP aims at preventing such occurrences through various techniques such as strict access controls on resources, blocking the use of email attachments, preventing network file exchange to external systems, blocking cut-and-paste, disabling use of social networks and encrypting stored data.
DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) — A segment or subnet of a private network where resources are hosted and accessed by the general public from the Internet. The DMZ is isolated from the private network using a firewall and is protected from obvious abuses and attacks from the Internet using a firewall. A DMZ can be deployed in two main configurations. One method is the screened subnet configuration, which has the structure of I-F-DMZ-F-LAN (i.e. internet, then firewall, then the DMZ, then another firewall, then the private LAN). A second method is the multi-homed firewall configuration, which has the structure of a single firewall with three interfaces, one connecting to the Internet, a second to the DMZ, and a third to the private LAN.
DOS (Denial of Service) — An attack that attempts to block access to and use of a resource. It is a violation of availability. DOS (or DoS) attacks include flooding attacks, connection exhaustion and resource demand. A flooding attack sends massive amounts of network traffic to the target overloading the ability of network devices and servers to handle the raw load. Connection exhaustion repeatedly makes connection requests to a target to consume all system resources related to connections, which prevents any other connections from being established or maintained. A resource demand DoS repeatedly requests a resource from a server in order to keep it too busy to respond to other requests.
Eavesdropping — The act of listening in on a transaction, communication, data transfer or conversation. Eavesdropping can be used to refer to both data packet capture on a network link (also known as sniffing or packet capture) and to audio recording using a microphone (or listening with ears).
Encode — The act which transforms plaintext or cleartext (i.e. the original form of normal standard data) into ciphertext (i.e. the unintelligible and seeming random form of data that is produced by the cryptographic function of encryption). Ciphertext is produced by a symmetric encryption algorithm when a data set is transformed by the encryption process using a selected key (i.e. to encrypt or encode). Ciphertext can converted back into its original form (i.e. plaintext) by performing the decryption process using the same symmetric encryption algorithm and the same key used during the encryption process (i.e. decrypt or decode).
Encryption key — The secret number value used by a symmetric encryption algorithm to control the encryption and decryption process. A key is a number defined by its length in binary digits. Generally, the longer the key length, the more security (i.e. defense against confidentiality breaches) it provides. The length of the key also determines the keyspace, which is the range of values between the binary digits being all zeros and all ones from which the key can be selected.
Firewall — A security tool, which may be a hardware or software solution that is used to filter network traffic. A firewall is based on an implicit deny stance where all traffic is blocked by default. Rules, filters or ACLs can be defined to indicate which traffic is allowed to cross the firewall. Advanced firewalls can make allow/deny decisions based on user authentication, protocol, header values, and even payload contents.
Forensics – Examining logs, configurations, and other available details to determine what steps a bad actor has taken to infiltrate or compromise systems. Used as part of an IRP.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) – GDPR was drafted and passed by the European Union (EU), the regulations affect organizations anywhere, so long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU. It was introduced to standardize data protection law across the single market and give people in a growing digital economy greater control over how their personal information is used. The scope of the regulation deals with personal data, data processing, and data control.
Hacker — A person who has knowledge and skill in analyzing program code or a computer system, modifying its functions or operations, and altering its abilities and capabilities. A hacker may be ethical and authorized (the original definition) or may be malicious and unauthorized (the altered but current use of the term). Hackers can range from professionals who are skilled programmers to those who have little to no knowledge of the specifics of a system or exploit but who can follow directions; in this instance, they are called script kiddies.
Hacktivism — Attackers who hack for a cause or belief rather than some form of personal gain. Hacktivism is often viewed by attackers as a form of protest or fighting for their perceived “right” or “justice.” However, it is still an illegal activity in most cases when the victim’s technology or data is abused, harmed, or destroyed.
Honeypot — A trap or decoy for attackers. A honeypot is used to distract attackers in order to prevent them from attacking actual production systems. It is a false system that is configured to look and function as a production system and is positioned where it would be encountered by an unauthorized entity who is seeking out a connection or attack point. A honeypot may contain false data in order to trick attackers into spending considerable time and effort attacking and exploiting the false system. A honeypot may also be able to discover new attacks or the identity of the attackers.
IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) — A type of cloud computing service where the provider offers the customer the ability to craft virtual networks within their computing environment. An IaaS solution enables a customer to select which operating systems to install into virtual machines/nodes as well as the structure of the network including the use of virtual switches, routers, and firewalls. It also provides complete freedom as to the software or custom code run on virtual machines. An IaaS solution is the most flexible of all the cloud computing services; it allows for a significant reduction in hardware by the customer in their own local facility. It is the most expensive form of cloud computing service.
Identity cloning — A form of identity theft in which the attacker takes on the identity of a victim and then attempts to live and act as the stolen identity. Identity cloning is often performed in order to hide the birth country or a criminal record of the attacker in order to obtain a job, credit or other secured financial instrument.
Identity fraud — A form of identity theft in which a transaction, typically financial, is performed using the stolen identity of another individual. The fraud is due to the attacker impersonating someone else.
Identity theft— Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.
IDS (Intrusion Detection System) — A security tool that attempts to detect the presence of intruders or the occurrence of security violations in order to notify administrators, enable more detailed or focused logging or even trigger a response such as disconnecting a session or blocking an IP address. An IDS is considered a more passive security tool as it detects compromises after they are already occurring rather than preventing them from becoming successful.
Information security policy — A written account of the security strategy and goals of an organization. A security policy is usually comprised of standards, policies (or SOPs – Standard Operating Procedures) and guidelines. All hardware, software, facilities and personnel must abide by the terms of the security policy of an organization. (Also known as security policy.)
Insider threat — The likelihood or potential that an employee or another form of internal personnel may pose a risk to the stability or security of an organization. An insider has both physical access and logical access (through their network logon credentials). These are the two types of access that an outside attacker must first gain before launching malicious attacks whereas an insider already has both of these forms of access. Thus, an insider is potentially a bigger risk than an outsider if that insider goes rogue or is tricked into causing harm.
IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) — A security tool that attempts to detect the attempt to compromise the security of a target and then prevent that attack from becoming successful. An IPS is considered a more active security tool as it attempts to proactively respond to potential threats. An IPS can block IP addresses, turn off services, block ports and disconnect sessions as well as notify administrators.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) — The organization that provides connectivity to the Internet for individuals or companies. Some ISPs offer additional services above that of just connectivity such as e-mail, web hosting and domain registration.
keylogger — Any means by which the keystrokes of a victim are recorded as they are typed into the physical keyboard. A keylogger can be a software solution or a hardware device used to capture anything that a user might type in including passwords, answers to secret questions or details and information form e-mails, chats and documents.
LAN (Local Area Network) — An interconnection of devices (i.e. a network) that is contained within a limited geographic area (typically a single building). For a typical LAN, all of the network cables or interconnection media is owned and controlled by the organization unlike a WAN (Wide Area Network) where the interconnection media is owned by a third party.
Link jacking — A potentially unethical practice of redirecting a link to a middle-man or aggregator site or location rather than the original site the link seemed to indicate it was directed towards. For example, a news aggregation service may publish links that seem as if they point to the original source of their posted articles, but when a user discovers those links via search or through social networks, the links redirect back to the aggregation site and not the original source of the article.
Malware (malicious software) — Any code written for the specific purpose of causing harm, disclosing information, or otherwise violating the security or stability of a system. Malware includes a wide range of types of malicious programs including viruses, worms, Trojan horses, logic bombs, backdoor, Remote Access Trojan (RAT), rootkit, ransomware, and spyware/adware.
Outsider threat — The likelihood or potential that an outside entity, such as an ex-employee, competitor or even an unhappy customer, may pose a risk to the stability or security of an organization. An outsider must often gain logical or physical access to the target before launching malicious attacks.
Outsourcing — The action of obtaining services from an external entity. Rather than performing certain tasks and internal functions, outsourcing enables an organization to take advantage of external entities that can provide services for a fee. Outsourcing is often used to obtain best-of-breed level service rather than settling for good-enough internal operations. It can be expensive and increases an organization’s security risk due to the exposure of internal information and data to outsiders.
OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) — An Internet community focused on understanding web technologies and exploitations. Their goal is to help anyone with a website improve the security of their site through defensive programming, design, and configuration. Their approach includes understanding attacks in order to know how to defend against them. OWASP offers numerous tools and utilities related to website vulnerability evaluation and discovery as well as a significant amount of training and reference material related to all things web security.
PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) — A type of cloud computing service where the provider offers the customer the ability to operate custom code or applications. A PaaS operator determines which operating systems or execution environments are offered. A PaaS system does not allow the customer to change operating systems, patch the OS or alter the virtual network space. A PaaS system allows the customer to reduce hardware deployment in their own local facility and to take advantage of on-demand computing (also known as pay as you go).
Packet sniffing — The act of collecting frames or packets off of a data network communication. This activity allows the evaluation of the header contents as well as the payload of network communications. Packet sniffing requires that the network interface card be placed into promiscuous mode in order to disable the MAC (Media Access Control) address filter which would otherwise discard any network communications not intended for the specific local network interface. (Also known as sniffing or eavesdropping.)
Patch — An update or change or an operating system or application. A patch is often used to repair flaws or bugs in deployed code as well as introduce new features and capabilities. It is good security practice to test all updates and patches before implementation and attempt to stay current on patches in order to have the latest version of code that has the fewest known flaws and vulnerabilities.
Patch management — The management activity related to researching, testing, approving, and installing updates and patches to computer systems, which includes firmware, operating systems, and applications. A patch is an update, correction, improvement, or expansion of an existing software product through the application of new code issued by the vendor. Patch management is an essential part of security management in order to prevent downtime, minimize vulnerabilities and prevent new untested updates from interfering with productivity.
Payment card skimmers — A malicious device used to read the contents of an ATM, debit, or credit card when inserted into a POS (Point of Sale) payment system. A skimmer may be an internal component or external addition. An attacker will attempt to use whatever means to imbed their skimmer into a payment system that will have the highest likelihood of not being detected and thus gather the most amount of financial information from victims. (See POS intrusions.)
Pen testing — A means of security evaluation where automated tools and manual exploitations are performed by security and attack experts. This is an advanced form of security assessment that should only be used by environments with a mature security infrastructure. A penetration test will use the same tools, techniques, and methodologies as criminal hackers, and thus, it can cause downtime and system damage. However, such evaluations can assist with securing a network by discovering flaws that are not visible to automated tools based on human (i.e. social engineering) or physical attack concepts. (Also known as penetration testing or ethical hacking.)
Phishing — A social engineering attack that attempts to collect information from victims. Phishing attacks can take place over e-mail, text messages, through social networks, or via smartphone apps. The goal of a phishing attack may be to learn logon credentials, credit card information, system configuration details, or other company, network, computer, or personal identity information. Phishing attacks are often successful because they mimic legitimate communications from trusted entities or groups such as false emails from a bank or a retail website.
PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) — A security framework (i.e. a recipe) for using cryptographic concepts in support of secure communications, storage, and job tasks. A PKI solution is a combination of symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, hashing, and digital certificate-based authentication.
POS (Point of Sale) intrusions — An attack that gains access to the POS (Point of Sale) devices at a retail outlet enabling an attacker to learn payment card information as well as other customer details. POS intrusions can occur against a traditional brick-and-mortar retail location as well as any online retail websites. (See payment card skimmers.)
Ransomware — A form of malware that holds a victim’s data hostage on their computer typically through robust encryption. This is followed by a demand for payment in the form of Bitcoin (an untraceable digital currency) in order to release control of the captured data back to the user.
Restore — The process of returning a system back to a state of normalcy. A restore or restoration process may involve formatting the main storage device before reinstalling the operating system and applications as well as copying data from backups onto the reconstituted system.
Risk assessment — The process of evaluating the state of risk of an organization. Risk assessment is often initiated through taking an inventory of all assets, assigning each asset a value, and then considering any potential threats against each asset. Threats are evaluated for their exposure factor (EF) (i.e. the amount of loss that would be caused by the threat causing harm) and frequency of occurrence (i.e. ARO—Annualized Rate of Occurrence) in order to calculate a relative risk value known as the ALE (Annualized Loss Expectancy). The largest ALE indicates the biggest concern or risk for the organization.
Risk management — The process of performing a risk assessment and evaluating the responses to risk in order to mitigate or otherwise handle the identified risks. Countermeasures, safeguards, or security controls are to be selected that may eliminate or reduce risk, assign or transfer risk to others (i.e. outsourcing or buying insurance), or avoid and deter risk. The goal is to reduce risk down to an acceptable or tolerable level.
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) — A type of cloud computing service where the provider offers the customer the ability to use a provided application. Examples of SaaS include online e-mail services or online document editing systems. A user of a SaaS solution is only able to use the offered application and make minor configuration tweaks. The SaaS provider is responsible for maintaining the application.
Sandboxing — A means of isolating applications, code or entire operating systems in order to perform testing or evaluation. The sandbox limits the actions and resources available to the constrained item. This allows for the isolated item to be used for evaluation while preventing any harm or damage to be caused to the host system or related data or storage devices.
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) — A complex mechanism used to gather data and physical world metrics as well as perform measurement or management actions of the monitored systems for the purposes of automatic large complex real-world processes such as oil refining, nuclear power generation, or water filtration. SCADA can provide automated control over very large complex systems whether concentrated in a single physical location or spread across long distances.
Security control — Anything used as part of a security response strategy that addresses a threat in order to reduce risk. (Also known as countermeasure or safeguard.)
Security perimeter — The boundary of a network or private environment where specific security policies and rules are enforced. The systems and users within the security boundary are forced into compliance with local security rules while anything outside is not under such restrictions. The security perimeter prevents any interactions between outside entities and internal entities that might violate or threaten the security of the internal systems.
SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) — A formal process by which the security of an organization is monitored and evaluated on a constant basis. SIEM helps to automatically identify systems that are out of compliance with the security policy as well as to notify the IRT (Incident Response Team) of any security violating events.
Social engineering — An attack focusing on people rather than technology. This type of attack is psychological and aims to either gain access to information or to a logical or physical environment. A social engineering attack may be used to gain access to a facility by tricking a worker into assisting by holding the door when making a delivery, gaining access into a network by tricking a user into revealing their account credentials to the false technical support staff, or gaining copies of data files by encouraging a worker to cut-and-paste confidential materials into an e-mail or social networking post.
SPAM — A form of unwanted or unsolicited messages or communications typically received via e-mail but also occurring through text messaging, social networks, or VoIP. Most SPAM is advertising, but some may include malicious code, malicious hyperlinks, or malicious attachments.
Spear phishing — A form of social engineering attack that is targeted to victims who have an existing digital relationship with an online entity such as a bank or retail website. A spear-phishing message is often an e-mail although there are also text message and VoIP spear phishing attacks as well, which looks exactly like a legitimate communication from a trusted entity. The attack tricks the victim into clicking on a hyperlink to visit a company website only to be re-directed to a false version of the website operated by attackers. The false website will often look and operate similarly to the legitimate site and focus on having the victim provide their logon credentials and potentially other personal identity information such as answers to their security questions, an account number, their social security number, mailing address, email address and/or phone number. The goal of a spear-phishing attack is to steal identity information for the purpose of account takeover or identity theft.
Spoof (spoofing) — The act of falsifying the identity of the source of a communication or interaction. It is possible to spoof an IP address, MAC address, and email address.
Spyware — A form of malware that monitors user activities and reports them to an external third party. Spyware can be legitimate in that it is operated by an advertising and marketing agency for the purpose of gathering customer demographics. However, spyware can also be operated by attackers using the data gathering tool to steal an identity or learn enough about a victim to harm them in other ways.
Supply chain — The path of linked organizations involved in the process of transforming original or raw materials into a finished product that is delivered to a customer. An interruption of the supply chain can cause a termination of the production of the final product immediately or this effect might not be noticed until the materials already in transit across the supply chain are exhausted.
TFA (Two-factor authentication) — The means of proving identity using two authentication factors usually considered stronger than any single-factor authentication. A form of multi-factor authentication. Valid factors for authentication include Type 1: Something you know such as passwords and PINs; Type 2: Something you have such as smart cards or OTP (One Time Password) devices; and Type 3: Someone you are such as fingerprints or retina scans (aka biometrics).
Threat assessment — The process of evaluating the actions, events, and behaviors that can cause harm to an asset or organization. Threat assessment is an element of risk assessment and management. (Also known as threat modeling and threat inventory.)
Trojan Horse (Trojan) — A form of malware where a malicious payload is embedded inside of a benign host file. The victim is tricked into believing that the only file being retrieved is the viewable benign host. However, when the victim uses the host file, the malicious payload is automatically deposited onto their computer system.
Unauthorized access — Any access or use of a computer system, network or resource which is in violation of the company security policy or when the person or user was not explicitly granted authorization to access or use the resource or system.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) — A communication link between systems or networks that is typically encrypted in order to provide a secured, private, isolate pathway of communications.
Virus — A form of malware that often attaches itself to a host file or the MBR (Master Boot Record) as a parasite. When the host file or MBR is accessed, it activates the virus enabling it to infect other objects. Most viruses spread through human activity within and between computers. A virus is typically designed to damage or destroy data, but different viruses implement their attack at different rates, speeds, or targets. For example, some viruses attempt to destroy files on a computer as quickly as possible while others may do so slowly over hours or days. Others might only target images or Word documents (.doc/.docx).
Vishing — A form of phishing attack which takes place over VoIP. In this attack, the attacker uses VoIP systems to be able to call any phone number with no toll-charge expense. The attacker often falsifies their caller-ID in order to trick the victim into believing they are receiving a phone call from a legitimate or trustworthy source such as a bank, retail outlet, law enforcement, or charity. The victims do not need to be using VoIP themselves in order to be attacked over their phone system by a vishing attack. (See phishing.)
Vulnerability — Any weakness in an asset or security protection that would allow for a threat to cause harm. It may be a flaw in coding, a mistake in configuration, a limitation of scope or capability, an error in architecture, design, or logic or a clever abuse of valid systems and their functions.
Whitelist — A security mechanism prohibiting the execution of any program that is not on a pre-approved list of software. The whitelist is often a list of the file name, path, file size, and hash value of the approved software. Any code that is not on the list, whether benign or malicious, will not be able to execute on the protected system. (See blacklist.)
Wi-Fi — A means to support network communication using radio waves rather than cables. The current Wi-Fi or wireless networking technologies are based on the IEE 802.11 standard and its numerous amendments, which address speed, frequency, authentication, and encryption.
Worm — A form of malware that focuses on replication and distribution. A worm is a self-contained malicious program that attempts to duplicate itself and spread to other systems. Generally, the damage caused by a worm is indirect and due to the worm’s replication and distribution activities consuming all system resources. A worm can be used to deposit other forms of malware on each system it encounters.
Zombie — A term related to the malicious concept of a botnet. The term zombie can be used to refer to the system that is host to the malware agent of the botnet or to the malware agent itself. If the former, the zombie is the system that is blinding performing tasks based on instructions from an external and remote hacker. If the latter, the zombie is the tool that is performing malicious actions such as DoS flooding, SPAM transmission, eavesdropping on VoIP calls, or falsifying DNS resolutions as one member of a botnet. | <urn:uuid:54543b26-cb88-412a-99b9-2a75a6d85c07> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://www.alchemer.com/information-security-glossary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964362999.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20211204154554-20211204184554-00597.warc.gz | en | 0.933829 | 9,860 | 2.96875 | 3 |
- EH&S Training & Services
- Occupational Health & Safety
- Confined Space Entry Program
- Construction Safety
- Fire Safety
- Noise Exposure
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Respirator Program
- Shop Safety
- Lab & Research Safety
Autoclave Testing Program
Autoclaves need periodic testing to ensure proper functioning. Oregon Public Health regulations require that autoclaves used to decontaminate regulated wastes such as cultures and stocks be tested monthly by challenge testing using biological indicators containing endospores of the bacterium Geobacillus stearothermophilis.
OSU Biosafety offers autoclave testing kits to researchers or other users on the campus. The kits contain a vial of endospores, information card and return packaging. Users are asked to bury the vial inside a bag of waste, run it in the autoclave, then retrieve the vial and return it to EH&S for evaluation. A report of the results is generated and sent to the user for their records.
To safely decontaminate solid bagged waste, leave the bags closed and place them in secondary containment so any leaks will be captured. Do not overfill the autoclave with bags; one bag at a time is recommended unless the autoclave is very large. Steam must be able to contact all surface areas of the bag. Use heat tape or a temperature chart recorder to validate that each run reaches the appropriate temperature (usually 121 degrees celsius). For waste bags, usually one hour of run time is required; some campus autoclaves need more time. A dry cycle can be used.
After the autoclave has come returned to ambient pressure, carefully open it an inch or two to allow excess steam to escape before opening the door completely. Use thermal gloves to handle hot materials when removing them from the autoclave. | <urn:uuid:11cb2778-7e6b-4ad7-b6fe-12d304ccfc16> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | http://podcast.oregonstate.edu/ehs/autoclave-testing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698540975.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170900-00071-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.859962 | 386 | 2.796875 | 3 |
U.S. Geological Survey researchers said photos show erosion is occurring as water releases from Glen
Canyon Dam vary to meet peak power demands and interstate water-sharing agreements, the Arizona Daily Sun reported Wednesday.
Sand in the Colorado River is believed to be linked to the creation of backwaters that could help
promote the survival of some fish species, the newspaper said. Boaters use beaches for camping. Grand
Canyon Superintendent Steve Martin has proposed more regular floods to improve the canyon's ecosystem | <urn:uuid:91ce9840-0e5d-46ee-8a1f-eacd961bdec1> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/09/11/Grand-Canyon-beaches-eroding/UPI-20341221181268/?rel=32931354226847 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657136181.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011216-00215-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946413 | 101 | 2.71875 | 3 |
This booklet give parents and caregivers tips on how to avoid some of the most common and dangerous child and infant-related injuries, including window falls, drowning, shaken baby syndrome, and unintended poisonings in the home.
Download the Booklet (English)
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Each year, young children are injured or die in falls from windows. Even a fall from a first-floor window can kill a child. Window falls can happen in a second, but window guards can prevent them. And the law requires them.
The NYC Health Code requires owners of buildings of three or more apartments to provide and properly install window guards on all windows in an apartment where children 10-years-old or younger live and in each hallway window.
If your landlord refuses to install window guards or they aren’t properly installed, call 311.
Download the brochure. | <urn:uuid:bd151b48-bcaf-446b-a3b8-7b7703ec0378> | CC-MAIN-2022-49 | https://www.nyc.gov/site/acs/child-welfare/take-good-care.page | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-49/segments/1669446711278.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20221208050236-20221208080236-00038.warc.gz | en | 0.902872 | 198 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Protect your child's teeth through the cavity-prone years, ages 6 to 14, when back teeth are first susceptible to decay.
Sealants provide extra protection on children’s teeth until they learn how to do a better job of brushing and flossing.
Sealants act as barriers, protecting the teeth against decay-causing bacteria. These treatments are usually applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth (premolars and molars) where decay occurs most often.
The application of dental sealants is a simple, painless procedure that’s also relatively inexpensive when compared to the costs of filling a cavity.
What are dental sealants?
Sealants are made of a white or clear acrylic material. They help shield bacteria which causes decay on the surfaces of the back teeth.
How can sealants prevent decay?
The sealant material bonds to the chewing surface of the back teeth, forming a protective barrier covering the depressions and grooves (pits and fissures) of the molars.
Why are sealants necessary?
Because the depressions and grooves (pits and fissures) on the back teeth are difficult to keep clean. The toothbrush bristles cannot reach deep into them. These depressions and grooves are snug places for food and plaque to hide. By coating the grooves with a thick covering of sealant material, plaque and food is kept out, decreasing the chances of decay.
Which teeth are suitable for sealants?
First and second molars are most likely to benefit from sealant applications. In children, it is best to seal these molars right after they have erupted, catching them well before decay sets in. First molars generally appear around six years of age, and second molars around 12 years of age. Children between the ages of six and 14 benefit the most from sealants.
How are sealants applied?
During an examination, a dentist will determine which teeth can and should be sealed. The application of sealants is very simple and is completely painless. First, the teeth are cleaned. Then, in preparation for the sealant material, the teeth are dabbed with a very mild solution similar in strength to vinegar or lemon juice. This will roughen the tooth surface slightly so that the sealant will bond properly to the tooth. After the tooth has been prepared, the acrylic sealant material is painted onto the tooth. It will flow into the depressions and grooves (pits and fissures) of the tooth, and it hardens in about 60 seconds, after which time bacteria can no longer reach the pits and grooves of the teeth.
Have sealants been thoroughly tested?
Yes. Thousands of children around the world have had their teeth sealed in clinical studies, proving sealants to be effective, inexpensive, easy to apply, and nontoxic.
How long will dental sealants last?
A sealant application generally lasts for five years, and in many cases, even longer. Be sure to check your children’s teeth regularly, and reapply the sealants when they appear to have worn off. | <urn:uuid:5f4f83f9-346c-421c-8b39-cc06f1841564> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://www.greenbergdental.com/services/dental-sealant/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202161.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20190319224005-20190320010005-00149.warc.gz | en | 0.936543 | 644 | 3.46875 | 3 |
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- There is a real difference between "dog people" and "cat people," a University of Texas at Austin psychologist says.
Sam Gosling, who conducted the study with graduate student Carson Sandy, says that those who define themselves as dog people are more extroverted, more agreeable and more conscientious than self-described "cat people."
Meanwhile, fans of felines are more neurotic, but more open than their canine-loving counterparts.
"There is a widely held cultural belief that the pet species -- dog or cat -- with which a person has the strongest affinity says something about the individual's personality," Gosling says in a statement. "This research suggests there are significant differences on major personality traits between dog people and cat people."
The researchers asked 4,565 volunteers if they were dog people, cat people, neither or both. The same group was given a 44-item assessment used by psychologists to study personalities.
The findings, published in the journal Anthrozoos, indicate:
-- Forty-six percent described themselves as dog people, 12 percent said they were cat people, almost 28 percent said they were both and 15 percent said they were neither.
-- Dog people were generally about 15 percent more extroverted, 13 percent more agreeable and 11 percent more conscientious than cat people.
-- Cat people were generally about 12 percent more neurotic and 11 percent more open than dog people. | <urn:uuid:f2c5cec9-13a0-4271-a7ee-bd4fc41f3999> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2010/01/13/Personalities-of-dog-and-cat-fans-differ/UPI-19331263413959/?st_rec=77951045508400 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934805761.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20171119191646-20171119211646-00258.warc.gz | en | 0.984283 | 299 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Bright LED lights are a new technology that is becoming more popular in the market. LED lights are made of light emitting diodes. A diode is an electronic component that only allows electricity to flow in one direction. This is why a LED light can only be on one side, and it needs a resistor to limit the current and protect the LED.
Bright LED lights are made of a semiconductor material that emits light when an electric current passes through it. This makes LED lights very efficient because they use less energy than traditional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs to produce the same amount of light. These lights can last up to 50,000 hours, which is significantly longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.
When it comes to Bright LED lights, there are a few things you need to consider before making your purchase.
The brightness, color, and size of the light are all important factors to think about.
Brightness is measured in lumens, the higher the lumen rating, the brighter the light. Brightness is key when it comes to LED lights. You want to make sure that the light is bright enough for your needs. If you are using the light for a specific task, then you will want to make sure that it is bright enough to see what you are doing.
Color is also an important consideration. People often forget about the importance of color when it comes to LED lights. The color of the light can drastically alter the appearance of a space, so it’s important to choose a light that compliments your decor or mood. For example, if you’re going for a relaxing atmosphere in your home, you might want to choose a soft, yellow light. If you’re looking to create a more energetic vibe, brighter colors like blue or green might be better suited. You want to choose a light that compliments your decor or matches the colors in your home.
When it comes to Bright LED lights, size is another important factor to consider. You don’t want a light that is too big or too small for your needs. For example, if you are looking for a light to use while camping, you’ll want something that is small and easily portable. On the other hand, if you are looking for a light to use in your home, you may want something that is a bit bigger and more powerful. Make sure to measure the area where you plan to place the light and choose a model that will fit.
Type of lighting Bright LED lights
Another important factor to consider is the type of lighting that a light produces. The most common types of lighting are flood lights, spot lights, and halogen lights. Flood lights are more likely to be used for lighting up large areas such as parking lots or entire buildings. Spot lights are good for lighting up smaller areas, such as a specific area in your yard. Halogen lights are the most powerful type of lighting and are usually found on more expensive flashlights. Halogen lights will also produce a more focused beam of light than other types of light.
Finally, think about how long you want the light to last. Some LED lights last for up to 50,000 hours, while others only last for 10,000 hours. If you want the light to last for a long time but also need it to be bright, get a light with an LED module that can be easily replaced.
When you are choosing LED lights, keep these things in mind to make sure you are getting the best product for your needs. | <urn:uuid:f6ffb581-59f9-4550-9d22-402cdda60dd9> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://f95zoneweb.com/effectively-light-your-home-or-office-with-bright-led-lights/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296943562.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20230320211022-20230321001022-00211.warc.gz | en | 0.955422 | 726 | 2.703125 | 3 |
India is world renowned for its deep rooted cultural heritage and traditions. For that matter, even Indian food is making its presence felt on a global stage. In fact, Indian food items are in popular demand due to high spice content in them. The most remarkable aspect being: Indian spices not only add to the taste or aroma, but hold certain medicinal values to. Some of India’s medicinal spices include: celery, coriander, cumin, and mint. These spices prove to be the perfect antidote against a range of diseases like common cold, cough to cancerous tumors. Though these spices are cultivated in other parts of the world, the ones that are produced in India are unmatchable. Almost all Indian spices are associated with some unique quality; however some of them are more in demand as opposed to others. Here are some such spices with high medicinal vlaue:
1) Bishop's-Weed: Known as ‘Ajwain’ in layman’s language, the bishop’s weed is utilized both in the food and the pharmaceutical industry. It even used as a food preservative. It closely looks like cumin, but it is totally different in taste. Good for digestion, so widely used in various pulses and vegetable that are heavy to digest. The spice is primarily grown in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat in India.
2) Black Pepper: Known as ‘Kali Mirch’ in layman’s language. In appearance it is a tiny, black coloured with a rough surface. For the uninitiated, there are white, green and red peppers. The pepper plant is primarily cultivated in Kerala because the soil over there is moist and organically rich soil.
3) Cardamom: Known as ‘Elaichi’ in layman’s language. The spice is widely used in Scandinavian and Indian cuisine for aroma and taste. Even in beverages the spice is extensively used for flavoring purposes. There are two types of spices: green coloured cardamom, which is small in size, while black coloured cardamom is big sized. Cardomom in India is mostly grown in southern states.
4) Clove: Known as ‘Laung’ in layman’s language. The spice is sweet-swelling and possesses remarkable medicinal qualities. Clove consists of good amount of oil so it used even in making oil. Also used in the fabrication of toiletries. The spice has its origins in India, but today it can be found in many parts of the world.
5) Coriander: Known as ‘Dhania’ in layman’s language it is commonly used in the Indian cuisine. It is used both as fresh leaves and in dried form. Coriander also adds aroma and flavor to food items. More often than not, it is scattered in raw form over some dishes too etc. to add to the appearance and taste. The spice is cultivated in states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
6) Turmeric: Known as ‘Haldi’ in layman’s language, turmeric is a spice known for its high medicinal value. The spice hails from the ginger family. It is used both in solid and powdered form. Apart from adding taste, it also gives good colour. It’s utility and value is beyond imagination. In fact it’s popularly used in both the pharmaceutical and food industry.
Ayurveda –India’s traditional medicine uses an assortment of spices. These spices include pepper, turmeric paste, ginger, cardamom and coriander.
Indian Spices, today, have nothing Indian about them, as they are in popular demand all across the globe. People all across have started giving due weight age to spices both in terms of food and medicine. The growing demand is giving a significant boost to the agricultural industry of India, which cultivates a considerably large part of the world spice production. | <urn:uuid:c001cfdf-4924-456e-af78-4814d50a7716> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://made-from-india.com/article/Indian-Spices-having-medicinal-value-273.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1398223207046.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20140423032007-00658-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950915 | 823 | 2.90625 | 3 |
As clean as electric aircraft can be, there’s still one kind of pollution they still produce: noise. Even that might go away before long, though. MIT researchers have successfully flown an ionic wind-powered aircraft that doesn’t use any moving parts. The 16-foot wide machine stays aloft by charging wires with a high enough voltage (40,000V) that they strip negatively-charged electrons from air molecules, which are promptly attracted to negative electrodes at the back of the aircraft. The collisions from that newly-formed ionic wind create the thrust needed to keep the vehicle airborne.
Nervous fliers, stop reading now.
The Department of Defense has accused China of hitting US military aircraft with blinding lasers. The laser beams, which allegedly came from China’s military base in the African nation of Djibouti, have been striking aircraft landing at the nearby US military base. Continue reading Pentagon Accuses China of Striking US Military Aircraft With Blinding Lasers
Airliners are growing ever bigger to haul more people per flight, which means they need appropriately massive engines — and GE Aviation is happy to oblige. It recently conducted the first test flight of the GE9X, widely billed as the world’s largest jet engine. It’s easy to believe the claim from a glimpse (it’s as wide as a Boeing 737), but the specs back it up as well: it has a whopping 11.2ft diameter front fan that, combined with carbon fiber blades, a next-gen high-pressure compressor and a new combustor, puts out over 100,000 pounds of thrust. For comparison, some of the earliest GE90 engines aboard Boeing 777s kicked out ‘just’ 74,000 pounds.
Don’t be surprised if you see a very large, very unusual drone flying through Nevada’s skies. The state’s Institute for Autonomous Systems has given China’s EHang permission to test fly its passenger-toting 184 dronelater this year. In addition to providing basic clearance, the move will also have the Institute create criteria that shows the airworthiness of the autonomous single-seater to the Federal Aviation Administration. It’s not certain just where the 184 will fly, although it’ll sometimes need restricted airspace. EHang won’t just be flying in the empty desert, then.
Since last Friday, search teams have been gathering debris from the crash site of Flight MS804. Now, an Egyptian forensics official has admitted that from what’s been recovered so far it seems likely there was an explosion aboard the airplane.
Here’s a British Airways Airbus A380 attempting to land at the Vancouver airport. You can see the world’s largest passenger airplane make its final approach and come so, so close to the ground—but then decide to abort and make a go-around instead. It’s crazy impressive to see such a big plane make a maneuver like this. | <urn:uuid:e1ec8ca8-c701-44c1-8bfb-09337f769253> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://thafcc.wordpress.com/tag/aircraft/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627999814.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190625072148-20190625094148-00412.warc.gz | en | 0.9301 | 623 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Dr. Harman Speaks on Equine Metabolic
Syndrome (Cushings) and Laminitis
Founder. Laminitis. Two dreaded words to horse owners. Both affect the feet. Triggered by a metabolic change, or by damage directly to the hooves, laminitis (inflammation of the hoof capsule laminae) can result in founder (separation of the laminae that hold the inner coffin bone to the hoof wall), causing pain and lameness that shorten many horses' lives.
Today, a more subtle type of laminitis/ founder is on the rise that involves glucose intolerance similar to diabetes. This form of laminitis stems from condition called Equine Metabolic Syndrome that was previously thought to affect only older horses.
Holistic veterinarian Dr. Joyce Harman of Virginia sheds light on what has in the past been called Cushings-related laminitis. "T he new term that has been accepted in human medicine and now in equine medicine is Equine Metabolic Syndrome. This is a very large syndrome rather than a specific disease," Dr. Harman says. "It is being diagnosed with increased frequency and the condition is being seen in younger horses. T he primary causes are overfeeding rich feed, sweet feed, soybean meal, stress, genetics (thrifty genotype as it is called in human medicine), over-vaccination, and overuse of steroid drugs and antibiotics leading to internal stress - basically modern horse life that is not all that different from what humans are going through.
The symptoms for Equine Metabolic Syndrome are numerous. According to Dr. Harman they include: hirsutism (long hair that does not shed out in the summer), refractory laminitis, winter laminitis, weight problems (over or under weight), sluggish thyroid glands, insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, muscle soreness, diabetes, stocking-up of legs (especially hinds), polyuria/polydipsia (drinking and urinating excessively), collagen breakdown, poor hair coat, frequent infections of the skin or other organs (including chronic hoof abscessing), poor teeth, multiple dental abnormalities, increased colic, lowered immunity to intestinal parasites, decreased intestinal wall integrity, infertility, and muscle wasting.
"Laboratory diagnosis of Equine Metabolic Syndrome can be unrewarding, as it is difficult to test for accurately," Dr. Harman says. "If a horse has even just a few of these symptoms, with or without chronic laminitis, it is probably related to Equine Metabolic Syndrome.
"Equine Metabolic Syndrome is very closely related to what's called in people insulin resistance, or Syndrome X, which is where the cells basically become too stiff to allow the insulin to carry the glucose into the cells. Glucose is needed by each cell for fuel to burn for energy. Glucose comes out of all foods but is very concentrated in sweet feeds and rich green grass. Many horses are basically easy keepers and are very sensitive to the effects of too much glucose.
"As the body gets bombarded with excessive amounts of glucose and the cells become too stiff to allow the insulin to carry the glucose into the cells, the insulin system becomes essentially worn out. Consequently, when the insulin is not utilized correctly by the body, the glucose ends up being stored as fat rather than being used as fuel.
"This sets up numerous metabolic disorders, of which one of the complications is chronic laminitis.
"Another thing that happens in a lot of these horses is that they have high levels of steroids internally, or endogenous steroids, and those seem to weaken the elastic tissue of the hoof wall. The steroids are the body's natural response to stress, and this stress can come from many reasons, including regular travel and shows, keeping horses in confinement without turnout, overcrowding in fields, illnesses, chronic disease and constant drug treatment to name a few things.
Dr. Harman refers to the work of laminitis researcher Dr. Chris Pollitt of Australia and the Streptococcus bovis bacteria he discovered that stems from the hindgut, multiplies and triggers enzymes that cause the lamina to separate. Her concern, from a holistic standpoint, is that many of our standard stable management practices increase intestinal permeability, causing "leaky gut", and therefore laminitis.
"When the gut wall becomes inflamed, it leaks undigested food particles through to the liver," Dr. Harman continues. "The liver detects the foreign material and goes into overdrive trying to solve the problem. Many of the vaccines and drugs we use on a regular basis over-tax the liver, and it has a difficult time coping with the overload. This, in turn, stresses the immune system, and can contribute to arthritis and other symptoms of internal stress that increase the body's steroids (well documented in the human literature), which we treat with drugs, particularly anti-inflammatories that can further inflame the gut wall, resulting in a vicious cycle.
"Leaky gut can be caused by overuse of antibiotics, which kill off both the good bacteria and the bad," Dr. Harman says. "Yeast (candida) overload also inflames the gut wall, as well as phenylbutazone (bute). Throw in a little stress, and you have a recipe for potential laminitic disaster.
"One of the problems that we see is that we feed an awful lot of phenylbutazone to laminitic horses. Also, a lot of horses live on bute long before they become laminitic, and bute itself causes inflammation of the gut wall and actually makes the gut wall leaky. If we are indeed helping to make this gut wall leaky, my big question is, are we allowing this [ Streptococcus bovis ] bacterial toxin to migrate more easily?
"I think that we are. So when we remove the bute and treat these horses holistically, we get a much better response to the treatment. The horses might be uncomfortable for a few days as they are getting accustomed to not having the bute, but in the end, they start to heal, usually in about three to four days."
And how does Dr. Harman treat these horses holistically? "To treat these horses naturally requires more than just throwing a few natural substances at them," she says. "It really takes a concerted effort to figure out what each individual needs.
"Equine Metabolic Syndrome is one of those perfect examples of what alternative or holistic medicine is about. We have to really look at the individual horse. I cannot emphasize this enough. Some horses need one minimal treatment with one or two ingredients. Some horses need multiple ingredients because their systems have already started breaking down so much, they cannot repair themselves without a lot of support."
Ponies, Morgans, Arabs, Mustangs and gaited breeds have perhaps inherited the ability to conserve their metabolism for times of hardship and an overload in feed can throw them into laminitic disaster. Dr. Harman says, "ALL the easy keepers, whether a breed or just an individual within a breed, are susceptible to being fed too much as are horses that are just plain overfed even though they have normal metabolisms if fed normally. You always have to take into consideration the individual horse and the availability of feed in the area they live. Alfalfa can be a very good source of protein for horses, if they can tolerate it. There is nothing in it that makes it hard to digest; for many horses it is too rich. For the horse that is underweight or has lost weight during a bout of laminitis because grain has been taken away, grain or alfalfa is needed to increase protein levels. Those horses are protein deficient. The average overweight horse does not need much grain or rich hay of any sort; grass hay can be too rich if it is made well. Many horses need only a late-cut rough hay, not moldy, just cut too late to look really nice and green. If horses are supported nutritionally and, even better, with homeopathy or Chinese herbs, it is possible to feed some grain or rich hay and the horse will be safe.
Dr. Harman views nutritional supplementation as critical to helping these horses, particularly mineral supplementation. She recommends beginning with probiotic treatment to repair the gut, and cheap isn't better - buy the best you can. Fermented probiotics balance the pH level of the gut and help repair the gut wall. Keep non-fermented probiotics refrigerated and feed as directed. Glutamine, an amino acid, helps the gut wall and can be fed, as well as the herbs slippery elm and aloe vera. Digestive enzymes are also helpful, and a candida type herbal cleanser may be necessary.
Basic nutrition includes unprocessed feeds low in sugar. Free choice minerals are very important, especially trace minerals, and should be available separate from the salt. Equine Metabolic Syndrome horses require extra minerals, especially magnesium, chromium, and vanadium. MSM, a sulfur, can be helpful, as it relieves sore muscles, adds flexibility to the cells, and repairs scar tissue. Glandular supplements, available from veterinarians, work well for stimulating hair to shed and enhance the function of the hormonal system. Vitamin C also aids the immune system. Coenzyme Q10 (500-600 mg/day) is an important antioxidant in the early stages of laminitis, and is helpful in lower doses later on. Omega 3 essential fatty acids (found in hemp oil and flax oil or meal) make the cells more permeable. High doses are needed to be effective, with 4-6 ounces twice a day of the stabilized meal or 4-6 tablespoons of the oil. A high quality multivitamin and whole foods such as apples (have a lower glycemic index than carrots) and rice bran are recommended."
"The horse also needs stress reduction, and help for the rest of the body, therefore chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese herbs and homeopathics may be called for. Homeopathy is one of the branches of natural medicine where you really need to be working with a professional homeopath that is accustomed to dealing with laminitis cases," Dr. Harman says.
"But that's part of the key in taking most of these horses off of bute; you don't just walk up and say, 'OK, I'm going to take him off the bute' and leave him hanging. You have to use the rest of the tools available.
"To help prevent Equine Metabolic Syndrome, it is best to keep your horse physically fit and trim with plenty of turnout time and friends to keep him happy. This sounds great on paper, but the realities of life are that this is not possible much of the time, but is a good goal to work towards. Only feed as much low protein, low sugar grain as it takes to maintain body weight. If your horse is getting fat, you may need to use a muzzle if he is on grass, or make a small pen where there is little grass. Reduce stress as much as possible; think about competition schedules and giving time off between them. Think about the amount of drugs and other chemicals you are putting into his body. Even chemical fly spray may contribute by affecting the thyroid gland. If you see any signs of lumpy fat that looks like cellulite on the crest or near the tail, that is a serious sign of trouble brewing. As a baseline, feed fat horses supplements with high levels of flax or hemp as well as minerals to keep the glucose metabolism as healthy as possible. And above all, ride and have fun; that keeps the fitness part going.
"Equine Metabolic Syndrome is becoming more frequently recognized and overall a bigger problem in equine medicine. The more you can learn about health from a natural perspective, the better off your horse will be."
© 2003 Dawn Jenkins
Natural Horse Magazine and Dawn Jenkins thank Dr. Joyce Harman for her invaluable expertise and assistance in preparing this article.
Joyce Harman, DVM, MRCVS graduated from Virginia Tech in 1984. She operates Harmany Equine Clinic, Ltd., a holistic veterinary practice in Northern Virginia . Dr. Harman can be reached at: (540) 675-1855, email@example.com .
Dawn Jenkins is a farrier and freelance writer in the mountains outside of Los Angeles, California . She can be reached at: (661) 245-2182 firstname.lastname@example.org . | <urn:uuid:745e6821-440b-4777-83d4-0c3a1410f0c5> | CC-MAIN-2015-40 | http://www.naturalhorse.com/archive/volume5/Issue5/article_8.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-40/segments/1443737911339.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20151001221831-00251-ip-10-137-6-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95376 | 2,607 | 2.6875 | 3 |
The great majority of ceramics in this category are green-glazed or “celadon” wares, which is the most representative kind of ceramics produced during the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). While in Korea this type of ceramic is called "cheongja" - meaning blue-green wares – the term “celadon” has been used in the West and likewise refers to the green colour of these wares.
It is assumed that the early production of celadon wares was instructed by potters from China, from the Yue kilns in present-day Zhejiang Province. By the 10th century, Korea produced its own celadon wares. The typical green colour was attained by applying a feldspar glaze with little iron content to the refined stoneware body and firing in a reduced oxygen atmosphere. The most remarkable results were achieved in the 12th century, a smooth glaze with a vibrant green colour, also known as “bisaek” – jade colour. Celadon ceramics were decorated by incising, carving, press-moulding and inlaying, by painting the surface with iron and copper oxide or gold, or by applying layers of red ocher and white slip. Animal, fruit and plant shapes were most popular. The inlay decoration technique, called “sanggam,” counts as one of the major accomplishments of Goryeo artistry and is displayed in great variety in the objects in this category. Many of the celadons the collection are tea wares, which is closely related to the development and proliferation of tea culture (among the upper class) in Korea during the Goryeo period.
Apart from celadon wares that were produced for the higher social stratum, unglazed stoneware vessels, like the object with the number 29 (see Ceramics 1) that had been produced in a similar fashion in earlier periods, continued to be supplied throughout the Goryeo period. Furthermore, Goryeo potters also produced ceramics with black or brown iron glazes (No. 26, see Ceramics 1) which followed similar ceramics produced in Song dynasty China (960–1279). | <urn:uuid:e73bca93-b1a5-4c32-a8e3-ce9f23ced487> | CC-MAIN-2018-43 | http://www.kringla.nu/kringla/objekt?referens=SMVK-OM/showcase/866796 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-43/segments/1539583514314.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20181021181851-20181021203351-00543.warc.gz | en | 0.973169 | 476 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Between now and July 31, ten weird, wonderful and beautiful previously unseen objects go on display at ten venues. In a twist, they then swap venues halfway through the run for a re-interpretation by their new hosts. Here’s part two of the inside track from the venues...
Model bone guillotine made by POWs at Norman Cross prison camp, (early 19th century)
© Vivacity Culture and Leisure
“This working model guillotine is made of cow bone crafted by prisoners of war held at Norman Cross prison camp near Peterborough during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815).
The prisoners made objects from bone, straw and wood for sale at a local market. As well as working models like this they made chess sets, jewellery boxes and toy ships.
Model guillotines, which decapitate a model ‘victim’ when a lever is moved, were particularly popular. They appealed to English people’s morbid fascination with the French Revolution and all things gory.
The intricate models were made by candlelight from the remains of animal bones in the prisoner’s meals – in this case beef.
They used handmade tools, even using broken glass for cutting, as knives were forbidden.
Peterborough Museum has a collection of around 700 items made by Napoleonic prisoners of war, the largest public collection of prisoner of war craftwork anywhere in the world.”
Natural History Museum, London:
“Carving animal products for fun rather than function is a skill which appeared about 50,000 years ago, around the time modern humans emerged from Africa and began their domination of the world.
These sophisticated people crafted bone, tusk and ivory into jewellery, figures and musical instruments, among them flutes from cave bear bones and drawings of horses etched into mammoth bone. It’s the perfect material to carve, long-lasting and in plentiful supply.
Because the bone used to build this guillotine no longer shows any of its original shape or size, it’s very hard to identify the animal it comes from.
But we know from written records it is likely to have been one of the animals given to the prisoners as food.”
Set of ten ivory mathematical puzzles in a black lacquer box, made in China (1800s)
© Science Museum
“What pleasure do you get from puzzles? While we do not know who owned this particular set, puzzles like these have intrigued both adults and children for over 200 years.
Whether you find them fun or sometimes frustrating, puzzles are valuable tools to train the mind in creative and logical thinking.
They can also pose profound problems in mathematics. Changes in a shape’s position or appearance are explored by mathematical disciplines such as geometry and topology.
As trade opened up between China and Europe during the early 1800s, items such as these were brought back as gifts and souvenirs from Canton, China.
Tangrams were the world’s first puzzle craze – they became a sensation when introduced to Europe around 1817, much like the Rubik’s cube fad of the 1980s.
Tangrams are made up of several pieces - known as ‘tans’ - which form a square.
These pieces can be reassembled to make different shapes, according to problems posed by a picture book.”
Discovery Museum, Newcastle:
“Here we see the beauty of ivory, a natural material, and can admire the wonderful craft skills demonstrated by its makers.
Ivory can be carved into accurate, detailed shapes. In appearance it has a pleasing, soft colour and a subtle texture. It is ‘warm’ to the touch.
Ivory objects are made of dentine from the teeth and tusks of animals, such as elephants. Elaborately decorated works of art and religious objects have been made of ivory for many centuries.
With the growth of world trade those skills were applied to the production of gifts and travellers’ souvenirs.
A trade also developed in ivory as a raw material for mass-produced items such as knife handles, piano keys and billiard balls.
Widespread hunting led to near-extinction for some species. Now illegal, the ivory trade has become a complex international challenge.”
Early Joseph Swan carbon filament lamp, with Swan patent lampholder (1881) and quick break switch made under John H Holmes’s patent no. 3256 (late 1880s)
Discovery Museum, Newcastle:
© Discovery Museum
“When we switch on a light we seldom spare a thought for the inventors of two of the world’s most common devices.
On October 20 1880, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Joseph Swan demonstrated that his experimental light bulb was ready for practical use.
A young man in the audience, John Holmes, was so inspired by its potential that he asked Swan if he could be his assistant.
The two men never worked together but, in 1883, Holmes started a successful domestic electric lighting business on Tyneside by promoting the advantages of Swan lightbulbs over gas lamps.
Holmes soon saw that electric switches were a serious fire hazard. They sparked when users turned them halfway to try to dim light bulbs like they would a gas jet.
In 1884 he patented a ‘quick-break’ switch which could only be either ‘on’ or ‘off’. Ever since then nearly all switches have used the ‘quick-break’ principle.
New technology is replacing the light bulb, but we will be using the quick-break switch invented by John Holmes far into the future.
The Incandescent Electric Lamp (light bulb) and lamp holder is the first type of light bulb to be made for use in the home. It cost 35 shillings – roughly equivalent to £130 today.
Early switches worked by turning a central knob or a small handle, because they were modelled on a gas tap. There is a small spring inside which activates the quick-break mechanism."
“Look closely at this light bulb made by Joseph Swan. At the top of the bulb is a spike or ‘pip’ where the air inside the bulb was pumped out to create a vacuum before the glass was sealed.
Inside the bulb is what looks like a loop of wire, known as the filament. In fact it is made of cotton thread and appears black because it was ‘carbonised’ – a process of heating it in a furnace.
Carbon was one of the few affordable materials then available that could withstand the heat as electricity was passed through it.
Carbon caused bulbs to blacken and Swan developed a method to reduce this. Heating the filament as air was removed from the bulb improved the vacuum so that fewer carbon particles travelled from the hot filament to the cool sides of the glass.
Fire was one of the risks of early electric lighting. People were used to gas lights that featured taps which could adjust the level of light by regulating the flow of gas.
When they tried to adjust an electric light switch in the same way, electricity would spark between the points of the switch and lead to fires.
John Holmes designed this switch with a spring mechanism that snaps the switch to either an on or off position. This ‘quick break’ prevented electricity from arcing.
The ceramic exterior of the light switch further reduced the risk of shock and fire."
Cigar holder representing the coronation of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (1864-1867). Meerschaum, unknown maker
© Science Museum/Wellcome Library
“Ornately carved from meerschaum – a versatile clay like material typically used in traditional pipe making – this extravagant cigar holder was made in 1864 to celebrate the coronation of Ludwig II (1845-1886).
Ludwig was the monarch of Bavaria until his death, and was renowned for his passion for building fairytale-like castles; he was also a significant patron of the arts.
The exquisitely delicate carving of the majestic coach and six horses provides a fascinating insight into the unusual life of Ludwig and his somewhat flamboyant tastes. It also exemplifies the rich diversity of Henry Wellcome’s collection and his eclectic approach to acquiring extraordinary objects.
The history of smoking dates back to as early as 5000 BC as part of religious or cultural ceremonies, and the use of tobacco for medicinal purposes has ancient origins.
It wasn’t until the 1920s that the adverse health effects became more noticeable and statistical evidence emerged linking tobacco with lung cancer.
The Wellcome Library holdings include many smoking and tobacco related items, including the archives of the anti-smoking charity, ASH.”
“Waddesdon was built slightly later than King Ludwig’s fairytale castle at Neuschwanstein and required similarly drastic measures to level the top of the hill for the foundations.
It also incorporated many of the technological features employed by Ludwig, including steel construction, central heating and hot and cold running water.
While Rothschild collecting taste is usually associated with the French 18th-century decorative arts, the family originated in Frankfurt and never forgot their humble German roots.
At the Dairy on the Waddesdon estate, Baron Ferdinand created a Curio Room which he filled with German stoneware and furniture made of antlers.
Although she abhorred smoking, Ferdinand’s sister, Alice, collected pipes at her Villa Victoria at Grasse in southern France. Many of them were German, in extraordinary shapes and materials.
On her death, she left the collection to the local museum, but a few pipes returned to England and are in the private family collection.”
Oval dish from 'New Dulong' pattern service (late 18th century). Hard-paste porcelain. Meissen manufactory, Germany
© The National Trust, Waddesdon
“Each piece from this service is painted with flowers surrounded by birds in gilt-edged compartments. Founded in 1710, the Meissen factory, outside Dresden, was the first in Europe to discover the secret of hard-paste porcelain.
Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild was furnishing Waddesdon in the 1880s and was a major collector of 18th-century porcelain. Services from Meissen and Sèvres were used for dining and carefully washed and stored in the Housekeeper’s room.
Birds particularly appealed to Ferdinand and appear in many decorative forms at Waddesdon, on textiles, in paintings and in porcelain, modelled from life.
Ferdinand built an Aviary in the gardens around 1889. Stocked with exotic species, visiting the Aviary was part of the experience of house party guests.
The Aviary fell into disrepair in the early 20th century, but was restored in the 1960s. Today it is home to endangered species of birds with an active breeding programme."
“This dish forms part of an extensive collection of porcelain, amongst innumerable treasures acquired by the Rothschild family over several generations at Waddesdon Manor.
The Rothschild tradition for collecting on a grand scale reflects the equally impressive collecting ambitions of Sir Henry Wellcome, who by the time of his death had amassed around 1.5 million items related to the history of health and medicine.
The various birds depicted include several well-known species such as the Great Tit and Bullfinch, as well as other more exotic species.
While Ferdinand de Rothschild created his own personal Aviary at Waddesdon, his cousin Lionel Walter Rothschild later established a Museum of Zoology in Tring, now home to the Natural History Museum’s ornithological collections, including Darwin’s finches from the Galapagos.
These distant relatives of the Bullfinch were thought to have sparked Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.
However, recent research has revealed that mockingbirds, also collected by Darwin, were in fact the key.” | <urn:uuid:36316f31-5a0e-4972-becf-2833ac279eff> | CC-MAIN-2014-23 | http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art438876 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-23/segments/1406510261249.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20140728011741-00077-ip-10-146-231-18.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963301 | 2,512 | 2.765625 | 3 |
More children in the United States suffer from food allergies than ever before. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies in children increased 18% from 1997 to 2007.
It is estimated that 25% of allergic reactions that occur in school involve children who haven’t been previously diagnosed with food allergies. By identifying food allergies when your child is a baby, you can keep your child safe and healthy.
Food Groups That Have Allergy Risks
The following food groups are responsible for allergic reactions 90% of the time. You might want to wait until your baby is older to try some of the foods listed. Many experts suggest waiting until a child reaches three years of age before trying peanuts for the first time. Always consult your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about a particular food.
●Tree nuts (walnuts or almonds)
Introduce Foods Gradually
You should introduce new foods to your baby gradually so you can identify an allergic reaction if one occurs. When introducing new foods to your baby’s diet, you should wait three to five days before adding another new food. You don’t have to eliminate foods your baby is already eating as long as nothing new is added to their diet.
Symptoms of an Allergy
A reaction to a particular food usually appears very quickly after the food is digested. You should watch out for the following symptoms when introducing a new food to your child. If your child develops a more severe reaction such as swelling on the face or severe vomiting or diarrhea after eating, call 911 immediately.
●Flushed skin or rash
●Face, tongue, or lip swelling
●Vomiting and/or diarrhea
●Coughing or wheezing
●Loss of consciousness
For more information visit:
Learn more about food allergies from the Mayo Clinic
Introducing new foods to babies from WebMD
Call the Pediatric Center of Round Rock at (512) 733-5437 to make an appointment to get your child tested for food allergies. | <urn:uuid:9168a42e-d145-492e-b1f6-ca1f3e90ef25> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://pediatriccenterofroundrock.com/food-allergies-in-infants/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154302.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20210802012641-20210802042641-00656.warc.gz | en | 0.940535 | 415 | 3.625 | 4 |
ERIC Number: ED206453
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981
Reference Count: 0
Information Bulletins from the Calculator Information Center. Bulletins 8-11.
Suydam, Marilyn N., Ed.
Four bulletins are presented, each addressing concerns that have arisen as teachers consider the use of calculators or begin to use calculators in their classrooms. Bulletin eight, prepared by Krist, begins with pragmatic suggestions and comments with regard to using calculators as an aid to student learning of secondary mathematics, and describes several learning activities. The ninth bulletin, by Lappan, starts with a letter to parents reagrding the benefits of calculators, and provides activities and educational games suitable for home use with pupils in grades 4-8. Bulletin ten, prepared by Thompson, provides 67 activities grouped into concept development, drill and practice, estimation, and problem solving, that can be completed in about ten minutes. Many can be developed into complete lessons. The eleventh bulletin, by Bestgen, provides 25 activities designed to aid in teaching computation with calculators at the elementary school level. (MP)
Descriptors: Administrator Education, Calculators, Educational Games, Educational Technology, Elementary School Mathematics, Elementary Secondary Education, Instructional Materials, Learning Activities, Lesson Plans, Mathematics Instruction, Parent Education, Problem Solving, Secondary School Mathematics, Teaching Methods
Publication Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher; Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Ohio State Univ., Columbus. Calculator Information Center.
Note: For related document, see ED 171 574. | <urn:uuid:48bb0483-42ca-4202-85c7-f95fb5633cd6> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED206453 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257648404.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20180323161421-20180323181421-00021.warc.gz | en | 0.88912 | 353 | 3.15625 | 3 |
“The Japanese and things Japanese will become not only the cynosure of British eyes, but indeed the centre of interest for visitors pouring from the countries of Europe and the two continents of America. No event in days of peace and tranquility has yet contributed so greatly towards advertising Japan as the Anglo-Japanese Exhibition will do.”
– The Graphic, Tokyo, May, 1910
The 1910 Japan-British exhibition (more widely-know as ‘the Japanese exhibition’ as there was minimal British content) was held at the White City in Shepherd’s Bush, London, from 14 May to 29 October, 1910. The exhibition marked a milestone in the history of Japan’s participation in international exhibitions since, as it was Japan’s first joint exhibition with a European country, it presented visitors in London with an up-to-date picture of Japan. The Exhibition would also be an occasion to celebrate the on-going Anglo-Japanese Alliance, signed in 1902 and which would last for twenty years. Despite being held as a joint exhibition, by inviting Japanese exhibits and placing them in London for European visitors, the exhibition became, in effect, Japan’s introduction to the West. During its six-month run, the Exhibition is said to have attracted over 8,000,000 visitors.
The Exhibition re-used many of the larger pavilion structures (e.g. the Court of Honour, Court of Progress) first built for the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition held on the same grounds. Still, Japan’s visualization as a panorama by the Western audience was exemplified all over the exhibition grounds. A variety of aspects of Japanese lives was on display in the form of toy-sized miniatures, including models of Tokyo and the Shogun Mausoleum at Shiba temple; the small scale enabled Japan to present more accurate and all-encompassing panoramas. The Japanese Garden, in this regard, was one of the most important displays. To show that Japan was an imperial power, just as Britain was, displays from her colonies and the Ainu and Taiwanese aborigines were brought over. In order to promote Japan as a peace-loving nation, numerous rare and high quality retrospective arts and elaborate traditional architecture models were exhibited and two authentic Japanese gardens were created at the site. At the same time, in order to promote trade, Japanese products and goods, including crafts, from many companies and artisans were exhibited. Many accompanying books, leaflets and catalogs were also published.
“Europeans and Americans have come to take the keenest interest in the institutions, civilization, industry, customs and manners and general characteristics of our people, but it appears that as yet, the real Japan is not sufficiently known.”
– Japan Today, official souvenir booklet, 1910
There were some 2,271 Japanese exhibitors. Almost 500 leading Japanese firms sent items to London. Each of the Japanese government ministries was represented, along with the Japanese Red Cross and the post office, showing displays of the modern systems and facilities used by the governmental departments. Care was taken only to display the highest possible quality, to offset popular images that Japanese products were cheaply made and tawdry. In addition to manufactured goods, traditional and modern fine arts, and arts and crafts were well represented. One of the most popular craftsmen actually in the Exhibition was Horikawa Kozan, a celebrated potter. He was invited to demonstrate pottery-making and repair priceless antiquities, some of which had been in the possession of British collectors for generations. | <urn:uuid:6316e7d0-5430-4f18-b876-085031ee11d0> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | http://www.oldtokyo.com/japan-british-exhibition-london-1910/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125947968.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20180425213156-20180425233156-00491.warc.gz | en | 0.980404 | 724 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Methane is one of the major greenhouse gases. Although smaller amounts of methane gas are produced on planet Earth compared with carbon dioxide, methane is 33 times more detrimental molecule for molecule toward global warming. Presently, methane accounts for ca. 20 % of the global warming problem. The methane in the Earth’s atmosphere is almost entirely produced by biology involving methanogens that inhabit natural ecosystems, such as ocean sediments, wetlands, and animal digestion, along with a small contribution from thermogenic sources, including volcanism, oil and gas production. Fortunately, the emission of methane produced from ecological systems is controlled by other microbes that metabolize methane as their sole source of carbon and energy. These methanotrophs convert substantial amounts of the methane produced by methanogenic bacteria into methanol in the presence of molecular oxygen. Over the past several decades, scientists have puried and studied in depth the proteins responsible for this chemistry. Methane oxidation is extremely challenging to perform in the laboratory, but scientists have discovered the chemical principles governing how these enzymes work. Based on this fundamental knowledge, a catalyst has been recently developed capable of efficient and selective conversion of methane into methanol at room temperature. This catalyst has been also applied to liquefy natural gas into its product oxygenates with success. These outcomes are sufficiently promising that we have begun to consider scaling up the catalyst and integrating the technology platform with other technologies that we are also developing to enhance catalytic performance and for capture and collection of seeping natural gas from stationary sources as well as methane emissions from various human activities.
Professor Sunney Chan
George Grant Hoag Professor of Biophysical Chemistry, Emeritus
Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica
Professor Sunney Chan is George Grant Hoag Professor of Biophysical Chemistry, Emeritus at California Institute of Technology; Distinguished Research Chair Professor of Chemistry at National Taiwan University, and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Academia Sinica. Professor Chan obtained his B.S. degree in chemical engineering and Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After one year of postdoctoral study in physics at Harvard University, he taught at UC Riverside before joining the faculty at California Institute of Technology in 1963, where he was associated with the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering until his retirement in 2002.
In 1997, Professor Chan went to Taiwan and took up the post as Vice President for Research at Academia Sinica, where he established research infrastructures for research in chemical biology and genomic medicine as well as the Taiwan International Graduate Program. Professor Sunney Chan is best known for his research on membrane proteins, especially metalloproteins that mediate the diverse range of activities in biological cells. For these contributions, he has garnered many honors and awards, including the William C. Rose Award from the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2004); and election to Academia Sinica (1986), TWAS (Academy of Sciences for the Developing World) (2004), International Academy of Physical Sciences (2010), and American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011). | <urn:uuid:9f023060-e00d-4161-8862-23eea7f3bf6b> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | http://www.cityu.edu.hk/vprt/cityu-dls/lectures/20190118.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202688.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20190322180106-20190322202106-00249.warc.gz | en | 0.946683 | 644 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Caring Hearts & Critical Minds: Literature, Inquiry, and Social Responsibility
260 pages • 8 x 10
Discover new ways to integrate inquiry learning, exciting contemporary literature, and teaching for social responsibility across the curriculum. The author take us step-by-step through the process of designing an inquiry-based literature unit and then provides 5 full units used in real middle-grade classrooms. Featuring a remarkable range of recommended resources and hundreds of novels from across the literary genres, Caring Hearts & Critical Minds gives teachers a blueprint for creating dynamic units with rigorous lessons about topic kids care about.
Grades 5 to 9
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STATUS: Occasional to rare in winter, spring, fall, and late summer in Gulf Coast region.
DESCRIPTION: Long-billed curlews are 20 to 26 inches tall and are North America’s largest shorebird. They have a wingspan of 10 to 12 inches and weigh 18 to 34 ounces. It gets its name from an extremely long, down-curved bill. They are a buffy-brown color with no prominent barring or striping. The underside of each wing is bright cinnamon colored and visible in flight.
The bill of the female long-billed curlew is longer than that of the male and of a different shape. The female’s bill is flatter on top with a more pronounced curve at the tip. The bill of a male is gently curved throughout its length.
The call is a distinctive whistled “cur-lee” that rises on the second note. Observers have also noted a rapid whistled “kli-li-li-li.’
The whimbrel, a similar species, is slightly shorter and has distinct stripes on top of the head. The whimbrel also has a shorter bill and lacks the cinnamon coloration on the underside of its wings. It is also less uniform in color and has more prominent barring than the long-billed curlew.
DISTRIBUTION: Long-billed curlews are one of the most threatened shorebird species on the North American continent. The summer range of the long-billed curlew includes much of the western United States along with the southern portion of the Canadian prairie provinces. It winters primarily from central California and coastal Texas southward through Mexico. They are also found wintering on the southern Atlantic Coast and both coastlines of Florida. Small numbers are observed each year during the winter months on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Nationally, habitat degradation and small population numbers make this a species of very high conservation priority.
HABITAT: They are found in the native grasslands of arid western North America and also in farm fields and grasslands during migration. Wintering habitat includes coastal marshes and mudflats.
FEEDING HABITS: Feeds primarily on grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, caterpillars and other insects while on its breeding grounds. Food items on their wintering grounds include large marine invertebrates. Its bill is best adapted for capturing shrimp and crabs living in deep burrows on tidal mudflats. They are also capable of probing for food items, including earthworms, slightly under the surface of the soil or mud.
LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY: Male long-billed curlews use an impressive aerial display to attract a female mate. Nests are constructed on the ground usually in open, dry prairie habitat. Clutch size averages four eggs that are incubated by both parents for 27 to 30 days. Both parents will aggressively defend the nest site.
Chicks are downy at birth and leave the nest shortly after hatching. Hatchlings receive parental care from both adults, but are capable of feeding themselves. Females typically abandon the brood several weeks after hatching and leaves brood care to the mate. Despite this abandonment of the brood, the male and female often form a pair bond the following year. | <urn:uuid:e77da42b-c9af-4934-a06a-b1f657c5c354> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.outdooralabama.com/long-billed-curlew | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891811655.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20180218042652-20180218062652-00187.warc.gz | en | 0.958237 | 689 | 3.59375 | 4 |
NASA's Kepler mission has been a smash hit. It has discovered thousands of probable exoplanets—worlds orbiting stars other than the sun—more than 100 of which have already been vetted and confirmed. Many of those planets are among the most nearly Earth-size planets known: of the 25 smallest-diameter exoplanets discovered to date, all but one were spotted by Kepler. There is just one asterisk tacked to Kepler's immensely productive haul: the planets are hundreds or even thousands of light-years away, too distant to investigate in any detail.
Enter TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which NASA has green-lit for a 2017 launch at a cost of $200 million. TESS will survey a much larger swath of sky than its predecessor to uncover a new population of nearby exoplanets that scientists can scan with forthcoming telescopes. “Altogether we'll examine about half a million stars,” says TESS principal investigator George R. Ricker, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology astrophysicist. Thousands of those stars are within 100 light-years of the solar system.
Like Kepler and the European CoRoT satellite before it, TESS will search for planetary transits: brief dimmings of starlight, occurring at regular intervals, that betray the shadowing presence of an unseen exoplanet. Ricker estimates that TESS may discover some 500 to 700 planets that are Earth-size or a few times larger, of which a handful will be potentially habitable.
Around the time that TESS compiles a list of nearby exoplanets at the end of its two-year baseline mission, astronomers may have a powerful new eye in the sky to examine the newfound worlds in detail. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), currently slated to launch in 2018, should be able to tease out the signatures of certain molecules in the atmospheres of nearby planets. Ultimately, those kinds of chemical signatures could be used to infer the presence of extraterrestrial life on a planet. By simulating the observing power of the JWST trained on a nearby, possibly habitable planet, “we can almost see biogenic signatures, but not quite,” Ricker says. “That could well take a next-generation space instrument to do that.”
Regardless, if TESS can indeed locate hundreds of nearby planets, astronomers will have their hands full for the foreseeable future—finding out what those planets are like and what kinds of habitats they might support and, just maybe, flinging some future probe toward one enticing-looking world. | <urn:uuid:3ac3954e-9892-4868-a3e7-9fc5c77a9376> | CC-MAIN-2014-10 | http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa-new-mission-propels-detailed-investigation-nearby-expolanets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-10/segments/1394678694108/warc/CC-MAIN-20140313024454-00070-ip-10-183-142-35.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933179 | 527 | 3.859375 | 4 |
I recently visited Savannah Georgia and my trip was hosted by Visit Savannah
A few miles Southeast of Savannah Georgia is Cockspur Island and Fort Pulaski National Monument. With 11ft thick walls, a moat and mighty cannon, it is an imposing sight.
Named after Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish hero of the American Revolutionary War, construction began on Ft Pulaski in 1829 and took 18 years to finish. Built to guard the river approaches to Savannah Georgia, Fort Pulaski was built to be impenetrable. The walls were 11 feet thick and it was thought that only land based artillery could penetrate the thick walls and they had a range of only about half a mile. Tybee Island was the nearest land and it was much farther away.
Ft Pulaski served as a garrison for the Georgia State Militia in the early days of the Civil War and in April 1862, after 2 days of bombardment, the garrison had been bombarded by 5,275 shot and shell, many coming from 11 batteries of heavy mortars from Tybee Island, but the walls were breached almost entirely by three guns–two 84-pounder and one 64-pounder rifles.
On April 11, 1862 Fort Pulaski, under the command of Confederate Colonel Charles Olmstead, surrendered to the Union forces.
Olmstead and 384 Officers and enlisted were sent to a POW camp on Governors Island New York. Union forces garrisoned Ft Pulaski until the end of the Civil War. After 1880 a caretaker and lighthouse keeper, for the adjacent Cockspur Island Lighthouse, were the only occupants of the fort.
The fort and island were made a National Monument in 1924 and restoration began in 1933. Today visitors can walk the fort and explore the various underground passages to get a glimpse of history.
Visiting Fort Pulaski National Monument you get a sense of what it was like during Civil War times. The fort being situated on the river on this tiny island commanded a formidable presence and played an instrumental part in cutting off any Confederate forces to gain access to shipping by way of the coast of Georgia and entirely closing the Savannah river to blockade runners.
Very few Civil War fortifications exist today and Fort Pulaski is one of the best restored and preserved examples. When you think about the 558 Confederate Prisoners of War interned in Fort Pulaski and the Union troops stationed there, it must have been a very crowded and dirty place. Nothing like the romantic notions many have of war.
From the minute you walk across the drawbridge the powder magazines and gun emplacements, just outside the main fort, are open for you to explore.
Once inside the main fort you can walk the passageways and see the gun emplacements, barracks and the small area where the prisoners were kept. You can also climb the stairs and walk out onto the top walls, where cannon was also placed, and get a really good view of the entire area.
If you plan on visiting Savannah Georgia or Tybee Island then Fort Pulaski needs to be on your list of places to visit.
Fort Pulaski is located about 14 miles Southeast of Savannah Georgia on US Hwy 80.
Fort Pulaski National Monument is open year round from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, except for New Years, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Days. The Visitor Center is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and historic Fort Pulaski is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. | <urn:uuid:84c96250-a568-43d2-bdf1-423a03281cf5> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://thetravellingfool.com/a-visit-to-fort-pulaski-national-monument/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100674.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20231207121942-20231207151942-00866.warc.gz | en | 0.968787 | 742 | 3.109375 | 3 |
OURWAY received the 2014 & 2015 Certificate of Excellence
from TripAdvisor, for outstanding customer reviews/ratings.
Famous people who had a huge impact on Oslo
Photo by Henrik Ibsen, Photo: Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
Brave, gifted, talented and responsible for making Oslo somewhat what it is today. Meet three people that made Oslo and Norway famous.
1. Edvard Munch
With painting ‘Skriet’ (The Scream), Munch would create a painting that would keep him famous more than 60 years after his passing. Edvard Munch was a painter and one of Modernism’s most important artist. Over sixty years he was active – all the way from when ha made his debut in the 1880s up until his death in 1944. His experimentation skills as an artist gave him a unique position in both international as well as Norwegian art history. The Scream has been described as “an icon of modern art, a Mona Lisa for our time”. It has been portrayed in the game the Sims, in the tv-show the Simpsons and in countless of other culture. With Skriet always being relevant, so is Norway and Munch.
2. Henrik Ibsen
He has been described as “the father of realism”, and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. Henrik Ibsen (1828 – 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, theatre director and poet. He is considered to be one of the most important playwrights since Shakespeare, in particular for his later dramas who at the time were considered scandalous. Ibsen has influenced novelists and playwrights such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw. Three times he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature – 1902, 1903, and 1904. As his work lives on, he stays famous. Every year the International Ibsen Festival is held in Oslo, drawing locals as well as tourists to discover the works of Ibsen.
3. Henrik Wergeland
Wergeland is one of the “birth fathers” to the celebration of 17th of May (syttende mai), but he’s mostly famous for being a Norwegian writer, playwright, historian and poet. He is often considered to be a leading pioneer in the development of Norwegian literary heritage and modern Norwegian culture. He became a famous hero when he, together with the locals, fought at the battle of the Square in Christiania on 17th of May, 1829. Even though Henrik Wergeland died at the young age of 37, he has had a huge effect on literature, history, contemporary politics, social issues and much more. The celebrations at 17th of May are the biggest one in Oslo for the whole year and means the world (ish) to Norwegians, they have Wergeland to thank for that.
Join 7000 SubscribersGet fresh travel inspiration via email, once per week. It’s free! | <urn:uuid:4264b06c-4043-45fb-a24a-74d64fa01307> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://ourwaytours.com/our-blog/famous-people-who-had-a-huge-impact-on-oslo/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600402131412.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20201001112433-20201001142433-00224.warc.gz | en | 0.982415 | 625 | 2.859375 | 3 |
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Blood Test Predicts Pregnancy Due Date
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A small study based on circulating RNA in the blood of moms-to-be describes a technique that could be used to help predict who’s most at risk of preterm labor.
The Child Hatchery, 1896
Catherine Offord | Mar 1, 2018
The incubator exhibitions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries publicized the care of premature babies.
Sequencing Genomes in the ICU Improves Outcomes
Bob Grant | Oct 19, 2017
A handful of infants in a neonatal intensive care unit who were diagnosed with rare diseases using whole-genome sequencing had shorter hospital stays and better health outcomes, researchers find.
Bitter Taste Receptors in Uterus May One Day Help Prevent Premature Birth
Jef Akst | Oct 1, 2017
Researchers suggest that the receptors can control early labor contractions.
An Immunological Timeline for Pregnancy
Catherine Offord | Sep 1, 2017
A new study uses blood samples from pregnant women to track changes in the immune system leading up to birth, and predicts gestational age from the mothers’ immune signatures.
Artificial Womb Supports Premature Fetal Lamb Development
Tracy Vence | Apr 25, 2017
The lungs of extremely premature lambs supported in a closed, sterile environment that enables fluid-based gas exchange grow and develop normally, researchers report.
Jyoti Madhusoodanan | Feb 1, 2016
Medication to prevent prematurity in humans harms cognitive flexibility in rats.
Gut’s Earliest Bacterial Colonizers
Kate Yandell | Aug 11, 2014
The pace at which bacterial groups take root in the gastrointestinal tracts of premature infants is more tied to developmental age than time since birth.
Predicting Preterm Birth
Tracy Vence | Aug 9, 2013
Two organizations team up in an effort to predict risk of premature birth using big data and genomics.
Seasonality of Premature Birth
Kate Yandell | Jul 9, 2013
Babies conceived in May have an elevated risk of being born early.
Leaders of Infant Trial Will Not Yet Face Sanctions
Bob Grant | Jun 10, 2013
US watchdog suspends plans to discipline researchers who failed to disclose the full risks of an experimental trial conducted with premature infants.
Why So Soon?
Bob Grant | May 1, 2013
Researchers are using modern experimental tools to probe the mysterious molecular pathways that lead to premature labor and birth.
Molecular Models of Birth
Bob Grant | Apr 30, 2013
Researchers are piecing together the chain of events that leads to preterm and full-term birth.
The Genes Underlying Prematurity
Bob Grant | Apr 30, 2013
NIH researcher Roberto Romero describes the recent discovery of genetic elemetns that contribute to the risk of preterm birth.
Babies Process Speech in the Womb?
Kate Yandell | Feb 27, 2013
Premature infants show brain activity patterns in response to language similar to those of adults. | <urn:uuid:e1e382ba-5556-4234-89c9-ddf60c5b1f65> | CC-MAIN-2021-43 | https://www.the-scientist.com/tag/premature | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-43/segments/1634323588244.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20211027212831-20211028002831-00031.warc.gz | en | 0.84232 | 666 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Printer friendly versionALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY CURRENT STATUS REPORTTuesday, September 20, 2011 12:56 PM AKDT (Tuesday, September 20, 2011 20:56 UTC)CLEVELAND VOLCANO
52°49'20" N 169°56'42" W, Summit Elevation 5676 ft (1730 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE
Recent observations of Cleveland volcano show that the current eruption, characterized by effusion of lava within the summit crater continues. The size of the lava dome is now about 165 m (540 ft) in diameter compared to 150 m (490 ft) in diameter on September 9,2011. The growing lava dome remains entirely contained within the summit crater but is now approximately 20 meters below the eastern rim.
A growing lava dome in the crater increases the possibility of an explosive eruption, but does not necessarily indicate that one will occur. It is possible that explosions from the summit crater vent could produce ash clouds that may exceed 20,000 ft above sea level. These events can occur without warning and may go undetected in satellite imagery for hours. If lava dome growth continues, lava may overflow the crater rim to produce a lava flow and/or collapse to produce pyroclastic flows. Sudden collapse of the effusing lava could result in the generation of a volcanic ash cloud.
Without a real-time seismic network on the volcano, AVO is unable to track local earthquake activity related to volcanic unrest, provide forecasts of eruptive activity, or confirmation of explosive, ash-producing events. AVO will continue to monitor the volcano using multiple sources of satellite data.
Chris Waythomas, Acting Scientist-in-Charge, USGS
email@example.com (907) 786-7497
Steve McNutt, Coordinating Scientist, UAF
firstname.lastname@example.org (907) 474-7131
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. | <urn:uuid:b4bbb486-59f2-4b9a-8600-a23863a97743> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://avo.alaska.edu/activity/avoreport.php?view=chron&id=30622&month=June&year=2008 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500829839.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021349-00352-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.851783 | 450 | 2.59375 | 3 |
I begin with a simple rational function on the board like f(x) = 1/x. I ask my students to predict what the graph will look like without using their calculators. If they don't remember, I suggest they use graph paper and make a table of values, which is sometimes enough to stimulate their memory of parent functions, but which will also give them a good visual if needed. (MP1) When everyone agrees about the general appearance and key features of the function, I challenge them with predicting the appearance of a slightly different function: f(x) = 1/(x-1), again using tables and graph paper. (MP2) I focus on this "by-hand" method for this part of the lesson because many of my students are weak at both creating a table of values from a function and graphing those values. While it's slower going to do it this way, it reinforces necessary skills and students' will have a stronger foundation for understanding my lesson where we use technology for the investigations.
I tell them that today they will have the opportunity to explore how changing a function affects the graph of that function.
Students work independently for this part of the lesson to provide me a better idea of which students are struggling and to give them a chance to build their graphing skills and understanding of functions. I explain that they will working with several different functions but that if they're careful they should see patterns in the changes they make. I distribute the handout and review the directions and example problem then check for understanding with fist-to-five. If the majority of the class are still confused I work through an additional example, calling on students to provide the descriptions, then let them begin working. (MP1) While they're working I walk around offering assistance and encouragement as needed. I anticipate that a few students will need help rewriting some of the equations to enter them into their graphing calculator while others who choose to work with tables and graph paper will struggle with values that are not easy to work. For those students I may work through all or part of another example or may remind them that the function notation does NOT imply multiplication. When everyone has completed the handout or when there are about 15 minutes left, I tell them to finish the problem they're on and prepare to participate in a class discussion about their work.
To close this lesson I ask my students to pair-share what patterns they found in trying all the different transformations. (MP2) After a moment or two I randomly select students to share what they discussed, acting as scribe to summarize what they say. When everyone has had a chance to speak I ask for volunteers to discuss how changes to "X" and "Y" respectively affect the graph. (MP8) Hopefully someone will observe that adding to or subtracting from "X" moves the graph left or right from it's original position while adding to or subtracting from "Y" moves the graph up or down. Recognizing the impact of multiplying or dividing is more difficult but if nobody comments on these, I ask questions like "what happens if we double x?" or "What happens when we divide y by 3?" The final piece is for each student to write in her/his notes a summary of the effects of each change on a graph of the parent function. My video explains why I choose to let my students figure out these transformation patterns on their own. | <urn:uuid:3535fbbf-6e91-423f-9075-172247df3876> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://betterlesson.com/lesson/488186/a-ok | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107876307.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20201021093214-20201021123214-00361.warc.gz | en | 0.95688 | 693 | 3.890625 | 4 |
This lesson introduces Nebraska primary legal materials, focusing on the Legislative and Judicial branches.
On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:
1. Have a working knowledge of the legislative and judicial processes in Nebraska.
2. Explain how the unicameral process works in Nebraska and how it differs from bi-cameral legislative bodies.
3. Identify Nebraska primary resources generated from the legislative and judicial branches.
4. Discuss how to properly update Nebraska primary sources. | <urn:uuid:8c6a65f3-35d2-4875-9100-1f3bcec4db4e> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.cali.org/lesson/1222 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514575168.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20190922053242-20190922075242-00369.warc.gz | en | 0.860144 | 99 | 3.25 | 3 |
The maps below show the distribution in 1980 of three distinct types of commercial establishments in the mid-sized city of Zitácuaro in Michoacán.
Founded hundreds of years earlier, the city grew spontaneously, almost organically, with little planning; its population by 1980 was 100,000. Cars were not a necessity. The residents of Zitácuaro did not have to walk far to purchase their basic daily shopping needs. Convenience stores (top map) existed in every neighborhood. Many (145 out of 393) were genuine “corner stores”, strategically located at street intersections. On average, each convenience store served about 250 residents.
More specialist stores (middle map), selling so-called “shopping goods” such as clothes and furniture, had a very different distribution. A few were located in residential areas, but most were concentrated in the heavily trafficked central area of the city, in the narrow streets close to the main plaza or zócalo, west of the main highway.
By 1980, a bypass had been opened enabling through traffic to avoid the main congested highway through the center of the city. However, the distribution of specialist stores does not appear to show any close connection to either the old highway or the new bypass.
This contrasts with the distribution of stores connected to auto services (gas stations, auto parts, tire repairs, mechanics) where the preferred locations in 1980 were close to the main highway (bottom map). In the succeeding years, this distribution has changed somewhat. Many of these services have now relocated to the by-pass to better serve the passing traffic.
This post is an excerpt from Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Chapters 21 and 22 of Geo-Mexico analyze Mexico’s 500-year transition to an urban society and the internal geography of Mexico’s cities. Chapter 23 looks at urban issues, problems and trends. To preview more parts of the book, click here and use amazon.com’s “Look Inside” feature. Buy your copy today! | <urn:uuid:a0fc5400-b041-4e1e-9015-6e43bafcdd5c> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://geo-mexico.com/?p=2916 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039749562.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20181121173523-20181121195523-00222.warc.gz | en | 0.966824 | 429 | 2.515625 | 3 |
SFUSD is slowly but steadily working to bring more technology into the classrooms
Therese Dudro, a junior at Lowell High School, is somewhat of an anomaly; she's 17 years old and she's computer savvy, but she doesn't own a smartphone.
Nearly half of all high school students in the United States now own smartphones or tablets, according to the 2012 survey released by Project Tomorrow (demographics suggest that percentage is even higher in San Francisco) and almost all bring these devices with them to class — a 400 percent increase since 2007.
Educators are attempting to not only leverage the prevalence of emerging technologies with standardized curriculum, but also engage tech-obsessed students in what now seems an almost archaically old-school style of teaching.
While Dudro may be sans smartphone, she isn't a stranger to computer-based technologies. "Computers on campus come in handy when I have to do research for an essay or work on a lab report" she told us. "One of the great things about Lowell is that students get to pick their own teachers, classes, and schedules; we call it Arena."
At Lowell, students have long enjoyed the freedom to shape their educational experience. Until recently, Arena has always taken place in Lowell's gymnasium, where students register for classes in shifts while teachers record the results and plugged the information into the schools official computer system.
This year, a team of students wrote a computer program making online registration possible. Lowell called this the Online Arena, and this new system was test-piloted last semester aided by the school's new Wi-Fi system. The Online Arena will be in full force for the fall semester that begins Aug. 19.
With programs like Arena making the migration into the online world, the ever-emerging dependence on Internet-reliant resources is only creating more of a demand for educational strategies to follow suit.
How can a teacher compete with the single tap of a touch-screen? With resources such as Google and Wikipedia at each student's fingertips, knowledge is seemingly infinite.
"When I was in school you didn't question the teacher because that was the authority on information", Michelle Dawson, SFUSD's Educational Technology Program Administrator, told us. "But now with the web, the information is so abundant. We have to prepare our students to sort through that information."
Dawson is somewhat of a newcomer to SFUSD (she settled into her new post on Dec. 3, 2012), but her short-lived stint here has already proved to be a productive one. On her watch, it seems that SFUSD's tech goals will be brought out of the hypothetical and inserted into the everyday realities of high school education.
There's a clear call for a high-tech re-vamp, and SFUSD is preparing to meet this need. SFUSD is gearing up all schools with campuswide Wi-Fi and infrastructures to support more digital engagement. Dawson said they are exploring the integration of iPads in some Bay Area classrooms, including at Lowell.
But most students are still waiting to experience the changeover firsthand. "We don't have iPads at Lowell," Dudro said matter-of-factly.
Actually, maybe she didn't get the email, but the school does have some.
"We have 20 iPads, soon to be 35 total with a new planned purchase; 35 is enough for all students in one class," Dr. Bryan Marten, an AP chemistry teacher who chairs the Lowell Technology Committee, told us. While this is far from the tech-laden goals rolling out in SFUSD's future, it's still evidence that these technologies are just beginning to bud.
Even the physical education teachers and sports coaches at Lowell have begun to have students use iPads to film each other and improve techniques, such as while at bat in baseball, to improve their swings. | <urn:uuid:1766c272-5be5-42da-8053-5fe2e34e0f82> | CC-MAIN-2015-32 | http://www.sfbg.com/2013/08/13/tech-schools | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-32/segments/1438042989043.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20150728002309-00167-ip-10-236-191-2.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969042 | 790 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The super hard tempered glass cutting board features a hand-tinted image created from an archival postcard by Nantucket's own Henry Wyer.
- Fishing has been integral to this island's history since well before any European first set foot on this picturesque island 24 miles off the Massachusetts coast.
- Its proximity to some of the North Atlantic's great fishing banks ensured that small boats, carefully handled by those familiar with the perils of local waters and willing to work hard, could eke out a living hauling cod, halibut and other such edible stocks from the sea.
- The challenge unique to Nantucket fishermen was the fact that salt required to preserve their catch was never available on a large scale.
- Two attempts at salt works on the island failed due to the fog the island is prone to and its adverse affect on the evaporation that made these works viable
- The island's four fishing villages reflect a heritage that extends to its Wampanoag roots. Sconset, on the island's eastern shore, was a seasonal fishing village of tiny shacks with attendant fish-drying racks called "flakes." It derived its original name 'Siasconet' from the Wampanoag name given as "the place of great bones."
- In the 1880s, a Nantucket native and then New York photographer, Henry S. Wyer returned to the island and began photographing fast disappearing aspects of the island life he remembered.
- The island's rich whaling industry, and the wealth it provided the island's population were now in decline. Summer tourism, which would replace it as the island's financial mainstay, was in its ascendency.
- In this image, Wyer captured a group of the island's small fishing fleet as they prepared to sail out on a summer morning to make their living from the sea. It was made for the tourist trade, but its import goes beyond that purpose.
- The colors present the best of the rich hues that hand-tinted postcards of this era are known for and which are now often seen, and deservedly admired, in larger print formats.
- The history reflected in the scene is not the Nantucket of whaling ships mastered by hard Quaker captains. It is the lesser known history of the island's fishermen - Cape Verdean, Finnish, Portuguese and Irish - who worked and continue to work a trade measured in daily catches in unpredictable waters.
- To learn more about them, read "The Other Islanders - The People who pulled Nantucket's Oars." by Frances Kartunnen. [Italics failed]
We accept payments via Credit Card and PayPal. | <urn:uuid:a26df650-7fbe-4bf6-b892-017e7c83f5c9> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://thatfabledshorenightlights.com/products/nantuckets-fishing-fleet-circa-1910-as-a-colorful-tempered-glass-cutting-board | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030334987.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20220927033539-20220927063539-00189.warc.gz | en | 0.959446 | 560 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Common types of scars
Over time, your body will try to repair the scar. However, your body’s ability to do this adequately will depend on the size and type of scar, as well as personal factors such as genetics, age, and skin health. In many cases, your body is not able to significantly improve the look and feel of a scar without help from professional scar treatment.
To find the right scar treatment, you need to understand the type(s) of scar you’re dealing with. Many scars have a flat, pale appearance. The marks that don’t fit this description fall into one of three categories:
Some scars become raised due to excess collagen production during the healing process. These raised scars are called hypertrophic scars. Hypertrophic scars stay within the boundary of the injury.
Depressed scars, also called atrophic scars, are those that dip below the surface of the skin. These distinct marks are typically the result of a collagen shortage during the healing phase. Many stubborn acne scars are atrophic.
When the healing process is particularly over-reactive, scars can expand far beyond the bounds of the original wound. These raised, lumpy scars are referred to as keloid scars. Unlike hypertrophic scars, they are often dark in color and can be hard to the touch. Individuals with darker skin, individuals with a family history of keloids, and women in general are more at risk for forming keloid scars. Without scar treatment, keloid scars will typically continue to grow. Eventually, they may begin to hamper movement or cause irritation. | <urn:uuid:1656df3b-c572-448c-8cb2-887e0ffeb2ec> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.juvaskin.com/cosmetic-treatments/body/scar-removal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600401598891.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20200928073028-20200928103028-00154.warc.gz | en | 0.960782 | 329 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Last week, BAN joined a dedicated group to lead the way into a future with less waste.
We supported waste prevention by participating in the United Nations Basel Convention’s Fourth Expert Working Group on environmentally sound management.
Waste prevention means not creating the waste in the first place, instead of trying to figure out how to safely dispose or recycle the stuff once we’re stuck with it. It’s thinking upstream, where the waste is created, rather than downstream, where the waste is disposed of.
This means designing only products we really need with end-of-life in mind – by asking, “how will this one day be trashed or recycled?” Usually, a question like this leads to making longer-lasting products and switching out toxic components for more benign ones, or even better, reusable or recyclable parts.
Although the Basel Convention focuses on regulating toxic waste trade, it actually affirms that the most effective way to protect people from toxic waste is to not create the waste in the first place. Makes sense.
Back in 2011, at the Basel Convention’s Conference of the Parties 10 (COP10), we helped delegates adopt the Cartagena Declaration on the Prevention, Minimization, and Recovery of Hazardous Wastes and Other Wastes. You can read the 4-page declaration here if you’re intrigued.
With the Cartagena Declaration, 183 countries committed to actively promoting and implementing effective strategies to prevent and minimize the production of waste. We believe that putting Cartagena into action is crucial because it prioritizes waste prevention over waste management – meaning there will be less waste to dispose of.
Last week’s meeting was just one step towards this goal. And the goal of a future without waste.
At the meeting, we joined delegates from around the world in developing a clear action plan for implementing the wonderful waste prevention and minimization principles in the Cartagena Declaration.
Already, BAN has co-chaired the creation of a short manual on prevention.
At the meeting, we discussed how to organize and create a larger guidance document – a “waste prevention 101” – complete with practical strategies for reducing waste, including case studies and resources. Everyone successfully agreed on a plan for pulling together strategies and tools to help all countries put waste prevention into practice.
It was an excellent meeting of the minds and we’re looking forward to pitching in even more as the plan and 101 guide takes shape. | <urn:uuid:ae5a0dd3-82b5-474d-95b1-3fb96cf7e7c0> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.ban.org/news/2015/11/20/continuing-our-leadership-for-waste-prevention | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218190754.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212950-00086-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907572 | 517 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Flora of Australia Glossary — Vascular Plants
Compiled by A. McCusker
axil: the angle between a leaf or bract and the axis bearing it. adj. axillary.
cauliflorous: of plants, with flowers (and fruits) borne on a well-developed trunk or major branch. cf. cauline, ramiflorous.
inflorescence: the group or arrangement in which flowers are borne on a plant.
intercalary inflorescence: an inflorescence that either arises in an internodal position, or one originally terminal but ceasing to be so when vegetative growth subsequently resumes from the stem apex.
ramiflorous: of flowers and fruits, borne below the current leaves on recently formed woody branches. cf. cauliflorous.
terminal: at the apex or distal end. | <urn:uuid:6c216aab-b3dc-44d2-b521-0588b06f7fcc> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://ausflora.net/image-glossary/inflorescence-position/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335362.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20220929163117-20220929193117-00739.warc.gz | en | 0.885181 | 180 | 2.984375 | 3 |
The main purpose of lifting weights is to increase strength and build muscles. As strength increases, it also improves your overall health.
The human body has many different systems that work together to produce the desired effects of weightlifting. Weights provide a great stimulus for these body systems.
However, when engaging in training, there are often positive and negative side effects on the body.
First, your central nervous system and muscles will be jolted by the increased stress you’re putting on them, which will be unpleasant.
As your body adapts, you will notice improved strength and flexibility, as well as health benefits, such as a reduced risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
- 1 What Happens When You Start Weight Lifting
- 2 What Happens To Muscles When You Lift Weights
- 3 Weight Lifting [Physical Changes You Will Begin to Notice]
- 4 Weight Lifting [Mental Changes You Will Begin to Notice]
- 5 How Long Does It Take To See Results From Weight Lifting?
- 6 What Happens If You Lift Weights Everyday?
What Happens When You Start Weight Lifting
When you initially start lifting weights, you may discover that some motions and routines are difficult to do owing to weakness in very particular regions.
A deadlift, for example, will not be executed properly owing to a shaky grip or an inability to maintain the back straight. A dumbbell press, on the other hand, may be difficult since your forearm strength is insufficient to stabilize the weight.
All of your shortcomings and muscular imbalances are being pushed to the surface here.
All of these imbalances and deficiencies will gradually go away as you lift weights more regularly, and your posture and flexibility will improve.
If you are a first-time weight lifter, you may experience delayed onset muscle soreness, which is a common and generally harmless side effect.
Resistance exercise destroys muscle fibers at the microscopic level. This is a positive development, as the muscle fibers adapt to the stimuli as they recover, becoming stronger and larger.
Muscles continue to go through the damage/recovery cycle as the difficulty of the exercise increases.
Weight lifting and strength training will almost certainly leave you with ravenous hunger.
Muscle tissue calls out for nourishment while it heals, allowing you to recover strength. The more muscle you have, the more hungry you get.
To keep the monsters away, keep your fridge stocked with nutritious protein-rich meals.
It’s natural to feel exhausted after a long or strenuous exercise. This happens when your muscles run out of energy in general.
In addition, your central nervous system lacks the capacity to keep your muscles working. This results in muscular exhaustion, which makes you weary.
What Happens To Muscles When You Lift Weights
Your muscles work together when you lift weights, and concentric and eccentric muscle contractions occur at the same time.
Lactic acid accumulation in your muscles will cause them to hurt and burn when you lift weights. This new stress will shock the central nervous system, which will react properly.
Your limbs may tremble wildly when lifting heavy weights, and you will most likely sweat excessively and feel nauseous (depending on how hard you push yourself).
During a tough exercise, a muscle will sustain tiny muscle rips before it can become stronger.
The recovery period may take up to a week and may overlap with the following exercise.
Weight Lifting [Physical Changes You Will Begin to Notice]
Weight lifting is a good activity for people who do not have the necessary body fat. It is also a great exercise for weight loss.
1- Strength and Conditioning
Heavyweights, particularly for women, improve muscular power and strength without adding substantial bulk or size.
This implies that daily physical activities get simpler, and regular training increases your lifting capacity. You’ll also seem to be stronger.
This is self-evident, but how quickly it will be implemented in everyday life is less certain.
2- Lower risk of injury
Weightlifting increases hip and core strength, which protects joints and smaller muscles in the extremities from damage.
This improves balance and reactivity to slips, falls, and sports contact, making you less susceptible to injury.
Weight lifting is the most effective method for both men and women to get a slim, toned, and fit physique.
You may do all the cardio you want, but without weight training to test the muscles, you won’t acquire those toned muscles in all the correct areas.
4- Flexibility and posture
According to the American Institute of Physiotherapists, weight lifting may improve your posture and decrease or avoid chronic back pain.
Lifting weights helps to develop your back, shoulder, and core muscles, which are all important for maintaining good posture and avoiding lower back discomfort.
Weight Lifting [Mental Changes You Will Begin to Notice]
Something about strength training makes you feel good, and that sense of inner strength, your muscles expanding, gaining definition, and your metabolism improving all act as strong confidence boosters.
Lifting weights may boost your confidence by making you feel more energized and ready to take on the world.
2- Discipline and willpower
3- Stress and anxiety
Weight lifting may help decrease anxiety and stress, perhaps as efficiently as medicine or psychotherapy.
Weight lifting is well recognized for increasing muscular strength, but a recent study indicates that it may also help decrease anxiety and stressful thoughts and feelings.
How Long Does It Take To See Results From Weight Lifting?
Weight training outcomes are practically immediate, but you may not notice them as fast as they occur. It may take up to four weeks to see an increase in muscle growth.
If you’re wanting to reduce weight, you should aim for two to three pounds lost every week.
What Happens If You Lift Weights Everyday?
What happens if I lift weights every day? You’ll exhaust yourself. Overtraining just does not provide your body adequate time to recuperate.
The body can only completely recuperate during rest, when sleeping, and when we eat and drink enough.
I’ve always been passionate about health and fitness, whether it’s working out at the gym, going for a run before work, or even competing in a half-ironman triathlon. PineappleFit was born out of a desire to share our experience and passion for fitness with others. | <urn:uuid:8ec00ad5-4795-4771-afdc-f0071b8b2767> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://pineapplefit.com/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-start-lifting-weights/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103669266.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20220630062154-20220630092154-00179.warc.gz | en | 0.93967 | 1,361 | 2.8125 | 3 |
In most situations, your child will want to do his best and focus on one thing at a time. But at around 42 to 48 months old, he can probably follow two-step commands like "Get your shoes, and bring them to me" and more. With growing strength and dexterity, your child will also likely begin to ride a tricycle at this age, a task that requires coordinating his hands to steer and his feet to push on the pedals.
How to support my child in multitasking
Help your child enhance his multitasking ability as he grows. Start by assigning his simple tasks. Encourage him to care for himself (e.g. combing his own hair) or do an easy chore (e.g. bringing his plate to the sink after meals, find shoes and socks, find your book and your pencil).
Then, encourage him to do more complex activities by praising his efforts. According to mom of two, educator, and CEO of Galileo Enrichment Program Inc., Ma. Rowena J. Matti, giving words of praise will make your child want to do more. It will also make him feel independent and empowered to do more complex tasks eventually.
American Academy of Pediatrics (Oct. 2006). The Wonder Years: Helping Your Baby and Young Child Successfully Negotiate the Major Developmental Milestones.
Smart Parenting (2015, May 26). 5 Tips to Raising an Independent Preschooler. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.smartparenting.com.ph/kids/preschooler/fostering-independence... | <urn:uuid:835c93e0-431f-4cd3-adb7-1cd7956e99ae> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://www.enfagrow.com.ph/development/brain-development/parenting-tips/can-your-child-multitask | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030337524.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20221004184523-20221004214523-00089.warc.gz | en | 0.968764 | 328 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Definition of Network Operating System in the Network Encyclopedia.
What is NOS (Network Operating System)?
A Network Operating System, also known as NOS, is a computer operating system that is network-aware. Network operating systems (NOS’s) typically provide support for features such as the following:
- File and printer sharing
- Data security and authentication
- Distributed applications
- Centralized administration
You can use a NOS to create local area networks (LANs) that function as either peer-to-peer networks or server-based networks, depending on your needs and budget. Examples of NOS’s include Microsoft Windows NT, Novell NetWare, and Banyan VINES. Cisco’s Internetwork Operating System (IOS) is an example of a Network Operating System that runs not on computers but on internetworking devices such as routers.
History of Network Operating System
Early microcomputer operating systems such as CP/M, DOS and classic Mac OS were designed for individual computers. Packet switching networks were developed to share hardware resources, such as a mainframe computer, a printer or a large and expensive hard disk.
During the 1980s the need to integrate dissimilar computers with network capabilities grew and the number of networked devices grew rapidly. Partly because it allowed for multi-vendor interoperability the TCP/IP protocol suite became almost universally adopted in network architectures. Therefore computer operating systems and the firmware of network devices needed to reliably support the TCP/IP protocols. | <urn:uuid:71d0a5c3-34d0-4161-b0d1-4525a0445205> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | https://networkencyclopedia.com/network-operating-system-nos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178351134.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20210225124124-20210225154124-00466.warc.gz | en | 0.928549 | 313 | 3.90625 | 4 |
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Explosion and fire at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes kills seven refinery workers on April 2, 2010.
HistoryLink.org Essay 9717
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Early Friday morning, April 2, 2010, an explosion and fire erupt in the Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, killing seven refinery workers in the process of returning the heat exchangers to operation after being down for maintenance. The tragedy is the worst industrial accident to date since the Department of Labor and Industries began enforcing the Washington State Industrial Safety and Health Act (WISHA), enacted in 1973.
Refining Crude Oil
The Tesoro Refinery, sitting on 900 acres at March Point near Anacortes, was constructed by Shell Oil Corporation in 1955 at a cost of $75 million. In 1997, Shell and Texaco, Inc., which operated an adjacent oil refinery, wanted to combine their refining and gasoline retailing operations in the West and Midwest. Critics maintained that the merger would violate federal and state anti-trust laws by giving the two oil giants too big a share of the market, reducing competition and leading to higher gasoline prices. As part of a consent agreement between the Washington State Attorney General’s Office and the two oil companies, Shell agreed to sell its refinery operation in Anacortes in return for allowing the merger proceed.
Equilon Enterprises was formed on January 16, 1998, by a merger of Shell and Texaco and the new company renamed the Texaco Refinery the Equilon Puget Sound Refining Company. In May 1998, Tesoro Petroleum Corporation, based in San Antonio, Texas, bought the Shell Oil Refinery for $237 million, renaming it the Tesoro Anacortes Refinery. Tesoro is the second largest employer in Anacortes, with approximately 360 full-time employees and 100 contract workers, contributing approximately $33 million in salaries and taxes to the local economy. The plant refines up to 120,000 barrels of Alaskan North Slope and Canadian crude oil per day into gasoline, turbine, and jet fuel, diesel oil, liquid petroleum gas, heavy fuel oils and asphalt, mostly for markets in Washington and Oregon.
A Huge Fireball
At 12:30 a.m. Friday, April 2, 2010, a heat exchanger in the Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit at the Tesoro Refinery ruptured, releasing hydrocarbon vapor which almost immediately exploded. Naphtha, a highly-flammable liquid produced as part of the refining process, flows through a bank of heat exchangers (metal cylinders 30 feet long) on its way for further processing. A heat exchanger raises the temperature of material entering a processing unit and cools the product going out. The explosion occurred as a team of seven refinery workers were returning the heat exchanger units to operation after being shut down for routine maintenance. A huge fireball illuminated the night sky over the refinery, followed by a violent shock wave that shook homes and rattled window in nearby Anacortes. A few minutes later, the refinery’s "wildcat whistle" sounded, signaling an emergency. For 90 minutes, fire raged in and around the fractional distilling tower where the blast occurred.
While battling the blaze, Tesoro firefighters attempted several times to search for survivors but were driven back by the intense heat. When the fire was finally extinguished and the smoke cleared, rescue workers discovered that three refinery workers had perished in the explosion and four had been severely burned. The burn victims were airlifted to the UW Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.
The refinery workers killed in the explosion were Daniel J. Aldridge, age 50, Anacortes; Matthew C. Bowen, age 31, Arlington; and Darrin J. Hoines, age 43, Ferndale. The four burn victims were: Matt Gumbel, age 34, Oak Harbor; Lew Charles Janz, age 41, Anacortes; Kathryn Powell, age 29, Burlington; and Donna Van Dreumel, age 36, Oak Harbor. Both Kathryn Powell and Donna Van Dreumel, burned over more than 50 percent of their bodies, died at UW Burn Center on Friday.
What Went Wrong
At 2:06 a.m. Tesoro notified the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), which enforces WISHA and investigates all workplace fatalities, of the event. DOSH immediately launched an investigation and notified the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) in Washington D.C., which dispatched a team of six investigators to the scene.
On Saturday, April 3, 2010, a team of DOSH inspectors from Olympia arrived at the Tesoro Refinery to begin the arduous task of reconstructing what led to the explosion. The onsite investigation was temporarily halted, however, while an abatement team removed asbestos from the blast area. The cleanup took four weeks to complete. Meanwhile, investigators began the lengthy process of interviewing witnesses and reviewing records to determine what went wrong and whether the safety rules were followed.
Skagit County Deputy Coroner Robert Clark determined that Aldridge, Bowen, and Hoines died from inhalation of toxic substances and extensive third-degree burns. The deaths were ruled accidental. Robert Hall, CSB supervising investigator, determined all of the workers were within 50 feet of the ignition point and had no chance of escaping before the large release of naphtha vapor exploded. He was amazed anyone had survived the initial blast, let alone the subsequent fire.
A severely burned victim usually has about a 50 percent chance of surviving the first 48 hours of trauma. After that time period, the patient’s chance of survival starts to increase gradually. Lew Janz, suffering third-degree burns over major portions of his body, was put in a medically induced coma and kept breathing with a respirator. Tragically, he died from medical complications early Tuesday morning, April 13, without regaining consciousness. Matt Gumbel, also suffering from third-degree burns, had been upgraded from critical to serious, a hopeful sign, but he died from medical complications early Saturday morning, April 24, 2010. The following day, Sunday, a community memorial for all seven refinery workers held at Anacortes High School was attended by some 800 people.
In mid-May, investigators finally gained access to the Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit and confirmed that one heat exchanger in a bank of several, had ruptured, spraying naphtha vapor into the workspace. The volatile gas immediately found an ignition source, resulting in the catastrophic explosion and fire. As part of the investigation, the heat exchangers were dismantled and sent to a metallurgy laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio, to determine the cause of the failure. Tests revealed that over the years cracks had developed in many of the welds of the heat exchanger that ruptured and in at least one other unit. Tesoro had neglected to properly inspect the heat exchangers when it took over the refinery in 1998 and again during a scheduled inspection in 2008. The explosion could have been prevented either by replacing or repairing the defective units.
On Monday, October 4, 2010, after a six-month investigation, L&I issued its final report, which stated that the deadly explosion at the refinery had been entirely preventable. Tesoro Petroleum was cited for 39 willful violations and five serious violations of state workplace and safety health regulations and issued a record fine of $2.38 million, the largest in the agency’s history. (A willful violation, as defined by L&I, is where an employer knowingly violates a rule and is clearly indifferent to correcting it. A serious violation is where there is a substantial probability of serious injury or death.)
According to the L&I report of investigation, "The equipment also leaked hot, volatile and flammable vapor and liquid from flanges and other connections for years, especially when starting up following a shutdown. Tesoro’s repair efforts, including clamps, were ineffective and when they could not correct the problem, workers had to disperse the flammable vapors with long tubes called 'steam lances' in an effort to prevent ignition. Employees did this work in hard hats, gloves, goggles and basic flame-resistant coveralls, which was inadequate protection for the hazards they faced" ("L&I Issues Record Fine in deadly Tesoro Explosion").
Failing to Inspect, Failing to Test, Failing to Repair
Tesoro’s long list of willful violations included: "Failing to inspect equipment consistent with recognized engineering practices and industry standards; failing to test for cracks and other defects in equipment prone to damage from thermal fatigue, chemical exposure; failing to implement its own corrosion awareness and management program" ("L&I Issues Record Fine in deadly Tesoro Explosion"). The company also failed to repair equipment, had no start-up protocols for the heat exchangers, describing the potential hazards, and neglected to ensure workers were properly trained for the task.
"The loss of seven lives is a tragedy, not just for the loved ones, but for our entire state. What makes the loss of these lives all the more painful is that these deaths could have been prevented," said Governor Christine Gregoire (b. 1947). "I believe the actions of L&I is announcing today and the record fine they have assessed against Tesoro sends a clear message that these tragedies are not acceptable" ("L&I Issues Record Fine in deadly Tesoro Explosion").
Bill Virgin, "Texaco, Shell to Merge Operations in the West," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 19, 1997, p. A-4; "Larry Lang, "Shell Forced to Sell Anacortes Refinery," Ibid., December 20, 1997, p. B-1; Bill Virgin, "Tesoro To Buy Shell Refinery in Anacortes," Ibid., May 5, 1998, p. C-1; Ross Cunningham, "Customs Collector Starts Oil Flow at Anacortes Refinery," The Seattle Times, August 25, 1955, p. 23; Jack Broom and Sara Jean Green, "Five Dead in Anacortes Refinery Explosion and Fire," Ibid., April 3, 2010, p. A-1; Jim Brunner, Craig Welch and Steve Miletich, "Refineries Have History of Safety Violations," Ibid., April 3, 2010, p. A-1; Craig Welch, "Refinery Tragedies All Too Common," Ibid., April 4, 2010, p. A-1; Lynda Mapes, "Long, Painful Recovery Awaits Blast Survivors," Ibid., April 4, 2010, p. A-8; Mike Carter, "Tesoro Blast Called Fireball," Ibid., April 6, 2010, p. B-1; "New Scrutiny, Old Fears," Ibid., April 6, 2010, p. A-13; "Around the Northwest: Anacortes; Work Cut at Tesoro Refinery," Ibid., April 13, 2010, p. B-2; "Sixth Victim of Blast at Refinery Has Died," Ibid., April 14, 2010, p. B-8; Lynda V. Mapes, "Seventh Anacortes Refinery Victims Dies," Ibid., April 25, 2010, p. B-1; Janet I. Tu, "Refinery Victims ‘Are Us and We Are Them,’" Ibid., April 26, 2010, p. B-1; George Tibbits, "Tesoro Extends Closure of Refinery," Ibid., June 11, 2010, p. B-4; Susan Gilmore and Craig Welch, "State: Tesoro Blast Preventable," Ibid., October 4, 2010, p. A-1; "L&I Inspectors to Investigate Fatal Explosion at Tesoro Refinery," April 2, 2010; "Interviews, Meetings as Tesoro Refinery Investigation Begins," April 9, 2010; "Asbestos Limits Access to Refinery," April 13, 2010; "Seventh Tesoro Worker Dies," April 26, 2010; "L&I Issues Record Fine in deadly Tesoro Explosion," October 4, 2010, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries website accessed October 8, 2010 (www.lni.wa.gov).
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Tesoro Anacortes Refinery, March Point, Anacortes, 2003
Courtesy Tesoro Petroleum Corporation
Shell Oil (now Tesoro) Refinery, March Point, Anacortes, May 10, 1994
Courtesy Washington State Department of Ecology (Image No. SKA0362)
Aerial photo of March Point, Anacortes, with Tesoro Refinery (top) and Equilon Refinery (bottom), July 16, 1998
Courtesy U.S. Geological Survey
Diagram of heat exchanger units, Tesoro Refinery, Anacortes, September 22, 2010
Illustration by Jim Knutsen, Courtesy Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
Blackened towers (left back) at Tesoro Refinery after explosion and fire, Anacortes, April 2, 2010
Courtesy Washington State Department of Labor and Industries | <urn:uuid:4960dd48-097b-4c1c-a3fa-be193b0c327d> | CC-MAIN-2014-15 | http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9717 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-15/segments/1397609533689.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20140416005213-00092-ip-10-147-4-33.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947868 | 2,965 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Cocaine! Before you read another word, please know we aren’t advocating that you try it. And no, we aren’t promoting the use, but we a book about the history and culture of cocaine intriguing.
Cocaine is much more than a party drug popularized by the disco generation in the 1970s. Armand Limnader dedicated his time and efforts to writing a 184-page book with over 100 illustrations all about the coca. Cocaïn: History & Culture chronicles how the sacred plant of the Incas became the addictive white powder that has destroyed so many lives. Visions of the famous movie Scarface is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a book about cocaine. However, most people may not know cocaine has a long history including being an essential part of indigenous South American cultures development.
In his book, Armand goes beyond what we know as the white powdered substance. He tells the history of cocaine dating back to the nineteenth century when it was legal to sell it over the counter to treat ailments. In case you were wondering who would write such a book, below is information about the author. Maybe we are here for the illustrations, but this book appears to tell a worthwhile story — that is if you’re interested in the history and culture of cocaine.
About the Author:
Armand Limnander is the executive editor of W magazine. Prior to that, he was features director at T: The New York Times Style Magazine, the editor of VMan magazine, and a senior writer at Vogue and Style.com. Limnander grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, and moved to the United States to attend the University of California at Berkeley. His books Brazilian Style and Private: Giancarlo Giammetti were published by Assouline in 2011 and 2013, respectively.
h/t Cool Material | <urn:uuid:deb212e7-99c0-4c9e-a439-15b51669a49f> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | https://mankindunplugged.com/2019/02/07/cocain-history-culture/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655899931.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20200709100539-20200709130539-00031.warc.gz | en | 0.965934 | 389 | 2.765625 | 3 |
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The ring-tailed mongoose is a sociable carnivore, often found in family groups of up to five. These mammals are most active during the day, spending the majority of their time on the ground, though they can also climb trees and vines. At night, they shelter in hollow logs or burrows they dig with their claws.
The ring-tailed mongoose is highly vocal. It whistles like a frog to keep the family together, mews like a cat when hunting, shrieks and growls when fighting, and moans if alarmed. This species also communicates by marking rocks, tree trunk, and branches with their scent.
The ring-tailed mongoose eats a wide range of foods including rodents, small tenrecs and lemurs, birds, eggs, frogs, insects, and fish. Once it catches its prey, it delivers a quick bite to the back of the neck.
Females generally give birth between November and January after a gestation of just under 3 months. Newborns weigh a tenth of a pound. The mother raises the newborns on her own in the burrow for about a month, before letting her mate approach the infants. Young are weaned by 3 months and reach adulthood by two years of age, at which point they leave their parents.
Some of My Neighbors
Ring-tailed lemurs, collared lemurs, tenrec, fossa, Malagasy small-toothed civet, broad-striped and brown-tailed mongooses
Population Status & Threats
The Malagasy ring-tailed mongoose is classified as vulnerable. Major threats include habitat loss, especially from logging, and competition from introduced species, such as domestic dogs and cats. Its population continues to decline.
WCS Conservation Efforts
The Wildlife Conservation Society has worked in Madagascar since 1990, helping to protect its coastal, marine, and dry forests. WCS has partnered with the Malagasy government and local communities to create protected areas and is working to develop new approaches to support conservation and livelihoods.
Learn more about WCS work in Madagascar. | <urn:uuid:4bf5ded8-9457-46bc-be6a-cf7ca35dfb88> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://bronxzoo.com/animals-and-exhibits/animals/mammals/ring-tailed-mongoose.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1408500825010.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20140820021345-00370-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958602 | 458 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Tag: american history
The work the National Archives Preservation staff does every day is hardly “everyday.” A recent post about Hawaii’s petition for statehood on the Preservation Program’s Facebook page demonstrated this fact. This preservation project stemmed from a request from our Center for Legislative Archives. Each archival unit creates annual and long-term preservation plans, and the Center’s list named several petitions to Congress. One of these presented a challenge—a massive wooden spool 68 inches wide containing a roll of paper 16 inches in diameter.
This mammoth petition contains the names of 116,000 supporters of Hawaii statehood. Hawaii had been annexed by the United States in 1898 and became a U.S. Territory in 1900. Attempts at statehood over the next 60 years met opposition from both native Hawaiians and Congress. In the 1950s, the statehood movement gained momentum, and Hawaii became our 50th state on August 21, 1959.
This giant scroll came to the National Archives by way of the U.S. Senate. The Governor of Hawaii had presented the petition to the Vice President of the United States, who then (as President of the Senate) brought it before the Senate on February 26, 1954.
As … [ Read all ]
Posted by Mary on February 25, 2011, under Letters in the National Archives, petitions, preservation, Unusual documents.
Tags: 50th state, american history, Hawaii, Legislative Archives, NARA, national archives, National archives and records administration, National Archives Preservation Program, petitions, preservation, us history
After a brief hiatus, Facial Hair Friday is back with a special Valentine’s week post!
When Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri wanted to encourage Americans to emigrate to the west as part of the Manifest Destiny movement, he decided that eyewitness descriptions of the landscape were necessary.
So in 1842, Benton sent off his son-in-law John C. Frémont as the head of a series of expeditions to survey and map the Oregon Trail to the Rocky Mountains.
It wasn’t Frémont’s first time surveying new territory. Frémont had been in the Corps of Topographical Engineers and later explored and surveyed the Des Moines River and the area between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
But this trip called for a special guide, and Frémont hired Kit Carson, the well-known mountain man and adventurer to lead the first expedition. After that, the men went on several expeditions into the Sierra Nevada and along the Oregan Trail.
And in a move sure to swell his father-in-law’s heart with pride and his fellow explorers’ hearts with jealousy, Lt. John C. Frémont also “discovered” Lake Tahoe on February 14, 1844, Valentine’s Day, putting the lake on a map for the first time.
Posted by Hilary on February 18, 2011, under Facial Hair Fridays.
Tags: american history, facial hair friday, John C. Frémont, Kit Carson, Lake Tahoe, Manifest Destiny, old photos, Senator Thomas Hart Benton, Western exploration
In the summer of 1942, the Allies’ war against Japan was in dire straits. China was constantly battling the occupying Japanese forces in its homeland, supplied by India via the Burma Road. Then Japan severed that supply artery. Planes were flown over the Himalayan mountains, but their payloads were too little, and too many pilots crashed in the desolate landscape to continue the flights.
The Allies were desperate to find a land route that would reconnect China and India. The task fell to two OSS men—Ilia Tolstoy, the grandson of Leo Tolstoy, and explorer Capt. Brooke Dolan. To complete the land route would require traversing Tibet, and to traverse the hidden country required the permission of a seven-year-old boy, the Dalai Lama.
When the two men arrived in Lhasa, the remote capital of Tibet, these spies were received as ambassadors. A military brass band played, and they were treated as guests of honor in a city that only a few decades earlier had forbidden Westerners to enter.
They came carrying a message from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On December 20, at 9:20 in the morning, they were granted an audience with His Holiness. As a further sign of his respect for these two emissaries, the … [ Read all ]
Posted by Rob Crotty on February 8, 2011, under - Exploration, - Spies and Espionage, - World War II, Rare Videos.
Tags: american history, Brooke Dolan, CIA history, dalai lama, Ilia Tolstoy, Ilya Tolstoy, National archives and records administration, national archives blog, Office of Strategic Services, OSS, prologue blog, spy history, tibet, world war 2, ww2
“Charge 1 . . . Gross neglect of Duty.”
“Charge 2 . . . Disobedience of Orders.”
On January 28, 1831, a court-martial convened at the U.S. Military Academy found the defendant guilty of these charges and “adjudg[ed] that the Cadet E. A. Poe be dismissed.”
So ended Edgar Allan Poe’s short career at West Point. He had been admitted to the academy on July 1, 1830, and nearly seven months later, he was out.
In those months, he accumulated an impressive record—though not of the sort to which a cadet usually aspired. The Conduct Roll for July–December 1831 lists the number of offenses committed by cadets and their corresponding demerits. Poe’s name appears about midway down the list of top offenders, with 44 offenses and 106 demerits for the term. The roll for January alone shows Poe at the top of the list with 66 offenses for the month. It would appear that Poe was trying very hard to get kicked out of West Point.
As an example of his neglect of duty, the charges listed his absences from mathematics class “on the 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25 and 26 January 1831.” Just two months earlier, a weekly class report had ranked him among the best students in mathematics. The Consolidated Weekly … [ Read all ]
Posted by Mary on January 28, 2011, under - Civil War, Myth or History, Uncategorized.
Tags: american history, cadet, court-martial, Edgar Allen Poe, strange facts, us history, US Military Academy, West Point
Martin Luther King, Jr., would have been 82 on January 15, and yesterday we observed the national holiday in his honor.
The above photograph shows a January 18, 1964, White House meeting between four civil rights leaders—Roy Wilkins, James Farmer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Whitney Young—and President Lyndon Johnson. A civil rights bill was stuck in the House Rules Committee, and the President was determined to get it moving.
Only five months before the photograph was taken, these same four men had spoken before nearly a quarter of a million people during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King, Jr., the final speaker on that day, inspired the crowd with his ringing declaration that “I have a dream.”
The House finally voted in February 1964 and sent the bill to the Senate. As the year progressed, LBJ’s legislative orchestrations, combined with actions by civil rights supporters on the streets, got the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed. The President signed it on July 2, and King, Wilkins, Farmer, and Young were in the East Room of the White House with him. (The story of getting the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 through Congress is told in the Summer 2004 issue … [ Read all ]
Posted by Mary on January 18, 2011, under - Civil Rights, - The 1960s, Uncategorized.
Tags: american history, civil rights, Civil Rights Act, LBJ, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr., National archives and records administration | <urn:uuid:40766cd2-f20f-4410-a50b-493ed2bb233e> | CC-MAIN-2015-14 | http://blogs.archives.gov/prologue/?tag=american-history&paged=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-14/segments/1427131300280.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20150323172140-00037-ip-10-168-14-71.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958403 | 1,707 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Serenade by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies (including the famous “Unfinished Symphony”), liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music. Appreciation of his music during his lifetime was limited, but interest in Schubert’s work increased dramatically in the decades following his death at the age of 31.
Video Demokomodo93433 Romantic. 82 Bars. 3/4 Time Signature. 6 pages. key of A m. drop d. | <urn:uuid:b62c7af4-f72a-4de9-a27d-47b567c38ba8> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://www.classclef.com/serenade-by-franz-schubert/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243990551.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20210515161657-20210515191657-00606.warc.gz | en | 0.973581 | 143 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Health almanacs contain helpful information on the life cycles of human teeth. This information is valuable to the pursuit of good oral hygiene and health. We all know there are many problems that improper care for teeth can lead to, and applying the dental care information found in a health almanac can stop a number of problems before they begin, such as:
- Teeth are made of calcium and enamel. The calcium is the hard bone material of teeth, and enamel is the outer layer of tissue that protects the tooth. We understand how to keep calcium levels high in order to strengthen teeth, but we are still learning how enamel works and how it might be replaced once it is lost.
- Several foods that are high in calcium and thus good for your teeth are kale, broccoli, milk and yogurt. Keeping your calcium intake high will strengthen teeth against age and decay.
- Several foods that are bad for your teeth are red wine due to its acidity, ice when it is chewed because it makes teeth brittle, anything containing white processed sugar and anything containing white flour.
- The best method of caring for your teeth is using an electric tooth brush, or just being diligent about moving a manual toothbrush in proper circular motions around your teeth and your gums. It is good to do this at least twice daily, an hour after meals, followed by flossing and a swish of mouthwash.
There is a great deal you can do to care for your teeth on your own, but nothing replaces the necessary services of a quality dentist. Dentists and oral hygienists have the tools and the knowledge to prevent tooth decay, gingivitis and other tooth diseases. The cleanings and cavity prevention that the dentist contributes to are necessary to the health of your teeth. In Canada, the dental industry is one of the best in the world, and whether you require a dentist in the Okanagan Valley, Montreal or Toronto, you will not be disappointed by what is available to you. | <urn:uuid:bf79bc65-c350-4960-8677-675bc9f5f83c> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://kyalmanac.com/2017/03/04/oral-care/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247484772.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20190218074121-20190218100121-00479.warc.gz | en | 0.94384 | 408 | 3.5 | 4 |
A blog for language learners.
Language learning is usually reserved for children, but the truth is that it can be beneficial at any age. Research has shown that people who learn a new language in their 40s and 50s are better protected against dementia.
If you are looking for ways to learn vocabulary quickly and efficiently, this blog post is for you.
Learning a new language can be very intriguing regardless of age. However, some speculate that learning a new language becomes difficult as we get older.
There are many ways to learn a new language, such as listening to foreign songs, referring to familiar objects in the language, or just reading.
Turns out you can learn a second language while you sleep. According to a recent study from the University of Bern in Switzerland, people can learn words in another language during deep levels of sleep.
Learning a new language poses its challenges. A direct way to get better at a language is to memorize its words and basic grammar. | <urn:uuid:b61f158d-9c33-468d-b52a-6d23e1e7ded6> | CC-MAIN-2021-39 | https://blogs.wordeys.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-39/segments/1631780056572.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20210918184640-20210918214640-00084.warc.gz | en | 0.967951 | 199 | 2.953125 | 3 |
You won’t have to trawl very many specialist journals, or news reports to discover that we, as a global nation, are unhealthier than we’ve been in a long time. While it’s undoubtedly true that the residents of many high-, middle-, and low-income countries, including Canada, are experiencing higher life expectancies than previous generations we are not all doing so to the advantage of our health. According to the World Health Organizations World Report on Aging and Health, there’s still a long way to go before we can say we’re enjoying our lives to the fullest.
So, where are we going wrong?
Although many of us understand the benefits of a healthy diet and leading an active lifestyle, few of us are putting this comprehension into practice. The answer is right in front of us; we’re just not getting enough exercise, or making the most of the ingredients that are available to us.
According to one study published last summer Canadians take fewer steps, on average, than many other global citizens manage per day. Commissioned by Nature, the international journal of science, the study revealed that Canadians are among the worst offenders for leading sedentary lifestyles – behind the likes of Hong Kong, the UK, Ukraine, and China. Meanwhile, our young people are following that trend, with just 33% of children in Canada completing the recommended 60-minutes of exercise per day. The University of British Columbia has already noticed that teenagers’ bones are becoming weaker, and more prone to breakages; missing out on physical activity, which stimulates bone growth and strengthening between the ages of 10 and 16 years, teenagers are, quite literally, growing lazy bones.
So, what’s our excuse? The Heart and Stroke Foundation found that many Canadians believe that they just don’t have the time to exercise. When asked during an online survey a resounding number of people agreed that they couldn’t afford to take time away from work, chores, or household responsibilities to enjoy physical activity. We’re busier than ever, but doing so little with our time. Workplace stress, social media, and an addiction to technology have also become detrimental to our health; whether you’re checking emails, catching up with friends, or mastering the latest free browser games, you’re definitely not putting your muscles and joints to their best use. Meanwhile, children and teenagers are increasingly seeking solace in TV shows, tablet devices, and video games rather than the wild outdoors – as we would have done at their age. Things need to change, but where should we start?
It’s time to get out and about
It really couldn’t be easier to get out there and get active; regardless of your age, ability, or gender, there’s a sporting activity or exercise that will inspire and encourage you to be the very best version of yourself. Perhaps you’ve become accustomed to putting exercise to the back of your mind. These tips should help you to change all of that.
Let’s get this out there; you don’t need to be a professional athlete to make the most of your physical health. Walking more, cycling, or breaking into a gentle jog every now and again could do wonders for your health and well-being. Choose an exercise you’re likely to keep up, such as a fitness class with friends or a promise to walk your dog longer and further; every big change starts with a myriad of smaller ones. It’s also important to choose the right equipment and clothing for any given activity. Compression clothing, which can be sourced at any sporting shop or online retailer, provides support and comfort to those just beginning their fitness journey. The better you feel while working out, the more likely you’ll be to keep it up beyond the New Year.
Involve the whole family
Children learn by example, and so introducing your whole family to a varied program of exercise is one of the best ways to combat inactivity across the ages. Make exercising fun by incorporating games and sporting activities into the daily routine; rather than driving to school walk or cycle shorter routes, and stop at the park on your way home to allow little ones to let off steam. Backyard Olympics, during which children play for points and prizes, is sure to get family members involved in some rigorous activity. Weekends were made for exercise. If you have a dog to walk, plan varied, exciting routes across the countryside and national parks. Also, consider the adventure you could have beside a lake, or in a caving system. Adventure, imagination, and exercise go hand in hand.
Incorporate exercise into your daily routine
One of the biggest excuses for inactivity is a hectic lifestyle; many of those participating in the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s survey cited long working hours and hectic schedules as a reason not to take some form of physical activity. It would appear we’re simply too busy to take care of our own health. However, there are plenty of ways you could incorporate a little exercise into your daily routine without compromising your work. Rather than driving into the office walk or cycle, or alight the bus or metro several stops early. Ignore the elevator in favor of the stairs; take to walking during your lunch break rather than checking social media. Activities such as running, swimming, and attending the gym can be done before or after work, while something as seemingly innocuous as dancing could be enjoyed as you complete the housework or make phone calls. Getting enough exercise means prioritizing your health wherever possible; we’re all capable of making allowances for that.
Make it a social occasion
As an older person, it can be tempting to forgo exercise in favor of staying inside. Perhaps you find it difficult to navigate the city by yourself, or have seen your friendship group dwindle in recent years due to illness, retirement, or relocation. Exercise is of the utmost importance to those of a certain age, supporting physical strength, emotional well-being, and mental health. Precious time spent indulging in a yoga class, walking and talking in a local park, or enjoying a light aerobics class could help to keep your brain sharp and your joints supple – not to mention widening your social circle and introducing all manner of new friends and acquaintances. Check out the noticeboards in your local churches and community centers; many operate exercise classes and social groups for those over 50 years of age. Encourage your friends and younger family members to join you for a walk once a week. Well, you might as well improve the health of those around you while you’re at it.
Above all, be ready to hold yourself accountable. Getting enough exercise is down to you, and you alone. The New Year has barely begun, providing plenty of opportunities to see in those changes. Things must change if Canada is to fare better in future surveys and step challenges. According to The Lancet, some 5.2-million deaths per year can be attributed to inactivity and the many health complications and conditions that accompany a sedentary lifestyle. From obesity, heart disease, and strokes, to cancer, diabetes, and mental health issues there are numerous, alarming diagnoses that can be associated to the lifestyles we’re currently leading – and guiding our children into. The good news is that it’s never too late to turn your life around or to discover the benefits of a good diet and plenty of exercise. How you tackle the issue is up to you; just be sure to involve your whole family in this exciting new adventure.
The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication. | <urn:uuid:b6dfad07-01ed-49f2-83dd-0199efe82398> | CC-MAIN-2018-47 | http://theclarion.ca/2018/01/23/not-getting-enough-exercise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-47/segments/1542039743963.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20181118031826-20181118053826-00070.warc.gz | en | 0.955218 | 1,602 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Starting Seeds Indoors
Start your summer garden indoors for spring planting outdoors.
Early Spring Vegetables
Planning and growing an organic garden in your local environment.
Planning your Garden from Scratch
Creating a growing plan for the coming season.
Build a Cold Frame or Hot Bed for your Garden
Growing crops year round.
Planting your garden by harvest dates.
Raised Bed Gardening
Growing more plants in less space with increased productivity. | <urn:uuid:4b0e9352-5f67-4dda-973e-9bb7a8d7828d> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.moongrow.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424937481488.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226075801-00130-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.778075 | 94 | 2.578125 | 3 |
A lot of have forfeit the ability of learning. They assume they are fully aware what they desire to understand to obtain through their hectic days. Very frequently they discover that what they’ve learned is becoming outdated with no longer pertains to existence. They soon get substituted with somebody that knows more while he has stored up to date with new understanding and developments. Learning isn’t difficult when the right techniques are implemented. Should you follow them, you’ll realize better results and also have more happiness compared to majority who just manage on which little they are fully aware.
The requirement for Discipline
Before anything could be learned, your brain needs the skill to pay attention to the fabric that should be learned. Your brain from the average man and lady is really a jumble of scattered ideas full of worries and fears. A stressed thoughts are a confused mind and may not focus on what must be learned. An undisciplined mind means a disorganized lifestyle. Before you aspire to learn anything, you have to learn to discipline that grey matter inside your skull therefore it can devote full focus on absorbing new understanding.
A Readiness to understand
No expert knows everything about his selected career. Breakthroughs occur daily that cause a brand new knowledge of how things work. Whatever your selected field, in case your thoughts are closed to researching new breakthroughs, your worth to your small business is limited. You must have a balanced view and become prepared to absorb new understanding because it arrives. A readiness to understand does mean being prepared to get rid of individuals archaic theories that may prevent you from evolving through existence.
It’s an important answer to memory improvement. Your brain can certainly forget details and figures unless of course they’re remembered and reinforced. It’s important to rehearse that which you learn, daily, if it’s something you have to remember. You can’t be a professional player if you don’t reinforce that which you learn through constant practice. Repetition helps discipline your brain therefore it can concentrate on learning without distractions getting in the manner.
Learning like a Creative Challenge
The only method to remember and discover anything is as simple as making it challenging. Lots of people possess the typical “one-track mind” that’s sufficient to obtain them through a full day. However the mind needs stimulation if it’s for use at full capacity. Stimulation means using the senses. Couple of people can recall the things they learn as they do not employ feelings in to the learning process. Creativeness and using imagination helps your brain better retain what’s being learned. Youngsters are like sponges. They learn rapidly because they use their senses along the way. If you’re able to make learning challenging and fun, you’ll remember much more as well as for for a longer time.
Learning As they are
If whatever you ever study is exactly what pertains your job, your existence is going to be dull. Individuals have hobbies that don’t connect with their careers because they find stimulation in individuals hobbies. To maintain your mind sharp and enhance your learning skills, you ought to be participating in something unrelated for your expertise. Read biographies and self-help books. Attempt to become familiar with a new language or learn how to play golf. Any type of activity energizes the mind and improves learning skills.
The significance of A Healthy Body
Constant learning doesn’t seem possible if you’re tired, irritable or stressed. Factors for example diet, exercise, ecological pollutants reduce the opportunity to effectively learn. You can’t stay sharp should you subsist dieting of burgers, fries and cola. The very best that you can do on your own prior to taking on any task that needs your full attention, is address individuals factors that hinder learning.
Improving learning skills is really essential in today’s busy world that demands you remain competitive. All effective individuals are learners. If you would like success and all sorts of things existence provides, take time to master the opportunity to learn. | <urn:uuid:fd5e267d-6888-482e-9f60-becc76185506> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://ilearningglobal.biz/post/improving-existence-skills-through-constant-learning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243988696.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20210505203909-20210505233909-00153.warc.gz | en | 0.960087 | 837 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Germans Capture Vilnus and Warsaw
On September 19th, the Germans ended their offensive against the Russians by capturing Vilna. Thus, they completed their capture of all of Poland and Lithuania.
The first year of World War I on the Eastern Front had seen first a successful Russian offensive, followed by a very successful counteroffensive by the German in which they regain all of the land originally lost in the Russian offensive.
At the end of 1914 the lines were roughly were they began the war. The Germans were on the Prussian Russian border, and the Russians were manning their fortification that ran all the way from the Baltic to the mountains of Galicia.
The Germans planned a major offensive for 1915 transferring some troops from the static battlefield of west to the east. On May 1, 1915 the German launched a major offensive in the direction of Warsaw. Prior to the attack they had made a small attack in the North against Lithuania successfully drawing Russian troops North. The Germans succeeded in advancing capturing the Russian fortifications at Gorlice Tarnow on June 17th. When the last German fortification fell at Fort Ivang-orod, the Russians had no choice but withdraw from Warsaw, which they did on August 5, 1915.
With their forces advancing rapidly in the center of the front, the Germans resumed their initial offensive in the North. On August 19th after an 11 day battle Kaunus fell to the Germans. On August 25th Brest-Litovsk was captured by German forces. Finally in September 19th Vilnus was captured. By capturing Vilnus the Germans had succeeded in capturing all of the Polish/Lithuanian area that had been occupied by the Russians for 100 years. | <urn:uuid:fe892e08-374f-4f24-aa58-b2237fd47c69> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.historycentral.com/ww1/VilniusFallstoGer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891815034.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20180224013638-20180224033638-00727.warc.gz | en | 0.985967 | 352 | 3.609375 | 4 |
This article is a chapter from the book “Spiritual Import of Religious Festivals”.
*Sankara Jayanti Message given on the 17th of May, 1972.
Today is Vaisakha Sukla Panchami, the fifth day in the bright fortnight in the month of April-May, when we celebrate the advent of the great Acharya Sankara who is often referred to, by his followers, as Bhashyakara (the commentator on the Prasthana Traya,–the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita). The famous and immemorable event of his life and work is a consequence of the chronology of social history as well as a consequence of the logic of human thought. The immortal service that he has done for the world is thus an outcome of a chronological process as well as a logical one.
First of all, let us see what is the chronological significance of the work of Acharya Sankara in the social history of India particularly and the world in general. Chronology is the sequence of history, and if we trace back the condition of the human society, particularly in India, during the time of the most ancient of human conditions available to us for study,–the time of the Vedas from where we begin the study of human history,–we realise that there was, during the time of the sages of the Vedas, a spontaneous tendency to recognise God in creation. This is the specific characteristic of the time of the Veda Samhitas–to visualise and to behold the creator in what is created, and to see the One in the many. Destiny, perhaps, willed that this should be the beginning of our cultural history so far as it can be recollected by our memories and available data, historically as well as archaeologically. The Samhitas of the Vedas are spontaneous hymns and prayers offered to God in His multifaceted manifestation as this cosmos. To the sages of the Veda Samhitas, the rise of the sun was a manifestation of God. It was the glorious God Aditya that was rising. The dawn was a manifestation of divinity. Similarly, the sunset had its own glory, revealing the divinity of God. The heat of summer, the pouring rains, the cold of winter, and the changing seasons, all that is visible as well as conceptual became a vehicle for enshrining devotion to God. It was a spontaneity of feeling which was, in a sense, a natural result of the intuition of the sages. Throughout the Samhitas, if you make a deep study of them, you will see spread out in various places, thoughts and devotional feelings in their various emphases and stresses, all beckoning the aspiration of the human soul to what is implied and what is hidden behind the manifested phenomena.
Now here, in this psychological situation of mankind, we have a twofold significance from the point of view of cultural history. On the one hand, it was a visible expression of an inner realisation by which the sages plumbed the depths of infinity and proclaimed for all eternity and to all mankind “Ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti, Indram Varunam Mitram Agni…” All the variety, whether in the field of the Adhidaiva (the transcendent, the presiding principle) or the Adhibhuta (the objective, the world) or the Adhyatma (the subjective, the individual), is a glorious facet or expression of the Supreme Being who is designated in the very commencement of the Rig Veda as “Ekam Sat”,–the One Being, without associating the Being with any cult, creed and religious faith. The most catholic definition of the Supreme Reality we have for the first time given in the body of the Rigveda Samhita. Ekam Sat–The One Being, One Reality, One Substance, One Existence,–that the sages recognise and designate as the manifold. In various ways they sing of the glories of this One Mighty Being. But on the other hand, for pure exoteric observation, it would rather look like an acceptance of polytheism or the worship of the many Gods, as if there is a real multiplicity of the realm of the Adhidaiva, as a counterpart to the multiplicity that we see in the realm of the Adhibhuta or the physical world. The variety of the physical world became the source of a susceptible feeling in the minds of people later on, through the passage of time, that, perhaps, the souls also are many and the Gods also are many, because the objects in the world are many!
This is a slightly posterior period to that of the exuberance of the Veda Samhita Mantras wherein there was only a spontaneous spiritual outpouring of devotion to the One on account of Its having been recognised in realisation, in direct experience. But, when we make a study of these outpourings, they do not look like the manifestations of the One Experience. All study that is historical is exoteric, prosaic, mechanised and sensory, and hence the esoteric significance that was the background of the very origination of these Veda Mantras, got lost in the process of time, in the passage of history. The outward form, the visible significance of it as hymns offered to the various centres of divinity, the many Gods as they usually say, got emphasised, and these Gods became not only objects of reverence, but also objects of fear. It was not that Gods were always beneficent. They could also be wrathful. While in the earlier stages of the Veda Samhitas, it was not fear of God or even a reverence, in the ordinary sense of the term, cherished towards God that was the cause of these hymns, but an automatic outpouring in ecstatic poetry of a diviner experience felt within; later on, these recorded hymns became historical record of the utterances of the ancient masters. These Mantras which were visibly recorded for posterity, became objects of study and also vehicles for invocation of the many Gods. To the originators of these Mantras, the Gods were not manifold; they were the many phases of the One. But, now, they lost their connection with the original unity or the background, and only the phases are seen as the multifarious divinities presiding over the quarters of the cosmos–the Indra, Agni, Varuna, Mitra, Aryama and many such celestials. These deities began to be invoked through the very same Mantras which were originally the revelations of the sages. While in the original Samhitas, in their primordial condition, they were effects of a diviner experience, now they became a cause rather than an effect of an invocation of these multifarious Gods. We invoke these Gods by placation, by propitiation, by begging and by requesting them not to do us any harm. We pray: “Oh mighty God, save us from calamities, from catastrophies. Oh great God, give us all our needs and desires. May our wants be fulfilled.”
In a third stratum of thought in this march of social history, these very divinities which were thus propitiated began to be recognised as almost like human individuals. Now, they can get angry as any human being can get angry and they can also be pleased as any human being can be pleased. Perhaps, they could even be bribed through various types of offering. Thus we hear of contention among the very Gods and fights among the celestials, which is really very strange. How could the Gods fight amongst themselves! But that is envisaged by the mind which studied the Gods and the celestials in the light of human nature. As we are, so the Gods also are. So, as we please people, we have to please Gods also in the very same way, applying the same methodology as we apply towards human beings. When a friend comes, you give him a cup of tea, hot water for bathing, a lunch, and a soft bed for reclining and resting, and he is mightily pleased. Even so do we appease the Gods by offering the very same articles of satisfaction as we offer to human beings.
But how could we transfer these objects that we would like to offer to the Gods in the celestial region? They are invisible! The celestials are not known and they are not seen. So sacrifices or Yajnas were instituted, and the holy fire, the sacred Agni became the secret messenger or the carrier of the oblations to the Gods. We say, “Agnaye svaha” and offer to the Supreme Messenger of the Divine Being, Agni. May He be pleased. In all the Havans and Yajnas, you will find the first deity to be invoked is Agni. This ritual is called Agnisthapanam. It is invocation of the celestial behind the principle of fire or the divinity of fire who is called Fire-God, Agnidevata. He is first invoked and then He is told: ‘Please take this to Indra’, ‘Please take this to Yama’, ‘Please take this to Varuna’, and so on. He will carry our offerings to the particular deities who are addressed through the Mantras, with the suffix ‘Svaha’, in the Yajnas.
Now, you know very well how we have slowly drifted away from the original intention of the Veda Mantras, by the degeneration of time process, advent of Treta, Dvapara and Kali Yuga, or whatever you may call it. So, the emphasis got completely shifted from the universal to the external, material and even prejudiced way of thinking. The offerings in these Yajnas or sacrifices meant to propitiate the Gods that are many, were in the beginning holy articles, such as clarified butter and certain grains, pulses and wood from sacred trees like Asvattha, Palasa and so on, gruel cooked out of rice, Payasam, Charu, etc. But, once we make a mistake, we do not stop with it. It goes on multiplying, and there is an aggregate of errors; mistake after mistake began to be committed with the pious intention of propitiating the Gods. All kinds of offerings were poured into the sacred fire. Well, it came to a climax when even living beings were mercilessly offered, because of the belief that a particular Devata would be pleased. There were occasions, which we can read in the Puranas, when people who had no children prayed to the Gods for bestowing upon them a child, on the condition that it would be offered again to the Devata, as a Balidana. Such is the desire for a child, though it is meant only to be sacrificed later on! This practice continues in some parts even today, even in this fag end of the twentieth century. Narabali, and Yajnas such as Gomedha, Asvamedha were instituted for acquiring material gain, increasing earthly prosperity, and side by side with a conviction that the Gods would be pleased thereby. We have not only gone away from the centre of truth, but we have also now begun to interfere with the welfare of other people in the world. This is naturally intolerable to the very law that operates in the universe. Where is that original intention of the Veda Mantras which was only a consequence of the great Divine experience of the Supreme Being by the great sages, and where are we now, utilising these Mantras for offering oblations in the sacred fire for propitiating the multiplicity of Gods for earthly suzerainty and sensory satisfaction!
It was at this time that Gautama, the Buddha, was born in this country. When anything goes to the extreme, the other extreme is set up. Very hot day means, there will be a cyclone; winds shall start blowing, breaking branches of trees, and there may be a shower. Now, the clock has come full round and the hour has struck for the other extreme step to be taken. While there was a deep feeling and conviction that there are many Gods, guarding the quarters of the cosmos, who are our well-wishers and without whose satisfaction we cannot be happy in this world,–these very Gods, who were regarded as our very life, were denied by Buddha. He said that they did not exist at all. This is the other extreme. See where we have come to! You say, the Gods are protecting you; I say, they do not exist at all and it is your mind that works. So, from the spiritual realisation and mystical experience of the sages of the Veda Samhitas, we came down to a worship and inner adoration of the multiplicity of Gods. Then we came still further down to the time when we began to make physical offerings to the sacred fire for the satisfaction of the Gods without any feeling or compunction in offering living beings, even human beings, in the sacrifices. There was such a thing called Naramedha or the offering of a human being in sacrifice. If the Gods themselves do not exist, where comes the sacrifice? It has no meaning. So, the first historically known reformer in our land was Gautama, the Buddha. He was a reformer in the sense that he put a check to the further growth of this externalising tendency of ritualised devotion to an imagined set of multiplicity of Gods. But for him, it would have landed people in a catastrophe. We do not know what would have happened. This tendency was checked by the psychological philosophy of Buddha and the divinities were completely ignored. Now, the divinity, if at all there is, is the thinking principle in the human being himself. The world is made by the mind, it is purely psychological. It is a projection of ideas. It is a notion in your mind that is this world and even these Gods. This was a beautiful psychological analysis made by the Buddha, which was an ethical idealism which he propounded in contradistinction to the ritualistic ceremonialism of the Brahmanas which succeeded the Veda Samhitas.
It sometimes happens, children interfere with the transistor and spoil the whole music which the parents had tuned. This happened in the case of the followers of this great reformer, who began to interpret his teachings in their own way, even as it happened with the followers of the Vedas also who interpreted the Mantras in their own way, and landed themselves in ceremonialism, ritualism and mechanised sacrifices. That the world is only an idea, and that the Gods do not exist, which was one of the predominant teachings of the Buddha, received special emphasis in certain schools of Buddhism. And Buddha’s philosophy did not end with the death of Buddha. It continued, but in a ramified form, not as a single stream. It ramified itself into four streams at least–the Vijnanavada which taught that internal ideas manifest themselves as external objects, the Vaibhashika which held that really existent external objects are directly perceived, the Sautrantika which contended that the perception of external object is entirely determined by the processes of internal ideas, and lastly we had what has been called Nihilism, Sunyavada, or the Madhyamika doctrine which was the view of there being nothing at all in reality. So this controversy was another kind of catastrophe that got itself introduced into human thought. From somewhere we have gone to some other place, not knowing the direction at all. The intention of the originators of the great thoughts and the sages of divine experience were all wonderful. But, time has its own say in every matter and things slowly get diluted as time passes on. The pure gets adulterated until it loses all content, meaning and reality. The worst mistake that we can do in anything is to go to the extreme in it. Even in a good thing, we should not go to the extreme. Then it ceases to be a good thing, and becomes a bad thing. Even truth can become untruth, when it is taken to the extreme. Ahimsa can become Himsa when it is taken to the extreme. Virtue can become vice when it is completely taken to the breaking point. So all these good thoughts which are necessary as reformations in the history of man, got distorted by the passage of time and people began to argue in various ways positing realities according to their own whims, fancies and predelictions, and there was again another chaos.
The next step was the advent of Sankara to rectify this extreme that was brought about in human thought by the adulterated forms of Buddhistic idealism, which were all extreme types of thinking. They had some truth in them, but they were not the whole truth. For example, it is not true that the world is created by our ideas and yet it is true that our ideas have some say in the projection of the forms of objects. It is not true that the objects are physical in their nature, yet it is true that they have some physicality in them independent of human thought. It is not true that nothing exists, as the Nihilists say, but yet it is true that things do not exist as they appear to the senses. All these aspects of truth had to be brought into relief by a new method of approach altogether which was the purpose of the mission of Acharya Sankara. This was the consequence chronologically speaking, as I mentioned to you, a historical reason for the teaching which Sankara gave in the way he did it.
I started by saying that besides the chronological process, there was also a logical reason for the development of this thought which is another interesting stream of the psychological history of man. While what I have said so far is the historical, purely sociological or chronological aspect of the significance of Sankara’s work in this country and in the world, let us now see its logical significance. His thought is a logical consequence of all thoughts that preceded before his coming into being. There were systems of thought called the Darsanas. You must have heard of the schools of thought known as the Nyaya, the Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and certain other mystical and ritualistic philosophies which were in minority, of course, yet prevalent during the time of Sankara. The immediate or rather the crudest form of human perception is taking for granted whatever is seen by the senses. “Oh, I am seeing it there, and therefore it is there. Just because I see it there, it is there.” This is the uncritical acceptance of things. You know very well that just because something is there before your eyes, it need not necessarily be there. Because, certain things can present themselves before our eyes, yet they may not be there really. Yet uncritically we accept everything that is visible to the eyes. Now, this philosophy of uncritical acceptance of everything that is visible or everything that is sensible, to put it more generally, became the incentive behind the systems of thought called the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika, whose conclusion is that things are physical and psychological. There is no other reality conceivable. This conclusion is arrived at by a system of logic, argumentation, or a systematic, syllogistic process of argument. Inasmuch as the followers of this system entirely depended on the syllogism of human thinking, logical argumentation, deducing things from given premises, the system is called the Nyaya. ‘Nyaya’ means logic. It is, therefore, a logical system of pluralistic realism. It is logical because it is syllogistic. It is pluralistic because they accept multiplicity of physical entities. It is realism because the world, according to them, is external to the human mind and it is not a part of the process of human thinking. What about God? Is there a place for a Creator in this scheme of things? Yes, there is a place. But He is like a potter making a pot, a carpenter making a table, an engineer or a mechanic constructing a machine. What does this imply? The potter can make the pot or not make it, and he can break the pot, if he likes. The pot has nothing to do with the potter and it is completely outside him. By a similar analogy, God was regarded as an extra-cosmic being, outside the cosmos. The potter cannot be inside the pot and he is outside the pot. So God cannot be in the world and He is outside the world. If He is in the world, how can He create it? So the logical realism of the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika, which are brother-systems, concluded that God is beyond the world and outside the world. And a multiplicity of material was posited as the stuff out of which this extra-cosmic creator began to mould this cosmos, as a potter would shape a pot by manipulating the clay-material that is available to him outside.
But many questions posed themselves before the minds of people. This philosophy was found not satisfactory. How could we reach this God who is extra-cosmic and what is the way? Is there a ladder from earth to heaven where God lives? His hands cannot reach us and our thoughts cannot reach Him. There seems to be some defect in these systems. This was the decision made by the Sankhya which was a later development of philosophical thought. According to this School, it is not true that there are many physical entities or realities as the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika thought. All these manifold objects could be boiled down to certain fundamental essences or principles which are the building bricks of the cosmos. While the Vaiseshika and the Nyaya thought that there is earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, soul and so on, all independent of the other, though in their finer essences as atoms etc., yet the multiplicity was accepted. But the Sankhya thought out this matter more deeply, and felt that it is not true that there are five elements. They are only five degrees of the intensity of one element. One element or principle, one being or stuff has modified itself into various densities. This was what Sankhya taught. There are not five elements,–earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Even the mind is not an independent entity. It is also a modification, in a particular form, of the very same stuff which is the substance out of which the cosmos is made. And if at all we have to accept more than one reality due to the exigency of experience and thought, we can at best accept only two entities, consciousness which sees and that which is seen, the experiencer and the experienced, the seer and the seen, or, to put it more precisely, consciousness and matter. These are the only two things that exist anywhere and not more. We do not have five elements, many souls, etc., absolutely independent in their inner structure. So, there was a logical development of thought from the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika, when the Sankhya philosophy developed its conclusions in regard to what is called Purusha and Prakriti. It is this Purusha and Prakriti that we generally call God and the world, in popular language. Why should we accept two entities? Who told you that there is a Purusha and there is a Prakriti? How do you know that there is consciousness and there is matter? Can you prove this? Can you substantiate this thesis? Yes, was the answer of the Sankhya. No human being can escape noticing an object outside in the world. You may try your best and stretch your imagination to its farthest limits; you cannot escape the recognition of an object outside. It is there. It may be this or it may be that. But something is there outside. That is what you call matter. Matter is that which is other than consciousness, that which consciousness recognises, sees or comes in contact with. That which has not the characteristic of consciousness is matter. The distinguishing feature of that which is different from consciousness is that it is non-intelligent and therefore it cannot think. This is a wonderful philosophy. You can read it in detail in your leisure. And as a matter of fact Vedanta is nothing but an amplification of the Sankhya. The seed of the Vedanta was sown by the Sankhya itself. We have to give enough credit to the thinkers of the Sankhya for having paved the way for the onward march of later thinkers like Sankara.
Well, there is something very interesting to note in this philosophy of the Sankhya again. Is this satisfactory? The Sankhya thought that for certain obvious reasons the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika were not satisfactory, especially in its theory of God. The Liberation, the nature of the soul and such other conclusions of the Nyaya and the Vaiseshika were almost preposterous. No thinking mind would accept them. So, the Sankhya came forward and proclaimed that liberation is a fact. There is such a thing as liberation or salvation. But, salvation is nothing but Purusha resting in himself, consciousness resting in itself, thought merging into its source. It is self-illumination of consciousness, independent of its contact with matter. This is Kaivalya, Ekatva, Absolute Independence. Thus there is no provision for God in the Sankhya system. This is not necessary at all, because we can get on in the world even without a God. Why not? The world and the world experiences are nothing but the contact of Spirit with matter. And liberation is nothing but separation of the Spirit from matter. We have explained the whole of experience here and hereafter with these two principles alone, Purusha and Prakriti, Consciousness and matter.
But, and a great but, can you get on with this philosophy? Can you answer all questions of ethics and practical life with these two principles of Purusha and Prakriti alone? No, we cannot answer all questions and solve all problems with these two principles alone, because there is a small difficulty caused by the acceptance of the Law of Karma which is recognised even by the Sankhya. Karma is nothing but the reaction that is set up to an action. It is the nemesis that follows every action that an individual or Purusha does. Merit is rewarded and demerit is punished. But who does this? Does Purusha reward himself for the merit he does, and does Purusha punish himself for the sin he commits? This would be a very absurd conclusion obviously. Who would like to punish oneself! Even if I do a wrong, I would not like to be punished. But there is nobody else who can punish the Purusha for the wrong that he does. Prakriti cannot do it, because it is unintelligent and Purusha will not do it because he himself is the doer. So, this is no good. The need for someone to dispense justice was felt by the Yoga system of thought which came after the Sankhya.
The Yoga School was systematised, not originated of course, and logically presented by Patanjali later on. Yoga said, an Isvara is essential. Otherwise, you cannot escape this difficulty of the Law of Karma. Reward and punishment will be meaningless on the basis of the Law of Karma, if a Supreme Dispenser of justice does not exist. God exists, said Patanjali. But this God is only like a judge in a court with whom we are not directly connected except when there is a case. When the case is over, we do not care for the judge. We go away homeward. Such was the God mentioned in the Sutras of Patanjali; very essential, very necessary, yet not organically connected with our life. He hangs loosely in the system of Yoga. So, for the first time in the history of philosophical thought in India God, world and soul, all three were posited in a manner satisfactory for all practical purposes, in the system of Yoga propounded by Maharshi Patanjali.
But what is the goal of life according to Yoga? Is it God-realisation? According to Yoga God-realisation is not the goal. Because this God is necessary only for the sake of dispensing justice to the Purushas. The goal of life is self-withdrawal. Consciousness or the essence of the Purusha resting in itself is liberation and the final goal of life. It has nothing to do with Isvara who is also, after all, one of the Purushas, though He may be a special Purusha, Purusha-visesha. What is the internal relationship among Purusha, Prakriti and Isvara? There is no proper answer. Unless there is a relationship among entities, how can we posit the entities? It is logically inadmissible and it is an untenable thesis. We should not say that there are two things, unless we are able to explain the relationship between the two things. How do we know that they exist? Our consciousness that posits the existence of two objects transcends the two objects. The very fact that we know that there is a God and a world and there are Purushas, shows that we who make this judgement have intrinsically some thing, some principle which seems to transcend the limitation of these three posited principles. Here we have an introduction to the Vedanta philosophy. God is there. Yes, it is wonderful. World is there. Yes, we see it. The Purushas are there. Yes, we do experience them. But what is the internal connection among these things? What is the relevance that obtains between these three principles? This could not be answered by either the Sankhya or the Yoga.
With this introductory remark on the inadequacies of all the earlier systems of thought, Sri Sankara came forward as a genius of philosophic thought, as a master who could solve with one stroke all the problems of life with his mighty system of psychology, wondrous system of metaphysics, his master technique of Yogic meditation and his soul-enrapturing ideal of the realisation of Brahman as the goal of life. Such was the significance, chronological as well as logical, of the great mission and work of Acharya Sankara in Bharatavarsha, which has done mighty good not only to the citizens of this country but also to all seeking souls throughout the world.
The goal of human life depends upon the relation of the human individual to the world. Unless this relation is understood, the goal also cannot be properly specified. We are very much connected with the world outside, we know it very well. And unless we know what sort of connection it is that we are supposed to have with the world outside, we cannot properly ascertain the nature of the goal of human life. Religious teachers and prophets came to specify the goal of human life, the ultimate purpose behind all the activities of mankind. And they differed from one another in their concept of the relation of the individual to the cosmos. So we have schools of thought,–Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta, known as the orthodox schools of philosophy; the Charvakas, the Jainas, the Vaibhasikas, the Sautrantikas, the Vaijnanikas and the Sunyavadins among the heterodox ones. Even in the Vedanta, we have various sections,–the Advaita, the Visishtadvaita, the Dvaita, the Shuddhadvaita, the Dvaitadvaita, Achintyabhedabheda, Saiva Siddhanta, the Sakta school, and so many other schools. The schools are so many that we do not know where we stand, finally. This was the condition of the human mind in its philosophical level when Sankara’s advent took place on this earth. Hundreds of cults and dogmas prevailed. Pasupatas, Saivas, Bhairavas, Kapalikas were all rampant during his time. He came to give to mankind a gospel of healthy living.
It is not easy to understand the gospel of Adi Sankaracharya. I do not believe that even today the majority of mankind really understands it. It is not just a glib word ‘Advaita’. What is the meaning of Advaita? That itself is a difficult thing to conceive. It is not a system opposed to other systems, but a method of interpretation of values by which we can healthily coordinate the existing systems of thought and construct a system of philosophy according to which we can live happily in every stage of our life. I do not intend to go into the details of this philosophical background. But suffice it to say that the Vedanta of Sankara came as a remedy to the diversified ways of thinking which created an unnecessary conflict even in daily practices of human beings, and this he did without going contrary to the injunctions of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Scripture and reason were the two aids in the arguments of Sankara. He was a tremendous logician, the like of which it is difficult to imagine ordinarily, who based his arguments entirely on the principles of logic, but without contradicting the intuitional revelations of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Every argument was logically precise, culminating in an irrefutable conclusion. But it was based on the evidence of the scriptures like the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Samhitas of the Vedas. He came to combine the validity of scripture with the limitations of reason and the value of reason. Intuition is not opposed to intellect, was what Sankara proclaimed. Nor can we say that intellect is complete in itself. The conclusions of the intellect have to be corroborated by the revelations of the Srutis. Sruti, Yukti and Anubhava–scripture, argument and experience–have to go parallelly along a path leading to a single goal. Scripture is the support for the argument, while argument supplies the strength for the exposition of the scripture, both of which lead to the direct experience or Anubhava. Reality is experience. Brahma Sakshatkara is the same as Anubhava of the Supreme Being.
Unfortunately, today we have no proper expositions of the Vedanta philosophy. They are all in bits and tracts, here and there; a complete philosophy of Sankara is not available in any single book. You read any book written anywhere, but you will not find a complete philosophy of his presented. There will be only a section of it, a part of it, a phase of it or an aspect of it presented, so that it always gives a wrong view of the philosophy. This is unfortunate; but this is understandable, because it is not easy for a single man to write or to touch upon all the aspects of this single, all-comprehensive philosophy. The Upanishads themselves are all-comprehensive and an exposition of them, which is the system of Vedanta, has naturally to be many-sided. You cannot read any particular text-book and say I have understood Vedanta. Because all text-books deal with certain aspects–the theory of perception, or the logical part of it alone, or only the Sadhana aspects of it, and so on are touched upon. We have masterly expositions of Advaita Vedanta given in such books as the Khandana Khanda Khadya of Sriharsha or the Tattva Pradipika of Chitsukha or the Advaita Siddhi of Madhusudana Saraswati, but you will not understand the spirit of Vedanta even after reading all these books. Because they are only arguments leading to certain conclusions of Advaita but not the entirety of it. Even if you read the Brahma Sutra Bhashya of Sankara, you will not know or understand the entire teaching of it. It requires study under a Guru to have a complete view of the entire perspective of Sankara’s teaching.
It is really interesting that the fate of the Advaita Vedanta later on, in the passage of time, was similar to that of Buddhism. It was misrepresented. As Buddha was misrepresented, Christ is being misrepresented, Sankara was also misrepresented. So to counteract the misrepresented attitudes came other Acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhva and others. You cannot wholly and satisfactorily explain the subtle relation of soul to God. Though many schools of philosophy have come up, they are like dismembered bodies, and not a complete whole. Just because we have limbs cut off and thrown everywhere, it does not mean that we have a complete human system. Unfortunately, we have only such limbs cut off–Dvaitins, Advaitins and Visishtadvaitins, etc. But we do not have a very satisfactory and happy blend of thought. Therefore, it is necessary that such a new orientation has to be attempted, without a biased approach of any school, keeping in view only the goal of mankind as a whole and not merely as a system or a school of thought. Such an attempt has to be made and the success of it depends entirely upon the genius of the man concerned, because Sankara himself was a genius.
Sankaracharya’s works must be studied not merely for the philosophical depths of his writings but also for the beauty of his language. Of course, unless you know Sanskrit you cannot appreciate his style. ‘Vakyam prasanna-gambhiram’–his sentences are very smooth-flowing, very deep and beautiful. They are not complicated arguments. They are very simple, but full of depth and literary beauty which you will find only in such poets like Kalidasa. Of course, Sankaracharya mostly wrote his commentaries in prose though he has also written poems of various kinds. They are so simple, so sonorous and so beautiful. For the beauty of the language of Sanskrit, and the depth of philosophical wisdom and the help they can offer us in our practical life, his works have to be studied. There is a beautiful poem by Sankara known as Prabodha Sudhakara. It is a very beautiful work because it combines Bhakti and Vedanta. Sankaracharya was also a devotee. All great Vedantins are also devotees. It is very mysterious. Madhusudana Saraswati was an utter Vedantin but he was a devotee of Lord Krishna. We do not know how we can combine. But they did.
Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj was a great admirer of Adi Sankaracharya and in his teachings you will find the spirit of Sankara. If you can understand Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj properly, you can understand Sankaracharya also. Of course, it is very difficult to understand both, because they are many-sided geniuses. So let us study their works and try to live a practical life of Vedanta and Bhakti. | <urn:uuid:2c4b4454-9b78-4324-ae40-51a677bb8c19> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://www.dlshq.org/religions/sankara-the-genius/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103034170.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20220625034751-20220625064751-00091.warc.gz | en | 0.972927 | 8,205 | 2.671875 | 3 |
In our greenhouse and nursery, I work very hard to create a hospitable environment for pollinators and wildlife. This means limited use of pesticides and herbicides. Unfortunately, greenhouse pests flourish when uncontrolled and can lead to devastating crop losses. They affect the appearance of our plants, which in turn affects how well they sell. This year, to minimize my use of insecticidal soap spray, I tried using Mantises as greenhouse predators instead.
Finding and Identifying Egg Cases
While cleaning garden beds this spring, I found many mantis ootheca (egg cases) hanging on branches of shrubs and trees. The egg cases can easily be spotted in areas of dense vegetation that stay standing through the fall and winter. Non-native mantis ootheca are round and bulbous, but native North American mantises (Stagmomantis carolina) have a long, flat egg case resembling a tiny trillobite.
I carefully cut the cases away from the parent plant, leaving the egg sac attached to its branch. I then placed those egg sacs in our unheated greenhouse, sticking the end of their twig into potted plants that often get pest problems in early spring.
For two months, nothing happened. But in mid April when the days were consistently sunny and warm, they finally hatched out in a giant wriggling mass!
They were fun to watch, and they dispersed themselves all across the greenhouse. But when it comes to aphid control, they were not voracious enough. In the past I used lady bugs and parasitic wasps as predators, both of which preyed on more aphids and at a faster rate than the mantises.
Do Not Order or Buy Mantises
I would not recommend ordering mantises from any garden center or organic pest control website — often they send the non-native type that are more likely to cause problems than solve them. Mantises are indiscriminate, and eat beneficial insects like bees, caterpillars, and even prey on hummingbirds.
I had fun experimenting with them because they were readily available to me on our grounds, but I would otherwise be cautious of using a nonnative insect for pest control. The best pest control method for residential gardens is a diverse planting that attract lots of pollinators and predators. These insects will find a balance amongst themselves! | <urn:uuid:b8ce136c-feec-42c7-a4ff-0648296a719f> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | https://dyckarboretum.org/tag/predator-insects/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103945490.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220701185955-20220701215955-00250.warc.gz | en | 0.952239 | 474 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Recognizing and Treating Feline Hyperthyroidism
What is hyperthyroidism?
Feline hyperthyroidism is a common disease that affects middle age and senior cats (usually age 8 and older). Hyperthyroidism is a disorder caused by an enlarged thyroid gland which produces too much thyroid hormone (called T3 and T4). An enlarged thyroid is typically due to a tumor affecting one or both lobes of the gland. In the majority of cases, these tumors are benign; however, in 2-5% of cases, they are cancerous.
What are the symptoms?
Thyroid hormone affects numerous systems in the body (metabolism, heart, kidneys, and liver), so an unstable thyroid can have disastrous and even fatal consequences. Symptoms of an overactive thyroid include:
- Excessive thirst and urination
- Increased appetite
- Aggressive behavior (or overly energetic)
- Yowling and panting
- Weight loss (despite increased appetite)
- Muscle weakness
- Unkempt-looking coat or hair loss
The majority of cats with this health issue lose weight while simultaneously having an increased appetite and onset is typically between 12-13 years of age. Note: Some cats may demonstrate other symptoms not listed above (such as anorexia). It was once thought that these cats exhibited atypical hyperthyroidism. However, it is more widely thought that these animals have other problems in addition to the hyperthyroidism, such as kidney disease or inflammatory bowel disease.
How is hyperthyroidism diagnosed?
A veterinarian will perform a physical exam and a CBC (complete blood count) with a special, thyroid-specific test known as the T4 panel. During the physical exam, the veterinarian will feel the cats neck area (where the thyroid is located) and may be able to feel the enlarged gland. The cats heart rate and blood pressure will also be checked. Cats with hyperthyroidism will have an elevated heart rate and high blood pressure.
The results from the blood test will offer a more complete picture and also rule out other conditions, which can present similar to hyperthyroidism such as chronic renal failure or liver disease.
What is the treatment?
There are three basic methods of treating hyperthyroidism: drug therapy, radioactive iodine therapy, and surgery.
A veterinarian will prescribe one of two medicines usually taken twice daily: tapazole or methimazole. Both medicines are effective in regulating thyroid hormone levels (but do not destroy the tumor) and can be administered in pill form or as a transdermal cream that is rubbed in the ear. The advantages of antithyroid drug therapy are that it is a non-invasive, relatively inexpensive treatment. Medication is also the only treatment for cats with hyperthyroidism and underlying kidney disease. Hyperthyroidism tends to mask kidney disease, so a careful balance is required to ensure that thyroid levels return to an acceptable level without leading to renal failure. There are some cats, however, that experience side effects to the medication such as nausea, vomiting, fever, anemia, and decreased appetite. Also, the medication will need to be administered for the rest of the cats life, which causes a large amount of stress on both animal and owner.
Radioactive Iodine Therapy (R131)
This treatment is permanently effective in up to 95% of cats with hyperthyroidism and no underlying kidney disease. Radioactive iodine is injected under the skin. The thyroid gland metabolizes the iodine, but only the diseased cells of the thyroid gland are destroyed, leaving healthy tissue unaffected. This treatment is performed at a certified veterinary hospital and requires that the cat is hospitalized for 1-2 weeks until its radioactive levels are acceptable. Cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, kidney disease, diabetes, or other serious condition are not candidates for radioactive iodine therapy. The advantages of this procedure are that provides a permanent cure, is safe with no serious side effects, and provides the lowest level of stress on the animal. However, this treatment is expensive and requires that the cat is in good health before treatment.
In some cases, the veterinarian may opt to surgically remove one of the lobes of the thyroid gland, known as a thyroidectomy. This treatment will also permanently cure hyperthyroidism if performed correctly. This is an expensive procedure that carries some risk. In some cases, not all of the damaged thyroid gland is removed, or, damaged is caused to the surrounding tissue in the throat. (Some owners have reported a change in the cats meow.) As with radio iodine treatment, not all cats are candidates for surgery.
What is the prognosis?
Cats with hyperthyroidism can lead healthy, happy lives provided that they receive proper, ongoing treatment. | <urn:uuid:bb2bc3fa-7ab5-4748-b402-d8f540f7924a> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://cranimals.com/blogs/cats/recognizing-treating-feline-hyperthyroidism | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510730.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20230930213821-20231001003821-00763.warc.gz | en | 0.949164 | 1,006 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Competitive Holstein horse breed is widespread in different countries of the world. Animals achieved such popularity due to their speed, dexterity, competitiveness, as well as good and easygoing disposition. Any jumps on the racetrack bring Holsteins prizes, awards, and often - the leadership in the top three. Where did the Holstein horses breed come from, what kind of animals do animals have, how to keep them properly, and other interesting information in our article.
The hardy ancestors of the Holstein breed
Holstein horses appeared in the distant Middle Ages. The first mention of individuals dated to the beginning of the 13th century. Of all the German Holstein breeds is considered the most ancient.
The breed was bred by long crosses of horses and stallions of Neapolitan, German, Oriental and Spanish species. The best individuals were carefully selected for selection.
The result was a horse, distinguished by pride, friendly character, high carriage walking and a solemn step.
The first horses, bred by breeders, became indispensable assistants to riders. Their fearless and appeasable temper often rescued the soldiers on the battlefield. At the right moments the horse was not timid and did not rush away.
The official Holstein deposit is the Tradentall Stud Farm, which is located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Animals were used by cavalry during wars, by knights for competitions, for teams in carriages and parade departures.
Already in the 18th century, a Holstein horse was widely popular throughout the European continent.
Subsequently, the Holstein horses were reduced to representatives of the Yorkshire carriage breed. They gave the Holstein breed a high and noble move, elegance, grace and tranquility.
Cavalrymen and drivers liked to take Holsteins with them on campaigns. “They do not kick, bite, never let down and will not show aggression,” said the brave warriors about their horses.
During the Second World War, the German horse had to serve the cause of the Reich. The cavalry was replaced by heavy machinery, so it was decided to improve the breed by pouring the blood of a horse horse into it.
Having selected the strongest and strongest individuals, they were crossed with the English thoroughbred breed, which gave rise to a new generation of Holsteins. Of the unremarkable horses in appearance there was a noble, beautiful and fast breed for equestrian sport.
Breeding thoroughbred horses of Holstein breed have developed coordination, move quickly, are energetic and docile. At the competitions, the Holsteers adore the races, tend to be ahead of everyone.
The latest generation of horses - the undisputed leaders in all respects. Even today, the Queen of England, the Danish and Swedish Kings hold representatives of this breed for parades and solemn trips. In some countries, these horses are still being used in knightly tournaments as assistants to riders.
Today the Holstein horse is the best sports individual. Competitive performance is achieved thanks to a calm disposition and quick dressing. The courage preserved from the times of the Middle Ages helps the Holsteins to win victories in every competition.
Modern horses are used in professional and amateur sports. Representatives of the breed have repeatedly won gold at competitions, and, according to forecasts of equestrian analysts, they will never leave their pedestal.
Sports achievements breed
The most popular representatives of the breed are the stallion Meteor, Almoks Classic Touch and Calvaro-5. The main prize qualities of a horse inherited from their ancestors. For example, from Landgraf.
Another ancestor who passed on the positive competitive qualities of seven generations of descendants, gelding Kalleto. One of his sons was Classic Touch, a master of single jumps.
If you carefully study the history of Holstein breed, we can safely say that most of the representatives received the highest awards in equestrian sports. One of them is the gelding Meteor.
The stallion Meteor won the first victories in 1952. At the Olympic heats he received bronze, and two years later he took gold for his German team in the overall standings. In individual races the horse took the honorable fourth place. In 1956, Meteor took the silver in the team race.
In the entire history of the existence of the Holsteins, there was not a single representative who participated in equestrian competitions who would not take significant rewards.
Unusual facts about the representatives of the Holstein breed
Holstein horses have their own unusual facts in history.
In the war, the horses of the Holstein breed were selected not only because of good endurance, but also for intelligence, as well as the ability to empathize with the rider.
In the royal stables and monastic families there are still very many representatives of the Holstein breed.
The first champion in the history of the breed became a horse named Thor, which took gold in single jumps in 1936.
Holstein horses are very clever, showing them an image with a representative of the breed, they very emotionally react to it.
A Holstein horse is capable of anticipating danger. If storm and bad weather sets in, it becomes restless, snorts and points the place where the trouble comes from.
The appearance of Holstein
This breed of horses is a bay, red, gray, dark bay color. There is a fifth color - a crow with white spots, which is extremely rare.
The head of a horse is long, stretched back. The eyes are large, expressive, the ears are large, sharp at the ends. The horse's neck is long, slightly curved, and the chest is wide. The powerful and long legs of the Holsteins differ in extraordinary strength. The hooves on the feet are round, massive.
The height of the horse at the withers varies from 173 to 175 centimeters. Due to the long legs the horse walks deeply, sedately, solemnly. The animal looks very elegant, as if nature has created it for victories and power.
At a gallop, the horse keeps smoothly, gently, as if completely weightless. The main trump card representative of this breed are jumping. Thanks to its curved neck and elongated rump, the Holstein demonstrates flexibility and grace.
Horse character and temper
Jockeys from all countries like to work with Holsteins very much, as they are easy to train. Obedient behavior, sharpness of reactions, as well as impeccable exterior - a great combination for equestrian sport.
A distinctive feature in the behavior of Holstein is stress resistance. That is why in ancient times they were used for wars. Horses are not shy, not afraid of sudden movements and loud sounds.
The brave and decisive character allows the Holstein horse to quickly respond to the situation. She is not naughty during the introduction of innovations in training, she overcomes obstacles with pleasure.
Another positive feature of the nature of the animal - activity. Despite the grueling daily workouts, the energy in the representatives of the Holstein breed is not diminished. On the contrary, if you do not drive it every day, the horse will feel unimportant.
Holstein is very difficult to ruffle. He easily makes contact with people, calmly transfers the team and riding. Representatives of this breed are recommended to acquire beginners and professionals in equestrian sports.
Adult horse price
Holstein foal costs from 150 to 200 thousand rubles. This price is due to the high performance, expressed in working qualities: activity, dedication, endurance and peace of mind.
In addition to the high price, the owner needs to prepare for the fact that he will spend a lot of effort, time and money on care, training and competent dressage of the horse. That is why experienced breeders immediately buy adult representatives.
An adult Holstein breed costs from 450 to 500 thousand rubles. For a mare or a stallion with a good pedigree, the price will increase two to three times, but the profitability from the sale of future offspring will bring good money to the breeder.
Horses Holstein, who won medals or places of honor in equestrian sport, are even more expensive. One adult stallion will cost you one and a half million. Therefore, if you get a Holstein in your stable for personal breeding, take a look at the very first and cheapest option.
Features of maintenance and care
Stable for Holstein
The Holstein horse has good immunity, so it endures all diseases. The only thing that affects it is detrimental - dampness in the room, so you should pay due attention to equipping the stables.
The larger the stallion area, the better for the stallion. Stable layout should be designed in such a way that it is easy to clean. In winter, be sure to carry out heating so that the horse does not freeze.
The optimal temperature for breeding Holsteins: from 15 to 20 degrees. In winter, the air must be warmed up. But it should not be too dry - it is necessary to maintain the humidity at the level of 55-60%.
Equip ventilation inside the stable to remove stale air, proper lighting — to ensure daylight during the cold season, and water — to supply water to the troughs and facilitate the flushing process.
It is desirable that the windows of the stables face the south side and open to the outside for ventilation. Heat and light favorably affect the state of the Holstein horse. They are cashed from the inside of the window with a grill to avoid injuries of an animal trying to get out of the stall in an unusual way.
The floor of the stable is made of mud brick material or baked bricks with a thickness of at least 18 centimeters. Top covered with board and covered with bedding, consisting of hay and sawdust.
Dampness is very detrimental to the condition of a horse’s hooves, so regularly change wet litter in the pen.
After each walk, rinse the hooves, watch for the absence of chips, cracks and signs of inflammation.
Regularly clean the room and wash the drinkers thoroughly with feeders.
Having finished with the equipment of a stable, proceed to equip the pen where the horse will train its skills. This type of corral is called Levada, the area is calculated based on the amount of free land and needs.
The shape of the levada should be oval, but not too elongated or narrow. Place under the pen select direct, dry, preferably where the grass grows. It is important to remove cut trees, stones, branches and other irregularities to avoid injury to the horse.
A rubber and plastic covering with holes through which the water will escape is lined on top.
A durable material is used as a hedge. It is better if the gate is easy to close and open with a bolt. The height of the fence pen from one and a half to two meters.
As feed, horses are given fresh greens, bran, millet, mineralized feed, hay, vegetables, fruits, vitamin supplements and salt.
Here are the basic rules of horse feed:
- It is necessary to feed a horse 5-6 times a day, little by little, so that the stomach is always filled with food.
- It is necessary to provide animals with round-the-clock access to hay and water.
- If you decide to transfer the horse to another menu, introduce new products gradually.
- Use only fresh, high-quality feed in your diet.
- On the day of one horse Holstein breed should drink at least 30 liters of water.
To avoid intestinal disorders, do not give the animal water and food immediately after exercise. Reduce fluid intake if there is a large amount of fresh herbs in the diet.
With proper care and nutrition, the animal will live for about thirty years.
We hope the article was useful and interesting for you. Please, like and share it on social networks. In the comments, you can leave a response or share your opinion. | <urn:uuid:df64f01b-4bf8-4f94-8633-0b01c5cb92c4> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://en.redfeatherfarm.org/45-about-holstein-horse-breed.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627999539.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20190624130856-20190624152856-00222.warc.gz | en | 0.956677 | 2,484 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Milk is a protective food that offers almost all nutrients necessary for growth and development. It is for this reason that Mother's milk is universally recommended for the new born babies as long as possible. While the first 6 months period is critical for the baby to survive, Mother's milk guarantees its health if free from in-born diseases. It is during the later part of its growth when baby is weaned away from Mother's milk that it needs supply of essential nutrients for continued growth and milk from cows and buffaloes is most commonly used, especially by vegetarian population for meeting the requirements Calcium, Proteins and a few other nutrients not available adequately from other food sources. In some parts of the world milk from Goat and Camel is popular either because the most common milk yielding animals do not proliferate there or due to local consumption habits. Camels are part of life in Dessert areas like Middle East used commonly as a transportation mode but its potential as a source of milk is now being recognized. UAE is the pioneer in promoting Camel Milk which is being exported in some quantities out side the region, probably for health conscious consumers because of its unique composition.
"Camel is a vital part of Arabian culture and tradition and its milk is an important component of the diet in the UAE and other Arab countries. Today camel milk is very important for human survival in many different countries. There are 18 million camels in the world which support the survival of millions of people in arid and semi-arid areas," the paper noted. Abdul Rahman said camel milk has a sweet and sharp taste normally, but at times it can taste salty and other times it tastes watery. "The quality of milk is affected by the number of calves, the age of the animal, the stage of lactation, the quality and quantity of feed, as well as the amount of water available. Talking about the benefits of camel milk, she said that camel milk is a rich source of proteins with potential anti-microbial and protective activity. "Some proteins are not found in cow milk, or only in minor concentrations. Camel milk need not be boiled as much as that of cow's or goat's. Strong in flavour, it must be drunk slowly to allow the stomach to digest it," said AbdulRahman. She said several studies have been conducted in connection with camel milk composition. "They point out that the fat content per unit in cow milk is 3.8% whereas it is 1.8% - 3.8% in camel milk. Vitamin C and Niacin are very higher in camel milk. Vitamins and proteins are different than in cow milk. "Camel milk also has a longer shelf life compared with other types of milk due to the presence of some special and strong compounds and this finding carries great importance to the people living in desert areas were cooling facilities were not available. The values of Lactoferrin and immunoglobulin were estimated slightly higher in camel milk than those reported in cow milk," she said.
The fact that Camel milk can be consumed without pasteurization because of the presence of some anti-bacterial substances lends itself to use in desert regions with least safety problem. But the digestibility issue is some thing which needs to be investigated as it could be due to presence of either some enzyme inhibitors or the complex nature of proteins present. Whether Camel milk will ever be a commercial proposition is uncertain because its value to the owners as a me is much more than income derived from milk extracted. Also not known is whether popular products like butter or cheese or yogurt can be made from Camel milk with acceptable characteristics. | <urn:uuid:1a6ad704-8288-4139-b641-9e3915eabae2> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com/2010/07/camel-milk-from-uae-making-its-debut-in.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917121165.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031201-00565-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974106 | 731 | 3.296875 | 3 |
High atop a lone tree, a small, hawk-like bird with striking blue-gray, spotted plumage bobs its head and tail, then rockets into a field to strike its unsuspecting quarry. The American kestrel, North America’s smallest and most common bird of prey, can be found standing watch across the entire continent, from as far south as the Yucatan Peninsula to as far north as central Alaska. It is also common throughout much of Central and South America.
Across its extensive range, the diminutive raptor preys on a wide variety of small creatures, such as mice, voles, lizards and large insects such as grasshoppers and dragonflies, which it spots with its highly developed vision. This same superior sense of sight also allows them to intercept bats and small birds in midair. Not only has its varied diet staked out an important niche for the species in the food web – it also plays no small part in the birds’ historic success at maintaining high populations.
Today, however, these high populations are significantly reduced. Since 1966, estimates based on data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Audubon Society and the Raptor Population Index, indicate that American kestrels have experienced an approximately 47 percent decline across North America. In Michigan, their numbers have been reduced by 28 to 43 percent, depending on the region.
Many causes have been proposed for this decline, from competition with larger birds of prey to disease or habitat loss through development, but none has yet gained enough empirical support to fully explain the phenomenon.
Looking into the problem
The American kestrel is not without its allies, however. In 2011, a research team led by Michigan State University (MSU) integrative biologist Catherine Lindell received a four-year, approximately $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI) to investigate the impact of and possible solutions to crop damage by bird pests.
Word reached the team that blueberry growers in the western United States had set up nest boxes for the American kestrel to attract them to their lands and take advantage of the birds’ natural proclivity for hunting the insects, rodents and small birds that come to eat their crops.
“We thought it was something worth trying,” Lindell recalled. “We knew through MSU Extension that the cherry growers in Leelanau County were having similar problems with pest birds in their orchards, so it created an opportunity to test the technique in a region where it had the potential to really help people.”
Growers in Leelanau County had a sporadic history of setting up nest boxes for kestrels, often placing them atop the very telephone poles the birds themselves choose as their perches. Lindell wanted to approach the technique in a more systematic way that also brought the kestrels into the orchards proper.
For Megan Shave, it was an opportunity to blend her interests in conservation and agriculture. Joining the project in 2012 as a graduate student, Shave oversaw the installation of 10 nest boxes in orchards throughout Leelanau County, adding to the eight that were installed in early 2012. Shortly thereafter, every box was occupied by a nesting kestrel pair.
“I came to Catherine’s lab because I’ve always been interested in birds,” Shave said. “I wanted to not only continue studying bird behavior and population dynamics but also to look into how they relate to ecosystem services – how their presence could help human activity.”
Determining the value that kestrels have for their human counterparts is critical for sustaining long-term interest in their conservation, Shave said. She and her team set up video cameras in each nest box to record what types of prey the birds brought back home. At the same time, the team measured populations of pest birds in orchards with occupied nest boxes and compared them with populations in nest box-free orchards.
The preliminary results are optimistic. In surveys of identical sweet cherry plots, Shave and her colleagues recorded an average of 3.7 pest birds when no nest boxes were present; in those with nest boxes, that number plummeted to only 0.69. Though sweet cherries are much more susceptible to pest bird activity than their tart cherry cousins, the same trend was borne out there: plots without nest boxes saw an average of 1.33 pest birds; those with them reported an average of only 0.31. Shave attributes this not just to direct predation by kestrels but also to them having a deterrent effect.
“Kestrels are unlikely to eat all the birds in that area, but we found that just having an active kestrel box in an orchard serves as a warning to other birds in the area,” Shave said. “Kestrels and their young are very loud, and we think pests such as robins and starlings learn where raptors spend time and they avoid those spaces.”
Shave’s video cameras collected evidence that the kestrels were not only warding off pest birds but also preying on more terrestrial orchard pests.
Grasshoppers and other leafdamaging insects were frequent entrees in kestrel meals, as were rodents such as meadow voles, which often damage the root systems of young trees as they burrow.
In the years since the project began, the team has put more boxes throughout Leelanau County to continued success: approximately 90 percent of the boxes remain occupied, and the local kestrel population has seen significant improvement as a result.
The original SCRI project expired in 2015, but the team’s efforts have continued under a new three-year, $500,000 grant through the National Science Foundation’s Coupled Natural- Human Systems project.
“We’ve shown that when you put up nest boxes, more kestrels appear in the area,” Lindell said. “For example, last winter we put up five boxes along a route where there had been no kestrel sightings, and this season we’ve had reports of kestrels in the area.”
Working for growers
Ensuring that nest boxes help growers as well as kestrels is central to the project, and something that Phil Howard, associate professor in the MSU Department of Community Sustainability, is actively studying. A member of the team since the project began in 2011, Howard has focused on gauging the attitudes of consumers and growers alike with respect to kestrel conservation and ecosystem services.
“Depending on the crop, we found through surveys and focus groups that consumers were willing to pay 30 to 32 percent more for fruit from farms that practiced conservation through nest boxes,” Howard said. “Even if, in practice, it doesn’t quite garner that price premium, this shows there’s a lot of potential interest as consumers become more aware of nest box practices.”
With consumers interested, Howard and his graduate student, Chris Bardenhagen, who comes from a family of cherry growers in the Leelanau Peninsula, set out to work with growers, gauging their perspectives on the utility of nest boxes and their inhabitants for their orchards.
Through preliminary interviews with growers, Howard and Bardenhagen have identified a set of the 20 most significant factors – ranging from pest pressure to fruit quality to the cost of sprays and equipment – influencing grower decisions.
Bardenhagen’s task is to sit growers down with a 2-foot by 3-foot dry erase board with magnets representing each of the 20 factors. By having growers draw relationships between the factors – for example, higher fruit quality might be positively related to higher spray and equipment costs – Bardenhagen is able to gauge how growers perceive and consider the costs and benefits of orchard operations.
“Farmers do a lot of complex thinking when it comes to pest management,” Bardenhagen said. “They have numerous pests and diseases, different types of weather and combinations of conditions – it’s remarkably sophisticated. We’re helping them lay out their priorities in a visual manner, which gives us a better idea of what they’re most concerned about. And once they spend about five minutes on it, the farmers really enjoy the process.”
Howard hopes to use the information on how growers make complex decisions to inform a new online survey designed to deliver detailed information on kestrel nest boxes to growers and gauge their level of interest toward them as potential pest management solutions. That way, he says, the team can help connect growers with the resources they need to implement them.
Leelanau growers participating in the project are already reporting interest.
“We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback and cooperation from growers,” Shave said. “As we’ve expanded the project, new growers have been very interested and responsive about setting up boxes in their orchards. They tell me they often see kestrels flying over their property and believe the boxes are making a difference.”
Jim Nugent, president of the Michigan Tree Fruit Commission and owner of Sunblossom Orchards, a cherry orchard in Leelanau County, was an early adopter of kestrel nest boxes and has observed their benefits for many years.
“I’ve had a nesting pair of kestrels for many years now, and I just don’t have bird problems nearly as bad as I did before,” Nugent said. “I absolutely recommend them, especially for sweet cherry orchards. I always felt they were effective, but now, with the MSU study, we have data to back that up.”
More work ahead
The kestrel project is set to conclude in the summer of 2018, and though much has already been learned, Lindell, Shave, Howard, Bardenhagen and the rest of the team still have much more they hope to accomplish.
Chief among their remaining goals is finalizing the economic impact of using kestrels as a pest management tool. The team submitted their data to economists at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC), the research arm of the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Wildlife Services program. The NWRC’s scientists focus on finding solutions to wildlife-caused damage across the spectrum of human activity, including agriculture.
In addition to measuring reductions in pest bird activity in orchards with active kestrel nest boxes, the team also estimated the volume of fruit removed from the orchards per minute by those birds.
“We were able to use that to figure out, when you have kestrels and thus fewer pest birds, how much fruit you could save with them in the field,” Lindell explained. “We’re in the process now of getting that data to our economist colleagues, who will translate that into actual financial savings.”
While the economic data are analyzed, the team plans to continue testing nest box strategies by expanding into new crops and regions of the state. Last year, Lindell and Shave traveled to the blueberry farms of Van Buren and Allegan counties in southwestern Michigan, where they worked with growers to set up new nest boxes.
To date, these efforts have seen a slower increase in local kestrel populations than in Leelanau County, which Lindell and Shave attribute to a number of potential factors. These counties feature more heavily wooded terrain as opposed to the more open environs in which the kestrel prefers to hunt. Forestland favors the much more common eastern starling, which could be outcompeting the kestrel for the nest boxes. Van Buren and Allegan also do not have the same history of farmers using nest boxes that the team found in Leelanau County, which Lindell and Shave believe contributes to having a lower starting kestrel population in the region. Despite these challenges, the team is already seeing an approximately 33 percent occupancy rate.
“Kestrels are migratory birds, and Michigan is right on the border of their migratory area,” Lindell said. “Looking at regions of the state that are farther south, closer to their year-round range, we might be able to make a larger impact in the long run.”
Conserving birds by helping growers
In 2012, the Peregrine Fund, a nonprofit organization working to improve the conservation of birds of prey around the world through research, launched the American Kestrel Partnership, a network of both professional and citizen scientists tasked with tracking and modeling kestrel populations around the entire Western Hemisphere. In so doing, the organization hopes to identify both the causes of kestrel decline and possible ways to reverse it.
As they explore the potential of kestrels as a pest management solution for fruit growers, Lindell’s team members have submitted their data to the American Kestrel Partnership to contribute to the conservation of the species.
“It’s not just for scientists,” Lindell noted. “Anyone interested in putting up a nest box can submit their data through an online tool.”
For growers interested in setting up nest boxes, the team has learned a number of lessons for getting the most out of them.
Placing them in open areas away from encroaching woodland and spacing them half a mile from other boxes significantly increase the odds that kestrels will occupy them by reducing competition for shelter from forest-dwelling starlings and for hunting ground from other kestrels. When looking for the ideal location, it is also important to note that kestrels have been observed to thrive the most in mixed landscape environments, featuring both young and old orchards accompanied by pasture land. The team also cautions against the use of rodenticides during the time period when kestrels are active in the landscape because the poison can be transferred to the birds through their prey.
“I love the fact that these birds are already out there, doing things that are helpful to us,” Lindell said. “If we can use nest boxes to better direct their activities and even enhance them, we can help them while they help us. We can help the birds, growers and, ultimately, consumers, all at the same time.”
Being able to conserve a struggling species and help improve the operations of Michigan growers at the same time makes this a dream project for a scientist like Shave.
“Kestrels are beautiful, charismatic animals that people are immediately intrigued by and care about,” Shave said. “This project has been a great example of how conservation and industry concerns don’t have to be mutually exclusive. We’ve shown how both sides can become invested in the goals of the other. It’s something that’s worthwhile for everyone involved.” | <urn:uuid:41fe5caa-8413-4026-bf85-b2247a16c49c> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://food.msu.edu/articles/feathered-friends-how-american-kestrel-and-fruit-growers-are-helping-one-another | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886105195.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20170818233221-20170819013221-00237.warc.gz | en | 0.963684 | 3,157 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Over 10 years ago, the Rosetta spacecraft left Earth to begin a long, lonely journey toward a ball of ice and rock. That four billion mile trek finally ended today, capped off with a nail-biting finale where Rosetta's washing-machine-sized lander, Philae, became the first thing we humans have ever landed on a comet. Holy shit.
The target for the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft was Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a lumpy ball whose orbit loops between Jupiter and Earth. There's no way to get there in one straight shot, so Rosetta took a long, circuitous path, with four planetary flybys that gave it gravity assists.
The last portion of the journey, where Rosetta orbited Comet 67P itself and let go of its lander Philae, was the most complicated and perilous, threatening to undo all the past decade of careful planning. With both the spacecraft and the comet moving at high speeds, the tiniest error could make Philae miss its landing site. And once Philae was ejected from Rosetta, it was in free fall for seven hours, the so-called "seven hours of terror." A thruster system to push the lander down wasn't working, so Philae
could only was supposed to use its harpoons to screw itself into the comet. (Update: With further analysis, it looks like the harpoons didn't fire after all. The team is considering whether to refire them.) If Philae had landed on too steep of a surface, it would have fallen over with no way to get up.
Photo of the comet taken by Philae's camera during descent. ESA
So why did we spend all this trouble to study a barren piece of rock and ice? Only to answer a question as fundamental as the origin of our solar system. Before the sun and planets formed, our solar system was a cloud of gas and dust called "pre-solar nebulae." Comets are a sort of preserved pre-solar nebulae, a time machine into the early solar system. Philae is equipped with a bevy of instruments to help it study the makeup of Comet 67P's ice and rocks.
The mission from here is slated to last until August 2015, when the comet reaches its closest point to the Sun. Philae will be there as Comet 67P slowly melts into the streak we think of when we think of comets. It's the end of one journey, and the beginning of another.
A simulation of the Philae landing. It mostly went according to plan! | <urn:uuid:bec0d906-a4ad-4c9c-9189-d15192ba2ce7> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://gizmodo.com/mankind-has-landed-on-a-comet-1657844858 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107922463.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20201031211812-20201101001812-00551.warc.gz | en | 0.962279 | 538 | 3.375 | 3 |
On this day in Duluth in 1908, prominent Duluthian and mining executive F. E. House of the Du Luht Monument Association expressed renewed enthusiasm to have a famous sculptor carve a likeness of the city’s namesake, Daniel Greysolon Siuer du Luht, out of Point of Rock. Month’s earlier Bishop James McGolrick had suggested that August Rodin, famous for The Thinker and The Kiss, should be given a commission to make a bronze likeness of du Luht to be placed in Duluth’s newly planned Civic Center. He called Rodin “the great master, who is now the Michael Angelo [sic] of the twentieth century.” Rodin was apparently open to the idea and had not only done research on du Luht but had “completed a general scheme for a statue, a monument over seven feet tall carved out of marble.” He also agreed to execute the piece for $30,000, a bargain considering he was making a sculpture of Shakespeare for $100,000. The plan also had the approval of former mayor C. H. Graves, who at the time was the American ambassador to Sweden. House had just returned from a trip to Chicago where he met with architect Daniel Burnham; Burnham suggested Duluth act fast, as Rodin was approaching 70. The statue, House and Burnham agreed, would make Duluth a mecca for art lovers. Despite much public enthusiasm for the plan, the project never materialized and was not mentioned in newspapers after November 1, 1909. In 1919, city leaders brought in Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum to blast Duluth’s Point of Rocks into the form of du Lhut, but the sculptor found the stone too hard to carve and refused the job. Today a 1965 statue of du Luht by Jacques Lipchitz stands at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Ordean Court. Throughout its coverage of the 1908 Rodin issue, the Duluth News Tribune referred to du Luht as “Jean” though that was never his name—find out why here. | <urn:uuid:a7f3990a-d6e4-428a-9ae4-5a83cb9d361e> | CC-MAIN-2018-30 | http://zenithcity.com/thisday/november-22-1909-movement-grows-for-statue-of-duluths-namesake-by-august-rodin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-30/segments/1531676590866.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20180719105750-20180719125750-00544.warc.gz | en | 0.966777 | 440 | 3.015625 | 3 |
A new Gallup poll suggests that the sense of hopefulness about race relations that soared with the rise of Barack Obama has now plunged back to its pre-Obama level.
For more than 40 years, Gallup has asked the question, “Do you think that relations between blacks and whites will always be a problem for the United States, or that a solution will eventually be worked out?”
The numbers have trended slowly over the years. In the 1970s and 80s, the number of people who thought race would always be a problem was on the rise. Then in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the trend changed, and those expressing optimism outnumbered the pessimists.
Despite the gradual change, there have been two clear spikes in opinion during those 40 years. One involved the O.J. Simpson case in 1995, when the number of people expressing pessimism jumped 14 percent and the number of people expressing optimism fell by an almost equal margin. A year later, however, opinion returned to basically where it had been before the Simpson affair.
The other spike, going in the other direction, was the election of Barack Obama as president. The number of people expressing optimism jumped 13 percent with Obama's rise, and the number of people expressing pessimism fell almost as much. Now, however, we are seeing a return of opinion back to its pre-Obama levels.
Before Obama, 54 percent of respondents told Gallup that they believe racial problems will eventually be worked out, while 43 percent said that race would always be a problem. With the rise of Obama, the number of people who said that racial problems will be worked out jumped to 67 percent, and the number of people who said race would always be a problem fell to 30 percent — the highest and lowest points for those views in Gallup's four decades of polling.
But now that has changed. The number of people who say racial problems will be worked out has fallen from 67 percent to 56 percent, and the number of people who say race will always be a problem has risen from 30 percent to 40 percent. Those figures are basically the same as before Obama appeared on the national scene.
“Despite the election of the first black president in U.S. history, Americans' optimism about a solution to the race problem in the U.S., and their views about the prevalence of racism against blacks are not substantially more positive now than they have been in previous years,” Gallup concludes. The hope and change that Obama brought to the question has now disappeared. | <urn:uuid:94e9c37c-f870-41ef-9f88-33f92bfc01a9> | CC-MAIN-2021-49 | https://www.sfexaminer.com/national-news/obama-and-race-relations-hope-soars-then-plunges/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-49/segments/1637964363189.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20211205130619-20211205160619-00454.warc.gz | en | 0.978734 | 513 | 2.53125 | 3 |
by Chelsea Moreno, ENC Communications Intern
Are you an elementary school teacher seeking out some great new NGSS activities? Don’t worry! The ENC has you covered with “Teachers Night Out!” Third through sixth grade teachers are invited to enjoy mini-workshops throughout the Nature Center and learn hands-on activities to teach Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) concepts in their own classrooms.
Our Community Outreach Director, Sama Wareh, will demonstrate how teachers can connect Common Core Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards to the arts. She’ll teach a hands-on “magnet art” project students will love!
Teachers will also engage in a hands-on activity using the scientific method to learn about aquatic ecosystems and interactions between abiotic and biotic factors along the trails of the
After a couple hours of learning new activities, teachers will get to relax with food and wine around a warm campfire surrounded by the ENC’s beautiful trees. Wine is being generously donated by PRP Wines, who will also have a representative here to describe the wines being poured.
All those who join us for this educational night will be entered to win a teacher professional development program for their school, receive priority booking for 2017-2018 school programs.
Register now or by March 23 HERE and see what the ENC can teach you! | <urn:uuid:d6e1d8e5-b25a-4236-b91b-8304c51fefaa> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://encenter.org/blog/let-the-enc-teach-you/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917127681.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031207-00469-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950297 | 284 | 2.75 | 3 |
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